Back to school

Yesterday I began my 11th year of teaching here in Georgia. With this new year, I have a regular teaching schedule without the stress of no planning period. Today I marveled at how much I could accomplish with an entire class period to sit and write out ideas and put together framework for activities and mini-projects. At the end of the day, I felt prepared and eager to have my students return to me and to continue our new year in learning to communicate in French.

Although the expression may be "fail to plan, plan to fail," it was more for me a case of failing to have adequate time and energy to plan last year. Despite the added hour for planning, mostly I was simply exhausted and stressed. I did make plans, but they tended to be skeletal and broad, lacking the detail that allows a teacher to prepare for possible tangents and unexpected eventualities.

This year I also decided to make a number of changes: reconfiguring my room, adding some new strategies to my teaching style, collaborating more with colleagues, encouraging more participation from my students. I want this second decade of my career to be one of growth and not of stagnation. So far, my students seem to like the changes and embrace them as a new way to learn French, the differences making the class a bit different than the year before and, I hope, more interesting, too.

Harry Potter, where are you?

Barnes & Noble gave it to UPS. UPS brought it to Peachtree City. In Peachtree City, The Deathly Hallows has gone missing. I may never learn what happens to Harry.

Naturism, nudism or just being weird

Without too much detail, I went out into nature and got natural. It was refreshing and fun. Everyone should try it once. It's how you come into the world, so why not spend more time that way?

Day 19 - 4 July 2007

On the way to Oklahoma City, we traveled the fabled and revered Route 66 that is now mostly covered by Interstate 40. Through the wonder of Apple technology, my iPod played a version of "Route 66" by Chuck Barry from the Cars soundtrack when we were leaving New Mexico and heading into Texas.* There were so many interesting old buildings and as many run-down decayed towns that had been forgotten with the advent of the Interstate. Page and Marie loved observing the Americana and the open road across so many states. This scrap book is going to take forever to complete.

*Another technological quirk, on Day 21 when we were heading into Georgia on I-20 from Alabama, we heard "Love Shack" by the B-52's on a Birmingham radio station. We sang out loud down the "Atlanta highway" on our way home.

Day 20 - 5 July 2007

Upon arriving in Memphis, we quickly checked into the Quality Inn near Graceland, then headed downtown to Beale Street for dinner. After a couple of wrong turns, we found ourselves in front of Sun Records. We decided to park, go inside and take the $10 tour. Wow! Seeing the memorabilia of a bygone era of rock & roll, standing in the studio where Elvis, BB King, Johny Cash and even U2 recorded--we were in awe.

After the tour, we made our way to Beale Street and stumbled into BB King's Blues Club. We had a great Southern (read "fried") dinner with SWEET TEA and live blues music. Page and Marie were all smiles and had a great time and stuffed themselves: the former on chicken tenders and hush puppies, the latter on mac & cheese and French fries. By the time we were back at the hotel, all we could do was talk about how exciting it was to be in the Sun recording studio and to walk the Beale.

Day 18 - 3 July 2007

We rose early and rolled out of Henderson after 3 days with my Mom to head to the Grand Canyon. My daughter had been complaining of her stomach hurting, but I put it off to her not really wanting to pack up and leave as she was having a good time visiting her family that usually she never sees.

HOWEVER, in Arizona, only an hour away from the Grand Canyon, she again complained that her stomach hurt. I asked her to specify whether she meant pain or nausea. She said she felt both. Just as I looked for a place to pull over, she belched and puked in her hands, lap, on the seat, on the floor, out the window, down the door. The good news: we were right in front of a little gas station/laundromat in Williams, AZ. It was a Mustang gas station, but I'd already fueled up just a mile or so earlier in town. Still, they were very nice and filled jugs with water and gave me paper towels to help clean up the car and Marie. In their restroom, Marie changed out of the soiled clothes. With the coins in the console of the Kia, I was able to wash and dry the blanket from the car, Marie's clothes and the laundry we were carrying from my mother's house. In all, we were there in Williams about an hour and a half. The people we greeted and who helped us were friendly and kind. It was the best place for Marie to get sick. At least when it was over, Marie felt better.

Finally, we made it to the Grand Canyon. We looked over the South Rim for about 30 minutes, marveling at the awesome magnitude of it all. It's too bad that the time spent cleaning up vomit couldn't have been spent seeing more of this natural wonder.

Vacation Frustration or Wounds a Little Less Fresh

When we had settled in Rapid City, SD at the Rodeway Inn for the night, I spent time on the phone with my boyfriend as he helped me book a room for the next night. The whole endeavor was besieged with problems. Firstly, we were having no success finding hotels that allowed pets and that had a vacancy. As John cross-checked cities along my itinerary with listings on Hotels.com or other online search engines, I would call potential locations for the next night's repose only to be told there were no vacancies or that pets were not allowed. The worst was the Holiday Inn reservation line that refused to let me speak with a human being because I was not booking a multiple night stay. Top that off with a rude desk clerk at a Holiday Inn Express that I managed to call after a very frustrating battle with a computer voice and then by choosing options to call the hotel under the pretext of talking to a guest staying there. It was all I could do not to throw my cell phone across the room in anger. Fortunately, my common sense kicked in, and so did the shot of whiskey I swallowed.

While I fought back tears after rejections from more than a dozen hotels and motels, John asked me why I was traveling down to Utah to get to Boise when I could take a more direct route by going across Wyoming along a pair of US Highways instead of the Interstate to the south. My mistake would not keep me from getting to Boise, but it was adding an extra night to my trip that I could ill afford. As frustration mounted, getting to Boise a night sooner than I had planned was very appealing. That's when John looked along the US Routes and found us the place in Riverton, WY that I wrote about the other day.

Booking hotels in advance is helpful for sure, but not enough information is readily available online to make that as easy as it can be. Not all the travel search sites cross reference "pet friendliness" as a criteria for reservations, leaving large sets of lodging resources unchecked or in doubt. It's definitely "call before you book" if you don't want problems during check-in.

Traveling with children and dog while being the only adult driver in the group is a big challenge. At least my children are finally old enough to know when papa has had enough, to plug in their iPods and read rather than to bicker about who's touching whom. With Dramamine at the start of the trip, the dog is a non-issue except to stop for water and to pee, which is something all of us need to do as often as he does. Thank goodness for modern, clean, well-equipped rest areas that dot most of our nation's highways. M&M's do a lot to keep me sane.

Only a week and a half remains in our automobile adventure. There is still family to visit as well as sights to see. Happy motoring!

24 June 2007 - Fourth day in Boise

This was a great day. John booked a rafting trip down the main fork of the Payette River north of Boise. The four of us donned life vests, took up oars, and with the instructions of a guide and the help of two other river rafting tourists, we paddled eight miles down the Payette. Marie and Page took turns "riding the bull", sitting on the bow of the raft as we took a class one or class two rapid or active wave train. They had so much fun, giggling, squealing and getting doused by the chilly river water. They talked about the trip the whole ride home in the car, devoured their dinners as if they'd never before been fed a hot meal in their lives, and passed out in front of the television before their regular bed time. What a fun and exciting day for all of us! If ever in Boise, give Cascade Raft & Kayak a try (http://cascaderaft.com/index.asp). (Photo courtesy of Cascade Raft & Kayak, 2007)

23 June 2007 - Third day in Boise

After just a week on vacation, I've been through some serious highs and lows. One good note has been our stay in a delightful little hotel in Riverton, WY. The place is called the South Federal Inn (http://www.southfederalinn.com/); it's an old motor lodge, an original motel, from the 1950's with two private garages for the high end suites. Our room had had to areas for sleeping, so I had a little privacy. The innkeeper, Jennifer Thomas, was wonderful. She gave us such a warm reception and was so kind and charming while greeting us and showing us our room. The morning of our departure, she came to see us off at 7:30 a.m., to give us directions in Wyoming, and to offer advice about moose and elk on the road as we passed through the Snake River Valley below the Grand Tetons.

On the way to Riverton, we passed through the entire state of South Dakota going from Sioux Falls to Rapid City. We were able to see both Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. We also passed through the Badlands and visited the famous Wall Drug. All of us agreed we could easily spend a week in the southwestern part of South Dakota.

The trip has had its ups and downs. The sites have been amazing apart from having to skip some tours because we couldn't leave the dog in the car. The hotel experience has been difficult quite often as far as making reservations in advance where accomodations would accept a dog. Driving over 2500 miles from Atlanta to Boise on the route we chose has also been a strain on me physically. My back is pained and it's taken the last two days to rest and recuperate. At least I've got a few more days here to relax before I have to get in the car again with kids, luggage and dog to get to Las Vegas for four days to visit my mother and other family. When this adventure is over, I hope to have some lasting memories that are good enough to overshadow the frustrations.

18 June 2007 – Third day on the road

I hate fucking traveling by car. And you can’t get a hotel in America unless you’ve booked it weeks in advance and go the secret code to get the non-existent discount available only online to special customers who know the wink and handshake to give at check-in.

16 June 2007 - First day on the road

After 9 hours on the road with me, the two kids and the dog crammed into my boyfriend's Kia Sportage, we were all glad to arrive at the Howard Johnson's hotel where despite the lack of connectivity as advertised, they welcomed our pet. Sixteen miles from St. Louis, MO, we have stopped for the night on our first leg of our journey from Atlanta to Boise to Las Vegas and back. We'll cover a great bit of the highways and byways of America, enjoying the scenery, seeing some sites, and finally I'll get a few days of reunion with my beloved John. Regardless of the distance, he is very supportive of my needs.

Our first remarkable point of interest was in Metropolis, IL, the Home of Superman. We took the obligatory photos of Page and Marie before the giant Superman statue and of their faces over the life-sized cutouts of Superman and Supergirl. We also bought a few trinket souvenirs the Superman Museum gift shop. We did not tour the museum itself because we had no way to keep our dog Beau cool and comfortable in the summer heat. Maybe one time on another trip, perhaps to Chicago, we'll stop in and see all that Metropolis has to offer.

Tomorrow we will pass through the Gateway to the West and take our pictures before the Gateway Arch. I'm not sure how much touring we can do around the site with Beau in tow, but definitely we'll have a good time. If we're lucky, the hotel will have a decent breakfast to get us off to a good start before we cross the Missouri River.

Mobile computing—do I need it?

Whether or not I need it, I have it now. With an upcoming freelance translation job, I need to have easy access to a computer to be able to complete translations quickly for at least a couple hours a day while on a road trip. In addition, I need to have the ability to connect to the Internet in WiFi hotspots or in hotel rooms that have broadband in order to verify information on French Canadian Web sites and to check online French language resources when I hit the occasional translation bump.

Shopping in the electronic stores was in order. Doubtful that I would find anything within my budget or that wouldn’t devour my potential earnings, I stumbled across a clearance sale. When I was able to find a well equipped, dual-processor multimedia computer that would leave me more than two thirds of my upcoming paycheck for the job, I bought the Toshiba Satellite. It took a short while to configure, mostly to delete all the bloatware I don’t want and to install the handful of applications that are useful to me.

Although I considered a switch to Mac, I have to stay within my budget. Besides the cost, right now is just not a good time for me to change platforms though I do understand it’s easier than ever to do. What frustrates me about Mac is its price tag. Why is it so high? Even budget computers from Apple are outside my price range while I have other debts like my car and my credit card balance. Eventually, I’ll own the kind of Mac I want, but this interim Vista-based computer is very nice. For the most part it can do everything I need when I’m on the road. If it works out well, I may switch entirely to laptop computing and wave goodbye to my desktop the next time I upgrade my computer.

One thing is certain, despite the “bazillion” updates I had to install for this brand new operating system, Vista works far better as the native operating system on a new machine than it did as an upgrade to my older but well equipped desktop. With 20/20 hindsight, I see that I should have left my desktop running XP Media Center and waited until I needed the laptop computer to upgrade.

My next goal for home and mobile computing is to get my wireless router installed. Then I will be able to work in the living room. My boyfriend John will be glad to know I’m using the rest of the apartment rather than staying holed up in the bedroom with infrequent trips to the kitchen or laundry room. At least then I’ll make better use of the widescreen TV and the TiVo.

Thus I begin my 39th year

With little or no fuss, my 39th year on this Earth began today. My boyfriend is in Idaho, building a turbine for a power plant. My son is camping with friends. However, my daughter is here today, and we went out for ice cream. This morning my father called as did my mother this evening. A card from my grandmother came in the mail today. Two of my students sent text messages of birthday greetings. Lastly the little blessing on top: my car insurance company sent me a dividend refund of $79.30 just in time for my birthday. Here's to good prospects in the coming year.

All New Separation Anxiety

First, I'll give my boyfriend some credit. After Easter, he cut back his hours and started coming home more regularly, pretty much every weekend. For that extra time, I've been very grateful.

Then at the start of May, I got the word from him that he would be returning in June to Idaho for a 6-month gig at a big power plant building a new turbine. He was there two years ago on a similar job for the same client. It drove me near to madness. Though none of this is his fault because I'm responsible for my emotions, for getting help if I need it, for not letting myself sink into depression, with his being away for so long, the latter is where I went and deep. There were whole weekends where I sat in the dark, and I engaged in some fairly dangerous behaviors.

Knowing somewhat in advance about new upcoming departure, I've been better able to prepare myself. Now there's Beau here to keep me company instead of being alone all the time. John has agreed to make sure we see each other in person monthly rather than on the six week schedule we did last time. To adjust to the time difference, I'm planning on a siesta daily after work so that I can stay up a little later at night to talk to him on the phone without being exhausted for work the next day.

When my kids are with me on the odd weekend or for school vacations, I'll make sure we do some fun family activities. Like we did last time, we'll make some care packages to send to John while he's away from us. Although he doesn't express it very well, he gets lonely, and he appreciates knowing he's missed.

With planning, good habits at home and more communication with my man, I think I'll avoid the depressed lows this time around. It's only six months.

Separation anxiety

After nearly a month of living separately, I'm close to wits' end without my boyfriend. His work is so very demanding of late that he has been working on average 50 hours of overtime a week for the last month. He's making a lot of money, which has benefited our household greatly, but it's also straining me, and perhaps him too, emotionally.

This weekend, he'll be home for three days. It's Easter this Sunday, and my children are here, too. All of that coming together to make for the picture perfect family weekend. The flip side is that it also makes for an intense time. Having so little face time among us in general sets my emotions on high with all around me, even the dog--poor Beau. It's as if I try to cram a week's worth of togetherness into 48 hours, so it's not hard for things to go awry.

When my children are home, it's even harder. If I spend all my time in the bedroom with my man, I feel like a shit-father for neglecting them. When I put all my focus on "doing family stuff," the weekend comes to a close, and I feel neglected for not getting enough alone time with my man.

Somehow this weekend, I'll find a balance, and maybe my man will consider going only three weeks on his crazy schedule before coming home again.

The hardest time of the year

It's not Christmas
or Thanksgiving
or Valentine's Day
or Easter
or Halloween.
It's Girl Scout Cookie season!

A time to remember what I have

• Two beautiful, loving, wonderful, sweet, brilliant children
• A loving and caring boyfriend who doesn't get bent out of shape over piles of junk mail, art supplies, books, CD's, computer software, DVD's, knickknacks, clean laundry
  
• A great dog
• Parents that love me for who I am
• A very cool sister
• A funny brother-in-law
• A little gem of a niece
• Extended family members that manage to lift my spirits when I least expect it
  
• A good job that lets me do what I love to do
  
• Rent that I can afford
• A Webcam that works
• A nifty iPod video
• A car that I like, that fits my budget, that zips nicely along the Interstate and that let's me avoid those bitches in SUV's
• Students who call me their favorite teacher
• Colleagues who say that I'm really smart
• A mustache and soul patch that actually look kind of sexy
• Hair on the top of my head without having to do a comb-over
  

Microsoft F-ing SUCKS!

Customer support is, to quote Battlestar Galactica, "frakking" useless!

Somewhere in my youth or childhood

Things I miss:

• Funny Face drink mix and collectible cups
• Hershey's Chocolate Syrup in a can
• Thrifty Drugstore ice cream cones
• Saturday morning cartoons with School House Rock on ABC before Disney's aquisition
• Wild Kingdom brought to you by Mutual of Omaha
• Name That Tune
• Sesame Street before Elmo
• The Electric Company with Rita Moreno
• transistor radios
• black & white TV shows rerun on regular broadcast TV
• good penmanship
• gasoline for 75¢ a gallon
• letters sent by US Mail for 15¢
• The Muppet Show
• Wonder Woman
• The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman
• Merry-go-rounds and see-saws at public parks
• crossing guards
• four-square, jumping rope, kickball

Windows Vista? ARGH!

If your new copy doesn't come with a brand new computer, don't bother! All the new features aren't worth the headache of making even one piece of legacy (XP and below) hardware work! In fact, if you're going to spend the money, get a Mac. My birthday is in June, and a new Mac is going to be my present to myself! To hell with debt management!