Today I have gratitude for…
~Prompt Delivery: My previous experience with Scholastic book orders have been quite bad. It took over 3 weeks for my order to come in. This month’s order came in one week, so it was a marked improvement. I could give students books that they ordered before the holiday break. I even have books I can read this week in class too!
~Pre Hole-Punched Paper: I did all the photocopying for January today. The paper all goes into duo-tangs and my goodness, I now know that I need to buy pre-punched paper. With at a sheet of paper for each letter of the alphabet for all the students, I ended up using 3 packages of paper. I had to hole-punch about 1500 sheets, in total, for all the students in class all by hand. My hand was hurting so badly by the end of it all. I will invest next time in pre hole-punched paper. Lesson learned!
~Tech Geeks: A co-worker suggested using power point for the carol singing that I’m leading with 2 other teachers. Having watched the session of singing this morning, I now have an idea on how to improve make it better. It should be much more dynamic than using an overhead projector. It is much better than my experience of barely able to see the flip chart when I was little. I can’t wait to try set some standard to great carol singing.
~Mail: I got a Christmas card in the mail today. It was totally unexpected and was very excited to see mail that wasn’t a bill.
~Highly Anticipated Phone Calls: I don’t think I’ve had been so excited about any single phone call for the longest time. I emailed this new boy before the weekend, and sent a text message on Friday. He was in New York over the weekend, and apparently, he called me as soon as he landed at the airport. I was beginning to think I wasn’t going to get a response, but it was worth the wait. He called while I was tutoring, so I had to call him back unfortunately, but boy did that one phone call put a grin on my face. We have a date this coming Thursday.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Weekends, Orthodontist, Space Channel
Today I have gratitude for…
~Weekends: Not having to do anything in particular is so nice. Wake up when I please, and do nothing important. Love it. I ended up cleaning up my desk and organizing parts of my room. Not clean, but less cluttered now at least.
~Orthodontist: At the party yesterday, someone commented on my teeth. I thank the good doctor every time someone comments on them. The party guest who made the comment suggested I should do some modeling. Maybe I should do something to make some extra money in terms of my teeth.
~Space Channel: I was channel surfing and found a Star Trek movie playing. I hadn’t seen it in a few years, so fun! I’m going to need to buy/download some of the movies to watch them again.
~Weekends: Not having to do anything in particular is so nice. Wake up when I please, and do nothing important. Love it. I ended up cleaning up my desk and organizing parts of my room. Not clean, but less cluttered now at least.
~Orthodontist: At the party yesterday, someone commented on my teeth. I thank the good doctor every time someone comments on them. The party guest who made the comment suggested I should do some modeling. Maybe I should do something to make some extra money in terms of my teeth.
~Space Channel: I was channel surfing and found a Star Trek movie playing. I hadn’t seen it in a few years, so fun! I’m going to need to buy/download some of the movies to watch them again.
Costco, Naps, Newsgroups
Today I have gratitude for…
~Costco: They have such a nice collection of books! And cheap too! I have to go more often. We bought a lot of paper products from them today…tissue, toilet paper, paper towels. All in bulk of course! I think we are set for the next 6 months!
~Naps: I can’t believe how nice naps are. Well, I do know how nice they are, the only problem is that I forget to wake up from them. I had a party to attend at 7pm. I took at nap at 2:30pm, thinking I’ll wake up in an hour and still do stuff around the house first before I get ready for the party. I woke up at 6:30pm! But man did it feel good! I had only gotten about 5 hours the night before, so this nap was much needed.
~Newsgroups: I found out how to speed up my downloads! It had been so slow lately because the ISP is throttling the download speeds. I’m glad I found a work around.
~Costco: They have such a nice collection of books! And cheap too! I have to go more often. We bought a lot of paper products from them today…tissue, toilet paper, paper towels. All in bulk of course! I think we are set for the next 6 months!
~Naps: I can’t believe how nice naps are. Well, I do know how nice they are, the only problem is that I forget to wake up from them. I had a party to attend at 7pm. I took at nap at 2:30pm, thinking I’ll wake up in an hour and still do stuff around the house first before I get ready for the party. I woke up at 6:30pm! But man did it feel good! I had only gotten about 5 hours the night before, so this nap was much needed.
~Newsgroups: I found out how to speed up my downloads! It had been so slow lately because the ISP is throttling the download speeds. I’m glad I found a work around.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Fresh Snow, Winter Gloves, Party Invitations, Fast Taxi Drivers, Falling Asleep
Things I have gratitude for…
~Fresh snow: I had so much fun with my class outside playing in the snow yesterday. It made me very tired, but it was so much fun. One boy made a “snow tent” which was basically a hold he had dug in the ground and he lay in it. I think it was suppose to be more like a burrow than a tent, but he insisted it was a “snow tent”.
~Winter Gloves: While playing outside, a boy had not put on his snow pants correctly and it let snow get into his boots. As I tried to fix the problem, I had to take off my gloves and with the boy standing in the snow, and my bare fingers trying to fix the snow pant, my hands were basically in the snow. Even on a mild day, having my skin touch the snow even just for a few seconds made my hands so cold, it became unbearable very quickly. I’m glad I have winter gloves!
~Party invitations: I got to go to a party last night. I had such a nice time chatting with new people. Parties are so fun, especially house parties. Too many straights there, but it was manageable. I have another party to attend tomorrow, mostly straights I think. I will survive.
~Fast Taxi drivers: I was on the bus last night and I had fallen asleep. Someone woke me up as the bus was going out of service. I had obviously missed my stop at 1:10am! This is the first time it has happened so late at night. I had missed one stop before, but not to the point where I had no idea where I was! It was a bit freaky actually. I eventually got my bearings and found out the next bus wasn’t coming for another 20 minutes. It was damn cold! I wasn’t too far from home really, but not walk-able either. I called the taxi company I had put into my cell phone (in case of emergencies) and they arrived in about 10 minutes. I’m so grateful for cab that came so quickly and drove me home in 5 minutes. It was a $10 well spent!
~Falling asleep: Sometimes my body doesn’t feel tired enough to sleep, even though I’m really tired. I’m have gratitude for days when I’m so dead tired that I just lie down and sleep. It feels so good. If only I don’t wake up at 8am automatically!!
~Fresh snow: I had so much fun with my class outside playing in the snow yesterday. It made me very tired, but it was so much fun. One boy made a “snow tent” which was basically a hold he had dug in the ground and he lay in it. I think it was suppose to be more like a burrow than a tent, but he insisted it was a “snow tent”.
~Winter Gloves: While playing outside, a boy had not put on his snow pants correctly and it let snow get into his boots. As I tried to fix the problem, I had to take off my gloves and with the boy standing in the snow, and my bare fingers trying to fix the snow pant, my hands were basically in the snow. Even on a mild day, having my skin touch the snow even just for a few seconds made my hands so cold, it became unbearable very quickly. I’m glad I have winter gloves!
~Party invitations: I got to go to a party last night. I had such a nice time chatting with new people. Parties are so fun, especially house parties. Too many straights there, but it was manageable. I have another party to attend tomorrow, mostly straights I think. I will survive.
~Fast Taxi drivers: I was on the bus last night and I had fallen asleep. Someone woke me up as the bus was going out of service. I had obviously missed my stop at 1:10am! This is the first time it has happened so late at night. I had missed one stop before, but not to the point where I had no idea where I was! It was a bit freaky actually. I eventually got my bearings and found out the next bus wasn’t coming for another 20 minutes. It was damn cold! I wasn’t too far from home really, but not walk-able either. I called the taxi company I had put into my cell phone (in case of emergencies) and they arrived in about 10 minutes. I’m so grateful for cab that came so quickly and drove me home in 5 minutes. It was a $10 well spent!
~Falling asleep: Sometimes my body doesn’t feel tired enough to sleep, even though I’m really tired. I’m have gratitude for days when I’m so dead tired that I just lie down and sleep. It feels so good. If only I don’t wake up at 8am automatically!!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Staff with Cars, Things Children Say, PD, More PD, Invention of Snow Blowers
Today I have gratitude for…
~Staff with cars: In a big snow storm, I’m so grateful to a staff member who offered to drive me home. It would have taken so long to go by bus. I drive people where I can when I have one, so I’m glad it’s like passing on the goodness
~Things children say: Children are so funny. Today, there was bananas for snack, and some of the children recognized that we could sing the banana song. So the CD was put in, and a child said “that CD sounds just like you!”. Of course, the CD was made by me, and all the songs were sung by me too!
~Professional Development: the VP at my school is offering workshops on classroom management. Lots of things being talked about, and many things that are considered good practice, I’m doing, or at least know about. I’m looking forward to learning more strategies
~More professional Development: We had a workshop after school on bullying. It was fascinating, but really took me aback at how complex bullying is, and how it is not a simple solution to prevent and deal with these problems. Social bullying is so complex in its manifestations and solutions that my brain is beginning to hurt just thinking about it. I’m glad we will get more information on this topic.
~Invention of snow blowers: We have a lot of snow in the city tonight. I’m so glad someone invented them. I’m so glad we will be getting one! Too bad not in time for this storm though.
~Staff with cars: In a big snow storm, I’m so grateful to a staff member who offered to drive me home. It would have taken so long to go by bus. I drive people where I can when I have one, so I’m glad it’s like passing on the goodness
~Things children say: Children are so funny. Today, there was bananas for snack, and some of the children recognized that we could sing the banana song. So the CD was put in, and a child said “that CD sounds just like you!”. Of course, the CD was made by me, and all the songs were sung by me too!
~Professional Development: the VP at my school is offering workshops on classroom management. Lots of things being talked about, and many things that are considered good practice, I’m doing, or at least know about. I’m looking forward to learning more strategies
~More professional Development: We had a workshop after school on bullying. It was fascinating, but really took me aback at how complex bullying is, and how it is not a simple solution to prevent and deal with these problems. Social bullying is so complex in its manifestations and solutions that my brain is beginning to hurt just thinking about it. I’m glad we will get more information on this topic.
~Invention of snow blowers: We have a lot of snow in the city tonight. I’m so glad someone invented them. I’m so glad we will be getting one! Too bad not in time for this storm though.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Alan Shore, E.A.s, Snow Boots, Food Network Search, Opportunities
Today I’m feel gratitude for…
~Alan Shore: I can’t get enough of this lawyer on Boston Legal. I really enjoy his way of dealing with life, and the strategies he use in court. Yes, I know, he’s a fictional character, but there is just something about him and the cases that he takes on that is just so appealing.
~Education Assistants: There was a lot of snow today, and I’m so glad that my E.A. was around today. By the time school started, only 7 staff was in the school. There was some havoc among the teachers, but everything went well without a hitch. Without my E.A., I can’t possibly help 27 students with boots and jackets. OY! There are just so many coats!
~Snow boots: with all that snow today, I’m glad I got a new pair of boots that are actually warm and tall enough not to let in snow from the top. I’m really looking forward to playing outside with the children tomorrow in the snow!
~Food network search: I needed a dip for the staff party next week, and all I did was type in “dip” and voila! I got 158 hits with just one typed word into the search engine. Simply amazing! I decided on “Grilled Garlic Eggplant Dip” and “Onion Dip from Scratch”.
~Opportunities for work: my VP today asked if she can recommend me to some principals for work in the afternoon. I was hesitant to say yes, because I’m still hoping for an afternoon position at the school I’m at now. Hopefully I’ll find out soon about any changes. *fingers crossed*
~Alan Shore: I can’t get enough of this lawyer on Boston Legal. I really enjoy his way of dealing with life, and the strategies he use in court. Yes, I know, he’s a fictional character, but there is just something about him and the cases that he takes on that is just so appealing.
~Education Assistants: There was a lot of snow today, and I’m so glad that my E.A. was around today. By the time school started, only 7 staff was in the school. There was some havoc among the teachers, but everything went well without a hitch. Without my E.A., I can’t possibly help 27 students with boots and jackets. OY! There are just so many coats!
~Snow boots: with all that snow today, I’m glad I got a new pair of boots that are actually warm and tall enough not to let in snow from the top. I’m really looking forward to playing outside with the children tomorrow in the snow!
~Food network search: I needed a dip for the staff party next week, and all I did was type in “dip” and voila! I got 158 hits with just one typed word into the search engine. Simply amazing! I decided on “Grilled Garlic Eggplant Dip” and “Onion Dip from Scratch”.
~Opportunities for work: my VP today asked if she can recommend me to some principals for work in the afternoon. I was hesitant to say yes, because I’m still hoping for an afternoon position at the school I’m at now. Hopefully I’ll find out soon about any changes. *fingers crossed*
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Perspective, Afternooons Off, Parents who..., LED Lights, Teaching Parnter
Things I have gratitude for today...
~The child’s perspective: A girl in my class told me that there was too much paper in the toilet. So I asked her what will happen. She said “the toilet will choke”, as if it needed to breath. So cute!
~Afternoons off: Although working half time is a pain because of the lack of money, it’s also great because I have time to set up and clean my class (mostly my desk really) in the afternoons. I get some work done with the students not there, and put up art and set up for the next day. It just never seems to be enough time
~Parents who let their children put try to put on coats and stuff: It certainly is a time saver when the children put on their outside gear by themselves. I have to save 15 minutes everyday to get read for home. It takes about the same for all of them to get in the door too. Of a 2.5 hour program, 30 mins is gone everyday in the winter time. It’s quite extraordinary actually. Let your children try to put on their gear! It takes longer at first, but once they get it, it’s so much faster!
~LED Lights: I bought 2 strings of it for myself. I put it up by the headboard of my bed. It adds a nice atmosphere to the room, especially when the lights are turned off. I may keep them up all year actually. Very Pretty! Very Expensive!
~My teaching partner next door: She is so wonderful. We talk every morning and just debrief. It is usually nothing too important all the time, maybe to gripe about something happening, or share ideas about programming. I love talking to her everyday.
~The child’s perspective: A girl in my class told me that there was too much paper in the toilet. So I asked her what will happen. She said “the toilet will choke”, as if it needed to breath. So cute!
~Afternoons off: Although working half time is a pain because of the lack of money, it’s also great because I have time to set up and clean my class (mostly my desk really) in the afternoons. I get some work done with the students not there, and put up art and set up for the next day. It just never seems to be enough time
~Parents who let their children put try to put on coats and stuff: It certainly is a time saver when the children put on their outside gear by themselves. I have to save 15 minutes everyday to get read for home. It takes about the same for all of them to get in the door too. Of a 2.5 hour program, 30 mins is gone everyday in the winter time. It’s quite extraordinary actually. Let your children try to put on their gear! It takes longer at first, but once they get it, it’s so much faster!
~LED Lights: I bought 2 strings of it for myself. I put it up by the headboard of my bed. It adds a nice atmosphere to the room, especially when the lights are turned off. I may keep them up all year actually. Very Pretty! Very Expensive!
~My teaching partner next door: She is so wonderful. We talk every morning and just debrief. It is usually nothing too important all the time, maybe to gripe about something happening, or share ideas about programming. I love talking to her everyday.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Music, My Mentor, Voice Mail, Friends Downtown, Sleep
Things I have gratitude for...
~Music: Went to hear Singing OUT, such great music all done by LGBTQ singers
~My Mentor: Koji invites me to all these neat cultural events for the arts. I really miss going to see theatre and shows, so maybe I'll start going more often when I make a bit more money.
~Voice Mail: As I got off the subway last night, I picked up my voice mail, thinking it was my parents calling to tell me come home early. To my surprise, it wasn't my parents, but rahter, it was Paul H, the boy I'm currently interested in. It made me smile to hear from him. I had sent him a text message earlier in the day.
~Friends Downtown: I finished dinner downtown and weren't ready to go home yet, so I stopped by a friend's place to hang out for a bit. No pre-planning, just called and stopped in. So nice that way. I can't wait to live downtown.
~Sleep: It feels so good to actually get a full night's rest. I have a problem sleeping more than 6-7 hours when I am still tired when I wake up. Naps have been filling in the rest of the sleep that I need.
~Music: Went to hear Singing OUT, such great music all done by LGBTQ singers
~My Mentor: Koji invites me to all these neat cultural events for the arts. I really miss going to see theatre and shows, so maybe I'll start going more often when I make a bit more money.
~Voice Mail: As I got off the subway last night, I picked up my voice mail, thinking it was my parents calling to tell me come home early. To my surprise, it wasn't my parents, but rahter, it was Paul H, the boy I'm currently interested in. It made me smile to hear from him. I had sent him a text message earlier in the day.
~Friends Downtown: I finished dinner downtown and weren't ready to go home yet, so I stopped by a friend's place to hang out for a bit. No pre-planning, just called and stopped in. So nice that way. I can't wait to live downtown.
~Sleep: It feels so good to actually get a full night's rest. I have a problem sleeping more than 6-7 hours when I am still tired when I wake up. Naps have been filling in the rest of the sleep that I need.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Gratitude Journal: People Online, Computer Skills, Fast Bus Drivers, Excited Children, Walking
I heard about this from Oprah, from all people, and thought I should try it.
The idea is to write 5 things every day that you were greatful for. Lets see how long I can keep this up.
~Meeting nice people from online: I recently met a very cute boy from online, and maybe something will come of it :)
~Computer skills: I helped fix John's computer with some computer geeks' help. Feel very accomplished to be able to use DOS.
~Quick bus drivers: Getting home in under an hour from downtown with a quick bus driver at the wheel
~Seeing children excited: Worked at a holiday party where Santa was there. Watched every child go see Santa and have a beaming smiling face as they finish talking to her.
~I walked ALOT yesterday... my leg hurts now, but it was good excercise. Walked to get flowers, walked to get food from a variety of vendors... just alot of walking!
The idea is to write 5 things every day that you were greatful for. Lets see how long I can keep this up.
~Meeting nice people from online: I recently met a very cute boy from online, and maybe something will come of it :)
~Computer skills: I helped fix John's computer with some computer geeks' help. Feel very accomplished to be able to use DOS.
~Quick bus drivers: Getting home in under an hour from downtown with a quick bus driver at the wheel
~Seeing children excited: Worked at a holiday party where Santa was there. Watched every child go see Santa and have a beaming smiling face as they finish talking to her.
~I walked ALOT yesterday... my leg hurts now, but it was good excercise. Walked to get flowers, walked to get food from a variety of vendors... just alot of walking!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)