Well right now I am sitting in an inservice "learning" how to use powerpoint and I just spent about 2 hrs learning a program that I will never use! I love it!

I am looking forward to tomorrow when I get some classroom time! Finally! School starts Monday and I am totally pumped! It was going to be a great year and I cannot wait until I get started!

I miss 252 :)

The high school band director is taking all of use band directors out tonight to Texas de Brazil! I haven't eaten anything today except a biscuit so that I can load up tonight. I will definatly have to wear my expand - o - belly pants tonight!

What a freakin' great day!! I woke up semi early and did a lot of scrapbooking with my mom. It was really a lot of fun!!! Then I came home and got ready for the Amro (a local music store) back to school party. Sure parting with a bunch of band directors sounds lame but free food + free alchol+ friends + a really great time. Actually the party took place at the mansion that we had our weddinf recption at. It was awesome enjoying the place as a guest and not the party host. I found a bunch of candels from our wedding that our mom made in the kitchen so a I took them and brought them home.

I know that I wrote this in my jounal yesterday but I am verrrrrrry drunk right now. I had 4 large glasses of wine and man am I feelin' like life is good and stress free. Aren't music store parties the best???

I lovec life!!!!!!What a great day!!! This is going to be a great day!!!

Well I had a good day today. We had a very energetic speaker at the inservice today and even though 95% of it had nothing to do with me (Teaching reading in your content area) I did pull a few things out of it that I can use.

Well I am drunk right now and lovin' life. Actually I am so pumped about this school year! It is going to be awesome! I will tell you more when I am not drunk but I am soooooooooo excited baout school starting! Wahooo! I love my job, I love the people that I work with, I love MAtt and I love life! It doesn't get better than this right now!! I AM GOOD!!!

Matt and I had such a great weekend hanging out with my sister, the kids and my family. The shrimp were soooo huge and amazing!

The county schools started today and the city schools start later in the week. For me kids do not come back for another 2 weeks but good old band camp is still trucking along today. In-service is Thursday and I am going to have to start the process of telling people my name is Alford not Johnson. When I say my new last name no one seems to understand what I am saying. Oh well at least I am at the top of the alphabet now instead of sitting in the middle of the pack. That will be a fun switch! Now it is my mailbox that it is the easist to find b/c it is slot number one!!

Today Matt and I are heading to Patchuta, MS to visit my sister. It is a tow of 225 people in very rural southern MS. My whole family is going down there for just a fun weekend trip. There is an Indian reservation about an hour away that has an awesome water park so we are spending all say Saturday at the park and then having a shrimp boil that night. I cann't wait, this is going to be great!

Days till Inservice - 6 days and counting

Does anyone have any contact info for Jamie Davis? Does anyone even remember who she is? i just wanted to touch base with her.

If any of you are members of MENC look in the Teaching music magazine that you just got and my picture is in there!! Page 47, the really white one down towards the bottom.

Things are going so good. We are in the midst of band camp right now and there is a massive heat wave that has hit our area. Heat index of 115 and humidity 85%. Reminds me of tiger band. Luckily Cathy doesn't make the Junior High Directors do the morning outdoor stuff, only the afternoon indoor stuff. So Lucky!!

Got my inservice letter for school. That was kind of depressing. It doesn't even feel like I got a summer this year!

Matt and I are still doing great. We celebrated one month on Tuesday and we made an awesome dinner and had lots of fun just hanging out. 29 more days till football!!!!!!!!

Well we made the long trek over the state and I am not in the Holiday Inn. Things are good and I am looking forward to starting the conference tomorrow.

I had a huge showdown with a bank before I left town b/c they made a huge mistake and I was trying to realize their mistake and to give me back my money. Anyway, good day, did lots, now very tired and about to go drinkin in the bar downstairs with some other band directors.

Pictures of the Wedding:

http://24.56.70.142/%7Ezanone/Johnson-Alford/Johnson-Alford_index.html

Pictures of the Honeymoon:

http://www.lisaandmattmanners.shutterfly.com/action/

Matt and I finally got internet so I am once again connected. Thank you to all of you who sent birthday well wishes and wedding congrats. Married life is awesome and better than even I expected! The wedding was so much fun and the honeymoon was out of this world!

Before the honeymoon I had never been past Arkansas so this trip was quite amazing for me! I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life. We went to Glacier National Park and stayed at the Prince of Wales Hotel which is on the Canadian side of the Park in Alberta. I now have a stamp in my passport. The Hotel in a lot of those pics is where we stayed and it was amazing. The hotel was on a cliff, inbetween several mountain ranges and on a lake. It could not have gotten any better than that!

The honeymoon was also amazing for another reason. Matt and I are not ashamed od the choice that we made so I will go ahead and tell you, if you are stil reading this, that we both made the desicion to not have sex until marraige before we met each other. We continued that promise we made to God and ourselves througout our relationship and I can now say that it was the best choice that we made. Why tell you this? Because if there is anyone out there that has not yet been deflowered or has also made that choice I want to encourage you to keep it that way because you will not regret the desicion.

On to other topics. Band camp started yesterday, ugg. Tomorow though the West Memphis Band Directors head to For Smith Arkansas for a conference and I am really looking forward to that. Enough typing for now, I get to go snuggle with Matt!!

I have tried and tried but my skin seems to soak up no sun! Oh well I guess that I will have to blend in with the dress. I am using a low SPF and everything thought. Oh well I will try agin tomorrow!

Feels great because right now I am doing nothing except playing computer games! In a few minutes I will get dressed and showered. I am going to this place today where they will zap my face so that is exciting and scary at the same time!

I went and a did trail run with my hair yesterday for the wedding and it was awesome! It made my face look skinny and I loved the style. In order to have it that way he had to cut my hair and for me it was a drastic change. For most people it probably would not be but I have all these layers and it looks much less poofy. So anyway I am going to get back to doing nothing and thinking about doing something!

Spent all day today running errands and getting things in order for the wedding next week. Pretty exciting b/c we opened a money market account in our names! That is a mile stone. Tomorrow we will get our marriage license and go to cingular and get a family talk plan. Things are just rolling along!

Lind Has Balls

Well I escaped from the camp by myself tonight and saw the movie "Over the Hedge". Not so great but good enough I guess. Took my mind off of things which is good since it is running 10,000 miles an hour. Food here is still gross! Tonight I had to resort to a ketchup, cheese and pickle sandwich. My phone died and today I spent $70 on a used replacement and now is not the time for me to be dropping $70. Oh well such is the life. Tomorrow is the last full day of camp, Wahoooooooo! And I don't have to teach my masterclass due to a jazz band concert, double wahooooooooooo!

Well I am having a good time but I am getting real tired of the food! Most of the stuff looks either nasty or loaded with caloric content so I have been sticking to salads and tomato sandwiches. Good but it gets old and does not keep you hungary!! The kids from my school seem to be having a blast. I have barely seen them and when I do they are running around with kids that they have met from other schools. Tomorrow my goal is to take less naps!

1. The last person i kissed was: Matt, Yeah for getting married!

2. Never in my life have I:
had sex and proud that will be coming to an end very soon!

3. The one person who can drive me nuts, but then can always manage to make me smile is:
my dog Otter

4. The high school I went to was:
Church of Christ so I was told that I am going to hell for not being C o C

5. When I'm nervous:
I shake uncontrolably, most reading this know this is all so true

6. The last time I cried was:
Sunday at church, great sermon!

7. If I were to get married right now my bridesmaids/groomsman?
so funny you ask! Susan Smith (maid of honor!!:), Amie Buckley (my sister), Melissa Alford (Matt's sister), Leah Fryar (friend from 6th grade), Toni Dunahoo (Friend from High School), Beth MaCasland (friend after college) and Dorothy Ogden (Friend from high school) all this in no particular order.

9. My hair:
curly from lack of hairdryer

10. When I was 5:
I picked my nose

11. The Christmas before last: was my nephew's first!

12. I'm good with:
the right side of my brain

13. I should be:
in bed but there are screaming 5th graders outside of my door, yeah Dixi Band Camp!

14. When I Look Down I See:
Thighs that I HATE and a little pudge of belly that used to be a BIG pudge

15. The craziest recent event was:
puking in a persons fron yard in Florida after drinking 2 mudslides, 1 Margaritta, 16 ounces of vodka, a shot of yager and a shot of something that can no longer be remembered

16. If I were a character on Friends I'd be:
don't watch the show

17. By this time next year:
I will be happily married

18. I love:
Matt and frozen yogart

19. I have a hard time understanding:
why my thighs don't look better after all this weight I lost, frustration

20. One time at a family gathering:
my grandparents announced that they were not going to my sisters wedding and were going on vacation instead. And there after all heck broke loose in my picture perfect family and now we live with bandaids over the huge wombs my grandparents put there. Long story, some of you were there with me when this all went down

21. You know I like you if:
I dunno, I pretend to like most people so if I am not being very nice to you, good sign!

22. If I won an award, the first person (people) I'd thank is (are):
God

23. Take my advice:
It will come back to haunt you

24. My ideal breakfast is:
Eggs, Sausage, Ham, Omlettes, Hasbrowns and Steak al coverd in Ketchup but no I eat weight watcher bread and no fat cheese

25. If you visit the place I grew up:
You would now be in the Ghetto

27. If you spend the night at my house:
You will be woken by the sound of geese at 4:30

28. I'd stop my wedding if:
NEVER NEVER NEVER

29. The world could do without:
Jello

30. I'd rather lick the belly of a cockroach than:
a foot

31. The most recent thing I bought myself is:
a power toothbrush

32. The most recent thing someone bought for me:
a wedding

33. My favorite band/singer is:
Old school Dave Matthews

34. My favorite food is:
Food

35. My favorite color is:
I like to wear the darks and paint with the brights

36. My favorite person alive today is:
but there are so many

37. The animals I would like to see flying besides birds?
pigs

38. I shouldn't have been:
driven by the impulse to eat that choclate that I ate, good at the time and very bad conscience right now

39. Once, at a bar:
I jumped up on stage with an 80's cover band and played the tambourine for a song

40. Last night I:
took a bath after midnight so my students in the dorm could not see me!

41. There's this guy I know thats amazing but:
there are no buts, he is amazing

42: I don't know:
what is the reason behind space and planets

43. A better name for me would be:
I like the one I was dealt

44. If I ever go back to school I'll:
enjoy not being in the real world!

45. My birthday is on:
July 7th

46. What I really want for Valentines day:
I got what I wanted

47. Right now I am wearing:
Polo, capris, and a jacket

48. Tomorrow I am: Teaching the 9th band french horns and saxophones and a low clarinet masterclass

49. The last thing i ate was:
the choclate that I feel guilty about!

50. I really want to learn:
Karate

I am working a band camp in Arkansas where there are over 800 5th-8th graders! Tell me there is not mild chaos. I am a dorm "mom" and we just had a fire drill b/c some 5th graders that have probably never cooked popcorn before by themselves burned it and the whole dorm had the evacuate. Better now than at midnight ya know. 18

Concert is over!!! That means I basically get to babysit until the end of the year. We are going to work on scales and the fight song and star spangeled banner for next year but it will definatly not be as intense as preparing for a concert!

The best part if that all the recruiting os over! That suff is so time consuming but I did get 50% of the 6th graders so I feel it was a success! (The best part is the choir director only got 13!!)That is a long story but he stole a lot of my kids away from me before the school year started so he got what he deserved! Yeah for the end of the school year and bring on July 1!!

School is almost out! Well the kids are anyway and that is what counts! My concert is tonight so once that is done I just have to babysit for a few days and then they are out of here. I love teacing! Hurrary Summers!

Well there I was doing so good updating my journal and life caught up with me again and I fell out of the rhythm of journaling. This is my attempt to start up once again.

I don't know about any of you other teachers but these kids are driving me nuts right now. They smell summer coming and are becoming very restless! I not only smell summer but I also smell a wedding so I am double ready for June 8th to be here so that I can relax and get on with my life! Not to much longer! If any of you are wanting to plan a trip over the 4th of July weekend come on up to Memphis for the wedding! Let me know and I will give you directions!

Well it snowed all last Friday but luckley was off the streets on Saturday. So we got the fun of snow withouth the inconvience!. More snow this Friday, actually freezing rain, not as much fun and a whole lot more dangerous.

This afternoon I leave for Hot Springs which is a resort town in Arkansas. All-State starts today so I will be there through the weekend. As I mentioned there is suppose to be ice on Friday so we may not be able to come back on Saturday like we are suppose to. Could be very interesting! Yes I have to share a room again but as far as I know I do not have to share a bed. I brought some sleeping pills just in case! Please let there be 2 beds, even with 2 beds I know that I still will not be 100% comfortable.

We are taking a short bus there! Yuppeeeeeeee!!!

I got the new Presidents own CD in the mail today and I am looking forward to listening to it.

By the way I love this job! i don't have to pa for the hotel room, food or registration fees! I have good kids and strong support! Yes! And I get to kick kids out at will but paddle them first! There are 2 girls that I am about to kick out b/c they just goof around and they don't play well. We would be better withouth them. So far I have gotten rid of 4 kids. Life is much easier when the bad ones are weeded out. Make examples of them to the rest of the class.

First let me talk about the Olympics and keep reading for my good school story, one of those days I will never forget! 2 things really bothered me about the opening ceremonies:

1)when all the countries were walking in they all walked into 80's American music, they even included YMCA! What the heck this all makes no sense! You are in Italy and you are competing in sports competition! Did not fit at all!

2)It is a huge honor for anyone to be asked to carry in the Olympic flag that is to be hoisted on the flag pole in the stadium. All 8 were women of note except for one. They had a famous aurthor from South Africa, a women that started a peace rally in Kenya, several gold medal olympians, Sophia Loren (if that is how you spell it) a noteable Italian actress, and then Susan Surandon (if that is how you spell it). What the heck has she done in oder to deserve that honor? Even the annoucers couldn't find anything special about her other that she is an American Star! Weird and Bad at the same time!

Ok...... on onto a good ole' school story........

Yesterday it was a very overcast day and all the weather predictions said snow and lots of it so of course the kids are juiced when they get to school. Well, all morning it was raining but the tempeture was suppose to drop and turn the rain onto snow. Which it did, 5ht period, my performing band, and only 6 more rehearsals to the concert. So let me tell you how all this unfolded b/c there is so much more that happened than just snow.

As soon as the kids filed into the room they started gagging saying that the band room smells awful. They were making a big deal of it like all middle school kids do. Well I hadn't noticed anything so i just ignored it. I was calling role and slowly but surely a smell starts heading towards me on the podium. I think stink bomb, so I ma wondering how to handle this. Well Brice, the assistant at the high school, was there to run some sectionals and I asked him to take the low brass (all girls) into the instrument storage room. They all file in and immediatly run out. Meanwhile I am warming up the band with scales. Brice walks out of the room, goes into my office, gets some paper towels and walks back into the room.
(Sidenote: I have had a problem with mice/rats and recently caught a
dead one in my offce)
So the girls are freaking out and I realize that this smell is a dead animal. So I get tickled and start crying b/c I am holding back laughing at the same time that I am conducting the band. Well then the band slowly starts laughing b/c they smell the smell, see me laughing and know that there is something in the storage room and they saw the girls run out.

Thankfully we all get back under control and strike up rehearsal. Well Brice could not find the dead animal so they went to another room to work. I had to prop open the 2 doors to the band room (we are an outdoor campus) to let in some fresh air b/c the smell is unbearable. Well keep in mind that it is about 32 degrees so it proceeds to get freezing in the room but at least it doesn't smell, sort of.

Well about 15 minutes later one kid yells "SSSSSNNNNNOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!" Sure enough there are MASIVE flakes falling in huge numbers. So of course the excitemnet spreads.
(Sidenote:my room is pretty much all windows with no blinds)

Then the princepal comes on the intercom and says that school will be released 30 minutes early (We don't handle snow well in the south). So the excitement rises. Then to top it off the office in coming in over the intercom about 2 times a minute b/c parents have lined up to the school to check their kids out. My 2 out of 3 Frech Horns check out, along with 1 percussionist, a clarinet and flute.

So lets recap!!

In 50 minutes we have 1) dead animal smell
2) Open doors in 32 degree weather
3) Masive snow beginning to cover the ground
4) Annoucement that school is letting out early
5) Kids start uncontroably being checked out

An amazingly enough we got stuff done! I just told the kids how hard it must be to focus when allllllllllllll these things are happening at once but to please try b/c the concert is only 6 rehearsals away. Crazy crazy day!

THE BAD NEWS: I was not ever able to find the dead animal. I suspect it is a rat b/c with my own eyes I saw a rat crawling along the rafters of my room. I think I recorded that story a week ago. I turned the heat off hoping that the dead thing would not rot as fast but I can only imagine the smell that waiats me Monday morning!

(SIde note: It tool me 2 hours to get home! Normally it takes 45
minutes. The snow was awful and I had to cross the
Mississippi River bridge in snow which was scary, most
of you know my fear of bridges) I traveled the whole way
home only being able to go 8 miles an hour! SUCK!)

Well I may be able to sleep a little better now, we will see. My music store rep was a band director in my school district many years ago and it is normal for all the schools in West Memphis to ask him to work with their bands before festival. It is always good to have your kids hear the same the things that you say but from a different mouth. Gets the point across better to them.

Anyway he came and worked my band today and to my delightment they acted great and played really well. One can only pray that they play that well on March 3rd (I like to refer to that as dooms day!). He thinks that they are in a real good position to do well. I just hope that they do not peak to early. We have been doing some work out of the TIPS book for a change of pace and to give our ears a break from the same 3 pieces. We will start sight reading pieces tomorrow.

Still fighting sickness but I think that I am begining to win! Hurray!

So still doing normal stuff. I get to play bass clarinet with the Germantown Symphony on a Wagner piece! This is exciting stuff for a saxophone player!

Well the weekend is over and no I really did not sleep that night that I said that I was having to share a bed. It was one of those sleeps where you know you are asleep and you don't think that you are. That probably doesn't make much sense but there you go. We had one kid make All-State, 3 make alternate and a lot of underclassman come really, really, close which bodes well for next year.

So I was in class today and I was telling them how we need to blend our sound. And I made the analogy to a smoothy. You have all the different ingredients, you push blend and they all look same. I told them that we are all a bunch of instruments and when we play we want to blend our sounds, no one sticks out more than the other. Keep in mind I teach in ghetto slums not swank suburbia. The kids looked at me blankly, laughed and said they don't eat smoothies in these parts. Well I laughed to and told them that if they wanted the receipe after class I would be more than happy to give it to them b/c smoothies are good and good for you.

This is a great job!

7 rehearsals till concert and today I begin to feel sick, not good, worried

Well that is where I am right now. It is about an hour north of Little Rock if you even know where that is. It is All-State audition time right now so we have about 27 kids in a Hampton Inn practicing in their rooms and trying as much as possible to get into trouble. I will be working in the tally room so at least I will get to see who is being placed where. Should be pretty exciting!

The only non-exciting and stressfull part about the whole thing is the sleeping situation. Those of you that know me real well knows that this is the kind of siuation that really stresses me out and makes me uncomfortable! I am sharing a room with the high school director. I love her and she is awesome to work with but I have to share a king bed with her. Majorly uncomfortable for me and my personal space bubble. We will see actually how much sleep I get tonight.

Well have a great weekend!!

You know this may sound crazy but I have always been scared to show too much engergy when I rehearse a band b/c I assumed that the kids would feed off of that and have more energy. My experience with Junior High is that the more energy = more discipline behaviors. However, maybe that was a wrong assumption. Maybe I will get more engergy back but in the form of energy into the music and pay attention. I don't know but it is worth a shot. I just think back to all those student teacher observations I made around Baton Rouge and there were a lot of dumb a_ _ teachers but they had a lot of energy. I think I need a B 12 shot maybe that will give me the boost I need!

Will try on Monday!

until concert festival. I am doing much better on the stress level thing. We have got down notes, rhythms and the style of each peice is getting much better. Next thing on the list: balance, tuning and tone quality. 19 rehearsals plus after school sectionals so hopefully this will all pull together. There are moments of sunshine through the clouds in each rehearsal.

Well the flowers are all picked out for the wedding and the photographer is nailed down. You know what that means! No more meetings!! Now we get to plan the little details, register for gifts and wait. At least it is finally February, I never thought that it would get here. It is a short month and I will be super busy with a concert and all-state so hopefully it will just fly by which means March will be here and all the more closer to the wedding and showers and honeymoon. Ahhhh.

I am wearing pink today and it makes me put a whole new outlook on my day!

Well I went with my parents and aunt to a bridal shop in Arkansas and I got a dress!! Yeah!! It is soooooo amazing. It is way more formal and expensive than I thought that I would get but I am so thrilled and I cannot wait until I put it on again! I just love it love it love it! I didn't think that I was going to get a vail but I did and I didn't think I was going to get a comb thing with fake diamonds in it but I did!

We went to a small town in Arkansas called Brinkley and they have this huge old victorian hotel that they have converted into a 3 story super bridal store. People from all over the nation fly in to go to this one store in this falling apart town. It was a neat atmosphere. I tried on 3 dresses that were on sale and then we went back downstairs to see the regular price gowns. The 2nd one I tried on was the one. The one that I tried on after that was great to and I kep trying them on over and over agian but I kept going back to that one dress so I knew that it was the one that I should get.

A funny sidenote: I was standing on a pedistool on front of all these mirrors and I was going to get down to go try on the head pieces and yeah I just about bit the dust getting off of that thing. I twisted my ankle and just about smacked my head on the ground. The room was full of pretty brides with their families and looking perfect as goober here is falling all over herself. I guess I will never be gracefull, even in a wedding dress!

After we bought everything we went to this country resteraunt in town and savored the moment we all had as a family. I had a great time and I really wish that it had not gone by so fast :( Great memories though:))

No not to the wedding, until Pre-Concert Festival Concert and Concert Festival.
14 Rehearsals until the Concert
20 Rehearsals until Festival

We have definatly made a lot of progress this week but how are we suppose to fix the inconsistant errors? This trumpet player will miss the 3rd note, then they will get it right but the one next to them gets is wrong. Then everyone gets the note right but 3 people miss a cue 4 measures later. I can fix errors that happen but the random ones are the hardest to fix. I assume it is just from lack of focus or just hormones floating through the skull of a Junior High student where most people have a brain. And then somedays are priceless b/c the brain has reappeared and they are awesome. How do they function on a day-to-day basis without getting themselves maimed or killed? I guess it is one of those mysteries of life!

Right now I am babysitting my flag class (i have the girls but since there is no need for flags in the 2nd semster they have "study hal") and am listening to the pitter patter of tiny squirrell feet run across the ceiling in my office. Life is sweat.

If I am sounding cynical or upset I don't mean to. I am tired, stressed about concert festival/concert and ready for the wedding plannng to be over and the day to be here. We pretty much have all of the planning done (except for the photographer) so now it is just the little details and the waiting that is left. Hopefully I will find a dress tomorrow. Not to exciting about trying all the dresses on b/c I am a pretty modest person and I think that I wil be showing more skin than I am comfortable with in front of people that I know and don't know. After my brass sectional today and I going to buy some athletic shorts that I can wear as I try on the different dresses. Yikes!!

Have a great weekend!

Well Matt and I last night bought the plane tickets for our honeymoon! We decided to go ahead and jump on the prices b/c even though they were not what I consider good, fuel is going up which means the tckets will sky rocket.

We are staying at the most amazing hotel in the most amazing place. We are going to the Canada side of Glacier National Park that is in Montana and we are staying at the Prince of Wales Hotel. It is amazing, check out this link to see a picture of the hotel http://www.afterimagegallery.com/citretprinceofwales.htm

The hotel is located in the valley of several mountain ranges and is on a cliff that overlooks a lake. We are flying into Calgary Canada and driving to the park from there. Oh this is going to be great, I have never been past Arkansas so this is quite exciting for me.

As far as school goes we had a great rehearsal day yesterday but the day before was awfull. Yesterday did give me hope though that our pieces are getting better. Our festival is March 3rd but in between now and then we have testing and I have several days that I cannot be here due to All-State try-outs and clinic. Still trying not to stress out though!

It has been 2 weeks since I have been able to sleep in and it is looking like my chance to wake up on my own instead of an alarm clock is February 11th. So sad.

Well today was a good day. One of my trouble makers is not in band anymore and that was class today was awesome! Everyone used to feed off of his energy and I treaded that class. Now he is gone and life is sweet! We go so much done in there, we had a good time and the actually flew by which it has never done before.

I feel like we accomplished a few things in the performing band today. We have a long way to go before festival but I am trying not to panick like I do every year!

Tonnight is going to be awesome! We are trying food from a catierer (if that is how u spell it) and he told us to come hungry! I guess that I am going to have to work extra hard on the treadmill tonight b/c it is 4:00 and I am already hungry.

New email address lisajohnson44@gmail.com

I will still be checking the other but not as often. Don't get to comfortable with this one though b/c as Susan pointed out my last name will be changing soon. Expect a new address around July! Don't want to do it to soon, I want to make sure that it is official first!

So this is actually one of the funniest moments of teaching I have had so far! A little back history, I teach at an all black school in a poor area of town (West Memphis, AR). The kids are great and the school is very supportive. Anyway, no matter how many great kids you have there are always some that you want to kick in the butt. This one of course is in the percussion section!

He is suspended more than he is in school, he has never show up for any concert, football game or parade and he is in a gang. Great kid right? Well today the performing band was getting to noisy so I was getting on to them and there he is in the back nodding his head in a mocking manner (he was one of the ones making noises). I told him to take a seat, he did and mumbled under his breath something so I told him to expect his name to be called on the detention list. He started laughing and shot me a look that was like "big deal". So I said no problem, go to the office and I will send a referal after you. I had a student buzz the office so I could tell them that he was coming (we are an outdoor campus so kids can just leave if they are not watched). He started to fight it, cuss and throw a fit but after a bit he started out the door to go to the office and as he did he yelled at the top of his lungs "THIS NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I WAS WHITE!!!"

Oh how badly I wanted to laugh, oh so bad but the class of 50 black kids in front of me laughed enough for me and i did not want to fuel the fire so I had to just let it pass. Needless to say he is suspended again and I will make sure that he is no longer in band. Oh what a dumb*ss!

I am not sure what it is like where you are but here it is very cold, rainy and dark outside. The most perfect day to be cold, in the bed and fast asleep. Yawn!