Damn. I hate being here alone.

Ah , Vancouver 2010 Men's Free Skating was amazing . Evan Lysaceck was really great out there ! Plushenko's still my favorite , even though he's an egocentric douche , haha .

I'm going to school tomorrow (as of right now, one hour late). I've only been to school one half-day this month due to snow about a week and a half ago. At first it was fun, but needless to say we're all going a little bit crazy by this point.

I've just spent an hour in the bathtub in an effort to get warm. It worked for about two minutes. I am freezing again.

When will this stupid winter be over?! Seriously. I'll have to move to Africa, or some other place where I'll never ever feel cold.

Grace wrote:

Paul - seriously, that cannot possibly be legal!

Oh, yes, it can be. 12 hours a day for 7 days is 84 hours. Yet, as much as I may complain, I knew I would be doing this on occasion coming into this job. And, truth be told, this job is much better than many other jobs I have had. I work alone, which is a blessing, and I have time to come on here now and then. This coming week should be a straight 40 hours, then I have another couple of big-hour weeks after that. Then I should be good until November. As tiring as this can be, it is better than unemployment, which I have experienced twice over the last two years.

I hope everyone has a great day!

Jane wrote:

Oh, and I got tickets to see a musical called Spring Awakening for an early birthday present. It's about German teens coming of age and having to learn about sex because their parents refuse to tell them anything, so this should be interesting. Anyone heard of it?

I'll assume this is based on the play by Frank Wedekind... I never thought this would make good material for a musical, but it might work. It is a good play, but very frustrating sometimes. I saw an adaptation of it when I was around sixteen, and all the time I wanted to stand up and yell, "For God's sake, woman, grow up!!" But, now that I think about it, maturity isn't a trait I see in many musical characters...

I saw Wicked last weekend and it was beyond amazing! I liked it better than the Phantom. Now I want to read the books. Anyone know if they're good?

Oh, and I got tickets to see a musical called Spring Awakening for an early birthday present. It's about German teens coming of age and having to learn about sex because their parents refuse to tell them anything, so this should be interesting. Anyone heard of it?

AND I'm going to Washington DC in 2 weeks. Finally I get to take a break. I've barely had a second to breathe since...since....I can't even remember. Finally! An end to the constant nervous breakdowns!!!

Not that the stress won't start building up again soon. I have to get a job to raise the $2000 I need to go on the Italy field trip next year. I also get to sign up for next school year's classes...it looks like I'll be taking 4 AP classes to keep my GPA up. That's over half a day of college-level courses, every day. I'm already freaking out over it.

But yeah, March is my month of relaxation and rewards. I could cry I'm so excited. Hope you all have been doing well lately, too!

Paul - seriously, that cannot possibly be legal!

am...sick...of...working...84...hour...weeks
am...sick...of...working...84...hour...weeks
am...sick...of...working...84...hour...weeks
am...sick...of...working...84...hour...weeks
am...sick...of...working...84...hour...weeks..........

I honestly don't know what to feel about the Winter Olympics. Everyone seems so excited, but that's because I haven't been here that long so I don't carry much patriotic feelings. Some who might be new here could be as excited as the citizens, but God, the Olympics is going to bankrupt us. I seriously hope not.

I'm going just a little stir crazy on work right now. Hopefully today is my last 12-hour day...until the weekend of Feb. 27th, when another unit goes into a minor outage and I have another week of this. Ah, well. After that, I should have regular hours until November.

In the meantime I just continue to have riveting conversations with all the imaginary co-workers I have created.

Paul wrote:

Grace wrote:

Paul wrote:

Now they know you're not going to take their crap, Laura. Although I will say that, once some time has passed and they feel comfortable, they may start acting up again. As long as you stay on top of that and let them know they could be punished again it shouldn't get out of hand again.

Welcome to the world of teaching, Laura. Something tells me there will be more rewards than aggravations, so take heart.

So much for miracles. One of the four has been suspended once again, plus a good load of detention.

I like students. I like students. I like students.

But I could just kill this particular one.

There are always a few you will never be able to reach. You can do only so much.

Are you sure you can't bring a chainsaw into class?

Yeah. I asked about that... and if not a chainsaw, could I at least tie him to his chair and put some sort of gag in his mouth? (I couldn't, but the vice headmaster appreciated my originality )

Grace wrote:

Paul wrote:

Now they know you're not going to take their crap, Laura. Although I will say that, once some time has passed and they feel comfortable, they may start acting up again. As long as you stay on top of that and let them know they could be punished again it shouldn't get out of hand again.

Welcome to the world of teaching, Laura. Something tells me there will be more rewards than aggravations, so take heart.

So much for miracles. One of the four has been suspended once again, plus a good load of detention.

I like students. I like students. I like students.

But I could just kill this particular one.

There are always a few you will never be able to reach. You can do only so much.

Are you sure you can't bring a chainsaw into class?

Paul wrote:

Now they know you're not going to take their crap, Laura. Although I will say that, once some time has passed and they feel comfortable, they may start acting up again. As long as you stay on top of that and let them know they could be punished again it shouldn't get out of hand again.

Welcome to the world of teaching, Laura. Something tells me there will be more rewards than aggravations, so take heart.

So much for miracles. One of the four has been suspended once again, plus a good load of detention.

I like students. I like students. I like students.

But I could just kill this particular one.

Well, see....now I've gone and made an ass of myself for it was only after I posted this that I heard that some vehicles actually have sped up due to the sticking gas pedal.....crap....

Paul wrote:

Grace wrote:

I've heard about this Toyota business - thankfully, my car is a Renault. I'd hate to hear that my brakes are flawed, I mean, the brakes of all things! I hope they'll fix your car quickly, Paul!

Actually, it's not the brakes that are at fault with my model (faulty brakes are with the Prius), but the gas pedal. Supposedly it has a tendency to stick, so the car does not slow down, and sometimes even accelerates. If this happens it is recommended that you brake and put it in neutral (shutting off the engine kills the power steering), then guide it to the side of the road. Of course, if you are doing 65 mph down the highway that might be a tad bit difficult .

Actually Paul, the pedal does stick, causing a lack of decelleration, but it does not make the car go any faster. I've been watching all this Toyota stuff on tv and on the net. It doesn't make you speed up...you just can't slow down. And the braking problems with the Prius only happen at lower speeds.

Now they know you're not going to take their crap, Laura. Although I will say that, once some time has passed and they feel comfortable, they may start acting up again. As long as you stay on top of that and let them know they could be punished again it shouldn't get out of hand again.

Welcome to the world of teaching, Laura. Something tells me there will be more rewards than aggravations, so take heart.

Paul wrote:

Howl wrote:

I LOVE the mornings of weekends! I'm all about coffee and writing, and the time alone is the best.

Later today, I'm practicing driving and going to a friend's house. Road test on March 16th! My dad is under the impression I'm not going to pass, but I'll just have to prove him wrong.

If you're ever in Wisconsin, I would advise staying off of the streets.

Of course you'll pass your road test!

*News item: Wisconsin, March 17: An unidentified teen, after passing her road test and getting her license on March 16, was seen barreling down the main north/south highway in speeds of excess of 100 mph, yelling out of an open window "Yaaaahhh! Get outta my way, you slowpokes! Yaaaaahhh!!!"*

Go get 'em, Nicholle!

*laughing tears* I can just see that!!!

This morning, a miracle happened. I went to school with a vague feeling of dread - today was the day I'd get the students back I had suspended before the holidays. And, unbelievably, they were not only not rude, but almost polite! I mean, they even WORKED!

I figured out that maybe I like students after all.

Howl wrote:

I LOVE the mornings of weekends! I'm all about coffee and writing, and the time alone is the best.

Later today, I'm practicing driving and going to a friend's house. Road test on March 16th! My dad is under the impression I'm not going to pass, but I'll just have to prove him wrong.

If you're ever in Wisconsin, I would advise staying off of the streets.

Of course you'll pass your road test!

*News item: Wisconsin, March 17: An unidentified teen, after passing her road test and getting her license on March 16, was seen barreling down the main north/south highway in speeds of excess of 100 mph, yelling out of an open window "Yaaaahhh! Get outta my way, you slowpokes! Yaaaaahhh!!!"*

Go get 'em, Nicholle!

I LOVE the mornings of weekends! I'm all about coffee and writing, and the time alone is the best.

Later today, I'm practicing driving and going to a friend's house. Road test on March 16th! My dad is under the impression I'm not going to pass, but I'll just have to prove him wrong.

If you're ever in Wisconsin, I would advise staying off of the streets.

Grace wrote:

I've heard about this Toyota business - thankfully, my car is a Renault. I'd hate to hear that my brakes are flawed, I mean, the brakes of all things! I hope they'll fix your car quickly, Paul!

Actually, it's not the brakes that are at fault with my model (faulty brakes are with the Prius), but the gas pedal. Supposedly it has a tendency to stick, so the car does not slow down, and sometimes even accelerates. If this happens it is recommended that you brake and put it in neutral (shutting off the engine kills the power steering), then guide it to the side of the road. Of course, if you are doing 65 mph down the highway that might be a tad bit difficult .

I've heard about this Toyota business - thankfully, my car is a Renault. I'd hate to hear that my brakes are flawed, I mean, the brakes of all things! I hope they'll fix your car quickly, Paul!

My Toyota Corolla is part of that wonderful recall. I have not brought it in yet. So far I have experienced no problems, but I figure when I bring it in for its first oil change I will (hopefully) get this accelerator pedal thing taken care of. Supposedly a tiny piece of metal will solve this problem. We'll see.

Kudos to another great-looking skin! The Christmas one, while nice, was just a month or so out of date.

I have 12-hour days coming up again . But, it will only be for a week or so (or so I'm told, anyway).

I wish a very good day to all.

Oh my gosh! I thought I went to the wrong site, but turns out Laura just gave the LC another amazing makeover. It's wonderful! So winter-y and blue. I love the girl holding the gift, she's blue from head to toe. Vancouver barely has any snow, which is fine by me since I don't like snow, but snow is lovely when you're watching it from your window or virtually.

Where is everyone?