A good day for a list

Things that are good:
-No strange calls from private numbers post midnight last night to kind of freak me out.
-No missed calls from the sub caller to make me feel guilty for taking the week away from teaching.
-Waking up without an alarm clock for I don't know how many days in a row now.
-Today is payday from two of my three places of employment.
-Tomorrow after work, I shall come home to enjoy BOTH games of Hockey Night in Canada. Then, I get Sunday off.
-Without getting too used to the comfort of only working one place, I am back to my three jobs next week.
-I got the pics from my boss and have since updated my myspace pics. Not very important, but still a "good" thing. ;)

Things that are not so good:
-How spoiled I have become to only work one job this week. And knowing how nice that feels.
-The thought has entered my mind as to how I am going to survive the summer with just my retail job since schools and hockey rinks (except odd ball concerts) are shut down. The second batch of my loans are due starting soon and even though those are quarterly payments, it is going to kick my ass sending it in.
-Having the NY Times as your homepage on the day the release the Sept. 11th 911 calls. It makes me too sad to even want to think of opening and reading them.
-Knowing that I have to wake up to an alarm clock for work tomorrow.
-My crazy, three job life starts next week. At least I know I have two taken care of...the store and the Joe.

This is a good start, there might be more later.

Hello, Sunshine!!!

This afternoon when I left my house to go buy my lone meal of the day, I actually went outside without any sort of long sleeves and didn't think twice about it. It's been a long time and man, does it feel nice! We aren't in the clear yet, but warm weather is on its way and I am totally looking forward to it.

I am all sorts of creative today. One of the girls at the store is leaving to join her parents in Florida and today is her last day. We quickly became friends and I will miss her blonde/niave/innocent personality. She always brought a laugh and smile to a place that sometimes isn't all that friendly. I will miss her. So instead of signing the mass card from everyone at the store, I bought another one from Hallmark today. It's brilliant: outside, "'Never is life so exciting as at the beginning of a journey.' -a philsopher" inside, "'It sucks that you are leaving.' -me" HA! I love it. I was thinking of something else to get her, and I saw these picture frame things, one of which was in the same colors as the new summer line. The light bulb went on as soon as I saw it. I came home and printed out the pics from the store I took with my phone (our myspace default pics...more an inside joke between us than anything else) and put them in the frame. I made her another card in case she has a hard time adjusting to her sunny, West Palm Beach suburb. It will mean a lot to her and I love doing things for people, especially if it means making them feel better. :)

Seeing as I was just focused on Meghan's present today, I am fresh out of things to write about. It might be a boring to read but as I was just told via instant messenger, "she deserves her own post." So there you have it. Now I'm off as I have to walk the line early tonight.

Negative reactions

There are pro's and con's to having the New York Times as your home page. Reading the headlines keeps me informed as to national and global events. Reading the headlines also makes me completely flabbergasted sometimes. Forgive me for using my blog to bitch about some of these things.

Over the weekend I read how the No Child Left Behind Act is causing some schools to focus curriculum merely on reading and math, while letting other subjects, such as history and science fall by the wayside. I find a major fault with this not only because NCLB is the number one reason why I ceased to continue in the education program at U-D, and not only because I earned a degree in history. But I find fault with it because it limits the education that children receive and in turn, makes them hate learning. History is vital to understanding events on any level (international, national, state, local, etc). Without history, we would be unable to compare the Iraqi War to Vietnam; safely predict the growth of an area based on its past; and relate to our ancestor's feelings when similar circumstances encompass our own surroundings. I am not proficient in science by any means, but it is also a vital part of the K-12 education, and without it, Americans falter while others seek to take advantage of our weakness. To say the American education system sucks is an understatement. How much longer will this downward spiral continue before we are pushed aside and our most prestigious positions are held by green card carriers? No Child Left Behind was the original idea of Laura Bush, who is the most absent First Lady since the days of Mimi Eisenhower. She is safely hiding in the bunker with our vice president while her husband absent-mindedly reaks even more havoc on the schools in this country.

I also read about how the state of Florida is considering passing a bill that requires high school students to declare a major so they can have a more focused plan. What the shit is this? These are KIDS of all but 14 years of age. High school is a time to expand horizons and take many different subjects so you can make an educated decision as to what you might want to do. Schools in Europe are like this and kids have to decide early on which career path they might want to undertake. But as you have just read above, America is no where near this kind of decision.

I have no idea what state the country would be in if the White House was hit on September 11th. It's a frightening thought to ponder for very long. Zacarias Moussaoui admitted that was his "mission" on 9-11-01. I understand that there are many people who hate Americans for being selfish, spoiled bastards. I just don't understand how there are people that have so much hatred inside of themselves that they have to seek ways to destruct entire countries and ways of life trying to prove it. And I really don't understand lying, no matter what the motive behind it, religious or otherwise: "Mr. Moussaoui said there were times when a Muslim can lie without being immoral: to reconcile Muslims, to answer 'yes' when a wife asks, 'Am I beautiful?' and to carry out jihad."

Here we go again

Before I get started I must say that the new summer line at The Place is delightful. Full of bright, bold colors and a welcome change from the boring and ugly spring/Easter clothes that I've been staring at for the past six weeks. So onto the rest...

I worked eight hours yesterday, dressed thirteen mannequins and made eight addtional displays. Because I was working so efficiently with the girls, my boss gave me the option of whether I wanted to continue with the boys or help with the girls floorset. I said I'd do the mannequins. She just put her hand on my arm and smiled. I knew she was thankful that I made that decision. Summer clothes are a dream come true after working with the layered winter and spring looks.

It was closer to 11:30-11:45 when we made our way to the back to punch out. I was signing something in the office and she said "oh shit, amy, you're not here tomorrow are you?" I said no. She said "shit. what the hell am I going to do?" I said, "Dee, do you want me to come in and do the babies?" She said using a combination of all of the following and probably more that I just didn't hear: yes because you know how I feel about baby, that she needed me, that I saved her life last night (she has a bit flare for dramatics), and that I was awesome. So I said, what are the hours for tomorrow? So here I am again working 5p-2a. It won't be bad and I like it; Mannequins are fun, easy, and a different project. They also give me the opporitunity to work (dare I use this term?) independently. Dee trusts my judgement and leaves me alone to create masterpieces. It's also quite fun wearing some of the accessories that eventually end up on my people. Because I am working at the store now six days this week, I think it might be a safe guesstimate to assume that I am only working one job. I need ten more teaching days before the end of the school year. I am sure that is a feat that can be easily accomplished.

About my lack of a weekend:
I saw The Libertine Friday night. Strange film, reminded me of a Dogme95 style in many ways. Johnny Depp's character was one of the best I've seen from him. But it was hard to focus on the movie because of both the company I was in and the fact that I had plastic digging into my back directly next to my spinal cord that would end up leaving a bruise. These made for a wonderful evening and taught me how to move my back without feeling a shooting burst of pain. It was a small price to pay for a ticket to cloud nine, somewhere I'm not I've left since.

In other news:
Comcast flippin sucks. The service today is totally unacceptable. I am about to call and get a freaking credit to the account or something. It's completely absurd and overpriced for shit service that can't even work continuously throughout the day. Also on my to-do list, call another cable company and check out rates, service, and then most likely switch. This is the price one must pay to seek something from a monopolistic company. The whole thing is starting to make me really, really pissed off.

Fun JLA stories

For the first time in a long time, I can say that yesterday's game was great. As per usual, I walked into the Joe happy and cheerful and smiling and saying hi to everyone. After I had gotten something to eat from our little stand and almost running into Cory Cross, I stopped and was talking to an usher about his daughter (who has recently had knee surgery and also works at the Joe). This little hobbit, rookie usher comes in and was waving at me. Mind you, my attendance this year as been less than acceptable and he was maybe in my corner once or twice, anyway, I smiled back and said hi. Then he stops, comes over to Larry and says, "isn't she pretty?" I am trying to not laugh, though I can't say I can argue. Larry says, "oh yeah, she's my second wife. Doesn't she look like she could be my second wife?" Now I can't hold back and we all start laughing. Little hobbit comes up and puts his arm around me, I was thinking that was going to say something completely inappropriate, but then asked if I was French-Canadian. I said no in a kind of mean way, and felt bad when I saw his reaction. Then I caught myself and said yeah, you know what, I think I am. (In fact, I know I am.) He said, because you look like you really could be. That moment completely ruined the conversation Larry and I were having and then we parted ways. I went up to the concourse, checked in with Jack, and then went to my safe haven in the rink and ate dinner. Dennis came over and told his story of the debacle that was his birthday. I honestly have no idea why people think they need to get shitfaced on their birthdays. Completely pointless and you feel like shit the next day.

There is no part of the night that is more boring than when doors first open and there are very few people coming into the arena. A couple of men came in, asking me stupid questions about their seats that were on the other side of the rink and talking about flying pucks. I told my story and pointed out the spot on the wall about the puck during warmups that almost smacked my cheek a couple seasons ago. They didn't believe me about the mark on the wall, but I said it honestly left a mark. One of the guys said, would you ever say dishonest? He said, you just said honest, would you ever say dishonest? I knew what he meant but all I could think about was Jack Sparrow. Considering I had just posted that part of the movie, it was really eery.

An old friend that I hadn't seen in AGES stopped and said hi. We were trying to fix the chairs that they tie together so I was a little busy, distracted and caught off guard, but managed to get through the situation. But it's nothing to fret over, weirder things have happened.

My favorite season ticket holder showed up. It's always nice to see him and I think it's largely because he recognizes me as "the usher" in the section. So we caught up for awhile. It is so nice to think that after all this time that there is a ticket holder who actually - dare I say the word - cares about the usher in his section. Then a little bit later another guy and his wife who have partial season tickets showed up. They are so funny and I was totally glad to see them. Considering I was remaining in a good mood, this made my night. Since I only got the ties apart for the seats who I know have a problem staying together (whether it be for a wheelchair or bad legs/knees), I kept the rest together. This guy was leaning back on his chair. I walked up to him and said, you know if you fall over you are going to take the row with you and cause this horrific domino effect. He told me to shut up and get out of here. All in good fun. I like giving him a hard time because he does the same for me. The older man said hey, leave my girl alone. hahaha. I continued to give him shit for the rest of the game. It was sad at the end though, he said that was their last game of the season and they hoped to see me next year. GEESH! Thanks for the guilt trip!!! Ah well, I'll come to that decision in the next few months. I'm about 75% certain of my choice. Fun times were had in 125 last night. I didn't have to yell at more than ten people the entire night.

I suppose the only downside was the usher that had upper bowl right above me was hacking up his lungs every few minutes. It was the grossest, nastiest cough I've heard in a long time. I wished I took a Vitamin C pill before I left. Totally grossed me out for the majority of the game. Because of this, I had to stand on the right side instead of the left which threw me off. When I stand to the left I can see the majority of my section AND the rink so I can catch some of the game. Standing on the right enables me to see the section but I have to turn my head back to see the rink. Very confusing to the reader, but I have my own system that I don't like being diviated from.

Went to the bar for Dennis' bday after the game. Besides that meeting with destiny in November, I haven't been out after a game since before the lockout, especially with the ushers...now pushing about two years. I stayed out late regardless of me not drinking anything. Edmonton and Vancouver were on the Center Ice package and so I stayed and watched the game. Didn't get home and in bed until almost 2, which, when you get up at 6 on most days, is really late and noteworthy. I did make sure that I took both my multi-vitamin and extra vitamin C pills just because I was still grossed out from that cough. I will be washing my usher jacket within the next couple of days.

Now I am racking my brain and trying to creatively find a solution. Wish me luck.

Drink up me 'earties, yo ho!

As of late, one of two things have the ability to make me smile and feel better than what I already do (or don't, as the case may be today). This is the other one:

Capt. Jack : The rum is gone.

Elizabeth : Yes, the rum is gone.

Capt. Jack : Why is the rum gone?

Elizabeth : Because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scroundals.

Capt. Jack : But why is the rum gone?

and then one of the great Sparrow lines:

Barbossa : I must admit Jack, I thought I had you figured. But it turns out you're a hard man to predict.

Capt. Jack : Me? I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly stupid.

and while I am on a Pirates kick:

Which Pirates of the Caribbean character are you?

Savvy?

Jack of all trades

Yesterday was hellacious.

I walk into sub in the morning for a girl who I graduated high school with. Immense feelings of regret, shame, and envy quickly took over. I however did not let any of these show on the outside. I had to go to the other high school in the afternoon, this was not so bad. I know the kids from being there more often and there is not the weirdness factor of being in my old high school, subbing for my old teachers - or my old classmates.

My boss wanted me to go into the store last night. I agreed reluctantly because I felt bad for being kind of bitchy when I told her she was the one that fucked up with the schedule this week. Whatever. I went in and I had to fill a blank section on the sale wall, which was emptied because she finally got around to transferring winter jackets to the outlet store. It took me four hours to do this small task. I had a million people come up to me asking hundreds of questions and wanting me to check in the back to see if we had another size. This is not unusual, but it was aggravating only because there was a fashion show group using our clothing. Also in the middle of filling the wall and helping the mass crowd, I had to finish up the transfers, getting them ready to be shipped out. Then I finished up. Because I was so sick of straightening after we closed, I volunteered to change six spotlights. Easy and different. When the job is so repetitive, seeking and finding those two things are a comfort.

Today is just game day. And I hardly anticipate working tonight, but if I say otherwise, I'm sure the people in my section will be unbearable assholes. Working at the Joe is a double-edged sword.

Right now, I have to go find something else to do except bitch in my blog about how much my jobs suck. Ciao.

A Blue Sky Holiday

So we are all guilty of spending endless amount of time clicking away on the internet just out of pure boredom. I have added a link on the left, "click for a good cause" to change that. Since most of us are fortunate to have a high-speed internet connection at home or work, this takes less than a minute and the benefits are endless. And it will make you feel better about your day knowing that you helped others with no pain or discomfort to you.


This links to the literacy site. Click the red button. Scroll down on the next page that comes up and do the same for the hunger, breast cancer, child health, rainforest, and animal rescue sites. Painless good you are contributing to your world. All off these issues affect us, we can all do a miniscule step to help improve a planet desperate for some healthy attention.

I'm done trying to impose my good will toward the masses today. Check back tomorrow for more history lessons and ways to make your world a better place.

So it's spring!

First things first: I saw my first robins of the season today. It is most appropriate too, considering it is the first full day of spring. Temperatures would suggest otherwise. So would the fact that I've heard robins before today, just not seen them. I'm still waiting for my blatant sign of spring, when I see it, I will share.

Next: I just sent out my resume and a cover letter via email. To say I am fed up with the way I am working right now is an understatment. Lately I feel as though I am living the life of a 52-year-old man who escapes his ruined home life by arriving to the office early and staying late to avoid the uncomfortable silence in his own house since his kids just left for college and his estranged wife wants nothing to do with him. Only I'm not a 52-year-old man, I'm a 24-year-old woman and if I keep going down this road will crash and burn into something terrible and horrific that not even a silver lining would be able to save. Yes, I read too much. Yes, you are probably laughing right now. So no, you cannot make fun of that analogy.

The fastest way to change is through action. Hopefully this is the first step in the right direction. Time will tell, as it always does.

Last: I did not appreciate the opening scene of 24 last night. I knew, by the way Jack acted that Tony was gone, but I am in denial. I've been asking all season for him to wake up and take over, when he did that, I was happy. But then they killed him? What gives? I honestly believe that Jack has enough to be pissed off about with the death of his best friend (if he can qualify having a best friend).
I did not appreciate when the Homeland asshole told Chloe that the Big E was on his list of deceased. Jerk.
I do not appreciate that every whore who works for a terrorist seeks immunity signed by the president. I'm a big fan of 24, but this tactic is getting really old, really fast.
I'm not sure Sheryl Crow ever got on my good side, but Good Lord the plot twists at the end. Really? I bet the DOD is working with the vice president to release that nerve gas somewhere.

Taken out of context or run through a google search, the preceeding information about last night's episode could really be blown out of proportion. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Hockey team redeems Basketball performance

Another CCHA tournament, another champion crowned. Michigan State's banner will hang high in the Joe for another year. I hate working those games and yet every year I am always there, on my feet for eight-plus hours yelling at people who think they own the place. As if two games of college hockey wasn't enough, I came home to find the Wings on Hockey Night. Happy CBC coverage. Even showed a couple Ford commercials amidst their current foreign infiltration.

My highlight from Friday among other things: actually getting kicked out of a museum. Classic. At least when I have to do that, I use manners and am relatively polite. Geesh.

My week ahead consists of a first time major scheduling glitch. I have a game Thursday night and yet I am on-call at the store. Hmmmm....not a big deal I am hoping, but it's nice that I am scheduled for a day that I requested off over a month ago for my other job. Not like I ask for days off because I am gallivanting around town. I am increasingly growing sick of that environment, and now with Cari gone, I'm sure things are going to get worse before they get better. With playoffs and my retirement from the Joe on the horizon, it is with that organization my loyalities and duties lie. But as I work in a hockey rink, I am as superstitious as any this time of year and won't say anything else. Figure it out on your own and stay tuned. ;)

Now I am off to enjoy some of this sunshine.

"You look tired, sub."

Quote of the day courtesy of a student in my sixth hour class today. I am beyond tired right now. I'm working too much, I think. I don't have to work for 26 hours, until I have to be at the store tomorrow night. I'm taking the rest of the week away from teaching. After my shift wraps up tomorrow, I don't have to be to work until Saturday at 2 - at the Joe for CCHA play. Nice and relaxed college hockey environment.

So yeah, my brain is fried. I need to rest and sleep. And learn to give people proper channels when explaining what's on tv tonight. Which, btw, is not Lost.

Starting Monday, the world as we know it

will be over. Jack hasn't got anyone left. My feelings about Edgar pale in comparison to what happened last night. Because some have not yet seen it, I shall not divulge any more information than what I already have. It was sweet though, Jack sending the Hobbit to his death. He is not a hero, and if CTU survives Bauer's wrath, he better not be protrayed as such.

On my way to the high school today, I almost completely rear ended this stupid red mazda vehicle. Not only because some cars are too impatient to drive behind semi's but also because other drivers have not a shred of confidence on the road and therefore lead me to almost ram into their slow asses. I was probably less than an inch away when I finally stopped. Good gracious! Surprisingly I got over that incident sooner and faster than last night's show.

I was supposed to teach math today. I got a call this morning and reluctantly agreed to take the gym instead. When I got to the high school, the secretary told me that another sub was going to take the gym instead. She got there FINALLY (at about 7:10, mind you start time is 7:00) and decided on the gym. That gave me history. :D I was underdressed for the occasion (no makeup because I thought I was going to be in the gym and jeans and a hoodie, yeah. comfortable, but inappropriate considering I looked like one of the kids instead of trying to be an authority figure), hardly had enough time to unlock the door before the bell rang, and luckily had Channel One to get settled and organized. Watching a movie for three of the five hours and A.P. U.S. history for the other two were awesome.

In case you were wondering, here is are "reasons to study history" by high school students, in their words:
-History provides identity
-History contributes to moral understanding
-Using past for present
-History helps being a good citizen
-History helps us understand change and how the society we live in came to be
-History exists in everyday life
-History helps us understand people and socities
-Studying history develops skills
-History is helpful in world of work

Days like today make me wish I had gotten my certification. But then I remember the hellish nightmare that those education classes are and makes me quickly change my mind.

All in all, I'm tired today (had an exceptionally hard time getting my blood pressure to return to normal) but had a good day. Now I have about two hours down time before its time to walk the line.

Uneventful Sunday

I think I am too tired to write anything spectacular, but I wanted to give my regular readers something new to read. Thoughtful I know, you can thank me later.

It took us two hours to clean up the store today. It takes two hours during the holiday season to straighten the store. That gives you some idea of how trashed it was. I spent six hours filling the dressy Easter clothes, all of which were running low on sizes BUT were all in the back room. Everything that is running low on the store is in the stock room, but other associates are just too damn lazy to do it the right way the first time, so it creates people like me to correct their laziness while making me very frustrated with the entire situation.

Needless to say working some fifteen days in a row is catching up with me and I feel as though I could sleep for days. Because I am smart enough to recognize my own bad mood and short temper, I am not teaching tomorrow. If the window is due on Tuesday, I can take my anger on mannequins.

epiphanies in the early morn

I don't really know what that title has to do with what I might blog about right now, but I said it this morning and liked the way it sounded, so I'm sharing it with my blogging audience.

I'm not sure I enjoy teaching middle school. I think it's because I strongly disliked those years for the most part in my own life and I find no joy in teaching it.

For the first time in ages, the crowd in my section was behaved. I had one incident with some jerks, but they didn't belong in my section anyway, so I kicked their asses out. I sent people to the back of the crowd waiting to go to their seats after a whistle and then I used my famous "we attempt to teach manners at hockey games" line to a man who was bullshitting me and called me "mean." My meanness paid off and one guy thanked me for doing my job well yesterday night. That makes me happy. A little appreciation and good behavior, especially from my rowdy section rats, goes a long way in an usher's book.

My eyes are burning. I'm gonna go take care of that right now.
My closing thought ~
I don't know what is worse: comcast internet or mr. illitch's monthly insulting reminder that I am just a slave in his empire.

NHL Trade Day

Today, I have taught, napped, read five chapters in two books, and have been awake since 5:15 this morning. In an hour, I will leave to go to the Joe for a game. As of 3pm, the NHL trade was up. (doesn't this sound so much like the intros to 24 in season one? hahaha, I didn't even mean to make it sound like that!)

I haven't found any news that is shattering, maybe that is just because I don't have a favorite team anymore, just favorite players. The most exciting news was the change in goaltending for Colorado and Montreal. It is comforting to know that some Wings fans never, ever change. ; )

b: some were saying it'd be dull because of the cap
a: aebischer went to montreal for theodore
a: thats it so far
a: kinda lame
b: real lame
b: poor jose
a: the avs aren't all bad ;-)
b: (shivers)
b: no, i suppose not anymore
a: haha

I wonder if my L.A. boys will beat my eventful Tuesday night. I guess we'll just have to wait and see....go *ings. ; )

Wednesday

I don't have anything to write about today. Here is some worthless blogthing crap to fill the post.

You Are Boston

Both modern and old school, you never forget your roots.Well educated and a little snobby, you demand the best.And quite frankly, you think you are the best. Famous people from the Boston area: Conan O'Brien, Ben Affleck, New Kids on the Block

What American City Are You?

You Are 30% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?

Your Animal Personality

Your Power Animal: Eagle Animal You Were in a Past Life: Whale You are active, a challenger, and optimistic.Hard-working, you are always working towards a set goal.

The Animal Personality Test

March at the Joe

Pre-Game: I have a hard time looking forward to working downtown anymore, but like any other game, I grit my teeth, smile, and get through the night. I was standing in line to get a hot dog and I saw Holmstrom walk in. He stopped and pulled his medal out of his pocket and showed a group of people. Then he was walking by me and I said "hey, Homes." He stopped by us too and showed us the medal. Very nice. Very pretty. Very awesome. The medals looked incredibley cheezy on tv, but in real life, they are awesome. The second gold medal I've gotten to hold and first foreign medal. Both are in hockey though, guess that isn't surprising. That totally made my night. Meanwhile, Schneids, perhaps Lila (spelling and exact identification are not known), and Drapes walk in. Sadly, I did not see Gretz, Barry, Cuj, Boyd, or the rest of the Coyotes.

Game time: I don't know if there is any more boring a time than between 6:00 and 7:30. I observe things that I don't agree with and I stand there boiling about it even though I have no control. There was a woman who had a very infant baby with her. When I say infant, I mean newborn infant, less than three months old. Oh my flipping goodness, bitch. One, it's too cold (you could see his hands turning purple), two - he had nothing but a one-sie on, three - no visible sign of jacket, four - it is too loud in a sports arena for a tiny baby, five - it is too germy in a sports arena for a tiny baby, six - why would you subject a baby to that kind of environment?, seven - if you can't find a babysitter, stay home!! it's just a flippin hockey game, eight - need I really continue??? ARGH!

One man was talking during the national anthem. I gave him a death glare and he seemed to get the message and shut up while the rest of the song was being sung. I continued to hate my standing room for the remainder of the night because of it.

I spent my break talking to one of my usher friends who got hired in the same time as I. I vocalized thoughts of retirement. She supports that decision and is starting to lean towards that herself. Things are different down there. I'm glad I'm not the only person who notices and/or cares. This was time well spent, I'm glad I came across her instead of sending a bunch of one-way text messages with no particular meaning. Just because I was miserable at that moment in time doesn't mean I had to share my grief with others.

Most people left early. These are typical Wings' fans that really only stand behind them if they win. If they are losing, they are out of there by 9:30. Since Phoenix's fifth goal came shortly after this time, the last five minutes of the game consisted of me telling people good night and bidding my ticket holders a fond farewell. One even stopped (somehow I missed his entrance) and asked how I was doing. This made me feel somewhat reassured that he recognized me being his usher for who knows how many years now.

The Wings lost. Boyd Devereaux scored a goal and had a few assists. Cuj was number one star of the game. There is such a thing as sweet justice in this world.

Post-Game: I emptied my section quickly. I got wink and nod and 'hi amy' from Al (my favorite part of the night, if I don't see him before game time). I didn't kick anyone out of the arena. We got released quickly because everyone had already gone home. The only down-side to this was the traffic. Late enough for the roof to be cleared, early enough for people still clearing out of garages and trying to figure out how to drive downtown. This drives me mad, especially when I am driving home to a day off. A day off which will be spent doing laundry, reading Potter, bothering (for lack of a better term) people while they should be working, and in my sweats taking it easy.

Golden linings to mark my dreams by. Ciao

So sad

Um, yeah...still too shocked to talk about 24. It was so sad. In fact, I had some tears in my eyes when the show ended. Thanks to a conversation with a person who doesn't know the characters as well as I do and about six pages of Potter, I went to sleep with a smile on my face instead of tears in my eyes. :)

Shocked too about news from the grapevine involving my friends. Not bad shocked, but you know every now and then you hear news that just throws you off the tracks for a little bit? It's that kind of news. The guys are making light of the situation and I should be too, but it's just that I'm worried. In time as this situation goes on, I will find ways to cope and stop worrying. But when reality of this situation comes into light, I hope the repercussions of it will not be as severe as I am thinking they might be.

I only have a game tonight (yay no double header), so I am going to get some errands done and go to Best Buy and spend some of my tax money on dvds that I don't really need but want anyway. :)

I've lost count

During the span of fifteen days, I have two off. Someone tell me how that is justified and get back to me.

I didn't enjoy myself today. I missed my second graders and thought about them in the dead times. I don't really like the school I was in. I don't think I'll ever go back there.

Silver linings:
I started to read Harry Potter again.
24 is two hours long tonight.
They don't need me for half a day tomorrow, so my double-header became a single game.

Rock on.

Friday

I finished up with my second graders today. I had TWO kids lose teeth this morning. One boy came back into the library from getting a bagel and said that he thought he lost his tooth in the hallway. The bloody hole in his mouth would suggest that, so we retraced his steps and found the baby tooth on the floor. Then another girl lost her tooth a little later in the morning. That was fun. I was teasing her all day and during math this afternoon we got a little carried away talking about the tooth fairy and teeth and stuff not anything closely related to miles and kilometers. I learned that kids today have made the tooth fairy go broke - they sometimes get 20 bucks a tooth!! The kids learned that I lost my two front teeth around Christmas one year and asked Santa for them for Christmas. That got them laughing and singing and being goofy.
I tried to be serious with them at times but one little boy knew I wasn't because he would say "look, the teacher is laughing." So he outsmarted me at my own game. hahaha. I had so much fun over the last three days! The kids found out I worked at The Children's Place and were excited to maybe see me in the store sometime. They also didn't want their regular teacher to come back. And as they left most of them gave my hugs goodbye. I loved it!

I was on-call for the store tonight. Sadly, I had to report. I had a "special project" set aside for me. What was it you might wonder? Well, the backroom got a little rearranged last night and so it is my job to organize all the marketing signs. This could either be because I straightened and organized the baby boy section on my own suggestions or because I am a teacher (the running excuse for the way I do anything at the store) or because Dee knows that if I am in charge of it, it will get done in a timely manner and the way she wants it. I got all but two containers with hanging files done tonight. I can finish up the rest sometime during my shift tomorrow.

I have one day off in the span of eight days, two of which are double-headers. How wonderfully exciting.

My good deed for the evening

Tonight, my cousin im'ed me with some scheduling questions. I helped and reassured him that he is smart enough to take honors classes even though he is taking mostly general this year. After I nearly convinced him, he just said he would talk to his teachers tomorrow and have them settle any other doubts he has about taking more advanced classes. I couldn't agree more, teachers love helping out with that kind of stuff. He is bored with school because he is not challenged enough. He also figured out that he might actually have to put forth some effort in school, which he has never really had to do before. Hmmm....guess that gene runs in the family. ; )

High school teachers should be added to the list of where I put elementary teachers (see previous post). Kids in high school might be more independent, but they are so cool and just need some encouragement, reassurance, and guidance that they are headed in the right direction.

Things I learned today

I can write upside down on an overhead projector. This is fun, especially during second grade math lessons. I'm not sure the kids were as impressed as I was by that feat, but I did end up writing an awful lot like them.

Creating a marshmellow moon phase chart was fun stuff. The room may have looked like hell afterwards, but that's okay. We got it all cleaned up by the end of the day.

Indoor recess makes kids crazy! One classroom is not enough to let them waste all their energy, and by 3:00, they are bouncing off the walls.

It takes five out of eight minutes for one second grade classroom to be quiet two entire minutes. This is the result of a contest held this afternoon. Do not attempt this at home. Results will vary considerably.

I absolutely blew some of their minds today when I was typing without looking at the keyboard and monitor as one student was reading me her story. One boy said....whooooaaaa, cooool. Ha. That was cute. These kids like me, that's awesome.

Elementary school teachers deserve to make as much money as brain surgeons, top engineers, and A-list movie stars. The amount of work they have to do is tremondous; their jobs imperative on the future of the world. Once upon a time, I wanted to be an elementary teacher, second grade in fact, which is probably why I am so loving these three days (and any other day I can get a second grade room). Then that changed to high school. Now it is the dream of college, but for that I have to get my ass in a grad school program. In the meantime however, I just hope that I can pull things off without much trouble at all. And in the end, I just hope I am successful.

Tomorrow is Friday. As much as I want the weekend to get here, I'll be a little sad to give up the steadiness and routine of my day. Sigh. 'Tis the life of a sub, I guess.

Cheers

I forgot the title again

If this child was in my class, I would have killed him. At least it would have been a good reason to spend the rest of my life in jail. Wrigley's new motto will be "restoring masterpieces to mint condition."

Second graders are a blast. Cool thing is that I get to teach them about the moon, earth, and sun this week. I'm so glad that it's science that I actually know and understand. Tomorrow we get to make a moon chart using marshmellows. That's rather exciting.

I might get to start reading Harry Potter again. The mere thought of this is blog worthy. I'm looking forward to seeing what the hell happens in this book.

The Aleve hasn't kicked in yet, so I'm going to get away from the computer's glare.