an early spring break?

It snowed here last weekend. It started very early Saturday and didn't end all day. We got about a foot of snow, which is a lot for this area.

We weren't in school for three days. Three. days. They had us come in yesterday for a teacher work day, so I finished quite a bit of work. This morning was a two hour delay for students, but not for us, so even more time to work. Monday was just a teacher work day, so whatev, but the other two? I had stuff to do. Lots of stuff. The start of the second semester. At least I'm not like other teachers who missed benchmark testing, but still. It was nice to have days off, but also shifts everything around.

Also: they didn't build in any snow/weather days. February 15th was supposed to be a day off, but is now scheduled to make up a day we had off in November due to a power outage. Now we have two days to make up if they count the work day Wednesday as a normal day, three days if they don't. When will we make them up? Spring break? Memorial day? The end of the year?

Oh, did I mention that we'll be getting more snow this weekend? We might get out early for that. Who knows.

I would love it if I never saw another snow flake this winter. Or next year. Or the year after. I love(d) living in a state that didn't see more than a dusting of snow.

In happier news, today was the first day for Shakespeare and it went smoothly. Second period (English 9) had a great conversation to introduce Romeo & Juliet and 5th period (English 10) got through everything we had to and seemed intrigued by A Midsummer Night's Dream. A lot of the students mentioned that they were happy to be back in school, mostly because it beat being stuck in the house for days on end or facing driving in snow in the country. At lunch, a lot of my former students were reminiscing about how much they loved Midsummer last year, especially the parts that had Pyramus & Thisbe and the Mechanicals. That's good to hear! I was expecting today to be rough, full of rowdy kids and nonsense; instead, today turned out nicely. Whew!

surprise day off!

My school is closed today due to having no power thanks to a massive amount of rain. It's a good thing I'm home, too, since the doors to our front porch really like to let in all the rain. I've gone through almost 5 towels now. Oy.

Anyway, I've hit one of the times in the year that I hate. It's the first time in the year that the kids stop being your great new students and you start seeing their bad side. It's also the first time I start to doubt myself as a teacher because grades start sliding downward. Kids start getting sick of school, start disappearing more, and I start getting more annoyed.

Thankfully this week hasn't been too bad. Usually by this time in the school year, my initial motivation has really disappeared and I get behind, causing me lots of stress. I've been pretty consistently productive, even today when I had no school! This is a good feeling.

My 10th graders are really something else. Their personalities are really starting to show up to class, in a good way. There were many times I laughed really hard this week at something they said or did (not at them, but with them, mind you...). I can't really remember exactly why or can't quite put any of those examples into words--they are more the kind of moments that make me wish I had a video camera on to capture. You-had-to-be-there kind of moments. Retelling them and trying to explain to you wouldn't be the same, unfortunately.

There is one thing that sticks out from this week. As you may know, every year I've taught, I've had at least one pregnant student or student parent. It's my curse. I joked with Math Teacher Next Door about how I should warn any female student I get next year. I have two rumored pregnancies this year, in the same class. I overheard one conversation (I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, they were right next to my desk) where the PG girl was answering questions of one of her classmates. Her classmate asked her "How does your BF feel? Does he want it?" PG says, "He did at first, but now... no. What does he care? His life doesn't have to change. It's my life that's the one that will change." I broke in and said "Ain't that the truth." She kind of laughed, which is the reaction I was hoping for. On the one hand, it's sad that her boyfriend isn't supportive. On the other, I was glad that she realized exactly what she was getting into, had no delusions about what would happen, and wasn't letting him slide by with that attitude. I hope everything goes smoothly for her, she is really sweet.

adventurous day off

Our internet was connected, but not actually working, so I took a little walk to Panera. They have all their fall seasonal treats going on right now and I treated myself to a pumpkin spice latte (the girl that made it asked me if i wanted whipped cream on it! blasphemy! haha). I sit down, submit all my grades, but that's not all. No, no--I was treated to a very "The Hills"/"Laguna Beach"/whatever other reality show involving uptight parents and rich kids you can think of episode next to my table. A mother and daughter sit down, daughter cries, there's a lot of "shshshhhh Mom, mom, mom, listen!" and the mother saying several things through tight lips. Wow. Take it somewhere else, really. This kind of conversation is not appropriate for Panera. I seriously almost looked around for the cameras, it was so ridiculously over-dramatic and inappropriate for a public place. Who goes somewhere to have a fight with your mother/daughter? There wasn't even any talking pre-bickering, they pretty much dived right into this whole... whatever they were doing.
But they finally left and I ended up chatting with a guy sitting at the next booth. I mean, we talked about a lot of different topics ranging from politics to education to kid's TV to feminism to Norfolk to the MPAA and other "gatekeepers" to...who knows, I can't even remember. Either way, he ended up giving me him & his wife's e-mail address (not in a creepy way) and told me he was interested in having me look at some of his writing. He also was interested to talk to David and had some blogs to recommend.
Aaaanyway, I got my grades in, walked home, heard a "Hey Pretty! Need a ride?" as I crossed the street into our complex and seriously resisted the urge to flip the jackass off. I planned, printed and dropped off the rent and dance tuition checks. David came home, we talked about his day and then we headed to.... the dentist.
One thing I really hate about going to the dentist is that I have had many different hygenists, none of which know me (there was a time where my hygenists knew me). I swear that their thought process goes something like this: Never seen this girl before = She's never been to the dentist before and knows nothing about her own teeth. The hygenist today and I got off on the wrong foot when the first thing she asked me after "How are you today?" was "Are you interesting in whitening your teeth?" Actually, it went something more like, "Are you interested in whitenin--" "No." "Oookay, I was just asking because we're having a special." "Nope, not interested." My teeth have never been white, since I can remember, and they probably never will be. And guess what? I'm okay with it. The hygenist then gives me the most painful cleaning I have ever had. I mean, I almost had a few tears spill out. She was stabbing and prodding my gums with those sharp little tools, complained about how I don't floss every second and that my teeth are so close together, and made parts of my gums bleed that have never bled before! It was simply amazing. And she even went, "Wow, your gums bleed a lot." What?! Of course! Look at my facial expression! My face must have been in a constant look of terror. My back was tense the whole time. Oh! Oh! And then! She used a toothpaste that was some sort of pink, fruity, sickly-sweet smelling crap. I usually just go for the mint. No cinnamon, no pina colada, no cherry--no. Mint and mint only. Uggggh. Honestly. I really dislike when hygenists act as if I've never been to a dentist before and assume I know nothing about my teeth or how to care for them. Yes, they're no longer straight and I have fillings and they're not white--that does not mean I don't know what's wrong with them, why they're like that, and what to do to take care of them. At the end of the appointment, when I thought I was finally done, she asked me how much sugary stuff I drink in a day. I was so irritated with the whole thing that I almost said, "Listen. My teeth aren't like this because of soda. I barely drink the stuff." Instead, I was polite and told her that I drink mostly water and rarely drink soda. If I do, it's a can-sized portion. I can't take much more than that, to be honest, it's way too sugary and sweet. Then she told me to be sure to floss every night and make sure to buy some mouthwash and toothpaste that had teeth whitening properties. Wow. Thanks.

weekend update

This weekend, it actually felt like fall. The temps have cooled down, the trees are starting to change, and I am super excited. Autumn in Virginia is simply amazing, equal to a Michigan autumn (which is probably why I like it). Virginia has Michigan beat during springtime, though. That's due to VA having beautiful, fragrant flowering trees and bushes, and Michigan does not.
But VA kinda has Michigan beat this fall, seeing as how VA's state government isn't shutting down on Monday. David told me about it last night and I hope that everyone we know and love in MI comes through this okay. As much as it has the possibly to seriously suck, maybe it's exactly what Michigan needs? A wake up call, rock bottom, etc. etc. Where else can you go, you know? That's only a guess; my wishful thinking. Anyway, like I said, I hope everyone comes through it okay and it doesn't go to the point of many, many people losing jobs (like MI needs any more of that). What a crappy situation.

But, anyway, due to the beautiful weather and having extra time and energy, we headed downtown. We even went early enough to catch some of the famer's market! I love walking through the downtown/CW area in fall. We found some nice gummy candy, as well as some lambic, a Shakespeare stout (pretty delish) and a sparkling sake that knocked our socks off. We watched some movies, did the laundry, lazed around--all the good stuff weekends have.

Tomorrow I'm taking the day off from school. I've felt really rushed and disorganized and used our dentist appointment tomorrow afternoon to take the whole day off, rather than a half day. Our first grades our due by mid-day Tuesday, so tomorrow will give me a lot of time to plan both of the next units and get those grades it. I'm a little worried though: it's the first time my students will have a sub. Hopefully, they do a good job.

I'm sad I missed this epsiode live last night, cause I missed this.

Oh, Kanye. I love your music, your big mouth (that always gets you into trouble), and your great sense of humor about it all. Way to show them how to be a celebrity.