anyway, the 1st semester is aboot over at school. it was driven home to me thursday what a different world it is there. it was spirit week this week. pajama day is always a highlight of the year for me. thursday was celebrity/flashback day. i wore my tommy chong get-up. if you don’t know me, i do a pretty good tommy chong. i got some funny looks. not because kids thought it was inappropriate to be dressed up like tommy chong, but because my school’s neighborhoods are affiliated with the crips and their blue colors. i wear my red sneakers to school and people have talked aboot that before too, but this was different. another day a girl noticed that i had a red bandana in my back pocket–”herr neas, you got a flag?” i use it the way my dad taught me–you always have a bandana, or better yet, a handkerchief on you. but over there it’s something else.

ok, more to come.

for now, please enjoy this video. it is exhibit A in the defense of this blog’s title. (credit to yewknee)

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trips to tennessee to see molly’s family and celebrate her 30th with wendi, kentucky to see chet and ali, back to tennessee for davis and amanda’s wedding and to watkins glen for lakeside fun and fireworks.

tomorrow i have to go back to work, but saturday and sunday i plan to be in duck nc with my family.  fireworks are illegal there–even sparklers–so i’ll have to see aboot organizing a scramble further south to shot some off for my nieces.

if you don’t yet have brightblack morning light‘s cd, purchase it immediately.  it comes with glasses that turn any source of light into rainbows (just like having prisms in front of yer peepers).  it is my favorite album this year.

today is the first day of the rest of my summer.  picked up my nieces with my sister in west virginia yesterday (they had been at their mamaw’s in kentucky). i’ll be in norfolk for parties thiw weekend and nashville next wekend for my lady’s 30th.  Watkin’s Glen, Lexington Ky, and the beach are also on the travel agenda.

anybuddy wanna host a mix for me for yewknee’s summer mix series?

here is the yahoo article and here is a german newsmagazine getting in the on the act as well.  (the title of the fotostrecke tranlates to "return of the snot-stopper")

yesterday also marked the last day of work for me at school.  i was a permanent substitute at an elementary schol.  most days that meant i helped out in the library and covered a block of time or two here and there in somebody's classroom.  yesterday, for example, i was in the library until lunch and then covered a third grade class after that.  it was great–basically i was on the playground for two hours and showed a movie for a half-hour or so.  beats working.

it hasn't sunk in that my summer starts now, but it wil soon enough, probably on monday when i don't have to get out of bed.  i enjoyed the switch from teaching high school to elementary.  i used to teach high school german and only got to know a very small cross-section of the students.  in this position i got to know almost everybody.  i am considering getting an elementary certification over the next school year at night.

 i have a job offer on the table to take that high school position back and i'm going to accept it. that will start late august after i do my 10th stint on the faculty of the governor's german academy. it'll be at vcu again here in richmond.  i'm looking forward to it, but somewhat apprehensive, as the staff is largely inexperienced (only four of eleven have participated before).  it starts june 22nd. i'l teach a course on immigration in germany to include some basic instruction in the turkish language.  in the afternoons, i'll lead the chorus group and teach yoga.  it's going to be fun, but i'm not sure how i can reconcile my role as a teacher with my participation in the summer of no rulez.  

to prepare myself, i have bought some op corduroy shorts off ebay and am in the market for some aqua sox. 

this cd has grown on me. i didn't like the snippets i previewed online, but they played it at relative theory as i browsed and they got me.

 i was there to buy death by sexy from the eagles of death metal, which is good, but their first album is better.   go buy that instead.

 i also got passover from the black angels. it's good drony, ride around music.

 may 9th, i'm getting gnarls barkley.  you should too.

anyhoo, spring break has begun for henrico county schools.  the teachers from my school met up at bandito's in the fan for some rude mexican chow and cocktales.  my two cheese enchiladas with rice and beans hit the spot.  my stomach was in the danger zone because of how it's trained now.  during february and march, i was covering a second grade class long-term and i really got used to having snack at 9:25 every day after our bathroom break.  nothing big, just some peanuts or carob spirulina chunks of energy from ellwood thompson's or a nice plum.  but last week when i went back to my regular gig of just helping out in the library or covering for an hour or so in one classroom or another, you'd better believe my tummy was getting rumbly around 9;15 in anticipation.  alas, i didn't think to pack snacks anymore…

anyhoo, bandito's was fun and i made plans to meet up with some of the first grade teachers later that night. my buddy camrox (he took these pictures, and most of these and i used his camera for this picture) from alexxxandria was in town with his wife.  we had thai food and headed to a bar.  the two first grade teachers met us at the bar (avalon) and were looking for love in all the wrong places.  i tried my best to play a good wingman, but no love connections that night.

saturday was a karaoke jam at cruzer's in west ghent.  i took some requests, including "ride like the wind" by christopher cross f/ michael mcdonald, which brought down the house, but the sleeper hit of the night was "old macdonald."  i'm serious.

i'm on uncle duty this morning as my sister sleeps.  she had the night shift last night at work. lots of cartoons and cereal and still in our jammies.

so anyway, i dug up the rapture's cd echoes. i bought it in charlottesville from plan nine back in may or something while i was living at yogaville.  i was hooked on the sister saviour remix on the dfa mix 2, but was disappointed with the whole cd after purchase. almost a year later it had me dancing in the kitchen.

anyhoo, like i said, i have way more music than i ever listen too, but mark you calendars

death by sexy drops april 11th.  new album from the eagles of death metal

i will acquire that album by purchase once it's out.  the video for "i want you so hard (the boy's bad news)" features cameos by jack black and dave grohl and is available here

act like you know.

ketchup

spicy curry

buffalo wing

roast chicken

hickory sticks

wasabi

bbq rib/chicken combo

roast chicken

smokey bacon

bacon and sour cream

honey and roasted garlic

as well as salsa sun chips and coffe crisp kit kat style chocolate bars

i still find myself checking the news page from time to time and find my eyes drifting to the comments column for new comments, even thought i know good and well that it’s closed. 

just secured this url, as womenbeshoppin.blogspot.com was already taken.  will add some subjects and predicates shortly.

regards,

team neas