Miscellaneous

It's weird how some things in life go so well when other seem to be falling apart. I realize everyone deals with stress, but your own always seems more serious. I have one major source of stress in my life (and I would guess Rich's as well) that never seems to go away. So frustrating.

Then there's the flip side. Sometimes things are going so incredibly well you wonder if they will come crashing down or if this is the new norm. Right now it's nice to find peace in those things.

Rich and I are still fighting the ends of colds but we are finally on the mend.

Daniel Craig is hooooot! This James Bond film was very good. I'm not a huge Bond fan but I really enjoyed it.

I love Christmas. It is without a doubt my second favorite time of year when I'm in school. Every other time it's my first favorite. (My first favorite during school is that moment when you walk out of your last exam or last class for the year and you are actually done.) Our tree is up. It is on it's last legs. My parents bought this tree I believe the Christmas right before I was born (may have been right after). Either way it's at LEAST 26 years old. It's the tree I grew up with and it's shedding. Little bits of the tree keeps falling off - especially every time Chewie runs by. There are presents under there already - some for us, and some for family. It's just more fun to keep the presents under the tree.

I am making a box. It's an assignment - a pretty dumb one in my opinion. I'm enjoying doing it cause I like crafty things, but it's a silly assignment.

I am looking forward to doing some new things with Frwy friends soon.

Yesterday Gary was in the downstairs washroom and Chewie was in the living room. Ivan, the cat, ran by and Chewie gave chase. As they rounded around the corner to head upstairs Gary opened the door from the washroom and stepped out. He tripped right over Chewie and flipped over her as she ran by, licking him on the way. It was one of the funniest things I've seen in a while.

Off to do homework...or maybe do some more procrastinating by wrapping presents.

Sick

We are sick. Rich is sicker than I am. He slept all day yesterday and all tonight. Its 6am and I emailed my profs to say I wasn't coming (I don't think they care but I used to skip so much in my undergrad I just need them to know I'm not skipping - makes me feel better and able to relax so I can get better). I have a cold and feel exhausted no matter how much I sleep, but I couldn't sleep almost at all last night. I was too worried about Rich I kept checking his breathing.

We had a trainer in last week and today to see Chewie. She's usually good but when company comes over and she's excited she does stupid things like jump up and nip. Both very bad things. She doesn't do it to us, just to new people (and Gary for some reason). We got a new collar that is so much more effective than anything we've used before. She's responding very quickly and very well. We learned some interesting things too - like the praise comes entirely from us looking her right in the eye, but when we give her a correction we don't make eye contact at all. This way the correction in her brain comes from the behaviour, and not us - we are just good. She loved the whole thing and learned super fast. We'll keep working with her but we need people to visit and get her all excited. Come visit just give us a 2 minute warning so we can get her leash on her! She's doing so well and we're much more confident after yesterday she will be a well trained dog if we keep working with her. We didn't do as much as we would have liked yesterday - Rich looked gray through the whole thing - but she'll be back next week to work with us more.

Back to bed.

School's Out....

So I'm done my placement. It was terrible leaving. I have learned so much being there and still have so much learning and practicing to do. During my time there I had two grade nine classes, one strings, one band, 3 grade 10 classes, one strings, two band, and one 11/12 split band class. I also sat in on a lot of the 11 and 12 vocal classes, and all the extra curricular ensembles. My three grade 10 classes I think I'd have to say were my favorite.

Grade nines are still trying to figure out the whole high school thing so they aren't really themselves yet. The 10's are in this fun time where they are getting to know themselves a bit better and are more comfortable in their own classes. I only had the strings my last week but they were my last class of the day yesterday and we had a lot of fun. I found the longer I was at the school the more relaxed I was and the more fun the kids had with me.

My two morning grade 10 classes were so much fun. The kids only have any given class every other day so I told my 10's yesterday it was the last class I was going to have with them. I got accosted for hugs from a few of them in the hall yesterday which was nice. They warn you so much about any form of physical contact with the kids at OISE to the point that you forget these kids are human. When they run up and almost knock you over with a hug it's great for reminding you it's ok to hug them back.

My 10 class yesterday morning is one I had mixed feelings about for the first couple weeks. They were more challenging because they had stronger personalities, but they are great kids once you get to know them. I got hugs from some of them too and lots of thank you's, don't leave, stay and work here, one "when are you going to get a baby", and even a letter from one student for me to read when I got home.

My associate teacher, plus two of the other three music teachers (one is out of town) took Michelle (the other student) and I out for breakfast yesterday as it was a late start at school. It was so much fun and a wonderful treat. When we finally left yesterday I thought I was going to be fine but no....why would it be that easy!! I cried and they all found that highly amusing. The teachers all hugged us and off we went. I'll go back for their Christmas concert in December but it will be really hard not seeing them every day.

It's funny, you apply to go to school to be a teacher, and then you finally get a chance to really teach. For a while you are petrified, but then by the end you are thinking well this is what I want to do...I don't want to go back to class, I want to stay and teach. I learned more in those four weeks than I did the 2 months leading up to it. Oh well.

I'm back, and so happy to be back with Rich. Now I have to get back to homework :-(

School Fun

*Changed the kids and other teachers names for both their privacy and protection, and mine!

One of our favorite kids (the other student teacher and myself love him) is on a few of the special ed lists and has some issues. He's a sweet kid. Last week while wandering around helping kids work on a theory sheet I can feel this person behind me. Not see, feel. They were definitely in my space. I took a step forward and spun to have Bob* shaking his paper in front of me to ask a question. He immediately started to talk and I stopped him and said "Bob....next time you need to say something to introduce yourself - don't just stand right behind me and wait - why don't you try that first?". I turned back around. He tapped me on the shoulder and then about 4 inches from me yelled "HI!!!!" and launched into his question. Scared me half to death it was so funny.
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Jim*, one of the drummers was having a hard time reading his music. The teacher asked him if he needed glasses and he replied first that he had them and then that he didn't need them. When he was asked to put them on he grumbled but did. The teacher said to him "what's wrong do you not like how they look?" When he replied no, he said "can you see yourself right now?". The kid tried to look at himself. I was dying laughing. He looked up at his eyebrows (tried to) and tilted his head back. So funny.
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It's sad we're leaving this week - we're just started to really bond with some of the kids. One on the music council mentioned that she needed us to leave our contact info as they wanted to invite us to the Music Banquet at the end of the year which if they remember to would be nice.
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I asked one student what she used to breathe yesterday. She said her nose. Sounds like a perfectly logical answer, unless you are a musician. You use your diaphragm and the kids know this. She had a momentary lapse which was funny.
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During my grade 10 strings class today I was talking about dynamics. I was asking them about what the first dynamic marking was. They answered it was piano (p). I asked what the next one was and one of the girls said it was pp, meaning pianissimo. She meant double p, double piano, pianissimo - any of the above. That's not what she said though. She said Pee Pee. Fits of giggles followed from everyone in the class. How do you continue? They are such good kids. I said "Giggle amongst yourselves for a moment". Just giving them that minute to relax and laugh and they didn't giggle for 10 minutes which some of them would do.
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Craziest thing that is happened so far: I was sitting in the music office with the other student teacher (ST) and one of the teachers (Phil* (Gary that's for you!)) when ST says her birthday is in December. Phil mentions he knows 4 others with the same birthday and she asks who they are. He mentions the first one who had an unusual name. I repeat the name back but include the last name -
He says "Yes how do you know her?"
I said "Her husband is my cousin. "
Him: "Oh ok so you know Tim and Mark his brothers obviously?"
Me: "We grew up together many years ago. I'm related to their wives too (they married sisters)."
Him: "I was closer to Tim growing up....were you at their weddings?"
Me: "Yes".
Him: "I was in Tim's wedding party."
Me: "What!?!"
Him: "I was in Tim and Leanne's wedding party."
Me: "I was in Tim and Leanne's wedding party too."

So 7 years ago we were in the same wedding and had no idea who the other one was. Too funny. This is also the same teacher who knows Pernell. He played piano at Pernell and Margie's wedding. During morning choir yesterday he's telling the kids what their uniform is for group photos as they are being done tomorrow. He said "Black on the bottom and white on the top. Don't be like a guy in my high school and wear black on the top and white on the bottom." They all giggled. He turns to me and says "It was Pernell." Sounds like Pernell!

I am going to miss the kids and the teachers. Don't want to go back to school next week, but I am looking forward to being home with Rich again. Tomorrow is Parent Teacher interviews, then Friday, and then that's it. 2 more sleeps till I'm home!

Stuff

So a busy week as usual. This weekend is my last one home before I come home for good! As much as I love the school and the kids and teachers I am so looking forward to being home in my own bed every night. I know it's easy to get attached to the kids but I didn't think I would be dreading leaving them! They are so much fun! I have my favorites already, and some I am worried about long term. They are lucky they have such fabulous music teachers to support them. Hopefully that makes a difference to some of them.

This week my professor came in to observe my teaching. I didn't think I'd be as nervous as I was. The time I had was condensed from 70 minutes to 30 minutes so we could chat after. That did make it much more difficult, but I got through it. At one point she was there, the other student teacher, my Associate Teacher (who can if he wants to completely stop my career before it even starts), and the Principal.

I was able to get out a bit this week. My aunt and uncle took me out for dinner which was such a nice treat. I got to see Chewie's mom and brother too which is always fun - you get to see some of the similarities and the differences between the three of them. I spent time with Deanna which was great. I miss getting together with her like we did during undergrad! It's been nice to reconnect.

All the school shootings and violence (including recent problems in Toronto) have prompted the board and schools to implement lock down procedures in the schools, including full and partial lockdowns. This is new for many of the schools so we've been there during the educating of the teachers and students. You never really think it will happen....if you focus on it you live in fear and I can't imagine being a good teacher that way.

So one of the most interesting things that happened this week I think was yesterday during the Remembrance Day assembly. I'm standing close to the back of the auditorium and the assembly is moving along, and across the back there are these two kids that come walking towards the back door. No biggie, I figure they are going to the washroom. One of them is dressed in a long black trenchcoat and sort of "goth like" clothing. He had in his hand a large red tote bag. That caught my eye - very bright. I hadn't noticed a huge goth culture in the school so that surprised me a bit, but figured I had just missed it - I'm mostly in one area of the school.

I look back at the stage and then I hear these two boys. I am about to shoot them the "teacher look" I am trying to perfect (so not even close yet) just to get the to keep quiet while they leave the auditorium. It was then I actually saw the boys. One looked a bit stoned maybe and didn't really seem out of place. The other though, looked me right in the eyes. It scared me right to my core. I looked at Michelle (the other student teacher) and she had seen the same thing. We went to a teacher from the dept and just asked if we should do anything - they were wandering around the hall. He immediately got two more teachers to go check it out. Turns out the kid that creeped us right out did not belong to the school. The other one did.

He may have just been a friend of someone, a brother maybe, an ex-student. Why was he there? I never found out. It was a good reality check for me though. Reminded me that although we hope teaching is a reasonably safe profession it may not always be. I wonder how I will handle an emergency situation. One thing that bothered me is no matter how "teachery" I feel and how in control and professional I may seem at times, these two kids (like 98% of the kids in the school) were both much bigger than me. I would never need to use my physical self in my teaching - it's not like it was 100 years ago when kids still were disciplined using corporal punishment. I do wonder though if I could stop them from doing anything if necessary, to myself or students. Hopefully I will never have to find out.

One thing it did do is remind me not to ignore my instincts.

So the weekend is progressing and so far has been reasonably relaxing. Gary is down and I was able to get a teeny tiny bit of Christmas shopping done today. Now we are off to Carolynn and Marshall's for some euchre! Looking forward to that and being rushed out the door so ending my blog now.

One more week!

Anniversary Weekend'O'Fun!

So most of you know by now Rich and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary yesterday. It was such a lovely weekend!

Friday was a short day for the kids at school so I was home after making a stop or two by 2 o'clock for a change. We puttered around the house for a bit and while Rich napped I got caught up on my tv I had taped previously in the week.

Friday evening we went to Lo Presti at Maxwell's on Jackson St which is where we had our reception. We've only gone a few times just the two of us and we had our usual gazebo which was nice. As the dinner was a gift we were able to go all out. I had soup, steak diane with fettuccine alfredo, and for dessert Rich had arranged ahead of time for us to have an item not on the menu - banana's foster. Yummmyy. Then he ordered chocolate covered strawberries to go. Also not on the menu. The food was fabulous as usual. We went home and watched a movie together and snuggled. Rich is a good snuggler. He doesn't mind cuddling with most people so give him a try sometime!

Saturday we did a bit of running around, Rich went to the chiropractor, we wandered around Blessings and then hit Montana's for lunch and my usual baked chicken penne. The afternoon was relaxing and we napped in preparation for Wicked! Off to Toronto. There were two T-shirts I saw that I really wanted from the show and Rich had said he'd pick one for me as an anniversary gift, so when we got there I showed him the two I wanted and went to our seats. The seats were great, and the show was fabulous. Highly recommend it to anyone!

We were home pretty late and went almost immediately to bed, but not before getting my first anniversary present as it was past midnight. Rich showed me the shirt he picked for me. I love it! It sparkles a bit! We were just about to go to bed and he went to the closet and pulled out the other shirt! I love my hubby. He said it was supposed to be a Christmas gift but he couldn't wait. Love it love it love it. So cool. So off to bed.

Sunday was our actual anniversary and we were off to an art show. Rich saw a guy drawing on the street one day and stopped to see what he was drawing. It was all pictures of Hamilton architecture and scenes - all very nice. Turns out the guy works for the City of Hamilton and was showing his stuff at an art show, so we checked it out - very cool. This also was the day of the puppies. Just before going into the art show there was a woman with two dogs, one of which was a German Shepherd puppy about 12 weeks old, so we got down and played with her for a few minutes. Her name was Meadow. So cute. Later that day we saw a boxer cross puppy who was adorable also that we played with. We also saw a Neapolitan mastiff. I LOVE Mastiffs and I really want one. This one was 160lbs of mushy cuteness that I got to pet. Rich asked the guy if we could say hi and the guy got the dog out of his truck so we could.

We also went to see Rich's partner Darren and his wife Melissa and the triplets. So freaking cute. I got to feed Jessica and held her for a few hours. They are all about 6lbs 4oz now and 3 weeks old. So much fun. The evening we spent at home together until I had to drive back into Toronto :-(

Now Rich is probably reading this thinking I skipped the most important part of the day, but I just saved it for last. Rich took me on a picnic. Not just any picnic. He took me to Princess Point which is where we had our wedding photos taken. How sweet is that! We took a blanket and lunch and the camera, and headed down by the water so we could lean against a tree. It was quiet and secluded (largely because it's November), but it was actually quite nice. We had a nice meal and talked and cuddled. It was wonderful. Then, about the same time, the cold and pain set into our bums. We were both trying to think of how to tell the other we wanted to go cause we were getting cold and uncomfortable but didn't want to break the lovely afternoon. So funny. After a few minutes of squirming uncomfortably, we were both saying "so ummm this has been nice....let's go?" It was such a fun afternoon but so funny that we are now at a point where romance has it's place, but after a point, it's just not worth the frozen bums. It was actually a fun way to end the picnic as we laughed about it all the way back to the car, where we could sit comfortably.

All in all it was a fabulous first wedding anniversary. I know we will have many to come, but this one was special. We've both had long term relationships with yearly anniversaries, both celebrated big events with others, but this was the first event that was OURS. And it's the only time we will have a first wedding anniversary. My only regret is I had to leave so soon.

I love you Rich, thank you for a wonderful weekend.

Forgot to add this to my "Stuff" blog from yesterday....

I am on speakerphone talking to Chewie. This is her talking back.

Stuff

So much has happened this week! Thank you for everyone understanding my lack of commenting on blogs - by the time I get to those I'm usually so tired I don't have any intelligent thoughts yet, but I still am reading them!

Rich and I had a rough beginning of the week. We were waiting for some news that could have been very bad - almost like waiting for medical test results (just not medical) all day. When Rich finally called me with news Monday evening I broke down at school (in the office - not in front of the kids) which really worried me. The teachers were so cool though and everything turned out well, but it was not fun to go through and even worse for Rich.

I have a friend who's trying to turn me into an opera singer. We're developing my head voice and for anyone who understands turns out I am a Subret (no idea how it's spelled) and can sing a high C (the high high one). So much fun.

I had a hot tubbing date with Karyn on Wednesday and Thursday came back to Hamilton to surprise Rich for pub night. This was stupid. We had fun but I was so exhausted I could hardly drive back to Toronto that night.

Today was a super short day for the kids cause of commencement so I was home before 2pm which was great! I have been teaching theory to two grade 10 classes and gave one of them a quiz today (they hated that). I needed to see how effective the lesson had been though. I discovered the theory face this week. You teach. You ask questions. They stare blankly back at you. They nod they understand. They probably don't. It's quite funny and very frustrating but I'm learning how to get them out of that. The quiz went well. I was teaching intervals which is one of the more difficult concepts at this age (so the other teachers tell me) because it's kind of abstract but most of them got perfect which was exciting for me. The kids are so good and well behaved for the most part. We took them to Wicked on Wednesday and they were so well behaved. It was so much fun!

So today starts Rich and my "Anniversary Weekend'O'Fun!" Tonight we are off to Lo Presti at Maxwell's which is in our opinion the best in the city. Tomorrow we'll hit an Art show, then off to see Wicked in Toronto (yaaaaaaaaayyyy). Sunday is our actual 1st wedding anniversary and we are going on a picnic. Sometime during the weekend I think we will get up to see Rich's partner Darren and his family with the new babies.

So I took Rich's car back to Toronto last night so he could get mine in for an oil change. There is a little mechanic right behind our place so Rich took it there as it so convenient - not our regular mechanic though. When he went to pick it up he had to ask for a work order which he said sort of set off alarm bells for him. He got in the car and the change oil light was still on. So he takes it up to Beech Goodyear our regular mechanic on Upper James. Love that guy. Anyways he tells them what happened and they said he probably just forgot to reset the sensor and that'd check it for us. So they check it and it's new oil, but it's too full. They drain a bit for us, and then Rich asks for them to check the filter. It's black. So now he's mad. So they change it for us and it was $16 for all that. He takes the old filter and comes back down to the first guy. He shows a guy the filter, and he agrees it obviously wasn't done as they don't use those kind of filters. He approaches the mechanic that did my car and the guy lies through his teeth. So guy number one gave us our money back. So Rich got his $32 back. We won't be going back there. So frustrating.

Off to get Rich up from his nap. Not sure if we'll be out Sunday as it's the actual anniversary, but I miss everyone and looking forward to seeing everyone when Practicum is over if not sooner!