I returned Monday night one day early from my backpacking trip to the Goat Rocks with my friend Sharon. I'm still processing everything that happened. Saturday and Sunday were wonderful days. Monday was "The Ordeal," which is what we are calling it. I will be posting my journal to www.trailjournals.com/belcher06 later this week. The following Woody Guthrie song pretty much sums up our last day. These were lyrics Woody wrote, but never put to music. Ellis Paul put them to music and does quite a job with it. Enjoy...
God's Promise
I didn't promise you skies painted blue
Not all colored flowers all your days through
I didn't promise you sun with no rain
Joys without sorrows, peace without pain.
All that I promise is strength for this day,
Rest for my worker, and light on your way.
I give you truth when you need it, my help from above,
Undying friendship, my unfailing love.
I never did promise you crowns without trials,
Food with no hard sweat, your tears without smiles,
Hot sunny days without cold wintry snows,
No vict'ry without fightin', no laughs without woes.
All that I promise is strength for this day,
Rest for my worker, my light on your way,
I give you truth when you need it, my help from above,
Undying friendship, my unfailing love.
I sure didn't say I'd give you heaven on earth,
A life with no labor no struggles no deaths,
No earthquakes no dryspells, no fire flames no droughts,
No slaving no hungers, no blizzards no blights.
All that I promise is strength for this day,
Rest for my worker, my light on your way,
I give you truth when you need it, my help from above,
Undying friendship, my unfailing love.
I promise you power, this minute this hour,
The power you need when you fall down to bleed,
I give you my peace, and my strength to pull home
My love for all races all creeds and all kinds.
My flavors my saviors my creeds of all kinds,
My love for my saviors, all colors all kinds,
My love for my races all creeders all kinds,
My saviors my flavors my dancers all kinds,
My dancers my prancers my singers all kinds,
My flavors my saviors my dancers all kinds.
New Words by Woody Guthrie
Music by Ellis Paul
Words © Copyright 2001 by Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Other Exciting Reads
On Friday, I plan on hiking the section of the PCT I skipped in 2003 due to a fire. I have to skip a section this year due to a fire. One of these days, I'm going to complete the entire freakin' trail...
I'm keeping a trailjournal. I've posted to it a few times in the past three days. This is my first advertisement of the trailjournal. However, I have had 350 hits already. People are weird. My trailjournal is not funny.
Because I no longer have school, I can finally introduce the blogs that are on my blogroll. Drumroll please...
My first blog is A Sort of Notebook by Nina Baxley. It's a fun little daily journal of my friend, who is a writer, pianist and aspiring half-marathon runner.
The second is The Adventures of Scott, AKA "Batteries Included." This is a personal blog of a fellow PCT thru-hiker living in Wisconsin. He has some amazing pictures of the PCT up there.
The Adventures of the Painted Ladies is an adventure blog that my friend Double I and I put together to log our fun and wacky adventures. We have a quite a few contributors to the blog.
My cousin Jason has two blogs. Dispatches from a lost student's mind details his thoughts and ramblings about his life in college. He'll be entering his Sophomore year at Stanford in the fall. He's brilliant and is thinking about becoming a neurosurgeon. His second blog, Hilarity, is a log of funny video clips he's found on the internet that he finds amusing. It's a blog typical of a college dude.
My friend from the AT, Bear Bag, is currently cycling across the US. He's blogging about it at Gary Buffington's Bike Ride Across America.
Letters from Lisa is a blog about issues in special education, and how to handle being a parent of a child with special needs.
What's the Point? is my brother's seemingly forgotten blog that is rather funny. I don't know if he will ever post to it again, but what's up there so far is mint.
I got A's in my last two classes and work will be over soon. I'm feeling good!
I'm keeping a trailjournal. I've posted to it a few times in the past three days. This is my first advertisement of the trailjournal. However, I have had 350 hits already. People are weird. My trailjournal is not funny.
Because I no longer have school, I can finally introduce the blogs that are on my blogroll. Drumroll please...
My first blog is A Sort of Notebook by Nina Baxley. It's a fun little daily journal of my friend, who is a writer, pianist and aspiring half-marathon runner.
The second is The Adventures of Scott, AKA "Batteries Included." This is a personal blog of a fellow PCT thru-hiker living in Wisconsin. He has some amazing pictures of the PCT up there.
The Adventures of the Painted Ladies is an adventure blog that my friend Double I and I put together to log our fun and wacky adventures. We have a quite a few contributors to the blog.
My cousin Jason has two blogs. Dispatches from a lost student's mind details his thoughts and ramblings about his life in college. He'll be entering his Sophomore year at Stanford in the fall. He's brilliant and is thinking about becoming a neurosurgeon. His second blog, Hilarity, is a log of funny video clips he's found on the internet that he finds amusing. It's a blog typical of a college dude.
My friend from the AT, Bear Bag, is currently cycling across the US. He's blogging about it at Gary Buffington's Bike Ride Across America.
Letters from Lisa is a blog about issues in special education, and how to handle being a parent of a child with special needs.
What's the Point? is my brother's seemingly forgotten blog that is rather funny. I don't know if he will ever post to it again, but what's up there so far is mint.
I got A's in my last two classes and work will be over soon. I'm feeling good!
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
This Is Bad
I just read my Google Horoscope. It's bad when your Google Horoscope is correct. This must mean the world is about to end. Here's my Google Horoscope:
You are on a pendulum now, swinging back and forth between the responsibilities in your life and your desire to escape from them. Hopefully you aren't planning on a day of easy relaxation, for your life can now be fraught with complicated choices, especially about relationships. Your sense of identity is being challenged but if you just act with kindness, others will accept you.
I want to escape from Hell, Part 2. I have just a few more classes left, but still. It sucks. I'm ready for my backpacking trip.
You are on a pendulum now, swinging back and forth between the responsibilities in your life and your desire to escape from them. Hopefully you aren't planning on a day of easy relaxation, for your life can now be fraught with complicated choices, especially about relationships. Your sense of identity is being challenged but if you just act with kindness, others will accept you.
I want to escape from Hell, Part 2. I have just a few more classes left, but still. It sucks. I'm ready for my backpacking trip.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Hey Asshole in the silver Mazda!!
Sometimes I wish I had a horn on my bike. Not one of those silly bells, but a horn that's as loud (or louder) than a car horn. Maybe one that says "HEY ASSHOLE" since that's usually what I scream at the people who make me feel like my life may end when I'm riding my bike.
For instance, I was on the scary bridge on Barbur Blvd. today. It is scary in that there is no bike lane and the sidewalk is raised and the width of my rear end. There is a big yellow sign that boldly cautions the cars travelling at 45+ mph that bikes are on the bridge since it is obvious that it is too dangerous to ride a bike on the elevated sidewalk. There are two lanes travelling the same direction on this bridge. It seems obvious to me that if there was a slow-moving vehicle in the right-hand lane, I would get into the left-hand lane to go around said slow-moving vehicle. For some reason, people who drive cars at 45+ mph on this bridge think that it's quite alright and safe to pass the slow-moving vehicle with six inches (or less) of space between them.
That is why I wish I had a big horn. Right now, I scream, but my voice is not as strong as most car horns. In fact, I doubt that it's a strong as a bicycle bell.
What would be even better would be a bicycle horn that had more than one "beep" that you could program yourself to say different things. It could be on your handlebars, close to your gear shifters so you wouldn't have to move too much to blow it. Imagine if with a flick of your thumb, you could have your horn say "Hey buddy, that's a parking lane, not a bike lane. I'm obeying the law! What about you?" or "Yeah, I have a horn too. However, your horn doesn't tell me that you're about to cut me off, so maybe you should just wait two seconds you stupid Tri-Met bus driver!" or "Yes, I may be stopped, but you don't have the right to pull into my lane to make a right hand turn in front of me. Back it up shithead!"
Maybe it's the stress of school rubbing off. Maybe it's because I generally suffer from road rage and since I don't drive much anymore, it's translating to my cycling. Either way, I wish I had a third arm so I could just give people the finger while I'm riding. That would make my commute so much better.
For instance, I was on the scary bridge on Barbur Blvd. today. It is scary in that there is no bike lane and the sidewalk is raised and the width of my rear end. There is a big yellow sign that boldly cautions the cars travelling at 45+ mph that bikes are on the bridge since it is obvious that it is too dangerous to ride a bike on the elevated sidewalk. There are two lanes travelling the same direction on this bridge. It seems obvious to me that if there was a slow-moving vehicle in the right-hand lane, I would get into the left-hand lane to go around said slow-moving vehicle. For some reason, people who drive cars at 45+ mph on this bridge think that it's quite alright and safe to pass the slow-moving vehicle with six inches (or less) of space between them.
That is why I wish I had a big horn. Right now, I scream, but my voice is not as strong as most car horns. In fact, I doubt that it's a strong as a bicycle bell.
What would be even better would be a bicycle horn that had more than one "beep" that you could program yourself to say different things. It could be on your handlebars, close to your gear shifters so you wouldn't have to move too much to blow it. Imagine if with a flick of your thumb, you could have your horn say "Hey buddy, that's a parking lane, not a bike lane. I'm obeying the law! What about you?" or "Yeah, I have a horn too. However, your horn doesn't tell me that you're about to cut me off, so maybe you should just wait two seconds you stupid Tri-Met bus driver!" or "Yes, I may be stopped, but you don't have the right to pull into my lane to make a right hand turn in front of me. Back it up shithead!"
Maybe it's the stress of school rubbing off. Maybe it's because I generally suffer from road rage and since I don't drive much anymore, it's translating to my cycling. Either way, I wish I had a third arm so I could just give people the finger while I'm riding. That would make my commute so much better.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
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.
Oh shit! I just realized that I forgot to pack my lunch today.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
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.
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
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
Monday, July 24, 2006
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!
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!
Thursday, July 20, 2006
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
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.
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.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
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!
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
Thursday, July 06, 2006
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.
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.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
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...
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...
Sunday, June 25, 2006
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!
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!
Monday, June 19, 2006
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:
One week until classes begin!! I'm so excited!
- 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.
- 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.
- Figure out how to get the rack on my bike to work - I didn't get to this one.
- Purchase panniers and a combination lock for my bike - nor did I get to this one.
- Buy my books - I bought 1 book at the PSU bookstore for $100 and 5 books from Amazon for $150.
- Clear out the clutter in Navigator's storage unit - Didn't get around to this one.
- Move the desk to the third bedroom - Didn't get to do this one.
- Create and organize a nice study area in third bedroom - Third bedroom is clean and orgazined, but not necessarily a study area just yet.
- Move the wedding gifts from the shed to Navigator's storage unit - Wedding gifts still in shed, but at least they are organized.
- Finish writing thank-you notes for wedding gifts - Thank you notes ordered and on their way.
One week until classes begin!! I'm so excited!
Friday, June 16, 2006
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:
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:
- Clear out my clutter.
- Wash laundry and put away clothing.
- Figure out how to get the rack on my bike to work.
- Purchase panniers and a combination lock for my bike.
- Buy my books.
- Clear out the clutter in Navigator's storage unit.
- Move the desk to the third bedroom.
- Create and organize a nice study area in third bedroom.
- Move the wedding gifts from the shed to Navigator's storage unit.
- 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!
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