Le Mot Juste

I know that lately I've been posting lazy excuses for blogs - weird videos of melting chocolate bunnies and updates on my grandma collection of quarters (40 at the moment) - and this whole week I've been itching to write a proper update. So here I go. The past two weeks have been real busy. I've been trying to finish up my 9-lesson quota for UTeach, the teacher preparation program I'm in. Since last Friday, I've taught a class of high school freshman (Sec 3's) simile, direct and implied metaphor, alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia and how to construct a poem from their favorite song lyrics. Sometimes the lessons go well, and sometimes not so well, but my cooperating teacher gives great constructive feedback and I'm learning a ton. The kids can be a handful, but mostly they're really fun to interact with. It's just great seeing their eyes light up when I show them a funny cartoon or when the whole class claps after they've recited their poem. It can be a drag taking the 'Dillo to the school three times a week, but every time I finish observing or teaching a lesson I feel good. I've fought it before, but now I know for sure that I'm headed for a career in education. Oh, fun fact: the school I'm teaching at (Austin High) is the alma mater of the Bush twins and Benjamin McKenzie, better known as Ryan from The O.C. Yeah.

Yesterday was 40 Acres Fest, the annual student-run festival at UT. Got a "peace-love-music" sign painted on my left cheek, while Daph, the face-painting enthusiast, looked slightly creepy with a flower on one cheek and a bloody gash on the other. We did this blowup horizontal bungee run thingy and because I don't know how to land properly, I now have a severe neckache/sprain. Ow. Hopefully it will go away soon. The Roots played at 40 Acres, but I decided to be a nerd and study with Kirsten at JP's Java. It's okay - I've got tickets to Feist and Kanye West+Rihanna+N.E.R.D.+Lupe Fiasco. Can't wait!

Been looking at NYC hostels and even the most spartan hostels are at least $35/person/night. Anyone know of people in NYC who might put my sister and I up for about four nights? We're willing to pay a small fee...
I'm also looking for a job from mid-May to end-June when I'm back in Singapore. I've applied to a few places but I still need more options. Help!

The Office is back this Thursday! YAYAYAY. Oh wait... I have a peer mentor meeting and then an SSA fund-raiser at Tap House, a bubble tea store. Crap. Will have to watch it online then.

I was feeling particularly bummed one evening this week. So I went to take a shower and saw a magazine lying face-down in my bathroom, displaying a commercial with two big words: Pure Joy. Immediately I thought of James 1:2 (even though I didn't know the exact scripture reference at the time and spent about ten minutes searching the New Testament for it after my shower): "2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds..."
And because context is important: 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
How encouraging is that? You hear the words "pure joy" being used to describe luxury chocolates and exotic holidays (in this case, it was a brand of potato chips), but God's telling me to consider the hardships, the struggles as pure joy in light of the person I will become under His tutelage. I wanna be mature and complete, even though I feel so far from that almost every day. It was a dose of much-needed heavenly perspective for myopic little me.