This Post Brought To You By The Letter T And The Number 13

Thirteen Thursday-Themed Things about N to the P to the W 1. Well hello there. Did you know that it's March? Because I sure forgot, right up until about 10 minutes ago. This fact is important for a number of reasons: my rent is due, I get paid today (with my 2.5% pay increase- sweet, sweet 93rd day of school), St. Patty's Day is coming up, and most importantly: Spring! Yes, March brings Spring, and if that fool of a groundhog has any bearing on the actual weather the warmth should be showing up right about... now. 2. Speaking of the ever-fascinating weather, we may have a snow day on Friday. They're calling it a "wintry mix": doesn't that just give you a warm feeling inside? Oh, ice and sleet and snowy rain? Why, thanks for the big F you, March. 3. I am back at school today, feeling much better, thank you. Sure, my throat still feels like fire ants are coating the inside of it, my brain feels like it's pulsing against the back of my eyeballs, and all my muscles have a strange flu-like achiness, but still, it's a definite improvement over yesterday. 4. I've been eating these things for a long while now, but I thought it worth mentioning that I am still in love with Clif's Z Bars. Delicious, nutritious, and a mere 49 cents at Trader Joes. I don't care if they're meant for kids, that just means they're probably packed full of extra vitamins and smaller than the regular Clif Bars. Bless you, Z Bar. 5. I spent the majority of this morning researching articles on autogenic relaxation. Sounds naughty, yes? I had to suppress a giggle when a teacher requested it. It's actually more boring than it sounds, apparently it has something to do with teaching autistic kids to self-hypnotize when they get to feeling anxious. BOoooring. 6. The other half of this morning I spent watching Back to the Future with my brilliant little group of Tech & Media kids. I mean really, what can I teach them that they can't learn from Doctor Emmett Brown? 7. Due to my week long vacation and an added sick day, I've watched quite a few movies in the past couple of weeks. I'm sure you're all dying to hear my reviews. Let's see if I can remember them all: Marie Antoinette: loved the costumes, loved Kirsten Dunst even though I normally think she's kind of a widget, loved the soundtrack. Wimbledon: curse of the Netflix strikes again, apparently this time I was on a KiKi bent. Cute movie, though. Babel: Amazing. How did this not win an Oscar? V. depressing, though. Felt vaguely sad at the state of humanity, in much the same way as I did with Crash and A History of Violence. The Science of Sleep: An adult version of Pee-Wee's Playhouse. C and I didn't even finish it. On deck: The Departed and Cocaine Cowboys. 8. I showed up to work to find a random book on my desk that had been donated by Raytheon, famous builder of bombs for our lovely government, called Medal Of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty. It even has a foreword by our great Commander in Chief. So... I guess it's never too early for me to start recruiting these kids for the Army? Seriously, am I supposed to put this out? 9. I've slowly been trying to make our apartment more homey, it looks a little better after each weekend I can spend hanging things and/or buying things. I am now on the hunt for a writing desk for my bedroom. Something like this: I'd also like a long bench or ottoman for the foot of the bed and a new dresser or wardrobe, but even with that whopping 2.5% raise there are still some budgetary constraints. I'm wary of buying furniture on eBay, but I have been scouring good old CL for a while now. So far, zilch- but I maintain hope. 10. Being the sneaky librarian that I am, I have managed (through a combination of sheer charm and lying through my teeth) to convince four other people to do the spelling bee with me. At least if I'm forced to make a fool of myself on local access television I can drag others down with me. Besides, telling people that the spelling bee is "so awesome" is subjective, right? 11. One of my senior volunteers brought in a liverwurst sandwich and Earl Grey tea for lunch today. Ha! I couldn't make this stuff up. 12. I'm thinking of an April vacation trip. Denver? A repeat of last year's Florida trip? As much as I love New England, I need out. Just for a bit. 13. It's almost Friday! Friday is date night. Date night is fun night. Maybe I will stun the world (or at least the people walking through the park in downtown Boston) with my mad skating skillz at the Frog Pond. Or maybe we'll take a ride to the beach- it is supposed to be in the 50's, after all. And who doesn't love beach pizza in March?