wiggolation

Back from the dead, again. Yes, I am back blogging. I missed it and I think I am now comfortable enough with my schedule to blog regularly. It's certainly been a long time. About a year! But that's OK, isn't it?

I moved back to Chicago two days ago and so far all's good. I parked and paid the meter 25 cents for an hour of parking! Eat your heart out NYC. Then I ate a full meal for six bucks. Man, it's really a lot cheaper than NYC--and I'm loving it.

I moved to the northwest side of the city, about 45 mins. from the downtown "loop" area by train. Which is perfect as I don't want to be too close. Yet the main neighborhoods to be around are just within reach of me by bike, car, bus or on foot.

I am currently staying with my cousin and friend while my newly rehabbed condo is given some finishing touches. My closing date is Aug. 12. I can then move in and get settled for a while in Chi-town....

Mind you leaving NYC was not easy. But I was ready to move on. It's a truly great city, no doubt. If you haven't spent time there, do so before you die. It's amazing. But it's also a little too aggressive for my taste. Not that Chicago can't be that! It's just more laid-back than NYC in general. It's got something of a downtime, if you will, whereas NYC is always "on." That's great for a few years, but not long-term. Three years in the big apple was sweet, and I will always savor the time and people I met there. It was really fantastic.

I begin my new teaching position tomorrow. Though the students don’t return till mid-August, I begin planning with the other teachers this week. There is something like an orientation, followed by workshops and such. It’ll be time to meet my colleagues, get into the curricula and planning, and all the other details that need to be thought about and prepared for. Of course, I just wanna know—Am I getting my own room? That’d be sweet. The school has impressed me so far. The team that interviewed me were very intelligent and I like their ideas. I am quite excited about the whole thing.

A million years later...a post!

I just have not been online as much as I used to be, hence no blogging. I am not sure if I am going to do much in the future. I might. I should. I am too lazy/busy. I don't know.

I just got a new Mac (a PowerBook G4), my first one ever! I like it a lot and am wondering why I ever put up with PCs for so long. Anyway, my previous laptop crashed on me a few days ago. The more I used it the more I despised it.

I had my cable TV and Internet cut off too. I just felt I was not using my time well with them around. I missed reading for one. And even though I have never been into watching TV for any considerable length of time I did watch the news and some IFC. Anywho, they are gone and I am enjoying the money saved and the time I suddenly 'found'.

It's nice to see diggerblue and chaospiral are still at it. I wish I had their savvy.

Teaching going great and the master's history. Nice to be back into a normal lifestyle again.

I should post some stuff about my 45-day summer tour of Ireland, Spain, France, and Italy. Maybe that'll happen. Maybe.

PS Watch Good Bye Lenin!. Great movie.

It's been ages since my last confession, father and mother and brothers and sisters, but I've been teaching and studying and riding my bike and sampling beers from around the Big Apple...

Nonetheless I am here to post a little something about what's been going on and wish all the bloggers out there a great summer '04.

This teaching year has just about ended, with just two blow off days left of lunches with a publisher guy and some cleaning up around the school. It was a good year. Compared to the previous year it was great. I will be back in the fall. I'm happy enough here in The Bronx.

Teachers College officially ends for me July 1st. I'm taking writing fiction class, which is going well. We're doing short stories mainly. It's a nice way to end the M.A. coure work.

I'm off to Chicago for a week over July 4th. Then I'll be back for less than a week in NYC before I take off to Europe for a month and a half. I'm following the Tour de France for a week or so, hanging out on the beach on the Riviera, going to Spain, Ireland, and at least one other country (maybe Czech Republic). I can hardly wait to get it all under way. I think this will be the best Tour in history. Follow it all on OLN TV on cable or http://www.cyclingnews.com/. Look for the guy screaming his head off with the Irish flag on the side of the road. Yes, there's an Irish ride in the Tour this year!!

Hope all you blogheads are well. Enjoy the summer break. And for all you non-teachers who have to work this summer--HA!

My school is one of the small schools mentioned in this article. Yikes! What's going to happen to us?! Well, I can tell you that when I go down to the faculty cafeteria there is not a good vibe toward us. I am trying to convince my colleagues to stop wearing their keys around their necks as the cord they dangle from has our school's name in big letters. Thanks to upthedownstaircase for the link.

On IFC there's a film called An Angel At My Table, which is pretty interesting. If you're a teacher or a writer you might appreciate it more than most.

OK, so here is day two. Let's see how long I can keep it up.

Well, it's nice to be able to sleep in till 10 or 11 every day. That's for sure. I will be back up at 6:15 starting tomorrow. I can't wait! And there is quite a bit of work for me to finish--lesson plans, grading of classwork and tests, college work, etc. I am slowly chipping away at it but I am so keen on my surround sound system and DVDs that it's hard to concentrate. Plus there's that bullshit 'I deserve a break from it all' thinking that gets in my head. Well, I have had a good break already and it is time to get cracking again. I am pretty motivated just by the fact that I will be done with college for the spring term in just two weeks and a half from today. That's sweet. The only work I have to do is add ten pages or so to a bilingual paper. And write up some formal observations for methods class. OK, there are about 20 of those to do, so that'll take some time. But they are easy to do. Then there will be a two-week break or so till the next class, which only lasts about five weeks. That'll be OK as it's a special ed class and the professors in that department are very good teachers. It'll be nice to be done with grad school for a while. Or even for good. I will have spent the last three and a half years in grad school straight. Two master's later I can tell you DON'T DO IT! One's enough! All in all, it would've been a lot easier to do the second one as a regular citizen, not as a HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER. Strange breed indeed.

The plans for the France and Spain trip are coming along otherwise. As such bmac and I will travel to Nice, les Alpes, Paris, and Barcelona. So far anyway.

I come to my blog with great shame as I have not been here in over a month. Well, you know how it goes.

I am nearing the end of spring break. I didn't go anywhere. I did get some r and r and went out about town a little bit. I saw an off off Broadway play about the G-spot. (A friend's sister was in it, OK?) I also got some Morrissey tickets. He's playing at the Apollo in New York City. How cool is this! I am going to four of the five show (yeah, Saturday night sold out in less than a minute!). I am taking two friends to the show and selling some extras on ebay. Whoever I sell them to will be sitting or standing next to me at two of the shows so I hope they're not weirdoes or miserable types. You have to be careful with Morrissey fans. Look at me for god's sake.

Teachers College is winding down ever so slowly. I cannot wait till it's over. I just don't have any gas left for this crap. The grad ceremony is in May though I have a last class to take in June. Anywho, the parents and two of the sisters are coming out to NYC for the ceremony and some fun. I scored tickets for Good Morning America for the women in my family and now I'm their hero. That was easy.

Here's a little something I found while crawling the web; it's written by my old rhetoric professor. I think it's kinda neat.

I'm finally back on the bike pretty regularly. Thank god too as I think I was about to atrophy away at my desk grading papers.

I have booked my trip to France and other destinations in Europe this summer. I'm following le tour de France with my brother. It requires a lot of planning and cash but it's going to be fun.

Otherwise I lost my digital camera out on the last pub crawl--no, really--so no photos today.

I am so lame--and have no discipline this week to write--that I am going to stop this and get a beer and watch IFC right now--

So much going on these days. No time to blog. I forget what free time is. Well, there is time on the weekend but even that feels busy since I'm usually thinking about what I have to do once I get back to work. I've noticed this happens to a lot of teachers. At least new teachers.

I've a midterm tomorrow in bilingualism, a class I just don't care that much about. Half the class feels the same way. The other half are new-looking students, so I guess they're thrilled. I am at the point with grad school that I will be happy to take a B and get another item checked off the list.