- Sean O'Casey

Mwahaha! I'm listening to Alien Ant Farm's Smooth Criminal right now. Remember that song? It always reminds me of England, as it was huge when I was living there. Some of my best guy friends (who were in a band) used to cover it. God, I remember those days. I was so in love and on such a great adventure in a new place. I know that I'll look back fondly on these days as well, but it's kind of difficult to imagine it in the midst of it; not very glamorous.

One thing I am pleased to discover is that we get great radio stations here. Portland had a couple of decent ones, but not many. Here, however, you get San Francisco's stations as well as Sacramento's. Awww yeeeaaah. It's strange, but I don't really feel that out of place here. There are some Oregonian traces left in me (like the fact that I don't freak out when it rains and run for my umbrella, or that I don't know how to pump my own gas), but there's something primal in me that remembers this as my natural landscape. It is, after all, the Central Valley. It's where I lived for the largest part of my life. Anyway...

I've spent the last two days feverishly trying to set up my classroom. A couple important pieces of furniture are missing, as well as many of my supplies, but I'm in better shape than most of my colleagues (who have no idea where any of their stuff is). The hardest part was choosing a seating arrangement for the desks. I put them in a mixture of groups of four and five, all at funky angles that make the room appear even bigger. I have a work table in one corner, and a comfortable SSR reading area near the windows. That's my favorite spot in the room so far. I have my bookshelves with tons of books in plastic containers (it's a neat organizational trick the other teachers showed me), a colorful rug, bean bags, throw pillows, and my Napoleon Dynamite poster watching over it all. I framed the window in a pretty flowery border that the 6th grade Humanities teacher gave me. My desk looks cute as well. It's metal, so I bought a ton of decorative magnets at Target and am using them to hang various pictures, cards, etc...I even have magnetic frames stuck on my desk and filing cabinets with pictures and of my family and friends. I have space for students' work and reading/writing notebooks in colorful crates, with colorful files within them. Everything is pink and colorful and quirky. I also brought a pink Lewis and Clark teddy bear and a My Little Pony from my childhood that are sitting guard at my desk. I'll bring my big ass stereo in there once I get a key and can lock the room. I'm also trying to find more posters/art work. Sorry to go on and on about it, but I'm so excited. After spending a year sharing a room with another teacher last year (whose style wasn't necessarily in harmony with my own), it feels good to be able to do things how I want.

Even after two full days of working, my room isn't finished. I have to go back tomorrow and try to scramble to get things done. I'll probably have to go all next weekend as well, as just when I think I have everything I need, I'll find something else to go shopping for. The good folks at Target know my name by now. I really need to find a Goodwill. I hate this feeling of being disoriented and not having my usual places that I know how to get to.

I have a Humanities training in Oakland all next week, which is extremely inconvenient timing. I was really dreading it at first, but I'm starting to change my mind. First of all, it's at a really nice hotel right near the Bay Bridge, so we could easily go into San Francisco each night. Second of all, we'll be able to spend the week planning our years' curriculum, so I'll walk into my classroom on the first day of school knowing what the hell I'm doing (definitely a good thing). And third of all, this company goes all out when they send us to trainings. I have a feeling we'll be living like royalty while we're there. I might as well look on the bright side and enjoy it.

Well, I'm probably leaving tomorrow afternoon with another teacher, so I might not be able to write for several days. She and I are kindred spirits in our love of shopping, so we're hitting San Francisco a day early to do just that. I wish I had more time to relax, as well as to ready my classroom, but oh well. C'est lavie. Til next time....

Anne