For the upcoming Western Canadian Championship, my responsibility is to contact all the principals in my school division and ask for their assistance.
I was supposed to do this months ago, but it got done today. While not too late, it is none too early.
I have been a little nervous, they are principals, they are all my superiors. As well, I was using my school board account, so they know that they are indeed my superiors. Therefore, I wanted it to be perfect.
Three of them just e-mailed me to tell me that there is no attachment. Ahh! So I promptly sent it again, with attachment.
But how embarrassing.
Also, about 7 parents emailed me to let me know that I forgot to attach a letter I said I was sending to them. Eek! At least they know me at this point and I have probably done at least something that puts me in their good books.
Moral of the story: Don't do work when you are home sick. Go to sleep.
I have heard that Britney Spears is celebrating her 27th birthday at least 5 times today. That's not counting how many times the radio informed me that her birthday was approaching. I find it quite unfortunate that my head is full of such junk.
I had my cable cut a couple of weeks ago. This past weekend I really gave it up, moving the television and DVD player downstairs to replace with the Christmas tree!
Given the current political events in Canada, I was feeling a little disconnected when reading my facebook friends' status updates. Instead of listening to the top 6 at 6, I listened to the CBC Radio 1 News. I'm happy to say that I'm all caught up on Canadian politics; I'm back in the loop.
I continued to listen to the news and learned that there is a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe. Did anyone else know about this? The government is so messed up that they have had to shut the water off, as they do not have the chemicals necessary to treat the water and prevent cholera. So people are trying to leave the country, as they don't have water, hundreds have died since August and the rich are buying water on the black market. How horrific!
I'm rather dismayed that my head is filled with Britney's Birthday and other celebrity garbage gossip when there are real tragedies in the world that people need to know about. The demise of celebrities is ridiculous in comparison to the demise of humanity.
Thirty days until my thirtieth birthday!
At first, as in my whole life, I approached this birthday with dread. The dread heightened on December 29, 2007, when the countdown of my last year in my twenties began. I saw the twenty-eighth day of each month as a time of mourning, telling myself "7 months left, 6 months to go". Then sometime over the summer I started to get over it. I started to look forward to turning thirty! Imagine! I just realized that for something so silly, I may as well enjoy it, rather than dread it.
I'm not hiding it. I tell my class all the time how old I am. And when my birthday is. Since it's on a school holiday, I don't really think it's anything to hide. One little boy showed me that he wrote it in his agenda - too cute! One kid asked me one day how old I was and I said "Are you kidding me? I tell you all the time!" And another kid said "Yeah, she's 29, she tells us all the time".
So maybe I should pull some crazy blogger stunt and document the last thirty days before thirty. I could post a photo for each year of my life. I hope I have a photo for each year of my life. I hope their not all hideously embarrassing! We'll see how far I get with the project. Here's my classic baby picture, documenting FiveSeven, year one.
I know, this is not a creative title. Nor is it unique to the theme of this blog. Theme being: Fiveseven thinks shes soooooo busy.
I'm not even that busy. Just darn tired. And I have to go to a meeting. And I don't want to go to a meeting.
But report cards are handed out! Wahoo! And so far, no e-mails for me. That's the way I like it.
Tomorrow I have round 3 of RAP training, which will be good, but sleeping might be better.
Then I am leaving town! Running away from this sleep depriving environment into the middle of nowhere to do nothing! NOTHING!!!!
I have to bring my skates to Craik, so apparently I will be skating. But I love skating. I also love sleeping. Ah, sweet, beautiful sleep.
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I don't often talk about weight issues, because I know better. I have a BMI on the lower side of normal and I know that a lot of people would tell me to shut the *(*&*% up. But everybody has their issues. This is my current issue: On my team (skating) we get measured for our dresses. I memorized the butt measurement. As of last night, my butt has grown 4 cm from last year. Maybe 4 cm is not a lot. But it's an inch and a half, and not a trend I care to maintain! Imagine, in 5 years, that is 7.5 inches! That is a ginormous butt! Yet at the same time I want ice cream before my meeting. Sigh.
I'm finished report cards ! It is a wonderful feeling. I feel that I'm starting to return to my self, that I am recapturing my soul. I know, dear readers, you think that I am exaggerating. I swear, I am not. I find writing term papers to be a hella lot easier than writing report cards. For me and many others, it is agonizing. But it is over !
Today is my 3-month anniversary of dating Jason! I'm not sure that anniversary is the correct term, as I know it refers to a year. Given my fried brain, it's the best I can come up with. Dating Jason is wonderful, fabulous and marvelous. He is truly the kindest, sweetest boyfriend I could ask for. I cannot believe that in 3 months, we have not had one argument. I'm a scrapper! This is something that has never happened before. I think it's possible that it is partially due to the fact that he lives in a different location than I do. However, I have dated boys in a different area code and still managed to fight. So this is pretty special. Not only do we not fight, we have fun. What a magical combination.
My blog addiction is hot! On fire! Because I have a load of work to do. The pressure is eating away at my soul. My skin is trying to leave my body. Strangely, my desire for ice cream is up, but not out of control.
Last night I was trying to do my English comments. It was so hard. My brain was so fried. Is your kid in my class? I was trying really, really hard. In fact, all of you that have kids in school, your teachers are SWEATING over those comments. Trying to make everything accurate, make it sound good, give you something you can be proud of. So read those comments. Because it was so hard, I kept checking blogs. I only read a few blogs, and nobody updates on the weekend.
Anyway, I am finished the comments! I think the rest of the work to do on report cards is relatively minimal. Here goes!
Adding to the report card stress crunch is a training session that I volunteered to be involved in. The purpose of the session is to better equip the participants with ways to help youth in need. It is a great session, I am learning a lot and don't regret the fact that it is happening at a time in the year that just doesn't need extra things.
Since before I started teaching I "knew" I was bad at disciplining children. I'm not tough, I'm not mean and kids can and do take advantage of that. Bless the Heaven's, for two years I have taught at a school where this is rarely an issue, as the kids I work with are not tough or mean. Not to say there are no problems, they are just more manageable.
This session if for dealing with kids that are in BIG trouble. Chances are good that I will not always teach a class without major problems, so it is essential that I have some tools. The course deals with four key areas: Belonging, Generosity, Mastery and Independence, otherwise known as the Circle of Courage.
After many years of being encouraged to be a "strict" teacher, in some ways, I have lost myself. I can be snappy, I can raise my voice and I can say things that are sometimes unkind. This way of teaching doesn't fit with what I believe at all. I am a teacher because I really like kids. Being snappy and raising my voice puts me in a bad mood and that is not the way I want to treat kids. The course is giving me permission not only to avoid teaching in this way, but giving me ideas on how to help the kids that act out. It is not about managing their behaviour, it is about helping them with their problems that cause the negative behaviour.
While I'm still very nervous at the idea of teaching in a school where kids do not have their basic needs met, I think that I could perhaps make it through. As for how this course will impact my teaching in the immediate future, I can approach difficult situations with greater empathy while striving to help with problems, rather than dealing with behaviour.
As a special bonus, this course is worth 2 Grad Studies Credits. We'll see.
The title is adapted from a song.
Airports would sure be more fun if Wi-Fi was free. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just google my way around cyber space while waiting for my flight to leave? Since it’s a 4-hour layover, I’m still waiting for my gate to be announced, let alone see any sign that a flight will leave with me on it. In fact, there is a flight leaving for Saskatoon now, which would almost get me home sooner than the Regina flight.
I went to Montréal for another crazy weekend of fun and excitement! I was in Montréal for 72 hours. I visited with 17 people. I met 9 people. I saw 0 good looking males. That’s because I’m a smitten kitten, and when I’m a smitten kitten, good-looking male specimen cease to exist.
Upon arrival, it took about 30 minutes for my French to snap back into shape. The School Board should be coughing up professional development funds for me because little trips like this do so much for my French. It felt like a metamorphosis took place in my head. I started to think in French, words were creeping out of dusty unused corners of my brain. The rhythm changed as I listened to two bus drivers lament (loudly) about piddly discontments in life. Oh, how I love you, Montréal, and your exaggerations. It reminded me of whom I used to be. Not that I don’t complain now, it’s just a different kind of complaining. A whiny sort of complaining, to be precise. Back in 2006 when I was fully integrated into Montréal culture, my discontent was exaggerated and expressed just as loudly as everyone else. It’s not just about speaking; it’s about sighing and shrugging, moving eyebrows and moving your lips. English people just don’t get their lips out of joint the way that French people can do it. Eh ben.
Saturday, I brought friends together. They are from different cultures, have different backgrounds and different ways of knowing me. I was the connector, bringing these people together, strictly for my own fun and enjoyment. And salvation. An early and long flight, preceded by a fairly sleepless night, followed by little to no nourishment, meant that I was in no shape to be entertaining. Thank the Lord that I am not a regular coffee drinker, so it has a strong and helpful effect on me. We met at a bring your own wine restaurant, where nobody seriously indulged. I didn’t even touch the wine until the food arrived. You see, I will soon be 30 so I have to practice being smart. Still, a little wine was necessary since we were going to being doing some karaoke! I was nervous. I do not fancy myself to be a talented singer. I knew that we were renting a private room, but I still imagined that I would have to stand in front of my friends and perform. But guess what! Céline Dion is not one of my friends. None of my friends try out for Canadian Idol. Nobody has a miraculously beautiful voice. We all chose songs and took turns holding the mike, but everyone sang along for most of the songs. It was so much fun!
Sunday I traveled. Across to the South Shore for brunch, up to Laval for supper. I didn’t treat the metro like a bullet train. That’s how I often think of it. As though, because it’s its own little entity of transportation, laws of physics don’t apply and it can transport me in a matter of seconds. Not true. I did calculate this factor into my plans, so at least when I was late, I knew it from the get go. Not that it was helpful to know. I don’t own a cell phone and I left my address book in my living room. Some numbers I was able to get, by some numbers I could not. So instead of calling the people I had plans with for brunch on Sunday, I just showed up late. I got to see the cutest baby in the world. I would post a photo, but his maman doesn’t allow for such nonsense. You will have to trust me that he is really, truly just the cutest! It’s really quite something that he is only 10 months old, but I have seen him 3 times in his short little life. His parents commented on how they see me more often than some of their friends that live in their area code! I think that I see them more often than some of my friends in my own area code as well.
Late Sunday afternoon, I took the metro under two rivers to meet friends in Laval for supper. So fun! I wish I could see them more often. As they have family here, they really should come and visit.
Meanwhile, I forgot that plans had been tentatively made for me to meet a friend in Montréal. Oops. So she called a mutual friend, who knew that I had gone to the South Shore. Mutual friend called the Parents, who knew that I had left. So for my friends, I had disappeared without a cell phone! I feel awful for causing the stress.
Monday I saw my school friends and we chatted like we had seen one another the day before, except of course, we had a lot to say. We ate supper in Little Italy, which for me is a reason to go to Montréal all in itself.
Tuesday I met one last friend for breakfast and power shopped to buy a new coat, squeaky cheese, stuff from Yves Rocher, a post card (that will be sent to my special someone’s school!! Heh heh heh) and apples. I’m officially a snob. I think that apples from the market in Montréal are better than our apples. Because they are. Then I prayed to God that I would find a taxi because I was already 10 minutes late. I was lucky. I was even at the airport early.
Now I’m back to real life. Lots of work. It’s a little scary. However, the fact that I erased 72 hours from the report card deadline relaxes me. It will come and I will be done because I will have to be. So the sooner it comes, the sooner the awfulness of report cards is done.
I'm breaking all the rules. Blogging at work and stealing the kids' candy. I just glanced at the pile of wrappers - I need to quit immediately! Ah yes, the sugar rush just hit, I'm done.
To celebrate this day of ghosts and goblins, I will be heading North West to a small town cabaret. I will be able to 2-step and de-stress (with beverages!) after a lo-ong Halloween Week.
I try to keep it educational in these parts, so there is not a movie currently playing in my classroom. And since I am blogging at work, I should mention that it is my prep time and I'm not currently responsible for the future of our world. Anyway, this is what we have done this week that is out of the ordinary:
- I completed French reading testing. It is a small miracle that I was able to do this in a week. Hence the stress.
- I completed English reading testing the week before. So two in a row. Double miracle = double exhaustion.
- They (the future) made pumpkin muffins with my mom.
- A parent came in to help with Halloween Centres (Working parent poll - would you like being asked to take an hour off work to come into your child's class to help out? Would you hate it? Even if your child gave you no fewer than 3 hugs while you were there? I think she liked it and I hope it wasn't a huge hassle.)
- Another parent came in to cut open pumpkins and count seeds. Pumpkins have a heck of a lot of seeds! Even the baby pumpkins!
- The class performed for the school assembly.
I thought it would be a chill sort of a week outside of work. But no. There was skating (coaching and skating for me) on Monday. Tuesday I don't recall what I did. I think it was free ! Yes, yes it was. I cooked! This is becoming all together too rare an occasion in my life. It was a 30 minute meal that took and hour and a half! Wednesday I thought would be free, but I had a meeting for skating that was less than efficient and I got home at 9:30. Thursday, I lost my keys, found my keys, got a hair cut (so needed it!) went costume hunting at my mom's (and was successful!) and went to skating. By last night, my skin was beginning to revolt against me. It feels so tired that is seems to want to leave my body. It just wants to crawl back into bed, sleep and rehydrate while I continue on, skinless, in my hectic ways. Sorry skin, we stick together.
Tomorrow I will be alone in a strange house in a small town where I have big plans to make huge progress with my report cards. Why ? Because the owner will be out of the small town, away at a volleyball tournament. This is a very good thing for Miss Procrastination, because I will have NOTHING to do besides watch Grey's Anatomy and prepare my report cards. It will be great!
So Happy Halloween everyone! It is amazing weather in the Queen City so enjoy!
In the interest of documenting what will hopefully, one day, be known as 'the good ole days', I'm writing about the mundane side of dating Jason. Today, we went to Costco. It was so fun! We meandered through the aisles, commenting on the excess, taking what we really needed. Such necessities as chocolate muffins, a large quantity of samosas and canned tomatoes. No, we have not moved in together, requiring that we purchase groceries together. For a singel person that lives on the other side of the city from Costco, a membership is not worth it. So I try to scam a way in about twice a year. Canned tomatoes were my reason for wanting to go to Costco, I like samosa and Jason apparently needs 24 large chocolate muffins for sustenance. I think I probably gave me a look resembling shock and horror, which I should refrain from doing. For goodness sakes, the guy supports me being a mostly non-meat eater, he's skinny like Jesus on the Cross and I do sorta like those chocolate muffins. It's Costco, I spent what I normally spend in 3 weeks on groceries! It's about everything except the necessities. We both drooled over a set of 90 gel pens. I guess we both love our writing utensils. We're such teacher geeks.
