Back to School

So I began my final leg of my grad school work towards getting my PreK-3 teaching license today. Yes, that's right folks, student teaching. I'm a bit old to be a student teacher, in my opinion, but that's ok. Yes, thirteen weeks seems excessive for someone who has already logged a year and a half in the classroom as a substitute. But it's not like I have a choice. Luckily, I am in my favorite school that I sub for, with a fantastic teacher. I am in a third grade classroom, and from what I've seen so far, the kids are wonderful. I tried all morning to memorize their names, and by lunch I had them, which is amazing, because I am terrible with names. However, I will be spending sixty days with these kids, so it's good that I know them. I am really looking forward to it.

By the way, did anyone know there was a television show called "Ferris Bueller" in 1990 that ran for half a season? That's right. Jennifer Aniston played Bueller's sister, Jennifer Grey's character from the film. The other actors were also NOT the ones from the movie.


Also, Otterbein Alumni Book Club meets this Wednesday in the back room of Graeter's to talk about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Be there!

Qop!
Ferris: Look, it's real simple. Whatever mileage we put on, we'll take off.
Cameron: How?
Ferris: We'll drive home backwards.

Grey's Anatomy Spinoff

I have been getting more and more excited about the new Grey's Anatomy spin off. I love the show, and I can't wait for a double helping every week. Luckily, in the next 3 or 4 episodes before they do the two hour finale slash spin off pilot, there will be some more great things, including a new doctor, and Shoresh Adshaloo, or whatever her name is. I adored her on 24, X-Men 3, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. And Callie (Tony award winning actress Sara Ramirez) will supposedly be discovered to be a lounge singer during her off shifts from the hospital. Yay! The bad thing is, the cast is supposedly up in arms that Addison got the spin off. They all wanted it. Oh, well. Now for the Top Ten Reasons I'm excited about the new Grey's Anatomy spin off. Most reference actors cast to star in the new show.
10. Chris Lowell... this actor has been so barely used on Veronica Mars this season that I have no idea if he's any good or not.
9. Merrin Dungey... although I was never a big fan of Francie on Alias, it's cool that she's been cast. Maybe I'll like her more this time.
8. Amy Brenneman... Star of Judging Amy and NYPD Blue, I never watched either. I hear she's great. Can't wait to see her.
7. I'm bound to learn to do some medical procedures if I keep watching this stuff.
6. No Meredith. That will make me smile. Meredith can be pretty lame.
5. Kate Walsh is like my favorite Grey's Anatomy star. If anyone deserves the spin off, it's her.
4. Lisa Kudrow... Who doesn't like Phoebe from Friends, or the numerous movie and other tv roles that Lisa has played? It surprises me that she has signed on to star, but I'm ok with it.
3. Marti Noxon... She helped Joss keep Buffy and Angel both high quality shows. I'm sure she can help Shonda do the same.
2. Tim Daly... I was so disappointed when Eyes and The Nine flopped, because I love Tim Daly, and I loved both shows. It's about time he was attached to a winning project. He's being billed at McDreamy 2.0 and a love interest for Addison.
1. Have you read that all star lineup I just talked about? Yeah, enough said. Grey's Anatomy as if it had been made with big names. It's got to do well.

Qop! (from Eyes, which I guess aired the rest of their season one from spring 2005 these past few months, but I missed them :()
Meg Bardo: Sir, with a soundproof room, a butane lighter and a pair of pliers, I'll get him to tell where that girl is.
Chris Didion: Well, be all that you can be.
Meg Bardo: Yes, sir.
Chris Didion: Let's keep that for the backup plan.
Meg Bardo: Right.

Feliz Holimas

Ok, so I promised to post more this month than last, and I think I fulfilled that obligation. This is my 4th posting this month, wheras in November I only posted twice. This month you get TWICE as many of my thoughts. Considering some months I posted 10 or 12 times, this makes me sad. However, considering that that was during my brief period of one job, no classes, no life, I don't think it's fair to expect 10-12. So I am setting my 2006 goal at once a week. You'll get 4 or 5 posts a month. Fair enough?

So I probably missed the boat on the Holiday / Christmas debate, but I want to throw in my two cents worth: Holiday means Holy Day! How does that stop offending people? If you were afraid Merry Christmas offends, than you are probably still offending. Besides, Christmas is part of the American tradition. It has been going on for centuries. Suck it up people. Deal with it. It is laregly celebrated in this country as a secular holiday anyway, focusing more on Santa Claus, presents, and family than Jesus Christ. So how does it offend? Plus this country was based on religious principals "In God We Trust" "One Nation Under God", etc. Get over it. We let anyone freely practice their religion, don't take away American Christian traditions from the rest of us. My grandpa said he was going to go into stores and say "Oh, you have Holiday trees / presents/ whatever? I was looking for Christmas trees/ presents/whatever." and walk out. Good idea. :)

And while we're on the topic of tradition, I am very sorry we never made English the official language. I am no opposed to legal immigration. Illegal...well we need to do something about the Mexican situation. But anyway. The thing is, you come into America, LEARN ENGLISH! I can even see Texas and California and such with their semi-bilingualness. Those lands used to be part of Mexico. But if you're working in Columbus, Ohio in say, I don't know, the kitchen at Steak N Shake, you need to learn to speak English! Us Caucasions are rapidly heading towards minority status, and tell us it will happen in the next few decades in this country. Let's make Enligh the language now. We've alwasy spoken it. If I went down to Tijuana and got a job I'd learn Spanish. Come on people!

Anyway, Feliz Holimas. See you all in 2006.

Qop!
"We're sorry Monica. Chandler's cheating on you. We saw him go into a house with a blond woman and they came out in 45 minutes looking pretty happy."
"I'm devasted. What did you think of the house?"
~Friends, the gang to Monica, when they catch Chandler with the realtor, which Monica and Chandler have kept a secret

Bonus Qops!
"What a surprise, I like proposals!" ~ Ross, referring to his 3 marriages

"You should give the money for your next wedding to charity."
"No, the fourth one will be in Hawaii at sunset. Maybe the 5th." ~ Friends, Phoebe and Ross

So Long And Thanks for All The Fish

I just got back from opening night of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It was great. Very close to the book, it definitely fit the attitude. I'm afraid some people who went with me didn't like it so much, and that was kind of disheartening, but I guess some people just don't understand it. It is very odd. And if you haven't read the books, it can be a bit confusing to figure out what's going on. Still, Alan Rickman was great as Marvin, and I loved Thomas Lennon of The State and Reno 9-1-1 fame (and Joey's hand twin on Friends for those of you who are uncultured :)) as the voice of the computer. The special effects were amazing. Zoey was hot as usual as Trillian. I enjoyed Bill Nighy, Sam Rockwell, and John Malkovich's performances as well. Arthur was definitely Arthur - confused as ever. The best part had to be the signing dolphins that opened the show in a musical number entitled "So Long and Thanks For All The Fish", as is their message to humans as they leave, and the title of the fourth book in the series. I would love to see it again with someone who understands it and would enjoy it with me.

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." ~ Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

We Apologize For the Inconvenience

" Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy, lies a small, unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly 92 million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet, whose ape-descended lifeforms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea. ___________________ There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for, and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. ___________________ In the Beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. "

So The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has been remade many times in many forms. No one admits more openly that it is a very fluid thing and there is no definitive version. The movie that hits theatres on April 29 will only loosely follow the book, which only loosely followed the radio show, etc. And since the author choose to do it this way, and he's now dead, we really can't argue with him. I am soooo looking forward to the movie! Here's why:
Zoey Deschanel as Tricia - The only surviving female of planet Earth is one of my favorite actresses! Hell yeah!
Mos Def as Ford Prefect - Wow, is all I can say.
Alan Rickman as the Voice of Marvin - Rickman is perfect to be doing the voice of this highly depressed robot. Just look at Snape! Also Richard Griffith, another Harry Potter name, will be voicing a Vogon.
Tom Lennon as the Voice of Eddie, the Computer - loved him on "The State" and "Reno 9-1-1
and as Joey's hand twin on "Friends". How can they go wrong?
Sam Rockwell as Zaphod - His villanious nature, as shown in "Charlie's Angels", will come through wonderfully. Plus the second head only pops up occasionally as a gag.
John Malkovich as Kavula - this character was created just for the movie. He is the high priest of a people who believe the universe was created out of the mucus that came out of their god's nose when he sneezed.
Douglas Adams, the author,'s family is so happy about this project they will appear in the film running from Vogons.

Get ready! Get set go!

Qop!
"42."

Sorry So Long

Sorry it's been so long since I updated you. I'm sure you were all hanging on edge to find out what's going on this week in my exciting life. :) j/k So it's been hell. Week 10 is over, but I still have an exam Monday morning and a big paper due by Wednesday. Of course, I am working 8-8 next Wednesday and cooking a Thanksgiving buffet dinner for about 100-120 people, so... I have 3 turkeys, pies, and all the trimmings. Yay. Can't wait to switch my job and get out of the kitchen, possibly as soon as the end of this year! Yeah right. It'll prob be like summer, but here's hoping.

So my car died this week. The timing belt or some such thing blew and it's a very expensive repair, so I got the bank to 'refinance my car', which was almost paid off, and I'm going to have to do like an extra 4 car payments at the end. And without a co-signer! Yay! Not too bad because at least it'll get fixed. Plus I get to drive my dad's truck until it's fixed and even though I hate parking it because it's huge, it's a 4 door and a 4 door pickup is pretty cool.

TV wise I finished Boy Meet World Season One and was about to start 24 Season One, but stopped after 1 episode because Friends Season Eight came out. Don't worry, I only have 6 episodes left on it and I will be well into 24 by Thanksgiving. Of course, I need to get Smallville Season 3, and watch Lost which I've been recording since it premiered but never watched it.

Reading wise, I feel bad because I did very little pleasure reading this quarter. I just finished a John Grisham novel (he's really cool) and two Lemony Snicket books in the last couple of days. They are short but great. Read them before the movie hit theaters! My book, I just finished my first edit! I am so excited! I want to work hard and get the second edit done in the next week. It should be much quicker. I want to get the damn thing published! I'm kind of hoping it'll solve all of my money problems, but not really counting on it.

Ok, onto dinner and the Wind Ensemble concert! Adios my amigos!

Etc.

So after scanning through everyone's blogs and catching up, instead of going to class, I found I had much more to write about it. I did the Presidential Match thing and got a 66% on Kerry and a 16% on Bush. Tell you what, all you Bush fans. I'll save us both some trouble. Since our votes are going to cancel out each other anyway, you tell me that you're voting for Bush and we'll both stay home. Deal? :) Hey, if you're voting for Bush and only have the brain power he had, you'd fall for that. :) Anyway, I attended the Circleville Pumpkin Show on Friday night and forgot to write about it. Otterbein Marching Band was the featured band this year. We did a concert and basically led the parade. Big whoop. They want us back in 2 years for their big 200th anniversary. We'll see.

Now, onto my geeky things. Lisa put hers out there, so I feel it is only fair.

Shows I am obsessed with: all 5 Star Trek's, especially Deep Space 9. Buffy, Angel, Alias, hopefully soon 24, Lost, & Desperate Houswives. I hate reality television, but am strangely drawn to watching it. I love Joey, Friends, Will & Grace, M*A*S*H, Sports Night, the West Wing, Wonder Years, South Park, Saturday Night Live, Futrama, Family Guy, Dawson's Creek, Boy Meets World, Full House, and I'm sure there are more, including some flops like Cybill, Once & Again, and It's Like, You Know...

Counting each TV Season as one DVD, I own about 400 and they are all categorized and then alphabetized, plus I keep a computer list of title, rating, genra, and major actors as well as photos to prove I own them all for insurance purposes. I have two TVs (one flatscreen), two DVD players, one VCR, and one surround sound system. I am technology obsessed.

I actually identify with Dawson, a fact I am often not proud to admit.

I am anal. Just about myself though, not about others.

I think books are sacred and probably own almost a thousand of them. I want to have a library in my house someday.

I own many, many, many Star Trek collectibles and action figures, including a set of 3 worth several thousand dollars and two big cardboard cutouts of Kirk & Spock from Star Trek V. These are almost all at my parent's house, but I want a Star Trek room in my house too.

I have three large Buffy posters on my apartment bedroom wall, an Enterprise poster in the dining room, and the actual posters that hung in Monica's apartment on Friends in my living room.

I have an almost photographic memory for details, numbers, etc. but I don't remember what I did an hour ago.

I hate drugs. I don't even take Tylenol unless I desperately desperately need it.

I am afraid of becoming an alcoholic because I love it so much. The only other thing I am afraid of is the supernatural. I can handle murders, but keep the ghosts away.

I would never go to war, even if I had to go to Canada.

I have a strange urge to live in the UK for awhile.

When I am in a relationship, I never look at any other girl. This includes celebrities, few of which I find attractive anyway. Plastic is disgusting. Go for the real thing.

A lot of times, I like to isolate myself and feel upset. I do this willingly from time to time because I want to.

Money scares me too. I am getting better about saving, but paying rent and college loans and still buying stuff is scary.

I don't see myself with a bright future. I'm beginning to think my only hope is if people will actually buy the books I am writing.

I am twisted and take great fascination with killing my characters because I know they're fictional. I have drowned people in Roller Coaster Tycoon for fun. Life isn't so meaningless in reality to me. I love people and death makes me very sad.

I am afraid of becoming numb. Sometimes I don't think I feel enough. Perhaps this explain why I willingly isolate myself and make myself upset.

And The End because I am too embarassed to continue.

Need Help!!!

I am working on a new facet of my web page. I figured we all have all these television shows we love and I want to share them with everyone. I am going to do A-B-C lists for all the great television shows I am addicted to. I have finished a draft, but some shows are easier to fill than others. I'll include what I have so far, and which ones I need. Please help me out on this! You can rearrange if a person can go under another letter (For instance Kirk could be under K or under J for James Kirk. Tara could be under T or under M for Maclay, Tara, etc.)
Angel, Buffy, Star Trek: The Original Series, The Next Generation, Voyager. Also in production, but not ready to present yet, are Enterprise, Alias, MASH, South Park, Smallville, Friends, and hopefully soon 24. Oh, and where do I put Druscilla? Anyone know her previous name or last name?

ANGEL BUFFY TOS TNG DS9 VOY
Angel Anya April Alexander Adani, Winn Astrometrics
Berkle, Fred Buffy Bones McCoy Barclay, Reg Bashir Borg
Conner Cordelia Chekov Crusher Changelings Chakotay
Darla Dawn Daystrom Data Dukat Doctor
Eve Enterprise Enterprise-D Ezri Equinox
Faith Finn, Riley Finney Flute Fontaine, Vic Fairhaven
Gunn Glorificus Guardian Guinan Garak
Holst Harmony Hikaru Sulu Hill, Dixon Hirogen
Iniative Ilia Iconian
Jasmine Jenny Calendar James Kirk Jellico Jadzia Janeway
Kendra Khan Keiko Kira Kim, Harry
Lorne Library Lester, Janice LaForge Leeta
Master, The Maclay, Tara Mudd, Harry Molly O'Brien Moogie Marquis
Number One Noonien Soong Nog Neelix
Offices, W&H Oz Orions O'Brien Odo
P'Leia (sp?) Potentials Pike Picard Prophets Paris, Tom
Qui'Tu Q Quark Q Continuum
Ring Rupert Giles Rand, Janice Riker Rom
Spike Summers, Joyce Scotty & Spock Sela Sisko(s) Seven of Nine
TPTB The Trio Tribbles Troi Terok Nor Torres & Tuvok
Uber-vamp Uhura Utopia Planitia
Viper Vampire Valeris Vash Vorta Voyager
Wesley Willow Warp Speed Worf Weyoun
Xander Xon Xandi
Yorktown Yar Yates, Kassidy
Zarabeth Zeframe Ziyal OR Zek