Lessons learned this weekend

1. When playing at a friend's colleague's wedding, always drive yourself. Do not carpool, no matter how much fun said wedding will supposedly be.
2. Practice may not make perfect, but you should definitely run through the music at least once before the wedding. Receiving the music earlier than two hours before is key.
3. When playing at an outdoor wedding, wear pants. No skirts, especially none that can be caught by the wind.
4. Cold medicine + Alcohol = NOT GOOD.
5. Try not to overanalyze things. At the very least, don't think about 200 steps in advance.
6. I am a mean-spirited, bad person. *frowny face goes here*

WTF?

My housemate asked me earlier this evening if I was going to play violin today. (strangely, this is not an uncommon question from him) I said yeah, I have to practice for the wedding I'm playing in tomorrow, but I'd rather not have it recorded, ha ha. He was like, okay, I won't tape record it. I thought that this was a weird turn of phrase, but whatever.

So I wait until he's downstairs watching TV, and I play around for about half an hour. I pack up, leave the room, and he's standing there with the camera and says, 'Can you do that last part again?' WTF, dude?? I was pretty ticked off at this point and was like, 'I asked you not to record me.' He goes, 'I said I wouldn't tape record you.' I was like, seriously, this is not funny. I'm not going to get into a semantic argument with you right now; the point is, I asked you not to tape me practicing, and you did it anyway. When he saw that I was so pissed off, he said, 'Okay, okay, I'll erase it.'

WTF, dude. If this tape even ends up on the internet, I will be so pissed. Creeeeepy.

Brought to you by tea and antihistamines

So 'allergies' have turned into sinusitis. I stayed home sick today and have done nothing but sleep, read, and watch TV. And it sounds like my TA wasn't there either...and I hadn't written up any sub plans... oops. But I did ask if there was anything I could do, and my boss didn't say anything... and she could have called and asked me to email in some plans, right? Oh well. Hopefully my class didn't get into some huge fight or burn down the school or anything.

Not a whole lot to report besides this...except that my housemate is getting on my nerves. I don't know if this is because I've been not feeling well, but all I really want is for him to leave me alone. He's got this tendency to ask questions that don't really have to do with anything, like 'What kind of violin do you have?' or 'Did you graduate high school when you were 14 or something?', or tell me random information that I don't really care about, like how he used to think the woman for whom we are housesitting was really hot. Between this and his posting a video (or, more accurately, audio) of my violin-playing online, I'm starting to get weirded out. Müs, come on out here and break his kneecaps.

*squeak*

It's Saturday! And this means I can give you lovely folks an update about what has happened this week. Not a whole lot has been going on, per usual, but some strange/annoying/illogical stuff at work. Surprise, surprise!

Before I get into that, some notes:
1. My sinuses are squeaking. Thanks, allergies. (TMI? Ha, welcome to my blog!)
2. If you haven't heard of this band, they are worth checking out! Not as good as GBS, but fun music. (Müs - I will burn you the CD, no worries.)
3. My housemate keeps trying to get me to play violin again. So he can record it, I guess. Uh, creepy or just weird?

Okay, let's get back to the stories about work. It was my director's brilliant idea to have a big 'First Grade Exchange Program' between the two classes. First, the teachers would teach each other's class for a day. Then, we would swap three kids a day for a week or so, or until all the kids had a chance to visit the other class. The point of this was for the kids to get to know each other better, since they'll all be in one huge second grade class next year, but the underlying reason was for me to bring some sort of order to the other first grade class. Because I am mean and strict and don't tolerate any disrespect or kids screwing around.

So we started this program on Wednesday, and my coteacher spent the day observing my class so that, hypothetically, he could copy the routines and techniques that I have down and apply them to his class. I took this as a compliment, so I was okay with it. Until he brought a book to class and proceeded to read it while I was teaching class. Every time the boss would show up, he'd quickly shove the book under the desk and take a few notes in his notebook, but other than that, he had a free day. And after he had finised the book, he played solitaire on his palm pilot (as observed by my TA). I was pretty ticked off, so I called him on it at the end of the day. He was like, 'Oh, don't tell [the boss]; I'll help you move again when you have to move or help you find a dishwasher!' It's not like I'd tell her anyway (hi, not a tattle-tale), but I found this very obnoxious and unfair. Especially since we swapped classes on the next day, and he was supposed to be following my routines in my class, but just brought over his routines. Whereas I'd had no exposure to his classroom structure and was just supposed to jump in and teach his kids cold. According to my TA and some of the kids, it did not go too well. (Actually, my TA was a bit horrified and the kids all gave me hugs when they saw me at lunch and were like, 'We miss you!' Yeah, that's right, I'm awesome.) So, in summary:

• Coworker gets a free day and gets to teach a (usually) well-behaved and orderly class.
• I get no day off and have to teach a crazy class for which I have had no preparation.

Is this my reward for being a decent teacher? And it's not like I think I'm amazing or anything (definitely, definitely not amazing), but if there's one thing I do have, it's structure and follow-through. And then he asked me if we should get together this weekend to plan, which we usually do at the beginning of each unit. I said, 'Maybe, but to be honest, I don't really feel like it.' I'll try it on my own this weekend, I think, because I was just too annoyed at the whole situation. And if he even shows up on Monday and asks me for my plans for the week... well. Nothing dramatic will happen, but I can pretend it will.

Guilt trip

Today, I lodged a formal complaint with my boss about the aide for the ADHD kid. And by 'formal complaint', I mean 'handwritten note on a piece of notebook paper'. And by 'aide', I mean 'the 60ish-year-old man from the Ukraine who sits in my classroom and gets paid $12 an hour to do nothing'. Anyway, he was undermining my authority yet again in front of my class and just generally being a huge pain. Again, I question why we pay this guy and why we don't just ditch him, but apparently it's not that easy. Being incompetent is clearly not reason enough to lose your job. (case in point = me! ha ha!)

ANYWAY. I was griping to my boss about this and wrapped up with something like, 'Just wanted to make sure this was documented somewhere, if anything else happens or a pattern shows up.' She congratulated me on being stubborn and said, 'You know, you wouldn't have trusted yourself enough to stand up to him last year. You've really grown into this job. I'm proud of you and so glad we have you.'

Heh. Uh... I won't be back next year. Every time something like this happens, it makes it harder for me to bring it up. (needless to say, I haven't done it yet) However, I have found a solution to the not-getting-paid-over-the-summer dilemma: I've volunteered to teach two week-long summer courses at school. In August. That way, they'll have to pay me through then, unless they don't want me to do the courses at all....right? Is that too backhanded? I just don't want to get screwed over, and I feel getting paid less (10 out of 12 months) for just as much work as the returning teachers is unfair. Hopefully they'll be relatively sympathetic...

'Hold on, I'm going to stop and take a picture...'

To change up the format a little bit from the usual bullet points, I present to you: A (Rather Small) Photo Slideshow of DC! Note that I am not in these photos because my uncle nearly dropped my camera. Twice. (At which he said, 'At least there's no film in it!' Ha ha... give it back now.)

The White House. Actually, it looked smaller than I thought it was.

WWII Memorial (obviously) and Lincoln Memorial in the background.

Cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial. Luckily, we went on Wednesday, since there was a huge thunderstorm that night and most of the blossoms were gone the next day, I heard.

The Capitol. You can play 'Spot the Security Guards' with this picture!

Requisite photo of cherry blossoms. Does not, however, capture how ridiculously cold it is here; where's that lovely early-April spring weather?

Freudian slip?

I was just searching online for things to see during my stay in DC, and I was checking out a description of the US Capitol:
'CAPITOL HILL. The White House notwithstanding, this domed icon of democracy is the capital city's most significant and, perhaps, most impressive building.'
And the first time I read it, I saw the word 'doomed' instead of 'domed'. What does this mean for the future of my country??

[witty title here]

Guess who's on spring break! It doesn't feel a whole lot like spring break yet, since it's just a normal weekend and it's gray and rainy outside... However! In two short days, I'll be in DC, enjoying real spring weather and going out to dinner! It's actually rather funny how much I'm looking to going out to eat; I was thinking about this today and I've been out to eat twice in the past three months. At some point, making your own food (particularly if it consists of pasta and Lean Cuisine) gets very old. Also, I'm too cheap to have pizza or Chinese delivered, so that's that. Anyway, I'll be hanging out in DC with my uncle, to whom money is almost no object, and who loves good food. There will be some good times.

While I'm in DC, apart from fighting my way through groups of eighth-graders on their school trips, I'm also hooking up with Jamie, who seriously lives an exact copy of my life except has more fun, and Carolyn, whom I haven't seen since our shopping trip on Ku'damm in Berlin. I cannot WAIT. It will be fantastic. These are just about the two most fun people I know, and their sense of humor complements mine so well. It'll be great to be reminded that I do have friends out there, not just acquaintances.

In other news, I did my taxes today. Nothing like not getting as much back from the guvmint as you thought you might. And honestly, my taxes are not incredibly difficult but they take me forever. I was working on them for four hours today: See Instructions page 53, Complete Schedule A unless you have nine toes, in which case complete Worksheet K, etc., etc... Shoot me in the face. MN's tax forms are the most ridiculously complicated I have seen in my life. At least they're done, and I will be getting back a grand total of $600 to put into the Cambridge Fund (i.e., my savings account).

Speaking of Cambridge, I'm still searching for funding. Part of me just wants to apply for a loan and be done with it. Part of me still thinks I'm crazy for wanting to go another $35000 into debt. None of me really wants to be working at the school again next year.

Other than that, my life is boring, really. This is why I don't update very often.

Update for the sake of having an update

More bullets!

• We have had 3 cases of head lice at school. Thinking about this makes my scalp itch.
• The kids were ANNOYING AS HELL today. Nothing major happened; they were just being disrespectful, obnoxious little brats. Oh well, I have my bratty days, they have theirs.
• I am taking tomorrow off! I have never, ever taken a day off for a reason unrelated to a special occasion or to being sick. This is a pretty big step for me. It feels nice.
• The real reason I'm taking tomorrow off is that report cards have to be done on Saturday and I haven't started them. Oops! Nothing like mandatory on-line professional development courses and endless staff meetings to eat away at your soul free time. To be honest, though, I think I've reached that point where I don't care. I cannot be bothered with this stuff; it's just too much. I've been walking around like a zombie the past three weeks and it's got to stop.
• I'm going to DC over spring break! And it's paid for! I'm going to conveniently ignore the ton of work that has been assigned to me during that time and have a vacation.
• Kudos to Hetta on moving! I fully expect before and after photos when you redecorate. :)

Just one more week... I can do it...

PEOPLE SUCK.

Also: I am in desperate need of a day off.

That is all.

The Worst Week So Far This Year

I'm too exhausted to go into all of it right now, but some high points:

• Spending 3 hours at a school board meeting, watching them make an absolutely wrong decision. Subsections of this include:

(a.) Staying at school until 9.45.

(b.) Being 'invited' to share my views with the board and then being criticized for them.

These things make me want to yell at them, 'I'M NOT COMING BACK NEXT YEAR BECAUSE I'M GOING TO CAMBRIDGE! SUCK ON THAT!' Except that would be neither polite nor professional.

• Getting lost.
• Staying at my director's house overnight because I couldn't make it home.
• Getting stuck in the road outside my house. For the third time.
• Missing THREE dance rehearsals.
• Not being able to do my laundry for the third straight week.
• Finding out that, yes indeed, I am being screwed over by my car dealership.
• Trying ineffectually to contact said dealership.

I just want to give up.

Taking up space in my brain right now:

In bullet form, because I love those bullet points:

• The snow's novelty has worn off. I love sledding and various snow-related activities as much as any former Buffalonian, but doing fun things in the snow is far different than driving in it. And by 'driving', I mean 'getting stuck twice'. My new goal in life is to live in a city with fantastic public transportation and/or win the lottery so I can hire a chauffeur, so I don't have to drive. Ever.
• Apparently my car's tires are bald. This is example #3 of the dealership screwing me over. I am pissed about this.
• I have an appointment to take my car in for a tune-up and new tires on Wednesday. Thank goodness that's also pay day.
• I totally forgot to get a gift for this baby shower that we're having for a co-worker on Thursday. I won't have time between now and then, either. What to do??
• Tomorrow night is the school board meeting at which a number of Big Important Issues will be decided. I'd planned on going, because I have some things to say about these Issues. Hopefully I won't be stuck there until 10.30 at night, which is often the time these things are finished.
• I have to attend a training session on how to use the copy machine on Wednesday. WTF?
• St. Patty's Day madness is starting up. I missed the first big rehearsal yesterday due to the aforementioned car being stuck and still am frustrated about this. However, there are rehearsals at least twice (if not three times) a week from now until then, so I guess I'll catch up.
• Still haven't done my laundry. This broken washing machine situation is the biggest pain in the ass.
• Triple Sec and Sprite is quite tasty.
• 5 hours' sleep is not good to me.

It's 8.30, and I'm going to bed in a few minutes. Good night.

The funniest thing I have heard all day

Local news weatherman, amidst wimpy little snowflakes: 'It's really coming down out here. I'm guessing it's about an inch an hour.'

WTF?! An INCH per hour constitutes really coming down?! Give me a break. I literally burst out laughing at the TV. And if that makes me a huge dork, well, so be it.

On a less funny note, these people suck at plowing the streets. It's not 'really coming down' or anything, but the streets are as slippery as... something really slippery. A wet seal, perhaps.

I am such a wimp.

It would figure that the Big Snowstorm Of The Winter So Far (cue shrieking) would occur on the one free day I'll have in the space of two weeks. I desperately need to go grocery shopping and do my laundry today, because I won't get a chance to until next weekend, but the snow is blowing sideways and I don't want to go outside. I'm not a great driver in the best of conditions, but freezing rain and snow and wind is a bit much. Maybe I'll just be that obnoxious person who drives at like 10 miles an hour down a busy road.

All right, I'm going to suck it up and go now. Wish me luck!

ETA: I made it back in one piece from the grocery store, in case anyone was wondering. However, I got stuck halfway up the driveway when I got back. The driveway is short but steep, and so I had to leave the car parked with the tail end sticking out into the road while I shoveled out the wheels so I could try to pull it in... twice. After that (and fishtailing all over the short driveway), I decided that I could live without doing laundry for another few days. Heh. I have never missed a washing machine more in my life.

Enough procrastinating, I'm going to bed now

Remember when you took that Myers-Briggs personality test in high school or college? I still remember when the career counselor told me that I was the most introverted person she had ever seen... Anyway, the descriptions on this site are actually true! Check this part out:

INTJs are usually difficult to get to know well, and difficult to get close to. Those who are close to the INTJ will highly value them for their ideas and knowledge. Although INTJs are generally very serious-minded people, they also have been known to enjoy letting loose and having fun, if others pull them into it. They also can be really good at telling jokes, and exhibiting a sarcastic wit with a poker face.

Sarcastic, me? What? Oh, I love that dry sense of humor...

Also, 'they' say I would be well-matched to a career as a scientist, professor or teacher. Maybe they know something after all. (We'll just ignore the suggestion of 'military leader'...)

Something's not right...

I've been enjoying my Day O' Freedom very much, and by that I mean doing as little as possible. Though I did get around to doing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom (gross), participating in an online 'professional development' course and getting the week's lesson plans done. But somehow I've gotten this strange feeling of unease in the past 20 minutes or so. I don't know if it's because of an email from DB (he feels it's unlikely that I'll get a great deal of financial aid) or just dreading going back to work tomorrow, but my good mood has vanished. Weird.

I heart Presidents

Thank you, dead Presidents, for giving us a four-day weekend. It was/is sorely needed, especially since it's the only break we have until Easter. Oh yeah, and thanks for leading the country through its times of crisis, etc., etc.

I've filled in three of the four days so far by driving around and doing errands: planning with my co-teacher, making a half-assed attempt to reorganize my classroom, teaching Irish dance, going to dance rehearsal, putting gas in the car, going to Target, and going to the Mall. All I really needed was a black shawl-/scarf-type-thing to wear with a borrowed dress to the 'Maskenball' (that's right, the formal affair that serves as a fundraiser for the school to which the teachers were invited and/or forced to attend). However, I ended up coming home with a dress. And you all well know that I am perhaps the cheapest person on the face of the planet and rarely buy new stuff, let alone frivolous stuff that I will possibly never wear again. But this dress (apart from being on sale -- ha, some things never change) is totally worth it; I actually look good in it. And I never think that about myself, so clearly, I couldn't pass this one up. The only downside here is that I feel rather dumb and irrational having already had a decent dress, but then going and spending money on a new one. Rationalizations, anyone?

Anyway. Other things I bought at the Mall were jewelry to wear with the dress (at Claire's! I was totally surrounded by 12-year-olds and felt way too old) and shoes for no real reason other than they are very cute. And they have cherries on them. And thus ends my last shopping spree for the foreseeable future.

About the Maskenball: It was actually not that bad. A bit weird, perhaps, to be chatting with the parents of your students while sipping champagne and wearing formal attire, but rather nice. I made no huge social faux pas, so that was good. Unfortunately, it was basically single me in a sea of married people; that was a bit annoying, but I didn't really care too much. At least there was no one I really had to impress.

In other news... got some mail from Cambridge today. The more I think about it, the more I really want to go for it. Despite all reasonable thought that says, I have a job with decent security (because there is a limited pool of qualified applicants), I'm earning money and paying off loans, I've spent a lot of time and effort trying to feel at home here, I don't necessarily have good plans for the future following an MA degree... then I think, it's the University of Cambridge! Seriously, how cool is that! I checked out the website for the umpteenth time today and found a list of MPhil candidates in my department... there are ten of them. TEN. Being accepted to a program that only takes ten people a year is pretty amazing. And turning that down because I don't have a spare 18,000 pounds seems pretty stupid.

Then again, it's 18,000 pounds. Let's hope I win the lottery or strike oil or something.

Things I Have Learned From A One-Date Experience

1. There are indeed people out there who like me for who I am. Those dating gurus aren't kidding.

2. Aforementioned people are crazy and obsessive. Purely hypothetical example: Sending me two emails and calling me 6 times the day after a first date.

3. If he doesn't like coffee, it's over.

4. Correct spelling in an email counts more than you think it does. At least with me. (For god's sake, don't screw up 'your' and 'you're'!)

5. Don't tell the guy you are nervous... or anything but completely cool. German honesty wins you no points here.

6. Don't be irrationally afraid if you don't know what the plan is. *cough*control freak*cough*

7. Alcohol makes things much easier.
7a. This is why the guy should drive.

8. You are not obligated to like the person back. In fact, you are not obligated to anything.

9. Ask specific questions. 'Tell me about yourself' is not helpful.

10. Ask follow-up questions. Otherwise, your date will think you are not interested in any aspect of her life.

Guess I got something out of it after all. Email or call me if you want stories... oh, how there are stories...

Dating = Iraq

Words of wisdom on dating/breaking up from Müs:

"Don't be like President Bush. Don't be afraid to cut and run."

Thanks, man.

Why...

... am I such a basketcase?!

... can't I not flip out during a first date?!

... can't I just go out on a date like a normal person?!

I'm 25, for god's sake. I clearly need mental help.