Saturday, April 24, 2010

I sent my son after a telemarketer....

I sunk to a new low.  I was trying to get supper (recipe on the recipe link above) when I was accosted by a telemarketer, several times.  It's always when I'm in the middle of doing dishes, or when I'm stirring a sauce that they call.  It's Murphy's Law or something.  Anyway, the same number came up again and again.  Sooooo, DS and I thought it might be funny if he talked to the guy.  We've played this game before, he and I, and we have had several positive responses in that DS can usually get the telemarketer to hang up first. 
This time I was ticked, and just in a daring mood, so I gave DS carte blanche.  I actually said "DS, phone, do your worst."  Yep, I said "worst." 
So this is the end of the conversation I could hear:
DS:  Hello, yes, this is Mr.B. 
DS:  No, I am not a child.  I am offended by that.
DS:  No, my mommy is not here.  Again, I am offended.
DS:  You have a funny accent. 
DS:  I like hearing you talk.  It makes me laugh.  Can you say "monkeys have smelly poop?"
(I know, I know, there's a line.  We crossed it.  But in my defence, I could not step in.  I was incapacitated by laughter...)
DS:  Do you disagree that they have smelly poop?
DS:  No, I'm just assuming.
DS:  I told you I am a grown man.  I can't help it if I have a girlie voice.  I am offended again. 
DS:  Is that your job to call people and offend them?
DS:  Do you like hockey?
DS:  What?  You  don't like hockey?   Everybody likes hockey.
DS:  I'm not yelling.  I'm just saying...
DS:  Laughing.  (mom, the guy said he's going to hang up now.) 
DS:  Hello, hello, hello

Somewhere, some little man with a strong middle Eastern accent is either laughing, or crying into his telemarketing computer.  Me, I'm laughing, so inappropriately laughing, laughing, laughing. 

Monday, April 19, 2010

blog newbie beats teacher

So I held a "remedial" blog class for my Grade 6s who didn't get their blogs started on Friday.  I had about 8 kids come for help at recess.  I also had 4 kids come to show me what they'd worked on over the weekend.  Now I'm bitter...
I've been blogging for about a year and a half.  I have 9 followers (one follows privately); this kid, who's been blogging for 3 days -- 10 followers!  "Impossible," I say.  "No Mrs. B," he says, "I'm just really connected.  I bet I can have 50 by the end of the week."  I did not take him up on the bet. 
So just when I'm feeling pretty confident about my new found "techie" title, I am reminded how old and out of it I am.  Sigh.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

still learning....

The Gr. 6 teacher at my school asked me to teach he and his class how to blog.  We're hoping to inspire their writing....
So I've started a new blog to help walk the kids through the process.  In doing so I have been re-inspired to learn something new.  My "new thing" this week will be to add pages.  Some of my favourite blogs have pages so that they almost look like websites.  The page I've added so far is "recipes," and since I decided to add the page before I found a worthy recipe to post I've just posted a link to a really good cooking blog.  Check it out....

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

the nicest thing

I had the nicest thing happen today. I was at a principal's meeting (usually "nice things" don't happen there....) and the Director spoke about visiting my school the day before. He told everyone that one of my staff members had pulled him aside to compliment me. She told him I was one of the reasons she liked coming to work everyday. I got all teary-eyed and flustered when the Director spoke, and everyone clapped. It was so amazing that someone said that about me -- to my boss, and that he shared it with all my colleagues.
I tell you this not for acclamations, but because it made me realize something. I realized that it did not take really any time at all, or much effort on the part of my staff member or the director to change my current perspective. This small kindness, this recognition, reminded me of the important part of my job. I've been a bit bogged down in some things lately, and now I am refreshed.
I am also reminded of the importance of words of appreciation. Too often I think I have taken friends, colleagues, and family for granted. If I can "fly" all day, and find renewed hope in this "nice thing" then I ought to be purposely seeking out "nice things" to share with others.
That's my new mission.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

something to think about

Found this link on Twitter. It gave me something to think about.
The more I think on it, the more it makes sense.

Check out "Two Questions that Can Change your Life" at
http://http://www.committedsardine.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=967

I don't know what my sentence would be. I think I'm with JFK in that I currently have a strange jumbled paragraph complete with run-on sentences, dangling participles and sentence fragments. If someone could see through my jumbled paragraph, I would want them to read "She takes care of her people" be that family, friends, staff, or students. I think that sentence speaks of the things I aspire to -- kindness, compassion, understanding, competence, gratitude, loyalty, honesty and service. Perhaps the point of the defining oneself in a single sentence is to create the vision to follow. Now I need to edit the jumbled paragraph and focus on the vision.

Was I better today than yesterday? Good question. Deep. The kind of thing I will wrap my mind around when I'm doing my gratitude journal before bed.
Then the question becomes "How can I become better tomorrow than I was today?" That's an even better sentence -- sets a goal, creates a vision.

I love reading or viewing something such as this clip; something that is inherently simple, but that cuts right to the point. This clip speaks to me in that it challenges me to reflect and envision. Cool.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

the most wonderful peace

I got to spend several hours on Friday evening holding DH's new niece. Ally is about 6 weeks old. She was fussing and I got to her first. Then she snuggled right in to me and fell back to sleep. I settled in the big LazyBoy and we were both completely content. I had forgotten how peaceful it is to hold a sleeping baby. Every now and then she would stretch a wee bit and sigh. I sighed too. Her wee wrinkly neck and soft down on the top of her head smelled really good. They only stay so little for a smidgen of time. I am blessed that I got a piece of it all to myself.