Thanksgiving in Florida

Thanksgiving in Florida

            This past Thanksgiving I spent my time with an old friend from high school since my family wasn’t having our usual big get-together. Another high school friend of mine that still lives in Oxford came with me and we had a nice little drive. The notion of leaving Mississippi for the first time since July was enough of a hook, but going to see EA was a big added bonus.

            EA is an incredible person. He was always one of the smartest kids in my grade. He did all of the honors and advanced classes and played sports. He’s very enlightened and can talk intelligently about almost anything. Even having lost his father in middle school and his Mom just this past summer, he’s still never changed who he was and he’s someone that I look up to. Oh, and did I also mention that he’s freakin’ hilarious. He’s full of witty/nerdy/awkward humor and we always seem to be on the same page whenever he’s making a joke... even if it’s about me.

            Anyway, the drive was fine. NN and I both love Arby’s and since we are deprived of it in Oxford, we both jump at any chance we get to eat there. Yeah, yeah, make fun of us for perpetuating the Mississippi stereotype. We just can’t help ourselves when it comes to Arby’s. That sweet, succulent roast beef piled high with lettuce, tomato, bacon, and melted cheddar cheese between two buttered and toasted sourdough buns is undeniably delicious. Well, we stopped at one of those old fashioned ones on the way is Podunk, Alabama. Everything on the inside was contemporary, but the sign was the old fashioned type. Being that we were in Alabama, I wasn’t surprised to see a bunch of wife beaters, mullets, and possibly inbred children running around. Nah, just kidding. It wasn’t THAT bad, but it WAS kind of bad. Once again, though, not surprising given our geographic orientation (sorry Alabama MTC’ers, I’m just a messenger).

            After making fun of the people in Arby’s, we eventually made it Florida. While there, we watched football, went to different sites and shops around Gainesville, had an incredible Thanksgiving dinner with everything you could possibly hope for, and went to Tallahassee to see the Florida Gators get stomped by the Florida State Seminoles.

            All in all, the trip was so much fun and such a great escape from school. Now, of course, it’s almost Christmas and EA will be making his way back into Oxford, so it will be nice seeing him again.

A typical day in the life

A typical day in the life

            Ok, so my alarm goes off at 5:20, then I hit the snooze button. 5:30, hit snooze again. 5:40, hit snooze again, 5:50, one more snooze. 6:00, very reluctantly get out of bed. Lately, I’ve gotten into the habit of getting a shower sometime after I get home from school (usually after a workout of some sort). Thus, by 6 in the morning all I need to do is stick my head under the sink with some cold water running, lather up some shampoo, and I’m good to go. While the hair’s drying, I brush my teeth and shave. Finally, I throw my clothes on and head up the street to my favorite gas station. There, I pick up a Luvel’s 2% milk (I know, I’m a fatty) and a breakfast biscuit with 1000% of my daily recommended sodium, and I’m off to Neverland

            I do enjoy my rides to and from school. They’re relaxing, just long enough, and I have the pleasure of listening to either Drake and Zeke’s country boy interpretations of happenings around the world or how everything in the world is going badly courtesy of NPR. Once I get to school, I adjust some desks in my room, turn on my computer and printer, and prepare my soul for my intervention period.

            Most of the students in my intervention class are notoriously bad students. It’s really a chore just to get them to take the work seriously enough to do more than two or three problems. Things have gotten progressively better, but they definitely keep me sharp. My first period class has recently become a bit of a thorn in my side. There are plenty of talkers who will get to work when I tell them, but won’t stay on task. Over half of them have IEP’s and my inclusion teacher is substituting in another room 90% of the time, so it can be a struggle sometimes. But that’s not to say that we don’t have our really good days too. I love my third period class because it’s one student who doesn’t show up about 40% of the time. My fourth period class has either been hit or miss all year. I’ve got three popular football players, one guy who’s been suspended at least twice for fighting, and one very obnoxious little girl. However, the ones I just listed are also among the smartest students in all my classes. My fifth period class has been my big challenge all year and, even though I’ve gotten much better at controlling them, they remain so today. Sixth period is still good. They’re my smartest class as a whole by far, but they are also talkative, which makes them just annoying in my book. Seventh period is a class where I either want to choke the kids or give them all $100. The way they approach my class changes every single day.

            After classes are over, if we don’t have a staff meeting, I get in my car and enjoy my ride back as much as my ride there. Afterwards, i work out and/or lesson plan, then go to my favorite place in the whole world... my warm bed.

Rinse, wash, and repeat                                           

Thanksgiving in Florida

This past Thanksgiving I spent my time with an old friend from high school since my family wasn’t having our usual big get-together. Another high school friend of mine that still lives in Oxford came with me and we had a nice little drive. The notion of leaving Mississippi for the first time since July was enough of a hook, but going to see EA was a big added bonus.

            EA is an incredible person. He was always one of the smartest kids in my grade. He did all of the honors and advanced classes and played sports. He’s very enlightened and can talk intelligently about almost anything. Even having lost his father in middle school and his Mom just this past summer, he’s still never changed who he was and he’s someone that I look up to. Oh, and did I also mention that he’s freakin’ hilarious. He’s full of witty/nerdy/awkward humor and we always seem to be on the same page whenever he’s making a joke... even if it’s about me.

            Anyway, the drive was fine. NN and I both love Arby’s and since we are deprived of it in Oxford, we both jump at any chance we get to eat there. Yeah, yeah, make fun of us for perpetuating the Mississippi stereotype. We just can’t help ourselves when it comes to Arby’s. That sweet, succulent roast beef piled high with lettuce, tomato, bacon, and melted cheddar cheese between two buttered and toasted sourdough buns is undeniably delicious. Well, we stopped at one of those old fashioned ones on the way is Podunk, Alabama. Everything on the inside was contemporary, but the sign was the old fashioned type. Being that we were in Alabama, I wasn’t surprised to see a bunch of wife beaters, mullets, and possibly inbred children running around. Nah, just kidding. It wasn’t THAT bad, but it WAS kind of bad. Once again, though, not surprising given our geographic orientation (sorry Alabama MTC’ers, I’m just a messenger).

            After making fun of the people in Arby’s, we eventually made it Florida. While there, we watched football, went to different sites and shops around Gainesville, had an incredible Thanksgiving dinner with everything you could possibly hope for, and went to Tallahassee to see the Florida Gators get stomped by the Florida State Seminoles.

            All in all, the trip was so much fun and such a great escape from school. Now, of course, it’s almost Christmas and EA will be making his way back into Oxford, so it will be nice seeing him again.