Poker, Apple Hill, pathetic poetry night

Hi all,

I don't really have anything to say, but thought I'd update anyway. On Saturday I met some friends at Apple Hill, which is basically just a collection of apple orchards about an hour east of here. I know that probably doesn't sound like the world's greatest tourist attraction, but we've been going since I was a kid, and I really love it. Most of the orchards sell not just apples, but pies, crumb cakes, caramel apples, cider, other fruits and veggies and funky gourds, sometimes fudge and candy, recipe books, and all sorts of ridiculous crafts. Several of the places have stuff for kids, and it's kind of lame stuff ("Go stick your head through the hole in the plywood pumpkin, honey!"), but it's also sweet and innocent, and I think the kids have as good a time reaching through the fence to pet the ponies and ride the tricycles and go through the hay maze and climb around the pumpkin patch as they would doing something zippier, like going to Magic Mountain. They seem to have fun, anyway. (I went with several friends with kids.) Anyway, I always like to buy as many different varieties of apples as I can so we can try them. This time I didn't get to because I was planning to get them at the last orchard we went to, and we were planning to go to High Hill Farms (which has a fudge factory, kettle corn, a trout pond, and a cider mill where you can watch the apples getting smooshed into juice), but when we got there it was insanely crowded, so I only came home with the few Granny Smiths and Empires I bought at Mother Lode. I also got a bunch of pumpkins for the porch, so now we have a whole little family out there.

Saturday evening we went to Sweetie's co-worker's house for poker. I've played about three hands of poker in my entire life. It showed. I really, really sucked. I had fun though. The hostess kept making me virgin Cosmos, which were delightful, and I ate a cupcake, and we had some nice conversation. I really had a hard time following the game, though, because we switched what kind of game we played each time, from 5 card stud and 7 card stud (which I sort of understood) to Texas Hold 'Em (which I got), to Mexico, something High-Low, Baseball Black Moriah (which I finally won some money back on)... it was crazy!! Plus, there was all this intricate stuff about knocking on the table and sometimes it seemed like we went around betting a couple times and other times just once, and frankly I had to work to sort out what "of a kind" meant, because the only way I can remember what "full house" and that stuff means is from playing Yahtzee. I had a good time, and I'll totally go back if invited, but... well, I just blow.

In early September I sent an e-mail to all the other English teachers telling them that our students had been invited to be the featured readers at the Sacramento Poetry Center. I encouraged them to send their students to me to get directions and everything. Then I reminded them. And I put posters up (lots of posters). And then I sent the teachers the directions, just in case. And then I sent the ENTIRE staff an e-mail. Ultimately, I had five kids say they wanted to come, and two showed up. There were 8 people in the room -- the two students, one's brother, me, another English teacher, the host, a regular guest, and a girl who went to community college who was getting extra credit for attending. Sigh. I really try to drum up excitement for stuff like this, but after so many disappointments, I don't know how much energy I should continue putting into it. Like, if somebody ELSE wants to organize a poetry reading or something, I'll support it, help them out, encourage my students to attend (and offer them extra credit), and do whatever I can to foster creative writing on campus, but I can't, like, give birth to it. If that makes sense. It's probably not even true. In a couple weeks, I'll be organizing something new. It's what I do...

How selfish is it that I'm happy no one has responded to the art meme? It means I don't have to do anything, and I still get art from my brother. MWAHahahahahaha!! I'm kidding, you can still reply.