When it rains, it pours

It's been quite a day. Actually, it's been quite a week. Let's make a deal... I'll give you the highlights of my crappy week, and you leave me comments offering sympathy and promises of booze. Sound good? Okay, then.

On Monday morning, I went to take a shower and discovered that we had no hot water. Apparently the tiny leak in the water heater had become a gushing stream. The landlord came out later to take care of it, but the cold shower I took that morning was NOT pleasant.

Yesterday morning I was trying to butter my morning bagel, and I knocked over my coffee mug. The coffee spilled all over the counter and all over my bagel. And there wasn't enough coffee left to pour myself another cup. Sigh. (The only bright side was that it was my regular Folgers, and not the baggie of good Colombian shit that I just got from my dealer.) I had to grab some coffee and breakfast at the BK Lounge, thus depleting my already meager funds for the week.

Last night my cell phone died, for no apparent reason. It was fine all day and all night... then I went to check the time and the screen was blank. I tried everything, but I couldn't get it to work. (Fortunately, it's still covered under warranty... and Verizon had my model phone in stock, so they were able to give me a replacement immediately.)

After school today, I tripped on the steps outside and fell forward onto the concrete. I skinned both knees and scraped up my hands... but luckily my face missed the ground by about half an inch. I saw it coming and threw my hands out at the last possible second. But now the muscles in my upper arms and shoulders are KILLING me. I fell pretty hard... and apparently, I'm not as young as I used to be.

And then I came home and had to bake cupcakes for a bake sale tomorrow. Not a huge deal... but it's just one more thing I had to deal with today.

Okay... to be honest, it wasn't an awful week. But I still want sympathy, damnit. Now deliver the goods.

I don’t know how it happened...

... but I've become one of THOSE people. I started Christmas decorating in November. UGH.

In my defense, it was a gradual process.

It all began when my parents came over on Friday. My mom brought me a decoration that she found in a closet that she wasn't planning to use. Sam and I put it up right away to see how it looked. And it stayed there.

On Saturday, I went shopping for an Advent wreath, but was disappointed with the selection and price of the ones I found in two different religious stores. So I headed to Michael's and bought a plain green wreath, along with some ribbon, some assorted Christmas picks and some craft wire. The result is a gorgeous homemade Advent wreath... much nicer (and a lot less expensive) than a store bought. I just need to get some candles and I'm all set!

On Sunday, Sam and I went grocery shopping. At Target, we found Christmas stockings (mine is red velour with a bejeweled "A"... I like me some bling!) and at the grocery store, we bought a real wreath... mostly because it smelled so nice. I jazzed it up with a homemade bow (with ribbon leftover from my Advent wreath project), and we hung it on the front door of our apartment.

Today I went to my parents' house for dinner. After we ate, I dug out all of my Christmas ornaments from storage and hauled everything back to my apartment, along with a Christmas tree that my parents are no longer using (they bought a pre-lit one a few years back). When Joe came over to drop off some coffee for me, I convinced him to help me carry all the boxes in... and then I further convinced him to help me move some furniture and assemble the base of my tree. Tee hee... thanks, Joe!

I wasn't planning to put the rest of the tree together tonight. In fact, I took several amusing pics of the tree in various states of disarray (involving some sloppy garland placement and a bottle of Jack Daniels). But after Joe left and Sam came home from CCD, I decided to put the other branches on the tree. And that's as far as I got. So now we have a naked tree in our living room. Eh... we'll get around to decorating it sooner or later.

And now, I'm off to bed. All this Christmas-ing has worn me out.

turnaround

You know when you wake up and just KNOW that it's going to be a bad day? Yesterday morning was one of those. When I woke up it was cold and rainy. I felt like crap. It was gym day at school, but it's the gym teacher's week off (we only have him every other week), which meant I wouldn't have a break all day. I went to make coffee and discovered that I left my travel mug in my car over the weekend... and I wasn't about to go out in the rain and get it. Sigh. Then just before I left the apartment, I decided I had enough time to run to the bathroom. And the toilet decided to overflow. Good Lord. The toilet handle has been sticking lately, making the water run until you jiggle the handle. So of course when it overflowed, the water kept running and I couldn't get it to stop. And then I had to clean it up, because I couldn't just leave water all over the floor all day.

UGH.

Work was freezing. It was between 55 and 57 degress inside the building and it was still cold and damp outside. All the kids were in jackets and gloves. The boiler has been replaced, but not all the pipes are hooked up yet. The heat won't be on til Friday, which doesn't help us any, since we're off on Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving.

Then my day turned around. Our principal talked to the pastor (again) and he finally gave us the okay to close school. (It only took 3 weeks.) So we have off today and tomorrow in addition to Thursday and Friday. Six whole days off! It's almost too good to be true!

And then Sam called me after school to tell me that she won a contest on WMMR to see Dane Cook on Wednesday! And she got four tickets total, so she's taking me, Karen and Joe!! In a limo!!! There's some pre-party at Slainte pub included with that, too. Yay!!!

The day only got better after that. I was on my own for dinner, so I made mac and cheese with chicken nuggets (hardly healthy, but quick and tasty... plus, it's comfort food)... and "Heroes" was on... and Sam got a free gingerbread donut from Dunkin', which she shared with me.

Just goes to show you that even the worst days can turn out good. Once in awhile, anyway.

people suck

I got some news yesterday about a former student, who is currently in sixth grade. Another teacher discovered welts all over his legs and sent him to the nurse. He told her that his mother did it with a belt. The nurse called DHS (Department of Human Services) to file a report, because we're bound by law to do that when we suspect abuse or neglect.

I'm having a hard time dealing with it. I taught him and his sister (currently in fifth grade) when they were in first grade, and I tutored the sister after school for a semester... so I know the mother pretty well. I just can't believe she would do that to her own child. I've seen abuse before, when I worked at the charter school. Bad abuse. A handprint on a second grader's cheek. Lashes from an electric wire on a fifth grader's upper arms. Over one hundred tiny round cigarette burns all over the body of a first grade boy. I don't care what people say about television and movies desensitizing us. It doesn't get any easier or any less nauseating to hear about it again now.

I had yard duty today, which means I had to be outside supervising the lunchtime recess. I got to see the boy and his sister for the first time since I heard the news. Of course I didn't let on that I had heard anything when I talked to them. But it was good to see them and give them a hug. If for no other reason than to assure myself that they were, for the moment, safe.

A moment of calm...

After a relatively early dinner (like "early bird special" early, lol), Sam and I took our respective seats on the futon with our respective piles of work. We found a jazz music station on cable and worked until "Heroes" came on. After "Heroes" (which was AWESOME, by the way), we switched to some smoky big band music and returned to our work, this time armed with mugs of hot cocoa (for Sam) and tea (for me). It's nice to have a moment of calm.

In other news, we have no heat in work. Still. Since last week. I'm not normally cold. Even when it's cold out, I manage to walk around work in short sleeves quite comfortably. But our building is ancient... high ceilings and concrete walls that suck in the cold air and hold it all day. It was at least 10 degrees colder in the building than it was outside. Some teachers have space heaters. I do not. And I can't afford to buy one just for a few days of cold. So today I wore the following: long johns, sweat pants, socks, a long sleeved t shirt under a polo shirt under a fleece jacket, fingerless gloves (makes it easier to write), and a scarf. And I was still cold! It's supposed to be a tad warmer the next two days, before the temperature plummets yet again. The heater guys said it could take a week... maybe more, maybe less. Cross your fingers.

Back to my tea... and my Tommy Dorsey. Life is good.

getting stuff done

I was determined not to go out and drink this weekend... and I didn't! As a result, I wound up getting a lot of necessary stuff done: cleaned the bathroom, did laundry, bought a lamp for my bedroom, hung some pictures, got my winter clothes out of storage, assembled a media tower for my DVDs, paid bills and did grocery shopping. It felt good to be productive.

If you've been following the apartment saga, you'll be pleased to know that we've added some furniture to the living room. We now have a media tower for DVDs (looks like a bookshelf) and a papasan chair! The chair is on loan from Doug's girlfriend Jill. She has no room for it in her house, so it's ours as long as we need it. It's currently just a frame... I bought a cushion on eBay and it should be here in about a week. Huzzah for more seating! It's starting to look more like a living room now. Finally.

And now to continue the productivity... time to do some lesson plans.

cooler than macauley culkin

I'm home alone! Sam won't be home til close to midnight, so I have the apartment to myself for several hours. It's pretty cool. Oh, the freedom! I can walk around naked if I want to! (But I'm not going to.) I really don't know how I'm going to occupy my time. It's only 6 PM. I think I'll sit around in my pajamas... eat dinner... watch some TV... check emails... watch the Flyers game... maybe work on my scrapbook... who knows? Of course, these are all things I could do if Sam were home. In fact, these are all things I could have done when I lived with my parents. But there's something about the freedom of being in your own place. It's simply glorious.

But hey, I'm not opposed to visitors, either. If anyone's in the neighborhood, stop by and say hi. Just be prepared for me to answer the door in my pjs.

apartment living... one month down!

Hello friends. I haven't updated you on the joys of apartment living in awhile, so I figured I'd take a few minutes to fill you in.

Overall, things are going quite well. I've finally started referring to it as "home," although I still refer to my parents' house as "home," too. (And I always will.)

Sam and I have fallen into a routine. As far as cooking and cleaning go, we've pretty much split it equally. Whoever gets home first cooks dinner, the other person does dishes. Whoever has a day off might decide to clean if there's a room that needs cleaning. It's a very laid back kind of thing.

We've developed some rituals in the short month that we've been here. One favorite is our Wednesday night "Ghost Hunters" marathon on Sci-Fi. This past Wednesday was a live episode that was 6 hours long. Since we were at Karen's party, we didn't get to watch it. So Friday night we watched all 6 hours, stopping only long enough to run to Dunkin' Donuts for hot cocoa and a muffin. (It's called geeking out. You should try it sometime.)

Due to our work schedules, we only see each other for a few hours each night during the week and on Saturday. On Sunday, we're both home all day. So there's really not much opportunity for us to get on each other's nerves. It's all good. And we both do our own thing when we need to. Take last night for example... Sam and I decided to go out for dinner, because neither of us felt like cooking. But after dinner, she headed to her room to drink tea and watch some TV, and I settled on the couch with a warm blanket and a movie. Later on, I wound up going to the bar and she opted to stay home. To each her own.

On a personal note, I'm still loving the freedom of being able to go out whenever I want to and come home whenever I want to... and not have to answer to anyone. Although I think I'm starting to abuse the privilege. Last night I went out to the bar... drank too much and stayed out too late. Again. Sigh. I had fun for awhile, but I spent too much money and did too many shots. Didn't feel so good by the end of the night. Usually I'm a happy drunk... flirty, dancy, talkative. But once in a blue moon, I'm a sullen drunk. Last night was one of those nights. By the end of the night, I just wasn't in the mood to socialize. I know I wasn't fun once I left the bar. But... what can I do? It happens to the best of us. Everyone's entitled to one "off" night, right? And Lord knows I've had plenty of "on" nights.

And on that note, I'm gonna go relax with a book until I'm tired enough to sleep. Have a great week, everyone!