Funk

I didn't do anything interesting today, in fact, I did the antithesis of interesting today...yes that's right, another teacher workshop!!! Two women that sat in front of me insisted on talking to each other the ENTIRE time! They weren't whispering either, they were talking at a normal volume. Most of their conversations consisted of criticisms of the instructors proposed methods and how they (because they went to grad school) know how to do it better. It was highly irritating. Just when I thought they couldn't annoy me any further, they outdid themselves in the afternoon. One of the women answered her phone and continued to speak to the caller for 5 minutes, all while the instructor is presenting. Someone finally got fed up with her and "shushed" her. Her response to this was to hang up her phone and say, out loud, "WHO SHUSHED ME??? THAT IS SOOO RUDE!" Really? You think that's rude?? You can't think of anything else going on that was RUDE??" At least I don't work with her.

Smells llike teen spirit...

A requirement for all teachers is to obtain 60 hours of professional development during the year. Sometimes this involves trips to conferences in exciting destinations like Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle, etc. For me, however, my destination is the sprawling urban metropolis of Beebe, Arkansas. I'm pretty sure I saw a subway and a gas station on the way in, and yes, that is the end of the list of things I saw on my way into "town". I took a wrong turn on my way to the high school and began realizing I was headed in the wrong direction when I noticed that the only thing on either side of my car was grass and cows...and grass...and cows. I did eventually make it to my destination. I've heard it said that smell is one of the most powerful senses. The odor that I encountered when I stepped into Beebe High School was not one that sent my mind reeling into a sunny memory of my childhood...no...I had just one thought.... "this place totally smells like cat food". And it did, smell exactly like cat food, wet cat food to be exact. Lovely. It really set the tone for the entire day. Did you know there are 11 different kinds of addition problems?? Nope, I didn't either.

I really need to commit to blogging more, especially since my major excuse is no time. This is exceptionally absurd considering I write in a journal every night. So let's see, what's been going on with me...sadly, not a lot. I taught summer school, which was nice, at least I should say the extra paycheck is nice. I had two students who learned to speak English this year. Much to their dismay, I still understand a fair amount of Spanish so they're murmurs about how mean I was were not as secret as they would have liked!

Since that has ended I've been spending time at home with Harper. I'll take this moment to gloat a little about how smart I think my daughter is, and of course, my opinion is not biased in any way. I'm in awe about how much she has changed in the past year. She has said her first word, "dog". She loves dogs, LOVES them. There are no plans for the immediate future to get her a dog, however. I'd her to be old enough to help take care of it. Otherwise, it's just another being for me to clean up after.





She has also decided that she no longer hates the bathtub. Thank goodness. Bath time for the past few months has been torture. She would scream and cry and attempt to climb out of the bathtub. Now she loves it. Whatever. I'm sure her mind will change on this or something else in the near future. I always said I wanted to daughter with an opinion, a mind of her own. Boy did I ever get one!