Weekend Recap and Sunday Shopping

Here are some random thoughts.

Voted early with Tara. Voted for BARACK!
Went to the symphony and heard Scheherazade.
Did major grocery shopping for the first time in a month.

I hate shopping on the weekends. I don't really have a choice, though. There is no time after work to shop and cook and clean and go to bed at a decent hour. Here are the reasons why to don't like to shop during peak weekend hours:

1. People take their unruly children with them.
2. People have no regard for others around them. Let's face it people, none of us want to be at a crowded store on a Sunday afternoon. If everyone tried a little harder to be considerate then it might not be so painful!
3. People who talk on their stupid blue tooth ear thing while they are shopping. (I've got a whole other set of problems with these people!) I really thought some woman was talking to me while I was picking out bananas, but no, she was talking hands free and having a conversation that CLEARLY couldn't wait 30 minutes til she got in the car.
4. PDAs. Yes, I stood in the check out line behind a couple that were kissing and groping each other.
5. People that still write checks. Seriously? It's 2008. Run, don't walk, to your local branch and get a debit card!!

And a word about the blue tooth technology: I understand that these things are convenient and they are great to use when you are driving in the car. There is absolutely no need for you, however, to walk around with the thing in your ear. Maybe if you are a high powered executive that never stops working no matter where you are, then I can sort of understand why you would have it. BUT, if your occupation is anything other than this then YOU DON'T NEED TO HAVE IT IN YOUR EAR 24/7!!!!! I mean, what does it say about society that we can't even be bothered to hold a phone to our heads anymore. And since when did you become so important that you have to take a call every minute of every day no matter where you are or what your doing? Do you really need to talk hands free while you are having ice cream with your family at Brahms? Probably not. Eat the ice cream with your family without interruption so your kids feel important and then won't feel the need to act out in my class for attention. I'm convinced that blue tooth is the root of all evil.

Oh Glorious Day!

I just talked to my mom and she said that she is going to vote for Barack Obama!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally someone in my family has come to their senses!!!!! I remember 4 years ago when my grandmother was visiting and we were watching the debates - it was me and grandma on the Kerry side and Mom, Dad, and Vicki on the Bush side. I remember them giving us all kinds of grief about voting democratic. Grandma said that Bush didn't do anything for senior citizens. Bush didn't do anything for anyone. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised that my mom likes Obama. She's smart, after all. My dad on the other hand.........well, he said that he wouldn't vote for Obama even if he was the last man on earth. But he's not going to vote for McCain either. He said that being a P.O.W. in Vietnam soften his head and that he doesn't have any guts to do anything. He said that he'll just close down Gitmo. My dad buys into all the Fox News hype that a terrorist is going to fly a plane in to his house in Pittsburg, TX. He doesn't see the big picture about a crumbling economy and a deteriorating school system - he just thinks Al Qaeda is going to blow up East Texas and all the chicken farms. He thinks someone is going to take away his right to bear arms. He doesn't even have any arms to bear......unless he counts the air pistol he uses to chase away the armadillos in the back yard. I've got two weeks to work on him before the primaries. Now I've got to convince my sister.......

TMEA 2008

This year's TMEA was super fun. It couldn't have come at a better time. I really needed some inspiration to get me through the rest of the school year. I also can't believe that I went the entire trip without taking any pictures. I felt a little intimated after seeing the size of John Mackey's camera - I guess I have camera envy.

I was hoping there would be better clinics this year, but that wasn't the case. I did catch a few that were worth my time and I did learn some stuff. The best part of the convention was getting to hear all the great music. I think I went to more concerts this year than ever before. The highlight of my weekend was listening to the 5A All-State Symphonic Band rehearse. Jennifer and I stopped by a rehearsal because we wanted to hear the latest Mackey piece, Kingfishers Catch Fire. Geez, it was AWESOME. We heard the conductor say they would do a run through of the entire concert Saturday at 11:00, so we made it a point to catch it since the actual concert was at 7:30 that night and we had an 8:00 flight. (We almost missed our flight last year so we could stay and listen to Turbine). The band was amazing and they played a great program. Kingfishers was great. Oh my word, I can't describe in this blog how much I enjoyed it. The All-State bands are huge and I think that only made it better. (The group was really loud at the end of the piece, and just when you think it can't get any louder the horn section stands up and plays insanely high, ya know, just to make sure you get the point. It was awesome). Sitting in that rehearsal was just what I needed to recharge my teaching batteries. All I could think about was wanting to see my current 6th graders sitting in that group some day. I thought about the kids that come in early every morning to practice and always want another sticker on the pass-off chart and how much they like playing their instruments to earn those sparkley star stickers. I had sort of forgotten about how much I liked to play my clarinet when I was that age and how getting to go to TMEA in high school was the culmination of everything I'd worked for all those years. Seeing those kids in their rehearsal took me back 11 years and made me remember why I'm teaching now. I know that sounds so cliche, but I really needed that. All I've been thinking about lately is how much longer I'm going to be able to hold out in the teaching world. Getting to see those kids experience a musical opportunity like the one the had this week was inspiring. And I know that not all of the hard working kids that I teach are going to have the opportunity to play in an all state band. I feel, though, that it is my responsibility as their music educator to somehow bring them other musical opportunities so they can experience the same inspiration that I felt when I was their age and the same inspiration that I feel now. I can't wait to tell them tomorrow how cool it was to sit in that room to watch the best high school musicians in Texas be rehearsed by an amazing conductor and play the spectacular music of a great composer that is sitting in the room with them, guiding their experience and then watch him be moved by the performance as well. It was FUN! John Mackey - your music is awesome and you're super cool. Thanks for helping me recharge.

And I bought a new Newland baton with a pink handle.

Seriously?

I would again like to start by saying GO BARACK!
Now I would like to share with you a conversation I had with a student the other day. This student is VERY special (ya know, in a folder kind of way).

Student: Ms. Stokes, are you a democrat or a republican?
Me: Do you want me to be a democrat or do you want me to be a republican?
Student: I don't know! Who are you going to vote for?
Me: I don't know if we need to talk about this.
Student: Just tell me! My parents are going to vote for Hillary.
(at this point I'm relieved, and a little surprised, that she didn't say John McCain)
Me: Well, I like Hillary, but I think I'm going to vote for Obama.
Student: My dad said that if Obama wins president that black people will take over the world.

OH MY GOSH!!!! Are people still this ignorant????? Are people still passing this ignorance on to their children???? I really wanted to tell this girl that there are really stupid people of all races, creeds, and nationalities out there and she shouldn't discriminate against them because of their color. I wanted to tell her that she should be bothered by all colors of stupid people. I mean, we have a white president now and look what that's gotten us.

Politics and Come Ons

Let me start by saying GO BARACK!!!!! I just watched his victory speech on CNN and I'm shaking with excitement. If you are reading this and you've never heard him speak, you don't know what you are missing. John McCain needs to change his name to John McLame. And I would like to thank Mitt for proving my theory that people with stupid names will never be president.

Now for the reason for this blog. A few times a month I will get a message and friend request from some random dude on myspace. They are always at least one, if not all, of the following: redneck, uneducated, and greasy. They always have at least one, if not all, of the following on their myspace pages: confederate flags, pictures of big trucks or muscle cars, pictures of scantily clad women, NASCAR banners, and hunting crap. I'm always tempted to write them back and ask them the following questions:
1. What self respecting man asks girls out on myspace?
2. What is it about me that makes you think I dig confederate flags and naked chicks? Is it the banner I have that says Obama '08?
3. What is it about me that makes you think I want to hunt? Again, hello? Obama? I'm a democrat? Can we say GUN CONTROL?
4. Perhaps you think I ACTUALLY make $250,000 a year. Even if I did, do I look like the kind of girl that wants to be your sugar momma??