It's tough to hate Oprah. I don't really watch her show a whole lot, but I still know she does good work. What with all the charities, and the giving. Her teacher show, how cool would that be? I like free stuff, I love free stuff for teachers! Well all free stuff that's useful I guess.
Anyway. Oprah keeps doing shows on bras. She has a mission - that women start wearing good bras. Ones that fit. Now some of you may have missed the memo where my mom bought a lingerie shop. She did, it's good times, I help her and get paid in underwear. Almost like free stuff. Mom's shop just so happens to sell what everyone refers to as "the Oprah bra." Which isn't really accurate, Oprah simply plugged the bra, she didn't actually design it or anything. Tis the power of Oprah. Since April, I've tried on many bra, but never the Oprah. Why not? Well how good could it actually be. There are much more cute bras that mom sells that are pretty wonderful.
Last week Mom receives a huge shipment of Oprah bras and suggests I actually try one on while she actually has my size in stock (seriously people, the population is nuts for these bras). Wanting to be underwhelmed with a craze (and kinda liking the chocolate brown colour that's come out) I agree to try it on. Damn you Oprah, why do you always have to be right about things? It's like magic. So much lift, so much support, so many question as to why other bras exist. I gladly swap the bra I was wearing for my new Oprah bra with no regrets.
While it's pretty darn crazy the influence Oprah has on folks, at least she's loving good shit. It's tough to hate that.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
the stagette
So Maid of Honour duty continues. This time a little more up my alley. Plan a stagette. I've also never been to a stagette, but to entertain my best friend while getting her drunk seemed like a much less daunting task than entertaining her aunts.
Now I know stagette's are normally a little on the outrageous side. Strippers, costumes, that whole "party like it's the last time you'll ever be single" thing. However, we're not really outrageous people. And well, Rach hasn't been single for 5 and some years (and when she was, she wasn't a bar whore... thank goodness!) so while I think there were maybe a few guests who were hoping for a more traditional stagette, it seemed only fitting we do it up our style.
Sadly, many of our friends have moved away. Too far away to come home for a Friday evening, no matter how much fun was planned. Don't worry, we don't love you any less. You did miss out on good times, but we forgive you. All in all a happy 9 some gathered at my place to start the evening off. A few bumps in getting us all there on time (hello folks, Lise and I had an itenerary!) but we still managed to accomplish all the fun we had planned.
To start, instead of costumes we leid all of our guests. Then, some chatting and munchies. The down to business. Presents! We had Rach open her presents and then guess who got her what. Shots for Rach if she guessed wrong, shots for the buyer if she guessed right. Rach drank a lot. Here's Rach showing off some nice undies she received.
Then, it was off to our cars for a scavenger hunt! Is there anything more fun? Well possibly, but this ranks pretty high on my list of fun things to do I tell you. Lise and I carefully crafted this scavenger hunt to reflect on Rach's life - from birth to marriage. We scoured Saskatoon for things she loved, that loved her or that caused entertainment to us. Special cheers to the dude at Fudd's who let us all make milkshakes! The following (for those of you who can't tell for some reason...) is a pregnant Sydney Bristow punching out Parkstar, a deadly teacher spy up to no good in Wal-Mart.
Rach's team came out on top (as is only fair I suppose...). Seriously though, when your team's name is "Two brain tumours and a blonde" is there any way you can win? We gave it our best effort, but both HAS and Van have holes in their heads (which they took turns feeling while we were driving between places I might add.) Still good times. Losers (us) bought the winners (not us) shots later.
We rallied back at my place to play a few drinking games before heading out to shake our booty. We took a bit of a gamble and returned to one of our old haunts, and boy did it pay off. Who knew the Hose was still so much fun? Stellar old school dancing fun played non-stop from start to stop. It was so much fun we had trouble getting off the dance floor to get more drinks on several occasions. Now that's some good times. In stagette spirit, we made Rach wear a spinner around her neck. Boys paid a dollar to spin her wheel and have Rach perform a task. Winning task? Pinch a bum. Rach did pinch a lot of bums that night. She pinches with style in case you were wondering. The style of a lady who is no longer on the market. Super-style you might say.
Everyone had had enough of the fun and dancing, but Rach and I decided to persist in our fun having. We arrived at Diva's just in time to do one last shot, and enjoy some more good dancing music. And desperation. So half dancing, but a little on the tired side, Rach and I are sitting/dancing on the side of the dance floor. We're spotted by two boys. Straight boys. Instantly hopeful. They try dancing with us. One dude, obviously more perceptive than the other loses interest immediatly and leaves his friend to fend for himself. He's persistent. He wants to dance with us. We want none of it. Perceptive friend returns to tell Desperate that he's leaving. Desperate doesn't want to give up, he tells Perceptive he'll find his own way home. Rach is uncomfortable. So I step up and perform what is probably the most important Maid of Honour duty yet (and this is not taking one for the team I might add). "Ummm, so ya. If you're hoping on getting some tonight you should probably go with your friend. You see, this is my friend's stagette and she's getting married in a week and that's my boyfriend standing there in the booth." Desperate doesn't even pretend like he just wants to dance with us, he hightails it out of the bar to the sound of Sean-o whooting and Sher(the other DJ) laughing manically. Apparently you hear very well in the booth due to crazy accoustics. Thank you Desperate for making our evening just that much better. Please, stop by anytime.
Shortly after Sean-o drove us home safely. That's right kids, don't forget to be responsible with your fun having!
Michelle:2 , Brooch:0 Boo-ya!
Now I know stagette's are normally a little on the outrageous side. Strippers, costumes, that whole "party like it's the last time you'll ever be single" thing. However, we're not really outrageous people. And well, Rach hasn't been single for 5 and some years (and when she was, she wasn't a bar whore... thank goodness!) so while I think there were maybe a few guests who were hoping for a more traditional stagette, it seemed only fitting we do it up our style.
Sadly, many of our friends have moved away. Too far away to come home for a Friday evening, no matter how much fun was planned. Don't worry, we don't love you any less. You did miss out on good times, but we forgive you. All in all a happy 9 some gathered at my place to start the evening off. A few bumps in getting us all there on time (hello folks, Lise and I had an itenerary!) but we still managed to accomplish all the fun we had planned.
To start, instead of costumes we leid all of our guests. Then, some chatting and munchies. The down to business. Presents! We had Rach open her presents and then guess who got her what. Shots for Rach if she guessed wrong, shots for the buyer if she guessed right. Rach drank a lot. Here's Rach showing off some nice undies she received.
Then, it was off to our cars for a scavenger hunt! Is there anything more fun? Well possibly, but this ranks pretty high on my list of fun things to do I tell you. Lise and I carefully crafted this scavenger hunt to reflect on Rach's life - from birth to marriage. We scoured Saskatoon for things she loved, that loved her or that caused entertainment to us. Special cheers to the dude at Fudd's who let us all make milkshakes! The following (for those of you who can't tell for some reason...) is a pregnant Sydney Bristow punching out Parkstar, a deadly teacher spy up to no good in Wal-Mart.
Rach's team came out on top (as is only fair I suppose...). Seriously though, when your team's name is "Two brain tumours and a blonde" is there any way you can win? We gave it our best effort, but both HAS and Van have holes in their heads (which they took turns feeling while we were driving between places I might add.) Still good times. Losers (us) bought the winners (not us) shots later.
We rallied back at my place to play a few drinking games before heading out to shake our booty. We took a bit of a gamble and returned to one of our old haunts, and boy did it pay off. Who knew the Hose was still so much fun? Stellar old school dancing fun played non-stop from start to stop. It was so much fun we had trouble getting off the dance floor to get more drinks on several occasions. Now that's some good times. In stagette spirit, we made Rach wear a spinner around her neck. Boys paid a dollar to spin her wheel and have Rach perform a task. Winning task? Pinch a bum. Rach did pinch a lot of bums that night. She pinches with style in case you were wondering. The style of a lady who is no longer on the market. Super-style you might say.
Everyone had had enough of the fun and dancing, but Rach and I decided to persist in our fun having. We arrived at Diva's just in time to do one last shot, and enjoy some more good dancing music. And desperation. So half dancing, but a little on the tired side, Rach and I are sitting/dancing on the side of the dance floor. We're spotted by two boys. Straight boys. Instantly hopeful. They try dancing with us. One dude, obviously more perceptive than the other loses interest immediatly and leaves his friend to fend for himself. He's persistent. He wants to dance with us. We want none of it. Perceptive friend returns to tell Desperate that he's leaving. Desperate doesn't want to give up, he tells Perceptive he'll find his own way home. Rach is uncomfortable. So I step up and perform what is probably the most important Maid of Honour duty yet (and this is not taking one for the team I might add). "Ummm, so ya. If you're hoping on getting some tonight you should probably go with your friend. You see, this is my friend's stagette and she's getting married in a week and that's my boyfriend standing there in the booth." Desperate doesn't even pretend like he just wants to dance with us, he hightails it out of the bar to the sound of Sean-o whooting and Sher(the other DJ) laughing manically. Apparently you hear very well in the booth due to crazy accoustics. Thank you Desperate for making our evening just that much better. Please, stop by anytime.
Shortly after Sean-o drove us home safely. That's right kids, don't forget to be responsible with your fun having!
Michelle:2 , Brooch:0 Boo-ya!
Thursday, July 13, 2006
a pleasant surprise
Procrastination is one of my favourite passtimes. No surprise then that today while trying to accomplish things on my google to do list, that I decided to insert "roll coin" before accomplishing "start planning A30." The tin I store coin in has been overflowing for awhile, Rach and I are taking a trip to Calgary this weekend that I will surely spend more money on than I can technically afford, you understand how rolling coins can quickly become a priority.
A $173 priority! I had no idea my little tin could hold so much goodness! I'd say I should roll coin more often, but suddenly having an extra $173 is way more fun. So all totalled with the other coin I rolled awhile ago, I've "earned" myself an extra $224.50 to spend on clothes and house stuff. Whoot! That's 30min well spent.
The only question I have is if there is some very good reason Canada does not have the most wonderful "coin depositors" that Japan has at every single bank machine. Seriously, why do we need to count and roll coin? There exists wonderful little machines that do this for you. You just pour in up to 50 coins at a time and the ATM does the rest. I'm sure the banks have them in the back, why must they keep them from the public? It's not like it's state of the art brand new technology... We're on friendly terms with Japan now, they could send over a boatload with the next shipment of Razors or Wegas... *sigh*
A $173 priority! I had no idea my little tin could hold so much goodness! I'd say I should roll coin more often, but suddenly having an extra $173 is way more fun. So all totalled with the other coin I rolled awhile ago, I've "earned" myself an extra $224.50 to spend on clothes and house stuff. Whoot! That's 30min well spent.
The only question I have is if there is some very good reason Canada does not have the most wonderful "coin depositors" that Japan has at every single bank machine. Seriously, why do we need to count and roll coin? There exists wonderful little machines that do this for you. You just pour in up to 50 coins at a time and the ATM does the rest. I'm sure the banks have them in the back, why must they keep them from the public? It's not like it's state of the art brand new technology... We're on friendly terms with Japan now, they could send over a boatload with the next shipment of Razors or Wegas... *sigh*
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
things you don't want to wake up to #46
I will be the first one to say that I'm not much of a morning person. My mom will jump in screaming second. Anyway, so I'm not very awake during the whole getting ready and showering thing. Sure the shower helps a little, but not to the extent I get the impression some people benefit from their morning showers. Turns out, to be fully wakened, I need a moth to fly out of my towel as I'm about to wrap it around me. Works like a charm. 100% fully awake, adrenaline going, take that Tim's and Red Bull!
A MOTH? Well I think it was a moth, I don't shower with my glasses and it was never recovered... What exactly was a moth doing in my towel? Maybe more importantly, where is said moth hiding now? Why couldn't it just flap around a light until I could make Sean-o kill it for me or trap it under a glass like my previous house guest? Mostly I hope it's not off reproducing itself so I have a family of moths to deal with. Yuck.
A MOTH? Well I think it was a moth, I don't shower with my glasses and it was never recovered... What exactly was a moth doing in my towel? Maybe more importantly, where is said moth hiding now? Why couldn't it just flap around a light until I could make Sean-o kill it for me or trap it under a glass like my previous house guest? Mostly I hope it's not off reproducing itself so I have a family of moths to deal with. Yuck.
it's a shower!
I think you are supposed to know what the duties of a Maid of Honour are before you accept said position. I didn't know, I still accepted. Luckily, Rach isn't crazy so I wasn't expected to plan or pay for her wedding. Also, my mom liked to randomly tell me what I should be doing. Rach liked this, seeing as then she didn't have to tell me herself.
One of the duties was to plan "the shower." Never having been to a wedding shower before, I don't really think I'd have been my own first choice of planner, but Rach had full confidence. And really, how badly can you mess up a shower?
It turns out, it's very hard to mess up a shower indeed. Really, I went with the assumption that we were making the older ladies happy and giving them a chance to give presents and visit. Good assumption! My stellar skills in getting other people to do work for me also came in handy. Lise planned the games, Mrs Webster provided beverages, and I got food from Costco. Turns out those are the ingredients for a successful shower.
Michelle: 1, Brooch 0
(Rachel's threat being that if I was a bad Maid of Honour she make me wear a brooch, a very ugly brooch)
One of the duties was to plan "the shower." Never having been to a wedding shower before, I don't really think I'd have been my own first choice of planner, but Rach had full confidence. And really, how badly can you mess up a shower?
It turns out, it's very hard to mess up a shower indeed. Really, I went with the assumption that we were making the older ladies happy and giving them a chance to give presents and visit. Good assumption! My stellar skills in getting other people to do work for me also came in handy. Lise planned the games, Mrs Webster provided beverages, and I got food from Costco. Turns out those are the ingredients for a successful shower.
Michelle: 1, Brooch 0
(Rachel's threat being that if I was a bad Maid of Honour she make me wear a brooch, a very ugly brooch)
catch up time
Well it would appear I finally have some time in which to properly catch up on my blogging. Maybe I will try to do this in order, but let's face it, I'm so behind I barely remember what order any of this happened in...
Rach has gone and gotten herself a blog now - complete with pictures. I guess I should figure out how those work as well... One thing at a time people!
Rach has gone and gotten herself a blog now - complete with pictures. I guess I should figure out how those work as well... One thing at a time people!
Monday, June 19, 2006
CHAOS!
Ok, I suck. I may be the worst blogger ever. I may or may not go back and blog in more detail about the last couple months, we'll see. From my last post til now, life has been total chaos and so far I'm managing to not let not blogging stress me out as well. Summer is almost here, full of many plans full of doing nothing. Normally I'm not very good at that, so we'll see how that works out...
Since my last post:
I spent my $1000 shopping spree
I found a new job (unfortunatly it adds to the chaos)
I've moved into my condo
My dad and I painted said new condo
Somehow I moved out of my old apartment, got it clean and only forgot one drawer full of kitchen stuff.
I went back down to working half time, which was good since I got a new job, only to be bumped back up to full time for three weeks. ack!
I planned a wedding shower (thanks to Lise for helping and Mrs. Webster for hosting)
I planned and hosted a stagette (again, thanks to Lise for the help)
I officially have a full time job at Walter Murray next year
I have helped translate a textbook
I purchased a DS Lite (nerd alert!)
My best friend got married!
Finals started today.
So, just over a week left of school. A summer of serving (boo, I know), getting accredited, and maybe rennovating my kitchen await. I'm really really hoping life returns to a slower pace someday soon before I pack up and run away to Laos.
Since my last post:
I spent my $1000 shopping spree
I found a new job (unfortunatly it adds to the chaos)
I've moved into my condo
My dad and I painted said new condo
Somehow I moved out of my old apartment, got it clean and only forgot one drawer full of kitchen stuff.
I went back down to working half time, which was good since I got a new job, only to be bumped back up to full time for three weeks. ack!
I planned a wedding shower (thanks to Lise for helping and Mrs. Webster for hosting)
I planned and hosted a stagette (again, thanks to Lise for the help)
I officially have a full time job at Walter Murray next year
I have helped translate a textbook
I purchased a DS Lite (nerd alert!)
My best friend got married!
Finals started today.
So, just over a week left of school. A summer of serving (boo, I know), getting accredited, and maybe rennovating my kitchen await. I'm really really hoping life returns to a slower pace someday soon before I pack up and run away to Laos.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
if i was on death row...
I would want my last meal to be the bridesmaid's dinner we had at my house. Amazing! Instead of the typical bridesmaid's brunch, Rach planned a catered dinner at my house. This dude (I guess I should call him chef) was fan-freaking-tastic! Not to mention he brought everything, including dishes to my house, left no mess, and left me over half a chocolate torte and strawberries in my fridge. All for much cheaper than going out for a nice meal. Not that I was paying, but still. Go dude!
Course #1 - Lady bug salad
Best salad ever! It had a ladybug in it. A big one. It was a peeled tomato with black spots and antenna. So cute. Said adorable lady buy was nestled in the corner, appreciating our tasty greens and the delectable maple dijon dressing it dressed with.
Course #2 - Chicken and veggies
Not just any chicken, chicken stuffed with cream cheese. Very tastily spiced cream cheese. If you have never stuffed a chicked with cream cheese, I'd suggest you do it ASAP. It's like stuffing your supper with love. With the love, we had purple mashed potatoes. To quote Rachel "I never knew purple tasted so good." The were Japanese sweet potatoes and some kind of yam. I wasn't super crazy about the texture (though no one else noticed) but they were tasty. Also, some of the best asparagus I've ever eaten.
Course #3 - Chocolate torte
Now it's impossible to go wrong by feeding me chocolate. It's a given I will love it. However, you can make me LOVE it if you serve it on a banana leaf garnished with strawberries and pineapple.
Best supper ever.
Course #1 - Lady bug salad
Best salad ever! It had a ladybug in it. A big one. It was a peeled tomato with black spots and antenna. So cute. Said adorable lady buy was nestled in the corner, appreciating our tasty greens and the delectable maple dijon dressing it dressed with.
Course #2 - Chicken and veggies
Not just any chicken, chicken stuffed with cream cheese. Very tastily spiced cream cheese. If you have never stuffed a chicked with cream cheese, I'd suggest you do it ASAP. It's like stuffing your supper with love. With the love, we had purple mashed potatoes. To quote Rachel "I never knew purple tasted so good." The were Japanese sweet potatoes and some kind of yam. I wasn't super crazy about the texture (though no one else noticed) but they were tasty. Also, some of the best asparagus I've ever eaten.
Course #3 - Chocolate torte
Now it's impossible to go wrong by feeding me chocolate. It's a given I will love it. However, you can make me LOVE it if you serve it on a banana leaf garnished with strawberries and pineapple.
Best supper ever.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
best day ever
The same day I was planning on quitting the Odeon, I went in to visit/help my mom at her new store. Turns out, she wasn't very busy and didn't need my help. While chatting, I noticed a draw box on the counter. I went to enter my name in said draw box. Mama Parker stopped me.
"You can't do that, you're family" she scolded.
Defiant as ever, I proceeded to enter in Rach's name, followed by my phone number. For good measure I entered 3 times.
"What are you going to do if they phone you and ask for Rach?" queried Mama, not overly pleased.
"Say hello" seemed the obvious answer.
After visiting for awhile longer, I was running a little late in getting ready for work. This is of course why my phone rang, I had no time to answer the phone. Awesomely enough, they asked for Rach. I remembered, and played along, thinking I had won some lipgloss or a gift certificate. No, not on the best day ever. That simply wouldn't do on the day I was quitting the Odeon. I in fact won a $1000 shopping spree at the Scotia center mall. So great. I was minutes late for work, choas abounded, I didn't care.
(For those of you who don't know about the Scotia mall, $1000 is always wonderful, but there are really only 6ish stores in it... I'm sure I'll manage)
"You can't do that, you're family" she scolded.
Defiant as ever, I proceeded to enter in Rach's name, followed by my phone number. For good measure I entered 3 times.
"What are you going to do if they phone you and ask for Rach?" queried Mama, not overly pleased.
"Say hello" seemed the obvious answer.
After visiting for awhile longer, I was running a little late in getting ready for work. This is of course why my phone rang, I had no time to answer the phone. Awesomely enough, they asked for Rach. I remembered, and played along, thinking I had won some lipgloss or a gift certificate. No, not on the best day ever. That simply wouldn't do on the day I was quitting the Odeon. I in fact won a $1000 shopping spree at the Scotia center mall. So great. I was minutes late for work, choas abounded, I didn't care.
(For those of you who don't know about the Scotia mall, $1000 is always wonderful, but there are really only 6ish stores in it... I'm sure I'll manage)
take that odeon!
I've finally quite the Odeon. After over a year of caring and putting in effort to a job where my boss clearly had no appreciation for his staff, I quit. While the working conditions slowly got better and the returned to worse again, it wasn't really that that did it in for me. The owner's lying, and inability to even understand he was lying was the end. It's one thing to lie to customers, one thing to cheat people out of money. He's greek, it's what they do. The lying to and about his staff, staff that only ever tried to help his business was the final straw. Silly man, you can't pretend you're telling the truth when I WAS THERE for what happened. I quit at 2am on a day where I made $300 in tips. It was awesome. He proceeded to lie about how I quit to remaining staff (Oh Nick, will you never learn...). I did feel really bad for the new manager and went back in for one 1.5hr shift where I trained someone and showed her a couple things. However, I am free! It's wonderful. I still keep in touch with all the wonderful people I worked with (80% of whom have also quit, 10% who are in the process of finding a new job) and I never have to work there again. Take that Odeon, I hope you go bankrupt before the Junos.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
F-I-T
No, I have not bought a Honda Fit. But I really really really want to. Damn you parents for providing me with common sense!
So in an attempt to incorporate the word fit into my life in another, somewhat less satisfying way. As of today, I've started running again. By writing about it here, I figure that will kind of hold me to continuing to run.
So you heard it here first. Instead of buying a Fit, I'm just going to get fit. Cheaper yes, better for my life expectancy and general health, yes, but much less fun all around.
So in an attempt to incorporate the word fit into my life in another, somewhat less satisfying way. As of today, I've started running again. By writing about it here, I figure that will kind of hold me to continuing to run.
So you heard it here first. Instead of buying a Fit, I'm just going to get fit. Cheaper yes, better for my life expectancy and general health, yes, but much less fun all around.
Monday, April 03, 2006
unit organisers
At the start of this semester I started a little experiment with 2 of my classes. I started making and using unit organisers after seeing another lady in my department use them. They seemed pretty close to something I was doing already - and of course looked much nicer. The first one was no fun at all to make up cause I had to translate the whole thing and figure out how to use power point (one of those days when I wish I'd retained a little more from uni). Now that I've got a French template all ready to go, they don't take me much time. I wasn't really convinced they were doing anything, however. Until today in my Math 20 class we started a new unit. Quadratic equations boo-ya! Anyway, I had a busy weekend and didn't have time to make up my new unit organiser. Which is of course why a student asked me if there was one for Unit 4. The important part is that she asked. So she must use it for something - even if it is just a divider for her notes. Yay, I'm doing something kinda useful in my classroom!
paris!
So i did some cute quiz deal that is supposed to figure out what European city I should live in. Turns out I'll be hanging with Heather in Paris. It was supposed to let me post a cute pic and everything, but for some reason it won't work. Darn you cool blog things. You'll just have to take my word for it.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
see you there heather!
| You Belong in Paris |
 You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe. |
What European City Do You Belong In?
**so it looks like this almost posted like it was supposed to. weird. i'll leave it as is, even though the title is missing.
Monday, March 27, 2006
curriculum troubles
It may make me a bad teacher that I've never really looked too closely at the Math 90 curriculum. It's not that I haven't been teaching the curriculum, just that Math departments have everything set up so nicely normally it's not really necessary. For the most part, I trust my fellow teachers and what they tell me.
The French textbook I'm using doesn't really set stuff up in the way/order I usually would teach stuff - hence the investigating into the curriculum to see exactly what I should be doing. Now it's not that I'm not following the curriculum, cause I am - kinda sorta. Following it as closely as one can considering how obvious it is that elementary schools aren't following it.
Now I know not everything can be blamed on elementary schools, kids are awesome at the "we've never seen that before!" when in fact they saw it in your class, last week, two days in a row. However, from my gr 9s definite lack of skills, and how obviously I'm following what should be more gr 8 curriculum than gr 9, what to do? It's definitely not wrong to travel backwards in the curriculum, but it is annoying. Especially when now it makes sense as to why many grade 10s have difficulty with the course. Spend too much time teaching what they should already know and you aren't able to prepare them for what they will need to know next semester.
Now I know the Math curriculum is under a complete overhaul, which is all good, but who is to say teachers will do anything different? How do you remedy elementary teachers who love reading and hate math? (don't worry, the English teachers have the same complaints in reverse, I'm aware.)
Ok, so really I'm annoyed that while I was pretty aware we were teaching "grade 9 lite" I didn't think I was reviewing stuff that shows up in the grade 6 column. Blah.
The French textbook I'm using doesn't really set stuff up in the way/order I usually would teach stuff - hence the investigating into the curriculum to see exactly what I should be doing. Now it's not that I'm not following the curriculum, cause I am - kinda sorta. Following it as closely as one can considering how obvious it is that elementary schools aren't following it.
Now I know not everything can be blamed on elementary schools, kids are awesome at the "we've never seen that before!" when in fact they saw it in your class, last week, two days in a row. However, from my gr 9s definite lack of skills, and how obviously I'm following what should be more gr 8 curriculum than gr 9, what to do? It's definitely not wrong to travel backwards in the curriculum, but it is annoying. Especially when now it makes sense as to why many grade 10s have difficulty with the course. Spend too much time teaching what they should already know and you aren't able to prepare them for what they will need to know next semester.
Now I know the Math curriculum is under a complete overhaul, which is all good, but who is to say teachers will do anything different? How do you remedy elementary teachers who love reading and hate math? (don't worry, the English teachers have the same complaints in reverse, I'm aware.)
Ok, so really I'm annoyed that while I was pretty aware we were teaching "grade 9 lite" I didn't think I was reviewing stuff that shows up in the grade 6 column. Blah.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
life update
Well, I think maybe I should be more like Heather and make smaller more frequent posts. My big long rants just take too long so I never post anything. Hopefully I'll have some time to come back and elaborate on some of this, but in the meantime this is where February and March went.
- I had a wonderful one year anniversary with Sean (best b/f ever!)
- I organized a slightly less good Valentine's Day
- Went to Calgary with Rach
- Heather came to visit from Montreal
- Went winter camping with the outdoor ed club
- I was "promoted" to assisstant manager at the Odeon
- Got to visit with JJ when she passed through
- I've been pretty consistently almost sick for 2 months
- Survived another round of parent-teacher interviews
- Got crazy kinds of dying sick for one day (no news from the doctor, so all the tests must say I'm fine)
- Have bought a condo in Lakeview
- Had a job interview with the public system (I think it went well)
and all sorts of other little day to day stuff. Now I'm off to sign papers about the condo, tres exciting!
- I had a wonderful one year anniversary with Sean (best b/f ever!)
- I organized a slightly less good Valentine's Day
- Went to Calgary with Rach
- Heather came to visit from Montreal
- Went winter camping with the outdoor ed club
- I was "promoted" to assisstant manager at the Odeon
- Got to visit with JJ when she passed through
- I've been pretty consistently almost sick for 2 months
- Survived another round of parent-teacher interviews
- Got crazy kinds of dying sick for one day (no news from the doctor, so all the tests must say I'm fine)
- Have bought a condo in Lakeview
- Had a job interview with the public system (I think it went well)
and all sorts of other little day to day stuff. Now I'm off to sign papers about the condo, tres exciting!
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Eye boogers
The human body has some of the grossest problem resolutions strategies ever. It's enemy - bacteria and viruses - are relentless true, but next time round I'd like to request a different attack plan.
Some strange little thing attacked me a little while ago. It was a minor nuisance really, a strange "high" sore throat (not the typical tonsil sore kind), inner ear pressure and the feeling that I might get a headache at any time. Just might though, no real pain, just annoyance at knowing at any second there might be real sickness coming.
Clearly I was far too indifferent to the effects this germ was having on my body. This was an attention seeking germ-oid that's for sure. It took my indifference and resolve to continue on as if nothing was wrong very personally. I offended the little bugger and he wanted revenge. There was no mistake I would feel his wrath for ignoring him.
Germy attacked my eyes. He rallied his troops and in a surprise attack took me down while i slept. I woke up with my eyes glued together with gunk. An attempt to clean said gunk out proved futile. A shower did manage to get rid of all the excess, but germy and his crew would not stop. I was not aware it was possible for a sinus infection to attack your eyes, but let me tell you that it is. Snot can come out your eyes. Believe me, eyes are none too happy about this happening. For one, you can't blow your eyes. When you have a runny nose, lightly wiping the bottom of your nostril isn't a very effective way of staying snot free, same applies for your eyes. Also, crazy eyelid swelling happens, and some serious red eyes. "Pink eye" does not even come close to accurately describing what attacked eyes look like.
Absolutely not enjoying doctors, especially medi-clinics (germy was smart and waited until Sunday to stage his attack) I held off going to the doctor for as long as possible. I surrendered. The eye snot was getting to the quantity that it was floating around in my eyes making seeing quite a problem. My eyes had turned into sockets of pain.
The trip to the medi-clinic was relatively painless. I didn't really understand what the doctor told me besides "eye infection, tonsils are fine, cold attacked your eyes, take drugs." Turns out these drugs had to come in the form of ointment. Germy wins another small victory. Eye ointment is gross. Essentially it's like squeezing vaseline in your eyes. Being that it's not runny, this is quite difficult as it's very easy to just blink and get it all over your eyelids and eyelashes. Also, when you finally do get it in your eyes, it's not exactly clear so you can't see for a bit. It took 4 days for my eyes to look almost normal again - in the war against germy, several blood vessls in my left eye were broken. They're still healing, though they've faded to a dull yellow and pink by today.
I'm so screwed when that pandemic finally hits...
Some strange little thing attacked me a little while ago. It was a minor nuisance really, a strange "high" sore throat (not the typical tonsil sore kind), inner ear pressure and the feeling that I might get a headache at any time. Just might though, no real pain, just annoyance at knowing at any second there might be real sickness coming.
Clearly I was far too indifferent to the effects this germ was having on my body. This was an attention seeking germ-oid that's for sure. It took my indifference and resolve to continue on as if nothing was wrong very personally. I offended the little bugger and he wanted revenge. There was no mistake I would feel his wrath for ignoring him.
Germy attacked my eyes. He rallied his troops and in a surprise attack took me down while i slept. I woke up with my eyes glued together with gunk. An attempt to clean said gunk out proved futile. A shower did manage to get rid of all the excess, but germy and his crew would not stop. I was not aware it was possible for a sinus infection to attack your eyes, but let me tell you that it is. Snot can come out your eyes. Believe me, eyes are none too happy about this happening. For one, you can't blow your eyes. When you have a runny nose, lightly wiping the bottom of your nostril isn't a very effective way of staying snot free, same applies for your eyes. Also, crazy eyelid swelling happens, and some serious red eyes. "Pink eye" does not even come close to accurately describing what attacked eyes look like.
Absolutely not enjoying doctors, especially medi-clinics (germy was smart and waited until Sunday to stage his attack) I held off going to the doctor for as long as possible. I surrendered. The eye snot was getting to the quantity that it was floating around in my eyes making seeing quite a problem. My eyes had turned into sockets of pain.
The trip to the medi-clinic was relatively painless. I didn't really understand what the doctor told me besides "eye infection, tonsils are fine, cold attacked your eyes, take drugs." Turns out these drugs had to come in the form of ointment. Germy wins another small victory. Eye ointment is gross. Essentially it's like squeezing vaseline in your eyes. Being that it's not runny, this is quite difficult as it's very easy to just blink and get it all over your eyelids and eyelashes. Also, when you finally do get it in your eyes, it's not exactly clear so you can't see for a bit. It took 4 days for my eyes to look almost normal again - in the war against germy, several blood vessls in my left eye were broken. They're still healing, though they've faded to a dull yellow and pink by today.
I'm so screwed when that pandemic finally hits...
Friday, February 03, 2006
backwards ne?
Feeling safe is a funny thing. I've travelled to some pretty sketchy countries, I teach in a school where there are kids carrying knives, I don't always lock my doors etc. But, in general, I feel safe.
Until I see a police officer or police car that is. Since moving to City Park area, I haven't really ever felt unsafe either. Until of course, I see the cops. One morning, very early i might add, one was doing a walk around the apartment complex behind me. Kinda feaked me out. Didn't help that the policeman didn't say anything to me. Then, a week or so ago, as I was coming home there was a cop car driving s-l-o-w-l-y down my block. Totally freaked me out. I felt scared just walking from my car to my front door. I almost phoned my roommate to tell her to have her bf walk her to our door, until i re-thought what a paranoid freak she can be and decided that might cause her to have a heart attack AND move out on me.
My question is, what is wrong with out law-enforcement, that they make us feel unsafe instead of the opposite? Maybe this should just be "what is wrong with me"? I'm well aware I could keep rambling on here, but I should do something a little more productive than blog for a little bit. : )
Until I see a police officer or police car that is. Since moving to City Park area, I haven't really ever felt unsafe either. Until of course, I see the cops. One morning, very early i might add, one was doing a walk around the apartment complex behind me. Kinda feaked me out. Didn't help that the policeman didn't say anything to me. Then, a week or so ago, as I was coming home there was a cop car driving s-l-o-w-l-y down my block. Totally freaked me out. I felt scared just walking from my car to my front door. I almost phoned my roommate to tell her to have her bf walk her to our door, until i re-thought what a paranoid freak she can be and decided that might cause her to have a heart attack AND move out on me.
My question is, what is wrong with out law-enforcement, that they make us feel unsafe instead of the opposite? Maybe this should just be "what is wrong with me"? I'm well aware I could keep rambling on here, but I should do something a little more productive than blog for a little bit. : )
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
i want a cat
I'm house-sitting for my uncle right now while him and his wife are on a cruise. It's made me miss my cat. Their cat Lucy (or girly) is just so darned cute and loveable. So really, I want a cute, friendly cat. Not just any punk cat will do. If it could be slightly crazy too, I think that would be fun.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
christmas fun
From December 1st to now has been one good time after another. December is such a happy month (unless you are a university student, which i happily am not). So much visiting, socialising and general goodwill towards men (and women). All this with my new paint and cleaner surroundings, the happiness never ends. Well I guess sometimes it does, but that's another post.
There were many casual gatherings, lots of hugs and laughs, and much wishing I could see every one who came home to visit on a more regular basis. I think I also wish every one was as happy as they are at Christmas at least one day a week. Don't get me wrong, Christmas time is pretty great, but would it kill people to be "christmas-y" the rest of the year as well? By the time Dec 28th rolls around people are already throwing out their elbows in the mall and on the sidewalks in an effort to prove they are busy, focused and most definitely mean business. Hey, I'm not doubting your business, but what's wrong with happy business?
This year was also a little different in that I spent a lot of time with my family and very little time running away from my family to be with friends. It was really nice. And probably a huge hint that I'm getting older and more responsible or something. Okay, just older. And of course there is the terribly delicious table full of goodies my Nan reals me in with. How do you say no to a table full of goodness? If you're me the answer is you don't. No use fighting a losing battle.
I spent a very nice New Years with friends at Sean-o's. Sean-o spun us some wicked tunes all evening and into the morning hours. That Sean-o, he sure can spin things. Things like plates and records. On New Years, it was mainly records. I shall credit the good music and company with my temporary abilities of staying up til crazy hours while not working.
In typical me style, I fell stupidly sick New Years day, and didn't wind up recovering for a full week. This did extend my holidays an extra two days, but considering I'd planned on doing at least a little work before going back to school, that wasn't quite the treat you'd think it was. The being at home part was good, the having to work extra hard now isn't quite as good. Aside from a massive coughing attack today in period 3, I'm pretty much back to healthy as it gets.
There were many casual gatherings, lots of hugs and laughs, and much wishing I could see every one who came home to visit on a more regular basis. I think I also wish every one was as happy as they are at Christmas at least one day a week. Don't get me wrong, Christmas time is pretty great, but would it kill people to be "christmas-y" the rest of the year as well? By the time Dec 28th rolls around people are already throwing out their elbows in the mall and on the sidewalks in an effort to prove they are busy, focused and most definitely mean business. Hey, I'm not doubting your business, but what's wrong with happy business?
This year was also a little different in that I spent a lot of time with my family and very little time running away from my family to be with friends. It was really nice. And probably a huge hint that I'm getting older and more responsible or something. Okay, just older. And of course there is the terribly delicious table full of goodies my Nan reals me in with. How do you say no to a table full of goodness? If you're me the answer is you don't. No use fighting a losing battle.
I spent a very nice New Years with friends at Sean-o's. Sean-o spun us some wicked tunes all evening and into the morning hours. That Sean-o, he sure can spin things. Things like plates and records. On New Years, it was mainly records. I shall credit the good music and company with my temporary abilities of staying up til crazy hours while not working.
In typical me style, I fell stupidly sick New Years day, and didn't wind up recovering for a full week. This did extend my holidays an extra two days, but considering I'd planned on doing at least a little work before going back to school, that wasn't quite the treat you'd think it was. The being at home part was good, the having to work extra hard now isn't quite as good. Aside from a massive coughing attack today in period 3, I'm pretty much back to healthy as it gets.
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