Labor Day updates

I just received an email from Jill Carter thanking me for my endorsement of her for mayor of Baltimore. The email was kind and moving, thanking me for my service to the city and youth of Baltimore, telling me to take care of my health, and mentioning my having to work two jobs and attend grad school. In other words, this was no form letter. Carter didn't have much chance to shine at the mayoral debate, because she's not a soundbite type of speaker, but I do think she's the candidate with the best combination of guts and intelligence to lead this city. Here's hoping she wins. I'm voting for her.

This guy is much more eloquent than I am.

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Saturday and Sunday were long, long days at the restaurant, but today I had the satisfying experience of using the tip money to pay off some of my silly credit card debt I got this summer, as well as some grocery and school shopping.

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It could be that my foot injury is what finally ends my second job. I see the podiatrist tomorrow, I think (why do I never write down appointments?), and have decided I'm really going to insist on a different course of action than I'm currently on. It's been two months since the injury, and there is still no appreciable difference. It feels great for a while after a cortisone shot, but that only lasts a week or so, and then I'm one awkward step away from searing pain. Teaching is a job that you can't do on your butt, and neither is waiting tables. Something might have to give in order to give it a rest.

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My phone will not turn on. I think I need to get a new battery. It lights up when it's plugged in, but that's it. I had to borrow a friend's phone to call my parents and my sister yesterday, for my weekly check-in.

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It pains me to say it, but after the Tigers' 8-7 heartbreaking loss on Sunday, it appears they're done for the year. I'm not expecting a playoff run. No team with as many injuries as the Tigers have had this year (Rogers, Bonderman, Robertson, Miller, Zumaya, Rodney, Guillen, Sheffield) or as many holes (1B, 3B, LF) can be a playoff contender. And they just keep giving away games that they should win. I'll still hold out some hope, but it doesn't appear to be our year.

As for the Orioles, I have to say that I think they made a great trade the other day, getting Scott Moore (a player I know well) and another guy for a month of Steve Trachsel. That's a near steal. And, while the team is obviously in a rough patch, I have to say that the team is looking better than at any other time in the last seven years, since I've been paying attention to them. Their young pitching is some of the best in baseball, and as long as they stop spending money on Jay Payton and Danny Baez types, the future of the team is bright. I'll be interested to see what they'll focus on in the off-season. I hope they start seeing what they can get for Mora, Tejada, and Roberts - getting some young players for them, especially players that could help on offense - will be setting the team up well for a playoff run in 2-3 years.

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I have sent an email off to my advisor, to see if she has any advice for my coursework. I have three classes that I must finish by the end of the summer to complete my Masters Degree in Secondary Education. Currently, I am enrolled in two courses, and planning on doing the last one in the spring. This will free my summer up for full time work, or maybe a summer teachers' institute (which I've always wanted to do). If I get the go-ahead from her, though, I think I might drop one of the classes and take one now, one in the spring, and one in the summer. The go-ahead will depend on what is offered in the summer. Last summer, only one course I needed was offered in the summer.

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Tomorrow, I start To Kill a Mockingbird with my students. I'm hoping it's what rejuvenates my lessons with the 9th graders a little bit. It was a bit of a lackluster week for me with them. I hate summer reading. I like that the kids do it, and I like talking about it because I like talking about what books kids would like to read, but I've never had much of an idea what to do with it in the classroom. I designed the summer reading assignment for the 10th grade team that I left. Kids got to choose any one of four books - I love giving kids a choice - and they did some work for it and took a quiz on it and now they've moved on. I long for that sort of system. In fact, that's why I designed it as such. Ugh.