Chris Is Hilarious!

Thanks to "A Happy Mood"

This post truly is about Chris and his funny, no, HILARIOUS personality. I usually laugh at all of his jokes because they are funny, but I laugh the hardest at his moments of pure “funny”-ness. Yesterday we had someone knock on our door… something that does not happen often. We were both a little shocked and didn’t know who it could possibly be. Chris opened the door to a 12 year old girl who quickly spun off a sentence, “Would you like me to walk your dog for $2 a day?” I mentally answered the question with, “Darn we don’t have a dog for her to walk.” Chris on the other hand answered, “I don’t have any cash.”

I couldn’t stop from laughing the moment he shut the door. Instead of giving the girl an answer that was more accurate and one that would keep her away, Chris gave her the answer that suited his frame of mind. In actuality he could not understand a word that she had said. Now the little girl will think that we will be willing to pay her to walk our nonexistent dog… if we had the cash.

Observations

Today I observed other teachers again and was introduced to classroom management in a math, Spanish, and English class. They were all so different it’s amazing. The most surprising and educational experience was the English teacher. The English teacher told me afterwards that the “on level” students at the corresponding high school were 10x worse. They didn’t care about failing a class or an entire year, and most of them were already into the gang life. I haven’t been afraid of any of the students that I have met. They think they are pretty “badass” but in actuality they are 15 year olds who can’t drive. But I’m sure 17 year olds real life thugs would scare the living daylights out of me. I wish I could go observe at the high school just so I would know if I was blowing it out of proportion.

In good news, Chris got a job that will help pay the bills. It doesn’t pay much and he’ll be working for a company that I hated… that’s right Wal-mart. Chris is such a sport for doing this with me and helping me out so much. It worked out that the Wal-mart closest to us was hiring. Now we won’t have to attempt to get a student loan to try to pay for a second car. I was starting to realize that we were naïve in assuming we could make one car work in a situation like this, but it just might work out in the end. I hope Chris doesn’t get stuck with this job for a long time. Hopefully he will keep looking and find something he’ll love…either that or go back to school!

The Beginning

Since I was so intent on getting internet quickly I might as well post an update before I get too busy. I’ve been in the school for about three days now and I have already learned a lot. This district is very different from my high school experience (mind you I was a complete nerd that followed every rule and wouldn’t consider talking back to a teacher or stepping out of line). These students are used to the average day’s schedule, but there are so many different aspects to school in Texas that I learn something new with every conversation. There is INSAK which serves as an in school suspension that students are in constantly, D-Hall which serves as detention for after school hours, and COMPAS which is the alternative school students are sent to constantly as well. There are misbehavior codes that the teachers have memorized and they can recite the trouble students in alphabetical order even though they only see them for one year. The students are shifted from one discipline program to the next with a blink of an eye. I was honestly completely unaware of such programs in my high school (mind you I was extremely, extremely naïve). The biggest difference for me is the change in the student’s attitude from in the classroom to in the hallway. In the class there is about 30 or so students and one teacher, but from what I’ve seen they are not entirely disrespectful to the teachers. In the hallway however teachers are constantly bombarded with profanities and disrespect. The students must wear their IDs on a lanyard at all times; if they are without it in the hallway the teacher needs to tell them to correct the problem. Students love to push every teacher's patience and rebel against authority in this manner, but the student ID truly is a starting point for every student to have a bad attitude. I witnessed a Biology teacher get cussed out while she followed two students down the hallway and another teacher break up a small scuffle by the bathrooms in less than 10 minutes. These teachers have to constantly be on guard to any disruptive behavior or possible “acting out” in their classrooms and most importantly in the hallway. The teachers honestly must assume that the students are in the wrong place and up to no good no matter the situation. I have one cooperating teacher who has “Gifted and Talented” (an actual class title in Texas) and Pre-A.P. classes. These students are loud but among the best in the school (I lucked out when I got assigned to this teacher). The other teacher is an ESL educator and her classes top out at about 8-10 students. The ESL students are by far the nicest students while in their classes. Tomorrow will be the first day that I will be able to observe an “on level” class and see what hell truly looks like :)

The second biggest difference besides school policies is the use of Ms. in everyday conversation. In Utah if someone has a wedding ring, appears older than 30, or has children I say Mrs; however, in Texas everyone assumes you are Ms. even if you have 50+ years. I asked my ESL cooperating teacher and she informed me that all the Hispanic students say Ms. so they don’t have to pronounce the teacher’s full name (and because of their native language) and the African American students default to Ms. because that was socially acceptable back in the day of slavery. It was honestly the smallest distinction that took me awhile to get used to.

I haven’t picked up ya’ll in my vocabulary quite yet, but I still laugh at any use of the word… in my head of course. I am amazed with the very, very diverse names here. The students have names such as Janericka, La’Charla, Ascunea, Deontrae, and the list goes on and on. I look at the seating chart and want to read Janericka as ‘Jane’-‘ricka’ but you actually put an emphasis on the ‘Ja’ only. One name looks like luxurious with alternate consonants… I didn’t attempt it when I read it. I honestly think the correct pronunciation of names will be my biggest challenge and when the students throw “you’re racist” to break me. I am among a mostly white faculty (compared to the student body) and I hear the students constantly claim that the teacher is racist if given the opportunity. So far I’m really glad I made the decision to come to Texas but of course I’m only 2 days in.

We Are Here!

We made our 24 hour driving trip to Texas safely! We made two trips: 14 hours to Amarillo and 10 hours to Dallas then Kingwood. It was a great experience and I got to know Angel a little more. Chris met Angel in Idaho Falls at Cafe Rio. He is a really sincere kid, but that's just it, he is a KID! Angel was making the move from Idaho Falls to Dallas, TX to live with his girlfriend and her family. He is currently 17 and she is currently 16. They are very cute and in love, but so young. He was excited as can be and a joy to get to know more. If I was in his position I would just want to turn around and go back home. However, Angel is very courageous and is going to stick it out.

We are currently in a Motel 6 in the Kingwood area and thankfully we have free wifi. I am glad to update the blog before we get all of our stuff tomorrow and cram it into our apartment. Oh! We finally got to see our apartment and its really nice. It is a bit small, but nothing we can't manage. The community is nice and the landlord/leasing agent was very friendly.

I am sadly already homesick :( When we moved to ID we knew we were just "visiting" even though we were there for 6 months. This move might become more permanent and my mind is missing everything about Utah. The first thing we have noticed is the use of ya'll. Everyone greets each other with ya'll. Its charming, but I used to make fun of that word. The second thing is the smoking and non-smoking sections in restaurants. They still have a smoking section that really is just a booth in the same room. I wonder if Utah is the only state to have no smoking restrictions. I'm just too lazy to actually research that.

I've decided that internet will be a necessity for us while we live here and I think we will be calling tonight to set something up. I hope everyone is doing good! Miss you already.

Texas Here We Come!

I can't believe how quickly Tuesday Jan. 12th came this year. We are leaving tomorrow morning bright and early for Houston. We were called by the moving company so we know our stuff arrived safely which is a load of stress off of our shoulders. We still need to decide on the cheapest hotel to stay in the night during our trip and to find another hotel in Kingwood. I was thinking too much about the student teaching orientation in Logan and forgot to sign up for electricity. Thankfully the leasing agent called and reminded me. Now we can either face $60 in charges for no electric account or move in a day later; however, since our bed is in storage we might as well pay for a cheap hotel and sleep on their bed instead of our new floor.

We wont have internet for awhile, but I think we'll realize what a necessity it is for both of us right now and we'll cave in soon enough. Until then farewell!

I think I'm slowly killing myself :)

Stress: mental, emotional, or physical strain caused, e.g. by anxiety or overwork.

This word defines my days right now. I am stressed about student teaching (and it hasn’t even started yet), moving, and MONEY. I have always lived by the “what if?!?!?” scenario and the stress that comes with it. Living this way is rather stupid, I agree completely, but how does an individual recondition their mind to think differently? I was so relaxed in California that I thought positively about the move to Texas, but now that I am home the stress is back on. The sucky thing is the stress is affecting the last few days I have with my mom and my relationship with Chris. We are usually laid back but when I’m stressed I somehow get us arguing. It’s a character flaw that I passionately hate. I don’t even think there is anything of necessity to be stressed about but yet I do.

Onto a new subject! We are all packed up with ABF. This company is very different from UHAUL in that you can get a cube, or trailer delivered to your home that you pack yourself. However, you do not have to drive the truck. It was a great solution to our situation and we even saved money by taking our stuff to the terminal in Salt Lake. We reserved two cubes but managed to save about $600 by only using one cube. The downer is that we will not have a couch when we arrive to Houston. Oh well I guess!

The relocube that we used was scary to see at first because it doesn’t seem big at all. The real truth to the matter is it’s tall! So instead of packing out you must pack up. I’m a little nervous about our packing job because the boxes and all the rest of our junk will inevitably shift in transit. Hopefully everything will survive!

California and New Years 2009

Chris and I were able to visit with family in CA for New Years. The ride there was a little scary because it was snowing like crazy. Thanks to Larry's driving ability and Roxy's dependable car we arrived safe and sound! The first night there we were able to go to Grandma Merket's surprise birthday party. Chris had the amazing idea to make a Merket plaque for his grandma. We used my mom's Cricut and enjoyed a little creative outlet.

We were able to take a Bird family photo. This was by far my favorite photo of the bunch... its shows our true personalities. Just by this blog alone you can tell the difference between professional and amateur photography. My pictures all of the dates in bright yellow (thanks in part to booting and my laziness) and Roxy's have perfect lighting.

Finally there is a photo of all of the Merkets. The last time we were all together was for Larry and Roxy's wedding... however, the happy couple were not in any of the sideline photos. It is one of my new year's resolution to get a family photo from all of the fun events. I'll be emailing Roxy soon for some of her wedding photos :)

Roxy also took some pictures of Chris and I besides a beautiful vine covered patio. The Lees moved into a gorgeous home with an amazing commons area including this patio. I loved this picture because it shows the reason why I married Chris (he makes me laugh).

We went to the Rose Parade for New Years and spent New Year's Eve on the street throwing tortillas and marshmallows at cars. It was a lot of fun and a great experience. Larry and Roxy had great hookups that made the parade a blast. The lack of sleep and constant douche bags walking past made during the night me a grumpster for a moment, but I tried to regain my composure. Chris is such a light sleeper he didn't sleep at all. I felt pretty bad for him but he didn't show any sleep deprivation at all, well at least he didn't until we reached the car and he was out.

Our many thanks to the happy couple for a wonderful time!

The sunrise on Colorado Blvd. It was priceless. This was taken by the Chevron bathroom line that wrapped around the building.

Chris was a dear and took everything back to the car in the morning :) I got to sit on my butt and people watch!

The funniest moment of the morning was when Larry realized his pants were on backwards the entire time. It was pretty freaking funny.

We were able to visit the ocean :) Newport beach seems to be our usual stop while visiting family but I still enjoyed the smell of the ocean and the sun (very therapeutic).

I felt like highlighting this photo for everyone's enjoyment. I was the DOUCHE BAG who asked Roxy to snap a photo of Chris and I walking on the beach... yes sometimes I let the cheesiness decide things for me.

Liz was also able to use her resources and get us into Disneyland for free. It was a lot of fun to spend the day with Dan, Ami, Larry, and Roxy. Cathy, Joann, and Liz joined us in the evening.

We had never seen Disneyland decked out for Christmas and its a small world was a treat to say the least. The rest of the lights were already taken down... and it was only the 5th of January!

Chris pulled out the sword in the stone when he was five and we were able to revisit the memorable spot. Chris' face is near constipation while Dan pulls off normalcy.