Blithering Knitiot

Hey

Just a little post to check in and let you know that I'm still alive and kicking.

For Rodger: yes, the trip to NYC was about the concert at Carnegie Hall, and it was magnificent.  The Hall itself is absolutely stunning and the acoustics are amazing.  We had a center balcony box for Mom and myself and my brother and his wife and friends of theirs.  It was also interesting to hear from the band's manager about working behind the scenes with the Carnegie Hall people.  Not as easy as one might think, but I won't comment on their experiences with them...

I've not posted in a while because school and directing the HS musical "She Loves Me" has been taking up much of my time, and well as the new college position I'm undertaking.  These college kids are a riot!  And not only are they coming to me with some talent to work with, they are loving the music I have picked out for them, and are attacking it with great gusto!  It's becoming a highlight of my week!

Other than that, things are just busy and I'm trying very dilligently to find some semblence of balance, which is always difficult for me even when I'm not as busy as I am at the moment.  I'm also trying a little bit to have a social life, and have met a couple of guys that I've had dinner with - which is really all I'm looking for at the moment.  After one of them called me (after two dinners, which is all I thought was going on) to exclaim "I just can't be your boyfriend!  I can't, I can't, I can't!!!!", I'm thinking:

A.) Maybe I'm going about this all wrong,
B.) Maybe I'm giving the wrong impression, or
C.) The issues here aren't mine... 

After a little phone conversation, the answer to THAT one is C.  Oy...  I'll still  go about trying to meet people and see where it goes...

So that's it for now.  Just trying to keep my head above water and trying to figure out what's next.  I'm feeling pretty burned out by it all, and thinking maybe it's time to move on to something new.  Although I haven't a CLUE as to what that might be...

Have a great day.

December

Hi All!  It's been a while, hasn't it?  LOL.  Things here in Pauly World have been scary-busy this month.  High School concert last week, elementary concerts this week, high school musical auditions after school today, tomorrow and Thursday, and I still haven't done much Christmas shopping.  I'm thinking that Christmas packages to go in the mail will shortly be "New Year's Packages".  Christmas with the family in Pa. is this Saturday, so I guess major Christmas shopping is going to happen Friday night.  Oy...  I don't know how I do this, but this is typical for me in December.  I may get Christmas cards out before the end of the week.  We'll see...

Oh, and I'm starting a new little adventure in January (like I don't have enough to do with musical rehearsals or anything).  I applied for an adjunct professorship at a local Jr. college to run a college/community chorus - and I GOT THE JOB!!!!  I will need to do some recruiting, both internally with the school, and outside to the local communities.  I have no idea what I'm going to get handed student-wise with numbers and talent, but we'll hit the ground running and make some sounds.  Basically. I get to build the program and take it anywhere i want to.  It's not a music school, so this, like the other ensembles, are extra-curricular, and we get what we get.  Adding community members who sing will be a big help musically.  It starts near the end of January, so I have lots of work to do picking out music and writing a syllabus.  I think it's gonna be a lot of work, but also the little challenge I need to get out of my little rut.

Like everyone else in the northeast, we've had a little snow.  These are a couple of views from my apartment from Sunday:

Have a great day!!

Friday

Happy Friday.  Let's see, not much happening in my end of the world.  Knitting a little and still travelling to Syracuse for the knitting group once a week, school is still in session, and tonight we take our kids to a solo music competition at a neighboring school.  I expect to be home sometime after 9:30 tonight.  Oy...

I'm also updating my resume and collecting letters of recommendation.  I'm at the point where I feel like I've done everything I can do here (and lets face it, in 19 years here I've taught every grade level, and a little bit of community college as well) so maybe it's time to challenge myself and look for something new.  I also feel that the current administration doesn't make descisions for what is best for the kids, but what makes life easier and more convenient for them.  Just my honest opinion.  Although I know that I  am not the only one who shares that thought....  Needless to say, I'm just not happy here, and feeling like nothing I do here is valued or important in the lives of the kids.  When one isn't listened to or supported, I guess that's the next reaction...  So, I'll put my name out there and see where this goes.  If I don't find something new, staying here won't be the end of the world, it's still a job, right??

In the resume update, I've realized in looking at all I've done, I see I've done A LOT!!!  Oyness...  Now I gotta figure out just how long this resume should be.  I'm up to almost three full pages - is that too long???  I haven't a clue, I haven't done this in a long time.  Anyway...

On a happier note, I'm going to NYC tomorrow to see the musical Grey Gardens.  Looking forward to that!  Have a great weekend.   

Last Saturday

This was the sky last Saturday.  Not very nice looking, then the sky opened up and let us have a serious little shower.  We lived, but it looked very ominous before it started:

Then to top off the day, I was on the phone with my good friend Thea, and as is typical, we both do dishes while we talk, cause it gets them done faster (I don't remember when we started doing this, but it's been YEARS), and I broke my Coffee Press, which I got this summer while on a trip with friends at the Jersey shore:

I had really grown accustomed to it - the coffee it made was VERY strong.  I liked it a lot.  This is what it looked like with the yarn I got in Cape May (SOHO Tweed), and my Cabin Cove Mercantile Mug.  *sigh*

I was going to do some swatching last night, but I must have been tired, because I sat down in front of the tv after dinner, and I slept for about 4 hours.  I was NOTHING last night.  I did NOTHING last night.  *pout*  Oh, well.  I'll try to do a little something tonight after the Elementary School Open House.  Hopefully I'll be home by 7:30.  Hopefully.....

Saturday...

Good Afternoon.  It has been such a busy week at school, that no knitting has gone on.  Why?  Well, I'm a class advisor for the freshman class, and it was Homecoming week, so we've been busy little beavers!  Homecoming week for the kids involves a few little competitions between classes, which include a parade float and a class dance (to be performed at the big Homecoming Dance!).

Last Saturday was spent building things for the parade float.  This year's Homecoming theme was "The Games People Play", and each class had to come up with a board game for their float.  The freshman decided upon "Chess", and set out to create a human chess game as their float.  They constructed a HUGE chess board out of donated pizza boxes, hats for their designated chess pieces, and other details to be placed on the trailer for the parade.  What was really cool, was that the kids got together, made some really great choices, and then devided themselves up into groups to do the jobs that needed to be done!  Talk about teamwork!  It was really awesome to watch them take chage, be creative, and do the work!  The other advisor and I just kinda stood there and supervised while they did all the work.  (They also planned that the other advisor and I would be one of the king and queen pieces on the float, so we got costumes together and got to be part of the parade.   When the kids ask, you can't say "no", you know what I mean?  And we had a ball and laughed, danced, sang and chanted with them all the way along the parade route.  Which is probably why at the moment I can sing notes lower than Bea Arthur ever even dreamed of...)

During the week, they worked on their dance during lunch periods and afterschool in my chorus room.  On Wednesday, they decided that they needed to have shirts to designate their chess pieces for the dance, so we bought white tee shirts that they painted (in my office - which now stinks of paint - LOL!) with stenciled designs and their names. 

So, Thursday night was the Parade and Bonfire at school.  The floats were lined up at the local firehouse, in order - Freshmen (Chess), Sophomores (Candyland), Juniors (Twister), and Seniors (Clue)(The Seniors' float was AMAZING, which, because it was the game "Clue, not only had rooms, but a fire place and bookcases as well!).  The fall sports teams were also in the parade, marching and singing and chanting.  The local Rotary also hosted about 50 of the Foreign Exchange students from thier local region, and there were about 50 Exchange students that marched in the parade with us.  The awesome thing about this was that they were at the beginning of the parade, and the Rotary  gave them flags of their country, so there were about 30 flags of different nations on 8 foot poles!  It was a mass of color, and it made me a little teary to see them marching in front of our kids!  It was just awesome!  And at some point during the parade, several of these exchange students dispersed themselves amongst the floats, and I distinctly remember 3 kids from France leading my kids in chanting "Vive la France" at the top of their lungs as we rolled down the street!

Friday night was the Homecoming game and dance.  Unfortunately, our team lost 14 to 6.  But everyone was still in high spirits at the dance.  The freshmen did really well with their dance (they didn't think so), but they did have a lot of fun.  The shirts they painted looked great!

The Freshmen came in 3rd place out of 4 (they kick the Juniors asses BIG TIME!), and for their first taste of high school class competition, I think they did very well.  It's always a learning experience for them, and there will be more competing during the year, so they've had a good start.

Needless to say, I slept for 11 hours last night, crawling out of bed at 10:30.  Was it worth it?  ABSOLUTELY!!!!!  They're a great bunch of kids, and I'm so very proud to be working with them.  It's really great to be so involveed again!  I decided also that I would give them my time and not worry about taking pictures, since there was also a designated school photographer from the yearbook staff that would be doing that, so as soon as I get some pics e-mailed to me, I'll give you a little peek at some pics of the events! 

Now I need a nap....  Have a great weekend!

Another Day...

So, I spent some time at school yesterday and today.  Yesterday was a training session for a mentoring program we're doing as an outreach to troubled teens.  We'll be working one-on-one with a student to help them to make goals and attempt to make better choices at being successful.  I'm very excited about this.  The students have been pinpointed through a screening process, and their participation is totally voluntary.  So, we'll see where it goes, who participates, and what happens.  It should be a fascinating process, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Today was spent with 2 of the elementary music teachers, looking at the schedule to see if there are ways to make it a little more accomodating for me to get as much time with my high school kids as I can.  Alas, the schedule is so tight and so full that it's really impossible to make any switches that will make it any easier.  So, it stands as it is.  BUT, I've decided that I really can make this work.  It will mean reinventing the wheel as far as my high school schedule goes, and that could really be ok.  And I did run into several elementary teachers today that I know, and it was really uplifting to see them and get to chat with them a little.  I'm starting to feel that this little schedule change is really going to be very good for me socially as well.  The elementary staff is an amazing group of people, and I've fogotten what a giving bunch of human beings they are - certainly nothing like the high school faculty (the HS faculty are a little too focused on themselves - more so than the students they teach at times)(and heaven forbid that they should give their time to something that doesn't pertain to what's happening in their classroom)(Boy, that sounds bitter)(yeah, so??)(LOL!).  Yeah, I'll be doing some running back and forth, but in the long run, I'm starting to see that it's all ok.  Hmmm....

Thank you all for the very nice comments about the new knitting project.  And yes, they are mittens, and they are done on two needles intead of dpns.  It's really a very simple pattern, but the whole construction is pretty cool.  You'll see when I get them done.  I've never seen mittens done like this, so they are a lot of fun. 

Ok, I'm off to knit a little before bed.  'Night!

Saturday Sky

So, this is it.  My sky.  Very grey, and very wet.  I guess this means it's a day to get a little housework done, and I do have a couple of skeins of yarn that I've been meaning to dye for a swap, So, I guess I should get that done this weekend.  Hmmmm.....

School starts in a couple of weeks, and there has been a little change in my schedule.  I will be getting 4 elementary classes added to cover some staffing changes - two mornings a week.  Not that I can't do it, cause I have in the past and, not to toot my own horn, but I'm really good teaching the little ones, but they just take up so much energy!  Oy!  But, it will be fun, and it will also give me contact with the elementary school staff, and they are a wonderful bunch of people who are always willing to help with big projects (ie. backstage help for the musical that I direct every spring.  The more, the merrier, I always say....).  So, it will work to my advangtage.

That's it for now.  The new home here at Typepad is really nice.  I'm liking it a lot, and thanks to those of you who have stopped by to say hello, and thanks again to Dave for the PSA on his blog.  Knitters ARE the best!  Have a great day!