"I never go to New York City these days. Something about the buildings in Chelsea just kills me. Maybe in a month or two, maybe when things are different for me, maybe when things are different for you. You know all of this shit, just sticks in my head..." ~counting crows

AD lives in NYC now, in my neighborhood (pretty close to Chelsea).

Have I mentioned that I'm sick of this whole job search thing? Yesterday I had another brilliantly organized placement fair (can you sense my sarcasm?), at which there were even more people than the previous fairs (which I didn't think could be possible). Here are some highlights:
~After I interviewed with a school and walked away from the table, a guy pulled me aside. He whispered in my ear, "I saw you interviewing for that school, "nodding towards the table I had just left. "I can't tell you my name," he continued whispering, "but I want to warn you. You don't want to teach there. I taught there last year. There's a reason that they have vacancies." And then he walked away. I felt like I was being brought into some mafia plot or something. It was bizarre. But funny.
~Best interview question: "Do you cry very easily?"
~A principal looked at my resume and muttered, "Oh, you're a Richmond grad. My dad would kill me if I didn't hire you. He went there." After the interview, though, I have a feeling that he might be facing his dad's wrath. I don't think I impressed him too much.
~I pretended to be familiar with balanced literacy when an interviewer mentioned it. I recognized the term, didn't know what it meant, but gave the impression that I knew something about it. Then she asked me to explain the concept. I wanted to kick myself. After a long "Um...." I tried to make something up, but she interrupted me and told me that I was describing differentiation (which is not the same thing). Whoops.

I had an interview this morning and now I have to do a demo lesson for that school next week. So I have 2 demo lessons next week. And I can't just use the same lesson plan for both, because they have to be geared towards completely different levels (the school at which I interviewed today is a middle school, so I'll be doing a lesson for 6th and 7th graders). I'm not looking forward to planning those. I might head home for the weekend, because I think it will be easier to get work done there.

For now I'm focusing on having fun tomorrow at the baseball game and the concert.

"Says she talks to angels, they call her out by her name. Oh yeah, she talks to angels, says they call her out by her name." ~the black crowes

My dad's company has a company box at Shea and Yankee Stadiums, so he signs up for free tickets to the games. We're going to Shea Stadium on Thursday to see the Mets play the Braves. I am obsessed with the Atlanta Braves. I go see them play the Mets and Yankees whenever I can. I go decked out in my Braves gear (hat, t-shirt, and Chipper Jones jersey) and get yucked at by New York fans. It's fabulous. I'm excited for Thursday. It'll be a good game; Tim Hudson is pitching for Atlanta and El Duke for New York.

On Thursday night Nic and I are going to listen to the Black Crowes play at Central Park Summerstage. I'm going to practice my recording skills again.

I've been going to lots of interviews lately. On Monday I have to teach a demo lesson, which I'm dreading. I have to plan a lesson given no guidelines whatsoever (except that "it has to be related to English"). I have no idea what I'm going to teach. Any suggestions are welcome!

"I see trees of green, red roses too. I see 'em bloom, for me and for you. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world." ~louis armstrong

I went to Six Flags Great Adventure a couple of weeks ago with some friends, and I've been meaning to post this picture. Matt and I had to buy it because it was just too funny. Here's Katie, Matt, me, and Kim on Nitro. In case you can't tell, Kim's not a huge fan of roller coasters. I've added this picture to the list of things I tease her about (lovingly, of course).
ETA: so you can't really see Kim's facial expression all that clearly in this small version of the photo, but trust me when I say it's hilarious. She looks absolutely terrified. My mom looked at it and asked, "Is she crying??"


I went to my friends Chris and Heather's wedding today. It's so strange to think that one of my good friends, who just graduated from college with me, is now a husband. I'm so happy for them, though, and I know that they'll be incredibly happy together. They're perfect for each other. The wedding and reception were beautiful. There were lots of Richmond people there and it almost felt like we had never left college; it was so good to see them again. It made me wonder when I'll next be surrounded by so many college friends. I think it will be weird in September when I won't be going back to UR. Anyway, here's to Chris and Heather.

"New New York skyline. Wounds they heal in time. Don't crawl and don't despair, it's a new New York today." ~the cranberries

So. Stardust. Oh. My. Gosh. It was fabulous. I'll probably go back and see it again when it opens in theaters. It was magical and full of adventure and surprisingly hilarious. I've always loved fantasy movies, and this one reminded me why. Claire Danes was amazing, as always. Charlie Cox was great; I think he'll be a big name soon. Michelle Pfeiffer took years off from making movies, and now all of a sudden she's back with a vengeance. With this and Hairspray, she's proving to be quite the villain. She's very good at it. Robert DeNiro nearly steals the show, though. He alone is probably worth the price of admission. I don't want to give too much away so I won't say more. The audience probably contributed to my enjoyment of the film. It was a free advance screening, and for those things they always give out more tickets than seats so it's first-come, first-served. That way they can fill up the whole theater. Every single seat was taken (luckily I got a good one), so it was a very big crowd. Everyone was so into it. People clapped at various parts. They gasped and yelled and cheered, and it added to the fun. The woman behind me was hilarious. She kept muttering things under her breath to the characters. She was especially mean to Sienna Miller's character. So anyway, go see Stardust when it comes out.

"In fact I'm tired of 23d Street, strung out like some Christmas lights out there in the Chelsea night." ~ryan adams

Last night my mom and brother came into the city and I had dinner with my parents, brother, aunt, uncle, and two cousins. We ate at a great BBQ place on 23d Street called RUB. I loved spending time with my family. I always have fun with my cousin Bess. Hopefully I'll get to see her a lot more now that I'm living in the city. They (my aunt, uncle, and cousins) live on the UES right now but they're moving to Chelsea in October.

I got a letter from my Gran today. I've written about her before; I love her to death. She writes great letters updating me on her and my Grandad's lives. The letter she just sent me told me all about their new house and the meals they get at the club and her new friends. The letter ended with this: "Take care. Do you carry mace? If not, please get some for your purse. I love you!" For some reason I found that hilarious. It was a serious suggestion, and not a bad one either, but in the context of the letter it was so random.

I'm in love with Bitten, Sarah Jessica Parker's clothing line. It's dangerous; every time I walk past the Manhattan Mall, I have to stop at Steve & Barry's (the only place in Manhattan where they sell the clothing line). All the clothes in her collection are under $20 (that includes jeans, dresses...everything), and they're nice. I bought a pair of jeans today for under $15. Her fall line comes out this month; I better start saving my money now.