Interesting factoid uncovered researching NCLB.

The youngest Bush brother, Neil--the Stephen Baldwin of the Bush outfit--owns a test prep and educational software company! Yessiree, he does. I'm sure it's all above-board and NCLB's high-stakes testing has nothing to do with this.

Oh wait, maybe it does.

Guess who's lacking focus and slightly overwhelmed?

Me!

I have a lot to do before the term ends on Dec. 6. If you see me blogging too much here when I should be a writing research paper and working on my thesis, please tell me in the comments to go back to work.

Love and thanks,
'Style

Better.

You may recall that I was nervous about leaving my job of seven years. I was afraid I'd miss it, that I'd discover it was really my life's work.

Turns out? Not my life's work. Do not miss it at all.

Of course, I miss many of my friends. They also email me to say how I'm missed. They STILL have not hired someone for my position. It has now been 7 weeks since I gave notice. Silly.

A List of Things I Do Not Miss about My Former Job:

1. Should I have capitalized "about" in the above title-case header? Who gives a f^ck?
2. A colleague informed me today that my former office again smells like dead rat.
3. They still haven't replaced me? WTF? Get it together, people!
4. Anal-retentive colleagues with control issues telling me what to do.
5. Monday morning status meeting. Ye gods, that thing was heinous. The tension!
6. The tension! The tension!
7. The steady march of corporatization on the culture and expectations of a formerly small, family-owned publisher.
   7a. Squeezing vendors for every last dime.
   7b. While knowing that said vendors have not received a salary increase in years.
   7c. And that many have had drastic layoffs.
   7d. Managers now must sign off on everything, up to and including wiping your ass.
   7e. Listing monthly "wins". That really was the last nail in the coffin for me.
   
8. Boredom. Hours and hours of daily, grinding tedium. The days were sooooooo loooong.
   8a. It's not as if I wasn't busy. I was constantly, completely overloaded with work, and bored to tears by all of it.
9. Crushing workload. CRUSH-ING.
   
10. Although my colleagues are nice people, and many are friends, they are the most neurotic group of individuals you could hope to collect under one roof. Everyone is full of hang-ups. Every conversation could suddenly turn awkward for no apparent reason. See also #4.
11. Being grossly underpaid.
    
12. Pretty much everything about my former job: I do not miss it.
    

A Brighter Day Will Come.

I find this video a stirring tribute to the President-Elect.

Meme from Ann: One Word Each.

Where is your mobile phone? Somewhere
Where is your significant other? Bathroom
Your hair color? Brown
Your mother? Mom
Your father? Dad
Your favorite thing? Cats
Your dream last night? Forget
Your dream goal? Homeownership
The room you're in? Office
Your hobby? Cooking
Your fear? Falling
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Present
Where were you last night? Nia
What you're not? Dogmatic
One of your wish-list items? Travel
Where you grew up? Dighton
The last thing you did? Exhale
What are you wearing? Clothes
Your TV? HD
Your pets? Cats!
Your computer? PC :(
Your mood? Fatigued
Missing someone? Unsure
Your car? "Shelley"
Something you're not wearing? Shoes
Favorite shop? Local
Your summer? Short
Love someone? Much
Your favorite colour? Pink
When is the last time you laughed? Today
When is the last time you cried? Election

And now, a word from Protagoras.

Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be, because of the obscurity of the subject, and the brevity of human life.

Fifth Grade: Really Great.

Of course, it helped that I was in a very different school, a school in an affluent suburb with a normal-length school day, rather than school in a poor city with an 8-hour school day. (Ignore my misplaced modifiers. I know they are there, but lack the reserves for revision.)

I know that the extended school day is a theoretical boon to students, and I concede that the children may be better off at school than at home alone, or wherever else they might go after a short day. However, my experience thus far is that kids cannot handle 8 hours. They become tired, cranky, belligerent. Even with breaks such as enrichment activities and recess, they become overstimulated. It is too much for their young minds and growing bodies. A six-year-old burst into tears on Tuesday because, in the 7th hour of school, he missed his mommy and daddy. Another six-year-old started crying because she missed her brother by hour six. The seventh-graders just got distracted and mean.