Big and Tall

Today I went to a local mall. First stop was the movie theater to see of anything was playing. I was in luck, Ice Age 3 - Dawn of the Dinosaurs was showing within 5 minutes. The movie was cute, I enjoyed it. I also liked the theater being only about 1/4 full.

After the movie, I did a quick price check on portable DVD players. Then, to my surprise, the restaurant Panda Express was back!!! Well, the name was changed to China Max, but everything seemed the same. Same workers. Same food. The only change seemed to be a more of a fast-foodish look with the display menus.

After lunch, I went clothes shopping at JCPenny. After about 45 minutes of trying to find something I could wear, I was about to call it quits with a pair of shorts and a single shirt. Then, on the way out I discovered their "Big and Tall" section. I've never needed this section before. Oh, for those of you who don't know me....I'm not tall. After my vacation, I'm really going to have to start exercising. I left about $98 poorer. The damages:

1 belt
2 shorts
2 short-sleeved shirts
2 Tee-shirts
I was going to buy my underclothing here, but came to my senses. I knew Target would be much cheaper.

Next stop was Target. I finished with a $267.65 hole in my pocket. My list:

1 pack of undershirts
2 pack of underclothes
1 pack of socks
1 Sony DVD portable player
1 3Yr. service plan for DVD player
5 DVDs
- Epic Movie
- Disaster Movie
- Eragon
- Spiderman 3
- Jumper

Back home, I ordered Chinese takeout for dinner (Beef with Broccoli). Now, I'm about to call it a night.

Oh, the Amazon company called me to tell me that the man purse would not be available until the end of July, so I had them cancel the order. I might go shopping downtown on Wednesday for a new backpack. As for my sneakers, I don't think they stink, so I'll be keeping them a bit longer.


Post Date - Monday, July 13, 2009 11:36PM

A Quick Bit

This has to be very quick. Today was a good day. It has been a very long time since I remember having a good day (not due to being on a field trip). Anyway my day ended with me smiling -- Except when Ms. Across the Hall on her way out the building told me that she lost my umbrella. Another piece of good today was Admin 2 approving of all my trips. Combined with trips already planned, 3rd grade classes will be going on about 9 field trips. I wanted to have at least a trip per week.

Anyway, back to my quick summary. I was out of the building about 4:30pm. The weather here was great! I arrived home about 5:30pm. I ate a Healthy Choice meal then went to do my laundry. I was expecting the laundry room to be empty, but I was wrong. A couple of ladies also had the same idea. And apparently also allowed their weekends to go with the laundry piling up. While my clothes were being washed, I started cleaning up my apartment. I started with the recyclables that have been piling up in the kitchen. I had about 8 empty 1 gal milk containers. Since I drink about 1 gal per week, I guess you can get a good idea of the last time I dumped the recyclables (that includes newspapers, and cardboard from cereal boxes). I was thinking about taking a picture, but I came to my senses. I also finally got rid of my old printer and a 30 gal bag almost full of shredded paper. Finally, I cleared out the hallway of my apartment; I've had books and papers piled there for the longest time. Now for the first time in a very long time, I can walk the hallway without stepping on or over school materials. I have a bad habit of lugging tons of stuff home only to drop it at the front door and not touch it again. After dumping the bags of trash. I decided to take a bath. Another rare thing. After cleaning the tub and filling it, I decided to wash the dishes that have also been sitting around for the longest time as well. I soaked in the tub for almost an hour (mainly due to reading a few chapters of Sword of Truth Book 3 - Blood of the Fold.). I watched the 11PM newscast.

Well, that was my day. Oh, did I mentioned it started with only 4 hours of sleep. However, for some strange reason, I wasn't tired at all today.

I hope tomorrow is another good day.

Oh, and while I was cleaning, I found my prelabeled 1040EZ tax forms which I would have swore I never received.
Post Date - Tuesday, April 28, 2009 12:57AM

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Well, I started the week with a relapse. I left the school building about 5:45PM. The past weekend was another bust. I didn't do any planning, so today was hectic mostly of my own creation. Mostly. I was in bed at about 1AM and up at about 6AM. My students were in a very hyper state. Luckily, I sent off a couple of emails to a couple of parents of my more hypers , so they were not the leaders this time around. I got caught up with speaking with a parent about her son. Then another conversation with a colleague. Also, I heated up the school lunch that I didn't have time to eat during lunch. I used my preparation period to get my homework sheet started, however, most of my preparation period was wasted doing what I call "babysitting duty". I had to use my lunch time to finish up my homework sheet.

After work, I stopped by a Target store. I wanted a new flash drive for my keychain, but Target wasn't selling the kind I wanted. I also bought a pair of slacks for work.

When I got home I had a Healthy Choice microwavable dinner. I ment to call a couple of parents, but once online, time just flew by. It is now almost 9PM. I think it is too late to call a parent complaining about their child's behavior. But, I will send a couple of emails. I will try to aim for between a 10:30PM and 11PM bedtime. That is another thing I will have to work on, getting a regular sleep routine. Well, I better go. I have to send a couple of emails to parents -- Yes, complaining about their child's behavior.


Post Date - Monday, March 30, 2009 9:01PM

Boxing Lesson - Day 1

Today was the day I would be changing my life...I hope. My plan was to sign up for and start my private boxing lessons.

My day started about 10am. I had a couple of bowls of cold cereal. Because of the 7 mile walk, I was tired when I woke up. However, I did manage to eventually get out of bed. My plan was to leave my apartment about 2:30pm. Leaving at that time would allow me to stop off at a sporting goods store that specialized in boxing equipment. I also wanted to stop off at an electronic store in the area to buy another cell phone. I can't find my cell phone.

Anyway, I ended up missing the 2:30pm MN train, but I wasn't worried since I had so much time. I took the Westchester bus down to NYC. I arrived at the sports store about 4:15pm. Wow, so much for early start. Anyway, I bought the following things:

Boxing shoes ($50)
Hand wraps ($5)
Boxing gloves ($50)
A stopwatch ($15)

With tax the total came up to $130.05. What about the boxing gloves I bought on Saturday. Those were made of plastic. I was told that the boxing gloves sold in the chain stores were cheap gloves not really designed for hitting the punching bags. So, I'll take the cheap gloves back some time this week.

Anyway, by the time I finished in the store, it was about 4:45pm. I took the train back to midtown Manhattan. When I got out of the station, I was feeling, hot and weak (mostly due to not eating lunch). I stopped off at MacDonald's. I ordered a Big Mac and a medium orange juice.

I arrived at the gym at about 5:50pm. I was having second thoughts about starting today, and when I entered the gym, the thought lingered:

There was no paperwork to fill out.
The locker area was very small crammed with too many lockers for the space.
The shower area only had two working showers
My "trainer" knew boxing, but I don't think he really knew how to teach it.

They say that doctors make the worst patients, I would like to say that teachers probably make the worst students. As the guy was "teaching me", I kept saying to myself that that isn't how I would teach this...knowing full well I don't know squat about boxing.

The Paperwork
Well, as I mentioned there was no paperwork. The lady who took my money, just verbally spoke about the days my private lessons would occur. When I mentioned that I needed to write the days down so I wouldn't forget, she offered to scribble it on the receipt she gave me. Then when the trainers changed, the days change also. I think my days will be M, T, W, and Thurs.

The Private Lesson
So what did I get for the my $280. The guy (I forgot his name) had me standing in front of the mirror with the same foot stance practicing various basic punches. Over the years, I've gone through great lengths to avoid mirrors like the plague, but there I was standing in front of the mirror for all to see...the Pillsbury Doughboy's black cousin from out of town trying to look tough....throwing limp-wristed punches into thin air. I did that for about 30 minutes on a "boxer's schedule" (meaning working out for 3 minutes with one minute break). No warm up, no stretching, just the same stance (right foot in front of the left, boxer's crouch, arms up). The guy wanted a different punch combination for each set, but the stance stayed the same. After thirty minutes, the guy put me on the treadmill. He told me to "walk a little and run a little for 30 minutes", then he went to train someone else. No warm up no stretching. When I finished "my walk", I told the guy I was finished. he said that tomorrow, I would do the same thing, but with gloves, he also said that he would teach me some exercises to deal with my gut, then he poked me in the stomach....

....And I giggled liked the Pillsbury Doughboy.

The Locker/Showers
The lockers are about 6inches wide, and of course, placed right next to each other. However, the aisles are only about 2 feet apart. Assuming the floor tiles are 1ft. squared (they could be smaller), the two aisles (there were only two) were two squares apart. The gym may have even used the floor tiles to do the spacing of the lockers.

The showers - Two toilets, but low on toilet paper. Four showers, but only two were operational. The showers in the corners were both disabled (the knobs and the shower heads were removed), so that only the two showers that are visable to the bathroom area were operational. Normally a jelly belly such as myself would shower in the corner, but that was not an option.

Well, so a less that positive experience. So, will I be back tomorrow? Yes. I've told myself that I am paying for the boxing lessons, that I would not get on my own. Having quit at so many things to list here, I really do need to make a change.

Pillsbury Doughboy's cousin does need to die -- no, I'm not being literal.

The place is not great. But at the very least, I should try to stick it out for a couple of months. Besides, when and if I quit, you (regular readers of this blog) know I'll be running for a pint of Haggen Daaz.

211bs / 32.2%BMI


Post Date - Sunday, August 31, 2008 11:35PM
Completion Date - Tuesday, August 5, 2008 1:03AM

A Lazy Day

Monday, July 21th
Lazy Day. Very simply, it was a very, very lazy day. I finally got out of bed about 1:30p.m. For breakfast, I had a glass of orange juice, a glass of water, and I had a Nature Valley Yogurt granola bar. Diet? No, just too lazy to prepare anything. I would have had a bowl (or two) of cold cereal, but I ran out of milk. After breakfast, I've been online since then. Now I will see if I can find something quick to zap for dinner. I'll probably also make a fruit smoothie with the leftover fruit (either a peach or mango smoothie.



Post Date - Friday, August 15, 2008 10:39PM
Completion Date - Monday, July 21, 2008 8:53PM

Smoothie 2

Monday, July 14th



The lazy days of summer are passing fairly quickly. Today was supposed to be the start of my get in shape goals of eating healthy and exercising. Well, I'm not ready yet. So, what did I do? I got up with the idea of not getting online, because when I get online, I usually don't do anything else. Today was no exception.

I started off making breakfast. As the hot water was boiling, I decided to make a fruit juice in the blender. I made the pear/celery juice from the juicing book I bought from B&N. However, a blender is not a juicing machine, so no matter how long I left the blender on, the concoction didn't liquefy. Basically, what I made was the consistency of apple sauce. The smell and taste still had me thinking of chewing (or in this case, slurping) green grass. After finishing the blending, I drank/ate one glass full, then save the other glassful for another time. After I finished washing the blender, I ate my hot oatmeal, and drank my hot green tea. Then, I decided to go online just briefly.

About three or four hours later, I started watching "Kung Fu Hustle on YouTube, but got tired of watching the movie piece by piece, so I logged offline and watched the DVD. I liked that movie, I discovered that they are planning to make a sequel, "Kung Fu Hustle 2" to come out in a couple of years. The delay is due to the guy who made the KFH movie is currently busy production the Dragon Ball Z movie.

After watching the KFH movie, I went to my foster father's place just to say hello. Although both he and his lady friend were fighting colds, he seemed to be in a good mood. After the visit, I went to the Korean Soul food restaurant to order dinner to go.

I will try getting started on the new routines tomorrow.


Post Date - Thursday, August 7, 2008 1:19PM
Completion Date - Tuesday, July 15, 2008 11:19PM

Jury Duty - Day 1

Monday, July 7, 2008
Today was day 1 of jury duty. I received my jury duty summons March 11th, but I postponed it until now. Several teachers that also received their summons served during the school year, but I didn't want to do jury duty during the school year. I'm one of those people who hates to take a day off of work.

Arrival time was 8:45a.m., however, I arrived at 8:30a.m. On the back of the summons, it gives the trains and buses that can be used to reach the courthouse, and will tell you which station/stop to get off, but beyond that, I was on my own. I got a bit confused and had to ask for directions, but I did arrived with time to spare. I even had time to take photo of the African Burial Site. I meant to return after jury duty, because it was closed when I walked passed this morning. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten.


Once I arrived in the courthouse, I went through the metal detector, an unfortunate sign of the times. To help pass the time, I brought a fell things. Those who have done jury duty know that it is mostly a lot of waiting. I had to leave my camera with the security guards, but I was allowed to bring my cell phone, mini TV, and radio with me. If my cell phone had a camera on it, I would have been allowed to keep it with me.

The juror's waiting room was on the 15th floor. Orientation was a 20 minute video and a Q&A. After that, it was about a 30 minute wait. Once the clerk received word that a trial was ready for jury selection, he had to send up a pool of potential jurors. The last time I had to do jury duty was over ten years ago, things changed a bit since then:

* We were told that if we did not get put on a jury, then we would be finished tomorrow. Last time, I was stuck in the waiting room for about 3 or 4 days.
* Now, the time between summons is about 4 years.
* The juror's waiting area is now internet ready with wireless connection.
* Judges and lawyers can now serve on jury duty (increasing the jury pool).
* Pay for jury duty is now $40 dollars per day for those not paid by employers. I don't remember what I received last time.
* According to the judge, jurors being sequestered is very rare.

After about 30 minutes of waiting, the clerk received an request to send up a pool of 70 potential jurors. To decide who went, each potential juror had a ballot part of his summons that was placed in a rotating type of barrel. The ballots were then taken out at random. And of course, I was included in the group.

The trial I was directed to was a trial between the People of New York and a young man (late teens or early twenties) accused of selling a small amount of crack cocaine. The judge introduced the participants. He even asked each one to stand and face the 70 jury pool members. The judge seemed just a bit nervous about addressing the crowded. He seemed to know his stuff, but just seemed a bit uneasy about addressing a large crowd. He apologized for the poor microphones several times, he sometimes picked at his fingers while he was addressing the crowd.**

** By the time this entry is posted, this trail will be over, so I think I can write about it.

First part was the selection process of the jury (12 jurors and 6 alternates), was a bit tedious. After the judge explained a bit about the case, and the responsibilities, sets of 12 potential jurors were placed in the juror's box. They same ballot box was used for the random selection. The judge asked a set of questions(the same exact question to each potential juror (the exact same questions), then the prosecutor asked questions, then the defense's attorney asked questions. Then, the process was repeated until the jury box was full. Luckily for me, I was in the first group of potential jurors. I was (tentative) jury number 12. In the room of 70 potential jurors, luckily, most of the participants seemed to be very nice and took their jury duty service very seriously. Only one guy seemed a bit hostile as he was asked questions. Although the selection process was random, the first (tentative) jury was an interesting group:

* The first row was almost entirely made up of actors, writers, or producers.
* The last two jurors were people of color (myself and a woman). And both of us were 3rd grade teachers.

So what happened when my turn came to answer the judge's questions(other than a lunch break)? Since I didn't live in Manhattan, I could not participate on the trial. Even though I work in the city, and almost all of my mail delivered to my foster father's place. And, I am still registered to vote in Manhattan, and my driver's license still has my old address. Even with all of that, I was told that I had to live in Manhattan. To be honest, I wasn't the least bit sad.

Sorry. I know jury duty is an important civic duty, but it is just sooo boring (lots of waiting time with the potential of getting stuck on a trial lasting several days if not weeks). Anyway, I was sent back to the juror's waiting area. I told the clerk in charge, but he told me to just stay and finish up my time rather than canceling the time I had already invested in today to be reassigned at another time. The clerk seemed like a nice easy-going guy.

Just when the jurors not chosen returned, the other third of the jury pool was about to be sent out, however, as soon as they left the waiting area, they were sent back because that trail was already resolved. At 3PM, the clerk said that usually if a jury selection hasn't started by 3PM, then jurors not chosen could leave. Another bit of good news was that we would not be needed for tomorrow's morning shift. Tomorrow, we won't have to be in the courthouse until 2:15PM because a new batch of potential jurors would be arriving tomorrow morning. However, the clerk did mentioned that if a trail was started in the afternoon, then we would be sent as the jury pool.

We were out by 3PM, so I decided to visit one of the gyms I searched online that had a boxing program. I mentioned (in a previous blog entry) about trying to visit one gym that was the closest to me, but the travel time too much(walking over a mountain to go workout). The gym I was visiting today was located near the train that I use travel to and from work. After some confusion with bad directional advice, I found the gym. A complete and utter waste of time.

I went to the gym to get prices for the group lessons or private lessons, but after wasting about a half an hour of my life, I got nothing. In the entrance way, there were no prices or brochures. One of the coaches took me into the office, and he talked my ears off, but gave me no useful information. No matter how much I tried to get a price, cost, or hours, the guy would go off on a tangent about this student or that student. He told me that he didn't discuss prices, the woman in charge of pricing did walk in, but she was busy and said that she would return in a few minutes, but she never did. The coach said he would give me a tour, but he never did. He just talked. He talked about the family atmosphere where kids can come and go. He talked about the open scheduling of the group and private lessons. But mostly, he just talked. A complete waste of time.

I attached a couple of photos I took of different courthouses in the area.


Post Date - Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:06AM
Completion Date - Tuesday, July 8, 2008 1:04AM

May 26th
The Memorial Day of a Hermit. Not much to write about so this should not take long. Today is Memorial Day, I spent it pretty much the same way I've done other day offs...I slept most of it away. While my bathwater was running, I got online telling myself that I would only stay online for a few minutes. About an hour later, I was still online when my epal called to say hello. After the phone call, I decided to get offline and get in the bath. After relaxing in the bath, I was back asleep in bed. At about 3PM, I decided to get up and do my lesson planning for this week. Since it was a four-day work week, with tomorrow being a trip day, I actually was able to complete most of my planning. It has been a long time since I've done a plan for the week. Lately, I've been so out of it, with one deadline overlapping another. And letting stress take over my apartment and my life. Anyway, I managed to do about 85% of my lesson plans. It isn't completed, but I still feel like I've accomplished something. If I am lucky, I will be able to fill in the gaps tomorrow. And if I am really lucky, I will be able to complete my lesson plans for next week by Friday. I would be really nice to leave school on Friday with no planning to do over the weekend. We'll see if I succeed.

After I was finished as much as I was going to do with my lesson plans, I did my laundry. Since I did not do my laundry last weekend, I had 4 loads to wash (two white loads and two color loads).

Now what I need to do is complete my homework sheet for this week. I already have a pretty good idea of the assignments with be, so I really don't think it will take long. My goal is to be in bed by 10:30PM or 11PM. Tomorrow, I want to catch my early train so that I can arrive in school about 7:15AM. I want to photocopy some assignments for those kids not going on the class trip tomorrow. I also want to make the copies for the homework assignments on the faculty copier instead of my personal copier. My ink is running low, so I ordered another cartridge from Staples online. I also ordered an electric pencil sharpener for myself. My students will still use the manual pencil sharpener. I like the manual sharpener for my students because it cuts down on playing with and around the pencil sharpener. However, I'm sick of the manual. I spent about $231 at Staples.com. I finally figured out how to do a hyper link.

Well, I better go. It is almost 10PM already.


Completion Date - Monday, May 26, 2008 9:51PM
Post Date - Wednesday, June 25, 2008 9:49PM

Monday, April 28th
First day back. about 2 hours before bad behavior returned. I was told that my kids were better behaved with the sub than they are with me. My students told me it was because the sub was mean. Translation? She did not take the nonsense(attitude and disrespect) that I put up with.
DQ argues with me over her wrong Math answer. She would rather argue than be quiet and let me explain how her answer was wrong.
Most of the teachers were out of the building about 3 or 3:30pm. First day back is a bit difficult when you were on vacation.
I was out of the building about 5:30. Stop at Target Store to buy a couple of white shirts, I damaged one in Baltimore. The hotel iron was too hot and burned my shirt.

I was home about 6:45PM. I made a quick trip to the laundromat to wash my new shirts. New shirt smell and sweat are not a good combination.

Since I went to bed last night at about 2AM, and was up at 6AM, I was tired. My plan was to go to bed early. However with the time now at 1:45AM, it looks like another repeat of old habits.

Completion Date - April 28, 2008 1:47AM
Post Date - Saturday, June 14, 2008 11:58PM

Monday, April 14th
A last minute thing..."as usual".
Taxi to work. Phone call from AP1 last minute Professional Development (writing) during prep period. One of the teachers who will be attending the Baltimore 2-day workshop found out that we would have to pay for our train ticket (and be reimbursed at a later date). Then, I went to find out if that also applied to the waterfront hotel we would be staying at. And yes, I was told that although the reservations were made, we would have to pay. When the other teacher and I balked, and the principal returned to the building, she allayed our fears and we were told that we would not have to spend any of our money for the train tickets and the hotel.

After lunch, Cackler's mother made a surprise visit. Another "I'm tougher than you are" show in front of the class. And again, no change.

I spent the afternoon and evening cleaning up my desk and teacher area. I left school about 8:15PM.

I stopped at Target with a plan to buy a digital camera. Would you believe the clerk told me that they only had one camera left (a $249) camera. I passed. Oh, and my doctor was on the train ride into the Bronx.

Completion Date - Tuesday, April 15, 2008 4:19AM
Post Date - Monday, May 26, 2008 9:18PM

Today started a bit rough, but later it turned out okay. My day started about 6:20AM. Another weekend with me waiting until the last...very last minute to try to throw together a lesson plan and homework sheet, but I just couldn't focus. So by 2AM, I gave up. I finally went to bed about 3:15AM. Since I was tired, I had to drag myself out of bed. I knew I would miss my regular train...again, so I had to take a taxi from the Bronx to work. That put me in a bad mood. Then, when my work day started, one of the 4th grade teachers didn't show up, so her class was broken up. That annoyed me. I know people have emergencies, and valid reasons for not coming to work. But, it seems like every other day someone is calling in sick and leaving kids with me. Anyway, I ended up with one the the most problemed kid. He wasted no time in spreading negativity and animosity. The first three periods was nothing but, "You stink", You stupid", and other thuggish behavior. From one table to the next. After the Literacy Block -- Since the 4th grade teacher was absent, I had to keep my kids who would normally go to her, and her "me, me" kid. But I got lucky, on the way from dropping off my class to the computer lab (the computer teacher was absent on Friday messing up my easy day). Anyway, AP1 was in the hallway, and took one look at me, and immediately asked what was wrong. At the time, she assumed that I was having a difficult day. She even offered to take the "me me" kid. I was now happy. Actually, I was just tired from having 3 hours of sleep. But the "me me" kid was just gasoline on the fire. After "me me" was gone, my day became "relatively speaking" better.

The rest of the day was okay. At 3 was the monthly faculty meeting. A couple of new assessment tests coming up means the literacy block would be canceled for two days (Wednesday and next Monday). The faculty meeting ended with a video summary of "the Spanish" teacher taking pictures of a conference (he and a few other teachers and administrators) attended in New Orleans and places they went to during the conference(including restaurants and stores). Since the faculty conference is (according to the teacher's contract) supposed to end at 4PM, teachers started leaving at 4PM, so the teacher turned off the video.

After the faculty conference, I took a plate of food that was offered to me to Ms. Across the Hall. The aunt of one of my students cooked some food for my student's brother's class, and that teacher sent me some of the food. I was happy to have the food, but she sent it via the brother who is a bit wild and disruptive (and who likes hanging around the halls). Let's just say that I got a bit paranoid, so I did not want the food. I offered the food to Ms. Across the Hall -- yes, I did explain my concerns about the food, but Ms. Across the Hall thought I was just being paranoid. I was glad she took the food, because I hate throwing away food. Good food at that!

Since it was my foster father's birthday -- he is now 74, but gets around like a 50 year old. His daily routines have barely changed. Amazing! Anyway, I wrapped his gift (a summer bathrobe, a couple of pajama pants, and under garments), and was out of the building by 5:45PM. I stopped off at the regional drug store/variety store chains to buy a card(I also added a $25 gift card to his card).

After my birthday greeting visit, I headed home picking up a dinner from the soul food restaurant owned by Koreans. Giving away that dinner to Ms. ATH gave me a taste for a soul food dinner.

I returned home about 8PM. After eating my dinner, I tired to do a blog entry, but I was out like a light in a matter of minutes. Luckily, today (it is now 5:31AM) is trip day (grades K~3 are going to the Bronx Zoo, and grades 4~6 are going to a musical performance.

Oh. Before I left the building, I asked the secretary("business manager") in charge of arranging the trip to Baltimore, if he could changed my return train ticket for a few days later. On top of having an ulterior motive for staying in Baltimore longer, I realized that this would be my best hope for doing something during the vacation time other than sitting home (and sleeping)waiting for the vacation to end and worrying about returning to school. So if the business manager can change the ticket (he said that he had to get the Principal's approval), I will stay in Baltimore for a few days doing touristy things.

Completion Date - Tuesday, April 8, 2008 5:42AM
Post Date - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 12:14AM

Monday, March 17th
Field trip to see a mini opera/dance performance at a local high school. Also, I received a new student today. Already my new student showed that she would "fit right in" with my other personalities. I assigned a photocopied reading assignment from a 3rd grade reproducible workbook, but she said that she couldn't read it. What bothered me was that the new student could not read the assignment, but was able to converse with those around her with absolute ease.

About the performance. It was nice, but way over my head. I did not understand most of what was going on.

Planned to leave the building at 4PM, but Teacher's Choice paperwork was due. NYC teachers in public schools receive $260 near the beginning of the school year to spend on classroom related materials. Then, around this time, we have to submit proof of materials purchased in the form of actual receipts. The total must equal the voucher allocation($260). Of the receipts I submitted, the total came to $726.93. Since we are (technically) required to bring (and keep) the listed materials in school, I did not include anything that I wanted to keep (or would be leaving with me when it came time to move on), so my submitted total was $487.60. Now, if I included the online orders, and the recent purchases, then I would have had to add another $200 dollars(approx.) to the total. If I included the expenses (this school year to date) for my personal copier, then I would have to add another $400 to the total. Oh, and if I included the miscellaneous (rewards, snacks etc...) tack on another $100 to date. The Grand total "out of pocket expenses" (to date) is about $1,140.

After finishing the paperwork and putting my classroom in order, I was out of the building about 5:30PM. I arrived home about 6:40PM. I had a Weight Watcher's meal, and then fell asleep on the couch. I woke up about 1AM to do my lesson planning, and then I remembered that teachers were suppose to submit a pacing calender for the month of March. Yes, we were told in the middle of March to create a pacing calendar for the month of March. I needed a break from thinking about school work, so I checked my email and did this blog entry. Now, I will type up my pacing calendar. My part of the 3rd grade curriculum was the Social Studies. However, I added the Science as well. I should be finished by 4AM.*

* However, I didn't finish until 5AM.


Completion Date - Tuesday, March 18, 2008 3:10AM
Post Date - Friday, April 25, 2008 11:46AM

Back to work. Today was okay. I was really trying to leave at 4PM or 4:30PM. Not much to write about. The kids seemed to be still in vacation mode, so I did not have a lot of disruptive behavior. Princess (the beads have returned) was up to her usual tricks, it was about 8:20AM when she started being disruptive. The day was fairly uneventful.

Oh, the second grade teacher across the hall had a bit of a "moment" in the hallway after school. She was feeling a bit overwhelmed that Admin was out to get her. I felt bad for her. When I first saw her (in September), I remember saying to myself that she had a very intimidating persona (about 5'10, full-figured, big voice, and a large tattoo on her chest). It was strange seeing that same person crying in the hallway upset and feeling that they(Admin) were out to get her. I didn't know what to do, so I just pretended to not see anything. She was talking to the union rep., so I thought the best thing to do was to keep walking.

The end of the work day. I was really aiming for 4PM, but I ended up leaving the building at 4:30PM. It was very nice to leave the building early for a change. I was back home about 5:30PM. I had a Weight Watcher's meal for dinner. Then, I read a couple of chapters of E.E. Knight's book, "Dragon Outcast". Now (nearing the end), it is getting more interesting(in a "I can't put it down" kind of way). I was a bit uncomfortable with the beginning premise, but I have been enjoying the book. Quick summary of the part that bothered me. A young dragon causes his family home to be invaded and his family butched, but the young dragon grows up to be a noble and successful dragon. I might be a bit old fashion but shouldn't the dragon pay for causing his family to be killed.

After reading a couple of chapters, I then read the daily newspaper. By 8PM, I was feeling tired, but I told myself that I really should get on my rowing machine. In order to make room, I shredded the junk mail documents that I had piled on th floor for the purpose of shredding. I finally got on my rowing machine about 9PM. I rowed for about 30 minutes. I was too tired to get in the shower, so I watched some TV before dozing off. Now, I have to shower, and call it a night. Hopefully, I will be able to leave the building early again today.


Post Date - Monday, February 15, 2008 1:20AM

President's Day
I did it again. I told myself that I would go online for just a minute, that was about 6 hours ago. Therefore, my apartment is still a pigsty.

Today was suppose to be my apartment cleaning day. I was up and out of bed about 9:30am. The weather report said that it might rain, so I decided to go food shopping. I also needed to buy some more of the big 30gal.(113L) trash bags. I took the the 10:30 (or 11:30, I don't remember) train to Yonkers. About an hour later, I was about $164 poorer. I bought the thickest bags that I could find, but the so-called "Hefty Ultra Flex" still look like the paper thin 99-cent store brands. I also bought organic 2%milk, wheatbread, 5 boxes of breakfast cereals (variations on fruit and wheat mixes), 3 boxes of variety pack of instant Cream of Wheat, 1 box of apple & cinnamon instant oatmeal, (about 10)Weight Watchers meals, 3 Lean Cuisine Panini sandwiches, Jell-O fruit cups, microwavable rice, a pack of boneless chicken breast, and I bought the ingredients needed for the sweet & sour chicken recipe on the Minute Made Rice box.

Once home, I had a can of low sodium chicken and rice soup and a Panini sandwich. After eating, I felt like sleeping, but instead, I decided to get on the computer for a minute, and...well, I'm still online.

One of my epals mentioned going to the movies. I'd mentioned that I was planning to go to Brooklyn to drop off some paperwork at the Board of Ed HQ. I also mentioned the Brooklyn Bridge (he's new to the city), so we will walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I spent a bit of online time trying to figure out movie place and times. Having the internet is an extreme time saver. It is getting hard to imagine life without it.

Tomorrow is supppose to be cooler. Today, minus the brief rain showers was a very, very nice weather day.

Well, I better go. Now, that I said that I would be dropping off some paperwork, I suppose I should actually fill out the papers. I've had these papers for over a year. Long story short, when you are hired by the Board of Ed., you are placed on a salary scale. You have to complete paperwork to be placed on the correct rung of the salary ladder. Depending on what the Board will accept, I am actually anywhere from 3 to 6 rungs off. Also, during the past summer having completed 9 education credits (P-credits), I am now at my bachelor degree+30 credits putting me on a different salary ladder. Since I am past (way, way past) the deadline, I won't qualify for retroactive pay. Meaning, I will only receive a salary increase from the date the paperwork is handed in. What I really need to do is go back for my Master's Degree. Originally, my plan was to become a guidance couselor, then an administrator, but considering that I am rapidly facing the big 4-0, I am going to skip the guidance couselor stage. Several people have told me that I would make a good guidance counselor because I have a lot of patience. But, having spent a few years on a career drift, I think I need to start setting some concrete goals.

More than I was planning to write. I better go. Until next time...


Post Date - Monday, February 18, 2008 7:30PM

I just left a comment about lesson plans, and I mentioned that I would post a photo of a page of my lesson planbook. That is the attached photo.

Today, I was not in a very good mood, the result was that the kids did not push my buttons as usual. When I'm in an evil mood, they kids seem to know...somewhat. Also, Cackler was absent. The day was okay. My plan was to really get out of the building by 4 or 4:30PM. However, you know me. Something always seems to throw me off. Today, it was the request for the Mid-Winter recess homework packet. Due tomorrow. This time, AP1 wants Math, Math, Math. Oh, and AP2 also made an annoucement, "effective immediately, Math is to be taught for three hours per day. Science and Social Studies lessons, must be (temporarily) replaced with Math.

Anyway, I spent about a half an hour going through my materials to find suitable math related assignments. Although AP1 asked for test prep material, I was in no mood to follow her advice to go online to search for Math Test Prep materials. I'm going to leave the Test Prep component to one of the other 3rd grade teachers.

I left the building about 5:10PM. I ended up arriving in the Bronx in enough time to see the MN train arrive at the MN station, just as my train was going over the bridge into the Bronx. I made a quick stop in the local drug store. I thought it would have been faster than going to Target, but I was wrong. This slow kid was moving slower than a slow turtle. He was moving very slow with a couple people on line, then, the kid just walked away. No annoucement, no nothing. I almost missed my MN train.

When I arrived home, I reheated leftover sphagetti. I also cooked a piece of defrosted steak. I was going to cook some Minute Rice, but I saw a receipe on the box that I would like to try. Sweet and Sour Chicken. The receipe stated that it only takes about 20 minutes to make. I'll post my results when I attempt to make it.

Well, I better go. I have another long day tomorrow. This morning, I almost caught an earlier train, but I missed it by about 1 minute. I will try again tomorrow. It is nice when I can arrived about 30 early. Until next time...


Post Date - Monday, February 11, 2008 9:15PM

One step foward. Two steps back. Today I was supposed to restart my New Year/New Me Resolutions, but, well, you know me by now. Promises. Promises. Delays. Delays. Procrastinating all the way.

I started off okay. I went to bed last night about 11pm (early for me). I was up about 6am. I managed to catch the earlier train allowing me to arrive in school about 7:15am. I made photocopying my homework sheet and assignments a high priority. The copy machine the faculty has access to (without putting in a requisition[and a long wait time]) is out of order, so I had to make all my copies on my personal machine. On Friday, Admin having cancelled the Literacy Block in favor of Math Preparation for most of the school, I just assumed that they would do the same today. No, I was wrong. Calling AP1 triggered an annoucement about the new cycle of the literacy program beginning today. Also, my prep coverage was absent) along with about 3 or 4 other teachers. So, I had no prep period. Luckily, my kids were not too hyper today.

I really wanted to be out of the building by 4:30pm. But, just my (regular) luck, the principal chose this time to do a faculty Professional Developement during the faculty conference time. And, instead of ending at the usual faculty conference time of 4:00pm, the Professional Developement ended at 4:30pm. I was out of the building about 5:45pm. I arrived in the Bronx about 6pm. I decided to go to the Target store to look at the digital dictionaries. I bought one ($29.99)for my foster father's lady friend(along with a $30 gift card to AMC movie theaters). Now, I want one.

Oh, that reminds me. I stopped reading "A Storm of Swords" by George R.R. Martin some time in December. Once the new year started, I just hadn't felt like picking up that book again. I might return to it at another time. So now I am reading Book 3 of The Age of Fire "Dragon Outcast". I'm on page 96 (of 350 pages)at the moment. Next up, I think I will read the Golden Compass trilogy. I think I will save the finally Harry Potter book for jury duty. I received my notice in the mail, but I deferred serving until the summer.

I better go. Hopefully, I can try again tomorrow with having a more productive day, and being out of the building at 4:30pm. Tomorrow, my class is supposed to being going on a field trip that Ms. Across the Hall went to last week. Ms. Down the Hall goes on Thursday.

I will try for another 11pm bedtime tonight, and an early train tomorrow morning.


Post Date - Monday, February 4, 2008 8:32PM

Christmas Eve. Shopping Day. To be honest, I really did not feel like going shopping for gifts today, but it is that time of year. Apart of me was a bit nervous about the crowds that might be at the mall the day before Christmas. I was expecting crowds and long lines. Wow, was I wrong.

After a slow start, I finally got out to catch the MN train to Tarrytown. Then, it was about a 40 wait for the Tappan Zee Bridge Express bus over. There were only about 8 or 9 passengers on the bus. I arrived at the mall about 12noon. First, I went to buy my movie ticket. On my way to the theater, I stopped off at Barns and Noble bookstore. I didn't go the last time I was at the mall, so I planned to just take a quick look around in the Science-Fiction/Fantasy section. To my surprise, the third book from E.E. Knight's series "Age of Fire"(Dragon Outcast) was on the shelf, so of course, I bought it. Yes, I'm still plodding through Storm of Swords. It is still dragging on. I'm now half-way through, still not liking it, but since I've invested so much time, I can't seem to put it down. Anyway, after B&N, I went for lunch at Panda Express. After lunch, it was movie time.

I went to see "The Golden Compass". I liked the movie. Mainly, I thought the special effects were very nice. This morning, when I was deciding on what movie to see, I did an Internet search about the movie. There were negative reviews about the movie. Apparently it cost $230 million dollars to make "probably not including marketing". Also, several Internet reviews called the movie anti-Christian. As I watched the movie, I really didn't understand what the fuss was about. However, when I got home, I glanced at a few pages (near the end)in the trilogy book that I'd purchased a couple of weeks ago. After reading a few pages, I finally figured out what the "dust up" was about. :) I thought Nicole Kidman was good in the movie, even though I didn't understand her character. I guess the lead girl was okay. However, I thought the talking bear was more interesting.

After the movie it was time for me to start my Christmas shopping. First stop was Target. I was really surprised by the limited number of customers that were shopping. The aisles were clear, and the shelves were not picked clean. I settled for a couple of very, very lame last minute gifts. Due to the time, I really didn't have time to be choosy. I told myself that if anything better(and that wouldn't be too difficult) came a long, I would keep what I'd brought for myself. Maybe my subconscious picked out the gifts. Since familiar eyes might be reading, I am not going to mention what I bought. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

I fell asleep last night, so I save this entry in my draft folder. Therefore, the post dated time will be off.

After Target my next planned stop was Staples, but I took a detour to a mall card shop. The idea was that I'd better buy my cards now before I run out of time. The selection wasn't very good, but again, beggars can't be choosy. The card shop was nicely organized, but not being Hallmark, the selection was very limited. They did have a variety of categories, but one about 3 or 4 samples for each category. They also had a "buy 3 cards and get any additional three cards for free" sale. Not a good sign. Next at Staples, I bought a double pack of black ink for my printer at home, and a box of 100ct. sheet protectors for my students portfolios. Last year, I bought regular binder dividers for the portfolio sections, but with the plastic sheet protectors, the dividers couldn't really be seen. This year, I bought 5 packs (25 tabs per pack) of colored self-adhesive index tabs. Over this vacation, I will attach the tabs to the plastic sheet protectors to create the sections of the portfolios Admin wants. Admin wants a section for Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. I added an extra section for reports (including progress reports, reading reports, etc...). I also bought a 1/2 ringed binder (2 for 1 sale). I want to do what I did last year. Put all of the photocopies of my teaching materials for the week in the binder rather than having papers all over the place.

After Staples, I made a side trip to the another store (gift related). Since I didn't want to rush trying to make the 5PM bus back across the Tappan Zee, after checking the bus schedule at the bus stop, I decided to catch the 5:38PM bus, giving me a little over an hour of more time. I went to Best Buys to look at electronics. Now, that place looked a bit "picked clean" and a bit uninviting. I saw dusty and broken merchandise on display. Clerks who seemed more interested in their conversations than helping a customer. However, most clerks did seem hard at work. After browsing there, I next went to Circuit City. It was neater, and louder than Best Buys. But again, the store was not nearly as crowded as I was expecting.

Last stop was the 99 cent shop. I wanted to buy some gift boxes. An angular gift is both easier and nicer to wrap in my opinion. The shop was own by Asians -- nothing wrong with that. However, I did find it strange that the guy who appeared to speak not a word of English, was right at the front door. That position just invited every other person walking past him to ask a question. To which, the person got a hand gesture, and mumbled response, then a nervous relocation...near the door. Only to repeat the process over and over. This store did have a bit of a line. And some guy with a 16oz cup of coffee spilt it on the floor right in front of the cashier"s island.

The bus was a couple of minutes late for the pick up. And it arrived at the Tarrytown station just as the MN train was pulling into the station. I ran for the train only to have the doors closed as I stepped onto the platform. Luckily the conductor opened the doors for me, it would have been an hour wait for the next local train. Since I was in a good mood, I decided to ride the local train to the Bronx to see if the Target store there had anything even remotely interesting that I could sublimate with my lame gifts. Target had just closed. On an impulse I went into the hip hop shop next door looking for something that could pass for reasonable supplemental gift. Did I buy anything? Yes, but again, I can't say anything at this time.

MN train home, and all the radios stations were playing Christmas music. Since I was still hungry. Panda Express was not that good this time. The selection was limited, and the fried rice was dry. I microwaved a Weight Watcher's Lasagna. I started falling asleep at almost midnight, I decided to not fight the sleep. Another new year's resolution, no more staying up past midnight....or in my case, way, past midnight.

Well, I better go. I have gifts to wrap, and greetings to send.

Happy Holidays!!!

Luckily this day only comes once a year...Sorry for the last comment, I couldn't resist :)

P.S. - I attached a couple of photos. The first photo is the Tappan Zee Bridge taken from the bus. The other photo was my lunch at Panda Express.


Post Date - Tuesday, December 25, 2007 10:02AM

Today was actually a relatively nice day (minimally) stress free day. Strange. I was in bed about 3:30AM, but I was up at 5:30AM. However, I did move a bit slow. I I even almost managed to catch my early train. I was ready to leave and out the front door at about 6:25AM with one minute to catch the MN train, but with the ice on the ground, I didn't want to risk running for the train, so I caught my regular MN train.

School? Everyone (students)seemed to have been mostly on their best behavior(relatively speaking). I was assigned a temporary visitor for a few days. A kid suspended from another school was (temporary) reassigned to my school. I got lucky this time around, Ms. Across the Hall had one a couple of weeks ago. Just my luck, the boy turns out to be best friends with one of my new(permanent) arrivals (also from the same school). Probably not a school I would want to work in, around, or near.

My plan was to be out of school by 4:30PM to do the shopping that I did not do on Sunday, but you know me. I get distracted and before you know it, time has flown by. I gave an in-class reading assessment, I wanted to grade the papers quickly because I knew that if I didn't do it soon, then I wouldn't do it at all. I was a bit shocked to see that my students actually did worse than on previous reading tests. I bought a skills workbook from the teacher's store in Brooklyn that contained about 15 (short)practice reading tests. I've been giving one each month to use as an over-time assessment. With the old reading program (which I hated), there was a period of time where the students were given time to read independently (that was a good part of the program). Now, with the new program and the slow learning curve (for the teachers) with all the "points, parts, and procedures", the students are not reading like they should. Actually, that really isn't the program's fault.

I probably should delete that last part.

Never mind. Losing a 90 block of accountability in terms of reading and writing, teachers have to find time to assess our students reading and writing. Long story short --Yes I know, too late. I am sitting here at my computer getting ready to make up a reading log for in-class reading. I had to make a reading log for homework assignments because assigning "child must read for 15 minutes" each night was a waste of time. I now have parents sign off each night as proof of reading at home(about 2/3 do). I now have to do the same for in class. I have students that have books, and they do carry the books around, but from the computerized testing program we use, I can check and see that many are not actually reading. I also need to assign reading response exercises. I've been too dependant on the computerized program, but from the practice test I just gave, I can see that my students are not really reading for content, they are just reading for completion. One of the down sides to the computerized program --and one thing that is unintentionally being encouraged. The goal is to read as many books as possible. Financial rewards are offered for classes with the most books read(as long as the studdents pass the multiple choice computer test with 90% accuracy). There is even a kind of "racers" chart in the lobby where each class is represented as a runner with their position noting percentage of class reading goal completed. Goals were made by Admin, but we have not been told our goals yet. My class is currently at about 50%. Although the program "recommends" (and I do follow the recommendation) that students should only chose books within their individual reading range. I don't allow my students to take books that are below their individual reading range. Other teachers allow their students to choose any book, and the students chose easy books. A couple of teachers have told me that they allow their students to choose books below their individual reading range, or I've been told by (another teacher) that it is okay for students to choose books below their individual reading range. My students have even complained kids from other classes are choosing easy books. And of course a couple of my students blame me for our position on the racer's chart.

Sorry, I am way, way off track. I was planning to just type a few sentences about my evening shopping, but I got sidetrack. And I have not even started my reading log.

Quick wrap-up. I was out of the building at about 5:40PM. I went to the bank ATM. I was planning to go to Target in the Bronx, but with about 10 minutes before the MN arrived, I settled on going to the new Rite Aid about a block away. I like Target, but it is often too crowded. All I really needed was dental floss. However, too many times, I've been caught in Target waiting on line for a few items, and I end up missing my MN train.

I arrived home about 6:50PM. I ate a Healthy Choice Meal for dinner. My plan of a quick assignment check, and a quick reading log is now shot to h*ll. I wanted to print out some differentiated worksheets about adjectives for my students, but I am out of black ink. I also got sidetracked before this blog entry clearing up my flash drive. I got so used to dumping files on it, that nothing was organized. I was also a bit surprised that some of my files were not school related. I have several flash drives, the one I carry around school should only have school files on it. I really like things neat and orderly, even though it doesn't seem like it. If I'm lucky, I will be able to use this coming vacation to get organized. I know a lot of my stress comes from not being as organized as I want to be.

Hopefully, I'll be in bed by 3:30AM. And hopefully, I'll have another relatively stress free day. One can only hope.


Post Date - Tuesday, December 18, 2007 2:32AM

Today was a bit of a crazy and tiring day. I arrived at school to find out that both 3rd grade teachers would be absent today. And in the very next breath, AP1 told me that I would be getting half of Across the Hall's kids. Somehow, she must have miss counted because I ended up with all (yes, all) of Across the Hall's kids. In total, I had 31 kids in my classroom all day. To make me feel better about the situation, I was given a second prep period today (Gym). Having Gym gave me something to hold over the few wild ones heads from both classes. All in all, the day turned out okay. Luckily, the headaches from both rooms were not in top form today. Although after lunch, things started to fall apart, but not by much. And again, having a second prep helped out a lot!!! AP1 also offered to reward the students with pizza or (Dunkin Donuts). That also was a big help!

My goal for today was to be out of the building by 5PM. I decided on Sunday, that I would try to resume rowing for this week, then start at the gym next week. Speaking of Sunday, I really don't need to type anything, just take any previous (Sunday) blog entry, and substitute the date. After sleeping away Saturday, I wanted to go to the teacher's store in Brooklyn. I wanted to by some gold paint for the next bulletin board project. I wanted my students to make macaroni frames to go with their character sketches. Of course, I can never just get one thing there. I ended buying yellow paint -- No gold paint. No matter, I remember buying gold paint and it looking like mustard yellow. So, I settled for a light yellow. I also bought a can of gold glitter. And: mini glue bottles (two 12 packs), large 16oz bottle of glue, heavy duty tag board, book (Portfolio Assessments with reproducibles), and a box of yellow chalk. I spent about $50. As I was about to leaving, I remembered my Spanish student who speaks almost no English (she's only been in the US for about 2 months). I went to the ESL section and was able to find some reproducible books. I spent about another $30 on the Spanish student. I left about $80 poorer. I went to Wendy's for a late lunch.

Back to today. I was out of the building about 5:30PM. I managed to arrive on time to catch the 6:03PM MN train. I was home about 6:20PM. Nice. I managed to wash the bathtub and fill up the tub. I was on my rowing machine for about 40 minutes. I then relaxed in the tub for about 40 minutes. After a short nap, I was up. I wasn't hungry, so I settled for a bowl of frosted mini wheats and a 4 pack of Jello cups.

Hopefully, I will have a repeat performance in terms of rowing, soaking and feeling relaxed.

Wt. 200.4lbs. / BMI 33.3%


Post Date - Monday, December 10, 2007 10:40PM

Okay day today. No major incidents to report, just the usual nonsense. On Friday, a parent came to talk about her son. I should have been off the clock, but I met with the parent for about 15 or 20 minutes. So what was the behavior after the parent received reports of her son's behavior from the child's after-school teacher and myself. No changed.

Today being the first of the month, There was a faculty conference at three o'clock. The conference lasted until about 4PM. I told myself on Sunday that I would start leaving early. My goal was 4:30Pm. So, how did I do. I managed 4:40PM. It doesn't seem like much, but I was very happy! If I can do it for more than one day, then I might be able to get organized and get back on track.

After leaving school, I stopped by my foster father's place. I had to pick up my jury duty letter. I'm going to see if I can put it off until Christmas or summer vacation. I'm one of those people who hates taking a day off work for anything.

I was back home about 6:20PM. I ate a Weight Watcher's meal. I was more thirsty than I thought, I ended up drinking about a quart of milk. For dessert, I had a couple of cups of raisin bran cereal. I used the same cup I drank my milk out of. All of my bowls were dirty, and I did not want to waste one of my paper bowls. After eating, I finally got around to washing the dishes that have been sitting in my kitchen sink for quite some time. I won't embarrass myself by mentioning the number of weeks I've had dirty dishes in the sink.

Well, I better go. I want to get back to a regular sleeping routine.


Post Date - Monday, December 3, 2007 9:32PM