Incidents and accidents

I didn’t get the job. She said they’ll keep the application on file “.. because I think you have some great qualities…”

I just feel like crying about it.

It lives! Thanks to a new moherboard, I’m back up and running. Running XP, I might add… ick. It’s actually not as bad as I’d figured. It’s got an awesome image viewer that acts as a slide show for the whole folder. I open one and click ‘next’ instead of opening each file. Yay!

Job: I went in for my test run today. It was so much fun that I stayed an hour over what I was supposed to. She just called back. She’s happy I had a good time, but she’s got a few other girls on the line as well. I’ll get another call back early next week. I sure hope I get the job.

Update on the job thing: She just called back. 5 mintues of “Oh, I’m sorry, but we have to follow policy on this.. etc” means that I no longer work for Cornerstone. 7 months of working through cold and stomach viruses, only to be undone by a single missed phone message. The kids love me, but it’s not about the kids is it? The parents of these kids will probably never know the real truth. I’ve seen Boss lie to other parents, point blank. I’ve seen her give them trumped-up stories of how so-and-so just stopped coming to work.. blah blah, but i know it’s because she told so-and-so that she could have a day off (the only day she had) to get her insurance in order, then told her she’d have to be in anyway. I’m sure she’s telling the parents of my kids and my coworkers that I just stopped calling and showing up one day and that she never heard a thing about it ever again. I have all of their e-mails and could give them all the truth, but it’s a personal matter, not really suited to be aired about like that.

Back at the end of September, I blogged about finding a giant green catterpillar at work. It turned out to be a Polyphemus Moth, one of the biggest moths here. We’ve been having a lot of storms as of late here, with a lot of wind. It’s been blowing a lot of branches and leaves out of the trees around work. Well, a few day ago, I found what looked like an empty cocoon. The outside looked whole, but it was too light to have anything inside. I tossed it by the fence, curious to see if anything came out eventually. The day after that, I found another, blown down by another storm. This one, was quite heavy. I tossed it beside the first one, figuring whatever was in it was long dead. Yesterday, i found a third one, blown down again. I finally said to hell with it and took this one home. I did a little research and found that it’s the cocoon of the green catterpillar! It will hatch a lovely Polyphemus Moth in May! I hung it outside so it can hatch in May. I’ll go back on Monday and pick up the other two, as well as any others I can find.

One of my newly-hired co-workers told me today that when she was interviewed, the school director asked her if she was christian (it’s a christian school). Not only is that illeagal, but after it was confirmed that the co-worked was indeed a believer, the director then procedes to tell her that there’s a non-christian working there (me, duh) and that it’s caused ‘a lot of problems’ with the other co-workers. She then goes on to say that the school has kept me because being around so many ‘good christians’ might help me learn ‘by example’.
The director never asked me if I was a chirstian. I told her to her face about a month after she hired me, thinking it might make a few of the other people there not-cool with me. She told me then that no one had said a damn word to her, and that she’d let me know if anything of that ilk was said. Furthermore, not one of my co-workers has actually said anything to me or even asked about my beliefs.
Obviously, these ‘good christian’ woman have not only talked about my religious preferences (of which they know nothing since they haven’t asked) behind my back, but the director has actually lied to me about it when I asked if it was an issue. To tell a potential teacher that they’re having ‘problems’ with another’s belief set before they’re even hired is just unprofessional. Then to know that they’re just keeping me around to ’save’ me instead of my teaching skills makes me sick.
Honestly. if being ’saved’ means I have to turn into a lying bigot, I’d rather not be. I can forsee this turning into a big problem.

Actual phrases that have come out of my kids’ mouths:

Child: Miss Hedder! I need to tell you a secret!
Me: Wassat?
Child: (whispers in my ear) I love you…

Child: (holding up a lump of playdough) I made poopie!

Me: I’d be so happy if you peepeed in the potty next time.
Child: I sorry. I no mean to peepee in my diaper.

Me: (Just walked in to work) Morning!
Child: (pointing to his butt) Miss Hedder. I can’t talk to you. I got diarrhea!

Child: (pointing to his penis) It’s just too big!
Me: It’s what? Who told you that?
Child: Daddy.

Chil: (running back from the bathroom) I peeped the pot!

Me: Your pants are falling down again.
Child: Yeah! I need a belt!

Child: (holding up a large and small stick) It’s a mama stick and a baby stick!

Child: (hands down her pants) Look Miss Hedder! I got a body!

Child: Miss Heather… I like your breasts.
Me: You what?
Child: I like your breasts. I have a penis.
Me: Oookay.. we’re not talking about that anymore.

Child: (spinning around in circles) I’m so busy!

Child: (pointing at her nose) I gots burgers!

Me: We’re having some cole slaw too!
Child: No. It’s COLD SLOP.

Me: Here, take this egg, okay?
Child: Thank you! That’s so sweet!

Just a note: If your child id throwing up, DON’T send him to school or daycare.
I spent this afternoon cleaning barf off my floor again. I won’t sicken you with the nasty details again, but two of my kids went home sick today. One of them is having his third birthday party tomorrow, and may be too sick to attend it. All because this woman couldn’t keep the kid at home. Not to mention how fun it is for ME to clean vomit up for a few hours.

It’s only a bit past noon now and already today we’ve had:

1 teacher hurt (fell down and hurt her back)
1 ambulance (for the hurt teacher)
1 fire truck (to back up the paramedics)
1 teacher quit (second this week!)
1 enraged screaming woman (mother of quitting teacher)
1 emotional breakdown (boss being screamed at by mother)

This adding on top of the barfing child from yesterday and the other quitting teacher make this a bad week to be director. The hurt teacher has a problem with some nerve in her back, and her legs just gave out on her. She fell down and couldn’t get up (har har), s the paramedics had to come get her.

The second teacher has been a total bitch all week (following some nasty words said to boss), so the pastor sent a letter to everyone about being nice to each other in a Christian school. The teacher just up and walked out this morning, leaving a woman with a heart condition in charge of her room full of toddlers. Apparently, said teacher (a grown woman with a child of her own) went home and cried about it to her mother. Said mother drove to the school and screamed at boss in the hallway. She went on for 5-10 minutes about disrespect and racism. I could hear her two rooms full of loud kids away! Wow, childish. I feel very sorry for boss, but I’m very lucky none of said drama has been directed at me (besides the barf).

WARNING: THIS IS A POST ABOUT BARF! DON’T READ IT IF YOU DON’T WANT TO!

Priest: What’s your name?
Barf: Barf.
Priest: Your full name!
Barf: Barfolomew.

What’s the worst thing a teacher can deal with beyond a serious injury? You got it. Barf.
One of the neighboring teacher’s kids was sick today. She was out for lunch and I was watching her class. One of the kids starts to cry in the corner. He’s known to have bad dreams and wake up crying, so I walk over to see what’s wrong. Just as I ask “Did you have a ba___” he barfs. I normally have issues with puke. If I see it or hear it, I get nauseated myself. I reach down to pick him up to get him to the potty, and he’s still going, poor kid. By this time, he’s got puke in his hair, ears, nose, shirt.. etc. I carry him to the toilet (spewing barf the entire 20ft there) where he continues to vomit, still crying.
This is the point when the smell hits me. I almost threw up on the poor kid who was still throwing up. My boss walks right out of her office and into the puddle of puke (squish), then runs quickly to the toilet herself. I’m fighting down the chicken sandwich I had… ew. Wash the kid, the floor, my shoes, the bed.. then on to changing his clothes. Fortunantly, Boss found something that will disinfect AND smells good, so we’re not so close to losing lunches. Kid’s mom comes to get him and says it’s a tummy bug and that everyone in her house has gotten it.
If I get it, I’m going to be really really pissed. People, if your kid has been puking, don’t take him to daycare!

As I was driving back home from work yesterday, i noticed that the gas light was on. This isn’t surprising, since I have a bad habit of letting the car get down to fumes before I put anything in it again.It started up just finethough, so i figured I had at least another day of back and forth to work in the tank. This morning I found out just how wrong I was. It’s only a mile to work (which is an easy walk for me), but the car chugged to a halt in the center divide about 1/2 a mile out. I called work and let them know that I’d be hoofing it in to work because I was dumb. I have a great coat and it was a nice 40F as I set out. I was getting nice and toasty just as one of my co-workers pulled up beside me. She’s a true southerner and she thought it was just too cold to let anyone walk a few hundred yards in to work. Bah. I was pleased by the thoughfulness though. I called John who (does this a lot) filled up the gas can and picked me up from work so we could fill up the car again. Thi sis a first, however. usually when it runs out of gas due to my stupidity, it makes it home but just doesn’t start the next day. This is the first time I’ve actually run out of gas and sputtered to a halt while driving. Every once in a while, you just need a kick in the ass to let you know you’re not as smart and you think you are.