Alert: You've Already Noticed the New Title

So, this is quite embarassing. My mother somehow stumbled upon my blog. She was not pleased with my language at several points, and felt that the whole thing was very offensive and crude, and would most likely result in my Fulbright being revoked and me never getting into graduate school. This seems a bit drastic, but it was incredibly awkward to hear (or, read) my mother using the phrase "getting laid," though she was quoting me. Anyway, for this reason, I have chosen to continue to write the blog under a Pseudonym. So, as you may well have gathered, that Pseudonym is Dalton Ames. Now, for those of you not familiar with Faulkner (did you know that I am familiar with Faulkner), I should explain the name. Dalton Ames is a shady bro who impregnates Caddy Compson, much to the chagrin of her brothers, particularly Quentin. The "man in the red tie" appears later in the novel, in much the same role as Dalton Ames, as a con-artist who plots to steal Jason Compson's money and run off with the young Quentin Compson (Caddy's daughter by Dalton Ames). The names are a bit complicated, multiple Quentins of varying gender, but the point is, I've chosen to name my blog after these two figures. Why? you might ask, would I want to align myself with such obviously "bad" men? Fair question...I'm not really sure. For one thing, my middle name is Dalton, and I quite like it. In another parallel, some of you may be familiar with my epither "the kid in the red hat," as in "oh my god (insert girl's name here), why were you talking to the kid in the red hat?" So, there you have it. Perhaps a longer explanation that necessary, possibly perpetuates negative assumptions about myself, possibly makes me look like kind of an asshole...or maybe just a douchebag. Regardless, I needed a name...and I like this one. So, rock and roll, deal with it.
I had my first day at school today, and it was relatively uneventful. In the morning I went to the town hall to register myself as a resident of Zwonitz, and then to the bank, to open up an account for when all that paper starts rolling in. I then attended two classes, the first 8th grade, and the second 9th. In both classes I simply stood at the board with a map of America and was asked general questions about where I'm from, my favorite sports, my favorite foods, and such. This of course offered me occasion to explain to Germans what a cheesesteak is. I was more than ready to do so, and hopefully one day they will experience the joy of eating one.
Tomorrow is "sport day," and I'm still not entirely clear on what this is and why it happens when it does. Essentially, the whole school goes to a park in the morning and each class runs a race of a couple miles. My job is to stand at one corner of the course and make sure the children run the right way. Should be simple enough, and, if I'm lucky, quite entertaining. However, it's been cold and rainy, and the prospect of standing in the woods in such weather is less than ideal, especially given that I've a bit of a head cold at the moment. But, we shall see.
Other than teaching and being sick, I've been spending a lot of time reading. Specifically, I'm trying to brush up on early English lit, which is my weak point entering GRE subject test season. In the last couple days I've breezed through The Canterbury Tales, Piers Plowman, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Beowulf. I have to say...I am only further reminded of why I avoided reading this stuff in high school, and relished the opportunity to avoid studying it in college. But it is important, I would never deny that, so I guess I can't complain about reading it now.
Well, as my computer begins to slow and I sense a freeze coming on, I guess I'll quite while I'm ahead. Good day.