Sweet Distraction

What I ought to be doing: 

• My seminar final
• My final student teaching journal
• My best practice essay
• Editing my cousin's research proposal

Instead I'm:

• Bloggling
• Listening to music from Glee on Lala.

Proud Mary - Glee Cast

Yesterday I:

• Took two teacher certification exams (Liberal Arts and Sciences Test and Assessment of Teaching Skills - Written). Hope to Heaven that I passed because one wasted Saturday getting up at 5:00 am and testing in stale air for nearly all daylight hours is enough. I will, of course, still have to take the Content Specialty Test(s) in a few months. 
• Went to an Echo sample sale because it just happened to be in the same building as my tests. Bought two pairs of gloves: one for me (badly needed, kinda plain, black with a bit of ruffle at the wrist) and one for my mom (shh, it's a Christmas gift!)
• Discovered a cute, but small, cafe with a friendly staff on 18th near 6th ave. Telegraphe Cafe (Espresso Bar). My sandwich fell apart, but the chocolate chip cookie had a homemade quality to it. One of the friendly servers was pretty hot, too. ;-) 
• Got not-so-great sushi (a paltry piece of underfried sweet potato in some falling-apart rice, times 6).
• Saw Up in the Air. 
• Watched Fall finale of Glee. The singing continues to be amazing. 

Hot song, yo!

So, here's Adam Lambert's single "For Your Entertainment" which is very catchy and thoroughly enjoyable. It's also very racy, as was his performance on last Sunday's American Music Awards. 

For Your Entertainment - Adam ...

Here's what I think of Adam Lambert (a month ago I would have just said, "Who IS that?"):

• His hair and makeup intimidate me. (I'm afraid he's inadvertently promoting the use of Bumpits)
• He's an entertaining performer.
• He brought up some good, intelligent points in his own defense on CBS's The Early Show — see video below — including the fact that other performers on the music awards show were also doing/saying risque things.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

• He has a good voice, but it's not really showcased on many of his songs.
  
• The performance is in keeping with the song lyrics, as he says above (ahem: "Bet you thought I was soft and sweet" and  "It's about to get rough for you.") The video below was the only decent, complete one I could find. Sorry about the commentary that comes with it. 

• Yes, Elizabeth Hasselback, he was very sexually aggressive. Because the song itself is sexually aggressive. 
  

• I hope he guest stars on Glee. 

Tofurky Day Recap

Thanksgiving was nice. I ended up buying more food — the green beans in white wine sauce became green beans and asparagus in white wine sauce,  and I got some delicious strawberries (and mediocre melon) for dessert.  The veggies, which arguably took the longest to prepare (at least the most intent watchfulness) ended up being the weakest link in the dinner, at least in my opinion. The garlic roasted potatoes were great, though. And the Tofurky came out better this year than in the past. Perhaps it was partly the baste I made (olive oil, soy sauce, veggie broth). After dinner, we watched Four Christmases, which I found only mildly entertaining the second time around. 

Thanksgiving Dinner

My parents are coming over to my apartment for Thanksgiving dinner. This means I'm cooking. Since I'm vegetarian and they're doing the Nativity Fast (minus the abstaining from wine and olive oil part, which I'd never even heard before) it also means a vegan Gobble Day menu.

On the menu:

• A Tofurky Vegetarian Roast with Tofurky Mushroom and "Giblet" Gravy. - All I need to do is bake the roast and simmer the gravy
• String beans (with almonds?) in a white wine sauce
• Garlic roasted potatoes

Am currently making (simmering) the white wine sauce, a la a recipe from ChefSilvia. I did not have (nor could I use) chicken broth, so I used TJ's Low Sodium Vegetable Broth. I do not think this was wise. It tasted a bit too brothy, so I added (and drank) more wine. 

The wine I'm using, btw, is a Frontera Chardonnay. 

It's possible I won't have enough food. There are still three boxes of macoroni and cheese if I get desperate (for me, not the parents). 

Strumming my pain with his fingers...

Killing Me Softly With His Son...

"Killing Me Softly (with his Song)" was the jam back in seventh grade! I liked it a lot, and not just because the boy I had a colossal crush on did. I found it hypnotic and soothing. Still sort of do. 

Time's a Wastin'

Ack, just spent way more time that I'd planned to on Goodreads (please join the site and be my friend!) Have much0 work to do for classes (well, mucho for the timespan, I s'pose), some of which involves going into the City. 

My Halloween — thank you for asking — consisted of seeing a movie, getting a late din-din in Chinatown and hanging out by the East River for a bit, in between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. It's pretty spectacular at night. 

Here's why: In a quite unexpected turn of events, a boy I'd had what I thought to be a successful first date with back in January, but who'd given me a bit of a runaround about seeing each other again at the time, contacted me on OkC and asked if I wanted to hang out again. Since we had a good time the first time and I felt like we connected, I accepted. I felt very comfortable around him, and there was lots of physical closeness and touching (not publicly inappropriate touching, it was too cold for that) but there wasn't really a spark. He was still interesting to talk to, but I just didn't really feel a connection. Maybe it was the lack of alcohol. 

Alas, not even a bounce-off-the-camera, need-a-replay-to-be-sure homer for me. Not even a kiss. We did touch cheeks, when we met and parted, in a way that reminded me of Arthur nuzzling Ruth on Six Feet Under. I was hoping there'd be more, because I remembered being fairly attracted to him during our brief first date, but for some reason, I was not feeling him last night. I think it has to do with his scent. It wasn't exactly offensive (something like damp wool, maybe?), it just wasn't doing it for me.

He asked several times if I wanted to go home with him. I told him I had a lot of work to do in the morning  (which is true, despite the laziness that's set in). He left me a block from his apartment, because it'd started to rain and he didn't have an umbrella. I said I'd feel bad if he got soaked walking me to the subway (meanwhile the rain stopped about 2 minutes later), and he took that to mean he could just point me in the right direction and send me on my way, to wander the streets of an unfamiliar neighborhood at 1am, on Halloween. I found the subway I needed and made it back to Port Authority with ample time before the last bus. 

I'm not the damsel-in-distress, need-a-big-strong-man-to-protect-me type. However, I do appreciate a bit of chivalry when it's called for. In this case, I feel he should have insisted on walking me, especially since the subway was about 10 minutes away. Maybe I should have been explicit; "I'd really prefer it if you walked with me, at least until we hit Bowery."  Maybe it's just another example of me being unable to express what I need/want from people for fear I'll seem demanding and needy. But I'd like this sort of thing to come naturally, voluntarily, organically. I guess some guys have it and others don't? Some guys will put their coats down on a movie theater seat, knowing there's gum on it, just so a girl (who's just a friend) can sit without getting gum on herself. Ry used to walk me half the five block distance between our apartments whenever I visited him late. And most guys — hell, most people I'd hang out with — in similar situations would at least ask me to text them when I got home. 

Located tea kettle

Mystery solved! It was in Scott's room. I asked him why and he said it was a long story. 

Me: Is it a gross story?

Scott: No, just involves a candle mishap.

Will now attempt sleep. 

Where's my tea kettle?

Where the fuck's my tea kettle? I went to make myself some Nighty Night tea a little while ago and discovered that my tea kettle is not in its usual spot on the stove. I use it every morning and most nights. I used it this morning. 

Grad Rant

They bombard me with stuff I don't understand and expect me to reflect on it. They want me to do things I don't know how to do and expect me to reflect on them. They talk to me like I'm an imbecile. They ask too much. They are well-meaning and helpful, but I am lost and want to scream. 

I want them to go away. I want them to shut up. I want them to stop asking me for things. Plans, ideas, structures, activities, reasons. I want them to stop calling me. I want to do my own thing. I want to figure it out. I want to be accountable for myself. They're so overbearing, and yet, so unhelpful with so many things. Why don't they tell me what I need to know about getting certified? Why aren't they sending out reminders about test registration deadlines? Why's there a big mystery as to how many hours of student teaching I actually need for certification? 

The material is stifling, intimidating, annoying. It's either too lofty and intangible or too condescending and common sense. (Really, more reading makes people better writers and test takers? REALLY? I would NEVER have guessed!)  There's all this theory, but that's not what I'm thinking about when the kids give me blank stares. It's not hard, it's just draining. It's taxing, it's self-important. It bores me. It's inconsequential. It's laborious and offers little joy, little satisfaction upon completion. 

I don't care. Right now, I don't care. 

I don't know what I'm doing. 

Thanks for reading. 

Glee covers

I really love some of the song covers done on Glee. Here are the Gleesters with a few of my faves:

Gold Digger (Glee Cast Version...

Hear the whole song

Take A Bow (Glee Cast Version)...

Hear the whole song

It's My Life / Confessions Par...

Hear the whole song

And here are Kristin Chenoweth and her amazing voice guest starring (her version of this song has more personality than Carrie Underwood's original):

Last Name (Glee Cast Version f...

Hear the whole song

John Mayer, please DO free fall out into nothing

I just discovered John Mayer's cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Free Fallin'." It's horrid. Think I'm exaggerating? Hear for yourself.

Painful:

Free Fallin' - John Mayer

How it's done:

Free Fallin' - Tom Petty & The...

Ummm

Know what else is crazy? Writing a novel in a month. Let me rephrase...writing a novel in a month when you have:

• A full grad course load
• Student teaching (of a unit you're planning and teaching. All you, all the time.)
• A p/t job
• No idea what to write about

I'll keep y'all posted.

To-See this Fall/Winter

Whip It

The Informant!: I'm a bit iffy on this one, actually. One of my roommates saw it and said it was really boring, so much so that people were actually sleeping. Now, those of you who've ever watched a particularly late movie with me — be it in a theater or at home — know that if a flick starts after 9pm, there's a more-than-slight possibility I'll doze off, just for a couple seconds, here and there. (Exception: The Dark Knight, the first time. Oh, also, Knowing. Alright, see, I'm not that bad. That movie, however, was.) Anyway, The Informant keeps selling out and it's not like Ry and I always agree on movies. Plus, just look at Matt Damon. How can that not be funny?

Nine: A new musical from Rob Marshall, director of Chicago. Also an adaptation of Federico Fellini's 8 1/2, which is all about his complicated relationships with a number of women. Or so I gather from IMDb. Why? Daniel Day-Lewis and Penelope Cruz. Also, I liked Chicago. And it looks like it will, if nothing else, be visually and aurally stunning. Here's a trailer.

The Boat That Rocked: This one just looks like good ole fashion Britcom fun. It's about a pirate radio station broadcasting from a boat in the North Sea in the 60s. The British government tried to shut them down because, as we all know, the rock 'n roll just invites the sex and the drugs.

The Fourth Kind: This one looks super creepy, especially since it's purportedly "fact-based." It's about a number of people's accounts of alien abductions in Alaska, as told to a therapist (who may or not actually be based on real-life person. Sounds like not.) A blogger for the Anchorage Daily News, is refuting that there's any underpinning of truth to this movie and it sounds like Alaskans are a bit pissy about how their fair state's been represented on the silver screen of late. My curiosity says yes to this movie. But then there's my 8-year-old girl self, who couldn't sleep for a month after watching a fictional show where someone was briefly possessed by a spirit. She's not so sure. 

There are others, I'm sure. But I'm tired now and I started reading about the 2012 hoax.

Define "terrible" and "reviews"

OK. So I was really psyched about seeing Whip It — Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, starring the darling Ellen Page — but I got less psyched when a friend told me it got "terrible" reviews and/or it's "supposed to be terrible." Based on what? It's got a 67 ("Generally Favorable Reviews") on Metacritic! The blurbs I've read of a good number of reviews seem anything but terrible. See, maybe it's me being all-too-literal again, because when someone tells me something is supposed to be "terrible," I really do think the worst. This movie seems like it'd be mediocre at worst.

People also need to define "reviews" for me a little more clearly. Call me crazy, but to me, the word "reviews" does not mean any of the following (as it is plural and should therefore represent more than one):  

• The New York Times, alone. 
• Time Out New York, alone.
• Manohla Dargis, alone.  
  

Thanks. Next up will be a list of movies I want to see. 

Oh, my other roommate accused me of loving horrible movies. To which I replied: "But I also love good movies and in-between movies. So, really, it's just that I love movies. Period." Boo-yah! (I spend too much time with high schoolers, huh?)