Dreamy Dream

Last night I had a dream that I was pregnant. I could even feel the baby kicking. There was a strange sensation of fear and discomfort. I remember sitting next to my friend Derek on the hood of a car in a strangely green park. I just talked to Derek on the phone (in real life) yesterday morning, but in the dream he clearly was not the "father" of my dream baby.

In the dream, he was talking to me about something when I suddenly had to interrupt him. I remember saying, "I'm really sorry, but I...I...I..." And at that, my already pregnant stomach began to expand like a bubble, the skin getting thinner and the baby becoming more visible. There was a soft and wet bursting sound, but no pain, and the baby plopped onto the hood of the car. Then I woke up.

Found scribbled...

I am often left drunk
from the wine of fine women
Lured, by the polish of golden hair
Siezed, so my self is in danger
Drowning and searching for air.

2003

Rarely moved by material goods but could you resist this?

At PerpetualKid.Com...This is such a cool alternative to the block of wood or magnetized strip of metal or boring old drawer. What better way to store your blades? Even though it's 70 bucks, I am thinking about it. It'll be a nice decoration when I get my own fancy studio apartment soon and leave the Real World South Philly for good.

Short Timer

Well, my friends, just 13 days left in my student teaching adventure. It did go quickly. I really loved every minute but I couldn't go through it again, at least not while working another job on the weekend. I'm a few finger steps from totally burning out. So as December 5th, my last day, approaches, I feel relief.

I think my biggest triumph is that I've learned so much about each and every kid in my fourth grade class. And I do feel like it's MY class. I can say with confidence that no kid blended into the woodwork, no kid got lost in the shuffle of my inexperience and I really can't think of one kid that didn't get to express themselves in a fun and creative way.

This was always my goal when I first started along this path to becoming a teacher. I wanted to connect with every kid and make all feel a part of the classroom in a way that I seldom did as a student. In the past three months I tried my best to do that and feel so good about the results. I'll always remember their names and faces. And just as we did on a Halloween afternoon around a track full of camera-toting parents; we'll walk together, no child left behind.

a gastronomy apology

All good things My friends on the line
a lobster in a pot I meant no harm
hang on to your protest You did no wrong
no boycott I love the wasabi mash
So sorry for that flash

Continental Kitchen Drama

During a recent round of Philadelphia urban wandering I found myself on the corner of 2nd and Market. I raised my digital camera above my head and stretched to take this picture of the guts of the Continental's kitchen. I couldn't see in without lifting the camera because the window was too high. My new camera has that cool little digital screen- I looked at that and it sort of felt like a periscope. It's a pretty good shot. It's a pretty good restaurant, a little pricedy and affected, but considered very nice. I've had Martinis there, had the wasabi mashed potatoes there, taken illicit pictures of the kitchen there.

Honestly, I didn't think anything of taking the picture. I really do like to look into professional kitchens- it's the same reason I like to watch cokking shows like Top Chef or Iron Chef. Beauty in funtion- maybe? But do I really have to explain myself. Well, right after I took this photo, I did.

As soon as I snap the pic (no flash) two guys in suits get out of a freshly parked towncar on Market Street. One, obviously younger with curly blonde hair, walks right up to me and asks me what I'm doing? Now, I have taken many photos in my capacity as a reporter and been aggressively challenged on a lot them. I instantly transformed into that mode, not to be defensive rather because I knew I was doing nothing wrong (taking photos from a public space into a private may be considered shady but it is legal, besides, my motive was pure).

So I answered honestly: taking pictures, what are you doing? Curly hair ignored me and asked why I was taking pictures and I answered, because it's fun. He asked again why I was taking pictures of HIS restuarant. I thought that was strange because he wasn't Stephen Starr (the real owner who is sort of a celebrity restauranteur in Philly with a chain of good but affected joints) so maybe he was the general manager or something. The second suit came over, obviously the lawyer, and I relaxed a little because there was no way they would attempt to grab my camera. I could just tell they wouldn't cross that line.

So me, curly and lawyer started discussing why I taking a picture of their kitchen. I kept telling them I took the picture because it I thought it looked cool. I also took pics of their sign because I think it looks cool. They kept telling me it was a really odd thing to do. They wouldn't drop it so I decided to try and take another shot of the kitchen. This time it flashed, which upset me because I didn't want to bother the guys on the line. And I said to curly and lawyer that now I was so curious why they didn't want me to see inside their kitchen.

I walked away feeling both proud and like a big jerk. But here are the pics including a Continental's cool sign.