Chocolate milk is good forever, right? But not really. I had some, and I guess it's been in the fridge for a while, because I just poured myself a big ol glass, and took a big ol swig, and it was NASTY. I've never had bad chocolate milk before, and I can't say that I'd recommend it. So yeah, gross. Not happy.
Also, my sweet boyfriend had this roommate who used his computer all the time. The computer was in his room, and this guy would just come in, like at 1am, and then apologize if we were in there. Yeah, no worries buddy. Anyway, in all his usage, this guy managed to rack up 2.7g of stuff. That's a lot of stuff. It's almost entirely mp3s. My sweet boy, being a sweet boy, has been not deleting the stuff, with the plan of burning it onto cds. The thing is, that would take a few cds, and I figure if the guy has lived this long without his stuff, he'll probably manage. I had to move it to the D drive so I can format the C...this computer came with the drive partitioned, so C is relatively small but has the OS on it, but also gets full pretty quickly. Especially when people are loading it with mp3s.
So that's my big plan for the rest of the evening, defragment the C drive. wooh! Yeah, and try to forget about that milk.
Wednesday, March 31
Tuesday, March 30
buy me this
Please.
edit: ok, the link doesn't work, but it's just to an Apple iBook, 14" screen, with an airport extreme card. I briefly toyed with the idea of buying it for myself with my income tax money, but then realized I need to do other things like pay off my line of credit and buy food.
edit: ok, the link doesn't work, but it's just to an Apple iBook, 14" screen, with an airport extreme card. I briefly toyed with the idea of buying it for myself with my income tax money, but then realized I need to do other things like pay off my line of credit and buy food.
actual news
imagine that.
Last week, I bought the new Norah Jones cd. Yes, bought. It's good. I listened to it in my dad's rental car, no problems. Imagine my surprise when I put the badboy in my car cd player, and it doesn't play. Not just certain songs, or skips a lot, or anything, it just won't play.
Rage.
Yes, the back of the case does say that the disc is copy-controlled, and may cause playback issues in certain players. To me, not playing isn't so much a playback issue, as a lack of playback altogether. EMI actually has a whole website dedicated to problems with these discs. Naturally, I went ahead and voiced my opinion, but surprisingly, I haven't heard anything back yet. I just don't see how the irony could be any richer here. I try to do the right thing, and pay for the cd, and it won't work. Apparently I can return the cd, but then I wouldn't have it at all, and I would still be angry. So, I downloaded some pirated software which overrides the copy-controls, and burned myself a copy of the disc. IT plays in my car. I'm quite tempted to make more copies and sell them to my friends, just on principle.
EMI can kiss my ass.
Last week, I bought the new Norah Jones cd. Yes, bought. It's good. I listened to it in my dad's rental car, no problems. Imagine my surprise when I put the badboy in my car cd player, and it doesn't play. Not just certain songs, or skips a lot, or anything, it just won't play.
Rage.
Yes, the back of the case does say that the disc is copy-controlled, and may cause playback issues in certain players. To me, not playing isn't so much a playback issue, as a lack of playback altogether. EMI actually has a whole website dedicated to problems with these discs. Naturally, I went ahead and voiced my opinion, but surprisingly, I haven't heard anything back yet. I just don't see how the irony could be any richer here. I try to do the right thing, and pay for the cd, and it won't work. Apparently I can return the cd, but then I wouldn't have it at all, and I would still be angry. So, I downloaded some pirated software which overrides the copy-controls, and burned myself a copy of the disc. IT plays in my car. I'm quite tempted to make more copies and sell them to my friends, just on principle.
EMI can kiss my ass.
Monday, March 29
gulty pleasures
I have to tell you all about Hershey's chocolate filled Classic Caramels. I have a bag in my desk, and I snarf a couple whenever I have a chance. They're delicious. I'm not a big Hershey fan, I'd take Cadbury any day of the week, but I can't resist these bad boys.
I also harbour secret admiration for Phil Collins' music.
I also harbour secret admiration for Phil Collins' music.
Friday, March 26
in other news
I bought an optical mouse, and I'm loving it. The mouse that came with this swanky computer sucked hardcore, so now we have a fancy light-up one. oooh! it's quieter too, all the better for playing minesweeper with.
details
as per G.G.'s request, some personal info. I try to keep the revealing details to a minimum, but so long as we're all keeping to a fake name / first name basis, I guess some details can't hurt. Most of the relevant stuff you already know, have gleaned from my random postings, or found out in my 100 things list. Maybe it's time for a new list? I'll see what I can come up with. I'm 24, I teach high school art. I'm trained to be an English or Resource teacher. I've been with my boyfriend for over 4 years now, and I really don't like the word 'boyfriend', it sounds very jr high. We met at university, he lived down the hall from me in residence. There isn't a really romantic story behind it, I'm afraid. We were friends, his roommate was my roommate's boyfriend. We started dating, I really did try to do the casual thing, but that's just not me, so after a few months of that we decided we were a couple. We've been living together for...almost 3 years now, but even that started out as just as more a 'we need to get out of residence and it's too expensive to live alone' than a 'whee, let's play house' thing. We moved in together in the summer; we (I) got a cat in the fall, and then another one the following summer. We've talked about getting married, but not officially, and aren't really in a big rush.
now you know.
now you know.
Thursday, March 25
whee! finished
almost. 6 hours of PT meetings is TOO MUCH! I didn't have a lot of people, probably about 15 altogether. Nobody is overly concerned with how their children are doing in art. Can't imagine why. I don't like feeling like my job doesn't matter. I'm not pity-hunting here, it's just a fact that to most people, my job has no impact other than to fill time. The courses are mandatory, but not required for anything beyond being in grade 9 or 10. You can fail all your specialties, I'm fairly sure, and still pass the year, because who really cares. You can't take the upper level courses, but that's not an issue for most kids. Anyway, I'm nearly 3/4 done the year. I don't know what I'll be doing next year; I'm going to do some looking around. Grant is applying for jobs all over the place, so maybe he'll get some swanky high-paying job and I'll just leave with him. maybe.
Tomorrow is PD. I'm exhausted, so going to have a little nap. Nothing good is on tv tonight, except Survivor I guess. I love how shows give you like 8 episodes per year. Well worth the money those folks at Friends are being paid!
Tomorrow is PD. I'm exhausted, so going to have a little nap. Nothing good is on tv tonight, except Survivor I guess. I love how shows give you like 8 episodes per year. Well worth the money those folks at Friends are being paid!
Wednesday, March 24
blech
We're in the middle of parent-teacher-athon. We had 1.5 hours last night, we have 2.5 tomorrow night, and another 2 Thursday afternoon. I had 4 parents last night, so I'm not expecting too much to come of any of this. People really just don't care about the art teacher, I have to say. Which is good and bad. I mean really, for the 9s and 10s who make up the bulk of my teaching load, the courses don't count for anything, so why should the parents care? It makes me feel mighty important though, I'll tell you that.
On a brighter and less tiring note, we went to see Taking Lives tonight, and it was pretty good. Jumpy, as I expected, but an interesting plot with a few twists. And you get to see Angelina's boobs. And Ethan Hawke's, for that matter. It takes place in Canada (Montreal), with mentions of Nova Scotia, Tracadie, Winnepeg, and Moncton. They are, at one point, actually in the Moncton train station, but not really, which was sort of disappointing, but as Grant pointed out, they probably do that all the time with US locations, we just wouldn't know better. Still neat.
I'm going to hit the hay because I have PT until 9 tomorrow night, and even if I'm not busy, it's still quite wearing. Thursday we have PD in the morning, PT in the afternoon; Friday we have PD all day, but I signed up for some interesting sounding workshops - media across the curriculum, how to start a school newspaper, and my favourite, 'dough sculpture'. That last one is designed for grades 6-8, but it sounds like a nice way to spend the afternoon, and my jr high art teacher is running it. My last PD day was a complete waste of time, so I tried to pick a little more carefully this time.
I'm plugging away at my book, I'm at the part where he's explaining how life started on Earth. Seriously, it's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Here's an sampling:
"In three minutes, 98 percent of all the matter there is or will ever be has been produced. We have a universe. It is a place of the most wondrous and gratifying possibility, and beautiful, too. And it was all done in about the time it takes to make a sandwich."
Pretty informative, and entertaining to boot. What more could a girl ask for?
On a brighter and less tiring note, we went to see Taking Lives tonight, and it was pretty good. Jumpy, as I expected, but an interesting plot with a few twists. And you get to see Angelina's boobs. And Ethan Hawke's, for that matter. It takes place in Canada (Montreal), with mentions of Nova Scotia, Tracadie, Winnepeg, and Moncton. They are, at one point, actually in the Moncton train station, but not really, which was sort of disappointing, but as Grant pointed out, they probably do that all the time with US locations, we just wouldn't know better. Still neat.
I'm going to hit the hay because I have PT until 9 tomorrow night, and even if I'm not busy, it's still quite wearing. Thursday we have PD in the morning, PT in the afternoon; Friday we have PD all day, but I signed up for some interesting sounding workshops - media across the curriculum, how to start a school newspaper, and my favourite, 'dough sculpture'. That last one is designed for grades 6-8, but it sounds like a nice way to spend the afternoon, and my jr high art teacher is running it. My last PD day was a complete waste of time, so I tried to pick a little more carefully this time.
I'm plugging away at my book, I'm at the part where he's explaining how life started on Earth. Seriously, it's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Here's an sampling:
"In three minutes, 98 percent of all the matter there is or will ever be has been produced. We have a universe. It is a place of the most wondrous and gratifying possibility, and beautiful, too. And it was all done in about the time it takes to make a sandwich."
Pretty informative, and entertaining to boot. What more could a girl ask for?
Thursday, March 18
good day
Today was a good day.
Most recently, I just marked the latest batch of projects from my grade 10s, and they're mostly fantastic. I got them to write children's stories; some of them re-did exisiting stories, and others made up the stories on their own. They're not all entirely appropriate for kids, but some of them are darn funny. I'm asking to keep several, just for my own entertainment.
Just before I settled down to mark, I filed my income tax refund, and I'm getting a good chunk of change back. I *should* be able to pay off my line of credit entirely, so I'm pretty excited. Now, hopefully, I can actually start saving some money for a rainy day. Or a house, or something.
Earlier today, I was with my grade 9 class, and it was going really well. This is a big thing. The grade 9s are funny, they're pretty sweet kids, but they're really immature. Anyway, so I'm just meandering around the class, helping them with their projects (they were needing a lot of help because we started a new project today), and they're just being nice and sweet and working really well, when one of them says 'psssssst, Miss S! you have a visitor!' I looked over to the door, but there was nobody there. As I'm panning back across the classroom, I see my principal sitting at one of the corner tables in the class, taking notes. My first instinct is YARG!, but then I realized that things were going swimmingly, so I just kept doing what I was doing, and he kept doing what he was doing, and then after a while he was mysteriously gone again. I have to sidebar here. Thing one, as a first year contract teacher, I am required to be formally evaluated by the principal. If I get a positive eval., then next year I can get a permanent contract. Without the positive eval., there's no way to get one. So that's why I was a bit nervous, but I think I did well. Thing two is that my principal is like 6'7", 300lbs, so they fact that he was able to sneak in and out is pretty funny.
One last thing that didn't happen today but I forgot to mention earlier. One of my grade 12s from last semester asked me to write her a reference letter to get into art school. I had never written a reference letter before, but thanks to my best friend Google, I found some templates and apparently wrote a pretty good letter. I was talking to her the other day, and she thanked me profusely because she got in! I was so excited, it made my day. I helped someone! Like, with life! I feel good. I still don't think I want to teach art forever, but this helps to make it seem like a good thing for now.
Most recently, I just marked the latest batch of projects from my grade 10s, and they're mostly fantastic. I got them to write children's stories; some of them re-did exisiting stories, and others made up the stories on their own. They're not all entirely appropriate for kids, but some of them are darn funny. I'm asking to keep several, just for my own entertainment.
Just before I settled down to mark, I filed my income tax refund, and I'm getting a good chunk of change back. I *should* be able to pay off my line of credit entirely, so I'm pretty excited. Now, hopefully, I can actually start saving some money for a rainy day. Or a house, or something.
Earlier today, I was with my grade 9 class, and it was going really well. This is a big thing. The grade 9s are funny, they're pretty sweet kids, but they're really immature. Anyway, so I'm just meandering around the class, helping them with their projects (they were needing a lot of help because we started a new project today), and they're just being nice and sweet and working really well, when one of them says 'psssssst, Miss S! you have a visitor!' I looked over to the door, but there was nobody there. As I'm panning back across the classroom, I see my principal sitting at one of the corner tables in the class, taking notes. My first instinct is YARG!, but then I realized that things were going swimmingly, so I just kept doing what I was doing, and he kept doing what he was doing, and then after a while he was mysteriously gone again. I have to sidebar here. Thing one, as a first year contract teacher, I am required to be formally evaluated by the principal. If I get a positive eval., then next year I can get a permanent contract. Without the positive eval., there's no way to get one. So that's why I was a bit nervous, but I think I did well. Thing two is that my principal is like 6'7", 300lbs, so they fact that he was able to sneak in and out is pretty funny.
One last thing that didn't happen today but I forgot to mention earlier. One of my grade 12s from last semester asked me to write her a reference letter to get into art school. I had never written a reference letter before, but thanks to my best friend Google, I found some templates and apparently wrote a pretty good letter. I was talking to her the other day, and she thanked me profusely because she got in! I was so excited, it made my day. I helped someone! Like, with life! I feel good. I still don't think I want to teach art forever, but this helps to make it seem like a good thing for now.
Wednesday, March 17
a little encouragement never hurts
I've changed the comment link to sort of push you all in the right direction. I need to feel loved!
whee, green day!
but alas, there are no mint milkshakes at McDonald's, so the holiday just seems lacking.
in other news, you should download this, even though I'm sure running it is sucking the life out of my computer. It's just too freaking cute. You should also download the new handwriting plugin for messenger plus, but do so at your own risk, because it killed my mom's messenger.
in other news, you should download this, even though I'm sure running it is sucking the life out of my computer. It's just too freaking cute. You should also download the new handwriting plugin for messenger plus, but do so at your own risk, because it killed my mom's messenger.
Tuesday, March 16
100 most often mispronounced words and phrases
I miss teaching English. I couldn't resist these, because people sounding stupid is a real peeve of mine. Thanks to D for the link!
for mitch
because he liked it so much when I dedicated a post last time. He's got a new website, and it's purty. Check it out.
Sunday, March 14
all cultured up
I've been to the ballet! It was called Merlin, but was quite different from the only Merlin I'm familiar with, which is Disney's Sword in the Stone version. It wasn't, honestly, very exciting. The lack of dialogue and constant dancing make the plot a bit hard to follow, but it was interesting to watch just for the skill of the dancers. And the shirtless men in tights. There was a synopsis of each scene in the program, which I read before it started but had to refer back to a few times. It did nothing for my self-image though, I'm feeling like maybe I should steal my sister's pilates videos or check to see about adult beginner ballet classes. I'm pretty sure I'd make a kick-ass ballerina.
In other news, 13 weeks of school until summer, quite a few of which are shortened for holidays and parent teacher interviews and such. Jobs for me to apply for should arrive in about a month; I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to try for, I'll just wait and see what comes up. I have to finish up my marking, progress reports go out in a week, and parent-teacher interviews are the 25th, so I need to have everything sorted out by then. As usual though, I would bet that the parents who should come in, won't, and the ones who do come in, I'll have nothing to say to. That's of the 10 people who will actually bother to stop by my table...I'm just the art teacher, after all. I actually had people sitting and chatting with me whose children I wasn't teaching; they were just waiting for the line for the English/math/science teachers to subside. *sigh*. Gives me a chance to get some marking and doodling done anyway.
In other news, 13 weeks of school until summer, quite a few of which are shortened for holidays and parent teacher interviews and such. Jobs for me to apply for should arrive in about a month; I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to try for, I'll just wait and see what comes up. I have to finish up my marking, progress reports go out in a week, and parent-teacher interviews are the 25th, so I need to have everything sorted out by then. As usual though, I would bet that the parents who should come in, won't, and the ones who do come in, I'll have nothing to say to. That's of the 10 people who will actually bother to stop by my table...I'm just the art teacher, after all. I actually had people sitting and chatting with me whose children I wasn't teaching; they were just waiting for the line for the English/math/science teachers to subside. *sigh*. Gives me a chance to get some marking and doodling done anyway.
Saturday, March 13
How to Clear The Messenger Sign In History
whee! Again, Google has saved me, since nobody left any comments on how to fix this one. It was just annoying, because Grant had the computer at school, so a bunch of random people had used it to sign in. This is what I don't like about XP, it tries to be too helpful and save things and do things for you, but it's not usually what I want it to save or do.
I just noticed a dead fish, gross. I think it's the one that was having the expanding stomach issues. Time to clean the tank!
I just noticed a dead fish, gross. I think it's the one that was having the expanding stomach issues. Time to clean the tank!
In honour of St. Patrick
Did you know he wasn't even Irish? He was kidnapped by pirates when he was 16 and became a slave, I think. But then he drove the snakes out of Ireland, or something.
My mom sent me these jokes, and I laughed out loud. I'm allowed, because I'm part Irish, way back.
Into a Belfast pub comes Paddy Murphy, looking like he'd just been run over by a train. His arm is in a sling, his nose is broken, his face is cut and bruised and he's walking with a limp.
"What happened to you?" asks Sean, the bartender.
"Jamie O'Conner and me had a fight," says Paddy.
"That little shit, O'Conner," says Sean, "He couldn't do that to you, he must have had something in his hand"
"That he did," says Paddy, "a shovel is what he had, and a terrible lickin' he gave me with it."
"Well," says Sean, "you should have defended yourself, didn't you have something in your hand?"
"That I did," said Paddy... "Mrs. O'Conner's breast, and a thing of beauty it was, but useless in a fight."
===============================================
An Irishman who had a little too much to drink is driving home from the city one night and, of course, his car is weaving violently all over the road. A cop pulls him over. "So," says the cop to the driver, where have ya been?"
"Why, I've been to the pub of course," slurs the drunk.
"Well," says the cop, "it looks like you've had quite a few to drink this evening."
"I did all right," the drunk says with a smile.
"Did you know," says the cop, standing straight and folding his arms across his chest, "that a few intersections back, your wife fell out of your car?"
"Oh, thank heavens," sighs the drunk. "For a minute there, I thought I'd gone deaf."
=======================================================
Brenda O'Malley is home making dinner, as usual, when Tim Finnegan arrives at her door. "Brenda, may I come in?" he asks. "I've somethin' to tell ya".
"Of course you can come in, you're always welcome, Tim. But where's my husband?"
"That's what I'm here to be telling ya, Brenda." There was an accident down at the Guinness brewery..."
"Oh, God no!" cries Brenda. "Please don't tell me."
"I must, Brenda. Your husband Shamus is dead and gone. I'm sorry."
Finally, she looked up at Tim. "How did it happen, Tim?"
"It was terrible, Brenda. He fell into a vat of Guinness Stout and drowned."
"Oh my dear Jesus! But you must tell me true, Tim. Did he at least go quickly?"
"Well, Brenda... no. In fact, he got out three times to pee."
==================================================
Mary Clancy goes up to Father O'Grady after his Sunday morning service, and she's in tears. He says,
"So what's bothering you, Mary my dear?"
She says, "Oh, Father, I've got terrible news. My husband passed away last night."
The priest says, "Oh, Mary, that's terrible. Tell me, Mary, did he have any last requests?"
She says, "That he did, Father."
The priest says, "What did he ask, Mary?
" She says, "He said, 'Please Mary, put down that damn gun...'
====================================================
A drunk staggers into a Catholic Church, enters a
confessional booth, sits down but says nothing. The Priest coughs a
few times to get his attention but the drunk continues to sits there.
Finally, the Priest pounds three times on the wall. The drunk
mumbles, "ain't no use knockin; there's no paper on this side either."
My mom sent me these jokes, and I laughed out loud. I'm allowed, because I'm part Irish, way back.
Into a Belfast pub comes Paddy Murphy, looking like he'd just been run over by a train. His arm is in a sling, his nose is broken, his face is cut and bruised and he's walking with a limp.
"What happened to you?" asks Sean, the bartender.
"Jamie O'Conner and me had a fight," says Paddy.
"That little shit, O'Conner," says Sean, "He couldn't do that to you, he must have had something in his hand"
"That he did," says Paddy, "a shovel is what he had, and a terrible lickin' he gave me with it."
"Well," says Sean, "you should have defended yourself, didn't you have something in your hand?"
"That I did," said Paddy... "Mrs. O'Conner's breast, and a thing of beauty it was, but useless in a fight."
===============================================
An Irishman who had a little too much to drink is driving home from the city one night and, of course, his car is weaving violently all over the road. A cop pulls him over. "So," says the cop to the driver, where have ya been?"
"Why, I've been to the pub of course," slurs the drunk.
"Well," says the cop, "it looks like you've had quite a few to drink this evening."
"I did all right," the drunk says with a smile.
"Did you know," says the cop, standing straight and folding his arms across his chest, "that a few intersections back, your wife fell out of your car?"
"Oh, thank heavens," sighs the drunk. "For a minute there, I thought I'd gone deaf."
=======================================================
Brenda O'Malley is home making dinner, as usual, when Tim Finnegan arrives at her door. "Brenda, may I come in?" he asks. "I've somethin' to tell ya".
"Of course you can come in, you're always welcome, Tim. But where's my husband?"
"That's what I'm here to be telling ya, Brenda." There was an accident down at the Guinness brewery..."
"Oh, God no!" cries Brenda. "Please don't tell me."
"I must, Brenda. Your husband Shamus is dead and gone. I'm sorry."
Finally, she looked up at Tim. "How did it happen, Tim?"
"It was terrible, Brenda. He fell into a vat of Guinness Stout and drowned."
"Oh my dear Jesus! But you must tell me true, Tim. Did he at least go quickly?"
"Well, Brenda... no. In fact, he got out three times to pee."
==================================================
Mary Clancy goes up to Father O'Grady after his Sunday morning service, and she's in tears. He says,
"So what's bothering you, Mary my dear?"
She says, "Oh, Father, I've got terrible news. My husband passed away last night."
The priest says, "Oh, Mary, that's terrible. Tell me, Mary, did he have any last requests?"
She says, "That he did, Father."
The priest says, "What did he ask, Mary?
" She says, "He said, 'Please Mary, put down that damn gun...'
====================================================
A drunk staggers into a Catholic Church, enters a
confessional booth, sits down but says nothing. The Priest coughs a
few times to get his attention but the drunk continues to sits there.
Finally, the Priest pounds three times on the wall. The drunk
mumbles, "ain't no use knockin; there's no paper on this side either."
How to display your web site logo on the address bar and in the favorites list
I love Google. I'm always so surprised if ever I can't find something on the internet. It's like...it's the internet, you know? If I can't find it here....
To see the icon, add or re-add (overwrite) this site to your favourites. It might take a second, but it seems to be working for most people! You may have to restart explorer too, and I have no idea if it works in like, Mozilla or anything. It's a bit of trouble, but it's so worth it! ha.
edit: Mitch helped me, he has a fancy icon for his page too. I would truly be nothing without him and his veritable wealth of knowledge and opinions about everything.
To see the icon, add or re-add (overwrite) this site to your favourites. It might take a second, but it seems to be working for most people! You may have to restart explorer too, and I have no idea if it works in like, Mozilla or anything. It's a bit of trouble, but it's so worth it! ha.
edit: Mitch helped me, he has a fancy icon for his page too. I would truly be nothing without him and his veritable wealth of knowledge and opinions about everything.
whee!
maybe. The address bar / favourites list icon thing seems to be working...or it was, then I changed it and deleted all my temp files, and now it doesn't seem to be working, but it might show up later, we'll see. Are any of you seeing it? I had to change it because the first program I used to make the icon put a watermark in it, boo. I think this one didn't, but I can't see it to tell!
still working on getting rid of the list of names in messenger.
still working on getting rid of the list of names in messenger.
Thursday, March 11
needed: tech help
not really needed, but desired, I guess. Thing one. You know how in winXP, with messenger, it saves the whole list of people who have ever used your computer to sign on? That's annoying, do you know how to delete those names? I always have to scroll through a list of people who, in all likelihood, will never sign on here again. I'm lazy; what can I say.
Thing two. You know how some sites like Blogger and Google have cool little pictures beside their names in the address bar, and in your favourites, instead of the IE 'e' thing? Does anyone know how to do that? That's pretty fun.
The first week back from March break was killer, but is almost over. I know you don't have any sympathy for me, since I did in fact get a week off, but it's harsh. There's a reason teachers get so much time off. We'd murder students otherwise. Seriously. I had sort of a fun day today though, went to a trade/career fair with the grade 10 classes. It was much better than I anticipated, with lots of hands-on stuff for the kids to do, instead of the standard old people standing around with pamphlets. They had CPR dummies for the kids to work on, and they could weld, lay bricks, make little wooden things to hang on keychains or necklaces. Not all of the kids got something out of it, but it was a very refreshing change from the usual tunnel-vision focus on the 30% of kids who will be going on to university. I want there to be some kind of vocational / trade high school here again, I think it's just stupid not to have one. I'll stop before I get ranty.
I don't have any real plans for the weekend, it's snowing out pretty well right now, but I seriously doubt there'll be another snow day if there's anything less than 4 feet of snow down. We've had 9 days already. I realize it's probably because of what I teach, but I don't really mind. I can speed the kids up or leave out the less important things. Some other teachers agree with me; some thought we should have lost March Break to make up for it. I'm half done with my 3rd group of 9s and 10s, and I've got some absolutely amazing talent in my 11/12 class. I'm going to see if one of the girls in the 11 class wants to move up to the 12; she hasn't taken the 11 class, which is normally prerequisite, but she's just produces fantastic work, is in grade 12, and there's really very little she can get out of the 11 class. I've talked about it with the admin, and I've got to make up some sort of concrete criteria so that we won't have every other art 11 student trying to move up. Which is fair, and I think I've got it about done. The rules are strict, but I do have to maintain the importance of the 11 class, since most kids don't even think they have to take it in order to do the 12.
That was probably pretty boring for you, I apologize. I just finished watching Survivor, and I'm a bit sad to see Colby go, that's one less piece of eye candy for me. hehe. Plus, now that tribe is going to suck hardcore. I'm hoping there is no merge, that would be reeeeally funny. Just keep playing as a team, and now that you have only 2 good players, you'll lose, and you can all get voted off. Except Kathy, she can go to the other tribe.
Thing two. You know how some sites like Blogger and Google have cool little pictures beside their names in the address bar, and in your favourites, instead of the IE 'e' thing? Does anyone know how to do that? That's pretty fun.
The first week back from March break was killer, but is almost over. I know you don't have any sympathy for me, since I did in fact get a week off, but it's harsh. There's a reason teachers get so much time off. We'd murder students otherwise. Seriously. I had sort of a fun day today though, went to a trade/career fair with the grade 10 classes. It was much better than I anticipated, with lots of hands-on stuff for the kids to do, instead of the standard old people standing around with pamphlets. They had CPR dummies for the kids to work on, and they could weld, lay bricks, make little wooden things to hang on keychains or necklaces. Not all of the kids got something out of it, but it was a very refreshing change from the usual tunnel-vision focus on the 30% of kids who will be going on to university. I want there to be some kind of vocational / trade high school here again, I think it's just stupid not to have one. I'll stop before I get ranty.
I don't have any real plans for the weekend, it's snowing out pretty well right now, but I seriously doubt there'll be another snow day if there's anything less than 4 feet of snow down. We've had 9 days already. I realize it's probably because of what I teach, but I don't really mind. I can speed the kids up or leave out the less important things. Some other teachers agree with me; some thought we should have lost March Break to make up for it. I'm half done with my 3rd group of 9s and 10s, and I've got some absolutely amazing talent in my 11/12 class. I'm going to see if one of the girls in the 11 class wants to move up to the 12; she hasn't taken the 11 class, which is normally prerequisite, but she's just produces fantastic work, is in grade 12, and there's really very little she can get out of the 11 class. I've talked about it with the admin, and I've got to make up some sort of concrete criteria so that we won't have every other art 11 student trying to move up. Which is fair, and I think I've got it about done. The rules are strict, but I do have to maintain the importance of the 11 class, since most kids don't even think they have to take it in order to do the 12.
That was probably pretty boring for you, I apologize. I just finished watching Survivor, and I'm a bit sad to see Colby go, that's one less piece of eye candy for me. hehe. Plus, now that tribe is going to suck hardcore. I'm hoping there is no merge, that would be reeeeally funny. Just keep playing as a team, and now that you have only 2 good players, you'll lose, and you can all get voted off. Except Kathy, she can go to the other tribe.
Monday, March 8
The Matrix Reloaded: The Abridged Script
For Mitch.
I love this website, I'm so glad this guy's back. He also did an excellent job of The Matrix: Reloaded, which I hated, so loved his mocking it.
I love this website, I'm so glad this guy's back. He also did an excellent job of The Matrix: Reloaded, which I hated, so loved his mocking it.
Sunday, March 7
so sad it's funny
Have any of you seen The Surreal Life? It looks really funny, but mainly in a, 'haha, Cory Feldman!' kind of way. We're just about to start getting season 1 on MuchMoreMusic. I might have to watch. Apparently season 2 has already started, with such stellar celebrities as Vanilla Ice. I think season 1, with MC Hammer, Jerri "the Survivor bitch", and the guy who played Webster, is much more promising.
Saturday, March 6
Pop Culture
I got 10/10
Supposedly, I "read a good cross section of newspapers and am constantly on the lookout for the next big trend." You all count on me to recommend movies and books and art exhibits.
Most of what I know about pop culture is gleaned from Friends, the Simpsons, and Entertainment Tonight.
Supposedly, I "read a good cross section of newspapers and am constantly on the lookout for the next big trend." You all count on me to recommend movies and books and art exhibits.
Most of what I know about pop culture is gleaned from Friends, the Simpsons, and Entertainment Tonight.
Online quizzes
How Sexy Are You? I'm a siren.
I've been learning about myself this evening. Watched a decent movie called SLC Punk, but it's over and now Grant is watching hockey, so I'm doing quizzes on the Life Network page. So far, I've learned that I'm a super-sexy siren, but also that I need to let loose a little bit, that I need a hug, that I'm ready to have a baby (ha), that I should run, not walk, down the aisle (ha, again), that I have 'true romance', and other stuff that I can't remember anymore. I've always liked quizzes, even though they're horribly inaccurate sometimes. It's interesting to see how some formula figures me out. I'll let you know if I find anything really interesting out about myself.
I've been learning about myself this evening. Watched a decent movie called SLC Punk, but it's over and now Grant is watching hockey, so I'm doing quizzes on the Life Network page. So far, I've learned that I'm a super-sexy siren, but also that I need to let loose a little bit, that I need a hug, that I'm ready to have a baby (ha), that I should run, not walk, down the aisle (ha, again), that I have 'true romance', and other stuff that I can't remember anymore. I've always liked quizzes, even though they're horribly inaccurate sometimes. It's interesting to see how some formula figures me out. I'll let you know if I find anything really interesting out about myself.
Tuesday, March 2
lurkers
who are you? 166 people have visited this site since I switched to this domain. I know that's not 166 separate entities, but I think it is more than just the ... 6 people I can think of off the top of my head. Join in the fun, leave a comment or something!
signs of spring
for me, the first real sign of spring, other than the warmer weather and rain (which we've had lately, yay!), is Tim Horton's Roll Up the Rim to Win. I never win anything beyond a free coffee; I'm not sure what the big ticket item is this year. My theory is that in the warmer weather, people like myself who are more about the hot chocolates and mochas start to buy less, so they bring out the contest to keep us interested. It works, of course.
I'm still muddling my way through A Short History of Nearly Everything, but not because I'm a terribly slow reader. I've read a couple of other books in the meantime, to break it up a bit. It's all very interesting, but it's quite fact-filled, so a bit slow going. Recently I've learned that there are a lot of people who have discovered very important things and not gotten any credit for it, and that we are all here due in no small part to incest. Marie Curie and her husband Pierre both made outstanding discoveries relating to radiation, as most of you know. He started showing signs of radiation sickness but was, mercifully, run over and killed by a carriage before he could feel its full effects. Marie was not so lucky and died of lukemia; her papers are now kept in lead lined boxes and can only be handled when the viewer is wearing protective clothing.
more to come!
I'm still muddling my way through A Short History of Nearly Everything, but not because I'm a terribly slow reader. I've read a couple of other books in the meantime, to break it up a bit. It's all very interesting, but it's quite fact-filled, so a bit slow going. Recently I've learned that there are a lot of people who have discovered very important things and not gotten any credit for it, and that we are all here due in no small part to incest. Marie Curie and her husband Pierre both made outstanding discoveries relating to radiation, as most of you know. He started showing signs of radiation sickness but was, mercifully, run over and killed by a carriage before he could feel its full effects. Marie was not so lucky and died of lukemia; her papers are now kept in lead lined boxes and can only be handled when the viewer is wearing protective clothing.
more to come!
new stuff
well, new to me. We now have the sweet boy's computer here, which is newer and much faster than my old one. Old Bessy has gone to live at Grant's parents' place until I figure out if I want to sell it or what. It's giving me grief about the modem, because I haven't used it in so long, and have formatted, and it doesn't seem to be installed now.
I've also gotten a fixed retainer put in, because my regular retainer sucks. This is much more fun, I don't have to worry about it and it just stays in all the time. Mainly because it's cemented to my teeth, on the back, so nobody knows!
I've been up to absolutely nothing lately, which I think is ok, and sort of the point of being on break. I have marking to do, and I will do it, but knowing me, probably not until the weekend. I'd like to go see a movie or something, but there's not really anything playing that I *must* see. I'm waffling about The Passion, I want to see it just to see it, but it's quite violent and stuff, so I don't really want to see it. Decisions decisions! My plan for today is to go buy School of Rock, because that movie kicks serious ass. I'm also waiting for Elf to come out. Hopefully they won't wait until next Christmas to release it.
off to eat, I've only had a bagel today and my stomach is complaining.
I've also gotten a fixed retainer put in, because my regular retainer sucks. This is much more fun, I don't have to worry about it and it just stays in all the time. Mainly because it's cemented to my teeth, on the back, so nobody knows!
I've been up to absolutely nothing lately, which I think is ok, and sort of the point of being on break. I have marking to do, and I will do it, but knowing me, probably not until the weekend. I'd like to go see a movie or something, but there's not really anything playing that I *must* see. I'm waffling about The Passion, I want to see it just to see it, but it's quite violent and stuff, so I don't really want to see it. Decisions decisions! My plan for today is to go buy School of Rock, because that movie kicks serious ass. I'm also waiting for Elf to come out. Hopefully they won't wait until next Christmas to release it.
off to eat, I've only had a bagel today and my stomach is complaining.