Me and You and Everyone We Know

So I just finished this terrific little move called YOU AND ME AND EVERYONE WE KNOW.

It's hard to describe. Impossible really. In a nutshell, there's a girl, a guy, his kids, an art dealer, a pervert shoe salesman, and a sexual perversion that I'd never heard of before. And it's probably the sweetest love story I've seen in a while.

It's very quirky, but never disingenuous. The acting's terrific. And the screenplay makes me envious.

It's only 90 minutes, so go rent it. It's fun.

School's Out!

And so am I! Yeah!

Today is the final day of this school year. We lock our door, turn in our keys, and we are free until August!

It's going to be a fun summer. Besides the extra sleep I'll be getting, I get to actually do fun things whenever I want to. I am still working for most of the summer, but it's all fun work.

I think one reason teachers stay teaching for so long is summer vacation. To get three months off every year as a grownup is pretty fucking sweet.

And I'll have more time to write blog entries.

Thin Clothes

I'm not really sure if it's the fault of the people who make clothes or it's the fault of the people with low self images because they're fat....

but thin clothes are better than fat clothes.

Now, I'm not exactly in thin clothes just yet. But I've reduced my large ass to sizes found at any department store, and my selection of clothes is so much nicer. I bought some terrific shirts tonight that I'd never see in the fat sizes!

Or maybe I'm more confident to wear cooler shit. I dunno. But I bought some prints only my brother would purchase... and they don't look half bad!

Now, it's on to the working out. I want a better midsection. (I can't believe I'm actually thinking that.)

Fat Head / Skin Head

So, I did it. Well, almost. But it's a pretty radical haircut.

Here's a side by side.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASEY!!!

My brother's birthday is today, too. He turns 26.

There's no one else I'd rather share my birthday with.

Happy birthday, Casey!

The Big 3-Oh!

So, today is my 30th birthday.

Truth is, I still feel as emotionally mature and sure of where I'm going as I did when I turned 20.

Is that normal?

So, according to astrology (which isn't necessarily something I believe in) your 29th year is an important year. It takes 29 years for the planet Saturn to make a complete trip around the sun, so every 29 years Saturn passes the place it was in at the time of your birth. And Saturn is supposed to have some wicked kind of power over you...

... so the story goes that your 29th year is a period of reassessment. In your 29th year, you're supposed to look at your life and make all the necessary changes and adjustments, so when Saturn comes around, he won't be pissed off. If you make those changes, your next 29 years will be filled with prosperity and success. If you ignore your errors, the years will be horrible.

Well. The 29th year is over. And I like to think I'm the best person I can be as I kick off the next 29.

Here's to you, Saturn. The first 29 were great fun. But onwards and upwards, right? See you in another 29!

Fat Update

And for anyone who's keeping tabs on this... I've lost 20 pounds. (and it's been six weeks, so I'm not doing it crazy unhealthy fast).

I feel terrific!!! I can wear my boyfriend's shirts now. I'm down a pants size. I need to buy a new belt. And the other day, a group of my students saw me across campus and didnt' recognize me. Yeah!

This is fun. I can't wait to be cute.

An Experiment

I wanna shave my head. Or buzz it. But I'm not sure.

Thoughts?

Look how happy punk grrl is with her shaved head boyfriend! (funny pic. made me laugh.)

But I'm serious about the shaved head. I need input.

Eighteen Going on Thirty

Fun day yesterday. My advanced theatre students performed their final project -- the complete two-part six hour stage adaptation of His Dark Materials. It has been our class project for the entire school year... NINE MONTHS working on one project. They were terrific, got through the whole thing with nary a hitch, and they actually did pretty grown-up work for a bunch of high school kids.

As much as I bitch and moan about teaching sometimes (and it seems like every April I try to find some way to not return to the classroom the next year) I can't think of any other thing I've ever done that has been as rewarding or fulfilling. I'm a really lucky guy, because I actually love what I do, and it never really feels like "work." Don't get me wrong, I work A LOT, but it never becomes drudgery. And the best part of it is, I totally feel eighteen all over again -- except now I'm the boss and I'm much cooler than I was when I was actually eighteen.

Without becoming too philosophical on my blog that hardly anyone reads, I spent a big part of my life post-high school swearing up and down that I was going to do something important and enevr settle for being a lowly teacher. And now that I'm a teacher, I sort of have a hard time imagining anything that would be important enough to make me stop. Life never stops being surprising, does it?

The pic is from our show. That's Will and Jarin, the two leads. They were incredible.

TSST!

The TiVo at our house has been burning up episodes of the Animal Planet show "The Dog Whisperer." Typically, this is something Shane watches, because I don't usually get into all those animal shows. But I made the mistake the other day of watching a bit of an episode and now...

I'm in love with Cesar Milan.

Just kidding. But the show is pretty fun. Watching him train the dogs is pretty terrific because they're completely compliant every time.

But my favorite thing is the way Cesar relates to the owners. He begins by letting them explain how awful the dog is and how terrible its behavior is. Then he explains to them how the dog is actually completely fine and THEY'RE the terrible owners. Always fun. The owners get all guilt-ridden and everything. Then Cesar takes two seconds to adjust the dog's behavior and makes them look like complete idiots on top of feeling guilty.

Rock on Cesar!

Fat Update

So, things have been going very well in the war against fat. To date, I've lost 12 pounds! Yeah! I bought a pair of pants one size smaller than I was wearing when I started just to see if I could fit into them (I will withold the number of that size because I'm not CRAZY) -- and they fit beautifully! Down a pants size! Yeah!

And even better... I feel a whole lot better. I even walk the dog every other day.

The big surprise has been how easy its been to adjust my food behaviors. I've tried this whole losing weight thing in the past, and it's been terrible. "I hate the way things taste." "Healthy food is gross." Blah Blah BLAH.

But I guess when you really want to do something, you find a way to do it.

And for my brother and parents, here's a shocker... I've not had milk in a week. Seriously. Not cow milk anyway. I switched to soy. Wild, huh?