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After practicing for many weeks, we finally performed our spring musical last night. It is the story of David and Goliath.

We started the day by meeting at the theater and practicing. It took a long time. The kids were amazingly patient.

Getting kids seated in the right order.

The play went very well. The actors all did so well, and the chorus sang loud and clear. A video recording was made, and I anxiously await a copy of the DVD. I played a small part in the story. Or maybe I should say I played a big part – I was Goliath’s legs. A fourth grader sat on my shoulders and played the part of Goliath’s head. He was awesome! I had so much fun. In spite of all the work, I will miss the extra time with the kids.

The belt was a little wonky.

I have developed a bit of a cough. I usually just try to suppress my coughs, but this is irresistible. I went to the drug store to look for medicine. I almost got DayQuil, because it’s my usual purchase. But then I thought about it: all I really wanted to do was stop coughing. I looked, and sure enough – there is a medicine that just treats coughs. I got some. It seems to work. Sort of.

Mmm… Grape flavored…

I had planned to do lots of grading yesterday, but I woke up covered in sweat. I was sick. I went to church, thinking I would feel good enough to do some grading afterward. I didn’t. In fact, I felt more feverish. Ugh. My dad is sick right now. Maybe I’m having sympathy sickness or something. Get better, Dad!

Anyway, I spent the day alternating between my bed and the living room floor. I drank lots of water, but I had lost my sense of taste, so I didn’t eat much. Here’s hoping I’ll feel better today.

I have posted pictures of my bed and of my living room floor spot, so instead, here’s a picture of a baby gecko that died in my closet and dried into a tiny dinosaur mummy.

Aww… It’s almost cute…

Yesterday was a delightfully mundane day. I don’t know how to describe this, so it’s going to take a few sentences:
Normally, when people are on Maui, it’s a vacation, so they’re short on time, so they must visit beaches and souvenir shops and have wonderful dining experiences. Since I live here, I have the luxury of time. I could go to the beach. I could go to souvenir shops. I could have wonderful dining experiences. Instead, I went to see Star Trek.

After I bought my movie ticket, I walked around the outdoor mall a little. I went into a pet store and looked at the aquarium fish. They had geophagus fish for sale! I’m not entirely sure if they’re geophagus jurupari or g. brasiliensis or some new variety that has become popular since I last had an aquarium. These look just like the fish I treasured most highly when I kept a tank. It was so cool to see them.

I think their faces look like zebras.

As I sat and waited for the movie, I didn’t eat amazing seafood or hearty local cuisine. I had Milk Duds and a Pepsi-flavored Icee.

Mmm…

Yesterday was the last academic day of school. Next week is a mixture of spring musical stuff, field trip, and end-of-year party. It has (unsurprisingly) been extremely difficult to get any focused efforts from the students.

Since I had the seventh graders for three periods in a row, I wondered if I might be able to show a movie. In Literature class, I’ve just collected a book report assignment that required them to read a Newbery book of some kind. Not finding a way to show a Newbery book movie, I turned to another book movie: The Princess Bride.

It went over famously. The kids really liked it, and I had a wonderful time watching it myself. It truly is one of my favorites. It was difficult not to quote lines along with the movie.

As we were watching the scene where Vizzini and Westley are in a battle of wits to the death, I was enjoying Vizzini’s dizzying monologue, when suddenly a student turned to me and said: “He sounds just like you!”

Hahaha! I was absolutely, totally, and in all other ways delighted.

So I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you.