This morning, I donned a cotton turtleneck, a sweater over that, and a heavy, lined jacket. We were going to Circuit City, and the temperature was about THIRTY DEGREES, much too cold for a Southern lady like myself, whose Northern blood thinned out years ago. We waited outside Circuit City with a crowd of other eager sharks who smelled the blood of liquidation, and the cold air penetrated through my jeans onto my legs.I was miserable, as we waited 15 minutes for the doors to open. Luckily, Liberto is like a human radiator. His natural body temperature is about 20 degrees higher than mine, so we held hands inside his jacket pocket and some of his body heat transferred into me. At home, he has trouble keeping the cat away. What cat doesn't like a nice source of heat? When L. sits down on the couch, Gus climbs onto the back and wraps himself around L's neck, then begins licking away at L's bald spot. It's the funniest sight. When the doors to Circuit City opened, we looked at big screen t.v.'s and all-on-one computers, but decided to wait until the price dropped more dramatically before the final liquidation. Today, they were only taking 10% off of everything. The local news last night reported that everything was discounted 70%, but that was an error.
L. had his first epidural yesterday. Shawn drove him because the doctor had said he shouldn't drive until they knew what the effect was. For instance, what if he was totally numb from the waist down? Of course, that's not supposed to happen, and it didn't. I remember that the entrance of an epidural needle was a teensy bit painful, but L. said he didn't feel anything. The procedure went well, and the doctor said he should feel a noticeable improvement within 2 days. He woke up this morning saying the pain was uncomfortable, but not acutely painful, as it has been for many months. He says he's been having some depression, possibly as the result of the various meds and/or from being in pain so much. I hope the epidural series will remove the need for medication and get rid of the pain.
L's father has been sick, and L. has been very worried. Papa, who is 93, has had minor health problems for the past few years, such as a hip replacement, and other things one would expect in a person of that seniority, but now he has a case of shingles and has been in a lot of pain. His sisters report that Papa has said that he wants to die, which is very upsetting to L. of course. Thus, he has been carrying that burden as well as the back pain. In addition, cold weather makes L. depressed.
S. has been here for a week now. I didn't see him much last week because I'm up at 5:30, gone all day, and often return at 4:30 or 5:00. He's still on more of a night owl schedule, but we intersected in the evenings. He went job hunting this week and landed a job at an art framing store at Oglethorpe Mall. It started today. The job market isn't quite as bad here as in Arizona; there were a lot of employment possibilities that were hiring that he qualified for, but he decided to jump at the first offer. He just now came back from the first day and said it really felt great to be working again. Productivity is a mood-brightener for anyone.
My work week was good. On Friday, I went to an all-day Professional Development workshop on classroom management. Certified teachers have to accumulate at least 10 PLU's every 5 years to keep their licenses. Last year, as you may recall, my former school system sent all teachers to workshops constantly. I sat through them patiently, although I secretly thought to myself, "Geez. . . I know all this!" (for example "What is the writing process?"---been there, done that!)But so far, Richmond Hill has not suggested that anyone go anywhere for professional development. They seem to leave us alone, but we're supposed to seek out our own P.D., which is why I signed up for the workshop. I'm very interested in the topic too. "Managing" the classroom, a fancy euphemism for keeping the kids under control, is the hardest part of the job, and I'm fascinated by the different theories on how to do it best. The workshop leader's philosophy was, thank God, that it's not only okay but preferable for teachers to smile and be happy as long as they are firm too. I was relieved to hear that. I can't help that I like the students, so I do smile and feel happy when I'm with them. You know the old saw: "Don't smile before Thanksgiving." Would I want to work under a leader who never smiled? NO! Why, then, would students want a teacher who never smiled and hated being there? For the day, we went over all sorts of classroom techniques that give positive rewards, and also discussed ways to provide consequences without a formal write-up. I enjoyed the day much more than some of the training sessions I attended last year, and returned with some new ideas and PLU's.
I'm reading a non-fiction book Breakfast at Sally's, written by a 65-year-old man from the Seattle area who had it all, then lost it all, and became homeless. He describes living in his van with his dog, getting meals from the Salvation Army, and making the $5 bills he begs off of people last for two or three days. He, and all the other homeless in Seattle, find parking lots around town where they can sleep in their cars without being kicked out. They've learned fast what churches offer free meals, which stores have free coffee, what areas are good for begging a bill or two off solvent people. I was just now telling S. about it. He, too, knows all about the plight of the homeless. One of the barriers for many people collecting unemployment benefits after losing jobs is 1)finding out where the unemployment office is. If you don't have a working phone, how do you call to find the location?
2)Getting to the unemployment office, provided you've found out where it is. If you don't have a car or don't have money for public transportation, it may be a long walk. 3)Once there, they say they will call you in a week or two. On what phone? Chances are, your cell phone or house line has been de-activated. So they say they'll contact you by mail. At what address, if you've been evicted? The system is set up to ensure that the people who need benefits the most will have the most trouble getting them. I wonder if I should write a letter to President Obama to tell him about the difficulty of receiving assistance? I'm sure he gets a million letters an hour, but maybe the aides summarize the issues and pass them on to him.
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