2009 @ MindSay

I haaaaaaaaaaaate changes to plans.



I know, completely normal, but this really stresses me out.

Kathleen was supposed to 'be me' today (my staff get paid an additional 15 dollars when they cover for a teacher for 1 - 3 hours, hell yes I'm going to get one of THEM to get that $ whenever possible) and tomorrow (she'd get the $30 being a teacher for a whole day would get) while I was at my meeting.  Um...she's not coming in.... and there's no sub for her (or TWO of Susan's people, so Susan can't help with coverage).  Which means I have to go pull Sandy AGAIN and then cover for her at lunch AGAIN which screws Paula and Dot AGAIN .... UGH.

Are we EVER going to have a 'normal' day?  The ONLY positive right now is...well, there are a few.  I like to make myself think about the positives rather than bitching (ignore above?).  One, I feel fine.  I'M not going to be absent (knocks on wood), so at least I can be there for my staff.  Two, the meeting this morning shouldn't be too long, so in theory, I'll be out in time to maybe help facilitate Dot or Paula taking a lunch a bit early.  We'll have to play with this.  Three, I have an amazing staff, which means that amazing things will happen.

Let's hope that tomorrow Kathleen is in, because I'm supposed to provide coverage for TWO people, myself and Kathie, and.... oh lord, talk about things NOT working. 

...the radio is absolutely terrible.

But sometimes... it is just absolutely amazing.

Case in point, I went out to CVS tonight around 8:30 (it closes at 10 apparently) to get something I needed.  They were all out, and I needed it tonight.  So the nearest CVS that had any in stock...20 miles away.  Yeah.  NOT excited (but tempted to sleep at my parents tonight because hey, what's an extra 10 miles when you're going 30 out of your way?). 

I get in the car, and what's on? Hotel California.  And I'll have you know, the DJ was kind enough/smart enough to play the real version; the six-and-a-half-minute version.  Perfect.  So how do they one-up themselves with that one?  Oh, they put on Lola by The Kinks.  I used to have a cat named Lola, so that song has always meant a lot to me.  And then, Instant Karma (John Lennon) made its way into my ears. 
Then, I wasn't in the mood to listen to Santana's Smooth (I ODed on that song when it first came out), so I switched over to my beloved hard rock station...and was met with Filter's Hey Man, Nice Shot.

<3333

It's only 4:30, and I am ready to collapse.

 

Here's some of the stuff that was on my plate today:

 

-- One of my ESPs (Educational Support Professional, aka a para or an aide at other schools), Kathleen, was taking a personal day today. That's totally fine.  Yesterday, my ESP Stacey's daughter got sick at her school and Stace had to leave at like 1:30 to take care of her, so I thought she might be absent today.  I gave this info to a fellow teacher, Susan, who runs another 'program' in the building.  She told me one of her ESPs was going to be out. 

Each day, a fax comes to the main office from the sub caller saying who is absent.

Imagine my nausea when Susan came to my room and said, "they're both out, and there are no subs".  I almost had a heart attack.  THANKFULLY, she meant Kathleen and her ESP, NOT Kathleen and Stacey.

-- However, Kathleen works with a kid who needs CONSTANT supervision (T), so there was no option of 'okay, he'll be on his own today'.  'Shit' I say to myself, 'I'm already understaffed when all of them are HERE, being down another one will kill me!''. 

It did NOT kill me, btw.  We did an experiment where Sandy left X alone all day, and she went around as Kathleen, and I'd be her at his lunch period so she could eat.  OYYY.  It also F'ed up Paula and Dot's lunches.  I can't wait to have enough staff.  It will never happen, though.

-- M had TWO bathroom accidents today.  The day before we were going to throw a blow-out party for her for being dry for an entire month.  I thought we should have it anyway, because we were at ALMOST a month (this was after the 1st, just-pee accident :-/), but Paula alerted me that earlier M threatened her with, "If you don't _____ I'll pee my pants".

-- Speaking of M, her foster-mom just stopped in here (it's 4:40) to see if I was in.  We talked a week ago about how she never intended to adopt her and that their time together would be ending soon but M doesn't know HOW soon it really could be.  Well, mom just told me they've found a prospective family in West Springfield, and she's actually going to be having an overnight with them...TOMORROW.  As in, if this goes well, and this is for real, she could be leaving NEXT WEEK.  I'm devestated at the thought of it.

PS, she's going to tell her about it tonight, so that means tomorrow might be HELL, and also, the behaviors like bathroom issues and defiance are probably going to spike.  w00t.

-- I got to have another interaction with ZF today.  He is not my student, but probably will be soon.  The child is out-of-control, makes-other-behavior-kids-look-like-angels outta control.  He has an ESP who has NO IDEA what to do with him.  Twice this week, I've had to escort him into the break room because he's been kicking and scratching her. Not that he hasn't been doing it to me when I am the one getting him into the room because she doesn't.  He left some good marks today. 

-- This one made me laugh.  I guess you'd have to know the student to laugh along with me, but there is a boy in Susan's program, H, who is quite a handful.  He is very violent and hands-on as well - he's also really sweet, but if you spend time with him, you see a lot more aggression than the sweet side.  Anyway, while watching T at recess today, I turned around and saw H on all 4s behind another kid, squeezing him.  I told him to let go, and surprisingly, he did without incident.  I have heard one of his ESPs, Ashley tell him, "no contact" as in, hands off, so as he and the boys ran away, I yelled, "Boys, no contact".  I didn't single HIM out, I made it the whole group.

Either way, H stops, cocks his hip out and goes, "You know what I want? (beat) To kick you".  I was TEMPTED to say, 'thank you for not' but I clamped my mouth shut.  HOWEVER, H not hurting someone is big news.  Of course, he broke a kids glasses today, but ... he didn't kick me when he wanted to :).

-- Oh yeah; Stacey came in this morning and told me she's applying for a transfer back to her old school because she hates working in the program.  Not her student, not me or my staff, but the program itself.  I knew she was unhappy from the get-go, but ... seriously?  You're going to fucking do that to us after you made a huge fucking deal about us NOT splitting the days up so you'd always be with that student?

I can't tell if I'm hoping she gets it or not. 

Apparently, I'm madder about that than I thought I was. 

Keep those lists coming, guys!  (See below entry)

I've received close to 10 lists so far!  And that's only after a couple of days!  Fantastic!  I know some of you are either waiting on a particular release or are still thinking about your own list.  Just don't forget about it!  And don't worry, there will be plenty of reminders here on my blog.

Just one detail that some of you may ask about:  Yes, live albums CAN be included.  In my case, that means 3 albums this year (and 3 you may have overlooked!).  R.E.M.'s Live at the Olympia, Nirvana's Live at Reading Festival, and Tom Waits' upcoming Glitter and Doom: Live.

Oh, and another detail, now that some of you may be thinking about it:  YES, you CAN UPDATE YOUR LIST at ANY TIME.  Just tell me you want to add an album and then tell me what number you'd like it positioned into!  That way, you music fanatics can continue building your lists as anticipated albums are released.
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As far as my list, it's getting up there in number.  It may even be the placeholder for the tallying process.  Right now, I'm sitting at a potential (it does include upcoming releases) final number of 75.  So that means your #1 album will be worth 75 points.  For those of you with 5 album lists, it's real easy math.  #5 - 15 pts, #4 - 30 pts, #3 - 45 pts, #2 - 60 pts, #1 - 75 points.  And for those odd-numbered lists?  That's fine but a calculator will obviously be needed :).  And all decimal points will be rounded to the nearest hundredth.