Fall Break

I am in the final hours of my fall break.  It is 10:30 pm on Sunday night after a two week hiatus from teaching.  I think I am definitely going to enjoy my years at a school that follows a balanced calendar.  This particular year, being that it is my first year in the district, I am required to attend "GCL", a professional development course designed by the school corporation.  There are two options for completing these 30 hours of professional development: Option A: attend several night classes throughout the year that last all the way through May.  Option B: knock all 30 hours out during your first week of fall break.  Option B fills up fast and was my top choice so I signed up right away.  I was quite bitter that I had to spend 8 AM - 4 PM Monday-Thursday locked up in a conference room instead of enjoying an extra week off, but now it's all done and out of the way.  

A few thoughts/comments/musings about GCL:

• GCL doesn't stand for anything, they are just the initials in the administrator handbook under which this course is discussed
• If I have to talk about Marzano again I might punch through a window
• I hate being forced to comment on things about which I have nothing to say.  It really is a testament to my English education as to how well I was able to simply restate the question and simply agree but somehow make it sound as if what I said was brilliant and original.  It made me feel like an evil genius and a circus monkey at the same time.
• Orchestra is a very different school subject than every other subject.  But people get tired of hearing that and I am painfully aware of it so I have to play the game of "How does my subject fit into this conversation and how do I act like I give a damn so I don't come off like an Elitist Bitch?"
• I have bad handwriting and markers really highlight that.  Ironically enough, highlighters hide it.
• More than once I had the urge to pull a Costanza and "leave on a high note" after cracking a joke and making everyone laugh.
• There were far too many good snacks and far too much boring down time.  Dangerous combination.
• Teachers are the worst students.  Not sure how much you'd have to pay me to teach this course, but it'd have to be big bucks.
• I enjoy the company of other teachers.  I like talking to them, especially when our conversations are not contrived or being driven by means of a dumb game.

The rest of my fall break was very enjoyable.  Some highlights:

• We have hardwood floors now, courtesy of my very handy husband
• My puppy and I visited my parents and had a fun time
• I got EVERYTHING done on my checklist, including cleaning the bathroom today AND writing this blog post at the last minute :)
• I took several hearty naps, an absolute must in any vacation of mine
• I cooked and baked several new recipes- yum!
• I assembled and sent my sister a care package (spoiler alert if you haven't gotten it yet, Elaine...)
• I was able to go to the gym almost every day and got a good rhythm going- now I'm not as reluctant about it.  Good feeling
• I don't feel bummed about going back to school tomorrow, which means my fall break was a success!

Other than GCL, I only did a tiny bit of grading and I stopped by school today for an hour to set up my chairs and stands.  That means I did not dwell on school over break, but it also means I really have to get back into school mode tomorrow.  Luckily, next week I'm on resource room duty, which means instead of doing cafeteria duty, I get to go upstairs and sit at the resource desk and basically work.  I may answer the phone or help a kid take a test, but usually I get an extra 40 minutes of prep, which is awesome.  I am really lucky that my resource room week aligned with the week after break- I can get caught up on my organization stuff and won't have to deal with any back-to-school idiots in the cafeteria.  Such a bonus.

Here we go.  Three and a half weeks till Thanksgiving break. 

Stress

It has been a long couple of weeks.  Last night was my first concert with the middle school kiddos.  Everything went smoothly.  I had a lot of great help- four grown adult music educators and six high school orchestra students.  It was way more than I ever would have asked for, but I am very glad they were all there.  Leading up to the concert I had been in a really horrible fight with one of my colleagues.  It is too personal and just way too much to get into the details, but the stress just wore me down.  And you know, I never really realized what it felt like to be stressed because last year, I was in a constant state of stress, so I never felt not stressed, you know?  I was always tired, I was always drained, I always felt a little down at work.  I thought that was just work.  But this year I've been happy, so when I became stressed, I realized that I was tired and sad and that was no longer normal.  So in a way, it was a good experience!  I was able to recognize that I am capable of being happy and free and that being stressed-out is just temporary.  I will emerge from the stress-cesspool eventually and when that happens, I'll feel better.  Way to look on the bright side of life, hey?

Previous to the stress, I had been sick with the cold from Hell.  I'm not sure if it was one long cold or two to three viruses back to back determined to suck the life from me.  I took two days off, which I hate doing (remember, I have and "attendance unit" attached to my raise which I'll get in three years if I'm lucky...) and I still didn't feel better.  Through it all, my kids proved to be a life source.  I would perch on my podium as the Swamp Beast, dripping with snot, barking raspy orders, banging my baton on the stand and those darling little twerps would chirp around, doing what I said, trying hard, getting better, smiling at me, saying "Thank you for class!" and "Have a good day!" and "I hope you feel better soon!" although that last one might have been a true plea of their own selfish desire for a better classroom atmosphere...

My fight with my colleague slowly built, as girl fights usually do, on little things.  A small explosion lead to a decision for a one-on-one meeting, which ended in tears, which lead to the calling of the principal, which lead to the acquiring of a mediator, which lead to more hurt feelings and stress, which eventually fizzled out and lead to an business relationship and hopefully eventually and understanding between two women.  *sigh*  It all just makes me want to curl up and go to bed.

My concert was good.  The 7th grade has only been playing their instruments for 9 weeks so it was rather demonstration-y.  The 8th grade did a good job.  They performed at the same level that they rehearsed, which is all that a director can hope.  It was a good first concert I think.  I really hope I can sand down the edges of this group.  I feel like I had a rough start with them, what with the trust issues they had up front.  Now that I feel like they're with me, I hope we can keep moving forward.  We'll see, I'm not 100% in love with them yet...

Fall break is around the corner.  I can smell it.  There are a few more hurdles before I get there (grades are due, parent/teacher conferences, submission deadlines for festivals, auditions for honor's orchestra, picking Christmas music, etc...) but it is so close.  I am in desperate need of some fall breakage, and soon.  Me and my pup and some apple cider and my slippers a blanket and the TV remote and some Grey's Anatomy DVD's and my cell phone with some Facebook and my US Weekly and my Kindle and my iPod with Jim Dale reading me Harry Potter... I'm a multitasker, even when I vacation, what can I say?  I don't want to have to move! 

Oh, and I've lost 20 pounds.  I guess stress is good for something...?  Just kidding, I've been trying hard for that.