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So Much Stuff I Can't Recall

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Running on Ice

Phil had his first experience ice skating this afternoon. His aunt Julie took him and his cousin Jack to the Dallas Galleria and helped them both get the hang of things. They lasted a couple hours, and by the end of it Phil had let go of the handrail and was tooling around quite ably.

Since Aunt Julie can skate backward (and do hockey stops!), she shot some video of Phil. Enjoy!

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Mikesell : 11:23 PM : 1 snarky remarks

Monday, July 20, 2009

It's a Starbucks Pastry Morning (Tomorrow)

Buy a beverage, get a pastry. What's not to like?

I've got to go downtown tomorrow and test for my ESL certifimacation. Now I can flaunt the don't eat/drink rules on the light rail.

Check it out: Mmmmm...

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Mikesell : 8:01 PM : 0 snarky remarks

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Never Surrender, Even If You're French

So's last night I was making French toast. Yeah, for dinner. Overslept in the morning and Dina and Phil had already eaten when I finally got up. Hence breakfast for dinner.

Unfortunately after I had cracked the eggs I discovered the milk had gone bad. Didn't want to cover the eggs and put them back in the fridge and run out to Albertsons. Fortunately I had sour cream. And aerosol whipped cream. Which to subsitute? Wound up splitting the difference.

Note to self ... Mmmmmm....

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Mikesell : 10:31 PM : 2 snarky remarks

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

SRV and Barry

During today's Laying the Foundation training (for pre-A.P. teachers) we did a narrative free-write while we listened to what someone said was Stevie Ray Vaughan's rendition of "Little Wing." Sounded more soulful/funky than the SRV/LW recordings can find online, but who knows. Anywho, this is what I wrote (with minor revisions).
Barry walked down the street as the lightpoles phased on. A warm breeze blew, mixing the smell of produce, beer, cigarette smoke, and perfume. The evening was amber, and Barry leaned back as he strolled, making it look easy. Making it look good.

A car pulled by, a long car with fins, and Barry nodded. Driving's fine, but a night like this he had to be out in it. Anton, the guy who sold maybe twenty bucks a day in his junk store, caught his nod and returned it, kept sweeping his stoop.

Ladies were beginning to trickle out on the avenue, their workday ending, most—some, their day just beginning at six. But it was good. It was all good. Barry and the ladies admired each other and the drivers of the long cars. It was all good. And more than that, it was right. It was all right.

Barry took a deep breath, inhaled the oncoming night, held it in. Closed his eyes and let it out slow. Slow and fine. Slow and fine and easy.
The exercise was to demonstrate tone. Any guesses as to what I was shooting for?

(Ronny Jordan's "The Jackal" has a similar vibe to the song played in class.)

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Mikesell : 9:56 PM : 3 snarky remarks

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Ahhh, Biff. What a character.

Yeah, I know. Two days in a row. Still, this is worth it, I think.

Tom Wilson (Biff in Back to the Future) sings about crazy fans.

Plus, a sneak peek at something(s) I might show my classes next year:

Enjoy!

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Mikesell : 10:04 PM : 0 snarky remarks

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Important Freebie Bulletin

We interrupt this blog silence to remind y'all to head on over to 7-11 today for free mini Slurpees (one per store, you do the math based on how many 7-11s there are in your neighborhood). Go sooner rather than later as there tends to be a limited supply of mini cups and last year the stores I hit in the afternoon had been wiped out by day camps.

Enjoy.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled non-happenings here on the blog.

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Mikesell : 10:33 AM : 2 snarky remarks