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| Why so serious?The first week after Summer School hasn't been too bad. On Tuesday I had dinner with Mrs. Adams and Mrs. McGraw. It was a good time at the Starliner Diner in Hilliard. I had forgotten how delicious the food was there. We caught up and talked about a lot of stuff. It was great to see both of them! Wednesday was the second Student Council meeting of the summer. It was a much more productive meeting, since there were about 35 members in attendance, than our June meeting. Our biggest obstacle right now? Finding a theme for Homecoming. The kids want Vegas, Mardi Gras, and flashback (80's or 90's), in that order. The first two are problematic because of the connotations they carry with them. And flashback? What? Ugh. I'll talk things over with our new administration team when I get a chance. Ben and Annie appeared in GC on Wednesday. It is always a pleasure to see both of them. The GC Class of 2003 reunion is this Friday night (tonight). It's been 5 years? Really? Wow. I feel old. Thursday was a very good day. Book club met at Applebee's for lunch. It wasn't the most conducive place to meet for book club, but it was nice to see everyone. Rurak has elected to give up book club, and it seems we have added a new member - Tobin (a drama and English teacher for one year at GCHS). We didn't really talk about the new addition, but I don't think anyone will object. The problem will come during the school year when we have to start scheduling meetings (she works for Olentangy and does drama for one of the high schools). Our next book is The Monsters of Templeton. It should be interesting. Thursday also brought the AP scores for this year. A few scores trickled in to me on Wednesday, but I got the full report from Hampson on Thursday. The scores were better than I expected. I am pretty happy. They are still not where I want them to be, but a 10% increase from last year (60% at 3 or above compared to 50% last year) is pretty good. Overall, I had 2 fives, 7 fours, 26 threes, 20 twos, and 3 ones. As usual, there were some kids that did better then I expected, and some that did a little worse. One of my fives was a true, pleasant surprise. Anyway, the key has always been having more threes than twos, and this year's class delivered. Thanks guys! I am really looking forward to next year when I only have 30 total kids. The scores should really be good, or so I hope. I went with Tony D. and Justin (and a few others) to see The Dark Knight at midnight last night. Wow. All of the talk about Heath Ledger receiving a posthumous Oscar nomination is deserved. His portrayal of the Joker is phenomenal. The movie itself is long but good. I can't wait to see what the third movie brings. I gave blood today. The Red Cross called the other day and was determined to get me to donate blood. It took a little longer than usual at the Church of the Nazarene (their staffing problem, not me), but I was successful. The Red Cross says they are at a critical shortage, so if you can schedule an appointment to donate, do it. Which brings me to the following: as you may know, when I was sick, Urgent Care registered my blood pressure at outrageous levels (160/128 or so). Today, it was 120/80 according to the Red Cross nurse, which is where it has been for the most part (according to the Red Cross) for the last few years. I have not made an appointment yet with a doctor, per the request of the Urgent Care doc, as I promised to do in early June. My dilemma is this: do I make an appointment for something I don't think is a problem, or do I discount the Urgent Care numbers as vastly inflated because of all the crap/medicine I had in my system at the time? I really don't know. I'll do whatever you guys think I should do. My health is important to me, and I have no intention of ignoring a potential problem, but I'm not sure this is a problem. Advice? Thoughts? I guess that's about it. There's nothing on TV worth watching right now, and I haven't picked up any new CDs recently. I did splurge on Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga today after my donation. I need something to do, right? Take care of yourselves and one another. Until next time.... "I was wasting my time
Trying to fall in love.
Disappointment came to me and
Booted me and bruised and hurt me.
But that's how people grow up.
That's how people grow up." - Morrissey, That's How People Grow Up | | |
| There Will Be StoriesI'll make this entry a short one. The Monster of Florence was a good book. I was hooked just on the concept - a serial killer terrorizes Florence, Italy for several summers. I liked the book, but was frustrated by the eventual let down. There is no definitive conclusion as to who the killer is. There is a strong theory presented, but it is not proven or dis-proven. (Is dis-proven even a word??) There is also an awful lot about Italian politics, especially in their police units. The first half of the book is great, and the second half is a let down of sorts. (I read the book in two days - which speaks to my excitement about the idea/concepts.) Overall, I'd recommend the book. Just don't expect a definite outcome (think Jack the Ripper literature). The new administration at GCHS is set. Dan Boland is definitely a new AP, and the lady AP from Reynoldsburg has turned into a guy from Reynoldsburg. According to Dan (who I had lunch with at our annual Summer School gathering on Friday), the lady took another job in Reynoldsburg schools, which left the door open for a man named Ging (I believe). Whatever. The most important thing is that Boland has volunteered to let me know when AP scores hit GCHS. He promised to email me and the other AP teachers when scores arrive. I trust he will have those to me ASAP after they arrive. I'll be in school on Wednesday for a Student Council meeting, so I hope to know by then what the scores are. Also, Mankins (our new principal) has asked to meet with Student Council on August 7. I think she wants/hopes to get a feel for GCHS before the school year starts. Props to her. I'll make every effort to get as many members there as possible. Summer School is over. It was a bit of a wild ride this summer. We had some unusual occurrences this summer, but, overall, it was just about usual. The eSIS access I enjoyed included the ability to log into and change any students' grade - wow. We only had about 5-7 students not complete the 16 day minimum, which is about on par with other years. Considering we had more kids this year, I would categorize that as a success. Shawn and Amy were in town last weekend. Amy seems like a nice, all-American girl (and she's a shrewd Phase 10 player). I hope her and Shawn overcome the long-distance relationship curse and make it last after she moves to Chicago. Ben is in town this week sometime. And Nick returned from Europe after a 14 day cruise and some other traveling. He treated us to some spectacular photos of Europe, especially Ireland, on Thursday. Petrozza was robbed! I understand that Chef Ramsey was looking to the future, but Christina? Really? Sigh. The night was better than the episode. Shannon and Dan hosted us. We order some pizza and watched with interest the season finale. Actually, I paid more attention to Husker and Apollo - Shannon and Dan's newest kittens. (They have four cats now....meow!) They were adorable, and I helped to wear them out with a fake mouse on a string. It almost made me regret giving up my mid-winter visitor to Mrs. Hughes. Almost. Maybe someday I'll be ready to take on a kitten or two... There Will Be Blood is an excellent flick. I rented it along with AVP:Requiem, Be Kind, Rewind, and 10,000 B.C. Yeah, 10,000 was the pile of steaming dog doo that Ben said it was. The others were entertaining for what they were. I have dinner plans with Mrs. Adams and Mrs. McGraw on Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing both of them. And I'm going to see the new Batman flick with Tony and Justin on Thursday night when it opens. I guess that's about it. Take care of yourselves and each other.... | | |
| All You Need Is Me!I had hoped that my next post on here would be a testament to the miracles of modern science. I had hoped that I would be at 100% healthy. Meh. Not so much. But I am better. I can taste most things, although it's still a little muted. And the old sense of smell isn't completely back yet either. It's weird. I can smell/taste most things pretty well, but some basic things are still lacking (like my breath or body odor - yeah, that sounds strange, but those are things I have to make a conscious effort to notice). Still, I am getting back to normal, but it's not the quick recovery I wanted. The cough is effectively gone now, though. I haven't made an appointment to see a doctor about my blood pressure yet. I will, don't worry, but I've been putting it off until I feel completely better. I want to be in top form when I have it checked. I'm sure I'll be nervous (who wouldn't be?), so it will likely be slightly higher than usual, but it should be much better than the last time. Right? Summer school started off very busy. The first 3-4 days I was swamped with work. The first three days were especially busy with registering new students. Since then, things have really leveled off. And by that I mean I have struggled to find things to do the first hour and a half of each day. I'm pretty bored until the breaks start at 9:45 (and go until 10:25), and then it's collecting attendance sheets and making phone calls, which usually keeps me busy until it's time to head outside for parking lot duty as the kids are being picked up/leaving. (Side note: you couldn't pay me to try to drive out of that parking lot at 11:45 - the traffic is terrible, we have no visible cop, and all of them drive like maniacs - it's a wonder we haven't had an accident.) And I hate telling parents that their kids have missed three days and are done. I had one mother in tears when I told her that her daughter was finished. Ugh. But we have just five days left. Three days with everyone and then two make-up days. Thursday will have about half the kids at most, and Friday will only have one fourth or so. This week was kind of trying though. On Monday we had a kid removed by the police. He was upset about having to stay in class instead of working with the tutor, which he really doesn't need and, no, he doesn't have a 504 or IEP. After he threatened to kill his teacher he was pretty much done - and no, we don't anticipate any more problems with him - he was venting more than anything. And Tuesday we had a young woman OD on her prescription for anxiety. She was completely out of it (slurring words and stumbling) and had apparently written a suicide note. We half expected someone to die on Wednesday after the first two days this week. But, thankfully, Wednesday was pretty calm and we didn't have any incidents. Book club last week was great! I got to see my friends and discuss a book that I really liked. What more could I ask for? We chose The Monster of Florence by Douglass Preston as our next book. It's about a serial killer and told from the perspective of two authors who investigated and became pretty consumed by the crimes. It should arrive in my mailbox from Amazon on Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to reading it. Our hope is that Mrs. Watkins is able to attend (it was her turn to present the book possibilities, but her baby is due on July 25 or so - we meet on the 17th). I'll let you know what I think of the book, as usual. Hell's Kitchen is now the only new show I'm watching on a regular basis (other than the Venture Bros. on Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network). Christina was a surprise (Cory was robbed!), but Petrozza (sp?) was a lock for the finale. We had family food night on Tuesday, thinking that would be the final episode. But no, instead of a two hour finale, Fox decided to show an hour this week and an hour next week. Oh well. Dan, Shannon, Kevin, Tim and (eventually) John and Moses enjoyed the lasagna (me), salad (Tim), garlic bread (Kevin) and Rice Krispy treats (Shannon and Dan) that were served. I'm a pretty darn good cook, if I do say so myself. :) I'm rooting for Petrozza in the finale. AP scores should be arriving at GCHS next week. I am nervous. I really don't know what to expect this year. I had 58 students take the test and other than a couple of students I expect/hope to get 4s or 5s, I have no idea how things will turn out. I'm especially nervous because this will effectively be my first impression with the new principal. I'm hoping for around ten 4s or 5s and around twenty-five 3s. That would put me back at the 60% range that I would like to achieve. But, I fear that I will be closer to 50%. I'll let you know more as I get my official numbers. Speaking of GCHS administration - rumor has it that they have filled the two assistant principal spots. I've heard that one is a female from Reynoldsburg that new principal Mankins wanted to bring with her, and the other is Dan Boland (a former GCHS math teacher who has been at CCHS since it opened). I guess it really doesn't matter. I know nothing about the Reynoldsburg lady, and Dan was a good math teacher at GCHS when he was there. He was a former summer school teacher the last 4 or 5 years for us and has been the lead teacher at Brookpark for summer school this year (the regular lead teacher started out, but could only continue through the first week for reasons unknown to me). Looking at the hiring practices of the district leads me to believe that it's time for me to look into completing my principal certification. I had always hoped I could be the English department head for a few years before moving on, but I don't see those positions coming back anytime soon. I have my Master's Degree in school leadership, and I only need a few hours/classes to finish a principal's certificate. It's a scary thought for me, but Mrs. Adams has assured me many times that I would be a good administrator. I love teaching, but I have no idea if administration is the track for me. But, honestly, I can't see myself being a teacher for the remainder of my career. The pressures/demands are getting worse each year, and (on some level) I long for a change. My only fear now is that the district, facing financial problems, could cut assistant principals very easily. And I obviously don't want to put myself in a position where I'm forced to leave SWCS. I know there are better districts out there, but my heart is with SWCS and making things better for our students. But, just the thought of being an AP under someone like Kathy Buckerfield is a very tempting prospect... Last weekend was a fundraiser for Brittany and her PT classes at The Little Bar on campus. It was a great time with Brittany, Tim, Sean, Dan, Shannon, Kara, Alex, Kate, and Nick's girlfriend, Cassie. (And thank God for Kevin - serving as DD for several people!) The Class of '03 has their 5 year class reunion next weekend, I believe. I've been invited, or so I'm told, but I doubt I'll attend. Ben is supposed to come back next week at some point for the reunion. And Shawn is coming to town with his new lady friend (Amy) this weekend. Even Nick and Andrew are returning from Europe on Tuesday. The gang is all here... I won at Risk and Phase 10 tonight after wing night at BW3s. Very satisfying. :) I guess that's about it. Take care of yourselves and each other. Until next time... "There's so much destruction
All over the world.
And all you can do is
Complain about me.
You don't like me, but you love me.
Either way you're wrong.
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone.
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone." - Morrissey, All You Need Is Me | | |
| Summer BluesI'd like to be able to tell you that I'm completely better and back to normal. I can't. That's not to say there aren't improvements. The cough is still here (terrible at times and, like today, pretty darn good), but it is secondary to how I feel. And I feel better. I'm slowly regaining the ability to smell, taste and hear. My ears have been popping since Wednesday (a good thing, I think), and I'm able to taste and smell some things. I'm not back to normal, but it is getting better. And I guess that's all I can hope for, right? After 4 weeks of being sick, anything is an improvement. Summer school is in full swing. I've already busted a smoker, mediated some teenage girl drama (ugh, the worst), and registered about 50 kids for classes. We have 105 OGT students and around 400 regular ed. students - the most we've had in my tenure, by far. It hasn't all been smooth sailing, but the majority has been pretty good. I was incredibly busy the first three days, and the last two I've found myself (almost) trying to keep busy. It has been progressively harder the last two days to find things to do that need to be done. Next week should be a little better. The other lead teacher and Ron, our fearless leader, are going to be administering the OGT. This puts me squarely in charge while they are out of the office. I will rise to the challenge. Or sink beneath the weight. One or the other. I have no idea... I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy last weekend (and got a bit of a sun burn). I managed about 70 pages during ACT testing on Saturday and then finished the rest of the 280 pages on Sunday (when the sun burn came in to play - I sat outside reading Sunday afternoon). I liked the novel. It was a good read and not too "sci-fi" for anyone. If anything, it is more about the love between a father and son than anything else. I can see how it won a Pulitzer Prize. I'd recommend it to just about anyone. David Sedaris, here I come... Jumper was an okay flick. It was mostly a lead in to a (non-deserved) sequel. (Hayden Christenson - it is time to start acting!) National Treasure 2 was alright. It was exactly what I expected. Death at a Funeral was also okay. It wasn't quite as funny as I had hoped, but it had it's moments. What the Bleep Do We Know? was interesting. It made me think, and during the summer, that's pretty impressive. It was mostly a fictionalized account of a woman's life, supplemented with the opinions of many quantum physicists, and the like. It was almost like a self-help book in film form. The new Weezer CD is alright. I'm not blown away by it, but it does have it's moments. The new Coldplay CD is better. I'm not in love with it yet, but I'm still listening. Battlestar Galactica. Wow. The finale last week was fast and furious. This season has lollygagged along, but the finale was a fast-paced race to Earth. And the end scene? Depressing. Dan and Shannon have read that last week's episode was the series finale. I hope not. And think not. At the end of the episode they indicated that more was to come, but many seem to think that it is not to be. There's still a story to be told, and there will (hopefully) be at least another 10 episodes. And the revelation of the last Cylon. I hope... (Okay, the geek alert is done.) Hell's Kitchen is on a fast and furious pace toward it's finale. Now that Jen is gone I can relax and know that Ramsey's newest kitchen Nazi will be someone (somewhat) deserving. None of these jokers are really that good, but at least the final three are okay. Tim and the others have requested another "family dinner night" for this season. Looks like I will be making lasagna again this year... Lego Indiana Jones is at 100%. Yeah, I'm that good. Heh. I might just make it to two grad parties this weekend. The first of...any. I'm going to do my best to make it to Justin and Tony's parties this weekend. Since I'm feeling better, it shouldn't be too hard. I miss my GCHS friends. Kris has been on vacation and I haven't talked to her in weeks. Seems weird, considering we talk everyday during school. I can't wait to help her with the Freshman Focus training. I guess that's about it. Take care of yourself and one another... "Come on in.
I've got to tell you what a state I'm in.
I've got to tell you in my loudest tones
That I started looking for a warning sign.
When the truth is,
I miss you.
Yeah the truth is
That I miss you so.
And I'm tired.
I should not have let you go.
So I crawl back into your open arms.
Yes, I crawl back into your open arms." -Coldplay, A Warning Sign | | |
| You will know us by the trail of tissues...Well, this is supposed to be the celebratory post about how school is over and done with for another year. Instead, I'm miserable beyond belief. You see, I've been sick for about three weeks now. It started as a fever that I easily fought off with some Advil and sleep. The next phase was a nasty cough and chest congestion. And now, phase three is severe nasal congestion with the cough still lingering. I currently can't taste or smell anything and I can't hear that well, and I haven't been able to for the last 5-6 days. Like I said, miserable. I alternate between good and bad days. Some days I feel okay except for the above symptoms. Other days, like today, I feel like spending the day in bed and never getting up. Ugh. I went to Urgent Care. The doc gave me 6 pills of some super anti-viral cold-killer medication. I took two Monday and I'm to take one a day for the rest of the week. Really? Six pills to make me feel better? I've been on Nyquil, Mucinex, Tylenol and some chest congestion stuff I picked up at Kroger for the last two weeks, and 6 pills are going to do the trick in 5 days? Uhm...okay. The real fun of the doctor visit wasn't the talk about my illness, oh no, the doc wanted to talk about my blood pressure. When they took it when I first got there, it was 167/123. Yeah, that's REALLY high. They took it once more at the end of the visit (173/128), and then the nurse made me lie down and "rest" for 4-5 minutes. It was still 153/122. I know that high blood pressure runs in my family, but it has NEVER been that high before (that I'm aware of). The last time the Red Cross recorded it on my donor card (in February) it was 122/82 - a very good reading for me considering my dad has been on medication since he was 30. I'm pretty sure my end-of-April reading was about the same. I'm convinced it's the Nyquil and all the other toxic crap I've had in my system for the past few weeks, but the doctor didn't think so and insisted that I follow up and get this checked out. The nurse said I could wait a week or so until I feel better, but I MUST see a doctor soon. They were genuinely concerned, with reason I guess. Sigh. I'll do it. The very idea of being on medication for the rest of my life for high blood pressure is not something I'm looking forward to. It's one of the reasons I worked so hard to drop 50 pounds 7-8 years ago - I knew I was at-risk. Despite the last two weeks, I detest meds, and other than the occasional Tylenol or Advil, I really don't like taking stuff. But I know my health is important, and this could be a serious condition. I'll keep you posted. The best (and only) part of being sick? I've dropped 8-10 pounds in the last two weeks. Why eat when you can't taste it? Heh. Summer school starts Friday. We have our organizational meeting on Friday and then the real thing starts Monday. Because of being sick, being a fulltime administrator isn't sounding too bad right now. Summer reading hasn't happened yet. Instead of McCarthy's The Road (as I featured last time I posted), I read Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Invincible instead. (A good read, but a some what lackluster finish to the nine novel series.) The Road is still on the coffee table, along with David Sedaris's latest collection of vignettes When You Are Engulfed in Flames. I hope to be back up to reading strength soon. So what have I been doing with my time? Sitting on the couch playing Lego Indiana Jones (I bought it Friday at Meijer while also picking up my flowers for the patio, and I'm already at 96% done. Yeah, pathetic, I know). I saw the latest movie with Nick, Tim and Kevin a couple of weeks ago. It was fun, but it lacked the realism of the first three movies. I recommend it. To pass the time the rest of this week, I rented Jumper, National Treasure 2, What The Bleep Do We Know?, and Death at a Funeral today (a Mrs. Adams recommendation!). I'm hoping for some mild diversion as I nurse myself back to health. Or die. Whatever. Ben, if you are reading this, Phase 10 kicks the ass of Life as a game to play. Nick finally convinced us to play it recently (even though he bought it months ago). It's an addictive good time. Nick is off to Europe today, but the lonely three will endure. Tim and I have decided to enlist the aid of Howlett as a back up member. He returns this weekend. I also had the pleasure of playing Rock Band for the first time last night thanks to Moses. Alex, Tim, Moses, John and I had a hell of a good time annoying the crap out of my neighbors (I can only assume) as we sang and played our way through a good portion of the songs Moses had on his XBox 360. Delicious! Alright. I better go. I'm tired already, and I'm hoping that somehow extra sleep will help me be able to taste things faster. Wing Night is tomorrow... Take care of yourselves and each other... Oh, I almost forgot. Hunter, Hill and Clark (took a job as a Pickerington middle school principal) are all gone. Only Willison remains. God have mercy on GCHS.... | | |
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