Befanee’s Neighborhood

Last autumn, I started a distance learning program for my master's in children's literature.  The first classes I took were Critical and Theoretical Perspectives and Research Methods.  CTP made my brain hurt but in a good way.  I was always felt a little off, like I had missed a major memo and was constantly playing catch-up.  The papers made me incredibly anxious and a lot of the time I wondered how on earth I had been accepted to this program when it was so obviously over my head.  Nevermind that the professor who was my course tutor (it's a British programme, so the culture shock nearly killed me, talk about divided by a common language) was absolutely fantastic and gave incredibly useful feedback.  When it came time to write the final paper, I actually got my collective self together enough to submit a draft.  That's probably a first for me since my junior year of college and it was a required part of hmmm, interestingly enough, that course was Research Methods. Anyways, I submitted a draft about two weeks before the due date and the feedback was essentially (but phrased much more diplomatically), "I'm so glad you submitted this with enough time to rewrite it".  It ended up that I was road-tripping through California with a very good friend of mine who was a lit major in college.  So, the day the paper was due (and I was going with a nine hour time difference NOT in my favor), we sat at our friend's gorgeous house in Napa (I was the world's worst houseguest that visit and made my travelling friend also be a lousy houseguest that day) and spent the day writing my paper.  I had thought enough about it, but I still need TLA to help me focus and write and re-write. The paper got done, but oh boy, I do not want to go through that again.  We printed the paper out at our hostess' husband's office. I e-mailed it in by the deadline and posted the requisite two copies off in San Francisco the next morning.  Talk about a team effort! I got my results this past October.  I found this a touch annoying that I didn't get my results until after I had paid for and started my next courses.  Research Methods had a paper as well and that was due back in June.  So, on a sunny day in October (after re-routing to my school address) DHL delivered an envelope from my grad school. I was so nervous that I had one of my friends open the envelope.  She read the letter and let me know that I had passed both my classes.  I just about threw up I was so excited. And relieved. 
So, now I'm taking another class with this programme.  This one is Poetry for Children.  And I have been much more careful with deadlines.  I submitted my first assignment on the due date and got the feedback later that week.  The way the classes are set up is that you have three to four assignments that are ungraded and then one or two major papers that are.  Even though the assignments aren't graded, the feedback is really important because you are setting benchmarks for your work and letting the tutor know that you are keeping up with the readings or just have a clue in general as to what's going on.  I am still incredibly anxious about the papers, graded or not, so it took me (can I just say that the Classic Rock station I am listening to through iTunes rocks!?!?! It's one of those live365.com stations) until this morning to open the comments that the professor sent me on the 29th.  I have to get over the anxiety because the feedback was awesome!  At this point, I think the professors have more faith in my ability to this work than I do.  But, obviously, children's literature is my thing.  I know that I've got to do better on my next assignments because I wasn't proud of the work I submitted this go around, I was just happy to submit it on time, but hot damn, I do know what I'm doing.  Part of it is that this is what I do.  I am immersed in children's literature through my work and my own interest in it and have been for well over ten years at this point, so I should be good at this.  But, wow, I'm actually starting to have confidence in my opinions and views. And it's showing in my work at school (my job school, not my academic school), I'm doing more with my students and I'm excited about sharing with my students.  I'm bringing more poetry in and next week, I'm going to start introducing the reception children to French nursery rhymes. A lot of our reception age students are Francophone and sometimes I lose them a bit with the English language picture books, so I've been wanting to do more French with them. 
The other classes that I'm taking are First Steps Writing (required for all our teachers) and EAL (English as an Additional Language) for Young Learners.  I've already taken the generic version of this class, but this one is geared towards my students, so it will be more useful.  I like stretching my brain. And I hear it burns calories.  But it does mean that I am pretty absorbed by work and classes right now.  Good thing I like to read.  

you can have mine. I'll even pay the shipping.  Here I am, all excited to go to bed early (please ignore the fact that it's Friday, I'm tired!), I walk into my bedroom and start looking for my pajamas when, "oh my, what is that on the towel on my bed?" (I put one down at the foot for the cat to sleep on). "Oh joy, vomit" But hey, at least it's on the towel.  But what is that NOT on the towel.  What is that next to the towel? Poop.  POOP!!!!

So, anybody want a cat? Only thing I can guarantee is that she won't like you.

Exhausted, I push open the heavy door. It gets heavier as a gush of wind rushes inward, trying to push me back inside. But nothing can make me turn around, Nothing can make me turn back into that place. I glance up, looking for a glimpse of something from the city. This is all she gives me. Until tomorrow, my love, I will return wanting the same.

Because I tweeted yesterday. And not just my horoscope. 
Argh, day three and I already missed a day. In my defense, I was sad.  My mom had been visiting for three weeks and she left yesterday.  Saying goodbye was hard, but mostly okay, work was fine, going home sucked. Empty apartment.  So, I drowned my sorrows in my last diet dr. pepper and over-buttered popcorn and birthday cake. No, there isn't any left. I read crappy, crappy novels and watched tv and then I went to bed.  Oh, I sorted out a Scholastic order in there, too. And blogging didn't even cross my mind.

Apparently, this video has been making the rounds, but today was the first I had heard or seen it. 

Watching this has helped me renew my commitment to do better at consuming less and repurposing more.  Now that BossyBoots has left the city for the next five months, I will have to more things like this video and other friends to help me cut back on my consumption. It definitely has me re-thinking Christmas.

Go forth and fill your libraries with media.

Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.

~daisy

argh.  What can I say?  Mondays are rough and that was without going to the gym tonight. Yes, I joined one and that gets its own post. Today was ped day, then I gave blood and then it was pub quiz. Last week, we came 3rd, this week it was down to 9th, but it was a rough week for categories.  Next week, we'll be back. 
There. A post is up. On the 2nd.

Only I will probably care about this or find it half way amusing.
a.) I am not a morning person...
b.) I slept terribly last night and I'm still feeling it
Dad: You need to be careful with your pc
Me: I know
Dad: Well I don't know how you have that set up there but you have to make sure not to bend it (my ac adapter broke) because it can easily break in half.
Me: I know, it's not bented(no typo that's literally what I said)..I know how to take care of my stuff
Dad: Bented? I didn't know that was a word.
Me: evil glare
Dad: Are we in a snit this morning?
Me: No
Dad: Are we just tired?
Me: yes

I have loved this show from the start.  I watch it, I buy the dvds and watch it again, I talk about it with friends, and push others to watch it. But, this season, it's losing me.  It started off absolutely superb with Andre Braugher, but 13 is still a character (and while I liked her better than most of the other potential team members two/three seasons ago, she now annoys the hell out of me) and Jennifer Morrison is leaving.  I can't watch anymore.  I'm bored by it and I'm not emotionally invested in any of the characters.  House seems static; Cuddy, I dunno where she's gone and Chase w/o Cameron? Please. Why can't Cameron stay and 13 go away? That would be much, much better.
I haven't watched it in a couple of weeks, and I'm okay with that.  Last season and the one before seemed to be the peak of excellent tv viewing, this season, not so much.  Three Rivers? Bring back Moonlight and scrap 3 Rivers and I say that as someone who LOVES Pittsburgh.  I was so excited that there was a tv show set in my favorite American city (outside of D.C., of course), but then I watched it.  Once.
CSI:NY, they pulled back from the precipice, but I gotta tell you, the first time Danny rolled into view in the premiere, I just started to laugh.  Totally cracked up and I nearly turned the computer off right then.  Are you kidding me? But, they saved themselves with Flack and Sid. 
I have started watching Flashpoint, all the way back to the beginning.  I love Canada! This is an excellent show, though I don't know if law enforcement up north is really this empathetic and compassionate, but what a lovely idea. And it doesn't get bogged down in personal crap.  I'm glad they lost the Sam/Jules storyline because continuing that? I probably would have quit watching. 
So, here we begin another year's NaBloPoMo. Let's see if I make it.