I met up with a friend from college who I hadn't seen in about a year. It was great to catch up with her and see her before she went to live in Spain for the summer and then head out west to teach. I love the sort of friends you can fall out of touch with but when you see them things are just like old times. That's how it is with this friend - so we had a blast catching up and laughing about the dumb things we used to do. After dinner I went home and watched what I thought to be an absolutely amazing movie - The Freedom Writers. I can't believe how well this movie was made and, what's more, that this is a true story. In the fall, my aunt (who works in admin in the special ed department of a high school in Illinois) wrote to our family about seeing the teacher featured in the movie, Erin Gruwell, speak. She said the woman's words were powerful and inspiring and she immediately went out to buy the book. I never got the chance to read the book (although now I will have to), but I literally started crying within 15 minutes of starting this movie, and didn't really stop until the end. I love movies about the underdog coming out on top or people overcoming adversity, and this is one of the best of this genre. I read a book similar to this this past fall which I would recommend Small Victories. It's interesting to see the struggles these teachers face in order to provide more opportunities for their students and all that they are willing to sacrifice.
On a lighter note - I woke up this morning to run before work and was faced with a lot of rain and thunder. Eventually, by the time I needed to head out, the storm had passed. J was really confused when I tried to wake her up because we needed to get outside - she thought the storm was still going on and we would call off the run. It was a good run - until the end when suddenly my stomach decided we needed to get home immediately. It was really muggy, but not bad. It's fun to have someone to run with in the morning - especially when it's your good friend who is better than you at talking while running. This morning J entertained me with a story about her college boyfriend keeping a pet squirrel...and then we laughed about how chinchillas roll themselves in the dirt. Lovely.
Finally, I think my back/shoulder skin has almost finished falling off. My DNA is now sufficiently scattered throughout our office and my apartment.
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