Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Strange Happenings at the Fish Market

Apparently I have a fan...
It happens occasionally that I will walk into a scenario that I am completely oblivious to for what seems like forever, and apparently this is another example...

So I like to hit up the fisherman's market for tacos every now and again... Ok, more accurately I have them on speed dial, but that is neither here nor there....

So after a long grueling day at work I stager home in a daze and decide to take Autumn out for a quick dinner...
I call in my order to save time... They are always friendly, know me by name and make me feel like I am walking on the set of Cheers... But I am none the wiser to the ongoing events that take place before and after I leave...

So I call in my usual, and am greeted by one of my favorite fish mongrels in an overzealous tone.
"Kellyclare, our favorite customer!", belts out from my phone... I smile as I receive strange looks from Autumn...

I arrive moments later, to find my order waiting for me at the counter... No line, perfect timing... A man gives us our change and smiles, and later asks how the food is... I am completely oblivious...

So moments after we finish our meal and return home, the phone rings... It's Autumn's friend Josh, with some interesting info... He calmly says that he knows we have been to the fish market and that his sources said we had the tacos...

Very strange...

Then he goes on to say that after I called in my order and hung up the phone there was a flurry of excitement and the little fish people were frantically running around in anticipation of my visit....

So I hear that when I got off the phone, one of them called to the other, "kellyclare's coming, do you want to work the register?" and fisherman number two jumped at the opportunity....

This cracks me up, that there is this whole other world going on that I am totally unaware of...

35 to go!

Yes, we are just days away...
And spots are filling up fast...
It is definitely time to secure your spot for the Best Irish Fest on the West Coast...

The Special of the Day:
Stage Manager
What does that entail?
I am so glad you asked....

It is a prestigious position where you have to chance to gain fame and recognition as the awesome announcer you know you are.
Duties: Introduce the acts, just a quick plug to the sponsors, sit back and enjoy the ride, and find some creative way to tell the group their time is up... Some effective methods: waving arms in the air, coughing loudly, shining flashlights in their direction, or pulling the plug, which ever seems the most appropriate... the choice is yours....

So that is the pick of the day...
Thanks for looking,
and tell your friends!

KC

Friday, February 22, 2008

Day in Review

Ok kids,
Not too much going on in my neck of the wood... I mainly supervised and supported state testing for most of the day...
I have a slightly sadistic streak for organization lately, and try to set things up to be as simple as possible. Sometimes it works out, and others not so much...

So lately I printed out stickers with the testing info for every student in the entire building, it only took 11 pages of labels and was well worth it... I had a nice time sticking them all perfectly in place for the kiddos and lucked out to have two awesome helpers that helped make the crazy dream a reality....

So in the last few days I was able to put the little cards to good use and get students on track and online for state testing.

We are using a new system this year and it takes a little getting used to, with one of the main differences being that teachers must log into a central management system and create "Sessions" for students to access their tests.
this is rather annoying, as most teachers do not know the address of the random page in the middle of nowhere that is absolutely fundamental to getting their students online....

And on top of that added frustration, the teacher, who is madly trying to get the students in the right account, logged onto the Internet and into the application that is sporadically missing from many student docks, needs to sit at their desk and approve each test that comes online waiting for approval... This adds a lot of waiting, frustration, and needless running back and forth....

So yeah, good times, and the testing coordinator comes to me for help... Seeing as none of us have used the application before and are all at square one when it comes to navigating....
Even with training, not many of us are completely comfortable with the process....

KC

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

ITSC 2008

This year I was pleased to be able to attend ITSC 2008 in Portland...
The event spanned across Saturday through Tuesday, and what could have been a mini vacation in the eyes of many of the attendees... So a little more about this event that I have seen for the first time...
It is one amazing event... With classes galore on every subject under the sun relating to technology and education... It is really an inspiring event for the teachers and admin.s in education today... And I think it was just what many teachers needed to get those spinning wheels pointed in the right direction... There was geocaching, prizes, classes, team time and great ideas... And sharing them was a wonderful opportunity for us all... Bringing hundreds of people together with the common goal of educating through tech was a great opportunity and helped us to walk away with many new ideas and resources....

Good times, I will tell you more when I am not so tired...

KC

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

What in the....?


How can this be??
We have directly conflicting information in the same result pannel.
Used: basically nothing
Total Space Available: nothing
Hard Drive Space: 60 Gigs

I am walking away.

Ok, I think I figured it out... I am working on a lowly intel core duo
the image that was put on this one was for an intel core duo 2
So it is the wrong operating system for the architecture
Makes sense, need to archive and install if I can or just start over....

Mac Vs. PC

You Got Served


Yeah, today was a good one...
I took an hour off work to talk to the U of O about my 60,000 worth of debt... Set up more of a plan for action, and was getting to feel like I was getting on track...
So I return to the school, right on time, grab 28 GPS units, go skipping out in the sunshine and set them up for the kids. I am marking waypoints in the grass out next to the school, another beautiful day. I get them all set up, show the kids how to use them and let them loose on the field. We then take the class for a walk and let kids see how fast they can run using the gps units. They love it and demand to do it again... I get back to the classroom where I am editing the music list for the Valentine's Day dance tomorrow evening and finish up with students and start working on their final grades for my class. Report card entries are due by Friday... No worries...
I have a meeting at 3:30 and head to the library... Only moments later to be called to the office by our secretary. She tells me a man is wanting to see me... Mid-twenties... I look thoughtful for a moment seeing as I don't know any 20-year old males... I see a young man in a duck hat, I immidiately think it is someone from the Fraternities that I had contacted wanting information about the Irish Festival... No luck... I was just served by Peace Health for an unpaid balance from my surgery....
I thought I had paid those, and had recieved no further contact and considered the matter closed...
Apparently my mail was not reaching the correct address and I was not informed.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Out of Luck, Out of Time

The Face I make when...

My back up laptop is on the fritz... It has a 60 gig hard drive and is telling me that it is out of space. It is also freezing intermittently, and taking random pictures of me... This is the latest...

It claims it has a 20 gig hard drive, even though it has 40 to go...
I am giving up, it is all breaking, and the gremlins are taking control...
First no sound, then no space, then no exposé, what's next....

All of my appliances are giving up on me... the phone is making strange sounds, buzzing randomly as though it is recieving secret messages from the mother ship that are never made through...

So I helped put up like 100 posters today... actual numbers may vary, but I put up a lot...
Found one volunteer and snuck posters into every bar in town...

Look around campus, you may see them.

And I need about a hundred volunteers, don't be shy now, you know you want to help me.
I don't need much, just a little of your time.

512

So today I will be wandering the streets with a roll of scotch tape, putting up posters for the Eugene Irish Cultural Festival.
I am still about a hundred volunteers shy of where we need to be for the festival that will be taking place in less than a month, on Saturday, March 8th, at Sheldon High School from 10:30-6 PM.

If anyone wants to help and get into the daytime festival for free... Please contact me as soon as possible.

Any recommendations would be welcome, come one come all 14 and up!

KC

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

511

Latest Song on Repeat...
Song: True Affection
Artist: Blow
Album: Paper Television

"I was out of your league, you were 20,000 underneath the sea."

Cute, reminds me of the Disney film... Which I own and will watch soon.

Monday, February 04, 2008

My Dinner

Yes, in the interest of keeping everyone privy to each second of my life I will tell you what I made for dinner.

I made fettucini with 1 stick of butter, 3 different kinds of squash, shrimp, a cup of cream, equal parts parmesan and ramano cheese and garlic.

Two hours of careful cooking, and I can't touch another bite, as I have been sampling the entire time...
That's the way it goes with cooking, one for the sauce and one for me... Maybe two...

So I will be lethargically recovering on the couch for the next few hours, and then off to bed.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Not My Calling

So after being inspired by an overzealous bus boy at a local bar, I decided I could cut down on time and increase my efficiency in cleaning by carrying 8 glasses and 2 coffee cups at one time to the kitchen. It was a flawless plan, and must have been an impressive display... But my glorious accomplishment was short lived when once again gravity came in to mess with me.

So needless to say, I made it to my destination, gently placed my glorious stack of cups proudly on the counter, and promptly watched the swaying mass topple onto the counter with an explosion of glass in every direction. I smiled and walked away... An act like that is hard to follow...

Thankfully I have the container situation under control, and planned for the inevitable replacements I would need... So we are not drinking out of mason jars just yet, but another crystal clear example of my domestic deficiencies has been duly noted.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Running Down the Halls at 10pm on a Friday Night

This is the picture I will paint for you after a long day of stressing over shoe boxes...
Yes, ordinary, common place, forgotten shoe boxes.

Simple items, that at the time, seem like unimportant packaging whose only function is to separate you from the thing you want.

In this scenario it symbolizes an entire world to a child. A world that begins with fingers, nimbly tearing bits of paper and gluing them perfectly into place to crystalize concepts and ideas that are all their own. And in that small box is a place that is entirely their own. They become understandably upset if any harm comes to it while in someone else's care. So upon me is the heavy burden of protecting entire galaxies of dreams and creations, brought to fruition in the form of paper and clay. Strewn with care about the back seat of my car till I can no longer see out the windows, but never daring to remove them for fear of the scorn of a disappointed child and the crushing looks that accompany the loss of a treasured object.

So on with my day, that led me to running at full speed down the hallways of my school at 10 pm, rushing to the alarm system, fumbling for keys, and praying the code I quickly scribbled into a damp piece of paper in the rain would save me from the ear-splitting sound that I have heard only once before and would do anything to avoid. It was already a long night, the news crew would have made it unbearable.

So on with the story... How shoe boxes have plagued my day... and so much more...
After school I know I have a project for my weekend class where they will be making books with clay and shoe boxes, as usual. So I call Payless, no dice, and then lean on my close second of Macy's. They are always very nice and help me out. So I call them up and am greeted by a man named Todd. I tell Todd the situation and he says to come on down and they will have the 30-some odd boxes waiting for me. I am overcome with joy and fly off in my car, only to arrive moments later...

I meet Todd at the counter, remind him of our conversation moments earlier and wait patiently. He steps away for a moment, reassuringly smiles and says that Pam will take care of me. I stand there motionless for a moment, and Pam's radar goes off. She asks if there is anything I need help with and I explain that Todd had told me that Pam could help me find some shoe boxes...
Blank stare (part one of what I can now only assume was part of a much larger conspiracy)
"Boxes? We don't have any boxes...."
(very sad now, after calling two places, being assured all was well, getting in my car in the rain and driving clear across town)
In a rude tone she makes it quite clear she will not be helping me....
Lame.
So I sulkingly scurry through the mall on what has now become the amazing race against time in a soon closing mall.

Gotchaks: 4 boxes (after calling 2 managers, and clearly marking NON-Returnable in sharpie over my pretty boxes, like there is some hidden scam I am not aware of where I can fill the boxes with bricks and sell them in the streets! Not likely...)

Foot Locker: No Boxes, except gift ones that fold up and collapse if looked at

Lady Foot locker: No Boxes

Charlette Rose: No Boxes

Champion: 1 Box

Copelands: No Boxes, and a man (who I assume was the manager) decided to give me the most interesting response of the evening. After I asked if he had any shoe boxes, he looked at me like I was some kind of criminal, (it must be my shirt) and felt it necessary to tell me the in depth policy of the company on the issue, when a simple no would have sufficed.
He explained that all boxes were to be crushed on sight, and that anyone leaving with said shoe boxes was assumed to be stealing merchandise and dealt with accordingly. I appreciate the insight, but didn't really care to know. So on I went.

JC Penny: 2 Boxes

Clear across town...

Payless Shoes: 4 boxes

Fred Myers: 3 boxes

Which brings us up to speed, where I arrive home, thinking of the crushed faces that I will see upon arriving at school without a home for the many people who are going to come into existence in the morning.

So of course, I have a back up plan, though not much of one... I have been doing projects at my school with boxes as well... And had a few extra, just enough to help me out now... Not the 27 I need by far, but every little bit helps...

So I call up one of my colleagues, and she says, "You need the code, don't you" I didn't event ask, she knew that if I was calling at 10 pm on Friday night, I obviously was planning on breaking into the building for shoe-boxes...

So Autumn and I jump in the car, pull up on the side, take a few deep breaths, and prepare to run.

I am no good with alarm systems and know I have only a few minutes to get it to turn off... and no guarantee I will get the code right.

So I am trying to get in and out as quick as possible...

It would have been a good day for cameras...

As soon as the door was open, we were running down the halls at full speed... Screeching around the corner before slamming into the library door.

Everything is more fun if you are running as fast as you can. It must have been an entertaining sight from outside.

Good, times, scored about 10 more boxes and am closer to what I need...