Where is This Snow I Heard so Much About?

Maine is so unpredictable. The news has been reporting that it is supposed to snow all week since a while ago. It was even supposed to storm last Monday. We have not seen any of the storms predicted. They are still saying we are in for a big storm. I look out my window and I have to wonder where all this snow I am supposed to be getting is. I got about ten minutes of snow on my walk home from class but now it is gone. And it is so warm out that the flakes might as well be rain. Rain and snow is predicted for the rest of this week. Oh really? Cause I have not had one storm as predicted.

I haven't had a snow day all year really. We had one last semester but it didn't count really because it canceled only the classes that started after noon. I just want one day where I can sit at home, not go anywhere and be lazy. I didn't get to do any of that over break. And now I have two papers due Friday which are 75% of the way done but I have absolutely no ambition to do any more work. I burned myself out Monday and yesterday trying to get ahead. I also have to read Gulliver's Travels. Not sure I will get around to it on top of everything else. At least the essays are most of the way done. That means I won't have too much to do when I do get some ambition. I think I will put them off a little longer though. I think I will just read Gulliver's Travels and watch Legend of the Seeker for 45 minutes, then get some lunch and go to class. Maybe after class I will work on it. Or maybe I will take a nap. I just don't know if I should be stressed that the papers aren't done yet or not. It isn't like I haven't written a paper of this length in one night before so I am way ahead of the game by having them both mostly done. One just needs quotes and the other needs to be lengthened to one page. The first will take maybe 30 to 40 minutes. The second will take probably an hour cause I am stuck on it. Then I have to read Gulliver's Travels. I'm just worried there cause I'm not sure how much I'm supposed to read and I have to read Wordsworth too. Well if I start work at 8 or 9 when Lindsey usually leaves after dinner I should be done the two essays by 11 (at the latest) and the Wordsworth reading by 11:30 cause it is a poem so it shouldn't be too long. Yeah I had best read Gulliver's Travels now.

*sigh*

It's Tuesday!

This means class and more class and homework and maybe a visit from Mel. More excited about the visit than either class. I gotta go do work cause I ended up being more behind than I wanted to be even after being up until midnight doing homework last night.

Nose to the Grindstone

Plans for today:
Class 9:15 to 10:20
10 minutes on laptop to write this and check mails
Homework
Lunch and Homework
Laundry and Homework
Homework
Grocery Shopping
Dinner and Homework
Homework
Shower?
Bedtime

Vacation is over and I am back to my usual schedule which includes spending as much time as possible with my nose in my books or in my laptop. I have two papers due Friday so I really need to get cracking. The plan is to get half of them both done today and then do the other halves tomorrow and use the rest of the week to do any necessary revising. But that means getting the reading for tomorrow and Wednesday done first cause otherwise I will fall behind. Ok, off I go.

What Is a Vacation?

February break is almost over. I had plans to get all kinds of work done over break and now I am out of luck. I haven't finished the book I needed to, worked on either of my papers, worked on my unit plan or did any reading for any of my other classes. I did get to visit my dad but not much. I spent most of my time not home. I worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Then I went to dad's Monday and Tuesday. Then I worked Wednesday and stayed at Garret's parents that night. Thursday I had lunch with Nick, hung out at mom's and then went home. Then Friday I had to go back to Mom's before going to work. Then I worked today and I am working again tomorrow. I haven't done anything productive.

I wish I could have spent my week off doing what my classmates were doing sleeping and doing homework. But mostly crashing in my pjs on my couch, eating junk food and watching bad tv. I didn't tell work I wasn't at school so I could have time to visit my family and do work but the second one failed.

I'm going to go eat and maybe do some more work. And shower. And sleep.

My Major

I love my major. I never thought I would love teaching so much but I really love it. Last night while I was waiting for Garret to come to bed I was working on a unit for my methods class and loving it. It was so much fun to think about the big ideas and what I want students to get out of the unit. I had so much stuff going on in my head as I thought it through and I was really excited about it. I know that teaching is going to be a hard career because lets face it most kids just don't care but I think the teacher's enthusiasm can go a long ways in keeping students engaged. I am hoping that my excitement will carry through to them.

The unit I am developing is about choices and how our choices both create and seal our fates. There is so much I can do with that. So many books and movies and shows and the list goes on that deal with that issue. I am so excited by the texts I have chosen to work with on this topic so far. I picked two short stories, "Roses by Moonlight" and "Earthwitch" by Patricia C. Wrede. Now I am thinking of also doing either Just Ella or Tuck Everlasting. Both have so many wonderful things going for them and I love them both so much that I can't decide what one to do. Ella the main character of Just Ella is one of my favorite literary characters ever but Winnie in Tuck Everlasting deals with so many different important life decisions. And she is so innocent in some ways, much like some of my students. They and she are too young to really understand how our choices affect our lives.

I love that all of the texts are not traditionally used in schools and that they all are so well rounded and deep. I love teaching. I love making lessons. I love students. I love UMF.

Updates

I am doing a crappy job making sure to write every day this semester. My posts are really falling behind. My posting and my poetry writing and really all other kinds of writing. I'd really like to blame it on being busy or on my having 3 English classes this semester but really it is my fault. Whenever I get a free moment I'm not spending it writing but rather relaxing with Garret and sleeping. Garret and I finally have the ability to have as much time together watching House or movies or talking or cuddling or playing games in our spare time as we want. Trust me we like it.

I am no longer looking into student exchanges and travel courses. I don't have the opportunity for an exchange because of the classes I have left to take and travel courses are usually science courses. Not interesting. I am thinking about trying to go to New York and Boston this summer. That would be a blast. We'll have to see what happens. Garret has added another thing to his future plans that he needs to consider. He is thinking he may want to become an actuary. This would mean that he could get a really good job right out of college and not have to go to grad school. He would still probably go though and take classes while he worked because there are a lot of actuary exams to pass and the more he passes the more money he can make. I obviously am not against that plan at all. It involves us both getting jobs after college. We could both stay in state and work near each other. I'd like to continue living with Garret after college. I'd like to keep living with Garret forever. I'd like to marry the boy buy a big house and at some point start a family together.

Anyway, we still aren't sure where we will be after we graduate but as you can see we are working on it.

One Sunday Afternoon

One Sunday Afternoon…
In a place far, far away 2 people dreamt of
All those evil doors
Those mean doors
They throw splinters
And hiding behind them
There’s the boogeyman
Quick!
Grab the tissues
Fight, Fight
With all our might
Oh look I rhymed!
And so the poet asks
How do you know that Panda is from Asia?
Wait, rewind!
Blonde moment
Back to the doors
Those evil doors
The chair, the chair!
Move the chair
The magical expanding chair
Don’t let it touch the door
The door is evil
Sit, sit in the chair
The magic chair
What was that?
You wish to fly?
The power of flight
Granted by the magic of a kiss
And so we’re off
Where to you ask?
Off to make believe land
That magic place
Where there are no doors
Only flying chairs
Flying chairs and wishes
Wishes upon wishes
Wishes of Strawberry Cheese Cake
And magical kisses
Make believe land is a special place
A place where one boy and one girl
Can run away together
And the place where this poet went to write this poem.

Life is Good

So I may be avoiding doing homework right now. I am feeling a little bit like taking it slow in finishing the rest that is do this week because I already finished the stuff for today and tomorrow and I'm part way through with Friday's assignment. I can't do Thursdays yet cause I haven't gotten it yet. The problem is that tonight I have a night class and I'm not going to want to do homework tonight. Then tomorrow I have work from 4 to 9 so I may have a hard time getting work done tomorrow and then Thursday I have dinner with Lindsey so I may get some done but there is no telling how much.

Things here have been good. Garret and I haven't had a fight since Amy and Tim moved out. It makes since because when they were here we mostly fought about them. We did have a fight over Christmas but it is over and things are back to normal. I also haven't seen them at all which means I haven't had that to worry about either. The only things I worry about in my life now is work, school, Garret and my friends and trust me that is enough for me.