Holiday Spirit

I'd like to think that in the week between Christmas and the New Year everyone is in a pretty good mood. Lots of food and drink has been consumed while everyone enjoys a little family time.

To enjoy my time off, my family came out to DC for a few days. We went to a wonderful dinner at Martin's Tavern, saw the pre-Broadway run of West Side Story at the National Theatre, toured the recently renovated Smithsonian American History Museum, and visited Kennedy's house next door. We then spent Christmas driving back to Indiana (which I do NOT suggest). We could not find a single restaurant open on Christmas day so we snacked on food from gas stations. Mmmmm...

And then we arrived back in Indiana.

I went to services, got to see the girls (and Lauren's shiny new engagement ring!) and everyone else from high school while out in Broad Ripple, got Chinese food from our local spot, went shopping at Castleton and Keystone, watched lots of movies in the newly redone basement, and had 2 of our cars broken into.

That's right. I woke up at 7 this morning to my dad coming back in to the house instead of going to the JCC for his normal 4+ hour Sunday workout to tell me he was calling the cops. My dad's Civic and my mom's Accord had their front windows smashed in and their stereos ripped out of the cars (in a pretty sloppy manner, if I do say so myself).

So I went to wake up everyone else in the house as my dad called the cops. As he finished with the cops and got our insurance company on the phone, my mom and I went out to further inspect the damage. And that's when I pulled my mom back away from the car because our robbers had left their gun next to her car.

Seeing as I am a little white girl from the Far Northside, I don't have a lot of experience with crime scenes. In fact, everything I know comes from CSI. So we waited for the cops to show up in order to take pictures of the damage and dust the scene for prints.

Sadly, I guess Grissom and his crew don't tend to head out east for simple larceny cases. The cop quickly found the gun, picked it up, and determined it was just a bb gun. Not quite as exciting as what I might see on any one of CBS's crime shows, but still pretty intense for my boring life.

So the cops did their thing (which is in no way as glamorous as what TV has led me to believe) and left us with a number for the insurance company and 2 out of 5 cars that need to get new windows and center consoles (like I said, not a very pretty job).

And the irony of it all - they left the three cars sitting in the driveway alone. If they had just started from the top they would have noticed the UNMARKED POLICE CAR my dad has as a chaplain for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

So next time you decide you need some quick cash, here are my suggestions:
1. Get a job! I am pretty sure dumb thugs are employable in some legal way (even if the economy currently sucks).
2. Beg. I hear the guy who used to stand on the off-ramp near Keystone Mall drove a Jaguar. He seems to be doing all right.
3. Donate plasma. I hear that pays pretty well.
4. DON'T steal a Pioneer stereo system I got for my 17th birthday to go in my 1992 Chevy Corsica. My guess is that a 10 year old CD player isn't really going to be worth much on the black market.

And in the holiday spirit, here is my final wish for you, my dear stereo bandits: May Santa put coal in your stocking next year!

For your viewing pleasure, Mara's picture of the crime scene:
(Notice the very realistic gun just below the open door. Yes, this is exactly how the dumb robbers left everything.)

Most people my age

As I lay in bed at 11:24pm, wide awake thanks to my second wind, I am worried about how my 2nd night in a row with less than 5 hours of sleep will affect me. And this has led me to the following thought:

Most people my age get to act my age. I, on the other hand, do not.

Let me explain.

I am a high school teacher. Therefore, I have no life.

- Most people my age get to enjoy happy hour. While classes are officially over by 2:15, leaving before 4 or 5 is a huge accomplishment. If I leave that early, it means that either I have hours of grading or planning ahead, or I am sick and I need sleep in order to recover. So much for socializing with my peers.

- On the topic of socializing, most people my age spew ridiculous information in order to impress the opposite sex, fully knowing that what they are saying is absolutely ridiculous, but likely to result in at least a little bit of flirtation. My students just say ridiculous things because their ages range from 14-18.

- Most people my age can shop at more than 3 or 4 stores. If I shop somewhere trendy, say H&M for instance, it is likely I will match one of my freshmen girls the next day. If I shop at somewhere a bit more upscale, like Club Monaco, the clothes are too revealing. Basically, I am left shopping at Gap and Banana Republic (which carry the exact same clothes since they are the same store), or J. Crew and Ann Taylor (at least they both provide 20% discounts for teachers). How thrilling can a 26 year old get?

- Some people my age even date! Crazy, right? Believe it or not, I tried once this year. One of my co-workers set me up with this great guy. Too bad the date was on a Friday night. I think we would have hit it off pretty well, but I was so exhausted from a long week of school and other commitments (which, by the way, made me almost an hour late for the date!) that I barely had the energy to make it through dinner. Needless to say, I haven't heard from him since.

And if it wasn't approximately 3 hours past my bedtime (yes, I tend to go to bed between 8:30-9, regardless of the day of the week) I probably could come up with many other reasons why I feel like a 42 year old woman.

I am a human being

I have to remind myself. Seriously. Sometimes I forget. Why you ask? Because my life is consumed by my job.



Today, I spent my entire day in the publications lab. It's hot and cramped. The only window is a skylight (that is now covered with signatures from the past 10 or so years).

I also supervised the writing center after school. It's something I am proud of helping to found, but it's another thing that keeps me busy and constantly up to my ears in Outlook Calendar notifications.

Then I went home and created handouts for multiple classes. I created one for my IB 2 kids about allusions in The Visit. Then I worked on one about themes and motifs in Night. Finally, I created one on an outside reading project.

Oh, and I also proofread my little sister's junior year paper. I'm glad she is a good writer. I don't think I could have read anything worse without losing my mind.

And while this is a typical Monday night, my job has already consumed the rest of my week. On Friday night I have a grad school meeting followed by an IB 2 teacher function (where at least I can enjoy a glass of wine) followed by a full day of grad school on Saturday and a full day of grading on Sunday. All the while, my best friend is in town visiting for the first time since the summer. And I have two birthday parties to attend. And I need to sleep.

Hmmm...maybe it's convenient that the flu is going around. I could use a day off...