Gratuitous self-flattery

Our current unit in the first grade is something like 'All About Me', so an assignment for the kids was to bring in pictures, especially baby pictures, so that we can do fun projects and make collages. Of course, it's extra fun if the teacher does it too, so I had my mom send me some photos...

Very small me. I think that is one hand holding me up.

Me at 18 months. Apparently I am fond of snow globes.

(Aside to Müs: Shout out to the avocado shag carpet and the plaid couch!)

My hair is still that messy.

Dude, I was a cute kid! :) Whatever happened?

Video killed the radio star

This one's for Müs: Endless Caruso One-Liners! Or, How to Don Your Sunglasses While Sounding Pretentious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sarYH0z948

Also, how to fold a t-shirt:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5739257457512694439

I have not a clue how that works, but it looks pretty cool. I am inspired to try folding some of my shirts like this.

Back to reality

Aaaaaand we're back. Vacation = love (=bacon?), but you can overdose on too much of it. Much like bacon. Then again, being nearly ready to claw out one's eyes from boredom helps one appreciate coming back to work. Hypothetically speaking.

In a more coherent sense: My first day back was actually not too bad. The kids seemed to appreciate having a normal school day after three weeks of chaos, and they were surprisingly quiet. Also, not to sound conceited or anything, but they were really happy to see me... they all were like, '!!!' when they came in, and many proceeded to tell me all about their vacations. To be honest, it was nice to see them again; I wasn't kidding when I said I'd missed them. I didn't miss some other aspects of school, but I missed my class. I am still amazed when I give them directions, they get it, and then they do exactly what I just told them to do. We'll see if that feeling holds up tomorrow.

Cambridge update: I did not get the scholarship I was hoping for. This means that even if I do get in, I may not (most likely won't) be able to go. Really bitter/mad/upset about this. If you have any leads on free money for hardworking but poor master's students, let me know.

In other randomness, I found a book at the post office the other day. It was a traveling book, and there's a label on the inside that instructed me to go to BookCrossing.com and write in that I'd found it. Apparently the gist of this idea is that you register a book and give it an ID number, then you let it go into 'the wild' for someone else to pick up and read, and they leave it somewhere else for someone new to read, etc. Sort of like a 'Pay It Forward' with books. But when you visit this website, not only can you register a book that you have found, you can also go book-hunting; there's a section on the site where you can search in your city for books that have been left places. How great is this idea?! I am totally going book-hunting in the future. All I need now is one of those safari hats and a tranquilizer gun. And a bad British accent.

*Edit: I forgot the best story of the day! We were talking about the best part (or best Christmas gift) of vacation, and one girl said, 'Mein bestes Geschenk war ein Augen-Hund.' Er...what? Is someone in your family suddenly blind, so that they need a seeing eye dog? I'm not sure that should be on the list of 'my favorite gifts'. Upon being asked what this 'Augen-Hund' is, the girl proceeded to explain what it does, and I figured out what she meant...

An iDog. Of course!

2006: Year In Review

01 What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before? Bought a car!
02 Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I am horrible with resolutions, and as such didn't make any last year. Tentatively looking at making some for this year though, and they are:
(a) Quit the self-pity.
(b) Get out of the house more.
03 Did anyone close to you give birth? Not that I know of.
04 Did anyone close to you die? No, thank god.
05 What countries did you visit? Germany.
06 What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? A life outside work.
07 What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Can't really think of any.
08 What was your biggest achievement of the year? Surviving my first year as a kindergarten teacher.
09 What was your biggest failure? Almost getting fired.
10 Did you suffer illness or injury? Not serious ones.
11 What was the best thing you bought? My car, and enrolling myself in the WB program.
12 Whose behavior merited celebration? Jamie, for moving to DC!
13 Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Politicians at large.
14 Where did most of your money go? Good question. Doubtless to the car.
15 What did you get really, really, really excited about? When I found I'd been accepted by the applied linguistics department at Cambridge!
16 What song will always remind you of 2006? That 'Beautiful' song by James Blunt. Because it just won't get out of my head.
17 Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same, I guess.
b) thinner or fatter? About the same, I (optimistically) guess.
c) richer or poorer? In terms of material possessions, richer. Actually earning a salary does that for a person.
18 What do you wish you'd done more of? Made more friends and gone out more.
19 What do you wish you'd done less of? Agonizing over work-related issues.
20 How did you spend Christmas? With the fam in B-lo.
21 "There is no question 21" Ha ha! Hey, Mr. Question Writer, you're not funny.
22 Did you fall in love in 2006? No..
23 How many one-night stands? Ha! 365, baby. And if you believe that, welcome, first-time blog reader!
24 What was your favorite TV show? 'The Office'. Steve Carell, you are a comedy god.
25 Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No, it takes a lot to make me hate someone.
26 What was the best book you read? The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
27 What was your greatest musical discovery? Ben Folds. Old-school, yes, go ahead and laugh.
28 What did you want and get? An iPod. Because I bought it myself.
29 What did you want and not get? A winning lottery ticket.
30 What was your favourite film of this year? 'Little Miss Sunshine'
31 What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 25, and we had a celebration of the last day of school. Also, I went out for Indian food with some friends.
32 What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Being appreciated by colleagues and parents of students.
33 How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? Workdays: Nice-looking clothes that I wouldn't mind getting tempera paint on. Weekends: Jeans and fleece.
34 What kept you sane? Phone calls to and from friends.
35 Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Are we British now? I don't really know.
36 What political issue stirred you the most? Stupidity in general annoys the crap out of me.
37 Whom did you miss? (American and Scottish) Friends from Germany.
38 Who was the best new person you met? One of my directors is pretty great. Though I really met her in 2005, so I'm not sure that counts.
39 Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006. Learn to communicate. If you have a question, ask it. (hey, that was two lessons)
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. 'Who needs sleep? (Tell me, what's that for?)' ~BNL, 'Who Needs Sleep?' Ha, lame but true. Perhaps I'll come up with a better quote later.

Happy New Year, everyone!

New Year's Resolution

In the year 2007 I resolve to: Bring back disco. Get your resolution here.

B is for 'Big Idiot'

It may actually be possible for me to get too much sleep and not get anything whatsoever accomplished and thus get very cranky... or maybe I'm just a brat and need something to complain about. (the latter is probably true) At any rate, vacation is lovely, I am incredibly lazy and haven't even finished my Christmas/Happy New Year cards yet. Also, the intentions to apply to other grad schools have rather crashed and burned: Georgetown's deadline is the 3rd instead of the 15th, which makes me want to pull my hair out or do something that would at least help me feel like less of an idiot. Perhaps my hopes are pinned on Cambridge after all.

Re: Cambridge: No further news as of yet. Though everyone I've talked to, including those who have connections in grad school offices of admission, thinks I'm in. I'm still not trying to get my hopes up too much, but it's getting hard! I have also stupidly forgotten my application ID and password in MN, so I can't check the status of my application online until I get back. Oh well, at least this way I'm forced not to think about it.

Hope everyone has/had a wonderful Hannukah/Christmas/Kwanzaa/Diwali/Festivus! Go live it up on New Year's Eve...because I will certainly be hanging out at home, watching the ball drop on TV, just like every year.

Guess who's on vacation!

Pick me, pick me!! Not having to work is fantastic...funny, but I feel like I've been more productive not going to work than I do when I go to work. (does that make any sense?) So far, I've got a haircut, gone to the grocery store and the bank, picked up Christmas presents, done my laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and gone for a walk. And I've gotten 10 hours of sleep for two nights in a row. Being in a good mood and not exhausted is a nice change.

While trolling the Internet (because I have time to do that!), I've found this highly amusing site for those of you who have spent extended periods of time in Germany: the Germany Survival Bible! Hilarious, and everything they say is so true! One of my favorite sections is the one about German medicine; how they are averse to anything non-homeopathic, including vaccinations, and how they firmly believe that wearing a scarf cures any illness. Even if you haven't been to Germany, you should read it...those Germans are strange.

Only one more day till I fly home for two weeks! Yippee!

Stay tuned for possibly another post today, or at least before I fly home. Since I'm on vacation and now have time for that sort of thing.

What I Did Today

• Made truffles (mmm!)
• Snapped at the other first-grade class
• Very, very much missed my class, after spending only half an hour with the other first-grade class
• Took an hour-long nap after school
• Danced the tango with one of my students
• Cleaned the shower (eww)
• Did the dishes
• Finished folding laundry that wasn't dry yesterday
• Watched disgusting amounts of television
• Put off going to bed, due to the aforementioned nap

Back in the day

Meme stolen from Jess.

20 years ago, I was:

• hating my kindergarten teacher for playing a joke on me in front of the whole class
• chilling on our old orange and brown plaid couch with the stuffing coming out of the top, watching Nickelodeon
• begging my mom to please, please, please let me take violin lessons

15 years ago, I was:

• the sound tech-type person for a guest speaker/school play (the other gifted-and-talented kids got to be in the play; I was backstage)
• playing "Press Your Luck" with Lauren, Mike and Jonathan at lunch
• cracking my friends up, doing impressions of our teacher

10 years ago, I was:

• crushing madly on a boy from church
• pleading with my friends who had cars to give me rides to and from orchestra
• spending weekends cruising up and down Transit Road, hitting up the bulk foods section at Wegman's and hanging out at Denny's

5 years ago, I was:

• thinking about going abroad for the first time ever, on a 5-week summer program
• 'working' at the Math and German Workshops, getting pizza delivered to Hollenbeck Hall
• spending Thursday nights at Heather, Molly, Jessie and Nick's house, watching 'ER' and griping about those stupid education classes

1 year ago, I was:

• being run ragged by kindergarteners
• pretty much hating my job
• feeling lonely in a new city and still figuring everything out

Yesterday, I was:

• being run ragged by first-graders
• teaching Irish dance
• taking part in a 'holiday sweater pub crawl', which turned more into hanging out with a few folks at one bar and losing the rest of the pub crawlers

Wow, three bullet points every five years really do summarize my life.

The worst Christmas songs!

I've been listening to the 24-hour Christmas music station a lot recently, and I feel a need to share my opinion on this subject with the Internet world. As if you wanted to know, here it comes:
the Unofficial List of Worst Christmas Songs I Have Ever (Or, At Least Recently) Heard!

1. Last Christmas, by Wham! -- I know some people are going to strongly disagree with me on this one, but I seriously cannot stand this song. Whiny, obnoxious, self-pitying... and who can forget that chorus. ('Laaaaaaaaaast Christmas, I gave you my heart [gave you my heart]...) Good god, it's annoying me just thinking about it. Plus, this song reminds me of spending Christmas in Germany; apparently, this song is what the Germans associate with American Christmas carols. Ugh.

2. Wonderful Christmas Time, by Paul McCartney -- [picture this on a synthesizer:] WOW wow wow wow wow wow... WOW wow wow wow wow wow... I love you, Paul McCartney, but the synthesizer was really a poor choice. Plus, I highly doubt the children have been practicing their Christmas songs all year; it's probably been a month and a half at most.

3. Anything by the Beach Boys -- I don't think I really need to explain this one.

4. That Christmas shoes song -- Someone needs to tell the music executives that a heartfelt song does not equal sappiness. Who thinks that a song contrived to wring out every drop of sympathy from your soul, backed up by a children's choir (subtlety, nice!), is actually going to convey the spirit of the Christmas season? Apparently listeners can't draw conclusions; they need to be smacked in the face with a message and be told what to think.

5. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer -- Speaking of Christmas messages, here's a real winner. Nothing says 'Merry Christmas' like the untimely death of a close relative, bad grammar and stupid jokes.

On the flip side, two amazing Christmas songs:

1. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen by Nat King Cole -- Actually, anything by Nat King Cole is fantastic, but this carol is my favorite to begin with. I love me some Christmas carols set in a minor key. I can (and have) set this song on repeat and listened to it over and over.

2. O Holy Night from 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip' -- Okay, it's from a TV show. The musicians who played this original version are from New Orleans and were sponsored by the Tipitina Fund, which is working on rebuilding the musical tradition of the city. When I was watching the show, this song gave me goosebumps; I got online to download it the next day. (available for listening or downloading here)

I'm curious to hear opinions on this. What are your most loved/despised Christmas songs? Not that this blog has a vast readership or anything, but I'm sure that between the 5 or so of us, we could come up with some pretty good lists.

*SHRIEK!!*

I got an email from the secretary of Cambridge's Applied Linguistics department today. The second sentence is:

'I am happy to inform you that we intend to recommend that you are accepted as a candidate commencing October 2007.'

I just tried to type all sorts of exclamations that come to my mind when I read that, but nothing does it justice.

Anyway, the email goes on that this is by no means an acceptance, the university still has to look at my application, etc., etc. ...but still! Holy one-step-closer-to-going-to-Britain-next-year, Batman!

"I'm compelled to go straight home and crawl into bed until morning. There's nothing wrong with that, right?"

Thanks to Hetta for the quote. And dude, that is totally my life; don't knock it. Let me tell you that I was in bed by 8.30 yesterday. That hasn't been my bedtime since I was 10 (or so). I guess the exhaustion was stemming from a number of factors, such as spending a day with first-graders, trying to teach said first-graders something, doing a painting project with the first-graders, and also getting less than 5 hours' sleep the night before. Because...

I finished and emailed the Cambridge paper! 2137 words of unadulterated crap, but well-written crap. Example sentence: 'Hyltenstam and Abrahamsson’s hypothesis that a second language learner has no hope of attaining native-like proficiency fails to take into account any individual variables that might affect one’s eventual outcome.' Yeah, that's right. Take that, Hyltenstam and Abrahamsson.

Other news: School is being a pain. Not so much the kids as the lack of communication, things not getting done, etc., etc. (the exhaustion might be coloring my view on this one)

Also: I am making spinach lasagna for the Night Formerly Known As 'West Wing Wednesday' But Is Now Just A Wednesday On Which We Eat And Hang Out (And Watch 'Studio 60'). Hopefully it's edible.

How are you?

On today's shopping list

Among a few other things:

• Tissues, times 3
• Zicam, times 2
• Clementines
• Soup, 4 cans

Someone's got a cold. Blech. Stupid germy kids.

And to Müs: 2,000 words is totally eight pages, not four. You lied. Punk.

*Edit: Wow, that Zicam is good stuff! Also, 1098 words. 902 to go. Shoot me in the face.

Oh my god! He's got rabies!

Müs (in the white shirt) is now famous as a 'Sexy Rabid Cannibal'.



Still procrastinating.

Cambridge update

On Monday, I got an email from the secretary of the linguistics department at the University of Cambridge. I was kind of surprised and nervous, not expecting a decision this soon, and via email. However, the content of said email was only one sentence: 'I wonder if you had received my previous email.' Um, no...? So I continued to read the previous email which she had attached. Basically, the admissions comittee wants me to write a paper on a specific journal article in addition to my application, so that they can better decide if I'm suited to their program. This paper was due on: Wednesday, November 29.

[insert expletive here]

So I emailed back, saying that I hadn't received the original email and therefore it would be exceedingly difficult to write a 2,000 word paper on an article in two days, especially since I had to first find the article. After much back-and-forth, I got the very nice and patient secretary to send me the article and give me an extension until Monday.

The gist of all this: Instead of having 3 weeks to write a 'critical analysis' (what does this mean, anyway?) of a journal article, I have two days. (weekend days at least, not evenings after work) What am I doing now? Procrastinating.

Some things never change.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Don't fool yourself, it really is the best holiday of the entire year. I am off to NJ to visit extended family... well, family, period. And eat all sorts of fantastic food. I have been counting down until Thanksgiving since September and cannot wait!

Safe travels to all and enjoy that bass! (...er, turkey)

Say hello to my bipolar self

Heh heh... so the previous post, while true, strikes me now as rather bitchy and obnoxious. It may be deleted in an attempt not to offend people and/or to not get found out by my co-workers. So read and enjoy(?) while you still can.

In other news, today was a fantastic day! My kids had NO TIME-OUTS! None of them! Generally there are at least 4 usual suspects who get 3 or more in one day, but today, everyone was on task! Everyone did their best work (or an approximation thereof)! AND I got to eat my lunch in peace today, not with 50 rabid squirrels (=elementary schoolers). But seriously, no discipline infractions!

My kids rock.

Oh yeah, and I got an iPod. :)

Culture clash

I have an assistant teacher in my classroom, since our school participates in this program that brings foreign students to the US for a semester or a year, to help teach their native languages (Spanish, French, German, etc.) in American classes. I suppose it's sort of like the Fulbright TA program, except the students who come over are in various situations: some have already graduated from college and want to spend some time abroad, some are studying to be teachers and want some real-world experience, and some are killing time before their student teaching starts. My intern belongs to the last group.

Now, I've tried to be open-minded and culturally aware, not to mention patient with the fact that she's not a teacher yet and things don't come naturally to her. However, it's been three months and I've come to a conclusion: We just don't get along. It's not that we really dislike each other, but we are just not on the same page at so many levels. For example, I still don't know very much about her life in Germany, other than her worries about getting a good student teaching placement. I also have no idea how much she knows about me. Other examples:

• I am at school 20 minutes before the kids arrive and usually until at least 5.00.
• She spends time chatting with the other interns downstairs and during lunch hour, showing up 15 minutes late in the morning and afternoon. She also does not help at dismissal, instead leaving early with one of the kids.
• I will send kids out of the group if they are acting up, and talk about it with them later.
• She reprimands them in front of the class, and pretty harshly at that (if you know Germans, you know what I mean).
• I recognize that when a large percentage of the kids aren't paying attention or doing what they're supposed to be doing, it's because I didn't give clear enough directions.
• She plows on ahead and continues to reprimand students for not listening.
• I tell anecdotes about some of the kids occasionally (come on, all teachers do), but in private, among coworkers.
• She talks to me about what some of the kids have done (usually negative stories) in class, within hearing of all of the other kids.
• Me (to kids): "Thank you for listening. Did you hear how quiet we were in the hallway? Everyone has earned a plus; you did a great job."
• She: "I heard that being here helped the last intern so much, and she's having a much easier time with her student teaching. I am so glad I'm doing this now; it'll make student teaching so much easier!"

Disclaimer: I am by no means super-teacher (hi, it's only my second year, I'm still figuring it all out). I think the main difference is that this is my job right now, and I am going to do it well if it kills me. My intern is just waiting around until her student teaching starts and earning a gold star for her resume.

Also, she's German and I'm not. That might have something to do with it.

I heart Canada and ridiculous online quizzes

You are 91% Canuck!

You rock, you are an almighty Canadian through and through. You have proven your worthiness and have won the elite prize of living in a country as awesome as Canada. Yes I know other countries think they are better, but we let them have that cuz we know better than they do, eh?

How Canadian Are You?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I clearly need something better to do with my time. Wait, 'The Office' starts in half an hour. Guess that problem's solved.

You know it's going to be a long day when...

... a co-worker says, 'You look tired this morning.' Apparently the 7 1/2 hours that is my standard on the weekdays isn't doing it for me. Also, you know it's going to be a really long day when you find out that the copy machine is broken indefinitely.

Random thought of the day: My housemate asked again (!) today how I hit something with my car. (insert expletives in my head here) I explained. He asked, 'Was there any alcohol involved?' I nearly burst out laughing... obviously doesn't know me very well yet, does he? I can drive just as stupidly without being under the influence, thanks very much.

Off to watch 'House' shortly and then to bed. Such is my exciting life.