Right Here in the California Sun

"Sinner," Scott Russo feat. Big B

And just like that, summer was over...


The kids are back. School's in session. My days are once again brimming with verb phrases and infinitives, one-pagers and theme posters, literary terms and suspicious stories about broken printers. John Proctor, Abigail Williams, Holden Caulfield, Sylvia Plath...they're all suddenly back in my life: not-so-long-lost friends returned from their own summer vacation on the shelves of my classroom.

Tim, ever the dream-chaser, accepted an amazing job opportunity at UCSB, assistant coaching the men's and women's swim team for the one and only Gregg Wilson. He's excited and exhausted and challenged and just loving every single minute of this new journey. As hard as the (temporary) separation is, I couldn't be happier for him-- for us.

And so...I have a roommate! A dear, dear friend from high school moved in last weekend, and despite my inability to cook, our shared inability to avoid bad television, and Bailey's inability to behave like a normal dog, the set-up is just perfect.

If tonight's stars aligned the way I wanted them to, I'd have the next few hours to update this poor excuse for a blog in my current Mumford and Sons-induced bliss, however perhaps the better bet is to to prepare for tomorrow's Back-to-School Night and re-read the first three chapters of Kindred, since I'll be teaching it in about 11 hours.

Of course, the season premiere of Gossip Girl is also calling. Something tells me I just might cave in to Fox's pure demoniac hour-long teen-soap pitfall...And so it begins; the teacher's constant dilemma: grading papers or Taco Tuesdays? Lesson planning or happy hour? The Real World or Back-to-School Night PowerPoint? As always, the choice is inevitable. Sigh.

Missing you. Proud of you. Every. Day. 

Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way

See how they shine
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

-Simon and Garfunkel