still no spankins, whass up with that?

I turned (mumble mumble) last week.

It was a nice birthday, the family remembered, the friends remembered.



But today was a flippin ridiculous day at work. Unlike Megan's lovefest, I had my face charred today by the fire-breathing admin who mistook me for a rebellious 6 year old. I can only laugh because it was so ridiculous, surpassing unprofessional, only to be comprehended in the arena of humor.

The skinny was that the schedules at our school are all crazy because our enrollment is at record numbers and because there was a mentoring meeting for the lowerclassmen. Thing was, the upperclassmen were wandering hither and yon, acting like escaped prisoners.

In my assigned area, everything was fine. I spoke with the woman, the helper was there, it was stable. So like a little boy scout, err teacher, I am thinking "I will help some of these kids get to where they are going by encouraging them to not loiter randomly in the halls," Truthfully, because of many reasons, most of them having to do with not wanting to die at work, unstructured time for students is not a good idea--fights break out, kids act wierd.

About that time I bumped into admin, and was administered my medicine for not "being in my assigned area". Charred not once but thrice. I guess I don't learn very well. The last time was so bizarre, a classified staffer screaming at me to go back to my assigned area, it can only qualify as surreal. For a moment there I was wondering if I looked like a 6 year old.
The tension was ludicrous. The woman in charge is pregnant (and I know well what pregnant stress is like--walk a wide circle and no you aren't helping, you are making things worse) and her sidekick, who is making me for some reason think of Tattoo on Fantasy Island saying "De Plane! De Plane!", only in this case she is screaming "Go back to your assigned class!" as if her very sanity hinged on it was not being treated well by her superior who is half her age. That must be frustrating.

If that were the only crummy thing for today, well fine. But that along with about 3000 kids confused about when to go to lunch, random urgent announcements commanding teachers to do this, no don't do that, do this! And now for the announcements..." At one point I heard the librarian sternly asking a student to give back her remote. At another point I heard a teacher complaining about the lack of computers as his kids sat doing nothing for 30 minutes. I am wondering to myself if the lack of computers was something he was just now learning about... he had reserved no computers.

I asked J if he thought I was lousy at politics. He said yes. I agreed. But then neither of us trust those who are particularly good in that arena. He said I expect the world to act in an orderly, logical fashion, and that it doesn't. And when it doesn't I get upset. He is right. I have been in places where wrong things happened and I was supposed to be okay with them. I don't like those places. It kills one's spirit to have to accept actions with no clear reason, or a wrong reason. One can't do much in those environments. I think that is why most teachers at the school just try to keep their heads down. Some day perhaps I will learn that.

On another note there is a rather spooky black cat who seems to be at every entrance of our house, who is clawing the window and screen of the window as I type this at midnite thirty. And Halloween is coming up. I don't like this.