2/28/2005 09:15:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Well, overall I didn't fare that well...I got 11 picks right. But the only two *big* ones I missed were Martin Scorsese and Annette Bening. Honestly, I really thought this was going to be the year Oscar said "Okay, Marty...here's your Oscar." I was wrong. And Annette Bening was wishful thinking. I hold no hatred in my heart for Hilary Swank, but I really *wanted* the older, graceful, absolutely radiant Bening to win. I haven't seen either movie, so I can't grumble too much about that. And someone tell me...what's with the whole "to win a best actress Oscar, you must play homely/a man or man-like/disabled/hooker" deal? The ones I missed were ones I honest-to-goodness guessed on. Animated short? Documentary? Score? Eh...no clue. How does one go about seeing the live-action shorts, anyway? Hmmm... Mostly, I didn't think the show was all that exciting. I didn't even cry during the tribute montage. I did tear up during Jamie Foxx's acceptance speech, though. Sniff.|W|P|110964753995297994|W|P|Oscars, part II|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/26/2005 02:58:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I've been formulating a post about the Oscars for several weeks now, but am just now getting around to writing it. I'm having a good Oscar year...I've seen three of the best picture nominees...The Aviator, Finding Neverland and Sideways. I enjoyed all of them. I know that the only one that has any chance of taking away the top award is The Aviator. And that's only if it beats Million Dollar Baby, which I have not seen. In fact, I didn't have any particular desire to see it until I kept hearing how *amazing* it is. I can't say I really understand the voting whims of the Academy, so I tend to make my predictions based on instinct rather than claiming any sort of insight. I've joined in Eden's Oscar group for picking the winner. I'll let you know how I did. ;) Here are my picks for the major awards: Best Picture: Million Dollar Baby Director: Martin Scorsese for The Aviator Actor: Jamie Foxx Actress: Annette Bening Supporting Actor: Morgan Freeman Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchette Animated Feature: The Incredibles Writing (Adapted): Sideways Writing (Original): Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind I guess on most of the other categories, even documentary, because I know so little about them. Somewhere around here, I had made a list of the Oscar-nominated movies from the past five years that I still haven't seen. I don't know where it is at the moment. For this year, I still want to see Million Dollar Baby, The Incredibles (ahem), Hotel Rwanda, Closer, Being Julia, Maria Full of Grace, Kinsey, Shrek 2, and possibly Ray. Let's roll out the red carpet, shall we? :)|W|P|110944894225465073|W|P|Obligatory Oscar Post|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/23/2005 01:07:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I was going to be all good and go work out this morning, but this lousy cold (which I believe I picked up at home from my 6-year-old cousin) is making me want to curl up and pull the covers over my head and just stay there. Ugh. It's not so bad that I can't function...just that I'd rather not. Yesterday, I went to the school where I'm going to be subbing. I got to talk to the teacher, who was not only very sweet but very well-organized. Yay for me. I want to try to keep their classroom routine in place as much as possible, and with the information she left me, that's going to be really easy. I'll be able to add my own little touches, but the foundation is very, very solid. Umm...hmmm...because of how crazy things have been lately, I'm behind on a lot of things. Like reading submissions for TC. Bad, bad editor. Interesting what has developed with the community college class...I really like my Tuesday class. My Wednesday class? Uh, not so much. That's not entirely fair...there are a few of them that I really don't like. I feel like they're rolling their eyes and snickering every time I turn my back. The entire class is fairly unresponsive. Blah. Last night, they were really good about being understanding my not feeling so well and not wanting to do a lot of talking. Not so sure how it'll go tonight. Rand and I watched Napoleon Dynamite the other night. I'd heard widely divergent reviews after it came out...Jen saw it last week and loved it. I wasn't so impressed. I thought it had a lot of funny moments, but didn't feel like it held together so well. Some other stuff I've seen recently: Boogie Nights (thumbs up) Spirited Away (thumbs up) The Sure Thing (thumbs up...can't believe I'd not seen this before. I had caught part of it on TV once, but never from start to finish.) I also have an update to my 50-Book Challenge to put up...most recently finished Maus and am about halfway through the sequel. Thanks to those who posted kind thoughts, both about my job situation and the other (ahem) situation. I do appreciate it! :)|W|P|110918333464261540|W|P|Feed a cold?|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/20/2005 05:17:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Let's all hope it was the right choice. :) The more I think about it, the more excited I am about (almost) having my own classroom!|W|P|110893789949984234|W|P|Teach your children well|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/19/2005 02:56:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Hee. This weekend and this coming week, I intend to catch up on all of those silly things I've been meaning to write in my blog. Just one quick little tidbit to tide you over in the meantime, though. Yesterday, I was driving home from a half-day sub job (which is one of the things I have to write about), when I was surprised by a call from a Catholic elementary school principal. It seems she's looking for a long-term sub, grade 6-7-8 English and Literature, and she got my name from the diocesan Education office. Money a tiny bit less than I would get as a day-to-day sub, but it's experience actually teaching in my subject area. And it's guaranteed work every day. And it's not having to wonder if the phone is going to ring, or where I'm going to be from one day to the next. I went in yesterday afternoon for an interview, and she *loved* me. She as much as told me that she had a few more interviews to do, but that she was only doing them out of a sense of obligation. She wanted to offer me the job. She told me that God sent me to them...heehee. I am almost 100% certain that I'm going to take it if offered. The only down side to pulling myself out of the public school sub pool is that I *might* miss out on a chance to meet the right person for a potential position. But I think the experience gained outweighs that risk. *update* I got a message this afternoon offering me the position. I haven't called back yet. I've heard very valid reasons on both sides of this argument. I called my cooperating teacher who was very excited for me and thinks it's great, that the experience is worth the potential drawbacks on the other side...my aunts think I should keep subbing in the public schools. Thoughts?|W|P|110884334608183406|W|P|Playing ketchup|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/16/2005 09:24:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|So yes, Valentine's Day was simply lovely...Rand and I had dinner at Rue Franklin. We started with some appetizers...mine was a tasty pasta dish with rabbit (yes, rabbit) and bacon, and about a pound of butter. He had an arugala salad and also some sea scallops (I'm almost sold on sea scallops...this is the second time I've tried his, and they were quite yummy...). For dinner, we both had the filet mignon, which was absolute perfection. I had a chocolate raspberry truffle tort for dessert. Mmmm... *my apologies to my dear roommie for not sharing details, but the first time I saw her afterwards, she was half sleeping, and so I just gave her the bare-bones description!* Our waiter was someone I actually recognized...a couple of years ago, Jen and I went to karaoke at the Tudor Lounge and spent most of the night talking to this guy. He went up and simply rocked "Rock the Casbah." "I think I know our waiter," I told Rand. Before we left, I stopped him and asked if he'd ever done karaoke at the Tudor Lounge. He got a sheepish grin on his face and said "Yeah." "Okay, that's how I know you," I said. Hee! After we'd ordered our meal, Rand asked me if I noticed how the wait staff is trained to stroke the man's ego...I hadn't. "When you ordered," he told me, "he just kind of nodded and said okay. But when I ordered, it was 'Oh, yes, excellent choice sir." I did notice this when we ordered our dessert. Rand ordered fruit sorbet, followed up by "Yes, a perfect way to finish off." Heh. Interesting things that I don't notice...probably because I don't do much fine dining. ;) I also received a beautiful bouquet of roses. I gave Rand this adorable little book:

And ordered a DVD that I knew he wanted. Unfortunately, the DVD hasn't come in yet, so he got an IOU. I also got him the "Romance" edition of magnetic poetry. To make it a little extra-special, I bought a magnetic dry erase board and wrote a little poem for him. It was a big hit. (Maybe I can get him to take a photo of it for me?) :) (aside...how cool is magnetic poetry? and this? I didn't even know there was such a thing!) I hope everyone had a pleasant day! More on my adventures in substitute teaching later...|W|P|110856458783970209|W|P|Love in my tummy|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/14/2005 10:51:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I caught a wee bit of the Grammy Awards last night. Ugh. Snorefest. We happened to pop in at the point where a bunch of country singers were singing with Lynrd Snynrd. Gretchen Wilson makes me want to claw my eyes out. (aside...Redneck Woman wins best female country vocal performance. Eek. No wonder I rarely listen to country radio anymore.) I can't stand her. I can't stand her stupid song that, for reasons completely escaping my comprehension, has become a crossover hit. Sample lyric: I ain't never been the Barbie doll type No, I can't swig that sweet Champagne I'd rather drink beer all night In a tavern or in a honky tonk or on a four-wheel drive tailgate I've got posters on my wall of Skynyrd, Kid and Strait Some people look down on me but I don't give a rip I'll stand barefooted in my own front yard with a baby on my hip Full lyrics here. "This is going to sound bitchy," I told Rand, "But she's trailer trash with a recording contract." Umm...anyway...I did find myself listening to WYRK a bit over the weekend. They were playing older stuff, from like ten years ago, when I first started listening to country music. The very first song I heard was "That's My Story" by Collin Raye. Yay, Collin! Then it was "18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses" by Kathy Mattea, which got me to thinking about one of the things I first enjoyed about country music...the story song. I love story songs. Perfect little pieces of flash fiction set to music. And country music was doing it better than pretty much anyone at the time. Some of my favorite story songs: Love, Me Harder Cards She's in Love with the Boy The Thunder Rolls ***addition, I can't believe I forgot Little Rock.*** I'm sure there are more, but those are good for now. :) And on the other end of music, I had Jessica (my little) in the car with me on Saturday. We listen to hip hop when she's in the car, which I don't mind at all...that is, until I start listening to the lyrics. Then I end up depressed that this is what 13-year-old urban girls are identifying with. Sigh. This is the one that got to me on Saturday: Soldier (Destiny's Child) Destiny's Child? I'd have thought better of Beyonce and the crew. Sample lyric: If his status ain't hood I aint checking for him better be street if he looking at me I need a soldier and he's gotta stand up for me known to carry big things if you know what I mean Am I just old and out of touch?|W|P|110839862538095932|W|P|Some thoughts on music|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/14/2005 09:00:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|What's it like when all your dreams come true? When your life is given something new and you begin to live the way you've always wanted to? That, for me, is you. Happy Valentine's Day, baby! ;)

|W|P|110755279464740119|W|P|More than just holding hands|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/10/2005 11:30:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|The other day, Rand and I were talking about Valentine's Day, and I asked what he wanted to do... "I made a reservation for six," he said. "Does that work for you?" Does it work? I was shocked, in the most pleasant of ways. You see, the entire time I was with X, he never planned anything. Not once. Not one Valentine's Day, not one anniversary. I had to plan everything. And it's not as if I have outrageous expectations...sometimes, a girl just wants to feel valued. Cherished. Important. And I do. I really, really do. ;)|W|P|110805320893300874|W|P|Let me count the ways|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/10/2005 11:17:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Yes, I'm pretending to be a librarian today. ;) Honestly, I've gotten the easiest assignments. On Tuesday, I was in for a teacher whose classes were all (but one) meeting with guidance to discuss scheduling. I read a book. Today, I get to read between turning kids away from the library (capacity is 25), monitoring computer use and shelving the occasional book. Today, I also get to use the computer for a brief moment while the library clerk is on her lunch break. Woohoo! I subbed 7th grade Spanish on Monday...they were...uh, a handful. Not "bad" exactly, but they didn't want to shut up. A few of the kids were blatantly disrespectful to each other. One girl, a snotty little thing wearing a too-short skirt and a too-tight top, gave me attitude when I asked her to sit down during study hall. She huffed back to her desk and slammed down her notebook. I went up to her and told her to knock off the attitude. She glared at me. Sigh... My community college class is, um, interesting. I like my Tuesday class better. The Wednesday class won't talk to me, will barely talk to each other, and I just feel this wall of attitude coming from them. I spoke to two adult students yesterday after class who told me that I am *not* imagining the attitude. Every moment of that class is like pulling teeth. Yesterday, I let them go early, offering to stick around and answer questions for anyone who wanted help on their essays that are due next week. Four of them stuck around to talk to me. We'll see how their papers look. I have one student who is not on my roster. I just got my final list, and he's still not on it. I told him he has to go to records ASAP and straighten it out. He wanted me to take care of it for him...um, right. Do I look like your mommy? Hmmm...what else...oh, yeah! I went to the Ash Wednesday service at the Episcopal church yesterday with Jen, and so I still had big smudgy ashes on my forehead. One kid, as I started class, said "Miss, I think you have some ink on your face or something." Hee. After the service, Jen and I met up with Rand for a tasty fish fry at Gabriel's Gate. Ah, is there anything better than the Lenten fish fry? :)|W|P|110805296665761742|W|P|Madam librarian...|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/07/2005 09:29:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Ah, substitute teaching... Last week, I got called in four out of five days. I imagine I would have gotten called in for Thursday as well, but I chose not to work so I could be there for my roommie. I worked today, and got a call for tomorrow. I should have done this a LONG time ago. I've also made sure that I will get back on one more sub list...a rural district that is the highest paid in WNY, and possibly has English/ELA openings for next year. That is a good list to be on, I think... Ummm...anyway, I've pretty much reaffirmed that I like middle school better than high school. As I mentioned, I had a couple of seniors with attitude problems on that first day. I *love* subbing classes with teaching assistants/student teachers. My second two days were for 7th grade English, in a class with a student teacher. When I was a student teacher, I had one day where my cooperating teacher had to be out, and I taught the classes. The sub was just there to back me up. That's nice...not terribly interesting for the sub, but nice. ;) Also on Monday, I noticed one of the girls crying in the hall on the way in to class, and I listened as her friends rushed up to comfort her...it seemed her boyfriend had just broken up with her. Schmuck couldn't even wait until after school, apparently. I remember how much that sucked...you've just ended this relationship that seems like it's your entire world, and you have to face that person every. single. day. Ugh. Poor kid... On Wednesday, the seventh graders had a noun worksheet, on which they had to answer a bunch of questions about themselves. One of the questions was What is your favorite singer/band? Most of the answers were typical...Usher. GreenDay. Simple Plan. Jessica Simpson. Ashlee Simpson. *shudder* But I saw a few that surprised me. Pink Floyd. Metallica. And...um...Scott Celani. (certain people will understand why that's amusing to me...heehee) On Friday, I entered the land of the unknown and did a half day as a gym teacher. Whee! It really wasn't that bad. And can I just say two words...cafeteria duty. Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I'm pretty sure cafeteria duty is one of the levels of hell. So yeah, keep those positive thoughts coming...with any luck, this will lead to something permanent, or at least semi-permanent. :)|W|P|110783090952669996|W|P|If you build it, he will come|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/07/2005 04:41:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Until a week ago, I had a job where I sat in front of a computer all. freaking. day. It allowed for constant checking of email, and nearly constant blogging. Now, however, I do not have such luxuries. My apologies to anyone who is disappointed by the lack of frequency/substance in this past week, but here is how my days have generally gone: Go to whatever school has called me in that day and deal with attitude-filled teenagers. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, spend four hours (including drive time) in the evening teaching community college class. On Fridays, go to the Y and teach cheerleading. I try to be in bed by 11, so I can be prepared if my phone rings at 6 am. Occasionally, I might watch a movie, read a book, or watch TV. Or write in my journal. Or spend time with Rand. Or attend the funeral of my best friend's grandfather. I'm very happy with my decision to start substitute teaching, and I'm sure I made the right choice, but I'm f-ing tired. I certainly don't need to take any shit for my blogging topics or frequency. Okay? Oh, and yes, it may have been a while since I've changed my mood, but it should be noted that I was feeling "sexy" because of my new haircut. Normal blogging to resume soon.|W|P|110774891526298916|W|P|So here's the deal...|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/06/2005 06:08:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|

what flavor pocky are you?
[c] sugardew

Thanks to Jen for the link! :) Rand got the same result. Isn't that cute? ;)|W|P|110773140834105119|W|P|I am milk pocky|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/05/2005 11:55:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|R...ahem...Rand has introduced me to a wonderful and delectable treat:

Mmmm...Pocky! I've had regular pocky, giant pocky, almond crush pocky, coconut milk pocky, and some sort of green tea pocky...and they've all been quite tasty. Well, I'm not so sure about the tea one, but the rest of them are quite tasty. Rand tells me that the best thing in the entire world is pudding pocky, but we can't seem to find that anywhere. Does anyone know if it still exists? I'm starting to doubt... ;) for anyone who saw this before I edited the title, oops. my bad. I was eating Chinese food at the time. ;)|W|P|110762284770007453|W|P|Japanese snack food|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/04/2005 09:34:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|When I did the music meme, I thought about tagging R, but then I thought, "He won't actually do it." But Debbie did, and SHE threw down the gauntlet. And he actually did it! I am shocked. And awed. ;)|W|P|110752782932934192|W|P|Kudos to Debbie :)|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/02/2005 04:53:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Since my hometown is a mere hour's drive from Punxsutawney, I have to wish everyone a happy Groundhog Day! Although I'm not happy that the silly little bugger saw his shadow...anyone know what Phil's accuracy rate is? :)

|W|P|110738129142939760|W|P|6 more weeks?|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com2/02/2005 01:38:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Hilary at Superfluous Juxtaposition tagged me on this one, so here ya go! 1. What is the total amount of music files on your computer? 3.74 GB. At least some of that is Jen's music, though. ;) 2. The CD you last bought is: This is hard...most of the music I've been listening to has come to me courtesy of R. Technically, the last CD I *bought* was the Goo Goo Dolls Live in Buffalo, for Jen. (I got my own copy of it for Christmas...) Prior to that, um, (I'm embarrassed that I'm going back this far) I think it would have to be either Carbon Leaf, Indian Summer, or Jackdaw, Triple Crown. That was in July. 3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message? I was just in the car, and the last song I heard on the radio was "Welcome to My Life" (Simple Plan...I had to look that up.) 4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you: Black Monday, Lowest of the Low American Pie, Don McLean (It's a college/sorority thing. Many hours were spent learning the lyrics...) Brown Eyed Girl, Van Morrison (There's an extreme shortage of mentions of brown eyes in songs...it's always blue, blue, blue. So I dig this one. ;) ) In Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel Torn to Tattered, Carbon Leaf 5. Who are you going to pass this stick to? (3 persons) and why? Hmm...Stephanie, because I don't think she's been tagged yet. Meghan, just because she's cool. And Debbie, because I always enjoy her posts about music. :)|W|P|110684893321970030|W|P|I've been tagged!|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com