Blogger-Reader Date

Oh, hey, thanks for meeting me. You look stunning. Yesterday I told you that if you were lucky, you'd get a Friday night blogger-reader date with me at nine o'clock. Or by nine o'clock. Though I have a feeling this conversation is going to be a bit one-sided. But we'd better get started, because I have some things to tell you and I haven't seen the waiter come by.

On Friday nights I like to catch up on my on-line television viewing. At the beginning of the school year, I felt overwhelmed because I had so many shows to watch (Covert Affairs, Under Covers, Nikita, and Glee when I felt like it). I should have been more thankful that those spy shows were on then. Covert Affairs wasn't really that good, but its season is done until this coming summer. I've been checking back on Hulu for new episodes of Under Covers (kind of my favorite) and Nikita. There hasn't been anything new in ages. So what do I do? Google news them both, of course. Do you know what I discovered? NBC has canceled Under Covers. This is a tragedy, and it always happens to me. After Alias ended, it took me forever to discover Lost. And then when Lost was over, I found Flash Forward, which was very brief, though riveting (in my opinion). And now they've gone and canceled the best spy show there's been in a while.

My problem is that I am too loyal. I have one show that I love, and one show only. So when it leaves me, I enter heartbreak. I ache to find something I can look forward to every week. I'm afraid I might rebound and start watching The Bachelor again, even though I finally quit like, two seasons ago. Good news is, Nikita is supposed to be back on next week. I will cling to her like a baby. You know, if babies clung to trained assassins who are dressed in black leather and own extensive weapon collections.

Oh hey look, our food has arrived. I know right? And you didn't even order anything. But it's your favorite, rest assured. Dig in.

Sometimes when you don't really know someone very well, you talk about really lame subjects such as the weather. Unless you've recently experienced a tornado or flood or something, it's usually not that interesting. I, however, had a wonderful weather-related conversation yesterday after school. I was standing at the back side of the school by the gym (which is where I am supposed to stand from 3:15 to 3:30 while students are leaving the premises), and I saw my old student from last year. Tyler (now a 5th grader) came up to me and started a conversation, as usual. He asked me what I'd been doing. I told him about the things I've been teaching my class recently. I asked him what he had been learning about. He said weather and climate. So then we started talking about collecting data. Apparently everyday the students in his class have to check the temperature and record if it is sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowing, etc. Plus, he was able to tell me about the type of clouds currently in the sky. I later complimented him on his use of "precipitation" in a sentence. It was really a nice, intellectual conversation, and after he left, I realized that is what I like best about being a teacher: I like talking to my old students. Because they are not currently in my class, our relationship is nothing but positive. I don't have to discipline them. They are excited to see me. The problem is, in order to get old students, you have to have current ones. And they give me headaches.

Did you order this dessert? Because it looks delicious. Mind if I try a bite?

Did you ever watch Even Stevens? With Shia LeBeouf? You know, when he was still a kid in middle school and not starring in Transformers with Megan Fox? I loved that show because it was hilarious. Well, I've got this student, "Drew," and I sort of wish he could have his own TV show. Drew created bread people. He's also the one who came in a few months ago with his cello case and was all "Hey look teacher, I'm a rock and roller! All I need is an ugly jacket and a beard." Well, this morning when he came in, he sat at a seat that was not his (he usually sits in at least three people's seats before the bell rings) and says to a group of kids, "Last night I learned beauty tips from Megan Fox." He says all of these things in his chubby-cheeked Spanish accent.

Oh look, the bill came. Don't worry though, your pretend meal is on me. We'll have to do this again sometime.