One in a million

Don't worry, it's just a piece of my lung on the floor

I think I'm on the verge of getting sick again. Like I have time for that.
I've been coughalicious the past couple of days, to the point where it's hard to breathe and bringing on asthma episodes. The one thing that's helping is some prescription cough syrup from a few months ago, but it makes me feel all loopy and drugged up. This sucks, version 2.0.

Woohoo!

The vacancy listing for my soon-to-be-job has been removed from the county website! Whew! It feels like a weight off my shoulders (and the rest of me). Now I'm waiting on a letter from the head of HR approving the transfer. Let's hope my crackhead mail carrier delivers it to the right house.

REMHos

LMGC: I have two copies of Sassy with Dark Globe in it
LMGC: actually just one copy
LMGC: with the 45 still intact
me: geek
LMGC: My Dad picked them up for me, I guess that might have been sorta embarassing for him
LMGC: buying not one but two copies of a women's magazine
LMGC: for his son
me: uh, sassy wasn't for women, it was for teenage GIRLS
LMGC: oh my

It was one year ago today that I officially (IRL, in person, whatever you want to call it) met my Loyal Music Geek Companion (aka TheBoyfriend) and I got to see some of his R.E.M. (and other music) collection for myself.
Thank you for a great, memorable year.

I'm going to turn into one

Of these pretty soon. I'm addicted to them. I've been noshing on the Mixed Fruits, but now I find out there's White Grape Peach all by itself! I'm going on a hunt for those babies. Look out Harris Teeter, Food Lion, and the Walmart Supercenter - here I come.
P.S. I just joined the Welch's Grapelink club... I think I might have a problem.

Summer School

I was at the urologist's office for a long time today. I believe I'm the youngest patient they've had there in a while. At least I'm the youngest one in the waiting room the two times I've been.
There were two small girls over in the corner looking at magazines and chattering like squirrels. No adult was around. Occasionally a teenage boy would come in with a toddler, sit with them a few minutes, then go back outside. The girls were fairly well behaved, considering there was no direct adult supervision. Then they began to get restless and a little loud, so I went over to sit with them.
I grabbed a couple issues of "Your Big Backyard" and started reading to them, talking about the animals in the pictures, asking them questions. They quickly devoted their attention to me and were eager to look through the magazines. One of the girls couldn't see well, so she went around to the empty chair on my right, pulled it over, hopped up, and was ready to go. The girls asked a lot of questions, as well. I found out my "students" were 3 and 6. They were very interested in the bandage I had on my arm, asking me several times about it.
We read and talked and sang (quietly) for about 30 minutes before their grandmother came out. She was grateful for the "babysitting," as were the nurses and secretaries. I said goodbye to my new little friends, Cheyenne and her cousin, and they went on their way. My mom said "Grandma has her hands full!" and I agreed.
When I was finishing my appointment, one of the nurses thanked me for helping out and told me I was hired. She also said "I can tell you're a great teacher."
Hearing that made me flash back to days spent with children full of wonder and excitement and my joy in sharing new things with them. I will miss that, not being in the classroom full-time. But maybe there will be the random doctor's office every now and then, when I can pull out my old teacher's bag of tricks, dust off my read-aloud voice, and experience that spark once again.

P.S. Happy one-month blogiversary to me!

Prematurely Tallying Fowl

This will be my new job in about two weeks, if everything goes well. The job opening is still posted online, and I haven't heard any more about the situation, which makes me a little antsy. Even though I've been assured that the job is mine, I would still like to see it on paper. I suppose they are serious about it, as they've given my classroom away to another teacher. The fun part will be moving all of my teacher stuff out. Yard sale, anyone?

Ugh

To say I'm not in a good mood would be putting it mildly. I have to have this and this done tomorrow, plus I have to do this part at home before I go to the hospital tomorrow. I'm scared, worried, and depressed, all in one.
The more "help" I get, the worse things seem.

Random Update

• Got a replacement cell phone today. Had to bid adieu to my old phone. Unfortunately, they couldn't transfer my saved text messages. Awwwhhh.


• Lily's surgery went well, no problems at all. I was so glad to see her little face when they led her out. I almost cried. She was a velcro dog the rest of the day. Maggie and Archie sniffed her all over when she returned home. Maggie even rolled her over and inspected the incision. Welcome home, little sister.

The baby grows up

Lily will be spayed tomorrow. I had intended to stop by the vet's for a while now and finally got around to it today. They had an opening tomorrow, so I jumped on it. Shhhh, don't tell her.
She is eight months old now, and I don't think she's stopped growing yet. She's so different from the little ball of fur I brought home in November, and yet she's still the same cuddly puppy (just a whole lot bigger). I'm wondering how she'll behave tomorrow.
The vet was able to give me some anxiety drops (like Rescue Remedy), so I think the whole pack will get a little taste of it tonight. I hope it will calm them all down, especially Maggie. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have Lily a little calmer tomorrow.
On another doggie note....I found leashes tonight for a steal at Big Lots! I bought five leashes and one harness, all for $1.99 each! I couldn't believe it. They're great, sturdy leashes, and one's even a multifunction leash. Archie's first multifunction leash set me back about $20 at PetSmart, so this was an incredible bargain. I had my eye on a hot pink leash for either Maggie or Lily, but it turned out to be 4 feet, and that's just not quite long enough. Now it's time to try out the new finds!

LOD

And boy did I need it.
Had to have another ultrasound today, part of the ongoing process of trying to figure out exactly what is wrong with me. This one was external and internal (and I'll leave it at that). I had to explain that to my mom and her eyes got big. Then she said "Well, at least it's not a hose up your butt," referring to a procedure she had recently, and did not enjoy in the least.
Yeah mom, it's not that.

Everybody's doing it

In an effort to convince my talented and aforementioned loyal music geek companion (also known as TheBoyfriend) to get a blog of his own and share his musings with the world, I'm 1) letting him know about this blog (yes, I have kept it secret) and 2) inviting him to guest post so he can see that it's a neato thing to do.
Cross your fingers, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Rant and Roll

Ryan Adams at the HOB was a whole different Ryan. The bar setting seemed to inspire the rock side of Ryan and we were treated to several songs we hadn't heard in Raleigh ("Love Is Hell," "New York, New York," "I See Monsters"). "Monsters" was especially powerful, with Ryan's band stripped down to the boy wonder on guitar, his bass player, and the drummer. The song ended with him walking up onto the top of the upright piano and wailing away on the guitar. Very impressive indeed.
We thought one of his new songs was called "Jacksonville," but it's actually titled "The End" (according to fan sites). It has country influences, and as my loyal music geek companion stated, "I don't think they'll be using this as the town anthem anytime soon." With lyrics like "Jacksonville, how you murdered my soul, how you hold my dreams captive," don't you agree? Our plan is to make a slide show of J'ville to accompany that song, complete with lots of pictures of the strip clubs, pawn shops, and used car lots that litter the town.
The crowd noise was what you'd expect in a bar, and that's not a good thing. Ryan played several songs solo on the piano, and the quiet moments were tainted by the excess conversation. This was in stark contrast with Meymandi Hall, where we could have heard a pin drop at times (and we did hear a few bottles). Eventually, it got to our Rock Star, and in the middle of his piano version of "Brown Sugar," he went off for several minutes on the crowd noise and ball game conversations. This led into a impromptu song about crowd issues that was pointed and right on target. Although the majority of the floor crowd was supporting his rant, RA got fed up, left the stage at the end of the song, and didn't return.
We think he'd have played longer if the conditions had been more conducive, as there were songs we were expecting to hear that weren't played. Nonetheless, it was a great show and yet again, David Ryan Adams rocked my sandals off.
I admit it, I am a fan now.
Thank you, my phone whore friend, for introducing me to Ryan. I was a late bloomer, but I'm a believer now.
Thank you, my loyal music geek companion, for educating me about Ryan and Whiskeytown. Thank you for indulging my last minute whim to see Ryan a third time in four days. Thank you for driving us home after I enjoyed seeing Whiskeytown a little too much and took their name a bit too literally.
Thank you Ryan, for coming back home and sharing your talent with us.

They got most of this right

What Beatle are you? George Harrison You are wise beyond your years, caring. A listener, not a talker.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

And by the way, folks at YouThink, please make sure to close your tags so I don't have to fix your sloppy code for these quizzes! That is all. For now.

I am Superman, and a little more

Which REM album are you? Life's Rich Pageant You're often overlooked, but appreciated by those in the know. The truly cool kids like you.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Zzzzzzzzzz

I will write a review of the Ryan show soon, I promise. My muscle relaxant and pain pill are kicking in, and if I try to write, it might not make sense. Unless you, too, dear reader, are in an altered state whilst reading the review. Hmmm....an idea with potential!

LOD (belated)

A man and his wife in a nearby community were allegedly murdered by their son last week. The police say it was over money for drugs.
I emailed my mother to ask if she'd heard about it and sent her the link to the news blip online that I had seen.
This was her response....

I heard the dispatcher tell a deputy this a.m. that EMS wanted an officer for DOA on [Highway] (she gave the number of the house) and said that it was past Oxendine's produce stand. I didn't hear anymore on the scanner about it though. So I forgot it. FYI: Don't ever kill us for money for drugs....we don't have that much money. Ha.

Hey mom, I have insurance and a really cheap co-pay...you're safe.

Sweetness follows

We went to visit my grandmother yesterday. She is in a nursing home and was finally moved to the Alzheimer's unit. She was diagnosed about 5 years ago and was able to live on her own for about a year or so after that. But she began to decline, and we were worried about her safety and had to move her to somewhere more secure than her home. She was fine in the first facility until she fell and broke her hip in spring 2003, and had to be moved to a facility with more skilled care.
We like the place she's in now, and she's done fine until recently. She's walked out a couple of times in the last few weeks, and obviously, that can't happen. So she was moved yesterday.
She seemed quite rattled and unsure of herself, and for the first time, I saw no recognition of me in her face when I walked up to her. It may have been due to the confusion of relocation, or it may be that we are seeing more decline of her memory. It's something I've been expecting to happen, but when it did, I wasn't prepared.
I sat with her in her room and carried on light conversation, mostly about how her dead brother has been visiting her. It broke my heart to see my grandmother, a woman who could not have loved and cared for me more, have no idea who I am. It's selfish, I know. At this point, she doesn't know or remember our connection, so she doesn't feel the loss of the memories. But I do. And I grieve.

ryHo

We're going to see Ryan again on Saturday. It's a last minute decision, and we're certainly not anticipating it to be Raleigh all over again. But it will be neat to see him one more time, and this will pretty much be "it" for my summer running around, since work starts on July 1.
More details to follow.

He Who Shall Be Named

Went to the Ryan Adams show in Raleigh last night. It was amazing. First time I've ever seen Ryan and I walked away impressed.
Going in, we wondered how things would play out. Would he act like a jackass? Would the crowd give him hell? Raleigh's his "hometown crowd" more or less, and according to reports, several years ago, he said he'd never come back to play in NC. But he did. And we are so glad.
The show did not start promptly at 8 (as advertised), and that was a relief, because we had a heck of a time finding the place using the directions off the 'net. Ended up parking only a few blocks away and hustled to get there, hoping Ryan would be late. He was. Yay.
Use of lighting and backdrop was tasteful, yet interesting. It featured silver balloons of various sizes, scattered at different heights along the back curtain of colored lights. The balloons swayed gently in the breezes from the a/c (damn it was cold in that building!) but didn't bob along in a cartoon freaky way. The curtain of lights featured only one color of light at a time (thankfully....didn't look like a Christmas tree gone awry) and followed the lighting theme for each song (i.e., teensy purple lights in the curtain lit up when the purplish lighting was used overall). I'm not explaining this well, but suffice it to say, it looked good, and I can be pretty critical about that kind of stuff.
Ryan's onstage banter between songs was often hard to hear, as he talked off mic to his band. A random girl hollered "I love you Ryan!" at the beginning of the show, and his memorable answer was "Well then, I apologize in advance."
The band was tight, the songs were presented very well. The acoustics were very nice, but maybe not suited for a loud rock band.
I was seated next to "crazy rock chick" who was talking to herself, and anyone who would listen. [Note to self: quit talking aloud in public. people will think you are crazy.] She laughed loudly at anything Ryan said, yelled out a lot, and was basically annoying. I was so happy when she finally moved to get closer.
Personal highlights: "Oh My Sweet Carolina" - first Ryan song I ever heard, will probably always be my favorite. Didn't expect to hear it, but thrilled that he played it. Everything else was gravy. For those 5 minutes, Ryan held everyone in the hall in the palm of his hand. When the song began, it was like a collective gasp of breath. Didn't have a bunch of people singing along loudly, as far as I could hear. Heard a few people whispering along, but it was as if they didn't want to break the spell of the delicate song. When he finished, the crowd couldn't be contained and rewarded him with rapturous applause. A homecoming song performed for the hometown crowd, and it was almost perfect.
"My Winding Wheel," "To Be Young" - more songs I didn't think I'd get to hear live...super versions of both. "Winding Wheel" was amped up by the addition of the full band. "To Be Young" rocked in a slightly different tempo/arrangement.
Caitlin and Ryan reuniting on stage to sing old Whiskeytown songs - unrehearsed, but magical.

And then, there was the after-party.
We ended up with a boot on the car because we hadn't paid to park in the lot in advance. We were extremely pissed and I don't think that anyone else paid, but we were the last car in the lot, so I don't know what misfortune fell upon the other folks, if any.
Got to the bar for the after-party and it was rather crowded. Ran into some folks we knew, got to meet some new ones. Waited around, drank, waited some more, and finally, Ryan showed up.
Positioned myself on a flight of stairs so that I was a little higher than the crowd and just reveled in the moment. For an hour or so, Whiskeytown was reunited. It seemed so natural, and the crowd ate it up. I've seen a few pictures that have already been posted online, and it almost seems unreal. But yes, I was there.

Last night's shows were easily the best of the year so far, and may even rate pretty high up there as best all time in my experience. Front row at R.E.M. in Atlanta was awesome, but it might fall into second place, or at least tie for first now.

I'm not changing the name of the blog

But if things go as planned, I will not be in first grade next year. I will be in a reading coach position, at my same school. This is the position I mentioned previously. The paperwork is being processed, and supposedly, it's just a matter of time.
This job will take me out of my classroom all the time, but put me in a support position working with the K-3 teachers at my school. Part of the job requires using technology....think I have that part down pat.
My assistant began taking stuff off the walls today, and I think the kids are getting suspicious. No formal announcement has been made, so I've kept my mouth shut around them.
I'm excited about the new possibilities. But I know that I will miss being in the classroom. I'm already having a few pangs of guilt. Maybe I just need to go hang out in kindergarten tomorrow to get over that. ;)

P.S.

I finished my slideshow for my kids - thank you SmoothShow for making it so easy!

I'll jump on the bandwagon too....

Weekend music heavily influenced by the Concert for George DVD I've been watching and in anticipation of the Ryan Adams show on Wednesday, presented in random order:

Rufus Wainwright - Across the Universe
John Lennon - Watching the Wheels (from the Acoustic album)
Ryan Adams - Cold Roses
Traveling Wilburys - Handle with Care
The Beatles - I'm Looking Through You
Soundtrack - I Am Sam
George Harrison - Live in Japan
Whiskeytown - Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight
Big Head Todd and the Monsters - Bittersweet
R.E.M. - You are the Everything (2003 Raleigh soundcheck)

The Concert for George DVD is amazing. Emotional without being sappy. Visually stunning, very well edited. See if you can spot Steve Winwood in the crowd. Great music played by great musicians. It's amazing how much Dhani Harrison resembles his dad. Almost spooky.

And because I can't seem to get away from the Beatles....my new glasses (John Lennon #609) should come in this week.

Now I need to eat some lunch.

Geekalicious

I admit it, I'm a geek. Big surprise.
A colleague needed to get a simple web page online, but the darn servers at work had all the FTP software we tried blocked. So, I brought the files home to try them.
Problem #1 - the files were on a 3.5" floppy
Problem #2 - my laptop wasn't recognizing my 3.5" floppy drive
Problem #3 - I can't do a lot of installation of hardware and drivers without admin privileges
Solution - connect my digital camera (that takes floppies) with the USB cable, read the files from the floppy from the camera as a storage device, upload said files, VOILA....a web page online
Necessity is the mother of invention, and I think I am a distant relative.

All I'm missing is the figure...

I have the clothes, I have the shoes. Apparently, I *am* Teacher Barbie. I wore new outfits Tuesday and Wednesday, and on Wednesday, one of my angels says "Can you wear new clothes tomorrow, too?"

In an effort NOT to be dooced....

I'm going to tread lightly in a discussion of my latest job-related thoughts.
It's almost a foregone conclusion at this point that I will not be working with my assistant of two years next year. There have been cutbacks and we are *supposed* to be losing some assistant positions, and it is very probable that she will be relocated to another room. I'm sad about that, because we have a great working relationship. It's happened to me before, and I will survive, but it does stink.
The kicker is that the candidates to be my assistant for next year are less than desirable to me. Another teacher has already gone to the administration to say "don't put them in my room." That should be a clue to those in charge.
At this point, I don't know what to do. Part of me says to stick with it, to see what happens. Part of me says leave. I have been down this road before, having a horrible assistant, and that year, combined with other factors, influenced my decision to leave that particular school.
Another position *might* be available at my school; however, it's not a classroom position. My sticking point would be that I MUST receive my supplement for NB certification. I know they have the money in the job budget.
What it comes down to is how much the system is willing to do to keep me, versus how easy it will be to find another job. I hate to put my resume out there and "look" but with the topsy-turvy world that is my school these days, I don't know that I shouldn't.
Someone said today, "I don't want to rock the boat." I'm thinking, better to rock the boat than to stay on a sinking ship.
More news as it develops.