Glad That She's There And That I'm Not All Alone

My roommate is Indian but grew up in England.  She has her hilariously British moments:

P: I had a moderately awkward interaction with a fellow Weyburn resident today. He was short. and we were heading up the stairs towards the gate and he mumbled something. At first i couldn't hear what he said so i asked him to repeat himself.  And then after he repeated himself, i said "thanks" but then I realized he said "stop following me godammit." How odd! He must not know how to handle himself around girls!

Counting Down

mood: blarrrrrggghhhhh

I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THANKSGIVING BREAK.

I can't wait until i can see my family and hang out and gamble (thanksgiving tradition!).
I can't wait until i can inhale an entire turkey and two cans of cranberry sauce.
I can't wait to shop with my scholarship monies (that should actually be put to good use by paying housing and stuff)
I can't wait to sprawl my fat ass out on a couch and give no care in the world

and above all....

I can't wait to not be critically thinking about pedagogy and classroom management, and periodic assessments and discourse strategies.  Only a few more days......

To be honest, my program is not difficult in terms of work load. But the emotional and mental demand everyday requires is exhausting.  I can't believe I'm already 4 months into my program.  The other day I was driving back to my apartment and I actually freaked out that I was at UCLA.  The initial shock of realizing I'm a bruin still hasn't worn off.  Not even aver 4 months.

I'm delving deeper and deeper into education theories in my classes.  As this happens, the reality of what's actually happening in the field becomes more and more shocking.  Today at our professional development, I saw the dejected attitudes of the teachers whose students were behind in the curriculum (pretty much every class).  And when I saw this, I feared that in a year, that was going to be me.

Tomorrow, I have a IEP meeting for one of my students.  In the meeting, the student, the parent(s), the teacher, the IEP teacher, and an administrator will sit down and discuss the achievements, concerns and action plan for the student in question. I am nervous and dreading what will happen.  

We're speeding through the material trying to catch up to what the standards demand and I'm trying to turn a blind eye to the fact that a little over half of my students are failing.  This really really sucks.  But according to my mentor, this is also the norm.  

Whining

Mood: Bored, lonely

What an exciting past week/weeks. Firstly, yay and congrats to Rie and John for getting married! I journeyed up to Fresno in a car full of old friends to attend the merry event. It was a fabulous break but it made me miss my friends soooo much. There's nothing like bonding with a few girls on a long and smelly (Bakersfield) car ride.  

When I got back to LA from Irvine (after Fresno), this place never seemed less inviting.  Fortunately I had my TV shows to look forward to.  har dee har har.  I feel like my life here is so busy with school work that when things actually slow down, like on weekends, it actually becomes really lonely.  There is no time in a normal day to build bonds with potential new friends and so when those rare free moments occur, there's no one to hang out with.  ): I am friendless and alone. whine whine whine!!