"Almost Cut My Hair"

Well, I got a haircut.

The last time I got it cut was August of last year, and that was really just a trim to keep things even. It had become long enough to pull back into a ponytail in the past month or so, though some of the hair in the front didn't always stay in the ponytail.

Which is pretty boring to you, I'm sure. What the hell do you care about my hair issues?

Anyway, it's now the shortest it's been since I moved out to Virginia in 2005. I'm kinda fond of the way it looks, and my head feels about five pounds lighter.

Tomorrow is the school prom...or, as we're calling it, Spring Fling (calling it "Prom" freaked students out too much, apparently). Michelle and I have to attend as chaperones, which is an idea that I still find odd at best.

Just two weeks left of school. I keep telling myself that so I can survive. Two more weeks.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Oasis, "She's Electric"

"Let's Go Fly A Kite"

Thank God for Memorial Day Weekend, that's all I'm saying.

The last month or two has been busy as all hell. Between events at school, activities taking up every weekend, and trying to get the last little bit of knowledge crammed into our students' heads before they close up for the summer, it's been crazy. Not to mention we haven't had a short week at school since Spring Break in the middle of March. Kids and teachers were getting stir crazy, lemme tell ya.

But despite all the busyness, it's been a good time. School activities have gone extremely well, including the school fun fair and the lock-in (which we substituted in for the camping trip due to flood-like rain). We had a weird scare at the lock-in when one of our students went into grand mal seizures, but everyone kept their cool and pulled together and I got to go to the hospital, which was...well, fun isn't really the word for it.

I feel I've really come into my own as a teacher this year. My classes feel more structured and organized, I feel more on top of things, and my pacing is much better. I'm still not getting as far in U.S. History as I'd like (only up to about World War II this year), but it's still a damn sight better than last year (Reconstruction) or the year before that (the freakin' 1850s. That was a rough year for all of us).

We flew kites with Michelle's sisters today out in the field across from our apartment building. The wind wasn't as cooperative as we'd have liked, but it was still a lot of fun. Doing an outdoor-type activity for Memorial Day just seemed right somehow.

Speaking of physical activity, we picked up Wii Fit last week. It's neat because it actually manages to make exercising (which I'm not too fond of) fun and interesting. I especially like how playing more unlocks new exercises and such, so it's like it's a game where I'm encouraged to compete in a totally healthy (pun intended) way.

Only 14 more days with students. The end is so close I can almost touch it.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The National, "Slow Show (Demo)"

Curse the Blue Shell

For the past week, we've been playing an awful lot of MarioKart Wii. Let me tell ya, it's a hell of a lot of fun, though the cursed Blue Shell seems to pop up way more than it really should. I've seen it hit three times in the same lap, which is a bit much, I feel.

I was sad to see that they'd dropped the cooperative element of that made Double Dash so much fun. However, that being said, it's still a fantastic game. The new courses are fun, the bikes are pretty cool (and I definitely prefer the way they handle compared to the karts), and there's the ability to use your Mii as your character (though only as one of the "heavies," which is frustrating if you're used to using one of the medium- or light-weight racers). It's getting lots of play around here, though, and anything that gets Michelle and me playing games together is pretty groovy.

Still no sign of Michelle's wedding ring. When we get our economic stimulus checks, we're going to invest in a new ring for her...which is probably the same day we'll find the old ring.

We watched Iron Man on Saturday. It was easily one of the best comic book adaptations I've ever seen (rivaling even Batman Begins, X-Men 2, and Spider-Man). Casting Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark was just perfect. And you definitely need to stick around until after all the credits have rolled for a sweet little extra that'll make your geek lobe tingle.

The MacGuyver Special Mythbusters episode is one of the greatest things ever. Just sayin'.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Frank Black, "If Your Poison Gets You"