The Bee

How many of you watched the Spelling Bee finale? I think it's funny that it's on ESPN up until the final night. I think it's great because it probably drives sports fans nuts. Or does it? The weird things about that, though, are that a) it's not a sport and b) it's all children, which isn't normally who competes on ESPN, right? (I am writing all of this as if I have ever seen a moment of ESPN. I have not.). Anywho, I didn't watch all two hours of the finals last night, but I did watch a good chunk of the end. It was fun, although the winner wasn't as charismatic as the second place guy. I have a student who was really into spelling, and I would have loved if she were on the show. I bet it's insanely fun to watch if you know someone on it.

In other news, I believe summer may finally be here. Our backyard is like Wild Kingdom, filled with squirrels and bunnies and birds. Sometimes I want to put my cat, Tobin, out there to see what he'd do, but he's strictly an indoor cat. I just can't risk him getting some outdoor disease or getting run over. I love him too much! My favorite part of the weekend is how Tobin settles next to my head while I sleep in, and we lean against each other. Ooh- that reminds me of some creepy dream I had this morning. I have had several dreams where I have been at some sort of camping or rustic getaway, which is something I am soooo not into. So then the dreams turn into something of a nightmare. The other night, I was battling some sort of weird weasel-type animal, and I was clamping his mouth shut so he couldn't bite me. What the heck does that mean?

Wednesday! A Night of Excitement!

Wednesday night has the greatest TV! It's so exciting that I could barely fall asleep. First there was the double shot of my two favorite new shows: So You Think You Can Dance AND Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular! I had to flip at every commercial (I stayed mostly on the dance show, until we got to the Showcase Showdown). This week's SYTYCD wasn't as good as last week's (although there is another ep. on tonight, so I could be surprised), but TPIS was so great! One guy got $1.00 on the big wheel and then another $.15, which is in the green zone, so he won mega money! Truthfully, I can't remember how much. I know they give a lot more money in thbe evening edition (which is why it's so much more entertaining. And why Family Feud is so underwhelmeing: an entire family of five only wins $20,000. What's that after taxes?). Then, in the Showcase Showdown, both showcases had cars (one had TWO cars)! I bid on one of the showcases (in my mind) for $70,000, and then the guy bid the exact same amount. It was a thrill. However, not as thrilling as wehn the other guy guessed within $500 of the retail price of his showcase, so he won his showcase, the other guy's showcase, and ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!! It was so thrilling I jumped up and down in my bed. Did I mention I have also been wtaching American Gladiators? I have recently turned into one classy broad.

Love this!!!

I can not get enough of this guy from So You Think You Can Dance (my absolute favorite reality show, I have decided). I watched this guy last week, and then I saw that the rerun was on last night and had to watch it again AND called my mom so she would watch it. If you haven't seen him yet (or heard the crazy prefect music), check this out:

Old Skool

This past week I spoke at my old junior high (now a middle school). It was fantastic! I am hesitant to speak about such a personal book (Get Well Soon) to large groups, so the librarian there make it so I would speak to three small groups of about fifteen or so seventh and eighth graders. And to make it even better, every one of them read the book! I don’t know how she got them to do it. It made me feel like a crappy librarian, since I can barely get students to participate in book groups. But these kids were so smart and had tons of great questions. Being at the the school didn’t bring back too many memories, only because there were so many editions and renovations that it didn’t look anything like the old school. The second group of kids took me on a tour, and there I got to see some of the old spaces, like the sewing room and my locker hallway. I realized that this year would be my twentieth reunion from eighth grade graduation! That’s so forever ago! I wonder if the kids thought I was old. I mean, when you look at it that way, twenty years is a long time! Only one of my old teachers still works in the school, but I didn’t want to say hi because I knew she wouldn’t remember me, although she might say she did, and that would be all humiliating.

Sorry again for the lag in posts-- we're packing up my library this week for a big demolition, and I'm really having trouble focusing. I had such dreams last night about packing books. Stressful! Oh- but I did have this really weird dream that played out like a Twilight Zone episode, where I was on a trolley car with a bunch of people. I thought we were on our way to a bat mitzvah, but then it turned out that no one could ever get off the trolley! Then I figured it out that you had to think of your heart's desire to get off, and everyone eventually did get off. It was quite dramatic. I wonder what it means?

Hair what?

I could have sworn that David Cook was covering up a major receding hairline with that combover he's had all season, but his hair is up and no bald spot. Last minute hair plugs, perhaps?

So Sorry

Well, I am the suckiest blogger ever. I can't believe I'm so out of habit. And I worry that if I'm out of the habit of blogging, I'm out of the habit of writing. Once the school year ends, I'm supposed to pound right back into revising my second novel. I told my editor I'd have it back to her by July 15, which isn't out of the question at all, but what if I forgot how to write? I really don't think that's going to happen, but what if? So I'm really going to try and be a better blogger because maybe that will lead to better writing. Practice makes perfect, and all. Speaking of, you have to take a look at Matt's adorable new pig skateboard drawings (he was practicing using a certain pen, I believe, hence the practice segue). You can see the pics HERE.

Is anyone else excited about the channels ME and METOO? I couldn't get them for the longest time, but when Matt and I got an HDTV, we also purchased an HD antenna which allows us to get a variety of bizarre local channels. ME and METOO are the coolest! Just check out their schedule:
http://www.metvchicago.com/pdf/Winter-2007-2008-METV556AA.pdf
I'm just dying for a Saturday night with nothing to do so I can watch the amazing lineup! Why would they stick "Saved By The Bell" in there, though? It does not fit with such classics as "Square Pegs" and "Gimme a Break." I showed Matt the schedule, all excited, and he just shrugged. Whatever. He'll see. No one can resist the power of Nell Carter. (BTW- is this just a local thing?)

Get Excited. Sheesh.

I am watching the Price is Right Prime Time Million Dollar Spectacular, and there was just this obnoxious blond skank who got to play Plinko-- freakin' Plinko!-- and all she could do was make cool thumbs ups and look at her friends int he audience. What a waste! And it was magical million dollar Plinko, which means you could win $20,000 on every turn. How could she not freak out? How could they choose such a snotty dud? I would have been way more entertaining and hilarious. Sad. But I'm like that. My students and I have been playing the new version of the Life board game, where they have a special credit card machine and some crazy lottery games, and we were SCREAMING today because I won $198,000 in the Life game lottery. To each his own, I suppose.

And shall we talk about Idol? I can barely say anything except that everyone sugged big time last night. Horrid. I wish I didn't have to watch. Yeah, I have to. I can't wait until So You Think You Can Dance starts, though. I love watching dancers. Except on that newish Bravo show, Step It Up and Dance. The dancing is quite mediocre. Not that I could do better, but the challenges are nothing compared to the complex and perfected performances of So You Think.

I think I'm all rambly now because I hadn't blogged in so long. And I keep thinking about my awesome dinner tonight-- a homemade baked macaroni and cheese. I'd kind of like some more.

For pictures from the NAMI awards (did I forget to talk about Elizabeth Swados, who presented my award? She was AMAZING. She said such beautiful things about Get Well Soon. Matt videotaped it and wanted to watch it the other day, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Still too traumatized by having to give a speech.

Dang-- the skank made it to the Showcase Showdown. Grrr...

Bad Julie

Yes, I am a bad blogger. Ever since that whole mess up with Blogger, I have had trouble getting back into it. I will try to be better.

The first thing I should blog about is the amazing experience I had at the National Alliance on Mental Illness Ken Book Awards in New York City. Matt and I had such a lovely time, and everyone was so kind and encouraging. I felt a little out of place- as I always do among grown-ups- and I was particularly worried about my acceptance speech. I rewrote it about a hundred times, and when I finally went up there, I said that I was used to speaking to thirteen and fourteen year-olds, so I was definitely out of my comfort zone. People were super receptive and sweet. I was amazed at the company—-a Nobel prize winner was the keynote speaker! (I will admit that I heard very little of what he was saying, due to the fact that I was so nervous I was literally SHAKING. I was freaked!). And I must mention the very tasty dinner we had the night before the awards breakfast at Solera. The generous folks at NAMI entertained us, and the restaurant was so accommodating to Matt and my vegetarian needs—-they made us our own paella!

I am trying to decide now if I should send thank you notes to those in NAMI who gave the award, because it was such a fantastic experience. What is the etiquette on this? I do like writing thank you notes. I think I shall. I hope they don’t think I’m a goober.