Crazy week.  Stressful too.  This was suppose to be a different start to the new school year, but everything seems to be playing out like a broken record. 

Quick summary because it is very, very late.  With relative certainty, I'll be teaching 6th grade this year.  With that, I did what I do when I'm nervous about the coming school year, I went shopping. 

Yesterday, I went to the teacher's store in Brooklyn.  They (in my opinion) have a better selection of middle school materials.  The plan was to get there at opening to avoid the crowd.  I managed to be the second person to arrive before the store opened up.  My plan was just to briefly look at the books --with the idea of not spending more than $100.  Well, when I left, I was about $300 poorer.  From there, my plan was to go home, drop off the purchased materials and then continue on to the mall to go clothes shopping.  But since it was getting late -- the last evening bus from the mall is 7pm.  The problem with depending on public transportation is that you have to plan around the bus and/or train schedule.  At the mall, I needed to buy some "back to school" clothes for myself.  Unfortunately, I tend to wear clothes until they are falling apart.  By the time it was time to go, I was about $300 poorer.  I caught a few sells, so I was pleased about that.  I purchased a couple of pair of shoes, 3 slacks, 5 shirts (three color, and two white), and underwear.

Today (Sunday), the plan was to go to the teacher's store closer to where I live (Lakeshore).  Lakeshore is a bigger chain of educational supply stores.  I went to try and exchange the 4th grade materials that I had purchased.  I thought it might be difficult to exchange, but it was very easy.  I just said that I wanted to exchange....Before I finished my sentence, the person behind the counter just said, "don't worry, I can help with your refund."  I also went to use their laminating machine.  Wow, it was very convenient.  It was a bit annoying waiting on the line.  I was a bit annoyed at a couple of people on the machine when I arrived.  One lady was moving as slow as molasses, another lady was making her (center) signs while she was using the machine.  One lady on line complained about how slow the line was moving, and yet, when she got to the machine, she had about 15 or 20 hand-made charts that she was planning to laminate. AND, she was picking through her pile trying to decide what she wanted.  The lady in front of me was nice, but she seemed a bit old.  Not that there's anything wrong with an older person teacher.  I just thought she seemed a bit out of it.  Not to mention the very old poster she was laminating.  It must have been from the 70's.  The poster was of an African-American family (with Afros) sitting around and reading.  Behind me, there was a guy complaining loudly about his new teaching assignment and how he wasn't spending any money now.  He said he might spend some after he assesses his students.  When it came my turn to use the laminating machine, to be fair, I offered to use it for 5 minutes, then I would let the next person use it.  And then use it for another five minutes, and then let the next person go, etc... After laminating, I went to briefly look through the materials for 6th grade materials.  And, I ended up leaving about...$300 poorer.  Since I had to travel by bus, I decided to cut and trim the decorations and posters so that they would be easy to carry.  It ended up taking about 2 hours of cutting.  When I finished, I discovered that about 1/3 of the items didn't laminate properly.  At first when I went the the person behind the counter, the manage was about to say it was my fault that I didn't have the machine on hot enough.  However, when one of the cashiers mentioned to him that another person had the same problem earlier, he went straight to the machine, and tried to solve my problem.  I was impressed that despite the crowd, when the manager said that he would return in a couple of minutes, he actually did!  He used one of the two laminating machines that was broken to feed in my posters and decals one by one until the heat melted the plastic lamination.  AND for my time wasted, he gave me 3 coupons for free laminating (15ft. each). 

No exercising today.  I hadn't eaten anything since I had a can of V8 this morning, so I was hungry.  I went to Wendy's restaurant on the way home.  I was thinking that a 1/2 lbs burger and medium fries would fill me up.  NOPE!  While I was waiting for the try, I ate the fries.  I finished off the hamburger minutes later.  I avoided the soda because I know it has a lot of calories.  The strange thing was that it felt like I had eaten a White Castle burger.  I was ready for dinner.  I settled on a Healthy Choice sweet and sour chicken meal.  I also drank a liter of ShopRite Zero Carbs and Calorie Free Sugar Free and Caffeine Free soda. 

Well, that is ....

Oh, I almost forgot.  I just finished looking at the materials that were in my Amazon.com shopping cart.  When I first found out I would be teaching 4th grade, I went online to purchase 4th grade copies of the 3rd grade versions that I liked.  Well, when I found out I would be teaching 6th grade, I did the same thing.  Luckily, I was able to delete some of the items since I had already purchases them.  In the end, I spent about another $200.  My credit card is smoking like a five alarm fire.  But there is one more thing I really, really, need to get.

Even more than a decent photocopy machine, I need a grading machine.  My school is very, very big on "Data Driving Instruction".  I was drowning in paperwork last year.  I will lose my mind if I have to try to keep up with testing paperwork again this year.  This machine (and others like it) can do in about 30 seconds, what it would take me 2 hours or longer to do (grade a class set of a single test AND provide a data analysis for each student).

Now, I think  that's it...

This and That

The midwinter recess has begun. I'm going to have to try harder to make the most of it. I can't keep wasting my vacation time, to return to work just as stressed as I was before the vacation.

I returned to college to finish my Masters Degree. I'm paying out of pocket to avoid my ever increasing mountain of debt. Paying out of pocket put me in a bit of a financial bind (one I hope to correct by next month). I was able to get the books I needed for my classes. I had to order a couple of books on Amazon.com because the books were sold out in the college bookstore. I'm taking two classes that are both scheduled on Wednesday. Last Wednesday, was the snow day, so I didn't have to go. Considering I hadn't done the read, I was glad for the snow day.

Yesterday (Saturday), I managed to get an early start. I went to a local diner to order takeout breakfast (pancakes, eggs, and sausages). I slept most of the day away.

Today, I also managed to get up and out early (for me). I decided to visit my foster father. After, I went to 42nd street to see "Percy Jackson & the Olympians - Lightning Thief". I read the book and was looking forward to seeing the movie. A couple of websites seem to suggest that this movie will have the same frenzy Harry Potter had...I don't think so. I thought the movie was nice, but as usual, liberties were taken, elements changed, etc...I liked the book better.

After the movie, I walked to 14th street stopping on the way to a comic store and a couple of Barnes and Nobles. It still amazes me how the flagship Barnes & Nobles has such an incredibly small science-fiction/fantasy section of only a couple of bookcases. Luckily, there is another Barnes & Nobles a few blocks away from the flagship store with a greater selection.

My purchases:

Comics
Blackest Night - Secret Six #17
Blackest Night - Secret Six #18
Justice Society of America #35
Fall of the Hulks - Gamma
Incredible Hulk #606
Red Hulk #1
The Mighty Avengers #33

Books
Star Trek voyager - Unworthy
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz*

* I'm not sure why I bought this one. In the past, I have been tempted to buy the sequels "Wicked" and "Son of a Witch". Now that I have the original "Barnes & Nobles Classic "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum, I might buy the other sequels.


Post Date - Sunday, February 14, 2010 9:57PM

New TV signals have arrived

Well, another wasted weekend. This weekend was the first with the new digital signal conversion change for TVs here in the US. Therefore, those like me(who still depend of rabbit-eared antennas), there was no TV signals. Actually, it was okay. I knew months ago about the change. One, I'm a procrastinator. Two, a part of me, wants to give up TV and replace it with being more active in my daily life. However, that noble thought won't last long. A part of me one does not want to waste my government $40 coupon. Each household is entitled to two coupons. The first one, I received expired due to my procrastinating. I don't want to have to buy a converter box for a TV that will probably be replaced in a year or so. Another part of me is curious about what the new digital signal will bring by way of programs within my reach. A part of me is also sick of dancing around the room with my rabbit ears trying to get a clear picture.

Beyond the new TV signals, I don't have anything worth blogging about. I slept most of the weekend away as usual. So, I'll end this now. It is past my bedtime.


Post Date - Sunday, June 14, 2009 10:54PM

Intrepid

Weekend is just about over. I will try to keep this entry brief, since there are several things I should be doing instead.



Monday, May 4th
Exhausted the night before.
Up at 3AM for email complaint, and never went back to sleep.
Went to boxing gym to sign up. I was told that $160 would get me two days per week boxing lessons. I told the owner that I would take the Tuesdays and Thursday classes. I will have to fill in Mon, Wed., and Fri. with some other workout routine.

Tuesday, May 5th
Another late night/early day with 3 or 4 hours of sleep.
Disruptive kid continued his rein. Told by guidance counselor that one of my students "talker" ran about 3 blocks home out of fear of a group of girls in my class that were bothering her. They were made to apologize, with the parents brought in to "talk'. Later, I found out "talker" walked home by herself. There are details I'm leaving out. I left the building at 8:30PM tired. I did not go to the gym even though I dragged my full granny cart and my gym bag to school.

Wednesday, May 6th
Minutes before our class was due to leave the building for a trip to the Aquarium, AP1 had me meet with the parent of "talker" and one of the girls "taunting her. Since that "running" incident, talker seems to be the cat with the canary. On the trip, she had about two arguments and wandered off twice. Since I'm normally in hawk mode, I saw the wandering before it became anything major. The trip day turned okay. I could have been out of the building early for me (4PM), but after talking with colleagues about an hour standing, I ended up leaving about 5PM. I had Chinese takeout and fell asleep minutes after eating and woke up about 11PM. I didn't go to bed until 4:30AM.

Thursday, May 7th
I don't remember.

Friday, May 8th
My principal had some extra tickets to the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum and asked if I wanted to go. The trip involved using the subways along with a 20 minute walk. However, walking doesn't bother me, so I was eager to say yes. I was lucky to have a couple of parents come along. One parent was "Talker's" mom. Lately, Talker has been acting like a wandering cat with a canary, so I needed her mother to deal with her. Up until the "running" incident, she had been an extremely talkative (but very nice) girl. Now, she still nice, but now I'm seeing a bit of a malevolent edge that I had not seen before. I was out of the building about 8:30PM.

Oh, I took some photos of the trip. I will upload them at a later date. The attached photo is one taken from the internet. I did not take the attached photo. So, how was the Intrepid Museum? I liked it, but since I was in teacher mode, I couldn't enjoy it. I'll have to return on my own (without the kids).

Saturday, May 9th
Sleep, shower, sleep. Later I finally got out of bed to do my laundry (four loads). I also began to do some lesson planning.

Sunday, May 10th Mother's Day
Again, sleep, shower, and more sleep. Since it was Mother's Day, I had to get up and out. My plan was to make a quick run to pick up a last minute gift for my foster father's lady friend. I decided to get her a prepaid cell phone like the one I have. I tried to get a Mother's Day card, but the shelves were picked clean. I mean there was nothing. Nothing!!! I grabbed a gift bag, and matching tissue paper and a matching ribbon. The color coordinating made the gift look a bit less last minute. No problem other than minor annoyances. In one store, the clerk, opened the plastic case, telling me that he had to do it because it was company policy. I told him that nobody wanted a gift that was already opened. The next stores was invisible me. After a clerk came to me and asked what I interested in, he then proceeded to forget about me in favor of a woman in clothes much too tight wearing too much makeup. Then, he moved on to a guy in the aisle. Only after a guy who might have been the manager came out of the back and got me the phone did the clerk say, oh, I forgot about you. Even though I was standing in the middle of the small shop. I think I might have gotten better surface if I were a woman or spoke Spanish. Then again, it could have just been my imagination.

Well, I better go. Hopefully, I will have a better week.


Post Date - Sunday, May 10, 2009 10:11PM

Monday, June 16th Boy's Day Today turned out to be a very nice day. Once the morning confusion ended, it was an enjoyable day. Quick weekend wrap-up.

Since I'd spent all day at the Bronx Zoo, I didn't do any lesson planning or errands. Sunday was Father's Day. Since I did not have Saturday as my recovery/sleep day, I was tired Sunday morning. I just couldn't seem to do anything. I was planning to do. I finally, got out of bed, showered and wrapped my foster father's Father's Day gift by 4:30PM. I took the MN train into NYC. I arrived at my foster father's place about 5:15PM; his lady friend's adult kids were there wishing him Happy Father's Day. It was nice, then his daughter showed up.

She has worked in the day care center nearby for several years, often needing to walk past her father's building to get to work, and she rarely stopped by. Now, lately, she seems to be making a concerted effort to build bridges with her father. Once the argument started, I was getting a headache and left. I said that I needed to catch my train.

Before heading home, I decided to stop off at Barnes & Nobles to buy a juicing book. I bought a blender a couple of days ago. I thought it would be a waste of money for me to buy a juicing machine. I know I would hate cleaning the different parts after each time (especially the grater inside). I also have not had fresh vegetables in months, if not years. I'm hoping that with the blender, I can throw in a handful of this green vegetable, or that green vegetable to get the vitamins I need. Maybe if I have a glass of fresh vegetable juice each day, it will help me with my weight, my skin and my tired feeling. I went to the B&N on 14th street because they stayed opened late on Sundays. After perusing the diet and healthy cooking sections, I settled on:

The Big Book of Juices and Smoothies by Natalie Savona

I like the layout of this book. I also like the simple recipes (just 2 or 3 fruits and/or vegetables). After B&N, I rode the subway down to 42nd street where I could take the MN train. Since I was early for the 8:20PM train, I went to see if I could buy something to drink. I stop in one of the nation chained drug/convenience store. I was planning to buy a small orange juice. This was the first time I noticed that the 16oz Tropicana that I used to buy has been replaced with a 14oz, but the price is still the same...well at least uptown the price is the same (about $1.50), but in the midtown drug/convenient store, they wanted $2.19 for the 14oz. I put the orange juice back.

I arrived home about 9PM. I then had to start working on my PowerPoint Presentation. My school is doing a Boy's day event. Since they did a girl's empowerment day, some of the male teachers thought it was only fair to do a boy's event as well. Microsoft Office has made making a PowerPoint presentation super easy. The computer teacher/tech guy said that since he forgot to set up my Smartboard, he would do it if I came to school early between 7:15AM and 7:30AM. I was in bed by 2AM and up by 6AM, however, I managed to make the early train. And I arrived at school at 7:15AM.

And...

The tech guy was not there. At the last minute, I had to scramble around to find a way to show my PP presentation. Luckily Ms. Down the Hall lent me her older model where the projector is separate from the screen. It still didn't work. I called the tech guy(he arrived late), and he agreed to come. He came just as Ms. DTH got the screen on. Tech guy immediately said that everything was alright. I'd wanted him to stay until my PP came on, but he insisted that everything was okay and "everything would work". As soon as he left, the message flashed that my PP was using a newer version and it could not play. Tech guy was now too busy to return, but suggested that I send my flash drive to him and he would work on it. I copied my PP onto Ms. DTH's laptop (thinking I wouldn't see my flash drive anytime soon). About 30 minutes later, the student I sent my flash drive with returned. He said that Tech Guy put the flash drive down and told him to wait. After 30 minutes, the kid got tired of waiting. He returned empty-handed. My presentation consisted of the kids who decided to come to my Boy's Day presentation gathering around my laptop as I did my presentation. My presentation was on Boy's Day in Japan. I ended with teaching the boys how to make a origami samurai hat. After the two presentations, there was a raffle contest in the auditorium. I volunteered to read the numbers. I wanted to be useful, or the teachers who had my girls might try sending them back. Presenters had to split up their girls into available classes. Ms. Across the Hall was absent today. Did I mention that she was assigned to team-teach the mixed population class (a mixture of special ed and mainstream students). She would also have to move back upstairs to the third floor, and share a classroom. She was not happy. Since she did not reply to my email, I think she just took a mental health day.

Let me wrap this up, I've been blogging long enough. The day was nice. I was out of the building about 4:30PM. I made my homework copies for the whole week. I went to the grocery store to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables. I haven't bought fresh vegetables in months. I'm just about finished this blog. After I save it into my draft folder, I am going to try making one of the juices in my juicing book. I didn't buy the book for exact recipes, I just wanted to have a ballpark idea of what to do. If it taste nasty, then I will just pretend it's medicine. First up, kale juice. Well, time to go play with my blender.

Completion Date - Monday, June 16, 2008 8:46PM
Post Date - Tuesday, July 8, 2008 10:52AM

Sunday, June 8th (Weekend Summary)

Friday
Friday was an okay day. Since the computer/tech guy also knows how to play the piano, he is in charge of graduation rehearsals. The music teacher must be busy doing something else.

Since the computer/tech guy was doing graduation rehearsal, I had a prep period change. My prep period was changed to the same time as my computer lab. Since I just wanted a prep, I didn't complain. Since Friday is an early dismissal day, I didn't mind. Friday, there was also a special assembly for a "Salsa" show. At one point in the show, I was dragged up on stage to do a dance number. I hate drawing attention to myself, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Friday ended with me once again being able to do my lesson plans for next week.

Saturday
I had arrangements to meet NJ epal in midtown NYC. We were going to a comic convention at 34th street and 7th avenue. I had never been to one before. My Saturday plan was to run some errands before meeting my epal. I started off the day with a late wake up time and a bath. I was out the door about 12:30PM. I missed the MN train, but it did not matter because I gave myself an earlier personal meeting time. I took the bus to downtown Yonkers stop to take the express train to NYC. I stopped off at a check cashing place to pay my telephone bill. I was planning to also pay my bank and Target bill, but I realized that I should not push my luck with the trains. Having been late once, I did not want to repeat it again. I arrived at the meeting spot at 2:10PM -- 20 minutes early.

My epal arrived a couple of minutes late. The comic convention was at the Penn Station Pavilion (convention space in a hotel). The cost of the tickets were $15 each, I paid for the tickets through PayPal. Pictures? Since I think you had to pay (or get permission) to take photos, I did not take any photos. I didn't really recognize the "celebrities" there. The vendors were packed in like sardines. And the layout was like a maze. Without windows, and without any distinguishing objects, the place was just a giant maze. After walking around the celebrity section, we moved onto the comic/video/DVD section. There were several animation videos I was thinking about buying, but with bills due, I really needed to show some self control. I ended up buying a couple of graphic novels at $5 each (the regular price was about $15 each). I bought:

The Fantastic Four: The New Fantastic Four
Marvel Team-Up Freedom Ring

My epal bought an action figure. He collects those. We only stayed a little over an hour. Since my epal paid for lunch at the diner last time, I offered to pay this time. We went to the T.G.I.F. (Thank Good It's Friday) restaurant at 33rd street and 8th avenue. I ordered a grilled Salmon meal. My epal ordered a chicken salad with a side of french fries. The meal was okay. My salmon had a strange sweet sauce with nuts, and the broccoli florets were dry. After the meal, we walked downtown with the idea of getting some ice cream. Once we got to the ice cream place(14th street and 6th avenue), it turned out that each of us was only going because we thought the other person wanted ice cream. Once we realized that neither of us wanted ice cream, we decided to call it a day. Besides, my epal was going to a birthday party for his cousin, so he had to leave. I decided to walk back to 34th street to see the Iron Man movie. On the way back, I took a picture of the Empire State Building. I will attach the photo to this blog.

The movie showing was 7:20PM. The theater was a little more than half full. I thought the movie was nice (not great but nice). A lot of time was spent in character developement. The movie finished about 9:30PM. I was back home about 11:00PM. I stopped off at the local bodega to buy a pint of ice cream(mint chocolate chip) and Hostess apple-filled cake. It was a nice day.


Completion Date - Sunday, June 8, 2008 1:19PM
Post Date - Thursday, July 3, 2008 1:29PM

Monday, May 19th
Another stressful day. I did manage a smile for a good couple of hours before my students with their usual determination, wiped it right off. So, a quick (I hope) summary of my weekend.

On Friday(evening), May 16th, one of my epals sent me an email cancelling our planned walking trip through the Bronx Zoo. All week, the news reports mentioned Saturday being a cold and wet day. I was planning to send an email to suggest a change from zoo to movie, but I got beat to the punch by minutes. I already had my email written with the movie schedule saved for Saturday on my desktop. I started watching movie trailers, and lost track of time. I got the cancellation email minutes before I was about to send mine. Problem? Not really. It seemed a bit strange that he had to go out of town at the last minute, but that could have happened. I was watching the trailer for Kung Fu Panda -- it looks very funny!

Anyway, since I no longer had plans to do anything, I fell into my old weekend hermit habit, I slept Saturday away. I was a bit annoyed that the weather turned out to be very nice. I was also a bit annoyed with myself because I had wasted my chance to get organized, and with nothing exciting, or at the very least interesting to do, I answered an online ad from someone seeking "anyone interested in going to the movie tomorrow to see Prince Caspian. Normally, I don't read ads below the age of 35. I also don't like last minute plans. However, on an impulse, I answered the ad agreeing to go. The ad maker was 32yrs old. Moments after getting a "hello" email, I quickly fell into my old hermit habit. I changed my mind. I even started a "Cold Feet"(I won't be able to attend) email. Since the guy left his phone number, I thought the least I could do was to cancel in person.

Well, within minutes of answering the phone, the guy was already offering to buy the tickets and making arrangements to meet. I froze and agreed to go. The meet up time was 3:15PM. The guy also mentioned that if I got there early, we could "get something to eat". Normally, I would have gotten there early, but I was not comfortable with the idea of being stuck with a face to face meeting with someone I had not met before and may have nothing in common with. My plan was to arrive on time which would have kept the possibility of a long conversation to a minimum.

Sunday morning. Still having done nothing in the way of lesson planning, laundry, or shopping. I was both excited and nervous. The weather returned to cold and damp. I cut and shaved my head, took a bath and was out the door about 1:50pm. My plan was to take the bus because the MN train would have gotten me in NYC too early. The bus only operates 2 per hour on Sunday, so I was not expecting it to be more than 5 or 10 minutes late. The bus was over 15 minutes late! When it arrived at my stop, there was no one the bus, but it was still late. Ten minutes into the ride, the driver informs us (the passengers --all 6 of us) that due to a parade, he would have to make a detour. After about a 10 to 15 minute detour and the driver needing confirmation from the officers blocking the street and his dispatcher, he decides to pull over and wait for the parade to pass. Most of the 6 of us got off the bus. I decided to walk to the Yonkers MN station and take the express train into NYC. I walk about a block and the parade of high schoolers stop at the intersection I want to cross to do a number. I walk a couple of blocks then a guy with a horse of a dog who had his dog aside maybe due to the loud music disturbing the dog starts walking in front of me at a snail of a pace. He also had his young daughter with him. A few more blocks, the parade's path was a right angle into the Yonkers MN station area. I felt like I was in one of those movies or comedies when the main character has one obstacle thrown in front of him.

Anyway, I arrived at 34th street about 3:40PM (movie start time). Since it was raining, and I was only about a block and a half from the theater, I just walked as quickly as possible. The guy was not there. I was annoyed and embarrassed at being late. I bought a ticket knowing that the guy had already paid for my ticket online. Since the guy did not have the cell phone area code of 646, I just assumed that I had his home phone number. I didn't think to call him. I'm not too bright.

Anyway, I got my ticket with the idea that maybe after the movie ended, I might see the ad poster (he attached his photo to his post). I walked into the theater with the idea of sitting as far back as possible (still annoyed, angry, and wet).

Well, it turned out I sat down right next to the ad poster. Amazing!!!

The movie was nice. The special effects were great. After the movie, my epal asked if I was interested in getting a drink. Coffee at Starbucks.

Short story made long...sorry. I need to wrap this up. Long story short, I was amazed at how much we had in common. It was strange meeting someone who shared the same interests that I do. Also amazing was that his conversation almost seemed to be a step or two from what I was thinking. Even about an hour ago from typing this blog. I was thinking about what kinds of city type activities I could suggest. I thought about museums, but I thought that was something he might not be interested in. I was wrong. I wanted to meet my new epal again, but next week (even though it is a three-day weekend), I thought it might be difficult because I was planning to make arrangements with "Macy's Walker" epal. I also signed up for a group meet up next week. Well, my new epal told me that he couldn't do anything next week. Amazing!!!


Completion Date - Tuesday, May 20, 2008 12:08AM
Post Date - Monday, June 16, 2008 7:10PM

Sunday, April 13th
Quick blog entry. Saturday was another recuperative day. I slept most of the day away. I was in bed until 4PM. I did wake up about 7AM with the plan of going to the mall, but I was just too tired. So, Saturday was a bust.

Today, I was still feeling a bit tired, but I knew that I had to get up and out. Next week, I go to the professional development workshop in Baltimore Maryland. The tentative schedule is that we leave Tuesday afternoon. The other 2 teachers, and the principal, and I will be leaving from school about 12PM. The workshop is a two day event,with checkout from the hotel on Friday. Since I was getting basically a free trip to Baltimore, Maryland, I decided to make the most of it. I asked if my return ticket could be changed to Monday, April 21st. Spring Vacation starts on April 21st. (until April 25th).

Anyway, today I went to Target store (a last minute thing), to buy a cheap suit. My first suit in about 20 years. Yep, about 20 years since I last bought a suit. Unfortunately, the pickings were slim-pickings. I felt a bit uncomfortable trying on a suit. I had no idea what I was doing. 20 years ago, I was just starting out and it was suggested by my foster brother that I should have a suit, so I had his help buying my first suit. This time, I was on my own. I settled on a 46R charcoal jacket. I couldn't find a pair of slacks in my size in the same color, so I settled for black. Later, I notice why the Target suit was so cheap. All four of the outside pockets are fake. The suit had only one inside chest pocket. I was also planning to buy a couple of white shirts, but they had no white shirts. I also bought a garment bag, and underwear. I also bought the paperback book of "I am legend". Since I was going to be traveling with other teachers, I was feeling a bit self conscious about reading Star Trek while riding with other teachers, so I bought a book that would (I hope) not raise any eyebrows.

When I returned home, I did my laundry. Oh, and it was while I was returning from the laundry room, I noticed that I had lost my digital camera. I was a bit annoyed. I had been carrying around that camera in my jacket pocket for the last couple of weeks (always forgetting to take it out my pocket).

After the laundry, I started doing my lesson planning. Tomorrow will be a busy day for me. I will need to finish my lesson plans for the sub who will be covering my class while I am in Baltimore. I also need to clean up my desk area, so the sub will be able to find what he or she needs. I also will need to make all of my photocopies for the week (including homework and classwork). I will need to write down some information for the sub (routines, procedures, etc...). Next, I want to stop off at Target store to buy another digital camera for my trip Tuesday.

I better go. This blog is long enough. And I still have to type up my homework sheet.

Completion Date - Sunday, April 13, 2008 11:46PM
Post Date - Monday, May 26, 2008 12:48AM

Long restful weekend. Saturday (and most of Sunday), I slept and vegetated in front of the TV. After a very draining work week, I knew I would need the weekend to recuperate. I was a bit disappointed, but not by much.

Saturday I watched half of the computer-animation Spider-man series. It was nice, not great, but nice. I also watched the boxed-set of the original British series of "The Office". It was nice, a bit too "edgy" for me. It was a bit of like watching a train wreck (interesting, but a bit painful). Each person seemed to be making one bad decision after another. I was a bit worried that the last episode would not have a happy ending. I would have liked a nicer happy ending, however, the ending was nice. It did make me smile. I also like the extras like the cast's visit to the Golden Globes where everyone thought (according to the DVD) had no chance of winning(they won two awards). Lunch was take-home leftovers from my uneaten school lunches (a fillet sandwich and a veggie burger). For dinner, I had a Weight Watcher's meal.

Sunday, I finished watching "The Office" episodes extras. Later in the day, I went out to do my laundry, and pick up the Daily News paper. I also had to buy some milk. Last weekend, I ordered milk online. And again, they got my order wrong. This time, I ordered organic lowfat milk, but I was given lactose fat free milk. Nasty!! I did have another sip today, it did not taste as bad as the first taste, but it still did not taste good. I didn't eat lunch today. For dinner, I had the leftovers from the meal I bought from one of the students' aunt. I also had a honey sandwich (just honey between two slices of wheat bread).

While I washed the dishes in the sink, I filled up my bathtub for a bath. I am long, long overdue for a bath. I won't embarrass myself with a count of days since my last bath (or shower), but needless to say, I am long overdue.

Completion - Sunday, March 16, 2008 9:57PM
Post Date - Friday, April 25, 2008 11:39AM

The previous blog entries have been sitting in my draft folder for the past few days. I don't know what, how or why, but I was too tired to do anything within minutes of returning home. Both previous blog entries were ended with me falling asleep in mid sentence. I deleted the gibberish that came from me sleeping with my hands on the keys. Hopefully, next week will be a better week.

I don't really have anything to post, so I am going to end this now and get off this computer.

Quick weekend summary. I slept most of Saturday away. I finally got up at about 5pm. Saturday evening, I spent about 3 hours sticking the adhesive tabs onto the plastic sheet protectors for my students portfolios, I also wrote the labels and inserted the labels. I then finished the evening grading a few (a very few) papers.

This morning, I was working on the Classroom Action Plan Goal Setting sheet, it is due tomorrow. Instead of handwriting the sheet, I searched the Internet for a copy of the NYC seal that our school uses for a header. I then typed up my Goal Setting sheet to look identical to the form that was given out. I also revised the sheet. My sheet has a place for the teacher's name and classroom, along with the school year.

Well, I postponed my gym workouts for a week, with the (false)assumption that I would use last week to get my classroom organized. Well, having broken all of my New Year's Resolutions within 3 days, I will have to try again starting tomorrow.

Now (when I get off this computer), I will shower. Write up my lesson plans for next week, go to the laundry, and make a quick run to the brick and mortar store for groceries. There is suppose to be a heavy snow fall due this evening and tomorrow morning. I hope it is not too great. With all of the hills and mountains, they are a bit slow about shoveling snow around here. Now, if it snows so much that schools are closed, then, well, let it snow. :)


Post Date - Sunday, January 13, 2008 12:18PM

Nine Resolutions, and I broke eight of them within four days. Strange, I am not as upset as I would have been in the past. The purpose of the resolutions was to give me a focus in the new year, not really a sudden transformation. I was a bit disappointed, but nothing major, no binging on a pint of Haagen Daz. I just told myself that I will just start again on Monday. I hated the idea of spending the $100 on a personal trainer, but I am glad I did. Without the trainer "expecting me there", I probably would have an excuse for not going to the gym. I have 3 more sessions with the trainer, then I am on my own. The real test will come when I am on my own.

This weekend. I slept Saturday away. Thursday evening, I went to bed at about 2:30AM, so I was very tired when I did my workout on Friday with the trainer after a full day in school. On Saturday, I did some corrections of the students' writing. Yes, I am still doing that character sketch project. Mainly, due to my disorganization. Somehow, I went from an almost complete set of 15 (two students were absent) to about 6 or 7 completed and typed writing assignments.

Today, I was a bit productive, but not by much. I did about 4 loads of laundry. Now, that I am attending the gym, my dirty clothes pile has increased. I have a trainer that does not seem to mind getting close to her clients, even when I am sweating up a storm. Being a bit self-conscious, I get a bit nervous when I am working out and my trainer doesn't seem to mind getting close. She evens likes helping me with my stretches (before, after, and even during the workout). After the laundry, I ate dinner (Weight Watchers - Beef Steamer) with a cup of microwavable rice, and a couple of honey on wheat bread sandwiches. I then finally got around to cleaning my bedroom. There was enough dust to choke a horse. I was tempted to take a photo, but I decided against embarrassing myself. Since I was in a cleaning mood, I also tackled half of the bathroom.

I just took a break from completing this blog entry to buy some online flowers. One of my colleague's husband died last week sometime. Although I put in $10 into the collection, I wanted to do a little more. A spouse is different from a grandmother or distant relative you hardly see.

Well, it is past Midnight...again. Not a good start to the work week. I should have gotten in bed much earlier. On Friday, I left school at about 5pm to be able to make my gym appointment, but I left my classroom a bit of a mess. I did not even put up the schedule for Monday. I hope this is not going to be an indication of the type of week I am going to have. I do know that I will have to finish my bulletin board tomorrow. I also know that the first Monday will mean a faculty meeting. I hope tomorrow won't be a crazy, stressed-full day.


Post Date - Sunday, January 7, 2008 11:59PM

The fact that I'm sitting here blogging tells you that I'm not off to a good start. Just a quick update. This weekend was supposed to be my attempt to get back on track, but once again my train derailed. Saturday, it took me a while to get started, and Sunday was basically the same. On Saturday, I went to the Yonker's post office to buy stamps. I am going to mail of the report cards of the students who parents didn't bother to show up for P/T conferences. I took the local to Yonkers, so I was able to take the express into NYC. I went to my old neighborhood in the Bronx. I went to the big locksmith shop there -- near the location of the former Sears location. I bought a couple of locks for my classroom closets. The cheap clasp that must have been put on by the previous teacher just wasn't cutting the mustard. I also bought a couple of key chains for my school keys. I couldn't decide so I just bought a couple. I like having my keys attached on my belt loop so that I don't lose them. After the lock shop, I went to Staples on Fordam Road. I bought some miscellaneous school supplies; a couple of big calendars (home and classroom), thin-tipped whiteboard markers. -- did I mentioned that I ordered a personal laminator for my classroom, it arrived sometime last week. One of the teachers recommended it. At first I was hesitate, but I grew to like the idea. Although her reason was to do art projects and laminate them for the bulletin board. I'll help my students do art projects, but I am not going to put up my work. It is there work or nothing. I wanted a laminator more for organization reasons. For example laminating a student check off list, so I can keep track of students completing specific assignments. Having a posted "check off" list will help me (and my students) keep track of who didn't do the assignment, rather than scribbling do on a paper that I misplace from time to time. Just one example.

Anyway, after Staples, I went to visit my foster father. Since I hadn't visited in a while, I thought it would be nice to check-in.

As I approached the building, his ladyfriend was coming in the opposite direction. She started complaining about my father's mean-spirited ways. I suggested that he was getting old, frustrated and angry at getting old. He is probably lashing out at anyone he can, and she is the easiest target. She should have gotten out when I did. She has been saying for years that she wants to leave and get her own place, but never does. I suspect that having her there has been good for my father. Some people age gracefully, and others age aggressively...my father is the lather. He is a fighter, and has no intention of going quietly. Anyway his ladyfriend complained of the ornery things my father had done the last few days. She said that she needed to get out of the apartment to get some breathing room, and to get some aspirin for the pain in her legs. Since the drug store was closed, and the imitation 5 & 10 shop was about a block away, she was going to the corner bodega even though it would be more expensive. She didn't want to walk the extra block, so I volunteered to buy the aspirin at the 5 & 10 store and go for her. It was about an extra ten minutes for me, but it would have been much longer for her. Anyway, I stayed about half an hour. The visit was basically who died, was dying, and who's very sick. Also, the conversation was about how no one listens to the experience he's had. Unfortunately, my visit didn't have the usual result. My foster father was very happy to see me, but he didn't let go of (for lack of a better phrase) the "bitter behavior". Usually, when I arrive, my foster father smiles, and I can change the subject to pleasant this and that casual conversations. However, no matter how much I changed the subject to the minor/casual conversation, he would always come back to the "dying" topic, also, he gave examples of the ornery behavior. He told me how "he gave the boy downstairs hell" for being outside without a jacket. Luckily, I have "the train" excuse to leave with relative ease. If I miss my train, I'll have to wait a whole hour for the next train. He wanted me to stay, but I really didn't. The way "ladyfriend" was looking at me as I left, I think she also wanted me to stay. I still have the delusion that I will be more productive tomorrow running through my head. I might spend the night for Thanksgiving. Better yet, I might come the day before Thanksgiving, and leave Thanksgiving evening. The only reason to spend the night is that I think it would make my foster father very happy. We all get old, and I know it is only a matter of time before my time comes.

I am wayyy of track...


My Sunday started with checking e-mail. Big mistake! My computer has become a parasite that sucks the emotional lifeforce from me. Any plans, motivation, or will dissipates when my computer comes on. Since I've had about 6 or 7 e-mails in the past two and a half months, checking e-mails is a pointless endeavour. But, I am a glutton for punishment. After "checking my e-mail", I replied to a survey. I mentioned doing an online shopping a few weeks ago. Well, having not done it again, caused me to receive a "we missed you, what have we done wrong" e-mail/survey. Since several things were not available at the time, I really didn't think about doing the online shopping again. Anyway, having started the survey, I decided to do some online grocery shopping. This time there were more options. So, what should have been a couple of minute survey, turned into about an hour shopping trip in front of my computer. After shopping, I took a bath. I was out of the tub and on the MN by 1:30PM. I need to go to the teacher's store in Brooklyn. For some strange reason, I can't find glue sticks for my mini glue gun. Target sells the mini glue gun, but they sell the gun without the glue sticks. For the last month or so, Target (in the Bronx) has not had the sticks. Staples has the heavy duty glue gun with the heavy duty sized sticks. Anyway, for my bulletin board turkeys, I need more glue. I also wanted to buy the January idea book. My goal is to plan for the month of December during the Thanksgiving holiday/vacation. Anyway, arriving at the teacher's store, I ended up spending about $70 dollars. I bought three packs of glue sticks, black history workbooks, math, science and social studies test prep workbooks, rubber stamps (please sign and return, and please correct)etc...

After the teacher's store, I went to Wendy's for lunch (MacDonald's was very crowded). I actually liked Wendy's meal better. The hamburger and fries had a better taste...to me. I think MacDonald's food taste more processed.

After Wendy's, I rode that train back to the Bronx. I corrected papers on the train ride to and from Brooklyn. In the Bronx, I went to Target to have my blood pressure medicine refilled. With the 20 minute wait time, I browsed the aisles. I wasn't planning to buy anything, but I did. I bought "Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials" (the trilogy of The Golden Compass, the Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass) 933 pages. The Golden Compass movie is coming out soon. It will be nice to read the book before I go. Yes, I'm still reading The Storm of Swords. And yes, the story is still dragging on. I also bought some Healthy Choices meals.

I was back home about 6PM. After reading the Sunday paper, I started grading more papers. I ate a Healthy Choice meal, I mixed a cup of microwavable rice to the meal to help my fill up. I fell asleep soon afterwards, and woke up. Now, I'm blogging.

Well, I better go. It is late. I still have to type up my homework sheet. Today, I have to leave school by 5PM. I need to be home by 6PM to be home when my grocery order arrives.


Post Date - Monday, November 19, 2007 2:25AM

End of the three-day weekend. Not much to report. I managed to finish my report cards. After procrastinating for the last couple of weeks, I finished...Late. Having been used to to disorganization of Admin. I (and several other teachers) were expecting to have the report card deadline on Tuesday. Yes, the day of the afternoon Parent/Teacher Conference. Since in the deadline has been due by the P/T day in the past, it was no surprise when there was no announcement of a due day. Unfortunately, I fell into that trap. I should have known better to let my guard down. Anyway, with a posting in the daily bulletin on Thursday that report cards are due on Friday took several teachers by surprise. My plan was to leave early on Thursday, and have the report cards finish. I'm very good with deadlines, train times, etc.... Unfortunately, when the time changes unexpectedly, then I get caught. Either missing the train, or in this case, missing the deadline. I was annoyed with myself more than with admin. However, other teachers seem to have felt that since the due date was so short, then it isn't the teacher's fault that the report cards are not in by the due day. I sort of verbally went along with the group, but inside I was still annoyed with myself more than with admin. After all, the report cards were handed out about 2 weekends ago.

Anyway, I had missed the deadline, so this three-day weekend became my report card avoidance weekend. I had three days to get them done, but I wasted the weekend avoiding them until the last minute. I was also annoyed that I couldn't find my grade book, nor assignments that I did grade that could have help make my grading easier.

After sleeping most of the weekend away, I finally got the cards done. I also managed to finally type in my students names into a grading program that I've used in the past. I finally stopped being a cheapskate and paid for the upgrade from the free CD that I've been using for several years....Big Mistake!!!

The changes to the program either were designed to highlight my stupidity, or just to aggravate me. the new changes now don't allow changes to the reports that are printed. I spent about a half an hour trying to merge a students grades from two separate "classes" into one. The grading program uses a program that isn't Microsoft compatible. It does ask if I want to convert the individual file (each student's saved file), but when I click yes, it converted the report into something unreadable. Now I'm thinking that it might just be easier to do my own grading onto an Excel file. It is a bit annoying to have to print out 38 pages when I only needed 18.

I better end this, tomorrow (now today) is Parent/Teacher Conference. On Friday, after helping "Across the Hall" input her test scores into the computer, and help show her how to access the reading reports for the reading program we use at school, I did not get to clean my classroom. I would have stayed longer -- there were several teachers still in school getting ready for P/T Conf. However, I think Across the Hall was a bit nervous about walking to the train now that it is dark. I'm sure she would have gone if she needed to, but I did tell her that I would be finish by 6PM. Since it was 6PM and I did say that I would be ready, I left my classroom a mess.

I'm hoping I will be able to catch the early MN train. I want copies of my report cards before I hand them it, AP1 can sometimes be forgetful. I also want to print out my homework.


Post Date - Tuesday, November 13, 2007 1:07AM

I'm back. Last week, I was too angry and stressed out to blog. I was angry with my situation, and with myself. All last week, I would work myself to exhaustion, then come home about 8pm, collapse from exhaustion, then wake up about 2am and stress out about the next day until 3 or 4am, and then repeat the same thing. On Friday, I didn't even get to return to sleep when I woke up at 2am. I had boxes unpacked, classroom library undone, and new books that seemed thrown at me.

When I made it to the weekend, I avoided my computer, too many times I got into the habit of falling back to using my computer to procrastinate. As a result of avoiding my computer, I managed to do my lesson plans for the 3 days next week. NYC schools are closed for the Rosh Hashanah holiday. I won't embarrass myself by writing the time it took me to write lesson ideas for 3 days. Saturday evening, I even played on my PS2 for a little while.

Today, not having the stress of lesson planning over my head, put me in a good mood. I decided to go to the teacher's supply store in Brooklyn to buy a number line. This morning, I did my laundry. Even though next week is only a three-day work week, I felt that I should not be lazy about letting my laundry pile up. After doing my laundry, I took the MN into the city. First stop was Target. I wanted to develop my photos of my new students. Each year, I take digital photos of my students to incorporate their photos into their written work. I was planning to have the students type up their self-introductions, but Open-House is on Tuesday, so I won't have time to do the typed written assignment. I decided that I would print the student photos and attach them to their hand-written stories. Anyway, I arrived at Target to develop the photos...Oh, and I needed to get a refill of my blood pressure medicine. Anyway, when I arrived at the photo center, there was a lady scanning photos. I did not want to wait, so I put in my refill subscription, and left. I stopped at the Subway's restaurant for lunch. I had a pastrami 6in. It looks like someone else has the shop now, this is about the 3rd owner within the last year...I think.

I arrived at the teacher's supply store with the plan of only buying a number line, but I ended up spending $124. I found some great reproducible skills workbooks in each of the core curriculum content areas. I also found a few other items. For example, I want to do an interactive bulletin board that will allow my students (and myself)to keep track of the books they read. It just requires plastic hooks, binder rings, and index cards. I saw the idea in a classroom a couple of years ago, I will modify it for my personal style and for the reading program we use at my school.

After Brooklyn, I went to Staples on 125th street. I wanted to buy some color index cards, and price the plastic hooks. Target had some okay looking hooks, but not really the style I wanted. Anyway, I took one look at the line in Staples and turned right around and left the building, the line went 3/4 of the way around the perimeter of the entire floor. The line started at the front, went to the back of the store, passed three or four aisle, then back up to the front. Add to the mix, kids running unsupervised, and daydreaming strollers, and clueless shopping cart shoppers, I couldn't take it.

I visited my father's place, then I had dinner at the Korean owned soul food restaurant. I told myself that I would start exercising tomorrow. I went back to Target, but the photo center was just closing, and the shelves were bare. I took the express train to Yonkers. I had about 30 minutes to got to the shop rite store for some milk and shower spray to be back to catch the local train home. The walk is about 10 minutes (6 if you walk fast) from station to store -- one way. If I missed the local train, the next local was an hour wait. I caught the train.

The first thing I did home was to shower, with the plan of trying to print out my homework sheet in blue ink (I ran out of black ink). After showering, I layed down for a minute, but I ended up out like a light in seconds.

Well, I think that is it for now. Hopefully next week (I should say this week since it is now after midnight), I will be back on track. Goals for the week

1. Start rowing on Monday.
2. Make a doctor's appointment to find out the results of my tests.
3. For the Jewish holiday (Rosh Hashanah), I want to do my lesson planning and homework sheets for the month of October. It has long been my dream to be able to plan my lessons a month in advance. An assistant principal mentioned that onetime several years ago, I've thought of it as a fantasy for years, but recently, I started having the desire to make that fantasy a reality.

Oh, I almost forgot. I forgot to mention the small world meeting last week. On my way to work, I met a teacher who was on his way to teach at the junior high school I attended many years ago. The principal at the junior high used to be used to be an English teacher there. About a year ago, I met an e-pal online who also worked at the same junior high school. Small World. :)


Post Date - Monday, September 10, 2007 1:03am

Weekend Summary.

Saturday. Not much done. I planned to walk to the post office to pick up another package from Amazon.com, but a moment resting, turned into a 2 hour nap. I woke up about 4:30pm. The post office closes at 4pm. I did get on my rowing machine, but I was not really focused. I am not sure how many calories were burned. I relaxed in the bath for about 30 minutes. For dinner I had a can of low sodium chicken soup, and a couple slices of wheat toast (with butter) :( Last night, I also had to deal with a small head cold (I hope), that kept my head pounding, and my nose running all night.

201.8lbs. / 29.9BMI / CalB.???

Sunday. I was feeling a little bit better, but my nose was still like a drippy fauct. I started cleaning off my computer cart, so that I could finally put up my new computer. Alas, I didn't get to finish, so my computer is still in the boxes. My air-conditioner is also. I also did my laundry. All of the dirty clothes in my apartment. That includes the clothes I wore to school for the last week of school, my winter coat (and jacket), and my blankets. Did I mention that I hate doing laundry, so I tend to put it off. I did about 6 loads of laundry (two of those were for the two blankets that have been on my bed for quite a while. For lunch I had a cup of microwaved rice over a can of sardines in mustard sauce. When I finished the laundry, I decided to walk to downtown Yonkers to go shopping. I needed a bucket to wash down the computer cart (among other things). My plan was to walk there and then walk to the Shoprite to do my food shopping, and then return on the Metro-North. After I finished shopping in the imitation five and dime, my granny cart was full. I decided to walk back home, then take the Metro-North back to downtown Yonkers to go to Shoprite, then take the Metro-North back home. After shopping in Shoprite, I lose track of time, and didn't realize it, until it was too late to catch the Metro-North back. The wait for the next train would have been an hour, so I walked back home with my full granny cart, and two extra bags that would not fit into the granny cart. In total, I spent 131. 01 cents. After getting home, I quickly put the food away. I then got on my rowing machine for an hour. Since I ended up getting on the machine after 8pm, I did not take a bath, but showered instead. Since it was late, I did not each dinner. I had taken out the chopped/ground turkey meat planning on making spaghetti sauce with ground turkey meat meat sauce. But, I will just save the meat for Sloppy Joe's for lunch tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning, I need to walk to the post office to pick up my Amazon order before they send it back. Then, I hope I can put my new computer together so that I can start that online class.

200.6lbs. / 33.0%BMI / 206.5CalB.

Post Date - Monday, July 23, 2007 12:13am