Link up below!
1. Sunday morning I was out walking with my dogs and I came across a wallet laying in the middle of the street. I picked it up and saw that it was packed full with cash, high school ID cards, movie tickets, and a provisional driver's license. Knowing how freaked out one of my students would be (or even myself), I hopped in my car and drove the fifteen minutes to the kid's house- his dad was floored that I'd return it, which I was a little sad. Coincidentally, I think I got a red light ticket on Friday, so I'm hoping karma balances things out.
2. I'm really bad at working with 99% of people- the three hour meeting I just attended once again confirmed this. I just really, really prefer to get things done my own way, on my own terms. I wish I could say I'm working on it, but I'm not.
3. I went to an awesome discount fabric store in Orange County this weekend- I'm talking aisles and aisles of material (I was buying supplies for burp cloths and receiving blankets). Unfortunately, the trip was a little tainted because as I pulled up I saw a man walking his ferret outside. Long story short, eight or so years ago I had a horrible dream about being attacked by an Albino Sea Panda, which looked exactly like a ferret. I'm traumatized to this day.
4. Speaking of dreams, I had a dream over the weekend that my baby delivered full term as small as Thumbelina. I kept him in a sock and lost him in his baby carrier contraption.
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5. The Awakening is a seriously short book but also such a long read. I definitely don't have a problem with it, and appreciate them themes, but damn are those pages long.
6. Edna from The Awakening and Sylvia Plath have some interesting similarities, depending on your interpretation of Edna's actions.
7. For the last two weekends I have sat in bars drinking non-alcoholic drinks, only to watch the team I wanted to win (the 49ers) get beat this week. While I don't necessarily understand the nitty-gritty rules, I do actually like the game.
8. Chase sent me a breakdown of all my 2013 charges. It was really, really interesting, and I have to say that I don't feel like I'm one of those people that had their eyes opened by looking at it. I did really enjoy looking at all the categories and seeing how my spending shifted month to month (like with gas- you'd think it go down in the summer when I'm not working, but it didn't at all).
9. Our work book club met for the third time last week and we had a total of five people there, counting myself. Our department is nearly 20 people. We've started asking outsiders to join, so hopefully we'll see a boost in participation. We're meeting again in March to discuss Five Days at Memorial, which I've actually been wanting to read anyway. We're hoping that nonfiction will draw some newbies in.
10. Work has been all-consuming lately, both in terms of my time and thoughts. I'm on a committee that met last night, I'm doing these 1:1 testing commentaries with my seniors this month, I'm dying over yearbook deadlines, trying to plan lessons, working on getting everything in for my AP and IB kids before they test, and grade million of papers (and the semester just started). In a few weeks I'm giving up my prep period every day for a month in order to help kids at risk for failing the high school exit exam (this is a result of extra pay, not altruism). If I had a day off to just work for ten hours or so I could make a dent, but that's not happening (unless I give up a whole Sunday). Part of my thrives under this sort of pressure, but part of me is just plain tired too.
Your post reminds me how I still have yet to get around to The Awakening. It feels like one of those books I really should read but yeah, it's still somewhere in my want-to-read pile xD One of these days...That nonfiction title your book club is planning to read sounds intense!
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine how bummed my relatives are that the 49ers didn't make it to the Super Bowl...
Definitely with you on #2 *nods*
I really have a hard time trying to read Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. It's one of those books I should read. I've already bought it but for some reason it's just lying there. I think my dad has read it more pages in it than I have.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time joining your meme :) Happy Thursday!
Re: weird dreams. I had CRAZY dreams when I was pregnant - so mad that I often couldn't even begin to explain them.
ReplyDeleteYou're reading short books that are long reads... I'm reading long books that should be short reads. One of them I'm happily picking up and putting down while I'm at the beach (The Book Thief - it's a re-read so all good) but the other (the new Nancy Horan) - Jesus, Mary and Joseph, it's just about killing me. My book group is doing The Goldfinch in two weeks so I know that's next #readingstress
#2. Yes.
ReplyDeleteI'm under a lot of pressure at work right now to finish the projects of the library director who left abruptly. It irritates me that I'm not getting library director pay to finish these projects, because I have my own to worry about. I know it shouldn't, but it does. Anyway...
I dream constantly and extensively every night. One of my most traumatizing nightmares was right after I watched The Ninth Gate. I still remember it vividly 15 or so years later.
I've been having freaky dreams too-- I just finished reading Red Dragon so I'm guessing that has something to do with it :/
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, by the end of a 3 hour (gag!) meeting, does anyone like working with other people? Plus, in my (admittedly limited) experience, GT teachers don't like working with others. Yes, it's a stereotype, but the GT teachers I knew always went rogue, always. We'd spend hours doing lesson plans and talking about stuff, then I'd walk by their classroom and just see them doing their own thing, totally unrelated to what we talked about, and they wouldn't share their ideas with the rest of us. They were hoarding the good ideas for themselves. Unless you don't teach GT and I'm misremembering, in which case, just disregard all that babbling.
ReplyDeleteI have to confess hating to work with others from the age of about six, so I don't think it's necessarily what I teach that is the kicker. Although, it definitely contributes- I teach a TOTALLY different curriculum from my grade levels, so I find it totally useless to spend time planning for their classes (which they're in the majority, so I get that it makes sense to focus on their content). This meeting was for Common Core curriculum planning, though, so it was applicable to be. I just have a different working style that they do, if you catch my drift.
DeleteThat breakdown of spending sounds like it could be a really good thing, but I honestly would be afraid to see mine for last year. When I've girded my loins to make some real changes, maybe I'll call Chase and request the same report.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to hear what you think of Five Days at Memorial. It's been on my list for a while, too.
Work has been very busy for me lately too. I have so many meetings, sub plans, and prep work to do for my own classroom.
ReplyDeleteYour work book club sounds fun.
I would have rather seen the 49ers make it to the Super Bowl than the Seahawks, but ultimately it doesn't matter because I'd be rooting for the Broncos to win over either of them.
ReplyDeleteMy first time participating as well! I had fun writing mine. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteI live in Colorado, so I'll be pulling for the Broncos in the Super Bowl as well and didn't really have a preference in the NFC game, I'm just hoping I won't have to work during the game.
Your book club sounds fun, I hope you get more participation, since it sounds like that's what you want. I haven't been in one since high school and I definitely miss it.