May the hairs on your toes never fall off

Those of you who have read The Hobbit will know that reference. Those of you who haven't read The Hobbit should. Mind you I still haven't reread the dang thing, and I'm in the second week of school.

Life has not been exciting. I do want to know how I spend 12 hours a day at school and still can't get ahead. How????

Last weekend and this weekend I am participating in a workshop "Journey" as they prefer to call it known as Barnabas. The apostle of second chances. Jon-David prefers to call it "the cult." Mainly because participants aren't supposed to discuss it until it's over. Also because I have a very hard time explaining it so far. I went because I yearn for a little zen. (Since it is backed by a church and there is lots of prayer, I haven't used that particular term on them. But that is what I am after.) They tell me that is what I will get, so I am withholding judgment until the end.

We do have to sit in chairs for very long periods of time, uncomfortable to say the least. They (by they I do mean the leaders of this thing) love to tell us "open position" - aka we aren't allowed to cross our legs or fold our arms no matter how cold the room is, and it is cold. "No side talking" I'm going to start using that one on my students.

We are supposed to be totally focused, so all the participants must stay at the hotel. I shared a room with 3 other women. Barbara, my bedmate, is 73 and very cool. Saturday night (in the middle of the night), she said to me, "Elizabeth, what are you doing?" I answered, "Petting my dog" rolled over and went back to sleep. I had been petting her arm. Just a little embarrassing, so I thought I'd share that with the world.

School is very busy. A student just arrived to get help, so I have to go.

Same day ten hours later

Yup. Still bleary eyed. My desk is covered with pieces of paper I am supposed to be taking care of. Slowly but surely . . . I missed lunch again because I never get a chance to leave my stupid room. The powerpoints I final was able to show yesterday couldn't be shown today because the computer kept telling me the keyboard and mouse were not plugged in, which was false I might add.

My little freshmen class is going to send me over the edge. I have one poor guy who doesn't read particularly well, so he has begun staying after school for me to walk him through his assignments. Did I mention they were supposed to have read The Hobbit over the summer? He hasn't started yet. sigh.

I am only going to survive teaching that class because Lisa (team leader) is awesome. She is saving my keister.

Scoobie Doo likes to argue. He comes to my room and asks what the schedule is for the pep rally tomorrow. I say, "There is no pep rally tomorrow." "A bunch of my kids said there was." " I don't care if they all said it. They are still wrong." "A bunch of my kids said there was." "There isn't a game tomorrow." "Yes there is, a scrimmage." "That doesn't count as a game." "A bunch of my kids said there was a pep rally tomorrow." "I have one of the cheerleading captains in my class and she said there wasn't one." "I have football players in my class, and they said there was." (Personally my guess is they are freshmen with no clue.) "OK, but there is no pep rally tomorrow." "A bunch of my kids said there was." I called the Principal, for crying out loud, before I could get him to go away.

Did I mention that we put teacher IDs in their boxes and almost everyone I've seen has kvetched about their picture? Is it MY fault they aren't pretty? My is hideous because it was the day I got the migraine. No make-up, head killing me, I went over and had my picture taken. Yes, I will be getting make-up photos.

I am going over to my friend Burgundy's house at 6:30 so we can go walking. That's right, getting a little exercise. I have a headache at the moment, but I am hoping if I grab something to eat it will get rid of the headache.

I look back on my last couple of entries, and it is sad. Not the fun and games of Japan I can tell you that!

I'm bleary eyed

Well, yesterday turned out to be another whipping and a half. Tuesday we never got the projection system to work, so yesterday I began the powerpoint on photography with all of my classes. So I had to teach all day. Always exhausting. My English students a bit wired by 8th period had to be brought under control albeit with only partial success. They are thoroughly entranced by the disco ball. If only it had hypnotic abilities.

I did leave school by 5:30 to meet my friend Tracey for dinner at La Mad. She said she had to leave by 6, but we ended up talking until 7!

Got to school by 6am again. Have I mentioned I'm really not a morning person? Have I mentioned I'm not actually getting ahead, just a hamster on a wheel? Well, as the school year begins the mantra in my head begins "24 24 hours a day, I wanna be sedated" Nothing like punk rock to cheer a girl up.

Scoobie Doo is doing ok. We were studying a computer in his room trying to figure out where an extra male plug went. He commented, " All I see are male connectors on the computer . . . I guess this makes it a Brokeback computer." Damn the boy is funny. (FYI: The connector plugged into a box that connects to the projection system.)

Well, if I could remember any more tales that amused me I would tell them. I'll try to make notes as the day goes by.

Alright, alright, I'm back

Geez people, I'm getting my butt kicked here. Let's see, I ended last week knowing I wasn't ready for school to start. Therefore, I found myself working on Saturday. Bummer. Still wasn't ready, but then, who is really surprised by that?

I got to school Monday morning at 7am and left a little before 9pm. Beyond the fact that it was the first day, and I was expected to fill the classtime with blather about classroom rules and what the class would be like (mind you for 4 of my classes 3/4 of the people in the room were in yearbook last year, so they know the ropes). 8th period I met what I can only refer to as a lot of squirley freshmen. Literally. The freshgirls were cute and well behaved . . . hmmmm. Oh yeah, beyond that all the students that couldn't make it back to town to get their student ID's made have to come to me to get an ID before they may get their books. The last two days have been madness. It's been so bad that my 3 hour break in the middle of the day is non existent because all these pesky buggers are coming during their lunches to get ID's grrrrrr. Oh and on a horrifying side note, the stitches on my skirt by the zipper were apparently under so much pressure they came undone. Thank God I had on a long shirt and black skivvies. So, yes, a diet is mandatory.

Nothing like walking into a house and falling straight into bed. I was so tired . . . however, I took some Benadryl right before going to bed. I'm not positive that was the problem. It could have been that I just had too much going through my head about what I needed to not forget. I did not sleep. I'm not kidding. There is a clock that shows on the ceiling, and every hour I would look up and see the time.

Yesterday I got to school at 6am and left by I think 6:00pm. Better, but my head was fuzzy all day from lack of sleep. I did sleep though.

Today, I was running late and didn't get here until after 6:30. On a side note, I was talking to Ann this morning (it's good to know others that wake at the crack of dawn); she told me she went on a walk with her dog Sadie they saw the butterfly in the photo on the blog (the one in the bushes not on top of the house) in the middle of a yard. She felt it looked a bit menacing, butterflies belong in bushes! Let's ponder this for a moment. . . Those suckers are mass produced and more strangly perhaps, mass purchased.

Day 3 of eating properly if it kills me, it does help that I'm so busy I don't have time to think about being hungry. Of course I still have a ton to do. So, I have to run my friends.

half way through

I began my day at the eye dr. again. I now have 3 types of drops I have to use 4 times a day. On the way to school, I went up Lakeside dr. I passed a house with geese. This is what is fun about the blog. I see weird shit. I can stop my car (just like an asian, anywhere I want to, only without the security of the right to do so. My way can cause cars to honk fiercely at me, but what the hell.)

I went by 7-eleven to get the requisite slurpee, but those sorry commie bastards didn't have a functioning coke slurpee machine.

The morning meetings were shuffling from one meeting to another in groups. Totally boring, almost painful. I got so desperate I text messaged one of my editor-in=chiefs that I had an emergency need for slurpee. God bless that child she brought it to me. . . with a muffin!!

I woke up with a headache (I think because of my eye), by the 11:00 session on depression and the drugs kids take for it (anyone sensing a theme for the week? More pharmaceuticals) I thought I was going to die. I barely made it out of there in time to lay down and sleep for a while. The headache is now gone.

Two days in . . .

First, I must apologize for any and all dilinquencies in my posts. Now that I am back in the USA I am having to pirate my internet access. Not always as successfully as I'd like.

I had an eye dr appt Monday morning, this morning and ANOTHER one tomorrow morning. I had bacteria under my "flap" from the eye surgery. So Monday it was cleaned up, today it was checked and, hopefully, tomorrow the contact protecting the eye while it reseals itself will be taken out. It doesn't sound particularly pleasant but mostly, it is only mildly annoying.

Convocation was the usual we love kids, we love our jobs, yippee freakin skippy. I was late because of the doctors appt, but I found a seat next to Lisa and Jeff (they both taught English I Pre-AP with me last year.)

After lunch, we got to enjoy an hour long presentation on various types of pharmaceuticals legal and illegal. Do we know how to have a good time or what?

The last hour and a half of the day we had to spend going through 3 sessions. After the first two, I had to make Kent stick with me. No question asking good boy. Trust me on this. Low profile. Unless, of course, you are wildly amusing, and then comic asides are permitted.

The good news is that in one of the sessions someone mentioned I'm acutally getting paid to be his mentor. whoopee. Mama's buying a new pair of shoes.

Today was curriculum day. I have to confess I was determined to get a slurpee before school. On my way to school, I passed a house with a huge butterfly over the front door. There is a metal ne by the window on the left too.

Since the English department chair resigned, the dept is left without a department chair. Some might ask, why not choose a new dept chair. Sadly, the English department has had some troubles in the past. So, we are choosing to think of this as an opportunity for the English department to really come together as a team and raise the level of collegiality both within the department and with others. . . or is it congeniality? Probably both. What the heck.

I spent the afternoon working with Heather and Scoobydoo on Journalism stuff. (That's right, the boy has a nickname.) There is potential for some interesting stories. Bless his heart, he's gonna have to stay on his toes to stay ahead of these kids.

Another day, another beating. Stay tuned for the next update.

I even went to work on Saturday!

I was determined to get my office clean if nothing else, so off I went bright and early. I turned the radio up and set about cleaning. Admittedly, part of my cleaning technique includes moving things out of my office and into the classroom, but atleast that way it's my editor's problem. hahahaha.

I finished a little before noon and headed over to my friend Ann's place. She and Mike are living in an apartment after selling their house in UP. They are having a house built just west of University Park (still close, but taxes are not so horrifying). She made chicken salad (really yummy), and we hung out. Eventually hanging out took us by SteinMart and Target before returning to her place.

I know it has to be weird to live in an apartment after a lifetime in a house. I'm trying to pysche myself up for the transition. We did make plans to utilize some of my 3 hour break in the middle of the way to get exercise.

I'm hoping to run with Roseanne at least one day a week, swim with Ann after school one or two days a week. I'm going to be fit if it kills me.

Fran had a party yesterday. She's such a silly goose. She had pre-party jitters (well, as jittery as Fran gets, she's kind of a relaxed gal.) I talked to her today and, of course, the party was a smashing success. She updated her blog with pictures of the yard. Jim installed tile in the sun room and a stone step down area to the pond. It is amazing looking. He rocks.

Jon-David and I went to see World Trade Center. It's a three tissue movie. Now I want to see United 93. Sad movies are very draining. Of course, so is thinking of going back to school tomorrow. Very draining. That's all I've got.

I'm afraid now that I am back in big D the truth once again reveals itself: my life is not quite as diva like as I might hope. I'm sure I will have much to say after tomorrow, although I might have to write some of it in code. Or in the age old southern fashion, make sure I sound charmed by the idiocy and crapola of school life. Throw in a bless his/her heart everyone once in a while and I'll be golden.