It's 2011, baby!

Well, it's a new year and I haven't yet updated this blog! When I got back from Wisconsin (two weeks there was nice, but I don't miss the cold. lol), two friends from Wisconsin came to visit me. They came for a week, so I didn't have a chance to write then. And after that, I had to catch up at work. And then....I got sick! Yup, I had the flu for THREE days. That's a long time for me, since I usually only get sick for one day!

So, excuses aside, I figured I should quickly update this blog. The kids have come back in doves! There is so many again! (it had calmed down for a little bit) But the ever-fearless Kristine has come up with some pretty cool ideas! Here is what I wrote for my boss in this survey/blog thing we have to fill out every week.

I have two twins who come every week, and are in second grade. These girls are actually very good readers, but they don't like to read unless it's about princesses or the boys can't read it. Their grandmother comes in with them, and really wants them to learn how to read. There is another girl, who is new, who has ADD. She is also a good reader, but needs to focus when she reads. And finally, there is another girl who can't really read very well, but really wants to learn. Now, I have lots of kids, but these girls are the ones who gave me the idea. I remembered when I was little how I loved to read these notebook stories because it was someone else's journal. It made for a great read! So I created a notebook that is called "Josie's Notebook" and everyday I add in a little more to the journal. I wrote "Boys, stay out!" and "Do not Open! (unless a girl)" on it and jazzed it up. The girls loved it! I told them a girl who comes said girls were allowed to read it and that she will continue to write it in when she can. (they don't realize I'm the girl who comes; ha ha) Whenever they come in, they ask where the book is. They grab the book and start reading it right away! The boys have become interested in the book too, especially my boys who hate reading. The girls caught the older boy, a fifth grader, reading it and got very upset. I couldn't help but smile. When asked how far he got, the boy remembered everything he read (which is unusual) and he didn't have any trouble with words. Although this book was written to encourage the girls to like reading, the boys interest has helped them like reading as well.

The story is really funny, I have it about a girl who tries out to be an exta on a movie set and ends up being in the movie. She has really funny remarks, and is always annoyed like a usual fourteen year old. I love it. lol

Other than that, enjoying the beach, trying to still figure out next year (what a headace) and stay away from the crazy Florida drivers. They are either too fast (young people) or too slow (really old people who shouldn't have their license) and they don't use their blinkers, they cut people off (all the time!) and they don't care if they hit you! There is apparently a "No Fault" rule in Florida so you don't get in trouble unless you hit someone from behind. So if they cut you off and you have no choice but to hit them, they it's your fault. How horrible!

Tomorrow is my last day tutoring for 2010

I can scarcely believe that tomorrow will my last day tutoring at the lovely library for the year of 2010. Although I have a smile on my face, inside I'm screaming "YES! YES! YES!" You see, while I enjoyed my time in Florida, I can't wait for a break. Two weeks of freezing cold air brushing across my face will be somewhat painful, but it will still be a break for my ears from the screaming "HELP ME!", a nice change of pace from the everyday waking up, driving to work, working all day, going home, finally eating, talking to the roommates, goofing around in my room, going to bed routine. To be frank, I need a break.

And it's coming! I can't wait to see my friends, to run screaming into their surprised arms and yelling "I missed you!" and then laughing like the true dork I am. It's going to be blissful. It's going to be amazing. And it's actually going to happen.

One of my kids said the craziest thing today. It actually took my breath away. I was truly shocked. It was one of those moments when I was totally thinking the wrong way. But I really don't think anyone can blame me.

You see, I had two children in my Homework Room at the time. It being the end of December, most of my kids get less homework the week before finals for the High School kids. The elementary kids just get a few pages of homework, easily finished with Miss Kristine in about 10 to 20 minutes if they actually pay attention and try. As a result, there were not as many kids in my room the whole day, which was nice.

The two children at this time of the day included Shamar, who was a tendency to stay all day if he can possibly find a way, and one of my new kids, Johnny. Shamar has a crush on a girl named Cindy, who comes to my tutoring occassionally. She wasn't there today, though. Shamar is always asking if Cindy is coming, and if he sees that she is signed up on the sheet, he will try to goof off so that he can stay in the Homework Room, much to my avail. Somehow the topic of Cindy came up, I think Shamar asked where she was, and I asked him if he liked her. He denied it, of course, but he was blushing and smiling. I pointed this out and he just shook his head.

At this point, Johnny, the second grader, butted in. "Cindy? Who is Cindy?" Shamar continued blushing and just said, "Some girl who comes here."

"A GIRL?" cried Johnny. "EWW! Girls have cooties!"

"What are cooties?" I asked with a smile, knowing this was going to be interesting.

There was a continued "EW" from Johnny as he looked down, then he muttered something to himself.

"What?" I asked, noticing that Shamar was still blushing. This kid had it bad.

"Sometimes girls dig in their thingie," Johnny said.

I was shocked for a second. What had this little kid just said? I looked at Shamar, who was doubled over, laughing so hard I knew he was going to fall out of his chair any second now.

"Um, what is that? How old are you again?" At this moment, I was so at a loss, I forgot what age he even was. Then I remembered.

"Thingie. You know..." he paused, and I turned to look at Shamar, laughing because it was so crazy what had just happened. Johnny tried to continue. He pointed to his nose. "Thingie. Your nose."

"Oh," I said, laughing.

"They do that so they can give us cooties. Girls are so gross!" Johnny started freaking out, jumping out of his chair and yelling "Ew! Cooties! Ew!"

Shamar continued laughing, having offically fallen out of his chair and he was now rolling on the floor. "Say that again. Thingie."

This continued for quite a while. Poor Johnny did not hear the end of it as long as Shamar was there, the fourth grader yelling "Say it again" to the confused second grader who did not really understand why it was so funny. He did, however, keep asking us not to tell other people.

"I don't want people to know I said it," he said. I just laughed. It was a little too late, since he kept repeating the whole line for Shamar to laugh at. I told him not to, that he should ignore Shamar, but after a while, it was just too funny.

Back to my rant about the kids and their homework from earlier...

On Friday (thankfully, a day I will not be at the library) they get a giant packet and are told to bring in back in two weeks, finished. So as you can see, the kids are freaking out, because they are getting this giant packet, and I won't be around for the two weeks. Awesome for me. Freaky for the kids. But really, what did they expect? They've done their homework by themselves every other year, why does this year have to be such a big year? You see, these kids have come to rely on me, to expect me to be there, and when I'm not, they freak out. "I can't do!" It's as though I've been standing on the cliff, helping them the whole time, and when they turn around, I'm gone. Suddenly, they can no longer take that plunge they've been doing everytime before.

Even so, I'm still leaving. So hopefully these kids learn to jump. Or someone will push them over anyway. Meaning they will get an F. Which, sadly, has been a norm their whole life, and wouldn't be anything new. When I come back in January, my new goal will be to change their perspective. As long as they improve their grade, even going up to a D, they have not failed. They are succeeding. After all, it's the little steps in life that finally get us to our goal. Only a lucky few get to take the taxi cab, and that's usually because they know the driver.

Okay, enough of these silly comparisons. Time to go to bed.

P.S. I don't have cooties in my thingie, if that's what you are wondering.

Holiday Rush and....Vacation?

Tiffany and I after playing frisbee

Holiday rush is all around, but it didn't feel like winter until about two days ago. Sunny Florida has now become a mild Wisconsin winter. I know that when I go home in less than two weeks, it will be freezing. (and I'll probably see snow) I'm not sure how I should feel about it, since I already hate the cold in Florida.

Weather comparision? Well, the "cold" in Florida is 61 degrees while in Wisconsin, the cold is 13 degrees and it feels like 1 degree. The wind chill is also 9mph. I am not excited to come home to winter. But I am excited to see all my friends and family. I've really missed everyone. It really makes you realize just how far distance can seperate you when you've lived mostly in the same place your whole life. But since I'm not sure what I want to do after this year, I'm really glad for this experience. Life is moving on, and it's time I got ready for it.

Now, an update on the FLORIDA life. Let's see, first off, it's been a little cold to go to the beach, but I did make it there last weekend where Tiffany, her friend Kevin, and I played frisbee on the beach. It was so awesome! Frisbee on the beach is so much more relaxing than on the grass we usually play on where if you fall in the grass, you expect a bunch of red ants to crawl up your leg. Not really the most pleasant experience.

My kids have been behaving, sort of. I had my boss come in from AmeriCorps and she gave me some suggestions and ideas on how to handle them. It worked the first day, but by the second day, they were back to their normal, craziness. However, Mr. James (he's one of the "big" handles of issues at the library) kicked out a bunch of my biggest issues and told them they weren't allowed to come back. Apparently, while I went into my office to grab a book for one of the girls, they were causing issues and hitting each other, and so now they can't come back. It's making the homework room a lot quieter. Thank you Mr. James.

Some of the kids have stopped calling me "Miss Kristine" and have instead adopted the name "Miss". I'm not sure how I feel about it, because when they get on their rants "Miss! Miss! Miss! Miss! I need help! Miss, you aren't helping me! Miss! Miss! PLEASE! Miss, why aren't you listening to me? Miss!" it starts to become a huge headace. I told them that if I'm helping someone else, they need to wait. They don't understand this, and instead continue on, "Miss! Miss! MISS!" to the point where they are SCREAMING which is not tolerated. All this makes me wonder if I was this annoying as a child. I do remember yelling "MOM! MOM!" a lot. It also makes me wonder just how badly I want children...is it worth the headace?

This past Sunday, we had to get up at 3:30 am to help with a Marathon. Being up so early ended up not being a good thing. Not only because the night before Tiffany, Kevin and I decided to go to this late night concert (after playing frisbee) that was free at the shopping center in Boca (the rich area; think NICE homes), but mostly because I had a Mountain Dew and couldn't fall asleep.

The Marathan ended up around noon; I didn't go to sleep until 10:30pm that night. What did I do all day? Caught up on a TV show I hadn't seen since I've been in Florida, while hoping I'd fall asleep. I was not feeling well either, so it wasn't a good rest of the day. And as a result, I tried to go to work on Monday, but literally couldn't fuction beacuse I still did not feel well and ended up going home and sleeping the whole day. Turns out I wasn't the only AmeriCorps girl who was sick, several other people went home sick, but one girl ended up in the hospital. She's still not feeling well, and we are all really worried about her, but have no clue what to do! She throws up all day, but even the hospital couldn't help her. I haven't been updated on the story recently, so not sure what happened as of last night.

And for Thanksgiving break, Tiffany and I went to a Danielle's grandparents house in Boca, and it was an amazing house. Huge ceilings, nice windows, gorgeous pool. The food was really good (made by Danielle), and her grandparents were really funny! We enjoyed ourselves. Everyone in AmeriCorps was invited to go, but only Tiffany and I went. We deceided everyone else missed out.

The rest of the break (we had five days off) I scrapbooked and Tiffany and I went to a drive-through safari. The safari was pretty cool, we drove around and saw lions, tigers, rhinos, and zebras. I got some cool pictures I still need to put online. It was nice having an entire apartment to myself since my roommates were GONE.

And now...time to get to work, and enjoy the cold. Only this cold is really nothing compared to the weather to come in less than two weeks...

Also, here is a copy of the Literati, which I designed and put together, with Tiffany's help on the editing.

http://www.literacypbc.org/files/Fall_Literati_final_draft.pdf

I'm off to work in a little over 10 minutes, but I figured it was time to update my blog since it's been quite a while. Life at the library has been an adventure. The kids are a little better, but only a little. I guess since they don't have a good family life at home, I have to be their parent for them. Sometimes that's really hard, because I'm not really ready to be a parent! But I'm trying. Everyday is a new adventure, with new sets of homework and new attitudes. Some of the kids are really cute, and they are so quiet and nice. Others have loud, angry mouths and attitudes the size of a mountain. They think the world revolves around them, and that I should bow down to them. No thanks. And having all these different age groups at once, well, I think that makes it even more complicated. I don't want to be a teacher, I don't think I could handle it!

On to more happy thoughts. We had a Build A Bear event at the library. It was really cute. All these kids came dressed in their PJ's and clutching their bears. The Build A Bear came and he took pictures with them, and his friend read a story about how teddy bears came to be. Then the kids went in the craft room and created a bear using papers and crayons. It was cute to see what colors they colored them. (it reminded me of the paper dolls my mom used to have) I, of course, took lots of pictures. But I'm not sure I can put them up on here, because you have to get names and stuff. So we'll see.

Halloween was lots of fun. I was Barbie, and I loved it. Everyone said that I should dye my hair because platinum looks good on me. I'd like to, but I'm scared it wouldn't turn out right and then I would have ruined my hair! Sometimes it's really tempting though.

Some of the girls in AmeriCorps wanted to dress up as the Golden Girls, so we did that too. We went around to these houses on Halloween, trick or treating for canned goods. That was really fun. I was Sophia, the oldest one (and in real life, the youngest on the show, which was fitting for our group too since I was the shortest and youngest too). I got to say mean comments, but after a while, it was too easy and I had to stop. But we all acted out our parts, which was nice. lol

This past weekend, we painted a house for a lady. We got the whole house painted in about two hours. (okay, the outside) There was a lot of us, though, and after a while, we didn't even really have something to paint! There was about ten people painted the same small area at the front of the house. I got a picture of it, and it was quite funny.

Well, I have to go to work now. Hopefully I will write more soon. Whenever I have free time, I either watch TV with my roomies (hey, we get tired), off at the beach (the waves have been huge lately, it's pretty cool), or scrapbooking (I'm still really behind!).

Cops, Books, and Children

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!

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

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...