State fair.

If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair. Because five minutes at the fair, you'll be going, 'you know, we're alright. We are dang near royalty.'

~Jeff Foxworthy

Such a follower.

Mom says "Jump!" and I say, "How high?" It's always been that way, hasn't it, mom? (heh heh)

Mom moved her blog over to Wordpress and I went over and poked around. There are some neat features I can't get here... so I'm heading over there!

Come and join me at: http://queuejumping.wordpress.com/

Genius, I tell you.

Pay day was today - payday for chores, that is. A month ago, the girls were getting $10 a week and I was a raving lunatic because I was begging... pleading...cajoling them to do chores... this week, the house has been peaceful AND tidy! I actually got the stiff-arm one day as I tried to empty the dishwasher, "No, mom - you sit down! I'll do it!"

I paid them for their week's GOOD work (and it WAS good - they did a great job!) McKenna made $8.50 and Josey made $9.40.

Genius.

I hate wind.

I left a committee meeting at the hill today and I literally couldn't catch my breath as I made my way from the building to the car! My car door, whipped open by the wind, hit me in the jaw.  I sat for a few minutes in the car, checking my phone before I took off, and I was certain the luggage rack had been ripped off the roof.

Is there anything we can do to prevent wind? If we send out an email forward to everyone in our address books and get everyone to stand on their porches and inhale simultaneously... okay, I'm grasping, but I HATE this stuff!

I am a genius.

I don't mind giving the girls an allowance. They are busy with school, there ARE, thankfully, child-labor laws, and they need spending money for the things they do with their friends. Kids don't need a lot of money, but having it naturally forces them to make decisions about spending it, and we all need practice doing that.

Dude.

James came into my office after school and rushed over to my desk, pulling up his short-sleeved t-shirt to reveal his shoulder. "Look what I got last night!" He showed me this huge tattoo that covered the top of his shoulder (this isn't a picture of him, but I found this on the Internet and it looks just like it - I think his might have been bigger though.) It was red around the edges, being as fresh as it is and all I could say was "Geez! Did it hurt??" His response was, "Dude." (In case you don't know any teenaged boys, that can mean any number of things, but in this instance, I interpreted it to mean, "shit, yes!!")

15-2; 15-4.

I attended the first half of a grant writing workshop yesterday. It has been hosted by the Police Department so there were lots of public-sector types there. It was solid information from 9:00 to 4:00 with a break for lunch and WOW! did I learn a lot!

Each and every time.

I ran into Jessie and her mom at the grocery store today. I was glad to see other people were in an Easter pickle due to late shopping. They were out of fresh strawberries! Who runs out of strawberries? It was fun talking with Jessie. She is such a bright, shiny person. What a treasure we have in her - since she decided to stay in town after college - so many bright, young people leave.

Salt of the earth.

Lil's funeral was as good as a funeral can get. It was a real celebration of her life. She really had three distinct families, and all were well represented. Her biological family, her church family, and her school family. I think each group was surprised at the size of the other groups! She was the salt of the earth - what you saw was most definitely what you got from her! That sentiment was expressed many times today.

Her sisters spoke at the funeral and one of them said, "My sister beat cancer on March 30. She is now cancer free and pain free - what a relief!!" What a great perspective, huh?

Did you hear that "whizzing" sound?

...that was March screaming by in a blur. Unfortunately, I only posted sixteen times in March, so I pledge to be better in April! And now I'm blowing two posts in a day, but I just want to make a public statement that I WILL POST EVERY DAY IN APRIL! So now you've heard it...now hold me to it!

The first day of Spring...Break.

Yesterday was the last day of school for the week - we are moving into Spring Break. I went out with a couple of friends who make me laugh and put my life in perspective (the kind who say, "get over yourself, things aren't THAT serious, are they?") One of them is Harry and the other is Donna. We all worked together at the middle school about 15 years ago, and have been great friends ever since. One is retired, the other is headed in that direction. Both of them are hilarious and neither take themselves too seriously. It's always such a welcome sight to see them sitting there, as I walk into the watering hole at the end of the week.

Heavy hearts at school.

Our attendance secretary, a fixture at school, lost her battle with cancer last night. As a school, we have rallied around Lil and her family, holding a benefit night in November, bringing in $35,000-which sounds great until a family is paying for a long battle with this insipid beast!

Karma.

Jesse wrote about Karma the other day and it got me thinking about my girls. On Christmas morning, they looked in their stockings and each found a necklace (identical to each other’s). The necklace was something Santa picked up at Target – it is a sliver, circular shape with the words: “what goes around comes around” swirling into the center. The card on which each was hung at the store had the word KARMA, artfully scripted across the top.

Teenage angst.

I know I obsess about teenage angst, but I can't help it, it is, after all, my life. I really don't mean to dwell on students who are in such pain, but I think of them all the time. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking of them, hoping they are okay, looking forward to seeing their faces at school in the morning.

Update on James.

Mom asked for a James update and I thought - "hmmm... how IS James?!" I haven't seen him in a while (which means he hasn't blown out of classes or hit anyone - that's always a good thing!) I emailed his dad and asked about him:

I'm meetinged out.

In the last two weeks, I have been at my desk, actually accomplishing something for a grand total of about three hours. If I am called to another "important" meeting, I'm going to scream.

If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

~Dave Barry, "Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn"

Running away.

Tia is a bit of work. She consistently makes bad choices, but something about her makes me really like her.

One day last week, the librarian called to report Tia had short shorts on - way too short. I had her come and talk to me...she seemed genuinely incredulous. She is about 5'3" and weighs about 90 pounds. Somebody tell me where this girl is going to find shorts that AREN'T short! The dress code calls for a 3" inseam - where (outside of the plus-sized section at Montgomery Wards) can you find a 3" inseam anymore??

Bold as brass.

Some people are bold as brass…stupidly…


Peyton came in to my office to report that his brand new, dark green, neoprene, Carhart jacket was missing and he has seen another student, Richard, wearing it today. He said he remembers taking it off at the construction site last Wednesday and he must have left it there then, but he had to be out of school Thursday and Friday. He said he looked for it Monday and Tuesday, but didn't see it and then saw another student, Richard, wearing it today.

Cocky.

I got an email from a teacher today about James. She said she was hoping he would be “less cocky” when he got back. I was stunned. It’s unbelievable to me that there are people who choose to work with young people for their entire career and yet seem to be completely oblivious to their needs.

Good news!

Good news! James is coming back tomorrow! I'm so glad his placement wasn't long term as many recently have been. I got an email from  his dad today:

James, continued.

This year has been remarkably better than last year with James. He can still be an ass to teachers, but overall, those situations are much fewer and farther between. Last week, one of our counselors came in and said she heard a rumor that James tried to commit suicide the previous weekend. I was very concerned and emailed his dad:

James and the giant... story.

Good grief... it's been a long time it seems...

I have been thinking about a student at school who I have worked with a lot. Last year James had a conflict with a teacher (who I think fanned the flames rather than tried to deescalate the situation). His dad came in and talked with me... dad didn't defend his actions, but was definitely there to support his son (as any good parent would do). Dad filled me in on the family situation.

Inglorious Oscars.

I'm watching the Oscars with the girls tonight. Nothing to say.

Academic triage.

I am annoyed by people who become so fixated on something, they cannot think of anything else. Single-mindedness that prevents any sort of divided attention... I don't get it.

Bad dog.

Gunnar smiles. Not just with his cute face, but with the full body wag. He not only smiles, but he talks to you when you talk to him. If you look at him and talk - about anything... the Olympics, current tax law, Josey's flute lesson... anything at all... he vocalizes back... it's very entertaining.

And the clothes just keep getting smaller.

As the mercury rises, the modesty falls. I talked with seven different girls today who were wearing SUCH short shorts that they caused several traffic jams in the commons and caused a couple of male teachers to go home “sick.”

If only school were over when the seniors quit.

It always starts right around this time – sometimes a bit earlier depending on the weather. The minute we have a few warmish days, it strikes…and spreads like wildfire. Senioritis. I heard from a mother today who is disgusted with her son because he started the year with a 4.0 and now has a 23% in math! I talked to a mom last week whose daughter told her “when I turn 18 on Sunday, I’m moving out and quitting school.” I haven’t seen her this week.

Negativity follow-up.

As I re-read the post about the Honor Roll Assembly, I thought about what Kelly says when someone is being unbearably negative: If you gave that guy a check for a thousand dollars, he'd bitch that he had to make a trip to the bank to cash it. Yep, I'm pretty sure that mother would complain all the way to the bank...

Some people make it too easy.

(click to enlarge)

Negativity is like a cancer.

The Honor Roll Assembly was this morning at 8:00. It's one of the events I coordinate each year - with a lot of help from the office staff. This year, the formula for sorting out the students with a 3.2 GPA or better was acting up and the secretary kept finding mistakes in it. She was on the phone to the data center trying to get to the bottom of it, and in the end, the invitations simply went out much later than they should have. So late, that parents GOT them in the mail yesterday. It was certainly far less than ideal, and I was embarrassed that my name was on the letter!

You just never know.

I’ve talked about Nick before. He’s the kid at school who is always “do-in good!”

Students in Nick’s class work on vocational skills, so Nick has a job he completes every morning. He puts two bundles of newspapers on a cart, and cuts the strap that binds them (he will mutter “ha HA! I’ve got you just where I want you now!” as he cuts the strap with scissors.) He then goes into the mailroom and puts one in the box of each teacher who subscribes to the paper.

Today, I was on the “receiving” side of the mailboxes while he and his teacher were on the “sending” side. His teacher was watching him, making sure he was doing a good job. He said to her, “This is my favorite day of the week!” She asked him, “Nick, why do you like Wednesdays so much?” He replied, “You just never know what will happen on a Wednesday.”

We need more Nicks. He’s a 90.

Bullies wanted.

I was bullied this week. I went to EMS to watch McKenna play volleyball, and I saw Harry (here’s a public Happy Birthday to Harry!) Harry razzed me about not writing in my blog recently! (Of all the nerve! Does he have any idea how hard it is to find something even mildly interesting or marginally relevant [bear with me, I'm being generous] every day?) He first harassed me via text that morning “I cant read your blog if you dont write anything” and then later in the day, he zinged me again – in person! It was a figurative noogie, nothing less!

The Dog in the Hat.

These are two videos McKenna and Josey made one day last summer... I love watching them... It makes me glad I have such smart, funny kids... and it sure makes me miss summer! (Raise your hand if you are sick of this weather!)

Way to go, HSCS!

McKenna's team really struggled today. We started the season so strong, but I think the two weeks of practice Gebo had the girls doing before the public schools started really paid off! There were a handful of girls in the public schools who didn't play volleyball last year, but decided to play this year. These girls are very athletic kids, but didn't have volleyball "down" yet.

Genius.

A conversation with Donna reminded me of this quotation - I think our conversation ended with "Amen, Sister!"

"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world," ~Calvin

Spin. It's a beautiful thing...

Should I be proud of the fact that I am learning to spin information I deliver to students and parents in such a way that I'm being thanked for a few days in ISS? I work with an 18 year old student whose mother is legendary for bailing him out for every indiscretion. She will scream and yell every time he gets in trouble and insist he didn't do whatever it was he was accused of doing. The funny thing is that this kid will be joining the military! I'm guessing mommy won't be much help at Basic. I would do anything to be a mouse in the corner...

Am I asking the impossible?

I forgot to update you on the meeting... it actually went okay. I kind of set it up so there wasn't room for parent input since I didn't want any - and I thought it would be counter-productive. I spoke, the coach spoke, and the principal spoke and it was over... Now if only I can figure out a way to create a more "stable" cheer squad. There is so much coaching turnover (I wonder why?) I think if we could get some consistency with coaching, some of the "issues" might go away... Am I asking the impossible? Um... YES.

I am in hell.

Our cheerleadering coach quit on Saturday. Why do I care? Because, amusingly enough, I am "in charge of" cheerleaders at school (when I was told that when I was hired, my response was, "fold it.") We have two coaches, but one is out on maternity leave... I won't go into the gory details of how today went, meeting with cheer mothers (notice I didn't say cheer parents or cheer fathers...)

For the sake of amusement in the blogosphere, I will give you a quotation - something that came directly out of a cheer mother's mouth in my office this morning: "I am very upset! I have worked very hard on cheerleading for the past three and a half years."

Things can't really get better from here, can they?

Life is like basketball.

I've been consumed by basketball lately. While I love watching basketball (how could you NOT love this team?), the season goes on and on... with LOTS of games... Even with all of the games and all the time away from home, I would take in a hundred basketball games before ONE football game. I have to sit - make that STAND - through a LOT of football games too... I refer to each as "three hours of my life I can't get back."

I'm confused.

I am starting a huge undertaking. I'm helping our media specialist (FKA: librarian) redesign our school website. Let me tell you, I haven't done that from scratch in a long time. It's rather confusing and completely overwhelming. Both of us are adament that it be DONE before it's "unveiled" so we don't have a bunch of "under construction" links. I will update you as it happens...

Don't leave any of yourself safely on shore.

Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory. ~Alan Alda

Chicken salad and silk purses.

He called me a "shit magnet." A guy I worked with at GFH called me a "shit magnet" because of the types of kids who would find their way to my classroom after school. I was offended at first, but after I thought about it (and considering the source) I didn't mind! It's kind of like what Dick Kuntz used to say he did for a living: He said his job was to make chicken salad out of chicken shit and silk purses out of sows' ears... making chicken salad and silk purses, huh? I can live with that!

A good ol' fashioned public stoning.

I had Justin in my office because a teacher reported to me that he had been screwing around in the locker room, snapping towels at kids (one in particular), messing around to the point that he broke the other kid's glasses. Essentially, he was acting like a fourteen year old boy. The other kid is definitely an easy target - which certainly doesn't mean he deserves what he was getting... The thing is, I had never met this kid before, so that means he flew under the radar for an entire semester!

Breakfast downer.

Is this like reading tea leaves? hmmm... I wonder how the rest of the day will go?

The mind does the seeing.

We often talk about listening versus hearing. You can talk all you want and I can look at you blankly and listen to your words, but I need to really concentrate to hear you, to understand how your words and your tone are sending me a message. Listening intently and really hearing someone is a precious gift, as Mel says.

Don't touch ANYTHING.

I just found this picture on the Internet and it made me giggle. Nothing more.

Reflexive opposition.

I was at a meeting the other day when someone was explaining his ideas about a paradigm shift in secondary education. The idea would take the way we do business in a different direction, with the hope of infusing more relevance into instruction, thereby reducing the drop out rate. Watching the body language around the table was telling. It's interesting to me to see the reflexive opposition some people have to other people; opposing something based on its source rather than on its merit is assinine, but happens all the time. It's a very "pre-teen" behavior (adults are always wrong - right?), but it is exhibited by many, many adults - even those we give responsibility to rationally think through issues (just watch C-SPAN!)

Civility.

So many people are frustrated or disappointed with young people today because they dress in poor taste, use offensive language and talk in code, dance suggestively and listen to terrible music. Let's face it though; every generation criticizes the generations that come after. I can live with bad music, underwear showing, and embarrassing dancing. I can even live with coarse language - heck, anyone who knows me knows I'm no stranger to the F-bomb! (sorry, mom)

Another 90.

Kasey is a young woman who went to school here for three years... although if you add up the days she was actually in attendance, it was probably more like two. In that time, she was out of school suspended on various occasions for threatening kids, harassing others, and fighting. She was less than charming for most of her tenure here. She was truant so often that near the middle of spring semester of last year, I sent her packing... she was withdrawn from school. I was done with chasing her around.

Making it up on the fly

Isn't it funny that we have to go to college to be "certified" to do certain jobs - like teaching? It's funny for a few reasons. The first is that "certified" and "qualified" are two different things. I have known many paraprofessionals who are more qualified to teach so students can learn than the teachers in whose rooms they work! Secondly, most of the learning for a job like this happens - on the fly!

90-10.

It is a day like today that I am reminded that the law of 90-10 really does exist. Ninty percent of the people in the world are wonderful human beings. Ten percent are pukey. We need to focus on the 90.

The AA Orchestra Festival is here at CMR and students from GFHS and the Kalispell schools were in our cafeteria eating during their lunch break. They were there at a strange time, lingering after our students returned to class.

The grass isn't always greener.

I went with a group of teachers to another AA high school today to observe some of the things they are doing with co-teaching and differentiated instruction. Every time I go on a school visitation, I feel fortunate to work where I do. We have such good high schools here and we really are doing so many great things! Sure, we have room for improvement, but we are on the right track!

January whizzes by in a blur.

January is gone. January seemed to fly by in such a hurry, it's hard to believe half of the school year is over. I listened to an article on NPR about the reason time seems to fly by faster as you get older... fascinating stuff... It sure makes me want to go out and find new and novel things to do to put the skids on this perpetual state of fast-forward I feel like I'm in!

When I take a look at what I set out to do - to write in the blog every day, I can say I did okay! I think I see 31 posts in January, and while that is cheating a little (a couple of posts on a couple of days; no posts on a couple of others,) I'll take it.

Little victories matter.

 

It's hard to see this picture, but it is a picture of a retired teacher and a former student. The student is a guy who most certainly rides a Harley - tattoos up and down his arms, long hair - in short, he's a caricature of a biker. We were having drinks last night (emphasis on the plural) and debriefing a particularly trying week. We were talking about all of the bullshit we put up with at school and how important it is to hang on to little victories.

Nailing jello.

We are one week in to the new semester and I am ready to poke my eyes out with a dull crayon. I have diligently pin-pointed students who struggled last semester - those who had a lot of absences and/or tardies - those who had a difficult time behaving... I have whittled my list of 500 charges down to 50 who need at least weekly attention (some need DAILY attention.) And now begins the task of keeping all 50 of them where they belong each hour of the day. Picture me, trying to get 50 kittens to stay in a box... kittens who would rather be exploring (except I work with bad-ass kittens who want to go smoke by Sam's Club or make out with other hot little kitties in the stairwells.) I really DO have to just be amused by the things that happen each day, don't I?

Who is in charge of this mess?

So in the statistics section of today's paper, I read this:

Besides the second announcement being a little untraditional, the name of the first mother of the second announcement made my stomach sick. Take a look at the news article from a few months ago. Maybe she can take her new baby to her sentencing in a Snugli. Who is in charge of this mess?

Enable them to death.

It breaks my heart to work with student after student who is enabled to death by parents. Parents are so sure I spend my time sitting in my office plotting against their child... oh, to have that much time... Pa-leese.

Mind-numbing therapy.

I'm about to start my period. I'm sorry to say, a few kids got the wrath of me today. I hate it when, at the end of the day, I feel like I didn't serve them well. Even when I feel like shit, they deserve dignity and respect. Don't get me wrong, I didn't treat kids disrespectfully... but I certainly didn't have the compassion I aim to have most days...

Oddly enough, I enjoyed finishing a 42 page report for the state today. I "had" to close my door and be alone for about four hours this morning. Who would have thought a mind-numbing chore could be so therapeutic!

Does that make me an idiot?

I got an email from a woman at work - I had been cc:ed (although I couldn't tell that right away by looking at the message in my inbox). The subject line said "JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW." In my mind I was opening one of those mushy emails that has a nice statement about how much someone appreciates you...

The sender is the records clerk so this is a very busy time of year for her. It turns out it's something about how she had to change a grade for a student for one reason or another.

Does that make me an idiot? Perhaps.

As if she knew it were true...

What is it that people enjoy so much about gossip? I can almost understand teenagers gossiping... they are emotionally immature and are still trying to figure out their places in the world. They don't realize the consequences of what they are saying - how their words can leave lasting scars on the victims of their stories.

Do-in' good!

There is a special needs boy at school named Nick. Nick is hands down THE HAPPIEST kid I have ever met! He makes his own lunch every day (every day it's the same - baloney sandwich, fruit cup, and a juice box). He goes to the cafeteria for A Lunch and scarfs down his meal and then he makes his rounds: He stops by the front desk of the office where I can hear Dawn say, "Hey, Nick, how's it going?" He replies, "Do-in' Good!" He stops in to see the SRO to get a high five from a guy with a gun. "Good to see you Nick! How ya doin'?" "Do-in' Good!" He stops in each AP's office and each counselor's office and then heads back to the cafeteria to hang with his peeps.

Thanks, Matt's dad!

I got an email from a teacher who said a mother called in and excused her son from the teacher's class, but the kid was later seen in another classroom, working on a project. The teacher was a little miffed that the kid obviously lied to his mother to get her to excuse him and when she (the teacher) confronted the student, he because insubordinate and rude.

Something's got to give.

It's that time of year again. The end of the semester brings with it students who are in tears because as it turns out, a last ditch effort most often isn’t enough. Students find out they need to repeat a class and parents decide it's time to actively... parent... and no one is happy.

Everything's temporary given enough time.

These are tense times in high school. Seniors who are failing are freaked out - their parents are more freaked out... Juniors who are failing are mad - their parents are more mad... Sophomores who are failing are apathetic - their parents are too... and finally, Freshmen who are failing are still in denial that they have to take a class over again (or several classes over again) - and oddly enough, their parents are too! I have been yelled at, cried at, and cussed at today. I got into my car, cranked the tunes, and took the long way home - pulling over to enjoy the view of the river along the way!

Address the gap.

So much of the time, we approach a problem by examining, studying, and dwelling on what isn't right -OR- by pacing around and wringing our hands about how we will never reach the desired goal. We are so good at admiring the problem (or fretting about the impossibility of the target,) but we fail even to take a peek at possible solutions. Instead of this method, we should spend time finding and then addressing the gap.

It goes on.

It’s interesting that some people can go about their day, working independently, competently… until someone else shows up… and then they have to run every decision by the other person. Some wives complain that their husbands are that way as parents... alone, they are great! But when the wife shows back up, all of a sudden she is shouldered with the work! Where does that sudden feeling of incompetence come from? Or maybe it's a sudden lack of confidence? Does the person think his or her decisions will be scrutinized? I don't know what it is, but today it's making me want to go hide in another office and be unavailable! But enough ranting...

Blighter's Rock.

I wanted to write something about a place by the shore called Blighter's Rock. It's an imaginary place I go when I have all of my energy sucked out of me and yet I want to continue writing. I don't want to go there, but a gravitational force sucks me in that direction. When I have no energy, the "juices" I'd normally use to create - anything - are gone. It's those days that, as Mel described in her blog, "the cat rubs up against me, wanting something from me, and it sends me over the edge." It's THOSE days that I am pulled to Blighter's Rock, and there is no coming back!  

Criticism is an indirect form of self-boasting.

Why do we let some things bother us so much? I think I have a decent grasp of my priorities. My work involves a lot of time outside of the traditional work day, but I really try to include my family in the after-hours stuff - like watching game after game after game of the sport du jour (but let's face it, there is nothing painful about watching our varsity boys play ball!) I try to attend each and every activity, skipping one here or there when there isn't a way to resolve a conflict with my personal/family schedule. So why do I let the little comments get to me?

Cross-town week is put to bed.

The key is not the "will to win" . . . everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.

~Bobby Knight

"Cross-town Week" just about kicked my butt! This week was crazy with disciplinary issues at school and then the boys played across the river on Tuesday and the girls played in our house on Thursday (both of those nights we were getting home about 9:45), and today it was one thing after another!

I haven't earned a beer like this in a while!

Bragging rights.

The "cross-town" basketball games were this week. In a small town (by America's standards), but a big city (by Montana's standards!) with only two high schools where the town is divided by a river (how's that for an obvious LINE down the middle!), each time the two high schools play each other, it's battle for a year of bragging rights.

Go ahead, I'm listening.

I'm disenchanted. It's not about my thighs this time or my inability to make good decisions about my bed time. It's about listening (or lack thereof).

I'm disenchanted by people who SAY they are "listening," when it really feels like they want to LOOK like they are listening. Listening is a great, generous thing (just what we want to have people see us doing!), but when one says he's listening, but doesn't act like he's HEARD, it kind of negates the listening, doesn't it?

“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.” ~Karl Menninger

What does it say about a person?

I went to the mailboxes at school today and got my handful of silly stuff. I get prom catalogs (which immediately pawn off to Julie!), graduate credit opportunities (which I pawn off to teachers who I know need a kick in the butt to start master's work), and the smattering of "real" mail (which I throw on my desk to deal with later - quite a system I have there, huh?)

Finish each day and be done with it.

I did it! I went to sleep at 9:00 and fell asleep quickly (I think!) Oh shit, now that means I have fewer excuses not to exercise! What a crock!

This week, I have the boys' cross-town game on Tuesday at GFH and the girls' cross-town game on Thursday at CMR... it will be a busy week, but I've got to be more consistent with exercise than LAST week (since I couldn't get any worse!) All I have to do is walk more than twice and I've done better than before! I think my mom said improvement is what it's about... If that's the case, I better not walk more than three times, or it will be harder to improve the next week (I'm really liking this logic...)

It's a fine line.

It’s a fine line…I am having a hard time exercising in the morning because my back is so tender, but I have gotten on the treadmill for an hour in the evening and I’m wide awake until TOO LATE! I used to say, “John talks about having to ‘wind down’ before going to bed, but me? heck no! I can go right to sleep!” Well, that may not be true after all… maybe I didn’t know that before because it never occurred to me to… exercise… Last week, I got on the treadmill for a little under an hour sometime in the evening (I don’t remember how late it was) and I had a REALLY hard time going to sleep that night.

Next week's a new week.

"I’ve pretty much accepted I’m talking to myself in my blog posts." Posted by vander1 on ruminations.com

It's probably too early in 2010 to have this kind of attitude, right? It was just that kind of week... I'm sure the treadmill will make me feel better though. (as if.) Getting up early to walk on the the treadmill hasn't worked well because my back hurts so terribly, I can't even work up a sweat as I "tread" as lightly as possible to try to avoid feeling my back tweaking! And last week was nightmarish at work as I had activities to supervise (or kids to taxi around) three of the four nights. How do people do it? I told the girls I had better strike a few yoga poses first in the morning to see if I can do it!

Next week's a new week...

Crunching numbers.

Let's go ahead and stop using the phrase "crunching numbers." It doesn't put any type of helpful visual imagery in my head - and it's annoying – especially when what you really mean is “add.”

I sat through a very long meeting today and all I could do was think about the plethora of items on my desk that I could have been working on. Because I was so distracted, I couldn't focus on the content of the meeting, so I sat there instead, making a list of every annoying thing that was said.

Deep thoughts.

"I bet if you were in some old west gang, and you were dragging a guy along the ground with your horse, it'd probably make you really mad to look back and see him reading a magazine." ~Jack Handy

No embarrassing accolades.

The school district is moving to a Microsoft Exchange server and in the process, moving everyone to Outlook 2007 for email rather than QuickMail, the inane program we used before, which was anything but ("quick"). Ever heard of Quickmail? Right. No one has. Anyway, I boycotted QuickMail a long time ago and have always used Outlook.

Just desserts.

...continued from yesterday's "Karma."

Folks who fart as frequently and freely as we do really do deserve a gaggle of flatulent animals.

A few years ago, we got Jessie, a Boston Terrier who is the sweetest dog. She is smart and tenacious, and she farts. She doesn't fart a little, she doesn't let go of SBDs*, she farts, audibly, ALL THE TIME. She has the walking farts as she walks out of a room pffffttt, pffffttt, pffffttt, pffffttt. She will fart while she waits for you to throw a ball for her, pbtbtbtbtzzzbtbt (followed by the joyful wagging of her little, callused, stump of a tail). She will fart while she is curled up in the living room sleeping while everyone surrounding her is enjoying a peaceful, quiet evening, thrrrrrrrptptptptptptflpflpflpflpflprrrrrrtttroot. It’s not something we looked for in a pet, but it just happened…and it couldn’t have happened to a more fitting family.

Karma.

Farting is funny. Not funny "ha-ha," but roll on the floor, nearly wet myself FUNNY (and ever since I had kids, wetting myself in laughter has become a lot easier... I've GOT to get back to Kegels... anyway, I digress).

Fear and loathing.

Why does the day before returning to work after a long break remind me of the same fear and loathing I feel before grading a stack of 50 poorly-written essays or shopping at Walmart or starting to organize a closet that has taken on a life of its own?

Luck be a lady.

Isn't life a little like Wheel of Fortune (probably a LOT like it if you think of all of the religious and philosophical allegories surrounding "Rota Fortunae"). I’m talking about the game show, though…Wheel of Fortune gives players clues as to what might be hidden behind the tiles, but requires the individual player’s skill AND the luck of the spin to seal the deal. A smart player with great skill might get a bad spin and lose everything; an idiotic player can bumble his way to big money with luck on his side.

Another chance to get it right.

I always say I love the world of academia because you always have another chance to start over. As a teacher, if this period seems to be going badly, 53 minutes later, you get to start over. If today isn't working out, tomorrow's a new day! If the kids are making you crazy this month, Spring Break is just around the corner and you get to start fresh after that. And then there is the do-over at the end of the quarter, the semester, and finally... the new school year. In some ways, the "New Year" is like that for everyone... Oprah Winfrey said, “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” I'll drink to that!

A little more of the same.

Resolutions... when I think about making them, I feel a sudden wave of practicality wash over me, and I think, "why rack my brains for a few MORE things to beat myself up over not doing?" If there is one thing I'm really good at, it's hammering myself for doing too much of this and not enough of that. So isn't manufacturing impossible expectations of myself that will glare at me for a year (A WHOLE YEAR?!) a little more of the same?