9/30/2004 09:22:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Saw this at both Jen's and Stephanie's blogs. This is oddly accurate. I am mozzarella!
Cheese Test: What type of cheese are you? Although I'm not sure why the graphic so resembles a Zoloft...|W|P|109658659580325604|W|P|On the cheese bandwagon|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/30/2004 12:45:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Update on the job front: Both interviews yesterday went very well. As I've mentioned before, I don't like interviews. I hate them, in fact. So it was unusual for me to come out of not one but two interviews feeling confident. The only appealing thing about job #1 is that it has benefits. Health insurance would be so nice. However, R warned me that it would probably be a mistake to take a job in my field that it "beneath" me. "It smacks of desperation, and no matter how hard you try, you will never be able to get rid of it." "But I am desperate," I joked. No, seriously, it does make sense. I got a call from the HR director at the school district, job #2, telling me that I did a very good job and that the committee was still making their decision. He also said that they were going to be doing some background checking. This makes me nervous for several reasons: 1. I did not provide them with references. They didn't ask. 2. I did not have to fill out an application. 3. The school district is in the same community as the evil non-profit agency that fired me back in 2001. I DO NOT want them speaking to the director of said agency. eep. Also, I have an interview scheduled for a long-term sub job in another school district next Monday. They called today, apparently just from going through their application files. Yay! I also applied for another long-term sub job in a rural district where--get this--the superintendent of schools is from my hometown! (Well, sort of. A neighboring community that pulled into the same school district.) He taught at my school for a number of years, and I'm pretty sure I had a relative of his for social studies. Also, my grandfather was president of the school board when he was hired. Small world, eh? I sent the letter and resume directly to him and mentioned my town in the letter. Whee!|W|P|109651650410856078|W|P|Na na why don't you get a job?|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/28/2004 11:18:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Jen has been a big fan of Six Feet Under for quite a while. I'd caught an episode here or there, but never quite got invested in it. Mostly, I think, because I didn't catch it from the beginning, and I wasn't up to investing the time in catching up. But now, I find that R is a fan and has the first two seasons on DVD. Yay. :) So after watching the pilot episode at his place over the weekend, I borrowed the rest of the first season from him. ("Great," I said, as I put the DVDs in my bag to take home with me. "Because I need another reason not to get any work done.") I watched two episodes last night, and this line from the third episode (The Foot) is quite possibly the best line of dialogue ever: "I don't understand kids. When I was her age, I never would have taken a...foot." Heh. What can I say? I'm a sucker for character-driven drama and clever writing. I'm hooked.|W|P|109637792905320753|W|P|Six Feet Under|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/27/2004 09:18:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Can somebody please tell me why I insist on trying to have an intelligent conversation with a Magic 8 Ball? *sigh*|W|P|109632719999715655|W|P|Ask again later|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/27/2004 04:27:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Lots to say about the weekend, but first I need to talk about my day. I decided to be bold and make a follow-up call on a resume I sent last week, regarding a job I am highly qualified for. The director of personnel said they'd already selected some people for interviews and my name didn't ring a bell, but asked me to fill him in on my background. I did, and as I suspected, my combined background in journalism/PR AND education was intriguing. He said he'd give my resume another look. And lo, I now have an interview for tomorrow evening. A 9-person committee interview, which sort of frightens me... So here's the thing. My class tomorrow normally runs from 4:30 to 5:45. I need to be at this interview at 6:15. In any event, I would have to cut the class short. (I'm talking like in half. I would *need* a solid 45 minutes to get from one place to the other.) So do I cut the class short, or cancel it outright? I also got a call about an aide position that I applied for, which I am also interviewing for tomorrow. I'm freaking out a little bit.|W|P|109630971047792304|W|P|What a day|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/24/2004 12:52:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Taking a page (hehe) from Jen, I'm going to talk about Banned Book Week. This list is full of things I've read, things I own, and things I want to read. I thought it would be fun to go through it and make a note of them. If you don't think it's fun, feel free to skip this post. ;) I think I'll pick at least one of the ones I've been meaning to read and do that next week. Here's the list of the most frequently challenged books, 1990-2000: key: *I've read **I own I want to read Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz Daddy�s Roommate by Michael Willhoite **I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou **The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier **The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain *Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck **Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling *Forever by Judy Blume Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier **The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger **The Giver by Lois Lowry It�s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine A Day No Pigs Would Dieby Robert Newton Peck **The Color Purple by Alice Walker Sex by Madonna *Earth�s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson **A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L�Engle (as you know, this is my favorite book, ever) Go Ask Alice by Anonymous Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard The Witches by Roald Dahl The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein *Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry The Goats by Brock Cole Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane *Blubber by Judy Blume Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier Final Exit by Derek Humphry **The Handmaid�s Tale by Margaret Atwood *Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George *The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison What�s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras **To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee *Beloved by Toni Morrison **The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton **The Pigman by Paul Zindel Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard *Deenie by Judy Blume **Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz *A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein **Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole *Cujo by Stephen King *James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy *Ordinary People by Judith Guest American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis What�s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras **Are You There, God? It�s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume Crazy Lady by Jane Conly Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher Fade by Robert Cormier Guess What? by Mem Fox The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney **Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut **Lord of the Flies by William Golding Native Son by Richard Wright Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women�s Fantasies by Nancy Friday Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen Jack by A.M. Homes Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle **Carrie by Stephen King *Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge Family Secrets by Norma Klein Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole **The Dead Zone by Stephen King **The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain *Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Always Running by Luis Rodriguez Private Parts by Howard Stern Where�s Waldo? by Martin Hanford Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett Running Loose by Chris Crutcher Sex Education by Jenny Davis The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy *How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts *The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier|W|P|109603759694766543|W|P|Looking for something to read?|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/23/2004 02:55:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I started off this week with a killer allergy attack. Sneezing, wheezing and sniffling all day Monday, with no amount of antihistamine and decongestant making a dent. Went to bed early and woke up Tuesday feeling slightly better, but for a nagging stuffy-headedness. I was concerned that I was coming down with a cold, but the fact that I've been feeling better (normal except for a bit of sinus pressure) yesterday and today leads me to believe that this isn't true. Sadly, though, the experience has left my nose resembling lizard skin. Ick. Caught the first part of JJ Abrams' new show Lost last night. I was intrigued, but it didn't quite live up to the amazing reviews I've seen about the 'net. I come to find that this is likely because ABC decided to split the 2-hour pilot into two parts. Those who have given the rave reviews have seen the full two hours. Stupid asshats at ABC. Of course they showed the 2-hour premiere of the Bachelor. (with TWO bachelors! Can you believe it?!) This IS the network that cancelled my beloved Sports Night, I remind myself. Anyway. Lost. Interesting premise, but I wonder how long they'll be able to keep up the deserted island/scary creature in the woods thing. (note...Matthew Fox, aka Charlie Salinger? Yum.)|W|P|109595856828848525|W|P|Crazy like a Fox|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/22/2004 08:19:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Today is exactly two months since R and I met. Exciting, ain't it? A little bit of background...in what was a bit of a twist of events for me, I contacted him on said Internet dating site. Since I didn't actually have an account, I did one of those little free wink/icebreaker thingies. He responded with an email telling me that it was interesting that I had contacted him, since he'd had my profile saved. I sent him an email this morning pointing out the date, and he replied with the original email he'd sent me. He also pointed out that we went from initial email to meeting in three days. yeesh. we moved fast...that's three days between first email and meeting. pretty cool. Pretty cool, indeed... ;) Er, anyway. There's something resembling a point coming here, I promise. ;) So we were talking this afternoon about the fact that it was unusual for me to have been the "pursuer." My approach to online dating had pretty much been "post profile and see who responds." Every now and then I would contact someone, usually either getting no response or exchanging a few emails and fizzling out. There was one other guy I contacted (er...because my mom found him and thought he was cute...) and actually met, but clearly that didn't work out either. Stick with me. Getting there. So anyway, R told me that he has spoken to women friends who have had much more success with Internet dating when they have been the ones doing the initial contacting. He suspects that it's because there's an element of the woman being less worried about the man being a psycho/rapist/murderer/freak/weirdo when she's the one who contacted him. I don't think I've ever thought of it quite like that, but it certainly seems to have worked out better for me this way! What do you think, dear readers?|W|P|109589267369986213|W|P|Internet dating, Part II|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/22/2004 03:31:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Against my better judgment (er, my wallet's better judgment, that is...) I am probably going to stop and buy Lowest of the Low's new CD Sordid Fiction today. Here's a review that was posted on their site: CD review from Eye Weekly 16 Sept 2004 LOWEST OF THE LOW Sordid Fiction Maple Music/Universal They were grouped with the then-burgeoning early-'90s alternative-rock nation, but with their sturdy no-frills rock sound and Ron Hawkins' heartfelt literary aspirations, the Lowest of the Low were more like scrappy younger cousins to The Tragically Hip's peerless thinking-man's hoser rock. And they still are as Sordid Fiction sees them pick up right where they left off a decade back, when the Low were one of T.O.'s best and most beloved. "We're the same in a different way," Hawkins sings on "A Casual Overdose" -- which could be a knowing nod to the Low themselves -- and thanks to vintage-sounding Low cuts like the freewheeling "The Last Recidivist," Stephen Stanley's bittersweet winner, "Your Birthday Party," and the pining ache of "Giulietta the Just," Sordid Fiction brims with the spirit of a band grateful for another chance to get back to where they once belonged. Yay for new Low!|W|P|109587432728442041|W|P|Let's go!|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/22/2004 01:27:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|My thanks to Tara, who posted a bit of this song from Rent and reminded me how beautifully inspiring it is: (excerpts from Another Day The heart may freeze or it can burn The pain will ease if I can learn There is no future There is no past I live this moment as my last There's only us There's only this Forget regret Or life is yours to miss No other road No other way No day but today... I can't control My destiny I trust my soul My only goal is just To be. There's only now There's only here Give in to love Or live in fear No other path No other way No day but today...|W|P|109586690857577913|W|P|No day but today|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/22/2004 11:18:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I never did get around to posting my thoughts on the Emmys the other day...because I know you all care. I have to say that I didn't even remember the Emmys were on. I was so out of it, in fact, that when Jen said "aren't the Emmys on?" I said "didn't they just announce the nominees?" So we turned it on, and it served as little more than background noise...but I did perk up when my SpyDaddy Victor Garber came out with Taye Diggs to present lead actress in a drama. Allison Janney. I adore her. And it was cute how she really appeared to have NO idea she would win. But this was her fourth Emmy, and poor Jennifer Garner got beaten, woke up in Hong Kong missing two years of her life, found out her lover was married to a psycho bitch who turned out to be a double agent, was held in a Korean prison camp, learned she was an assasin during her missing years and was nearly killed by her aunt. Doesn't that deserve an award? ;) (And besides, it would have been so cute for VG to present the award to her...) Also, AJ thanked the cast of the West Wing but seemed to leave out Martin Sheen...oops! Speaking of Martin Sheen...poor guy's been nominated every year the show's been on, but does he win? Nope. James Gandolfini, Michael Chiklis...and this year James Spader swoops in out of nowhere, does one season on The Practice, and steals away the president's Emmy yet again. (Incidentally, the cast of the West Wing is the only reason I continue to watch since the departure of Aaron Sorkin. They are amazing. All of them.) The Sopranos...hmm...I'm probably the only person on earth who doesn't care about The Sopranos. Happy to see Arrested Development get recognized. It's brilliant. Quirky, offbeat, and hilarious. Therefore it'll probably get cancelled soon. Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker. Yay. Yeah, that's about all I have to say.|W|P|109585914549194959|W|P|And the Emmy goes to...|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/20/2004 03:43:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Inigo Montoya: Because I know something you don't know. Westley: And what is that? Inigo Montoya: I am not left handed. No, my friends. I am not left handed. However, I've recently made a bizarre observation. Most of you know at least something about my dating history. Up until now, I've had three significant long-term relationships. J in high school, K in college, and assboy. They were all left handed. And so is R. So apparently? My "type" is left handed. Because really, this is the ONLY thing these four men have in common. heehee.|W|P|109569872046850865|W|P|Then why are you smiling?|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/20/2004 01:37:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Grrr at my computer. I started writing a little post about my weekend and the computer froze. I use notepad when I'm at work, so I didn't think it was such a big deal. Normally, things written in notepad are automatically saved. But no. Not this time. Grrrrrr... Friday night, I had my first class at the Y. Started out with only three girls, all around 7. Eek! We stretched, did some basic motions and jumps. We were working on the jumps when three more girls (sisters) arrived. The parents thought the class started an hour later than it did. I told them to come on in anyway. We had a bit of chaos for 10 or so minutes. I then decided to try teaching them a simple sideline chant. Er...yeah. We'll have to keep working on that. :) Immediately following the class, some guy in an official YMCA shirt came up to me, asked me my name, and asked if I was going to be teaching the cheerleading class for the whole session. I said yes, I think so. "Jerry hired you, right?" Er, yes... "Well, he resigned this week." Ah. perfect. So everyone is clueless. They have no idea who is doing what for the youth sports program, and they don't know where my paperwork is. The paperwork I spend TWO HOURS doing last Sunday. If they think I'm doing it again, they are so dead wrong. Met up with R after class, still in my workout garb. He asked if I wanted to go out for dinner or order in, and I said that it didn't matter, but I would of course have to change my clothes if we were going out. "I don't want you to change. You look so cute," he said. We ordered in. :) After we ate, we watched A Mighty Wind...this is part of my crash course in Christopher Guest. Last week, I also watched Spinal Tap (finally) and Waiting for Guffman. I loved them both. I also learned that Christopher Guest played Count Rugen in The Princess Bride. I'm definitely won over. He's brilliant and hilarious. Headed home to PA on Saturday, feeling the pain of my 30-year-old, ridiculously out-of-shape body crying out in protest at having been forced to do jumps. "You're not 18 anymore, Erin," my muscles reminded me. Yes, yes. I get it. The main purpose of the trip home was to see my dad play Victor Velasco in a community theater production of Barefoot in the Park. They did a great job, and dad got lots of laughs. We decided to make apple pie on Sunday (mmmm...), which was quite good, if I do say so myself. Okay, look for my thoughts on the Emmys a little bit later.|W|P|109569471885064706|W|P|Monday, monday|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/17/2004 03:15:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Help me defend my honor, dear readers. :) Someone on a message board I frequent posted a response to a question about online dating that they "never have and never will" because it "takes a special kind of desperate." Desperate? Really? I think of myself as a lot of things, but "desperate" is not one of them. I know there are a lot of other people who read erin-go-blog who have tried internet dating, with varying degrees of success/failure. Stephanie met her dear husband on an internet dating site. For my part, I just so happen to have met the intelligent, attractive, articulate and witty R on an internet dating site. The way I see it, it's just one more way of opening yourself up to meet more people. I ventured that I've met just as many freaks, losers and weirdos in bars as I have online. She replied that at least in bars, you can see who you're dealing with and know if you want to proceed further. Well...yes and no. I've always treated online dating as a sort of "blind date" with a pre-screening process. When I've met someone online, I have generally exchanged a couple of emails, spoken on the phone, and decided from there, rather quickly, whether or not this is a person I care to meet. My instincts have served me fairly well. As far as I know, I've not been on a date with anyone who's married, homicidal or overtly creepy. No one has stalked me. I understand being wary of it. I even understand not wanting to participate in it. But I don't understand condemning the thousands of perfectly normal, functioning members of society who choose to use online dating sites as a means to meet new people. What do you think?|W|P|109544151902840427|W|P|A special kind of desperate?|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/17/2004 01:15:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I've been slowly making my way through ten poems to change your life by Roger Housden, and I'm really, really enjoying it. As I was reading last night, I did something I rarely do...I picked up a pen and underlined a passage. The poem was "Last Gods" by Galway Kinnell, which is a beautiful, sensual poem that "elevates the instinctual play of lovemaking to an activity worthy of the gods and...shows how deeply resonant our loving is with all the currents and rhythms of nature itself." Housden spends a good deal of time explaining why he chose this poem for a collection purporting to be able to change your life, and he touched on something that resonates deeply with me, something that I've talked about here before: Yet like erotic, the word pleasure has become divorced from its original savor. We still live in the aftermath of a religion (the Catholic variety) for whom the litmus test for a sin remains the question: Did you take pleasure in it? Our culture, Housden continues, keeps us "in thrall to shame." It's like I said when I was venting about taking the high schoolers to confession, where they were handed an "examination of conscience" flyer. This is an institution that teaches kids that not only is it sinful to have sex, it's sinful to even *think* about it. It's no wonder so many young people (and some not-so-young people) are so sorely misguided about sex and sexuality. "Sex and the City" did a great job of pointing out some of the ways these deeply ingrained attitudes manifested themselves in adult dating behavior. Here are two examples I can think of off the top of my head. In one case, Charlotte was dating a guy who seemed great except that during sex, he would scream out "You f***ing bitch. You f***ing whore!" When she asked him about it later, he had no memory of saying this, and couldn't believe he would say any such thing. Needless to say, Charlotte found this disturbing. The second one (and now that I think of it, I think this one was Miranda. I can't remember...) was a man who was (of course) a not-quite-recovered Catholic who always, always HAD to get up and immediately shower afterwards. He just felt "dirty," he explained. Ach. It would appear that I meandered a bit from my original point, which was to say that I loved both this poem and Mr. Housden's analysis/explanation of it.|W|P|109543423116781335|W|P|All the ladies, louder now, help me out...|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/16/2004 01:30:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|or "Hey! You got your religion in my politics!" Please go read this post by my friend Stephanie. This is exactly the reason why George W. Bush frightens me, and why, although I'm not entirely convinced that John Kerry is the best the Democratic party has to offer, I choose to advertise my support of him in the upcoming election. In June 2003, Mahmoud Abbas, then the Palestinian prime minister, said that in a conversation with Bush, the president told him: �God told me to strike at al-Qaida, and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did.� Scary, scary stuff.|W|P|109534872382730414|W|P|Politics, religion, &...|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/15/2004 03:14:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P| Your sugary sweetness calls to me. Beckons me. I can't stop myself. A vile confection-- candy crack. I reach for another piece, let you melt in my mouth until you are liquid. Molten sugar hides between my teeth, under my tongue. It clings to the roof of my mouth. And lingers long after. I don't even like you. But like an addict, I always come back for more.|W|P|109526852003933325|W|P|Ode to candy corn|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/15/2004 02:03:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I've always had a very close relationship with my mother, just as she did with her mother. I know how lucky we are to have the relationship that we do...I know it's not something that everyone can say. Sure, sometimes we drive each other crazy, and I probably shouldn't have stayed at home as long as I did after graduating from college (under the same roof? It was...erm...uncomfortable at times), but I am 30 years old, and I can honestly say that I like spending time with my mom. I miss her when I haven't been home in too long. I call her just to talk. She's pushed me to do better, been there to pick me up when I fall, and has helped me through countless difficult times. She's always been my greatest defender, my steadfast supporter, my friend. I'm afraid I might not say it enough, how much I appreciate her. I love you, mom. Thank you.|W|P|109526423796667621|W|P|To my mom|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/14/2004 09:19:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P| Me with Carter from Carbon Leaf at the Cleveland Irish Festival. (Ignore the trucker hat...) Jordan and Carter. Yay! :)|W|P|109520417473071770|W|P|A couple thousand words|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/13/2004 12:30:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I have a whole bunch of work to do today...so go ahead, ask me what I'm doing blogging instead of working... Sigh. In the completely random news department, I got a call from a guy at the YMCA on Saturday. I had called about a position teaching cheerleading several weeks ago, but never heard back from him. Out of nowhere, he calls, wants to know if I'm still interested and if so, can I come in today and fill out an application. Uh, sure...so then he wants me to come back on Sunday at noon to do paperwork and such. (this wouldn't have been a bad thing, except there was someplace I really would have preferred to be...heehee. I ended up being there for TWO hours. blech.) It's a once-a-week class, teaching fundamentals to kids between 5 and 13. And oh, the class starts THIS FRIDAY. Ack! The pay is next-to-nothing, but in exchange for doing something I actually like to do for an hour a week, I get a free membership to the Y, plus great experience working with kids to put on my resume. I think it's a win-win. Been listening to Carbon Leaf, and I think this might be my current favorite song, from their new CD Indian Summer: (for anyone who doesn't know, my favorite songs change frequently...) Raise the Roof Raise the roof, that I might see the stars to gain wisdom to see things for what they are Please, I need proof Dance till you fall Love till you die Shut your mouth Raise the roof Trapped in this snare with too much dreaming to bear Fearful and frantic, hopeless and a romantic Inspired but tired, I run this wide-open course Like the sagging spirit of an older horse Dance till you fall Love till you die Shut your mouth Raise the roof Peel back this backdrop like the lids from my eyes Put you in plain view, let me visualize Touch me again in my dreams till I feel Touch me again till I wake and it's real Dance till you fall Love till you die Shut your mouth Raise the roof The wisest advice to me that I didn't teach was to lock up the heart but keep the key within reach Touch me again in my dreams till I feel Touch me again till I wake and it's real Dance till you fall Love till you die Shut your mouth Raise the roof|W|P|109508589486993522|W|P|I don't like Mondays|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/13/2004 12:16:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|My thanks go out to Jen and Auntie Carroll for the gift of Phil! The concert was great fun. One of my favorite parts was the show's opening...Phil came out and sat down at a drum set on the right-hand side of the stage. He played for a few minutes before being joined by his drummer on the left-hand side of the stage. After a few more minutes, the percussionist (that is, the guy playing all the random percussion instruments) came out and joined them. This went on for about 15 minutes, and it was amazing. I could have listened to that all night. Soon the rest of the band came out, including six (SIX!) backup singers and four horn players. Both the singers and the horn players (the saxophone player in particular) were extremely talented and a lot of fun. They did a really interesting vocal arrangement of "True Colors." They were also a lot of fun to watch, hamming it up with little dance moves and getting the crowd excited. Two of the singers came out to sing on "Separate Lives," and wow...I have to say that I was impressed. I should go find out what their names are...Jen turned to me and said, "Whoa. Don't upstage the star." Needless to say, their vocals were outstanding. I had chills. (Chills. During Separate Lives. This is not a joke.) My only complaint is that I wish he'd done a little more Genesis. I heard a guy a couple of rows in front of us yelling for "Mama." I was like, "Dude. Get over it. He's not doing 'Mama.'" He did do "Misunderstanding," and I felt like there was another one, but I can't remember. Also a few rows in front of us was one extremely drunk woman who stood and swayed and sang and clapped for most of the show. Even "Another Day in Paradise." Not knocking the song, but it's not exactly a "get up and shake your booty" kind of number. It's depressing, in fact. (side note...that song always reminds me of my friend Jennifer from high school. We had an English assignment that involved analyzing song lyrics as poetry, and she used that song.) "In the Air Tonight" was pretty cool....there was a crazy, freaky light show during the intro, and for the beginning of the song, Phil wandered around the stage singing with a headset mike. When he got to the cool drum part, a drum set was raised up to the back part of the stage, and he sat down and finished the rest of the song on the drums. That kind of rocked. There was another drum solo bit during the encore. (whoo! Did I mention that I really liked the drumming?) The show was at HSBC Arena...I have to say, I've gotten a bit spoiled by attending so many small, intimate concerts in the past few years. For the most part, I prefer that sort of setting. But there's also something to be said for an arena full of screaming fans. You almost can't help but get caught up in that kind of energy. All in all, a good show. :)|W|P|109508507126482392|W|P|In the air tonight|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/10/2004 11:07:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I've embraced my inner Italian this week by making several pounds of meatballs for a party tonight. I mixed and fried up the meatballs Wednesday, with plans to put sauce on Thursday. I felt a true kinship with my mom, and her mother before her, and her mother before her as I stood in the kitchen, up to my elbows in that gooey mixture of meat, egg, cheese and bread crumbs. As I finished frying, Jen came into the kitchen and took a meatball out of the bowl I was putting them in. "I need to sample one and make sure they're all right," she said. "Are they?" (from the other room) "Oh my GOD. They're ORGASMIC." Needless to say, when I came home from my class last night ready to put them into sauce, a significant number of meatballs were mysteriously missing. "I don't think we have enough meatballs," I said. "Plus I told R I'd try to save him some." "Um, I took the rest of the meat out of the freezer for you," Jen said. Heh. So I put on sauce with what I had, and then defrosted and prepared to make more meatballs. I could only make a small amount, as I only had a tiny bit of bread crumbs and cheese left. (I get my grated cheese from home, where my grandpa orders it from the "Cheese Man." It's a blend of parmesan and romano, and it is SO good, and relatively inexpensive...compared to what you get in the grocery stores.) As it were, I ran out of bread crumbs and promptly called the nice Italian landlord to see if they had any. Of course they did. He told me to come on over, and his wife handed me a whole can. "Is seasoned okay? I actually bought too many." Perfect. I promised to bring them some meatballs, too. I may just end up making meatballs for the rest of my life. Last night, my mom called. Jen walked into the room and said "Tell her I said thank you for giving birth to you, so you can make meatballs." "Are they as good as mine?" Mom wanted to know. Well, I suppose I'll have to let her be the judge of that...|W|P|109482170895603646|W|P|Mama mia! That's a spicy meatball...|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/09/2004 03:33:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|What is it about the sound of falling rain? I lay in bed this morning, alarm clock irritatingly reminding me that it was time to get up and start my day, and all I wanted to do was stay there and listen to the rain all morning. The worst of the wind and heavy downpour seemed to have finished, giving way to a gentle, whispering rainfall. I felt soothed. Peaceful. Content. And as I lay there, cuddling up to my pillow, I only wished a certain someone had been there to share it with me. ;)|W|P|109475125782468079|W|P|On some dark rainy street somewhere...|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/08/2004 08:18:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Thanks to a certain someone, I finally saw Rushmore last night. I had been talking about (finally) seeing Lost in Translation, which led to a conversation about Bill Murray, which led to a conversation that went something like this: Me: Actually, I haven't seen Rushmore. R: You're kidding. Well, we can fix that tonight. Yes. Well, that we did, and I can't remember the last time I laughed so much. When it was over, I believe my exact words were, "That was brilliant." Sheer brilliance. Oh, and now that I've seen both these films, I feel quite comfortable in agreeing that Bill Murray was robbed. Robbed!|W|P|109469317307371327|W|P|Mini movie review|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/08/2004 12:43:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|With all this talk of "blogiversaries," I decided to dig back through the Erin-go-blog archives and see what was up. I started the blog, on the urging of a friend, on Feb. 21, 2002. I posted a test post. It said, "This is a test. BEEEEEEEEEP!" I didn't post again until January 26, 2003. I was alone watching the Super Bowl and ranting about the Coors Light Twins commercials. I posted about once a month (twice in May!) until July, when I posted a whopping 3 times! Posted twice in August, but I really started posting regularly in September 2003 when I decided to also keep an online chronicle of my student teaching experience. My first post in September was on Sept. 8, so I'm calling today my blogiversary. Yay, me. Of course, the true blogging on a daily (or almost daily) basis started in October...after the infamous breakup. This became a forum for me to express all of those crazy, sad, angry, bitter, heartbroken feelings I was going through. I took some time to skim through it, and it's amazing to me how far I've come...I can't believe it's been almost a year. At the same time, I can't believe that he was still in my life only a year ago. So thank you, blogger, and faithful readers. You've been my therapy. :)|W|P|109465470180256568|W|P|About a blog|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/07/2004 03:58:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Most happiest birthday wishes to my dear friend Stephanie! And happy anniversary wishes to Jen's dear lil' brother and sister-in-law. May you have many more years of joy to come! :)|W|P|109457993319822547|W|P|Happy, happy day |W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/07/2004 02:17:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I really wish I could have more weekends like the one I just had... Spent a good deal of time Friday and Saturday with R. Friday night, I got to meet a musician friend of his. He and his girlfriend came over to R's apartment, and we talked, drank some wine, and played this fabulous game based on the Doonesbury comic strip. (I tried to find a description of it online, but no luck. You'll have to deal with my incoherent ramblings...) Here's how it works...the players move around the board landing on colored spaces, each of which corresponds with a category. For example, the Flashback category requires the player who drew the card to talk for 30 seconds (or so) about a particular event, such as "your first kiss" or "first prison experience." The other players have to write down three words or phrases that they think the person will say. You get points by matching answers. Another category asks you to list three things in a category, such as "best TV theme songs." R and I both put down "Greatest American Hero" on that one...but alas, got no points since neither of us was the player who drew the card. ;) I spent much of the game losing. Badly. I kept landing on the "Doonesbury" spaces...when you land on these, you have to draw a Doonesbury card which usually causes you to lose points for one reason or another. (at least for me, it did!) On my first trip around the board, I landed ONLY on the Doonesbury spaces. But there's a twist...one space directs you to change places with any player. I landed on this space near the end of the game and ended up winning. Woohoo! Seriously, though, I think it was so much fun because it really allows you to get to know the people you're playing with. And, with the twist of changing places, you can't get *too* competitive. The one downer of the weekend is that I was supposed to get together with my little on Saturday afternoon, and she stood me up. :( I called her house to let her know I was on my way over to get her, and she wasn't home... On Saturday, I got to meet another one of R's friends. I have to say, I have really, really enjoyed meeting all of his friends so far. On Sunday, I relaxed and enjoyed a quiet night in instead of partying it up with Jackdaw. (I know...what's happening to me? hehe...) Jen and I watched Lost in Translation, which I thought was simply, achingly, heart-wrenchingly beautiful. I would love to watch this film with someone who understands Japanese, though. I wanted to know what it was that Bill Murray's character was missing. Jen and I had both settled in rather early in our cozy clothes and started to watch the movie. About 15 minutes in, it skipped. I tried cleaning it and going back to the spot...nope. Skipped again. Grrr....had to put real clothes back on and return to the evil, soulless video rental store to get a new copy. Smooth watching from that point. On Monday, we walked over to Jim's Steak Out to grab some lunch, then to Caffe Arroma. Our original plan was to hang out in the bookstore, but alas, bookstore was closed. I began reading If the Buddha Dated, which made me feel remarkably healthy about my dating life. I think that's a good sign. :) Most of it was pretty common-sensical, and a good deal of it was similar to the "Calling in the One" book that Jen and I completed earlier this year. I finished it later that afternoon...then planned my class for this week. Jen and I made a rather late grocery run and made hamburgers. Late-night Labor Day picnic. Whee. I spent the evening reading Coraline, upon R's recommendation. I thought it was wonderfully, magically creepy. Very Roald Dahl, which is cool. (one of these days, I'm gonna figure out how to do that Amazon-linky thing that Jen did, and try and reap some rewards from all of this Amazon whoring.) And now here I am, back at work. I haven't managed to do anything of consequence yet. :P|W|P|109457391451967734|W|P|Labor-less Day|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/07/2004 01:06:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|It's been a good, relaxing weekend. Lots of reading. I'll tell you all about it later. In the meantime, my thanks to All Things Jen(nifer) and, of course, Jennifer Hawkins for the increased traffic. 589 hits in the past two days!|W|P|109452670307614361|W|P|We will return to your regularly scheduled blog tomorrow|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/06/2004 05:46:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Be sure to check out the Chronicles of 27. It's been recently updated!|W|P|109451084486829604|W|P|While you're here...|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/05/2004 03:47:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Jen just exclaimed, quite loudly, "Every second that I'm not speaking, I'm singing MAGICAL TREVOR in my head!" Well, it IS a bit frightening. ;)|W|P|109440658460677129|W|P|The tricks that he does are ever so clever|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/05/2004 03:33:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Last night, we went to see Hero. I hadn't previously heard much buzz about it, but I liked it quite a bit. R said he thought he liked it better than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and I think I agree. I wasn't so sure about where it was going at first, but after about the first 20 minutes, I was completely enthralled. The cinematography was breathtaking, of course. But here's the funny part of the story. We arrived at the theater, and R went to buy our tickets. I heard the girl at the ticket counter say something, but didn't quite catch what it was. R looked at her kind of strangely and said, "Yes?" We walked away, and I asked what that was. "She said, 'You know this movie is all in Chinese with English subtitles'." Ummm....okay. So apparently moviegoers have to be warned when seeing a film with subtitles. This strikes me as kind of odd, because if you're buying a ticket for the movie, shouldn't you already have this information? Sigh. As my good friend Ray would say, "I weep for the republic." ;)|W|P|109440620684730400|W|P|Everybody was kung-fu fighting|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/05/2004 02:55:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|
Buttercup

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti
Thanks Stephanie! :)|W|P|109440344747536020|W|P|As you wish|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/03/2004 11:52:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Second class went reasonably well...there were a few stumbling moments, one or two moments of "attitude" from the students, but once we got rolling, it seemed to be fine. I had assigned the first chapter, an introduction, for reading. There really wasn't a whole lot to it. Why is writing important? How do we learn to write? Blah blah blah. But the minute I got there, I got complaints of "I didn't understand the reading." "There was too much." Not sure what to do about this. I went through and highlighted some of the main points for them. We talked about different types of writing. Tone. Style. Genre. As an activity, I handed out a bunch of pieces of writing, all of them by me. I had them get into groups and try to determine who the piece's intended audience was, what the purpose of the piece was, and what the author's tone was. I think they at least somewhat enjoyed that... I was walking by the classroom before class stared, and I think I overheard one of them saying that he was upset to have a first-time teacher. I try not to take these things personally. Next week, we start doing some writing. On the way out, I heard one of the students ask one of the others "How many English classes do we have to take?" Yes, I'm teaching a "required" course. Which means they just *love* me. I said "I take it you don't like English?" He said, "It's not that I don't like it. It's that I don't understand it, and it's really hard for me." Ahhh....my challenge of the semester. I didn't feel so bad about the attitude I'd gotten when R told me about his first class. Now, he has grad students...which one would think is a completely different world than undergrads at a community college, right? He did an icebreaker activity with them, and asked them to tell him something about themselves that they wanted him to know. One of them said "I hate icebreakers." :P|W|P|109421959962923099|W|P|Back to school again|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/02/2004 12:26:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|After I ordered one online that was going to cost me $15 with shipping and handling (the shipping and handling wree about twice as much as the fuel cap was), my dad found a used one at a salvage yard for $2. Out of curiosity, I called the dealership. Guy said he had one, but "it wasn't gonna be cheap." $33. For a bleeping piece of plastic. So I told him that I had one on the way, and asked if he thought it was a big deal to wait a few more days. He said no. Dad put the new cap in the mail yesterday. Hurrah.|W|P|109413522091477340|W|P|Fuel cap update|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/01/2004 04:25:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Hey, blog fans. The new issue of Toasted Cheese is up. Go read it! Be sure to check out 30 is a Magic Number by yours truly. Enjoy!|W|P|109406319504834565|W|P|For your reading pleasure|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/01/2004 01:34:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I walked into my classroom yesterday at about 10 minutes before class time. Over half of the students were already sitting there waiting for me. I wondered what they thought. Did I look like one of them? I said hello, smiled, and put my things down. I've never felt quite so on display before. The students weren't talking. They weren't reading. They weren't doing anything. They were just sitting there. Looking at me. I started to pull things out of my bag. The syllabus. The books. I looked up and counted heads. My roster had 22 names on it. I had about 15 students in front of me. I looked at my watch. I wrote some stuff on the board. I looked at my watch again. At about 5 minutes before class time, I opted to hand out the syllabus to the students who were already sitting there. A few more trickled in. I passed out index cards, which I asked them to write some identifying information on. And a few more trickled in. I got them caught up, passed out the necessary materials, and started talking. I introduced myself, and once the words started coming out of my mouth, I was fine. I told them they could call me Erin, they could call me Ms. N, but "Just don't call me Mrs. N, because I'm not married." They chuckled. Whew. Talked about the books, went over the syllabus, talked a bit about what they were going to be expected to do. "Any questions for me?" Twenty-two blank stares. "Okay then, I'll let you go for today. Read chapter 1 and be ready to discuss it on Thursday." Whoosh! Mass exodus from the room. Yeah, I remember what that was like. Now tomorrow, the REAL work begins. Wish me luck!|W|P|109405294341281823|W|P|Head of the class|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com9/01/2004 12:17:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|A good friend asked me recently if R had access to erin-go-blog...I said that I didn't know, but have been sort of treating it as if he did. So of course, since then, I've been obsessively wondering if he's found it and has been reading. Has he? :)|W|P|109400518693764473|W|P|Wondering|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com