Welcome to Miami

This weekend was a mini-vacation. A couple friends and I went down to Miami on Saturday and returned on Monday. The travel was complicated (as always) but I fully enjoyed my time there. We spent Sunday alternately kayaking and snorkeling in the keys (I never realized how many definitions there are for the word key, this is referencing low islands and reefs). The weather was perfect, the water totally clear and nature surrounded us. In some cases it surrounded us quite closely- we kayaked through a mangrove forest where the roots and branches grow together in amazing patterns. There were small channels, little throughways and suddenly an opening into the bay. Even right by the coast there were fascinating fish, coral and sea life. One being looked like silly string sprayed across the rocks and reef, but apparently if you reach toward it the tendrils get sucked up inside! We also spent some time at the everglades and saw a great number of alligators, plus some turtles and fish. The most exciting was definitely a grasshopper which looked like this (this is a similar one at a distance, it was actually that first bright color though). It walked around on my hand allowing us to take pictures and marvel at the fact that it was real. I had seen models of them in science museums, but I thought they were toys, not so realistic! I wasn't cool enough to actually carry my own camera, but I'm hoping to nab some other people's photos soon.

Between feeling guilty for the excess of pollution this weekend caused and hating the chaos that is air travel I'm swearing off flying. My bag got lost twice, flights were delayed and missed, I didn't get any meals after breakfast Monday, etc. We really need to master teleporting, it will instantly solve so many problems! Planes are generally awful, but I like seeing my friends and escaping the pollen.

sprinting, my new hobby

When I told one of my classes yesterday that I was "allergic to the outside" they were shocked and confused. They wondered how I could get home. I told them (exaggerating a bit) that I run from school to my car, then again run from the car to my apartment. One student was concerned that I wouldn't be able to go shopping, I assured her I could still run out to my car, and then run into the store. I explained that if I don't do that, my eyes get red and my face puffs up. Another student said I would look like a smoker, which wouldn't be good.

This morning I woke up with a puffy red eye, and no amount of eye drops was going to fix the problem completely. First thing someone says to me when they arrive to class: "You didn't run fast enough to your car this morning!"

Happy May Day!

travels

I have been on vacation for the past week. It has brought a wide variety of experiences, having little to do with algebra, calculus, Lawrence or high school.

Friday evening I headed to Charlton (near Worcester) to visit friend 1. We had a great evening, I had a little too much fun, crashed and took it easy on Saturday.

Sunday provided the opportunity to do some shopping. I had to break my buy nothing vow to get degu and teaching supplies, but I only got the bare essentials (dust, bedding, paper and markers). My swedish ivy got a solid trimming, it was as tall as I am, so I snipped every last tendril and planted them to give away to everyone I saw over the course of the week. The baby ivies assumed a position blocking the television to commemorate "turn off the tv" week.

Marathon Monday gave me a great excuse to visit friend 2 in Boston. My timing was a little off, so I was taking the green line past Fenway at 11:00. This happened to be exactly when the game started, a prime time to travel to see the marathon and one of the many hours when a nearby station was closed for the marathon. The baby plant and I survived it without too much trouble though, and I spent the afternoon walking the course, cheering, and being in total awe of everyone. 25,000 registered runners. 25,000 people who have run 26.2 miles on some other occasion fast enough to qualify for this race. One man wore a placard proclaiming this as his 100th marathon. It was amazing to be confronted with so many examples of happy, healthy, goal oriented and persevering people. I feel rejuvenated in remembering.

Tuesday was Earth Day. I celebrated by using no electricity for almost the entire day. Since I was suffering the consequences of a day outside (allergies and, pathetically, being sore from walking far more than I usually do) I allowed one light bulb to read a book by in the evening. Over the week I went through Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, The Trumpet of the Swan and Ellen Degeneres' The Funny Thing Is... (which was very funny). I also picked up What Night Brings because I discovered my local library has a GLBT book club and that's the book for this month. I am shocked and thrilled at this discovery.

Wednesday was quiet, I had a lovely dinner out with friend 3.

Thursday I departed for Maine to visit friend 4. We hung out with the kids she nannies for, I very much wanted to take home the adorable 2 year old, but for some reason her mother wanted her back. An evening in the city prompted a night of very good sleep.

Friday we drove to Manchester, NH so she could fly out to dog sit in New Mexico. Some people are so lucky; they don't have dog allergies! (And get all expense paid trips to cool places.) I was pleasantly surprised to discover how close Manchester is to me, but unpleasantly surprised to discover the price difference between Manchester and Boston flights. As long as I was already driving all over New England I figured I may as well head down to CT to visit with my parents and friend 5.

Saturday I bought plane tickets to Miami! Then I explored West and Central Hartford with friend 5. We browsed (but did not buy), consumed ice cream, enjoyed the disco-like 'laser car wash' and got take out from the very sketchy, but delicious, falafel market. The evening was spent playing games, and so I completed the entire week without turning on a television!

Sunday offered a Jazz Brunch as a fundraiser for the rotary. Delicious food, fabulous music. A very relaxing and pleasant way to end a wonderful week!

And so this concludes this incredibly long post about an equally long week. I seem to recall something called teaching that I used to do. I hear I'll have to do it again tomorrow. We'll see about that.

crisis

Food Crisis=Silent Tsunami

Its a good thing I'm growing my own veggies. Its a good thing I can choose to grow my own food, or buy it. Its a good thing I'm not desperate enough to be eating mud flavored with sugar this year. Seriously.

One.org says:

It's being called the "Silent Tsunami." In three years, prices for the basic staples that feed the world—wheat, rice and corn—have risen by a staggering 83%. For people in the developing world, affording enough food to eat is becoming a daily struggle for survival.

The New York Times is reporting that in Haiti, people are eating cakes made of mud mixed with a little sugar and oil to try and beat the hunger pangs. Without action to stop the upward spiral of food prices, 100 million people around the world will face deeper poverty and hunger, and hundreds of thousands will confront famine and starvation.

In the face of this suffering, we cannot be silent.

Sign the petition, spread the word.

spring!

It finally really feels like spring! I chopped off my hair yesterday and spent the afternoon in the park. That wasn't the brightest idea since my poor neck hadn't seen the sun in months so it turned pink, but should become a tan by tomorrow. This morning I reorganized my plants. I was hoping to see some cute little orange growths as I put the carrots into their full sized pot; right now it just looks like a normal root system though. I'm thinking of adding some more varieties since I realized I don't want entire rows of basil and parsley. I planted garlic this morning and when I go pick up more soil I may just browse through the seeds again. No problem again this week buying nothing (soil won't count since its food related). One more week until vacation!

friends!

School seems so much more manageable coming after a wonderful weekend. Dinner party at my place on Friday. Saturday and Sunday spent traveling to Northampton, seeing an awesome concert (Girlyman), catching up with some college friends, playing an intense game of spoons (we broke a table!), kickball and ordering pizza at midnight. Sunday brought some browsing time in the always entertaining stores of Northampton. I had no trouble sticking to my promise of buying nothing, I just enjoyed reading the t-shirts and laughing at the absurd things that people come up with. I still really want one of those almost mathematical stone sculptures from 10,000 villages, but I don't have anywhere to put one.

I can't believe I have reached fourth quarter. I actually had to sit down and plan how I'm going to *end* the year last night. Senior finals are approaching even faster and I fear that they will be here before I'm anywhere near prepared to let those students go.

GSA

Today I went to the second Gay Straight Alliance meeting our high school had. There were 7 kids there today, huge growth from 2 last week! I'm excited to see what this turns into because they've already come up with a great variety of ideas of things to do and what effect they can have in the community.

I also signed up to buy nothing except essentials this month. I think for me that means pay bills and otherwise only purchase food and gas. Should be fun! Ironic after I posted recently about not spending enough, I know.