Home

Advertisement

Customize
About this Journal
Current Month
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031
May. 30th, 2005 @ 09:16 am Yet Another Overdue Update
Hey there. Welcome to the blog that time forgot, or at least it seemed like I did. Nothing much out of the ordinary going on. Time is coming up on the end of the public schools school year. AMEN. I'm ready for a break. I have a great class, but let's face it....summer rocks. I have started summer school for my grad classes and have already had a midterm. It's scary on how fast it goes really. What a drag. I'll be on the beach doing my next review though since we'll be out of school by then. I really should try to find a part time gig over the summer for some extra cash, but don't really want to. I'd rather be out biking....if Jason would ever call and get his rump on the bike (notice the subtle hint!!!).

Softball is going well. We're going to NYC for a tournament on July 4th weekend. Our team is a respectable 8-4 right now, but of course would like to improve on that. I'm going to soccer practice to day with my old team. This should be interesting since I haven't touched a ball in a game-scenario in a very long time. Sand soccer is coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm mega-stoked about that for various reasons. Some friends from Ohio come down to play in that, so it'll be good to see them again.

Geek talk: We went to Comp USA to just look around and buy some jewel cases. We found a ton of stuff for free via rebates that filled a cart. Thank God for holidays and their "Once a year" sales that occur every major holiday and a few times inbetween. I also got a stand for my keyboard, so it can now come out of the box it was packed in when we moved almost 2 years ago. That's most definitely a highlight.

Anyway, I'm stll here, just looking forward to summer!
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 14th, 2005 @ 09:27 am Whew!
Wow, it's been a really really long time since I've updated this. I've been really busy. So let's see....work is good....almost finished for the year....AMEN! I am not teaching summer school because of some other stuff going on. So that's kind of a blessing in disguise in one way just because I'm ready for a break. May has been a great month because I have 6 days off including Memorial Day....or rather 6 days off/in training. So needless to say, it's been good. I'm playing softball now which is turning out to be a lot of fun. I hadn't played in years and years, so it's a tough adjustment, but I'm really enjoying it. Summer school for ODU has started....what a drag. My first session of summer school is done a week after regular high school gets out. So needless to say, there's going to be a bit of time crunching going on.

I went to Jason and Jason's house last week for big Jason's birthday. I had a really good time and got to see people that I hadn't gotten a chance to see in a really long time. My face was also forced into the birthday boy's crotch....if that wasn't a highlight, I don't know what was.....ugh. My mom came up the Tuesday after Mother's day. We went to the melting pot, no frill grill, took her for an hour hot stone massage, and then to cap it all of, we went to see Sarah McLachlan on Wednesday night. It was fantastic! I could go on and on, but I won't bore you with details. However, it was probably the most down-to-earth, grounded, intimate, varied (music styles...acoustic, full band, piano only, etc) concert that I've been to. She really knew how to connect with the audience. That was great. My co-worker went to the Tim Reid Celebrity Weekend events and got me autographs and pictures of the cast from The Wire. I love the show!!! Go watch it!! Anyway, not much else going on. Hope everything is going well. I'll try to update more frequently.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Apr. 8th, 2005 @ 08:49 pm Returning to the Dark Side
So I have come back to the world of blog....sorry it's been so long. Things here have been going really well. We got a new cat so that Zack has a playmate. What a wild thing she is. She's one year old and weighs 7.1 pounds and Zack weighs 18.....therefore there is a slight size difference. Anyway, she's great and keeps Zack running....he's trying to run away, but at least he's running. So things have been quite active. They seem to really get along, so that's really good. We were afraid that they might not. However, things are going very well with them. They even look out the window together.

Other than that, things are the same. The first week back from spring break was great! The kids actually did really well and seemed to miss us. Of course there is no school on Monday for them as it is a work day, but it's all good. Tuesday we're going to the Marine Science Museum due to politics. There is an asshole father that has a son in another room and they have an IEP meeting...one of those yearly things.....and he's invited half the state of Virginia...he needs an audience and the attention....ugh. So unknown to myself, my big boss says that they should have the meeting in my room....it's cleaner, smells better, and has a bit more space table-wise. So in exchange for use of my room, we're going on an outing. At least I get something out of it for being kicked out of my own room. Ha!

That's it for now. Nothing much going on. I'm boring.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Mar. 23rd, 2005 @ 04:01 pm Changes.....
Well, since it's been a while since I've written something in here, I thought that it was time. Nothing exciting going on. I had the stomach flu last week and Jamie moved in this past weekend in the midst of chaos since she needed to be in since her power, etc were getting turned off Monday. So with me being sick, I hadn't gotten a chance to make room for her and all. So finally yesterday I moved things around and all and she's officially and comfortably in.

Work is going okay. I have one girl that refuses to move, so we carry her places that she doesn't want to go. Keep in mind she's all of 6 feet and 2 inches and I'm 5'7". Yeah, that's loads of fun. She just drops to the floor when she doesn't feel like walking somewhere when we tell her to get up out of her chair. Fun times. I can't tell you how much I enjoy moving her around. Doesn't happen often, but often enough for me to thing about getting a back brace. Today, a few of the classes went to cinema cafe to watch Robots. The movie was okay....the best part was the preview for the third Star Wars movie. May 15 can not come quick enough now. We got pizza, popcorn, and soda with the movie for a bargain deal of $7.50 a person. They made money on that one....the pizza was burned really bad and the box of popcorn was half full. The soda was good, but limited. Mental note, no more field trips there. I felt bad for asking the parents for money for something like this. It was great for the kids though, they really liked it, and I guess that's all that really matters.

I bought Lifehouse's new album today. It is fantastic! I really like it. I really got into them a while back ago and never owned the albums, but decided that since I listen to them so much on my iPod, I should at least do the courteous thing and buy their albums. So I ordered their previous 2 and bought this one from Best Buy. I also have gotten back into Joss Stone, so I bought both of her albums too. What great stuff. I had searched high and low for Lucia Micarelli, Josh Groban's violin player. I finally found it. Great great album! I really like the way she plays.....so passionate. I bought Lashell Griffin too, who won some contest Oprah put on. She's really good. Her song on the radio is called "Free." What a set of vocal cords this girl has! The album itself is okay, but the one single is just fantastic!

My friends Jason and Mike are coming down this weekend. Slightly a dramatic situation here. I got my weekends confused and thought that they were coming the following weekend. No big deal, just had to do a lot of reorganization of stuff. They rock though, so I don't mind doing it. I think that we're going to go up and see our friend Jeff too. So that rocks because I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks.

Other than that, nothing much going on. I think that my dad has a gig at a church as a long-term fill-in, so that's good to know. Life is good. Thank God that the weather is getting warmer now too!! Woo hoo! As long as it doesn't get too humid.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Mar. 8th, 2005 @ 07:23 pm Brrrrr!!!!
Clear Low
24° F

Precip: 20%


Generally clear. Cold. Low 24F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Mar. 8th, 2005 @ 07:02 pm Adventures of Red
Okay, so I painted my computer room....it looks really really great! It's autumn maple. It's the type of red you see when the leaves change colors in fall....I mean it's a really deep red with a bit of brown. However, this miraculous event didn't happen without some unnecessary drama. I started painting on Saturday afternoon. It took me 4 hours to paint the room top to bottom. As I was painting I could tell that some of the paint was seperating from itself and that it was bleeding through and all. So I painted a second layer later that night and it helped....a little. So off to Home Depot to see what the heck was up with that paint. I used Behr paint, which the whole house is painted in, and have never had this problem. Talking with the Bear guy on the phone at the store, he said that this color uses a transparent red, meaning that the 3-4 coats have to be put on for it to take and look like it does on the color swatch. So needless to say, Behr is paying for 2 cans of paint because of the inconveinience of having the first paint possibly not being the right consistency....aka nobody told me anything about having to do 4 coats and I was not a happy camper. To add fuel to the fire, he told me to allow 24 hours inbetween coats. Needless to say, I didn't do the 24 hour thing and the room still looks great and like the swatch. I got rid of one of my computer desks, so now I only have one in here and it opens the room up a bit more of course. I thought that the color might make the room look a bit smaller, but it doesn't. With all the white trim and the white closet doors along with the light oak cabinet and shelves, it looks fantastic together and is a good balance.

Other than that, nothing much going on. I am getting over the cold. I hate feeling like this. Work is going well and I can't wait until this year is over! I'm ready for summer. Jamie is moving in for a few months. Her apartment complex sucks. She teaches in the room next to me, so it'll be nice to ride in with someone and all. Plus, when I have a day off and nobody else does, we'll have something to do. Plus, she's really cool. Okay, have a good night. I'm done!
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Mar. 3rd, 2005 @ 06:56 pm Cold and Cold
Okay, so the weather here is rockin'! I love the cold weather, however not when I get sick. Thanks to the wonderful parents who send their kids to school sick as a dog, I now have a cold and am feeling like crap. Not only am I not feeling well, my assistant is out on personal leave until Tuesday. Therefore, I really can't take any days off until she gets back. Don't get it twisted, I will have my days off damn it!

Otherwise, things are going well. I used my fondue set that I got two Christmases ago for the first time. I made a cheese fondue. It was $60.00 to buy all the different stuff that goes in the fondue. I also got a creme brule set, or however you spell it. So we did that too. It was a lot of fun actually. I really dig the torch that puts out this nice blue flame. I have finally finished all 7 seasons of Stargate....to which I am a closeted fan of. I'm now working on CSI and Millenium.

Jamie is moving into the house for a while so she can get out of her ghetto-ass apartment which someone in human resources told her that it was a great area. Okay, white girl in Lake Edwards.....not quite. That and her refridgerator didn't work for going on three weeks now and there is still no sign of them fixing it. What a dump. I think that this is going to be temporary until around July or something, but it doesn't matter because she's cool anyway. She's a great drinking buddy, especially when it comes to Jaggermeister....mmmmm.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Feb. 13th, 2005 @ 04:21 pm Ups and Downs
Okay, so with it being Sunday and all, I have realized that weekends are not long enough. Things have been going fine all weekend. I got some really great deals on clothes this weekend when all I was looking for were champagne flutes for my boss. Well, this morning when we took the filters down to be cleaned for the ventilation system, water was noticed in a light fixture. So to the attic only to find that one of the ducts that blows air out is apparently letting water in. There is a very small mark on the ceiling, so water is apparently getting on that too. What sucks even more is that it's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow. I hope the ceiling doesn't give way. It looks like it's been going on for at least a week, so we'll see.

I haven't done a lick of work this weekend and I'm actually okay with that. I haven't done one bit of it and it feels great. I need a day off since they made President's Day a makeup day. What a drag. I'll just use a sick day somewhere else as a mental health day. I know that this week I'll have to work hard, but it was nice not to do anything all weekend except veg.

Oh, back to the clothes I got....because I'm really excited about it.....3 sweaters, 2 ties, 1 pair of courderoy pants, and 1 pair of black pants....grand total......$122.00. Not bad if I do say so myself. Of course it's all namebrand. Thank God for store coupons, clearance sales, and seasons. Of course the spring stuff is coming in, but all of the stuff I got will be fine next season when it gets cold again. I hate shopping generally unless I know what I'm getting and can go in, get it, and get out. However, when I saw 70% off, I had to check it out at least.

Anyway, off to go see what there is to do for dinner.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Feb. 3rd, 2005 @ 06:15 pm February Already?!
Wow, it's freakin' February already! The year has just been flying by. Craziness! Looking back in retrospect, it's been good so far. Work is going well...although I'm still waiting for my first evaluation. Hopefully it's going to be good. Nothing out of the ordinary really going on. I've been going to Q-Masters daily for a while now after work with some friends. It's been really cool. Nobody's really there and I'm improving bit by bit. I've always liked shooting pool, but now I'm starting to get the hang of those shots that before I would have never attempted. However, it's great fun.

This weekend is Josh Groban. I'm really excited about this! I have been listening to him a lot lately and cannot wait to see what he sounds like live. The concert is at Norfolk Scope, so the acoustics are awful, but should be good anyway. I really wish that our ampitheater looked like The Greek in Cali. It is absolutely amazing with great sound. Red Rocks in Colorado would be even better, but I guess for being in the area that I am, it's not too bad. This area is always slow in getting the toys and the good stuff.....especially considering how large the area is. I guess that it's due to a slow and low economy. I'm here to tell you, things that people think cost a lot of money need to go somewhere else that's comprable in population. It's crazy. This area should consider themselves fortunate and stop whinging.

We unexpectedly, at least to me, got a ton of snow today. The drive home was really easy, especially considering that I came home at 5:10 pm from playing pool. I thought that the drive would be awful anyway, but then add snow....which makes bad drivers even worse....if that's possible. I was pleasantly surprised to make it home in about 50 minutes. I was prepared for it to take 2.5 hours like it did the last time it snowed. The roads weren't too bad. Still slick, but nothing like it was the last time.

Anyway, that's about it for now....nothing exciting really happens in my life. I guess that it's a blessing and a curse. No drama, which is awesome, but then again I wish something exciting would happen....a good thing though...but of course, right?
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Jan. 28th, 2005 @ 11:36 pm Short Days
Wow, this week flew by! We had half days monday through friday due to midterm exams. Then friday was a day with no students. I really could get used to this! I got a lot done this week, including putting all of the furniture up and vaccuuming and mopping. The room looks great now....even smells good too. We'll see how long that lasts. I have decided to put away some of the stuff that I would normally keep out due to objects flying across the room. I don't know what next week will be like since they will be in full days and not half days like they had all this past week.

Tomorrow is a wedding for a friend of mine that I went to college with. We had lost touch due to the fact that he never checks his email and that he changed accounts and doesn't tell anyone. So I called his parents for his number and got it. I called him up last week and we yapped for a bit. He told me that he was getting married next week and that he wanted me to come. So I had to quick buy stuff off the registry for him....thank God for Bed, Bath, & Beyond. So everything is bought and now I just have to get up there tomorrow....it's open bar, so that's a great motivating factor. That and I haven't seen him in almost 2 years. I really missed him too. He was a great friend. He was telling me that he wasn't like me, but we joked around a lot and he never really cared...it was just one more thing to ridicule me about. Ahhh, those were the days. He's a helicopter pilot for the army and he might go to the Middle East. What a drag.

Anyway, that's about all that's going on. Been shooting a lot of pool lately. It's cool though, I'm getting better. Those rail shots really trip me up though....still. After all these years, one would think that I have had enough practice to make those...apparently not. More practice is in order I suppose.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Jan. 22nd, 2005 @ 02:19 pm Um....
Okay, so I really thought that I had typed something up previous to my last entry....in fact I know that I did....odd that it doesn't show. So I have to go back and update prior to yesterday.

I took a co-worker of mine to Washington DC over MLK weekend. We had a great time! We stayed in the city one block away from DuPont Circle at the Westin Embassy Row. It was great fun. It was easy to walk everywhere that we went and close to a Metro station. We went to the World War II Memorial, The American History Museum (Smithsonian), The Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Mall. She was very overwhelmed at it all I think...I mean being from Wyoming and all...kidding. She was overwhelmed at the Holocaust Museum, as many usually are. It's one of my favorite museums because it's crowd controlled (only let a certain number start the exhibit at a time), the path is in chronological order, it hides none of the grotesque stuff, there are excellent interviews, and the presentation is just so emotional and intense. If you go, you have to get tickets in advance that will tell you what time you can start.....however, if you have a friend that's a Federal Cop that works early mornings, it helps! Thanks Mike!!! Back to the weekend....We hung out with friends at night and did dinner and a bar. Jamie was a bit unsure of being around 8 guys, but she had a blast. I warned her about the bar and how their drinks are made kind of strong compared to other bars, but she said that was okay....Jamie's my Jagger buddy.....she didn't care and got a little tipsy after about 4 and some shots of Jagger. Good times though, no doubt! Seeing Jason and Mike are always good times though....they're both fantastic friends and I love being around them. I wish that we lived closer actually......like 3.5 hours is that far away, but still.

On the way back, we stopped at Ikea. I needed some stuff and she had never been there. She loved it. Who doesn't? I mean after an hour, I'm ready to go...but their prices are great on accessory stuff. So I got some silverware, plates, lamps, hangers, and this cube-shaped thing that has several layers that are able to spin around this pole that's on one corner. It then lights up blue and it looks awesome. I think that I got some other stuff too, but I really can't remember. That place is just really easy to drop money because I think that the prices aren't that bad and I just start putting things into the cart. However, this time I thought that I had mentally placed all these items in the house instead of figuring out where they go after I buy them like normal. So I spent less than I have in the past because I couldn't think of anywhere to put some of the things that I saw.

Okay....semi-political rant: If you're going to live in this country and work where the general public comes...especially if you're working where people have frequent contact, SPEAK ENGLISH!!!! There was this print at Ikea that I saw and I went to a guy that was standing at a computer station for employees and asked him where it was located, and said in very broken english, "I don't know." So I started looking for it myself and he must have had a lightbulb go off in his head or something because he started looking for it....assumedly....but he was looking in the place I had just looked myself. Irritating. At least he helped me look....sort of....unlike some people....AKA lazy-ass Wal-Mart employees!!

It was a great trip overall though. If the entry that I thought I had already done appears.....sorry, you'll get pretty much the same thing. Have a good day!
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Jan. 21st, 2005 @ 10:59 pm TGIF
Thank God Friday has arrived and marks an end to the week. I'm very much ready to start next week! It's exam week, so Monday through Thursday are half days when I put them on the bus at 10:30 and then it's a teacher workday on Friday. How great is that?! Very cool indeed. Today actually went well. My assistant has been sick for the last two days. Dear God I can't wait until she comes back! The two subs that I had weren't bad, but of course we didn't work as well together. It became a one person show unfortunately. Anyway, I'm looking forward to lunch at PF Changs, California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory, Bravo, and Red Star Tavern. One per day and of course Cold Stone at the end of each. The gym will be hit on a regular basis each day that week, but I don't even care.

This weekend we're supposed to get snow or something....I don't care as long as there is school on Monday so we don't make any more days up. I'm trying to find somewhere to go for Spring Break, so I don't want to have to do anything that screws that up. I'm thinking of Denver, which I know is going in the wrong direction traditionally, but I really like it out there. Hawaii would be really cool too though, we'll see.

For the music people out there....there is an artist named LaShell Griffin. I heard her on the local R&B station out here. Her song on the radio now is called "Free." It's fantastic! She just has the terrific black female power vocals. It's a great little slower song. Love that stuff! Oh, and kudos for one of my kids singing "It's Not Right, But It's Okay" by Whitney Houston when that came on the radio. Since today was Friday, we play some great music the guys can dance around to...and boy they love the new Destiny's Child stuff! They were all over the place. It was hilarious to watch. We normally listen to the R&B station because it's really chill music and they really like it....that and I'm a huge R&B fan. I love that smooth sound....Brian McKnight, Luther Vandross, Toni Braxton, Sade, etc.

I'm also selling my laptop. I really want to start messin' around with a Mac Powerbook. They're kind of costly, but you can do some really cool stuff with it, especially graphically. Plus, I really want to start playin' around with my keyboard again and I can hook it up to that thing and let it rip. I think that it would be cool. My friend has a powerbook and loves it. I play with his every time I see him....albeit it's rare since he's in Philly....miss ya Josh!!

Anyway, that's it for now. Have a good day!
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Jan. 2nd, 2005 @ 02:44 pm Brief Shout Out
I would like to thank big Jason for the previous entry....cool test.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Jan. 2nd, 2005 @ 02:41 pm What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?


Your Dominant Intelligence is Interpersonal Intelligence



You shine in your ability to realate to and understand others.
Good at seeing others' points of view, you get how people think and feel.
You have an uncanny ability to sense true feelings, intentions, and motivations.
A natural born leader, you are great at teaching and mediating conflict.

You would make a good counselor, salesperson, politician, or business person.


About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Jan. 1st, 2005 @ 01:22 pm Happy New Year!!
Happy New Year to all of you! I hope that you had a safe and enjoyable time. I did nothing for the celebration...haha. We went to have ribs for dinner and then came home, watched some CSI and Will & Grace, and then went to be at about 11 pm. I couldn't stay awake. I know this sounds really bah humbug, but I figured that I could catch the rerun on MTV of their party....which I did at 7 this morning. Anyway, have a great new year!!
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Dec. 30th, 2004 @ 10:08 pm Long Update
Okay, so I haven't done anything with this in a good long while! My apologies....it's been kinda busy. Let's see....where to start. Hopefully all of you had a great Christmas and will have a rockin' little New Year.

Anyway, work is going well. We had our first snow day the Monday before our winter break. It's a huge bummer because we were about ready to go on break and then had a day off which we have to make up. I hate makeup days. What a drag. Oh well, guess it's better than having several snow days like last year. We threw a big Christmas lunch party with the students and their parents. I got Farm Fresh to donate some money and a cake. So we had chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, drinks, rolls, pancid, lumpia, sweet rice, chips, pretzels, pies, a cake, and it was great! The guys had a great time and their parents were really pleased to see the socialization process with their kids. We have a student that doesn't like music and would always run into the bathroom and shut the door. Now, he will at least dance a little with other people and won't go to the bathroom. It's nice progress to see. His dad was just grinning ear to ear. It was a really good feeling to see that. i got them all Christmas gifts, and it was cool to see them unwrap the stuff and then smile big smiles.

So Christmas break is good. I went down to have Christmas with my family. It was fun. On the way back, we hit a huge snowstorm and there was only one lane of road open at points. Interstate 95 South was a parking lot with around a 4 hour delay give or take a few hours depending on the accidents on how fast they were cleared. It was a mess. I did enjoy the snow. We went out and bought snow shovels and shoveled the driveway and sidewalks. It brought back memories of Milwaukee. After an hour and a half of shoveling, my back reminded me of why I hated shoveling and the fact that I'm glad we don't have to do it very often. It was really cool going down the road though and seeing lines of trees covered in white snow. Then, every so often you'd see a car or four or five in the middle of the road or off to the side that either veered off the road, spun out, or flipped somehow. People amaze me at the high level of stupidity. The drive home actually only took an hour longer than normal. I'm very glad that we hit the snow on the last quarter of the drive. I couldn't imagine doing that the entire way home. We'd probably still be on the road.

Not too much for New Year's giong on. I don't know why, but I don't know what to do. I was working last year and probably the last few years. I have no idea of what's going on other than peoples' parties. I guess we'll just do that. I don't really feel like dealing with the drunk people on the way home though, so who knows. I am sad that the break is coming to an end too. I really enjoyed my time off. I have some work to do here, but I haven't really gotten very far on it. Who knows, maybe I'll just let it go until we get back so I can truly enjoy the entire break.

Okay, time to go. Hope all is well wherever you are. Happy New Year!!
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Dec. 5th, 2004 @ 08:45 am Flyin....
Wow, time is really flying. If you think about it, wasn't it just 12 short months ago that you were thinkging, "Next Christmas, I'd really like to try this...." Well, now that time is here and you're probably not prepared for it. Or maybe you're one of those people that actually is organized enough to get it done.....you people can kiss my rear end....haha. Anyway, I can't believe it's already the end of the year. With starting to teach and all, I really can't believe how fast things have gone by. It seems like just yesterday I was starting my first day. The weather hasn't really helped much either. It hasn't been that cold and there definitely has been no snow. Feels more like fall than winter.

Nothing much really going on. We aren't having a Christmas party this year. I wish we would, but I guess we're not quite ready and/or organized enough to do it. So next year we'll do it.....yeah, I'm planning for it now. No tree yet, but hopefully that will change today. I did buy a wreath from the Police Department where the money goes to cancer research. It's a really nice big one too. I left it in the back of my car so my car will smell like pine.

Last night Jamie, Vicki, and I went out to AJ Gators, a sports bar. We had a really good time there. Vicki just got her boobs done....nothing tacky. She actually looks really good now. Well, tons of guys were coming up offering to buy us drinks....yes I said us.....and sat down and yapped for a while. One guy wanted us to come up and sing with him when kareoke was going on. We very politely declined. There is nothing funnier that watching drunk people do kareoke....however I enjoy laughing at other people, not having other people laugh at me. Therefore, my happy ass stayed firmly planted on the bar stool. If I got up it was to go to the bathroom.

I think today I'll try to get some work done for school. This Friday is the last day of class for me. Thank God I don't have to listen to her windbag self. She asked everyone to fill out an online evaluation and I just tore her a new one. I felt really bad. However, it was the biggest waste of time and I think that everyone else in the class did the same thing pretty much. Hopefully, this is the last time I have to see her. However, she does have one comp question, so I guess I'll have to talk with her later to see what she wants for it.

Anyway, that's about it. Have a good week.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Nov. 29th, 2004 @ 09:20 pm Back Into the Swing of Things
Alright, so Thanksgiving was great. I took Jamie, a co-worker from Wyoming, over to Jimmie's family's house for Thanksgiving. She had a great time and learned some "Southern." She found out by saying, "That's Nice" (and really drawing out the "I" in "nice") that you're essentially telling the other person to "F" off and you don't really care what they're saying. Otherwise, it was a good time.

I did go out on "Black Friday" with no success. We went to Office Depot only to discover they were out of what we wanted and then to Best Buy only to remain in line for 3 minutes before casually putting down the items and walking out the door. The entire store was full of lines for one thing or another. I gave up and we went down to my parents' house. We had a good time. We actually did some shopping down there in Winston-Salem and Greensboro with very few crowds and still some good deals. I go to meet my new niece and that was fun. We had a good time down there.

Jimmie bought a GPS system for his parents. So of course he had to "test" it on the way back in order to explain it to his non-technologically advanced parents. It was cool. It could tell the average speed, the average moving speed, the total stop time, total time, highest speed, location, temperature, etc. My highest speed was 97.6....which you may think is overly fast, but I kid you not when I say people were still passing us like we were standing still. For the record, that speed was posted passing someone. We saw 19 troopers on the way home. It's a record. Usually in NC we don't see any at all and then a few on 58 on the way home.

Today was the first day back to work from the holiday break. Man oh man, I hate breaks simply because the behavior is awful when they get back. I was ready to just go outside and have them run around the track all day. Needless to say, it was a rough day. However, I think that I'm glad that I decided to teach summer school because I came back and couldn't get into it right away, and this was only a 4 day break. Imagine if I had the whole summer off, I'd sink in the fall. Only 3 more weeks of school until the next break. And the week of the break, I have field trips planned all day long. There will be zero instruction. They will come in, eat breakfast, go somewhere, do something, come back, and then get on the bus!

Hope everyone had a good holiday. Write more soon.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Nov. 24th, 2004 @ 05:48 pm Ouch
Well, thank God this week is over in terms of work. It's been a rough week. There is a kid in another class that I've been sitting with for the last three days because when he acts out and has a behavior, it's self-abusive. He punches himself in the head and slams his head into his shoulder. The right side of his face is bruised, his right hand is swollen and purple, and his right shoulder is bruised. Ouch. Today, inbetween the headbangs to the shoulder, he said that his ear hurt. All I could say was, "You think? Maybe you shouldn't slam your head into your shoulder." Apparently he didn't like that answer because he just did it some more. If I was doing all that, I would really hurt and need a ton of Alleve or something. Apparently, this is an ongoing behavior. I feel sooooo bad for him because he's really a great kid. There's really nothing that sets the behavior off. It has occurred under many different circumstances, on different days, at different times of the day, with different people, in both large and small groups, during different activities, during different conversation, and in various weather and locations. I feel so helpless because we can't think of anything that can help to reduce this behavior. So all we can do is sit there with him. He asks us to hold his hands so we do, but also so he can't hit himself, but he still has range of motion with his neck. We're getting one of those U-shape pillows like you see people on airplanes use so the range of motion is limited and it's something soft to slam against. Right now we're using a folded up sweatshirt. Ugh, what a day.

Otherwise, the week was okay. Tuesday dragged on and on. Maybe it was because I knew that we only had a half day on Wednesday. We made pigs in a blanket today. Then they ate brownies, chips, cookies, etc. I really didn't care about the sugar and all. It was a special little party and they were going on the bus anyway. Most of them won't wig out with the sugar anyway, just one. Besides, one girl in my class requested cupcakes, cookies, drinks, and dancing. So that's what we did. Thank God Thanksgiving is over. All she says is Turkey. Now that Christmas is coming, she started to say "Christmas." Geez, why do people rush Christmas when we haven't even hit Thanksgiving?!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and if you're traveling, stay safe! Have a good day....until next time.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Nov. 20th, 2004 @ 09:12 am Nothing In Particular
Well, I have used a second sick day at work unwillingly. However, I was feeling so bad and couldn't shake what I had. Finally went to the doctor and apparently I have a sinus infection. I have some drugs now and am feeling much better. The class overall is sick again too, so maybe it's a good thing that I took a sick day in order to just get better. I'm really bummed that I missed a Friday too only because those days are so slack. Oh well, at least I have a short week next week....only 2.5 days.

I haven't seen the Polar Express yet. I really want to see that on IMAX. They are showing it at the Air and Space museum, so that should be really cool. I haven't seen a real movie on IMAX before, only the ones that are supposedly made just for that type of theater. It should be a lot of fun.

My week was a bit rough. All the rooms were off the chain. Behaviors were abundant and so was yelling, hitting, biting, kicking, headbutting, etc. I'm glad the week is over. People said that it had something to do with a full moon and that other special education rooms were having a rough week too. I don't know what was going on, but until I hear something else that can bring it all together, I'll buy the moon thing. Thank God Thanksgiving is coming up.

My neighbors across the street are moving. Yay! There was a family in there before, the original homeowners, but then they got divorced and this other couple bought it. They have 2 or 3 kids I think. He's a manager for Dick's Sporting Goods. I hate Dick's. So naturally, I hated this guy too, right? No, it wasn't because of that. It was because he is an ass. Very into himself, not very friendly, and seems to think that people should be beneath him. Needless to say, don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

Anyway, that's about it for now. More to come later.....have a good day.
About this Entry
Soccerball
Leave a comment
Permanent Link