I've been in the right frame of mind for writing all day and now that I've sat down in front of the computer my mind draws blanks! Isn't that the way? I tell ya, I'm not sure if it's just me or life in general these days, but there always seems to be so much going on I need about another 3 or 4 hours in each day to catch up!
School Days
Today was only the 10th day of the new school year and already it feels like November! My population of students has risen and a lot of the newer kids are older, in 9th or 10th grade, and don't speak a lick of English. Talk about a tall order! These kids have to pass five state exams AND learn English all within the next couple of years, and I'm the one steering the ship.
I tell you, I sometimes don't even know how I do it, but I trudge on. My days are filled from morning until late afternoon putting out fires, and handling a million things at once, all the while trying to plan lessons and teach, oh, and occasionally make a trip to the restroom. And the few minutes I get to breathe in between, all I think about are posts I'd like to post or articles I'd like or need to pen. By the time I get in front of the pc, though....see above! Sigh!
LIPSA Bowling
One thing I knew I wanted to talk about here was a new bowling league I started playing in last night. The league, called Tuesday Night Tease and run by the Long Island Pride Sports Association, is something I've had my eye on for awhile and I finally joined. I've been searching for a long, long time for a place to meet other "PLU's," other than a bar or online, and I think I may have found just the place.
I was hesitant to go it alone, so I asked my bud Rich to join me, but unfortunately Mr. Deet has suffered from what he thinks may be a pinched nerve (I know, ouch!), and so as of yesterday it was just me and me alone with the gay bowling boys.
Of course I was nervous when I first got to the bowling alley. I had missed the first week last week due to Open House at school, so not only was I new, but I was coming in after the start of the season. I met Glenn, who runs the league, and was introduced to my first new teammate, Mike. Mike is a newbie like me and he was the only bowler on our then rag tag team for the first week.
Within minutes, my two other teammates, who were also starting last night, came in, Michael and Ray. I'd seen both of them around here and there, but had never met them. All three guys are pleasant, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better. The team we were bowling against were old timers, three awesome people by the names of Sean, Tim and Al. Within moments I was totally at ease and having a ball.
The MeetBalls
When the night began, we were simply known as Team #18, and so we had to come up with a name. Since all four of us are of Italian descent, one of us suggested we give ourselves a name with an Italian slant, and after considering that The Scungili or The Calamari were more suited to lesbian teams, we decided on the MeetBalls. I'm not sure if I love it, but it's cool enough.
Since he was the first real member of the team, we decided to have Mike be the team captain, and he fit the bill perfectly. Mike is a good guy, yakking it up with everybody, giving us all encouragement along the way and he really took the charge by suggesting that we meet for a bite afterwards to get to know each other a little better. So afterwards, the four of us, Sean and Tim, and two friends who had come to watch Michael and Ray went to Applebees, where we did indeed get to know each other a little better.
In the end, the whole night was great fun. I'm sure that Michael and Ray and Mike are going to be very cool and maybe we'll all end up friends. Sean is a huge Madonna fan, which you know I like, and Tim is simply a big sweetheart of a guy. From what I saw, most of the people in the league seemed very nice and friendly, as well. This could turn out to be one of the best things I've done in awhile!
New Music Bonus Week
This week has been a big, big week for new music! Of course, yesterday was the release of the long-awaited new album from P!nk, The Truth About Love. I've listened to it a few times already and I'm already loving it big time! Stay tuned for track reviews of all the songs coming soon.
Another favorite of mine, Nelly Furtado, came out with her latest,
The Spirit Indestructible, which I'm listening to at the moment. It's taking me a little bit longer to ingrain these songs into my head, but I'm liking it more and more with each listen.
To round things out, Christina Aguilera's first single from her forthcoming album came out. I've listened to Your Body a few times also and I have to say that so far I'm a little disappointed. I mean, it's okay, but not popping like I would have expected, especially for a first single. Maybe it'll grow on me. In the same vain are two new long-awaited songs by Missy Elliot. 9th Inning and Triple Threat (the title cut from her forthcoming album) both feature Missy with longtime collaborator Timbaland, but like XTina, neither song has that oomph I would have liked. We'll see...
As always, thanks for reading. I do hope to become a bit more regular with my posts on here. Of course you can stay tuned for more Songs of the Day and those P!nk track reviews, and whatever else I come up with...
