where's my drink?

*ooooh Jezus*

*ah...uh*

groan

The Jacuzzi water is hot.

Teaching means being exposed to little germ factories of students. I have my first cold of the season. Technically its a cold but I don't have cold symptoms beyond a headache and fever. My allergy medicine covers up the other symptoms.

Its the 5th day of school. My legs aren't used to it yet. Fever, leg pain, fatigue. Hubby was kind enough to take care of dinner and dishes. I'm going back into the tub and soak some more. I know from experience that the fever will pass quickly. I just rest.

leading the insurrection

We had training today on how to make lesson plans from our new consultant's rep. For those that don't know, if a school is doing bad we have to hire people who tell us how to do our job.

First comment that started the protesting from ms purina cat chow lady. "our research shows that what we do help raise test scores."

Me ( loud enough to be heard) "Every other consultant we hired said the same thing."

I agree with what on of my colleagues said and explained our position, "look every few years we change what we are supposed to do before we get results, we get a new administration who comes in with a new plan and everything resets."

Then the lady after some instructions asks after explain wanky new idea asks in that stupid "i used to teach kindergarden voice" ..."now everybody can do that?"

Me "no," pause

Okay I"m not totally cold and explain, "look sometimes I give three lessons in one day, sometimes it takes me three weeks I'm just trying to teach them one thing. Example it takes me about 2 weeks to teach molestomoles, gramstomoles, moles to grams, atomstomoles, molestoatoms. Its not just a one day lesson."

I realize that as I use the "moles..." words I am completely terrifying this former english teacher. I'm enjoying this. Really. You want to come to tell me how to do my class you better understand what I'm teaching. The music teacher next to me is dying of laughter.

Then the lady later wants us to writing something using text. Me "wait you want us to write this as if we were texting? Like the letter U for "you"?"

"yes, just like you were texting somebody."

(who told her this would be cute?)

Me "never on god's green earth I've never texted in my life." (and the spirits of my english teachers would rise from what ever pit of Hell to shove pitchforks at her)

can't wait for school to start

Yesterday we looked at our yard and of course it is a mess. Grass growning. The tomatoes and cantalopes going strong, too strong, they are choking each other.

So we needs must mow. I was tasked with mowing, hubby took up weed eating and youngest's job was general roustabout. She gave me water but I had trouble drinking it because of ice. After a bit of work (three loads of clippings to the compost pile) I decided that the ice water was cramping my stomach. We have a rather large yard with garden, beds and blackberry patch so it is not one clean swipe back and forth. I went inside to adjust my body temperature and get water. I realized as I sat that I felt the sweat trickling down my back. The next realization was that previously I wasn't sweating. Heat sickness! I drank two glasses of water and went back outside. Both daughter and hubby said I looked flushed more than normal and demanded that they finish the work. No argument.

I sat in the shade, removed my t shirt revealing my A-shirt drinking water. Yard looks much better now though the garden back area is a mess. I got the front yard mowed today. Small beginning blisters on my hands from maneuvering the mower around.

who needs guns?

Because at a nearby eatery I was reading the local paper while waiting for a table. The restaurant is a steakhouse that does its own butchering, well worth the wait. The paper had an article about another nearby town (think a circle, lots of nearby towns...:) ohh, about 45 minutes from where I live. The town in the article I used to teach at.

So there it is one town, two shootings two weeks ago. In fact one of the shooters was a student I taught. He's in jail for that awaiting trial. My daughter's comment was "you must be so proud." Then this week, a group of 4-5 people try to break into a house with a couple in it. The police dispatcher tried for 1/2 hour to get ahold of the chief of police or any police for that matter. The culprits were prying the doors, drunk and threatening to kill the ocupents.

The intruders were arrested, and are waiting trial.

waiting...

In a little over a week, my youngest ships out for boot camp.

She found out that her liberal arts degree is not very good in our current depressed economy, so after thought and talking to the recruiter, she is joining the US Army.

She got a max score on the ASVAB, scored very well on the language test and is going to OCS.

She hopes she get some language training. Officers do not get to pick their specialty, considering her scores and her drive, she should do well. She is out exercising, doing everything she can to get through boot camp and OCS as a high prospect.

When I tell people what she is doing, I get the "aren't you scare for her?"

*Well heck, I'm scared making a left turn on our main thouroughfare.*

The world is a dangerous place, the army moreso, but it is a matter of proportion.

my response, however, is always. "no, she's my daughter."

What I'm thinking
I raised her, I know her well and her ticks.
She was raised to be independent and a free thinker and with a strong work ethic.
She's not going to do anything stupid.
She's not going to pick up duds, asking "what's this?"
And if she does do something stupid, like charge the enemy, she has a plan.
She has expressed no desire for any medal beyond "3 years of excellent service".
If she does go to a combat zone, she is getting armor, which she will "wear to the bathroom."
If she goes into combat she's getting a heavy caliber pistol and knife.
Now all we worry about is the odds luck of IED or HumVee accidents.

busy beaver

I got good news this week, my astronomy class was approved.

So now my schedule looks like I am teaching Physics. Chemistry, Algebraic connections (read math for those that can't do algebra) and Astronomy. I have the lessons for the first two. I am reworking all the lesson plans so they make more sense. Tossing out the assignments that do not work, clearing up typos and badly framed questions in tests. Although I did the math classes before, my lesson plans are not that good. I have some projects they can do, and surprise surprise surprise. I actually learned something I can use in class, a neat online poster generator (much like a blog).

Astronomy is pretty much laid out. I had to have much of the work planned for submission to the state.

Speaking of that now that my printer is working I need to make my class rules print up and there is a posterizer program.

In fact next week I'm planning on spending every day getting ready for next year. Organizing supplies, hoping my new ones come in, organizing desks, getting my roster together. Heck right now I don't even know the schedule.

I have taken classes and am now a mentor teacher. Which means some more pay and less free time.

Now my brother is insisting I get national certification.

buy a Kukri knife

After reading about a Gurkha who removed the head of a war lord in Afghanistan.
Now I absolutely agree with the comment that if it happened in a movie this is where the audience would cheer.
Now I'm not a British citizen, no letter I write would help. Also I am not one to second guess military tribunals, I hope they come to the right decision.

But what I can do is buy a knife. This supports the Gurkhas and may show solidarity to their cause.

The hard part was deciding which knife. I went for the classic but there is a double edged one, American Eagle, a Some Gave All series. I was seriously tempted to the the wooden one for training, but I may do that when my martial arts lessons are advanced enough for weapons.

Boy is hubby going to flip when he sees the package arrive.