I was told to read The Five Love Languages book. Being the persuadable, suggestible person I am, I did so. I'm sure it will come in way handy some day, but today I'm just not sure why I did that. I figured out a few days ago what my love language is, and reading the book just made it more blaringly obvious. I am "Quality Time."
People sometimes assume that I'm "Words of Affirmation." Not so. I like words of affirmation. They are nice. I also like acts of service--but they are more likely to make me feel guilty than loved. Even more so with gifts. I guess it's good to know that all these years I've been beating myself up for not being more grateful when someone gives me a gift, it wasn't necessarily because I wasn't grateful, but rather that gifts don't fill my "emotional tank."
So for anyone's future reference, if you want to be in my good books, all you have to do is sit down and talk to me for a while. Not something I'm getting much of lately. Oh well. I guess I just need to learn to cope with being emotionally needy.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
On Books (Part Nine)
Have you ever gotten so into a book that when one of the characters should be hesitating about doing something, you yourself are hesitating to turn the page? It's an odd little feeling, and it happened to me yesterday while I was reading Everlost.
Finally getting around to starting the book was a good thing; it was one of those books I purchased after attending a reading motivation workshop, guaranteed to be interesting to young teens. I had ordered about 20 of them to pre-read and place on the shelves of my classroom, but I didn't read all of them right away, having also just begun graduate school. It sat there, and sat there, and sat there. I recommended it to a lot of kids as "something I heard was really good," but I always feel a little uneasy doing that when I haven't actually read it. Now I have! Just as I suspected, getting started was the hiccup—finishing it was not.
Victory for me, as I have this previously stated fear of never reading all the books on my own shelves.
There's always a sense of accomplishment after I've finished reading a book, but lately I've felt less of that when it's fiction. But now I have a whole stack of books on music that I've got to read before they're due back at the library. I think this evening, after I've finished everything I need to do for the day, I'll turn on some Mozart and get started.
Finally getting around to starting the book was a good thing; it was one of those books I purchased after attending a reading motivation workshop, guaranteed to be interesting to young teens. I had ordered about 20 of them to pre-read and place on the shelves of my classroom, but I didn't read all of them right away, having also just begun graduate school. It sat there, and sat there, and sat there. I recommended it to a lot of kids as "something I heard was really good," but I always feel a little uneasy doing that when I haven't actually read it. Now I have! Just as I suspected, getting started was the hiccup—finishing it was not.
Victory for me, as I have this previously stated fear of never reading all the books on my own shelves.
There's always a sense of accomplishment after I've finished reading a book, but lately I've felt less of that when it's fiction. But now I have a whole stack of books on music that I've got to read before they're due back at the library. I think this evening, after I've finished everything I need to do for the day, I'll turn on some Mozart and get started.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Jordan Sonnenblick
I am going to be bold and name the author and the book outright. Once I wrote a book rant about some authors, and I wasn't exactly complimentary, then the author found herself and commented. I have rarely been so disconcerted about something. And ashamed, really. Did I think authors didn't look on the internet to find out what other people are saying about them? So, Mr. Sonnenblick, if you read this, I hope you enjoy.
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie was on a recommended new release list several years ago, and I checked it out from the public library and proceeded to read the whole book in one sitting. It had a rare quality: making me laugh while crying at the same time. I've read so many books that a lot of them tend to lose their impact, but this one still packed a punch. I started recommending it to my students, and often reading it with them. Just about everyone likes it.
What's not to like in a story about a middle school boy with a typical middle school attitude but a very big heart and very big problems? The interactions between Steven and his little brother, Jeffrey, who is fighting to survive leukemia, are indescribable in a review. You'd just have to read it.
I assumed that in spite of the way it ended, Notes from the Midnight Driver was about all the sequel it was going to get; then, late last week while browsing the shelves looking for something completely different, my eyes fell upon After Ever After. And then I read the front flap and realized it was about Jeffrey. Then, I realized I had to read it. Immediately.
Same experience as the first. I see why other reviewers referred to it as a "brave" book. It deals with some seriously controversial issues ... well, controversial for anyone who's at all interested in the past, present, and future of American public schools ... in addition to the very relevant tale of what happens after a child survives cancer.
When I first finished it, I was kind of thinking along the lines of it didn't fully resolve all, or really any, of the issues it brought up. But even after very brief reflection, I've decided that's a strength. That's what makes these stories so powerful—they just tell the story, rather than asking questions and giving cookie-cutter answers to them. There was just enough of a resolution for the book to feel complete, and to allow the reader (me, I guess) some closure.
Great book. Definitely worth investing a few hours in.
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie was on a recommended new release list several years ago, and I checked it out from the public library and proceeded to read the whole book in one sitting. It had a rare quality: making me laugh while crying at the same time. I've read so many books that a lot of them tend to lose their impact, but this one still packed a punch. I started recommending it to my students, and often reading it with them. Just about everyone likes it.
What's not to like in a story about a middle school boy with a typical middle school attitude but a very big heart and very big problems? The interactions between Steven and his little brother, Jeffrey, who is fighting to survive leukemia, are indescribable in a review. You'd just have to read it.
I assumed that in spite of the way it ended, Notes from the Midnight Driver was about all the sequel it was going to get; then, late last week while browsing the shelves looking for something completely different, my eyes fell upon After Ever After. And then I read the front flap and realized it was about Jeffrey. Then, I realized I had to read it. Immediately.
Same experience as the first. I see why other reviewers referred to it as a "brave" book. It deals with some seriously controversial issues ... well, controversial for anyone who's at all interested in the past, present, and future of American public schools ... in addition to the very relevant tale of what happens after a child survives cancer.
When I first finished it, I was kind of thinking along the lines of it didn't fully resolve all, or really any, of the issues it brought up. But even after very brief reflection, I've decided that's a strength. That's what makes these stories so powerful—they just tell the story, rather than asking questions and giving cookie-cutter answers to them. There was just enough of a resolution for the book to feel complete, and to allow the reader (me, I guess) some closure.
Great book. Definitely worth investing a few hours in.
Random Stuff
I found out today that it's official. My Professional Portfolio passed! I am so relieved. That was just one of the many things looming over my head lately that I've been trying not to worry about. Check off the list, and move on.
This morning I found out that it's a lot harder to keep running after a big event. I tried to rest up yesterday, especially considering it was the Sabbath. Then I got up to go to the gym, and after just one mile I was a little tuckered. I stopped and did a bunch of crunches and triceps work, then got back on the treadmill for 2 more miles. In a way, that feels wimpy, but in another way it feels like a great victory.
This morning I found out that it's a lot harder to keep running after a big event. I tried to rest up yesterday, especially considering it was the Sabbath. Then I got up to go to the gym, and after just one mile I was a little tuckered. I stopped and did a bunch of crunches and triceps work, then got back on the treadmill for 2 more miles. In a way, that feels wimpy, but in another way it feels like a great victory.
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