Since I read anyway...

I'm part of the April "Book Binge". Rules can be found at Mary P.'s site "It's Not All Mary Poppins". I'm excited. :D

Randomness

-I'm feeling better now...gotta cut back on the caffeine though. Yikes.

-I'm spinning yarn on my little drop spindle that I made all by myself. I'm currently working on a bunch of smaller than lace weight. Ummmmm...yeah. It's kind of taking forever. Another name for that is "cobweb". I think I may just keep what I've got and make a doll scarf or something. I'm getting impatient.

-New pics up on Flickr!

-Yesterday was only my second day in two months that I hadn't been called to teach. It was nice to have a relaxed day (aka...going out to MISSION to do a store...) and it was my mom's bday!

-Related to the Mission thing, I have the opportunity to go out to Mission/Abbotsford every so often. When I'm driving on the #1, I almost always get the urge to just keep on driving. Just follow the mountains and keep on going. I don't really want to live anywhere else but BC, but sometimes I just want the adventure and anonymity that starting over in a small prairie town would bring. I think I've been watching too much Corner Gas...

I don't feel good...

I'm all jittery and dizzy, like I'm having a panic attack, minus the panic. My heart is racing and my stomach is upset. I think I'm having a bad reaction to the Sixbucks Frappacino I had today. I asked for decaf, but there wasn't any. Gahhhhhhhhhhhhh...

*SNEEZE*

Whoa. *waves hands frantically in front of face* Lookit all the DUST here. GYEAHH!!! Spiderwebs! *scrubs at face and bats at the air* Yeechhh...

Hi. Here's been my last few weeks in a nutshell (hee hee...look at me, I'm in a nutshell! Help, help, won't someone let me out of this nutshell? /austinpowers)...

-subbing
-tutoring
-knitting
-semi-retail job
-Spring break, so reverse the order of the previous three
-playing THIS STUPID GAME THAT I CAN'T STOP PLAYING WITH (srsly, don't click the link if you have anything important to do. But if you do and you want to join our high score championship run, Dave created "wellipsis" no quotation marks if you play. Or if you know...you want to check out my high score in the normal difficulty. And Dave's [hard difficulty], but it's gonna be mine soon.)
-reading blogs and LJ
-knitting (more)
-karate (twice a week now, and I'm learning the last kata that I need to test for my next level!)
-weekly dizzy spells that last a few days (stupid Menieres)
-catching up on 24, Simpsons, Corner Gas and Robson Arms episodes that my computer kindly has been recording for me.

So, I've been here, I just haven't been posting here. I've been here since this is my portal to all my blogs that I read. So if you blog, I've been keeping up with you, even if I haven't been

I want to dedicate a full post to knitting and fibre arts and my new mascot (ZOMG!! SO CUTE!!!!!11!!ELEVEN!!) but my mom and I are on our way into Vancouver so that I can get some wool that has not yet been spun into yarn so that I can spin it into yarn myself. *SQUEE* (Anyone who thinks I was born in the wrong century, please raise your hands. Although, I really like the resources from the internet. So maybe not.)

Finally, my mom pointed me in the direction of this cartoon. I <3 it. I immediately printed it out and it's sitting on my stack of CD spindles waiting for me to find the tape. I think I'll probably be posting more of these as time goes on.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

PS: I got paid for teaching today again. I must say that I enjoy a job which pays me in two weeks what used to take me six to get. Yes. Yes I do.

I thought knitting was supposed to be RELAXING!

My sock...the one I am SO CLOSE to finishing? I fscked it up. Now I'm ripping it back a bunch and cursing the whole time. *SNARL*

...so...tired...

I've worked at least half a day every day I've been able to, except two. One day I didn't get called and one I called in sick. This is insane, but lovely. I'm also still doing a semi-retail job and tutoring. Oh, and doing karate twice a week. So...if I haven't seen you in a while, I haven't seen anyone in a while. My alleged best friend and I haven't seen each other since Christmas Eve! I wouldn't be surprised if she's since found another best friend...one who can like...be in the same room with her. :P

I don't have my notebook of what I've done for teaching, so some of this is approximate.

Subbing days/eligible days: aprox 20/28
Longest stretch of time in a classroom: 5 days
Different schools: 14ish (gotta look it up)
Different classes: 30ish
Most students: 29 (high school)
Fewest students: 1 (resource)
Grades: K, 1, 1/2, 2/3, 3, 3/4, 4, 4/5, PE 10, Science 10, CAPP 10, English 10, English 11,

The Teacher and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Today was the worst day of teaching I've ever had. I'm not going to go into much detail, since there's a lot of it...but I'll leave you with the final part of the theoretical post I'll be writing about it.

The girls held their ice packs to the various parts that had been hurt.

Then, we had a fire drill.

Best part? I'm back in that classroom tomorrow.

"You didn't die. No one died. There wasn't even a small fire." --Mantra I'm repeating to self tonight.

Photo Comments

Good grief. I logged into flickr this evening to see if there were any new comments and I had seriously, two full pages...that's like 20 pictures commented on, mostly by the same person. Hee. You all should go over and read them. The comments are WAY funnier than my original captions. Douglas Adams was quoted, people. DOUGLAS. ADAMS.

Random Love and Happiness

I love finding random quotes in the various nooks and crannies of the internet. This makes me happy. Also that which makes me happy? Homemade pea soup. And getting to see Dave tonight. And being halfway finished my first sock. And having children call me "Mrs Awesome" after I tell them my name and say to them that if they don't remember, it's "A for Awesome". And the fact that it's sunny out, and not flurrying yet, like the radio direly warned. Hehe. I'm having a good evening. :)

"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."
--G.K.Chesterton

I love metaphors. :D

Feeling Groovy

I haven't been talking much about dizzy spells or Meneire's lately....for a good reason. It's been pretty much non-existent. Overall, I've been feeling pretty good. I've had the occasional dizziness, usually when I'm really over tired, but generally speaking I've been ok. :) This pleases me. It was really bad for a while right after I got diagnosed, probably because I was obsessing over it, but I just tried to forget about it and things seem to be a lot better.

A few things beyond relaxing have probably contributed. I'm eating a lot more regularly (not better...I was on a disgusting junk/fast food bender for a while, but I'm eating more normal stuff now), getting a lot of sleep (ish...my body has decided I should be awake at five am every morning...blah.) and just generally taking better care of myself. I've also had virtually no alcohol in the last few months, barring some wine before New Years. I've returned to my old diet caffinated ways, but that doesn't seem to affect me.

Am I an Artist?

Rambling and quotes and links ahead. (two posts in one day?? I don't even know who I am anymore...)

The Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-MacPhee certainly is. But what makes her an artist? And what makes me possibly less of one?

My Uncle Tupper has always said that you may use the professional term "writer" or "artist" when you have paid the rent that way

I kind of like that definition. But if I'm not selling stuff, is that ok too?

A comment from "Tracy in KC" in the comment section of the above post is awesome.

********************************************************************
"I come up against this dilemma almost daily. I don't identify myself as an artist publicly, because then people say, "do you sell your work?" and I am hopelessly inept at selling my work. But as others have pointed out, some of the greatest artists of the past were, too.

If you consider "artist" as a way of life and a state of mind, there is no doubt. I live through my eyes and revel in the visual wonder of the world. I make quilts. I paint and collage. I take photographs. I knit. I spin. I write a lot. And I'm about to make a film. (Yeah, that one surprises me, even.) When quilting and knitting, I make my own designs as I go, and my mind hungers for the next visual challenge or treat. I can't make enough to exhaust the urge to make - it's a constant flow that continues in my mind even when my hands are still.

Can we agree to stop looking for some sort of approval, and just DO it? Do we really need somebody out there to stick an official badge on us that says ARTIST in order to keep indulging in these pursuits that tend to lack financial incentive but are immensely fulfillng in themselves?"
********************************************************************

Yes. YES!!!! My brain is always looking for the next visual challenge!!

However, I also like the way that my brother's girlfriend put it. Essentially, she said to me that an artist is someone who has to create and feels off when it's not happening.

I think that the term "artist" is the same as the term "athlete". You may not be a professional, but you can still be a member of the club when you're learning, and when you're doing it for free. I called myself a teacher when I was tutoring, then when I was doing my practicum, and finally now that I'm subbing. Do I have a class? No. But do I teach? Yes. Do I sell my knitting/painting etc? No. Do I create artistic items? Yes. Absolutely. And even if I give them away as gifts or keep them for myself to wear or use, I am still an artist.

That feels really good.

I am an artist.

*grumpy*

Hmph. Hi. Blah.

I'm cleaning my room. This makes me grouchy. I'm bored, because...well, I'm cleaning. My room. Blargh.

I want to knit and spin* and sew...but I can't, because I've got to get this room under control. Working three jobs doesn't really allow for the energy to clean.

*heh. Yeah. I made myself a drop spindle and I've spun some of my own yarn. It's UGLY. But it's all mine, and I was already getting better at it.

I suck at posting...

I'm obsessive. I start things and work them until I'm sick of them, then I drop them in favour of something else. Currently? Knitting and sewing. Not currently? Blogging.

**WARNING: EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF KNIT SPEAK AHEAD**

I'm annoyed because I (finally) started making some gloves for someone and the yarn I had planned on using grates through my fingers like, whoa. I knew it was inexpensive acrylic, but I didn't realize it was so crappy cheap. :P Looks like that's one skein of yarn that's going into the "to school so that children can cut it up and use it for collages" box. *grumble*

I've started a sweater tank top. And since I'm insane, I'm designing the pattern myself, adapting bits from lots of other sweater/tank patterns. I've already had to do a major structural reset but it seems to be ok now. It's seriously, the most mind numbing thing I've ever worked on. It's knit in the round, so I'm basically making this tube of fabric that's just knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, push stitches around, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit etc. ad nauseum for hours and hours. It's great for watching TV with, and I'm learning how to knit without looking. On the plus side, it's gorgeous, soft, RED RED RED yarn. I likes it.

However, I needed something to give my eyes and brain a break from knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, RED RED RED RED REDREDRED ****REEEEED*****. When I was in Campbell River I was in a yarn store, and since under the agreement of the yarn diet, I am allowed to purchase sock yarn (not really the spirit, since I didn't knit socks before this, yes I know...) I bought a souvenier ball of variegated self striping sock yarn. This stuff is like crack, yo. I'd forgotten how much I love working varigated yarn. It's crazy fine, and I'm using these itty bitty needles...and I figured out how to turn the heel (when I get there) and EEEE!! Socks are totally addictive. :) They're like magic! And no seaming! (I loathe seaming. Which is kind of funny since I like sewing...but only machine sewing. Hand sewing? Kill me now.)

So yeah. I've been knitting and sewing and teaching. Still loving the teaching. :)

Oh, and I found this over at Kerflop. It's going on my wishlist. :)

For real this time...

Unless there's a tragic ferry scheduling mishap, Dave and I will be on Vancouver Island, in Campbell River for the weekend. Bye!

PS: WHEE!! YARN SHOP!!!

Things I Do When Dave Is Out Of Town

1) Drink faaaaaar too much diet Coke. (wait. I do that anyway.)
2) REALLY NEED TO TALK TO HIM...for no good reason. Just because I can't. :P
3) Move furniture around.

Let's focus on number three, shall we? As many of my loyal readers know, I rent the basement suite in my parents' house (aka I still live at home...but the other one sounds better. And it's true!) I'm VERY lucky, since I have enough stuff for a three bedroom townhouse, that I don't need to keep all of it in my room. I'm even luckier when my brother is out of town as well, because then I get to completely take over the rec room. *waves* Hi Rob! Things will be better before you're back from TO. Um...you're coming back in a few weeks still, right? Not like...tomorrow? Or Tuesday?

Anyway, I've now got a sewing/crafting area in the rec room. EEE!! It currently consists of a desk.

Oh, and craploads of fabric lying around covering a billion surface areas including, but not limited to:
-an ottoman
-a sofa
-a chair
-the floor
-the floor (twice because damn, this stuff spreads out quick)
-Rob's giant speakers that are taller than most five year olds
-a TV media holder which is holding neither TV or media
-the pool table

I also have a mini ironing board and my rotary cutter mats and cutters on the pool table. I have to dig out my iron because I'm getting sick of bringing my mom's up and down two flights of stairs every time I want to iron something. The sewing machine (and maybe even the serger...SQUEE!!) will be coming down in the next few minutes. I just need to rest up after shifting a bookcase to fit back on top of the desk. And drink some more diet Coke. After all, I've got a quota over here!

Yay!

I did it! And I didn't get eaten alive. Not afraid of teaching high school any more. In fact, I may have been somewhat converted! What an odd culture these teenagers have. I've seen it a little bit in elementary, but wow...is it ever obvious in high school. I'd either forgotten about it, or I just wasn't plugged in.

Amusing moment...getting there in the morning and realizing that my first class was going to be Sex Ed. Yep. I got to talk about herpes to a bunch of grade nines. Heh.

Subbing days/eligible days: 8.5/0
Longest stretch of time in a classroom: 5 days
Different schools: 4
Different classrooms: 4
Most students: 21
Fewest students: 10
Grades: 1(twice), 1/2 split, PE 10, Science 9, Personal Planning 9, resource room

The Many Hats of The (subsitute) Teacher

Yesterday I was dispatched to a primary classroom. Nooooooo problem. Then I checked the actual subject.

French Immersion.

Now, anyone who chats with me on MSN may have noticed my tag yesterday reading, "But...but...I don't SPEAK French!" This, while amusing, is also very true. I had up to Grade 11 French, and can speak enough to ask for the basics of life. (bathroom, water, hotel, someone who speaks English) This may prove to be a problem.

As it turns out, I got my choice of classes and swiftly picked a 1/2 English class...but it made me think. I never know who I'm going to be on a given day. I can refuse assignments, but at this stage in the game I'd rather not. I'd made a few jokes over the past few weeks about being dispatched to a high school to teach science and gym. *amused laughter from self and everyone around* Hahahah!!

Guess what I've been dispatched to sub in today? *less amused, and slighly hysterical laughter* HAHAHHAHAHAH!!! And since I'm a complete idiot up for a challenge, I accepted the job.

If I'm not back tonight, assume I've been eaten by wolves. Or grade nines. Whichever seems more plausible.

Subbing days/eligible days: 7.5/8
Longest stretch of time in a classroom: 5 days
Different schools: 3
Different classrooms: 3
Most students: 19
Fewest students: 10
Grades: 1(twice), 1/2 split

Testing...

Dave gave me some code, so I know it's right. But let's see if I implemented it correctly...

Subbing days/eligible days: 6/6
Longest stretch of time in a classroom: 4 days
Different schools: 2
Different classrooms: 2
Most students: 19
Fewest students: 10
Grades: 1 (twice)

Vanishing Act

So...hi! I've been busy...how about you? I'm now working three jobs, which leaves me only one day a week where I don't have to be anywhere (Sundays). I did two days in a row at my second job, and I haven't heard from them yet...so unless they cancel me in the morning, I'm gonna have three days in a row in the same class. Awesome. I love that, especially since I've done a really neat couple of lesson plans for tomorrow. Since I've got no free time, and a swack of fabric, today I bought a rotary cutter to help me turn out quilts etc faster. I love it. I just want to cut stuff out now. Which is why I have the cut out bits for three purses of various sizes, plus two change purses, plus a large "me" sized circle skirt, and a small child sized one (attention beverly_sutphin! It will most likely fit your munchkin! I'll let you know when it's finished.). The small one could probably fit me if I enlarged the hip/waist opening...but then it would be more of a belt. So, no.

And the colour of the first fabric I cut out with my loverly rotary cutter? Yeah...pink. But with black polka dots! And SO CUTE!!!!!11!!!ONE!!!ELEVEN!!! And it makes the most fantastic looking circle skirts. :D

I'm gonna need to open up an Etsy store if I'm not careful.

Whee!

I got another call! Rather than phone everyone I know about it (since I got it at...5:45 [in the morning...]) I figured you'd all appreciate it if I blogged instead.

You're welcome!