Done with flying

Hey guys, long time no blog. It takes a lot of time to teach the genius children, but here I am embarking on my last week and I have cleverly made them do independent projects so that is less planning for me. woo! I am enjoying the teaching, although the discipline for teenagers is exhausting. I feel like I have to always be on the alert. I can relax so much more with college aged students.

I took off weekend before last to go to the same wedding as Melinda and Christopher and Corbett. It was nice to get home for the weekend, but I had the WORST trip back. As the others described the wedding, I was just tell you about me. :)

My flight was out of LaGuardia, so I took the bus there and all was well. The flight got a little delayed, and then a little more delayed, and then finally canceled. There were apparently no more available flights for that day, so they said they could put me on one Monday. However, I am a freakishly responsible person and knew it would be terrible for me to not get back to teach. With the fast pace here missing one day is awful, and there aren't really subs they can call in. So I pressed the airline woman to get me out of town that night, and she said there was a flight from Newark. I decided to take this, got back on the bus, took it to the subway, took that to Penn Station, then took a New Jersey Transit train to Newark. I became concerned when I saw the airport was crammed with people just lying and sitting everywhere. I joined the surly, floor sitting people and watched my flight get pushed later and later and then finally canceled. Argh. So I got in another line, was confirmed on a 6:45 pm flight for Monday, and got a standby ticket for a 6:30 am flight. I was sorely tempted to pretend the 6:30 am thing did not exist, but my freakishly responsible side took over again. I got home from Newark at 11:30 pm only to get up again at 4:30 am to head back. R was the best ever though, and woke up with me and got a zipcar so I could save a little time and not have to travel on the subway/NJ transit combo so early.

I headed to the gate and waited and waited. The gate woman told me the flight was overbooked. There were like 8 other people looming about waiting for standby tickets. Finally, they got all the ticketed passengers on and then called out a name, and then another, and then another. They repeated the third name. Then they called me! woo! Thanks for not showing up, third guy! So I got the very last seat on the plane, flew here to smart camp town, got a taxi, and ended up getting on campus in time to teach my class. Of course, this meant I taught 6 hours with very little sleep, but I managed. I fell asleep basically as soon as I got back to my room at 4:00, but it all worked out in the end.

California gay marriage

yay!

The inundation

I am here at smart camp, and today the kids begin to arrive. Fun! I am dressed up in business casual to impress the parents with my professionalism and ability to impart knowledge to their children. I am actually pretty excited and feeling prepared. It helps that I taught here last year, so I know kind of what to expect.

family

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Alive

Lately I feel I only post so as to let you know I am alive. I am alive. I am in a hot state about to teach the brilliant children. So far I have gotten to sit in a classroom and be talked at. Ah, orientation. Our dinner was pushed back today so I am starving and tired, so that is all for now.

yum

I am a victim of academic neglect. Therefore, I got to spend my week in grad school town traveling about eating at tasty restaurants instead of doing what I thought I came to do. Even though I now live in NYC, allegedly the restaurant capital of the US or something, I miss so many restaurants here. Really, this town has a ton of good places for its size, and they are so cheap! I have eaten many portabella mushroom sandwiches, herbed goat cheese, butternut squash bisque, and sweet potato fries. Yum yum. So that is the bright side of this somewhat wasted trip. I also got to see friends which was good. And tomorrow I depart for my drive to Virginia. Time to charge the ipod!

books

46. The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
This is a collection of essays by This American Life contributor Sarah Vowell. If you've listened to her at all, you know what to expect. The essays are witty and insightful and entertaining. As I have heard her a lot on TAL, I loved how I could hear her voice in my head as I read this book.

47. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
This is a very interesting book about what would happen to the earth if humans disappeared. It is very interesting and eye opening to see how quickly a lot of our structures will disappear, but scary about how mych plastic will remain forever. A good book.

48. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
49. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
Two more Shannon Hale books, the first two of another series. I loved The Goose Girl, about a princess who loses her kingdom and has to regain it. It had a lot of the same themes as Princess Academy, and I liked Princess Academy slightly more, but this was still quite good.
Enna Burning was the sequel, and I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as The Goose Girl. There was more war and battle, and less concentration on characters. Still very good and worth a read, though.

I am still here

Sorry for the lack of posting. I am currently on my summer travels and right before I left I was stressed and now I am on the road. I am actually in my grad school town discovering that indeed, universities are not really concerned about their students. It sucks. Anyway, in the end I have decided it will make me more stubborn and willful about finishing, but for now I am feeling disillusioned and cynical.

I have been getting to see a lot of friends, though! And I am sure more fun adventures will occur AND I am renting a car for $75 for a week. Gotta love a bargain.