First day as an itinerant is done!
And of course, the weather was.....awesome. :) Lots of snow, and blowing wind to make it a truly fantastic day.
I went from a high school on the north side, to an elementary school in the heart of downtown, up and down two major highways, and around a lake to get to an office where I don't even have a desk yet.
......I guess there's still work to be done!
Overall it was a good day. Much more low key than I anticipated. I think though, that ignorance is bliss and this is just the calm before the storm. (You never knew I had it in me to throw two cliche's into the same sentence...did you?)
We'll see what tomorrow brings!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
ch-ch-ch-changes
What can I say? It's been a while...
I have been working in a school serving students with hearing loss since September of this year. It's my first year in "the field" as people like to call it....and already I'm being asked to move.
Not because of anything I did! They love me at school, and are so bummed I'm leaving. However -- our enrollment is down, and kids keep moving, so one of the classrooms in our program is closing. And since I'm the youngest and newest teacher in the program, I get to move.
As of tomorrow morning at 8:00 am, I will no longer be a classroom D/HH teacher. No -- I've already spent countless hours packing up my classroom, preparing students for the transition to a new teacher, hauling borders and markers and posters and dixie cups in my small-ish Alero to my even smaller bedroom.... and now I'm on to the next phase: Life as an Itinerant.
The itinerant world is a complete 180 from the classroom world. In the classroom world, we have our students all day, we are the main source of information and instruction. The focus is on content, passing tests, strategies, and lots of contact time with students. In the itinerant world, we travel from school to school, serving one student at a time or small groups of students. We are not the main source of information and instruction for them....their classroom teachers are. The focus is on teaching kids to advocate for themselves, teaching the other adults who work with the child about hearing loss, certain portions of content, due process, and limited contact time with students.
Two completely different jobs under the same title. I'll keep you posted about how it goes, and which setting I find most preferable.
I have been working in a school serving students with hearing loss since September of this year. It's my first year in "the field" as people like to call it....and already I'm being asked to move.
Not because of anything I did! They love me at school, and are so bummed I'm leaving. However -- our enrollment is down, and kids keep moving, so one of the classrooms in our program is closing. And since I'm the youngest and newest teacher in the program, I get to move.
As of tomorrow morning at 8:00 am, I will no longer be a classroom D/HH teacher. No -- I've already spent countless hours packing up my classroom, preparing students for the transition to a new teacher, hauling borders and markers and posters and dixie cups in my small-ish Alero to my even smaller bedroom.... and now I'm on to the next phase: Life as an Itinerant.
The itinerant world is a complete 180 from the classroom world. In the classroom world, we have our students all day, we are the main source of information and instruction. The focus is on content, passing tests, strategies, and lots of contact time with students. In the itinerant world, we travel from school to school, serving one student at a time or small groups of students. We are not the main source of information and instruction for them....their classroom teachers are. The focus is on teaching kids to advocate for themselves, teaching the other adults who work with the child about hearing loss, certain portions of content, due process, and limited contact time with students.
Two completely different jobs under the same title. I'll keep you posted about how it goes, and which setting I find most preferable.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
september cold
Now that I'm back into the swing of things with school, kids, lessons, parents, and teachers....what better way to say, "Hey! I'm so glad I'm working again!" than with the worst cold of my life.
seriously.....
Wednesday morning:
-woke up with a horrendous sore throat. Tough it out, Maren. Go to work.
-had to leave an afternoon meeting early because I was getting too sick.
Wednesday night:
-let's take some NyQuil! That shit always does the job.
-NOPE..... I was awake more than I was asleep. thaaanks, nyquil.
Thursday morning:
-dead to the world. missed my alarm. woken up by my roommate. for SURE not going to school.
Thursday day:
-sore throat
-achey body
-major congestion
-ears ringing
-so dizzy i could hardly stand
-fever of 100 degrees or more for at least 8 hours
-shooting pains in my head every few minutes
-a cough
Thursday night:
-decided NOT to go to work again tomorrow. best decision ever.
-NYQUIL PULLS THROUGH!!! slept for 10 hours. brilliant.
Friday morning:
-head pain gone
-dizziness gone
-the feeling of death has morphed into just the worst cold of my life. thank god!
Friday night:
-another dose of NyQuil and another 10 solid hours of sleep.
Saturday morning:
-still the 2nd worse cold ever, but 300% better than Thursday! I'll take it!!!
***my hope for you is that you: drink lots of oj, wash you hands a trillion times, sleep more than you need to, and DON'T get this damn death cold! :)
love ya!
seriously.....
Wednesday morning:
-woke up with a horrendous sore throat. Tough it out, Maren. Go to work.
-had to leave an afternoon meeting early because I was getting too sick.
Wednesday night:
-let's take some NyQuil! That shit always does the job.
-NOPE..... I was awake more than I was asleep. thaaanks, nyquil.
Thursday morning:
-dead to the world. missed my alarm. woken up by my roommate. for SURE not going to school.
Thursday day:
-sore throat
-achey body
-major congestion
-ears ringing
-so dizzy i could hardly stand
-fever of 100 degrees or more for at least 8 hours
-shooting pains in my head every few minutes
-a cough
Thursday night:
-decided NOT to go to work again tomorrow. best decision ever.
-NYQUIL PULLS THROUGH!!! slept for 10 hours. brilliant.
Friday morning:
-head pain gone
-dizziness gone
-the feeling of death has morphed into just the worst cold of my life. thank god!
Friday night:
-another dose of NyQuil and another 10 solid hours of sleep.
Saturday morning:
-still the 2nd worse cold ever, but 300% better than Thursday! I'll take it!!!
***my hope for you is that you: drink lots of oj, wash you hands a trillion times, sleep more than you need to, and DON'T get this damn death cold! :)
love ya!
Monday, June 30, 2008
June at a glance
I can see I have some work to do to get back on track with blogging! It's the last day of June, and I promised this wouldn't happen again another month.....
But, with family, friends, birthdays, work, and a vacation, I guess I was actually busy!
So, here it is -- my June at a glance:
June 1 - Grand Old Days in St. Paul!! We hung out with friends at Maura's apt. on Grand and watched the Twins win!
June 2-5 - Deadwood, South Dakota. My sister and I drove 10 hours (each way) to visit her best friend from college, Molly. We got to see Mount Rushmore, Deadwood, casinos, Kevin Costner's resturaunt, and more!
June 5-9 - Work at the bar.
June 12-16 - Work at the bar.
June 13 - Turned in my application for my teaching license!! (finally!)
June 17-18 - Helped my mom clean the entire house to get ready for out of town family. We even had to take down Christmas (which was still in full swing) in the basement.
June 18-19 - Hang out with aunts and cousins from Washington, California, Florida, and Minnesota.
June 20 - RELAY FOR LIFE in Anoka!!! My dad gave a speech at the opening ceremony; Sarah sang the National Anthem; I saw my aunt and cousin from CT, and Nick's band played at night.
June 22 - Sarah's SUPRISE Birthday Party!! Held at my parents' pool. SO much fun with friends from high school, college, and teaching there!
June 23 - Show Nora, Paul, and Peter around Uptown and hunt for apartments for them. Work at the bar.
June 25 - Sarah's GOLDEN Birthday!! We went to the pool, hung out with Nora, ate dinner at Benihana, and drank our way through Uptown. (Pictures on facebook).
June 26 - Nora and Paul decide to move in to our building!!!!! They fill out the application and we tour the apartment.
June 26-30 - Work at the bar.
So, tomorrow's July, and this time I am SURE I will keep you updated on a more regular basis!
Love,
Maren
But, with family, friends, birthdays, work, and a vacation, I guess I was actually busy!
So, here it is -- my June at a glance:
June 1 - Grand Old Days in St. Paul!! We hung out with friends at Maura's apt. on Grand and watched the Twins win!
June 2-5 - Deadwood, South Dakota. My sister and I drove 10 hours (each way) to visit her best friend from college, Molly. We got to see Mount Rushmore, Deadwood, casinos, Kevin Costner's resturaunt, and more!
June 5-9 - Work at the bar.
June 12-16 - Work at the bar.
June 13 - Turned in my application for my teaching license!! (finally!)
June 17-18 - Helped my mom clean the entire house to get ready for out of town family. We even had to take down Christmas (which was still in full swing) in the basement.
June 18-19 - Hang out with aunts and cousins from Washington, California, Florida, and Minnesota.
June 20 - RELAY FOR LIFE in Anoka!!! My dad gave a speech at the opening ceremony; Sarah sang the National Anthem; I saw my aunt and cousin from CT, and Nick's band played at night.
June 22 - Sarah's SUPRISE Birthday Party!! Held at my parents' pool. SO much fun with friends from high school, college, and teaching there!
June 23 - Show Nora, Paul, and Peter around Uptown and hunt for apartments for them. Work at the bar.
June 25 - Sarah's GOLDEN Birthday!! We went to the pool, hung out with Nora, ate dinner at Benihana, and drank our way through Uptown. (Pictures on facebook).
June 26 - Nora and Paul decide to move in to our building!!!!! They fill out the application and we tour the apartment.
June 26-30 - Work at the bar.
So, tomorrow's July, and this time I am SURE I will keep you updated on a more regular basis!
Love,
Maren
Thursday, May 29, 2008
ode to May
Huh... so I guess it's been a while since I "blogged". I love those words that can be a noun OR a verb: blog/blogged; swim/swim; f*ck/f*ck; you get the idea.
Anyway -- this month has been two extremes at the same time: crazy and lazy. Here's a recap of what's been going on.....
May 2 -- Close the bar on a Friday night as a practice for days to come.
May 5 -- Last day of class in grad school. Also -- practice closing shift #2.
May 7 -- First close by myself. Note: I was only there an hour and fifteen after we closed.
May 8 -- Second close by myself. Note: I shaved 30 minutes off my previous time, and was there only 45 minutes after close!
May 12 -- Stephy's birthday!! First job interview: D/HH in St. Paul. Last FINAL of grad school ever!! (on which, I got an A). Close at the bar.
May 14 -- GRADUATION DAY!! At Northrup Auditorium, with family. Also, a quaint reception from the professors in our program.
May 15 -- Close at the bar.
May 19 -- Close at the bar.
May 21 -- Move Megan out of St. Olaf. And rediscover my biceps.
May 22 -- JOB OFFER from St. Paul....yessss! :) I'll be teaching 4th and 5th grade students reading/writing/math in the morning, and then taking them in to a general ed. classroom in the afternoon for science/social studies/etc. Close at the bar.
May 24 -- ACTUALLY get to hang out with my friends! BBQ and near deck fire at Mel and Bob's.
May 26 -- Movie with Sarah and Mel. Close at the bar.
May 28 -- First date with new boy. It goes well, but there are no fireworks. Enough said.
And now, here I am at the end of May, closing tonight, and working tomorrow and Saturday.... leading up to our ONE YEAR anniversary in this building and in this city. It's been a wild, successful, fun, challenging, heartbreaking, mess of a year. I can only hope that this next year is as memorable.
See you in June! :)
Anyway -- this month has been two extremes at the same time: crazy and lazy. Here's a recap of what's been going on.....
May 2 -- Close the bar on a Friday night as a practice for days to come.
May 5 -- Last day of class in grad school. Also -- practice closing shift #2.
May 7 -- First close by myself. Note: I was only there an hour and fifteen after we closed.
May 8 -- Second close by myself. Note: I shaved 30 minutes off my previous time, and was there only 45 minutes after close!
May 12 -- Stephy's birthday!! First job interview: D/HH in St. Paul. Last FINAL of grad school ever!! (on which, I got an A). Close at the bar.
May 14 -- GRADUATION DAY!! At Northrup Auditorium, with family. Also, a quaint reception from the professors in our program.
May 15 -- Close at the bar.
May 19 -- Close at the bar.
May 21 -- Move Megan out of St. Olaf. And rediscover my biceps.
May 22 -- JOB OFFER from St. Paul....yessss! :) I'll be teaching 4th and 5th grade students reading/writing/math in the morning, and then taking them in to a general ed. classroom in the afternoon for science/social studies/etc. Close at the bar.
May 24 -- ACTUALLY get to hang out with my friends! BBQ and near deck fire at Mel and Bob's.
May 26 -- Movie with Sarah and Mel. Close at the bar.
May 28 -- First date with new boy. It goes well, but there are no fireworks. Enough said.
And now, here I am at the end of May, closing tonight, and working tomorrow and Saturday.... leading up to our ONE YEAR anniversary in this building and in this city. It's been a wild, successful, fun, challenging, heartbreaking, mess of a year. I can only hope that this next year is as memorable.
See you in June! :)
Friday, April 25, 2008
thursday's theme? therapy!
I know what you're thinking.....
what? therapy? I probably shouldn't be reading this.....it's about therapy.
But don't worry -- therapy is the new massage. And who doesn't love a good massage??
I have seen several different counselors in my lifetime. One in my freshmen year of high school. One at Luther. One when I left Luther. A few in between....and now I've been seeing Barb since January of '07.
There's such a stigma that goes with counseling: you're not strong enough to deal with your own problems; no one else needs therapy, why do you?; some people's lives are way worse than yours -- why do you need counseling?
And, I've believed all those things and been embarrassed each time I've started therapy. Until now. Now I believe therapy is the most beneficial thing anyone can do for themselves -- and I truly believe each and every one of us would benefit from talking to someone a couple times a month.
My latest session with Barb proved to be truly exhausting. I've been seeing her for over a year, and have managed to talk about everything from family to work to school to friends. I've spent over a year talking about all those things and trying so desperately to not talk about dating and relationships and how I actually feel about myself. And, yesterday, I finally ran out of "other stuff" to talk about, and so I began a whole new chapter in therapy -- dating and relationships.
It was really interesting to begin to talk about....because I realized I have had such a wall up about the issue that even my counselor hasn't dared to touch the subject for over a year. Wow! What an eye-opener. I am so happy and excited to finally be thinking about and working through whatever issues these are to get them over and done with! I'll keep you posted on what happens.
So, as I stand here on my soap box, preaching about the wonders of counseling, I'm hoping you're still reading and that you feel a little more comfortable mentioning or even talking about therapy. I have been told (by people in their mid-late 30s and even 40s) that they are so proud of me and a little jealous that I'm working on myself and personal issues at such a young age. They wish they would have felt ok enough with themselves and (god-forbid) therapy to start at an earlier age.
So, this is my little attempt to break down the social stigmas of therapy. And what was on Grey's last night?!? Meredith in therapy!! One day we will all feel comfortable enough to talk about this issue. For me it starts today. I hope it does for you too. Be proud of yourself -- by taking charge of your life and owning your emotions, you are on your way to being the best you you can be!
what? therapy? I probably shouldn't be reading this.....it's about therapy.
But don't worry -- therapy is the new massage. And who doesn't love a good massage??
I have seen several different counselors in my lifetime. One in my freshmen year of high school. One at Luther. One when I left Luther. A few in between....and now I've been seeing Barb since January of '07.
There's such a stigma that goes with counseling: you're not strong enough to deal with your own problems; no one else needs therapy, why do you?; some people's lives are way worse than yours -- why do you need counseling?
And, I've believed all those things and been embarrassed each time I've started therapy. Until now. Now I believe therapy is the most beneficial thing anyone can do for themselves -- and I truly believe each and every one of us would benefit from talking to someone a couple times a month.
My latest session with Barb proved to be truly exhausting. I've been seeing her for over a year, and have managed to talk about everything from family to work to school to friends. I've spent over a year talking about all those things and trying so desperately to not talk about dating and relationships and how I actually feel about myself. And, yesterday, I finally ran out of "other stuff" to talk about, and so I began a whole new chapter in therapy -- dating and relationships.
It was really interesting to begin to talk about....because I realized I have had such a wall up about the issue that even my counselor hasn't dared to touch the subject for over a year. Wow! What an eye-opener. I am so happy and excited to finally be thinking about and working through whatever issues these are to get them over and done with! I'll keep you posted on what happens.
So, as I stand here on my soap box, preaching about the wonders of counseling, I'm hoping you're still reading and that you feel a little more comfortable mentioning or even talking about therapy. I have been told (by people in their mid-late 30s and even 40s) that they are so proud of me and a little jealous that I'm working on myself and personal issues at such a young age. They wish they would have felt ok enough with themselves and (god-forbid) therapy to start at an earlier age.
So, this is my little attempt to break down the social stigmas of therapy. And what was on Grey's last night?!? Meredith in therapy!! One day we will all feel comfortable enough to talk about this issue. For me it starts today. I hope it does for you too. Be proud of yourself -- by taking charge of your life and owning your emotions, you are on your way to being the best you you can be!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
somebody please explain it to me
For those of you who have heard.....skip on down.
For those of you who haven't.....here goes:
My ever-inspiring roommate comes forth with one good idea after the other. Her most recent stroke of genius is that she's going to start dating again. I love this about her because she presents it as her choice. Like she's chosen to not date, and now, she will begin again. To someone whom dating has always been a mystery (except for that one long drawn-out relationship that ended poorly), I was truly moved by this thought.
So, I said to myself...If she's going to start dating again, I will too!
Like any out-of-practice mid-twenties girl who doesn't want to pick up some half-wasted loser from a bar who's just looking for a one-night stand, I create (or rather, update) my profile on an infamous online dating site. This was last Sunday. But I said to myself, I'm not going to pay the money to actually send emails, etc. unless I receive one first. (No, it's not cheap, it's just planning for my financial future!). Within 24 hours I have an email waiting in my dating "inbox". Great. Now I have to actually subscribe to see who's emailed me.
I read the email, and with the newness of this experience still hanging in the air, somehow find the courage to email the guy back. He seems nice enough....not exactly my first pick for a first date back in the game, but not my last pick either. We email for a couple days (the operative word being "couple" = 2) and what do you know -- I have a date the following day - Wednesday.
I meet Mr. New at a local resturaunt for dinner. Conversation is going well. I am a little rusty, but it doesn't take much to remember how to talk to strangers. I'm very confident, pleasant, and interested in what he's saying. During dinner there's a live band, and all is still well. We're out for about an hour and a half, when we both decide it's time to go. He pays the bill (I offer to tip, but am not allowed) and offers to walk me to my car. He says, "I'm so glad we did this. It was really great meeting you. If you'd like, I would love to take you out again. Here -- let's exchange numbers and I'll call you." We exchange numbers, he gives me a hug. As he's leaving, I say, "Thank you so much, I had a great time!" He says, "Oh my gosh. It was my pleasure." The date ends. I feel great.
It is important to note that I was not super into Mr. New, but I did have a nice time with him.
So, Thursday and Friday pass without contact. Normal.
By Saturday night I still haven't heard from Mr. New, so I think to myself, I am going to text him to say thanks again for dinner and see what he's up to.........................................
Now it's THIS Wednesday, still no word, and I'm completely mystified. What went wrong? Did I do something? Was I not funny enough? Not cute enough? Did I break some ultra-secret dating rule I was unaware of?
Please believe me when I say, I would have been absolutely FINE if he would have said at the end of the night, "Hey, thanks. It was really nice meeting you. Have a great night." It even would have been fine if he'd said, "You know, I had fun getting to know you but I just don't think it's going to work out."
At least then I WOULD KNOW!!!
But don't tell me you had so much fun and you're going to take me out again and let's exchange numbers and give me a hug when all you want to say is "Sorry, I'm just not that in to you."!!!!!!!!!!
Ideas? Suggestions? Insights? This is an open forum - words of wisdom from girls AND guys are welcome.
For those of you who haven't.....here goes:
My ever-inspiring roommate comes forth with one good idea after the other. Her most recent stroke of genius is that she's going to start dating again. I love this about her because she presents it as her choice. Like she's chosen to not date, and now, she will begin again. To someone whom dating has always been a mystery (except for that one long drawn-out relationship that ended poorly), I was truly moved by this thought.
So, I said to myself...If she's going to start dating again, I will too!
Like any out-of-practice mid-twenties girl who doesn't want to pick up some half-wasted loser from a bar who's just looking for a one-night stand, I create (or rather, update) my profile on an infamous online dating site. This was last Sunday. But I said to myself, I'm not going to pay the money to actually send emails, etc. unless I receive one first. (No, it's not cheap, it's just planning for my financial future!). Within 24 hours I have an email waiting in my dating "inbox". Great. Now I have to actually subscribe to see who's emailed me.
I read the email, and with the newness of this experience still hanging in the air, somehow find the courage to email the guy back. He seems nice enough....not exactly my first pick for a first date back in the game, but not my last pick either. We email for a couple days (the operative word being "couple" = 2) and what do you know -- I have a date the following day - Wednesday.
I meet Mr. New at a local resturaunt for dinner. Conversation is going well. I am a little rusty, but it doesn't take much to remember how to talk to strangers. I'm very confident, pleasant, and interested in what he's saying. During dinner there's a live band, and all is still well. We're out for about an hour and a half, when we both decide it's time to go. He pays the bill (I offer to tip, but am not allowed) and offers to walk me to my car. He says, "I'm so glad we did this. It was really great meeting you. If you'd like, I would love to take you out again. Here -- let's exchange numbers and I'll call you." We exchange numbers, he gives me a hug. As he's leaving, I say, "Thank you so much, I had a great time!" He says, "Oh my gosh. It was my pleasure." The date ends. I feel great.
It is important to note that I was not super into Mr. New, but I did have a nice time with him.
So, Thursday and Friday pass without contact. Normal.
By Saturday night I still haven't heard from Mr. New, so I think to myself, I am going to text him to say thanks again for dinner and see what he's up to.........................................
Now it's THIS Wednesday, still no word, and I'm completely mystified. What went wrong? Did I do something? Was I not funny enough? Not cute enough? Did I break some ultra-secret dating rule I was unaware of?
Please believe me when I say, I would have been absolutely FINE if he would have said at the end of the night, "Hey, thanks. It was really nice meeting you. Have a great night." It even would have been fine if he'd said, "You know, I had fun getting to know you but I just don't think it's going to work out."
At least then I WOULD KNOW!!!
But don't tell me you had so much fun and you're going to take me out again and let's exchange numbers and give me a hug when all you want to say is "Sorry, I'm just not that in to you."!!!!!!!!!!
Ideas? Suggestions? Insights? This is an open forum - words of wisdom from girls AND guys are welcome.
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