The World Decided to Celebrate the End of No-Drinking January With Me

On New Year's Day this year, I decided not to have anything alcoholic to drink in the month of January. I have some a skin condition/immune disorder called psoriasis. Normal skin cells produce new skin at a rate of every 28-30 days. In some places on my body, my skin cells produce new skin every 3-4 days. This does not give the skin in those areas enough time to mature, so it is all flaky and thin when it gets to the surface, giving areas of my skin a red, dry look to them. It looks like a problem that lotion could solve, but the problem is actually deeper than that, hence immune disorder. My skin cells think that there is something wrong on that area of my skin and are therefore producing new skin in order to fix it. It's really pretty disgusting, but it's been mostly under control for the last 5 years or so.

And on a positive, I'm kind of like a superhero! If I get cut on a psoriasis spot, it's usually gone in the next day or so.

Anyway, I decided to try to eradicate the psoriasis by trying a few new things on my own. I did some research and decided on a bunch of things at once. Some of them I stopped right away and some of them seemed too hard, so here is what I ended up with.

I take 6 vitamins a day: zinc, B-complex, fish oil, flaxseed oil, echinacea, and a standard women's one a day.

And I stopped drinking for the month of January.

And it's working! Both of the large psoriasis spots (on my calf and elbow) have diminished to about 10% of what they were and there are areas on them which are nearly completely gone.

Now I honestly can't just stop drinking, but my plan is to cut that to about a quarter of what I was doing, meaning I'm not going to have that one beer with dinner anymore, or those two beers when I go see a movie. It will be cut down to just weekends, for the most part. I think I'll probably have to make exceptions for special occasions. I do plan on continuing with the vitamins though because I think that's what is making the biggest difference.

My mom is going to be so happy when she reads this.

Anyhow, I decided to cut myself a break and end No Drinking January this weekend, even though it was still technically January. This turned out to be great because we had our second snowpocalypse of the winter. The world decided to celebrate with me!

There I go!

Lost

This is how I feel right now.

Hahah okay that's a big lie. I feel fantastic right now. The beginning of the year has actually been pretty good.

The reason I titled this blog "Lost" is that I've been spending every spare moment re-watching the greatest show ever on television. The final season of Lost begins on February 2, and I am smack in the middle of my quest to watch seasons 1-5 before that happens.

Don't judge me. I've spent a vast portion of my life reading books and exercising my brain in other ways.

The bottom line is that Lost is pure genius and that it does in fact exercise my brain just fine. There's no real easy way to explain Lost. Essentially, a plane crashes on an island in what should be the South Pacific and the island turns out to be really weird and have all sorts of strange phenomenon. The people are interested only in getting off the island, but over the course of the 108 days they spend on it (more in some cases, less in others), they become real people to each other and the story evolves into what is surely one of the writers' or the creator's philosophy on what it is to be human. The mystery of the science, phenomena, and technology of the island drives the story, as we as watchers can't help but wonder what the heck is going to happen. While the "what" is interesting, in the end what we really want to know is "why" these things have happened, and that's where the meaning of humanity comes in. What have these characters, these people, done to cause this insanity? And more importantly, what can they do to fix it?

So anyhow, I'm about 1/3 of the way through season 3. I think I can do it. Luckily, I haven't had a lot to do this month. That will be explained in what will probably be my next blog, sometime after January is over.

P.S. I got a sweet new camera. Here's the first picture with it. This is my friend Brandi's little boy Collin. He's 16 months old and he loves me. :)



Also, I apologize, but I cannot figure out how to make pictures that you can click on to get full size. Daddy, will you please help me with this the next time I'm home?

2009 Wasn't That Awesome

I knew I wouldn't get this one done until after 2009 was done. Here are my Top 5 Moments of 2009. This took so long because it was kind of hard to think of 5.

5. Going to 3 beerfests in about a month.
Damn you liver! Okay, not really; I must honestly say I do love having a liver and I hope it continues to work properly. I'm not actually sure when all these beerfests were. The first was High Country in Boone, NC. This was the smallest and shortest, but I had the best beer I've ever had in my life there. It was a homebrew from an App State professor and I can't remember what it was called, but it was mint chocolate and it was amazing. Then there was Brewgrass in Asheville, which is a HUGE deal, but the planners keep it small. It's also a family affair. :) The last was Octoberfest in Charlotte, which was actually really big and ended with me falling asleep on a friend's couch at like 8, then waking up periodically and falling back asleep again. Yes, there were definitely people there seeing this. Embarassing, but it was my third beerfest.

4. Seeing Smitty
Smitty was my soccer coach in high school and I hadn't seen him in a long time. I got an email from him letting me know that his boy's team would be playing against Reynolds, a school in Asheville, and asking if I had any scouting info and telling me to come out and say hi. It worked out perfectly because my friend Adam was in Asheville that weekend too. He had also played soccer for Smitty and we both got to go out and see him. Awesome.

3. Find out Social Distortion was going to be playing in Charlotte
I'm pretty sure I wish I had a video of my freak out when I discovered this on the internet. Granted, the show ended up not being that great. But the moment I found out I was finally going to get to see one of my favorite bands was totally priceless.

2. Having 98% of my students pass their state test
Standardized tests are kind of BS. But I have to get my kids to pass them. This last school year was really, really iffy. I had a TON of special ed kids and a group of really unmotivated "normal" kids. I usually get really good numbers of students passing, but I was really worried about last year's group. They ended up doing a great job, however, so either they're smarter than they let on, or I'm a better teacher than I think I am. For my sanity's sake, I think it's probably the latter.

1. The general success of my first student trip overseas
In April, over Spring Break, I took a student group to Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Trips like these are not school sponsored, so it's completely up to parents as to whether they want to send their children. I was REALLY nervous about it, but it turned out fine. Better than fine, really. There are definitely some things I will do differently next time, but in general, it was a lot of fun. I was also really scared that I would be bored out of my mind. I usually travel on my own schedule and plans. These was with a tour group... on a bus... But it actually turned out great. See, I go for free as a group leader, so I got to see cool places, spend a lot of solo time wandering these cool places (which is really, really fun), and watch some teenagers grow just a little bit into adults in just a week. And I did it all for under $400. Sweet!

So there it is. Three cheers for 2010; it will probably be better!

A Snowfall Kind of Love

We are having a pretty intense winter storm on the East Coast right now. And by right now I mean that there is an inch or so of snow on the ground already from the 2 hours of snowfall we've already gotten, that we are now in a sort of holding pattern as there is no precipitation of any kind currently, and that the worst of it is supposed to be this afternoon and evening.

And by worst of it, I mean best of it. :D

School was cancelled this morning, which is both a blessing and a curse. I was at school last night til almost 9 working technology for senior project presentations so not having to teach today is nice. I also really hurt my finger by getting it caught in the railing on the stairs at school and pulling really far out of place. And my head hurts. Thus, blessing. But we will have to make this day up, which means they will probably take a teacher work day away from us in February or March, when we have very few days off and the months just longer and longer.

OMG I just realized that since school was cancelled today, it is now officially the start of Winter Break!!!! YESSSSS! You know, if I were still in college I would probably already be a little drunk and I would definitely be out sledding on stolen cafeteria trays.

There are pictures in one of my many photo albums that would prove this, but they are not digital. Instead, here are some pictures of the last time I got to play in the snow, which was in the Alps in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Yeah. It was a bit more awesome than our current storm will be.

Also, it is currently starting to snow again.

Top 5 Travesties

And now for something a little different. These are the top 5 things that really disappointed me/pissed me off/were completely uncalled for/should never have happened/etc. in 2009.

5. The fact that Sarah Palin still exists

I'm not really going to go into detail on this one except to say that I had hoped that, after the election and her resignation, she would just fall off the face of

the planet. Alas.

4. It took Michael Jackson dying to make news sites crash because of the number of people trying to access them

I definitely listen to NPR every morning, and I check CNN, BBC, and various other news sites, including local ones (gasp!) fairly often, usually every day when I get to school. I feel like people should want to know what's going on more. The fact that it was MJ's death that caused sites to be overloaded is kind of ridiculous. Sure, the guy was a pop legend in his time, but really what had he done recently besides behave strangely?

3. The cancellation of Pushing Daisies

I think about this almost every time I watch TV. Pushing Daisies was a really unique show; it was what I imagine would happen if Tim Burton directed a Dr. Seuss story on film. It was the story of a piemaker who could bring things back to life with one touch, but every time he did it for longer than 1 minute, something nearby of equal "value" (for lack of a better word) would be sacrificed. He used old fruit in his pies and brought them back to life. Talk about sustainable energy! :) The story revolved around him helping a private detective solve crimes. It was also very well acted (I hope to see Lee Pace in something again soon) and Kristin Chenowith actually won an Emmy for it after the fact. Anyway, it was c

ancelled too early and without a chance to really end the story, which made me sad.

2. Cancellation of Dollhouse

Ok. Joss Whedon is a genius. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was amazing, once it hit its stride. Whedon keeps getting screwed by Fox though. I think he needs to move on to another network. Dollhouse has a difficult premise to explain as it's kind of scientific jargon. Basically, people volunteer, for various reasons, for a program in which their brains are wiped of memory except what "imprint" a client requests. The "doll" is then sent out as whoever they think they are to do whatever the client requested. The overarching story is the attempts to "free" these dolls. I can almost guarantee that A) a better timeslot and B) running all the way through season 2, would have sealed its spot as a necessary Fox show. The loss of my weekly dose of Eliza Dushku and Tahmoh Penikett is devastating, honestly.

1. Failing to go see the Rancid/Rise Against/Billy Talent show in Myrtle Beach

Ugh. This wouldn't hurt so much if I could just remember WHY I didn't go. In the meantime, it's possible that, after finally seeing Social Distortion, Rancid is my new if-I-don't-get-to-see-them-in-my-lifetime-I-might-die band. Crap and a half.

Honorable Mention:

Failing to see No Doubt in Charlotte: I DO remember why I didn't go to this one, and it wasn't worth it.

I need to start blogging on stuff that I could put up pi

ctures of, but all my pictures are old because my camera is broken.

So to keep you occupied, here are a couple of my favorite pictures of my parents.

At Lita and Grandpa's in San Fran over the summer.

And at BrewGrass in September.

I'm On a Roll!

I felt like a good teacher AGAIN yesterday! Actually, I guess I should clarify; I felt like a good teacher at precisely 2:28. But that's a moment for sure!

English is a hard class because you have to teach grammar, writing, reading, and everything that comes with those things. Grammar is usually the hardest. I teach grammar every other day (alternating with vocabulary) in two week blocks. We work with one sentence for 5 days and do different work with that sentence each day. It's really very easy, but it's like pulling teeth with the students.

Basically, the first 4 days introduce or re-teach different grammar rules and on the 5th day we do practice, where they will apply any of the rules (very often comma rules) that we have learned thus far. The 5th day is usually god awful, so around halfway through the year I try to come up with ways to make it go faster or make it more fun. I tried three different things with my first three classes yesterday, and they didn't work.

Finally, what I did with my last class, which we completed at 2:28, went really well. I won't explain except to say that I felt like an idiot for not trying it a little earlier and that it basically consists of them teaching the class how they got the answer, and if it's wrong, the class helps them get the right answer. I felt like an idiot because I know better than anyone that the easiest way to learn something is to teach it. I'm the perfect exam

ple; I was terrible at grammar before I had to teach it. I could tell you where a comma went but not why. Now I know why. And I'm kind of crazy about making sure it's right.

Genius.

On a related note, I really hope I don't make too many mistakes in these posts. I don't usually read them again before I post them.

On another related note, this is from the plane Mom and I were on when we went to see Renee in Paris. I've still never figured out what it means.

Top 5 Movies

So up today is my Top 5 Movies of the year. I'll get past this pop culture BS eventually and get into lists that actually recall my year. This is much easier.

Actually that's a lie. This one was really hard. That's why I've had to include some honorable mentions at the bottom.

5. Up

Ok, so honestly, when has Disney/Pixar ever let the world down? Seriously. The Incredibles is one of my favorite movies ever. Wall-E? Genius. Toy Story? Epic genius. Oh my gosh, Finding Nemo. This list is just unbelievable. Up is no different. Yeah, the story is cliche, there is a talking dog, an oddly friendly wild bird, and intense sadness. But you end up in love with the characters, including the talking dog, who you will quote more often than any other character, and you will also laugh as hard as you cry. If you haven't seen it yet, do so. You will not regret it.

4. The Hangover

What made this movie so good was the cast. Good grief. Zach Galifinakis is a hilarious man. I'm pretty sure that if I ever met him in real life, he would be able to make me pee my pants. I can't remember Andy from The Office's real name, but following anyone's name with "from The Office" is a surefire sign that they are hilarious. Observe: Dwight from The Office. Stanley from The Office. Creed from The Office. And then there was the cute guy whose name is also escaping me. Anyway, this movie was intensely funny. The cast was great, but I'm sure the writing helped at least a little. There were some really, really smart lines.

3. Inglourious Basterds

Listen. Say what you will about Quentin Tarantino; the guy can write some movies. Sure, there was only one bloody fight scene in this one, making it his least bloody movie ever, but it was a really, really well done bloody fight scene, and it was hilarious to boot! What made this movie fantastic was the dialogue and the characters that Tarantino created and then mashed together without ever even putting on screen at the same time. Brad Pitt is given a chance to do some real acting for once, and he delivers. Ryan from The Office (hey! see #4) plays his minor role quite well. The chick who played Shoshanna was fantastic. I don't know what else to say. Sure, the movie is not in the least bit historically accurate. Who cares? If for no other reason than to see Brad Pitt sport a mountains-of-Tennessee accent and kill some Nazis, this was a great movie.

2. Star Trek

Oh. Wow. I have never seen a single episode of Star Trek. Nor have I seen any of the previous movies. Literally, I knew some of the characters names, but nothing about them. This did not matter, as it turns out. This movie was apparently a re-imagining, or something along those lines. I don't know how else to say that this movie was flat out awesome. I thought (coming from someone with no prior Star Trek experience at all) that the casting was spot on. That guy from Shaun of the Dead as Scotty? Genius! Do I have any idea if he was supposed to be that silly? None whatsoever. Zachary Quinto as Spock? Genius! That guy from Harold and Kumar as Sulu? Genius! Follow good cast with a smart script and storyline, as well as really solid action, and I think you've managed to properly re-imagine a franchise and gain a new fan while you're at it.

1. (500) Days of Summer

This movie flew under the radar but it's well worth seeing. Joseph Gordon Levitt is a revelation. My childhood crush on him in Third Rock from the Sun probably doesn't help, but he is in fact a really fantastic actor. This movie is real life and I left it feeling good about life in general, even though I was in a really bad place at the time. Yes, life may be awesome sometime and suck other times, but it will always work out for the best. This is being released on DVD soon. See it immediately.

Honorable Mentions

Fanboys: It kind of hurt to put Star Trek on that list over a movie about a group of Star Wars fans who cross the country to try to steal a copy of Episode I from Skywalker Ranch before it's released in theaters in 1999. In fact, I feel like a traitor. It was very funny and very poignant, with some superb cameos, including Bill Shatner. I began asking "Was Bill Shatner involved in this?" every time something went wrong in the spring.

Zombieland: Woody Harrelson needs to be in more movies where he gets to play a pseudo-crazy zombie killing machine. End of story. Also, more cameos by Bill Murray would make life happier. P.S. This movie was hilarious.

My Bloody Valentine 3D: I have to give a nod to this movie as it did scare the bejeezus out of me. It actually wasn't terrible, and it was really fun to watch because of the 3D. Here's my rendition of how this movie got made: Two guys write a lame script that's just like every other lame Hollywood horror/thriller movie. They take it a Hollywood exec who says "My Bloody Valentine is just like every other lame horror/thriller movie we've ever made. Sorry boys." So the guys go home dejected and smoke pot for three weeks straight. Then one of them looks up and says "I've got an idea." They take the same script back to the same exec who is confused and says "This is the same script." And the guys say "No. Now it's My Bloody Valentine 3D." The exec gasps and says "Oh my god. We've been making kids' movies 3D for ages. Why oh why haven't we done horror movies?!?"

Next up: My Top 5 Travesties