An expanding waistband and the Shining Beacon of comedy TV

My first week of school went well. I talked to a good friend of mine who is a fellow teacher (in a different city) and realized how blessed I am. My employers, co-workers and students are wonderful, and I am so blessed to be in this particular place as a first year teacher.

I have a few things to address in this post.

First, I can now understand why I've been warned that all first year teachers gain at least 10 to 15 pounds in that year. It works like this:

1. You're working a LOT. More than other teachers. Why? Because you haven't done this before. You don't have lesson plans to fall back on. You're either creating from scratch, reading brand new books and materials, or figuring out how the general system of your class works.

2. This is very, very stressful, so if you get an extended amount of time at home you end up eating something like two dinners because, hey! Food is comfort, and your hands need something to do while you're sitting in front of the TV trying to cram a little relaxation into your day.

3. And IF, on the other hand, you don't eat as much, guess what? It's still going to happen. Why? Because you truly do not have the energy to cook when you get home. And you do not have the money yet to go out to eat. Then what are your options? Things that are quick and easy. Oh no, you've wandered into the land of frozen pizzas, ramen noodles, cereal for dinner, and (gasp!) macaroni and cheese from the box, none of to which a nutritionist could attach the world "healthy" and keep a straight face--or her job.

Me? I'm finding that I'm on number 3. I don't really have time at home to eat a lot of meals, but number 2 still creeps in there. How? Well, I make a box of macaroni and cheese, but instead of it being multiple servings (as it should), it ends up being my entire meal.

Honestly, my blood pressure and my cholesterol are going to be shot straight to you-know-where if I keep this up.

My goal?

I'm going to start trying to find fast, LOW STRESS, food that I can make in the evenings that will not break the bank OR my waistband.

I know, good luck, right?

OK, enough of the impending doom of my figure. Second item:

I loved Caroline in the City when I was in grade school. Does anyone remember that show? I hope so. It was a less successful (and less good) knockoff of FRIENDS. I loved it because the characters were funny and neurotic, even if they weren't acted very well.

I mean, what did I know as a 10-year-old?

Caroline Duffy is a 30-something cartoonist living in New York. She's successful at her job, beautiful, and much less aware of both those things than you'd think she should be. She is quite neurotic, but we, the audience, find it adorable and endearing, and it usually ends up solving the problem in most episodes. She's technically the boss of the people living around her, who are also misfits in their own way. We love them and laugh at them. Great 90's TV.

Now I love TV shows that are smarter (and actually, I truly believe that TV today can create smart, well-made programs), like The Office, Community, and 30 Rock. Yes, I love more than that, but I'm going to focus on comedies. And if you couldn't tell, these are all Thursday night NBC shows. It's the best place in TV right now (not counting cable).

I was watching one of my current favorite TV shows, the delightful 30 Rock, and realized that Liz Lemon, the main character on this show, is frighteningly similar to Caroline Duffy. Neurotic. 30-something. The boss of others. Speaks with an almost-placeable upper-midwest accent. Attractive, but much less-aware-of-it than you think she should be.

As I was watching this, and it helped that it was mere hours after finally getting to watch my Caroline in the City DVD from Netflix, it hit me.

These two women are the same!

Here's the difference, though, and it's why I love 30 Rock so much:

Whereas Caroline's neuroses are played for cuteness, Liz's simply propel her down an ever-deepening spiral of crazy. And the same goes for the other characters on her show. And I love that.

Unlike most comedies on TV, 30 Rock has yet to play up a "dramedy" moment. You know what I mean. It's that moment in a comedy where you realize the producers are going to take the characters you love and actually try to wring some emotion out of you when they kiss, break up, fight, or learn something.

It's the Jim and Pam moment in the finale of season 2 of The Office.

It's the Britta and Jeff stuff that happened in Community.

It's all that Ross and Rachel stuff in FRIENDS.

And don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy those things on those shows. I'll admit, I freaked out with Jim and Pam. I teared up a few times with Ross and Rachel (and that is embarrassing to say).

But 30 Rock is different. It says, "Look, world. We are not those shows. We are silly, irreverent, and constantly making fun of ourselves. We won't stop, and we won't apologize, so you can either get on our bandwagon or watch something else."

I'm totally on the bandwagon.

If you're looking for a show that is only about laughs, silliness, and some pretty sharp, hidden commentary on media today, that's the show for you.

It made my Saturday wonderful, and will soon begin to make my Thursday nights the same.