The last day of May ... and so begins my last month in the United States. I am happy and sad at the same time. I have a few more traveling plans before I leave.

I was in Wilmington a couple of days ago, just to get away from the mundane life in the city that is Raeford. Wilmington offered a mix of different things at the same time: a beach, a riverwalk, a busy downtown with a historic district. Fayetteville offers none of the above.

Wilmington is an easy 97-mile drive from here along N.C. 20, N.C. 87, and U.S. 74-76.

An Air Canada flight from Calgary to Hamilton with a temporary stopover in Ottawa on Canada Day costs $239, but let's say you don't want the Ottawa-Hamilton part, it costs $249. Go figure. Why don't I just "forget" to board the plane when I get to Ottawa?

School is out! And not just for the Memorial Day weekend!

For two days (Wednesday and Thursday) last week, I worked in my classroom one last time. The grades have been submitted, the textbooks counted, the desks stacked; and the cabinets emptied out.

We had a faculty luncheon at Western Sizzlin in Fayetteville on Wednesday afternoon. And that's that; time to move on.

So for the past week I have been proctoring end-of-course tests. Which means I pass out test answer sheets, booklets and scrap paper, wait silently for about two hours for students to finish their tests and then count them up. Not a valuable use of time, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Two more days of class left before the end of the semester, both "testing" days.

Yesterday, I went to volunteer at the Raleigh Arts Festival, known as "Artsplosure", and to a VIF picnic in Durham, at the Amphitheater near the Eno River. Caught up with some fellow teachers, and made plans to meet one more time before the summer begins.

If you are getting directions on Google Maps for cities separated by an ocean (example: New York to London), read the steps carefully. And don't forget to bring your swimming trunks on your trip!

I watched the Survivor:Fiji finale last night. I was disappointed by Dreamz's choice to keep the immunity idol, given his promise to Yau-Man. Why would he think he would have the slightest chance of winning the big prize after that? His decision would look so bad to the jury. And that's what panned out.

The Senators won tonight. I watched the entire game. It looks like the Cup has another chance of coming home to Canada!

I was just thinking...if you went and bought something in Canada that came to a total of $1.06 (in Alberta, that would be $1+GST), and you only had a five-dollar note (a "Laurier"), you would get the following as change:

- one $2 piece (toonie)
- one $1 piece (loonie)
- three 25-cent pieces (quarters)
- one 10-cent piece (dime)
- one 5-cent piece (nickel)
- four 1-cent pieces (pennies)

Names are written in parentheses because the Royal Canadian Mint does not call them as such.

Anyhow, that is a total of 11 coins for your pocket, which is 1) the most you can receive as change ("monnaie" in French) only from spending a note, 2) using the fewest coins possible, with at least 3) one of each common coin denomination.

The end is near!

My hosts are on vacation this week. So (virtually) the whole house is mine. I watched some movies on DVD, "Keeping the Faith" and "Save the Last Dance". They were given to my by my colleague, E., who has since returned to her home country with a whole load of things that she didn't want to take back. I may end up passing these to someone else, since I have baggage weight restrictions as well.

My weekend lesson plan is as follows: Staple final exam pages together. Watch Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals between Ottawa and Buffalo.

I didn't go anywhere this weekend (maybe tomorrow?) because it's raining throughout the region this afternoon.

This is teacher appreciation week at our school. After school, teachers were given a House of Raeford turkey. The principal told us to thank our superintendent for the gift. There was also an apple in our mailbox, but I gave it to a colleague since I cannot eat apples.

I shelved plans (again) to spend a day visiting South Carolina's state capital, Columbia, because of the weather. Rain was forecasted, and that wouldn't go over too well with their slogan: "Smiling faces. Beautiful places." Oh well, maybe next month. I keep saying that...there's a list of places I need to visit before the end of June...

I just want to get these last six teaching days of school over with, and then imagine being in a different place.

After everything that happened in Blacksburg, Va., I guess the news is now focused on toilet paper! First, Sheryl Crow tells people to use only one square per sitting, it is rationed at a Kansas jail, and finally, as kindling!

Personally, I don't believe in buying expensive brand-name toilet paper for the sole purpose of flushing it down the toilet.