checkers65477: (Default)
checkers65477 ([personal profile] checkers65477) wrote2008-03-06 07:21 pm

This and That

A few quick things.

I got a $1000 grant from IBM to buy a collection of books for our super-low readers, written on a K-3 grade level.  Yay.  I think they'll be excited to see we have books just for them.

An exciting day yesterday.  I swear I'm not making this up.  First, one of our 7th grade students went into labor.  The receptionist was timing her contractions until the squad came for her.  She didn't have the baby; labor stopped and the principal asked her to please go home and stay there.  13 years old.  :(((((((  Then, a student broke the one mercury thermometer in the school.  He got mercury on him so they had to call the authorities.  Haz Mat people came in their yellow suits to decontaminate.  The kid had mercury on him so they had him change into his gym clothes and took everything, including his underwear.  The teacher is pregnant, so they had to make sure she wasn't contaminated.  Quite the exciting day.  And people wonder why teachers can't seem to just teach.  At least the labor stuff is extremely unusual.  We've never had a student in labor before though there have been a few pregnancies.

I had to go sit in a doctor's office yesterday for a few hours (I told you it was a busy day) and had to face something about myself (only my dysfunctional personality--not a health issue, sorry Willow).  The waiting room was small and packed.  The chairs were uncomfortable.  All I wanted to do was sit and read The Virtu.  There were three conversations going on in the room and I thought I was going to lose my mind.  Seriously, I thought I'd have to go stand in the hall.  I cannot abide small talk between strangers.  Yes, the government sucks and health care sucks and you don't feel good but I just want to read my book.  I am the most antisocial person ever born.  It's a tremendous character flaw but I can't help it.  It was painful, as were the chairs.

I'm off to Ohio tomorrow to visit my family for the weekend and OMG the weather!!  TEN inches of snow are predicted!  Gah!  Must go hunt up boots.

[identity profile] jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com 2008-03-07 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
Ooh, we used to have annual school evacuations--the biology teacher would inevitably break a vial of hydrochloric acid and we'd all have to stand outside while HAZMAT or whatever came and cleaned it up. It always took at least an hour. ...which was ironic, because the fire station was right across the street from us.

YAY BOOKS! Yay helping kids catch up on reading!

...holy crap with the pregnant kid. Just...whoa. ...whoa.

I'm right with you on the books--I would rather read than make small talk. I've gotten better as I get older (and have less books on hand), but I've been having the worst time trying to read with all the distractions (esp. the TV) that exist here at home.

Have a good weekend! *sends safe travel vibes*

[identity profile] checkers65477.livejournal.com 2008-03-07 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, and I HATE it when you are in a waiting room (car repair places are the worst for this) and there's some dumb tv show on when you're trying to read. Grr.

Now that you say that, I'm surprised we didn't have to evacuate the building. Today we had our tornado drill, which is always fun. (not)

Thanks for the good travel vibes.

[identity profile] jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com 2008-03-07 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
Mm. You haven't done a tornado drill until you've been told that yes, you HAVE to "assume the position," despite the fact that a) there is no tornado, b) you're wearing a not-quite-knee-length pleated skirt, and c) you are surrounded by teenage boys. Oh yeah. Catholic school uniforms FTW! :-b

[identity profile] avian-xj.livejournal.com 2008-03-07 11:56 am (UTC)(link)
HA! Gotta love the skirts - 'specially in the winter XP

[identity profile] philia-fan.livejournal.com 2008-03-07 01:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Do you know that I actually finished my last novel while sitting in a car repair place, with some bland cable news station blaring, people going in and out and talking about cars, and everyone on their cell phones?

So yeah, I kind of hate that, too, but sometimes the background noise is so annoying that I seem to ride away on it to a different world.

[identity profile] peggy-2.livejournal.com 2008-03-07 01:24 pm (UTC)(link)
*also cannot concentrate when TV's are on in the background*

I generally leave when the TV goes on. My mom had banished the TV to the basement when I was a small child, and it always seemed very sensible to me to keep it out of the living room.

[identity profile] willow-41z.livejournal.com 2008-03-07 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
One of the things I like most about going home is the quiet. But my father is quite fond of the TV and watches programs that I secretly think are asinine, not because he likes them but because he's channel-surfing, and the TV is in the pit which is open to the rest of the house so I barricade myself in my room in lieu of going crazy. :-( I liked it much better when we only had a small TV and it was in the room next to mine-- which was quieter. TVs should not be the focus point of a home!

/rant
also /hijacking Checkers's journal