I’m a hit

Today was our band concert. We all dressed up in costumes and I was a big hit.  I wore my clarinet costume from last year and everyone that saw it told me how amazing and creative it was. When I came on stage, people in the audience made comments – especially when I turned to go to my chair and they saw the back of it with the reed on my mouthpiece “hat.”  At intermission I went into the audience and a random person wanted to take my picture.  Again, lots of people loved the costume.  The concert overall went pretty well for me in spite of my favorite reed splitting right before we started. 

This morning I slept in and then spent some time getting my costume ready.  I still had it from year before last, but had to add a missing “key” and clean it up some.  I also had to glue the mouthpiece hat together in some places. 

After the concert I had to drive across town to drop my rent payment off.  On my way back I passed a Sonic and wished I had turned in to get something to drink.  I stopped at the one closest to my house and got a large cherry limeade which makes me think about my friend Andrew.  It was just what I needed.  I stopped to check my mail – nothing but bills I had already paid.  I made some shrimp and pasta for dinner and now I’m sitting on my couch watching t.v.  My house is getting in bad shape.  I should be cleaning right now, but I just don’t feel like it.  I think I’m going to at least do a load of laundry so I have something to wear tomorrow.  Then again, I might not. 

Here’s a picture of the costume.  It’s missing the “belt” divider, but I guess it works. 

Slow moving

I can’t understand why I wake up at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday when I’m allowed to sleep in.  I stayed in bed regardless and dozed off and on for another couple of hours.  Once I got up, I had my weekend cup of coffee.  This time I tried butter toffee flavor.  I wasn’t that wowed by it.  I ate some cereal and turned on the t.v.  I read the facebook updates of my friends, blog posts, and did some general web surfing.  I finally talked myself into paying my bills.  I had to set up more accounts on my online bill pay site with my bank so that took a while.  I eventually got all my bills paid except for my rent payment.  I’ll have to drive across town to drop it off because my bank can’t get it there before it’s due.  After that I couldn’t decide what to do today.  I kind of wanted to get out but at the same time I didn’t.  I took a shower and went to the tire shop because my tire indicator light had come on in my car.  They checked the pressure and filled the tires for me.  Then I went and ate lunch at Johnny Carinos.  After that I went to Big Lots.  I’m looking for a storage cabinet for my office supplies.  I saw one that I liked, but didn’t want to pay $129 for it right now.  Instead I was bad and bought some cookies.  After that I took a scenic route home to discover what was south of where I live.  Turns out there isn’t much.  Now I’m home and don’t know what to do.  I considered going to the movies but I didn’t want to drive across town.  I’ve been invited to a Halloween party tonight, but I don’t really feel like going.  I don’t have a costume that I want to wear and the party doesn’t start until 10 p.m.  I guess I’m getting to be a fuddy-duddy.

Grocery Day

The animals and I finally have food.  I went to the grocery store after work.  I spent too much money I think.  But I had to buy Halloween candy, food for all the animals, and food for me.  It’s a good thing I didn’t have to buy cleaning products.  Those will break the bank.  I need to pay bills tomorrow.  Not looking forward to that. 

I meant to go to bed early last night but ended up watching an episode of Mythbusters that I hadn’t seen.  I did find my Marvin ties – of course in the absolute last box that was hidden in my closet.  But I got a lot of compliments on the tie today.  So now I have a bunch of opened boxes throughout the house.  Maybe I’ll get to them this weekend.  My band concert is on Sunday and I need to practice.  I was also thinking of going to the movies on Saturday.  I’ve been invited a Halloween party hosted by another teacher on Saturday night.  I’m supposed to wear a costume and I’m not sure what I want to do.  I’m wearing my clarinet outfit for the band concert, but want something more simple for the party. 

We have a cold front coming in which means it will get down to a whopping 50 degree tonight.  The Amarillo area got 2.5 inches of snow today.  I’m glad I’m not living up there now.  Turns out that I’m not missing the snow.  I might in a few years, but I don’t like driving in it and I hate being really cold. 

I’m glad tomorrow is Friday.   It’s been an exhausting week that has kept me really busy. 

Missing my Marvin ties

It’s red ribbon week at school so there are dress up days.  Tuesday was wearing team jerseys but I didn’t have anything to wear.  Today was crazy sock day so I wore my Marvin socks.  Tomorrow we are supposed to wear ties.  Of course I wanted to wear one of my Marvin the Martian ties, but I can’t find them.  I’ve unpacked all my Marvin stuff and they weren’t in any of the boxes.  I’m not sure if I just stuffed them in a random box somewhere and haven’t gotten to them or what.  I guess that means I’m going to be going through all remaining unopened boxes so I can find them.  It will drive me crazy until I do.

Today was another busy day, but not too bad.  I had to leave school early to go to a meeting.  I picked up my paycheck and went to the bank to deposit it.  It will be another month before it gets direct deposited – hopefully in the right account this time.  I headed to the meeting and got out of there by 4:00.  I headed home and waited for the pest control guy to arrive.  He came and went and I cooked some frozen PF Chang’s teriyaki chicken for dinner.  I’m enjoying a glass of wine and am going to change into my PJs soon.  Then I have to start going through boxes searching for the missing ties. 

I pretty much have all my stuff on the bookshelves, but now there’s the mess of empty boxes, crates, and newspapers that need to be cleaned up.  I guess I’ll get to that at some point – after I make a bigger mess I’m sure.

I’m thinking of going out to the movies again this weekend.  I enjoyed getting out the last time I went.  I could try a different restaurant for lunch this time. 

I should be in bed, but…

The busy week is off an running.  I stayed busy all day dealing with English classes checking out books and history classes taking a survey in the lab.  In the midst of all of that, I had to adjust the school website because of an edict from the powers that be stating that no student or faculty names or pictures could be on our school website because of some stupid security breach that happened a few weeks ago.  So I had to remove the faculty listing and any place that listed a faculty member.  We didn’t have any students or pictures on the website.  I also worked on finding some research sites for students to use next week. 

After work I went to the bank to deposit some money because my local account is overdrawn.  I did that, then picked up some Bill Miller’s barbeque for dinner.  It was ok, but nothing to write about.  I liked the hash browns.  After that, I finished getting books on my shelves.  I realized that I probably bought one shelf too many, but it’s probably good that I have some room to grown.  I started filling the spaces with all my Marvin the Martian stuff.  I still have one more box to unpack and then I need to hang the shelf that I use to display the Christmas ornaments.  It’s slowly coming together.

I left for band rehearsal around 6:45 and we did a run-through of the concert which is just ridiculous.  We are playing 12 pieces and have an intermission.  I don’t know anyone that likes concert band stuff that much.  Surprisingly, I managed to play the entire night though it was getting tough at the end.  I realize that I do need to practice one piece in particular that has an exposed clarinet part.  The rehearsal ran over time a little so I didn’t get home until 10:15. 

I talked to Josh on the way home from rehearsal and heard about all the things going on with him at college.  He is still doing well and he is going to get to have a lesson this week with the composition teacher from Tasmania.  This will be the person that he will be studying with when he goes down there in the spring. 

I’m still stuffy today.  I think maybe it’s time to find a local doctor.  I haven’t really bothered with it, but I do need to have my yearly checkup and such so I might as well get on that.  There’s a new hospital and medical plaza that was built just down the road so I guess I’ll check that out first and see if any of the doctors are on my provider list.  I don’t want someone that is impossible to get appointments.  I really appreciated my doctor in back in Canyon.  I could always get same day appointments and rarely ever waited more than about 20 minutes for him to see me. 

I’m going to try to head to bed, but not sure I’ll be able to get to sleep right away since I’m having trouble breathing at the moment.  Hopefully the decongestant will kick in soon.

Books and a Busy Week

I finally got all my bookshelves put together.  I started the daunting task of unpacking the many, many boxes of books and sorting them.  I’m about halfway done I think, but I just felt tired in the middle of it all so I decided to take a break.  I think that I still have too many books.  I may have to get rid of a few more.  I’m putting all the unread books on a shelf so that maybe I’ll read one of those before I buy any more. 

This is going to be a busy week in the library.  I have classes every day, a meeting on Wednesday, and a presentation for parents on Thursday.  I also have to work on a research project for 7th grade English classes next week.

I also heard from the library guy.  He sent me an email Sunday night, but I didn’t get it until this morning.  He mentioned getting together in a few weeks so I have that to potentially look forward to.  He has some scrabble tournaments coming up so he’s not free until the 11th which is the day after my birthday.  Josh is coming in that weekend, but we won’t go to dinner until Saturday. 

I didn’t sleep well last night.  First of all, the margaritas made me dehydrated.  Then I’ve had sinus/allergy issues for the past few days so I couldn’t breath very well.  After school today I picked up a decongestant so I’ll see if that helps tonight. 

A pretty darn good day

I got to sleep in some this morning.  I originally intended to get up around 8, but I ended up sleeping until 9.  That was fine though.  I got up and filled my car with gas and then found a car wash that I was able to go through quickly.  I then went to Walmart to get just enough stuff to get my by until payday which is Wednesday.  I picked up a few packets of dog and cat food and a few frozen meals for lunches.  After that I cam home and mowed my lawn (again) and then did some house cleaning and put together another set of shelves.  I have just one more to do and my bookshelves will be ready for me to unpack all my books.  I then got ready to head to Six Flags for some coasters.  My friend Brent came around 3:00 and we headed to the park.  It took about 30 minutes to drive across town.  We went inside and then rode a fairly tame coaster to begin with, then headed to Superman.  It was a great ride as always.  We then rode Goliath, Poltergeist and then Superman again.  I bought a picture of me and Brent on the coaster and looked for some Marvin the Martian things but didn’t find anything I didn’t have to have.  We left the park around 6:30 and headed downtown for dinner.  It seems tonight was some kind of “Zombie Walk” but we were able to find parking and then we went to the Menger bar for a top shelf margarita.  From there we went to the Riverwalk and walked until we found a place to eat.  I can’t remember the name of the place – but it served Mexican food so we had another margarita and I ordered fajitas and he had a chile relleno.  The food was really good and I was completely stuffed.  We walked back to the car and drove back to my place.  I had a wedding gift to give him that I hadn’t before so I gave it to him.  He headed home and now I’m heading to bed very soon.  It was a really nice day spent with a good friend.  Just an FYI – Brent is my friend from high school who just married his boyfriend Leo, but Leo is still living in Minneapolis at the moment. 

Tomorrow is inservice meetings so that means I have to get to school early to set up the projector, ELMO (visual presenter), and a computer.  It’s going to be a busy week in the library.  I have two classes coming in Tuesday, then on Wednesday I have a monthly meeting.  Thursday are two more classes and I can’t remember what’s going on Friday.  I’m still loving the job so I can’t complain too much at this point.  The only down thing right now is that the library guy hasn’t replied to my last email yet.  Not sure if he’s been busy this weekend and hasn’t had a chance or what.  Guess I’ll wait and see.  Maybe I should call him??  For now, I’ve got to get these contacts out and get to bed!

A pajama kind of day

It’s 6:00 p.m. and I haven’t changed out my pajamas all day.  I tried to sleep in some, but with animals wanting in and out this morning it was difficult.  So I got up and made some cinnamon twists that I had in the fridge.  They were pretty yummy.  I had them with half a cup of coffee (with lots of cream and sugar).  I’ve mostly sat around and watched t.v. today.  I did finally get one of my shelves put together.  I’m going to try to get two more put together this evening.  I’m also going to clean a little since I’ll have company tomorrow.  I think we’re going to go to the park in the afternoon and then go have dinner and drinks downtown. 

I think I might just get dressed to at least go pick up something for dinner.  It’s back to some slim pickings around here. 

A busy day in the library

So much for the relaxing few days I had.  But then again, I do like staying busy.  Today I had students coming in to take make up tests, students using the lab, and three English classes that still had to have their orientations.  Students are figuring out that they need to have passes before school and that is making my job easier.  The scavenger hunts seemed to be a hit again.  Surprisingly, even one of the teachers helping her ESL students had some issues doing the hunt.  It might be something good to have the teachers do sometime. 

The library guy emailed me again.  He even emailed me late last night because the time stamp on the email was after 2:00 a.m.  He said that he would be happy to show me around San Antonio.  Hopefully that is a promising sign.  I guess if we do meet and such that I should come up with a pseudonym for him at some point. 

Not sure what my plan for tomorrow is.  I kind of want to go to a bookstore.  I guess I’ll figure it out in the morning.  On Sunday, my friend Brent from Austin is going to come down and we’re going to Fiesta Texas.  I finally get to ride some coasters!  Woo hoo!

Earthquake?

Sometimes I feel out of touch with things going on in the world.  I find out about the death of major people only when someone mentions it on facebook.  I was on CNN tonight checking up on events and read that there was supposedly an earthquake 50 miles south-southeast of San Antonio around 7:20 this morning.  They said that people in SA felt it.  I certainly didn’t.  I was probably in my bathroom putting on makeup or doing my hair at that point and I didn’t feel anything.  I’m kind of disappointed. 

In other news, the email conversations with the librarian guy here seems to be going well.  This is kind of surprising to me.  I know I can be a negative Nelly, but the way it usually works (if I contact the guy first), they respond out of kindness and then it fizzles within about two emails.  This guy, however, writes rather lengthy emails with anecdotal stories and has so far responded just about daily.  And in the last email he gave me his number and said that I could call if I wanted.  I’m probably going to be too shy to call at this point, but I gave him my number in the last email so maybe he’ll call me. 

I talked to my sister and dad last night and they are going to go to Vegas during Thanksgiving with Josh and I.  It will be great to have family there. 

Blurbs

The great coffee experiment

So I’ve discovered that the milder roasts of coffee with lots of creamer and sugar isn’t too bad.  I actually had a cup on Monday when I woke up pretty tired and it did seem to help.  I still haven’t finished a full cup, but I got pretty close.  So we’ll see how it goes.  I may become a coffee drinker yet.

The Animals

They are still hit or miss on the potty training.  My schedule can be erratic so it’s difficult to get it work.  Sometimes they use the wee wee pads, sometimes they don’t.  I should probably ask my rental company if the homeowners would let me install a pet door.  That would help with sleeping at night as well.

Work

Work has actually been rather slow this week.  Yesterday it was so quiet that I had to put on music.  I even started a new blog just for my library ramblings.  I plan to cover books, technology things, and helpful information for students and teachers.

Dating

I haven’t talked to the guy I went on with once in a few weeks now.  I wasn’t all that interested so it doesn’t bother me.  Now I’m emailing a guy locally who is a librarian.  I also have email conversations going with a guy that lives in Washington state.  Other than that, nothing going on in my love life these days. 

Out and about

I enjoyed sleeping in this morning.  I got up around 10 and took a shower and got ready to go out.  I headed out around 11:15 to a shopping area that has lots of restaurants and a movie theater.  I at lunch at a Greek restaurant and the food was really good.  Then I headed over to the theater and watched “The Help.”  It was a good movie as well.  I really enjoyed getting out and going to the movies – even if I did it alone.  I was surprised that the small theater was as full as it was.  I know the movie has been showing a while, but there was a pretty good sized crowd there.  Mostly older people, but a variety.  After the movie, I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and looked around.  I bought a towel rack for the kitchen and a small coffee sample back of a lighter roast coffee to see if it helps in my quest to become a coffee drinker.  I haven’t tried since last weekend so I plan have a cup in the morning.  From there I headed up north and went shopping at Kohl’s.  I tried on several things and couldn’t really find anything that I loved.  I almost bought a pair of pants, but I talked myself out of it when I found shoes on sale instead.  I bought two pair of shoes (though I really don’t “need” more shoes).  After that I headed over to another part of town and picked up a steak burrito from Chipotle for supper.  I got it to go and came home to eat it.  It was a little cold when I got here, but it was still good.  Now I’m a little bored.  There’s not much on t.v. and I don’t have anything I want to do online either.  I guess I could start a book.  Or I could just go to bed early.  I’m enjoying my second beer right now, so I may fall asleep pretty soon. 

Tomorrow’s plan is to go to the store, clean house, practice my clarinet, and probably watch some t.v.  No promise that I’ll get any of this done, but we’ll see.  Oh, I have to mow the yard yet again.  Ugh. 

Another weekend

Today was spent at a meeting regarding positive behavior interventions.  It’s basically strategies for maintaining discipline.  I was asked to participate in the meeting.  I think it is because they don’t have to get a sub for me when I’m gone.  But I think they also kind of like me as well.  It’s always hard to replace another person who has been a fixture within a school, but I think they realize that I have a lot to be bring to the job. 

I’m making some changes regarding the library.  I appreciate that I have a lot of students that want to be in the library before school, but it is getting hard to manage.  Most of the boys have been gunning to be one of the first four to play games on the computer.  But then we had a student that had a backpack stolen.  Then I’ve also been overwhelmed with just the numbers.  I have to deal with checking in books, checking them out, monitoring students coming and going and it is a lot to handle.  So now I’m implementing a requirement that students have a pass before school.  They can pick one up the day before from me or a teacher.  The computers also are going to be a positive behavior incentive.  I’m hoping this will alleviate some of the issues I’ve been dealing with.  Of course I’m still happy that students are excited to visit, but I certainly want them to actually use the library.  I have been checking out a lot of books though.  I hope they keep it up.

After our meeting today I went to the payroll office to get my paycheck issue resolved.  I had to fill out yet another form to get the check deposited in my local bank account – although the next check will still go into the account back in Canyon.  I came home and the house was quiet.  I didn’t hear Mollie barking like she usually does.  I couldn’t figure it out.  Then I opened the back door and it turns out that I had left Mollie outside.  Boy did she let me have it.  I certainly didn’t mean to.  I remember hastily shutting the back door this morning to keep Lucy from getting out, but I guess I didn’t realize that Mollie was still out there.  She was fine, but I did feel bad.  I let her yell at me and I gave her some extra love. 

I’ve spent the evening watching episodes of Psych and Monk.  I have such an exciting life.  Tomorrow I’m thinking of going to the movies.  By myself.  And maybe some shopping.  I feel the need to get out of the house. 

Ready for November

I’m not necessarily looking forward to another birthday next month, but I’m looking forward to the fact that I’ll get to spend some time with Josh.  He’s going to come back to San Antonio the weekend of the 12th so we can go to dinner and celebrate our birthdays.  The weekend before that, he’s going back to Canyon to see his girlfriend and go to the high school musical.  We are also going to Vegas for Thanksgiving.  We’ve both purchased our airline tickets.  I’ve reserved the hotel and he has bought show tickets for Penn & Teller.  I’m starting to feel more of a sense of loneliness here.  I’m making new acquaintances at work and in band, but can’t say I’ve developed any friendships yet.  I do miss my friends back home.  I haven’t heard from Marty or Matthew or really anyone lately.  It’s not horrible, because I’m kind of a loner of sorts and most of the time I don’t mind being alone.  I guess I’m missing a few of the connections I used to have.  I know it takes time to develop those connections so I just need to be patient.

Nothing more to report really.  Going to work.  Come home.  Make dinner.  Watch t.v.  I did finish reading “The Help.”  Now I guess I need a new book.  I should find some things in my library to read so I can start making more recommendations to students.

Back to library stuff

Finally no orientations this week.  I did have classes in the library and lab today, but nothing that I had to really help with.  I did some work on the website, shelved books, and set up a Halloween display of scary books to read.  These middle school kids really like the scary books.  Tomorrow we have another campus visit and the library is reserved for the visitors in the afternoon.  I’ve learned my lesson and I’ll be working in my office while they’re here – rather than get kicked out of my own library.  I stayed late setting up the display today.  I think it turned out pretty well considering that it’s my first.  The previous librarian left all her seasonal decorations.  I think she probably decorated more of the library, but I just did a display of books to read.   I don’t have much more to share so I’ll leave you with pictures of my book display.

A Rainy Sunday

Well the rain came in last night around 3 in the morning and it’s still raining.  There was a pretty good thunderstorm around 3 that kept me and the animals up for a while.  Normally thunderstorms bother me a little, but I think this house is more insulated because it didn’t seem as bad.  It could also be that my bed isn’t under a window like at the last house.  I fell back to sleep around 4-something I think, but then I slept intermittently after that with Lucy wanting outside, then wanting in, the animals being antsy, and hearing random bursts of thunder.  I’m glad I mowed the front yesterday – it is way too wet today.  Today is grocery day for me so I took a shower and then headed to Walmart around 11:00.  It was still raining pretty good, but I wanted to beat the church crowds.  I got groceries including stuff to make chili (without beans) and rice for supper.  That’s my comfort food on a rainy day.  I thought about going out today and watching a movie, but I think I’m just going to curl up on the couch and watch t.v. instead. 

Mowing delayed

I planned to mow this morning, but we got some rain early this morning so it was put off for a while.  I just got back in from mowing the front.  The back will have to wait.  I’m going to try a coffee experiment again this morning.  I’m brewing another cup and we’ll see how it goes.  It looks like we’re going to get more rain today.  That will be a relief.  The high is supposed to be only 89.  I think that is the coolest thus far. 

Today’s agenda is to finish my book (about halfway through now) and clean house.  It is getting quite untidy.  I’ve started dishes, but need to put up clothes, do more laundry, vacuum, and put miscellaneous things away.  But I’m not going to rush on that.  For now it’s me and a book and the tv and sometimes the laptop.

Time to mow again

I’m going to have to mow tomorrow morning again.  Not looking forward to that.  But these damn weeds keep growing as fast as ever – even without rain. 

The last two days of school were a little more rough.  One class on Thursday was probably the rudest I’ve ever encountered.  They were a class of students that were supposed to have gone on to high school already, but for whatever reason – can’t pass or get out of middle school.  They were full of attitude and completely disrespectful.  The positive side is that I don’t have to deal with them all the time.  I invited my principal to come observe me this week.  She did stop by briefly.  She sent me an email that said I was doing an outstanding job and that she was glad that I was there.  So that was a positive end to my week. 

Last week I bought the book “The Help.”  I’ve wanted to see the movie, but I’d rather read the book first.  So I’ve started reading it.  It’s pretty good so far.  Tonight I’ve had the t.v. on watching Psych and reading some.  I had some chicken and potatoes for dinner, cheesecake for dessert and now I’m enjoying some popcorn.  Guess it’s good that I’ll work up a sweat mowing in the morning.  Monk is coming on next. 

a long post – but read anyway

So yesterday had more frustrations.  I remained flexible about the schedule and tried to be a gracious host to the visitors in the library.  They came in and set up shop and then asked me to close the library to students before school even started (as they were signing in).  So I did that.  Then they went about their business and did some observations and regrouped around 10:30.  When the bell rang for the next class around then, I stepped out in the hall to monitor students.  The assistant principal came out and asked if I could just stay out of the library while they debriefed.  So what do I do at that point?  Say no?  So I say no problem.  Of course I’m in the hall with nothing.  No book.  No phone.  No computer.  Nothing.  So I go to the teacher’s lounge.  Nothing to do.  I straighten the block letter things that can be cut out and clean up some.  I go to my car and clean it out.  I find a word search magazine so I bring it in.  I do the word search puzzles.  Almost an hour has passed and they are still debriefing.  The bell for lunch rings so I decide I’m going back in to at least get my lunch.  So I quietly go in and go through the back part to get my lunch and heat it up.  I take it to the lounge and eat with the other teachers.  By the time lunch is over, they are finally finishing up.  So I can finally get my library back.  I was a bit put off by all that.  The least they could have done is give me some advance notice or let me work in my office with the door closed.  So after that I rushed to get ready for my orientations. 

After school I went with the band to the showcase at the stadium.  All the high school bands performed their marching shows and the middle schools performed in the stands.  I took my clarinet and played with the band and helped as a chaperone.  It was interesting to see all the bands, but I wasn’t all that impressed.  A few bands stood out, but I’ve seen better back in Canyon.  It was a nice evening – not too cool and no wind.  I really love living in a place where the wind doesn’t blow all the freaking time.  We got back around 9:30.  I was worried about leaving the animals so long, but surprisingly, there was only one pee spot to clean up and no poop at all.  I let them out as soon as I got home.  Then Mollie totally ticked me off.  She came back in and I fed them.  Then about five minutes after that I discover that she peed on the carpet in the time I’ve been home.  So to answer Jan’s question – animals are doing ok, but Mollie is driving me crazy still.  Happily today, however, I discovered that they used the wee wee pads twice today – no stains on the carpet. 

Today at school it was a good day.  I did library orientations with English classes.  I figured out yesterday that I needed to give them fill in the blank notes to keep their attention.  So I got those ready and it made things go much better.  I have a scavenger hunt of sorts that I’m having the classes do, but most aren’t able to finish it.  But I’m getting used to actually finding books in the library, using the Dewey Decimal system, searching the card catalog, and using an actual reference book (not googling).  I think it is a good skill to teach them – especially in middle school.  They seemed to enjoy it so hopefully it will continue to go well the next two days with the other classes.  I love being able to do some teaching but then not really have to do anything more – I work with a variety of students – but none are truly mine.  I don’t have to grade papers, but I guide and direct, offer suggestions, and I love it.  I have no doubt that this is what I’m supposed to be doing.  I’m finally in a place where I enjoy going to work.  I really like my job.  Even with the annoyances like the last minute changes and lack of communication, I enjoy the job itself.  And I still love leaving the work at school.  I don’t bring it home.  Other than a little planning this past weekend, I haven’t done any work from home.  This is the way a job should be. 

More big news – ok, not big but something kind of big for me.  I tried drinking coffee today.  You must understand that I am not a coffee drinker.  I don’t drink coffee. Period.  The last time I tried coffee was maybe 20 years ago and I hated it.  I do like how coffee smells though, but I’ve never been able to develop a taste for it.  So this morning I’m tired.  I need caffeine.  I didn’t want a coke.  My aunt bought be a Keurig coffee maker where you make just a cup at a time.  I had a sample pack of coffee.  I bought some white chocolate/caramel creamer at the store this weekend.  So I thought I’d try it.  I still think it kind of tastes like dirt.  The creamer of course helped, but sugar helped more.  But the taste just stays in your mouth – even after brushing your teeth.  But I got through about a third of a cup.  I can’t decide if it helped or not.  So the jury is still out. 

And to answer Jan’s other question – the weather is still hot, but it is starting to cool down a little – meaning that it only gets to the mid-90’s during the day and maybe down to the 60’s at night.  So it is nice a comfortable most evenings.  Not getting much rain, but there’s some storm possibilities in the next week I think. 

Guess that’s enough for my post today.  Sorry for the length – lots to share I guess.  I’m going to go read a little before calling it a night.  I bought the book “The Help.”  I do want to see the movie at some point, but I want to read the book first. 

Being Flexible

So I got an email Sunday night from one of the English teachers stating that she needed to reschedule her orientation for another time because her students were still finishing a writing assignment.  I was ok with that especially since I didn’t want to stay up late getting ready.  So I get to school and diligently work on finishing my presentation and plan a scavenger hunt of sorts.  Then I get a call from the secretary asking who is scheduled for the library tomorrow.  I told her that I had scheduled an English class for orientation.  She asks which teacher and I tell her.  Then the teacher comes down and tells me that the principal needs the library tomorrow and she has to reschedule. So I have to adjust for that.  What gets me is that the principal has known for weeks that these people that are going to use the library were coming.  The last minute attitude of this district is driving me crazy.  I’m a planner.  I can be flexible – often because I have to – but I prefer to plan things out and have some structure.  So now I’ve had to shift yet again.  I had scheduled the library facilitator to come visit tomorrow to observe me working with classes.  I was able to work around that issue because the English teacher is being flexible by bringing her classes three different days this week.  But I did get the powerpoint finished in addition to my scavenger hunt questions.  I’m not sure how that is going to go, but we’ll see.  It could be a mess.  But I’m going to try at least. 

So I came home and couldn’t decide what to do for dinner.  I got stuff to make tacos which I really wanted to make, but I didn’t have the stuff needed to make Spanish rice so I decided not to make it.  I didn’t feel like making anything else so I just went to Sonic and got a burger and tots.  Other than that, I’m not doing much this evening.  Just watching some t.v.  I still haven’t started putting the bookshelves together.  I should get to that at some point. 

Another weekend comes to an end

I finally got some rest.  I was up late watching Psych last night and finally went to bed sometime after midnight.  But I was able to sleep in this morning – didn’t get up until past 9:00.  I headed to the store for my normal weekend shopping.  Walmart isn’t as crowded on Sunday mornings.  Unfortunately, I’ve been having a sweet tooth lately and the Halloween candy is out.  I bought a big bag of chocolate that I don’t need.  I came home and started working on my powerpoint for my orientations with the English classes.  I still need to do worksheets, but my classes for tomorrow have been rescheduled so I’m not going to rush to get it done tonight. 

Tuesday I’m going to help as a chaperone for the band at an event at the stadium.  All the bands come together to perform so it will be interesting.  I’m supposed to bring my clarinet and play as well.  It will be a long night, but will be interesting to hear the bands – see what kind of talent is in San Antonio.  The cool thing about living here is that the state marching contest is held at the Alamodome in November so I could see it then.  It would be great if my alma mater made it again.  Josh went to contest with the band his sophomore year and I went as a chaperone. 

So it was mostly another lazy day for me which I am glad to have.  If I were still teaching at Hereford, I would have had to go to a speech speech tournament yesterday and I would feel like I didn’t get anything done.  Though I didn’t get as much done as I should have this weekend, I’m not sweating it.  I have clean clothes and I did do the dishes so I’m good to go.  I’m going to head to bed soon and try to get up a little earlier tomorrow morning.

I hate mowing

In spite of it being a Saturday and wanting to sleep in, I got up shortly before 8 this morning so I could mow the yard yet again.  It wasn’t as bad as last week since I only mowed the front, but it was still somewhat exhausting.  I think it also stirs up stuff that I’m allergic to because after I finished I could feel allergies coming on in addition to a headache.  So I took a claritin and some tylenol and went back to bed.  It seemed to help.  I eventually fell asleep and got up a little before 11:00.  I took a shower and headed into San Antonio.  I had to drop off my rent check so it wouldn’t be late.  It was across town so while in that area, I stopped at Chipotle to eat.  It is one of my favorite places and now that I live in a bigger city, I can go when I want to.  They make these huge burritos filled with rice, choice of meat, peppers, onions, cheese, sour cream, and lettuce, and salsa – at least that is how I order mine.  You can also have beans and guacamole if you should choose. 

My GPS has become a bit infuriating.  It seems as though it has no idea how to get me where I want.  On more than one occasion today it tried to take me to the wrong location today.  I spent probably an hour or so just back tracking to find the stores that I wanted to get to.  I went to an education supply store in search of things to give out as prizes for library orientations on Monday.  I didn’t find anything.  Then I went to office max, Michaels, a toy store, Hobby Lobby, and Big Lots.  At big lots, I found bookshelves for $25 each so I bought five of them.  They are simple and though I would prefer something nicer, I don’t have the budget for what I’d really like.  Now it’s a matter of putting them together.  I figure I might try to do one every night and have them done by next weekend.  I really want to get all my books out of the boxes that they’ve been sitting in since I moved in. 

After all the shopping, I came home and watched t.v., surfed the internet, and heated up leftover pizza for dinner.  I made homemade pizza last night.  Now I’m watching Psych and planning to head to bed shortly.  Not sure about tomorrow – going to do some house cleaning and go to the store.