Friday, October 22, 2010

Impressive

I am a very good sleeper. I sleep well most often. I would rather be sleeping before 8:00am, than be awake, always. I notoriously will hit snooze multiple times. My longest snoozing record is 54 minutes . When the alarm goes off in the morning and I have the choice between getting up and having a calm, relaxing morning or sleeping until the last possible second, sleep always wins. This often leaves me with no time for a shower (sad but true), breakfast, or any wardrobe malfunction (heaven forbid the shirt I had in mind is at the dry cleaner- crisis- 2 minutes lost!). This has also gone horribly awry several times. The most common reason is me hitting the off button when I think I am hitting the snooze button. When this mistake is realized, the result is panic, bad hair, bad outfits and a grumpy mood. The actual consequences for being so late however, have changed depending on my environment. In high school I benefited from being at a school where sweat pants that may or may not have been slept in, could still pass as normal (albeit not neat nor clean) attire. I also lived across the road from class. Much closer than the girls who drove in and parked. So I could literally roll out of bed and into class. College was even easier, I just scheduled my classes later. Until three years ago, my occasional late, panicked self could slide into work unnoticed. This is no longer the case.

Since I have become an advisor at Girls' Prep, it is my responsibility to take attendance every morning at 8:00am. I tend to walk to work, since I live on campus, but I am no longer across a road. I am across a street, past the tennis courts, past the dining center, library, another street, up a hill and to the right. On a slow leisurly day it will take me 7 minutes. Today was not that day. I casually checked my clock to read: 7:54am. PANIC!!! I am in clothes, teeth brushed, out the door, across campus and walking into the Middle School at 8:08am. I take attendance, hand it in, walk out to get materials for my 8:20 class, text SHM with my ETD and receive the response "impressive". Yes, I think it was.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Like Sand Through the Hour Glass...

...there went all my free time!! The school year has started with not so much of a bang, but more like a catapult, hurling me through the air with no control over the speed or altitude at which I fly. I really love being a part of so many things in so many different areas of the school. But at the same time, I often feel like a pinball bouncing from place to place. It is with miraculous timing that I have now figured out how to sync my smart phone to my work calendar so that I know where to go next. I miss being able to take a moment to read the blogs I follow. Or to write a post myself! By the end of the day I am so mentally spent, I can barely write an email, let alone a witty post (not to mention that my typing is atrocious and no wittiness is coming out of my fingers). On the hopeful side, I do have a very funny witty topic to write about when I am feeling more eloquent. Post title: Boobs!
Stay Tuned!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Boobs!

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job at Girls' Prep is teaching health class. I teach two sections of 7th grade, one of 8th and two of 12th grade. Each year has a different theme so it's not just health and sex ed all year every year. 7th grade is self esteem and healthy body image, 8th is diversity and 12th is the transition to college. As you can imagine, to teach 7th grade leaves you quite vulnerable to addressing the awkward topics: puberty, anatomy, and general "growing pains". It's pretty tricky to talk about how your body will change and how to embrace it no matter what it looks like, without talking specifics. I had imagined I could speak totally in the abstract, until one of my students (who is also my advisee) raised her hand and said, "OK, I'm just going to put it out there: boobs. What's the deal?!!? Some girls get them, some girls don't, the ones with them don't want them, the ones without them are dying for them. It's like the same between people with straight and curly hair." (And yes, it was all in one breath).
And so my lesson plan went out the window and we had a very informative class focused around boobs. Here is some of what came up:
Why DO some girls get them and some don't??
Is it true if you have big boobs you can't play sports?
I have a friend who has HUGE boobs and she has to wear three sports bras (this was just a statement)
Do underwires give you cancer?
Is boob size hereditary?
How much do boobs weigh? If you get implants do you gain weight? So if you get them reduced do you LOSE weight!?!?
Why did my guy friends get weird when I got my boobs
Why are boys obsessed with boobs?
Can your boobs be two different sizes?
As you can imagine, news of this conversation soon caught up with the other two sections of 7th grade and it was the topic of class for the whole week. Sadly I think it also infiltrated other classes as some girls could not help themselves and blurt out "BOOBS!" uncontrollably.

This is what makes 7th grade hilarious.