Good intentions

I had every intention this morning of writing a post. This would be as my alarm was going off at 4:15 a.m. Every day this week I have been up some time between 4 and 5 in the morning. So much for not being a morning person. When I was finally able to peel myself out of bed, I had too much to do other than writing a post. I have been leaving school between 4:30 and 5 in the afternoon/evening. I don't go straight home because I have errands to run. I walk in the door around 6. On my way home, I was chatting with relatives. I do that most evenings. Make phone calls all around the country to touch base with my extended family. I talk to most of them at least once a week. My dad and his sisters? I talk to them daily. (Speaking of my aunts, today was my aunt's last chemo treatment. Just in time for her birthday next week. Well, it had better be the last one.) I keep wondering where I am finding this energy. Because surprisingly I am not tired during the day. Around this time I do find myself fading though.

So the school year has been going OK so far. I have a challenging class. They are bright. They also ran all over their teacher last year. She's no longer at the school. My challenge has been to keep them challenged while laying down the law at the same time. They have spent a year thinking that they are in charge. I didn't mince words when I let them know that they are not. I get a lot of eye rolling and some occasional tears. "Please don't call my mother." This is the point when I roll my eyes. Today I even managed to work in a little head roll. You know. That kind of head movement that looks like a chicken. Oh, and with hand on hip. I think the words that came out of my mouth at that time were, "Try me."

Did I mention how much I love my job? I do. Honestly. I can't imagine doing anything else. Because I like these kids. And I believe in them. Because there are enough people out there who don't.

Checking it twice

I saw this over at Kevin's so I just had to copy it.

The Checklist
Just bold the things you have accomplished in your life.

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with wild dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs - Doesn't everyone do that?
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River - or was it the Colorado River?
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat - *sigh* That's what I get for not eating those Jack in the Box burgers in the 80s
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach -- This past summer in fact. The bug mobile came to school and I got to hold a Madagascar hissing cockroach as well as a few other insects.
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair - How many times have I told y'all that Miss Clairol is my patron saint?
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Obviously I still have a lot of living to do. (Awww. Crap. Now I'm going to have Bye Bye Birdie stuck in my head all day.) What have you done?

High school

I think that I originally saw this one over at Tami's. With the school year starting on Monday, I thought that this one was quite appropriate. And now I am off to meet some fellow teachers at Office Depot because it's Educators' Day. And they're serving food as well as giving away tote bags with office supply samples. It was the samples that convinced us to go. Then it's back to school because my room and I are still not ready for Monday.

Arty Kid

Whether you were a drama freak or an emo poet, you definitely were expressive and unique. You're probably a little less weird these days - but even more talented!

Who Were You In High School?

And yes, I was a drama freak. Behind the scenes though because I am too shy to speak in front of a group of people.

Nothing like the boys of summer to cure ya

So the baseball game was loads of fun on Monday night. So much fun that I may be going to Friday's game as well.

This week has been filled with meetings and discussions. I love this school district. They are truly committed to making changes so that the kids can be successful. It's not just lip service. Yesterday I spoke to the new art consultant for the district and volunteered to be one of her model classrooms. She has this whole plan for integrating the performing and visual arts into the curriculum -- something about which I feel passionately. Yesterday I also heard about the kind of field trips that the kids in my grade normally take as well as this other fun project. Apparently one of the local businesses partners with the kids in my grade to help them create their own films. How cool is that? Right now I can't imagine ever wanting to leave this district.

Last night Grasshopper called to ask about heading to the pub tonight. I tried to tell her that my schedule is pretty crazy this week and that I did not think I would be going anywhere. I don't think she heard me. She wants me to come along because she is meeting one of her guy's from HellSpace and he is supposed to be bringing a friend. Ummm. No. I know she's going to call back tonight so I guess I'll just be blunt then.

I guess I should start thinking about getting ready to get out of here soon. We have the first of two fun-filled days of discussing equity issues.

Feeling a little blue

Every now and then I get into these moods. Some would say it's very Cancerian of me. I don't know what it is. It's just something that happens every now and then. Of course, it usually occurs the day after I have gone out. Sometimes not, but usually.

What happens when I go out is that I see all these couples. It seems the world is full of them. And then I am reminded that I am not part of one. It's just me and the cats. Then I think that perhaps my joke is becoming the truth -- that I am destined to be one of those crazy old ladies with a bunch of cats.

Up until age 30 or so, I had a plan. I would finish school, get married, and have three kids. Yes, I had planned on the number of kids. The key to this all was that the marriage needed to be near age 30 because I didn't want to be too old when I started having the three kids. And no, having one was not an option. I am an only child and know what it's like. I don't think that I've ever met an only child who intentionally planned on only having one child. So the marriage never happened. And kids? Well I've always believed that you need to be in a committed relationship before you start having kids. I think that's one of those quirks of having divorced parents.

Over the years, I have learned to let go of the plan. It's much easier to do that. If I didn't, then I'd start blaming myself because it is so obviously a demonstration of my failure that I did not meet those goals. And then I cry. Because I start thinking that I have screwed up my life beyond repair. This is how I spent most of Sunday.

So today I packed up some stuff and headed to school. Hey, my social life may seemed screwed up but I do have my dream job. I also started thinking about other things I could do with my time. Like maybe start hanging out in places where the people a little more like me -- a little older but with their stuff together. Because other than the lapses in my social life, I like to think that I am pretty together. And tonight I'm off to do something that I haven't done in a long time but absolutely love. I am off to watch a baseball game with one of my new coworkers. Because maybe this is a new start.