A post with some sort of substance...

I have had so much going on lately and the randomness of it has had my head twirling. The mere thought of putting words together for a post about anything was overwhelming so I just haven't. But here it all goes... in the fashion of the ever increasing bullet style.

I'll begin with work:

• I feel as if it's my first year of teaching again... only it is year ten. The pendulum has swung back to the class of the truly emotionally disturbed. Mind you, the classification was changed to the behaviorally disabled, but that no longer fits the bill. The last six or so years I have dealt with an influx of true "street kids". The juvenile convicts, gang bangers, illegal immigrants, and just plain undisciplined children. They fit the behavioral disability category. They had no true mental illness, they were just the products of their environments, simple as that. Well this year, like I said, has gone back to the days of the seriously mentally disturbed kids being placed into my care. It has been a hard transition for me to get my head back into the mindset that these kids really can't be blamed for their daily issues, it's part of who they are. I have to remind myself of that on an hourly basis. The kid that is arguing with himself out loud, is in fact arguing with himself, not me.

• Then there is R. He is, or should I say was, the only "street kid" I had left from the last couple of years. When I got back to work yesterday from vacation (we were on a fall break, that I added 2 days to, thats how I had 12) I found out that he is in jail. His life is spiraling into a deep hole, and I don't think I can pull him out. It hurts my heart.
  

• This is the first year I can say that I'm feeling really off. Questioning whether I truly have what it takes to inspire and motivate, because I don't feel inspired or motivated. The state of public education is becoming more and more unsettled, unrealistic, and extremely thankless. Some days the battle of the political bull*hit just stamps the rewarding part right into the dirt.

Not so Good Life stuff:

• My Grandmother's (Julia) health is really wavering. She has been in the hospital, more than out lately. It puts a lump in my throat just to even think about it. The thought that this ever-increasing wait to get to China may keep her from meeting her namesake makes me physically sick.

• My health, well some of my parts anyway, are questionable. I'm going into the hospital at the end of the month for, hopefully, a small, surgical procedure.

The Very Good Life stuff:

• My vacation was FABULOUS. A much needed life break, with family, in my favorite place in the world, Disney World. We rented a vacation villa, outside the Kingdom, for 11 days. We spent some days visiting with the Mouse. An entire day in E*cot at the Wine festival, and you know how much I loved that part... LOL, and some time at Univ*rsal. We took an airboat tour through the everglades, and spent many days by the pool, frozen drink in hand! Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera. I did buy a "gasp" disposable one though, the day we went for the airboat ride. So when I get the chance to actually have the photos developed, I will eventually post them. Sorry!!... But I take terrible pictures anyway, so your not missing much. LOL!!

• I'm moving soon. No, I did not buy a house, still not ready to get back into that whole gut wrenching process. But I found an amazing 1400sqft brand new townhouse that I love. 10ft ceilings, state of the art kitchen (now I just need to learn how to cook... hehe), fireplace, and lots of huge closets!! The neighborhood is awesome, the community is even better. They have regular get-together's and activities. It's a beautiful property. The clubhouse is amazing. It has a small cafe, where they hold monthly dinners for the residents and parties for the kids. It has a huge gym, which I hope to muster up the energy to use!, and a recreational area with a large pool, kids pool, hot tub, tennis courts, basketball court, and dog park. I plan on moving in sometime mid-February. I CAN'T WAIT.
  

• I'm going to see the Radio city show next week. I can't wait. It is a tradition, and it's what kicks off the holiday season for me. The whole day just makes me feel warm and fuzzy. The usual dinner in the city, the show, and going to see the tree. It won't be lit up yet.. boo.. but the tickets were harder than usual to get, and we took what we could. It will still be great!

• Then I'm going to see the ventriloquist guy that won America*s G*t Talent, his name escapes me at the moment. He's in AC next week. So I'll make my regular donation for the building of new casinos and get to see a great show!

So there you have... and OMG, if you actually read all of that, bless your heart! Thanks for listening to me ramble on and on.... Now I'm going to get back to the 300 posts I have left to read in my bloglines.... And I'm sooo not going back over this for grammatical errors, so deal with it!

~Talk to ya later