2012 in recap

Happy New Year one and all!

So after all the festivities have ended I am sure you find yourself wondering “Where in the world is my newsletter chronicling all the details of Leia Brooks’ exciting, adventurous, envious life?”  Have no fear – I just wanted to ensure that my pears of wisdom did not get lost amongst all the other cards you received.  That, and I might have been a bit overwhelmed with the semester ending on December 21 and I didn’t get it done until the literal last second.  Take your pick on which scenario is true.

As always, my school life seems to be the most consuming part of my year.  I started lucky year 13 at Hickman High School this fall, teaching Humanities and returning to team teaching World Studies with the awesome Lindsey Troutman.  I am so very happy to be team-teaching again.  I think I am a closet History teacher who really loves literature, so team teaching is definitely my forte. This is my third year teaching Humanities (basically an introductory art history class including visual and performing arts) and I am finding new things to learn and love as I go along.  The entire school went through the challenge of switching to a block schedule that has definitely brought some unexpected kinks to work out. 

NYC:  The understudy for Bess – Alica Hall Moran - and I after the show    

Adrienne and I doing a champagne 
toast with our Brooklyn and Missouri glasses.

After a slight reprieve in my travelling jaunts last year, I was able to visit New York and New England this summer for 2 weeks.  My wonderful friend and fellow travel buddy Adrienne, along with her awesome husband Ed and their precious daughter Neva, graciously hosted me in their Brooklyn apartment.   I got to experience another dose of New York’s finest, from my first trip to IKEA, to scoring front row seats to Porgy and Bess, to visits to the Brooklyn Museum, MoMA, and the Guggenheim, to strolls on the beach of Coney Island.  I also got a chance to hook up with some of my fellow Korea travelers and my old CEC theater buddy Katie Jarman for a night of karaoking at a piano bar.  Plus I also was introduced to the incredibly fabulous Ample Hills Creamery (a must for anyone planning a trip to NYC), with its locally made ice cream.  Adrienne found these two glasses (one saying “Brooklyn” and the other saying “Missouri”) at the Swap-Mart at Ample Hills and it was an incredible omen for an amazing trip. 

My first weekend in New England I boarded a train for Massachusetts and met up with my Aunt Liz, Uncle Doug, and cousin Brendan.  We went to Newport Beach, Rhode Island and enjoyed the sun followed by a tour of the mansions.  I have to say touring an old mansion didn't sound like an amazing time, but I was very pleasantly surprised and it was one of the best museum trips I have ever had.  The second weekend of my trip Liz was able to come down to NYC and we rented a room via Airbnb, saw Potted Potter on Broadway, toured the High Line, shopped at a flea market in Hell’s Kitchen, and visited the 9/11 memorial.

Liz, Brendan, and Doug on the beach in Rhode Island 

I also had the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas this past November to present at the National Council of Teachers of English conference.  Because of the arrival of my best friend Danielle’s third baby (Maggie Rose born on November 1), she was unable to attend after being accepted to present.  Fortunately for me, I was able to take her place.  While I did not bring home any Vegas winnings, I did see Kelley Gallagher walking the halls of the MGM Grand (English teachers know what an amazing guru he is) and I got to hear Sherman Alexie speak, which was truly awe inspiring.  If you haven’t read The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist-Fight in Heaven or The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, you’ve got to check those out.

The maids of The Drowsy Chaperone. 
I am the very last one.

I had quite a successful theatrical year.  Yet again, my coworkers and I pulled out a win against the students in our annual Purple Cow lip-sync competition.  Our theme this year was Arena Rock Meets Parachute Pants, giving homage to Run DMC and Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” video.  In case you are looking for a seven minute diversion from work, you can check out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fcA70d7Dok.  This summer I also got to be on stage again (for legitimate reasons) as a chorus member in The Drowsy Chaperone at Columbia Entertainment Company.  This was one of the most fun shows to be a part of because of the hilarious script, amazing casting of Man in Chair, and the camaraderie amongst the cast.

As always, I have to give a top ten list of books to read. (* items indicate my book club’s choices this year.)

1.  The Fault in our Stars – The premise of the book sounds ridiculously sad – a girl with terminal cancer falls in love.  But the book is written so well and there is plenty of humor and humanity in a seemingly tragic story.

2. House Rules – A single mother raises her two sons – sounds ordinary, right?  Not when one of the sons has severe Asperger’s and has been charged with murder.  With four different narrators, you find out all the intricacies of what happened. 

3.  *The Night Circus – This Book Club selection got a thumbs up from everyone.  Some have called it a grown up Harry Potter with unique characters, unexpected plot twists, and a magical setting that is described so well it seems real.

Book Club June 2012 - The Night Circus

4. *The Dovekeepers – A friend told me that if I liked The Red Tent (which I loved), I would like this book and she was right.  Based on the events of the Masada where Jews held out against Roman forces two thousand years ago, the stories of four women who all tend the doves are interwoven.

5. *Firefly Lane – While some of the plot is contrived, the story of the thirty year friendship between two women is very relatable.  And the ending is very moving. 

6. *Little Bee:  A Novel – Though reviews were mixed in book club, I loved this story told by two separate narrators – a 16-year-old Nigerian girl in an immigration center and a 30-something suburban English woman.  Even though the story is fictional, there is some truth to the horrors that occur in Nigeria and immigration centers in general.

7. Sookie Stackhouse series – I freely admit it – this is total brain crack.  I love the TV series True Blood, so I knew I would enjoy the characters in the book.  Though plot points vary between the books and the TV show, the book characters are multi-dimensional and you never really know who the bad guy (or girl, or vampire, or shape shifter, etc.) is. 

8. Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour – A Gateway Award nominee, this was a great summer read.  Two teenagers embark on a drive from California to Connecticut.  Each leg of their journey is first introduced with a playlist of great tunes for a road trip.

9. A Bottle in the Gaza Sea – A must read about the need for humanity in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  (Plus, it is an incredibly quick read.)  Told mostly through emails, it is the exchange of belies and ideas from two teenagers - an Israeli girl and a Palestinian boy living in Gaza. 

10. Funny in Farsi – This memoir by Firoozeh Dumas chronicles her life after moving from Iran when she was 7, to Southern California.  There is a hilarious section about a trip to Disneyland.

Here’s to a wonderful New Year and blessings to you all!                                                Leia