The Best Blog Post Ever.

I know it's starting to get to the point where I have an obsession with my student's obsession with traffic lights, but I could not let this just pass me by. Today we finished reading a story about two friends who made "wish kites". As a fun little wrap-up activity, I had my kids make their own wish kites.
This kid cracks me up. Make no mistake, every single wish was to do with traffic lights. Including my personal favorite wish:

I will try not to post about Traffic Light Kid tomorrow. However, let it be known that if he shows up on Halloween wearing a traffic light costume I will die instantly.

Unavoidable Truth.

I was going to try and stay away from this whole Suri business, but I can't help it. Two things:

1) This baby is extremely cute.

2) This baby is partially asian.

Is it just me? Does this baby only look asian to me because I am asian? Is this some deep-seeded bias that I have? I cannot say exactly why she looks asian to me, but despite those stunning blue eyes I cannot deny that she looks at least partially asian. I have said "asian" way too many times in the last paragraph.

One more thing: this child is too perfect looking to be the spawn of Tom and Katie. Aren't most celebrity babies somewhat funny looking since they are the combination of very pretty parents with strong features? It's what you learn in Psych 101: the people we see as beautiful are generally the ones with the most normalized features. You add in a crazy Tom Cruise nose or crooked smile with a Katie Holmes cheekbone and platter-sized eyes and you should get some crazy-looking baby. Not necessarily an asian baby with lots and lots of hair.

Green Light. Red Light.

So one of my students is absolutely obsessed with traffic lights. He never stops talking about traffic lights. This is slightly more disturbing/annoying given the fact that there really isn't all that much to say about traffic lights.

I have seen little boys obsess over trucks, or baseball cards, or dinosaurs, but never traffic lights. I had a classmate in first grade who knew everything there was to know about fire extinguishers -- incidentally, he would do a Steve Urkelesque "Did somebody say cheese???" (except substitute "fire extinguishers" for "cheese") query almost every day. But fire extinguishers seem slightly more interesting since there is that whole fire-rescue and chemical aspect to it. It's more flashy.

But a traffic light?

Yesterday we were writing autobiographies and he mentioned his love for traffic lights no less than three times. Today he pointed out that a bar graph we had drawn looked similar to a special kind of traffic light that shows the directions you can turn (he gave me its technical name which I don't remember). And as he was leaving school today he informed me that he likes all sorts of traffic signs, but the traffic signal is his favorite.

Lucky for him, his mother also told me today that he will be getting a traffic light for his room on his birthday in a couple of weeks. That'll be one happy kid.

Me? I'm obsessed with candy.

Return of the Bunny Man.

As most of you know, I teach at an elementary school in inner-city Baltimore. What that means is that while I have an arsenal of cute, funny, etc. stories to tell about my kids, I also have a number of flat-out depressing stories to tell. I generally try to stay away from the depressing stories on my blog, but every once in a while a story comes along that I feel like sharing. This one falls into the bizarre and depressing category.

Every year (well, at least for the past 3 years that I have taught at my school) we get visited by the "Bunny Man". The kids often refer to the "Bunny Man" much in the way that the "Boogieman" was referred to in my childhood. An important difference between the two, however, is that the Bunny Man actually does exist.

The Bunny Man is a middle-aged man (also a known sex offender) who likes to terrorize our neighborhood and our school by running around naked except for big boots and some bunny ears. While he has been caught on school premises before by police, he always manages to find a way back. Also, he only seems to come out when it rains.

Today, he tried to sneak into the gym while some of our 2nd graders were there. Luckily, our heroic gym teacher managed to force him out and alerted the school. Within seconds the entire place was on lockdown while the Bunny Man ran around aimlessly in the playground. For ten minutes I acted like a fool to attract my student's attention and keep them from looking out of the window (it worked). By the time the police arrived he had already disappeared into the woods.

As serious as it is, what worries me most is how "normal" it all seems to me now. When I first heard that he was back my first reaction was to roll my eyes and feel like the new school year had officially begun. I cannot begin to imagine how big a deal something like this would have been in my elementary school growing up. My own students, on the other hand, encounter the Bunny Man (and other things they should not be encountering) on a semi-regular basis and all I can do is try my hardest to keep them safe for the 7 hours I have them every day.

And hopefully they'll learn a thing or two...

P.S. The bunny picture is just there for cuteness. It's semi-related, right??

Crikey.

Just read that Steve Irwin (aka: The Crocodile Hunter) was killed today in a freak accident. Apparently, he was filming an underwater documentary when a stingray barb went straight through his heart. They say it's a "freak accident" because apparently it's pretty rare for that to actually happen.

Does anyone else find it extremely ironic that after all of the deadly snakes and massive crocodiles etc. that Steve Irwin has poked and prodded in the past, he was actually killed by a stringray? I do. While I don't think I ever watched Steve Irwin outside of a few internet clips and those movie commercials from a long time ago this news really saddens me. After seeing him escape death so many times, people begin to think that he's invincible or that those animals that he loved so much would not be the ones to kill him. Crikey.

Not for Vegetarians.

I discovered this blog a couple of days ago, and while it is disturbing and gross, I am completely fascinated by it. I think I like it mostly because a cat once adopted my family and regularly brought us "gifts" much like Jeff does. I love the idea that cats would present their owners with delicious morsels of food, and then proceed to devour it all except for the grossest parts. I thought the gesture encapsulated the nature of cats and their generosity very well.

Time for Bed.

Just got back from watching Little Miss Sunshine. It was awesome. Go see it.

Jamie is now harrassing our cat by putting stuff on him...and apparently it's now "stuff of my fiancee" time. Yawn. It must be the end of a long day.

And now Jamie is moonwalking in his boxers while humming "Superfreak".

A Diversity Breakthrough.

So today I learned that I may actually have some racial diversity in my classroom! For the past two years my class (and my entire school) has been 100% African-American. Today one of my students told me a secret: he's half Asian.

My first reaction was one of surprise as he actually used the word "Asian" rather than Chinese -- which is the only form of Asian that most of my school population seems to know. He then added: "Don't tell anyone. I only told you because I can tell that you're half-Asian too." Sadly, when I asked from where his Asian half had descended he shrugged and said he didn't know.

I don't know why exactly, but this excites me.

Class Quote.

Almost busted out laughing today.

Ms. U: Let's think of the consequences of our actions. If we are walking down the hall loudly, what are some of the consequences of that to other people?

Demar: We might interrupt other classes.

Deasia: People might think we're not the best class.

Dre'Kwon: Someone real old like Mrs. ***** might be walking up the hall and we'll give her a heart attack because we'll scare her!

Keyanna: OOOOOOH! That's what I was going to say!

The thought that two people were thinking that cracks me up.

Revisiting Room 107.

So here are some pictures of my classroom sans scholars. Let's just say that it is still not completely ready, but that I am just pretending that it is.
















Yes, those are tennis balls on the bottom of each and every chair. It's to protect my beautiful, beautiful, beautiful tile floor which was installed mid-way through last year. It was promised in the previous summer. In the top-right corner you can see my brand-new television/dvd/VHS player which was installed on the last day of school last year. It was also promised the previous summer. Finally the walls are the bright, stimulating celery green color that I painted them last summer. Let's just say this room has been in-progress for two years...and it finally has all of the pieces it needs.

Well. Except for the GIANT kid-sized hole I have in one of my walls.

Seriously though, my school is beautiful. We have giant classrooms -- mine overlooks the park next door. I currently only have *ahem* 11 students (I have 15 on my roster, but 4 haven't shown yet -- they probably will after Labor Day weekend). We have incredibly dedicated teachers, and we have reading materials up that wazoo (math, social studies and science are non-existent though). I have FOUR working computers with internet access (thanks to a lovely grant), working AC, and lots and lots of great children's books.

These kids will succeed.

(And I know that this post is really hard to follow, but I am not in a mental state to correct it right now. Too much playing teacher today.)

Running on Empty.

I am falling asleep as I write this. Just barely survived my first day of teaching -- spent a full 13 hours at work. Death to anyone who gets between me and my pillow tonight.

The day went as smoothly as could be expected given how little I was prepared. The kids will be...interesting...it was a good day. BUT, relative to most first days of school it wasn't so great. I actually had to raise my voice (ON THE FIRST DAY!). This does not bode well for the year. Although it might provide for some interesting blog fodder.

More Bahamas pictures: (and if you want to see some really good ones, check out ScoobyDrew today)






















Man. I am cringing as I look at Nick's bare feet on those rocks. Yeowch.

Time for Work.

Somebody shoot me in the face. It's early.

First day of students today. Classroom not ready, lesson plan not ready, and I'm not ready. Also, this organic cereal Jamie bought tastes like cardboard. Think about me today.

Panic Sets In.

Shut down the building yesterday and I am still not finished with my room. Maybe the trip to the Bahamas right before school started was not the best plan. Still, it was worth it.


In other news, Bahamas Vacations are Awesome: The Movie has finished post-production and is now in mailboxes. I have learned that giving Jamie free reign of a video camera can end in extreme levels of corniness and subsequent hilarity.

Must go finish hyperventilating now over school stuff.

You Know It's Almost Time for School...

...when I get up at 6:30am on Saturday in order to trek over to Baltimore.

Yes, the kids come on Monday and my room still looks as though a bomb has exploded in it. Because of the lameness and illogical reasoning of some staff, our school will only be opened to teachers and administration for approximately two hours today -- despite the fact that there will be people in it all day doing maintenance work in the cafeteria. I hate school politics.

Hopefully, I will have some pictures of my completed classroom for you to enjoy tonight.

PiggyBank? More like PiggyLAME.

I have to do some work tonight, so this'll be short, but I simply cannot believe that no one other than Meredith has any comments to make about PiggyBank TelephoneCar. Where are the comments filled with surprise , disbelief, and/or longing??

C'mon people! That discovery is as good as it's going to get on my blog! I am not pleased.

Back to School.

Today was the first "official" day of the 2006-07 school year. I had professional development yesterday, but apparently that didn't count for the calendar. So this morning at 6am, I got out of bed and started the ol' routine.

I'm excited for the new school year, and I'm hoping it'll be a great one. But, I have to say that I'm no where near as excited as I was this time last year. I could use a few more weeks of vacation. My room was a debacle -- I'm sorry that I don't have any before and after pictures to show -- but it's slowly coming together. I hope I can get it ready for when the kiddies come on Monday. Thankfully I didn't need to change rooms again this year.

I also just got back from IKEA where I bought 34 seat cushions for my students.
I justify this allotment of my meager funds by considering all of the saved instruction time that won't have to be spent breaking up fights and telling kids not to lie down. You will not believe how much time is wasted when Ronald sticks his feet on someone elses head or Darian sits on top of Tykia. I think it is a worthy investment.

The one conundrum: I usually end up dividing my students into four different teams. Coincidentally, there were four different color seat cushions to choose from: blue, green, orange, and psychedelic. I worry that kids will fight over the psychedelic. I'm hoping some rounds of team "Rock-Paper-Scissors" (or "Cowboy-Bear-Ninja") will settle the matter once and for all.

That, or they'll just fight over the cushions and completely defeat the purpose for me buying them in the first place. Ahhh, third graders.

Just a note: Jamie is hogging my computer for the production of Bahamas Vacations are Awesome: The Movie so I am unable to post more pictures at this time. I'll try and make up for it tomorrow.

Send A Money.

One of the greatest discoveries -- and only letdown -- of the Bahamas trip came in this little box.


I don't remember who it was that first discovered PiggyBank TelphoneCar -- I think it may have been Drew or Anne Louise. All I know is, there were many squeals of delight at the thought that we would be able to play PiggyBank TelephoneCar at some point during our trip. We assumed it was a game because it was nestled in with all of the other board games. This, my friends, is where the seed of disappointment was planted.

It turned out that PiggyBank TelephoneCar was not a game, but rather a toy. Let's investigate.


There is a picture of a confused and sad-looking Asian girl on the box playing with PiggyBank TelephoneCar. Her expression is one that suggests that someone on the other end of the line is ruining Christmas by giving this toy as her only gift.

But wait! Let's zoom in little closer...

I was very happy to learn that when pulled this TelephoneCar "may give a KA-KA sound". Add to this the fact that the TelephoneCar
may also be used as a "peggy bank" and our initial disappointment starts to reside. Never mind that they successfully spelled "piggy bank"
elsewhere on the box -- or that the name of the product is PiggyBank TelephoneCar and not PeggyBank Telephone Car.

Spelling errors aside, nothing could prepare me for the actual toy itself and its demand to:

PiggyBank TelephoneCar is genius. You can use the same contraption to call people and get them to send a money, to then store a money for later use. In addition, it is highly mobile and will make a KA-KA sound as it goes (obviously for built-in security purposes).

Ultimately, PiggyBank TelephoneCar did not disappoint me. I know that I will look for it in the game closet for many years to come and think back fondly to this 2006 trip.

Sneaks on a Plane.

I have decided that I will no longer fly through Miami International Airport if I can at all help it. On both occasions when I have flown through MIA I have gotten stuck there. Actually, this time I narrowly escaped sleeping at the airport due to a deus ex machina.

Our flight out of Marsh Harbour was delayed due to lightning storms in Miami. Our plane ended up leaving over an hour late. I was panicked since we would have to get through customs, collect our baggage, recheck our baggage, and then make our way to our gate in less than an hour. Somehow, we blazed through customs and got to the front of the baggage check line (P.S. Miami airport? MOST INEFFICIENT CUSTOMS EVER.) The guy asked when our flight left, then directed us to the American Airlines counter. Even though we had about 40 minutes until our flight left, we were being denied the opportunity to even try -- the line was to reschedule our flight. I understand that it would be nearly impossible for our baggage to go through checks and still make it to the plane in time, but STILL.

By the time we got to the front of the line our plane had departed. We were put on standby for the next flight, but were told our bags would go on that flight with or without us. Of course, we didn't make it onto that flight. Nor, did we make it on the next one. We had spent several hours in waiting rooms, watching people get more and more desperate. Every flight was overbooked according to the American Airlines people so it looked like we would have to spend the night at the airport.

While we were checking in for our third attempt, Jamie noticed a nearby gate for a flight to Baltimore. As it was leaving in five minutes, I did not have high hopes, but I ran over anyway and the most beautiful, incredible, wonderful American Airlines agent gave Jamie and me a seat on the plane. We were told to keep it quiet so that there wasn't a mad rush of other standbys which would cause the plane to delay. Then, this angel snuck us onto the plane and we were off.

I was slightly worried that we were being shipped off to some remote part of the world, but two hours later we landed in Baltimore, MD and came home to our demanding cat.

"Bahamas Vacations are Awesome!" (tm Jamie)

Despite promises that I would write daily posts from the Bahamas, this is my first post from the island and it is also my final day in Man O’ War Cay, Bahamas. The days have been too full of swimming/relaxing/snorkeling/board gaming/laughing for me to write. But, I will try to make up for it with pictures.

The trip was “TREMENDOUS” (as Drew would say).

Let me preface this with the statement that I am blessed to have the friends that I do. I should also state that I am marrying a pretty incredible trip planner. Jamie made sure that we had at least one adventure a day and because of his impeccable planning we had so much fun doing it. I will not deny that there were moments that I giggled at his campiness, but I can safely say that we were so lucky to have him there with us.

A few (little) things that I learned on our trip:

1) I am bad at all board/card games. I will lose lose lose if anyone plays me.

2) 82 degrees is the ideal water temperature in which to swim.

3) Peanut butter and jelly tastes better in the Bahamas. Even on the fifth day.

4) It takes approximately 3.66 swats to kill a cicada.

5) Boys are a lot like Golden Retrievers when it comes to fetching playing Frisbee on the beach.

Enough talk. Here are some pictures from our trip:

A little peek at what was outside our bedroom -- we stayed at "The Bayhouse" portion of the property which meant that we had a great view of the bayside. (Also, we had central AC -- but I swear we only used it a few nights).

The weather was pretty moody while we were there. It rained a bunch on one or two days, but cleared up enough for us to get out on the water every day.

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out the best way to put up pictures from our trip without the formatting getting all wonked out. I'm thinking I won't be able to get all of my pictures up in one post -- but I'll put up a bunch now and as the week progresses and I continue telling stories from our trip I will put up a few more pictures each time. For now, how about this series called: Man O' War Cay By The Hour.

This picture was actually taken around 5:20am before the sun came up. It's of a lightning storm over Marsh Harbor (it bypassed Man O' War). I spent a good amount of time futzing with the camera trying to figure out how to leave the shutter open so I could catch a fork of lightning. Unfortunately, I don't think it had the option (or at least I couldn't figure it out without turning on some lights), so I just sat around and took pictures whenever I thought that maybe lightning was approaching. Surprisingly, I actually caught one. Yes, that big glow of white light in the center is the bolt of lightning. It's kind of hard to see, but it's the most clear on the middle-to-left side of the picture. It's pretty amazing to look at when you zoom in a lot.

Of course, I also had to include a picture of our beach -- there are a lot of these. This is from the path leading from the Main House to the beach in front of the house. We also learned that this path was the choice litter box for the cat that adopted us while we were there. A lot of my pictures from the trip look like this one.

And of course, the obligatory "sunset at Man O' War" picture. In the lower-left corner you can see the boat that we rented for the week. It was a nice boat and I worried for its inanimate life. However, thanks to Jamie's savvy navigating and patient instruction it survived the week with nary a scratch.

I have plenty more pictures to share, but like I said, I'll do it in parts. There is only so much uploading of pictures through Blogger that one can endure at a time. But, I'm so excited about sharing my pictures that you can be sure that I'll be posting again really soon. Like, now.

Back!

I'm back! I will post soon. Check back in a few...

Bummed Out.

The news that Lou Diamond Phillips was arrested this morning bums me the eff out. He had always held a special place in my heart because of his role in Young Guns 2. As a little kid who probably should not be watching such an R-rated (it was actually PG-13??) movie, his character was the only one that I liked. He liked horses and I liked horses too.

Also, he was the one "celebrity" that I could see on a semi-regular basis since he lived down the street. I will fondly remember seeing LDP in his little short shorts running around the neighborhood or putting up his little Christmas reindeer.

Now I think he's a jerkface.

Home Alone.

If you have been following this blog for a while, then you are familiar with Cody:


Cody is our [insert colorful adjective here] cat. We don't leave Cody home alone often -- we don't have the funds for that -- but we do manage to get away for a couple of weeks every year. Last year when we took time to go to Peru and Alaska, we left him in the care of benevolent friends. Over the holidays, we forked over serious dollars to a cat sitter.

This time? He's in the care of Jamie's brother. In a completely good-natured way, I'm a little nervous. Mind you, the last time that Scott was left home alone in our apartment he managed to slice open his hand (which required several stitches to close again). Also, upon returning from our trip, we found that the stove and floor was completely covered in a mysterious, waxy, yellow goo. This I am sure is not Scott's fault (I think our exhaust filter needed to be changed), but the point is: bad things happen when Scott is left alone in our apartment.

I'm just kidding. I am extremely grateful for Scott taking care of our precious Cody. I am also very appreciative of him getting up (or staying up) with us so that he could drive us to the airport at 2:30am (!). That, my friends, is true kindness.

And for all the ladies...he's single.

Smack Talk.

Just got back from team "Liquor Is Quicker's" final ballgame. We end our season in the 7th spot (out of 128 -- so not too shabby), but got completely TROUNCED by the opposing team. They were all hardcore and humorless. So of course, my team takes it upon themselves to just heckle. Add to the trouncing a big ol' cooler full of beer and you get some serious heckling. Hilarity ensued.

Jamie made some impressive plays in the outfield (including a stellar doubleplay). Yours truly got an RBI (one of only two runs in the entire game for LIQ). Never mind that I struck out on my next at bat.

There is something to be said for a sport with built-in beer breaks. Now excuse me while I ice my quadricep.

Excited.

So, like I mentioned before, I'm going to be leaving for Man o' War Cay this weekend. You guys, I'm so excited (click it now -- you won't be sorry). Not only am I going to this beautiful, secluded island, but I'm going with good people.


One of these people is none other than the lovely "Ms. Bananapants" (leaving out real names until I get her approval) who has the honor of being the person in my life who best impersonates Jesse Spano's freakout -- and believe me, there are many. Seriously, she has it down to a science.

Of course, we also have the infamous duo from ScoobyDrew who are leaving their adorable dog at home while they spend some quality time on the white sands of "the Cay".

And there's more! But, I'm going to leave it at that because I don't want anyone getting mad at me for spreading their secrets on the internet. Honestly though, it'll be such good times. I need to rethink going on great vacations right before returning to work -- it makes it that much harder. But, let's not think about work: here are some more pictures (that I'm sure you've all seen before) of Man o' War.

Under the Wire.

Almost didn't make it today. Truth is, I'm trying to update now because in a few days, I won't be able to update regularly. I'll be in the Bahamas with limited (read: no) internet access. But, I promise to come back with tons of pictures. Plus, I'll try to "blog" on a daily basis by writing posts, and just putting them all together when I get back.

Anyway, today a car in our parking lot got busted into! Drama! Apparently they really wanted a radio and Jamie's wasn't good enough so they got the car next to his. Seriously, when stuff like this happens, I'm always scared that I will be blamed for it. I think I've watched way too many movies where the protagonist gets blamed for things they didn't do. So, I was scared even to go outside to the parking lot and look at the car for fear that the police would roll up and start questioning me. I also fear for my car because it's my baby. Granted, I doubt anyone could figure out how to pull out the radio from a Prius, but I still worry.

So what's going on in your lives?

The Nightmare Continues.

Just when I thought that I was done with it, I got a bill for $254 from Dell. That is the cost of the memory chip that they sent to me. The refurbished memory chip...the one sent to replace the memory chip that was stolen from me by a Dell technician.

There are no words.

The Sequel.

So a while back, I posted about this video. Well, it seems as though the artists have decided to make a sequel. While not as hilarious as the original, I do feel as though you must respect the amount of time and running it must have taken to actually film it. Plus: that guy is doing it in boots...with little heels.

Well done Ok Go, well done.

Also: What is with the lack of comments, people? It's what separates the weak from the AWESOME.

BLAAAARRRGH!

Another fine day spent hiking in Shenandoah National Park. Again, it was lovely.


We hiked up to a big waterfall and some pretty views of the valley. We went with Jamie's friend Kirsten -- who just happens to a pretty avid hiker. Suffice to say I was the lamebutt of the group.


Around mile 5 of our 6.7 mile hike I experienced the most excruciating pain of my life. I'm talking bad. Worse even than that time that I tore every ligament in my left knee at once. That time when I had a papercut in my eye? Playing with puppies compared to this. I had the most incredible leg cramp in both legs. Entire legs felt like they were being ripped out. At first I laughed because I could not believe that a charlie horse could feel so bad. Then, it entered my mind that these cramps were not getting better with time and I started flat-out screaming...and although I was aware that it sounded as though I was giving birth in the woods, it felt so good to scream that loud. Kirsten dubbed it "the most pain she has ever heard in her life".

So if at 2pm you heard a someone screaming, that was me with a couple of leg cramps that would not quit. Shenandoah 2, Melissa 0.

Stranger Than Fiction.

Jamie told me about this movie and now I really want to see it. I thoroughly enjoy Will Ferrell although I have only seen in him, like, two or three movies. I think my love is rooted in those really early Will Ferrell SNL skits when he was a cheerleader with Cheri Oteri.

Who'll see it with me in November?

Fugitive.

Because I had been doing so well with updating my blog lately, I was feeling pressured to come up with something remotely interesting to post about today. Around 5pm, I was starting to get worried that nothing would happen today which would merit a post.

Then the mail came.

That, my friends, if my very first speeding ticket. In fact, is it the first of any traffic violation I have had in my almost-decade of driving. One interesting thing to note:

I am not driving this speeding car.

No, that would be my lead-footed fiance driving the vehicle. Sure he was clocked going a mere 11mph over[a 35mph] speed limit on a [six-laned] empty street, but that doesn't erase the fact that my immaculate record has been forever smudged. Okay, fine, I know it clearly states that this will not affect my record since it's photo enforcement, but I still have the right to hold it over said fiance's head.

Or at least blog about it.

P.S. Jamie's additions in brackets.

The Public Demands...

...and I deliver.

After repeated requests to post the picture of the tick devouring my head, I am going to concede. I have too many friends in med school right now...(I'll make it small to increase the opportunity to avert your eyes at the last minute).

Yes, the little pink globule in its mouth is some part of my head. I kind of wish I had something in the picture for scale -- that sucker was BIG. I should also mention that the tick is in the sink at this point.

Despite the ticks, Jamie and I (along with another friend) are actually headed back to Shenandoah this weekend for another adventure in the woods. However, this one will be limited to a day, meaning less time for ticks to burrow their way into my flesh. I hope.

Progress.

This may or may not merit it's own post, but I'm excited...so it does. I just saw the proof for our Save-the-Date cards. Despite the fact that the printing company charges a ridiculous amount of money for a proof that: a) is in black & white b) does NOT include the actual non-customized stuff on the card (ie: any designs or text that we don't put in ourselves), and c) is an online proof, I am still very excited. This is mostly because it is a sign that we are now doing stuff for our wedding beyond just talking about it.

This is big news, people.

Computer Geek.

It is freaking hot over here.

So those of you who speak to me semi-annually know that I have been having "computer issues" since May when I destroyed my laptop. Anyway, I have been having enormous customer service problems with Dell and let's just say that it has been a big ol' slab of hell (which rhymes with DELL).

The latest incident occured today when the Dell technician made his SECOND trip to fix my new desktop (which turned out to be a lemon). Despite assurances that we would have a different technician, the same guy came to try again. While he was working I noticed that they had only shipped one new memory card even though I had two memory cards. When I mentioned this to him he got very defensive, telling me that he was just installing what they gave him.

He could not leave fast enough once he had put the computer back together again -- getting all huffy when I asked him to stay while I rebooted the computer and tested it with a program. He was in such a hurry that he left his car keys. Within minutes of him leaving I realized that my computer was now short 1GB of RAM. It had started out with 2GB and now had 1GB.

The asshat had stolen a memory card.

Unfortunately, he won't even be fired since he told us (pre-discovery) that he was quitting his job and getting a new one. All I have to say is Asshat better stay away from me.

Naked.

Today was the day that I finally allowed my dad to write down the web address of this blog. It kind of feels like I'm standing in front of my middle school speech class (among the more horrifying feelings in the world). However, I am not to be "one-uped" by goody-goody siblings (ie: who call every Sunday) and will now share my blog.

My dad wouldn't let me take a picture of his "horrified face" that he made following this picture. He's shy of the internet...

(Hi dad!)

Zoo News.

We went to the zoo! I have not gone to the zoo in a long while and I have to say that despite the heat it was much fun. I also got to test drive my new camera...

The National Zoo actually holds a lot of really interesting animals that I had never seen before -- despite frequent trips to other zoos. I had never seen, nor heard of a sloth bear before (at left) but got to see the new cub that was playing around.

There was also a new panda cub (Tai Shan) but he was sleeping when we walked by so all we could see was a black and white furball curled up next to a big black and white furball.

Also we got to see prairie dogs, lions, orangutans, porcipines, etc...

...not bad for a free zoo. I highly recommend a trip to the National Zoo if you're ever in the area and want to feel like a little kid. Not as highly recommended is doing a zoo trip in 100 degree weather.

Jess: This one's for you.

I'm back! Was this my longest absence? Really, there is no excuse: I am on summer break from school/work and have spent summer hours tutoring, wedding planning, and procrastinating for nothing. At times I contemplated putting an end to the blog, but when looking back through the old entries I was energized to start writing again. (Just not at that moment).

So now I return and I bring with me pictures and tales of my first backpacking trip in the wilderness. Last weekend, Jamie and I went to Shenandoah National Park.
It was incredible. We sort of impulsively decided to make our camping trip a backpacking one, and so we scrambled Friday night to get our things together. By Saturday morning we were climbing down the mountain and enjoying some pretty photogenic waterfalls.
This somewhat dulled the pain that followed when we had to make our way UP the mountain. Seriously? I felt like a Barbie doll who's legs were being pulled off at their little anatomically-incorrect joints. Meanwhile Jamie is ready to run up the mountain with his 40lb backpack. I'm so lame.

We followed the death hike with another leisurely stroll down the mountain through some wilderness where we saw not one, but two bears. Real, living, breathing, black bears. Black bears that were, like, 15 feet away. (Note: this is not an actual picture of the black bear we saw. I was too busy peeing my pants out of fright to actually reach for my camera. All other pictures on this post are mine -- promise.) Luckily, both black bears were more scared of us and took off further into the wilderness. Still, it was enough for me to assume that any noise outside of our tent that night was a bear coming to smoosh my head like a grape.

Luckily, we were not eaten. Nor were any heads smooshed. We were rained on -- but it was actually perfect. Just as Jamie was sticking the bear bag in a tree, there was a great, big, clap of thunder and it did not stop raining until we were getting up in the morning. The reports of rain kept away the other campers. The actual rain kept away the mosquitoes.

Day two was pretty great too. Nice and cool. No other people...and we saw some beautiful deer up close.

Going up the mountain again was not death-inducing and we actually made it up pretty quickly. All in all, first backpacking trip was a success. Except for one thing.

While the rain kept away the mosquitoes, it did not keep away the ticks. Jamie supposedly "checked me" before going to bed and whatnot, and somehow I still managed to extract not one, but two ticks from my body. The first tick (which I took out of my head) was the largest tick ever. I have a picture of it -- because I wanted Jamie to feel really bad when he got home from work -- but I don't feel right uploading it to my blog. I'm doing this out of my love for you, the reader. I will inform you that this picture shows this tick in all of its HUGE glory with a sizable chunk of my head in its mouth. Absolute horror. (The picture on the above-right is not a tick, but rather an awesome-looking millipede we saw on the trail).

The second tick I found a couple days after returning. Yes, days. Not as big as the first, but more horrifying because it had clearly burrowed its way into my skin. I may or may not have Lyme disease now. Blood work will be done to be certain.

Despite the tick incident(s), I cannot wait to go backpacking again. Armed with a good set of tweezers, a good flashlight, and a competent camping buddy who will check me thoroughly.

Alright. Time for bed. I will try to post more often -- although, I think it's just you and me now, Jess.