Early Labor?

I went to the DR again today.
I'm officially 1 cm dilated.
And 40% effaced.

So, as I'm leaving, the nurse whispers in my ear about "labor sex."
We tried it out tonight.
Besides the whole "OMG I can't breathe on my back" kind of thing ... I think it might have worked.

I've been having random contractions throughout the night. They aren't getting closer together ... or any stronger ... but they are continuing. Even if I lay on my side and/or drink some water.

I haven't slept much. I think that Tuesday inadvertently was my last day. There's no way I'll be trekking my pregnant stomach up to school today and risk going into ACTIVE labor around those kiddos. Nope. No way.

I think it's time for a good old fashioned walk? Any other suggestions?

I hate my J-O-B

Go figure, right?

After four (read: almost six) years of college, I'm seriously re-thinking what I went to school for.

The school that I teach at is still considered a "suburban" school ... but is actually more of an "inner-city" school. Think Freedom Writers without the eventual respect and love coming from the students and you've got my every day life!

Seriously, I was actually told a couple of days in "This is like Freedom Writers, except we're going to tear that White Bitch up." Awesome.

Can you imagine how this is sucking the idealistic life force right out of my very soul?

Here's a couple of phrases that I hope YOU never hear at your job:

1. You should be teaching somewhere in The Woodlands. (Me:) What is that supposed to me? (Student:) You don't belong here, Miss.
   
2. I hope your baby dies
3. Shut the *@(& up, I don't care what the *@(& you think.
4. (Fingers in ears) NAH NAH NAH ... I'm not listening to you ... (Yeah, that's right ... I teach a bunch of babies posing as ninth graders)
5. My mom can kick your ass.
   

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Needless to say, my stress level is through the roof. I keep getting told that my next year will be so much easier. I know it will be ... but it doesn't make this year all that much fun.

Luckily, I'm on Christmas break right now. I'm still enjoying one more week of vacation before I go back. During this time ... I'm supposed to write this huge report about each of my 32 possible failures for the semester. Apparently, the English department is only allowed to have a 15% fail rate. So, we have to completely justify all of our failures. I don't know how many times I'm going to have to write "Sits and stares at me with contemptuous looks while not turning anything in" on the form.

How am I supposed to pass someone that doesn't turn anything in? How am I supposed to justify that they've learned something ... when they can't show me anything that they've done that proves that they've learned it?

I keep getting told "Well, if you fail them ... they are just going to end up dropping out because they are going to get frustrated." Hm, maybe if they turned some work in (some EASY work, mind you) then they wouldn't get frustrated. Some of the students can't even read very well ... and here they are in the ninth grade, because other teachers have just been passing them along. Lovely.

So, there goes all of my faith in the public school system. I'm seriously considering home-schooling Liam with this cool program that they have up here. It's classical education at it's finest ... and I've always said that Liam sounds like an intellects name.

What ever happened to reading books?

Today I was talking to one of my fellow classmates that is going through methods. I asked her about her experience in a Conroe ISD setting because if things go as planned, then I will also be working in the Conroe ISD for my methods.

She told me that the teacher that she has a great teacher but that she doesn't agree with a lot of the things that she is doing.

She teaches JUNIORS. Their research paper is as follows:

Write a research paper over Romanticism. They watched "The Last of the Mohicans" which was actually WRITTEN by James Fenimore Cooper who is a Romantic writer. Now, they have to write a 5 paragraph paper over Romanticism by using one of the following MOVIES: Harry Potter (not romanticism), LotR (not romanticism), The Last of the Mohicans, The Patriot, & The Princess Bride.

JUNIORS!!!!!

Also, she has laid it all out for them. She has written what they should say on their first line ... then where they should go from there. WHAT THE F***!

Those poor kids are going to have the biggest wake up call of their LIVES when they get into college. That teacher should be brought out and shot. A freaking ENGLISH TEACHER and she would rather her students watch a movie instead of read a novel.

Seriously, what happened to reading books?

Bit with the Home Work Bug

I'm not sure what got into me this weekend but I got a whole bunch of stuff accomplished!

Proud! :)

I had been putting off my geography work; who knows why exactly. But not any more! Now, the only thing that I have left is the Final!!

I've been doing my C.S. work online just week by week like we are supposed too. But, I finished all of the weekly work that I had left and submitted it. Then I emailed her to get her to open up the rest of the tests; hopefully she will do that on Monday. And then I will need to get the tutorials done so that I can do the extra credit work. Fun times!

I also read the story that I needed to read for Tuesday for my American Literature class. Seriously, I'm on the freaking ball!

I have a lot of stuff to do for the next few weekends, so it really feels good to get a lot of this stuff done. Now, I will be able to just enjoy myself these next couple of weekends and not have to worry about getting all of this homework done.

I think that I am also going to work on my power point tonight. Once that is finished, then I won't have any more to work on for the rest of the week really.

I am also starting my new work out regime tomorrow. It's a 12 week program. Aaron is going to be my "trainer." I made him a deal ... if I lose 40 lbs then I get to get a tattoo. This is what I'm wanting ... except on my side:


Awesome hm?!

Kill Me Now

As the semester rears its ugly head to a close, I once again wish myself a quick death. I know ... I know ... "But Rachel, you only have a little bit left!" Which is true, but it does not make things easier.

There should be a pill that I can take that will make me WANT to do the things that I need to do for school. Instead, I sit online looking at other people's blogs and checking my myspace every two minutes.

I'm on serious burn-out mode, and it just got worse. I found out that I will now have to take both summers again. Two in Summer 1 and One in Summer two (or vice versa ... depending on how I feel). I was so looking forward to being able to take that little break during Summer 2 ... go on vacation with Aaron ... spend time with family and friends ... etc. But now, I will be once again be spending every single day driving back and forth to Huntsville.

If my university was just up the road it would not be a problem! I might even be happy to go because it's not like I don't like all of the classes that I am in or am going to be taking. I think that this is why I'm glad that Methods is coming up so soon. If things go as planned (which they usually don't but I feel that I need to keep an open mind) then I will be taking my Methods in Willis which is only 20 minutes away. I will also only being going to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays again (the most ideal school schedule imaginable) which will leave me open for much needed rest and substitution. It's just getting to August 08 that is going to be the long haul.

Who knows, maybe summer school won't be so bad since I will barely have enough time to get tired of it. We can only hope ... and pray ... and possible sacrifice a virgin so that I may keep my sanity.

Degree plans. Or: Why do University's suck?

My University implemented this new registration thing this semester, and it effing blows.

Before, they would open up registration at like 1am in the morning so the people that REALLY cared about their schedules would just have to wait up or wake up at that time so that they could register.

This year, (the year that I seriously need every thing to be perfect) they changed it. Now, we had some kind of stupid alphabetical registration by classes. They aren't counting the classes that we are in this semester so I was still considered a Junior. THEN, I didn't get to register until 9:30 Wednesday night ... because of my last name "p".

Therefore, the Spanish class that I need to take was all filled up ... and the Teaching Literature in Secondary Schools class that I HAVE to take was all filled up.

No big deal with the Spanish because there are other classes that I can take if I have too ... but also my Spanish teacher says that he is going to try his hardest to get me into his class.

But the English class ... apparently about 15 other people ALSO need to get into the class. So he is making us email him our reasons for wanting to get in the class and he will chose today and then open the class up for the students that he chooses.

My reasons are pretty good.

I need this class so that I can take methods in the Fall and then Student teach in the Spring and graduate. If I don't have this class then it will set me back from graduating by ONE CLASS! They usually don't want you to take any other classes with your methods block because it's very hard and we also have to have 70 hours of observation at different high schools that semester. But I am going to have to take a course that that time any way because it's not offered in the Spring. Which means that if I don't get into this class then I can't graduate when I need too and then I'm fucked!

I also told him that I felt that I was qualified for the class and listed all of the classes that I have taken prior to his course. Finally I asked that he please consider me for his class so that I can continue my degree plan and become a teacher by May 2009.

I should find out some time this weekend I think ... but OMG ... I'm freaking out! Not only is this going to set ME back ... but it sets our house buying back. Our baby making back. My grandpa back another semester. EVERYTHING.

-Sigh-

Because I should be doing something else.

I'm waiting for the end.

Next week I'll be signing up for classes as a senior :) Which is all very exciting ... except a graduation in Spring 09 still seems very far off.

I keep telling myself that it's just one more semester of "classes" before I get to my methods block. But I have a feeling that that is going to be very difficult to go through as well.

What's really funny is that the Education classes that I have been taking are extremely easy. As in, I don't see how someone could get a bad grade ... so why is it so important for us to continue to take these brainless classes? I mean ... how about you give me some kind of test so that I can get out of these classes and freaking graduate sooner? That should would make my stress level go down a bit right?

But I guess that there is no use thinking about all of the things that I could do to get me out of all of these classes. Actually, I should probably just get back to work on my paper ... yeah ... I'll do that.

-slams head against keyboard-