11/16

We saw "Runaway Jury" last night. E's B was in a sweet mood, so I got to pick. Actually, I always get to pick, but he usually complains and last night he didn't. The movie was good -- twisty and agitating and nicely paced, with an intereting plot that unfolded to be clear as glass (good for non-Grisham-lovers like myself) ... also it's based around issues (gun control, ethical relativism) that anyone can sort of contort and try on and fight about with their date on their way home from the movies. The clincher for me, of course, was all that Cusack-y goodness. Oh my-oh!

Had no class yesterday, which was a huge relief because I spent the better part of last week doing an O&P assignment that was more P(articipation) than O(bservation). I was getting no sleep because on top of the O&P I was writing lesson plans day-to-day for the sub at work and was leaving the house at 6:15 a.m. to drop them off before heading to the O&P site. By the time Friday rolled around, I was almost completely in the groove with the kids. They are so funny and generous and creative ... hell, I was NOTHING like that as a fifth grader! Well, not warm, anyway, and definitely not funny. I guess I was creative, but in a wanting to be a moody poet kind of way. Anyway, the kids were great, and just as I was starting to really appreciate them, my time was up.

Now i have to go write progress reports because my conferences are tomorrow and the more I think about it, the more I really don't remember sending home time/date confirmations. Oh, shit. The ultra crappy thing about the classroom (as in, if I had to pick just one right this second) is that we have to share a phone. So it's right in the middle of the classes. So if I have to call seven sets of parents and ask them if they received their goldenrod confirmations, everyone will hear, and everyone will see me holding the phone six inches from my ear as gramma and stepdad and perpetually late mommy scream at me because no, they didn't receive that and now they can't get off work.

Talked to Cary for a good hour tonight, just complaining back and forth about the sorry state of this and that. Thank god for her, or no one in this &*%$ program would have any friends. That sounded weird. What I mean is, we're all basically friendly people. But she's the only one who will actively corral people for a girls night out (or even a civilized dinner), Secret Santas, things like that. The latest: Memorial Day Vegas jaunt? Ve shall see. Mmm, cheap food and expensive clothes. Mmm.

I have a spending problem, I think, which is the one thing that may keep me from Sin City. Well, it's not a major problem, not the kind that requires counseling, and I should mention that I always pay my CC on time or before the due date, and in full ... it's more that I spend money impulsively. Most recent stupid expenditure: $20 shipping on a $20 order at amazon.com. Did I check before I checked out? Nope. How the fuck I could have incurred a $20 shipping charge on two items that should not exceed a pound combined is beyond me. But the real point here is, I point, I click, I spend. I ooh, I ahh, I spend. My little cousin (he's 21 now, and far away when we used to be close) just moved to LV and is buying a house. I at this point could not finance a Barbie townhouse. What does he do with his life? To my knowledge he's been working at a restaurant food delivery company for a few years now. I mean, he could be dealing drugs also, but I'm pretty sure he just knows how to save money whereas I have a difficult time. Arrrgh. 21. I guess I'm more like his sister, who spent something like a thousand dollars on a couple of dogs awhile back. She was still in high school. That was her pocket money. I guess that's the difference between her and me ... I have no pocket money. This is real-life, pay your bills and start saving for things that freaking matter, money.

Like Vegas. Vegas matters.

Hehe ... sigh.