Where Did September Go?

"Well, in our country," said Alice, still panting a little, "you'd generally get to somewhere else — if you run very fast for a long time, as we've been doing."  

"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" 

 -Lewis Carrol

September is pretty much over now and, looking back on the past month, I have no idea what I did with it. Since being promoted to Lead Pre-K Teacher I've been running (like the Red Queen) as fast as I can and still always seem to be a step behind. I think this is why the lessons I got as an elementary school student were so dull. Once the teacher had a year of lesson plans done they just kept recycling them, that way they could have a breather once in a while. If teachers are expected to stay current on techniques and information they should have smaller classes and more administrative support, otherwise they have the options of either being stressed and current or relaxed and ineffective. Lucky for me I got my second raise in a month. I asked for $11 (up from $10) when I took over the classroom and yesterday they gave me $12, just because they like me. That makes me feel a little better about spending so much of my weekend planning my school week.

In other news I have contacted the state about my former landlord, who is now completely ignoring my calls and owes me $480. We'll see where that goes, but bureaucracies are not known for their efficiency.

I'm still getting lots of use from my Kindle Fire, watching too many movies. I read The Hunger Games, which was surprisingly good. I normally don't trust the public's taste in books, but there's always an exception. I also read Wool, by Hugh Howey, which was very well done and I'm going to *gasp!* buy the full collection.

So that's life folks. Still searching for a throttle body, still with the folks, still taking the bus to work. I need to get transportation/housing squared away and I can feel winter creeping closer which, eventually, will force my hand.

Memories & Keepsakes

 “At some point in life the world's beauty becomes enough. You don't need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough.”
- Toni Morrison

A very young (and toothy) me

This week (the whole month really) has flown by. Most of my time has been spent writing lesson plans and trying to keep my temper when nine little kids are flying off the handle. It's been fun, but really time consuming.

I got my Kindle Fire, which is well worth the $199 if you're looking for an e-reader that acts more like a mini laptop then a book. I love the thing and have been plowing through The Hunger Games (I held back jumping on the HG bandwagon until the wagon until everyone else got off. Now there's more room). The other great thing is that I can watch movies on it and, on those nights when the folks are hell bent on a PBS rerun, I can escape to something more stimulating.

The cellar halfway through cleaning

So much dust!

Today I took a break from my Kindle to clean out the cellar, which has been an ongoing battle for about as long as the house has been standing. Today I moved two six foot stacks of Rubbermaid containers only to find that they are almost all marked "memories". In opening them up I was amazed to find not just photographs but random snippets of the past like my old Girl Scout uniform and hand-prints from the first ten years of my life. Toys, report cards, art projects, ski passes; they were all neatly boxed up. While I appreciate the idea of priceless memories, it terrifies me that we've managed to hold onto years worth of stuff which, thanks to the passage of time, is now more difficult to part with. Most of it would be in the burn bin right now, but I think this needs to be a gradual process of taking things out, reminiscing, and then moving on.