The reason I'm up so late is that I just got back from a Snow Patrol concert in San Francisco. They were awesome, as always. Gary Lightbody is hilarious and just an all-around amazing person. I've decided that I'm in love with him. This is the third time I've seen them, and it never gets old. This is the largest venue I've ever seen them in, and Gary himself remarked that this was their biggest American gig.

I usually show up to concerts an hour before doors open so I can get a place in line and get good seats. Screw that these days. I'm a busy girl! I took BART into the city and got off at Powell. I spent a couple of hours shopping around the Westfield Plaza and some of the stores on Powell. I got a cute French sayings shirt and workout pants at Victoria's Secret and some Rosebud Salve at Urban Outfitters. Other than that, I just had fun walking around and being in the city. I ran into my sister in the BART station on the way to the concert. Weird! I had to rush off, though. She's so lucky to be able to work in the city. Anyway, I got to the concert an hour after it started. I missed one of the warm-up bands, but that's all good. I enjoyed what I saw. I guess I'm too tired to elaborate.

Today was our sixth grade field trip to Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley. They had a performance from the Alvin Ailey dance troupe. They do ballet with a modern twist. They performed dances to Duke Ellington music and Arican spirituals. The show was amazing. The hall was filled with kids, so they did a lot of behind-the-scenes talks. The kids were bored through parts of it, but they were so happy to be out of school.

The planning and implementing of the field trip was dumped on me. I warned them not to do that. There was, of course, a lot of last minute scrambling to get things together, but it finally fell into place. That about describes the way I do everything in my life. It was stressful at first. The kids were off the hook, the volunteers were sour, and the teacher who supposed to go with me busted her leg and her replacement was in tears over the prospect of having to go with 6th graders. I sent one kid off the bus before we even left, and I thought it was going to be a nightmare the whole time. Things got better after we ate lunch and then broke into smaller groups, though.

I had a group of mostly screw-around boys and two girls who were like "what were you thinking, Ms. B?" They kind of kept the others together. We had some time to kill after lunch, so I teamed up with the other 6th grade teacher and we went for a little tour around campus. As we were walking through the student union, there were several tables set up with flyers about this and that cause. The kids were so excited to go up to each table and get flyers and talk to the college students. We walked them down Telegraph and then made a pit stop at Yogurt Park, where we bought everyone frozen yogurt. We were all happy and warm and fuzzy with each other. While we were waiting for the bus, I had the kids teach me some dance moves (like Chicken Noodle Soup), which they thought was hilarious. On the bus ride back, the driver put on R&B music, and we a blast singing along. By the time we got back to school, we were all on cloud 9.

Of course, going back to normal times tomorrow will make things tougher. I enjoyed my day sans 7th grade. However, I feel much warmer towards the kids than I have in a while. Maybe this field trip will help us see each other as human beings again. Maybe it's taught me to lighten up and let myself have fun with the kids. I want to do that with my 7th graders as well, as they get a kick out of being assholes and playing with my reactions (usually anger and fear). It would throw them for a loop if I was happy and nonchalant.

The other exciting bit of news is that I had my date with Borders guy. It went well. We didn't have amazing "I want to jump you now" chemistry, but we did have a series of great intellectual conversations. He's very smart and refined. He's also someone I can banter with. The only downside is that it felt like he was interviewing and scrutinizing me. I know that first dates are inherently like that, but he was very blatant about it. We are supposed to hang out again this coming week, so we'll see what happens.

I also had my first session with my new personal trainer. He's very nice and mellow. Our whole session was spent getting things set up: measurements, questionnaires, goals an the like. I'm excited to get started on the actual regime and see some results. Let's get this butt moving, people.

What else? I booked my ticket for Portland. I leave in three weeks. Yay! I hope it's not as freaking cold and rainy there as it has been here lately. I'm excited to see my family and to see some of my old haunts. A part of me considers moving back there, but then I spend time in San Francisco and....no. You just can't beat California (unless, of course, you're talking Europe).

Anyway, I really do need to get to bed now. Night!

Anne