Wall

There are some days at work where I feel like if I talked to a wall, it would respond better than the kids. Today was one of those days. I don't know what it was, but I was not getting through to them today. My key players would not listen to me at all. One boy got upset over something and stopped doing work. I went up to him a few minutes later and said, "What would happen if I stopped teaching whenever I was angry?" I responded for him and said, "I would never teach!" That surprisingly got him to start working. Sometimes I just feel like I'm fighting an uphill battle. I just keep putting in my best effort because I am determined to get my students to learn what they need to learn in 4th grade!

Notre Dame at North Carolina

Two friends and I went to the ND at UNC game last night. On Veterans' Day, I saw a deal on the UNC fan page on Facebook. They had $11 tickets to this game! I knew it was going to be a big game that I couldn't refuse. When we went to the game against Robert Morris, there were only 13,579 people out of a possible 21.750. Last night, there were 20,604! The place was electrifying. ND is the 13th ranked team in the nation with only 1 loss. UNC is the 18th ranked team with 3 losses. UNC did not play very well. ND could not miss shots. UNC was very good at missing shots. They were down by as many as I think 12 points in the second half. They came all the way back to take the lead by one with 1:14 left. That was the last point they scored. ND took the lead and then UNC had a chance with 4.7 seconds left to score, but didn't. Although UNC didn't win, I couldn't have asked for a more exciting game. It was a great atmosphere to be at!

Playoff Win

Wow, that Dallas Cowboys game last night was ugly! They got so lucky to come back and win. They were down 14-0. Then in the 4th quarter, there was a penalty called on Dallas and then the refs decided to cancel the penalty call. Now everyone is saying it's a conspiracy theory. They say the NFL wanted Dallas to play Green Bay instead of Detroit winning. That's a load of garbage if you ask me. The refs pretty much did decide the game though. I don't care. A win is a win. I do know that if Dallas plays that pathetically this week against Green Bay, they don't stand a chance! They have to have a much better start than they did yesterday.

Stuart Scott

The world lost a legend today. Stuart Scott died of cancer at the extremely young age of 49. He was an anchor for SportsCenter. He also used to call Monday Night Football games before he became too sick to do that. He didn't fight cancer once or twice. He fought it three times! No one should have to do that! He fought it with as positive an attitude as he could have. He was an anchor on SportsCenter who pushed the limits. He took risks with the phrases he used to cover sports. I quote him all of the time. He has many catch phrases that many sports fans use on a daily basis. He is single-handedly the reason why SportsCenter is as popular as it is. It's a shame that cancer took his life away this morning. He will be greatly missed!

I suggested This?

When my friends and I went to the Cheesecake Factory a few weeks ago at the mall in Raleigh, we said we wanted to come back soon. I was the one that suggested we come again to the mall so we could walk around and shop. As you know, I despise shopping. The mall in Raleigh is huge though. I needed to get a little bit of clothes for work. Last time we were there, we came on the day after Black Friday and found a parking spot fairly easily. Today, it took me about 15 minutes to find a darn spot! It was ridiculous! We ate dinner at about 4:30 and then shopped for only about two hours. I got a few good things I needed. I feel like I should have gotten more work clothes though and retired some of the clothes I have. We should have gotten to the mall earlier to have more time to shop at the insane amount of stores they have. My favorite purchase was two pairs of shoes for under $50! They are pretty good shoes too. I have no fashion sense, but I like them and they met my friends approval so they must be halfway decent. My credit card has gotten a serious workout the last two days. I do not look forward to paying that bill at the end of the month.

Man on a Mission

I got back to my apartment at about 2:30 today. Since then, I have been surprisingly incredibly productive. I've been tired all day, but got right to work the moment I walked through the door. I have done laundry, paid a few bills, called for a new credit card, got a money order to pay my 1st month rent at my new apartment, shopped for groceries, and changed my address to my new apartment for several places that send me mail. Boom! I was half thinking of getting next weeks' math materials ready today, but I won't. It's 8:25 on a Friday so I have no interest in continuing to be productive. I'm proud of myself for accomplishing so much today in so little time. I'm relaxing the rest of the night. I'll get school stuff ready tomorrow morning before I go to the mall in Raleigh with my friends tomorrow afternoon.

Leaving

I'm leaving New York tomorrow morning to head back to home and reality. The only thing I can think about is all of the work I have to do for school Monday. I have no lesson plans done or anything. Oops! There's a very realistic possibility that I won't have any plans done for Monday when school picks up again. Is it bad that I don't care? Oh well. I had a ton of fun while visiting friends and family and way too much food. Back to North Carolina tomorrow!