Monday, December 13, 2010

Feeling Frustrated

If only.

Tonight was one of those nights. I sat down hours ago to write my daily post. The computer would not do what I wanted it to do and being computer illiterate I couldn't figure out how to make it WORK!!

(moments are passing as I pause to deep breathe...)

Ok...moving on.

Today was a day of making a chart for this week, day by day, and filling in all of the things I need to accomplish for school and for home. This is a hectic week with lots going on and having a list that I can look at every 5 minutes is the only way I can maintain my calm exterior (you don't want to know about the interior!).

So today at work I:
  • met with autism specialists in the a.m. regarding one of my students
  • set up two envelopes to collect $$ - one for one of my EAs who just had surgery and one for one of my students who was put into foster care last Friday:(
  • ordered the flower arrangement for my EA and arranged delivery with another staff member
  • prepared a letter to parents about all the events this week and sent it home with each student
  • organized all of our poptabs for the breakfast challenge (the classroom that collects the most wins a free breakfast - we have won several times)
  • called a parent regarding one of my students who said he was kicked out of his house (not true)
  • met with my dep't head
  • organized myself for a meeting after school tomorrow
  • met with 2 students regarding a Best Buddies fundraiser they're planning
  • met with EAs after school
Then after work I:
  • shopped for paper plates and table cloths for the Best Buddies breakfast we're hosting Friday morning
  • bought all of my stocking stuffers for Michael and Kazi (yay!!)
  • chatted briefly with Michael before he headed off to work
  • read the National Post
  • talked to Kazi about her exam today - it went well!
  • input my spends at spendingdiary.com -thanks for finding this site Maureen!
  • spent seemingly endless hours wrestling with my computer while also trying to eat my soup; soup is cold
  • gave up
  • wrote this post, going to bed!!
  • The End
  • Good Night!

11 comments:

  1. You did tonnes today!!! I hope tomorrow is a great day for you! But prepare for snow, it's supposed to be a doozy of a night here! :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. eeks! my day was 'get myself, both parents, and both big dogs to Houston in my civic'! we made it - yeah!
    a friend came by and we went to eat together - I had her son's christmas present but sheleft him napping with another friend..said she didn't think about him opening some of his gifts - some are christmas themed like coloring books adn book and a beanie baby..same for her niece. she's gonna try to get back with me sometime before Thursday so we can watch him open some of his stuff - the christmas stuff plus one of his pajamas I got him. probably won't see Kayla. It's weird with other families - last year I had them open them really early and it was really pretty early in the month for Christmas when they dont open a whole lot of stuff - it's just fun to see them open the stuff. This family opens family gifts the weekend after Christmas orif it falls too close to the weekend then the following weekend after new year's. santa is on christmas though for each family though the niece has had her santa ruined from older kids around her.

    I'm going to bed too!

    Susanna

    ReplyDelete
  3. WHAT A DAY, you make me look as if I have been standing still since I got out of bed.

    But in fact I,ve worked a 10 hour shift and am now on to my second job. Babysitting for my 2 eldest Grandchildren.

    The difference between your job and mine is job satisfaction I get none but you, you must get so much out of your day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You are one busy lady!! My computer is cantankerous (sp) at times too. I know nothing about how to fix it and some days I want to shoot it too! Hope tody is a better day for you and your computer :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yikes! Lots to get accomplished! But I am with you - I need to write myself lists also to make sure that what needs done gets done! haha

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Jane what a day you had. Too busy by far. That deep breath thing help a bit? Computers can be very frustrating.
    Big Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  7. ahh lists, I can't function without them. But I also don't finish everything on them either! Good for you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I feel almost guilty after reading your day! work is really quiet for me at the moment so I spent the day reading craft magazines and listening to audio books, it won't last much longer though! do you get much of a break over christmas?

    ReplyDelete
  9. The things you face daily are huge in my opinion. Seeing a child moved to foster care would just break my heart. And something is so wrong about the child claiming to be evicted from his home. I am so glad there are people like you in the world, because I could not do this job. Too Emotional! I would be bringing kids into my home and someone would be sure to say aweful things about me. :)


    Plus, I agree with most other commenters, I feel like I am getting nothing done in comparison. You must be a bundle of energy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Half-dozen-daily: well we got a fair bit of snow - enough to take the school buses off the street but not enough to close the schools. That's ok though - we're getting lots of cleaning done around here without students:)

    Susanna: I'm trying to imagine your car with both of your parents, you and 2 large dogs!! What a trip that must have been!

    Maureen: I guess you could say I have job satisfaction but it's a balance between the progress we make and all of the OTHER CRAP - like schoolboard beaurocracy, not enough resources, not enough $$, poorly trained staff, ancient equipment like computers, no heat in the winter and no air in the summer, blah blah blah. I stay focussed on the kids and that helps with all the other, it's just sometimes I feel I'm not doing the BEST I could be if I had everything I needed...but that's life in education:)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lisa: yes I am doing better today and I actually figured out what I was I was doing wrong on my computer, and it was totally me, not the computer. I just needed a break from it.

    jpkittie: - I tried many MANY organizational systems over the years and the absolute BEST for me (and the cheapest incidentally) is the $1.00 "To Do List" notebook from Dollarama. It has 150 pages and will last me the entire school year.

    Johanna: yes, the deep breaths do help..a LOT..just not TOO many times or I pass out lol!! Hugs back!

    Marguerite: I never get my lists completed either, so I just carry over unfinished items to the next page in my to do list notebook, sometimes the same items get carried over for several days and then I decide I don't really need to do them:)

    Louise - yes I get two weeks off for Christmas break starting this Friday - yahoo!!

    The Borrower: yes the job gets VERY emotional at times - we go through lots of kleenex. Sometimes we can correct an injustice, sometimes we can't. Unfortunately I just read that the Children's Aid Society has to cut by 25% the numbers of kids in their care - I ask you - where are they supposed to go??

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment - it means a lot to me that you read my post and are leaving a comment - you just made my day!