So, I kinda, sorta might have set into motion a chain of events that ended with someone being arrested...

I have been terrible at keeping this updated. I apologize to all the (probably nonexistent) readers. I'll just go through some of the highlights of the past few weeks.

1) Davis came to visit for a few days, and it was wonderful! I miss him a lot and don't want to wait until Easter to see him again, but unfortunately I have to.

2) I've been at the Tuscaloosa Magnet School for the past 2 weeks and am loving it! I've gotten to do a couple read alouds and teach a small group lesson. Next week I'm teaching a math lesson. The third graders are great too! It turns out that one of the girls in my class is the daughter of a woman I work with at the Ferg.

3) I went home last weekend (Valentine's weekend). School was cancelled on Friday because of "severe winter weather", so I took off early. I ended up driving in the snow most of the way home, which was really cool and magical. It was neat seeing the snow on all the trees and signs. Also, seeing Madison covered in snow was like a fairytale. Mom, Dad, and I made a Mardi Gras snowman that was taller than me - complete with a Saints towel, mardi gras beads, a CR bag in his golf club hand, and peace signs for buttons.

4) Class is still keeping me busy. Updating this blog is a procrastination technique.

5) Now, about the title of this post. The guys who live in the room above me have been really loud late at night/early in the morning almost every day this semester. I actually met one of them when I went to complain about the noise one day, and he gave me his number and told me to text him whenever they were being loud. Last Thursday, they were being exceptionally loud, so I asked him (Jordan) to get them quiet by 11 so I could sleep. By 11:30 they were loud again, so I text Jordan again. By midnight I hadn't heard back from him and they were still loud, so I called the RA. The RA went by to give them a warning. They were still loud at 12:45, at which point I texted Jordan telling him I was going to call the RA if they weren't quiet soon. Around 1am, I called the RA again. They quieted down shortly after that. When I woke up at 8, I had a text from Jordan telling me that "Just so you know one of my roommates was just arrested and the police have given many people slamms".

Now, I'm not sure what "slamms" are, but I'm pretty sure it means some kind of write-up, stern talking-to, or ticket. While I feel somewhat responsible for getting someone arrested, I figure that they had to be doing something pretty bad to get arrested. That made for an interesting situation.

6) I really should get back to writing my individual response to Fever, 1793. Ciao for now.

Going to TMS!!!

I'm really excited because tomorrow is our first day out in the schools! I'm a little nervous about spending my first full day there. I haven't spent more than about five and a half hours, so it will be interesting being there for a whole day. I feel like I'm prepared at the moment - my intro activity is ready to go and so is the video permission form. I think that the first day will be mostly observing to get a vibe about how the classroom runs on a daily basis.

Well, time to shower and get to bed early since I have to be up at 6am tomorrow...

Ciao!

Practicum II Placements

What a truly exhausting week this has been.

Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so we didn't have school. I did work for a few hours, but nothing too major was going on. Tuesday I had work until midnight, which is generally exhausting. However, I couldn't seem to sleep at all. Wednesday night at work, I spent 6 hours running around getting stuff ready for the Rock the Runway Fashion Show that took place Thursday night. We had to move the stage more than once to get it to their liking, which is no easy task. By the time I finally got home, I still had homework to do after my shower (I got nice and dirty crawling under the stage pieces at work). Once again, I couldn't seem to sleep well. So, with two nights of very little sleep, I decided to tackle Thursday head-on (with the help of a little music, of course). After class on Thursday, Daniel and I went to a concert by the University Singers, which turned out to be nearly the same concert I went to last fall. Oh well, I got to enjoy the concert this time instead of taking a bunch of notes.

Now, on to Friday! We got our placements today in Practicum II, and I'm going to be with 3rd grade at Tuscaloosa Magnet School! I'm really excited because 3rd grade is the grade I think I'd like to teach; they get to do more interesting stuff that just reading and math. It will be interesting being at the magnet school because I think they have more flexibility in how they operate. Also, Kelsey, a girl in my section, told me that the teacher I'm assigned to is awesome; also, Kelsey's mom is the principal at TMS, which is nice to know. Now I'm just sitting at work trying to get some work done.

Oh, and Davis is coming next Wednesday! And he sold the 280, which I think he's glad he was able to sell, but is sad to see it go.

Until next week...(as that seems to be my posting pattern)

Sleep...

This week we started classes for the semester. And what a long, hard, stressful semester it will be. I'm looking forward to my classes and to learning to be a better teacher, but the work load is going to be insane. On top of my Practicum II classes, I'm taking the Arts of Tuscaloosa Honors class, which involves a lecture class, discussion group, and 21 outside events/activities including plays and dance performances. I've already mapped out my assault on the arts in Tuscaloosa.

I know there's more I wanted to say, but I really need some sleep, so I big you good night.

ROLL TIDE!!!

Yesterday, the Crimson Tide went to Pasadena, CA and took on the Texas Longhorns. And defeated them. SEC Championships: 22, National Championships: 13. Roll Tide.

And here I am, 7:30am Friday morning (day after the National Championship) at work, where I've been for over an hour already. Going home after this to get some sleep since I didn't get any last night (earlier this morning), probably due to excitement and caffeine.

Going to watch some Joan of Arcadia until I get off at 10. Ciao.

I should have gone to work...

Yesterday was a success. I attempted to make crepes for the first time, which turned out not to be as hard as I previously thought. The first couple turned out a little funky, but I can make them like a pro now. Also, it SNOWED here! It didn't stick at all, but we did get some powdery flakes for part of the morning. There was a hard freeze last night, so Dad and I had to go wrap all the outside faucets so they wouldn't freeze. My car was nice and frozen this morning, too.

This morning I had my regular dentist appointment and cleaning bright and early at 8:00am. After wrestling to fall asleep at 3:15 this morning (and tossing and turning all night), I awoke at 7:15 to prepare for my impending doom. I didn't actually think it would be that bad, but I was wrong. It turns out the spot they've been watching for three years has indeed become a cavity, which means I get the joy of going back at 1:30 to have it filled. The worst part is that there's nothing I could do to have prevented it - sometimes it just happens, according to the dentist. Oh, and I told my boss I couldn't work Monday because of this dentist appointment - thus, I should have gone to work.

And so it goes.

The Beginning

I used to be so good at keeping a journal - a diary, really - when I was in middle and early high school. I used to write down everything, and now I write down nothing. I didn't keep a journal last spring while I was studying abroad, and now I'm afraid that I'm going to lose all of those memories - names, dates, places - stuff that I want to remember. I'm going to start sorting through those memories and posting them on here so that I can remember them.

I'm hoping that a blog will help keep a more regular account of my day-to-day activities and what I see going on in the world around me. I've never been good at talking about my feelings. I usually write an email to Davis - my fiance' - when I want to talk about how I feel. So, maybe writing - typing, really - will be a good way to get my thoughts down on (virtual) paper. The next couple years are going to be crazy ones. Between doing Block II and Block III in Elementary Education and planning a wedding (!!!) I'm going to be pretty busy. Maybe this blog will keep me sane - here's hoping!

Well, it's quite late - early actually (1:55am), so I better get to sleep. I'll write a more substantial post later!

Baci! (Kisses!)