Out Sick

That cold that I had last weekend stayed around. All week. Every morning I woke to the surprise of what new and exciting symptoms had come or gone over the course of the night. It was like a mini viral Christmas. Some days there was sneezing. Some days there was coughing. Some days were stuffed up and cloggy and on others mucous flowed freely and without pause. I'm so done with this.

My lack of posting was not as much because I wasn't feeling well, and more because I wasn't allowed to touch the laptop at home (due to possible contamination - the same reason that Husband slept in the guest room all week.)

Things I Currently Have

runny nose
sore throat
phlegm in my lungs
guilt about missing my future-sister-in-law's shower and bachelorette party

High School Glossary

Teacher's Request: This paper is due on Tuesday.

Students' Translation: Of course you don't have to actually turn the paper in on Tuesday. I simply set that as an arbitrary date for my own benefit. Whenever you finish is fine. How about tomorrow. Or the next day. How about after the bell rings you ask to be excused so that you can go print out the paper (that is already a day late) in the library and then huff and puff when I hassle you about doing your work on your own time instead of mine. Or - maybe you didn't even get the initial work for the paper done because I only gave you two weeks to do it and you planned to get it all done on the Friday before the deadline but lo and behold you were sick that day and therefore couldn't collect your data in time to turn in the paper on Tuesday. And after all, the weatherman predicted snow on the due date so you can't possibly be expected to be held accountable for work that was due on a school day which may or may not have been cancelled per inclement weather.

Of course, I jest. I'm crazy about these kids. (Or maybe, I'm crazy BECAUSE of these kids . . . .hmm.)

From 'Ville to Shining 'Ville

Super excited. That's how I would describe my feelings about my upcoming weekend jaunt to Louisville.

Ok. . . perhaps not the cosmopolitan mecca or blissful tropical getaway that most folks hope for in a vacation - but Louisville brings a different kind of wonderful. Namely, a chance to reconnect with my wonderful friend (and mentor) Alyssa, her husband Bill, her three children, and good friends Mara, Josh, and Chris. It's a smorgasbord of friends and nostalgia. And I can't wait.

The only boo-hiss about the weekend is that it's the only weekend this month that Husband has off of work - and I'll be missing it! While we are both crushed to lose the time together, I think he is secretly looking forward to an entire weekend to do whatever he wants and have quiet-alone-time. Everyone needs that now and then.

Flying out tomorrow . . . can't wait!

Bad Teacher

I feel like a bad teacher for many reasons in any given day. Here's today's . . .
We are learning about operant conditioning and we talked about Super Nanny and The Dog Whisperer (both use a ton of behaviorism techniques - good for examples). My kids have been begging me for a week to watch a South Park episode in class that deals with the same concepts. (Plotline: Cartman's mom hires a variety of reality show behavior experts to try to correct his bad behavior.) I hate South Park. With a passion. But why should I let my own distaste for the show outweigh the potential of having my class like me for a day?

Against my better judgement, we cued up the show and watched in class today. I rationalized my decision by telling myself that the show is on cable television - so they have access to it at home. It's not like I was showing them porn.

It was pretty horrendous. The language in particular. (Not "F-word" bad . . . but pretty close . . . ). About three-quarters of the way through, I pondered out loud, "How do they get away with this language on cable television?!?" To which the students responded that the bad words are all bleeped-out when the show appears on TV. At that point, I had a few choice words of my own (on the inside, of course).

Lesson learned. No more South Park. Of course, assuming that I still have my job.

Well that explains it.

I've been eating healthy and counting my Weight Watchers points like a good (and yet slightly neurotic) girl. Tonight I have a work-dinner at Lieu's Chinese Bistro, our local equivalent of P.F. Chang's. (Although strangely, there is a P.F. Chang's down the street from Lieu's. They literally have the same menu.) I thought about my IDEAL Chinese dinner - some crab wontons to start, maybe an orange chicken or sesame chicken with a side of LoMein. Definitely something that is related to fried bananas for dessert. I calculated that my ideal Chinese dinner is probably three days worth of calories (conservatively). Looks like it's Lettuce Wraps for me tonight.

Lock Down!

At about 11:45 a.m. today (in the middle of my class) - the Upper School Director came on the loud speaker to announce that police had launched a man-hunt for three armed men who had fled the scene on foot after a police chase. Rumor had it that there were in the woods near our building; the school was placed on "lock-down" and no one was allowed to enter or exit the campus. Craziness.

There was much buzz around the building. The kids were endlessly entertained by watching our security guards (who are, on average, 90-years-old) "secure the area", but other than that - the school day went on as usual.

Around 1:30, the police called off the search.
They haven't FOUND the guys . . . they just quit looking.