Book Binge Review

In no particular order:

The Kitchen God's Wife- Amy Tan
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy- S.D. Perry
Not a Penny More, Not A Penny Less- Jeffrey Archer
The Feminine Mystique- Betty Friedan
Becoming Vegetarian- Melina Davis Harrison
Maria Montessori: A Biography- Rita Kramer (in progress, currently on page 273)
Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst!- Lois Lowry
Time Enough For Love- Robert Heinlein
Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook- Maria Montessori
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea- Jules Verne (in progress, currently on page 98)

Holy Hell.

I got this via Squid. A special needs boy is voted out of his kindergarten class by his peers...initiated by the teacher.

Oh my God...this is horrifying. I can't conceive of the kind of person who would do this to ANYONE, let alone a child... (I don't watch Survivor or any of those reality shows for this reason.) I make it my goal all the time in my class to ensure everyone is included. To deliberately segregate a child (NOT GROUNDS FOR EMOTIONAL ABUSE??????) via his classmates? Unbelievable. This woman should lose her teaching license. That is not ok.

I would like to meet the two children who voted against voting him out of the classroom. I'd like to think that I was that kind of kid. My mom told me once that I'd picked a very unpopular, seriously learning disabled, probably austistic/otherwise special needs boy to ride in our car for a field trip. When I was asked why by my mom, I apparently replied, "Because I knew no one else would pick him."

ETA: I am so sad and angry right now, for Alex Barton, his family and the rest of the kids in that class. I've been reading some other blog posts and news stories about this, and what strikes me is how so many people remember being horrible to another child, as children, and how they still bear emotional scars from that.

Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy

I can't WAIT to be finished tutoring. Holy crap, I'm tired of it.

Tutoring today, then not until next Monday...yay! Kids karate today too...tiring Monday...looking forward to karate though. I like doing kids karate, even when my brain feels like it's going to leak out of my ears.

I would like my weekend back please. It was fun, but not restful. I'm currently reading a biography on Maria Montessori for the course I'm starting in the summer.

What the hell, also...I was out all day Sunday, under a tent-structure at an Ultimate tournament. I literally was out in the sun for two occasions at about 20 minutes each...I HAVE A SUNBURN! Damn this pasty white skin of mine. It's not super bad, but it knocked me out for three hours yesterday afternoon.

I got random accupuncture on the weekend too. I was hanging out with the physiotherapist for most of the day because our tents were adjoined and mentioned my messed up hip, so he did some physio stuff and then he poked me with an accupuncture needle. OMFG, that was the weirdest feeling evar. I didn't feel the needle after the first quick pinch, but then suddenly a muscle that was about eight inches away started cramping up. Craaaaazy. My leg felt like it'd gotten beaten up afterwards. Interesting sensation...not sure if I'd like to repeat it.

New...weekend resolution

The time that I previously spent on clicking webcomics and blogs hour after hour in the hopes that they've updated: to be replaced by writing fiction and/or doing actual work, since I've registered for a summer course, and will be registering in a two year program next week.

The end. True story.

Present

Pin Gift
Originally uploaded by Random Synapses

I got the most adorable present from one of my students today. She made this pin for me to thank me for teaching her how to knit. AWWWW!!!! It's even got a cable running on it...something I taught her how to do on Thursday (it's Tuesday now). She made one for my mom too, since my mom helps out with knitting club. I'm verklempt. :D

Lace

I did two rows of lace knitting last night on my scary shawl. I think I really should start something smaller and less difficult for a first lace/first chart project. I think it took me half an hour for the two rows. Granted, they're 85 sttiches across now, but still...

Problem...I have no lace weight yarn except for the skeins I've got set aside for this project, and I don't want to start something with them. I'm still semi on a yarn diet, so I don't want to buy something new.

I'm thinking of ripping out what I've got going for the shawl, but...ehhhh...don't really want to do that either. Hmph.

KnitPicks is NOT helping when they keep sending me emails with gorgeous lace weight yarn advertised. No wonder I'm craving the lace. I mean...COME ON!!! *drools*

Miso Soup

I found miso soup paste at Save On the other week and just had some. Love it. It took me thirty seconds to make once the water was boiled, then poured it in and mixed it up. Nom nom nom. We have a boiled water dispenser at school. I will be eating this and rice every day for the next week, due to deliciousness.

Things are falling into place nicely for returning to school in July. Excellent. *steeples fingers*

Sharp Sticks

I feel like knitting. I've been doing a lot of physical stuff lately (karate x 3 days a week, biking) and lots of reading, since I'm participating in the Book Binge (see button over ----------------} there, unless you're reading this from archives, in which case, it should be gone [although...um...I took it down about three weeks ago from last year. So it had been up for roughly eleven months. Yeah. I'm almost this good at real life housekeeping.]) I'll be doing a lot of intellectual sitting-on-my-butt work soon (details forthcoming...back to school-ness is in discussion and final shakedown), and of course karate is intellectual as well as physical, especially the stuff I've been doing lately (Holy hell...learning a second style is like learning a new language that is similar enough to the old language that it feels like it should be understandable, but then it ISN'T, and then it turns out that the basic grammar, that which is taken for granted has CHANGED. It's disconcerting in a very large way, as if suddenly English had another letter added to it, or plurals and singulars were swapped. Something like that, but totally not at all. Y'know. If that clears things up for anyone. [not even myself. {OK NEW PARAGRAPH TIME. I BELIEVE I WILL GET BACK TO MY ORIGINAL POINT.}])

I've been doing a heckuvalot of knitting, considering that I kind of run a knitting club, but none of it has been very intellectually stimulating. I've got a whack of boring projects on the go...good for waiting in line at the movies, or while watching TV, or at knitting club, where I get a constant stream of kids needing casting on or off, or a dropped stitch to be fixed, or for me to stare intently at something weird and whacky that they did which I have no idea how to fix (seriously...I have no idea how they DO half their mistakes. I've seen so many things I can't even identify, let alone fix...although they think I'm pretty much a total miracle worker, since I've been able to fix a bunch of things that looked pretty darned hopeless. [Holy crap, I'm using a tonne of brackets this time.]).

Current projects on the needles:
-cotton washcloth, basic pattern. Boring, boring, BORING. I'm so sick of it, and I hate knitting with cotton. No give and hurts my hands. Did I mention that it's BORRRRRRRING????? Oh yeah, and I managed to shut the door on one of the wooden dowel needles I was using with it...so until I get back to school after the long weekend, it's on hiatus.

-pair of socks, basic pattern. Meh. I'm currently working on the heel, which is at least a LITTLE exciting (yeah...whee.) but I'm sick of the colours. Grey, white, dark grey, dark white (or light grey. whatever.) *snore*

-weird red top thing: knit in the round, so it's knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, until my fingers fall off, or it gets to the length it needs to be. Since I'm totally making up the pattern (well, kind of [totally] stealing it from a couple places) I'm not sure how long this is going to be. It's also got some weird lumps happening from poor decreasing choices, so I'm not sure how nice it's going to wind up. Bah. It's in a bag next to my computer desk. Staring at me. Maybe if I pull it out, I'll be pleasantly surprised at how much I've gotten done on it and it will inspire me to work on it! One moment please...hmmm.. Mildly surprised. Definitely not inspired though.

-Lace stole: mmmm...lace. And beads. Lovely. I would really like to work on this...I'm actually craving lace right now, but there's a problem. I have all the stuff, but I think know I screwed up several rows back and might probably almost definitely have to rip back a ways. Hmmm...maybe I oughta take a chance. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? (don't answer that.)

Stay Outta My Way!

Ironically, I was just thinking yesterday afternoon, "Huh...I'm not getting my normal hormonal evil nature this month. Yay!"

Ha. Ha.

*chants to self under breath* I'm not ruled by my hormones. I'm not ruled by my hormones. I'm not ruled by my hormones. I'm not ruled by my hormones. I'm not ruled by my hormones. I'm not ruled by my hormones. I'm not ruled by my hormones. I'm not ruled by my hormones. I'm not ruled by my hormones.

In other news, my bike now has aproximately ten miles on it.

In other, other news, I think I can officially go to movies again. Dave and I saw 88 Minutes today...decent movie. The smell of the popcorn in the lobby almost made me ill though. Bleah. I love popcorn, but popcorn don't love me.

I'm trying to cut back on my labels. I have tooooooo many labels.

I'm currently sad. :( I feel as though I shouldn't be sad. This annoys me. Then I get annoyed that I'm annoyed...as though my feelings aren't valid. Then I get sad because I feel that way. Vicious circle, which is usually broken either by distraction, or sleep. Since I'm currently very tired, and up past my bedtime...I believe I will choose sleep...after one game of Scramble (not linking, due to high addictive aspect)

FREAKIN' SWEET!

Look what I bought this weekend!!!

Cannondale F3 mountain bike!!!

I'm super excited. I already rode it about four miles last night and as soon as the bell goes, I'm blowing out of here to pick up some stuff I need for art class tomorrow, then I'm going riding. WOOO!!!

Whee!

A good day, this I am having!

I'm currently typing on my currently working computer that my currently in Vancouver boyfriend seems to have fixed! (I'm being subtly slightly pessimistic due to the fact that this computer sometimes randomly explodes right when I think it's working.)

I have several small rock chips taken out of my windshield, so I (finally...ahem) arranged for a windshield chip removal appointment at Crystal Glass in Burnaby. Not only did he say that the chips weren't worth fixing (because they'd be made worse), he also told me how to figure out if it's worth bringing the car in for windshield service! Very, very impressed. By giving up my $50 transaction today, he's pretty much guaranteed himself a customer if/when I need to get any glasswork done. This happened a few weeks ago too...I was buying gas at the Esso on Lougheed near...uhhhhh...kind of near the GardenWorks...whatever that cross street is. Anyway, I had hot chocolate and my gas purchase, and I was given the hot chocolate for free. Again, $1.50 or so of transaction given up equals loyal customer. Love it.

I cut up some green onions today to make a vegetable soup stock. I found them to be pretty much totally unobnoxious and actually quite delicious smelling. SUCCESS!! I have found the solution to my onion problem! If the stock's any good, I'll share the recipe here.

I have karate today, and through the magic of Dave's mad laundry skillz, my gi is basically in shape. Minimal ironing will be needed. This pleases me immensely, as I loathe ironing my gi and have a small (miniscule, really) scar on my hand from where I burned myself a couple years ago*. I need to have a chat with my laundry sensei and learn from him.

I've started using my flickr account again. Feel free to pop over there and say hello. With luck, I'll be able to post the roughly 123498792374210324765 pictures I've taken since my computer died last year.

At least two kids from my knitting club have taught their moms to knit. I'm in awe. I have started a knitting revolution. In sad news, we've had our first knitting injury...one of the girls from another class was knitting very close to her face, and the needle slipped, stabbing her in the cheek. Apparently there was much blood...I wasn't there, as this was in her regular class. Nnnghha. Ouch.

Dave and I saw Iron Man yesterday. Loved. It. I strongly suspected some of what was going to happen because of formulaic stuff, but still enjoyed it a lot. Great writing. this is only the second movie I've gone to see since The Bourne Ultimatum's opening night (August 3 2007, apparently...I thought it was further back than that...I guess not.) because of horrendous dizziness and nausea that made me leave the theatre for about half the movie (iirc...might've been less time). Anyway, hopefully this means that I can start going to movies again. That reaction made me extremely nervous to go. I took some generic Gravol before the movie and was fine...but I don't really remember the car ride home. Hee. Totally out of it...yeah. SCREW YOU MENIERES!!

*which I can't seem to identify. Wow, I've got a lot of miniscule scars on my hands.