January is finished

I got 6 days in this month, out of a possible 10. Brilliant. But for reals, this is really hard. It's not like I haven't been in a classroom before or worked with students before, but it's just so different. It's a lot less "Hey guys, a random stranger will be chilling in here for like 2 weeks" and more like "Your personal punching bag will be chilling in here and desperately seeking to teach you something that you don't want to learn much less care about for the next 3 months. Enjoy!" Ok, I know it's not really like that, but still. I don't think I've come across a tougher batch of students to deal with. It feels like it's a daily fight to get them to listen or to stop talking long enough for me to impart some information. I don't want to sound like a super emo kid here, but it's just a rough time trying to assert my authority. 
Admittedly it is getting better. Today, according to Mrs. F, went really well. Of course I felt like the meanest creature on the planet and was really only acting that way because I was fed up with the way they were acting/treating me. So tomorrow, I'm just gonna stand up in front of 4th and 6th hour with a kick butt attitude and they can freakin' deal with it. Gosh darn it, I'm in charge here and I demand to be listened to. And if they don't like it, tough. (At least this is the pep talk I'll be running through between 3rd and 4th period.)
Don't get me wrong, I do care about them. Even my students that are failing so hard that they won't pass no matter what. I still want all of them to do well, but they need to stop trampling me so I can help. And also, it's not all the students that act like that. It's just pockets here and there. I really do have some fantastic students who are so smart, creative, and insightful. I just need to focus on them more and on my issues less.
/sigh

Thanks for being patient listening ears all my followers.

Snow days...

need to end. I'm under my limit of teaching days already and it's only the 2nd week. And here I was looking forward to a semblance of spring break. Oh well. Cross your fingers for school tomorrow (and the rest of the month at least).
Oh, also, I know it's a little late but I think I just made a New Year's resolution. I'm vowing to get in shape. I'm only 21, but my body sucks. (Plus dress fittings start soon, but that's not the whole reason behind this.) So, I'm going to do as much Zumba as possible, which will hopefully get me in shape enough to start running. I've always wanted to be able to run (all my running friends say it's awesome), but my weak little baby lungs won't support it. Here's hoping.
Please don't confront me about self-esteem issues. My esteem is fine; I'm actually rather arrogant (and proud of it). I just would like to physically feel better about myself and blow off some accumulating stress.
Each post is starting to take on a personality of its own. Last time it was quotation marks, this time it's parentheses. Will it ever stop?

Insert exasperation HERE

Well, it's finished- Boot Camp, my own personal, week long trip to the circle of hell Dante forgot. My classmates may not have the same opinion of this "journey" that I did, but honestly by Wednesday (aka Day 3) I was fed up and done with the whole process. I know it was an important rite of passage and a lot of the information was stuff I didn't know because it was on a need to know basis, like the legality of food in your classroom or specifically what you do when your student...fill in the blank. I feel though that the exam, which was the same pre-test I took Monday, was kind of bogus. I don't feel it accurately assessed anything I got out of the week and being spoon fed answers the day before made me feel like I hadn't learned anything after all. We've been taught to help our students when they don't know something not give them the answers, so this whole thing just seemed pointless and hypocritical to me. Maybe I'm cynical, but honestly I'm not going to remember any of the law cases we learned or the 3 steps to building/rebuilding a student/relationship/something...see, I don't even remember the basis for the info I "learned."
Whatever. The most important thing is that I get a 90% or above to show that I "understand" and "learned" and can therefore be allowed in a classroom because a percentage score shows my aptitude to be in a classroom as a teacher. Just like the number of words/paragraphs in my philosophy of education is more important than the content.
Just please, for the love of mercy, let me in the classroom now.
PS- I apologize for my whiny attitude. I would like this to be an accurate reflection of my thoughts and feelings as I attempt to complete my final semester in college, prepare to enter the real world, and get married. 
PPS- I'm super excited to start student teaching on Tuesday!!! :)
PPPS- Sorry for the super amount of quotation marks in this post. 

What what what are you doing?

Not that it carries any meaning in my life, but they changed the Zodiac signs to add a 13th one. I don't like this. They took my squiggle lines of Aquarius away from me and made me a sea goat. You know the one. That creepy thing that sings to Charlie the Unicorn in the 3rd "episode"... yeah, that's me now. According to Wikipedia (which is sooooo reliable) Capricorn is the sign of the introvert. Shows what you know stars. :P
On the other hand, I have immensely enjoyed informing people of this new change. I have probably enjoyed it much more than I should and certainly much more than is decent or should be allowed. It's been a fun 5 minutes receiving texts and posts saying "Really?" like it's the end of the world or something. That's not until 2012 folks, you can relax. Jk, I don't believe in that either. Anyone remember when people were like "2000 is the end of the world!!"? Yeah, I do too. 
I'm rambling.
Back to the point. The Babylonians kicked Ophiuchus out of astrology for a reason. Not because they didn't like him, but because the Zodiac is a time keeping mechanism and it just didn't make sense in their counting system (which is based on 60) to have 13 hours or 13 months. Adding him back in is like kicking history in the face. Plus, who really wants to say "I was born under the sign of the snake charmer."? I wouldn't. Not anymore than I want to jokingly read a prediction about my life under the rule of a sea goat now.

Yesterday

I just need to pause for a moment to rave about dinner last night. Since I'm currently residing with the Julie-bean, we have been making dinner after I get out of Student Teaching Camp/back from studying for the Praxis on Saturday. The recipes come out of a Rachel Ray 30-minute cookbook and they're fantastic, even if Jules and I have to improvise because of the poor supplies at IGA or DG. Monday's dinner was Leek-y Chicken, but we lacked both leeks (which according to the title are essential) and the couscous bedding for the chicken. We made due with some saffron rice instead. 
Last night though! Oh my goodness! Spinach-Artichoke Pasta. If the Spinach-Artichoke dip at Applebee's (or anywhere else) is your main thing for appetizers, this recipe is for you. 
Combine about 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tbs of butter in a deep frying pan (or saucepan if you're me and Jules) and heat until butter is melted and hot
Add 3 chopped garlic cloves and one small grated onion to the pan and sautee for 5 minutes or so. (Julie and I used 2 small scoops of minced garlic from a jar that was hard to open) *If you don't like garlic and onion, I promise you can't taste it in the finished product
Add 2 tbs of flour and stir for a minute
Add 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup cream (or half-and-half) 
Bring to a bubble
Then reduce heat to low
Add chopped artichoke hearts (we used a 7 oz can, the recipe called for 14 oz, couldn't tell the difference)
Add chopped spinach leaves (ours were also from a can, and tasty)
Add generous amount of cheese (recipe calls for grated Parmeasan, we used several handfuls of mozzerella and a bunch of Parmeasan)
Stir
Add cooked pasta of choice- We used Spinach Nests, which were awesome. The original calls for Tortellini, which sounds even more awesome just cause I'm a Tortellini fan. 


This was seriously one of the most awesome things I've made/eaten in a long time. 
Hope you enjoy.

Is this real life?

Day 2 of "Boot Camp." All 39 of us were to go flooding into the schools as quivering masses of excitement to start getting to know the schools, teacher, students, and the classroom environment. But...it snowed. So, now we have our first snow day, a few hours of free time before our heads are crammed with information again, and I personally have a few unanswered questions for my cooperating teacher. (For instance, do you really know what you're getting into?)
Let's back up and document yesterday really quick in list format:
- I'm informed I'm no longer a student 
- I get a job offer from the school I'm student teaching in and have to decline
- I'm stuck in a really hot room for 8 hours while an overwhelming amount of information is repeatedly stuffed into my skull 
- I'm given an 81/2"x 11" piece of paper that summarizes everything I was told in a succinct, easy to understand way, but at the end of the day so I've been fruitlessly worrying about nothing
- I made dinner with Julie...which was slightly disastrous, but tasty
 All in all a stressful, decent day in the life of one Megan Coburn. 
It's weird being on campus too. It's like a sneak peak into the life of what the world will be like when I graduate. I technically don't live here anymore, so it's like I'm a ghost in the dorm. The world has gone on in my absence (obviously...I'm not that self-centered), but it's strange being here while it does. 
Well, on to "real life" once more. Studying for a Praxis exam and keeping up with student teacher stuff.