Swimming Along

Imax

Saturday, May 9th,

11:55 p.m.

I need one of these for duty before school tomorrow morning!

http://www.string-or-nothing.com/content/imgs/fishy-4.jpg.
for all you knitters... :)

So eventually I am going to finish my classes and again, at least for a while, be able to read what I want. Got any suggestions for outstanding reads?

Hooray!

A guy just finished crossing the English Channel by jetpack! Maybe now they'll start making them for the rest of us! :)

Watching Olympic diving - Men's 10 meter platform semifinals. Was difficulty with sound, so you got to see the dives from different angles, and you could hear the diving noises - leaving the platform, the splash, the crowd reaction; but the commentators sound was off! If only we could have this more!!!!!

The Men's 4X100 Free relay was fantastic! The US won first by 8 hundredTHs of a second! Makes you want to cheer even though you know they can't really hear you on tv! Maybe I could be a librarian/swim coach and get back to it some. I'm also impressed by Cullen Jones, and glad that he's getting some of the massive marketing Phelps is getting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEp18-xHgeM

IJA's fest is back in Winston-Salem next summer, (home of Krispy Kreme and WS tobacco products)  maybe I should try for the EJC's - it's gotta be somewhere I'd rather go!

Oh Yeah, the best news on the trip -  I got in!!! and now I have my classes reserved for the fall semester!!!! I'm only taking a couple of classes this fall, but I hope to do several more in the spring, and to finish up by the end of next summer. (I haven't reviewed it all to see if that's possible or not yet.)

Free Admission Day, July 11 Remember Lady Bird this Friday In honor of our founder, Lady Bird Johnson, who died July 11, 2007, admission to the Wildflower Center will be free of charge Friday, July 11, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. In addition, visitors will receive a free packet of wildflower seeds in honor of our environmental first lady. Learn more about Lady Bird Johnson's environmental legacy and the historian who helps us understand it. That's cool of them!

1. post three things you've done in your lifetime that you don't think anybody else on your friends list has done.

2. see if anybody else responds with "i've done that."

3. have your friends cut & paste this into their journal to see what unique things they've done in their life.


1. Won a high school swim meet with only 6 swimmers on our team.

2. Held the one meter diving record my sophomore year of high school.

3. Dropped my hat in front of the tv camera while playing the bass clarinet in the Victoria Day parade in Victoria, BC.

I thought about saying I was the only one who walked around with a broken leg for five months before going to the doctor, but figured I wouldn't be alone in that!

Going to happy hour on Monday, with friends from N. Austin and Round Rock - Anyone have any suggestions for where to go? The most lucratively employed of us are teachers, we'd prefer to go early (4ish), and to go somewhere besides Chuy's. We're open for suggestions, and more people.

The FDA is on the "hot seat" in Congress because they haven't identified the source of the tainted tomatoes. Is there a seat in Congress that isn't "hot"?

Should the above question mark be inside the end quotation mark? Do periods go inside the parentheses if it is the end of the sentence?

What is it I really want?

After this morning, I remember why I'm not particularly fond of physicals, but I was relieved to learn that you can't become a medical vampire until you're 18. (It was kind of funny when the 18 or 19 year old phlebotomist agreed that 16 year olds were way too young to get to practice on people, even though she was practicing on dummies then. I think I got older at some point.)

What I'd (possibly)really like to be doing for a week or so, is sleeping until noon or so, getting up slowly, and playing til I'm ready for bed again. But then again, that seems so much wasted time. As Jimmy Buffet says, "I'm growing older, not up.", but then again,  maybe I am, accidentally.

While playing trivia at Mother Egan's the other night, the question of how many U.S. presidents have been assassinated arose.  It's hard to argue with our friend who yelled, "Not Enough!" Although I don't actually wish them physical harm, a few electric shocks might have helped.

What do you say to someone who's been told they have about a year left to live?

I love my big red chair!

How much did Rudy's pay TX A&M to say that a brisket a day keeps the doctor away? (And who do I thank for that?)

Does anyone know a good deck person who'd like to fix my back deck where it needs it, while reusing the Choice decking I already have?

What is sleeping on the fantastic swinging chair that my mom gave me? (besides me sometimes)

Although I don't want an account at Edward Jones, I'm impressed that the guy is willing to walk door to door at 4:30 in the afternoon, in the 100 degree heat, to get business. I haven't decided if he's just very determined or if perhaps he's suffering from some sort of mental breakdown.

The upside down world....

http://flourish.org/upsidedownmap/

From an NSTA list of things you should never say, and the funniest things kids have said, in science class - I'm beginning to wonder if there's anything left I can/should say without being very careful.

I know that increased testing in schools is responsible for the increase in obesity in children and teens!

 Every time we take a high stakes test, we make sure they've eaten breakfast, are reminded to bring a snack if they want, and provide a snack for them. Then we give them a test, let them take as long as they want on it, keep them seated, and don't even let them move around or talk until they are all done. We give them calories and don't let them burn any off!

What I need is the money for the grant to help me research it so I can take some time off from teaching!
After I prove it, I'll be ready to teach again, cuz they'll have to stop giving so many tests, right?

"Pickles come from frogs!"  said little Abby who was trying to sell me salsa for a fundraiser for the Future Farmers of America while at her uncle's birthday party.

Guess I can't argue that they need money for more education - I bought two!

This has been a long school year for a variety of reasons, but today was probably one of the toughest days.

I've had several days, especially on or near full moons, when I've wondered about my students. How many times should you have to remind them to write their name on their paper, or start a sentence with a capital letter, and put a period, or other punctuation at the end? What's so hard about walking in the hallway? They've been doing it since kindergarten (or earlier).  Their classmates are not magnetic, and it should be possible for them to keep their hands to themselves, not to mention their feet; and they can live without gum (which wouldn't bother me if I hadn't had to clean it out of the classroom carpet, more than once.)  Just because you don't see a teacher in the hall, does it mean no one's watching?

I'd repeat all of those days, more than once, to not have to do another day like today. They may think they're teenagers, or young adults,  but in the end, our kids are just kids. One of the boys was throwing a bug at the girls today. Checkers is still one of their favorite games. Some of the pictures they draw still look pretty much like the ones we drew as little kids - a house, with a tree and flowers, and birds flying in the air, or they're a copy of a popular character (although there's less Snoopy now, and more anime characters.)They still get embarrassed when we have sex ed, or even when the permission slips are passed out. And when things go really bad, they still want their mommies, and some of them still don't understand what's happening, because in the end, they're still kids.

You do the best you can, and you think a lot about what's important in the grand scheme of things - homework? classwork? TAKS? making it to the next grade? concerts? going places? seeing new things? family? friends? what you messed up the day before?

And you take a deep breath, and turn back around, and take attendance, and talk about their assignment, and review things they already mostly know, because some of them will never remember anything you talk about in class today (even if they usually have some idea.) They've learned a hard lesson outside of class; some of them for the first time, and others get hit with it again. And you take another deep breath, and you try to keep things as normal as possible for the ones who don't get it, and for the ones who do, so they have something they can count on when part of their world is turned upside down and inside out.

So this morning, for the first time in about 30 years, I woke up, opened my eyes and could see - the clock, the ceiling, the splattered paint blotch that usually looks like a rather large, creepy insect... ! No contacts, glasses, or binoculars needed. Very, very cool.

It also set me to wondering, who thought all this up - dilating eyedrops, cutting into eyes, random, weird machines, and who were the first guinea pigs? I know I found my glasses and contacts annoying at times, but geez, what a risk!

Today was the last of six days of diversity training provided by the district. Overall, I think it was a worthwhile experience. I learned a lot of vocabulary and some new ways to look at things. Being out of class was a definite advantage some days.

I also learned that I am evidently very, very old now.

We talked about how expectations are different depending on communication styles, economic levels, and previous experiences. Some students feel that they are entitled to only complete the work they choose, and that we are there to provide entertainment or to do whatever they need instantly.

Today, someone shared a story they had read elsewhere about work places having to prepare packets for parents of prospective/current employees. Another added that they had read about a case where a mother actually called her child's (a college graduate employed in a white collar position) boss to talk with him about why her child was unhappy with the position, and what the child wanted/expected.

I don't think I've ever met a parent who would do that, or a child who would let them/want them to, so I guess I'm now old and way out of touch. I can't imagine how to adjust to the idea. I tried to get my mom to call my boss and get me the day off tomorrow, but she wouldn't do it.