Visitin'

I visited my current instructor's high school today. She's the principal of the alternative high school in one of the local districts. So awesome. Quite honestly, why do things the old fashioned way when the alternative seems like so much more fun for both the teachers and the students? Pshaw.

Tomorrow I'm heading the other direction - visiting the french teacher at the local Catholic high school. So... from alternative public school to conservative private school. Opposite ends of the spectrum, so to speak. I should figure out what questions I want to ask her. And maybe I should practice my French a bit more, as well. Sigh. My spoken is still decent. It's the written that has slipped. Sliiiiiippppppeddd way far away from where I need it to be. But I'm working on it.

Update

So, I survived our 14 mile bike ride on Sunday... felt great while we were out there but almost fell asleep in the middle of dinner. My body just quit. Splat. Kaput. And after a 30 minute nap I felt just fine. Except for my butt - I swear I could still feel the imprint of the seat until last night.

I'd be more chatty and stuff, but I have a major presentation to prepare for tomorrow's class on ESL assessment in schools. Interesting subject - a path I might explore someday soon.

Once a slacker...

Not always slacker. I haven't been online as much lately for two reasons. One, I'm working for the temp agency now. Thank goodness - no longer hemorrhaging money. And two, I've been spending most of my free time in the library (working on relearning all the french I've forgotten) or in the gym (trying to lose my pudgebaby before the end of July - wedding to go to and a dress I'd like to wear...).

So I'm a lot healthier, and I'm discovering that most of what I've lost is how to conjugate irregular verbs. Damn those irregular verbs.

Re the work situation... I am soooo glad this assignment only lasts 7 days. The guy I'm working with obviously doesn't usually work with other people. He's not mean or rude or anything. Quite the contrary - he won't shut up and he repeats himself constantly. And I can't ignore him or he will just keep on repeating himself until I respond. The work itself is easy. I open the packages from the credit unions, sort their paperwork to make sure we have all the correct reports and the data tape, find the file from the previous year, enter all the data into the computer, fax a confirmation of receipt to the appropriate credit union, and load the tape into the computer downstairs. This takes about half of a half of my concentration. My little friend, however, seems to think this is terribly complex and keeps asking me if I am okay. He doesn't want to be mean, doesn't want to be a slavedriver, doesn't want to overwhelm me...

That said, it is kind of nice to do something mindless for a little while. No phones ringing that I have to answer, no angry people asking to talk to me, no employees whining for help with every little thing... yeah, I need a break from that sort of thing.

Evidentally, a few more people are leaving the hotel. Hah. Key people dropping out every which way. Ran into one of the room service guys at the liquor store right before his shift. Picking up a bottle of Stoli... to drink at work? I didn't ask. The front desk's interdepartmental relations have broken down quite a bit since I've been gone, from what I hear. Kind of sad, but kind of gratifying, too. heh heh.

Alrighty - going biking with Jay. Hopefully I'll add some color to my pale and pasty white legs. Eeek.

Thank you, kerriberri

Just a public thank you to my babiest sister who bailed me out of my homework problem yesterday. I had to interview 3 highschool students about crucial issues in their lives. Not yet being a teacher, I don't have ready access to teenagers without being creepy, so I was sort of stressing over that part of the assignment -- because naturally I hadn't even looked at it until the day before it was due (because I was out of town, granted). And then I remembered! I know high school students! Or a high school student. Ms. Kerri Kathryn, younger sister extraordinaire.

She and her nice little boyfriend the Gregmeister tolerated my questions, even though I was apparently interrupting a belching contest... you go, girl!

So what do high school kids worry about in my old neighborhood? 1. Getting fat 2. Failing their classes 3. the war

Not so different from what some of my friends worry about.

The end of the break

Got back last night from my weekend away - my postponed Grand Canyon trip. For the most part, I was a lazy bum. I didn't hike to the bottom because I knew I'd be in massive pain driving home and also because most of the people I knew at Phantom are no longer there. So I drove down to Flagstaff for a day and walked along the rim and found a nice sunny spot to sit and read and banish the paleness of my face and arms. All in all, a worthwhile trip for me.

But now I must get down to business. In other words - I need to be working again. The two weeks off was lovely, but if I let myself drift any longer, I might not be able to get back on track as easily. Blech.

So... enough screwing around in front of the computer today. I must get cleaned up and presentable and call the temp people and go to the bank and pay for my next class and... and... and. Staying here in front of the computer sounds like a better idea though. In the short run, of course.

Unfortunately, I'm off to be responsible. Gah.

Duh

So I've been really pissy with Jay lately and I haven't really understood why I'm so irritated with him. Yeah, with me not working right now we're just seeing a lot more of each other, and that takes some adjustment... but it's more than that. So what is it?

Now that I don't have the distractions of hating my job, I realize how stuck I feel here. Like, if it were only me I had to consider, I would totally be in the car heading either down to AZ or back the hell East. But I'm tied here because Jay has three more years until he finishes his PhD. Mind you, staying with him here was not even a choice I had to consider twice. I think, very simply, that he is stuck with me for a very very very long long long time.

So pretty much, I'm going to have to find a way to get over this. I mean, when I get pissy and start bitching about how everything in our lives is about him, I think I need to take a step back and explain that us being in Utah is about him. That, yes, I chose to be here. So, no, I don't have a right to complain. But unfortunately, we can't always control how we feel and if I let this resentment keep building it's going to seriously f**k us up. And that would be very very very baaaad.

Solutions? Hmmm. I think I need to build more of a life here for myself besides Jay and school. I need friends who are my friends first, instead of a bunch of people who I like but who knew me as Jay's girlfriend before they knew my name. I need to do more than read and study and work out and eat and sleep. I'm restless and I'm starting to bore myself.

However, I have gotten in some quality reading time. Wanna see?

In the last week:
J.D. Robb - Naked in Death, Glory in Death, and Immortal in Death
Jennifer Crusie - Manhunting and Welcome to Temptation
Holly Lisle - The Wreck of Heaven
Katherine Neville - The Eight
Laurell K. Hamilton - Caress of Twilight

In the two weeks before that, I'd gotten through:

Dan Simmons's Hyperion Series, Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer, Jennifer Crusie's Fast Women, and Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels 1 through 5. Those I read toally out of order, of course - picked up the newest one Hard Eight and worked my way backwards from there. Grandma cracks me up.

So I think I need to cut back on the reading and start paying attention to the world around me again. Just maybe.