Have I mentioned that I love my job? Well, I do. This was the last week of school which is also fun because it's the drama time. Everyone gets so emotional about saying goodbye and leaving school - I love it! I got to read names this year at graduation. I love to do this because I look at each kid as I say his/her name and smile at them. If I've had them, I pat them on the shoulder or smile tenderly at them. I thought for sure I would get emotional about some of my geometry kids. I love that bunch and they work so hard. I develop such a fun relationship with that group, but I didn't cry while saying their names. No, it was the two boys who caused me the most pain and difficulties last year that made me get choked up. I looked into their faces and realized that despite all of the pain and difficulties in their lives, they had actually passed eighth grade. Maybe because the challenge for them was greater so the success was more sweet or maybe because I hoped that my class was a chance for them to see kindness and love, but whatever the reason, these boys made me tear up.
My favorite moment of graduation was after all the names were read. Our principal thanked Dee Brundage, a teacher who is retiring this year, for her service to our kids. She is the only 7th grade science teacher on our campus so she has had every student. After the principal said this, about 1/4 of the students instantly stood up and cheered for her. The standing ovation quickly spread to the entire graduating class and lasted for over a minute. I thought, "Now this is a testament to a great teacher." Each student loved her so much. She really was the nicest teacher on campus...and now that she's gone...it's my chance to steal the throne. Bwaa haa haa!
This year I received many letters and notes of thanks. I even received flowers from several kids (my favorite kind of gift!). I thought I would immortalize some of the nice things my kids have written to or about me (directly quoted with spelling and punctuation):
1) I couldn't ask for a better teacher! (cos' there is none!) :) I can say that you are my most favorite teacher! :) You have alot to offer, and I love how your so happy all of the time! Thank you for everything.
2) How could I live without MATH?
3) One teacher deserves an apple, but Ms. Dempsey deserves the whole tree. Best teacher, Ms. Dempsey is her name! She's my geometry teacher and an awesome math wizard. She's awesome, crazy, smart, nerdy, pretty, cool, weird, outgoing, creative, stylish etc. She's the best! Every day, she has a simle on and always cheers everyone up in her class. She's a twilight freak and loves Hish School Musical. She even makes a math lesson fun! How? Well, one interesting way is she imitates a foreign accent to get our attention. Another way is making boring math formulas into happy songs. That's very creative and makes the classroom a very fun place to be in. I love Ms. Dempsey. On thing that surprised me is that she isn't married! She's wonderful to be with and extremely smart! I have never had a teacher like this and I wish I would meet more teachers like her! I can express my feelings to Ms. Dempsey and I trust her. She is a MAJOR NERD; which is awesome! She loves using expo markers of every color. She has good taste in music and loves singing. She's an excellent singer, even though she rarely sings in class. She takes time in her lessons because she cares about her student's education. Everyone loves her and she loves everyone that loves her. She will always be there for her students. That is what makes her the teacher to write about.
Can you believe that last one? I should have this girl write an ad for me! I especially love that I am stylish, have good taste in music, and she is surprised I'm not married. So funny.
Well, for one who's love language is verbal praise, this is certainly an encouraging time of year. I love my job (have I mentioned that before?).
Friday, June 19, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
My Summer To Do List
I love lists and I love summer. So what better to do than make a list about my summer plans?
Here are my goals for this summer:
1) Go to Kenneth and Tammy's wedding.
2) Turn thirty.
3) Go to Hoboken, New Jersey. Why, you ask? Why not, I say! It's cheap.
4) Sleep in... a lot!
5) Read a book or two.
6) Play with Madison and Michael and Natalie.
7) Clean out my garage. This is quite a task. Somehow my garage has exploded a little bit at a time. I have half empty storage boxes and stuff from the bathroom project at church all over. And somehow I squeeze my car in. What a relief it will be to have it clean!
8) I want to buy myself something from Tiffany's. This is a ridiculous expenditure. Do I need diamonds? No! Pearls?No. Something pretty that comes in a little blue box?...no? Yeah, I can maybe be convinced that spending money that could feed starving children is worth it. It's a pretty, blue box!
9) Go to Stanton Park. Now that I've finally found the entrance (it took my three years of curiosity to find it), I have to go. It looks so pretty.
10) Play Uno with my grandma once a week. Or any other card games. My grandma loves games and she consistently wins while seeming to not understand how to play. I especially love to play Oh,Nuts! with her. She's so good and gets way into it.
11) Go to Vegas to visit Dana's sister and see the Cirque de Solei : Love. It's crazy French circus performers doing crazy French circus performances to Beatles music. That's what I call awesome!
12) I want to learn how to cook something cool. I don't know what yet, but it will be impressive, probably made with lots of sugar, and expensive. If you're lucky, I'll let you try it.
13) Teach VBS. In person! I was out of town for our church's vacation Bible school last year and had to record my lessons. Recording was fun, but it will be more fun live.
14) I will be in town for Natalie's birthday!! I was in Switzerland when Natalie was born and Uganda for her first birthday. As exotic as that sounds, I'm really very sad that I wasn't there for those two important days. I'm going to spoil her rotten that day (shocking, I know!).
15) 4th of July picnic!! The best picnic of the year. We have games and sing songs and have the yearly egg toss that always ends well.
16) Celebrate Bastille day...and my mom's birthday...simultaneously.
So there's my jam packed summer :)
Here are my goals for this summer:
1) Go to Kenneth and Tammy's wedding.
2) Turn thirty.
3) Go to Hoboken, New Jersey. Why, you ask? Why not, I say! It's cheap.
4) Sleep in... a lot!
5) Read a book or two.
6) Play with Madison and Michael and Natalie.
7) Clean out my garage. This is quite a task. Somehow my garage has exploded a little bit at a time. I have half empty storage boxes and stuff from the bathroom project at church all over. And somehow I squeeze my car in. What a relief it will be to have it clean!
8) I want to buy myself something from Tiffany's. This is a ridiculous expenditure. Do I need diamonds? No! Pearls?No. Something pretty that comes in a little blue box?...no? Yeah, I can maybe be convinced that spending money that could feed starving children is worth it. It's a pretty, blue box!
9) Go to Stanton Park. Now that I've finally found the entrance (it took my three years of curiosity to find it), I have to go. It looks so pretty.
10) Play Uno with my grandma once a week. Or any other card games. My grandma loves games and she consistently wins while seeming to not understand how to play. I especially love to play Oh,Nuts! with her. She's so good and gets way into it.
11) Go to Vegas to visit Dana's sister and see the Cirque de Solei : Love. It's crazy French circus performers doing crazy French circus performances to Beatles music. That's what I call awesome!
12) I want to learn how to cook something cool. I don't know what yet, but it will be impressive, probably made with lots of sugar, and expensive. If you're lucky, I'll let you try it.
13) Teach VBS. In person! I was out of town for our church's vacation Bible school last year and had to record my lessons. Recording was fun, but it will be more fun live.
14) I will be in town for Natalie's birthday!! I was in Switzerland when Natalie was born and Uganda for her first birthday. As exotic as that sounds, I'm really very sad that I wasn't there for those two important days. I'm going to spoil her rotten that day (shocking, I know!).
15) 4th of July picnic!! The best picnic of the year. We have games and sing songs and have the yearly egg toss that always ends well.
16) Celebrate Bastille day...and my mom's birthday...simultaneously.
So there's my jam packed summer :)
Friday, June 5, 2009
Building my BBQ
Growing up, my cousins received a lot of Legos. We would play legos all the time. My favorite was when they would get a brand new lego set and we played "Lego school". Of course, I made them play school because I was the overbearing, teacher obsessed older cousin. Each level of the Lego construction was considered a grade and we would complete each level together.
Little did I know how helpful those strange diagrams with no words would be. Today I finally purchased the propane gas tank for my mini BBQ my parents bought for me two Christmas' ago. I invited my friend Dana over for steaks (which I haven't made since I moved out) and opened the BBQ to get started.
Out poured this large series of baggies and metal pieces, complete with a novel sized instruction manuel. I wasn't prepared for construction, but I followed along each step carefully and just like Lego school, I graduated from each step to the next. It only took me about twenty minutes to put together and I was pretty proud.
I then preheated the stove, didn't blow anything up, and even cooked some pretty good steaks. I'm excited to start BBQing again. The one problem is that this makes me even more anxious for summer as I dream of what I will BBQ next: perhaps bananas with chocolate chips inside...
Little did I know how helpful those strange diagrams with no words would be. Today I finally purchased the propane gas tank for my mini BBQ my parents bought for me two Christmas' ago. I invited my friend Dana over for steaks (which I haven't made since I moved out) and opened the BBQ to get started.
Out poured this large series of baggies and metal pieces, complete with a novel sized instruction manuel. I wasn't prepared for construction, but I followed along each step carefully and just like Lego school, I graduated from each step to the next. It only took me about twenty minutes to put together and I was pretty proud.
I then preheated the stove, didn't blow anything up, and even cooked some pretty good steaks. I'm excited to start BBQing again. The one problem is that this makes me even more anxious for summer as I dream of what I will BBQ next: perhaps bananas with chocolate chips inside...
Saturday, May 23, 2009
My summer reading list
Every summer I decide to read a lot of different books. I usually start many of them and finish the easy ones. Here is a partial list for this summer:
1) David Copperfield (It's my summer classic...it was my summer classic from a few summers ago. I finally got past the first chapter)
2) The Percy Jackson series - it's a series of books that mixes a little bit of Harry Potter with Greek mythology.
3) Conspiracy in Kiev - a suspense novel
4) Something Borrowed - no comment
5) Miss Match - see above
6) Things Not Seen - a junior novel about a kid who just turns invisible one day.
7) Gone with the Wind - a perennial on my list because I once did a book report on it with out actually reading it and I've felt guilty ever since. One day I will finish it.
8) Midnight in Madrid - the sequel to Conspiracy in Kiev
9) Broken Angel - a loan from my dad
10) Turning the Paige - a sequel to another CCRN I read this year.
11) The Secret Life of Bees - on loan from Hannah
12) Breakfast at Tiffany's - ibid
13) Sovay - a robin hood story only with a girl
14) Life of Pi - on loan from Jane
15) The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
16) Idols of the Heart - a great book so far about how we make other things gods in our lives
17) The Land - the is the sequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry and the book that my students read for Academic Pentathlon.
18) Just Jane - a first-person telling of a Jane Austen pseudo-autobiography.
19) The Invisible Wall - Shannon Vincent loaned it to me and it will be depressing. I think I'll surround this one with very fluffy books.
20) Against All Odds - the heroes of Quantico series: FBI agents, romance, the ultimate in Cheesy Christian Romance Novels.
I've got a lot of reading to do. I bet that I'll not read half of them and then find some new series that I devour instead. I love summer reading!
1) David Copperfield (It's my summer classic...it was my summer classic from a few summers ago. I finally got past the first chapter)
2) The Percy Jackson series - it's a series of books that mixes a little bit of Harry Potter with Greek mythology.
3) Conspiracy in Kiev - a suspense novel
4) Something Borrowed - no comment
5) Miss Match - see above
6) Things Not Seen - a junior novel about a kid who just turns invisible one day.
7) Gone with the Wind - a perennial on my list because I once did a book report on it with out actually reading it and I've felt guilty ever since. One day I will finish it.
8) Midnight in Madrid - the sequel to Conspiracy in Kiev
9) Broken Angel - a loan from my dad
10) Turning the Paige - a sequel to another CCRN I read this year.
11) The Secret Life of Bees - on loan from Hannah
12) Breakfast at Tiffany's - ibid
13) Sovay - a robin hood story only with a girl
14) Life of Pi - on loan from Jane
15) The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
16) Idols of the Heart - a great book so far about how we make other things gods in our lives
17) The Land - the is the sequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry and the book that my students read for Academic Pentathlon.
18) Just Jane - a first-person telling of a Jane Austen pseudo-autobiography.
19) The Invisible Wall - Shannon Vincent loaned it to me and it will be depressing. I think I'll surround this one with very fluffy books.
20) Against All Odds - the heroes of Quantico series: FBI agents, romance, the ultimate in Cheesy Christian Romance Novels.
I've got a lot of reading to do. I bet that I'll not read half of them and then find some new series that I devour instead. I love summer reading!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Bibliophilia: the first step is admitting you have a problem.
I've come to the realization that I have an addiction. It's not to a controlled substance, but to books. I've always had a love for books, but it was only today, after reading led me to a trip to the doctor's, that I realized it is a problem. Here is a checklist to help screen other possible addicts. Let me know where you fall.
1) You have books in every room of the house including closets.
2) When you move, books take up the most space.
3) You sacrifice closet space, coveted under bed storage, and floor space to store your books and you still have piles.
4) The thought of a library causes you a special thrill.
5) You have read a book at stop lights while driving.
6) You have a special spot in the library or bookstore where you feel happiest.
7) You keep several books next to your bed of different types so you can read what best suits your mood at the time.
8) There are several books that you have favorite chapters and can turn to those favorite spots in a matter of moments if you just need a quick fix.
9) While watching a movie based on one of your favorite books, you like to keep a copy of the book nearby to check for correlative compatibility.
10) You have a credit card that allows you to get discounts on your books.
11) While at the bookstore, you make recommendations to strangers.
12) People have mistakenly assumed you worked at said bookstore and have asked you for help...and you didn't deny it and helped them anyway.
13) You like the smell of books and can tell the difference between an old book and a new one by smell alone.
14) You own multiple copies of the same book, just because you like it so much.
15) You feel compelled to buy a book every time you enter a bookstore.
16) You have the floor plan of a bookstore memorized and have route within it.
17) Despite warnings from your father's best friend all growing up, you read in the dark.
18) You often have fallen asleep with a book.
19) You have often had to look for a book lost in the covers the next morning.
20) Reading so much impaired your vision.
21) Reading with your contacts caused your eye to start twitching and forced you to see the eye doctor and have her tell you to read without your contacts.
22) You almost cried because you were afraid she was going to tell you to read less.
23) You bring a book with you wherever you go.
24) You feed your addiction while trying to get others to join in...first one's free, kid.
25) You've written a blog about your addiction to books.
So total your score and multiply by 4. Can you guess what mine was?
1) You have books in every room of the house including closets.
2) When you move, books take up the most space.
3) You sacrifice closet space, coveted under bed storage, and floor space to store your books and you still have piles.
4) The thought of a library causes you a special thrill.
5) You have read a book at stop lights while driving.
6) You have a special spot in the library or bookstore where you feel happiest.
7) You keep several books next to your bed of different types so you can read what best suits your mood at the time.
8) There are several books that you have favorite chapters and can turn to those favorite spots in a matter of moments if you just need a quick fix.
9) While watching a movie based on one of your favorite books, you like to keep a copy of the book nearby to check for correlative compatibility.
10) You have a credit card that allows you to get discounts on your books.
11) While at the bookstore, you make recommendations to strangers.
12) People have mistakenly assumed you worked at said bookstore and have asked you for help...and you didn't deny it and helped them anyway.
13) You like the smell of books and can tell the difference between an old book and a new one by smell alone.
14) You own multiple copies of the same book, just because you like it so much.
15) You feel compelled to buy a book every time you enter a bookstore.
16) You have the floor plan of a bookstore memorized and have route within it.
17) Despite warnings from your father's best friend all growing up, you read in the dark.
18) You often have fallen asleep with a book.
19) You have often had to look for a book lost in the covers the next morning.
20) Reading so much impaired your vision.
21) Reading with your contacts caused your eye to start twitching and forced you to see the eye doctor and have her tell you to read without your contacts.
22) You almost cried because you were afraid she was going to tell you to read less.
23) You bring a book with you wherever you go.
24) You feed your addiction while trying to get others to join in...first one's free, kid.
25) You've written a blog about your addiction to books.
So total your score and multiply by 4. Can you guess what mine was?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Clubbing it
I am a sucker. I know this. If you don't know this, ask me for a favor or invite me somewhere that is important to you and see how much of a sucker I am. Now, if you are a child then there is no hope for me.
Two of my former students invited me to a concert their band was performing in. I bought a ticket under the premise that several other teachers were going. Their band is a scream metal band with a name that I don't want to repeat here because it offends me. By the day of the concert only one other teacher and I were left standing and willing to go.
Jeri and I carpooled to the club (my first trip to a club ever...I might have been in one in Europe...) and had a great time talking along the way. We neared the club and certainly felt in the rock element. Picture Tijuana, then add several car repair shops with tires lining the front of the spray painted signs. Now between an "adult" shop and a skate board shop in a brick building with smokers puffing away out front is an under-18 club. This was our destination.
"We don't stick out at all," Jeri whispered as we neared the door. I had to turn off the urge to direct and advise every kid we saw. The room for the concert was a fair size and the stage was just being set up for our kids. Several students were in the audience and some were embarrassed to have us there, but most were excited that we would come.
"Why don't they have any chairs?" Jeri asked.
"For the mosh pit," I replied. I don't know if she heard me or understood, but she soon would.
I passed out the earplugs and our kids started playing. They actually were not that bad. I was most impressed with their ability to play and simultaneously head-bang. They had some really good guitar riffs and the bass player kept a good rhythm. Their drummer certainly had talent. I could not make any sense of their "singer". I feel like I have a generous appreciation of music. I can appreciate music that I don't enjoy and see the difficulties in things that I wouldn't really want to listen to. I don't get the screaming.
I could only distinguish a few words in every song and it was mostly one that begins with 'f'. For the most part it reminded me of Wakko Warner from Animaniacs. Animaniacs was a great cartoon on the WB that had two Warner bros. and their sister, Dot. Wakko would often do weird things including burping classical pieces. He would belch out instrumental songs while wearing a tux and taking a break to drink carbonated soda. This is EXACTLY what it sounded like.
There were moments where I would look around and my heart would break at the choices some kids were making. I seriously considered counseling two girls in short jean shorts, torn t-shirts worn off one shoulder and 4 inch heels. My heart broke for them, "There's more to life and love than what you think!" I wanted to scream.
I held it all in and made it through the set with my poor hearing well preserved. The boys were so excited that their teachers made the effort to show their support and it was neat to see them put so much effort into something positive.
As I was introduced to the band, the drummer said the f-word and my student looked at me. I didn't reprimand, because he wasn't mine. But then my student said, "That's right we're not in school, I can saw whatever the 'f' I want." I gave him my teacher look and said, "Do you think that means anything?" He didn't swear again at me.
The boys were so happy and I was glad to see them in their element. I know it was certainly their element and not mine, but then again, maybe I've always been the awkward adult among a crowd of kids...
Two of my former students invited me to a concert their band was performing in. I bought a ticket under the premise that several other teachers were going. Their band is a scream metal band with a name that I don't want to repeat here because it offends me. By the day of the concert only one other teacher and I were left standing and willing to go.
Jeri and I carpooled to the club (my first trip to a club ever...I might have been in one in Europe...) and had a great time talking along the way. We neared the club and certainly felt in the rock element. Picture Tijuana, then add several car repair shops with tires lining the front of the spray painted signs. Now between an "adult" shop and a skate board shop in a brick building with smokers puffing away out front is an under-18 club. This was our destination.
"We don't stick out at all," Jeri whispered as we neared the door. I had to turn off the urge to direct and advise every kid we saw. The room for the concert was a fair size and the stage was just being set up for our kids. Several students were in the audience and some were embarrassed to have us there, but most were excited that we would come.
"Why don't they have any chairs?" Jeri asked.
"For the mosh pit," I replied. I don't know if she heard me or understood, but she soon would.
I passed out the earplugs and our kids started playing. They actually were not that bad. I was most impressed with their ability to play and simultaneously head-bang. They had some really good guitar riffs and the bass player kept a good rhythm. Their drummer certainly had talent. I could not make any sense of their "singer". I feel like I have a generous appreciation of music. I can appreciate music that I don't enjoy and see the difficulties in things that I wouldn't really want to listen to. I don't get the screaming.
I could only distinguish a few words in every song and it was mostly one that begins with 'f'. For the most part it reminded me of Wakko Warner from Animaniacs. Animaniacs was a great cartoon on the WB that had two Warner bros. and their sister, Dot. Wakko would often do weird things including burping classical pieces. He would belch out instrumental songs while wearing a tux and taking a break to drink carbonated soda. This is EXACTLY what it sounded like.
There were moments where I would look around and my heart would break at the choices some kids were making. I seriously considered counseling two girls in short jean shorts, torn t-shirts worn off one shoulder and 4 inch heels. My heart broke for them, "There's more to life and love than what you think!" I wanted to scream.
I held it all in and made it through the set with my poor hearing well preserved. The boys were so excited that their teachers made the effort to show their support and it was neat to see them put so much effort into something positive.
As I was introduced to the band, the drummer said the f-word and my student looked at me. I didn't reprimand, because he wasn't mine. But then my student said, "That's right we're not in school, I can saw whatever the 'f' I want." I gave him my teacher look and said, "Do you think that means anything?" He didn't swear again at me.
The boys were so happy and I was glad to see them in their element. I know it was certainly their element and not mine, but then again, maybe I've always been the awkward adult among a crowd of kids...
Monday, April 13, 2009
More strange things about me and Julie
I love spy stuff. I love spy movies and tv shows and the spy museum in D.C. If it didn't involve lying and guns, I'd totally be spy. So it makes sense that I would love the show, Chuck. I didn't start watching until the second season was started, so I had to netflix the first season and get caught up. Julie and I both just loved it. The hilarious comedic timing, the nerdiness of many of the characters, and the good natured attitudes of the 'good guys' really made me excited to watch it.
Julie bought the first season on DVD so that we could watch it again and as we were finishing up an episode I had an epiphany, "Julie, we are Chuck and Morgan!" "No!" She replied. "Think about it, we're best friends who know everything about each other. We are total nerds like they are, but in a Jane Austen kind of way" [although we do like out share of Sci-Fi and we laugh at all of the nerd references...] "Seriously, we can quote every line from every Jane Austen film and from most classic musicals and if you had a fake spy boyfriend, he would come to our Halloween party dressed as Mr. Darcy and we would both drool over him."
She laughed and then we had to make the difficult decision, who was Chuck and who was Morgan? Neither of us really want to be Morgan. Julie has imdb in her head. She can recall any movie someone has been in just by seeing their name in the credits. It's like have a flash from the intersect. I have a ridiculously busy schedule that sometimes makes my friends and relatives frustrated because I am not always available when needed, just like Chuck. Neither of us was betrayed by our college roommate (we were each other's roommate). We couldn't decide so we are calling ourselves Muck and Chorgan. It just seemed fair.
Also on the strange roommate front, Julie and I went kayaking this last week. It didn't end in death or dismemberment, but it was pretty close. We borrowed Uncle Dal's kayaks and went from the Balboa bay to the bouey at the mouth of the bay. This is our usual route and it was a perfect day for it. The sun was shining and the water wasn't crowded at all.
As we neared the mouth of the bay and started entering the ocean, the wind picked up and the waves started white capping. "Is it a little rough out here?" Julie asked.
"No, we'll be fine. It's not that bad," I replied in my snobbish confidence I have whenever I talk about the ocean.
"So I'm not going to capsize?"
"No, just keep your boat perpendicular to the waves and you'll be fine."
A wave came and splashed over Julie, covering her with water. We both laughed over it and hoped that she would dry by the time we got back. We turned toward the bouey, angling our boats a little awkwardly. Julie turned to say something to me and suddenly she was flipped around, upside down.
I hate to admit that my first thought was, Can she breathe? but then I instantly thought, I don't want to jump in and get wet!
Julie swam to my kayak and I paddled her back to hers. I flipped it over and rescued her sweater. I then wedged Julie in between my kayak and hers. She pushed on the inner sides of my kayak and hers while I balanced it out by pressing on the outer edges of each. She pulled herself in and miraculously we were successful on our first try without so much as a splash. I was able to rescue one of her flip flops and we paddled back slowly to the bay.
I was impressed with our ability to remain calm and to get back in the boat. God certainly was helping us because I had no idea what I was doing. We had a pathetic walk of shame back to the beach house barefoot and dripping wet, Julie more so than I. We also had some good laughs about how lightly we took the warnings of others that morning about being careful and getting wet.
Later Uncle Dal commented on how the wind looked pretty strong and he wasn't sure if he would have gone out to the ocean in such conditions. Despite the harrowing experience, it was actually a lovely day. I was reminded of my constant admonition from my father every time we surfed together, "Be afraid of the ocean." It may be beautiful and a wonderful and relaxing place to play, but you should never lose your fear of its power and strength.
I'll let you know when Muck and Chorgan strike again.
Julie bought the first season on DVD so that we could watch it again and as we were finishing up an episode I had an epiphany, "Julie, we are Chuck and Morgan!" "No!" She replied. "Think about it, we're best friends who know everything about each other. We are total nerds like they are, but in a Jane Austen kind of way" [although we do like out share of Sci-Fi and we laugh at all of the nerd references...] "Seriously, we can quote every line from every Jane Austen film and from most classic musicals and if you had a fake spy boyfriend, he would come to our Halloween party dressed as Mr. Darcy and we would both drool over him."
She laughed and then we had to make the difficult decision, who was Chuck and who was Morgan? Neither of us really want to be Morgan. Julie has imdb in her head. She can recall any movie someone has been in just by seeing their name in the credits. It's like have a flash from the intersect. I have a ridiculously busy schedule that sometimes makes my friends and relatives frustrated because I am not always available when needed, just like Chuck. Neither of us was betrayed by our college roommate (we were each other's roommate). We couldn't decide so we are calling ourselves Muck and Chorgan. It just seemed fair.
Also on the strange roommate front, Julie and I went kayaking this last week. It didn't end in death or dismemberment, but it was pretty close. We borrowed Uncle Dal's kayaks and went from the Balboa bay to the bouey at the mouth of the bay. This is our usual route and it was a perfect day for it. The sun was shining and the water wasn't crowded at all.
As we neared the mouth of the bay and started entering the ocean, the wind picked up and the waves started white capping. "Is it a little rough out here?" Julie asked.
"No, we'll be fine. It's not that bad," I replied in my snobbish confidence I have whenever I talk about the ocean.
"So I'm not going to capsize?"
"No, just keep your boat perpendicular to the waves and you'll be fine."
A wave came and splashed over Julie, covering her with water. We both laughed over it and hoped that she would dry by the time we got back. We turned toward the bouey, angling our boats a little awkwardly. Julie turned to say something to me and suddenly she was flipped around, upside down.
I hate to admit that my first thought was, Can she breathe? but then I instantly thought, I don't want to jump in and get wet!
Julie swam to my kayak and I paddled her back to hers. I flipped it over and rescued her sweater. I then wedged Julie in between my kayak and hers. She pushed on the inner sides of my kayak and hers while I balanced it out by pressing on the outer edges of each. She pulled herself in and miraculously we were successful on our first try without so much as a splash. I was able to rescue one of her flip flops and we paddled back slowly to the bay.
I was impressed with our ability to remain calm and to get back in the boat. God certainly was helping us because I had no idea what I was doing. We had a pathetic walk of shame back to the beach house barefoot and dripping wet, Julie more so than I. We also had some good laughs about how lightly we took the warnings of others that morning about being careful and getting wet.
Later Uncle Dal commented on how the wind looked pretty strong and he wasn't sure if he would have gone out to the ocean in such conditions. Despite the harrowing experience, it was actually a lovely day. I was reminded of my constant admonition from my father every time we surfed together, "Be afraid of the ocean." It may be beautiful and a wonderful and relaxing place to play, but you should never lose your fear of its power and strength.
I'll let you know when Muck and Chorgan strike again.
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