observations

Back from San Antonio. It was a really good conference. National Council of Teachers of English. I like to say it was akin to a teacher's equivalent of a combo crack house/chucky cheese/casino. I was surrounded by books, a lot of free stuff, and not many windows, and I am the dork who LOVES that kind of thing. A few observations:

1. I didn't see much of the city, but of what I did see, I can say that it didn't look like there was much more there than water, birds, and wind. A LOT of birds that just sat in huge numbers in the trees and stared at you.

2. I don't think my hearing is very good. I was taking a bunch of free books up to a teacher friend's hotel room so I wouldn't have to carry them to dinner, and she handed me her key and told me her room number. I went up, put the books down, and used the restroom. Guess what? It wasn't her room. When spoken aloud, the numbers 1750 and 1715 sound exactly alike. I was in 1750, hers was 1715. Key worked in both. What if the person habitating that room had walked in when I was using their toilet?

I have a new nickname now: Goldilocks.

3. How can gum advertise "that just brushed feeling" when the flavor is watermelon mango?

4. I caved and started reading the first Twilight book by Stephanie Meyer. Against my will, mind you. I have a goal to read a certain number of books in the adolescent literary genre in the name of being able to put the right books in the right kids' hands to get them to read (Really, I miss The Baby Sitters Club). Since no one can stop talking about Twilight, including my students, I decided I should know what it's about. The idea of reading a vampire love story does NOT appeal to me, though. But, here goes. Since it appeals to ages 13-50, I figure it can't be a total waste of time.

5. I recently ate at Denny's for the first time. My friends Miranda and Jon, now married with a child, went there on their first date in high school. I couldn't stop thinking about them when I was there :) I ordered pancakes for dinner off the senior citizen menu, and they were excellent.

6. Did anyone see the 24 movie that came on TV?

7. Did anyone else hear on Rick & Bubba last week that the new word voted into the Webster's Dictionary is "meh?" Who, exactly, votes on these things? And how can I be a part of it?