Molding Young Minds

Nobody's Home...

2007-09-23T00:39:00.001-05:00

because we've moved to Wordpress.

Click HERE to drop by the new digs!!

Starting Up

2007-09-09T15:37:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I'm always surprised that the first few weeks of a new school year always wipe me out. I spent this week being SuperTeacher...able to leap tall stacks of literature books in a single bound...but, since my cape only works inside Uberschool, I came home each night ready to crrrrrrrrrrrrrash.
Which I did.
Which explains why I haven't posted in a week.

Let me re-cap the week:
**Unbeknownst to me, Maintenance installed a revolving door on my classroom, because I've had a constant stream of students entering and leaving my class roll.
**Apparently the counselors have been rendered incapable of doing simple math, because even though my class roll says "No Seats Left"....they keep adding students.
**Tragically, I've developed a serious case of UberschoolAgoraphobia. After it took me 45 minutes to get A CUP OF ICE....because people came out of the woodwork to ask me "a quick question" about their computer....I will now go to any length to NOT go into the teachers' lounge, or the hallways, or even the parking lot. (Yeah. NewSpecialEdTeacher started firing questions at me in the parking lot at SEVEN A.M. in the MORNING! Dammmmn! Can I get IN the building first, please??!)
**I don't feel guilty about dodging these people, because all of their questions were PRE-answered in detailed, stepbystep emails....which they didn't read. Because apparently my fellow teachers, even though they have COLLEGE DEGREES, do not know how to read.

On the upside:
**I am no longer the junior class sponsor. WOOP!
**I chatted with the DistrictTechnologyGuy about the fact that I didn't get a new computer when the rest of Uberschool teachers did. (He was stunned, and promised to look into it.)
**Uberprincipal asked me to babysit the dual-enrollment class on the days that the college teacher is not there. (I give up my conference period, but I get paid...so it's spiffy!)
**I survived the hell that was Senior Picture Day. The schedule was SO poorly designed that the kids were out of class for hours at a time, and only about half of them got their picture taken. (Yeah, you guessed it. They're going to schedule another picture day. Yip--effin--e.)
**I decided that I need to officially get back on the Workout Wagon. Last night I went and joined the gym that Hellion and Corn are members of.

And the best news of all......
We had a MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH with Buggy this week. He only had to sit through 2 math classes before he decided he is hella-bored because it is so easy. He actually said, "Mannnnn, I shoulda retaken that test."

To my credit, I managed to NOT say, "HA!!!! I TOLD YOU SO!"

(but I sure did think it!)

Important Update:
Hey...tomorrow's my birthday. How cool is that??

Selling Out

2007-09-02T08:01:00.000-05:00

Something amazing happened last night.

I got to sleep the entire night....8.5 hours....all the way through.

Usually I get woken up by an extremely sharp bark at about 2 a.m. that says "HEY LADY, I GOTTA GO OUT!"

Usually, he doesn't really "need" to go out. It's just cuz he's lonely and tired of playing Canine Incarceration.

Last night, I was so tired that I decided to sell a little piece of my soul, and I plopped his furrylittlebutt in the bed with me.

Guess what.

He slept alllllllllllllllllll night long.

The best part....so did I.

The extra-best part....we came outside so he could do his bizzznesss....and he did!!

WOOOOOOOP!!!!

~hasta

First Week

2007-08-30T22:17:00.000-05:00

Holy crap Batman.

Is it seriously the end of the first week?

Yeah, it's been reallydamncrazy....but overall it's been a pretty good week.

*My seniors are pretty low-maintenance. For the most part.
*I've had several of my kids from last year stop by to see me.
*Many are upset they're not in my class.
*It's hard to imagine there could possibly be kids who aren't in my class....considering it's standing room only in my soupcan.
*I've spent conference periods this week answering, "Just one quick question..." about computers.
*It took me 45 minutes to go get a cup of ice on Tuesday. Why? (Read previous statement.)
*Hellion and I have collaborated on lesson plans so we can share the workload. We are rockstars.
*I have picked up some extra tutoring duties that come with a $25/hour payment.
*Buggy has kept me posted on College Life. He's enjoying it. (And yes, I know that eventually he'll quit enjoying it. But I figure, as long as he keeps his support system in place...even when it becomes "Zero Fun, Sir" he'll still make it okay. ) **Extra Credit: What movie is that quote from?***
*Freddy is having a hard time adjusting to my back-to-school schedule. As usual, when he's stressed, he housepoops.
*I've decided to give him til next Tuesday to get over it....after that, if he continues to housepoop...I'm going to Petsmart to buy the piggy halloween costume for him!!!
*I've been unstoppable this week at school with my kids....extremely high-energy. It's when I get home, and sit down, (Like Now) that I realize just how damned tired I am.

I'm going to saw some logs.

~hasta

Day of Firsts - Recap

2007-08-27T23:51:00.000-05:00

*I'm teaching Senior English. I've got a good group of kids....it doesn't hurt that I have a few in each class that I've had before. They help indoctrinate the others to my way of doing things!
*I'm going to drop my glass-half-empty perspective of switching grade levels. There's something to be said for not having to deal with 9th graders and their idiocy.
*I'm climbing back on the wagon of eating smarter and working out. I took my lunch today and managed to stay away from the vending machine. yay me!
*I've developed a small habit lately of drinking regular Dr. Pepper. That ends today. It was hard...but I resisted. I am SUCH a sugar addict!! It's SO not funny!
*I'm turning my cell phone off during the day. It was bad enough that my damn classroom phone kept ringing. I'm glad I didn't have to deal with TWO of 'em!!
*It's Buggy's first day of college. (His first class is English. Update to follow...) He came by a while ago. He was pretty jazzed about the whole thing...which was a HUGE relief! His Poli Sci prof sounds like a RIOT....he only excuses absences that are due to 'debilitating illness' or 'kidnapping'!!!! HOW HYSTERICAL IS THAT?!!
*That means this is the first day he won't be popping in & out of my room. That part was a little sad....I've gotten used to Buggy-Fly-bys over the past 2 years. Especially cuz it was always fun to watch the girls' reactions when Mr. SuperCutie rolled in....!!!
*I've also vowed that I'd start getting to school earlier....which means I need to get to gettin'!!!
Ummmmmmm yeah. That didn't happen this morning. But in the words of one Miss Scarlett O'Hara, "Fiddle-dee-dee!"

~nite y'all!!

The Day of Firsts

2007-08-27T05:58:00.001-05:00

One reason I like living in the academic world is you get a fresh start each August.

In the spirit of the New School Year, I thought I'd take a look at "The Firsts"

*I'm teaching Senior English.
*I'm going to drop my glass-half-empty perspective of switching grade levels.
*I'm climbing back on the wagon of eating smarter and working out.
*I've developed a small habit lately of drinking regular Dr. Pepper. That ends today.
*I'm turning my cell phone off during the day.
*It's Buggy's first day of college. (His first class is English. Update to follow...)
*That means this is the first day he won't be popping in & out of my room.
*I've also vowed that I'd start getting to school earlier....which means I need to get to gettin'!!!

~hasta

Meltdown, WarmFuzzies & BabyGrape

2007-08-25T00:10:00.000-05:00

Thank God this week is over.

Meltdown:
*was inspired/triggered by Computerdude's lack of work ethic.
*served as the catalyst to get his supervisor to errr, supervise him.
*was strangely cathartic.

WarmFuzzies:
*came from grateful teachers that I worked magic for.
*came from APs who saw that I was busting my ass.
*came from a colleague who I've been at odds with since Day1.

BabyGrape:
*brought his mama, daddy, and his Nana to see me.
*was extra-sleepy when he got here, so he went straight to bed.
*is finnnalllly back home in Texas where he belongs.
*will eventually break my heart again by leaving me. Again.
*will make every moment until departure a RIOT!!

Irony

2007-08-23T21:49:00.001-05:00

You know how we all absolutely hate to go to inservice days? Because we know (with every fiber of our being) that we're going to be bored off our verrrrry (numb) ass?

Wouldn't you know that today I actually found myself in an inservice that was entertaining, informative, and ENJOYABLE!

WTF??!?!?!

The irony?

I only got to hear half of it.

You'll never guess what I was doing.

Yup. Getting people's computers to work.

I'm extra-effing-tired of doing Computerdude's job. But I have learned a valuable lesson from him. I call it:

How To Outsource Your Job Without Sacrificing the Paycheck
1. Be incompetent. Bungle each and every work order so thoroughly that it takes 4 times longer that the standard snail's pace that people expect when dealing with technical support.

2. Appear to be incompetent. If someone asks you a question, leave huge gaps in between the end of their question and the beginning of your "non-answer". That will give them time to run the "Damn, it would have taken me less time to research this problem on the web, get my IT-certification, fix the problem myself, and convince 9th grade boys that learning how to square-dance is a vital lifeskill." script in their head.

3. Punch their buttons. Figure out what realllllllly makes people see red. Let's say there's an English teacher who you know is very anal about the instructions she sends out. Her instructions are always in logical/sequential order, and are free of grammar and spelling errors. In order to get her good and stirred up, you should send out emails that are not only ridiculously obscure and confusing....but also have zero chance of making it through spell/grammar check in under 20 minutes.

4. Give a merry chase. Start the week off by insisting people put in help requests on the computer. (Those would be the computers they can't log onto because you haven't put the network interface on them yet!) When you finally receive those emails with the help requests, don't read them. Don't even open them. (You know the "history" button will log the exact minute that you read that email. Don't give them the satisfaction.)
On Tuesday, tell folks that they should "let you know" if they're having problems.
Wednesday, send an email that says, "You have to catch me in my office so I can change it right then."
Thursday, be in your office sometimes....but spend the time you're in there interrogating the people that come by for help as to whether or not they tried the given process on multiple computers. (Knowing that this is nigh to impossible, considering only every 5th computer has any chance of working.)

5. Exploit the fact that people feel intimidated around computers. Make sure to use enough technical jargon and condescension to make people feel like the village idiot. That, with the gaps, will make them want to run far far away.

To truly maximize the probability that others will do your job for you...while you get to sit in your office and do NOTHING....take equal helpings of all 5 strategies and rotate through them at will.

This will ensure that the anal-retentive English teacher:
*writes all of the training documents (using screenshots) for the faculty
*learns to do tasks that would earn her Big Bucks in the corporate IT world (that are SO not in her job description)
*takes care of your job for you....while you still get paid for it.

Granted, you may have to listen to her bitch every now and then, and she may even get your supervisor breathing down your neck. But hey. You're still way better off than she is....and what's even better? You've made spot-on sure that your computer works....so you'll be able to use alllllllll your free time to surf the web.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apparently I went to my own Seminar today.

I wonder if I can get any CEUs.

~hasta

Today's Staff Meeting by the Numbers

2007-08-20T23:25:00.001-05:00

8 - the month
20 - the date
265 - the approximate number of teachers and administrators in Uberschool
20 - the approximate number of new teachers
8 - the time the meeting was supposed to start
8:10 - the time it actually started
15 - the approx. number of people who came in at least 5 minutes late (after the meeting started)
4 - the number of cell phones that went off (not counting administrators' school phones)
1 - the number of people who had actual conversations when their phone rang
1 - the number of teachers who brought their children to the meeting
2 - the number of computers that made "hey! I'm turning on!" sounds
9:20 - the time we got our first (and only) break
10 - the number of minutes our break was supposed to be
18 - the number of minutes it actually lasted
*infinity* - the number of stupidly cranky questions asked
5 - the number of people who ABSOLUTELY NEED to retire, if for no other reason than to keep their jaded outlook from tarnishing the newbies.
11:00 - the time the meeting was supposed to end
11:20 - the time it actually ended
4 - the number of ibuprofen it took to kill the headache
32 - the number of ounces of Dr Pepper it took to wash down the ibuprofen

and last but not least....
6.5 - how many hours I've got til my alarm goes off.

~hasta!

Good Stuff

2007-08-19T22:04:00.000-05:00

Good Stuff #1:
I got mad props from our dropout prevention director for having so many of my tutoring kids pass the TAKS test last month. WOOP!!

Good Stuff #2:
Buggy retook the writing part of the accuplacer test....and passed it!! This means he'll get to take Freshman Comp, rather than getting stuck in the remedial writing class. (And yeah, he might need some help with Freshman Comp. Hmmmm, I wonder if he knows anybody who could help him with essays. Hmmm.)

Good Stuff #3:
Buggy put some shelves together for me while I culled 5 years of crap from the storeroom in my classroom. I went back today for 4 hours to reorganize all the remaining "treasures" and get my room ready. Granted, we don't get kids for another week, but I know I'm not going to get anything done on my prep days. Too many people have "just a quick question" about their computers. All I have left to do in my room is to swap my junior books for senior ones, put up my bulletin board, and do some filing. WOOOOOOOOP!

Good Stuff #4:
I got a reply from Uberprincipal about my stepping down as junior class sponsor. She said she understood and was fully aware of the time and effort I devote to the students and teachers of Uberschool. And that someone else could take over as junior class sponsor. HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!!

Good Stuff #5:
I've been working with APMcBuzz on some training for the new teachers this week. We've spent some time hammering out some considerable glitches in regards to computer access, and he's been super-supportive on lighting a fire under our computerdude's posterior. Yesterday, he sent me an email telling me I'm "awesome". *grin* (In case you're wondering about his blogname, Hellion noted that he is everywhere....like a flying flea....bzzzzzzzz)

Good Stuff #6:
I saved the best for last. This evening, as I was sitting outside waiting for Freddy to 'make water', I got a text from Preggo. She and BabyGrape and her mom may be coming to see me this weekend!!! (They're really coming to see Grape'sDaddy, who's doing training in BFEWestTexas, but why bother with reality?) Granted, the emphasis is on "may"...but I'm extra hopeful it happens. I can't wait for Freddy to meet BabyGrape! Keep your fingers crossed!!

Awesome Articles

2007-08-18T06:33:00.001-05:00

I just finished posting (see below) ...and then went to yahoo to check email. These two articles popped up. At the risk of looking like a blog-addict, I had to do another post so I could pass them along. I thought they were too good....

Time to Set Kids' Back-to-School Sleep Clocks

Sleeping on Weekends Hurts Kids' Grades

Courtesy of Leesepea

2007-08-18T05:41:00.000-05:00

One of the folks I've come to know (and respect. and admire.) over my past couple of years in blogland is Leesepea at But Wait! There's more... She is a firecracker of a middle school teacher in California. I want to be her when I grow up. (If I grow up...IF!)

She threw down the gauntlet of the meme tag in her post yesterday. Never let it be said that I don't play along....

1. I am a good teacher because...I care about my kiddos, and let my heart have a say in my decision-making.

2. If I weren’t a teacher, I would be...lost. (I know this because I didn't teach for 6 years...and I felt like I was missing an appendage.)

3. My teaching style is...quirky, energetic, volatile, erratic, challenging, entertaining, neurotic (at times!), evolving...and fascinating (in that rubbernecking-at-a-car-accident-kind of way.)

4. My classroom is...my domain. The kids know when they walk through the door that it's a different world from the rest of the school. My expectations are different, my process is different, my heart is different...and they need to be different if they want to make it.

5. My lesson plans are...usually a work-in-progress. And rarely written down ahead of time. I'm determined to change that this year. Seriously. Quit laughing....

6. One of my teaching goals is... to do what I gotta do to make it happen. If I need to modify the way I teach something so a kid can get it...then I need to do that. Preserving the sanctity of "How We've Always Done It" is useless if the kid walks away without the concept.

7. The toughest part of teaching is... admitting I can't do it all. (I just sent an email to Uberprincipal stepping down from Junior Class sponsor for the coming year. It kills me to admit I'm human.)

8. The thing I love most about teaching is...it's never EVER boring. Wait. I just remembered I'm about to spend a week in Inservice Trainings and Faculty Meetings. Let me rephrase that. Teaching...as in "life once the kids arrive"...is never boring.

9. A common misconception about teaching is... that we gets evenings, weekends, and summers off. Even though we may not be on the clock...we're probably doing something school-related, be it school clubs, tutoring, grading, planning, etc. And on the off-chance we're NOT doing something school-related, we're probably sitting there thinking about the fact that we need to grading, planning, etc. !!!!!

10. The most important thing I’ve learned since I started teaching is...I will never truly know the impact I had on someone. I need to make every effort to ensure that it's a positive impact.

Okay....if you're a teacher....TAG! YOU'RE IT! Once you've posted this on your blog, leave me a comment with the link. And don't think you're off the hook if you're a non-blogger. (HELLION!!) You can write your "post" in MSWord, and then copy/paste the text into a comment.

The Return of Buggy

2007-08-11T05:36:00.000-05:00

So. After almost 2 months of zero Buggy-Sightings, a lot of cranky frustrationfits on my part, some supersmooth finesse-ing of The Buggy Ego by Novia, and one excruciatingly painful for him (BUT eversoenjoyable for me) "I apologize" phone call from The Bugg....Buggy is officially
Back on the Radar.

I totally don't get teenage males.

They came over Thursday evening so Buggy could bring me the college-related mail that had accumulated during his PeriodOfInsanity. I was NOT surprised to see a letter from the Admissions office saying "We need a copy of your official transcript. Now."

I looked at him and said, "HA!!! I was RIGHT!"

Buggy: "About what?"
Me: "Remember I told you at Orientation that we needed to take that transcript to them?"
Buggy: "Yeah."
Me: "Remember how you said we didn't need to...because they already had it?"
Buggy: "Yeah."
Me: *pointed look at letter* "Apparently. They did not."
Buggy: "I guess...."
Novia: *leaves room to camouflage her snickering*
Buggy: "So. Can we get one?"
Me: "We have one."
Buggy: "No we don't."
Me: "Ummm yeah. We do. It's in that folder that Novia gave you."
Buggy: "But those aren't the final transcripts. They want final transcripts."
Me: "There are 2 sets of transcripts in that folder. One set is from when we applied for scholarships. The other set is your final transcript."
Buggy: "Oh. Okay. Should we mail it, or do you have time to take it by there?"
Me: "Why can't you?"
Buggy: "I'm at work in CrazyFarAwayFromHereCity when they're open."
Me: "Okay. Bring it by tomorrow morning and I'll take it up there."
Buggy: "Thanks, Miss."

We then went on to have CollegeMajor Counseling Session. Buggy is re-thinking his choice of major....and has gotten himself all stressed out in the process. (*SHOCKER!!!*) He's flipping out because he doesn't know exactly what he wants to major in....and thinks he has to lock it in prior to classes starting. (anyone wanna bet that's why he was incommunicado for so long???)

He seemed to breathe a little easier when I reminded him that I started out as a business major. It took me until Spring Break of my freshman year to figure out that business was Not For Me.

Once he calmed down, I put him on an "Interest Inventory" website. The options that popped up seemed to fit him pretty well, so he's got some options to mull over.

There was one option that gave me a littlebitty heart attack:

Military Service.

When he read that one out loud, he looked at me with raised eyebrows.

I looked him dead in the eye and said, "You can just pretend that one's not even there. Move along, little Buggy."

He gave me a big ole Buggygrin, shook his head, and kept reading....

Ya know, I think he might make it.

~hasta

Re-entry

2007-08-09T07:35:00.000-05:00

For Me:
The first day back from vacation was perfect. No schedule, no demands on my time....just an entire day to float from one gig to another. *sigh*

Freddy, on the other hand, is experiencing a little bit of culture shock. You see, the "grandparents" spoiled him just a weeeeee bit while he was there. And while it did him good in turns of improving his socialization with humans, and putting a little bit of much-needed weight on him, he's having to adjust to a couple of things.

Like the fact that Grandpop is the bacon-cooker, not me. Therefore, I don't have bacon grease at my disposal to "sneak" onto his food. Sadly, the terribly dry dog food is not quite as attractive to the Freddynose.

A point which he is driving home by sitting next to me on the couch when he should be in at his food bowl. Usually, it only takes him about 3 minutes of frantic crunching to clear the bowl.

Right now? It's been sitting in the bowl...in the other room....for a good 15 minutes.

Apparently he's on a hunger strike.

I bet he wishes he had opposable thumbs so he could make a picket sign.

Ohhhhhh, pobrecito!!

~hasta

Finally

2007-08-07T22:59:00.000-05:00

I'm home.

It took forever.

Prolly because, in addition to the extra "necessary" stops, I:
*got the scoop from Novia about the events leading up to The Bugg's Call.
*hung out with ShortOne for an hour and half...solving the world's problems.
*played catch-up with Hellion....I had to get the scoop on HER vacation, after all!
*chatted with MissErin while we were both burning highway miles.

But....it was worth it!!

Freddy slept most of the way...waking up when we stopped, and quickly returning to his comfy comforter when it was time to go again.

Right now, he's wedged under my leg...snoozing like crazy. I think Charlie Brown said it best:
"Happiness is a warm puppy."

~hasta

Bugs & Dogs

2007-08-07T00:00:00.001-05:00

Apparently Hell has frozen over, because I actually heard from Buggy tonight.

Novia called me, said "Are you busy? Do you have time to talk?" When I said I had time, she said "hold on" and handed the phone to Buggy.

...who then proceeded to apologize for his behavior.

I know!

I'm having a hard time believing it as well.

I'm not so naive to believe that everything is peachy-keen hunky-dory with him.....I think we still need to really work through some of the cobwebs. But it's a good start.

Hopefully, you'll forgive me the rather short post this evening....especially since I'm going to share some video of the resident wiener dogs. :)

Click the link to see the debut performance of Freddy and Maggie....

A Tale of Two Wieners

Enjoy!!!

What I Did During My Vacation

2007-08-05T21:42:00.001-05:00

1. Spent a longdamntime driving from Texas to Missouri.
2. Visited my dad's chiropractor....who not only adjusted the pain completely out of my hip ("...and there was much rejoicing in the land!!!"), but also gave me some nifty copies of my x-rays as a parting gift.
3. Read Lover's Lane by Jill Marie Landis.
4. Went Garage-Saleing with my mom, her neighbor, and my AuntZany. And yes, it did deserve Capital Letters. If we approached education reform like my aunt approaches garage sales, there would be absolutely NO children left behind. Period.
5. Figured out making a deposit at a "network credit union" works after my car-loan was zapped out of the wrong bank account. (Don't even get me started about people who forget that their job is to provide SERVICE to customers.)
6. Spent an inordinate amount of time examining my phone/wireless/dish/internet bill with a fine-tooth comb...and then moved on to comparing electric companies in view of firing my current one. (I've NOT been happy with TXU lately.)
7. Took part in Staples' Teacher Appreciation Day....got a nifto-groovy filepocket o' supplies and did some shopping while drinking sweet tea from McAllister's. MMMM!
8. Did some trouble-shooting for my jacked-up computer while officiating the Freddy/Maggie Wars.
9. Went to church with the parents. I was amazed by the sheer volume of noise the family behind me made. And I do mean Family. The whiney toddler, the incapable of whispering middle-schooler, the chattering mom, AND the World-Champion GumWrapper Rattler GRANDMA!!!
10. Had a mini-family-reunion with my dad's side of the family at lunch. I got to visit with a distant cousin who's on vacation from teaching in Guadalajara. Way cool!
11. Ran errands with Mom....then came home to sleep off the headache acquired while dealing with members of The Human Race.
12. Updated my blogroll so I could corral some of my favorite links.
13. Updated my blog so I could corral my activities of the past week.

A Universe Far Far Away

2007-08-02T01:29:00.000-05:00

I've known for A WHILE that I'm going to need to marry rich. I have expensive taste...but I am not cut out for the cut-throat corporate world, high-paying though it may be. Which means I'm not going to get rich on my own.

Today, I realized that yes, I still need to marry rich....but more importantly I need to marry someone who has his own jet. This driving 500+ miles with a dog is FOR THE BIRDS.

We left home at about 11:30 a.m.....we got here at midnight. We made a TON of stops because I didn't want him to become the "CarPooper". Each stop took a long time because each time, we followed the same routine:
*Walk Freddy
*Watch Freddy become one with the landscape
*Watch Freddy pee (maybe)
*Put Freddy back in car
*Give Freddy a itty-bitty drink of water so his little body didn't explode from the heat
*Grab my purse
*Turn on the car long enough to crack windows for a cross breeze.
*Convince Freddy to stay in the car by himself.
*Go inside....
*Stand IN LINE for the women's restroom. (More about that later).
*"Do my business"
*Exit convenience store after purchasing more liquids for the driver.
*Return to car.
*Kick Freddy out of my seat.
*Commence the trip.

We made an extra-long pit-stop at the convenience store close by TheShortOne's house. So that hour doesn't count as "travel time".

But STILL. It should not take 11 and a half hours to drive 580 miles.

I just did the math.

We averaged 50.4 miles an hour.

Damn. No wonder I'm exhausted.

Thank goodness the Ipod was working.

-hasta

Flexible

2007-08-01T00:37:00.000-05:00

You know it's going to be a challenging day when your horoscope tells you to "...so get ready to be flexible".

Translated: "Go back to bed. Now. I mean it."

Let's run a tally:
My lower back was KILLING ME from random stress, yard work, and lack of regular exercise. (By the time I left work, I couldn't take it anymore. I broke down and went to the chiropractor.)

I was on my way out the door (to go to the magic chiropractor) when Buggy's counselor asked if I could look at her computer, because it was doing something weird . (After all she'd done for Buggy, I couldn't say no...so I did a fly-by on her office.)

I forgot to switch my direct deposit to send my paycheck to my new account....so I had to do the bank shuffle: go to old bank, get a cashier's check.....then haul a$$ to my new bank to deposit it.

I went to pick up my MaryKFriend to spend the afternoon with her....bet you'll never guess what she's in town for.... (*wink*)

Endured Freddy barking his fool-head off at MaryKFriend's arrival and visit. (He's freaking psycho.)

Talked to Novia about the recent stubbornness/idiocy of The Bugg. He's been pissed off at me ever since orientation...and I don't know why. Why don't I know why? Because he won't effing talk to me!!!! He's adopted the "build-a-brick-wall-of-emotional-distance" strategy.

His strategy sucks.

Novia is going to try to talk some sense into him while I'm gone on vacation.

Yeah...that's right. I'm leaving tomorrow for a week's vacation. Freddy and I are taking a road trip to see the folks. It'll be his first car trip of any length...and his first time to meet Maggie, my parents' dachshund. Maggie's convinced she's human....she's just shorter than everyone else in the house. She's also In-Charge of her house and all those taller "people" in it....(the people know this, and have accepted it)....so it'll be interesting to watch her "school" Freddy. (Who likes to think he's in charge.)

Get 'em!!

My IPOD spazzed out tonight. It kept skipping through the songs....never actually playing any of them. After a sync/restore/reload (which took about an hour of my life) it seems to be working. I certainly hope so....because it could conceivably be a looooooooong damn trip without control of the tune-age.

keep your fingers crossed...

~hasta

Saturday Morning...

2007-07-28T08:12:00.000-05:00

Wayyyyyyyyy back in the day, Saturday mornings were designated solely for Sleeping In. I was EXTRAgood at it. In college, I could sleep til noon...sometimes later, if left alone. (Translation: As long as MiMadre didn't get a wild hair to call me to conduct the "What are you doing?" survey.)

Sadly, my job at Uberschool with its WAY-TOO-FREAKING-EARLY start time has jacked up my sleep schedule and my internal clock, so I'm now a

Morning Person.

It's a tragedy. It really is.

It's not helped by the fact that The Housepooper has a really sharp bark.
And is not afraid to use it.
Which he did at 6:00 this morning. (Apparently, he thought we were going to be late for work.)

So I've been up for well over 2 hours.

What's more is I've actually been Productive.

(Note to My Family: Allright. You're not funny. Quit holding your breath...pretending to be surprised. Seriously, quit it. Or I'm going to tell them all of YOUR secrets....)

There, that's better. Let's move on.

Where was I? Oh yes....What have I accomplished this morning?

*Sat outside with The Housepooper, waiting for him to Produce. Instead, he ate grass.
*Came in and cleaned the kitchen.
*Fired up the iced tea machine to make some raspberry tea. mmmmmm.
*Washed a load of laundry.
*Emptied the dryer of last Wednesday's towels&skivvies.
*Put clean laundry in the dryer.
*Ran the dishwasher.
*Initiated & Executed ClothesHangerReconnMission.
*Took The Housepooper back outside. He, for a very short amount of time, wasThe YardPooper.
*Extracted clean/dry clothes from dryer.
*Hung them up.
*Spent some time catching up on Blogland.
*Snarfed Dr.Pepper out of MY NOSE while reading Chris G's post: Pantsed in the Dells.
*Cleaned DrPepper off of table & computer.

Now I've got to wrap this up so I can make a flying trip through the shower. I've got to wash the rest of the DP off me and get somewhat presentable, because I've got a meeting in 30 minutes.

Yeah. A meeting. On a Saturday.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Apparently it's time for my little neighborhood to have a pow-wow about forming a neighborhood watch. There's been a rash of "activity" of late....and the natives are NOT HAPPY. (Neither am I, because the NeighboorhoodDelinquent has been seen exiting my backyard by jumping over my fence.)

I guess I'm going to have to go be social.

Wish me luck.

You know how hard it is for me.

~hasta

Vindication!

2007-07-27T19:09:00.000-05:00

Apparently, the planets all lined up just so on Wednesday...and helped convince PAPartner that I wasn't so evil. She came in to talk to me several times yesterday (Thursday)...and was as friendly as could be! I really thought I'd stepped into a different dimension.

She met me at my door as I was arriving at school Thursday....chattering amicably about wanting my help revising some forms they use in the lab. (Apparently she forgot I was the enemy!) I was so discombobulated that I forgot to be mad about being tagged as the "Takeover Girl" and tell her to go jump in the lake, and actually started renovating the forms.

Later, she came in and said, "I totally see what you mean about Huff&Puff. Her mood was out of control yesterday. I thought you were exaggerating about her attitude, but I have to apologize to you. She was horrible yesterday!!"

(Thank goodness I have health insurance through the job...because otherwise the ambulance bill from my falling-out-of-my-chair onto my head could have bankrupted me!)

After the break, I looked up to see Huff&Puff standing at my desk, with PAPartner right behind her. H&P had finished her credit, and was about to go sign out with the AP.

Imagine my surprise when I heard this come out of H&P's mouth:
"Miss, I wanted to say thank you for all your help....and to tell you I'm sorry for getting mad at you the other day. I know you were just trying to help me."

*blink*

*blink*

I'm a little nervous that these events might be our first indication that Hell is Freezing Over.

If Hell actually is freezing over, I'm going to be unable to blog for a while....my When Hell Freezes Over To-Do List is pretty long, and is going to take quite a while to complete. But I'll hurry back as soon as possible, I promise.

~hasta

Wednesday

2007-07-25T22:11:00.000-05:00

I had a day off from dealing with PAPartner today. I went to a technology workshop on using VisualBasic in Powerpoint. It was pretty darn spiffy.

After I worked out with Trainerdude, I wandered through Blockbuster. I figured I'd be doing good if I could find one that looked good. Of course, I found 3.

I came home and puttered around the house. I 'm proud to report that I hung some wood blinds in the bathroom....and not only did I get them relatively straight the first time, they're still attached to the wall (and it's been almost 3 hours!)!!

Now, the HousePooper and I are hanging out on the couch, watching Peaceful Warrior. It's a Rocky-esque story...where this gymnast figures out how to be about the present. I'm about an hour in, and it's pretty good. Some of the gymnastics scenes are a little hokey, but overall, the message is good.
A couple of way cool quotes:
"The ones who are hardest to love are usually the ones who need it the most."
"A warrior is not about perfection or victory or invulnerability. He's about absolute vulnerability. "

I'll let you know my final verdict.

~hasta

City Dog

2007-07-25T00:57:00.000-05:00

I gave Freddy a mini-rawhide bone last night. He LOVED it! He carried it around the house, stopping periodically to chew on it, but mostly making sure it wasn't going to get bone-napped.

He spent a great deal of time trying to find a place to bury it. He tried:
the corner of the living room by the back door
the corner of the patio
in front of the tv
several places in the guest room and computer room
the floor of my closet - where the laundry lives
Each time he "dug out" a spot, placed the bone inside, and then used his snout to "cover" it with dirt. (Even though NONE of them were even remotely close to an actual dirt-pile.)

My favorite was when he jumped up by me on the couch, and started to wedge the bone in between the cushions. He then spent a good 2 minutes nosing the "dirt" up over it. He paused only long enough to give me a nasty look when my laughing interrupted his rhythm.

My response? "It's a damn good thing you're cute. Because you most assuredly are not that bright. City dog."

Pet Peeve-o-meter

2007-07-24T22:13:00.000-05:00

The past 3 weeks have taught me a few things about myself. Before this session began, I used to think that my biggest pet peeve was when someone would chew with their mouth open.

I was so wrong. So very very wrong.

It's become clear that I have 2 pet peeves vying for the #1 Spot. I will now discuss them (in no particular order, of course).

*Lying*
I can understand the occasional need to smudge the truth from time to time to preserve someone's feelings. Is it still lying? Mmmmmprobably. But is it forgivable? Usually.
What I can't understand is when an individual knowingly creates their own reality...which portrays someone else in a negative light....and then presents their "reality" to others as The True Reality.
Be not confused. This is not smudging.
This is Lying. And it is NOT forgivable.

*Laziness*
One reason I love Uberschool is the challenge of helping a kid realize their true intelligence and potential. Many of my discipline problems are nothing more than kids who think they're too dumb to do the work. Once I make it clear that they're actually very intelligent...it's just that they need to put all that energy into learning, rather than trying to run my class....they usually turn it around and get to work.
The kids I have a problem with are the ones that are Lazy.

I don't mean lazy in terms of they'll do the work, but will conserve energy whenever possible. (Because then I'd be fronting myself out, now wouldn't I?)

I mean Capital L - a - zeeeee. I've had two of these in my class this session. Let me introduce you to one of them.

Huff&Puff thought she would play the "this is too hard for me" game and I would give her the answers.
Clearly.
She has not met me.
The topper was when she came to ask me for help on the questions for the stories in her packet for sophomore English.
H&P: "I answered all the ones I could. These others are too hard."
Me: "Yeah, they probably are. Because they're not "Knowledge" level questions. They require you to take what you know about the story and process it."
H&P: "Can't you help me with them?"
Me: "Did you read the stories?"
H&P: "No."
Me: "Then I can't help you....not til you read the stories. You read the stories, and then we'll go from there."
H&P: "So you're not going to help me?"
Me: "Ummm, not til you read the stories."
(She returns to her desk....exhibiting behaviors that earned her her nombre de blog.)

A little while later, she huffs & puffs over to PAPartner's room with book in hand.
I go over there....she's in the middle of telling PA that "she's not helping me". I ask PA if I can speak to her in the hall....I update her on the situation....thinking surely she'll back me up and shut H&P down. Again. I was wrong.
"I'll make sure she reads it."
ooooooooooooooooooookay
H&P returns to my room a short while later to work on the computer module. There's no sign of her packet.....I can only assume she finished it. There was no way in hell she'd had enough time to read all the stories and answer all those questions....but I decided she was PAPartner's problem from now on.

This morning, she came in and handed me her rough draft for her essay. I asked her why she had gone to PAPartner yesterday....she said "because you wouldn't help me". I said, "Well then, maybe you should have her look over your rough draft."

Later, she asked me for help on her mastery test on the computer. I was floored that she would ask me for help, given that I "wouldn't help her" earlier. But I went over, and explained what the question was asking....and gave her the parameters for what a run-on sentence was. I asked her if she was clear on what a run-on sentence was. She said yeah. So I sat down. I didn't answer the question for her, or even guide her through eliminating answers. Apparently that's what she wanted me to do, because she sat there pouting and sniffling....making a big show out of getting up to get tissues...you name it.

The ultimate was when she brought her rough draft back to me. It was all crumpled up. I asked why.
H&P: "Because I got mad when PA told me it was wrong."
Me: "Well, if she told you it was wrong, why are you bringing it to me?"

Note to the People:
I am not the teacher you want to have if you want someone to do your work for you. Because yes, it might take less time and energy for me to give you the answer.....but damnnnnnnnnn! I'm not the one enrolled in the class. I don't NEED the credit for the class....I already passed it. You, on the other hand, need to learn how to use your brain. And do your own damn work.

Okay....let's take a vote. How do these rate on your Pet Peeve-o-meter? Comments, please!

~hasta

Crrrrrispy!!

2007-07-22T21:00:00.000-05:00

This weekend was fan-tabula-riffic!!! We left Friday morning to go to the lake...and spent 2 days just chillin. There was no schedule. No timeline. No stress.

It was perfect.

One small glitch.

I slightly underestimated how much sunblock I should apply, given the fact that we'd be snagging rays while we were on a boat. In the incredibly reflective water.

doh.

So I am moderately crispy...but I'm not complaining too much.

After all...I am no longer the whitest white girl around!!

It doesn't get much better than that!!

WOOP!!!

I also gained a little perspective about my coworker "situation". I've decided I'm going to take the tally sheets for the report we've been gathering data for.....(that's we....even though she told HigherUp that I'm trying to take over)....and hand it to the partner so she can finish it off, and present it to her supervisor.

Or not.

It really doesn't matter to me.

I have decided that I am going to do something uncharacteristic for me.

The bare minimum.

I'm going to spend the next 5 days doing only what's expected of me for this session. I was going to go through the English notebook and make sure that it was in order....but have decided I don't want to "take over".

That would be rude.

So instead, I will spend the next 5 days preparing my curriculum for my impending switch to 12th grade English. As well as morphing my Junior Theme materials to Senior Theme materials.

The very very opposite end of the spectrum from "taking over".

That's me.

The Non-TakeOver Girl.

~hasta

Short & Sweet

2007-07-20T00:25:00.001-05:00

*I had fun today with my kiddos....mostly because I made A LOT of jokes at their expense! (Chill out, I only made fun of the obnoxious ones who smarted off to me first. I left the quiet ones alone!!)

*I learned that PAPartner has been telling her immediate supervisor that I'm "trying to take over". I laughed!

*I'm going to the lake tomorrow with some friends. We're going to have some girl-time...WOOP!

See ya Sunday!!

(Maybe)

~hasta

1800Snitch

2007-07-18T22:42:00.000-05:00

I'm sure there may be a few people who thought my nickname for my co-teacher was a little harsh. I mean, tagging someone as PassiveAggressive might appear just a slightly extreme. To those individuals, I say:

Au Contraire, mon frere!!!!!

After questioning me about why I was in her office when I should be in class....and hearing me reply "Are you serious? PAPartner knows I'm here!!! I need to talk to you about this mess because we need to know what to do with these kids that should be graduating!" .....MyAPBuddy told me that she was tired of getting yelled at by PseudoGruffAP about the fact that I need to be in the classroom.

I was totally befuddled. Yesterday I didn't leave the classroom except during break....because I didn't want to give Whatsherbutt onedamnthing to bitch about. I looked at MyAPBuddy
and told her that.

At which point she shares the most recent PassiveAggressive episode with me.

It seems that yesterday, after I confronted PAPartner, she called PseudoGruffAP and ratted me out again. I don't know exactly what she could have possibly added about my being out of the classroom (because I have had my ass glued to my desk chair since her previous snitch-bulletin)...but apparently she told him about my confronting her and *shocker* LIED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED.

She told him I "cursed" at her.

Yeah.

Cursed.

At. Her.

Okay. Granted, I realllllllllllllllllllllllly wanted to. But I kept all of those words to myself. And there were a lot. Trust me.

I worked very hard to choose non-trigger words and to use I-statements. It about killed me, but I did it. So, unless she could read the itty-bitty thought bubble that was floating above my head, she is full of poop.

MyAPBuddy told him, "You know how MsH is. She handles her stuff and doesn't leave her class unless she absolutely has to. She also shoots straight when she's talking to people. PAP is blowing things all out of proportion."

Until now, I've been pretty content to let my track record speak for itself. After today, I've decided that this situation has gotten out of control. But when I'm catching heat from administrators I'm COOL WITH??? (God help me if PissyAP was in charge of summer school...I'd be written up by now.) Forget the fact that they know her accusations are unfounded. I shouldn't have to be on their radar at all. Why's that? Oh yeah, because I'm DOING MY DAMN JOB!!!! And all this is because she can't grow the hell up and walk her happy ass across the hall to talk to me like GROWNUPS??? (Note to the people: She's my mother's age....so I should not have to be the more mature one in this interchange!)

I've decided that the time has come for me to talk to him. I am quite convinced that the only reason he's passing messages thru the other AP is because a) he knows there's zero merit to her story and b) he figures if I stay in my room she'll quit bitching. (Which I'm POSITIVE is his sole wish on this planet.) And yeah, I'm capable of playing her game long enough to be done with this summer session. But why the fuck should I have to? If I'm doing MY JOB....she should leave me alone. If she has concerns, she needs to f'ing grow up...walk across the hall (she does it 8,000 times a day anyway to get files and such from my room)....and discuss her concerns with me. Discuss. Like colleagues who work together to solve a situation.

You know what. That's it. She doesn't want to discuss this with me, because she knows that if I'm allowed to participate in the conversation, she's going to have be okay with the fact that she's not going to have it 100% her way. Because I'm not going to bow to her every whim.

So she's decided that she'll have pressure applied from above.

let's find some adjectives...

sneaky
passive-aggressive (she's extra nice to my face!)
manipulative
lying
petty
biased
controlling
dysfunctional
insufficient communication skills
intimidated

Yeah, I know that I intimidate people. I've been told that before. But I try extra hard to maintain an open line of communication with people I'm working with....especially in a situation like this. I could've gone to one of the APs about my concerns before I discussed them with her. But I didn't. I figured I should practice what I preach to my students -- if you have a problem with someone, you go to them and try to figure it out. I didn't expect her to fall at my feet and say "Of course, you're absolutely right. I will do it your way from now on." That would have been nice...but unrealistic. All I wanted was for her to have an awareness of where I was coming from, and an idea of what my expectations are of the people who I work with. That's it.

Why the hell has it gotten blown so much out of proportion???!!

dammit to hell.

~hasta

This is ridiculous.

Passive Aggressive-ness

2007-07-16T23:00:00.000-05:00

The trip to Kansas was a stress-reliever in several ways:
1. I had 6.5 hours of Me-Time on Friday (& Sunday) to let things percolate in my cabeza.
2. Uberschool Drama took a backseat while I hung out with BabyGrape and His Peeps.
3. I got to see non-Metroplex scenery (i.e. farms, cows, corn).
4. I spent 2 hours in one of my all-time favorite stores on Sunday -- Gordman's.

Thanks to the miles of interstate, I achieved some perspective on Thursday's events. Let's discuss....

I'll admit I'm not always the easiest person to get along with. It's true in my personal life, and it's also true in my professional life.

I know this about myself, and knew that sharing the responsibilities of the credit-recovery lab with another teacher during this summer session was going to be a challenge. I had a conversation with myself about being flexible...non-bitchy...et cetera.

I was doing really well...I wasn't totally jazzed about the 100% Black & White Rule Enforcement Orientation of my partner, but I decided I could roll with it.

We had joined forces in our quest to clear up the mess left by the first session's teachers. We were doing fine...even splitting up the information gathering duties in the interest of efficiency.

Thursday, PAPartner and I decided we needed AdministrativeIntervention to figure out what had happened. I went to MyAPBuddy to talk to her about TheMess....PAPartner knew I was going....and why I was leaving my kiddos temporarily unsupervised.

And then, the fit hit the shan...

About 10 minutes later, MyAPBuddy and I were picking away at the mess....making slooooow progress.

PseudoGruffAP comes in and says, "Ms. H...you need to stay in your classroom. PAPartner is complaining about having to watch your kids."

As he's talking, I'm thinking "He's joking around. He's always giving me a hard time...this is the same old.....wait. He seems more serious than usual....is he serious.....WTF??!?! "

I don't remember the exact conversation that ensued...but I gathered that she had called him down there for something...and then used the opportunity to rat me out. I also gathered that he thinks she's a pain in the ass...and wasn't upset with me at all.

Still.

After we hammered out TheMess, I left that office PISSED.

That heifer ratted me out.

And I didn't do anything.

I go back to my class....and the vibe has most definitely shifted. These kids, who have given me zero problem allllll week, are now chatting and dinking around and not listening to my redirects.

My antennae went up when I told one kid to get to work, and he said, "I'm taking a break."
I said, "I'm gonna take a break!"
and he said..."Miss, you already did."
And then he and the dos amigos started cracking up.

2nd clue: I was grading McSneaky's packet, and asked him why part of it was such shoddy work.
McS: "I couldn't think because I didn't have my music to listen to."
Me: "Too bad. You know it's not allowed in here. You're lucky you had it as long as you did...until I figured out just how big a deal it is in this lab."
McS: "Miss. It's not like you're gonna get in trouble. PseudoGruffAP will just laugh like he did a while ago."

That's right folks. That heifer ratted me out in front of my students.

Fast forward THREE HOURS to the end of the school day....
PAPartner comes in and makes some snide comment to McSneaky about no more music.
I stick up for him, saying that he only listened to it the first day...and he's been good since.
PAPartner: *with smugdamn look* No he hasn't. He was doing it today. I called PseudoGruffAP on him. If he does it again, he's out.

At that point, my vision got all tunnelly...and there was a scritchy-scratchy sound around the edges.

I don't know. Maybe it's me. But I expect to be treated like a professional....since I am one.
*I rarely...rarely...leave my kids unsupervised.
*If I do, it's because I am relatively confident I can trust them.
*But I'm also willing to be held accountable if they do something stupid.
*I trust that, if they do something stupid, I'll find out. I don't assign a StudentSnitch.
*I also trust that, if another teacher takes it upon herself to "surveil" my class, I will be updated when I return.
*I also expect that I....that's me -- the top of the classroom org. chart--...will not have my authority usurped by another adult who has a preexisting grudge with one of my kids.

Luckily for her, I didn't have time to confront her after school Thursday.

After the trip to the Sunflower State, I was in a much calmer frame of mind this morning. Before school this morning, I confronted her about Thursday's chain of events.

I started by asking her what she said about me to the AP.
She claimed he asked her where I was.
She told him, "I don't know."

My thought bubble: " !@#%!^#$&%#%^&$%^&^%$ "

My response: "You did too know. I went down there to figure out the mess from first session."

I let her know that I didn't appreciate being left out of the loop for 3 hours and having to deal with the disobedient dynamic in the meantime.

Her Response: "I didn't say anything to the kids."

Me: "Maybe not, but they heard your conversation with the AP."

Her: "Oh."

Me: "You know, I'm a full-fledged teacher and have been here several years. I am quite capable of handling my classroom. I don't appreciate being treated like a student teacher."

Her: *pissy stare*

She never apologized. In fact, she acted like she was totally within her rights to do whatever the hell she pleased with my kids.....this chapped me, but students started entering, so I dropped the conversation. She tried to continue, but I shut her down. I may be hard to get along with, but I will not disrespect a colleague by confronting them in front of students.

I'm not naive. Nothing was 100% solved, but hopefully she's realized that this behavior is not going to fly with me. She may get away with this passive-aggressive crap with other people, but not this duck.

I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow.

I wish I'd bought that shirt I saw at the mall. I'd love to wear it tomorrow.

"People like you are why people like me need medication."

~quack

Just What the Dr. Ordered....

2007-07-15T23:48:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday was an absolutely crrrrrrappy day. It started out that way....and it just kept getting worse. Thursday night about 10, I had had all I could stand.

I wanted to get away.
I needed to get away.
I absolutely HAD to get away.

But where???

Inspiration struck. I sent Preggo, my former roomie, a text to see what she was doing for the weekend. When she said "nothing"...I invited myself to her house in Kansas for the weekend.

The absolute best part about old friends is that they never say, "Now's not a good time"....they say "Get yo beeehind in that car and get to gettin'!!!"

I drove to Kansas Friday....and spent the weekend with Preggo and her family. They live out in The Country. It was fantastically non-city-like, tons of green land as far as the eye could see....and quiet.

Wait.

Scratch "quiet".

Something must be wrong with me. I'm delusional.

It was rarely "quiet". When you have 3 boys all under the age of 5....quiet only happens 2 seconds before they're about to get into something. HA!!!!

It was an incredible weekend....and I am ever so grateful to Preggo and her family (all 3 gajillion of them) for offering me sanctuary for the weekend. I am blessed to have such great friends...you are THE BEST!!!

I think I'm ready to face the workplace again tomorrow.

Let's hope.

~hasta

Ahhhhhh!

2007-07-10T23:28:00.001-05:00

Today was what summer should be.

Sure, I had to get up and go to work....but I've got an E-Z gig for summer school this session, so it is not a hardship at all. After work, Hellion and I came back to The Casita and logged some time floating in the pool.

Did you hear what I just said? Did you catch the significance?

I actually got to spend an afternoon IN MY POOL.

It wasn't raining.

Glorybe, it wasn't raining!!!

Although the sun was not out in full force, it was putting up a decent-enough fight against the clouds. Once Corn got done being Fitness-Minded, she came over and partook of the sun and chlorine, as well.

So....there was much marinating and roasting of the Uberschool teachers this afternoon.

Freddy pulled his disappearing act and went to hide by the pool pump.

After they vamanoosed, I coaxed Freddy out of his hidey-hole so we could take a walk. As we approached the fence where the Chihuahua 4-Pack lives, 2 of them started barking their fool-heads off. Freddy did a mini-retreat...then looked at me. I gave him the go-ahead signal....so he started straining toward them. He never actually barked....but at least he didn't hide behind me like he's done every other damn time we encounter dogs smaller than him. (The dog's psycho. Put a rott or pit in his path, and he walks right up...sniffs their butt...with no hesitation whatsoever.) After he was Officially Pooped Out, we came home and spent some quality time with Mr. Couch and Ms. DVR.

Muy bueno!

~hasta

Breakthrough

2007-07-09T00:26:00.000-05:00

Today in a nutshell...

The psycho-dog slept all through the night.
There was actually more sunshine than cloud-cover.
I caved and decided to ask Buggy to mow the lawn.
He agreed...and showed up.
Afterwards, I asked him about his post-Orientation brain-damage.
His answer, "Cuz you were buggin'!" (I know. Ironic.)
He then asked me for a favor... my answer, "We'll talk about it later."
He then re-asked the same question SEVERAL times.
After the nth time...I responded, "Man! Why you buggin?!"
**Novia laughed...Buggy'sBuddy said, "Man! She used your word!"..Buggy was not amused.**
I told Buggy we'd discuss it after we finished talking about last week.
His answer, "That's old news, Miss."
My answer, "Not to me."
I stood my ground.....he stood his.

Welcome to Impasse. Population: 2.

This evening, Buggy and I spent a good two+ hours arguing -- zinging text messages back and forth. I was cranky...he was cranky....he was stubborn....I was pissy....several times I thought about either holding back or hanging it up...but I decided not to. I just kept hammering away.

Finally....finally....we had a breakthrough.

Me: Why'd you do an about-face on talking to me about college stuff...was it because you got overwhelmed?

Buggy: No.

Me: Bull. I know you. You were far more upset about that test than you let on. I bet once you got home you convinced youself you wouldn't be able to pass those tests. And you gave up. You refuse to believe how smart you really are.

In a stroke of anger-inspired brilliance, I finally appealed to his competitive nature.

Me: "I'm willing to bet that if you will just Commit to working with me on test-taking strategies....and Retake both those tests....and honestly do your best that your scores will improve. Unless you're afraid of trying..."

Buggy: "I'm not afraid!!"

Me: "Whatever. Prove it. You in?"

Buggy:"Yeah."

(And the angels broke into song...)

I then asked, "So. Was I right about the reason? Even a little bit?"

His response: "A lil."

I know...we're all thinking it..."Why the hell did we have to waste THREE WEEKS?!? Could he not just have spoke up in the first place??!"

stupid. stubborn. boys.

~hasta

Exercise

2007-07-05T23:13:00.000-05:00

I've spent the past couple weeks mostly in a Funk. Part of it is due to the shi-tay weather, part is due to my jacked up sleep schedule, part is due to my frustration with and irate-ness at the stupidity that is The Bugg, part is due to my need-to-get-outta-town fever, and part is due to the fact I've been eating like crap and not working out.

Okay. Let's be honest.

Most of it is due to the fact I've been eating like crap and not working out.

Because if I had my way....I would be 100% peachykeen with sitting my happy keister on the couch. Period. Well, except for small forays to the kitchen to find other carb-heavy substances to ingest.

And while I know that this is a self-perpetuating cycle.....one that conspired with my mononucleosis-singed-thyroid to make me gain 100 pounds in the 10 years following high school graduation....it is hard to listen to that one teenytiny-voice of logic when all the others are chanting "grab the remote"...."grab the pillow"...."look. there's the puppy. he's already on the couch"...."just 5 minutes of Gilmore Girls..." et cetera.

I think a lot of it boils down to the fact I get hella-bored working out. Add to that the fact that I hate running and most especially hate anything that involves stairs.....(I have psychological issues that stem from drum major camp in high school where they made us run 2 miles every morning in those damned SW Oklahoma hills -- and then sent us back to the dorm where the elevator didn't work so we had to haul our butts up 4 flights of stairs. Knowing full well we were going to spend about 4.5 hours that afternoon doing high-step marching. Aiy yi yi!!).....and I'm left with walking on the treadmill as my cardio. (Which I do at a respectable clip....because I crank up the Reggaeton on Senor Ipod....but still.)

I'm well aware that I need to just accept the fact that I have to go work out...every blasted day....especially if I don't want to gain back all the damn weight I lost for AggieBoy's wedding. Gone are the days where I stayed in shape by the activity that was built into my day. (High school: marching band, athletics, bike riding, etc. College: walking my happy ass across the wide open prairie known as Texas Tech with the West Texas wind providing resistance-training.)

The irony of that is....all through high school and college I had a seriously-damn-screwed-up body image. I weighed maybe 125 when I graduated from high school....but I always felt HUGE next to my best friend. I wish somebody had explained ethnic heritage and body composition to me back then....life would've been maybe a smidge easier!!

I will say that my mindset is improving where my body image is concerned. True, the numbers whispered by the scale and the clothing tags are not always the smallest kids on the playground....but I feel better about myself than I have in a while....which is a major victory in and of itself.

December of 2005 was the turning point for me.

AggieBoy confided in me that MissErin was "The One"....and he was in the "browsing for rings" stage. That was hovering in the back of my little cabeza when I saw the pictures from Thanksgiving. My reaction to my image?

Awwww...hell no!! I abso-effin-lutely REFUSE to be The Fat Sister in the wedding pictures!!!

That sparked the beginning of the TrainerDude Experience....and painful as that was....even though I wasn't always the best at putting exercise as top priority, overall, I was pleased with the progress I made by the time I got to the wedding.

All that's gone to pot over the past month.

Now, I need to reconfigure my brain to get back in WorkOut Mode.....because I need to get busy trading in my carb-addiction for an endorphin-addiction.

If you have any suggestions for songs that will make my gym time a little more bearable...please, please....tell me what they are. I spent some time on Itunes browsing thru their dance/workout section....but nothing was jumping out at me.

Por favor y'all.....can ya help a sistah out???!!

~hasta

Ouch Dammit

2007-07-04T16:35:00.000-05:00

I really shoulda listened for details when they gave us that "Just say no to peer pressure" talk in junior high.

Then maybe, just maybe...I wouldn't have gone to the gym with Jenn today.

And I might have actually RAN THE OTHER FREAKIN WAY when her trainer offered to let me tag along on their workout.

I hope you're enjoying this post...because I'm pretty sure this is going to be the last post for awhile. Because....

Today was "Arms Day".

Already...already...I can't lift my arms.

~hasta

Enough Already!!!

2007-07-03T22:46:00.000-05:00

I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA who-the-eff participated in the North Texas Rain Dance Marathon.....but DAMMMMMMIT!!! did they have to be so incredibly effective?!?!?! I'm not even sure anymore exactly how long this rain has gone on....but it feels like MONTHS.

And while I admit that I am happy that the rain has kept my water bill down.....

ENOUGH ALREADY!!

Let's discuss the not-so-bueno points:
1. My pool time has been seriously curtailed.
Therefore, I had to go to my bro's wedding sans tan.
2. The extra water is making my garden grow like the blasted Amazon.
I haven't had a chance to mow it...because you can't mow during the RAIN.
3. My prissydamn dog refuses to walk on wet grass cuz he'll get his feet wet.
Therefore, he pees IN THE HOUSE. on MY NEW CARPET.
4. The rain makes a perfect soundtrack for sleeping.
Therefore, I don't do jack in the afternoons other than SLEEP.
5. I haven't seen an actual sunny day in a lonnnnnnnnng time.
Therefore, my vitamin D quota is way down due to Seasonal Affective Disorder.
6. I do not own sunlamp lightbulbs.
Therefore, my vitamin D deficiency is making me bitchier by the minute.

I'm quite sure there are more negative points to the rain....but they'll have to wait til another post. You'll be glad to know that I'm now going to put my extra-cranky self to bed. Dios Mio!!

~hasta

I wish...

2007-07-02T01:44:00.000-05:00

I wish you could see what I see….

a little boy who loves to laugh and have fun.

a man who knows all too well that life is not all fun and games.

a little boy who believes people are kind.

a man who can’t help second-guessing people’s motives.

a little boy who believes life is fair.

a man who knows it seldom is.

a little boy who craves connection with the people around him.

a man who finds it hard to wholly trust anyone – but especially himself.

a little boy who feels things deeper than anyone could guess.

a man who would rather push people away than admit they hurt him.

a little boy whose very soul cries when he’s hurt.

a man who hides the tears behind anger -because it’s safer.

a little boy who knows what it is to go without.

a man who knows how to work for what he wants.

a little boy who has been disappointed far too many times.

a man who wants to protect the little boy from getting hurt any more.

a little boy who, despite everything, still believes anything is possible.

a man who needs to remember to listen to the little boy.

Chillin'

2007-07-01T00:34:00.000-05:00

The past week has been weird. I, who am normally operate on only one speed -- breakneck, have caught myself several times thinking, "Wow. I'm bored." This is probably because my days have settled into a pattern of get up....go to summer school....come home....take a nap (with a furry dog glued to my side)...putter around the house...read a book...surf the world wide web...walk the dog (when it's not pouring down rain)...putter some more....go to bed. (Lather, rinse, repeat.)

Don't get me wrong. I'm TOTALLY NOT complaining. Just the opposite, in fact.

It's been good for me to spend some time jus' chillin' as my kiddos would say. I've been able to get some things done around the house...have cleared some cobwebs from the old brain...and made some decisions to make some plans for overhauling some things. (Maybe not the most decisive statement...but hey! it's a start!)

I keep sticking my hand in the air to pick up extra hours on random days tutoring kids for that blasted TAKS test. And while I'm extra-jazzed about the money (gotta love getting paid $25 an hour to work with a handful of kids at a time, eh?) ...I realized a couple days ago that I have created myself a schedule that is not conducive to traveling long distances for any length of time. Therefore, the dog and I will be Texas-bound til the first of August.

Thankfully, the dog and I are becoming better friends. It's due in part to my recent discovery of the Animal Planet show, "It's Me or the Dog". I decided the other day that if the uber-psychotic dog on the show could be taught to sit and stay...there might be hope for Freddy. So I got a jar of smooshy training treats at ye local Petsmart Shoppe....and we've been working on it. He's doing pretty well....most of the time his little butt drops to the floor immediately when I hold the treat and say "sit". Other times, you can see that his butt wants to comply....but his brain is holding out. You can almost read the thought bubble, "Lady, seriously. If you think that I'm going to give you what you want each and every time you ask...you've got rocks for brains. Don't you realize I'm in charge here? I may weigh only 10 pounds...but I am most assuredly The Boss. Okayyyyyy, now that I've sat here and stared at you for a while, I'm going to go ahead and sit. But don't get it twisted. It's not because you told me to. It's because I've decided that I want to. There. I did it. Now give me my damn treat."

Last night, I was on the computer in the office....and I heard ripping from behind me. I turn around to look. This is what I saw:

The little punk had pulled the rug back onto itself....so he could chew on the fringe. I told him "No"....he looked at me, tilted his head for a brief moment, then went back to redecorating. I went to get the camera, figuring he'd have run off by the time I got back. Oh no....he was still at it.

(I'm just glad it wasn't the rug that QuasiRoommate's hubby brought me from Iran. Otherwise, the title of this post would be: "What Happens When You're Arrested by the Animal Cops")

It took a couple of tries to get him to understand that "no" meant "quit chewing on the damned rug"....

But he finally gave in. We then had us a little photo shoot. I took about 20 pictures...but I'm still not a pro at synchronizing the digital camera delay, so most of them were profile shots of the pooch. There were 2 extra-cool ones, however!!

So...all in all...I'm enjoying spending my summer jus' chillin' !!

~hasta

The Wowza!

2007-06-27T21:52:00.000-05:00

The Pool
I'm not sure if you've been following the North Texas weather....but we've been getting a TON of rain. Everything is soaked, er...saturated....and there is even more rain coming this week.

Aiy caramba!

It is pretty much a bummer that this is my first summer EVER to own a pool....and I haven't been able to spend much time in it AT ALL. I'm still the extra pasty-white girl. Yeah yeah yeah, I know that sun exposure is bad for your skin...but chill out with the sermons -- it's pretty much a moot point so far this summer.

There is an upside to it, though. I was able to make it through the second half of May and most of June without having to cough up the cash to get my sprinklers fixed. AND I haven't had to auction off a kidney to make my water bill. (Which is verrrry bueno!)

The Bugg
I'm not sure what's going on with Senor Buggy...but he's been trrrrippin' since orientation. I have NO IDEA what crawled up his tailpipe, but he's been keeping himself off my radar. (I've actually talked to his girlfriend and his brothers more than I have him. Crazy, eh?) As tempting as it is to call his mom and show up at his house to corner him (which she would smack him in the head for being a poop to me!)....I know from experience it'll be more effective to sit tight and wait til he shows back up. Which will happen. He's stubborn...but he's not crazy. At that point, we can discuss how it is possible to learn how to use your words to tell people what's going on in your head. Even for brain-damaged bugs.

The Pup
I picked Freddy up at the vet yesterday afternoon. His teeth are superduper shiny...and his breath is absolutely NOT stinky!! Even, this morning when he first woke up...there was no noxious morning breath!!! WOOP!!! (And I took advantage of his being under anesthesia to have him micro-chipped...in case he decides to run for the hills!)

The Bed
It's been a helluva day...there was a morning spent doing some exhausting summer schooling...and then TrainerDude worked my keister out like there was no tomorrow. I'm thinking it's way past time that I put myself in the b-e-d.

~hasta

Get Ready Freddy!

2007-06-25T23:42:00.000-05:00

Freddy has been on an "elimination strike"of late. I think it might be because he senses that he's going to the v e t tomorrow.

Yep. I'm dropping the little Poopmeister off tomorrow morning, and he's going under the knife.

Well, not the knife exactly. More like the dental scraper-whoosit.

Brothaman has got some KICKIN' breath...and has needed his teeth cleaned since he waddled into my casita. Because the vet I use quoted me a price of TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DOLLARS, I have put it off til now. I kept telling myself that I would drag Freddy down to see "Auntie Meredith" who's a vet...and said she'd do it if I brought him to her. But the other day I realized that I'm not going to have any significant time off until August 1....so I decided to get crazy and call the vet by my house. Glory be!! They only charge 130. WOOP!!

I can't wait til I pick him up tomorrow at 6. He may be a little cranky toward me...but at least my nose hairs won't burst into flames and fall out when Freddy exhales in my direction. Double WOOP!!!

~hasta

Monument or Legacy?

2007-06-17T19:37:00.001-05:00

I wrote the entry you see below last Sunday (June 17)...but didn't post it....I'm not sure why.

I know I haven't posted much since school's been out.

It's not that I haven't thought about posting, it's just that I've been spending a lot more time relaxing. That relaxing time has given my brain time to process through stuff -- and less need/desire/opportunity to work it out via the computer.

Although I'm sure this is good in some ways, I can also see where it's detrimental. I've grown somewhat used to being able to flip through old posts to remind me where I've been....since I've gone about a month without doing much posting, I've essentially created a blog-gap.

Bummer.

I'll try to do better.

~~~~
I thought about ditching church today, but didn't. I got there late, but I got there...and then found out that our pastor wasn't preaching. I thought about leaving before the sermon, but didn't want to go back out in the rain so soon.

Turns out, the guest preacher ended up reading my mail.

He talked about living a life where you leave nothing but a monument -- versus living a life where you leave a legacy. He also talked about how one can live that legacy -- once you open yourself to God, He'll put someone in your path that you can clearly see needs your help. Simply by getting involved in that person's life, you begin leaving that legacy.
Talk about affirmation, eh?

I've been feeling somewhat lost as to what my role will be in Buggy's life now that he's graduated -- but apparently I just need to hang out and see what's in store. I don't think it's the end of the road for us -- in fact, after today, I feel like it's just beginning.

Snapshots

2007-06-12T23:21:00.000-05:00

Day 1:
In the car on the way to campus.
Buggy: I wouldn't have made it here if it wasn't for you.
Me: Here-where? College?
Buggy: No. I wouldn't even have graduated if it wasn't for you.
Me: *snort* Whatever. You were totally on track with your grades.
Buggy: No, seriously. I was thinking about dropping out...like BigBro.
Me: That is sheer insanity. You are far too smart for that.

During the Activities Fair - at one of the fraternity booths.
Buggy: (listening to GreekBoy blather on about his fraternity)
Me: tuned out. Inner Monologue: "My brother was Greek. I worked in Student Affairs. There's very little you can tell me I don't know."
GreekBoy: "...blah blah...35 brothers you can call....blah blah...social events.... But don't worry Mom, we don't serve alcohol. You won't have to worry about that if he joins our chapter."

silence

Me: (realizing that I am the "Mom" he was talking to...I then do the math and realize it will take FAR too much time to explain Buggy's & my non-blood-relationship. I decide to roll with it.) That's good to hear. Real good.

I glance at Buggy. He just grins.

Leaving for a tour of the engineering building.
Buggy: Miss. What is a Liberal Arts major?
Me: It's like English or Music...something like that.
Buggy: *snort* That's GAY!!
Me: HEY. I majored in English!!
Buggy: *softer snort & eyeroll* It's still gay.
Me: (smacking him on his cabeza) Ease up, Mister. Some of us may not be science-brains...but we already HAVE our degrees!
Buggy: (grin)
Me: (Shivering upon entering ScienceLand) Wow. I hope I don't accidentally learn something. It's my day off. I'm not supposed to have to learn on my day off. That would be tragic.
Buggy: I guess...
Me: Of course, I don't know that it's possible. Considering my LIBERAL ARTS degree and all.
Buggy: (big o' buggygrin)

In one of the labs, listening to a professor talk.
Buggy: See, Miss. That's what I was telling you about. That's the part that...blah blah blah.
Me: Ummhmmm. (attempting to nod intelligently while reveling in how jazzed he was about the project)
GeekyWhiteBoy: Oh yeah! And then the other part....blah blah blah.
Buggy: YEAH! And ....
Buggy & GWB proceed to have a conversation where, although I am aware they were speaking English, I couldn't tell you word one of what they were talking about.

It was so cute!! Buggy found somebody who could speak his native language: Geek!!

Day 2
Registering for classes:
Buggy: Man! I knew I bombed that test...but I thought I did better than that!
Me: What'd your advisor say? Do you have to take the remedial math class?
Buggy: Nah, he said I could study and retake the test in a few weeks. THEN he'll decide which math class to put me in.
Me: Okay. Then you know what you need to do.
Buggy: I shoulda studied for that test....
Me: Yeah, you should've. But you know good and well you wouldn't have...even if you had remembered you had to take that test.
Buggy: But..you could've reminded me...
Me: Come on now. You know as well as I do what you would have said if I would've reminded you. You wanna hear what you said? Cuz I had this conversation with you in my head -- here's how it went:
I said: Hey. Don't forget you have to take that math test at orientation.
You said: Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! I don't wanna take a test!!
I said: But you're gonna be sorry if you don't study for it...
You said: Nawwwwwwwww....I'm not studying for no test...I'm trying to get graduation over with...can't you let me enjoy graduation?? I don't wanna think about a stupid test.
I said: But...
You said: Miss. Seriously.
I said: Okay.
Me: (Looking at the super-sheepish look on Buggy's face.) How'd I do? Did I nail it?
Buggy: Yeah. Too well. Mannn, this makes me think I'm not going to be able to do this. All those other kids got higher scores than I did.
Me: Yeah, and a year ago you were planning on going to the Marines. You weren't even thinking about college. It was OCTOBER before you started thinking in terms of college. These kids have been living and breathing this since birth. You're going to be fine. Take a breath....and figure out what your plan is. I have no doubt that you can do it. You're not dumb.
Buggy: But you tell me I am sometimes!
Me: Yeah, but I'm totally joking!! I have had dumb kids in my classes...do you think I actually tell them they're dumb? Nooooooo....I'd crush their little souls. Trust me, it's only the smart kids that I tell that to.
Buggy: But still. Do you think I should change my major?
Me: To something easier? No way in hell. I know you. If you major in something easy, you're going to get EXTRAbored and decide it's not worth your time. Am I right?
Buggy: Yeah.
Me: Why do you do gymnastics? Because it's easy? No...because it was hard at the beginning and as you learn it, it still challenges you. Right?
Buggy: yeah
Me: And you know how I know you're going to be okay? Because that thing that makes me want to hit you with a car sometimes -- not my car, because I don't want the body damage but with someone else's car....is what's gotten you this far and will get you through to college graduation. You know what that is?
Buggy: (questionface)
Me: The fact that you're so frickin' stubborn. That's what's going to make the difference. You don't know how to give up. Am I right?
Buggy: yeah, you're right.
Me: As usual! Now. Can we get outta here? I'm starving!

Orientating the Bugg

2007-06-11T00:54:00.000-05:00

The past week has been ridiculously busy...especially considering IT'S SUMMER!!!! and all I should have on my agenda is spending time by my pool.

But noooooooooooooooooooo, my butt got signed up to do TAKS Tutoring for the kiddos who didn't pass it -- and who must retake it in July.

Or they won't get their diploma.

Again.

No pressure.

Oddly enough, I'm really enjoying it. I'm getting the chance to strategize with the kiddos about their thinking and how they need to fine-tune it so they can past the damned thing once and for all.

My mantra is becoming...."Yeah, I agree that it sucks. But it comes down to this....how many more times do you want to take this blasted thing? Just once? Okay then...let's get moving!"

And...I spent the last coupla days of last week preparing the kids for my being gone for the next two days. I wanted to make sure they didn't spazz out that I wasn't there....I don't want them to lose any valuable prep time.

Why am I going to be out the next 2 days, you ask?

Because I'm going to New Student Orientation with The Bugg. It oughta be fun...boring at times... (Do I REALLY have to sit through the FERPA session??? After I LIVED and BREATHED that caca for six loooooong years in Res. Life??) but fun -- nonetheless.

I can't wait to see this phase of the college experience through Buggy's eyes. I especially can't wait for when he actually gets to hold his schedule of classes for the fall semester in his hand.

Because it's at that point that I think it's going to dawn on him........

This.

Is.

Really.

Happening.

......to which I'm going to be hardpressed not to blurt out (as I do the WhiteGirlHappyDance):

It's about f****ing time!!!

~hasta!!

Finally! A sister!

2007-06-03T00:28:00.000-05:00

I've wanted one FORever -- even asked for one specifically once upon a time.

But my parents didn't listen.

They gave me a stinky brother instead.

So, I had to wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

It took 30 long years to happen...but I finally got a sister.

Finally.

Apparently, along the way, the stinky brother became un-stinky -- because the best girl in the world fell for him. They are such a cute couple, and so very much in love....and I am so glad that he had sense enough to snag her.

He is an Aggie, after all. Sometimes they're a bit slow. (HA!)

The best part is that Aggiebro seriously came through.

Seriously.

Not only did he give me one sister tonight....he gave me two.

MissErin has a younger sister, Meredith, who is ALSO extracool.

So I've decided to claim her as my sis as well.

This means there are now 3 of us to boss Aggiebro around. How cool is that?!

woop!

Drumroll please........

2007-05-26T00:22:00.000-05:00

Buggy

Graduated!!!

(I'll write more tomorrow. I just got home a little bit ago, and I GOTTA get some sleep...we have teacher workday tomorrow. BLECH!!)

Home Stretch

2007-05-23T22:06:00.000-05:00

There are only 2 half-days left.

Now, some folks might want to simplify that by saying "2 halves = 1 whole day. You've got one whole day left."

To them, I say "Negative, GhostRider."

Because these last two half days are magical....and so very much unlike a regular half day.

Due to the fact that we are on a shortened schedule for exam schedule, we don't have to "experience" the children for the entire 90 minutes. Nope.

Exam Days are a series of "bubble-bubble-bubble...buhbye-buhbye-buhbye".

WOOP!!

~~~~~~~~

When I was in Houston last month, I showed AggieBro 'my' article from the Houston paper. (MissErin had read it, but he had missed it.) He then flipped back through my blog for a few minutes. After reading about some of Buggy's antics, he asked me if Buggy knew I wrote about him. I said no. He asked if I was going to tell him. I said I didn't know.

I'm still debating that. With graduation coming up, I'd kinda like to show Buggy the blog in a "this is your life" kinda way. BUT. I know that Buggy is supervigilant about his privacy....which is why there are some topics I've not even touched on the blog. I could kinda imagine that he would get a little upset about being the "star of the show'" and having his "business put out there"....but I also think that once he calms down and reads through the posts, he would see that the spirit of the blog is pro-Buggy.

But I just don't know....

any thoughts?

-hasta

Sacred Sirloin!!

2007-05-19T02:49:00.000-05:00

I can not believe the year is coming to a close.

The mind boggles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Student Stress
I've spent the past few weeks up-to-my-eyeballs in student stress. It's amazing how many of the little cherubs get this close to the end of the year and then realize "Doh! I better figure out what I need to do to pass."

or Graduate.

I had a child with a 12 come up to me and ask me what he needed to do so he could pass.

and Graduate.

I responded with the slow, deliberate, blinking thing that has become my trademark. The kids know that it means, "I realllllllllly want to tell you just how big of an absolute idiot you are....but I've recently signed my name to a 30 year mortgage, which can only be paid if I am employed here. If I decide to go ahead and tell you what I really think, I will be suddenly unemployed and, soon after that, homeless. I want to tell you what I think, but not badly enough that I want to live in a cardboard condo."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Senior Breakfast
As you probably figured out from my last post, the Senior Breakfast was a huge source of stress and drama. Thanks to the fact some of my kiddos were desperate for extra credit, I was able to persuade them to volunteer for some "community service"....which "might" translate into some "magic" being worked on their grade. Ooooo boy...but they turned out in force. It was beautiful.

I was still extremely unhappy with my officers...but the event didn't have to be cancelled and everyone seemed to enjoy it, so I'm hoping we can chalk this up to a Learning Experience. It helps that Uberprincipal complimented me on the good job we did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flying Buggy
Buggy has been a hoot lately! He went to the State meet a few weeks ago...and he did really well. He didn't qualify for the Nationals team, but he gave it his best shot. What's even more important is that I think he's remembering how much he enjoys it....and he's thinking about joining a club team after graduation. It's a little pricey, so he's going to have to make some sacrifices if he wants to do it....so we'll see.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Collegiate Buggy
We've gotten his paperwork all taken care of for college. His financial aid package has been finalized, so now it's just a holding pattern until he goes to Orientation and registers. (He's asked me to go with him those 2 days....and I told him I would as long as he asked his mom if she wanted to go, first.) I think it's becoming real to him that he's actually going to college. For real, for real.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scared Buggy
He's also been receiving some recognition lately. He received a scholarship from a civic group....and got to attend their luncheon this week so they could meet him. They had sent him a letter inviting him and a parent and/or teacher, and asking him to be prepared to introduce himself to the members...and tell them a little bit about himself. He acted like it wasn't a big deal....but he was so nervous, he couldn't even eat! How cute is that!
Considering that the boy is Always Hungry, to have him stand in a buffet line and say, "Miss, I'm not even hungry" ??
You know he had to be terrified!

After we set our plates down, I made a quick trip to the restroom. When I came back, he had the "I just swallowed a bug" look on his face.

Buggy: Miss. Mr. J just told me I have to go up there and talk.
Me: Uh huh.....?
Buggy: And I'm supposed to introduce you.
Me: Okay...
Buggy: So you've got to stand up.
Me: Stand up. Check. I can do that.
Buggy: And I'm supposed to introduce you.
Me: Okay. No problem.
Buggy: *getting paler*

(I realize I need to break some tension for the boy...)

Me: Should I be worried? I mean....are you going to say mean things about me? (grinning)
Buggy: (grinning back & relaxing a little bit) No. I'm going to say that you're my .....English teacher. Is that okay?
Me: Yeah. That'll work.

When I told his counselor about it, she got this sappy look on her face. At my question-face, she said, "That is so sweet!" I said, "Huh?" She said, "He was trying to figure out what to call you other than just 'my teacher'. You know he sees you as more than just his teacher....he just didn't know how to phrase it so the other people would understand."

awwwww!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Surprised Buggy
Thursday night was the awards assembly for the seniors. Buggy knew that the civic organization was coming to formally present him his scholarship....so he had to be there, looking spiffy...and he invited his mom.

Backstory:
What he didn't know what that his counselor had told me he was getting the Army Scholar Athlete award. She had told me she was going to recommend his name to the Athletic Director a couple weeks ago, and asked me to get her a list of his gymnastics accomplishments. I talked to his coach and we got her what she needed. The AD decided Buggy deserved the award (which is INcredible considering this is Texas -- and Buggy is NOT a football player!!!). When I saw Buggy's coach at the State meet, I made sure to invite him...telling him it was superdupertopsecret.

After the assembly, I got to talk to Buggy. He said that when the Army dude got up there to talk about the award, he figured "FootballTrackStar is going to get it."

But then the presenter started talking about the recipient winning "all events" and Buggy was confused.

"Maybe that's because he plays football and runs track..."

Then he heard him say, "Most Valuable Gymnast".

"Hey! That's Me!"

Then Armydude said something about people standing up...Buggy looked over....

"Hey! That's my coach!!"

The grin on his face when he went up to get the award was blinding. The boy was absolutely ecstatic...and thoroughly surprised. (Which, considering how nosy he is...was quite a feat!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have less than a week before Buggy walks across the stage...I can't believe it's almost here.

Holy cow.

The mind boggles.

~hasta

Bad Luck?

2007-05-08T22:21:00.000-05:00

I just read an email from my Jr. Class Treasurer. She was commenting on the fact that the BigBoxWarehouse donation for Senior Breakfast fell through. (They were going to donate all of the food/supplies we needed....but they can't make anymore donations until next week. The Breakfast is Friday. This Friday.) She referred to this event as "our bad luck".

WTF?!?!?

Forget the fact that these children have put this event as their last priority to the extent that I had to talk to the administration and re-schedule the bloody thing....PUSH IT BACK A WEEK....because they had not taken care of business.

Forget the fact that these children have expected me to carry the fundraising efforts for this organization...and were verrrrrrrrry surprised that all of their plans about class t-shirts and backpacks didn't come to fruition. They couldn't understand why I couldn't make it happen....all I had to do was "send a quick email".

IN ALL MY FREE TIME?!?!?!? Because last I checked, I was receiving a paycheck for TEACHING. That's got to be my first priority.

Hold please. I just received a cute little pop-up box that says I have another email from TheTreasurer.

She was just letting me know that yes, she could be there at the cooking-fiesta after school on Thursday and would recruit some student help...(DAMN STRAIGHT, SKIPPY!) She then asked if I had asked teachers...or if she needed to do that. I told her that we're not going to ask teachers at this point...asking them with one-day's notice is. not. cool.

(I absolutely refuse to have my colleagues inconvenienced because these children could not get their act together. As it is, the Senior Class Sponsors next year are going to be incredibly suprised to see how much money they did NOT raise this year. I told the officers it was on them...they were going to have to answer to next year's officers about why the balance is so low.)

Especially now that we have to furnish all of the food out of our budget.

Since none of the officers have transportation so they can go shopping with me Thursday....and I totally don't wanna do the lifting and toting by myself, I just sent Buggy a text asking if he could help me.

Me: I need to ask a huge favor. Will you have practice Thursday? Do you think you could go with me to get the stuff for Senior Breakfast?
Buggy: Yeah I do.
Me: Poop. I was hoping you might be off because of State being over. None of the officers can go...they don't have cars. I'm super tired of covering the gap for them.
Buggy: I'll go.
Me: (through misty eyeballs) I totally wasn't trying to guilt you into it...I was just venting. But if you're sure?
Buggy: What time?
Me: After your last class.
Buggy: That's cool.
Me: Thanks a million. You rock.
Buggy: 1 (Our code for "yes".)
Me: (waking Freddy by laughing so loud!) One thing I've always admired about you is your modesty.

You know....he may be a putz sometimes, but overall?

The Bugg is a good guy.

~hasta

Block Party

2007-05-03T00:26:00.000-05:00

In keeping with my build-that-community-at-all-costs mentality, I threw a party for my neighbors tonight. I pulled out all the stops. We had waterworks, powertools, fast getaways, and lots of mingling.

We even had police!!!

Yup. I said, "Police".

Three separate squad cars showed up.

It was quite a bash.

Now, before you go looking for my mugshot on Ubercity PD's website....I should probably clarify a few things.

1. The entire event was Mother Nature's Idea. We had some grrrrrrande storms....some might say tornados.....whipping through the area.

2. Mother Nature decided that she'd had enough of a certain tree that lived on the corner of my property.

3. That heifer knocked it down.

4. Due to the fact she did not "Begin with the end in mind", she ended up blocking the entire street to thru-traffic.

5. Over the course of the evening, I met a number of my neighbors.

**The lady across the street called me to tell me about the tree. (I'm sure glad I gave her my cell number."
**The couple that live next to Jefe and Javier (my extra-nosy Tejano-music-loving neighbors) came out while I was perusing the damage and offered advice and their help. (Good thing, too. Although I have a TON of experience with facilities, I have never had to be the one to figure out what the hell to do with a downed tree.)

6. I talked to a nice lady at UbercityStreetDept. She said, "I'll put you on the list. Can I have a daytime number where we can get ahold of you tomorrow if we have questions?" Yeah. Pretty sure it's gonna be that long before the city comes out to clear it. Considering all of Ubercity is a mulchpile.

7. More Neighbor Interaction:
**I trucked over to HelpfulCouple's house to ask for help. HelpfulHubby helped me by using his chainsaw to get the branches that were leaning against my fence. (I was afraid another wind would cause the tree to shift and the branches to take my fence away...thereby enabling my pool to be the gathering place for the kiddos.)

**My back-yard-neighbor's-friend came out to commiserate about the loss of The Tree. (He's used to parking his Mercedes under it for the shade. He's definitely lucky it wasn't under there tonight. Mercedes-pancake, anyone?)

6. Not wanting to miss the festivities, Ubercity PD showed up. He claimed it was to assess the situation. At which point, he determined it required super-technical equipment. Cones. Because he was fresh out, he had to call for backup.

7. There was more neighbor interaction:
**TheLadyInTheKnow from down the street told me about ContractorDude who lives further down the street who might be able to help cut the remainder of the tree down.
**ContractorDude's wife and I stumbled through language issues while we discussed the possibility of her husband helping with the tree. He called while I was there....he's out of town for the next week. (Granted, I can't wait that long so he can do the tree. BUT, I can prolly use him when it comes time to do some projects.)

8. Back to the Five-O:
**BarneyFife'sBackup arrived, and brought the cones. Once the officers found out what I do for a living, they tried to recruit me to be a cop. Turns out I could retire in 9 years. Hmmmmmm.

9. I came inside to dry off, and called a tree service. I started the process of waiting on a call back.

10. Because I love telling my mom stories that involve the words, "...and then the police showed up..." I made sure to call TheParentals right away. As I was relaying this story to TheParentals, TheLadyInTheKnow came to the door to tell me that some other neighbors had come out to help clear the tree outta the street.

**DosHombres from down the street had brought HANDSAWS to use to cut the tree to make it movable. They made it look easy. Wow. (They cleared just enough of the debris so that cars could get through. We left the limbs & branches in the street though...so Ubercity will haul it away tomorrow.)

After all the excitement, I finally got to come inside and begin the process of getting ready to leave town tomorrow.

Guess where TeacherBuddy and I are going.

Just guess.

Yep. The State Gymnastics Meet to watch Buggy.

WOOP!!!

SingingGirl will be here house/dogsitting for the weekend. Pray for her that the NeuroticHousepooper does not traumatize her. ha!

~hasta

AWOL

2007-04-30T22:32:00.000-05:00

I know I've been AWOL lately....my deepest apologies. I have many things to update you on, but I am super-duper tired, and must get some sleep.

HOWEVER...I could not go to bed without telling you that I "met" Novia's English Teacher today. I use quotes because we didn't actually interact...but we were in the same workshop ALLLLLLLLLLL day today.

I know, I know. I can hear you. "Ms. H. WHY OH WHY did you not line her out?!"

~~~
Sidenote: I sent Buggy a text telling him she was in my session. And asked him if he thought I should "introduce" myself. He said yes.

I then asked, "Do I have to be nice?"

His answer?

"No."

LOVE THE BUGG!!

~~~
So why...especially considering the fact that The Bugg gave his blessing for me to rabble-rouse, did I refrain?

Because, young grasshopper, the time...it was not right.

I was afraid I would say something (I wasn't sure I could keep from reciting my soliloquy) ....that would in turn anger her.......which would then prove problematic, as Novia's junior theme is due tomorrow.

All is not lost, my friends.

Because.....

We have the continuation of the session next week.

Guess who'll be makin' a new friend??!?!

YEP!!!

Yours truly.

~hasta

Themes, Tests, and Travel

2007-04-19T02:58:00.000-05:00

THEMES
--The Junior Themes have finally been turned in!! WOOP! I wish I could say they've also been graded...but that'd be a big fat lie. (Well, some of them have. CoTeach has been BORED SILLY...so she's graded the papers from the classes we share. LOVE HER!!!)
--On a related note, Novia's Jr. English teacher has appeared on my radar as Someone Who Has Messed With My Kids. She gave them a verrrrrrrry shoddy packet of instructions, has refused to answer questions because "you just need to learn how to read", and expects them to do 90 percent of the work outside of class. I've been helping Novia with it...and lemme tell you, it's all I can do to keep from driving to Novia'sSchool and having a small heart-to-heart with CrankyTeach. "Maybe...JUST maybe...if you would give them a packet that was written clearly -- they'd have a fighting chance. It is simply ridiculous that someone who wants their students to learn how to write clearly, cannot utilize the basic formatting techniques on MSWord to distinguish between segments of the assignment. And, as far as telling her she needs to learn how to read better??? Listen, Heifer. Those questions she asked you that day? Those were from me. I tried to translate your sorryass packet...and those questions were what I told her to ask you to do a perception check. Because your crap was NOT CLEAR. And something is tragically wrong when another teacher in Uberdistrict who has a BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN ENGLISH, a MASTER'S DEGREE IN EDUCATION, and a PRINCIPAL'S CERTIFICATE annnnnnd who teaches the EXACT DAMN COURSE that you do CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HELL YOU WANT!! Who the hell are you to tell students they need to learn how to read better?!?!? Maybe you should TEACH THEM!!"

The funny thing....Buggy told me today, "Miss, you really oughta go over there and tell her how it is. Take her your handouts and show how it should be done."

Ahhhhhh, Buggy. You don't know how dangerously close I've come to that. If she were another teacher in Uberschool, we would have talked long before now. (Because people at Uberschool know they better treat my kiddos fairly...apparently the other teachers in Uberdistrict have not received the memo.) I've even imagined the followup conversation with MyAppraiser about rabble-rousing at another school in Uberdistrict. (And have decided I would probably be okay with signing a "Conference Summary" if one were presented to me. Which I strongly suspect it would not....tempting, so very tempting.)

TESTS
--Today marks Day 3 of our 4-day TAKS Testing Marathon. It hasn't been bad so far....but today is the big day. So it's gonna blow. I've already planned my act of Civil Disobedience in regards to the dress code. I figure if they're going to make my little keister walk all over Uberschool non-stop for 4.5 hours collecting attendance sheets/troubleshooting, etc.....the fact that I'm wearing jeans AND tennis shoes is one they can DEAL WITH. (If nothing else, at least the fact that I'll be a moving target should help.)

--Buggy is taking his THEA test on Saturday. (To you Texas HS-grads from the late-80s, the THEA is the new incarnation of the TASP test.) He was not jazzed when he found out he had to take ANOTHER TEST....but he'll be fine.

TRAVEL
--I'm heading to Houston Saturday for a bridal tea for the sis-to-be. Due to time constraints (and my lack of desire to contribute to any additional fundraising in Midlothian), I've decided to fly. My flight leaves Love at 8 Sat. morning.
Wanna see my list of To-Dos?
-get my ear issues under control so my ears don't explode upon take-off. (I'm still fighting the same damn sinus infection from a month ago.)
-call groomer/boarder about drop-off time for The Fredd. (Although Uncle AggieBro says he wants to meet Freddy...I am POSITIVE he doesn't want to meet him until we have conquered some of the house-pooping neuroses.)
-purchase something to wear to the bridal tea (my dressy clothes DO NOT fit...good problem to have, though)
-take Buggy on a small driving tour to see where his test will be Saturday. (The Bugg is not map-gifted.)
-locate my parking discount for the Love airport.
-select my shower gift...and hope AggieBro is cool with me borrowing his coche to go pick it up in H-town
-figure out what I'm leaving for lesson plans just in case something crazy happens with my flight Sunday evening.
-talk to TrainerDude about my workout on Monday. (I'm volunteering for a district-program and can't be in 2 places at once)
-express undying gratitude to NeighborTeacher and TeacherFriendHellion for covering my class Friday afternoon so I can leave a littttttttle early to go get my roots-did!!

And yes....it is reallydamnearly in the morning that I'm posting this. Freddy was SUPER efficient at waking me up to take him outside to pee. Of course, once we came in...he went straight back to sleep. Me? Not so much. (Reason 845 why I've not given birth to my own children.) Now that I've updated My Public, I'm going to see if I can get another hour & a half of sleep.

~hasta!

WOOP!

2007-04-13T21:13:00.000-05:00

I am thrilled to report that...

The Bugg qualified for the State Meet!!!!

Now I just have to decide if I'm going to make the long-ass road trip to go watch him...

Update: The Bugg

2007-04-12T04:59:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was the first half of Regionals for Buggy. He was incredible!! Tonight is the 'optionals' part of the competition....so if you would keep your fingers crossed and send all kinds of warm & fuzzy vibes his way, I would really appreciate it! He's got an excellent shot of making it to State...so I'm hoping for the best.

On the college front:
*He signed up online for Preview Day at DFWUniversity. (When it asked how many people he was bringing, he looked at me and said, "Do you want to go with me?" I said, "If you want me to." He entered, "2".)
*We spent the ride to Novia's dance performance the other night discussing Freshman Orientation.
*His counselor called me and said he's going to be getting a rather sizable scholarship for college & asked that I make sure he goes to the awards program. I promised that if I had to drag him there by his hair....he would be there!

I think he's starting to let himself accept that this college thing is really going to happen. (See, God does answer prayers!)

~hasta

Fierce Freddy

2007-04-08T12:52:00.000-05:00

I've spent the past two days being amazingly productive .... unpacking boxes, hanging pictures, not to mention your garden-variety cleaning. Turns out Freddy is not a big fan of the vacuum...and communicates his displeasure by leaving deposits on the carpet. Trust me, in the future, his furry little butt will be planted in his crate WELL IN ADVANCE of my removing the vacuum from the closet.

Fear not, friends, Freddy is in fact coming out of some of his skittishness....and is remembering he is a Dog. He's also beginning to communicate that to the rest of the universe, and he's chosen his first messenger. That poor little pet bed....I hope it gets the message soon. Otherwise, it's going to be a painful existence.

Chillin'

2007-04-04T21:42:00.000-05:00

Today was pretty mundane.

Every now and then....I like mundane.

The most non-mundane thing that happened today?

Buggy actually ....on his own steam....showed up at the beginning of lunch to work on his scholarship essay.

That made me think hell might be freezing over....but the rest of the day?

I was just chillin'.

~hasta

Makin' it to the Other Side

2007-04-04T00:06:00.000-05:00

It appears that the storms of late are receding and there are sunny-ish skies ahead....

Thank God.

The Update:
**Buggy's FAFSA has been processed and his SAR has been sent to DFWUniversity. (Once they send his award letter, I'll be able to say "SEE!! I TOLD YOU YOUR ASS COULD AFFORD TO GO TO COLLEGE!!!") ...and then I may call up his recruiter....just to chat. Ha!
**I am finally...blessedly...caught up on the damned professional development database.
**The email came down from Uberprincipal about my not completing that online test for rating my LimitedEnglishProficiency kids. Although it was cc'd to my appraiser, there can be no formal write-up -- gotta love the absence of "teeth" in enforcing things that are only "strongly encouraged" but not "state-mandated" for teachers to do.
**I am achieving a state of Blissfully Contented Apathy regarding my students who are IrretrievablyFarBehindontheJuniorTheme. (They can do it in summer school.)
**I talked to BaldMan about my reservations about moving to 12th grade. He was very attentive and understanding. He also explained that the decision is being "strongly encouraged" from "above" (i.e..Uberprincipal) because "they need to move someone up who has very low failure rates". (i.e. Yours Truly)
**This means -- Uberprincipal can't be totally pissed with me if she's acknowledging that I'm kickingass in what she's hired me to do -- which is TEACH!!!
**BaldMan also said he's going to give me my room during BOTH of my conference periods so I can work on the staff dev. database and my other "additional duties". YAY!
**I am beginning to look forward to teaching seniors next year. Let's recap why:
-I can have some of my kids from this year (less housebreaking involved!)
-No damn junior theme (and MY kids will know howthehell to do the Senior Theme!!)
-I won't have to deal with preparing them for the exit-level TAKS.
-I'll be teaching the same prep as Hellion and BaldMan -- we can plan/collaborate...coast!
-I will have a airtight, valid reason for stepping down as Junior Class Sponsor.
**Freddy is settling in...FINALLY. He's becoming more comfortable with me...and his separation anxiety is abating, which is awesome. He's starting to be more social with people....so that's a good sign as well. (I'm pretty sure he was abused as a pup b/c he spent the first 2 weeks doing the gecko-walk and flinching at almost any movement.)
-I took him to the groomer and to PetSmart on Saturday. He was working the crowd!! (Yet another reason why he should be named BuggyJr. Those two are 2 peas in a pod, I tell ya!)
-Freddy and I took multiple walks everyday this past weekend. Which meant that Freddy then came in and took multiple naps everyday this past weekend. (We walked those little legs OFF!)

All in all, things are looking up. And I'm pretty damned happy about it. *woop*

-hasta

3 Little Words

2007-04-02T21:22:00.000-05:00

1. Where is your cell phone? on the counter
2. Boyfriend? now taking applications
3. Hair? gets colored Wednesday
4. Your mother? my biggest fan
5. Your father? watches CNN nonstop
6. Your favorite item? Grandma's purple quilt
7. Your dream last night? interrupted by barking
8. Your favorite drink? anything from Sonic
9. Your dream guy? as yet unidentified
10. The room you are in? needs carpet vacuumed
11. Your fear? me, scared? nope!
12. What do you want to be in 10 years? amazingly damn happy
13. Whom did you hang out with last night? Novia & Freddy
14. What are you not? math/science gifted
15. Are you in love? but of course
16. One of your wish list items? poop-free carpet
17. What time is it? time for bed
18. The last thing you did? sang to Freddy
19. What are you wearing? new gymnastics shirt
20. Your favorite book? The President's Daughter
21. The last thing you ate? dessert from McAllisters
22. Your life? Friggin' ROCKS, man!
23. Your mood? depends on weather
24. Your friends? incredibly weird individuals
25. What are you thinking about right now? teaching Senior English
26. Your car? parked in garage
27. What are you doing at this moment? yawning and yawning
28. Your summer? by the pool
29. Your relationship status? long damn dryspell
30. What is on your TV screen? Discovery Health Channel
31. When is the last time you laughed? 20 minutes ago
32. Last time you cried? at Buggy's meet
33. School? starts too early

Personal Leave Days

2007-04-01T01:45:00.000-05:00

I realize you may find this hard to believe....but I typically do my best to stay under my boss' radar. I ...USUALLY...am that employee who works her ass off while living by all of the rules --both written and unwritten. I've found that, although some people might perceive it as a type of brown-nosing, playing by the rules reaps all kinds of rewards from the higher ups when done in this non-blatant fashion.

I've found that this work-hard-keep-your-head-down mentality pays off in certain cases, such as when:
A>an out-of-line administrator (AKA PissyAP) gets in your face
B>you need to miss one class...and one class only.... in order to go sign the closing papers on your house
C>you need your appraiser to show some mercy toward your kiddo
D>you want to know what your kiddo did to end up in his AP's office
E>you want your department chair to NOT move you to teaching 9th graders
F>because of poor-time-management-on-your-part, you don't have time to actually go to school to drop off your sub-plans before you go see The Bugg in action...but need to email them to the AP's secretary
G>you not only get behind on the staff development database...but stay behind
H>you need to borrow The Bugg during your lunch period (when he's an office aide) to work on college stuff

In each of these situations, the administrator in question has "cut me a little slack" and shown me some mercy as a result of my customary Puritan-esque work ethic.

But every now and then, you have to say "WTF" and realize you're most likely going to end up on the radar, and you might as well accept it.

Because sometimes things happen.

Like....
I>you decide to take off a Thursday AND a Friday so you can move (for the last time, please GOD) into your new house...
J>you totally and completely forget that you're supposed to do an online STATE-MANDATED test OVER SPRING BREAK to qualify to "rate" your ESL kids...
K>you take one for the team by emailing a notoriously PissyAP in order to voice concerns other faculty members have (but you launch a pre-emptive strike by cc'ing your appraiser, HIS appraiser, and your dotted-line supervisor/advocate at the appropriate district office)....
L>you end up gathering writing samples for your ESL kids at the verylastminute because of the dumb TAKS test and the painintheass JuniorTheme....
M>you simply don't have time to keep the damn professional development database updated because your teaching your ass off -- (which you know your department chair expects AND sees AND values AND rewards)

and then there comes a time when you know that you're MOST DEFINITELY going to end up on the radar IN A BIG AND MAJOR WAY as a result of a choice you're making.

But you decide to make it anyway.

Because you know in your heart of hearts that, although staying-off-the-radar is usually your m.o., you're quite ready and willing to take whatever comes....whatever it may be.

Because, although Uberprincipal absolutely hates it when teachers are out on a Friday or Monday (because she views it as them extending their weekend)...and even though she can't deny your request to be out (thank God for a web-based substitute system)...she can and most definitely WILL keep her Uber-eye on you for the immediate future.

Keeping all of this in mind, especially the fact that UberPrincipal is well aware of A, G, I, J, K, and M....you decide to take off 2 days IN A ROW .... knowing full well that one of them is a Friday (gasp!)....and even worse...the other one is a THURSDAY. (Holy Schniekies, Batman!! A four day weekend!?! Say it isn't so!! You most assuredly are playing with fire!!! )

Because, although you live your life trying to stay under the radar....you know that you're completely within the state and district guidelines for using your "PERSONAL LEAVE DAYS"....and it's your perogative to use your "PERSONAL LEAVE DAYS" for whatever PERSONAL reason you need to LEAVE work....

...especially when it comes to the district gymnastics meet being held during the day on two consecutive days...and you know that there is absolutely no place you'd rather be than:

*right there....
*in those incredibly uncomfortable bleachers....
*with some incredibly annoying parents....
*drinking too much caffeine...
*having sympathetic-anxiety-attack-induced heart palpitations...

...watching The Bugg in his last-ever district meet.

Because, in the end, you wouldn't trade the warm & fuzzy moments...
*watching him beat 4 out of 6 of his personal records on compulsory routines...
*seeing him stick the landing on his reallydamnbeautiful vault...
*seeing the smile on his face when he saw his 9.8 on his floor routine...
*seeing him nail that iron cross...twice... that he's worked so hard on..
*having him be #7 AllAround at the end of day 1...

or even the holy-cow-how-can-it-hurt-this-much moments...
*seeing his disappointment after his p-bar score on day 1....
*seeing how much of a toll those iron-crosses...(and that floor routine)...took on his shoulder...
*watching him walk around with an icebag taped to his shoulder in hopes that he'd make it thru the p-bars and high bar on day 2....
*seeing him attempt to push past the excruciating pain, but not be able to raise his arm high enough to mount the p-bars on day 2 ....
*watching him stay by the wall when the rest of the team went to check in with the p-bar judge...
*seeing the look on his face as he cheered his teammates on, knowing that he was out of the running for placing in All-Around...
*watching him head into the locker-room to change clothes, when he should have been preparing for high bar...
*and seeing that look on his face...the one that says "I'm SuperHard." ...when you know from personal experience is 2 steps shy of him breaking down in tears...

Because, if you had opted to play it safe and stay under the radar, you wouldn't have seen any of that....nor would you have been able to be there to send him a text that says, "I'm proud of you. You gave it your best."

And see him give you that look that says my-heart-hurts-but-I'll-be-okay...I'm tough, remember?...

And you wouldn't have seen him.......with that big ole Buggygrin...step forward during the awards ceremony to accept the ribbons from the events he placed in.....

because....that means....

it was all worth it...and....he's advancing to Regionals!!

And in case you're wondering...
Hell yeah, I sure AM taking another personal leave day to go to Regionals!
UberRadar, be damned!!!

Radar?

2007-03-26T21:25:00.000-05:00

Has it really been over a week since I posted??! A WHOLE WEEK?!

Aiy caramba.

I promise I'll be back on the radar soon....things have been INSANE lately.
I've been....
*helping Freddy become less neurotic
*doing little projects around the house
*beating the Junior Theme into submission
*getting that damned professional development database caught up
*getting The Bugg's financial aid paperwork filed
*helping Novia with her Junior Theme (she goes to a different school...and the teacher just handed them the packet to do it outside of class!)....
and...
*finding out that I'm moving to Senior English next year. WOOP!!! (Of course it's not 100% final yet....but it's in the works!)

It's been a crazy coupla weeks........stay tuned!!!

2 -- Magic Number?

2007-03-17T08:35:00.000-05:00

Lest I jinx things.....

Freddy did not holler at all about sleeping in his crate. (Not surprising, since it's actually much more comfy than any human's bed...he's commandeered my old comforter from college, so he's sleeping on a very poofy cloud.)

He only woke me up twice.

1st time, 1:30 a.m.:

1 sharp, "HEY LADY" bark.
then...as I was finding my shoes...
a very soft "I realllllllllly gotta go" whine.
he came right to me when I opened the door...
didn't squirm while I hooked him up to the EVIL PURPLE LEASH...
and then made a beeline for the backdoor.
Once outside, he went straight to the potty-spot and did his #1 business and then hauled ass back inside.

I let him off the leash, and said, "Go to bed."
He did.

2nd time, 3:30 a.m.:

second verse...same as the first...
only....
he actually POOPED OUTSIDE!!!!!!!

*And all the people said...."HALLLLLLELUJAHHHH!!!"

Let's contemplate yesterday's strategy:

Freddy stayed in the crate or on a very short leash all day (And all the bedroom doors were SHUT, just in case).
We went outside at consistent intervals. (Stubborn little guy still pee'd in his crate.)
We went for a long walk early yesterday evening (We had to do something while his blanket and towels were in the washer).
The bartender cut him off at about 8:00. (The chef had clocked-out much earlier....just in case.)
I went EXTRA-crazy with the "Good Boy's" and "Yay, Freddy's" after each "Movement".

Yeah, I admit...it's not really rocket-science....but I'm pretty jazzed!!

~hasta

Psychotic Pooping Puppy

2007-03-16T21:39:00.000-05:00

I wish I could tell you that I've gotten my entire house unpacked over the past week....and have gotten the puppy completely assimilated into my world....but that would be a lie. In reality, I have spent the week hanging around waiting on plumbers & electricians & insurance people....time that I couldabeen/shouldabeen unpacking, but my DVR was sitting there with multiple episodes of The Gilmore Girls ... just calling my name. And an internet with scholarships to locate for The Bugg.

And.....there was a puppy to play with. And chase around to clean up poop.

Now, don't get me wrong, Freddy is INcredibly cute!

He'd be even cuter if he weren't a bundle of raw puppy nerve-endings....just waiting for an opportunity to pull a passive-agressive poopathon in response to my wielding my "I'm the Top Dog" position. Since he has come to live with me, he has had 2 poop sessions.

Both of those have happened on my brand-frickin'-new carpet....in response to my not giving him something he wants.

Two must be the magic number, because he's also made 2 puddles in my floor. One of those was at 2:30 in the morning....a whole 2 minutes after we came in from a trip outside.

I'm not sure if Freddy realizes that the number 2 is in his future tonight.

Because......tonight will be Night #2 that he will spend in the crate.

(Which will probably be the second night that I have gotten minimal sleep.)

......and my parents wonder why I don't have children.........

Oiy vey.

~hasta

The Curse

2007-03-13T10:35:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure if anyone else's mother placed "The Curse" on them...but mine did. I was somewhat strong-willed as a child/teenager, (shocker, huh?!) and Mom and I had mannnny territory skirmishes along the way.

At one particularly volatile point, my mom told me that she had been cursed by my grandmother. My grandmother had told her, "You don't pay for your own raisin' til you raise one of your own." Mom said that she was definitely paying for all she had put Grandma through by raising me. She told me that I would see what she meant when I had kids of my own. And THEN! that mean, hateful woman said, "I hope you have one just like you."

At the time, I didn't care that I was being a brat to Mom. All I knew was that she made it sound like a Bad Thing to be like me. And I got pissed. Because I was a realllllllly good kid -- all things considered.

I didn't realize that being "good" didn't mean much if you were a pain in the butt to get along with.

However. I was smart enough to realize that I should be afraid. Verrrry. Verrry. Afraid.

That fear is what has made me okay with the fact that, until now, I've not actually given birth to any children of my own. I thought I was escaping The Curse by not having my own kids.

I was wrong.

Over the past couple of years, I've come to realize that I'm "payin' for my raisin' " every single day that I deal with the children in my classroom. And my ups & downs with Buggy have driven this point home to the Nth degree.

So I thought I knew what I was getting myself into when I adopted Freddy.

I was wrong.

Yesterday was one long battle for control. The highlights:

6 a.m.: I woke up to Kickin' Puppy Breath. He had decided somewhere during the night that I wasn't so bad, and he climbed onto my pillow to sleep. Verrrry verrry cute. But oh so stinky.

Mid-morning: He wanders into his crate to eat and falls asleep in there. He wakes up to the cell door slamming shut as I leave to go run errands.

Lunchtime: He's happy to see me free him from captivity, but not so happy that I then proceed to attempt to drown him in a watery, vanilla-scented, oatmeal shampoo hell. Upon deliverance from that hell, he's swaddled up and held down to have his teeth brushed. (Although the peanut butter-flavored toothpaste is pretty tasty!) He then spends the next hour on the leash, close by my side, as I unpack the kitchen. Follow the leader, anyone?

Mid-afternoon: I let him off the leash, and he alternates between wandering through the open cabinets and napping on the couch. At one point, he left a rather large present in the front entryway....letting me know that he wasn't happy about my checking email because there was no comfy place to nap in there. (I remedied that before coming in here this morning....and he's now sleeping on an old comforter here in the office floor.)

Evening: We spend some time relaxing....and when it's time to go to bed, his crate gets moved into my room. We go outside to do the bizness....then he goes into the crate for night-time. I then have 20 blessed minutes of silence while his little pea-sized brain is trying to process the fact that he's incarcerated..AGAIN....then all holy hell breaks loose.

From the bedroom, I hear....
low-grade whining.....
high-pitched squeaking .....
and then....
full-out barking.....

I knew it would be a long and painful night, but I didn't give in. I climbed into my bed and left the bathroom light on so he could see I was there....and then spent the rest of the night getting woken up every 50 minutes or so by the whine-squeak-bark cycle. I did take him out of the crate a time or two to go outside and potty....but plopped his little butt right back in the crate when we got back.

He was OVERJOYED to get paroled this morning.

I think he thinks he's won.

Little does he realize that he's sleepin' in the crate again tonight.

Because I've realized that the 6 years I spent working in college housing were not for nothing. The hard-won ability to sleep through anything but the phone and the fire alarm is a gift....one that lies dormant upon return to a "real job"...but one that resurfaces when you're faced with the challenge of desperately needing sleep while you're "paying for your raisin'" with your new puppy.

Get ready, Freddy...you have NO idea what awaits you!!

~hasta

Meeeeeet Freddy!

2007-03-11T22:52:00.000-05:00

There's a new man in my life.

He's a little short, and a little furry...and his breath is "kickin!" (as Buggy would say) but he is OH SO ADORABLE.

See if you agree......

His name is Freddy....and he's about a year & a half old. He's a miniature short-haired dachshund....and is SUPER SWEET!!! I adopted him from a dachshund rescue...and he just came to live with me this evening. We're going to spend this week of Spring Break figuring out Who. Is. In. Charge.

wish me luck...

~hasta

Bugg-sicles

2007-03-10T23:40:00.000-06:00

Yesterday afternoon I got so fed up with The Bugg that I decided I was done playing the "oooo tread lightly, Buggy's having a Mood so everybody needs to give him exactly what he wants -- space" game.

Done.

Through.

Finished.

And I told him so.

And told him that I would give him 100% space. Period.

This afternoon, I was on the phone with SingingGirl...solving the problems of the world...when, unbeknownst to us --

Hell was freezing over.

We received notification of this when my call-waiting beeped, and it was.....wait for it.....

The Bugg.

I about fell over.

And then, after a very bashful, "So you were mad, yesterday?"...

And a terse, "Yes"....

and a long, painful-for-him, pause...

He said, "I wanted to say Thank You."

I about fell over again.

Apparently, even though Hell had frozen over, the icicles did not prevent him from calling me to tell me........

He got his acceptance letter to DFWUniversity!!!!

Acceptance.

To.

College.

As in....FINALLY .... we can put this I'm-going-to-pretend-I'd-rather-go-to-the-Marines -or-Tradeschool-because-I'm-scared-of-rejection BS behind us, because Buggy has finally realized that...

I. Was. Right. (ooooooo, I LOVE those words!!)

He IS college material.

(I love THOSE words, too!!)

WOOOOP!!

And then, later this evening, he called me to ask me to call his mom about the Marine stuff. (The recruiter has been relentless in telling her they're going to come get Buggy on his ship date. That he's not really discharged. Et cetera.)

So, even though I'm still ticked at Buggy, I did it. His mom spent quite a bit of time thanking me for helping him....which led to our having a very thorough conversation about The Bugg and his 'tude. (It seems he's been a pain in the ass at home, as well. No wonder he didn't want us talking, eh?)

He has NO idea what's waiting for him the next time we talk. None.

(Justsoyaknow...just because I'm THRILLED that he's going to college....I'm not letting him off the "you were a complete jerk" hook. We're going to discuss some things AT length....)

But.....just for a minute....let's focus on the Fun Part:

WOOOOHOOOO!!
THE BUGG IS GOING TO COLLEGE!!!!!!

~hasta

MUCH Better

2007-03-08T21:46:00.000-06:00

Today was a much better day. I was determined to NOT let any pesky children step on my cloud...and I was successful.

WOOP!

In Bugg-Related news....

Actually, there is none.

I haven't heard from him since Tuesday evening....nor have I heard from -- or seen...Mija or CrazyBrother. Their absence is especially noticeable, due to the fact that the children are usually in and out of my classroom about 8,000 times a day. Apparently, their little antennae are picking up the Beware of Ms. H signals -- and since they don't want to have "come-to-Jesus talks" with yours truly... they are staying off the radar.

cómo se dice chicken?

err......pollo?

Better

2007-03-06T22:52:00.000-06:00

Today was better. I didn't get barked at by anyone of any ranking (the new butthead child in 1st period doesn't count).

I even managed to have 2 separate heart-to-heart conversations -- 1 with Buggy on his own, and 1 with Buggy AND CrazyBrother.

I'm not any farther ahead on my stuff than I was yesterday....I'm hoping tomorrow's the day.

Fingers? Cross 'em, please...I really need to make it til Friday (the start of Spring Break).

~hasta

Super Duper Bad Day

2007-03-05T20:53:00.000-06:00

It shoulda been a good one...the first full day in my new house.....but it wasn't.

I started the day off getting chewed on by UberPrincipal because I've gotten behind on updating our staff development database. A few points to note:

*I don't get paid to do this job.
*On other campuses, it's an administrator who does it.
*It's become super time-consuming thanks to the advent of Title-I funds.
*The Title-I funds don't pay me to do this.
*I have been neck-deep in preparing my EXIT LEVEL JUNIORS for the FRICKING TAKS Test.
*The very next day after the test....I started Junior Theme with them.
*I've spent every spare moment of my on-the-clock time getting ready for TAKS/JR Theme.
*I've spent every spare moment of my personal-time getting ready for the move into the house.
*I've NOT spent my personal-time doing the updating...because....wait for it...I don't get paid to do it!!!
*A month ago I went to her to see if I could split the duties with someone (like maybe the woman who is generating all the staff training....and all the extra work...) she said she'd check into it.

*When I went in today....she hadn't checked on it...NOR did she even remember us discussing it.

*But yet she sure did let me know how unhappy she was with me.

And that was only the beginning of the day....I'll spare you the rest of the story.

I'm too through with today.

I'm going to bed.

~Hasta

Rent-A-Bug

2007-02-26T22:32:00.000-06:00

The previous owner of my house had a dog. A BIG dog. Who liked to mark his territory.
I asked the lady at the carpet store about the installation process, if the installers will clean, sanitize, etc. She said they will clean...but not necessarily sanitize the concrete floor. Seeing as how I am planning on getting a dog (a WEENIE dog!!!)...the carpet-saleslady told me I would want to pull the carpet and mop the floor with a bleach solution. This will keep MY puppy from smelling the previous "markers" and decided he needs to reclaim his territory.

No surprise here, but I was NOT jazzed about the prospect of spending my Monday evening doing this....

So I decided to call 1-800-Rent-A-Bug.

For a small fee, I was able to enlist Buggy's services. It was definitely money well-spent. I didn't have to do very much of the physical labor...so it was alllllll good.

I also convinced my best friend's husband, OkieBoy, to come by and replace the deadbolt on the front door. He brought TheQueen with him. They showed up as we were finishing with the bleaching....and Buggy was starting his switch-around-the-car-tires project. OkieBoy kept Buggy IN STITCHES with all the little potshots he likes to take at me. I'm not sure that OkieBoy has ever had such an enthusiastic audience for his stand-up routine. I was really okay with it...I had told them a TON about Buggy, so I was thrilled for them to get to meet him. (TheQueen also had a long talk with Buggy about the importance of college....LOVE her!!)

As Buggy was finishing the tires (with OkieBoy's help), I went into the house to close the windows from the bleach-toxo-cloud. As I came back out into the garage, I heard TheQueen say, "....not us. It's her." as she POINTS AT ME with that "You're going to PRISON for a LONG time" look on her face!!!!

I instantly flashed back to when we were RAs in college....and she would pin her rotten little escapades on poor little innocent me.

Thankfully, I quelled my first impulse to BOLT AND RUN.

Good thing, too. Because that would have left a bad impression on my new neighbor.

WHEW!!!

I am happy to report that I managed to escape the evening WITHOUT getting ejected from the neighborhood.

Double-whew.

~hasta

AP - BC

2007-02-24T23:10:00.000-06:00

Translation: After Paint - Before Carpet

Note 1: The "Before" pics are from the realtor's listing.

Note 2: I didn't paint the dining room -- don't know what I want to do in there yet.

Finally

2007-02-21T21:56:00.000-06:00

After many many days of plotting, planning, and pricing....I am happy to report that the painting will begin tomorrow. WOOP! (In case you were confused, I decided to opt out of running my own paint-crew. I figured that the trying to finish the painting would be impossible, giving the impending onset of Junior Theme-itis.)

The paint crew will take a day or two to finish...I'll need to give the paint a day or so to "cure"....and then the carpet people will come to install my new, non-biohazard-y carpet. Double WOOP!

And then....next Friday....the boys with the truck are coming to move my treasures to my new casa.

Double WOOP!

~~~
On a related front, my parental units have also officially closed on their new house in Missouri. After many glitches with the scheduling and implementation of multiple closings, the planets have all lined up just so -- and have managed to render my parents non-homeless.

This is especially good news, as it means they will not need to come move in with me. Laugh if you must, but I had a dream about it the other night....and it was TERRIFYING. (And I friggin' teach HIGH SCHOOL, PEOPLE...it takes A LOT to scare ME!!)

~~~
Given that I spent the evening recovering from an insanely-early start time to the day (3 a.m.) and got absolutely NOTHING accomplished along the lines of gotta-pack-my-crap-to-move -- tomorrow is going to be EFFF-YOU-ENNN. I need to light the world on fire in a big and major way.

But that's tomorrow.

Right now? I'm going to bed to read some of the new Danielle Steel book.

~hasta

Blessed Distractions

2007-02-20T21:18:00.000-06:00

After school today, I went to MY HOUSE to meet the guy from the water department (so he could turn my blasted water ON) and a painter to get an estimate. I then hauled Mija across town to nightschool (she's taking extra classes to graduate in 3 years)...and then....I should have gone home. To fine-tune the junior theme timeline. (Yes folks, it's that time again!)

And. Oh yeah. To pack.

Because I'm moving in a week and a half.

Instead I went to dinner with Hellion.

And then I went to Home Depot to check my paint color....and then I went to Office Depot to get Junior Theme supplies...and then I went to Target to get mousse.

Then....... I came home.

Where, instead of fine-tuning the timeline....I decided to check out leesepea's blog. On that blog, she linked to Ms.Bluebird's blog....who linked to Chris Garlington's blog.

HOLY CRAP. I haven't laughed that hard in FOREVER!!!!!!!

I'm pretty sure all that laughter counts as some serious cardio.

Hopefully TrainerDude will agree with me when I go see him tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have a timeline to tune....

~hasta!

Mysteries and Conundrums

2007-02-18T23:32:00.000-06:00

Granted, I followed the inspector as he did the inspection of my house...so I was aware of many of the goofball things that previous owners of my casita had done:
*painting over the electrical outlet switchplates
*using a 99 cent extension cord to power the range hood
*slicing pie-shaped wedges off of the doors to help them close
*NOT fixing the little chain in the toilet in the master bath to make it flush
*installing brand-new ceramic tile in the bathrooms....but not re-tacking down the carpet
*leaving carpet in the house that the CDC should classify as a biohazard
*leaving the bathroom exhaust fan to vent to the attic
*not repairing the cracks in the walls due to foundation shifting
*NEVER cleaning out the ducts. ever.

These things I knew. I did. They baffled me, but at least I knew about them.

Over the course of the past several days, I've come to discover more and more of these little mysteries.
*the carpet in the living room goes a good 6-inches up the wall on all 4 walls. (Apparently to give it that "pit" feel.)
*the carpet in the hall was fixed with duct-tape
*the kitchen lights (commercial grade, by the way) are falling down because the bolts are giving way
*judging from the cut wires, the ceiling fan in the living room USED to have a light.
*the one working light fixture in the garage is the old-timey square, frosted-glass kind that you used to see in bedrooms in the 70s
*the nicest light fixtures in the ENTIRE house are in the entry way and above the back patio
*the door from the house to the garage had apparently been kicked in at some point, because the doorjamb is cobbled together with caulk and itty-bitty nails.

I'm quite sure there are many more of these mysteries and conundrums to be discovered. Stay tuned...I'll keep you posted.

:0) Hasta

Waa-Hooooooo!

2007-02-15T01:42:00.000-06:00

WOOP!!!

I am now the proud OWNER OF A HOUSE!!! (Holy cannoli, Batman! When did I become an adult?!)

The mind boggles...

~hasta

In case you were wondering....

2007-02-13T21:16:00.000-06:00

This, my dear friends, has NOT happened yet:

When will it happen, you ask??

That answer is pretty much one of these:

Hopefully, it'll be tomorrow....stay tuned...

Necessary Evil

2007-02-10T11:21:00.000-06:00

I am so incredibly jazzed about my impending move, I can't even stand it! Even though I found out my closing is probably not going to happen on Tuesday as originally planned, I'm remarkably okay with that. Wednesday is soon enough. That'll give me a whole extra day to hang out and chill....oh wait....

I can't just "hang out and chill".

I have to pack.

That part...that packing part?

Yeah, I'm not so jazzed about that.

But I've started. I was at Wal-Mart at 6 a.m. this morning to pilfer some boxes from the overnight stocking crew. I hit the mother lode! I then went to Home Depot to get one of those stretch wrap gizmos....I figure it's a great $8.00 investment. I mean, not only will it be great for securing strangely shaped objects for moving to the new casita, but it will also prove useful later as a "Classroom Management Implement".

Yep, that's me. I'm the thinker. Always making sure there's a Plan B.

Heh heh heh.

Gotta go...Plan A is calling my name.

~hasta

Too Through

2007-02-08T22:20:00.000-06:00

I am too through with today. It was a seriously crrrrrrrrappy day -- full of attitudinal teenagers with bigFAT chips on their shoulders, and I was not in the mood to deal with them.

Let me break it down for you.

I have three classes a day.

Today...

I fussed at FOUR.

Yes folks, I not only fussed at all three of mine .... BUT I also managed to fuss at one that doesn't even belong to me. It belongs to NeighborTeacher. Being 2 weeks from giving birth, she wasn't feeling so well this morning...but went ahead and came to school. Part way through 1st period, she had to leave because she was dizzy, so I ended up pinch-hitting during my conference.
Most of her kids were fine. There were a couple who could not understand the concept of "Duuuuude, shut up. Don't talk back to Ms. H -- she'll get you." (This was helpfully provided by SleepyBoy, a student who goes from NeighborTeacher's 1st period to my 2nd period.)

Unfortunately, Wisenheimer1 and Wisenheimer2 did not listen to SleepyBoy.

Soooooo, when the Fussing began? SleepyBoy sat over to the side, shaking his head, and saying "Mannnnnnnnn, I tried to warn you."

For those of you who saw Grey's tonight....my day resembled, to a large extent, Meredith's day. I say "large extent", because there was one major difference between our days...

I didn't start it by waking up next to McDreamy.

dammittohell

~hasta

Aiy Yi Yi!!

2007-02-07T22:36:00.000-06:00

I started the morning off with a blatant reminder of why I DON'T MISS TEACHING FRESHMEN!!! The 1st period tardy bell wasn't five minutes gone when I had had ENOUGH of Miss'Tude...and hauled her keister into the hall.

As this wasn't our first hallway "conference", I was considerably less tolerant of her surly, idiotic behavior. Once we got into the hall, I was pretty efficient with how quickly I lined her out. We discussed how much I did NOT enjoy how she spoke to me....and how she talks to her other teachers just like that. We then discussed how, Ms. H is NOT all of her other teachers...and she most definitely does not allow children to talk to her like that. Period. If she doesn't learn in any of her other classes how to speak to teachers in a calm, respectful, appropriate tone -- by George she will in COMMUNICATION CLASS.

or she will fail.

Although I wasn't yelling at Miss'Tude, NeighborTeach heard us in the hall, and came out to check. When she saw who my GuestofHonor was...she turned around and re-entered her room. I figure there were 2 reasons for this.

1. She didn't trust herself around Miss'Tude because they'd had RUN-INs last semester...

and

2. She knew better than to come close to me, lest I decide to reoay the gift she gave me. Seeeee, NeighborTeach GAVE Miss'Tude to me at the beginning of the semester, because she had had so many problems with her last semester. GAVE.

My question? Where's the return counter?!?!?!

Once Miss'Tude and I re-entered the room, I put the class to work studying their notes to get ready for the game-show test review. During the studytime, two girls -- FishOne and FishTwo come up to my desk to ask me a question. They see the new picture of Buggy that's on my desk....

FishOne: Wooooooooo! He is FINE!!
FishTwo: Who? Jerome?
FishOne: No! Not Jerome -- the Puertorican guy.
FishTwo: Who? Oh....Oh yeah!
FishOne: Isn't he on the gymnastics team?
NewFish: laughing hysterically....The what?
FishOne: The gymnastics team.
NewFish: *snort*
Ms. H: Do you realize you're taking your life in your hands, laughing at one of my kiddos?!
NewFish: (sobering) Miss, he's your son? But...but...he doesn't look like you.
FishTwo: No, he's not her actual son. She adopts kiddos from her classes....DUH!
NewFish: No, Missssss.....I wasn't laughing at him...I think he's hot...I mean, gymnastics is hot...I mean...
Ms. H: I get it...I get it...
FishOne (to FishTwo): Have you noticed how many cute guys all come to see Ms. H?
FishTwo: Yeah, Miss. They sure do! They're HOT!
Ms. H: Ladies, please! I've known these boys since they were scrawny little freshmen...trust me, I don't see them as hot.
FishOne: Miss, is he related to that guy that was in here this morning?
Ms. H: Yep. Lemme guess. You think he's hot, too.
*roll collective fish swooning audio here*
Ms. H: *smothering a grin* Nice, girls, real nice. Could you please go and study for your test? Please?

Because I believed that the universe owed me a small something for having to deal with freshman-female-hijinks today....I sent Buggy a text telling him that he had a fan club in my class, thanks to the new picture of him and TeamMate. I expected a delay in his response, since he was probably just starting on his way to school. (He has off-period.)

Imagine my surprise at the INSTANTANEOUS response: "Who?"
Me: "Several girls. Lots of girls. I'm thinkin it'd be hysterical if you dropped by before next period."
Buggy: "I am."

He arrived about 5 minutes before the dismissal bell. Watching those girls realize who was at the door was PRICELESS...sweet -- sweet entertainment!!! One of them did the TigerWoods arm-pump... "YESS!" and the others all got super-duper giggly. And kept making cow-eyes at him in a desperate attempt to get his Royal Attention.

And do you wanna know who was the most entertaining of all?

Why, that'd be the young lady who acted too tough to follow my rules this morning.

Yep, Miss'Tude sure did drop the 'tude IN A HURRY... so she could be all sugar and light to Buggy.

I didn't know whether to become violently ill....or come up with a daily bribe to get The Bugg to hang out in my room as a 'Tude-Repellant.

Because, apparently, in addition to being "hot" .... he's also a magician.

*wink*

~hasta

Determination

2007-02-03T23:58:00.000-06:00

Novia and I have been videotaping Buggy's meets so we can compile them into a "The Year of The Bugg" video at the end of the season. Each week, I transfer the video to a vhs tape and then to a dvd so Buggy can see what went well....or as in last night's case...where the glitch was.

Last night after the meet, he was somewhat distraught that I wouldn't hand over the video camera to him for the weekend so he could watch the SPEC-tacular crash-landings he had. The funny thing is, he knew it wasn't because I don't trust him with it -- I didn't want to have to wait til Monday to see the video. We had a little battle of the wills....and, since I'm the GrownUp -- I won. (I love playing that card!!)

Of course, I'm sure he would maintain that he won....because he used those pitiful eyes on me: "Miss, can you bring the dvd to Novia tomorrow? Please? I want to see what I did wrong."

DAMNNNNNNNN.

He's good.

So this morning found me transferring the video to the vhs tape, and then from the vhs tape to the dvd....where I watched:

a. The Bugg fly too high over the vault and most definitely not stick the landing - thereby smacking himself into the mat taped to the wall, at which point he bounced off and saluted the judge....before walking off, grinning.

and...

b. The Bugg attempt some superspiffy maneuver on the high bar, which resulted in not one...but TWO .... SPEC-tacular crashes from mid-air to the ground. After both, he got up, shook himself off, and got back up there. After sticking the 3rd (and final) landing, he saluted the judge...before walking off, grinning.

Granted, I saw both of these (as well as the rest of the events) last night...but I was absolutely terrified that he was going to really hurt himself...and/or end up getting scored really low. Watching it this morning, knowing that he placed in both of those events and that he wasn't seriously injured (the foot/neck injuries had happened during warm-up, but were not serious enough to plant him on the bench), I was able to clearly see his single-minded determination to
not
give
up.

It became crystal clear to me -- it's that single-minded determination that has brought him this far. He absolutely refuses to admit defeat...and will keep at it until he gets it. He listens only to that little voice inside that keeps pushing him -- and has grown out of being overly-easily influenced by peer pressure. Granted, there are times when that little voice convinces him that he should NOT listen to Ms. H (which makes me CRAZY)....but in the long run, I'm very much okay with that. Because if he can resist me and my incredibly-brilliant persuasiveness, then I know that he's going to be able to stand up to anyone else on this planet. (And yes, I AM that good. I got his brother back in school, didn't I? ha!)

After I watched it, I sent him a text message. "I am superproud of you for not giving up on high bar & vault last night...I just watched it several times, and clapped each time!"

His response? "Thanks, Miss. I'm proud of me, too."

*grin* That's my boy.

Lovin' Life

2007-02-02T23:47:00.000-06:00

I've had a realllllllly good week. It's been long...and busy....but good. So good and busy, in fact, that my blogging has gotten neglected for real people -- as has my house. (We're at the "What violent crime occurred here to cause this much of a mess?" stage.)

Fillin' in the blanks....

Tuesday:

**Biggy decided to stick it out in school. I did the happy dance.
**Buggy decided to go to a 4-year university. I did another happy dance.
**I got to spend 2 hours with Biggy, getting him ready for his test in Hellion's class...while we discussed "the old days" and how much he's changed.

Wednesday:
**Got to witness Biggy & Buggy have one of their Incredibly Inane Arguments.
Big: What's this word --your handwriting sucks!
Bugg: Whatever, man...it's not my fault you never learned how to read.
Big: Whatever! It's because you don't know how to write!
Bugg: NUH-UH...it's because you can't read.
Big: Noooo...you can't write.
Bugg: Nope. You.....
--------> One would never know they are not 4 years old....seriously.

**I found out the termite inspection went a-okay, and we're hurtling on toward closing. (EEK!)
**I had an INCREDIBLE conversation about intercultural communication with my Speech class. We even sucked the visiting Maintenance Mechanic into the mix...she told me later she was very impressed with how I handled the class, and that it seemed like a great class.
**Ms. Maintenance Mechanic not only complimented me...she also hung the screen for my "new" presentation station. (I've had it since August.)

Thursday:
**I spent my lunch period with Biggy & CrazyBrother, listening to them tell stories about growing up. I learned A LOT of ammo about Buggy. *insert evil laugh here*
**I had a fanstastic time teaching sequence of events/free association/parody to my kiddos in 8th period while we read "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty".
**I found out Co-teach is waiting to find out if she has non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
**Biggy'sAP finally caught up with him and gave him MaximumSecurity ISS for 3 days next week. Biggy accepted it without running his mouth....showing me that he heard what I said, and thereby lodging himself in my heart forever.

Friday:
**Renovated my start-of-class plan with 2nd period to reduce my stress. It worked!
**Lit the world on fire by catching up on my grading. (Thanks to some serious help from Mija.)
**Read CrazyBrother the RiotAct about telling girls they're fat. The extra-serious riot act!!
**Spent the evening hanging out with Novia, watching Buggy work his magic. (He got into a small squabble with Gravity, and lost, so if you have a couple extra prayers -- send them up for his neck and foot.) Even though he tried to amputate his own foot, he ended up winning the meet. WOOP!!

I hope your week was an incredible as mine....

~hasta

Howdy & Welcome!

2007-01-31T22:51:00.000-06:00

A month or so ago, I talked to a reporter from Houston about an article she was writing on teacher blogs. She was incredibly cool with the fact that I wanted to disclose very few identifying details about my name/school/location.

Last night, I hit my site counter to check it out. Imagine my surprise when my average visits/per day went from 20 to 64. When I looked at the referring links, I saw that a lot of them came from that article in the Houston paper:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/4506358.html

Granted, my extensive conversation with Jennifer, the reporter, was reduced to a few small sentences. Nevertheless, the impact has been incredible. I have a ton of people from all over the world stopping by to take a quick tour of Uberschool. Some of them do "drivebyreading"...others pull up a lawn-chair and prepare to "sit a spell". One new reader has even dropped me a comment....it's on the bottom of yesterday's post.

To all of them, I say...

"Howdy, y'all!! Thank you for visiting me....and welcome to my crazy little corner of the universe known as Uberschool."

Annnnd, please please-- feel free to make comments ... even though the post is "old", I am kept updated on the comments because they are forwarded to my email address for "moderation". I would love to hear my new readers think of the goings-on with Buggy and his brigade!

Have a great evening....and I'll see you tomorrow!

~hasta

Answered Prayers

2007-01-30T20:03:00.000-06:00

Every now and then, you have one of Those Days.

One of those days where everything falls into place...and you know that all of the struggle and the drama that has brought you to this day -- was worth it. It may not have been fun walking through it, but it sure is nice to see the other side.

Today was That Day for me.

The Bigg

BigBro kept his promise and met me at school this morning. I kicked out my extra-early-arrival student so I could talk to BigBro without an audience. (Experience has taught me that my boys are infinitely more receptive when there are no extra ears around.)

Given the fact I had minimal time before our first class, I skipped the preliminary steps of the strategy I outlined last night and went straight for the BlatantHonesty big gun. Although I didn't read last night's post to him verbatim, I did hit the high points.

I spent a considerable amount of time on the fact that I knew I was asking him to sell himself out just a little bit....and I wished I didn't have to, but I couldn't see any way around it. Not if I wanted what was ultimately the best for him -- to get his credits so he could graduate. I told him I was very proud of him for exhibiting the restraint that he did....the old Biggy would have blown his top far quicker and with far more collateral damage. The old Biggy WOULD have ended up in the Alternative High School....on the express train. THIS Biggy managed to keep his mouth shut long enough to avoid getting immediately shipped off. All we needed to do was make it through his "sentence"...boring though it would be...and then we could get on with the rest of the semester.

In order to help the time go a little faster while he was incarcerated....I would send a couple of my young adult novels with him, and write up that his "assignment" for my class was to read them, in their entirety. That way he would have a free pass for reading, which he loves to do, and get the time to fly by. He still wasn't jazzed about the 3-day idea...but the "reading assignment" idea made him grin just a little bit. (Cuz we'd be pulling one over on "The Man"....he'd get to have FUN while he was selling a little corner of his soul.)

He went into my storage room to get a handful of peppermints while I found the book he was reading last class. While he was in there, he decided to ditch his hoodie so he didn't have to carry it around with him.

When he came out, I got my first real look at his costume for the day.

He was wearing a pair of Dickie's coveralls. In khaki.

His response to my questionface?

"Well, Miss...I figured if I was going to jail, I should dress the part."

I couldn't help it, I laughed so hard that I cried!! The little punk KNEW when he got dressed this morning that he was going to give me what I wanted....and he made me work for it, anyway!!

The Bugg

Buggy called me on his way to gymnastics this afternoon. He asked me if I could get him the Financial Aid application and an application to an area university. (Did you hear me, my people?!?! University. NOT the technical school he was talking about a couple weeks ago. WOOOOT!!!)

What brought this about, you ask?

Apparently Buggy got hauled in to see the truancy officer today. (I TOLD him to get his mom to call and clear his Marine-induced absences from AUGUST.) While he was in there, she started talking to him about Life After High School. He told her he wanted to go to college, but needed to find scholarships, because he didn't want to take out loans. She told him about a program at an area university that'll give kids from low-income families a full ride. (Ahem: that would be Buggy.)

In case I ever doubted that the universe has a sense of humor....the following convinced me:

Buggy....the child who has been avoiding the "Buggy's College Application" file, which has been located in my filedrawer since OCTOBER ....and who is also the child who ONLY took the ACT & SAT because I threatened to do him bodily injury....said to me, in his superseriousvoice:

"Miss, can you check on those papers right away? I need to get my applications in by April...I gotta get this done. Don't forget, Miss. This is important. We don't have any time to waste."

Holy cannoli, Captain Obvious...where's your cape?
Never mind....lucky for you... your trusty sidekick is here to save the day.

~hasta

Stubborn Much?

2007-01-29T22:31:00.000-06:00

Stubborn males are going to be the death of me.

Biggy'sAP, although he has abandoned the idea of Alternative School for BigBro, is still dead set on several days of Maximum Security ISS.

Biggy, although he desperately wants to finish his diploma, is still dead set on NOT going to Maximum Security ISS.

Now, I get that Biggy needs to be held responsible for his lack of impulse control where ImageAP is concerned. I am totally with that. 100 per cent. But, is it worth Biggy'sAP forcing his hand and seeing if he'll actually drop out rather than go to 'lock-up'?

Wouldn't it be a far better option to have him do several days of Minimum-Security after he has had to apologize to ImageAP for 'fronting her out' at lunch? If we're looking for a consequence that gets it across to him that he should NOT do this again....it's going to have to inflict a certain amount of pain.

I know those boys.

Saying "I'm sorry" does not come easy to them. In fact, they'd rather endure physical pain than have to swallow their pride.

At this point, I've exhausted all of my influence with Biggy'sAP. He's not budging on his sentence.

Of course, Biggy doesn't know this yet.

How's that, you ask?

He didn't come to school today.

Enter the 3rd party in this Soiree' of Stubbornness....Ms. H.

Biggy is going to meet me at my room at 7 in the morning. (I made him promise...knowing full well that he'd rather walk in front of a bus and mess up that oh-so-pretty face than break his word.)

At that point, I'm going to break it to him that he's looking at 3 days of Max-Security.

And then I'm going to employ every trick in the book to get him to agree to it. Although I fully hope that he'll succumb to my "you've come too far to let this knock you out of the race" Gipper speech, I wouldn't bet the farm on it....

it may take...

Encouragement - You have matured so much since I first met you...I know you can do this.
Flattery - Your teachers think you walk on water...they want their star student back in class.
Support - I'll meet you at Starbucks to get you caught up on your work.
Coalition Building - Let's show your AP he's wrong. Let him think he's winning for assigning you there. We'll have the last laugh when you get that diploma.
Bribery - You go to schooljail for all 3 days...I'll finance a dinner out for you and your girlfriend.

and I'm going to roll in some Honesty for good measure:

"I have always regretted the fact that I gave up on you all those years ago. Right or wrong, I feel partly responsible for your dropping out. I know now that if I had just looked past your outward behavior, I would've seen that you were an incredibly-intelligent guy with an amazing heart...and if I had just pushed past your false bravado, I'd have been able to help you see the potential you had --as well as the person you already were.

"Although it was a painful lesson...it changed the way I teach. I have become very intentional about looking beneath the surface of the students who walk through my life. I've learned that a kid who tests me...who tries everything possible to make my life miserable so I'll kick them out of class....99% of the time really just needs somebody to get in the middle of their stuff and call them on their behavior. They need to be told, 'Whatever your issue is...whatever's causing you to be such a grande pain in the keister...it will not interfere with the learning in my classroom. Because I owe it to my students....all of my students -- especially you...to make sure that they get every minute's worth of learning they can. And I won't let anyone...especially you...get in the way of that learning. And, although it's what you desperately want, I'm definitely not going to kick you out of my class...you do me absolutely no good if you're in your AP's office or schooljail. I need you in class so I can get information into that head. But it will be under my rules...not yours. Comprende?

"You taught me that. And it has made the difference with so many students that I can't even begin to tell you. And I owe you big. So big I'm not sure I can ever repay you. I've tried......by reaching out to your brother when I saw him starting to make the same mistakes you had made....by helping him and Crazybrother with a myriad of things over the past year and a half...by trying to be the eyes and ears for your mom, so she won't have to worry if y'all are taking care of business while you're here....by planning my strategy to tutor the little guy so he can have a stronger foundation for junior high and high school than his bigs did...so that he won't have it near as rough as y'all did.

"As much as I've tried to pay it forward, I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that you came back to school. And although I am excited for you...I'm also elated that ...

I got my second chance with you.

In this life, we so rarely get second chances...that I'm going to fight for this one like I've never fought before. It's clear that your AP isn't going to back down...so we're just going to have to work around him. We'll play his game. We'll let him think he's won. But you and I will know he's only won this round. Because, from now until you graduate...you're going to be but a memory to him. He's going to sit in his office and think, "Hmmm. I wonder if BigBro is still enrolled here. I sure haven't seen him in my office." And then, he'll pull up your attendance...and it will be stellar. And he'll check your grades...and they'll be incredible. And then...he'll talk to your teachers...who will think he's crazy when he asks if they've had problems with you. Because you've become their favorite...the one that sets the tone in class. The academic, all-about-the-business, tone. And he'll have to go back to his office and count the days til he sees you again.

Which won't be until you cross the stage to shake his hand....with your diploma in the other hand.

That moment is how I will repay you for the change you've brought about in me. In my teaching. When you walk across that stage...I will feel a weight roll off my shoulders...for I will know that I didn't let you down a second time. That I didn't let you let yourself down a second time.

So here's where my stubbornness comes in, mijo. You're not going to rob me of my second chance...you're not going to get my hopes up like you have the past 5 weeks...only to crush them to dust. You think you're hardheaded? You think you're stubborn? Well, get ready, Mister...cause you've met your match...

...and she's going to be walking you to schooljail....immediamente!!"

~hasta

Reality

2007-01-28T21:16:00.000-06:00

The past coupla weeks went by in a fog. I spent a whole lot of non-work time sleeping....fighting yet another sinus/ear infection...and the rest of it daydreaming about the new house. I was marking time til Friday, so I could not only find out the Inspection Verdict, but also see inside the house again. And make sure it was what I remembered.

Because it occurred to me that I made a decision to bid my "fortune" on an object that I had actually only stepped foot in twice.

Unfortunately, life kept rudely intruding on my daydreaming time.

A week ago I spent the last few minutes of my conference period doing the Attendance Tour. This is where I wander through my kiddos' attendance on the computer...to make sure their keisters have been where they're supposed to be. I knew BigBro was absent that day (he had a nasto-riffic cold)....so I started with Buggy.

That's as far as I got.

When I pulled up his attendance....and saw that he had been suspended for the afternoon....and would be in schooljail for the next few days.....wooooooooooweeeeeeeeeee was MamaH PISSED!!!! I just knew his hot little temper had gotten him into a fight. Maddeningly, I couldn't go talk to his AP because the next class was on their way in.

CoTeach got there, and we got the kiddos going on SSR. SkipperDude actually showed up for class....and then decided to lie to me about where he had been. He told me his AP had said he couldn't return until he showed proof of address. I called him on this, his most recent, lie. (Seeee, I had seen him in the hall several times over those days.) He apparently forgot how life rolls in Ms.H's Universe....because he decided he didn't have to do a bloody thing CoTeach and I wanted him to do. He got louder and louder....and I got madder and madder. Finally, I sent him to the hall. And followed him with a referrral. (CoTeach smiled. She was tired of him, too.)

Now, I realize -- and acknowledge -- that a lot of my willingness to fuss at him and actually write him up and send him to PissyAP (the one who yelled in my face last spring) was because I was transferring my anger and frustration from Buggy to SkipperDude. I'm not saying SkipperDude didn't deserve getting kicked out and written up and personally escorted to PissyAP's office. Nooooo, he's deserved that for a long damn time. But usually I had a surfeit of patience....that usually outweighed my desire to actually deal with PissyAP.

After walking SkipperDude to the otherdamnside of Uberschool, I took a small detour by SavvyAP's office. She didn't even have to ask why I was there...she just handed me the referral.

Thankfully, it wasn't for fighting.

But it was still stupid. Buggy got sideways with the sub in Hellion's class....and then...no more than 30 minutes later...got sideways with ImageAP. The bad news is that ImageAP doesn't like to "lose face" in front of students....of which there were a ton milling about during their lunchtime. The even worse news is that Buggy, although an intelligent kiddo, doesn't like to lose either. And his stubbornness quickly squashes any semi-rational thought that might have a prayer of getting him to Shut. Up.

Buggy got hauled into SavvyAPs office by BountyHunterSub (who had a long talk with him along the way -- THANK GOD for BountyHunterSub) When ImageAP got there, she promptly demanded Buggy's Puertorican head on a platter. She was irate. (I can totally sympathize with her...I've run up against the BuggTemper a time or two. It's not a happy time.) She listed her demands for Buggy's drawing&quartering and left the office in a snit.

Thankfully, SavvyAP could see that Buggy was having a SuperduperBad Day. She talked him off the ledge and suspended him for the last two periods of the day....with minimum-security schooljail for a couple days the next week.

That afternoon of insanity actually served as the catalyst for the Buggy Breakthrough. His talk with BountyHunterSub and SavvyAP apparently gave him lots of food for thought....which turned his nasty little attitude around. Thank goodness.

Fastforward one week.

I'm sitting in my speech class....watching them do vocabulary....when Buggy BoUnCeS in (a la' Tigger). BigBro is following him, with a superstormy face.

Buggy: Miss! Check his attendance...like you did mine...check his attendance!
Me: Biggy...what happened?
BigBro: Mannnnnnn, I hate that woman.
Buggy: Miss...check it. Check it!
Me: SuperSnitch...chill out. What are you, the paid informant? Biggy...spill.

Biggy proceeds to tell me that he was at lunch when an AP asked him to see his ID. (They're supposed to be visible ALL the time.) He pulled it from his jacketsleeve...and showed it to her.

He then put it back in his sleeve.

The AP told him it needed to be visible...he asked why, since she had just seen it. After repeating this a coupla times, the AP told him to come with her. He asked why. She started counting.

Counting.

Biggy thought this was ridiculous...so when she said "Four" he said "five, six, seven, eight. Damnnnn miss...what?!?!?"

At that...Biggy's AP was called to escort him to the office. (Reader's Note: He has the same AP Buggy had last year.)

All Biggy's AP knew was that Biggy used profanity toward the other AP....and suspended Biggy for the rest of that day and the next....and told him he'd be going to MaximumSecuritySchoolJail OR to the alternative school on Monday.

Any guesses as to which AP Biggy got sideways with?

Yep. ImageAP.

Unfortunately, Biggy's AP doesn't have the objectivity toward ImageAP that SavvyAP does. What he does have is a very vivid memory of Buggy's Antics over the previous two years....which results in a very low tolerance for any of the BuggBrothers.

I went to talk to Biggy's AP....to try to convince him that sending Biggy to alternative school would be counterproductive to all of the hardwork Biggy has done over the past 4 weeks. He was hearing none of it. He was convinced that ImageAP was right...and Biggy cussed her out...and I am incredibly naive about my boys and think they can do no wrong.

I'm not. I am quite aware of the fact that they have tempers...tempers which turn them into little shits when they're being confronted. I'm also aware that they know how to be respectful...and will be respectful when confronted in a respectful way. When they're confronted rudely, it's like dropping a match into a vat of gasoline.

I talked to Biggy Friday afternoon. He says it's stupid to send him to MaximumSecuritySchoolJail OR to the alternative school over his i.d. And he won't go.

I told him, "You know what's even stupid-er? You dropping out over an i.d. If you do, ImageAP wins. I don't want her to win. I want to watch you graduate and smile my smug little smile at her AND AppraiserAP (yep, he's my evaluator) and let them know they were wrong about you. That way, you and I both win."

Tomorrow's his sentencing. We'll see what the verdict is.

~hasta

El Casita

2007-01-23T22:41:00.000-06:00

My realtor called me this evening with the report on the foundation. A guy came out to look at it & measure it. He said it looks in really good shape -- it hasn't shifted noticeably, etc. The one potential issue is that I might have to put piers under the garage in a year or so....but that's minor compared to having to do them under the entire house. (Which has already been done/paid for by someone else.)

My inspection is scheduled for Friday....and I've gotten the go-ahead from SavvyAP (Buggy's AP) to take the day off. They usually frown on teachers missing Friday and/or Monday...but she said this was a good reason. *Grin*

It looks like the house may be a go. The only thing that could spell trouble would be that Mr. Termite has hosted a marathon family reunion within the walls of my future-abode-to-be. Other than that, the house looks pretty solid. My financing is a go...MortgageDude is floating the rate for a couple days to see if rates are going to go down before we lock it in -- but there's no huge risk of the rates going up.

My current dilemma involves when I should turn in my 30 day notice to my apartment complex. RealtyGuru says that closing is on the 13th....and it seems pretty solid, considering the bank is READY to offload this house. I've heard so many horror stories of closing dates getting pushed back, that I'm tempted to wait until i have the keys in my hand before I turn in my notice. (and pay the reletting fee)....

BUT

it sure would be nice to NOT pay rent for March and get a little caught up financially before my mortgage payment starts in April.

I guess I'll wait to see what the inspection shows on Friday. My inspector is a nit-picky dude...who takes/prints out pictures with his reports. I will have a verrrry thorough idea of everything that is wrong with the house by Friday afternoon.

stay tuned....

~hasta

Maybe the H is for House

2007-01-22T19:22:00.000-06:00

I found out today that the seller's bank ....

ACCEPTED MY OFFER!!!!

If everything works out well with the inspection on Friday, I could be closing on my house February 13th.

This time next month...I could actually be a house-dweller, and a mortgage-payer.

Holy schniekies.

I gotta go lie down.

~hasta

Holding Pattern

2007-01-20T23:43:00.000-06:00

I am still waiting on The Verdict from the seller's bank as to whether or not they're going to accept my offer. According to my realtor, the seller's agent said it looks like the bank is going to accept it. So I'm trying to wait patiently. When I made my offer, I told my realtor that I wasn't going to play the negotiation game. If they accepted my offer, great. If not, there were other houses out there. Although I hope I don't have to walk away from this house before we even get to the inspection stage, I'll do it if I need to.

I met with my mortgage broker the other day...and we're good to go as soon as the bank executes the contract. Although I'm having to come up with the closing costs for this house, it looks like I'm going to get a pretty manageable house payment. (Don't fret: it's not my mortgage broker who's making me pay the closing costs...it's the seller's bank. They've said absolutely no closing cost contribution.) By the way, I'm learning a ton about what goes into buying a house that's about to go into foreclosure...you get a great deal, but you don't have a lot of leverage for making demands.

Luckily, this house is in pretty good shape. (Barring any surprises during the inspection, of course.) It's not going to need a ton of work prior to my moving in. This is GREAT news -- because the spring semester of Junior English is IN-sane. I'm going to be doing good to get packed and moved....much less do a bunch of MizzFixIt projects.

I am going to need to put in a front yard. Right now, it's dirt-land. I'm not worried about all the work it's going to take. I figure I've got a couple of teenage males who will be jumping at the chance to show their gratitude for my dragging their keisters allllll the way to graduation.

And if they even think about just saying no?

I'm quite sure their girlfriends will be verrrry instrumental in convincing them to donate their time.

-hasta

BigBro Weighs In

2007-01-20T23:09:00.000-06:00

When I talked with BigBro's counselor about which of my classes to put him in....my first choice was my 4th period. I love that class! They're a scream! I figured he'd meld right in, and respond well to the light-hearted/yet hard-working atmosphere.

My second choice was my 2nd period....but it wasn't for completely altruistic reasons.

See, I have a couple of guys in that class who think they're Funny, and that they have a Free Pass to talk as much as they want to. They're wrong on both counts. Only because they're both relatively smart are they able to dodge office referrals and know when to shut up.

I was hopeful that, if BigBro ended up in that class, he would eventually exert some positive peer pressure and get them to put a kibosh on the shenanigans.

Last week, my wish was granted.

I was putting prompts from Bernabei's Lightning cd on the document camera to get the kids to make the connection between prompts & visual images. Without fail, each and every time I put up a picture that had an Anglo female in it...either IdiotTwin1 or IdiotTwin2 would say, "Miss? Is that you?" And, without fail, each and every time, I would respond, "No."

Eventually, we got to a picture of 2 little girls standing in their treehouse.
IdiotTwin1: Miss, is that you?
Me: No.
IT1: Are you sure?
Me: Positive.
IdiotTwin2: Is it your cousin?
Me: No.
IT2: Do you know them?
Me: No, I don't.
IT2: Are you sure?
Me: Yes, I'm sure. Here's a newsflash...just because I'm white, that does not mean I know ALL of the white people in the world!!
IT2: Are you sure? Because that shorter girl could be you...she's dark, but she looks like you...are you sure you don't know her?
Me: Nice, IT2, real nice. You DO realize, don't you, that white people...although we're somewhat melanin challenged...can get tans, right??
IT1: Miss, are you sure you're white? You might be mixed. Are you mixed?
Me: No. I am not mixed.
IT1: Are you sure?
Me: Quite...can we get back to work, please?
IT2: You know, Miss. You could be Puertorican. Are you Puertorican?
(at this, I notice BigBro sit a little taller in his chair...)
Me: No, I am not Puertorican.

IT2 continued mumbling under his breath to IT1...using the word "Puertorican" repeatedly.
I moved toward the document camera to put the next prompt up...ignoring the IdiotTwins.

IT2: (getting annoyed that I was ignoring him...increased his volume) "blahblahblah Puertorican..."

Apparently, BigBro had had enough...and chimed in from the far corner of the room.

BigBro: Mannnnn, you better chill out with the Puertorican stuff...seriously.
IT2: What's your problem?
BigBro: (with his laserbeam eyeballs locked on IT2) I don't have a problem. I'm Puertorican. Do you have a problem?

Their response?

Total and absolute silence.

Crickets...we heard crickets.

To borrow the words of the leader of the infamous A-Team leader, Colonel "Hannibal" Smith:
I LOVE it when a plan comes together!

A Bugg Breakthrough

2007-01-18T22:04:00.000-06:00

I spent a considerable amount of time today talking with The Bugg. Apparently, our text-convo the other night cleared out his secrets and issues he'd been keeping....and he was willing and ready to discuss things.

Glory Be...the Bugg is back!

For the record, I was right. His recruiter had done a number on his head....had him thinking he wasn't totally out of the Marine DEP, and was still obligated to go on July 10. So, Bugg had himself convinced he needed to make peace with going...whether he wanted to or not. It took a little convincing/arguing on my part to get him to understand that the ROTC commander had said he was officially out. When I finally got that through that thick skull, he said, "Oh. Okay. I guess I'm going to college then."

HALLELUJAHHH!!!

And here's another cool part....he's wanting to go to technical school to learn how to fix cars. I think he thought I'd be upset he didn't want to go to a traditional 4-year university. Not so...I am all about him doing whatever he wants, as long as he's going to be happy.

And safe.

And free from bullet holes.

I think he about fell out of his tree when I said, "Sweet! I'll be getting my cars fixed...for life...for free!!!"

The response?

A big ole Buggy-grin.

~hasta

Wintry Mix

2007-01-17T07:46:00.000-06:00

When I turned on the radio this morning, Tony & Cappy were talking about their slip-sliding drive into work. I was confused...I thought maybe they were replaying Monday's show.

I went to peer out the window....

Apparently, Mr. Wintry Mix came to visit the Metroplex overnight. Snow is actually falling outside...and every now and then? There's some sleet thrown in for good measure.

I sat on the couch, watching the Winter Blast coverage on NBC5i, and actively grousing about our guest's visit via telephone with TeacherFriendHellion .....until...

Uberschool's district crawled across the screen, with those bee-yoo-tee-mus words following closely thereafter:

...CLOSED WEDNESDAY.

Now? Mr. Wintry Mix? He is my friend and I am soooooooooo glad he came to visit!!

WOOP!!

I am in a weee bit of trouble though. Due to the onset of the Headache From Hell, I didn't bring anything home with me to grade last night. This would be a good thing, except progress report grades are due Friday. Crrrrrrrrrrap.

Seeing as how there's abso-damn-lutely nothing I can do about it...I'm going to pull a Scarlett O'Hara and worry about it tomorrow.

Fiddle-dee-dee!

~hasta

It sure FEELS like a Monday!

2007-01-16T19:31:00.000-06:00

I don't know why I get so jazzed about long weekends....they're a pain in the butt to recover from!! I have to spend an inordinate amount of time re-training my chillrun on their routines. Aiy YI YI!

Once my 2nd period English class got settled in (translated: once I had to fuss at them for being ELEVENTH graders and not knowing how to sit down and shut up when the bell rang) we had a pretty good class. We did some of Gretchen Bernabei's writing stuff....and they responded very well to it. If you're a Texas ELA teacher and have not heard anything about her....you're missing out!! She has a website, www.trailofbreadcrumbs.com, and her books are fantastic!!

My 3rd period speech class were spooky-quiet. I'm not complaining....oh no! not me!! It's such a nice switch from last semester's thugs&disharmony class -- I think I could get used to this!

After school, I talked with the realty company. They're going to send out a structural engineer to check 'my' house while we're waiting on the nod from the bank. The house has foundation damage, and has been repaired, but I want to know if it's structurally sound before I decide to go out on a limb. So, they agreed to send a guy out to check the house (free of charge to me) and to have him look over the reports from the foundation-repair company. Keep your fingers crossed!!

Probably the most shocking thing of all today is this....I had a rather lengthy text-message conversation with Buggy. Granted, I would've preferred a face-to-face chat....but I'll take what I can get.

The recap:

the Marine vs. College thing (him: still thinking, me:supportive)
his recruiter (him: neutral, me: "he's shady")
his current state of mind & the fact I've been worried about him (him: "I'm okay", me: worried)
his dodging me (him: "not dodging", me: "bull-puckey!")
his strong influence on BigBro returning to school: (him: "if you say so", me: "just ask him!")
whether or not he's mad at me (him: no, me: relieved)

I feel a lot better about things...well, things with Buggy, anyhow.

I've got a super-duper-grande-headache ...the kind that doesn't bode well for my sinuses...and am going to go to bed.

~hasta

H-Time

2007-01-14T22:27:00.000-06:00

I've spent the better part of the past three days hanging out in my house. It's been GREAT. I should've been getting a LOT more done interms of grading and such...but I haven't.

I'm currently in a holding pattern on the house. I'm waiting for word from the bank to find out if they are going to accept my offer. If they do, then I can move ahead with the inspection process....and see if it's going to be a viable investment. I am still willing to walk away from this house if it's going to turn into a remake of The Money Pit.

I'm also in a holding pattern where Buggy is concerned. I'm still not sure what's going on in his head lately...and who knows if he's going to wander by and clue me in. I'm beginning to feel like I'm living one of those movies where the protagonist tries to calm the wild horse....and only by concentrating verrrrrrrry hard on not paying the horse any attention whatsoever, is she able to get the horse to come anywhere close to her. I wish I were that patient....and I'm trying.

And yes, I realize that my Long-time Readers are recognizing the recurrence of this Buggy-Off-The-Radar theme. I flipped back through the archives last night...and was mildly reassured by the fact that he eventually came around...and things were pretty much back to normal between he and I. Of course, he also managed to get himself signed up with the Marines while he was off the radar....so I'm not totally reassured by the quality of his decision-making skills when he's flying solo.

But, then again, he is a teenage boy.

They really should come with warning labels. Don't ya think?

~hasta

Acceptance!

2007-01-12T22:42:00.000-06:00

I found out today riiiight after school that ....

my offer on the house was ACCEPTED!!!

WOOP!!

Now....I just have to wait for the bank to approve it. (Since it is about to go to foreclosure, the bank gets to make the final decision on accepting my offer.)

Let's hope for a quick decision...shall we?

~~~

In other news...

I spoke with Buggy's mom today. She told me she thinks Buggy may be off the Marine-kick now. That makes me feel a lot better -- let's just hope it's true.

~~~
All the excitement today has left me exhausted. I gotta go to bed.

~hasta

Caving

2007-01-11T22:42:00.000-06:00

I broke down...gave in....caved....folded like a cot.

I went to the meet with Novia.

Buggy did really well....I think. Ironically, I was so exhausted -- and preoccupied with house stuff -- that I don't remember much about his routines. I even contemplated leaving early so I could come home and crash....but Novia's purse was in my car, so I couldn't.

I stuck around long enough to congratulate him, and walk out with them so she could grab her stuff....and then I headed for the casa. I got half-way home before I realized that I didn't say goodbye to him. (He had lagged behind to talk to his Coach.)

Oh well.

On a more upbeat note....I put a bid on the house today!! I'm pretty excited about it, and I hope it works out. However, I keep telling myself that if it doesn't work out, there are other houses out there.

But wow it sure would be nice to live closer to work.

Keep your fingers crossed!

~hasta

Momentous Moments

2007-01-10T21:46:00.000-06:00

MM1: I decided to place an offer on the house.
MM2: I decided to NOT let my heart attached to the house until I have the keys in my hand.
MM3: BigBro told me that Buggy is reconsidering the Marines.
MM4: BigBro and I are on the same page about Buggy needing to NOT do the Marines unless he is fully informed about college being a viable option.
MM5: BigBro said I could tell Buggy that I know....and that BigBro told me.
MM6: When I asked if he cared if Buggy got mad at him, he snorted and said, "Corner him, Miss. Line him out."
MM7: Talked to the ROTC Commander about my issues with RecruiterDude. It turns out they've had to talk to RecruiterDude before....apparently Buggy isn't the first one he's pursued so relentlessly...with so little consideration for "Truth in Advertising". The Commander is going to talk to RecruiterDude's commanding officer.
MM8: He told me I was 100% correct about the process Buggy & I used to get him out of the DEP.
MM9: The Commander thanked me for being a concerned and involved teacher. *grin*
MM10: I spent a fair amount of time this evening in house-purchasing pursuits. After a meeting with my new mortgage broker (whom I felt REALLY at peace with)...I came home and discussed my contract with my realtor. !!!!!!!!
MM11: I talked to Novia about today's various conversations about Buggy & the Marines. She was relieved that BigBro told me....she had no idea that he had told anyone else about it over the past week & a half. We're plotting our next strategy.

Sidenote: I'm contemplating caving and attending the meet tomorrow night. Novia told me, "Miss, you know that once you get there...he'll get over this attitude and be glad you're there." I don't know what to do....I want to shake his little tree, but I don't want to miss out on a meet. What to do...what to do...?

Word(s) of the Day: Cautiously Optimistic

2007-01-09T22:30:00.000-06:00

Although I'm being very careful to keep from getting overly attached to it, I'm about to make an offer on a house. The realtor is checking on a couple of things in terms of the value of the house....and we're seeing how much wiggle room the bank is going to give us. See, the house is about a month away from being foreclosed on, so the bank is trying to recoup as much money as possible prior to that. Hopefully, that'll work out in my favor. :) (Cautiously optimistic.)

I'm now on my second mortgage broker. A few days after meeting with the first one (and signing all the paperwork), I was talking with a coworker who had recently purchased a house. I was telling her about some of the particulars of my interactions with MB1..and how I wasn't convinced everything was a-ok...and she was concerned. Very concerned. She urged me to talk to her guy....if for nothing else than advice. I called him and shared my little tale. He was concerned as well..so after talking through the process --as-it-should-have-been -- he offered to run my info, and see what he could do. (Cautiously optimistic.)

When I got the paperwork the next day....he quoted me a MUCH lower interest rate, and is completely comfortable with the idea of talking with my father or my mortgage-broker-cousin to answer any questions they have. I'm pretty reassured about the fact that he doesn't feel he has anything to hide. He has been fantastic. Much love for MB2!!! (Cautiously optimistic.)

~~~~~

On the kiddo front, so far this semester Buggy, CrazyBrother, AND BigBrother all have perfect attendance. They've been taking care of business so far....let's hope it continues. (Again, cautiously optimistic.)

When I snagged BigBro after class today to show him his attendance screen....and the fact that there was no "Activity" on it...and to tell him how proud I was of him....I got a huge grin in response.

BigBro: "Miss, I'm doing it, huh? And you know? I'm even kinda enjoying it -- it's easy this time."
Me: "You most certainly are. I think you've got the right motivation this time...the kind that comes from inside. That's going to make the difference."
BigBro: "I think so, too, Miss. Thanks."

I had the kids brainstorm a list of potential essay starters the other day. There were question-stems such as "Experiences that have shaped you, Memories to save, Memories to delete, etc." We took one of the "Memories to Save" and turned it into a mini-essay...added details...and turned it into a very rough draft for a TAKS essay. I brought them home to read this weekend. Some of them were verrry good.

As I flipped through BigBro's paper to get to the essay, I stopped briefly on his list. As I read through it, I realized --once again-- just how thrilled I am that he's trying to get back on track by getting back in school. When I got to the "Favorite Person" entry, I had to read it several times before it dawned on me that I wasn't hallucinating...and BigBro is not someone who says stuff he doesn't mean....and before the tears would clear....

He wrote, "Ms. H."

~hasta

Worn Out

2007-01-08T21:23:00.000-06:00

I'm tiiiired.

I spent the day out of my classroom....at a staff development for technology stuff. It was pretty cool stuff...but of course I ended up with the Information-Overload Headache. Then I ran back to school to pick up my teenage-carpool-partner to run back across town to the realtor's office. ....One of my students from last semester had to move in with her aunt to get out of drama at home....the aunt lives by me and works in the Far North part of the Metroplex...so I've offered to help by giving her a ride to and from school. When I talked with the aunt last night about the departure/arrival schedule today, she mentioned she could leave work early to go pick her up. I told her that that wasn't necessary...I was going to look at houses with my realtor, so if she didn't mind Mija going with me, I could just bring her home with me when I came. She wholeheartedly agreed. :)

Mija's a great kid. She reminds me a lot of my cousin's daughter, Amanda. They're actually the same age, and have that verrrry determined air about them. I am so glad she's out of the situation at home, if we can get her through the next 4 months til she graduates....life will be so incredibly different. (She's been so committed to getting out of the craziness, that she's actually graduating an entire year early.)

She was a great sport about the seemingly endless parade of houses we saw today. She was good at finding the weird things about the houses....as well as locating the barking dogs in the vicinity. (Yeah, she found the pit/rott mix-neighbor-dog who was coming THROUGH THE FENCE with his forceful barking....the fence that was located right outside the MASTER BEDROOM WINDOW!!) Good eye, Mija!

After the parade of homes, we voyaged toward the homesteads to call it a night. We'll do it all again tomorrow...minus the staff development and the house hunting, of course.

Speaking of calling it a night....I gotta go to bed. I am worn out.

~Hasta

Peace

2007-01-08T05:37:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I'm a little slow.

Lately, I've let the whole mess with Buggy get to me...knowing full well I need to just hand it over to God, have faith that He will work out His plan, and let go.

I did okay with handing it over.

But "having faith" and "letting go"....?

Yeah...I was having trouble "mastering the concept".

Yesterday morning's worship service?

My own personal tutoring session.

Somewhat painful...but very, very effective.

So....this is what peace feels like....

Space, pt. 2

2007-01-06T20:36:00.000-06:00

Novia called me this morning....asked if I wanted to come hang out with her during her break.

I did.

It was a very informative meal.

*Found out she's not upset about my decision to skip the meet. She understands my reasons.

*As it turns out, it's going to be a home meet...so I'm quite positive my absence will be noticed by the coaches. (I haven't missed a home meet in a year.) The coaches, I'm sure, will ask Buggy where Ms. H is. ha!

*Got the scoop on Buggy's reactions...
---On my early-morning text message:
"Mannnn, she only sent that because she knew I'd read it."

---On my non-attention in the AP's office:
Buggy: "She came in and didn't even talk to me. That's messed up."
Novia: "Well, that's cuz you're being mean to her. Who could blame her!"
Buggy: "Whatever."

Seeee, this is what Buggy doesn't get. This I-Can-Ignore-You game he's playing?

I invented it.

Looooooong before he was born.

I told Novia, "You know, Buggy needs to figure out what he wants. If he wants space from me, then he better be okay with me giving him space ALL the time. If he wants things back like they were....with me in his corner...then he needs to realize that comes with an obligation on his part to PARTICIPATE in conversations with me. The next time I initiate a conversation will be only because he has willingly entered my universe....to show me that he GETS that life is not always going to function on his terms."

Novia's response: a grin, and "That may be the only thing that does it, Miss!"

LOVE HER!!

Space

2007-01-05T21:51:00.000-06:00

I'm positive this will not come as a surprise to anyone....but I am not good at handling the feeling of powerlessness. I am so used to knowing exactly what needs to be done, and doing it. With very few roadblocks in my way.

Buggy's definitely putting me through my paces in learning what powerlessness feels like. He is very, very efficient at putting distance between us when he wants to. Because Uberschool is frickin' huge, it is quite simple for him to avoid my classroom with very little effort. And, as was evidenced yesterday, even when he does show up in my atmosphere (but only because his brother forgot his i.d. at home, and needed Buggy to drop it off).....he's a master at creating an emotional distance by throwing up some nuclear-blast-proof walls. ~~~~
Novia called me last night. She and Buggy had talked about his meet next week...and whether or not she was going. She told him she was going with me. He didn't like that idea...and wanted her to take her car. (That would be the one that isn't drive-able yet.) She said she wasn't sure she could make it to the away meet without getting lost. He said she could follow the bus. She told him she was going to ride with me.

Apparently he wasn't happy about that. (Maybe it's because he was already nervous b/c she had told him I gave her a ride to work earlier that afternoon....and he's trying to reduce the chance that she'll "spill" his secret.) But she's hard-headed and said she'd made up her mind.

Although I know it's because he's going through stuff and isn't good at trusting people enough to open up to them.....it still hurt to think that he was so intent on my not going to the meet. My knee-jerk reaction was to announce my boycot of all-things gymnastic, but I held back, because I knew it was just my emotions running high.

So I went to bed, prayed about it, cried a little bit about it, and slept on it. When I woke up this morning, I felt at peace with the decision. So I sent her a text message on the way to school, telling her that I was going to give him space (b/c clearly he doesn't want me around right now) and was going to opt out of the meet next week. I told her I have some househunting stuff I need to take care of....so it's probably for the best.

Even before I sent the text message....I knew, with about 90% certainty, that she probably wasn't going to have her phone this morning. That Buggy would. And that he would read the message long before she saw it later in the afternoon. And yes, I sent it anyway.

Sometimes, one has to find creative ways to scale walls.

And I reinforced the message by being completely businesslike when I saw him in the APs office today.

You want space, buddy?

Remember the saying, "Be careful what you wish for....you just might get it." ?!?!

I haven't heard from her yet today....but when I do, I am almost positive that she is going to totally understand why I made the decision I did....and why I 'notified' her like I did. Because, although yes I am backing out on our plans to go to the meet, I know that she knows that subtlety doesn't always work to get the Bugg's attention. Sometimes you have to launch a earth-scorching missile --- deep into enemy territory...to get even a glimmer of a reaction.

And Ms. H willingly missing a gymnastics meet? As well as an opportunity to spend some 1-1 time with Novia, one of her kiddos?

WMD, baby.

And yes, it does smack of passive-aggressive-ness. But you know what? I'm peachykeen-a-okay with that, if that's what it takes to get him to WAKE THE HELL UP and COME TALK TO ME about this RE-JOINING-THE-MARINES B.S.

~hasta

Instinct

2007-01-04T22:53:00.000-06:00

I KNEW IT.

I knew there was a reason the little putz was dodgin' me. Apparently he's been "trippin'"...his word, not mine. (He even apologized for the whole yelling/hanging up incident.) He didn't want to talk about what he was actually trippin' about...that would have been too easy.

Novia filled me in.

Come to find out, he's reconsidering going into the Marines.

Mr. Recruiter has been back in the picture, and has been singing the following songs:
You're not really out of the Marines yet....AND....There's nothing here in this town for you after graduation...... AND.....College is too expensive. You'll never be able to pay for it unless you do the Marines first.

WTF!!!:?!?!?!

My heart just hurts. First of all, I can't stand people that twist the truth, and don't paint a balanced picture...so people can make an informed decision. Add that to the fact that it kills me to see Mr. Recruiter feed on Buggy's insecurities as well as his worries about money -- and parlay that into another notch in his commission belt. I'm sure there are honest, ethical recruiters out there....(if they're reading this, I could sure use some advice seriously-email me)....but this one? Not so much.

Not to mention the fact that Buggy is not talking to anyone who could help him make a logical decision....his mom, me, his military-veteran friends, his other teachers, his counselor....NOBODY.

And the bitch of it all?

I can't mention word one about it to him....because Novia asked me not to. And I promised her I wouldn't. I don't want him to flip out on her because she told me. Because if he thinks he can't talk to her about this kind of stuff....he's going to talk to NO ONE. (And his making these decisions on his own? Not a good idea AT ALL.)

I know this is where Prayer comes in. And Faith. But....holy cannoli!! I've been talking to God about him already....and I know I need to have faith that it'll work out as it's supposed to....but I seriously don't wait well.

And that's my absolute only option at this point.

Dios mio...ayudeme.

State of The H

2007-01-01T22:30:00.000-06:00

I spent some time this morning evaluating 2006. Because I think better with a pen in my hand, I jotted down the thoughts as they zipped across the brain.

stuck to an exercise plan
lost 40 pounds/and 3.5 jean sizes
turned fat into muscle
got smarter with finances
started the process to purchase a house
found a church home that feeds my soul
received strength & confirmation From Above for personal struggles
worked on finding balance in emotions, time commitments, energy
tried to be more expressive, appreciative, and patient with family & friends
donated time & money to help where/when I could
became more honest about feelings
tried not to take everything so personal
worked on taming temper
improved my classroom management
tried to let go/delegate to pare down my time commitments (Stress level)
tried to manage stress by focusing on what really matters
became more heart-felt in my interactions with my students
decided to put finding an admin job officially...indefinitely...on hold

Basically, I just feel more comfortable in my own skin. I feel like I'm finally getting a handle on some things that I've struggled with for a while. And....although not every single aspect of my life is peachy-keen perfect, I'm pretty content with how things are going.

I figure that's a pretty good starting place for 2007, don't you?

Unbelievable

2006-12-30T23:31:00.000-06:00

Today, something happened in my world, and I'm in shock.

This has never happened before. Ever.

I went allllllllll day without turning on the tv.

All day long.

Not even once.

I think hell might be freezing over.

Get out your ice-skates.

-hasta