And now for something completely different - my week off

VACATION!!

Last week I actually took a real vacation and did almost no work for school (first time in 9 years). I did check Twitter and reTweet some things, but I did not write or do lesson plans. I really needed the break.

Last Tuesday, my wife (a high school Biology teacher) and I headed into New York City. It's only a 90 minute train ride, so it's easy for us to go. The trains were running fine and midtown was OK after the blizzard, although there was plenty of snow and slush to slog through at the intersections.

We first went to the Times Square Disney store to check it out (it just opened) and then headed for dinner and a show.


Dinner was at the Palm Steakhouse. The Palm is a famous NYC landmark and incredible restaurant. It's not cheap, so for two teachers it's not somewhere we'll be going to that often. But, the food is incredible. We had NY Strip, three cheese potatoes, and asparagus. Absolutely awesome. The walls are covered in cartoons. In the 40's, cartoonists would draw on the wall as a way of paying for their meal. The tradition continues and people can get their cartoon on the wall (after spending $15k!).

Rock of Ages

After dinner we went and saw Rock of Ages. What an incredible show! We had front row center seats, meaning we were only about 3 feet from the stage. We could still see all the way to the back of the state though, as the stage was only about 3 feet high. The music, dancing, story, singing. It was all incredible. We felt like we were a part of the show. It was fun and funny, and the crowd sung along to the classic 80's songs. I even got to high-five the guitarist, Tim Quick, who also turns out to be a nice guy (I chatted with him on Twitter this week). It was easily the best show I've ever seen.

The show closes in about a week, but will be reopening in a new theater in March. There is also a touring version. If you like the 80's and 80's rock, this is definitely a show you should see.


My wife and I just got into the show "Bones" (about an FBI agent and Forensic Anthropologist) and caught up on past seasons last week. The show has some great science in it too.

We had some people over for both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and did some work around our condo, but we tried to relax for once.

So, today I'm back to school and the students are doing some inquiry labs to get their brains back into gear. It was great to take a vacation and relax last week and really recharged me for school.

How about you? What did you do over your break? Work, relax, some of both.

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