Yes, take a gander at that reading list.... yet another reason I have absolutely no need for cable television.

Virus...

Some people I know have had nagging coughs for at least a month.  I am now feeling drippy & sluggish, have a sore-ish throat, achy body, no fever and the beginnings of a cough, accompanied by some phlegm this morning.  So a four day weekend is welcome.  Some snow would be welcome too, but that's another story.   All feedback is that this is a drug resistant virus that just needs to work its way out.  So I will treat the symptoms with whatever here herbs I have.  On that note, two veggie and herb seed catalogs have come in the mail recently.  I am so excited to garden this summer and considering they abysmal weather, I am considering moving to more herbs and squeezing the veggies closer together, since the weather has lowered my yield the past two years. 

I love perusing the catalogs, marking what I want, then planning the plantings.  I also like that what I grow saves me a ton of money on vegetables, fruit and medicine.  In spending about $5-7 on herbs that treat my asthma, I no longer need to spend a lot more on inhalers!  Hell yeah!!!

 Millie bonus:  she keeps me company when I feel sick...

Sigh....

Oh my...

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/a-new-trove-from-an-old-master/

Just take a gander.  Look at the images, then look at the dates.  More colour Steichen images found.  Jeez.... and seeing 100 year old colour images in person at the Met last year was just so amazing.  Photography naysayers, try to deny the fact that these are amazing...

So I had to call out yesterday.  Sick as all heck.  On Monday night, while I was on the computer, I started to get chills and achy - the only other time I felt like that was when I got the flu when teaching in Rockaway Borough.  I sucked it up and got up the next morning and prepared for work.  After eating breakfast, I realized I couldn't do it.  So I left everyone in the lurch for the day.

But....

Millie knows when mommy is not feeling well.  She slept with me on the sofa all day!!!  She's so great.  Not feeling much better today, but I want to go to the Scholastic Art Reception tonight, so here I am.

I have been doing more research into new projects for Photo III.  I changed some things this year, but I want to get a pattern going with how the year starts besides just the Artist Statement.  I found a few things that may help.

I scheduled the Vasa trip to Prague and Budapest for our spring vacation.  So I am trying to teach myself some very basic words and expressions.  And Czech and Hungarian are nothing alike.  It's quite fun!  I found a couple of nice websites with audio, so I practice at home.  Hubby thinks it is hopeless for him, so he just will defer to me when we are there.

I did find out that there will be a super photo exhibit opening in Budapest at the and of March.  I am very excited for that.  And, there are also a few veggie places.  Which is amazing in two very meat heavy countries!  Now to start selecting cameras for the trip!

Gold

Well, it's about time... some good news.  A Photo II student was the only PV student to receive a Gold Key award in the Scholastic NJ region.  Woo hoo!  I am super excited because it is a lady who works tirelessly, she is sooo respectful, and is just an all around great person and deserves this a great deal.  I will find out about the Silver Key and Hon. Mentions later in the week, and I am keeping my fingers crossed for that.

Speaking of respect.... flipped my lid a week ago after leaving a family gathering.  I had to sit through the "greedy teachers" comments yet again.  My sister, her hubby and I teach and were present.  My husband is a state worker for the Division of Developmental Disabilities and was also there.  We all suffer at the hands of our governor.  We all work our *sses off and we are not special in that.  And we should not have to constantly defend our professions.  Yet there we were and big mouth Mel said nothing and neither did anyone else.  Who was that "anyone else" that should have defended us?  My mother.  She loves a good debate but when push comes to shove, she can't fathom defending our field to certain people.  I was disgusted and left shortly after.

Then there's the chart I found recently that compares time teachers put into their work relative to the pay they receive.  The pay is considered among many other factors, making the comparisons more honest.  US at the top of time expenditure and near the bottom in pay.

So then I have my delightful students in periods 3 and 8 who refuse to respect each other and me and never close their mouths when I or a classmate need to speak.  I even had to scream at them both on Friday.  Throat hurt the whole night.  The waitress at Heritage Grille took sympathy on me - she was a former teacher - and gave me extra sauce for my Tennessee bread pudding.  It was a special sauce.

So I have been realizing that for my own well-being and what is left of my sanity, I cannot possibly retire from teaching.  I'm not quitting just yet, but but I can't make it another 20 years.  I may be able to in another country where I will get more respect - or at least free time that matches my low pay.  Hungary, the UK, Italy and Belgium all look good right now... 

Because of the work I do with preservation, I have also been thinking of restoration.  I do a lot of volunteer work in that line and have found at least one low-residency master's program in Historic Preservation.  But that is hard work on my hands and I have to honestly assess the condition they are in.  The surgery seems to have improved things with the right hand.  I don't know....

I do know that I am going to start actually using my sick days.  Why let them go to waste?

Good things:  former students visiting; much of the classes actually worked or listened to me give instructions on the last day of school before the Christmas vacation; reading a fascinating book on the history of Hungary while planning a trip to the father country; a great night seeing the Nutcracker at the Community Theatre in Morristown with Gary Fagin and the state orchestra.

Bad things:  drama and events at work that make me sad and realize I cannot possibly make it to retirement in this place; missing a visit from a former student; getting to be sick as a dog on the first day of vacation.

My throat is sore as hell, my mouth hurts because my Invisalign has sharp edges and I just can't file them down more right now with my leaky, drippy nose.  So my teeth are wrapped in plastic and wax and I look like I have a mouth full of marbles.  Fabulous.  But I guess I could use the down time to get art done.  I have a bag full of bone, bug and felt work.  I have the grand idea of making casts of my hands for mounts but using the plastic mold making thing instead of plaster.  Then I want to work in the darkroom this coming week - if Millie allows.  She always yells from upstairs right as I get everything set up.  Might as well leave the chemistry out in the trays like at work so I can just rush, black out the windows and get moving.  Perhaps bang out a print or two before the crying starts. 

The ICP winter schedule came in the mail.  I think, if scheduling allows, I will finally take a two day workshop.  I see a few in alternative processes that I would love to do.  I need to get more things done to enter into shows. 

Speaking of shows, the A.I.R. Gallery Generations VIII closing reception on Wednesday was nice.  Although I posted information online, no one showed.  But I did get to meet the woman who runs the gallery and couple of the other artists in the show.  Then we went to Rice, a restaurant around the corner from the gallery.  Super nice place for such a rich pert of Brooklyn and hubby's green rice dish was super good, as was my curry and basmati dish.  Now if only I could get off my butt and get more work in shows....

So I was going to type up the minutes from this week's Historic Preservation meeting - I am the secretary - but the events of that evening were so anger inducing, I just want to be happy today and not relive it.  To top it all off, the last three months' meetings have been so long they have run into the 9.00 pm airing of "Foyle's War" on NJN and that is a mystery that is broken up into two parts.   And I miss the second half all the time now.  So I thought the show was not on this week.  But.... I walk onto the porch and see through the living window that, yes, indeedy, there it is on the TV screen with hubby and Millie snuggling on the couch in Masterpiece Mystery bliss.  While I sat at Town Hall groaning at the stupidity of people who cannot stay on topic and suffering with open windows... and I just can't convey the anger.  I love having the students know how much I volunteer but I can't lie, sometimes it is not fun. 

I am reading a book I bought down in DC.  It is about having teachers make stronger bonds with the community to help strengthen schools.  So far, the points jive with what I have wanted in PV for many years.  I think we could get the parents/guardians more interested in their kids' schooling if we welcome them and I am eager to learn tangible methods to use.  Let's see how this goes....