Three hours asleep, woke for a minute, and then made the mistake of trying to figure out how to arrange the classroom for this year. My room is five-sided, but not in any symmetrical way - more like a trapezoid with an extra angle thrown in to make sure no more than 30 people can look in the same direction at the same time. (Note the not-so-subtle "overcrowded classroom" dig?)
After an hour of lying in bed, trying to solve my problem, namely that the computer needs to be in Spot A, so the LCD projector can be in Spot B, and my desk should be somewhere over in Zone C where it's hard to see the whiteboard, and nothing can be in Zone D (which is the path to the computer to operate the LCD aka "Differentiation for Visual Learners" aka Babysitter), and I'd really like to keep a chair and
podium-like structure (table? bookshelf?) up front, and since the problem is unsolvable anyway, can the custodians move the wardrobe so the Jacuzzi can be flush with the north wall?
And then I tried to ALT-TAB between restless brain windows. What am I going to do with the (old, tannish grey, pocky) walls? The old Far Side calendars I ordered haven't arrived, but I plan to mount them on scrapbooking cardstock. (The ugly leftovers.) If I have enough mounted panels, I'll use them like wallpaper, and cover some of the walls completely. (And if I get them laminated, then it will be easy to tape student work on the walls.)
And I might make a few French memo boards, since more bulletin boards aren't happening, but - let's face it - anything stuck in the ribbons will be jacked. So, I might just cover some foam boards with discount cloth - forget the padding, forget the buttons and ribbons - and perhaps affix photos of former students to them. Something that puts colour on the walls but is functional. But foam board can be pricey, and it isn't very big... maybe I should just put fabric on the walls with border paper? In other words, make some fake bulletin boards? I've tried doing that with the usual butcher block paper, but it just looks depressing. Fabric might give it some texture/depth.
But what's the point of any of this, with those depressing metal grey bookshelves? With the half-gnawed off stickers and Sharpie-laden graffiti? Is there a way to paint them in a poorly ventilated room? (I can't take them outside of the room.) Can I cover the bookcases with fabric? Will everything be covered in fabric? Should I buy a hot glue gun?
Or, will this look as bad as when I first came here, and I stapled up 50 squares of purple and green felt as decoration?
(I still have it, if anyone can suggest a cool repurposing project.)
(Which word is more overused lately: "repurpose" or "staycation"?)
Which reminds me that I haven't even processed the student photos from last year. And August starts tomorrow. And I've only had three hours of sleep, and even though I planned the first quarter, I haven't actually made any of the materials for it.
So that's why I'm not thinking about any of it. I'm just reading postcards and eating Swiss cheese bread until I can get back to sleep and dream of things I won't remember.
The photos on the card are surprisingly vibrant for once. I could almost walk into that left one. Sit under the blue skies. Think about the statue to Cornelius, patron saint of horned cattle. Do my super-good "moooo!"
(Me, to Mike: "How would you describe my cow impersonation?" Mike: "Good." Pause. Mike: "Convincing." Pause. Mike: "I thought you were making a tauren character." Me: "Moooo." Mike: "Rrrrr. Rrrrr." Me: "Mooo-rrrr." And then there was that for awhile.)
It's another one to Jim and Joyce of Devon, mailed 16 August 1994.
"Friday.
"Sitting here, writing this before I get back to work on the tan!! Children enjoying the pool and beach. Went sightseeing in Vannes yesterday and Quiberon on Tuesday. Planning to spend the weekend on beach. Hope camp is going well.
"Love, Bob, Sue, Louise, Ben, and Emma."
Camp was going well, Bob-Sue-Louise-Ben-Emma. Was. But now I have the mush that results when you combine summer break with alarm clocks and responsibility. Mush, like an all-you-can-eat gruel.
All that whining, and not a word for the Really Nifty Carnac stones? Pitiful. As pitiful as felt.
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