rebelchipmunk's Xanga

She's Crafty.

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:56:40 GMT

My hair accessories are...dare I say it? Gossip Girl inspired.
I don't even watch the show.

I hope to have this one day...

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:00:25 GMT

Infuriating

Wed, 27 May 2009 22:08:39 GMT

A student of mine was told that he is poor because he doesn't believe in God?! The student was told this by a teacher! That makes my blood boil.

I talked to my student about it, and I got a better understanding of where he's coming from. He told me that he believes that there is a higher power, but he's not sure if it's the same god that the teacher believes in.

He can believe in whatever he wants to believe in; it's in his 1st Amendment Rights.

Exciting...for me at least.

Sat, 02 May 2009 17:00:47 GMT

So, it looks like Justice Souter will be retiring by the time this term ends. That means President Obama will be able to nominate his first Supreme Court Justice. I did not expect Justice Souter to be the first to retire! I figured it would have been either Justice Ginbsurg (who has had some serious medical complications this year) or Justice Stevens (the man is 89 years old!).
Anyway, I do predict that President Obama will be nominating a woman. What I'm not sure of is if he's going to go the super liberal route (someone similar to Justice Ginsburg) or the moderate (Justice Kennedy or Justice O'Connor). I wonder if he wants a lopsided Court in favor of the liberal agenda or a balanced one. It's been a 4 conservative, 4 liberal Court with Justice Kennedy as the moderate since Justice O'Connor left. It's quite the exciting time, indeed.
At the very least, a woman's right to choose will hopefully be safeguarded in the changing Court.

Little Black Sandals.

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:52:27 GMT

I'm being dragged down, down by the hand
The hand of a golden giant man
He's crushing my knuckles and splitting my skin
He says he will let go if only I ask it of him
He says girl it's your call, you wanna fly you wanna fall?
So I shout I wanna get away from you as fast as I can
I tell my feet to move it, I hope they have a plan

These little black sandals are walking me away
These little black sandals are heading the right way
These little black sandals are walking me away
These little black sandals saved my life today

So now I'm free, free
From the big bad giant who was stalking me
Thank you feet for guiding me
I'm glad somehow I've got brains down there at least

Sometimes I'm tempted, sometimes I am
I would be lying if I said I didn't miss that giant man
Oh he was a line between pleasure and pain
But me and the feet have some years to reclaim

I don't mind if you're mad at me.

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:56:50 GMT

Last week, I had to pull the "come with me outside now" with one of my students. It was my first time doing so. I won't lie, I was a bit terrified considering that I'm a fairly chill teacher, and the student is much bigger than I am. I had to do it; the student was not doing his work and his behavior was just pushing the rest of the class to defy my authority. I knew he was testing me; he's been actually testing me for the past couple of weeks. He's that student who isn't afraid to say what's on his mind regardless of of what he's talking about or who he is speaking to. He wanted to see just how far he could go until I crack. I thought I failed when I started to yell at him to "just go home if you don't want to be here."
He responded with the question of if I was going to give him a ride home because he "ain't got no ride, so I gotta stay here and be bored."
This little exchange went on for about a minute. The class was silent, perhaps wondering what my next move would be. Was I finally going to give up? Was I going to tell him that I don't care what he does, just don't disrupt the rest of my class? Would I let him just sit there and not pay attention to him?
I was pretty pissed, but I held it in to maintain my authority with the class. I took the student outside of the classroom. It was a better environment for me to talk to him personally and to save some face.
I told him that homework hour is meant for homework. Yes, I allow my students to chat with each other so long as they're doing their work. I only put my foot down when students refuse to do their work all the while complaining that they're bored. It isn't meant to be this painful; I'm here to help students get their work done, teach them the "cool" things they want to know about, and just make it a fun learning environment for all. If a student doesn't feel up to it and begins to bring down the whole vibe of the class then that student can go home. No problem whatsoever, everybody has a bad day. I wasn't mad at all.
I ended my spiel by telling the student that he has a decision to make; he can either go back inside and do his work or he can go home for the day, and we can start fresh the next day.
The student said that he'd rather me be mad with him and to just kick him out of the class.
I told him I didn't want to do that. I let him know that he's a very smart kid; maybe one of the smartest in my class. I'd hate to see him waste his potential. I finally finished by saying that he's old enough and smart enough to make the right choices. Whatever decision that may be, I'm fine with it.
He paused for a moment, and said that he'll go inside and do his work.
I didn't say much to him after that, only to look over his work. I've had a problem with him for awhile; smart kid who's either 1. arrogant about his intelligence and is not stimulated enough by the curriculum or 2. he's unaware of how smart he is and is clueless about what he can do about it. (He likes to say he doesn't really have any goals or ambitions, and that he's content with where he is now) I don't know, maybe it's a mixture of both.
By the end of the day, the student handed me a permission slip. I asked what it was for, and he said it was the permission slip to go visit Cal Poly. He didn't know if he wanted to go, but decided on doing it. That made the rest of my day better.
Sometimes it takes a lot out of me to push these kids to reach their potential, but little things like that really does make it worthwhile. Maybe this kid just needed someone to believe in him, maybe this kid isn't used to someone saying "I'm not mad at you"...actually a lot of my kids need that.
And I do believe in them. I really do.

Miss M.

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:44:38 GMT

I really like my job. Everyone said that working with high school kids is tough; it's even harder when the kids are really angry. But, man, the moment you connect with the kids, it stays.

Welcome Wagon

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:37:29 GMT

I'm fully moved into my new apartment, and who decides to welcome me in? My neighbors ~~across~~ at the other end of the hall having very loud clapping sex; their 5 minute session was amplified throughout the quiet complex. That's great...

Fashion

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 07:36:04 GMT

I've been awake since about 5:30 AM and I didn't go to bed until about 12:30 last night. I'm exhausted.
BUT, I had to stay awake for the release of McQ for Target online. I had to secure my purchases! I'm pretty sure I won't be able to afford Alexander McQueen or his McQ line ever, so it's safe to say that Target is a Godsend when it comes to these "excessive" purchases. I happily purchased the two items I wanted from the collection, and now I can go to sleep happy...
and I saw a few other pieces I might purchase in-store.
This shopping addiction is reaching unhealthy proportions.

Fresh Start

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:21:55 GMT

So it took about 19 hours and 4 people (minus one much needed truck) to fully move me out of my apartment. I didn't realize how much junk I've accumulated over the nearly 4 years, and I was surprised at the things that I was willing to throw away; unfinished paintings that I realized I'll never come around to, old posters of bands that I love/loved, clothes that I promised myself that I would rework into my wardrobe...just a lot of stuff I kept for memory's sake.
I also got rid of a ton of furniture. No bed, no couches, and no chairs. I loved my platform bed, but my shins are thanking me for parting with it. Well, I guess that means time for new stuff! Yay!
First purchase?

Little Dunces Print Set from The Black Apple Shop

I found it while I was giving my daily "oohs," "aahs," and "drools," on one of my favorite websites: http://makingitlovely.com/. Her creativity is remarkable, and the design of her home is truly lovely.

My current wishlist for the apartment includes a couple of items from Scandinavian Designs; it's like a bit more expensive IKEA, and since I always have bad luck with IKEA furniture, I decided to step up a bit on my furniture pieces.

I'd really like to have that sectional. It's perfect for a small apartment like mine. Speaking of which, I made a blueprint of the new place, maybe someone can give me some input on the decorating.

I think I made it way bigger than it actually is, but what do I know about blueprint making? That little office space is supposed to work as a storage (I think), but there's room in there for a little desk and maybe an extra twin bed.