Thursday, November 21, 2002

One more day. One day of hall passes and mistimed bells and other random school shit before I can go home and live like a real person in a real town for a week. I've never been so excited about going to Tennessee in my life.

No news tops that news. The MTC website has officially updated, which is a good thing for those of you who have been needing to see pictures of various people that I've been talking incessantly about for six months now. So, knock yourselves out (and thank you, daddy, for telling me that the pics were finally there. I would have never thought to check on my own.) You can access the site by clicking here.

Is it safe to start counting hours yet? And anya, what's this I hear about a party? Is this a redheads only thing?

Heather at 6:24 PM

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Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Okay, the "going home mix cd greatest johnston hits of all time" project has hit a bit of a snafu. Namely that my brain is not functioning properly and I can only think of cheesy crap. I think, at the very least, this should be a two disk project: one silly disk, one serious disk. The silly disk is already well on its way, and will contain the already following, already downloaded, songs, plus many others (once you people start emailing and calling):
For Ashley:
1. ABBA - Dancing Queen
2. Cheech & Chong - Mexican Americans
3. The Ramones - Judy is a Punk
4. The Strokes - New York City Cops (not silly, but it goes with the up tempo)

For Todd:
1. Paul Simon - You can call me Al
(Todd, get freakin online and read this so you can give me more ideas. My Todd humor goes away when I spend too much time away from you.)

For Daddy:
1. Arlo Guthrie - The Motorcycle Song (Yes, dear god, someone actually had the motorcycle song, and I actuall downloaded it, and I'm going to go so far as to actually put it on a cd.)

I don't have any in honor of my mom yet, but I can call her in a bit and get some ideas. If any of this makes sense to you, then we probably share DNA, and if it doesn't, then read posts in the future. Hopefully they won't be this obscure.

Heather at 12:57 PM

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Dear Lord it's been too long since I've written. I could make a million and one excuses, to include but not limited to:
1. The nastiest stomach virus in recent Heather memory.
2. General pre-Thanksgiving laziness.
3. unexplained server outages at school.
4. Limewire, which whispers in my ear and tells me downloading music is always more productive than journaling.
5. Did i mention that it's almost Thanksgiving?

So anyway, I'm taking the day off because of the aforementioned nasty stomach virus which was accompanied by much vomiting and other unpleasant gastrointestinal occurances, all of which are at least 18 hours in the past, but I was tired damnit. And I've got 7 sick days, so why not take one? Also, I've discovered that taking a sick day when you really aren't sick might be a bit unethical but it can also be extraordinarily productive. I've returned videos, made my copies for the rest of the week, eaten lunch, folded laundry, washed the car, and cleaned out the backseat and it isn't even one yet. Maybe I need to get "sick" more often. Better yet, I haven't gotten any calls to say that the school has collapsed in my absence, so maybe they really can survive without me. But if the school actually collapsed, their phones wouldn't work, so i guess they wouldn't be able to call...

And now, spending my afternoon online. i am again on Limewire, downloading songs for Zelda's maiden solo voyage back to Tennessee. Please please please, email me with some suggestions for songs that will remind me of home. I have a tiny *tiny* little list going, but it won't even get me to Greenwood. We're talking an 8+ hour drive here, so I need your help. Variety is king. Make me sing, dance, cry, laugh, doesn't really matter, just send me IDEAS! I can get almost anything off Limewire, just don't get too obscure on me. (My music people, I'm really expecting you to come through for me here.. you know who you are. And if I don't get suggestions from you, I'll start naming names in my next post.)

In other news, we have mice. Or at least lots of mice poop. And our friends aren't quite mean enough to go around our house planting mice poop. On the bright side, we haven't seen a roach in at least a week, and it isn't rat poop. I think a family of them lives in the chimney, which happens to come through the second floor essentially where the headboard of John's bed would be (if it had a headboard). He's all but convinced that they are going to do bad things to him in his sleep. No school news... I'm on cruise control and so are the kids. We're all in the "just make it to Friday" mode, and I'll have to reteach the assignments they were supposed to complete today, so the whole of that discussion is really rather boring.

More later.
3 SCHOOL DAYS LEFT!!

Heather at 11:03 AM

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Wednesday, November 13, 2002

It's been such a crazy few days, and I can only write for a few minutes because The Amazing Race is about to come on. Oh, the escape of pointless tv. There's nothing like it.

So I think I should condense this weeks life lessons into a handy little list ala Dave Lettermen. So, life advice from heather, on what seems to be an ordinary Wednesday night.
1. Never drive away from a gas station with your wallet on top of your car. It's a real pain in the ass.
2. School secretaries are evil. There are no exceptions.
3. Oral Communication textbooks are a godsend. (And it only took until Thanksgiving to get them. Go Delta Schools!)
4. My mom's voice is the best sound in the world.
5. Giving rides to people that you are immensely attracted to leads to major day dreaming while driving.
6. Mix CDs are always wonderful, especially when someone you love makes them for you.
7. Pitching a fit can be both classy and productive when performed for the right audience.
8. Virginia Slims are annoyingly girly, but they make you feel skinny.
9. If you leave a drink on a table in a high school classroom, it will get spilled. (or "wasted" as my kids would say)
10. You simply must adore people who absolutely HAVE to drive to Jackson on a school night just to go to Barnes & Noble.

More later for you night owls and faithful readers of the journal.

Heather at 5:59 PM

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Tuesday, November 12, 2002

The network is finally back up at school, so now I can get back to writing while I'm sitting at my desk (and supposed to be teaching). It was down for nearly a week. Not that anything at this school works consistently as it is.

FLE today has everybody tired and unwilling to work. I didn't take the test, but I certainly agree with the sentiment. An entry of substance later tonight...

Heather at 11:08 AM

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Thursday, November 07, 2002

Writing a paper tonight, so there isn't much time to comment on life or love or the world. I actually had a pretty interesting (but unproductive) day. Maybe tomorrow I'll have the time to add something of substance to the blog, but not tonight.

Oxford for the weekend, so no new posts on Saturday at all. Hopefully the world can survive without my stunning wit for one day.

Back to the typing grind. Nighty night all.

Heather at 7:50 PM

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Wednesday, November 06, 2002

For those of you who are close to your families tonight, try and remember exactly how lucky you are. And exactly how hard things might be if they were too far away for a smoke on the porch or a late night trip to the carwash (I love you Ashley)

Sometimes the most ordinary night in the world can make you miss everything about your life that isn't there anymore.

There are two trees that I would sell everything I own to see right now. One is in Hixson, across the street from Garner's Gymnastics, right in the spot on Hixson Pike where Amanda and I got in that wreck when we were in high school. Every year in October it turns the most wonderful colors. It's so beautiful that it looks like it is on fire, but the color lasts for weeks and weeks. Everything that I need tonight is on that road. I can get to my house, and my dad's apartment. I can go to Panera for hazelnut coffee and to Target to spend money that my mom really shouldn't give me. I can go see Todd at work. I could be within ten minutes of the four people that I love more than anything in the world. The second tree is next to the playground at Taliwa Court Addition apartments in South Knoxville. It's color isn't quite as amazing as the first, but I lived such an important part of my life within sight of that tree. And being outside at my old apartment, where I could hear the traffic on Chapman Highway and see the kids playing on the playground, and smoke my cigarette and smile that I was in that place at that time, it always meant that something was right with the world, even if that something was very very small.

I don't see how a week is going to be enough time at home for Thanksgiving. I don't see how I'm going to get back in my car and drive back to the Delta. But at this very moment, I'd give it all up to spend thirty minutes sitting at the kitchen table with my mom, or sitting on the porch with my dad and sister, or cruising around in the Jetta with Todd. Everyone has always thought that the relationship I have with my family is weird. And they are right. It is the most weird and beautiful thing I know.

Heather at 6:47 PM

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Tuesday, November 05, 2002

Anya is a big giant thief for stealing the countdown to thanksgiving. Sure, it hasn't technically been included in my journal. And, admittedly, I forgot to update it today. But I HAVE had a Thanksgiving Countdown on my whiteboard for nearly a month now. My kids were all freaked about by it. "Ms. Johnston, Thanksgiving is so far away." "Ms Johnston are you crazy?" "Ms. Johnston, what about Halloween?" And so, she says, "yes it is" "yes" and "who really gives a shit?"

Today the count is 13. Thirteen school days left for the students, teachers, and staff of Simmons High School in Hollandale, MS before we can celebrate the fuck out of some Thanksgiving.

Heather at 12:01 PM

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Some days you can groove on just about anything. Today is one of those days. And even though I have everything in the world in front of me this week, I can pack it up, head to the house, and know that I made something good happen today. The puppet shows went off without a hitch today, even though Carey seems to think it was a rather nonacademic activity. And now I have cool puppets and props decorating my room. I've never seen so many trees made out of cardboard boxes in my life.

I've decided that Casey is a giant retard. Any and all efforts to converse with the boy have been futile. Not to mention the fact that flirting hasn't even been attempted in more than a week. Not that I don't still think he's attractive, but my god, there are certainly some things in this world that just aren't worth it. I have to deal with 120 oblivious people every day. There is no reason in the world to make it 121. He can keep his out of control classroom down the hall and miss out on whatever wonderful things might have happenned if he'd ever gotten a fucking clue. Certainly more this loss than mine.
Then only bad news is that in the meantime, Greenville and surrounding areas are still totally devoid of available, educated male twenty-somethings. And to think, girls in new york whine about the lack of men. They wouldn't survive the length of a commercial break in the delta.

Oh well, I don't think you can go totally insane from sex deprivation...

Heather at 11:52 AM

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Monday, November 04, 2002

Goodnight moon, goodnight stars, goodnight very wonderful friends who spend entirely too much time trying to fix my blog for me. Color choice assistance, image editing, the ritualisitic sacrifice of two kittens, you know, the usual.

The world is wonderful, and my bed will be warm. What more could you ask for?

Heather at 7:16 PM

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So, I tried to post earlier while I was still at school but my computer ate my post because my lame-o principal can turn the server on an off whenever he damn well feels like it, and for some reason he thought he should turn it off during our "scheduled tornado drill". I find this a bit ironic considering they sort of forgot to ever have the scheduled tornado drill. (But it isn't ironic at all when you consider that they never turned the bell timer on all day, that the tardy bell for fourth period never rang, and that the tardy bell for sixth rang precisely 45 seconds after the bell rang to dismiss fifth.) My kids can't even get a sheet of paper out in 45 seconds, much less get their lazy asses to their next class, but enough about school.

As requested, I figured I should let you losers in on my thanksgiving holiday schedule. I actually get a week off for one tiny little holiday, but if I didn't get a week there'd probably be a major school shooting incident. I'll be leaving from Hollandale on Friday, November 22 as soon as they ring the bell to dismiss school (which typically happens at 3:05) Factor in a time change, the fact that I've never made that long of a drive by myself before, and a trek across the entire width of both Mississippi and Alabama, and I should get home between eleven and midnight eastern time. As for my K-town folks, I plan on coming up on either Monday or Tuesday of the week of Thanksgiving, but everyone is more than welcome to come down to Chattanooga and visit as well.

My schedule is still pretty open but since I'm so immensely popular, everyone should book early. *wink wink* I'm available for dinners, cocktail parties, orgies (and other occasions of casual sex), mountain climbing excursions, and 400 level anthropology classes. Other than that, you'll have to make a pretty strong case if you want me to spend time with you. (But we all know I'm a sucker for some quality Real World couch time.) Btw, how big of a whore is Trischelle?

Heather at 4:28 PM

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Sunday, November 03, 2002

And today, Sunday, queen of all unproductive days in the universe. I DID manage to go grocery shopping. I DID manage to take a load of laundry downstairs, set it in front of the washer (and then discover that there was laundry in both the washer and the dryer), I DID go see Erin's play even though I've felt all day like I've been run over by a very large truck.

The play was wonderful. Made me feel like a total tard that I didn't at least mention to my kids that they would get tremendous amounts of extra-credit if they got their butts out of Hollandale to go see it. But so goes the forgetfullness of a first year teacher.

I'm still debating how honest one should be in a forum like this. I haven't sent the obligatory "so i'm writing this new thing if you're interested in reading it" email. So, technically, I could be saying any damn thing I wanted to be saying without the slightest worry of consequences. But I'm still self-censoring, wondering how long it is going to be before I have to send the hopefully ego boosting email to friends and family to go to the stupid website and read the stupid crap I've been writing recently. Not that things I've written haven't gotten me in trouble before, but since I'm like a "professional" now, maybe times have changed. Or maybe I'm attempting to come up with lame excuses for not having the balls to write everything I'm thinking.

Good thing this cable internet isn't hooked up in MY room or these rants would be annoyingly lengthy. Maybe I should go plan something for tomorrow. Or, more likely, I'll go watch the simpsons with john. Oh the joyous life of a half-assed teacher...

Heather at 5:15 PM

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Saturday, November 02, 2002

Lazy, boring saturday. No food in the kitchen. Plenty of homework to do but no desire to do any of it. Instead the best option seems to be to hang out in our freezing house, take occasionaly cigarette breaks and listen to the rebs get slaughtered by auburn.

Productive things I should be doing: laundry, grocery shopping, reading articles for my paper, grading, planning, wearing thicker socks, deciding how to unbraid my new cornrows, wearing gloves so my fingers can type faster, spending time doing things other than writing on blogger.

Homesickness is nasty on saturdays when we aren't in Oxford. Oxford typically equals a great deal of alcohol consumption. Here in greenville, there's plenty of beer in the fridge but it doesn't seem like there's any reason to drink it. People are supposed to be coming to town to see erin in the play tonight. if that happens maybe our beer will be combined with boys (?) and possibly karaoke. But I haven't called amber, and karaoke would be boring without her, so who am i kidding? as for the boys (followed by an obligatory question mark), i'm not sure that casey has ever seen a play in his life. It looks like he could border being a "dramatic type" but his eyes certainly glaze over any and every time I discuss what I'm doing with my drama kids. So, whatever, we'll see if the boringness of today will exceed the boringness of previous saturdays in greenville...

I hate those days when you seriously feel that there's something wrong with your life.

Heather at 12:29 PM

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