of all Americans...

30% can flare their nostrils.
21% don't make their bed daily. 5% never do.
40% of women have hurled footwear at a man.
13% admit to occassionally doing their offspring's homework.
50% admit they regularly sneak food into movie theaters to avoid the high prices of snack foods.
10% claim to have seen a ghost.
57% have had deja vu.
10% switch tags in the store to pay less for an item.
69% eat the cake before the frosting.
47% drink straight from the carton when nobody else is around.
22% skip lunch daily.
9% skip breakfast daily.
14% eat the watermelon seeds.
53% of women will not leave the house without makeup on.
30% refuse to sit on a public toilet seat.
39% peek in their host's bathroom cabinet. 17% have been caught by the host.
29% ignore RSVP.
66% of women and 59% of men have used a mix to cook and taken credit for doing it from scratch.
51% of adults dress up for a Halloween festivity.
20% of men proposed on their knee.
6% propose over the phone.
66% speed up at a yellow light.

I gotta warn you - these are not from any sort of reliable source, but I hope they're true anyway.

But seriously, 6% proposing over the phone? There's something wrong with that.

I'd say about 8 apply to me. I had to look in the mirror to see about the nostrils thing. I think I need a second opinion on that one. Anyways, sorry about the lack of inspiration here. I've had a different creative outlet since I got back from spring break.

still nothin but Terp love

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

~Langston Hughes

high: crossing things off lists

From August 7th, 2005:

• make a MD T-shirt blanket
  
• take a trip to Great Falls
• watch an outdoor movie somewhere
• go to the zoo
• have a crab feast on the deck
• eat at the top of the Hotel Washington at sunset
• go to the American Indian Museum
• go to free outdoor concerts

I have since been to the National Museum of the American Indian, despite the mishap involving parking on Independence Avenue during rush hour...remind me to ask Monica again if I still owe her $50.00. Man, there goes all my street credit. I'm clearly not DC-savvy when it comes to driving. I'm a metro girl all the way.
I have also made a T-shirt blanket (more of a quilt) this spring break! It took me several months, but I finally had enough T-shirts. It's a beauty, too. I might go into business. Got some T-shirts and some cash? Send em my way! Ask me to see a sample of my work. Maybe I'll even post a picture.

Anyways, it's nice to know that I can accomplish my goals. Given an unlimited amount of time. So all that's left is the Hotel Washington deal, and I've got all spring ahead of me. Of course, I have a new list starting...with no particular due date.

• eat at the top of the Hotel Washington at sunset
• visit the Botanical Gardens
• go to the next local Postsecret exhibit...when/wherever it is
• make my New Orleans album
• make jambalaya and beignets and have a little open apartment/reunion type thing
• go back to New Orleans

There...I put that last one in writing. Now I have to cross it off. This summer, potentially? I'll keep you posted.

abreast is a funny word to use

If I had a mild superpower, it would be the power to do "Time Out!" Zack Morris style.

However, I have realized lately, that I do have very mild superpowers. Last year, I had the power to find people's lost ID cards. I found and returned 4 ID cards. I even got offered $180 as a reward once. I felt a little awkward taking it. So I took $20 instead.

This year, I have not found any ID cards. I kinda miss it. However, this year, I have probably eaten upwards of 15 free meals. And sometimes I just don't even take the opportunity. My superpower this year is receiving free food. This mostly comes from working at the Chapel and for the Office of Campus Programs and staying abreast of local promotions. So I guess you could say that all my mild superpowers are campus related. I wonder if I'll have any after I graduate.

What about you...mild superpowers???

I can't believe I'm posting this

Are you ready for a ridiculously sappy post? Seriously, go grab a box of tissues, or you will not be prepared. Actually, I'm probably simply over-emotional.

I've just been so frustrated with the education program lately. There are some majors where you can just do the work, do a good job, and you'll be fine. Up until now, education has been like that. I do the work, even when there's a lot of it, turn it in, and I'm set. It's not like that any more. Now it's the kind of major that you have to pour your whole self into. You have to invest every part of yourself to teaching kids and improving your skills and knowledge, all while being evaluated and judged by professors. And they don't even know us. Some of them still cannot say my name. Oh, you're one of the Annas, right? No, I'm not "one of the Annas." There's only one Anna. I am Änna. Two completely different people with different names.

But I digress.

When most people will be taking their senior years easy, my program will just be getting more intense. And I'm not talking about the courseload. It's college, we do a lot of work here, get over it. I just mean that I'm going to have to devote every aspect of my life to the development of a classroom of kids that isn't even my own. I'll be getting one message from my mentor teacher, and 5 (or is it 6?) different messages from my professors, all expecting me to be perfect but telling me that I'm not. It's started already, and it scares me.

There's more, but I won't go into it here.

So...in short, that's why I've been so upset and discouraged with the early childhood program lately. I just want to quit. And that's why I broke into tears tonight while checking my email. You see, over a month ago, I wrote an email to my first grade teacher. Cause...I'm a huge nerd.

Dear Mrs. Grabow,

I am a former student of yours at Atholton Elementary. I was in your first grade class in 92-93 back when you were Miss Himes and had just gotten engaged. I'm now a junior Early Childhood Education major at the University of Maryland! We do a lot of reflecting on our own education and interviewing teachers in my courses, so today I was just thinking about all the things I did in first grade. I have so many good, vivid
memories!

I have a new respect for teachers now that I see all the demands placed on them by the school system in addition to trying to meet the needs of all their students. I mostly
remember writing in your class. You were so creative in the ways you incorporated writing into the curriculum. I remember journaling, making Beary Special Person books, writing about my adventures with Theodore Bear, and writing to a pen pal. I also remember Pip and Pop sitting on my desk.

One time, my friends Mandy, Samantha, and I had a fake "parent-teacher" conference with you after school. I love that you gave us that kind of respect, even though it was kind of silly. (I think the conference was about allowing us to sit at the same table in class...we didn't get to, though. That was probably a good idea.) I'm pretty sure this was how it happened. I have a good memory, but I also had a pretty good imagination.

It's good to see that you are still teaching at Atholton, because sometimes I worry about whether or not I will still want to teach that long once I get started. I just wanted to say thank you, a little late, for being such a great teacher.

So after I wrote it, I was like, Wow. Who does that? What a dork. Oh well, it's too late now. And she never wrote back, so I figured she deleted it as junk or was creeped out and didn't respond. And that is why I was so surprised when this was in my inbox tonight:

Dear Anna,

Thank you very much for the lovely email you sent me. I remember you, Mandy and Samantha very well. I can envison the three of you as though it were yesterday that you were in my class. I would imagine, however, that you and the others look very different now!

I am happy to hear that you are pursuing a degree in education. You will find it an immensely rewarding career. You will certainly have days that you are down. Some students will make slow progress, some children will be suffering from neglect or abuse, some parents may be giving you a difficult time, or your school may lack the resources needed to educate the children, HOWEVER, the children will view you as the most important person in their lives from 9-4 each day. They will love you, they will do their best to please you, and they will imitate you by playing school at home! But best of all, on the days that you cry inside because a child is being neglected at home, you will receive a letter from a former student stating how she remembers the respect you gave her and her friends and saying thank you for being such a great teacher. I was having one of those days when I received your email. I printed the letter and held it close to my heart for the rest of the day. It gave me the needed strength to help the child that needed my help the most. I plan on keeping your letter in my desk to read on those days that I ask myself, "Why am I a teacher?"

So, Anna, thank you for being a "Beary Special Person". You deserved to have Pip and Pop (I have many others now) sitting on your desk. You had quite a thirst for knowledge and your learning behaviors were outstanding. I'm glad you remember some of my classroom management techniques, I hope you will find a use for them in your own classroom. Theodore Bear has been replaced by Trumpet the Elephant. Sadly, Theodore was lost at the mall and never heard from again.

If you are ever visiting Atholton again, please stop by to say hi. I would love to see you.
Fondly,
Mrs. Grabow

Yeah, my roommates came into the room when they heard me crying, thinking something was wrong with me. No, I'm okay now! I'm just ridiculous! This doesn't change the fact that the whole program doesn't sit right with me. But, maybe it was what I needed to realize that I can stick with it for another year and a half. And maybe my disgust and cynicism (which some say is my gift) of the system will lead me to be a better teacher who respects the people who sometimes get marginalized. After all, you really can't teach without bringing in your own experiences and identity. So um...there's some of mine.

this is what happens

If you give a girl a boring paper to write, she will have to sit at the computer for a long time. She will probably get very cold, since the computer is right by the window.

If she gets cold, she will want to make some cocoa to warm herself up.

When she looks in the hot drink tub, she will be overwhelmed by the variety of delicious choices, and she will probably take a long time deciding what combination of things she should put in her cocoa.

Once she has made her cocoa, she will decide that she needs some beautiful music along with the hot cocoa in order to get her in a good paper-writing mood.

When she puts on the music, a track from the Curious George soundtrack might come on.

If she hears the Curious George soundtrack, she might remember just how much she loves Curious George and how much she also loves Jack Johnson.

She will probably decide that she needs to hear more from the soundtrack and will go to Jack's website to watch various videos.

After all this, she will realize how similar she is to a certain mouse and will decide to write her own children's story.

All that writing will make her realize just how much she can accomplish if she is actually motivated, so she will most likely get back to writing her paper.

But if she gets cold again...she might want some more cocoa.

if the shoe fits

Clothes create a good timeline. They help us keep our memories vivid. In kindergarten, Elizabeth Goldsmith and I showed up in the same outfit - magenta turtleneck, jean skirt, and black dress shoes. We sat together, since we were twins that day, but we weren't really good friends the rest of the year.

I also think of the future in terms of clothes. If I ever get married, I like to think I'll buy a completely new set of underwear. I don't know why exactly...it just seems right. TMI? Oh well.

When I think of myself as a teacher in the future, I imagine myself wearing some random clothes that I don't own yet. But the thought popped into my head as I was lying in bed the other night - when I'm a teacher, I'm going to be wearing the same gross black shoes I've had since my senior year of high school. Cause I always wear them, and I'll be teaching in a year and a half. That's what made it hit me how dangerously close that is...the shoes.

Shoes just put things in perspective for me. The thing I will always remember from the holocaust museum is the huge piles of shoes that they made everyone leave. Cause you can actually look at them and see where people's feet have been. And how big they were, and what styles they liked, and whether the soles were worn down. Shoes are the most symbolic of all clothing. We talk about walking a mile in someone's shoes, which basically means living their life. Having their perspective and sharing their experiences. Shoes symbolize your journey in life. They've been everywhere you've been, and they've picked up the dirt and scuffs to prove it. Shoes can also be a status symbol. We talk about filling someone's shoes, or living up to the precedent they've set in a position.

In ancient Hebrew culture, you gave your sandal to someone when you made an oath to them. You actually gave someone your shoe to make a promise. Collateral cause shoes are so important? I don't know. In the Middle Ages, a father would pass the authority over his daughter to her husband in a shoe ceremony. At the wedding, the groom handed the bride a shoe, which she put on to show she was his subject. You never knew that was the significance in Cinderella, did you? Now the symbol still lingers when we tie shoes to the bumper of a bride and groom's car.


So...as symbolic as they are, what does it mean that I never buy shoes and wear the same disgusting pairs for 4 plus years? That I'm thrifty...or something more? Probably just the cheap thing.

Magic in the Air

Okay, so I've been keeping something from you.
I've known about Pandora for a long time, but I never shared it with you.

Basically, you tell Pandora what you like, and it (she?) creates a radio station for you of other songs you might like.

It might sound like other things that exist, but it is much much better. Cause it's not based on genre or tastes other people have or ratings or anything. It's based on the music genome. Meaning, people analyze each song based on the instruments it features, vocal style, and a million other things I don't understand. Then you can give songs thumbs up or thumbs down, and it refines the songs they give you. And you can click on a song to find out why it played it for you, based on the music genome. Apparently I enjoy mild rhythmic syncopation, major key tonality (sometimes minor), and dynamic male vocals, among other things. What the heck is mild rhythmic syncopation? I don't know, but I like it!

I've also discovered bands that I was already supposed to like, you know, if I was a true music fan/snob. Like Sufjan Stevens. And Elliott Smith - didn't like him at first...too mellow even for me, but he grew on me. And I really like certain albums by Badly Drawn Boy. Ha. Found that one myself; nobody listens to him! And it's also been playing me live versions of songs I already love, some good jazz stuff, and lots of Louis Armstrong. Wonderful.

And then I've found certain songs that are just funny by obscure bands that I never would have otherwise discovered. However, I gotta say that it may be so indie/obscure that it is slightly lacking in other genres...certain songs by Bow Wow are missing, for example...oh well! It's bound to be added eventually. I mean, it was at the top of the hip hop and R & B charts...come on, Pandora!

That's my only complaint. Other than that, I am addicted.

and also Fiona Apple was there

Despite the fact that it looked like I could crush tiny Chris Martin between my thumb and index finger, I didn't get to hear my song, and the crazy people in front of us kept getting up throughout the entire thing to get more beer, it was still an amazing concert.

Seriously, they put on a spectacular show, besides the fact that they're just incredible musicians to begin with. And every single song they play, you get all excited like, "Oh, yes, it's this one!!!" Cause every song is just that good. And the energy behind them, just creating that tension as everyone waits for that part of the song where it gets really good. And to hear the crowd singing along, and the changes they make in live versions! Aaahhh, just amazing.

I get sad when good concerts are over, and not to be a downer...but...in searching online for these pictures, I found someone's account of a Coldplay concert a few months ago. And, when I read it...it was exaaactly the same. I know when you go on tour, some stuff is the same, like those balloons during Yellow. But...the same covers, running into the audience on the same song, and the same exact encore? Can that even be fun for them? Does the energy really last? Do they feel like they're tricking the audience? Shouldn't a musical experience be something unduplicateable, to make up a word?

And don't get me started on encores...they're supposed to exist because an audience loved a performance so much, that they just won't leave. Because everyone in the room is so in awe of what they just heard that they simply will not let the night end without hearing at least one more song. Now they're contrived. Everyone stays for a few minutes just cause they know it's not really over. Then after the encore, people just leave. What if we actually stayed because we needed more? That would be a real encore, not a pretend one.

So, it sounds like I didn't have fun. But I did. I just loved the music so much I wanted the night to be even better.


Oh yes, and Chris turned 29 while we were there. So happy birthday to him! We were hoping Gwyneth and/or Apple would have come out, since they're probably with him on his birthday. Oh well.

No but seriously...amazing.