6/30

I went to Education Works today! At first I was kind of overwhelmed and wanted to buy everything, just like the first few times I went to Ben Franklin and Pet's Discount Salt Lake. But at EW you quickly realize (or should quickly realize) how easy a lot of that stuff would be to make and that you shouldn't spend your extremely limited POs on things like bulletin board trim and shape/color posters. I picked some hardy math manipulatives and she picked some workbooks and Judy clocks (those old-fashioned yellow cardboard clocks with the plastic gears.) My soft tangrams were $24.99 but I didn't feel too bad about that since she bought workbooks, for gosh sakes, they'll be doing senseless worksheets for the rest of their elem careers, why ruin pre-K? But she (haven't thought of an appropriate nickname for her yet) is not the most open-to-suggestions person in the world, and she's definitely not pusharoundable so I just hope there's no clause in this arrangement that says she can force her worksheets on me because my goal for fall is NO WORKSHEETS, not a single one. She's very experienced, I'll give her that. Maybe she had great experiences with worksheets, who knows.

Anyway I'm getting excited again about the fall. Typically what happens is I have an opportunity to do something -- a job, a trip, extra gymnastics classes (a long time ago I was like this too) -- and I accept right away, and get all excited about it, and then I start feeling anxious or tired and not so excited anymore. Like now, with E(xtended) S(chool) Y(ear) I reflexively jumped at the job offer and spent the whole first week hating it. I think I'm broken in now, sometimes I even make it on time (7-f'ing-30 a.m.) I'm still a little apprehensive about the fall because I'll (again) be in the worst part of the academic quarter on top of teaching Sp.Ed -- but I think it'll be okay, I think it'll be really good.

Wednesday we're taking the kids to the Children's Discovery Museum in Kakaako (it's awesome there, find some kids and take them!) and next Monday we're going to Sea Life Park. It will be insane, but it shortens both this week and next week. And then ESY is over and the sub course will be wrapping up, and the Lemonade Stand will be back in session and I have my little volunteer thing, and I told Eugene's Brother I would make him a bench for the yarden. Yeah, a bench. Nope, I've never made anything out of wood before. I can't even get a decent sketch on paper because I can't draw that wonderfully. But I have an idea in my head, an exact idea of what I want to make. It's going to be natural looking (although E's B said it has to be slotted so rainwater doesn't collect on the seat), and I want it to be a dark wood. And no shiny varnish, so I have to look into matte sealing. I sound like I know what I'm talking about, kinda. Actually I discussed it with everyone at lunch and was really surprised by how much advice they had. Maybe tomorrow at lunch I will ask what kind of wood I should use.

This is not going to be like the rabbit playhouse that never happened. Eugene's Brother knows I can do it but I think he thinks I won't get around to it. I think the worst-case scenario would be that it would end up being a Christmas present or something. But hopefully it will be done by the time the yarden is done.

Bean, Mart and I walked to Paradise Park this afternoon and half-jogged back. It's hard to run with B because he's so happy to be allowed to go fast that he does little leaps and half twists and stuff. Then we get all tangled up. But walking isn't nearly as much fun without him, so we always bring him. Hey, maybe we'll all get in shape this summer! Or, hm. I'll get back to you on that.

I finished a book last night (just as I was beginning to think I was simply incapable of finishing any more books, only starting.) Since I read Bel Canto I've been trying to read Ann Patchett's other novels but got bored with The Patron Saint of Liars and Taft. But I read The Magician's Assistant in almost one sitting (which is really rare for me these days because the only time I have to read is before I sleep.) Very excellent. To think I was going to waste my time with Hilary Clinton.

My dad just showed me some really old pictures. Actually he only asked me if I'd ever seen pictures of his dog when he was a kid, a German Shepard named Brownie. So I looked at all the other pictures in the envelope also. Some of my dad's graduation from Iolani, some of my grandmother. In one of them she's wearing this expression that I recognize from her later years. It's the bullshit expression. I think that was the only bad word she knew. So whenever she was pissed enough to swear in English, that was what she would say. In this picture she's looking at the camera (or the photographer) like haven't you figured out how to use that thing yet? I've been standing here forever! Bullshit! It made me laugh. I may ask for that picture later on.