Automobile Observations

(This is a series of thoughts and observations I have had in my little red car between home and school.)

* This morning I watched the car in front of me hit a dog. The last time I saw an animal hit by a vehicle was in my mom's car on the way to school as a highschooler. She hit a bird. I was thrown into shock as I watched that poor dog rebound off the side of the truck this morning. I was numb for a few minutes and then spent the rest of the trip wiping away tears. I spent the day mourning the loss of a life.

* The little gas station situated on a fairly isolated curve of my trip home is always quite pricey. This week it was the first to show a $3.00+ price. By this evening it is up to $3.09. Yowza. The Chevron that keeps our cars in motion is currently charging $2.81/gallon.

* Life is NOT a poker game. You are dealt a hand, but that is as far as it goes. In life you can pick up cards along the way. You can discard the cards you don't like. And most importantly, you can make up the rules as you go. If your hand is better for Go-Fish, great. Have a super Bridge hand? Wonderful. It's sad when someone is too busy hating their Poker hand to realize that they have a winning Crazy 8s hand.

Monday Morning

It was all I'd hoped it would be...

Actually, I didn't have any particular hopes for this Monday morning, but it is nice and cool outside, the sun has come up, and I am feeling refreshed and ready for a new week. (Let's see how I'm feeling at lunch time, shall we?) One of my favorite things about being here in El Coyote Gordo (tentative name - what do you think?) is the smell of the air in the mornings. All of the plants that make it here in the summer seem to want to proclaim their superiority over the weaker, less desert-hearty vegetation first thing in the morning. There is an especially pungent bunch of sage somewhere around that makes me throw open the windows and invite the air inside. And when the temperature is just right, I can make my trip to The Big City with my window down, sampling the olfactory stylings of plants along the way.

Speaking of temperatures, our thermometer read 108 yesterday. Granted, we think it is a little overenthusiastic about its job ever since the day it sat in direct sunlight, but even so - that is HOT. Fortunately, it cools down so nicely in the evenings. I would guess it got down to 55 F last night. Quite the range, eh?

It's nearly time for me to get on my way. Last week, we focused on rules and expectations in class with some 4th grade review thrown in. This week, it is on to 5th grade material. (Not that one week is enough review, but if I don't get started on this stuff now, I won't get everything covered.) This is going to be the first "real" week. Usually I am dreading this week - the kids are always overwhelmed and I have to met out lots of consequences that I would rather just ignore, but this group is looking good. I think they might have actually been listening as I explained what to expect. Perhaps they won't be too shocked by the work load.

Yeah, right. Poor, little things. Think supportive, organizational thoughts for them. :)

Back to School!

After a week of 6 hour days with them, I am ready to say that I am going to have fun with my class this year. They have already shown themselves to be fairly cooperative, to have a witty sense of humor, and to be able to tell when it is time to stop testing the teacher before that vein in her head pops and those of us who live regret it for eternity. That is to say that while they are not perfect, they are pretty darn close to it. We're gonna have a good year.

Other signs of happiness to come:
~ several parents who are highly interested in volunteering weekly
~ better inter-team communication than I was expecting
~ the return of the photocopier that they decided to take away from us

I have set the bar high (especially regarding homework completion and personal responsibility) in my room and I am pleased to report that the students are showing every sign of knocking it aside as they blow right past it. The parents are also showing signs of exceptional interest and involvement. I'm already looking forward to Monday. Or I will be once I get a nap.

So Much To Say

But I have not yet recovered from my Mikey withdrawal, so you are going to have to wait. Eventually (probably this weekend), I will tell you about:

~ the wedding
~ the trip
~ the first day

It was all good. :) Have a great week.

Ramblin' Woman - Pt. 2

Well, the trip to MOA was a success. I scored a pair of brown, Converse hightops, which complete my collection quite well. If I had found a pair of the red, white and blue ones in my size I would have gotten those as well, since there was a sale going on. As it was, I limited myself to one pair.

We also went to the St. Paul Conservatory and I got lots of pictures of pretty plants and flowers. During the obligitory stop in the gift shop, I found some little gifts for the kiddos as well as some goodies for my class. (Don't worry, Mikey. I'm trying to be good about spending!)

Before all the shopping and conservator-ing, we stopped and visited with my aunt Kate. Despite her battle with cancer, she looks great and is nearly as cheerful and definitely as wonderful as ever. I'm glad I got a chance to stop in and say hi while I was in the area.

We head north to Duluth tomorrow. Time to move on the the next household. :) More later.

Pants on Fire

Okay. So, I'm a liar. It isn't "tomorrow", but at least it isn't "next week".

I've been busy. The tests at Mayo are all done and they have once again pronounced me healthy as the proverbial horse, albeit a horse with one kidney. What would a trip to the mayo be without a big honkin' bruise on the inside of my elbow? That and a couple of books from the medevial themed Barnes and Noble left Rochester with me.

I have finally gotten to see my father and step-mother's new house in WI. It is quite loverly with a wonderful yard and lots of birds. We've had a pleasant visit, including a visit to the farmer's market yesterday and a chance to see her new church this morning. As usual, they know all kinds of interesting and friendly people.

This evening we pick up my German foriegn exchange brother for his annual visit. This time we get to meet his girlfriend. We will all be spending some time in Minneapolis, including that great mecca to the Gods of Commerse: The Mall of America.

All in all, the trip has been quite the success so far and I am looking forward to the rest of it. More when I get a chance. (See, no promises that I can't keep this time.)

Ramblin' Woman

I made my flight with no troubles. We got to MN safely and I got tucked into bed in my first hotel at about 1:30 am. The shuttle to Rochester was uneventful (although I was feeling a bit out of place as they trash talked PETA, the EPA, anti-gun lobbyists, and "those environmentalists" for the first 30 minutes). I got settled into my second hotel early this afternoon, lunched on a delicious sub sammy (made by very friendly people), and have spent the day watching Law and Order, reading and sewing. The only real difference to a regular day is that I don't have Mikey to bug when I get bored. Oh yeah, and I am peeing into a cup for my appointment tomorrow. Whoohoo. Time to go get dinner since I have to be done eating my meal by 7:00 pm. Darned medical restrictions. I am comforted by the fact that there are 3 - yes, I said THREE, L&O episodes back to back tonight. I can't wait! :) More tomorrow.

Plugged In

This weekend I have spent the majority of my waking hours playing either the Sims Unleashed or Rise of Nations. Because of this I am spending the majority of my sleeping hours doing the same. :) Anyone who has obsessively played a computer game knows what I'm talking about.

I have started gathering my things for the big trip. Any information about the current and upcoming weather in the MN/WI areas would be appreciated. I always pack way too many things, and I am hoping that I can manage to have at least a few of them actually useful.

Mikey and I played Monopoly yesterday. What an awful game. It is just so random (drove the game designer in Mikey nuts) and frustrating. And, if playing with two non-competitive people, pointless.

The weather continues to please us here at Casa de Anza. We wake up to beautiful weather. As the morning wanes, we start to hear thunder in the distance. The afternoon rolls in with a brief storm and then the sun comes back out and everything is beautiful again. I couldn't ask for better.

Bonsai went for a car ride with us yesterday, just for fun. He was trying to sneak outside as we left, so I scooped him up and snuggled him on my lap while we ran to the PeeOhBox. At first, he was scared, all hunched down in my lap, but by the time we hit Anza he was looking out the window avidly and by the time we got home he was purring with the joy of it all. Perhaps he will be our MailGetting cat from now on.

I'm sitting here trying to think of all the things that made me think "I should blog that" and failing. I didn't turn on the Komputar yesterday due to storms and game playing so many of my thoughts drifting off with the passing storm. Drat.

Still Alive

I have been working my butt off at school this week. The room looks great and it is just about done. I still have to put up a bulletin board in the hallway (I forgot about that one), but otherwise, I am ready to walk in and start teaching when I get back from MN. I'm looking forward to it. :)

Oh, so slowly...

Here is where you would have read about my classroom in great detail if Blogger hadn't saved you from it by EATING THE WHOLE FREAKING POST leaving nothing but the title.