Brain Droppings, Part Four

Bits and pieces of randomness...

1. My new kittens, Emmet (top) and Gideon (bottom) have been with me since August 7, which was a few weeks earlier than I expected. The friend who I adopted them from had contacted me to let me know that their mama had stopped nursing them, and since they were eating kitten food and using the litter box like champs, it was okay with her if I wanted to take them home. I‘ll admit I was a little scared because they were only 6 weeks old (and so tiny!), but my fear was unfounded-it took all of one day for them to become acclimated to their new environment. Now that we're three weeks in, the boys have had their first visit with the vet and have received their first set of vaccinations. Emmet weighs in at 2 lbs. 5 oz and Gideon is one ounce lighter, which surprises me because he looks bigger. I just love watching them play together, especially their wrestling matches😆. It's crazy how much energy kittens have! It's been 16 years since I last had a kitten, so I had forgotten.
2. My youngest niece, Jolene, turned 3 years old on Sunday, August 23rd. The large family party that my sister originally had planned was scaled down considerably due to the fact that the birthday girl came down with hand, foot, and mouth disease a few days prior to the celebration. My brother and sister-in-law opted out of attending because they were spending most of the following week babysitting their 7 month old granddaughter and didn't want to put her at risk. I'm not in contact with any children (more on that below), so I went to the party and enjoyed watching her open her presents and eat her cake. It doesn't seem possible that she's 3 already. Time is going by too damn fast.
3. I went back to work the week of August 17th, and to say that the start of the 2020-21 school year has been a shit show would be an understatement. The original plan of the district where I'm employed had the students attending in person on an A/B schedule with alternating Fridays, meaning some students would be in school Monday, Wednesday, and every other Friday with the rest of the kids going Tuesday, Thursday, and every other Friday. Then, a week before school started, the school board decided that regular division students would be all virtual, while the students in special education and programs such as ESL and ELL would be attending in person on the aforementioned A/B schedule. Then, four days after that, that plan was scrapped and ALL students were virtual/remote learning. Oy vey! I understand the need to keep students and staff safe, but what the people in charge don't understand is that the severe and profound population does not have success with online learning. At all. They need their therapies and one-on-one instruction that involves communication devices and other adapted equipment, so it has been a challenge for me and my fellow teachers to come up with meaningful lessons that can be conducted at home. I really feel for our parents right now, especially the parents who have full time jobs and now have the added stress of helping their child complete their school work. I hope the return to in person learning comes sooner rather than later. Taking accurate data and meeting IEP goals is a nightmare when you’re not physically working with your students.
4. I'm thrilled with the addition of Sen. Kamala Harris to the Democratic ticket. I can't wait to see her smoke Mike Pence in the Vice Presidential debate. It will be glorious.
5. The St. Louis Blues are no longer the defending Stanley Cup champions. They lost all 4 of their round robin games, dropping from the top seed in the Western Conference down to the fourth. Their first round opponent, the Vancouver Canucks, won the series 4 games to 2. What’s weird is that I’m not even that upset about it. Whoever wins the Cup this year won’t be able to celebrate with a parade or a rally with their fans. Where’s the fun in that? Playoff hockey in August/September is just wrong.

Tarot Card Of The Day

Interesting. I wonder what the "something new coming into my life" could be? Going back to my classroom in a Covid-19 world, trying to adjust to all the changes that go along with it? I'll admit that I'm apprehensive about how I'm going to keep myself, and my special needs students, safe and healthy, mainly due to the fact that they won't be wearing masks and don't understand the concept of social distancing.

For the record, I AM getting new glasses in a couple of weeks, but I highly doubt that is going to make much of an impact😆

Put This In The "Don't Confuse Education With Intelligence" File

Yesterday afternoon, one of the teachers I work with was seriously trying to convince me that the national language of Spain was Portugese Portugese is the national language of Portugal and Brazil, sweetie. Where does she think the term "Spanish" originated?

#Wipeyoass!

Yesterday morning at work, I needed to take a quick bathroom break, so I headed to one of the two employee-only bathrooms in the school. When I entered said bathroom, I noticed there was something brown on the toilet seat. At first, I thought it was the corner of a wet paper towel, but on closer inspection, I discovered that it was something worse...

A piece of poop.

A piece of poop from one of my adult co-workers.

What the hell?!?! Was this person hovering over the toilet when he/she attempted to drop the Cleveland Browns off at the Superbowl? Did it fall out of their underwear? Was it stuck on their ass?

All I can say is thank God I had the foresight to glance at the toilet before I sat on it. */shudder

Brain Droppings, Part Two

Bits and pieces of randomness...

1. I had my baseline mammogram on Nov. 11. To my immense surprise (and relief), it was not at all uncomfortable or painful. The results? Everything is normal.
2. The St.Louis Blues fired head coach Davis Payne on Nov. 7 and replaced him with Ken Hitchcock. I'll admit this took me (and many other Blues fans) by surprise; we thought the organization would give Payne, like Andy Murray before him, more time to get back on track. Guess they weren't playing around. So far under Hitchcock, the Blues are 4W-1L-2OT. Not too shabby. My brother Bart, best friend Kelly, and I traveled to St.Louis on Nov. 12 to see the Blues beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0. My boy, TJ Oshie, scored a beautiful empty net goal in the second period. Kelly pointed out that he has scored a goal in every game we've attended in person. Coincidence? I think not.
3. I'm totally addicted to The Walking Dead and American Horror Story. Hands down, two of the most graphic, downright bizarre shows in the history of television. I tried watching Walking Dead during the first season but, for some reason, just couldn't get into it. When it appeared on streaming Netflix, I decided to give it another shot and found myself hooked. I love the characters (well, not Shane because he's an ass), the suspense, the creepy zombies, and the plot twists. As for American Horror Story, I became intrigued after it was featured in Entertainment Weekly, so I caught the first three episodes on Xfinity On Demand and was blown away by what a mind freak it really is. It's hard to describe what's going on in the infamous "Murder House"- you just have to see it for yourself.
4. I'm seriously considering going back to school next fall to earn a certificate in medical transcription. I'd like to have a reliable career back-up ready should I have to leave my current position as a special ed. teacher assistant, either due to layoffs or loss of benefits. If neither situation occurs (fingers crossed), I figure I can still use the certificate by doing medical transcription work part-time (ideally from home).

Things I Never Thought I'd Say At Work, Take 3

"Maynard*, stop kissing my butt."

(I mean that literally. He snuck up behind me while I was bent over doing a lift and planted kisses on my rear. What can I say? He's our class clown)

*name changed for privacy reasons

I Want Wednesday

I want the unsettling rumors that I'm hearing around my workplace to be just that...rumors. Several people in the school district's Support Staff union have heard that the powers-that-be might consider pink slipping all full time teacher assistants in the near future, and then hiring us back part-time so they won't have to give us health benefits. If that turns out to be the case, the district is going to lose a lot of hard working, dedicated professionals- me included. I absolutely love my job as a severe/profound special ed. classroom assistant, but I need a job that offers health insurance. It would break my heart if I had to leave my babies.

I know the school district is experiencing money woes, but how the hell is this going to benefit the kids? We've willingly taken a pay freeze over the last two years and this is how they might re-pay us? Teacher assistants have to have the education and credentials to be in accordance with No Child Left Behind statutes, so how can they think we're not an integral component in the educational system? Good luck finding qualified people who are willing to work for crap money and no benefits to fill vacated positions.

Any one against universal health care in this country can kiss my fat, white ass. You'd better hope you don't find yourself in this predicament some day.

I Want Wednesday

I want the school year to be over and done with already. I know that we got a later start and used two more snow days than other area school districts, but damn. Going this far into June is just sick and wrong (especially when the stifling humidity and high 90s-100 degree temperatures are factored in). Tempers are flaring, so it will be a miracle if we can survive the remaining 4 days without casualties.