10 Things

Sorry this is so hard to read.  Couldn't figure out how to change it.


1. Repost the rules

2. Post a photo of yourself accompanied by 10 random things 

3. Answer the questions the previous poster posted to you 

4. Create 10 new questions and tag people so they'll do it too!

I'm excited about this.  I've seen it floating around the blogosphere!  And I'm at work where I should be getting ready for my students to come in, but natch, I'm doing this instead...

I'm on the left.  This was at our league's roller derby prom in December.

10 random things about me:

1. I love Marilyn Manson.  LOVE.

2. I absolutely can't stand whining.  7th graders do a LOT of that.  Makes me want to beat my head against a wall.

3. I seriously fear each birthday that comes.  I want to be 22 and stay that age forever.  I never want to be too old to shop at F21 and have tattoos and play roller derby and go to punk rock shows.  I fear being the old teacher that is totally disconnected with her students' interests.  I like that I know what they listen to and that they think I'm awesome and like me simply because I'm young and then grow to love me because I'm a good teacher.

4. Empire Records is my favorite movie of all time.  Like Mandy, I can quote every single word.  "Well Shineid-O-Rebellion.  Shock me, shock me, shock me with that deviant behavior!"

5. When I was in middle school, I was OBSESSED with Hanson.  OBSESSED.  And I still love them.  They rule.

6. I graduated high school with a 4.3 gpa.  Nerd alert!

7. I am in a lot of debt and am a terrible saver.  As a teacher, I don't make a lot of money as it is, but a normal person without a lot of debt would live comfortably on what I make.  I, however, live paycheck to paycheck.  I'm broker than I was when I was in college and worked at Target.

8. I had a mohawk in college.

9. I thought I'd be married with a family by now.

10. I truly believe I have the best parents that ever lived :)

questions from Mandy at Harper's Happenings

1. have you ever met someone famous? Yes! A few actually!  I met Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding, WHAT UP!)  I've also literally run into Jordan Knight (from NKOTB).
2. what is your happiest childhood memory? Playing in my play kitchen and making meals for my parents.
3. favorite album of all time? Oh shit.  "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" by Bright Eyes "This Time Around" by Hanson, "Antichrist Superstar" by Marilyn Manson, New Found Glory's self-titled
4. are you a salty or sweet lover?  both! I have to have both!  If I eat chips, I have to eat candy afterward.
5. what is favorite guilty pleasure tv show or movie? Teen Mom, Jersey Shore (I know, I know!), Good Burger
6. describe your favorite sandwich. Oh man, California Club from Jerseys.  It doesn't sound like anything special-- turkey, jack cheese, avocado, mayo, mustard, lettuce, onions, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano.  I don't know what it is.  Maybe because they pre-mix their mayo and mustard?
7. what was your first pet? Tom the dog :)
8. what is your biggest accomplishment thus far in life? My BA? The teaching award I was nominated for?  Actually, beyond that, my proudest moment of my professional career was when my former student told me, "It was so refreshing to know we had your class 1st period.  It was like we were home."
9. what is the first blog you started reading? Adored Austin
10. if you had to choose one dessert for the rest of your life, what would it be? OMG WHAT?! One dessert?!?! Brownies.

Here are my questions:

1. Who was your favorite teacher?  What made them great?

2. What is your favorite sport?

3. If you were president, what is the first thing you would do?

4. What is your favorite family tradition?

5. Who is your favorite guilty pleasure, musically?

6. What is something you've always wanted to do but never had the guts?

7. What was your favorite tv show growing up?

8. Are you proud to be an American?

9. What is your deepest fear?

10. What is the best gift you've ever received?

Mini-me

We all have those students we want to take under our wings, for various reasons.  There are the ones we want to save, the ones we want to inspire, or the ones who remind us so much of our former selves.  I have a student named Brianna who is reminds me a lot of myself in college (when I was in my punk rock stage), but she's 13.  She's got dyed black hair and is a bit of a punk and she is obsessed with the band Falling In Reverse.  She's super smart, but doesn't apply herself, and I don't really think the other kids her age "get" her.  We don't have punk rock kids at our school.

Last year, I had a student who no one really "got" except me.  She was kinda indie/punk.  Super adorable.  Great taste in music.  She didn't really have people who accepted her on campus.  She had friends, but they weren't like her.  A lot of girls didn't like her because they didn't understand what she was about and thought she was pretentious, so they were always trying to start shit with her.  She ended up changing schools and finally found a place where she felt accepted.  Thank goodness, because she's such a special person.

Anyway, back to Brianna.  The other kids don't really understand her obsession with this band.  They all listen to LMFAO and David Guetta and Bruno Mars.  They know nothing of rock music, especially punk, pop-punk, or scream-o.  Brianna was so excited a couple weeks ago because her mom bought her tickets to go see Falling In Reverse in concert.  Brianna has been failing my class (and many others) all year.  Brianna's mom came to conferences last week and found out how her daughter has been performing in school and Brianna told me today that her mom is no longer taking her to see Falling in Reverse.  My heart broke for her.  I totally understand why her mom took the concert away from her.  Props to her mom for stepping in to make sure her daughter gets back on the right path with her education, but man.  Music has always been one of the most important things in my life and I so know how important it is to Brianna.  I wish I could take Brianna to the show myself.  I wish I could talk her mom into taking her.  Because this show is not just a fun night.  This show is EVERYTHING to a 13 year old girl who does nothing but write about/think about/daydream about this band.  And it's not just a show.  She'll be around people who understand what she's about.  For once, she'll be around people just like her.  For once, she'll have a place to belong.

Survey

Stole this from Steff over at Iffy Inklings
Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
No preference. 


Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel?Depends on the quality.  I always take the lotions though!  But if the shampoo is something cheap like "Head & Shoulders 2-in1", no thank you!


Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?
The feet are almost always tucked in.


Have you ever stolen a street sign before?
No way!  I'm a good girl :)


Do you like to use post-it notes?I'm OBSESSED with post-it notes.  I put them everywhere.


Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?I usually throw them away.  But then I'll watch Extreme Couponing and think, "why not me?"


Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?
Bees. 


Do you have freckles?On my arms


Do you always smile for pictures?No.  I have the WORST photo smile.


What is your biggest pet peeve?
Poor grammar.


Do you ever count your steps when you walk?Sometimes


Have you ever peed in the woods?
Maybe once?


What about pooped in the woods?Nope!


Do you ever dance even if theres no music playing?All the time.  There's always music playing in my head :)


Do you chew your pens and pencils?
Nope because I'm always loaning them to students and I don't want their diseases.


How many people have you slept with this week?Zero


What size is your bed?
Full 


Is it okay for guys to wear pink?Didn't you hear?  Real men wear pink.


Do you still watch cartoons?Sometimes.  Daria will always be my fave.


Whats your least favorite movie?LEAST?  Oh jeeze.  Lots.  I don't know.

Non re-elects

Last week was a really trying week, mentally and emotionally.  On Wednesday, they non re-elected every teacher on my campus that wasn't tenured.  A non re-elect is different than a layoff.  A layoff is because of budget reasons.  Sorry, we can't afford to keep you.  A non re-elect is for teachers who are in their probationary years.  When you begin teaching in California, you are on probation for two years.  During those two years, they can fire you at any time and they don't have to give a reason.  At the end of your second year, they have to decide if they want to keep you, thereby granting you tenure, or get rid of you because you're not good enough.  A non re-elect means that you can never work in that district again, whereas if you get laid off, you can always reapply.  So, 5 teachers on our campus (4 of the 5 who are GREAT teachers) were non re-elected, two of them being my good friends of mine and another being the only eye candy on campus!

Last year, Melissa and Rebecca received stellar observations by admin (this year, we have all new admin and they're terrible.  It's very much an us vs. them mentality on my campus) and this year, they received good observations--not the stellar ones from last year, but still good.  Then, their most recent observation forms come back and they're marked "does not meet expectations" on one tiny, stupid, minute thing--which is all they need to non re-elect someone.  One of the 6th grade teachers received a "does not meet expectations" because she didn't have enough things on her walls!  She is a first year teacher who was given really difficult kids and had been asking admin for help all year, but received none.  And then they fired her.

Rebecca is our music teacher who also took on the leadership class, organized a huge school-wide going away party for our campus monitor, Eddie, who had been at the school FOREVER (who the new admin promptly transferred to another school as soon as they stepped onto campus), and spent countless hours putting on concerts and doing anything else they needed done at school.  Yeah, she was non re-elected.  Melissa was harrassed on a daily basis for almost a semester by one of her students.  He said, "Shut up, bitch" and "Fuck you, bitch" to her and the Instructional Aide in her classroom on a daily basis.  Nothing was really ever done about that kid.  He was finally moved into the Opportunity class, after A SEMESTER of that.

It sickens me, the way teachers are treated.  What was their reasoning for non re-electing them instead of just laying them off?  Public education is a joke.

In other news, that fall I took a couple weeks ago?  It looks like this now:

It's super puffy and itchy!
On Sunday, we went up to Oakland to scrimmage the Oakland Outlaws.  It was a ton of fun and they were great hostesses as usual.  Last year, we scrimmaged them in February.  It was the first time that we, as a travel team, had played against another team EVER.  We lost 242-24.  This year, we only lost 152-51.  We did so much better!  And we only had 10 skaters and they had 17, so we were tiring out much more quickly. I love B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls.

I've come down with a really terrible cold and am out of work for my second day. :( I'm trying to get as much rest and liquids in as possible because we have a game in Paso Robles on Saturday and I need to be able to play.

Help, I'm trapped!

This is me on the inside:

I saw the orthopedist.  He looked at my MRI and told me that I have not one but two cysts (one on each hip).  I also have labral tears.  He also said that I'm looking at having both of my hips replaced at some point in probably the next 20 years.  Apparently, I have the body of an 80 year old woman.

The good news it that as far as exercise and physical therapy for my hip, skating is probably one of the best things I can do.  At some point, I'll probably have to have arthroscopic surgery, but since it isn't really bothering me that bad yet, I can wait a while.  Which is good because I can't afford another surgery.  Of course, the day after I find out about all of this, I take an epic fall at practice and slam down on my side.  I laid there, writhing in pain for a good 3 minutes, unable to speak while my teammates were asking me question after question after question.  I was getting so annoyed.  I just wanted to be left alone.  I mean, obviously I love them and they were concerned about me, but I was in so much pain I couldn't answer at the moment, and they kept talking to me.  When I finally was able to speak again, I said, "I'm fine.  Just stop talking to me."  And now I am growing the most epic of bruises on the back of my thigh.  I can't wait until it reaches its full potential.

We have the top derby coach in the nation coming for a 4 hour clinic tomorrow.  I am so unbelievably stoked.  She's doing a two hour table top coaching session for the entire training committee (all of the captains, the director of training, and the head ref) before the 4 hour clinic.

In work-related news, I wish I were good at math and had become a math teacher.  It would make grading less time-consuming.  It's either correct or incorrect.  Grading 7th grade short stories is both entertaining and mind-numbing.  I had a kid title his story, "Live or Don't."  It makes me laugh every time I think about it.  He's the most adorable little guy.  My students have been pretty cute the last couple days (but boy were they atrocious at the beginning of the week!).

Fill-in

I stole this from Caitlin at To Make Love Stay, who stole it from Sam of Young People in Love.

Sometimes...

It's hard for me to get the energy and motivation to get out of bed and leave the house.

 I'm reminded of how much I love my family when I stop and think about how I only see them twice (maybe 3 times) a year.

 I feel self-conscious when I am getting ready to play in front of 600 people and realize that I'm one of the biggest girls in my league.

 I am mildly dishonest when I tell myself I will be better about budgeting my money next month.

I can't imagine a world without books.

 I'm surprised that I still am teaching for this district considering how much I abhor it.

 I get a little too easily wrapped up in anything and everything roller derby.

 I indulge in guilty pleasures like the Backstreet Boys Pandora Station (even though I was never a boyband fan when I was a teenager). 

 I wish all things in life were as wonderful as the feeling I got when my Red Red team won the tournament in December.

Rainy Day

This is happening right now, making it very hard for me to type this.  Ollie insists on sitting on my lap at the most inconvenient times, but when I want to cuddle with him, he has no interest in sitting still.  He wants to play and jumps all over the place.  He currently has my left hand pinned down with his head.  But he's so cute, I don't want to move him.  :)

I went to the doctor on Wednesday and got the results of my MRI.  I have benign (whew!) cyst in my hip.  The doctor was pretty sure it was benign when she sent me for the MRI to begin with, but wanted to make sure.  The MRI did, however, show that I have a slight tear in my hip socket.  So, now I have to go back to my orthopedist.  I'm not sure how you heal a hip-socket tear.  I'm assuming skating is probably a no-no.  But, I haven't seen him yet, so he hasn't told me I can't skate.  So, I will continue to skate.  Innocent until proven guilty, and all that.

I asked her about the leg pains (I've been having weird random leg pains since October.  I thought they were exercise induced but then I got them when it had been a few days since my last practice, so that theory didn't really work anymore).  I also told her that I feel like something on my body always hurts.  It's not always the same place.  She tested a few areas on my body and determined that I have a mild form of fibromyalgia.  She then asked how I felt about taking an anti-depressant.  Anti-depressants have been proven to help with fibromyalgia.  I wasn't very keen on the idea of taking an anti-depressant.  I'm not keen on the idea of taking medication every day for the rest of my life.  I guess I feel like it's a sign of weakness.  (Oddly enough, I am already on a medication for the rest of my life--levothyroxine, which is for my thyroid, but that's not something I can control.  Does this make me a hypocrite?).  She explained that it would help with my anxiety, my general lack of energy, and my fibromyalgia symptoms by increasing the levels of seratonin in my body.  I reluctantly agreed.  I am actually feeling okay about it now though.  It will be great not to be in as much pain and to finally have energy.

There is a breaking-in period with the medication, of course.  The first day was WEIRD!  I suddenly felt like I needed to run laps around the school.  Then, I just wanted to lay down on the ground and take a nap.  Then, I felt jittery like I'd had 20 cups of coffee.  Then tired again.  I just didn't feel like me.   Here's hoping I get used to it quickly.

This afternoon, I'm going to see Avenue Q with Nurse Rackula for her birthday.  Holler!  I've seen it twice already (once when the broadway production was on tour, and once earlier this month at our community theater production).  It is absolutely hysterical.  I'm excited, but this rainy, blustery day is making it really very hard to do anything but sit here in my pajamas.  Even though it is already 2:00.