So Tired

It's been a long week. No, actually, this week is the same length as every other week, I am just wiped out. All the running around that occurs in June and all the things that have to be done, combined with some other stuff at work has all combined to rob me of my brain tonight.

Fortunately, I have a really good read, courtesy of Mary.Thanks Mary!

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Looking for a contest? Hop on over to Jessica Z's and tell her why the owners of the apartment she wants are so eager to sell quickly. Make it funny for more points!

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Little Squid suffered two migraines this week (they tend to come in clumps) and one of them was a "middle of the nighter" which is the only thing that causes him to take refuge in our bed. While he is suffering, he is a good snuggler. Once he finally falls asleep, however, he is a true squid, spreading his tentacles all over the place and using my back as a pillow. Little wonder that I am tired. The next night, Squidette needed some late night snuggle action against a scary movie that she saw. Then Little Squid woke up early suffering from something he ate the night before. Phew!

Next week doesn't look any better with an obligation for 3 of the 5 work nights and a promise to go to the UWS Knitters on a 4th night. When I promised that, I was not remembering the Scholar's Induction on Monday, Freshman Orientation on Tuesday and the end-of-term party on Friday. I'm still going, tho. Squidette will be out of town and Papa and Little Squid can monster without me for the evening.

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Victoria asked if there was a pattern for the Sock Puppets. Here you go, in brief. (This makes more sense if you are well acquainted with sock and mitten knitting. If more detailed instructions are needed, let me know and I will try to reconstruct.

Knitting the big sock from the toe up:

Knit your favorite toe-up toe (I like the figure-8 cast on). The toe should be wide enough to span your four fingers.

Change colors and knit the "foot" until it reaches the base of your thumb.

Knit waste yarn into eight or so stitches on either side of the "foot" and then knit into the waste yarn for an "afterthought" "thumb"

Continue knitting the foot until it reaches your wrist.

Change colors and knit a short row (or your favorite) heel.

Change colors again and knit "leg" until it is long enough for your tastes.

Add in contrasting stripes if you wish. (I like the look it gives.)

Bind off.

Carefully remove waste yarn from one thumb, picking up the stitches. Knit the thumb round and round until it is long enough for your thumb. Knit 2 together, round and round, until reduced to 4 stitches. Break yarn and run yarn through remaining stitches.

Repeat for other thumb.

Embroider on face of your choice. Glasses are optional. I used picture wire and sewed them on where the earpieces would be.

The puppet's puppet is knit in the same manner but sized by "trying it on" the big puppet. It goes MUCH faster. The Puppet's puppet's puppet follows the same instructions again.

And, for some comic relief, a picture of my office.It is actually almost as bad as it looks here. I took this picture to show the contractor how, once again, their good intentions (installing my air conditioner) were accompanied by silly missteps -- not returning my furniture to its' proper locations. And the air conditioner, it had the wrong voltage for my power supply! So, now I have lost the use of one window and still have no cooling. I do not mind the lack of cooling but do mind the lack of openable window. (The bottoms are impossible to open and just serve as Squirrel doors anyway.)

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Remind me to share my latest Squirrel story this weekend. It is, actually, a bird-in-the-library story.

Squid Fold Their Wheels

As promised, some knitting, some biking and some NYC for you.

First the Knitting.Scarf for Mom. Plain garter stitch with a mohair blend on size 13s. Mom, next time, let me knit you something in a good cashmere or merino! This mohair isn't bad but hey, I'm offering cashmere! What color do you want?My newest sweater from Fitted Knits. "Perfect Periwinkle turtleneck tube vest." As you can see, I need support and am not using it in this picture. Ah, the pleasures of being 40.

Now for the biking and NYC stuff then, perhaps, some gardening.Three Squidly bikes with Transporation Alernatives water bottles. (From the 2006 Century)

Today we joined with other folding bike owners to do a little ride and a little schmoozing.
Over the 12 miles of the ride, we stopped a few times (not too many) to wait for the rest of the ride to catch up. During these waits I got to snap a few shots. This one is of one of the neat overhangs on the Manhattan Bridge.
View from the Brooklyn Bridge courtesy of one of our stops. Since we Squid never stop on the bridges anymore, this was a great chance for some photo ops.

The ride itself was actually a pretty "standard" one for us. Down the West Side Greenway, looping around and back uptown on the Hudson river (waterside path versus highway side), over to the Brooklyn Bridge via Chambers Street, across the Brooklyn Bridge, over to the Manhattan Bridge, back to Manhattan, over to the East Side Greenway and up to 23rd Street for the festival.

One of these days I will remember what this building is. This was the first chance I've had to photograph it from the north side.
Buildings in Lower Manhattan.
A train (though not, I think, the A train) going over the Manhattan Bridge. (Squidette says that it is a Q, R or N.)

An assortment of folding bikes. See all the small wheels! Squidette felt a little left out on her non-foldable Specialized Dolce.
The coolest, cleanest Porta-potty in existence. For the first time I ever emerged from a portable bathroom feeling cleaner then when I went in!

And, for good measure, my "garden." We have pumpkin, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, Gerbera daisys, basil and Bobo Blues. The tomatoes, daisys and one pot of basil were purchased from the Greenmarket earlier today. My balcony is now ready for evening spinning!And lastly, to answer Sloth-Knits' question to yesterday's post: AP exams do not have to go in to a vault, just a "secure" room with limited access. However, New York State Regents exams do require storage in a sizable vault so, since we have the vault, we use it for all standardized exams. We also store other "valuables" in there, particularly during the summer. It has a Moseler safe door (no link available) and the door is bigger then the door to the room in which it is located. The vault is about as big as Little Squid's bedroom. Yes, it is that big!

Stupid Pet Tricks

O.k., not my pet ... Stupid test administrator tricks. The best one of the day ... searching for 2 hours for documents that were left safely in someone else's hands. I forgot that I asked him to keep them safe for me. D'oh!

I committed a few other stupid errors today (or rather two weeks ago but discovered today) ... all of which could have been avoided. It was just one of those days. Have I mentioned that Advanced Placement exams take almost as much out of me as they do the poor kids that I am giving them to? Maybe more? My calves are aching from all of the running up and down stairs to the test room and vault. My brain is hurting and I am cursing myself out for making rookie mistakes. Nothing horrible. Nothing that will matter 10 years or even two down the road but things that I should have done better or rather, properly. Blah! This is my 12th year doing this. I should know better! Thfft!

And the end of the suture in my mouth has become a plaything for my tongue. Probably not a good idea, right? On the other hand ... my eye looks MUCH better and my face is feeling a lot better if not perfect. By my brother's wedding there should be practically no easily identifiable evidence of my little incident. Yea!!!

Tomorrow? Knitting and Biking if you care to check in. No whining. Promise!

Into the Fray

If you have any interest in NYC educational politics, try this article and this news report. Yes, it is my school. Personally, I spent the morning learning all about the new funding formulas and how to properly administer our budget for next year. Then, I went to a luncheon and spent the next three hours happily chatting with a really good friend and doing a bit of networking. Always interesting to find out how other schools run. My category of administrator has been essentially cut off from meetings since the big reorganization 4 years ago. They think they are saving us time by not holding meetings but in my opinion, the occasional face to face meeting accomplishes a whole lot more then emails and phone calls. The ability to network and hear what problems others are having is very educational. And hey, I am an educator so educational is good. I'm not asking for tons of meetings, just one every couple of months or so.

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O.k., I've done it again. I joined another swap. Last year I did the Knitters Tea Swap 2 and had a wonderful experience at both ends so I figured I'd try it again.
I also signed up for Summer of Socks. No commitment except to knit socks. I can do that!


And since I still have not figured out how to add buttons without first sticking them in a post ...
I'll link to them when I finally stick them in the sidebar.

A Contract!

I try not to bring money into this blog but my union's contract expired four years ago. Yesterday my union and the city declared that they had a contract and the news programs started touting how large a raise we are getting. Nowhere did anyone point out that this is a SEVEN year contract. SEVEN years folks. Four of them retroactive.

Come September everyone will be talking about how, with their huge raises, Principals and Assistant Principals should really show results now. Really. Can someone please point out that we have been without a contract for FOUR years? That the majority of the staff we supervise have had TWO contracts in that time? That, for the last two years, many of those we supervise were earning more than we were -- for fewer obligated hours. (Notice I said obligated. I know perfectly well that teachers work tons of hours outside of their contractual day. So do we.)

To quote Bill the Cat, thfft!

That said, I'm trying to think about what to do with my soon-to-be-larger salary and honestly, I can't think of anything we want or need. It's a nice feeling.

Now to figure out how to get back into the classroom part-time.

Tomorrow, maybe some knitting.

Parent or Teacher

Parents and Teachers in New York City are spending this week in conference. Both the elementary schools and the high schools have the traditional conferences during this short time period. This means that theoretically, both of the adults in this household get to sit of both sides of the conference table in the same week.

In reality, I played the parent to Little Squid's teachers earlier today and it is unlikely that I will actually conference with any parents on Thursday and Friday when the high schools have conferences. This does not mean that I get the night and afternoon off, I still have to be there -- just in case someone has a complaint about one of my teachers. If I am lucky one of the knitters will bring by a parent just to say "hi."

Papa Squid, on the other hand, played the parent role a few weeks ago for Squidette's teachers and in turn will see dozens of parents on Thursday and Friday. Feel for him -- well attended conferences are a huge drain on a high school teacher. You have 2 hours to see anywhere from 1 to 100 parents. I'm not kidding.

Do they matter? Yes, I honestly think so. As a parent you get insights from someone who doesn't live with your little darling and as a teacher you get a glimpse into a kid's home life. Both provide enlightenment.

I actually wrote a paragraph about my conference with Little's teachers and deleted it. It was fine. That said, I had a lovely lunch with my son followed by conferences and then a nice walk around the neighborhood until it was time to meet Squidette. We three had a snack and then, after dropping them at Hebrew school, I spent a lovely two hours in my car listening to an audio book and knitting on Squidette's sweater. Yes, I could have gone into a coffee shop but I wanted some time truly alone. It was nice. My phone rang only once -- Papa Squid asking if I had the newspaper (I forgot to leave the sports section) and I was fairly relaxed when I went to retrieve the kids. I have not checked in at work and refuse to do so until tomorrow morning. They seem to have managed without me for half a day.

All of this leads up to the fact that I cannot go to the Yarn Harlot event on Thursday because I have to be the Teacher. Yes, I want to call in sick. No, I won't do that because I am too responsible. On the up side, I get to see my folks and kid sister since they are my childcare for the evening. If anyone wants to "Represent" for me I will be grateful. I have some hats that I will try to drop at Knitty City tomorrow.

Back to School Blues

I love my job but I hate going back after a vacation. Everyone is somewhat out of sorts and that includes my own squidlings. One greeted me this morning with an "I'm very emotional this morning" and the other burst in to tears four times before he got to school. One was put to rights with a hug and a cup of tea -- and a "isn't puberty grand," and the other with a new lunch box, a strap for said lunch box (actually an old lunch box dug out of the closet), a pile of clean shirts and a promise that the wet spot on his pants would dry (very wet snow fell from the car on to his pants).

Once at work I dealt with an issue that had kept me awake all night. One of those "dang, I forgot to do X before the break and it is going to really mess me up now" moments. After 2 hours of my assistant dealing with it she suddenly realized that yes, I had asked her to do it before the break and not only that, but she had dealt with it before break and we were not in trouble. In other words, I had done what I thought I had forgotten to do and she had done what I thought I forgot to tell her to do. So, tonight I am exhausted all because I was actually properly efficient. I just hate when that happens.

My new windows are in and look good. The site supervisor made nice to us and did all of the finishing work. The classrooms got the finishing piecemeal -- windows one week, plastering the next, painting the third week and finally shades. I came back to plastered, sealed windows with shades ... and a good squirrel story.

Apparently, while they had the windows out, the squirrels came in and ran all around the suite of offices. They even set off the building alarm system when stowaways escaped into the corridor. Finally, they were herded out a side door. Evidence of their presence was on my desk. Blech!

And now it is Tuesday and I will have the pleasure of seeing Yo Yo Ma at Carnegie Hall tonight. Weeee!

Not-so Cold Squid

Turns out I over dressed. This morning I donned silk long-johns (tops and bottoms), silk sock liners, wool pants, wool socks and an alpaca sweater. This kept me fairly toasty while cleaning the ice off of the car (when supplemented with a heavy jacket, cashmere hat, two scarves, fingerless mitts and alpaca/wool mittens). Once in my office I discovered that things were cool but not overly cold. As long as I was in my office I was actually pretty comfy.

A day at my computer, however, was not what I had planned and while my office was unheated, the rest of the school was not (unheated). After just 20 minutes in the gym I was glowing. Another hour of roaming the building had me doing some decidedly unlady-like sweating. Retreating to the ladies room, I removed the silk and was much cooler for the rest of the day ... until I had to reline to make sure the kids did not toss snowballs at each other during dismissal.

Yes, we finally had some "real" snow if you can call 6 hours of sleet followed by two hours of flurries real snow. It really is not good for making snow balls and was a pain to clean off my windshield before going home.New York City Snow. It isn't pretty. (One of these days I will give you a pristine snow picture. My city can be pretty, before people start driving in it.)
Yesterday I was presented with this:

Squid do not celebrate Valentine's Day. Something to do with all of the people eating calamari on this day. We do, however, attempt to do for others every day and today was no different. I figure that my 15 minutes of nagging teens to put on their hats and mittens was a good deed. That or maybe the few extra minutes I took after dismissal to teach a young man to knit so he could make something for his mom for her birthday. And I share the candy I was given. *g*

And finally, some studious Squid.

Cold Squid

Earlier today a teacher noticed a drip in his classroom. The leak was traced to ... wait for it ... my radiator. When given a choice of no heat or heat and a classroom that has to be evacuated due to "rain" (and the brand new floor being ruined) I always opt for no heat. (Yes, I have had to make the decision before with other people's offices.)

I think wool socks and long underwear are in order for the rest of the week. Correction ... the rest of the winter.

It took over 3 hours for the custodians to disconnect my radiator. It is probably an original and did not want to be retired. The guys started with a normal sized wrench and some WD-40 and progressed to the extra-large wrench and then finally, the saw. The problem preventing the disconnection? A bent nipple. (The link is to hardware and is not obscene.)

This, of course, sent my knitters into fits of uncontrollable giggles.

In other news, the teens in question asked me if the knitting club was the best part of my week and I had to confess that yes, it is. Tomorrow we will have two more muppet hats and today a kid learned to cable. Yes I love these kids!!!

Skirting the Issue

On Monday and Tuesday I work a suit. A "proper" suit with a skirt, hosiery and heels. The theory was that this is more professional than a pants suit and when your school is being reviewed, you want to look professional.

My question now is: why is a "skirt-suit" considered more professional than a pants-suit? What is it about a tailored skirt that makes people take a woman more seriously? And, should a person reviewing said people in skirts actually think less of them when the weather is below freezing?

Please, I am dying to know the answers. Both my boss and I wore skirts on days when the outside temperatures ranged from 10° to 25° . Today, we both wore pants.

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The Second School Blanket

Another stack of blocks came in from my most prolific knitter and others are still working on them. The third blanket will have several crocheted pieces as well as knit blocks. A couple of my staff have donated abandoned crochet projects for our effort. Hey, it works for me.

Thanks to Anne for her recent donation of fun fur for the chemo cap project!

Murphy's Law

The last two days have been beset by Murphy's Law. Nothing horrible happened, just annoying stuff that, when added to the Quality Review, made life that much more stressful.

New York City has instituted an annual Quality Review for all public schools. I will not go in to the details but it made for a stressful two days. To add to this ... the boiler froze on Monday. The other school in the building could not go out for recess due to the extreme temps and were a tad louder then usual. Our own kids were obviously under the effect of the full moon from the other day. On Tuesday it seemed that a migraine epidemic was underway. Little Squid woke up with one at 5 a.m. and kept us guessing as to whether it would be gone enough by departure time. When we finally decided that Papa would stay home with him -- and Papa had called in to work -- the worst faded and Little decided he could go to school. Papa rescinded his sick call and, as he mounted his bike ... got a migraine.

Little Squid's migraine through me off my usual morning routine so that I forgot to take the new "school" blanket and Sis's hat to work. The blanket was finished in time for yesterday's club meeting which was partly postponed because of the club fair, which, due to circumstances beyond my control, I did not manage to get to. As for the hat ... I was supposed to mail it yesterday. Um ... I'll try to get it in the mail tomorrow.

Meanwhile, for the Teen Knitting fans ...

Scarf made from yarn donated by KnittyOtter.

Tune in later for pictures of the second school blanket. I plan on using it to warm my legs in the car on the way to work this morning.

Munch, Munch and a Pillow

Squidette's first pillow!

And herself snuggling with same.

I've got the munchies. Big time. All day all I have wanted to do is nibble. I think it is a case of pre-exam jitters. Little Squid finished this set of exams last week, Squidette finishes hers tomorrow and mine begin on Tuesday.

Today I published my 23rd Regents Exam proctoring schedule. With the schedule comes three immutable laws:

The first law of proctoring schedules states that five minutes after the schedule is printed a teacher will approach me with a special request that causes me to change it. (I am far to nice to refuse a polite request.)

The second law states that very few people will read the memo on the other side of their schedule resulting in no end of questions about where they are supposed to be and how they are supposed to behave. (I will rarely point this out unless I am at the end of my rope.)

The third law states that no matter how hard you try, you can never please everyone. (This does not stop me from trying.)

This leads to a very important lesson -- watch what you say while in labor. 11.5 years ago I uttered the fatal words to my supervisor as she drove me home. (I was, at the time, in labor and was obtuse enough to not realize it.) "I hear the Test Coordinator position is opening up. I want to apply." That was it. When I returned in September I was given the position and have done it ever since. Beware of what you wish for ... you may get it!

That said ... I am so protective of the job that I have tried to give it up and can't. I cannot bear to see someone else go through the hard fought learning curve.