this is going to sound like the most lame thing you may have ever read, but what the hell is up with the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince? I mean seriously i stayed up far too late last night to finish reading this book which i've been slugging through for the past month and a half and when i was finished i felt drained and couldn't sleep because of sheer disappointment.
i hate it when books get to me like this. i tell my students all the time that the imagination is much more powerful than simply watching a story play out on a screen but damn it i hate being left on the hook like this. i felt the same way when i finished Fellowship of the Ring (movie) for the first time...left wanting more. j.k. rowling certainly knows how to sell more books...too bad there won't be another one to sell for another year and a half.

i guess what i'm saying is that you should take the time to read this series if you haven't.

apart from that little drama however life is excellent. friday night was an interesting experience. I got roped into chaperoning a jr. high dance. not roped really, more like volunteered to help out a good friend. it's been at least 6 years since i've been in the climate that is a jr. high dance and i had forgotten that the major goal for 90 percent of the student there is to not dance, but to hang out and listen to music that is impossible to dance to...well most of it anyhow. the other thing that really caught my attention was not the girl/boy dancing (2 inch rule strictly enforced), but the girl/girl dancing. can someone tell me what the hell the lesbians in training are up to? i'm not kidding. these 13-14 year olds (at the max) were grinding on each other like i've never seen. i had to laugh because they were taking about this phenomenon happening at the clubs in scottsdale, but at a jr. high dance....DAMN.

so that has made up my weekend thus far, pretty lame. today i can only hope to gain solace when my colts take control of the AFC south.

ok...from my most recent post you may have collected that i was involved in a traffic mishap over the weekend. if this was your guess you would be correct. the most unfortunate thing about this series of unfortunate events is the necessity of gaining new transportation. let me tell you as a new to the "real world" individual the place i would least advise you to visit is a used car lot.

i'm sure that used chariot lots lined the streets of Sodom and Gomorrah. what a confusing and overwhelming experience. first of all, no one told me that i should bring an overnight bag to the car lot. however when i arrived on the lot at approx 6:15 local time and left at about 11:15 (yeah, that's 5 hours) i could only wish that i had soap, shampoo, and clean cloths for the long and exhausting ordeal. from my experience i have deduced that the used car salesmen are folks who were formerly CIA/FBI interrogators...the only reason they were forced from these positions were a.) incompetence b.) lack of fashion sense c.) they're just a bit too shady d.) all of the above.

so here i was. i arrived and decided to take a car for a test drive. arrived back at the dealership and started running some numbers with the guy...a deal comes back, i consult people i trust who know what the hell to look for when buying a car, and make a deal. go to the finance office and get approved for a loan for a sum that i have yet to earn in my entire life and here i am driving a nice, shiny, car...that belongs entirely to me...and the credit union for the next 5 years...or thereabouts.

anyhow, let me give you a heads up. don't let the even shiftier manger of the already Shift'n'Shady car lot get you cornered and start playing let's make a deal with you...it is a battle you will lose.

all that being said, my new ride is pimp.

Today in class one of my students spent the better part of 15 minutes creating a beautiful pointilism art piece on his whiteboard during math time reading, and i quote, "you suck".

It was beautiful.

there could have been no fewer than 150 tiny green dots spelling out this interesting and insightful little quip and the care he had taken in making sure that the dots were lined up made my heart swell with the pride that you can't imagine. I mean how is it that this pre-pubescent kid can find it impossible to turn in even the simplist assignment and at the same time find it within his over-taxed and bored imgination to create such a work of art!?!?! I pondered these feelings in my heart and came to one inevidable conclusion...this kid needed his ass kicked.

But I digress. Apart from school I have one piece of information to impart to you readers out there...left turns without the turn arrow will send you straight to hell!!! Seriously I can see why the Catholic Chuch has long regarded left as sinister. Lets look at a few examples. Ever notice that the Pope-mobile has no left turn signal? How about the fact that there are no left-handed basins for holy water?? And lastly, why does just about every well-known Democratic politican claims to be Catholic?? (pause for laughter) Just a few interesting tidbits. Now the reason that I have shared this little nugget with you is this... if you ever happen to be in Phoenix driving south on 35th Ave and planning to turn left on Peoria...DO NOT DO IT. Saturday I found out what happens if you ignore this whole "left turn policy" that I was left out of the loop on. let's just say that on this issue the Catholics got it right (not left)

One last thing, did anyone else die when Chris Rock said "George Bush hates midgits." on the Shelter from the Storm concert?