Wowie, Kazowie!

Hey, hey, now, now. OUR CROSS-COUNTRY TEAM IS GOING TO STATE!!!!!!!! Yeah, I said that. It's a first for a Snoopy-coached crosss-country team and, I think, a first for our school. Our kids are absolutely ecstatic, as well they should be! It'll be next weekend. I'll take a personal day if I have to, but I'm on my way. Will we place at state? Hmmm, that's a great question. We have kids who, if they totally pushed themselves who could, but the question is will they? I hope so. See the inspirational figure above!!!

My haircut from yesterday is FANTASTIC. Thanks Hippy. You are #1! You know how you have to wash your hair to see how it works when you actually have to fix it yourself? It totally worked. It sticks up j-u-s-t the right amount, without looking like a just-hatched baby bird.

I bought a new pair of jeans that I love. What?!? I know, all this in one day. Are you kidding me, right? NO, I AM NOT.

Happy Wednesday.

It Was a Good B-day!

School was good. I got sung to twice over the intercom. Exciting! Thanks to Snoopy's students. Fiona also was part of a sing-along with Snoopy.

Then Hippy Chick cut my hair. Then the wrap restaurant. DELICIOUS! Next was ellipticizing with Mrs. C.

I know all this is SO exciting that you probably are crazy with jealousy. I know this is pretty weak, but I REALLY enjoyed my day.

Later.

P.S. Tomorrow is the region cross-country meet. Our boys think they can place. That's half the battle! Don't get me started on the emotional train-wreck that is our girls. Love them, mean it, but wow. All the dramz! UGH.

I'll let you know how things go.

What's Going On? I See You!

I'm just maxing and relaxing. Didn't make it to church this morning. I stayed up too late last night trying to watch football and baseball.

I've got the Monday progress report situation. Gotta get on top of that tomorrow morning AND lesson plans to turn in. Also, Dude and I are hosting a GHSGT (Georgia High School Graduation Test) Review. So that puts me at school from about 6:30 a.m. to after 8:00 p.m. I'll make up for it by going straight to bed!

Then Tuesday should be low-grade/low profile. I am hoping that people are getting ready for a VIP visit and leave me ALONE to teach. Wednesday, we are having a VIP, but more importantly, we are leaving early for the region for cross-country. Thursday should be low-profile and Friday is our last football game this year. All in all, it should be a good week.

Add to all this that Mrs. C. and I have decided to meet Tuesday and Thursday at 8:00 at the gym for ellipticaling, since we met yesterday and today. So, I'll keep all y'all (for those of y'all not from the South, that's plural for y'all) posted.

Satisfying Saturday & Gugu Strikes Back

Wake Me Up Before You Gugu

(With Apologies to Wham! Wait, they probably owed me an apology for those really short shorts and fluorescent clothing in that video, so I'll call us even.)

Hi, kids. Hope you're living well. I am doing very well.

Well, we had our last away game yesterday. It wasn't good, but my favorite student had a pretty good night. He's a running back and quite good. He told the equivalent of his homeroom teacher that he thought he might be able to get into college. Yeah, admissions people and coaches hate people with A averages and athletic prowess. It's more like he'd BETTER go to college. One of the reasons I teach is students like him!

Because I wanted to do a little work this morning, save a little gas (Don't tell Al Gore I'm actually trying to shrink my carbon footprint.), and save the thirty-minute drive, I crashed last night after we returned on Snoopy's mucho-comfortable sofa. I got a little bit done. I felt very productive. I've got a lot of work ahead of me for tomorrow, though.

After my work, I came back to my residence of record. Then I met Mrs. C. at the gym for a little elliptical action. OWWWW. Again, igmonic on my part. Why don't I stay on a plan? That way I wouldn't hate getting back in the swing of things as much. My arms are sore; my butt is sore; my thighs are sore; my calves are sore. We're gonna do that again tomorrow. Today was 35 minutes + 5 cool down. Ooh, that reminds me, I'd better go charge my ipod while I'm thinking about it. Hold on, I'll be right back.

(Leaving.)

(Back now.)

Supermom, The Child, and I enjoyed a pizza dinner tonight. It was some kind of good. I'm enjoying the last of this sort of thing for a while. Ugh. Again, why do I do this knowing how oogey it makes me feel?

I was glad to see Richt's dawgs win. Knowshon Moreno had 188 yards rushing. Go him. I was a little irked by the commentators' propensity to attribute anything good that UGA did to some injury to some key Florida person. It was as if they were apologists for Florida. I always hear bias against the people I like in a sporting situation. I STILL can't stand Tim McCarver. And I still snicker when I think about when the Braves made it to the play-off or World Series or whatever and Deion Sanders (when he was playing for the Braves, of course) threw a cup of water on McCarver. I know that goes against most things I think are sacred, but he (Timmy Mc) was even more obnoxious than Deion. What this has to do with anything, I'm not sure. Oh yeah, I was talking bias.

Animal Alert

Gugu has taken revenge. I am so glad when an animal behaves like an animal. Gugu had some IGMONIC person (a teenage boy) hop the fence and try to interact during feeding time. Well, as Bubba of Rick and Bubba fame said the other day, after you've been attacked by a drunken human, when one jumps in your "habitat," I suppose edgy is the state of your nerves. I say, "Go, Gugu. Go to your inner panda. Do what you know to do, even if humans are harmed, well that's collateral damage, or survival of the fittest, if you ask me." How do you get to the point where you brain okays your entry into a zoo-habitat with a wild animal? Was this one of the non-genius Chinese people, because I thought the system over there produces brainiacs. I guess I'm misinformed yet again.

Well, I'm gonna go watch the Tennesse/SC game to see who wins in the last minute and a half.


Shalom.

Igmonic!!!

<----- This guy is just a loser.

Okay, I just got through going through The Biggest Loser from last night. Igmonic is the only word to describe it. Rick and Bubba {See the rant here: http://teacherperson.blogspot.com/2007/09/how-much-i-love-rick-and-bubba.html.} claim to have invented this word and it is entirely appropriate for these people. Dude with the 17 pound weight gain, are you kidding me?!? How stupid are you? How dare you dis the mighty Bob Harper! If I were Bob or the other trainers, I'd find it awfully difficult to help this mental midget. What's worse is the more igmonic people who didn't vote his stupid ass off.

I don't know if I can EVER watch this show again. Ugh!

Hey, It's Tuesday.

I love Tuesdays. Today I gave tests all day. I thought I'd catch up and get ahead. Oh, but no. It seemed as if there was a question for every moment or my attempt at staying organized was almost thwarted. Arrrgh!

Anyway, I am looking forward to the cross-country meet tomorrow. It's on the same course as our team will run next Wednesday for the region meet. So. . . if they play their cards right tomorrow, maybe success will be ours tomorrow AND next Wednesday.

I'd better get to grading some of these tests, so sayonara!

Make your Wednesday a GREAT one.

Love you, mean it!

Monday, and all is well!

Hi! I hope that today finds you well!

I have had a very good Monday, and I must admit, am a little surprised by that fact. I spent a lot of time this weekend working on schoolwork. I passed out progress reports today, reminded them of the homework packet accompanying their test for tomorrow, and then took questions pertaining to the tests in my classes. I am a little stunned. I am actually up with where I'm supposed to be! And tomorrow, tests all day, so after first block, I can grade the previous block's tests!

Okay, I realize that this is probably drivel to those of you who are out there with real jobs, but I'm telling you, I've worked in a "real" job (industrial engineering for the longest) and nothing is as exhausting (or as rewarding) as teaching. Getting everything organized, making sure you're doing things to help your students (Don't laugh, some teachers don't think about helping students!), and doing the things that your county/state/etc. wants you to takes QUITE a bit of coordination. But as I said, if you love teaching, all the exhaustion and the stress and the mania is worth it. I'm not sure how anyone who is a high school teacher (teacher at any level for that matter) rolls in at 7:45 and rolls out at 3:30. I am just not that organized yet. I don't know how you don't stay later and help your (or other teachers') students who need help. I don't know how you don't listen to your students' music so you know what they're dialed into. I don't know how you don't watch some of the television shows they watch, at least a symbolic amount that you can tolerate. I don't know how you don't go to their sporting events. I don't know what I'd do if I were married with a family. I really do love my job and the kids I work with. There are MANY, MANY students out there who need adults who are there for them. That, I see is my main job. Along with telling my trig students about drop/add and scheduling classes in college, telling my freshmen that they need to start off well and can have as many choices as possible when it gets to their college possibilities, and telling my tech/career students that there are actually very few careers/jobs that you don't have to know math to do (at least ones that you don't have to look out for the po-po).

Wow, this has wound up sounding like propaganda for some "Hey, You've Gotta Teach" website. It's not. It's the way I really feel and to be honest, I'm a little scared.

So, I'll savor this moment of happiness and go watch something on the DVR, or go to the gym, or read. Reading sounds SUBLIME!

Saturday, And What a Good One!

I have had a very enjoyable day today! I got up, watched the always entertaining Friday Night Lights. Then laid around in bed until summonsed by Snoopy to the IHOP. Delicious! Then I proceeded to my school to do some work. I took care of that, and then met Dude at the local, non-chain coffee shop. Tiramisu was delightful. Then I came home and have been working on my website ever since. I've been uploading some things for my students. I'm not sure whether anyone's visiting, but the stuff is there, should they decide to. I realize that there are not that many that have a computer AND internet access at home, but I am trusting that the number is increasing.

I am currently watching Pride and Prejudice. I'm trying to watch my DVRed stored up items. I have untold hours of things that need watching, so I'm trying to watch the things that I can do something while watching.

My Principal Is REALLY Good!

In an effort to keep the numbers of students failing to a minimum, my principal printed (or had printed out) a listing of all students failing each teacher's class. So, I got a list of the students who are failing my class. There are actually more than ever before. Students do receive consideration during the first half of the semester. You want them to be able to pass after averaging in the second nine weeks. So, in an effort to forward this, in each of the classes I teach, I offered extra work that could replace up to six daily grades or three together could take the place of a test. This, along with being available before school at 7:30 a.m. and after school until 4:00 p.m. most days, in addition to the hour-and-a-half in class, SHOULD be enough WHEN THE STUDENT IS DOING HIS/HER PART. This is the key problem for my failing students. Miraculous, when you don't do homework, you don't know what is going on.

Okay, I went a little nuts on that topic. Anyway, I fired off an e-mail telling him what I have been doing. He came to see me during my planning block. I told him in the e-mail that I didn't mean to be hostile, but that I was open to any suggestions he had. He said that he knew I wasn't being hostile and that he expected nothing but something straight forward from me. This made me feel so good. He said that he wanted to make sure that we knew how many people were failing and what could be done to help each help him/herself. How nice is it to work with an administrator who has not lost the power of logic?!? Logic is something the higher up the proverbial chain you get, the less you seem to exhibit. Wow, am I lucky or what?!?

I've gotta go work on a sheet for my kids to fill out tomorrow to formulate an action plan for this nine weeks. Wish me and my students success!!!!

Am I Anti-Environment?

After railing against the Honorable Al Gore, I found myself wondering, "Do I hate the environment?" Someone was talking about a balloon release for Red Ribbon Week. They were concerned about how this would effect animals. I said I didn't really care. The person, actually it was Fiona who suggested confetti be thrown or something like that. I have to wonder how much against the environment I am.

Can you imagine a candidate coming out anti-environment, anti-child, or anti-education? Maybe they are on the opposite side position-wise, but they wouldn't dream of coming out as anti-senior citizen. I don't think I'm anti-environment. I think I'm just common sense.

If weather records have only been kept for around 100 years, then how can we say that there are actually any phenomena that have been exhibited. I'm not saying that we're not in a severe drought here in the south. I couldn't argue with that fact. What I don't quite buy into is that man is having such a huge impact on the earth. I'm not arguing that the overall temperature is going up in the last little while. I'm saying that I don't believe all this "mayhem" that has been perpetrated has been done by man and the regular fluctuations are nil effect.

Or, I may be insane. I do teach high school math. . .

You've Got to Be Kidding Me, Nobel Committee!

Now that the warring factions of weather have been settled by the AWESOME Al Gore, I am going to sleep SO much better! What are they talking about? I cannot believe the Nobel Peace Prize went to Al Gore?!? IF you buy into his doomsday weather scenario, that's fine. I have no problem with that. I find it difficult to believe that God would allow us to destroy the earth He created, but if you are open to that, so be it. But come on Alists, Gorists, Global Warmalists, or whatever you call yourselves! I thought they believed that George Bush caused hurricane Katrina. Regardless, why is weather considered in the peace category? Help me out on this, PLEASE. I know a pack of winners, including Jimmy "I Can't Shut Up Bad-Mouthing My Own Country" Carter has received this award, so it's credibility with me has been diminished greatly, but at least he did something with people who were disagreeing.

On another front (no weather pun intended), last night Snoopy and I went over to Fiona's and enjoyed a dinner and just basic conversation. It was very fun. We wound up watching Friday Night Lights rather than going to the football game. I got home around 11:00p.m. and fell into bed.

I was awakened by The Child hollering "Nin, Nin." That's what he calls me now. He used to call me "Two." We've never been able to determine why that was my name, but that's the first thing he ever called me. The Child also now has his own bed. I told him I went in last night and saw him sleeping in his big-boy bed. I asked him how he liked his bed. His response, "Cool, cool," while nodding his head in agreement with himself. It's a little more than a month until his 2nd birthday and I don't know what Supermom and I are going to do with him. He is so funny now. God bless his future teachers. He basically has NO chance of being cordial with the sarcasm around here. Well, I guess I can hope for the best.

I forgot to DVR Pushing Daisies and something else I can't remember. I guess the I can't remember one doesn't need to be DVRed, upon reflection. And I can probably watch Pushing Daisies online, if it's that important.

I'm going to a picnic this afternoon, so I'm gonna go get ready so I can run some errands before I go!

Have a fantasic Saturday!

Cross-Country Team Meet - NOT!

Well, today I showed up at school decked out in all my cross-country regalia. That consists of a cross-country t-shirt and khakis. I know, festive, right? Well, I took care of classes, had a good teaching day (or did as much as I could day, some students absorb, others work to learn, and others, well. . .). After doing my school thing, I ventured to our cross-country course. Well, I got there and we waited and waited and waited for the other team. They never showed. Snoopy (my friend and the coach) said that they didn't even call. Nice, huh? I hope nothing was awry, but it was one of those snotty private schools. It has the name of a denomination in it. They portray nothing of the beliefs they allegedly espouse in that faith. I oughta know, I used to be one! Regardless, what happened to common courtesy? About fifty people were inconvenienced by these people. What gives?

Where has the Preservation Hall Band been all my life (See the picture above)? See http://www.preservationhall.com/home.htm and http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=72743127 if you are interested in PHB. I am so digging my music player. I keep my blog up so I can listen to these AWESOME songs. I know that a couple of the songs will sling some profanity up in here. Well, I apologize, but I just love the new Kanye CD. (There's even an f-bomb or two on the selections. Be careful, little ears, what you hear.).

I'm going to Fiona's tomorrow night to have pre-game dinner/snackage. Will I go to the football game? It's away, so probably not. So that begs the question, "Will it be a pre-game dinner?" I'm standing by a hearty, "Yes!" because it is still before the game. Wow, I feel so much better now that that's cleared up.

Another day has passed without my going to the gym. What shall I do? To quote a favorite movie of mine, "I'll think about that tomorrow. (Music builds.) Tomorrow is another day." Tonight, I shall sleep. Good night all!

I Love Being From Georgia!

Okay, thanks to the author of this fine blog: http://dare-to-tri.blogspot.com/ I decided to get on it and add a little music to my blog. Thanks Teacherwoman! I had started a project playlist playlist back several months ago. I started adding a little to it today and voila! I'm very pleased with most of it. Some seem to be a little loud, so apologies in advance.

Back to the topic at hand. I am SO happy to be from the south, generally and Georgia, specifically. This is not an indictment of the north. I know people who are from there and love it. My sister lived in Detroit for a year-and-a-half and would go back if our parents weren't down here. Anyway! I heard the state song of Georgia, which is, of course, "Georgia on My Mind." Although I like Willie Nelson's version, the only version of Hoagy Carmichael's awesome song is Ray Charles. It was written in 1930 as a collaboration of Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell. The lyrics were written by Gorrell for Carmichael's sister Georgia, according to Wikipedia.

Go ahead, scroll down and take a listen to one of the finest songs you'll hear. Also, there's "Stars Fell on Alabama" which is a mighty fine song also, and I can't believe that it's not the state song. The "stars" refer to a meteor shower or something like that I recall hearing.

Here's a listing of the state songs. Come on Tennessee, make a decision. http://www.50states.com/songs/

Well, that's all I've got right now. Went with Snoopy and Fiona shopping almost all day. Exhausted.

Nice Holiday!

Wow, I've had a good day! I went to the gym and did elliptical for 50 minutes. That resulted in over 500 calories expended. That felt pretty good for a change. I'm planning on going to the 5:30 BodyPump in the morning.

After gym I piddled around the house for a while. Then I drove over to the school and picked up a few things and took care of some odds and ends. After that, Supermom and I went with a friend of hers (from school) to McAllister's. I really like that place. I had the chicken pesto on 12-grain bread. Pretty tasty stuff. I also got the spoon cake or something like that. Now, I'm about to throw up, but I'll make it through.

Happy Monday, all!

Suprisingly, I'm Enjoying My New Church.

Today I went to my "new" church again. The reverend is really good. I think I've said that I like attending the 8:45 service, since you get out with pretty much the whole day to yourself. One thing I like about not having anyone who plans based on my plans is that I can do whatever I want to do. If I plan on going to church and change my mind, I can. I don't have to feel locked in because I told someone I would. Anyway, a very nice lady introduced herself to me this morning. She has attended the church since she and her husband came here in 1966. A little funny since I was born a year after that and I'm not as young (age-wise) as I'd like to be. She told me about the history and introduced me to some precious older ladies. One, who looked to be at least 66 invited me to her Sunday School class. I thought that was incredibly cordial. What a friendly, nice church. The 8:45 in does skew older. I don't mind, though. I'll go back next week!

I dropped by Starbucks. It's a new store and evidently there's a problem finding people who can read, listen, and think in the service industry. The girl was S-L-O-W. I don't mind waiting for a pumpkin-spice latte. As a matter of fact, I expect to. But I would like to talk with someone who is cordial and knows how communicate with customers. When one guy told the girl that he'd been waiting 15 minutes, she had no discernible reaction whatsoever. I do, however, love the pastries. I got a low-fat blueberry muffin, pumpkin loaf, and a chocolate croissant, all of which were tasty. I enjoyed parts of all of them while watching the DVRed CBS Sunday Morning. It was especially good this morning with interesting stories on serendipitous discoveries such as rubber, Viagra, and Post-It notes. They also had an interview with Dick Cheney's wife, Lynn. She was her high school's homecoming queen. I found that to be funny/interesting. Dick Cheney MAY be human after all. His wife seems to be incredibly nice. I know you don't know what goes on behind closed doors, but wow, she seems like a decent lady.

I've also been trying to get some things together for next week at school. I scanned in some things to post on my school website which has been neglected in a BIG way. I've got to get back to keeping it up, both for my students and for me. It really helps me keep organized. It also provides a resource for students and parents.

I am still loving "Italia." I also bought Kanye West's "Graduation." He is a genius, despite his petulant ways. I really like the fact that he chooses such great music for his samples. "Drunk and Hot Girls" is a horrible song, but the hook is SO good. "Good Morning" is a definite day-starter anthem. "Champion" is inspiring and of course, "Stronger" is one of those songs that you can't get out of your head if you try.

Good week to all!

Hi, I've Been AWOL.

This week has been eventful and tiring. It's been homecoming week AND midterms. This is the second year in a row this debacle has occurred. Fortunately, we had a workday on Friday. Friday afternoon was the parade and last night was the game, WHICH OUR BOYS WON. We also had the notable situation of having our first Hispanic homecoming queen. It all was very tiring. We also get to celebrate Mr. Columbus' co-opting of Native American lands on Monday and even have Tuesday off. Then it's nine weeks and done with first semester.

Today, I have spent quite a lot of time catching up on my non-PBS TV-watching. Grey's Anatomy was surprisingly good on Thursday. Maybe I won't "quit" them after all. I really like how they are dealing with Meredith and her "don't call me her" sister. And what about Dr. Karev telling that meth lab guy off? Nice moment for him. I wish they would give Izzie some 'nads though, because her shrinking violet mode is annoying.

Friday Night Lights's writers made some interesting choices. I am so in love with the Kyle Chandler character. What is wrong with me? I can't wait to see what they're gonna do. Is the hateful I'm-a-bad-ass new coach gonna get fired and Coach Taylor step back in? I kinda want that to happen, but then that'd be predictable and these smart writers tend not to do the obvious.

I also tried DVR-serving of Pushing Daisies. Reeled in, reeled in! I SO love Kristin Chenowith and Chi McBride. And anything with Swoosie Kurtz is okay by me. Nice eye-patch BTW! I'll watch it again. I'm thinking of programming it in my DVR.

Also, because of prompting by friends that I think are pretty smart recommending it, I'm gonna watch The Office, or at least the hour-long premiere. Everyone says I'll like it, but the bits and pieces I've seen were just annoying to me. But maybe I'm ready for that, I don't know. We'll see.

Yes, all I've done is watch TV to recuperate from my week. I've also played with my nephew and spent some time with my sister and parents, but overall, I'm a TV junkie. LOVE IT. There have been some very nice surprises.