hugely overdue update
It's strange, I've thought to myself that I needed to write this every night for the past two weeks, but every time I sat down to do it all these thoughts swirled around, creating a storm of words and feelings that I would start feeling anxious and nervous that I wouldn't be able to find the words. It's strange because, really, nothing has happened that's so important for me to be so concerned about writing it down. But there I would sit, words racing through my brain, my breath quickening, and a feeling of dread and incompetence and inadequacy would come over me. The same feeling overcame me earlier this evening, so I can't promise that this update will be complete. It may just be a paragraph or two. Don't take it personally. ;-)
I cleaned my apartment tonight, as much as I could considering I'm still not done unpacking. The vacuum cleaner kicked up so much dust, I almost couldn't breath. So I opened up my front door and my bedroom window and got a fabulous cross-breeze. That's another thing I love about my apartment - the screen door can be locked and the storm windows can be raised on it, so I can open my front door and get fresh air. Also, the way the apartment is set up, I can get a fabulous cross-breeze.
We had Professional Saturday today, and I went for two reasons. One: it was only an hour away, so it seemed wrong for me not to go. Two: I can skip the district's professional development meeting on Friday because I got the hours today. It's a beautiful thing :-)
The district is sucking more than usual this year. I can't even go into all of it because it makes me too angry, but the district math specialist is asking us to do all this extra work that is only going to take time away from us teaching and preparing and grading. Plus part of what he wants us to do is his responsibility anyway. The superintendent is making stupid rules because he doesn't trust the teachers but also because he thinks that if he makes these policies the students might learn something (which I strongly disagree with).
I came home a few weeks ago to find a note from my landlady saying that my air conditioning unit had been leaking into the apartment below mine, so they took it out and put in a window unit. Last week I came home to find fine black soot all over everything in my front room and kitchen (including my printer, computer, stereo, TV, sofa, papers to be graded, and my books and bookshelf), stuff had been moved, and there was some other trash in the kitchen. I called my landlady to ask what had happened, if someone had been in my apartment, and she said that when they went to put in the new furnace there had been a small leak and had belched black soot. The maintenance man would be back the next day to clean it up. I was so upset (I had also had a crappy day at school), that I turned around and went early to dinner with a friend. I was so upset. I came back and took a dust rag and wiped things off, and I don't think anything got stained much, but I'm sure that when I go to pack up next June I'll find some soot in random places. Oh joy, oh rapture.
I'm not being very upbeat. I feel good - I just cleaned the whole apartment and it smells wonderful, and I still have all day tomorrow to get all my school stuff done, which is totally do-able. We have a four day week coming up, which sucks learning-wise, but it will be nice to clean and organize my classroom on Friday instead of sitting through crappy meetings. On those good thoughts, I'm off to bed. G'night :-)
I cleaned my apartment tonight, as much as I could considering I'm still not done unpacking. The vacuum cleaner kicked up so much dust, I almost couldn't breath. So I opened up my front door and my bedroom window and got a fabulous cross-breeze. That's another thing I love about my apartment - the screen door can be locked and the storm windows can be raised on it, so I can open my front door and get fresh air. Also, the way the apartment is set up, I can get a fabulous cross-breeze.
We had Professional Saturday today, and I went for two reasons. One: it was only an hour away, so it seemed wrong for me not to go. Two: I can skip the district's professional development meeting on Friday because I got the hours today. It's a beautiful thing :-)
The district is sucking more than usual this year. I can't even go into all of it because it makes me too angry, but the district math specialist is asking us to do all this extra work that is only going to take time away from us teaching and preparing and grading. Plus part of what he wants us to do is his responsibility anyway. The superintendent is making stupid rules because he doesn't trust the teachers but also because he thinks that if he makes these policies the students might learn something (which I strongly disagree with).
I came home a few weeks ago to find a note from my landlady saying that my air conditioning unit had been leaking into the apartment below mine, so they took it out and put in a window unit. Last week I came home to find fine black soot all over everything in my front room and kitchen (including my printer, computer, stereo, TV, sofa, papers to be graded, and my books and bookshelf), stuff had been moved, and there was some other trash in the kitchen. I called my landlady to ask what had happened, if someone had been in my apartment, and she said that when they went to put in the new furnace there had been a small leak and had belched black soot. The maintenance man would be back the next day to clean it up. I was so upset (I had also had a crappy day at school), that I turned around and went early to dinner with a friend. I was so upset. I came back and took a dust rag and wiped things off, and I don't think anything got stained much, but I'm sure that when I go to pack up next June I'll find some soot in random places. Oh joy, oh rapture.
I'm not being very upbeat. I feel good - I just cleaned the whole apartment and it smells wonderful, and I still have all day tomorrow to get all my school stuff done, which is totally do-able. We have a four day week coming up, which sucks learning-wise, but it will be nice to clean and organize my classroom on Friday instead of sitting through crappy meetings. On those good thoughts, I'm off to bed. G'night :-)