Wednesday, March 19, 2014

U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer

Once Science became its own class, it stopped being of interest to me.  I didn't like it in 6th grade.  I actually titled my science project "My Science Project".  That is how over the whole thing I was.  I didn't care for it in Junior High.  In High School, Biology and Chemistry were the 2 classes I could never pull off an A and our Chemistry tests were all open book!  I just didn't get it.  My brain doesn't work that way, I guess.  I am not into tons of research and experimentation, especially when experiments and hypotheses and whatnot do not work the first time out of the gate.  It is not my thing.  At all.

Luckily, I got to sit next to my friend Justine P. in 7th grade science class with Mr. Moon.  Mr. Moon was very nice and he was a good teacher and I did try my best, but it was still the beginning of the end of science for me.  We had to dissect a frog, first of all.  It wasn't 100% horrible.  We didn't have to put the frogs to sleep with a chloroform soaked cotton ball, like in E.T.  They arrived dead and we got to then dissect them.  I remember the smell being unbearable (although that may have been the fetal pig smell I am remembering from Biology.  So.  Gross.).  And it was a frog, after all.  I didn't have an sentimental attachments to frogs and they are pretty small.  Once you cut into them, it wasn't so bad and there were some interesting things inside.  Honestly, tt was the colors that I found so great.  There was one innard (maybe the intestines?) that was neon yellow.  I liked it so much that decorated a cake and called it Frog Dissection cake.  I was really into cake decorating that year and I died the frosting neon green and decorated with squiggly neon yellow lines and some other stuff.

Of course, the more important take away from that class was that Justine and I figured out the precise lyrics to U Can't Touch This.  We had a very serious discussion about this very important topic during class or some experiment and determined that it is:  It's Hammer, Go Hammer, MC Hammer, Yo Hammer (and the rest can go and play.  Can't touch this!).  Yes, an entire year of science and THAT is the ONE thing I took away from the class. 

Sunday, March 9, 2014

PYT by Michael Jackson

As a very young child, I struggled mightily with weak lungs.  Allergies, hay fever, bronchitis, and pneumonia were frequent visitors to my kindergarten self  and I missed about half of the school year due to the disruptive coughing.  The doctor suggested that my mom get me enrolled in swimming posthaste as a way to a, get me away from pollen and b, strengthen my lungs.  It helped significantly, but what ultimately did the trick was moving to Twain Harte, located in the Sierra Nevada foothills, away from pollen and pollution.  I still have fond memories of those swim lessons and being a Pleasant Hill Dolphin. 

My husband tells me that swimming isn't really a team sport.  I can see his point in that there isn't a lot of communication while swimming and you aren't really relying on anyone else, except maybe during relay races.  Regardless, I remember cheering on my teammates during their races and we had team meetings and even a song about the PHD's.  I don't remember any of it, but we got to yell PHD and it was great.  I am fairly competitive and I loved winning ribbons and even a trophy once.  I also very distinctly remember cheating.  It was during the breaststroke which I disliked (so boring, so slow) and furthermore I wasn't very good at it, so in the middle of the race, I decided to go ahead and flutterkick and hope no one noticed.  They noticed and I was DQ'd, but I knew I totally deserved it.  I also remember my dad usually bringing me a donut with blue frosting and sprinkles.  I loved having my parents come to my meets which means I am going to have to sit on the soccer field for hours someday watching my kids, as much as I don't want to now!

We typically carpooled with one mom or another to swim practices.  On one of the days my mom picked us up and we were driving home, at least three 6-year olds crammed into the backseat, singing along to PYT at the top of our lungs.  My parents had the cassette which I have referenced it before.  My favorite part was yelling out "PYT" in response during the chorus and giggling with my friends.  I felt super proud of my mom for playing the total "it" song for us, which I guess makes my mom a cool mom, not like a regular mom.