chatter from the Library Monkey

Where have I been

I started this on May 11th, but wrote nothing and didn’t even open it since then and it is early May 15.

The Tigers continue to lose and frustrate me. They are frustrating lots of fans as well

Weird thing happened at baseball practice today, a parent apologized to me. Not 100 percent why he did that, but it was appropriate. I guess he was at the game I was not and had the kids whipping around the bases on a team that they were thumping 20-0. He told me people were getting mad at him and his philosophy was to score as many runs as possible because he knew the pitcher in the last inning would give up 10 runs (not sure he knew how the pitcher would do)

I thought it was a pretty good practice, we worked on scenarios… (If you are playing third base, what do you do if the ball is hit to right field.) There are a couple kids that always know what to do, but never do it. Our best pitcher is like that. Last Friday he was playing third base and a couple times kids stole the base and he didn’t position himself right. I talked to him after the first time; he said he knew what he should do and gave me an excuse why he didn’t do the right thing. The second time he did the wrong thing.

I am glad school is wrapping up. I applied for a job in a K-5 school that is about 40 minutes north of my home town.

Up late, but I had a nap. I skipped my weekly nap, I don’t feel comfortable there.

I should be able to finish up the Joyce Carol Oats book: “After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away”

Gratitude (3)

bonus day

There was no school today — a surprise to me, I thought we would be lucky to get a two hour delay. I don’t know how ice it is outside, since I never ventured out. The weather was really a mix to day. At one point it was still s leeting — around 8 a.m. or earlier. Then it seemed to be nice and everything had melted off the trees — around 11 a.m. After noon it was blustery and it seemed like snow was coming down. It’s 24 degrees right now… I would like for winter to be over.

Since I didn’t go outside, I exercised a lot — to burn energy. I must have done 200 curls with the dumbbells. I did more squats and crunches than I list, but I didn’t keep track very well. It’s why I don’t count curls, I always lose track, so the number would likely be wrong — if I wrote it down.

Regardless — I am going to have some tight/sore shoulders tomorrow. I will be using the ibuprofen.

It worked out for me, I wasn’t mentally ready to teach a lesson the second period of the day. I have to do it tomorrow, but for some reason an extra day is better — even though I didn’t much more to prepare. For the most part I did the lesson two weeks ago, but I need to refresh what I am doing to remember.

I have a site meter that lets me know a little about mostly their city, not much more. Occasionally it is the coordinates (latitude/longitude) of the company that the IP is based at, but not where the service is at. I did the coordinates (45.5184, -122.6554) for one and put it into Google Earth and it took me to a building.

This Google Earth is amazing, you can look weather, find pictures people have taken…on and on. It’s 21 degrees at the Grand Canyon. I can’t figure out if I want to go there and camp when it might be the same temp I keep it in my apartment 52°.

I read some today and I made a little graphic that I can use to add up my pages — in increments of 100. I have done the challenge that ’star’ is in charge of (but I do much of the work) and I always finish about three pages short. And I cheat too. I always throw in one or two books on tape — that way I can play on the internet and listen. I listened to about 50 pages of: “The Experts’ Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do” organized by Samantha Ettus. And during DEAR time I read a sixth grader book….and a graphic novel at that.

I figure if I am going to be reading at work it should serve me at several levels. I need to read books that I will recommend to kids, I am reading the sequel of “Diary Of A Wimpy Kid,” by Jeff Kinney. I recommended it to the oddball kid at school. The one the aide says him and I are two peas in a pod. We both enjoy the book. I also like books at a lower level because I can set it down and pick it up without losing what is going on. Something I have to do a lot since kids are still coming and going in the library when they should be reading. That is because they don’t have a book and need to get one.

Took a wonderful nap today.

Wrapping up the night with Cracker on archive.org

The Tigers won two games in one day. The team was split up and beat both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The hardest part of the two wins was a) the Justin Verlander was not broadcast and b) the Yorman Bazardo was by some lame-0 Pittsburgh announcers.

I need to end and get some reading and some sleep in.

Gratitude (3)

Another day slipping by

This is funny. I was going to write more on my ‘anniversary of gratitude,’ but I didn’t get to post…and that on top of two days ago I sloughed it off thinking I could write more yesterday.

I set out doing the three a post gratitude a year ago, I must have been listening to an On Point show about it. It is interesting since a show they had this week was the a show about ‘making happiness.’ Must be a common mid-winter theme, to keep people from going off the deep end. They had Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology , on the show. She mentioned the gratitude thing, but said it works better if you only do three a week, not three a day. That — she speculated — is because if you don’t find three a day, you start thinking negatively.

That might be true, but I like coming up with three…I haven’t repeated many, though a few end up being similar. And I could list a food I like every day. I sometimes have to re-jump myself when I am apprehensive about putting down something that I think is superficial — Like a blueberry bagel. Then I remind myself, if you can’t take joy in that, what can you take joy in.

I have another summer goal — and they continue to grow. I want to learn to fly fish.

I want to tell more schools stories — those of about kids

The ballad of Tico and Oli 2/21/08

There is this habit at my school that the seniors make a poster that other kids sign, sort of like a yearbook. The posters are handed out on ’senior night’ that takes place during a basketball game. There are a couple things that are amusing about the posters. Fist is the fact that almost every senior starts the memo with: “I can’t believe we will be graduating in five months.” I understand you got that thought in your head on the first poster, maybe the second, but by the time you get to the 10th poster you have had to accept you are five months away from graduation. The second thing is the fact that the younger kids sign the posters and the older kids don’t like it.

The other night I was reading the posters. Not really thinking much about it, but when I came to Oli’s poster I quickly looked for Tico’s comments. I knew that Tico was dating Oli… so I wanted to read the mushy stuff if it existed. Tico is a very quiet guy, so I didn’t expect much, but I knew there would be something.

I was surprised because Tico wrote ‘love’ about three times and he mentioned how he threw a pitch in fourth grade that hit Oli in the mouth. And that as fourth graders they dated. What was interesting to me was how Tico talked about only asking one other girl out and that was Oli in fourth grade. Also how he was so happy he finally got the nerve up to ask her out again and was so glad she went out with him. The added quality was that Oli had a heart on her poster and inside the heart is where Tico signed.

The other irony was the fact that Oli did mention the hit by pitch in fourth grade and dating then, but not as much love. Not so gooey. Both are thinking college, but Oli is on a scholarship and Tico wants to take online courses.

They were sitting together at the basketball game tonight. It is so cute and funny since the message they wrote to each other.

The girls team lost tonight, not a good end of the season. The girls lost the championship game last Friday and now the sectional game. I think they could have won and perhaps should have, they have two problems. One they just didn’t look like they wanted to play. Lots of teams have played enough by the time it comes to sectionals. I think maybe it comes down to a coach assuming the team wants to play and not understanding that they need to prepare a team to playa until the end of the season —- not just the regular season.

The other reason is the star of the team doesn’t know how to play like a star. The girl was averaging 19 points a game in the beginning of the season and in the last three games she probably didn’t score 19 points total. That isn’t the worse of it, the real down side is she didn’t pick up any other aspects of her game ilke assists or rebounds. The more the teams keyed on her, the more she thought it was a battle between her and the other team. It could have been a mean to open up other players.

And during this she starts playing with a chip on her shoulder and the referees stop calling all the times she is fouled.

Gratitude (3)

Technorati Tags:
romance, love, Basketball, Students

Maybe better

I’ll let this be a two day entry. I am going to bed in a few minutes. I am hoping to be better by tomorrow. I took a nap that helped a lot. I need to get out and do groceries and do a few things at school. Mostly I want to be better for my trip to get my windshield replaced on Thursday. Shopping trip.

I am sure I got the cold from the stress of chaperoning last Friday, I have to blame it on something

On point had a show about happiness and there was a moment where the guest/author () was talking about how if you purchase something the jolt of happiness tends to be short lived. Like if you buy a new car you are really happy, but a year later — you still have that new car — but you aren’t as happy as you were when you got the car.

This show crystalized a thought I had. I am always wonder the dichotomy of a hobby expense. For example the same person who will spend $300 for a titanium pedal for his bile can not understand how anyone would spend $1,000 on a sewing machine.

I think the reason you have no problem spending money on your hobby is because you need to keep getting a ‘hit of happiness’ by bringing your hobby home again. I would get excited about buying new bicycle shorts and often buy clothing when I probably have enough, just so I can spike my adrenaline about my interest and giving myself some happiness.

It is a way to bring back the original happiness of a bike purchase, without purchasing a new bike.

I am reminded that the students of my school needs to be educated in manners. An annoying thing about my school, the kids just don’t know how to be polite.

Last saturday was this thing called tricky tray. Basically there are 200 trays with various items on it. One tray could have 15 fishing lures, another tray could have chips and dip, another tray could have a couple photographs, etc. you buy tickets, I think they are a dollar a piece, maybe five for $1 (never been some things are sketchy) and you put tickets in the can next to the tray. Some of the items people will put lots of tickets in… as the night goes on they draw from the can. So if you put 10 tickets in the fishing lure can and three other people put one a piece you have a good chance to win, but the people with one ticket could still win.

Any how, I was at lunch and I heard the custodians complain (in that stupid way custodians complain about stupid stuff) that no one had asked them to donate a tricky tray.

So I mention this to the adviser. A week later the custodians are still complaining. I think the custodians complaining, might be a problem I have later… So I tell the adviser that the custodians are still complaining. AND I give him a list of everyone at that lunch table who say they will donate one or more trays. Consider that a donate tray is 100 percent profit, it is surprising the kids who have not collected anything would not run to that person.

The point to my story — three days later a kid comes up to me and says: “do you want to donate a tricky tray?” Not: “would you like to donate a tray?” or “Would you please donate a tray?” Instead, “Do I want to?” There is very little in the world that I ‘want’ to do, but a lot I would and do do.

So I said: “No.”

And the girl goes: “How rude.”

The kid is rude to me and admonishes me for not donating. That behavior happens at all levels at my school. When I mention it to ‘
‘ she will make some comment that it is only me that thinks that. Unfortunately I don’t want to give her a list of custodians that say the same thing. And when I mention that there is a 14% turn over in my school each year, no one wants to believe it has to do with the behavior of the kids or senior faculty.

Absolutley no concept that it is rude

Which is my point to the star, I think we should be working harder on teaching the kids what is rude

every day 10 kids up to me and say: “Do you have a stapler?”

I will say yes and go about what I am doing or say: “that is an interesting survey.”

After three years you would think the kid would say, “can I please borrow the stapler.” But no… they never get it or change

thought I would od more, but not likely. I feel better cold-wise, but my neck is sore… I am not going to get a nap in, I was hoping for one, so I would be more away for the lunar eclipse.

Gratitude (3)