More Hallowe'en Pics from ages ago...

When I still had my "Crash-landers." (Three different ones).



Headstone for the crash-landers.


My baby, Suki, when she could still semi-fit on top of my monitor (when I had a monitor she could lay on).

My Halloween...

I gave candy out to my students, but I didn't get dressed up. Dealing with 2 people in my house who need nursing is taking its toll. I hate this time change, it's dark by the time I get home! I did find Weasley

What was that you said Weasley? You have the limes, now can I get you the tequila out of the freezer??? I don't think so! Don't you have some place to go tonight It's Halloween!

I keep having the feeling that I'm missing something in class. Tomorrow we need to have a "rough draft" form of our OOO, is that right? I know neither of you might read this tonight, but I just had to write it. I'm off to do the podcast.
Buona notte,
Do

Happy Halloween

I thought this was very appropriate for me to post as a Happy Halloween card to my fellow bloggers...I love poo jokes. I never grew up in that department I suppose. Well...talking of poo, I have to pull a draft of my thesis proposal out of my*^%& by tomorrow morning. This is going to take alot of coffee and invention...and its Halloween. I'm so bummed. Don't these thesis folks KNOW its a national holiday and there is punch to be drunk and apples to be bobbed...for. Sigh.
Do, I adore your gnome...please keep me posted on his whereabouts. Have you determined if he is a rare chap or just your common run of the mill garden variety?
Ok...I we have an assesment due so I'd better get going on that. It's amazing how confident I've become in the last few days...I mean it sound so stupid but remeber how much whining I did when we were creating links...I cringe at the thought of it. Now I'm a link creating fiend
Anyhoo, better get on...
Fi

I'll try to post other Hallowe'en pics later, but I'm at work so this is it for now...

I hope you both have a fun and happy Hallow's Eve.

comments, comments, and more comments

Is anyone reading the comments to any of the blogs?

Just curious...

...back to the books now.

Now what

I have a dilemma. Should I continue with my geocities website, or tackle a new site on .mac? I'd hate to waste time working on one if I can't get my whole OOO on it, and then have to start all over. I'm thinking, does geocities allow links to other sites? I vaguely rememberr something coming up about this in class. I guess I'll just have to do the "try it and see if it works" method on this one. In the meantime, I've played nurse to my dear h. since Friday when he had a cyst removed from his back (should have taken 20 minutes, ended up taking 11/2 hours). Instead of 1/2" deep, it was 2+" deep and very close to his spine. Needless to say, he's been doing the typical man thing. (You know needs to be taken care of stuff). 5 lovely stitches, his new name is The Tingler.

I took a video of my plumbago. When I tried to upload it to my computer, the battery died lol, so I'll add it to the last post when it's finished charging. I need to go back to my work, so I'll post again later.
Do

Where did the day go??

No matter what my best intentions are, the weekend never turns out as I planned. I really intended to start working on this blog, type up my part of the assessment, work some more on my OOO, so what did I do most of the day? I was chopping back purple hopseed and plumbago plants on my slope. They got too tall. My neighbor said that I can't trim them because the plumbago has grown over his dead oleander and if I cut it back, he'll see the dead plants. C'est la vie. He also said I couldn't be on his property! So I stayed on my side of the lot line and started hacking. I'll add a picture tomorrow.

I spent the better part of the evening searching out pictures for my OOO. I finally settled on an organizational strategy for it. As I was working this evening the thought occured to me that this assignment is not entirely fair. I have a much longer history to go through than probably everyone else in the class!! I think I'll probably link my geocities to my .mac pages. I need to add some video, podcasts, and other stuff. How are you two doing on your OOO's?



Well that gnome is still appearing in my garden. This time I found him up in the apple tree looking for what? Apple wine he says?? There aren't any apples on the tree!! He said he'll wait. I suggested he move on.



Now he's in the honeysuckle. What did you say? You're waiting for the honeysuckle wine? Ok there are a few flowers right now, but I really don't think there is such a thing as honeysuckle wine. You need to move on!!




Now it's late and I'm tired. I'll be back in the morning! Do

It's that time of year again...

...remember to set your clocks back an hour.
Is this done anywhere else but America? I think even some states chuck the whole idea of Daylight Savings Time. What is that anyway? What is the point really? Is it necessary in our modern times to change the time like that? What are we doing? It seems like we're trying to change the natural order and cycle of things.
















Okay, I think I'm done with my little rant. It will be good to "sleep in."

Mother Nature...

I sometimes love when she does something unexpected or what many would consider "unorthodox." While waiting for my teenage daughter to get ready for school, I ran across this article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20061026/sc_space/amazonriverflowedbackwardsinancienttimes


I thought it was interesting, and it made think of our own Mojave River, which flows North (and East apparently) rather than South as well as underground.

Good Dog! Bad Kitty!

What another rough week! Left work Tuesday only to get a phone call from my mom informing me that my baby brother was hospitalized for an enlarged spleen (apparently five times larger than a normal one). They've ruled out stomach cancer, but not Lukemia. They also suspect Mono (I told him I was telling his wife on him and asked who he's been kissing besides her). Oh! And his acid reflux is worse (he should really stop smoking). I'm just glad he's finally home, but he can't go back to work until he's a blood doctor for more tests.

On the bright side, I got a phone call for a tutoring job I apped to in Memphis. Unfortunately they need somone, like, yesterday. Fortunately, they said they'd hold my app till I get there in December. Yay! Here's hoping, right?

Okay, so, I love Skidboot. I'm not a dog person, but I would love to have a dog like that. So smart! Good doggy! Sit, stay! Alas, I'm a cat person, but lately my cats have been bothersome.

My best friend was doing laundry at my house yesterday. She took freshly dried clothes out of the dryer, set them aside in a basket, and turned to move the other clothes from the washer to the dryer. In the meantime, my husband's pain-in-the-arse cat decided to jump into the basket of clean clothes and...well...leave his mark. We didn't name him Puck for nothing, and I'm surprised he lived through getting caught. Needless to say, the next load of laundry had to wait for the ones Puck "liked" to be rewashed. What a naughty kitty! Outside with him!


'Til tomorrow then.

Check this out !

this is skidboot's story...

Late night with George

Good evening, wasn't today just beautiful?! I spent time working, but I had to take breaks, go outside and do little gardening things. On one of these breaks, I came across a gnome! Since the last time I encountered one of these guys was in the Weasley garden, I decided that would be his name. Seems like he enjoys playing the flute.
I rushed inside and got my camera. He's sitting next to my Thoreau rock pile (all of them found in my yard). He's a slippery little fellow though, as soon as I snapped this he disappeared!
Tomorrow I have my biannual observation so I've been working on a knock out lesson (you have to get really creative with kids who don't want to have any to do with reading). They really engage when I have something for them to do on the Promethean board. On the other hand, with this Language! program, most of the lesson is direct instruction. The one we are working on tomorrow has a reading selection on Elvis Presley, so I'll be playing some of his greatest hits while we work.

What was that?

Testing testing...

I am going to try something which is pretty rad for me...if I get it right guess which one is me.
Dancers...
If I dont...sorry
Stevie was so fab I cant stand it...I think I would have fainted if she'd done her own stuff or some Fleetwood Mac stuff. But last nite it was all about Tom. I do think she needs to rethink her headgear tho...she wore a variation of this hat...except last nite it wanted to fall off.
Fi

translations and jealousy

Okay, this may not help much, but here goes... MC = Molten Core -- it's a part of the game that requires 40 people to "run"/raid it, but we did most of it with between 30-38 people. The people are part of my guild and come from all over...one is even from Australia, and another works for NASA and lives in Florida. Places like Molten Core are called instances, and once a group is in an instance (walk through a swirling, sparkling portal-type thing), it's ours, essentially. Other groups have their own Molten Core instances.

Cenarion, Tier 1 gear is the first set of awesome armor for druids. Each class has its own unique sets. There are usually 8 pieces per set: helm, bracers, gloves, leggings, chest piece, boots, belt, and spaulders. Tier 2 -- Stormrage -- is the next best thing, and of those 8 pieces, I already have my helm. The pieces "drop" off of "mobs" (monsters in the instances) when we kill them. Some pieces only drop off of the "bosses": big meanies. So, for my Cenarion, I have my bracers, gloves, spaulders, and boots. I still need the belt, chest piece (vestment), and leggings. I won't "roll" for the helm because I have the one for my next set already. Did that make sense, or did I confuse it more. I tend to overcomplicate the simple and make things more confusing than they should be.

Anyway, so my best friend was over today, and she was talking about her sister's blog and her sister's latest idiotic entry, so I had her check ours out. I have to say, she's completely jealous of Fi. She is a die-hard Stevie fan, and she so wanted to see her with Tom Petty. Her addiction to Stevie rivals my addiction to TFF. And right now, along with that jealousy, she thinks Fi is the luckiest person on earth.

Doh!

Hey Chicas,
Ok Do, I went back and fiddled with the html code to change it from black...I know I know...dumb move in the first place...so I changed the code...but it DIDNT WORK...I'm sure it is the computer's fault and not mine.
Tee hee
Please show me tomorrow Do (in my most grovelling tone)
Fi

Found it

Hey Fi, Just thought I'd take a break from working (you know lesson planning for my students, homework from this class), so I checked out the blog. I looked at your html for the Petty post (very cool by the way) and found that you had the middle paragraph color set to black! Kind of difficult to see against a black background lol. later, Do.

Tom Petty was amazing

So a last minute decision really....My friend Tiff and I decided to try our luck and get Tom Petty tickets last night....he was playing at Indian Wells which is a big tennis stadium 'bout 20 minutes from home. So we stood in line for about an hour and paid 75 bucks...holy crapper...for a ticket...gulp. Oh well its not everyday you get to see the great T with special guest start.....STEVIE NICKS no less. I just about wet myself. I was totally blown away...there had been rumours (ha ha) that she might show up. Anyway, when they did "Don't come around here no more....la la la" I was instantly transported to my final year of high school, (wht we Brits call sixth form college), and my then bf...my first love who was from NJ...I thought that was so cool. Anyway, we used to lounge around and ...well y'know...and listen to that song...and well, y'know. sigh.
Do you know Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been together for 30 years?
So, your dog story was so heartbreaking...poor lil guy.
Do, I am reimagining you as Bill Murray in Caddy Shack.

Ok so now I'm playing around with italics cos I don't know how to undo what I just did.
I think this would be a good place to sign off...see yers
Fi

Another Saturday Night

Wow, the time is just flying by. I spent today fighting a war. We have gophers living under our front lawn. My dear h. has been trying to chase them away with a variety of unpleasant things. Unfortunately, our neighbors don't care about the mounds of dirt on their lawn. I was pulling out oxalis where the gophers live (our house is on a hill, so the front has a small slope (maybe 10 feet) from the house to the street), and started sinking. Apparently, the gophers have a palace built under my lawn. Calling the experts in on Monday.

So, Talk about speaking a different language, your game playing sounds interesting, but when you start using terminology specific to the game....I'm out of the loop lol.

Your story about the boy and dog reminded me of a similar incident. My son was about 4, playing in our tiny backyard (this was in NJ.), and a big black dog wandered down the walk toward the yard. My son started screaming, I ran out and chased the dog away. To this day (he's 25 years old now), my son remembers the incident with the same emotion. Fortunately, he did not develop a fear of dogs!

I was reading Wysocki earlier and decided to take the suggestion to play with this form of writing. I know, it's only manipulating fonts, color, and size, but what the hey (I did go out and adopt a fishy for us, I hope you are feeding him on your posting days!) I think I'm going to have to figure out how to move him to the sidebar, otherwise he'll disappear into the ARCHIVES!!!!!
A Domani! Do

Another post

I haven't been to a movie on so long I can't remember the last movie we went to see. There just doesn't seem to be enough time in a day, a week, a month...blah, blah, blah. The last one I remember is Tristan and Isolde.

I hear a lot of people are thinking about taking the exam rather than writing a thesis. But there's also the guilt-laden notion that we're cheating. The major is in Composition with concentrations in Lit., TESL, or Rhet./Comp. Most especially for those of us in the Composition-Composition program, it seems even more like cheating. Here we are trying to get a degree in Composition and instead of composing a thesis, we're going to take an exam. I don't know...is it cheating? Who are we cheating? Ourselves? Our potential audience? Future generations?

Too much to wrap the mind around at this hour.

So, on the lighter side, and I know I'm probably the only one who is interested, but after being talked into going on another MC run in WoW, I picked up another epic piece for my toon. She's now 4/8 on her Cenarion gear (Tier1 druid armor), minus the Tier 2 helm (moose antlers and all) and looking better every time.

I got a few vidoes in the mail: Jillina's Level 1 Instructional Bellydance; Tribal Fusion Belly Dance with Rachel Brice, and the one I've waiting for: Pretty in Pink: The Everything's Duckie Edition. Off to finish watching that.

See you on Monday, have a fantastic weekend!

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date...

I'm about a day late and a dollar short...I lost track of the days. Ooops...my bad. I apologize.

So, I had an interesting Thursday, to say the least. I picked up a child I don't know and took him to school. I found him crying hysterically on the corner about a block from his school after I dropped my 14-yr-old off at Univ. Prep. He said there was a big dog and his mom apparently already went back home. I asked him if he wanted me to take him home or to school and he said, "To school." I left him in the care of a proctor who at least knew him by name and gave her my name and the story of what happened. I couldn't leave him on the corner crying like that. When I was about 5, a similar incident happened to me and I was right across the street from my house, but some woman took pity on me and walked me home. It's frightening that he felt safer jumping into a stranger's car than taking his chances with a big dumb animal, and it only reaffirmed my decision not to let my kids walk to school even if it is just around the corner.

On the lighter side of things. Everyone's probably realized by now that I have this small addiction, right? And I've posted a link to the TFF fan page over there to the side. There's also an official site for the newest album (which isn't so new anymore) called Everybody Loves a Happy Ending. Check it out; I think it even has some sample songs and the lyrics. I hope it works.

Till next time...

Linking attempt #3

Ok Im going to try and get the link thing right if it bloody takes all night
Here is the Bill Nighy experience...he's great
Fi

hey ladies,
this is a picture of my dad. He was a pirate radio dj on radio atlanta (i think) they used to broadcast from a ship somwhere off the coast of England in the North sea. As you can see he was a handsome chap. He died unfortunately in a car crash in 1993. Anyway if you click on the link (hopefully I got it right this time) and scroll down to "Richard Harris" you can see his profile and hear a bit of his show
Fi

sofido

sofido
Just a post post thought, I have found a new source of mindless entertainment, typing 6 numbers into the code and seeing what color appears (to get really daring, doing it with closed eyes!)
Do

The Official Pet

adopt your own virtual pet!

Thesis and stuff

Hey Fi,

I feel your pain. I'm just behind you, one more class, internship, then the big T. I have vague musings about a thesis, but have yet to discuss any of this "end of the process" stuff with Prof. Pigeon (we did speak of it when I did my plan, but I wasn't ready to hear it then). As for the test, I've been told that if you are thinking at all of a PhD. you should definitely do the paper. If all you want is the MA, go for the test. But what do I know, I'm just plugging along.

I got all excited about your polo player link, only to have it fail. It looks like you typed in http:// one too many times. Check it out. I have never seen a polo match, either in person or on tv. I can imagine it is like going to any sporting event, live is always so much more exciting. I think November sounds like a good time for it. I'll bring the camera!

I wonder if people who write code have cheat sheets of code that they cut and paste?! I'm having fun trying this stuff out, but I would think it could get rather monotonous doing it all day long. I'm having trouble with trying to paste code from other places (like the wiki page) into the template and having nothing happen. I need to visit some of those other class blogs and ask what I'm doing wrong!

Well, off to work on my page. I finally remembered how to link up my links page to my home page, lol. Don't worry about spilling out on this page, as far as I'm concerned, better to see it here than for you to internalize it and end up with ulcers! Remember that old Indian saying, if you tell others your problem, it is not just your problem any more, it belongs to everyone.
Do.

Pissed off and want to go to a movie

Hey guys,
Im disgruntled....do I seem like I'm always moaning? More so than ever, I am feeling the pressure to finish my degree...I, like all of us I presume, am quickly running out of moola and need to get DONE! I am in thesis planning this quarter and cannot for the life of me seem to get my head around a topic. I have been urged by a couple of Profs to take the exam...for simple reason that it will get me graduated in June...hopefully. On the other hand, I feel I may miss out if I don't write a thesis but I'm really struggling with formulating a question. As the quarter ticks on, I feel I am wasting precious minutes with all my vacillating (did I spell that right) and altho I recognise that I have a tendency to flap, my thesis question is still out of reach. Frankly, I am overwhelmed.

phew... got that off my chest.

As for other stuff, I rode many horses this morning and then tutored 10 students at the writing center. Sometimes, I long for my old horsey life. It seemed so simple...wake up, shovel some poo, ride, shovel some more poo, clean some tack, go to polo, shovel more poo, get drunk at the Cantina, snog some random polo player,(check one of them out...ok, there weren't that many) that kinda stuff.....day in, day out. ...sigh. Didn't have to come up with a sodding thesis question then. The only questions I had to answer then were "which horse am I playing in the next chukka?" or "was that a foul, that wasn't an Fxxxing foul, was it?" or "wheredya wanna go tonite?" or "Pleeze for us to do eet on zee polo field?" (Bloody Argentines).

Most exciting news...I am going to see Tom Petty this weekend. As long as I can scalp a ticket, that is.

Ok, that' s it
You rock
Fi

Today here in class

For all of you who visit, I've started a wiki for the class.

Please email me so that I can send you an invitation to join. Everyone (in our class only) will be able edit and create new entries. The wiki will be viewable by the public.

Testing, testing, 1,2,3...kind of...is this thing on?

I know it's not my day to post, but I wanted to try this. I logged in as Sofido and invited myself. Thanks to Abe for directions on how to do this (if it works), though I kind of figured it out before I saw his comment to the comment I left on their blogspace. I'm wondering though if it will show the message from me, or from my user name.

Another Weekend almost over

I have to complain. In class on Wednesday I was working on my page o' links when the entire thing (my added text/links) disappeared! There was no way that I could find to bring it back, which meant I had to start all over. On top of that, I couldn't figure out how to link it back to my homepage. I've done it before, but the brain just wouldn't remember. Bah Humbug with this stuff! I am just aarrrghhh.

I was on the Blackboard checking out some of the external links. The Kairos site had a really interesting article on using web page creation in the classroom for author biographies. There was another, (Merlot?) that had a plethora of links to a variety of educational sites. Thanks Dr. R!

I spent some time today looking at other class members websites and a few of the group blogs. It's interesting to see how different they are. I don't feel so bad about my geocities fiasco, since other people seem to be having similar issues. I am jealous of those folks who have cool backgrounds on their websites. If you know how to do this, talk to me! There are places on the web where I can get free backgrounds, icons, buttons, etc. but how to use them is another story. Check the link. Now I have to finish up what I'm doing on my site. And face the fact that another weekend is almost over and I didn't get everything done on my To Do list, c'est la vie

Music

Well this seems to be a conversation I have yet to add to. I only know the TFF songs that were on the radio, and don't ask me the name lol. Bowie, well I like some of his stuff, most I can leave. As far as my favorites, Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Eagles, Beatles, Santana, Shakira, Yo Yo Ma, James Galway, The Chieftains, Eric Clapton, I could go on. I really love all genres of music (except rap and hip hop). From classical to jazz, gospel to blues, klezmer to rock, I love music. The picture is Yo Yo Ma. I saw him this summer at Tanglewwod (BSO summer home in the Berkshires).

A Promethean board ( http://www.prometheanworld.com ) is a board (it looks like a whiteboard but has sensors in it), connected to a computer and projector (we have lcds). With the software, as I type on my laptop, or write on it with the pen, the text appears on the board. If I or a student use the Promethean board pen and write on the board, it is transmitted to my laptop. Then I can save it as a file, print it, etc. just like a word file. Since my laptop is connected to the board, it makes spontaneous lesson adaptation easy. For example, in my one reading class, the mini dialogue we were reading was about 2 people in a museum looking at abstract art. When none of the students knew what abstract art was, I did a search and found paintings by Pollack, Picasso, etc. so they could see what this genre of painting was all about. With the Activ studio software I can create lessons on "flipcharts" (think of paper flip charts meets PowerPoint on steroids). I can create quizzes and have the students take them using the activvotes. These devices look like wireless mice. Each student is assigned one. The vote has buttons on it, so when we take a quiz (multiple choice, t/f), they press the button for their answer. The Activvotes appear across the top of the screen, so you can see when everyone has voted. Then I can show the results so students get immediate feedback and I know if I need to reteach the whole class, or just a few individuals.Then I can save the test results for my gradebook. If this explanation doesn't answer your question, check out the website and the teacher website ( http://www.prometheanplanet.com/ ) where teachers using the board/software share files and lessons.

It seems that a lot of people in the MA program work in the writing center, I wonder if I'm missing something. On the other hand, I've been teaching since I got my credential and attending at least one professional conference every year. Riverside USD has been great about professional development as well, from PLC to Quantuum Learning workshops and conferences as well as everything in between.

I don't know about this blog thing. I'm at the point now, after just a couple of weeks where I'm trying to find a use for this form of writing in my classroom with my students. It gets tricky when students start posting on the web (as far as the district goes, security).

Yesterday was a really great day at work. My GATE class is reading "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury. We've only read the first page or so since Thursday. Yesterday I asked them about a specific paragraph ( the language is about altars, gods, rituals, etc.) Well, we started talking about symbolism and by the end of class we had gotten to North Korea and nuclear war. As they left the room, I heard the conversation continue as they walked down the hall. How cool is that! The next class ( Level 2 reading), which has a number of students with behavior problems, worked really hard and behaved really well (compared to their usual behavior). I gave them all a reward (Halloween pencils) and high fives as they left. It was a pretty amazing thing for the last 2 class periods on a Friday afternoon! Now if only they come back on Monday and continue from where we left off lol.

Today I went to Armstrong Gardens and bought a variegated hydrangea, a pink camillia, a sweet olive, and mt little flute playing gnome. Tomorrow they get planted. Til next time!
Do

Yeah...I did all by myself.

Don't hold yer breathe girls but I uploaded a picture all by my self with out Sonya holding my hand...oh CONGRATS So...on grammadom!
Like Sonya loves TFF, I love DB. If only he wasnt married to that slagheap Iman...she's not even pretty...Oh, am I 14 again? Apparently so.
No really, I love love love him. I have seen him in concert three times...once in 1984 "serious moonlight" tour...then a few years later...after the crap "blue jean" fiasco...and then just two years ago at the Isle of Wight Festival on the "Reality" tour. Hmmmmmm.
Ok its Saturday night and I'm a big loser because I'm on my computer and drinking tea and not out on the town...
Cheers
Fi

Well Im trying to upload a picture of David Bowie... sexy bastard that he is. I've been in love with DB since I wasn't born...if I managed to upload it I have joined the ranks of computer whizzes...if not I am a lowly fence building eedjit.
Fi

Another day, another blog

Not much since yesterday. I picked up some extra hours in the w.c. to make up for the days I was sick . Had a tutor meeting that went fairly well...and long .

So, I have five kids right? (I think it's been fairly well-established, yes?) What I don't think anyone knows or realizes is that I'm going to be a grandma too. I have two boys and three girls (b, g, g, g, b), who are 20, 19, 14, 10, and 8. My 19-year-old daughter will be a mom toward the end of April. While I have five children, only three of them came from my body. I raised my stepchildren from the time they were 4 and 5, and though their mother wasn't completely absent, she had very little to do with their upbringing.

I'm kind of excited to become a grandma (even though I'm only 34), and I'm thinking about what the baby can call me. My choices are Grams, Gamma, Nana, or Mimi, from most favorite to least.

Have I bored you both to tears yet ?

People often ask how I do it, being a mom of 5, a part-time tutor, and full-time student. I do it the same way someone with one child would, times five (plus the two stinkin' cats -- and I love cats, but they're both such pains in the arse).

Well, I'm off again. I hope you both have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you on Monday. Looking forward to getting your parts of the assessment, hopefully before Monday since I rarely have a chance to get to my email before class starts. ;-)

So

Argh!

Well...it's pretty much been one of those weeks...blah. Monday and Tuesday weren't so good. Grrrr... By Wednesday I felt caught up on the reading and other things, and that my week was getting better, but today I upset not one, but two students in the writing center. One of them, I worked things out with. I don't know who the other one is though, as I got the info secondhand from our Instructional Assistant. I informed my boss, and she told me she's not worried and I shouldn't be either, but still...The second student admitted to our IA that it was probably just her own low self-esteem working overtime. Maybe I've just been tutoring too long.

I tutor in the VVC writing center Tues. and Thurs. all day and Wed. in the mornings, and I tutor in Basic Skills Mon. and Fri. in the mornings. Then I go to a weekly tutor meeting on Fridays after work. I have classes from 4-8 (roughly) Mon. and Wed. Sat. and Sun., if I'm not bogged down with homework, I try to attend my daughter's (the 14-yr-old) soccer games. In between, I'm helping get the house ready to sell, but it's not going as well as we'd like. And even though I promised myself a break from World of Warcraft for the quarter, my husband lovingly signed me up for tomorrow night's Molten Core raid (I know Freddie is probably saying, "What's that? What are you talking about?" It's okay; I used to say the same thing before I started playing.)

I've been tutoring for about three years, but I just started in Basic Skills. At one point, I was the temporary Instructional Assistant for the writing center until the new IA began work.

Okay, to try to salvage Fi's, and maybe Do's confusion: World of Warcraft is a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). It's a little like D&D or Might and Magic but played online with thousands of people from around the world. There are two sides (factions) to the game: Alliance (good) and Horde (evil). I play a Night-Elf Druid (Alliance) named Badra (Arabic for full moon apparently). She can shapeshift into Cat form to do more damage, Bear form to take more damage, Aquatic form for faster swimming, and Cheetah form for faster traveling. She's "specced" for healing though, so when I accompany my guildmates on a raid, my sole job is to heal the main tank (warrior), then mages and warlocks, other healers, and the rest of the raid (in that order). That's my toon in the picture (very bad picture).

Guess that's enough ranting for now. Till tomorrow...

So

sofido

Do,
What is a Promethean board and ActivStudio software?
The picture was my trial run at putting a picture up...of course Sonya was talking me through it. Its actaully one of those sample ones you just retrieve from the hardrive.
Fi

Sunset

Very nice photo! Is it one you found? or one you took? As to your schedule question, here's mine.
I teach middle school in Riverside. Ours is the smallest middle school (about 750 students, 7 & 8). I start at 8am and finish (technically) at 3:30. I have been staying late at least one or two nights a week (last night I was working in my room until 8:15p!) I teach 2 remedial reading classes, we use the Language! program. These students are reading between 2nd and 6th grade levels. Needless to say it is a challenge. Each class is 2 consecutive periods (50 min. each). These students have refined the art of diverting the teacher/disrupting the class, so they don't have to work. Most of them are failing their other classes. My last class period is an 8th grade GATE class. Most of these kids are reading at a 10th grade or higher level. No wonder I sometimes feel like a schizophrenic! I spend a lot of time lesson planning. I have a Promethean board and ActivStudio software, including ActivVotes. We also have a 40 laptop mobile lab. We are expected to integrate technology in our lessons, and as I think everyone knows, that takes major time (in addition to grading papers). As for the rest of my schedule, I have 658. After having spent a month this summer at the Inland Area Writing Project's Summer Institute, I try to spend at least half an hour writing every day (not including work/classwork!). I have several poems and a couple of short stories I'm working on...Later Donna

my practice run.

sofido

sofido
Ok so Im an idiot, I ask questions that you've mostly already answered...ignore me, Im obviously from another planet
Fi

Hi again, its wednesday.

Phew busy day and its only 11 oclock. I was up at 6.30 and walked the mutts. I have three now, I inherited my boyfriend's ex-wife's spaniel...along with his teenagers. Yikes. Then I went to the ranch (I excercise polo horses every morning...it pays the rent) and worked a set. (A set is four horses. I ride one and lead three) From there I went to another barn and galloped another set and here I am with an hour before I jump in the Bug and head for San Berdooo. I have to say my schedule is pretty damn hectic cos I also woork at the Writing Center in Palm Desert and have also taken on a few hours a week being a "lovely assistant to Dr Costino. All this and an internship, thesis planning and 658...oh yes and I am advising 5 students who are doing an independent study. What are your schedules like? Do you guys have any kids? Sonya, I think you tutor right?
Anyway, I'll see you in class in a few hours...
Cheers
Freddie

Hi Ladies

As I posted on the discussion board, I feel kinda like an idiot after last nights class. I really know very little about how to find my way around a computer, the internet, or even how to research efficently. I have techno anxiety and miss the days when I could go ask the librarian if they "had anything on such and such." Talk about being a traditionalist.
Its not to say that I am resistant, on the contaray I am frustrated by my lack of knowledge. I feel it is holding me back. I'm dying to be able to click away like a madwoman forming fabulous texts with images and things buzzing around the screen in technicolour.
Hang on, I have a student...back later
Fi

Searching iTunes

I just spent way too much time trying to find music from old TV shows and cartoons to use in my classroom. And to top it off, I found only a few and one of those you have to buy the whole album (who needs the entire soundtrack of Madagascar?) Searching the web was no better, either some guy selling homemade cd's or cheesy midi files. Oh well, I guess it's time to brave Borders and Barnes & Noble. Life is tough. This is going to be a long week. My husband is in LV at a trade show, so I'm going it alone with my 90 year old mother in law. She really is sweet, but as all Italian mothers do, she can lay on the guilt trip really thick. It's always as I'm leaving out the door, "I have such bad pain in my leg" (arthritis). So what can I do? I make sure she takes her medicine and leave her with my cell number.

One thing I find weird is this format, skipping a line instead of indenting. Even in school either form is correct, as long as it is consistent in a paper. Guess I'm a traditionalist.

I have collaborated once on a paper in a grad class. It went as well as it could, I knew the other person from a few other classes we shared, but I found the writing feeling disjointed to me. We got an A, but I really think it leaves much to be desired as an assignment.

I did take the picture. It is a plumeria in my yard. I have been spending a lot more time gardening on weekends. I just realized why, I spend the week inside a classroom all day! Until we get the rain.

Does anyone believe North Korea?

Do I have to put a title?

Beautiful picture. Did you take it? I admit I've been lazy about trying new stuff in my posts (i.e. new font, color change, and adding pictures). I know Fiona asked in the discussion board how to add her link, and while I would love to answer that, it's easier for me to show and tell, rather than just tell because I even forget the steps.

Although I don't blog as much as I'd like, I actually like the idea. I've seen creative writers use their blogs to get their work out there. I'm not sure what it led to for them, but, well...

My 612 project focused on internet communication, specifically blogging, and collaborative writing. It's possible for a group to collaborate asynchronously on a writing project using a blog.

I know what you mean about being sick right at the beginning of the quarter. I fought it as long as I could, but in the end, I lost to a sinus infection, ear infection, and bronchitis. The changing weather doesn't help either.

I have to say, I admire anyone who can teach middle school or high school. I know from experience raising my own that kids that age can be monsters. Everything is drama -- even the boys can be drama queens.

Sorry to hear about your husband. I hope things work out.

Mmmm...booooksssss. I cleaned my bedroom yesterday and elected my 8-year-old son to help me. He saw the stacks of books and literally gasped -- whether in fear or delight I haven't determined. But he did comment, "You have sooo many books, Mommy." And I haven't even read half of them. I buy books because they sound interesting, then bring them home and they sit, waiting to be undressed with my eyes. My husband actually "grounded" me from Barnes and Noble...well...he tried.

Okay, gotta get back to the books...I have some catching up to do as well. See you both tomorrow evening.

So

Me next

I thought I'd try something new, add a picture and change the font. I have to admit, this blogging thing has been on my mind since we set it up. I didn't check it until tonight, simply because I didn't want to be influenced as to what I would write. I suppose, since I did not actually set up a blog until just few weeks ago (and that was only because I wanted to post a picture somewhere else and could only do it with a link), it is a medium that I really have little interest in. I have never read anyone else's blog. I think this should be a little of both, class and us. As for the former, I've had a rough start this quarter. I have been sick since last Thursday, last weekend I spent with tissues and medicine. Between being sick, teaching, middle school LA, a GATE class and 2 remedial reading classes (each 2 periods long), and my husband finding out he's developed a heart murmur, I have been exhausted. I plan on catching up on the class reading tomorrow, after I plan lessons for the week. One of the ways I reward myself is to buy books and stuff for my hair. I've added a link to my favorite hairsticks site. They are handmade and absolutely beautiful, better in person than the pictures on the site.Well, I think that's enough for now. Do

I agree that we should mix it up a bit -- a bit of 658, a bit of...whatever.

Fi, have you listened to any TFF post-Seeds of Love, especially the latest one, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending? Much of what come in between the two is primarily Roland Orzabal because it's post-breakup and pre-reunion. Yes, their sound is really unique and that's a large part of the appeal. I'm such an addict.

Likewise, have you heard the Gary Jules version of "Mad World"? After that went number one in the UK, TFF concluded that they had to change the original, so there are actually three versions (to my knowledge) of the song. Their new version is as good, if not better, than the original, I think. Good to know there are still fans out there; it's sometimes hard to find them outside of cyberspace.

Anyone hear about my adventures with GeoCities? Classic! GeoCities = "evil demon llama."

So

PS Yeah, I just realized I've been forgetting to sign my posts. Oops.

sofido

sofido
Er just wrote a huge blog...where is it?
Fi

sofido

sofido
Hi ladies,
Sonya, I have not checked out the blogs of others, but I don't think we have to worry too much about what the others are doing. I think mixing it up would be great. A bit of 658 and a lot of us....how about it?
I realise it is not my day to post but I just wanted to check in after reading your comments.
What are you guys' other interest? Sonya, I too am a big Tears for Fears fan. I loved "Mad World" when it came out. I was about 14, living in the UK and taped it off the radio. The song seemed to speak to my supposed teenage angst...even tho I didnt know he words...it just sounded depressing. T fo F's have such a unique sound which crosses even the 80's boundaries...Sowing the Seeds of love was genius.
Fi

context of academia vs. free blog

It's been one of those days -- got to work, and the power was out; thought it was going to be an easy day, and five minutes after getting to work, the power came back on, and students poured in for tutoring. It's been one of those days -- students were frustrated, thinking their essays were "perfect" and shocked that we actually made them work on them more; they're finding out that essay-writing is not the easiest thing in the world. It's been one of those days and it's not over yet.

So, I was absent on Monday, and even though the requirements for our blog was explained beautifully by my two groupmates, I can't help but still be concerned about our subject matter within each blog, especially after checking out another group's blog.

Given the purpose of the blog, should we use it to discuss the readings, especially Selber (who seems to overcomplicate the simple with techno-jargon and critical theory), and use it to grasp a better understanding of the texts? Or, should we simply blog about whatever happens to interest us at the time? Or, should we mix it up? Or, did I completely confuse the purposes of the project and make you go, "What?!" Because, and I feel I have to say this, I'm easily confused, and I feel that others should be just as confused as me so I'm not all alone in my confusion. ;-P (j/k).

Blog, blog, blog

I've actually blogged before. I have an account through Blogger and I have MySpace, where I've blogged a few times. I also did a paper for 612 dealing with collaboration and Internet technology, specifically blogging and how it can be used to write collaboratively, asynchronously of course.

Anyway, this should be fun...here's to group blogging!

And next...

An almost virgin blogger (set up one with absolutely nothing added after the first post). This should prove to be an interesting experience. I am not a collaborative group person... Do

The Beginning- first blog experience

Hi'yall...our first post. I am blog virgin so this is a very special day for me. OHHHHHHH. I think i need to go smoke a cigarette now.
Fi.