an eternity

Lord help me jesus, it's been a long time since I've had time for frivolity. I can't even remember my last encounter with free time, but apparently it's been about a month, and who knows how "free" that free time really was. '

Worksample I has come and gone. After frantically busting my ass every day for weeks and weeks, I'm finally done with the blessed thing, have submitted it and after hauling it around for an entire quarter (it's even gone through security in several airports) frankly no longer care what comes of it. It's done and behind me, and that's all I have to say about that.

It feels good to have a Saturday that belongs to me and that I can spend in any way I choose. Finally, a whole day free of homework, studying, lesson planning, etc. I haven't had this sensation in a long long time. Granted tomorrow, some of these things will come back into my life, but they don't own me anymore, not like they did before Thursday.

Happy Friday!

The Transportation Survey

I think you can tell I'm really really bored...

* Do you drive a car often?
No, maybe once every couple of weeks at the most, or those times when I need to haul something big. I could probably give up driving entirely, but I don't think I could gain any economic benefit from selling my car, so I haven't made that move yet. A former roommate took the plunge when her car died on her, and a year later is still carless, so I think it's not a bad idea.

* Do you have a bicycle?
Yes, I have a 20 year old blue Nishiki 12-speed that I absolutely love. I also have a basic city bike for hauling that I bought at a garage sale in Ashland for $5. Unlike the more avid types, I don't ride much in the winter, but in the summer, I typically ride my bike every day. This is a bike friendly city so there's lots of places you can go that are safe and enjoyable without competing with cars.

* Do you have a car?
I do, but I barely use it. It's too expensive to be buying gas all the time and I hate driving anyway.

* Do you have a driver's license? If so, when did you get it?
I do have one although it's more useful as ID, and I've had it since I was 16.

* Do you often ride public transportation during rush hour?
Unfortunately yes, and it sucks mainly because the traffic's so bad that the bus doesn't move any more than the cars do. On the other hand, I can really get caught up on my reading at those times. The only time I get really annoyed is when I can't sit down and have to stand there for an hour. That sucks!

* Do you often use public transportation?
Yes, it's easy and effective and goes wherever I need to go, so I typically ride about 5 days a week.

* Do you ride a bicycle more than once a week?
Only in the summer. In the winter it's so wet I can't work up the enthusiasm to be both cold AND wet. Complicating matters further is the whole rain-on-glasses problem.

* Do you always wear a seat belt?
Ever since I got the ticket, you bet!

* Have you ever been in a traffic accident?
Yes, but it's worth noting they were never my fault. I've always played the role of victim here.

* Have you ever been stopped for speeding?
Sadly yes.

* Have you ever missed your last train or bus home? If so, how did you get home that night?
I usually have to cab it, which always sucks. It's hard to make the choice between going home and a week's worth of groceries. Arrgh.

* Have you every carpooled?
I used to carpool every day to school. Much better than riding the bus because you don't have to worry about random drunk guys flopping down next to you.

* How do you get to school?
I take the bus, which takes 45 minutes. Driving would take about 15, but it would take at least another 20 minutes to find some sort of legal parking situation, so in the end, it's about the same either way and I almost never drive to school unless I have to haul some huge posterboard-thingy.

* How much is the bus fare or the train fare?
It costs $2.05 but I have a pass so I don't think about it. I get a 30% discount.

* How many times have you traveled by airplane?
On numerous occasions.

* How much does gasoline cost is your country?
I don't know about the whole country, but here in Portland, it costs above $3 a gallon. Happily I don't have to deal with it much except I know it's impacting the cost of food.

* Is there any environmentally-friendly transportation in your area?
Sure. Not only do we have electric trains and buses, they even do flexcar here and of course the bike lanes...The paratransit fleet even uses biodiesel! I wish the regular bus fleet did, I'd be all for it because I hate diesel exhaust! There's also an insane number of hybrid vehicles on the road here.

* What do you usually do when riding a train or bus?
One thing I love about riding the bus is that you don't have to pay attention to anything other than where to get off. I love having that time to do my homework, read a book (often it's the only time I have for reading), or I can always listen to my ipod. Sometimes I take a nap if I'm tired. Sometimes I knit on the bus or write poems.

* What kind of things annoy you about other people's driving?
I hate aggro drivers, but at the same time I can't stand the timid ones either. I also hate when people pull out in front of you and you have to pray that your brakes are working that day, and people who drive real slow in the left lane annoy me as well. I also really hate it when people are talking on their cellphones because they tend to ignore the road completely and start driving erratically/unpredictably. Other people's driving annoys me so much I've basically given up on driving altogether and feel much less stressed now that it's not my problem anymore.

* What kind of transportation do you use most often?
Probably the bus because it's the easiest, but I used to ride the train a whole lot when I worked out in Beaverton. The next most common thing is my own two feet. I can walk to the library pretty easily and that's somewhere I tend to go a lot.

* What's the most readily available form of public transportation where you live?
Here you have a lot of choices, so it's really a question of what you prefer.

* What's your favorite form of transportation?
I love my bike, it's definitely the most fun way of getting around, but it's only practical when it's dry.

* When was the last time you rode a bus?
About an hour ago.

* Where is a good place to go for a drive?
The only place I enjoy driving is outside of the city. I like to drive out to Sauvie Island and pick produce in the summer.

* Would you like to go on a cruise? Why or why not?
I think being stuck on a boat with a bunch of rich white folks would drive me insane.

* Do you sometimes take a taxi (cab)?
Only when I have to. It's not a very thrifty mode of transportation.

Survey on Age

Attitudes about Aging

Are young people generally more selfish than their parents and grandparents?

I think it depends on your age somewhat (young children have to learn how to think of the needs of others, it doesn't come naturally). I think that your personality has more to do with how selfish you are than your age does, and I know many adults who act just as selfish and spoiled as any two year-old.

Does age make you more aware of and caring for others?

I think it can, but I also think the quality of your life experiences and how you were treated when you were growing up has more to do with this.

What do you think is the best age to be?

I really don't know, I'm sure every age has its good points and its bad points. I tell you what though, I wouldn't ever want to be 12 again, ick! Such an awkward age that was!

Should young people have to do some form of military or community service by law?

No, I don't believe either should ever be compulsory, but I think there should definitely be incentives for people to do things that involve a lot of personal sacrifice.

Should people of between 50 and 55 be forced to retire from their jobs in order to make way for younger workers?

No. I think retirement should always be a voluntary decision based on one's own circumstances, both for financial reasons and based on one's personal satisfaction with their job. If you enjoy what you are doing, by all means keep doing it! For example, some people should probably retire at 40 whereas others could still be happy and kickin' it at work when they are 90+.

Are there many things that the old can teach the young or are they hopelessly out of touch by the time they reach a certain age?

I think we all can learn from each other. Elders have a lot to teach, but sometimes you can even learn something profound about life from even the smallest child. Being open to both possibilities is probably the better way to go.

Do you think that older people make better leaders?

Sometimes I feel this is true (the experience and wisdom factor is hard to dispute), but I think it also depends on whether or not you are willing to listen to new ideas and keep up with the times. Someone who is too set in their ways and completely inflexible is probably incapable of facing the fact that the world is constantly changing and with that kind of outlook, I don't think you can the most effective leader.

Some people say that men age better than women, and remain attractive longer – do you agree?

I think it's all relative and that "attractiveness" is more a state of mind and a way of carrying yourself, than merely a standard of physical beauty.

Some people say that men never grow up, they just get bigger – do you agree?

Yes, I have to say I agree. I have seen lots of proof of this. I think all grown men have a 5 year-old boy lurking in their heart of hearts.

What do you think is the ideal age for each of these stages of your life:

Starting School: ? Not sure, for some kids it could be very early (when you need early intervention for developmental delays), for others it could be as late as 6 (Some kids are so advanced that kindergarten is a joke).

Starting Dating: when you're emotionally ready.

Leaving School/starting work: when you have developed that sense of yourself-of knowing what you want to do and why you want to do it.

Leaving your parents' home: when you start feeling the need for independence.

Getting Married: I don't think age matters so much as how well you really know yourself, how well you know the other person, and what you're getting yourself into. I think that it's a decision you should make with input from others. There's 40 year-olds who shouldn't get married!

Having a Child: I wouldn't set an age limit on this, but I think it's definitely easier if you have enough going on for yourself that you can realistically support a child.

Retiring: when you no longer feel the desire to work.

Are you afraid of getting old?

No. Not really, I'm sure I'll be fine.

What is your ideal old age to live to?

I really don't care as long as I'm still in control of my senses. If I no longer can do most of the things I enjoy and can't even recognize my family members, then I think it's time to split.

Do you prefer to live in the retirement home or live with young people?

I definitely wouldn't want to live in a retirement community. I like variety, and who really wants every conversation to be about your health problems? That seems so depressing to me, like shutting yourself off from the world of the living.

Should parents continue to finance their children after the children are 18?

I don't think you should just cut your kids off the day they turn 18, it's awfully hard to survive in the world as it is today (with the kind of credentials, work history and life skills you typically have at 18...even finding a place to live is difficult because how many landlords do you know that want to rent out a place to a bunch of 18-year olds?). But I also think that the nature of the relationship needs to change, and that there needs to be reciprocity involved, that boundaries and limits should evolve to meet the new role, and there should be incentives for the kid to make the transition to greater independence. There should also be a specific goal or time frame in mind.

Lamentations

I am stressed and exhausted,
I wonder why teens are so unpredictable, yet so predictable,
I sound like a writer with my hacking autumn cough,
I look like a chicken with no head running around distractedly,
I want to add about 6 more hours to every day,

I am beyond stressed and exhausted,
I feel like my head will explode into a thousand pieces if I have to read one more word,
I worry too much about what I haven't done,
I am stressed and exhausted,

I understand that Work Sample I will all be over with soon,
I say to myself that this too shall pass,
I dream that someday this will all be over with

Loveletter to my flashdrive

My darling flash drive, you are such a wonderful portable memory storage device. From the moment I first saw you, I swooned, realizing that never again would I need to burn documents onto CDs. But when I see your sleek plastic frame dangling on my lanyard, I feel warm and fuzzy inside. Even though you are small and inconspicuous, you have amazing powers (despite your humble size). For you I would even go back to school on a weekend to retrieve you. Without you I would be as lost as a shipwrecked sailor on a deserted island. You are the most perfect storage device a student teacher could ever want. It doesn’t matter to me that your only a couple inches long, I will always be your biggest, tallest, fan. What I am trying to say is I hope we will never be separated.

Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Q

(based on an activity I had the students do in class today)

No-vember

November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 57 days remaining until the end of the year.

November 4 (based on "November" original by Thomas Hood)

No pale moon in the sky, just a few lonely stars
No peach-colored dawn, just gray, just like any other day
No coffee, no tea, it's just you and me, sitting here on a
No-name street, where nobody's out walking dogs
No way to get this empty flat feeling out
No end in sight to these falling golden leaves
No idea where the crazy moon went
No mailman stomping across my porch
No fresh news from any foreign coast
Nobody's walking in the deserted park
Nobody's coming over after it gets dark
No warmth, no cheer, at least not around here
No laundry hanging on the lines
No bike rides, no joy rides
No flitting butterflies, no buzzing bees
No more golden apples, pears or sour grapes
No sunflowers, no flame-colored leaves, no deciduous trees
November!

one muddy grey day last November

There's a gnarled black oak
living just outside the forest
An abandoned seed
dropped by chance by a rambling crow
a stranger happening by
Forever looking up at the sky
Forever looking down at the river
Unable to share the whispers of the woods
when it scratched its way out of the ground
one muddy grey day last November
The dawn came home late last night
The sun was too hungover to get out of bed
Looking at the back window
at the moon sitting up in the trees
where the black midnight mirror
dances with chimney smoke
and looks up the stars
locked the door to my heart real good
It's worse somehow than all those other times
We got high off homemade wine
made out of funeral arrangements and tears
Every time the trains get to rumblin' past drunkenly
they wail like broken-hearted bluesmen
sitting on top of the bridge
It's been pushing up daffodils
every single year in March
behind the rotting back porch
on the other side of a long dead farm
Whenever the grass falls over
we find old bones in the field
arrow heads, rusty broken promises

hot assessment action

Today is a fabulous fifth period event you definitely won't want to miss:
There will be poetry writing contests, interviews, and comics,
Pictures of lovely vintage Japanese and Hong Kong landscapes,
and real live Japanese artifacts to get interactive with.
Mrs Q will direct traffic with an amazingly loud timer, while you snack on haiku and renga, try to draw a picture of geta, and drink in a little vintage 1930's atmosphere.
Please come and enjoy yourselves: The travelling exhibit opens on November 1st and like a sunny day in Portland only stays only for a couple days, so see you at Park Rose!

I did interactive learning centers for my end of novel assessment and it went over like hotcakes. Can we say 100% participation and minimal classroom management issues? Oh yes we can!