Previous week wrap-up. Well, I made it to another weekend. Exhausted. Tired. And as disorganized as ever. Today (as usually), I did not do much of anything. I was just too tired. I spent about 5 hours online this morning surfing and chatting on the internet, after that I went to bed to sleep. A very nice day wasted. I woke up about 4pm. I ate about 4 oatmeal cookies, a cup of apple sauce, and a glass of milk. Strange. When I write this it sounds like I eat so healthily, but I don’t. After eating the oatmeal cookies and washing the dishes, I realized that I should cook the porkchops that have been in the fridge for about a week. I had cup of Success Rice (one minute in a microwave), and frozen vegetables. On Thursday evening, I ate some Chinese takeout (beef with broccoli) that “did not agree with me”…I ended up paying for it on Friday. Friday was the first time in a long time, where I required an “emergency” bathroom break. I am trying to be as vague as possible; I hope you are not eating as you are reading this.

Well, time to change the subject. So, what have I been up to the past work week that had me too stressed to exercise or do much of anything. E-CLAS. E-CLAS is an assessment test for grades K through 3rd. I teach 3rd grade. It was a bit of a hassle, but in the end, I think the test is nice. I could do a whole blog entry on the difficulties and disorganization, but I won’t. I’ll just summarize. I got the test completed and results submitted, despite several students not having completed tests from their previous teacher (even the trainer who trained me in administering the tests missed several students. I wished I had a better idea of the test at the beginning of the school year. I will definitely be using the test results for my students next school year. The test is done twice a school year (October and May).

Also, this morning (during my internet surfing), I visited the website of the intervention reading program we use in our school. I downloaded several diagnostic reports that a very insightful and I think very useful. I wished my school had explained it better than the “our way or the highway/get it done/there is financial incentives (for the school)” attitude. Anyway, the reading program has reports that shows individual students progress in reading. And for the 7 or 8 parents that don’t speak English, there is a Spanish version of the parent’s letter. Nice.

Well, my TV program “Are You Being Served” is about to come on. I will have to continue this later.

I’m back. Well, it is getting late. Since I have not posted for about a week, I will just summarize last week before calling it a night.

Sunday (May 7, 2007)
I did my laundry. I went to pick up my new eyeglasses. My old ones were about 6 years old. I knew I needed new eyeglasses because I was squinting with them on. I picked up my eyeglasses about 4pm. I was happy to get them. Although the service was not bad, it was not great. The guy checked to make sure the transition lens were working, but after he checked them, he put them in the case as if I was ordering something from off the shelf. Have things really changed in 6 years? Is it just my imagination? I was expecting the guy to have me try them on to make sure they fit okay. I told the guy that I wanted to wear them. I noticed they (the eyeglasses) seemed crooked, but I thought it was just my imagination from having worn my old eyeglasses for about a week after, which were crooked from me falling asleep on them. I wore the new eyeglasses out, and I was happy with them. It was nice to have a sharp focus again. It was like looking at a High Def TV after spending a long time looking at broadcast TV. From the eyeglass store, I decided to go to the book store. I finished reading “Inkspell”by Cornelia Funke. She has a crappy (extremely) over the top website, but I really enjoyed her book.

I usually go to Target in the Bronx, but Target doesn’t really have a large selection. I was also tired of hanging out in the “young adult” book section. I always did feel a bit strange being almost 40 standing around the aisle that has the same books as my 9 year old students read. I decided to go to a real bookstore, rather than just being a cheapskate looking for discounted books. I had no idea where the nearest bookstore was, so I relied on my old strategy. Walk straight along a major avenue. I was on Broadway in midtown Manhattan. It took me about 10 blocks, but I found a Barns & Nobles bookstore. I headed straight for the fiction section. After browsing the aisle for about an hour, I settled for 3 books:

Dragon Champion by E. E. Knight
Red Lightening by John Varley, and
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

I was thinking of getting the combined (single-bound) book of the Shannara trilogy. According to the book it was a New York Times best seller. I changed my mind though. One, the price. At $35 dollars, I was being a bit of a cheapskate. Two, the size and weight of the book was a bit…no...very intimidating. Book One (the book I bought) has 725 pages. Each volume is about the same size. The single-bound book is about 2,000 pages. To be honest, I am only a relatively new reader. I’ve only been reading novels about for about a year. I mostly read on the train to help pass the time. Anyway, I settled for the 3 choices mentioned above. I wanted a little variety (within the world of fiction). The first one is a dragon story. I was motivated to read another dragon character book because of the “Eragon” series. The second choice was to have a break from the sword and sorcery type, it was a sci-fi space story. My last choice was just out of curiosity, if it is good, then I will get the other two in the trilogy.

Monday, May 7, 2007
I had a day with my new glasses. Almost no one noticed. Maybe 2 or 3 of my students noticed my new glasses. That was a bit depressing. No one (except two of my students) said anything, or gave me a second look. Between my headcold and my new eyeglasses, I had a major headache. I was out of the school about 5:07. I returned home about 6:30. I made macaroni & cheese (from the box), and baked chicken. I fell asleep soon after. I woke up about 2am to do lesson planning.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007
I was planning to leave school at 4pm. But the daily bulletin mention that the PTA was having a meeting. I thought I would attend. I thought the principal would maybe provide more information on her choice for the new reorganization that will be in effect next school year. Here in New York City, the Board of Education is turning over more power to school principals in return for more accountability. Long story short. The meeting was a total waste on several levels. Again, I could do a whole blog entry on just that “meeting”, but I won’t.
Well, I think I’ve written enough this evening. I need to go to bed. I hope I will be productive tomorrow.

Post Date - Sunday, May 13, 2007 12:24am