iPod Essentials #96: "Natural High"--Bloodstone

A dreamy, sexy song from 1973, complete with a falsetto and slow groove. If I were to dance with someone while this song was playing, I'd marry him.

Resolve or Why Auld Lane Syne Makes Me Sad

It's that time of year again. Bring out the streamers, paper hats, champagne, the one you'll kiss at midnight. And then, you'll hear that sad song.

With its horns and plaintive tone, "Auld Lane Syne" saddens me; it signals the passage of another year in which nothing spectacular happened other than struggles and failures. True, I finished my novel, but I thought I'd have an agent by now. I'm trapped in a job I'd like to stop doing because of its instability and stressful politics. I regained the ten pounds I'd lost. I constantly worry about money. Life doesn't seem enjoyable right now. What's the point in celebrating 2010? Chances are it will be the same as 2009.

Resolve, that's what. I'm tired of feeling like a failure, watching my friends succeed while I'm left behind, struggling and stagnating. I work hard, but I need to exhaust myself. Nothing comes easily for people; there's no fairy godmother to grant wishes. Maybe next year hearing those horns won't make me cringe.

iPod Essentials #96: "Sign Your Name"--Terence Trent D'Arby

So pleased when I heard this mid-80's gem midway through UP IN THE AIR yesterday. Slow, sexy--whatever happened to this guy? He had a great voice. His songs had interesting rhythms. And wow, did I mention how sexy this song is?

Self-Reflections up in the AMC

Yesterday I saw the wonderful UP IN THE AIR. I don't want to admit this, but I share a lot in common with Ryan Bingham, the character George Clooney plays in the film.

"Well, so who the fuck am I?" These are the first words we hear in this film. Lately, I've been wondering the same question. I'd like to write full-time, am stuck in a dead-end, unstable part-time teaching gig, would like to see more money in my bank account, and thought I would have found a compatible life traveler by now. Both Ryan and I are suffering midlife crises and are trying to claw our way out of them. Without giving away the storyline, let's just say that Ryan's pursuit isn't as successful as it could have been. Right now I feel like I'm drowning in stress.

Ryan and I are survivors, though. Life throws us curve balls, and we've learned to cope when they smack us in the arm. One of these days, we'll get perfect pitches. We know how to swing at the right time and not strike out. When our time comes.

iPod Essentials #95: "In the Year 2525"--Zeager and Evans

A one-hit wonder for this duo in the late 60's. The future. Machines. "If man is still alive."

Right now I fear the end is near. Most people are unhappy, broke, unhealthy. There doesn't seem a way out of this well we've all fallen into.

Hope in the Darkened Classroom

On Tuesday afternoon, I received a phone call from the department secretary at Pierce College, informing me that my English 82 class for the spring semester would be cancelled. Apparently, the Board of Trustees feels that it's unimportant for non-natives to learn how to speak English. And they don't feel I need to make a living.

I'll never forget the following day when I told students that their next-level class would be cancelled. The looks of anger and confusion in their eyes--I wish these foolish trustees could have seen them.

"Why?" asked one of my students.

"Because you're not important to them," I said. "Since a lot of the people on the Board have never been in a classroom, they don't feel it's necessary for you to learn English."

After several more minutes of discussion, we took a break. Many students immediately started calling the District Office to complain. They were told to write letters to the Board. They asked me how to do that, so for the next hour, I taught them how to write business letters. All but three in the class did just that.

I told them how proud I was of them, taking initiative and not letting our next class go without a battle. On Monday, I will collect their letters, copy them, and mail them to all eight trustees.

Yesterday I sent my eight letters to the trustees. The first of many--Iwill not let my class go without a fight, for my sake as well as my students' sake.