Holy Hell

The title is kind of misleading, it was just a thought that came to mind about halfway through my workout today. Overall, my day was great.

I love my job, and I very much dislike anyone who tries to ruin that for me. I was a little anxious about a double period class that involved some setup and a class that I don't get along with the best, but I ended up having a great time. I managed to give almost half the kids one-on-one attention, and they all enjoyed the activity (using filtration to separate a mixture - watching a black marker spot bleed red and blue). The kids were extra excited, because of a new girl in the class, but she was nice and smart. The kids were being difficult at first, trying to push my buttons a little, but I ran with it and ended up having a lot of fun.

My other classes were good, and I think one of the girls I went running with last week worked extra hard on her quiz today.

Two more kids from my homeroom are now suspended, because of a fight they had during library. I'm pretty disappointed with them.

Yesterday I went shopping for my positive reward system, and ended up spending about $30 on raffle tickets, candy, Spongebob notebooks, pencils, and other little toys. I only remembered to introduce it to two of the classes, though. I was about to explain it to my last class when the 5-minute-long afternoon announcements began. Oh well, I'll introduce it tomorrow.

My second assignment for my coach was student relationship-building. I invited one of my most challenging students to my room for lunch - and once I said he could bring a friend, he was on board. I had three challenging boys to chat with during lunch, and it was nice. There was no ground-breaking communication, but I got to listen to some partially-incomprehensible boy chatter, and we all talked about how our days were going. One step at a time.

I left school right at 3:15, because I had an important workout to do. Last week's gym brick was derailed by someone else getting on the stationary bike, and yesterday's bike ride was cancelled due to weather, so I needed to get on the bike today. I left school right away, and stopped at the supermarket partially to procrastinate my workout and partially because I need to eat more fresh food. I bought the ingredients for an exciting dinner, and headed to the park.

I planned a 5 mile bike and 2 mile run, and that's what I did. The first half of the bike was uphill and into the wind, and I was only wearing a t-shirt. That's where the "Holy Hell" comes in. It was tough, and I ended up windburned everywhere. I also forgot my sunglasses, which didn't help with the whole keeping-dirt-out-of-my-eyes part. The second half of the ride was great, though, zooming down the hill and breaking any small branches that got in my way. Overall, it was slower than I expected (just under 12 mpg), but nice to get back in the saddle again.

Then came the brick part of the brick. I managed about a 2-minute car transition (front tire of the bike off, bike in the car, helmet off), and began my run. It felt pretty brickish, but I'm in much better running shape than I've ever been in my life. As I started running, I decided to cut it to 1 mile, but after I passed the half-mile marker I kept going and ended up doing the whole 2 miles at a nice 11-minute pace. By the end of the run, I couldn't really feel my calves any more, but I managed to flop me feet in the right direction. It was cold and I worked hard.

In the 45 minutes after I went home, I managed to make dinner (and lunch for the week) and clean up the kitchen. Appetizer: edamame-style steamed fresh garbanzo beans tossed with salt and cayenne (do NOT rub your eyes). Main: shells with smoked turkey sausage, eggplant, baby spinach, and cherry tomatoes. Also: Minty chamomile rooibos tea.

Also, during that time, I got a phone call from the parent of a suburban student I tutor asking if he could give my number to his daughter's classmate. Absolutely.

My feet are up, I am watching Toddlers and Tiaras, and I'm about to eat an awesome dinner. I am okay for now.