Oh, Mr. Lucas, words are not your forte....

This weekend I saw the new Star Wars movie for the 2nd time. Now, I'm not a huge Star Wars fan. I remember owning a Jaba the Hut figurine when I was a kid, and I'm sure I enjoyed the original movies, but I haven't gotten into the new series of films as much as others have. I saw it first at 12:01 a.m. on opening day, in my pjs, with a theatre full of hard-core fans complete with light-sabre duels for our entertainment. This experience could be a completely serparate post in itself. Let's just say I saw it on opening day because I'm a very supportive friend. I saw it for the second time this weekend because I'm a very supportive girlfriend.

The first time I saw it, I was willing to give Mr. Lucas' laughable script the benefit of the doubt; after all, it was 1:00 a.m. and I might have misheard some of the lines I found more terrible than others because I was deliriously tired. But, after this weekend, I now know my state of mind had nothing to do with it. It's truly just a horrible script. It's so bad it made the actors themselves seem bad, and that's a feat in itself when you've got a cast with the likes of Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman. I suppose it would be cool just to say you were a part of something as big as Star Wars, but you'd think that at some point someone would have said something along the lines of, "um, George? Hey, yeah, this line about losing the will to live....I'm not sure, but it sounds kind of.....bad. Yeah, really bad. You mind if we re-work this a little bit?"

At least the special effects were good--and Yoda's fight scenes almost make up for the script. It was entertaining, I'll give George Lucas that much. I've noticed that the older I get, the more critical I become about the quality of movies. Ten years ago I wouldn't have cared about the script. Go firgure.

No way, it's been 10 years??

Today at my place of employment is a big day for the seniors. It's senior farewell, the last hurrah before graduation next week. There has been a buzz in the building all week as the seniors took their last finals and let out a collective sigh of relief that they were finally done. If I were to be honest, I'd say that most of the seniors mentally checked out somewhere around March and I find their "relief" to be more of a show than anything else. I highly doubt most of them studied for their finals unless they were on the verge of failing, in which case their sigh of relief will not be warranted until next Tuesday when they'll find out if they can, in fact, graduate next weekend.

At the end of every year I enjoy the flurry of senior activities that take place. It's an opportunity for me to beam with pride for the students I've spent so much time working with and losing sleep over. Ok, I admit it! I also breath a tiny little sigh of relief that they're gone, if only because my workload becomes infinitely lighter. Don't worry, I don't have a heart of stone. By the end of June, I will truly miss my darling seniors.

Working in a high school usually gives me all kinds of reasons to remember my own high school experience. My first year here sparked vivid memories of pep rallies, football games, etc., mostly because it was interesting to compare my own memories with this school. Eventually, it wasn't such a big deal to remember high school, but this year is different. This year is my 10 year high school reunion.

I suppose part of me should be freaked out that it's been 10 whole years since I graduated from high school, but it doesn't feel like it's been that long. And, of course, with the ten year anniversatry comes the obvious reunion that's supposed to take place over the summer. Now, this has been interesting. My former classmates seem to fall into one of two categories: "definitely going" or "there's no way in hell I'd set foot in a room with you people ever again". I fall somewhere in between. I don't have any kind of desire to juggle my summer schedule to make sure I'm free on that date, but I also don't feel any heated animosity towards the idea. My general reunion philosophy is that I'm still in touch with friends from high school I'd want to see (which in some ways is unique in itself), so there's really no need to go. And I don't feel like it's been long enough for me to wonder what happened to the popular crowd that attened Young Life Christian meetings during the week and sold/smoked pot every weekend, or to wonder whether or not all of the beautiful people are now bald, fat or both. Yet some of my high school friends are consistently urging me to go. Why? I have no idea. I'm guessing I'll wait until it's closer to the date of the reunion and see if I'm free, and then make a decision. If nothing else, it could be a highly entertaining evening.

For now, I will settle for watching my current seniors walk across the stage screaming "Class of '05!!" I hope they know how fast ten years will fly by.....

So, what's all this hype about blogging?

So, my friends have started blogging in huge numbers. Ok, not really, but 6 or 7 have started posting daily and I admit it, I'm hooked on reading them. Not just because they help me procrastinate at work, but because they're genuinely interesting. Go figure. So, I thought that since a strangely large number of my local friends are moving this summer (sniff, sniff), what better way to keep people updated on the daily and oh-so-riveting events of my life? Well, maybe not the events of my life because, let's face it, it's not that exciting on a daily basis. But, since I generally have a lot to say, I figure there have to be a few people out there who need the aimless distraction of my thoughts. :)

Here is the challenge: I work in an institution of learning. For obvious legal/ethical reasons, I cannot name this place, nor can I really name most of my friends who work in said institution, or the bright young minds who attend. I suppose that as long as I'm not trash-talking my place of employment, it might be ok. Hmmmm.......

Occupational conundrum aside, what is all the hype about blogging? I've often wondered what drives people (myself included, obviously) to post their thoughts, sometimes their most intimate thoughts, on the Internet where anyone in the world can read them? For someone who grew up without the Internet (I didn't have my first email account until I went to college!), it's almost fascinating to think about the voyeuristic turn society has taken over the last ten years. It's one thing to post to keep friends and family updated, and I suspect that's the main reason for quite a few of the blogs out there. And I admit that if I think too hard about just how many millions of people have access to this, I get a little freaked out. Then again, there is such thing as being too paranoid.

So this, my friends, is my own personal journey into a world I'm curious to discover. That, and with the school year winding down, and people moving away, I foresee a few months of utter boredom. Someday, I will have a job in education that does give me the summers off.