SeekingSolace[dot]Net

Okay, so I’ve written this post once already. But my dad’s scrollmouse is WAY RETARDED and instead of scrolling up the page, it went back a page and deleted everything I wrote. And it was relatively huge. I’m going to try and recreate it, but I can’t promise the same zest and/or vigor as in the original.

I realized as I was using my dad’s computer that if you are running Internet Explorer, you might not realize that there are a bunch of links and archives and stuff in the right-hand column of this site. Apparently, IE pushes it out of the way, down to the bottom. If you have to scroll to the bottom to see my links or my photobadge from Flickr, you need to switch to Firefox. It’s a brilliant browser, trust me (and you don’t have to mount the program in Mac anymore like you used to!).

Being home for longer than 14 hours is weird. I took Friday off of school and decided to come home Thursday night and stay until Saturday morning, because my cousin Jared is in town. He just finished his Master’s at Manchester and stopped in Chicago for the week on his way home to Arizona. I have to admit, I’m really rather jealous. I mean, at this rate, I’d be 29 before I got my Master’s if I went for it right after I graduated. And I really need to start teaching if I’m ever going to retire. Jared’s going to take a year off to work and to apply to post-grad programs for his Ph.D. If that goes according to plan, he will have his Ph.D. the year after I have my B.S. in Theatre Education (with a minor in History Education). He’s also a year younger than me. Talk about depressing. I could feasibly get my Master’s while I teach, but I’m pretty convinced that trying to do that in the first year or two of teaching (which will be stressful enough) could conceivably kill me.

Speaking of teaching, I did my first observations at Normal Community High School this week and after getting over the initial anxiety, it was pretty phenomenal and I can’t wait to start teaching. I really do think this is my calling. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of teacher I become.

Also, my great-uncle Bob might take me to China sometime in the relatively near future. Apparently he’s been before with my great-aunt Mary, and she hated it, but he loved it. We got talking about China at lunch today and he said he thinks he’s got about 170,000 frequent flyer miles stashed up. Later, as we were about to leave, he said, “You know, I’m half-serious about this China thing. I might not be able to move as quickly as I did 20 years ago, but I would really love to go back.” I told him to sign me up. How bad-ass would that be? And I love my Uncle Bob, he’s a former educator, very personable, and just an all-around great guy.

How’s that for an update (TWICE, even!), you selfish bastards?

Also, here are the lyrics to a song I heard for the first time tonight and I think I may have never heard a song whose lyrics fit me so well. I’m not sure if they’re exactly right (you can never trust lyrics sites and his official website doesn’t have lyrics), but I’m too lazy right now to go out and get my iPod to double-check them [EDIT: I checked now, and I made a change or two, but I'm pretty sure this is accurate.].

Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk by Rufus Wainwright

Cigarettes and chocolate milk
These are just a couple of my cravings
Everything it seems I like’s a little bit stronger
A little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me

If I should buy jellybeans
Have to eat them all in just one sitting
Everything it seems I like’s a little bit sweeter
A little bit fatter, a little bit harmful for me

And then there’s those other things
Which for several reasons we won’t mention
Everything about them is a little bit stranger, a little bit harder
A little bit deadly

It isn’t very smart
Tends to make one part
So broken-hearted

Sitting here remembering me
Always been a shoe made for the city
Go ahead accuse me of just singing about places
Where scrappy boy’s faces have general run of the town

Playing with prodigal sons
Takes a lot of sentimental valiums
Can’t expect the world to be your Raggedy Andy
While running on empty, you little old doll with a frown

You got to keep in the game
Maintaining mystique while facing forward
I suggest a reading of “A Lesson In Tightropes”
Or “Surfing Your High Hopes” or “Adios Kansas”

It isn’t very smart
Tends to make one part
So broken-hearted

Still there’s not a show on my back
Holes are a friendly intervention
I’m just a little bit heiress, a little bit Irish
A little bit Tower of Pisa
Whenever I see ya
So please be kind if I’m a mess

Cigarettes and chocolate milk
Cigarettes and chocolate milk