Cold here in Nome right now, a real cold snap that is lucky to get up past positive five degrees. I still have this massive cotton-wad feeling in my right ear. I am on amoxicillin, the first antibiotics I have been on in at least fifteen years. Hopefully it works fast because I can barely hear students at school. And thank goodness today is Friday once again. Nearing the end of the semester too, with a couple weeks of Christmas break thrown in the middle. That's another nice bonus of being a teacher--the Christmas break!

I will be showing my senior English class the Dead Poets Society movie next week, my way of showing that theme permeates all stories, not just written literature. Bunch of ulterior motives abound, especially the fact that this movie helped me make the decision to become an English teacher--it solidified that love of literature and ideas, especially the one line Robin Williams says: "We let the poems drip from our tongues, like honey." The other day, I showed them that clip from Saturday Night Live of Rev. Jesse Jackson reading Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham, from right after Theodore Geisel passed away. I think I pleasantly shocked a bunch of them into understanding that even Dr. Seuss may contain a great message. You may just have to look beneath it a bit. That was a pretty awesome mini-lesson.

The sophomore English sections, however, are nearing that inevitable time where we will be reading plenty of short pieces and answering questions, in preparation of the Alaska state test called the HSGQE (High School Graduation Qualifying Exam). They have to pass it to graduate nowadays, just like the WASL in Washington. We will also be doing some on-demand writing to get them ready for that too. (Never become an English teacher--there is entirely way too much reading of drafts and essays to do. When the due date comes, I cringe because it is like assigning myself a book to read, sometimes one I don't even want to read: 70 sophomores times 1-2 page essays--it's a book!)

Personally, I have a ton of comic reviews to write. Viper Comics and Goodbum Studios just sent me packages to review and I got on the Dark Horse Comics ftp for them to send me pdf files of books to read and review. All pretty cool but a lot of work. One day, I may get paid for this gig. One day. Right now, it is just free comics, which nowadays is nothing to sneer at, price-wise.

Christmas is almost here. I have Amy all squared away, but her Overstock.com package hasn't arrived yet and it has me worried. I better go track it.

And we are having entirely too much fun right now telling Madison to be good or we'll call Santa.