Not So Good

All of a sudden this day got incedibly stressfull. I already knew that I have quit a bit of class work to get done the next few weeks but it overflowed today.

In my block class we were told that we had to have our instructional units, which consists of 5 lesson plans (which take forever to make), turned in along with a powerpoint presentation on one of the lesson plans on November 2. Along with that we have a group project due the same day in which we teach the class. And of course this is all due the Tuesday after fall break--what absolute idiot thought that up?!?!?

Then I went to turn in my applications for student teaching and there was a line to talk to Mrs. Vessel. I had to be at work in 15 minutes but the applications are due by tomorrow so I waited. When I finally got in I found out I didn't have all of the applications--so I have to fill out another one and then turn them in tomorrow. AUGH!

Then I got to work and there was lots of stuff for me to do! ARGH!

From now until Fall Break I have to dedicate myself to writting lesson plans so I can enjoy my time in Corpus.

*I'm a little put out right now*

It is Finished

My first official lesson is behind me...and there was much rejoicing. I would have to say that it went really well.

Last night I got a little frustrated at times at computers not working and the library not being open during church time (stupid Christian college--just kidding). I ended up working up at my mom's work most of the night. When I returned home at around 12:30, little did I know that a suprise was waiting for me...

I walked into the house and it was pitch dark. I assumed that Brooke and Robin had gone to bed--not that unusual. But then I stayed there in front of the door because I could see a strange red, blinking light coming from my room. As I stood there trying to decide what it was, a form came running and screaming at me from the living room and another from the hallway. Apparently Brooke and Robin had been really bored at home so they set up Robin's videocamera in my room and waited for me to return home. The video is hilarious--especially the part with Brooke and Robin waiting in the dark for me to come home.

I stayed up till 2:00 last night, having fun with the roommates and finishing my lesson plan. Needless to say I decided to skip my 8:00. At 9:30 I made my way to Grandy's were I got a lovely breakfast of pancakes and sausage and began to review my lesson. As I left Grandy's the rain began to pour. And of course the street I had to cross to get to AHS was flooded, and of course I was lugging around a video camera bag and a huge tripod, and of course I was in huge high-heels--sheesh.

I had an hour before my lesson (Mrs. Hamaty taught for 30 minutes, then the kids had lunch). I wasn't nervous at all--I was so thankful. All this week I had been praying for God to get me through this and he empowered me with strength and confidence. My lesson went very well--it went a little faster than I planned. I had overheads made and wrote information down so the students knew exactly what to use in their notes. I had a great mneumonic device to help them remember the 5 Pillars of Faith: Frosted Poptarts Are Fabulous Pastries
Frosted=Faith
Poptarts=Prayer
Are=Alms
Fabulous=Fasting
Pastries=Pilgrimage
I was very proud of this invention--I even drew a poptart on the overhead ; ).

At the end of the lesson I had a worksheet for the students to fill out. So the rest of the time was spent on that. I really enjoyed teaching. It was a little scary at first but once I knew what I was doing I dove straight into it.

Those Who Can't, Teach!

Tuesday after my 8:00 class I ventured up to AHS to speak with my teacher about the lesson I would be teaching on Thursday. When she saw me she asked how long I could stay and I told her till about 10:40 (can't have anything stand in the way of chapel--sheesh). So she lead me in to the holy of holies of the high school--that's right the teacher's workroom! Sitting on the table was a half-eaten cake from McKay's which Mrs. Hamaty told me I could eat (and I did!). I got suckered into grading tests while we discussed what I would teach. At first she told me they had been studying ancient African civilizations. I'm sure my eyes resembled a deer in the headlights of a large truck because I have not had much experience with this area of history. Then she said they were also studying the world religions. Much better--I could handle that. So it was decided that I would teach a 45-50 minute (not the whole hour and a half--hallelujah) lesson on Islam. Thanks to my previous world history classes and Rodney Ashlock's Christianity in Culture class I'm somewhat up to speed on this subject.

Today at work I have been diligently looking up information on the subject and checking out other teacher's suggestions on how to teach this concept to high school students. I'm already getting a bit nervous--probably because I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to teach this.

I'm looking forward to 1:30 tomorrow afternoon--that's when it will be all over!

Stay tuned for a discussion on how well (or not-so-well) the lesson goes.

To be continued...

Sleepy Monday

It's overcast, rainy, and a little on the cool side. It's my favorite type of weather. Too bad I'm stuck at school/observation/work all day...grrr! I'd much rather get in some comfy sweat pants and sweat shirt, curl up in bed with a book, and read till I fall asleep. Oh and throw a cup of hot chocolate with marshmellows in there too.

Observation at Abilene High was rather enjoyable. I went to my favorite teacher's classroom for 3rd period. Mr. Moore had plenty of stuff for me to do. I got to grade and record student's papers into his grade book. I've never looked too intently at a grade book before. It's sort of tricky--all these little boxes all over! Mr. Moore has these little puppets from Mexico that he lets students take on trips as long as they bring pictures back of themselves and the puppet. Mr. Moore introduced me to the class by pointing out the picture of me in Disneyland which he still has on his wall--that was 6 years ago.

Next I went to Mr. Galloway's (Bradley P.) economics class. He remembered that I was in his class which suprised me. He was a good teacher he just never seemed to know any one's name. His class wasn't as enthrolling as Mr. Moore's but it was still fun to see an old teacher.

As I was walking in the student parking lot to my car, I saw someone wave to me as they got out of their car. I thought it might be someone from my Block class coming to observe, but they didn't look familiar. Then I recognized the mysterious man--Tyler Lawrence, an old high school friend I haven't seen in about 2 years. He is attending Hardin-Simmons and is observing for English. I was so excited to see him!

Overall, it was a good day of observation. 22 hours down...23 to go (Oy)

Pondering Paradoxes

So I'm in this Honors Colloquim that is all about Paradoxes. Most of the time I don't listen mainly because it causes my head to hurt and because I keep thinking about all the other things I could be doing with my time, but I actually listened to some of the subjects brought up. I thought I would share one of the items we talked about last night:

If time travel was possible, then you could go back to the time - say 1925 - when your maternal grandfather was an infant and kill him. Now if Grandpa died in 1925, your mother would never have been born, and consequently you would not exist. But then, who killed Grandpa?

(It has that whole Back to the Future theme going on!)

What a "Drag"

This past Saturday I was all alone at the Relm (the roommates were both out of town). I did quite a bit of homework so as a reward I rented a movie. There was a specific movie I had been wanting to see for quite some time--only because I knew David Duchovny was in it (*soft growl in the back of throat*). The movie is called Connie and Carla (it also has the lady from My Big Fat Greek Wedding). The story line is that these two women witness a murder and in order for them to hide they pretend to be men dressed as women. That's right--this movie is all about drag queens! It is quite an entertaining movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The movie has singing, dancing, special appearance by Debbie Reynolds, and men who look better in a dress than I do.

P.S. In the outtakes David Duchovny takes off his pants. (purr...I mean, no that's wrong)

A Sight to Behold...or Maybe Not

Last night as Robin and I drove to Bean Sprout night we witnessed an amazing sight that made us laugh and at the same time gasp in dismay. As we passed by the United shopping center we saw a lady leaning against her car. Standing in front of her, near the curb and facing the cars that drove past was a young girl, probably about 8 years old. We assumed it was the woman's daughter. This girl was wearing a tight "clubesque" shirt, short skirt, and knee high black boots. She was dancing rather provacatively in the grassy knoll as cars zoomed pass on the busy street. In the words of Robin it looked like she was a prostitute and her mother was her pimp. I was just amazed at the spectical and the way the mother was reacting. I hate to think of the path of low self-esteem and belief solely in physical appearance that this young girl will probably follow.

Modesty...always the best policy (especially for 8 year olds...well, actually for all girls)

And the winner is...

So I'm sitting in my office reading my book while my boss, Jana, is reading the Optimist (which I already read). All of a sudden Jana says, "You won tickets to the drive-in?" I had no idea what she was talking about. I didn't win tickets...I never win any kind of contest. And besides that I didn't enter any contest. So I got up to see what she was talking about. There in the optimist, a huge ad in the middle of the page (how in the heck did I not see that) was a list of names, and *bada-bing-bada-boom* there was my name smack dab in the middle of them. Apparently I won the tickets for filling out the online survey about the best stuff in Abilene. I had no idea there was a prize involved. I was just incredibly bored at work so I figured filling that out would pass a few minutes. And to think I would have gone the entire day not knowing about this wonderful surprise.

Now the big question is who do I take with me? Who is worthy enough to accompany me to the drive-in? Maybe I should hold interviews or at least milk some well-deserved grovelling from others for a few days.

If interested in above mentioned ticket or know someone who is please post a comment to this blog with the following:

*Resume
*8x10 glossy photo
*3 letters from references
*your best grovelling offer

(congrats to Phyllis--another winner of said tickets!)

Yee-Haw!

This past Friday I attended my first rodeo. That's right I've lived in Texas all my life and never been to the rodeo. It was fun but I'd have to say I haven't been missing out on too much. I went with Brooke, Ross and Lauren. Brooke's cousin was competing in the barrell racing--she ended up getting second place. The bare back riding and bull riding looked so incredibly painful. I kept thinking about how much money chiropractors make off of these people.

After the rodeo we found out that Brooke's cousin is dating George Strait's son--whoa!!! So as we took Ross over to the guy's house for He-man night Brooke got to tell the guys, mainly Phil. Apparently he was speechless.

Man of my Dreams

After a head-spliting night class (it's all about Paradoxes and stuff I have no business learning) and an invigorating game of ultimate, I came home to find a handsome, suave man waiting for me in my living room...

Ok so he was on the television screen but still he was there the moment I opened the door. Robin was on the couch watching the all-time greatest show ever: X-Files. As soon as I walked in the door David Duchovny flashed on the screen. I simply stopped in my tracks. Robin either asked me a question or said something to me but I heard nothing. My eyes were fixed on the prize. I haven't seen him in weeks. Our ususal evening dates, which began during the summer, have been called off on account of school work. Last night gave us some time to rekindle the magic we had. (I hope the girls that read my blog enjoy this--you know you do the same thing with other celebs!)

I have to point out that David Duchovny is the king of rolled up sleeves. I would bet that in almost every episode of X-Files, at some point, he has his sleeves rolled up. And it is one of the sexiest things ever! There's just something about those forearms that really turn girls on...well, at least me. Guys need to learn and utilize this technique--I promise the girls will come running. All it takes is a couple of rolls!

David Duchovney why won't you love me?

"In the Still of the Night"

Last night the coolest thing happenend in the Relm's front yard. Brooke's 20th birthday was yesterday (yea!). After church Robin and I returned home where Brooke was waiting for Ross to come over so they could watch a movie or something (she wasn't sure what they were planning to do). Robin and I began doing homework in our respective rooms. At about 9:30ish I heard a knock on the door and thought it was Ross. A few seconds later Robin rushed in my room telling me I had to come see what was happening. I go to the front door and a group of the guys (Marcus, Billy, Daniel, Phil, Bret, Zach, Stephen, and Ross) were standing outside dressed up in suits and ties! Ross was singing "In the Still of the Night" while the rest of the guys were singing the backup. It was so incredibly awesome!!! They sounded incredibly great. Robin got pics with her digital camera, and from her body language and the smile on her face we could tell Brooke was in heaven. After they finished the song Ross came in and I went back to my room to study. Robin said the guys wanted to talk to us. We then realized that they were "kidnapping" us so that Brooke and Ross could have some time alone. So they took us to Whataburger...where else? So here were the guys looking amazingly GQ in their suits and Robin and I were in our pajamas--Robin without any shoes (Stephen took his socks off so she had something to wear) and me in my blue, fuzzy slippers. It was such a fun night. Kudos to Ross for such a great birthday present!

Middle School Mania

Yesterday my education block class had an orientation at Mann Middle School. Being from Abilene and going through the education system here, I know all about the titles placed on the schools. For example Lincoln, where I went, was know as the prep school, Franklin was the somewhat ghetto school, but Mann was known as the worst middle school in town. In eight grade I went to Mann on Fridays for ALPS, a special challenging program. Everytime we went we were all incredibly scared of the students there. Truthfully it was never that bad of a school. The rumors and middle school perceptions made it worse than it was.

After taking a tour of the school, I made my way towards the faculty bathroom in the faculty lounge (yes I actually got to go in the faculty lounge--I've always wanted to see one...what a sad life). On my way into the building I had an encounter with a middle school student. He was an office worker and as he came out of the building he asked if I was the Choir teacher. I told him I wasn't and then he noticed my ACU nametag. He said, "Oh, you're one of those student teacher people". I told him I was more of an observer but would be student teaching soon. He then asked what a student teacher is. I explained that we are learning how to become real teachers. He then welcomed me to the school and shook my hand. He was such a funny kid.

This Thursday I start my first observation at Abilene High!

The Great Ice Cream Caper!

Last night after 9:00 I was planning to go to the library to find a book that I need to read for a class. Brooke and Ross said they were going to Dairy Queen for blizzards and were inviting others to join. I decided I could take 30 minutes for a Brownie Batter Blizzard (yum!). I called Robin to invite her to tag along too. I reached the DQ on ambler first and was disappointed to see it was closed. I stopped in the parking lot to call Brooke and while I stopped I noticed the greasy haired, muscle-shirt wearing, tattoo gorging man lighting his cigarette. I quickly vacated the premises.

I called Brooke and Ross and Robin to tell them it was closed. So we decided to try the one on Mockingbird. While driving down Ambler I saw Ross's truck ahead so I sped up to catch them. Well, let's just say they almost witnessed my death as I didn't notice the person in front of me breaking for the red light. Luckily I caught it in time to prevent any car damage. Robin then called me to say that she was at the Mockingbird DQ and it was closed.

So Brooke and I decide we would go to Shake's. The last time I went there it was open until 11:00. But alas the lights were turned of and the building was a deserted of desserts. So Ross, Brooke and I waited for Robin, Katie, and Billy to show up to figure out what to do. We thought we would go to Super W and just buy pints of ice cream. Robin needed to get stuff and Walmart so she said she would meet us there. But when Billy and Katie showed up we decided to go to Sonic down the road. So I had to inform Robin and she said she would meet us there.

Katie was the first to order her Sonic treat--a reeses peanut butter cup blast. Brooke started to order her oreo blast when the sonic worker informed us that after Katie's order they ran out of ice cream! Who runs out of ice cream?!?!? And of all nights for that to happen...We were all so distraught. We finally decided to get frosty's at Wendy's. Unfortunatly Robin was already on her way to Sonic when I called her to tell her to turn back around and head to Wendy's.

At 11:15 we finally sat down to our well-deserved ice cream. (Needless to say I did not make it to the library that night).

A Cry for the Oldies

Yesterday and today I've had a major inkling to watch some old movies. One that I haven't watched in a long time and is an all time favorite for me is Singing in the Rain. Gene Kelly...what more could a girl ask for? He sings, he dances, he sweeps me off my feet. (sigh) I also could go for some Doris Day romantic comedy: Pillow Talk, Glass-Bottom Boat, The Thrill of it all. And then there are the comic-westerns: The Second Time Around with Debbie Reynolds (also in Singing in the Rain) and Andy Griffith (familiar theme song starts whistling). Another good funny western movie is Cat Ballou with Jane Fonda. And I'm always up for a good Audrey Hepburn movie--any day any time. My favorite Audrey movie (and possibly my favorite old movie) is without a doubt Roman Holiday. Another fine looking gentelman is present in this flick: Gregory Peck...mmmm...my heart warms at the sound of his name. Two of my other favorite Audrey movies are not as well known: Wait Until Dark and How to Steal a Million. Audrey plays a blind woman in the first movie--it's quite a thriller! I really wish I owned all of these movies so I could plop on the couch and watch them over and over again. But alas they are not in my possession, though I do own a few oldies movies, none of which are on this list but are still good. I really think we need to have an old movie night and watch non-stop movies from the 50's and 60's! It has to happen. If you share in my love of the old films, let me hear a whoop whoop!

Open Door...Enter Real World

Today my Education Block class had an orientation at Abilene High. It was so weird for me since I attended and graduated from there. But it was also a lot of fun to be back. I don't know how other people's high school years were, but my time in high school was filled with lots of fun and many, many memories. While I was walking down the halls, floods of memories came rushing on me. It was great. As we were leaving I came down the stairs and saw Mr. Moore, my favorite teacher of all time, come out of the office. He is one of the AP Geography teachers, and I accredit him as being the one who got me started into wanting to be a history teacher. His teaching style is fun, energetic, and inspiring. I was so glad that I got to see him! Next Tuesday we go to Mann Middle School for another orientation and then next Thursday I begin my first session of observation with Mrs. Hamity(?) at Abilene High. This whole experience is so exciting and I can't wait to see what happens during the course of the semester.

It Pays to go to Department Chapel

I always dread (as most people do) going to departmental chapel. The history crew isn't always the most enthralling gang at ACU. But today there was a special treat awaiting us. As I came in I noticed a few special guests sitting in the back. I wasn't sure who they were or why they would waste their time at history chapel. Then there was buzz about a special guest speaker. Who should it but RM!!!! That's right that studmuffin Royce Money. (Julie and Phyllis I'm sure you are envying me right now). Apparently RM received his doctorate in church history. So Dr. Hoover asked him to speak to us about how history affects his job as the president of a university. This probably was and will be the only good history chapel.

One week down...14 more to go! This week has gone fairly well. This semester is going to be challenging but I think it will be fun and rewarding as well. It's kind of weird to think that this is my last semester of real classes. Next semester I will enter the world of Student Teaching...dum, dum, dum!

Tomorrow, Saturday, I have to be in Chamber 107 at 9:00 in the morning to take a test. One week down and already I'm taking a test. Actually it is a practice test for teacher certification. In order to receive my teacher certification I have to take two tests: one in pedagogy which is mainly all-round knowledge about teaching and then a content test which, for me, will be in history. During the semester we will have labs in which we practice taking both of these tests. Once we make 75% or above we can receive our barcodes to register for the actual test held in October and December. At the testing site we will be fingerprinted and have a criminal background done--they take this thing seriously.

I took part of a content test in my History for Teachers class on Wednesday and it was a bit on the difficult side. So I hope I do fairly well tomorrow so I don't have to take it again til the real thing.

Well, school has started off with a bang. I love the start of school--mainly because it is so dull here in the summer. The campus is rejuvinated by the thousands of students who return. I guess I sort of thought this year would be like my senior year of high school--a few challenging classes but mostly some time to rest and relax. That thought soon died as I came to the revelance of the end of my college career. The first day of school was good. I had two classes that were pretty normal: American West and History for Teachers (a class where pretty much all we do is take practice tests to get us ready for the content exit test for certification). One thing that was kind of a big load was the fact that in the History for Teachers class we have to read four history high school textbooks during the semester (whoa!). The next day was very overwhelming with lots of information. I had my education block class which is on Tues./Thurs. from 12-3. I thought on the first day we would get out early so I decided not to eat lunch before hand and wait till class got out. Well, I didn't get to eat til 3:30 in my office and it was a lovely bag of Cheetos. I found out I have to do 45 hours of observation at AHS, develop a unit with 5 lesson plans, actually teach in the class I am observing, and many other things. It's really scary--I'm actually beginning my teaching career. I think this sememster is going to be harder and more time consuming than any other I've had so far. Eh, that's life. There may be many nights this sememster that I rely on my friends Hershey and Godiva to get my through ;)

In the Darkness

For quite some time now I have been walking down a lighted path toward the future. I had everything planned out: apply to graduate schools (mainly UT), finish senior year, graduate, then start my life as a grad student. I was so proud of myself for knowing what I was going to do months before graduation came. But yesterday crushed my aspirations, leaving me confused and bewildered in the darkness.

On Wednesday I made my way to the grand city of Austin. I was so excited--it was my first trip all by myself. I made tons of maps so I wouldn't get lost. I even had hotel reservations at the Holiday Inn. My reason for this trip was to talk to the history graduate school at UT. I spent Wednesday night finding my hotel, finding the building at UT I was suppose to go to tomorrow, and just touring downtown Austin. I went down 6th street and saw the capitol (so cool!).

My meeting was at 2:00 that afternoon. I made sure I looked casually formal, classy but not overdone. The meeting was very interesting and I gained a lot of information, some I didn't want to hear. The subject I wanted to do my masters in, Modern Europe, requires language experience in either German or French. The problem with that is I took Spanish back in high school. Shot number 1. Then I told her about my degree and how I was following a teaching plan. She said based on that degree it would be more beneficial to take a year or two off from school and enter the teaching field to get a taste of the work force. Shot number 2.

I was so confused and let down. I was basing everything on going to grad school before teaching. I walked around the campus for a little bit on my way to my car. I then started the drive back to Abilene. I'm very thankful that I was on the right highway because for the first 30 minutes I zoned out, deeply thinking about what my future plans would be. As of now I think I will enter the teaching field after graduation. But even that holds many uncertainties. What if I don't pass the certification test? What if no one hires me? Where will I be teaching? My world has been thrown for a loop and it's hard for me to accept it. I'm a person who enjoys plans and structure--at least with this sort of thing.

Well, I have a year to get use to this new plan so I will try to put all this behind me and live up my senior year as best as possible!

Faith is the Victory

This Sunday at church the communion was led by Jeff Childers. He directed the comments toward the children of the church but indirectly it was also pointed at the adults. He asked the kids to ask their parents or adults around them what the bread and wine meant to them. I found this question to be very intriguing. Yet when the plate was passed to me and I was asked "what does this meant to you?" I stated that truthfully I didn't know. At first I thought that I had copped out of the question, diverging a situation that caused me to open up and share feelings and beliefs. But as I thought about it I realized my statement was the truth.

In my heart I know that the communion is a symbol of our Savior's great love, devotion and sacrifice. That's what we have been told by preachers and through the Bible. But the problem I realized on Sunday was that I don't know what it means to me on a personal level. How do I view Jesus? Do I accept and respect the gift he gave me with the amount of reverence that I should? This realization really shook me up the rest of the service. And the feelings continued in the middle school class as we talked about sitting and listening to God speak to us...an activity I truthfully never exercise.

I realized that my spiritual life has been on a roller coaster. Not the kind that goes up high peaks and down valleys, symbolizing struggles and times of joy, but rather like a roller coaster that spins and loops in every direction causing confusion and disorientation. I don't know where I am with my spiritual life. I don't spend time with God as I should and it bothers me immensly. To those of you reading this blog, whether you know me or not, I would ask that you pray for me and my relationship with God. Thank you.