random

• My Principal found my blog today. I don't know how (and frankly, I'm a little nervous about it). But she did. Welcome to my blog, Principal!
• In 1994, the movie Andre came out. People have told me ever since then that I look like the little girl in that movie.
• In 2004, the movie Napoleon Dynamite came out. People have told me ever since that I look like the girl in that movie.
• I am not either girl.
• And actually, the same girl played both parts.
  
• Seriously!
  
• Look it up!
  

• My worst class is Advanced Band.
• I figured out this week why:
• 25 students
• 14 8th graders
• 14 boys
• 9 boys in my back row/low people/percussion section

• Yep, it's a bad class.
• Overall, I have 12 8th grade boys in Band. 9 of them are in my Advanced Band.

someone talk me down off this ledge, please!

I am stressing out. Granted, it's not as bad as the stress this time last year was (thank GOODNESS!!! I could definitely not handle that again!), but still, it feels as if everything is piling up all right at once RIGHT NOW and I can't break out of it.

To start:

On Friday, somewhere between 3:25 and 3:30 a punk on his way out to the buses stole my iPod. I noticed at 4. That hung over me all weekend.

On Saturday, I get an email from my principal informing me that there is a district board meeting the day of my Band Spring Concert (May 14). crap.

On Sunday, I woke up at 4 AM with a migraine headache and so I slept off and on all day and so did not sleep well Sunday night.

Today, I met with my principal and the principal of the intermediate school to discuss my take over of 5th grade band. Bottom line: it's doable but it has to be after their school is out, which means I give up my planning period 2 days a week.

Today, I found out that my top alto player and top trumpet player will not be at the Spring concert because the alto player's nephew is having surgery (legit), and the trumpet player's family will be going to SeaWorld (not legit) because dad's work doesn't give them a lot of time off work and they've had this planned for months now. Excuse me, but I planned the concerts in SEPTEMBER. You've had that date since THEN. I'm fairly CERTAIN THAT YOU DID NOT PLAN YOUR VACATION 9 MONTHS IN ADVANCE! And beside that, who goes on vacation the WEEK before school is out?

Today I had to discuss my missing iPod with all my classes in the hopes that someone heard something and it will be returned to me. Nothing as of yet.

Today the 8th graders would not listen to me. Again.

Today I realized how LONG four weeks will be.

Today I had a meeting with a parent and the student's other teachers to discuss stuff that doesn't concern me. It took over an hour.

Today I met with my principal and we planned out next year's schedule. It looks like this:
MWF Jazz Band (zero hour)
M-F Adv. Band (1st)
M-F Beg. Orch (2nd)
M-F Int. Band (3rd)
M-F Adv Orch (4th)
M-F Lunch
M-F Beg. Band (5th)
MWF Planning (6th)
TR 5th Grade Band(6th)
It makes me tired to look at this right now.

Today I got back to my classroom and read an email from the auditorium guy. My spring concerts were NEVER scheduled for May 13, 14. Instead they were scheduled for May 12, 13, but apparently my brain, unable to comprehend a concert on a Monday night melted down from the very beginning and in EVERY SINGLE COMMUNICATION SENT TO PARENTS AND STUDENTS, I listed the concerts at May 13 and 14. So now, good news! It doesn't coincide with the board meeting. Bad news, though. How do I break this to parents, a mere two weeks before the concerts? crappity crap crap!

the squemish should stop reading here:
And to top it all off, last week was PMS week and my hormones were completely out of control. They have calmed down now and I'm just waiting for Aunt Flo to show up.

And due to that and the aforementioned stress, my back, chest and face have EXPLODED into a mass of painful acne that would give even the hardiest middle schooler an inferiority complex. What's the deal here! I am 24 years old. I'm NOT SUPPOSED TO STILL HAVE ACNE!!!!!!!

Next stop, Oxymoron Central

a good hurt??!!

I've heard that saying, and I think I've even said it, but seriously! What a ridiculous statement.

I started working out this week again. I dunno, some sort of brilliant idea about getting in shape for this 13 mile run I got suckered into...anyway. A couple of teachers work out after school a couple days a week (3 days, to be precise. 3 painfilled, agonizing, horrible days.) and I decided to join them.

Monday wasn't bad. The workout made me tired, but I assumed that it was just the whole "haven't done this in years....

****tangent****

when did I get old enough to start measuring my life in "years"? I mean, I guess it was about the time I turned 3. Then I could say "I haven't done this in 2 years" or something like that. But where did I hit that age when the number was TOO big and so instead of trying to remember - or worse, dating myself - the specifics were dropped, heretofore to be known as simply "years". To wit: I haven't been on a slide in "years". I haven't run through the sprinkler in "years". I haven't worked out in....

*************

.....thing", so I expected to get tired. Tuesday was fun. I was actually able to move, and for at least an hour, I was even able to move my arms. But, I am a music teacher, which means I move my arms A LOT in one day and as the day went on, the baton got heavier and heavier and heavier. And heavier.

Then Wednesday hit and we had the workout from HELL. (At least, I'm pretty sure it was from there. If not from THERE, then NEAR there. Maybe Phoenix?) We did arms and legs again, but this time, the legs were MUCH, much worse. We did lunges. And more lunges. And just when I wanted to die, we did more lunges. It was bad.

Thursday was worse. I could barely move! Sitting was fine. Standing was fine. Going from standing to sitting was AGONY and moving was an adventure, because I was never sure if my muscles were going to a) work at all, or b) give out on me and dump me on my butt in front of my students. Thankfully, that did not happen.

Friday was marginally better, and by now I'm fine!

So here I sit, in Oxymoron Central. Waiting for the next train to Good Hurt-ton.

The reason he's No. 1 on the List

So the best Friday EVER!

See the previous post for the list.

Things I adore

1. Red-heads. ;-)

2. Rice-krispy bars. The giant ones that you find at the check-out counter which are only $.88 and are SO bad for you, but you can't help but buy one because it starts talking to you, drawing you in. "sure, you'll scrape the roof of your mouth, but I'm warm and mostly gooey and oh-so-tasty."

3. Foamy soap. When it first came out, I thought it was retarded. I mean, how hard is it to get soap to foam? But now that I've used it (it's in all the bathrooms at work), I think it's great! It eliminates a whole step in the hand washing process. I actually look forward to washing my hands now! There's something so exciting about already foamed soap, and it's so soft!

4. Motivational Posters

5. When 8th grade boys (who are usually larger than I) get their trumpet mouthpieces stuck in the trumpet and bring it to me and all I have to do is turn and pull and it pops right out and they look at me with this sort of scared awe as if to say "Wow, she's small and powerful. We should respect her!"

6. Mini-Coopers.

7. Babies who look like troll dolls.

8. When somebody does something for me for no reason. Like flowers on a random Tuesday (thanks Kerry!) or omelets on Saturday mornings because I'm too lazy to cook.

9. Movie quotes.

7 Weeks and counting

This is your brain on 4th quarter in middle school:

aitha;ow t;wosjhav;lxkjg ;oseituya w3pt5q159071 p bqlkajnjf;lvnlseituq93T50Y2HB;H'QP2035RB[-(PUFӯastQ;.K1Y5B[208V OW9UTBQ0 [W25[ P0WE9URQ7 [0W395729U 109357 02597 [BUK 9T5[28-`8 5B`VOWUE IEUWRT OQIWUT OQWYT BP98W TUBPQ0WTU BQOWIUT OQWIUETOQW8T7 [025Y [ 01 oituy pbou5p8q bwoiafd aljhv kjxbcgq94tu5q 2095 bqwo95uqb 2oi5hqwkjhsnvd c0w9t5 q5by qwoiehr b

This is your brain on Summer:

Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!





Any questions?