It's Official --- I'm back in the Game.

I am officially a student -- I start my MA on Friday!

At last! After weeks and months of deliberations, I start my MA in Education on Friday. I'm excited, physiqued, and all ready to become once again a student. They tell me the group is nice and that the teachers are awesome, I sure hope I can fufill the expectations. :)
So, back to the books for me... at least on Fridays and Saturdays. I am really excited and now I am all filled with this new renewed energy. I think I need this... XD

I am a little worried about the TKT results, though. It seems that some teachers haven't paid the course and, thus, I will not be able to pay their test. I hope I can figure it out tomorrow. I hope so.

My friend Angie is still jobless. But I just heard from a teacher that she is opening a daycare (the teacher, not Angie). And I figure, since Angie has experience working with kids and all, I asked the teacher if she needed an art teacher. So, if all goes well, Angie might have a job at this daycare.

The "LEARN** Me Good" Book is AWESOME. It's funny, witty, and it totally pictures what one goes through as a first-year teacher... (a first day for me, for I too gave the Mr Opus speech to my 6th grades my first day...) I totally dig this book.

Sleepy, hungry... excited.

Viva La Panda.

PS: ** -- Sorry Mr Teacher... It's LEARN me good.. I am but sad, sad panda... who gets t shirt and book confused... see? I'm just a PANDA, your technology of books frightens me and spooks me (yeah, recalling old SNL skid of Caveman Lawyer here... I'll go away now)

I've actually Won

I have learned that I have won the Mr. Teacher thingie... I was so excited about it but then I thought that maybe the fact that I live in Mexico might post a problem. I hope not. I really like the "I teach there for I am... poor" shirt... or the one that says "Darth Grader" that one is cool too..

Speaking of teachers, this is me with a camera. The one grading is my friend Angie, when she was grading the English I papers... music effects done by moi. I know, I know... never let a Panda have control of a camera.

Yesterday we went to watch The Watchmen. I have not read the "graphic novel" (name you give comic books and you don't wanna look like such a geeky adult buying comics) but I liked the movie. I thought it was too long, though. It came to a point that I just said "get on with the killing man!!" but the ending was good. I give it four Rainy Stars because the length of any action movie shouldn't be more than 2 hours... plus, the owl character was just hilarious to me.

The funny bit was that when we got out of the movies I couldn't get out of the building. Spent about ten minutes trying to figure out how the door worked --- the ELECTRIC DOOR... yeah, turns out that it might be time for me to get glasses.

We don't have class tomorrow. It's a national holiday. Well, not tomorrow: we have the Birth of Benito Juarez on the 21st, but the School Board of Education moved the date to the 16th so we could have a day off. So, school starts on Tuesday -- new school schedule because the afternoon class finished their module last Friday, so they start next week. 6 weeks of class and then nothing 'till August, at least in the Afternoon. I am torn into whether taking the English IX class so I can keep busy during May-June or not. Or maybe I should give the class to a teacher who is in need? Like, has three children, no wife and a mother to support? Something like that? What do you think?

I am preparing myself for the CENEVAL classes to. The School wants to embark on that journey and the only teacher with the experience teaching those types of classes is yours trully. CENEVAL means Centro Nacional de Evaluacion (National Evaluation Center) and it's basically a test people can take to credit high school (obtaining the High school diploma without taking a class), or any kind of bachelors degree. The test is not an easy task and many people who enroll into taking the test opt for taking a prep class for it. They also are the sole providers for the entrance exams for all the public universities and that's when we come in. The school wants to provide all the high school graduates a prep course so they can pass (or at least have a fair chance at passing) the CENI-II test. It ain't easy but it's a great chance for students to get the URN experience. We hope to get more students into our university this way.

Let's see what comes up with this brew.

PS: Didn't get shirt but got something BETTER --- Mr Teacher @ Learn Me Good send me a copy of his book. THANK YOU!!! XD

Ash Wednesday coming on Thursday

It was Ash Wednesday yesterday and there was NO WIND!!! I mean, Ash Wednesday is not Ash Wednesday without wind here in Juarez... gaaaah!

Yesterday was also the "Last Wednesday" meeting -- every last Wednesday the Dean gets all the students and teachers together to have this meeting and talk about important stuff. This time it was to welcome the new students to the university and to tell us the sad-long story of why is the main road that leads to the university is still dirt.

I have been at this school for two years now... and the school has been here for about 15... and it's still time that the road that leads to the school's gate is not paved. And in front of the gates there is this water canal that just screams "fall in!" every time we go out in our poor cars (mine is already demanding suspension maintenance)... The Dean went on for, like, thirty minutes telling the story of the oger and the fair prince who tried to convince the oger (the oger being our neighbors from down the road) to pull together and pave the street.

Then, it was time to give out the awards for the best averages last semester. In the afternoon it was all smooth sailings, but in the morning all the high averages were outside, smoking a cigarette and just slacking off. The dean was not happy. The sheer image of that made him all pissy and he took it out on the first teacher he saw fit to. No, not me... but I pitied the soul.


I had the fist capirotada of the season yesterday... well, it was more like the first two capirotadas of the season. One was brought by my mother, who said she was in the mood for some pipian gorditas (or as my friend Eidrien calls them --- fatties) and she went all the way downtown to get them (lame-ass excuse to see her boyfriend, m-kay?) and the second one was brought by a neighbor, and even though my father tried to persuade us that he did not take a bite out of it, the plate was evidence enough for me to suspect that not only did he took a bite out but that he pretty much took a whole chunk on his way in. They were both pretty good --- the neighbor's capirotada leads the way.

It's 9:56 a.m. In 4 minutes I have to go to class and give my best to make these people understand why is important for them to know how to write coherent pieces of information in English. They tend to believe it's not necessary up until they sit in front of the computer and see that the TOEFL examination requires them to write their little fingerish souls out. Then, I get to see grown men cry and cradle as they start to suck on their thumb.

Oh, how the mighty fall!

Lollipops

Because it's all about the sucking up... hahaha! I kid.

The blog of Learn Me Good has a new web page --- at LEARNMEGOOD.COM has all the goodies he's got at the Learn Me Good Blog spot (see Must READS!) So, go, check him (and his page) out.

I hope I get points.

Today was JUAREZ -- SNOWSTORM 2009!!! YES!!! We finally got 30 minutes of SNOW!!! And HEAVY flurries too... Please forgive me, it's been almost three years since we've even SEEN snow falling from the sky. It's like the cavemen watching fire. Oh! The Gods are good!!

Well, after the rant of yesterday, turns out that I have a teacher for the class. Mr. Paul will take over. He's the English I teacher. Ok, so here are the movements I had to do: Miss Fabiola gets all 20 students for the English I class, Mr. Paul moves to the English VII class, Miss Yezmin goes and gives English III while Mr. Venegas (senior -- yes I have two teachers named Venegas, how fun!) gives the English V and I get English IX. How fun!

All is good in Rainyland now...

And the snow...

THE SNOW!!!! YEEEEEEEYY!!!


FROM THE MIND OF MAXINE