A creation story

This week, my school (the school I teach at, not the school I attend...I know, it can get confusing) held an assembly in honor of Black History Month. They had a bunch of rather neat performances ranging from 11-year-old soul singers to hip-hop dancing, but my favorite was a reading of "The Creation" by James Weldon Johnson. 

I love hearing how differences in culture manifest themselves as variations in creation stories, especially because probably every culture has a story to explain the beginning of the world. It always feels like a beautiful and unique insight to the beliefs and values and language of a people.

Here's the text of the sermon/poem we listened to the other day:

AND God stepped out on space, And He looked around and said, “I’m lonely— I’ll make me a world.”   And far as the eye of God could see         5 Darkness covered everything, Blacker than a hundred midnights Down in a cypress swamp.   Then God smiled, And the light broke,         10 And the darkness rolled up on one side, And the light stood shining on the other, And God said, “That’s good!”   Then God reached out and took the light in His hands, And God rolled the light around in His hands         15 Until He made the sun; And He set that sun a-blazing in the heavens. And the light that was left from making the sun God gathered it up in a shining ball And flung it against the darkness,         20 Spangling the night with the moon and stars. Then down between The darkness and the light He hurled the world; And God said, “That’s good!”         25   Then God himself stepped down— And the sun was on His right hand, And the moon was on His left; The stars were clustered about His head, And the earth was under His feet.         30 And God walked, and where He trod His footsteps hollowed the valleys out And bulged the mountains up.   Then He stopped and looked and saw That the earth was hot and barren.         35 So God stepped over to the edge of the world And He spat out the seven seas; He batted His eyes, and the lightnings flashed; He clapped His hands, and the thunders rolled; And the waters above the earth came down,         40 The cooling waters came down.   Then the green grass sprouted, And the little red flowers blossomed, The pine tree pointed his finger to the sky, And the oak spread out his arms,         45 The lakes cuddled down in the hollows of the ground, And the rivers ran down to the sea; And God smiled again, And the rainbow appeared, And curled itself around His shoulder.         50   Then God raised His arm and He waved His hand Over the sea and over the land, And He said, “Bring forth! Bring forth!” And quicker than God could drop His hand. Fishes and fowls         55 And beasts and birds Swam the rivers and the seas, Roamed the forests and the woods, And split the air with their wings. And God said, “That’s good!”         60   Then God walked around, And God looked around On all that He had made. He looked at His sun, And He looked at His moon,         65 And He looked at His little stars; He looked on His world With all its living things, And God said, “I’m lonely still.”   Then God sat down         70 On the side of a hill where He could think; By a deep, wide river He sat down; With His head in His hands, God thought and thought, Till He thought, “I’ll make me a man!”         75   Up from the bed of the river God scooped the clay; And by the bank of the river He kneeled Him down; And there the great God Almighty         80 Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky, Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night, Who rounded the earth in the middle of His hand; This Great God, Like a mammy bending over her baby,         85 Kneeled down in the dust Toiling over a lump of clay Till He shaped it in His own image;   Then into it He blew the breath of life, And man became a living soul.         90 Amen. Amen.

Oranges and coconut cream (not at the same time)

My day today was totally made when I went grocery shopping and got a free orange. At the checkout, it rolled off to the side a little and wasn't scanned until I saw it as I walked away. And I asked the cashier, "Did you get this orange, too?" And he was like, "Ummmmm...." and then just stuck it in my bag. It wasn't on my receipt when I got home, but I didn't feel like I stole it because he totally gave it to me. Winnerwinnerchickendinner!

And we did have a chicken dinner tonight. My quest for the best orange chicken recipe (mentioned briefly here) has been in effect since I became a wife to the man who loves orange chicken more than almost anything, and tonight I found a prettttty good one. Here's the thing I'm really looking for: Panda Express orange chicken that I can make at home with real ingredients and not a ton of fat. So if anyone else is looking for the same, this is the closest I've gotten! (And there are at least 5 precursors to this one that didn't make the cut, so PIN DAT.) I used less honey (a scant 1/3 cup instead of a full 1/2 cup) because the comments said it was too sweet, and next time I'll use slightly less ginger because it cleared my sinuses just a little more than is comfortable. Otherwise, totally tasted wonderful and was super quick and easy.

One other story from the grocery store, since the grocery store is a fascinating place full of magic and wonder: I wanted to buy a couple cans of coconut milk because lots of things that I want to make call for it and I just never have it on hand. But all I could find was a coconut milk wannabe (watered down version made from "coconut milk extract") and then a thing called "coconut cream," which didn't sound like what I wanted either. But I bought the cream because it sounded maybe a little closer to what I wanted and had a less suspicious ingredients list. And then, on my way out of the store (still rejoicing in my free orange), I saw a whole special display bin of normal coconut milk, right there in plain sight! It taunted me to turn around and buy some, but I was in quite a hurry and decided I'd get some next time. 

So now I have coconut cream, and the only thing I can think to make with it is the pina colada recipe that it came with. Anyone know of anything delicious that involves coconut cream? The suggestion box is now OPEN. 

In which big brother barges in on my life

Today I added a 45-minute walk to my daily routine. It felt right, plus I had a long podcast waiting that wasn't going to listen to itself! 

Weird thing that happened: last night I discussed with Jenna how much we are so ready for a new Imagine Dragons album, and when are they gonna release one already?? And then today I get a little G-chat from Jenna informing me that Imagine Dragons released a new album today. Whaaaaa? We so psychic.

Other weird thing that happened: the Internet was exceptionally creepy today and yesterday. Can your computer listen to the conversations you have and match those with relevant ads? If my computer can do that trick, I want it to unlearn said trick immediately. BIG BROTHER.

Final thought: did you know that the Internet, when written, should always be capitalized? There is only one Internet, and apparently it's diva enough to consider itself a proper noun. Learned that in my MCOM class last year...haven't used it until this blog post, when I capitalized it in the last paragraph. Do you feel more literate for having read this? K thanks, that makes me feel good.

A day in the life

I'd like to record what a normal day is like for me right now, during this student teaching semester.


7:10 AM: Up and at 'em. Brush teeth, shower, put on mascara and clothes, brush hair, drink a glass of milk, make a sandwich, out the door. 

7:45 AM: Pick up my student teaching partner and off we go to the magnificent school which has given me the day off today just so I can write this blog post. #ALApride

8:15-8:30: Prep for first period, which basically involves writing a bell quiz on the board and then timing my lesson plan minute by minute because I'm a little crazy.

8:45: First period starts. I teach. It's Math 1050, concurrent enrollment, and the students really are stellar. I usually make at least one awkward joke sometime during this class. It's tradition.

10:55: Second period starts. Becky teaches. I observe.

11:15: Third period. I either watch Becky teach (we go to the library because the class only has 5 students. yes, it's a little weird.) or I teach. If I teach, it's to a bunch of Math 1010 ruffians whom I still love even if they never ever ever ever show up to class. They're all seniors and quite honestly, I get it. I'm a senior, too. Just an older one.

12:20: Lunch! Avoid the faculty room at all costs, for it will smell of a conglomeration of leftovers for the next 30 minutes.

All of the remaining time until school gets out at 3:15: Prep time, paper-writing time, snacking time, board-writing practice time, etc. (There are two class periods during this time, but our cooperating teacher doesn't teach either one, so neither do we.)

4:00: Back at home, which means time for productivity or lounging or both. I consider reading library books or washing dishes productive, and I consider Facebook to be lounging, but both usually happen. I'm fine with that. Oh! And lots of podcast listening in the afternoons until...

6:00 or 7:00: Joseph gets home! And we eat dinner. And we watch an episode of The Office. And we just be together in the same room, doing whatever we want to or need to before the day ends.

8:30: Joseph goes to bed. Well, first we read some scriptures and say some prayers, and then he goes to bed. I make sure to kiss him on the ear because it tickles and he makes an adorable face.

All of the remaining time until I go to bed at 10:00 or 11:00: Prep for first period if I didn't finish earlier, wash dinner dishes, read blogs, write blogs, journal, scripture study, wash face, brush teeth. Bed.


I know, I know. I'm terribly exciting. But that's, like, the exact point of a day-in-the-life record, right?? This is the norm, not the exciting stuff. It's the mere framework of a day into which I carve whatever exciting things I come across. So yeah, there you go. I'm cool with it. 

Life be good.

We should all be feminists

If you don't happen to have 30 minutes to watch this right now, I would just recommend that you go ahead and carve out those 30 minutes sometime in the near future. Chimamanda is worth it, and this is important.