Negative Thinking:
Awful Kid continued his awfulness all afternoon yesterday. When I confiscated the "note" that he was writing on paper with two of his little buddies, and reminded the 3 of them (not just Z) to keep on task, he proceeded to give me a hands flicked into the air gesture that said "What the Heck do you think you're doing!?" After I left the pod and sat down again, he kept turning around to glance at me to see if I was still watching. (Has he not figured out yet that I take notes of every thing that he is doing!?) When Z showed his buddies how to blow papers across their desk, and then all 3 of them were playing stab-the-wad-of-paper, rather than listening to the instructions that were being given on a huge research project they are about to start. At this point, Z was initiating all of the distractions and I wanted the other 2 kids (who don't have a fulltime babysitter) to get their work done. Several more reminders of paying attention to the teacher went unheeded. So I then moved from my seat to sit at the pod with them. Again I reminded in an even, calm tone of voice that they all needed to be paying attention, that this was not the time to be playing games. I would be sitting with them to help them remember. Z then started screaming at me, You don't have to SIT next to me! I wasn't doing anything I wasn't suppsoed to be doing! I don't want you to sit with us! Rarrarrarrarar!!! I turned my face away from him, so that I could listen to the teacher's instructing, and pretty much tuned him out entirely- though the screaming went on for quite awhile longer, and loudly. He then began throwing his papers across the pod, flinged his pencil towards another group, and had a classic temper tantrum that I would expect from a 3- year old. But I never raised my voice at him, or asked him to do a task that was beyond his ability. My role in this aide position is to redirect him and to keep him on task for learning. Which I did. But I did very firmly tell Z, "You will not talk to me in that tone of voice. Do you hear me?" It didn't do the least little bit of good, because he continued to yell and holler. He banged his pencil against the desk while Mr S was talking, drummed his hands loudly on his desk, shouted out that another group "SUCKS!" because they were assigned the US region that he wanted. He interrupted people/teacher constantly. He also roamed the classroom during the time that he was supposed to be working on his project. He pestered other kids, and fortunately they were able to ignore it. When he finally did re-join his group, he then was ordering them where to put their pictures on their slides for the Power-Point they were creating. He was dictating the entire thing, where to put their map on the slide, where the flags were to go, what it should say. It was sickening. Mostly it is just the combined experiences, the hundreds of pages of documentation that I have, and all the mini snapshots like this one put in one. These combined make for the whole picture, that I can't even begin to portray in writing. There is just TOO MUCH. But he truly is awful.
I mention it again, that this kid is almost 14 years old!! UGH!! He is so unbelievably immature. The kids in High School are going to EAT HIM ALIVE. Given yesterday's experience, I'm sure I'll be called in to have to deal with his mother (AGAIN) on Monday. The cycle is disfunctional, there is NO support from school administration, and I have no hope of anything ever changing. UGH. Lots of capitalization = lots of frustration.
Hate this, hate this, hate this, hate this, hate this.......
Positive Thinking:
We have a new, real Aide hired for Z beginning on Monday. I will still have to spend several days in the next few weeks training Bruce, so it hasn't entirely ended. But I am glad that there will be another body to do this job. Mine is giving out on it. Bruce has Aide'd before, and I have worked with him before as a district substitute. He's a really good guy. An older guy, he is very grandpa-like. I don't know yet how he will be able to handle Z, but perhaps it will work better with a male rather than female.
I *DO* have a meeting with the Teacher's Union on Monday afternoon. I have been looking fowards to this for so long now. The thought that they might be able to intervene on my behalf, and on behalf of the several other kids who aren't getting an education, being around this kid-- this is the only thing that I am able to use to offer myself comfort.
Had a really fun time at dinner last night. It being Friday yesterday, I met with Heidi and Jackie (and her husband & kids) plus a few other teachers at a restaraunt/bar called Olde Sedona. The sun was setting, it was shady and cooling off on the outside patio, and it was a lovely environment. It was great to have a drink in my hand and just savor every sip while talking with good people. I had a really good time. I woke up at 4am today, very clearly hearing Z's ugly voice still screaming in my ear, on constant replay over and over and over. I wasn't able to go back to sleep. So I read, and I write.... Today, I'm showering, then heading to Phoenix for the weekend. My favorite cousin is having a baby shower, and I really want to swim in my grandma's pool. I also intend to purchase good athletic shoes. Three days of doing Curves in a row, as well as the last few weeks of going, have shown me that the wrong shoes really make one's legs really hurt. So I need shoes, too. Yay for getting away from the crazy people in Sedona for a few days!!
Time to get movin'!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Over-Due Post
Quickly-typed post, and be fore-warned that my thoughts are not organized at this point of beginning. I'm just typing as I go!
I love 3 day weekends... except for that they are never, EVER long enough. I had fun in Prescott with Sarah, Patrick, and their kids. We watched a movie & ran simple errands. We also sat by their backyard fire pit and I spent the night on their couch. A. came and cuddled with me in the early morning, it was sweet. It was lovely just to be somewhere else outside of normal routine. I especially loved hanging with my little buddy, T, and giving him piggy back rides. On Sunday I went to the county fair with a friend, and laughed like crazy on the 4 rides that I did go on! Then I lounged/cleaned on Monday. It was nice to get out of Sedona, and even Flagstaff, for a brief while. I long for the change of scenery frequently.
School is pretty much completely awful. Still awful. I haven't even begun TEACHING yet. (And yes, it is now September.)
I am still having to be an "aide" for the most awfullest kid in the entire world. I am so not even going to get into the history of this one, all the 18-participant/hours-long/several/recorded/manipulated/accused/defended/pointless meetings that I have been a part of, with this Mother & Student. Assisting this child means that every day I get snapped at, stink-eye-d, glared at, refused assistance, ignored, snapped at some more.... I am beyond all hope that this child can ever be a functional human being. He is so dependent on his mother for everything, and the two of them concoct accusations over tiny little incidents that are full of mis-truths and skewed perceptions. (Did I mention that this student is 14 years old??) My principal is useless in the situation. He still has not hired an Aide ("The Special Ed teacher can do it, no problem, we don't need to worry about it.") How about the part where I have 14 other students with IEP's who are not getting the level of service that they need!?? I am so far out of compliance already, it is frightening. I live in fear of one of my other 'parents' will learn of the situation, and then before I can blink I am back in another accusatory meeting with a threatened lawsuit in front of me. Except I DO know that the person out of compliance is my principal. Ugh. There's so much that I cannot even begin to start typing it all out from the beginning... I hate work. I truly do loathe this student and anything to do with him. Principal just indulges in their wishes, to keep them happy, but completely without making the situation any easier/do-able for his staff, and not within the best interests of the student. I have a team of teachers behind me who support me, and know that this is so incredibly wrong.
I'm documenting everything.... including the wrongful actions taken by my administrator. I believe many of these actions to be illegal. I finally worked up enough cajones to alert the Teacher's Union. I have a meeting with them scheduled for next week. (That thought has been my saving grace these last 2 weeks!) However, in the meantime, I am losing weeks of service time with the students I want to be with, who can be helped, and I do miss these kids very much... It is hard to see them in the classes I am in with Z, and not be able to help them when they look to me for help. It is hard to walk past them on campus and know that they won't be a part of my day outside of that brief moment of "hello." In the meantime, I am biding my time, knowing that it will be Principal on the stands defending a case he knows nothing about- not me.
It is so very frustrating to be this powerless, and to have this task be dictated to me by three very incompetent, unhealthy people. I still find no rest, from this, despite the very limited amount of action that I can take... I am so frustrated, I can hardly breathe when I get home from work sometimes. My nightmares are starting back up, too, and if it's not that- I am waking up at 4am once again consumed by thoughts in this situation. I can't express into words how much I truly do hate this. I hate that at 26, I am considering leaving teaching after 4 years. This is not what I am here to be doing, I am a very highly paid babysitter, sitting still for the abuse time after time after time. I'd rather be a poorly paid teacher, because that is where my heart is... Except that it's still on hold. Still. I have had several recommendations to look for a new career. I'll wait to talk to the Union representative. There certainly are several binders and boxes full of documentation on this one little kid to present!! No life changes this week.
Now for some positive thinking. Because I just got home from a work-out and I'm supposed to be full of endorphins, right?!
I signed up with my Curves group (Oh yeah! I joined Curves with 2 of my co-workers! Yay me!) for participating in the Sedona Relay for Life, through the American Cancer Society. So next Friday night, I'll be walking for 2 hours. Should be interesting! Curves has been challenging, but I do notice that I am feeling better after a session. Heidi & Jackie keep me laughing, and we motivate each other. So far I have been able to go 2 x a week, but am hoping to bump it up to 3 or even 4 times, perhaps. My scheduling has been a bit off, but it's settling. The major thing is: I'm being pro-active in this, for 2 reasons: I hate my weight, and it's Stress-releasing. Sayde & I are still walking at least twice a day, for maybe 25 minutes total. Sometimes it is more.
I also began working with a new counselor. I see Deb on Saturdays, and have gone for the past 2 Saturdays. (Skipping this next Sat. as I will be in Phx.) She is a bit aggressive in her manner of speaking, but aggressive with the truth. Which is a good thing, actually, in my case. I won't list out the details here, too public. But it's good so far. Some other changes in this category coming, in the future.
I'm also really hopeful that I have found someone willing to commit to the PF Chang's 1/2 Marathon event in January. Heidi & Jackie, Matt & Diane are all going to run- I am the only walker. But the director of our Curves organization here in Sedona is active in lymphoma research, so we're pretty confident that she will walk with me! Hoping...
Talked with an ex-boyfriend/old friend online for several hours tonight. Lots of good conversation. I appreciated the different perspective and "real" thinking that makes me re-evaluate my own as indulged and silly. I laughed, too, and that felt good.
Frustrated and hoping, and utterly exhausted. Even after a 3-day weekend. They're never long enough!!
Thankful for:
My good friends & parents who are amazing about letting me vent, get it out of my system, and are encouraging. They also bring me back to Reality, reminding me that while I cannot change the world, I can change how I react to it. (Even if I haven't learned HOW to do that, yet.)
Time for that wonderful thing called a bubble-bath...... Gonna have some wine tonight. Mmm. Goodnight.
I love 3 day weekends... except for that they are never, EVER long enough. I had fun in Prescott with Sarah, Patrick, and their kids. We watched a movie & ran simple errands. We also sat by their backyard fire pit and I spent the night on their couch. A. came and cuddled with me in the early morning, it was sweet. It was lovely just to be somewhere else outside of normal routine. I especially loved hanging with my little buddy, T, and giving him piggy back rides. On Sunday I went to the county fair with a friend, and laughed like crazy on the 4 rides that I did go on! Then I lounged/cleaned on Monday. It was nice to get out of Sedona, and even Flagstaff, for a brief while. I long for the change of scenery frequently.
School is pretty much completely awful. Still awful. I haven't even begun TEACHING yet. (And yes, it is now September.)
I am still having to be an "aide" for the most awfullest kid in the entire world. I am so not even going to get into the history of this one, all the 18-participant/hours-long/several/recorded/manipulated/accused/defended/pointless meetings that I have been a part of, with this Mother & Student. Assisting this child means that every day I get snapped at, stink-eye-d, glared at, refused assistance, ignored, snapped at some more.... I am beyond all hope that this child can ever be a functional human being. He is so dependent on his mother for everything, and the two of them concoct accusations over tiny little incidents that are full of mis-truths and skewed perceptions. (Did I mention that this student is 14 years old??) My principal is useless in the situation. He still has not hired an Aide ("The Special Ed teacher can do it, no problem, we don't need to worry about it.") How about the part where I have 14 other students with IEP's who are not getting the level of service that they need!?? I am so far out of compliance already, it is frightening. I live in fear of one of my other 'parents' will learn of the situation, and then before I can blink I am back in another accusatory meeting with a threatened lawsuit in front of me. Except I DO know that the person out of compliance is my principal. Ugh. There's so much that I cannot even begin to start typing it all out from the beginning... I hate work. I truly do loathe this student and anything to do with him. Principal just indulges in their wishes, to keep them happy, but completely without making the situation any easier/do-able for his staff, and not within the best interests of the student. I have a team of teachers behind me who support me, and know that this is so incredibly wrong.
I'm documenting everything.... including the wrongful actions taken by my administrator. I believe many of these actions to be illegal. I finally worked up enough cajones to alert the Teacher's Union. I have a meeting with them scheduled for next week. (That thought has been my saving grace these last 2 weeks!) However, in the meantime, I am losing weeks of service time with the students I want to be with, who can be helped, and I do miss these kids very much... It is hard to see them in the classes I am in with Z, and not be able to help them when they look to me for help. It is hard to walk past them on campus and know that they won't be a part of my day outside of that brief moment of "hello." In the meantime, I am biding my time, knowing that it will be Principal on the stands defending a case he knows nothing about- not me.
It is so very frustrating to be this powerless, and to have this task be dictated to me by three very incompetent, unhealthy people. I still find no rest, from this, despite the very limited amount of action that I can take... I am so frustrated, I can hardly breathe when I get home from work sometimes. My nightmares are starting back up, too, and if it's not that- I am waking up at 4am once again consumed by thoughts in this situation. I can't express into words how much I truly do hate this. I hate that at 26, I am considering leaving teaching after 4 years. This is not what I am here to be doing, I am a very highly paid babysitter, sitting still for the abuse time after time after time. I'd rather be a poorly paid teacher, because that is where my heart is... Except that it's still on hold. Still. I have had several recommendations to look for a new career. I'll wait to talk to the Union representative. There certainly are several binders and boxes full of documentation on this one little kid to present!! No life changes this week.
Now for some positive thinking. Because I just got home from a work-out and I'm supposed to be full of endorphins, right?!
I signed up with my Curves group (Oh yeah! I joined Curves with 2 of my co-workers! Yay me!) for participating in the Sedona Relay for Life, through the American Cancer Society. So next Friday night, I'll be walking for 2 hours. Should be interesting! Curves has been challenging, but I do notice that I am feeling better after a session. Heidi & Jackie keep me laughing, and we motivate each other. So far I have been able to go 2 x a week, but am hoping to bump it up to 3 or even 4 times, perhaps. My scheduling has been a bit off, but it's settling. The major thing is: I'm being pro-active in this, for 2 reasons: I hate my weight, and it's Stress-releasing. Sayde & I are still walking at least twice a day, for maybe 25 minutes total. Sometimes it is more.
I also began working with a new counselor. I see Deb on Saturdays, and have gone for the past 2 Saturdays. (Skipping this next Sat. as I will be in Phx.) She is a bit aggressive in her manner of speaking, but aggressive with the truth. Which is a good thing, actually, in my case. I won't list out the details here, too public. But it's good so far. Some other changes in this category coming, in the future.
I'm also really hopeful that I have found someone willing to commit to the PF Chang's 1/2 Marathon event in January. Heidi & Jackie, Matt & Diane are all going to run- I am the only walker. But the director of our Curves organization here in Sedona is active in lymphoma research, so we're pretty confident that she will walk with me! Hoping...
Talked with an ex-boyfriend/old friend online for several hours tonight. Lots of good conversation. I appreciated the different perspective and "real" thinking that makes me re-evaluate my own as indulged and silly. I laughed, too, and that felt good.
Frustrated and hoping, and utterly exhausted. Even after a 3-day weekend. They're never long enough!!
Thankful for:
My good friends & parents who are amazing about letting me vent, get it out of my system, and are encouraging. They also bring me back to Reality, reminding me that while I cannot change the world, I can change how I react to it. (Even if I haven't learned HOW to do that, yet.)
Time for that wonderful thing called a bubble-bath...... Gonna have some wine tonight. Mmm. Goodnight.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Monday Morning
Last week has been an exhausting, stressful, and frustrating week- and the reason why I have not posted as of late. I slept over 15 hours on Friday night/Saturday am. I have some exciting hopeful-plans to share, and updates to write. Perhaps another post later tonight, if I can! As for now... Monday looms again. I hope that I am actually able to do my own job today!
Glad that the morning was cool for walking with Sayde. It's a bright, clear, and sunshiney day. I hope that the feeling lasts...
Glad that the morning was cool for walking with Sayde. It's a bright, clear, and sunshiney day. I hope that the feeling lasts...
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Happy Reunions, Sad Departures
I remember, there was mist ...Swirling mist upon a vast glossy lake ...There were candles all around - And on the lake there was a boat ...And in the boat there was a man ...Who was that shape in the shadows? - Whose is the face in the mask?
-Phantom of the Opera, "I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It"
Of course I am still awake at 11:30, and typing when I very well should be asleep. "Phantom of the Opera" is playing- and rather loudly inside my head- lingering from my viewing of the movie over the weekend. Tomorrow, I have to wake up again at 5:30am, as I have a training that starts at 8 that I have to leave by 7:15 for. Yeah, I should've been asleep quite awhile ago. My stomach is having issues tonight- ate way too much food at dinner- and am kept awake. I went and got my laptop and brought it into bed with me, so I'm at least IN my bed as I type this. Now I'm reading other peoples' blogs, commenting, and google-ing. Of course, it's only typical on a night I should've been asleep much earlier.
Today was the first day of teachers-reporting-to-school-sites-for-trainings, meetings, and work-in-your-classroom-time. Our first official day of school, with students, is next Tuesday (12th). I woke up this morning feeling optimistic and positivity was in the air, as well as a stunning sunrise. (Been a few months since I've been awake to see the sunrise!) Even the thought of having to begin my day at school at a meeting that was led by a principal I do not have fond feelings for, was not enough to start my day off on a bad note. ("Fond" is not the word I want to use, but I'm not writing about my principal tonight. You'll hear about him over the next school year- in fact, you'll probably hear plenty.) Teachers were provided with delicious bagels and cream cheese (lite for me), and there even was a sugar-free juice option in the beverages line-up. Another good start. We listened to Principal talk about his vacation in Maine, his grandson (who can pee now, as I heard him say... !?) , and then talk for 2 solid hours about AIMS testing scores. My head being so incredibly mathematically-challenged, did not process about 75% of what Principal had to say. I did try, but I had a very difficult time absorbing it. Yes, part of this is due to my lack of experience in education, as I don't yet have years and years of solid experience. After Principal was through talking, and other people finished their schpiels, I worked in my room for a couple hours. My co-worker Heidi texted me, and the Junior High team was off to a reunion lunch at the wonderful bakery here in the Village (Desert Flour, "DF"). Truly good food. Though the conversation was fast-paced, with summertime stories being shared, curriculum and behavior control plans being discussed, it was so very good to be among this group of peers once again. I shall share a photo from May of these characters:
Above: Matt (social studies), myself (sped), Tim (science), Heidi (language arts), and Jackie (math)
Matt injured (broke) his collarbone this summer during a mountain-biking accident. He is LUCKY to have worn a helmet, he likely would have been paralyzed if he hadn't! Matt's wife Diane, who also works at BP, told me today that it was also very lucky that he could not see his own injury- his collarbone had snapped in half, and was protruding through his skin. (Not so lucky for her, who managed to calmly and cooly get him off of the mountain and to an ER, while trying not to look at her husband's neck!) Our dear science guy, Tim, celebrated his last year of teaching this past May - the pic was one of our last gatherings with him before he left AZ. He retired and took on a business venture with family in Oregon, leaving AZ immediately after the year ended. Sadly to report, the venture failed pretty solidly- the economy is just not what it needed to be for him. I continue to hope for him, though, and eating lunch at DF with the team (sans Tim) was so strange. Tim's replacement, Rod, was there. He seems to be a strange and somewhat pushy fellow, and I find his classroom uninspiring/sterile-- but time will tell as to how he fits with the team that the 4 of us are. I really want to keep an optimistic and open mind, though I admit that I'm horrible at sticking to first/2nd impressions. Truly, I am so fortunate to work with these folks, and to work so closely. Each of these 4 (above) are deeply invested in the SpEd students as well as regular kids. They are so flexible about accommodating or giving one of my/our kids extra tutoring if needed, or in modifying an assignment to the student's ability level. They are encouraging when I'm tired, lend supportive shoulders when I need an extra shoulder to stress on because mine are crippled under the weight... Heidi, especially. She is truly my Sedona Mom. She has a daughter close in age to me. Heidi and I think very-very-very similarily, and work very well in the classroom together. There's a dynamic that works well, and the kids laugh when a total-dork-moment between us passes during class. I laugh with her... oh, man, do I laugh. I don't even notice at all anymore, nor do I mind in the least, that she is 30 years older than I am.
The sad part of my day came after I got my copy of the school-wide class rosters. While looking through each of the classroom teachers' list of students, I was highlighting names of the students on myc aseload who qualify for SpEd. I counted the number of students that I have that will be in 6th grade. (My caseload are the Resource students in 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th grades) The number of 6th grade SpEd kids didn't measure up to the number it should have been based on who was in 5th last year. I realized it then -- My boy "S" was missing. I quickly ran down to the office and inquired as to why "S" didn't appear on the list. I learned that his family moved to Cottonwood, and he was officially withdrawn. Now, students come and go all the time- I know this. Truthfully, sometimes I *smile* internally at this when I see a certain problem leave the district... But today I wanted to cry, at this departure. "S" was one of the kiddos I worked especially hard with last year, and is truly a kid who was settled and thriving in our program. He is the last of his namy siblings to go through BP and SpEd. He's had a rough history, is very often overlooked among the inhabitants of his busy-busy home, and I was learning how to try to meet his needs emotionally as well as academically. His heart needed a bit more love than some of the others did, and Ienjoyed slipping him a goofy comic strip or making a silly face at him when he needed a perk-up. My boy "S" knew all sorts of random trivia relating to pie, and I don't mean the mathematical kind of pi. S knows all about the kind of pie filled with apples, cinnamon, peach, pumpkin... The kid absolutely adores all things pie. I even gave him a "peace" of pie (picture) once. He loved practicing his letter-writing skills during a unit we did in composing letters to an Army friend of mine who was at the time serving in Afghanistan. S's face lit up when this friend, Luke, came home for Thanksgiving and came to the classroom for a visit with the kids.
I wish that S knew how many moments of my life were made brighter by his playful humor and the moments he let pieces of his vulnerability show through the 'armor' he hung onto so tightly. I will miss his ray of sunshine in my classroom. Perhaps cheesy words, but ones that are true.
Thankful tonight for kids who remind me of WHY I am here, doing what I am doing. Thankful tonight for these reminders of people I love.
Ok. Enough. Time to get a TUMS and finally claim a few hours of sleep for myself... 'night.
Monday, August 4, 2008
You Know Summer's Over When...
... Your alarm clock is going off at 6:30 am. That was tough... Real tough. Painfully tough.
Setting my clock for the "real" wake-up time for 5am, in a few days, is going to be tougher. So I thought I would start my week out with some time to adjust to a new schedule. Yes, I do wake up at 5am on typical school days. I find that I do much better with planned time to read, go for a walk, etc- my mind is fresher and readier to work when I have ample time to wake up and "mentalize" my thoughts before the chaotic days at work begin.
I did go to Big Park from about 8:30 am until almost 2:30 pm. It really wasn't that bad. I did a lot of setting-up and organizing; cleaning out piles of papers from teachers before me, figuring out what exactly the storage cabinet does have stuffed inside of it, hanging up new bulletin-board trim (apples!) around my board, etc. I had a lot of well-intentioned but semi-obnoxious interruptions from the janitor guy today... I will try to post pictures of my classroom (maybe some from the campus) soon! Let me finish more of the organization first...
This pic is old, it is from last summer- just after I'd signed my first contract with BP. But it does show the beautiful view from our elementary playground!!
Sayde did really, really well in her kennel while I was at school. I was very pleased. It had been a few weeks since I'd last kenneled her, so I was a little nervous to see how she'd do. Continuing our practice with verbal commands & hand signals, she did "go in (her) house" when I pointed towards her kennel. There's this product, PupCorn, that she just looooo-ves. She got a pupcorn today, and that made her a happy girl. Therefore, it made me a happy girl, too!
Oprah is becoming of high interest for me. I don't mean the show, or her book lists (some of which I have actually tried to read, and detested)-- I mean her website. http://www.oprah.com/index has loads of good-looking and healthful recipes, good articles written by respectable and credible-seeming people, and overall it just has a good "positivity" feeling to it. I am really hopefully about trying one of the recipes tomorrow, for baked cinnamon apples with honey-sweetned farmers' cheese. Two of my favorite ingredients? Apples? Cheese? Together?!! Sounds like a winning combination for me!!
I am doing pretty okay today... sticking to positive and productive thinking was easier for me today. Ate pretty healthily today, too- half bagel and yogurt for breakfast, frozen Swedish meatball Lean Cusine for lunch, snack was hard-boiled egg/edamame/more yogurt (various times of day), and dinner was chicken/rice with jerk sauce. Not too bad!
Setting my clock for the "real" wake-up time for 5am, in a few days, is going to be tougher. So I thought I would start my week out with some time to adjust to a new schedule. Yes, I do wake up at 5am on typical school days. I find that I do much better with planned time to read, go for a walk, etc- my mind is fresher and readier to work when I have ample time to wake up and "mentalize" my thoughts before the chaotic days at work begin.
I did go to Big Park from about 8:30 am until almost 2:30 pm. It really wasn't that bad. I did a lot of setting-up and organizing; cleaning out piles of papers from teachers before me, figuring out what exactly the storage cabinet does have stuffed inside of it, hanging up new bulletin-board trim (apples!) around my board, etc. I had a lot of well-intentioned but semi-obnoxious interruptions from the janitor guy today... I will try to post pictures of my classroom (maybe some from the campus) soon! Let me finish more of the organization first...
This pic is old, it is from last summer- just after I'd signed my first contract with BP. But it does show the beautiful view from our elementary playground!!
Sayde did really, really well in her kennel while I was at school. I was very pleased. It had been a few weeks since I'd last kenneled her, so I was a little nervous to see how she'd do. Continuing our practice with verbal commands & hand signals, she did "go in (her) house" when I pointed towards her kennel. There's this product, PupCorn, that she just looooo-ves. She got a pupcorn today, and that made her a happy girl. Therefore, it made me a happy girl, too!
Oprah is becoming of high interest for me. I don't mean the show, or her book lists (some of which I have actually tried to read, and detested)-- I mean her website. http://www.oprah.com/index has loads of good-looking and healthful recipes, good articles written by respectable and credible-seeming people, and overall it just has a good "positivity" feeling to it. I am really hopefully about trying one of the recipes tomorrow, for baked cinnamon apples with honey-sweetned farmers' cheese. Two of my favorite ingredients? Apples? Cheese? Together?!! Sounds like a winning combination for me!!
I am doing pretty okay today... sticking to positive and productive thinking was easier for me today. Ate pretty healthily today, too- half bagel and yogurt for breakfast, frozen Swedish meatball Lean Cusine for lunch, snack was hard-boiled egg/edamame/more yogurt (various times of day), and dinner was chicken/rice with jerk sauce. Not too bad!
MTV had a show that I just finished watching, about stuents and kids with hearing impairments and some with cochlear implants. Kids getting to hear for the first time, living the same life of struggling in a hearing world- same as me. Pretty exciting, actually. It was really fun to see some all-too-familiar aspects of my own life, on TV, I guess. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKJo-krJJNY
I'm thankful today for the following:
6. Talking with yet another friend from wayyyyy way back, thanks to Face Book!
5. Shows on MTV that are often rather pointless, but today there was one that was actually informative & worth watching. Hopefully someone learned something new that they hadn't known before. :)
I didn't take this picture, but it did make me smile. It was titled, "Hello there!" Goodnight.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Sweet Potato
It is 4:50 am... can't sleep due to another headache. Thinking about another dear, sweet friend.
Okay.... I lied!!
I lied.... Sort of. Maybe more like mis-statements about Italy being my Mental Escape...
I realized something this morning, after having written my last post. While I do admire and adore all things Italy, I DO admire and adore other places in this ginormoous planet with great passion-- Ireland being another one. Italy is not my only Mental Happy Place. Sometimes I do find myself walking again, through Monasterboice Monastery, strolling through the cobbled streets of Galway, or standing in the wind of misty Cliffs of Moher. Perhaps these travels are only through the alleys of my memory, but they are dear and frequent in my heart. A large piece of me also felt at-home in Ireland. Perhaps one day I will take an "Eat, Pray, Love" travel trip of my own countries-starting-with-a-letter-I. Elizabeth Gilbert travels through Italy, India, and Indonesia in her book. I know I mention this book for the second time here in this blog. In my own trip, I would travel extensively through Ireland, Italy, and possibly Iceland. (Just because it's a country I know nothing about, and it's rather off the beaten track of typical tourism.) India also holds a pique of interest... I always did want to ride an elephant!
Today was a good day. I had a lazy morning with my mom. I finally was able to sleep in this morning--thanks to the Tylenol PM I took at about 2:30 am, when I was still awake
with a headache behind my eyes. I slept 'til about 9:30, read the newspaper with mom, drinking a cup of "Java Chai" tea. I even put a little bit of vanilla soy milk into it, pretty tasty. I ate pretty good today, too. A banana and yogurt for breakfast, rice & curried spinach for lunch, a few crackers for snack, and for dinner ate bbq chicken with baked potato & spinach-cranberry salad. I just had another yogurt a little while ago, so that I could take a prescription. I also found a really good deal on khaki pants at Target, and bought a pair of black khakis and a camel-colored tan pair. I am setting a personal goal for myself, that I don't wear my comfort clothing of Jeans as often to school as I did the past year. I need & want to look more professional. I also found a cute shirt to wear for the first day of school!! (Remember the days of buying a special new outfit for the first day of school!?! I always kept mine hanging crisply and pristinely in my closest, eagerly awaiting the First Day Back. Yeah, well, I still do that...) :)
My original plans of leaving for Sedona today didn't happen, obviously. I hadn't realized that today being August 1st, was the Flagstaff Art Walk. If you don't know what Art Walk is, is a relatively new-ish event for Flagstaff. On the first Friday of every month, the entire downtown area -- art galleries, st
ores, restaraunts, bars -- stay open late into the night, and people gather and walk among shops. Many places offer free hors d'oerves (sp?) or wine samplings. I had a few gourmet crackers with fresh slices of parmesan, for example. Flagstaff also has its Friday Movies on the Square happening still, until September, so there were a LOT of people downtown tonight. I saw two of the kids that I used to babysit. Sarah Joy and her brother Caleb, I have known and loved since they both were newborns. Sarah is now entering her Senior year of HS, and Caleb is in 6th grade. Both were gorgeous and beautiful. My parents invited their friend Penny to come with us, and I enjoyed getting to know her as well. My Auxillary Sister (a former-student of Peter's that my family has "adopted") also joined us for much of the evening. Oh! We also saw the mother & son that were my dog Sayde's foster parents, before I adopted her. They were thrilled to learn that Sayde is happy, healthy, and finally enjoying having a forever home. I promised to send them pictures soon. Overall... it was just really fun...
I am finding that I do *better* when I keep myself busy, and when I am around other people. I will have some "alone" time at my apartment in Sedona, these last few precious days before school begins. Truthfully, I am worried about what effect the silence and stillness of my own privacy will bring to me. Is my head going to slip back into the familiar, yet frightening, path towards depressive thinking- where I am unable to see past the lonliness and fear that I feel? In this, I feel ultimately consumed and so completely powerless to swim to the surface, mixaphorically speaking. Is my head going to be able to maintain its doing-okay-in-this-moment state that it has found these last couple of days? Can I handle the solitude? I guess tomorrow, I will find out. I need to do anything and everything I can do to stay busy, and to create opportunities from time to time where I am around other people. I joined up with a website that was recommended to me by my cousin Jen, http://www.meetup.com/, a group of others-wanting-to-explore the Sedona area, and a few of them are in my own age group. I have not yet done any of the posted events, for example, tubing down the Verde River and going to plays. I haven't been in Sedona at all this summer, hardly. I know, I know-- that's not really an excuse. But still, I'm open to the idea of meeting with some new people when the timing and my location are convenient. Perhaps once school is under-way and I'm rolling in the routine again. So yes. Today was a good day. I didn't struggle with my thoughts and emotions. I really enjoyed seeing some dear people, getting to know another new dear person, and spending time with my amazing parents.
My little friend Trenton went to his Kindergarten Orientation today. I haven't yet heard details, but I am soooo excited for this new chapter in this young little guy's life!
Happy birthday, August 2nd, to Nikki (in Glendale) and Paul (in Chengdu, China)!! May you enjoy this next new year of your lives! Learn something new, enjoy your memories, and laugh every day.
Things that I am thankful for today:
4. Flagstaff Art Walk, seeing friends both old and new, and free wine!
3. That my mother also wants to pursue the potential hobby of Yoga, and that we can be encouragement partners for each other.
"Hey, you look like that poster for Ireland-Long blonde hair and the sweet sunny face-Oh no wait that's the poster for Sweden-Oh screw it. I'll never see either place!-But a girl sweet as you has a future-You have hope as each new day dawns-Girls like you always get to see Ireland-Give my love to the leprechauns...."
I realized something this morning, after having written my last post. While I do admire and adore all things Italy, I DO admire and adore other places in this ginormoous planet with great passion-- Ireland being another one. Italy is not my only Mental Happy Place. Sometimes I do find myself walking again, through Monasterboice Monastery, strolling through the cobbled streets of Galway, or standing in the wind of misty Cliffs of Moher. Perhaps these travels are only through the alleys of my memory, but they are dear and frequent in my heart. A large piece of me also felt at-home in Ireland. Perhaps one day I will take an "Eat, Pray, Love" travel trip of my own countries-starting-with-a-letter-I. Elizabeth Gilbert travels through Italy, India, and Indonesia in her book. I know I mention this book for the second time here in this blog. In my own trip, I would travel extensively through Ireland, Italy, and possibly Iceland. (Just because it's a country I know nothing about, and it's rather off the beaten track of typical tourism.) India also holds a pique of interest... I always did want to ride an elephant!Today was a good day. I had a lazy morning with my mom. I finally was able to sleep in this morning--thanks to the Tylenol PM I took at about 2:30 am, when I was still awake
with a headache behind my eyes. I slept 'til about 9:30, read the newspaper with mom, drinking a cup of "Java Chai" tea. I even put a little bit of vanilla soy milk into it, pretty tasty. I ate pretty good today, too. A banana and yogurt for breakfast, rice & curried spinach for lunch, a few crackers for snack, and for dinner ate bbq chicken with baked potato & spinach-cranberry salad. I just had another yogurt a little while ago, so that I could take a prescription. I also found a really good deal on khaki pants at Target, and bought a pair of black khakis and a camel-colored tan pair. I am setting a personal goal for myself, that I don't wear my comfort clothing of Jeans as often to school as I did the past year. I need & want to look more professional. I also found a cute shirt to wear for the first day of school!! (Remember the days of buying a special new outfit for the first day of school!?! I always kept mine hanging crisply and pristinely in my closest, eagerly awaiting the First Day Back. Yeah, well, I still do that...) :)My original plans of leaving for Sedona today didn't happen, obviously. I hadn't realized that today being August 1st, was the Flagstaff Art Walk. If you don't know what Art Walk is, is a relatively new-ish event for Flagstaff. On the first Friday of every month, the entire downtown area -- art galleries, st
ores, restaraunts, bars -- stay open late into the night, and people gather and walk among shops. Many places offer free hors d'oerves (sp?) or wine samplings. I had a few gourmet crackers with fresh slices of parmesan, for example. Flagstaff also has its Friday Movies on the Square happening still, until September, so there were a LOT of people downtown tonight. I saw two of the kids that I used to babysit. Sarah Joy and her brother Caleb, I have known and loved since they both were newborns. Sarah is now entering her Senior year of HS, and Caleb is in 6th grade. Both were gorgeous and beautiful. My parents invited their friend Penny to come with us, and I enjoyed getting to know her as well. My Auxillary Sister (a former-student of Peter's that my family has "adopted") also joined us for much of the evening. Oh! We also saw the mother & son that were my dog Sayde's foster parents, before I adopted her. They were thrilled to learn that Sayde is happy, healthy, and finally enjoying having a forever home. I promised to send them pictures soon. Overall... it was just really fun...I am finding that I do *better* when I keep myself busy, and when I am around other people. I will have some "alone" time at my apartment in Sedona, these last few precious days before school begins. Truthfully, I am worried about what effect the silence and stillness of my own privacy will bring to me. Is my head going to slip back into the familiar, yet frightening, path towards depressive thinking- where I am unable to see past the lonliness and fear that I feel? In this, I feel ultimately consumed and so completely powerless to swim to the surface, mixaphorically speaking. Is my head going to be able to maintain its doing-okay-in-this-moment state that it has found these last couple of days? Can I handle the solitude? I guess tomorrow, I will find out. I need to do anything and everything I can do to stay busy, and to create opportunities from time to time where I am around other people. I joined up with a website that was recommended to me by my cousin Jen, http://www.meetup.com/, a group of others-wanting-to-explore the Sedona area, and a few of them are in my own age group. I have not yet done any of the posted events, for example, tubing down the Verde River and going to plays. I haven't been in Sedona at all this summer, hardly. I know, I know-- that's not really an excuse. But still, I'm open to the idea of meeting with some new people when the timing and my location are convenient. Perhaps once school is under-way and I'm rolling in the routine again. So yes. Today was a good day. I didn't struggle with my thoughts and emotions. I really enjoyed seeing some dear people, getting to know another new dear person, and spending time with my amazing parents.
My little friend Trenton went to his Kindergarten Orientation today. I haven't yet heard details, but I am soooo excited for this new chapter in this young little guy's life!
Happy birthday, August 2nd, to Nikki (in Glendale) and Paul (in Chengdu, China)!! May you enjoy this next new year of your lives! Learn something new, enjoy your memories, and laugh every day.
Things that I am thankful for today:
4. Flagstaff Art Walk, seeing friends both old and new, and free wine!
3. That my mother also wants to pursue the potential hobby of Yoga, and that we can be encouragement partners for each other.
"Hey, you look like that poster for Ireland-Long blonde hair and the sweet sunny face-Oh no wait that's the poster for Sweden-Oh screw it. I'll never see either place!-But a girl sweet as you has a future-You have hope as each new day dawns-Girls like you always get to see Ireland-Give my love to the leprechauns...."
"Ireland," from Legally Blonde, the Musical
I do want to see this show someday!! :)
Goodnight to you, at 2:04 am. Or is that "Good morning"?
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