Thread: Rant and Rave, Cry and Complain

Originally Posted by MoonageDaydream

You would never think being a middle school teacher could be so demanding.

Yeah, I mean, you just have to deal with:
+ Hormonally-jacked & confused early teens
+ Entrenched massive nepotistic bureaucracy
+ Insufficient funding
+ Crazed/Irate parents
+ Oh, and you know, academics

Sounds like a breeze!

Originally Posted by FryingMan

Yeah, I mean, you just have to deal with:
+ Hormonally-jacked & confused early teens
+ Entrenched massive nepotistic bureaucracy
+ Insufficient funding
+ Crazed/Irate parents
+ Oh, and you know, academics

Sounds like a breeze!

Yeah and!

IEP meetings every day, massive amounts of paperwork, and planning well thought-out lessons for two different grade levels that have to have the perfect timing and perfect difficulty in less than an hour?

But at least the last few days have been great. Really proud of my classes. In fact, not to brag too much, but my ESE only "direct instruction" classes scored right with their non-ese counterparts on the winter diagnostic science tests (state test). SO. PROUD. I am buying them cookies.

Been just busy with stuff...

My mom's Tanimbar corella, Moxie asked me today, "Are you going to feed the deer?" The bird says the funniest things. The other time, Yahtzee the green-winged macaw Gasped and exclaimed, "Oh my GOD!!" after seeing me coming out of the bathroom while I was on Crutches. That was months ago.

RAVE: I am SO happy. I just got my son's diagnostic test scores (state tests). My son, who just came out of an autism unit last year, scored PERFECT 5s in ALL AREAS. Oh my god, I am so proud. Sorry for bragging. I am just so happy.

Rant: I keep not journaling my dreams for no apparent reason. I had a lucid and I couldn't even remember my goals.

Rave: My d&d group has been able to meet every week for months and we are getting really far! We play in an hour and I'm so excited

So upset. I was on the treadmill at the gym and dropped my phone. I could only watch in horror as it was sucked into the machine and instantly crushed, case and all.

Originally Posted by MoonageDaydream

Rant: Yeah. I don't know why I thought it would be okay to wade in waist deep water with my phone in a little fanny pack. Yeah. Well, I had some cool pictures.

Well ... time to order another one. I wonder how long this one will last.

Originally Posted by MoonageDaydream

So upset. I was on the treadmill at the gym and dropped my phone. I could only watch in horror as it was sucked into the machine and instantly crushed, case and all.



Well ... time to order another one. I wonder how long this one will last.

Oh man! That sucks. Sorry about that.

Rave: I have studied many months for a licensing exam. I took it today and am very confident I passed. It feels very freeing to get that out of the way.

So I bought my daughter some Valentines Day cards to take to school, and she complains that they are for babies and she needs different ones.

My son on the other hand, I tried to get him some but he said he didn't want any. I asked him why. He said.. "Because I am not interested in any romantic relationships at this time!"

..Thank god for that.

My son had his first pimple last night. He's 12. I asked him how he felt. He says "I feel proud of myself!" Then whispers "Wow...." Turning to grampa, he says "I got a pimple! I got a pimple! I'm officially in puberty!"

I hadn't mentioned this earlier, but, my brother and his wife had been living with us for the past 2 weeks. They couldn't find an apartment to rent. Apparently the market is crazy right now. It was very very cramped (I also live with my parents, too, and my kids). I am very happy that two days ago they were able to move into their new place! On the sad side, looking at the market the way it is, I don't see how I can afford a house anytime soon. If ever? At least, down here. It's crazy and depressing. But.. at least I have a roof so I cannot complain too much.

On the plus side, the testing coordinator at my work wants me to host a training for the ESE department (another one). I'll be teaching the other special ed teachers how to administer the state tests to our students with moderate-severe autism. It's kind of stressful, but I'm excited.

My boss is putting heavy pressure on everyone. She expects "nose to the grind stone" every hour of every day.

I have not been in sports for 6 months or so now after having my knee surgery. That caused me to gain weight and that makes me sad.

Rave: I had the best day at work today. It was a "Professional Development Day" which means, no students, just meetings where they talk at us a lot . Well, this one was different. We had 3 sessions, and one of the sessions we got to go to the gym. Oh my gosh. We played basketball and volleyball with each other. By the time we were done an hour later, we were all completely drenched in sweat. Luckily, I won a T-shirt from the raffle and was able to clean up a little bit in the bathroom in the 5 minutes I had before the next two sessions. We were all a little stinky after that...

Later in the day, after two boring hour long meetings, we met back in the cafeteria. I noticed everyone sitting up front in a wide circle of chairs. They were full, but the data processor GLADLY gave me her seat. When I realized what was going on... I looked back in horror to see her laughing. I had just entered the "Dance Contest" ..... Round one I coudln't even get out my chair, I felt so shy. Some lady pulled me up by hands, and I remember mumbling "Oh boy, this going to be really bad, really really bad." Round 2? Oh yeah, almost all of us were up dancing at this point. My good buddy Dan C. DID A SPLIT in front of everyone, and man, he actually BOUNCED. He won us the round. Third round we were doing coordinated moves together, it was great. Our team won and got prizes.

Anyway... it was a lot of fun. Free lunch, too, and got to go home early.

Walked into a Walmart the other day. I went to the Electronics department to look for something and while I was there, I heard a Family arguing about what movie they should buy. The choice was between Ghostbusters: Afterlife or Encanto!! Someone, growl repeatedly, "Ghostbusters!!"
I couldn't help but, laugh to myself!!

Rant: Going to bed way too late lately... Not great!! and I have a toothache.

Originally Posted by HumbleDreamer

Walked into a Walmart the other day. I went to the Electronics department to look for something and while I was there, I heard a Family arguing about what movie they should buy. The choice was between Ghostbusters: Afterlife or Encanto!! Someone, growl repeatedly, "Ghostbusters!!"
I couldn't help but, laugh to myself!!

Rant: Going to bed way too late lately... Not great!! and I have a toothache.

I took my kids to go see that (Ghostbusters). They loved it. Also went and saw the new Matrix. I thought it was awesome, but my friends had mixed feelings.

Originally Posted by MoonageDaydream

I took my kids to go see that (Ghostbusters). They loved it. Also went and saw the new Matrix. I thought it was awesome, but my friends had mixed feelings.

I'm glad that Jason and his father Ivan Reitman were able to do the movie and take that journey on working on the film together before his father's passed last week.

Had a good day today. I gave the training I mentioned earlier, and it went well. I thought I would be more nervous, but when I got up, I don't know.. I just felt calm.

Joy(?) from reading about Jung's life and finding that his personal experiences with active imagination are really very similar to my own experiences. Well, other way around, actually. Mine started off only a few years ago as something isolated, without knowing anything formally about Jung's theories on the subject until my most recent reads and discussions, so it's almost like a relatable formal catch-up on an internal experience.

On the other hand, reading about the 1910s/20s is feeling particularly poignant right now and I can't say it makes me feel any good.

Happy. I am going to Cayo Costa in 2 weeks for spring break. Then, I get back, and on the next weekend, I am going fossil hunting with one of my best buddies and fellow science teacher Dan. We're going to hunt ancient clam fossils that are filled with calcite crystals! And, along with his wife, are camping at Kissimmee Prairie. Great place... One of the only Dark Sky parks in Florida.


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Edit 3/5/22:

Sick. Laryngitis or something. Ugh, sleeping last night was the worst. Couldn't swallow and throat hurts so bad.

I ran into my ex boyfriend a couple days ago at my local grocery store. We broke up a few years ago. I smiled and waved. I was shocked - he had gained so much weight since I last saw him. On the plus side, I've been working really hard with my trainer and feeling pretty great about myself. My mom said after I got home - "the best revenge is looking good." I guess I agree, that felt awesome.

I hope it's okay if I make a new post for today. Sorry for double posting. You guys need to post more often in here.

It is very scary what is going on in Europe right now. No one has brought this up yet, but I feel like it's on everyone's minds. I am very scared, not just for the people of Ukraine, but also for the possibility of WW3. For the possibility of a nuclear war. I think Putin is crazy enough to do it. I really do.

Originally Posted by MoonageDaydream

...but also for the possibility of WW3. For the possibility of a nuclear war. I think Putin is crazy enough to do it. I really do.

It is a very sad time. Them having nukes prevents anyone from intervening, but keep two things in mind. Russia has been doing this exact same thing for 14+ years. It has not been made a big deal of because we as a group only seem to care about white Christians. My point is that his behavior has not suddenly changed, he simply has attacked someone we identify more closely with. Second, while he is obviously evil and vicious he also does not rant and rave, and he does act like a statesman when giving speeches. I am saying he does not appear to be a reckless madman. Think about a recent political figure who could not listen to anyone for even a few minutes and often said impulsive things and such. Putin is more composed than that and I think it is a good sign as far as not destroying the world.

Originally Posted by MoonageDaydream

It is very scary what is going on in Europe right now. No one has brought this up yet, but I feel like it's on everyone's minds. I am very scared, not just for the people of Ukraine, but also for the possibility of WW3. For the possibility of a nuclear war. I think Putin is crazy enough to do it. I really do.

Pretty sure it's fine to double post once the edit time-window is gone anyway, which I think is a couple of days? I'm actually not sure. I personally have not been commenting about these situations anywhere until now because I don't know what's okay to say and also as below I start saying a lot if I do. My partner was also concerned about a nuclear situation, I have been less so because of the statesman aspect that Sivason mentioned. At the end of the day I feel he is a politician concerned with being a politician and like mostly any politician, I think he wants to "survive" and be seen in the best light possible.

Originally Posted by Sivason

It is a very sad time. Them having nukes prevents anyone from intervening, but keep two things in mind. Russia has been doing this exact same thing for 14+ years. It has not been made a big deal of because we as a group only seem to care about white Christians. My point is that his behavior has not suddenly changed, he simply has attacked someone we identify more closely with. Second, while he is obviously evil and vicious he also does not rant and rave, and he does act like a statesman when giving speeches. I am saying he does not appear to be a reckless madman. Think about a recent political figure who could not listen to anyone for even a few minutes and often said impulsive things and such. Putin is more composed than that and I think it is a good sign as far as not destroying the world.

I know of some Russian artists and based on what they have been saying, I get the impression that Putin was pretty much the best of a very bad situation for many people who faced somewhat horrible lives only a few generations ago, so for those somewhat older generations I can see why he is held in high regard and not at all considered a madman. And the other impression I get is that because of this there's a big sort of cleavage between older and younger generations in Russia, because the younger generations did not have the bias of being "saved" by him, so they see things differently in a sense.

In my view, Russia has never been quite right since the start of the 20th century and this is just one thing in a sequence of many. It's not a criticism of Russian people really, just an observation that somehow as cultures we have not quite integrated with it and it has not integrated with us. And somehow this West/East divide is still psychologically present in many cultures and I think that's part of the problem, though the way politicians see the world is also undoubtedly very different from how we "plebs" see the world and that has a lot of influence with respect to divides.

You're right though, none of this is new, it's simply come into a larger focus for most people in the so-called "West". Even as recently as five or six years ago I remember reading about fighting in the East of Ukraine and I think it was well on its way by that point.

Originally Posted by MoonageDaydream

I hope it's okay if I make a new post for today. Sorry for double posting. You guys need to post more often in here.

Yeah. Just been so busy and tired lately, I feel like I barely get time to think about anything unless I've planned for it.

IMO Putin is somewhat crazy, but he is by no stretch of the imagination dumb, and he will not do something that would get him killed and his empire destroyed. Therefore no WW3. (Also, even if he went completely mental, the russian military leaders would probably not follow suit).

By the way, I'm not convinced the western governments are in any way concerned with the plight of the Ukrainian people. I have a feeling they want people to be scared of the WW3 spectre, so this war is just up their alley.

I hope you guys are right that he is less mad than he's coming across.

Right now, and all day, I have been broken-hearted. All I can think about is that there are children, little children, stuck in basements (70 in one I read) in Mariupol. They are very at risk of dying of thirst. Russia is not letting them leave. Russia is not letting them get help.

In other news, my sore throat has come back with a vengeance. I have no voice. Covid-negative thankfully, but I am taking work off tomorrow to rest.

Originally Posted by MoonageDaydream

Right now, and all day, I have been broken-hearted. All I can think about is that there are children, little children, stuck in basements (70 in one I read) in Mariupol..

It is very sad, and this fact does not make it better but this evil has been going on for many years. I think the sad sick thing is that it is only now attention of the western world has been focused. These sick disgusting events simply did not rate very high because it was not in Europe or was not whites or not Christians. I am glad the world is standing up, but they should have been this outraged 20+ years ago.
--Russian war crimes here--

Please note everyone, that I have Russian friends and hold no ill will towards the people of any nation. It is the leaders of armies that are responsible for the actions of said army.