"Unstop the day, you’ll rise again. Don’t count the newsman to signal the end, ‘cause you can trust your farthest friends. Across the world, we’ll take the car. You’re in the room but your head's in the stars. Now, you can run but you can’t hide who you are." ~stellastarr*

Today was a good day at school. Because we have block scheduling, I only teach one class on Wednesdays and Fridays, and it's probably my favorite class. The kids are working on their research papers in the library, so I mostly just have to monitor them as they work. They got off-task today and I let them slide; none of us felt like being cooped up in the library on a Friday afternoon. A bunch of them spent most of the period trying to guess my first name, which I wouldn't tell them. I told them the first letter, so they went on a website and listed off every name that started with the letter C. There were some funny ones. At the very end of the period while they were waiting for the bell to ring, they asked the librarian my name, who told them. Now they're going to search for my MySpace page (which they'll find). They think it's hilarious that I have a MySpace page. I don't mind them seeing it; there's not much on it, anyway. During the period they also joked about tracking me down on campus as well as hiding in my car and then surprising me as I'm driving. We laughed a lot. I loved laughing with them. Maybe they're now a little behind on their research, but sometimes it's good to slack off a little.

One more week until spring break! I can't wait.

"I have dreamed of a black car that shimmers and drives down the length of the evening, to the carnival side. In a house where regret is a carousel ride, we are spinning and spinning and spinning and now...there's a hole in the ceiling, down through which I fell. There's a girl in a basement coming out of her shell. And there are people who will say that they knew me so well, I may not go to heaven, I hope you go to hell. And the comet is coming between me and the girl who could make it all clean. Out there in the shadow of the modern machine, walks St. Robinson in his Cadillac dream." ~counting crows

I named my car after that song. Seriously. My car is named St. Arthur Robinson (Robbie for short, because St. Arthur Robinson is an awfully long name for what seems like the smallest car ever created). That was the first song I played in my car (I purposely chose it). I am a music freak, I know. I can't help it. Anyway, a few elements of that song (the band, the car, the girl's name) come into today's game, which is:

LIVEJOURNAL SCATTEGORIES

Taken from the lovely Gen. Play along.

Use the 1st letter of your name (real name or journal name) to answer each of the following. They MUST be real places, names, things -- NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

Your Name: Claire
Famous Music Artist/Group: Counting Crows
3 letter word: Cow
Colour: Cerulean
Gifts/Presents: CDs
Vehicle: Cadillac
TV Show: Cheers
Boy Name: Chris
Girl Name: Carrie
Alcoholic Drink: Cosmopolitan
Occupation: Counselor
Flower: Chrysanthemum
Celebrity: Claire Danes
Food: Chocolate
Something found in a kitchen: Countertops
Reason for Being Late: Crappy alarm clock
Something You Shout: Crivens!!! (shout-out to the wee free men!)

Damien Rice - 9 Crimes (Live)

"Is that all right, yeah, to give my gun away when it's loaded?" ~damien rice

Damien and Lisa singing "9 Crimes" together. Which won't happen again.

"Leave me out with the waste, this is not what I do. It's the wrong kind of place to be cheating on you. It's the wrong time, but she's pulling me through. It's a small crime, and I've got no excuse..." ~damien rice

I'm pissed at Damien Rice. He issued this statement:

After much thought and discussion Damien has decided that his professional relationship with Lisa Hannigan has run its creative course. As a result Lisa will not be appearing at any of the upcoming live shows. Lisa is embarking on her own artistic endeavours and there are no plans for them to work together in the foreseeable future. The current band on tour at the moment are - Damien Rice, Joel Shearer, Shane Fitzsimons, Tom Osander & Vyvienne Long.

He fired Lisa. Who, to me, is an integral part of the band. And that statement is so cold and harsh. It doesn't acknowledge her contribution to the band at all. She's been there from the beginning. The songs Volcano, I Remember, 9 Crimes, The Professor, Coconut Skins, Cold Water, Be My Husband, Sleep Don't Weep, and many more won't be the same without her. And the changes will most definitely detract from the songs. Damien is really making it hard to be a loyal fan of his right now. I wish Lisa the best of luck in her solo career; I have no doubt that she'll be successful. I'm still really sad, though.

"But I can't help the feeling I could blow through the ceiling if I just turn and run, and it wears me out, it wears me out, it wears me out, it wears me out. And if I could be who you wanted, if I could be who you wanted, all the time, all the time, ohhh...ohh..." ~radiohead

I went to go hear Joyce Carol Oates speak last night and she was freakin' fantastic. She's so funny, and her sense of humor comes across much more strongly when you're listening to her speak rather than simply reading her writing. I got her to sign another book for me, too.

One of my students wrote this. He's failing English class, yet he has this incredibly long, dense philosophical piece published online. Read it. I don't agree with everything he says, but I seriously can't believe he's such a talented writer and is failing English. The kid is brilliant.

The Scientist - Natasha Bedingfield

"Nobody said it was easy, oh its such a shame for us to part. Nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard. I'm going back to the start." ~coldplay

To continue my YouTube kick, here's another video that I highly recommend watching. I'm not really a huge fan of Natasha Bedingfield's (I tend to avoid mainstream pop artists in general), but she does such a great job with this Coldplay song that I love. I almost want to say that I like it more than Coldplay's version; she adds so much intensity to it.

Today was another fabulous day that I got to spend as a temporary member of Joy's family. First of all, her senior voice recital went incredibly well. She makes singing seem so effortless, and she exudes joy as she sings. It's beautiful to hear and watch. My favorite piece she sang was "I Never Saw a Moor."
Our apartment is now overflowing with flowers and leftover food from the reception. It's pretty crazy. It took quite an effort to get all that stuff back to the apartment. Afterwards, Mich and I went to the Olive Garden with even more of Joy's family members than we dined with last night. We spent almost three hours there, gorging ourselves on the neverending supply of salad and breadsticks, eating oversized servings of pasta, and enjoying good conversation and laughter. I love her family. I didn't want to leave dinner. Her grandfather gave me another kiss goodbye and her mom hugged me multiple times. They're all so friendly and warm and loving and accepting. It was wonderful to be included in their weekend festivities.

"Would you hold my head up high, would you make my life as big as the sky?"~ a.m. sixty

That's another fun, poppy, light, springtime song that I love.

This is just an update to say that STC is amazing. Mich and I went to their final improv show of the year tonight and I'm so glad we did. They've improved exponentially since freshman year, and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. It was a perfect end to a great day.

Eels

"Birds singing a song, old paint is peeling, this is that fresh, that fresh feeling. Words can't be that strong, my heart is reeling, this is that fresh, that fresh feeling." ~eels

I've had that song on repeat for awhile. It seems to fit perfectly with the springtime that has arrived. It puts me in such a happy mood. I'm on a YouTube kick right now, so I'm posting a video. This is a good live performance, although the version of the song they play is pretty different from the album version (which is amazing); it's stripped down a lot.

I had such a good time tonight. Michelle and I had dinner at Baker's Crust with Joy and 13 of her family members, which was intimidating at first but turned out to be a blast. Joy's aunt is a jazz singer in NYC, so I got to talk to her about living in the city and promised to come hear her sing sometime once I move. Joy's grandfather is hilarious. Before we left, he put on some chapstick and said, "I'm putting this on so I can kiss these girls goodbye" (referring to Mich and I). They're such a fun family. Joy's senior voice recital is tomorrow, which is why her family is here. It was nice to get off campus and interact with some new people.

"I don't care if it hurts, I wanna have control. I want a perfect body, I want a perfect soul." ~radiohead

Yeah, I'm posting again, less than an hour after my last post. On a Friday night. Because I'm that cool.

I don't know how time passes so quickly sometimes. For the past couple of hours I've sat at my computer, not paying attention to the time at all, and now I have no idea where all that time went. I've been reading speculation about the upcoming Harry Potter book and have been listening to Radiohead covers. Damien Rice has a great version of "Creep" (quoted above). Another favorite is KT Tunstall's version of "Fake Plastic Trees." Anyway, I just get lost so easily in stuff like that. When I get home from school every day, I'm absolutely drained. I don't feel like going out and making an effort to socialize. So instead I hide away on my computer, letting music drift through my head, or curl up with a book.

I've been able to get some pleasure reading done lately. I finished Joyce Carol Oates's Blonde a couple of weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it. Reading Oates reminds me why I will never be a writer. She's such a master of language; I could never manipulate words like she does.
Today I finished The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards. It seemed like it had received so much buzz that I had to see what all the fuss was about. I wasn't that impressed. It was okay, the story was good, but the writing wasn't stellar and the characters fell a little flat. I was a little disappointed.
Today I started reading Kazuo Ishiguro's When We Were Orphans. Along with Oates, Ishiguro is another one of our most talented contemporary writers. I've read two of his novels, The Remains of the Day (which won the Booker Prize) and Never Let Me Go, both of which are wonderful. Ishiguro is such a master of subtlety.

The Strokes

"I've got nothing to say. I've got nothing to say. I've got nothing to say. I've got nothing to say." ~the strokes

That song is so beautiful. During the most insane concert I've ever been to (Nic and I saw The Strokes last year over my spring break; read my review here), during which we were afraid of being killed by crazy fans, the band played that song ("Ask Me Anything") and the crowd settled down for three minutes. All the crowd-surfing, shoving, jumping up and down, and noise stopped (for the most part) as the band poured out the simple, delicate melody and lyrics that are so uncharacteristic of The Strokes. A video that someone took from that concert (mostly good for the audio) is posted above.

I talked to my friend Christin for awhile today, which was so nice; I miss her. When I live in NYC we'll get to hang out, which will make me happy. It's so funny; we often note the fact that I would love to be in NYC on my own, whereas she would love to be back here in college. I'm sure I will miss aspects of college life once I'm away, but right now I'm ready to be out of here.

I really do have nothing to say, I just felt like writing something.

"Hold me in the river 'til my skin turns blue. Slap me on the back and say, 'Now how do you do?'" ~brakes

Happy birthday to my dear Josie. She's getting to be an old lady; today she turns 14. I miss her. My mom made her a birthday cake and of course she loved it.


In the past few days I've gotten to read 90 essays on Lord of the Flies. The kids took their test on the novel on Monday, and one component was turning in an essay that they wrote outside of class. The average test score was a 60-something percent, which is failing according to the school's grading system. And that average doesn't even take into account the students who got zeros because they plagiarized their essays. I really don't like giving kids zeros, but I can't believe what some of them thought they could get away with. A few of them simply copied and pasted a whole chunk of writing from sparknotes, didn't add any of their own words at all, and somehow thought I wouldn't notice. Seriously? Do they really think I'm that stupid? Arg. It's frustrating.

"Someday you will find me, caught beneath the landslide. In a champagne supernova, a champagne supernova in the sky. Wake up the dawn and ask her why, a dreamer dreams, she never dies. Wipe that tear away now from your eye..." ~oasis

I'm stealing a fun idea from Gen's LJ. This is similar to the iPod Roulette I did last week, in which no one participated. Come on, folks. If you're reading this, play along. Here it is:

The Screen Name Mix Tape!

Rules:

1. Choose one (1) song whose title starts with the first letter (or number) of your screen name.
2. Repeat this process with each successive letter (or number) in your screen name until you run out of letters (or numbers).
3. Post your results.

Here's mine:
C - Champagne Supernova (Oasis)
L - Light House (Maria Taylor)
A - Anna Begins (Counting Crows)
I - If You Leave (OMD)
R - Rapid Hope Loss (Dashboard Confessional)
V - Volcano (Damien Rice)
O - On the Radio (Regina Spektor)
Y - You are my Joy (Reindeer Section)
A - A Lack of Color (Death Cab for Cutie)
N - Numb (U2)
T - This House is not for Sale (Ryan Adams)
9 - 9 Crimes (Damien Rice)
4 - 4 Days (Counting Crows)

It's so hard to just pick one song for each letter/number. I mostly just went with the first one to cross my mind for each.

Today, as I do every Sunday, I hung out with the two cutest boys on campus. They're 3 and 6 years old and they're adorable. Most of the time. They were great today.

I also watched the TV movie version of The Robber Bride, which my neighbor (back at home) was kind enough to record on a DVD for me because we don't get the channel on which it aired. Margaret Atwood is my absolute favorite author; I love her. I collect her books and have lots of them, taking up a whole shelf of my bookshelf at home. She's written quite a few (37 to be exact). I have all of her novels (she's written 12 of those). The Robber Bride isn't my favorite book of hers, but I still love it. I love pretty much everything she's written. When I heard they were making a movie of it with Mary Louise Parker, I knew I had to see it. What a combo, right? Mary Louise Parker in a movie version of a Margaret Atwood book. That's right up my alley. Mary Louise Parker is fantastic. Anyway, the movie was good (though of course not as good as the book). Mary Louise Parker made it good. She could turn any movie into a hit. It was different from the book; they changed a lot and cut out a lot. But I still enjoyed watching it.

Tomorrow after school I'll have Lord of the Flies essays and tests to grade. Those should generate some funny quotes to share on here.

"If the tillerman taught me anything, it's that a hard-headed woman is what I need to help me to always do my best. Baby, my life is blessed." ~dustin kensrue

Spinner listed Dustin Kensrue as a new artist to watch, so I checked him out. I wasn't so sure at first; his sound isn't all that original. To me, he comes off as a Ryan Adams wannabe with a little less edge. It's not necessarily a bad thing to want to be Ryan Adams because Ryan Adams is absolutely brilliant, but you've got to establish your own sound by piecing together different musical influences rather than just imitating another artist. But I kept listening, and Dustin Kensrue grew on me. That line quoted above from his song "Pistol" made him a little more appealing to me. Anyone who alludes to Cat Stevens' album Tea for the Tillerman, especially the amazing song "Hard-Headed Woman," is okay in my book.

So. Yesterday. It was Pig Roast and St. Patrick's Day, which, at my school, should have meant that I partied all day. Instead I got up at 6:20am to go and take a 4-hour test. Yeah, that was fun. It was the VCLA, a test that is required to receive my teacher's certification in Virginia. Just to warn you, this is going to be a paragraph of complaints. They told us to be there BY 7:30am, which, to me, means be there NO LATER THAN 7:30am (but I guess that's just me). I got there at 7:15am, and they made us stand outside before finally letting us in the building a little after 7:30am. It was freezing. So that was a great start to the morning. The actual test lasted 4 hours. There were no breaks in that time period. There were multiple sections to the test (reading comprehension, rewriting sentences that had grammatical/spelling errors, essay-writing, summarizing, and some other stupid stuff). They gave us 4 hours to complete everything; there was no guidance as to how long we should have spent on each section. They just gave us each a bunch of test booklets and told us to finish everything in 4 hours. Luckily I had a watch, because there wasn't even a working clock in the room. The whole thing did not seem very well organized to me. And the test was stupid. I had to write an essay on whether or not I think term limits should be in place in the Senate and House of Representatives. And I had to summarize a long passage about fighting forest fires. You'd think they could have come up with some more interesting material. Anyway, at least it's over. Hopefully I passed so I don't have to deal with that crap again. I know I wrote a very strong essay, and I think I did well on the whole writing section in general, but it was the reading that gave me the most trouble (which is strange, because that's usually my strong suit). Anyway, I don't think I could have failed.

After that lovely morning of test-taking, I didn't feel like going to Pig Roast and being cold and surrounded by drunk people, so I went to the mall with three of my friends. It was a nice way to wind down the day. I feel like I'm pretty much over the whole college thing, so I don't feel bad about missing something like Pig Roast. I went freshman year and had a blast. Sophomore year I was disappointed that I couldn't go because I was in Florida for synchro nationals. Junior year I considered going but finally decided I wasn't in the mood (even though I lived in Pac House, right next door to the Row, and could hear everything going on loud and clear from my room). This year it didn't appeal to me at all. Most of the time I don't even feel like I'm in college anymore. I basically have a real job (the only difference is that I'm not getting paid). I don't even get around campus; I mostly go back and forth between my apartment and my high school. I think it's a good way to transition out of college, though.

" Looking at herself but wishing she was someone else , because the body of the doll it don't look like hers at all. So she straps it on, she sucks it in, she throws it up, and gives a grin, laughing at herself because she knows she ain't that at all. All caught up in the trends, well the truth began to bend, and the next thing you know, man, there just ain't no truth left at all." ~jack johnson

Today my supervisor came to observe me and it went really well again. I was so glad my kids behaved (at least they were better than they usually are). He observed my worst class, too. I'm starting to feel a little more confident about my teaching abilities, even though I know there is much upon which I can improve. I'm definitely having a much better experience than some of my fellow student teachers, as I learned in my student teaching class today. Some of my peers are having a very rough time. I know it's awful, but as a fellow student teacher recounted her week, I felt so relieved that I'm not in her situation. I wish her the best, though; she's extremely capable and smart and amazing and I'm sure she'll be able to figure out a way to deal with her kids and everything that's going on in her classroom. The other people in my student teaching class are the only ones who really understand what I'm dealing with right now, so I relish the opportunity to talk to them and complain to them and know that they sympathize. I can't express how challenging teaching is, but they get it. They get frustrated and exhausted and confused just like I do. It's comforting to know that I'm not alone.

"We ain't goin' to the town, we're going to the city. Gonna trek this shit around, we'll make this place a heart to be a part of again." ~interpol

I love, love love that song. It's amazing. That whole album is amazing. Interpol is amazing. But that song is my favorite of theirs.

I think my male students generally like me better than my female students do; I'm not sure why that is. The one class that I had today mostly consists of males. They're very difficult to control (especially in a classroom of 30+ students). A lot of them are absent quite often because they're suspended quite often. I like them, though, and I think they like me for the most part. They're usually pretty funny. One of my other classes, however, consists mostly of girls, and that class leaves me exhausted and frazzled and discouraged much more often than the class full of boys. The girls are harder on me. I can't figure out why.

Today I had a debate with a boy about World War II. He was convinced that World War II took place in the 1970s when Nixon was President. He didn't believe me when I told him otherwise. I'm still not sure if he was serious or not; if he was just playing around with me, he was certainly very convincing.

I was standing in the front of the classroom talking to a student and some of the other kids started laughing because he was so much taller than me. They asked him his height, and he responded that he is 6'6". That's almost a foot-and-a-half taller than me. Only after the students commented did I realize that I was tilting my whole head back in order to look at him. I need to grow some more.

"All of your ways and all your thunder got me in a haze running for cover. Where we gonna go from here? Where we we gonna go from here?" ~mat kearney

Let's see...what to write about? Yesterday the kids in one class gave me a lot of trouble, mostly because they were furious with me for giving them new assigned seats. This one girl absolutely hates me...I've mentioned her before. She came close to throwing a tantrum in class. She said she's never had to do this much work before in her whole life. Then she said that she hasn't read any of Lord of the Flies (our current book, which they should have finished by now) and that she isn't going to read it at all. She said it like she was insulting me, like she expected me to start crying and pleading with her to read. She doesn't understand that she's only hurting herself by not reading it. My supervising teacher always makes me feel better by providing a sarcastic comment about whatever is bothering me when I complain to her, which helps. Still, sometimes I don't know what to do with some of these kids. I really, really want them to do well. I want them to read and understand and enjoy what they read. And I want them to like me. I know all of that isn't possible, but knowing that doesn't make it any easier. The girl who won't read was much better today, though. She asked me questions about what happens in the book (she knows I know she hasn't read any of it) and actually seemed to pay attention.

After school I went to SP Mall to walk around because it was such a beautiful day outside. I saw one of my kids working in American Eagle, which was only slightly awkward. When I got back on campus, I spent 3 hours at the CMC cranking out a Lord of the Flies test. Tests are not easy to write. I now sympathize with all of my old teachers. Seriously, writing a test is so much more difficult and time-consuming than taking one. And the prospect of grading 90 of them? Ugh.

Congrats to my wonderful friend Adrian, who won the Quest Competition! I'm so happy for her. Here she is, looking as studious as ever:

Adrian is actually incredibly smart and I love her to death.
I don't think she reads this...Adrian, if you're reading, I apologize for sharing the above photo; feel free to yell at me and make me remove it. Love ya.

"The city keeps on going, we just keep on rolling. The city keeps on going, we just keep on rolling...on." ~joe purdy

My roommates will be returning today and I will no longer have the apartment to myself. It'll be good to see them. I had a nice week alone, though. I practiced my guitar a lot. I don't like practicing when anyone else is in the apartment; I'm too self-conscious. But last week I could play as loudly and poorly as I wanted without worrying about anyone else hearing. I've been working on 8mm's "Liar" and Joe Purdy's "The City" and have not made much progress on either one. I'm okay when I'm just playing the chords or plucking the notes, but when I try to sing along, the rhythm gets all screwed up and I get lost. I'm not a very patient person, which makes playing the guitar very difficult for me, because I want to be able to sit down and churn out an awesome riff yet I don't want to do the work to get there.

Another problem I have when singing along with "The City" as I play my guitar is that I'm not sure of the words. No one is. It's hilarious; it's impossible to understand what Joe Purdy is saying during some parts of the song. He's not very good at articulation. When you look up the lyrics online, you'll find at least half-a-dozen versions. The first line of the first verse has been transcribed as: "Float down the river with my Iddy and Jay," "Float down the river with my Indian Jay," "Float down the river with Matt, Indy, and Jay," and a few other variations similar to those. And that's only the first line. So when I sing along, I just pick a version and I'm probably singing the wrong words.

Is it strange that I like being alone? I talked to my mom the other day and when she asked if I was lonely I immediately said no, which was the truth. But people expect me to be lonely. Is it weird that I'm not? I could spend days all by myself and I would be content. But I don't think that's a good way to be. It's not that I don't like people, because I do, and I like spending time with them. I'm just...I don't know.

"A mighty voice from out the clouds to me announced today's undertaking. He said, "Go build a song 40 heartbeats long and sacrifice it for your love." So this one comes from high above. There have been other songs from out these strings, but they came out wrong. Don't be mistaken. But this one comes from high above, yeah this one is dedicated to you." ~m. ward

Tonight I watched one of my favorite movies ever, My Cousin Vinny. I can recite most of the lines along with the actors because I've seen it so many times, and yet it never gets old. I love the fact that Marisa Tomei, who grew up in Brooklyn, was forced to eliminate her Brooklyn accent as she was training to be an actor, and yet it was that Brooklyn accent that helped win her an Oscar for her performance in My Cousin Vinny. I love that accent. I still can't believe she won; her competition consisted of Judy Davis, Joan Plowright, Vanessa Redgrave and Miranda Richardson, four of the most talented and well respected actresses alive, and somehow Marisa Tomei (a practically unknown actress) walked away with the Oscar. For a comedic role. I love it. I don't love all the conspiracy theories and criticisms that surrounded her win. Anyway, it's a really good movie. It makes me laugh hysterically every time I watch it.

School is going okay. I feel like one class has warmed up to me and has gotten easier to manage as the semester has progressed, but another class has just gotten worse. I'm going to give them new assigned seats on Monday. They'll hate me for it, but at this point I don't care. I can't deal with them anymore. Teaching is a lot harder than it looks.

Jason Schwartzman is coming out with an album that will be available on iTunes in April; I'm excited. He has a few songs already up on MySpace. If you're interested, one of his songs plays when you open my MySpace page, so check it out. I used to have Augustana's "Boston" on my MySpace page but I decided it was time for a change.

"Every night my dream’s the same; same old city with a different name. They’re not coming to take me away, I don’t know why but I know I can’t stay. There’s a weight that’s pressing down, late at night you can hear the sound. Even the noise you make when you sleep can’t swim across a river so deep." ~the arcade fire

Today was a really good day. Every afternoon for about 2 hours (during lunch and academic extension, before the last period of the day), my supervising teacher and I chill in our classroom with two great AP students, Allie and Jessica. I love talking to them and listening to what's going on in their lives. Right before the last period was scheduled to begin today, a secretary called down to let us know that my student teaching supervisor was on his way to the classroom. His visits aren't announced and I always get nervous when he observes me. Allie and Jessica were so supportive, though; Jessica told me that they would be with me "in spirit" and Allie gave me a huge hug. It made me feel so wonderful to know that they were there for me. I want students like them when I become a real teacher.
The class that my supervisor observed went really well. 8 students were absent (a few of them were suspended), and I think their absences made things run smoother than usual. The class usually isn't exceptionally well-behaved and attentive, but I'm getting much better at involving everyone in the lesson and making them participate. It's very challenging, and one 90-minute period leaves me completely drained afterwards, but I'm getting the hang of it. And my supervisor noticed. Which is nice. I really like all of the kids in the class, I just wish they cared more about English. They continue to surprise me, though. One kid (who failed English last semester and will most likely need to go to summer school in order to graduate) is really smart. He admitted that he didn't do the reading, but he still managed to flip through his book and provide some very intelligent answers to discussion questions that I asked. Another kid, who doesn't seem to like me very much and doesn't speak up a lot, got more involved than anyone else in the discussion today.
Moments like getting a surprise hug from a student and an unxpected answer from another remind me why I love teaching.

Last night was a good night; I got to interact with some people close to my age (as opposed to 18-year olds) for the first time all week. I went to my friend Nan's house for dinner. I got to meet her 3 roommates, who are very nice. Josh and Aaron, two UR graduates whom I haven't seen in a long time, also joined us for dinner and it was good to spend some time with them.

Tonight was not as fun as last night. I mopped. Which really needed to be done. I mopped the kitchen and bathroom floors, which were absolutely disgusting. I spent a long time working on them and I'm sure they're still not clean. But afterwards it felt good to know that I had made progress.

"Its not time to make a change, just relax, take it easy. You're still young, thats your fault, there's so much you have to know..." ~cat stevens

I took a break from listening to my new albums and pulled out an old one. A really old one. I decided it was time to go back to Cat Stevens' Tea for the Tillerman. My dad used to play it all the time when I was little, and I would sing along. I knew pretty much all of the words to all of the songs by the time I was 8 years old. I remember my dad's best friend/business partner asking me what I wanted for Christmas one year, and I told him that I wanted CDs. He asked which CDs, and I told him that I wanted a Cat Stevens CD and Mariah Carey's Music Box. I remember that moment so clearly. He thought it was a pretty funny combination. Most 8 year olds aren't into artists like Cat Stevens. I have my dad to thank for my range in musical taste. I haven't listened to Tea for the Tillerman for awhile. It made me cry; I loved hearing it again. I challenge you to listen to "Father and Son" without tearing up. Or maybe I'm just weird. Anyway, it was nice to get all nostalgic and listen to such a beautiful album.
I still don't know what to think about Cat Stevens changing his name to Yusuf Islam, becoming a fundamentalist Muslim, supporting terrorist groups, and urging for the execution of Salman Rushdie (one of my favorite writers). He's become a pretty shady character. I do know that he's a wonderful musician, though. I don't understand how someone can write such meaningful and inspiring lyrics and music and then turn into such a radical, fundamentalist, seemingly crazy person.

"And then a lullaby on Broadway could sound like an exile out on Main. Oh, when that curtain closes you'll be back in your seat again." ~m. ward


I was so excited about Neon Bible that I forgot about the other new CD that arrived in the same package. I finally got around to buying M. Ward's Transistor Radio. After listening to Neon Bible a few times, I switched to Transistor Radio. I really like it. This is a good quote from Amazon.com's review:

"Transistor offers breezy, smart, poppy music very much in the American folk tradition, from country blues to bleary-eyed bedroom strums. This is the soundtrack to a lazy Sunday when you sleep in, read the Times in bed, cuddle with a friend, then finally leave the house for cheese grits."

M. Ward's voice is so soothing and beautiful. He sounds like he's from another era. I'm going to quote Amazon.com again; they call him "a half-named troubadour with an otherworldly voice and an old-time sensibility." Listening to Transistor Radio transports me to a simpler, easy-going time and place.


It's time for a fun game that I'm stealing from Captain Oats who stole it from his friend who stole it from The Onion. It's called iPod Roulette. Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs that come up. No cheating; you can't skip any embarrassing ones. Here are mine:

"What we Talked About" - the Old 97's
"Little Sister" - Jewel
"Coffee and Cigarettes" - Augustana
"Nobody Drinks Alone" - Keith Urban
"Goodnight Elisabeth" - Counting Crows
"Larissa's Lagoon" - Idina Menzel
"Dakota" - Stereophonics
"Girl from the North Country" - Counting Crows
"Wait" - Get Set Go
"Publish My Love" - Rogue Wave

If you read this blog, it would be great if you'd play along and comment with your list.

"MTV, what have you done to me? Save my soul, set me free! Set me free! What have you done to me?" ~the arcade fire

Arcade Fire's Neon Bible will be officially released tomorrow. I preordered it ages ago from Merge, and they usually try to make sure that you receive the album on the day that it's released, so I figured I would check my mail today just to make sure it hadn't arrived yet. And it was there! I was so unbelieveably excited. I have been waiting for this album for forever. I didn't even listen to the leaked version, which took an incredible amount of restraint, because I wanted to wait for the CD-quality version. I'm listening to it now for the first time. It always takes me at least a few listens to get a grasp on an album and to form my opinions of it, so I can't provide a well-developed review right now, but I will say that it's good. It's an album that especially requires attentive listening and multiple listens. Here are my initial reactions:
I haven't heard a stand-out track yet. Their first album, Funeral, had "Rebellion" and "Wake Up" to instantly grab me. Neon Bible is solid all the way through, and every track is strong, but there's no single, electrifying track that jumps out at me right away.
I noticed that a few of the songs on Neon Bible sound a lot like Springsteen songs, and I just realized that Amazon.com's review of the album points out the same thing. For some reason, many new bands are currently turning to Bruce Springsteen for inspiration (The Killers's most recent album, Sam's Town, is an obvious example of that). You can definitely hear Springsteen's influence on Arcade Fire in "Antichrist Television Blues" (which is one of my favorite songs on the album). There's nothing wrong with wanting to be like The Boss; in fact, I think it's great. I'm not sure why The Killers got bashed for their Springsteen-like music while The Arcade Fire is generally being praised, though.
My favorite tracks right now are "Intervention," "Antichrist Television Blues," "The Well and the Lighthouse," and "Keep the Car Running."
I think the sound quality could be improved on certain tracks.
That's all for now; maybe I'll add more thoughts after a few more listens. Overall, I'll sum it up by saying that it's a really good album.

"Six o'clock in the morning, you're the last to hear the warning, you've been tryin' to throw your arms around the world. You've been falling off the sidewalk, your lips move but you can't talk, tryin' to throw your arms around the world." ~u2

In case you haven't noticed, I'm on an Achtung Baby kick. I could keep posting lyrics from that album for forever.

I've had another lovely, lazy day all to myself. I finally realized why I've been so cold for the past few days; one of my apartmentmates turned off the heat before they left for spring break (I'm not sure why, because they knew I was staying here). Anyway, I turned it back on and have now begun to warm up. I got lots of planning done today; I now have all my lessons prepared for the upcoming week. I took a nice, long bath and read some of Blonde, the novel that I'm currently reading. I love Joyce Carol Oates. She spoke at my high school a long time ago (she teaches at PU, which is very nearby) and she's just brilliant. I got her to autograph my copy of Foxfire; I love that book.
Progress is being made in Cote D'Ivoire, which is good. I really hope the peace plan works. I would love to go back there someday; I spent the first three years of my life there, and even though I don't remember it, it's still a part of me.
That's all for now; I need to make sure I'm ready for tomorrow and start getting ready for bed. We teachers don't have the luxury of sleeping in.

"Have you come here for forgiveness? Have you come to raise the dead? Have you come here to play Jesus, to the lepers in your head?" ~u2

So I want to talk about the song "One." Here are my random thoughts that I want to get out:
1. I think it's funny that it's the song on Achtung Baby that Brian Eno hated the most and yet it went on to become the most popular song from the album.
2. I don't really like the album version of the song. It sounds unfinished to me. I much prefer the live version. The Edge goes into this beautiful, soaring guitar melody when they perform it live, whereas on the album version, the guitar part is just so boring and repetitive. I keep waiting for Edge to take off and go crazy on his guitar, and he never does. I can't listen to the studio version anymore.
Random related comment: Bono has often talked about the fact that he feels like many U2 songs are unfinished on the albums and that they get to finish them every night in concert, and I love that idea.
3. Bono has made this point before as well, and I agree with him: Why on earth do people play this song at weddings and funerals?? When people tell Bono that they used it at some such event, he has said that his reaction is, "Are you crazy?!" The Edge has said something similar: "I often come across people who've told me they played it at their wedding and I think, 'Have you listened to the lyrics? It's not that kind of a song.'" It is not a happy song. It's about conflict. The band has never specifically explained the exact details behind the lyrics (actually, they've given different explanations at different times), but the most common theories are that it's about a really hard break-up, a disagreement between a father and his gay, HIV-positive son, the turmoil in Northern Ireland, clashes between East and West Germany, struggles within the band, and Bono's relationship with his father (which is how I've always interpreted it). At any rate, it's about struggle. It has now come to represent Bono's One Campaign to Make Poverty History. It is NOT a song about happy people.
4. I can't describe what it's like to be in Madison Square Garden and hear the opening chords to "One" as Bono begins his speech about the One Campaign. He tells everyone to take out their cell phones and text their names to the One Campaign, and the Garden becomes a sea of lights. It's absolutely beautiful. Then the band bursts into song and it's just amazing. Here's a picture I took from the first U2 concert I attended that doesn't do the experience justice:

So what was the point of all that rambling? I'm not sure. I guess it was because I get frustrated when people misinterpret the song. Because it really is so beautiful and meaningful if you take the time and energy to listen to what it's saying.

Last night was what I thought would be a perfect time to do laundry. I mean, who else would be doing laundry on the Friday night before spring break begins? Apparently everyone. I have never seen the laundry room as crowded as it was last night; I had to wait forever for a washer. Everyone else had the same idea that I did and figured it was a perfect time. There were a LOT of people around last night, which surprised me. It was quieter today, though. I think a lot of people left this morning.
I'm a loner, so I don't mind having the apartment to myself (not that I don't love my roommates, because I do, and I'll be glad to have them back in a week). Today was a lazy day; I lounged around, went shopping, and didn't get much work done. It was nice. Tomorrow I'll have to buckle down and do some serious planning, though.
At the beginning of the semester, my cooperating teacher told me she'd need to see my lesson plans a week in advance. That lasted less than a week. Now she never looks at my plans at all. In the morning she'll say something like, "So, what are you teaching today?" I always end up planning my lessons at the last minute, which is what she does. It's probably not the best habit to get into.

I watched The Prestige tonight. I loved it. I love movies that make you think. Christopher Nolan is frakkin' brilliant; he's such a talented writer/director. I'm very proud of myself; I came so close to figuring out the "twist" before it was revealed. I don't want to give away the ending to people who haven't seen it yet, so I won't explain what I guessed and when I guessed it. I highly recommend the film; it's got a great cast (Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo, David Bowie), is superbly written and directed, has great cinematography...overall it's very well made.

"And I must be an acrobat, to talk like this, and act like that. And you can dream, so dream out loud, and you can find your own way out. And you can build, and I can will, and you can call, I can't wait until. You can stash, and you can seize, in dreams begin responsibilities. And I can love. And I can love. And I know that the tide is turning 'round, so don't let the bastards grind you down." ~u2

There's another fantastic song from Achtung Baby. Seriously, every single song on that album is brilliant.

I haven't blogged for awhile...I'm not quite sure what to say. I'm drained. I started teaching a unit on Lord of the Flies today, and it went well. I put them in groups and had them do a survival activity, and they got really into it. One class is furious with me, though, because I wouldn't let them go to a basketball game that was occurring during our class period. They're already missing class next week because of the SOLs, and missing today would have completely screwed everything up and would have gotten them off the same schedule as the other classes. I hate not being liked by them. I know that, as a teacher, I have to accept the fact that not all my students will like me, but that's a very difficult thing to accept. Anyway, the incident led to what I thought was a funny quote from my cooperating teacher. This was our exchange:
Me: They hate me.
Ms. W: They'll get over it.
Me: Casey* wouldn't even speak to me.
Ms. W: Claire, most days I would love it if Casey didn't speak to me.
Heh. She had a good point.
By the end of the period they had cheered up, they seemed to have forgotten about the game, and Casey was speaking to me, so it wasn't such a big deal. I still feel bad, though.
Another funny quote from today:
In their groups, they had to make posters displaying their tribes' symbols. One tribe drew Pooh Bear (there's a long story behind that decision that I won't go into). I'm not sure of the exact reasoning behind this quote, but I overheard one of them say, "Well then, we'll just have to make Pooh Bear black."

UR's spring break starts tomorrow, which means that I'll be left alone in my apartment all week. That'll be strange. I don't mind it; I'm a loner, so I'm fine being alone, but it'll be...different.

* = name changed just because I feel weird using my students' real names in here