Ahhhhh! After a long break fron Joe User, I have wandered back. The addiction will always be here. Since I was last here, I have doing tons of yoga, teaching, gardening, and going to Moonshine Flush shows. Most recently, I worked with a teen group in St. Paul. We had pool days, camp days, art days, cooking days, car wash days, science days, dance days and painted a mural, which took about a week. The funniest qupte from the summer was on the bus ride home from one of our feild tri...

I made sushi for the first time on Saturday, and surprisingly, it didn't fall apart. Of course, I made the simplest kind, but still! I put lobster, cucumber, and avacado on the inside. Some had just lobster and avacoado, some had just lobster and cucumber, and some had just cucmber and avacado. I also put sesame seeds in some of them. All together, I think there were about 40 rolls. It took about two hours to do the whole thing and we (Oliver, my brother and I) ate them all in about 15 m...

I watch you. I know you’re faking it. What does it matter? They don’t notice anyway. Poor them. They’re really like this. There are a few other fakers. It’s better to be a faker. Fakers have perspectives that non-fakers don’t get. Academics call it objectivity. I don’t give a fuck. I fake that, too. Switch it on. Switch it off. On. Off. On. Off. Smile. The selves are always fleeting and pulling. The balance is difficult to manage. One is always trying to g...

I was recently asked how I plan to use music in my classroom and why. A little stunned, I realized I knew I wanted music in my classroom, but I hadn't thought about how and why, or planned exactly when I would use it. I just figured I would, sometime. I hadn't actually stopped to think about the importance music has played in my life. Or how now, I am in a place where I'll be providing an experience for someone else and music. I thought it was about time that I did. My Elementary S...

This is me with my brothers (one of which is Same Old Rat) and my sister. This is my man with his mom on Christmas. And, it's Reddirty....his photo debut!

Me & My Baby Killer Kitten Sleepy Kitten Next to My Size 6 Shoes!

Ahhh! I've been having trouble accessing Joe User! My biggest problem has been the invasion of InstaFinder . It seems to have taken over my JoeUser experience. Whenever I tried getting to my page, it would pop up, giving me no option to get here. When I could get here, occasionally, when I would click on a link (any link) it would come up instead. It was crazy. I ran AdAware, and some other de-bugging stuff...but when I search my files for InstaFinder, it's still there! I can't get ri...

The Willie Joke Update Today I overheard Quincey say something to Willie. Willie responded by saying "It's not Willie...Call me Big Willie." Quincey was surprised to hear this come out of Willie's mouth. Quincey didn't say any penis jokes for the rest of the period. Willie's strategy worked, and I didn't even think of that. Yeaaaaaa! The kids were more involved than ever today. They are starting to come out of their shells, I think. We worked on fractions of land using Starbursts...

Now, Willie (I found out today that that's how he spells it, now) has been at NE for a week and 2 days. His first day was my first day. He seemed well mannered, shy, intelligent, and had a particular style. His style is one I 'd expect to see in the suburb he moved from. Baggy, but not too baggy jeans, no hat, some kind of silver neckless, a button down shirt, skate shoes. He looked nice, but not dressed up. He acted the same way. Relazed and put together. He held himself high those f...

We played math fraction games today again in groups. I was sitting with a group of two. Willy and Quincey. Quincey decides that I, being the teacher, haven't ever heard penis jokes before. The presumed purity of teachers...ha! So back and forth Quincey and Willey crack jokes. Quincey keeps saying things like, "Put it there, Willy" "Oh, Willy, right there" Willy, that's right" "Willy, right there, yeah" "Willy...Willy...Willy..." As a response, Willy just keeps saying "Dude ...

Nothing too interesting today. I am more amazed that some adults never got a full math education. Math anxiety, some say. It's your teachers fault, you know! Teachers seem to hate explaining the hows and whys that make for a real understanding of math, instead of just number munching. I didn't understand the hows and whys of math until I started taking calculus. That's insane. It's much easier to explain these things in elementary school and prepare kids to think algebraically, ins...

We walk up the steps to the patio. He hands it to me. Breathe in. I hand it to her. Around and around. It’s been a long time, much too long a time. I couldn’t really remember, anyway. My head is in my hands, between my knees. It takes me a while to catch by breath. I hear the world before I can see it. It can’t wait, especially the sun. She has to say her final farewell. She demands I say mine. Hip, knee, ball, toe. Hip, knee, ball, toe. I clutch him. I don’t know how I go...

Today was my first day of three weeks teaching middle school math. During second period, one of the boys, who happens to tower over me, grabbed another kid's binder and whipped it across the room. Papers, pencils, and books went flying everywhere. Whew! Glad I wasn't standing in the line of fire, although I was near. The papers were at all around me. The kid who did the throwing seemed to think it was alright because the other kid touched his stuff. Damn. I found out later that last we...

I think I need your opinions, Joe Users. Breast feeding in public. I don't get the hype. Breasts serve many functions, one of which is nursing a human baby. When nursing, breasts are being used non-sexually. So, why are so many people against nursing in public. I was discussing breast feeding with a group of my friends. The two women said they would never do it in public. One of them even ripped on her sister-in-law for breast feeding at the state fair without a blanket covering her...