i woke to an early morning dilemma... to whisper physics nonsense to my students all day or to entrust them to another for the day...knowing full well that it will result in a wasted day. (which is just trouble when it comes to block scheduling) this is the decision that must be made when a teacher wakes with no voice. knowing that it is far more work to write sub plans then to actually just go to school I decided to tough it out.
before school: intimate homework help...since all I can do is whisper. I tell one of my freshmen that my boyfriend said I was going to be the mute teacher at open house and she volunteered to come with me and translate everything I said to the parents and perspective students that would be there.
2nd hour freshman physics: my students actually listened to me during our lab discussion and helped EACHOTHER understand so I didnt have to explain the exact same thing 23 times.
4th hour senior physics: my seniors volunteered to not learn anything today or at the very least just copy down notes and have them explained to them the next class. I assured them if they were quiet we could tough it out and we actually had a productive day. (despite their giggles whenever I tried to talk)
between classes whenever I had a break: trips to the bathroom thanks to nick's wellness regime...drink constantly and flush the germs out of your system
all in all one of the best days we've had this year....maybe I should try more days of not talking.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
camping trip from hell
I sit now nursing the sore throat I have as a reminder from what was potentially the worst camping trip of my life. though it was still fun, as all camping trips are, and has resulted in many a good story....so it may not end up being the worst camping trip ever, depending on how you measure worst.
the weekend started off with me getting lost on my way to work...i'd decided to bike the 10 miles to work so that I could ditch work a little early, bike the train station, and then ride the train to the end of the line and bike the last five miles to the park. road riding successful...thinking to myself, why this isnt bad and is good for me...perhaps I should do this more often...like once or twice a week. I could totally handle that.
I arrive at the bike trail. whoo hoo on easy street from here. until the trail forked. and I chose the wrong fork. I emerged from the woods in a run down area and have to call my mom in near histarics describing the intersection and trying to figure out how to get to school. I get directions, ride like i've never ridden and start my day, a little out of breath but alive and at work on time.
I leave in the afternoon to meet nick...he apparently practically died on the way, carring like 60 pounds on his bike and riding 7 miles in 20 minutes. we wait for the train and get all ready to take our bikes. little did we know not all train cars have bike spots and we were not clued into the secret codes of the metra, and were separated for the hour ride...sitting with our bike 3 cars apart.
we get to the campground after a grueling uphill battle. and look for the camp office to check in. we wind back and forth and back and forth. nick finally gives up and sits with the stuff as i venture ahead only to find...camp office closed at 4. it's 5. where are we supposed to check in and pay??? oh well dont have to worry till 3:00 the next day.
we go back and set up camp. then head for some firewood and water. we come back. I start a fire and nick hangs our food in the tree. this takes some effort as the rope is determined to tangle itself in knots around the tree 10 feet over our heads. but done finally, fire made, dinner cooked and eaten and were ready for bed.
enter mr. ranger man who apparently hated us and life...and told us that we couldnt hang things from trees. so now it was only a matter of time before our food was consumed. we go to sleep hoping for the best. wake up once to scare the raccoons away. I wake up many more times including when all the dogs in the park decide to re-enact the twilight bark from 101 Dalmations. but eventually I manage to fall into a light sleep. until the growling started.
I wake nick...telling him I've never heard raccoons growl before. he tells me to go back to sleep.
we finally wake for good around 5:30. nick has to pee but doesnt want to venture out into scary land alone. so we take a trip, sneaking out the back of the tent. keeping our flashlights off till we are far from the site. and then walk the state park till the sun comes up.
we come back to our campsite and find our food gone or at least covered with teddy grahams and chocolate because the raccoons didnt even have the decency to take our food and go away and eat it and instead decided to eat it inside of our stuff.
dejected we clean our remaing food, salvageing oatmeal, rasins, pb, jelly, some brown sugar and cinnamin, and pancake mix, start a fire buring our remainign food, eating oatmeal and pack up camp. glad that we never found where we were supposed to check in so we wouldnt be out our $12 we we called it quits early and headed back home to the comfort of our bed with pillows and safe food.
the weekend started off with me getting lost on my way to work...i'd decided to bike the 10 miles to work so that I could ditch work a little early, bike the train station, and then ride the train to the end of the line and bike the last five miles to the park. road riding successful...thinking to myself, why this isnt bad and is good for me...perhaps I should do this more often...like once or twice a week. I could totally handle that.
I arrive at the bike trail. whoo hoo on easy street from here. until the trail forked. and I chose the wrong fork. I emerged from the woods in a run down area and have to call my mom in near histarics describing the intersection and trying to figure out how to get to school. I get directions, ride like i've never ridden and start my day, a little out of breath but alive and at work on time.I leave in the afternoon to meet nick...he apparently practically died on the way, carring like 60 pounds on his bike and riding 7 miles in 20 minutes. we wait for the train and get all ready to take our bikes. little did we know not all train cars have bike spots and we were not clued into the secret codes of the metra, and were separated for the hour ride...sitting with our bike 3 cars apart.
we get to the campground after a grueling uphill battle. and look for the camp office to check in. we wind back and forth and back and forth. nick finally gives up and sits with the stuff as i venture ahead only to find...camp office closed at 4. it's 5. where are we supposed to check in and pay??? oh well dont have to worry till 3:00 the next day.we go back and set up camp. then head for some firewood and water. we come back. I start a fire and nick hangs our food in the tree. this takes some effort as the rope is determined to tangle itself in knots around the tree 10 feet over our heads. but done finally, fire made, dinner cooked and eaten and were ready for bed.
enter mr. ranger man who apparently hated us and life...and told us that we couldnt hang things from trees. so now it was only a matter of time before our food was consumed. we go to sleep hoping for the best. wake up once to scare the raccoons away. I wake up many more times including when all the dogs in the park decide to re-enact the twilight bark from 101 Dalmations. but eventually I manage to fall into a light sleep. until the growling started.
I wake nick...telling him I've never heard raccoons growl before. he tells me to go back to sleep.
we finally wake for good around 5:30. nick has to pee but doesnt want to venture out into scary land alone. so we take a trip, sneaking out the back of the tent. keeping our flashlights off till we are far from the site. and then walk the state park till the sun comes up.
we come back to our campsite and find our food gone or at least covered with teddy grahams and chocolate because the raccoons didnt even have the decency to take our food and go away and eat it and instead decided to eat it inside of our stuff.
dejected we clean our remaing food, salvageing oatmeal, rasins, pb, jelly, some brown sugar and cinnamin, and pancake mix, start a fire buring our remainign food, eating oatmeal and pack up camp. glad that we never found where we were supposed to check in so we wouldnt be out our $12 we we called it quits early and headed back home to the comfort of our bed with pillows and safe food.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)