Inspiration

This week has been a good writing week. It has also been a good television week. I believe the two are connected. I am inspired by what I see on the small screen and what I read on writer's blogs and in my screenwriting magazines, etc. So I have been writing. Big stuff happened to Patricia (the character who's story I'm finishing up) this week and she and I are figuring out what comes next. I'll keep you posted! (No, I am not crazy but I truly believe in Virginia Woolf's quote as it pertains to writing: "Arrange whatever pieces come your way." When they come, I arrange them. And add my own twist of course.
As for TV, goodness it was a good week. A light week which is good. Here's my rundown so far:
Monday was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip which I have already raved about here.
Tuesday was NCIS which we just finished. Donald Bellisario (of Jag fame) does such a great job mixing the military/federal agent stories with humor and personal stuff that it's just fun to watch. And who doesn't love Mark Harmon, I mean come on! Haven't seen the Unit or Smith yet but will give reviews when I do:-) I know you are all waiting with baited breath.
Then there was Thursday night. The night that has belonged to CSI for years. But now belongs to our crew at Seattle Grace. Rock on Grey's Anatomy! What an awesome, anticipated premiere. Such well developed characters, great laughs and then tears when Cristina told Burke to never die. So good. So good.
The Office was hilarious. Proof, once again, that it deserved it's Emmy win. How great was Michael and that kiss and I love how we feel for these characters, especially Jim. So so good. Haven't watched anything else yet but taped Earl and ER and CSI so we'll watch those soon. But we did peep Six Degrees after Grey's and can I just say - JJ Abrahms should get his name taken off the promos. It was no better than this summer's ill-fated Windfall which had at least an interesting lottery-winners premise. It was boring and did not keep my attention at all. Let's hope next week's Ugly Betty before Grey's can be something brighter.
Okay - enough of the fictional world. Time to meet our friend Shannon's parents and then head to my massage and run some errands. And then write some more!

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

They've done it again. Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme, writer/creator and director. Their new show, Studio 60, premiered tonight and, according to me, was an instant classic. Full of Sorkin's legendary speeches, quips, comebacks and snappy asides, not to mention Schlamme's walk and talks, and beautifully shot art, Studio 60 was true television brillance. And this coming for a writer who thinks a lot of what makes it onto the airwaves is crap. Pure, undiluted crap.
But this was good. It was pull you in, forget about everything else for 60 minutes, eyes glued, ears perked, good television.
So take my advice - check it out as it repeats this week on Bravo and then watch it. Fans of Sportsnight, The West Wing, and just plain great writing and fun filmmaking won't be sorry.

Almost a no go

I did it. I drug my butt out of bed this morning and exercised. I had plenty of excuses this morning as to why I shouldn't: I woke up at 5:25am, 5 minutes before my alarm, so I decided I deserved to sleep in. Then I thought about the nightmare I'd had and decided I deserved to stay in bed instead, then I thought about writing instead, I eventually did get up, and decided to check my email, more procrastination. Then as I walked downstairs, my knee hurt and I thought - maybe I shouldn't exercise because it might do permanent damage. But I finally ran out of excuses and walked 2 miles and did weights and did 25 crunches and a few sit-ups. And guess what?
My knee felt better, I felt better, and tonight I wasn't tired. Yeah so everything they say about exercise...
It's true.
Just do it. :-)

The Week in Review

It's been a busy one here at Camelot. My mom was here until yesterday which was great. She cooked and took care of Ang and hung out with me at night. It was so nice to have her here so I wasn't worried about everything myself (and coming home one night to sugar cookies, turkey crunch, and cheesey potatoes wasn't bad either!).
I also got my permanent crown and have had to retrain myself to eat on that side of my mouth which sounds ridiculous but is true. Still doesn't work all the time.
Then I had to give midterm grades and tell 3 of my students they got Fs in my class and a BUNCH more they got Ds and Cs. That was received well, let me tell you.
Then there's the saga of my VUE. My red VUE that I have loved and cared for since the first day I got it in 2002 right after graduation. The red VUE I have only 10 more payments on and then it's mine, all mine. The VUE that has had every maintenance request and every service job done that has been required, that has had it's oil changed religiously almost to the mile according to those little stickers they put up in the corner of the windshield.
When I was driving it across country this summer, the 'service engine soon' light came on in St. Louis (yes, on the first day of our multiple-week trip). Now remember, I am fanatical about my car. I had it checked out and serviced just before I left.
So the light comes on and no one will look at it. The GM dealership I find doesn't have time but tells me it's probably just the gas cap not on correctly. So I drive on. It has gas and oil and doesn't seem to be overheating, though I am by this point. It goes off eventually and we move on.
Then once I get to Arizona it starts it again so I take it to the GM dealership here in town as the closest Saturn dealer is 3 hours north (Phoneix) or 3 hours west (San Diego) of here. They say the sensor is broken and they order a new one and voila! 7 days later I get my car back and it only costs me 300 some bucks. Fine.
Then last Friday morning I pick my mom up at the airport and as I pull into the hospital, it starts to chug ("Like a Model-T," according to my mom) and the light pops back on. I am MAD.
Of course the service tech's out till Monday, blah blah so I take it back. They call me on Thursday and report that it's something to do with the transmission and they can't go any further. They don't have the code books and suggest I take it to a Saturn dealer or a transmission specialist. I ask if I can drive it the 3 hrs to a dealer and the guy says "I'd only drive it in town." Great, lovely, terrific. I call the Saturn of San Diego and they can't help me over the phone. All my codes tell them is it's something internal having to do with the transmission. Wonderful.
So here's my plan - I'm going to drive my little red VUE until it dies. I'm just going to forget about it until October when we have our break and pretend like my VUE is fine. Then in Oct we'll caravan to San Diego, Ang following me the whole way, wasting tons of gas and time, to leave it at the Saturn of El Cajon. And I may just go back for it. Or cut my losses.
All I know is the car's 4 years old and I don't think 4 year old cars should give you this kind of headache. But apparently I know nothing:-)
So then there's the saga of the dryer. Some of you already know how Ang bought a brand-new washer and dryer last year when she moved in. Well from moment one the dryer has never worked correctly. It leaves grease marks on EVERYTHING (see my new sheets, my pjs, my tank tops, my shorts, everything). So after 2 servicemen have reported there's not much they can do (oh wait - the last one, who I paid 60 bucks to this week said he could fix it for over 200 dollars, great!) Ang and my mom went and bought a new one. To be delivered yesterday between 8 and 12. So Ang stayed and waited while I took my mom to the airport. I came home and we waited. And waited. And waited.
And at 4:10 they arrived. Nice. Isn't life just peachy at times?
But the excellent news is that we washed towels and no new grease marks! WOO HOO!!!
Other excitement from the week:
Netflix reviews: We watched Akeelah and the Bee again, with my mom and it's still so good. Rent it! We also watched Friends with Money, an independent that wasn't as good as I'd heard which was disappointing with so many wonderful actresses in it. And we saw In Her Shoes which is a great sister/chick flick. I loved the old ladies, they were fabulous (esp. Shirley MacLaine and her friend). Friday we saw RV with Robin Williams which was pretty funny too. So a good movie week. Oh, and Grey's Anatomy season 2 came out which we picked up (thanks to Ang's birthday gift certificates) and are moving swiftly through. AND my mom got me a gift this week, the Grey's Anatomy Soundtrack, Vol. 2 which ROCKS! Thanks Mom.
In other news:
We played Scrabble Friday night and my mom beat both Ang and I twice! You go Mom! And we found out Ang is a rules nazi and won't let us read the dictionary during non-turns. I tried and tried and got yelled at and yelled at.
Ok, so that's the week. This week should be a little less crazy we hope. Though I do have to make chicken chili for the Crane Chili Cook-Off on Wed at school. And the new TV season kicks off this week.
More later....

The Chaos Theory

Yes, last Thursday and Friday was an experiment in the chaos theory for me and I am happy to report that I, and everyone else in my reach, survived.
I'll start from the beginning to keep everyone up on what's been happening:
It begins Wednesday night really. We had a huge rain and electrical storm about 2am. It woke us up and the power went off for a bit and I didn't realize that my alarm has no backup battery. So around 6am Ang came in my room to wake me up. She crawled into my bed, which is oh so comfortable since I have a twin bed, and tells me she is sick. Her stomach hurts and she hasn't slept since the storm. I offer to call the sub line but she says she can make it and we head to school. I know she's not well (she makes oatmeal but doesn't attempt to eat much of it and she has zero energy, less than usual in the morning) but we plug along. We hang out at school in Antartica for a while (our friend Shannon's room) discussing the movie we watched the night before and want her to watch Akeelah and the Bee (an awesome movie, rent it tonight! make your kids watch it and start drilling them with the dictionary!). We head back to our respective European and North American continents and I don't really register the fact that Ang has veered off to the nurse's office. Moments later she comes into my classroom and wants me to press down on her abdomen, hard. So she lies on the floor and I do, just a tad bit irritated that the medical professional in the building couldn't have handled this. Once I do it though, she nearly passes out from pain and can't get off the floor without help. So we decide to go to the emergency room.
All of this happens before 8:30am. And I am not ready for the school day to start yet.
So we go, I drop her off, call my mom, go back in to check on her, and before 8:55 she is taken back to an ER room. I leave her, worried but knowing I need to handle things at school for a bit.
So all day there is chaos in my brain, not necessarily in my outward appearance but in my brain nonetheless. I have my cell phone on, something I never do, and explain to the kids I'll have to take calls during their time. They seem okay and very worried about the other Miss Knapp. They behave so well - I am so proud of them. I only have to bring on kid into the hall when I am on my phone, for throwing a paper ball but I lecture him and he returns to work quietly. My kids are unusually quiet today, which is a relief. They spend the majority of the time reading with each other, cuddling the stuffed animals I have just introduced to our room. They are happy. So am I. But I am worried.
Ang calls around 11 and tells me they are doing a CAT scan and blood work. Then I don't hear from her again. I am getting calls from my parents, inquires from work and friends and I know nothing. I make it through the day and it goes well. Despite the fact 1) that we have a surprise lockdown drill and 2) the air conditioning in my room has broken. Life is insane isn't it?
At 4 o'clock I bust out of school and am to the hospital by 4:10. Ang calls as I am driving into the parking lot to tell me they are sending a surgeon in shortly. I find her and we sit in the ER room, waiting.
Then her surgeon, Dr. Fletcher who is awesome, comes in and says that her appendix is enlarged despite what the radiologist and the ER doc say and he wants to do surgery. So he says they'll send us to pre-op. I call friends and my parents and we wait some more. By this point she's in pretty heavy pain but has been on morophine most of the day (thus the no calls for 6 hrs). They also won't give her anything to drink which pisses her off. Adding insult to injury;-)
We head up to pre-op and we wait. They get her ready and we wait some more. She sleeps a lot. I read stories from my kid's textbook which I stuck in my bag to pass the time. (Can I tell you I am not a fan of dragon stories and the one we have to read next is like 10 pages long? Ugh!)
At this point I just want to say how great our new Yuma friends are. My team leader from school brings me a sandwich so I can keep my strength up and sits with me while I eat and Ang sleeps. That was so great. I hadn't even thought of food and it was already 8 o'clock.
At 10 o'clock they wheel her away and I head to the waiting room. The surgeon promises to find me in an hour or an hour and a half.
I sit. Animal Planet is blaring out of the TV I can't reach to turn off. A 7th grader from my school, from Ang's team, is there too with her family - her older sister is having the same surgery. She tells me all about her classes and asks me random questions about the word of the week. She's so cute. Nervous but obviously glad to have found someone who will pay attention to her for a little bit.
The doctor comes out in less than an hour, about 55 minutes and tells me Angela has done excellently! She did have appendicitis so it's good he went in. There is no definitive test so he wasn't 100% sure when he cut her but he says it was getting infected and needed to come out now. Whew!
Around midnight I get to go back and see her in her room. She's been put in the new part of the hospital, the cardiac unit, as surgery's full. She has her own room and it's nice. There's a chair that reclines and I am invited to spend the night.
For a while I help her get some water and she's a bit out of it. The funny thing is that they make you sign all these papers and listen to all this crap and you've just had surgery! The nurse is reviewing paperwork and then asks Ang if she has a living will. She says yes. The woman says do you have paperwork on whether you want to be revived. Ang says she has a DNR. The nurse turns and looks at me and I look and Ang and I say no.
At this point Ang gets a bit beligerent. She says she has a DNR, she doesn't want to be revived. I say, yes you do. If something happens tonight we want them to do all they can to save you. She shakes her head. I look at the nurse and say yes, save her. We decide that the DNR is only for it you are in a permanent vegetative state or 99 years old. It's not for tonight. Ang says fine and resigns herself to our decision:-) Wow. Life is never dull!
At 1:30 Ang and I are figuring out her lesson plans for Friday and discussing what I need to do to take care of her kids. Luckily I have already done mine and called for subs for us both. I've also read 3 stories and graded 60 unit tests. Guess I was a bit nervous!
I hang out until 2:30 but can't sleep and am terribly uncomfortable so I head home.
At 7am Ang calls me and tells me she's ok but in a lot of pain. Last night she thought she was ready to go home, not today.
Friday was crazy as well. I attend a staff meeting, prep both our rooms, brief the subs who will teach our kids for the day, go home get Ang clothes, head to the hospital, then pick my mom up from the airport at 12:30.
People were so great though - thank you to all of you for well wishes, prayers and your love!
Friends brought her flowers and visited her, our pastor came by the hospital and prayed with all 3 of us. The calls and emails have meant so much.
Today I had a sub too. I think we are all exhausted and there was still a bunch of little stuff to do and help Ang with. I'll head back to work tomorrow but my mom will be here all week. Thank God for moms!
So yeah - the chaos theory. Gotta love it!

A good kind of labor

I did nothing of note this weekend. I read Newsweeks and Entertainment Weeklies that had been piling up. I watched more than my fair share of 24 episodes (we have finished season 3! and it was so amazing, so terrifying!!!). I wrote quite a bit. I did laundry. I made a crustless pumpkin pie. I went grocery shopping. I hung up a copper sun Angela and I got for the front porch of our apartment. I cleaned my closet and my room. I sent some letters and made some phone calls. I balanced my checkbook (with the help of my mom! thank goodness for scanners and IM and online banking). I slept in (it's so sad that 8:30 is now sleeping in to me).
Yep, pretty much it. No ocean, no trips to exotic places or even barbeques. We had taco salad and guacamole for lunch. I'm making a tuna casserole for dinner so we can eat leftovers all week. We're back to watching season one of Grey's Anatomy (funny stuff!) as we've exhausted this week's supply of Netflix DVDs.
And I'm happy! I feel rested and relaxed and comfortable in my world again. After over 3 months of transition I feel settled. And that's all I can ask for.
P.S. - If you're one of my novel readers, I'm almost finished with Patricia's story so I'll be in contact and can send more pages soon!!!!

Another day in seventh grade

It's been a busy few days since I last posted. We're having fun, that's for sure. We've had 3 tests in 4 days and we're gearing up for the big collection test on Thursday (it's a unit test, covering everything we've learned since school started from the textbook). My kids are a bit nervous, as they should be, and I am too. I had about half my students fail their first test last week and about half of those stay after school the last 2 days to retake it. Good news though - almost all of them got As on the retest! Woohoo! Our hard work is paying off.
But I've decided I really really really do not like staying after school. The bell rings at 3:57 and they have to be back in my room by 4. Then the activities bus doesn't come until 5:25. That's a long time to be after school. Luckily today everyone had an alternate ride home so they left a little earlier but still - no fun! After a long day it was a long afternoon.
I had a parent meeting last week where the parents yelled in Spainish for a while, so I guess I need to brush up on that in my spare time. Oh yeah - and I had my first evaluation today.
In our district they have the T4S form, Teach 4 Success. It's a 20-minute evaluation and you are graded on what's up in your room, what you are teaching, how you do it, etc. My principal surprised me today in 4th period by coming in and taking a seat. I was pretty nervous but luckily we were doing a great activity that involved all the students, discussion, me drawing plot graphs on the board, and them periodically standing and sitting depending on their level of understanding. When she got up to leave she said I was a natural and I did great so that was reassuring. Especially for my first time!
Tomorrow I have meetings both before and after school, this is my least favorite part of the job, my most favorite is being in the classroom with the kids talking and learning. Today we learned about putting things in context and that words have multiple meanings.
Along with all of that today we had our first lockdown drill. Teachers knew it was coming but we didn't know when exactly. My class did very well and I did too, though I was a bit nervous. I have very important responsibilities when the announcement comes over the PA for teachers to secure their classrooms. I have to go out into the hall (potentially in the line of fire) and lock my door, pull down and fasten my makeshift door window shade, shut the blinds, turn off the light, and get my kids (silently) into the corner of the room, seated. It went well today though, only a few giggles and cracked knuckles on their part. I stood sternly over them with my arms crossed and afterwards reminded them that we all could be in danger when that happens and my life is on the line too. Can't wait for the earthquake drill.
Ok - it's off to bed, tomorrow's our short day of classes, as Wednesdays are early release days (2:28 instead of 3:57) so us teachers can go to even more meetings, and we're going to the library! Woohoo, our first "field trip".

Minimum Wage

The federal minimum wage is $5.15/hour. This is not much money. I figured it out last week - I BRING HOME (which is WAY different than what they say your salary will be) $7.28/hour. I find this absurb. Especially since I have to jump through hoops every single day, since I work an average, if not above, 50 hours a week. Since my supposed benefits don't even come close to making up for this terrible pay rate. Health insurance - yeah, great coverage. Yes. Find a doctor who actually charges what the insurance will pay and I'll talk to you. Days off - yeah, ask me when I am here on Saturday and Sundays or am grading tests until 11:30. Planning time - yep. Talk to me on Wednesdays when I have meetings at 8:05 until the bell rings at 8:55 and then meetings again from 2:40 (the bell rings at 2:29) until 4pm.
Can you tell it's a nonpay week. Can you tell we're all a little bitter we have to order pizza tonight and stay in instead of hitting the town. Can you tell I have $29 left in my checkbook:-)
So that's my rant.
PAY TEACHERS MORE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!

Firsts

Today was a day of firsts! It started right off. It was the first day I have arrived at school and felt like I knew what was going to happen. I was prepared, organized, even have Wednesday's plans laid out. I didn't know what to do with myself. There were no papers to grade, nothing! I got to check my email even!!!
Then another first - it was the first time we have had a team (mini staff) meeting I enjoyed. It went quickly, we got our stuff done, laughed a bit, made a decision and were done in 10 minutes flat! Nice!
Another first - I had a substitute in my room today. I was nervouse. I typed 2 pages of instructions and the kids were taking a test. But lucky girl that I am, I got who I hear is the best sub in the building, and when Ang brought home my tests and sub report, I was overjoyed. I had students who wrote killer essays and I had an awesome sub report! Woo hoo! (Granted I had kids who put a big question mark on the essay page as well but I am not focusing on that right now.)
Yet another first - I went to the dentist (not even close to being a first, not even the first time this month) and had the dentist clean my teeth. I've never had the dentist do it, always a hygenist. Ang thought maybe it was because she wanted to be extra careful of my root canal, I think it's because she had a slow afternoon. Who knows. Also, it was the first time I had my teeth cleaned with the water pick, no scraping involved and it was so quick! It rocks!
I was in the dentist chair over 3 hours. I dropped over five hundred dollars there as well. It was a very long day - a cleaning, an old filling torn out (it felt like it, the novicane had worn off) and refilled, and a temporary crown put in. Not to mention a full set of x-rays and 2 molds taken off (20 minutes of goop sitting in my mouth, it's a good thing I don't throw up easily). I think of it all the x-rays hurt the most. By then time they were done, I was literally bleeding from those stupid little plastic films. Ugh. And I get to go back to the dentist on September 14th. Yippee! So now I have a nice silver tooth in the back of my mouth, I think it looks cool. I'll see what the kids think tomorrow. They wanted me to get a bright white tooth for my crown but I chose dingy white to match the rest. Apparently they thought I should get bright white and have my other teeth whitened. I told them I didn't think I would ever choose to have elective dental work. EVER.

The Plague part 2

I am still not feeling well. I am determined not to let it get me down but it's hard not to be upset when your stomach is;-) Ah well - I've decided that instead of injections they should just send people who need to be immunized to seventh grade for a few months and nothin' will touch them then.
We had open house this Thursday, it went well - I had a whole script worked out, 2 pages and I went through it 3 times. Our students' families followed their schedules for the night. I was anticipating open houses like I'd been to when I was younger but this was very different. I had 14 parents over the course of the whole night. Not exactly standing room only. But I figure work with what you have! And we did.
My kids are reading "Rikki-tikki-tavi" by Rudyard Kipling right now, it's about snakes and mongooses and little birds who all talk to each other - not exactly my favorite type of story but they seem to be enjoying that. And they all passed their spelling tests yesterday which rocks!
I am really enjoying my time in the classroom with them, really. I thought I would be terrified and not know what to do but I am surprising myself. I am confident with the kids, I discipline them in what I think is an effective manner and fairly, and I think they are learning stuff. Though we still are working on what constitutes a noun and what doesn't. Things move a lot slower in seventh grade than I imagined.
Ok, it's back to hanging out in Ang's comfy bed. We're watching Entourage right now, the HBO show. It's pretty funny. Gotta love lazy Saturday afternoons. It's too hot to go outside so we're using the excuse to lay around!

The Seventh Grade Plague

Yes I've got it. The seventh grade plague. This week has included a stomach bug that kept me in the bathroom all night, the sniffles, and now allergy eyes. Add that to the infestation of crickets in my classroom and I am sure it's a plague - just for me (by the way, plague is one of our spelling words this week!).
So I wore my glasses today and dealt with the barrage of questions that all went like this: "Miss Knapp, you wear glasses?" or and I quote - "Yo teach, what's up with the glasses?" as if I was just wearing them for high fashion or to keep the sun out of my eyes.
But I'm feeling better so the plague may be passing, I lucked out on this one. I can hope to only be so lucky this time.
But in a week that also included a root canal, let's just say God is pressing his luck with me;-)

The root canal

I survived, quite well actually. Today was D-Day. I had my kids line up in our last class, I had my purse over my shoulder and the lights off and explained to them that Ms. Knapp had a dentist appointment and they needed to leave immediately when the bell rang. And they did! I made it with 5 minutes to spare to my appointment!
The actual procedure took a mere 40 minutes, which is awesome because my dad tells tales of 5 plus hours in the chair for some of his. Mine was painless, really and the folks at the endontics office were great. We'll see how the crown goes next Tuesday - that I have to take the whole afternoon off for.
School went relatively well today, considering I think my students gave me a stomach bug and I was sure I might pass out in 5th period. The other Ms. Knapp popped in on her prep and gave me a ten-second breather in the hallway and I went back at it. I'm sure all the kids noticed today was that I kept track of tardies (though they aren't going in the computer just yet - shhhh!), I had to ask them to be quiet A LOT, and I draw not-so-great looking stick people on the white board.
Oh yes - then there's the cricket problem in our school. You might call it an infestation. Apparently crickets love bug bombs and when the one was set off last week in school, they all came running toward it. I've gotten quite adept at stomping them as I read to the kids, trying to keep their attention on my and not the critters running around the room. They make a slight crunching noise though when I step on them and then there's always the dead bodies lying around after but ah well.
Ok, off to bed - tomorrow's another day. Classes and then a meeting after school with the principal about evaluation systems with all the new teachers.
Oh yeah - good news! I was evaluated again yesterday while teaching and was told my class was awesome. We did transitions while the woman was there and they were so quiet so quick! They rock!!!!

Another country

Today is the first time I've felt out of place, like I am living in a foreign land. Mind you I technically live in the United States. But I do live in a border city. I know this and I knew some of what to expect. But it's still crazy to me that when I go to Walmart, hearing English is rare. Today I was standing at the register and I didn't hear a word of English until the woman waiting on me said hello. She'd had a lengthy conversation with the woman in front of me in line, in Spanish. I got a hello and a thank you. You know, it's fine really, but it's just that I don't feel like I belong at times. I feel like because I don't speak their language or because I'm the white girl, I am an outsider. I know I am but it's still odd to me.
We went to Mexico Friday night and I didn't even feel like this there - there I expect it. I'm in another country. I don't expect to hear English.
I've also been introduced to this culture shock at school, particulary a lesson in cholos. Cholo is the word for Mexican gangster or gangbanger. And because I'm a white girl, I apparently shouldn't really say Cholo (though Shannon does and this makes me laugh! The white Irish Catholic from Wisconsin calling out Cholos in her class - but I suppose marrying a Mexican gives her the cred needed).
We have wannabe Cholos and real Cholos, in seventh grade. Yeah - welcome to our life.
So that's all I wanted to say - I got annoyed at first but there's nothing I can do about it. But it really pisses me off when there are billboards in MY neighborhood that I can't read because they're in Spanish. Guess I'd better get some Berlitz tapes;-)

News Flash!

It's raining in Yuma, Arizona!!!!!! Yep - it's true. It's down to 89 degrees and we have thunder and lightening!
It's such a rare occurance here in the desert that I made Angela go outside and stand on the patio in the dark and watch it with me. It's even a full moon tonight. We watched it rain and the water splash on our feet until the thunder came. Then Ang said she'd had enough.
Off to bed - seventh grade comes very early!

Day Three and Counting...

Today was my best day so far as a seventh grade teacher. I know, I know. It's not hard to imagine since it's only my third day but I thought today went really well. I only forgot to do one major thing (walk my kids to lunch because there's a new schedule already and they have a new door to go in - but I figure they'll end up eating something either way) and we accomplished quite a bit in each of my three classes!
I had them read a poem today and write a three paragraph response. Some did so great. Some tried really hard. Some have a lot of work to do. But I am not giving up, in fact, we're going to push straight ahead! We're going to start a novel tomorrow, Lois Lowry's The Giver. I checked a class set out from the library today and I can't wait to read to with them tomorrow. We're also going to dive into the textbook tomorrow and start studying plot and conflict in fiction writing.
It was just an overall good day in the room, there were my students - all working away, classical music playing in the background, and I got to read their work and even organize my attendance.
And then I went to our department meeting.
Let's just say meetings never end up well when someone is in tears, someone shows their passive aggressive side, and someone else acts like a donkey (you know what I'm saying).
So yeah - that was a downer. But then we had the meeting after the meeting (you Wesley folks know what I'm talkin' about) and I felt better, like I knew what I needed to do tomorrow (at least) and then I came home.
And guess what - tonight I'm not tired!
I did laundry, I made dinner. I cleaned up. I even got to EMPTY my inbox (there were 29 messages earlier today). And I got to read the news.
So yeah - it does get better. I might not die of exhaustion.
But I sure am glad tomorrow's Thursday!

The First Day

I survived. It's really just a big blur in my mind. The first 2 and 1/2 hours specifically. There was a 55 minute locker crash course. No one could open them. I forgot to give out lunch letters and PINs. Oh well - no one looked hungry after lunch. I forgot to tell them to have the team letter signed. Maybe they'll read it. We got through maybe one page of my 5 page lesson plan.
And guess what?
We're going to try it again today!
I think that was my biggest lesson learned from yesterday. I get to try again tomorrow. And the next day and the next. And it's going to be okay.
Sure it is:-)
I am alive, for those of you who haven't heard from me in a while. I went home last night at 5 with grand intentions of answering emails, blogging, reading a magazine. I heated up dinner and fell asleep on the couch. Yeah.
So I guess what I'm trying to tell you is I'll talk to you in June:-) Or maybe October when we get our first 2 week break - I'm already counting the days!

The weekend

Ohmygosh. It has been a whirlwind. We had open house Friday morning. I met a TON of kids and their parents. And their grandparents. And their aunts. And their siblings. And their siblings friends. And their puppies. I am not making this up.
I had mothers who couldn't understand anything I said but hello. I had families already wanting conferences with me. I had kids who overachieve. Kids who are busybodies. Kids who are not well. Kids who need glasses. Kids who are writing books. Kids who don't read well. Kids who can't be quiet or sit still. And all of this is just what people told me about their kids.
Friday was also payday. A joyous occassion - until I realized that I really still don't make enough to live off of. The 200 dollar savings I thought I'd tuck away every month - it is now 20 bucks. And the minimums are still only being met on payments. Sometimes life doesn't change very much.
Then Friday night we went on base and were the "experts" for the SemperFit Friday night activity - scrapbooking. A bunch of military wives getting a night out. It was fun, and crazy to be considered experts but they were sweet and funny and gave us cookies!
Then Saturday we worked at school some more, it never ends - and I mean this literally. There is always something more to do. Then we decided to go with Shannon on a little road trip. To Phoneix. At 4:30. To buy "professional" work clothes per the new mandate by our boss. No more tank tops. No more casual. It's professional attire now. So we hopped in the car and went. Not realizing that the trip is really 3 hrs. So we had 2 hrs to shop once we got there and then headed home. But it was a great ride, great conversation, lots of fun. Stopping at the Waffle House, to see it full of scary looking men and leaving before even shutting off the car. Then stopping in Gila Bend at 12:30 am for hot fudge sundaes. Good times!
Then there was today. A very long day. We got home at 2am yet made it to church at 10! Then we did some grocery shopping - Ang's favorite store, Walmart! Then we went back to school. For 5 and 1/2 hrs. I wrote out a 5 page lesson plan for TOMORROW. Yeah. Haven't even touched Tuesday. And the copier is broken. Never fails. But here's the cutest thing.
As we were leaving tonight it was about 8 o'clock, just dusk. And there was this boy and his father walking around the outside of the school. The dad asked us if the schedules were still posted on the windows. We said no but come back tomorrow and they will be. He told us they would. The little boy looked so scared. He had his notebook with him and his dad's arm around him. It was just too cute. He is getting ready for middle school. Just like me.
In my classroom I framed this and posted it just inside the door. It's our classroom motto:
Breathe deep and jump in.
That's what I'll do...in seven hours!
Goodnight:-)

Open House

I have been awake since 5am. I have been ready to go since 6:05. The reason? I am pretty terrified. Today I will meet the actual living, breathing children everyone has been talking about for the past 2 weeks. It's open house this morning.
We have to be there at 7 because apparently parents line up out the doors to meet us. This goes on for 4 hours. Then we get to get back to work.
Should be interesting. And I'm going to start today just as my students will start Monday morning, reading our class motto:
Take a deep breath and jump in.
Here goes nothin'!

Exhausted...

This is gonna be short. This morning started out with a 140 minute meeting without a break. Yeah - good sign, I know. But it wasn't all boring. I learned that one of the wonderful janitors we have at our school likes rice krispie treats (during a get-to-know-you activity) so now we have a new bribery system in place.
But now I am exhausted. This afternoon we had more meetings and a little time to work in our rooms. I learned about the 6 traits for writing. I numbered popsicle sticks. I made 2 bulletin boards. I wrote out my first week's agenda. I drew my seating chart. FIVE times.
And at 6:30 we called it a day.
Tomorrow it starts all over again with an 8am team meeting.
I'm going to bed.

Catch a wave!

Yesterday Angela and I did something we've never done before - swam in the Pacific Ocean! And it was exciting. We went to San Diego bright and early in the morning, even though it was rainy and foggy in the mountains and found our way to La Jolla, a beautiful suburb city of San Diego. This is where Ang's new neurologist is located and we were doing a dry run for her appointment in 2 weeks. It's a good thing we did this as La Jolla's a much bigger place than we anticipated - so big that they have 2 roads with the exact same name. Which is where the hospital is, go figure!
We also found IKEA, and got some fun stuff for our classrooms then wound our way to Seaport Village downtown San Diego. There were ships and fishermen and just this ocean smell, it was great. Popcorn and fish and sun cotton candy and relaxation.
Then we went on our quest to find the beach. The map stated 4 larges beaches on the coast in SD. We couldn't find any of them. We did find ourselves back in La Jolla and eventually found a beach. It was a beautiful place, right in a middle of what looked to be a very high-end neighborhood.
And we went swimming.
There was sand and all these colorful umbrellas and the water was 87 degrees and the sun was hot but not too hot and it was perfect.
And the water tasted like salt. It was a shock when I first got hit with it. I haven't been in the ocean in a very long time. Maybe 12 or 14 years. But it was great. And there were these huge mounds of seaweed that I kept throwing toward Angela (who was a great sport but not terribly impressed at all to be in the ocean - a body of water that contains whales and sharks and all sorts of things).
We played for an hour and a half and then got out, it was already cooling down and as we were leaving folks were heading toward the beach with firewood.
This morning I told Ang I want to go back, soon! Maybe this weekend or next:-) It's hard to believe just how beautiful it is there. She said maybe, but there was that 8 year old there at the beach who kept yelling about seeing a stingray and that did not impress Ang. But I think I'll wear her down:-)