Sad Times at L-M High School

What a terrible an tragic loss Allen Petersen will be to the school and the community. I didn't know the man but if is Facebook tribute page is anything to go by, he must have had one profound influence upon a lot of lives. And poor Kelsey. I feel so badly for her as well. Accidents like this are so tragic. Kelsey so young just beginning the future Mr. Petersen has helped her to find. And Allen in such good health going into those years of your life which I embarked upon last year where you start reflecting on what you've done and seeing that you still have a lot of things to do so you better get moving -- as he was out getting ready for bike riding season and Ragbrai. It really hits you in the face with the fact that you really should live each day as if it were your last. We mere mortals are not in charge of those decisions. We are here to serve His purpose. And when He decides He needs us elsewhere, we will go.

Jessica lost her Grandma the same day Laurens lost their science teacher. Wonder if the people that die on the same day having a meeting when they get to heaven. Kind of like an orientation. Something to let you know what your new job in heaven is going to be. Here I am not planning to die any time soon and I'm trying to figure out what my ever after job will be! Sure does put things into perspective.

May those who have been lost this week rest in peace...

Coldest May on Record

Sorry my Iowa, friends, apparently mother nature has things a little mixed up this year. We are getting Iowa weather and Iowa is getting California weather. Well I'm gonna enjoy every minute of it because once mother nature gets things turned around, it will probably shoot right to the 100's and stay there!

Okay, there's the weather report. Now on to the diet report. Okay, that's enough of that. Now on to the work front. Okay, that's enough of that. Now on to my brats. They are lying on the floor backs to each other with the little man checking out whether there is a threat coming from mom. There is a large heart shaped cookie at stake here.

Yes, it's been one of those days I'm not really sure what happened. But most of it wasn't too good and I don't really wanna talk about it until I've had a little time to digest it a little more -- oh, God, not back to the diet thing again!

Have a really great day!

It Feels Like Friday

Oh, yes, last post said this week would be a new adventure. Feels like it should be Friday!! And the cartoon -- I think I'm up a rung or two on the faking it ladder this week!

Well, I think once operator error with the computers gets resolved, we'll be in good shape. There were a few glitches and tech support was really "John"ny on the spot! I'm so appreciative that we have good administration at my school who is very quick to respond. Custodial staff was also great to get things moved around where I hope they will work. You know how it is when you move into a new place. You kind of have to live in it for a while before you get to know if it's gonna work or not. I'm not sure how I'm going to lecture. It's going to be a real pain. The room is huge and the computers are far away from where you are supposed to lecture in the classroom. I guess I'll figure it out as time goes on. I might have to use Synchroneyes and just capture their screens and broadcast right in front of them. Solves another problem with computer lectures -- students not paying attention! They have to when you capture their screen. You have control of their machine.

Well hopefully the rest of the week will smooth out and I will get everything settled into place.

New Adventure

This week brings a new adventure for me at work. I will be teaching four new curricula: Excel (I've used the old Excel and have taught the basics before, but I haven't taught the advanced features), PowerPoint (I've used this endlessly so am pretty familiar with 2003 but haven't used 2007 much), Publisher (which is a fun program and I've used a lot but again not much of the 2007) and the final uncharted territory of Web Page Design. I have taken a couple of web page design classes. I've done a couple of web pages through Google and Yahoo and I've altered my Avon web page using web design skills but I've never taught the class. It will be an adventure.

Still swinging in the wind regarding whether I have a job next year or not. We got our second and final "we aren't inviting you back" notice although I haven't picked mine up yet. Just have to go with the flow for now and cross that bridge when I come to it. I have options but none of them are the best.

Life is like a box of chocolates -- I just hope I like the inside of this one!

The True Reason for the Blog

Yup, Adult Education really isn't my first priority this year. It is very important and I love my job and the students I work with. They are both very important to me and my reason for being who I am. However, I really started this blog because my intent is to get serious about losing a bunch o' weight this year. My big hang up is stress. But the brutal realization has finally hit me -- I will always have stress in my life. I need to get a handle on it or I will be dead in ten years. Diabetes, you know. Well it's not really bad yet, but it will get that way if I continue on as I am now. My doctor will surely kill me the next time I go in. I was supposed to go in February but I've been putting it off because I knew I haven't been following any diet -- diabetes conscious or otherwise. Today it hit me.

I will go to the doctor and do those blood tests this week or next. After I get back from Iowa, I'm putting in a visit to Jenny Craig -- okay, that sounds a lot like putting things off yet again. I'll make that Jenny appointment this week and see if they'll work with me for keeping the budget low at least until this fall. If they can't keep it around $50 a week, I might have to wait until September. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, I must take action now or face me fate. I will not whimp out like so many have bariatric surgery. That's just a bandaid. You really have to do the work to lose weight. You can't just take the bandaid treatment and continue on. It just doesn't work out over time. You learn absolutely nothing from that.

Now back to my horrible week. I have a ton of papers to grade, a decision to make on my job, my health to straighten out -- wonder what else will crop up by tomorrow morning!

Beautiful Day

Awww, another day in paradise! Although a little windy, it is beautiful out. The sun is shining, the birds are singing -- oh, and the grass is growing. Going to have to work on a haircut for that. It will be a day of outdoor therapy and stress relief for me today. I was planning to go to church this morning but got a call from my Aunt in Iowa. It was great to hear how she was doing. She's getting up there in years but she's doing fine. Hope I'm doing that well at her age! Well, off I got to proceed with a haircut for the lawn and a trim for it's sideburns! Hope everyone is having a great day!

S**T Does Run Downstream!

Well I've taken a bit of a break from the susie sunshine department. Things got a little gloomier last week. Kind of like a waterfall -- things are really running downstream now! Sounds like the school districts are all looking at two time funds to take now instead of counting on the prez coming through for them with a little more cash. So they'll take the bulk of the Tier III funding and run. Wonder what happens when 2012-13 comes and they have no adult ed program to allocate money to? Just a thought. A program that came into existence 150 years ago purely to train the immigrant population in California so they could find productive jobs is slowly disappearing. Within a year the remnants will disappear like the dodo bird. Wonder what will happen in ten years when the state figures out that they need a program to help their new immigrants assimilate. And when they figure out that their non high school grads finally grew up and now need some help completing their high school education requirements so they can take care of all the old farts in the state? Things are going to get interesting. Or maybe we are looking for Armageddon to put in an appearance before all that happens. Oh, how my peaceful little home in Iowa is looking better and better! Too bad I can't magic fast forward to 55 1/2 so I can happily retire.