My first block all told me to have a good day and smiled at me when they left class this morning.  RAPPORT ALERT.

In other news, my ecology class and I bonded over an earthquake. We were in the middle of lab when it happened, and due to the school never having discussed what to do in case of seismic activity we ended up doing a dance of putting away lab equipment, getting it out again, putting it away for good.  The quake itself was exciting and a touch scary.

Tomorrow I have an Earthquake Day.  We apparently built those into the schedule as 'snow days,' go figure.

Piano

My Grandma put in her will that I will inherit her Mason & Hamlin grand piano.  That's pretty much the only item that she bothered to earmark.  It's because whenever I visit Grandma, I make a post-pleasantries beeline for the piano bench.  I love that thing. My aunt is quite incensed that she isn't getting the piano, which has me a bit baffled.  She's never shown much interest in the thing.

Well, I'm going to Atlanta to visit Kevin in August.  I spent a bit of time researching how much it would cost to fly to Hawaii (I've a sudden hankering to see volcanoes, probably from reading Annals and looking up pictures of rocks and Mt. Saint Helens) and then London and then Glacier...found a gorgeous cabin 8 miles from the park that you can rent for $150/night.

Learning about geologic history is a bit freaky though.  I feel extremely temporary.  It's also sobering to learn how little I know about this stuff.  Precambrian, Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Tertiary, Quaternary.  Yikes.

Summer vacation is boring

I reckon I have some sort of disease where I'm afraid to spend money.  I promised myself that I'd spend my $1500 bonus (which, it turns out, is actually a $954 bonus...taxes, you see) but now that it's in my checking account I'm completely unable to do anything with it but save.  Save for what?!  There's no big purchase looming on the horizon that requires me to stash money away in pillowcases, other than retirement, I suppose, and that's 40 years away.

Scandanavia is off, because Grandpa has 1) a torn rotator cuff 2) a fractured femur 3) no feeling in the fingers of his left hand 4) advanced cancer of indeterminate origin metastasized to his liver. When we heard that last, I naturally had flashbacks to Grandma, who died about three months after the cancer was found.  Tim had to remind me that we don't actually know anything yet and he could still have plenty of time.  I went with Mom to visit him in the rehab center, and he's in good spirits.

That gives me another two weeks of summer to fill.  Thus far I have filled it with a visit to Vermont, most of which I spent fighting a cold, and frantically reading books.  I'm re-reading the Harry Potter books because they're quick reads and the last movie comes out in just under a fortnight.  I barely recall books 6 & 7.  I want to read 50 books this year, only on 23 so hence the frantic pace.

I can see why some teachers get summer jobs.

I am doing something right

A former student stopped by my room this morning and told me that he misses my class.  I haven't gotten a whole lot of feedback, discounting test scores, so that was good to hear.

I have to teach 3 chapters in 7 days WHILE reviewing the rest of the material.  GRAH!

Letter through the crack in the wall

Inspired by Kayley Hyde and Charlie McDonnell

Dear future Jennifer

As you write this, you're nervous about next Monday (8/23/2010) because according to lots of people it is going to be the most important day of the year.  It's the day that you'll stand up in front of a bunch of 16 and 17 year old strangers for the first time and tell them what to expect in chemistry class.  If you remember the days leading up to that particular day it was hard for you to imagine that life moved past that calendar square circled in red.  Time approached it assymptotically.  (yes, you used to occasionally make up words, remember?) But, it must have, or you wouldn't be reading this.

I'd like to think that you're still a teacher at age 34, and that you're preparing for a new set of kids right now.  I don't know if you'll still be at LHS, because right now this area doesn't feel much like home.  You still rely on your GPS to get anywhere, and your car still sports PA plates.  The pay is better back home, so maybe it would make sense.  I don't have a full appreciation for money just yet.

Maybe by now you can play Fantasie Impromptu.  Not just the middle section, but the entire thing.  I also hope you can cook.  At this point in your life you relied a lot on cereal, sandwiches, and microwave dinners.  Stop that.

I wonder if your hair has started to turn gray.  If it has, it's not the end of the world.  You got Mom's genes, and those are generally good things to have.  If it hasn't begun, you probably won't go gray until your late fifties, so congratulations!

I don't picture you with a husband and kids, although a lot can change in ten years.  Who nows.  Right now dating is far from a priority for you, and it hasn't been for about a year.  Just don't settle for anyone, okay?

Ha, I just scared away Ernest the Cat, who likes to sneak into Dick and Judy's house and eat Bessie's food.  That was entertaining.

Stay frosty!