Warning: Coffee after 5pm = bad, bad choice!!

So, it's after midnight and I'm still awake. Not wide, wide awake because physically I'm tired, but my brain sure isn't. I'm half tempted to do some work, but then again, I don't want to be up TOOO late! I'll get going on stuff and before I'll know it, it will be 3am. Not too good. This is a VERY busy week for me. Lots and lots of energy draining "back to school" stuff. Being completely new to the district, I have a lot of people to meet (90% of whom I will never remember their names!) and still quite a bit to learn. Fundamentally in special education administration, everything is the same -we all have to abide by the same laws- but it's the little idiosyncrasies and hidden curriculum of different districts, buildings, departments, and staff that new people need to be cognizant of. I wonder how many people I will piss off this week? Haha. Perhaps not many. I'm way too nice for that...at first. Maybe in November when they figure out that I'm not easily acclimated into a culture just because "that's how it's always been done here; we're known for that". I'm known to not care about that, but to care about what's right in the here and now and perhaps even in the future. A happy medium will be found, I'm most sure. I'm very excited! And I expect to be incredibly exhausted for quite some time! I've got the mindset that I will be here at least 5 years...and I have to keep that in mind because I've got a gazillion things on my plate that I want to get done right now.....I need to slow it down and make sure my focus is on a few very important activities, with others being maintained to stay afloat. Systemic change takes anywhere from 3-5 years...and some of these changes are starting now. Aren't I lucky that I stumbled upon this job right at that moment?? The big difference between here and where I was last year is that here I know for a fact that all of my fellow administrators from superintendent to assistant principals are on the same page as me -and I can trust that. Last year implementing change with 4 superintendents and 9 principals in 5 different districts was next to impossible and probably should never have been attempted!!! Oh well. I learned more in one year both personally and professionally than I had during the span of two graduate degrees and 12 years in education. HOOOOOO YAAAHHHHH!!

So anyway, I'm still awake. Surprise surprise. If you've noticed, I've kind of gotten away from the joke posting. Sorry...if you tune in to see what crazy shit I have posted recently, I'm really sorry you have to endure the glimpses into my brain. Since last year, I've been toying with the thought of doing some blogging professionally -like as a coordinator last year, I had planned on launching a blog for the cooperative where I'd communicate important stuff and invite debate and learning. Maybe I'll think about it this year and see what my director thinks of it. I'm sure that things like book studies or face to face conversations and meetings would be better, but reality doesn't allow that kind of face time. That costs money and time. Electronic communication isn't as personal but it sure saves time and people can choose to participate whenever they want. Even if it's at midnight or 1:00 in the morning!!

I am rambling again. You can tell I have work on the brain. I had a big weekend of work again this weekend. I did spend some down time reading and watching some stuff on Hulu, but for the most part I was cooped up in my apartment working and today I ventured out to Applebees for lunch and then Caribou in the later afternoon. That's where the coffee came in. Darned Caribou and their wonderfully smooth and full bodied coffee!!!!! DRAT!!! I almost got decaf but the decaf they had "on tap" today wasn't one of my favorites (it was Daybreak...might as well have been Folgers it's such a light roast to me!!) and the fully leaded one was Obsidian. YUM.

Ok. I've had about enough of this insomnia. I think I'm going to play majhong on msn and numb out my brain. If I do that sometimes and turn into a zombie I usually can sleep. Wish me luck and sweet dreams!!!!!!

If Every Weekend Could Be Like This Weekend...

I think I have had one of the bestest weekends EVER. Oh.my.goodness! So you read yesterday's post, right? (you'd better, my dear blog reader!!) After my super awesome time at Luther Family *insert American made car company here*, I went to Caribou for some coffee & did some work on my work computer. School's starting soon, teachers will be back next week for workshops and my presentation-slash-workshop-leading duties have begun. I love leading groups! Then I went to Perkins for some soup & salad and read a book for work: "The Five Dysfunctions of Teams". I highly recommend this book for anyone in any kind of leadership position. It's a fast read and VERY easy to understand. Then I went to a different Caribou and had tea while I read some more. I got home around 10pm and read one of my library books til late.

I didn't sleep well last night for some reason (ha-probably all the coffee & tea I had all night!!) and I got up at 5:30am for the day. I did a few things around the house and surfed the net a bit. Then it was around 7am and I decided to go to 8am mass. That was good. I missed St. Joes. They have a new priest for the college aged ministries and I swear to God, he has the EXACT same mannerisms as the character Ed Grimley. No lie -the weird arm movements and holding them up away from his body, and his voice intonations were the SAME! That was very amusing to me! Then I went for an early lunch at Village Inn (LOVE how they've remodeled...it's a retro cool) and read some more, then went to Dunn Brothers coffee and read the rest of the book. It wasn't even noon yet by that time!!!!! It was amazing!!

So then I came home, did 4 loads of laundry, installed two curtains for the bedrooms, hung the rest of my pictures, moved some stuff around, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, dusted my bedroom, sorted out my bathroom closet and tried to sort out my spare bedroom walk-in closet (but that's a bigger job for another day!) and finally sorted out my jewelry and put it away. All that before 6pm! I've been online surfing YouTube for some video clips to put into one of the presentations for a workshop I have to lead next week. It's now past 8:30 and it's time to quit working and do some leisure reading. I have a full day of leading another workshop tomorrow. Actually it's more like a work group because a group of high school teachers are coming in to hash out some goal and objective templates derived from NWEA rit score skill levels. Hehe...know what that is? Don't worry, you don't wanna know. It's a whole lotta work. SOOOO...I should really think about going to bed. I'm kinda tired out from my day of work. Whew!!!!! :)

But this was a fantastic weekend! I was productive, I still took time to relax, and I'm more or less ready for my work week!

Oh- I have to say something: I miss watching the Twins play on TV. I still don't have TV and honestly, the only things I really miss is baseball, news, and the food network -and baseball is the only thing I would actively watch. I miss the background noise the other two give me as I putter around the house or do other things.

SO now that I've spoken my sadness aloud I can go. Take care of yourself and the people around you! Thanks for tuning in!!! :)

no topic...just blabberings

I've been working on a post for a while now, but I just don't want to finish it. It's a work in progress and mainly a venting about school funding. Yuck, who wants to read THAT!!!??? haha! I'm sitting at Luther Family Buick & GMC (formerly had the Pontiac name in there too...*sob*) while I get my oil changed, tires rotated and hopefully an air filter. NO ONE ever has my air filter in stock...but I want it. No, scratch that! I NEED it, I have about 60K and I haven't changed it ONCE because it was never available and I was way too mobile to coordinate time to get it put in. Now that I'm "settled", things like that are so much more easier to address. Thank God for my move. I think I've said before that I know I was where I was supposed to be last year- and I still believe that. At work almost everyday, I am thankful for the crazy times I had working near "the range". It's amazing how much a person can grow in one year when immersed...sink or swim indeed!

Anyway, it's almost the end of August and September will start soon. I'm excited. I love the fall!!! I have to plan a weekend, maybe a long weekend this fall to go back up to GR and visit friends and nature. You know, exactly one year ago today seems like it was 5 years ago to this day -everyday, actually...nothin's special about today I guess!! LOL!!!! Time goes very fast when you're living life!

I'm in a sort at a loss of what to say today. You'll notice I haven't posted since the 9th. Things have been busy -as usual. And I've been intending to post...but I just get going on a thought and it's really not something you, my dear blog reader, needs to consume yet. :) I've also been thinking a lot about tolerance because of the controversy with the Muslim community center/mosque being built near Ground Zero (I still can't believe that name was established almost 10 years ago...living history). I have some relatives who are VERY sure of themselves either way. I'm in the middle. I choose things from both points of view and I understand each...it actually is a compromise that needs to happen between these two factions -and I'm talking more than just "agree to disagree" or "find a win-win". Sometimes you shouldn't just agree to disagree and often there are situations that are just so that it's impossible to find a win-win. The important thing is that you realize that whatever another believes, it is real to them. Whatever they believe, that's ok -that's the beauty of being human -no one can take away your beliefs, your hopes, your dreams, your desires, your dislikes, your loathing. The problem starts when we ACT on these and it starts developing a life of its own.

Ok, I'm getting "off topic" and my topic is nothing today. I'm gonna tell you about my day. Right now, I'm getting my oil changed and stuff (as I mentioned before) and next I'm going to find myself a coffee shop, drink some coffee -and hold the phone people--I MIGHT get a mocha, not just a regular dark roast black & unsweetened!! I'm kinda wild that way. (teee heeee). Then, I've got several movies I've rented this week to watch. Thank God I'm back in the land of cheap movie rentals!!! 4 new releases for $7.50!!! And did I tell you how much I'm saving on car insurance??? Forget the little lizard, just move to North Dakota!!! OMG...I'm saving $45 a MONTH on car insurance being a North Dakota resident. It's fantastic- and I'm SOLD. Not that ND is all that and a bag of cashews, cuz it's still *blech* North Dakota for God's sake, BUT it's really working for me right now. And, I'm most definitely not impressed by the MN candidates for governor. Dayton???!!!??? REALLY??????? yuck. I met him before when he was running around the time I was highly involved in Education Minnesota. I'm STILL not impressed because his rhetoric hasn't changed. And Emmer looks like a slob, is a hate-monger, and I have a VERY strong suspicion there is some mental health issues or some issues of inadequacy he's compensating for going on there. Now that I think of it, wasn't Dayton chemically dependent a short while back?? Or am I thinking of a different Mark Dayton??

So, yeah, *sigh*...I'm glad I don't have to vote in THAT race!! I'm nervous as to what that means for public schools...but I can't get on THAT topic, or we'll never end and I'll say stuff that should not be said...yet at least.

I think my car's almost done. I am VERY impressed by this place...so far and I've only interacted with the service manager and enjoyed free wifi & coffee. When I find a spot that "takes care of me" or that makes me feel like I'm dealing with professional people who show how much they value me as an individual, I am SOLD. Luther Family auto blah blah blah has me sold, for now.

So dear blog reader! Time to sign off. I'm out of pirate jokes. :( But guess what? What's a pirate's favorite twin-city town????????

Faaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrgo!!!

I'm Bespeckled Myself...

Looks like it's been a while since I posted anything! I got new glasses today. Here's a picture:



Just kidding. They don't look like that but when someone on facebook posted asking where a picture of my glasses were, I couldn't resist in posting these (I had commented on how my new glasses make my brain feel funny...they are a new prescription).

I'd post some jokes on here tonight, but I'm awfully tired. I do have to say, however, that I feel VERY good. I think my gallbladder had been giving me trouble for longer than I had realized. I haven't felt this good for about 5 months or so, maybe even longer. Now I only feel funny after I eat, depending on WHAT I eat. Spicy stuff is still difficult and chinese of any kind makes me ill...but all in all it's going very well.

Work is fantastic. I've found a place to grow and in an area I love and feel at home in. I miss the loons though...A LOT. I was at one of my best friends from high school's wedding this weekend at a resort around Walker, MN and it was looney there. Music to my ears. Kinda literally. Anyway, I'm still tired out from that weekend -it was fun and my friend's family is almost like a second family to me, so I was right at home all weekend with a gazillion laughs and even more good times. One of the best weddings I've been a part of in a LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG time. Reminded me of when my aunts and uncles all got married -tons of family fun and good humor!

so I'm off to bed now. Most likely. I'm not as tired as I had been in the past 2-3 months (this weekend woulda killed me just a month ago!!) and I am attributing it to getting that damned gallbladder out. OOOOOFDA! Who woulda thunk, huh?? :)