Thursday, September 23, 2010

Surprise!

Surprise! I'm still around, believe it or not. It's been a loooong time since I've posted, and I'm blaming Charleston for that. And my new friends. They're all younger than me, so I've been reliving my party heyday for the past year. It's been crazy, but I've had a great time! So, a quick recap:

Spring Break:

My 3 closest friends from Charleston and I went on a spring break adventure last spring. We drove to VA and spent a night with my wonderful friend, then headed to Washington, DC for a few days, eventually winding up in NYC before heading back south. We mostly had a great time, but there was some "friend" drama. One of my Charleston friends (let's call her Sci-fi) managed to offend the rest of us by day two of the trip. Not good. Apparently we had all been gradually getting annoyed with her, and the build-up came to fruition after spending every waking moment together. It culminated in a screaming match in an NYC subway station at 3:00 AM. Pretty awful. I feel bad for Sci-fi because I know she felt ganged-up on, but I also felt bad for us, who were being insulted and belittled regularly (Sci-fi is the type who, when teased, will come back with the meanest thing she can think of rather than something equivalent).

This pic of us is more recent than spring break (only a week or two old).

The Move:

My sister wound up moving back to Pittsburgh mid-May, which was not the plan. She was working a low-paying retail job that stunk, she never had money to spend, she got bored listening to my friends and me talk about school constantly (who can blame her!), Sci-fi was mean to her, and then her car broke down. So I was roommate-less two months early. I was really sad that she had to leave, particularly against her will, and I really miss her.
Summer School:
I taught summer school to the churn for 3 weeks (four days a week) in June. It was HELL. I had 5 7th grade students for 2 hours, followed by 4 8th grade students for 2 hours. None of the 8th graders had actually failed English - they just were thrown in my class to have somewhere to go. How do you motivate a 13 year old on a beautiful summer morning when they know that it doesn't matter if they fail your class? I surely couldn't figure it out!

The Big 3-0:
Yup, I turned 30 at the end of August. It was kind of a let-down, to be honest. I don't ever make a big deal out of my birthday - normally I'm good with dinner and a night on the town. But I really wanted to have a big bash for my 30th. Except that no one (except my amazing sister) came. I have friends who make a big deal out of their birthdays every year, and I guess I had hoped that they would reciprocate for my 30th, but...oh well. I always have a great time at their bashes, so I guess that's the important thing! My sister did an AWESOME job, decorating my apartment for me while I was at school, secretly buying a cake to come out for dessert at the restaurant, paying for way too much...and getting me a fabulous wine fridge :) My 3 closest Charleston friends (yes, including Sci-fi, mostly) were also great. I guess I should have stopped thinking about a big celebration after my 21st!

School Year #2:
I'm back at the same school, in the same grade, with the same colleagues, which is mostly great. I really, really, REALLY miss my girls from last year, which shocked me. I couldn't believe how happy and proud I was to see them in their 9th grade uniforms, calling to me across the parking lot or running over to hug me. My new crop of girls just isn't the same (yet). I'm trying very hard not to hold it against them that they're not my girls from last year, but they're also visiting their 7th grade teachers every opportunity that they get, so I guess we're even! I think we have a more cohesive team in the 8th grade, which means that we're meaner, and who would like that? But it's not all bad - there are a few girls that I can already tell are going to make my year. Plus I'm teaching an Honors class this year, which I love!




There's a lot of school and school district and budget drama that's been keeping me stressed out, but I think that's pretty much the same everywhere.
Until next time, enjoy this lovely picture of the 8th grade "hallway!"

5 comments:

Jen said...

Welcome back! Great to "see" you! My goodness, what a life! I'm sorry your sister had to leave- I understand, though. Actually I didn't know she had moved with you in the first place, but still... what a drag for both of you! Her being there in a mostly lousy situation, and you losing her because of it!

Oy, your trip with your friends sounds like too much together time! Too bad Sci-fi can't take a joke!

Sorry your birthday was kind of a bummer- I hate for that to happen to anybody.

Welcome back to your second year of school!

Oh, my word verification is "comesses". Now there's something to think about. I love it when W.V. almost makes a real word but "co-messes"... hmmm... that could be interesting to dissect and ponder...

Steelers Wine Girl said...

Thanks! I was so sad when I thought your blog was gone, but my brain eventually kicked in and I found it, LOL. Thank heavens we're FB friends or I would be even more out of the loop than I already am!

I love fun word verification words!!!

Jen said...

LOL! Yeah, I'm still here, I just move around a lot, and you've been very busy so it's easily forgotten! I'm happy you remembered, though!

Cupcake Blonde said...

Yay! You are back. :) So glad to play catch up with you. You have been very very busy. I am sorry your trip went south. It is hard at times to travel with people. I always say that is the great denominator when it comes to true friends, if you are able to stand each other for days on end all the time. :)

I had hoped my 30th would have been a big deal too. I was dreading it so much I wished for a big party to take my mind off. But no. However, I did have an good birthday. Wish I could have been there for yours.

Man, that sucks your sister had to move back. Any chance she may return?

Okay, I have to ask because I have always wondered. Is "churn" just what you call your kids? Because you churn them out each year? I have always wanted to know.

Steelers Wine Girl said...

I wasn't dreading my 30th (maybe when I hit 40, I'll start to dread!) but I was looking forward to it. It was okay, just nothing special. And there was a bit of friend drama with some peripheral peeps down here that just added to the disappointment. Oh well.

I don't think my sister will ever move back here. Her experience has certainly helped her to appreciate Pittsburgh more! She's really loving being back.

"Churn" is what my kids call themselves. Their dialect is gullah (combo of southern Caribbean). So "churn" is gullah for "children." The first time I heard it (Ms. C, you got churn?) I thought they were asking about butter. Little did I know...but I think it's hilarious, and my goal is to get it added to the Pittsburghese lexicon!