bird by bird

I told my mom, "I saw a famous person yesterday!" My mom said, "Who was it?" I said, "I don't know her name." My mom said, "What is she in?" I said, "Well, I don't know. But I know she's famous!" Here's the story: Yesterday I was at the Hudson River park with the twins and the Reagan's (the nick-names I have secretly given them because their names are Ronald and Nancy). The four of them were on the carousel, and I was standing by the gate holding two scooters, two helmets, two bags, and a purse. I was sweating and getting dizzy watching the animals go up and down and the carousel go round and round. Then, I noticed one of the mothers who was standing by her small son on the ring-necked duck. She was tall and thin and covered in freckles. I knew she looked familiar, but it took 4 times around and 2 Kid-Bop songs for me to realize who she was. I saw her in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men , a film based on a D

This week I have been teaching phrasal verbs (verb + participle such as, cheer up , take away , try on , etc.). I have come to the conclusion that only thing harder than learning phrasal verbs is having to teach them. For example.. You put ON a jacket. You put AWAY your groceries. You put OUT a fire. You put UP a fight. You put UP WITH your boss. You put DOWN the gun. You try explaining to 15 overwhelmed English students from 7 different countries that you don't hang up with your friends or take off the garbage. It's exhausting. They were very receptive to the phrasal verb give up . Then today I came to the phrasal verb fall for . I told my class that it means your believe something that isn't true. I gave them the example of fell for a joke or fell for a lie. Then I told them that it could also mean to have strong romantic feelings for someone as in, I fell for him. Then I realized that really, both have the same meaning. I didn't tell my class that tho

Vote for my fabulous and inspiring grand-aunt Marie! http://www.arttakeslondon.com/portfolioView.php?artist=marielouisetesch

By: Maya Angelou A free bird leaps on the back Of the wind and floats downstream Till the current ends and dips his wing In the orange suns rays And dares to claim the sky. But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage Can seldom see through his bars of rage His wings are clipped and his feet are tied So he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill Of things unknown but longed for still And his tune is heard on the distant hill for The caged bird sings of freedom. The free bird thinks of another breeze And the trade winds soft through The sighing trees And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright Lawn and he names the sky his own. But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream His wings are clipped and his feet are tied So he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with A fearful trill of things unknown But longed for still and his Tune is heard on the distant hill For the caged bird si

Friday at 5 I took a bus, a shuttle, and a train and arrived in D.C. for a weekend with my East coast family. As soon as I saw MM at Union Station, I felt a sense of comfort and familiarity that I have been missing lately. There was no need to shake my hand and introduce myself, saying, "Hi, I'm Amanda." She already knows me, and she already likes me. And that alone was enough to make the weekend worth it. We laughed at the absurdity of our lives, exchanged first date horror stories, and looked at each other, both realizing that somewhere between senior year and this day in May, we've have come quite a long way. Really and really. Though in different cities, we're on the same coast and we're on the same page. It was nice to be reminded that I'm not alone. We had pillow talk like the nights in Theta and girl talk over mimosas in the morning. In the afternoon, we started prepping for MM's bday bash. We blared ghetto tunes like only we appreciate and

Sometimes I go off on tangents when I'm teaching. I don't know how it happens, but one thing leads to another and the next thing you know I'm explaining one of the following semi-educational tidbits to my adult ESL students: How exactly women "earn" beads at Mardi Gras The names for every type of facial hair a man can have.. and there are a lot The denotation and connotation of the word "sensual" Polite ways to describe someone who is fat (I said "full-figured" or "husky") The time when I locked my keys in my apartment The entire Civil Rights Movement in under 2 minutes I think I deserve a raise.

"The hedgehog's dilemma, or sometimes the porcupine dilemma, is an analogy about the challenges of human intimacy. It describes a situation in which a group of hedgehogs all seek to become close to one another in order to share their heat during cold weather. However, once accomplished, they cannot avoid hurting one another with their sharp quills. They must step away from one another. Though they all share the intention of a close reciprocal relationship, this may not occur for reasons which they cannot avoid. Both Arthur Schopenhauer and Sigmund Freud have used this situation to describe what they feel is the state an individual will find themselves in relation to others. The hedgehog's dilemma suggests that despite goodwill, human intimacy cannot occur without substantial mutual harm, and what results is cautious behavior and weak relationships. With the hedgehog's dilemma one is recommended to use moderation in affairs with others both because of self-interest, as

"It's been time to let you go a thousand times And never know it hurts to be the one that you regret I have to say that I am proud to know you, And I'll never be the same because we met. You might not miss this... But I will I will."

The Poconos Family (as I lovingly call them behind their backs) has an amaaaazing brownstone on the Upper West Side and every time I babysit, I try to memorize as many details of their home to write about. But on Saturday night I gave up and used my iPhone to snap some pics. I felt a little bit like an embarrassing tourist who takes pictures of the most mundane things just because they are new, but whatevs. This house is gorgeous, and I wanted you to see it! Boy bedroom #1 Boy bedroom #2 Where I chill and read in all my nanny glory The boys' study where they practice chess and study for Hebrew School. I'm not kidding. The Parlor My favorite!!

EH and I are roommates, but because I work weekdays and weekend days and she works nights, we have been known to go several days without actually seeing each other. We have resorted to writing messages in permanent black marker on the business and sports sections of the New York Times (because, let's be honest, they're the only sections that aren't read). But then a funny thing happened.. three times in three days. On Saturday night I babysat for the Poconos family (remember the stomach flu debacle in February?). I hadn't seen the three jew fros in over a month, but they needed someone for the night and since I would be getting paid $20 to watch cable TV while the boys slept, I seized the opportunity for some extra weekend cash. Plus, EH had to work at the French restaurant where she serves and she would be gone all night, too. The parents came home from the movies at midnight, and I walked to the corner to get on the M11 bus. I called my mom as I waited at the bus st

F.Y.I... Don't walk into a classroom of non-native English speakers and start chanting "Pay Day! Pay Day!" It means, "I farted" in Portuguese. 

Ikea tells us we're not supposed to go at it alone. I couldn't agree more. I'm here to help!!

I am spending my NYC Friday night doing two weeks worth of laundry and organizing my junk drawer while listening to the MOTH podcast. I just realized that it is no longer permissible to blame my lame lifestyle on location. I guess it's me who's lame. Oh well, if I'm going to be a Friday night loser at least I'll be wearing clean underwear!

I have SO MUCH to tell you about but NO TIME to blog!! It's a catch-22, which means (in case you're like me and didn't read the book in 12th grade) that this situation sucks. I'll try to remedy it this weekend, but here's a quick teaser to keep you interested (I hope!). Jewish kid and kosher candy, fake crush on Spaniard student, teacher's lounge chatter, Easter with DP and EH, the twins at the park, my generally inability to successfully teach English grammar on a daily basis, my swollen ankles, a bed bug scare, first NYC Sunday brunch, flooding mess back home, September wedding excitement, International students and bin Laden, how bad I suck at scrabble, congratulatory shout-out to my favorite law student, Glee and popcorn nights with EH, pink pepper spray, and how much I miss my friends and family. I'm going to stop telling people I live in New York City and instead tell them that I work in New York City. There is a big difference. Hopefully in the

Pros: Easy to find 7 Starbucks in a 4 block radius Restaurants, fast food, take out, and food carts galore Cons: Tourists everywhere Traffic and sidewalk congestion The occasional swat team fully armed outside the building