Another Kill Count

Bathroom: 10
Kitchen: 6

TOTAL: 16

Sweet. If only all problems could be solved with a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of vinegar, and a drop of dish soap! Although wasn't it Mary Poppins who sang "just a spoonful of a sugar helps the medicine go down"?

In other news . . . today I met the majority of the new teachers I will be working with over the summer. It seems to be an interesting group. A lot of them are trained public school teachers, so that should improve the organization and general level of chaos. Several of the teachers already know each other from the school they currently work at, so that's neat. Hopefully that will work to our advantage - I don't want a situation where we have a group of teachers who do nothing but fraternize with each other! I do have a wonderful teacher who is returning from last year, so that should help. He's a great guy who is completely reliable and gets along well with everyone. There is another woman who is a bit older that I'm not sure about. I'm hoping she doesn't turn out to be like a current teacher we have who can't handle the teenagers and gets all upset every week. Don't get me wrong - I've definitely been in the situation where I have a class that's hard to handle and it makes me upset, but I only ever lost it at work once! Even that situation was extreme in that I'd had to deal with one thing after another after another after another, culminating in a student stealing the damn batteries from the classroom clock. At least I learned a few things from that situation. But, I digress.
I've decided that in order to cope with the summer (and hopefully avoid getting yet another ulcer) I've got to do a couple of things to relax myself. To that end, I've decided that I deserve a little pmapering. I've booked myself for a 30 minute massage on July 3rd. The following Sunday I'm getting a spa pedicure! The pedicure is part of a friend's stagette that is being held at a spa in Richmond. It should be a lot of fun - and what great timing!

Updated Kill Count ('Cause Now I'm Obsessed)

Kitchen: 4
Bathroom: 8

TOTAL: 12

Normally I wouldn't take pleasure in the death of another living being, but these are FRUIT FLIES! Do you have any idea how satisfying it feels to kill a fruit fly? Damn honey! It feels great!!

Teachers Take Note!

In my time as a teacher I have learned the following truths:

1. Teachers should all be trained as primary (preferably kindergarten or grade 1) teachers. They can move up from there, but it's really hard to move down if your training is at a higher level. It has been my experience that primary-trained teachers are waaayyy better prepared to deal with students at all levels of education. They're organized, able to manage a whole roomful of students without breaking a sweat, are more creative, and generally deliver better lessons. Now if you're a teacher reading this and you disagree, please feel free to comment argue with me.

2. Teachers should do their photocopying ahead of time. Do not leave it for the morning of because you never know what might come up! Photocopiers break down quite regularly you know!

3. Teachers should leave day plans, attendance lists, etc. AT THE SCHOOL. Taking it home might help you with your planning, but it doesn't help the substitute at all! If you really need to take stuff home with you, photocopy it and then you can keep a copy at home!

4. Teachers who can't be flexible or think on their feet shouldn't be teachers. Bottom line is you never know what is going to get thrown at you. If you can't deal with it, you shouldn't be there.

Happy Father's Day!

Just wanted to wish all the fathers and fathers-to-be a happy Father's Day this weekend! I am lucky enough to have two fathers (bio and step) and I hope they both have a great weekend!

Bye Dragon Lady!

Today was Dragon Lady's last day of work. Tomorrow she has to move out of her apartment. In the past couple of weeks I have tried harder than usual to be helpful and pleasant. I tried very hard lend her a hand in view of the fact that the assistant director (who is now the new director) was away on vacation. Today I found out that dragon lady told someone that I've been a real bitch lately and she didn't know how she would have dealt with me over the summer. Either I am one super-bitch who can no longer tell the difference between niceness and bitchiness (doubtful since I can't even walk past a former student without them saying hi and wanting to talk to me, and everytime I see my former students they shout "Kim, Kim we miss you!"), or dragon lady was truly a miserable person that I am well rid of as she just brings everyone around her down. So the last thing I have to say to dragon lady is "good riddance!"

High School Reunion

I just got an invitation to my 10-year high school reunion. It's given me conflicted feelings. On the one hand I want to go and see what people are up to and how they've changed. I also (selfishly, I suppose) want to show people what I've been able to accomplish in the past ten years. I may not be married or have kids or be rich, but I'm satisfied with my life. On the other hand, I don't really feel like seeing a lot of the real jerks that were in my class. Also, I don't feel like I have anything to prove to anyone. I only keep in touch with a few people from my class. Seriously, there are very few people from my class that I really cared to know or stay in contact with. Of those few people, I see two on a somewhat more regular basis than the third (who is in New Zealand). They all know what's happening in my life. I've run into a few people over the years and we've had some pleasant "how are you/what are you up to" conversations, but for the most part, I really don't have a burning desire to know what everyone is up to. Anyway, the reunion isn't until October, so I guess I have a few months to decide whether or not I want to go.

My first photo post

I've been watching a friend play around with her blog for the past day and a half and it has inspired me to try and post a picture on my blog. This picture was taken at my sister's bridal shower a few weeks ago. If you know me, you know which person is me. If you don't know me, please feel free to post a guess in the comments section. Maybe I'll tell you if you're right . . . maybe I won't ;-)

Another Meme Courtesy of Vesper

Yes, yes I'm posting another meme, and yes, I got it from Vesper:

accent: Canadian all the way, baby!

booze: I never drink.

chore I hate: Hmmm. You'd be better off asking me what chores I like. I HATE vacuuming and dusting. I love doing laundry.

dogs/cats: I don't have either right now, but I'd love to have a cat! We always had dogs when I was growing up, but I have to say I'm partial to cats. I still miss my first (and only) cat Frisky.

essential electronics: My computer and tv.

favorite perfume/cologne: I don't wear perfume that often, but when I do, I like Elizabeth Taylor's "White Diamonds"

gold/silver: I like both, but I suspect that gold looks better with my skin tone.

hometown: I was born in Burnaby, B.C., but we moved to Surrey just before I turned two. So I'm going to have to call myself a proud Surrey girl.

insomnia: Yes. I get it quite often when I'm stressed. I've just gotten over a bout of it actually.

job title: Juniors and Children Head Teacher. It sounds big and important, and it sometimes is. But usually it's just code for "do this. Do that. Take care of that. It's your fault if this doesn't work."

kids: no biological kids, but I often refer to my students as my kids. Oh, and I've sorta "adopted" two of my Mexican girls. One is a former student who is 17. The other is a current student who is 16. They are my hijas.

living arrangements: in an apartment that I bought last September. I live alone and I LOVE it that way!

most admired trait: organization and passion for teaching!

number of sexual partners: yeah, like I'm going to publish that information here ;-)

overnight hospital stays: none. Knock on wood.

phobia: Heights, though that one has gotten better. Snakes, which I don't even like to think about or see pictures of. And I've started to develop a slight fear of small spaces.

quote: "What fools these mortals be." No, in all seriousness, I don't really have a quote.

religion: Christian. I'm a member of the United Church of Canada.

siblings: my sister, Jennifer. I have a step-brother (Sean) and a step-sister (Roisin) on my dad's side, and a step-sister (Cindy) and a step-brother (Brad) on my mom's side.

time I usually wake up: 6:33am. Yes, that is what my alarm clock is set for. It's very scientifically figured out. My snooze alarm lasts for 9 minutes. If I hit it 3 times my alarm goes off at exactly 7am. I never stay in bed that long though.

unusual talent: The ability to raise my left eyebrow independently of my right.

vegetable I refuse to eat: none actually.

worst habit: I talk to myself an awful lot. And I tend to get pretty crabby when I'm stressed.

x-rays: None.

yummy foods I make: Well, I don't cook a lot, but I do make an awesome spinach dip and some great chocolate-chip pecan cookies.

zodiac sign: Leo. Oh, and I was born in the year of the horse.

Warning: Faulty Appendix Story

Yesterday one of the students at my school, a boy who I see everyday and is always friendly and says "hi Kim" to me, was taken to the emergency room with a faulty appendix. Yes, he has appendicitis! When I went to the hospital yesterday afternoon to visit him, he was still in the Emergency Room with a morphine drip to control the pain. The poor guy . . . he's all alone in Canada and we can't find his gaurdian. All of our minor students are supposed to have guardians when they come to Canada, but sometimes these guardians are more like "paper guardians" that only sign the documentation but don't know or care about the student who they are supposed to guard. Anyway, there were people from the school who were going to stay with him overnight. He was supposed to go into surgery late last night or early this morning. I'm sure that he'll be just fine, but I worry about him being in the hospital over the weekend without anyone to sit with him and visit him. I told my colleague from the school that if they couldn't get hold of the guardian to call me and I would come and stay with him for a while. This afternoon I'll stop and pick up a get well soon card and maybe a Korean book or magazine to bring to him.

Grinder, Coola, and CNTM

Went to Grouse Mountain today. Gorgeous, gorgeous day with awesome views. We got to meet the two grizzly bears they have up there too, and we watched a short film explaining how they got to Grouse Mountain. Overall a pretty good way to spend the day. All my students (well, technically since I'm not teaching right now, they're not my students!) want to take home bear cubs as pets now. Clearly, the do not understand the meaning of WILD animals. Reminds me of one of my former Japanese students who was totally determined to ride a polar bear. Yes. Ride a polar bear!

Quick rant: Why does Canadian reality television, as a general rule, suck? Seriously . . . I used to be addicted to American Idol, but I can't even sit through a whole episode of Canadian Idol! I sit glued to the TV when America's Next Top Model is on, but I think Canada's Next Top Model is fairly lousy. I don't know what it is . . . but I have a theory that the slickness of Hollywood is a factor. The glossy sheen and sparkle seems to be missing from Canadian television. The slick and glossy Hollywood personalities seem to be missing too! Call me shallow, but I miss the Hollywood-factor!

MySpace

Well, I resisted for a year. I have a few friends who have done it, but I held out. As it is I sometimes feel as though I spend hours in front of the computer. I have finally caved. I am now a member of MySpace! Thanks to my friend Brooke, I have joined on up and I invited all of you to come and check out my site at the address below:

www.myspace.com/kimfeuchter

AKA Verbal Diarrhea

It's June 1st and it's raining outside. What's up with that?!
___________________________________________________________________

Had a lovely lunch at White Spot with one of my teaching colleagues. We're both on "Spring Break" right now. I (again) managed to spill mayonnaise down my shirt. Lovely. My shirt is in the washing machine right now with a few other dirty things. I hope it gets clean. It's a lovely shade of blue. The main thing that we talked about at lunch was teaching. I find this extremely interesting since she and I both have similar feelings on this subject. Basically, it annoys both of us when teachers get together and talk about nothing but teaching. Does that happen with other professions? Dianne, does this happen when accountants get together? Do they talk about nothing but accounting? Anyway, it happens all the time with my friends who are teachers. I guess the friend and I who had lunch together had to catch up since we haven't seen each other since last week. Also, we both took the same TESL course online, so some of our conversation was spent talking about where she was at with that course. It was a good lunch nevertheless.
__________________________________________________________________

Got my Property Taxes in the mail today. Oh, the joys of home ownership! Can't hardly wait to pay that!
__________________________________________________________________

I have a calendar from Telus Mobility that has really, really cute pictures. You know those Telus commercials with all those cute animals? Those animals are in my calendar! The June picture is adorable . . . a line of bowling balls, and the third one from the left is actually a white piglet with a pink nose! It's the cutest thing I've ever seen! I love this calendar :-) The heading of this month's picture is "daddy likes". How can I tell this calendar was made in Canada? The heading of the month's picture is also in French!
__________________________________________________________________

A few years ago I had a summer that was full of weddings. I think I went to 4 weddings during that summer. Weddings are great . . . if you have a date! I didn't have a date for any of the weddings. This summer I've already been invited to two weddings. I don't have a date for either of them. If you count my sister's wedding back in April, that's three weddings for which I need/needed a date. My best friend went with my to my sister's wedding. I'm thinking about asking her if she wants to come to one of the other two weddings too. This is getting depressing!
__________________________________________________________________

I like to consider myself a good speller. I didn't even have to look up the spelling of the word "diarrhea" for the title of this post. I once rented a spelling documentary. It was very interesting to see how seriously these children took the spelling bee. Man! They were really, really good spellers. I haven't seen the most recent movies about spelling. I'm sure they are similar. I have never been in a spelling bee. I think it would be cool. Once in a while at the school we have a spelling bee competition for the students. We were once going to have one for the teachers, but some of the other teachers were too chicken to compete! Bah! Who cares if you end up looking a little silly!
__________________________________________________________________

I'm working on a new cross-stitching project right now. It's coming along very slowly. It's the largest piece I've ever worked on. I'd better get back to working on it right now.