The Future

So... I made my decision.

She gave me two weeks to decide, but it only took one.

I called the lady yesterday and told her I would love to work at her school. She said I just made her day!

Sweet!

So. That's it. The school board meets on the 15th to vote and make it official, but she says they won't turn me down. A couple of weeks after that I'll get a contract and Bob's your uncle!

Here are some pictures from my trip. Keep in mind I only had a day and a half of sunshine the entire week.

The town:


The school:


A nearby lake:


Aspen, CO:






Driving along I-70:

The Wall & The Fair

So I went downtown to deposit my tax return (yay money) and I saw this big truck down by the lake and a bunch of guys setting up a wall. Apparently the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is in town for a few days. I'll definitely go down and check that out.

Also, the university is having a mini-career fair this afternoon. I stopped by at lunch to see what was what. Only the local school district is there, but there are lots of other businesses and law enforcement, etc. I talked to Career Services and thanked them for their help (they helped me find out about job fairs in other states). I also talked to the Alumni Office and found out what I need to do to keep receiving information about the university. Of course this also means frequent requests for money. LOL. Yeah like I've got any of that to spare.

Ah well.

Our first meeting for Upward Bound is this afternoon at 4pm. Excited to see some returning faces and about the new classes I'll be teaching for them. I'm still hunting for some Sci-fi and Fantasy short stories. If anyone has suggestions pleeeeease let me know?

I'm also working on my paper again. Gah. I feel like for large chunks of time that's ALL I've done. But then there's the two weeks when I couldn't even sit up, much less work on my paper. And of course the last week and a half I've been so focused on preparing for the job fair - and a good thing too! And the last couple of days was me freaking out about actually having a job offer so soon - and such an amazing offer at that.

So... back to working on my paper. I gave my advisor my 2nd chapter and she "loves it." That made me happy, to say the least. A big sigh of relief. I've finished the second chapter and now I'm working on the 3rd. I still need to go back and add to Ch. 1 and of course lots of editing. But I definitely have to get that sucker done! I need to hit the road Jack!

Oh and last night of bowling league this Sunday. We're having a little get-together afterwards to celebrate a fun-filled year of bowling. I'm SOOOO going to miss it. Though they do have a bowling alley just 15 minutes from my job offer... and they have league bowling... and one of the ladies at the school is on a league.

Did I mention the school has a 4-day school week? That definitely goes on the positives list.

Man.
For the past week or so my mind has been ALL OVER THE PLACE. In case you couldn't tell.

Talking

I've been talking to people. Lots of people.
Mostly faculty and staff in the Education Dept.

What they've had to say has been all support, good advice and lots of faith that I'll make the right decision.

I ran the numbers for the cost of living vs my income and included my student loans. I'll be able to pay all my bills, but won't have any extra money. Hey, it beats now where I don't even make enough to pay my basic bills. The only reason I've survived is because Mom and Dad have been helping me out.

So... I'm feeling pretty good about the offer and I've found out there's actually a lot to do in that area: horseback riding, snowmobiling, dog sledding, bowling, book club, summer job opportunities, three lakes, Rocky Mountain National Park, skiing (if I get over my fear), walking trails, and more.

I'm not stressing anymore. I'm taking some excellent advice and taking the time to enjoy the offer. It really is an amazing offer and I'm unbelievably luck to have it.
Yay me!

In other news... Last night I went to trivia and we got 2nd place! That was SO exciting. We missed out on first place by 1 point. My Texas History (and genealogy) actually came in handy last night when they asked who was elected governor of TN in 1827 and governor of Texas in 1859. That would by my 7th cousin, Mr. Sam Houston.

And my job offer has led to another offer... We have some family friends who own an alpaca ranch - the one we went to over Christmas break. Victory Ranch is in Mora, New Mexico. That's about a 6 or 7 hour drive from where my job offer is and the people at the ranch have given me an open invitation to come and stay with them anytime I'd like. I can't think of a more relaxing place to go. The people are wonderful, Victory Ranch is up in the mountains, and their alpacas are the sweetest animals. I think I'll have to take them up on that offer!

The Marilyn Monroe Flying Experience

So I got up at the ungodly hour of 2:45 am (after maybe 2 hours of sleep) to trek on out to the Denver International Airport. I checked my luggage, printed my boarding pass and headed to security where I was rudely "puffered". They have these new GE machines you walk into, the door closes and air blows at you from all directions - and I do mean ALL directions. The machine reads the air quality (presumably for explosives, etc) and after 20 seconds or so it sends you on your way.

So ladies, you REALLY might want to think twice about wearing a skirt while flying in the future... I'm a blue-jean girl all the way, though I did have to hold down my shirt.

*chuckle*

Ah... technology.

Anywho... Running on almost no sleep for about two weeks now. Can't really recommend that. I love sleep. Sleep is my friend.

At least Denver International Airport has FREE wi-fi. Woot!

I did want to mention the wildlife I've seen:
*Deer
*Elk
*Bunny
*Rocky Mountain Goat
*Big Horn Sheep
*Loads of Mocking Birds
*Fox

Interesting story about the fox... When I was in Greeley my hotel was right next to this little pond. I was about to enter my hotel at around 9pm when I heard this horrible screeching/caterwauling sound. I looked around and across the street I saw a fox cowering from a domestic cat. I don't know who the sound came from, but the cat proceeded to hiss and spit and claw at the fox, who promptly backed off a few feet. He then stopped, looked back at the still hissing cat as if to determine if it was really worth it. The cat continued to hiss and spit and call the fox all sorts of nasty names and after a minute or so the fox gave up and ran back across the street, towards the pond, to wallow in defeat. Goooo kitty cat!

Less exciting story about deer. I took this one little road out in the country. It had a 65 mph speed limit and people were zooming past me. There were all these signs warning about wildlife, even a big lighted one like they use to warn about construction. On a 10-15 mile stretch of that road I saw 26 dead deer by the side of the road, quite a few live ones, and the one that jumped right out in front of me. It was on a soft curve of the road, with a guard rail and at least a 20 ft drop on the other side. He just came sailing over as graceful as can be. I slammed on my breaks, but the guy coming from the other direction didn't miss a beat. Deer's lucky he was so fast.

Which leads me to another two-fold conclusion. Coloradans are fearless. I mean yeah sure they drive on mountain roads, through all types of weather conditions and with loads of wildlife, but they also do it at extreme speeds. They go at least 10 mph over the speed limit at all times, even when the speed limit is 75 mph. Sheesh. You're really lucky to find a road with a 60 mph speed limit in MN. I guess if you've always wanted to drive on the autobahn, but can't make it to Germany you can always come to Colorado and drive I-70. It's not as fast, but it'll make your heart beat faster.

So my flight takes off in about an hour, then I've got a two hour layover in Minn (where I have to PAY for wi-fi - Bah!), then home. I get to pick Sheba up at 6pm and I'm sure she'll tell me all about it. And I'm supposed to bowl tonight at 7pm. Then teach at 8am tomorrow morning.

*ponder*

I could have planned this better.

Maybe I'll skip bowling. But then again it is the next to last week of league bowl.

*sigh*

So tired.

Hopefully I'll be able to sleep on the plane.

LOL I just got scared to death by a sparrow who flew right by where I'm sitting... IN the airport.

Aspen in Aspen

Yup.

I'm blogging from Aspen, Colorado.

Spiffy.

A lot has happened this week and I'm exhausted, but I took the time to hop over the mountains to visit Aspen. It's been almost 11 years since I've been here. I've driven all over and walked through the downtown. I had lunch at La Cantina, very good Mexican food (with a British waitress). It really is a beautiful town and the streets are easy to navigate and wide (don't always find that in mountain towns) and it's clean and friendly.

Warning: Beware the skiers and snowboarders - they'll run you over in their rush to hit the slopes. They don't care that you're in a car and they're on foot.

So I guess you might want to know what happened at the job fair? Well I only went to the first day of the fair. My first interview went really well and lasted for almost an hour. Wonderful lady interviewed me, she'll be the superintendent next year. She wanted me to come back and talk to her in the afternoon so I agreed to do that.

I spent the rest of the morning wandering around the fair, dropping off resumes and shaking hands, getting my name out there. I had a second interview at 10am with a funny British man who's the principal of high school in another town. That interview was ok. It's always hard to read Englishmen. Ah well.

So that afternoon I went back to meet with the lady from school 1 and she offered me a job, teaching middle school (5-8) technology. I said I'd really like to come look at the town first and she said she'd really like me to see the school. So, I left that afternoon and drove down to Denver and over the mountains to a little town of 1500 people, almost two hours from any good-sized town. I got there just before dark, so I didn't see much.

Friday morning I got up and drove around the town a bit and then met with the lady at the school. Beautiful school, built in... 2006 I think she said. It's not very large, just 300 students, but a beautiful building. And the technology they have... Unbelievable. 300 students, 200 computers. Amazing. The school is up on a hill and has a 360 degree view of the mountains and every classroom has big windows with that view. That'd be tough to see every day, huh?

I won't go into all the details, but I will tell you she made it very, VERY hard to say no and she gave me two weeks to think it over. There are two reasons I'm hesitating:
1. It's very rural, 2 hours from good-sized towns.
2. It's middle school and I really was looking for elementary.

So... I'm making a positives and negatives list.

Negatives:
*Very rural
*Not my first choice in age groups

Positives:
*Amazing school facility
*Technology support team to manage computer labs
*Working closely with other teachers to integrate the curriculum with technology
*Beautiful area, completely surrounded by mountains
*Lots of wildlife - eagles, moose, deer, elk, mountain goats, rocky mountain sheep, mountain lions, bears...
*Wonderful future superintendent (who promised to find a wonderful principal - she's the current principal but has been promoted)
*Climate is similar to where I live now, but not as cold during the winter and not as hot during the summer, plus more snow!

Hmmm positives seems to be winning, eh? Well, I still need to look at the money vs cost of living, though I'd be making quite a bit it is extremely expensive to live there. I'm going to call the school district Monday morning to see what my actual paychecks will be and do some research about apartments and stuff. From what I saw in the newspaper they'll be double what I'm paying now.

Oofda.

So much to think about.
HUGE decision incoming.

Colorado Bound

Dropped off the kitty cat at the kennel and boy was she MAD.
Took time to go to trivia - we got 3rd place and COFFEE as a prize.
Packing my last odds and ends right now.

Tomorrow at 7am I fly out to COLORADO!

Hope I get *some* sleep tonight.

Sleep is gooood...

Too bad I've been denied.

Woke up at 3:30am and wasn't able to get back to sleep.

Stress is bad.

I know, right?

Three emails, two phone calls and one interview. That's what I've got so far.
Eeee!
And they're all from places I would love to live and teach.

All the schools that have contacted me want me to fill out online applications. The ones that have not set-up interviews want me to find them on the first day of the fair to set up interviews.

I'm really excited and really scared.

But at least school districts are interested in me... interested enough to respond to my letters of interest.

Yay!

*deep breath*

Happy Birthday Aya

We're the same age again :)
Went out to dinner with her and a few friends.

And... I got a call from a school in Colorado. We set up an interview for 8am the first day of the job fair.

*grin*

Cha-ching!

Get Fuzzy

Crack Kitty

This is kind of sad and more than a little funny with a dash of annoying for good measure.

When I was home during Christmas break I bought a big container of cat nip for Sheba. I've been giving her a pinch a day, every other day or so.

This morning she woke me up at 8:14 am (yes I was trying to sleep in) crying. She doesn't really "meow" she squawks and when she's upset she sounds a lot like an angry/upset baby. So that's what I woke up to *squawk* *Squawk* *SQUAWK!*

And so it went for over 2 hours. I checked and she had water, food and a clean cat box. I tried loving her and she didn't act like she was hurt just really upset and trying to tell me something REALLY important. I was flipping between mega-concerned for her well-being and annoyed because that is not a sound you want to hear for two hours straight.

Finally I called my dad to see if he had any suggestions. I told him the only thing I hadn't tried was giving her cat nip. He said to go for it - and I did.

And guess what? As soon as I said "Sheba, do you want some cat nip?" She started squawking double-time and looking between me and the cabinet I keep it in. Yeah. She's freaking smart when it comes to food and drugs.

So I gave her some and she stopped squawking. Thank goodness.

She spent the rest of the day sleeping, until about 15 minutes ago when I went into the kitchen to make some tea. Then she came running into the kitchen and started squawking again and looking at the cabinet.

I told her "No way! No kitty nip for you. You'll just have to face the cruel hard world of life without drugs."

/sigh

It's my fault. I've totally spoiled her. I'm a baaaad mommy.

One last road trip...

Yesterday Aya and I went to Duluth for a day of shopping and girly fun. We left at 9am and got back here a little after 9pm. 12 hours together. We haven't spent more than a couple of hours together for a LONG time.

It was a blast.

We had lunch at the Olive Garden *nummmm* and then we shopped til we dropped.

It was loads of fun and just the break I needed from working on my paper and job hunting. Today I'm back to the real world, but I feel rejuvenated!

Truckin' Away

I've been taking breaks in the evening, but for the most part I've been working on either job applications or my paper.

/pats self on back

I went to trivia again on Monday night, this time we were 5th out of 12. They had one round that was entirely date-oriented - the answer to every question was a date. We didn't do so hot. Ah well.

I'm getting ready to print off my letters of application and resumes and send them out. *keeps toes crossed* Right now I'm trying to get interviews set up for the Job Fair.

*edit: I did not send out "lob applications" - heh*

Ya know?

When you walk outside on a sunny day and think "Man this is t-shirt weather!" and then you drive by a bank sign that says it's 25 degrees... You know why they call it Brrrrrrmidji - because it's March 9th and it's the warmest day all year.

Ahhhh.... Gotta love it :)

So... The reason for my outing was to purchase job-hunting supplies:
*Resume paper
*Folders
*Mailing labels
*New briefcase/bag for interviews

I'm spending the rest of today writing letters of application, printing them and stuffing envelopes.

My Final Spring Break has officially begun.

Random thoughts...

Now that the snow has melted I can tell that the previous link (form the snowstorm in Texas) is to the University of North Texas. I left that page up on Thursday while I was editing a 72 page document for work. I saw three different snowball fights and a person walking around with an umbrella.

Yesterday evening I received a phone call from three of my former residents. They've come back here for a "Where it all began weekend" and wanted to see their old RA. So neat! We went out to dinner last night and they've invited me to go bowling with them tonight.

I spent all day yesterday looking up the school districts that are going to the CO Job Fair - trying to see where they're located and what types of teachers they're looking for.

It's snowing here and I've spent all day reading what's left of my articles for my paper. Two articles left.

And good news - I spoke to Concordia Language Villages about working there this summer. I wasn't sure what they'd say because my schedule is a bit wonky - I'm also teaching two classes for Upward Bound - but they're willing to work around the UB schedule and really want me back for a 3rd summer.

That's my summer-job situation sorted!
/huge sigh of relief

Yep. That's Texas.

So... Mom sent me this pic at 7:40am


And today the expected high is around 50 degrees - meaning the snow will melt.

And the low tonight is expected to be 21 degrees - meaning the run-off will freeze.

Yep.

That's Texas.

In other news... First day of Spring Break today! No work and no class (not that I'm taking any) until March 24th!

I celebrated by sleeping in a bit.
I need to go grocery shopping and then I'm locking myself in my apt and working on my paper.

I'll let myself out for bowling on Sunday night and lunch with Aya next Thursday. Otherwise... I'm all about blogs in classrooms.

As of 9:30pm

Denton has 8... EIGHT... inches of snow!
Ha!

Denton, Texas & The Blizzard of 2008!

I've had multiple calls from both of my parents and my dad sent me a picturemail of our dog (Kodi) in the snow.



And I found a live-video stream where I can watch the snowstorm myself. It's a big 'un. At one point they had flakes almost an inch in diameter and they've got almost 1 inch accumulation (from 12pm - 2:20pm). Schools are closed and my parents are considering closing the shop early and going home.

It's SUCH a HUGE deal when they get snow there. They never had a storm this big in all the years I lived there and Dad says this is only the second time in his life he's seen a storm like this (in Texas).


From THIS site... It looks like UNT campus, but hard to tell cuz I've never seen it WHITE!

Goin' to Colorado

*tee hee*

I've been trying to get back to Colorado for years. The last time I was there was 1997 (not counting a short stint in the Denver airport).

I'm going to an Educator Job Fair at the end of this month. It just happens to be in Greeley, CO.

*cheer*

I've got my tickets, rental car and I've registered for the fair.

Just need to book a hotel, pick out my interview clothes and brush-up on my interview skills. I haven't had a job interview since 1999.

Eeep!

Loralee is promoting...

Loralee is giving a shout-out to a friend of hers. This friend is making some "Saucy" aprons found HERE.

Loralee's got a contest going to help promote her friend - and someone will win a free apron. What a cool idea!

I like the pink one ;)

Art meets Yuck

Good grief.
I guess some people have more money than they know what to do with...
And who was the previous owner of that skull... I mean did they really donate it for something like THIS?
*cringe*

The only skull I want to see is THIS ONE!

"Take Damien Hirst, the British artist famous for his pickled shark and, more recently, a diamond-studded skull. (The skull attracted a lot of media attention and reportedly sold for $100 million -- but to a group of collectors that included the artist himself.) Hirst continues to be a collector's favorite -- so expect prices for his work to stay high. The artist "will remain fresh in buyer's minds," ArtTactic reported in May, "in a market where the attention span is getting increasingly shorter." Photo: The $100 million skull"



Found here: Hot or Hype

Subbing 11.0

I forgot to mention that I subbed at the HS last Friday - First time all semester.
I *almost* went to a pep rally, but by the time they called the cheerleaders, pep band, etc to the gym (early) - I only had 6 students left. They all went their own ways, so I went home.

Also, went to Monday Night Trivia for the second Monday in a row. Our team placed 4th both weeks (though we actually got a prize last week - but not this week). Good times.

Best sidekick?

Wired Magazine has listed their top 9 Sidekicks. I know who my top pick would be... I mean really...



Well... I might have picked Willow, but without Xander there to remind her about the "Yellow Crayon" I don't know if she's safe to have around...

Valid Point

Wheels keep a turnin'

Have you ever started thinking about something that starts out with a little seed and then grows rapidly? It's like... zooOOOOOMMMM!?

I do that about really important things. Life-changing things.

I've been trying to figure out my best course of action for looking at Washington/Oregon and the Rocky Mountains.

After staring at a U.S. map for a considerable length of time and using MapQuest to get a rough idea of travel times... This is what I've come up with:

1. If I wait until May to go exploring I will have three weeks (versus the 10 or 11 days at Spring Break).

2. If I'm going to check out Idaho I might as well hop over to the next two states (WA/OR) which are also on my list of places to see.

3. I HAVE to get my paper done. Spring break is a great time to work on it, without distractions.

So...

I think that kind of make my decision for me.

I'll wait until after graduation, when I have more time and I'm not worried about "The Paper" to take my trip.

Now the question is: Do I fly to Washington/Oregon (using my free ticket) and rent a car to drive around those two states and Idaho or do I make one BIG cross-country trip.

hmmm...

Decisions... decisions...

For your viewing pleasure

I made a short slide show of 30 of my favorite NZ pics.
(scroll down - on the right side of the screen)

And yes, I'm aware that I've gone post-crazy. That's what 2 weeks being virtually blog-free do to me.

The Little Hobbit That Could?

So I've been looking around the web to catch up on what I missed in the two weeks I was practically unconcious.

Apparently, the Tolkien Estate is suing New Line Cinema for unpaid monies for the 3 LoTR movies. This may put a halt to the two new Hobbit movies that were finally moving forward.

/sigh

Jonathan got some good pics of the lunar eclipse that I completely spaced on.

And... yet again I missed the Sled Dog Races because I didn't know when they are.

Bah!

Future thoughts

Now that my brain is back in working order and I'm back at work, I'm back to working on my paper again.

I'm also looking ahead to the future; looking for jobs and trying to decide which areas of the country to focus on.

I feel the mountains calling me again... the questions is: Do I move to the Rocky Mountains or all the way to Washington/Oregon/Northern California?

I really don't know.

I guess it all depends on where I can find a job.

Part of me is struggling with the thought of moving to the west coast. It seems SO much further away from Texas.

Let's see... From TX to here is a 22 hour drive and from Texas to WA is probably around 35 hours. I mean I fly home as it is...
*ponder*

On the other hand... as I said, it really depends on where I can find a job. Maybe I should go totally against my character and not worry about it - not go and explore these places - wait until I have a job offer - accept it - move there without ever having been there.

That WOULD be totally out of character.

/sigh

The 80th Oscars

I was at bowling so I recorded the Oscars and watched them later.
That's the way to do it. Trust me. You can fast forward to the good bits... which were few and far between.

Best part of the 2008 Oscars: Katherine Heigl's dress.
Wowsers. I think this might be my favorite look... ever. I mean seriously.


Source.

Back in the saddle again...

I walked out of my apartment and the first thing I saw was not 1 but 2 male bald eagles circling above me.

I found a parking space right away.

Since arriving to work I've been greeted with multiple exclamations of joy at my return.

It's good to be back.

Now... to work!

Among the living...

Or nearly.

I got over my 10-day flu thing and now I just need to kick this sinus infection.

I've had about all the snuffling, coughing, sneezing, aching and sleeping that I can handle.

Went to the doctor today and she prescribed an antibiotic. In a few days I expect to back to normal.

Pretty please?

Germs

Oh man.

Oh man-oh man-oh man.

I'm sooooo tired of this.

I'm still sick. Mom and Dad are still sick.

I think I'm starting to get better, but who knows.

I just keep sleeping and drinking and watching TV. That's all I can do. Just doing the dishes wears me out.

Only plus side to this - plenty of time to watch the first two seasons of Perfect Strangers and to re-watch all the extended LoTR (with extras).

And now... I sleep.

Ugh

Stuffy head, sneezing, coughing, aching, feverish, tired, miserable, blah...

That pretty much describes me.

Still sick. Been sick since Monday night.

Dad's been sick since then and Mom just called to tell me she caught whatever he has. So now we're all three sick. Keep in mind I live in MN and they're in TX.

A lady from work just called me to make sure I was still alive. That was nice of her. I said I was alive but miserable.

I've had more fun than this at the dentist office. At least they give you Nitrous Oxide.

Blogging

Blogging for the sake of blogging...

It's been a while.

I'm still here. Frozen to the bone, but still here.

Met with my Committee Chair last Thursday re: my Proposal and she had a few edits for me and my citations needed some work. Worked on those Thursday afternoon and Friday (after purchasing a $30 APA style guide).

Sending my proposal around today for signatures. Hope to have it turned in to the Graduate Office by Friday.

My DVD player finally died. Like-really-for-real-dead. It had been threatening for at least a year. Saturday morning I went to my most favorite store ever - Target - and bought a new dvd/home theater system. Nothing too fancy, but it has a dock for my iPod so I'm pretty much thrilled! Then I spent most of Saturday afternoon moving my furniture around (so I could place the speakers in the right places) and hooking up the system. Totally worth it.

I'm pretty sure I'm getting a cold = sucky. Last time I was sick was last Sept. which means I made it through all the holidays and two trips home without getting sick = amazing.

Drinking lots of water and trying to keep my germs to myself.

By the way... If you're curious as to when/if your favorite TV shows are returning, here's a site to keep you in-the-know.

I Like it.

Credit goes to Amber - Rafting the Universe for this little gem.

I like it.

Candidate Blind Taste Test

Not freaking out.

I am not freaking out.

I'm not freaking out that the Grad Office can't guarantee I'll be able to graduate this Spring - because I'm not done with my proposal.

And I'm certainly not freaking out about what will happen with summer jobs, a teaching job this fall, finishing my paper, getting licensed in a new state, moving expenses, or moving away from my friends and a place I've called home for 7 years.

Nope.

Not freaking out.

Cool as a cucumber

Superbowl Ads

Granted... I didn't get to see all of the ads because of bowling, but I was rather disappointed.

One that did make me stop in the middle of bowling to go "Oooo Ahhhh" and "Oooof" was the Coca Cola one.

And the Audi one and the Fedex one made me LOL.

I'm reading...

The Lightning Thief
by Rick Riordan



And so far.... It's freaking genius.

The Sixth Sense

Sheba on Drugs

Are you writing a paper for your Masters degree?
Cramming for a test?
Stressed about work or life in general?
Just need a break?

Well I've got the perfect stress-breaker for you.

Ingredients:

One naturally silly cat.


One ginormous container of cat nip.


Directions:

1. Give cat a liberal pinch of cat nip.

2. Sit back and enjoy.



Warning: Use care, especially during dry times of the year. Static electricity may develop. Cat fur may take on an unsightly appearance, similar to mange. Cat may snap-crackle-and-pop while walking around. You may receive a slight shock if the cat rubs against you.

Dangerous wind chills

The public schools have all closed today due to "dangerous wind chills."

The University? Business as usual. Never mind that it's -22 actual temp and -42 wind chill. Bah...

Not that I'm surprised. One time the wind chill was -60 and there were warnings not to go outside with skin exposed because frostbite could occur in seconds. The University didn't bother to close then either. Mind you, I still lived on campus then. Now I actually have to warm up my car, drive to school, find a parking spot, and walk to school.

It just occurred to me...

Maybe you don't know what I'm writing my paper on...

My question is: "How are teachers using blogs in their classrooms?"

Nifty, huh?
Two of my favorite things; teaching and blogs.

I sent out a questionnaire to 26 teachers with various types of school-related blogs. I'll send more if I can find more teacher/class/school blogs. If you know of any and would like to share, I'd love you forever :)

I'm also reading journal articles and books. There doesn't seem to be a lot out there about this topic and most of what is out there has been published very recently (last 6 months).

All about the paper...

Ok... so this bit isn't about the paper...

It was around -30 this morning. Right now it's -13 (actual temperature) with a wind chill of -41. WAY too cold for me. Yes, that's right. Such a thing as "Too cold for Aspen" does exist... it starts around -20.

This bit isn't about the paper either, but it is very important...
One of my friends who had a baby in early December stopped by my office today with baby in tow. Cuteness! First time I've seen him.

Now... to the paper...
I've been working diligently on my paper. I really have. Go me!
/pats self on back

I changed advisers for my Research Paper. My previous adviser is retiring at the end of this semester and wanted all her advisees to defend their papers by April 15th. I'm not sure if I will be done by then (my goal is April 30th) and I'm afraid I'd rush too much and be unhappy with my results. Besides, she has something like 50 advisees, 27 of who are doing graduate papers. We both agreed it would be best - for both of us.

My new adviser is actually my old (Undergrad) adviser, so I know we work well together. Plus, she found a sample proposal for me to look at.

My next paper-related goal is to have my adviser look at my proposal early next week. It needs to be approved and I need to get all of my committee members to sign my "Form 3" - saying my proposal is ok and that they WILL be on my committee.

Once that is done the Graduate Office can continue processing my request for graduation.

Eeeee!

I still need to do a Written Exam, but I'm not even thinking about that until after my Research Paper is done. I've GOT to get the dreaded paper over and done with!

Most importantly, I feel good about my paper. I'm actually working on it - constantly and I'm getting stuff done. I know I will finish it. I couldn't have said that 2 weeks ago.

The Hobbit

Ok... so I know I'm probably the last person on earth to know this, but apparently Peter Jackson and New Line have put aside their differences and come to an agreement. They'll be starting work on The Hobbit soon. I mean really... who else could do it? It has to be the Kiwi!

B-b-b-bowling!

I've never claimed to be a great bowler. Actually, I'm pretty poor. My average is 96 - and that's after 3 years of being on a league. One night last year, I bowled a Turkey (three strikes in a row) and almost passed out. My highest score was 142 and I did a happy dance.

So... Imagine my utter shock when tonight... out of nowhere... my first game I bowled a 4-Bagger (four strikes in a row) and my final score was 195.

*tee-hee*

Uhm... yeah... I'm flying high :)

One for the parents...

From Two Lumps.

Graduation... again!

I just turned in my graduation petition and paid my $10.

This will be my 3rd graduation...
1. High School
2. Bachelor of Science in Education
3. Master of Science in Education
4. .... Ph D? ....

Gah! I've been in school forever! What will it be like to be on the other side of the fence full-time?

I'm already looking for jobs and plan on attending the Education Job Fair in April. I've got a bit of teaching experience:

Student Teaching
1 year subbing
1 summer Upward Bound
Multiple workshops for the Ed Dept
1 workshop for Share the Future
5 time Teaching Assistant
And my current job, by its very nature, requires me to teach students and professors new computer skills.

Somebody out there is going to want me.

Right?

I mean throw in my semester abroad, RA and Hall Council experiences, 2 summers working for Concordia Language Villages, my sense of humor, and love of teaching and learning... I'm a real catch ;)

Plus, I'm willing to relocate.

Now, back to that paper.

Heath Ledger

I can't even tell you how sad this makes me.

5 1/2 Weeks

Wowsers.

I can't believe I just spent 5.5 weeks in Texas.

Got back to Minnesota on Saturday and was greeted with -20 degree weather. Even when I've been living here and have been acclimated (as acclimated as you can get to that cold of weather) I find that a bit too cold. To go from 40-79 degree weather to -20 = BRRRRRRRRRR!

Had a great trip home, filled with family, friends and fun. I was sorry to leave, but eager to return to my life up here. It's and odd contradiction... but I feel what I feel.

Sheba (kitty) was SO happy to get back to HER home (my apt). She had a bad attitude for most of the time we were in Texas. As soon as I let her out of her carrier (in the apt) she was running around, rubbing her face against everything and squawking happily. I guess it didn't smell like her anymore. She's been super-snuggly and purrs constantly. What can I Say? She's Adorable.

I've got to get moving on my paper. I brought everything to Texas with me, planning on working 4 hours a day, but my time was filled with other pursuits. So now I must live and breath my paper.

Taos 2008

Wonderful trip!

Finally got to meet the people at the Alpaca ranch (friends of my parents). I took lots of pictures of Alpacas (they have around 170). They're so sweet and gentle (totally opposite of llamas and camels). They rarely spit and they're so much smaller. They have a few babies which are ADORABLE. I got to help out on Sunday morning; feeding the alpacas, driving the hay truck, holding one while it got a shot, leading a blind one to its food and water.





This one is named Mr. T, because of the white markings on his face.


They also have 6 Great Pyrenees to protect their alpacas from coyotes and wolves. You can hear them barking in the night, but it's actually kind of soothing. Don't ask me which one this is, they all kind of look the same = BIG and WHITE. You can't go anywhere on their property without having at least one of them following you.


They have about 6 or 7 horses and a pony, but I didn't get pictures of them.

And of course I have to have at least one mountain picture...


The lady we stayed with had the cutest cat. His ear has a bit missing and one fang is longer than the other, but such a character. LOVABLE! He slept on the hide-a-bed with me and whenever I was in the house he was snuggled up to me. His name is Brutus.


I had a blast and I didn't want to leave. I hope I can go back and visit them soon.

Also went to several stores in Taos, including 2 pottery stores. My dad bought me a piece from a local artist (who we got to talk to).

Away

Happy Birthday Dad!

We're heading to New Mexico tomorrow morning.

Tonight, I mourn the loss of Sir Edmund Hillary, a remarkable (and humorous) man.

When I was in Dunedin (NZ) I visited the Otago museum and saw their Everest/Hillary exhibit. Looking at the photographs, reading about their trip, and then seeing the equipment with which they made their climb was... awe-inspiring. They had an area where you could write a postcard to Hillary and they actually sent them to him... I think it was mainly for the kids, but since I'm just a big kid I wrote one.

2008

Party went really well. Quite a few people showed up (customer/friends of my parents).

Been able to see most of my family and friends.

On New Years Day, Dad and I went up to Oklahoma to Arbuckle Wilderness. Mom had to work :( It's a 7 mile drive through the park and the animals are RIGHT THERE, in your face. They do have some of the more dangerous ones (tigers and wolves) in cages. You can buy cups of food to feed them and a camel got up-close-and-personal with me. I was trying to feed him out of my right hand, but he saw the cup I had in my left hand and lunged for it. Dad was trying to help by rolling up my window, but seeing a camel's head is bigger than it's neck, he actually trapped the thing in the car with us and it was like.... 6 inches from my face. LOL. I almost climbed in the back seat!

Dad got some good pics:
White Bengal Tiger


Tanish/white Buffalo


Also hung out with Jer a couple of times. Almost more than I do when we're in MN. Odd.

Went down to East Texas yesterday to see Mary K. Three and a half hours down, four hours there, and three and a half hours back. Long day, but totally worth it.

Oh and our very own Bengal has been keeping me entertained. She loves the little laser Dad got for her. Watch how she walks when she's coming out of the room. Sometimes she looks like a BIG cat.

Friends...

Curiosity = Cat

I was cleaning the kitchen just now and had left the dishwasher door open and bottom drawer out. I heard a *clank* behind me and turned around find Serabi IN the dishwasher, sniffing around.

Nothing is safe with this cat around.

Holidays...

Spent Christmas Eve with Dad's family. Saw my aunt and uncle and ALL my cousins = AWESOMENESS! Very rare. My oldest second cousin is graduating high school this year and is about 4 inches taller than me *beam/boggle*. The youngest is 17 months.

Spent Christmas Day with Mom's family (two aunts and an uncle). Much quieter day, but loved it just as much.

Went down yesterday to be with aunt and uncle and my Alabama cousins. Also saw my recently-returned Nevada cousins (they just moved back to Texas). Spent an hour working on my uncle's computer, played Halo 3 with one of my 2nd cousins, ate more food than I thought humanly possible, played my first-ever game of Trouble (my 5 and 7 year old second cousins taught me), visited and had a blast.

Today I took two angry cats to the vet. Serabi is SO freaking loud - it's actually painful to my ears to be cooped up in a car with her because she caterwauls non-stop. She had a scratch on her eye from one of the other cats and we'd been treating her 3 times a day with eye drops. She got a clean check-up today though, so no more drops! And I took my Sheba in for a check-up and she also got a clean bill of health *cheer*.

Getting ready for the BIG party.

And as for that paper... uhm... well... *cough*
*sigh*

But family and fun! Yay!?

Up-to-date

Let's see... Made several calls to the tv/internet company, waited around yesterday for the plumber to come replace our broken garbage disposal, and today they came back to replace the water heater that died last night. I spent all day today working outside; blowing leaves around the backyard, cleaning out the junk, sorting through things in the garage, cleaning up the driveway, and emptying out the "green room" (like a sun room).

Went bowling tonight with my dad. We both had a lot of fun. I beat him in the first game by 19 pins and he beat me in the second game by 49 pins. Not bad seeing as he hadn't bowled in about 30 years. I would have gone for a tie-breaker but I was exbausted after my cleaning spree.

I have managed to get a little work done on my paper, but not nearly enough.

Need to finish preparing for lunch on Christmas day - at our house. I think I'm heading to my aunt and uncle's on Christmas Eve.

Ugh. Too much effort to keep going on my iPod Touch.
More later.
Happy Holidays and safe travels.

Serabi

I have started researching for my Research Paper. Oofda. I hope to get a sizable chunk of it done before I go home.

Making plans for Christmas dinner (at our house this year) and for the Holiday party my parents are having on the 29th.

Oh... and as promised, a couple of pictures of Serabi. She's hardly ever in one place for very long and when she is, it's because she's sleeping. I'll try to get some better pics and a video before I leave.

Texas... again

Back home for the Holidays.

Nice and cool here. It's 38 degrees and feels like 28. Everyone here is freezing and I'm loving it. There's no snow, but otherwise it's not so bad. Beats last year when it was in the 90's. Ugh!

Brought Sheba home with me and she hasn't left my bedroom since we arrived. She doesn't want anything to do with the other two cats, though she does sniff the dog when he comes in my room. I wonder what she thinks about being drug back and forth between Minnesota and Texas. She does seem less traumatized by flying with me than she was when I "abandoned" her over Thanksgiving.

I'll post some pics (and maybe video) of the new kitty next time I blog. Promise :)
She's.... freaky... wild... cute... lovable... S T R A N G E...
You can follow her down the hall and into a room and when you look in the room she's nowhere to be found. Then you turn around and she's standing right behind you. And you have NO freaking clue how she got there. It's CREEPY... almost like she can teleport. LOL. Seriously.

When she looks straight at you she kind of cocks her head to one side. That combined with her the shape of her face and here eyes... well she looks like a wild animal. But she's super-duper lovable and sweet as can be.

She's always in motion; prowling, exploring, climbing behind things, and rubbing against you, the carpet, the furniture...

Ceramics

I made a total of 57 pieces. I showed my first two bowls and I'm saving some for presents for Mom and Dad - will post pics of them afterwards.

Below are a bunch of pictures of my stuff... I tried to lump them together in a way that makes sense... at least it makes sense to me!

Raku pots. It's a different style of firing.




Plates.


Less-than-gorgeous plates.



Bowls.





Lidded forms.


Pinch pots - hand made by pinching (not wheel thrown).



Cylindrical forms.



Mugs.



Two tiny bowls. People teased me saying I made a Saki bowl and a shot glass. *shrug*


A bottle and pitcher forms.


A four-piece set of bottle/bowls.


Slam pots. Slabs of clay thrown on different surfaces, hollowed out and in one case carved out. The rectangular one I carved out NZ symbols and it was Soda fired.



And my slab constructed, stylized fish hook. It's like my necklace I got in NZ. It was 23.5" high I first assembled it. The final size is just shy of 21".

Christmas Time

Borrowed this from Amber.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I usually use bags, but for Christmas I go Old School = Wrapping paper.
2. Tree--Real or Artificial? When I was growing up we always had a real tree. Then I developed allergies to them - itchy skin. They always made Mom sneeze, so we went artificial.
3. When do you put the Christmas tree up? My little tree in my apt went up Nov. 18th and I put my parents tree up as soon as I go home. This year was the day after Thanksgiving.
4. When do you take the tree down? When my Mom tells me I have to :(
5. Like egg nog? Yuck... no thank you.
6. Do you have a nativity scene? Nope.
7. Favorite gift received as a child? Oh man... That's an impossible question. I remember the feeling when I got my electronic piano/keyboard and a stable for My Little Ponies.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My parents. They want something - they buy it.
9. Easiest person to buy for? Aya.
10. Worst Christmas present? Can't think of any.
11. Mail or email a Christmas Card? In person or mail. Don't send a lot of cards.
12. Favorite Christmas movie? White Christmas.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? *cough* I'm a last-minute shopper.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No.
15. Favorite food to eat on Christmas? Mom's mashed potatoes.
16. Clear or colored tree lights? Clear.
17. Favorite Christmas Songs? "White Christmas"
18. Travel during Christmas or Stay home? Travel. I live in MN and my family lives in TX. I go to them.
19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Wow... Yeah I can.
20. Angel or Star on Tree top? Angel.
21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve.

Last Class

I had my last class today... last class with Dr. Morgan and last class at BSU.

Next semester I'm writing my Research Paper and doing my Written Exam. No classes.

A little annoyed...

Yeah...

So I paid my December rent and left a post-dated check for January's rent that they were going to hold (like they did last year). My rental agency deposited both checks at the same time. This resulted in an overdraft from my credit card (what with me being broke and all). I've been dealing with this for a week and the end result is this: The bank didn't charge me an overdraft fee bc I have overdraft protection. The rental agency couldn't get the check returned bc it didn't "bounce." So I'm left paying interest on this amount for one month - until I have money to pay it off. Not a horrible result, but I'm annoyed non-the-less.

It can all be summed up in one word: Hassle.

Oh for cute!

Chewy!

Found it at Think Geek.com

If only I were say... nine years old again :)

New Family Member

So my parents just called me.
My Mom was giddy.
They had me on speaker phone because they "had some news they wanted to tell me together."

This is extremely rare and made me go... "Uhhhh.... ok."

I thought maybe they'd decided to adopt the Great Pyrenees puppy they've been helping to watch. Some friends of theirs found it and they're trying to turn it over to the GP rescue, but they have to hold it for 30 days. These friends already have two huge dogs, so the GP has been spending it's days in my parent's back yard.

I was wrong.

Dad - "We got a Bengal!"

Me - "You got a WHAT?" - I thought he was joking... that they got another cat, maybe a bigg-ish one.

I was half right...

They went to the place where they got Luxor (who passed away this past summer) and when they walked in the owner said, "I've got your cat in the back." They were like, "Yeah. Right."

She brought out a Bengal Cat and apparently it was love at first sight.

Her name is Sarabi (interestingly... that's the name of Simba's mother in the Lion King) and she weighs about 15 lbs.

She's still in quarantine, so they can't pick her up until tomorrow... I get home Thursday so I'll meet her soon.

A freaking tiger cat...

*boggle*

A Good Visit

Went to see Sharon today. I haven't seen her since May. Been missing her quite a bit. She's had one heck of a week, so I think she enjoyed our visit even more. Hopefully we'll be able to get together again before another 7 months go by!

Have you ever...

Have you ever been walking along when you heard something that made you stop in your tracks, blink, shake your head, stifle a giggle and take a deep breath before moving on?

How about two guys walking out of the Men's Room as one says to the other, "I’ve had them all my life and you know what, they didn’t get any bigger as I got older."

You know you live in Nrthn. MN when...

When they bring in dump trucks to remove the snow from parking lots.

True story: I was looking around at the huge piles of snow (smiling inwardly) and contemplating a post about dump trucks and snow... when a dump truck with snow remnants drove right by me.

Then I listened to my voice mail with my Mom was complaining about 79 degrees today, 80 degrees tomorrow and would I please bring some snow home to them?

Sparks & Fire

Did some more Raku last night and stopped by to see how it turned out this morning... Interesting...

Had to grind down two of my high-fire pieces. First time I've had to do that, but the glazes ran a bit and the pieces stuck to the kiln shelf. When this happens they have to pry it off the shelf - sometimes taking a bit of the shelf with it. Luckily you can grind it off.

I was getting ready to use the grinder and the Professor asked me if I'd used that grinder before and I said, "I've used 'A' grinder before." And he said, "Good."
I (practically) grew up in a locksmith shop... Key machines and grinders are like home to me.

iPod Touch

Trying something new. Got an iPod as a gift, but seeing as I already have one... I traded it in for an iPod Touch. Pretty nifty. Takes a bit longer to type, but will come in handy when I'm at home for Christmas.