Work » Hip to be Mom

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!

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. You do not see any photos of my bread or fruit cake. That’s because they are still stuck in Raine’s phone waiting to be offloaded to my computer. But this has been another one of the Hip family’s believe-it-or-not days. Long story but let me just sum it up for you.

Raine’s driving lesson

Instructor shows up an hour late. No apology. Wasn’t expecting one.
He takes a wrong turn on the way to the practice grounds and wastes 1.5 hours getting back on track.
His car runs out of gas in the middle of the freakin’ highway!! How in the h … never mind, I asked the same question!!
Poor Raine has to push the car off the highway. Imagine that!

Practice grounds are in the middle of nowhere. Raine had had no lunch, no drink. She swears if she had eaten the food, she would’ve been poisoned instantly. And there was no way she was going to use their restroom either. Ew!
Lesson lasts 6 whole hours!

My work schedule

My college wants me back next semester. Yay!
I’m juggling my class schedule around Raine’s and Skye’s school hours. I want everything to line up snugly so we won’t have to be climbing trees. Easier said than done.
Rave teaching reviews from my last batch of students. It’s good to be loved .

In other news

Finally stopped procrastinating and changed my car tires. Ripped a freakin’ hole in my wallet too. Big tires cost more. Yeah, I know!
Eat. Drink. Laugh out loud. The holidays are here! I gotta start acting like it is.
I promise, those pix are coming. Wait for ~~them~~ it!

Since I took on my teaching gig, my gym time has suffered. a. lot. Initially I thought I’d still be able to squeeze in one or two mornings a week. Turns out that between my class schedule and Raine’s, and all my class prep work and her assignments, midterms and finals, there hasn’t even been time for me to cook a proper lunch some days.

That’s not to say we haven’t been eating though. Me and the girls have been baking up a storm. Baking is therapy for stress but bad news for the waistline, and ours have expanded as a result of gobbling cheesecake (so good, so good!), blueberry cream cheese muffins (not so much) and biscotti (so addictive it’s hard to stop at one).

I do need to get my butt out of this chair and to the gym because I’m starting to feel like a deflated helium balloon. It’s not so much the guilt of eating those goodies. Let’s be honest here, it’s the holidays, right? and how often do I even eat cookies and cake – hardly ever, right ? Yeah, but the truth is I hate feeling lazy and lethargic more.

The good news is I have just 2 more classes this week and I’m done, well, except for grading the finals! Which means I’ll have all the time to go back to my beloved routine of working out and not having to rush around with my wet washed hair afterwards. Even Tyson, our beagle, has been looking at me lately with a tilted head like, gosh Mom, what the heck is up with that crazy hair-do?!!

Need a break

Posted by Clairity Comments Off

Dec 092011

Whew, glad the weekend is here. It’s been an incredibly crazy week in the Hip household.

Raine is smack in the middle of her finals AND trying to plan her schedule for next semester.
Is this National Sign-up Week or what? Entirely too many things to sign up for, none of them free!
We shifted office at work temporarily due to remodeling. Now my desk is reduced to 3 files sitting at the corner of someone’s desk.
Skye and I baked a lovely blueberry cheesecake but we had a biscotti disaster. Lesson learnt: Don’t bake if you can’t focus on measuring ingredients.
I’ve been feeding my students lots of candy. I need a sugar fix but decided, better them than me!
Someone please remind me to pick out Christmas cards for Steev’s roomie’s parents and uncle, and make guacamole before my avocados go bad.
At least my phone did me a favor and died again. I’m in no mood to take calls.

Always a blast

Posted by Clairity 3 Responses »

Nov 182011

Have I ever mentioned what a blast I have with the classes I teach? Truth is I do, and this time, it’s no different. I have a class of students from far-flung countries. It’s a mix of college kids and adults in their 20′s and 30′s. I have a guy who works in real estate and another who is never far from his medical computer.

It’s great. Even as I’m teaching them English, I’m learning about their countries and cultures. I usually get to class early and as the students start rolling in, some of them would come up and chat with me. It’s a great opportunity for them to practise their English and for me to get to know them better.

I get asked some pretty wild questions which often center around origins and families going way back to the why’s and wherefore’s. Now that’s gotten me wondering about my grandparents and great-grandparents, and that whole ancestral bit – seriously .

We had a class about food and one of the guys offered to take me to lunch to try the food from his country. On and off, someone would offer me a small snack before class. Between the bag of M&Ms I brought to class yesterday and the speed word game we had afterwards, I think we’re all good for a great start to the weekend.

For the past few weeks, Steev’s been working part-time at a service center. His job is to help the customer get a number, fill out a form and wait their turn.

Now if you’ve been reading my posts about Steev, you’ll know that besides being a total geek, he’s also a very friendly young man with impeccable manners and a really engaging smile.

So it’s not surprising that when customers approach him with technical questions, he’ll happily explain away though that’s entirely his own attempt at providing the best service he can, rather than part of his job specification.

Since Steev started work, he’s been like the shining star in a room full of dowdy service clerks who are grumpy and not too polite. In fact, several customers have openly commended Steev on his friendly disposition and willingness to answer questions as opposed to said clerks. That’s my son !

Sadly though, that’s the problem right there. The service clerks, fearing that they won’t look too good now that Steev is there, are making life miserable for him. The senior witch complained to the boss that Steev is flouting work rules which she claims is creating a bad image for the company. Say what ??

As a result, Steev’s had all his privileges revoked and said witch is watching him like a hawk. He’s been told not to be too friendly with the customer, not to answer their questions, not to use his cell phone or his computer even when there are no customers.

I feel really sad it turned out to be such an unpleasant experience for Steev. He’s 18 and raring to go and obviously he’s no match against a 40-something who’s an old hand at office politics. I’ve advised him to just do what he’s told, nothing more, nothing less. If they don’t appreciate his efforts, so be it, it’s their loss. I mean, what else can I tell him? *sigh*