Ayn's Multiple World

Still looking toward curriculum studies

Good morning. This is me. It’s very late in the day on a Saturday … it’s already 11 am. I’m not sure where I am here yet. I didn’t get to taking my medicine … ok … just had to take a sec to go order the next set of prescriptions. But, anyway, we took our medicine late last night and then again this morning so we are off kilter.

We try to remember that if we don’t take the medicine when we are supposed to it is harder to get back onto track and we end up doing the same repetitive looking at junk on the Internet. We buy it off by saying it is keeping up with the news, but we are as tied into “star-stuff” as we are with the regular news … it’s just a pattern we seem to be going through. Mostly though the popular news.

We’ve been kinda down lately too and I think that has to do with the slowness in us getting back to the routines we ideally want to be thinking through. I think we’ve talked about it lately for a couple of months now. It has to do with the arthritis and the pain. We’ve been in OT for about a week and a half and I hat has been advantageous. At least we are a little better coming up the stairs.



Ok, just testing … our keyboard went out … I think because of the batteries, but the two we tried substituting didn’t work either. Rich’s picture reminds us to be cool and work through the problem. We went back to the old keyboard, and then figured out that the thing had to be re-plugged in. Long story short, we’re back in business though I like the other keyboard better. We’ll put it on a list of stuff to get at Walgreen’s.

See that’s kind of the point though everything is getting us a little down. I think mostly because of the pain and fear that we aren’t going to be here for long. We think our body is breaking down and we’re in a process of dying. I think someone has gotten a little of this through to Dr. Marvin, but I’m not sure … death has come up in the last few visits, but I’m not sure of the context. There is no way that we should be feeling this hopeless … not with a vacation coming up tomorrow. But, my leg is achy even just sitting here and it serves to remind us how temporary life is. I know pretty big jump, but then the thought of it getting nothing then worse physically than it is now is pretty impossible. I have to remember to be taking things at the pace they are coming at me and be more accepting where the parts are … like the parts that would like to do mindless things. Ok, that’s what we were talking about … be nice! Mindless might be without mind too much, but let’s be nice to those of us that need that space, ok? Please!?? Yes ma’am.

Hmm, just had to dash to answer the phone … it was only a survey call of the auto body shop we used, but we actually moved pretty fast with endurable amounts of pain. We might need to recognize that there will be times that we have to put heat and cold on it. I’ve gotten that pretty much down. The heat is to loosen it up so we can use it better. And, the cold is to take down some of its throbbing – or the part of it being swollen. She’s been using that machine to reduce the water build up … I didn’t know I was having it, but it seems better after the first big chill to have the cold on it. I just don’t want to over use it … and I haven’t gotten it figured out how to use it while I’m just sitting here. Maybe that will take an additional trip to the pharmacy. The must have certain things for cold packs – and if not that ace stretch bandages that I can use to hold something on my knee. We’ll talk to sir Sweetie Pie when he gets home. I think he knows about that kind of stuff.

I didn’t ask about surgery, but that was something the doctor brought up when I saw him. He said we weren’t ready for it yet. That was a relief. Speaking on that note, we just made an appointment with that doctor for about third or so week of October. That was the place that had the dipwit of a receptionist. She is very bad. She was away from her desk both times there. She had a nasty attitude and made me feel bad for making her use the elevator. And, then she gave me “lip” when I asked for my insurance card back. Then, she didn’t give it back before I left.

Then I called and asked her to mail it to me, and then she called a week and a half later to tell me she hadn’t gotten around to mailing it. AND, she still wasn’t apologetic. Just a nasty bitch. Bottom line is that I gotta use her to get my services though if this isn’t going to work out due to her I plan to let the doctor know. Probably will anyway. AND, I need my insurance card back. Next time I go in I will have a copy of the card so she isn’t going to need handling it. I refuse to get more excited about it than this … don’t want the mangy dog to add to my problems. HMPF!

So, anyway … that’s where we are with medical. I still haven’t made an appointment with my regular doctor. I think that we just have to get past this part first and then there will be a report to her. And, then we might go in. She didn’t bother to call me after the blood tests or to check up on the infection problem. I just assume that the infection is still there although the pills ran out to clear it up.

I think I almost always have one, but I don’t want to talk about that … it might go along with the part that my body is falling apart. Let’s see how we do after vacation. Maybe things will be better then. My sweetie and I get some time together. I know that he will have his phone with him and it will probably stretch up to MI, but for now I’m thinking that we’ll be together and we can focus more on this here romance thing we got going. Yes, that seems to be an idea.

I think we were heading toward that this morning. We get these periods – hehehe umm most time we look into his eyes. Damn … he’s so mushy-commanding! But, we found ourselves pulling our chair so that we … oh oh … too mushy? WELL, ok, so there be it, but I like when we get his attention and we find him watching us in that way he tracks our moves. I don’t think I figured it out until this morning that he has that ability, but now that I’m thinking of it I realize how much I must crave it.

It is very intense and I have to look down just thinking of him looking at me with those attentive eyes. Man … is he hot!

Ok, girl … I think he said it this morning … hey, I still have to be getting through the day – don’t you be starting everything up! Hehehe … good fishyman.

Oh yeah, fishyman that’s what he is doing now. He promised his step-father a trip out this week. He was supposed to have gone Thursday, but someone we used to work with and a long-standing employee of his died and the funeral was on Thursday. So, the step-father trip was rescheduled for this morning. I’m glad he got a chance to go. I know how much Bud would look forward to it. I’m not so sure that his mother was happy about it. I think she doesn’t like being left alone, but hell … she is a woman and we all like some private time sometime, right!?? I like his mother, but I think she is stubborn like Rich … and like me I think she gets negative sometimes and thinks she is falling apart. AHA! I just figured it out, I’m a facsimile of his mother! Well let’s hope that it is the good parts. Because, we know that WE are not stubborn, right? *Sigh*

I wonder if we could convince fishyman to cook those couple of fishes in the freezer. I’m not sure how they would taste, but there sure is a lot of fishytalk not to be able to try the goods. I was just thinking of that because he said this morning they will catch pan fish, but that his mother’s sight doesn’t allow her to clean them anymore and we know that Rich doesn’t like doing that. I used to like fish – at least walleye and northern. We will be patient though. One day.

Hmm, just turned on some love songs. That’s right girls you are turning the page now … just slide over to mushy land – absorb the pleasure when he allows you to feel the skin between his knuckles and the firmness when you press the flesh of inner hand. Ahhh… Oh man are we hopeless. Just smitten we are. Hehehe

I think he will be back in about 3-4 hours so we have to settle for that. Hmm, just looking at the clock it’s about 12:30 pm now … I wonder if we should be eating some kind of lunch. Maybe we can just eat some cereal for lunch. Don’t really want to gobble down a sandwich. Prefer something less complex on my stomach. Something simple that I don’t have to think about … ahh good plan, be right back.

Very good. We got some fresh coffee and challenged the music station again. I think all the teenagers across the world are waking up now and putting undue pressure on the bandwidth to my Jukebox plus. Keeps buffering … then says network timeout. Yeah like right! Only got 3:31 last time. I think they do the time-outs to get rid of all the deadweight – people that aren’t really listening, but have the music turned on … if you are away from the music you can’t turn it back on and that leaves more space for the new people.

Ok, good … the theory goes young people don’t have much attention span … so those people have already gone off to play tennis or something … God Bless em! Now we’re getting the music to stream.

So lunch is done … music is stable and there is a new cup of coffee. Medicine good … was up to stretch … nothing to disturb us, right? We all good? Oh oh … someone is asking about curriculum now and mr. kitty just joined us … it was a set-up … just too good. We’ve learned over the years is the only way to appease the kitty is to move the coffee and allow him to sit-down in the middle of our space. Feel bad they are going to be on their own for a few days … suppose its only fair. Now we play this game where he thinks he should take over my hands for petting tummy too. Or that he wishes more space than the small circle we’ve allowed him. Hmm, pickiness at this point could get one bumped. I just want to get to the typing. This needs to be resolved.

He’s standing in front of my screen waiting for me to budge, but I’m not going to pet his bottom down … He is staring at my fingers trying to figure out how to work his magic. He’s taking advantage that I have to move my fingers to be brushing off the stray hairs that float down on me from rubbing his back on my chin. Can we say distraction here? It’ll be ok, right? Shhhh.

Ok, we’re going to pretend he’s not causing us a problem. Yes leg hurts … hey where did that nice mushy space go? Why are we again on the defensive?

Hmm, music just had a harder song. Kat left … and we found that they the jukebox had 14 Harry Chapin albums … we’ll see how long this goes. Sometimes I get in the mood for his ballads. Sometimes they are too disruptive … but, maybe that is what we’re looking for … distraction? Might want to save this and play something more mellow and background … Hmm Candice made a playlist from my music. Yeeks … she’s the twisted one … can’t just take over someone’s computer. Let’s hope this was a while ago and we’re just catching it now. Ok, for now this seems better … saved Harry and put on Enya … at least for the next 115 songs … Hmm that should be about 7-8 hours of music … let’s see if we can hold a mood or space on the computer that long. Pretty sure wonderlust is going to come home and want to do more practical things.  That thought can be put off though, k?

Hmm, lukewarm coffee.

Ok, you! We’ve been here before … this is the grumpy stage just trying to get into the writing, hmm? We don’t have to be like this … let’s focus. You were saying – curriculum? Ahh that be the thing. Ahh that feels better … we got the curriculum screen up through ASCD – where is that other one? Better save these in the favorites section. Good good … got that AND TeacherEase up on the board and listed as favorites.

Ok, we’re not too blown away here … it is now 3:38 pm I’m not sure how long we’ve been gone … hold on we’ll check. Hmm, last check was 3 hours ago and we had said that we had 3-4 hours to concentrate on something. Wow … that’s pretty surreal.

We’re still listening to Enya too. What we found that captivated our interest was … out of accident … the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) web site. WOW!

That’s pretty darn cool. Anything you could possibly want is over there. I never thought to look at it. I knew it was important to find the State’s standards for education listed on the TeacherEase sight, but it’s even better over at the ISBE.

Well, not in everything Teacherese offers all the states and it offers a report card system. ISBE talks about report cards and compares school report cards etc, but we weren’t really looking for that. One of the many things ISBE does though is gives PDA files of important items like the old tests … man its giving me a headache the whole entire system is so thick!

Meanwhile, I never got past page 5 here. We’re up to about 5 ½ pages. Yeeks.

Maybe we better start putting something down … the fishyman is due in at any time and our brain is like on major macro pounding. Sheesh … hell of a lot of information to take in. I’d be hard put to explain most of what our mind is doing.

I know that the bottom line at this time is that I want to make a program curriculum
that is similar to the public school, but the public school only covers 8 subjects … well not like that isn’t important. And, I’m not sure if some them aren’t optional. What they have a curriculum for is English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Physical Development & Health Fine Arts, Foreign Languages, and Social/Emotional Learning. Just as the briefest of scopes go in each of those areas they cover goals, standards, descriptors and assessments, resources, and sometimes mandates. I guess mandates are the special stuff you need to cover like the study of the history of women.

We could do something like that. Let’s see though … remember the word enrichment for later it’s the one we always forget … let me see if we have something on our memory dealie. I’d like to figure out where our program areas are in comparison to the learning standards. Oh man there is even a set of technology standards for grades 1-2 … did you know that they should be orientated to digital cameras before they leave the second grade? And, they have something for social emotional that states at what grades certain emotional tasks have to be completed. Such as by middle or junior high a student should be able to analyze how personal qualities influence choices and successes and analyze how making use of school and community supports and opportunities can contribute to school and life success.

There was one other thing that really impressed me. I’ve done a little work into the PBS. Org site … one of the clients brought it to my attention and we made it into a goal, but now we found today another part of the PBS site … here let me check again.

Guess What?

PBS Teachers can even match most resources to state standards. How?

1. Enter a keyword into the search box located at the top of this page.
2. Click Search.
3. When the next page loads, you will see a list of resources that relate to your keyword.
4. Choose a resource and click on the words "Standards match" below each listing.
5. Use the dropdown menu to choose your state or province.
6. Your results should appear shortly.
*As most PBS children's programs offer one year extended taping rights for teachers, please feel free to tape them now and save them for use in your classroom during the school year.

Well, that 1-6 thing didn’t work so well. I got through 4 halfway … but I didn’t see anything that said standards match, but I will be on the look-out for it later, maybe it is something that is not implemented yet.

Hmm, here I am I’ve just joined PBS TeacherLine … How nice is that! Oh oh … looks like it leads into money because they say the orientation class is for free.

Looking into one random class it seems its about $200 and you get credit from a
state college in Colorado or another one in Indiana.

Whoops … Sweetie Pie is here … checking out about 6 pm. See you in the morning.

posted by Ann Marie @ 9/23/2007 03:40:00 AM Comments: 0