Poem for New Year's Eve

Nothing is Lost--Noel Coward English (1899-1973)

Deep in our sub-conscious, we are told
Lie all our memories, lie all the notes
Of all the music we have ever heard
And all the phrases those we loved have spoken,
Sorrows and losses time has since consoled,
Family jokes, out-moded anecdotes
Each sentimental souvenir and token
Everything seen, experienced, each word
Addressed to us in infancy, before
Before we could even know or understand
The implications of our wonderland.
There they all are, the legendary lies
The birthday treats, the sights, the sounds, the tears
Forgotten debris of forgotten years
Waiting to be recalled, waiting to rise
Before our world dissolves before our eyes
Waiting for some small, intimate reminder,
A word, a tune, a known familiar scent
An echo from the past when, innocent
We looked upon the present with delight
And doubted not the future would be kinder
And never knew the loneliness of night.

snowed in

We've been snowed in here in Portland for about the last ten days. It was bad enough that nearly everything was closed for several days, the mail didn't come, and so forth.

My plans for winter break really didn't including staying home and watching movies and spending hours on the internet, but that's exactly what I've been doing to pass the time. Since I'm sick anyway, it's just as well. It's a darn good thing I had the foresight to stock up on food and such, so being trapped here at home hasn't been all that bad.

It's been a week of beefing up my teaching files, going through all of my stuff from grad school, and just generally being absolutely lazy. I think I needed that.

It finally started to warm up around Christmas, and the streets still have some slush patches, but are almost clear.

What a week it's been. I'll have to admit that it was amusing to watch people try to move their cars, drive, and otherwise cope with the unexpected rigors of about a foot of snow. (I know that doesn't sound like much for nortenos, but it is if you live in a place like Portland where it's NOT flat, and where there aren't a lot of snow plows, sand trucks, etc. Most of us don't already own snow shovels, sleds, or any of the things you need to cope with snow).

whiteout

When I look out my window, it looks like a snowglobe out there, snow swirling around everywhere. Yep, we're into day 6 of the week of incredible snow.

It's been snowing every day since Monday. Fortunately, it also tends to warm up in between and melt before snowing again, so we don't have 5ft drifts or anything. It's just enough snow to make a lot of kids happy (schools are either closed or delayed), and make me not feel so guilty about missing out on such a prime-time week for subbing due to my nasty cold.

So it looks like we're actually having a white christmas in Portland. Who knew? I'm thoroughly enjoying the swirling snowflakes falling outside. It sure is pretty around here. Makes me glad I don't have anywhere I need to go...

urrgh

Boy do I feel lousy today. I was already mildly sick to begin with, but being outside in the cold yesterday didn't do a thing for me. Looks like I'm gonna spend my last week of prime-time subbing action nursing a vicious cold instead. sigh...

I will survive

Today certainly was one of the more interesting days I've had as a sub. And for once it really wasn't because of the students...

We are in the middle of some kind of winter storm, but the school district, in its infinite wisdom decided not to cancel classes despite all the ice on the roads and sidewalks. Granted I need the money, but at the same time there's no way I'm driving in this, so that means I had to take the bus...

I haven't been riding the bus as much lately. I used to be a real bus aficionado back in the days when I had my subsidized pass, but it's really not so compatible with substitute teaching. For one, I rarely know where I'm going to be going in advance, so by the time I get called, it's usually too late to even think about taking the bus... The other problem is that the commute times to some of these schools would be mind boggling-an hour and a half one way? I think not. And let's not forget that some of these schools in the suburbs are nowhere near bus lines.

So I had to plan ahead. I added an extra half-hour to the suggested commute time just to be on the safe side. I walked out extra early and stood out there in the cold howling wind, just to make sure I didn't miss the bus. I knew the buses were going to be running at 25mph so I went out 2 buses earlier than the one I needed. What I didn't count on was the driver pulling over for 15 minutes to call dispatch to decide whether or not to tackle a hillier portion of our neighborhood...

I assumed the steep road out of the transit center would be an issue so I took the train instead of the normal connecting bus, but when I got off, I discovered that the other connecting bus wasn't coming for 30 minutes. I ran into a student at the bus stop, and watched him take off down the road on foot in disgust. I decided to do the same. It's about a 10 minute walk to the school from there on a good day...and I was hampered a bit by all the ice and all the stuff I was carrying.

So I was pretty late when I arrived at the school office. Past start time. Way past contract time. I left my house at 6:15 AM and didn't arrive at the school until around 8:15. That's just sad. Fortunately, my counterpart made it there on time and there was adult supervision in the classroom. Another huge surprise was that most of the kids were there. Even the ones who usually skip school were there. You'd think for sure they'd rather be out playing in the snow with everyone else that blew off school, but no. They came to school instead. And stayed there. I couldn't believe it. Another surprise is that they handled the snow-related drama pretty well. We talked about it a bit first thing in the morning, then after that tempers cooled, and people were fine and ready to move on with a normal day at school. I was impressed actually, how well they handled the total disruption of their normal routine. I only had a couple of problems, and they were pretty minor. For the most part everyone was really on track. It went way better than I would have predicted, and I had a lot more fun and way fewer headaches than I was really expecting.

I had to do some stuff after school though, so I spent more time traveling around and being out in the cold. And I paid the price for it. My relatively mild cold blossomed into something much more menacing and severe...I'm glad I managed to get one job packed into this crazy week of weird snow/ice fronts because I think that's it. I don't feel well enough to do anything else...

snow day

It's kind of nice not to have to go anywhere today. Usually there's a lot of absences on Mondays, but I'm still feeling a bit under the weather and trying to save up some energy for Tuesday's prospective job. Then again, it's hard to say if there's going to be any school on Tuesday either, and maybe the kids will get the day off again. It didn't snow at all today, as far as I can tell, but the snow that fell on Sunday hasn't melted, and it's as cold and windy as ever.

I haven't bothered venturing outside because I figure the last thing I need to be doing when I'm sick is playing in the snow in 20 degree weather with serious gusty winds. Kinda sad that I'm missing out, but probably a smart move on my part. My dog sure seems to enjoy the snow, but it's too cold for me to let her out there for very long, so I'm making her stay in here with me.

At this point, I'm just kind of enjoying some down time. Brian still had to work today, so I'm just having a quiet day at home. And that's just fine with me.

SNOW!!!

It DID snow last night.

I really thought the weatherman was puttin' us on, and after a day of nothing but 40's and rain, I figured it was gonna be a non-event. But when I woke up and looked outside, there was snow everywhere, and it's still coming down as I write this.

Woo hoo! First snow of the year--and it's maybe frosted twice so far. Lilly seems to love it. She was dancing around like a leapfrog in the backyard when I let her out.

On the other hand, I don't know if I'm ready for it to be Sunday yet. This past week was a really long one for me. I really could use another day, and Saturday went by way too fast. Especially since I'm sick now, I could use some more time to get back in the game. Now luckily for me, all the school districts have canceled classes due to the snow accumulation, so I don't have to feel even remotely guilty about staying home all day.

yay he's back

I'm so glad Brian's coming back tonight. I've pretty much fallen apart since he's been gone, and if it weren't for work, I would have completely stopped functioning. It's kinda pathetic, but I'll admit that I really do much better when he's here. I don't know if that's cute or sad...I'll let someone else make that call.

entonces...

It hit me in the middle of the afternoon when I was up to my neck with second graders--the telltale signs of impending illness. Yep, the unwashed hands, and uncovered coughs have finally gotten to me. I felt like a sinking ship, but still had a long day to go...Note to self-I need more high school jobs.

Now is not the time to get sick, but that seems to be what's in the cards. I really hope I can shake this off in time to sub for Margo's class on Tuesday. If I can't, I'll feel really badly because I would imagine that it will be hard for her to find someone else on such short notice--it's not a job I could really see the certified subbing pool fighting over. Her kids can be pretty wild, but I know them well enough now that I feel like we'll be fine.

I think I'm gonna lay low, drink lots of vile tasting substances, and watch the Pirates of the Carribean trilogy this weekend. That sounds like the plan for this weekend.

My poor dog. We have NO fun these days. No fun at all.

the male effect in teaching

One obnoxious thing about being a teacher, especially a female teacher, is that getting maximum results from your male students can be very difficult. One thing I've noticed is that the way male students respond to a male teacher is like night and day. This is most obviously manifested in the area of behavior, but impacts academics as well. This effect no doubt accounts for the lasting appeal of single gender education in all of its various permutations. As an egalitarian, this has always bothered me. I could be wrong about this, but I strongly suspect that much of what is working for male teachers with boys is the simple fact that the teacher is male.

I contemplated "the male effect" a lot during student teaching because I got to observe a lot of classes with male teachers, worked in conjunction with several male teachers, and am currently working with several male teachers while subbing. What I've noticed that boys really seem to respond in a profoundly different way to male teachers--or even just adult males in the room. My most disruptive students were ANGELS on the days my field supervisor visited the classes to observe me--they behaved even better for him than when even the principal was there. Why were they so good? I don't think it was to make me look good. I really honestly think that it was because my field supervisor looked like a football coach! He was this massively built Italian guy who showed up at school dressed to the nines and absolutely gave off coach vibes.

This is even more noticeable when the students and the teacher come from similar backgrounds, which is why I always wish there were more minority male teachers (one of the most devastating effects of NCLB is that it makes it very difficult to recruit minority teachers, so when you go to staff meetings and such, you'll notice that no matter what the student demographics are in a school, the staff is usually a sea of white faces).

It doesn't seem to matter what methods the male teacher uses as far as I can tell, it simply seems to be a gender thing. Now to take that a step further, if you have boys in a room with a male teacher who happens to be a really masterful teacher and a good reader of kids, then it's downright spooky. I call this the "Waller Effect", after a teacher I knew during student teaching. Not only does he have the "male effect" going for him, but he's also a really good teacher who totally gets kids, and when he's around, nobody plays around or sets one foot out of line. He's one of the only male teachers at the school, and the rest of the staff just marvels at how well the kids behave for him.

So that's my observation. It's just one of those human dynamics at work, and an inevitable consequence of living in a patriarchal social arrangement. Most boys just seem to respond better to male teachers, and gender convergence is probably more than half of what's going on. As the saying goes, it's a "guy thing". Does this necessarily mean that all male teachers are automatically successful with all boys? Well no, but they start out with a playing field that's tilted in favor of their efforts. I've also seen plenty of male teachers totally squander this natural advantage by not having a clue about how kids work. So ultimately gender isn't everything, but it does seem to matter quite a bit.

For those of us who happen to have two X chromosomes, it just means that we have to try a lot harder to figure out those boys, how to respond to them, and how to make sure we are meeting their needs.

wound up

Today it was 4th and 5th graders in an elementary school I've been to about 3 times now.

Normally things are pretty mellow with this bunch, but Christmas is in two weeks, and the moon's full. It's a tough time to be working in a school for that reason, and everyone seemed more than a bit off today.

I spent a lot of the afternoon putting out fires, and giving kids the look of death when they started showing me how goofy they can get, but to be perfectly fair, I also learned how to make some origami from a kid, taught some kids how to play division wars (a great re-direction game to kill time and reinforce math concepts when you're subbing), played some basketball, and watched the wizard of Oz.

Yep, it's not all bad, even when you get a little tired of telling kids to "get back to work" and "quit playing around", but man I'm tired this evening! I think tomorrow I'm gonna stick with teens. They're crazy too, but not so high-energy.

this is what i'm pouting about

19-Year-Old Found Shot On Roadside: Man Driving Woman's Car Arrested
December 9, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Authorities in Maury County are trying to figure out who killed a young Columbia woman. The shot body of 19-year-old Rachel Quattelbaum was found Monday in an area off Overhead Bridge Road Monday around 7:30 a.m. This location is near the Maury County line that borders Lewis County. Columbia police said officers arrested a man who was spotted driving Quattelbaum's car, but it's not yet clear if he's officially been named as a suspect in her death.

who knew

Who knew that I would be working today? I didn't get called until about 8:30 AM, and usually by then, the show's been over for hours.

Who knew I would end up working pretty close to home, which is a rarity?

Who knew I would get to mock teenagers smoking across the street from school (one of my favorite past times)?

Who knew that I would end up working with two people that I have ties to? One woman was related to a math teacher whose students I used to work with, and another guy is someone I knew in college. (Can I get a round of "It's a Small World After All?")

What a funny world!

Today was an interesting day. It was one of the most extreme levels of Special Ed on the placement continuum (this is about the last stop before you go to specialized settings and placements), which means that it's really hard to be effective as a total stranger coming in because you don't know the kids or their protocols, so for about half the day I was just trying to figure everyone out. As a sub you tend to feel kinda useless for awhile when you walk into these situations, but by mid-day I was starting to get a feel for what was going on. It's times like these that you realize, as a sub, that sometimes your main purpose there is to be another pair of eyes and you are more or less there to help supervise so people can take the breaks, or get some other stuff done. As a sub, these are both the most basic, yet most difficult kind of jobs to pick up because they call for maximum flexibility and observational dexterity. No matter how many lifeskills classes I may have worked in before, each one is completely different, no two kids are ever the same, no two programs are run the same way, the mix of personalities is highly variable, and no two days are the same even in the same classroom with the same kids. So you really are there just to go along for the ride. Fortunately, that's something I'm pretty good at by now...

Ironically, when I got home, I found out that Margo couldn't get a sub in her classroom today...too bad I didn't know she needed one. I would have totally gone. She's got a tough crowd, so I would imagine that this happens to her a lot. There's not many people out there who have what it takes or necessarily prefer these kinds of assignments. I should really see about getting the school to call me directly if they can...I'd be happy to fill in.

a death in the family

You're lost little girl,
You're lost,
Tell me who,
Are you?

Today is a sad sad day.

sometimes you should just go with it

You'd think on a Monday I could find a certified job, but nope! It was a very quiet morning, and it was looking like there wasn't going to be anywhere to go, but at the last minute I got a call for a job over at an elementary school. Generally, I'm not too wild about having to go over to SW, but beggars can't be choosers, and it's really not going to kill me to expand my horizons a bit, so I jumped in the car and endured the frustrating drive across the Ross Island Bridge...

The job ended up being pretty awesome. I was assisting a bunch of kids in a wide variety of mainstream classes at different levels, and I'll have to admit, at this school even the fifth graders were likeable. The kids were fun and were doing pretty interesting stuff in their classes, so I had a good day at what ended up being a pretty delightful school. Of course I went home a bit tired (because elementary's a bit high energy for me), but it was still a pleasant and fun time. This was definitely one of those days where I had the "I can't believe someone's paying me to do this!"

Why should I become a Para-educator substitute?

So you're thinking about becoming a teacher?

Why not become a Para-educator substitute? I'm sure most of you don't ask yourself this question, but I've met several people recently who told me they were interested in teaching. I personally am very glad that I was steered toward this opportunity when I was exploring my career options prior to graduate school. In those days, all I knew I wanted to be a teacher, preferably working with ELLs, but beyond that I had no idea. Elementary, middle or high? What subject/s? What kind of school (K-5, K-8, 6-8, K-12, 9-12)? I didn't really have any idea. And I knew nothing whatsoever about Special Ed. Well luckily for me, a couple of people shoved me in the right direction: Classified (Paraeducator) Substitute.

What is a Para-educator? Para-educators usually work in tandem with a certified teacher or a specialist. Usually they work in Special Education settings, but not always-you can also work in ESL, or other specialized support functions within a school. A Special Education Para-educator usually works with students in seslf-contained classrooms, but some provide supports for students receiving Special Education services who spend most of the day in mainstream classrooms. Others work with students one-on-one. In Special Education, the job is quite varied, and you work with students from birth (early intervention programs) through age 21. Bilingual paras work with students who need language support, and often work in mainstream classrooms, but some work in self-contained ESL classrooms.

Being a para-educator substitute means you can test-drive an entire district and see the inside of numerous schools. You can get a better feel for different age groups and school configurations. You'll have the opportunity to see both special education programs and regular education programs because most special education students spend time in both settings. Para-educators work with students in the classroom, school district programs, work-sites, and community-based settings, so as a sub you'll get a whirlwind tour of what your district has to offer. This is a level of exposure most pre-service (aspiring) educators never have prior to taking classes, and would probably benefit from. This is a good way to figure out what you're good at and not good at. This is a good way to see what you might be interested in doing, and a good way to figure out what you definitely aren't interested in doing. This is a safe and easy way to explore where your career interests lie. I'm glad I did it.

Para-educator substitute teaching offers a safe, low-risk way to test drive a lot of aspects of education with minimal risk on your part. Unlike volunteer work, you get paid. You can gain great work experience and face time in a school district you might want to work in later as a certified teacher. You can mentally note which schools you might want to work at--or not. You'll experience a much greater range of diversity than you would working at a single site. You'll know quite a lot about the variety of schools and programs offered by a district, and probably to a certain extent, the curriculum.

This is ideal for a pre-service aspiring teaching candidate, because if you have a few years of college under your belt, and some experience with children, you can get your foot in the door. What you'll need to be good at this job is the same set of skills you'll need as a future teacher: flexibility, patience, tact, an understanding of kids, good communication skills, and some familiarity with office equipment. The rest you can learn as you go.

For me, the best part about being a substitute is meeting so many kids. I often forget the names, but I'm pretty sure I remember most of the faces. Kids love paras so it's usually a very positive experience. I learned some pretty surprising things about myself while I was out there. One thing was that I am surprisingly good at working with kids who have Autism. Special Education was always very mysterious to me, but I learned that labels don't matter a whole lot, and that kids are kids are kids, and a pretty standard set of moves will work with most. I learned that teens can be fun, and I still like them the best. I learned that kids with MR are total sweethearts. I learned a lot from the teachers I've worked with/for. The experience gave my later graduate school classes a meaningful context. I got a lot of good advice about school. I also have a really good idea of what to look for in a future job/school. Above all, the best part about doing para subbing is that I can continue exploring aspects of education that I never learned about in graduate school on a totally flexible schedule. Although I ostensibly use para subbing to fill the holes in what's available on the certified subbing list, I do appreciate the fact that I can choose to use it as a safe space for exploring the more "advanced topics" in education like Specialized Autism programs, alternative education, and EBD.

So for all of you out there who think you may want to change fields and go into education, I would strongly suggest you do something like this. This is doubly true if you are interested in Special Education and want to see if you really have what it takes. While the pay isn't necessarily spectacular, it does meet the needs of most students who need part-time work, and like all forms of subbing is sublimely flexible. Need to stay home and work on a project instead? No problem. Want to take a class or two? Fine! On the other hand, it looks way better on a resume than a waitressing job.

a day in the life of a para

This sounds like an interesting read for anyone who's interested in being an educator or is currently working in education. Apparently some feller named Dave Roche wrote a zine (book?) about his days as a para-sub with PPS. This sounds fascinating to me since this is what I do (as well as certified substitute teaching), so I'll definitely have to get a hold of this and read it myself. I strongly encourage you to do so too, especially if you have a teacher or paraeducator in your life. I don't know about other people, but I find that other than here in this blog, I rarely bother sharing with others what this job is like. Sure I'll tell my husband some of the more heartwarming or amusing tales of life in the trenches, but for me it's really difficult to explain what it is about spending my days around kids that really charges my batteries. It's tough to explain because a lot of what you see and do is confidential (hence the lack of detail in this blog). This guy probably does a much better job than I ever could explaining what really goes on in the classrooms...

fun is elementary

So today was only my second time working for district #2, who I finally convinced to hire me after years of pestering. You'd think this Friday would be hot substitute teaching action, but the subboard was strangely quiet. I saw a few things on there, but nothing too exciting. For a while I thought I was all dressed up with nowhere to go, but at the last minute I got called to go work at an elementary school not too far from where I live. Sweet! I'm kind of in the mood for an elementary school on a Friday.

I generally prefer middle and high school jobs because teens are my favorite, but an elementary school now and again is a nice change of pace. It's fun to revisit the joys of childhood once in awhile. Every time I do this, I am reminded that the energy level of elementary school is a bit too much of me, but once in awhile it's alright.

Today I was in a small self-contained special education classroom in an aging--but cute--school building. It's been awhile since I've been in a building of this vintage--most of the schools I've been in lately have been brand-spankin' new. The kids were fun and warmed right up to me, so it was a pretty straightforward afternoon of elementary school special education routines. There was some serious drama that went down while I was away on my lunch break, but for me, the whole day was pleasant and enjoyable. A major plus at the end of the day was the awesome sunny weather, and not having to drive over the West Hills in Friday evening traffic-yay!

So this kind of strange and disjointed week ended on a positive note. Hopefully next week goes back to normal. Happy Friday!

next time just one half

It was impossible to wake up this morning, so after trying and trying, I decided to give in go back to sleep. I'm way off my normal routine and it's showing. This has been a really strange week for me, and I feel like I'm totally off-track. I'm compensating for all of this by spending way too much time on the internet.

I decided since working was out for the day, I'd go over and hang out in Margo's EBD classroom, which I'm treating as an internship opportunity to study and learn more about kids with EBDs. I finally got to meet her para, a couple of kids I hadn't seen yet, see what the dynamics are like with an adult male in the room, and learn what the afternoon routine looks like. Ideally I'd like to go over one more time before she asks me to sub for her. Officially I guess you'd call it a class observation visit or volunteering. For me, it's an opportunity to get to know the kids a bit better before I start subbing for her.

Today was more of a typical day than the last time I was there , so I got to watch the kids working on more academic tasks (note to self-I suck at high school math). I think at this point they're used to seeing me and are starting to relax. With this group, nobody's in quite the same place where they were when I was last there, but I've noticed they aren't testing me quite as much and are starting to show some signs and gestures of acceptance. I'm hoping some of this will hold when I make the switch from friendly observer to the "in-charge person" which oughta be interesting for all of us. Frankly though, I'm not as concerned now as I was at first, and a lot of it has to do with the fact that the kids have clearly adjusted to me. I should be just fine. So sometime in about a week, I'll be doing just that...Kinda reminds me of taking over a class during student teaching. I'm sure it'll be interesting but at least I'm not getting graded.

Speaking of student teaching, the student teacher from Lewis and Clark I met should be taking over her class right about now, so my thoughts are with her. I bet right now there's a whole bunch of student teachers grappling with this dilemma right now as we speak. About a year ago or so, I too was in about the same place. I remember how in some ways it was very nerve wracking, and in others, not so much. I don't think any two people ever experience this in quite the same way, but no matter what it is stressful, so I hope she's doing well and the kids are going easy on her. Either way, she has my sympathy. Student teaching is quite a roller coaster ride. It's amazing how much easier subbing is in some ways.

So if anything, I'm looking forward to picking up her class for a day. If it goes well, it could be a regular gig for me. Come to think of it, I also wouldn't mind going over to my old student teaching placement site and subbing for my old CT since I know all the kids (she's looped with them so all the same kids I had during student teaching should still be there), but she has Mrs. Greene on call, and Mrs. Greene is the best substitute teacher on the planet. I wouldn't dream of stepping on her turf.

okee dokee

The last couple of days have been "interesting". I'm ready for some good old fashioned routine. I'm tired to death of variety...Maybe I should have picked up that half-day ESL job...but I didn't. I'm tentatively thinking about going back to work tomorrow if I actually get some sleep tonight. (Note that this is the only line of work where you can "think about going to work" in any meaningful sense of the word.) Maybe if I don't have anything compelling going on, I'll go hang out with Margo's crew. It's times like this that I enjoy not having a full-time job. Life can deal out all kinds of unexpected things, and it's nice to have maximum flexibility to deal with them.

It's definitely December around here. While not exactly cold, it's not very pleasant outside. The permagloom has parked in its winter home and probably won't leave us again until June. I'm not dealing too well with the whole lack of sunlight thing and desperately trying to compensate with caffeine. Frankly, I don't know how people live above the Artic Circle...My poor dog needs more stimulation but I'm too lethargic to whip up any enthusiasm for playing with her.

I'm getting into that mode where I'm pretty uninspired to do anything really creative. Fortunately I can put this lack of vision to use by scouring the internet for good teaching materials. This is probably a good time in my life to imitate what's already out there. There's no need to re-invent the wheel every day.

Hopefully I'll get some real sleep tonight. I'd like to get back in the game--I kinda miss my real life, crazy as it is. At least it's funny in an overstimulating sort of way.

Gratitude List

Thanksgiving has come and gone, so with that inevitable wave of nostalgia that usually hits me hard at this time of year, I'm going to publish my annual gratitude list-a list of some of the things I'm thankful for in life. After all, you shouldn't take anything in life for granted.

1. My husband, my family, and my friends. I don't think I would be even remotely functional without having the support from all the people in my life. These are the people who understand, deal with (on a daily basis), and are able to overlook all the crazy stuff that comes with knowing me. Thank you for accepting me for who I am.

2. That I was able to survive the madness of graduate school, student teaching, and all the bureaucratic stuff that PSU threw at me just to keep life interesting. A big thank you to anyone who made all of the above more bearable by being around to lighten things up a bit, commiserate, and just generally be understanding during that time in my life. And thanks to my professors who taught me some very useful things.

3. My job: It's not necessarily the job I most wanted, but it's working out fine. Subbing is turning out to be better than I had originally expected. I really wanted a full-time job somewhere as an ESL teacher, with salary and benefits and predictable routines every day, but substitute teaching isn't a terrible thing to do in the meantime. I am secretly enjoying the fact that I can test drive a bunch of different environments, and even though there's difficult aspects to the job (kids almost always behave worse for subs), it's usually fine, I rarely encounter anything I can't handle, and most of the time, it's even fun.

4. My house: I was getting pretty tired of renting, so I am thrilled that we were able to get a house this year, and furthermore, that we were able to afford it. I love where I live, I love being able to plant a real garden, being able to have a dishwasher finally, decent windows, heating that works, finally being able to get a dog without having to ask anyone's permission first, and knowing that I won't have to move unless I really want to. Yay!

5. No more Republican B.S.! Sorry to those of you who just love the Republican party and what it stands for, but I don't, it's my blog, and all I gotta say is:
SO LONG, GOOD BYE!!!!!!! And don't let the door hit you on the way out.
I'm done with Republicans. So over it. Y'all have messed up my life enough for one decade. Now leave me the hell alone!

6. People who don't suck. You know who you are. You're the ones who are out there every day doing what needs to be done without having to be asked. You're the ones taking care of your business. You're busy raising kids so that they will grow up to be sane healthy human beings. You're the ones not creating messes and problems for others to deal with. You're able to live your life in a way that makes the world a better place for everyone. You quietly inspire others with everything you do--you don't need 15 minutes of fame. You are busy being the better person. You are busy creating something beautiful. You are busy fixing things that need fixing. You care about the things that matter and it shows. You don't waste your time on crap. Give yourself a pat on the back. Believe me, I've been noticing.

Anyway, those are just some of the things I am thankful for this year.

a check in

Current Age: 682740 days
Current Residence: 45 N/ 122 W
What I'd most like to do right now: Sleep! Make Snowflakes! Use unnecessary punctuation marks!
Last movie I watched: South Park
Most recent song: Depeche Mode-Enjoy the Silence on the radio
Currently Reading: 7 lb Universe
Obsessing about: laundry, Christmas decorations, ODD
Favourite cartoon character: Man that's tough...
Catch Phrase: That's so Rad!
Tools: telephone, vacuum cleaner, coffee, more coffee, tea tree oil