Brrrr...It's starting to get really brick. I'm heading out to SUNY Binghamton tommorow.  7 am in the morning.  Don't know how I'm going to do it yet along the kids who could barely make it to school at 8:30 am!  43 of them with just 1 intern as chaperones...Uh-Oh.  . 

Nah, can't complain, this is one of the perks about the job.  Going to visit schools instead of being at school?  Easy.
Got an overnight trip planned for 2 days and will visit Syracuse, Cornell and Ithaca.  Everything is free for me, hotel and food included and I get 2 days off of  no "real work?"
 As Mickey Blues Eyes would say: "FUH-GET-A-BOUT-IT."

These trips are actually amusing since the kids try so hard to act like they're in "college". -- First of all, traveling with a group of that size gives it away immediately. 
- Second, its hard to "blend in" when you're pushing and shoving and throwing food at each other when eating lunch.
- Last year I had one of my seniors, chalupz , tried to pass out one of those flyers that invite people to go clubbing.  Something like this: 

Needless to say, he didn't get much takers.  Sorry to blow you up Chalupa! Ha Ha.

Dear Canada,

We are formally requesting your assistance. Our country has been taken over by right-wing fundamentalists, and there does not appear to be an end in sight. We are hereby requesting to join your union, where rational thought seems to have gone after it fled our country.  

Attached is a pretty map of what our new greater nation will look like. Please help us extend your borders a little further south.

Sincerely,
The Blue States

PS. : Though we be not large in landmass, we are the economic engine of the country and could certainly help propel Canada to superpower status.

* see attached map

* Though saddened   a bit by the election results, I try to find solace in the fact the A LOT more people were happy with the results.  .  Sigh.  4 more years.  Here's hoping Bush doesn't piss anymore countries off.

       It's on.  94 -77 Bush right now.  Too early.

I'm actually really glad I'm in my house right now.  Although I am happy that there are more people interested in having a say on how our country will be run, to be frank, I was sooo tired of all my conversations with people today:

"DID YOU VOTE YET?"
Me: "Not yet"
"WELL, YOU GOTTA VOTE."
Me: "I will.  Later."
"WHY NOT NOW?  IT'S REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT TO VOTE."
Me: "Yes.  I know.   I'm working right now."
"OKAY, BUT JUST MAKE SURE YOU GO AND VOTE. THE FATE OF AMERICA IS IN YOUR HANDS.."
Me: "Umm...Ok."
"BECUZ IF YOU DON'T...YOU KNOW WHAT P-DIDDY SAYS..."

                                                        
- Maybe I'm getting a little agitated, but... NO SH*T!  Besides our current war, this is the next "biggest" thing was in the news and media.  There has been such a buildup the last month that what's going to happen? 

I'm gonna forget?

Alright, maybe its my perception that people are telling me I SHOULD vote.  Even my students are telling me.  Ha Ha.  Too many people!  Guess I'm more of a loner on this issue.  Sorry for the tirade.

Anyways, so here was my experience voting today.  [That's right, I DID vote!].  Good news  and bad news .  Good: 2 minute wait.  Bad: My 'hood was not representin'.

- Well, as I walked into the booth, escorted by a nice volunteer, I closed the curtain and started my decision making.  As I picked my Prez, I kept my voting groove on by picking congressmen, senators, etc... when...
The curtain cracks open....
"Do you need help with the machine?"
Me: "No! "

She must not have believed me because she left the curtain open for 10 more seconds!!!Geez!  She already saw my 1st CHOICE and was going for more. How about some privacy?!?! .  Anyways, watching the Election Night is going to be "nailbiter". 

- Here's hoping Ohio, PA and Florida come thru...

This is something that I never will understand, so please someone help me.  I feel like Jerry Seinfeld when I ask this :

"What's the deal with Daylight Savings Time?" 

I really cannot understand it and I need some of you educated Xangans to help me out.  WHY do we need to do it?  It's totally senseless to me.  The only arguments I can think of having it is so that we can :

Pros for "Falling" back an hour:
- When we wake up early to go to work, it won't be so dark.
- We get an Extra Hour in our life.
      .
* That's it?*
 First of all,  I personally could give 2 sh*ts whether it looks brighter in the morning.  I'm still going to NOT want to go to work and having it "sunnier" will get me depressed even more! 
Secondly, the extra hour sleep I get is not worth all the grief I have until we get to "spring forward". Lemme explain:

Cons for "Falling" back an hour: 
- It gets darker sooner!  That's it!  Which means:
- I get depressed more quickly since everytime I leave work, its dark.  Sad.
- There are certain things I only do during daytime.  [Laundry, cleaning the house, etc]  Especially since I do that on the weekends, I get up late and by the time I get motivated to do these things, it gets dark.  [I don't expect you guys to feel bad for me on this one ]
- When it gets darker, it also gets colder...Brrr....

Here's how it looked outside my window today at 5:20 p.m......

                                     - Now is that depressingly dark or what? - .

But back to the question "What's the deal with Daylight Savings time?"  Who really thought of this idea?  And why did we all listen to him/her?  I wonder what his/her arguments were for having it.  All it really seems to do is confuse and nusiance people when they have to remember to swtich their clocks and to remind others to do so as well.  All for what?  An extra hour?  Blasphemy!  What a load of crock. 

Apparently there is one state in the US that does not abide by these "rules".  I think its Arizona.  As a resident of New York, one of the most liberal places to live, I think we should protest against this.  Or, I guess I could just suck it up and enjoy my hour.  .

HALLOWEEN...Sheesh.  Normally I don't dress up, but last few years I did.  BOY was that a disaster. 
Ha Ha.  A social disaster.  Let me explain...Last year, my friend was planning this huge Halloween party.  Planning it for months.  So I was gonna go but I wasn't planning on dressing up.

J: "No...you gotta dress up.  You won't be allowed in without a costume."
Me: "Shut up.  I don't feel like wearing one."
J: "No really.  You need to wear one. I'm dead serious."
Me: "Really?  Fine." .

So an hour before I am about to head off to this party costume-less, I decided to "play along".  Sh*t!  what do I have in my house?  A black marker? A scully hat?  Perfect!...In fact I'll show you who I was...

                                                                             ENRIQUE IGLESIAS ! ! !

I thought it was creative.  Anyways, the party, although good, wasn't what I expected.  Of course only 20% dressed up and all my boy had on was a bathrobe on.

Me: "Who the fu*k are you supposed to be?"
J: " Hugh Hefner.  What are you?  A Sailor?"
Me: .

Suprisingly, only 2 people asked me what I was.  I found that strange, but maybe they all knew who I was.  Whatever.  So I found out a month ago that J was going to hook me up with one of his girlfriends.  Here's how their conversation went...

Girl: "I need a man.  Have any friends?"
J: "Do you remember Felix from my Halloween party?  He's a great guy."
Girl: "Yeah.  He was cute but..."
J: "But what?  He's awesome!"
Girl:" But...he's got this really HUGE MOLE on his face."

.

I am tired....zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Oh. sorry.  Long ass weekend.  Too tired to go into details.  But to make a long story short, I started my Sunday in Manhattan, then to Mammaronack, then to White Plains, back to Manhattan, then to Brooklyn and then ended in Queens.  Busiest Sunday in my life.  Sooooo....no story today.  But here are some random musings...

- Why is it that I cannot keep my apt. clean for more than 5 days EVEN when I make attempts to? .
-  Why do I have to work on Election day?  No fair. 
-  Why is it that when you volunteer to drive other people around, thinking that it would be faster, it in fact takes LONGER since you have to drive EVERYONE you  took home? 
-  Am I the only person that sees theres no real point in making your bed?
-  My HS girls basketball team looks reeeal nice this year.
-  Is it peculiar that I like to watch Desparate Houswives?
-  Why is it that I like females to be aggressive, but the ones that are... I'm not attracted to?
-   When will I stop enjoying to play sports video games?
-  I need a vacation...right now!

Okay.  didn't work .   How about right......NOW!

.  I'm going to bed.

'DA JINX is over...

I guess Congrats is in order to Red Sox fans.  You finally beat the New York Spankees.  Normally I would be jumping for joy...but not this time.  As some of you may know, I am a diehard New York Mets fan.  When I mean diehard, I mean I'm not one to say:

"I'll root for the Yankees in the playoffs since they're from New York."

Nope.  I would do anything but.  But maybe I've changed.  I went to Boston last April and ran into some Boston fans that found out from we were from NY.  I guess they beat the Yankees in a series earlier that month and started talking trash:

Baahstonian [that's how you need to pronunce it in Bahston]: "How did yeh like the series the other weekend?  Didn't look that good, did ja?"

(I don't know what happened but I could never just have someone start talking crap to me.)

Me: "Whatever man.  You lose every year to US [meaning the Yanks] and WE keep kicking your butts in the playoffs.  So have your cute little series win. While WE laugh to the World Series."

So then it begun.  I began to hate the Yankees a little less.  I did witness history though.  I got to witness a reverse sweep.  Down 0-3, The Sox won 4 in a row.  Its never been done before.  The "Curse of the Bambino" is officially OVER.  Don't really hate the Red Sox though.  How could I?  They had one of the most notorious players in all of baseball in mind....
BILL BUCKNER.  For those who don't follow baseball, my main man made a HUGE, I mean MONUMENTAL error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, in which he let a ball go right thru his legs and forced a Game 7, which the NY Mets eventually won.  Great stuff.  Couldn't have scripted it better myself.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still a diehard fan.  Just wanted the Yankees to make it to the Big Show....and then lose to the Cardinals/Astros! .

*  I thank my lucky stars every night that Mr. and Mrs. Buckner brought Billy into this world! . 

"SHOULD I CALL THE COPS?" 

"IS HE BEATING HER?"

Boy was I stuck in a jam this past weekend.  Saturday to be exact.  I was sitting in my room minding my own business when I heard this huge sound.  BLAM!   What was that?    Well it came from my next door neighbor.  Living next door to Maya for the past year, I have heard only 3 types of sounds. 
#1:  She is a singer.  So sometimes she rehearses with what seems like an entire band.  [how do they fit all those instruments in there?].  Great voice but sometimes sings in the wee hours.
# 2:  She loves to blast movies.  I woke up one Saturday morning, ~9:30am to the movie School of Rock.  The worst part is was that I never saw the movie but I know how it ended because I heard every LAST line clearly through those walls. 
# 3:  The sounds of...lets say...fornication?  .  She gets her groove on thats fo' sho.  Can we say screamer? . 

So this noise wasn't familiar.  Maybe she dropped a dumbell or something.  BLAM!  There it goes again.  Then I heard stomping on the ground.  BOOM BOOM BOOM!  What the hell?    Silence....3 minutes passed.  A dude's voice shouts out:

"BLAH BLAH BLAH....FU*K, SH*T, BLAH BLAH" [kinda muffled]

Hmmm....Maybe an argument.  2 more minutes passed...then

BLAM!  BOOM!
"BLAH BLAH BLAH...FU*K, SH*T, BLAH BLAH"

Damn.  This must be a bad fight. 

BLAM!  BLAM! BOOM! 

I hear Maya speaking in a soft voice...

BOOM! "SH*T!"
Alright, I'm about to call the Police.  Before I do, I gotta further investigate....
               
Wait...I think its getting clearer...

"RUN THE GODAMN FU*KIN' BALL!  SH*T!  BLAM! BLAM!  WHY DO WE KEEP THROWIN IT?  YOU NEED TO POUND THE FU*KIN' BALL IN!" BOOM! 

.  College football man.  College football.  .

* Random observation on the train today:  A Young pregnant Chinese Woman.  A YPCW!  I don't think I ever saw one before. Ha Ha.  I guess my mom was.  As were her sisters, but I can't recall images pictures of them.  Anyway,  I was really taken aback.  When I mean young, I mean 27ish.  [though she was Asian and maybe applies massive amounts of Pearl Cream , she could've been 33!]  I was talking to my friend about it when I saw a really pregnant Chinese woman standing in front of me with her friends.  I think I was talking about it for about 3 train stops until I realized that I was so fascinated, that I didn't offer her a seat!  I felt like a bad person .  Thaty lasted about 10 seconds since she then proceeded to refuse someone else's offer, so I felt like a good one again . 

As Anderson Cooper [news reporter] said on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the other day: 
"I've never seen a baby pigeon"
"I've never met an undecided voter"

True.  True.  Any other interesting observations from you Xanga readers?  I know I'm probably have encountered YPCW's before but maybe they don't take subways or stay home more often.  Ha Ha.  Probably should visit China.  I hear they're full of them . 

 * A look at my homeroom kids Brady Bunch style....

Took a while for them to buy into my vision...but they enjoyed it!   Just couldn't get them to sing the theme song together though....

"YO....WHATS POPPIN'?"

Tsk Tsk Tsk.  Its a shame how my vocabulary has lowered ever since I began working at a high school.  But of course I always find the Pros as well .  Well, it has vaulted me as one of the cooler faculty members since I use these terms with the kids and it keeps me in the loop.  The Cons?  Well sometimes I forget to differentiate when I talk to the faculty.  Ha Ha. I think I greeted my principal the other day by saying:
"Hey....What's crack-a-lackin'?" 
Ha Ha.  She was like: "Umm.  I'm fine, thank you?"

Anyways, here are some terms I use now and what I used back in the day.  [I can say that cuz I'm old.] 
* Note the word YO before every sentence.

Before: "What up Dawg?"                          
Now: "Yo...Sup son?"                    

Before: "That's Phat/Fresh!"
Now: "Yo...that's Hot/Sexy."

Before: "Whats the deally yo?"
Now: "Yo...What's really good?

Before: "Hey your wardrobe is mad tight"
Now: "Yo...your shirt is looking crispy."

Before: "He's mad diesel."
Now: "Yo...dudes mad brolic."

Before: "Mike's really pissed at you."
Now: "Yo...he's mad tight." [can be used in different context ]

Before: "You're mad wrong."
Now: "Yo...Don't get it twisted."

Before: "Queens...represent!"
Now: "Yo...Queens...holla back."

Before: "That's wack."
Now: "Yo...thats mad bunz." [don't really like this one]

Before: "Don't be jealous."
Now: "Yo...Don't hate."

Before: "Word up."
Now: "Aight."

* The only throwback seems to be the goodbyes:
Before: "I'm gonna bounce" , "I'm Audi" ,  "I'm Ghost." , "I'm Swayze".
Now: "Peace."  [How did that happen?]

*  I can go on but I feel already I am behind in my "lingo".  You know I'm old when I use that word.  Ha Ha.  My biggest fear is how I respond to my grandkids when I am 60.

Felix III: "Hey Grandad...What's poppin?"
Me: "What's that sonny?"   OR
"My ears"    OR
"My knees"  OR
"I'll pop you"  ......

Tsk.  Tsk.  Tsk.   Well one thing fo' sho is I will NEVER use the phrase..GHETTO FABULOUS...thats Mad Bunz....