Jail or free-wheeling inbreeding

You Are 43% American

America: You don't love it or want to leave it. But you wouldn't mind giving it an extreme make over. On the 4th of July, you'll fly a freak flag instead... And give Uncle Sam a sucker punch!

Well, I guess that is interesting, considering that today as I sat in line for a half hour, not because I was in a panic, but because I needed gas to get through the rest of the week, I was wishing that I were many other places other than this wonderful country.

*sigh*

It's funny, really, how the media freaked everyone out and was partially (if not mostly) at fault for the insanity that is 3.50 a gallon in Dawsonville and Cumming and 4.00 a gallon in Atlanta.

I found myself getting more and more irate at the fifteen SUV's I saw at the gas station. I was just sneering at them. I almost had heart failure when I noticed that the man who pulled in behind me BROUGHT HIS BOAT to fill up. I suppose that he didn't want Labor Day weekend ruined. We are selfish. We consume, consume, consume. We aren't even considering our actions as we offer cheaper gas prices by letting off the standards to keep the gas quality high for the sake of the environment. I'm really appalled by all this. It makes me wish that I could just take the bus to work or something. I know it won't make a big difference, but I'll feel better.

It's also annoying that people are being so opportunistic with the whole mass panic. I remarked as I rode by the 3.29 a gallon in little bitty Murrayville tonight, "How are these owners going to sleep tonight?" I answered myself, actually with, "On very expensive sheets."

Before I begin, I would just like to let everyone know, unless you already know, in which case I am merely reminding you, that you can turn on word verification to end spam on your blog. It's annoying, but so is spam.


So what's new... hmmm...

Well, I was freaking out yesterday because my old school district hadn't sent back the work verification form that I sent them back in May. What does this mean?

Well, simply that without some type of verification of years of service, I get paid the same as an entry level teacher. While that is still significantly higher than I was paid as a third year teacher in Hart county, it isn't what I'm worth experience-wise. With payday coming tomorrow, I was freaking out. It was a couple of hundred bucks a month difference. So I worked all that out yesterday and called in this morning to make sure my new district office had received it all. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had been given a pay raise!

The way it worked in Hart co. (and in most of the state) is that after one satisfactory year of service, they bump you up to the next pay scale, i.e. I had taught for one year, but was being paid as though I had been teaching for three. Well, today I found out that since I was on a third year scale there, when I came here, they advanced me to be two years ahead on the pay schedule. This means that I am now on the 4th year of pay. I will always be 2 years ahead too, so next year, I'll be on year 5 of the pay schedule. This is SO needed right now. I am SO excited about this!

I just thought I'd share my joy. Woo hoo!

My 6:00 A.M. ritual usually consists of waking, turning on National Public Radio and getting ready. I enjoy listening to NPR because I think that it is the best conduit around for news. They don't filter everything through a conservative or liberal seive to pursuade the listener to feel one way or the other. They simply state the facts and interviews and leave the decision making up to the public. That, I love. Big props to them for fair (at least relative to the corporate supported, own agenda-following, news networks) journalism.

I've been hearing a lot about Cindy Sheehan lately. Apparently after losing her son in Iraq, she's taken to begging George Bush to end the troop occupation of said country. She wants the other mothers of troops to be spared from the pain she is feeling.

Now, while I am not fond of the current situation in the war, and I have never lost a son or daughter, I still feel that perhaps this situation is receiving way too much press. The media moguls love to take something like this and, for the sake of "human interest", make it into the biggest thing in the universe, applying hasty generalizations to it, and creating some archtypical "Fallen Soldier Mom". This really disgusts me, to be honest.

I was talking to my dad last night, and he mentioned some things that I have been thinking about the whole thing. For once we agree on political/social issues (!!!). Basically, I have to say that I agree with GWB on this point: Sheehan doesn't represent the vast majority of Soldier families.

Hearing many people who have family over there on television news, reality shows, etc, the resounding point they make is that they miss their family member, but they know it is for what they believe to be a greater good. I realize that this isn't a representation of every family, but I think the vast majority feel that way.

Unlike, say, the Vietnam War, these men and women are there by choice. Their families know this. They, even in disagreement with their child/spouse/parent's choice, still consider their family member to be a patriot.

So, I say to the media, if you would like to fairly represent the family of Iraqi stationed troops, then please show a fair cross-section. Don't just create a martyr and show his mother. She may feel strongly that she is correct, but I feel certain that there are other moms, widows, children of fallen troops who are quite proud. We should have equal coverage for both sides of that argument.

Again, I'm not actually stating my own opinion on the matter of the war, I am simply mentioning my distaste for unfair reporting.

Well, since I've been gone, I CAN'T breathe for the first time (in months).

That's right. The teacher immunity was weak and I've fallen victim to a cold of some type. I am feeling a bit better, but yesterday was difficult. I was very weak, but to be honest, unlike many jobs, teaching is easier sick than absent. I find that just being at school and doing a low-key activity is less work in the end than preparing for a sub, then doing damage control when you get back.

I'm going to take a recouperation (sp?) day on Thursday. My mom is coming up to see my grandmother, so I am going to take off that day and head down to visit. I'm rather excited about that.

Last night was interesting. We had "curriculum night" at my school. It's basically a BS dog and pony show where we talk to the parents class by class about the year to date and let them know our expectations, rules and what we will be studying. Since I was sick, Matt came down, took me to dinner and drove around so I could nap in the car before the evening meetings. He's so sweet to me! It helped immensely, and I made it through. I was completely exhausted by bedtime, but I managed. When it comes to getting well so that I can go about my daily activities, I'm pretty hardcore. I'll be running back at fullspeed after my mini-break Thursday and the long weekend.

What are the plans for youse guys this holiday weekend?

So I've been looking at graduate programs for my M Ed. I finally found one that will accept me and is accredited and rather well-thought of in the educational world. I am considering attending North Georgia College and State University. While not a generally prestigious university, I've heard very good things from my co-workers about the programs in education. I'm praying about this because it would increase my salary substantially at little cost to me.

I was also thinking about how the last two summers have just happened to include an informal gang reunion of some sort around the 4th of July. I was wondering how everyone would feel about making that a more offical thing. Maybe we could switch off each year on hosting it and all pitch in on expenses. It could be really fun. I'd be willing to head up the organizing, planning and inviting. It just makes me sad to think that eventually we all may drift apart. I don't want to see that happen.

I will leave you with the plot of my latest odd dream, for your amusement. So in my dream, Johnny Depp moved to Gainesville and decided to become a teacher. He had to observe in my class and was completely shocked that I wasn't in love with him and a glassy eyed follower. I simply informed him that a. I'm engaged and he's married (in my dream at least) b. I am a professional and c. I hated to break it to him, but he's the kind of guy I'd have been buds with in college or something, but I would not have had a crush on him. Then we became friends. How ODD is that? I NEVER even think about Johnny Depp. I'm not a huge fan, really, and I haven't seen him in anything very recently. *shrug*

I was on 99x today. :)

They were talking about tattoo horror stories and funny tattoos, so I called in and shared a story. I will now share it with you all.

Once during a post-chapel or mainstream (I forget) Huddle House run, we learned some interesting facts about one of our favorite waitresses. She is the heavy-set middle aged lady with the big glasses. Apparently she is a huge fan of Quantum Leap and a bigger fan of the star, Scott Bakula.


She was such a fan that she had a picture of good ol' Scott's face right on her chest, at the top of her cleavage. On a very fortunate night, she decided to tell us about the QL conventions she attends and SHOWED us the tattoo. It was the greatest night of any of our lives up to that point.

Thanks to Jana Garret (God bless her!) we're going to get to go see one of my favorite bands of all time, Nickel Creek, at the Fox in Atlanta... ON THE FRONT ROW! :) It's going to be a nice night of hanging out with Jana and whomever she's inviting; We'll be close enough for my former boyfriend (in my mind), Chris Thile, to bless us with his lyrics and mandolin picking while smiling down, noticing my ring and hot fiance, and regretting that he ever ended things with me (again, in my mind). Ah, I can't wait! Thank you Jana!!!



*completly different subject*

Matt and I just got back from registering at Target. If anyone who reads this gets a wild hair and decides to go check it out, please don't be alarmed that the registry is 14 pages long... We registered for EVERYTHING (i.e. lots and lots of 3.99 things like spatulas). That's why it's so long. We're not just greedy. I promise! :) It was fun. Matt got to shoot the laser gun thingy and I got to go around figuring out the best thread count to get and how many towels are necessary for a two person family to survive a one week time-frame. I think somewhere in the search, I attained enlightenment.

Working in a very affluent community may prove fairly difficult for me.

The other day at school I nearly got myself into some trouble. It all started from our discussion of Utopian society as related to our current novel study, The Giver.

The class was standing around waiting for busses when I heard one of the boys say something like, "Man, girls are stupid! They spend $400 on purses. That's like two x boxes!" It caught my attention. The girl retorted, "I have two Louis Vuittons and several Guess purses. And I like them!" They noticed I was watching and the guy asked me for my opinion, which was, of course, "Why don't you buy a purse at Target, maybe even two, then give the leftover money to the poor! That would be kind of like what we talked about today, don't you think?"

Yeah, she wasn't offended, but I apologized for sounding judgmental. She sadly mentioned that it's not her fault she has four parents who each try to win her over by buying her things. It made me rather sad.

Other than that and the one class I want to kill slowly and painfully, things are wonderful. I'm loving my school. The staff is great. The commute isn't even that bad. It makes me have to leave early enough not to be late. I so need that! Anyhow, I am constantly being reminded each day that I am a born teacher. I love it. I love the kids. I love the planning. I even will eventually love the noisy, crazy class, particularly the million-dollar-handbag toting rich kids. I'm going to make myself.

Well guys, here goes nothing... It's the first day of school with students. If you get a moment, drop God a little prayer for me. :) I'm very excited!

It's been a while since I updated:

Reading: Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge, lots of bridal magazines, The Giver (again, b/c I'm about to teach it again. Also, I picked up Matt's copy of GQ the other day and nearly read it cover-to-cover. It's got some interesting articles in it. The latest one has an article about Kirk Talley, a gospel singer who went public with his struggle of homosexuality. I appreciated the honesty and lack of bias that the article portrayed both him and the church with.

Watching: Mystery Science Theater 3000 videos (thank you Blockbuster!), The Family Guy (the new episodes suck.) I watched an FX show called Starved last night. It's a comedy about a group of people who are in an eating disorder support group together. It was vulgar, unfunny, and brought back some gritty memories I'd rather forget.

Listening to: Iron & Wine Woman King, Bjork Hyperballad, Coldplay X&Y (still not sure if I like it as much as the older stuff), Pedro the Lion's live EP.

That's all for now. :)

I would like to preface this post with two statements:

1. I'm not a raging feminist. I'm actually rather traditional.
2. I don't hate gay people.


The mystery of womanhood has baffled many men throughout history. Heck, it's baffled the very women themselves. It is a beautiful honor to be a woman. We are the bringers of beauty. We have carried all natural members of humanity inside of us until each person on planet was capable of survival outside of our bodies. We have an incredible intuition about us that says, "check on the children/husband/company, there is an issue." This doesn't happen because we know. We just "know". It is a privilege to have two x chromosomes. Men are very important in the world. I am not denying this, but there is something about being a woman that just says, "I am complicated and mysterious beyond even my own comprehension. There is beauty inside and outside of me that baffles even the most eloquent poet." Womanhood is wonderful.

With that said, I was driving to work this morning and heard on Dave FM (92.9 in Atlanta) an interesting person called 'Queen'. Queen is a gay man who reports the goings on of the Atlanta area social/entertainment/dining scene. He was hilarious and entertaining, but as he was signing off, I heard them say, "Bye, Girl!". This angered me greatly.

He is a MAN. He is not a woman. He will never have to lie on the couch doubled in pain for a whole day, nauseated, with a heating pad pressed to his abdomen because he has cramps so bad that he is unable to function. He won't be looked at as a second class citizen if he happens to be of the 'opinionated' pursuasion because 'females aren't supposed to have opinons'. He didn't get stuck in ISS during high school instead of taking three licks like his male classmates could and thus have three days of make up work to do because of a discriminatory school policy. He will NEVER have to go through 24 hours of hard back labor pains to birth a beautiful child who could some day be the social leader who evokes world peace and ends poverty.

I appreciate that he will have his own set of issues. They are not easy issues. But I am NOT happy that he can take the divine mystery that is femininity and project it onto his very male entity and answer to the title, 'girl'. He is not a girl. He will never be a girl (unless he has surgery, then he cheated :)). And I don't appreciate him (or anyone) bestowing upon himself that noble and reserved title. I am a woman. I was a girl. All the women who have been through any of the situations I mentioned (or who hope to one day) will likely agree, even if they don't really get as riled up about it as I do.

*roar*

(did you hear me, I'm woman!)

The biggest two events of the week:

1. I dyed my hair a nice red. The same shade as my hair (not darker or lighter) just a different hue. I like to call it "Donna" red (after my favorite 'That 70s' show' character. So for the next 28 shampoos, I'm Donna red.

2. Matt and I officially, officially have a house as of October 5. :) Woo hoo! I will live there (closer to my school) until December by myself. After December he'll move down and leave the seat up and leave hairs from shaving all over the sink. *sigh* Wedded bliss will be... blissful... :)


Also, go to Sara's website ( ) today and wish her a happy birthday! Tomorrow, head over to Brandy's site ( ) and wish her a happy birthday. :) Congrats on going another year without dying, girls! :)