A realization

I had a realization today - I am actually going to teach seventh grade. Seventh graders. Twelve year olds, a bunch of them, in a room, alone, with me, every day. At least I think they're twelve. This is not a new thought - I got my contract for my new job on Friday and that was exciting and I have to read it through tomorrow but it hadn't hit me I think. Then yesterday Tracy (one of my college roommates who came to visit for the weekend - yay!) and I went to the used bookstore in the bottom of the library and I got seven books for my classroom library (for a total of $4!). But it still hadn't hit me, until today. I went to the Teachers' Center because I had a 30% off coupon just for today and wanted to use it. I began wandering around and started to get overwhelmed, there are so many books and I really just began feeling like I wasn't sure how to go about this. I saw a teacher there I knew, and she was very sweet and encouraging (and surprised me by buying me a copy of The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown (of Goodnight Moon fame) so I could have my students write "The important thing..." poems. But I was sitting there on the floor just being very overwhelmed. I did end up with a book, The New Teacher's Complete Sourcebook - Middle School, so I guess that's a start. I'll begin reading it this week when I get all my research papers and finals graded.
But I guess that's it for today, I'm fine now but just getting anxious and knowing I have SO MUCH to learn, I'm not even sure how to process it all.

1700 words baby!

A week. My dry spell had gone a week. I've been stuck on how to formulate a scene in my book with Patricia, the character I'm concentrating on. And I couldn't move on because I've been feeling the need to write her pieces in order. So I waited. I opened the file, I looked at it a lot. I organized my research. And I waited. Then I talked to Ang about it and she suggested that where the character was might not be a good fit. And I said how it was an uncomfortable situation for Patricia and thus, an uncomfortable situation for me to write her in. So we took the action else where. And that's how tonight, in between grading research papers and watching some Must See TV and editing a friend's book, I wrote 1700 words and upped my page count to 31! Woo hoo - what a great start to the weekend.
Ok - I have to finish these edits and sleep quick because I'm walking the Celery Flats at 7:45 then one of my college roommates - Tracy - is coming for the weekend. Yippee! And hopefully my surge of ideas will continue as I sleep and a little elf will transcribe them for me;-0

Ka...BOOM

Last night on Alias Will says to Sydney that his head is beeping. It was great. Not just that line but the whole freaking show. Seriously. But now to my own Ka...BOOM. My head is about to explode. It could possibly be an aneurysm. Or just the fact that I am grading research papers and out of 5 I have graded so far - they all are horrible! No one followed directions. No one cited research correctly, even though we had library presentations from real, honest to goodness, certified librarians, even though there's this new tool on the web that if you plug the info in - out shoots a perfect reference page. I mean really - how difficult is this? There is evidence that papers were done mere moments before, that typos have been scratched out and "s" or "ed" added in pencil. Oh, and did I tell you these are COLLEGE STUDENTS. Who have had the research paper assignment for about TEN WEEKS. And all they had to do was watch a movie and relate 3 communication concepts to it. And relate it to their own lives. Oh - and it's worth 25% of their final grade. A quarter of their grade.
I'm so angry I could spit. Think I'd better set them aside for a while:-)

Monday narcolepsy

Apparently I have a highly specialized form of narcolepsy - it only occurs on Monday afternoons. This is the second Monday in a row during which I have fallen dead asleep in the middle of the day. And I'm not sure what it's all about. I was working this afternoon, staring at the computer trying to come up with dialogue for a spousal support group meeting that one of my main character's in my novel is attending and I was stuck. So I took a book and laid down on the bed and started reading. No intention of sleeping, it's just that my desk is 2 feet from my bed and there's no other chair in there. So I'm reading for a minute - trying to figure out this dialogue - and bam! Asleep. A good half hour power nap that was hard and fast. Weird. Don't think I'm some slacker, well fine, think I'm some slacker, I know better but it's just weird to me. And that feeling when you wake up is even worse. I had to hurry and make dinner to get to the office by 4:45 and I don't know - guess that spousal support group will have to wait!

Lacrosse anyone?

So I went to my first lacrosse game this weekend. And no, before another person asks, it wasn't a Duke lacrosse game. It was pretty exciting.
Here's how dictionary.com defines lacrosse: A game played on a rectangular field by two teams of ten players each, in which participants use a long-handled stick that has a webbed pouch on one end to maneuver a ball into the opposing team's goal.
Here's how I define lacrosse: hockey without ice and with nets on the sticks. Plus the puck bounces. Yep - they can body check in lacrosse and apparently some of these high schoolers have been known to fly through the air. It also looked a little like Quidditch to me - you know, Harry Potter's game. If only they had been on brooms. But I kept thinking that and thinking it was pretty cool.
It's a club sport in Portage, a pricey one I gather and I wonder who came up with it. I suppose I could research it a bit but I'll see if anyone out there can tell me instead. A prize to the best answer!

Tough enough?

Yesterday I wore jeans to school. Not such a big deal, I know. But I'm the teacher - and since I don't have Friday classes, I usually don't do a casual day. But inevitably, as the semester wears down I care less and less and know my position of authority with these students cannot be usurped by my wearing denim. So I wore jeans. And then a funny thing happened as I was leaving school - my pocket caught on the handle of a door, and ripped completely away from my pants! Leaving my back end exposed, red and white striped underware for all to see. Granted, there was no one but me in the corridor but I was mortified. Thankfully I was wearing a hooded sweater I promptly tied around my waist but still. Shouldn't blue jeans, made of sturdy denim, be tough enough to encounter a door handle? What's next is all I ask:-)

Buy American - you'll be thanked

So here's a funny, interesting thing that happened to me yesterday. I went to the branch library by my house (it's a smaller version of the big library downtown). I finished my last audiobook and was picking up The Da Vinci Code to listen to (I've read it once but wanted to "read" it again before seeing the movie).
As I go to get out of my car, this lady in the minivan next to me smiles and says she likes my Saturn (I have a red Saturn VUE for those of you who don't know). I thanked her and went to lock up but she continued chatting. She looked to be about 65 and seemed friendly. She asked me if I liked my car and I said yes, I really do. She then thanked me for buying American. I wasn't sure how to respond so I just nodded. She went on to say, in a somewhat apologetic tone (which now seems hilarious to me) that her husband is Japanese. Like she had to apologize for the fact that she didn't "buy" American:-) She said he worked for a company that sold parts to foreign car companies and as such, they had to drive a foreign minivan. I wanted to tell her most foreign minivans are now made right here in the U.S.A. but I didn't. I just listened. But she was so cute in her tone. She went on to ask me how I liked my VUE and was it roomy and did it drive well. Then she thanked me again and I went on my way, her calling out that she was going to show her husband my car when he came outside.
As I was walking into the library an older, Japanese, gentleman was walking out and I smiled. Wondering what he might think about his wife sharing with me:-)

It's official!

This morning I was offered and accepted a position teaching language arts at Crane Middle School in Yuma, AZ!!! I am pretty excited:-) I had a phone interview and if I don't say so myself, I rocked (I am a good interviewee - unmodest but true in my humble opinion). However, Angela tells me that she knew even before I did. Her boss pulled her into her office this morning and told her she was going to offer me the job - yep yep!
Not sure if I'll be teaching 7th or 8th grade yet - they are apparently getting new curriculum again next year but either way, I'm there! Starting July 24th.
So yeah - it's official.

Answers to those burning questions

I love comments! Thanks for reading and writing guys!!!! In response to Rick - I too like the new format, and didn't know until setting up my dad's blog that you could have titles. I'm still working on going back and giving other posts titles but I think it's fun!
As for the office hours thing - Angela, I've never had a student cry in office hours. In class, yes. 2 that I can recall offhand. And both were boys. One was a student who cheated (stole most of his paper off the internet) and the other was a student who missed the deadline for turning in a research paper. But I like to think my office hours aren't that bad!
I did go to office hours when I was in school. At Olivet I went to Wally's a lot. I think I had to - he'd make us come in for questions and to discuss if we were going to miss his class. And I was always missing his class because it was in the afternoons when they would always schedule golf matches. Wally was my communication professor at Olivet - my one and only communication professor. I didn't think he liked me at first, especially when I missed all those classes. But with a comm major, we got to know each other pretty well after that. At Western I went to a lot of office hours. I spent hours in Maria's office trying to learn stats. Many of us did. I spent time with Melissa talking about culture and the newness of graduate work for us and how to be a better teacher (her office was down the hall from the T.A. office and she was well intuned to all we did). I also remember some profs making you come, to get papers or to talk about things. But maybe that's because it was grad school. And those of us on campus all the time liked it, it was a way we got to know more about the people who were teaching us, we formed bonds others didn't have. And those who were not full-time students knew that and would complain, saying we could stop in and talk to profs whenever we wanted and we agreed. That was great.
If I could have my own office at school I'd make it big and roomy with lots of books, a TV, and couches and chairs. But I don't. I have to settle for a classroom and let me tell you - those work just fine for talking with your teacher as well!

Office Space

I'm in my "office" at school. It's really a room with 4 desks, a computer (with slow internet, which is odd given the school is wireless) and 5 chairs. It's full of papers and books and calendars and notes long forgotten or stowed and wished to be forgotten. I'm doing my "office hours" for the week and of course, no one has come to see me. No one has ever come to my office hours here. You'd think they would as I just figured grades so far (with only 2 classes left after tonight) and I have a greater percentage failing than getting As. And I give extra credit for coming to my office hours and I'll help them. But still - no visitors. So I work, I read, I surf the web. I blog:-)
I just had a copyright issue, couldn't get things copied for class because they had a copyright C at the bottom. Goodness. As if teaching were not hard enough without this crap. Plus, I know the rules and I know as long as I am making one copy per student for a class it's legal. But no no says the printer. So I trudged down to the crappy self copier and did it myself, wasting money, time, and trees (these copiers don't do back to back). Life is insane at times.
But I had a good weekend for those of you who care -
I learned to wallpaper. A skill my mother and my Marilyn assure me I will take with me for the rest of my life. So if anyone needs any wallpapering done in the next few months - I'm for hire. Only $100 a roll (hey, I'm not stupid, and even though I just learned to wallpaper, I know it's not that easy!). But it was fun, and I am glad I know how to do it now, and how to put in a new dishwasher (another weekend project) and how to do stuff around the house. I also collected sticks in the yard but surprisingly I remembered how to do that from my last 25 years of doing it:-)
Have a good night y'all - I'm off to teach about conflict, specifically managing conflict. We'll see what comes of it!

Reading and Driving

Can I just say that technology is amazing. I'm speaking tonight of the technology of audiobooks. I love 'em! Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em! I started listening to them last summer when I was driving to Jackson for work a few days a week. And I just started a new one Tuesday - it's Anna Quindelin's Black and Blue and it's so good (I'm already an AQ fan but it's very good). And it's not just listening to a book for those of you unfamiliar with the activity. The person reading the book is usually very dramatic and trained to pull out the story for you. I've listened to Steve Martin read one of his books and that was great, and Lynn Thigpen who was amazing and read and sang The Bluest Eye (by Toni Morrison - an awesome piece of literature, awesome) which was amazing. But yeah so, check them out if you haven't given books on CD a try.
But yeah so I'm listening to this story and I get mesmerized by it. So much so that I want to drive a little slower and that I sit in my carport when I get home waiting for the chapter to end. And I'm pretty excited at the prospect of 5 hours in the car in the next 5 days to finish the book! And this summer, driving cross country, I can't wait to get a good "book" - I'm looking for recommendations - bring 'em on! :-)

Life is Good

Life is good today. This is how it's supposed to be I've determined. You feel rested after sleeping all night, you wake up without an alarm clock, you have time to cook and enjoy your breakfast. You eat some fruit. You have conversations with friends. You do your work. You help out friends. You get things accomplished. You talk with family members. You go for an energizing walk. You make a big salad for dinner. You play a few games, read a few books, help someone with their subtraction homework. You work on a jigsaw puzzle. You lay on the couch, warm without a blanket for the first time this year, and read a magazine. You watch some good television. You enjoy your day.
This is how it's supposed to be, right? Right!
:-)

Vietnam

Yesterday I spent doing research and some writing of my novel (and laundry, cleaning up, reading a little, watching some tv, cleaning my closet - you know, all those things we writers do to keep from sitting down at the keyboard) and I came in an interesting conclusion. I didn't know, until yesterday, very much about the Vietnam War. I mean almost nothing. My novel's about deployment and one of the characters was in Vietnam. So I started looking at the world map I have above my desk and tried to find Vietnam and I wasn't very successful so I googled it and there it was - south of China, east of India, in the South China Sea. So apparently geography wasn't my strong suit in school. But then I started thinking about what the war was over and I really couldn't have told you. So I did some more internet research (what did we do before the world wide web!?!?!) and found out it was a 20 year war to stop communism. (Although I am sure that's a very very very broad definition.) The more I read about it, the more I wondered why I had never learned this in school - in high school, where I took AP American history and 3 other history classes, or in college where I managed to get 2 degrees. And the answer is I don't know why. Angela said maybe it's because we were taught by teachers and raised by a society who lived that war and they didn't want to teach it or talk about it. I do remember that my history book in 11th grade had a Vietnam section but we only got through half of WWII before June. She also said maybe it's just too fresh in our collective memory. I wonder if that's how it is with the first Iraq war, if we teach it in school now (it's been over 16 years now since it began - that's roughly the amount of time between when Vietnam ended and I was in school) or if we only get students to WWII where we can easily explain and show pictures of a victory. It's certainly much more romantic than the other wars. Just a thought.

"School Shower"

So my "School Shower" idea is getting rave reviews so I'll keep you posted!
Nothing terribly exciting is happening right now, it's early Saturday morning and I'm enjoying the sunshine (even if it is 27 degrees outside) and quiet with some Jennifer Knapp playing in the background (her album Kansas is still one I can listen to over and over and over - check it out for some beautiful worship music).
Today is writing day as yesterday was a bit of a wash for that. I had a mini-breakdown after cancelling my phone and DSL service, mostly over the lack of funds I feel I have (perception is reality, right?!?!) but I recovered with the help of the best support system in the world (shout outs to Mom, Dad, and Angela!) and errands to keep me busy. I also worked on my last Kalamazoo Gazette story about different types of gardens. It's pretty interesting actually, I've written about Shaker gardens and herb gardens so far, I'm learning a lot. Then I got to go bowling! (Shout out to another of my f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s support systems Joe and Amanda!) And as luck would have (there's little to no skill involved in my bowling) I managed a 102 both games. Then we played a little Apples to Apples (great game!) and Cranium which is way more difficult than it sounds (especially when you have to hum to William Tell Oveture and no one on your team has ever seen The Lone Ranger and then they call you old when you say you remember watching black and white shows on Nick at Night, not just Roseanne). But even harder is trying to guess what someone else is humming. Don't believe me? You just try it!
So now I'm going to write - wish me quick fingers and lots of imagination. I'll keep you posted!

Joey Pigza rocks!

Do the deadlines ever stop? Angela was giving me crap tonight (actually right now, she's currently plugged into my ear) about not blogging and so here I am:-) Blogging at 10 o'clock on a Thursday night.
So today was a pretty normal day, 2 students in class which isn't bad and I got all my prep work done for that class for the rest of the semester which is awesome. Then I read during lunch which was relaxing and then went to KVCC where class went well - good discussion with a little prompting:-)
This afternoon Angela called me and said that if I teach 7th grade I'll need a classroom library. Which the school does not pay for. So we decided that I should have a 'School Shower'. I ran this by a friend tonight who is a bit older than me and single with no kids and she agreed. We go to so many wedding and baby showers (some for marriages that barely make it a year) that we should get to have a shower too - as single girls. (We discussed the Sex in the City episode where Carrie adds up all the money she's spent on showers and weddings and babies of friends and decides to register for shoes - $500 shoes.) So we all decided a school shower would be good - especially for a new teacher going to a place that needs a lot of help, working with kids who need a lot of help. What do you all think?
I figure it's kinda like a mission trip - like when we would go to Mountain T.O.P. and raise money to go. This time I'll be raising books and such:-) Well anyway, I think it's a splendid idea. And the first books on my registery will be the Joey Pigza books - they are wonderful!!!!

Bubba Joe speaks

Tonight is the beginning of a new quarter for me at one of my schools. I'll start teaching a 10-week public speaking course that will run through the first week of June. It's exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. I always get a bit nervous before a first day, I guess that's okay. A friend said today it shows that I still care which is a good thing:-)
So I'll join the commuters and get in my car in a few moments and head out on the open road. I don't really mind driving (I'd certainly rather be home but since that's not an option tonight I'll drive). It's nice to be in the quiet, to listen to music or books on tape or nothing at all. I get a lot of writing done in the car, which seems odd but often times whole scenes will play out in my head, with the music quietly playing in the background. It comes organically to me in that way. I like to think of it as arranging the pieces, like Virginia Woolf did ("Arrange whatever pieces come your way.").
Writing is going well - I am working on Patricia's story. It's funny because I realized, in writing her part of the tale, that she's Patricia to everyone except her husband. To Frances, she's Patty. Nicknames are interesting things. We get them most often whether we want them or not. And we can't shake them. I have several - SarahBera, Bubba Joe, etc. And they aren't always flattering (gosh - who wouldn't love to be called Bubba Joe?!?!? - thanks Low-be-san!).
So that's my thought for the day. Now I'm off to school, to start what will be the last of my college classes for a while! Oh - don't forget, new Lost tonight! WooHoo!

The lost hour

I was pretty excited tonight when I got out of my night class and there it was, in the sky, not yet hidden...the sun:-) So, even though Daylight Savings Times robbed us of an hour's sleep Saturday night, it has given us our evenings. And it's splendid! So that's my happiness for today. Just thought I'd share. (Oh - funny side note, my atomic clock, the one that's supposed to be right all the time, that's supposedly linked to a satalite somewhere in the sky, hasn't changed yet. It's still an hour off. Gotta love technology!)
Other than that, I'm thinking and getting excited about the move. I've collected 3 boxes and am thinking about what to put in them but I'm trying to be patient and do what needs to be done first first. One thing at a time.

Headin' out west!

Well it's official. I'm moving. Yep - after 6 years in the 'Zoo, I'm headed to Arizona sometime in July. I'm going to invade Yuma, and bunk with Ang for a bit. It looks like I'll be teaching 7th grade down there (I have to wait until May to find out for sure) and that is terrifying in itself. But exciting too - very exciting. I'm ready for a change and something new, someplace new, new scenery.
So that's my news for the week. So if anyone needs a chair or a dining room table, or an apartment to sublease for June and July, keep me in mind!
So...in other news-
This weekend I went to exotic Howell and my mom and I did home improvement type stuff which was fun. We went to Lowe's and Home Depot and got a new dishwasher, paint, vent grates and electric plates for her new dining room. It was fun, however after an hour walking through Lowe's trying to find the electric plates (you know, to cover the sockets and light switches), which they keep in several different aisles, miles apart, I decided there should be a girls' lowes. I think it sounds like a terrific idea. Because as girls, we wanted to do some remodeling work, some home improvement, so we went to a home improvement store. But it's not just a home improvement store, it's also a contractor's store and a lumber yard and goodness knows what else. For instance - in the girls' lowes I would put the light bulbs by the lighting instead of 14 aisles apart. I'd also put all the light switch covers together. And I wouldn't showcase the nickel-plated ones with swirls on the wall when they take 8 weeks to special order. I'd stock them in the first place.
In the girls' lowes there would be paint and spackling and fixtures and wallpaper and even some wood and nails and basic tools but things like plumbing supplies would not be necessary because plumbing is a specialty. It requires someone who knows what they are doing. The same goes for electrical. But drywall, that's could be in my girls' lowes, even lawncare and grills, those are fine.
If you have other suggestions - feel free to submit them, I'll add them to the inventory list. Also, at the girls' lowes, you have to pass a test to work there. It's the no snide comments and rude looks test. Because the man who works in the electrical department at lowes was full of snide comments and rude looks. He was also about 99 years old and spent a good 15 minutes tying his shoe. Not that I am agist or sexist but come on, if your job is customer service you need to A) be pleasant, 2) not answer your customer's questions with a look that says, "Seriously, are you that dumb", and C) you should tie your shoe on your own time if it's gonna take you that long.
So yeah - girls' lowes. I'm thinking Glows would be a good name. If someone knows a trademark attorney, let me know;-)