urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy lower case matty 2007-06-17T22:20:22Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:90558 2007-06-17T22:20:22Z 2007-06-17T22:20:22Z that's what I'm talking about!<br /><br /><a href="http://newsblaze.com/story/20070617112853tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html">http://newsblaze.com/story/20070617112853tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html</a> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:90144 2007-06-11T21:36:54Z 2007-06-11T21:36:54Z <lj-embed id="1" /> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:89676 2007-04-08T20:18:10Z 2007-04-08T20:18:10Z i'm thinking of starting another blog specifically for the japan experience. any suggestions on which venue I should use? urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:87308 2006-10-04T02:25:20Z 2006-10-04T02:25:20Z yeah... my car got broken into while i was at japanese class. they decided to break the passenger side window. i was just starting to get myself back on track financially and now this. i mean im not hurtin but i was wanting to keep my savings going up and not down.<br /><br />why people why<br /><br />and they took my big cd case too. so there's a ton of money out the (broken) window. and i dont think i got a chance to upload the qui sème le vent récolte le tempo mc solaar album that i recently got online after forever of trying to find it at a decent price. not to mention other french cds and various other lovely albums. good thing is though that most of the music should be on my iTunes.<br /><br />but hey, i got to learn numbers and objects and ownership in japanese. so i guess it was worth it? urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:87073 2006-07-16T14:41:22Z 2006-07-16T14:41:22Z I just spent an amazing week in Burlington, Vermont. It was for the National TPRS conference. TPRS is the method of foreign language teaching I'm using now. Anyway, yeah oh my gosh, so much fun, so much information, so much love, so much!!!!<br /><br />300+ teachers who actually enjoy teaching.<br />300+ teachers who actually want to improve their teaching.<br />300+ teachers who are just awesome people to hang out with!!<br /><br />It was amazing. We took classes in a language we didn't know in the morning and then in the afternoon we attended presentations on various aspects of TPRS. By the way this isn't TPR - Total Physical Response. It grew from TPR, but TPRS is now completely different. TPRS is Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling. Anyway, basically from 8 in the morning until bedtime (usually after midnight) I was immersed in TPRS - whether in my German class or sessions or eating lunch and talking with other TPRS teachers or going on an immersion dinner. <br /><br />I got to go to Montreal for the French immersion dinner. That was a lot of fun!!!<br /><br />I went to the Von Trapp Family lodge in Stowe, Vermont for the German immersion dinner. Yeah as in the Sound of Music. And Maria von Trapp was there. The daughter I believe and her son. <br /><br />Ja, ich spreche deutsch. Ich bin nach Burlington gegangen und da habe ich viel dinge gelernt. <br /><br />Yeah I speak German now. Not all of it, but I can use the past and present tenses fairly well, I just have limited vocabulary.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm about to explode because of all the information I got. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:86821 2006-06-29T01:22:07Z 2006-06-29T01:22:07Z why do i not post anymore<br /><br />it does me so much good.<br /><br />anyway, im tipsy (what's new?) and thought i'd finally get back into posting.<br /><br />ive finished my 2nd year of teaching. and i will be starting my third in less than a month. crazy how fast the summer has gone.<br /><br />this year my jv soccer team actually won some games. that was cool.<br /><br />im still not completely settled into my apartment. big surprise there. i mean i have furniture, but things aren't all put away and stuff. i dont quite have a routine. but i think i enjoy it. i do sometimes miss human interaction if i dont make the effort to get out. <br /><br />i went to france and italy on the trip with students, teachers, and parents. it was fun. exhausting but fun. in about 2 weeks i head to vermont for the national tprs conference which should be fun. im excited to meet the people whose posts i read on the yahoo group for tprs. <br /><br />i had fun at pride this past weekend. went out saturday and got too drunk... don't remember the end of the night. i remember running into a guy i dated my last year at uga. we made out. apparently all night. i gave him my number. he hasn't called. makes me wonder what i said or did at the end of the night. ? <br /><br />oh and my friend buck and i did drag. it was a good idea saturday morning, but sunday our cracked-out asses should have known better. we still did it. we looked all right, but we didnt think about the logistics of going to the parade in drag. hello! you stand (STAND) and watch a parade. that's not so fun in heels. and then on top of that it rained. the red hat society thing is a hit no matter what though. i had fun. we got new outfits and stuff. buck got some awesome holly golightly glasses. 3 bucks at cititrends and they are awesome. i got some the same sort of shape but with tortoiseshell color. and some actually cool guy glasses. all 3 dollars each.<br /><br />i'm sitting here drinking and reading the digests ive missed from that yahoo group i mentioned. i'm backed up from before the europe trip.<br /><br />anyway, that's what's going on. just trying to be a better teacher. thinking about what it'd be like to be dating a good guy. <br /><br />benjamin, tu me manques. tu le sais? c'est vrai. je sais pas quand je serai de nouveau en france. tu le sauras quand j'y irai et on s'amusera bien! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:86725 2005-12-22T04:45:43Z 2005-12-22T04:45:43Z im getting an apartment. it only took two days of looking. if you are looking in the atlanta area and are in a hurry and are lazy i highly recommend Promove. They are on Cobb Parkway and they will listen to you carefully and then do all the work for you in terms of finding places that meet your requirements and then will check on availability and then actually map out the apartments for you to visit. Man did that save time. However, I did find them until after I visited 4 or 5 places. And I ended up choosing the first apartment I visited.<br /><br />So I will now be in Marietta off of the 120 loop at Roswell Rd. It's quaint. I'll be in there the 30th and you should come visit.<br /><br />I've not posted awhile due to lots of issues. Which maybe I should have been posting to get it all out. Whatever. Things just have sort of come to a head and I NEED my own space. So this will be the first time living on my own. We will see how it goes. I'm excited. I kinda wanted to move in before the 30th, but I will manage. Anyway, I was super stressed at work due to not starting writing my mid-terms until the day AFTER they were due. And then I only finished them exactly a week after they were due. My evaluating administator didn't seem to care, but I stress about things like that. Especially since the first final had to be given they day after I finished them. And then I think due to the extreme stress that lasted for more than a week, I became super sick and I'm still getting over it. It's been about a week and a half. And now more stress is coming on because of the apartment search and my desire to finish it in less than 3 days (I did it in 2 WOO!) and the fact that I haven't started Christmas shopping. I have not bought a single gift yet. I have barely though about what I might get people. And I hate doing forced gifts. People can tell. It'd almost be better to just get a gift certificate.<br /><br />Well I should get to bed so I can wake up for a day full of Holiday Bliss at the mall. Argh. Why didn't I do all my shopping online in October like the smart people? Oh wait that requires forethought. <br /><br />I'll never learn that i guess.<br /><br />well at least ive found a place so i dont have to worry about that anymore. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:86501 2005-12-04T21:59:09Z 2005-12-04T21:59:09Z am feeling a little sicky sick. dont want to do any work. mid-terms are due to administrators tomorrow and i dont know what i am doing for the next week and a half before mid-terms. good times.<br /><br />i really wanted to have good mid-terms too. looks like they will be last minute things as usual.<br /><br />got drunk on friday... made out with this guy ive made out with before. no intentions of anything more than that.<br /><br />was cracked out all saturday. had chinese at 11, mcdonalds at 4, spaghetti at 8. managed to buy some jeans and a really awesome sweater somewhere in there. jeans from girls side at old navy.. of course. sweater totally unreasonably priced from banana republic even with 30 percent discount. but i slipped it on.. and it was just what ive been looking for for a while... half-mock-turtle with a zipper that goes slanted down the neck... and it fit perfect and it was sooooo soft and comfortable. i really like it... <br /><br />i started falling asleep at like 9 30 last night.. perked up at 10 15ish to play cards with buck... finally passed out jsut after midnight. woke up at 8ish this morning.... came home kinda early feeling sick... helped my dad winterize the boat... cleaned my room and my car... was planning on doing planning... but instead i read a good bit of "to kill a mockingbird". ive attempted twice before to start it but ultimately put it down each time. this time i was drawn immediately into as i ate lunch. ive been reading for a few hours now eating all natural crunchy peanut butter by the spoonful and sipping on non-alcoholic sparkling apple cider... and decided to take a break as my eyes were starting to cross and i was re-reading sections...<br /><br />i really need to plan and do my mid-term.. but i really don't want to...<br /><br />totally should have called paul way back when... saw him out last night.. and he seemed less than interested.. perhaps it was my drunkenness that was a turn-off... oh well... urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:86098 2005-12-02T02:48:26Z 2005-12-02T02:48:26Z This is a story I typed up for my French 1s. It's kind of a sad one. I usually do ones with twists or funny things. I thought I would change it up a bit. If your a frenchie or frenchie lover, feel free to read (and correct). what questions should i ask for comprehension check?<br /><br />Alana s’est réveillée un matin. Elle était fatiguée. Elle avait regardé un film avec son amie Julie jusqu’à deux heures du matin. C’était « The Skeleton Key ». Les filles avaient peur pendant tout le film. Alana était chez Julie. Elles étaient de très bonnes amies. Les deux filles avaient dix ans. Alana passait quelques jours chez Julie parce que les parents de Alana avaient des problèmes. Ils voulaient un peu de temps pour parler de leur mariage. Alors, Alana était venue chez Julie pendant un long week-end. Alana était un peu triste, mais avec Julie, elle était moins triste. <br /><br />Ce matin-là, elle s’est réveillée à sept heures dix. Elle ne pouvait plus dormir. Elle était avec Julie au lit. Julie dormait toujours. « Tu es une très bonne amie, a dit Julie, je t’aime. » Puis, elle s’est levée du lit. D’habitude, elle mange le petit déjeuner à sept heures, avant l’école. Alors, ce matin-là, elle avait très faim. D’abord, elle est allée aux toilettes. Puis, elle allée à la salle de bains. Elle s’est regardée dans la glace. Elle est retournée à la chambre de Julie, mais elle dormait toujours. Donc, Alana est allée à la cuisine. Les portes des parents et du frère de Julie étaient fermées. Dans le salon, elle a vu le chien de Julie. Il s’appelle Ron-ron. (Le frère de Julie, Ben qui a quatre ans, l’appelle Won-won.) Il dormait sur le sofa. La maison était très calme. Tous les autres dormaient toujours.<br /><br />Dans la cuisine, Alana a vu une photo de la famille de Julie. Ils étaient tous contents. La photo était des vacances en Floride. Alana n’était pas jalouse, mais elle était triste. Elle voulait être dans la famille de Julie. Les parents de Alana n’étaient pas très contents. Son père était fâché contre sa mère, et sa mère était fâchée contre son père. Des fois, c’était difficile d’habiter chez elle avec tous les arguments. En regardant la photo, elle était triste, mais elle n’a pas pleuré. Dans le réfrigérateur, elle a vu des fruits. Elle préfère des bananes, mais elle n’en avait pas vu dans la cuisine. Dans le réfrigérateur, il y avait deux pommes vertes, des raisins, quelques oranges et trois pamplemousses. Alana a mangé cinq raisins et a décidé de prendre une orange. Elle s’est assise à la table. Elle a lentement mangé l’orange.<br /><br />Après vingt minutes, Ron-ron est venu dans la cuisine. Il a dit bonjour de sa façon. « Ouaf, ouaf ! » Alana lui a donné un morceau de son orange, lui a dit « Bonjour » et l’a caressé. Elle a fini l’orange mais elle avait toujours faim. À ce moment, la mère de Julie est entrée dans la cuisine « Bonjour Alana. As-tu faim, ma petite ? Je vais te préparer des crêpes. Elles sont ma specialité ! »<br />« Oui, j’ai mangé une orange mais j’ai toujours faim » a dit Alana.<br /><br />À huit heures, toute la famille de Julie était dans la cuisine. Ben jouait avec Ron-ron, les deux filles parlaient à la table, la mère de Julie finissait les crêpes et son père l’aidait. Tout le monde était content. Enfin, la mère de Julie a servi les crêpes. Elles étaient très bonnes. Elles étaient petits, donc tout le monde en a mangé trois ou quatre. Alana a aimé les crêpes et tous les autres les ont aimées aussi. Drrrrrrrrinnnnn !!!!!!!!! Le téléphone a sonné. La mère s’est levée de la table. Elle a pris le téléphone. Elle a dit « Bonjour. Ici Madame Turner. » Après un moment, elle a dit à Alana « C’est pour toi. » Alana a pris le téléphone. C’était sa mère. Sa mère pleurait. Elle pleurait fort. Alana ne savait pas pourquoi sa mère pleurait. Après une minute, elle a commencé à pleurer. Puis, elle a couru à la chambre de Julie. Julie a couru à sa chambre.<br /><br />Quand Julie est arrivée à sa chambre, Alana était au lit. Elle pleurait fort. Julie est allée au lit être avec Alana. Elle lui a demandé « Qu’est-ce qu’il y a ? »<br /><br />Elle pleurait, mais elle a dit « C’était ma mère au téléphone. Elle m’a dit que mon père et elle vont se divorcer. Pourquoi ils vont se divorcer ? Pourquoi est-ce qu’ils ne sont pas comme tes parents ? Je suis triste. »<br /><br />Julie était triste aussi. Elle était triste pour son amie. « Je t’aime Alana. Je suis là pour toi. Je vais t’aider pendant ce temps difficile. »<br /><br />Alana a regardé Julie. Elle pleurait toujours. Elle lui a dit « Merci Julie. Je t’aime aussi. Tu es ma meilleure amie. » urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:85815 2005-12-01T02:00:45Z 2005-12-01T02:00:45Z hmm... didnt complete my to do list for this evening.. whatever..<br /><br />when will i learn...<br /><br />i hope im not getting into one of my funks...<br /><br />so much on my mind.. i think i need to write out some stuff...<br /><br />i guess i could here.. but i think i always feel like im writing to an audience... <br /><br />no plans for classes tomorrow... watching madagascar with my sisters.. <br /><br />argh. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:85595 2005-11-29T00:07:48Z 2005-11-29T00:07:48Z If you can read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, please post a comment with a memory of us - even if we don't speak very often. It can be anything you want, good or bad.<br /><br />When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people remember about you. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:85285 2005-11-25T01:45:42Z 2005-11-25T01:45:42Z so who knew that drinking at thanksgiving could be so fun. started with a vodka cranberry and then ive been drinking white wine.. .and there is another bottle to finish off... i think ill have to do that on my own... so ill be back later...<br /><br />my big sister is coming to town! she gets in friday. i was all big spender... i bought her ticket for her.. she was feeling super homesick and didnt have the cash to come back.. (not completely her fault.. although she should have an emergency fund) anyway... so yeah that should be fun... <br /><br />however.. i do need to get a fair amount of work done for school tomorrow... so that we can hang out.. and i dont know WHEN i will be able to do the christmas decorating... guess that will wait for next weekend...<br /><br />anyway... time to go get that wine... its a fat bastard white wine of some sort... said it was good with turkey or at least poultry... anyway... yeah.. .that should be good right about now.. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:85069 2005-11-23T02:57:39Z 2005-11-23T02:57:39Z hmm... finally a break.. or is it... im realizing that there will never be time for me to catch up on my life... it just keeps going.... i guess i always knew that, but i just kept forcing myself to think that if i just made it to the next break, i could catch up... but in reality i just keep letting things slide and get farther and farther behind... i think if i worked at a "real" job and not teaching and had much more limited time off... perhaps i would be better off... it would give me a more constant schedule and routine... when i have time off is when i become a real lazy sob... but when im working all the time i manage to get things done... and it's when i have the break to look forward to that i slack on some things because i know i can catch up later... anyway<br /><br />so yeahim "catching up" this week.. except not... oh did i mention im becoming a fat slob... i really need to stop eating school lunches... i want to try to go organic whenever possible... and cut out all the crap that i eat... i want to stop the weight gain before it gets out of hand... for awhile it was just on the scale that i noticed the change.. but now im starting to see it in the mirror too... eek... not that i have a bad self-image... i just know the size that i would prefer to maintain... it's just a matter of getting my life back in order... i havent been running like i used to regularly do... nor am i lifting weight at all... over the summer i was really very good about that.. it's harder now with school... and the fact that im very serious about making this new method work and implementing my school's new "learning-focus strategies" stuff... it really takes a lot of time. whereas last year, i was making plans as i went and feeling like... i hope i keep this stuff together for next year (deep down knowing that i wouldn't)... what im starting to do now feels good and it feels like the plans i have will work again next year.. i will just have to get them out and perhaps tweak them... but i really like them. anyway.. im saying that now... and watch next year i change it all again. argh.. teaching is hard yall... no wonder they give us 3.5 months of time off... we freaking need it!!<br /><br />anyway... yeah so my excuse today for not doingmuch was a migraine.. i totally got one... but it was mostly likely my fault.. i get them when im dehydrated and/or when i change my sleep schedule... and those are both manageable.. yet i stayed up til 2 on sunday night and slept in.. and then went to bed at midnight yesterday and woke up at 8ish... yeah so that sort of put me out of commission for the beginning of the day... but just now iw as able to pick up my room and start some laundry and i did the dishes earlier... hopefully i will be able to do more tomorrow and perhaps some cooking... anyway..<br /><br />yeah im not feeling that happy with how im leading my life at the moment... so ive got some changes to make... <br /><br />la di da urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:84892 2005-11-14T03:49:18Z 2005-11-14T03:49:18Z ok... so it's been a while.... anyway... yeah getting some pretty good planning done... it feels differnet from what i usually do... but it's kinda hard to get used to... like i write out what im basically gonna do... and that is fairly easy with the forms and strategies im using now... so i feel done and good... but then i actually have to prepare materials which can take a lot of time... so basically i have not finished all my work for materials tomorrow... so i will try to get it done tomorrow morning... and then hopefully i can actually use my planning period to prepare my materials for the rest of the week. <br /><br />i need to take a break from drinking... and get my life somewhat back on track... like eating better, running, some weights maybe, more longterm planning (school and life), etc.<br /><br />actually i think ive got some good ideas for future... finish this year, then teach one more year at the school, then take a year to go to france and do the teaching english (considering putting in for a position outside metropolitan france), then coming back to work on a masters (school/city to be determined)... then decide where to go from there... stay in school for doctorate and then teach at university level... or finish masters and then get back into public school... but i think i want to be at school full time when i do my masters... anyway.. yeah...<br /><br />and now it's bedtime... night night urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:84680 2005-11-05T03:26:28Z 2005-11-05T03:26:28Z made it through the week... i dont think i left school before 6 30 at all this week... even thursday when i still went down to atlanta for trivia nor on tuesday which was a workday anyway... yeah... and today... Friday... stayed until 8 30ish.. yeah.. but i guess it was worth it... i needed to get a lot of shit done... took me a while... anyway..<br /><br />i bought a skateboard.. on a whim... thought itd be fun... except i got a cheapo one... and it goes slow... anyway... and now im sipping on some cosmorita.. good times.. tomorrow... im going to help my highschool french teacher with her county-wide french day at ksu.. should be fun... (is it overly conceited that i like being young and having that "is HE a teacher!?" reaction from kids from other schools? i guess im an attention whore sometimes... ergo the drag for halloween... ) <br /><br />by the way about the drag... it was really fun... and we totally played it up.. i did it with my friend buck.. eh..im tired.. ill talk about it later...<br /><br />dona nobis pacem urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:84402 2005-11-03T01:31:47Z 2005-11-03T01:31:47Z not just feeling on top of things school-wise... but actually getting things done... i have four days planned for next week in two levels.. (and actually i decided to stop having a separate plan for the 3s and 4s but just use the level two stuff and add and expect more from the fours)... anyway... good times.. stayed late and got grading done.. progress reports go out tomorrow.. my room is a mess. but i'm mostly caught up... woo<br /><br />im in a better mood these days! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:84001 2005-11-03T01:30:00Z 2005-11-03T01:30:00Z did drag for halloween... saturday night... ;) urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:83909 2005-10-29T03:40:22Z 2005-10-29T03:40:22Z that would be me!!!<br /><br />yay!!... im better with school now... getting on top of things... at least im staying up from day to day...<br /><br />hopefully i will be able to get ahead at some point.. .and then hopefully be able to stay ahead! for when soccer season starts.... <br /><br />also french club is going well... im keeping things going.. and i have a good set of kids that come consistently.. and we are doing fun things.. the problem will be in the spring with soccer... we will have to mainly meet in the morning... so i dont know how that will go...<br /><br />havent really done anything social this week.. until today.. yesterday i went to the school play... and eric (my former student/friend) came... <br /><br />today i went to dos margaritas after work with friends... then some of us went to the football game...<br /><br />and now im home... drinking more margaritas... and watching law and order.. which is the greatest show ever... althoguht commander in chief is pretty good too...<br /><br />anyway.. night night urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:83705 2005-10-27T01:47:34Z 2005-10-27T01:47:34Z yeah... im trying to keep up with the ljing... i know it helps me work things out sometimes.. .and plus it keeps me in touch with people..<br /><br />anyway.. yeah work is still stressing me... and i havent gotten to the turn-around point in this funk im in... i feel like im getting a better handle on the planning.. and im starting to feel more positive.. i realize that i was really being negative in my classes... and so i was getting negativity back... i also have started laying down the law a bit more... im stepping up my discipline... the gloves are off... especially in 7th period..<br /><br />well in french 3/4 i stole this activity from another teacher.. i mean it's nothing new... it's 20 questions.. except in French... it went really well... and i only had to do it once... and then i had volunteers to be in charge for the other times.. it really was cool... they got so excited about it... <br /><br />then in french 2 i did kindergarten day - I had them move the desks back and i laid out some blankets... and they came and sat at my feet and i read them a kids book in french... i took on a really teacherly voice and introduced the book and the author and the illustrator... i read the book with excitement and had voices for the characters.. i did the little... finish the page and then show the book to everyone and then turn the page... sometimes before i turned the page.. i did some recap questions or anticipation questions... some of the them really forgot themselves and just got into it too... and i had to warn the kids talking out of turn that i would have to send them to the corner... they really liked it... im gonna have to get a bigger blanket that is really cushiony for the next time... <br /><br />and then the stories went well that we did in both french 1s... in one of them there was a big rich monkey and he was sitting in his el camino limousine... and he saw a fat cow on the side of the road.. she was poor.. .and he invited her to the academy awards adn she got in and crushed the car... <br /><br />still have not called paul... <br /><br />went camping over the weekend though... that was fun... drove up to North carolina.. and camped out with a bunch of guys... we ate well cause this one guy works for a beef company.. .and had great steaks.. plus he had like 300 pieces of camping cooking equipment... so it was really good.. and we just had a good time... i got to have a bit of fun... this weekend i dont know that ill do much... last halloween was enough craziness for me to last awhile... i was pretty dang wild... definitely out of control... urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:83247 2005-10-20T03:47:20Z 2005-10-20T03:47:20Z argh... thought i was catching up and getting on top of things... but that wasnt to be... im back to just barely staying afloat... having fun for the most part... but i just spent about 3 hours grading tests... and i still have two classes to go... im so dumb.. i know better.. but i gave a test in all five classes on the same day... i will have to spread those out next time... im thinking even though i have two sections each of french 1 and french 2... i may give them tests at different times... just to be a little sneaky... cause with this new method... tests and quizzes are unannounced... not to be mean.. it's based on the idea that i will test only on what at least 80% of the kids have mastered at least 80% of and that im looking to see that they mastered that... not that they crammed it in their heads in a last minute study/cram session.. <br /><br /><br />anyway... camping weekend fast approaching... many things to do tomorrow... <br /><br />oh and we had french club today... it went pretty well... for being a somewhat last minute thrown together kind of thing... like it usually is... well i thought i would sort of exploit them a bit... we do stories in class and act them out... well i thought it would be fun to have scenery (actually i stole this sort of from someone who said they labeled areas of the classroom for story settings... i just thought why not design a scene)... anyway.. they got really excited when I mentioned doing it... they thought it was a really good idea... and so we have a sky, a city, a desert, a nighttime, and a forest... they arent all done.. but hopefully we can finish them next week... and im hoping to add more... like individual type buildings.. like a church, cafe, bakery, butchers, supermarket, market, etc. anyway... i hope i just actually use the scenes in class. <br /><br />yesterday i went to atlanta and played tennis with my friend matt.. then we met with cj and went to a camping planning dinner.. it was pretty funny... we were talking about bears and stuff.... and joking about the other kind of bears that you might find at the phoenix or eagle.. then they went back to real bears.. and someone was like "is anyone actually afraid of bears" and people offered some comments.. like "yeah if it's attacking me" etc... and someone said "if youre a statistic" or something like that.. and i totally heard.. "only if your fisting a bear"... guess i was still back at the phoenix... urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:82971 2005-10-18T01:18:14Z 2005-10-18T01:18:14Z ok so it's been a few days.... i'm still struggling with the whole balancing act that is life. i'm too all one thing or the other. maybe ill get it...<br /><br />anyway... so had pretty fun weekend... went to a benefit party on saturday for a bit and then spent the night at bucks playing cards and watching "phenomena" (that movie with jennifer connelly where she has telepathic power over insects and stops the deformed boy serial killer with the help of the bug specialist's chimpanzee and a razor. a real masterpiece)<br /><br />anyway... then saturday we went and played doubles tennis with a couple other friends... then we all went to a pizza place and at pizza and beer all you can eat/drink for a friend's fundraiser benefit for leukemia soemthing foundation... <br /><br />then we went to this weird football party and hung out for a while... then we went back to bucks and got ready and went out... we went to blakes which was too full and didnt get in because of the fire marshall and so we went to the heretic... danced all night.. and drank super strong drinks... i mean INCREDIBLY strong... actually the 3rd one we decided to get one and share it... well he ended up just splitting the drink in two cups and added some more mixer... THAT was still strong according to someone who tasted it..<br /><br />anyway... then i got up and went home and did no school work all day... but i did get some housework done... so that was good... and i managed to get by today... and i have some plans done for tomorrow and still some to do... the only problem is that i didnt do any grading tonight and i really want to get those tests done and given back by wednesday the latest for all my classes... argh... won't be giving a test in every class on the same day again... i should know better.<br /><br />apparently paul.. remember him... asked our mutual friend to give me his number... i really should call.. shouldnt i... maybe.<br /><br />camping trip this weekend.. hopefully i can get it worked out. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:82705 2005-10-13T00:22:20Z 2005-10-13T00:22:20Z AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!<br /><br />i'm starting to think about if teaching is really for me or not. at least teaching in a high school.. and a public high school at that. maybe i need a little less real worldness. like i would totally love teaching if i didnt have to worry about students being absent and having make-up work. the whole discipline part is so dumb too. im starting to think that america is going to have some serious trouble... like parents don't know how to raise their kids anymore. seriously. ok parents... you're children are not gods! it's like what happened to valuing and trusting what adults (such as teachers, administrators, campus officers) have to say AT LEAST as much as their own children. i'm talking about hearing daily teachers who have a run-in with a parent because their child said that such and such happened when in actuality the teacher is totally putting herself out for the student. and the whole lack of responsibility thing. i mean how many excuses can parents come up with. how many times will they bail their stupid ass kid out before they realize that "hey, this isn't working. they keep fucking up. maybe next time i'll make them pay for it." and it's not just a parents/kids thing. it's our whole culture now. most recently... the katrina disaster... ok yeah people screwed up... but who the hell cares why right now... lets fix what we can now... but NOOO, let's form a committee so that we can blame someone.... it was an act of nature... and i know that scientists had predicted blah blah blah... but come on... it wasn't just one guy's fault. and like the whole litigious atmosphere... hey you're restaurant was so cold that i got sick and had to miss work and missed a promotion so im suing you for 100 000 dollars... a little exaggerated.. or is it? and someone dies in an accident... given there are cases of gross negligence or whatever... but sometimes things are just accidents... accept that, mourn, and move on. and moving back to the kids... like last year the kid who threatened a student in the lockerroom and was kicked off the team and then allowed back on by the principal because no clear rules were set about removing a student from a team... good lord could they be any stupider!!!! and just the lack of common etiquette and politeness. im not saying it has to be "thank you sir" but "thanks" would be nice. students just are assholes... i have a teacher friend who says that... and given she is mostly joking... but really a lot of them ARE assholes... and it's like am i just echoing what teachers have always said? or is this an actual trend? i think in general the culture has changed, but not that much from what it's always been... and given school is a different situation by nature... it's real life... but then again it's not.. anyway... i think last year i wouldnt have said something like this... i think it's that dang 7th period... for real... there are like 15 assholes in that class... and 2 major see you next tuesdays... seriously... major ones... anyway... yeah i think the bad just sticks out.. and affects you so easily.. it just takes a little bad to outweigh a lot of good... which is sad... i guess i just need to focus on the good that i have.. cause that does make me happy... i was thinking for that class of putting all the kids that i like at the front so i can more easily ignore the ones that i don't like... i seriously considered this... only in that class.. and it's not like it's a thing i have where i usually pick favorites.. actually i think i do a fairly good job of treating most kids fairly evenly... but in that class some of those kids are just plain rude... rolling eyes, whining, talking back A LOT, etc. and see there.. i am finding it hard to verbalize exactly what it is... they are necessarily always overtly rude.. like with behavior etc... but it's a general attitude and demeanor that just gets to me... argh.. anyway... i'll stop now.. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:82682 2005-10-12T00:39:13Z 2005-10-12T00:39:13Z so yeah... hearing about alana.. and kristin who are living it up in europe... is making me seriously consider quitting teaching temporarily to go travel abroad... i could do the assistantship teaching english thing... or perhaps go to the middlebury schools to do the year-long masters where i go abroad for the year... i dont know... but im feeling stifled or restrained... i mean where do i have room to complain? i mean i have 3 months and 1 week of vacation plus a couple days... but still im not really feeling like i love my position... i hang out mostly with some science teachers who are beginning teachers.. and they are fun and.. well actually it's just one really... and she is great.. but there is no one in my department who i can really identify with... it's just not a situation im enjoying... i dont like the general atmosphere at the school... i do appreciate the fact that i have a lot of freedom with what i do... and that im on my own and dont have to answer to anyone really... but i was talking with a teacher today and she was saying that she thinks it's very nice to have someone to work with and share ideas with and plan with who teaches your exact subject... i dont have someone like that... and on top of that... im teaching with tprs now... which isn't a very well known method at this point... and one that is a bit controversial and generally turns the whole idea of language learning/teaching upside-down... so even if i did teach with someone who taught french.. unless they taught with tprs... i would run into problems... eh.. i dont know... i do know that i need to get out of here... and soon.<br /><br />ive been fine at home.. but recently my mom has been really getting on my nerves... i know that it's not her doing anything wrong or being mean or anything.. it's me just not being able to be around her all the time... i guess if i had a life i wouldnt have this problem.. but i just need to get out and on my own.. or maybe with a friend.. i dont know... ill probably be at home until im 30... i need to just make a decision and then stick with it...<br /><br />again ive gotten nothing done regarding grading etc. tonight urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:82222 2005-10-11T01:51:09Z 2005-10-11T01:51:09Z hmm... so yesterday...didnt really do anything that i had mentioned or planned on doing... <br /><br />no laundry, no shopping, no grading, no nothing... <br /><br />and im kicking myself today.. <br /><br />i did get a fair amount of good work done today at school though.. but still, how much more would i have been about to get done if i hadnt goofed off yesterday?<br /><br />and i was starting to feel so good. <br /><br />not that im not now...its just that i would have had more time for relaxing...<br /><br />anyway... yeah so we will see how this week goes... which by the way.... um how crazy has our schedule been... basically 7 straight weeks of school, 1 week off + 2 extra days for saving gas = 11 days off, 3 days of school, week-end, 2 days of subs for me, 3 days of school, weekend, 1 day off (today), tomorrow homeroom schedule, wednesday giving PSAT with whack schedule of missing periods, not to mention this is homecoming week! So with this week we will have had an entire month of weird schedules... and i've been trying to get a test in there somewhere... anyway... i've decided i can't put it off anymore... so it's going to be Friday. we will see how much they have actually acquired. maybe i'll post the test so you can see what i'm teaching them... i've only made up the french 1 test... but i also made 1 or 2 quizzes for all levels and prepared a test guide and written assessment rubric... i tidied up my classroom and desk... <br /><br />then i went to pick some stuff up at walmart... then came home and for some reason felt the need to prepare lunch for tomorrow and a salad for tonight... anyway... now it's time for bed... urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mattyjaddy:82087 2005-10-09T17:28:54Z 2005-10-09T17:28:54Z ok... so starting to feel a bit recovered from my stress period and getting a better grasp on my life or like a better perspective i guess. i dont know.. it's hard to pinpoint.. but i just am feeling better...<br /><br />anyway... went to atl on thursday night for dinner and game night... my friend allen prepared dinner at his house. ok... so he was still preparing dinner when we got there.. and we are all talking and walking from the kitchen to the den hanging out etc and drinking wine... well the house is starting to smell more and more like garlic.... anyway so the dinner is prepared and we all get our food... and yeah... my mouth is lit up! not like spicy.. like garlic tangy/spicy/shocking... (have you ever tasted raw garlic just to see? imagine that all inside your mouth)... everyone is just eating quietly and kinda looking around at each other.. .then someone finally says "this is pretty garlicky" and someone asks allen "how much garlic did the recipe call for?" he said "two cloves" well a few of us had seen him prepare at least 3 cloves... but no one was like sitting there watching and counting... we were just mingling while he was cooking... yeah... he totally thought that two cloves meant two heads of garlic... and it was like a cold pasta salad... so the garlic wasn't even cooked... oh my goodness!!! so funny... anyway i had at least two people mention that they smelled something weird around me and one of them mentioned garlic. THE NEXT DAY!!!<br /><br />anyway... friday i went back to doing stories in the 7th period class because I couldnt stand not doing them with them.. and theres a new student who will be totally lost if i dont go back to them... i was what i thought was pretty strict but looking back i need to have more specific consequences for misbehavior and i need to be swift and consistent with punishment. in that class i think it is important to be open about when soemone is misbehaving and open about the punishment they receive.<br /><br />anyway.. saturday night i went down to buck's... i drank a bottle of wine while we played cards and watched tv/movies... then we went to lindsay's in the morning to help her move. her new house is cute...<br /><br />i went home after that and just spent the evening reading... (oh yeah.. .i bought 3 books at borders before i got to bucks on friday)<br /><br />i read like 30 pages of this book called "blink" it's a really interesting book about how our brain uses something called the adaptive unconscious to make split-second decisions that are important, correct, beneficial and in many cases better than decisions reached after careful deliberation... it's not an instinct or reflex kind of thing... it's more than that... like the author goes into different experiments that show how our brain can pick out certain factors in a situation in an unconscious way that immediately affect our behavior/decision making... like scientists did experiments giving people a task of organizing words to form a sentence... the people are more focused on that than on the content... included in the sentences are words that relate to old people or being polite or being aggressive... then the people's behavior was recorded following the exposure to the words.. they moved more slowly after being exposed to the old people words or were more polite with the polite words... it's called "priming" anyway.. very interesting read<br /><br />i also picked up the book "natural cures" by kevin trudeau.. i first saw it advertised on an infomercial... and i really wanted to buy it... anyway... i got it.. and i read about 130 or so pages last night... very conspiracy theory esque... i'm trying to read and sift to see what is valid in it.. im just in the beginning and it's all about how the FDA and FTC are in cahoots with the food and drug industries to keep americans fat and sick so that they can keep making money on food and drugs... the FDA and FTC protects the big guys' (like fast-food industries, drug researcher/producers) interests by getting rid of people who have natural, un-patentable cures/foods because they can't make money on them... it's all about cleansing your body of all these unnatural foods and drugs because they just get in the way of natural body processes and make things worse... every drug has a side affect and all things are interrelated and those drugs eventually cause another symptom/illness for which you will need to take a new drug etc etc. anyway... he does have actual evidence of the FDA going in a seizing products that make claims of curing disease because they say that if something can cure something then it is a drug and all drugs have to be approved by the FDA and the FDA won't approve drugs unless they have been thoroughly researched etc etc. interesting to read... repetitive.. ill be interested to get to the actual list of diseases paired with cures... <br /><br />anyway... today ive been a bum so far... im about to get up and get some stuff done though... like finally finish my laundry and iron stuff... and grade stuff from last last friday... and prepare for tomorrow so i can get some good work done during my work day at school... and then just read read read for fun...