Burn Out

I've been suffering a huge amount of burn out lately. I think I've kvetched about that expression before and I can't believe I'm resorting to it, but I am. I'm saying I'm burn out and I am burn out.

I would like to blame this weather. We're having super unseasonably warms temps here in the Midwest. We are usually very cold right now and most of the time in mid March we have snow up to our keisters. I love this weather and the last place I want to be is at work. i have no windows; I'm not even near a window. I know there are other jobs with no windows so this isn't really a big deal but I think I just want to be in the 80 degree weather while I can.

But if I'm really honest, I'm burn out on work. I love the job and books and most of the students and the ability to be creative and basically run my own department but I am so tired. I'm tired of constantly worrying about money and getting sick since I have no insurance. I'm tired of the high maintenance kids at this school. I'm just done.

I know that's lame but I just can't seem to shake this feeling. Sometimes I take a couple days away to clear my head and I come back all ready to go and that hasn't happened for a long time. I dread getting out of bed- and NOT just because I'm not a morning person- but because I don't want to do this anymore or come here any more.

Ugh, sorry to be such a whiner. Maybe I'd be better off if it snowed 3 feet!

NOT!
Mags

Heat wave, not of the tropical sort

I'm tired of things overheating:

• emotions- mine, others, students
• my body- hot flashes, over weight, whatever
• the oven- long post coming about how the oven went to Hell... (I *heart puns*)
• tempers- mine, others, students
• computers- mine runs for about 30 minutes then shuts off from lack of fan running
• the weather- it's the Midwest in January and we should be up to our asses in snow yet it was 58 degrees today and sunny and breezy

Too hot,

Mags

Can't shake the blahs

Yesterday I wrote about not knowing where all my time went this week.

And I have to say, I need some time to breathe.

I don't know what's going on with me lately but I just feel like I need some time to ... to myself. This sounds totally bitchy, I know, after coming off a month long break but for some reason, I've felt overwhelmed lately.

There's been turmoil with Mac, leaving for school. It hasn't been pleasant and I feel turned in so many topsy-turvy ways because of this.

I also feel all consumed by work when I go home at night. I worry about the kids, about a new program I've been put in charge of, about testing the kids, and anything else about work I can seem to worry about.

For some reason I can't even seem to convey here what I mean to say. I just know I can't seem to settle my brain and I feel completely not at ease, or full of unease.

Am I just unhappy? Someone suggested I'm depressed. I am tired all the time, it seems, for no good reason, even when I get tons and tons of sleep.

I don't often feel like this, so full of drudgery. I don't really want to read, craft, talk, clean, write, cook, do laundry, hang out... I just don't want to do anything, really.

Ugh, I hate feeling so blah, so tired, so uneasy, so no time to myself.

Whining once again,
Maggie

the sick day

The plan for yesterday was to sort the gifts, finish shopping, wrap some stuff, see Curly, see Princess, see Daddy-O's cantata, see the Christmas lights in the park, and drink Starbucks.

The reality of yesterday was get up, take meds, drink hot tea, blog, read emails, drink more tea, decide I'm too sick to do anything so I go back to sleep. Wake up at 12:30 pm and repeat previous steps. Wake up again at 4 pm and repeat all these steps. At this point I had a conversation with Daddy-O that I was too sick to attended cantata. Had a conversation with Mac, arranging transportation for Curly. Contacted Princess's jailers to let her know I was too ill to see her. Let ITSam know I was too ill to see him. Went back to sleep.

Wake up again at 6:30 pm. No one is home. I decide I must stay awake until something that resembles bed time. And a time not so close to the Day-Quil dosage so I can take my Ny-Quil dosage. So I talk to ITSam who brings pizza. I try to make tea but doze off in the chair and wake to the smell of the kettle being singed since I ran it out of water. I eat. I try to watch TV but don't have the strength to concentrate so I turn it off. Ditto blogging, reading blogs, surfing the 'net, and reading emails. Ditto reading books. Mac gets home so I take a shower. I don't have the energy to hold the hair dryer so I sit with my hoodie over my head. I beg Mac to make me tea. He does.

I finally say to hell with the closeness of day and ny-quil doses (I was off by an hour) and take it anyway and go back to bed.

How could I sleep that much? How could I have so little energy that breathing takes effort? How could I have that much snot? I hate it when I'm so congested I have to sleep with my mouth open, which dries my mouth which wakes me up coughing. My chest aches from all the coughing.

Please let me feel better today.

Mags

I'm sick

I started sneezing and having watery eyes on Friday night. I was not going to get sick. I just wasn't.

Yesterday I woke up blowing my nose and all stuffed up. I sounded terrible but I thought I would be okay. I took my tissues with me and had a pocket full of them, as well as a purse full. Every time we got out of the car, I blew my nose.

Last night we got home from shopping and I carried everything in the house. I had one more thing to do. Yesterday was ITSam's birthday and I was going to take him to dinner. Since I got home so late I thought he'd eaten but he waited so we went to dinner. Sitting in Applebee's I got the shivers and couldn't stop. I shivered all the way home. My teeth were chattering and I couldn't stop shaking. I think it all caught up to me. The heat was on full blast in the car but I still couldn't warm up.

I came straight home and took the hottest shower I could stand until I warmed up. I never did. I pulled on layers of jammies and went to bed. I piled on the covers. The fever broke sometime in the night.

I feel a little better this morning. I still feel like a bus ran over me. I'm blowing green snot this morning. Not a good sign. My left ear hurts and my glands are swollen all over. I'm coughing. I feel great... yeah, right. I'm taking handfuls of Tylanol and Day-Quil. I'm having hot tea right now.

I hate being sick. The first two days of my Christmas vacation and I'm ick. Damn it.

My plan was to sort gifts and finish my shopping today. Tonight I was going to Daddy-O's cantata concert. I'm not shopping, that's for sure. I thought I might watch White Christmas and wrap presents but I think dripping snot on gifts sort of ruins the holiday season. Don't you?

Maggie

Still stressed, still whining

I hate those days when nothing really goes according to plan. Yesterday was one of those days. I had great expectations for my Tuesday but it all went to hell in hand basket.

I originally took yesterday off from work because I was supposed to have a doctor appointment and I was supposed to take a scrapbook class. The scrapbook class was actually after work but the doctor appoint was in Northern Civilization and during the work day. So last week I took the day off and scheduled a substitute.

On Friday of last week, the Planned Parenthood I go to for my physical called and said that from now on they don't do annual physical appointments on Mondays and Tuesdays. Due to budget cuts they need to re-schedule me on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

I figured I would go ahead and take the day off anyway, maybe go to Northern Civilization earlier in the day and hang out at the book stores or in my favorite park with a Starbucks if the weather was nice. Daddy-O talked about going with me as well.

Well, last night Daddy-O decided to not go with me, due to finances. Then the scrapbook store called and canceled my class because not enough people signed up! Well, damn! I gave some serious thought to calling my sub and canceling, just going to work but I couldn't find her number anywhere. I consoled myself with the fact that I could use a mental health day and would stay home with my laptop, in my jammies, drinking coffee and doing a mass resume mailing in an effort to get a new job.

Well, that didn't work. Partially it was my fault, I realize.

Mac woke up with a HUGE headache, sinus pressure, clogged nose, ear ache and sore throat. I told him he could stay home and sleep but he had to go to school because he has play practice this week. The show is Thursday night and this is dress rehearsal week. I know he's been so busy and tired, burning the candle at both ends with school until 315, cheer leading 330-6pm and then play practice 6-9pm Then homework after that. So, I figures he was very run down. I also know that right now the sinus issues for folks are off the charts bad right now with our freaky weather. The Weather Channel TV station was even talking about the sinus/ weather problems here in the Midwest right now. So, I told him he could stay home and sleep half a day.

Around 11:30am he announces that he doesn't "have" to go to school because the rule of "no school= no activities" is only for sports. So he ended up staying home all day. That totally messed with my mental health time because he started filling out college applications which meant he hit me with twenty questions. Then he wanted to know if he could re-take the SAT and when and it costs $50. Then College 2's application cost $50. It was all about money. I finally told him to shut up, go away and leave me alone.

I also had a huge conversation with Mac's cheer leading coach about tomorrow. There's an athletic awards dinner. He has to be there, dressed up. Also, he has lifting and it's a dress rehearsal for the play (the play is tomorrow night), and he has to bring a covered dish. Damn it, I can't catch a break. I did pack his gym bag, making sure he had everything he needed so we don't have to run back and forth, making extra trips. And I got a brownie mix for his contribution to the meal.

Then last night I decided to watch a movie called The Ultimate Heist and nowhere on the box did it way it was a French film that had been dubbed over. Badly dubbed over and very boring. By the way, it sucked. What pisses me off, is that a few of the French actors speak English and they didn't even do their parts in the voice over. It's pretty terrible. Jean Reno is in it and he didn't do his English either. Suckage.

I did get some job applications done; that's the good part. Not as many as I wanted but at least I got some done. So much for a relaxing, mental health day.

Feh.

Maggie

Self pity alert because of the Week from hell or "what did I do in a previous life to deserve all this?"

This has been one of the worst weeks I can remember in a long, long time. Here's why:

Curly's dad died. He was just diagnosed two weeks ago with a brain tumor and now he's gone. I feel so sad for Curly and her family; I wish there was something I could do or say to make her feel better, but there's nothing, of course. I've lost a parent so I can empathize but still... there's nothing I can do.

AlaskaSam had a "pretty severe heart attack" according to his email. Then today he had a heart cath to see the extent of the damage. He's there and I'm here and there's nothing I can do. Nothing except wait to see what emails and texts I get. I can't imagine what the world would be like for me if he's not in it, even though we're a bajillion miles apart and have all the other issues. But I feel sick and scared and worried and it's hard to breathe. He can't die.

Those were the important things. This week had so many 'little' things which are the things that are usually the straws that break the camels' proverbial backs, right? So I had little things...

On Wednesday night the brakes in my car gave out. Thank the gods for XRayGirl's husband who took my whole car apart and put new ones one at a moment's notice. Free labor, cost of parts only, plus 1 peach cobbler.

My ATM card didn't work Friday morning which meant I had to put back my coffee, danish and Mac's breakfast. I was so happy I didn't get fuel because that would've been a disaster. So I panicked at work all day long, worrying I had overdrawn somehow and it was going to be $30 per bounce. So after work I went straight to the bank and I had a balance of 93 cents. I was so happy I cried.

And speaking of money, I got my first check from the new school and it's very small. We don't even want to look at the list of things I need to pay for like graduation stuff, senior stuff, sports stuff, bills, and other miscellany that are too numerous to mention. I can't even afford my annual physical or my BCpill renewal, which I'm sure is causing my hormones to be completely outta whack.

And speaking of health... I've awakened daily with a headache in the same place and it's excruciating. I take a ton of aspirin and it's gone my mid morning but it still scares me, all things considered this week. (No, I'm not a hypochondriac)

My cell phone stopped working, just randomly stopped. After work I called Verizon Wireless and the stupid jerk in customer service department needs to be fired. I told him what was wrong with my phone AND I mentioned that others I knew said there were tower problems. He informed me there were no tower problems and I was shut off for non-payment. He then sent me to financial services. The guy in FS said the customer service guy was wrong; this dude had on the screen right in front of him that my bill was fine. So he sent me to technical services. The techie guy said there were outages all over the place and it wasn't my device or the billing. He was nice and kind. He also gave me a day credit AND said I should be back up by Friday night. (I wasn't, by the way...) He said if I don't have service by noon today, I need to call back. At least I know the phone itself isn't broken and that it wasn't a payment issue.

Work sucks. My boss is a terror. Most of the kids are as bad. I have no idea how to do 8th grade math and make T charts (what the hell does a T chart have to do with y-intercepts is beyond me...) and because I can't do it, the other aide has to help and she's mad at me because I can't help my own students. She was my only Allie and now she's pissed. Great.

I was late to work twice this week- two days in a row, as a matter of fact- because I got stuck behind a school bus once and stopped by a train the next time.

Mac is having issues at school, which seem to always trickle down to good old mom and I can't fix anything for him. And I just have to put up with the crap attitude.

And it spit snow today for about an hour. It didn't stick but I think that means it's now officially cold. And ick. And wintery. Brrrrrrr!

That's the list. All of this since.... Wednesday. I can't take anymore.

I don't even think Calgon could take me away,
Maggie

How can I have the weekend blahs?

You ever have so much going on in your head you can't find your sense of humor, or at least for very long?

I shouldn't let all this shit rent space in my head but I do.

And for the last 7-10 days I've been experiencing something new- anxiety attacks. First time it happened I thought I was having a freaking heart attack and I would've been pissed if I had one at age 38 and my ex husband who is older, meaner, fatter and far uglier didn't have one first.

That all being said, yesterday was tons of fun because Daddy-O and Curley and I did a shopping at craft store day. I'm going to make a dress! Let me amend that; Curely is going to show me how to make a dress and then I'm going to do the second one by myself. Pictures will follow.

Other than a blow by blow of my weekend, which I'm sure isn't all that exciting to read (though props to Curley's Son, the King of Computers, for doing some super fun, cute things to my machine!!!! he so rocks! Kisses to King of computers!) I really don't have anything to add.

I think I need to go do something crazy and see if it generates some material. As soon as I come up with something I can afford, I'll get right on that.

Oh, wait! While Mac hasn't decided what to sing for Spring Spec, I guess at the pep session at his school on Friday, he rapped "Jump On It" in front of the entire student body to rev up the crowd and got a standing ovation. Wish I could've seen that!

So, have a good night, and tomorrow will bring another attempt to post. I'm sure I'll come up with something, right?

Mags

Playing favorites

I'm a little frustrated with one of my classroom teachers. She seems to play favorites and it drives me nuts.

I admit when I had my own classroom and my own students and classes, I did have favorite students. And I have them now, even. It's the nature of the teaching beast. But what makes the mettle of the teacher is the ability to have favorites but still treat them all the same. One thing kids wrote on my evaluations over and over again is that I was fair. None of them could ever argue that I wasn't- and that was high praise to me because I tried to always be fair. It would kill me to have to discipline one of my favorites, but I would still do it. It's just "the way I roll."

Now that's just me. Obviously not all teachers think like I do. For example, there is a kid in one of my classes that-today- kept putting his head down on his desk and kept falling asleep. Over and over again. The teacher kept telling him to put his head up. This kid is a total brat- he's an obnoxious mouthy smartass. He's rude and often crude. He complains and whines about everything, every day and has a sarcastic comment all the time. AND SHE NEVER WRITES HIM UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then today with the sleeping thing. Because, as she told me later, she just feels sorry for him and likes him in spite of his evil behavior since she's known him since he was in kindergarten. BUT, there's another kid in class who put his head down on his arm while he was taking notes, and she yelled at him to get his head up and docked him his participation points.

I just hate that. I've seen the grade book for the evil kid and she doesn't deduct his participation points but she does for other kids.

There is nothing I can do about it; and trust me, this isn't a battle I want to fight with her. And I know I don't have to fight her, I could just talk to her but it would be awkward, uncomfortable, and probably I would be told to "mind my own dang business." And I'm certainly not gonna go over her head- "Hel-lo!" we know how bad that would be!

I've talked to other aides- in generalities to see if they witness this in other classes with other teachers (because I don't want to point a finger at one teacher) and unfortunately it seems like they do have these problems. I can't decide if it's noticed because we're the outsiders looking in or if it's a culture set by this particular school system or even an third option... who knows?

I'm most certainly not perfect as a teacher, but I do try to be fair and the injustice of it all just makes me angry, tired, and guilty. Great- like I needed one more thing to worry about!

Mags

Whiny ramblings, with music!

Snow sucks. I was going to hang out with Lilith (aka Hecate) today but the weather has thrown us a loop. I think one or both of us would be stuck if we could get in the same spot. Wait, that could be fun!

No, but seriously, she and I are much more responsible than that and won't get together because of the bad weather. So much for the manicure and pedicure. My poor feet are yelling at me already, that how dare I get them all excited and then abandon the plan. My poor dogs may never forgive me.

I'm not even sure how hard it's actually snowing but it's windy and blowing and it's the drifting I'm worried about, more than anything. You know the song lyrics "snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun" in "Jingle Bell Rock"? They obviously did not live in the Midwest in January because snowing and blowing does not make bushels of fun- it's makes drifts, stuck cars, low viability, and white outs.

Well, in other news, I don't have to go back to school until Tuesday. That's pretty awesome. I'm not ready to go back. I really like sleeping in. Maybe I've been out of work to long and re-adjusting to work again is taking a toll. Maybe there's a pill for that?

I watched District 9 on video last night and it was scary. I didn't like it at all. It was terribly violent and just... harsh. Maybe I didn't like it because it would be how humans would actually deal with 1.8 million aliens landing on Earth. I don't know.

And speaking of movies, I went to the theater and saw Up In The Air yesterday. I wanted it to be the best movie I've seen all year. It was good and certainly award worthy, but it was just sad and daunting in the economic hardship that is America this year. I knew what it was about when I went but I didn't think it would be that stark of reality. And it wasn't the best movie I've seen all year, though it was certainly one of the better. I think the best movie I've watched this year was Julie& Julia. I'm waiting for Hollywood to dazzle me with something that makes me leave the theater going, "Wow! I can't wait to see that again! OMG!" and I haven't had that reaction to a film in a very loooooooooong time!

So this is one of my favorite songs off the new Bon Jovi album The Circle. It's called "Superman Tonight." I was hunting to find the actual music video and couldn't come up with it, but I thought this was a pretty cool live performance. I'm a total Bon Jovi fan. They were popular when I was in high school so I just can't help it! I've seen them in concert 3 times and I'm going to admit it here; I'm gonna try and see them on The Circle tour either through Eventchaser or I'll buy my own ticket. I think Jon Bon Jovi is still a cutie, even after all these years.

Have a happy Sunday! In spite of the whiny tone of this post, I do have a good book to read and I think I'm going to rent a movie or two and just hang out and take it easy.

Maggie

Shiver me timbers, it's bloody cold!

I've had enough of the snow already. Please quit. I've begged and tried to bargain with Mr. Jack Frost but he's having nothing to do with me and my pleas; my wailing and groveling is falling on deaf ears as the snow continues to just float around us all, completely unassuming in its dropping, that I hate it and that I'm plotting its dreadful end. I wish I could set a million hairdryers on the snow and melt those fiendish little flakes into nothing but puddles! Bwahahahahaha!

Okay, it snowed so much yesterday that I didn't get to leave to see a movie. Mac and I were already to see Nine. (I have no idea how I convinced him to see it. I've heard rumor that someone is topless, and I don't mean Day-Lewis and since Mac is 16 years old and does love boobies... anyway, there has to be a logical explanation for a kid his age to want to see a musical!) We were going to the next town over but never left Civilization after watching several cars slide right off the slick streets in front of us. Drat! As Mac said, "This weather blows." Indeed it does!

And the weather forecast says we're supposed to have more snow over the next three days. Again, I am unimpressed. I'm cold. I've been cold since I drove home in that damnable blizzard last Christmas holiday!

I even went so far as to look at the price of plane tickets to see my blogger friend P who lives in Florida. For $300 I could go, leaving Wednesday, and stay for a week. I'm afraid it would be so warm, I wouldn't want to leave in a week, whether SHE wanted me to or not.

Anyway, providing Jack Frost takes an ounce of pity on me, I plan to pick up Curley later today to do some fabric and yarn shopping, have a spot of lunch, and take in a movie. We shall see how the day progresses, I would guess.

blast this cold,
Maggie "shivering" Mae

I'm alive, well and kickin'... and tired

I. am. exhausted.

I started my new job with the special ed kids this weeks.

Mac moved in with Daddy-O and me for time period unknown.

The weather turned cold and within 48 hours we had snow, rain, ice, sleet, fog, winds gusting up to 30 mph, and sunshine.

I also worked at the insurance office and went to Mac's choir concert. I saw the live Broadway show Annie, graded papers, wrote lesson plans, did some laundry, Christmas shopped, cooked, did dishes, and I think there was some other stuff.

I gave myself permission to not blog yesterday (thank you bragger for this encouragement!); and I've given myself permission to write this week ass blog post.

My plan tomorrow is to try and catch up on all things blog. I've missed reading everyone (though I've read some of my favorites but I didn't take time to comment, sorry!) and I've missed writing. I do have so much to tell you! And also tomorrow, in addition to all things blog, I want to answer emails, wrap gifts, finish the laundry, bake Christmas cookies, see a movie, clean my room, re-arrange furniture, take Mac for a haircut, and finish decorating my pink Christmas tree. Writing it all down makes me tired.

So good night and see you tomorrow!

Maggie Mae

This post has a Seinfeld-esque Quality to it

So... I guess I should write about something other than being dumped by Sam and being heartbroken over being dumped by Sam, right?

I should also write about something other than subbing- which I'm not doing much of- or not being able to find a job- which I haven't been able to do- or the weather- will this fucking rain ever end?-. Shit, I suppose I could make a job for myself and build an ark since it's raining so much and kill 2 birds with one stone. Which is a sorta an inappropriate idiom when talking about an ark since in the story of Noah he brings the animals on by twos- and my luck I would kill two birds with one stone, even though my aim is terrible, and then have like... robins... be extinct, or something and really piss off an non existent god... Hmmmmmm, did I just have an ADOS moment?

I had a few good blogging ideas-- but only after I read stuff that other bloggers wrote and I was like, "Why the fuck didn't I think of writing about that?" And now if I blog like that, they'll read me and think I'm stealing their intellectual property and then sue me, but you can't get blood out of a turnip (I can say that, right? The Bible didn't have the Noah guy doing anything with veggies, did it?) and then my blog will be shut down, which might not be such a bad idea.

I was going to save my explanation of why Sam dumped me for today and do something related to yesterday's infamous date of 4/20... but that would add to my depression- that I was not partaking in such a "holiday."

And if anyone new decided to read my blog of late, they would think it was utter and total ca-ca and they would be right. Shit... maybe blogging is overrated and I've worn out my welcome in the blogging world (I can use that expression because there wasn't anyone around to welcome that Noah guy and his stinky animals when the waters went down so he couldn't wear out a welcome. Which is a good thing because I bet if there HAD been people when he docked, he would've been killed with the stank he would've sailed into port). I should just hang it up.

I used to be a witty and conversational writer, who could turn a phrase and engage my reader in my humorous narratives. And now.. feh. I got nuttin'. Bupcus. Zippola. Nada.

Ack... I thought before I moved here from the Wild West that my Muse left before I did, that bitch, and arrived here in Civilization before me. Come to find out, she didn't get here- she just left. Completely. Hmmm, story of my life, eh? That Muse bitch is probably in Dublin... oh man, I so do NOT want to go there.

Did I mention I haven't been sleeping much of late? And this has noting to do with PMS, either. Damn, I hate the Mean Reds...

Posting about nothing,
Maggie

Just another Manic Monday

It's raining and I feel like whining... it's dark and cold and blustery. I don't feel well- I have a wracking cough and wheeze as I breathe. I don't feel "sick" but I don't feel "good". I wasn't called to substitute teach today. I haven't heard from Sam, which is totally silly because of his travel the last 2 days and I knew I probably would NOT hear from him but it still sucks. I just wanted one of those small "love you" emails. Drat! I'm PANICKING about not having a job so I'll be venturing out in the cold and wet, feeling sick, and apply for part time waitress jobs, and counter help at local shops, so I have income- thank the goddess for Daddy-O or I would be homeless, and living in a cardboard box. Mac didn't feel well yesterday and I feel bad about that because no one wants to have a sick child, even when that child is 16 years old. (He did say his father would be sending him to the doctor today since his throat and ear both hurt...)

Usually I like the rain, usually I like sound and the darkness in the day time... well, not today for it's so dreary and sad. And I just feel so... ick. I would much rather layabout and skulk about but... alas, no.

So, I'm off to shower and then to apply for jobs that would at least give me steady spending money and to pay some bills. Can I network through my blog? Email me if you have job connections, please! I'm willing to move yet again to find work...

I realize it could be worse- I truly realize that, I do- but today it's my turn to be just a bit whiny and feel sorry for myself and just hate it.

Pathetically yours,
Mags

And while I'm complaining...

I'm just in a snit, okay? It happens. I try to not let the little things bother me, but yesterday a whole bunch of little things just made me irritable and cranky.

I hate this weather. I'm tired of being cold.

I want to see AII Sam and wish my passport would show up so we could schedule the dates of my trip to Europe rather than talk about it. And talk about it. And talk about it.

Some crazy woman cut me off at the gas station. It was one of those situations: I pulled in and no matter what pump I had to wait in line for I would be facing cars- we were all in hodge-podge directions. So, I decide I would just back in. The guy who was at the pump knew what I was doing. I swing my car around to back it- anyone watching would know that's what I was doing- EXCEPT for the BITCH in the in charcoal gray Vibe. As soon as I turned the wheel and moved three inches, she nosed in between me and the guy getting fuel. I was astounded. I couldn't move- she left me no room to back up and I couldn't go forward anymore because of a truck. The dude in the truck saw what happened and made some room and I got backed in behind her. By the time I turned the MalibuMachine around, she was out pumping her fuel. Then I proceed to get out and yell at her: "Hey you in Vibe! You who just cut me off and butted in line like a 3td grader! You in the gray Vibe who is ignoring me! Yeah, act like you can't hear me, that's right! This is bad karma, lady! Good luck on the road, you rude creation!" I was yelling this pretty loudly. I know she heard me- everyone heard me and was laughing at her (or they were laughing at me- could go either way). The gas station attendant looked worried, like I was going to go postal on her ass. I was fuming- and that BITCH had the nerve to drive away without even looking at me. When I finally pulled up to the pump, the attendant said he couldn't believe she did that and it was the rudest thing he'd seen for awhile.

Finally, I went to the post office to mail AII Sam a small package. Something about Ireland and customs... I had to list all the items in the box on a form which he will see, so it won't be a surprise. I spend about $20 on stuff to send- no big deal at all, really, especially since he paid for the entire Pittsburgh trip; it was a thank you gift and something for Valentine's Day. It cost me $20 to mail the box!!!!!!!!!! From now on, he gets a card and virtual presents!

I had to sub for 6th graders yesterday and they are BUTTHEADS. I am not impressed with their sass. At least with the high school kids, they just basically do work and ignore me. The 7th and 8th graders settled when I asked them to. The bratty 6th grade beasts would NOT shut up, would NOT do their work, would NOT focus... the about drove me nucking futs!

Chain text messages are stupid and annoying. And emails.

I'm not so fond of people who send you a text message and then drive out of service. Oh this is such a stupid thing- I have a former student who sends me a text almost every day that says "hey" and when I reply I never get anything back because I know she is driving home from work. By the time I reply she is out of service and then the next day, she sends another "hey." It's irksome.

Some days it's easier to just stay in bed...

Whew, now that I have that off my chest....
Maggie