Kontan Jou

Woo!  I just imported my RSS feeds from Google Reader into my Thunderbird RSS account!  Way easier to keep up with my favorite blogs and news!  Yea me!

The weak ahead will be interesting. The AP US exam is ten (school) days away. I have five days to get as far as I can. Next week will be a week of AP exams and our students do not have to attend their classes if they have an AP exam. That will make class interesting. I will host review each day this week and during class next week. My students are not reading and I am very concerned. I haven’t made it to WWII in our class material. That’s bad. I don’t know how anyone teaches ALL of American History in one year. I have never taught at a school that didn’t break it up. I have worked backwards in review and that will help those that attended. Admin says that they are not concerned with AP scores. Lie. If the scores aren’t there it will reflect on me. I look back and there are a few things I would do differently. My summer assignment will change and we will get through colonial history faster. Early national will also get a time cut. I will have to manage the Civil War BEFORE winter break. More quizzes for reading. The students are obviously not responsible enough to be given a reading guide and self motivate. *sigh*

The end of school is near…

Day 2 was interesting. Getting up to the chaos of the morning it was time for adventure. I had grand hopes of hiking in the mountains. The person in charge was itching for the city. Um…why did you choose a chateau IN the mountains when you are a city girl? Just sayin’. So we’re off to Asheville for hours of entertainment. I’ve never been to Asheville before. I’ve also never smelled pot before. Two things that I can no longer say. Interesting place it is. We ended up an an Earth Day event complete with yurt. I’m all about conservation and wise use, but Asheville is a little more than I can embrace. I think I need to visit again and take in different sights. The Biltmore has to be spectacular. After granola fest we ventured to a Vegan restaurant. OK, no issue with this, but I have NO idea where I’m going. Not a problem, I can just follow my cousin who also doesn’t know where she’s going. We pull away from the park and head toward the downtown area. She pulls over to get directions off her phone and I pull in behind her. Driving again she gets in the left turn lane…waits…then proceeds to turn right. WTH?!? Realize that there is a car coming and I have NO where to go but…wait for it…LEFT! So I turn left and pull into a parking lot to turn around. Wait. Wait. Wait. Attempt to pull out and follow. I have no idea where she is and she has not told me the restaurant. Did I ask? Why yes, I did. Crap. My phone WILL NOT DIAL OUT! I can text, receive texts, and receive calls. My aunt calls me, “where are you?” “Lost. You guys left me when you turned RIGHT from the LEFT turn lane.” I’m not happy. I told them what street I was on and was told, “just drive down broadway and you’ll see it.” FYI…Broadway turns off to the left. If you go straight you are on the loop around the city. I missed the weird Y turn on three separate occasions. Fortunately, there is also quick exit off the loop.

I did find the Vegan place and it wasn’t bad. The kids even enjoyed their meal. The atmosphere…loud. I don’t think the workers appreciated the number of children we brought into their establishment. In fact, I’m certain that they did not appreciate it. When one lovely child spilled a drink a guys was storming around complaining about the F’n kids making a mess. Nice. That’s class there man. Glad it wasn’t one of my kids that harshed his mellow.

After lunch my cousins wanted to shop. I’m sorry, we have this great place at the top of a mountain with an awesome view and hiking opportunities and you want to shop? Cool, but I ain’t following you around this city and I’m getting stoned just standing here. I decided to head back to the house with my aunt, uncle, and kids. Not sure how well that went over, but shopping is not my thing.

Back at the chateau, I grab Lil Bit and two young cousins and take off on a nearby trail. Nothing major. I know Lil Bit and K-man are hiker quality, but I’m not so sure about J-girl. She isn’t that outdoorsy. Not willing to look weak she hangs in rather well on the slightly overgrown trail. Once we reach the point that it needs some serious work we decided to hop the trail, cross the small stream, and go up the mountainside a short way to another trail. Keep in mind the chateau is in sight the whole time. I was not about to venture too far in unknown territory. We ended up hiking that trail for a good way before deciding to go up further. Not a bad hike and I’m glad we took the opportunity because Sunday was dreary and wet.

A few pics to share…

Typed: Saturday, April 18, 2009 12:13 AM

Our plans have changed so many times over the last few days. The final result was Lil Bit’s friend staying the night last night and going home around 10 AM this morning. It was all we could take really. Sweet enough child, but an only and it was obvious. After I delivered her to her parents we decided to pursue our original plans of a few hours at Carowinds and then me and the girls off to the mountains. It was such a beautiful day with a bright sky and comfortable temps. Awesome. After several of our favorite rides we began the short journey home. There are two ways to get from our home to the theme park and both take the same amount of time…on a good day with no traffic. Today, not that day. LOTS of traffic and several accidents that created backups. Not. Fun. I had planned to be at the chateau by 5ish. As it turned out I was leaving our house around 5ish. Still, no problem. The day with the fam was worth the delay in visiting the out of town fam.

The drive to the chateau was mapped for two hours. Never living near family makes a two hour drive nothing. Traffic was not bad, with only a few congested spots we made good time. Just as I made the turn for the uphill final leg of our journey I receive a call from my cousin. Apparently, they had a tremendously difficult time finding the place and wanted to warn me. My uncle got on the line to offer directions. They were actually at the grocery store and if I would go down two more exits I could meet them there and follow them up. Sounds like a great idea, yes? No. I don’t know, maybe it was. After all there is no guarantee that I would have easily found the place without doing that and I am relatively certain that I probably would have had trouble. However, by the time we left the grocery store it was dark. Ugh. I don’t see so well in the dark. In hindsight, travelling up the mountain in the dark is probably a good thing. I was not able to see the big drops on the side. I know they were there. Occasionally I would catch sight out of the corner of my eye. Ugh. Focus on the car in front, focus on the car in front…

The night sky is gorgeous. The mountains are gorgeous. The chateau is very nice. Everyone has their own space and it is wonderful…Put it on the beach and I’ll smile more. As I pulled into the drive, got out, and thanked God for getting me here alive I wondered if this lover of nature and hiking is a mountain chateau kind of girl. Right now, not so much. The peeks over the edge that I caught out of the corner of my eye, not a happy memory. I know that eventually I will have to do that in the day time and I’m not up for that. I also know that we will be going somewhere tomorrow and I might have to ride with someone else. I’m sorry, but if the car plunges over the edge I want to be behind the wheel…I just need that level of control in my life.

Furthermore…I am completely and totally disconnected. It is a TERRIBLE feeling. If something happens there is not a darn thing I can do about it and no way to call and tell someone. This HUGE and EXTREMELY expensive chateau apparently does not have a house line. My cell has no service. No one’s cell has service. My cousins iPhone, which is supposed to get signal via satellite…yeah, no service. I can live without net, but dang it, I need my cell service. It isn’t that I want to chat on the phone b/c I am totally not into the phone chat thing, but I NEED TO TELL MY HUSBAND GOOD NIGHT! Actually, he would probably appreciate it if I would tell him that I made it here with no problems! Another cousin has a different cell carrier that apparently has service here (can you hear me now?) and had a few minutes on her prepaid phone. I sent a text and am praying that Jem received it. No idea.

And the last thing I want to complain about…I left my glasses at home and can’t see squat without my contacts. I know you aren’t supposed to sleep in contacts, but I REALLY cannot see if I don’t have them in.

Oh joy…12:43 and I hear a toddler crying. Well, we had a few hours of respite. Did I mention that one of my cousins is a little on the granola side and has interesting parenting skills. OK, that is not fair. His skills aren’t terrible. He makes a great playmate and enjoys his kids. His significant other…well she makes sure they make all their checkups (being positive here) and tries real hard. It’s just…well…um…their kids are spoiled rotten and have never been told no and the parents are very much into the free life . I’m just glad they keep the dreads covered. Ew.

Time for me to turn in.

Day 3…shopping! I bummed around for a bit…applied for a position or two…took the girls for a BBQ lunch…back home to evaluate our wardrobe…and then out to shop. Off to the local Tar-jay where I was thoroughly unimpressed with the selection and then over to M@rsh@lls to see if they had anything special. The girls needed a few pieces and I was desperate for shorts. Prerequisites? Fit. Comfy. Cute. Cheap…emphasis on cheap. Two hundred later we are good through most of the summer. Cheap is getting harder and harder.

On tap for tomorrow? No clue. I seriously need to get some work done if we plan on Carowinds Friday and the mountains for the weekend. (A Black Mountain chateau my cousin has rented.) I really wanted a hiking day, but my plans sort of changed for the weekend. Ah well. Worth it I guess. Who needs to grade papers and be prepared to teach WWI, Great Depression, and WWII before the AP test May 8th…yeah, well…um…that would be me. Guess tomorrow will be a picnic in the park and the rest of the day grading. Joy. Joy.

Here’s the chateau pic…oooeeee. Way excited about the op to see the fam!

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Relaxing to the sounds of: Israel Kamakawiwo’ole – Somewhere Over the Rainbow
via FoxyTunes

Day 2 was the do nothing marathon.  Not much was accomplished and it was wonderful.  Jem took the girls out and about while I did whatever I wanted to, or nothing at all.  I did very little.  I went to town center for a few minutes, came home and surfed the net…watched a little TV…had an awesome salad with grilled chicken over it.  Jem did an awesome job with that last night.  Wow!  I’m a fan of grilled food, especially chicken.  I love the flavor and if you can get a little char on there, all the better!

I spent the afternoon working on my computer.  It is in desperate need of a thorough cleaning and organizing.  I moved all my school crap to jump drive and vow to tackle it later.  I will work on pictures another time.  It is just not a task I eagerly embrace.  After using Flock for several months I am back to FireFox.  With addons FF does all that I want it to and is a little more simplistic.  I use Yoono for my social networks, feedly for my feeds, and scribefire for my blog stuff.  There are several other plugins that I will add over the next day or so. 

All in all, a very nice day.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be rain free so maybe a hiking trip is in order. 

Day 2 was the do nothing marathon.  Not much was accomplished and it was wonderful.  Jem took the girls out and about while I did whatever I wanted to, or nothing at all.  I did very little.  I went to town center for a few minutes, came home and surfed the net…watched a little TV…had an awesome salad with grilled chicken over it.  Jem did an awesome job with that last night.  Wow!  I’m a fan of grilled food, especially chicken.  I love the flavor and if you can get a little char on there, all the better!

I spent the afternoon working on my computer.  It is in desperate need of a thorough cleaning and organizing.  I moved all my school crap to jump drive and vow to tackle it later.  I will work on pictures another time.  It is just not a task I eagerly embrace.  After using Flock for several months I am back to FireFox.  With addons FF does all that I want it to and is a little more simplistic.  I use Yoono for my social networks, feedly for my feeds, and scribefire for my blog stuff.  There are several other plugins that I will add over the next day or so. 

All in all, a very nice day.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be rain free so maybe a hiking trip is in order.