Status update:

Jenna thinks she might be over the lime green background for her blog.

A teacher's dream

So, this morning I was thinking about dry erase markers.

For those whose profession doesn't demand much interaction with these writing utensils, there are a couple things you need to know:

1-They are so much better than chalk.

2-But they die much more quickly than chalk.

3- Especially when used on a cheap dry erase board.

4-UGA has cheap dry erase boards.

Presumably, this was an effort to save UGA money. Those of us who can do basic math know, however, that buying one more expensive board, which will last five times as long as its cheap alternative, will ultimately save you more money. And it won't destroy my dry erase markers so quickly, which will save me money, too.

So that is the background information; here's what I was thinking about this morning:

On Tuesday, I somewhat accidentally kept a brand-new dry erase marker that I found in one of my classrooms.

Okay, I did it on purpose because I had left all my markers at home except for one, which the UGA dry erase boards had already bled to death. I tried to justfiy my actions by recalling all the markers I have accidentally left in classrooms that had disappeared when I went to retrieve them.

This brand-new marker then, without warning, began to die a slow and streaky death as I tried to write my students' homework on the board this morning, a mere two days after its very first use.

Then I thought of how the wands in Harry Potter could recognize their true owners and never worked quite as well for other wizards.

(At this point I'd like to point out that it was barely 8:00, and I hadn't had time to finish my coffee this morning. And maybe deep down I do consider myself a wizard who, with my trusty dry erase markers, can magically impart learning to unwilling and oblivious students.)

For a moment, I almost believed that, like a magic wand, this particular marker knew I wasn't its true owner, and, in accordance with some cosmic code of justice regarding stolen teaching resources, it was sabotaging my attempt to write my students' homework on the board. I kind of liked the idea because I think I have stolen far fewer markers than have been stolen from me....

Then, I decided, "No, it's just these cheap dry erase boards at UGA."

And as I was blogging about this whole thinking process, I realized that the real question is not, "Why do dry erase markers die so fast?"

The real question is, "Why in the world are they called 'dry erase' markers?" Last time I checked, chalk uses a dry eraser, too.

For example:

This morning I noted one distinct advantage to teaching at 8am every morning: if I go to use the restroom before class, the toilet seats are still up. Now as a woman, my natural instinct is to be annoyed by this, but it's different at 8am in a public facility. They're still up because no one has used them since they were last cleaned.

And that makes me smile.

Back to blogging!

Why, you ask, would I suddenly take up blogging again after nearly a year-long hiatus?

I blame Facebook. It has changed my life, or at least the way I experience my life.

In short, it has made me start thinking in simple sentences beginning with my own name. Several times a day I think something like, "Jenna is making herself a coffee." Sometimes I get all fancy about it, too: "Jenna has just enjoyed a delightful cup of French press coffee."

It's sad, I know.

Even worse is the whole line of thinking that ensues each time I observe something remotely interesting (to me) about myself, my current state or my current surroundings:

1) Can this observation be condensed into one concise sentence starting with "Jenna Mason Grem"?
2) Am I within reasonable distance of an online connection so that I can update my status with said observation?
3) Is the observation Facebook-worthy in terms of accuracy, importance and wit?
4) Would anybody possibly care to know this piece of information?
5) Would posting this status entertain my friends, or would it give them the impression that I am a perpetual navel-gazer who thinks even the most trivial thoughts should be shared in real time with everyone else I know?

Generally, I hit a "No" somewhere in that series of questions, which is why I often leave the previous status for days after it has ceased to be true, or I just clear my status altogether until I think of something that meets my stringent (haha) criteria.

So, in response to the original question (why blog again?), the answer is that too often some invaluable epiphany occurs in my life that does not meet requirement #1: brevity.

And, what's the difference between Facebook and blogging? Facebook demands brevity, and blogging does not.

So be warned, dear readers (if there are any left): when reading this blog you do hereby assume responsibility for any and all personal risk related to exposure to my long-winded, often inaccurate, unimportant but hopefully still witty, navel-gazing observations about myself and occasionally something else.

cheers.
-jmg

Mommy-dō: My Way of Life

for making

for growing

for baking

for knowing

for preparing

for practicing

for creating

for relaxing

for sweetening things up

for cleaning things up

for heating things up

for beating things up

I guess that just about sums it up.

jmg

March for Babies!

[Some of you may have gotten this message via email (or Facebook, or Myspace...), but I am posting it here because it's important to me that as many people read it as possible. Thanks for understanding!]

I'm sure a lot of you have heard of the March of Dimes organization, which sponsors research to help eliminate birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. This year they have changed the name to "March for Babies" so that everyone will know exactly what the March is about. Also this year, I'm participating for the first time.

As you know, last year we were blessed to have our little William after a pregnancy and delivery completely free of complications. Sadly, I have known several women who have had difficult complications or miscarriages, and two of our close friends lost their babies last year just one month before they were due.

I am participating in the March for Babies this year to honor these friends who have suffered such profound losses. If you are able, please consider donating to the March for Babies to support lifesaving research, services, education and advocacy that help babies get a healthy start.

To donate any amount online, please go to http://www.marchforbabies.org/jennagrem. You can also donate by giving me cash or a check in person.

Even if you are unable to donate, there are other ways to participate in this worthy cause:

1) Forward this email to anyone you think will be interested in participating or donating. Be sure to include the above website in your email.

2) Join a team. I am the team captain of the American Blackbelt Academy team, and everyone is invited to join our team! Just go to http://www.marchforbabies.org/# and search for "American Blackbelt Academy" to join. By joining a team, you can create your own sponsor page where your friends can donate online.

3) Walk! Go to http://www.marchforbabies.org/# to find the time and date of the March for Babies walk nearest you. William and I will be walking at Bishop Park in Athens, Saturday May 3rd at 10am.

Thank you in advance for considering this cause. Feel free to email me with any questions.

Love,
Jenna

April is...

National Poetry Month?

Apparently so--I just got the promotional email from Amazon telling me so. Does that seem ironic to anyone else?*

So anyway, I've been thinking about poetry lately, and how I used to "write poetry," and how so often that has seemed to me like a 14-year-old who wants to be in a band so he can, like, be a rock star, dude.

And I've also been thinking about writing in general, as in, hmmm, maybe I should just sit and write down all the things that go through my head everyday that make me think, "hmmm, I should write that down." Honestly, the only writing I've been doing lately has been reminders to myself about things to do and reminders to students about things to do, like "Please use spell-check" or "Where is your thesis?"

Okay, and I'll admit to being the real writer behind Will's blog, only because it would be a little repetitive if I were to transcribe his actual commentary: "Dat, dat, dog, dat, bear, duck, duck, dat, book, book, book, book, dat." But you see how often I manage to sit down and do that--he has even written about his awesome trip to the beach yet!

So anyway, in an effort to start writing again, I'm going to try to write something everyday. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to use this particular medium to do so, since half the reason I never really write is because I'm so self-conscious about it. I might even go old-school and write in a journal...we'll see.

As for today, I can now officially say I have met my goal. I wrote this.

And on a completely different topic: Happy Birthday to Chris / Uncle Best / Crawdaddy Long-Legs!

~jmg


*that is, to anyone else who has read The Wasteland?

Update

so i figured it was time to give a little update, though i'm not sure anyone even bothers to check my blog anymore since i haven't posted in ages...

as is to be expected, the most interesting things in our lives now all seem to revolve around one particularly cute little boy. since my last post in november, Will has completely mastered sitting up one his own, which we all know is just another way to avoid tummy time! no crawling yet, probably because that would involve being on his tummy for at least a few seconds, which seems to be completely out of the question for the little guy.

he has also gotten sick for the first time--ear infection--and is in the process of getting his first tooth (finally). i'm a little surprised that it's taking so long to come in after it broke through his gums almost a week and a half ago, but what do i know about baby teeth? overall, he's handled the ear infection and teething very well; sometimes he's just a little more clingy & tired than usual.

since he's finally getting teeth and because he sits up so well now, he's started learning to eat finger foods like toast, cheese, and little bits of banana, smashed veggies, etc. needless to say, it's messy but so darn cute! he's also learning to drink from a cup, though his favorite thing to do right now is turn the sippy cup upside down in his lap when i'm not looking & soak his pants with milk. he's a little trickster for sure.

the best news, though, is that he already said his first word! not mama or dada, though. that's way too typical for our little man. nope, his first word was "Cocoa"--the name of the little dachshund at Grandma Deb's house. Of course, for a while he was calling Feral Cat "Cocoa," too, but now he tends to say "ca" when he sees her.

he also seems to understand a lot of what we tell him, like "no," "shake," and "jump." okay, so shaking things and jumping are probably his favorite things to do anyway, but he seems to respond when we tell him to do them, too.

okay, let's see if i can think of anything to say that isn't about how cute & awesome Will is....

well, the semester has started, but i'm still undecided on how i like my new schedule. i teach everyday from 8am to either 9:55 or 10:45, then have office hours & tutoring appointments after that on Mondays and Wednesdays. compared to other teachers, who have to be at school at 6:45 am everyday, then teach all day, then have meetings until 5pm, i know this doesn't sound like a lot. but i am still adjusting to having to plan essentially 4 different preps, since my Tuesday/Thursday classes have different pacing than my Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes, and i teach one section of each level each day. it's taking a lot of planning and organization to stay on top of things, but so far i'm doing okay with it. it actually feels good to be a little 'on top of things,' for a change, even if it's because i couldn't get by any other way!

okay, so writing that much about my schedule is even boring me, so let's move on.

...

well, not much else i can think of. i am currently finishing up a little toy dragon that i made for Will. i personally think he looks kind of silly & not at all like the picture, but darren thinks he's cute. i'm not too worried about Will liking it--he's not very picky as long as he can chew on it!

here's a couple pictures of the-still-unnamed dragon:

i still need to put a face on him:

and i have to hold him up like this because...

apparently he's a water-dragon? that's the only explanation i have for his poor posture. doesn't he look like he's trying to swim?

he is machine washable, so maybe someday he'll be able to live out his dream & take a swim in our washing machine.

and that, dear friends, is where i will leave you. for more info on our vacation & Will's amazing feats, check out his blog www.willymiles.blogspot.com.

Happy New Year!!!