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You HAVE to Rock Out to Boh Rhap
So, I’ve had better days. Overall it wasn’t bad, but it also… there were some pretty negative moments. Whole morning was okay; it was recess. Recess had a LOT of stuff wrong with it today. It started when Kaitlin, Quinn, Lexxey, and someone else came over to Claudia and I to tell us about a not-so-nice game that was going on.
A was the target of this game. Kids acted like they were playing tag with him, but in reality, the rules were that you didn’t want him to get you, and if he got you, you had to get someone else. And no one would talk to you. This whole time, I was pretty convinced I taught at a school full of some pretty amazing kids who were able to ignore the serious issues of a fellow student. Apparently, I was giving them too much credit. I was so hurt and angry about this, that when we had them line up and wanted to talk to them, I was just biting back tears and unable to say ANYTHING; Claudia had to do all the talking.
Oh yeah; and I accidentally yelled at Lindsay (a tutor/para). She started to dismiss the 6th graders to go in, and I was so upset and trying so hard to not cry in front of all of them (though in reality, it might have been good for them to physically see how upset I was), I said, “NO!” but really it was as loud as it was to let them know they weren’t going in yet, NOT at her. Either way, she was pretty visibly upset with me, and stormed inside. I was able to find her later to try to apologize after reading group, and she said, “I know you didn’t mean it. I’m just really sick and they usually wait for me to dismiss them for some reason and you were just upset because of the situation”….but I cried anyway. I HATE hurting people’s feelings. I’ve had mine hurt enough that I never want to do it to ANYONE.
Tiger Play
The deadliest predator of the playland jungle, by far, is the native Playland Tiger (panthera tigris amandis). I did not decide that I was a tiger. The kids did. I decided that the playland needed a big predatory cat running around in it today.
I don't know exactly what determines that a particular day is going to be a romp-with-the-kids day. It's certainly not a case of getting more sleep - I had less than five hours last night. But, today when we took the kids to playland, the inner tiger seized me.
Maybe it's because I'm wearing animal-print underwear. That sometimes affects my brain in unexpected ways.
I should point out that, on days when it's my turn to sit on the bench (instead of going up and playing with the kids - there has to be at least ONE adult who's relatively stationary, so that if anyone's fighting or bleeding or has to go potty, they know where to find someone who can help), I observe the playland as though it's a jungle. Big timbers. Giant webbing from killer spiders. Barely-held-together bridge over the canyon. Escape slides that lead to who-knows-where. The whole thing's a multicolored adventure.
Also, it will frequently occur that a bunch of the kids will decide to be animals for the day. Wolves are a common choice, because then they get to make howling noises. Leopards and lions, dogs, whatever. They chase each other all over this thing. It's a three-tiered maze where you can often see your prey from somewhere, but have a real job getting over to them in a timely fashion.
I think my voice is hoarse from the snarling, but man, did we have fun. The tiger climbs swiftly, shoots down slides, snarls always, gathers to leap, and runs just slightly slower than the four-year-olds (they don't want to be caught. They want to be chased. If you catch them, then you have to figure out what to do with them - usually tickle torture.)
One of my smaller girls is spoiled sugar. She's absolutely delightful, but the problem is that she's been so delightful for so long that we kind of humor her on everything, so, she'll have the impression that she can get away with a lot. Most of the kids will get the concept of, we all get chased and run away yelling, just yank Phirefly's attention, she'll chase somebody-or-other at some point. Spoiled sugar will see a game and have to confine it to be focused on her - which in this case just meant declaring that said tiger was tame, and would follow her directions.
Yeah. Good luck with that. :D
So much fun. Running around in socks meant a lot of sliding, but it just added to the "Cats" feel of it. Big stalking, big feline shoulder strut, swatting with the claws (making stuff look real but being gentle is one of the most fun parts of playing with the little kids)...I think that's the first time in months that we've had all of the kids playing the same game. Not that the splitting up is bad at all, but I was having a blast, they were having a blast, it was great.
I'd be stalking up the hill towards one of the designated prey, and then suddenly from behind I'd hear, "Phirefly! Phirefly!" Over, and over, and over. :)
At some point, the game shifted slightly. Because I'd dropped to all four to stalk a particular pair of boys, and one of the others came in and just pile-drived me from the side. The pair of boys made the swift connection, and also leapt up to join in the tackle. Played along with it - at some point there were seven or eight kids bent on getting 'the tiger!' pinned to the ground (I don't know what they'd do if they succeeded - probably be confused and then want to chase again). A mighty roar and very gentle (hugely theatrical) throw, and the tiger's away! And then...we have the angry village Pygmies, chasing the tiger through the jungle, while the rest of the natives still run and scream in fear when the mighty tiger is glimpsed. Kids, chasing Phirefly, chasing kids. Through three levels, four slides, multiple tunnels, netting, spiral-climbing, alligator pit, and running sock-footed on a gym floor.
Amazing fun.
I will say, though, that racing up, down, around, over, through, etc. on the playland is quite the workout - particularly as it was designed for people half my size. There's actually a point in one of the climbing tubes where I will sometimes get stuck. There are a bunch of places where I have to remember to change the angle of how I'm running/crawling or I'll clonk my head. You'll have to suddenly switch from your face leading, to your feet, to your feet leading in some sort of scrunchy-crawl, and...man, this was just a really fun afternoon.
It should be noted that one of my girls thinks I need to be 'an evil horse' next time. I have no explanation, nor any intention of being a horse.
I don't know exactly what determines that a particular day is going to be a romp-with-the-kids day. It's certainly not a case of getting more sleep - I had less than five hours last night. But, today when we took the kids to playland, the inner tiger seized me.
Maybe it's because I'm wearing animal-print underwear. That sometimes affects my brain in unexpected ways.
I should point out that, on days when it's my turn to sit on the bench (instead of going up and playing with the kids - there has to be at least ONE adult who's relatively stationary, so that if anyone's fighting or bleeding or has to go potty, they know where to find someone who can help), I observe the playland as though it's a jungle. Big timbers. Giant webbing from killer spiders. Barely-held-together bridge over the canyon. Escape slides that lead to who-knows-where. The whole thing's a multicolored adventure.
Also, it will frequently occur that a bunch of the kids will decide to be animals for the day. Wolves are a common choice, because then they get to make howling noises. Leopards and lions, dogs, whatever. They chase each other all over this thing. It's a three-tiered maze where you can often see your prey from somewhere, but have a real job getting over to them in a timely fashion.
I think my voice is hoarse from the snarling, but man, did we have fun. The tiger climbs swiftly, shoots down slides, snarls always, gathers to leap, and runs just slightly slower than the four-year-olds (they don't want to be caught. They want to be chased. If you catch them, then you have to figure out what to do with them - usually tickle torture.)
One of my smaller girls is spoiled sugar. She's absolutely delightful, but the problem is that she's been so delightful for so long that we kind of humor her on everything, so, she'll have the impression that she can get away with a lot. Most of the kids will get the concept of, we all get chased and run away yelling, just yank Phirefly's attention, she'll chase somebody-or-other at some point. Spoiled sugar will see a game and have to confine it to be focused on her - which in this case just meant declaring that said tiger was tame, and would follow her directions.
Yeah. Good luck with that. :D
So much fun. Running around in socks meant a lot of sliding, but it just added to the "Cats" feel of it. Big stalking, big feline shoulder strut, swatting with the claws (making stuff look real but being gentle is one of the most fun parts of playing with the little kids)...I think that's the first time in months that we've had all of the kids playing the same game. Not that the splitting up is bad at all, but I was having a blast, they were having a blast, it was great.
I'd be stalking up the hill towards one of the designated prey, and then suddenly from behind I'd hear, "Phirefly! Phirefly!" Over, and over, and over. :)
At some point, the game shifted slightly. Because I'd dropped to all four to stalk a particular pair of boys, and one of the others came in and just pile-drived me from the side. The pair of boys made the swift connection, and also leapt up to join in the tackle. Played along with it - at some point there were seven or eight kids bent on getting 'the tiger!' pinned to the ground (I don't know what they'd do if they succeeded - probably be confused and then want to chase again). A mighty roar and very gentle (hugely theatrical) throw, and the tiger's away! And then...we have the angry village Pygmies, chasing the tiger through the jungle, while the rest of the natives still run and scream in fear when the mighty tiger is glimpsed. Kids, chasing Phirefly, chasing kids. Through three levels, four slides, multiple tunnels, netting, spiral-climbing, alligator pit, and running sock-footed on a gym floor.
Amazing fun.
I will say, though, that racing up, down, around, over, through, etc. on the playland is quite the workout - particularly as it was designed for people half my size. There's actually a point in one of the climbing tubes where I will sometimes get stuck. There are a bunch of places where I have to remember to change the angle of how I'm running/crawling or I'll clonk my head. You'll have to suddenly switch from your face leading, to your feet, to your feet leading in some sort of scrunchy-crawl, and...man, this was just a really fun afternoon.
It should be noted that one of my girls thinks I need to be 'an evil horse' next time. I have no explanation, nor any intention of being a horse.
Stalkbook, Part II
So, I've written about it on here before, but I'm actually pretty afraid of most things regarding technology. The correct term for people like me is 'luddite', even though I am not actively trying to destroy the technology, and some technological advances are good.
Anyway, I use my cellphone minimally, and I like to type (and meet nice people on here, of course), but a lot of things online scare me. I refuse to even consider the possibility of having a Myspace account. Too creepy, and also, if my friggin' students are on it, that's not a good thing.
My freshman year of college, my roommates got me a facebook. They took my email address and created an account because they wanted another 'friend' on there. I had no need for a Facebook; I had a phone, I had IM, and I was really close to where I grew up; if I wanted to contact someone, I had means. I was actually really pissed at them for doing what they had, but I kept it. This was 2003, before it was open to the general public; hell, it was before it was open to more than 10 schools! There was no 'wall', no 'applications' - it was really just a glorified list of who you were 'friends' with, people's interests, and their birthdays. I STILL pretty much just use facebook to send people birthday messages, or if they're really special....birthday wall posts. I can't see the point of wasting a ton of time on it.
Last night, one of my best friends since 1st grade, Nicole, decided to post a bunch of pictures from elementary school. One of the things she posted was our first grade class photo, even though half of my face/head is scratched out with this weird yellowness. Anyway, the picture is adorable (I actually showed my copy to my students this year on picture day), and currently, I'd say 13 out of the 20 students in the class have been tagged, because in one way or another we're all 'friends' (my hometown is small enough that people who met when they were 5 still like each other and hang out).
When I went to bed last night, only Andrew and I had left comments on the photo. A few minutes ago, I got the alert that several other people, people I haven't spoken to since they moved away in 3rd or 4th grade, have been tagged, commented, and made me smile. One of those people is Danny. Oh Danny.
I didn't think so, we were just friends who loved dinosaurs, but every other girl used to chase him around the playground during lunch because he was 'sooo hot'. I think half the reason we really became friends when I started going to school there in 1st grade was because I DIDN'T try to kiss him on the recess yard. Anyway, I had the delight of having my first grade boy best friend also be in my 2nd grade class. On Valentine's Day of 2nd grade, Danny cornered me as everyone else was going out to lunch. He says, "Emily, you're my friend, right?" and considering I was going to his house that weekend to have a playdate, I responded "yes". And then he said, "And you're a girl, right?", and I'm pretty sure I said "yes" to that too. So he said, "So that makes you my girlfriend". And then he handed me a smushed flower and gave my cheek a kiss, and he headed out to the yard.
There was no adorable hand holding, no more kissing, nothing like that. It was just kind of stated that one time, and left as it was. Anyway, after he commented on the photo...he friended me :)! We never actually broke up. ::squeal::
Only now, I agree that he's really cute.
Thank you, Stalkbook
.
So, I've written about it on here before, but I'm actually pretty afraid of most things regarding technology. The correct term for people like me is 'luddite', even though I am not actively trying to destroy the technology, and some technological advances are good.
Anyway, I use my cellphone minimally, and I like to type (and meet nice people on here, of course), but a lot of things online scare me. I refuse to even consider the possibility of having a Myspace account. Too creepy, and also, if my friggin' students are on it, that's not a good thing.
My freshman year of college, my roommates got me a facebook. They took my email address and created an account because they wanted another 'friend' on there. I had no need for a Facebook; I had a phone, I had IM, and I was really close to where I grew up; if I wanted to contact someone, I had means. I was actually really pissed at them for doing what they had, but I kept it. This was 2003, before it was open to the general public; hell, it was before it was open to more than 10 schools! There was no 'wall', no 'applications' - it was really just a glorified list of who you were 'friends' with, people's interests, and their birthdays. I STILL pretty much just use facebook to send people birthday messages, or if they're really special....birthday wall posts. I can't see the point of wasting a ton of time on it.
Last night, one of my best friends since 1st grade, Nicole, decided to post a bunch of pictures from elementary school. One of the things she posted was our first grade class photo, even though half of my face/head is scratched out with this weird yellowness. Anyway, the picture is adorable (I actually showed my copy to my students this year on picture day), and currently, I'd say 13 out of the 20 students in the class have been tagged, because in one way or another we're all 'friends' (my hometown is small enough that people who met when they were 5 still like each other and hang out).
When I went to bed last night, only Andrew and I had left comments on the photo. A few minutes ago, I got the alert that several other people, people I haven't spoken to since they moved away in 3rd or 4th grade, have been tagged, commented, and made me smile. One of those people is Danny. Oh Danny.
I didn't think so, we were just friends who loved dinosaurs, but every other girl used to chase him around the playground during lunch because he was 'sooo hot'. I think half the reason we really became friends when I started going to school there in 1st grade was because I DIDN'T try to kiss him on the recess yard. Anyway, I had the delight of having my first grade boy best friend also be in my 2nd grade class. On Valentine's Day of 2nd grade, Danny cornered me as everyone else was going out to lunch. He says, "Emily, you're my friend, right?" and considering I was going to his house that weekend to have a playdate, I responded "yes". And then he said, "And you're a girl, right?", and I'm pretty sure I said "yes" to that too. So he said, "So that makes you my girlfriend". And then he handed me a smushed flower and gave my cheek a kiss, and he headed out to the yard.
There was no adorable hand holding, no more kissing, nothing like that. It was just kind of stated that one time, and left as it was. Anyway, after he commented on the photo...he friended me :)! We never actually broke up. ::squeal::
Only now, I agree that he's really cute.
Thank you, Stalkbook
.
Sixteen Candles...via Tiedie...Tag, and now it's your turn
SIXTEEN THINGS - or put a little light in my life -thanks toTiedie
I write 16 things about me, and tag 16 people who must do the same.
Apparently the things have to be about goals, habits, unknown facts? Okay. Here goes:
1 - I want to live in a home that doesn't need tons of work or maintenance, plus has lots of storage space
2 - I want peace .... and to see the war end in Iraq.
3 - I want to go to Australia
4 - I want to see the Seattle region
5 - I have read every Tony Hillerman book.
6 - I was born on the east coast and had 3 siblings.
7 - I have lost my mother, father and older sister.
8 - I love water ...... ocean, rivers, lakes, streams
9 - I do not procrastinate.
10 - I am kind of in-between when it comes to slobbiness.
11 - I have two sons, and 2 cats.
12 - I loved my father dearly.
13 - I have been hospitalized twice .... once for a fractured skull and once for a hysterectomy.
14 - I haven't smoked pot for years, but am thinking of doing it again, for pain.
15 - I married my polar opposite, except we have similar ideals.
16 - I love animals but I also love people.
PS Apparently, when you do your list, you must tag me back. I'm assuming I don't have to do it again, at that time (surely not!?!) If you have already done this via some other person's tag, I hereby remove your requirement to respond to mine. I can dictate changes to the rules of the game, by virtue of the fact than I am me ;oP Carry on. (dolly's paragraph revamped)
Now for the tags:
Julie
Alicestreet
Shadeofgray
Ronben
K10
Wonderingsoul
dieselgypsy
Mr. Skank
Timeandsound
Joynoelle
Atcloserange
Myclette
Privatedancer
Perrye
D72fish
eyesthefuture
Peace. J.
SIXTEEN THINGS - or put a little light in my life -thanks toTiedie
I write 16 things about me, and tag 16 people who must do the same.
Apparently the things have to be about goals, habits, unknown facts? Okay. Here goes:
1 - I want to live in a home that doesn't need tons of work or maintenance, plus has lots of storage space
2 - I want peace .... and to see the war end in Iraq.
3 - I want to go to Australia
4 - I want to see the Seattle region
5 - I have read every Tony Hillerman book.
6 - I was born on the east coast and had 3 siblings.
7 - I have lost my mother, father and older sister.
8 - I love water ...... ocean, rivers, lakes, streams
9 - I do not procrastinate.
10 - I am kind of in-between when it comes to slobbiness.
11 - I have two sons, and 2 cats.
12 - I loved my father dearly.
13 - I have been hospitalized twice .... once for a fractured skull and once for a hysterectomy.
14 - I haven't smoked pot for years, but am thinking of doing it again, for pain.
15 - I married my polar opposite, except we have similar ideals.
16 - I love animals but I also love people.
PS Apparently, when you do your list, you must tag me back. I'm assuming I don't have to do it again, at that time (surely not!?!) If you have already done this via some other person's tag, I hereby remove your requirement to respond to mine. I can dictate changes to the rules of the game, by virtue of the fact than I am me ;oP Carry on. (dolly's paragraph revamped)
Now for the tags:
Julie
Alicestreet
Shadeofgray
Ronben
K10
Wonderingsoul
dieselgypsy
Mr. Skank
Timeandsound
Joynoelle
Atcloserange
Myclette
Privatedancer
Perrye
D72fish
eyesthefuture
Peace. J.
This is getting old...
So I owe someone a blog post. Frankly, I'm horrifically overdue. I'm just terrible at upkeeping these things and I doubt that it'll ever change. Oh well, might as well do the dirty deed and slap what I got going on up here, so here goes:
Life has taken a very drastic and pleasent turn. It involves a very dear love of my life, her two kids, and the fact we all live together finally. That's a big point. Drea (a letter short of 'dream' and an anagram for 'dear') is finally permanently in my life. Very good thing. We're finally the unstoppable team we always knew we could be if we ever got out shit together. Well guess what, suckahs! We DID!
Now she's doing the writer thing, gonna be published and all, and I'm doing the paycheck thing. I work for a website company called Cobalt. They make website for car dealerships. Doing very well for themselves, provide their employees with great benefits, have a very open and fun attitude, and quite frankly I'd be content with sticking with them for a good long time. Especially since they seem keen on the idea of telephony - working remotely. Since my job entails me making changes to websites and the like and not (see NOT) talking to customers, I could do this from ANYWHERE with a net connection.
Which leads me to my next persuit. I have not given up on diving. It's just on hold while I establish my life a little more solidly. The company I technically work for, Seattle Dive, hasn't called me since February, not even about their website, which is "under construction" until they get me four stinking pictures so I can finish it. As such, I haven't done any real dive work since September. This makes me very sad. I really enjoy commercial diving. I love being under the water, I love doing manual labor, and I love making things... and destroying them.
My current goal is to stay at Cobalt full time and work remotely when I'm on a dive job, which I'm hoping to get at least two to three weeks every other month. That would be a good start. Then I hope to go back to school. I've really determined that if I'm going to get anywhere I need that stupid piece of paper. The current endeavor: a masters in hydrological engineering. I'm pretty sure it exists. Not terribly interested in hydraulics, but researching and designing new and improved tools for commercial diving. I have a couple of fantastic ideas that, I feel, will revolutionize the industry... but I don't know how to execute it. For obvious reasons I shall not share those ideas online.
So there we are. Life is good, things are going smoothly, and all is well. Nothing has exploded yet and we're doing okay. Hopefully I'll work a little harder on keeping this up to date, especially since I have a live-in nag to make sure it gets done. Cheers all.
Life has taken a very drastic and pleasent turn. It involves a very dear love of my life, her two kids, and the fact we all live together finally. That's a big point. Drea (a letter short of 'dream' and an anagram for 'dear') is finally permanently in my life. Very good thing. We're finally the unstoppable team we always knew we could be if we ever got out shit together. Well guess what, suckahs! We DID!
Now she's doing the writer thing, gonna be published and all, and I'm doing the paycheck thing. I work for a website company called Cobalt. They make website for car dealerships. Doing very well for themselves, provide their employees with great benefits, have a very open and fun attitude, and quite frankly I'd be content with sticking with them for a good long time. Especially since they seem keen on the idea of telephony - working remotely. Since my job entails me making changes to websites and the like and not (see NOT) talking to customers, I could do this from ANYWHERE with a net connection.
Which leads me to my next persuit. I have not given up on diving. It's just on hold while I establish my life a little more solidly. The company I technically work for, Seattle Dive, hasn't called me since February, not even about their website, which is "under construction" until they get me four stinking pictures so I can finish it. As such, I haven't done any real dive work since September. This makes me very sad. I really enjoy commercial diving. I love being under the water, I love doing manual labor, and I love making things... and destroying them.
My current goal is to stay at Cobalt full time and work remotely when I'm on a dive job, which I'm hoping to get at least two to three weeks every other month. That would be a good start. Then I hope to go back to school. I've really determined that if I'm going to get anywhere I need that stupid piece of paper. The current endeavor: a masters in hydrological engineering. I'm pretty sure it exists. Not terribly interested in hydraulics, but researching and designing new and improved tools for commercial diving. I have a couple of fantastic ideas that, I feel, will revolutionize the industry... but I don't know how to execute it. For obvious reasons I shall not share those ideas online.
So there we are. Life is good, things are going smoothly, and all is well. Nothing has exploded yet and we're doing okay. Hopefully I'll work a little harder on keeping this up to date, especially since I have a live-in nag to make sure it gets done. Cheers all.
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