With Apologies to Canada
Apologies go out to Canada, British Columbia, and the city of Victoria in particular, for having the sixth grade class of my school inflicted on them last week.
Actually, the kids were pretty good, and Miss Cooper didn't have to do anything, really, except shop with one co-teacher, have Greek food for lunch with another, and stock up on Jaffa Cakes and an adorable Big Ben-shaped teapot.
We had glorious weather, the kids all seemed to have a great time, and no one got left, injured, etc.
Of course, I had my worries, when, 5 minutes into the bus ride to Port Angeles, one of the two nastiest girls in sixth grade said, "Miss Cooper...Kelly has to go to the bathroom. REAL bad."
I was about to cry, thinking it was going to be a long, long hour to PA because Kelly (as ever, not a real name) is the biggest whiner and brat on the planet. I turned around and said, "I'm sorry ladies, there is nothing I can do. You're just going to have to wait." "How long?" "An hour."
I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of whining and bitching from them. They took it in their stride (a first!!). I got as far away as I could from them the rest of the day and that was that.
What Beavers?
On Sunday (Mother's Day), the parents and I drove down to the sub base in Kitsap because Mom and I had a hankering for low, low military prices and no sales tax. And navy men.
Anyway, it's about a 20-minute ride, so we got talking about driving in this part of the world, and the wildlife hazards that crop up. I once had to slam on the breaks to avoid hitting a suicidal raccoon, and Mom has had to slam to a stop to avoid hitting a deer.
I mentioned how I feel better driving on Beaver Valley Road, as I haven't encountered any suicidal wildlife there yet. Mom said, "They're there, though--you just watch out when you drive."
Dad said something in agreement and then I piped up, "Yeah...gotta watch out for the beavers!" (There are no beavers on Beaver Valley Road).
Mom's mouth fell open, and then she burst out laughing and shouting, "Oh my God! She's just like him! She's just like her dad!!"
"Happy Mother's Day, Mom, you gave birth to your husband in female form."
Dad just laughed the whole time. I suppose you had to be there, but we found it pretty funny.
It Wasn't Me!!
I was driving on the highway today, and I pulled into the left lane to get around a very slow pickup truck. Suddenly (I mean he came right out of nowhere), there was a State Patrol officer on my tail, lights flashing, siren wailing. My first thought was, "Oh, shit!!" My second thought was, "Heeeyyy, I'm goin' the speed limit here!" So I pulled into the right lane, fully expecting the officer to pull behind me, but instead, he raced by and I never saw him again.
Whew!
It took a while for me to stop shaking.
No Use Crying Over the Mess
Mom and Dad left this morning for a few nights in Victoria. As ever, I, the dutiful daughter, am left to watch the house and make sure the kindergatos don't burn it down.
At about 9:00 this evening, I was happily watching TV when I heard a huge CRASH!! of breaking glass from downstairs.
*Sigh*
I put on my moccasins and turned on the hall lights to peer over the bannister. Sure enough, there was a candle holder, which had previously been perched on the bannister, shattered on the floor. So I found myself downstairs, sweeping and vaccuming an area from the front door to the living room, while shooing two very curious kittens away from the mess. Don't want them cutting their paws or anything.
So I did a thorough sweep and vaccuum of a large area, and cleaned up some Millie barf I found (nice).
Then I came upstairs and moved the two glass planters that were sitting next to the candle holder to a safer place.
Band of Brothers Obsession
For the last week or so, I've been watching my 6-disc Band of Brothers set a lot. I go through phases with movies and books, and as of the last week, I'm in the midsts of a strong "WWII Paratroopers" obsession.
In all seriousness, I just love those guys, especially Major Richard Winters, who is, without a doubt, a true American hero. Also on my list of heroes from the Greatest Generation is C. Carwood Lipton.
Anyway, I've been watching a lot of that, including the special documentary on disc 6. If you haven't seen this wonderful mini-series, you should.
Job Update
I have two phone interviews this week; one tomorrow for an elementary choir position and one on Friday for a high school choir position. Wish me luck! I'm applying for everything in the Sacramento and surrounding areas. With any luck, I'll find something soon. A lot of districts have been interested in interviewing me, but not all of them have been willing to do a phone interview.
Sorry, No, You're Not My Friends
I made the official announcement today to my kids that I am leaving WA next month and returning to California. I gave the standard explanation: want to be near my parents and my friends, etc. I told them that most of my closest friends are in California. One of them said, "What about us?"
I had to gently explain to them that while I (in my way, even with all of the bitching I do about them) love them all, I need my adult friends in my life.
Little Miss Techno-phobe is Movin' On Up
I'm gonna get an iPod! I think. I'm still in research phase, but I'm really leaning towards buying one so that I can get rid of about 30-40 CDs that I bought for one song and now never listen to because it's too much trouble.
I'll still keep the majority of my 200+ CD collection; I just want to lighten it up a bit. An iPod can help me do that. I have a big check coming this month (lots of sub hours) and I might just splurge on the 2GB iPod at Target for $199.99.
I still have some research to do, though.
Speaking of That Big Paycheck...
If I seemed a bit quiet last week (aside from that Women's Issues rant), it's because I had full-day sub jobs on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Friday I was in Victoria all day. It's been a bit busy here, which is good, I suppose.
This week has been a bit later, except for two days in a row of shopping. My favorite Old Navy jeans are wearing thin--Gah! That means new jeans, which is never a fun shopping prospect. Especially since the Old Navy in Silverdale/East Bremerton sucks and doesn't have a lot of jeans right now. Double Gah!
That was yesterday's adventure. Today I drove to Silverdale again to run to Target, then I felt like driving south a bit and seeing the big Navy ships at Bremerton. While I was at it, I decided I wanted to see Port Orchard. Drove there, promptly got lost, and found my way back out without incident.
So now I've seen Port Orchard, WA. It wasn't too exciting, or anything.
Forty Bucks!!
I spent nearly $40 on a tank of gas today. I was getting really low (I have a 12.5 gallon tank; today it took 12 gallons of gas...) and stopped to fill it up.
Forty dollars later, I had a full tank, and a dismayed look on my face. In 12 years of driving, I have NEVER spent $40 on gas. Thank God for cars with good fuel economy!! (No SUVs for Meg).
Wild and Wooly
Bella and Duchess are "tooting." That's the word Mom and I use for "going stark raving mad, running all over the house, being noisy."
It's 10:30 at night and I won't sleep until they've gotten it out of their system. Might as well blog and listen to Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. They'll wear themselves out soon enough, and come in to cuddle with me and make me sweat because they're like little hot water bottles.
They just tore past me, down the stairs, and I can hear their feet scuttling on the wood floors. Is it a full moon or something?
And that's about all on my end. School finishes one month from today, and I'll be heading back to California a day or two later.
Cheers!
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