things kids do

pre-K kiddos crack me up and suprise me, and give me H1N1(actually, I think my exposure to their sneezes and coughs may actually be helping my immunity, or so I hope).

me: who's that in the middle?

j(girl):the octopus.

me: and what is he doing with all the other animals.

j(girl): he is going to destroy all the other animals.

me: and the other animals, what are they doing?

j(girl): they are just standing there watching the octopus.

me: they are just waiting to be destroyed?

j(girl): uh huh.

and as if that weren't telling enough, this second picture comes from what occured right next to the animal masacre.

me: uh oh. what's going on with the crocodile?

I(boy): he's eating the dinosaur.

me: why?

I(boy) he's just a toy.

gotta love preschool.

cranberries touring

dolores o'riordan cancelled her 2009 tour, which makes me quite sad.  however, the reason for this cancellation is that the cranberries are touring again.  it may be time for a road trip seeing as they will probably bypass albuquerque.  can i say yay?

also on a related note...tegan and sara's new album will be released on oct. 27.  if you haven't yet, give them a listen.  you might be pleasantly surprised.  

dolores is back

dolores o'riordan is back.  as a blonde.  middle school memories are fresh in my mind.   yay.  so appropriate for the 10 year reunion approaching.

call me anne shirley

anne with an "e" please.  for those of you that read this blog, i am referring to the one and only Anne girl from Anne of Green Gables.*  i make this reference because as some of you may or may not know, I am not only a filmmaker, but also and early childhood educator.  yup.  i just completed my first semester in a teacher licensure program. one busy summer and a semester of field experience to go and i will be a licensed educator.  i also just finished up a long term teaching position at probably the best preschool in the state which put into perspective where i would like to spend my days.  but back to the reference...anne was an imaginative, high-spirited girl who wanted to see the world.  she had ambitions of going to college and becoming something great.  but because of circumstances beyond her control, she had to take a position as a teacher in her hometown.  i write this because my whole life i have looked to anne as an inspiration, i saw a lot of myself in this fiery red-headed canadienne.  i also avoided the teaching profession with as much passion as i put into my love of film and music.  my reason was because i saw how hard my mother (a teacher) worked everyday with little thanks and pay.  and now, here i am, preparing to be a teacher of the earliest learners and i look back and see how all signs have always pointed this way.  i respect teachers with every fiber of my being.  the teachers in my past have had an impact on me that is of the highest value.  now i am joining their ranks of long days and quiet thanks.  as for anne, she wanted to be something great, and she did, she ended up a teacher, but also got to see the world.  i hope i can do the same. i am anne shirley.

*note - i refer to the movie as well as the books...but megan follows' portrayal in the tv movies is embeded in my mind as THE anne shirley.

a busy couple of months

First of all, meet Quickly.  She's my pup.  I've had her for almost 5 weeks and she is definitely growing fast.  I have better pictures but they are locked in my camera until I finish the two 10 page papers I have to write this week.  

And secondly, this sign melted my heart this morning as I walked into my classroom.  I've been teaching a particular bunch of kiddos for the past three months and as their regular teacher is returning from maternity leave, 'Ms. Melanie' has got to go. It was a a rewarding experience but now I must focus on those papers I mentioned.  

On to new experiences as they say... 

cranberry saw us

originally posted on Myspace July 10, 2007

for those of you that remember how much i geeked out to that little ol' band the cranberries ya might be interested to know that my 15 year dream in the making came true lastnight. i finally saw dolores o'riordan in concert. she just released a solo album that is great. you should check it out if you need some good alternative rock to get your head a bangin' and your heart a movin'. i got the tickets a few months ago when i was in the throws of production and didn't have the time to think about the show that much so when yesterday rolled around it was a nice little surprise for me. she flipping rocked and i mean---R.O.C.K.E.D! my gosh, she is simply beautiful. she sang a bunch of the cranberries' songs along with the new stuff and talked to the audience a lot about what she has been up to and how happy she was to be in boston. what's cool is she seemed humbly surprised at how excited the audience was to hear her perform. as for me, i rocked as hard as i could, jumping around with all the former flannel shirt-wearing bostonites and though my knees aren't thanking me this morning, i am wonderfully content and thoroughly rocked.

adrenaline fire

this picture is from the apartment mentioned below. aw, the lonely times of living on my own in boston...

originally posted on myspace May 10, 2007

FIRE!
that's what i woke up to this morning. about an hour and a half ago (4:30am), i was in deep sleep but the sound of crackling pulled me out of some dream. i got out of bed and looked out my window and saw what looked like the flicker of a campfire reflecting on the wall of the nextdoor building. in my dreamy, non-glasses-wearing stupor, i couldn't quite make sense of it all. it wasn't until the person across the way screamed "FIRE!" that i grabbed my glasses and went out into my little patio space and saw the top of the building next door completely engulfed in flames. adrenaline kicked in, somehow i managed to grab the footage from my master's project (which may seem trivial, but dang, that's my life right now) and ran out the door into 6 fire engines lining the street. luckily, the flames didn't jump buildings seeing as here in boston all the brownstones are built continuously, sharing walls. i sat on the street for about 45 minutes praying that everyone got out safely. we have all since been let back into our apartments. i am completely wired. my stomach hurts, i think from the chemicals that surged through my body in that moment of realization. crazy morning. i hope that each of your mornings are calm and enjoyable. love and lots of water...MM