Jury Duty

I'm finally done with jury duty! I've been "on call" since the beginning of May, and has it ever been frustrating waiting, wondering when they're going to call on me to show up at the court house. Last week, I had to report three days in a row; two of those days, we prospective jurors were all sent home due to trial cancelations, and the other day, I was not selected from the jury pool to sit on the panel. Today, I had to report, and this time, I was one of about twenty called to the panel. The judge and both lawyers took turns asking us various questions, trying to determine whom to keep and whom to excuse from service. It took all morning to proceed, but I was not one of the twelve finally selected. My students, strangely enough, just may be glad to have me back after so many days of substitute teachers and me not there to clarify instructions, lead discussions, etc. The trial preparation and jury selection process are interesting to learn more about first-hand, but I'm glad finally to be "off the hook" and back to my own schedule.

THE AMAZING RACE

It's over . . . and Chip and Kim won! I've been addicted to The Amazing Race on CBS the entire summer, and last night was the two-hour finale. After the first hour, the final couple to be eliminated was announced: Linda and Karen, the bowling moms. I'd been rooting for them, too. But Chip and Kim had my vote after that. And curse that Amazing Race--how are they always able to wring an emotional reaction out of me?! They do it every week with the reflections of the couple that is eliminated . . . whether I like the couple or not, I'm sucked in by the emotional music, the wavering voices and teary eyes, and the well chosen words of wisdom from the losing teams. Last night, I was sucked in by the appearance of every previously eliminated couple at the finish line, waiting for the arrival of Chip and Kim and cheering them on. How very satisfying!

ALIAS Addiction

I'm now addicted to Alias. It's true. My friend has the first season on DVD, and we've been watching the first several episodes as though our lives depended on it. Jennifer Garner is great, and I like the mix of outlandish spy action and more realistic personal drama--she does both so well. My friend and I are only half-joking when we say that we've got two-and-a-half seasons to catch up on before season four begins on ABC in January.

Former Students

Last night I attended the wedding of a former student/current friend and, afterwards, the reception. There were so many former students there, all now adults with interesting lives and stories to share. One of my favorite parts of teaching is keeping in touch with, or reuniting with, past students and seeing how they've changed, what they've done with their lives, etc. I especially like communicating with them as equals, not as an authority figure. "Oh," they see, "he IS human." Plus, they were all so nice to my kids, conversing with them and dancing with them all night. It was a lot of fun. Congratulations again, Kevin and Katie!

Labor Day Weekend

I'm both resting and laboring this weekend. I just finished my first three days of the new school year, and I am pooped. I am teaching new courses using new district-adopted textbooks and new state-adopted academic standards. I am also getting to know new students, new coworkers, a new principal, and my new student-teacher. Today I am avoiding the school, but tomorrow I shall return to work on course planning and to attend to beginning-of-the-year paperwork and record keeping. I want to do what I can to prepare for these next several weeks because rehearsals for the play I'm directing (supervising a student director) begin on Tuesday, and I'm auditioning on Sunday to perform in another play.