Remembering 2007

As 2007 comes to an end, I thought I'd close out with a meme. i'm going home tomorrow and i doubt i'll be posting again before the new year. but, i just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe New Year!

1) Where did you begin 2007?
at my apartment... bumpin' and grindin' with CO. *sigh* good times, good times...

2) What was your status by Valentine's Day?
in a "relationship."

3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
yeah, i started taking classes to get certified.

4) How did you earn your money?
i worked in recruitment for T.F.A and now i'm a school teacher.

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
yeah. i blogged about it. i had a nasty reaction to an antibiotic that landed me in ICU.

6) Did you have any encounters with the police?
yes. i got pulled over for expired tags once and just a few days ago i pulled over because i allegedly ran a four way stop.

7) Where did you go on holidays?
home to Tulsa, as usual. a part of me wants to spend the holidays somewhere else, but i just don't know where that would be.

8) What did you purchase that was over $1000?
nothing.

9) Do you know anybody who got married?
yeah, an old friend from high school got married and a former co-worker.

10) Did you know anybody who passed away?
hmmm... i think some distant relatives passed away.

12) Did you move anywhere?
yep, i made the move to Houston from ATL in June.

14) What concerts/shows did you go to?
hmmm... i didn't go to any concerts this year.

15) Are you registered to vote?
Yes

16) Who did you want to win Big Brother?
i don't watch TV, so i wouldn't know who to root for. however, the few times i caught Big Brother it seemed incredibly whack... like a poor man's Real World.

17) Where do you live now?
Houston, TX

18) Describe your birthday.
my aunt came to town and hung out. we went to dinner and did teacher stuff. so, not a lot of fun for my 25th. next year will be better. :-)

19) What's one thing you thought you'd never do but did in 2007?
???

20) What has been your favorite moment?
i can't pick one moment. off the top of my head, my favorite moment was on Thursday when one of my students said "Awwww! I don't wanna be dumb!" after i told him winter break meant we would be out of school for 2 weeks.

21) What's something you learned about yourself?
wow... i learned so much about myself this year. hmmm... i could stand to be more flexible, i'm not always as confident in myself as i lead people to believe, 21 first graders can make me want to pull all of my hair out, i am capable of managing and teaching 21 children for 7 hours, i need to be more organized, i'm not as patient as i think i am. the list could go on and on.

22) Any new additions to your family?
no... my immediate family hasn't had any new additions since my brother was born... and he's 16.

23.) What was your best month?
wow... it's hard to say. probably May. outside of my brief hospital stint, it was a good month. i was leaving ATL, my old job and starting afresh. a time of new beginnings...

24.) What music will you remember 2007 by?
Wipe Me Down, No One, Crank Dat Soulja Boy, International Player's Anthem, Ayyy Bay Bay, Pop, Lock and Drop It, several of the tracks from Kanye's Graduation, 1-2 tracks from T.I. vs. T.I.P. hmmmm... looks like 2007 wasn't a great year for music.

25) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
i don't really drink that much. but, i always had/have a good time with my former co-workers. i miss them...

26)Make any new friends?
yeah, of course. i have new TFA friends. hard not to bond over 5 am wake-ups, 13 hour days, and bad ass kids. lol...

27) Have you made a New Years Resolution?
no, not yet. well, actually, i'm not planning to make any resolutions. i never have.

28) Favorite Night out?
usually Fridays.

29) Will you end this year with the same mate you started it with?
yeah, technically i will be.

30) What are your plans for Christmas?
spend the day with the family, see a movie (hopefully the Great Debaters). i may get up with a few friends, but i doubt it.

31) What are your plans and hopes for 2008?
i'm planning to be a better instructor and a more balanced person over all. as far as my hopes, i pray that i'll have more peace, clarity, wisdom and understanding.

until next time...

back to basics

you know i must have too much time on my hands if i actually changed my blog template. i had that last template for what? a year? God only knows. anyway, this weekend has been a boring and lonely one. i watched the rest of the first season of Ugly Betty and graded papers and that was about it. oh, and started preparing things for the next 9 week school period. yeah, i know, it's early, but i did some assessments to see how my students are faring in their reading, and well, for some of them we have a lot of work to do between January and May. when i saw how some of them were doing, it almost felt like i hadn't done a thing to help them the past 4 months. i know that's not true and i'm on a steep learning curve and there's going to be a lot of trial and error in your 1st year of teaching, but it's like damn, what's really going on? i'm trying to make significant gains (sorry, that's TFA lingo) and it barely looks like i'm making any gains, let alone significant. but, enough about work.

like i mentioned before, this weekend was incredibly lonely. it's strange because i've spent many a weekend alone since moving to Houston. but this is the 1st time in a while that i can recall it actually bothering me. most times, i actually revel in being alone and have been known to shut myself away for a while. but, lately i've had these feelings that something is missing. i can't quite put my finger on what it is i'm looking for. i think know the very short lived fling w/ Prairieview was an attempt to fill that void. and it might have worked if he hadn't been trifling. hmmm... as i was thinking about this, it was all worked out in my mind. but, it's not coming out well in writing. maybe i'll try and revisit this lonely issue another time... i have another, more introspective post i'm working on. hopefully i'll get to post it later this week.

until next time...

more nothingness...

• 9 more teaching days and then it's peace out until 2008! i don't know who is more excited--- me or my students.
• right after winter break, my students take this state exam called the Stanford. i'm less stressed about it now, but for a while i was so worried because i know some of them won't be ready. see, the thing is the test was originally designed for the G/T kids. now, students all levels take it and it's used as a promotion standard. to add to the problem, some parts of the test cover material i won't cover in class until late in the spring semester. yeah, it's ridiculous. so, i've just been trying to get them ready as best i can and leave the rest to God.
• our class science fair project placed 3rd in our grade level competition. not bad for something i was literally putting together minutes before it was due!
• why am i so late to the fabulousness that is Ugly Betty? hmmm... maybe because i don't have a TV. anyway, i rented the 1st DVD from season 1 and feel in love.
• i should probably get a subscription to Netflix or something. at the rate i've been renting movies, my money is going down the drain.
• this last pay period i had significantly more money than i'm used to having. i don't quite know why, though. i've been nervous that i forgot to may some major bill. i've double and tripled checked. but, knowing me, i left something off. anyway, it goes, i was finally able to purchase a mattress set. one morning i got up off my air mattress and vowed to get a bed, by hook or crook. by that afternoon, i had a mattress set in my bedroom. good thing it didn't come down to stealing. ;-) come to think of it, that mattress set was probably some people's Christmas gift.
• dude from Prairie View is whack. what did it? this question: "what would you do to impress me?" and, uhm, who are you to me? it took all i had not to cuss him out and tell him i wouldn't be doing a damn thing. silly me thought being myself should be enough. anyway, i deleted his number and all records of texts between the two of us. he's a mess. you know what, maybe it wasn't just the question. it was his tone. and the tone of the follow up questions. if there's one thing that riles me, it's an inappropriate tone.
• it's been nice having something that looks like a life the past few weeks. teaching will not consume me!
  

i hope everyone is doing well! until next time...