…and in reality it probably isn’t but I’ve actually had a couple of people ask me why I haven’t been blogging much lately.

Well, the long and the short of it is that I have been (as my students call it) hella-busy.  Of course, everyone says that but I think I really have been.

The school year started and I have to say that I generally like all of my classes.  Which isn’t to say I don’t occasionally get the compulsion to sell students to the gypsies but on the whole everyone is pretty easy-going, respectful, and compliant.  And yes, that is a change from the classes that I had last year.  My most-rowdy class this year is easier to manage than the most-compliant class I had last year.

I don’t have my classroom during one of my classes (Web Design–last minute change in my schedule after I had already farmed out the software needed to other teachers) and my conference.  I know that having your room during your conference is a luxury but it’s been one that I’ve enjoyed for several years and I forgot how much it helps in getting things done.

My other big black hole of time and effort lately has been Key Club.  We have been keeping very close track of hours, projects, etc. and here’s the results:

September - Total Hours:  447 5/6 hours
September - Total Community Service Hours:  327 1/3 hours

October - Total Hours (to date):  299 1/6 hours
October - Total Community Service Hours (to date):  267 2/3

Needless to say, I am VERY PROUD of my kids.  Our major project has been the Big Boo, a haunted house in Amarillo.  We’re helping with it both as a fundraiser for our club and as a community service project (its proceeds go to Crimestoppers and the Downtown Women’s Shelter).  The majority of our hours for September and October have been dedicated toward this project (you have NO IDEA how much work this entails but it’s A LOT) .  But we’ve also done projects with the Ronald McDonald House, Kiwanis Flag Distribution, made personalized hall passes for new teachers at CHS, coordinated the CHS Homecoming Parade, participated in the Homecoming Pep Rally, started Key Clean-Up (a project that is dedicated to grounds clean-up and improvement),  did prep work for Fair on the Square, and are currently doing a fundraiser for UNICEF, gathering volunteers to work the CHS Blood Drive on Friday,  and were planning for a booth at Halloween Happening.

I’ve also been working on some self-improvement.  On August 31, I had blood drawn for a lipid panel (happy 35th birthday gift from my doctor when all I wanted was a renewal of my allergy medication prescription).  The results came back and I had high LDLs (bad cholesterol), high triglycerides (curse my love of chips and chicken fried steak!!), and low HDLs.  So I’ve really been trying to watch my diet and get some exercise.  Since Labor Day weekend, I’ve lost almost 20 pounds (I was at 21 pounds but have gained some back) and managed to give myself a good case of tendonitis in my left knee and have been hobbling around like Quasimodo for the last 2 weeks or so.  That’s what I get for listening to my doctor when he said, “You really need to provide an example of exercise for your children to see.”  Ungh.  Anyway, I had another lipid panel done last week and I’m waiting on its results.  If I don’t see some progress in the right direction I think I will have to find some naturally skinny person and smack them around until I feel better! ;-)  My “official” (this panel that I’m waiting for was a part of my school’s wellness program and doesn’t count as far as my doctor is concerned) lipid panel is scheduled for December 28.  My doctor said if I can make it through the holidays with my blood levels going in the right direction then we would know the lifestyle changes that I’m implementing are positive.  It is my sincere hope that I won’t need to address my cholesterol levels with medication.  None of my levels are astronomically out-of-norm so I am really hoping this will do the trick.

Well, I hope all my readers (both of you!) are having a great fall.  Let me know how life is and what is going on with you!

I just have three words for you:

3 … freakin’… degrees!

My next court appearance regarding the accident I had in July is tomorrow. My last court appearance was on October 2. The prosecutor asked for a continuance because the girl involved in the accident did not show up to court. Each side gets one continuance, so tomorrow will be it.

Part of me wishes that I had just paid the fine (around $200) but I just don’t think it’s right that I should have to pay a fine because a coyote ran in front of my car and I swerved to miss it.

(By the way, the prosecutor asked for continuances in EVERY SINGLE CASE on the docket…amazing how that worked out, huh?)

So, all in all, I have wasted three days of work fighting a fine for being involved in an accident…and I didn’t even get a ticket! But at least after November 1 I won’t have to deal with it anymore.

I found the following on the RSS feed of a computer science teacher in Dallas:

“I personally prefer leaving the websites on and getting onto kids when they go to the wrong place or at the wrong time. I don’t get to make all those choices, as the district does use Websense to block things.”

I was going to post a comment and let her know that my district also uses Websense…but you guessed it, her website was blocked by Websense.

If you’re not at school, you can see the site by going to http://www.kweaver.org/cs

Well, I had hoped to put the saga of my car accident in July behind me today but it just wasn’t in the cards.

To make a long story short: on Saturday, July 22 around 10 p.m., I was traveling north on Soncy between Hillside and 45th. A coyote ran out in front of my car and I swerved in an attempt to miss it. Well, the attempt was unsuccessful and Wile E. met an untimely end. However, as I swerved to miss the coyote I went onto the shoulder of the road and hit a pedestrian. She had thought the coyote was someone’s dog and was trying to get it out of the road. She broke her leg (compound fracture) and she had to have surgery on it. I called 911 on my cell phone and stayed with her until they took her to the hospital. I went with an officer to move her car (she had left it in the entrance to a convenience store down the road) and went to the hospital with him. I stayed there with her family until she was out of surgery and in recovery. I never received a ticket.

About a month later I received a summons from the City of Amarillo’s Municipal Court saying I had to appear. Apparently, you don’t have to have a ticket issued against you in order to be fined! I plead “Not guilty” and chose to have the case tried by a judge. They assigned me a court date (today) and I appeared. However, the prosecution had issued a subpoena for the pedestrian to appear and she didn’t. So the judge granted a continuance and I have to appear again. But the judge said she would only grant the prosecution one continuance and if this happens again then the charge against me (”Failure to stay in lane - accident”) would be dropped.

I was more than a little irritated as I left the courthouse. I have already wasted two days of work to take care of this and can plan on another. To my way of thinking, the charge is a ridiculous one to begin with and it just seems to drag on forever.

On the bright side of things, I did my deposit work at the church this morning and was able to mow my front yard this afternoon after I got home from court. I guess the day wasn’t a total waste…