Thunderstorm: A transient, sometimes violent storm of thunder and lightning, often accompanied by rain and sometimes hail.
It started raining today for the first time in months. The first sign that summer is officially over and fall is now here. The smell of the rain hitting the hot, baked fields only comes once a year. We even had thunder and lightening which is so unusual for the Bay Area. It reminded me of where I grew up and the summer thunderstorms. Watching the lightening track across the sky and then counting the seconds afterwards to figure out how far away it was.
I remember once, when I was about 15, awakening in the middle of the night to the sound of continous rolling thunder. I could see the lightening flashes through my window. It was almost constant. A parade of lightening marching across the earth.
I got up and went downstairs so I could watch through the big picture window in the kitchen. As I entered the dark kitchen, I found most of my family already there. No one spoke. We just gathered in silence to view the storm. One by one the rest of the family members joined us.
I don't know how long it lasted. Forever and just a blink of the eye. The dark moonless night, constantly split in two by the bright blue-white zigzag of the lightening. Then, almost immediately, the crack of the thunder. So loud, that the windows on house rattled.
Finally, the storm moved off, walking across the sky on legs of thunder. The house returned to stillness. Without speaking, holding the experience within ourselves, we returned to our beds and to peaceful slumber.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Growing Up
Adult: One that has arrived at full development or maturity especially in size, strength, or intellectual capacity.
I only see my kids every other weekend (they chose to go live with the ex), and I didn't see them at all for the month of August, as that was the ex's summer month. This weekend was the first time I've seen them since July 31.
My son is taller than I am.
Now, my daughter has been taller than me for quite some time, but suddenly standing next to my son and realizing that I have to look up to meet his eyes was somewhat of a shock. I knew this moment was coming though, as we were exactly the same height in July, and he has been on a huge growth spurt ever since last September. This whole last year, every time I saw him, I could swear he'd grown an inch.
But.
This was the first time I've had to look UP at him.
It made me sad because I realized that they are both growing up and while I will always think of them as my little kids, that is not who they are anymore.
On the other hand, they have both turned into very cool people in their own right, and I am so proud that they are my kids.
I only see my kids every other weekend (they chose to go live with the ex), and I didn't see them at all for the month of August, as that was the ex's summer month. This weekend was the first time I've seen them since July 31.
My son is taller than I am.
Now, my daughter has been taller than me for quite some time, but suddenly standing next to my son and realizing that I have to look up to meet his eyes was somewhat of a shock. I knew this moment was coming though, as we were exactly the same height in July, and he has been on a huge growth spurt ever since last September. This whole last year, every time I saw him, I could swear he'd grown an inch.
But.
This was the first time I've had to look UP at him.
It made me sad because I realized that they are both growing up and while I will always think of them as my little kids, that is not who they are anymore.
On the other hand, they have both turned into very cool people in their own right, and I am so proud that they are my kids.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Renaissance Faire
Fantasy: The creative imagination; unrestrained fancy.
We've gone to the Renaissance Faire for the last few years, every year. We go and watch the same shows and enjoy the conversations that different people at the Faire will strike up with you. What you get out of it, is definitely up to you. You can enjoy and participate, or think it's silly and look at it with a jaundiced eye.
As a side note, what always amazes me about the women at the Faire is the amount of cleavage on display. Frankly, if someone walked down the street like that, they'd be arrested for indecent exposure. And, What Is It with various and sundry objects stuck down the cleavage? A dagger, a softball?!?, a rose, a giant pickle?
The first year we went, we hardly noticed anything else as the vast amounts of bosom took up all our attention. As we've gone for other years though, we have started to notice the men. Have you ever heard of codpieces? If you haven't, shortly you will know. Basically, it's padding in a certain area of a man's anatomy to "enhance" his natural virtues. Of course, on the websites for the RenFaire, while they show women's cleavage in loving detail, they don't really focus on the codpiece. I don't know why. Of the two, while the cleavage is more flashy, the codpiece is definitely the more memorable.
The other thing that the men do, more so than the women, is to have weapons. Now, a sword and a dagger, ok, that seems to be reasonable. But when someone walks by who is quite literally staggering from the weight of steel and there is not one inch of costume that does not have a sharp object attached to it, you have to wonder.
I'm finally figuring out what it's really about though. It's about the fantasy of living a different life. Of choosing a type of character that you've always wanted to try and being able, if only for a day, to be that person.
A queen, a fairy, a sorceror, a warrior maid, a pirate, a gallant gentleman, a gypsy. You can be anything you want at the Faire.
We've gone to the Renaissance Faire for the last few years, every year. We go and watch the same shows and enjoy the conversations that different people at the Faire will strike up with you. What you get out of it, is definitely up to you. You can enjoy and participate, or think it's silly and look at it with a jaundiced eye.
As a side note, what always amazes me about the women at the Faire is the amount of cleavage on display. Frankly, if someone walked down the street like that, they'd be arrested for indecent exposure. And, What Is It with various and sundry objects stuck down the cleavage? A dagger, a softball?!?, a rose, a giant pickle?
The first year we went, we hardly noticed anything else as the vast amounts of bosom took up all our attention. As we've gone for other years though, we have started to notice the men. Have you ever heard of codpieces? If you haven't, shortly you will know. Basically, it's padding in a certain area of a man's anatomy to "enhance" his natural virtues. Of course, on the websites for the RenFaire, while they show women's cleavage in loving detail, they don't really focus on the codpiece. I don't know why. Of the two, while the cleavage is more flashy, the codpiece is definitely the more memorable.
The other thing that the men do, more so than the women, is to have weapons. Now, a sword and a dagger, ok, that seems to be reasonable. But when someone walks by who is quite literally staggering from the weight of steel and there is not one inch of costume that does not have a sharp object attached to it, you have to wonder.
I'm finally figuring out what it's really about though. It's about the fantasy of living a different life. Of choosing a type of character that you've always wanted to try and being able, if only for a day, to be that person.
A queen, a fairy, a sorceror, a warrior maid, a pirate, a gallant gentleman, a gypsy. You can be anything you want at the Faire.
Friday, September 9, 2005
Well, I guess I'm dead
Blood Pressure: The pressure exerted by the blood against the walls of the blood vessels, especially the arteries.
On my way to somewhere else I had some time to kill. This is not a hardship for me, as almost any store holds the lure of looking at "stuff." Stuff I probably won't buy, mind you, but stuff all the same.
So, I was wandering around in a Raley's Grocery store that happened to be on the way to where I was going. Raley's is great, cause besides the food, they sure do have a lot of stuff. Wine glasses, barbeque grills, a whole entire aisle of makeup, small statues of dragons and wizards, and not incidentally, one of those blood pressure machines.
Being a person who can't resist finding out dippy numbers like that, I sat down to give it a shot.
It squeezed my arm half off, took quite some time to think about things, and then informed me that the test had failed. Officially, Results Were Inconsistent, in a very cryptic manner.
Not daunted I tried it again, and then again, with the same result every time.
So, since I guess I don't have a blood pressure, that must mean that I'm dead. Right? Or, that I need to go to the doctor Right Away.
On my way to somewhere else I had some time to kill. This is not a hardship for me, as almost any store holds the lure of looking at "stuff." Stuff I probably won't buy, mind you, but stuff all the same.
So, I was wandering around in a Raley's Grocery store that happened to be on the way to where I was going. Raley's is great, cause besides the food, they sure do have a lot of stuff. Wine glasses, barbeque grills, a whole entire aisle of makeup, small statues of dragons and wizards, and not incidentally, one of those blood pressure machines.
Being a person who can't resist finding out dippy numbers like that, I sat down to give it a shot.
It squeezed my arm half off, took quite some time to think about things, and then informed me that the test had failed. Officially, Results Were Inconsistent, in a very cryptic manner.
Not daunted I tried it again, and then again, with the same result every time.
So, since I guess I don't have a blood pressure, that must mean that I'm dead. Right? Or, that I need to go to the doctor Right Away.
Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Bike Commuting - Part 4 of 4
Triumph: To be victorious or successful; win.
I have succeeded. After much frustration, the bike commuting plan finally came to fruition today. I got out of the house early enough, I was organized enough and, gosh darn it, I wanted it badly enough.
16 miles, one way. It felt great to be moving along under my own power this morning. It took me a little over an hour to get to work, from the Park and Ride Lot. I felt great getting there. However, being there, at school, at 7:40 am, with all the students and staff was not such a great feeling.
I just felt really weird about anybody I knew seeing me arrive at work on my bike. Along the lines of, "Oh no, if anyone sees me, they'll think I look stupid!" which IS stupid. I mean, who cares? I'm not doing this to impress anyone, but I snuck into my building like a sneak thief anyway. Of course, a whole lot of students saw me, but they don't count. Just people I know.
I guess I'll know I've arrived as a bike commuter when I don't care if people see me or not.
I've determined that the other main requirement is that I can bike home as fast as I bike to work, which I failed at miserably today. It was a LOT harder going home. Of course, having a headwind the Whole Entire Way did not help one little bit.
I have succeeded. After much frustration, the bike commuting plan finally came to fruition today. I got out of the house early enough, I was organized enough and, gosh darn it, I wanted it badly enough.
16 miles, one way. It felt great to be moving along under my own power this morning. It took me a little over an hour to get to work, from the Park and Ride Lot. I felt great getting there. However, being there, at school, at 7:40 am, with all the students and staff was not such a great feeling.
I just felt really weird about anybody I knew seeing me arrive at work on my bike. Along the lines of, "Oh no, if anyone sees me, they'll think I look stupid!" which IS stupid. I mean, who cares? I'm not doing this to impress anyone, but I snuck into my building like a sneak thief anyway. Of course, a whole lot of students saw me, but they don't count. Just people I know.
I guess I'll know I've arrived as a bike commuter when I don't care if people see me or not.
I've determined that the other main requirement is that I can bike home as fast as I bike to work, which I failed at miserably today. It was a LOT harder going home. Of course, having a headwind the Whole Entire Way did not help one little bit.
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
First Day of School
Organized: Efficient and methodical.
The first day of school is tomorrow. I had great plans this year that I would be very organized and have everything under control, but it is not working out that way.
All teachers have to follow a pre-determined set of lesson plans for the first three days of school. If you've ever been on a corporate "team-building" seminar, you have a pretty good idea of what we'll be doing. It's going to be interesting. First of all, to get the students to buy into the activities and second, for me to find the time to talk to them about how I want my classroom and how I want them to behave in my classroom.
The other thing is that my schedule of classes was up in the air for a few days. You'd think that it might be a really good thing for your schedule of classes to be finalized before the first day of school, but no, it's more fun to try and change things around at the last minute. After much discussion, my schedule is remaining exactly the same as it was before, which I am happy with. However, my preparation was thrown off just a wee tad.
We'll see how tomorrow goes. I might have a nervous breakdown, but then again...
The first day of school is tomorrow. I had great plans this year that I would be very organized and have everything under control, but it is not working out that way.
All teachers have to follow a pre-determined set of lesson plans for the first three days of school. If you've ever been on a corporate "team-building" seminar, you have a pretty good idea of what we'll be doing. It's going to be interesting. First of all, to get the students to buy into the activities and second, for me to find the time to talk to them about how I want my classroom and how I want them to behave in my classroom.
The other thing is that my schedule of classes was up in the air for a few days. You'd think that it might be a really good thing for your schedule of classes to be finalized before the first day of school, but no, it's more fun to try and change things around at the last minute. After much discussion, my schedule is remaining exactly the same as it was before, which I am happy with. However, my preparation was thrown off just a wee tad.
We'll see how tomorrow goes. I might have a nervous breakdown, but then again...
Thursday, September 1, 2005
Bike Commuting - Part 3 of ?
Conscientious: Guided by or in accordance with the dictates of conscience; principled.
One of these days it'll happen. Birds will sing, bees will hum, the planets will align and I WILL Bike Commute!
However, that day was NOT today.
Today, I checked my email before I left, and had an emergency message that I might have to attend a seminar at another site and to come to school to find out for sure. So, being the conscientious person that I am, I could not pretend like I had not read the message and bike commute anyway.
I will try again, and again, and again, until it happens.
There is probably some really great lesson to be learned here, about the power of perseverance or something. Or, on the other hand, it could just be an exercise in complete frustration.
One of these days it'll happen. Birds will sing, bees will hum, the planets will align and I WILL Bike Commute!
However, that day was NOT today.
Today, I checked my email before I left, and had an emergency message that I might have to attend a seminar at another site and to come to school to find out for sure. So, being the conscientious person that I am, I could not pretend like I had not read the message and bike commute anyway.
I will try again, and again, and again, until it happens.
There is probably some really great lesson to be learned here, about the power of perseverance or something. Or, on the other hand, it could just be an exercise in complete frustration.
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