Recap

I hate how I let things go at times. There are so many things that I wanted to blog about and didn’t. Sometimes, I did come home and try to write a post, but they’d always end up sounding trite and maudlin so I banished them to a folder in My Documents. (I recently learned the word maudlin and was dying to use it. I heard it on the Gilmore Girls and it was on the back cover of a book I was reading.)

Anyway, I finally got around to uploading some pics that I needed for some of the posts that I was planning. Here goes…

Friday May 11th was a very literary day for me. First, we had an author Ray Villarreal come visit our school. I was so excited because I’d worked really hard to get all this worked out. The kids really enjoyed it. He didn’t present to my class because we have hopes that he’ll come next year. He presented to an eighth grade class and their teacher, Ms. Hays, did a phenomenal job of preparing the kids for the visit. If you have any kids (yours or borrowed) that enjoy wrestling or just a good story, pick up a copy of My Father, the Angel of Death for them. (Insert Reading Rainbow music here.)

The other literary event going on that day was the release part for Windows Into my World, it was my debut as a published author. I went over to my sis’s right after school and had a beer to help calm the nerves. Before the reading began, I was surrounded by my friends from work. It was so nice for so many of them to come. Our faculty party was the same night quite a ways away and still, they showed up. On Monday, this bulletin board/showcase was adorned for me. An announcement was made during the morning announcements. I didn't really get to hear it though because my students began clapping midway. They all made me feel like a super star.

I was really sad at the end of this year because I wasn’t going to see my co-workers as often. Our sixth grade team is the best. One of the concerns I had when I was looking for a job was if I would find an environment like the one at Arte Público. Our production team was tight. We worked so well together because we got along really well. Luckily, that’s how it is at San Jac. Once I got past the first year nerves/fears and some of our colleagues have been replaced, our team has become a very pleasant group. I’ve learned a lot about my colleagues and have realized that some of my initial impressions were a bit erroneous.


So far, summer vacation has been going well. I know I’ve only been off for one week, but I was seriously scared about becoming depressed or whatever. I spent the first couple of days being lazy.

Monday, I got to work on cleaning the house. I did this mostly because my friend was coming to get me in the evening so that I could go with her to get some ink (a tattoo). She didn’t end up getting it because it was raining and the guy doing her tattoo couldn’t leave his house because his street flooded. We ended up having dinner at a restaurant on the Kemah Boardwalk that smelled like beef.

Tuesday I had to spend with Dan the Man because he was off. We didn’t do anything interesting. I think he ended up playing video games in the living room and I reading and wasting time on the internet.

Wednesday, I tackled the bedroom. Pancha, my old, broken down desktop pc, had still not been put away. However, to get me in the spirit of cleaning, I did some retail therapy. I bought myself a new purse and some shoes.

Thursday, I had staff development. This particular class was titled “The Best of Talking Books.” Basically, you’re given the synopsis of a book and some websites related to the themes and/or settings of the book. The best part about this is that we get free books. Ironically, everyone that was sitting or thought about sitting at the table I was at won during the first round. I got a book called Strange Happenings. So far, it’s pretty good. Because there weren’t many people there, some of us got two books. The second book I got is The Invention of Hugo Cabret. When she started talking about that book, I knew I wanted it. I couldn’t wait to get home to read it which is what I did as soon as I got home. The book was amazing. It’s about 500 pages long. However, a lot of them are illustrations. Check out the link, I think you can see the format of this book. I think it’s one of the most ingenious layouts for a book I’ve seen in a while.

Today, I went to get a haircut. Dan the Man and I usually go get haircuts at the same time. When we pulled up to the Super Cuts, we noticed that there was a ton of people. Dan the Man suggested the place across the street. It turned out to be a terrible idea because we ended up paying fifty bucks for our haircuts. He usually pays for them because they get done with his hair first. When I heard how much they were charging us, I didn’t refuse the wash or styling. I know some people pay that or more for a haircut, but not me. Todavia me duele el codo.

Now that I feel I’ve caught you up, I’m off to do more housework. At least Dan the Man is cooking tonight, he promised me that if we bought a grill he’d cook more often. I wonder what I need to get him so that he’ll take out the garbage or change the litter more often.