Lesson Planning Fun

Allright, besides freaking out because, in two weeks, I'm going into a classroom with 9 kids I know absolutely nothing about (at least for the moment) I'm looking into handy ways to make lesson planning easy. And man, there are PLENTY of ways to do that. Aside from the fact I'm teaching young kids (which makes it a little less stressful right away), the internet is LOADED with resources. No teacher in this world should be whining about not knowing where to go and what to do. For starters, there is the really cool website of Beacon Learning Center, where you can get almost any sort of lesson plan and add to/take away from, knowing it's at least close to the appropriate level for your kids. There is also a Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resource Center near anyone in this state, and of course you can Google anything and find resources.

So who the heck said the internet is a bad thing??? Sure makes MY life easier.

Now, if I could just get a hold of some IEPs and info on my kids...

And it Came to Pass...

...in those days that Carrie should be hired for the appropriate job with 9 kindergarteners who have autism.

Yep, peeps, this time it is FOR REAL. I have been hired by the Duval County School Board to teach at Love Grove Elementary School. Apparently the school is an "A" school and has a highly recognized ESE/autism department.

God has been so good that I still can hardly believe it. Somebody pinch me, please. Thank you all so very much for your words of encouragement, your fingers (which have been crossed for so long they may be stuck there!!!), and mostly for your prayers.

I really feel like this time I've been lead to the right position, and the right place. There are so many variables that have suddenly just fallen into place, and not at my doing...I can chalk it up to nothing other than God.

Keep praying for me as I give notice on Wednesday, and get all my paperwork in line for my certification. Also keep praying as I begin...this is gonna be a challenge, but I am so ready.

God bless you all, and Merry, merry Christmas.

Fingers Crossed, Prayers Heavenward

Sorry it's been such a long time between posts guys, this has been a crazy couple of weeks with Christmas coming very shortly. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up; I need major happy thoughts and prayers. I visited the school board on Tuesday and got a couple of suggestions for places to try for a job; I even went to one of those schools but had no success because this was an older elementary classroom for students with autism. Because one of the concerns is my small size (for restraining purposes), this was really not a good choice.

So I was bummed. Didn't seem I'd accomplished much of anything. However, the other school's principal, who was out of town, called me back and wanted to speak with me about the position she had available. This class is at the kindergarten level, and also is for students who have autism. I have spoken with her over the phone twice, and will be going to see the classroom on Friday at 9:00 am. We'll see what happens...

...but I really have my hopes up, although the thought of leaving my kids at school really hurts. That is, of course, if this even happens. I've been down this road so many times I always expect the worst.

Now might be a nice time for a change. And wouldn't that make a wonderful Christmas present indeed?

Like I said, we'll see.

Searching for Myself

Ok, so Kate wants to make a sort of memory bead necklace--::cough cough:: remember that everyone???--and I'm looking for a bead to somehow remind her of me. So I'm thinking of something that perhaps is somehow reminiscent of the stars or or space-maybe something deep blue or even black--but that's as far as I've gone towards what I might want to get. So, what sort of bead would any of you out there think would be most like "me"? Any ideas?

Or does anyone have an idea for a bead they think would represent themselves (look, a place for the audience to join in and add their own thoughts!!!)

And P.S.--the verdict on the telescope is that, since Home Shopping Network doesn't have any more, I'm going to ship the mount off to the Meade Instruments Corporation who will activate the clutch and reinstall the drives so that it works properly. This will probably take around 3 weeks, but this way I know it'll get done right...

...and I won't have to worry about having a huge HSN credit that I will NEVER spend!!!

Maybe There is Yet Still Hope...

Guess what guys? After my griping and complaining, I walked into the director's office today, told her I needed the 13th off half the day if possible for an interview at the school board...

...and she took a look at the calendar and said, "It shouldn't be a problem, go ahead and put in for it."

I GOT THE TIME OFF FOR THE INTERVIEW BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Cross your fingers and pray hard ladies and gents, this is my time to tell the Duval County School Board exactly what I want to do.

Pray that they listen to me.

And, on other notes, I thought posting the lyrics to this song given to me by a friend was very appropo. First of all, cause it's a totally awesome song, and secondly because the lyrics are deeply profound and send the message that hey, you AREN'T alone. So you know who you are...

...and if you're reading, this one is for you.

I Shall Not Walk Alone by the Blind Boys of Alabama

Battered and torn
still I can see the light
tattered and worn
but I must kneel to fight

Friend of mine
what can't you spare
I know some times
it gets cold in there

When my legs no longer carry
and the warm wind chills my bones
I reach for Mother Mary
and I shall not walk alone

Hope is alive
while we're apart
only tears
speak from my heart
break the chains
that hold us down
and we shall be
forever bound

When I'm tired and weary
and a long way from home
I reach for Mother Mary
and I shall not walk alone

Beauty that
we left behind
how shall we
tomorrow find

Set aside
our weight in sin
so that we
can live again

When my legs no longer carry
and the warm wind chills my bones
I reach for Mother Mary
and I shall not walk alone

A Fun Little Meme (Courtesy of Kate)

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, (even if we don't speak often) please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want — good or bad — BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE.

When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you.

Here's mine of me:

Remember that time that I went to hooked up with the guy from Spain and we eloped in Las Vegas? My parents were so mad that they made certain we anulled the marriage immediately. Too bad they still don't know that I have connections with him...

Telescope Trouble

Ok, so maybe I'm not so good at getting this thing together. Or maybe I broke it in assembly. Or maybe the damn thing was broken to begin with.

But it isn't working at any rate. The autostar, upon hook up and with appropirate location, date, and time...

...tests the motors. And SOMETHING about the motors is failing. I can't get the autostar to align the scope, and therefore can't use autostar. I'm getting these options for the motor failure:

1. Low battery. If this is so, why is the autostar working, and why is the thing able to move the scope vertically?

2. Telescope obstruction. Ok, telescope is obstructed by what? Itself? The trees outside? The house? Huh?

3. Telescope overload. As before, huh? How can it be overloaded with info, I haven't even USED IT yet.

Any telescope pros out there who could give me pointers? I'm worried that the motors are just screwed up, but I'd prefer it if it was just something stupid I've done or missed in making the autostar work correctly.

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!

Telescope assembly...

...IS A PAIN IN THE BUTT!!! I got the biggest box I'd ever gotten in my entire life at the door today, and the heaviest one as well. I was wondering if perhaps someone followed through on plans to ship themselves elsewhere, and if they had decided FL had a nice climate and I looked like a good friend to beg for a room from.

But at last, it was the telescope. Which was in a box, which had several pieces within that box in seperate boxes; the larger box in yet another box to protect it during shipping.

I must have spent the majority of the night putting the thing together, damn little screws. And I haven't even hooked up the autostar feature yet. All I know is that everything SHOULD now be in its rightful place on the tripod. Haven't even gotten to peep through it out in the backyard, just to get a feel for it. Mom suggested I wait to put it together til Dad got home. HELL NO. I CAN DO IT MYSELF, DURNIT. And I did. We'll see if it actually works tomorrow though. And if it does, well...

the NEFAS is having a viewing session down at Hanna Park on the tenth. Don't know if I can check for available guys while telescoping, but hey, there's always the option as follows:

Me: "Hey friend," *bats eyes* "I'm new at this, think you can help me feel like...errr, I mean find Venus?"

I know. Yeah. Right.

And P.S. Thanks for all your comments to my last post. They were all very much appreciated and have been taken into account.

And P.P.S., Kate, I might apply just for the hell of it, just to see what happens. Just imagine what mom will do if someone calls here from Germantown, TN asking if they can get an interview...

Social Isolation, Limited Interaction

Ok, so I lied in the preceeding post. I have nothing happy and cheerful to offer today. I guess it's finally slammed home that hey, once I come home from work, particularly when I have no school, I usually go home, do some housework and school work, eat, and get on the 'net. Alot of times, this is a fullfilling activity for me, particularly when there is roleplaying to be done or someone to talk to on AIM. But when neither of the two are present, my social isolation begins. The depression follows.

I know I should try to get out more. Problem is, since I moved from Tennessee, and particulary since I graduated from FSU, I just don't see anyone out there like me. No one out there in Jacksonville to trust. I'm out to find someone to talk to, someone to appreciate that hey, I like to watch Star Wars movies, write, play my flute and guitar, and just be at home hanging out with friends. I haven't met anyone here who seems particularly interested in hanging out with me, however. Therefore I wonder if it is perhaps that I am just entirely boring.

It's probably a bad thing I don't see my church as a social outlet. But let's think about this a moment. Most girls/guys my age are newly married/engaged to be married/involved with someone. Some have kids. I'm a single gal looking for an interested single guy...

...and unfortunately there aren't alot of single 26-ish year old guys at the church. Most of the 26-ish guys are already married, so hey, I can't touch them.

Furthermore, I'm not a very outgoing person. I don't like going new places (i.e. social functions) by myself. I feel too shy, too dull, too uninteresting. So I stay home and wait...

...for who the heck knows what. So when you all finally log onto instant messenger, or finally show up to roleplay, and wonder why I'm in such a foul mood, it's because I've been sitting on the computer all night longing for the social interaction I can't seem to gain anywhere else. Sure, I go to work and interact with people. But there is no one I can really just talk to. There are people around my age, some who even go out with one another...

...but I'm not invited. And yes, I work at a Christian institution. ::sighs::

Apparently, the internet is a lousy source for interaction, however. I wonder if this is really what has become of the at least somewhat-social being I was in Tennessee. And in college, even.

Or is it just that I don't see any reason to trust anyone here worth two cents until they can stop and think that hey, maybe Carrie is ok and we should include her in something.

Am I being self-centered? Stupid? Thoughtless?

And what should I do in the meantime???

P.S. Sorry I keep posting crap like this...but I don't have many other avenues to vent.

Frustration

What is with life. Of course I can't the half day off to go down to the school board and be interviewed.

I'm stuck in a stupid hole, and every way out I possibly find becomes a dead end. So what is this? A test to see just how determined I really am? Or is this a "Hey, you idiot, you're not on the right track. STOP NOW. I like you where you are."

And if it is the latter, I guess I'll be stuck here forever. And I don't want to be.

I pray constantly for an open door, for an answer. And I keep getting this "Wait on my time" response. I mean, I think I understand that it's not that I'm NOT getting an answer to prayer...

...but at the same time I don't know how much more patience I can maintain.

So that's my frustration for the day. Maybe I'll post something more uplifting later.