charts, facts, figures

I have some sort of cold (at least I think it's a cold) most likely from teaching all last week for a teacher who was out with a cold/flu/bronchitis/plague. So my nose is stuffy and it's making me a little headachy to day, which is fun.

I spent a couple hours this afternoon making tabs on my browser of all the job listings in schools nearby, so I can have one big "write cover letter, add resume and SEND" party, as it were.

Man, my head hurts. I was planning on going to see a friend's play tonight (a one-man show about Jeffrey Dahmer! It's so bizarrely cool!) but I feel kind of like crap.

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I started this entry a couple hours ago, and in the interim I had some painkillers and caffeine and real food, all of which helped to mostly kill the headache. So that's good. Huge bummer that I don't get to go see my friend be a serial killer, but such is life. At least it's open for the next weekend (this and the next one too) so hopefully I'll make it out. There's a production of RENT at Fort Mason that I'd love to see also, so I will have to try hard to get out and get a ticket.

Also, Oldest Sister is coming down for the weekend, so that will be fun!

Christmas morning was late in the Flyakate family household, which worked out just fine. We also took the time to watch everyone else open up a present so that it stretched out the actual present-opening time quite nicely. I am greatly excited because not only did I get a lovely new messenger bag (that I had picked out from Macy's known about) and Bones season 2, but a hilarious spatula shaped like a gingerbread man, a "Cookie Field Guild" and "Muffin Bible" from Older Sister, one of those awesome plunger measuring cups (though not this one) and a pastry board from Younger Sister, an "Interactive Sherlock Holmes mystery" from Older Brother and...

A KITCHEN AID MIXER!!! See how pretty?

I already have made cookies using it (or rather, using Mom's, so mine can stay in its box for the trek back North when I go) and made delicious gingerbread cookies ALL BY MYSELF (though Younger Sister was instrumental in optimizing the cookie cutter spacing and insuring that I had a system for chilling the dough the longest (she likes to organize things, what can I say?)

And Pete the cat got catnip and was hilarious.

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But I also got yuletide stories! Not one. Not even two. THREE WHOLE STORIES, which I will tell you about:

* Comfort (Lie to Me, Gillian/Cal, PG-13) is a lovely look at the true affection that the two of them have for each other and how they lean on each other after a hard case.

* Unwind (Lie to Me, Loker/Torres, PG-13) is a companion story (eee!) where Loker and Torres have a very in-character discussion about why they do what they do with some UST (which might become resolved, hard to say). Very cute and I loved it too!

Also (because the world and Yuletide writers love me):

* can't steal happiness (Mary Russell - LR King, Holmes and Rusell, G) which explains how Mary learns how to pick pockets and hold her own in a discussion with Holmes. The author seemed worried that it didn't fit the timeline, but I have no problem believing that Holmes would let Russell help on a case, even early in their relationship. Lovely and sounds like a lost bit of the novels.

Also, my recipient liked their story! Woo!

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So, anyone want a muffin recipe? Or short drabble of your choice in the fandoms I know? (Relatedly, apparently sga_santa is having drabble madness until January 1st, open to all! Perhaps Elementary!verse boys will have to make an appearance...) I am open to suggestions!

:o) Happy holidays!

Take care of the journals, kids, because I am off to the Grande Family Reunion of 2009, where I predict there will be lots of guitars, laughter, and a high chance of me, Younger Sister and two Cousins singing Disney songs.

Will be back on Sunday, so let me know if I miss anything good!

Bandaids are in the closet, towels next to the sink, haha. :o)

So one of my campers is reading The Westing Game as a school assigned summer reading book and I was Googling around to see if there were any useful websites or games. And then I found that Ellen Raskin donated all her manuscript and draft notes to UW-Madison so that students could see the process of writing a novel and creating cover art and page layouts. Some genius has turned it into a website with all the scanned pages. There's even audio clips of her speaking about the materials (which I haven't listened to, but I'm sure they're awesome too). I love that book to pieces when I was younger and even more upon each rereading and I'm sure many of you did too, so go check out The Westing Game Manuscript!

The first week of camp is over (we got today off because it's a holiday weekend) and it's been a lot of fun. Even though I'm only consistently there in the afternoon (there's summer school in the morning and camp in the afternoon, with less academic-focused activities) it's been so hot and there's so much running around that it sort of drains you and so I've been exhausted all week. Still, my campers are really sweet, friendly, hilarious kids (even when they're too noisy and don't listen) so the times when we don't have super scheduled stuff to do and are just hanging out and drawing or they're listening to a book (at the moment it is Matilda by Roald Dahl, because there was no outpouring of negative reaction and it was one of close-to-the-right age books that I had on my shelf) it's a lot of fun.

In the holiday weekend, I most likely will head out of the city to my aunt and uncle's apparently notorious 4th of July party and am extremely excited, in no small part because I know the food will be awesome :o)

It wouldn't fit, but the subject line is a quote from Bill Cosby :o)

Another Silverstein because winkingstar reminded me! Also, because this reminds me of every kid when I substitute teach, who are mysteriously felled by bizarre ailments (my tongue itches! my elbow hurts!) right after recess.

Sick - Shel Silverstein

"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut--my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is. . .Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

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Oh, kids. And, in equally exciting news, Younger Sister (and perhaps Roommate) and I are going to spend the night at our aunt and uncle's to greatly shorten the Monday morning commute. Woohoo! Off to find the travel case for my new (metaphorically) sparkly electric toothbrush. And, you know, pants.

Younger Sister and her boyfriend are watching Iron Man in the other room, while I am glorying in the fact that I finally finished the incredibly fiddly and border-line irritating project for my online class in advance on the deadline, so I can take some time before bed to organize myself and stuff. Mostly this means that I get to put in a load of laundry and by that I mean the awesome sweatshirt material comforter I had back when I lived in New York that I'd forgotten all about but when I was at my parents they had tons of the boxes from then and it was like second Christmas times a million, for serious. So that's nice.

Tomorrow is teaching at Forrest, 3rd grade, so at least the kids won't be a surprise. I'll get to work on my classroom management skills and cracking down on the troublemakers, 'cause you know, I'm such a badass. As you know.

But Younger Sister made a kickass asparagus frittata for dinner and it was delicious and she's letting me take some for lunch so I can be smug super proud of my lunch and make others jealous. And you wondered what went down in the teachers lounge. Crazy times, I tell you ;o)

I'm having an okay time of it, been better but been much worse, and it's really nice to be back in the north; though I'm leaving again on Friday because mom finished her degree and is getting her diploma! Or tassel, or something. Either way, I haven't been to Santa Barbara in... ages, so that'll be pretty.

It's been like 70 degrees out, the past two days. In January. Global warming sucks, but playing frisbee in a t-shirt and shorts in January? Doesn't, so much.

Hope all's well with you. I've sucked mightily at the whole keeping in touch with people thing lately, so if I haven't, call me! And the Christmas cards (oh how I laugh) are coming, I swear. Eventually. :D?

Mom's plane lands in a couple hours (she's here for a conference on making graphs, or something) and I'm still fighting off this weird almost cold that I've had for most of the week, but having now found another murderer thanks to Criminal Minds, I am off to clean and tidy the house. Oh, in more holiday news, I still have lots of Xmas cards if someone wants one. I plan on getting around to addressing/sending them soonish, promise. That post is here, or just shoot me an email.

It's feeling very San Francisco winter-y outside (I couldn't wear flip flops! Shock!) which is kind of lovely. I have oodles of ideas for holiday presents, and seeing as it looks like I'll be around long enough to have Amazon sent here, I should just bite the bullet and buy things.

Thanksgiving was lovely, though I've been sick (or almost-sick) ever since, which is a bummer. This too shall pass, naturally, but can it pass now, please?

Younger Sister said she'd be back "early" to help clean. Apparently her definition of early and mine are a little bit different, though to be fair I slept in (trying to sleep past the headache) also.

Hope everyone's having a good end to your weekend and that you're staying warm in all the different kinds of winter going around from coast to coast.

I just finished watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (which I enjoy because Bourdain might he a hardass, but he's a well-meaning one who seems to genuinely appreciate people) where he was traveling between the US/Mexico border towns and meeting guys who are working in restaurants in the US and then their families (who the guys can't go visit because their citizenship papers mean they can't leave the US) and it made feel thankful that I get to see so much of my family in the next few days. Younger Sister and I are driving down to our grandparents until Sunday where we will be with: grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins and (for not-quite overlapping parts of the time) both of our boyfriends. Exciting!

So, if you haven't done so, take the time to tell your family and friends that they make you thankful, because that's the point of holidays... not the presents (and is it just me, or do all the Black Friday ads have a air of desperation to them? "BUY THINGS PLEASE? WE NEED YOUR MONEY!!!") or the food (although FOOD, omnomnom) or whatever, just that it's nice to spend time with people you care about. I believe that we're bringing the Wii to the party and oh LORD, the awesomeness that comes with my kiiiiinda competitive family playing Wii Tennis? Oh goodness.

I know I am not the first Mawr-kid to post about this, but in case you haven't seen it (especially if you're in NYC and might have seen something). She's a teacher in NYC. She went to my college and is in fact my "sister" class. Wishing good thoughts for her family and friends. No matter where you live, be safe, guys.

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Hannah Emily Upp, 23, has been missing since Friday, August 29, from her residence in the vicinity of Hamilton Terrace, Harlem. Hannah is a New York City Public School teacher; she teaches middle school Spanish at Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change, at W. 135th and 7th Ave. A recent graduate of Bryn Mawr College, Class of 2007, majoring in Spanish and Comparative Literature, she is a New York City Teaching Fellow, working on her Master's degree at Pace University and teaching full time. She completed her first year of teaching 2007-08, and was about to start her second year of teaching when she went missing.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Detective Perez, 30th Precinct Detective Squad, at 212-690-8842, or 212-690-8843.


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