Hip to be Mom» School daze

Book adventures of a different kind

Clairity — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:46:17 +0000

So I drop in at the college library after class today to borrow a couple of books. Me in a library? Now that’s almost unheard of! These days, there’s nothing I can’t find on the net, right? Wrong! Long story short, I really have to get my hands on those books. So it’s not like I have much of a choice.

I push the glass door open and step in gingerly. Madam Librarian at the front desk eyes me through the top of her reading glasses. I spot the electronic turnstile and head for it. The little light on it is red. Now I don’t know about you but to me, red spells danger, stop. So I hesitate, my hand gripping the card hanging round my neck.

I can feel Madam Librarian’s eyes burning holes in my back. “Tap with your card!” she commands from her post behind the counter. I look back at her, she nods and repeats her order, making no attempt to keep her voice down. Last I remember, libraries are where you can actually hear a cotter pin drop, no?

The turnstile rolls and I’m in. Whew! Now that wasn’t so bad! Okay, so what now? I must’ve said it out loud because I see her motioning me to a hidden door that leads to the teacher’s book area. So what it is about restricted areas that they makes them so restrictive in space as well?

The aisles between the book shelves are obviously made for teachers the size of supermodels. Now I’m no supermodel and I’m carrying 2 shoulder bags and trying to make my way down a book aisle that’s the width of a hair. And before you can say “ssshush”, I’m bringing books crashing down from the shelf behind me. Oh no!!

I can almost imagine the look on Madam Librarian’s face. Hurriedly locating the books I need, I head for the exit hoping to make a quick getaway. I head straight for the exit marked OUT in big bold letters. Next thing I know, the alarms start going off and I’m standing there between the two electronic posts with yellow lights twirling on both sides of me!!

Madam Librarian looks none too pleased, and almost drops her reading glasses as she reaches down to deactivate the alarm. Apparently there’s another exit which isn’t wired and it looks just like the swinging doors at a cowboy saloon. Like I said, I’m pretty rusty around libraries. Either that or I’m a complete klutz!

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Giddy up and back to the grind

Clairity — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:08:29 +0000

Three days into the new year and I’m still expecting it to be Christmas next week. I wish! Either the holidays went all too quick or my internal clock is running slow. Gah! The reality is that it’s back to work for me today. Raine has a few more days to enjoy what’s left of the holidays and then it’s back to de ole grindstone… for all of us!

I’m so not looking forward to the insane traffic, the late lunch times and the long school hours my girls will have to endure. I’m planning to bake healthy snacks for the girls to take to school. It’s a bit more work but it will be more substantial than the recess food they usually bring. I just hope I can keep up with the baking.

New Year resolutions, I have none. I haven’t made one in a long, long time and I’m not about to start now. Making them is one thing, making them happen is a whole different animal altogether. I’m busy enough as it is so I can really do without a list of guilt hanging over my head.

Instead I’m going for some teeny-weeny feel-good goals. Can’t think of any right now. But nothing too ambitious. Nothing so critical that if I fall behind (which I’m sure I will) I can’t easily pick up again. Something I can humanly do in small steps that will give me some sense of achievement rather than lofty goals that leave me feeling like I’m never doing enough.

Over the holidays, our workouts have suffered. Since I’m not someone who’s motivated to exercise so I can pig out, I just went ahead and pigged out . But I do miss the endorphin and energy rush so I’m really looking forward to going back to a structured gym routine again with Raine.

Sugar fix

Clairity — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:37:15 +0000

I’m back from a 4-hour stretch of classes and all I can think of is this.

My much-needed sugar fix. Thankfully this is one of those rare times when I do have a tub of ice-cream sitting in the freezer.

Teaching sounds like an easy job. But let me assure you, it’s a whole different animal than sitting at the office. Sitting at the office, that’s easy. Teaching a class, not so much. Contrary to what folks think, teaching isn’t just standing up at the front of the class with a book in your hand and going bla bla bla!

For me personally (I can’t speak for others), teaching is as much prep work as it is classroom hyperactivity. It’s fun but it takes a lot out of me. Pant pant puff puff! So much so that I’m giving NaNoWriMo a miss this year. Raine and Skye are off writing 50,000 words in the month of November. Without me. I’ll be cheering them on. I think that’s all the energy I have for now .

And this is what always happens to me

Clairity — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 03:01:59 +0000

I don’t know how I did it but I survived the first week of school. I’m teaching 2 intensive English classes and any time you’re teaching more than one class, things can get a little sticky. For me, anyways. In case you didn’t know or have forgotten, I’m a ~~bit of a~~ big klutz. Nothing I can do about it, I was just born this way.

That said, I am actually excited to be back at work – if you can believe that.

First day of class. I’ve learnt to expect the unexpected. So I try to show up early so I’ll have those few precious minutes before class to sit at my desk (oh, did I mention they gave me my own desk at the office?) to collect my stuff and my thoughts before I go hunting for my classroom which I can almost never find without going 3 times round the block!

Just for the record, I did lose my way to class. I was on the right floor (surprise, surprise!) and since I had no idea which side to turn, I decided to turn right. Wrong! Right is almost never right for me, at least, and I ended up asking for directions.

Second day of class. I figured, now what else could go wrong, right? Well, the good news is I found my classroom (in another wing) with no problems and was just getting my books out and settling down to wait for my students. A few odd students strolled in and seemed puzzled to see me. I told them I was having my class there, so maybe they were in the wrong class.

Then someone else walked in again to question what class was this. I looked this person up and down, and repeated what I’d told the 5 other people before her, only to be told she was the teacher and that I was in her classroom! Em-baaa-rrra-sssingg!

What embarrassing things have you done or heard of? I really need to know to feel better .

The beginning of manic

Clairity — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:51:55 +0000

I had a great weekend. Did you? We slept in, ate out, shopped. And now manic times are about to begin at the Hip household…

I’m going back to work this week. I know it’s completely out of the blue. I’ve been offered a part-time English teaching gig at college. Pretty exciting, huh? I picked up my books and teaching materials this morning and now I have ‘homework’ to do – teaching plans, handouts, games, exam questions, the works!

On the home front, we’ll have to get into some new routines on the days that I’m working. First off, gym will have to take a backseat. That’s a big boo-hoo but I’m sure we’ll find a way to get around that. In the mornings, after I drop Raine off at her college, I’ll head straight to my college and when I’m done with my classes, I’ll head back over to hers to pick her up.

Meantime, Skye, my feisty 15-year-old, will be manning the kitchen for me. She’s in charge of cooking us lunch, well, until she runs out of recipes, so she says, but I’ll make sure she doesn’t . And I’m all set. Stay tuned for more stories from the work front. Here we go… !

Who doesn’t love a 4-day week?

Clairity — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:34:59 +0000

College is a whole new experience for Raine. There’s such a lot going on on campus that there’s rarely a dull moment. Tests, assignments and cramming aside, there are the weekly happenings in the student area where there are booths promoting everything from Starbucks coffee to accessories for ipod.

But for Raine, nothing beats the fact that she gets to plan her own class schedules in college. Not only does she get to decide which classes to take but also the time and day. You� know what else is neat? She schedules her classes around our gym time so she can get in there with me in the mornings. She is loving her 4-day weeks, I tell ya.