December 4, 2011
BULLYING HAS GOT TO STOP! (Part 1)
My heart is breaking for this kid...
If you are not crying by the time you finish this, where is your heart? I will make more comments about this video tomorrow. Right now I just cannot seem to find the words, but I definitely wanted to share this with you!
November 27, 2011
Is this the next JB?
Anyway, back to the point of this post. I was looking around on YouTube this evening checking out music videos. As I was looking up some of Bruno Mars' songs, I discovered the cover below:
November 22, 2011
Thanksgiving Dilemma
This afternoon I was speaking to my father on the phone. We were discussing a number of items that have been going on over the past week. Then came the discussion of Thanksgiving Day plans.
For decades (am I so old that I can actually use "decades" to indicate time periods in my life...ugh!) the plan for Thanksgiving Day has been my immediate family getting together at my Aunt Sue's home for dinner. In the beginning of this tradition it was me, my brother, father, my grandparents, my Aunt Sue and Uncle Gary, my Uncle Paul, and my two cousins. In the past few years, with everyone growing up and the grandparents passing away, the annual gathering at Aunt Sue's has shrunk to five or six of us at the house.
What has been consistent through all of these years has been gathering at Sue's house. That changed last year!
Last November, I was told that it was decided our Thanksgiving dinner would not be at Sue's for the first time in my life. We were going to be having Thanksgiving Day dinner at a restaurant. I was not at all thrilled by this concept. Change is never easy, and neither was this...especially for me. I went to dinner last year, but it did NOT feel like Thanksgiving to me. It simply felt like another dinner we would have had on any other night. While I was happy to get together with my family, I just had this sense of sadness.
To be honest, I had forgotten about last Thanksgiving's dining-out experiment last year...until today! My father informed me tonight that we would be eating out again this year for Thanksgiving. My heart sunk on some level. Dad went on to say that he was unsure what my plans were, but he would love for me to be there. Of course, I am going to be there! Where else am I going to be going?
Here is my question to all of you...Am I being ridiculous for having such strong feelings about eating out for Thanksgiving instead of going to my Aunt Sue's for dinner? Why am I having such strong feelings? Why am I feeling so lost on this holiday?
On another note, I really wanted to say how thankful I am to have gotten to know so many of you over the past two years. I have made some truly amazing and life-long friends through this outlet. I love you all so very much. Thank you for being there for me!
For decades (am I so old that I can actually use "decades" to indicate time periods in my life...ugh!) the plan for Thanksgiving Day has been my immediate family getting together at my Aunt Sue's home for dinner. In the beginning of this tradition it was me, my brother, father, my grandparents, my Aunt Sue and Uncle Gary, my Uncle Paul, and my two cousins. In the past few years, with everyone growing up and the grandparents passing away, the annual gathering at Aunt Sue's has shrunk to five or six of us at the house.
What has been consistent through all of these years has been gathering at Sue's house. That changed last year!
Last November, I was told that it was decided our Thanksgiving dinner would not be at Sue's for the first time in my life. We were going to be having Thanksgiving Day dinner at a restaurant. I was not at all thrilled by this concept. Change is never easy, and neither was this...especially for me. I went to dinner last year, but it did NOT feel like Thanksgiving to me. It simply felt like another dinner we would have had on any other night. While I was happy to get together with my family, I just had this sense of sadness.
To be honest, I had forgotten about last Thanksgiving's dining-out experiment last year...until today! My father informed me tonight that we would be eating out again this year for Thanksgiving. My heart sunk on some level. Dad went on to say that he was unsure what my plans were, but he would love for me to be there. Of course, I am going to be there! Where else am I going to be going?
Here is my question to all of you...Am I being ridiculous for having such strong feelings about eating out for Thanksgiving instead of going to my Aunt Sue's for dinner? Why am I having such strong feelings? Why am I feeling so lost on this holiday?
---------------------------------------------------
November 20, 2011
Musical Mathematics for You
Lady Gaga + A Classical Twist = TOTAL AWESOMENESS!!!!
This year, I have become a huge fan of Aston and their classical version of all these current pop songs. It is wild!
Another Full Weekend
This has been quite the weekend!
On Friday, I lost it with some of my kids at the end of the day. This week I was assigned study hall for students who had not completed their work this week. That meant 30 minutes of these kids who just don't care about getting their work done. They just kept talking. After asking over and over and over I finally just let them have it. These kids know I love them, so I am aware that it will be forgiven and forgotten by Monday. (Honestly, they will have forgotten it before they got home.)
The problem is that I just always feel awful after letting loose on them. I hate being the bad guy. They don't deserve me losing my temper, and I didn't mean to let it happen. However, it had just been building all week. The kids were crazy all week long. Luckily, I was not alone in this thought. Every teacher I had spoken with had the same thing to say about their kids. LOL!
I got home around 4PM on Friday, and my plan was to take a nap before attending a party with the teachers from my school. The party was at my teammate's home. I ended up sleeping until around 1AM. I completely missed the party. I found Facebook messages, voicemails, and texts from friends looking for me. I never heard anything while I was sleeping. Evidently, I slept hard!
I wake up on Saturday morning, and I get a call from my father. He called to let me know that one of my great-aunts had passed away on Friday night around 9PM. She had been quite ill for several years. I knew she was worse over the past two weeks. Many of the things happening to her at the hospital were similar to what my grandmother had went through just before she passed away a few years ago. I knew it was only a matter of time. It is sad that we lost such a wonderful and hilarious woman in our family. She will certainly be missed.
I don't yet know about funeral details, but I am going to try and make it. Friends from school have been asking if I will be taking time off this week for the funeral. I have been talking with my family, and they are adamant that I not come home for the funeral unless I can get away without affecting my kids. My family really is wonderful. I have not made a decision on whether I will attend or not. It is all dependent on when the services will take place.
On Saturday evening, I had tickets to see the national tour of "In the Heights." I have been excited for weeks to see this musical again. It is one of my favorites. I love the music and the story line. I was even more excited by the fact I had 2nd row orchestra center seats. I was ecstatic. The show started at 8PM! I was sitting among several retired couples. I was curious to see how they reacted to the story and the music. As the show began I took off singing every single word of the musical. (Yes, I am one of those people who will sing the entire show if I know it.) Just a little FYI, I ended up just mouthing the words. I did not want to disturb those around me. One lady behind me noticed me singing throughout the first act. During the intermission she and I were talking. She knew I had seen the show before, and this was her first time seeing it. I was surprised at just how much she had loved it. We talked about the story line, the writer of the show (Lin-Manuel Miranda), and the history of the show. It was the best intermission I have ever had. She and I became soul mates!
One new experience for me in this show was the fact I cried during the second act. It revolves around the loss of one of the most beloved characters in the show. There are two songs in the show that get me every time. Some how I caught myself actually crying this time. It was just moving. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact I was on the second row and I could see the emotions on the actors' faces. It is one of the reason I love being up close during a show. It was wonderful.
Seeing the show was exactly what I needed as a release from the week. I left that theater with just an overwhelming feeling of peace. Love it!
The drive home was difficult. It was a two-hour drive to get home. After about an hour of driving, I was exhausted. I pulled off and decided to lock down the car so I could nap for about 30 minutes. (Right...30 minutes.) That supposed-half hour ended up being 3 hours. I was supposed to get home around 1AM, but I did not make it into my driveway until 4AM. I instantly hit the bed when I made it in the house. I was out.
Today, I did not get up until around 11AM. I had to get some work done, so I got up and showered. I made it out of the house around 12:30, and instantly headed for school. I was there for about 2 hours today writing lesson plans, finishing up PowerPoints, and making copies needed for Monday. What's funny about this is that I am not teaching. Why am I doing so much work when my student-teacher should be doing all of this? It doesn't make much sense.
This afternoon, I decided to go to the movies. Yes, I went to see Breaking Dawn: Part I. It was definitely an interesting sequel to the series. I won't say it was the best of the series, but I did enjoy it. I am excited to see the final movie next year.
It has been a weekend of ups and downs. Luckily, this week is only a two-day workweek!
Talk to everyone soon!
Joey
On Friday, I lost it with some of my kids at the end of the day. This week I was assigned study hall for students who had not completed their work this week. That meant 30 minutes of these kids who just don't care about getting their work done. They just kept talking. After asking over and over and over I finally just let them have it. These kids know I love them, so I am aware that it will be forgiven and forgotten by Monday. (Honestly, they will have forgotten it before they got home.)
The problem is that I just always feel awful after letting loose on them. I hate being the bad guy. They don't deserve me losing my temper, and I didn't mean to let it happen. However, it had just been building all week. The kids were crazy all week long. Luckily, I was not alone in this thought. Every teacher I had spoken with had the same thing to say about their kids. LOL!
I got home around 4PM on Friday, and my plan was to take a nap before attending a party with the teachers from my school. The party was at my teammate's home. I ended up sleeping until around 1AM. I completely missed the party. I found Facebook messages, voicemails, and texts from friends looking for me. I never heard anything while I was sleeping. Evidently, I slept hard!
I wake up on Saturday morning, and I get a call from my father. He called to let me know that one of my great-aunts had passed away on Friday night around 9PM. She had been quite ill for several years. I knew she was worse over the past two weeks. Many of the things happening to her at the hospital were similar to what my grandmother had went through just before she passed away a few years ago. I knew it was only a matter of time. It is sad that we lost such a wonderful and hilarious woman in our family. She will certainly be missed.
I don't yet know about funeral details, but I am going to try and make it. Friends from school have been asking if I will be taking time off this week for the funeral. I have been talking with my family, and they are adamant that I not come home for the funeral unless I can get away without affecting my kids. My family really is wonderful. I have not made a decision on whether I will attend or not. It is all dependent on when the services will take place.
On Saturday evening, I had tickets to see the national tour of "In the Heights." I have been excited for weeks to see this musical again. It is one of my favorites. I love the music and the story line. I was even more excited by the fact I had 2nd row orchestra center seats. I was ecstatic. The show started at 8PM! I was sitting among several retired couples. I was curious to see how they reacted to the story and the music. As the show began I took off singing every single word of the musical. (Yes, I am one of those people who will sing the entire show if I know it.) Just a little FYI, I ended up just mouthing the words. I did not want to disturb those around me. One lady behind me noticed me singing throughout the first act. During the intermission she and I were talking. She knew I had seen the show before, and this was her first time seeing it. I was surprised at just how much she had loved it. We talked about the story line, the writer of the show (Lin-Manuel Miranda), and the history of the show. It was the best intermission I have ever had. She and I became soul mates!
One new experience for me in this show was the fact I cried during the second act. It revolves around the loss of one of the most beloved characters in the show. There are two songs in the show that get me every time. Some how I caught myself actually crying this time. It was just moving. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact I was on the second row and I could see the emotions on the actors' faces. It is one of the reason I love being up close during a show. It was wonderful.
Seeing the show was exactly what I needed as a release from the week. I left that theater with just an overwhelming feeling of peace. Love it!
The drive home was difficult. It was a two-hour drive to get home. After about an hour of driving, I was exhausted. I pulled off and decided to lock down the car so I could nap for about 30 minutes. (Right...30 minutes.) That supposed-half hour ended up being 3 hours. I was supposed to get home around 1AM, but I did not make it into my driveway until 4AM. I instantly hit the bed when I made it in the house. I was out.
Today, I did not get up until around 11AM. I had to get some work done, so I got up and showered. I made it out of the house around 12:30, and instantly headed for school. I was there for about 2 hours today writing lesson plans, finishing up PowerPoints, and making copies needed for Monday. What's funny about this is that I am not teaching. Why am I doing so much work when my student-teacher should be doing all of this? It doesn't make much sense.
This afternoon, I decided to go to the movies. Yes, I went to see Breaking Dawn: Part I. It was definitely an interesting sequel to the series. I won't say it was the best of the series, but I did enjoy it. I am excited to see the final movie next year.
It has been a weekend of ups and downs. Luckily, this week is only a two-day workweek!
Talk to everyone soon!
Joey
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