SMILE!

It's yearbook time. Above are the two pages of candid photos that my class put together. I did not want the same ol' boring page of random quadralateral photos put together. I understand that the memories are fun, but I'm just not that boring to put together just another collection of photos without leaving my signature or at least arranging them in a little more interesting manner. I chose to do a physical cut-n-paste. We also did a very rough job to make it look like a scapbook page that someone might actually put together. The concept was to represent the places and subjects we've studied over the year. Represented are Africa, the Antarctic, art masterpieces, penguins, Chasing Vermeer, and Grease. (We only watched it once, but I think it had more of am impact on my students than many of our formal studies.)

Putting this page together was very stressful. I thought that I was basically finished with it on Friday afternoon. I thought I would need to do a couple of edits on Saturday morning, and that would be it. I arrived at school at 11:00am on Saturday, and I did not leave until 7:00pm. It was more than I'd bargained for.

In the end, I went for the image that I'd completed three hours earlier. I kept making changes and trying new ideas because I allowed someone else to influence my direction. Why do I do that? Why can't I just make up my mind, be comfortable with and confident in my own decisions? I think I'll never learn. My orginal idea ended up being the best. Well, after hour upon hour or edits, I finally accepted that. At least I knew for sure what was best.

I hope it looks good in the final print.

(Pay no attention to the possible copyright violations.)

Elections took place in Uganda yesterday (still today here). From what I've read, they were for the most part peaceful. A friend in Kampala told me that folks were stocking up at supermarkets, preparing for the worst. From what he told me, it sounded like what we do in Florida when a hurricane is heading our way: disaster preparedness.

ROCK THE VOTE!


I'm optimistic.

Yeah, right.

RENT IS DUE!!!

The DVD of Rent the movie is out on the 15th February. I have waited for this date for so long. As I mention in my profile, my life is one big musical, and many days its soundtrack is the Rent Soundtrack. I love this show. I fell in love with it at university in 1998. My roommate, Jeff, was a big fan. He and another roommate, Dustin, went to New York for spring break. Jeff saw the show and brought back the soundtrack.

It was about a year later before I was able to see the show. A touring company came to Orlando in January, 1999. Jeff, Travis and I loaded up in my VW Fox for a day-trip one Saturday and loved the show. I had my oil changed the day before our trip, but the oil light kept coming on the whole trip down. I was worried my engine would blow up, and we'd miss the show. Fortunately neither of the above occurred.

I saw the show again in Gainesville in January, 2000. I was finally able to see it on Broadway in January 2001. In January 2002, just before I left for Uganda and Peace Corps, it came to Tallahassee. The last place I thought I'd ever see it.

Every January, I just happened to be where Rent was showing, so I was convinced that it would be staged in Uganda in 2003. Unfortunately, it did not come. It is 2006, and it's been four years since I last saw Rent on stage.

The soundtrack was an integral part of my time in Peace Corps. It brought several of us volunteers together. Susan and I would have sing throughs when were were together. We knew every word to every song. Sleep overs were so much fun. Some days we'd throw Dawn in the mix and have a sing-along while walking the streets of Kampala. I'm sure we were a sight to see and hear.

Rent never made it to the theater in American Samoa. There is only one theater with only two screens. Many films never make it down here. I've been waiting patiently for the day the DVD comes out. I'll confess now that I got my hand on a copy early, and this weekend, I watch the film no less than five times. One of the video stores released it (illegally) on Saturday afternoon. When I got my hands on it, I felt so nervous and excited at the some time.

The first viewing was a little difficult because it's a movie, and there are changes made to the songs and the script to make it work in that medium. The following four screenings were pure enjoyment and fun. I loved it. I had a couple of issues with a some of changes, but I can live with them. The scenes that were included on disc two put to rest one of my biggest concerns. Like anyone really cares what I think anyway.

I loved Rent the movie. I will buy it. I hope that Ace gets a copy in on Tuesday so I can buy it. Otherwise, I'll rely on Amazon.com to get it to me in two weeks.

Let me begin this entry by saying that I LOVE KELLY CLARKSON, and I'm so happy that she picked up some Grammys on Wednesday. I cannot get enough of "Since You've Been Gone". Before I left Uganda, I used to imagine my village singing that after I left, celebrating my non-presence, an anthem of liberation.

Thanks, Jennifer, for the introduction!





On a more serious note, I love coffee shops. Coffee has never been drunk in my home, but I've always loved the smell of coffee. My teachers in elementary school always had a mug of hot coffee in their desks, and I remember always loving the trip to their desks in the mornings to ask a question or turn in lunch or milk money and have the chance to inhale the aroma. Coffee shops are also great places to go and read, study or just hang out. Luckily, there are two coffee shops on the island. They both opened since I moved here, and, luckily, one is located in the hotel that is within walking distance from my apartment. I live next door to the general manager of the hotel, and he refers to me as their best customer. It's called Kofe Plus, and I'm there several nights a week working on lesson plans or assignments. I'm there now posting on this blog.

The other coffee shop, Koko Bean, is a couple of miles away in a shopping center. They close very early, 5:00pm. I have class three nights a week until 6:00pm, and the other days I'm at school until around 5:00. I try to make it there on Saturday mornings because they make the best cinnamon rolls on island; friends compare their goodness to sex. They used to make the best chocolate muffins. Recently, they changed the recipe. The muffins now taste like chocolate cup cakes made form a Dunkin Hines mix--not bad, but not muffins as they were.

This morning, I changed my routine, and instead of buying a cinnamon roll, I bought the pan cake breakfast. It was sooooooo good. I was served a plate with scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, and two huge, fluffy pan cakes. Borrowing a description from my good friend Richie Garcia, they were "amazing". It was too much food for me. I only managed to put away half of the meal, but each mouthful was a beautiful experience. After I finished, I had to thank all of the workers involved in the pleasure experienced by my taste buds, stomach, entire body. It was a great way to start an overall great day. Thank you Koko Bean.

I dedicate this posting to my "B":

If it weren't for your maturity none of this would have happened
If you weren't so wise beyond your years I would've been able to control myself
If it weren't for my attention you wouldn't have been successful and
If it weren't for me you would never have amounted to very much

Ooh this could be messy
But you don't seem to mind
Ooh don't go telling everybody
And overlook this supposed crime

We'll fast forward to a few years later
And no one knows except the both of us
And I have honored your request for silence
And you've washed your hands clean of this

You're essentially an employee and I like you having to depend on me
You're kind of my protege and one day you'll say you learned all you know from
me
I know you depend on me like a young thing would to a guardian
I know you sexualize me like a young thing would and I think I like it

Ooh this could get messy
But you don't seem to mind
Ooh don't go telling everybody
And overlook this supposed crime

We'll fast forward to a few years later
And no one knows except the both of us
I've more than honored your request for silence
And you've washed your hands clean of this

what part of our history's reinvented and under rug swept?
what part of your memory is selective and tends to forget?
what with this distance it seems so obvious?

Just make sure you don't tell on me especially to members of your family
We best keep this to ourselves and not tell any members of our inner posse
I wish I could tell the world cuz you're such a pretty thing when you're done
up properly
I might want to marry you one day if you watch that weight and keep your firm
body

Ooh this could be messy and
Ooh I don't seem to mind
Ooh don't go telling everybody
And overlook this supposed crime

I love you, B. We have nothing to be ashamed of. My hands were indelibly stained by our relationship. I don't mean stained in a bad way, like the green stain that gets on your palms after weeding in the garden without gloves. I mean the good kind of stained, like the one you get on your fingers when eating blackberries or a tattoo (if it's a good tattoo, not a crappy home made one your friends gives to you when you are 15).