Spelling, Driving, Reading, and Telephoning (but not all at once)

Another spelling faux-pas - perhaps
Apparently, I misspelled the name of the author of Twilight in my last posting (thanks to Sandy for pointing this out) because it's supposed be Stephenie Meyer rather than Stephanie Meyer - although in my defense, I think we can all agree that the proper way to spell Stephanie is S-t-e-p-h-a-n-i-e and that the mistake for this misspelling actually belongs at the feet of her parents, who must have been the ones that spelled her name wrong when they named her. So in addition to being a pretty poor writer, she also has a misspelled name. Kind of like when people spell Natalie as Natalee, or Brian as Bryan. Poor, mixed up people.

You are what you drive - or not
During my 4th period class the other day (8th grade) there were only about 8 students because the majority were off playing music for some sort of band shinding - so they were working on various things and chatting about various things, and one of them said, "Hey Mr. B., why don't you take us to Starbucks?" (which, if you're a regular reader of this site, you know is not going to happen because I don't go to Starbucks, plus I'm a responsible and serious educator who would never take students to Starbucks even if I wanted to - which I don't). So I said, "Sure, I'll just throw the lot of you in the back of my truck," (which was completely sarcastic - in case you're wondering why I would agree after saying that I'd never do such a thing). This started a whole conversation about how they'd never imagined that I had a truck, and they couldn't picture me driving a truck because they figured I drove some kind of compact, sporty car. Then they asked what color it was, and I said, "Well, it's mostly rust, but it used to be blue," and they were surprised by that because they thought I would drive a red car. Then they asked if I had any other cars, and I didn't say anything, because I figured if they found out that my other two cars are mini-vans (which I often get teased about. but I'm secure enough that it doesn't bother me - at all), all of their illusions would be shattered and I would have destroyed any last shreds of innocence and childhood that still remained in the corners of their souls.

You are what you read - and watch on TV
I got quite excited the other evening, because I was watching an episode of a new show called "Dollhouse," and I suddenly realized that the story was based on a great short story called, "The Most Dangerous Game," which I read with my 8th graders, and which involves a crazy guy who lives on an island and hunts people. So I said something to Katie like, "Hey, this is just like 'The Most Dangerous Game!'" and she said something like, "That's nice dear." Then I found out that the character's name in the episode was Richard Connell, which just happens to be the same name as the author of, "The Most Dangerous Game," so I said something like, "Oh my gosh, that guy's name is Richard Connell! That's the author of 'The Most Dangerous Game!'" and Katie said something like, "That's nice dear," which made me realize that I really am kind of an English-Teacher-Nerd. But I think that's a good thing.

Her name was Lola, she was a French bulldog…
Caitlyn, who is home for Spring Break, is dog/baby-sitting a puppy for someone Katie knows, so we have this very strange creature in our house this weekend. For some reason, she loves me - a lot. Actually, she seems to love pretty much everybody, and she follows people around and curls up on laps and stares at people with her creepy big eyes and freaks them out. She looks a lot like Yoda, actually. Anyway, Katie's friend pampers the dog like nobody's business, and when they went to pick up the dog, she said something along the lines of, "Maybe having Lola around will convince your husband (me) to get a dog." Yeah, she's cute and cuddly and pretty funny, but she pees on the floor and eats tortoise poop, so I have to say that I'm not convinced. At all.

Sleepless in Seattle
We had our TNT practice at Sabino Canyon this morning, and one of our participants wasn't sure how to get there, so she figured she could call one of the coaches to get directions. So she just happened to choose to call Lauren. Normally, this would be fine, but on this particular day, Lauren happened to be in Seattle rather than Tucson. So Lauren picked up the phone, and the participant (who shall remain nameless) said, "Lauren, this is Margie," (oops - guess I just let the cat out of the bag). Then there was a long pause. Then Lauren asked, "What time is it?" At this point, the anonymous participant figured out that Lauren had been asleep, then she found out that Lauren was in Seattle, and finally, she found out how to get to Sabino Canyon. So all's well that ends well. Except, I guess, for Lauren.

That's probably more than enough for now, so until next time, may your misspellings be purposeful, may your mini-vans run smoothly, and may your phone calls be answered in a timely and courteous fashion.