The Summer Chronicles

I just don't get it. I've got more kids failing than ever before. They don't attend or they don't hand work in. and when I ask them about it the response is a shrug and a "meh". Can not get them motivated. and it's not just me apparently. My colleagues are talking about it as well. It's like someone put complacency in the water. Total weirdness. And when kids miss class they expect to be excused from the work. What? Don't think so. Some of my colleagues believe it is the whole Professional Learning Community concept, and the fact that we let kids turn in work whenever they feel like it, and we don't grade homework, we just give feedback, and they can take the test as many times as they like until they pass, and it's never the students fault for failure.. only the teachers. As I type this I agree. Way to grow a generation of lazy do nothing expect everything people. This is as bad as the whole language movement of the early 90's. Don't we learn from our mistakes? Good teaching has nothing to do with a "movement" or a "concept".

I've started making a big deal about turning work in, and actively talking about assignments. I post a list on my board that is freakin color coded. I rarely give homework either... mostly daily work.. and they still can't turn it in!

bah. takeout food is here and I don't want to type about work anymore.

consists of working and towing the line from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon, then cutting loose and running wild from Friday afternoon until Sunday mid day. It's a hard routine to keep up, but i find myself looking forward to the weekends... if it's wednesday and I don't have Friday and Saturday lined up I am bummed and searching for something to do.

That said, last weekend I was in Omaha watching my favorite band play.. decided against after hours and got home at about 2:30AM... On Saturday we loaded up the car and hit the road for Sioux city Iowa to see the band again. It was supposed to be a surprise, but they knew we were coming.. oh well. The crowd was dead, but we didn't care and hit the dance floor to have a good time. The after hours was not what I expected... people were tired and crabby so we didn't do much but hang out and talk...at one point in time all 7 of us in one room fell asleep. Yeah, it was a crazy party.

I've been playing guitar for 2 years now.. and I take lessons every week. I can play and sing like a fool in front of close friends, or friends who don't play, but I get real intimidated to play in front of people who have talent.. so I've not done it, that is, until last night. I sat for 3 hours and played with an amazing musician and had so much fun. Don't know why it took me that long to feel comfortable, but I'm glad I'm over that hurdle.

Ok... first. I bought a terracotta rice steamer. No instructions were included. I've searched online and can't find a darn thing. Anyone know how to use this thing??? (it's a terracotta pot with a small inner lid with two small holes, and a larger outer lid with one small hole.)

If you have a tangine, do you use a cookbook and if so which one? I've been looking but haven't really found a comprehensive collection.

thanks!

# What are your favorite smells/scents? Eucalyptus and salty sea air
# Do they bring back memories for you? If so, what? They do... it meant coming home
# What are your least favorite smells/scents? perfume and patchouli
# Do they bring back memories for you? If so, what? no, I just don't like manufactured scents
# What are your favorite perfumes/colognes? Don't have any.. see above

flew in without a hitch. Spent Christmas eve with the family.. very low key. Went to bed early. Spent Christmas again with family... very fun, also went to bed early. went for a pedi/mani with grandma and took her to lunch then went to hang out with my brother and scored some amazing indian for dinner. the next day we tried to go out on the bay but my bro's friend's boat broke down and we drifted for about 30-40 minutes before we were able to get close enough to a dock to lasso ourselves to safety. The next day we went to San Diego where T marched in the Holiday bowl. he also went to the bowl game the next day. Flew home without a hitch. Had an amazing New Years Eve. layed around on New Years Day, ran errands today, stayed in tonight, and have two more days to burn before going back to work.

1. What is your biggest waste of time in your home? TV and Internet

2. When at work, what is the activity that you find wastes the most time? Meetings. Hands down the biggest time waster.

3. When getting busy with a date or significant other, what ritual could you do without? um, nothing.

4. What is the biggest waste of time on the Internet? livejournal and facebook.

5. What do you do at a restaurant to waste time when waiting for your meal? socialize.

Stolen from tishie, then mangled to suit my own needs :)

we're getting ready to leave town to see family for the holidays, but I'll miss home.  As nice as it is to see everyone I can't help but miss the warmth of my kitty, my most awesome sunroom where I spend most of my time when I'm home, my friends- new and old who have really helped me define who I am, my newfound passion for music, and just knowing that this is where I belong, truly feel comfortable, and am able to be myself 100% of the time.

It's easy to complain about life and the little things that bring us down, and I do my fair share of that.  but, I've really got it good and I need to remember that more often.

guitar theory.

ugh.

I get it, but I don't get it....

so I was kinda bah humbuggy about this holiday season.  Not overly religious but like to spend time with friends and it looked like it wasn't going to happen so I was not too excited.

But... we got the tree up yesterday, lights are up and they look good, indoor decorations are up, Christmas cards are written and addressed, party invitations are coming in, so all in all, my mood is much better.  Still have to do baking, but thats no biggie.