So this week I am trying to be on top of things, clean the house get my act in gear in time for Wednesday.
My dad will be making his way to town this coming week. We are looking forward to heading out to the world renown Olive Garden as well as a few other sights in town.
Should be a good time...
In other news, I finished the paper work for renewing my teaching license...
This was the first round for me, though we are required to do this every three years...
The process is a little vague and there are always conflicting stories in regard to what the actual requirements are... In part this is because there are different rules for different groups of people depending on the type of license they hold and the time that they were first issued it. If for example, you were issued a license in the 70's or 80's you are "Grandfathered" from complying to the current requirements, which dictate that you must have passed your state testing from Praxis and CBEST. Those teachers only need to have informal reviews completed by their peers and be showing progress toward continuing education, shown by district professional development units or course credits...
Along with that they need to fill out a form describing the areas they have been improving in...
I get to do the masters level courses route and had to come up with 4.5 credits. The paperwork is pretty confusing.
But at any rate, I drove all the way down to headquarters and dropped it all off...
The main concern of the man behind the counter was to ensure I drafted my check correctly...
Past that he said everything else I turned in looked fine.
I am really glad I made it all the way down there and had them check me off in person. I would have hated to have waited for acknowledgement to find later that I had incorrectly filed...
So that is a big relief and I should receive my new license within the month.
In other news, I recently had a chance to hang out with a few old friends, one I hadn't seen in around ten years...
It was nice to catch up and we made a modest attempt at making sushi, only to mess it up at every turn.
But in the end all went well and we had a great time.
I will keep you posted on the coming week...
Our Apple visit is coming up soon.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Happy Easter
So sorry for the absence...
Over the last few weeks we finished with the Saturday Class... All the munchkins got their sites up and running.
And as planned I finally had a chance to get out of town for Spring Break.
We went down the coast on 101, through the Trees of Mystery and down to the Avenue of the Giants.
It was fairly rainy throughout the journey which I found to be an added benefit, since it kept competing visitors at bay.
I had a chance to stay in Redway and was very impressed by the little communities in the area and how they refuse to give up even though their little towns have been ravaged by floods for hundreds of years.
One of the highlights on the trip was stopping into a small conservatory where you could read information about the area and learn about the interesting events that have happened in the area...
While exploring the scene I was impressed to find one of the most complete displays of dead native animals that I have ever seen.
When these people go on a killing spree, they sure are thorough.
I saw around 80 specimens all crammed into on space, baby bears next to baby squirrels and so many others...
On the way out I wandered past a setup for children to explore... They were so often seen boxes with covered lids and the invitation to use your sense of feeling to guess what is inside.
I decided to skip the whole guessing process and just look inside...
I was shocked to find a taxidermied limb from a mountain lion...
It was obviously falling apart, smelled horribly, and had patches of fur that had fallen off and been worn away by the children...
That was a little startling, but other than that the whole thing was pretty neat...
After making our way though the Avenue of the Giants, we wandered down 101 and made our way to Fort Bragg.
This little town was actually where I was born, and I can't recall visiting it in quite some time.
Getting down there was no small feat, traveling down the infamous highway 1 through it's nauseating turns and bends.
It really was a sickening road, with little relief once through the passage.
After that with the rain and fog on the coast, the little towns on the side seemed pretty sad.
We finally made it into town in time to find a fun little restaurant in the middle of town.
As I wandered through the building, looking at art on display, I was surprised to see a small woman standing next to me, who moments later walks up and announces that she knows me and that I teach her son...
That was a bit of a trip. It really is a small world, and even driving hundreds of miles into what I would sum up as the middle of nowhere, there are still people out there waiting to hop out of crevices and say hello.
This week I am off to the Sheraton Inn again, up in Portland, for the latest round of conferences on integrating technology into the classroom curriculum.
Lately at my sites, I have been working on getting the teams up and running with their clickers, Proscope microscopes, and other fun new tools. I have just gotten three out of the four classes up on Apple Remote Desktop and had a little chance to show them how the tool looks in action.
At the last part of the day in one of my classes, I heard the teacher announce that it was time for all the children to begin shutting down their machines and getting ready to go home. I could hear the reluctant sighs as the kids looked at their screens, not wanting to stop what they were doing. Just for fun I asked if it would be alright if I took care of it, and my wonderful host agreed. With just the press of a button I sent out the order for all the machines to shut down, and within a matter of seconds all the kids were looking around trying to figure out what had happened...
Clean up was accomplished in record time and many of the kids came up to inquire about the magic I had just performed.
Good times,
though I am not looking forward to being away from my class and the fun planning that goes into being out of town.
Over the last few weeks we finished with the Saturday Class... All the munchkins got their sites up and running.
And as planned I finally had a chance to get out of town for Spring Break.
We went down the coast on 101, through the Trees of Mystery and down to the Avenue of the Giants.
It was fairly rainy throughout the journey which I found to be an added benefit, since it kept competing visitors at bay.
I had a chance to stay in Redway and was very impressed by the little communities in the area and how they refuse to give up even though their little towns have been ravaged by floods for hundreds of years.
One of the highlights on the trip was stopping into a small conservatory where you could read information about the area and learn about the interesting events that have happened in the area...
While exploring the scene I was impressed to find one of the most complete displays of dead native animals that I have ever seen.
When these people go on a killing spree, they sure are thorough.
I saw around 80 specimens all crammed into on space, baby bears next to baby squirrels and so many others...
On the way out I wandered past a setup for children to explore... They were so often seen boxes with covered lids and the invitation to use your sense of feeling to guess what is inside.
I decided to skip the whole guessing process and just look inside...
I was shocked to find a taxidermied limb from a mountain lion...
It was obviously falling apart, smelled horribly, and had patches of fur that had fallen off and been worn away by the children...
That was a little startling, but other than that the whole thing was pretty neat...
After making our way though the Avenue of the Giants, we wandered down 101 and made our way to Fort Bragg.
This little town was actually where I was born, and I can't recall visiting it in quite some time.
Getting down there was no small feat, traveling down the infamous highway 1 through it's nauseating turns and bends.
It really was a sickening road, with little relief once through the passage.
After that with the rain and fog on the coast, the little towns on the side seemed pretty sad.
We finally made it into town in time to find a fun little restaurant in the middle of town.
As I wandered through the building, looking at art on display, I was surprised to see a small woman standing next to me, who moments later walks up and announces that she knows me and that I teach her son...
That was a bit of a trip. It really is a small world, and even driving hundreds of miles into what I would sum up as the middle of nowhere, there are still people out there waiting to hop out of crevices and say hello.
This week I am off to the Sheraton Inn again, up in Portland, for the latest round of conferences on integrating technology into the classroom curriculum.
Lately at my sites, I have been working on getting the teams up and running with their clickers, Proscope microscopes, and other fun new tools. I have just gotten three out of the four classes up on Apple Remote Desktop and had a little chance to show them how the tool looks in action.
At the last part of the day in one of my classes, I heard the teacher announce that it was time for all the children to begin shutting down their machines and getting ready to go home. I could hear the reluctant sighs as the kids looked at their screens, not wanting to stop what they were doing. Just for fun I asked if it would be alright if I took care of it, and my wonderful host agreed. With just the press of a button I sent out the order for all the machines to shut down, and within a matter of seconds all the kids were looking around trying to figure out what had happened...
Clean up was accomplished in record time and many of the kids came up to inquire about the magic I had just performed.
Good times,
though I am not looking forward to being away from my class and the fun planning that goes into being out of town.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Week in Review
This week we are rounding the middle of the term and getting ready for Spring Break.
Tomorrow is grading day, and I am ready to get going with the second half.
Quizzes are in, reflections are done, and tomorrow is a half day for our school.
This means 25 minute classes and the rest of the day to get ready for the next few weeks and grading.
Our next Apple visit is coming up at the end of April, and I will be sending out all my paper work for my first renewal as soon as it arrives.
This coming weekend will be the last for our Super Saturday program and we will be ending with a bang in both the science and the HTML classes...
After that it will be time for some upcoming classes for teachers over the beginning of break and then a few days to unwind before the long haul till Summer.
The year is going by quickly and the kids seem to be having a good time.
We will see how it winds down.
In other news I am fighting off the inclination to succumb to the latest round of illnesses that my munchkins are bringing in on a daily basis...
Trying to lay low and make it to the weekend to recover...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Weekly Update
Impressed to have actually lived up to the title of this post and gotten my latest entry in on time...
School choice wet just fine, and the kids did a great job of being wonderful examples...
Each time we saw feet approaching the doors, I would throw a smile at my class and they all put on their best smiles and waited to greet the latest tour...
In other news my classes reached their first goal for good behavior and earned a day off...
In the usual fashion, we put all the equipment away and busted out the karaoke setup.
I only heard one person from the room next to us pound on the walls, signifying that we weren't too crazy.
We had a great time, and I am happy that we have the chance to do fun things to recognize the students...
Everyone needs a break once in a while, and it is fun to let the students see what happens when they use their time well and work together...
Every time I head through the checkout line with all of my supplies, someone always asks where I work, since it is obvious we are going to have a blast.
The latest installment of HTML and schience went well, though there was a bit of a turf war over the space...
Turned out that there was an employment conference in the same building and that the science class had been 86ed to a new building on account of the trails of slime that ended up being tracked all over the building...
This week we worked on creating media for our sites, and showed the students super fun tables...
I crack up thinking about it... I gather the class in close and tell them that we are about to learn about ordered lists... Their eyes light up as they get their fingers ready to try the latest tip...
One of the students informed their family that they now plan to drop out of school and do professional web design as a career.
Past all that,
I finally finished my paper for my upcoming renewal...
I am a little leery about the process since there is so much pressure to get everything in on time... From what I have heard from other teachers, it should be a simple process, with the main idea being you send $100 to the powers that be every three years...
I spent a good part of my afternoon fighting with the archaic fax machine that lives in our school office...
After five attempts to send a twenty page document to another state, I was feeling a little slighted by the contraption... Inches from pulling an office space move and with bat on hand, it finally went through...
So I should be done with the next step in the process soon and move on with the final mailings...
Props going out to Liz for being my cheer leader and helping me answer the silliest questions...
I really appreciate all the patience and not blocking my frequent calls...
Last of all, after the blur of the week and weekend have passed, I made it outside and have evidence to prove it...
Most of them are ducks and puddles, but they are my dcks and puddles, and I like them.
So you will have to check out the latest...
School choice wet just fine, and the kids did a great job of being wonderful examples...
Each time we saw feet approaching the doors, I would throw a smile at my class and they all put on their best smiles and waited to greet the latest tour...
In other news my classes reached their first goal for good behavior and earned a day off...
In the usual fashion, we put all the equipment away and busted out the karaoke setup.
I only heard one person from the room next to us pound on the walls, signifying that we weren't too crazy.
We had a great time, and I am happy that we have the chance to do fun things to recognize the students...
Everyone needs a break once in a while, and it is fun to let the students see what happens when they use their time well and work together...
Every time I head through the checkout line with all of my supplies, someone always asks where I work, since it is obvious we are going to have a blast.
The latest installment of HTML and schience went well, though there was a bit of a turf war over the space...
Turned out that there was an employment conference in the same building and that the science class had been 86ed to a new building on account of the trails of slime that ended up being tracked all over the building...
This week we worked on creating media for our sites, and showed the students super fun tables...
I crack up thinking about it... I gather the class in close and tell them that we are about to learn about ordered lists... Their eyes light up as they get their fingers ready to try the latest tip...
One of the students informed their family that they now plan to drop out of school and do professional web design as a career.
Past all that,
I finally finished my paper for my upcoming renewal...
I am a little leery about the process since there is so much pressure to get everything in on time... From what I have heard from other teachers, it should be a simple process, with the main idea being you send $100 to the powers that be every three years...
I spent a good part of my afternoon fighting with the archaic fax machine that lives in our school office...
After five attempts to send a twenty page document to another state, I was feeling a little slighted by the contraption... Inches from pulling an office space move and with bat on hand, it finally went through...
So I should be done with the next step in the process soon and move on with the final mailings...
Props going out to Liz for being my cheer leader and helping me answer the silliest questions...
I really appreciate all the patience and not blocking my frequent calls...
Last of all, after the blur of the week and weekend have passed, I made it outside and have evidence to prove it...
Most of them are ducks and puddles, but they are my dcks and puddles, and I like them.
So you will have to check out the latest...
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Weekly Update
This week has been a pretty big on for us,
We received our recognition as an Apple Exemplary Program for integrating technology in a two to one atmosphere with our students and creating a 21st century learning environment for our school.
An Apple representative came all the way down from far across the state to present us with our award.
I had the honor of being the one to take the plaque home and had a great time putting it up around the house.
The week went well with my students finishing up on some of our latest projects and making it through the four day week in style.
My Friday and Saturday were spent in preparation for my two classes for the University Youth TAG program I am working on. I have one class on Kitchen Science and another on HTML for nine and ten year olds.
Both classes took an amazing amount of preparation, but ended up going great.
The HTML class was a hit with the students continually impressing me with their abilities to understand difficult concepts and wanting to do more... I even had one student who wanted to take home all of our handouts so that he could practice at home. Pretty cool... Though I thought that a three hour class would prove daunting for any group of individuals, especially 3rd and 4th graders...
In other news, I got a call from my friends to meet up down at Sam Bond's Garage for drawing and catching up... I was quite surprised to find that the one night I chose to actually make it out of the house and to local bar that I had shown up on the same night as a benefit for one of my schools... It was really fun to see all the parents getting up and entertaining the crowd throughout the evening.
The highlight was definitely the puppet show, where a strange fury cyclopes got up in front of us and sang Bobby McGee...
Next week will be school choice week, where families have the chance to tour our school and see if they want to enlist their students in the lottery to join our crew next fall. So we will have to be sure to have some great activities ready to go just for the occasion.
In other random news, we had the best fire drill ever...
In past years, getting everyone outside has never been an issue, but students were often fidgety and noisy while waiting to head back into the building.
I was proud to see that my class was absolutely wonderful as an example to the younger students around them and even did a nice job of facing away from the imaginary blast while they sank down in the squishy grass from the latest rain..
Go team.
Monday, February 15, 2010
My Three Day Weekend
So today is the last day in the long break before heading back to work.
Weekend in review goes as follows:
Day one: Head out of town, down to the coast, and up to Waldport.
Stayed in a sweet little green A-frame for Friday and Saturday, checked out Newprot, took advantage of the rogue brewery's annual garage sale, took lots of photos of pelicans and seagulls down at the pier...
Got lots of shots of what turned out to be a very stormy day at the beach, and explored a little beachside shop that boasted having the largest insect in the world...
After Waldport and Newport, we headed back down the coast and went to one of my favorite restaurants...
Long ago when I was a child, living in Florence, we would get up early and head over to the Blue Hen.
The blue hen was a tiny little house that boasted some of the best homemade biscuits around and had breakfast down to an art. Sadly the employees in the back also had arson down to an art as well, leading to its mysterious combustion (which occured three times) over the next few years.
They tried to rebuild, but again, when they least expected it, fire struck again...
Finally the little Blue Hen closed it's doors for the last time, and the choices for a decent breakfast in town seemed lost as well.
Fast forward ten years, and to my surprise, there was a reincarnated version just across from where I first went to school. It is now called the Little Brown Hen, and sports a trailer trash looking chicken with it's arms held out, as if it were saying it just didn't care anymore...
The food was great, and we took a moment and added it to Urban Spoon, so others will be able to find this little gem.
After breakfast, we made the rest of the trip back to town, where dear Autumn was waiting with truck on hand to move all of her belongings out of my apartment and into her new home.
We ended our day with a wonderful meal at Beppe's italian restaurant, There was an hour wait from the moment they opened, but as usual, it was well worth it.
I had the lobster ravioli and they were fantastic!
Weekend in review goes as follows:
Day one: Head out of town, down to the coast, and up to Waldport.
Stayed in a sweet little green A-frame for Friday and Saturday, checked out Newprot, took advantage of the rogue brewery's annual garage sale, took lots of photos of pelicans and seagulls down at the pier...
Got lots of shots of what turned out to be a very stormy day at the beach, and explored a little beachside shop that boasted having the largest insect in the world...
After Waldport and Newport, we headed back down the coast and went to one of my favorite restaurants...
Long ago when I was a child, living in Florence, we would get up early and head over to the Blue Hen.
The blue hen was a tiny little house that boasted some of the best homemade biscuits around and had breakfast down to an art. Sadly the employees in the back also had arson down to an art as well, leading to its mysterious combustion (which occured three times) over the next few years.
They tried to rebuild, but again, when they least expected it, fire struck again...
Finally the little Blue Hen closed it's doors for the last time, and the choices for a decent breakfast in town seemed lost as well.
Fast forward ten years, and to my surprise, there was a reincarnated version just across from where I first went to school. It is now called the Little Brown Hen, and sports a trailer trash looking chicken with it's arms held out, as if it were saying it just didn't care anymore...
The food was great, and we took a moment and added it to Urban Spoon, so others will be able to find this little gem.
After breakfast, we made the rest of the trip back to town, where dear Autumn was waiting with truck on hand to move all of her belongings out of my apartment and into her new home.
We ended our day with a wonderful meal at Beppe's italian restaurant, There was an hour wait from the moment they opened, but as usual, it was well worth it.
I had the lobster ravioli and they were fantastic!
Monday, February 08, 2010
Getting Control
I wander into my house after a long Monday and take a moment to survey the scene and assess what should be done first...
After squishing the latest cluster of ants that have wandered into my pristine kitchen, I settle on the dishes...
Scrubbing my way through the daily accumulation of coffee cups and bowls, pondering what to make for dinner.
The living room is the first thing I see when I walk through the door, and always takes a little time to get used to...
the dying plant on the coffee table, piles of things, and then the green fish tank...
Always the fish tank...
So I will focus on the small things I can control and take them all on one at a time...
Dishes: Check
Dinner: Next...
Yumm Bowls Again...
Off to make the lie come true.
I was just thinking that we are long overdue for some cookies...
Hopefully that will find it's way into the schedule to help boost spirits in this long week of schedules, retakes, and testing.
After squishing the latest cluster of ants that have wandered into my pristine kitchen, I settle on the dishes...
Scrubbing my way through the daily accumulation of coffee cups and bowls, pondering what to make for dinner.
The living room is the first thing I see when I walk through the door, and always takes a little time to get used to...
the dying plant on the coffee table, piles of things, and then the green fish tank...
Always the fish tank...
So I will focus on the small things I can control and take them all on one at a time...
Dishes: Check
Dinner: Next...
Yumm Bowls Again...
Off to make the lie come true.
I was just thinking that we are long overdue for some cookies...
Hopefully that will find it's way into the schedule to help boost spirits in this long week of schedules, retakes, and testing.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Collard Lake Cabin in Florence
This is the little cottage I had the chance to spend the weekend in Last weekend...
It was an awesome chance to get a change of scenery, chill out, and just relax...
It was nice to be cut off from the daily routines and be in a place without cable, wireless, or dishes.
Also had the chance to see why all the restaurants that are next to the river opted to be on stilts...
Major high tide washed out most of the bank and left the beach a swamp...
Instant Recognition
So I had a chance to meet up with Autumn's sister Sierra...
I haven't seen her since she announced she will be having a new arrival in June.
She just found out she will be having a little boy and is excitedly preparing for the new addition to her family.
We met up at the Fisherman's market for lunch and to catch up.
Upon entering the restaurant, I was greeted by a familiar face in what used to be a staple in my foraging routine.
Back when I first started working at my current building, I would seldom find time to eat with my busy schedule and often found my way to the market as a way to relax and unwind.
I always liked watching the crab tank, where the inhabitants would take turns strategizing their escapes and climb on top of each other in a meager attempt to cheat death.
On certain occasions, some would find their way to the top of the tank, even getting as far to reach one leg into the air towards freedom, only to have some imbecile on the bottom of the pile screw it up and send the unlucky crustacean sinking back down to the bottom of the holding tank.
I liked the water that was all over the floor, and of course, I thoroughly enjoyed the food.
I never really liked the crabs, though I tried them from time to time... Instead I found that the best deal they had to offer was in the form of their fish tacos... Being little fried bits of goodness, smothered in salsa and sauce, over a corn tortilla.
They were always fast, delicious, and just what I needed after a long day of ringing phones and endless emails for assistance.
At any rate, I became a familiar face and frequented the market on a daily basis...I came in so often that one of the fish mongers went out of his way to introduce me to his mother when she came in on his birthday...
So at any rate, I wasn't surprised to find that as soon as I sat down with Sierra and our food that a familiar face appeared, calling me by name and inquired as to how we were enjoying our meal...
I assume Sierra might have been a little surprised, seeing as she didn't know the history and picked the place at random as a place to meet... But as usual, I made no attempt to explain, thanked our server, and went back on with the conversation as if it were nothing notable...
And of course, to make things even stranger for her, upon leaving, my friend made a point to shout his farewell across the restaurant just to make sure I felt special...
Definitely one of my favorite restaurants.
Always a good time.
I haven't seen her since she announced she will be having a new arrival in June.
She just found out she will be having a little boy and is excitedly preparing for the new addition to her family.
We met up at the Fisherman's market for lunch and to catch up.
Upon entering the restaurant, I was greeted by a familiar face in what used to be a staple in my foraging routine.
Back when I first started working at my current building, I would seldom find time to eat with my busy schedule and often found my way to the market as a way to relax and unwind.
I always liked watching the crab tank, where the inhabitants would take turns strategizing their escapes and climb on top of each other in a meager attempt to cheat death.
On certain occasions, some would find their way to the top of the tank, even getting as far to reach one leg into the air towards freedom, only to have some imbecile on the bottom of the pile screw it up and send the unlucky crustacean sinking back down to the bottom of the holding tank.
I liked the water that was all over the floor, and of course, I thoroughly enjoyed the food.
I never really liked the crabs, though I tried them from time to time... Instead I found that the best deal they had to offer was in the form of their fish tacos... Being little fried bits of goodness, smothered in salsa and sauce, over a corn tortilla.
They were always fast, delicious, and just what I needed after a long day of ringing phones and endless emails for assistance.
At any rate, I became a familiar face and frequented the market on a daily basis...I came in so often that one of the fish mongers went out of his way to introduce me to his mother when she came in on his birthday...
So at any rate, I wasn't surprised to find that as soon as I sat down with Sierra and our food that a familiar face appeared, calling me by name and inquired as to how we were enjoying our meal...
I assume Sierra might have been a little surprised, seeing as she didn't know the history and picked the place at random as a place to meet... But as usual, I made no attempt to explain, thanked our server, and went back on with the conversation as if it were nothing notable...
And of course, to make things even stranger for her, upon leaving, my friend made a point to shout his farewell across the restaurant just to make sure I felt special...
Definitely one of my favorite restaurants.
Always a good time.
Happy Sunday
So as of yesterday, Autumn has again left the building...
She is on her way to Washington to visit her family...
Her predicted absence is two weeks, where upon returning she will be vacating to her new home and studio space in central Eugene.
In other news, this week she had some of her artwork presented at a prestigious gallery in town.
We also celebrated Steve's 31st birthday at the Sushi Station.
Mine will be the next one in April.
This week at my new placement we are still organizing and rearranging equipment and getting it ready for roll out to students this week...
I have a training on Google Tools session I and II coming up, and am still trying to finish all the requirements for updating my license...
I am almost done, and just need to hunker down and get the final pieces collected and sent out.
We finished the tax info this week, only to send it all out and then receive more documents that will need to be added in.
In other news, I am battling it out with the fish tank today, and disappointed to find that the tank is in a perpetually green state, in spite of the numerous algae treatments I add into the tank on a biweekly schedule.
My giant sucker fish has decided to give up.
I am contemplating replacing the current inhabitants with a gerbil or plastic creatures.
I feel they might be less work and just as rewarding as my filthy little ingrates.
Back to coffee and dishes.
She is on her way to Washington to visit her family...
Her predicted absence is two weeks, where upon returning she will be vacating to her new home and studio space in central Eugene.
In other news, this week she had some of her artwork presented at a prestigious gallery in town.
We also celebrated Steve's 31st birthday at the Sushi Station.
Mine will be the next one in April.
This week at my new placement we are still organizing and rearranging equipment and getting it ready for roll out to students this week...
I have a training on Google Tools session I and II coming up, and am still trying to finish all the requirements for updating my license...
I am almost done, and just need to hunker down and get the final pieces collected and sent out.
We finished the tax info this week, only to send it all out and then receive more documents that will need to be added in.
In other news, I am battling it out with the fish tank today, and disappointed to find that the tank is in a perpetually green state, in spite of the numerous algae treatments I add into the tank on a biweekly schedule.
My giant sucker fish has decided to give up.
I am contemplating replacing the current inhabitants with a gerbil or plastic creatures.
I feel they might be less work and just as rewarding as my filthy little ingrates.
Back to coffee and dishes.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Week in Review
Welcome back folks, we are still alive and kicking in the Gardner House...
This week I have just stated a new term of classes with my students and so far it looks like a good batch...
I have one class that was accidentally loaded with ten wonderful children... There was a glitch in scheduling and my ten were all that weren't moved.
I am looking forward to the projects we'll be able to create...
In other news, this week I had the opportunity to teach a class for the Eugene Education Association... It was a two hour session on communication tools, and was held in my own classroom.
I was told there would be around thirty people signing up for the workshop and that they would be getting credit for being there as part of a continuing education series...
The final count was thirty-eight... with people crammed in all along the tables and windows...
I think the event went great.
As usual, with a limited amount of time and users from all levels of expertise, it is often hard to gage what the participants will be successful with. I introduced some of my favorite tools, and the time went by pretty fast for me...
I like doing trainings...
I really get a kick out of sharing.
This is kind of a surprise when I think of how I would have felt giving such an event as a younger version of myself.
I was never a shy person, but I think it would have been pretty intimidating.
At any rate, this weekend will be getting ready for the next round and trying to get control of my living room.
This week I have just stated a new term of classes with my students and so far it looks like a good batch...
I have one class that was accidentally loaded with ten wonderful children... There was a glitch in scheduling and my ten were all that weren't moved.
I am looking forward to the projects we'll be able to create...
In other news, this week I had the opportunity to teach a class for the Eugene Education Association... It was a two hour session on communication tools, and was held in my own classroom.
I was told there would be around thirty people signing up for the workshop and that they would be getting credit for being there as part of a continuing education series...
The final count was thirty-eight... with people crammed in all along the tables and windows...
I think the event went great.
As usual, with a limited amount of time and users from all levels of expertise, it is often hard to gage what the participants will be successful with. I introduced some of my favorite tools, and the time went by pretty fast for me...
I like doing trainings...
I really get a kick out of sharing.
This is kind of a surprise when I think of how I would have felt giving such an event as a younger version of myself.
I was never a shy person, but I think it would have been pretty intimidating.
At any rate, this weekend will be getting ready for the next round and trying to get control of my living room.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Priceless
So I head out of school, after taking care of all the little things I need to square away before leaving town to the new location for our meeting, make it all the way home, have a bite to eat, pack what I need, hop in the car, drive all the way up, get out and stretch my legs to find that I forgot my bag with everything I packed in it.
Thankfully I still have all the things I need, but I couldn't believe I was so close and left it there...
And really the reason was in part due to the new cell phone thing... I put my phone in my purse in the back seat so I wouldn't end up using it on the drive up, and apparently I would have got the message seconds after I left but missed it completely..
Oh well, we will see what we will see...
No worries.
Thankfully I still have all the things I need, but I couldn't believe I was so close and left it there...
And really the reason was in part due to the new cell phone thing... I put my phone in my purse in the back seat so I wouldn't end up using it on the drive up, and apparently I would have got the message seconds after I left but missed it completely..
Oh well, we will see what we will see...
No worries.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Just a Thought
So yesterday morning, I come down stairs, make a random reference and my friend responds with, "Yeah and we can slash the bloody stumps where his limbs used to be..."
I look at him like he has finally gone too far, and even I am not keeping up...
He tries to back pedal and explain... "You know, cause of what happened in the book..."
I continue to look mystified and completely alarmed...
So it turns out that we had been reading a few chapters in the last Eragon book and I must have fell asleep, since I didn't recall any of that...
It was pretty funny.
I look at him like he has finally gone too far, and even I am not keeping up...
He tries to back pedal and explain... "You know, cause of what happened in the book..."
I continue to look mystified and completely alarmed...
So it turns out that we had been reading a few chapters in the last Eragon book and I must have fell asleep, since I didn't recall any of that...
It was pretty funny.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Same Old Thing
Yes, Oregon is just like Maui, except for the snow...
Here is what I did when I made it home.
Live From the AIrport
Today has been a thrilling day and I am sure the fun will extend well into the evening.
So yeah, I have issues with numbers...
I always have...
So when I tell you that I will be leaving on the 31st, you can bet I got the wrong day...
Last time I came out I actually mixed up the departure and arrival locations and accually paid in full for a pair of tickets leaving from a different state.
So it should come as no surprise, after casually glancing at my online ticket info, realizing I had the wrong day, and driving as fast as I could to secure my place in line in these times of heightened security... ready for my new and improved pat down...
That I am 5 hours early and after getting a hundred feet from my gate I am told that the kids that need to screen my bag are still on their lunch break and to come back later...
Good times...
On the bright side there is free wireless...
And I can work on my paper that I never gave a second glance.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Not Your Everyday McDonanlds
Here in the islands and throughout the world, McDonalds likes to bring in a certain flair by taking on the customs and favorites of their surroundings.
This is demonstrated with tailored side dishes to fit the pallets of local visitors.
Examples include, removing beef and beef products in India, refried beans in Mexico, Beer in Germany, and out here in Hawaii, Spam in the Extreme Breakfast... and chickens watching you eat.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
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