Linda and the Terrible No Good Very Bad Day

I started stims yesterday, after the day from hell.

I got up early and went to the gym. That was good. I was however extremely sore from the night before and got very little sleep, not in a great mood.

Boo was cranky and hard to get dressed. We finally get out the door and to the car when I realize there is no carseat in MY car. It's in the car Mr just drove to Georgia to get last weekend that his father left him a year and a half ago. I am not thrilled. So switch to the Volvo after hunting through the house for keys, forcing me to be late already.

I desperately need caffeine at this point. (did I spell that right? probably not) So I rush to get to McDonalds for my favorite iced coffee (vanilla, half of the cream and half of the flavoring) A former student takes my ATM card from me as I have NO cash on me. I still work with her mom. She then tells me "it's not approved" Okay....now I'm embarassed but need coffee!

I scrounge in the car and find change. I pull forward and am told "umm...we don't take German money" OMG! I am SOOOO embarassed/livid/mortified and freaked out by the fact that the change in this car (which I've never driven before) is only partially American that I can only mutter "well, I guess I'll have to get one another time then" and drive off. Not even pausing to get the 1.75 that IS American. (Good God, where is an embarassed face when you need one!?!) Bad idea since I left my water bottle in MY car and have no money to buy water at school or dinner before class that night.

I get to school. LIVID at Mr. for not checking the account before deciding LITERALLY the night before he left to drive across the damn country to pick up a car that he could have gone and gotten any time in the past 1 1/2 year, spending over 500.00 in gas/food/hotel to do so. I figured he had it worked out. Apparently NOT! I leave him a nasty voice mail that ends with something like "don't even think about calling to yell at me about this, I"m not going to answer"

It's 8:00 and not going well. My classroom is already 90 degrees. (see post below) I'm then informed that I have a parent meeting during first period. UMMM...I teach then! I am introducing the cloze reading technique. Thanks for the warning! I have to hand over things to another teacher to cover. It's not great but will do. The meeting went okay at least.

We are to have a 7th grade aud after lunch. We line our students up and wait for the 6th grade to leave. And wait, and wait. Two hundred hot, sweaty seventh graders in one hallway....waiting... this is going to be fun huh? The sixth grade finally heads out. We take our students into the swealtering gym and get them seated on the bleachers when the eighth graders begin to stream in. UMM...Hello! The eighth grade teachers say "well, our aud is supposed to be now, we are staying"

Then the fun really begins. Our new principal introduces herself and begins talking....and talking...and talking. Some choice tidbits of her speech...the word "expectations" is grossly overused. I believe I lost count after 3oX or so. Various soundbytes include "I don't know what you did in this school before, but I'm here now", "I can talk longer than you can", and my favorite...while answering questions about bullying (note to any administrator, do NOT answer questions during an assembly), the response "Well, DUH!"

The aud was supposed to be a 5-8 minute introduction. Actual time? 48 minutes of what I believe consisted of "blah blah blah EXPECTATIONS, blah blah blah RESPECT must be earned, blah blah blah EXPECTATONS"

My GOD did that actually HAPPEN???

Then we are to meet in our "focus groups" yet have not been told where/when. Turns out no one knows until after we are all doing other things...then must scramble to figure out where we are supposed to be...then go to the afterschool program, then master's class.....

Median temp of my classroom...92 degrees. Hours gone from my home....14. Tears shed before dropping into bed....many. A husband that makes it up to you by making mac and cheese, runny just the way you like it, because it's all you want at 9 pm....priceless.