Monday--ARRrrrrRRRrrrg

Okay--I could NOT fall asleep last night till nearly 2 a.m. The more I thought about the alarm going off at 5:15 a.m., the more uneasy and unable to sleep I became.

Finally I took three ibuprofen tablets (my legs still ached from the knees down too). That did the trick. I finally fell asleep.

I had accidentally unplugged my power bar, making my alarm clock blink insanely--so I set it and reset the alarm...and THOUGHT I set the alarm to ON. WRONG. So I woke up at 6:39. It takes half an hour to commute to my job. I'm usually there before 7 a.m. I had planned to stop for gas in Byron and get a money order for the Barbie stuff I bought and fill the car up with gas. And I had planned to nab one of their truly yummy cinnamon rolls with the buttercream frosting.

Alas, I could do none of those things.

I did make my normally 30 minute commute in 22 minutes flat. Heheheh Thank goodness no highway patrol officers were on the road this morning, else I would have a truly OBSCENE traffic ticket.

So, I made it in time for the morning meeting. By the skin of my teeth. I did, however, have to park at the far end of the faculty parking area. Which means that I will be soaked tonight by the time I make it to my car because it is raining.

Arg.

The day went okay. D.B., the kid who is my candidate to bring a weapon of mass destruction to school and slaughter us all one day, was pissy. The other kids got on him, and he at least shut up. One of the other kids came to me at break and asked, "Why is he still here? He's so disrespectful to all the teachers, and he never does ANYTHING."

And I tried to explain that D.B. has only one safe place in his life--here at school. His dad is a fucking lunatic who, I am sure, has beaten the hell out of D. every day of his life--if not two or three times a day--since the day he squirted out of the womb. D.B. has no trust for anyone--and particularly he has no trust for adults. He is either afraid of them or despises them as weaklings and vents his hostilities on them.

Knowing how it is to have the shit beat out of you on a regular basis, I feel for him--maybe too much. I take too much crap from him because I empathize with him too much. I need to kick his ass more. But so many people have kicked it (literally) that I just don't have the heart to do so. Of course, that means, I am placed in the "Weak and Contemptable" category. Ah, well.

I hope he can eventually pull his head out of his ass. He is quite intelligent, and he is a nice looking boy. Except for his eyes, which are kinda scary--they are so empty.

Other than that the day moved along. I got my Midquarter reports out. Scratch one more painful thing off my list.

While my kids were taking a test, I started paying my bills.

I hate bills.

But, I can be thankful that I have enough money (barely) to keep up with them.

I am concerned for my Amanda, freshly back from treatment, because she told me today that she "cannot stay away from" Jason, her crack head, drug dealing, asshole boyfriend.

He just used her as a drug mule, sucked her dry financially and physically, and got her addicted to crack. What could you possibly want more in a guy? I may start calling him myself. (Note: very heavy sarcasm here.)

I know I will never be a vigilante, because if I were going to be, this guy would already be twisting in the wind.

Sigh.

I'm really tired, and tiredness makes me a little pessimistic.

I really have had a very good day. The kids were (most of them) good and productive. I was glad to be here.

Annette came in for the Theater Arts class--brought in hot chocolate and Kenya coffee (which I thought smelled like burnt potatoes and tasted like the water from burnt potatoes with a lemon squeezed in--yet, even with that less than savory description, I didn't hate it.) She is the manager of the Caribou Coffee houses in Roch. She loves theater, and comes in to play with us every once in a while.

She and Steve and I are going on a "date" to see Fever Pitch. (I have already seen it with the stalker, but this time, hopefully, I won't have someone screeching in my ear the whole time.)

I hate it when people want to talk to me at the movies. I want to immerse myself in the fantasy world on the screen. I do NOT want to hear malicious gossip about mutual acquaintances OR bitching about the kids sitting behind us because they laugh or have their feet on the chair next to her.

Not much else is new. I have two of my kids in my room, hanging out until the other person they carpool with gets done with her stuff. When they take off, I'll go.

If they aren't in here with me, they'll have to find another teacher's room to hang out in OR get kicked outside in the rain.

No sense in that!

So, here I am with them.

I love them. Dean and John. Two very sweet boys.

At this moment they are arguing over their psychology project. Heheheh

Goofy kids.

Did I mention that I Love them?

I do.

Especially Dean who is in my homeroom. He is a deep soul. A wonderful human being. His parents did a wonderful job raising him. He cares so deeply for other people. heheheeh

John--John can be a lazy little shit, but he is a nice boy too. Quite the lady's man. *grin* He flutters around all the little girls--and has a million dollar grin.

Dean is two years older than him and is his uncle. Heheheh

"Uncle Dean"--we tease him about that a lot. Any time John gets out of line, Dean is there chewing his ass and nagging him. hehehehe

It's so cute.