No Title Needed

11 days of school, including today!

I just felt you needed to know that.

Connections

I'm trying my best to make social connections outside of the other "young lady teachers" in teacher housing... because all of them will be gone next year. Our school is experiencing the turnover that is cyclically a reality in these parts. We're losing the vast majority of our elementary teachers (although two are just taking a year off to work on their masters) and one high school teacher. Next year should be... interesting.

Anyway, I don't want to return next year and have to start all over, so I'm trying to branch out and make at least casual social relationships with other people. Last night, one of the teacher aides and I walked to the beach. Walking has become the cool thing for staff to do, since this nurse came from Bethel to do a diabetes presentation and gave us the opportunity to get free pedometers and participate in a "Walk the Iditarod" (metaphorically, of course) program. It was good to not only hang out with someone new, but with someone who has lived in the village all her life. We have a surprising amount in common, all things considered.

I can't say I'm looking forward to a whole new batch of teachers coming in next year, but even if it completely sucks, at least I'll get to meet and get to know new people, which is always fun.

Not Shocking

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

15% Upper Midwestern

15% Yankee

0% Dixie

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

"There's Nary an Animal Alive that can Outrun a Greased Scotsman"

Random Groundskeeper Willie quote for a title because I'm feeling a little ADHD and off the wall this evening. I guess it beats the bitchy-teacher-from-hell mood I was in this afternoon. My thoughts are as follows:

1. Jon Stewart will be mine. I realize that he his happily married with a child and is too old for me, but nonetheless, he shall be mine. My love for him grows exponentially by the day... Not that I'm a stalker or anything. *looks around furtively*

2. I can't wait until summer vacation. 15 days of school remaining... when it gets into single digits I will likely become unbearable. Full pay, flush toilets, and no work... can I get a HELL YES.

3. I can't wait until next year starts. Now that I actually understand all the aspects of my job, I feel like I can start working for real.

4. What kind of beer should I drink first to start off my summer? I'm taking recommendations.

5. Why haven't some people, by their mid-twenties, escaped the high school mentality?

6. If I can't have Jon Stewart, Brad Pitt will also do.

7. You can't control Ma Nature. Snowmelt and a little rain, combined with a perpetual tendency to change, have caused a small river that is usually diverted under our village's main road to... um... cross the road. So now you're driving along, minding your own business, when all the sudden, there's five feet of river to cross. I've taken to walking. Crossing a hastily-thrown-down plank bridge across a river that wasn't there a week ago is kinda fun. One day last week the plank fell in the water and I helped put it back.

8. Mom and Dad, remember that fishing rod and reel you bought me for Christmas? Well, the rivers are open and meat is expensive up here... can I have my fishing pole?

9. Our phone is dead. After being very shifty for a long while (those who have called me can attest to the fact that the connection has gotten worse and worse over the past few months), our line is now completely dead. No dial tone, even. Call me at school if you need to!

10. September seems so long ago... I was a totally different person then. More on this at a later date, as it's totally worthy of its own post as the school year draws to a close.

Geographic Weakness

Two friends are going through rough times lately... both are faced with losing (having lost in one case or being at risk of losing in the other) friends. Neither friend-of-mine knows the other, although I know I've mentioned each to the other at one point or another. I've never met the friends-of-theirs in person, so the pain isn't my own.

But (and isn't there always a but)... I'm a helper. I'm the kid who, in kindergarten, had to take an art project home because I wandered around helping other kids finish theirs and never did quite get around to doing my own. I'd love nothing more than to give each of them a big hug, bring them hot chocolate or beer or something. Put a little change in the karma jar in exchange for all the stuff that people have done for me when I've needed it. Encouraging e-mails just don't do their feelings justice, I don't think.

Being far away can suck.

Wow, three posts in one day. That's just excessive. Especially since two of them have been long. That's it, I'm cut off.

*Whew!*

So those voices in my head DON'T mean I'm crazy. It's just one of these.

Good to know.

If you think about it, it IS some scary technology. They can make us hear things now... things that no one else can hear...

Every Year, I Forget

Every year around this time (OK, earlier in the Lower 48), I'm reminded of just how beautiful and wonderful the world around us can be. I'm talking, of course, about SPRING!

After a wonderfully lazy morning, I stepped out the door to find weather somewhere in the 50s (I think)... cloudless sunshine... kids riding around on their bikes with soaked pant legs... adults out fixing things... planes flying, landing, and delivering mail and people with no problems... geese and ducks returning... you get the idea. That it was 15 degrees and blowing (quite painfully, I might add) snow only four days ago is almost unimaginable.

This is why I love living in a varying climate. I love changes in weather. Every year, I just want to skip and dance and run nekkid through the fields (metaphorically, of course, Mom and Dad) when it finally warms up... and then, come fall, I relish putting on jeans and sweatshirts and jackets and sweaters. I think it appeals to the short-attention-spannedness of my personality to be constantly able to look forward to a change. Ever notice how, every year, the first time it "smells like snow" and the first time it "smells like spring" seem special? Never mind that I'll soon be sick to death of heat and mosquitoes and humidity and being sweaty, and every winter I'm soon sick to death of having to take 10 minutes just to get dressed to brave the cold, and I'm five seconds from trading my soul for five minutes of tropical sunshine...

Countdowns

19 more school days until summer vacaaaaaaaaaaation.

AND eight months (and a few days) until Ma, Pa, Sis #1 and Sis #2 go to HAWAII!

AND a month and a few days until my (markedly unmomentous) 26th birthday.

Avocadogasm

There are bananas, avocados, and melons at the store! Oh, it was sooooo gooooooood...

We haven't had fresh fruit or veggies at the store in a while... I made guacamole last night and it was the greatest guac I've ever had, despite the fact that I couldn't add the little bit of sour cream that I usually do. It was yuuuummmmyyyyy....

Insanity, Carefully Measured and Monitored

It's Cultural Week here at Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat. Basically, every afternoon, the different age groups (k-2, 3-6, and Jr High/High School) get to say ix-nay on the egular-ray asses-clay and do cultural activities. Since I don't have "my" own classroom (I pull out other people's students), I am helping out with the high school girls' activities. We get to make leather-and-fur baby booties, bead bracelets, and qaspeqs.

Nicely put, it's chaotic. Managed, organized chaos, but chaos. I like structure in my life, so it's a challenge to let go of my desire to make everything quiet, organized, and calm. I'm trying my hardest, really.

What Weekend?

I was ALL pumped for Trivia weekend. Trivia Plan (version 1): stay at the school for most of the weekend, where the internet connection is good, and play to my heart's content. Ah, the best laid plans of mice, men, and Trivia Fiends...

Friday morning, I awoke to a peculiar gurgling in my stomach. Thinking it was a mild case of the revenge of the curry from the night before, I tied my best to ignore it, and went about my day. By 10AM, however, there was no denying it... i had either food poisoning, the flu, or some mysterious tropical disease recently migrated to the sub-Arctic. I may or may not have puked four times.

Made it to 3pm, which was the end of the work day. My (revised, now we're on version 2) Trivia Plan at that point was to go home, sleep for a few hours, then attempt to help out the late-night crew down in WI. Seemed like a good idea. Maybe I just had to sleep it off. Got home at 3:05. Was in bed by 3:06, clothing and all. Woke up at one point to use the bathroom and let the dog out. Might have hopped online at that point, I'm not sure. Searched for Tylenol. Realized it was at school. Fell back asleep. Woke up at... ???... I'm really not sure. I KNOW I played for an hour at some point in the night. I also happened to take my temperature at this juncture and it read 102.5. Asked Roomie for Tylenol. Roomie's Tylenol was also at school. Roomie went back to school for the slumber party she was hosting for her class. Went back to sleep. Woke up later, still simultaneously shivering and burning.

Went back to sleep. Woke up at 10:30. At this point I had been sleeping for... 19 hours? Granted, it wasn't quality sleep. When I get sick, I get super-achy and my skin gets really sensitive. The goosebumps from the shivering HURT, dammit.

Tried to play a little Trivia. Slept some more. Played again that night until about 2:30 AM AK time, when the random cold pill (which I didn't need for the decongestant or cough supression but the fever reducer was working quite nicely... and yes, I checked with Roomie, it was quite safe and from last year) I discovered in the medicine cabinet wore off.

Woke up on Sunday... FEELING FINE! A little headachy and dizzy from not eating for two days, but otherwise fine. Played Trivia until midnight, WI time. We took 12th. Shibby's team took 7th. Congrats.

I feel, however, like I got cheated out of a weekend. I slept for most of it! No Fair!

Trivial Honors

In honor of the world's largest Trivia Contest, I would like to present the following poem.

Shibby is a trivia dummy.
Questions give him an upset tummy
He's nat'rally limited, this is true,
But there's really not much we can do.
He's terminally, eternally, totally, incredibly crummy.

Not high-quality, I realize this. But true, nonetheless.

I'm gonna whine a bit.

What a bad day. Standardized testing, one serious issue with a student, and all on not enough sleep last night.

And on top of it all, I'm hungry.

On the upside, however, when my Trivia team whomps Shibby's trivia team, I will get free dinner and drinks. Oh, those greasy cheese fries from the Springville Wharf in Plover, WI... and a beer... and maybe a bloody mary. And the best part? none of it's coming out of my wallet because we're going to smack them down like the little biznatches they are.

They Happen In Threes

So... the Pope is on his way out. He's been sick for a long time. Good leader, good life story... can't say he has done all he could to better the Catholic church in my eyes, but when someone's on his/her deathbead, it's generally a time to look at the good. And anyway, he's real tight with the big guy so it's probably better to not diss him too much. ;-)

Schiavo's gone. She's been really gone for years, but now she's officially gone. That a tragic family squabble over a very serious issue became a national incident is a sad statement on the nature of our political figureheads. 'Nuff said.

Johnnie Cochrain's gone. Don't feel like that one has any emotional impact on me, positive or negative. He defended OJ, for chrissake.

Well, these things always happen in threes. There are our three.

Why not? We've come this far...

I've decided that I want the cold weather to stick around for at least two more days... just so I can say it's 20 below zero in April. I mean, if it's going to be that cold, what's a few more days?

Happy... January?

It's 10 below zero right now.

No further commentary necessary.

Although... the walk in to school this morning DID serve as a refreshing wake-up.

So, Um

It's the day after Easter.

Nothing says "Happy Easter" like fresh knee-deep snowdrifts, huh?

But hey, we're getting more sunlight... that's a very, very good thing.


March 28, 2005 Sun Rise Sun Set
Actual Time 7:21 AM AKST 8:19 PM AKST
Civil Twilight 6:39 AM AKST 9:01 PM AKST

Allow me to wax bitchy for a minute...

Why did President Bush wait four days to make a statement of sympathy for the victims and their families of the Red Lake school shooting? If memory serves, Clinton made such a statement within HOURS of a very similar shooting in Littleton, CO. Now, I'm not Bill Clinton's biggest fan, but sheesh. It took Bush four days to put together a five-minute phone call to the Red Lake Band's chairman, and five days to put together a public statement.

Far be it from me to cry racial foul when none exists, but the victims and perpetrators in Columbine were White, the victims and perpetrators in Red Lake were (all? mostly?) Native American. So, either Bush is a phenomenal idiot and just didn't see that a public statement of sympthy was probably in order, or he's a racist bastard, even if it is in the most clueless sense of the word.

*sigh*

And on a much more positive note... You may remember a while ago I mentioned some of our junior high students won the AK state Native Science Fair and were going on to nationals. Well, we got a call at home this morning form nationals in New Mexico... our students took second place! Their project, which compared heat loss in a traditional Yup'ik sod home and a modern insulated frame home, was way cool... and a well-executed exercise in the scientific method.

Anyway, they are awesome. There should be a link in the local newspaper next week... I'll post it and force you to read it. ;-)

excuse me while my head explodes

So. How's my week been?

I'm in the midst of testing all of our LEP (Limited English Proficiency) students. In dealing with the K-6 students, I have to test each of them on oral comprehension and production (known in the normal human world as listening and speaking), then administer a reading/writing test. here's the catch... nearly ALL of the students at our school are LEP. That's over 100 students that I have to test. There's only one version of the test, so I have to ask the same inane questions about the same inane pictures over and over and over and over and over and over and over... only to have my (educated, but not No Child Left Behind-sanctioned) infomal evaluation of a given student's language level affirmed. Well, there have been a few surprises, but for the most part, I can predict what level they'll test at. I know that having consistency in testing is important, but didn't they consider Teacher Sanity Levels at ALL while designing these tests?!

It sucks.

See, what I like about teaching is that it provides consistency and structure (which I need in my life) but it's not monotonous (which would drive me insane). Testing has thrown both of those out the window... I'm no longer operating on my normal schedule AND I'm having to do very tedious, repetitive, somewhat mindless work.

Next week, our students take their Big Scary State Test. Then we get the results and find out that (SURPRISE!) our students didn't score as well as someone thousands of miles away says they should. Must be my fault. Never mind that a given student may have scored better than next year... if he's still below an acceptable level, we clearly haven't done a good job. Sure he was two years behind grade level last year and now he's only one year behind, but dammit, what's wrong with our school?

All hail Standardized Testing!

I'm BAAAAAAAAACK

Made it safe and sound (no travel delays in EITHER DIRECTION this time; the gods were smiling down on me) to the village. School started uneventfully if a little late (late start today due to weather) and I'm trying my best to get myself and my students settled back into academic life after a week of fishing, hunting, and playing (for them) and drinking, eating and playing (for me).

Anyway, for those of you who know me personally, and would have cause to call me, and attempted to do so yesterday, you may have noticed that our phone is a big piece of crap. It doesn't work when it's windy (something's wrong with our line outside), and it was windy as a mothaf***a yesterday. The phone rang a bunch of times, but I couldn't even tell who was on the other end. So if it was you... sorry! Hopefully the wind will die down (it seems a little better today) and it will again be functional. If not, call me at school.

So... vacation recap: Therese and Pasha and their housemates are AWESOME! I cannot stress this enough. They rock. San Francisco is a kickass town and I want to go back again and be able to stay longer. So much to see, so little time. Monterey is also cool. Very interesting town, population-wise... bunch of college students (international and domestic), bunch of military folks, bunch of retirees. St Patrick's day is a great holiday because it's really just all about the drinking.

Going from the village to California was a little (ok, a lot) surreal. I mean, they have wineries and sushi restaurants and all that stuff. Scary multi-lane highways. People I haven't seen before. All sorts of stuff that is perfectly normal for the rest of the country but completely outside the realm of my everyday experience.

It was fun, and I'd love to go back... but it's good to be back.