Tuesday was a wretched day at school. It began with a long, tedious session of standardized testing (which is a whole 'nother bucket of worms), then came the news about our beloved former student dying in a freak accident (see previous blog entry), and culminated with a page: "Ms. Kiefer, please call the main office . . . ." When I called, the secretary told me that there was a former student here to visit me. She sent him to my office and . . .
It became immediately apparent that he is crazy. Truly off the deep end, and a little bit scary. He went on this whole rant about how he'd recently recovered from lung cancer, and if I didn't believe him, he could prove it because he had this absurd "radiation bodysuit" shoved in his backpack. (This is one of many excuses he's had for recently being in the hospital). I'm really sad for him, and it has me thinking about how terrifying it is to not be in total control of your own . . . self. You know?
In any case, my friend Meagan (a math teacher) and I had play tickets that night, but . . . we ditched school a little bit early, stopped by 21st Amendment for a couple beers, and then ultimately decided to forego the play altogether in favor of a night of wine & pizza on my couch. Ha! Perhaps not the most responsible choice, but certainly cathartic.
Between 21st Amendment and my apartment, however, we made a little stop at Jeremy's, home to racks and racks of gorgeous, discounted, designer clothes & shoes. I was a good little girl and didn't buy a single thing, but I did fall deeply in love with a pair of shoes. It's a love unlike any other, and I think you'll understand why:
Chanel
Check out that ridiculous, un-freaking-believable birdcage heel! I almost fainted when I saw them. They were on sale for $319, and I may have actually considered buying them had they not been a size 10.5. I was a little bit relieved that I didn't have the option of making a completely irresponsible purchase, but a little bit devastated that they wouldn't become a part of my collection . . . I'm pretty sure I haven't ever seen footwear so beautiful.
Today I've been running around like a madwoman preparing for my students' big event on Friday, May 7th. If you live in the Bay Area, please come! I teach kids who have been directly impacted by the prison system (they've been incarcerated, their parents have been incarcerated, etc.), and they've written incredibly brave, powerful personal narratives about their lives and experiences with arrest and incarceration.
I'm so proud of them! I'm sure that seeing them read their stories on stage will make all this frantic, feverish work well worth it. ♥