The Return of Teacher-Mike

The past week has been very productive. My room still is not quite ready, but it is very, very close. 

See the green thing? It came with the house. It's about 400 pounds. 

It took six people and rope to move it from the kitchen to the basement.

My bed is going to go in the corner and that is my reading light.

Most of the week I spent in orientation for my teaching clinic. We learned all the ways that you can lose control of a classroom by making even the slightest of mistakes. So, you know, fun. The school that I will be teaching at (starting today in a few hours) is one of the best in DC, so I won't have to worry about discipline problems (as my clinic fellow told me, it is my fault entirely if I do). Just to start them off scared, I'm making them read part of a case opinion from the 1800's as their first piece of homework. The first sentence is "Appeal from an order of the general term of the supreme court in the fourth judicial department, reversing a judgment entered on the decision of the court at special term in the county clerk's office of Chemung county on the 1st day of October, 1889." I just don't want them starting the year feeling like this is going to be an easy elective class, you know?

On Friday we had a surprise birthday party for Ben. How much of a surprise? Well, we made sure that he came to see the house when it was a total wreck and then spent most of the day on Friday putting into operable shape. Then we made sure that Ben was going to be at another party nearby (one that had nothing to do with him). Then Jeff called Ben and asked him to come over for five minutes to help get the refrigerator in place. When he arrived, grumbling at the prospect of having to move a fridge while he should be at a party, everyone jumped out at him in their finest 50's garb yelling "surprise!" Josh then volunteered to start up the car to take Ben to the emergency room, since he looked to be having more heart palpitations.

This surprise party brought to you by the house at North Carolina Ave. and 

Emily Goo, posing (I think purposefully) with her head cut off in the mirror.

On Saturday Kels and I helped Goo with another birthday party, this time for her fiance. He was sent on a scavenger hunt to find his presents in what seemed to be The Amazing Race meets Carmen Sandiego. We hid mysteriously in a bar and handed over a clue within a crossword puzzle when they arrived.

Afterwards we went up to Fort Totten, where Kels found an apartment! It is in the basement of a house near the metro owned by a very nice couple with a baby. Now the only thing she needs to find is a gym that she likes and operation #getkelstoDC will be 100% complete.

Oh, and we went to the portrait gallery, too. She insisted on posing with Uncle Stonewall.