Bits and Pieces

I'm exhausted and don't feel like writing a cohesive blog. Deal.

- I started my job as full-time teacher on Monday. Things have gone well so far, but I have had to be stricter than I expected. Some 8 year olds just can't stop talking, and hearing 14 different voices asking me variants of the same question simultaneously makes my head hurt worse than anything I have ever experienced, aside from the day after drinking the majority of a bottle of cheap tequila and having numerous scrapes/cuts all over my body. That being said, the job itself is rather enjoyable. For the most part, the kids are sweet and don't give me much trouble. Only having power at the school on Thursday and Friday makes things difficult, but I'm adjusting. I have a newfound respect for teachers and parents; on Friday when I got back, I collapsed on my bed for two hours and didn't move. Kids can be thoroughly exhausting.

-My only blunder this week was not permitting a student to go to the restroom upon request. He asked to go right after Child #1 went, and I assumed they wanted to just leave and talk in the hall (two of the troublemakers). I asked if Child #2 could wait for the Child #1 to return; he said he could. Oops. When Child #1 returned, Child #2 waddled out of the room, having wet himself and the pillow he was sitting on. Lesson learned, always grant permission for the bathroom.

-I went to a tattoo convention last week with artists from all over the world (pictures soon). The buzz of 60+ needles made the room feel like there were thousands of angry bees buzzing about, and watching people getting inked was entertaining in a creepy way. I spent a lot of time watching a guy get a butterfly-like creature tattooed on his face. I'm all for expression, but this felt like a poor life decision. The guy kept flinching, which probably made life difficult for the tattooer. Nobody wants an asymmetrical butterfly tattooed on their face. My favorite individual was a gentleman named Rishi, who had all of the flags of the world tattooed over his face and body (poorly). He enjoys breaking Guinness records, and was talking about attempting to set some record involving using 50 drinking straws simultaneously to drink something. No clue on if he reached his goal, but you have to respect the ambition. (http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahbellecher/1/1303795732/tpod.html)

-I have decided to become vegetarian, not for tree-hugging reasons but for the fact that I get ill every time I eat meat. However, there is something slightly unnerving about seeing living goats roped up outside of a butcher shop while other goats' heads and bodies are laying about, but such is life. If I leave for work early enough, I sometimes get serenaded by the horrific sounds of slaughter. Not the best way to start one's day. Unlike America, being vegetarian is pretty easy here, as vegetables are more plentiful and there are many meatless options that are wonderful. I still eat meat if it is part of a dish and I have no other substantive options, but plan on avoiding it otherwise.

-I have replaced American Idol with Dexter as my guilty pleasure TV show. The premise is weird and the acting is bad, but I can't turn away. We just started season four where Dexter is after some new serial killer. Fun times, at least compared to Idol.

-The NBA playoffs have been great so far. Even having only seen three games in replay, I would contend that this could be the best playoffs of my life as a sports fan, which started around 1992-93. The Grizz just knocked off the Spurs in the West, I saw one of the best games of basketball I have seen in years between the Nuggets and Thunder and Chris Paul torched the Lakers single-handedly in what should have been a sweep for LA. CP3 is my favorite player in the league, and I hope that he ends up somewhere in 2012 on a contender, and not with Carmelo in NY.

-As much as I root for the Bulls and hope they win everything this year and every year, I don't really like the players. I love watching the team and think they're among the most entertaining in the league, but being from NC and absolutely hating Duke, I have a hard time rooting for Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer. Joakim Noah was my most hated college baller of the last decade, and while I like him now, I still find him hard to look at. I love His Holiness Derrick Rose, but he did come from a sleazy Memphis program and forged his SAT scores, which the media has brushed aside. Regardless, blood is thicker than water, and I hope Chicago wins it all. The Eastern Finals should be legendary.

Peace