The first day of school

Today’s the first day of school in NYC. Though I only have one close friend still teaching in the city, I was full of anticipation all weekend.

The beginning of the school year doesn’t really affect me, but I brainstormed what I’d wear and planned to go to bed early. As the rush hour trains fill with kids again, it’s a good time to start anew.

I’ve spent the last few days asking myself, “Do I need to pick up any supplies to tackle projects ahead of me? Am I being as productive as I need to be? What do I want to accomplish by next summer? Where can I buy some fetching tights?”

Yesterday was about reading, writing, catching up with a friend on the phone, and watching Persepolis, one of my favorite films. You have to see it. Don’t even finish this blog post. Find Persepolis and watch it.

So everything was going really well until I updated my iPhone software. It was stuck in the version from back when the iPhone cost a million dollars. Maybe it was clunky, but I didn’t have anything to complain about. Clunky is what I know. I look good in clunky.

However, I’ve been convinced I need Skype to better communicate with friends abroad. Also, this Nigerian prince I recently befriended through spam email. He wants to leave me his fortune. The least I can do is get an iPhone app and tell him my Social Security number.

It was a little after 10 when I updated the iPhone, and then it stopped working. It wouldn’t go to the home screen. It just gave me this progress bar that never filled. Oh, and that damn Apple logo. The poison apple from Sleeping Beauty.

My dad and I ended up troubleshooting via iChat until the wee hours. Sleeping beauty, I was not. The iPhone, though, was in a coma. Once I got to the home screen through cathartic chanting and numerous back-ups, re-boots, and syncings, the thing couldn’t make or receive phone calls.

But who needs a phone that does that? Mine can play music - well, the 10 songs that remain, none of which I’d normally listen to.

Around two a.m., my iPhone started receiving phone calls again. Then it made one. Then we both went to sleep. Only one of us woke up covered in sweat and needing to pee. Twice in six hours! When I woke up, my pajama pants were on one leg, but not the other. I’m not sure how I managed that.

So today’s the first day of school, and this post hasn’t gone exactly where I intended. It got lost in the hallways somehow or stuffed into a locker.

This isn’t so different from my first day of school as a teacher, I guess. Just less profanity this time around.

But only a tiny bit.

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