School's Out for Summer!!

Today is the last day of school. Yea!! It will be so good to have a break. My current teaching situation is a very poor one, and I am so excited because I have an interview in a much better district on Friday morning. I want this job SO bad!! Wish me luck! On a darker note, some sort of virus has hit our school today. About 30 kids went home today with a stomach virus, and several teachers are sick. They think it might be the Norwalk virus. Fun! :) At least I'm not sick - yet. I have to at least make it through the Lost finale tonight. I hope Sawyer doesn't die. He is so hot! I haven't mentioned that before, have I? :)

The Boys of Stand By Me

A week or two ago, I rented Rob Reiner's Stand By Me. I have seen pieces of the film several times, but I'd never really sat down to watch the whole thing. I was amazed at the way Rob Reiner took four green kids and created such a masterpiece. As I've soaked in pieces of the film over the last few weeks, I've thought of the boys of Stand By Me and the effects they've had on my life.

Corey Feldman - When I was growing up, I always was a sucker for the tortured, misunderstood bad boy. Even now, I live to see Sawyer on Lost. My favorite New Kid was Donnie, my favorite 90210 boy was Dylan, and my favorite soap hunks were Port Charles gangster Sonny Corinthos and Days of Our Lives', Steve Johnson, aka Patch. I had major crushes on Christian Slater, during his Pump Up the Volume rehab years, and Corey Feldman around the time License to Drive came out. The story of the Coreys was really a cautionary tale to my generation. The two Coreys were on top of the world one minute, and unemployable addicts the next. Showered with inappropriate attention as children, their perceptions of the world around them became so skewed that they became unable to function in normal situations. Feldman was on The Surreal Life a few years ago, and he really made me sad. How can someone with so much talent follow such a bizarre path in his life?

Jerry O'Connell - OK, the boy is just hot! Who would've thought that fat little Vern would grow into such a hunk? He's beautiful, he's talented, he's goofy, and he's single (for now). Could he be any more perfect for me? Come on, Jerry, give me a call.

Wil Wheaton - As we all know, I am a big fan of Wil's blog. He is a great writer, as well as a talented actor. He also seems to be a good husband and father, which is better than all the rest, in my book.

River Phoenix - What can you say about River? He was amazing. He was so talented! I have been watching a lot of his films, and they make me so sad. He could have been phenomenal - one of those actors whose longevity and diverse body of work become touchstones for those who follow in their footsteps. Instead he chose drugs, which ended his life at 23. I never understood how someone who was a strict vegan and nature activist could put such poison into his body. River's family has a tribute site that is pretty sweet.

Both sweet and sad, the lives of these boys, now men, in some ways reflect the tone of the film. The boys without guidance self destructed, and the others contine to live good lives. Throughout the journey, we all just want to belong somewhere. Triumphant or tragic, or somewhere in between, each of these boys are a part of my life and of our collective experience.

Summer Break

Wow! Spring has been so busy! I always forget how much work it is to close down the school year. In looking over my summer calendar, I laugh at the idea that teachers get three months a year off. Ha! We actually get two months off, and and least four of my eight weeks are filled with week long inservice institutes. Don't get me wrong, I love the time off that I will get, I just wish I didn't have to work so much (for free!) on my time "off".

I found a new blog today that I like a lot. The Evangelical Ecologist combines my love of God and love of nature. Check him out. A funny that was on his site a while back -

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out a card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door.

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, "Genesis 3:10." Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter.

Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked."

***

My TV shows are finally all new again. I am LOVING Lost, of course, (Sawyer is so hot!!) but if there turns out to be an alien in the hatch, I am never watching it again! I am so happy that Desperate Housewives is starting to fill in some blanks about Dana and Dierdre, and I love the new twists. How priceless was Bree getting marriage advice from Edie?!? Too fun! My other must-sees (Survivor - Go Ian!, Crossing Jordan, Medium, ER, One Tree Hill, and Gilmore Girls) are also continuing to entertain.
I know it's a lot of TV, but when you have no kids, no pets, no significant other, and no money, it's a good way to entertain yourself. :)

In a final note, Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

UPDATE: It's here, it's here!! The trailer for Serenity is now online. Woo-hoo! Serenity is the film continuation of Firefly. The trailer looks great. I didn't see Shepherd Book, though. Anyone know why? BTW, you can catch a screening of the film on these dates. You can bet I'll be there!

UPDATE: Well, I would have been there if tickets hadn't sold out in literally 5 seconds. :(