Walks in the sun

Its crazy how one good thing can happen, and then everything else just seems to fall way more into place.  I met someone really really awesome at that wedding last week with Haley, and everything just has taken its own course from there!!  I guess dressing in my sisters dress, putting on makeup, and straightening my hair worked out.  Plus the fact that I rule at dancing is always a bonus.










I also got to hang out with my mentor from school outside of school and I found out that she is super awesome!! And she does crossfit and eats paleo!  So super cool. She's totally someone that Keysa and Mary would love to have with them out in Hawaii, now I just have to convince her to start wearing knee socks... 
I'm house sitting for her this weekend so I will have a place to myself to hang out and a super awesome dog to take for walks and play with.

At soccer on Wednesday night I was told that I have to start wearing real soccer shorts.  Apparently my spandex are not cutting it. hahahahah that amazing.  I've never been told that before, but I really like playing, so I guess I will have to switch it up!

Last night I went to this huge Halloween festival called skinful.  Everyone gets super dressed up in crazy different costumes that I would never think of. I went with that new really awesome person that I had met, and he and I mostly just observed everything.  He helped set up, so he had an artist pass so we got to go back stage and get in all of the VIP tents.  The costumes out there were amazing!!! So many awesomely dressed up people.  I just had on normal clothes because I was unprepared, but I was warm!! The music was great though, and it was fun being at something new and getting my mind off my job.

Today we went for a long walk down the bike trail and out to the water.  We got to talk about all of the walks of life and I am finally starting to look up again.  Its nice thinking positive and having a positive attitude again.  Getting compliments at school helps too.  I was told by two people from the district that it looks like I have been teaching for years, and they really have been so they should know.  So cool.  Makes me feel more comfortable, like I am doing something right. I'm glad I didn't quit when I wanted to so bad.  No hurricane here.  I am now officially 25% done with my first year of teaching and holy crap was that first quarter very tough.  I am thinking about the possibility of staying here for the summer though and scoring a sweet job in the sun.  It could be awesome!

Pre-School Posting

Something positive: I somehow managed to make my coffee taste just like mom's this morning.  So super good, and so much better than every other morning that I make it.
Something negative: I cried during 4th period on Wednesday
Something positive: Thursday and Friday were better. Just slightly less suck

I went with my roommate to a wedding on Saturday which was super fun.  We got all dressed up and set off to Quinoa only about an hour or so late.  I'm not sure how it happens, but my roommate takes longer than anyone I have ever met to get ready.  The reception was super fun. Outside, on a river, in a field of flowers, under a giant tent, but the dance floor was still soft.  There was a band and a dj, and after the sun went down I got to do some serious star gazing.  I danced like a champ to some good old music with a few different partners, one in particular who was very good.  I was told how awesome my dress looked, (Thanks Mary for leaving it in Saugerties after Arin's wedding!) and my hair looked great too.  The night did not end well with some interesting turn of events and then I took a cab home.
Yesterday went by way to fast.  I woke up and sat outside on my porch wrapped in my blankie drinking coffee while talking to my friend Dan in Colorado who was out camping.  I figured if I was outside in the 'chilly' weather then it would be like I was there with him. I did an awesome workout with this guy from my apartment complex who I have been hanging out with a lot.  He wants to get back in shape and loves to play sports, but I don't think he realized who he was dealing with when he agreed to workout with me.  We motivate each other really well though, and warm up and cool down with frisbee and soccer. There was even soccer as part of our work out.  I'm sore all over today, so I know he must be hurting.  I spent the middle of my day planning, and the end of my day grading papers.  The weekend just goes way too fast.
A part of yesterday I spent just in a really terrible bad mood. I kept feeling like I was going to cry, and I just really missed a few things about being back up north.  I do like it here, but I don't know how long I'll make it.  A teacher said to me on Friday "Don't tell me you're going to be a 'one and done' " Well that made me feel guilty.  I am procrastinating going to school even right now.  Even though I have at least 45 minutes of work to do, but the bell for first period is going to ring in 45 minutes.  I still have to brush my teeth and stuff too. 
I wish I wasn't sad.  I want to cheer up. I know it will get better, but it doesn't feel good until it actually does get better.  Oh well.  Here's to the last week of the first quarter.

The Tennis Court Lights Turn off at 10:35

Last weekend was really great.  I spent the weekend in Orlando with Kevin Speer and Laura Kelly riding awesome roller coasters at Universal Studios. If you checked out my FB at all, then you definitely saw some terrified Anna pictures.  Yikes! It was so great catching up with them and getting a sufficient amount of hugs from them through out the weekend. On my drive back up on Sunday I stopped in Hilton Head to see Meaghan, an old friend from Brockport.  That was also great to see her, and she hard core tried to convince me to move down there closer to her. I loved the town and was definitely considering it.  But I know deep down I want to move back up North.  School this week was rough, just like last week.  My students don't care, talk while I am talking, and walk out/flip out/are totally whacked out, and I know for sure that I am done with being in that environment.
Waking up one morning this week though, I read an awesome message on facebook from someone who I look up to very much.  It was a long message that they wrote at about 2 a.m. after waking up from a dream.  I am supposed to be here at this school, there is a reason I am going through this and getting thicker skin and learning to be with these kinds of kids.  There is a reason.  I keep reminding myself of that while I am on the verge of crying during school, I just need to remember that there is a reason I am there, and it will be shown to me in the end. It will be worth it.
I've finally started working out more again.  That is really nice, and I have found a great workout buddy too.  We played tennis and soccer yesterday, and today did a mini crossfit workout, but I am so out of shape, that was really tough.
Soccer on Wednesday nights has gotten better too.  I'm starting to play like I did back in the day, and my skills are slowly coming back.  I am really thankful I have that soccer team. Its the one big thing I look forward to every week.
I have gotten really good at leaving earlier from school also.  I am doing basically the bare minimum that I need to do in order to be a teacher and do a somewhat effective job in the classroom.  Maybe I will even start working on the 25 things that I will have due at the end of the year for being an induction teacher... Probably not.
Here's to another week of teaching - keeping my job strictly from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and not any later. To eating lunch and breakfast.  Taking the time during third period to do one thing for myself. Working out after school 3 days this week and actually learning how to play tennis. Making at least 2 real dinners and maybe even baking something!  You never know, This week could be awesome.

Handling It

So here I am at 6:22 in the morning, blogging in the dark.  Normally I would have already have left for school by now, or would be running back inside to brush my teeth and put on deodorant which I somehow forget to do almost daily.  But this morning I just don't feel like going to school yet.  Yes, I need to go make copies, re-setup my seats for first period, and write a whole bunch of junk up on the board that the state department requires (which just takes up all of my board space and annoys me). Oh! And I have morning duty and lunch duty today which totally cuts my day shorter by a lot, and I have kids taking tests after school today too.

Back to the reason I am here, on a Tuesday morning instead of the weekend.  This weekend was really nice and relaxing.  I worked out finally! Haley and I went for a 3 mile walk Sunday morning too. I got to enjoy the beach and play some frisbee with some new friends that I made. And I kicked major ass against all guys at Can Jam.  I got all of my lesson plans done Sunday night which was great, and I am totally ready for this week with worksheets, but not enough hands on crap because my students can't handle that stuff.  Sucks to be them. 

But for some reason I woke up this morning and am just really unhappy.  I'm not happy with something in my life.  Ugh.  Puts me in the wrong mood for school.  I just wanna be bubbly fun Anna that jokes around with kids and is excited about learning.  Right now I spend about 30 minutes out of 90 each class "waiting" for my students to shut the hell up so I can teach something. haha Ok I need to just enjoy it more.  I need to look for reasons to laugh instead of waiting for those reasons to show up.  I need to find a kid each class that wants to learn and teach them something bad ass.  I got this.  And then when this year is over I am quitting and moving to a new school.  Prefferably a deaf school since that is what I went to school for anyway.

I was talking with my mentor yesterday, (I had to find my own mentor because the district decided to forget about me.  She is this bomb lady who works in the district office that I met during a meeting she was leading one time) Well she told me yesterday that she has worked in several title one schools, ghetto schools, all black schools, schools in the projects like mine, and she has NEVER again experienced a school like Burke.  It is one of a kind and I should not beat myself up for doing as poorly as I am doing cause guess what?  I'm doing better than the 5 other math teachers that quit last year that couldn't handle it. 

100 is going a little far, but yeah, he has the best average....