idiot magnet

not sure if this only happens to me, but you ever feel like everyone else on the road is distracted and out to get you with their negligence? i liken it to an idiot magnet. i'd love to know where the switch is for mine; it was clearly on high power this afternoon on my drive home.

in my pocket at chipotle with the lack of customer service. "hi. i'm in line. i don't care about your phone-in orders or internet orders. i walked in the door instead of sitting on my fat ass to order a 1,000 calorie bomb of deliciousness." perhaps it's in my cell phone...

from when i dropped casey off after work, what takes 3 minutes some days took about 20 today. people who need a turn signal not using it. people who don't need one leaving it on for miles and miles. cabbies that ignore every conceivable traffic law. extra traffic that i ain't used to, even for a friday.

one thing's for certain. there's no way in hell i'm getting back in my car tonight. anyone got the schematic for my car? please label the idiot magnet for me with instructions on how to turn it off. okthanks.

silver lining

it seemed like nothing went right today. late to work, early to leave, and a comedy of errors in between.

theodore geisel's birthday is on sunday. who is theodore geisel, you ask? why, dr. seuss, of course! today, we celebrated his contributions to american children. included were plans for a read-in at the end of the day. the kids brought in pillows, beach towels, a stuffed animal, and lots of books. some forgot, some didn't care. one little niña told me yesterday that she didn't have a stuffed animal. ¿qué triste, verdad?

flashback two years ago. an end of the year gift from a less-privileged girl was a well-loved teddy bear. it was small, dirty, and came from the heart. it's been one of the few gifts that i've kept. ok, that's not true. one of the few gifts that has not been spendable or perishable that i've kept.

return to now. when she told me she didn't have any stuffed animals, i immediately thought of that well-loved oso pequeño. this morning, i called her over and gave it to her. big smile. she read with it this afternoon. at the end of the day, she came back over to me to give it back. i asked her if she wanted to keep it. a big smile and brown eyes that said, "can i really?"

¡por supuesto!

meetings

man, these meetings are about to kill me. i can't hardly get ahead in my classroom because of this or that. last night, left school at 4, right after the kids, got home at 8. in a meeting all day today, sub in my classroom. the meetings pile up, one after another. it's intense. that's the best i can put it.

at least it's friday, and i'm going to see granny this weekend. she's going to teach me some more italian cooking skills. let's see if i can remember the recipe because i bet she doesn't use one!