Back to blogging with pictures

I'm easing my way back into blogging.

It's been almost 6 months.  I haven't even allowed myself to read other blogs because I didn't want to get sucked into those again if I was not going to be keeping up with mine. I know, doesn't quite make sense, but that was my rule.

I have missed reading about all of you out there and am not even sure if I will understand all that you write now since I have missed out on a huge chunk of your blogging lives.

My return to blogging will begin with November photos of the day (promts by Fat Mum Slim - as usual).

Here is a recap of the first week+.

1. Fruit - In my blender - for a smoothie.

2. I did this today -  After talking about eating bugs as I was teaching literacy to a group of students, one of the students said that her mother makes them.  I, of course, said I wanted to taste them.  A week and a half later this came to me in my classroom.  I ate a few at school, took the rest home.  I wasn't sure if they were supposed to be sprinkled on top of the cactus (YUM!) salad or not. I did not.

3. P is for - dance practice in the subway station.  No one looks twice at people who do things like this in the subway. I'm getting used to not making it seem like I think it's cool, but I still sneak pictures occasionally.

4. Table - chili while grading - gotta love my colleagues

5. I collect - a new visa for my December trip to India; process was not that bad after I went all the way back home to get proof of address since it was not listed on the website as something I needed to bring with me.

6. Music - went to a salon for a regular hair style and got my hair washed (by someone else) for the first time in over 12 years; I didn't realize I missed the sensation.  If you look carefully, you can see the little red radio on the right by the door that was playing a huge variety of music.  I was the only one in the shop which made it a much more pleasant experience than I remember salons being.  Didn't leave until almost 11 pm, though.

7. Yes - Doonya - not only have I been a horrible blogger, I have not been attending Doonya as often as I did before winning the weight loss competition last winter. I won free unlimited classes for a year, and have not really taken advantage. I gave out a big old YES when I finished, because I love how it feels to workout and I love dancing to do it.

8. Someone I miss - I can go a long time without talking to family, but I love them dearly and love when I do talk with them.  My dad had back surgery on Friday and I was waiting to hear some good news. Mom's text was nice to see.

9. Mine - In my new place (not that new - been here since August) I actually have a couch.  Haven't had one since moving away from StL.  Last place was too gross to bring in decent furniture.  It unfolds completely flat and is actually really comfortable for sitting, grading, napping, watching tv (which is fairly new since I didn't do that much when I was at the other place since sitting on the yoga mat was not conducive to tv watching. I must say, that most of my tv watching is on the laptop or tablet with Hulu+, though.  Need to get a device to allow me to watch them on the tv.

March Photo-a-Day: Week 4

Last photos of the month.  Prompts by Fat Mum Slim.

March 26 - Something you did

26. When I walked through a new area of the Bronx, I saw these.  I love that mannequins are full figured, now.

March 27 - Pair

27. Went to a open-house of sorts for Girls Who Code - computer coding training for high school girls trying to get them to go into computer science fields.  These hs girls from last summer made some awesome apps, programs, and video games.  One pair made an app that helps disabled people find subway entrances, and facilities that are accessible.  Another pair made an app that helps people tell homeless people where the nearest soup kitchens and shelters are located.  Another pair made an app that lets you input the flavors of food you desire and it spits out the nearby restaurants that will match your tastes.

March 28 - In the mirror

28. I was happy to see my family and friends in St. Louis, I was also really happy to be reunited with my car in St. Louis for the extended weekend.  So nice.  And the weather was amazing - I was able to open the roof and put the windows down and see myself smile in the mirror.

March 29 - Goodnight

29. I don't watch tv in NYC.  I watch Scandal online on Saturdays.  It was nice to watch some tv in StL.  I watched a lot of House Hunters and caught some of the History Channel special The Bible that I kept seeing people talk about - good nights of tv watching.

March 30 - Relax

30. It was really nice to be able to get to easily accessible parks while in StL.  This was Forest Park by the Art Museum.  I went to a park three times over four days in town and did some running with fresh, clean air and not a lot of people around.  Relaxing.  If you look closely, you can still see the leftover snowmen that were made four days before my arrival to town on the hill.

March 31 - Stuff

31. The weather was amazing in StL.  Especially considering that it had snowed over 12" four days before I arrived.  The temperature reading in the car said this when I got in, but settled to about 69 while I was driving around doing stuff.

Saturday Quote: More or less

Dear Monday

Saturday Quote: Optimism in life

So cute!

December photo-a-day: Week 2

December photo challenge with prompts from Fat Mum Slim.

You can see my new pictures each Monday of December.

December 10 - Under

10. Uniqlo is my new favorite store.  Since I got rid of so many of my clothes before the move, I have restocked a few items with clothes from this store - tights, winter dresses, socks, skirt - all have a sort of Japanese feel and I love that they are kind of different than what I used to wear, yet still seem like me.  I stood under this tree as I adjusted my coat and scarf after leaving the store on this day on my way home from work - I even love to just browse.

December 11 - Sweet

11. I bought these at the drugstore.  I shouldn't have.  I am not really big on chocolate.  I know, I'm a woman and I don't live off of chocolate; sue me.  I shouldn't have bought these sweet things because I at almost the entire bag in about an hour.  My stomach started to hurt about an hour after that.  But they are still.  So.  Good.

December 12 - Hat

12. I didn't remember giving away my really cool pink winter hat from last season when I moved, but I did, and had to buy a new hat since I am outside a lot with my commutes.  I like that this one is orange. It stands out a bit in the blah colors of most winter hats.

December 13 - Lights

13. Christmas tree set up at Bryant Park next to the ice rink.  I love the blue colors!

December 14 - Green

14. Every Friday, teachers and faculty from my school go to Staples.  Staples being code for happy hour.  To say the usual place is a dive bar is speaking too highly of it.  The atmosphere just exudes college broke person's hangout.  The bathroom is so filthy that I would go to the bathroom before leaving school and then hope that I didn't have to use it during the drinking.  If I did, I usually chose to just take the 45 minute trip home rather than use the nasty bathroom that had some sort of liquid all over the floor, rarely had soap, and had stickers in the basin of the toilet. (Who put their hands in there to place it and what kind of adhesive sticks through all of the flushes?)  After a few bad experiences there this year, me and two others decided to go on a hunt for a similarly priced, cleaner place with a better bartender.  We found it and its name is a color of green.  It is so awesome, the bartender remembered my name (which isn't very common) after three hours of us being in there, and look at how clean the bathroom is.  I was so pleased with the place that I could not stop smiling.  My cheeks hurt by the end of the evening.

December 15 - Outdoors

15. On this Saturday there was Santa-Con.  It was a HUGE pub crawl for people dressed as Santa, or his elves, or reindeer, or anything remotely related to Christmas (I even saw a man in a Tigger costume - Winnie the Poo - with a Santa hat walking around.)  At first it was kind of entertaining, but then as I tried to walk and do my errands, it got more and more annoying as I kept seeing them outdoors blocking the road, reeking of alcohol and just being overly loud.

December 16 - Something I made

16. The BF is so easily pleased, and yet, so picky.  He loves meatballs, but he has not found any since his childhood that he likes.  I found these gems at Trader Joe's and he loves them with some sauce.  Simple Sunday dinner.  I had some bread from TJ's, but it tasted like a sponge and I couldn't serve it again.

You can see the photos I took during the first week of this month by clicking here.

Saturday Quote: Before you assume

I finally got him!!

After months of waiting for this to happen, it finally did.

At my school, every Friday, a teacher is awarded with a prize for doing something good that week, or for helping, or for just being great at what they do.  The presentation is done in front of all the teachers. The next week, the previous week's honoree passes the award to someone they deem worthy.

Each week, I have hoped that I had done something worthy of the prize.

Each week, I thought it was going to be me.

Each week, I left the meeting dejected and empty-handed.

This past week, I was so upset at having never received the prize that I didn't even consider that I might actually get it.

But, I did.

I received the honorable Mr. Potato Head.  I was honored for being calm, and able to hold classes without raising my voice a lot and for being able to joke/trick people with a straight face.

Now, I have a week to determine what I will add to Mr. Potato Head.  Each honoree must add something to the man.  One week, a person added an umbrella to protect him from the hurricane, another week it was a breast cancer band since it was breast cancer awareness week.  There is a world map and a jump rope since that is the grading system we use.

I am proud of the award.

And the kids seem to understand what it is for and congratulate me when they see it.

If you have ideas of what I can put on the man for when I pass it on this Friday, please leave them in the comments section.  I will let you know what I finally decide.

Inhale the good ish

This is how I am going to make it through the rest of today and through the madness that will be travel on this busiest travel weekend of the year.

Play that funky music!!

Sometimes, it is the simple things in life that tickle me so.

I saw this and think that this is how I want to go out!

Post-Sandy commute to work

Back to work today.  No kids.  Just teachers.

Trip to work: Two subways to 42nd Street, met with three teachers who also live in Manhattan and then tried to catch a cab to Brooklyn.  Got a cab, the driver almost didn't want to take us when he found out we were going to BK.

Coming home: Tried to get a car with the car service company by the school (that had been our go-to plan when we were heading toward school).  Services said they had no cars due to no gas and not being able to get gasoline in the area.  Got to see Lower Manhattan.  The armored vehicles, the lack of lights, the desolateness.  Kind of eerie.  Some areas, like Union Square, I have been to and have been in awe of the amount of people.  Today, it was completely empty.  I was scared driving through there with no street lights since cabs were rushing all over the place and we almost were hit twice.

We started walking down the street trying to get a cab.  walked for 30 minutes in the direction of the Williamsburg Bridge hailing cabs and car service vehicles to no avail.  Finally found a man getting out of a cab and were able to squeeze four teachers in.

Drove through Lower Manhattan again.  Got to see the street corner where the lights turn on and where life begins again.  It was amazing to see how it suddenly went from no people to people.

Walked several blocks from Grand Central Station to help a fellow teacher find her way to the Bolt Bus she was going to take to VA for the weekend, and then took a normal train back to the crib.

Not sure how this is all going to work on Monday when we are back to having students and I have to be at work by 7:20.  There are shuttles that I saw at 42nd and Lexington that will take me over, and hopefully there will be more subway lines opened.

Not sure how students will all get there, and if they are all ok, either.  Many live all over the different boroughs, not just in Brooklyn.  We've heard from some, but won't know for sure about all of them until the middle/end of the day on Monday (if school is not called again).

Storm prep

Ready for Hurricane Sandy.

I've got food, candles, batteries, a nice comfy blanket to lay under.  Hoping the power does not go out as I sit here listing to the strong wind blowing against my windows.

I made the rookie storm mistake of not getting any wine, or booze.

Lesson learned.

Saturday Quote: Life tests our will

Toilets and tiredness

As I sit here waiting for the moment when the parents will arrive in my room for Curriculum Night (Open House), I am trying to think of moments that tickle me or things that will keep me alert and focused.

One moment from today:
Student came into the office and just stood there.
Secretary: What is it?
Student: Hmm.
Secretary: What is it?  You know you can't just come in here to hang out, right?
Student: I know.  My stomach hurts.
Secretary: Well.  Do you need to use the bathroom?
Student: I don't know.
Secretary: Well, go try and use the bathroom.  Just sit there and see if there is a release.  If you have to, go ahead and rub your knees and lean forward a bit to make it release more easily.

Only two and a half more hours, then a forty-five minute commute home to make this a 16-hour day from door step to door step.  Hopefully, tonight, I get more than 5 hours of sleep.

Semi-Wordless Wednesday: School Critter

This morning as I rang the buzzer to get into school (I got there so early the doors were not yet unlocked and the principal was the only one there) this is what I saw:

The principal was not worried about it since these things eat other bugs.  I was freaked because it was almost as big as the palm of my hand.

This afternoon as I left the school, it was still there.

Tomorrow is the first day of class for the students.  I have had to do so much to get my room and my curriculum ready, that I have not really done much to get ready for the actual teaching... Hope all goes well!

The stuff dreams are made of

I've started having the school dreams.  In the past, it has been just a few days before the start of school.  This time around it is over a week before school starts (Thursday after Labor Day).

Each time, the dreams are full of all the things I need to do and all of the teachers I have met so far.

I am excited to be starting at a new school in a new state and am glad the content is somewhat similar to some courses I have taught before.

I am also very thankful for this summer.  Not only because I made this move toward the end of the summer, but because it was, literally, the longest summer break I have ever had.  My St. Louis school ended before Memorial Day in May and I don't start here until this coming week.  It is the first time I have had a full three month break to rejuvenate.

I do feel somewhat more refreshed than I ever have in all my years of teaching, but now I have a lot to do to get ready for the new year at the new school - mapping out the curriculum for the year and posting it outside the room, creating a syllabus for each class, learning the textbook, figuring out how to use the grading system, figuring out the new email, making sure I am truly cleared to teach.  Things that I normally would have been able to do throughout the summer or even before the summer began.

I also have supplies to buy (and figure out if the school has some supplies or if I have to buy them myself).  I also have a room to decorate (a lot of the other rooms I have seen so far are super decorated - I guess in part because it is a 6-10 school and in part because they are creative).  I am not a fuzzy, glittery decorator, but I feel like I at least need to put up a sign with my name and saying welcome, or something in addition to the few posters I was able to take from the old school.

This is just a snippet of the things on my mind as I free-write for this Stream of Consciousness Sunday. You can join in or read others' posts at Jana's Thinking Place.  Just write for five minutes on the prompt she has given, or on any other topic that you just want to let out of your system.

Shipping comfort

I didn't use any sort of truck getting to NYC.  I didn't even bring my lovely car.  Instead, I brought the basics and had a few other basics shipped.

The shipping process was pretty smooth.  I had some things shipped directly to my apartment, others to the FedEx location where I picked them up.  I am still waiting on one last box (the contents of which I cannot remember).

Yesterday, after over a week of living here, I received the best package yet.

Pillows.

I didn't really think it would be that bad to sleep without pillows for a few days.

Clearly, I wasn't thinking.

It is not comfortable, especially when sleeping on an air mattress.  For over a week.  My new bed should arrive this Friday meaning a total of two weeks on an air mattress.

Last night's rest was glorious.

Still uncomfortable on the air mattress, but at least my neck was not uncomfortable.  And I wasn't laying on a makeshift pillow made of a blanket or a towel.

I also had the cable and internet turned on yesterday which makes me feel like a real person again.  What was the first thing I watched?  House Hunters.  Yes, I know that some of it is staged, but it is still a show I enjoy watching.  I guess I just like looking into people's homes and their home options and hearing their ridiculous reasons for rejecting a house.

Even when I walk down the street at night (used to drive) I try and get peaks into the homes that don't have their blinds closed.  I like to see what they have inside, and how it is arranged.

I'm almost ready to go

Today, I take more of my furniture to Kid Sis #3 for her to sell (I'm really looking forward to getting the money, too - been a long time since I've made money and this move and all it entails is really making me dip into my do-not-touch savings).

My living room is just a shell of a place with barely anything in it besides the rest of the items to be packed and the rest of the items to be sold/lent out.

The only things left after I give my sister various items are the things I will take on the plane with me and the television I will ship tomorrow.

It really is real.  It is official.

I changed my address with the post office, mailed some items to my new location.

I'm moving and leaving the town I have spent all but my college years in.

Saturday Quote: Two primary choices in life

As I get ready for this big move, this is a quote that really speaks to me.

Start spreading the news!!

I used to love that old song about New York when I was a small child and we sang it in elementary school choir.  "Start spreading the news.  I'm leaving today... If I can make it there, I'll make it any where."

Remember back in April when I had to move from the house to my new apartment in a few weeks time?

Well, now comes another quick move.

This time from Saint Louis, Missouri to New York, New York.  (That was part of the reason for the trip a few weeks ago.)

I have to move there in the next two weeks.

Really exciting and increasingly becoming nerve racking all at the same time.  I won't go into all the details of how it came to be, but it is happening.

Now I have to figure out what I want to take with me, how to get it there, and what to do with the things I will not be taking with me.

I am continuing with my mission this year of minimizing my life and of resetting my life and working on doing things for me and for the ones I care about.