Irons in the fire

We met as an English Department yesterday--it was pretty much the young members of the English staff and our department head (who is sassy and fun to hang out with). Springboard seems to be our ticket to a more creative, engaging curriculum. It'll excite the ninth graders for sure. Jury's still out on whether tenth honors will eat it up.

We were able to plan unit one for ninth. Me, Jess, and Bridgette are going to plan tenth tomorrow.

I can feel myself getting more of a handle on what it is I'm doing in this job.

Priority one: Don't freak out.
Priority two: Do some work every day.

**

Last night, I had my "orientation" at the Y. There were about ten other people in the room with me. It was a trick: we weren't really there to get oriented. We were there to get powerpointed.

I sat through a powerpoint of what amounted to the YMCA website, which I'd already visited on my own. Then the presenter passed out a packet of handouts which covered what was on the powerpoint and that we could have taken home to read on our own. Additionally, the presenter was reading slides that we could also read with our own two eyes.

I hate powerpoint. A ten minute tour of the awkwardly-laid out facilities would have been useful. The good news is that I got to schedule a free appointment with a trainer.

In one hour, I will be meeting "Ryan" for a fitness test and a workout-set-up. This will kick start my new workout habits. I wanted a woman, but I took the first thing offered before I knew who I was getting. I hope he's not a jackass gym rat with a crew cut who touches me while he explains what muscle groups I'm using. Or maybe he'll be cute, nice, and natural, and then I won't mind if he does. Maybe he'll be gay. That'd be good.

Either way, he'll be making notes while I huff and puff during what's supposed to be the warm up on the treadmill.

But seriously, there was a couple at orientation that looked about 400 pounds each, and if they are ready to get on a machine, then I can certainly handle it. The Y crowd seems pretty varied. I saw all kinds, from large older women on the elliptical machines with wispy grey hair to hot young black guys playing basketball and lifting weights.

The next two weeks on my calendar are packed with to-do's and appointments. I've got some good things coming, like a free modern dance workshop, and some tedious things, like cleaning out my classroom. I've also got some good and tedious things, like revising my short story.

I have a fantasy of myself doing it all, and magically maintaining a balance. The American woman's dream. In reality, some things will probably be done half-ass, or dropped and forgotten, or stressed over to the point of insanity. I'm going to try not to let things slip from my grasp too much.