where do i begin?

school is in full swing and i am really getting into the groove of things. my students seem to be understanding the unit which is writing personal narratives. next week we are going to get into drafting our narratives based on the techniques i have taught them as well as what they have learned from reading other narratives. it is going well and i am really loving my new school.

at my new school we have daily morning meetings where we talk about what we plan on doing for the week, our plans for our students, and anything else that is pertinent to being a teacher/administrator/school aid/dean, etc. i love this sense of unity and community. my principal has already observed me and it was great. he always checks in on everyone and afterwards we have a full discussion. the discussion was as if i was talking to a great friend as opposed to my principal. he told me positive things and offered suggestions to make things even better. it wasn't like: "this was wrong" or "you shouldn't do that". i am actually treated like a professional. they also don't check lesson plans here, so i don't feel like a child or an incompetent teacher. my colleagues are really smart and we all push each other to find new and innovative ways of working with our students. speaking of students there is one in particular...

his name is ryan. he is an amazing poet, with a strong sense of voice and delivery and every morning for the free write he comes up with these elaborate poems. this of course has inspired me and i asked my principal if i could start a slam poetry team, in order to get some students' talents off the ground. he agreed. so i will start that next quarter which is in 6 weeks. so exciting.

today was a great day! i went out and met an old friend from college who drove up from d.c. she is great and is a painter. we talked all day, about books, love, life, etc. then, we went to a thrift store. I LOVE THRIFT STORES! i have always loved thrift stores since i was like 13. i got three amazing tops that are literally OUT OF THIS WORLD. one of them is a black mesh sweater that has HUGE green sparkly sleeves. super cute and super ME. then i got an indian style shirt that is purple with GOLD trim all over it. fabulous. i also got this black shirt-dress. the one that looks like an extra long button down shirt. it is great and fits just right. i plan on wearing them with the purple spandex i bought on monday. i love the new stuff i got today. ahhh.

in other news, N and i got into a very minor debate this morning, but it is still bothering me. our house phone rang at 7:00 am. N wakes up to get the phone and misses the call, and brings the phone into the room and puts it on the nightstand. me, being curious about who would call at 7am, i ask "who was that"? he looks at me with an annoyed look and replies "WHAT?!" i was like "who was that"? he goes: "it was an unknown #"....afterwards, i had no idea he was bothered by this, but he was. when he was finally ready for work, he goes, "hey i'm leaving, and i hope you enjoy YOUR phone!" i was like: 'what are you talking about?!" he then went on to say that i know that his friends from ghana sometimes call at that time because of the 5-hour time difference. BUT they KNOW it's a 5-hour difference so why can't they calculate that it's too damn early to call? but, in ghanaian culture, anytime is a good time to call. i don't like that shit because it woke me up and i need my damn rest. anyway, i just came home from hanging with my friend and N was already in bed (at 8:35pm) sleeping. i know him, that is a sign that he is mad for whatever reason. he is a night owl. i came in and said hello and he kind of lifted his head and said hello. wtf?! i really cannot stand his sometimes childish ways. it really just takes us backward instead of forward. he was upset because i asked who called. the call could have been for me! it is not HIS phone it is OUR house phone, and i pay bills in this bitch so i can ask whatever i want, whenever i want! am i wrong? i know i'm not but i just had to ask myself that one more time. sometimes i feel as if i'm always trying really hard to understand N but he is not necessarily doing the same for me. anyway, i'm in our bedroom now writing this entry. i'm not sad, just annoyed. anyway, life is still beautiful and i am still blessed. it is just one of those relationship annoyances.

peace, love & nappiness