Life...in a nutshell

Ok, so I haven't posted or updated or anything-ed in forever. And I'm not going to now. =) *jumps on the question-meme bandwagon*

Leave a comment & I will:

1. Tell you why I friended you.
2. Associate you with something - fan-dom, a song, a color, a photo, a word etc.
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
6. Tell you my favorite user pic of yours.
7. In return, you must post this in your LJ.

...Because The Golden Compass is an AMAZING book and the start of an amazing series and everyone needs to read it. Now. Or at least after you give me feedback on my daemon. =P

http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/…

COMBAT CARDS 2.1

watch qsical fight

CREATE YOUR CARD

(Real update soon, promise! Maybe this weekend, when for the first time in three weeks there will be no parental types in Pgh and I might be able to sleep more than 5 hours for a night...)

"The first five people to respond to this post will get some form of art, by me. It will be about or tailored to those five lucky "victims."

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations.

I make no guarantees that you will agree with what I perceive as art and/or quality.

What I create will be just for you.

It'll be done before 7 days have passed. ("You have seven days...")

You have no clue what it's gonna be. It may be fic. It may be poetry. I may draw or paint or chainmaille-weave something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well, if you expect me to do something for you!"

Soooo, teacher Starlet needs some help from all you loverly people. I need to teach literary devices, and I have a great idea for a really cute bulletin board to help me do so. Only problem? I need to come up with examples for each of these. And I really want them to be fun. Like song lyrics or something. I mean, sure, I could look up a boring old poem and use it, but what fun would that be? So...any help you could give me or any ideas you might have would make this teacher very happy indeed. Here's my list.

(I'm sure most people will ignore this, but if you happen to be lyric-minded, please help!) Thank you in advance! =)

Allegory
Alliteration
Allusion
Apostrope
Hyperbole
Imagery
Irony
Metaphor
Metonymy (using a part of something to represent the whole)
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Paradox
Personification
Satire
Simile
Symbolism

Bear with me...I don't post boasty things often. If you don't want to read it, you have been warned. That being said...

I nearly have a job!

Yes, nearly. I had my first day of work today...but I had yet to see a contract or sign any forms. So technically, I guess I'm not hired yet. But I went in and have been introduced as a real teacher, I have a computer login and an email, I've met all my kids (and actually taught today...ugh.). It's craziness!

They hired me as a long-term (year long) sub for a teacher who handed in her resignation the day before school started. (In case you were wondering, pulling a stunt like that is not a good way to make friends in a school district.) So, I interviewed yesterday and they called less than an hour after I got home, saying they had to run some reference checks but they were very interested and could I come in today? Thinking it was for a final interview, I said yes. They told me I would possibly be subbing, or maybe trailing some English teachers to get used to the department. I get in there today to find out that I'm in charge of the class, with whatever lesson plans the teacher before me scrapped together for the day, and that teachers will be in each period to sit in, answer questions, and generally check on me. (Rant on how the education industry takes advantage of the overabundance and teachers later. You have a flaming hoop, Mr. Administrator? Watch me do backflips through it!) Seriously, though, it was a little scary, but overall I think it went well, and everyone at the school was so understanding and helpful and just all around wonderful. They answered all my questions and more, they were genuinely concerned and wanted to help and see me succeed. I think it's going to be a great environment.

And thus, the moderate bragging. I'm really kind of proud of myself. I came out here, inexperienced, no connections in the area. I worked hard to find a job, to make my portfolio perfect and my application impressive and my cover letter exciting and passionate, and I must have done something right. I got a job as an (almost) teacher for the entire rest of the year--stability! My own kids! My own classroom to decorate as I wish! I handled a really tough situation for a first day with the ole Buckelew PDG (pride, dignity, and grace ;) ). All in all, not too shabby!

Remind me of this feeling in two weeks when I have nothing planned because I just got the syllabus today and have no idea what I'm teaching next week. There will be tears. I'm just still too overwhelmed and in shock for that right now. Go, teacher Starlet, go!

Too late for second guessing,
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts,
Close my eyes and leap--

So here I am in Pittsburgh! I haven't had a chance to update up until now because, well, I've been busy. But now we're almost all unpacked and I have a moment to breathe, so here I am. I'm still looking for a job--I have an interview tomorrow, so continue to keep fingers and toes crossed for me. We're still looking for a couch, and finding out that sofa-shopping is frustrating and no fun--looks like we're going to have to order something and wait 8 weeks for it to come in. That is supremely not cool.

On the other hand, everything else out here is pretty cool. I've had a chance to do some minor things around the city. While mom and dad were here, we got a chance to go to the Duquesne Incline, looking over the downtown area of the city and the rivers. We went down to the Point and hung out by the huge fountain. Chris and I got tickets, courtesy of my Apple Pi (thanks so much!!!) to a Pirates game--awesome seats, and amazing fireworks after the show! They were over the river, with the skyline of the city in the background, and it was just wonderful. I've wandered about Squirrel Hill, walked to the nearly library branch, checked out a little Italian market and walked down to a Japanese market. I've driven around the city and the surround areas, looking for jobs and for sofas. So it's been busy but pretty happy.

I was interviewing for a tutoring job yesterday, and they had me take a few short sections of the SAT, and I must say, I felt really smart. Now, that's probably a stupid thing to say when I'm taking a test that is meant for high school students, but man, I think I really schooled that thing. It's good to know I've improved since high school. ;)

It also led me to thinking (somehow...I really don't know how...) that it's rather a shame I can't keep a constant journal of the stuff running around in my head. Some of it is pretty good. I realized today as I was walking around Shadyside that I'm constantly thinking in words, not so much in images. My mind is constantly describing things: How would I describe this right now? What story can I make of this for when I get home to Chris? What would a journal entry about this look like? How can I craft this scene to let someone else see through my eyes? Maybe that makes me an English major, but it also sort of made me wonder what kind of stuff I could come up with if I had a tape recorder at all times, if I could just dictate the words that are always swimming around my head. What good stuff just gets washed into the River Lethe that's running around my consciousness? It's interesting to puzzle over.

In other word-related news, I have a new blog. Highly specialized. ;) It's actually because I felt like making note of all the cool places I was finding to eat, all the neat things I've been cooking, and the new recipes and techniques I'm learning. I wanted a place to just kind of reflect, and also to take notes for future reference. And I kind of wanted to join some recipe-sharing groups, but I like having my friends page on here *really* being my friends. Here's the address for those of you foodie types who might want to read--and who might want to talk recipes with me. This way, if you don't care about my culinary adventures, you don't have to read about them!
foodiesuzy

I'll update when I find out my job status for sure, or when I feel like I have any other random notes. For now, off to go organize a bookshelf! =P

< rant >
This is not the CTY I remember.

The parallels between this year at Moravian and my first year are rather eerie. For various reasons, the repetition of occurances strikes me as a little odd, and I wonder if it means that my time at this site is done, at least for now. My first year, I had very few friends. I was lonely and relied on my friends elsewhere for support--I wouldn't have made it through without a few select friends from Dson and my boyfriend at the time. I did it because I loved the kids, but was often left alone when it came time for fun at night...I wasn't 21 and was therefore excluded from most of the activities, which invariable involved bars and alcohol. I was a second-session-only girl, which made it hard to break into the social scene. I even got lost on the way to the site, missing the darned exit off the turnpike because it's very poorly marked.

This year, it's pretty much the same. I was so excited, thinking about who might be here, that I missed the exit. I should have turned around and went back to Chestertown right then and there. They had a BACO TA position open. I could have done that. Hooray field trips! (The Bay Ecology classes took a field trip just about every day... ;) ) Anyway, I got here, and had trouble breaking into the social scene. I didn't know as many people as I thought I would. I've ended up falling in mostly with two or three of the instructors who were here last year. The TAs are younger that I am, very much still in the college mode, which is cool for them. But I don't want to just party everynight and drink drink drink, nor do I have the money for it. They just have to worry about paying for alcohol; I have to worry about rent and food. Boo to the real world. ;) I don't get to hang out with them much. This weekend was salvaged by the facts that I love this campus and town and can amuse myself that way, and that Chris's family is in the area and likes me enough to invite me over for dinner and board games. (For the record, I kick butt at Scattergories. =) )

In short, I miss Chestertown. I worked my sorry little butt off, didn't sleep, and had more than I could handle being an instructor. But I loved it and can't wait to do it again. I had a tough class, but we did have a lot of fun, and I have some great ideas to try and modify for next year. I had the greatest roomies I could hope for, and I've talked to Christie and Stephanie a few times since I've left and we all miss each other. I've kept in touch with Ralph, e-mailing nearly every day, and I've gotten the scoop on what's new around campus from Becca a few times. We had good times. We played frisbee and sat around on the benches, we went out to movies, and yes, we went to the bar every now and again, but we did more than just drink. I feel like it was a more mature group. I actually fit in with the TAs better than the instructors, but everyone was really nice and it was a great site. I know where I want to be next year, and I just hope that a lot of the same people return. The Bethlehem site is young enough that I think many of them will return, and that's just not my scene anymore. And that feels a little sad. This was my home for three summers, and I miss how it used to be. And now I miss what I had in Chestertown. Ya just can't win, can you? *lol*
< /rant >

Ok, I'm better now. I'm going to go take my book and read for a bit out in the sun. Because I love this campus, and I do enjoy being a TA and having time to breathe every now and again. And in two weeks, I'll be down in OCMD with the boy and my second family, and I'll (hopefully) get to see Christie down there, and then in 3 and a half weeks I'll be in Pittsburgh, and that just boggles my mind. Ob-la-di, ob-la-da. =P

Aight, I have time to write this (and to breathe) now that I have travelled "home" to Bethlehem and handed off instructor duties to Anna. It's a relief, but also a little disheartening, because I know that I'm going to miss having that constantly active classroom role and control over the lessons and the shape of the course. I see things that I'd like to change or whatever, and I have to remember that it's not my show anymore...it's hers. It's a odd sensation. That, and I feel like a slacker not having all the work and planning to do. But it's not my job anymore!
First session ended with a real bang...and a real pang a leaving, I suppose. In the last two nights we were there, I felt completely a part of things and wished I had been able to stay. The returning staff members kept expressing their disappointment that I had to leave, and I got so many hugs. That, and I had time to go out for a bit. And intersession was cra-azy. It started off tame enough, but any party in the basement of the theater is bound to be fun, and we were all really about to cut loose. Rocket Rick and Ralph picked some awesome music and we just danced around like idiots. Oh, it was fantastic. Then Ralph and Stephanie and I headed up to the roof to look at the stars and just talked and hung out till 4 am. (Keep in mind I had to get up to leave at 6 am...) It was pretty sweet. But now I miss them all! My suitemates were all so wonderful. I can't wait to meet Christie in a few weeks, and I hope that we all keep in touch. They're just all so much fun and such great people.
So, as per usual, I'm making my list of snippets of CTYness before I move on, organize my room, and go bug my boys here to find something to do on our last night of freedom before session two.

( Collapse )

If it seems like I've dropped off the face of the earth, I apologize. I haven't...but I've done the next best thing. I've started up another session at CTY. And it is sooo much more work than I had expected. Fun, but a lot to handle. I'm working hours like I haven't worked since senior year at Dickinson (think three hours of sleep per night for four days straight...). But I think it's going well and for the most part the kids are good.

I have 13 kids. Most of them are really wonderful and fun to have in class. Sure, they get rowdy and act like 12 years olds, but hey, they are 12 year olds. But I have two who are really draining me. They don't want to be here. (Imagine not wanting to be at a camp where you're in class 7 hours a day...yeah.) The one kid is just horrible. Bad attitude, bored with everything, gives us a really hard time, won't take anything seriously, and he doesn't know why he took the course because nothing on the description looked interesting, he doesn't like reading or writing, and he'd rather be at home playing video games. Delightful. The other one I feel bad for...to a point. He's a real trouble maker and likes to make a scene and disrupt class. English is not his first langueage so he really struggles with reading and writing...a lot. But he's stubborn, he won't accept help, he blows off writing assignments like they're jokes, and we have to tell him things three and four times to get anything done. I would love to work with him and help him, if he'd let me. Plus, it's hard when all the reading and writing has to be done in class and he is consistently 30 pages or 3 assignments behind the rest of the class.

That being said, I have some great kids. Three are homesick and it breaks my heart. One knows more about history than I ever will. One has a five-minute comment for whatever question you ask. One could be a professional book-reader, he reads so well aloud. One devours reading like it's his job. One is going to be a director when she grow up, her management and delegation skills are so good. They're a good bunch.

This weekend was a much needed break, though. Chris came to see me (and it had been a month and a half by this point, so it was much needed) and we had a splendid weekend. We slept in, wandered to downtown Chestertown, got yummy frozen smooties, sat by the river, went to an old bookstore and got an old grammar book for $2 (it's so funny!), went to dinner and had the best crab cakes ever, and went to see Superman. And that's just Saturday. =) Today I kicked off the day by stepping on a bee on my way back to the room with food and getting a nice sting on my toe. But things got better from there as we went kayaking with some other CTY folks on the Chester River and some little inlets, did a smattering of work, and wandered downtown again for some more food. And now my little room feels awfully quiet and empty again. ^_^*

Well, I should get to bed. I'm getting up in four hours to do some reading and picture-printing before class, and it's going to be a long day tomorrow. We're going to see fireworks!! I shouldn't go because I have so much work to do--usually my one hour of staff ultimate frisbee is the only time off I allow myself on any given day--but I *LOVE* fireworks and can't miss them. So, bedtime for little squirrels! Instructor Suzy, over and out.