2001-09-25
"I Want Love", posted at 7:13 a.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Man, I'm really liking that new Elton John song. It's gotta be his biggest hit in a decade or so already, because I see the video all the time. I didn't like it at first, but after about five viewings of the awesome video, I'm hooked. Robert Downey Jr. somehow manages to do amazing work in between his drug arrests, and he does it again in this five-minute video. The video is shot without any cuts, and follows Downey around an empty house (a la Lisa Loeb's video for "Stay") as he lip-synchs the words. I just think it's so powerful. Every glance, every turn from the camera, every eye closing - Downey somehow makes the song his own despite not being the one singing it. Like his performance of Joni Mitchell's song "River" on the Ally McBeal Christmas Album last year, the songs lyrics also seem to fit Downey: "I want love, but it's impossible / A man like me, so irresponsible / A man like me is dead in places / Other men feel so liberated." His own past lends power to the song.Heck, I think the song fits me in a lot of places as well: "I want love, won't break me down / Won't brick me up, won't fence me in." Especially since "break me down" and "fence me in" is all that love has eventually done to me in the past.
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Last night, I stayed at school until 6:30pm, and still didn't get close to finishing up all my work. I am beginning to realize just how much work it is to be a real, full-fledged teacher. I can't wait until I begin to learn those little tricks of the trade in order to get better and more efficient at my job. I sort of feel like my head is above the water now after all the work I did, but it could just as easily dip down again once my freshmen essays are due on Thursday. How are other teachers so efficient? I don't want to feel like the veteran teacher who told me she feels like she's always on a treadmill that never stops during the school year. Teaching should be fun.
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After getting back from school, I enjoyed some television. I watched the "King of Queens" (I've never gotten into this sitcom before, but it was hilariou), then switched over to the Brady edition of "The Weakest Link" (I think Florence Henderson is so cool), then watched "Everybody Loves Raymond" (laugh out loud funny - I can't believe I've spent all those years watching "Ally McBeal" in this spot), and "The Ellen Show" (I was expecting more, but I still find Ellen to be pretty funny when she goes off on her tangents - maybe it'll get better). I taped the new show "Crossing Jordan." I've had a celebrity crush on Jill Hennessy for years, ever since she first was on "Law & Order," and wow did she ever look great in the commercials for this show. However, 10pm is a bit late for me nowadays.
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I'm still reeling from the telethon performances on Friday night. The radio station I listen to has been playing live performances from it the last couple of days, and man they're good. They should release a live CD of the broadcast as soon as possible. Besides Wyclef Jean, I think my favorite performance might have been Tom Petty singing "I Won't Back Down," which of course took on a patriotic meaning with him singing it in the wake of the attacks. Even though he looked a bit like a cross between Abe Lincoln and Grizzly Adams, it was a damn good performance.
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Last night, I filled out an application to adopt a dog. Through an organization called Paw Rescue, I'm thinking about getting an abandoned one. Lately, I've been thinking about not getting a puppy, but instead getting a slightly older dog - one that might not have a chance at living. Adult dogs would already be housebroken and need a chance more. I fell in love with the on-line bios of a bunch of the dogs there. I particularly liked this one, but there were a whole bunch that I really liked. I want to meet them. I told them I wanted a young-ish, friendly, mellow dog who still would want to go running with me, and one who isn't too loud but would still bark if an intruder comes. This might be it. My landlord still hasn't called me back, and I think she's out of town, so it has to wait on that.
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I played basketball this morning, and sucked big time again. I wish I could practice somewhere. I can't seem to dribble much at all, or shoot well when someone is guarding me. (Other than that, it's smooth sailing.) The workout afterwards wasn't that great, either - the result of too many days off. Still, I lost another 6 pounds last week; I've been weighing myself on Mondays. Just the summer before last, I was up around 270 or 280 (probably more - I eventually just stopped weighing myself). Now I'm at 219, and seemingly swiftly getting to my goal of 190. The move has accelerated the weight loss; I'm not sure why, as I haven't been working out any harder. Maybe it's the fact that I'm out of the dorms and away from the readily available (and unhealthy) cafeteria.
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Tomorrow is teacher professional development and inservice day. I have a feeling it's going to be a boring, horrible day, but it will admittedly be nice to have a bit of a break from the kids.