My Secret Shame

I just told a co-worker I was sore because "I worked out this weekend". While technically true, I know that I'm a sick sad liar who can't admit that a video game kicked my hiney.

I know what that says about me.

Less about Wii, More about me...

I'm still sore from Wii Boxing two days after the fact. I know what that says about me.

A Wii Problem

One thing you should know about me: I hate video games. I always have. I think they're a time suck and have caused me more frustration as a teacher of teenaged boys than I'd like to admit. So, when my brother and sister-in-law suggested I come by last night and play their Wii with them last night I thought, "Ok, whatever." I went mostly for the good company and to allow Austen to bite someone other than me. Mellow? Yeah, right!

Anyway, I didn't really expect to like playing the Wii, and I didn't. . . I LOVED it. I loved it so much that today my right shoulder and elbow hurts entirely because of how spastic...er enthusiastically I played.

That being said, I'm a whiz at Wii bowling, something I definitely am NOT in real life, and I won a Mario game I can't remember the name of.

So, here I sit with sore shoulder, mulling over whether or not I should spend my hard earned money on a video game of all things. I know I won't, but BOY am I ever tempted.

Again, with the cute.

I'm sorry. It's a disease, really.

So I'm off to write that hit song, "Alone In My Principles."

I've never been a big fan of James Bond. The dialogue is corny and overpopulated with double entendres, and the action pretty unbelievable and silly. Then there's the man himself. He's sexist, smirky, a bit too smooth, and a slut. All of these things make me want to haul off and smack him. He's British, so you think that'd soften the blow for me, but alas, it never did.

Until now. . .



I wish I could say that it doesn't matter who plays James Bond. That I have integrity and unbendable principles. I don't like the way women are portrayed in these films (or men either, for that matter. Did you see that torture scene in Casino Royale? Ouch!), or the glorification of indiscriminate sex, or the overabundance of violence. That should be enough. . .

But...




And I don't even like blondes.

This is what cute looks like

Just say no?

Why do I do these things to myself? Huh? Why? haven't I learned anything from my Labor Day visit to the emergency room a few years ago?

I have a problem. I can't say no.

How did this happen to me? I mean, I'm a child of the 80's. I watched Nancy Reagan tell Arnold Drummond to "Just Say No!" Somehow, the message didn't take. I say yes to too many things. I mistakenly thought I'd learned how a few years ago, but I seem to have relapsed. How else can you explain the week I'm having?

Can you be AVID Site Coordinator? "Yes." Will you complete your master's degree while teaching full time? "Yes" Will you design and teach a class for my school district? "Yes." Want a new puppy? "Yes!" Oh yeah, and will you teach another class for the district at the last minute? "Yes." By the way, for that class that I asked you to take on at the last minute, and out of the goodness of your heart, will you make 10,000 copies of student notes and make sure that you find high, medium, and low examples? Oh yeah and can you find a video clip that we can use for this presentation that we promised you was "ready to go"? Oh, and can you do that RIGHT NOW? "uhhhhhhhh. . . yeah?" Can you meet with me, your principal, and let me tell you what I think about your teaching? "Yes." Can you meet with the district AVID leadership so they can tell you if you've done a decent job at all? "yes." Oh, and one last thing, can you create and present a powerpoint on Deng Xiaoping’s Three Fors for class tonight? "Yes."

My week has been and will continue to be a really stressful one. I know that in the long run saying yes to these things will be a good thing, but right now I just want to scream "NO!!!", run home, close the curtains, crawl into bed, cry, and suck my thumb.