What do cops, books and children all have in common? Well, they are all at the library! I think this is the first official public library I've been too (and the first I've worked at too) where there are cops on a normal basis. I don't think it's crazy, but everyone else does. Today, for example, there were three cops at work. I almost wish there were more, because the kids were NUTS and I was going crazy. None of the kids would behave today, and when I tried to kick certain kids out, they wouldn't listen to me! I don't know what to do, because these kids have no respect for me, and they don't mind running under the table or just being crazy monkeys. I didn't ask to be in charge of a zoo, but I certainly feel like a zoo keeper right now.
I wish I had some help at the library. I don't feel that one person should be in charge of helping so many kids at once. I'm literally running around without a break for a good five hours! I can't even go to the bathroom or get a drink of water, because if I do, the kids will freak out and cause trouble! And while there are usually eight kids in the room at once (some kids want to be in the room so bad that they will volunteer to sit on the floor or stand), there are usually three to four waiting outside for help! I can't even individually help each student, because as soon as I help one student, another is already yelling "I need help! I need help! NOW!" These kids have no patience, and no understanding that there is only one of me and way too many of them.
If you guessed I'm stressed out, you are right. I probably shouldn't write when I'm stressed out, but when I'm feeling good, I'm usually away from the computer and at the ocean or just hanging out with people. Everyone keeps reminding us that we only have one year here and we had better use it wisely or we will look back with regret. I don't want to regret anything, and I want to live my life to the fullest. So that's why I'm always trying to do something. Of course, there are defiantly times when I just plop down in front of the TV and don't do anything. That's not really a good thing, but I figure that since I work for about 8 1/2 to 9 hours a day, it's only fair. I can't believe that some people do 10 hours and it's no big deal. I just think that's nuts!
Well, this tanned Florida girl is going to say good-night. It's after midnight and tomorrow will be extra long as I have to read in the morning to little 1-3 year olds, then I have to do a lot of prep work, then I have tutoring, and then a program that runs late at night. So, all in all, it will be a busy day!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Dear author of "Marry Smart",
I'm sorry, but I do not feel that a book about a formula that will "attract" men to you is actually going to work. Yes, I do agree with you that women tend to date and settle for men who are truly not worthy of them. However, I do not feel that a silly e-book on "attracting the right man" is really going to help either. Instead, it will just help fill your pocket with a nice chunk of change, also known as $30, by each desperate, single woman who stumbles across your website. Am I going to be one of these crazy women? No. I may be single, but that does not make me desperate, angry or upset. And yes, I may be very sick of all the people who casually ask me why I don't have a boyfriend or remind me that one day, when I least expect it, someone will walk into my life. I frankly think they should shut their lovely mouths, learn to just mind their own business and walk away with their dignity still in tact. Instead, they babble on about it, making more of a fool of themselves than me. Because I'm fine with being single. I'm only 22. I do not have to be married next year, although I might be sick of being single. On the other hand, there is so much more to life and being single allows me to fully experience it without feeling guilty or wondering if I'm letting someone down by hanging out with my friends. I never miss something exciting because I'm off on a date. And I always have chances to see life happy, instead of sad and upset because some jerk just broke up with me for some other girl. And that is why, Ms. Terry MacDonald, I do not need your book. And match.com, that is why I will not use your dating website to "find the love of my life" like eHarmony claims. I may be single, but I'm confident in myself and who I am. And that's a lot more than some book can claim.
Sincerely,
A Very Happy Single Person
I'm sorry, but I do not feel that a book about a formula that will "attract" men to you is actually going to work. Yes, I do agree with you that women tend to date and settle for men who are truly not worthy of them. However, I do not feel that a silly e-book on "attracting the right man" is really going to help either. Instead, it will just help fill your pocket with a nice chunk of change, also known as $30, by each desperate, single woman who stumbles across your website. Am I going to be one of these crazy women? No. I may be single, but that does not make me desperate, angry or upset. And yes, I may be very sick of all the people who casually ask me why I don't have a boyfriend or remind me that one day, when I least expect it, someone will walk into my life. I frankly think they should shut their lovely mouths, learn to just mind their own business and walk away with their dignity still in tact. Instead, they babble on about it, making more of a fool of themselves than me. Because I'm fine with being single. I'm only 22. I do not have to be married next year, although I might be sick of being single. On the other hand, there is so much more to life and being single allows me to fully experience it without feeling guilty or wondering if I'm letting someone down by hanging out with my friends. I never miss something exciting because I'm off on a date. And I always have chances to see life happy, instead of sad and upset because some jerk just broke up with me for some other girl. And that is why, Ms. Terry MacDonald, I do not need your book. And match.com, that is why I will not use your dating website to "find the love of my life" like eHarmony claims. I may be single, but I'm confident in myself and who I am. And that's a lot more than some book can claim.
Sincerely,
A Very Happy Single Person
Thursday, October 7, 2010
You would think one would be used to having police at a library on a regular visit, right? This past week, I have seen more police officers at the library than I have seen at the dorms over a year. We had eight police officers today at the library. Eight! I think that's a little insane, don't you? So what were these police officers doing, you might ask? Well, they were arresting teenagers. I guess they were suspects in a recent murder case. I thought that was a little weird, but having cops at the library has become, well, normal. Everyday, there is always a police officer. Extra ones just make you wonder, "Okay, what's the story today?"
I used to be scared to steal a cookie when I was little, these kids aren't even scared of hitting a police officer. Jail? Apparently, to these kids, "Well, some of my family is already in jail, what's the difference?" What's the difference? These kids are growing up in some other world, because I have certainly never lived in it. I still freak out when I see a cop car on the road, even though I'm not speeding.
Craziness! More detailed stories to come...
I used to be scared to steal a cookie when I was little, these kids aren't even scared of hitting a police officer. Jail? Apparently, to these kids, "Well, some of my family is already in jail, what's the difference?" What's the difference? These kids are growing up in some other world, because I have certainly never lived in it. I still freak out when I see a cop car on the road, even though I'm not speeding.
Craziness! More detailed stories to come...
Sunday, October 3, 2010
CLICK! CLICK!
Here I am at special Olympics.
All 40 of us crazy people.
Don, my church buddy, is always making the same face. What was that saying? If you make the same face over and over again, it'll soon be the only face you make? Well, if that is true, Don will look like this for the rest of his life.
Here we are, being inducted in. We drove 30 minutes, got lost for 10 minutes, waited 15 minutes for the thing to start, got inducted for 5 minutes and then left. The experience? Priceless, since we ended up on TV.
Jumping with my fun friends! The three in white are roommates. And no, they don't usually dress alike, they asked me to take "roommate" pictures. 
Ah, the famous "shopping cart" pictures. Nina (the girl I drove down with) and her roommates went to the store and bought too many groceries. They took the cart with them and went back across the street with it. Then they brought it up to the apartment, and left it there. Apparently, it's really common around here to keep shopping carts at your apartment, as there were several in the hallway by the third week. One of the requirements for visiting their apartment is you have to have your picture taken in the shopping cart. Then they made a bulletin board with all the pictures. It was pretty fun.
The girls here like to make up fun outfits and have everyone come and socialize in the crazy outfits. This above was 80's night, which was fun. They also had toga night last night, actually, but I refused to wear one. lol I also didn't have anything to wear.
One of my roommates, Shawna, and I. Cheesy smile as usual.
The beach, so pretty!
I'm Back!
Hi guys! My adorable friend Andy reminded me that now that I have computer again, I have no excuse not to update my blog. I just got the new mac about three days ago, so I haven't really delayed it that long. And I've been pretty busy.
So? What has happened to Kristine since I last wrote? (and at midnight! ha ha) It's actually about 2:30pm on a Sunday here in Florida. I am planning on going to play Ultimate Frisbee soon, but I figured I'd update this before I go. I'm really not sure what it is about Florida, but I'd defiantly call it the "vacation state". Why, you might ask? Well, you see, there is something about the air (or maybe the water as in the California girls song) that makes you very "lazy". Not lazy for work (don't worry, I'm always on my toes with those kids; they make me super buzy) but just lazy for doing extra stuff after work. Let me give you a typical day here in Florida.
7:00 AM Wake up (the sun wakes me up), look at the clock, shake my head and go back to sleep. [no way am I waking up that early. You all know me and the early morning, ha ha]
8:00-9:00 AM Depending on when I went to sleep the night before (sometimes, for some reason, I can't seem to sleep here), I'll wake up in-between here. Take a shower, and then get ready. You know the usual. Oh, and make my lunch.(and Mom, all my roommates make their lunches in the morning, like me. It's really not that weird. ha ha)
10:20 AM Head out the door for the library. The library is down the street (literally) and takes about two minutes to get there while driving. I start work at 10:30, so this gives me time in case something happens between those two minutes of driving. lol
10:30 AM-1:30 PM Prep for the tutoring session (this includes looking up information, trying to decide what strategies will help them in whatever they are doing. I take notes the day before sometimes, when I have time, on what they have been working on so that I can try to help them the next day, since their homework is usually similar. Of course sometimes I have new people, and then that is really not very helpful anyway.) and other random stuff. I get to look around the library as part of this prep too. You'd be surprised, I often still find new books for the kids to read even though I looked the day before. It's crazy. Then again, it's also called a library.
*Side note: On Wednesday mornings, I go over to the Children's museum and read stories to a variety of little kids. And when I say little, I mean small. In both size and shape. No, I'm talking about myself. These are babies to about three years old, maybe four. This just started and I'll do it for about a month. You should see me reading "Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree". I have little monkey puppets on my hands and I'm trying to turn the pages, sing the song, and keep little kids happy. It's pretty amusing, I"m sure.
**One more side note. [these side notes are fun] Soon, I'll be starting a computer class in the mornings for adults. We are still trying to work out the details for it, and I haven't even figured out what I'll teach, but we will work it out soon enough. Should be fun. They'll probably be easier to teach then the professors, right Aaron? lol
1:30 PM-2:30 PM So I'm supposed to still be doing prep during this time, but sometimes I have visitors, such as my awesome bosses who are lots of fun, or I'll visit Tiffany to get advice or the librarians. I usually do that during this time, because sometimes the kids come early and so I start early too, and if I'm in my office, they don't know I'm around.
2:30 PM-7:00 PM This is when the real fun starts. The kids are supposed to sign up, but they often don't. So now we have a walk-in sheet that they have to sign, and I will only do walk-ins if the signed up session student can a) handle distractions (usually not, but often they will still say its ok) b) are friends with the other student (there is a lot of fighting, so if they hate each other or argue, I try my best not to have them in the room at the same time). I say "try" because nothing works often. I'm usually still telling them to stop bouncing in their chair, yelling at each other, or talking back to me. I used to spend more time telling the kids to behave, but now that I made a list of rules and had them sign it, it's getting easier. I also got rid of the candy. That worked the best. Some of them say they hate me and don't want to see me anymore (okay, maybe not "hate" but "dislike") but then I brought in the new "reward" system. If they earn enough stickers, they can get prizes. One sticker a day, and they can only get it if they earn it. I can, at any time, take away their sticker. Hopefully I can be mean enough to take away their sticker, as they will defiantly need to lose it before the realize the value of it.
7:00 PM-7:30PM I'm usually able to sneak out sometime around here; sometimes I have a meeting or something, but usually i get to leave. Ah, what an amazing feeling that is when you can finally get away! :)
7:30 PM-10:00 PM Depending on the day, the time, etc. I do a variety of things during this time. Number 1 is eating dinner. Notice during that tutoring time, there is NO time to eat dinner. And unlike other people, who get a break, I get no breaks either. it's non-stop craziness. I can't even leave to use the restroom, and if I do, I'm scared the whole time of what trouble the kids are probably up too. Even though I put one of the in charge when I leave (even if it's only to my office) they still manage to find a way to be super naughty. It's crazy. Was I really that bad of a kid too at some point? I shudder to think. And don't answer that JJ. I know your opinions on the matter. ha ha
Anyway, sometimes I have Bible study on Tuesdays, or I watch TV shows, or I'm so annoyed at the day (sometimes the day is really bad, such as when there were 8 police officers at the library at the same time because some fight was supposed to happen and all the kids were going nuts) then I try to find someone to go with me on a walk on the beach, but more often than not, I can't find anyone. And sadly it's dark by then, and I don't want to go alone, so then I'll scrapbook to try and relax. I often try to write letters, and now I"ll hopefully update my blog too, now that I have a computer again.
10:00 PM -12:00AM Usually I watch some TV and then go to bed, or talk to my roommates. On Mondays, we have a meeting at 9pm, and that often goes for a while too. It's a lot of stuff, we are pretty busy a lot. Weekends (like today) are more lazy, but we still have a lot to do.
So there you go. A run-down of a sort of basic day for me. Still crazy and nuts, and I often feel like I have really crazy college students still. I haven't figured out who is worse. Drunk college students or hyped up children. The children might be winning right now...
More soon. Thanks for the comments guys! They were really fun to read!
So? What has happened to Kristine since I last wrote? (and at midnight! ha ha) It's actually about 2:30pm on a Sunday here in Florida. I am planning on going to play Ultimate Frisbee soon, but I figured I'd update this before I go. I'm really not sure what it is about Florida, but I'd defiantly call it the "vacation state". Why, you might ask? Well, you see, there is something about the air (or maybe the water as in the California girls song) that makes you very "lazy". Not lazy for work (don't worry, I'm always on my toes with those kids; they make me super buzy) but just lazy for doing extra stuff after work. Let me give you a typical day here in Florida.
7:00 AM Wake up (the sun wakes me up), look at the clock, shake my head and go back to sleep. [no way am I waking up that early. You all know me and the early morning, ha ha]
8:00-9:00 AM Depending on when I went to sleep the night before (sometimes, for some reason, I can't seem to sleep here), I'll wake up in-between here. Take a shower, and then get ready. You know the usual. Oh, and make my lunch.(and Mom, all my roommates make their lunches in the morning, like me. It's really not that weird. ha ha)
10:20 AM Head out the door for the library. The library is down the street (literally) and takes about two minutes to get there while driving. I start work at 10:30, so this gives me time in case something happens between those two minutes of driving. lol
10:30 AM-1:30 PM Prep for the tutoring session (this includes looking up information, trying to decide what strategies will help them in whatever they are doing. I take notes the day before sometimes, when I have time, on what they have been working on so that I can try to help them the next day, since their homework is usually similar. Of course sometimes I have new people, and then that is really not very helpful anyway.) and other random stuff. I get to look around the library as part of this prep too. You'd be surprised, I often still find new books for the kids to read even though I looked the day before. It's crazy. Then again, it's also called a library.
*Side note: On Wednesday mornings, I go over to the Children's museum and read stories to a variety of little kids. And when I say little, I mean small. In both size and shape. No, I'm talking about myself. These are babies to about three years old, maybe four. This just started and I'll do it for about a month. You should see me reading "Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree". I have little monkey puppets on my hands and I'm trying to turn the pages, sing the song, and keep little kids happy. It's pretty amusing, I"m sure.
**One more side note. [these side notes are fun] Soon, I'll be starting a computer class in the mornings for adults. We are still trying to work out the details for it, and I haven't even figured out what I'll teach, but we will work it out soon enough. Should be fun. They'll probably be easier to teach then the professors, right Aaron? lol
1:30 PM-2:30 PM So I'm supposed to still be doing prep during this time, but sometimes I have visitors, such as my awesome bosses who are lots of fun, or I'll visit Tiffany to get advice or the librarians. I usually do that during this time, because sometimes the kids come early and so I start early too, and if I'm in my office, they don't know I'm around.
2:30 PM-7:00 PM This is when the real fun starts. The kids are supposed to sign up, but they often don't. So now we have a walk-in sheet that they have to sign, and I will only do walk-ins if the signed up session student can a) handle distractions (usually not, but often they will still say its ok) b) are friends with the other student (there is a lot of fighting, so if they hate each other or argue, I try my best not to have them in the room at the same time). I say "try" because nothing works often. I'm usually still telling them to stop bouncing in their chair, yelling at each other, or talking back to me. I used to spend more time telling the kids to behave, but now that I made a list of rules and had them sign it, it's getting easier. I also got rid of the candy. That worked the best. Some of them say they hate me and don't want to see me anymore (okay, maybe not "hate" but "dislike") but then I brought in the new "reward" system. If they earn enough stickers, they can get prizes. One sticker a day, and they can only get it if they earn it. I can, at any time, take away their sticker. Hopefully I can be mean enough to take away their sticker, as they will defiantly need to lose it before the realize the value of it.
7:00 PM-7:30PM I'm usually able to sneak out sometime around here; sometimes I have a meeting or something, but usually i get to leave. Ah, what an amazing feeling that is when you can finally get away! :)
7:30 PM-10:00 PM Depending on the day, the time, etc. I do a variety of things during this time. Number 1 is eating dinner. Notice during that tutoring time, there is NO time to eat dinner. And unlike other people, who get a break, I get no breaks either. it's non-stop craziness. I can't even leave to use the restroom, and if I do, I'm scared the whole time of what trouble the kids are probably up too. Even though I put one of the in charge when I leave (even if it's only to my office) they still manage to find a way to be super naughty. It's crazy. Was I really that bad of a kid too at some point? I shudder to think. And don't answer that JJ. I know your opinions on the matter. ha ha
Anyway, sometimes I have Bible study on Tuesdays, or I watch TV shows, or I'm so annoyed at the day (sometimes the day is really bad, such as when there were 8 police officers at the library at the same time because some fight was supposed to happen and all the kids were going nuts) then I try to find someone to go with me on a walk on the beach, but more often than not, I can't find anyone. And sadly it's dark by then, and I don't want to go alone, so then I'll scrapbook to try and relax. I often try to write letters, and now I"ll hopefully update my blog too, now that I have a computer again.
10:00 PM -12:00AM Usually I watch some TV and then go to bed, or talk to my roommates. On Mondays, we have a meeting at 9pm, and that often goes for a while too. It's a lot of stuff, we are pretty busy a lot. Weekends (like today) are more lazy, but we still have a lot to do.
So there you go. A run-down of a sort of basic day for me. Still crazy and nuts, and I often feel like I have really crazy college students still. I haven't figured out who is worse. Drunk college students or hyped up children. The children might be winning right now...
More soon. Thanks for the comments guys! They were really fun to read!
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