Escape

I want to escape to a place this serene.

Today in the lunchroom, one of the science teachers said there's some new research out that found that people who are frequently stressed are actually doing permanent damage to the frontal cortex (I think?). If this is true, I think this part of my brain will be kaput in the next few years. I'm usually a patient and practical person, but right now I'm neither.

As a way of calming down and taking a step back, I've been trying to use this meditation that one of my professors at SLU introduced me to a while back:

"Following the Breath"
-Thich Nhat Hahn

Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment!
Breathing in I know I'm breathing in.
Breathing out, I know
as the in-breath grows deep,
the out-breath grows slow.
Breathing in makes me calm.
Breathing out brings me ease.
With the in-breath, I smile.
With the out breath, I release.
Breathing in, there is only the present moment.
Breathing out, it is a wonderful moment.

Listening to: The Script "Breakeven"
Thought of the Day: "Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart." -Anonymous

{Image via Mandr}

Standards

Ok, so I usually don't like comedy that makes fun of other people, but for some reason, I really like these. I ran across DEALBREAKER the other day and its compilation of turn-offs continues to crack me up. Two of my faves: "You haven't read a book since high school" and "You steal books from the Public Library." The blog authors are coming out with a book next year, but until then, I might have to check out Undateable which comes out in 2 days.
Here's a couple of their promo e-cards.




Thought of the Day: "This is your world. Shape it or someone else will." -Gary Lew
Listening to: "Ridin' Solo" -Jason Derulo

Gettin' Some Culture

When I decided to go to SLU during my senior year of high school, my favorite history teacher teased me that I would return from St. Louis wearing Baby Phat clothes and high top Nikes. I laughed it off obviously, thinking that my conservative self would never give into the urban culture. And now as I student teach in an inner city high school, I can see how far I’ve come from the uber conservative self I was, but at the same time, I’m still in a total culture shock.

Yesterday, my cooperating teacher and others in the department were told that they need to create a new SMART goal for the month and they’ve decided the new goal would be to increase my “hoodness” by 5%. To start with, they decided to write up a list of movies I need to watch, songs and artists I need to listen to (I got over a gigabyte of new music today from them!), and TV shows I need to watch. This is the important stuff they forget to teach you in college. Professors always say you need to connect with your students, but they never give you insight on how. Hopefully this education helps because I definitely need to improve my understanding of my kids. I wonder what my high school teacher would say now.

[Proven example: last night I watched “The Bad Girls Club” on Oxygen and while it was painful to watch some of the stuff they do and say, I came to a better understanding of why the girls at my school get into cat fights over boys and hair that end up getting them suspended for 10 days. I can’t believe that people act like that on TV and are ok with portraying themselves in that manner, but it explained why girls behave in the ways they do.]

Movie list so far:

-Get on the Bus (or anything Spike Lee)

-Rize

-Kings of Comedy

-Soul Plane

-CB4

-The Wash

-Rosewood

-Krush Groove

Music includes:

-Gucci Mane

-Public Enemy

-Beastie Boys

-Dr. Dre

… and if I’m really good and show my 5% improvement, I might even get a nickname!

Listening to: "Gangsta's Paradise" Coolio

Thought of the Day: "We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same." -Anne Frank

Summer Jammin'

Nothing says summer to me like sun and Shwayze. He's a little crude, a bit stoner, and a lot of jammin'. I love "Corona and Lime" and with the weather hitting temperatures in the 60s (which feels like tropical weather after months of snow), Shwayze was busted out this weekend. I'm so ready for summer!




ps - Sorry for the long absence - student teaching and life are kicking my butt right now. I'm going to try to be much better about posting regularly though!