The Adventure Begins

I'm back. I returned yesterday afternoon. I was not able to blog during my trip mainly due to a lack of computer access. Starting today, I will be recounting to the best of my ability (and my notes) my Summer 2009 Vacation.

Saturday, July 18th

Since I missed my original flight. I had to pay a penalty for changing a nonrefundable ticket ($200). It wasn't until I got home, I realized that the hostel would not be opened when I arrived at around midnight. I tried calling for an earlier flight, but I was told that I had to call within a 3 hour window of the departing flight. Problem. I live about 3 hours away. I left early hoping to arrive at the airport to make it easier to change flights. Nope. I missed the earlier flight by ten minutes. It turned out okay(at the time). Time flew much faster than I was expecting it. After browsing through the bookstore, I went for dinner. By the time I got my dinner, I decided to go through the security check point, there was only about 30 minutes before the departure time. Oh, would you believe I got stuck behind an Arab family/group that didn't seem to understand the concept of "metal detector". Each person (male and female) had jewelry dangling from every wrist and neck available(and quite a few fingers as well). None of the security suggested that they remove all of the jewelry. Each person would be sent through setting off the machine. The person would be sent back through again. The second time, the security would call for a (male or female) to do a more detailed search. Me? I went through with no problem. Oh, I forgot I had my breakfast shakes with me. No liquids.

The plane ride was uneventful...thank goodness. However, when I arrived, I discovered that I had left all of my travel contact information, schedules, plans etc.... So, I was in the LAX at midnight with no way of contacting the shuttle service, or the hostels. At first, I finally decided to go to a nearby motel for the night.

1st attempt - No pick up service available. Motel operator said that the place was only about 5 minutes away. Walking directions were useless.

2nd attempt - Then, an airport staff worker suggested I take a cab. The first cab driver wanted $15 dollars even when I told him the motel was five minutes away.

3rd attempt - I tried walking to the motel (any motel at this time), but after walking for 90 minutes after midnight, with about 20lbs of luggage with me, I gave up, I slept on a bench in the airport. About 6AM the next morning, I was finally able to find the correct shuttle. And what did I discover as the shuttle van started to drive? I was back where I had started. If I had walked another 5 minutes, I would have been right back at my starting point. Yep. I had walked around the entire airport.

I arrived at the hostel 10 minutes before they opened, so I stashed my luggage behind the hostel, and walked to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. When the hostel opened, the woman in charge for the morning shift informed me that my room/bed wasn't ready?!?!? I wouldn't be able to go to the room until 3PM. I sponged off in the bathroom and began my LA adventure.

I visited about 3 or 4 Hollywood museums and took one neighborhood tours.

I'll post my pictures at another time.

Post Date - Friday, August 7, 2009 1:20PM

An Exercise in Futility

Well, I'm done!!! Finished!!! No more!!!

I'm finished and of course there was drama involved. Today, I had a 9AM appointment for a mover with a van to help me move my things home for the summer. Remember, I tend to pack as if I'm not coming back (even though I will be coming back). One, packing this way allows me to go through my materials and see what I can keep or toss. Also, if I ever do go on to another school, I don't want to wait until September to start packing.

Anyway, I arrived and thought I was doing a good thing by moving my things downstairs to the exit with the ramp. My appointment was for 9AM. After about 30 minutes, I called the mover to find out what happened. The guy came on the phone with a "matter of fact" tone telling me, "Oh, the van wasn't working". He said that he found out 1:30AM. He said that he would rent a truck (Budget?!?). After another 30 minute wait, I called the guy again. This time he told me that it would take 2 hours for his van to get fixed. I was angry and cancelled the job. I then had to carry my stuff back up the stairs and down the hall. I then had to stash the boxes and things so that they were not on the floor. I was angry at first, but once I was able to pack my things in the classroom. A part of me was glad to not have the boxes cluttering up my apartment for the summer. I also won't have to worry about dragging all that stuff back at the end of August.

Well, my vacation has official started...and I am exhausted. I came directly home. A part of me wanted to go to the movies or do some walking. However, my next goal has to be to clean my apartment...especially my living room. I'm going to rest up and hopeful attack my living room like a tornado cutting through Kansas. The first thing to go are the mounds of "paperwork".

I took some photos of my classroom. I'm still pleased with the job I did with the packing.


Post Date - Thursday, July 2, 2009 3:00PM

Finished...Almost

I finally finished packing and cleaning my classroom. All that's left is to return tomorrow morning to pick up my personal materials. I'll attach a photo. All the items on the right of the photo are my things that I take with me each summer. I try to pack as if I'm not coming back even though I'll be back. I think this time I did a good job packing, stacking, and cleaning. All the items along the back are basically grouped by subject matter. My closets and cabinets are all cleaned and organized. Although it took me three extra days to finish, I feel really good about the job I did this time. However, only time will tell if my packing job was a success. I'll know at the end of August when I return to set up my classroom. If I'm walking around and procrastinating, trying to figure out what I should do first, then I'll know my packing was not successful. The way everything is group, I should be able to arrive in August knowing exactly what to do and how, especially if I put my classroom back in the same order as this year. Another thing I liked about this job was me being much more thorough with the packing aspect. Tomorrow, after my things are removed, I'll take another picture. I was able to pack everything. Nothing was left on the floor except the furniture. There are no lose books, papers, or manipulatives around. Everything was packed and grouped. I'm really hoping I'm feeling this pleased with myself in August. If I did the packing right, I should be able to unpack (and set up my room) in a single day. That would give me 6 days to go through materials for planning differentiated instruction. My goal next year is to make a greater attempt at differentiated instruction(among other goals).

Well, I better go. Tomorrow will be my last day in school and this chapter will be closed. My summer vacation will be able to start.


Post Date - Wednesday, July 1, 2009 10:20PM

Packed Up...Almost

I'm almost finished with packing up my class for the summer. Unfortunately, my mind is entering the summer mode, so it is getting difficult to move. Each day after the last day, I've arrived at school later and later not really in a mood to pack. Here in NYC, teachers are suppose to pack up for the summer. Most of the materials have to be packed (and stacked) up along the cabinets in the back, this allows the custodians to wash and wax the floor. Bulletin boards have to be cleared (or covered with newspaper). The newspaper cover is a throwback to when teachers only had color construction paper that faded in the sunlight.

I arrived to school about 12:30PM. I focused on my teacher's corner. Going through mounds of papers and books. There was a dead mouse behind the bookcase that must have been there a while due to the mouse being dusty and shriveled. Due to the thunderstorm, I changed the appointment for the mover to help me move my things on Thursday. Tomorrow, I will have to finish pushing the furniture into the middle of the room. I also need to tackle the supply closet.

For the last couple of years that closet has gotten way out of hand. Normally, I like my spaces organized. I'm one of those people who likes everything to have a place, and everything in its place. When things don't have their own space, my room quickly becomes a mess. But when everything has it's place, then my classroom is orderly. My big mistake was allowing stress and paperwork intrude into the following school year. I didn't start with a clean slate, and I paid for it this year. My class was actually not nearly as bad as previous classes, but starting off on the wrong foot added mounds of stress that should not have been there. This year I made no silly promises to myself (or any students [or parents]) about finishing grading ungraded papers. This year, I graded what I could, and on the last few days, made no comments about back assignments. Next year, I will be starting fresh...I hope. One, I've told myself that I will put my classroom exactly the way it was the previous year. Usually, I try to have a different look to my classroom each year. I end up wasting too much time, trying to redecorate my room. This time, I was thorough in a different kind of way. I didn't waste time, trying to pack exactly organizing materials and labeling boxes, and not getting it right with materials left out and found at the last minute. This time, I keep the boxes opened to almost the very end as I went to almost every nook and cranny. The end result is that my materials (although not labeled) are packed together. The way the materials are stacked, I should be able to take everything do and know exactly where the boxes go.

I was going to start listing goals, but it is late and most of you regular readers know how good I am at making goals...but very poor about following through. Only time will tell if next school year will be better. Right now I should be thinking about my travel plans and vacation.


Post Date - Tuesday, June 30, 2009 11:15PM

Greyhound and Lost Land

A nice day. I was a bit tired but it was still nice. I enjoyed not having the thought of school, students, or planning over my head.

I resisted the urge to sleep or turn on my computer this morning. You regular readers know that's how my weekends quickly turn into marathon sessions of sleep or surfing.

I think I've mentioned this before, however, I'm not sure. For the last few days, I've been a bit out of it with end of the school year last minutes activities....mostly paperwork.

Anyway, this summer I will be traveling. Sometime last year a couple of fellow bloggers offered to show me around their neck of the woods -- both made the offer around the same time. I decided to take them up on their offer. In between stressing out about school related activities, I've been making my travel plans. At first my destination was Utah. Then, being the cheapskate that I am, I decided to also make a stopover in Indianapolis. While doing a price comparison, I through in Los Angeles and discovered the price was the same.

I will be traveling to LA by airplane, and then, I'll work my way back to NYC by bus. I was a little nervous about traveling. Regular readers of this blog know that I am basically a homebody. But as my plans started to take shape, I've been very excited about my travels this summer. Hopefully, I will be able to take some nice pictures of my travels and post them here. I will be staying at hostels at the various destinations. Hostels are very affordable accommodations when you are traveling. For those not under 25 yrs. old, the cost can range from $20 per night to about $30. You are basically paying for a place to sleep for the night. Most of the places require you to leave the premises during a 10AM ~ 4PM block for cleaning purposes. So far, I've had very positive experiences with hostels, both here in the USA and in Japan.

Well, today was the last piece of the reservation puzzle. I did most of my arrangements online(airline ticket and hostel reservations in the various cities), but Greyhound was a bit of a tough nut to crack. Greyhound didn't seem as user friendly as Amtrak or the Expedia. Although, Greyhound was (by far) cheaper, there was a slight price to pay for the lack of expense. One was the slight difficulty I had getting information. I tried to buy three tickets at once, but I had some difficulty online and then on the phone. On the phone, they wanted to charge a telephone user fee of $6 and then a $3 mail fee...for each ticket. So, I had to go in person to buy my ticket.

I have to say that the terminal in the NYC was not the most efficient place. Of the 6 clerical terminals, only two had clerks. Both in their mid 60's complaining about who was going to relive them (one was due a break and the other was off the clock). They also complained about the lateness of the rent a cop who was suppose to replace the guy who left.

With my bus tickets in hand, I decided to walk around the terminal, and then around 42nd Street. At the last minute, I decided to see the movie "Land of the Lost". I really liked the commercials for the movie, even though I'm not really a Will Farrell fan. The movie was amusing. The goal was to entertain without being too over the top. I was a bit annoyed at the concession stand pricing. On the overhead display it clearly showed 4 different combinations, and directly under was the sign choose and three for $7.50. Imagine my surprise when I ordered the #3(two hot dogs and a soda) and was told the price was $12 and change. Normally, I'm a jellyfish and would have said okay, but I was in no mood to spend about $25 dollars to have a movie experience. I settled for one hot dog and a small (probably 20oz.)soda for $7 and change.

After the movie, I went to visit my foster father. And then return home. I tried to watch TV, but with for some reason, I've not having much luck. I still can't get channels 11, 13, and 21. But I can get 3 or 4 copies of other channels.


Tomorrow, I will be seeing Transformers 2 with an epal in Brooklyn.


Post Date - Saturday, June 27, 2009 10:07PM

Vacation Begins

Not the best start to a vacation. Today was the last day of school before the Spring Break Vacation begins. After my students were dismissed, I made changing my bulletin board a top priority. By the time I finished the bulletin board, it was about 7:30pm. I was out of the building at about 8:30pm. I missed my train by about 3 or 4 minutes. Since I had about 40 minutes to kill, I went to Subways restaurant for dinner. On my way back to the train station, I realized I needed to pay one of my store credit cards. After making the detour, I missed my train again by about 3 or 4 minutes. However, now it is past rush hour, so the train is running every hour. I've got an hour to kill on the platform. Mainly it was me fighting falling asleep know that I might miss the next train. I finally arrive home about 11pm. The strange thing is that when I finally got home, I was no longer tired.

Not the best start to the vacation.

Post Date - Thursday, April 9, 2009 10:29PM

Official First Day of My Vacation

Tuesday, July 1st. My official first day of my vacation.

Quick summary of Monday before I go into details about my first day of vacation. Monday, I started to feel the pull of vacation. I was reluctant to get up, and I really wasn't in the mood to go to school to clean. However, I finally managed to get up and out the door. I arrived for more cleaning about 11am. Today I mostly had to relocate the boxes, and stack furniture and objects neatly. Since I wanted to be finished, I did not stop for a lunch break. I finished packing about 4:30pm. I was suppose to drop off my classroom keys, but no one was in the main office. The Principal's door was closed and the lights were out. The main lights in the main office were out as well. I guess everyone was eager to start their vacation. I labeled my classroom keys and left them on one of the secretary's desks. I also found in the mailboxes the official typed (tentative) new class list. I was expecting to have about 20~24 students. However, my new class will have...

Are you ready...

I will have 29 students!!! For those of you readers that are not familiar with classrooms. 29 is a lot of kids. Throw in a couple of hypers or personalities, and it is a powder keg waiting for a match.

Admin decided to make some changes. Ms. Across the Hall will be assigned a 4th grade class leaving myself and Ms. Down the Hall as the only two regular 3rd grade classes. The Talented and Gifted second grade class will be moved up to 3rd as a whole, and a second grade teacher will be assigned to teach that class. I'm assuming that because of budget cuts and a slowing economy, approximately 60 kids will be divided into two classes (giving each teacher about 30 kids) as opposed to dividing the 60 kids into 3 classes (giving each teacher about 20 kids). Very creative. :(

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

School's out, I don't want to think about school for the next month and a half. So, onto my 1st day of vacation time.

I agreed to meet another epal. After hearing his voice, I felt it probably wasn't a good idea, but since I agreed to meet, I went. There was a slight drag in the sound of his voice, and there was a noticeable delay with his replies.

My plan was to take the 2:30p.m. MN train, but after a slow start, I missed my train. I took a bus that arrived about 3:02pm. Since I don't think the 2:46p.m. bus arrived, I either took a late bus or a 3 minute early bus.

When I arrived at the Bronx subway station (242nd station -- last or first stop on that train line), the train in the station had a couple of cars that smelled like they were used for a toilet, but that did not stop the train from leaving the station, even though there were about 5 or 6 transit workers (in cleaning attire)milling around on the platform. So what is the significance of the stinky train? As soon as the train left the station, no one, I mean no one wanted to sit in the back cars. About 3 or 4 stations away, the train is pulled out of service "due to unsanitary conditions". Before going into the tunnel, I'd sent a text message saying that I would be about 10 minutes late. However, with the train out of service that estimation was no longer accurate.

I arrived about 30 minutes late (29 minutes if you want me to be exact). I called as soon as I could get a signal on my cell phone. My epal seemed very understanding. Once I saw him, I got the impression that he was lonely and really was looking for company. He seemed nice. I did notice that there was a bit of delay in his speech pattern. And he seemed to moved a bit slow. Originally, my epal wanted to meet at a bar, but I'm not really a bar person, so I changed it to a walk in Central Park. He suggested Prospect Park, but I really did not want to travel out to Brooklyn to go walking in a park. I thought Central Park was a good compromise. At first, the conversation was fairly strained. I felt as if I really had to work to keep the conversation going. For someone like me who is not a social person, that felt like hard work. We walked through Central Park for a while, by the time we reached a placed called Belverdere Castle, the guy seemed to loosen up a bit. After walking for about 30 or 40 minutes, my epal needed to sit for a minute; we ended up sitting for about an hour. I learned the guy had a fairly interesting story.

After sitting, I told the guy that I wanted to buy him dinner as a way of making up for keeping him waiting for 30 minutes. The guy was a vegetarian, so the options were limited. He finally agreed on going to a pizza place. So he would be able to eat vegetarian pizza(pizza with vegetables on it). Since I was very hungry -- I only had a bowl of raisin brain cereal that morning. However, I did not want to pig out in front of the vegetarian. We ordered pizza. Unfortunately, my epal was having some difficulty with his pizza, I went to get him a knife and fork, and that helped a lot. I felt bad for the guy. The guy told me how (since he is a freelance worker) he doesn't get to get out to socialize. He mentioned how he enjoyed our walk and wanted to know if we could do something similar again. The empathy in me took over, I felt the guy was lonely, so I agreed to meet him again on Sunday. Having spent a couple of hours with the guy, I was able to see past...my "first impressions". The guy was actually a very nice guy. And I did enjoy myself. Besides (those regular readers of this blog know that I have nothing going on except eating and sleeping. The guy was suppose to meet a friend at 8:30pm for a drink at a bar downtown. Although he said that walking would be too far to walk to the bar, we did end up walking about another 40 city blocks to the bar. When we arrived at the bar, I got to see yet another side of my epal. He seemed very social in the bar, about 6 or 7 different people came up to say hello to my epal. I felt a bit out of place. I really didn't know what to do in the bar. It was crowded and extremely loud. I have a bad habit of stepping into a room and immediately looking for a corner to cover or a wall to hold up, but that bar was very crowded. Did I mention loud as well? There were wall huggers on every wall, and every corner was covered. There was nothing for me to do but follow my epal around like a lost dog. So what happened to the friend?

The friend thought my epal wasn't going to come so he had left the bar "to get something to eat", but he came back just to say hello, then left again. The friend seemed nice. My epal told me that his friend used to weigh 300lbs, but the guy looked like he had lost about 1/3 of that.

We left and decided to call it a night. I walked my epal to his train station, then I walked to mine. I stopped off at an ice cream place, I ordered a milkshake.

I made it back to the Bronx with a couple of minutes to spare to catch the 10:40pm train. If I had missed the MN train, the next train would have been an hour's wait.

I had a nice time, and learned the saying, "don't judge a book by its cover" is very true.

Next Sunday, we will be doing another walk. I suggested a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. And next Saturday, I am suppose to be going to the movie with NJ epal.

Below is a slideshow with a few pictures I took during the walk through Central Park.



Completion Date - Wednesday, July 3, 2008 12:10PM
Post Date - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 12:04PM

Okay. I have completed my blogging catch up. I am now back in the here and now. Not much to post. Oh,....

MY VACATION HAS BEGUN!!!!

Friday, February 15, 2008
I was feeling a bit excited, but relaxed knowing that I would have a week to regain my sanity. Since the New Year vacation, instead of getting better, I was getting worse. For the last couple of weeks, I was unable to even put together a complete lesson plan for a whole week. I have not been to the gym since the last session with my trainer. Well, now I have another chance to get back on track.

Quick summary of Friday. Friday was my easy day. I had an easy schedule (computer twice). We finally got an outdoor recess. And...The literacy coach in charge of the new program assigned me and one other teacher to view a video about the program. Strange. There are other teachers who are better at the program. And there are other teachers who are new to the program. And, there are other teachers who received negative reviews when the program reps. came for an implementation visit. Strange. So why was I chosen to see the video? Ms. Across the Hall received a very "negative" letter from the literacy coach (CC to almost everyone in Admin) about her messy room, disorganization, and lack of implementation of the program, but I was the one (of two), to be assigned a sub during the literacy block time to come down and watch the video. Now, don't get me wrong, I got a 90 minute break out of the classroom, so I am not complaining. Even if the reason was a negative...somehow my instincts tell me it wasn't.

Anyway, while I was assigned to watch the video, my literacy block class was assigned to the "Spanish" teacher. Although, he is required to do the program as well, it was like I was introducing the program to him. I was a bit nervous, the kids tend to run wild with him. His "teaching" style seems to be a bit too familar (laughing with the kids, stroking the girls' hair, chatting while I'm teaching[in the past], etc...). After the video, the other guy, the literacy coach and myself had a nice conversation about "flaws" in this and that. Again, since this blog isn't about the politics of education or other people in general, I will skip a summary of the conversation.

About 90 minutes later, I returned to my class, and to my (honest) surprise, everything seemed to be in order. I think I got lucky. I think if he had my previous group, then there may have been problems. Or, my imagination could be over acting.

Anyway, the morning went along relatively nicely. After lunch, no drama. None. I was happy. It looked like I would have a pleasant start to the midwinter recess. By the end of the day, it was only Cackler who acted up. However, compared to any other time, I would have to say that her "acting up" was minor.

My plan was to be out of the building by 6pm. However, K6 approached me wondering if I was going for another 7:30 ending. I don't know, but I sort of got the feeling that she was looking for another packmule escort home. Again, it could have been my overactive imagination. Anyway, when I told her that Ms. Across the Hall would also be leaving at the same time, Ms. K6 told us to go; she said that she would be okay. she wanted to stay awhile longer. She also asked if I was interested in doing something this coming week. I thought that was a nice idea.

After walking Ms. ATH to the trainstation. I headed home. I was home about 8:15pm.

So now, it is Saturday evening. I wasted one day. At the moment, I am not upset. Today is the same as all of my other Saturdays, it was my recovery day. I slept most of the day away.

So, what are my plans for the midwinter recess. My original plan was to go somewhere for one or two days. Once again Niagra Falls came to mind. However, NF became a part of someone else's plan. At first I thought it would be cool to do a group trip, but being a bit slow, it took me a while to realize that I would probably be a third wheel. A kind of "Two's Company" thing. I quickly nixed going by myself. It would look too much like a "copy cat" thing. So, my new plan became to get organized. Yes, that ol' standby. I really need to get organized. I know that so much of my stress comes from not being organized the way I need to (and want to) be. This go 'round, I want to get organized, but also to get out. Below is a list (in [approximate] order of importance to me) of what I want to accomplish:

First, my goal is to at least do my lesson plans for the week I return to school.
Second, I want to clean my apartment and relocate my computer.
Third, I want to get on my rowing machine each day of my recess vacation.
Fourth, I want to complete the "paperwork" that I've held for months (if not years).
Fifth, I want to spend one day doing "paperwork"(correcting, grading, posting).
Sixth, I want to do my students report cards.
Seventh, I want to do a couple of shopping trips (mall and teacher's supply store).
Eighth, I want to complete lesson plans for the month of March(in pencil).
Ninth, I want to do at least 3 touristy/vacation things(including one bus trip).
Tenth, I want to make a couple of worksheets (including a weekly behavior check-off list).

There is something I am forgetting, but at the moment, I can't remember. Anyway, the list above is what I think I would need to accomplish in order to start being recharged and in control. So why isn't the gym on my list? In order for me to be consistant with going to the gym, I need to go during the work-week. In the past, I've started workout routines during vacation and dropped the routine (for one reason or another) when work resumed).

Well, I think that is about it. I have a few ideas already in play. But, I think I've been on the computer long enough.


Post Date - Saturday, February 16, 2008 7:21PM

My vacation/mental recuperation time has begun. I have a little over a week to finally get a hand on the chaos and confusion I've been feeling this school year. So how did I start it off. I got out of bed an hour ago. Breakfast is hot green tea and oatmeal cooling in the kitchen.

Quick Friday recap. Friday was the last day of school before the vacation. There was a lot of the usually nonsense, but I have to be honest, I seemed to be in a kind of daze -- that can happen with about 3 hours of sleep. I was just mentally counting down til 2:20pm. Through the temper tantrums, bickering, usual volume control issues, and bad behavior, I just felt happy for the coming break. After a $30 food frenzy/party, and hint of something more to come, I still had room reeking of ingratitude. The other 3rd teachers went on the field trip, with me left with their "no goes"(three in total). Five of my good kids (the only ones who paid), went with the other 3rd grade teachers on the trip to the community college performance of "The Nutcracker".

Also, a first grade teacher called to ask if she could leave two of her "button pushers" with me while her class did a Christmas show. Try not burning your bridges because you never know when you will need to cross one. I've needed to leave "button pushers" with her from time to time, so I did not hesitate for an instant to say yes. Since the upper grades were using the 90 minute literacy block for test prep, my time was not that bad. For me, I use the first part of the time for a practice test with testing conditions, then I use the second half for reviewing the practice test given. After that, we do a note-taking listening practice exercise. Day 2 of the ELA Test is a listening test. The kids are good at hearing but not listening. I also had my "Hypers" typing the character sketches of the absentees. I wanted my bulletin board finish before the start of the vacation, but I wasn't organized enough. I don't like having my students handwritten work up on the bulletin board. Besides, if they can spend hours online with the personal web pages and emailing, then they can type up a short assignment.

After lunch, my class had computer lab. Since my class is the last one on the schedule for Friday, the computer teacher lets us stay past the 45 minute time. Since I wanted my students to clean out their desks, I only gave them an extra 10 minutes. After cleaning out their desks, I quickly reviewed the math homework that I did not get to go over yesterday. To ensure that I had full 100% attention,I decided to use a bag of candy to "motivate" my students. One piece of candy for a correct answer. I purposely focused on the "button pushers", the old softy in me resurfaced. They got no party, and no present, I wanted them to at least feel like they got something. Dismissal went smoothly. Then Sticky Fingers almost ruined my post-day's end/vacation start" high. About 10 minutes after the class was dismissed, SF knocks on my classroom door saying "pencil case, pencil case, I'm here to get my pencil case". I had told her that she would not get it (nor the other junk) until her mother came to get it. Well, sure enough, mom was in tow. I explained to the mother the things SF was doing during my lessons and how she (SF) was playing not working, and the low scores were a warning that SF might fail because she doesn't take her school work serious. All I got from the mother was a gum chew um hmmm. Then they start talking in some African language Yoruba or Swahili (I'm not sure). This is the same woman who (in September)spoke fluent English and told her daughter to speak English in my presence. Also the same woman who told me to throw away anything not related to school work. As I handed her each item(make up, toys, kid's celebrity magazine, rubber bands, etc...) that I'd taken during my lessons over the months, the mother still with the extremely annoying gum chewing um hmms, just handed them to Sticky Fingers. What about the father? Remember the one who struck fear in SF. The last time I saw him was last month in the hallway (on his way to see about his other daughter). The standard unconscious question blurted out, "how's she(SF) doing?". My response of "Well, if you wanted to know...". His response, a nervous laughing "Oh, come on help me out". Don't you just love that support. This Christmas (according to SF), she will be getting her father's old computer for herself.

I have to say, that support at home really makes my job what it is. :(

After a 30 minute chat with ATH (with me devouring about 2lbs of leftover cake), and paycheck pick-up. Flittered away the time until about 4:30pm, then I got moving. I had to manual attach my flash drive to five different computers so that I could save a copy of my students' character sketches. Over the vacation, I will (I hope) correct them. Since the computers are old and frequently freeze, I had to pull out the computer tables and attach my flash drive as oppose to just emailing the documents to myself. Also the floppy drives don't work either. Also, I finally put up the manual pencil sharpener. The electric pencil sharpener on top of burning out too quickly, is too much of a toy for my students. I like the manual sharpener better. Since I am not very mechanically inclined it took me about 10 to 15 minutes to measure and drill the holes into the cabinet. Before that, I spent about 15 minutes removing the broken pencil that a student from last year had jammed in (eraser side first). With about an hour before the building would be likely closed. I changed tactics from end of the year cleaning to "next day" prep. In other words, pretending that it was just another weekend, and I would be back in a couple of days. I changed the (classroom) calendar(lots of pieces and bits of sticky tack). I washed the board and put up the Wednesday schedule (the day we return), put up a morning Do Now on the board. I was out of the building about 7:30pm. Since I had about 30 minutes in the Bronx for the next MN train, I went to the Chinese restaurant. Yes, I remember what I wrote in a previous blog entry. :) I ate a small greasy order of beef lo mein telling myself that I will start at the gym this coming week.

Home about 8:45pm. After a cup of prune juice (beginning a daily routine of drinking cup of prune juice in the evening and orange juice in the morning), I was out like a light. My goal this weekend is to continue my previous weekend routines acting as if school will be opened on Monday. With only 3 days to plan for the week school resumes, I should be able to plan for 3 days. If I accomplish nothing else this vacation, my one main goal is to have lesson plans, homework sheet done for the first week back to school, and laundry done. I know that if I don't do any of the above mentioned things these first couple of days, then those things won't get done until the last day of the vacation, then the stress resumes until the next vacation. I'm hoping that this is the time that I will finally get back to sanity. I like the idea that the "New Year" is coming. the best time to start new routines. For someone like myself who likes things orderly and neat (even when they are not), having a new year to begin new routines is very appealing. Considering I just spent a couple of hours at this computer with my breakfast still "cooling in the kitchen", I am not off to a good start. However, I did tell myself that I should treat this weekend like the previous weekend. Saturday for recuperation, and Sunday for recovery. If my lesson plans and laundry are done by Sunday evening, then I will be very, very happy. And I know, that 2008 will be my Phoenix Year. :)


Post Date - Saturday, December 22, 2007 3:47PM