One Thing That Infuriates Me Above All Else

People traveling in the passing lane.

It's not that hard to understand, folks. In the States, the left-most lane (excluding any high-occupancy lanes) is designed for those who are passing travelers in the other lane(s). It's really not all that complicated. Left lane = passing; right lane(s) = traveling.

Here's how passing is supposed to work. You're in the right-hand lane, and there's a car in front of yours, but you're driving faster, so you get closer and closer. You put on your left-turn blinker, check your mirrors, and if there are no obstructions, move smoothly into the passing lane. You stay in the passing lane until you're well ahead of the vehicle you just passed (because it's both rude and dangerous to cut someone off), then you put on your right-turn blinker, check your mirrors, and again, move smoothly back into the traveling lane.

I'm actually a pretty easygoing person. I'm willing to grant that there are exceptions - if you're approaching a left-turn, for example. Even if there's a turn lane, I can understand wanting to slow down and approach it gradually rather than veering across several lanes at the last minute. No problem there. Or if the right-hand lane has a bunch of potholes or otherwise uneven pavement. Totally understandable.

But that is often not the case. Folks are just toodling along in the passing lane for no reason other than carelessness or ignorance, and that grinds my gears.

And don't get me started on people who pair up - one in the traveling lane, one in the passing lane - and mosey on down the road side-by-side for miles.

Hair

Change is something that interests me. For most of my life, I have had long (or at least, long-ish) hair. Part of this is because long hair is fairly easy to style - pull it back in a barrette or up in a ponytail and voila! - and also because I'm both cheap and lazy, and making an appointment, getting to the hairdresser, waiting my turn, getting the cut and then getting home often takes the better part of an afternoon, and I don't even want to think about the cost anymore.

When I was in college, I dyed my hair on a regular basis. Just wash-out stuff, though. My natural color is a nondescript "mousy brown" of the sort that female protagonists in YA novels complain about as The Most Boring Color Ever. When I went to Comic-Con, I met this one girl who had a fantastic turquoise dye job. Even then, though... I've just always been a bit uncertain about permanent dyes. They're so... permanent!

It also used to be incredibly thick. Back in 2010 I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and after surgery I had chemo and radiation. Losing your hair is a common side effect, but it's not a sure thing. So I got mine chopped and donated it and went ahead and got highlights. (Meh.) It did end up coming out -- it was hard to tell at first, though, because my hair was so freaking thick that it shed a lot.

I wore wigs to work and around town. Although I had several scarves, I never really got the hang of them. But as weeks turned into months, I got more and more comfortable with my scraggly pate. One thing they don't tell you is that your hair still tries to grow and just keeps dying off because of the drugs. I was expecting a smooth, shiny noggin and I never got one.

When it grew back, it was curly at first, which is pretty common. By the next summer I had a full head of hair, and it had started coming in straight again. It's a little weird having hair that does two things, but I guess it's better to have it curly first then straight, with the curls at the ends, than vice versa! But I've noticed that it isn't nearly as thick as it used to be. Mostly, I'm glad. It doesn't shed nearly as much, it's a bit easier to style, and it looks more like hair is supposed to look, instead of giving me a perpetual mushroom-head. Even so, it still feels a little weird. When I sit back with my head against a pillow, there's just not as much there.

Also my eyebrows are now super-sparse and my face looks wrong to me. Fortunately it's pretty easy to take care of with eyebrow pencils. Or brown eyeliner, if I want something a little darker. Hell, even eyeshadow works. (As long as I don't use something funky like green or orange.)

More recently, I quit shaving my legs. I haven't been one for shorts or skirts for quite some time, so it's not really noticeable. Somehow, for no apparent reason, I wondered how long it would take for my legs to go past "scratchy" into "fluffy." My arm hair is super-soft and I wondered if my leg hair would be similar. I figured it wouldn't be exactly the same because the Hunk is a man, and so he isn't expected to shave his body hair, and his leg hair is a tiny bit coarser and curlier than his arm hair. Also I think it's not as long as it gets... though that varies.

Mine's the same way. It's soft and a little shaggy now. It doesn't lay as neatly as my arm hair does. Because I'm tall, I've always been self-conscious about wearing pants that showed anything above the ankle. Capris just look weird to me. And so for awhile I was even more self-conscious, because of course in our society women are expected not to have hair on their legs.

But I have some exercise wear that comes to mid-calf. Yes, it looks weird to me, but it was affordable and comfy, so I bought it. And it feels ever so daring to wear that when I go for a walk or run errands or something. I feel just the slightest bit scandalous! When I think about it, I can't help grinning at how silly it is -- oo, leg hair, sooo avant-garde. Whatever, Clix, you're a goofball.

I do still shave my nethers and under my arms. Too much hair down there feels odd, like I may have started my period without noticing. And to avoid being smelly I wear deodorant, and if there's hair under my arms it tends to tangle (ouch!) or get clumps (ew).

My attitude toward my body changes often, as I'm sure is the case for most women. I drift between being curious and impressed at the way that it works at some times and then at others vainly wishing it was more conventionally attractive. Sometimes it's both at the same time!

It's Okay If Men Are Players, But You're Not That Kind of Girl

So this is something that has bothered me for quite a long time, but over the past few days/weeks I've noticed it more. I've been playing Star Wars: The Old Republic pretty regularly since it came out. I've got several characters - most are female, but one is male.

Guess who gets the [Flirt] options?

Despite the fact that apparently the entire galaxy is heterosexual, and a significant majority of the NPCs are male, it's the dude PC, NOT the chicks. And while theoretically it's possible that the difference is based on the PC's occupation, something tells me it goes a bit deeper.

Because it's not the first time I've experienced this in stories. It's particularly frustrating in interactive stories, because it feels much more personal. There are always plenty of barmaids for the male characters to schmooze, but the soldiers on leave? They're not interested in having fun for some reason. :P

Anyway, I'm going to leave it at that because I really don't feel like thinking about it anymore. :P

Nothing More Than Feelings

I've got bunches to do today, so this will probably just be a stub for now. Anyway.

Whoever wrote the Jedi Code was an idiot.

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.

In fairness, this isn't the only version of the code, but it's the only one (that I've heard) in the new MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. And one of the elements of the original stories - and the later ones - that I miss in the game is the exploration of philosophy. While I've enjoyed learning to use interrupt actions and finding out how the gathering/crafting system works in this game, the story options are heavy-handed and clunky. More than once I've found myself wishing I had a good tabletop group instead.

However, in the absence of that, SW:TOR will have to do. :P

I Must Be Having Fun

I can't believe it's been over a week since I've blogged. Longer since I've written anything here.

I think there are things I could have written about, but right now I'm so tired that I can't think of any of them.

Thanksgiving break was a flurry of activity; we drove out of state to visit family, then we had family time with a couple of different groups of relatives who live nearby, and finally we had some cousins who were passing through who visited with us. And also there was a beta test of the new Star Wars MMO.

Also I had my final expansion. The procedure itself doesn't hurt, but as my skin stretches and adjusts, I get these sharp stabby pains that are kind of a lot of not-fun. So I've been pretty heavily medicated this week. The days are a mix of struggling to stay alert in school and struggling to nap while at home.

This doesn't feel like a real blog post. I don't have a point.

We're going to Disney World again over winter break. They have waffle sandwiches ... I want to try one. We didn't win the drawing to spend a night in Cinderella Castle. The band teacher said he'd print me a piano arrangement of "Bourbon Street Blues" but I asked back in August and he didn't and then I reminded him around Halloween and he said he'd get it to me by Thanksgiving and he didn't.

It frustrates me when people don't follow through on what they say.

I wish I had a point.

Random update

Because writing is supposed to be good for me. :P

My tummy feels yucky. I've been sipping Sprite (trying not to think about how much high fructose corn syrup I'm putting in my system) and spooning down yogurt. I feel a little better than I did earlier, but still somewhat unsettled.

I can't find the binder that has our 2012 ad contracts in it. I hope it's under the library books in the truck. I'm going to go look during my planning period.

The newspaper students have finished their articles but I haven't started laying out the issue. I just don't want to look at anything journalism-related. I know I need to do it. I just don't WANNA.

I don't have anything else important to say. I put my standards up on the board today. Woo. Go me. I like how I do it: the students all have a copy of the standards in their writer's notebooks, and after we do the lesson I have them review the standards and select the ones they feel we've been working on & explain how the lesson connects with the standard.

Because Writing Is Good For You :P

Okay, here we go again. On the way to school.

I hate when I think I'm ready to go early, and then I remember that I don't have my medicine with me, and my phone and wallet are in the other room. And THEN I think I'm ready BUT then I feel like I need to go through my bag to make sure that my keys are there and where are they? I was sure they were here! And… oh. Okay. There they are. And by this time, rather than being a few minutes ahead of schedule, I'm a few minutes behind schedule. It's so frustrating.

The Hunk and I talked for most of the trip, so I didn't write as much.

When we got to school, I found out that today would be another Day Of Stress. Not only is it senior portrait day, which involves stress because OF COURSE there are seniors who didn't sign up for a time, or forgot what time they signed up for, BUT ALSO we had to schedule portraits AROUND a senior assembly, and then we had to reschedule another group of them because we have a homeroom today to vote for homecoming queen (no king, just queen) and then later on there's going to be a fire drill.

*facepalm*

Add to this the stress of being told that unlike other years, seniors who do not have their sitting fee WILL NOT be able to have their portraits made today. And we were unable to schedule another portrait date until frickin' NOVEMBER.

Oh - and on top of all of that, the internet is down. AGAIN.

How the hell am I supposed to use technology effectively when we KEEP having problems of this nature? OF COURSE everyone is still going to expect us to produce an inclusive, error-free yearbook on schedule.

I'm TIRED of being expected to produce amazing results without the support needed to do so.

Recovery, Continued

So this morning at 7 I walked to the park. First time since surgery. Wooo! I was actually kind of tired starting out (I hadn't been able to get back to sleep after taking my 4 AM dose) but it felt soooo good to be out under my own power.

I'm really excited. I think I will probably be able to have my drains taken out next week, and after that I'll really be able to start moving!

I have an appointment for genetic testing on Tuesday. Two of my doctors have said I should do this, so I signed up. But I haven't been able to find whether or not it's covered under my medical insurance. Among the papers the testing office sent over was a form that basically said that if my insurance refused to cover it, I agreed to pay. And I'm thinking... I need to call them on Monday and say, "look, here is my insurance information, if it's not covered, I don't want it." Because I'm sorry, it's not worth it to me to know HOW MUCH of a risk I have for cancers related to the one I've gone through TWICE. I'm gonna guess it's probably higher than average. Yanno? I have ZERO interest in forking over a coupla grand for risk assessment when common sense will do almost as well.

Now, if insurance will cover it, I'll go ahead, just to keep my doctors happy. Because who knows, that bit of social capital might come in handy down the road. ;)

Eat Your Broccoli; It's Good For You

I still don't want to write, but I want to improve as a teacher, so here goes another entry. BLEAUGH. I guess I'll go for one per day. I may not have internet access every day, though, so you might go a few days with no updates & then see several of them go through, with all but one backdated. Anyway.

Before we left for Florida, I did some quick google-searching for journal prompts, copy-pasted them into an Open Office document, and printed it out. The one I'm going to use for today's entry is: Do you believe honesty is the best policy?

GOD, I don't want to do this. I hate writing. This just seems so stupid and pointless. I mean, honestly? Does anyone seriously care? Because I already know what I think, and I really don't know why it would matter to anyone else. Well, whatever. Right now I'm just trying to fill space.

Honesty - by itself - is NOT the best policy. I'm more in line with "Speak the truth in love." There's this idea that in order to be TRULY honest, we have to be willing to say things that are mean. Which is bullshit. We DO have to be willing to say things that are unpleasant, but we can do so compassionately, providing support and encouragement. And it's not like those around us need to know every thought we have; only someone who is unbelievably arrogant would even consider such an idea.

I also find that when I'm confronted by a question with a possibly-uncomfortable answer, sometimes the best response is another question.

Blah de blah.

I'll also say that while it's possible to mislead someone with statements that are technically true, doing so does not count as being honest. There are some shades of grey, here, though; it's possible to mislead others accidentally if one is careless with language. This is why precision is also important to me.

I’m at over 300 words. Can I stop now? :P

Children's Classics

Author Mitali Perkins has asked, "When it comes to race, ethnicity, gender, and class, what stands the test of time?"

I did not get to read the first book in the series, Emily of Deep Valley, until just this week. The library had a copy of the original printing from 1950 in storage. Kind of distressing, because I really enjoyed it. I hope they get a new copy, because I do think this is a timeless classic.

And this is coming from someone who has tried the Betsy-Tacy books and not particularly enjoyed them. I mean, they weren't throw-the-book-across-the-room bad or anything. I can appreciate them; I think they're well-crafted. But I started at least two or three of them and didn't finish any. I just lost interest.

So.

Race - Tangent: I actually spoke to one of my students about this today. I heard a group of them talking about a fight (don't they always?) and one of them referred to "that black kid." And I'm just like... no. Not cool. So I called that student over and quietly said, "David, I'd like to ask you not to refer to people by their race. It makes me very uncomfortable, and I don't like it." So of course he tries to explain to me why it's NOT racist, and how none of his black friends have complained about it. And I said, "I'm not talking about them - I'm talking about ME. I know that I would be unhappy if people always referred to me as 'that white teacher.' It makes ME uncomfortable, so I'm asking you to stop." And (hurray!) I have a good relationship with this student he was okay with that.

Now, I know this student wasn't being ugly in what he said. But I know that it's easy to confuse not-intentionally-racist with just-not-thinking. And that it's important to think before speaking. Anyway.

One thing I noticed was Deep Valley's lack of racial diversity, aside from the Syrians. I wondered - a little - if race as well as nationality made them targets; I don't think so. The sticking points seemed to be their non-standard English and accents, and their foreign names & customs. But at the same time, LOOKING so different kind of makes it that much more obvious.

Ethnicity - this, I felt, was more the issue. One thing I haven't seen anyone mention in the reviews Ms. Perkins linked was how smoothly and seamlessly Kalil becomes Charley. That caught me off guard.

Gender - I thought this book had a LOT to say about gender. There was the grandfather's complete obliviousness to the possibility of post-secondary education for women. I believe it's written particularly well, because it's understandable even though I think - I hope - it's completely foreign.

I really appreciated the exploration of different types of romantic love. I liked that while Emily had multiple love interests - first of all, she isn't demonized for it - and second, they're not presented to the reader as competing. I'm putting this badly, because in one way they were competing with each other; it's the "Team Edward/Team Jacob" thing I find tiresome.

Emily has a LOT of agency. I really appreciated that. She has her own problems, she faces them, and she DOES something about them. I liked that a whole bunch.

Of course, she also does a lot of waiting-around-for-the-boy. There's still some of that around - goodness knows I see it with my students - but I don't think it's so pervasive.

And finally - I did not see class as a significant theme in this book. I would love to hear others' thoughts on the matter.

I did enjoy the specific details - the "new-fangled" fountain pen, for example - but I wondered how much of that was because the book was published in 1950. I don't remember quite the same level of detail in books by Montgomery or Alcott.

Like today!

So I woke up at 5:15 and I tried to get back to sleep but I just couldn't. Stuffy nose, cramped calves... yeah. Not workin'. So around 5:40 I got up. Figured I'd get some WoW in before it was time to get ready for work. Not much - just a little - because on Tuesdays they do maintenance from 6 AM to about 1 or 2 in the afternoon.

And don't you know I had to download a patch. Not a big one - just wee - but just enough that it wrapped up at 5:58, which gave me just enough time to log in and open ONE of the auction sales in my mailbox before I got booted off the server.

AND THERE IS MORE MONEY WAITING FOR ME ON THERE! WAAAAH!

Grr, I say!

I am SUCH a miser, too. Not RL - though I am stingy, it's more from a sense of being choosy about what I want to spend money on - but man, in WoW? When there's not a whole lot you can buy that really matters? I love having gold. Getting gold. Seeing the numbers by the little gold indicator in my bag increase... yay!

I feel like Prince John in Disney's Robin Hood:

Gold, gold, GOLD!

Good Habits - October 13

So I kind of got spoiled last week when I was on fall break. I said, "hey, it's fall break! I'm going to take a break!" And I had forgotten how much I like not writing! So... it's going to take some extra self-discipline to get started again. :P

Anyway. Today I have my Journalism students responding to a couple of quotes in their writers' notebooks:

An error does not become truth because many people speak it, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.
- Mohandas Gandhi

A lie told often enough becomes the truth.
- Vladimir Lenin

Obviously, the latter statement means more that a lie told often enough becomes accepted as the truth. That's what I think, anyway. Or, because language is mutable, in some cases an obvious lie, told often enough, loses so much power that it code-switches to the truth. Like when oppressed groups "reclaim" insulting words.

I also find it intriguing that 'error' is used in the translation of Gandhi's quote, but 'lie' is the word in Lenin's. I don't speak Russian or Hindi, so I don't have a way to find out - at least not right now - but it does make me curious what the original words were and what connotations they had.

I am a little grumpy today because I called the pharmacy and they STILL did not have the prescription for me. I called the doctor YESTERDAY and they said they'd have it in YESTERDAY and now it is TODAY and my mouth feels so gross. And it's all back in my throat and around and under my tongue and... BLECHH! Actually I think it's more than a LITTLE grumpy right now. I hate this. I hate this so much. And the medicine better not taste as awful as it did last time. Ooo, that sucked. GRRRR.

We did get our phones last night. I've been trying to log in to the EC Ning but the damn ning won't let me. It keeps saying my password is wrong. I've tried to reset it TWICE SO FAR but when I type in the new password (after resetting it) I still get the message that it's wrong. WTF, people?!

FML.

Good Habits - October 9

Ugh. Almost time to head back to school. I still need to type up my script rubric for our next unit. I did get the performance rubric created - yey!

Hot flashes have started. They're really not all that bad - interesting more than anything. I do sometimes wake up and kick the covers off, but I can live with that. :) The best part is no more period! YAY! Which MEANS no more need for contraception. YAY!

I really don't know that I have anything else to write about. Going walking again this morning. Had some breakfast. Took my anti-nausea meds. Eating my vitamins. Need to brush my teeth and put my sneakers on before I go.

Phone still broken. We'll get new ones today.

Good Habits - October 8

So I'm beginning to feel ... ambivalent, let's say, about the Disney Princess Half-Marathon. It just seems like it's putting a LOT of money into doing something I really don't enjoy. I'm going to keep training, but I just don't know about the actual RACE. The event as a whole benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, but I can't tell if Disney actually donates some of the proceeds from the race, or if it's just a way to inform people.

I did go on a walk with Dad last night. We did two miles in juuuust over half an hour, which made me feel pretty good. I'm about to do my morning walk. I've had breakfast and I ate my vitamins. I'll brush my teeth before I go. I'm also thinking about adding some free-weight training.

There was also a community event last night that we danced at. It was pretty awesome. It was at an ex-mall that they're trying to sort of re-envision as a business & community center. There's a Komen Center in one of the offices. I think if I was going to host an event I might want to partner up with the local Rescue Mission. Maybe we could have a cooking marathon! I don't know, though. And I think with all I've gotten on, this year probably isn't the wisest choice. But I might start asking around, maybe getting some ideas for next October.

Ooo, or maybe do nails? Nothing pro, just people signing up to bring their nail polish collections and lotions and stuff. Everything would be free but we'd have a table for donations. Maybe we could also have some paid tables for salons to sell files and polishes and stuff. It could be called "Manis for the Cure" or something equally cutesy.

And I haven't finished any more of my grading. My planning has been minimal. Yesterday was pretty full, but Tuesday was travel and Wednesday was pretty much just lost. We did clean up around the house some.

I really don't have much else I want to write about. I called to refill a prescription. I'll pick that up after I get my bloodwork done. I probably ought to call the wig store to check on my benefits there & see what's going to be submitted.

Good Habits - September 28

Only two more days until payday - I think we'll make it! WOOT!

So today is definitely going to be interesting. I only got fiveish hours of sleep last night; I was ready for bed around nine but I wasn't sleepy, so I wound up puttering around for another couple of hours... putting things away, doing a little laundry, downloading photos I thought I'd show one of my teacher-friends. Worked on the costume some more. That sort of thing.

And then I was wiiiide awake at oh-dark-thirty this morning. Got up just after five. And I've got students staying after today to make up work, and I've got dance tonight so ... I might be able to take a nap if we go RIGHT home after the students finish their work and I go right to bed, but not much. Fortunately class is 6:30-7:30 tonight - I think - so it's not like I'll be out late.

It is SO easy for me to get distracted. Facebook, tooth-brushing, vitamins, grading, breakfast... just a bunch of things say "hey, don't forget about me!" And the thing is, they're things that I will forget if I'm not careful. Well, except Facebook. I don't know if you can 'forget' that since it's not really something you need to do.

Wish I could say that about grading. :P

I'm nervous about my JRL 1s. Sooo many of them have NOT turned in their photo shoots. They're to have three of them turned in by - oh! - TOMORROW. GRRR. I just know I'm going to get a bunch of photos of classes doing zilch. Like working out of the book or something. Which I guess isn't too too bad for the first time we've done this as an assignment... I dunno. Next month one of the criteria for completion is definitely going to be "activity other than reading, notes, or bookwork."

Need to do some more planning on my next unit - got a week or two left on 1984, but I don't want to get down to the wire. But that'll go over on Epic Adventures... plus I already met my word count. Yey!

Good Habits - September 27

So - yeah.

I really don't like writing these things. There's just SO MUCH going on at school that I can't just write and I'm only writing because I've told myself that I ought to and that it's good for me and I don't WANT TO WRITE DAMMIT.

But I can't go for my walk yet because I'm still charging my mp3 player. Oo, that reminds me - I need to charge my phone. Part of me says, Clix, go get the phone NOW and put it on the charger, or you'll forget. But then that interrupts my writing time. Now does that matter? Because I haven't set myself a time-goal anyway; mine's word count. Does it matter if I get to my word count all in one go or here and there? Or not? And now that I've included this little thought-process on here, maybe I'll remember to put my phone on the charger after all. I'm going to try to remember. We'll see how that goes.

And... I'm done. Of course, I haven't met my word count yet. But I don't have much else that I want to write about. I'd rather check facebook. Or gather up my library books and stack them up on the top shelf of my desk where I said I'd keep them. Of course, that space is now taken up with get-well and thinking-of-you cards. Hm.

I got a necklace today from one of my students! So thoughtful. Oo, I need to remember to take my hospital 'bracelet' off. I feel silly when I forget about it until I'm in bed and it's uncomfortable but I don't want to get up and... bleh. Anyway the necklace is a cute little breast cancer ... button ... thing on a black ribbon. It's quite darling!! I'm so delighted by it. ^.^

Also today I started putting the grommets on my Rapunzel costume. It is SOOOO nerve-wracking, let me tell you. I could feel my pulse speeding up. And I started sweating. I went to the home ec classroom and sat with the sewing teacher and hyperventilated the whole way through. I think she found it quite entertaining. ;) I'm really excited! I think the costume is going to look awesome.

And hopefully by now I've met my word count!

WOOT! I did. ^.^

Good Habits - September 24

Hoo boy, I'm tired. I don't know if I even slept at all last night. Journalism just started and the prompt is "What is the most important thing you have learned from school in the last four years? Why?"

I told them that the most important thing I had learned was that work is much more pleasant when you like the people you're working with.

I've got to get the supplement printed out and get some help proofing that. I had someone offer to help and it just needs a new set of eyes. Ditto for the newspaper. I also need to call the printer and make sure we can send it Monday and get it back by Wednesday.

The Journalism students are doing bookwork. I'm SO tired.

English II is nice and quiet. They're all playing catch-up. I think after lunch I'm going to offer them a chance to get some extra credit by writing DonorsChoose thank you letters.

I feel like I'm cheating. By the time I get students settled and working on THEIR freewrites, and I take attendance and review the lesson plan, I only have a few minutes to write. So it's just kind of a jumbled bit of nothing that goes here.

Oh well. I guess kind-of-nothing is better than ACTUAL nothing, eh?

Good Habits - September 19

Boy, am I counting down the days until September is OVER. I don't know that we've ever felt as squeezed as we have this month. But payday will be on the 30th, and hopefully next month won't surprise us with more thousand-dollar-plus bills. (I'm going to have to reschedule the crowns for November so we can save up.)

Today I am TIRED, too. And I don't have much that I want to do... I did eat my vitamins and go for a walk this morning. I stayed on the lower loop and ran a half-lap, walked a lap and a half, ran a half-lap, walked a lap and a half, ran a half-lap, walked the next half-lap and then walked home again.

Well apparently I have NO running stamina. I always feel like I can walk ALLLL day, but unfortunately, that's apparently not going to cut it come time for the half-marathon. And it takes everything I've got to finish the half-lap. Well, nearly. I can still keep going with a walk afterward; don't have to sit down or anything. But I'm not even running fast! And it's ... maybe, maybe 300 yards. Not even once around the track. It feels kind of pathetic, to be honest. :(

I had a pancake for lunch. Leftovers from IHOP yesterday. What I found out is that if you want to bring pancakes home? Ask for them without butter. The butter makes them stick together and then they don't come apart and you get pancake-gobs instead of pancakes. The ones at the bottom of the stack came apart quite nicely, though.

But I ate the gobby one and it was still quite tasty!

ETA: Almost forgot - it looks like the Terrible Bleeding has stopped. Maybe for good! My face felt a little warm yesterday and the Hunk said it looked quite red. Perhaps my very first hot flash! Or not - I've been keeping a bottle of water by the bed at night because I've noticed that I wake up super-dry... my mouth feels pasty (though not like before) and my eyelids don't want to open. All sticky. I wonder if I've been sweating at night.

And We'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun...

... 'til they take me out of ISI!

ISI stands for In-School Isolation. It is my absolutely favorite duty, and I am NOT being sarcastic. What I love about it is that it's an hour of nearly-uninterrupted peace and quiet. I've got probably about forty students in here - the group was so large that they moved it from a classroom to the auditorium - and other than a few flareups and the occasional reminder to keep feet down or to quit talking, things have been pretty ... well, FUN!

I know. I'm a terrible person. But good gravy, kiddoes! Just wear jeans that don't have holes all through them. You've known for over a month what the dress code is. So quitcher b*chin and just SIT. Mwahahaha!

Seriously. This is more peaceful than my classroom during my planning period. Granted, I have to keep my eyes open and look around a good bit. But I got all my emails sent out to the club sponsors. I didn't get my grading finished, but it's at least started. My department cohorts keep coming in... dunno if it's to check on me or on my lovely little Gremlins.

It just seems so hilarious, because they complain SOOOO much about how much work we have in class. And then in here, where quite often teachers haven't yet been informed (so there's nothing to do) they're just MISERABLE.

Good Habits - September 14

Ahhhh... I forgot what I love about the 1984 unit: the peace and quiet of work days! ^.^ I'm always nervous for the first few days of it, though, before the students get the hang of the work.

I feel like I ought to have another planning period after this. :P When I have first period planning I don't seem to get anything done. Darnit! And now I feel like instead of writing I should be doing something "useful." Like grading. Or putting grades IN. Or marking notebooks. Or SOMETHING. You know?

And I'd like to go home and go to bed. To BED.

I've got soooo many post-drafts over at Epic Adventures. Nobody's commented on my latest one. Makes me wonder if nobody cares about whether firing teachers is a good idea or not, or if I'm saying things that everybody has heard somewhere else.

Right now I'm just marking time with my wrods. I wonder how many of my students are actually understanding what they read. They're so docile... they're at least pretending to read the book. We'll see. I don't have the oomph left in me to push them at the moment. Plus ... I feel like since we're just starting I've given them instruction and guidance, and now I need to see what they can do. But it makes me nervous!!

I have dance again tonight. We'll be starting a new choreography. I hope it isn't too difficult. I've seen it several times, and I know the music, so maybe that will help.

Ooo, I hate this whole packing-up-early thing. At least they don't line up at the door. And it's only one minute until the bell. But it TICKS ME OFF.

There will be consequences.