March Goes Out Like A Lion

As I write this entry on a cold and windy evening at the end of March, I can hear the gusts of winter air threatening to knock down the power lines on the hill where I live. The lights periodically fizzle and dim and I'm typing really fast so that I can post before the power goes out for the night.

Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately. I went back to work a couple of weeks ago and it's always busy for teachers at the beginning and end of a school year. For teachers at year round schools that busy time happens when we return to or leave from an on-track period. I have to crack the whip on the kids for the first couple of weeks to get them back into line, otherwise they will take over the class and make it difficult for me to teach. That's where my latent aggression comes in handy; with the right combination of facial expression and vocal tone, I can convey the message "be afraid...be very afraid." Kind of like Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver. Well that's how I see myself anyway. Every now and then a kid will say "Mrs. Velasquez, you're nice"...urgh, it cuts me to the quick.

The little bit of spare time I have has been used for rehearsal with the band formerly known as Las Tres, but which is now known as (drum roll...)Punkoustica. You can expect to see us performing live very soon. The other musical project I have been rehearsing with is still under wraps (or should I say a shroud?) for now. We just had our first full rehearsal on Easter Sunday (coincidence? - perhaps not) and are working on a mix of new and old songs. We hope to be fully resurrected by May. Stay tuned. I don't want to jinx it by spilling the beans prematurely.

Now where are those damn candles...