RATON

That's spanish for "mouse."

Let me be clear about something...after a summer teaching in South Philly, where mice, cockroaches, and filth was the norm, I can say with confidence that the Gwynn Park kids are the biggest wusses in the history of mankind. They may try to act "thug," but when days like today happen, I know how much of a show it is for most of them.

This morning, I was doing a pretty dry lesson- some conjugation review... when all of the sudden, a mouse ran out of a hole in my wall and scampered across my feet.

Now, I'm not usually a wuss, but a mouse on the bare tops of my feet was gross and I was like "WHooaahaH! Oh dear goodness." and of course, the front row of boys (who happen to be my worst-behaved, toughest types, in the front row for a reason) saw it, and instantly SCREAMED like women. One boy literally threw his chair and bolted out the door, another kid climbed on top of his desk. This of course made the whole class go MENTAL and soon everyone was screaming at the top of their lungs and on top of their desks.

The mouse was literally a baby- the tiniest thing I've ever seen- and it was terrified. I didn't know what to do so I called the janitor to appease the kids. Each time I tried to settle them and start the lesson back up, though, the damn thing made another pass through my classroom and everyone went wild again. It was total mayhem.

Finally, it ran behind my desk and under my printer. I have my printer on one of those little ikea coffee tables, and when I pulled it aside, to my great dismay and disgust there was a huge mouse nest and the remnants of at least 10 chocolate candy hearts that I had brought in for prizes for the kids.

The mouse returned to the hole in the wall, and the janitors came 30 minutes later and set up traps.

The moral of the story: guess my grad school professors are right. You should never use candy- based extrinsic motivation in the classroom! It can only lead to trouble!

Squeakingly yours,
Tori

My student!

http://www.gazette.net/stories/01212010/uppespo163118_32550.php

An army brat and all around great kid!

Snowmageddon

If you are reading this, and you are a close friend, you know that I have an obsession with weather. And although I appreciate all weather, lets be real: the more severe the better. Tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards- all are thrilling. Yes, it's a nerdy hobby and something I probably shouldn't confess in a public venue like a blog, but it's the truth. For most of my young life I wanted to be a meteorologist until about the 9th grade when I realized that you have to do more than dress in a brightly colored skirt suit and point at a map. Weather is physics in disguise- oh cruel world. Now, I'm just what's known as a "Weather Hobbyist," and boy- has it been a week for me down here!

Washington has officially experienced the snowiest winter on record after two massive blizzards just days apart totally crippled our city last week. I haven't been in school for a full day since February 4th. We had a half-day Friday due to the pending storm, and then snow days all the way through last week. I wish I could say I was bored, but even with no TV (our satellite was ripped off the side of our house in the 40 mph winds) and depleted groceries, I have been completely entertained, mostly due to the very entertaining weather-related fear mongering that occurs in DC, especially on the internet and the blogosphere.

After countless hours of tracking storms, I can officially tell you that the best weather related site out there is accuweather.com. This site uses fantastic phrases like "potentially paralyzing" and verbs like "pummel." But a great one to check out is the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang whose team of happy-go-lucky local weather nerds even give a "school cast" and a "fed cast." On a scale of 1-4 apples, (or 1-4 capitol buildings) with 4 apples being the most likely, will you have school (or work) tomorrow? But more than anything, I think this site said it all.

Dump trucks have been rolling through the streets today trying to remove most of the piled up mess. Parking and driving is still a challenge, even major highways like 295 are missing lane space and the side streets really never were officially cleared out. It will probably be weeks before we see life return to normalcy. I'm so glad I was here to witness history- my nerdy heart is satisfied for now!

Feliz Cumpleanos

Hola everyone! This is my first post writing as a 23 year old. I have to say: 23 feels old. Now, I'm definitely a twenty-something. At 21, you can drink. At 22, you graduate college. But from 23 on... you're just drifting through a decade of "finding yourself." It's like the sophomore year of life. You're not old enough to do anything major, but you're not a freshman anymore. You're just trying to figure out what you want to major in and what your next move should be. It's a lot of pressure!

I do love my birthday and I was sure to celebrate my first one here in DC right. Thursday was my actual birthday and to my surprise and delight I arrived to a classroom that was completely decked out in streamers and balloons and banners! Meredith and some of my students set it up as a surprise: we drove separately and she told me she had to tutor kids when really she was setting up my classroom. After school, friends joined me for happy hour at Banana Cafe. I love this little bar! The crowd is always eclectic and there's 3 dollar margaritas and free taquitos at the happy hour. Thursday night ended with a group of a dozen x-marines in their 70's reuniting at the bar singing "Happy Birthday," to me. How can anyone go wrong?

Friday, my dear friend Brian Rodin showed up (yes, the same Brian who took me to formal last spring) and we lassoed a sizable group together to hit up Adams Morgan, DC's party neighborhood. Adams Morgan is something like a Bourbon st... just bar after bar after bar, and everyone knows you end the night with the famous "Jumbo Slice" pizza !


Saturday was my actual party and unfortunately for me, it snowed 6 inches! For DC, this is a traumatizing accumulation, and even though it's not a lot in my mind, it's a lot when the streets have never seen the swipe of a plow or a grain of sand or salt. No one could drive and a lot of people backed out of the party. However, my true friends all braved the storm and about a dozen of us enjoyed a great dinner, cocktails and a highly competitive game of apples to apples.

All in all it was a wonderful, very packed weekend and I felt truly lucky and blessed. Now, I'm sitting home enjoying a SNOW DAY and there is more winter weather on the way!

Peace and Love.