WIL-MA!

So, the time has come for me to experience my first natural disaster. Although I have had friends that have set a goal of experiencing all of the greatness of God through natural disasters, this has not been a dream of mine. Although I have been visiting Florida for nearly 20 years now, I have never been during the hieght of hurricane season and avoided them at all costs. Well tomorrow friends, this will end. Wilma is headed straight for the Florida coast and in a matter of hours the entire state will feel the effects (or affects?). (This is where Brittney would be handy.) On one hand, I actually saw the drawbacks last night. As hurricane precautions, you always have a full tank of gas. I went out on a solo mission last night to top-up and found petrol pumps empty. I did manage to find a place for pretty reasonable gas after being lost for 20 minutes in a new part of town. Another note, my school was canceled for tomorrow. With that, I have a 3 day weekend, but little to enjoy. Now instead of having a 5 day weekend for Thanksgiving, I will only have 4 days off. I will possibly be losing power and cell phone towers may be damaged so do not fret if I am unavailable for a few days. In the meantime, I have bitter sweet emotions about this treacherous formation. We will be locked down tomorrow and holding a game day for all to join in fellowship and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We have left ofer desserts and crisps to enjoy as well. I will try to keep you posted as the events unfold. I will probably encounter a tornado or two, some 70 mph winds, and lots of rain. With the tornadoes, does that count as 2 natural disasters: hurricane and tornado?

I'm baa-aaack....

So I'm not exactly sure why it has been over three months since I have posted nor why there has been a nonexistent demand for more. Although, I do have to admit that writing is not my strength. You see, especially relating to Brit, I crunch numbers. My vocabulary, spelling, and imagination don't seem to exist. I recall one interesting night in Liverpool where me and Brit were sitting at the dining room table - the normal positions for 16 Hereford. Brit always seemed to be super busy at Ashley's computer, but she wasn't necessarily talking to me. My curiosity got the best of me and I asked what she was up to. She was in the midst of an IQ test. She was plowing through the lengthy questions and fully concentrating on her response. Some time later, she stops and glares at me. Meanwhile, I had begun picking up to take my own IQ test. I didn't make it very far as I had to ask her what the words in the questions even meant. It started with English. ahhh-yes yes. Brit had reached the math portion and was pausing for brief moments of hesitation. I never finished mine. I couldn't force myself to track through the English part and find myself entertained by number crunching. I'm not sure how Brit did. I can asure you that if me and Brit were able to make one person out of the both of us, we would be pretty stinkin' smart and a well educated individual. See some people would refer to this as offspring, but I just don't see that as an option. Does this mean I should be looking for a mate (did I really just use the word mate) who excels on the other end of the spectrum? Interesting...

As I find myself, I am over a fourth of the way through my first year of teaching. I think I have identified this as the hardest year of my life. As a first year teacher, it's great to know my boss and coworkers can relate to all have their first year of teaching. With that, they know each day is based on survival, especially with my students. Teaching takes up a LOT of time, especially as a first year with no curriculum guide and designing everything from scratch as you go. I hope to include more interesting stories from the classroom.

I have a pretty big macho football player in one of my classes. He likes to be the centre of attention - always. A couple weeks ago, he was out of his seat walking around (when he wasn't supposed to be) and his pants dropped clear to his ankles. Even through his African skin, I could see a great deal of red plump cheeks. Satisfaction guaranteed!

As another note, 13-16 year olds LOVE to color! You may think I'm kidding, but let me asure you, I'm not. I've been trying to get my kids to practice basic math facts: multiplication, addition, subtraction, the like. Nothing worked and I am usually lucky to get half the assignments back. Monday I was out visiting the fam and had to leave sub plans. Upon returning, my kids were demanding to continue the assignment I had left for them. What was this miracle? Addition, subtraction, and multiplication worksheets. Once you reach and answer, you search for that number in the box and shade it accordingly. The end result, some random design. The kids loved it! I wonder if this is why Brittney went on a mad scavenger hunt to find coloring books last year?! Does the excitement of coloring ever go away?