SPRING BREAK Journal: Saturday, March 18, 2006

Nothing out of the ordinary happened yesterday – just my typically tranquil and pleasant vacation day. I went to school after breakfast and got the letters out to the 8th graders about their long and arduous assessment projects. I spent considerable time writing them during the week, and, once again, it felt wonderful to send off detailed, cheering letters (well, most of them) to deserving people. It’s always one of the highs of my life. After lunch, I fiddled around with my technology apparatus, loading classical songs, with the lyrics, from the computer to the iPod. It was fun to discover how easy it is to scan lyrics directly into the computer, and from their onto the screen of my iPod. I felt like a kid again, messing around with a complicated toy and suddenly discovering some new, extraordinary power it has. I was so excited about having lyrics to look at while listening that I loaded up my music and took a stroll in the park. It was cold, yes, but I had my felt hat and my art songs to keep me cozy. Sometimes I just listened to the words of the songs, but often I stopped in the early darkness and read the lyrics on the little screen as the song played. They were lovely songs and words, and, partly because of them, it was a lovely, entertaining walk.