I..love technology. .always and forever..
I'm at work with a considerable amount of downtime on my hands, so I'm updating. It's been a fairly decent week. The after-school program I work in has the week off, so my work days have been shorter. It's a welcomed change. Less money, but more time to engage myself in some other things. [like sitting at my computer or breaking my woeful streak of absence at the gym] I've done a lot of sitting on my ass [I'll explain exactly why it's been so enjoyable shortly], and a decent amount of gyming [I went Monday and yesterday. I'd like to return today, as well. If not today, definitely tomorrow with school being closed]
Before I further babble, I haven't really talked about exactly what it is I do. I'm up to a few things. I work for a private special education school where I'm a paraprofessional and tutor. Within the school I work within two main areas. The first one is.. paraprofessional work, one on one, with a special needs student. [mental retardation, autism, behavioral/emotional, etc.] That involves providing academic support as well as community integration. [it could involve taking a student the the mall, or the Y to get some exercise, taking the student to work where I have to job coach] The other area is a program that aims to transition students from the juvenile justice system into Hartford Public High Schools. So, they receive academic support from staff for a period of time [at one of two sites we utilize for study], we diagnose their needs, work on strengthening them, and when they seem ready to transition into high school. .we get their schedule, locker, student ID, etc. set up for them, and provide support at the school. So, when I'm sent to a high school, I basically talk with the student's teachers about his performance, attendance, etc. I also check on the student himself.. which is basically me hanging out outside the classroom to make sure he is there, talking with him as he leaves one class for another. My role is to basically let him know that I'm there if he needs anything, um. .and to make sure he's not effing around. I'm also available to the student if he should need to get homework help, or utilize a safe space before going to class, or whatever. Depending on the student, my day can be hectic.. or really boring. Today is kind of in the middle.
However, I'm getting by because I have access to my Sirius subscription via the Internets as well as the best site ever.. Pandora.com. Pandora is why I have been sitting on my vegan ass after work all week. Orlene turned me on to it. .and now I won't stop talking about the multitude of amazing artists I'm finding. Basically [and I'm sure a lot of people know about it, but if anyone doesn't..then, this babble is worthwhile], you type in an artist you like. From there, it generates a custom radio station for you. .based on the stylings of that original artist. So, let's say you like Mos Def. You should. You type in Mos Def. .and the station will play a little Mos Def, but it will also play stuff like J-Live, The Procussions, Rakim, and a ton of people who were previously unknown to me. I've made maybe 8 stations so far.
Si Se.
Mos Def.
Thievery Corporation.
The Procussions [who I discovered from the Mos station].
Esthero.
Scott Wozniak.
Mark Farina.
Dubtribe Sound System.
..and I'm seriously just getting started. But, it's crazy yo. I've been parked in front of my computer, wide-eyed, and astounded at how much music I'm getting exposed to.
Oh, and if you don't mind occasional ads that you'll barely notice because you're so into the beats, this ish is free, yo.
Free is good.
So, yeah. Between working, (but not as much) sitting on my ass getting exposed to incredible music, downloading disgusting amounts of mp3s onto my external [OHH! and I bought a lil' system for my computer. 5 speakers and a sub, so everything is sounding LOVELY), and getting back into lifting weights in the hopes of getting sexy, this has been a pretty good week.
Good weeks are rare for me.
They're not typically bad, per se.
Usually 'okay' with bright spots in the form of O.
Before I further babble, I haven't really talked about exactly what it is I do. I'm up to a few things. I work for a private special education school where I'm a paraprofessional and tutor. Within the school I work within two main areas. The first one is.. paraprofessional work, one on one, with a special needs student. [mental retardation, autism, behavioral/emotional, etc.] That involves providing academic support as well as community integration. [it could involve taking a student the the mall, or the Y to get some exercise, taking the student to work where I have to job coach] The other area is a program that aims to transition students from the juvenile justice system into Hartford Public High Schools. So, they receive academic support from staff for a period of time [at one of two sites we utilize for study], we diagnose their needs, work on strengthening them, and when they seem ready to transition into high school. .we get their schedule, locker, student ID, etc. set up for them, and provide support at the school. So, when I'm sent to a high school, I basically talk with the student's teachers about his performance, attendance, etc. I also check on the student himself.. which is basically me hanging out outside the classroom to make sure he is there, talking with him as he leaves one class for another. My role is to basically let him know that I'm there if he needs anything, um. .and to make sure he's not effing around. I'm also available to the student if he should need to get homework help, or utilize a safe space before going to class, or whatever. Depending on the student, my day can be hectic.. or really boring. Today is kind of in the middle.
However, I'm getting by because I have access to my Sirius subscription via the Internets as well as the best site ever.. Pandora.com. Pandora is why I have been sitting on my vegan ass after work all week. Orlene turned me on to it. .and now I won't stop talking about the multitude of amazing artists I'm finding. Basically [and I'm sure a lot of people know about it, but if anyone doesn't..then, this babble is worthwhile], you type in an artist you like. From there, it generates a custom radio station for you. .based on the stylings of that original artist. So, let's say you like Mos Def. You should. You type in Mos Def. .and the station will play a little Mos Def, but it will also play stuff like J-Live, The Procussions, Rakim, and a ton of people who were previously unknown to me. I've made maybe 8 stations so far.
Si Se.
Mos Def.
Thievery Corporation.
The Procussions [who I discovered from the Mos station].
Esthero.
Scott Wozniak.
Mark Farina.
Dubtribe Sound System.
..and I'm seriously just getting started. But, it's crazy yo. I've been parked in front of my computer, wide-eyed, and astounded at how much music I'm getting exposed to.
Oh, and if you don't mind occasional ads that you'll barely notice because you're so into the beats, this ish is free, yo.
Free is good.
So, yeah. Between working, (but not as much) sitting on my ass getting exposed to incredible music, downloading disgusting amounts of mp3s onto my external [OHH! and I bought a lil' system for my computer. 5 speakers and a sub, so everything is sounding LOVELY), and getting back into lifting weights in the hopes of getting sexy, this has been a pretty good week.
Good weeks are rare for me.
They're not typically bad, per se.
Usually 'okay' with bright spots in the form of O.