Friday, December 21, 2007

Seven Wierd and Wacky Things About Me

My Kilwin's bucket--from one of the best ice cream parlors ever. Their home made waffle cones are worth the trip to Delray Beach, Florida.
My son's x-rays. How many mothers have their son's x-rayed mouth displayed on a light board at home?
One of the ugliest gifts I have ever received.
One of the prettiest gifts I ever received and a flower vase frommy husband (he knows I love anything with a face.)
Some of my favorite beer bottles.
My favorite clock.(too bad I can never tell what time it is from this one.)
The door to the shrine--equipped with more of my junk including some of my truck pictures and mementos from trips abroad.
My mom's old typewriter. I used to love this as a kid and still love looking at it.
Deputy dog--a splurge for myself!
My African Man--it was love at first sight.

Everything about me is a little strange but I will try to stick to seven. I've been tagged by a few people and their blogs are on the side if you want to visit them.

1. I love Jamaica and Jamaicans. Although I have been to quite a few of the islands in the Carribean Jamaica keeps calling me back. I love the beaches, the weather but most of all I love the people. They are smart and warm and loving. A Jamaican will look you in the face, insult you and you will thank them. If there really is life after death, I want to come back as a Jamaican. NO PROBLEM MON!

2. I love big trucks. If I were to chose a second career it would be to drive eighteen wheelers. I love truck stops and I take pictures of my big rigs where ever we go.

3. I will never be able to drive a big rig. I don't like reverse and I don't like driving in tight spaces. In one of those, every spot is a tight spot.

4. I am cheating on my husband with my two daily minyon boyfriends. True, one is 75and the other is 95, but I do love their company and I love it when the 95 year old gets jealous every time I talk to another man. I even like the fact that he is jealous of my husband. When I was young and available I never had men fighting over me.

5. I'm a terrible grudge holder. If you do something to me, or someone I like, I never forget and I never forgive. This is probably my worst personality trait. I wish I could change it, but I can't. I still am angry at Suit for telling me, a few years ago, to transfer to a different school.

6. When my daughter moved out, we turned her room into a den. Actually, we have made it a shrine to her. The room is full of her pictures. Of course, I've added lots of other things. All the pictures above are from this room. I keep collecting and adding to the walls 9and ceilings.) The two concessions to my son in this room are his dental x-rays (before he had the surgery that let him open his mouth all the way) and his college diploma. When he was young, we never thought he would get out of third grade so we need to keep it where we can see it daily.

7. I am afraid to retire. I've been teaching for so long that I am afraid I will lose my identity if I give it up. I love the captive audience that is afraid not to laugh at my really bad jokes. I will miss the satisfaction I get when I get kids to finally succeed.

I know I am supposed to tag seven others. Most of the bloggers I would like to tag have already been tagged. Hopefully these have not been tagged. You can find their blogs on the side bar.

Justice Not Just Us
Enlarging the Mirage
Unaccountable Talk
Untamed Teacher
Brightminds
Its A Hard Knock Teacher's Life

4 comments:

oronde ash said...

i just want to remind ye teachers what you are fighting for. i carved out a sense of self in school because of you folks. when the line dips in the yearly graph for energy and commitment to the classroom, remember what i say: teachers were my parents growing up. school was my sanctuary. i'm remembering those days with images and words here. come by to get rejuvenated.

Black Boy Middle School, Parts 1-3
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8gVI07rDY7A
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3xaBZj8K7Oc&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wdgEzZ2Ebc4&feature=related

Anonymous said...

Your meme #7 really hit on one of my pet peeves. I am in the process of retiring and can't wait.

When people tell me they are afraid or they don't know what they will do with themselves if they retire, I am flabbergasted. My best friend retired 10 years ago when I was still the baby in the field. Now I have an open invitation to Del Ray Beach. Another friend decided to work on Long Island a few days a week after retiring. When she got the "teaching bug" out of her system, she sold her house and now lives in such a beautiful (larger) house in Palm Beach Gardens. The best part is I will be able to travel off season at a great savings to visit.

Another friend I taught with takes cruises at least 3 times a year. The rest of the time she spends being a new grandmother.

I plan on seeing more of my family who live in another state, redecorate my co-op, volunteering, and of course travel. But my favorite part will be not having to wake up so early in the morning and look for a parking spot. If I am not parked by 7:10 on alternate side days, all the spots in front of the school are taken. Meanwhile I only live 15 minutes away, so getting there so early is ridiculous. I am not a morning person. My principal already asked me if I would sub, and I said NO!! (Why the hell would I want to help her out?) However if I am ever offered F-status 2x a week, I may reconsider. But right now I doubt it. I may also consider tutoring if I feel I need for extra money. (And with your background in math, you would make a fortune tutoring for Regents and SATs.)

My identity cannot be tied to teaching mainly because the field is not what is used to be. I read 3 other (younger) teacher bloggers who are sending out resumes to leave the city system and start somewhere else. That's pretty brave.

As for satisfaction, I had my time and I hope I also made a difference. But I do not want to constantly have to break up fights over someone's pencil or ask why they didn't do their homework AGAIN. Nor do I want to justify my grades to parents when they were notified of my concerns back in September.

Retirement to me (and my friends) is a time of joy and new beginnings, and the other teachers are already envious.

(Word of caution to anyone planning to retire soon. Request your TRS service history NOW. I requested mine last March and still haven't received it. Was told it takes a year to process.)

X said...

Thanks for the tag...I think I did this one a while ago, though, and I don't think I can think of seven more things! Brain...still...not functioning.

Anonymous said...

I have always loved Son's x-ray...1 of my favorite's...