Humpday Umpdate: The Power Of Routine and Improvisation

Sometimes routine can save you. Like how my body woke up right on time even though I fell asleep on the couch in exhaustion last night.
Sometimes impulse and improvisation can fuel you...that will take more time to explain...
You see, I'm packing up and blowin' this popsicle stand. Weathers lookin' alright and after the longest three days in school I've had in a while I decided that this is a well deserved break from the rock. Going to see a political activist funk and reggae dance groove boogie down positive energy jedi yoga dojo master like Michael Franti and his merry band of ass kicking friends otherwise known as Spearhead might be just what I need to fill my heart with that summer beat of warmth necessary to propel me through 4 plus more weeks of what I have just experienced this week.

Musical Artist Update: Likewise, the Digable Planets from their early 90's albums "Blowout Comb" and "Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Spice)" have been makin' my days more bearable too. In the early 90's when gangster rap was making it big in California and Orange county rappin about drugs, killin, women, and the ghetto, a group of three jazzy classy funky boogie down kids from Brooklyn were starting a whole new style of words and beats. Digable Planets are two guys and a girl who basically lay down some very chilled out lyrical journeys over smoky jazz and funk beats from the New York streets. If you've never really been comfortable with RAP music, I would try these guys out, they are street hipness meets Beat Poetry meats black rights meets funky outerspace monologue.

Cool Book: Not sent by the Expander, rather Erin in O-ville, but I couldn't resist. Lamb by Christopher Moore, a book about "Biff" the best childhood friend of Jesus has sparked my interest. It is a total work of fiction, but oh what imaginative, blasphemous fiction it is. I caught myself laughing out loud as I read it during Silent Sustained Reading time in class today.

Consistency of Students: It never ceases to amaze me at how quickly my students can turn over a new leaf and then also immediately turn it back over. Constantly I have students that go from a break through of their mind and dreams then sabotage themselves directly afterwards. Or, students that have royally screwed up life that find a way to battle back to a sliver of hope only to shut the door again. Its been so long since I've had other students that I can't remember if this is all kids or just my own here.

Numbers: 1968, how many visits we've had here on RW in almost two months. 35, the amount of dollars I had to pay to see Michael Franti. 5, the amount of digits in my bank account. 30,000, the amount of dollars more than said savings digits that I owe on my student loan. 11, the time of night the sun sets. 36, the amount of days till I fly away from here. 28, the amount of blogs I look at a day. 3, the days till my friend Randall's Birthday. 3, also the amount of weeks I've gone without watching even one television program. 3, also the slices of pizza I just ate. 3, also the amount of times I've listened to the same Digable Planets album today. 2, the loads of laundry I have to do tonight, 2 the bags I have to pack tonight also. 2, the albums I've bought on iTunes this week alone. 1, thing that I think about most SUMMER.

Favorite word of the week: FUNKANAUT- noun, half funky half astronaut.

My America: Parades, County Fairs, Rodeos, Fireworks, Baseball, grass, riding bikes, the park, sprinklers, BBQ's, horse shoes, beach volleyball, bluegrass, picnics, tents, bonfires, freshwater lakes, coca cola classic, mountains and high fives.