Measure Your Life in Love

In daylights, in sunsets

In midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife
In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, a year in the life?
-Seasons of Love, RENT

I can finally breathe again. Grades are turned in, a new semester has started, and Lost is back on the air-- (after what seemed like a 4-year hiatus, it's about time). As of Wednesday, I'm not traipsing in from my car after work with an unending pile of papers and a perpetual pout or complaint. I'm in the thick of teaching Gatsby, which always reminds me how badly I wish I could write like Fitzgerald; my envy borders on obsession ("The exhilirating ripple of her voice was a wild tonic in the rain"...seriously?) My students have finally and fully accepted the fact that, unfortunately, I tell bad jokes and cannot decipher much of their language (i.e. "mob des," "gnar-shredding," "bomb fat hills"), and I'm FANTASTIC at teaching the four types of adverbs (which, I'm allowed to brag about, because....really?)

My dear, dear Tim has been overly supportive the last three weeks...he cooks, he cleans, he packs me a lunch every day, he takes Bailey out, and he records my pathetic television shows. There are one or two things, however, he refuses:

Me: Want to help me grade?
Tim (completely unnecessarily): Pardon?
Me: I said, want to help me grade?
Tim: I can't do those essays. I don't remember what a thesis statement is supposed to look like.
Me: No, I wouldn't make you grade essays. That's probably illegal or something, anyway. It's vocab. and Latin root quizzes. It's easy; it's either right or wrong.
Tim: ...
Me: So?
Tim: Um, I'll go clean your car.
Me: But I really need these graded by tomorrow. And I still have 30 essays to get through.
Tim: I'll also try to figure out why your "check engine" light is still on.

Although school has been hectic, we've still managed to have some fun and full weekends. Rudy and Jen came to visit two weeks ago, and it was the perfect weekend of hanging out, ordering in and going out, lazing around at the beach, and enjoying each others' company. Although I felt slightly guilty about not partaking in any of the San Diego touristy splendor, it was an awesome weekend and I can't wait for them to come back.

Rudy and Tim en route

After a long day's work sleeping in, perusing the Carlsbad shops, and hanging at the beach,
it's time for a nap

Fresh ceviche courtesy of Tim and Rudy

Rudy, in my classroom, reminiscing about the comfortable desks

At Coyote

Last week, Phil and DeVo came to visit from SB. Phil was signed up to run the Carlsbad half-marathon; it was his first marathon and I decided to run the first part with him (DeVo and Colleen, in true form, ran together at least ten minutes ahead of us). I was feeling pretty good, so I ended up running the whole thing. In retrospect, maybe not the best idea...it was kind of hard to walk the next day. However, strangely and pathetically enough, I beat my best time by almost four minutes. I guess I should avoid training more often...

Mile 10, still smiling!
(photo courtesy of Tim)

Shocking as it seems, January is almost over. Our to-do list is long but attainable, and the Santa Anas are back, bringing with them the promise of another warm summer. A few observations, notes, etc. before signing off:

1) The new "Scrubs" episodes don't even come close to being as witty as the old ones. I'm guessing new writers came with the new network.

2) I cried for an hour and a half through "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." I'm not even sure why.

3) Debbie, (Tim's step-mom) is thankfully recovering well. I did, however, manage to faint during our visit to see her in the hospital. Twice. Apparently, I'm a spotlight-stealer.

4) Our winter ski trip was INCREDIBLE and I will post pictures when I get a chance.

5) Aside from B.J.'s Brewhouse (which, unfortunately, does not exist in North County), Islands has the best BBQ Chicken Salad.

An (albeit belated) cheers to 2009!

Running to Stand Still

U2

I will return to this blog. Next week. For now, I'm inundated with grading papers. It's my own fault for not getting enough (any) grading done over winter break, but right now it feels like I finish one class set of papers, and another miraculously materializes out of thin air. I feel like this woman, minus the bobbed hair and floral print-dress:

There IS a light at the end of the tunnel...grades are due on Tuesday. Until then, you can find me in front of the T.V. or at the dining room table, pen in hand, crossing out personal pronouns, commenting on ineffective analysis, and wondering why the hell some kids STILL don't use MLA format when we went over it 4,000,000 times in class...