Gobble Gobble

Well, I finally did it this weekend. On Saturday night, I became a woman.

I was a little afraid to go through with it. I had no idea what I was doing. And I admit- I had to look at a magazine for some pictures to help me out. So much bare skin! And what technique would I use?

No, it's not what you're thinking. I mean, I finally made a turkey all by myself! And, it came out FANTASTIC! Special thanks to REAL SIMPLE Magazine, hilarious roommates, and a really reliable mom to get me through the cooking process.

Saturday night was truly a celebration. We hosted a potluck Thanksgiving dinner for all of our best friends in DC and it was a huge hit. The girls in my house and I whipped up turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy and pumpkin pie. We bought fancy beer and wine and Kate even made jello-shots in the rinds of the fruit flavors they represented- a creative and chewable "cocktail." Friends brought squashes, casseroles, desserts and great stories- and our dinner party lasted late into the night!

After the plates were cleared I mustered up a second wind for the evening and headed out to meet up friends from out-of-town for a night of dancing. We only went home when the lights came on at 3 am. It's been ages since I've stayed out so late and even with some time to nap on Sunday, I'm still recovering today. It took the entertainment of dancing in the halls (including some serious dance-offs with my students) to get through the day today!

Tomorrow I fly home to MA and I could not be more excited to see my family and enjoy real Thanksgiving with the people I love. Check out the pics below for a few laughs at us attempting the turkey!

Peace and love.

Paula Deen is Insane

No, really. If you've ever watched her on TV and thought, "There is something off about that woman. Is it her eyes? I think she's nuts. I think she's a little raunchy. Something is just crazy about a woman that uses that much butter..." You would be right. More on that later. The best way to describe this weekend in all its glory, I think, would be an itinerary:

Friday night @ Churchkey: This is one of two primo beer bars in DC, noted most for its selection of Belgian beers and home-made cask ales. The beers are served all in correctly designed glasses and for the unexperienced beer drinker, may seem oddly warm at 52 degrees. Excellent spot- and one of the best happy hours in DC.

Saturday morning @ The Four Seasons Georgetown: Dr. Charles was in town and treated me to breakfast at Paul McCartney's favorite DC spot. Long discussions were held regarding educational policy, plans for next year and how baseball and education reform meet. The conversation may have been heavy, but those lemon-ricotta pancakes were oh so light...

Saturday afternoon @ TFA Professional development: Possibly the only low point of the weekend. PD in our second year is a drag- we're not experts and still crave pedagogical knowledge, but the information in our sessions feels repetitive.

Saturday evening @ Landmark E St. Theater: "127 Hours" is the new film about Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who became trapped under a boulder in 2003 and in the last few hours of his consciousness, hacked off his arm with a dull multi-tool in order to escape. The film was reminiscent of "Cast Away" as the entire feature focuses on one actor (James Franco) alone, and stuck, in a canyon. I woke up the next day thinking about it and the imagery of the hacking is still haunting me.

Sunday afternoon @ The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show: The highlight of the weekend, and possibly the highlight of the fall! The DC convention center hosted this enormous exposition of local farms, small businesses, bakeries, and more. 300 vendors offered samples of their wares: I dined on chutneys and bruschetta, cupcakes and specialty peanut butters, infused teas and spicy dips, granolas and yogurts, sausage and seafood, and so, so much more. We watched cooking demonstrations from local culinary schools and product vendors and collected a slew of pamphlets and business cards (some of you may be receiving specialty-food gifts this holiday season!) The day culminated with the crazy Queen of Butter, Paula Deen. The most entertaining part of her cooking show was that she refused to cook! She preferred joking with the audience and talking about her day, sharing inspirational stories, and embarrassing her husband extensively. She was raunchy and edgy and ultimately very genuine and loving and she had the audience in the palm of her hand the entire show. They actually had to kick her off the stage as she continued her schtick for a half-hour longer than it was supposed to go and her security told her she was going to miss her plane.

The perfect weekend ended with a Pats win... peace and love until next time!

Tori

Reflections on Change and Leadership

Last night, we had one of the best grad school classes of the semester. Two extremely intelligent individuals came to speak to us: One was a man named Eric Welch. He is a local educator engaged in the uphill task of starting a charter school in the surprisingly resistant state of Virginia. The other was a woman named Jeanne Allen. She is a conservative policymaker who supports the expansion of school choice and charters across the country. The two spoke passionately and at length about their experience in the trenches of public school reform, and Mr. Welch outlined four truths he has found in his experience to be illustrative of the current state of Public Schools:

1. Schools are 100% political.

2. Schools have an HR issue - recruiting and maintaining good people at all levels.

3. Schools - and the school system- should not be monopolized.

4. An "Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome dominates public schools- everyone knows the truth, but no one has the courage to say the obvious.

Mr. Welch also posed two essential questions to the group:

1. Why do you teach?

2. What is the purpose of school?

The fact of the matter is, the day to day operations of public schools and the bureaucracy that dominates them has taken us away from the answers that we have to these questions in our hearts.

I sat through a meeting today that made my skin crawl. I listened to colleagues shoot down reform, naysay innovation, and declare defeat before any idea was given a chance to breathe. The themes of last night's class were ringing in my brain as I drowned in the negativity of the table. It was a profound "Teach For America" moment for me- and a microcosmical reminder why it's so hard to push reform and promote the truth.

I am learning a lot, daily. The amount I still have to learn about adult interaction is sobering. I remind myself of Dr. Charles' great quote: " 'No' is almost always a lack of ingenuity." And taking a deep breath, I go in for another day!

Peace and Love,

Tori

A Tale of Two Rallies

So, I'm just going to go ahead and admit it publicly. I went to the Glenn Beck Rally. Partially, it was because my mother couldn't be there (though she was, I'm sure, in spirit.) Partially out of sick curiosity. Partially because when I look at my bi-weekly paycheck for 2000 dollars reduced to 1288, I feel taxed enough already. I wanted to see what he- and his people- had to say.

And this week, I went to the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally. I had every intention of comparing the two. Seeing which resonated more. Judging them in some kind of a win-loss scenario. But after giving them both a fair shake, I have to say that making some kind of comparison or call would be impossible and unfair.

The fact is, they were totally different events. Beck's rally wasn't as crazy and fear-mongering as Stewart and Colbert would have liked you to believe (though I can't say the same for his TV show.) Beck's rally WAS a serious political gathering. The rally itself and the people there were peaceful, but they had a message they wanted politicians to hear. I found myself supportive of the speeches I heard and the values reflected: for example, honoring the men and women of the military, and treasuring neglected American privileges like the right to vote.

Stewart and Colbert put on a show, and a damn good one. But a serious political gathering? That's up in the air. With the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, A Chilean mine-shaft, and the Myth-busters guys on stage, one can hardly say it was a serious political event. In the few moments in the end, the show took a more solemn turn and Stewart explained the thesis of the Rally: That in America, there are lots of differences, and good people compromise to work together every day to make our country great. Sometimes that fact gets lost in the 24-hour news cycle and as media consumers, we have to be wary of how we are influenced. As an ex-broadcast journalism major who quit for those very reasons, I agreed. I also respected that Stewart mentioned both the left and the right in his criticism of our news cycle.

I think it's odd that as a 23-year old girl that I could find resonance in both rallies. But I guess that makes me the definition of most of America- a moderate with some strong feelings on the Right and some others on the Left. I left both rallies impressed by the same thing: We are a lucky people, a civil people, capable and free to gather in peace in our Capital and express what we believe respectfully.

Now, if only I could get someone to take on the cause that I saw one rally-goer promoting:

"Moderates for Better iPhone Reception!"

Peace (Train) and love:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYxMCALVXZs

Tori