A Journal of Possible Things

(Gasp)

Tomorrow, my room is being used for Kindergarten registration all day. Basically, this means I'm homeless. Along with all 6 classes. So, for my personal sanity and quality of sleep this evening, I shall now mentally prepare myself for tomorrow's schedule of events:

3rd:
Bring out all Rondo projects, extra papers, scissors, brads and trash cans to the ropes pavillion. Bring out MP3 docking station and buttons for "Button You Must Wander" game, as well.

5th:
Bring out recorders, practice binders, bucket with recorder bodies, markers and your recorder binder to pavilion.

4th:
Same as 3rd grade, only this time the AP will keep them for the first 20 minutes or so in the gym for their grade level meeting, then they'll be out to see you.

Kinder:
Single class (thank goodness!) Play singing games and use bean bags out on ropes pavilion.

2nd Grade:
AP will keep them for first 20 minutes again. Then, games on ropes pavilion.

1st Grade:
Games on ropes pavilion, bean bags. Don't forget to bring out seating chart and "Mystery People" folder.

Might want to bring out cones for some semblance of "Squad lines" while out there...

Also, might want to see about getting a walkie-talkie for you to keep out there today.

If they need the restroom, send them over to the gym (dire emergencies only)

_______________________________

Wow, this is going to be really, really special...

Blah. Blah blahdady blah blah blah.

Blah.

Tomorrow's Monday. This week will start the month of April...shortly followed by the month of May. Then there's June. We get out of school this year in June. JUNE.

I went to Rice and ran 3 miles. All.by.myself. It was a bit different, since I've never done that run alone. But it was a good kind of different. Until the strange dog showed up. He was kinda icky looking and hairless and had no leash...

Josh and I watched Quantum of Solace...James Bond's a hottie ;) (Daniel Craig) I cooked a quick dinner and even finished re-potting my plants on the patio. Here goes nothing, gonna try and keep these alive. Haven't really had plants in a few years now so I'm really going to have to put a sign on the fridge to remind myself/re-train my brain to think about watering them. But I do so enjoy looking out and seeing the green out there...

Rehearsal tomorrow for the Requiem, except Kevin won't be there, as he is auditioning for his acceptance to the DMA program at UofH tomorrow. GO COOGS. So, as Joyce (the other clarinet player) put it, it's good for us - no pressure, we can screw up as much as we want - he won't be there to hear it. (It's just us "dropping" in to see how our parts go with the choral parts...really informal)

Contacts icky, sleep now.

Today is Saturday.  So far, I've:

• gone to the gym (2.5 miles and other stuff was accomplished)
• cleaned up the apartment
• had lunch at Jason's Deli with Josh
• got a pedicure and eyebrow wax  (YAY)
• loaded the diswasher
• took out trash
• bummed on the computer a bit
• started lesson planning for the week
• talked to my mom and my dad
• secured a new (FREE) espresso machine from my dad
• drove around a round-about for no reason other than because it was there

:D

When's the last time I've felt the need to update this?

I suppose I've updated my myspace and facebook 84,000 times more frequently than the LJ - but this is one of those times that just begs for the full-out blog. So here goes.

btw, photos of practically everything I'm about to yap about are on my flickr...

Was having a pretty productive and successful week at school with the kiddies and all this made me sad to lose a day, possibly two now.  There has been no formal announcement but HISD is off, so we might be, too.  I know I'd defintely like to have water back (to take a shower and all...) before I have to get back to work.

Evelyn and Josh just left about 30 minutes ago, I think Josh is going in to work this morning, possibly.  Thereze and Briana will possibly be showing up here (soon?) because the power is out at their place - possibly the water as well. 

Woke up to rain storms this morning around 6:45 am, wondering if Josh and Evelyn should have been gone by then.  Turns out no.  Not sure why but they stayed a bit longer and got some needed sleep, I suppose.  I heard the rain and the crazy bohemian side of me decided to go catch rainwater.  Unloaded a tub that I keep underneath the bathroom sink and off I went down the stairs (after a failed attempt to catch it on the patio...)  Filled it a few times using another container and walked up and down the stairs, dumping it into the bath tub.  Then the crazy *really* kicked in and I pumped a bit of shampoo into one hand, grabbed a towel and headed back down to wash my hair - thinking about the possibility of going to church this morning and looking somewhat presentable.

Luckily, it was early enough that no one appeared to see the lunatic standing outside, washing her hair from water she collected from the storm gutter.

I've suddenly lost the urge to blog everything leading up to today (Sunday) - really, though - the pictures say it all.  Even got tons of video.

Going to go and dry and straighten my hair, instead - to be ready for mass.

Heh, horoscope for today: (posting idea borrowed from Tara)

You are excited about something new in your life -- so much that you may risk going on and on about it to friends or family. Try to restrain yourself, as folks have less patience than usual today!

____


(I kept that last entry to a minium, didn't I? Besides, with all that to do, who has time to talk to anyone?) Ok, really gotta go now.

I think I can sum up my level of immersion by saying that I've reached the point where I can't stop identifying pitches. Everywhere I go.

The refrigerated case near the deli at HEB hums a C.
The vacums at school are a B.
The checkouts at HEB are an Eb.
My car beeps a C when I put the key in the ignition.


An intelligent update when I am not supposed to be:

-Writing a movement lesson plan for PK to present tomorrow.
-Singing the la and do pentachords on any/all starting pitches
-A gazillion sightsinging lines 
-preparing a sing/play exercise to play for class tomorrow on sml
-learning parts for ensemble in hungarian and serbian, to be ready for performance in trio (if called on)
-creating master copies of 2 additional songs for collection
-writing analysis sheets for these songs 
-conducting "A la puerta" and "Path to the Moon"

...and probably something else, that's just what I remember off the top of my head. Time to check the "list..."

(Tara, are you smiling yet?) ;) 

Ok folks, here's what I've gotten myself into starting July 14 and ending July 29th. Oh boy. Updates sure to follow...for now, I've just had a chance to digest the schedule.

I figure that I'll be certain if I'd like to pursue the Masters once this is all done...

Mondays

9:00 – 9:15 Assembly
9:15 – 10:15 Music Lit
10:15 – 11:00 Singing games
11:00 – 12:00 Ensemble
12:00 – 1:30 Lunch
1:30– 3:00 Musicianship
3:00 – 4:30 Pedagogy Conducting (3:30 – 4:30)
4:30 – 6:00 Conducting (5:00 – 6:00)

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays

9:00 – 9:15 Assembly
9:15 – 10:45 Music Lit
10:45 – 11:00 Break
11:00 – 12:00 Ensemble
12:00 – 1:30 Lunch
1:30– 3:00 Musicianship
3:00 – 4:30 Pedagogy
4:30 – 6:00 Conducting (5:00 – 6:00)


Monday, July 28

9:00 – 12:00 Cecile Johnson presentation
12:00 – 2:00 Lunch/ Independent study
2:00 – 2:45 Assignment discussion
2:45 – 3:00 Break
3:00 – 4:00 Warm-up/rehearsal
4:00 – 4:30 Preparation
4:30 – 5:30 Ensemble performance


Tuesday, July 29

9:00 – 12:00 Cecile Johnson presentation
12:00 – 12:30 Turn in assignments
12:30 – 2:00 Lunch

D:

that's pretty much all I can say

Wow, the 2007-08 school year is just about done. Three more days - tomorrow is 5th grade recognition after school. Wednesday is a typical day, and Thursday will be a "switch" day - I'll see 12 classes (half the school) for 25 minute classes. I'll spend most of that time keeping a lid on all the excitement and signing t-shirts.

J and I are out at his parents place. He's helping his dad fix a fence while I sit out on the deck.
Here's a picture. Great place to be.



What a great time of year this is.

I'm still here - just buried under the beginning of the school year ;)


CONGRATS NAIMA!!!!!!!

Just now got the internet connected here at the new apartment.  I think I was going through withdrawl.  

Seriously.

While I was downstairs cleaning out my car, these folks drove up and took the couch that had been sitting by the dumpsters for a few days.

Hope they didn't have far to go...

Moving and starting school...at the same time...are beginning to drive me insane.  Basically, I need to take a chill pill.

This month's Southwestern Musician (the Texas Music Educator's Association professional publication) came in the mail yesterday.  Michele Hobizal, this year's Elementary Chair for TMEA, had this to say in her article:

Live the teacher life before school starts

Although the start of a wonderful new school year is almost here, you still have some time to prepare yourself and your music room.  After being out of practice for almost three months though, maybe we need to start living the life of an elementary school teacher again.  In addition to hearing our names called out hundreds of times throughout the day, what else could possibly prepare us for our daily challenge of offering the best music education possible within the shortest time possible?  You could begin acclimating yourself now!  Here's how:

1.  Stop going out for lunch and start fixing your "school lunch" (you're right - food that requires no preparation and certainly no microwave hearing time - those seconds are precious eating time!)
2. Invoke a maximum duration of 15 minutes for lunch.
3. Wake before 6am, thoughts of how to begin with the first class period immediately occupying your brain.
4. Take only a single scheduled bathroom break during the school hours of your day.
5. Practice making dinner within 15 minutes.
6. Handle all of your personal business within the hour before you go to sleep to restore yourself for the start of another day.

This is only slightly disturbing. I don't know about you, but if I woke up and a spider was in my mouth...

New apartment floorplan. Wahoo!

 

Our is on the 2nd floor.  This will be a nice change of pace from the two previous places we've been, which have been third floor.

Turned on the tv this morning and caught the SPIRIT OF HOUSTON COUGAR MARCHING BAND (well, a small portion of it) playing at the Gulfgate HEB for their school supplies drive (at 7:45 am).  All I could think of was "heh, they had to get up eeeearrrrrly" = P

Pilates at 9 today, I had better go find something to wear.

The Mamas and the Papas are singing "Monday, Monday" in my head this morning...and someone has set the play mode to "repeat track."

Still watching Harper count to one million - he passed the 500K mark  Saturday - with much pomp and circumstance. But I guess you can be the judge of that...

Still packing.  I am really going to make some headway today.  I've got some things planned...the weather's great, and the garbage truck just came by this morning so the dumpster's nice and empty.  Not having the rain today will be fantastic!  

Took J to work this morning, the Element has a flat, but I managed to creep over to the Texaco a minute ago and put some air in it to get it to a shop.

I really, really, really want to be here right now:
 
That's my mom, last 4th of July, playing with her bubble machine.  Haven't been to the bay once this summer!  Stupid rain.  Shouldn't complain, this time last year we were all dying from the heat, a/c bills were horrendous, water was being rationed...

At any rate, I was all ready to go for the 4th this year, then *they* decided they were not going down there at all.  

Alrighty then, off to be productive!

Was at 24 a while ago. Had just finished doing the regular cardio 'thang' and was going to finish up with some laps in the pool. Well, nobody informed me that you had to practically get an engraved invitation to score a lane on a Sunday morning!

I get ready and go out to the pool...out of 6 lanes, only 4 are being *obviously* used for laps...there's some lady just jumping around in the first lane - waaaaay back in the corner. Not swimming, just kinda - jumping. And the dude in the 4th lane - he just keeps getting in and out. Swim swim swim, then he gets out and does situps. Swim swim swim, get out and get a drink. You get the picture.

So I sit in the dry sauna, watching it all go down....but wait!! In and out guy must *really* be out now, 'cause some girl just took over his lane...just as I was walking out to put my shoes there. Back in the dry sauna.

Another girl comes out to wait with me...she and I are now sharing a bench right alongside the pool.

"Is there some kind of pool etiquette to getting a lane here?" she turned to me and asked.

I told her my plan of attack...how I had been kinda watching and, well, waiting...

In walk a girl and her (?) boyfriend? They jump in and, together, just create their own lane. wtf?!

Don't look now...but lane 1 lady is out. My new friend points to the now open lane and says, you go ahead, you were here first. So in I go...

A few laps down, I start to notice the crowd that is gathering at the sauna end of the pool. You'd think we were all at a swim meet! My friend (I now know her name is Amanda) says she's giving up...I told her, no, if you can wait I'll just be another 2 or 3 lengths and it's all yours...

So I'm done and am walking toward the steps. Amanda is coming in to meet me...but so are two other ladies, rushing my lane like a shoe sale! I look at Amanda and say in a loud voice, "it's all yours!" all at once trying to ignore the looks of disgust I'm getting from the other people waiting. I suppose I should have just invited Amanda to swim the last few laps with me, that way the "pass off" wouldn't have offended anyone....? Do we need to "take a number?"

C'mon people, really now...