Boxing Lesson - Day 4 "Wimp Out"

Thursday, August 7th

Today went by fairly quickly. I finally dragged myself out of bed about 1pm. Cold cereal for breakfast, and a couple of hours on the computer, then it was time for the gym.

My trainer wanted to know if I did the exercises he showed me yesterday. I told him no, because my plan was to ask for a different trainer. However, I thought about the couple of times I've been blindsided. I also didn't really speak up to voice my displeasure. I mostly keep things bottle up and of course you readers know that I like to vent here through the ether of anonymity.

Anyway, my trainer said that he would take it easy on me today. I just nodded okay, but didn't say anything. He did my handwraps, and assigned me specific boxing punch combinations on the heavy bag (also known as the punching bag). I did the punching combinations for 45 minutes. Most of the time, my trainer focused on me; he still kind of sat back without much input. Once he told me what to do, he made no comments about if I was doing it right or wrong. I suspect that I got the extra attention because the gym was not as crowded as it had been the last few days.

After the punching practice, my trainer told me to do the treadmill for 45 minutes. After the treadmill, I spoke to the trainer. I explained how I was not happy with what I was getting for my almost $300. I also explained that I was speaking to him about my feelings about the training I had been receiving. I went on the explain how I felt that it would have been a disrespectful slap in the face if I just ran to his boss to complain without first speaking to him and letting him know what I was feeling. I then explained the type of workout I wanted starting on Monday. I was annoyed that I paid for a month of private lessons, but now, I will be in a kind of lesson planner. I thought private lesson would mean that I would walk in and be the pile of clay to be molded and shaped. Now, I'll be "suggesting" the exercises, keeping track of the progress, etc...

My "suggested" workout routine:
30 minutes - exercising and strength training*
30 minutes - boxing lessons/practicing
30 minutes - walking/jogging on the treadmill
*Alternating upper and lower body workouts

I explained that as a beginner, I should be getting in shape and building my strength in order to be able to effectively do the various punching patterns and boxing routines. I said the first month the focus should be more on getting in shape, but in the coming months, the focus would shift to more boxing routines and patterns. We'll see what happens on Monday. After the conversation, I was feeling a bit better about my gym experience. I also learned a bit more about my trainer. He used to have a boxing gym in Brooklyn.

Finally, on the internet, there was a guy who took a picture of himself each day for (I think) 80 days. I think I might like to try something like that. However, I think I will only do it for (maybe) 50 days until my 40th birthday. I saw a nice little mini tabletop tripod in the store. I'll think about it. It would be nice to enter my 40th birthday with a different look.


Post Date - Saturday, September 6, 2008 2:43AM
Completion Date - Friday, August 8, 2008 1:10AM

Lazy Day / Bill Pay Day

Thursday, July 31st.

Another lazy summer day. I was up about 11a.m. Online for a couple of hours. I received an email from an online teacher's supply store, and of course, I spent money like there was no tomorrow. I purchased:

* a class set of weekly reader's
* a class set of Math practice workbooks
* a class set of Phonic practice workbooks

The bill came to $269.31.

Today was also bill paying day. After a relaxing soak in the bath, I took the MN train into NYC to pay my bills. Lately, I've gotten too lazy to write a check, so I just go to the Bronx to pay the bills in person. I'm not comfortable with the idea of giving companies easy access to withdraw funds from my bank account, so it is either pay by check or pay in person. Actually, having a reason to leave my apartment is another reason. Until today, I haven't left my apartment since Sunday.

Anyway, back to bill pay day. I walked to the bank in downtown Yonkers. I withdrew almost my entire salary to have enough to pay my bills. I took the MN train to NYC. I paid electric and telephone, then credit card, and finally Target store. I took the MN train back to Yonkers. I stopped at the imitation 5 & 10 store to buy a couple of springloaded curtain rods for the kitchen. I finally got around to cleaning my kitchen (including the window sill so I can now put up the kitchen curtains I never put up since I've move here about two years ago. I put up venetian blinds, but I never got around to the kitchen curtains. After the 5 & 10, I went to clear out my locker at the local YMCAl; my membership expires in a few days.

Instead of renewing a yearly-membership I only used about 4 times, I will try another gym. My plan is to join a boxing gym. Boxing has become my new "get healthy" obsession. Last year it was the Y, and the year before it was rowing. Now, my new "thing" is boxing. I'm going to see if I can get out of bed tomorrow, and go down to the gym and look around. If everything looks okay, I want to start on Monday. My plan. I'm going to use my tax refund to sign up for private boxing lessons for the month of August. If I survive August, then I will also sign up for private lessons for September. After September, I will join (again assuming I survive) up for a 3 month group membership which (according to the web site) has a discount. After two months of private lessons, I won't be able to afford the private lessons anymore. It is only because of the tax refund that I will be signing up for private lessons. As you probably figured out, I am someone who has to be pushed to do anything. Without a schedule (or a reason), I tend to drift or lose focus. Look at my summer entries.

After clearing out my Y locker, I went shopping for a few food items. Since I was walking back(and didn't have my granny cart or shopping cart), I stuck with the basics and the bare minimum. I did not feeling like carrying a lot of heavy stuff. On my way back home, I stopped off at the local Chinese takeout restaurant. I ordered a pint of beef fried rice to go.

I watched "Ugly Betty" on TV. Blogged. And I am now done for the day. Hopefully, tomorrow will be new gym look around day. I might also take in a movie.

Post Date - Saturday, August 23, 2008 12:20AM
Completion Date - Thursday, July 31, 2008 10:42PM

Boxing Plans

Another lazy day. Not much to write about. However, I did receive a phone call from the gym in uptown Manhattan(the one I visited July 8th after day 2 of jury duty). It was the owner who had made the call. She wanted to know if I had found another gym. She also mentioned a few other things:

* She mentioned how there is no real competition, but wanted me to know that if I wasn't happy with my new choice, I could always come to her.
* She mentioned how her place isn't about prices (still won't tell me how much it would cost to take lessons).
* She mentioned about how her gym focuses on the needs of individual clients.
* She mentioned her boxing experiences, and physical fitness interests.
* She mentioned the senior program for adults over the age 55.

It was about a 10 minute call. Even though I did not get the information I wanted, I have to be honest, I did like her sales pitch.

I went to visit my foster father. And being a bit depressed that I had not done any thing productive these last few days, I ordered a take out dinner from the local soul food restaurant owned by Koreans (including a large piece of carrot cake with frosting).

When I got home, I was feeling a bit guilty for buying the greasy heart attack on a plate, so I decided to call another gym with a boxing program that I had Googled at the same time I found the uptown gym. At first, I wanted a gym that was close to home -- telling myself that I would be more likely to go if the gym was closer to home. But lately, I've been thinking that another reason is my "homebody" mentality. I mostly stay home, and I am a bit of a waiter. I have a bit of a habit of waiting for opportunities to (almost literally) knock on my door. If opportunity doesn't knock, then I will usually just stay home. I guess you probably figured that out from this blog. What have I been doing since my vacation started? Eating and sleeping it away. Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked.

I decided to take a different approach. I thought about going to a gym that was not "on my way". I managed to find a gym that has boxing lessons downtown. The cost -- they actually posted their prices. The cost (per month) would be $230 for private lessons and $135 for group lessons. At first, I was thinking that there was no way I would be paying for private lessons, but now I'm not sure. Considering I wasted almost half of my summer doing nothing in the way of exercising. Now I'm thinking about using some of my tax refund to splurge on myself by signing up for a one month of private lessons to get me started, and then continue with group lessons after that. My tax refund (and fed stimulus check) are both still laying on my radio. A part of me knows that as soon as I deposit them, somehow or someway, they will evaporate. Sorry, sidetracked again.

Well, that is the plan now. As you regular blog readers know by now, I am Mr. Planner. I'm a good planner, but a poor follow througher. Hopefully, this time will be different. In a couple of months, I will be reaching the big 4-0. I would like a new me -- I'll even settle for an almost new me.

Well, it is late. I'll "keep you posted". Pun intended.

Post Date - Sunday, August 17, 2008 11:12AM
Completion Date - Friday, July 25, 2008 12:06PM

Thursday, June 12th
Today was much rougher than it should have been. The kids were in one of their extremely hyper moods. Today was a half day, but it felt like a very long full day.

This morning I managed to catch my regular train, so no taxi today. My hypers came in late, and started pushing buttons. Since only about 6 kids paid for the movie trip tomorrow, I'm not going. In order for me to go, I would have to find teachers willing to take my students (mostly hypers) who can't go for one reason or another. That would mean trying to find places for about 12 students. Since most of the younger grades will be going to the movie, my options were even more limited. That put me in a bad mood. I was suppose to have had a parent meeting during my prep period, but the prep teacher was assigned to teach a class, so no prep today. I also stressed over meeting the parent, but the parent was a no-show. My kids were so hyper that I ended up sending out 4 students to sit in different teacher's rooms. Once those 4 were out, the class calmed down. Unfortunately, the softy in me called them back after the period was over. When I send out kids, I try to not leave the "headaches" out of the room for too long. When they came back, there was basically more of the same hyper behavior.

Today was a half day for students. Teachers did our new class formation. We also got a chance to see the tentative faculty placement for the 2008~2009 school year.
Changes:
* The kindergarten teacher who was moved to 6th grade "mixed abilities" class was reassigned back to kindergarten.
* A kindergarten teacher who talks of retiring from time to time was assigned a 2nd grade classroom(no, not the extreme talker).
* Ms. Across the Hall was assigned to move up to what will be a 4th grade "mixed abilities" class. She is understandably upset. Last year she had to move her things down to the second floor, now she has to move her things back to the third floor. She will once again be sharing a classroom with another teacher.
* One of the strong 2nd grade teachers was assigned the 3rd grade that would have been Ms. ATH's class. In terms of classroom management, I used to be in the middle between Ms. Down the Hall and Ms. Across the Hall. Now with the strong 2nd grade teacher as a third grade teacher, I become the weaker teacher of the three in terms of classroom management. Luckily, I have organization and some creativity in my corner. However, I will have to take it up a notch next year. I don't want to be seen to being left behind(or seem to be the lowest). Sorry, I have a bit of a competitive streak in me.

From 1PM to 3PM, teachers were in the student's cafeteria making the new classes, and doing administrative work on student cumulative records. My plan was to be out of the building by 3:30PM. However, today was one of those days. Each time I tried to leave, I noticed that I wouldn't make my MN train, so I waited for the next (approx.)train time. I finally left about 6:02PM, and miss my MN train by about 2 minutes. I arrived home about 7:14PM.


Completion Date - Friday, June 13, 2008 1:04AM
Post Date - Saturday, July 5, 2008 11:29AM

Thursday, April 10th
Quick catch up.
The lower elementary classes were scheduled by AP2 to go to the Bronx Zoo. The trip was okay. I took about 10 of my kids to the zoo. Everything was going well until the end of the trip. I had to go to the bathroom, but since I did not have parent volunteers to watch the kids, and since the zoo bathrooms had kids running in and out, I decided to "hold it in".
Upset stomach with minutes from having a new "potty nickname".
New picture retakes on Friday, for the sixth graders and faculty will be offered a free sitting.
Today (Thursday), a brief shouting match with DQ who felt she was wronged because I had said yesterday that no homework meant no recess time. She did her homework, but it was sloppy, incorrect, and incomplete.

I got out of the building at 7PM, home at about 8PM, I fell asleep while typing an email for DQ's mother. Yes, the one I had the meeting with about a week ago.


Post Date - Monday, May 26, 2008 12:41PM

Thursday, March 6th.
Today was an okay day. My day started at 2AM. Yep, 2AM. After crashing the night before, I woke up about 1:50AM. Since I had to spent the reminder of the night procrastinating and avoided the lesson planning, I ended up finishing about 5AM. I already did the 5AM bedtime a few times, and since I was feeling only a little bit tired, I decided to stay up and get an early start. However, my "early start" evaporated fairly quickly. I ended up in the usual rush to get out of the door routine. I caught my regular train to NY, and my day began.

Today was day 3 of the NYS exams, only the 4th graders were being tested. I think it was AP2's idea to have the remainder of the testing grades (3rd through 6th) do long-term planning for the remainder of the year. I liked the idea, but not the execution. Teachers were asked to plan (or begin planning) in all subject areas, including planning for extra activities, with everything stated in terms of standards. Again, very good idea, but poorly executed. We were told that next week admin will be doing a "walk through", and AP2 was asking for specifics of what would be taught when admin walks through "at any given time of the day, what standards would be the focus". It was a bit unsettling looking at a couple of my colleagues ramble on of this that or the other. Again, everything AP2 was asking for was what teachers really should be doing. However, having pointed out that it was not being done, and then expecting everything to be done (and visible)by the admin walk-through was a bit unrealistic(like expecting a couch potato to run a marathon). Since I have not committed the State Standards to memory, I had to keep my mouth shut. As AP2 pointed out a couple of times during the meeting, "if you don't know, then you should keep your mouth shut". She said it with a smile and a laugh, so I guess that makes it okay.

Anyway, I was getting a headache trying to keep track of everything that AP2 was adding to the table (literally and figuratively). I believe now that the standardized test are done, admin wants to make sure teaching and motivating the students would be still going on. I agree with the idea, but not the execution. I thought that we should have been laying out a general plan of topics to be covered in the remaining months, then pacing (recognizing holidays, and schedule changes etc...), and then attaching state standards to any lessons being taught. Instead, it was "what writing will you be doing on Tuesday and what standards will you be applying. Now, writing will be done during the Skills period (8:00 ~ 8:45) and again during the 37 minutes at the end of the day. Oh, and Science will be taught 3 times per week. When I did ask about the district literacy supplemental program (advocated by one of the literacy coaches, but not liked[I think] by AP2), I was told "squeeze it in".

I better change the subject, again, this blog really isn't about other people. Anyway, I spent the planning meeting blocking out the conversations going on around me. Down the Hall was absent, so it was up to Across the Hall and myself to do the lesson planning. After the meeting, I had my preparation period, and then lunch. I only had to deal with my kids for the two periods after lunch. Of course, they got a bit hyper, loud and rude. Cackler complained (out loud --of course) that she did not understand the concepts, and I'm suppose to be teaching, but she still felt the need to sharpen her pencil, talk to her classmate, play with objects, etc... She is another one of those impatient ones, everything has to be easy to understand, or she's not interested. Then when she finally understands it, later I get, "oh, this is baby work". I started to feel sick (headache and a runny nose, etc...), so I started to get in a bad mood. I started threatening the talkers and players with staying after school to do the assignment. With about 6 names on the list, they finally quieted down.

Unfortunately, when 3PM came, I did not follow-through. Too many times, I'm giving up my lunch time and after work time to be teacher, referee, babysitter etc... Since I was feeling a cold coming on, I was not in the mood for giving up my time.

Strange thing. Today, my plan was to be out of the building by 4 or 4:30PM. Did I make it? No, of course not. However, the strange thing was that time did not move as fast as it usually did. By 3:55PM, I felt as if it was much later. I actually could have made it by 4PM. Almost. But then, the literacy coach offered to do labeling for books in my classroom library, and a conversation with Across the Hall made time fly fast again. I was out of the building about 4:56PM. I was home about 6PM. I had a Weight Watcher's meal for dinner, and as per (recent) routine, I fell asleep soon after. I think I went to sleep about 7:30PM and woke up about 11:30PM(and again at about 1AM).

Completion Date - Friday, March 6, 2008 2:05AM
Post Date - Wednesday, March 19, 2008 2:20AM

Sorry, I've fallen a bit behind. I have to clear out my draft folder.
Thursday, February 28th.
Another nice day. Princess Beady has been out (sick) for the last few days, I wonder of there is a correlation. :) Today was another pleasant day (relatively speaking). There was not much stress today. Although, I did have a drama episode with Drama Queen and Sneaky. DQ was upset that Sneaky was telling "her friends" to not talk to her. I waited until lunchtime to deal with the drama. It actually took about 25 minutes of conversation to get the issue resolved. DQ wasn't satisfied until I found a way to blame both of them as being "the starters". That was the only incident with the students.

In the area of work. I finally received a prep today. I had not had a preparation period for the past two days. I was glad to finally get one.

Today was also the Black History assembly. The show was nice. But much too long. Since Admin did not want to cancel the literacy block in the morning, the assembly was put on after the last lunch period. The show should have been started at 1:30, but it did not start until about 2PM. At about 2:50PM, the show's producer (Dr. Data [the school's data analyzer] mentioned that the show would need to be continued for tomorrow, but then continued. I was annoyed. Didn't anyone have a watch or a clock. So the show continued for about another 7 or 8 minutes. Then, teachers had to take their classes back to their classrooms to get packed. Luckily, I had already gone over the homework and had the homework distributed. I was also lucky that I invested the time early in the school year in training my class to "pack quickly, neatly and carefully". My classroom was clean and my kids were packed and out the classroom door in about five minutes.*

*Unless you have kids, or are a teacher, this bit of boasting means nothing.

After dismissal, I received my order from Staples. I bought a new copier drum and a new ink cartridge($300). I was out of the building at 7:10PM. I was home at 8:40PM. I also noticed something about my leaving time:

Monday 4 something
Tuesday 5 something
Wednesday 6 something
Today 7 something -- I wonder if there is a pattern.

When I arrived home, there was a postal notification that my Amazon order arrived. I was looking forward to getting my Star Trek book. I started reading Children of Hurin. That book Sucks!!! What was I thinking buying that book? Very nice pictures, but not much else. Since I am a bit slow, that book was way over my head. It was all a jumble to me. Too many names, and every other person seemed to have more than one name. And, too much information. There was even a separate section with a pronunciation guide. It was like reading a doctoral dissertation. I had no problem putting that book aside.

Well, I think that's about it.

Sneak preview for up-coming blog entries:
Friday - Picture day (in the inner-city)
Saturday - Shopping at the mall


Post Date - Sunday, March 02, 2008 11:47AM

Quick Summary.

Thursday, February 14th (Valentine's Day)
Other than another episode of Drama Queen Theatre in the student's cafeteria, there was not much to write about. I had told DQ if she so much as look at her drama enabler(Cackler), or her favorite target(Giggles), she would have lunch in solitary confinement. So when I arrived to pick up my students (they had just gotten their lunch), the school aid (before I stepped across the cafeteria threshhold) came to me complaining about an incident with...DQ. Since she couldn't have drama with the regulars, DQ found a substitute target...Teacher's Pet.

In a class of 17 students, I only have two students who are on overall academic grade level (one boy and one girl). Somehow, since the girl will usually have the answer, and because she is dependable, and can help speak Spanish to the Spanish girl, that makes her the teacher's pet. Me alternatingly choosing boy/girl on almost everything seems to mean nothing. Radomly choosing students from a cup of popsticks also seems to mean nothing. Lately, when TP gets pick, I get the "you only/or always pick her rantings that the followers seem to like.

Anyway, it turns out DQ had a problem with TP and again she had her 4th grade girls with her backing her up. Having spoken to "Uncle" (late teens), and "Mom"(probably late 20's or early 30's), has had no effect. I also felt a bit that it might have been some how my fault that I was not specific enough. No Drama with the regulars should have been no drama at all.

Moving on. Today the school had a Valentine's Day dance to raise money for the 6th grade graduation. I donated $10. Since the school would be opened until 7pm, my subconscious went to work. I ended up leaving about 8pm.


Post Date - Saturday, February 16, 2008 5:59PM

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Train trouble, so I took a cab.
4th graders had a day three test. I gave my students a math practice test assuming that Admin would want the rest of the "testing body" to be in a testing mode. after I'd already started, a memo was sent via student delivery mentioning giving the practice test I was already administering for Friday. the memo suggested that classes work on workfolders and portfolios. I called and was able to reach AP1 who did not seem to mind me doing the math practice test so I continued. In a moment of rare peace and quiet, my class managed to stay in test mode for the Literacy Block time that was dedicated to the "testing mode". I was able to administer the practice test and grade it.

My hypers were hyper, and I did not get a prep today, so I was not in the best of moods. AP2 made an announcement on the loudspeaker that all testing grades would be meeting during their preps for planning for the State Math Test, but my prep teacher never showed to take over. He is always, always 10 to 15 minutes late, so I just assumed that he would be late as usual. He is one of the nice people, but he will often let the kids get too hyper. Not as extreme as the "Spanish" teacher, but having him for a prep is a "finger crosser". Anyway, it turns out he was doing some kind of assisting with the 4th grade test. I called the Math coach to appologize for not being there, but the coach did not seem to know about the meeting. I'm thinking I missed about 20 minutes of the meeting, but no one showed up, and the coach did not bother to call, he just said that no one showed up. I guess he didn't want the meeting either.

Lunch detention. One of the powers that be decided that this afternoon would be a good time to administer the 8th week assessment for the reading program that we are using this year. Even though only about half of the school would need to be testing, the whole school went to the Literacy Block groupings for the last hour of the school day. Wouldn't it have been better to do the testing on Friday when the literacy block schedule resumes, but what do I know.

Another day wasted on "planning" to get organized. I left the school about 7pm only just starting to tackle the mounds of papers in my classroom. I told myself that I would not go to gym this week to get organized in my classroom, but I have yet to do anything of substance.


Post Date - Sunday, January 13, 2008 12:03pm

Quick entry. I have to finish editing/correcting my students' character sketch writings, something I should'a/could'a done during my winter vacation.

Day 2 of the "Me Year". I had another restless night. After my first workout in almost 20 -- yes, I did write 20 years. When I returned home last night, since I did not have time to eat dinner before the workout, I ate dinner afterwards, I also pigged out a bit on rice cakes (half a pack), I also added a cup of microwavable rice to my Weight Watcher's meal, along with a couple of slices of bread. I also drank about a quart of orange juice. My stomach was in knots from the workout, but the late night meal didn't help either. I went to bed about 12:01, so technically I broken one goal. But personally, a minute (in my opinion) is not a major break. And even if I did break a major goal, I would still have very little choice but to get back on the horse.

This morning I was very tired, and almost missed my train, luckily the train was a bit late. My day was basically the same as previous blog entries have stated. I also managed to leave the school at the same time


I just fell asleep here at the computer. Old habits die hard.

Post Date - Thursday, January 3, 2008 11:37pm

Another slow day. My file cabinet arrived this afternoon, but I procrastinated before doing any really cleaning. For the entire day, I managed to accomplish dealing with the mounds on the futon. With only about 4 days left I really need to get on the ball. I really need to end this vacation as if I accomplished something...anything. Unfortunately, I seem to be slipping into my old pattern. Tomorrow, I need to finish with the living room.

Schedule change. I think I will make Saturday and Sunday my school work days. One day for lesson planning and the other day for grading assignments and (at least starting) progress reports. Going clothes shopping is no longer a main priority. I'm even thinking about going shopping the following Saturday, not this coming Saturday.

Let's see what else.

I just ordered the complete BBC series of "The Office" from Amazon.com.

I need to go food shopping. I'm out of the staples as well as running low on Healthy Choice Meals.

Tomorrow (hopefully after I finish with the mounds of paper), I will cut up the box the file cabinet came in. I was planning to go to Pearl Paint on Canal Street to see if they sold thick paper for arts and crafts projects. For the bulletin board, I want my students to make macaroni frames, but the teacher store in Brooklyn didn't have thick enough paper. I'll just cut up the box for the frames. I would like to still go the Pearl Paint to see how much gold paint would cost -- the teacher's store in Brooklyn didn't have that either.

Finally, I was given a web site URL -- Thanks Max! The URL lets Bloggers and other types of homepages be checked for the reading level of the site. I was curious, but I should have known better.

So, what is the reading level of this blog page? And indirectly, what is the writing ability of the writer of this blog page?

Well, when I was in college, an associate professor (or was it a professor's assistant) told me (then) that I wrote like I was still in elementary school. Apparently, nothing's changed.

Post Date - Friday, December 28, 2007 12:00AM

I fell in the trap again. A different trap, but a trap nonetheless. I was believing that the 3 kids who didn't show up on Wednesday was the parents way of helping give me a needed mental holiday, thoughts of "oh, the parents must have kept so-and-so home because I called complaining. Unfortunately, it turned out that it was a Muslim holiday. It really is amazing the power of individuals. I'll just leave it at that. Today my three headaches returned to school -- Drama Queen (the fourth no show) already told me weeks ago that she was going to DR (Dominican Republic) early, so she would not be in school these last few days.

Sticky Fingers arrived late in usual loud form. When I asked her about her lack of uniform, she gives me the rude response about not asking her about her uniform because her mother said that she was observing her holiday. When I pointed out that the other two Muslim students had their uniforms on she just laughed.

Yesterday (Wednesday)was very nice!!!

Today AP1 came through with the pizza. Being the sap that I am, after spending about $30 on my kids (most of who didn't really deserve it), I decided to "add" to the pizza AP1 provided. I went out on my lunch break and spent another $35.24 on junk food. Mostly, I wanted my "headaches" to really see what they were missing. Most of the time, I get "I don't care". I served the (relatively) good kids, and just skipped the "headaches"; it is amazing how they think the can be disrespectful for weeks on end, then be "good" for a couple of hours and think they deserve "rewards".

Ms. Across the Hall and I decided to let both classes "visit" each other. Since she is more laid back than I am, most of the students wanted to go to her room. She had them drawing on her board, playing online games on the computers, tossing a football around, etc... My room was the (relatively) quiet room. The only drawing was pencil on paper, and the computers could only be used for reading tests. Ms. ATH and I decided to end at 2:20pm (the regular extended group time. Since Ms. ATH had my students for almost an hour, I offered to take her kids for the extended time, so she could clean up her classroom. I went over the Holiday Homework Packet teachers are required to make for their respective grades. I was responsible for Science and Social Studies. Ms. DTH (Down the Hall) was responsible for Reading, and Ms. ATH was responsible for Math. I could add some details about "the packet" or lack thereof, but it is late, so I am going to pass. Oh, and luckily for us the kids were not running wild, because that was the time the Principal and AP2 did a surprise visit. I had two classes sitting quietly while moments before, they were running amok.

I left the building about 6:30pm. I was tired and and it was late, but I went to Target to buy some manila envelopes for my students "gifts"s. Would you believe a couple of my students had the nerve to ask (or mention) that Ms. ATH had bought gifts for her class, and "are we getting gifts?". I wanted to say that Ms. ATH didn't just spent $30 on ungrateful @$$?#, but I didn't say anything close. Ms. ATH didn't have a party, she served some leftover snacks from a previous party. Anyway, I went to Target to buy envelopes as "wrappings" for my gifts. I got on the (relatively) short 10 items or less line, and it moved slower than molasses. The line right next to mine was much, much longer, but moved much faster. It amazes me how people chose a serving job, but don't like serving or want to serve. I had about 4 "guests" ahead of me on line. The other line served about 7 or 8 "guest" in the same amount of time.

I took the MN to Yonkers, for some strange reason, I got off the train to go shopping for macaroni for the next bulletin board project. I really wanted to have the bulletin board done, but my organization isn't where it needs to be. I want my students to make macaroni frames for their character sketches. I thought it would be nice if my students actually tried sketching the characters they wrote about.

Anyway, since I'd gotten off the train, I decided to take the bus the reminder of the way home. At home, I had a quick Smart Ones oriental rice (much, much better tasting than the local Chinese food places). I mixed in a cup of (now more salted) microwavable rice to make the meal more filling. Then, I was asleep at this computer in minutes. Now, I will quickly "wrap" my gifts for the ingrates and call it a night.


Post Date - Friday, December 21, 2007 4:01AM

The hyperactivity virus must be spreading. Today was day 2 of the hyperactivity of last year. Excessively talkative and hyper for the few of the usual students. The problem is that it only takes a few. Since today was a school wide Math test, Beady Betty chose today to act up. Talkative, angry, and moody.

When the test was about to start, I took my class to the bathroom. My proctor assistant arrived then. I was assigned the librarian. Very nice, but a bit old for this population. I felt bad when blank answer grids were needed and I had to send her. The math test was a general (predicative)assessment to see what the students will possibly get on the citywide test. The test was about 35 minutes, and my students seem to do better on the math than the ELA (English Language Arts). After the test, I had to collect the answer grids and take the grids to the Principal's office. Lucky for me it was during my prep(aration) period. :(

The distance from my classroom to the main office/Principal's office is about 2 or 3 minutes. I am on the second floor at the very end of the corridor. The main office is on the first floor at the opposite end. About a 2 or 3 minute walk involving a set of stairs. Anyway, I walked to the main office to drop off the answer grids. One of my students' answer grid was missing from the ELA practice test on Tuesday. I was told that I had to find that grid, so a trip back to my class. Searched and no grid. A walk back, then told okay a blank grid would be okay. A walk to the classroom, completed bubbling the students' ID information on the grid for the student who was absent. As soon as I finished, the phone rang. They found the grid. I had to bring the answer grids back to the main office (they had to be secured). I walked back to the office to drop off the grids. This time, the manila envelope had to be brought down...another trip to and from the main office.

On the way back, the prep teacher had three girls in the hallway because there was a fight. Beady Betty and Drama Queen. DQ cried and did her "they/she always... boo hoo hoo." I had had enough of BB, so another walking trip to the nearest phone at the opposite end of the very long corridor to call BB's home. I left a message on the answering machine. Even though parents are often home, they have a habit of leaving the answering machine on, or blocking the calls. When I finished leaving the message, my prep period was over. I wasted a whole 45 minutes looking for a phantom grid sheet and leaving phantom messages on the phone. I was annoyed.

I arrived back to the girl triad drama club (Drama Queen, Sticky fingers, and Beady Betty) are arguing across the room. Friends are now bitter enemies. Enemies are best friends, and I'm just pissed off. DQ called home, so she's going home, boo hoo hoo. Cackler's doing just that. BB's got an attitude. With about 30 minutes before lunch, I review the math test. Now, I'm in a nasty mood, so of course, the class is quiet.

Lunch, I usually do detention for the ones that don't do their homework, but I wasn't in the mood. Lunch was good. School lunchs have gotten much better since I was a student...most of the time. Today lunch was mac & cheese, baked chicken, fried rice, and greens. The lunch ladies are very nice and generous when there is extra food. The afternoon was okay, luckily no drama.

5:30PM, AP1 knocks on my door. A visitor will be visiting tomorrow (today at the time of this typing), so she is doing a last minute inspection. She came in with a "oh we have to tidy up" statement. Normally, I a walking doormat, I do without question. But to come 2 and a half hours after I'm off the clock annoyed me. I was tired, hungry and doing some last minute inside bulletin board updating. On top of wanting me to rearrange things that the visitors might find an eyesore, she zeros in on the stack of boxes I have neatly flatted in the corner with chart paper over and manipulatives on top. She wants the boxes moved. I advised her that the tower would come falling down if she touched it. After poking and prodding, I guess she came to her senses. Then she started "tidying up". I just ignored her...respectfully. She said that my room just needed a woman's touch.

AP1 started dragging a few boxes that she would keep in her office until after the visitors left. I made no offer to help. About 15 minutes later, my class phone started to ring. It rang for a good minute before whoever was on the other end came to his (most likely her) senses. I left the classroom about 7PM. There was a box AP1 could not drag to her office. I put it back.

My school has an "A" rating with the new rating system. To be honest, I really don't have an idea what that really means. I do know that when it comes to looks, my school does look good. :)


Post Date - Friday, December 7, 2007 4:17PM

Thursday, October 11, 2007
Nothing worth writing about. The only thing that comes to mind at this moment was at dismissal time. Sticky-Finger Fredda managed to sneak away while I was talking to a parent. Later, I see mom at the ice cream truck buying ice cream. I'm sure it was only yesterday that mom was telling me that she would be asking for a daily report about her daughter's behavior. Even if her daughter was an angel from above (and no, she wasn't), she did not deserve ice cream after the nonsense yesterday.


Post Date - Saturday, October 13, 2007 11:28pm

Thursday, October 4, 2007
Today was a fairly easy day. I received a call from AP1 that the meeting with the worried parent would take place at about 10:15am. Later(at about 11:00am), I received a call from AP1 to bring my students down to the lunch room, they would be watch while I had the meeting with the parent and AP1. I was expecting the meeting to last 15 or 20 minutes. I arrived with my class in the lobby. The parent was there, but AP1 wasn't. The parent told me that AP1 had another matter to attend to. I was hoping for AP1 to be there, I did not want to speak (and show my hand) until AP1 arrived. After taking a long(slow) walk to the bathroom, AP1 still had not arrived. So, I had no choice but to sit and wait. The parent started talking first about how the meeting wasn't really about me.

?!?!?

She was worried about other teacher's attitude towards her son...and then finally, she was worried about her son's work.

To be honest, I wanted the slap, but in the end, it turned into more of a finger pluck. I explained how I was going to share my concerns about her son on the day she informed me of the meeting, but I told her I decided against it. She quickly told me that she really did not want to get me into trouble, she was just worried about her son. I wanted to say, "you sure have a funny way of not getting me into trouble. Calling a meeting with the Admin. is not the best way to express concerns". However, in the end, I didn't say anything. I did show her her son's work so far. She got a bit nervous. I had the feeling that she took the low grades personally. She admitted that she is trying to help her son. She is teaching him multiplication, division, and fractions, and is feeling a bit frustrated that he isn't getting it. She went on about how frustrating it is to know that her son can remember a song or an event that happened 2 years ago, but can't remember something she is teaching him now. I tried explaining the human nature of what she just described. I also tried offering suggestions on how she could help her son. Number 1, was that the focus of "help" should be coming from the child not from her. She should be solidifying the basics, not trying to add more before he is ready. Unfortunately, I think she still has her heart set on "having her son earn some kind of title in the future (MD or PhD etc...)". Each suggestion from me resulted in the following kind of response:

OkayokayIseeIshoulddothisandthenthisand...

I wanted to say lady, get a grip...But I didn't. By the end of the meeting(about 12pm), I think I made some progress. I just hope it was enough. I think the meeting went very well (from my point of view). From a determined parent, to a parent grabbing her purse (seemingly) eager to leave. Stupid me, when I am on a roll, I don't know when to shut up and walk away. The meeting could have ended in 15 or 20 minutes, but I didn't know how to end the meeting. I was on top from beginning to end, but I just couldn't keep my mouth shut.

Oh, what happened to AP1? AP1 arrived about 10 minutes, opening up with "our curriculum is challenging, and becoming more challenging. She was also very happy that I didn't come to the meeting empty-handed. When she saw that I was able to support myself with the student's work, and she saw that the parent wasn't really angry... but concern, AP1 took off. Strange. She must have had another emergency.

The meeting finally ended during the kids'/my lunch period, so I did not have to pick up the kids. I did have to return to the room to allow a couple of students to get their lunches. By the time, I was ready to get my lunch, the lunch period was almost over. I decided to put my milk and juice in the refrigerator. With only about 2 minutes to go before it was time to pick up the kids, the UFT rep. tells me that there is union meeting in the teacher's room. She said that she put a notice in the teachers' mailboxes, but I don't remember seeing any notice. And since there was only one other teacher who just happened to be in the teacher's lounge at that time, I suspect she might have forgotten. I hate being late picking up my kids. I like getting my kids before the mad rush starts. But, I ended up staying for the "shorten" meeting.

With no time to eat, I grabbed a couple of oatmeal cookie bars that were left out for the meeting.

The afternoon was fairly nice. I had one period to teach, then I had my planning preparation period (I like afternoon prep periods). Then, small group. Here in NYC, the last period of instruction is what is called the 37.5 small group (literacy)instruction. Only those students in need of tutorial assistance are supposed to be in attendance. Whereas in other schools, the 37.5 minute period is optional for students, at my school it is mandatory. Although I suspect it is from an Admin decision that it is easier to have one dismissal time instead of two (that is just my opinion), the (official) argument that "all of our students would benefit from the 37.5 minute period" is a valid one. Even though I have my entire class during the 37.5 minute period, I like the period. Actually, I am supposed to have someone in my room during the period to work with a small group as well. The third group is supposed to be of independent workers. However, this year like last year, I've been assigned an out of classroom teacher whose schedule is often too busy to allow him to assist me with a group of 5 kids. I think my co-teacher has only assisted twice since school has started. I am from the old school, if work has to be done, then I don't waste time worrying if "so and so" will be here to do his part. My main concern is the lowest group of readers (my group), the middles (the music teacher's group) and the (relatively speaking) high readers can work independently. My area of weakness is getting the groups settled on time so that I can work with the lower group.

Okay, moving on. I left school about 6:30pm. Sorry to say, I've started to ignore that annoying fire drill bell used to say, "get out now". Although next week, I really am going to have to make an effort to get out earlier so that I can get to the gym. I know most (if not all of you) reading this blog have given up on me ever going to the gym. However, I will prove you wrong...eventually. I now have Tuesday as my start date to start working out at the gym with a Monday through Friday routine.

Anyway, I was out of the building about 6:30pm, and I got caught by the talkative, extremely talkative kindergarten teacher. I had a feeling she was in a talkative mood. It almost looked like she was waiting for someone. I saw her "looking" at bulletin boards. I walked past her and went to the lobby bathroom thinking she would be gone when I got out. Out of the bathroom...she wasn't there. Outside the building...there she was. Caught!!!!

She talked about the lack of loyalty for the principal. She talked about how she moved two classrooms worth of books and furniture. She talked about how she has to organize her classroom closet. She talked about the problems other teachers bring to the school. She talked about the house she fixed up with her daughter. She talked about the tumor on her neck. She talked about how she stopped eating fish on the advice of one of the security guards. She talked about the tenant problem she had. She talked about the loan problems she had. She talked about her bank being bought out by another bank. I'm trying to paint a mental picture. The lady likes to talk.

The one-sided monologue went on for about 30 or 40 minutes. After a day of kids shouting, banging and screaming, I needed the peace and quiet of an evening walk to the train station. This lady was giving me a headache. Looking at my watch didn't help. Slowly walking didn't help. She would start walking with me, and then somehow end up in front of me. She even talked in the middle of the street. Okay, not really in the middle, she was more like 3 or 4 feet in the street(still talking). With the traffic light changing (yet again), I told her to come back to the sidewalk. And she started talking again. The way I was feeling, if I had mace, I probably would have used it. After about 20 or 30 minutes (time just seemed to stop), she decided that she could walk (with me) to the train station. And she continued talking on the way.

In hindsight, it is possible she might have been afraid to walk to the train station. Although, she often leaves the school late, sometimes later than I do. Also, she talks a lot in school. On more that a few occasions, I have had to walk my class around her while she was talking in the middle of the hallway about something or another. I forgot to mention, she also talked about how she does not drive her car because the alarm doesn't work and she is worried about disturbing her neighbors. For those of you wondering, if I had thought it was a matter of fear, then of course I would definitely have walked her to the train station...any train station she needed to go to. Incessant talker or not. Unfortunately, I was tired, and annoyed and I wasn't thinking clearly. I just wanted to get away from her. Sorry. In the future, if I see her again -- I will avoid the urge to run in the opposite direction. If it is dark outside, I will offer to walk her to her station.

I ended up arriving home about 8pm. Another tiring day, with no dinner. Out like a light in a matter of minutes of just "resting for a few minutes". The upside is that I've lost a few pounds from skipping dinner. Now, I weigh about 197lbs.


Post Date - Sunday, October 7, 2007 6:19pm

I just reread what I just posted. Yes, I know. There seems to be a smack of hypocrisy with my statements about the kindergarten teacher. So, I think an apology is in order. However, I still believe I don't talk as much as the kindergarten teacher. My conversation are usually topic specific, after that, I don't really have much to say.

Another week almost at an end. Other than the annoying antics of a few students (one of my students put Funtac in another girl's hair) my week has been okay. I was anything but productive, but it still was an okay week. I have a better group this year (not to mention a smaller group -- so far). The week started on Monday with AP1 asking for the report card of a student of mine from last (school) year. I actually had it. I was sure I'd thrown it away, but when I came home, I found it.

For most of the week, I have been procrastinating with getting my classroom together, and completing my lesson plans. At first my plan was to complete my lesson plans for the two weeks, but one thing or another stopped me. Each day this weekend, I've felt the need to stay at school until about 6pm (when the custodians use the fire drill bell as a way of saying get out). By the time, I get home, I am so exhausted, that I ended up falling asleep soon after arriving. I've been dragging 20 or 30 pounds of textbooks back and forth for school to home, in and out of public transit, only to have them sit at the door untouched, only to have to drag them back the next day.

One of the positives this week, is that I've managed to catch the earlier train, so I've been arriving at school about 7:15am each morning. I is nice to be able to have a few minutes to get mentally (and physically) ready for the day. Before this week, I was arriving about 5 minutes before the start of school, just time to run in the building, dropping off my jacket and cart, then sweating as I go to pick up my students. Now, I feel a bit more relax arriving when it is nice and quiet.

Another positive is that I've started buying "Healthy Choice" frozen meals. When the school has something like grilled cheese sandwiches, I like having the Healthy Choice alternative. The only downside is the extremely small portions.

Today, my refurbished laptop arrived, it looks very nice for a secondhand computer. It has DVD and wireless capability. The cost was $402 (including the teacher's discount). My plan is to have the computer in school so that I can update the students grades and write up reports in class. To often, I've told myself that I will take the work home, only to have it sit in untouched piles. I do have computers in my classroom, but the students get to them, and I have not really felt comfortable using the student computers. I like having my own space, that is off-limits to the kids. Another benefit (I almost didn't think about at the time) was being able to play DVDs on my computer. I think I might be able to borrow the computer lab's projector that will allow me to have a movie house showing in my room. If I do show DVD, it will only be on the 2nd or last day of school.

Tomorrow is Friday, early dismissal (2:20). Unfortunately, I won't be leaving early. I will really try to buckle down and get some organization done. I need to get my classroom computers connected. At my school, the classroom teachers are the ones responsible for disconnecting the computers for summer storage, and reconnecting them. Actually, the classroom teachers are also responsible for teaching computer lessons in the computer lab with the computer teacher busy doing something. Last year, I got annoyed with making lesson plans for myself, and them making computer lessons with my limited computer knowledge. Last year, the computer teacher closed the computer lab about 2 weeks before the end of school, that was also highly annoying.

Anyway, tomorrow, I will really try to get organized. Objectives:

1. Connect classroom computers
2. Clean up my teacher's area and put my teaching books and materials in order

For the weekend, I want my lesson plans for the week completed. I want next week for planning for the month of October. I also need to return to Brooklyn to the teacher's supply store to buy a few (I hope) art supplies. I want my students to do an art project for the hall bulletin board.

Well, I better go, it would be nice to get in bed once this week, rather than falling asleep from exhaustion.

Post Date - Thursday, September 20, 2007 9:49pm

Preparation Week has been anything but...So five days to get ready for the new school year, lets see what I've accomplished. I wanted to start last Wednesday, but no one was in the building.


Monday - I arrived to get a day early start. This Monday, I was told by my principal that I would have to relocate to another room. Monday was spent packing up the things in my closets and cabinets.

Tuesday - All day training for the new reading program. No moving, no unpacking, and no setting up.

Wednesday - Day 2 training for the new reading program. I was told that movers would come (and I could skip the training to supervise the placement of my materials). However, no movers came. I was told that if my things were not moved by Thursday, then, I would just stay in my old room. No unpacking, and no setting up of bulletin boards.

Thursday - Things finally came to a bit of a head between the two admins. (from my school and the charter school coming in). I could go into details of the conflicts, and confusions over the moves, but I think I should keep those aspects out of my blog. This blog is supposed to be about my boring adventures, so I will stick to that. Quick summary of my day.

Orientation of faculty members in the auditorium at about 9:10am. During the orientation, I am notified that the movers have arrived. They were planning to move my things out of my old room on the 3rd floor right wing of the building, so they (the charter school can set up). However, there was a conflict...long story short nothing was moved. Up until today, I was reluctant to touch anything out of fear of being stuck with having to move everything. I also did not start putting up bulletin boards in the new room out of fear that I would have to stay in the old room. The conflict may have been settled, so I started setting up the bulletin boards in the new new. I was told this evening that "movers" would arrived 8:30am to move my things from the old room. What movers (Charter school or BOE)? Sorry, I don't know. Tomorrow is Friday, the last day of the week. School starts on Tuesday of next week(Monday is a holiday - Labor Day [No school]). While other teachers are putting the final touches on their classrooms, I will be starting to unpack tomorrow...if I am lucky. I will also be lucky to get to spend the Saturday of the three day weekend in school continuing to set up my classroom. Lucky me! :(

Oh, I almost forgot, during the welcome back orientation, the principal announced that the new reading program that we had two days of training on, might not be able to be done in our school (funding would only be provided if our school was a lower performing school). BOE will make a decision September 6th. Another thing, apparently someone (it wasn't me), sent a letter to the heads of the BOE complaining about being coersed into coming to school two days early. After giving a speech basically about keeping business in the house (and how any problems can be solved inside, she distributed photocopies of the letter to everyone attending the faculty meeting. I am not sure what the purpose was of giving each person a copy of the letter for, however, it did put to rest any lingering doubts about pursuing a grievance against the principal for the "D" rating I received.

What is the plan for tomorrow? If I get a good night's sleep. Hopefully, I will have a lot of energy tomorrow. My plan (assuming the movers arrive at 8:30am), as they are bringing the items into the room, I will be putting things away and in the place I most expect the items to stay. Having spent 3 days after school was over, carefully labeling (most of) the boxes, I should have everything mostly in place by 4 or 5pm. Saturday, I will come in to do the finishing touches, or finish the loose ends.


Post Date - Thursday, August 30, 2007 8:04pm

Another lazy day. Today was sleep, surf, shopping, solitaire, and Playstation 2.

Thanks to the internet, I was able to find help for playing God of War II. I went to one of those websites that tell you what you need to do to win each level. So....I was able to finish the first encounter with level 1 whatever it's called (monster?!). I will need to buy a memory card. Without the memory card, I can't save my progress. Each time I play the games, I will have to start from the very beginning. I am still fairly clumsy with the game, but I am starting to like the game. Also, while online, I bought a couple of dust covers from Amazon.com. The dust covers are for my keyboard and my monitor.



Post Date - Thursday, August 23, 2007 10:39pm

Hello. It has been a while. Reason? I just got tired of writing same as yesterday. Also, I think I have been having an allergic reaction to the dust in my apartment. Last week, it got so bad, I had to leave the apartment. It felt as if my chest was tightening up into a fist. Luckily for me, the "fresh air" outside helped me to feel a little bit better. After returning, I cleaned up my bedroom. I washed down all hard surfaces including the floor. After the cleaning, I felt even better. Over the past few days, I have been getting rid of the trash that have been sitting around for months. In the bedroom, I had winter clothing that had not been put away. I had not used my dressers in months. My routine was to put the clean clothes into the moon chair (or pocket chair). In the living room, I finally cleaned off the futon/couch, I have not been able to lay on it in months. Once I realized that it might be infested with dust mites, I panicked. I threw out the old futon mattress and bought another one. Today it arrived. I stopped off at Target to buy a mattress cover. I wanted the one that said "barrier to dust and dust mites", but it was not available in the full size, so I settled on the vinyl cover.

Today was the last day for my professional development art class. We only stayed for an hour. The instructor collected our "homework assignments". Some students brought cake, fruits, and snackes for an end of the course party. Strange. Since I had already eaten lunch at Subways (and I did not bring anything), I did not eat anything. I just read the free newspaper.

After class, I walked to 72nd street. Before taking the Metro-North to Yonkers, I stopped at Target. After the new futon mattress came, I carried the old mattress to the dumpster behind the buildings. I was too tired to unwrap the new mattress, so I decided to post a blog entry.

Other items. No exercising for this week. The chest-tightening intensified over the days, and culmanated on Sunday of last week. I decided that I would need the doctor's appointment that I have tomorrow, it put me in the exercising mood. I was also nervous about going to the gym, having written that I was feeling okay, when I wasn't.

A couple of items on my wish list. I plan to buy another laptop for use in my classroom. Part of the problem with the piles of work that I bought home, was the belief that that I would be able to grade and type up assignments at home. With a computer at school, I would be more willing to put students' grades into the grading program sooner rather than waiting until the work piles up. I do have four computers in my classroom, but the kids have access to those computers. I want to hook up my computer to my copy machine. My copy machine also functions as a printer, and a scanner. This time, with the stupid and dirty notes start getting past around, I will be scanning and sending it to parents at work...maybe.

I also plan to get a reclineer. I have been wanting one for a few months now. I almost bought one yesterday, but luckily, my showed some self-control.

Let's see, I think that is about it. Oh, wait! One last observation from yesterday of a woman and her daughters (Princess 12 and Princess 16). Yesterday on the Metro-North ride to NYC, this clutch of chatterboxes made sure the whole train knew their business. A clutch is a litter of lizard (and dragon eggs). Clutch came to mind because I am still reading Dragon Avenger about a female dragon.

First up was the conversation between Mother and Princess 16 talking as loud as if they were the only ones on the train. They were going on a cruise and mother and daughter played 20 questions about the trip...what time are we returning from the cruise...Where are we going to stop on the cruise...are we going to be on the cruise ship the entire time. And mother dutifully filled in all the answers leaving nothing out. The man sitting one row in front of me, got up and moved to another car. When the conductor came, first mother did the "how do we get to such and such place". Then she gave up, and just blurted out, "we are going on a cruise, then proceeds to give a detailed list of their iteniary. Then the conversation shifted to Princess 12. She left her ipod, and she wished she'd bought her ipod. Then, she wanted a new ipod. And again, mother dutifully provided an annoying amount of dialog...so do you want American Girl (I assume it is a doll). Okay, I'm going to give you the American Girl for your birthday... that will be your present for your birthday. And then, yes, she repeats that several times. Then, mother changed the "present" to a MP3 player. Princess 12 wanted another ipod, but Princess 16 chimed in to remind mother that Princess 12 already has an ipod. Princess 12 chimed in that it is broken, but Princess 16 reminds P 12 that she(P 12) recharged it last night. According to mother, P 12 just wants expensive things.

I only gave you a rough summary, there was a lot more that I did not feel like retyping. To put it simply. They just didn't shut up. They're gums kept flapping while the train kept tracking (moving).

Post Date - Thursday, August 16, 2007 4:27pm

Another Lazy Day. Maybe I should just change the title of this blog. Today was basically more procrastinating. Commuted to class. There was a fire drill. Strange, the high-schoolers seemed to not have a lot of practice with fire drills. Announcement at 12:30 that the school would be having a fire drill/early dismissal. Someone had already mentioned the fire drill to the instructor 10 or 12 minutes before the announcement was made.

At about 12:40, another announcement had to be made because teachers were allowing their students to leave early minus the teachers. 12:45, an announcement was made that the fire drill began, and teachers were reminded that they needed to leave the building with the students. Outside people were congregating on the front steps, so security, and office staff made repeated announcements that everyone had to walk across the street. To be honest, I couldn't tell who the teachers or the students were. Although, the teachers were probably not the ones lighting up cigarettes while they waited for the all clear. After a few minutes, the okay was given. Students were allowed to go home (the ones that did not already leave), and the teachers were told that there was a faculty meeting in the library.

Just in case I did not mention it, the high school was in session for summer school. The Professional Development class was held here because the building was open for the summer. So, the annoucements really did not apply to the Professional Developement class I was attending.

Since today was Thursday, the instructor told us at about 1:50 that we could start cleaning up. The class was packed and out by 2:00pm. Our homework assignment due on the last day is to write up a lesson plan with art as the topic. The instructor needs a copy from each student just in case the Board of Ed. wants evidence that we have been "professionally developed". The instructor also asked that each student provides 17 copies. Each student will give each student a copy of his (or her) lesson plan, so that each student has a set of lesson plans related to art. Nice.

After class, I walked to 72nd street again, this time with a purpose. I wanted to stop at Barnes & Noble Bookstore. I wanted to buy a weight training workout book. It has been many years since I've been in the gym, with only a very vague idea of what to do, and where to start. Also, since I finished reading the Sword of Shannara, I wanted to find my next commuter read. So how was the Sword of Shannara? It was very long and took a long time to get interesting. I really liked the last 1/3 of the book. I was thinking about getting the single-bound edition of the Shannara series, but I passed. I have not developed into a mature enough reader to handle that behemoth. I think I've mentioned that I am only a part-time reader. I read during my commuting time on trains. So after milling around the books for a while, I finally settled on the following:

1. Fitness Weight Training (2nd. ed.) Baechle & Earle
2. Dragon Avenger (Book 2) E.E. Knight

What happened to Harry Potter book 7? Since I already read detailed synopsises on the internet, I am going to postpone reading it until the details are less clear. With my bad memory, that won't take long.

After B&N, I took the express back to Yonkers, and walked the rest of the way home. On the way home, I ordered a broiled chicken from the local Chinese takeout. At home, I microwaved rice and frozen spinach for dinner.

I was planning to go to the gym, but I was too tired, so I will have to try again tomorrow. I also didn't do any rowing. I'm thinking of maybe going to the gym tomorrow morning (or as close to morning as I can get). My plan is to try going to the gym in the mornings until school resumes. Tomorrow is supposed to be apartment clean up day. Saturday is supposed to be my visit to the mall a little further north, if the timing works out, this place will become my new best place. I liked the Jersey City Mall, but it was about a 2 hour travel time (one-way). Four hours in total is too much for some Panda Express.


Post Date - Thursday, August 9, 2007 11:39pm.