HOT CHICKS!!

neon hot chicks, that is. a whole box of 'em--and all yours for a mere handful of USDs.

i came across these lovely babies two years ago as i was jaunting across europe for a few months. ironically, africa turned out to be my favorite part of europe and i ended up spending two weeks in the oh-so magical and intoxicating country of morocco. in the medina in the capital city of rabat, this is one of the rather more unexpected vendor sites that i stumbled upon. although my french is not exactly tops (*understatement* of the year), i gathered that the chickens aren't really born these colors. i think each seller's chicks are dyed a different color so when a sale is made, the money goes to the owner of the corresponding color. (can't you just see old moroccan farmers standing in front of vats of neon dye, armed with handfuls of squawking baby chicks, arguing, "it's my turn for neon pink, rashid! you had it last week!"??) i suppose when they molt, they turn into normal old boring red and brown hens. but hey, eggs are eggs.

and, as the french say, c'est la vie, baby, c'est la vie.

Yet Another Elegant Way to Open Oysters

well, i was hanging with my relatives in long island two years ago, and we took a walk along the bay where i found an unopened oyster. (pearls! i always think there's gonna be a pearl, *sigh.*) after the walk, i took it back to my relatives' cottage where we set it in water to see if it would open.

now normally, oysters snap open in no time, but this little guy was a one was stubborn one, so we sat around at my relatives' kitchen, thinking, what to do, what to do? everyone, that is, except my uncle mark. he didn't even blink: "let's drill it!" he proclaimed (a bit too gleefully), and downstairs we ran, to where he hoards his collection of oversized power tools for situations that arise such as this.

since my dad is one of my uncle's favorite brothers, i was lucky enough to be chosen as the "driller." honestly, it was one of the more thrilling moments in what has been, at least so far, a rather peacefully mediocre life. after i successfully drilled a hole, the dang thing still wouldn't open, so we ended up putting it in a vice. after a few cranks we finally cracked it and marvelled over the fact that it wasn't even dead.

unfortunately, there wasn't a pearl. oh well, sometimes the real pay off is in the process, no?

p.s. for all of you motherly types out there, i want you to know that i actually did end up wearing safety goggles during the drilling, i just didn't remember to put them on until right after the first picture was snapped (but fortunately before any drilling and dust-spewing occurred). as you can see in the triumphant open-oyster photo below, all safety procedures were strictly adhered to. i am also pleased to add that, as of my last doctor's visit (which was insanely recent, i'm a total hypochondriac), i remain in perfect retinal health. yay!

alternate universe or random chance occurrance?

how cute is this? me pretending to cook! (what you don't see in the background--my other twenty relatives, who are actually able to spend time in the kitchen and end up with something edible. . .). what can i say, i saw a photo op, so i grabbed a knife and tried to look serious. bon apetit!

now, where'd i set my glass of vino?

and no, i'm not high off of the fumes...

Hello there to all of my millions of daily readers. I've been flooded with your emails, and I want you to know I WILL get back to you, it's just that I've had a really crazy weekend with moving and everything. I'm happy to announce that I successfully painted two walls of my room the color "Splash" by Benjamin Moore. It's sooooo much better than the "White-with-Handprints-and-Other-Smudges" that was there. And, when you clean the paint off the brushes after you're done, it looks like liquid Smurf going down the sink. Fun!

My Poem--for Vincent

On Van Gogh’s “Bed”

Yellow headboard pushing against the floor,
It’s time to unhook myself from my slumber
And abandon the room, like how you wanted to paint it.

I always have to wake up at too-early o’clock in the morning
Before coffee sets my parallel lines straight,
And you certainly had to capture that, didn’t you?

Van Gogh, you old paint-scratcher, you even made my
Bed and hung up my towel, still damp from my attempt to
Wash away yesterday’s sins in order to make room for today’s.

Now, old man, take hold of your artistic weaponry and
This time, paint me back in bed;
paint me asleep.

Take Three

Hi. Well this is the THIRD time I'm writing this and I'm gonna be less cute and witty as the first time around. I went to post and the computer deleted it. See, THIS is why I'm totally freaked out when it comes to technology. I like the old-fashioned instruments known as pen and paper. Much more tangible.

So I'm Kara, nice to meet you, and I'm here taking a Literacy and Technology Course at Lehman College for this summer. A summer of taking course work at Lehman is my "reward" for finishing up my first year of teaching. I teach high school English at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. The kids rock, the job is way hard.

Well, I'm outta time, so more tomorrow. Stay original!

Day One

Hi and welcome to my first blog ever. Yes, it's true, I'm what you might call "technologically challenged." We're supposed to introduce ourselves, so hello again, I'm Kara and I'm taking this ESC 529 Literacy and Educational Technology course here at Lehman College. I'm a New York Teaching City Fellow and I teach English Literature at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. I just finished my *first* year of teaching, Yay! And now my reward for one of the most strenuous jobs ever is a two month summer vacation, half of which will be spent inside the doors of Lehman college, *sigh*. I'm soooooo incredibly freaked out about this class. Thankfully it's only eleven days long! What I want to get out of this class is how to be less scared of technology. It would be nice to learn some things I could use in the classroom as well--anything to get my students to learn!

Enough with the statistical facts about me. On a more human level, I adore poetry, sunshine, roaming around NYC, and spending time with my loved ones. I really miss spending time with my kitty cat, Alexander Wonderful. He wouldn't be happy in my NYC apartment, so my parents are keeping him for now (thanks mom and dad!). And lately, I've been wanting to make pies and crisps. It's really hard to find rhubarb in the city. It's funny because my parents grow it like crazy in their garden in Ohio. I had to go to 8 stores in Astoria to find it and half of the people had never heard of rhubarb. "It looks like celery with red on the bottom parts," I tried to explain. The strawberry-rhubarb crisp did turn out rather well, I've been told. Maybe if I took some of that to the store merchants then they would start carrying it??

Enough for now. We're going to learn something else fun, useful, and exciting. Yes, it's gonna be an action-packed adventurous summer here at Lehman College.