Living in the Twilight Zone - Week Two

You know the old saying, "be careful what you wish for?"  Well, right now I'm the living proof that the saying is pretty accurate. 

I worked hard --- and A LOT!  Three days of the week, I would leave my apartment at 6:45 am and would not get home until 7:30 pm. In addition to that, I also worked Saturday mornings. 

At first I thought two or three weeks under lock down would be great!  Of course the reason for the lock down makes me sick at heart, but the downtime and calmness isolation bought, would be a welcome respite. 

This has NOT been the case. I love teaching---I love my work---and I love my students. Being without these things has been challenging. And just today, schools will now be cancelled until May 1.  Many believe we will not see the inside of a classroom again this year. I prefer not to think about it too much.😞

But besides being bored and feeling redundant, there have been a few positives...

------ with all this home time, I was able to give each room in my apartment a good cleaning. I'ts amazing how much surface cleaning takes place when one is hardly ever home. Then, when I was home, I just closed myself in my bedroom and mentally blocked out the state of the apartment.

BUT NOW

The Living Room

The Kitchen

Even the kitchen cupboards got a good cleaning. And I bought all new dishes, bowls, cups, and storage containers since the dishwasher destroyed our other ones (that's a saga for another day...oy)

Whoops...accidentally left the cat nip out!

She was probably flying high while I was stuck cleaning up the mess.

Zack's Closet

And Zack's Room

Finally...the bathroom

I did not take before pictures because I would have been embarrassed. 

-------NO TRAFFIC!!! The low traffic volume in Orlando is positive proof that 80% of the drivers are visitors.  I have had no stress driving for the past two weeks. There are no drivers going 10-15 under the speed limit, changing lanes at the last nanosecond, turning right or left from the straight lane, darting in front of you causing you to have to slam on the brakes because "oh...that's where I want to be", and not knowing where they are or where they are going.  It's been wonderful! Not that I'm out  driving much though.

------- More time with Ollie, Sadie, and Zack.  Especially Ollie. When we first got Ollie, I was the one home most of the time. I fed him, took him out, trained him, cuddled with him the most, and he became very attached to me. No doubt I was the alpha dog in his "pack". Recently though, I am gone A LOT! and Zack is always home, so Ollie has been growing closer to him and farther away from me. 

------Not having to wake up at 6 dark thirty!  The only aspect of my job I didn't like was the early wake up. I am most definitely NOT a morning person. On the other hand, sleeping in every day (10:30 is sleeping in for me) is not a great option for me either, so I've been finding a happy medium and setting my alarm (M-F) at 8:30. 


At lease there is some humor dispersed throughout the day, like this video with the caption...Every Couple During Quarantine" 

Living on the Edge

We are living in unprecedented times. 

The number of known Coronavirus cases in the United States is now between 32,000 and 36,000 (depending on which source you cite) with nearly 400 deaths and not enough test kits to cover the demand. 

People across the country are encouraged to stay home unless they have an imperative reason to venture out. Here in Orlando an 11:00 curfew has been imposed, all theme parks have been closed, and restaurants have gone to drive-thru or pick-up only.  

The absence of traffic has been interesting/remarkable/astonishing and, if I'm being honest, it's a nice, relaxing change...until I remember the reason for this "vacation destination" city turning into a veritable ghost town. 

This was Friday evening traffic (5:45p.m. March 20)

The first two pictures are normally extremely busy intersections. 

The last picture is the entrance to my apartment complex. Normally, traffic is so backed up at the light down the street, I have to turn in between cars who are kind enough to leave some space. 

This is our new normal for now. I have gone from spending between 3-5 hours a day awake and at home, to barely ever leaving. It's been an adjustment to say the least. We have been told to expect some remote training this week in anticipation of beginning online education March 30. This could last anywhere between 2 weeks to 2 months. Most believe the latter. I prefer to hold out hope for somewhere in the middle...maybe end of April. I just cannot imagine not seeing my kiddos again.

Thankfully, there is some light-hearted humor to enjoy. Of all I've seen, this is by far my favorite.

It was so wildly popular, it was followed up by a couple more

I could watch these over and over again all day long.

Oh My!!!

8th grade

Sacred Heart School

That's me....front row second from the left.

My two best friends were the two right above me. 

Catching Up

I am a terrible blogger.

Seems like all I do is work, but we have had a few blog-worthy family moments...so to catch up.

1). Zack's birthday:
On Wednesday January 22, we all met up at Chuey's for a birthday dinner. 

Then, on his actual birthday, January 24, C.J. treated us to  Magic game against Boston. 

Even though they lost, and this season has been hugely disappointing, it was still a fun evening. 

2). Mardi Gras

I'll be missing a lot of Mardi Gras at Universal this year since technically right now I am not considered an employee and cannot get in for free, but we did manage to make it for the first parade of the season. 

It was pretty chilly that evening, but once the parade started my mind was occupied by something besides how cold I was. A quick ride on ET, as is our tradition, rounded out the evening. 

3). Movies
On a recent Friday evening, I went to see 1917 with C.J. and Jon 

Never dreamed this would be a movie that I would enjoy, but it was getting such rave reviews that I thought I'd give it a chance. I was pleasantly surprised. I was especially impressed by the authenticity of the scenery, props, and wardrobe. 

Last Friday, C.J. and I went to see The Boy II

I was not impressed. It was mildly entertaining but the story line and the jump scares were predictable and unexciting. 

And that pretty much wraps up our happenings over the past month. 

The Sign of a Stressful Week

I believe I've mentioned this before, but in case I haven't, this year I have a very "special" class. The school where I teach has ability grouped the students according to I-Ready test scores. Most grades have two classes that are compartmentalized consisting of the lower and average performing students, and then one self contained high or gifted classroom. In the case of 2nd grade, the self contained classroom is one with the lowest performing students and the teacher is ---ME! 

Now, all things being equal, I would not mind this too much. I enjoy working with the struggling students and have had a lot of success with bringing about improvement in their performance level and test scores. There are some big differences this year, however. 

- normally, I have a classroom with mostly average performing students with maybe 3-4 struggling students and I am able to devote a lot of time to those 3-4 during differentiated instruction. This year, 3/4 of my class are considered "struggling". There is not enough ME to go around.  

- 5 of my 14 students have IEP's (with another one going through testing). That is a lot of IEP's to service. It takes a ton of effort to ensure that the IEP's are being accommodated for every test and assessment that is given. It's even worse when the ESE teacher cannot meet the accommodations on her end. Due to "family issues", she has not been in my classroom to service their IEP's in the past two weeks. 

- behavior - UGH!  Along with low performance, I have three students who have the maturity level of a 2 year old. Trust me when I say many temper tantrums would be thrown on a daily basis if I allowed such behavior in my classroom. Even without the tantrums though, the behavior can be bizarre and distracting to say the least. 

- Immaturity of those 3 aside, 3/4 of my students are subject at any time to a phenomenon I call the "absent consciousness syndrome." They will impulsively demonstrate some outlandish and ridiculous actions as if someone or something done invaded and taken over their minds! 

Examples: Both of these happened on Friday and both involved students who are usually "normal".

- Kona Ice came to our school Friday (side note: I LOVE when they do that because teachers get a freebie!). Anyway, if in the past, you purchased a $6 Kona Ice, you are given a reusable cup that you can bring back and get refilled for $3. 

The particular student in question had the cup sitting on her table during Math class. Now, for some students, I would NEVER had allowed this and made them put it back in their backpack. But, as I said, she is normally a good student that I don't have to worry about.  However, on this day, afflicted by the "absent consciousness syndrome" she grabbed her cup, walked over to a girl at the next table, put the cup to the girl's ear, and then started making noises in the cup as if it were a telephone ---right in the middle of Math class!!!!!  

In the afternoon, two more of my "normal" students fell victim to the syndrome as I caught them arguing over THIS!

Yep! I am serious. One claiming it belonged to him, the other insisting she was going to throw it away. UGH! 

On a normal week, I work Saturday morning from 9:00 for anywhere between 1.5 to 3 hours. Then I rush home, fall into bed and take a 3-4 hour nap. Yesterday, my nap was cut short by a text and I wasn't happy. Last night was equally stressful as we had plans to meet in City Walk for pizza and then see a movie. The traffic was ridiculous and we were 10 minutes late, and then I was not able to get my 50% employee discount so we had to abandon the pizza and just head to the movie (Jumanji). I was drained by this point and wasn't handling anything very well.  At least the movie was funny and entertaining and we were all able to enjoy it and leave much happier than we arrived. 

So...back to exhaustion. Last night I fell asleep at midnight and when I woke up, I was shocked to see it was 12:38 PM!!!!  I have never slept that late!  I got up, took the dog out, grabbed a peanut butter sandwich, and by 1:30 I was sleeping again. I woke up at 6:30PM!!!!!  HOLY CRAP!!!! That's insane and way more exhausted than I thought I was. 

Obituary

Obituary for Robert "Bob" Charles

Lifelong Waukesha resident Robert “Bob” J. Charles, 72, died Wednesday, January 8, 2020 at Waukesha Memorial Hospital. He was born on December 10, 1947 to Frank and Marie (nee: Thompson) Charles. Bob was employed at Waukesha Engine/Dresser for more than 40 years, retiring in 2009. He loved retirement, bowling in the senior league at Sunset Bowl, cheering on the Milwaukee Brewers, Green Bay Packers and most recently Milwaukee Bucks. Bob enjoyed attending as many Brewer games as he possible could each year. He attended St. William Catholic Church. On June 29, 1991 he married Debbie Trombley -Olshefski. Recently, Bob and Debbie had started traveling, Treasure Island, Florida and Brewer Spring Training in Arizona were among their favorites. Above all, Bob loved his family, and being a great husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle.
He is survived by his by his wife of 28 years, Debbie Olshefski-Charles of Waukesha; children, Brian (Deanna) Charles of Waukesha; Bruce (Liz) Charles of Goodyear, AZ; Rhonda (Dave) Szalacinski of Waukesha; grandchildren, Savannah, Sawyer, Maddie and Caity. He is further survived by his sisters, Mary (Paul) Olson of Flagler Beach, FL; Fran (Ron) Lyon of Waukesha; a brother, Jim Charles of Waukesha; nieces and nephews, Bonnie, Judy, Kris, Lisa and Rick; his mother-in-law, Jan Trombley of Waukesha; sisters-in-law, Diane Howard of Waukesha and Dawn Trombley of Milwaukee; special friends, Dick Schmidt, Harry LaShell, Rozi and Gary Hahn and Nan and Darrell Dent.
The family would like to thank Annie at Waukesha Memorial Hospital, ICU and Dr. Qusai Alitter “Dr. Q” for the wonderful care and comfort given to Bob. Debbie would also like to thank her sister, Dawn for all the love, support, and help she gave during this time.
Visitation will be Monday, January 13, 2020 at Randle-Dable Brisk Funeral Home, 1110 S. Grand Ave. Waukesha, WI 53186 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Brewer attire is encouraged. Services continue Tuesday, at the funeral home with prayers at 9:45 AM followed by a procession to St. William Catholic Church, 440 N. Moreland Blvd. Waukesha for the funeral Mass at 10:30 AM. Interment will follow at St Joseph Cemetery.

To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Robert "Bob" Charles please visit our Sympathy Store.

Volcano Bay

I am not a big fan of water parks.  

But Volcano Bay?  Oh heck ya...sign me up!!!

Picture from Google

While we really wanted to go on New Years Eve day again, the weather was not going to cooperate. So we decided to go on December 30. The weather was still not great on the 30th --- we were on day 3,362 without seeing the sun (okay exaggerating) but a crazy amount of overcast/rainy days for this time of the year in Florida. However, the temp on the 30th was 80* compared to a projected high of 68* on the 31st. 


In trying to determine why I love Volcano Bay compared to other water parks, I came up with the following reasons...

- the water is heated!!! This makes ALL the difference in the world to me and is the MAIN reason I love this park. 

- The Fearless River

Throw on a life vest, jump in the HEATED water, and let the current push you along ---and along and along and along! 

-Krakatau

Next time I will wear my sunglasses (or goggles). This time I did not and I found it impossible to keep my eyes open because there is a constant spray of water in your face.  Lesson learned. But it was still a great ride and tons of fun!

Lazy River

Same premise as the Fearless River except with inner tubes instead of life vests. Also, the current is much weaker. But very relaxing drifting along in the HEATED water. 

- Tapu Tapu

Zack and I will use any excuse to say "tapu tapu"

Another perk is it's not very busy this time of the year so the wait is not long for the slides. 

Important for me because I can't wait to get back in the HEATED water.  😆