This week has been busy with various activity.
I made friends with a girl in my neighborhood who is expecting her first baby in December. She came over and we mulled over our problems with daily life and pregnancy.
And, I just realized that in the previous paragragh, I referred to my friend as a "girl", when actually she is a grown woman, one year older than me. It reminds me of the time that I briefly considered joining an on-line community for pregnant women. You could join groups according to your due date, so that you'd be able to commisserate with other group members. Before actually joining, I previewed the latest messages, and I was surprised by what I found.
Of the several members who had already joined up for the early March due date group, 2 of them were 15-year olds "expecting their first" child, and another was a 16-year old. Well, I never...
I am certain that these young girls need lots of support throughout this experience, but I was not about to share my most intimate fears and concerns with some high school girls. So, I clicked off of that site immediately and decided that meeting people face to face would be better.
Other than that, I have been busy with the usual. Japanese class, exam week at school, Max & and my new endeavor. Which I will reveal to you soon. The guesses were close, and obviously the people who guessed know me quite well. It is more on the creative side than the academic side though.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
____head is History
I really have to control myself whenever I talk about this guy because a stream of expletives is likely to excape from my mouth (or from my fingers when typing.)
This week, my colleague, who recently put in his resignation and gave one month's notice completely stopped coming to school.
When they called him to ask what was wrong, he claimed that he has developed influenza. Now, both you and I know that influenza does not actually strike until December or January. And, since his wife is a doctor, I am sure that they are aware of this fact.
So, of course we thought it was strange, and so he was granted a personal visit by the vice-principal and a fellow teacher. Of course, he was found to be in perfect health and was told that his services are no longer needed.
Apparently, he and his wife carefully read over the contract and found that he would be eligible for 20 days of sick leave with pay if indeed has an illness. So, this was their (his) plan. To leave the rest of us hanging, just before an exam period with no files or information passed from him to us. This guy has no class!
And, like we said when we read the resignation letter, it seems like he is an old pro at this kind of thing.
Now, on the bright side (because I ALWAYS try to find the bright side of things), his sudden resignation kind of inspired me to change something in my own life.
Here is a guy who is 38 years old and has been teaching ESL for the past 15 or so years in 3 different Asian countries. And, he got to the point where he realized that he was burned out on it. (To be honest, judging from his abilities & personality, I really doubt that he ever went through a good phase before getting burned out.) Anyway, I asked what he planned to do after leaving this job, and I expected him to say that he would be a househusband, since his wife is a doctor and technically, he does not need to work. This is precisely what he told another co-worker. But, to me, he explained briefly that he would like to write a book. Hmmm...interesting. Though he wouldn't reveal what he planned to write, I imagine that he felt time was passing him by, and that he ought to do some of this stuff before he gets too old or misses the opportunity (like his wife divorcing him and then he would have to work again). In a way, this inspired me to do the thing that I have been wanting to do for the past 6 years but never took that step. So, I did finally make my decision to go ahead with it, and I am very excited about it. So perhaps, _____head coming into my life (and then leaving it again) did prompt me to take this step.
So, there you go. A Bright Side.
This week, my colleague, who recently put in his resignation and gave one month's notice completely stopped coming to school.
When they called him to ask what was wrong, he claimed that he has developed influenza. Now, both you and I know that influenza does not actually strike until December or January. And, since his wife is a doctor, I am sure that they are aware of this fact.
So, of course we thought it was strange, and so he was granted a personal visit by the vice-principal and a fellow teacher. Of course, he was found to be in perfect health and was told that his services are no longer needed.
Apparently, he and his wife carefully read over the contract and found that he would be eligible for 20 days of sick leave with pay if indeed has an illness. So, this was their (his) plan. To leave the rest of us hanging, just before an exam period with no files or information passed from him to us. This guy has no class!
And, like we said when we read the resignation letter, it seems like he is an old pro at this kind of thing.
Now, on the bright side (because I ALWAYS try to find the bright side of things), his sudden resignation kind of inspired me to change something in my own life.
Here is a guy who is 38 years old and has been teaching ESL for the past 15 or so years in 3 different Asian countries. And, he got to the point where he realized that he was burned out on it. (To be honest, judging from his abilities & personality, I really doubt that he ever went through a good phase before getting burned out.) Anyway, I asked what he planned to do after leaving this job, and I expected him to say that he would be a househusband, since his wife is a doctor and technically, he does not need to work. This is precisely what he told another co-worker. But, to me, he explained briefly that he would like to write a book. Hmmm...interesting. Though he wouldn't reveal what he planned to write, I imagine that he felt time was passing him by, and that he ought to do some of this stuff before he gets too old or misses the opportunity (like his wife divorcing him and then he would have to work again). In a way, this inspired me to do the thing that I have been wanting to do for the past 6 years but never took that step. So, I did finally make my decision to go ahead with it, and I am very excited about it. So perhaps, _____head coming into my life (and then leaving it again) did prompt me to take this step.
So, there you go. A Bright Side.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Life...laugh about it
Rather than call this entry "Update", I thought I would give it a cooler name. When weird things happen in your life, you should just laugh it off. Or like my colleague who says "Thank you!" and walks away every single time someone insults him. (I am NOT talking about my foreign colleague who recently resigned.)
Me
I am literally up to my ears in scrapbooking projects right now. After reading two books about design and planning, I felt inspired to get going on some new albums. But first, I need to finish my current project. Also, my friend Louise is coming to visit for the weekend mainly to work on scrapbooking with me. (She is also supposed to help put wallpaper borders up in the baby's room.) So, before Louise arrives, I need to get everything in order so that I will have plenty of scrapbooking stuff to do with her.
I am also updating all my files and making explanation sheets for all of my lesson and unit plans. This is for the next teacher who takes my place (and Dildo's place), so that they won't be left hanging. If only I had had something like this when I first started. My hair started falling out during my first year due to the stress of being at such a loss. Anyway, this is a big job and requires a lot of time, but I refuse to take work home these days! So, I am determined to get it all done AT school.
I have recently made a huge decision that will affect my life in a big way. It is really exciting for me, and I have been waiting 6 years to come to this point, so I am glad that I am finally taking this step. I think that the timing is right as I will have 14 months off of work, so despite Matt's appearance next March, I should probably have time to do this as well. I will announce it soon...very soon.
Max
He farts a lot. Really smelly farts that suddenly waft over in your direction. Also, now that the weather is cooling off, he has become much more cuddly. He wants to be right next to me at all times so we can share body heat. What a user! I am going to make an album dedicated to him called "The Many Personalities of Max". Well, that will be later, after my other projects get off the ground.
Suk
Suk is practicing driving every weekend now, and he is making marked improvement. It is much better to drive with him WITHOUT his parents along. I have a whole list of stores that I want him to drive me to, but so far we have only made it to 3 of them. Okay, that is a start. I will probably never run out of stores that I want to go to. (BTW, I got my international license and will be practicing driving in Japan on the opposite side of the road in the coming weeks. My goal is to get my Japanese license before Christmas...or least before they bar me taking the driving test due to my impending largeness.)
Us
Suk and I are getting along much better since I came back from my trip to the USA. Our fights are much less frequent and they are becoming more "normal". Hey, I am not sure what a normal fight sounds like, but I do know what is NOT normal. And, after 2 years of really shitty, abnormal fights, we are finally over that hump, I think. This probably makes me the happiest of all.
My Family
What can I say? My mom and dad are doing fine. Mom is quilting her butt off. She whips them out faster than I can say Quilters Anonymous. I wish I could get a scrapbook done that quickly. I would like to get up the nerve to ask her to make a new quilt for our bed, but that is just because I want something that will match the new curtains, which I have not chosen or bought yet. Did you catch that stupid, complicated sentence?
My brother. Oh dear, what can I say? He is back in town. My best friends who have known me since childhood (and who have the pleasure of being acquainted with him as well) will know what I mean when I say, "he is back." Have you heard the news that the 22-year old guy in Iowa killed his entire family? Well, that is the reason why my husband always worries when my brother comes back to town. Now, you can get an idea of what we are dealing with.
Luckily though, my sister and I are getting along. She started a blog about her quilting, and I linked it up to my blog. She makes the coolest quilts. I don't know how my parents created such creative kids. Even my brother is creative in his own insanity-stricken way.
Okay, that is it for now. Probably boring to readers who don't know me personally, but I have to do this once in a while.
Me
I am literally up to my ears in scrapbooking projects right now. After reading two books about design and planning, I felt inspired to get going on some new albums. But first, I need to finish my current project. Also, my friend Louise is coming to visit for the weekend mainly to work on scrapbooking with me. (She is also supposed to help put wallpaper borders up in the baby's room.) So, before Louise arrives, I need to get everything in order so that I will have plenty of scrapbooking stuff to do with her.
I am also updating all my files and making explanation sheets for all of my lesson and unit plans. This is for the next teacher who takes my place (and Dildo's place), so that they won't be left hanging. If only I had had something like this when I first started. My hair started falling out during my first year due to the stress of being at such a loss. Anyway, this is a big job and requires a lot of time, but I refuse to take work home these days! So, I am determined to get it all done AT school.
I have recently made a huge decision that will affect my life in a big way. It is really exciting for me, and I have been waiting 6 years to come to this point, so I am glad that I am finally taking this step. I think that the timing is right as I will have 14 months off of work, so despite Matt's appearance next March, I should probably have time to do this as well. I will announce it soon...very soon.
Max
He farts a lot. Really smelly farts that suddenly waft over in your direction. Also, now that the weather is cooling off, he has become much more cuddly. He wants to be right next to me at all times so we can share body heat. What a user! I am going to make an album dedicated to him called "The Many Personalities of Max". Well, that will be later, after my other projects get off the ground.
Suk
Suk is practicing driving every weekend now, and he is making marked improvement. It is much better to drive with him WITHOUT his parents along. I have a whole list of stores that I want him to drive me to, but so far we have only made it to 3 of them. Okay, that is a start. I will probably never run out of stores that I want to go to. (BTW, I got my international license and will be practicing driving in Japan on the opposite side of the road in the coming weeks. My goal is to get my Japanese license before Christmas...or least before they bar me taking the driving test due to my impending largeness.)
Us
Suk and I are getting along much better since I came back from my trip to the USA. Our fights are much less frequent and they are becoming more "normal". Hey, I am not sure what a normal fight sounds like, but I do know what is NOT normal. And, after 2 years of really shitty, abnormal fights, we are finally over that hump, I think. This probably makes me the happiest of all.
My Family
What can I say? My mom and dad are doing fine. Mom is quilting her butt off. She whips them out faster than I can say Quilters Anonymous. I wish I could get a scrapbook done that quickly. I would like to get up the nerve to ask her to make a new quilt for our bed, but that is just because I want something that will match the new curtains, which I have not chosen or bought yet. Did you catch that stupid, complicated sentence?
My brother. Oh dear, what can I say? He is back in town. My best friends who have known me since childhood (and who have the pleasure of being acquainted with him as well) will know what I mean when I say, "he is back." Have you heard the news that the 22-year old guy in Iowa killed his entire family? Well, that is the reason why my husband always worries when my brother comes back to town. Now, you can get an idea of what we are dealing with.
Luckily though, my sister and I are getting along. She started a blog about her quilting, and I linked it up to my blog. She makes the coolest quilts. I don't know how my parents created such creative kids. Even my brother is creative in his own insanity-stricken way.
Okay, that is it for now. Probably boring to readers who don't know me personally, but I have to do this once in a while.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
To the Max
I know I should be working right now - correcting essays or whatever, but I want to write a little entry in honor of my dog, who is now 10 months old.
He has now graduated to a real dog bed. He seems to like it and has not soiled it (well, not since the very first day I presented it to him and then had to take it away for a month!).
He still doesn't like wearing a raincoat, and even if he does have one on, he won't move an inch once he gets outside. So, we do without, and we get wet. But, I could not pass up this one opportunity to take a picture.
Until my husband took this photo of us last weekend, I didn't realize how big Max had gotten.
When he runs around with his little football toy, I say, "Come on Reggie, over here!" in honor of Reggie White of NFL fame. If Max was human, he would definitely be a wide receiver.
He has now graduated to a real dog bed. He seems to like it and has not soiled it (well, not since the very first day I presented it to him and then had to take it away for a month!).
He still doesn't like wearing a raincoat, and even if he does have one on, he won't move an inch once he gets outside. So, we do without, and we get wet. But, I could not pass up this one opportunity to take a picture.
Until my husband took this photo of us last weekend, I didn't realize how big Max had gotten.
When he runs around with his little football toy, I say, "Come on Reggie, over here!" in honor of Reggie White of NFL fame. If Max was human, he would definitely be a wide receiver.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
When Christmas comes early
What would be the ultimate Christmas present for you?
Mine came today in the form of someone's resignation. My other colleague suggested getting a cake to celebrate and that we should have the words "Good-bye ---" decorated on the cake. Well, that won't happen until he actually walks out the door in one month, but we'll look forward to that day with all of our hearts.
Shocking as it is, we could not help but smile as we read the two-page resignation letter detailing his "issues" with this job...as if these issues were caused by us. Oh well, we know better.
I don't have to submit my typed document listing the 30 reasons why they should fire him, but my Japanese co-worker still wants me to, so that our bosses will understand that his resignation was not in fact "our fault."
I will do what I can, but for now, I will drink a coke to celebrate this one small victory.
Mine came today in the form of someone's resignation. My other colleague suggested getting a cake to celebrate and that we should have the words "Good-bye ---" decorated on the cake. Well, that won't happen until he actually walks out the door in one month, but we'll look forward to that day with all of our hearts.
Shocking as it is, we could not help but smile as we read the two-page resignation letter detailing his "issues" with this job...as if these issues were caused by us. Oh well, we know better.
I don't have to submit my typed document listing the 30 reasons why they should fire him, but my Japanese co-worker still wants me to, so that our bosses will understand that his resignation was not in fact "our fault."
I will do what I can, but for now, I will drink a coke to celebrate this one small victory.
Monday, October 02, 2006
iTunes Top 25 Songs
Sometimes, just for fun, I check out my 25 Most Played Songs List on iTunes. I am embarrassed that some of these songs are in fact in my Top 25, but I suppose that says something about my laziness to organize my iTunes better. What's on your Top 25?
(By the way, Chances Are sung by Bob Seger and Martina McBride is my all time favorite song...at least for right now.)
I Hope (Katrina Charity Version) Dixie Chicks
Tonight I Wanna Cry Keith Urban
Jesus, Take the Wheel Carrie Underwood
Cowboy Take Me Away Dixie Chicks
Independence Day Martina McBride
Bless the Broken Road Rascal Flatts
Bad Day Daniel Powter
Fast Cars and Freedom Rascal Flatts
These Are the Days Keith Urban
The Reason Hoobastank
Red Neck Woman Gretchen Wilson
Chances Are Bob Seger with Martina McBride
Seasons of Love Rent
Never Surrender Corey Hart
Mountain Music Alabama
Days Go By Keith Urban
Angel Sarah McLachlan
Kiss This Thing Goodbye Del Amitri
Sunglasses At Night Corey Hart
There is No Arizona Jamie O'Neal
The Flame Cheap Trick
The Cowboy In Me Tim McGraw
Should've Been A Cowboy Toby Keith
Fix You (Live) Coldplay
You're Beautiful James Blunt
(By the way, Chances Are sung by Bob Seger and Martina McBride is my all time favorite song...at least for right now.)
I Hope (Katrina Charity Version) Dixie Chicks
Tonight I Wanna Cry Keith Urban
Jesus, Take the Wheel Carrie Underwood
Cowboy Take Me Away Dixie Chicks
Independence Day Martina McBride
Bless the Broken Road Rascal Flatts
Bad Day Daniel Powter
Fast Cars and Freedom Rascal Flatts
These Are the Days Keith Urban
The Reason Hoobastank
Red Neck Woman Gretchen Wilson
Chances Are Bob Seger with Martina McBride
Seasons of Love Rent
Never Surrender Corey Hart
Mountain Music Alabama
Days Go By Keith Urban
Angel Sarah McLachlan
Kiss This Thing Goodbye Del Amitri
Sunglasses At Night Corey Hart
There is No Arizona Jamie O'Neal
The Flame Cheap Trick
The Cowboy In Me Tim McGraw
Should've Been A Cowboy Toby Keith
Fix You (Live) Coldplay
You're Beautiful James Blunt
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