Karaoke from Hades, Ode to Being sick

Burning feet through your socks, waking up in a pool of sweat, changing sheets every night for three/four nights due to sweat – pure sweat then shaking to chills to the morning, eyes swollen, migraines that rock, ears that ache and feel they are being drilled in, trying to walk and it feels like you are in a fun house, and the worst, maybe the WORST – coughing until you are sideways over a sink hoping it just pours out so you will STOP COUGHING dog gone it!

dogs-coughing

…this has been my experience since Saturday, and many others that have travelled down my path – so I call it the Ode to Being Sick… Now looking at Thursday, I see one major accomplishment, my fever disappears, then comes back, but it does disappear, my breathing comes in patches of clearness over the last few days, so there is hope, and I do not have to change the sheets every day now, no sweat bombs, so again, progress, but amid all this, is a laughable moment worth sharing, karaoke….yes, karaoke…

In the beginning of this seemingly plague on my body Sunday night, I heard it.  Actually all of Roma Norte heard it.  Maybe you hard it too, Karaoke party at someone’s house, I could hear the changes in songs, the various awful voices and often heard the good, the bad, and of course the ugly.  Wow, when you can hear the song behind the voice then the voice apart more, this is, is this Karaoke?  Thing is I needed to sleep desperately, so I closed the windows.  Awesome, now I could only heard the hum, the volume of the karaoke was at supersonic level so the whole neighborhood could “enjoy”.  I can discern the singles, the duets, and honestly, one man I thought WAS the Karaoke show, he was THAT good – I also heard the applause and the crowds on that one, he earned it.  So out of the show so far, I heard one single guy out of say 15 so far that wowed even me, a sick listener, and the crowds into a frenzy.  Then there was that duet, I honestly think it was the same guy and a good singer, but they rocked as well.  Then…

Krystal.  I call her Krystal because I could hear her crystal clear.  She certainly was cute at first, like the first 15 seconds, then her “cute, she is someone’s daughter” karaoke personality ran thin as it went on – and on – she went on into around I would say 2 – maybe 3:00 in the morning?  I kid you not, I was the lone member that stayed with her no matter what – oh trust me, main bed room, guest bedroom 1,  guest bedroom 2, the bathroom with the door closed, it did not matter SHE WAS EVERYWHERE.   You know when you hear something so much it starts to wear away?  Nada.  I do not remember a single song she sang, except that it sang their track, and she sang hers, kind of like Punky Brewster on Sudafed, too young, and too powerful.  🙂  So, while not a great way to spend the day, at least I had accompaniment, when she stopped, I promise you, I thought I heard the Hallelujah chorus from the neighbors below.

I can’t stand medicine, but being on three different types, would have helped this first day,  but alas, the medicine I received from the visiting doctor three days later just was the reward for putting up with the Roma Norte show.  The Doctor did say a wave of this was going around, it certainly must be, I originally had a 48 hour bed rest, but then with a second visit was written a 2 week pass to stay home, soooo, if you are out there, drink water, Vitamin C, tons of healthy food, and less of the starchy, sugary, fatty food to prevent a weak immune system, I’m up to 2 litres a day of water, and eventually, it will level out.

Next post WILL be about those figures from Day of the Dead – I just had to spend some time getting the terminology right  🙂  Peace, as the holidays draw near! (Be careful with your karaoke choices, or at least, the volume.

P.S.  If I was to do an Ode to those Sick, then those sick know this one, Ode to Friends that contact you.  Seriously, you know the ones, there are those that out of the blue, contact you as first wind of you being sick the very first day, and immediately go out of their way to want to do anything, and they do so much, but they don’t stop, they keep sending emails, checking up on you, asking what can be done, they do the littlest things, and the biggest things, and act like it is nothing – they are worth their kettle of chicken noodle soup.  (AND MORE).  Then you have the band wagoners, those that will hear after a few days, from others, THEN you get this strange email, straggler email, saying, “Heeey, heard you were sick – how you doing…”  Honestly, ?  If you were sick for this many days, not at work, and this person just noticed now, do you think healthy is at the top of the list?  So an Ode to those that take that extra measure to show they are there, even when they are not there, this more than sleep, a certain vitamin, a certain way to sleep, a certain tea, this is a HUGE factor in the coming back to wellness side of life that deserves a HUGE thank you for thinking of the smallest, and the biggest things that can be done,  🙂

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“Excuse me for my ignorance, it wasn’t very smart…if it would’ve…”

Okay – I will not finish that, those of you that have the embarrassing habit of accidentally burping at the table, accidentally, I said…know that rhyme, and if you don’t sorry, can’t help you, lol….BUT – I thought of that when I was able to actually get out of bed today for the first time for more than 10 minutes, and thought -“I AM ALIVE!”

Delays in posts, heck yes, sick, sick sick, but overall, I am slowly returning to the world of living, lol. So to begin my trek back, this article is AWESOME about reading, writing, etc…

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/books/review/writing-groups-for-adults-and-kids-have-things-in-common.html?_r=2&

and I will see what I can do to get back on track with posting…:)

( I have acquired a new fascination, going into facebook, and taking posts, and re arranging them and reposting them as comments, see below:

Screen Shot 2012-12-06 at 2.07.18 PM

Screen Shot 2012-12-05 at 11.45.31 AM

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Slash, Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators

Okay so Tuesday night, my first concert in Mexico City, SLASH – LOVED it.  yes it is 1:23 AM and I am in trouble waking up this morning…

LOVED the concert, arm to arm, neck to neck with people on the ground – LOVED IT….

Night night….(I hope those pictures taken of me at the concert do not surface….:)

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A Mix of Before and After…

Whew…So many things that were not said before leaving for The National Writing Project, NCTE, and the ALAN Conferences, and so much that happened during and after!

What makes Mexico cool…okay so the Friday before break – that would be the November 16th, I decided to stay in as the last ASF football game (was that the 16th?) – ended in a disappointing halt, getting home SUPER late – so I did not make the dinner I scheduled but plan to do so this week 🙂  – I wandered through the Parque Rio and found…an orchestra!  NO KIDDING!  A full orchestra was playing made up of students, adults a wild mix!  It was an AWESOME – AWESOME Friday night to see so many people in the park, enjoying classical music, and then following you had Flamenco dancing and music, as well as native music that was partial indigenous and partially new wave – it was so relaxing – and well, unexpected.  This is the cool thing about Mexico, you can just BE if you want to, not being owned by work, hours or anything in general – unless you want it to be that way.  When you happenstance across an event like this, you realize, wow – I am falling in tune with things I enjoy and I can make Mexico anything I want it to be!  🙂  This was a great start to a weekend before vacation…

I will start with the tail end of my adventure in NCTE – the last Conference I attended was called ALAN – the Monday and Tuesday of November in Las Vegas, November 19 and 20th – which is an awesome event for meeting authors, understanding YA literature – and overall grabbing connections to curriculum that bring back the power of Young Adult literature.  Below are the pictures I had signed and and having sent back to to school –

Overall, this was a huge success for several reasons…but getting a more personal look into how authors get their ideas, develop them, and take them to print – this is a priceless investment…that only strengthens the ability to reach out and assist in curriculum – and rebuilding resources on the cutting edge where students can tie experiences to studies – synthesis!  🙂

Also, don’t forget to slide over to the right and take a look at our 911 link – the project we are building with interviews and photos that honor heroes from 911- we are making progress!  🙂

New book reviews on the link to the right, titled, “WHAT and WHERE should I read?” – that is the new James Patterson book – awesome awesome lobbyist for reading….

Many exciting things on the horizon – next post, I will share the floats that were displayed on Reforma, but appeared mysteriously on Alavaro Obregon and are still there, way cool!

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See You at Harry’s and The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez

Whoa….I just burned through these two books, check out the reviews at the following link :

https://harrybrake.wordpress.com/when-i-get-a-little-money-i-buy-books-and-if-any-is-left-i-buy-food-and-clothes-erasmus/

I have about 50 to get through but if they are as all interesting as these two books – wow – I am loving life!  🙂

Alice – proof I obtained an autograph for you!  🙂  

 

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Bitter, we DID just mention that?! Boots, traffic, welcome home :)

Okay, so bitter, we just mentioned that word last post, MAJOR Deja Vous…..however, Thanksgiving SUCKED this year, worst day hands down, WORST.  Don’t believe me?  Get this….I wake up and AGH!  I am home!  This was exciting, and Thanksgiving – YEAH!  No deadlines, unless self imposed, ….:)

I immediately started to make plans to head to do three important things 1)Get my laundry 2)Drop off my laundry, 3)Get my permanent credit card and lose my temporary card in Polanco, 4)Get to San Joacquin to drop off a check I earned for SAT – to go into my Delaware account to go towards my tuition.  5)Get KINAH! (It gets a bit complicated, but a challenge, I am doing all this by truck  🙂 )

Laundry – check, I arrived before it opened by 15 minutes, but this is the reason I drive my laundry to Roma Sur, because this laundry is AWESOME – they opened for me and let me drop clothes, off, so far so good….:)  Next stop – try to find Polanco….now this was not – NOT easy – I forgot so after 2 hours of traffic, driving, I found my way to Observatorio – so I dropped by ASF – dropped some wood I promised to the carpentry for a personal project they are making for me (wait until you see this, I am excited, and you will love it!) –  I dropped off the wood, picked up the check, next stop POLANCO!  It was 10:30 now, and unfortunately, my driving /directions skills were NOT in tune – I made it to Polanco, Bancomer, at 2:30 – found a parking spot, only to find when I went into the bank, there is no trace of a credit card with my name on it – now remember, this was a whole 3 months ago and I was told it would be waiting for me, so this was NOT a good crest of the Thanksgiving Day – so I made my way back to my truck to find, oh yes, police were putting a boot on it, and gave me a fine for 498.00 pesos and until paid, no go anywhere, (figuring in my head, I MIGHT not make it to drop my check off, lol)….I trudged back to Bancomer – paid the fee, with the remaining money I had left (90 pesos left!) and then realized I had no idea what I was doing….I had to go back up to the service attendant that helped me, ask her to call the number for them to COME BACK and unboot my truck, then she did so for me, and I so owe her cookies now, lol, and trudged back to my truck.  A corner salesman was still at the same corner when I passed back and smiled and laughed, and while laughter was not exactly what was on my mind, I had to smirk back, lol.  They arrived in about 10 minutes, and I had less than 1 hour to pick Kinah back up, but I set off one more time to try and find the Intercam Office.  A few hours later, and 4:45 PM, I realized I had to give up, head back, and get Kinah from Parque Mexico as that was were the drop off and pick up was.  (Let me say, even the worst day disappeared on seeing her again and seeing how relaxed she was!)

All in all, yes, I was quite furious with Bancomer since this was my THIRD trip to Polanco and it resulted in empty hands again, yet, I am still counting it as 3 out of 4 task accomplished because, well. it was Thanksgiving.  I thought about turkey all day today, and think the closest I came to it was the Sumesa selling turkey bags!  HEY!  That was the 6th thing I did do not on the original list I was able to squeeze in there the trip to Sumesa for household items needed and food, so….chalk that one up….:)

Okay, so I came back home, EXHAUSTED, Kinah in tow, quite happy so this helped!, and I just died when I got back from walking her and in the scheme of things….

Thanksgiving, – well I have to say, I am in an awesome mood again despite these calamities and why?  Why?  I am thankful for the large things that I have accomplished with friends over the last week, as well as the little things like coming back to see Kinah so much more relaxed, giving the kitten a bath, coming back to a more open and clean house thanks to an awesome housekeeper that watched things for me, and look at how many things that are on the horizon regarding our students, projects, and future acclaims, I simply need to be thankful for all this and so much more.  It stunk pretty bad that I could not get back home today to call home for Thanksgiving, and when I did and tried, the Skype won’t let me change my account to add credits, so for now,  I was not able to talk to anyone, or I can’t find my phone charger? – (that is dessert added to my Thanksgiving Disaster Day) but yet. here I am, with all these amazing experiences I will blog about, shared with old friends, new friends, and all things literary listening to Natalie Merchant’s new cd that accompanies the book she autographed for me, I have to say…it sometimes takes a slew of bad things for you to calm down, look back, and count your blessings and things to be thankful for, amid the frustrating.

I have no need to be upset, disappointed, or angry about anything with the amazing adventures, events, and family I have had support me all along the way. One bad day out of the lot of amazing days is a keeper, has to happen and after all, that is life.  Like it or not sometimes it helps to have the amazing days and people in your life to remind you, yep, this one was a stinker but look at what has happened in the past, and what will happen to make this day seem like a drop in a bucket.  I would say that certainly makes up for such a crazy day, and I love being able to reflect on these things at home, and realize, I have my own time and not someone’s else’s time I am enjoying.  So…okay, started out bad, yet, Thanksgiving is still giving back to me year after year thanks to the amazing people that have been in my life.  What is better than that to counter days like this?  🙂

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“Because without the bitter, baby, the sweet ain’t as sweet.”- Vanilla Skies, Jo Knowles, and Leaving Las Vegas…

I have things to say, things that well up inside of me and just, poof, need help getting out. Writing was the one single thing I have always loved, yet put on the shelf for the sake of being there 100% for those around me.  Now I find myself, taking down that box, dusting off the cover, and moving things inside around to make room for the times that have waited.  Writing, be it NANOWRIMO (which I am very much behind on!), Conferences, or in other forms, is singly the most important function and activity to me as a person.  In order to preserve what others mean to me, what others have done for me and how they have influenced me, I need to exercise the room to write.  Period.  No if’s and, or buts to crowd out the experiences that have stunned so many when I retell these stories.  These stories are the life we live and help us get through the next day, as well as celebrating what we have to live for every day.  Writing for me is the eternal pool of youth that keeps me in the game and keeps me always in touch with so many events and moments, moments that keep me ticking.

Leaving Las Vegas I have these moments to reflect on and be thankful for:  Sending back home over 50+ Young Adult Books, High School and Middle School, that have all been autographed by authors, over 900.00 in value and authors set up to visit us at ASF – contacts with several publish companies, and schools that are highly interested and excited about submitting to Repentino., attending the National Writing Project, NCTE 2012 Conference and presenting at two very highly publicized (and streamed on the web!) topics that affect and help educators in the classroom, attending the third Conference, ALAN and receiving content to disperse to educators that align themselves with the goals, objectives, and curriculum that aligns with their content area, and getting students excited in the process, ideas for three new YA novels I started writing thanks to NANO last year, meeting my high school and college friends from Slippery Rock and even further back, home room in high school, meeting and establishing over 15 new contacts of individuals to help with leadership in ALAN, NCTE, and the National Writing Project in the future, preparing a manuscript and proposal for workshop presentation for NCTE 2013 in Boston, and yes, this is just touching the surface.

It is bitter-sweet that I am here in the airport, 9:24 AM, waiting for my 12:29 flight, yet, this is the opportunity to catch up and meet the goals and objectives I set out to do before returning officially home.

I miss my dog, I miss my cats, I miss Mexico.  I so much miss my students, can you believe it?  I miss them so much, they are such a part of how I cope and energize each day, and overall, I love the fact I am so immersed with them.  Additionally, the students I plan to reunite with in Seaford, this makes me highly excited to be able to reconnect and see their progress as they are now getting into college and being successful, sometimes even more successful than I imagined them to be.

I met Jo Knowles, and have her book, See You at Harry’s in my lap, I love it.  Young Adult Lit, (YA) is some of the most amazing books ever, and Jo Knowles is one of those authors that ranks is a category that writes to catch you and wrap you in her story.  (Despite it having my name as the title).  Her writing/autograph in my book, “For Harry, (heart) YAY!  All will be well” she sums up so much to be thankful for.  (You sense a Thanksgiving thank you, coming, right?)

For today, I will work on NANO, enjoy a Thanksgiving alone to catch up, reflect, and gather my thoughts, as well as to realize, this trip is yet another injection of what is possible, when you want to reach the stars, and bring others with you.

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Youth Voices! and SAT Practice site!

Encourage youth to express and join youth voices here:

http://youthvoices.net

Here is a great overview of Youth voices:

http://youthvoices.net/about

It is a powerful site!  🙂   My next to last day in Las Vegas…:(   It is exciting, and wow, so much achieved!  It will take a few days to recover from all the projects, contacts, and info received – so stay tuned over the next few days!  🙂

I saw my friends Greg, Natalie, and Mrs Dixie headed back, but we have so many resources to bring back, it is exciting!  🙂

ALSO, here is a good site for SAT practice info!

http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice?excmpid=MTG99-ST-2-mc

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STREAMING!

CHECK OUR PRESENTATION IN LAS VEGAS OUT IN 10 MINUTES AT:  edtechtalk.com/ttt

That was Saturday, and if you go to the above URL you will see us presenting!  🙂

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Alan Sitomer – Author Strand session from Friday

Usually, I like to organize all things nice and neat, in a NEAT little package, ta da! BUT life is not that way,  Uh -huh.  So I am posting something out of order (GASP), that started out as a task for my one student who needs fiction authors that have published, and Alan Sitomer is a PERFECT example of someone to contact, ask further questions using social media, and examine closely.  I will eventually get the items here from my first days of the conference, but every once in a while, there will be an impressive injection of items that are way too cool to wait on.  So on my Author Strand session, one of three authors – Alan Sitomer,

talked about his books, below is his awesome info –

 

 

 

 

Alan Lawrence Sitomer – http://www.alanlawrencesitomer.com

Mr. Sitcomer is on the far right!

Another interview here online:

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/09/geekdad-interview-alan-lawrence-sitomer-author-of-the-downside-of-being-up/

Frequently Asked Questions:         

http://www.alanlawrencesitomer.com/faq/

 Books:

The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez

Hip Hop School

HomeBoyz

The Hoopster

Nerd Girls                          

The Down Side of Being Up

Daddies Do it Different

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/alansitomer

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/alansitomer

Videos on UTube:

http://www.youtube.com/alansitomer

Comments he made about his novels and reading in general:

“Kids will want to take ownership.” regarding what they read.

“Their worlds will explode.”

“The power of books to shape people is undeniable!”

“Reader text 1 on 1 has the ability to move the human soul.”

“If I do not nourish myself with books I feel myself becoming empty.”

“We are on the frontlines of fighting that fight.”  – Speaking of teachers having to defend fiction over non-fiction reading due to, the increasing pressure for more non fiction books required for standards.

“The Magic Triangle”  – He needs to explain this…I missed this explanation in his presentation..

“Hemmingway lexiles out about 610 on a lexile reading scale.”

“Reader and task is the most significant aspect of common core.”

“The Landscape of America’s common core is shifting.”

“Common core is reshaping the landscape of classroom curricular content.”

Feels there is a war coming, war regarding  Digital versus print.

This war is like Goldilock titles versus rigorous text.

“Kids will read and need to read.”

“As a kid I liked school. I liked books.  I liked homework, I was a latch key kid, I liked work that spoke to me.”

Books are, “An escape from chaos.”

“Bibliotherapy kept me sane.”

“As an author, I often see how the magic of reading is shaping others lives.”

“I am an underdog author.” – meaning he is the type of author that sees the underdog through every time, he likes to see the character save the day.

“They (his main characters) retain a sense of dignity, that  is who I am as an author.”

Talks about his Book – Homeboyz (addressing gang violence).

“I see students  all the time that never read a whole book.”

He wrote The secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez – latina integrated theme into classroom, he listened to the stories from illegal parent backgrounds, they are first generation individuals, they write about 7 people in their family – for their familia.  Their situations speak to him as a writer.

Culture and stereotypes – from his approach to books he began to receive letters which he shared.

Tapping into the power of Hip Hop , he created a book on this music genre.

His website is very accessible (see at the top of this post).

 “I am a dad , 2 children writing to write for his own children, Daddies do it Different”

He never met his illustrator – the editor dictated the illustrations for his books.

Wrote Nerd Girls, – wrote books about what he saw his girls would be in a positive light.

“Mean, nasty girls as role models trouble me.”

His facebook is very accessible and very active to his audience.

“Books can be amazing tools to help students deal with issues.”

We are already seeing an assault on YA lit as if it’s not “credible enough” or “deserving enough.”

“I fear we’re going to see an assault on fiction from those who don’t realize or understand.”

“Book didn’t just save me, they’ve saved many many others.”

“Own your professionalism and Fight the good fight.” – regarding promoting YA literature and reading among children.

Alan Sitomer site

www.alansitomer.com

TwitterL@alansitomer

The AlanSitomer Book Jam

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