Reminiscing about recent days, PART 2
Friday, December 20th
Half-day holiday party.
There was the expressed declaration that the students would report to their second period classes, where there would be snacks, treats, and recreational activities for the morning. There was also the vague implications that the drama department would be putting on a show in the gym at some point in the morning. There were no further details beyond that. (Have I mentioned that detailed pre-planning is not the norm at my school?)
Thankfully, I started putting together a structured, yet very flexible, schedule of activities that would keep the kids busy, eating, or distracted in 30-minute increments. (Rule of thumb for planning things in a classroom: Take short attention spans into account!) It involved mealtimes, animated, half-hour Christmas specials, and some cheap-as-disposable board games that have been sitting in my supply closet for about five years since their last use.
Well, I got up early and bunches of breakfast tacos (potato & egg), as well as some homemade salsa. Also made about twenty (turkey) bacon-wrapped hot dogs. I think I was the only teacher that actually cooked for the students. It was work, certainly, but it felt good. I missed having people to cook for. Also, cooking for crowds - like I used to do at St. Andrew's for hunger luncheons from time to time - can be fun, and offers a rewarding feeling. I also had fruit and lemonade available.
The kids, of course, also brought lots of junk food.
The half-day passed with no incident. My kids were kept amused and occupied (and very, very well-fed) the entire morning, with no signs of boredom at all. How could I tell? Nobody went to the bathroom all morning, that's how I could tell.
Although, for some reason, one teacher was letting their kids roam around the halls. I had to start herding stray students at one point.
Everything in D124, though? Perfect.
In addition to the holiday party, I revealed myself to my brother as his Secret Santa. He knew all along. (If I'm going to drop off treats in the morning, I need to used a different colored lunch bag that the kind I always use.)
I also got to find my own Secret Santa. He gave me a Fandango gift card. Neat. I used it to subsidize my viewings of "Philomena" and "Grudge Match" over the Christmas break. I still even have money left on the card! I'll probably watch more stuff next weekend.
Saturday, December 21st
Spent the morning and early afternoon running errands and prepping the car. For what? A road trip, of course!
I headed to Austin, where I killed an hour or so at my usual place for the wholesale slaughter of time, Book People. I cruised around, browsed the books. Even came away with a couple of nice purchases: One I had been looking for (unsuccessfully) after reading an internet think piece / blatant plug online. The other I discovered in-store.
Click to embiggen.
From there, I met Brian at his Austin home. (I think it's his only home now, since that one in Detroit is infested with Orc drug dealers.*) When his good friend Carl joined us, we went out for Conan's Pizza.
After pizza, we headed for the reason I trekked all the way up I-35: A concert by The Last Ones. Jen Borland and Major Hoffman (is that his real name?) have a band. The banter between them is witty and entertaining, but their act could use a little polish. There were a number of covers, including "Inside Out," "Flagpole Sitta," and one song from "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog." They also had some original material, including a beatnik-style spoken word poem by Jen and a Jack Handy-style comedic essay by Major. Then they closed the show with "The Fuck You Song."
Back at Brian's place, before the close of the evening, Brian and Carl showed me lots of Pentatonix videos on YouTube.
* I'm not racist or anything. They're drug dealers, and they just happen to be Orcs, is what I'm saying.
Sunday, December 22nd
In the morning, I did some light calisthenics before showering off. Brian and I hit a local shopping center, where we did bits of Christmas shopping. Then I headed home and primarily vegged out. I did, however, do a little bit of gift wrapping before turning in.
To be continued...