4.0

I got my grades from Hell, Part I. I got A's in both classes! I think the Tom Petty concert this weekend is well deserved. And I think I just might have to buy myself the new Tom Petty album. And go to Sweet Tomatoes.

Oh shit! I just realized that I forgot to pack my lunch today.

Hot For Hubby

So I wrote a post yesterday (which I just deleted) about my lack of concentration in class over the fact that my professor is hot. When my husband came home, I attacked him. I think that the similarities in their appearance simply renewed my infatuation, lust, desire, etc. for my husband. I'm totally hot for hubby right now. It was difficult to let him go to work today.

My professor is short (though, not at short as Navigator). He has dark brown hair and a beard. If he was in the same room as my husband, along with a bunch of other people, and I described my husband to a stranger, they might see my professor and think he's my husband. I checked out Navigator this morning. I mean, really checked him out. He's way hotter than my professor.

I think I've just been really stressed out with school that I haven't had time to think about just how unbelieveably attracted I am to my husband. We've been married for almost a year, but we've been together for three. You'd think that by now, we would be past the stage where we can't keep our hands off each other, and be in the happily comfortable stage. I thought that's where we were last week because I wasn't feeling totally crazy about him.

It took the cute professor to get me going again. That's why I think it was stress from school. I just have 3 1/2 weeks left, then a week of work. After that, I'll have a month of no responsibility and all the time in the world to be crazy about my husband.

A Meme

I was tagged for a meme by Waterfall. I've never done one before, so we'll see what happens...


The "4" Meme

4 jobs you've had:

1. Hot Shot Investment Banker
2. Campus Security
3. Database Administrator
4. Papa John's Pizza Shift Manager

4 movies you could watch over & over:

1. Casablanca
2. Office Space
3. Walk
4. Monty Python's Holy Grail

4 places you've lived:

1. Cranford, NJ
2. Raytown, MO
3. Plaquemine, LA
4. Stockton, CA

4 TV shows you love to watch:

1. Stargate SG-1
2. Veronica Mars
3. Smallville
4. The Biggest Loser (Although I'm not sure that's on anymore. When it was on, I loved watching it)

4 places you've been on holiday:

1. The Appalachian Trail
2. The Pacific Crest Trail
3. Alaska
4. Vancouver Island

4 websites you visit daily:

1. google.com
2. weather.com
3. myspace.com
4. craigslist.com

4 of your favorite foods:

1. applesauce
2. bagels (really, it's any bread product, but bagels are my favorite. Of that category, NJ bagels win.)
3. berries
4. popcorn

4 places you'd rather be:

1. In a house with air conditioning (we're on the downside of a heat wave)
2. In the woods
3. At the beach
4. In Colville, working on our property

4 lucky people to tag:

I'm new to this blogging world, so I'm going to pick the only blogging people I know (and I know I can't tag waterfall again...). Hopefully at least one person will respond...

1. Double I
2. Gloves
3. Bear Bag
4. Batteries Included

Cycle Oregon - The Weekend

This weekend, temps got into the 100's. Instead of sitting in front of the fan, sipping iced tea and lemonade, my husband & I joined the Cycle Oregon weekend ride from Eugene to Oakland.

It would have been a fairly easy ride, if it was 30 degrees cooler. There weren't too many major climbs and it was mostly flat. Saturday morning, it was cloudy for most of the day, but Sunday was brutal. Navigator nearly succumbed to the heat. I had to wrap him in cold, wet towels to cool him off. I had a headache Saturday night, but only because I didn't drink enough water.

The town of Oakland was fun. I don't think they have one stop sign in their downtown area. We camped on the ball fields at the high school. The high school and the elementary school share the same grounds, cafeteria and multi-purpose room. The elementary school has about 8 classrooms and one bathroom. That's how small this town is.

Downtown, there was one tavern (which was closed) and a soda shop/restaurant/bar, one hardware store that sells everything and a grocery store about the size of a 7-11. Every other building in town was an antique shop. In fact, the soda shop/restaurant/bar also sells antiques. What is it about small towns and antique shops? I don't get it.

I didn't take too many pictures on account of the heat and the fact that we were kinda miserable. I also packed the camera in our overnight bags on Sunday, so I didn't even have it during the ride yesterday.

I have ass rash on the crease where my butt meets my legs. I'm not looking forward to riding to work today.

The good news is that I found my I-Pod on Friday. The bad news is that one of our kittens, Cholla, succumbed to the heat and passed away this weekend. She had been losing weight for a week and was failing to thrive to begin with. My roommate had to work until 10 and when she came home, Cholla was in bad shape. She was seizing every so often, and hadn't had any water or food all day. She finally passed at 3am. Reuben is 1.5 pounds, Meesha is 1 pound, and when Cholla died, she was less than 1/2 a pound. She was also the runt of the litter. She was part siamese, and some cats in heat will have more than one partner. This means that Mom probably had a siamese partner a while after her first, and Cholla was probably a premie, so her chances were already slim. I miss her. She was super sweet.

We still have Reuben and Meesha. Reuben is currently attacking the cords on the computer. Silly kitty!

Good News... and Some Bad

The good news is that I need to get only 5 points (out of 15) on my final today to get an A in the class.

The bad news is that I seem to have misplaced my I-Pod. I honestly can't remember the last time I had it. I think it was at work on Friday. I hope it is still at work, under a bunch of stuff on my desk. It's not in my car. I just hope I didn't put it on top of my car before I left work and drove off. Shit. I hate it when my mind is so cluttered, I can't remember a damn thing.

Hell, Part 1

On Thursday at 4:50pm, Hell, Part 1 will officially be over. We will celebrate with happy hour, then go home, recouperate, read two chapters in a new book and return on Monday for Hell, Part 2.

What is this Hell in Two Parts? It's the Summer Session of the PSU Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Ed Grad Program. This is the idea:

Take two classes that usually meet four hours per week in 12 weeks, and shrink them into two classes that meet eight hours per week in four weeks. Follow that up with another round, and you have Hell in Two Parts.

The only good thing about it is that after Thursday, I will be on the downhill side. I see the light at the end of the tunnel and my only hope is that it has a 3.5 (or better) dancing in it.

Students with Deafness and Hearing Loss Presentation

Tomorrow is my group presentation on Students with Deafness and Hearing Loss. I'm exhausted, but I'm almost finished. I was hoping that my sister-in-law would have the time to put together a first-hand account on being a parent of a child with hearing loss, but I haven't heard from her. She probably has a lot to do besides my homework. Luckily, she kept a journal of my niece's progress, so I think I'll print it out tomorrow morning and just make that supplemental material.

In the mean time, I've created beautiful transparencies, a Deaf Time Line and a most wonderful outline that will wow our professor (at least I hope). I know I'm putting more work into this than I need to, but I can't help it. I am a perfectionist.

I have strong feelings about my professor, textbook and the class in general, but I have neither the time nor the energy to express such thoughts. Right now, I must put all my stuff together, take a shower, turn off the lights, kiss the kittens and go to bed.

More Pictures of Kittens

I couldn't get these pictures to upload on my last post.

Kittens sleeping in their corral. From top to bottom: Reuben, Cholla & Meesha

Meesha tangled in my backpack strap!

Who Wants a Kitten?

The Shmuffinator passed away last month. He'd been having digestive tract problems that got complicated into kidney trouble and eventually complete shut-down. It was difficult in that the kidney problems and shut-down happened so quickly that we were pretty surprised when the vet gave us the choice to euthanize or put him through more trauma to attempt to keep him alive for another couple months. He's been creamated and sits next to Rocky Cat on my dresser.
I decided that I didn't want to get into another relationship with a cat in the near future. However, my roommate wanted one, but wasn't sure if she could make a long-term commitment. We decided that she should foster cats. She signed up with the Cat Adoption Team. We got our first set of kittens w/ mom on Friday. They'll be with us for the next 4-6 weeks. While they were in the shelter last week, they all lost weight and mom stopped eating because it was so stressful on them. Since coming here, they have all been nursing very well and mom has eaten quite a lot. We haven't seen much weight gain yet, but that'll probably take a week.

We've named them Reuben, Meesha and Cholla. Mom is Sheba, though she was misnamed. When Heidi went to pick up the cats, she was told that she was getting an all black set. She thought that an all black cat would make a cool Sheba, so when the woman asked her what she wanted to name the mom, she said "Sheba." Then she got the tuxedo cat and it was too late.

Sheba is about two years old and she likes to play. She isn't as active as a normal two year old right now because she's nursing and needs to keep her strength to make milk. However, she does like to play with the little yarn toys we've made for the kittens. She's also a big lover. She sleeps at the foot of Heidi's bed every night and likes to be around people. She hates to be locked in the spare bedroom alone with the kittens. She will make a wonderful lap cat for somebody.

Here's a picture of the sweet lumps of fluff. If you are in the Portland area and may be interested in adopting a kitten or cat, let me know!

Mama nursing her kittens

Philosopy of Teaching

We have an assignment due in my Intro to EI/ECSE class today. We have to write our philosophy of teaching. We weren't given any guidelines. In fact, none of my assignments so far have had any guidelines, except for amount of pages. My philosophy of teaching is to be a page or less, double spaced. This is my first draft. My instructor will look it over, make comments, and I will use those comments to rework my philosophy and turn it in to another instructor in another class. The idea is that by the time I'm finished with the licensure program, I will have a lengthy philosophy of teaching that is succint and solid. So, here it is folks, Delphi's current short but sweet philosophy of teaching:

Learning is a continual process of which every human being is capable. Everyone acquires skills and knowledge at different paces. No one pace is correct. The pace is correct only to that individual, as one must master a certain set of skills before moving on to the next.

As a teacher, I hope to foster a lifelong love of learning in my students. Therefore, it is my duty to help the students in the mastery of each set of skills, determined by their pace. If I require that a student who is learning at a slower pace learn at the pace of her peers, she may lose self esteem and any desire to continue to learn. Conversely, if I require that a student who has mastered a set of skills to continue to practice those skills without building on them while his peers reach the same level of mastery, the student may lose his desire to learn because of boredom.

In order to attain such goals, it is important that a teacher form a partnership with parents. Parents are a child’s first teachers. As such, they have a wealth of information about the student’s strengths and learning needs. I believe that supporting a parent’s role as the first and continuing teacher and advocate for their child is vitally important to the success of a child’s learning. If a parent does not get that support and their interest in their child’s learning is lost, the child’s own desire to learn may be wasted.

Cranky Bitch

I have realized this week that sleep will be a privilege, not a right. I currently have two classes that are squeezing 12 weeks of information into 5 weeks. I nearly had a crying fit last night when I realized that I had to do the dishes because I didn't cook. I hadn't planned that into my schedule. I have a hard time falling asleep as it is, and if I don't get at least 6 good hours a night, I'm a cranky bitch. So, consider yourself warned, y'all, because I ain't getting enough sleep.

I've had the following thoughts in the past week:
1) quit my job immediately
2) back out on the backpacking weekend

I really don't think I can do it all, and this is just the first week. Fuck.

First Day Anxieties

Sunday night was a nearly sleepless night. I tossed and turned and had bad dreams. In one dream, I was living in the house I grew up in, back in Ormond Beach, FL However, it was located at my current address.

I had to get to the Portland airport to fly to class. My flight left at 5:30. I had to catch a bus to PDX (the airport). It was 5:29. I finally got all my shit together and got across the street where all the big yellow school busses were waiting. By the time I got there, all but one had left. This one was going to Tigard Elementary Kindergarten. I asked the bus driver "Which Tigard Elementary Kindergarten are you going to?"

"The Tigard Elementary Kindergarten," he replied.

"But there are more than one," I said. I just wanted to know if he was going to drop me off at the school behind my house or the one in downtown Tigard.

"Look lady, this is the only bus left to pick you up. Are you getting on or not?"

So I got on, thinking I could catch a bus at the school since there are so many busses, but worried that I had already missed my flight and I was going in the opposite direction of the airport.

As the bus pulled away from the stop, I woke up. I don't know if I woke up because it was such a stressful dream, or because it was a silly dream.

Work was difficult. My closing teacher didn't do a Goddamn thing on Friday and I had to spend my one hour of paperwork time cleaning dried food off my tables, and putting toys away. I also had to pick up a dead baby bird off our sidewalk. There was a nest near our playground and we were thinking the babies would learn how to fly this weekend. Unfortunately, it was 95-100 degrees this weekend, and I think this baby may have succumed to the heat. I wanted to give it a proper burial, but it's difficult to do in a preschool yard, so he (or she) ended up in a plastic bag in the dumpster. sigh.

One of my teachers suggested I leave 5 minutes early because the bus is never on time, and usually early. She's always late to work because this is the case, so I left early. I got to the bus stop at 12:01. The bus was scheduled to arrive at 12:13. It arrived at 12:07. Had I left at 1 minute past noon, I would have almost missed the bus. I think I'll leave at 11:55 every day.

It took me a little while to find the classroom. I went the wrong way and ended up in the School of Business Administration. Ick!

My professor didn't mind that I brought my bike into class. I don't have a super chain or combo lock yet, so I'm wary of locking it up outside until I get all that stuff. I plan on doing that when I pick up my panniers at REI when they come in next week. My professor just bought himself a Trek bike over the weekend, so we had a lot to talk about.

The class doesn't seem so bad. It's Survey of Exceptional Learners. We have to do reflection papers after every class, which won't be difficult, and we have "quickie quizzes" every day. We have to do group presentations and a paper, but no final, so I'm happy.

I rode my bike all the way home yesterday. I figured I would ride until it was too hot, and then hop on the bus, but it seemed pointless. It was 100 degrees and if I stopped moving, I would just sit in heat and die. The busses don't use air conditioning on account of the price of fuel, and everyone would be stinky. So I rode. When I got home, I thought I was going to die. But I did it. I rode home in 45 minutes. Not too shabby!

Today's class is Intro to Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Ed. I'm hoping my proffessor is just as cool about bikes in class as the last one. I hope the classroom is just as large as yesterday's so I can fit my bike in it. We'll see...

My Bicycle...

...is ready for the summer session! I took it in for a tune-up and to fix the rack. I'm using one of Navigator's panniers until mine come in. I'm so excited!

One Day to Go

I'm getting antsy. I took my bike to the Bike Gallery for a tune-up. It'll probably cost me $100 for all the adjustments. And then I need to pick out panniers. I told Navigator that I'm going to steal his, but I think I can purchase my own. Maybe I'll get them at REI so I can get the dividend.

I keep pacing my house trying to figure out everything I'm going to need tomorrow. I need to wash my cycling clothes. I need to get the oil changed on my car. I need to eat some veggies. My stomach is doing cartwheels, I'm so nervous. I'm so excited. I'm so insane.

In 24 hours, I'll be in class. Yay!

Weekend Wrap-Up

I spent a lot of time cleaning this weekend. I didn't do everything on my list, but here's how far I got on each item:

1. Clear out my clutter - I had 4 piles of clutter to get rid of. I filed, recycled, organized and threw away enough to be down to one manageable pile that I can tackle this week.
   
2. Wash laundry and put away clothing - Navigator helped me with this one. We have only a few things that still need to be ironed. Otherwise, no more laundry to be done.
   
3. Figure out how to get the rack on my bike to work - I didn't get to this one.
   
4. Purchase panniers and a combination lock for my bike - nor did I get to this one.
   
5. Buy my books - I bought 1 book at the PSU bookstore for $100 and 5 books from Amazon for $150.
   
6. Clear out the clutter in Navigator's storage unit - Didn't get around to this one.
   
7. Move the desk to the third bedroom - Didn't get to do this one.
   
8. Create and organize a nice study area in third bedroom - Third bedroom is clean and orgazined, but not necessarily a study area just yet.
   
9. Move the wedding gifts from the shed to Navigator's storage unit - Wedding gifts still in shed, but at least they are organized.
   
10. Finish writing thank-you notes for wedding gifts - Thank you notes ordered and on their way.

I think that I got the bulk of the work done this weekend. This week I'll be working on that last pile, as well as organizing my craft boxes. My yarn is out of control and I don't know where all my soap making supplies are. I need to get all that organized before September since I'll have a month break between summer & fall term to work on Christmas gifts.

One week until classes begin!! I'm so excited!

It's Done

I told my boss today. I didn't wuss out. She reacted exactly how I thought she would. Damn her for being completely understanding. She made it that much harder on me. Yeah, I feel much better, like a weight has been lifted, but still... I feel bad. I feel like I've done something to her. I know I haven't done anything to her, that I did what I need to do for me, but because she was completely understanding and not crying, screaming, gnashing her teeth, shouting "WHY?!?!" and all that other stuff, I feel bad.

I'll get over it. I'll get over it and I'll start school and I'll forget that I ever stressed out about something as silly as this low-paying job that I am over-qualified for.

In fact, in our meeting, she even mentioned that it makes more sense to take the pay cut to go to school full time for one year, rather than stay at this pay for two years, when you can make twice this pay if you get the cut for one. Wow! It's nice to have a boss who can look at things like that. In fact, I don't think that we've ever had such a good one on one before. It was refreshing...for me, at least. For her, I think she's going home to drink a bottle of wine. I should have brought one into the meeting. Dammit, I'm so insensitive.

Now that I've gotten through the hard part, I have the following things on my list to do this weekend:

1. Clear out my clutter.
2. Wash laundry and put away clothing.
3. Figure out how to get the rack on my bike to work.
4. Purchase panniers and a combination lock for my bike.
5. Buy my books.
6. Clear out the clutter in Navigator's storage unit.
7. Move the desk to the third bedroom.
8. Create and organize a nice study area in third bedroom.
9. Move the wedding gifts from the shed to Navigator's storage unit.
10. Finish writing thank-you notes for wedding gifts.

In addition to this, we are meeting with a realtor tomorrow morning to look at some condos (the big question is has my husband called the mortgage guy? hmmm.....) on Saturday. On Sunday, Double I is coming over to test some backpacking recipes with me. I also want to go to the Beaverton Farmer's Market, Costco & the library. How will I fit it all in? Why can't we have three day weekends every week? Oh wait! When I start school in the fall, I WILL have three day weekends every week!

Telling the Boss

Today is my one on one with my boss. I'm going to break the news to her. I had coffee with our Disabilities Services Coordinator on Tuesday, and she suggested it would be best for me to break the news now rather than wait. It makes sense. After all, I've been telling my boss that I'm not leaving even though I'm going to grad school. If I wait until the end of August to tell her, she's going to think I was lying to her the entire time. If I tell her now, I am being honest and letting her know as things come up. This will keep her on my good side and she'll be more likely to keep me on the payroll as a sub. It will also give them ample time to find someone worthy to replace me. :)

The only thing I'm concerned about is that they'll replace me before I want to be replaced. If they do that, I'll have to quit outright and find a different job. If they do that, I'll have to inform all my parents and have them make a big stink. If they do that, I'll have to contact HR and make a big stink. I guess I'm not afraid of that now.

My meeting with her is in 1 1/2 hours. I have to start practicing my speech. I'm nervous. I don't know why. I don't want to work here in this position anymore, but I still feel bad. I shouldn't. Navigator's secretary makes more than double what I make. There is another teacher in my center who has 5 years less experience than me and she makes 10 cents more an hour. I've been screwed ever since I started working here. I need to look out for me. I never look out for me, I'm such a silly bleeding heart. Not anymore. I'm going to march into her office and say "I'm sick and tired and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"

I just hope I don't wuss out.

Reunion Weekend

Last weekend was my 10 year at the University of Dayton. It was a blast. The University has changed so much since I was last there - new buildings, new dorms, a new rec center, my house has been demolished for a fancy apartment complex/art studio called "ArtStreet." It made me wish I was an undergrad again, starting out at UD. the only new thing we had when I was attending school there was the Jessie Phillips Humanities Building with giant reliefs of William Shakespeare and Renee Descarts on the outside walls. Sigh.

The bookstore moved on me. It's in a new fancy-shmancy dorm and I didn't see one textbook in it. They're hidden upstairs, past all the UD logo smattered shirts, sweats, coffee mugs, travel mugs, keychains, posters, pennants, briefcases, and what-not. I purchased a $40 shirt. Just trying to do my part to help pay for all the new stuff.

I'm glad I went. It was good to see my old buddies and get back in touch with a few I'd forgotten. One of my friends is now teaching English at Western Oregon University. She lives 30 minutes south of me. We'll be doing a lot of hanging out and reciting poetry to each other this summer. I love reciting poetry. And reminiscing about Dr. Ruff. I miss that crazy old man.

Classes start in less than two weeks. I'm telling my boss tomorrow that I'm going full time. I spent most of this morning going over in my head all the possible things she can say/do to me when I tell her. I think I have all the proper arguments ready. I have a feeling she won't do anything I imagine. I have a feeling she'll be supportive. She's just that kind of lady.

I'm Doing It!

I made my decision! I'm going full time!

I went to campus on Tuesday to take care of a bunch of stuff. I got my ID and Trimet Flex Pass, turned in my proof on Measles immunization, had lunch with and got a tour of campus from my MySpace friend, and headed to the School of Ed to pick up a copy of the Full Time schedule.

The summer classes are the same for FT & PT. In the fall, the PT schedule has two classes, two days a week. The FT schedule has 4 classes, M-Th, and a once a week seminar for the practicum. The seminar is the only class that starts before 4pm. There are no classes on Friday. That's pretty much how the classes run for the year. So I can work 10-20 hours per week without stressing.

I spoke w/ Navigator when I got home. I can be put on his insurance at work for no additional cost. I can sub for Head Start and the ESD while I'm in school. That way, I can decide whether or not I have the time to work, rather than have a set schedule. And in one year, I should be licensed (or awaiting TSPC to send me my license) and working for twice what I'm making now.

I wrote my advisor to tell her of my decision and ask her who I notify to make it official.

I'm really excited about this. I can't wait for school to start. Just two weeks and four days left!!

Navigator's Birthday

Friday was Navigator's birthday (that's my hubby). I spent the day with our friend Double I Foreigner and we bought special birthday outfits at Goodwill which we wore to the Rose Festival. We had a theme: 80's-type graphic T-shirts and pin striped pants.

At D.I's house before the Rose Festival

The great thing about Portland is that if you walk down the street looking like this, you won't get shot. In fact, some people might think it's the next new trend.

I wore a side ponytail, Napoleon Dynamite style! It was great fun, although the Tilt-a-Whirl was a bit of a let-down. I can't believe we paid 7 tickets for that ride!

Here are some more pics:

Luckily, I was just tall enough...

My favorite picture... Stealing a kiss on the MAX on the way home