Wednesday - Anyone have a 9-Volt Battery

The smoke detector outside my bedroom keeps beeping. It sounds like someone is talking and whistling through their teeth. It's annoying, but I was so out of it after my day back at work I forgot to get a battery. Oh well, maybe I'll remember tomorrow.

Tuesday - Visited the Doc

I went to see the doctor today. I don't have swine flu, bird flu, SARS, or bronchitis. I just have a nasty cough. I got drugs, including some codine cough syrup. I'm going to sleep tonight!! It's been a few nights since I've slept, so I'm pretty excited about that. Hopefully I'll get enough sleep to make it through school tomorrow.

Monday a Week Later - Exposed

I had the perfect drive to work. I hit only green lights the whole way. It only took 13 minutes to get there. It was very exciting. I thought for sure my day would be perfect. But, that was not the case. I came home early because I felt like I was going to throw up. Of course, one of my coworkers has H1N1 (swine flu) as do several of my students, so it might be that since I've been exposed. What a waste of a perfect lights day.

Sunday - Breakfasts

Gloria made me breakfast yesterday and Kathryn made me breakfast today. Yay!!!

Saturday - Salt Flats

Lindsey, Mindy, Gloria and I went to the Salt Flats. It was great fun... but now Hatsuharu is dirty inside and out.

Friday - Inspired

I hosted the Berhan teachers who knew Gloria. It was during dinner time and though people were bringing things, I wasn't sure if anyone would be bringing something dinner-esque. While driving home from work, I was inspired to make a big pot of soup. I was running late, but I still made it to the store and got the soup made before people arrived. It was a big hit and Gloria was thrilled!

Thursday - Maybe the Luck is back...

I was supposed to meet Jonathan for linear algebra this afternoon. It was scheduled for that brief window between me getting off school and him going to the Jazz game. But, things happen... He ended up being at work too late, so no linear algebra could be done. Instead, he acquired another ticket to the game. I'd never been to an NBA game, and it was fun. Our section got some free food, and I got a T-shirt that was thrown into the crowd. Free stuff is always cool.

Wednesday - Mood Indicators

The day probably won't be fantastic if:

1. I am still in bed at 5:30AM. That's an hour after the alarm went off. (I know it's insanely early, but...) Anyway, it's not the best indicator for the day.
2. I wear something that resembles the students' uniforms. Polo shirts mean I didn't feel very attractive this morning because I didn't wear any cute clothes. Not a good sign.
3. I am not smiling. This rarely happens, so when it does, watch out.

Today I was 3-for-3, which isn't so great, but then I got online and checked hockey stats and schedules and found out that (the love of my life) Paul Kariya has a few goals and a few penalty minutes already this season. I also watched the St. Louis Blues opening video and caught a few glimpses of him. Even though he has the personality of a cardboard cut-out sometimes, he always makes me smile. I briefly considered planning a trip to Colorado to see him play when the Blues visit, but if this year is consistent with other years he'll be on the injured list by then. He's fragile...

Tuesday - Only Smart in Application

After decimating my self-esteem yesterday with linear algebra, I decided to leave work relatively early to come home and get more of the class out of the way. Amazingly, the evening didn't end with me breaking out the ice cream. Instead, I opened the book and breathed a sigh of relief when the problems looked like the traditional homework I've always had in math. They had numbers in them, not a whole bunch of words like prove and explain followed by long rows of italicized letters surrounded with mathematical symbols. I did 23 problems, and didn't get a single one wrong. Problem 24 asked for a theoretical explanation, so I stopped to watch NCIS. I was feeling good, and my psychological balance is a little precarious right now anyway. However, based on the data collected tonight, I guess I'm only smart in application, and not theory.

Monday - When All You Have Left is Funny...

Remember that fateful Sunday a few years ago when I got my key stuck in the door at my sister and brother-in-law's house and came face to face with the realization that I had no self-definition if I could no longer consider myself smart? Well, since then I've decided that all I have left is funny. I use this to cope with my inability to grasp linear algebra. After working with Jonathan on it for six hours Saturday I tried to do my assignment today. It didn't go so well, which can be seen in my answer for problem #12. The question "Carefully write a proof for the following statement. The linear trnsformation T: U --> V is one-to-one if, and only if, ker T = {0}." Yeah... I didn't understand either, so my response was:

"Once upon a time, there was a girl named Alisha. One day she sat down to do her chapter 5 assignment in linear algebra. After reading the first 3 questions she realized she didn't have a good understanding of the material, however, the assignment had been started and it would be against the ethics code to go back to he book for help. Therefore, she just tried her best.

"On number 12, all she could remember was her math genius friend Jonathan saying something like, "the kernel plus the range equals the domain." "So, if the kernel is zero," she thought, "then the range is equal to the domain." If your range and domain are the same, it should be an easy step to say the transformation is one-to-one. Why? Well, because you don't remove anything from it. If you took a piece away, it would become a ratio that's less than 1-to-1." Alisha didn't know how to explain it in fancy math words, so she decided to stop thinking and eat ice cream.

"The End. :-)"

In the student comments/questions for the instructor section on the cover page I wrote a long rant about the book and concluded with, "Hope you enjoy the story for #12. I'm taking the platform that if I can no longer define myself as smart, I'm gonna go with funny!"

All I have to say is that if there is no solutions guide available to a book, the author should never say things like "An extensive explanation will not be given because it is obvious that..." or "It's easy to verify that..." Grrrr....

I really feel bad for my poor little 5th graders because I project a lot of my frustration on them over this obnoxious class. That's OK... it will all be over soon, and my next class will not involve such high level math.

Sunday - Spider? Why???

I cleaned the bathroom yesterday and sprayed the bug killer everywhere after it was dry... why was there a medium sized spider on the floor crawling around this morning? I hate that! It's the boys responsibility to kill the bugs, but without a boy I'm stuck doing it. What's worse is that while I was killing the first one, another little one popped it's legs out from under the molding. They all must die!!!

Saturday - Cleaned the Bathroom

I got a lot done today. I got my papers graded, cleaned the bathroom, organized my room, ordered DVDs for school... It was quite nice. Even got some linear algebra done. The only unhappiness was a headache, but the peppermint tea took care of that.

Friday - Frustration

Sometimes meetings make me so mad that I walk out of them when I'm done. If no progress is being made, why do I have to sit and waste my time listening to the complaints. That doesn't get any of my work done. Grrrr....

I made myself feel better by going shopping. My plan wasn't to go shopping for me. Melinda needed some supplies for school, but when we got to Shopko and there were some shirts on clearance I needed to investigate. All of my shirts are from Taiwan and they worked well in Texas because it's relatively warm there, but I was freezing last year up here in Utah. I walked away with six new shirts and a new winter coat. Yay me!!! Maybe I'll be able to stay warm this winter.

Thursday - My Roommates Rock

There are four of us living in this house and we get along pretty well. Thursday night we sat around the dinner table talking about our days, laughing and having a relaxing and enjoyable time. It's such a relief that not only do I get along with my roommates, but they all get along with each other as well. Hope this post doesn't jinx me, but I really like my current living situation.

Wednesday - Break Down

Some days teaching just doesn't go well. Wednesday was one of them. Realizing that I have about 10 kids who can't write a sentence makes me want to cry. They need so much attention that all I do is focus on them ignoring the 47 fantastic kids who deserve some of my time as well. How do you find balance?

Tuesday - NCIS

I love NCIS, so I'm pretty happy the new season has started. It gives me a reason to rush home on Tuesdays. Ideally I would get home and work on linear algebra, but tonight I didn't because I am an easily distracted slacker. Yay me!

Monday - Nothing Happened

Nothing happened today... not a thing... which is good because I was really tired.

Taiwan Trip Update

Amy and I are still trying to find affordable tickets to Taiwan. At this point, the best we've seen is $1400, which is too much for us financially challenged teachers. That's the bad side to teaching, you have time off, but no money to enjoy yourself with. We'll keep looking though... Maybe we'll get lucky.

Sunday - Food and Friends

My roommate Janet is a fantastic cook. This morning she set out a General Conference spread with hash browns, omelets, fresh fruit, bacon and pumpkin pancakes. It was all yummy fantastical goodness. Friends came over and we ate and watched conference and ate some more. It was a good way to spend a cool and rainy fall Sunday.

Saturday - My Month for the Garage

I get to park in the garage this month. How happy am I? Really, really happy!!! No scraping the windows for me... well, not until November... But the upside is that I get the garage again in January. I like that I'm not wasting my garage time on December. I'll have two weeks off work then... it wouldn't be the best use of the resource.

Friday - Garlic Breath in the Morning

Last night we tried a frozen pizza with a garlic bread crust. It was ok when consumed, but I woke up with the nastiest taste in my mouth around 5:30AM. It was very unpleasant tasting garlicy pizza first thing on waking up. Don't think I'll be trying that style of pizza again, ever.

Thursday - October = Scraping Windows

I had ice on my windshield this morning. I had to scrape it. I was unhappy about that. I wonder what time you have to leave by to not have your windshield ice up. There has to be a specific thing that causes it because I've left at midnight and not had to scrape the windshield. Maybe there is a windshield icing fairy that operates like the tooth fairy and only comes when you're asleep. If that's the case, I'm never going to sleep again!

Wednesday - Time to Clean the Bathroom...

I have a morning ritual. The first thing I do in the morning is pull back the shower curtain and check for spiders. I found one on Monday and Melinda found one this morning. I guess the Black Flag Spider Killer spray I put down a few weeks ago has worn off. That means it's time to clean the bathroom and reapply because if there is one thing I hate, fear and detest it's spiders, and nothing freaks me out more than seeing one scurry across my bathroom floor in the morning.

Tuesday - Green Light Karma

There are about 15 lights between my house and my school and the days where I only get stopped at one or two of them go better than the days where I get stopped at most of them and have to sit through some of them twice. Those days are horrible! The past few days I've found a groove and I love the good karma. Hopefully it will continue for the rest of the year!

Monday - Christmas in Taiwan??

I called the Amy I spent several semesters in Taiwan with today and we decided we need to go to Taiwan for Christmas vacation. What do we want to do? See our kids... go to a Mayday concert... get some Japanese style salad with rice and a pork cutlet... Now, to find a way to make it happen financially... Anyone else want to come?

Saturday - North & South

My roommate Janet introduced me to the best mini-series ever - North & South. It's a BBC film and on par with the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice. Loved it!!

Friday - Pink Friday

Garey and I wear pink shirts and cowboy boots on Fridays. We call it 'Pink Shirt & Cowboy Boots Fridays.' It has caught on with students and teachers alike. It's fun to be a trend setter!

Thursday - Are the Left Turn Arrows Only for Decoration?

For some reason, left turn arrows are only for decoration here in Utah. What happens is that the traffic is so heavy that only one car can turn left at a time, and that is typically after the light turns red since everyone is racing through the yellow. Of course, the left turn arrows don't work at all, until you've sat through three or four lights, and they still only let one or two cars turn left. It's tons of fun... not really... makes me angry... very angry... and that is how road rage begins I guess...

Wednesday - I'm a Clutz!

It's important to keep hydrated in a desert, so I typically carry a large cup of water around the house with me. I was walking into my room to get ready for bed when the cup slipped out of my hands and spun around a few times before hitting the floor. Luckily, there wasn't a lot of water in the cup, but there was water sprinkled from the futon to just outside my door. Yeah... I got skills...

Tuesday - Sushi!

I went to sushi with some coworkers. I'm allergic to shell fish, so I got vegetarian. Had some fantastic pad thai noodles too. Yummy Asian food makes me happy!

Monday - Unhelpful Parents!

Garey and I had a parent tell us, in front of the kid, that the kid is smarter than most adults. However, I believe the kid internalized it as "I am smarter than my teachers!" Seconds later, though, the parent asked me to stop talking over the kid's head because kid was confused. Guess kid isn't as smart as those presented. The kid was a pain before and now the kid is even worse of a pain. Parents... Kids... Grrrr...

Transitions

Geocities send me an email months ago that free websites would be ended on October 26th. I finally got around to copying everything off today. I've had some amazing adventures the past seven years. Hopefully I'll be able to transition well to the world of blogging. We'll see how it goes.