Good bye Summer, I loved ye so

Tomorrow morning I will get up, probably around 6:00 or so. This is not unusual; I'm an early riser.

However, it will be different. I won't putter around, make a cup of tea with cinnamon toast, I won't get dressed in my sweats and take Charlie to the beach. I probably won't even get on line.

Nope, I'll do none of these things. I will be racing around, as I will for the next nine months of mornings, trying to get my ass out the door and to school.

I will take a shower, try to dress pleasingly, maybe even apply make up. I will take Charlie-boy on a minimal circuit of the neighborhood, before I look for my keys, turn off the curling iron, and sprint out the door, looking at the clock or my watch every 2 minutes.

Tomorrow is the District-wide meeting. We all gather in one of the high school auditoriums, and listen to "key note speakers" who are supposed to amp us up for the school year. All we really want to do is get into our classrooms and get to work.

Not like we already haven't been. I was in my classroom for about 5 hours today. I went in around 11am, and surprise, surprise, the furniture in my room is still piled up in the corner. Three weeks ago I began asking that it be moved back; at the very least, could they get the heavy stuff? Dell, the gardener, told me the guys had gone to lunch when I went to the custodians office. Friday, he told me they were at a meeting. What gives? So I went to the local (read only) educational supply store in town, and spent $32 on paper and borders for my bulletin boards. No, I don't HAVE to spend my own money, but I do. We all do. Paper on the boards isn't a necessary thing, but we will hear about it if they look shabby. Which mine did.

Also went to Staples and got a memory card for my camera. It now will hold over 300 pictures. When I'll ever have the need to store that many in my camera, I don't know, but if I want to, I can. I think I'll pictures of my students this year, and post them up in the room. Up high where they can't be easily defaced (we are talking 13-year-olds here).

I went back to school at around 1pm, and boom, there was Zach and Roger, the custodians, driving by in their little golf cart.
" Hey you guys, are you here to help me?"
"Help you do what?"
"Uh, you know, move my furniture back? I talked to you about it a couple of weeks ago, and... I thought ...well, I talked to Dave...uh"
"Oh you know Ms. S., we're pretty busy today. This is my first day back [which is why the hell I asked him to put the furniture back a week before he went on vacation], and we're uh... kinda busy"
"No shit."

Okay, so I didn't really say that last thing. Out loud anyway. I did say,

"Yeah, I know you're busy, but I can't move some of the things. They're just too heavy for me."
"Could we get to it tomorrow? Do you need it done now?"
"Of course I fucking need it done now! Why have I asked you at least 6 times over the course of the last god damn three weeks, if I didn't need it done now?"

(You're right, I didn't say that either.)

I basically just looked at them. And they drove off. Weakling, I'm a weakling, I know. But I don't want to piss them off either. Ever had a trash can full of old lunch items that hasn't been thrown out for a few days? An open trash can? A large one? It's very stinky.

So, they are going to "help me tomorrow." I'll be at the stupid district meeting until Noon, then 70 teachers will be on campus at our school tomorrow, all needing "help" with something.

What can I do? It will get done.

I finished the bulletin boards, set up my computer, and got my supplies a bit in order. It did take a good chunk of time to get the boards done. Much longer than I thought, and I had a staple gun. Black boards with a "readers are the future" border on one side, and blue boards with an 80's kinda multi-colored brush stroke border on the other.

Oh, and I got my schedule. Not too bad, except my prep is 6th period. Not 5th period, which is right after lunch. I won't do library lunch duty this year because of it. I can't teach four straight classes, then the library, then 5th period. No way. And, I've already said I'm not interested in teaching the zero-period study hall for failing students. I taught that last year, and while it's very good money, it's mind-numbing. And, teaching that would mean I'd be going straight through, with only four, 4-minute breaks from 7:40am to Noon. Nope. Ain't gonna happen.

I'd rather just tighten the belt a bit.