Toy Story 3

Last night Barb and I went to see Toy Story 3. Wow. It was ridiculous. Good movie. I'd even say it could stand on its own. I didn't get choked up until the end. Which was good compared to all the die-hards around us who were BALLING. We got to see it in IMAX 3-D too. Pretty bomb.

It was 99 degrees yesterday on our way to the movies. That was at 5pm. I'm SURE it was above 100 yesterday. I'm so excited to head back to the land of 67 degrees as the daily high. Now where did I put my sweaters?????

Such a Northerner

Days like today make me realize that HOME is in WASHINGTON.

There were THREE air quality warnings this morning. I went running anyway. I thought I was going to die. (Not really mom, I promise it wasn't that bad).

But I took two showers today... really I needed a third. DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN SWEAT FROM YOUR FACE EVEN WHEN YOU AREN'T DOING ANYTHING?!?! I was on my way to Charles' at 8:15am and my face was sweating. ew.

Tomorrow's Warnings:

A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS... STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM... STAY OUT OF THE SUNSHINE... AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

&

A STRONG UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL REMAIN ANCHORED OVER THE REGION... WHICH WILL HELP PUSH AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES CLOSE TO 100 ON THURSDAY. THE COMBINATION OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL RESULT IN HEAT INDEX VALUES AS HIGH AS AROUND 105 TO 107 DEGREES OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF NORTH CAROLINA THROUGH THURSDAY.

.... You know its gonna be bad when the humidity at 11:05 pm the night before is still at 74%. EW.

I officially <3 air conditioning. However, I can't imagine having to spend all summer cooped up in an AC-ed house. REALLY!? No wonder no one hikes. Or Canoes. Etc. It's too durn hot!

Michigan

So. Just finishing packing. Barb and I are driving her clunker car up to Michigan to her mom's. We're gonna swap out cars. But while we are there, we might as well stay a while, right? And shoot, let's go to Canada to the family cottage.

WOW.

This week was insane. In every way imaginable. It was the last week of school, work days, and we inducted the new corps members into ENC. Welcome 2010s! They are amazing. Its great to be reminded of the electric force of wanting to make a difference in the world.

It was bittersweet, though, because I have felt so disconnected to the TFA mission this year. I feel like I am helping to close the inequality gap, but not the achievement gap. I can reinforce writing and math skills, but only that: reinforce. However, I am teaching all those "soft skills." Manners, disposition, respect, confidence. Especially confidence. So much of what I teach in performance skills can transfer to the workplace.

Also, apparently next year I'll be helping to teach 4th grade math. Yay. :)

Granola

So last weekend my family (Derrei, Mom, and the twins) came out and spent the Holiday weekend with me in NC. It was pretty awesome. They were so much fun to hang out with. We went to Wilmington and played on the beaches, and they came and watched me teach a class and had lunch with me. It was an all-around great trip.

They left on Wednesday, and I flew to Washington on Friday.

We had a wedding! I played in it: Congrats Matt and Sara!

But so now I'm sitting in the airport at Seatac, and I am looking around at all the granolas I miss. I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. I'm lacking tevas, a north face jacket: shoot, I don't even have a coat with me hahaha.

My shoes are all wrong: I'm wearing boat shoes! In my attempt to assimilate to NC, I feel like I've lost a bit of myself... This summer is going to be a fun transition back.

At least they know how to make a Vanilla Latte correctly here. Even if it is only SBC... :)

Chorus Master

So. I got the job.

What job? Welll.......

Currently the chorus sitch in this county is rough at best. We don't have any chorus in the middle schools on the northern side of the county at all... Currently the high school position is only a "flex class" before school. One chorus. (I know.... It breaks your heart).

Well. So the current teacher also teaches at an elementary school, but she'd like to step down, so I said, in my very classic Brandon way, "Oo, oo! Me!" (It was a lot more professional than that. Don't worry.)

And last night I was offered the position. I'm really stoked about it. And the current teacher is awesome, and she'll hold my hand whenever I need it next year, and she left me a great bunch of kids. I'm really excited.

Does anyone else hear SAB versions of Glee music? What is that?...........

Update

So I really fail at this.

Let's see: Last week we had our Concert. It went really well. I printed Concert Etiquette on the back of the program, and we went over it before the concert. Then I proceeded to ALWAYS wait until the audience got quiet before starting the next song.

It was great: Joan, a friend from church, played the piano on Pie Jesu, which Barb played violin on. My PK-K-1st grade group got REALLY nervous. Even though they knew ALL THE WORDS! Oh well... They still did a GREAT job. :)

My favorite part, though, was when I got a group of guys together to play in a Jazz Combo. My kids have been studying Jazz during "Jazz Month" (April) through Princess and the Frog. They finally got to hear what a combo really sounds like. YouTube does better than an audio track, but the REAL experience was GREAT. And I gave them time to talk with their families about what they heard. It was awesome.
The Bass Player and the Drummer (Whom you can't see in this) also joined us (the 4th and 5th graders) on "Dig a Little Deeper": That Gospel Song from P&F. They were amazing. I had 12 kids play keyboards at the concert. They were just so brilliant!

EOG testing is this next week. That'll be crazy, but my load is really light: We'll just have Specials from 1-2pm every day, and I'll administer an exam on Wed and Thursday for a child with an IEP. It'll be a great week to prep for the rest of the year.

I am going to be working for TFA for their Induction week... It's gonna be great. I'm the Transition Team Captain, which means I am in charge of the non-logistical aspect of Induction. We're there to answer questions about what its really LIKE to live in NC. We'll focus on being positive, but honest. In looking through all the concert photos, I've realized how in love with my kids I am. No matter how crazy they make me, or how much they drive me nuts, they are amazing, and have grown SO MUCH this year. I can truly say I've made a difference here, which is the whole reason I came in the first place. I struggled at first with the idea of helping to close the achievement gap by teaching music, yet part of closing the achievement gap is leveling the playing field. Let me tell you: These students are getting a better music education than I got in school. And I have had a BLAST giving it to them. It's been INCREDIBLY hard, but SO worth it. :)

Brainwashing

WOW.

So today we wrapped up our Cinderella unit, you know, now that they actually went to see the musical. So in order to be able to include our other students in the convo, I showed part of the 1997 Cinderella starring Brandy, Whitney Houston, and Burnadette Peters (and more...!) and when I asked what were the differences, you know what each class told me within the first three answers? "She's Black in this one." And I was going to talk about that, actually, and use it as a great lesson, so I asked "Yes, but does the actors not being white ('cuz remember the prince is Asian) change the story?"
They all answered "yes." When I prodded, they said that their blackness made it more hip-hop. I pointed out that there was no hip-hop music, and that all the songs were exactly the same as the Julie Andrews Version. They tried to tell me that skin color affects the way you play a character. I disagreed. Finally, I converted all of their thinking.... Crazy to think I had to convince 5th graders that skin color didn't matter.

*ugh*

I'll post pics from Spring Break soon. I just had to vent.