So I've started looking for summer work in the UK/Ireland. I'm a drama teacher by trade and would love to do that, rather than teach English (which I'm qualified / certified to do but don't love). It's a daunting search but exciting too. For example, I just found a camp in Ireland for kids with cancer and other serious illnesses. How COOL would that be???

If anyone has any leads or recommendations or has done anything like this before, any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm...

I've moved around A LOT. Pretty much every three years since I was born, I was forced to pack up and move (until about 14 years ago). I always sort of cut ties with anyone I left behind, either by choice, or fate, or laziness. So I don't really have any childhood friends.

So when people ask me how I got into U2, I recall the day in 8th grade when this guy I was friends with, asked me if I liked U2. I said yes and he gave me UF on tape. I took it home and listened to that thing...

As you probably know, I'm a teacher, which is a pretty thankless job. In fact, I was remarking the other day to another teacher that, when we take kids on a field trip or bring in a guest speaker, rarely do they thank us.

But today when the bell rang at the end of my class I overheard something that made me beam with pride. And whether or not it was meant for my ears or not, it was a 'thank you' in my book. A student of mine said "Dangit. I'm always sad when the bell rings...

When I was in 7th grade my friend gave me a tape of UF. I became a fan. The next year I dated a boy who really liked U2. I think we may have even gone to see Rattle and Hum together. I'm not sure. What I am sure of is this:

We broke up (of course). We were at a dance. WOWY came on. His best friend said I should dance with him, even though we'd broken up. We danced. I still remember that dance. The next song was fast and we didn't move, we just stood there hugging, the way...

U2 fans Vs. Green Day fans:

Green Day fans...
-don't have the same concert etiquette, or any for that matter
- say fuck a lot more than U2 fans
-are shorter (thank god)
-are not as pretty
-do NOT camp out 18-24 hours in advance of the show (lined up @ 5:45 and got in the 2nd "row")

I will say this to all the setlist bitchers: I was what we'd call a casual Green Day fan. Saw them before they were big. Bought Dookie. LOVED...

I love Discovery Channel. I'm fascinated by nature videos. And yet I cannot watch SharkWeek. Why you ask?

As some of you may know, I'm a triathlete. Which means I have to swim. In a pool. When I was 7, my brothers watched Jaws. They told me not to watch. But I did. And I am ruined.

I have a completely irrational fear of sharks in any body of water, including the pool. Yes, the pool. If I'm not totally engrossed in counting laps and dividing miles by yards...

So I just got back from my first non-flat bike ride since I was about 16 years old. Here are some things I now know.

-Bike riding is a helluva lot harder than it looks.

- EVERYTHING is scarier and more difficult on a bike. For example:
*bugs? don't have to worry about them when you're running.
*hills that I could easily run up were a bitch on the bike
*cars? petrify me
*rocks? scary as hell

-I should really get to know my bike and...

I ran 3 miles yesterday... well I walked for about 6 minutes total, but I got through the three miles. (to think that last year I did a 10K no problem )

I swam today. I was slow as hell, I couldn't turn right and I knocked my shin getting out of the pool, but I swam.

If I can get my booty out of bed before it gets to be 90+degrees tomorrow morning to ride my bike, I'll officially be back in training.

Two races, one the weekend before the...

Mr.Z: Did I come off as a total snob, the other night, asking everyone when their first U2 show was?

Me: I don't think so. It was more the not talking to anyone. And not so much a snob, as cold and aloof.

Mr.Z: Yeah, I usually come off as cold and aloof, you should know that.

Me: I guess, yeah.

Mr.Z: I was relegated to the kids' end of the table, stuck in a corner!!!

Me: Yeah. Sorry 'bout that.

Mr.Z: Well, tell...

through the next two days without doing someone bodily harm I will have succeeded. If not, which of you will post my bail?

Mr. Z said I could put some U2 stuff on one wall in the new house. He loves Coldplay almost as much as I love U2 so I thought I'd throw him a bone. Here's our new kitchen wall.





Anytime y'all wanna come over for dinner, the table expands

So this week I've Zumba'd and I've BodyJam'd (Hip Hop) and while both were okay (and the instructor for BodyJam was kind cute in that "I know he's got an ego that can barely fit in the doorway" kind of way). But in all actuality I'm still just counting down the days to when the weather will be nice enough that I can go do my favorite trails in the canyon.

I'm staying home this summer with my son. It's the first time we've been together nonstop since he was about 6 months old. Usually, given any chunk of time together we drive each other crazy.

The first 4 weeks were fine. Then we went on vacation together, which was fine. When I came back, I started to go a little stir-crazy, like I've got this extra appendage or something I just can't shake. Yes, I'll say it: I was sick of spending time with my son. I was sick of not having...

I will meet with
my uber-hippie aunt who's never gotten over the guilt of not raising me herself,
her daughter who is waaaaaaaay more forgiving than I am (about other things) and I feel guilty talking to her most of the time,
my deceased half-sister's ex husband and
my heroine-addict other half-sister
for my deceased half-sister's memorial. Should be 'interesting' at best, painfully awkward at worst. I don't want hugs. Just send a bottle of Jameson my way....

to love Paul Newman any more than I already did. He was devilishly handsome, extremely talented with excellent taste in material / roles he chose. He had a long and, from what I can tell, very loving relationship with Joanne Woodward. He was a philanthropic businessman and he founded the Hole In The Wall Gang, a camp for kids with cancer. So my admiration was close to hero worship.

But today I found these:








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