Procrastinating as usual. I just finish making my U-Haul reservations online. While Mr. 40+ has his stereo on high. Oh, I will be soo glad when I am out of here. Anyway, I have received the rental confirmation. If everything goes well, I will sign my apartment lease on Saturday, October 28th. I will return to the shoebox, pack the few things I have (including dismantling the futon). On Sunday, Pick up the U-Haul rental truck (and dolly). I should be finish in about 3 hours...I'm guessing.

I just left a message for my foster father's lady friend's son. I am offering him $100 dollars to help me move. If I don't get a reply:

2nd option = Call my foster brother's son (same offer), or

3rd. option = go online to a "hired hand" link I found on the U-Haul page. There, it will cost about $100 dollars to rent one person to help me move. The cheapest offer was for one person $20 flat travel fee + $30 per hour.

I did a Yahoo Map search to check the travel distances. From shoebox to the rental office is about 2 minutes by car. From shoebox to my new apartment (I love saying that) it is about 13 minutes by car.

What do I need to move? One TV, Futon, TV stand microwave, clothes, a few school supplies/materials, A couple of miscellaneous boxes. Single servings amount of kitchen supplies (one box). Just a few things that came to mind.

A Saturday walk. I had a meeting with someone who answered my casual friend personal ad. The plan was to meet on 14th street at 1pm for lunch in a diner. The first diner had a waiting line that was almost out the door, so we went to another diner. I had a basic hamburger with onion rings and hot tea. The ad responder had a hamburger with fries and a Coke.

After lunch, we walked around the Village for a while. At about four, I walked my ad friend to the bus stop. After he got on the bus, I decided to walk across the Williamsburg Bridge since I was in the neighborhood. To me, the Williamsburg Bridge had some of the qualities of both the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge.

At the end of the Williamsburg Bridge, I followed the bridge to the nearest train station (the J train). I transferred to the F train and then to the D train. On the D train, I met a parent of a former student (7 or 8 years ago).

Back in the Bronx, I decided to go to Target to get another book. I finished part 2 of the Bartimaeus Triogy. I was planning to get the final part. The final part is still in hardcover, so I debated with myself whether to get part 3 or buy the adult edition of the Chronicals of Narnia. While I was standing there, a woman recommend another book that I was not planning on buying. For the glowing review she gave it, I decided to buy ERAGON by Christopher Paolini. I also bought the Fantastic Four DVD. My plan was to watch the DVD, but I was too tired.

I rode the bus back up the hill. On my way back to my shoebox, I stopped of to buy some beef with broccoli. Having just finished eating, I am now writing this blog entry, trying to not fall asleep.

Tomorrow, I will try to rent a U-Haul for my big move to independence next weekend.

I made it to another weekend. Today was basically no different than any other day. I left the school about 7pm. On my way to my shoebox, I picked up some Chinese take out. After eating, I promptly fell asleep.

My plan is to sign my new lease on Saturday (next weekend), and move my things on Sunday.

As the Pointer Sister's song goes, "I'm soo excited"!!!!

Good News!!!

I sign the lease for my...did I say my apartment. Happy? Yes, I am very happy. I plan to sign the lease next Saturday, and move my few things on Sunday.

Today was Principal for a Day. The guy who came in second place on the Reality Show "The Apprentice" was our principal for the day. Apparently, he's adopted the school.

It is late so, I will need to end this entry now.

This Saturday, I will be meeting someone who answered my ad in the casual friend personals.

A light at the end of the tunnel. Today was my stress day. For some reason, my students are usually off the wall on Wednesdays. Today, almost 2 months into the school year, the prep schedule was finally done. I liked the temporary schedule much better. My class had gym every day. The new schedule? My class will have gym once a week, Science 3 times per week, and Social Studies once.

I left the school building at 7pm. I stopped off at KFC to buy dinner. I have a stack of school-wide practice test, so I brought takeout to avoid washing dishes.

When I returned to my shoebox/cell, I received a message "in regards to Lease Signing. That can only mean one thing...I hope.

I just finished an hour composing an e-mail to a parent whose son was complaining that he wanted his seat moved.

I returned to my shoebox/cell after a long day of yelling and screaming. I arrived at the front door only to find Mr. 40+ blasting his stereo for the last two hours. He stopped at about 10pm. I now have a head-splitting headache.

I ate my leftovers of Mac & Cheese, barbeque chicken, and spinach.

Today was day two of the new planner in me. I managed to plan my lessons for tomorrow. I even left my planbook (on purpose) at school. Unfortunately, I am still having trouble leaving the building at a normal hour. Today I was out of the school at 6:30 (arriving at my shoebox/cell) around 7:30pm. I also started returning the textbooks that I had brought from school so that I could do lesson planning over the weekend. This morning, I had to carry a small shopping cart full of books 7 minutes up-hill to the train station, up and down subway station stairs. Tomorrow, I have about 10 more textbooks to bring to school. The real challenge will be on Friday, to see if I can plan for the whole week.

Not much to write about.

My school had a faculty conference yesterday after school (every first Monday of the month).
Yesterday, after school, I went to Staples here in the Bronx to by more supplies for my students. I spent about $57.00.

Today, after school, I went to the 99 cents store. I bought a few more items for my students. Screws for the manual pencil sharpener the assistant principal gave me. I like the old fashioned (manual) crank pencil sharpener.

Well, I am starting to yawn and fall asleep while I type this.

Until next time…

Hello. I just finished typing up my homework sheet for next week. Well, today was a bit more productive. After laying in bed for most of the day, I finally got the strength (and the will) to get up. I went to the laundromat. I went shopping while my clothes were washing. Upon returning to move my clothes from washer to dryer, I walked in to the laundress saying "sorry papi". Apparently someone left red lipstick in the dryer. There were red stains all over my clothes. I should have been very angry, but I wasn't. The laundress offered to rewash the clothes. While the clothes were being rewashed, I walked up to the Citibank on Fordam to deposit my future deposit on a new apartment (I hope). After picking up my red dotted clothes, I returned to my shoebox/cell. I really wanted this to be the beginning of a new (better organized) week. I cooked dinner (Mac & Cheese in a box), BBQ chicken, and spinach). I did my lesson plans for tomorrow and my homework sheet. I did not make the job chart for my classroom, but I did type up the labels for my students work folders. Long story, teachers are "encouraged" to have folders for each student for each subject area.

I decided that starting tomorrow, I would no long bring the 25 to 30 pounds of teacher textbooks back and forth between home and school. From now on I will plan my lessons after school for the next day, or plan little by little over the workweek for the following week. Tomorrow, I really want to get on my rowing machine.

Now, it showere time and then bedtime. If I am lucky, I'll be in bed by 1:40am. I'll be up by 6:00. While is a big improvement from the hours I been having the first few weeks of schools. There were times I was getting about 2 or 3 hours of sleep a night...each night. I hope to change that starting now.

Weekend Update. Yesterday, my great plan for a productive weekend went up in smoke (or should I say down in sleep). What did I do all day yesterday...sleep. My neighbors were going at it for most of the day...all day off and on yelling when happy, arguing, happy, then yelling again. My plan was to get some Chinese takeout (beef with broccoli), but I just was not in the mood. Everytime I would think about going, my neighors would start up again. So, I ended up staying in my pajamas all day, in my shoebox/cell. I ended up opening a can of Cambell's Chunky Soup with wheat toast.

This morning, I decided to make a healthy heartattack on a plate breakfast. I had 3 hashbrown patties, 4 Brown n Serve saugages, and half a cartoon of eggbeaters, a cup of yogurt, and a cup of pineapple desert, with a glass of water.

Now, to see how much I can do today.

Hello. Short and simple (I hope). Hopefully typing this while online will keep it short. On Friday, I had early dismissal from school, my plan was to get out by 4, but I ended up leaving at 6:18pm. I could go on about the usually nonsense, but I won't. Just reread a couple of previous blog entries and changed the dates.

Oh, the mayor came to my school on Thursday. Only a select group of classes were allowed to hear him speak. No, I was not invited. I did get a photo of him. Posting that photo will keep me online longer, so I am not going to post it.

Thursday evening, I returned to my shoebox with Screamer and her boyfriend yelling at each other. While they were yelling at each other I was in the hallway cleaning up the water that was coming from the utility room.

On Friday, I bought some (Americanized) Chinese takeout (fried chicken wings and shrimp fried rice). Coming in the front door (about 7pm) the property owner arrived at the same time (to collect rent from the other tenants). Although rent is collected every two weeks, I pay monthly. He told me that the apartment place I applied to had faxed him requesting information about my suitability as a tenant. That made me smile. After eating my takeout dinner, I decided to call it a night (about 10pm). Since school has started I have been overworking myself to the point of exhaustion. I need to make some changes, schoolwork should not be this hard. Last night was the first time is 5 or 6 weeks that I had a relatively nice sleep. I woke up around 6 this morning, the first time I was not tired.

My plan for today is to deposit my paycheck, do my laundry, a little shopping, lesson planning, grade a couple of assignments, and make a job chart for my classroom. I also want to get back on my rowing machine. Since school has started, I've only been on my rowing machine about two times. It is a sunny day, let me get going.

Hello. I'm back. Sorry for the delay. I've been inspired from reading another blog to get back into posting. So what have I been up to. I've been stressed out with the start of school (and my return to full-time teaching). I could go on and on about this, that and the other, but in order to keep this up, I have to keep my blog entries brief. Today, I went to look at an apartment in the place I used to live in (before I moved to Japan). At first they wa....sorry, I have to keep this short.

The apartment I applied for is a one bedroom for $925. I really didn't want to spend more than $800, but I got lazy about apartment hunting, and at the same time sick of living in this noisy shoebox (where used tampons are left on the floor, and roaches fall out of the cabinets when I open the cabinet doors). The apartment was totally renovated (new cabinets, new floors, and a fair nice (not great, but nice) view of the Hudson River.

It's late, gotta go....