Title? I Don't Need No Stinkin' Title!

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last updated this blog. I've wanted to. I have! As usual, I've been keeping busy. If my laptop were still in working order, I'm sure I'd have updated earlier than this. Sitting at the desktop often feels like torture for me. I miss the portability.

Quick run-down...

CCD started, and I have a smaller class of first communicants this year. The first grade class is HUGE though, so I'll be kept on my toes next year. I wonder if I can petition to have the class divided then. It's so much easier with a smaller class. I find that I'm getting way more covered during each session. I want to make a connection with each of the kids, but when the classes exceed twenty or so students, I spend more time on classroom management than I do actually teaching the faith. I have a really great bunch of kids this year, too. They're asking great questions, and are really absorbing a lot each week. Again, it makes a huge difference that there are so few of them. It's so much more manageable!

Last week was our first break from homeschooling. It was welcome, but it didn't feel like much of a break. I think we only really rested one day. Note for next break: DO NOTHING, or close to nothing. ;)

Sometime in September we went into the city, and stopped by Trinity Church where they had a display of items and photographs related to 9-11. (Thanks go to my sweet niece for taking these pictures).

Ten years later, and I still have difficulty wrapping my mind around what happened that day. I found that I had to just tear myself away from the exhibit as it was just too overwhelming for me. Ten years ago, and a few months before the planes hit, I had been worried and upset that my husband had lost his job (right across from the towers), but on that particular day, I regarded the job loss as a blessing. Seeing the images of the people lost that day, just bore a hole into my heart, and I couldn't get out of there soon enough. Again, it was so overwhelming.

The visit to Trinity Church was followed with a pleasant, and welcome romp through Chinatown. We had a few items to purchase to satiate our Kung Fu addiction. My purchases consisted of Chinese liniments. Not terribly exciting, I know. But we did manage to pick up a rubber knife for kali practice. And there were a few other purchases, such as Jay Chou posters for my teen, and a pair of sneakers for me (a gift from my husband, who no doubt was tired of being kicked by my old sneakers. The old ones had a broken zipper on them, and made them extra dangerous. He gets kicked when we practice of course, so it's allowed).

After Chinatown we went to the Whitney Museum with my niece to check out the Cory Arcangel exhibit. I didn't really "get it," but I seldom understand what is regarded as modern art. It was more like a pop culture exhibit, and I did appreciate it in that sense. It seemed a rather loose interpretation of the word "Art." But what do I know? In any case, Arcangel (cool name, though) is a digital artist. But his pieces are quite unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's kind of difficult for me to describe, but one piece was made up of a regular television playing back-to-back related clips from Seinfeld. Another piece had a chronological array of bowling video game clips--the first showing a very rudimentary, highly pixelated early version, and at the end came a more detailed, better resolution, more modern clip of a bowling video game. These were all projected onto a huge wall. There were two benches situated before the wall, and seeing as we walked at least a gazillion blocks that day, it was oddly relaxing to just sit there and gaze at the series of clips which played on a continuous loop, with the echoing of electronic noise.

Let's see...what else?

Oh, yeah, school. It's been great! Yes, still! I think a lot of this is due to using the right materials. I'll have to write another blogpost listing our new curriculum picks, which reminds me--I have to update the items listed as our "current" resources here as well. The big winners so far this year? Campbell's "Exploring Life" for Biology, and Larsen's "The Art of Argument." I've also got to add the Teaching Company's DVD lectures on the Iliad and the Odyssey. Dr. Vandiver is very knowledgeable, and I find that her insight greatly enhances our enjoyment of these great epics. Good stuff!

As for other stuff...

My girls were so excited when they heard that their favorite k-pop acts were playing a free show near us. We didn't realize we'd need tickets though, but thankfully we managed to pick some up on the last day of distribution. There was a two-day Korean festival, in part, celebrating Korea's 20 years as being part of the UN.

Saturday we spent a large chunk of the day there, just wandering around, and visiting all of the booths.

Yesterday was the concert, and it was a LONG day.

One daughter was lucky and got to see her favorite of the bandmates.

My other daughter wasn't so lucky, as her favorite had a schedule conflict and couldn't make it.

It was uncharacteristically hot for this time in October, and it was oh-so-crowded, too. I thought I was going to pass out when I got stuck in the middle of a crowd. But the girls had a great time, so I couldn't be happier. They were able to see B2ST, SHINee, 2PM, 4Minute, TVXQ, SISTAR, and several other soloists. Even the Village People were there. They have sure gotten a lot of mileage out of their act! We all had a great time, even though the start of the day was kind of crazy.

I just have to add that I'm so proud of myself though, because I really have learned to control my breathing, and keep myself from getting anxious. On a hot day like yesterday, that couldn't have been more useful. This morning however, I've been coughing up bits of blood. I'm thinking that it's due to yesterday's over-exertion, particularly as I don't appear to have any other symptoms other than some chest tightness. I had been meaning to update earlier that after the antibiotic regimen, I have been much, much better. But I honestly don't think that's all there is to it. I have been high-dosing Vitamin C, and am taking a daily multi-vitamin, as well as vitamins A, B, and E separately. The result is that I haven't gotten as much as a sore throat in the past few months. That's a new record for me! I've been more energetic, too, and it feels so good.