Life is Like Snow

             Jenna required reading for her online English class has been focusing on an international high school in New York.  For each chapter Jenna is required to pull out a quote, comment on the theme of the chapter and turn in a short essay.  She has gotten in the habit of reading things out loud as it helps her better to think.  She seems to be even more focused if she can find someone else to read it out loud to her.  Often she has asked for my opinion about what I think the theme is or what I think is a good quote.  

Usually the quote is directly attached to whichever student the chapter focuses on.  However I remember one quote that stood out which was not related to the student.  It was actually a description of snow he had seen in Connecticut.  It was white and beautiful.   The quote continued with a less than attractive image of snow that had been yellowed with urine or left filthy from soot.  As we continued further in the story I realized how we could tie the quote into what might be the theme.

The last four chapters seemed to have focused on a boy named Mohammed who had come from a remote village in Africa.  We learned about his being a student at International when he was fourteen.  He had traveled to America by himself and left his family.  He had no other relatives living in the U.S.  Mohammed was by himself.

A social worker seeks a friend who is a teacher and has wanted to adopt a child – preferably a girl.  The teacher is asked to consider the possibility of adopting Mohammed in order to give him a place to live.  But it’s a complicated situation as Mohammed is NOT an orphan.  The next chapter focuses on the legal issues and there is suggestion of shuffling Mohammed around.  The chapter indicates that he is 16, possibly 17.  He’s no better off than when he was 14 – possibly worse off.

Mohammed travels with a group to visit the Empire State Building and disappears.  I see his life metaphorically as the snow.  For when he arrives in New York, the metaphorical snow is fresh and clean.  He takes in the newness of living in a big city.  He sees it as exciting.  He makes friends.  They share their dreams.  The court systems introduce the urine and soot which discolor the snow.  It is ugly.  He seems to have no control.  It isn’t a good environment.

It is later discovered that Mohammed had “moved” to Connecticut.  The environment he lives in reminds me of Charles Dickens’ Oliver.  Except instead of picking pockets, they are illegally burning CDs and selling them.  Mohammed refers to all the “Fagins” as “uncles” though they are not biologically related.  They teach him a trade.  They give him money.  No governmental red tape – though what they are doing is illegal, Mohammed feels like family.  Thus we see the parallels of snow that is beautiful and ugly at the same time.

Meanwhile he misses his biological family in Africa and would like to go home to see them.  His mom experiencing the hardships of their remote village says no.  She sees the beautiful snow that represents the United States (though the snow is only metaphorical as she has no idea what snow is nor can comprehend it visually when Mohammed tries to explain it to her as he is unable to relate anything to her that she, herself, can identify with).  If she understood snow she would tell Mohammed that the snow in Africa is very dark and ugly and it will never be clean and brilliant.

But it’s not just Mohammed’s story that we can compare to the snow.  It is that way for all of us.  2020 brought a huge assortment of challenges.  Some have seen the snow glisten in the sunlight as they have reconnected with families and have had more opportunity to read, study, quilt or whatever.  Some eventually became bored with it and focused on the yellow snow and dirty black and brown deposits while others remained focused on the brilliance of fresh snow.

Even when the snow had turned to brown slush there were moments of sparkle.  I can’t speak for those who have endured hurricane and floods but I would imagine communities pulled together as they have here during the fires.  Many people have lost their homes due to the harshness of the elements, but there are some that continue to focus on what they have and are grateful for the donations of time and possessions that others have willingly contributed.

I’m grateful for all the things I have learned during this pandemic and for the growth I’ve endured.  I have often looked at yellowed and dirty snow trying hard not to give up hope.  But I know if I turn my head in the right direction I can find the fresh snow and see the sparkles and beauty of what is happening.

Work and Halloween

One of my goals this year was to post a specific word at least every other week.  I don’t know that I posted any words in the month of October.  I haven’t been making good use of my time and didn’t post what I had in mind for yesterday.  I had to take the car in but figured I would write my post after I returned home.

While at the mechanics I received a phone call but couldn’t seem to answer it in time. I saw that it was one of the elementary schools and tried to return the call, but it didn’t go through.  I realized there was a message and listened to it.  The assignment is not until next week.  I called back to let them know that I can only work one of the two days that were mentioned.

I went home and looked up available sub jobs to accept the assignment, only it wasn’t listed.  Instead, I saw a position at the middle school for yesterday – though it was passed the time posted.  I called the school to ask if someone was still needed.  Thus, I worked yesterday for four hours and returned home.  I suppose I could have made the time after my return but chose instead to be with Roland who had gotten off of work early.

Downtown Trick or treating started forty-five minutes after Jenna returned home.  She had worn her elf costume to school but had changed into what she called a pastel demon.  We took her downtown and I took several pictures but have not gone through them all thoroughly but did make a scrap page from three of them to show her costume.  I will go through them more thoroughly eventually. I’ll be working again today as I had accepted the position on Tuesday morning.

After we returned from the Halloween festivities, I received another phone call to work today.  At first, I was thrown off believing yesterday was Friday and so why would I be asked to work on a Saturday?  But then I remembered that yesterday was Thursday.  It was a weird Thursday.  I somehow remembered that I was already working and so had to turn her down.

Jenna does not have school today.  But she will be going to the school’s homecoming dance tonight.  She will be dressing in costume and not a formal dress.

Recapping the Last Four Weeks

          On March 18 I started a class in public communications.  My first assignment was to take (or make up) a situation from work and address it.  When I initially looked at it I had decided to speak on connecting parental support to the child’s behavior – but I had misread the point of the assignment.  Fortunately I decided to wait until Wednesday (the day of the lecture) before I started.

          A teacher’s aide, for the most part, rotates among different classes.  The particular schedule I had followed on that day was 30 minutes each with kindergarten to 3^rd grade, most of the time with kindergarten.  Also, that particular position required me to monitor the 4^th grade during recess and their lunch.  I was with the kindergarten class when the fire alarm went off on Monday for a fire drill. 

          By Wednesday I had changed my topic from behavior to the fire drill as the alarm went off a few hours before I returned home to watch the recorded lecture for the week.  The fire drill had been on Monday and there was a real emergency evacuation on Wednesday.  I was with the fourth graders whom I had never lined up with before.

          I found it interesting to compare the fire drill on Monday to the results that took place on Wednesday. Only my first assignment was supposed to be addressing a co-worker or someone I manage one-on-one.  My topic of conversation was not one that I would choose for just one individual but was able to make it work by pulling out a specific.  There have been so many times when I have not had a walkie-talkie with me (mostly because I haven’t made it a habit) but did have on Wednesday but not on Monday.  The assignment I turned in was on the importance of having the radio device with me at all times and not just at lunch.  I imagined the conversation from my manager’s point of view.  That is what I handed in.

          The following week’s assignment was to write a speech that I would give in public.  I was required to give the audience three things to talk about.  I incorporated that we practice fire drills to ensure safety, we are more focused when we are prepared, and when we are focused and calm it is easier to make adjustments – such as evacuating to an area that we had never practiced before.

          I have always been under the impression that the more excuses a person uses to convince another of something, the less believable it is. My throat had been dry since the class had started, and seemed to dry at more as the class progressed.  The week I was to record my speech was not a good week for me.  I hadn’t practiced my speech orally because of my dry throat and the rain fell heavily and was louder than I was I tried recording.  I compared my situation to Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day as mentioned here. 

          I ended up with a 107 out of 120.  Not bad.  I wouldn’t have scored myself that high.  I couldn’t even watch it as my voice didn’t even move in sync to my lips.  That really bothers me.  Now I am waiting for the grades for this last week.  Tomorrow I start a new class.

Coming to an End

                My communications class ends tomorrow.  I need to post my written speech, revised speech, where it went, etc.  I have been able to compare the subject of my assignments to writing the assignments (and presenting one in recording) for the class itself.  I’m sure it will make more sense once I get around to posting either tomorrow or Monday.  Monday seems more likely.  So sorry to keep ya’ll in suspense . . .

Trying to Erase or Fix the Confusion

I seem to have such a hard time waking up and staying focused – which I’m certain my readers recognized with my last post.  Perhaps I should just delete it and start over.

            In August of 2018, I had applied for a teacher’s aide position within the school district.  I had been interviewed at three of the five schools but was not hired through any of them.  Instead, I stayed on as a substitute which gave me the option of filling in for aides at all five schools.  Turned out to be a good fit as it gives me more options and flexibility.  At least it did.

            My first assignment was at the end of September.  I had accepted a position at the middle school.  It was a very positive experience and I had been grateful for the opportunity.  The next day I was filling in for somebody at one of the elementary schools.  I referred to it as my day from hell.  I was not a happy camper.

            One of the aides asked if I would ever come back.  I said I would – though it would not be my first choice.  I had filled in for another aide at that same elementary school and hated it even more.  I no longer accept positions at that elementary school.

            I was not given an opportunity to work at the other elementary until the end of October.  Out of the three schools I have been accepting positions from, this is my favorite.  I can now honestly say that I have put more hours in at this elementary school than the other two schools combined.  The two-week assignment that I had accepted in January has turned into the duration.

            I still have three more classes before I complete my online schooling.  Right now I am taking a class in public communications.  My first-week assignment was to write about a confrontation in the work situation and how I would go about handling it.  Initially, my mind had taken me in one direction than what I ended up writing about.  I briefly mentioned the fire drill and “for-real” evacuation in this post.  From that, I took the importance of having a walkie-talkie on me at all times.  As I am quite low on the totem pole, I imagined the coordinator giving the speech to me.           

            My week-two assignment was to start a speech that I will give for this week.  At first I recorded all the details that happened with the fire drill versus the real evacuation.  I only needed 400 words.  I think I had over 2,000 and so had to cut it down quite a bit and leave out all the details. I should be practicing my speech right now, but my throat has been sore.  Currently, it is raining very hard.  I think the rain is/will be louder than I am.

            It’s been raining a lot.  So often when it is raining outside, I am feeling hot inside.  That doesn’t even make sense to me and yet it really does happen.  I’ve been sleeping well.  Perhaps too well.  I find it hard to get myself up.  I think the weather must be draining me somehow.  Or maybe it’s my daily routine at the elementary school.  The time doesn’t always move as quickly as it used to.

            The internet on my computer seems to reflect my tiredness.  It comes and goes.  Mostly goes.  Spaces out while I am trying to do something – or listen to something.  The internet will “doze” or just cut out and go to sleep.  Maybe that’s what’s making me tired.  For example, I was listening to some songs on YouTube while I started this post.  The internet cut out and I am too sleepy to express anger or frustration.  I’m tired.  And my day hasn’t even started.  I may be taking a nap pretty soon.

Tired and Frustrated

My laptop gets internet

My PC does not

No cloud communication

For quite a while now so

What’s the point?

I started a two-week assignment

January 31 to February 13 –

And I’m still there

A few have asked if I can work

For them

I said “Yes” to one and the boss asked

If I could work longer

Yesterday I had others ask if I could work

May and June.  Their boss (our boss) said “No”

She wants me to continue with the

Assignment I started in January

I have to give a speech this week for

The only class that I am taking right now

I am so glad there is only one.

It was tough taking two classes with work

I know many people work full time and go

To school full time.  I think I

Could handle it once

Not anymore.

I wish my PC was more vibrant

I wish the screen on my laptop was bigger

I wish my house would clean itself

This is a boring post and I

am drained.

Oh, the joys of technology.

Though my communications class started on Monday, the lecture isn’t given until Wednesday morning.  I am not able to attend the live session when I am working and cannot listen to the recording until after I return home.  The instructor does have a question-answer period on that same day but I don’t want to just pop in and start asking questions she may have already covered in the video and yet if they are not covered in the recorded lecture, I have missed my opportunity for asking live.  I feel like I am working with a two-edged sword.  I don’t like it.

Our initial discussion post is due on Wednesday, but I like to have it done by Monday or Tuesday.  Sometimes the discussion doesn’t get covered in its entirety anyway.  Thus I did post what I had written based on what I read.  But I had missed the point of the assignment and did not get that turned in until just several hours ago.  There was something mentioned during the lecture that made me realize I hadn’t read the expectations correctly.  I had also missed having to contact the writing center two or three times before I decided to turn it in.

What?  I have to use the writing center to complete this assignment?  It’s been required for at least two other classes and has always been a traumatic experience for me.  Always!  I was never able to keep an appointment or was always late getting in because I have never been able to connect to Blackboard collaboration right away – even when I had believed that the tech at the school had fixed it for me.  Every time I go to sign on, it asks me to download it into the system.  Every time!  Shouldn’t it already be there? 

So my appointment was scheduled for 4:30 MDT yesterday.  I attempted signing in just before 4:00.  Download.  Wait.  Connect.  Really?  I got connected?  I still had twenty minutes before my appointment.

I was told that she had just finished up her 4:00 appointment and I was welcome to start my session early.  I was hoping that she had access to the document I had submitted at the time of my making the appointment.  My computer and laptop haven’t been communicating as usual and I couldn’t retrieve the document from either device.  The assignment hadn’t been saved to my laptop (though I had used the cloud) and my pc seems to be at a frozen stage whereas I am not getting any icons to click on nor does the search allow me to type anything.  Roland thinks the keyboard is the problem.  I don’t see how.

Word: Match

I can strike a match to light up a room

or start a fire to toast marshmallows

I can play different versions of match game

For example, I've tried to learn about which flag goes

with what country by matching one to the other

I can attempt to paint the shutters and trim

to match the rest of the house.

I can mix and match socks

I get tired of trying to match assignment problems

with the responding exercise found in the book

an electronic book I might add

I would like my clothes to match

Occasionally I would like to match the face to the voice

We've been through quite a few furniture pieces that didn't match.

you remember this scene from Frasier? 
We had worse cases than Martin's chair.

Some librarians and instructors will read books and set up an activity

The activity matches themes based upon the book

There is a lot of competition in the retail business. 

So many try to match another's price

I have never owned boots that have matched my coat.

Some people display their photos in all matching frames

Sometimes I get frustrated with web sites that never match

what I am searching for.

match pictures to real items

I love it when Jenna's enthusiasm mirrors my own.