Where the Bronx is up, and the Battery's down...

Hi everyone!

I'm just dropping in to let you all know that I'M BACK from my long weekend in New York City, and to promise you all that I will post a longer blog tomorrow about the entire trip. Cross my heart... The one that loves NYC!

Sorry to leave you hanging, but I'm darn beat right now. God bless my healthy strong legs and feet for holding up all weekend as we clocked miles around Manhattan. I feel so lucky to have been able to visit this city twice!

To make up for a delay in the post, here is a pic to tide you over...



More tomorrow!

... or Bust!

Have a few spare moments (how did that happen?) so I thought I'd drum up a new post...

The last days of the semester are winding down. Goodness knows it's no surprise that I'm looking forward to this! If anything, I just need fresh faces and a new start. And a countdown to summer! As long as it has felt, it's a little awesome to realize that the year is half-over.

I've got an EOC (end of course) exam that I am administering next week for one of my classes. This is like those provincial exams that grade 12 students take in Canada. So formal! I went to a training session last week, and I've got an actual manual of things that should be done, shouldn't be done, what I have to say, and in what order I'm allowed to say it. "I will now pass out the pencils... Who doesn't have a pencil?" Gah! Here's hoping the entire exam week goes by without too much chaos and calamity.

My students -- too many of them to be impressed -- have a real liassez-faire attitude when it comes to their performance. They seem too confident that they'll be saved in the end. If their overall average is above an 85, then are exempt from the exam unless they have too many absences in my class. (I don't agree with this policy, but I can't change it.) Some are delusional to think that they can pull their grade up to this point before Friday, and their efforts do not reflect this desire. Tisk! The magic genie went back in his lamp!

To relax myself (or not!) and celebrate the half-way point, Ibeth and I have planned a quick trip to New York City for this weekend. Monday is a holiday (Martin Luther King Day), and we're catching a flight out on Friday evening. I'm really looking forward to it... I've always wanted to go back, but now I have a great excuse because Ibeth has never been! We're even meeting my good friend Steph for the day on Saturday. That is, if we can find her in the crowded Manhattan streets!

So in the next couple of days, I'll be juggling excitement and frustration as I somehow try to figure out a way to get time to speed up, my students to value their education, and everything I need for the weekend into a small carry-on bag! I'll be on a plane 48 hours from right now! :o)

Through the Looking Glass....

When I was younger, I struggled a lot with low self-esteem. If you knew me back then, I suppose it wasn't a big secret. I realize that all kids... adolescents... fight insecurity and the right to an identity. It doesn't matter if you're from a prairie city, or grew up on a farm, or in a booming metropolis... If you're from the North, or the South... East or West. Awkward teenagers run rampant around the world.

It has only been in the last ten years or so that I've really felt secure with who I am. It wasn't easy, but I really felt like I was OKAY. I took that strength and made the decision to test it out by taking a big leap and making a big move to an area I'd never visited, to work in a building that I'd never stepped foot in, and to face people that I'd never met before.

It hasn't taken very long for me to lose some of the confidence I brought with me. Or maybe I didn't have it to begin with. These last five months have really opened my eyes to how scary, frustrating and disappointing the world is when you don't have your security blanket to wrap around you.

I don't know what tomorrow brings -- and I hate not knowing. The personal and professional struggles are wearing me out, and sometimes I wonder if the sacrifices that I made to try something new were worth it. I've got some decisions to make in the next couple of months as I try to figure out if a second year down here is in the cards for me. I would never say that I regret any of the choices that I've made -- I think I needed all of this to make me truly realize that the awkward, shy and sensitive girl will always lurk somewhere inside, and help me appreciate the things that I once thought I "didn't need".

Find something good about each day you live. It'll help make time pass a little faster.

Let it snow... or not.

So, pretty much the whole continent has plunged into some sort of deep freeze, this region included. I mean, it's colder than normal... apparently... How am I supposed to know? Anyways...

They'd been predicting snow for Thursday night - Friday morning all week... nothing much (about an inch), but enough to get some excitement going. And so the school district announced on Thursday afternoon that they'd be imposing a 2-hour delayed start to school on Friday. Yay! A delayed start meant I could get at least an hour more of sleep!

I'd fallen asleep on the sofa, and dragged myself up to bed around 10:30... only to come back downstairs an hour later because the couch was comfier than my bed... Tried to silence the voices in my head that were telling me "don't over sleep!" and "the kids will be bonkers tomorrow because of all the snow!"... I heard the rain start and thought "well, this is it!"... I drifted in and out of sleep for several hours, all bundled in my comforter...

At 6:30 AM, I rubbed my eyes and turned on the TV to check in on the "storm"... and was greeted by a pair of perky newscasters who were laughing and saying "where's the snow?" Yup. NO SNOW. Just rain, which had since drifted north, and a rather warm start to the morning, when compared to the rest of the week.

So we had a lie-in, no snow... a shorter school day... all on a Friday. Can this happen every week? It was, for me... Quite amusing.

Just thought I'd share.

Don't mind me...

A couple of you might be interested in this...



:o)

On the plus side... it is a little warmer...

Finally arrived back at my place last night just a little after 1 am. I stopped at Walmart to pick up some groceries (open 24 hours) because I didn't want to have to go back to reality in the morning. I didn't sleep very well after that.

I think that leaving yesterday was harder to do than in August. I can't really explain why. I suppose it was because it felt so nice to be surrounded with people I love and enjoy after not having that for so long. The old saying "You don't know what you've got, till it's gone" has never felt more true for me. Thanks to those of you who helped make my visit so special. I know where my HOME is. :o)

On my flight from Minneapolis to Raleigh I sat next to a soldier from Fort Bragg. He was returning from Christmas with his family and was preparing for his next deployment to Afghanistan. It was really interesting to talk to him. We didn't talk a lot about the war because we were sitting around kids, but he did tell me a few stories that were quite heroic. The sacrifices these men and women make for their country! He says he'll be out east for most of the year, so I'm sending an extra safe new year's wish for him.

I'm probably going to spend most of today trying to deny the fact that I have to return to work tomorrow. It will be hard going back into that crowd tomorrow as I remember what I miss most about where I was just a day ago. There are a few things to look forward to in the coming weeks though, so I'm trying to make that be my motivation to push ahead.

Enjoy your week everyone!

A New Year has begun...

Welcome to 2010 everyone!!

I hope you all enjoyed the last few days of 2009 and were able to ring in the new year the way you wanted! I spent the evening the same way I have for the last several years... with my best friends! We went to dinner and took in a comedy show. Fun!

I'm going back to NC tomorrow. I'm heartbroken to be leaving again... These past 10 days have been awesome and it makes me miss home even more! I know that's not the way to look at it, but it's going to be very hard to get on that plane in a little over 24 hours.

But! Until then I plan to enjoy the remaining hours in the frigid Great White North. Let's have a relaxing day at home! It's too cold to go outside anyway. We'll eat some yummy Ukranian food, watch TV and play Wii... Sounds great.

To those of you I managed to see over the last week or so... Thanks for making the effort and being so happy to see me! And to those who I didn't get to see... I guess the loss belongs to both of us! Don't worry... I'll be back in June and we'll have lots of time to catch up then.

Here's to a delightful 2010 for everyone! Happy New Year!