Saturday Graduation!

Today, we have a graduation party to attend in Eburg. Congrats Laura! Here are some ways to reuse your graduation cap! I hope you have enjoyed your student teaching. Now the fun begins! There’s no one in there to help you now! It’s just you and 20 or 30 kids who want to eat the teacher! LOL! We are taking Grandma up…I have some potato salad for her, I am hoping she will find it acceptable. On the Brightside, if she does not, maybe she will write about it on her BLOG! :)

Then tomorrow my sister is having an open house at her new place. It is a nice little house on a nicely sized lot. She found a snake the other day and called to offer it to me. Was very close to saying yes, when Cora said, “Absolutely not, we don’t need ANOTHER pet.” Ahhh, she always takes the fun out of things. So, Carrie and Scott kept the snake, a small bull snake, sounded like a type A, so probably for the better.[1] Their house is on a large lot and I think the kids enjoy having such a large area to explore.

We played Wii until late, but we are up and drinking our coffee. It is a vital part of our day. Without coffee, the world as we know it might cease to function. So, here’s to you! South American people who pick and process those wonderful little berries and beans! I say South American, because Ethiopian, Kenyan, and Javan coffees never seem to taste as good as good old Columbian beans. Of course, it is a matter of taste!

I will likely post again tonight, so my great big readership…all three of you,…will be able to keep up via the internet with my busy, busy life!

[1] Type A is a reference to my theory of Gopher Snakes. There are Type A and Type B Gopher Snakes (Also known as Bull Snakes ). The Type B Gopher Snake, when approached in the wild will react very peacefully, while a Type A Gopher Snake will attempt to murder you in any way possible. Never mind that the Gopher Snake is non-poisonous, he will attempt to cause you bodily harm!

Teaching the Wii Ones!

So, given yesterday’s weed whacking and its potential for more, I was happy when, at about midnight, I saw a sub job up. It was for Kindergarten. So, to day I subbed for kinders and enjoyed it. I have subbed in this class before and they know me, so it is pretty comfortable. I had fun. We walked down to the post office to mail some thank you notes. That was interesting…20 kids and two adults.

I probably annoyed my boss in Maintenance, I was supposed to weed whack at another school today, but it looks as though the person who usually takes care of those schools may have to do it. Or it will have to wait until I am done subbing…pity, too, I was so looking forward to it.

Tonight has been spent playing Wii. Boom Blox is strangely adicting. Soon, off to bed, but Dr. Who first.

Wiid Whacker

I was the Weed Whacker today. I worked maintenance and after our exquisite coffee break, I headed off to whack weeds. I whacked weeds at, you guessed it, the elementary. About mid day, Cora needed me to take her something at work, so I did during my lunch. I also took her a coffee, which perked her up (Get it? Coffee perked.). I then went back and finished my job.

When I got home I started the BBQ and took out a couple chicken breasts. Cora got home and wanted to know if I wanted to go into town and help her buy a new Wii game. What the hell, I love spending money. I cooked the breasts…I smoked them with Mesquite…but you know what, I really prefer the taste of hickory smoke. Then we went to town to buy a Wii game and some salad for dinner. When we got to town we ended up buying two Wii games. Indiana Jones, Legos edition and Boom Blox. I also got some Pepsi…I was out.

We came back and Cora began to play her game while I cut the chicken into chunks and chopped salad makings (carrots, cucmber, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese). Tasted pretty good.

Tomorrow? I will have more weed whacking to do if I go to maintenance. Otherwise I ill be teaching…come on you teachers! One of you get sick!!

When we were in California we decided to visit Yosemite National Park. It lloked like a 3 hour drive. The map I used, however, failed to show all the switch backs...which made the trip to Yosemite right at 5 hours. It as worth it, even with the accidental hitch hikers. I took this shot and tried to make it a little Ansel Adamsy. What do you think?

What ARE accidental hitch hikers? Well, we were driving along the road looking at the scenery when I saw a woman and her son come out from a path. I thought they wanted to crossed the road, so I stopped. Much to my dismay they began walking toward the car. They were unarmed, so I started to roll down my window. About this time, Cora says to me: "You realize you are giving them a ride, right?" I stammered that not I was not aware of that particular aspect of this stop. Apparently they were hitching a ride back to camp and I had ever so graciously acceded to their wish. Turns out they were German tourists, the father was doing some climbing or something and the mom and son were out for a hike. They climbed in and off we went. The son, who looked to be about 6 or 7 did not speak English, but his mother did. It turned out to be a nice little detour, but accidental, nonetheless.

Cora continues to play her game, I fear i shall not see her until she has finished it.

Adequate Goofball Exposure

So, apparently, kids are not exposed to dorky men. As a statement, I suppose I would support that and agree that they should not be. On the other hand, there are some who think exposing kids to a goofball is a good thing. I suppose it depends on the goof ball. One of the teachers I worked with today threatened me with bodily harm if I don’t pursue an elementary certification. She said it is good for them to be exposed to men who can be a little silly (I am saying a little silly because that is what SHE said, I know many of you are probably rolling your eyes…I know I am very silly, so don’t over exert your poor eyeballs). Something about the right kind of male influence, I know, she might be a little off the mark. I do enjoy teaching at the elementary, though.

We were doing a “Hand Jive” in music today. I was dancing along, innocently, to the music, and the kids kept erupting in giggles. I had my erstwhile cohort there, too. She does a half-day of music in the afternoon. The past few times we have had our classes together. She was dancing along with the song just a silly as I was, but the kids were paying more attention to me…somewhat to my displeasure, since I was not aware of all the right hand movements and had trouble hearing the claps on the CD to clap along. Of course, I did “bobble” my head from side to side in the “Oh, NO YOU DIDN’T” fashion that is sometimes seen in inner city women on TV. I did this in time to the music. I have done this in the past and apparently it is quite the hit among elementary kids. A few girls have called me “Mr. Bobble Head” in the hallways. I take that as a price of fame.

So, Cora is fishing on her Wii. She keeps pulling up two dimensional fish. It’s one of the games on that $10 game…which was well worth the $10 for the enjoyment we have gotten from it. I want to buy Far Cry…a shoot’em up. Cora prefers Legos…yes, legos. She sometimes plays a Legos Star Wars game that she likes. We will have to buy it, I suppose.

Sock Gap

I am a student of the Cold War. Kennedy's election platform was at least partially centered on the supposed "Missile Gap" between the Soviet Union and the United States. In the world of Coupling, however, the Sock Gap is more imprtant to Jeff.

Coupling is a British comedy that ran for four years. It is one of my favorites, and it is a pity it ran for such a short time. The genius of the writers and the shear comedy that is set up so meticulously throughout the show to build until it explodes in a…”Giggle Loop,” well, it's a wonderful show. Ok, they should never have replaced Jeff, because Oliver never managed to quite replace him.

And Jeff...

Who was Jeff? Jeff was the semi-inept best friend of the lead character. He was full of advice about love, relationships, and dating, with no apparent experience himself. One of his best episodes is when he meets a woman on a train whom he has seen before, but only from behind and he “accidentally” tells her he only has one leg (he was nervous, and, like I said, he is inept). Later, as their relationship has gotten closer, and he learns her brother ALSO only has one leg, she says she and a female friend are going to go back to her flat to try on lingerie, would he like to join? And she winked her eye… Up to this point, he had avoided showing her that he had two very healthy legs. His friend Steve walks up about this time as his girlfriend has left the table for a moment. Steve says, “What’s wrong Jeff?” With tears in his eyes Jeff looks at Steve and says in an anguished voice, “I’ve got TOO many legs!”

Then there’s Patrick. Susan has dumped him and her friend is now somewhat interested, but suddenly turned off by his political values. She says, “Now I know why you called him donkey brain.” Susan replies, “No, you don’t. I called him DONKEY.” Sally looks at her and questions. Susan says, “Some men are born lucky. Some men are born VERY LUCKY.” Sally looks confused, “What was Patrick born?” Susan says, “A Tripod.”

I whole-heartedly recommend viewing it for yourself on BBC America, or buying the whole four season set! If you have not figured it out, I have been watching one of them…just came on BBC.

Here is another Jeff quote concerning lesbians:

"Wouldn't that be great, being a lesbian? You'd have all the advantages of being a man, but with less embarrassing genitals. Plus every time you have sex, there's four breasts: two guest breasts and two you can take home afterwards."Series 1, Episode 4 (Inferno)

The Hated June 2s, and Rainy Day Blues

I went to work, but as they needed me outside and the rain was keeping everyone in, they did not need me. I came home and did some house cleaning. I took Cora lunch. The rain has been a nice change. I went outside for something. The beauty of the day struck me and I ran back in the house for the camera.

My best friend Jim Coder passed away on June 2, 1997. He was 23. June 2 has since been a rough day for me. I did not post since I had little to say. Today reveals a similar lack of words, but I wanted to post a few pictures in honor of my long deceased pal. Here's to the years we had Jim!

Tomorrow will be brighter!

Got Wiine?

Wii have a Wii. I think I mentioned that yesterday. Unfortunately, there is a game we got that has tanks. It is not a high tech game. Just some tanks. One is you and the rest are the bad guys. I have become addicted. Yes, I am a tank ace now. It is hard to put down. I was playing the Tank game while Cora quilted tonight.

We planted some gladiolas and snapdragons and then I made war on the ants. The ants have shown up once again. I cleaned out a few cupboards and made crazy with the poison. Then we went to town and got some ant killer barrier…hopefully that will take care of them.

Since I was in the area I dusted the top of the cupboards, too. I found a ton of corks. I throw corks from a newly opened bottle of wine up there. I have been for QUITE SOME TIME…apparently. Or maybe last summer? I think I began it with the thought of a cork wreath…I don’t know, I just come up with these ideas, I don’t actually think them through!

There must have been over 100 corks up there. We are NOT alcoholics, we are wine conesours Conesuers Coinesoiuers Officianodos Ofishinatos apprecciators Ah, Hell…We like wine, OK?

On the down side of the weekend, that thing with my in-laws’ van, the broken window. It happened again. Yep! In broad daylight. Same window, same van. They just got the new window on Thursday. Shattered.

We took the dogs with us over to "Grandma's" (well, the dogs know it as Pepper's, since that is the in-laws' dog's name, and they love her) and this is how Toby looked after playing

On the up side, my Aunt Sherry got a Gold Medal in some sort of throwing contest in the Special Olympics which happened in Olympia this weekend.

This is my dad from last Monday! He was working up a sweat, do you notice? It was HOT out there. You can see the "Small" crane in this picture...the yellow one. Yeah, he has gone to extreme lengths to make trucks everywhere laugh at his. just look at this entry from last week to see how the front end looks!