With the more frequent calls from my CBE boyfriend also comes more inevitable hell. Boy, did I get some today. I taught what could only have been the proverbial devil's spawn. Or maybe the class was a grooming centre for future sociopaths. I've never seen kids so wild before, they had all my junior high experience beat by a mile.
I was woken up by my phone (I am now mechanically trained to answer calls using my PIN number, this may disrupt calls of a social nature) and accepted the job upon hearing it was for Grades 1/2. I'd subbed for this grade before and it had been fine. So, I thought, how bad could this be? Famous last words.
I should've known it was a bad omen to be held up for 20 minutes on Crowchild and 24th where an accident was clogging up the road. I arrived a little late but the kids were still entering the school so it wasn't that bad. I looked over the lesson plan left by the teacher and figured it would be ok. I took attendance, got the calendar done and then realized, none of the kids were listening to a word I was saying. They were doing pretty much anything but. Talking, hitting/slapping/pinching each other, writing on each others' desks, pouring water on each others' desks, you name it, they did it! And the tattle-taleing!! I had at least 5 kids crying throughout the day for whatever slights. Library time was a fiasco of kids running around, screaming and chasing each other. I was ready to quit and walk out of the school halfway through the morning.
During recess I started to de-numb and wondered if I was making a huge mistake by thinking I could be a teacher if I couldn't get a handle over 6 and 7 year olds. They couldn't possibly be that bad, it must be me. I was told that it wasn't me, what I was going through was common to most teachers in the school. During an assembly rehearsal I discovered that the other two Grade 1/2 classes were every bit as wild as mine. Insanity I tell you, I've NEVER had a class like that before, not in Korea, not in China, nowhere. By the end of the day I felt like something the cat dragged in and was thoroughly relieved to see the kids go home where they could raise hell with their families instead of me. Oi.
So now, I'll go to bed not quite so fervently hoping that my CBE boyfriend calls in the morning. Catch you all later.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Sunday, January 23, 2005
My CBE Boyfriend
So, contrary to what I just wrote yesterday I do have a boyfriend in town. It is the Calgary Board of Education (CBE). Like I said before he's not that nice. He doesn't call when I want him to and there isn't any real way I can reach him. I have to go through his many secretaries and they don't give me the answers I want. He calls other girls (and guys) much to my dismay. Doesn't CBE know he's supposed to be faithful to me and me only? I would leave him but I need what he can give me. I yearn to hear his electronically recorded voice telling me what school to go to and at what time. It's so disappointing that he doesn't understand my needs. *sob sob*
Did I mention that I'm a huge nerd? *sigh* Here comes another week.
Did I mention that I'm a huge nerd? *sigh* Here comes another week.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
The agony (there is no ecstasy) of long distance
Today I woke up at around 9, realized I hadn't been called into work and fell asleep again. I got up at 10 for good, a little later than usual. Every morning that I wake up I kind of have to reconcile myself to the fact that my boyfriend is living a very very far distance from me in Korea. This isn't fun. To all of you who have made it through long distance I applaud you because there were/are a lot of times when I melodramatically wonder if I can make it (and it's only 3 freakin' months!). We've managed 6 weeks so far, with about 5 left to go. *groan* To me, this is sort of like being broken up but still talking to and emailing each other.
Everyone told me that long distance was good for us. It would force us to communicate via different mediums than we otherwise would've if still within walking distance of each other. They told me if we couldn't make it through a mere 3 months we probably shouldn't be together. While this is true, I would much rather be together than apart. Of course, what couple wouldn't? The distance forces one to really think about the relationship, what's good, what's bad and what do I really want? Trust me, I've gone through this ad nauseum. I'm a girl and also a person with an analytical nature so it's my job to be obsessive. I also have to reconcile myself to the fact that he and I are living pretty separate lives right now and that thought doesn't make me happy. Sure we talk and email but with that being as limiting as it is, can he really know what my life is like here and vice versa? I think all people with significant others want to be a part of the experience, and not just hear about it.
With all that said, there is an end in sight now, a lot closer than it was when I arrived home on December 11th. It'll be nice when February is here because...well it'll be that much closer to March. So I'll end off here and update you on my life as it goes along.
Everyone told me that long distance was good for us. It would force us to communicate via different mediums than we otherwise would've if still within walking distance of each other. They told me if we couldn't make it through a mere 3 months we probably shouldn't be together. While this is true, I would much rather be together than apart. Of course, what couple wouldn't? The distance forces one to really think about the relationship, what's good, what's bad and what do I really want? Trust me, I've gone through this ad nauseum. I'm a girl and also a person with an analytical nature so it's my job to be obsessive. I also have to reconcile myself to the fact that he and I are living pretty separate lives right now and that thought doesn't make me happy. Sure we talk and email but with that being as limiting as it is, can he really know what my life is like here and vice versa? I think all people with significant others want to be a part of the experience, and not just hear about it.
With all that said, there is an end in sight now, a lot closer than it was when I arrived home on December 11th. It'll be nice when February is here because...well it'll be that much closer to March. So I'll end off here and update you on my life as it goes along.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Calgary Winters...and CARS
Hi all, how goes things? I'm updating my blog yet again. I've just come back from my ballet class where I sweat and used rusty aching muscles, trying to force them back into the suppleness they used to know. The said muscles are less than pleased about this. They scream and protest but I always prevail. The following will only really be interesting to those who have endured winters in the prairie provinces.
We've survived a good 2 weeks of absolute freezing cold. During this time it: went down to below 30, snowed a good deal, forced me to plug in the car (yes! you really CAN plug in a car!), and caused a few cases of frostbite (not me directly). For a few days we enjoyed clear streets with piles of snow on either side. Today the temperature went up to +5. Needless to say outside it is DISGUSTING. The streets are wet with melting snow and what snow there is is soft and nicely colored brown from traffic.
Inspired by the warm weather I decided today was a good day to wash my car. After I finished subbing I dutifully took it to the coin wash and spent a whole 2 dollars to soap and rinse the damn thing. I don't know why I thought today was a good day to do this considering I know the patterns (I live in Chinook country). I admired the clean and glistening car for about 5 minutes (while still in the car wash, I thought I'd better stop staring worshipfully at it or attendants might've escorted me out). I say 5 minutes because that's about the time it took for me to get the car out of the car wash and onto the road where it promptly was covered with dirty traffic, snow slush. Ugh, I think the car actually looks worse now than before I washed it.
My car had two adventures today, one I've already told and a rip roaring time in the dance school parking lot. When I came out of my ballet class I hobbled over to the car and sank into the seat. After starting the engine I strapped the seatbelt on, put the car into reverse and...heard the wheels spin. Okay, that's fine, I'll try going slower. *wheels continue to spin* Hmm, alright well, maybe I'll try rocking it and shift it into drive. *wheel spinning sound gets irritating* Okay, start panicking because I appear to be the only person in the parking lot. This went on a few more times with the occasional variation of me getting out and vainly trying to shovel snow from the tires with my snow brush (other variations included wanting to cry/scream as the spinning noise tormented me). Luckily for me this story had a happy ending or I'd still be in the parking lot instead of writing this. It took 4 people to push me out of the literal hole I'd dug for myself. Thank goodness for nice dance school staff and a lesson to me to not park in deep snow when it's over 0 degrees.
That concludes another update on my rather mundane life. See you soon.
We've survived a good 2 weeks of absolute freezing cold. During this time it: went down to below 30, snowed a good deal, forced me to plug in the car (yes! you really CAN plug in a car!), and caused a few cases of frostbite (not me directly). For a few days we enjoyed clear streets with piles of snow on either side. Today the temperature went up to +5. Needless to say outside it is DISGUSTING. The streets are wet with melting snow and what snow there is is soft and nicely colored brown from traffic.
Inspired by the warm weather I decided today was a good day to wash my car. After I finished subbing I dutifully took it to the coin wash and spent a whole 2 dollars to soap and rinse the damn thing. I don't know why I thought today was a good day to do this considering I know the patterns (I live in Chinook country). I admired the clean and glistening car for about 5 minutes (while still in the car wash, I thought I'd better stop staring worshipfully at it or attendants might've escorted me out). I say 5 minutes because that's about the time it took for me to get the car out of the car wash and onto the road where it promptly was covered with dirty traffic, snow slush. Ugh, I think the car actually looks worse now than before I washed it.
My car had two adventures today, one I've already told and a rip roaring time in the dance school parking lot. When I came out of my ballet class I hobbled over to the car and sank into the seat. After starting the engine I strapped the seatbelt on, put the car into reverse and...heard the wheels spin. Okay, that's fine, I'll try going slower. *wheels continue to spin* Hmm, alright well, maybe I'll try rocking it and shift it into drive. *wheel spinning sound gets irritating* Okay, start panicking because I appear to be the only person in the parking lot. This went on a few more times with the occasional variation of me getting out and vainly trying to shovel snow from the tires with my snow brush (other variations included wanting to cry/scream as the spinning noise tormented me). Luckily for me this story had a happy ending or I'd still be in the parking lot instead of writing this. It took 4 people to push me out of the literal hole I'd dug for myself. Thank goodness for nice dance school staff and a lesson to me to not park in deep snow when it's over 0 degrees.
That concludes another update on my rather mundane life. See you soon.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Life as a sub
I spend a good deal of time staring at my cell phone. And no, I'm not pathetically waiting for a boy to call. Although you could liken my teaching board to a boy in that you never know when "he's" going to call or IF he's going to call on any given day.
Well, I finally got activated on my board of education's list of substitute teachers and was available to start teaching as of Wednesday. I didn't get called in that day (leading to much anxiety and worry about whether I'd get ANY work at all) but worked the next two. For those of you unfamiliar with the substitute teaching world, it works like this: when a teacher can't make it to work and didn't have enough notice to book a sub in advance they call into the phone system which in turn calls out at random to the subs on the list. We can receive calls as early as 6am. So pretty much we work whenever there is an opportunity, there's no guarantee and we can get called for any grade level. It's a great, relaxing way for me to live. Me being the type to sit and anxiously wring her hands, hoping the phone goes off. Unfortunately, blogs can't record my sarcastic tone of voice.
I woke up on Thursday at 6 (I worked myself up too much to sleep again) and sleepily read a book until around 7 when I started half falling asleep again. Just as I was nodding off my phone buzzed prompting a flurry of activity on my part. (ie, dropping pens and paper everywhere as I scrambled for my daytimer) Let me tell you, those recordings go too fast. I sat desperately trying to write down the school name, teacher, job number and hours in the span of 10 seconds. I must've made the message repeat itself 10 times. Then I scoured the city map to figure out where I needed to be. Once I'd mapped it out, I dressed in record time and was out the door about an hour after the call.
That day was fine, it was a grade 1/2 class. The next day, not so much. It was prebooked so no flustered rushing but it was for a junior high school. I'm trained for elementary with no desire to teach anything higher. In addition to that it was for home economics grades 7-9. Oh yeah, perfect, I know all there is to know about sewing and cooking (hear sarcastic tone). Basically a sub's job is to keep kids from crawling up the walls which I think I did. Grade 9's were not a party. I'm cynical and sarcastic enough, I don't need more of it from kids half my age. I didn't have a nervous breakdown so I consider that the day was a great success.
I went home mentally drained and flopped onto my bed where I dozed for half an hour. Luckily there were no dreams, I've lately been dreaming of strange things like the minions of hell chasing me or army people chasing my family to participate in a war. I guess I like to run. Just ask my ex's, it's a known fact.
Here's to another week of staring at my phone. Wish me luck.
Well, I finally got activated on my board of education's list of substitute teachers and was available to start teaching as of Wednesday. I didn't get called in that day (leading to much anxiety and worry about whether I'd get ANY work at all) but worked the next two. For those of you unfamiliar with the substitute teaching world, it works like this: when a teacher can't make it to work and didn't have enough notice to book a sub in advance they call into the phone system which in turn calls out at random to the subs on the list. We can receive calls as early as 6am. So pretty much we work whenever there is an opportunity, there's no guarantee and we can get called for any grade level. It's a great, relaxing way for me to live. Me being the type to sit and anxiously wring her hands, hoping the phone goes off. Unfortunately, blogs can't record my sarcastic tone of voice.
I woke up on Thursday at 6 (I worked myself up too much to sleep again) and sleepily read a book until around 7 when I started half falling asleep again. Just as I was nodding off my phone buzzed prompting a flurry of activity on my part. (ie, dropping pens and paper everywhere as I scrambled for my daytimer) Let me tell you, those recordings go too fast. I sat desperately trying to write down the school name, teacher, job number and hours in the span of 10 seconds. I must've made the message repeat itself 10 times. Then I scoured the city map to figure out where I needed to be. Once I'd mapped it out, I dressed in record time and was out the door about an hour after the call.
That day was fine, it was a grade 1/2 class. The next day, not so much. It was prebooked so no flustered rushing but it was for a junior high school. I'm trained for elementary with no desire to teach anything higher. In addition to that it was for home economics grades 7-9. Oh yeah, perfect, I know all there is to know about sewing and cooking (hear sarcastic tone). Basically a sub's job is to keep kids from crawling up the walls which I think I did. Grade 9's were not a party. I'm cynical and sarcastic enough, I don't need more of it from kids half my age. I didn't have a nervous breakdown so I consider that the day was a great success.
I went home mentally drained and flopped onto my bed where I dozed for half an hour. Luckily there were no dreams, I've lately been dreaming of strange things like the minions of hell chasing me or army people chasing my family to participate in a war. I guess I like to run. Just ask my ex's, it's a known fact.
Here's to another week of staring at my phone. Wish me luck.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
2004
Are people really going to read this? Wow, don't I feel important.
I suppose I should start with a little about myself. I'm an ethnic Korean born and raised in Canada. I'm not tall and I'm not short. I don't drink or do drugs. I smoked 1 cigarette my whole life. I had 2 hamsters and 3 fish growing up, and now they're all dead. We tried a dog for awhile but it didn't take. I wanted a cat but my parents said no and my boyfriend is allergic. I am destined to be petless but I comfort myself with the knowledge that I am a fantastic speller.
This is going to be a blog about nothing in particular hence the title is Non Sequitur. You will see rants and ravings and hopefully whimsical musings. I'm good at the former and not so much at the latter not being poetically gifted.
2004 was a good year for me. In a cramped nutshell I: lived abroad, made new friends, met a boy and I traveled. Items did not necessarily happen in that order.
Comment on this post if you like, or don't.
I suppose I should start with a little about myself. I'm an ethnic Korean born and raised in Canada. I'm not tall and I'm not short. I don't drink or do drugs. I smoked 1 cigarette my whole life. I had 2 hamsters and 3 fish growing up, and now they're all dead. We tried a dog for awhile but it didn't take. I wanted a cat but my parents said no and my boyfriend is allergic. I am destined to be petless but I comfort myself with the knowledge that I am a fantastic speller.
This is going to be a blog about nothing in particular hence the title is Non Sequitur. You will see rants and ravings and hopefully whimsical musings. I'm good at the former and not so much at the latter not being poetically gifted.
2004 was a good year for me. In a cramped nutshell I: lived abroad, made new friends, met a boy and I traveled. Items did not necessarily happen in that order.
Comment on this post if you like, or don't.
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