Well, I meant to post sooner, believe me I did. Bri helped remind me of that with her comment, so thanks, Bri! Sorry I haven't been able to talk to you much at CFY rehearsals yet. We're Phase 10ing it backstage again, and you can feel free to join us if you want (Unless we bring Uno, or Skip-Bo, or something else. Then you can play that with us!).
So, my first day of school entailed a 4 hour meeting. Woo-hoo. We herded all 17 of the 27 enrolled who were present into Dave's room and bombarded them with the Carson High handbook as well as our rules and regulations. Since I teach at the alternative high school, we teach three classes a day, and are done at 12:15. So, that was it for that day. The next day I went over rules and procedures for my class. Day three launched my classes into the material: Nouns for English III/IV, and reading assesments for my Reading class. The three of us teachers at Opp HS teach the third period together. This quarter, it's Life Skills. We've begun an Orienteering Unit, which has proved fun thus far. Today, I furthered delving into the noun unit, did a newspaper project with my Reading class. Orienteering has been popular thus far.
I'm stunned at how well behaved the kids are so far. I'm not so naiive as to think it'll last much longer, but for now I'm enjoying it. The kids actually behave better than the kids did at CCS on the first days of school. Maybe it's my past experiences I've learned from, or maybe it's something else. Whatever it is, I'm not complaining!
The International Independent Film Festival was, in a word, awesome!!!!!!!!! At the kick-off party (that Chris insisted we dress up for, only to find that ironed jeans were the next nicest clothes!), I got to meet a few of the directors of the films. I rubbed elbows with Andy Dick (eh), AND (drum roll inserted here) Dave Barry!!!!!!! I actually didn't feel comfortable talking to either of them without a real purpose, but they were at the same small party with me, and I KNOW they both saw me. It was a lot of fun. Also, because I was "with" Chris at this party, I got a Celebrity badge (For free! It normally cost a few hundred dollars), which got me into any of the events and films for free! I took advantage of it!
I left rehearsal early on Friday night (9 pm) to see a movie in Incline (part of Tahoe). It started late, so they let us ride to a party across the street for the director . . . in a limousine! I've never ridden in one before, so that was cool. The funny thing was, there were 8 of us squished in this thing, and I only knew Chris. And for the knee slapper? I had to sit on the floor! Oh well, it makes for a good story! Well, this time, we were both kind of underdressed. And even though they were serving free drinks, neither of us are really drinkers--occasionally a glass of wine or something, but even that's pushing it for me. So we walked back to the theater.
We caught a short film that I would suggest everyone see if they get a chance. It's called Final Sale and it's about the funniest thing ever! It's about two best friends in a boutique somewhere who get into a fight over a dress (which there's only one of), and they break into some serious martial arts! I laughed so hard! Then, we saw another short called Dear Sweet Emma. It was funny, but in a VERY black humor sort of way. Then they began to play the feature for the evening, which was why we were there, My Big, Fat, Independent Film. The premise? They were combining several Independent blockbusters into one film and making fun of them. Sounds entertaining, no? Yeah, well, we left less than an hour into it because it was so lousy, cliche', and I was personally getting a little disturbed at some of the material. There were some funny things, but not enough to make it worth my time. I'm also glad we left early, because at the end was a Q and A with the director . . . something I would have not really cared to listen to.
On Saturday I saw the short films Little Red Jiving Hood (absurd, but hilarious), AdCorps (about the group of people that would have named a store Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Hysterical!), and Cold War (a little dissatisfying, but remeniscent of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner). But, the really cool thing I did that night? I got to see Mickey Rooney perform LIVE!!!!!!!!!! He was in a film at the festival (which I still want to see even though I couldn't that night). He sang. He danced. He played piano. He told jokes. He imitated rap singers!!!!!!!!! His wife was performing with him, and the two were absolutely adorable. He spent a lot of time giving some of his history. I didn't know Ava Gardner was his first wife! He did a beautiful segment to Judy Garland, too. Oh, and did I mention that I was in the front row? Yeah, 10 feet away from the legend! By far, one of the coolest experiences of my life!
On Sunday I saw a documentary called Shakespeare Behind Bars which was very moving! It's an educational program for prisoners in Kentucky (and maybe other places, too). These men work almost a whole year on a Shakespeare production to perform for their fellow inmates, family and friends, and sometimes they tour other prisons. It was absolutely fascinating. I'm going to see about getting the DVD of it, so I can possibly show it to classes when I teach Shakespeare. These men were not light criminals, either. One of them even had a double life sentence! The group they focused on was putting on The Tempest that season. I really enjoyed this documentary!
So, I guess that's about it. This last week has felt quite surreal because of all of these experiences. I've really enjoyed myself! The title comes from the song "Jimmy" from Thoroughly Modern Millie. I must admit, I can fully understand how Millie Dillmount is feeling at that moment!
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