Life Lessons

Yesterday I learned three new things:

1.  If you leave your travel coffee mug open next to your laptop, you will one day knock it over.  It only took me a year and a half of teaching to do this.  Fortunately my computer still works, though it smells heavily of French Vanilla creamer.

2.  If the neighborhood fire truck is going out on a call, he goes the wrong way around the roundabout for a quick exit out the neighborhood.
This surprised me GREATLY.  Red Corolla vs. red fire truck.  Fire truck will win every time.

3.  If you do not zip your soccer bag closed, you might accidentally lose one cleat.  I carry two pairs of socks (usually one is sorta clean), two pairs of goalie gloves, two sets of shin guards, extra water/Gatorade, athletic tape, Band-Aids, extra hair ties, back up rosters.  I am prepared.  However I only have one pair of cleats.  This is a VITAL part of one's soccer get-up.  I discovered I was one cleat short on my way to my game last night.  I hope some stray dog is enjoying his new chew toy.  Fortunately I was rescued by a teammate and today I have a cool new kicks.

In another note, I feel like an ogre.  I pulled SIX brands of cleats from the rack at Dick's to try on and they didn't have ANY of them larger than a size 8.  Really?  Soccer Kicks came to my rescue AND sold me last year's model for $25 off.

It was a very educational day.

Surprise! On me!

This event has officially passed so I can now write about it. Whew.

Two weeks ago a friend sent me an email reminding me about her fiancé's surprise Bday party. I was fighting a cold, but decided to stop by for a bit. After school I zipped over for a quick oil change. Quick being two hours! Augh! Now I was grumpy and running late. I zipped toward Arlington in rush hour traffic (ok, so zipped is perhaps a misnomer), took a wrong turn, and ended up in Georgetown. Whoops.

Fortunately my awesome boyfriend punched in the address and gave me directions from his desk in Arkansas. Isn't modern technology awesome? I screeched to a stop with moments to spare (don't want to spoil a surprise party!) and RACED into the house, not even bothering to knock. Better safe than sorry, right? I threw myself in through the front door, right into the middle of... Kate's roommates eating dinner.

Party? It was the next evening.

I sheepishly introduced myself to the roommates, promised to return tomorrow, and made a hasty retreat. I am so smooth.

Acrostic poems

Today I let my students do free writing at the end of class. My usual behavior problem must have decided he liked me.  Also, we may need a refresher in how to spell my name.

Hypothetically Speaking

Assignment.  5th grade science.  Imagine the whole universe (and all the matter in it) has disappeared.  Only your class has survived in an underground lab.  Your class must rebuild the elements using the periodic table.

Could this happen?  Why or why not?  Which elements would you choose to rebuild first?

Answer:

No because were in the yonaferse and if it bolse up we will dye.
People need oxygen to serveva.


Fortunately my student was rescued by a peer spelling edit.  Whew.

(If you have re-read that answer several times and still don't have a clue, the translation is as follows: "No, because we're in the universe and if it blows up we will die.  People need oxygen to survive."  If you got it on the first read, you should work for the CIA in cryptology or become a teacher.)

Whoa, whoa, WHOA

Did you know...
Zazu from the Lion King

and Mr. Bean

are one and the same?

Whoa.