True love's not worth much more than that

Can't go back, can't go straight
Can't turn
Can't cross the bridge I've yet to burn
--- Imperial Teen, "Imperial Teen"

Short work day and the very last two hours I shall ever spend at H Elementary (as a student observer, anyway, and probably period). The first hour was with a second grade ESL class. The teacher, a male for once, taught in English and the students mostly spoke in Spanish. He told me that a lot of them were ADD, and it showed. Half of them were on task for the most part, but about four or five, all boys, were all over the place. They took every single opportunity they could to disregard the classroom's sense order. They knew what they were doing, too; deliberate mischief was clear in their eyes. The teacher spoke in a calm, quiet voice, never once showed impatience, and had several strategies for dealing with the unruly behavior. One of those was to escort a particularly egregious transgressor to the hall.

Another method, turning off the lights and having the class as a whole put their heads on the table until absolute silence reigned, worked, but I question its efficacy. And here I'm second-guessing the teacher, which I hate to do, because as a teacher (of sorts) myself I know how little an outsider can grasp about the subtle interplays of power within a classroom. However, I found myself wondering if it was best to force the whole class, even the girls and one or two boys who were working, to stop in mid-task, and make everyone accountable for the actions of a few.

Also, since so many problems seemed to arise from kids getting up, switching seats, moving back and forth, etc., I wondered why Mr. Teacher hadn't set up a simple seating arrangement. The kids' names taped on the back of the chairs and at the edge of the table, perhaps in an alternating boy-girl-boy arrangement, might nip a lot of that activity in the bud.

On the other hand, maybe it would just cause more trouble. Being an old classroom hand myself, I'm always willing to give teachers the benefit of the doubt. (This is one point of difference between Spooky and me; when she shows me letters that Baby's teacher has sent home and expects me to commiserate with her, I often find the notes to be quite reasonable.)

The second hour was a rather boring third grade English lesson. The class read a story together and then in pairs. The teacher timed them; I suppose quick reading is some skill necessary for the TAKS. I don't like to encourage speed-reading, myself --- being a very fast reader but a less than satisfactory processor of text --- but whatever. And then I was out of there!

***

In Classroom Management, the presentation on Boys Town went well. Our group (including the amazingly hot Scarlett and Nicole) did a little skit on the history of Boys Town, then we showed a clip of the film starring Spencer Tracy, and then we stood and rattled off some facts about the program. It was fun enough, and both a good way to teach and to learn.

***

What has one eye and pees?

Happiness.

Slay the false and guard the real

Love is king with crown of gold
Without love a touch feels cold
Without love it just won't satisfy
--- Jonathan Richman, "Satisfy"

Penultimate observation sessions at H Elementary today. I went to a sixth grade class for the third time (how informative!). I observed a little bit of science seatwork, then a group bathroom break, then the transition of another sixth grade section into the room, then another long bathroom break (the whole class trundles out from one portable building outside, down the walkway, and to another portable where the toilets are). How helpful to my future career! What a valuable way to spend the students' time!

The next hour was an art class. First the first graders, then the kindergarteners, crafted something out of Model Magic (there was no set assignment, thankfully) and painted it. This was a fun experience. Some of the kids were quite creative: I saw everything from a monster attacking a building to a pancake to a family of snowmen. One Hispanic boy came up to me and showed me his piece: a snowman-like figure looking at a smaller figure holding a sphere. "He's said," the boy said, pointing to the small one, "because his dad won't play ball with him." Awww!

The teacher had the kids do their own cleanup. This worked better for the first graders than the kinders, who got a little carried away taking the pots of paint-tainted water to the sink and replacing it with clean water. Not only did they splash a lot, but they started carrying the clean water back again, just to be able to have something important to do again. One girl, whose arm was in a cast, got her belt loop stuck on a low cabinet handle next to the sink, and I had to rescue her, laughing. The teacher was sweet and patient and very nice, and it was all great fun. A boy gave me his picture of "Gozilla" breathing fire on a building, and when I helped the teacher escort the kids to the carpool waiting area, I had two or three kids hanging on both hands. Kids that age just naturally love me.

When I got home, I worked on my lesson plan for Math Methods due that day (TEKS 4.4A, on multiplication and division using arrays and area models). I stayed up past midnight last night doing the other Math assignment, a reflection on the Gifted and Talented program. Finished with time to spare and drove up to class. We worked on some algebraic stuff and geometry. Handy geometry tip: all squares are rhombuses.

I got 88% on my midterm, which I wasn't exceptionally happy with, but a 95 on the take-home portion. I'm far from a grade-grubber, but as this is for a career, I need to make As.

***

Some trouble on the Spooky front. After class, I called her and she asked me to drop by. I drove down to her place. Her door was open. I got out of the car and saw her sitting at the table. I heard peals of her laughter, and saw Babydaddy bend over to kiss her. I immediately got in my car and drove off, but then felt I needed to at least address the issue. So I called Spooky and had her meet me out front, where we talked for a bit.

I don't for a moment think she's still sleeping with Babydaddy. But they do have an emotional bond, obviously, and there's still a lot of affection that goes beyond the friendly there. I certainly don't want to wander into that kind of environment. I drove out of my way to see her, not to "hang out" with her and the father of her child, or to observe even the most innocent of interactions between her and someone with whom she has so much history. Elle asked if I was settling, being with Spooky; I think I am. There's a lot about this that bugs me.

One star shining

Heard that tune, and now I'm pining
Honey, can't you see
'Cause every time I hear that melody
Well, something breaks inside
--- Tom Waits, "Grapefruit Moon"

At the Job, I talked to the Boss about working the afternoon shift instead of mornings; it would be easier on me and mesh with my night school schedule better. However, she vetoed the idea, except in the case of Fridays, when she wants to spend time away from the school with her daughter, so she prefers me to take her place. Showing once again her infamous predilection for heavily favoring her own whims when determining schedules.

In Science, we did our Life Science presentations; I did the animal teeth lesson I did by default after the teacher got her wires crossed about my original plan. I felt confident while talking, but the hands-on stuff didn't go as smoothly as I'd liked. On the whole it wasn't the eximious and special display I think of myself as giving; I don't feel exactly exuberant with victory about it. I didn't get any more applause than anyone else, and though a few people said I did well, it may be they were just being polite. Anyway, I shall see, for our lessons were videotaped, and we have to write two-page essay style critiques of our efforts!

Very very busy. two things due tomorrow in Math Methods, it's 11 p.m. and I have H Elementary to go to after work tomorrow...

Don't make me pay for your mistakes, I have to pay my own

The country needs a father
Not an uncle or big brother
Someone to keep the peace at home...
Though some say you'll only understand a gun
Got to prove them wrong
Or you will lose the battle
Don't you know we'll start a war
Which will be won by none
--- Steppenwolf, "Move Over"

Written in 1969, and yet more apt than ever today. How sad.

Reading I was so boring that I wanted to claw my brain out through my eye sockets.

Language beanie

Here's an interesting language factling.

The city of Mumbai (birthplace of the great Rudyard Kipling, by the way) was until recently known as Bombay --- a name that is still much more widely recognized in the Western world.

What's in a name? Well, the reason that the name was changed is that "Bombay" is more than likely a foreign derivation, which rankles the ire of Indian nationalists. Mumbai is located on India's west coast, on the Arabian sea. The name of the city is likely derived not from any Hindi or Sanskrit words, but from a Portuguese phrase --- bom bahia, meaning "good bay."

So there's your useless fact for the day: that word "Bombay," which conjures up so many exotic images to the Western mind, is not Hindi or Marathi or Konkani, but a Portuguese compound cognate. A historico-linguistic leftover akin, by the way, to "Mandarin," our name for the most widespread Chinese dialect, which name is not derived from Chinese at all, but Portuguese mandar, to govern. Boy, those Portugeese really got around, didn't they?

[Note for nitpickers: The Portuguese etymology is speculation, but fairly solid speculation. Some allege that the Marathi name Mumbai (possibly derived from the goddess Mumba) was used for the area before colonial occupation, and that the British distorted the extant "Mumbai" into "Bombay." This is possible, but less likely.]

I was a young boy that had big plans

Life's a bitch and so am I
The world owes me, so fuck you
Wasted youth and a fistful of ideals
I had a young and optimisitic point of view
--- Green Day, "The Grouch"

* Spooky's Babydaddy fixed my phone a few days back. I thought it beyond repair after being submerged in soapy water and washed briefly on the 17th. Yet it's once again as good as it always was, so I returned the new phone I bought! Yes! Money back! Score! (Hey, it's the little victories in life that count.)

* As I predicted, Babydaddy and Baby never did go on their big Austin vacation --- first they were going be gone all week, but then he got a jury duty notice or some crap, so then it was going to be that weekend, but something else came up, so it was moved to the next weekend, then Friday got changed to Saturday, etc., etc. Also, Spooky canceled her surgery and has not rescheduled yet. Also, she still has no car, nor has she rented one or tried to have the old one fixed. See what I mean about nothing ever getting done? It grows frustrating.

* I made myself a mix CD featuring five different versions of the same song: "Visions Of Johanna" by Bob Dylan. There are fifteen other songs on the mix, but like a skull and amniotic fluid, they serve only to provide a context for the important part.

* Dinner plans made and canceled with Spooky; dinner plans made and canceled with the Friar and 74. Ate pizza with my parents.

* I've bought two more graphic novels since the Bone purchases in February. I got the first TPB of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers and am undecided. I like Morrison's work, but may have to see the big picture before I'm satisfied. There are many bits of greatness here --- like the Klarion story --- but we haven't even gotten to Frankenstein yet, so the story's barely begun. Another day, I bought the fourth volume of Brubaker's Catwoman, Wild Ride. Not the best of the series --- it works better as an insulated noir tale, and here Selina is on the road and out of her element --- but I did enjoy how Brubaker handles some of the DCU's cities and their denizens. These are the first two TPB's I've paid full price for this year, setting me back $16 each. I like these books, but I'm prouder of myself when I get stuff on sale.

* Oatmeal is not to be fucked with.

Vocabulaire: démanger

démanger - to itch

Ton trou du cul te démangera, si tu ne t'essuies pas avec le papier hygiénique chaque fois.

I'm heavenly blessed and worldly wise

Things are going great, and they're only getting better
I'm doing all right, getting good grades
The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades
--- Timbuk3, "The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades"

A half day at work again. Two more of those and no more having to go to H Elementary again. I've talked to several of my classmates, and we agree: the teachers there suck. Today I sat in on two classrooms I've already been to: one fourth grade class with a very lecture-like style and one Spanish-only class, which I understood only the very barest gist of.

In Classroom Management, we split into our presentation groups. Our project on Boys Town is coming along nicely; we're going to do a skit recreating the founding of Boys Town and possibly show a clip from the movie. I'm in charge of giving a few facts after the skit. We also watched a less than enthralling, and not hugely relevant, video of Jim Fay talking.

Played Trivial Pursuit with Spooky at my house. She beat me. I have decided that she's a pretty damn good girlfriend. She's the soul of helpfulness, she took me to one of the finest restaurants I've eaten at in a long while last St. Patrick's Day, she likes to read, she's crazy about me and cares what I think... And I don't know if it's a case of seeing through romantic eyes, or the influence of others who've said she's cute, but I don't really see why I thought her unattractive before. She's very nice looking.

Here are some amusing slut jokes that Spooky and I developed. Warning: nerdish at times, and not all that funny.

• She's laid more pipe than an oil man in Alaska.
• Her chest has had more hands on it than the poker table at Binion's.
• She's smoked more pipe than Sherlock Holmes.
• She's given more head than the French Revolution.
• She's gotten more guys to third base than [name of some infamously bad MLB pitcher].
• She's smoked more meat than [refer to local barbecue joint of your choice].
• She's seen more come than an obedience school.
• She's spread more than margarine.
• She's gotten more clap than Placido Domingo.

A little vagabond, a sprite in the dark

I tried to hide a little thought
The more I tried the worse things got...
Just a stray little stray, stray, stray
In trying to hide it I asked it to stay
--- Jonathan Richman, "To Hide a Little Thought"

* This is my 200th post! How about that, JoJo?

"Well, uh, that's pretty good there, Chance."

Thanks, JoJo! You're the best! Keep on a-rockin'!

* Last Classroom Management session, Ms. P returned our competencies projects. Some students did brief note cards; I spent a lot of time on it and typed out 31 pages. Ms. P, handing them back, said, "You all got full points! I was reading them in a place I didn't have a pen [or some other equally flimsy excuse], so there are no comments or grades written on there, but you all got the same score, fifteen out of fifteen." What a joke. I don't begrudge my effort --- I knew I didn't need to work as hard as I did, and went the extra mile for my own professional and intellectual development, not for the teacher or a grade --- but I do resent a teacher not doing her damn job and at least pretending to have something of worth to say about her students' work.

* My classmate C from Science Methods told me about this date she was on. She told the guy how she hadn't been eating much lately, and he replied, "Well, I can see why; you still have to lose about ten to twenty pounds." Now, C is a girl around five foot nothing and 94 pounds. But that's beside the point, which is that even if that were true, what kind of protopathic ape-man says that to a girl on a date? What the fuck is wrong with people? I mean to say, what the fuck?

* I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am the world's biggest damn procrastinator. I have a couple of projects to do before Friday. Ugh.

Oh Comely

Oh comely
I will be with you when you lose your breath
Chasing the only meaningful memory you thought you had left
With some pretty bright and bubbly terrible scene
That was doing her thing on your chest
--- Neutral Milk Hotel, "Oh Comely"

Spooky has her surgery Friday.

In Science Methods, we lit a bulb with a battery and wire, illustrating that a complete circuit of electricity is required for power to flow. Then we were bundled out into the hallway en classe, where we linked hands in a big jumble (left hand across shoulder to someone's right, their right hand under another person's shoulder to another's left, etc.) and did our best to hobble crabwise up and down the hall. Then we did the same thing holding hands in a big circle (much easier), then did the same thing in pairs and teams. The big secret here is that we were imitating the three states of matter. I'm so bored. However, I did learn an interesting fact: clouds, fog and steam are not water in its gaseous form, but water in a very fine liquid form. Water in its truly gaseous form is invisible. Huh. Did not know that!

Stayed up way too late doing the two projects due for Math tomorrow, a reflection on the use of technology in the math classroom and a series of web-based reports on the uses and purpose of assessment.

I also made Spooky a mix CD, the first she's gotten from me:

1. For You (I’d Do Anything) – Roky Erickson
2. Fight Test – Flaming Lips
3. Factory Girls – Floggy Molly (with Lucinda Williams)
4. Fall Into November – Folk Implosion
5. Anti-Social – Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards
6. American Idiot – Green Day
7. Atomic – Tiger Army
8. Avenues & Alleyways – Rancid
9. Visions of Johanna – Bob Dylan
10. Ol’ 55 – Tom Waits
11. Rocky Road to Dublin – Clancy Brothers
12. Rainy Night in Soho – The Pogues
13. Run on for a Long Time – Blind Boys of Alabama
14. Redundant – Green Day
15. Raspberry Beret – Hindu Love Gods
16. I Want To Be Your Driver – Chuck Berry
17. I Got Stung – Elvis Presley
18. I Thank You – ZZ Top
19. I Want You – Bob Dylan
20. Television – Bad Religion (with Tim Armstrong)
21. Till I Collapse – Eminem
22. Time – Tom Waits
23. Everyday I Write the Book [live version] – Elvis Costello

She moves like sin

She's like a lethal brand
Too much for any man
She gave me first-degree
She really satisfied me
--- AC/DC, "Girls Got Rhythm"

At work, one of the classrooms is getting some major structural work done, which means all the kids were crammed into the smaller room where we eat. Everyone took a nap in there, too. It's such a joke that The Boss thinks the place is anything resembling a school.

Reading I was pretty boring as usual. Having covered phonemic awareness and the alphabetic principle, we're now moving into phonics. Ms. W handed our midterms back. I missed seven out of the 25 questions, which isn't very good, but two answers weren't counted as wrong if we put a certain two of the four choices because of the ambiguous wording of the questions. That put me at 80% correct, which still isn't great, but is pretty much better than I expected to do given the brevity of the test and the problems associated with multiple guess.

Spooky (still driving MA's car) came over around 10 p.m. or so and left an hour or so later, leaving me feel a bit like I'd just had an assignation. She has another doctor's appointment tomorrow, and the surgery on Friday.

She saw MA's boyfriend Cokehead, revealing that he is in town when MA thinks he's still on a ski trip. There are so many warning flags with this asshole. He has two houses, one of which MA is not allowed to go to; he's done coke in the recent past; he has weird, late hours and claims to make a lot of money as a tutor (ha!); he didn't call MA once while on his ski trip even though she was holed up with her brains can electrodes on all weekend; he's often out of touch for unexplained or fishy reasons; he can't be bothered to wake up early to take her somewhere she needs to go... Poor dumb naive MA.

Who'll stop the rain?

Still the rain kept pourin', fallin' on my ears
And I wonder, still I wonder
Who'll stop the rain
--- Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Who'll Stop the Rain"

No, seriously, I want to know. It's been freakin' pouring here. What with the thunder and the lightning and the hey hey. The floodwaters are rising around my steps out there.

Spooky was very sick at her house today. She almost called 911 and went to the hospital, but opted just to self-medicate (she has an RN degree, though she doesn't practice) on the advice of her doctor. Scary stuff, and me at home with roads closed due to flooding.

Went to TriviaBar with the parents. Spooky, feeling momentarily better, joined us for a round or two. So now Father's met her too; he seemed approving. Our team won. The waitress W was there, but no T; perhaps she no longer works Sunday nights.

Spooky bought me a blender, "to replace the one that the Ex stole from you." That's sweet. I made a smoothie with protein powder and old frozen fruit.

The dreams I once had now lay in bed

Though these wounds have seen no wars
Except for the scars I have ignored
And this endless crutch, well it's never enough
It's been the worst day since yesterday
--- Flogging Molly, "The Worst Day Since Yesterday"

Badness all around. Made tentative plans with Spooky. But MA called, and she's stuck at home with the brain electrodes glued to her scalp, so I said we'd come over, bring her food and watch a movie. Apparently changing plans like that without consulting Spooky first was a bad idea. The evening went downhill from there. We did go to MA's, but we argued a bit in front of her, which pisses me off. And Spooky got very drunk, and then during the night got very ill. The alcohol affected her badly, she had an asthma attack, her blood sugar plummeted... It was just bad. And then Babydaddy called her phone and mine about eight times looking for her. I'm just not strong enough for this, and I don't want a relationship with a woman who has a permanent chaperone. Oh, and this surprising little gem popped up in the course of our exasperated back and forth between bouts of vomit and abdominal pain. At 5:30 in the morning Spooky drove back in the intense driving rain and I felt like crap.

A curse upon you, Oliver Cromwell

You have robbed our homes and fortunes
Even drove us from our land
You tried to break our spirit
But you'll never understand
The love of dear old Ireland
That will forge an iron will
As long as there are gallant men
Like young Ned of the hill
The Pogues, "Young Ned Of the Hill"

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Our own personal Fairytale of New York --- the weekend trip to see an exhibit at the Met --- is cancelled, as Spooky has apparently been advised not to fly by her doctors. There's fluid in her abdominal cavity and she goes in for outpatient surgery Friday. Ugh.

So instead we were going to stay at a nice hotel here in town, but since Babydaddy has to work tomorrow, that's out also.

So instead of that, Spooky and I went out to eat at a fine restaurant in Deep Ellum. A four-course meal and a bottle of wine, costing $180 (including a rather lavish lagniappe). Excellent food, really first-rate. Boy, were we full. We stopped off at the Hangout for a few rounds of video gaming and then to bed.

Poor Maddening Angel went in for an MRI and other tests today because of her seizure a while back. It was almost certainly her medication that triggered it, but she might be genetically susceptible to seizures so she's undergoing a battery of tests. They're recording her brainwaves for 72 hours, so she has to walk around with electrodes glued to her head with wires leading down to a little box disguised as a not very stylish purse. Spooky and I drove her to the doctor's and back home.

In other news, I stupidly left my cell phone in the leg pocket of my cargo pants and then put the pants in the washing machine. My phone was submerged for about one minute before I realized where it was, but the damage had been done. I fished the phone out, its little window dead black and filled halfway up with soapy water. As I held it there sadly, it dripping water out of its seams, my mother suggested that I try calling someone to see if it still worked.

So I had to go buy a new goddam phone --- the cheapest model they had, for $130. Cripes. The man at the counter helpfully informed me that if I signed a two-year renewal of my contract, I could have a whopping $30 off the retail price of any phone! Well, that's off. As in sod. I'm going to quit Cingular in May. I hear T-Mobile is good.

Poisoned by these fairy tales

O beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They’re beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
--- Don Henley, "The End Of the Innocence"

It was Maddening Angel's last day at work today. Hopefully I'll still see her socially.

Classroom Management tonight. We went over the exam. I saw that two students in my row got 94%, which makes my 86% look pretty damn bad. The review helped, though; hopefully I have a better grasp of where those questions are coming from. We were given a group assignment to do. Scarlett and Nicole, two incredibly hot girls (whom I've known casually for a bit, from class last year) asked me to be in their group. We're going to do some presentation on Boystown and its discipline philosophy.

Tomorrow I don't have to go to work! Hooray!

Spooky came over after class, but had to leave in the middle of the night to be home after Babydaddy goes to work. She's been talking a lot lately about having him move out, and she and Baby moving to a better, bigger house somewhere else. She's also been hinting that she wants me to live with them. I'm not dead set against it, but it's a little early for me to be thinking out that... Although I am in my mid-thirties, and I would like to settle down (yet again).

Blue suits and bankers with their Volvos and their valentines

There ain't much work out here in our consumer power base
No major industry, just miles and miles of parking space
--- Billy Joel, "No Man's Land"

Out walking Dog with Father. Went to the field where we usually go and played with a neighbor's dog. Then some other neighbor, Assface, let his stupid yapping jack russels out. Now, these two dogs are disliked by everyone around the area and have bitten other dogs before. One of them started snapping and biting at Dog. Good old Dog, three times their size, started defending herself with a snarl. So far it's not too bad, and we all start moving in to separate them.

Then the owner of those yappers, Assface, does the thing you just don't do: he picked up and restrained my dog. My dog, the peaceful one, the one who didn't start this fight and never so much as snaps at any person or dog unless extremely provoked. He held her front paws up, exposing her soft underbelly. Thank God, his hideous little yappers didn't savage her belly, but one did get a good shot in on her ear. She now has two nicks, one on each side of her left ear. There was a bit of blood (though not nearly as much as when Ex's cat sliced it open back when she was but a Puppy). Father and I cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide and water, then applied antibiotic ointment. Poor Dog. I'm not upset much about the actual bite, but I am quite irked that Assface grabbed my dog and held her while his stupid little vicious lap dog snarled and snapped at her. She's a very gentle creature, so she didn't, thankfully, twist and rip open Assface's hand as he held her.

Who knows? Maybe it's all for the best. Maybe if he hadn't stupidly grabbed Dog, she would have seriously mauled his terrier. I'm just steamed about his serious transgression of dog owner etiquette.

No class tonight --- I have an online assignment to turn in for Math Methods by next week, as well as another two-page reflection.

Spooky came over. She was supposed to spend the night, but once again her health prevented her (she failed to bring a special pillow she uses while she sleeps). It's always something...

Voices have been scattered by the swirling winds of time

If you waste your time a-talkin' to the people who don't listen
To the things that you are sayin' who do you think's gonna hear?
And if you should die explainin' how the things that they complain about
Are things they could be changin', who do you think's gonna care?
--- Kris Kristofferson, "To Beat the Devil"

After working my ass off writing up the five-page Science Methods lesson plan on birds suggested to me by Ms. P at our conference on the 28th of February, she tells me after class today that she was under the impression I was doing some other topic, and someone in my group is doing the exact same thing! So now I have to do something else! What a freaking pain in my goddam ass! I worked hard on that thing, all for nothing. And not only did Ms. C and I discuss that I was going to do this topic (a discussion she apparently promptly forgot), all of us students were long ago given a list of all the projects out group was going to do, and no one said at any point that they were doing the goddam birds! Holy Shiva and hopping Krishna on a stick! And now I have to meet Ms. P at her office again tomorrow after school! [Insert long list of vulgar expletives]

*pant pant*

Anyway, after class tonight I swung by Spooky's. (Babbydaddy was with his paramour who lives next door. Yes, I'm aware of the weirdness.] We hung out for a while, watching TV and talking. As usual, she was worrying about her rocky relations with Babydaddy. Speaking of whom, he and Baby were supposed to be out of town all this week, but as with so much else in Spooky's chaotic life, something always seems to come up, and they haven't gone. First they were leaving Monday, then today, now tomorrow. I'm sure they won't ever take their trip. I probably shouldn't have gone over there tonight --- it's now late and I have work tomorrow.

Still, the good news is that apparently not only does my Math Methods class not meet tomorrow, the lesson plan that was supposed to be turned in via email by this Friday has been postponed, so we only have two assignments due next Wednesday.

Assorted titbits

(Yes, I prefer the variant.)

***

MA recommended this video, but to me, it's not nearly as funny as "Lazy Sunday."

***

Thanks largely to Father's training, walking Dog is nowadays a much more enjoyable experience. I can walk her off the leash and not be pulled around. She runs happily and then stops at curbs. I was very proud of her today when there was another dog across the road and she didn't cross to play with it. She even restrains herself when her all-time favorite things in the world --- squirrels --- are on the other side. My, how she loves to chase and tree squirrels.

***

Driving with my mom. My Green Day mix is in the stereo and "Basket Case" starts to play. "Do you have the time to listen to me whine?" Billie Joe begins. My mother is puzzled. "Why should I give him a dime just to listen to him whine?" she asks. "He ought to pay me, since it's probably not going to be pleasant."

***

Things that bother me about Spooky besides the talking too much and the melodrama... She is a procrastinator. Case in point, her car has been broken for almost a month now. To get a new car, all she would have to do is make her way to the lot and get it (the loans are approved, she knows what kind, it's all set). But somehow, there's always something --- Baby sick, Babydaddy sick, no sitter for Baby, lost cat --- and it doesn't get done. This doesn't just apply to the car, though I do grow tired of driving her around. There are plenty of things that just don't get done. Unless it's about her or her family's health, she doesn't care. And sometimes that's detrimental to herself.

But she lives with pain, and she's got a kid with some problems, and she's flying me to New York and paying for a nice hotel. And she's smart and pretty funny and into me and cares what I think and we're physically compatible. So what the hey.

Ah... a warm wet rag

You can piss up a rope
And you can put on your shoes, hit the road get truckin’
Pack your bag, I don’t need the ag'
On your knees you big booty bitch, start suckin’
--- Ween, "Piss Up a Rope"

Post-posting thoughts of my nerdlist from yesterday:

Maybe Hellblazer should be considered superhero. No, it shouldn't. Yes, it should. They had Swamp Thing in there and everything. Well, let's just say that when it is more or less superhero in genre, it doesn't make the quality cut, and when it makes the quality cut, it isn't superhero.

What about League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen? If that counts as superhero (and I don't see why not), then it should definitely bump one of the lower five off the list.

And Secret Wars II --- how could I forget that? Possibly the greatest superhero comic of all time. ALL TIME!

***

Went to the Triviabar to, naturally, play trivia. With Father out of state for a few days, I drove Mother to the place. I greeted my Science Methods classmate and pal T, as well as W (a nodding if friendly acquaintance, with only this bizarre night between us for social interaction).

Spooky took the bus to meet us, and Friar showed up as well. So Spooky met my mom. They got along pretty well, considering what an anti-social loon my mother is. Our team won. Not that I care too much; I only go to trivia as a favor to my mom. Left to my own devices, I'd much more happily stay home and read or putz around on the computer.

I took Spooky back to my place, and we had a lot of fun, but I had to drop her back home around midnight. She said she asked Babydaddy to move out. I'm glad, but I told her I hoped she didn't do it for me. She needs someone to take care of her. I may be that person, but I just as likely may not. I've told her that although I'm happy and I like her a lot, I'm too old to make silly promises that I know I can't live up to. I've seen to much not to know that in relationships, people change, and not always for the better.

Anyway: happy, tired. Work tomorrow.

Next week, Spooky and I are flying to New York for the weekend. Oh, we're a couple, all right.

They want to charge your soul

You try to tell them what you think they want to hear
But they're getting much harder to please
'Cos it's all the same if they create a state of fear
Then the cure is just like the disease
--- Blood Or Whiskey, "Paranoid State"

My brother sent me two belated birthday gifts: the first volume of the complete Peanuts (terrific stuff) and Actual Miles: Don Henley's Greatest Hits. Yes, I had actually requested this latter item. I might have to turn in my cool music geek badge now. How can someone be a fan of the literate and/or punk cred stylings of Bob Dylan, the Ramones, Tom Waits, Rancid, Leonard Cohen, Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, etc., and yet still want to listen to Don Freakin' Henley's radio-friendly pabulum? How??! Well, "End Of the Innocence" is a good song.

File under nerdy stuff: I thought I'd make a list of the top ten superhero comics Of All Time! or something. In order greatest to least, with a wide quality gap duly noted between the top four and the others:

1. Watchmen, Alan Moore
2. The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller
3. Animal Man, Grant Morrison
4. The Spirit, Will Eisner
   
5. 1602, Neil Gaiman
   
6. Supreme Power, J. Michael Stracynski
7. Arkham Asylum, Grant Morrison
   
8. JLA: A League Of One, Christopher Moeller
9. The Ultimates, Mark Millar [I feel dirty just writing that]
   
10. Catwoman, Ed Brubaker
    

Honorable Mention: Daredevil: Born Again, Frank Miller; Marvel Team-Up, Ron Kirkman; Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, Dan Slott; She-Hulk, Dan Slott; Alias, Brian Michael Bendis; Astro City, Kurt Busiek. I don't count Sandman, Hellblazer or Lucifer as superhero.

***

Back in the real life world, I took Spooky's Baby to the pediatrician this morning. She was quite sick all night long. When I carried her to my car, I felt the heat her feverish skin was radiating. Turns out she had strep.

Oh yeah. A few days ago at H Elementary I talked to a couple of my fellow Classroom Management students. I was fretting a bit because of the 86% I got on the test, but one girl got a 76% and the other one a 70%. That made me feel better. Schadenfreude.