Freudian Slips and Hurricanes

awww, beach life never ceases to amaze me...i've now officially met at least once with all of my students. yesterday was my first meeting with my high school class. essentially, here was the scene: a crowded portable trailer with 28 students and only 25 desks. they all kept asking me questions i had no idea how to answer...meanwhile, one of the math teachers (who apparently "owned" this particular trailer) sat in the classroom grading papers, yes the whole time. things went well. they all seem to be open with speaking their opinions, which is great for high schoolers.

so....during the lecture, i was trying to speak about structural-functionalism and i was discussing how they believe society functions similar to an organism where all the organs have to work together for the functioning/survival of the whole. apparently this sentence had too any words like functioning and organs, as i plainly said, "ORGASM". the class erupted in laughter. i turned bright red. i luckily was able to regain my composure and continue on...but i couldn't help thinking, "oh holy shit. i just said the word orgasm to 30 public high school students!"

apparently i still have a job. ha.

beyond that, classes were canceled this afternoon due to Ernesto...which is having some issues of self identity and keeps going back and forth from a storm to a hurricane. while living in charlotte, i never thought about hurricanes that often (yes, i remember hugo),but it wasn't something that happens that frequently. now i'm learning all sorts of interesting items about hurricanes. its not out of interest, merely survival. i'm pretty sure that since i was given the evening off, i will most certainly lose power so i can't enjoy it in a proper lazy fashion and watch countless hours of tv.

the realty company called tim about 30 minutes ago to remind him that we are living in a low lying area and that we might want to remove any items of value...weird. i'm considering nailing all of our furniture to the ceiling...or at least the cats. "i'm just messing with you guys".

i'll keep you updated. i'll take pictures, particularly if tim and i are swimming around the apartment later.

did anyone watch project runway? i hate jeffrey. come to think of it...when i first saw him with that tattoo on his neck...i had a feeling that we wouldn't get along. and it said detroit. its just that attitude gets on my nerves. and what was so special about that outfit? i could pick it up at the local hot topic or any beach store on ocean boulevard.

michael and kayne are my favorites, for sure. that being said, i think michael may win it all. they don't seem to like kayne's taste, but i feel he is a kindred spirit in my white trash upbringing. i always feel sort of weird when the judges discuss michael....i always feel like when they say, "oh he is so thoughtful.." that what they are really thinking is, "oh, this black man with a gold tooth, its amazing that he is so thoughtful and well-spoken and a great designer"...but maybe i'm just being a sensitive sociologist.

i suppose i shall go read pink is the new blog...and listen to my tim gunn podcast. they'll understand me.

found a way

i found a way to cool off in this extremely warm weather...

the first day of school

so, its the first day of school at the technical college. i have to start three new classes this week (only one today). first days are always sort of interesting. i actually only have to be at the school for about 2 hours today...the rest of the week will be longer. i'm looking forward to getting to meet my new students. recently i've been teaching such shortened summer classes, that its hard to believe theat the young'uns i meet today will be seeing me 3 days a week for 16 weeks. that's a long time.

i need more coffee...

my compass spins, the wilderness remains

i've been here over a week now. i'm starting to settle in. i think for the first week i had something equivalent to woody allen's "california" disease. i felt dizzy, sleepy, irritable. then magically when i drove back into charlotte on friday, i felt fine. of course it could have been the fact that i know where every starbucks in charlotte exists, as well as how to get to all of them in about 30 seconds.

yesterday morning, i checked on my transplanted plants. they haven't been looking so great since we've been here. i realized that the amount of sun the plants are getting has gone from consistently in the shade to consistently in the sun. moving from extreme to extreme can be difficult. when i checked on the plants yesterday...i noticed they were starting to flower and look better. i thought to myself, hmm...they just needed some time to get acclimated to the sun and environment. then i realized...that's what i'm going through. i'm trying to acclimated to this environment. to all the change. and i think i'm starting to flower too...

after i thought my schedule (scchhhhedueeellleee) was set, it appears there was some confusion about a couple of my classes at the technical college. one will not be happening and as of today i still have no clue about my high school class. that makes me feel weird and nervous. i did teach my first CCU class last night. most of the class are new freshmen and women...so at least we are all in the same boat (literally and figuratively). i think its going to be a good half a semester with them...

i spent this afternoon on the beach. i needed a little down time...so i took Anna Karenina and my new Real Simple magazine, as well as my ipod. lucky for you, i also took my camera. tim has recently had a renewed interest in bright eyes, which is pleasant for me...since i'm personally such a big fan. its been quite a while since i've seen conor or mike...and listening to them has made me realize how much i'd love to chat it up with them again. oh well...i suppose that's the price of fame.

i listened to this one particular song of bright eyes make war while i was sitting out on the beach and it felt nice. why is that music always sounds better when you are sitting in front of something beautiful like the ocean? for some reason, to me every lyric of every song would somehow make me feel melancholic and pensive...i'm sure even poison and cinderella (who are at this moment less than one mile from my house!)

and oh yeah, that's a picture of the walkway we take from the house to the beach...it also seemed to fit the song...

"our love is dead but without limit
like the surface of the moon
or the land between here and the mountains
it is not these hiding places that have kept us innocent
but the way you taught me to just let it all go by
so we have learned to be as faithless, stand behind bulletproof glass
exchanging our affections through a drawer
it was always horribly convenient and happening too fast
you should count your change before you are even out the door
yes, you should but please...

return, return to the person that you were
and i will do the same
because it is too hard to belong to someone who is gone
my compass spins, the wilderness remains...

well, now i tell myself i've mended
under these patches of blue sky
there are still a few holes that let in a little rain
so it is crying on my shingles
my floorboards maon under my feet
the refrigerator is whining, so i've got reason to complain
but i am not gonna bless you with such compliments
some degrading psalm of praise
like the kind that converted you to me so long ago
because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town
you can save face but you won't ever save your soul
and that's a fact..."

officially gone...

so its official...i'm in myrtle beach

the moving is over and i've successfully unpacked everything. as soon as i get my south carolina drivers license and tag, i'll know that i'm really a south carolina resident.

things have been busy with preparing for school, but i have taken some time to go walking around the neighborhood. last night, tim and i went for a walk down the beach. as we were walking, we saw what looked like a fish out of water on the shore. upon closer inspection, we realized it was a baby shark!

i start teaching next week, which should also be exciting. i'll be teaching a total of 6 classes this fall, which will probably be completely overwhelming...but i'm looking forward to getting to know all my new students.

my next project for the house is to get the porch set up for loads of afternoons with visiting friends. i'm planning to hang some lanterns and lights tomorrow. i've got to re-pot my rosemary plant (to remind everyone a matriarch lives here), as well as my hosta named silvio. i can't wait to find a nice patio table with chairs, as well as a hammock for sleeping.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace I'm going through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes (Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes (Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time


So...today may have been one of the more emotional days I've had in quiet a while. For one reason, I'm sure I'll "blog" about later, but at this time I can't. I still feel strange saying "blog". (Does it sound like a milkshake? I'll have the blog without the whipped cream?). Regardless, its been a day.

Today was the day that my family and I took my youngest brother, Taylor (photo on the right) to college. Last year we dropped off my oldest younger brother, John (photo on the left). For me, there is always something so sentimental about the "college dropoff". Although its been years for me, I remember it like it was yesterday.

Taylor made a great mix cd, which I waited to listen to until I left. I made him one too...that started off with Ryan Adams' To Be Young, then moved onto Spoon's The Way We Get By, then The Replacements' Beer for Breakfast. I thought they were all appropriate for a college freshman (or freshwoman for that matter). There were many others, but these seemed like a good beginning.

Everything was fine to begin with. We were fixing up the room. Bunking the beds. Moving the desks around. Taylor's roomie seemed like a great guy. Plus he likes the Braves. And it got me thinking about how something like baseball can become this great point for bonding and connecting people, particularly in a situation like college freshmen (or freshwomen...okay, i'll stop).

There is something about baseball to me (yes, in particular) that stands out as something that makes me think "hey, we could maybe be friends"...more so now than earlier in my life. I'm not sure what it is, maybe the commitment to the game, regardless of the time? maybe its the commitment to a team, regardless of their record? maybe its just the idea that we could have a conversation about something that doesn't involve our personal lives? I don't know...but I felt comforted with the fact that Taylor has a baseball loving roomie and some baseball loving hallmates.

Like I said, things were fine until it was time for me to leave. Unfortunately, I had to teach tonight and couldn't stay with him until I was ready to leave. It was probably fortunate for him in the fact that I started crying much earlier and we could just cut that out before the rest of the waterworks with the family started. Now, don't get me wrong...I was excited that he is going to college. I think its a great opportunity. A great experience. I wouldn't trade my experience for anything in the world. But I also recognize how difficult it can be.

I remember my first night at college. I remember the entire day. It wasn't just me and my family, but my two best friends at the time also came with me, Jennie Ann and Charlotte. When they moved me in and left me there, I remember thinking "what the hell?" "Wait, wait..." and then as the night passed on...I read letters that were left from my mom and my best friends. Upset and teary eyed, I joined my suite mates (Ally, Tori, and Misty) and we sat listening to Patsy Cline, smoking tons of cigarettes and talking. It wasn't until I realized that everyone felt a little out of place and uncomfortable that I felt better. Still...when I curled up in that twin bunk bed alone that night, in an unfamiliar quiet place...that I realized I was on my own. And then I thought, "who is this strange girl that likes the grateful dead that is sleeping in my room?"

Of course, we became close friends..and some remain close friends...but that first night can be brutal. That first week can be brutal. And I can't help but feel worried and a bit sad when I think about how John did that last year and how Taylor is doing that tonight. He is looking around that room and thinking "What the hell did I get myself into?" But I know that things will change in the next few weeks.

And things are changing for all of us. John is going on to his second year of college. My mom and dad are finally divorced. And I'm moving to the beach. Its that part of life where everything is changing. (Yeah, okay, its my last few days in Charlotte and I'm starting to get nostalgic).

That being said, I'm going to start bringing this in for its closing time...because although my fridge is full of beer...I've been warned never to drink and blog. Wait, wait...there is that word again. Jennie Ann came over tonight to watch Project Runway...and yes, we discussed it like we were talking about real life. What do you care? If you do care, check out pink is the new blog...and you'll be more than happy. But...I made a comment, very happenstance tonight...and then realized the reality of moving. I told Jennie Ann, "yeah, and then you'll come to my house and ..." and i realized...I won't live here anymore.

Things took a downward turn from there, just in that...you realize the ch-ch-changes. It happens. You "make it work". And we will, but I'll say this...I'll miss Jennie Ann. I will. I will miss that honk when she leaves. And I know she'll read this at work and hate me...but its what happens when you move. But, like I said its been an overly emotional day. Too many ch-ch-changes.

Gator-rode?
No, I'll have the blue one
The green one?

i can't trace time (oh god, i sound way over dramatic don't i? damn you, budweiser)

Would you give up ketchup?

Some people really really love mustard. Some people really really love ketchup. Some can't go without both of them. I fall in the category of a mustard-lover. Since Tim has been at the beach, I haven't bought any ketchup at all (he happens to be a ketchup lover or a multi-condiment lover). Regardless, I've had grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries...and I never once needed any ketchup.

So, I don't know how this came up...but at brunch with my sister, Ashley, my brother-in-law, Dayne, Tim this weekend, we started discussing ketchup. We were discussing whether you refrigerate it or not? I think it stemmed from a restaurant perspective...Regardless, I mentioned that I could probably go the rest of my life without eating ketchup ever again. I realized I have quite a disdain for ketchup.

But why? Is it from all those years working at Avondale? Having to fill up those ketchup bottles with the huge vat of ketchup? Sometimes seeing condiments in such a large quantity can turn you off from it completely, I think. On a side note: I enjoy mayo from time to time, but it was probably years before I could enjoy after that job.

So...after a mimosa at brunch, I started in on...."what would i give up for ketchup?" like...if someone said..."you can have this....if you never eat ketchup again"....what exactly would it be?

I'd probably take a year long subscription to netflix. Maybe a free U-Haul for the move? Possibly a case of budweiser would work. What would you give up for ketchup?

Now, mustard would be a completely different story.



But it reminded me of that Harry Caray skit with Will Ferrell on SNL...

Harry Caray: Yes! Hey! Now Ken, we all know that the moon is not made of green cheese...
Dr. Ken Waller: Yes! That's true Harry.
Harry Caray: But what if it were made of barbeque spare ribs would you eat it then.
Dr. Ken Waller: What!
Harry Caray: I know I would. Heck I'd have seconds. Then polish it off with a tall cool Budweiser. I would do it.
Dr. Ken Waller: Yeah?
Harry Caray: Would you?
Dr. Ken Waller: I'm confused.
Harry Caray: It's a simple question! Would you eat the moon if it were made of ribs?
Dr. Ken Waller: I don't know how to answer that.
Harry Caray: It's not rocket science. Just say yes and will move on... Holy cow...

"Tonight on Kathy's Show...."

Moving has been very strange. You go through your belongings and decide what is worth keeping and what is worth throwing out. So that back year of Readymade and Martha Stewart Living...no longer a necessity. It sort of feels like cleaning on a more abstract level too...in that you sort of clear the cobwebs and get ready for a new start.

I've secured work at the beach. So, I won't be a complete beach bum. I'll be teaching a few classes here and there.

I saw Ryan Adams the other evening at House of Blues. It was fun. I kept wondering if he would play Nuclear (its just really cool that someone sings about the Yankees and the Braves, particularly the Yankees losing to the Braves). Jennie Ann kept wondering if he would sing Come Pick Me Up....I think she sang it for the rest of the evening.

We also attended another Pelicans game. Pelicans games are AWESOME. Thats all I can say. Its just a perfect place for a game. The experience would only be enhanced if the ocean was a tad bit closer to the actual field. Catch a game there if possible.

SO....the reason for the post is this...I started thinking, what if I had my own late night talk show. What if I had one night to plan...Who would I invite? Who would I want to talk to? So here is the task...If you were planning one night for your talk show...who would be your 3 guests and who would be your musical guest? They should be ordered as well (the guests that is).

Here is what I came up with:

Tonight on Kathy's Show
1) Milan Kundera
2) Bobby Cox
3) Woody Allen
Musical Guest: Gogol Bordello

Now, I know I'm not making too many friends or gaining any new fans. My list is too hip, nor too much of a drag (wait, is it?) But I would seriously love to talk to all three of these individuals. Should I make an alternate since Kundera may not come out of hiding?

So, what is your list?