Free at last

Well, not quite but soon. When 3:09 hits today, I will be ready to run for the door. But I won't. Because I should meet with the other teacher for my grade level. And because happy hour at Kitty's does not start until 4. I have managed to convince at least two of the other teachers with whom I work that we should all head there after work. I hope to recruit more before the day is over. Because teachers? We party harder than almost anyone else. The only other folks that I have found who can hang with us are police officers and firefighters. Perhaps this is why Arnold has it out for all of us... Oops. I just got political, didn't I? Sorry.

So I have almost made it through the first week of school. Yesterday was the most memorable. About ten minutes into class, a kid raised his hand. When I asked him what he wanted, he told me he was about to be ill. I told him to run. He almost made it. About four feet short of the door, his stomach emptied onto the floor. It took the custodian about 30 minutes to show up to clean up the mess. What did I do during this time? I kept on teaching, of course. Once I had to leap over the puke. And believe me it was a true leap because I was wearing sandals.

I thought that would be the end of it all but near the end of the day I had another incident in my classroom -- ten minutes before school was out. I ended up sending a student to the office. I am tempted to go into details but I even though I write anonymously, I am afraid to go into details.

The good thing is that I was able to get enough done yesterday that I was able to sleep in this morning. No photocopying for me this morning.

So what are my plans for this long weekend? Originally I had planned to head south to hang out with Kate, my college roommate. Her fortieth is next week. Instead I will be sleeping in and getting organized. I have learned the hard way how crucial it is to get organized as early as possible in the school year. I may even find myself at work tomorrow since the school will be open then. So if you are one of those folks who thinks that teachers have a cush job, think again. Between the time I spend at school and the time I spend working on stuff at home, I usually work about ten to twelve hours a day on average. Funny thing is I only get paid for six hours. You do the math.

I am going to try to live up to my true nature this weekend as well. I'll be starting Friday night at Kitty's and will probably end up at the pub. As far as I know, Grasshopper will be available for her co-hosting duties. Awww. Crap. I just checked the music schedule. Like I even know the band. And since I'm surfing the crimson wave, I am sure that I will be bitchier than ever. *sigh*

Here's to hoping that I have a calm and peaceful weekend.