Clearing my head =)

I've got all this stuff rattling around inside and I need to organize so I may begin to take action!

* DONE WITH UCI!!!!!! Hehe...grades come in two weeks =) I should be fine this quarter because I kicked a$$! =) So...in a few weeks I shall be a girl with a master's degree. w00t!

* My classroom rocks...it's neat and organized and you can nearly see my desk =) It's pretty amazing! The kids are great about keeping it clean too!

* I have one student with aspergers and some sort of sensory input difficulty. He's a struggle, I suppose for many reasons. His mother is difficult. She seems very pleasant in person as of yet, however, I fear trouble is mounting. He has not taken too well to the environment and has trouble socializing with the other students. Each day is give or take. He has a one on one aide who's great, yet I still have not had the opportunity to rumage through the ever growing IEP. A district special ed head honcho came by to observe yesterday because she received a call from the mother...she said it was nothing to worry about...but really...I have to cover my behind terribly well this year.

* No hablo espanol! and my student, no hable ingles! I have never had a child in my room who didn't speak a word of English...ever! I asked her to write *pretend to write* number 5 *hold up 5 fingers*...she looked at me inquisitively and wrote zero. what? Then, the directions were explained to her in Spanish and I said a number in English...nothing. She cannot recite the alphabet and has great trouble pronouncing anything. This is definitely a challenge! I'll be preparing separate lessons and activities this year...I hope they help.

* Super motivated, super intelligent, super fast worker. I have one every year and I think this year I may have 2. Yes, they are fantastic, yet every year I struggle with creating interesting challenges to expand the mind. This year is no exception...I shall find something!

* 6-9 months. experimental treatments may help with a 30%-40% chance. What?! I can't be sad anymore. She's sad enough, everyone else is sad enough, we need to inspire, we need to hope, we need to love, we need to fight.

* I've got to grow-up. I don't want to worry about money anymore. I don't want to eat ramen at the end of the month because I didn't handle my checkbook well enough. I don't want to wince at the thought of spending another dime. Next month has to be different. It has to...

* Tired. I feel so tired. Part of that has to do with my huge pile of laundry and my mess of a living space. While I can keep my classroom in order, my life outside is a mess. *sigh* perhaps this is why i spend so much time at school...i'm a mess. Must get things back in order...!

Enough said...I do believe I've cleared my head. =)
Now I may begin attacking my fears, my catastrophes, my joys, my sorrows, and my loves head on...watch out, here I come! =)

Nearly done...

I'm tired. *sigh*
My classroom is almost done, I suppose. I have deduced that I will never really be done...actually, I'm always finding something new to get done. Ah well, as is life I suppose.
I got to see lots of familiar faces today at the "meet the superintendent" meeting. Hehe...it was interesting...this so called breakfast they advertised was a pastry in a plastic bag...hehe...gross. Needless to say, I opted to wait for my lunch outing with teachers to eat =).
Staff meeting tomorrow, we're supposed to get a bunch of materials and info. I hope so...I feel like I don't have enough info to start yet...perhaps it's the nerves getting to me.
Kids return on Wednesday. So soon. I'm actually very excited though =). I have big plans for them this year =).

I've got lots of stuff still to work on tonight and I haven't even finished my homework for class. *sigh* all I want to do is sleep a bit...but I'd better attempt to work on this rationale paper...=S I'll be so glad when this is all over!!!!! =)

July

Wah...tis been quite some time since I've jotted some thoughts via keyboard. So...I shall sum up my july...

Wine has never been my alcoholic pleasure, and well, I doubt that it ever will be. However, I have discovered that the actual wine tasting is quite pleasurable =). For a small chunk of change, I managed to feel quite happy after tasting oober amounts of wine and I have souvenir glasses to boot! Which one was the winner of the afternoon you may ask? Drum roll please!....Callaway's Muscat Canelli! It's a sweet blush dessert wine...mmmmm.

Family outings are nice when you only attend them every so often. There seemed to be an overwhelming number of events this month I couldn't seem to hide from and thus I must say, whilst I love my dad's side of the family, I'm just glad they've got nothing planned for August!

Comic-con was surprisingly interesting this year and I'm nearly frightened those words hit this page. Am I really geek-a-rific enough to enjoy 4 days of madness? Hehe.

Highlights:
1. He-man!!! Need I say more?! Lou Scheimer, the creator of He-man was signing copies of the DVD along with his wife and daughter. Numerous animators were also present for autographs and sketches. Albeit, I was not one of the crazy ones by far! One guy wore a He-man T-shirt and had a photo album of his bedroom, covered with He-man paraphernalia! WOW!

2. Fellowship! A musical parody of LOTR. Kristin is a huge fan and I agreed to take advantage of their 2 for 1 ticket deal...it was actually funnier the 2nd time. Haha...I don't remember laughing as hard as I did well, ever!

3. 3AM. Blah! I'm not much of a morning person, really, I'm not. I decided to accompany Kristin for moral support to wait in line very early in the am. Had I known the disaster that lay ahead, I would have said..."haha, not in this lifetime!".
3AM: fall out of bed!
4:10AM: in line in front of the convention center!
7:30 AM: doors open and people are running for a place in another line inside the convention center (pushing and shoving at it's worst!
10:00AM: hall doors open and people are sprinting to the Inkworks booth for tickets to the LOST autograph session...only to discover there is NO LINE set-up!
10:15: idiots announce they will be doing a raffle and everyone will be able to draw a ticket for a "chance to win"
10:17: NO MORE TICKETS!
10:18: ANGRY MOB! hehe
So, basically the morons at the booth made some rather shameful errors in judgement and nearly caused a riot. My sister was downtrodden to say the least and I was just sleepy.

4. Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman. Determined, or freakishly crazy some might call it, I made my way through a line 9 times before drawing the winning ticket out of a large black velvety bag, which allowed me access (along with 100 other lucky winners) to the autograph session with these 2 Underworld stars. *sigh* both incredibly beautiful in person with the most energetic personalities and fantastic smiles. Pictures were strictly prohibited. It was excellent times.

Lessons: Don't expect to get much sleep....even with a hotel room. Plan on tons of walking...I think I had super calves by the end! Make time to eat...it can change your mood in an instant. When it's busy, it's better to walk than try to shuttle it...40 min on a typical 10 min shuttle ride is a bummer. Bring lots of money...I spent 5 times more than I thought I would!


Disneyland was ooberific. I haven't been in so long and it was nice to hang out with the mokroopals and the english blokes for a day. Space Mountain was actually very much worth the wait (although we fastpassed it, so it wasn't really a wait, hehe). Astroblasters proved fun, although, I've come to the realization that I should never hold a gun to protect anything...we'd all die...hehe. OK...monumental...my first Blue Bayou experience! w00t! it was fantastic. yes, patrick's pork tenderloin was indeed tasty and tender. However, the last bit I forced down for $40 (thanks kress and patrick ;)) was not quite as appetizing. Hehe, worth it all the same though.

Bars are always so daunting. You feel like now that you've cutified yourself and made the effort to get yourself into the bar...you might as well live it up, right?! That is probably a very dangerous way of thinking. Girls night out was fantastic none the less and the bar was quite tiny, very chillaxable. I must say, the red lighting made everything look good. Hehe...or perhaps that was the booze goggles fogging over. We're all human, and I suppose alcohol just makes it's point to show us how.

Vacations don't last forever and well, I'm very glad I'm lucky enough to have them. So I cannot complain when I realize that school and work still sprinkle themselves into my vacation time. It's ok though...I look forward to saying I have a Masters at the end of August! I also look forward to knowing those trainings will show up again in my next paycheck! =) Hehe.

Harry Potter book 6 is waiting for me... I must read....=) That is...after I do some homework!