a teacher's journal

1995.11.29 11.00

Not sure what to write about in the journal. Got to start sometime. Now, as I'm residing over Ms. Hogue's 12th grade Government K class, 4th period, I find that I've got some free time again.

I really ought to carry around a book and get caught up on all of the reading that I missed out on while in college. Cliff's Notes should be banned from the earth, although I must be honest and admit that I own at least 20 of them. Okay, 30 of them. I'm not sure of the exact number since one does not really display them alongside the real textbooks that I paid $60 a piece for that I am keeping because I either A) like the book, B) think I may need the book again or C) don't like the book and don't think I need the book again, but I screwed up and missed Buy Back day. I never thought I would cringe at the words ''new edition available.'' Some of those jerk textbook writers rearrange paragraph structure and call that a new edition. Hmmm… I wonder how much that pays?

The cherry wood bookcase that I keep these books in was originally purchased by my mother. I believe that I'd just received my $4000 student loan and my mom suddenly had big bucks to blow. In retrospect, I don't think that was the exact event, but I know that I was taking on new financial responsibilities and mom… well… wasn't. The bookcase stayed in the living room, if you could call it that since I neither lived there nor considered it a real room. Cats went into that room to die. Long story. Anyway, the cats that were still alive had been busy running across the shelves of the bookcase and scratching them up. An ornate wooden carving design thing glued to the top of the case gave it its antique look. The cats broke that too, of course. When the time came to cherry-pick furniture from my parents, excuse the pun, I dragged the case outside and threw it on top of my Toyota Corolla.

Upon bringing said case into my house, I grew less amused with the broken wood pieces that the cats had not managed to finish off. I broke these off with relative ease. The pieces are now mostly in the master closet, not counting any bits that succumbed to the wrath of my vacuum. At first I did not know what to put in the case. Action figures got very dusty there. A Pac-Man mini-arcade handheld game from a then-girlfriend always impressed everyone. Which girlfriend was that? I don't recall. Still, the case was not being fully utilized. Books would take up more space. Less dusting. That was good.

It took nearly a year before I rounded up all of the straggling textbooks that I owned and put them in the case. Living alone, I decided to recreate my former living arrangements on a furniture placement level. Everything was placed as it had been before I moved out six years earlier. The bookcase (which is new) went were the now defunct printer table would have gone. Perfect. Well, perfect except for how the grilled brass doors on the bookcase keep flaking something (brass goo?) on a daily basis. Flakes notwithstanding, the case has its new home. The aforementioned Cliff's Notes are hidden inside the lower cabinets, discreetly tucked away from the casual observer.

Bio Journal Movies Photography Portals Wishlist
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are my own only and in no way represent the views, positions or opinions - expressed or implied - of my employers both past and present. « press release \| Main \| while you were sleeping » a teacher's journal 1995.11.29 11.00 Not sure what to write about in the journal. Got to start sometime. Now, as I'm residing over Ms. Hogue's 12th grade Government K class, 4th period, I find that I've got some free time again. I really ought to carry around a book and get caught up on all of the reading that I missed out on while in college. Cliff's Notes should be banned from the earth, although I must be honest and admit that I own at least 20 of them. Okay, 30 of them. I'm not sure of the exact number since one does not really display them alongside the real textbooks that I paid $60 a piece for that I am keeping because I either A) like the book, B) think I may need the book again or C) don't like the book and don't think I need the book again, but I screwed up and missed Buy Back day. I never thought I would cringe at the words ''new edition available.'' Some of those jerk textbook writers rearrange paragraph structure and call that a new edition. Hmmm… I wonder how much that pays? The cherry wood bookcase that I keep these books in was originally purchased by my mother. I believe that I'd just received my $4000 student loan and my mom suddenly had big bucks to blow. In retrospect, I don't think that was the exact event, but I know that I was taking on new financial responsibilities and mom… well… wasn't. The bookcase stayed in the living room, if you could call it that since I neither lived there nor considered it a real room. Cats went into that room to die. Long story. Anyway, the cats that were still alive had been busy running across the shelves of the bookcase and scratching them up. An ornate wooden carving design thing glued to the top of the case gave it its antique look. The cats broke that too, of course. When the time came to cherry-pick furniture from my parents, excuse the pun, I dragged the case outside and threw it on top of my Toyota Corolla. Upon bringing said case into my house, I grew less amused with the broken wood pieces that the cats had not managed to finish off. I broke these off with relative ease. The pieces are now mostly in the master closet, not counting any bits that succumbed to the wrath of my vacuum. At first I did not know what to put in the case. Action figures got very dusty there. A Pac-Man mini-arcade handheld game from a then-girlfriend always impressed everyone. Which girlfriend was that? I don't recall. Still, the case was not being fully utilized. Books would take up more space. Less dusting. That was good. It took nearly a year before I rounded up all of the straggling textbooks that I owned and put them in the case. Living alone, I decided to recreate my former living arrangements on a furniture placement level. Everything was placed as it had been before I moved out six years earlier. The bookcase (which is new) went were the now defunct printer table would have gone. Perfect. Well, perfect except for how the grilled brass doors on the bookcase keep flaking something (brass goo?) on a daily basis. Flakes notwithstanding, the case has its new home. The aforementioned Cliff's Notes are hidden inside the lower cabinets, discreetly tucked away from the casual observer. « press release \| Main \| while you were sleeping »