Our guest room is now my room when we don't have guests. Matt and I share the bedroom, and the study and the living room feel like they're Matt's because his books and movies are in those rooms. I always seem to have stuff cluttering other rooms because my stuff didn't have a place. Now it does. Matt calls it my junk room. I prefer to call it my play room. I plan for it to be a place for me to set up my keyboard and my bicycle trainer. I can also work on craft projects there. Right now it looks more like a junk room. I've got stuff from other rooms piled in there waiting to be sorted and put away. As far as I know, we don't plan to have guests until Thanksgiving, so I've got time to get everything tidied up. I'd like to get something to sit on (a daybed would work), a table for projects and to set my sewing machine up, and a small bookshelf for my computer books. Should we need the room as a nursery, I'll probably have to move everything upstairs, but I'd have less time for the projects anyway.
My big project is still getting well. My cold is lingering: nose blowing and coughing. Another fever blister appeared yesterday. I have also been awakened with an upset stomach a few nights this week. Wednesday night, I vomited and then spilled the puke bag contents on my lap, the floor, and the bath mat. Last night I was up for at least 3 hours with what turned out to be incredibly bad gas that felt like heartburn that threatened to make me vomit again. Early morning gastrointestinal difficulties do not help me rest and recover from my cold. I've considered that it's a new twist on irritable bowel, so I'm going to try the pro-biotic yogurt again.
My second big project is preparing for my class. I've got tons of handouts, practice sheets, assignments sheets, homework worksheets, and quizzes to write. I've never been the primary teacher for this level of student, so I'm starting from scratch with most of what I'm doing. It's exciting but a lot of work. Once I have a semester's worth of material, I can tweak it for future semesters as long as it works this first time.
That's enough big projects for now. I've got many small projects that I want to work on, but healing, teaching and cleaning are a good start.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Getting in the Groove
My cold rewrote my plans for the semester. I am teaching only one section, and I'm not taking any classes. I didn't feel well enough to get everything done to sign up for classes. I ran around campus several times blowing my nose and coughing, and I just eventually gave up. I think I'm going to enjoy the new schedule. I'll work every morning at the church. I'll teach and go to water aerobics on Tuesday and Thursday. The other afternoons I'll have free to cook, clean, and do things I want to do. I may finally learn PHP and have time to work on craft projects and practice the piano.
I met with my class for the first time yesterday. I'm halfway through reading the paragraphs they wrote in class, and I'm pleasantly surprised. For the most part they're doing a good job of putting ideas together in a logical order. They need some grammar, diction, and punctuation help, but they're doing well. I've got some more grading and preparation to do for tomorrow.
My cold is almost well. I'm still blowing my nose a bit and coughing some, but I'm at 95% now. By next week I should be completely well.
I met with my class for the first time yesterday. I'm halfway through reading the paragraphs they wrote in class, and I'm pleasantly surprised. For the most part they're doing a good job of putting ideas together in a logical order. They need some grammar, diction, and punctuation help, but they're doing well. I've got some more grading and preparation to do for tomorrow.
My cold is almost well. I'm still blowing my nose a bit and coughing some, but I'm at 95% now. By next week I should be completely well.
Friday, August 20, 2010
A Little Help from my Friends
I've had a rough couple of days. Tuesday evening I started sniffing, and by bedtime I was blowing large quantities of green snot. I stopped by McDonalds on the way to work for some orange juice and a frozen coffee beverage and worked almost 4 hours. By that evening I wanted soup and an Icee. My friend Beth offered homemade tomato soup, but I didn't get the message until after coming home from the grocery store. The offer was nice.
Last night the cold moved to my chest (its natural progression in my body), so I sounded really bad today and felt almost as bad as I sounded. Matt had an early meeting at the university, and after he left I realized that I had accidentally locked my keys in the car last night. Considering that I was fired the last time that happened to me, I stayed remarkably calm. I tore the house apart (which didn't leave it looking much worse than normal) looking for our spare key and after a while started to feel panicky. So I called my friend Susie and asked if she could take me to work. I think I woke her up, but she said she come. I kept looking for the key and stumbled across things like the bag I had packed for the hospital. It's empty now, but I suddenly remembered how it felt to hurriedly unpack and repack that bag so that we could take Neil to Springfield to be buried. And I cried. I was sick. I was tired. I was panicky. And I couldn't hold it together anymore. And then I found the spare key and called Susie to let her know. I got to work and got busy with the things that absolutely had to be done. After a while I heard someone else in the building. Susie showed up at my office door with a huge chocolate muffin and some hot tea. I felt loved.
A little later I emailed the pastor to see if he and his wife would be willing to fold bulletins this week as they had been doing before I was hired. He called and told me to go home as soon as possible and that he would take care of it. My boss and his wife are so nice. I have worked for several pastors who wouldn't have helped out like that.
I like the church job. The people I've met have been nice, and someone in the church left me home-grown cucumbers last week. I like making the office more efficient: I'd forgotten how good it feels to be the office oracle. And they've got some creative work for me coming up. I mostly work by myself, so I don't have co-worker issues. I see the pastor about once a week and communicate with everyone by email most of the time. I tend to keep the door locked, so there's no foot traffic to deal with. And the phone doesn't ring too often. It's way different from my time at LM. And I like the difference. I miss some of the LM people, but the less stressful work environment is healthier.
Today was new student orientation at the university, but I didn't feel up to going. Matt was on campus so I went in to meet him and thought I'd ask about registering for classes while I was there. I went to student records and the nice lady told me to go home and get well and register on Monday. I figure I'll stop by admissions before or after the video production class. If I have trouble, I'll appeal to the VP of admissions: he's the pastor of the church I work at.
I was waiting to schedule classes until after I knew for sure when I'm teaching. I got a phone call on Tuesday that they needed me to teach another section of Basic English. I told them I'd do it if both my classes were on the same days so that I could use identical syllabi. The department chair said he'd check with the dean and get back to me. I didn't hear anything until we went to a faculty reception last night and the dean told me I was teaching at 2 p.m. Monday-Friday. I was surprised and my snot-covered brain had trouble processing. I talked it over with Matt, and he agreed that different class lengths add prep work and that I don't need that much extra work. My morning meltdown further confirmed it. Then this morning Susie told me that she was at advising to register for classes and that my name was on the course schedule given to all freshman. So I immediately called the dean and department chair to tell them I couldn't teach both classes. I sounded so sick on the phone that they were understanding.
So this weekend my job is to get healthy and finish my syllabus. Monday I'll register for classes and attend a couple. Tuesday I'll teach a class. And sometime that week I need to get the house clean enough for Matt's fantasy class to come over to watch the Lord of the Rings movies on Saturday.
I feel like I'm at the starting line waiting for the pistol to go off and send me sprinting toward Christmas. It's good to know I have people I can count on if I get winded along the way.
Last night the cold moved to my chest (its natural progression in my body), so I sounded really bad today and felt almost as bad as I sounded. Matt had an early meeting at the university, and after he left I realized that I had accidentally locked my keys in the car last night. Considering that I was fired the last time that happened to me, I stayed remarkably calm. I tore the house apart (which didn't leave it looking much worse than normal) looking for our spare key and after a while started to feel panicky. So I called my friend Susie and asked if she could take me to work. I think I woke her up, but she said she come. I kept looking for the key and stumbled across things like the bag I had packed for the hospital. It's empty now, but I suddenly remembered how it felt to hurriedly unpack and repack that bag so that we could take Neil to Springfield to be buried. And I cried. I was sick. I was tired. I was panicky. And I couldn't hold it together anymore. And then I found the spare key and called Susie to let her know. I got to work and got busy with the things that absolutely had to be done. After a while I heard someone else in the building. Susie showed up at my office door with a huge chocolate muffin and some hot tea. I felt loved.
A little later I emailed the pastor to see if he and his wife would be willing to fold bulletins this week as they had been doing before I was hired. He called and told me to go home as soon as possible and that he would take care of it. My boss and his wife are so nice. I have worked for several pastors who wouldn't have helped out like that.
I like the church job. The people I've met have been nice, and someone in the church left me home-grown cucumbers last week. I like making the office more efficient: I'd forgotten how good it feels to be the office oracle. And they've got some creative work for me coming up. I mostly work by myself, so I don't have co-worker issues. I see the pastor about once a week and communicate with everyone by email most of the time. I tend to keep the door locked, so there's no foot traffic to deal with. And the phone doesn't ring too often. It's way different from my time at LM. And I like the difference. I miss some of the LM people, but the less stressful work environment is healthier.
Today was new student orientation at the university, but I didn't feel up to going. Matt was on campus so I went in to meet him and thought I'd ask about registering for classes while I was there. I went to student records and the nice lady told me to go home and get well and register on Monday. I figure I'll stop by admissions before or after the video production class. If I have trouble, I'll appeal to the VP of admissions: he's the pastor of the church I work at.
I was waiting to schedule classes until after I knew for sure when I'm teaching. I got a phone call on Tuesday that they needed me to teach another section of Basic English. I told them I'd do it if both my classes were on the same days so that I could use identical syllabi. The department chair said he'd check with the dean and get back to me. I didn't hear anything until we went to a faculty reception last night and the dean told me I was teaching at 2 p.m. Monday-Friday. I was surprised and my snot-covered brain had trouble processing. I talked it over with Matt, and he agreed that different class lengths add prep work and that I don't need that much extra work. My morning meltdown further confirmed it. Then this morning Susie told me that she was at advising to register for classes and that my name was on the course schedule given to all freshman. So I immediately called the dean and department chair to tell them I couldn't teach both classes. I sounded so sick on the phone that they were understanding.
So this weekend my job is to get healthy and finish my syllabus. Monday I'll register for classes and attend a couple. Tuesday I'll teach a class. And sometime that week I need to get the house clean enough for Matt's fantasy class to come over to watch the Lord of the Rings movies on Saturday.
I feel like I'm at the starting line waiting for the pistol to go off and send me sprinting toward Christmas. It's good to know I have people I can count on if I get winded along the way.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Farewell to fat shorts!
A couple of months ago I happened upon a big sale at JC Penneys and was excited to buy a pair of shorts that fit because almost all of the shorts I owned were too tight. I have now shrunk out of those shorts. I am comfortably wearing a pair of shorts that was getting snug last summer before I got pregnant. Hurray! Maybe I should try on more of my clothes and see what fits. The other day Mom asked if I was going to need new clothes now that I've got a job (or two), and I said I had clothes from working at Luther Memorial. Fortunately, I wore sizes 14-18 while working there, so I'll have work clothes even if I lose more weight. I've also been known to buy a cute piece of clothing on clearance even if it doesn't quite fit, so as I shrink I'll have new clothes as well as well-worn favorites. Something to look forward to.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Sooo employed
Wednesday night, I got the call that the church had approved hiring me, so I went in on Thursday morning to start training. Wow! This job is different. I'll mostly be working by myself because everyone else on staff has a day job, so there shouldn't be many co-worker conflicts. :) They get very few phone calls: only two in the four hours I was in the office. They keep the doors locked, so there's no foot traffic. The bulletin is on a single sheet of paper. And other than routing mail and financial papers, picking up bank bags on Monday morning, sending a few letters, doing the one-page bulletin and answering a phone that doesn't ring, almost everything else I do is self-motivated. This job will not add 50 pounds. Hurray!
This afternoon I walked to the academic office on campus to get some forms and sample syllabi for the class I'm teaching. I also picked up a textbook at the bookstore. Syllabi prep now begins in earnest. My friend Shawn says it's the best part of teaching, and I have to admit it's pretty exciting before students get involved and expose all the flaws in the teaching plan and before the grading begins. Some of the forms I picked up are for signing up for classes. I hope to get that done by early next week at the latest. My friend Anne works in the music department and recommended that I take Piano 2 since I've had six years of lessons, but it meets while I'm teaching so I'll have to figure out how to work that out. I now have so many friends I've become a name dropper. :)
I went to water aerobics again this evening. I started realizing that the rest of the people who attend water aerobics see us as a group. I don't even know their names, and they probably don't know mine. I'm probably just the girl in the blue and black swimsuit who grins really big while she spins in circles when we do the tilted bicycle exercise (everyone else stays pretty stationary). It's my favorite. I'll have to try learning who the rest of the exercisers are. From their conversations I assume several are public school teachers/employees. Word is that the sixth graders are really rowdy this year.
It's been a good busy day, and I'm pretty tired. If I go to bed earlier, Matt gets to bed earlier, so my job may be good for both of us.
This afternoon I walked to the academic office on campus to get some forms and sample syllabi for the class I'm teaching. I also picked up a textbook at the bookstore. Syllabi prep now begins in earnest. My friend Shawn says it's the best part of teaching, and I have to admit it's pretty exciting before students get involved and expose all the flaws in the teaching plan and before the grading begins. Some of the forms I picked up are for signing up for classes. I hope to get that done by early next week at the latest. My friend Anne works in the music department and recommended that I take Piano 2 since I've had six years of lessons, but it meets while I'm teaching so I'll have to figure out how to work that out. I now have so many friends I've become a name dropper. :)
I went to water aerobics again this evening. I started realizing that the rest of the people who attend water aerobics see us as a group. I don't even know their names, and they probably don't know mine. I'm probably just the girl in the blue and black swimsuit who grins really big while she spins in circles when we do the tilted bicycle exercise (everyone else stays pretty stationary). It's my favorite. I'll have to try learning who the rest of the exercisers are. From their conversations I assume several are public school teachers/employees. Word is that the sixth graders are really rowdy this year.
It's been a good busy day, and I'm pretty tired. If I go to bed earlier, Matt gets to bed earlier, so my job may be good for both of us.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Ch-ch-changes
A stuttering theme for all the new things starting in August. This evening while I was at water aerobics, the chair of the English department called to offer me up to 3 sections of classes to teach. I'm supposed to call him tomorrow to find out more about class content and times. The times are important because of my (probable) new part-time job as church secretary at Lowell Avenue Baptist Church. The office is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., so I'll need to work my teaching schedule around that. The final decision about hiring me at the church will be made at a business meeting on Wednesday evening, but everyone involved seems to think it's a formality. I was also reminded recently that I can now take classes for free at Campbellsville University. I'm looking into a Monday evening Self Defense/Tai Chi class, twice-a-week class piano lessons, and a 3-credit video production class. If Matt needs me to take his Fantasy class to boost enrollment numbers, I could take that, too. Matt pointed out that he would have to give me a grade, and I reminded him I'm sleeping with the professor. :) But since it conflicts with water aerobics, I probably won't take it. The classes I take will depend on my teaching schedule. So my fall seems like it will be busy.
While I was at open swim last Thursday, I decided I was ready to really start trying to lose weight. I've been coasting for almost 4 months and am at pre-pregnancy weight, but pre-pregnancy weight was 30 pounds more than I'm comfortable with. My job at the church in Madison was pretty stressful for several years, and it added almost 50 pounds. I'd really like to get back to a comfortable weight. I've lost a pound since I decided last week to lose weight. Hurray for me! This morning I did a Bollywood dance program from the fitness channel and was reminded how uncoordinated I am. It really energized me, though, and I danced and fidgeted around the house all day. And then I went to water aerobics tonight and stayed an extra hour after class at free swim. I'm trying to teach myself proper swimming and breathing techniques so that I can swim laps efficiently. Sometimes I do pretty well, and sometimes I inhale water and stand up sputtering. My friend Beth used to teach swimming lessons and has offered to help me. If I can't get the hang of it, I'll take her up on the offer.
I'm also following a fascinating new blog: http://adashofsouthernsass.blogspot.com/. Ashley started it two days ago. Ashley keeps me in touch with coolness, has a great sense of humor and sense of style, and tends to get into crazy situations and meet crazy people. I look forward to reading her blog. And when I logged on to post this evening, I found out there are all sorts of new features from blogger, so I redecorated my blog. Even my blog is changing.
While I was at open swim last Thursday, I decided I was ready to really start trying to lose weight. I've been coasting for almost 4 months and am at pre-pregnancy weight, but pre-pregnancy weight was 30 pounds more than I'm comfortable with. My job at the church in Madison was pretty stressful for several years, and it added almost 50 pounds. I'd really like to get back to a comfortable weight. I've lost a pound since I decided last week to lose weight. Hurray for me! This morning I did a Bollywood dance program from the fitness channel and was reminded how uncoordinated I am. It really energized me, though, and I danced and fidgeted around the house all day. And then I went to water aerobics tonight and stayed an extra hour after class at free swim. I'm trying to teach myself proper swimming and breathing techniques so that I can swim laps efficiently. Sometimes I do pretty well, and sometimes I inhale water and stand up sputtering. My friend Beth used to teach swimming lessons and has offered to help me. If I can't get the hang of it, I'll take her up on the offer.
I'm also following a fascinating new blog: http://adashofsouthernsass.blogspot.com/. Ashley started it two days ago. Ashley keeps me in touch with coolness, has a great sense of humor and sense of style, and tends to get into crazy situations and meet crazy people. I look forward to reading her blog. And when I logged on to post this evening, I found out there are all sorts of new features from blogger, so I redecorated my blog. Even my blog is changing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)