Tuesday, Apr. 29, 2003
You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub, posted at 10:44 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com I haven't been writing much lately. I don't know, I guess I'm a little bored of journaling. I still write all these entries in my head as I drive, but don't have the energy to write them when I get back. I guess part of it is the beautiful spring weather and the knowledge that there are many more productive things I could be doing. For example, last night I drove to Home Depot and bought five tomato plants, two hot pepper plants, and a rose bush. I wasn't planning on buying the latter, but it was $1.99. Now they're in my vegetable garden, all ready to be planted when I get another free moment. See, I planted my vegetable garden a few weeks ago, but I'm pretty sure the frost killed all my seeds because the only thing coming up in there is weeds. I will give it another go with already growing plants, even though I'm a little worried because they are the tiny kind that come in 4" pots and are sold for 99 cents.School has been decent. I am taking forever on To Kill a Mockingbird with my students, but feel like they're getting a lot out of it. Each of my students will be Mockingbird experts by the end of the year. I think I'm picking up more nuances than I ever have before in the book. Like at the end of chapter 15, when Scout narrates, "Atticus and Jem were well ahead of us..." and this not only means physically but also in maturity level. I pointed out that little detail to some kids yesterday and they were amazed.
My out of class work at school has been demanding lately. I'm on the interviewing panel trying to hire new teachers for the department, and we've had to see a lot of candidates because they have all just been so... underwhelming. That means cutting into baseball practice and grading times, because I have to leave during my planning period and watch a part of their demo lesson and then interview them later after school. Yesterday I ended up giving the interview in full baseball uniform because we had a game right after school. In addition, there are a lot of stressful budget problems right now in the district. Plus, separate issue, three of my colleagues are being let go and we have had a huge turnover rate in the last several years. Some teachers are circulating a petition voicing "no confidence" in the current administration because of this massive turnover rate and the unfairness in the dismissal of these three teachers. I am unsure as to whether or not to sign. I totally agree with the sentiment, but am afraid of retribution. Until you're tenured, there's no protection; unions are pretty weak here in this state. However, I expressed this concern to the woman circulating the petition in our department, and she said, "Oh, Epiphany, you're the 'golden boy' here. No way they're going to do anything to you." I tried to read the tone of her response, and couldn't figure out if it was snide or supportive. Anyway, about the petition, I tried to apply my general W.W.G.D.? philosophy (What Would Gale Do?), and couldn't quite figure it out. On one hand, I want to show support for my colleagues and what I see as a detrimental turnover rate of teachers. On the other hand, I don't want to be fired, though this is probably an overreaction. We shall see.
My workouts have been great lately. I've been swimming a little, which is tough as hell but I'm sure a great workout. I started out by just doing twenty laps in a somewhat small pool, and even that kicked my ass. Now, I could get up right now and run six miles if I wanted to, but ask me to swim for twenty minutes and that's pretty tough. I figure I'm getting a really good workout from it since it is so tough. And I'm getting better. No longer do I have to take breaks every other lap, and no longer do I feel like I'm expending way more energy than distance. Still, I sort of wish I had a coach there to watch me and tell me what I'm doing wrong. Swimming is definitely something that other people make look easy but really isn't.
Not much else is new. Six Feet Under is back on track and making me laugh out loud. I loved the gay paintball scenes. 24 is the best show on TV right now, though. This whole takeover of the presidency thing is enthralling stuff.
That's all the news that's fit to print.
PS: If you're a musician interested in doing a house concert, it's probably not good practice to fucking call his house at 11:09 pm. Especially when he's a teacher. I was nice, though I probably shouldn't have been.
PPS: So I made this hip-hop CD for myself the other day and it hasn't left my car stereo. Here is the track list:
1. "Ignition (Remix)" by R Kelly: This is the song that inspired the CD, one of the all out funnest summer-ish songs I've heard in ages. I didn't find out for a while that it was by R Kelly, and by then it had its hooks in me.
2. "In Da Club" by 50 Cent: They had this long NPR program about him and it made me want to seek him out. That and all the magazine covers. I love his delivery and this song is catchy as hell.
3. "Wansta" by 50 Cent: I like his delivery in this one even more, so relaxed and loose and funny. This sense of bravado that he has in this song is endearing to me, and some lines, especially the little Bow Wow one, put a grin on my face.
4. "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake with 50 Cent: Yes, I was in a 50 Cent mood. His raps at the beginning and end of this song are exactly the type of marketing ploy that I hate, but it adds grit to a song that needed it. I was trying to figure out if 50 Cent was supposed to represent the man who Timberlake's woman cheated on, and one of my students said, "No, Mr. E, he's just there to be there." He's probably right.
5. "Hey Ma" by Cam'ron: I've written about the joys of this song before. It's hilarious and catchy as hell.
6. "Tennesee" by Arrested Development: I decided to go a little old school here. It's a great song, but it sort of is too weighty for this CD in retrospect.
7. "One Nia Mexico" by Saul Williams: Williams is the future of hip-hop. This is poetry that is enthralling, entrancing, and demanding. I love it.
8. "Country Grammar" by Nelly: I know I'm 4 years late, but damn I love this song.
9. "Gimme" by Jill Scott: Sexy as hell.
10. "Concert of the Sun Unplugged" by Saul Williams: That isn't the real title, I forget what it is. But wow what a song.
11. "Emotional Rollercoaster" by Vivian Green: I find the lines about running to clear her head to be particularly evocative.
12. "Rainy Dayz" by Mary J. Blige: Nice little song. Though I think I prefer her with more drama.
13. "Not Gon' Cry" by Blige: I added this without listening, only from my memory. I don't like it as much as I remember. I love the verses, but the chorus with its huge gospel background doesn't fit with the tone of lonesomeness. Blige is one of the best singers alive, but she doesn't have enough faith in herself here to just sing the song.
14. "7 Days" by Craig David: Is this song a hit? I've never heard it on the radio. I only know it because Rose Polenzani did a goofy cover of it on acoustic guitar. It's a great song, exactly right in tone and vocals.
15. "Survivor" by Destiny's Child: The type of song to turn up loud and sing along to such goofy lines as "I'm not gonna dis you on the Internet cuz my mama taught me better than that."
16. "Emotions" by Destiny's Child: This one seemed like a good idea at the time, but doesn't really fit on the CD.
17. "One Mic" by Nas: So powerful. Love the biblical allusions.
18. "Lose Yourself" by Eminem: Still the best song in years.
19. I can't remember.