"I like songs about drifters - books about the same. They both seem to make me feel a little less insane. Walked on off to another spot. I still haven't gotten anywhere that I want. Did I want love? Did I need to know? Why does it always feel like I'm caught in an undertow?
The moths beat themselves to death against the lights. Adding their breeze to the summer nights. Outside, water like air was great. I didn't know what I had that day. Walk a little farther to another plan. You said that you did, but you didn't understand.
I know that starting over is not what life's about. But my thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth. My thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth. My thoughts were so loud." ~modest mouse

Things are crazy at school right now. I was there for ten hours on Thursday and ten more hours today, going through professional development workshop stuff and then working on my classroom. I've spent more than five hours putting together my classroom library and it's still not completely finished yet. I spent hours just putting up my bulletin boards (not even decorating them, just covering them with paper and borders). I feel like there's so much I need to do before school starts, and I don't have any more time; school starts on Tuesday and I won't be going back to the school before then. Oh, and I'm teaching Social Studies as well (I just found out). They're having sixth grade ELA teachers teach their classes Social Studies as well. It seems like that should be something they tell you when they hire you, but apparently not. I'm actually really excited about it, though. I was a history minor in college; I love history. I think it'll be fun. The assistant principal, who's really nice, said she'll work with us on planning and stuff. I think the curriculum is centered around something like ancient civilizations and world cultures.
There are two other sixth grade ELA/Social Studies teachers. One of them is Victoria, the girl I met on my first day of new-teacher orientation at the school; she just graduated in May and moved to NYC this summer, and we get along very well. She was initially scheduled to teach seventh grade ELA, but she was moved to sixth grade. The other teacher is a great guy who taught sixth grade last year at this school and is going to be a wonderful resource for me; he's already started giving me lots of advice and has assured me and Victoria that we'll work together in planning. So far I'm very pleased with the support system that it seems like I'll have. That doesn't mean I'm not nervous, though. No matter how much support I have, I'll still be the one standing in the front of that classroom, responsible for those kids. And there's a lot of pressure to improve ELA scores this year. We got some data and all of my kids except for one are at a failing ELA level coming into the school year. I need to raise them up. Which will not be easy. But I'm going to work hard.

On Wednesday I got in line at the Public Theater at 6:30am and waited for Shakespeare in the Park tickets for Nic and I (which were given out at 1:00pm). I got third row seats for that night, directly in the center of the theater. We had a perfect view. The six-and-a-half hour wait was totally worth it. I've seen four or five different productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, but this was by far the best (of course that was expected, because it's the Public's Shakespeare in the Park). A Midsummer Night's Dream is now without a doubt my favorite Shakespeare play. It's the perfect play for a summer evening performance in Central Park. We also had the perfect night for it; there was a slight breeze, the moon was glowing, and the sky was clear. I thought the set was great; the centerpiece (pretty much the only set piece) was a huge, whimsical tree that contributed positively to the action and the atmosphere but didn't detract from what was going on. The costumes were Victorian and absolutely wonderful. I'm in agreement with the New York TImes review that the rude mechanicals (the actors putting on a play within the play) were the focus and the best part of the production. They had me in stitches; I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Jay O. Sanders plays one of them, and he's absolutely hilarious. He's such a good actor and this part is perfect for him. Jesse Tyler Ferguson is equally hilarious. They worked well together. Martha Plimpton (as Helena) was another standout performer. She's very funny. Nic said that although Martha Plimpton been in over 35 movies, she (Nic) will always think of The Goonies when she sees her (who could forget The Goonies?). I was able to see her completely as Helena and thought she fully inhabited the character. She was very feisty. This Shakespeare in the Park show doesn't have one single standout star like many of the organization's past shows, but it has a very strong ensemble consisting of many well-known actors (Jay O. Sanders, Martha Plimpton, Keith David, Jason Antoon, and more). I think it's a very good production. I especially loved the ending; Puck sings his final monologue to a simple yet moving melody that I couldn't get out of my head for the rest of the night. I needed a break from thinking about school, and this play provided me with the perfect escape.

"I mean, they don't even know what it is to be a fan, you know? To truly love some silly little piece of music or some band so much that it hurts." ~almost famous

I watched that movie for the thousandth time yesterday. I'm obsessed with it. Scroll down this page to see my picture with the movie's star Billy Crudup.

I'm trying to take advantage of what I think will be the last free time I'll have in a long time. On Friday Nic and I went to see The Last Town Chorus and Camera Obscura perform at the South Street Seaport. I wrote about the last time I saw The Last Town Chorus in concert here. At Friday's concert, Megan played the song "Wintering in Brooklyn" live for the first time ever. I looove that song, so I was excited. It was a really good setlist. I recorded the concert and the recording sounds pretty good, so maybe I'll post a couple mp3s later. We were in the second row so we were very close to a speaker and I thought that would screw it up, but it didn't really. If you haven't heard her version of the song "Modern Love," you must listen to it. It was featured on Grey's Anatomy, I think when Denny was having a heart attack (in the middle of the second season). Actually, I posted her music video of "Modern Love" in the post that I linked to above (click on the word 'here').

Today I went to Coney Island. It was a perfect day for it. I rode the world famous Cyclone (which was worth every penny, despite the fact that I had a headache for the rest of the afternoon because it was so bumpy) and walked around the boardwalk. Then I walked along the beach to Brighton Beach. The water felt so nice on my feet and legs. I think most New Yorkers forget that New York City is surrounded by water. We're used to traffic and skyscrapers crammed together and don't realize that the beach is just a short subway ride away. It felt good to get away and to see and smell and feel the ocean. I'll try to post pictures soon.

Tomorrow I'm meeting up with two other new English teachers at my school and we're going to go shopping and then set up our classrooms together. I'm excited about that. I'm especially looking forward to setting up my classroom library. I love young adult books.

On Wednesday I'm getting up insanely early to wait in line for free Shakespeare in the Park tickets to A Midsummer Night's Dream (read The New York Time's review here). Wish me luck.

"We miss being ruffians, going wild and bright in the corners of front yards, getting in and out of cars. We miss being deviants. They'll find us here, here here in the guest room. Where we throw money at each other and cry, oh my. We can't stay here, we're starting to stay the same. We can't stay here, we can't stay this way." ~the national

The end of the summer snuck up on me. All of a sudden I now find myself in a week-long string of seemingly never-ending orientation days for new teachers (Monday and Wednesday with the DOE, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday with my school). Luckily they've been feeding us at each one. Today was an orientation for all new teachers in the city's public school system. There were over 3,000 of us. It's the country's largest school district, so it's not surprising that there are so many new teachers. It was surprisingly well-organized. They flooded us with so much information that I'm sure I'll be confused about once it starts to sink in or once it actually starts to apply to me. There were vendors there and they gave out tons of stuff. Here's some of what I got (everything on my bed except the computer):

Tomorrow at my school's orientation I should get my classroom key, and I'm excited about setting up my room.
Next week I have Monday through Wednesday off, and on Thursday and Friday I have more stuff with my school (the returning teachers will be there as well). Then there's Labor Day weekend, and on Tuesday school starts. That's really soon. I have no plans yet; I was just hired on Monday night. But, although I'm a little nervous, I'm excited. I love my school. My principal is very nice and funny, and she's especially focused on working with ELA teachers. She's going to meet with us once a week throughout the year and has already been giving the new teachers lots of helpful advice. The other new teachers are all very nice as well. There's one girl who just graduated in May and will be teaching seventh grade ELA; it's been great to talk to another new teacher who's the same age as me and in the same subject area. I already feel like I have people in the school to whom I can talk and worry and vent and ask for advice.

I student taught twelfth grade. I'll now be teaching sixth grade. There is a HUGE difference between those ages; it will be a completely different environment. I want to teach middle school, though. At first I was set on working with high schoolers, but this summer I've reconsidered. Especially because I'm teaching in New York City, I think working with younger students will be better for me as I'm just starting out. During my interview process I taught a demo lesson at this school to kids who just finished sixth grade, and I loved them. At this age they're generally still at the point where they want to do well in school and want to show off what they know. They're energetic and awkward and confused and eager to impress; they're challenging, but they're fun.

My school is in Washington Heights, at the very tip of Manhattan. Over 95% of the kids at my school are from the Dominican Republic. There are lots of recent immigrants. Nearly all of the students are Hispanic. Many of them are ESL students. I don't know Spanish, but someone at the school said that I'll learn quickly just by listening to the kids. The fact that I'll have kids at different levels of proficiency in English will make things difficult, but I'll learn to deal with it.
The school building is very nice and welcoming. The school is partnered with the Children's Aid Society, which runs after-school programs and a health clinic and dentist's office in the school. I think I'm going to like going to work there every day.

School hasn't been occupying all of my time. On Sunday night I braved the rain and sat outside in Central Park for three hours, listening to Rufus Wainwright. Nic and I shared a small umbrella and I think we each ended up soaking wet on one side of our body, but I didn't care. It was definitely worth getting wet. I loved the concert. He played my favorite song of his, "The Art Teacher," and brought his sister on stage to help him sing a heartbreakingly beautiful rendition of "Hallelujah." He has such a great voice. And he provided entertaining commentary between songs.

Last night Nic and I went to the Mets game. It was miraculously not cancelled because of rain; the rain mostly stopped before the game started and only a slight drizzle persisted (luckily we were sitting under cover, anyway). It was freezing, though. It was a very close game, but unfortunately the Mets came back in the bottom of the ninth and won. I was upset. I think it was the first time I've seen the Mets win at Shea Stadium (and I've been to my fair share of games). It was still fun to watch, though. A particularly entertaining moment was when a fan ran onto the field (how she got there is a mystery) and tried to hug Jose Reyes, who was on first base and started to run away from her. The security guards finally caught up to the girl and escorted her off the field, much to Reyes' relief. Here's Nic and I at the game (unfortunately I managed to cut the field out of the picture, but at least I got both of our heads. Note what a huge head I have):


Tonight I'm going to an advance screening of The Nanny Diaries. I'll post a review when I can. I'm afraid it won't be as good as the book (despite two of my favorite actresses, Scarlett Johansson and Laura Linney, being in the cast), but we'll see.

"Tiptoe through our shiny city, with our diamond slippers on. Do our gay ballet on ice, bluebirds on our shoulders. We’re half-awake in a fake empire. We’re half-awake in a fake empire." ~the national

I have no time to write, but I'm just posting a really quick update to say that I (FINALLY) GOT A JOB! I'll be teaching sixth grade ELA (English/language arts) at I.S. 218. I'm so excited. It's overwhelming, though; school starts two weeks from today. My first day of school as a teacher happens to be on my birthday. I have new teacher orientation all this week (it was very helpful today). I'll post more about the school and my position later. Right now I'm off to meet Nic; we're supposed to be going to the Mets game tonight (she got free tickets from her company because the cast of The Color Purple is singing the national anthem). Of course it's raining.

"Oh, we’re so disarming darling, everything we did believe is diving diving diving diving off the balcony. Tired and wired we ruin too easy. Sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave. Hold ourselves together with our arms around the stereo for hours, la la la la. While it sings to itself or whatever it does, when it sings to itself of its long lost loves. I’m getting tied, I’m forgetting why. Tired and wired we ruin too easy. Sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave. But I’ll be with you behind the couch when they come on a different day just like this one. We’ll stay inside 'til somebody finds us, do whatever the TV tells us, stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz for days. We’ll stay inside til somebody finds us, do whatever the TV tells us, stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz." ~the national

I think the best songs are ones that don't hit you right away. The first few times I listened to the song quoted above, "Apartment Story," I didn't think of it as anything special. I'm not sure when I first "got it" and realized how brilliant it really is. Now it's probably my favorite song on Boxer and one of my overall favorite songs. I have a recording of Friday night's concert and they played a good version of "Apartment Story" so I've been listening to that for the past couple of days; I just keep playing that song over and over.

What is it about me that makes people want to talk to me? I can't figure it out, but for some reason I seem to attract people who feel like telling me their life stories. I was just walking down the street to the garden of St. Marks in the Bowery where I am now (because I get wireless internet access here) and a man started walking alongside me and talking to me. At first I didn't realize he was even talking to me. He ended up telling me all about the battle of the street vendors for territory (he's a street vendor) and all about his brother and his new apartment and all kinds of little things about his life. He was a very nice guy. I walked with him to where his table of books was set up and he gave me his card and we parted ways. It was nice to talk to someone (well, I mostly listened), but it happens to me a lot and I wonder why. Maybe it's because I'm alone a lot. And I don't look very intimidating, so I'm approachable. Maybe most New Yorkers are just searching for company and reach out to whomever they can, even if that means a stranger walking down the street or sitting alone on a bench.

This morning I went to Redeemer Presbyterian Church for the first time. It's Tim Keller's church (he's a pretty famous minister) and he gave a good sermon today. I'm pretty sure I'll go back.