I came across this graffiti on a dumpster behind my stepmother's hotel. It's pretty cool -- like Pablo Picasso's version of a bowling pin.
Well, the library is slowly coming together. I still can't re-shelve all the nonfiction books that were displaced by construction over the summer. The workers had to take out a bookshelf to reach the wall behind it -- something about HVAC improvements for downstairs -- and it's still in pieces. Supposedly they're going to put it back together on Monday morning, and then everything can be re-shelved. Students arrive on Wednesday so we've got until then to get things in order.
My day yesterday got off to a dreadful start. For a variety of reasons including blogging and Dave and the dog, I wasn't able to get in the shower until about 7:45 a.m., and no sooner did I get out than Dave reminded me we had an all-school meeting about Artificial Intelligence set to begin at 8:30. Argh! Fortunately I take very fast showers, and we got there in time, but I wasn't able to eat breakfast and I never do well without food. I get hangry. Also, I wasn't really prepared for the meeting, because I hadn't done any of the recommended AI-related readings and activities, and when we broke up into smaller groups a construction guy was in our meeting room running a power saw. He kept saying, "I'm almost done!"
My participation in this meeting wasn't that essential, since I'm not a teacher and particularly since I hadn't done my homework, so my boss -- who knew I'd had a stressful morning -- gave me an out. "Why don't you go re-start your day?" she said. I fled the power saw, walked to Starbucks and bought an almond croissant, ate it on the walk back, and then with blood sugar restored I was able to rejoin the latter half of the meeting.
Afterwards, I was fine.
Part of what elevates my stress levels both at the beginning of the school year and at the end are all the meetings and trainings and, well, disruptions. I am a creature of routine. I just want to do my job and keep my regular schedule. I will be so glad when the year begins and I'm just at my desk, doing my thing.
The other day I was looking something up online when I realized that my alma mater, the University of South Florida in Tampa, has scanned many of the issues of our old college newspaper. Unfortunately it looks like they haven't yet scanned it for the years I worked there (1985-88), but they have issues up to 1980 or so. I found this great old ad in one of the 1980 papers.
Remember roller rinks? I used to love to roller skate, and in fact when in-line skating became popular in the '90s I used to skate every weekend, mostly on sidewalks and streets around Sarasota and Tampa. I used to go for miles. It kept me pretty fit.
When I moved to New York I used to routinely circle Central Park on my skates, at least for the first couple of years I lived there. Then the skates wore out and I was in my mid-30's, and I abandoned skating. And you know, I never wore a helmet. I used to wear knee and wrist pads, but no helmet. Head protection just wasn't emphasized as much then as it is now.
Anyway, I looked to see whether the roller rink mentioned in the ad above still exists, and believe it or not, it does!
I never learned to roller skate nor ice skate either and I always wished I had but there's no way I'm trying now at 71.
ReplyDeleteWow! Roller rinks are hard to find these days. My inlaws met on a roller rink and my mother-in-law was buried with her roller skates. No knee or elbow pads. No helmet.
ReplyDeleteThat's not just graffiti on the bin....
ReplyDeleteYou have a good boss.
I am sure that the school has other rooms apart from the library for meetings?
I expect that Artificial Intelligence is a bit like artificial grass - an unattractive but easily maintained version of the real thing. Why do teaching staff have to endure such meetings when they could be planning schemes of work and indeed lessons for the term ahead?
ReplyDeleteI have tried but I just cannot imagine you skating along.
I have always thought that being a librarian would be the best job in the world - back when libraries were quiet places and you could hush people. I guess that doesn't apply anymore. How sad.
ReplyDeleteI remember roller skates as a kid and loved them. Tried inline skating once and nearly broke my neck.
I am sure someone will have a photo of you on skates ...
i am sure you looked fine skating. We has a weekly gathering here called GaySkate. I think it was roller skating, not ice skating. We went once but I don't think we skated. It was so long ago.
ReplyDelete'The one on Armenia' puzzles me.
If your boss tells you to restart your day, you really must have been hangry!
ReplyDeleteNice of your boss to notice you weren't feeling the day and gave you a quick out to "restart."
ReplyDeleteWe had an open air roller rink at the local park. My skates were the kind you attach to your shoes. I never knew anyone with real skating boots.
ReplyDeleteInline skating was popular locally, in more recent years, especially for people with energetic dogs who could run with them round the park many times.
I was never very good at skating - roller or ice! I think my balance was goofy. I wouldn't think of trying either now - old lady fear of falling! Gosh, I sound like a gloomy stick in the mud!
ReplyDeleteHope your school year is terrific and you can get things the way you like them!
There were no sidewalks in Roseland and very little pavement of any kind so I never learned to roller skate. Jessie was very good at in-line skating. She got her daddy's athlete gene.
ReplyDeleteI'm exactly like you with the routine. If anything messes up mine, I lose my mind. It's really becoming a problem.
I'm going to remember the words "Restart Your Day." That was wise advice for you -- and good for anyone to remember.
ReplyDeleteLove that dumpster!
Part of the stress at the beginning of the school year is to just get started. You can set up routines when things get rolling. A bad start to a day is disastrous for me.
ReplyDeleteOh wow I had forgotten how much time we spent in summer just rollerskating around the neighborhood. We had skates that we could attach to our shoes and start rolling. We went to roller rinks too.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your boss made that suggestion. That was very kind and thoughtful.
I'm amazed that roller rink is still in business. There was a very nice roller rink in my home town and I went a time or two but I was never very good at skating. My balance and timing were always off and down I'd go. I always came home bruised whenever I gave it a try so I stuck to my bike.
ReplyDeleteSteve, I keep meaning to ask but forgetting. No time like the present. What’s the update on your British citizenship? Last July (2022) you mentioned that it was definitely something you were going to complete. Any news you can share?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure we still have a skating rink where I live, but we do have one of those outside skate parks. It's mainly for skateboarders, but I think some might use inline skates there, too. I skated some as a child. Are you old enough to remember the ones you'd clamp to your own shoes??
ReplyDeleteI missed your post yesterday - thanks for the explanation on councils and estates.
ReplyDeleteThat graffiti on the dumpster is really good. When we were in Germany, we were surprised by the artistic abilities of their taggers. Ours mainly seem to scrawl weird stuff that makes no sense - well to us, anyway.
Roller skating was certainly big back in our day; in my kids' time it was ice skating. Both are scary to this klutz! I too would find my nerves jangled by the meetings and trainings before school. They left me overwhelmed and stressed; once I was in my classroom and after a few weeks of adjustment, I would be fine.
ReplyDeleteyeah, roller rinks were great. I never did get into in line skates, older I guess and my roller skate days were over. but there's an active roller rink in Austin and my grandgirl Autumn goes every Monday night with her friends.
ReplyDeleteI like my laid back routine too. I can handle one unscheduled or even scheduled event a week but more than that and I find myself a little ragged.
Your description of the meeting and the AI homework helped remind me why I am glad that I retired!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid roller skates were antique contraptions that didn't work very well and I soon abandoned them. But I DID do something you Floridians probably never get a chance to do: I became a very good ICE skater. Well, come to think of it I guess there were indoor ice skating rinks. I wonder if Florida had any.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful boss you have!
ReplyDeleteMitchell: Your mother-in-law was buried with her roller skates? Now THAT's devotion!
ReplyDeleteGZ: It's interesting art, isn't it? We have lots of rooms for meetings but we also have lots of meetings at this time of year. Space is at a premium.
YP: I ask myself the same question. If you're a teacher there's value in being able to tell if your students are using AI to complete their work, and theoretically there may be uses for AI in the classroom. But none of that applies to me.
Caro: Well, being a school library, we tend to tolerate noise, particularly between classes. But yes, libraries these days tend to be much more lively and activity-oriented places than they used to be.
Ed: Right?! She knew I was falling apart!
Bob: Yeah, it was very good of her.
Boud: I would be afraid to exercise a dog while on skates. Seems like the dog could easily pull a person off-balance.
Ellen D: Well, it's not for everyone! I enjoyed it when I was young but I couldn't imagine doing it now.
Ms Moon: We also didn't have sidewalks or a paved road. I think we used to skate in a friend's driveway. But I basically had to wait to go to a roller rink as a teenager before learning how.
Jeanie: Isn't that a great phrase? I can see myself using it again, though hopefully not under such desperate circumstances.
Red: A bad start really does throw you off balance for the entire day. My "restart" helped a lot.
Robin: Yeah, I remember those skates that attached to shoes and had metal wheels. They were so loud and clattery!
Sharon: I'm amazed too. I thought it would be long-closed by now.
Don: We have done nothing about it, for a variety of reasons. I believe we'll still do it eventually, but for now we're holding off.
Kelly: Yes, I remember those! Inline skates are sometimes used at skate parks by people who like doing more acrobatic skating. Needless to say, that wasn't me. :)
Allison: Some graffiti really does qualify as "street art." Where that line is depends on the viewer, I suppose!
Margaret: The beginning of the school year shouldn't be so jam-packed with activities when everyone's trying to gear up and plan!
Ellen: It's great that Autumn goes skating! I'm glad younger people are still doing it.
Michael: Yeah, you are avoiding some bureaucracy, that's for sure!
Catalyst: I think I went ice-skating once as a teenager at a public rink in Florida, but my memory is hazy. I remember having a very hard time keeping my ankles straight. When I did it again in my 20s I was better, having roller-skated more by then.
Debby: She really is! She's new to us this year, so hopefully this is a sign of how understanding she'll be in a pinch.
I'm impressed by your supportive boss!
ReplyDeleteNot leashed!! Free range dogs easily keeping up with online skaters. A Dalmatian comes to mind.
ReplyDelete