have you ever wanted to hit someone? really hit someone?

i got that urge several times today.

okay, let me explain my situation at work:

• i team teach 3 of my 5 periods. i team one class with SMR and two classes with KGT.
• KGT also teams with RCA. RCA and i are likethis because of the circumstances that follow.
• RCA and i are both "new" teachers... i.e. this is our first year of full-time teaching, but we have at least a year of student teaching/other teaching jobs under our belts. we are competent, if not better versed, than some of the older teachers.
• KGT has been teaching for 20+ years. in those 20+ years she's been teaching, educational theory has undergone major changes. she comes from a very different school of educational philosophy than RCA and me. as a result, we do things that go against everything i was told not to do in my graduate classes. i feel like i've angered the education deities.
  
• KGT team taught with the same teacher for the past 5 years. they clicked like the snap on my pants. this year, KGT is no longer working with ex-partner-in-crime and is experiencing severe withdrawal. consequently, RCA and i have to deal with that.
• KGT likes to throw her "i am so much more experienced" attitude at RCA and me. she believes that is her excuse to get away with doing nothing, which leaves the bulk of the administrative work to us. unfortunate for her, we are not happy with this situation.
• RCA and i had a secret throw-down with the department chair last week. we spent an hour venting our frustrations. our lovely MJ was sympathetic and appalled but grateful that we had remained professional and calm. we decided on a plan of action, which will be set in motion this week.
• KGT tends to do as she will without asking for an okay. for example... i had emails to write and grades to input, and i had both programs open on my computer. i stepped away for 2 minutes to speak with another teacher. she slipped into my room and closed out all programs and logged me off. she proceeded to do what she needed without the slightest apology. then she made me stay until 4:00 to help her input her grades. she has less than 15 kids in our shared classes. she couldn't do that by herself. is she serious?! "let's put a grade on it for now. you can read them later." you? my ass.
• KGT does nothing but complain about how much work she has or how the division of students doesn't make sense or how evil the administration is or... blahblahblah.
• KGT has never taken attendance in our classes.

where do i stop? i would not like to see her return next year. or at least, i would not like to team with her next year. i will try my best to remain sane until june.

i haven't gotten to the point where i have homicidal thoughts, but that could happen sooner than i thought.

uh-oh.

moved

the majority of my belongings are settled in my new apartment. now that i'll be in mclean, the drive to work will be shorter and less stressful. :) ryan helped me move all the big stuff (thanks!). i spent way too much money this weekend...

i'll use the rest of this week to move the last of my things. then i'll be on my own.

it's the start of something new.

more people remember me than i thought...

seriously... matt a. last week, shannon c. and john p. this week. :P

so i was really confused about my future rent because the girl leaving told me 750, but the lease said 900. she gave me a check last week but i couldn't figure out what it was for. okay, so i finally figured it all out today. she gave me a check for the difference in rent (since i'm taking over her lease) and then subtracted the prorated rent for september. so technically i AM paying 750. :P well, that's fine, my monthly paychecks are more than enough to cover that and live comfortably. my financial advisor promises to make me rich by the time i retire. i'm holding him to it. :)

i've decided that i have enough time to work for kathy in the afternoons. honestly, i don't have any work that i bring home, i can get most of it done in school. besides, who am i to turn down an easy two hours and cash pay? :D plus, it'll be nice to have some untaxed income. but shh, don't tell anyone. ;)

-__-

that we're still fighting this war four years later...

we have taken the wrong road.

our dead have yet to be properly honored.

---

today, the house is empty.

i'm empty.

just empty.

:)

i saw the prettiest bunch of orange roses today.

and it made me smile.

:)

only you

:) it's been tough these last few weeks, but i still find reasons to smile. it's amazing how much of my bullshit ryan puts up with, but i'm so glad he does. have you ever felt that something was so right?

you & me baby... <3 has it been two whole days? i miss you. :)

contemplation

i've been doing a lot of that recently.

i probably shouldn't, huh?

i cleaned my room. well, part of it. i can actually see the top of my desk now. bets on how many days it'll go like that?

i emailed daniel and jacob the "mr. chip" picture. hehe. "stop it, you guys are so immature." :)

i need to go back this week and finally sign my lease. (this keeps dragging out, doesn't it.) anyway, this time it will definitely be straightened out and ready to go.

okay... time to get more stuff done.

blue box, blue box!

so apparently chi got another (another!!) blue-box-with-a-white-ribbon because she had a bad day. just for having a bad day.

damn, where's my blue box? ;) i've had a year's worth of bad days in the last two weeks.

AHEM.

*cough*