hello, north carolina. blah blah blah. my blawgs will be random from now until the end of this thing. a lot has happened and i have long hours, so by the time i get time to do this, i've forgotten more than half of what i wanted to mention. oh well...let's just start here...
well, training is finally over. it was a week long, and long hours on top of that (7.5a - 8.0p). it was not, however, not enjoyable. of course there were parts where i wanted to shoot myself in the neck, like child safety training and stuff like that, but all in all, not bad. by the by, i finally figured out what it is that i'm going to be doing. my official role is faculty advisor, and i work with a group of 16 kids on a particular strand of learning (there are 4 strands; mine is "creative construction") and we go through the program as if we were architects charged with building a museum. it's way detailed. we have to learn about scale, blueprints, floor plans, various building structures, the whole nine. meanwhile, ask me how much i know about architecture and designing buildings...
...i can't even put legos together...
the shock in all of this...the kids are as opposite from what i am used to than i could ever have imagined. compared to what i have to deal with at my school in dallas, these kids...i mean...there are no words i can think of to describe how much better they are here. my ears are inundated with constant "thank you"s and "i'm sorry"s and "excuse me, sir"s and lions and tigers and bears and hot damn. i was "warned" by a colleague who also works here that the kids were going to be like this. it's one thing to hear about it, but quite another to actually see it. damn these kids need to be in my classroom.
that's not to say they're not without their faults. by the way, today was the first day to see them. we've been preparing all week for their arrival. literally every minute of the day is planned out; there is no time to be piddlin' around. is it bad, then, that i've already got my group running on CP time??? anyhoo...this one girl (let's just call her cindy lou) is 10 years old, of the caucasian persuasion (which reminds me, i have become an overnite fan of "the boondocks"...more on that later), and knows how to not say the best thing. i was taking my group of kids, "scholars" as we call them, from the meeting place to our first team activity place. we're at wake forest university (shout out to the deacon devils out there) which is a nicely sized campus. it's hard to remember where everything is, especially if you have not had a lot of time to familiarize yourself with the campus layout. keeping that in mind, i got a little turned around finding greene hall.
forgive me for being human.
after the team time/leadership, we went to the auditorium, which was in another building, where we were going to see a magician (who was the most hilarious one to date). someone asked where we were going as we were walking. before i could even open my mouth, this heifer said, "i hope you don't get us lost...again." being a professional educator, i cut her an ugly stare, then laughed it off, saying that we were going the right way this time. in my head though...
so we're just outside the auditorium and my co-facilitator, james, was making small talk with a lot of the kids. we're all new to each other, we're looking for things about which to talk. this heifer, cindy lou, does it again:
james: ...and he's a great superhero.
heifer cindy lou: (as she's fiddling with some bracelet she made earlier) hey, do you have any duct tape?
james: (pulling out a water bottle with duct tape on it) actually, i do. what do you need it for?
heifer cindy lou: uh...your mouth.
pause. let's pretend for a second i'm james. here is what could potentially have happened:
me-james: what did you just say?
heifer cindy lou: i said, for your mouth.
me-james: let me stop you right there, you raggedy, no friend-having, face all pimply, anti-cute, annoying, disrespectful, stuck up...pity white girl. you don't disrespect me like that. you just met me 3 hours ago. now, i don't want this to get uglier than you have already made it...on second thought, yeah, c'mon, let's do this.
(i take my belt off, turn into pootie tang, and dive at her as the cartoon white fighting cloud appears)
but that did not happen...this did:
real james: oooh, good one! let's get ready to go inside, everybody.
there's a slight difference between the two scenes, huh? well, i probably would have done something similar to james, but in my head the first scene played out very clearly. meanwhile, i had a 12 hour day, and am getting ready for bed. i'll be posting some pictures from training and talking about some good times, like when asamoah's and my cinderella story in spades against jeremy and tikisha, who had that game won but lost horribly. the official score sheet? best believe i've got it.
peas out,
-w
27 June 2010
15 June 2010
everybody hates packing...
well, here i am again, prompted once more by the goblin of gainful employment. actually, i'm taking procrastination to its extreme. resurrecting this blawg after so many weeks/months/years is just...well, it's almost sad. but what is done must be what is done.
i'm bringing this thing back to document my experiences on this newest of adventures in my life, which will be explained at a later date when i am more sane and competent. if you so choose, you may follow along and live vicariously through my grandiose life, but as usual, do so at your own risk. my life is full of garbage and things that you cannot imagine existed.
but i digress. i am moving to north carolina and maryland for a while, and i plan on leaving (driving) in about...five hours from now. i have not packed one sock. i guess i've got some work to do. packing is terrible because no matter how carefully you plan, you will always forget something. even if you don't, you'll spend the better part of the next day going over a mental checklist time and time and time again until you get a headache and somehow convince yourself that you have forgotten something. as long as i have my basic three (wallet, keys, cell phone) i should be good.
oh well, i'm gonna try and pack not (that was a typo, i meant "now"...or did i?) and get at least a couple hours of sleep before setting off for atlanta, where i shall spend a few days before my new job begins. oh, i'm so excited to go back to the atl, the place where i matured in college. i'm most excited about seeing my bestest best friend titi. we've been through a LOT together, which is saying something, because i try not to go through too much with too many people.
blah, procrastinating again. i'll hit this again from atlanta.
-w
i'm bringing this thing back to document my experiences on this newest of adventures in my life, which will be explained at a later date when i am more sane and competent. if you so choose, you may follow along and live vicariously through my grandiose life, but as usual, do so at your own risk. my life is full of garbage and things that you cannot imagine existed.
but i digress. i am moving to north carolina and maryland for a while, and i plan on leaving (driving) in about...five hours from now. i have not packed one sock. i guess i've got some work to do. packing is terrible because no matter how carefully you plan, you will always forget something. even if you don't, you'll spend the better part of the next day going over a mental checklist time and time and time again until you get a headache and somehow convince yourself that you have forgotten something. as long as i have my basic three (wallet, keys, cell phone) i should be good.
oh well, i'm gonna try and pack not (that was a typo, i meant "now"...or did i?) and get at least a couple hours of sleep before setting off for atlanta, where i shall spend a few days before my new job begins. oh, i'm so excited to go back to the atl, the place where i matured in college. i'm most excited about seeing my bestest best friend titi. we've been through a LOT together, which is saying something, because i try not to go through too much with too many people.
blah, procrastinating again. i'll hit this again from atlanta.
-w
23 September 2009
everybody hates sand...
a visit from the goblin of gainful employment prompts me to resurrect this neglected corner of the internet. actually, it was more like popular demand. damn, i can't even lie right anymore. anyway, i'm back to blawging...at least for the time being. so much has happened since the last time that i just can't bear to let another day go on. that, or i found some spare time in my back pocket.
let's start with volleyball. i seem to have reached a plateau. i play so many days a week for so long, but i find that i'm not playing as much as i was in the past. have i become old and decrepit? have i lost that zest for the game? am i so out of shape that i can't stand it anymore? hells no! i just hate the sand. whoever invented sand volleyball ought to be horse whipped. it just sucks. whenever i come home from playing i itch for the next 3 days. todd calls it "chiggers," but i think he's just trying to be racist without anyone knowing...i'm just kidding; some people don't even have to try.
anyhoo, indoor starts up next week, which really excites me because i am just plain old sick of going to the yucatan. not that it's a bad place, but sand sucks. i know i've said it before, but i think it bears repeating. sidenote: i'm signed up to play with x in sand doubles co-ed, and phil (the piano man) for same gender doubles also in the sand. i may be a hypocrite, but at least i know it. next week, though, marks the semi-triumphant return of team fun. i use "semi" because...well...it wasn't all the way triumphant. it's a long, rather sordid story that i'll save for another day. anyway, team fun is now in its 3rd season and it's an ever-changing cast of characters. i live my life like it's a sitcom, and i have this whole opening sequence in my head that maybe i'll have brock bring to fruition one day. it'll be great! i'll try to do updates about team fun's progress...and its ever-changing cast. we've got more member changes than destiny's child. shout out to destiny's child.
board games...are wearing me out. george on seinfeld put it best when he said that "worlds are colliding" because i feel the exact same way. i've got volleyball and board games and they are running all up on each other. i'm leaving volleyball early to play board games. i'm getting to board games late because i'm playing volleyball. it has become an endless struggle. the question of which will win isn't even an issue because the answer is obvious: they're both going to drive me into the ground before i realize it's too late.
this is for crystal...
people act like they've never seen these before, but when i first saw them i was on the ground laughing. god only knows why they struck me funny. AND, they got stuck in my head for the longest time. people said that i'd go crazy from having them in my head, but i rather enjoy it. plus, the lyrics are so flexible i can apply them to just about every aspect of my life.
PS: i'm really thinking about this team fun video now. i gotta get brock on that ASAP!
which brings me to the main topic...school...i have been at it now for a little over a month. actually, friday will be the end of five weeks worth of torture. of course i'm negative; as a natural pessimist, i wouldn't be doing my job if i wasn't complaining about something. meanwhile, shout out to a. willis (aka fantasia barrino)! so...i've been saying this and i'll put it here. i don't remember feeling like this so early in the school year. by "like this" i mean worn out and ready for summer. i mean, the year just started and i feel like it's time for a break.
these kids i have are pushing me to my limits, and i need to come up with a new game plan almost every day. it's ridiculous for them to be this bad. trust me when i say that it's not just me. i can only speak for myself, though. of course i won't directly mention kids' names here since they're minors and i'm out to do some heavy slander, so i'll stay with my code names. perhaps in a couple decades they'll figure it out. the way things are going, i'll be in another world by then.
i have a...let's call him "cedric." as a psychology major, i can say that this $#@!$ is as bipolar as the sun is hot. whether or not he really is is up to an accredited professional, but i calls 'em like i sees 'em. he's bipolar. anyway, it translates into some really funny moments after all is said and done. he's one of those people where you really just have to look back and laugh, but at the current time it's not so funny. i wanted to really play "tear dat" with him today. he showed his ass. we're doing testing where i have to test every single student. each student takes between 20 and 45 minutes and i have 20 students. i told them that it's important that they be quiet because it's not fair for that one person when everyone else is distracting them. needless to say, "cedric" really tested my patience, moreso than my other standby student, "jay." he does the kind of stuff where...he'll hit someone, then when that person tells me about it he'll vehemently deny it, even though i had been watching. he does petty shit like that all the time. and when he gets in trouble he has the nerve to try and hulk out and go postal like he's the alpha male. i told him to his face, "little boy, i will drop you where you stand." he better recognize; i'm not his teacher from last year. he will walk out of a room when things don't go his way. i let his ass go. sacrifice the one for the many. oh well.
and "jay" is my other project. he walks into the school and automatically gets on my nerves. just his presence is enough to make me sick of him. bless his heart, but i just don't like him at all. and the bad thing about the bad kids is that they will ALWAYS be at school, come hell or high water. meanwhile, my good kids will be absent all willy-nilly. i need them there. i need those test scores! my friend charity, who's also a 2nd grade teacher but at a different school, does a random 2nd grade quote of the day/week/period of time, and they're quite funny. i think i'll follow in her footsteps and do the same. i'm trying to think of one now, though, but they all end up the same way. i always end up muttering swear words under my breath and wishing i was still in japan. oh well, that's life.
hakuna matata,
-w
let's start with volleyball. i seem to have reached a plateau. i play so many days a week for so long, but i find that i'm not playing as much as i was in the past. have i become old and decrepit? have i lost that zest for the game? am i so out of shape that i can't stand it anymore? hells no! i just hate the sand. whoever invented sand volleyball ought to be horse whipped. it just sucks. whenever i come home from playing i itch for the next 3 days. todd calls it "chiggers," but i think he's just trying to be racist without anyone knowing...i'm just kidding; some people don't even have to try.
anyhoo, indoor starts up next week, which really excites me because i am just plain old sick of going to the yucatan. not that it's a bad place, but sand sucks. i know i've said it before, but i think it bears repeating. sidenote: i'm signed up to play with x in sand doubles co-ed, and phil (the piano man) for same gender doubles also in the sand. i may be a hypocrite, but at least i know it. next week, though, marks the semi-triumphant return of team fun. i use "semi" because...well...it wasn't all the way triumphant. it's a long, rather sordid story that i'll save for another day. anyway, team fun is now in its 3rd season and it's an ever-changing cast of characters. i live my life like it's a sitcom, and i have this whole opening sequence in my head that maybe i'll have brock bring to fruition one day. it'll be great! i'll try to do updates about team fun's progress...and its ever-changing cast. we've got more member changes than destiny's child. shout out to destiny's child.
board games...are wearing me out. george on seinfeld put it best when he said that "worlds are colliding" because i feel the exact same way. i've got volleyball and board games and they are running all up on each other. i'm leaving volleyball early to play board games. i'm getting to board games late because i'm playing volleyball. it has become an endless struggle. the question of which will win isn't even an issue because the answer is obvious: they're both going to drive me into the ground before i realize it's too late.
this is for crystal...
people act like they've never seen these before, but when i first saw them i was on the ground laughing. god only knows why they struck me funny. AND, they got stuck in my head for the longest time. people said that i'd go crazy from having them in my head, but i rather enjoy it. plus, the lyrics are so flexible i can apply them to just about every aspect of my life.
PS: i'm really thinking about this team fun video now. i gotta get brock on that ASAP!
which brings me to the main topic...school...i have been at it now for a little over a month. actually, friday will be the end of five weeks worth of torture. of course i'm negative; as a natural pessimist, i wouldn't be doing my job if i wasn't complaining about something. meanwhile, shout out to a. willis (aka fantasia barrino)! so...i've been saying this and i'll put it here. i don't remember feeling like this so early in the school year. by "like this" i mean worn out and ready for summer. i mean, the year just started and i feel like it's time for a break.
these kids i have are pushing me to my limits, and i need to come up with a new game plan almost every day. it's ridiculous for them to be this bad. trust me when i say that it's not just me. i can only speak for myself, though. of course i won't directly mention kids' names here since they're minors and i'm out to do some heavy slander, so i'll stay with my code names. perhaps in a couple decades they'll figure it out. the way things are going, i'll be in another world by then.
i have a...let's call him "cedric." as a psychology major, i can say that this $#@!$ is as bipolar as the sun is hot. whether or not he really is is up to an accredited professional, but i calls 'em like i sees 'em. he's bipolar. anyway, it translates into some really funny moments after all is said and done. he's one of those people where you really just have to look back and laugh, but at the current time it's not so funny. i wanted to really play "tear dat" with him today. he showed his ass. we're doing testing where i have to test every single student. each student takes between 20 and 45 minutes and i have 20 students. i told them that it's important that they be quiet because it's not fair for that one person when everyone else is distracting them. needless to say, "cedric" really tested my patience, moreso than my other standby student, "jay." he does the kind of stuff where...he'll hit someone, then when that person tells me about it he'll vehemently deny it, even though i had been watching. he does petty shit like that all the time. and when he gets in trouble he has the nerve to try and hulk out and go postal like he's the alpha male. i told him to his face, "little boy, i will drop you where you stand." he better recognize; i'm not his teacher from last year. he will walk out of a room when things don't go his way. i let his ass go. sacrifice the one for the many. oh well.
and "jay" is my other project. he walks into the school and automatically gets on my nerves. just his presence is enough to make me sick of him. bless his heart, but i just don't like him at all. and the bad thing about the bad kids is that they will ALWAYS be at school, come hell or high water. meanwhile, my good kids will be absent all willy-nilly. i need them there. i need those test scores! my friend charity, who's also a 2nd grade teacher but at a different school, does a random 2nd grade quote of the day/week/period of time, and they're quite funny. i think i'll follow in her footsteps and do the same. i'm trying to think of one now, though, but they all end up the same way. i always end up muttering swear words under my breath and wishing i was still in japan. oh well, that's life.
hakuna matata,
-w
04 September 2009
everybody hates bad kids...
well i'll be damned, i'll just be damned. that was pretty much what was going thru my head all week. i've completed my 10th day of school, and already i'm ready to take it to the house? inconceivable! already i'm ready for summer? rubbish! already i'm tired of the kids? bollocks! already i'm convinced that i won't last 165 more days? bullsh*t! or is it???
unless you have a weird work schedule where your "weekend" is on wednesday/thursday or something strange like that, i think it's safe to assume that everybody loves a friday. i mean, my friends and i go out dranking (because as we all know, i don't drink, i drank) and make very simple toasts: "to friday!" no one does that on tuesday, or thursday. and for some reason, wednesday is slowly becoming the new friday. i've been hearing about people getting together to hang out on hump day. whatever dude; my wednesdays will continue to be just what they are: wednesdays.
school news...it was not a very good week. i'm behind with my grading, my room looks an eternal mess, and the kids are...let's just say..."these pretzels are making me thirsty!" and that's the best thing i can say about them. i'm right at 20 kids, and these biatches are no joke. they are 2nd graders, but believe me when i say that they are hard. if you don't know what that means, then you, my friend, ain't hard. i consider myself a laid-back person, you know, very nonchalant and go with the flow. after my first year of teaching, i got very mellow very quickly. when kids have their temper tantrums, i just look at them strangely and ask if they are finished. then i wait for them to finish while continuing on with whatever i'm doing. usually i'm that kind of person. it cuts down on stress, it keeps me more sane, and the rest of the kids get a little scared to see that the teacher is so calm, because i believe that they see that kind of behavior in horror movies. you know, where people are calm for only so long before...
oh yeah, i tore it up today. i have three kids in particular (whose names i won't mention quite yet) who bother me constantly. for now, since they're minors, i'll call them jay, javier, and jared. those aren't their real names, but they help me reference their actual names.
anyhoo, "jay" is a spoiled brat who must get whatever he wants at the house, because that attitude carries over into the classroom; he gives up 98% of the time and gets an attitude when things don't go his way. he throws mini tantrums that cause me to stop teaching to deal with him. i think he feels like he needs the attention, but today i had to tell him to "kiss my black ass" if he thought that i was going to give him the satisfaction. yes, i actually said that to him. remember, these kids are hard; they need to be talked to like that every now and then. besides, in my defense i said a LOT more that that to him anyway. i'm usually not big on swearing, but for the kids, i must make an exception. anyway, this "jay" does not listen, he does not pay attention, he does not finish his work, he does not follow directions...let's just say he does not.
"javier" is quite literally...a wimp. he whines, he cries, he's not really bad but just highly annoying. the strange thing is that he knows he's a wimp, not because i told him so, but rather because society has assigned him that role in life. he can't help it, really, but i'm working with him to improve on it. i told him that he couldn't be a wimp in that class because he'd die...either by me or one of the other kids. we all know he's a wimp; let's just say...he's not the most popular puppy in the pound...
"jared" is no wimp. he thinks he runs the class. he tells people how much they "stank," how much dumber they are than him, how ugly they are, how nasty they are, stuff like that. little does he know the extent to which the pot calls the kettle black. he's gonna be my greatest work of art at the end of the year. i'm going to pull a "ty pennington" and make him my secret project. by june, he's going to be so damn polite people won't know who he is.
meanwhile, i can't believe that i let them get me all riled up on a friday! i was definitely fragile today. by the end of the day i was walking around with a belt around my neck and a song in my heart. what song? i believe it goes a little like this: "i hate you so much right now, i hate you so much right now...AHHHH...i hate you so much right now!" it's by kelis. they're so raw right now that i can't get any work done. i'm supposed to individually assess their reading, but it's very hard to focus on 1 child when 19 others are cutting up even though i'm still in the room. yeah, they're that bold. but believe you me...that sh*t ain't gon' last. i realize now what i have to do. oh yeah, we 'bout to fight. i'm not really a "hood" person, but come tuesday (monday's a holiday...luckily for them) i'm putting the north dallas to the side and bringing out the oak cliff...just for them. i think it'll be fun!
wow, that rant really helped me. now i'm ready for a drank to kick off the weekend...i just woke up from a nap to cleanse my mind of children...yuck.
to friday!
-w
PS: i'll post again tomorrow or some time about things more relevant in my life, like volleyball and board games.
unless you have a weird work schedule where your "weekend" is on wednesday/thursday or something strange like that, i think it's safe to assume that everybody loves a friday. i mean, my friends and i go out dranking (because as we all know, i don't drink, i drank) and make very simple toasts: "to friday!" no one does that on tuesday, or thursday. and for some reason, wednesday is slowly becoming the new friday. i've been hearing about people getting together to hang out on hump day. whatever dude; my wednesdays will continue to be just what they are: wednesdays.
school news...it was not a very good week. i'm behind with my grading, my room looks an eternal mess, and the kids are...let's just say..."these pretzels are making me thirsty!" and that's the best thing i can say about them. i'm right at 20 kids, and these biatches are no joke. they are 2nd graders, but believe me when i say that they are hard. if you don't know what that means, then you, my friend, ain't hard. i consider myself a laid-back person, you know, very nonchalant and go with the flow. after my first year of teaching, i got very mellow very quickly. when kids have their temper tantrums, i just look at them strangely and ask if they are finished. then i wait for them to finish while continuing on with whatever i'm doing. usually i'm that kind of person. it cuts down on stress, it keeps me more sane, and the rest of the kids get a little scared to see that the teacher is so calm, because i believe that they see that kind of behavior in horror movies. you know, where people are calm for only so long before...
oh yeah, i tore it up today. i have three kids in particular (whose names i won't mention quite yet) who bother me constantly. for now, since they're minors, i'll call them jay, javier, and jared. those aren't their real names, but they help me reference their actual names.
anyhoo, "jay" is a spoiled brat who must get whatever he wants at the house, because that attitude carries over into the classroom; he gives up 98% of the time and gets an attitude when things don't go his way. he throws mini tantrums that cause me to stop teaching to deal with him. i think he feels like he needs the attention, but today i had to tell him to "kiss my black ass" if he thought that i was going to give him the satisfaction. yes, i actually said that to him. remember, these kids are hard; they need to be talked to like that every now and then. besides, in my defense i said a LOT more that that to him anyway. i'm usually not big on swearing, but for the kids, i must make an exception. anyway, this "jay" does not listen, he does not pay attention, he does not finish his work, he does not follow directions...let's just say he does not.
"javier" is quite literally...a wimp. he whines, he cries, he's not really bad but just highly annoying. the strange thing is that he knows he's a wimp, not because i told him so, but rather because society has assigned him that role in life. he can't help it, really, but i'm working with him to improve on it. i told him that he couldn't be a wimp in that class because he'd die...either by me or one of the other kids. we all know he's a wimp; let's just say...he's not the most popular puppy in the pound...
"jared" is no wimp. he thinks he runs the class. he tells people how much they "stank," how much dumber they are than him, how ugly they are, how nasty they are, stuff like that. little does he know the extent to which the pot calls the kettle black. he's gonna be my greatest work of art at the end of the year. i'm going to pull a "ty pennington" and make him my secret project. by june, he's going to be so damn polite people won't know who he is.
meanwhile, i can't believe that i let them get me all riled up on a friday! i was definitely fragile today. by the end of the day i was walking around with a belt around my neck and a song in my heart. what song? i believe it goes a little like this: "i hate you so much right now, i hate you so much right now...AHHHH...i hate you so much right now!" it's by kelis. they're so raw right now that i can't get any work done. i'm supposed to individually assess their reading, but it's very hard to focus on 1 child when 19 others are cutting up even though i'm still in the room. yeah, they're that bold. but believe you me...that sh*t ain't gon' last. i realize now what i have to do. oh yeah, we 'bout to fight. i'm not really a "hood" person, but come tuesday (monday's a holiday...luckily for them) i'm putting the north dallas to the side and bringing out the oak cliff...just for them. i think it'll be fun!
wow, that rant really helped me. now i'm ready for a drank to kick off the weekend...i just woke up from a nap to cleanse my mind of children...yuck.
to friday!
-w
PS: i'll post again tomorrow or some time about things more relevant in my life, like volleyball and board games.
30 August 2009
everybody hates the first week of school...
well, it turns out that i am back with many things about which to write. sadly, though, i cannot waste my time writing everything here. and as much as i'd like, i probably shouldn't waste your time as much either.
first things first. i have successfully complete my first week of teaching 2nd grade. it was...different...to say the least. as of monday, 24 august 2009, this wesley became the proud parent/inheritor of 20 boys and girls (10 of each...thanx to a little bargaining). from the way this first week went, it's painfully clear to me that i'm going to need the following materials: a sturdy yardstick made of solid oak, two belts (it's an inside joke), some black masking tape, a lifetime supply of ibuprofen (sidenote, i hate that damn word: it's unpronounceable for me), a swear jar, a steady stream of morphine, and a hell of an attorney. actually...forget the swear jar; i might need one of those huge ozarka or sparklett's water fountain jugs.
all in all, my first week went a lot more smoothly than i thought it would. as most are aware, my heart is still resisting 2nd grade. it's an internal struggle, similar to how a body might resist a transplanted organ. i'm working through it, though. i've found that i can do a lot more with this lot of ankle-biters than i could with the kindergartners. i was trying to show them how to hold pencils, sit in desks, write their names, etc. they looked at me like i was absolutely insane:
mr. thomas, we KNOW how to do that!
whatever, dude. we're gonna have to come to some sort of compromise, the kids and i. they can go on with all that attitude all willy-nilly. i can say this: this is going to be an interesting lot of kids. i have a trail mix of students who have varying degrees of personalities, most of which clash with mine. more on that later.
SO...in school we're (the staff) playing this game called "assassin." each staff member has the name of another person, along with a secret word. the object is to get your assigned person to say that assigned word. then, and ONLY then, will you have assassinated them and get their target. i was projected to be a big killer in this game for some reason. i objected; i have such a subdued persona. i think i've been able to see through a lot of people's ploys, although i am certain that i will not win. i do know that i'm not gonna get got. i know who's out to get me, and that is all i will say.
meanwhile, board games are still in full swing, although they've dropped off a bit since school started. now that i have to get up a 5.45a and get home at 4.5p (on a good day, that is), my sleep schedule is taking a heavy hit. add to that the fact that i have to be a lot more responsible with my school stuff this year (not that i haven't been in the past; there are just a lot more things i have to do with 2nd grade) and you have a potentially grumpy gus on your hands. if wesley can't get his sleep, come monday kids will weep. i just made that up on the spot; it was supposed to end differently...
which reminds me, eric and crystal (and to a lesser degree, todd) are trying to arouse themselves by intentionally using poor grammar around me. they are destroying the king's english, phoneme by phoneme, on purpose with their self-made creations that i cannot even bear to type here. that's okay; i know what they're trying to do, but i will not, must not, should not and could not fall for it. mainly it's because eric and crystal are a little tiffed about losing tichu many many times. oh yeah, todd an i beat the sh*t out of them. they'll deny it if asked, but come to me; i have the proof locked away.
i will spend the rest of the day preparing for this coming week. i have to get a system down for doing school stuff. i think i'll set wednesdays aside for staying late at school and getting maintenance work done. i have to do grades and all that stuff today, then work on maintaining that all year. maybe board games will be played today (who knows?) but i have to bring my A game this year, or else i'm screwed.
it's official. galaxy truckers is neither on nor off my list. it just...is. like the angel of death is neither good nor evil; it just...is. werewolf is slowly making its way onto my list. in shadow hunters news, i haven't been allie recently. it's making me uncomfortable. i don't want to have to change my board game schtick again. it's already gone from "wesley: always allie, always a villager" to "wesley: always allie, seldom a werewolf." i couldn't bear to live with "wesley: usually allie, seldom a werewolf." it would just break my heart.
and in volleyball news, not much has happened with me. on tomorrow, i won't have played in a week, though i'll be returning to the sand (insert annoyed grunt here) tomorrow evening. maybe i'll hit the rosemeade tomorrow before hand to refresh myself. x and i are on and off; we have on days and off days. we'll get it together eventually, but the most important thing is for us to have fun. i'm afraid...i'm going...to have...to touch.......the butt. lululululululululu! and filling in for minnie ripperton, miss adrienne siefers!
my hair is growing! i must take advantage of it before it recedes too far. my forehead is expanding by the day. i think i will get it twisted; right now it is very curly. most people seem to like it, but it's just juices and berries you know. a lot of people aren't too familiar with african-american cul...
oh well, c'est la vie!
-w
PS: happy berfday michael, happy anniversary todd & crystal!
first things first. i have successfully complete my first week of teaching 2nd grade. it was...different...to say the least. as of monday, 24 august 2009, this wesley became the proud parent/inheritor of 20 boys and girls (10 of each...thanx to a little bargaining). from the way this first week went, it's painfully clear to me that i'm going to need the following materials: a sturdy yardstick made of solid oak, two belts (it's an inside joke), some black masking tape, a lifetime supply of ibuprofen (sidenote, i hate that damn word: it's unpronounceable for me), a swear jar, a steady stream of morphine, and a hell of an attorney. actually...forget the swear jar; i might need one of those huge ozarka or sparklett's water fountain jugs.
all in all, my first week went a lot more smoothly than i thought it would. as most are aware, my heart is still resisting 2nd grade. it's an internal struggle, similar to how a body might resist a transplanted organ. i'm working through it, though. i've found that i can do a lot more with this lot of ankle-biters than i could with the kindergartners. i was trying to show them how to hold pencils, sit in desks, write their names, etc. they looked at me like i was absolutely insane:
mr. thomas, we KNOW how to do that!
whatever, dude. we're gonna have to come to some sort of compromise, the kids and i. they can go on with all that attitude all willy-nilly. i can say this: this is going to be an interesting lot of kids. i have a trail mix of students who have varying degrees of personalities, most of which clash with mine. more on that later.
SO...in school we're (the staff) playing this game called "assassin." each staff member has the name of another person, along with a secret word. the object is to get your assigned person to say that assigned word. then, and ONLY then, will you have assassinated them and get their target. i was projected to be a big killer in this game for some reason. i objected; i have such a subdued persona. i think i've been able to see through a lot of people's ploys, although i am certain that i will not win. i do know that i'm not gonna get got. i know who's out to get me, and that is all i will say.
meanwhile, board games are still in full swing, although they've dropped off a bit since school started. now that i have to get up a 5.45a and get home at 4.5p (on a good day, that is), my sleep schedule is taking a heavy hit. add to that the fact that i have to be a lot more responsible with my school stuff this year (not that i haven't been in the past; there are just a lot more things i have to do with 2nd grade) and you have a potentially grumpy gus on your hands. if wesley can't get his sleep, come monday kids will weep. i just made that up on the spot; it was supposed to end differently...
which reminds me, eric and crystal (and to a lesser degree, todd) are trying to arouse themselves by intentionally using poor grammar around me. they are destroying the king's english, phoneme by phoneme, on purpose with their self-made creations that i cannot even bear to type here. that's okay; i know what they're trying to do, but i will not, must not, should not and could not fall for it. mainly it's because eric and crystal are a little tiffed about losing tichu many many times. oh yeah, todd an i beat the sh*t out of them. they'll deny it if asked, but come to me; i have the proof locked away.
i will spend the rest of the day preparing for this coming week. i have to get a system down for doing school stuff. i think i'll set wednesdays aside for staying late at school and getting maintenance work done. i have to do grades and all that stuff today, then work on maintaining that all year. maybe board games will be played today (who knows?) but i have to bring my A game this year, or else i'm screwed.
it's official. galaxy truckers is neither on nor off my list. it just...is. like the angel of death is neither good nor evil; it just...is. werewolf is slowly making its way onto my list. in shadow hunters news, i haven't been allie recently. it's making me uncomfortable. i don't want to have to change my board game schtick again. it's already gone from "wesley: always allie, always a villager" to "wesley: always allie, seldom a werewolf." i couldn't bear to live with "wesley: usually allie, seldom a werewolf." it would just break my heart.
and in volleyball news, not much has happened with me. on tomorrow, i won't have played in a week, though i'll be returning to the sand (insert annoyed grunt here) tomorrow evening. maybe i'll hit the rosemeade tomorrow before hand to refresh myself. x and i are on and off; we have on days and off days. we'll get it together eventually, but the most important thing is for us to have fun. i'm afraid...i'm going...to have...to touch.......the butt. lululululululululu! and filling in for minnie ripperton, miss adrienne siefers!
my hair is growing! i must take advantage of it before it recedes too far. my forehead is expanding by the day. i think i will get it twisted; right now it is very curly. most people seem to like it, but it's just juices and berries you know. a lot of people aren't too familiar with african-american cul...
oh well, c'est la vie!
-w
PS: happy berfday michael, happy anniversary todd & crystal!
23 August 2009
everybody hates feeling got at...
why does the word "pissy" exist? if that word was stricken from all memory, then i probably wouldn't have been in such a pissy mood yesterday. by the way, my bad to those who had to suffer through it. i don't know; usually i exude a somewhat subdued and quiet demeanor about myself. i don't show too much emotion, because as we all know...a person who is governed by his/her emotions is pretty much useless. yesterday, though, something happened. i don't even exactly know what, but whatever it was really put me off.
if i tried to hint at it...it would definitely involve first day of school jitters. i feel like i'm just not ready for those ankle biters to invade the space which i have so diligently, meticulously, and painstakingly prepared, mostly because i know that they're gonna "f" it up on day one and we'll be fighting all the live long year. i mean, i always feel like that before the first day, but this time feels at least 5 times more intense than usual. just keep me lifted up in prayer.
when i get overly stressed about something, it tends to carry over into my everyday life. it eats and eats away at my otherwise bubbly personality and gnaws at my insides until eventually it kills...you. in a nutshell, it makes me pissy. that reminds me; i'll post about my personality test results next time. meanwhile, when i get pissy, i often get this feeling of being (and this may be the only time i use a preposition to end a sentence, reason being that it is part of an idiom) "got at." to feet "got at" is a terrible thing and i'm sure we've all felt this way before. if i had to explain the feeling, i would use phrases like..."the world is out to get me" and "nobody likes me" and "hermitic." needless to say, it's not a very good feeling.
it led to a realization of an ironically idiosyncratic pet peeve. here's the equation: i am a low talker and realize that there are times when people may not hear me. yet, i found that it sometimes annoys me when my voice is not heard. add to that a pissy mood, and all hell breaks loose. of course, i suppose i could speak a little louder, but as long as i can hear myself, what the hell is the problem? last nite, i went to the monthly board game marathon thing downtown and this little issue got me into a lot of trouble. most folks might not have known, but i knew, and at the end of the day, isn't that all that matters? i could specifically point out 5 people off the top of my head from last nite who inadvertently activated this self induced pet peeve...and i would not be lying if i said that i wanted to pretty much "dot their 'I's and cross their 'T's" if you know what i mean. but being the generous person i am, i can accept that, and my heart is still open.
i think that this whole blawging thing is proving to be therapeutic, because honestly, i grew to not like one person at all last nite, and would have been more than happy to not associate with that person ever again (i mean good grief...１人があんなに苛立たしいお喋りなんて...とんでもないよ!), but i feel like i've worked through it, and am ready to give it another go. thanx, blawgspot! it's like the doctor is in, but providing a free service.
okay, enough griping...about that. it's all in the past. most people have their own ways of venting anger. for example, my friend x gives people "5 minutes." that means don't interact with her for that long, and then everything is okay. i have a theoretical "list" on which i put things. as far as board games go, a game called "robo rally" went on the list as soon as i played it. let me explain something. there are all kinds of people in this world, all of whom are gifted in different ways. i was NOT given the gift of spatial awareness. i trip over things all the time. i was also not born with the ability to think quickly. it just takes some of us a little longer to "get it." this game is all about the spatial awareness and quick thinking. see where i'm going???
"galaxy truckers" is the latest addition to my list. basically, you and four other people are scrambling against a timer (mistake 1) to build a spaceship using the same group of pieces (mistake 2) that will hold up against various obstacles (mistake 3) that you can never predict (mistake 4), and you must try to build a ship that, at the very least, will be left in some sort of condition at the end of the game (mistakes 5 thru 99). this game and i are comparable to martin and gina, to george jefferson and florence, to jj walker and thelma, to kyle barker and maxine shaw, to the old married couple on "in living color" who always try to kill each other but in the end proclaim that "we STILL together!" it's a love/hate thing with this game. i either love to hate it, or hate to love it. i will always proclaim that that damn game is "infuriating." for some reason, though, i get a kick out of playing it. it's almost as if i enjoy the miserable feeling of getting my ship destroyed every round. remind me to see a psychiatrist; there might be some deeply seeded feelings i have yet to discover...that's it; "galaxy truckers" is off my list!
i've written too much about that, and didn't even get a chance to discuss how my social life is over with the first day of school being tomorrow. maybe i will do it later today and blawg about how i feel about it, or tomorrow on the actual first day to blawg about how it went. either way, i don't predict it will be very positive.
my thoughts and prayers are going out to me,
-w
if i tried to hint at it...it would definitely involve first day of school jitters. i feel like i'm just not ready for those ankle biters to invade the space which i have so diligently, meticulously, and painstakingly prepared, mostly because i know that they're gonna "f" it up on day one and we'll be fighting all the live long year. i mean, i always feel like that before the first day, but this time feels at least 5 times more intense than usual. just keep me lifted up in prayer.
when i get overly stressed about something, it tends to carry over into my everyday life. it eats and eats away at my otherwise bubbly personality and gnaws at my insides until eventually it kills...you. in a nutshell, it makes me pissy. that reminds me; i'll post about my personality test results next time. meanwhile, when i get pissy, i often get this feeling of being (and this may be the only time i use a preposition to end a sentence, reason being that it is part of an idiom) "got at." to feet "got at" is a terrible thing and i'm sure we've all felt this way before. if i had to explain the feeling, i would use phrases like..."the world is out to get me" and "nobody likes me" and "hermitic." needless to say, it's not a very good feeling.
it led to a realization of an ironically idiosyncratic pet peeve. here's the equation: i am a low talker and realize that there are times when people may not hear me. yet, i found that it sometimes annoys me when my voice is not heard. add to that a pissy mood, and all hell breaks loose. of course, i suppose i could speak a little louder, but as long as i can hear myself, what the hell is the problem? last nite, i went to the monthly board game marathon thing downtown and this little issue got me into a lot of trouble. most folks might not have known, but i knew, and at the end of the day, isn't that all that matters? i could specifically point out 5 people off the top of my head from last nite who inadvertently activated this self induced pet peeve...and i would not be lying if i said that i wanted to pretty much "dot their 'I's and cross their 'T's" if you know what i mean. but being the generous person i am, i can accept that, and my heart is still open.
i think that this whole blawging thing is proving to be therapeutic, because honestly, i grew to not like one person at all last nite, and would have been more than happy to not associate with that person ever again (i mean good grief...１人があんなに苛立たしいお喋りなんて...とんでもないよ!), but i feel like i've worked through it, and am ready to give it another go. thanx, blawgspot! it's like the doctor is in, but providing a free service.
okay, enough griping...about that. it's all in the past. most people have their own ways of venting anger. for example, my friend x gives people "5 minutes." that means don't interact with her for that long, and then everything is okay. i have a theoretical "list" on which i put things. as far as board games go, a game called "robo rally" went on the list as soon as i played it. let me explain something. there are all kinds of people in this world, all of whom are gifted in different ways. i was NOT given the gift of spatial awareness. i trip over things all the time. i was also not born with the ability to think quickly. it just takes some of us a little longer to "get it." this game is all about the spatial awareness and quick thinking. see where i'm going???
"galaxy truckers" is the latest addition to my list. basically, you and four other people are scrambling against a timer (mistake 1) to build a spaceship using the same group of pieces (mistake 2) that will hold up against various obstacles (mistake 3) that you can never predict (mistake 4), and you must try to build a ship that, at the very least, will be left in some sort of condition at the end of the game (mistakes 5 thru 99). this game and i are comparable to martin and gina, to george jefferson and florence, to jj walker and thelma, to kyle barker and maxine shaw, to the old married couple on "in living color" who always try to kill each other but in the end proclaim that "we STILL together!" it's a love/hate thing with this game. i either love to hate it, or hate to love it. i will always proclaim that that damn game is "infuriating." for some reason, though, i get a kick out of playing it. it's almost as if i enjoy the miserable feeling of getting my ship destroyed every round. remind me to see a psychiatrist; there might be some deeply seeded feelings i have yet to discover...that's it; "galaxy truckers" is off my list!
i've written too much about that, and didn't even get a chance to discuss how my social life is over with the first day of school being tomorrow. maybe i will do it later today and blawg about how i feel about it, or tomorrow on the actual first day to blawg about how it went. either way, i don't predict it will be very positive.
my thoughts and prayers are going out to me,
-w
20 August 2009
everybody hates names...
wesley took a friend out to dinner last nite...you know what? f what you heard; wesley went on a date last nite. i successfully convinced a girl i know to come with me to dinner. i was a bit scared from the jump. she suggested meeting there at 6.0p, and i was like...how about 6ish...to which she adamantly replied..."6." needless to say, of course i was 20 minutes late, but in my defense, it's never usually my fault. traffic was completely against me that day. anyway, we sat, we ate, we talked, we laughed, we joked...it was an evening of pure unadulterated magic. no, i'm not being overly-dramatic. it was fun, okay?
i got her (i will not mention the name to protect the satisfied...but it's the same name as a certain hue...and it does NOT rhyme with a female body part) a present, as she is now gone back to college. so then the question popped up: why did i choose to wait until the day before she left to ask her out to dinner? truth be told, i am a highly neurotic individual whose heart palpitates at the slightest possibility of a rejection. i generally prefer not to take the chance at all, but i figure...i'm in my 30s now, it's about time i at least put myself out there once or twice or even thrice. oh well, the dinner went well, and perhaps we'll give it another go if things click.
that brings me to facebook. a short while ago i changed my status from "single" to "in a relationship" and i mean people i hadn't spoken to in years were coming out of the blue asking for details. c'mon guys, am i supposed to be perpetually single? i will admit that i am far too into myself to bring in another person, but with all the change that has been going on in my life...it had to happen sooner or later. this isn't to say that i am planning on marrying this girl; who thinks that far ahead? i'm just saying that it's about time i started looking for the one who will eventually bear my three children, whose names will all start with "w." preferably three boys who will ensure my name lives on, but a girl would be nice. i need name suggestions, though. i've got "whitney" and "william" and i've started to like "wyatt" and even "wesley jr." every now and then, but i can't really find any worthwhile names out there.
speaking of names...school's about to start for real. the kids are back in town monday, which is 4 days away and counting. my room is not done yet, but will be by tomorrow, so help me jason price (i don't generally take the Lord's name in vain, so i tend to use the next best thing). i'll be sure to post pictures, and i promise i will put a little more thought into how they look. i took peek at the blawg and the way it looked was...nothing short of horrendous. it was just awful. i know you're thinking: who would have the nerve to click the "publish" button on something like that? i'm sorry; i think i was just tired.
i digress...we got our rosters today and...well...let's just say that there are so many kids who need their asses whooped on a regular basis that none of us were the least bit excited about our lot. usually when people receive news, they might exclaim "YES!" or something like that, but for us it was really a struggle to even open our mouths to let out some sort of sigh. i was like, who's the real winner here? all those mamas are the winners, because now they have somewhere to drop their bad ass kids while they spend the day relaxing, which is what i used to do until God took away my summer. it's going to be a rough year, but we're all going to keep each other lifted up in prayer. by the by, we'll be having altar calls every weekday morning at 7.45a. we'll all need a little bit of religion...and TWO belts...
i digressed again...so, i mentioned names. some of these names are near impossible to pronounce. what are these mamas thinking!? who the hell needs an apostrophe in his/her name? i won't post names of minors on here (yet), but names such as ke'andra and sha'nique just don't make sense to me. let's fast forward 60 years into the future. can you imagine a grandmother with a name like that? yuck. when i think of old people, i usually go for names like...you know...beverly, estelle, ellen, ruth. those are good names. of course, they're not names i'd ever give my kids, but still...you could get a job with those names.
i want my kids to have names that will get them jobs. and i'm not talking about those stank jobs at the grocery store. my kids are going to have good jobs so that they can take care of me when i hit 70 (provided i make it through that difficult and somewhat awkward mid-life period). i'm sure that my kids will have crazy and highly unpronounceable middle names, and maybe even two middle names, but at least they'll have that first name to carry.
i need to go to bed. even though it's a "teacher work day," i apparently still have to show up on time, which i failed to do today. color me surprised when i strolled in this morning, nice and late (by an hour). i got up and was watching "charmed" and taking my time and everything. it was terrible. next time, i'll know better.
ttfn,
-w
i got her (i will not mention the name to protect the satisfied...but it's the same name as a certain hue...and it does NOT rhyme with a female body part) a present, as she is now gone back to college. so then the question popped up: why did i choose to wait until the day before she left to ask her out to dinner? truth be told, i am a highly neurotic individual whose heart palpitates at the slightest possibility of a rejection. i generally prefer not to take the chance at all, but i figure...i'm in my 30s now, it's about time i at least put myself out there once or twice or even thrice. oh well, the dinner went well, and perhaps we'll give it another go if things click.
that brings me to facebook. a short while ago i changed my status from "single" to "in a relationship" and i mean people i hadn't spoken to in years were coming out of the blue asking for details. c'mon guys, am i supposed to be perpetually single? i will admit that i am far too into myself to bring in another person, but with all the change that has been going on in my life...it had to happen sooner or later. this isn't to say that i am planning on marrying this girl; who thinks that far ahead? i'm just saying that it's about time i started looking for the one who will eventually bear my three children, whose names will all start with "w." preferably three boys who will ensure my name lives on, but a girl would be nice. i need name suggestions, though. i've got "whitney" and "william" and i've started to like "wyatt" and even "wesley jr." every now and then, but i can't really find any worthwhile names out there.
speaking of names...school's about to start for real. the kids are back in town monday, which is 4 days away and counting. my room is not done yet, but will be by tomorrow, so help me jason price (i don't generally take the Lord's name in vain, so i tend to use the next best thing). i'll be sure to post pictures, and i promise i will put a little more thought into how they look. i took peek at the blawg and the way it looked was...nothing short of horrendous. it was just awful. i know you're thinking: who would have the nerve to click the "publish" button on something like that? i'm sorry; i think i was just tired.
i digress...we got our rosters today and...well...let's just say that there are so many kids who need their asses whooped on a regular basis that none of us were the least bit excited about our lot. usually when people receive news, they might exclaim "YES!" or something like that, but for us it was really a struggle to even open our mouths to let out some sort of sigh. i was like, who's the real winner here? all those mamas are the winners, because now they have somewhere to drop their bad ass kids while they spend the day relaxing, which is what i used to do until God took away my summer. it's going to be a rough year, but we're all going to keep each other lifted up in prayer. by the by, we'll be having altar calls every weekday morning at 7.45a. we'll all need a little bit of religion...and TWO belts...
i digressed again...so, i mentioned names. some of these names are near impossible to pronounce. what are these mamas thinking!? who the hell needs an apostrophe in his/her name? i won't post names of minors on here (yet), but names such as ke'andra and sha'nique just don't make sense to me. let's fast forward 60 years into the future. can you imagine a grandmother with a name like that? yuck. when i think of old people, i usually go for names like...you know...beverly, estelle, ellen, ruth. those are good names. of course, they're not names i'd ever give my kids, but still...you could get a job with those names.
i want my kids to have names that will get them jobs. and i'm not talking about those stank jobs at the grocery store. my kids are going to have good jobs so that they can take care of me when i hit 70 (provided i make it through that difficult and somewhat awkward mid-life period). i'm sure that my kids will have crazy and highly unpronounceable middle names, and maybe even two middle names, but at least they'll have that first name to carry.
i need to go to bed. even though it's a "teacher work day," i apparently still have to show up on time, which i failed to do today. color me surprised when i strolled in this morning, nice and late (by an hour). i got up and was watching "charmed" and taking my time and everything. it was terrible. next time, i'll know better.
ttfn,
-w
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