The battle

Last week was unreasonably hard. Tracking down students to make them turn assignments in so that they wouldn't get a bad grade. It's hard to give students bad grades. Especially when I like them so much.

Then it was cloudy and grey all week. And the weather turned cold which made my body hurt all over. Seriously, I think I'm going to get arthritis any time now. But the greyness and coldness just made it really difficult to feel good. Plus, since it was so cold and windy, we're talking Nebraka-ish wind here people, I wasn't walking to and from school as much. All of this and more made me break down a bit on Thursday. Lots of crying ensued. Friday was a little better. I felt on the verge of tears, but I don't think I actually cried. So I decided that was improvement. The weekend was better. It got sunny again, even though it was still windy.

On Saturday night we bought season one of Grey's Anatomy. On Sunday we bought season two and a new DVD player, because our other DVD player went on the fritz. And then Michael opened it up to try to fix it. Apparently not a great idea. But we were able to get our DVDs out of the machine so that was good. I don't know what we'll do when we finish season two.

I taught a short communication session to a group of sixth, seventh and eighth graders yesterday. We played the telephone game and then had them split into pairs. One person had a picture and described it to the other person who had to draw it just on the description, they couldn't see it. So they had fun and I told them that communication is the key to life.

I'm looking forward to going to my mom's house at Thanksgiving. I'm homesick. We
should be there three weeks from today. Wow, that's soon. And yeah, time is flying.

Now I have to plan for three days of classes this week. So yeah. Peace.

New list

Over homeleave number two:

*Got my hair cut. Woohoo! I have bangs and more layers and goodness. Don't even bother asking for a picture. Digital cameras hate me.

*Went shopping. Also got some free makeup. They have a store here called Ulta. They have all this girly stuff - makeup and hair stuff from just about every brand. It's fantastic.

*Signed up for my Educator's Discount at Barnes & Noble. Yeah, buddy. 20% off of resources used in the library or classroom. Maybe I'll lend those books out to students... yeah.

*Got application for a new passport. We're gonna travel.

*Tried to get PA driver's license. Went on the wrong day. Stupid DMV.

*Went to D.C. Michael's first time. Went to the Holocaust museum, Lincoln, World War II, Korea and Vietnam memorials. Ate some really good Thai food. That was heaven.

*Stayed at Mama Yancer's house. She wasn't even there. Which was too bad, it would have been nice to see her.

*Found a Gap Outlet in Gettysburg. Went haywire. Bought lots of stuff. Total cost for five shirts and two pairs of pants: $38. (No tax on clothes in PA: awesome.)


Homeleave was again wonderful. Grades are due tonight at midnight, which makes me want to cry a little. Mostly because some students refuse to turn things in on time and I don't want to give them bad grades. This is turning out to be impossible. Also, I'm sleepy. But life is good. I'm sure of it.

Update. Or something.

Had a wonderful weekend with friends. Still recovering. Have been a little sad ever since they left. It's awesome to have friends that I can just pick up with and have no awkwardness or weirdness. Just carry on like nothing has changed. What's good, and I hadn't realized this until they were here, is that I haven't really missed Union since I got here. Which must mean I'm enjoying my job. Because last year I missed Union like whoa pretty much all the time. So that's good gnus. Even though while they were here, I just felt like driving back to Nebraska and setting up camp.

In related gnus, kind of, homeleave starts today so we have a few days off to get things done. Like get our gnu driver's licenses and register to vote, take the dog to the vet. I don't even know what else, but I think we're going to try out the Thai restaurant. Which I'm very excited about.

So that's the update.

Building

I'm getting very excited about having visitors. Sure, I'm not really cleaning my house, but anyone who knows me knows that this is not one of my higher attributes. But I did have dreams last night that my guests were here and we were having fun together. So that's good. And I'm thinking about what to feed everyone. And I've decided not to worry about the bathroom situation or the lack of beds. (Thanks, Katie)

Too bad Ben is sick. And that I can't comment on his blog. Apparently my computer is revolting against comments. I don't think it even lets me comment on my own blog anymore. It's messed up and slow. Who knows. Anyway. Ben, I hope you feel better soon, because I want to have fun.

The maple tree in my front yard is glorious. I talk to it and exclaim at it daily. Also, I've been walking to and from work more. Sure, it's only half a mile, but it feels good. Anyway, I enjoy the walk, and winter is sure to come soon and make me not want to walk anywhere at all or even to go on living, so I'm going to enjoy the walks while they last.

busy busy busy

Michael comes home tomorrow. I'm glad. Mostly. I will miss having the whole bed to myself. That's a lot of space to spread out in. But I do miss him. Not being paranoid and completely petrified of my shadow makes being without him a whole new experience. However, I'm getting irritable, and I think it's from the missing him.

In other news, my first week of teaching English is over. I gave my first test. A lot of people did not do well at all. Others aced it. Is this what normal teaching is like? I went over it in class and everything. There's no reason that anyone should have failed. But spelling seemed to be especially difficult. Why is this? I think I'm not very good at understanding because I always loved English and Spelling and reading and writing and all those nerdy things. My students mostly don't.

Anyway, I'm busy covering Michael's supervision duties this weekend. Which means no real weekend. I do have Sunday morning off. So maybe I can get some reading and unpacking done then.

This school year is just flying by. Next week Ben and Leslie and Justin and Shelley come to visit. I'm very excited. Although, we only have one bathroom and no extra beds. This house is a lot smaller than our last house. So that presents some challenges. But yeah, excited about that. And then the Wednesday after they leave is the beginning of homeleave. So hurrah for the quickness of time.

Also, we're thinking about working at camp next summer. That would be wild. We would be way old staff. And I've been away from camp for three summers. I hardly know anyone there anymore. But it would be fun and we'd be close to family for the summer. So that's the craziness for today. It's bound to get crazier.

Good times

I like buying books. Even when they're not for me. It's fun to try to find the best deal on the internet and get good books. Or at least books that I think are good. I think I'll buy some more today. Basically whenever I get a new shipment in I go to amazon or barnes online and buy more. So far they haven't told me to stop.

I taught my first English class yesterday. Tomorrow I'm giving my first vocab test. Apparently, I'm hardcore. Or something. You know what's great about the month of October? I only teach eight times in the entire month. I love this A/B schedule thing they've got going here. I had a few frustrations my first day, but overall, not too bad. I think the Juniors listen a little better than the seniors.

So Michael's gone for a leadership seminar in Atlanta. I really did well my first night alone. (He's gone till Saturday.) I think maybe it's partially living in a duplex that makes me feel safer. In any case, my heart wasn't beating frantically all night and I slept well. So whatever it is that's making me feel alright, I'm glad.

Surprise!

So, yesterday I found out that the seniors and their sponsors (that's me!) are going to CUC this weekend for college days. I think I am the last person to find out this kind of information. I'm pretty low on the totem pole right now. At least I'm adding another Adventist college to my list of places visited. Besides the 16 states I've visited in the last year.

Today is a Project Impact like day here. Community service and all that goodness. I'm going to a nursing home this afternoon with some students. We're going to play games and tell stories and that kind of stuff. I think. Once again, I only found out about this on Monday. Low on the totem pole.

Now that I'm in Beta, they give me options to label my posts. But all of my posts are just about random stuff. So it seems kind of pointless.

Things we did over homeleave...

*Got the car tuned-up and oil changed and all that stuff.

*Bought and assembled (twice) an island for the kitchen.

*Bought groceries. (You'd be surprised how difficult this is to do in a regular week.)

*Got Shelby a flea dip and a flea collar. It was getting out of control for a while with the scratching. She was keeping us up at night.

*Unpacked and cleaned a lot of our house. We can actually get to the closet in the second bedroom now. It's pretty full. I have a lot of clothes.

*Hung pictures, etc. on the wall. It feels a lot more like home now.

*Rented several movies, about the first time we've done that since we moved here.

*Got paid, woohoo! (And also realized that I'm not making as much less at this job as we anticipated. That is subject to change, I'm sure.)

*Ate at Olive Garden. It's endless pasta bowl time. The most wonderful time of the year. Too bad they won't serve the spinach alfredo sauce anymore.

*Toured Gettysburg. Much more interesting than when I went as a junior in academy. For starters, I actually wanted to learn something this time. Really enjoyed it and the yummy picnic lunch I made. (Superlink salad was included.)

*Went to New York city for the first time ever. Went to Times Square, Central Park and the World Trade Center site. Used the subway. Not as dirty as expected. Ate at a little Italian restaurant near Times Square. Had the pesto fettucini. It was yum. Also had some gelato later. It was awesome. Note: Central Park is amazing. Amazingly huge. Could not find Central Perk. Which doesn't mean it doesn't exist. New York is completely overwhelming. And we only went to Manhattan.

*Chaperoned students back from New York. That was fun on a chartered bus. Trying to get everyone there at the same time. Also, we were a little late. That didn't help. See, the bus schedule said we would leave at 5:30. So we got there at 4:45. We thought that would be good, but apparently not. Next time we'll know.

Now I need to figure out what I'm doing this week in Foreign Foods and start planning English.

Conclusion: I like homeleave. The next one is in three and a half weeks.

I think a change will do you good.

So it's official (I think). I'll start teaching Junior English two weeks from today. Shockingly, with more time to prepare than between when I got hired for Home Ec and when I started teaching. I'm excited and nervous. But I guess if all else fails, we'll read out loud a lot.

Have you ever heard of Garrison Keiller? He has this radio show, among other things, and the highlight (at least for me) is The News from Lake Wobegon. In one episode that my family used to have on tape, he talks about this woman who went to Alaska. The people in these Alaskan towns ask her if she knows how to do something, and although she doesn't she always says yes. And then she does it. And then she learns whether it's something she can actually do or not. That's pretty much how I feel right now. Sure, I'll teach. We'll find out later whether or not I can do it well or not. Next they'll probably ask me to teach calculus. I'm pretty sure it's a big no for that.

Kind of ironic that last year I lived in a place where no one knew how to speak correct English and this year I'm going to try to teach it.

The end is oceans and oceans of love.

A huge thanks to Ben for my new layout. Isn't it beautiful? What a nice surprise. There are no words. Friends are wonderful.

Also a big thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. The trip was good, and it was wonderful to be with family. Even a family as complicated as mine. All of my grandparents have been divorced and remarried and there are uncles and step-uncles and half uncles. And cousins that I haven't seen in more than ten years. Which made it especially interesting to be around them for the first time as an adult and for one of the first times in my life to see where I make sense. My sense of humor, the little comments I make, so do all my (4) cousins. It was strange and good.

It was also good to be with so many people who loved my grandma. And to see my grandpa, who hasn't changed. He's just as funny and witty as ever.

Anyway, I'm back now for a short week of school and trying to get into the swing of things again. I may be teaching Junior English soon. I'll let you know more on those developments as they come.

If you could...

My grandma died last night and I'll be traveling today to get to her funeral, which is tomorrow, and traveling back on Friday. If you could keep me and my family in prayers, I would very much appreciate it.

Yup, even this.

Right now, the words keep ringing in my head... "This too shall pass". I'm not even sure why. It's not a particularly bad day, it's not a particularly good day either. I guess it's because my student worker who is also in one of my classes got switched to my other class and she's upset about it because all her friends are in the class she's being switched from. So I was trying to put a positive light on it but she was having none of it. So my last resort was to tell her that "This too shall pass". Which indeed is true. A year from now she'll probably be in another state and have many other things to worry about and probably won't even remember this.

I'm feeling a little less overwhelmed. Really it just depends on which day you ask me. But the Senior Retreat went really well and I felt like I bonded with a lot of the students. So other than the constant rain for two days and the general frigidness, it was good. And now I can say I camped through hurricane Ernesto. (It had calmed down quite a bit by the time it got to us, but still.)

We're cooking for the first time in class today. Bruschetta. Thought I'd start with something easy. We'll see if it actually is easy or not. In about two hours the fun begins.

Here it is

Tomorrow morning we leave on Senior "Retreat". We're camping till Sunday. Somehow, this doesn't seem very "retreatish" to me. No electricity, no running water. As a bonus, it's supposed to rain.

Otherwise, the new location is nice. A lot of things are overwhelming right now. Maybe it's the sheer amount of things that overwhelms. Can't be sure yet. In any case, there's a lot going on that I don't even have time to talk about at the moment. Let it suffice that I miss my friends and family. But that I'm making new friends and for the most part enjoying my new job. The end.