...a high school dance

High School dances are not what they used to be. Back in MY day (doesn't that make me sound old??) dances were a big deal and we couldn't wait to go. Everyone went. Almost everyone danced. Last night the club I advise put on the first casual dance of the year. That's right--the first. The only other dance was Homecoming way back in September. Dances are just not very popular. I have to admit I was nervous about pulling this one off. The club members wanted to hire a DJ--and they cost money, which means you have to charge more at the door. Our president has a DJ friend who agreed to cut us a deal. Only $250 for four hours. Gulp. (The Prom committee is paying $550 for their DJ!) In my experience, every time we hire a DJ for an informal dance--we lose money. But--the kids were adamant--hire a DJ and the kids will come. And they did! And some of them even danced.

We didn't make any money, and we didn't break even (just a few dollars short), but the dance was a success. Way to go, Cross Colors! Something I've learned since teaching at the HS level--kids expect to have pictures taken at all dances. It's pretty easy now in the age of digital cameras. "Cheese!"(A generation gap note: It appeared that scouts were sent to the dance first. They checked out the music and lights, then whipped out their cell phones and started calling. Soon, more and more kids started showing up. Also, different ones had their cell phones out on the dance floor--texting while dancing! Wild.)

...putting the trainer away

Today was my first evening group ride since the daylight savings time change. (It was toooo cold and windy Tuesday and I totally wimped out.) The days are just going to get longer and warmer from here on out, so I can say goodbye to the trainer until fall. Yippeee!It felt so good to ride with the group. Weekday rides are different from Sunday rides. On Sundays there's really no rush so we can visit and gawk, but on weekdays...Tonight was one of those "get down to business, no chit-chat, the sun's going down" kind of rides. (I need to remember my camera when we ride! The sunset was spectacular tonight.) It was so much fun to get in the pace line behind the fast guys...and I even hung with them for a while! Woohoo! Thinking back on this time last year, I know I've improved. So, the despised trainer did make a difference. But I'm not at all sorry to put it away.

(My buddy Scott at Scott's Cycle gave me a new hat tonight--in exchange for replacing a zipper in his jacket. A fair trade!)

...a joyful moment

I've been reading Esperanza Rising with some of my students (mostly boys), and they are really getting into it. I overheard something today that was immediately jotted down: Student 1--"I love reading books like this. It's like a movie, but inside your head!" Student 2--"Yeah, but only better." Wow. How cool is that? These are teenage boys who don't read very well and are into 4-wheelers and video games--yet they are loving a book about a 13 year old girl. It makes me smile. :-)

...why I ride

Fat Cyclist's blog usually gives me a laugh (like yesterday's--we all have our embarrassing crash stories!), but today's really resonated with me (and made me laugh). Why do I ride? I'm not athletic, I don't have abs of steel (and if I don't stop making and eating cookies, I never will have!), and my backside probably doesn't look as good in spandex as I think it does. So why do I ride? Riding is my therapy, my moving prayer, my meditation. It's a reason to be outside, to hear the birds, see the farm animals, and smell the fresh air. It's something I can do by myself or with a crowd. Riding has given me a new group of people to hang out with, and we talk, tease and laugh. (I AM faster than you, Scott! ha!) Riding makes me feel strong. It challenges me to improve, to conquer the hill, to give it my all. So why do I ride? I feel at home on a bike. (Oh, and cycling socks are pretty dang cute.)

June '08--Goldendale, WA--my first century (100 mile) ride

...being wishy washy

I've given a lot of thought to my recent haircut woes...and no, this isn't another whine about how, more than a week later, I am still not at one with my "do." Yesterday I was visiting with a good friend and explained my theory about my hair. It's like a metaphor for how, all too often, I live my life. I get stuck in indecision and FEAR that I will make the wrong choice, so don't stand up for myself, don't decide, don't say "no, I can't," "no, I don't want to," "no, this isn't comfortable"...even when the small, still voice inside is giving me the answer I need. End result: unhappiness...that looks like something I can blame on someone else...and then play the victim. Bleh. Not a great way to live. So...it's time to stop being...
....time to listen to myself and have my no mean no and my yes be a wholehearted yes. (I mean really, would my stylist have cared, really cared if I had said, "No, I just want a little taken off the length, but with a few more layers?" It seems so silly, so obvious now.)

(I loved this book way back when I was teaching at the elementary level. However, Mrs. Wishy-washy was anything but--she was a take-charge, get the job done kind of woman. And it's obvious that her hair was the least of her concerns!)

...a bad haircut

A week ago today I was excited about getting my hair cut--freshened up for spring, out of my eyes, and off my face. I explained exactly what I wanted and needed (long enough to pull back out of my way under the bike helmet, short enough with a few more layers to have some style.) But instead, I let myself be talked into....a style that looks really cute on others...and not so cute on me. And it will be some time before I can pull it back and pin it up again. I admitted to friends and family that it was the first haircut in a long time that almost made me cry...and was told...that's not a haircut to cry over...I'm sure you look fine....it's OK...(all meant to make me feel better).

I miss my long hair and miss looking like "me." Fortunately, my hair tends to grow quickly...and I am adjusting to a new routine of "messing" with it each morning. And really, in the grand scheme of things...if a bad haircut is the worst thing to come along...then I'm pretty dang lucky.

...everything's amazing; nobody's happy

Comedian Louis CK makes some good points...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGYx35ypus