Adventures on the silly farm

Battlestar Quiz

2007-05-10T18:14:00.001-04:00

You scored as Capt. Lee Adama (Apollo). You have spent your life trying to life up to and impress your Dad, shame he never seemed to notice. You are a stickler for the rules. But in matters of loyalty and honour you know when they have to be broken.

Capt. Lee Adama (Apollo)

69%

Tom Zarek

56%

CPO Galen Tyrol

56%

Dr Gaius Baltar

56%

Commander William Adama

50%

Number 6

44%

Lt. Kara Thrace (Starbuck)

38%

President Laura Roslin

31%

Lt. Sharon Valerii (Boomer)

25%

Col. Saul Tigh

13%

What New Battlestar Galactica character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Fabulous Teaching Week!

2007-04-13T19:48:00.000-04:00

I had such a fabulous week!

The grade one team started a unit on Master Painters. I started with studying van Gogh. The students are loving learning all about him. Really using effective teaching strategies and trying new things out. They really connected with the content and are thinking far beyond just the content that they are learning. Making connections from the paintings to themselves! I started using a Schema file and they are really getting it too! OMG!

One of my happy teaching weeks for sure!

On top of that, I had 2 lessons that were observed by the VP too. Made it through with a smile.

I LOVE my job!

Nice Beaver

2007-04-01T08:34:00.000-04:00

Walking around, looking at various vendors at the One of a Kind Show this year, I walked near a vendor with some neat t-shirts. I went closer to investigate. I read the t-shirts out loud to get the full effect.

Suddenly, a woman turns her head around with a look of shock.

The shirt I read said "Nice (beaver)" (an image of a beaver followed the word nice).

This was the first time a woman had ever looked at me like that! I quickly reacted and said that I was simply reading the shirt...

Lesson learned: don't talk about how nice beavers are near females

Looking up

2007-04-01T08:28:00.000-04:00

I was standing outside my new building, still under construction, admiring its beauty, when a construction guy came up to me and asked if I was a supply teacher. I was totally not expecting that. I told him yes, I used to do that, and he listed off some schools. They were all high schools, so I told him i only work in elementary schools. He had recognized me, not because I was not his teacher, but rather, I was the teacher next door to his brother last year. Sounds a little confusing, yes. I taught in a school with two kindergarten classes. My teaching partner taught this little boy and it seems, I was introduced to his older brother somehow.

All this, just standing on the street, looking up at the sky. It's a very small world.

Pedometer Results - March 2007

2007-04-01T08:20:00.000-04:00

This month, I recorded the numbers of steps I took on each day using a pedometer.
I took a total of 288049 steps over 31 days, which average out to 9291.90 steps per day. Not too bad considering experts say you should take about 10,000 steps daily.

I've found that I typically do a lot of walking on one day, then do almost no walking the next. Staying at home means I sit too much!

Funny Laugh

2007-03-21T07:27:00.000-04:00

Found this on Engadget today...

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/qa-with-the-laughing-wii-baby-245656.php

Such a funny baby!

Nodding Handsome Man

2007-03-17T00:24:00.000-04:00

So today, I totally surprised at what I am willing to do to find guy.

I was on the subway home after a long day downtown window shopping with mom and then the Opera with Paul. As usual, I am watching a TV show on my portable movie player. Per my usual routine, I look up once in awhile to know what station I am at, so I can get off appropriately when my stop arrives. I look up and it is North York Station, the 2nd to last stop. Not only did I see the usual blue and grey design of the station, I saw a handsome man standing on the opposite platform. I smile. He nods. HE NODS?!?

This has NEVER ever happened before. I smiled at a guy and he nodded at me! My heart starts to pump. What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?!?! The train rings its usual 3 tones and the door shuts. CRAP! I'm now on the train going North bound, and this handsome man who nodded at me is standing on the platform, waiting for the Southbound train. My mind is racing. What do I do now?

Two options. Option One: Continue on my ride home and take the bus after I get off at the next stop. Option Two: Take a risk and go find the guy. I opted for the latter of the two. I actually paid very close attention to hear if there were any trains going Southbound as my train arrived at the next station. I didn't hear any trains. Upon arrival at the station, I got up and decided to stay on the train and wait for it to go back south again. My heart continues to race.

I sit down on an empty seat, then get up again, thinking I should change cars because the train stops at a different location going in the opposite direction. I make a guess as to which car this man might get on. I finally choose a seat and sit down. The 1.5 minute ride to the next stop seemed to last forever! I quickly took out a piece of paper and pen and write down my contact info, just incase I did bump into him.

The train is arriving at North York Station, I stand up. I look out at the platform as the train is slowing down. I don't see him. I look ahead. I look behind. Maybe I somehow missed him. The doors open. The chimes ring. The doors close. I don't see the man anywhere on this train. I even did a walk up and down the train, just in case I missed him coming on board. He was not on this train. CRAP!

Maybe, he got on the next car! I stood up by the door. I waited until the train pulled into the next station and quickly ran into the next car. My eyes wide open, my heart pumping very quickly. I walk down the car, looking at every man carefully as I walk by. Not here either! DAMN!

I wait by the door again for what seemed like the longest 2 minutes to the next station. The whole time, my brain turning scenarios out for me to consider. Maybe he gets off at this next stop. Maybe he ran to the other platform and waited for me at the next North bound stop. Maybe...

There...the failure of a false reality has set in. He was no where to be seen. I'll likely never see him again. It was a glimmer of hope on a very usual ride home though.

Lesson learned... Smile more. Look at people. Hope for a nod. Maybe HE will be nodding back someday.

If you are reading this handsome man... the date was March 16, 2007 @ 10:50pm. I was on the Northbound train to Finch, and you were standing on the Southbound Platform. :P

Here's hoping universe!

Tesla

2007-02-19T17:10:00.000-05:00

Ever since I played Command and Conquer, I've always been fasinated with Tesla Coils. Here is one neat example...

The Ultimate Car Protection

Funky Transporter Effect

"Eye of Sauron"

Images from: Tesla Coil Sparks

Steps

2007-02-18T21:47:00.001-05:00

I got a pedometer today... from around 2 to 10pm, I took 6923 steps.

Keeping Positive

2007-02-14T18:59:00.000-05:00

In keeping with the ideas of "The Secret", I'm focusing on the good points that I've learned rather than harping on what I didn't like. This is hard work, when you want to bitch about something...

No Fun

2007-02-14T18:54:00.000-05:00

We have these assemblies called "Silent Assemblies" at school. The idea is that you walk silently down to the gym and sit silently while a presentation is happening. It's a great management tool. However, this past Tuesday, a group that came to the school to present gave me a shocking reminder that children need to have fun.

At the start of the production (a bunch of skits about bullying) the actors tried to hype up the students, by getting them to respond. All the students sat in complete silence. Not sure how they were to react. After all, they were told explicitly that it was a serious presentation and there will be "NO LAUGHING".

How embarrassing to be working in a school where students feel fearful to cheer and respond how they think it is appropriate.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to see how these rules affect children's learning and how I would NOT run a place of learning.

Super Hero Dating Quiz

2007-02-14T16:57:00.000-05:00

My super hero date...

Do the test at: http://www.comicvine.com/dating/

Early Start

2007-02-13T21:23:00.000-05:00

I've been trying this new thing this week. Wake up early, start work early, end day early.
So far my feelings about it...

1. Great to get into work before everyone else. No one to disturb me.
2. I'm productive for about 30 minutes and then it all slows down again
3. I'm dead tired by the end of the day.
4. I need to sleep by 9:30pm to wake up for 6am
5. I need to do it for a few weeks to see the over all effect.

I think its a great idea, its just the matter of actually doing it that will stop me maybe. I'll keep trying!

Totally Pissed Off In Sleep

2007-02-07T04:31:00.000-05:00

I couldn't believe the fact that I woke up because I was dreaming about work.

As a new teacher, we were offered a workshop on a new assessment tool. Usually you go to these workshops to gain something for yourself to use in the classroom. Things are simply not quite like that at my school. The night before the workshop, we got an email saying that we will be the first group of people to be in-serviced on this new tool, we will be expected to share our learning with the entire staff at a staff meeting.

1st problem:

As a new teacher, we have a lot on our plates, just trying to everything working and prepared in the class. Who has time to go prepare a presentation for the staff?!?

2^nd Problem:

We were TOLD the day of the workshop that we will be presenting to the entire staff. It’s one thing to be asked, or volunteer to present to the staff. It’s a totally different thing to have a presentation thrust upon you.

So the one who told us about this task is part of the admin team, and she is on an admin track, meaning she’s trying get into an admin position in the near future. Here in lies the problem. It is my belief that the admin actually didn’t ask us to do this presentation. It is this career driven person who decided it was a good idea to do this and told the admin this is what she wants to do. This little stunt is suppose to give the current admin a sense that she takes initiative. This woman decided the week of the meeting to say, we are going to plan for this presentation. Fine. A good idea since we hadn’t met up since the workshop.

3^rd Problem:

She decided she was going to run our planning meeting. We gave some ideas on what might be good to include, and then IT started. She took over. She decided for us that it would take this long to do this part, we can’t do that part, we need to have this and that, but keep that other part out. She neatly typed up our tasks and emailed it to use on the spot. Efficient, YES. Our presentation, NO.

4^th Problem:

We were told at this planning meeting that it was not just a little presentation. The new teachers were to RUN the entire staff meeting! Teachers like to actually EAT their lunch at lunch time, so typically, staff meetings are sit and listen type events, but participate when needed. This one is going to be a “working meeting”. The rest of the staff will need to read through parts of this new tool and report on what they learned/gathered from it.

I had no idea I felt so bitter about this whole thing until it woke me up from my sleep.

The root of the problem lies in a few things:

-Staff at this school is just expected to do things.

-No one is asked nicely or suggested to volunteer to do anything, we are just told.

-The feeling that admin thinks, Staff are unwilling to go beyond their call of duty.

-You can’t get out of something, for fear of backlash.

I really feel like saying in front of the staff:

“Welcome to ’s staff meeting. Since we were not asked, but TOLD we were running this entire meeting, we are up here doing it. I know it is your lunch time to eat but we will be giving something to read and do while you eat so that you can have indigestion. We did not in any way want to run your staff meeting and we also didn’t want to make you work over your lunch time. Enjoy the show”

SO PISSED OFF!

Negotiation Skills, Computer Skills, Weekends, Child-less Days

2007-01-18T21:25:00.000-05:00

Today I have gratitude for...

Negotiation skills

Well, I'm not exactly sure if it's really negotiation or not, but here's the story. I put an order in for a new computer 2 weeks ago because my laptop screen was flaking out on me. It was suppose to be picked up last Friday, and it's 1 week behind schedule already for the pick up. I have called daily this week and last to find out when I can pick up my computer. Two days ago (Tuesday), they told me I can pick it up on Thursday. I called today, and they said I'll have to wait till next week because the case hasn't arrived yet! This is when I got a tad bit upset. To make the story short, I told them my expectation is that I get the computer delivered as promised. If not, they have to make it up to me. They suggested giving me a cheaper case. I suggested that would not be a good idea, since it is their problem and they really should make it up to me for my inconvenience. In the end, I got a call back saying they are willing to either upgrade the case for me or upgrade the CPU. According to the website, the CPU would have cost $60 + tax and the case about $20+tax. I'm not THAT dumb! I went for the better CPU and cheaper case! The thing is, after I ordered the machine, I thought that I should have spent a bit more on the CPU, but regretted it. Now I got what I wanted and didn't have to pay anything for it. Amazing. Maybe this "law of attraction" thing does work... Hmmm

Computer Skills

I promised a co-worker I would get the data off her old laptop. I did that today with a bit of trouble shooting. The darn thing wouldn't let me open any drives the conventional way in the windows interface. I have to thank my DOS days again for this... :) Who would have thought they would need to use the xcopy /s command in this day in age! yikes!

I also secured a wireless network for the VP. He actually brought the whole laptop and router in. Easy fix.

It feels nice to be able to help people solve their problems. As minor it is for me, I know they wouldn't have been able to do it at all.

Weekends

I am really looking forward to seeing my friends this weekend. That is my top priority these days. I spent the night Wednesday at Kaarin's place. We made dinner, watched a movie, chatted about life and work. It was so much fun. So relaxing for a weeknight!

Child-less days

Kaarin has a 2.5 year old. As much fun as they are at work or seeing them for short periods of time, children are just not the same when they live with you. I think I'll remain child-less for a few more years yet. As much fun and pleasure they are to have, there are some really sobering consequences to your way of living.

Reliable Technology, Old Computers, Good Energy, Tea

2007-01-16T20:37:00.000-05:00

Today I have gratitude for...

Reliable Technology
I was trying to backup data from a college's old laptop today. It was seriously screwed up 'cause the OS just wasn't behaving like it was suppose to be. So I rebooted into Safe mode and I could at least see all the files. I went to insert a USB flash drive, but it didn't recognize it at all. Good thing for good ol' 3.5" floppies! I didn't have any on hand, so i'll have to manuall transfer the data off... good thing its only 4MB of data, and not 4GB! yikes!

Old computers
I remember when I was younger, my parents gave me an old junky computer to play with. Having learned computers from the OS level, like DOS really helps with stuff I do now. I remember fondly of trying to install a game using many disks and hoping that I have enough room on the HD. "Please please please install... or else I'll have to delete another 5mb of data! Oh when HD space was precious. Mind you, HD space is still precious, there's just more of it to work with :) I think I can fill up as many drives you give me...

Good Energy
I really enjoy talking to people with good energy. I always feel good when I talk to people like Pete and Terence. Very calming and I find grounds me a little bit. A feeling of happiness always comes after.

Tea
I was feeling really tired today after work. I almost fell asleep as I was tutoring! YIKES! I came home and had a cup of caffeinated tea... I haven't had real tea in a long time. Boy, now I'm wide awake. I didn't realized how much I missed Tea, Earl Grey, Hot. Not too often and not too late in the evening though. I think I may be up a little bit tonight, even though I'm dead tired.

Computer skills, Communication, Positive thinking, Self Control

2007-01-15T20:22:00.000-05:00

Today, I have gratitude for...

Computer skills
The VP today asked me about a computer problem at home, and it is basically a problem that most novice users have - not knowing enough for their own good. He has spyware and didn't install his wireless network properly. I'm giving him some free tools to use to get rid of the spyware and told him to find someone to help him secure the network. So dangerous!

Clear communication
It is when there is trouble or problems that ones communication skills are called into action and put to the real test. Relationships can crumble based solely on communication skills, and I think its one of the most valuable skills to have. To have people who are able to communicate clearly are just so valuable.

Positive thinking
Even though a relationship opportunity evaporated just today, I feel quite neutral about it. I know in the back of my mind that it will happen at some point, and I think I've just stopped worrying about it. I told myself a few weeks ago, that I'm just going to focus on myself and I don't feel nearly as bad that the whole thing didn't work out. Just let the universe guide the way.

Self control
I haven't been on a dating/hunting site for 2 weeks! Yay! I've found more time to blog it seems.

Gratitude: Friends, "The Secret", Origami Videos, Holidays

2007-01-14T17:35:00.000-05:00

I am grateful for...

Friends
Friends who are there when you need them. I really appreciate friends who really care and are just available when you need them the most. Friends you simple enjoy spending time with, it doesn't matter what you end up doing.

"The Secret"
A guy I met online a few weeks back suggested I watch the movie, "The Secret". The content is a cross between spirituality and positive attitude in life. The idea that there is a "law of attraction" and thoughts attract things to you. Its the general gist of what Terence told me about sending the list of qualities in a man into the universe. It mentioned gratitude, which triggered me to think of the gratitudes I wrote when Oprah suggested it. So here I am again, starting it up. I think I'll try it out and see how it will work in my life. Remove the negative and focus on the positive.

Origami Videos
I've found several really neat and useful origami items on TechEBlog that I've actually used in real life now. There's a paper cup and paper box which I am finding very useful, but easy to make. Lots of other neat things too...
http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/7-cool-things-you-can-make-with-paper

Holidays
I've never realized how important holidays are in life. It really is a time to re-energize, get your life in order, see friends and relax. I really needed this break. The only problem is, I want more of it now! :)

Man in the Universe

2006-11-05T20:18:00.000-05:00

I was talking to my friend Terence yesterday and we got to talking about relationships. He has recently started seeing someone and they are beginning their long term relationship. He suggested that I make a detailed list of qualities in a man that I'm interested in. The idea is to know what I'm looking for so that when he arrives, I know who he is. Terence suggested sending my list into the universe and letting the universe find the man for me. Maybe I'll have more time on my hands now that I won't be spending all my time online hunting. Here's to the universe finding my man.

Pants

2006-11-05T10:11:00.000-05:00

This is the sordid tale of my issues with pants in the past two week.

Pant 1: Light Khakis
It all started with my run in with a glue sick at crotch level (occupational Hazard apparently!) I ended up picking glue off my crotch for the rest of the afternoon. No problem, glue came out after the wash.

Pant 2: Dark Khakis
As I finished my usual day of work, I go to my neighbour’s house to tutor a grade 3 boy. I sat down in the chair and started to work and realized that I had a tear at one of the knees. I am on my knees a lot, it seems, due to my work and the knee part of the pant did seem to be wearing faster than the rest of the pant. I didn’t realize that it would tear so soon though. With dressier pants, one can’t exactly just patch it up and go on wearing them, so this pair has come out of my closet permanently.

Pant 1: Light Khakis – Part 2
I went to wash these crotch glue khakis with much delight that the glue came out. The only problem was that I had left a ball point pen in my pocket when it went through the machine. Now, I had blue ink splattered all over the back of my pants. I tried to remove it with alcohol, as suggested on websites, however, I hadn’t noticed the ink until after I put it through the dryer. Needless to say, this is my 2nd pair of pants that has come out of the closet.

Pant 3: Dark Cords
Another pair of pants that has shown much wear on the knees. I’ve come to learn that cords show wear much easier than normal pants due to the material it is made of. This time I noticed my knee wore out while I was working. Lovely. Of course, of all days for this to happen, it was a cold day with walk to the bus stop with a gaping hold in my knee for all the cold to see.

I suppose I am lucky in a way. I had purchased two new pairs of khakis in the last few months, so I’m not out of khakis to wear. At about $60 per pair though, I am out $180 these two weeks alone! YIKES!

Did I just make wine?

2006-10-25T19:10:00.001-04:00

I stepped into the kitchen today to make dinner for the first time in a few weeks. Of course I rummage through the fridge to see what I had left there that my father chose not to use. After making a chicken pasta, I decided to have some juice to drink. I had made a white grape juice from concentrate last month and had left it in the back of the fridge in a plastic container. I noticed that the bottle was a bit bloated, as if it had been filled with a carbonated drink. I ignored it. I poured the juice then started my dinner. I took a sip of the drink, and it smelled much like wine. I tasted the juice and it tasted like wine as well! I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I have had wine before! I almost want to save this drink for someone else to tell me if it actually is wine. Maybe I will... who knows.

If it smells like wine and tastes like wine...it must be....

Maybe I have made a wonderful cheap discovery for numbing the mind.

@Peace

2006-08-28T01:35:00.000-04:00

Grandpa died tonight at 11:40pm in hospital after suffering a massive stroke Wednesday evening during dinner. He was 80 years old. Meanwhile grandma remains in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer and refusing to eat.

This is the first death in the family for me. I’m not really sure how I feel about the whole thing. I wasn’t really close to my grandpa in recent years, as our religious beliefs are so polarized. Perhaps our distance has also numbed my sensations over this matter.

As my dad and aunt scrambles around dealing with their father’s affairs, it will prove to be a learning experience for all, for it appears to be no power of attorney appointed to look after everything, including grandma in the nursing home with massive monthly bills. Perhaps the living will, will shed some light on the matter.

As fellow church goers and family arrive, it will be a massive family circus.

Mom said he was very kind that he passed away before school started up again. I suppose she is right. Sounds kind of strange though. That's my mom!

May he rest in peace with his maker.

Quantity or Quality of life?

2006-08-23T22:59:00.000-04:00

I say quality above all other things. Why the question? My grandfather had a stroke tonight. They don’t think he will make it. Doctors think he is in a coma now. Knowing my father and his sister, they will keep grandpa alive on a ventilator until who knows when. Extending life to as long as possible, because long life is a good thing supposedly. Being religious folk as they are, they will pray for a miracle I’m sure.

My grandma who has been in a nursing home for about a year now, diagnosed with Alzheimer disease has slowly lost all her memories over the past 4-5 years. Grandpa has been looking after her all this time.

It’s a sick twist of fate that grandpa who has taken care of his wife for so long, will likely pass away sooner than his wife. Grandma, of course doesn’t know who anybody is, and has no understanding of life around her now.

We had a family friend who had a stroke and this lady was in a coma for over 8 years before her body gave out. In my mind, if upper brain functions aren’t there anymore, there really isn’t a point in continuing. People are defined by who they are by personality, humour, ideas, etc, and if those distinctly human traits gone, there really is nothing left but a shell. By all means, if lower brain functions are still going. Good for you. But if that’s all that’s left, what is the point? Really?

I would much prefer to live a short full life, than a long meaningless existence on a hospital bed for the remainder of my natural life. If a stroke comes, please hit in the lower brain stem. At least it’s done and over with. The only suffering that happens is suffering for the living. Those with no upper brain activity don’t know they are lying around for years on end, while the family is suffering at the bedside. No thanks.

Steam of consciousness writing, not even sure if it makes sense….

Magazine Subscription

2006-08-03T14:06:00.000-04:00

It has become quite obvious how much money magazine companies make off newsstand copies.

I got a notice in the mail to re-subscribe to a computer magazine I get every month. I had this subscription for about 5 years now, and the same procedure takes place every time. I get a notice, I mail it back with a cheque or I call to renew. I had to call last year because they charged me more than I usually get the magazine for, and I told them the previous price I paid. They gave it to me, just like that!

This time, I was smart, I told them a different price than what was on my renew form. And they gave me the price I told them. Amazing! I guess that’s the length they’ll go to, to get someone to pay for the magazine. Despite the fact that the magazine has significantly shrunk over the past few years, it’s a much better deal now than it is to buy it off the newsstand. I’m getting 48 issues for the price of 4 newsstand ones! How sweet is that!?!

Call from the school board

2006-07-25T17:54:00.000-04:00

How interesting the school board to choose my birthday, too give me a call. The reason: to offer me an board interview! LOL. I couldn’t believe it. I already have a job the board. I suppose I should be happy they called me, but as a teacher who has been working for a year already, calling this late in the summer is a bit of an insult. Last year, I was called in March! Maybe my skills have slipped a bit over my year of teaching.

Montreal

2006-07-24T17:40:00.000-04:00

Anthony has asked me to go to PRIDE in Montreal with him over the long weekend! I can’t wait to go. I’m quite excited about it to be going to just relax after my course. I’ll take it as my mini vacation before getting back into work mode in the middle of August, as I prepare for my new class.

AQs

2006-07-24T17:39:00.000-04:00

As my summer course is coming to an end, i think i have changed my mind about in-class courses vs. online courses. I have found the less amount of reading quite nice. Typically, online courses consists of reading of one chapter a day, with written responses to other students in the class. In class course has been less reading overall, but lots of group work. Although i’m not a big fan of the tangents we get on in class, the sharing time of different ideas have been very nice. I’ve learned some great ideas just from those sessions.

People who I thought i would work well with turned out to be not quite very good people to work with. Oh well... only 3 more days left of this thing.

Condo Drama: BE GONE!

2006-07-24T17:38:00.000-04:00

Ok, so the condo drama is over for now. Today, mom and i went down to the developer to sign the papers to get the undermounted sink for the unit. Apparently there is a very quick turn around on picking the finishes. They actually only had 40 days to get every suite done in two buildings. I understand the timing issues, but minor changes... come on!

Over the weekend, Mom and i went to see other condo developments near home. What I have concluded from our adventures from the four sites we looked at are as follows:

1. Major developers in suburbia don’t really care about the finishes as much. Pretty much all basic features included are quite boring.

2. Independent developers tend to be more in touch with style and design. I suppose that is because they are selling a more modern building.

3. Major developers who build in suburbia and downtown really tailor to the cliental. The stuff uptown was quite gross, but the finishes in downtown condos were quite classy and up to date. I think people who buy in suburbia generally don’t care for granite countertops and undermount sinks like me. Which is just fine, because i don’t plan on living in suburbia anyway.

We actually found a unit that is has a very similar layout as the suite i will be living in. The best part of this is that we can look at how they placed furniture...we got some good ideas to play with. I won’t get to pick out things until I actually see the space anyway... but the ideas are just flowing now.

Condo Dilemma!

2006-07-20T14:45:00.000-04:00

After having the option to pick finishes for the condo, and the drama around the cost, I suggested that we really should have an under mounted sink with the granite countertops. I thought of this after talking with Peter who is a contractor for home construction. He suggested that it wasn’t worth the trouble to do change a surface mounted sink to an under mounted sink. The only problem is that we had already picked the finishes on Monday, and we decided we wanted the under mounted sink on Wednesday. We called the developer and they told us that it was too late to make any changes. I thought it was quite ridiculous since we only picked the finishes on Monday, and there is no reasonable reason why people can’t make an addition. After all, we are giving them more money for this upgraded sink. They haven’t even gotten every suite’s orders yet, but they refuse to let us make one change. It would be totally different if we changed our mind after a month, or right before the suite was delivered, but 2 days!! Give me a break!

Condo Finishes

2006-07-17T20:44:00.000-04:00

We went to pick the finishes to the condo today. I had put a lot of thought into the colour selection and the options. The only problem we ran into is that fact that the designer made some suggestions and other changes that increased the price higher than expected. My mother actually had a bit of a hissy fit after she saw the price. It was higher than my original estimates as well, but not totally out of control, in my mind at least. In the end, the only way I was able to convince mom it was ok, only after I offered to pay for the upgrades myself. Her argument was that the upgrades would be a waste of money and they wouldn’t add to the overall value of the unit when being sold. I disagreed, because I have to live there! It would be much better to enjoy your surroundings than to live in a slum you weren’t happy with. By the end of the design session, she was happy with the choices made. The condo feels very rich and warm, unlike the standard packages that were offered. The granite counter tops and the bathroom wall tiles cost the most of the entire project, but in my mind, they are both worth every cent! The only regret is not ordering the under mounted sink. I didn’t mention it because of the cost, and my mother’s reaction, but thinking about it more, I wish I ordered it anyway.

Delicious ending

2006-06-16T22:33:00.000-04:00

It was a very long day of wacky hair and tape the teacher to the wall at school. After an exhausting afternoon, I had the pleasure to go out to eat dinner with some good friends from work. We ate at this place called "Seven Numbers" on the Danforth. A suggestion from Meghan, a woman with such great energy about her that teaches the behaviour class at school.

The food was amazing and it has been the first real good food I can remember since going to Perigee last year with Paul. It really reminded me of what real food tastes like, and I can't wait to get back into the swing of eating food that actually have flavour.

Show and Wacky Hair

2006-06-16T22:28:00.000-04:00

At work, we had the talent show of sorts and the primary choir and myself performed the song "DO-RE-ME" from the Sound of Music. I was 'Maria' and lead the song on stage. It was such a wonderful performance by all.

It was also wacky hair day. I decided to come with my "hair in a bun". Much to the dismay of students, I came fully loaded with a real bun on top of my head, with chopsticks and all! I even wrapped my head in plastic wrap to "keep my bun fresh". The reactions I got from adults was pure laughter and from students, I got tonnes of strange looks and side smirks. My job was done :) I made sure students really understood the real meaning of "hair in a bun", well, at least, I checked to see if they got it or not.

Mother: Gay people need to try to change

2006-06-16T22:23:00.000-04:00

While watching a news report on ex-gays, my mother called me down to watch it with her. She wanted me to see how right she is because at that part of the report, they were suggesting how successful it was. Mom was quite pleased with herself. The report later continued to say that the original success of the ex-gay movement was flawed in its approach because it was biased and lead to more frustration, including suicide. A man who went through conversion therapy came on saying that he had tried this form of therapy only to have gone through several attempts at suicide. The end of the report suggested that there is a genetic component to homosexuality, and that it is not something that can be changed.

The take home message my mother took away: At least that man tried to change. You aren’t even willing to try! When asked if she is asking that I kill myself, she only pushed on with saying that I haven’t tried. She hears what she wants to hear, and tunes out everything else.

It really does a number on ones self-esteem and self worth after listening to her. Guess I'll just have to stay out all weekend again, if not just to get away from this hell that I live in at home.

I was having such a good day before this point too...

Full time baby!

2006-06-09T19:37:00.000-04:00

I finally got a full time position today! After a night of restless sleep and an early morning interview, the position that felt the best was the first interview I had in the beginning of this hiring extravaganza. The school had actively sought me out to apply for the position and they had faith that I would be their best candidate, and boy, did the energy feel good there. Other interviews felt cold and uninteresting while one was a very warm school yet didn’t have what I wanted in the end. I am so happy to have found a school that wanted me as much as I wanted them in the end. I even got the room that I wanted in the grade one school, with a window!

And the best part is, I still got offered two jobs, so I had to decline one. I was in a very unusual situation where I held the power to tell a school that I was not interested in them even before they made an offer. Felt nice and vindicated for a year of roller coaster job changes.

I can now pay for my condo! Woohoo!

The job hunt continues…

2006-06-06T19:35:00.000-04:00

I have been looking for a full time position for next September, as I have only been working half time with a LTO on the side. This round of posting is very short, as the positions are posted on Monday, with interviews starting on Tuesday and job offers come on Friday at noon.

Resumes are to be sent by fax, and I don’t trust fax machines, so my anxiety levels were quite high. One never really know if the fax has gone to the right place or even made it to the desired location in the first place.

I’m much calmer now though, as I got 6 offers for interviews out of the 10 jobs that I have applied to. As the calls came into the school and on my cell phone, I got more and more excited, as I had options to choose which job I would like.

One school I interviewed at today even went as far to say that I’m the only one they are interviewing. Boy, did that make me feel good! The other school had a very cute VP, but I didn’t get a very good vibe from the interview. The philosophy of the teachers in the school didn’t seem to match what I would like to do in my teaching practice.

Three more interviews to go, hopefully, I get some more good feelings from the schools this coming week.

My fingers, along with everything else are crossed.

Parental Relationships

2006-04-09T22:25:00.000-04:00

My mother wonders why I don’t have a good relationship with her.

She was sitting looking through magazines looking for ideas to redo her walk-in closet. I gave her some suggestions at places to look and we explored some websites. She saw a feature something she didn’t like, and made a point of saying, she doesn’t like the closet system because of it. Of course, it is a modular system, so if you don’t like it, you don’t buy it. I told her this once. Then we saw something else she didn’t like and she continued to say it makes her doubt the entire system. She continued on with various other features that she didn’t like, and I was increasingly getting frustrated with her comments. She gave me a hit on my shoulder (she says out of jest). I really dislike people hitting me, and explicitly told her not to hit me, and she gave me another hit (out of jest again, according to her). I told her to stop again, and she continued once again to hit me. I hit her back in retaliation. She went on this ranging rant (making up reasons for why I hit her back) about me being abused as a child to me abusing children in my class to my choice of friends.

She wonders why we don’t have a good relationship? She doesn’t listen. Like any good relationship, it is all based on effective communication. It is also a two way street, if she isn’t willing to hear what I have to say, why should I bother trying in the first place.

Mother later came in to say: “We are a simple family… husband, wife and children”. Referring to her inability to say she doesn’t like me being gay.

Prompt Delivery, Pre hole-punched paper, Tech geeks, Mail, Highly Anticipated Phone Calls

2005-12-19T23:14:00.000-05:00

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.

Weekends, Orthodontist, Space Channel

2005-12-18T22:42:00.000-05:00

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.

Costco, Naps, Newsgroups

2005-12-18T02:21:00.000-05:00

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.

Fresh Snow, Winter Gloves, Party Invitations, Fast Taxi Drivers, Falling Asleep

2005-12-17T08:51:00.000-05:00

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!!

Staff with Cars, Things Children Say, PD, More PD, Invention of Snow Blowers

2005-12-15T19:17:00.000-05:00

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.

Alan Shore, E.A.s, Snow Boots, Food Network Search, Opportunities

2005-12-14T21:20:00.000-05:00

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*

Perspective, Afternooons Off, Parents who..., LED Lights, Teaching Parnter

2005-12-13T18:22:00.000-05:00

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.

Music, My Mentor, Voice Mail, Friends Downtown, Sleep

2005-12-12T06:58:00.000-05:00

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.

Gratitude Journal: People Online, Computer Skills, Fast Bus Drivers, Excited Children, Walking

2005-12-11T09:42:00.000-05:00

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 good and the ugly

2005-11-08T19:56:00.000-05:00

It’s the beginning of November and I’m just starting to get my classroom really organized. I had scrounged around the school and found a drying rack available, so I put it in my room for paper. I am really excited that I have to have the huge stacks of paper in the closet somewhere, piled up on top of each other. It is extremely difficult to take out when in a hurry.

I even got my art centre all organized so that the students have easy access to all the creative tools in the classroom. A literature sorter from Staples helped lots with organizing smaller pieces of construction paper. I may need another one to provide options of materials. I even bought a large plastic drawer system to store scraps of construction paper and stuff.

Meanwhile, my desk has gone totally out the window with the amount of stuff I have on it. The past few days, I’ve been at school until 5:30 just reorganizing stuff. I have tried to make the student space more live-able and have been delaying my desk area.

Report cards are due to be submitted into the office in 2 weeks. I have yet to start them. The major obstacle is the fact that I can’t sit down for even a few seconds to access the students in my class. Today, I sat down for about 5 seconds with a student to read with her, and the interruptions from other students just started. The student I was with waited and waited, and I really never got back to read with her today. Last week, I had 10 students away, and I actually got 6 alphabet assessments done with them in one day. Now that everyone is in class, it’s nearly impossible to do any further assessments. I’ve requested some consultation with the VP for suggestions on how I can assess with such a busy class. I’m not sure how much help it will be, for it will provide very little time to compile the data I will need/want.

It’s actually quite frustrating in the class right now. Last week, we had many students away, and found that it was quite manageable and relaxing to be in the class. In comparison to this week, it has been very crazy the whole day and the attention seeking behaviours are extremely prevalent with 26 students.

Double Whammy

2005-10-12T20:49:00.000-04:00

I just found out that my class will not be reduced in numbers this year. Some technical paper shuffling apparently prevented the school from getting an extra 0.5 teacher in the school. This leaves me in a position to really look for another job now. I was looking forward to doing the LTO in the morning and working in the afternoon, but now that is out the window. I would have had, at least, almost full time pay. Now the next step is to hope that when the LTO ends in December, a contract position opens up for January. Things just went from bad, to worst…

Tears to disappointment to relief

2005-10-12T18:10:00.000-04:00

I didn’t get the job. AGAIN! The whole idea of having a full time job was so appealing, and it didn’t matter what the conditions would have been. It would have been a team teaching situation, so I wouldn’t have as much control as I prefer, but also would have provided time to really perfect a program. I talked to my principal today, and she was reluctant to let me go, which is a good thing. I will be likely taking a half position with a smaller class, which would be more ideal to work with.

The good side of this whole thing is that I get to stay with my staff and most of the same students. There is still a possibility of the LTO being extended after December, but that is up in the air. If something I loose the morning job after December, I would have to look to another school to take a half time position. It was one of my worst fears to be in a situation where I would have to commute between two schools.

Alas, the right job will arrive at the right time… things are just getting so complex.

Tears of excitement?

2005-10-11T16:32:00.000-04:00

Is there such a thing? Tears of excitement. I had an interview today at a school close to downtown. It is for a Kindergarten class that could be full or half time. I’m hoping for the full time. I was so excited about this interview that I was literally up at 3am this morning. There are complications of course. My current position is a LTO, so I’m allowed under the collective agreement to jump into a permanent position. The problem lies with reorganization. There may be a half position opening at my current school due to the large class size, but I haven’t heard anything official just yet. If a full position comes up, I will take it. If a half positions comes up at the new school, I will likely have to decline it unless my school doesn’t plan on hiring me on as the half teacher. Everything is up in the air until I find out tomorrow if the new school wants me as a full or half time teacher.

As I was leaving the principal’s office, we talked about references, and he actually knows one of my references personally. I almost did a happy dance right there. This reference is one of my mentor teachers who I just adore and can trust her experience and expertise. I called her immediately to tell her the news. She volunteered to call the principal at school to give her reference. After hanging up the phone with her, I got all teary eyed, because there is a real possibility that I could have a full time job starting next week! Crazy isn’t it? I will probably get a week to get things ready for the next teacher, and say my goodbyes to the staff, students and family. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but its hard not to think about it.

The principal in this school started as a primary teacher, and I think he likes the idea of hiring a male Kindergarten teacher. Not sure if the other candidates are male though. I was on the short list of 4, out of the 50 or so applicants. WOW…I know that people say it’s WHO you know, and I hope WHO I know gets my foot in this door!

I won’t be able to sleep tonight…

*Does a cautiously optimistic happy dance*

Hiring Drama

2005-10-07T18:21:00.000-04:00

I am so excited. On Tuesday night, there was a new batch of job postings online. I didn’t hesitate to apply for them, though I did ask for input from my other teaching friends. Since I’m doing a LTO right now, I have the option to move into a contract position at any time. So today, I got a call from a principal asking if I would be available for an interview on Tuesday. I jumped at the opportunity. He did mention that even though it was posted as a full contract position, he might decide to make it a half position, as he currently has a really good LTO in the school. Here’s where the drama comes in. The school I am at right now might be opening up a new class because of the class sizes, and that will mean there will be a half time contract position at the school. If both principal offers me a half position, it will be a very difficult choice to pick one. If this new school offers me a full position, I would have to jump to the new school. So I’m excited to have this opportunity for a full position, I just hope I’m enticing enough to be a full time person at this school I’m interviewing at.

School now: 15 minutes away from home. I know the students already. I like the staff
Interviewing school: close to downtown, 1 hour away, new staff and students, close to my future home (see condo blog).

Unions...*&!+@!!

2005-10-04T19:51:00.000-04:00

I have been foiled once already by the union, and now maybe another time. I was suppose to attend a professional development conference for my other job as a facilitator in a father’s program. I had planned to attend this conference for months! My work in the school board however, foiled my attendance. I’m suppose to work 15 full days before I’m considered a Long Term Occasional (LTO) in the board. So right now, I’m technically a supply teacher who does everything. As of last Friday, it was my 10th day. If I had gone to the conference last Friday, I would have had to start my 15 days again. The major problem to this is the pay. LTOs get a lot more pay than supply teachers, I would be losing almost a month of extra money because of this. Of course, it is the union that has put me into this position. As unions like to have things stated very clearly and precise, and school boards have to sign off on it, there is zero flexibility at all. This coming Friday will be my 15th day, and there is a board wide workshop for all beginning teachers. I signed up for this workshop a week and a half ago, giving my notice to the administration to sort out a supply teacher. I was told today, that I would loose my LTO status if I decided to still attend. I understand the position that it is in the contract, but it defeats the purpose of these workshops if people who are suppose to be teaching a class long term don’t get the PD they are entitled to until they get this “status”. So frustrating! Working on a work-around though…

Meet the creature night

2005-09-22T22:03:00.000-04:00

My first meet the teacher night (now called curriculum night) was mostly successful. I have about 7 families show up in total. Not many questions for me, I guess that’s a good sign, I was thorough enough?? I felt I gave a pretty dry explanation of Kindergarten though…not really sure if they understood it all or not. I was done in less than 20 minutes with my little talk. As I let them all go, I realized I should have gotten them to look at the art in the room that we spent so much time working on! Drats! Next time I’ll remember! 2 extra hours at night, and 7 out of 27 families show up. Great.

Have you ever…

2005-09-16T17:15:00.000-04:00

Have you ever gone to work and by the end of the day, wonder to yourself, why on earth am I doing this? What makes me really qualified to do this?? Why did I think this would be fun?

The realities of teaching has started to set in. This is the first day that the weather has not been sunny. It rained basically all day. My morning Kindergarten class were off the wall. I felt as if I had lost a degree of control over the class. With all my experiences, rarely have I felt this distress.

In the afternoon, I supplied for a grade 4 class, which was not any better. In fact, was much worst in terms of behaviour. I barely made it through the afternoon with my sanity intact.

As I prepare to start on my own on Monday, the class is still not set up the way I want it to be, nor do I have plans for next week. It feels as if all my years of training for this job is just slipping by and not sticking. I have some ideas, but at times, I feel as if I’m in over my head.

Even with the assistance of an E.A., the current class of 26 students is craziness as it is. Starting on Monday, I will get one more! The more the merrier right? Even if the class shrunk by 6 students, it would make a world of difference. There are enough children in the room already considering the age.

Do I have second thoughts…yes. Will I survive…I hope so!

Downtown living…signed and sealed!

2005-09-06T21:37:00.000-04:00

So it’s finalized. The cooling period is now officially over, and in a little over 2 years, I will be a proud first time home owner of a downtown condo unit. Now, all I need is a steady job to pay for this sucker… still pending on permanent position.

Some options being discussed actually including renting the place out for an unspecified amount of time. This will hopefully offset some of the costs as well as facilitate the process of actually saving some money to start. Over the course of two years, I could save enough for a new car, or buy a parking spot in the building and a used car. Or I could put that money into savings. Even graduate studies if I wished, but that will require even more money to support myself while not in a salary earning position.

As exciting as having money is though, having freedom can also be rather exciting. Will I be able to survive another 4 years (instead of the planned 3)? Is the extra year going to be worth the wait in the end?

Like everything else…only time will tell.

First day of school

2005-09-06T21:36:00.000-04:00

Although I didn’t have a class of my own to attend on the first day of school, I went to help out my friend Matt at his first class. There are just so many little things that need to be done and not enough time to do them, especially when only given a short amount of time to set it all up.

I had a blast working in Matt’s grade 1 class. It really is hard to work under pressure and still try implementing best practices. I gave many suggestions on how to make things run smoothly, but all of those were merely reminders to things he already knows already.

All the best to my fellow colleagues in their very first class.

Paper Chef 10

2005-09-05T18:11:00.000-04:00

After a long, over-extended period of time, I finally got to hang out with PM again. Boy did I have a fun time. I had gone over after finalizing some things with the new condo with my parents and the developer.

PM told me about this online version of the iron chef and the requirements and I was instantly intrigued. We had spent the next 20-30 minutes talking over possibilities on how to incorporate the theme ingredients as well as how to present the dish so that it is as appealing as possible.

We came up with: Beer pork and shrimp ‘New Orleans’ Siu Mei

Here are photos of what we made:

PM's Blog can be viewed here.

And so it begins…

2005-09-02T19:08:00.000-04:00

I will likely be writing about my work quite a bit now that I have some work to do instead of sitting at home, watching cooking and interior decorating shows!

I went in today for the first time. I got some memos to read and went over some students’ Ontario Student Records (OSRs) for the SKs in the class. I was really surprised that most of them hadn’t gone into childcare at some point or to a drop in program in the area. I’ll have to talk to the Early Years coordinators to see if that can change in this community. Students who have gone in to childcare or to a drop in program are much more prepared for school because they’ve had to learn social skills before going into school.

Then I found out that the class was going to have 27 students!!! OMG! Am I in for a shock or what!?! The good thing is that there will likely be an E.A. in the room as well. But still, a primary class with any more than 20 students are just a disaster waiting to happen. The teacher ends up just making sure everyone is safe and it is not a zoo, instead of doing any actual teaching. It will be a very interesting time, that’s for sure. The PM class will have 26.

I asked the principal what would happen if both classes remain this high, or higher, and she said she will likely need to open another class. I asked because I’m hoping I would get the half time position in the afternoon. Unfortunately, another teacher in the school has already put in her wishes for a Kindergarten class. My future is really up in the air right now, which does drive me nuts, but at least I know I’ll be working until December in the mornings.

I will NOT be working the first day of school though. The teacher going on leave will be settling in the students on her own, then she’ll call me in when she feels comfortable to have me around. I really wished I was able to be there the first day, however, I understand the teacher wants her own space. I’m really excited about seeing the students!

I helped the teacher set up a little in her room (a little bit, by putting up some corkboard paper), and tried to stay out of her way while she does her stuff. I got the grand tour of the school as well. My position is rather limited since I’m only there in the morning, but it will give me a chance to supply in the afternoon and get to know the school a bit better. I might even take up an Additional Qualifications (AQ) course during the school year, since I have the time. I would prefer to be working, of course, so I’ll have to see how that goes.

The trials and tribulations of a first year teacher continues…

I finally caught one!

2005-09-01T13:51:00.000-04:00

Getting a job is quite an exciting proposition. I finally got one! After months of work, rather, sitting, it has finally paid off. After 6 interviews, 5 declines, 1 offer and 1 acceptance, I now have a job for September. It is a long term occasional (LTO) position in JK/SK in the morning. I will be contracted to be there from September to the end of December, with a possibility of an extension. The sweetest part of the deal is that I don’t have to set up a classroom the day before school starts. The teacher going on leave has already set up the classroom and will even be there in class for the first two weeks! I’ll be starting the year with her and getting time to watch before I really start on my own. The principal did warn that the school is considered “inner city” meaning, the students and families can be more of a challenge than other places, and the class will be boy heavy. I forgot to ask about educational assistants, but it should be ok. There will be approximately 24 students. It is a pretty big class actually. I’m hoping that the numbers will go high enough to open a new class. But who knows. I will probably be taking some odd supply teaching jobs until I can find more permanent work within this school or other places.

This is the first interview that ended with the vice-principal chasing and calling after me to come back to the office to offer me the job! I thought that was quite amusing.

Pending pending pending

2005-08-30T22:12:00.000-04:00

OMG…its so stressful. SO close, yet possibly so far away. It’s now up to my dad to agree to help out in this condo project. If he doesn’t agree to it, the whole thing might go up in smoke. He doesn’t think the condo market will last long enough. He think the real estate bubble will pop soon.

There just isn’t enough down payment available to get it off the ground. The anxiety is just too high these days. The condo being a possibility, the not being a possibility. Job interviews that all fall through. School starting in 6 days with no job in sight. Its so discouraging.

Condo Living

2005-08-29T09:50:00.000-04:00

I can’t believe what just happened. My mother decided to purchase a condo downtown!!!

As of Aug 27, 2005, my mother signed the papers to purchase a condo. There is still 10 days cooling off period, where it could all go wrong. We have to wait for mortgage approval and such, but otherwise, it is a go! The condo is slated for residency for September 2007, but the floor I’m on will likely move in around January 2008.

There have been so many things going through my mind. Looking at the floor plans, and the model suites, I have started dreaming of design ideas for the space. I am soo excited! The options are quite endless and rather scary actually. I’ve been corresponding with Rachel, my boss, about design ideas and things to think about. I’ll probably hire her to help me pick colours and design a functional space for my purposes.

There are some major things I would like to change in the unit, but financial restraints might put a stop to those. One of which is to optimize the kitchen a bit better. Right now, the kitchen is gally style, which is fine, but the sink is on the far end of the gally, then the stove, then the fridge. I read that it is best to have the sink beside the fridge for easy produce washing, followed by the stove on the other side of the sink. This move could be costly because of the external vent to the stove, as well as changing pipes and cabinet design below. I’ll live with it if it comes to be, but I would be nice to have that change.

Furniture placement will be an interesting one, for there isn’t much wall space. Most of the space is taken up by the huge floor to ceiling windows in a 45 degree arc across the unit. I only have 2 walls in the living area to use for an office and entertainment. It’s a tight squeeze, but I’m sure some design solution will be found to suit the space.

I’m holding my breath for the 10 days to pass quickly and with no hiccups. It will be thoroughly disappointing if this fell through. Even though I had not expected to move out in 27 months, the idea of it is just too thrilling.

Fingers crossed for this project as well as a job…

Condo Shopping

2005-08-27T08:46:00.000-04:00

The idea of going shopping for a condo is so exciting. I’ve been dreaming of living on my own for quite awhile now, and today, my mother is going with me and a real-estate agent to look at a new development. It’s a one bedroom (I really want a 1+den) but who am I kidding, I’ll take what I can get for now! It’s a weird layout since it is on a corner and has rounded windows all around. It basically looks like a quarter cut out of a circle. Mom had to convince me of furniture placement before I would go ahead on it, because there is so little wall space, finding a good place to put my office area is a challenge. I need a desk and lots of storage space for books and stuff.

Its all in the works and there is always a chance it will fall through. Who knows what will happen, but the idea of it is too exciting. I’ve gone out this week and bought two interior design books to start getting ideas on what I would like to see. Before long (if this thing goes through), I’ll have to go to the warehouse to pick colours and fittings and appliances for this place! YIKES! I have already been doing some email consulting with my boss from one of the places I work. She’s just so helpful and fabulous!

Fingers, toes, eyes crossed!!

Tedium to the extreme

2005-08-25T15:53:00.000-04:00

For the past month I’ve been basically sitting at home doing not too much. Today, I actually woke up at 6 in the morning for no apparent reason other than not being tired. Sitting at my desk all day really doesn’t tire me out enough to sleep a full eight hours apparently. I’ve watched 3 movies today already! I’m trying to clear my hard drive of movies so I can make room for more!

This whole summer, I have felt as if I haven’t seen many of my friends often at all. With everyone working, no one really has time to hang out. Not really available in person, not really online either. I find myself talking to people who I don’t really know more than my friends now. It seems that most people I started talking to online have since gotten off the web altogether or are online so rarely that I rarely see them anyway.

Lost another job today also…the school found a better candidate, but the principal sounded very pleased with my interview and has promised to keep me in mind when other postings come up in the future.

I felt like baking cookies today and it turn out mostly burnt. I even used the silpat I bought months ago for the first time. Thank goodness nothing stuck, for the bottoms were all charred. I lost two batches to an over heated oven, but my last batch turned out quite nice. Next time I know… 350C for 15 mins instead of 375 for 10 mins! Very yummy chocolate chip cookies though! No one around to eat them with me though…

Ready! Freddy!... I think

2005-08-15T16:44:00.000-04:00

It turns out that neither mister T or myself was completely ready to start anything in terms of relationships. He is dealing with his baggage and so am I. I am happy that we are still friends though. He brings a healthy and reflective element to my life. I have however come to a realization that I need to bite the bullet and just let the opportunities to arise. It is fun to play around. I think that seeing someone is much more rewarding, but I am still leaning to have an option for some degree of openness. I am not really sure where things will go. After two years of singledom, having two potentials that went into friendship, I find, it’s just a hard thing to find a good match.

Hunting for work

2005-08-15T16:43:00.001-04:00

It’s really more like waiting for work to come up. The process of finding a teaching position is quite frustrating. No principles are working over the summer, so any phone calls or faxes won’t even be looked at. At two weeks before school starts up again in September, only a small handful of jobs are available. Most of these jobs are half time or in upper junior grades. The full time job I was interviewed for went to a classmate who would be a great teacher. I am happy that at least I lost a job to someone very competent, rather than some other Joe blow. I was interviewed for a half time position today and I am not certain if I will take it. Two of my teaching friends have suggested I holdout for a full time position. There are no guarantees that any primary positions that come up in the days leading up to September will be full time either. There are also possibilities of any position to be redundant due to unexpected lower numbers and attrition. In that case I could be transferred to another school with a grade I don’t want. Anything can happen in the next few weeks. The notion of not knowing what is going to happen is rather frightening. My fingers are crossed to find a full time job for September; otherwise, it goes to supply teaching and long term occasional positions. Some LTOs turn into full time jobs, but there are nothing that are for sure there either.

How many can you take at a time?

2005-08-15T16:43:00.000-04:00

I was hurrying down the stairs a the subway station today and saw the man in front of me taking two steps at a time down while I took one. For some reason, I don’t feel comfortable enough to take that many steps going down. I can take two steps while going up though. How many steps can you take going down stairs?

Internet meetings

2005-07-10T23:02:00.000-04:00

There is a new boy, T, in my life. Nothing concrete just yet but he is relationship track, super cute, has a career and seems genuinely interested. We had a very nice lunch and went to Milliken Park to walk around until we sat in a shady spot by the lake under a tree. We discussed our love for playing scrabble and going for excursions to the island. I'm cautiously optimistic about this one. He is the only real potential interest that has come into my life since PM. Mind you, I have just met T once so far. I am really excited about the potential. I'm hoping he will take my mind off PM too. I asked to kiss him in the park. It was so nice. I wished I had more time to spend with him. Here's hoping for a new stage in my life.

Risks

2005-07-06T00:23:00.000-04:00

In the current happenings around me, I found this article particularly interesting in content and timing.

Metro Article; July 5, 2005

Just ignore the blantant heterosexist examples.

Job foiled

2005-06-30T10:47:00.000-04:00

I got a call around 9:30am that I didn’t get the job for the first interview. I’m a little bummed about that, because the school had what I wanted and was at a reasonable distance to my home.

Now I’ve set up my computer to send faxes to all the schools with any Kindergarten, Grade 1 or 2 or any combination of those out. It’s been a long time since I heard the modem go off, but glad I have one, because faxing over the internet costs money. Faxing is very slow, but at least its automated after I punch in the phone numbers.

Here’s hoping something else (better) comes out of this horrid job search experience. The fax machines are probably dying now, from the thousands of faxes its receiving from all the graduates from the faculties of education on this last day of school before the summer holiday.

Employment Opportunities

2005-06-30T08:30:00.000-04:00

At around 11pm on Tuesday evening, I was doing my usual check of the TDSB hiring page, to see if there are any new updates. In fact, I check everyday, even though they suggest that the list for available schools won’t be out until the end of June. This time I was in luck. The page had changed finally, with a notice that the list will be up at 9am the next morning.

Of course my alarm was set to be up 10 minutes before 9, and even stopped all outgoing downloads to ensure I have the sufficient bandwidth to get the full speed of broadband internet available. I checked every 20 seconds from 8:55am until the page was finally changed. Only one list was posted, as the webmaster made changes with each refresh. The list I needed was up. I quickly opened the document and printed it off. With my highlighters and district wide school map on my closet door, I began my work.

I highlighted all the positions I was interested in, and all of them except for a few were full positions. Apparently, few schools needed full time Kindergarten teachers from the pool of new teachers. I noticed my previous elementary school was hiring, so I made a quick call to the principal that I knew. The call turned into an interview for 12:05pm later that day.

The interview went well. I dressed in a purple polo shirt with khakis and black shoes and belt. I came prepared with my updating teaching reports (that were not online, nor were we told to update them!), my philosophy of education and several copies of my resume (unstapled. I heard they liked them better that way, so they can see everything side by side. Even though I would have prefer to double side to save paper). The panel of teachers and the principal questioned me for about 30 minutes during their lunch time, and I think I answered them clearly and professionally. One of the teachers suggested she was surprised of how young I looked even though I had such a thick resume. I hope that was a selling point for me.

I am getting anxious as I write this next part because it is still all pending.

The principal suggested that he would be hiring that very day. He will call the person who is hired that day, and will start the next day (the last day of school), for an orientation of sorts.

I was in fear to leave the house. Even though I had left both my house and cell numbers, I think the school calls the house number first. Checking to see if I had a message every few minutes, just in case I had missed the call by accident. By 11pm, I began to think, perhaps they weren’t calling the unsuccessful candidates. I went to bed nervous and anxious for morning to arrive.

I called the school again this morning at 8:15am. The principal told me that he had sent the candidates name to be hired with the school board, but hasn’t heard back for approval just yet. He will call all candidates to let them know either way.

SIGH of relief! So now I will sit and wait…ALL DAY, until that fateful phone call. I will however, make other calls to schools, in case it does fall through. I hope it doesn’t though.

Hugs and kisses

2005-06-28T00:26:00.001-04:00

How does one decide who gets a hug only, and who gets a hug and a kiss with a greeting or departure formalities?

I have notice a discrepancy among my friends who initiate a hug only or a hug and kiss either on the cheeks or mouth. There doesn't seem to be a rule that I could figure out from the kisses I get and the kisses I see other people get from the same people.

Call me jealous, but I’d like equal treatment!!!

I'm not one to usually request for a kiss, it’s usually initiated by someone else. My ex, John, usually gets a kiss from me on the lips upon a departure.

What is the rule? Is there a hierarchy or kisses and hugs? Somebody fill me in.

House party

2005-06-28T00:26:00.000-04:00

After work on Sunday, I went to a house party and had a great time with PM's friends. The host was extremely nice and let me use his shower. Conversation ranged from casual, serious, scientific to sexual. I was fabulous. We also sat outside the whole time, and really sparked a longing to have a nice outdoor space available in my condo to entertain outside on a nice summer night. Maybe it will have to wait for a house purchase for that to happen.

Pride 2005

2005-06-28T00:25:00.000-04:00

This year has been something different in terms of pride festivities. I had spent the majority of the time serving beer at the 519. Having done the job last year before, as the tent supervisor, I got better at doing it this year. I think I had a better perspective of what needs to be done, how to make sure people know what they are doing, and giving mini training sessions that encompass everything the volunteers need before they start serving. It helped a lot that we had many that helped out both days for a few hours. By the end of the day, my voice was shot, my feet hurt and was damned tired. My pouring skills are still up to snuff as well, especially the double handed pour! PM has been mocking me the whole time since I don’t like to promote alcoholism and binge drinking. It does seem like an oxymoron, but it's the biggest fundraiser for the community centre of the year. I had sent notice to many people to come visit me at work, and a few did. It was so nice to see people I knew in the sea of people that lined up for beer. I was a bit disappointed that certain people didn't make an appearance though.

I had decided to work both days of pride in hopes I’d see some hotties. The only hottie I wanted was the one behind the bar at 5ive. None really caught my attention while I was serving beer though. I did get lots of thanks for not pouring too much head.

I could still use some more work on managing my volunteers. There was one that I had suspected of stealing tickets, but I wasn't sure until he just disappeared from his post. Friendly guy and kinda cute, so he was probably using it to his advantage. I also noticed a lot of the volunteers unhappy with the staff in charge because the volunteers felt the staff was pulling a power trip on them. At the same time, staff sees the bigger picture of what needs to be done. Very interesting observations.

Postal carriers a la car

2005-06-22T00:40:00.000-04:00

On my way home today, I saw a postal carrier parked at the side of the street in his personal car. Sitting in the driver’s seat, getting his mail sorted. It was the first time I had even seen that happening. I’ve seen them in trucks, going to pick up mail from the service boxes, then walking to the required destinations. Never had I seen one actually drive to where they need to go. Unusual sight for sure.

Elevated elevator security

2005-06-19T20:24:00.002-04:00

It seems that in the age of raised security, elevators now restrict the movements of its passengers. I was at a condo building in the Harbourfront the other day and the elevator required a RF key to get to the desired floor. In fact, residents can only access the floor they live on. Guests must be buzzed in and the elevator will only take you to the floor that corresponded with the phone number of the resident. It’s a bit crazy, since you can't even visit friends from other floors. Mind you, one could easily walk down a flight of stairs too. A concierge down in the lobby doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all, when given the options.

Written on Palm Notes

Picky Tastes

2005-06-19T20:24:00.001-04:00

After eating in some of the city's finest restaurants, i have become quite the food snob. After convocation, we went to the gallery grill - on U of T campus for lunch. The food was not bad, although my sea scallops weren't quite done right. Then for dinner, we went to the David Duncan house, a fine dining restaurant with a very very dim ambiance. The fillet mignon was nicely done and had a great soft texture. On the other hand, the asparagus with hollandaise was disgusting. The asparagus was over cooked and terribly limp. The hollandaise was a nasty concoction that looked like it had just been under the broiler but almost as if the sauce had broke. The carrots were also very soggy. Yucky veggies this place produced. The server brought us dessert menus and essentially flung it on the table and the menus actually slid across the table a bit. Very unprofessional. I told my parents I’m taking them to canoe to see how service is really done.

Written on Palm Notes

Beach Volleyball

2005-06-19T20:24:00.000-04:00

I went to watch beach volleyball today with PM. The main objective was really to gawk at the hotties with no shirts on. A few were in the crowd to drool over. A few for me, a few for PM. We saw a few friends around, and even some of my high school friends. Paul and i sat on the bench after cruising for a bit and just talked. Conversation was our usual mish mash of topics from politics to digital cameras. It was definitely worth the trip, even without the hotties.

Written on Palm Notes

Three dolla! Only three dolla!

2005-06-19T20:22:00.000-04:00

On the way to convocation, we drove to a parking lot to park the car in Scarborough and take transit down to convocation hall. Parking all day only costs $3!!! Imagine that! The cost of parking downtown would have been $10 at least. Suburb parking is amazing!

Written on Palm Notes

Jamie’s School Dinners – First Impressions

2005-06-05T23:47:00.000-04:00

An interesting concept for a show… improve the quality of nutrition in school meals. A huge problem right off the bat was that the students were still very much attached to the junk food they had been offered in school before he arrived. He just started serving healthy food in the lunch room and to no ones surprise (but Jamie), only one student picked up his healthy food. Perhaps a bit of education for the students about healthy food would trigger more interest in the new healthy menu. Without the education piece, having healthy food is mostly a waste of money because children don’t like to try the unknown.

MAC a la Yorkdale

2005-05-29T19:54:00.000-04:00

A visit to the only MAC store in the world was quite an exciting adventure. Seeing for the first time a MAC mini in person has inspired me to think really hard to find a good justification to purchasing one. On top of that a very very lovely 30" LCD HD Screen induced an increased heart rate and drool from PM's heart and mouth respectively. I will return to the store again to gawk very soon.

Written on Pocket Word

Moo Moo See, Moo Moo Buy II

2005-05-25T22:38:00.000-04:00

More items added to the list of things I bought/used because of PM...

6) LG DVD Burner (I bought it about a month after him, cost me $20 less)
7) CD Storage Master (a great program for those who have many many many burned DVDs/CDs)
8) Blogging on the go (all because of his Axim - I still want one)

More to add later...

BAD = Good Poop

2005-05-25T22:37:00.000-04:00

My game in badminton was the best I’ve ever played. I owe it all to a fellow player that has given me some practice on specific skills and empowering me to play a better game. It really is amazing how just a little coaching can do so much. I even broke a sweat while playing today...and I’ve never done that during badminton. It was very hot in the gym too today, but I think it was my game that is to blame for the sweat. Now I’m pooped!!

Written on Palm Notes

Life making me stupid

2005-05-25T22:35:00.000-04:00

I went to do an interview with a teacher today at a school, for my internship paper. I arrived at 12:30pm. I was then told at the front office that the teacher had left for lunch because he waited until 12pm for me. It is then, that I realized my meeting was actually scheduled for 12 and not 12:30! Boy did I feel dumb! With only a day left before the paper is due I screw up the one chance I had to interview some teachers. This isn't even the first time I have been late half an hour for something since my internship started. I have been moving appointments 30 mins in my head for some strange reason. I AM getting stupider by the minute.

I think I’ll blame it on working from home too much and getting distracted by the comforts of my desk.

Written on Palm Notes

When techies butt heads

2005-05-22T10:47:00.000-04:00

I saw first hand, how a bunch of techies can be really annoying. Everyone trying to outdo each other’s techiness. Techies have a perception that they know EVERYTHING and can fix all things electronic. That, in and of itself is a good thing. To have a positive self esteem about that type of work is helpful to getting things done. BUT when there is a group of them together… OMG! A bossy techie thinks they know it all and their way is the right way. They will check and double check everyone else’s work, then make sure everyone tries it their way, even though someone else has tried it already.

In the end, when push comes to shove, one person figures it out and no one is willing applaud them for their efforts because each of the techies were trying to solve the problem first. The person who solved it gets an automatic smug smile on their face for they are happy to have solved the problem first, and all the other techies try to figure out what they did wrong to prove that they can fix it next time too.

Lesson learned: Keep the bossy techies away, they get annoying real fast.

To be noticed…

2005-05-22T10:20:00.000-04:00

The whole notion of being noticed by someone that one is attracted to is extremely thrilling. I’ve seen him around for a few times, and was kindly introduced by a friend just a few days ago. He flirts like crazy, not sure if that’s his regular self or just with me. He is very touchy feely. He said he’s never seen me around before… maybe because I tend to blend in at first. I told him I’d seen him around a lot…he was apologetic for not seeing me sooner. He’s a real sports fanatic… he plays many many many sports and is quite a jock. Probably a first in my books, but there’s a hotness factor there somewhere. Not sure where this will all lead. This is really exciting. I can’t wait to see him again. See what happens next.

Rollercoaster

2005-05-11T16:37:00.000-04:00

The coaster continues to move. I thought I had gotten off, but alas…that was just my imagination. Back to the beginning, the ride goes up, just waiting for the inevitable time when it will all come crashing down. Cheap thrill I guess, I’d rather get off the ride now. Somehow, I can’t convince myself to do it even though I know it is best. Perhaps next time round I’ll get thrown off, that may just prevent me from getting back on.

Medications != Good?

2005-05-11T16:31:00.000-04:00

Medications can be such a blessing or not so much. My running nose had prevented me from taking my allergy medication, which happens to be a nasal spray. If I spray, it comes back out because of the runny nose. Here in lies my problem. I typically start using my allergy medication before the season arrives to pre-empt any form of discomfort from my seasonal allergies. Since I was not able to take it for a few days, a problem has started. I started getting dry eyes, runny nose that won’t stop, sneezing that won’t stop. A solution! If I take some cold medication that will stop the coughing, runny nose and such, those symptoms disappear. However, since it is a decongestant, it also dries up my sinuses and disrupts the equilibrium of liquid in my head, causing constant dizziness. So now I’m left with only one option. Stay at home and close all windows and doors. In a sealed environment, at least I can deal with my cold bug without the allergies, but with the weather so nice lately, it’s hard not to open a window to let the “fresh” air in. Oh the joys of medication and the side effects. If only other allergy medications worked for me! Stoopid antibodies!!

Moo Moo See, Moo Moo Buy

2005-05-10T22:43:00.000-04:00

Items I have bought because PM has bought them
1) External Harddrive case
2) Ikea Knife
3) Silpat
4) Duplex printer
5) Staple-less Stapler

They are the best items and well researched :)

Illness

2005-05-09T11:13:00.000-04:00

Being sick just sucks! After my night of feeling and looking great at AX, health just seemed to go downhill from there. I started to get a slight indication of a cold, so I loaded up on Cold-FX, which seemed to work other times. Not this time though. After taking the full 3 day regiment of pills, I was still not closer to feeling better. In fact, after the pills, it got worst. Much worst. I ended up in bed for the entire Friday, only waking occasionally to pee and watch an hour of tv, before zonking out again into bed. With no other medications in me, my body did the hard work of fighting off this infection while I lay in an almost comatose state. Good thing I only got worst after my site visits for my internship. I'm still not completely better yet, but at least I'm no longer constantly tired.

The question is... why would anyone really want to read about someone who is sick? If you've just read this, let me know. :P

And now… this is art because…

2005-05-08T23:29:00.000-04:00

I was with my friend IK in the distillery district going around taking photos on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Lots of people were there and many of the galleries were open as well. We stopped in to many of the galleries to see what they have. In one gallery, there was a woman there with two girls both around 10-12 years of age. This woman was telling the girls to look at this photograph and continued to tell them why she thinks it is interesting. Moving to the next photograph, she again, told the girls what she thought of them. In my head, I was thinking, why on Earth are you bringing children to look at art, if you don’t let them form opinions of their own? Yes, it’s one thing to offer suggestions on how to interpret art and model responses, but it’s going a bit far if there isn’t even an opportunity to make any comments. There is no point in allowing people to look at art if they can’t provide their own understandings of it. STOP telling people what YOU think, start asking other people. OY!

Ago-massive change

2005-05-05T22:10:00.000-04:00

The visit to this exhibit with PM was planned initially for the free day the local counselor organized it for the community. With a lost ticket, it was not a bad idea to wait anyway. The crowds were a bit much from the news reports. In the end, the Massive Change show is essentially used raises social consciousness about the world of design and function in the world now had some interesting ideas. A display of the progression of the Segway was neat since I was on one just a few weeks ago. The photo display with everything in the world either in the visible spectrum or not was well designed. Of course a great part was the staple-less stapler that both PM & I got. Here is a photo of the stapler and the results.

I have the black one.
Very neat idea...high on geek factor. Other products I have also purchased that PM has also:
1. Duplex printer
2. Staple-less stapler
3. I forget the rest… there are more.

Written on Palm Notes

Pick me up baby!

2005-05-01T19:41:00.000-04:00

I couldn’t believe it! After months of AX attendance and I finally got picked up, at least an attempted pick up. I thought I dressed well, looked good, felt great, it was all falling into place. Lots of friends in attendance, people to talk to, met some new friends. A whole slew of people from badminton was there. It was a just a fantastic night. There was this guy that was looking at me quite a lot, and he finally approached me to talk. He was a bit touchy feely, but this time, he was decent looking at least. His whole intent was to bring me home with him that night. I wasn’t about to go home with anybody, but he was quite interested. While he was trying to hook up with me, another man across the room came over and dropped of his business card in my back pocket. It’s so interesting how 2 guys gave me their numbers in one night. This never happens! Wow.

lack of private blogs

2005-04-28T21:39:00.000-04:00

This sucks...there doesn't seem to be an option to post a blog privately. :(

Mister Holmes

2005-04-27T11:29:00.000-04:00

I saw this in the newspaper, so I went out and bought it...

Really, i'm not obsessed...

Drip Drip Drip

2005-04-26T21:24:00.000-04:00

One would think that if you owned a home, they would care about it. After all there is a financial commitment and it is lived in everyday. I learned the sad reality that certain people just don't give a damn.

We have been having problems with the upstairs washroom occasionally leaking into the kitchen below for a few months. There has been talk of a renovation, but it was really all just talk. Yesterday my dad discovered a puddle of water in the laundry room. He insisted that i take a look at it. We took a look. It appeared to be coming from the attached storage room. We looked in the storage room. It turned out that the leak was not a minor puddle causing leak. It was actually BIG KAKA!!! A steady drip of water was coming off a pipe and into a cardboard box of miscellaneous paper and books. It didn't stop there though. This dripping water has essentially filled the entire box until the bottom had disintegrated and the water then dripped onto the floor. Looking at the source of the water, it appears to be water actually soaking into the wood because there is the tell-tale sign of mould. Mould not just at the sourced of the drip, but over a wide area of timbre that makes the joists of the kitchen floor. The water stains suggest MUCH more than just an annoying drip too. My dad did what he did best...he stood and watched while I took control. Many boxes were soaked through, the contents covered with black mildew. I grabbed the gloves immediately and changed into clothes I can get dirty in.

It turned out almost the entire contents of the storage room needed to be evacuated into the already messy and crowded basement. The removal of the mould infested, drenched useless garbage look quite a long time, and it took the effort of the whole family. I ended up spending today getting rid of empty boxes with Styrofoam pieces and plastic bags that came with various items we purchased in the past say, 10 years. I broke down enough boxes to fill 3 clear plastic bags full of them. Thank goodness tomorrow is recycling day. 4 black bags of garbage though.

Still lots to tidy up, there is at least half a room full of stuff that needs to be cleared out still, maybe by the next paper recycling day, we will get rid of it all!

Hopefully, we will have someone to look at the source of the problem soon. Hopefully, the job will be done well enough that there are no major problems. Though, I do wish Mike Holmes will come check me out…err…check out the work.

Written on Palm Notes

Sex with PM

2005-04-24T02:00:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how eating can be so much fun. From 7:30pm until 11:00pm, PM & I sat captivated by the sights, sounds & smells of one of the most amazing restaurants in the city. Perigee's kitchen is the centre of attention for it is an open kitchen with built-in coves for the chef to interact with the patrons and talk about the dishes being served. For a restaurant kitchen, it was very quiet as the head chef and 4 other chefs danced in a carefully choreographed dance between the fridge, grilling and cooking stations and the server's alcove. A separate cheese and dessert chef worked in front of our bar seats over looking the whole kitchen. The seats surround the kitchen in sets of two, three all having head-on views of the kitchen, the tables for four sitting perpendicular to the work space of the chefs. A true foodie would only sit at the bar, for all the action is right in front of them. I looked intently at every dish being prepared for it could be what we will be served. Perigee is not your typical restaurant with a set menu, you see. We were offered strictly a tasting menu with the server recording any food allergies and preferences. The chef then creates an option of five, six or seven courses for you meal. We chose the seven course meal and actually got a total of ten individual dishes each to taste. I would have been quite pleased to have ordered a full fourteen course meal if it was allowed. Every course that came to our table was absolutely fabulous. The complex flavours, simplicity of the presentation, perfect cooking techniques and thorough explanation of the contents of each dish all made the experience great beyond words. The sheer amount of dishes and cutlery per person was astronomical with at least one vessel per course and a new set of cutlery for each course. The head chef was quite pleased with the vanilla bean we presented him and talked to us a bit food. He actually returned on several occasions to see how the meal was going, with both PM & I asking a variety of questions of him and the pastry chef.

We found out where to get the world's best chocolate, Verona chocolate locally. The chefs really know their stuff. I think we really got their attention with the kind of questions we were asking and were quite pleased to answer our questions with knowledge and professionalism. Being probably their youngest patrons and the only ethnic minority eating there, it was quite interesting. It was much like going to the club with John's family during thanksgiving a few years ago. At least I wasn't mistaken for being a server this time. All the minorities were dish washers or removed finished dishes from the table.

After having the frois gras spiced hot chocolate with frois gras donuts, PM said "This donut is better than sex!” I have to say it was pretty darned good!! Not better than sex though.

As all the courses were amazing, it is difficult to pick a favourite, yet my choice would have to be the duck Prosciutto. It tasted so wonderful...I will need to eat more of it.

Firsts...
-having beef tenderloin with just the outsides seared with the middle nice and red
-having a whole steak of frois gras with that tenderloin
-eating sqaw (which I learned is pigeon) I wouldn’t order it by choice, but it tasted pretty good to me
-eating a total of twenty different courses (PM & I saved a bit of every dish for each other to try)
-watching a professional chef, cook my entire meal in front of my eyes
-eating Morales mushrooms
-using up so many dishes in one meal
-talking food with a head chef

It was a great experience food wise and PM is certainly the right person to accompany me. He wrote down the contents of our dishes in the Axim while I took fuzzy under exposed photos. I’ll have to design a setup to take photos of the vanilla meals in low light environment without a flash.

I couldn't wait to write this all down...

Written with Palm Notes

Up By North Bay

2005-04-22T20:21:00.000-04:00

I went up to North Bay with PM to visit his family, and he took some time to show me around his home up north. My first train ride started at Union Station and it took just about 6 hours in total. PM bought a magazine to read on the way up…I call it porn for foodies…

We watched one and a half movies on his Axim while sitting in the food train. The screen was a bit small to watch with two people, but we managed well with the setup. When the Bluetooth keyboard comes in, it will make it easier to watch because of the cradle. We had to set up a makeshift way to make the Axim stand so that the angle is viewable, and learned that PM has a great way with improvising ways to make the Axim stand up.

We cooked dinner for the family the next evening. We made blanched asparagus with hollandaise sauce, grilled flank stake marinated in garlic, rosemary wet rub, purple potato gnocchi with pesto sauce, flourless chocolate cakes and Longan fruit. I had a fabulous time making that meal, leaning how to make many of the items on the go. Our hollandaise broke while waiting for the other dishes to be ready, so we had to re-make it. It all turned out great and the family ate it all up. I can’t wait to make more food with chef PM. So fun!

One evening, we went down to the waterfront and were really surprised with what I saw. Masses of ice! A few pictures will say a few thousand words actually…

This one has the colours modified, but it looked cool.

Water frozen never looked so good. The water actually frozen into shards of ice in the shape of the tide….

PM, his sister Heather drove me to Sudbury and visited Science North (the Science Centre of Northern Ontario). The building is actually shaped like a snow flake. Kinda neat! The floors connected by a huge ramp provided interesting architecture on the inside.

I even slept on a bed of nails….

A trip to a closed exhibit on a slow day got us into the exhibit for the Segway. Lucky us got to ride it around for many more rounds than the typical public would have gotten.

While in the butterfly sanctuary, Heather and PM was discussing the colours of the beautiful blue butterfly and how it is likely a male because females have duller colours. PM then said “That’s why I am the better looking than you are…” Here’s PM saying it…

We got a ride back half way back to Toronto with a high rolling family friend of PM’s mom. We stopped by Casino Rama and caught a tour bus back to Toronto for $5. I showed PM the joys of playing slots, and he won $125 from a $10 donation to the casino. I lost $30. The high roller friends showed us around and donated some money for us to play on. I lost $70 in about 3 minutes. Slots are fun!

Why is my hour of time worth less than others?

2005-04-17T08:55:00.000-04:00

I really don’t understand. I invite people to come over to my place when I have the place free. It’s nice to have company when I don’t want to go out. I go out often enough as it is. It’s nice to entertain once in awhile. When I do invite people to come over, some complain about the distance and time it takes to get there.

That’s just BS!

If you have a car, it takes 20 minutes from the downtown core to get here.

Transit takes about an hour.

I typically don’t drive, so I take transit. I make the effort far more often than most to spend the hour (each way) to go “hang out” with people. Why is it such a pain to reverse the process? I’m right on the transit line, it’s not too complex. It’s a train and a bus. On a good day, it only takes 50 minutes.

So pissed off!

I want some cut meat...

2005-04-16T23:55:00.001-04:00

Talking of a course from GBC on how to cut different meats has really got me salivating. It doesn't fit in my schedule though. Maybe next year.

Written on Palm Notes

North North and away...

2005-04-16T23:55:00.000-04:00

I’m going up to PM's home town this coming week to see the sights. It should be quite the adventure for the week. Lots of possibilities for things to do...will update when I get a chance. Two mini vacations this year...very interesting.

Written on Palm Notes

That's it. No more!

2005-04-16T23:54:00.000-04:00

Friday was a date to be noted as the last class as a full time student in an institution of higher learning. For the past 5 years, being in academia has been an interesting, insightful and full of experiences that have changed my life. Having been in a program that was very career centred has been at times fun and others boring. Going on to a professional program afterwards was quite a challenge to try not falling asleep. I attended every class in the hopes of learning something new. I was pleasantly surprised at times, bored most of the time and disappointed at the ignorance some of the time. The worst is instructors that don't walk the talk. That really drives me up the wall.

I am thrilled to be done the classroom learning though. I don't think I’ll ever feel completely comfortable doing this massive task of being a teacher. It’s time to jump in to begin the real learning.

The feeling of being overwhelmed and not meeting all the principles of best practice really scares me and I’ve been told that no one can do it all. It is a little bit comforting to hear that, but the reality still stands...teaching is a very fine tuned art that will take years to gain any level of mastery...if that is at all possible. Parts of me have second thoughts of being a good teacher when people say I’ll be a great teacher. There is still so much I do not know yet. I suppose all I can do is do my best with the training I received for the past 5 years. It is more than what some people got from the one year B.Ed program. I actually felt quite comfortable leaving Ryerson and being a teacher, but now with another year of experience, I’ve recognized the massiveness of the job.

A bit scared, a bit excited. INCOME in my bank account finally! When I get a position...

Written on Palm Notes