and then some

I took 20 of my students to the University of Florida last Saturday. We were invited to a Journalism conference. The kids were great. They sat in the workshops and took notes; they kept calling the presenters "Professor" and asking tons of questions. I was like proud mama duck, watching all her little babies quacking around the college classroom like they belonged there.

Then, we went for the campus tour.

It started on the lawn, or the "Green Banana", which is a long stretch of grass in front of the Reitz Union. There I am, with 20 thirteen-year-olds in tow, and stretched out in front of us is a 20 foot banner screaming:

SEX ON THE LAWN!

Oh. My. God.

As alumni, I know that Sex on the Lawn is a safe-sex health fair put on by Planned Parenthood. I once volunteered for the event and was concidentally hit on by a lesbian during my shift. Ah, memories.

However, I know that all those teenage eyes are zeroing in on the words SEX! Before any questions came come up, I say, "Ok guys, I know you see the sign, and I just want to remind you that this is a school for those eighteen and older. I want you to know that this is an event to promote safe sex, not just sex."

"But, Ms. L? Why did they name it that?"

"Well, why do you think they gave the event that name?"

"To make people come?"

(Stifling giggles) "Exactly. Remember - we just learned about a marketing campaign?"

"Ahh, okay..." they mutter. Still whispering and giggling. But moving on.

I take a deep breath and center myself. Ok. Crisis averted. I am not going to lose my job.

Then we round the corner and see a wall of SEX ON THE LAWN fliers advertising Condom Races and Vagina Coloring Contests!

I didn't know what else to do. I broke into a jog and shouted "Avert your eyes! Just don't look at it! Keep moving!"

Even some things are too awkward for this working girl.

isn't it ironic?

Don't you think?

i am the cure

I did it! I ran the Breast Cancer 5k Race for the Cure with my sister, Janine, this past Saturday. I beat my time from last year by five minutes. I really like doing this event; it's the second year in a row I've participated. Sometimes I think the pink ribbon has become a little too mass marketed, but on the whole, there can't be anything bad about bringing attention to the disease. I wish I had done more of these events when I was younger. There was something overwhelmingly healing about running and seeing all those survivors .

wg

the eternal student rears her pretty head

I miss school.

You might be thinking: Um, you're a teacher. How can you miss the place you go every day?

But, I do.

I miss thinking, learning. I miss the challenge. I miss discovering something new.

I don't miss eating junk food, being poor, or working full time while taking 17 credit hours. I don't miss wanting to curl up in a ball and die and the end of every semester. I don't miss the lingering adolescent emotions that make you want to curl up in a ball and die, either.

I love learning - shouldn't I want to learn about learning? Shouldn't I get my master's degree in education? But my heart belongs to my words. I want to prove that my talent didn't go to waste. I want to see a book with my name on the cover.

I can't do it without help. I need a push, a deadline, and most importantly, a teacher.

Dilemma: either enroll in a 50K writing program over three years while teaching OR take two years off from teaching and enroll in graduate program.

What ever will I do?

i'd like to thank god...

In true fashion of things in my life, I thought I was being fired on Friday. Turns out the admin was just swarming me to tell me I'd won Teacher of the Year. Apparently, they don't give you flowers when you're being fired.


I think the best thing about this is the fact that I was nominated by peers and voted for by my peers. I went from being Susan Lucci (always nominated, never winning) to Sally Field (You like me! You really like me!) Here's hoping Mr. West doesn't try to take it away from me.

a hardworking girl

monthly marathon UPDATE

Well, if you've been tracking my progress to the left (Like Forrest Gump) you can see my goal came and went! I tried to run 26 total miles in 30 days. I did not meet my goal. I am short by 3 miles. However, I did try really hard and in all honesty, I made it further than I expected. So, even though I didn't finish the "marathon" in 30 days, I did...

• push myself not to stop until I could run almost all the way down Hodges
• look forward to running
• stalk a neighbor until I found the community gym
• sign up to run a breast cancer 5k
• learn that my body can do a lot more than I thought

I think, more than anything, I'm proud that I didn't give up even though I knew at the end I would not make it. WG + Running = friends. I feel powerful.

So, goal not met...YET! I'm going to give myself until the weekend to get those three miles done, and then it's off to my new goal: NaNoWriMo.

wg

scalp FAIL

I was so excited when my girlfriends Erin and Jen decided we should go to the Jags game on Sunday. Woo! Football! Tailgating! Beer! All things I enjoy. Ever the planner, I wanted to buy tickets ahead of time. No, they assured me, we've scalped before. It's so easy and much cheaper. Reluctantly, I agreed.

In my game day gear, I picked up the ladies and we headed downtown to the stadium. Looking super cute in our black, white and teal, we approached the stadium gates to "buy" our tickets.

Well, someone forget to tell the scalpers that the entire purpose of scalping a ticket to a game that isn't sold out is to get it cheaper than what you'd pay at the window. No one would sell for under fifty bucks.

I tried everything: the coy smile, the hair twirl, the low cut shirt, the "I'm a teacher" line. All my best tricks. No results. Those punks were still walking around at the end of the first quarter refusing to go below $50. FAIL.

We ended up chowing down at the Hooters in the Landing and watching other games since, NEWSFLASH SCALPERS, the Jags didn't sell enough tickets in the first place to have a televised game.

It's okay, though. We still had a lot of girly fun. Next time we plan to take advantage of the teacher discount and buy our $30 tix ahead of time!

wg

ps - I realize ticket scalping is illegal. Don't arrest me - we didn't do it! :)

dear danny

There is a reading strategy we use in class called "Say Something." After the kids read a text, we encourage them to say something, say anything about what they read. They can make a prediction, ask a question, clarify something misunderstood, make a comment, or make a connection. If they find they can't do those things, they need to re-read.

I really don't understand what you want. Why do you read my blog at all? Perhaps you want to say something?

wg

Update: Upon confrontation, Danny says he hasn't read my blog since I "accused" him of stealing Piggy back in April. Apparently, something in his RSS feed combined with my blog being one of his 200 favorites causes my LiveFeed to show his address every time he opens a browser window. Okay. Regardless, somethings never change. Watch the boy run when emotion enters the room. I guess no one can blame him.

At times my inability to let things live in the past trumps my otherwise good judgment. Luckily, my body is bangin' and my wit is endless.

the little things

A perfect Friday night is:

- a cold beer after work with friends
- a quick clean-up around the house
- 20 minute, intense run down Hodges
- watching new episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress" on TLC
- falling asleep on the couch with zoey

Yay! bliss.

wg