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Okay with kids

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Not Looking Good.

Ah… parking around campus. Difficult. They also have new parking ticket boxes instead of metres so it is hard to know exactly where parking spots are. I found what looked like a spot… go back five spaces to buy my parking ticket… move my car up to where parking lines are, etc. and am confident in my spot. I am off on my appointed rounds and am on my way to my car….. I look up and there are two firetrucks up ahead. One in front of my car and one beside it. Not looking good from my viewpoint. I start questioning whether I parked in front of a fire hydrant, and flashback to a scene in Backdraft where they broke the car windows to put a hose through. Yikes. Then… maybe it’s my car?? Maybe it’s on fire?? Well, as I get closer, it appears that one of the buildling had been evacuated and they were all outside. As I got to my car, the firetrucks were leaving. Phew! Not my car after all…

Uh Oh!

Okay… I might be at the “What have I gotten myself into??” stage of school right now. Placement starts on Monday… YIKES!! My first placement is with a teacher I know so that is a good thing. I can slowly get into the swing of things as there is a lot of observation in the first placement. Teacher’s college really isn’t long enough to pack in all that you are supposed to know. Eeeks!!:shock:

Love the Smoker, Hate the Smoke (Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin)

Smokers’ rights group takes to the web

The Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council announced Tuesday it was giving $2.5 million to fund a new website dedicated to promoting smokers’ rights.

My initial response to this is that I despise how smoker’s think that they have the “right” to smoke where they want.

Nancy Daigneault, president of mychoice.ca, said the site would give voice to the concerns of Canadian smokers, who face a growing number of increasingly comprehensive provincial smoking bans as well as personal demonization.

I’m thinking, yeah, they should be demonized! I’m all for the smoking bans and the quick eventual erradication of smoking till it’s equivalent to the current marijuana smoking status - done in private only (and if not, call the cops and it won’t be bothing you for long).

But then she has to go ahead and make a good point:

“Smokers have the same rights as everyone else to be consulted and to have their concerns taken into account - but you wouldn’t know it from the way they are treated,” said Daigneault.

I guess even smokers have a right to be treated with respect, and many may not be actively choosing to continue to smoke, but rather find it too difficult to quit. Therefore, it’s not so much their choice that needs to be respected, but the struggles they encounter that needs to be addressed.

I still say - someone’s “hobby” or “activity” should in no way have any effect on others who do not appreciate it - especially if there are risks to others from that hobby/activity. But I guess smokers do deserve respect and help, as long as they try to change, or don’t expect/get handouts (ie. healthcare) if they are not willing to do their share of managing/resolving the situation.

The CBC article really gets one thinking.

Givin’ It to the Best Athletes

They talked about how only the best of Canadian athletes will get funding to train for the Olympics. If Canada does so well in the Paralympics (? para-Olympics), are all of those medalists going to get money? Wouldn’t it be great if Canada invested in the many elite paraOlympians, and just did nothing for the many mediocre plain-jane Olympic athletes?

Words to Live By

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.

SEIU: Shabby Efforts of Incompetence Unified

I think I may have done something that will piss off my union (SEIU 1.on blah blah blah). You see, they had an unannounced barbeque today - anyone can have a hotdog, donation to United Way recommended. Now, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to fundraise for United Way, but shouldn’t a fundraising venture be designed to minimize expenses?

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It’s Not Fair

I just found out that not all Language students have to buy the $120 textbook…. only the select few who were lucky enough to end up with the teacher who thought we should have it. She has also made it impossible to survive the class without as there are regular quizzes and reports due based on the readings. Oh well. Luckily I didn’ t have to buy many texts at all…. we pay $60 at the beginning of the year and that is spread out to each courses to cover the multitudes of photcopies we’ll receive.

No Wonder…

No wonder I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I just realized that I only have 15 weeks of classes total where they just keep throwing paper at me…. so that is 15 weeks of learning everything I’m supposed to know about being a teacher. Yikers! Of course you learn while you’re on placement but what am I supposed to have learned in three weeks to take into placement with me.

Oh, I think I forgot to post about my placements. I found out this week that my first placement will be grade 1 (October) and my second placement will be grade 4 (Nov/Dec). So I am quite happy with that! I already know the teacher for grade 1 and I have heard the grade 4 teacher is awesome. So I am looking forward to learning but petrified that I don’t know anything.

Chucky!

Finally our public library carries books by Chuck Palaniuk (author of Fight Club and Choke). I got another one of his (Survivor), though it’s not his newest one. And I also got “A Complicated Kindness” (recommended on CBC, and top seller for a few weeks). When not fixing computers and basking in the sun, I’ll be reading (or watching and listening to Anthony Burger twinkle his fingers on the ivories).

New Law & Order

Two consecutive episodes of Law & Order featured Serina getting blamed by the male DA’s of being too soft, and unable to handle the pressures of criminal prosecutions - I wonder if she’s already being phased out. I’m sad to see the old detective gone… I like the new Italian guy’s intrigue, but he’ll have to prove his interesting quirkiness more for me to prefer him over the last guy (so quickly forgotten… sigh). The two episodes were a little too USA-centric (what? they take place in New York?) for my liking, but at least they’re controversial.

Possible New Addiction

I went to a workshop today on the The Ellison Machine . WOW!! It is a die cut maker and you can make so many shapes. Many people have a version of this that you can buy at Michael’s and you have to buy all the different die cutter. Well, Queen’s has over 300 die cutters and you can use them for free! Just bring in your own stuff and away you go. It would be great for scrapbookers as well. It also cuts magnets, foam board, aluminum, etc… so many options! Of course the sales rep could make anything and stuff I would never be able to recreate but it still looks fun. There are also cutters that make dotted lines on acitivities (ie. making a box, envelope, card) so that they are easy to fold. WOOHOO!! Can’t wait to make some stuff for my classroom!

Search for Silence

I’m alive! I survived 3 days in Algonquin with only myself and my canoe to rescue me. I had some tasty food (hmm… spidey dogs and bannock). I was cold only between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. - not even after my swim on Saturday morning! I canoe-ed (canoed? canoe’d?) ~ 8 km on Friday, 16 km on Saturday (and portaged 6 km), and 11 km today. Ugh - the wind was bad yesterday and today for at least 1/2 the time - but even canoes with 2 people were struggling, so I didn’t feel too bad. I slept well every night, had great campsites (Friday night was on an island!), solitude (no people, bears, or moose to harrass me - though I was invaded by some freakish monster on Saturday morning), and I finally found utter silence - no dull city noise, no highway traffic, no noisy people. I was at times a little talkative, considering there was no one to banter with. And I did miss “Silly Songs by Jennifer” on occasion, but CBC talk radio kept me stimulated on the way home (which would never happen with Jennifer in the car!). And no city light pollution, either - perfectly dark nights, with clear skies, lots of stars, and incredible sunrises and sunsets. The fog made the pictures even more phenonemal.

I Love Math!

Well… at least for the day. I went to a Math conference today (yes, I’m a teacher nerd) and it was fantastic. I only signed up because I was Math-phobic and thought I should get all the information I could as I really needed help. Well, I thought for sure the guest speaker would be a little boring but he was fabulous!! He had so many Math tricks. I learned a simple way to do long division and a great way to multiply… and fancy paper tricks. Then my next workshop was on using cards and various dice to do math. She even had 30 sided dice (I had to buy one!) and there are lots of games you can play with them. Oh, we are encouraged not to use gambling language as some parents get upset. (oops). Hmm.. My last workshop wasn’t very good… he was a publisher and not a good presenter.. and there were only six of us in the workshop. BUT.. .the first two made up for it. Oh, did I mention I got a free bag, pens, candy, a little pin, and then there was free treats as well! Woohoo! I didn’t win any draws but I still had a good time. Me? Math on a Saturday? Yeah, I know it’s hard for me to believe too!

On another Math note, yesterday was my first Math class and I have heard rave reviews about this prof from past and present students and the profs have told us all week that we will love Math…. and they were all correct! She is so fun and we played games all class! Now if only Language class was this fun.

Jewellery

This week, I discovered jewellery. I think I used to wear it a lot but then because of my work, I just stopped wearing it. Kids were always pulling on necklaces, etc. so it just wasn’t worth the risk. Now that I am back in school and everyone always tries to look their best, I have started seeing myself as sort of plain. So I have worn a few pieces this week… I mean all of my pieces this week.. I mean, both of my pieces. I don’t know if I will want much but … we’ll see. I think this new obsession started back in August when the bride of the wedding I was in gave me a fantastic bracelet with matching earrings. I love them! We’ll see how long this obessession lasts…I can only wear earrings about every third day or else they irritate me.

Baghdad

I got this cool request from a physio in Baghdad, Iraq. He graduated a few years ago from Iraq’s one university which teaches physio (which has no graduate program). So he contacted his Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Health to see how to proceed in setting up a graduate physio program - they asked him for a proposal/plan, and he asked for my help. So, with my great wealth of international experience:wink:, I referred him to the International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation at Queen’s, and forwarded his request to one of my contacts there. Isn’t that neat? Now I can say that I’m helping Baghdad after the war… well, in my own way.

Matthew Good

I downloaded a few of Matthew Good’s albums, and my conclusion is as follows: his band has some creative sounds, rhythms, and melodies (especially at the intros), but his voice is so mediocre and monotonous, and all the songs end up sound the same. I’m glad I can download ‘cuz I saved a bunch of money on his CD’s that I’d never like.

Health + Logic = Error

I was talking to another therapist at work today about physio and science:

Advantages to Being Old

I have finally found an advantage to being old. What? You didn’t know there were any? Well, the class that I am with is about 5-7 years younger than myself and…. it seems that I am the only Jennifer in my group! BUT there are three Lindsays, two Erin’s, and two Lisa’s. How rare for me to be all alone!! I have one class where there are two of us but my core group it’s just me!! WOOHOO! I guess by the 80’s Jennifer was out.

Algonquin

I booked my trip! This is my first solo camping trip and I’m really looking forward to it. I leave Napanee after work at ~ noon on Friday (I’m working late a couple of nights this week to make up the time), arriving at the West Gate of Algonquin at ~ 3:00. I’ve scheduled 5 km of canoeing on Friday afternoon to my first campsite, early Saturday I leave for a 10 km paddle to my 2nd campsite for Saturday night, then return back (yeah, I’d prefer a loop, but this is the least complicated) 15 km to the car on Sunday, arriving back in Kingston by hopefully no later than 9:00.

I’m borrowing a friend’s tent - a nice small 2 person, raisable in < 2 minutes (compared to our six-person jumping-jack accessible 10 minute tent). It’s gonna get frickin’ cold since I don’t have a fly (just a tarp) so if it’s clear I’ll be sleeping under the stars. And yeah, food isn’t an issue.