Wednesday, February 28, 2007
at
5:30 p.m.
|
My feet hurt, my back is sore, I'm super-tired, and I'm in an amazing mood.
Knocked my lesson out of the park today, helped out at the school, and generally made myself into a good teacher today.
On top of that, I got home and there's a message from the Toronto District School Board and they want to set up an interview for me.
F***IN' AWESOME.
This is an extremely competitive board. More than 4000 applications are received and they interview around 900 for their eligible to hire list. 98% of the people who are interviewed make it onto the list and then they can be selected by individual high schools in the GTA for jobs at their schools. You MUST be on the list to get a job in Toronto.
This makes the slurpee I got on the way home all that much sweeter.
I called Scott, my associate teacher from Northview, who was just as excited and told me that he expected it to happen. He also mentioned that it looks like it's going to be a hiring year at Northview and that he's trying to pave the way for me to get a job there.
Now I can finally rest. I'm going to sleep well tonight!
Posted by
Parallel
Labels:
teaching
Monday, February 26, 2007
at
9:17 p.m.
|
 Sometimes I forget that I have this blog. Other days I remember and can't be bothered to post. I must apologize, however, to the constant readers of Random Changes. I have begun to alter my erring ways by posting Civil War #4 for you all to enjoy.
I just started my second practicum. I'm not a huge fan of my associate teacher at this point as she is stingy on compliments and heavy on silence. All in all, it makes for an uncomfortable transition into a totally foreign place.
In the future, I'd like Nicole to be my associate teacher. She needs to get a job here in Toronto for a month so that I can work with her. We don't even have the same teachable subjects, but I'm sure she can adapt. After all, she lives successfully with Jamie.
In other news, I got nothing.
Not much is going on. I'm enjoying The Dark Tower comic book series, the last issue of Civil War (#7) came out (though you guys are a little while off from me posting that), and I've bought an action figure or two. Well, one really. Though my new Ultimate Iron Man is nice and shiny.
I still haven't seen Ghost Rider. Jer owes me a movie date. Maybe if he can find time, we can go this weekend.
I bought a Nintendo DS with Christmas money and then sold a few old games so that I could get some DS stuff. It's a much more addictive system than I would have thought and lately I'm spending more time with it than I am with the Wii. Though Catherine is getting Mario Party 8 in about a week, so I'm sure that'll change. I still need more controllers, though, as two really isn't enough for a good old Nintendo bash.
That's about it. I've got my lessons planned (for now) and a huge stress headache. I need more sleep than I'm getting.
Oh, and for anyone who cares, my feet are almost back to 100%. Still a little off here and there, but it's just stuff that needs more time to repair. God, you don't know how bad it was.
Aaron, I wrote you back, but then you didn't write me back. Is this revenge for my delinquence in the first place? Where's the love?
If I don't post again in the near future, it means I'm dead. The practicum will be chiefly to blame.
Monday, February 19, 2007
at
4:04 p.m.
|
 I just finished my first day of teaching at Riverdale. Not a bad school per se, but it just doesn't feel as good as Northview.
As for my AT, I can't tell you anything about her. She didn't show up. I got paired with a supply teacher who wasn't interested in teaching, so I taught my first full day today. I managed to memorize most of the students names. The librarians seemed to be impressed with me, so hopefully word gets back somehow.
My AT has six different courses that she teaches, alternating three each day. Two grade 9 applied, a grade 9 LD (lower than applied, which is in turn lower than academic), a grade 11 and a grade 12. I have no idea how much of these I'm going to teach.
This school is very strict and the English department doesn't seem overly friendly just yet. I can't wait to get back to Northview. I can honestly say that Northview is the kind of school I want to teach at with the kinds of kinds I want to teach.
All in all, this could have been a very stressful day, but for some reason it wasn't. I just went with the flow. Not once did I feel out of place at all. I had little to no anxiety before I went there (I even had a perfectly relaxed sleep last night) and still don't feel any. I wonder why that is? Perhaps because I've gotten the worst part of it out of my system and the school board should start calling people this week for interviews.
Hopefully.
Riverdale should be good, though. The kids are great (some of them are clones of kids at Northview) and I'm looking forward to the challenge. Then again, I also don't want to do another practicum. Just give me my certificate.
Posted by
Parallel
Labels:
teaching
Sunday, February 11, 2007
at
9:06 p.m.
|
 Today something horrible happened.
I went to karate to help out at a tournament for the little kids. It helps out the club even though I was brutally sore from the class the night before (my first in months because of my feet). But hey, I got a free lunch out of it.
A free lunch and an afternoon of frustration.
You see, I had left the source of my domestic bliss without my keys or wallet. Neither of these choices was intentional, but Catherine ushered me out the door and I didn't think about it at all. She mentioned casually about going to the gym, but that's about it.
I returned home three hours later only to discover she wasn't home. I couldn't even get in the building.
I had to wait in the vestibule for about 15 minutes until someone happened to be leaving. I went inside and tried to get the super to let me into the apartment but he was nowhere to be found.
I sat in a chair. It was 1pm.
Around 1:05 I was feeling quite agitated. I had bought some timbits for Catherine and I and I felt silly sitting in a chair in the lobby, with my karate uniform on concealed by my jacket, and just staring at the wall.
At 1:10 I knew I was in trouble because I really had to go to the bathroom. And it wasn't the #1 kind either.
.....
Time passes really slowly in an apartment building lobby.
At 1:45 I was frustrated because I didn't have my wallet with me which meant I couldn't go anywhere. I flirted with the idea of going to a movie until the bitter reality set in.
At 2:10 I decided to go to the dojo where I could at least go to the bathroom. Then it occurred to me that I was going to let myself in the dojo with my keys which were still hung up inside the apartment.
At 2:30 I headed out for Tim Horton's to use the bathroom and to call Catherine from a payphone. I barely made it to Tim's and felt silly asking for the bathroom key. To make myself feel better, I promised myself I would buy something when I was done. But the cashier wasn't there when I returned the key, so I left and saved the dollar I had on me for another time.
At 2:40 I tried calling Catherine. No answer. What's the point of having a phone if you don't answer it?!?
At 2:45 I resumed my post in the lobby. I tried the super again to no avail.
2:50. This is REALLY boring.
Between 2:50 and 3:45 I fight off falling asleep and jerk awake every time someone comes in or out. Each time I hope it's Catherine, but gradually hope is fading away. My body gets more and more stiff from the exercise I did the day before.
At 4:15, Catherine finally comes back. She looks surprised to see me. A little pleased as well, almost as though I have some sort of surprise to give her.
No surprise. Just bitterness.
She apologizes profusely and I let her off the hook so long as she promises to go out and buy me a present. She feels badly, which makes me happy, but doesn't change the fact that I spent nearly three and a half hours in the lobby of my building.
She bought me some cream eggs and bubble bath. I feel like such a girl.
The worst part of it is that it's all my fault.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
at
8:07 p.m.
|
 I am a huge fan of Arcade Fire. The Montreal-based band is a critical success in Canada and a surprisingly big hit in the UK. One of their singles from their first album, Funeral, was used as the warm-up song before U2 took the stage during their last tour.
They have a raw power that I find incredibly appealing. For some reason, though I haven't discussed it with him, I think this band would also speak to Aaron quite well.
Their follow-up album, Neon Bible, isn't slated for release for at least another month but given the state of the technophiles these days, it should come as no surprise that it's already available for download via certain sites.
As I plan to buy this album when it comes out regardless, I downloaded a copy of it today.
It's amazing. I'm two songs in and already hopelessly hooked on it. The intro song, 'Black Mirror,' is part epic action movie song, part nursery rhyme, and part ballad. It's fantastic. The second song, 'Keep the Car Running', is a great Western-style song with an 80s twist.
Get this album when it comes out or else get a taste of it online.
In other news, Random Changes is still plugging along with regular updates. I'm going to start deleting posts off of that site soon so make sure you're caught up if you're reading it.
Also, I plan to buy a DS Lite tomorrow. I have some Christmas money that I've just recently gotten (I know Christmas was a month and a half ago, but sometimes that's just the way things happen) so I'm going to get this item. Do I need to get it? No. That's part of the fun in buying it.
Posted by
Parallel
Labels:
Music
Friday, February 02, 2007
at
8:23 p.m.
|
 Joss Whedon, my lord and master, posted this over at Whedonesque a short time ago: he's no longer doing the Wonder Woman movie.
For those of you who weren't aware that was the Buffy/Angel guy's next major project, this is doubly-news.
I'm actually pleased about this. It means that Joss can focus on things that he has created himself and hopefully he'll return to television sooner than later. I need his kind of TV because everything seems so dark and dreary these days (except maybe Veronica Mars, and even that's dipping a toe in ink).
Joss' post is quoted below, along with brief details of another project of his:
"You (hopefully) heard it here first: I'm no longer slated to make Wonder Woman. What? But how? My chest... so tight! Okay, stay calm and I'll explain as best I can. It's pretty complicated, so bear with me. I had a take on the film that, well, nobody liked. Hey, not that complicated.
Let me stress first that everybody at the studio and Silver Pictures were cool and professional. We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind of movie hangs in, that's never gonna work. Non-sympatico. It happens all the time. I don't think any of us expected it to this time, but it did. Everybody knows how long I was taking, what a struggle that script was, and though I felt good about what I was coming up with, it was never gonna be a simple slam-dunk. I like to think it rolled around the rim a little bit, but others may have differing views.
The worst thing that can happen in this scenario is that the studio just keeps hammering out changes and the writer falls into a horrible limbo of development. These guys had the clarity and grace to skip that part. So I'm a free man.
Well, sorta. There is that Goners movie I can finally finish polishing, and plenty of other things in the hopper I've wanted to pursue. I'm as relieved as I am disappointed, and both of those things lead to drink, so that's a plus. Truly, you may be hearing some interesting things brewing in the coming months. But all potential jets therein will be visible.
But most importantly, I never have to answer THAT question again!!!! And you don't have to link to every rumor site! Finally and forever: I never had an actress picked out, or even a consistant front-runner. I didn't have time to waste on casting when I was so busy air-balling on the script. (No! Rim! There was rim!) That's the greatest relief of all. I can do interviews again!
Thanks for your time. You are the people who make the world go 'round. Or, no, science does that.
-j."
Posted by
Parallel
Labels:
Whedon-verse
Thursday, February 01, 2007
at
7:23 p.m.
|
Don't go to the doctor. This is a pursuit wasted on those who don't have much chance of surviving anyway.
I went today after three failed visits to have something as simple as an in-grown toenail taken care of. One doctor even tried to get me to drop $350 on the procedure. I told my regular doctor today whose response was "you're shitting me."
I like my doctor.
At any rate, I went today to get the toenail taken care of. I got in to see the doctor immediately, an incredibly aged Asian man who scuffled around the office. I thought he was a patient at first. He asked if I could wait half an hour and he'd cut it out for me.
"Sure," I said.
So, I wait and then get brought in. I tell the nurse that my toe doesn't actually hurt anymore. She doesn't seem to care. The doctor comes in and as I'm lying on my back and he's swabbing my toe with iodine and preparing the biggest damn needle I've ever seen, I repeat that my toe doesn't hurt anymore and isn't oozing or anything.
He stops, looks closely, and says "really?"
"Really," I said.
"Oh, okay. Then we won't do anything. It seems to have healed on its own. If it hurts or oozes again come back and we'll fix it." Then he proceeds to wash the iodine off my toe.
The moral of the story is: let incomptent doctors try to schedule you in for a simple 20 minute procedure for more than two months while avoiding stupid sized fees as your toe goes about the business of fixing itself.
And people wonder why I can be cynical.
Up now at Random Changes:
New Avengers #22
Civil War #3
Civil War Frontline #3
|
MARVEL and SPIDER-MAN: TM & 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc. Motion Picture © 2007 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2007 Sony Pictures Digital Inc. All rights reserved. blogger template by blog forum |
