I think substituting has taken an infinite turn for the better...

Dear Jordan School District,
Thank you a million times over. I used to have to while away my subbing organizing files on my computer, writing lesson plans, or actually watching the class I was with. Now that you have streamlined your internet codes, I can while away my time doing a variety of things. I can...

read the Deseret News online (and subsequently get angry @ the comments people make. How many times do I have to tell myself that reading comments brings nothing but rage to my heart ?)
chat on gmail with Talena (until she says she is busy and then I feel bad for taking away from those that are actually working)
shop for clothes I can't afford
daydream about Disneyland (which is going to be my location in just 9 short days... but I'm not @ all excited)
look up pointless information
read a plethora of blogs
write this blog

So thank you Jordan School District, for making my life much more bearable. Now if only you would pay me more and give me less chatty children, but that's a request for another day.

sincerely, an off track teacher who wishes for independent wealth so she doesn't have to sub

I think the Iowa Cylones are too kind for thier own good

So today in an effort to not grade or do anything worthwhile (as I am prone to do) I was on Utefans.net (a Utah fan message board that is quite humorous) and found a post from a Northern Iowa fan. We are playing the Cyclones at their place on Saturday, and one of the fans posted a tailgate invite to any Utah fans coming to the game.

So a week later he was getting back on to say that 40-50 people has r.s.v.p'd and that he was excited to meet them all on Saturday. How cute is that ? I was floored that some team would be so kind to go out of their way to invite fans to share in a pre-game meal, to even set up games for the kids. My esteem went up for them. While I shall not be in Ames, Iowa this weekend, I now have a new "little" team to cheer for once the game is over. Unless the Utes totally choke and I have bitterness toward them. Otherwise it's Go Cyclones (also how cute is that mascot ? I love cute mascots !) !!

I think that this band is on to something...

As I sit here wasting time as I am prone to do (especially when I am off track), I have been listening the cd "Even If It Kills Me", by the Motion City Soundtrack. If you have not heard this cd, get it, it has turned into one of my top 5 favorite cds. In this day and age it's RARE to find a cd that you can listen to all the way through, and this is one of those. But I digress...

Any friend who knows me well knows that I often say the phrase "this song is so true". Well this song is no exception. I will try to link it in here but if that doesn't work (as is likely) here are the lyrics that really make an impression.

"I'll get lost, messed up and bored when I'm alone too long
I can't sleep, function or eat when I'm not with someone"  

"What if it was you?
You that I needed all along
I felt like a fool,
Kicking and screaming and pretending we were wrong"

"What a disaster it would be if you discovered that I cared
A little too much for friends but not enough to share"

  Don't you wish boys really felt that way... how cute is that ? Of course songs like that just make us hold on to those pathetic hopes we have that boys really do think things like that. So Motion City Soundtrack, please stop feeding into girls insane wishes... but go back to making cd's like this. Your newest is too angry and I don't enjoy it as much.

I think my life has reached a new low...

I have recently moved out ( I am 27 after all... it was more than time), so it was time to officially move my records to the ward I have been attending for the last 14 months. Then this happened...

On Sunday Rachel (a new roommate) and I went to new member meeting (which as a side note I find a complete inefficient use of time but that's another story). They make you sit in the big circle and introduce yourself, you know the drill. The person on your R had to ask you a question, so Rachel says "where do you like to travel ?". I know this is hard to believe but I storta froze b/c I couldn't think of what place I wanted to say. I am sure it was like 5 seconds but when you are in that situation you feel like it's 2 minutes b/c everyone is staring etc. So I went with " well my dream is to go to a Final Four game and see every baseball stadium in the country". To which some boy in the corner says "when you do that, will  you call me ?". I laugh and we go on.

I then look @ said boy and think "he's not too horrible, perhaps this can be my in". He then goes and says " I just got home from the Georgia Macon Mission". To which I think " of course you did, you are a baby". I then have to ask him a question (as he is sitting behind me on a table so I guess that was to my R). I say " is Statesboro in that mission (even though I already know it is) ?" and he replies "yes, it is".  I feel like that is a pretty random question to just ask so I follow it up with " I lived there for 6 months". A boy yells out " I think there is a connection going on, I sense a date". To which Mr. " I JUST got home" says (loudly, to this whole room) " well, yeah, she's kinda cute"

I then turn bright red while everyone else laughs nervously. So there you go, I am now getting shot down by boys a good 6 years younger then me... great..

I think that life is far too ironic

The second a break from my darling but draining class is in sight (i.e there is only a week left), I get sick. Real funny whoever is in charge up there... real funny. So instead of packing, grading or even enjoying one of the last weekends of pool weather, I am playing Bejeweled and bemoaning my current physical condition, not to mention drinking my weight in orange juice. Good times, good times indeed !

ps please don't judge me sacrilegious for saying "whoever is in charge"... it just made the sentence much more humorous...

I think I dislike my co-workers- Part 2

Dear co-workers,
I know I may be younger than you (by a whopping 5 years) but I am pretty sure I am still mentally competent. When you come to tell me something b/c you are the team leader, just SPIT IT OUT ! You don't have to (literally) wring your hands and stall for minutes. Here is what needs to be said- there is a letter going out to parents about the new teacher. Here is how you say it.
"so, uh, just so you know, (pause for 10 seconds to make sure I am giving my full attention before going on), we are getting that new teacher ( of course I know that, I was @ the interview 5 days ago, I did not forget in that time span) so the principal sent a letter home, you know, to kindof see who wants to switch classes. So just so you know"

I wish you would just spit it out. Perhaps it's my impatience coming out but I can not take much more of you stretching out pointless conversations. I have things to do... like play Bejeweled (that I was forced to download and actually pay for my addiction has grown so much).. or teach.

sincerely, your co-worker who uses what little patience she has on 6 and 7 year olds

I think I could have a second career as a soothsayer ( do they make predictions ?)

Today my morning diet coke was once again sweet and gross. In the words of a friend "Diet Coke is supposed to be bitter if anything, NOT sweet". The day- nuts and chock full of non listening students. Correlation or Causation ? Though I love to say that correlation does not assume causation, I am telling you this is a causation... think what you will.

I think that a bad Diet Coke is an omen of things to come...

Let me tell you about my day. Not because you care, but b/c blogs are all about selfish thoughts. On my way to school I typically (meaning 4 out of 5 days) stop @ McDonald's for a Diet Coke. I mean why pay 75 cents @ my school for a can when I can have a large for a quarter more ? I am just being economical really. So yesterday as I stopped, I received what can only be described as the worst Diet Coke known to man. It was so sweet I would have sworn it was Pepsi, if McDonald's was a Pepsi establishment. I even threw the majority of it away @ school. Anyone who knows me well knows that is a true sign of trouble ahead.

As the day went on it turned more and more unenjoyable (if that is even a word). I received a new student that acts like school is a foreign concept. He cuts and yells and is generally just oh so fun. Add to this that my naughty student (that I have to keep a close eye on already) decided that the afternoon would be a good time to go into the bathroom, prevent others from going into stalls, and show everyone his butt. I then had an aide in my room for an hr so I could do individual reading tests. I asked my kids as they came out in the hall "are you guys behaving" and none of them gave me a positive report. When I walked in the face the aide gave me told me they were horrible.

By the end of school I was so exhausted that I walked out the second my contract time ends (a RARITY). I went home and got the pool all to myself, which was great b/c I really was feeling anti social. After sitting in blessed silence for awhile, I decided (at the ripe old time of 8 pm) that I needed to get something done. So I loaded up my car and went to the D.I.

On the way home I thought "hey, it's dinner time, but you eat way too many french fries and dollar hamburgers, you need to get a salad or ohh... a baked potato from Wendy's". I drive up and am repeating my order in my head. " Medium Diet Coke ( I know, I know, but what can I say, I am human), sour cream and chive baked potato, and a side salad." I then proceed to order and drive away, when I glance in my bag. I have a jr. bacon cheeseburger (what I typically get). What ? I am now perplexed so I stop in the parking lot and look @ my reciept. Sure enough, I had ordered the jr. bacon. My mind and mouth do not work together anymore apparently.

I then go home and have such a bad headache the only remedy was to lay down on my bed, in the complete dark and put two pillows over my closed eyes. I apparently fell asleep and woke up @ 3 am in a dazed state. Yet I still had to STRUGGLE to get up.

Today's Diet Coke was much better, and I got to school to hear the naughty boy's eye was swollen shut, so he would not be attending school that day. See, it's a better day already..

I think I subconsciously love negative attention

Case in point- A child is being transferred out of my class tomorrow. This child (and parents) have already caused me much agony and stress... and it's only day 5 of school. I even have said " @ this point I don't even care if they transfer her b/c she is causing me so much stress". Yet when I find out she is leaving, I get this twinge of sadness/guilt. I feel like I didn't do enough, didn't succeed as a teacher. See ? I love negative attention...

I think I have a bit too much emotion invested in local rivalries...

My friend wants to set me up with her friends brother (one of those setups). She assures me he is normal so what do I do ? I do what any single girl of this era does.... I Facebook stalk him. He only has one photo to look @, and clearly that is not enough. Next step, actual googling (and yes that is a word). Lo and behold... a blog ! I have already started the stalking so I figure what harm would it do to keep going and look @ a few entries. An hour later I feel like I have a pretty good indication of this fellow. He is a bit too churchy/BYU for me, which lead me to the following thought.

When people ever mention a boy, I meet a boy etc, one of the top 3 questions I ask is- "Is he a BYU fan ?" Not "Is he a member of the church ? Is he addicted to drugs ?" nope... sports allegiances fall higher on my need to know information. I wonder.... is that a bad thing ? Am I cutting off potential friends by the mere fact they cheer for the Cougars ? Yes... and I don't know that that's a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind BYU in it's entirety, but when I start thinking about their athletic program, rage starts building. Call me crazy and close minded but rage should not be the foundation of a relationship. So judge all you want but Cougars and I don't really mix for dating.

I Think I am starting to develop a true dislike for my co-workers...

Dear Co-workers,

Some of you are really starting to annoy me. Here is why...

1- No you may not throw a huge pile of stuff in my room FIVE minutes before the first day and expect me to be happy about it. You couldn't put it in our supply room, or the teacher lunchroom ? You couldn't ask me about it @ lunch or after school ? No by all means, throw it in my room so you don't have to deal with it.

2- It is also not acceptable to only talk to me when you want something from me. You can go to lunch with every other teacher on the team without me, but by all means mock me that you stole my favorite student (I had the sibling last year) and then ask if I want to watch your non bus kids @ the end of the day.

All I ask is a little kindness...

Sincerely, your co-worker who is not enjoying you

Note to Self-

Dear Self-
Don't watch the "Hils" series finale @ the gym. For some reason the after show was making you grin like an IDIOT... over pseudo-celebrities... in public !! You could feel yourself grinning, were fully aware that you looked like an odd duck... yet you would NOT stop ! Good thing the Josh Duhamel look-alike was not @ the gym to witness your stupidity.

sincerely, just-looking-out-for-you

I think teenagers are funny or annoying... seldom both

I interacted with teenagers much more in the last 24 hrs then I typically do and I came to the above conclusion about them, with the following examples.

Annoying- The HOARDES of teenage girls @ the Bountiful theater SCREAMING over Edward and Jacob..... ALL movie long... ALL the time.

Funny- A group of teens ( I am thinking a cross country team b/c what group of teens gets up and runs in a large mass in the morning but a team ?) running on the road to work. One boy, no more then 13, walking, pumping his fists and talking to himself. It's ok kid, I have to convince myself to run as well.

I think I cheered for a reality star tonight !

Judge me all you want but there is nothing quite like "The City" to cap off my Tuesday. I was SO SO proud of little Whitney for standing up to that brat of a girl Olivia. Yay for calling her out and not taking her excuses... it made me like you even more. I would perhaps even buy your clothes if they weren't a small fortune and a bit fancy and floral for my taste.

I think I totally believe in jinxing...

Yesterday I took the day off as sick, but really just wanted my birthday off. Not only did I get sick, it is now raining (see previous post). I am never taking the day off again... at least till next month or next time I want to bring harm to some of my students....

I think that birthdays should be national holidays...

My friend's mom works for a company that gives every employee their birthday off. Why doesn't everyone do that ?

I think it's way too warm to be sick..

It's finally nice outside and I am miserable. You should only be allowed to get ill when it's cold and staying in on your couch sounds appealing. So I guess those that live in year round sun would never get ill- yet another bonus for them !

I think that Disneyland is AWESOME !!

I just returned from 5 days @ the Happiest Place on Earth and boy it was happy. Crowded, cold but happy. Here are some things I think about Disneyland....

I think that riding "Pirates of the Carribbean" 7 times is worthy of buying cheap plastic mickey rings to celebrate. I also think that not letting your friend who only rode it 3 times buy one is not rude at all

I think that parents making kids go on rides despite the child's obvious fear (ie crying) is hilarious in a way. Actual phrase heard in line for Big Thunder Railroad "If you don't stop crying I will just take you on higher and faster rides".

I think that part of the experience of Disneyland is allowing yourself treats @ all turns. Some of my personal Disney treats are:
Mickey Mouse Ice Cream
Diet Coke and Popcorn
Any of the plethora of treats in the candy store over by Splash Mountain (b/c you always need a little something to cheer you up from the fact you are now soaked)
Mickey Mouse pretzels (a new discovery this trip)
Pasta from Pizza Port in Tommorrowland
Pickles from any of the vendors
Treats at the Penny Arcade
Chinese Chicken Salad @ California Adventure
mmm...just thinking of all this makes me hungry... who cares that I gain a multitude of pounds and use heaps of money... you need something to do to while away the lines.

I think that riding the Disneyland Express around twice b/c the conductor is trying to flirt with your friend and you didn't truly experience all parts of the ride is perfectly acceptable.

I think that riding the aforementioned train and going on Pirates on conference Sunday is acceptable b/c they are calm and we didn't scream once

I think that I could ride any ride in Disneyland over and over and never tire of it.

I think I now want to go to Disneyland again..right now.

Welcome !

So I made my very own first little blog just a month or so ago. I discovered something... I really liked having a blog ! Even though I am breaking blogging rules (in that I have no children or husband to write about) I enjoy people saying they enjoyed my blog. The problem with my other blog is that it is limited in it's subject matter. So..... ta-da.... I came up with this blog.... enjoy....