"Here We Are In The Middle Of The First World"

Just what the hell have I been doing with myself?

1. Teaching. Apparently it's something that can be time consuming. Who knew?

2. Tutoring. Two to three nights per week and Saturdays, I'm sitting at a table surrounded by knee biters, tutoring the crap outta them. It's different enough from my day job to keep me at least halfway interested, though it does make some of my days rather long.

3. Music. A lot of good stuff's come out in the last couple of months. More than I've actually been able to keep up with, as a matter of fact. The new Ryan Adams isn't too shabby (far superior to last year's Easy Tiger, for certain), and I'm absolutely enamored of the Gaslight Anthem. I should have a list of my top ten or so albums of the year by the end of next week, so hurray for that.

4. Reading Comics. Lots of stuff here lately. Been trying to follow the happenings in the Batman titles, what with Batman supposedly dying and all. But mostly I do trade paperbacks, since they're more economical and I get to read a whole story in one go. I finally got all of BPRD (well, all the stuff that's been collected so far), all the new Blue Beetle trades, and a couple of odds and ends. Some of Keith Giffen's Justice League stuff (I Can't Believe it's Not the Justice League and Formerly Known as the Justice League), which is hysterical and exactly what a comic should be, I feel.

5. Waiting for Winter Break. I mean, seriously, I'm freakin' exhausted from work. Even when I get a full night's sleep, I don't feel very rested. I am ready for 2008 to be over.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Submarines, "You, Me, & the Bourgeoisie"

"So Hip To Be Square"

I completed my first week of actual tutoring yesterday. The more I do this, the easier it seems to be. The system they've put in place is pretty straightforward and easy to follow, it turns out, and for the most part I enjoy what I'm doing (when I can get past my nervousness at jumping into a new, if only part-time, job). Working with elementary school students is very different than working with high schoolers. Part of it is their attitude: these kids haven't hit that point where learning is an unpleasant or undesirable thing yet. I remember high school with at least a measure of clarity still (I mean, it's only been a decade since I was there), and I do recall a certain reluctance to listen to most of my teachers and a general lack of desire to work or put effort into things. Admittedly, I apparently had the same lack of initiative back in elementary school and middle school, at least according to my parents, so maybe I'm not a good case study. But these kids, for the most part, are really enthusiastic about the tutoring, and they generally have a good attitude and do whatever I put in front of them.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching. I guess we're doing it with Michelle's folks again this year, as has become our tradition. I do admit that I rather miss some of my old traditions, such as falling asleep on the couch while football plays on the TV.

We're still trying to figure out what we're doing for Christmas: staying here or going up to New York. I'd personally like to go to Oklahoma again, but I know it's unrealistic and not something we can really handle again just yet. We're thinking about it for next year, though, which'd be nice. And I'll see the family in March anyway for Clif's wedding...and again in May for Scott's wedding.

Part of me really wants to hear the new Guns 'N' Roses album, Chinese Democracy, that comes out in a week and a half or so. Not because I particularly like the band, but because any album that took something like 15 years to get recorded is either going to be pretty solid or really, really crappy. I kinda lean towards crappy, but like I said, I'm not really a fan.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Huey Lewis and the News, "Hip to be Square"

"Break My Arms Around My Love"

It's been a hell of a weekend.

Michelle and I spent most of Saturday relaxing and not really doing much of anything. We cleaned up the apartment and watched the Riff Trax for the Mariah Carey abomination Glitter.

Let me explain.

See, Riff Trax is the thing the guys from Mystery Science Theater 3000 do now. You download an MP3 of the commentary, sync it up with the movie (generally a well-known blockbuster), and hilarity ensues.

So yeah, we did that. I felt rather dirty afterwards, but it was funny. God, that was a crappy movie.

Today was rather...rough. See, I went and sold my car today. I've been driving it for the past four or five years. It was the last thing my parents gave me before I left Oklahoma, really. Getting rid of it was significantly more emotional than I thought it would be, and it really left me feeling drained by day's end. Coupled with the fact that I didn't get as much money for it as I wanted (almost $1000 less than I'd hoped, really), it was frustrating.

But it makes sense for us to only have one car, really. We're working at the same place now, on the same schedule, and her car gets much better mileage and stuff than mine did. So we are officially a one-car family.

It's the first time I haven't personally owned a vehicle since I was 16, so it's a strange feeling.

I finally gave in to peer pressure and picked up the first season of Heroes on DVD. It's a pretty cool show, and I have to say I'm liking it so far (only two episodes in, mind you).

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The National, "Daughters of the Soho Riots"

"Don't You Feel My Leg"

The trip to Oklahoma was...well, it was. Michelle finally got to meet my family (most all in one go over at dad's house), and everyone seemed to like each other. The whole traveling thing was a rough experience, though. We barely made our flight out to Oklahoma, and then we almost missed the (much too early) flight back to DC yesterday (that's due in large part to my inability to navigate and the fact that I forget where I'm going or how to get there a lot of the time). We also ended up spending a hell of a lot of time in the car for a four-day trip (over 600 miles in that time). But it was good to see everyone; my cousin's daughter has grown, my brothers both have steady girlfriends, and we got the chance to play guitars in heat of the Oklahoma night once more. Good times.

We have Teacher Orientation/Work Days all next week. While I'm ready to get back into the daily grind of it all, I really do wish I had a few more weeks to relax and not do anything. The trip to Oklahoma really wore me out, and I don't know that I'll be recovered by the time school starts.

Michelle is actually currently interviewing for a position at the school. Part of me feels this will be wonderful, and part of me worries about us working at the same place and both of us being teachers. But I'm sure everything will work out as it's supposed to.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Shins, "Australia"