Hitchhiker's guide Quiz

I got 10 of 10. Thank you very much.

It's been a long week. I almost made it all the way through without opening up the proverbial can of whoop-ass on my boss. To make a long story short he criticized me for my method of rewarding a group of children by allowing them to have lunch with me in the lounge, instead of in the classroom with the rest of the children.

Now, I was raised on that reward system. So, I kindly explained (okay maybe it wasn't so kind) that I obviously don't know what I'm doing as a teacher, and that my four years of college have failed me. Thus, I informed him that he will be in my classroom Monday morning so that he can explain to me exactly HOW he would like me to run the classroom. Because heaven knows I've tried everything, from giving stickers, to earning stars the children can trade in for school supplies, to giving certificates, to making phone calls to parents pleading that they praise their children.

If I can't reward children who behave, or discipline children who do not, I guess I'll just let them run about like wild indians. Of course, then he'll have something to say about that too.

But what do I know? I just spent $100,000 and four years of my life in a private college known for turning out the best teachers in the state. I hate being criticized for breaking the mold. If it's not the same boring, routine rules they've followed for the last century, then it is hands down not an acceptable practice.

When the children in my class walk away at the end of the year, I don't want them to go only with the knowledge that they've gained through the year. I want them to leave with an unquenchable desire to learn everything they can, and love doing it at the same time. I have three-year-olds counting well past 100. Some of them are already reading and writing small words. And they're CREATIVE. They paint windows, color the floors, lay under the table and draw pictures pretending they're Michelangelo working on the Sistine Chapel. They play instruments as loud as they can and sing at the top of their lungs until their little hearts are content.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming to know everything or saying that I'm the greatest teacher to walk the face of the Earth. But if you're going to come to me with a complaint on my methods, you better have a legitimate reason for saying so.

Sometimes, you just can't win for losing.

Sunday Sunday... what's to say about Sunday? Not a whole lot currently. So far I've managed to read for a few hours, flip through the channels and confirm the fact that there is nothing on tv (at least until 3pm or so when the Mets game airs), work out, shower, and paint my nails. I'm on a roll and the day's just half over.

Do you know where I'll be 2 weeks from right now? That's right... Sunshiny, tropical, WARM, Florida. Where, upon arriving, I will buy my dad a new computer (with his credit card, of course), so that my tech support responsibilities will be lessened, as will his stress level. What to do with the old computer? Reformat. Reformat. Reformat. Then I'll set it up in the living room, run cable from the router, and just like magic, the family will no longer have to fight over one machine.

Things to look forward to on the trip, other than the obvious seeing the family. I'm sure there will be friends to catch up with, trips to the beach, trips to the springs, spoiling my godson beyond the point of no return, spoiling my siblings beyond the point of no return, the list goes on and on.

10 work days left, and counting!

You miss one day at work, and everything you've worked weeks to put into motion completely falls through the cracks... in one day! Who else has experienced this? I know I'm not the only one.

Thanks to mother nature's wonderful fluctuation in temperatures this time of year, I was sick Monday, and stayed home from work. I return on Tuesday to a FUBARed mess. The circus trip we'd planned for a month was being cancelled. Who is to blame? The boss, of course.

One of my assistants was to pick up the tickets for the children and their chaperones Friday afternoon. However, after I left work Friday afternoon, the boss told her to wait on two children who'd not turned in their money yet. To make a long story short, we lost our reservations. Instead of saying "I'm sorry, but you didn't have your money in on time, so your child can't go with the class", the boss says wait, and now the trip is a wash.

But the idea that angers me most, is that the boss attempted to push the blame off on the three teachers in my classroom. Then had the nerve to tell me to think positively and stop ranting while he and his assistant tried to rectify the situation. So, he saw the angry side of me; the side that only shines through when my extremely high tolerance for stress and aggravation is destroyed. Boss or not, I wasn't being pinned for this screw up.

I told him in no uncertain terms that he was taking blame, and that he would be dealing with the angry parents (who by the way forked over a total of $430 just for tickets... that's not including spending money). I also let him know that he would be explaining to my room full of 3 and 4-year-olds why they wouldn't be attending the circus. Let's not forget to mention that the babies had been counting down the days for two weeks.. we had a pull-away calendar and everything.

But no matter what he says to them, they're still going to look to me and wonder why they can't go now. Oh, but it's ok.. he's going to give them cake and ice cream to make up for it all. Big stinking deal.

Elephants, lions, acrobats VS. cake and ice cream. Gee.. this will be a hard choice.

When Friday comes and I can't say "Let's go see the elephants!" there are going to be some very upset babies, and a set of very frustrated teachers on that man's hands. Hopefully he's learned that passive Ms. Smith has her limits, and heaven help him once those limits are breached.

I have a new bracelet. Hematite. The stone itself is said to not only have healing power, but to be a "lesson stone". It shields the wearer from the negativity of others, but if the ill feelings are coming from the wearer itself, beware, because it will double the misery. Shiny black stones.. mmm.

The Empire State Building is blue this evening...! (For those of you visiting from E301, I apologize for the double posting of the same picture, but I have an excuse. It's BLUE! HELLO!)

I'm waiting on Friday night to get here, so I can sleep in Saturday morning. It's only Tuesday. Such a shame. I'll be going to Florida in a few weeks for a visit with the family. I'm flying in on Mother's Day, which was not planned, but pleased my mom nonetheless.

It will be three fun-filled weeks of sunshine, warm weather, beaches, amusement parks, sunburns, misquito bites, alligator sightings, sandal wearing, bathing suit flaunting, rope swing diving, sibling and godson spoiling enjoyment. You can't beat that with a stick. 3 weeks 5 days, and counting.

So, I had written a very nice post with many many link about all of the wonderful things I bought this weekend, including a movie, a cd, and tons of flower seeds. And then blogger ate it.

Thank you blogger, for once again being a pain in my arse.

What do you get when you mix a blue guitar, with yellow sunshine? Green music, of course.

Thought I'd post a picture of myself since I've not done it in a long time. The weather here in NYC finally decided to act spring-like, so I took advantage of the situation and practiced my guitar in the back yard for a while. Look at me! I'm wearing sandals! It's the first time my feet have seen the sun since October of last year. Ecstatic!

The Money Pit

This is where I live, or so it seems at any rate. You see, my roommates and I moved into this new apartment in the beginning of December 2004. Even though our apartment (one of two in the building) is completed, the downstairs apartment is not finished. Thus, we get to deal with contractors of all kinds romping through the building whenever they like.

This usually tends be on Saturday mornings at 7am with a stereo blaring the Spanish radio station so loud it sounds as if it's playing in my bedroom. Mutter.

The work on the entire building (including the hallway and stairwell restoration) was supposed to be complete no later than the first of the year. But every time we remind the landlord/electrician/contractors the month of the year, they reassure us not to worry. Everything will be finished in TWO WEEKS!

I am now looking over my shoulder, for I know that at any minute, the stairs are going to fall apart, the oven is going to explode and shoot a turkey across the apartment, and that the bathtub is going to fall through the floor.

If you hear me screaming "I'M IN THE DEN!!!" while talking to care bears, please come pull me out of the floor.