Until about a year ago, I was not much of a fan of iTunes, or anything Apple-related--much to my younger sister's dismay. I did give a try a few times, but hated relearning all the key codes that have taken me a couple generations to learn. However, after living so far from Western civilization, iTunes, and everything Apple, have become my life-source, so to speak--well, not strictly speaking at all, really. But I am most definitely am in love. &>
I do still have one peeve with iTunes though (besides not being compatible with WMA and protected WMA not being able to transfer to MP3...). I do not understand how they determine what should go in a Genius mix. I understand that basic music categories are quite broad. However, I have a bit of a hard time listening to a good mix of The Decemberists, Robert Francis, Coldplay, etc., and then randomly hear Mozart or Britney Spears. Mozart, I can almost understand, almost. But, Britney Spears? Huh.
When I first discovered this peeve, I had found Jonathan Clay mixed in with Madonna and Rihanna. I thought, then, that it was a glitch. I don't call myself an expert with music selection or iTunes for that matter. I imagine there must be some key word or code somewhere in the music artists file that labels them as something similar. I still have yet to figure out what it is though...
Until I can figure this out, or how to fix it, I'll have to be okay with spending extra time (like any crazy-working person) making my own mixes or deal with mixed levels of tempo. lol How lazy can I be or not be?
04 November 2010
03 November 2010
A Hand In My Pocket Day
As of today, I am officially resigned from being the homeroom teacher of my classroom. Don't worry! I still teach all of my classes, both Twin Track and ESL. My director duties were just becoming too much to handle on top of everything. It was a hard decision, but I had to cut back somehow; the school knew this as well. So, director duties kept, homeroom duties dismissed.
Why is there not anyone else here that can take this set of duties??????????????????? I must, sadly, admit, though, that is a nice relief not to expect over-exhertion and complete exhaustion by the end of each day.
Today is the transition day. I cannot say that everything is perfect, or my work will be caught up to speed super soon, but at least I feel an ease of pressure; a bit more time to get a bit more things done. Thank goodness. My body and my brain already feel a bit more relaxed.
Don't call me full director yet, though. Even if they offer the actual title, I'm not sure if I want to be labeled as such. lol
Insert imaginary visions of clouds and rainbows and bunnies and mountains? lolol
Why is there not anyone else here that can take this set of duties??????????????????? I must, sadly, admit, though, that is a nice relief not to expect over-exhertion and complete exhaustion by the end of each day.
Today is the transition day. I cannot say that everything is perfect, or my work will be caught up to speed super soon, but at least I feel an ease of pressure; a bit more time to get a bit more things done. Thank goodness. My body and my brain already feel a bit more relaxed.
Don't call me full director yet, though. Even if they offer the actual title, I'm not sure if I want to be labeled as such. lol
Insert imaginary visions of clouds and rainbows and bunnies and mountains? lolol
30 October 2010
Potty-Training
Also called 'The Adventures of Val and Chica-Chapter 1'
Having pets is always slightly time-consuming. As I don't have much extra time for a pet to consume--especially when it comes to cleaning up tracked kitty litter, I decided to check into potty training a cat.
All of the you-tube videos made it seem quite simple and relatively easy. Though, they did hint at there being some steps that could get a little messy. I think this may be an understatement.
As there are several steps to the process, the kitty litter is not actually removed from the picture for quite a while. Allowing kitty litter anywhere near a toilet is going to call some caution to the matter. But...ah...as with any kid...pets, I've found...have no qualm in taking their revenge on the unknown and seemingly uncouth.
Within the first day of attempting this process, she, Chica, the cat, had overturned the bowl of (fresh) kitty litter into the basin of the toilet. In the midst of a shower, I had to quickly salvage what litter I could and figure out how to discard the rest (as it was a bit too thick to go down the drain).
We have since then learned to work with each other on this adventure, and there are now safeguards all over the toilet-for her protection and mine (and the toilet's).
This weekend we will start a new step. Please wish us luck and pray!
Having pets is always slightly time-consuming. As I don't have much extra time for a pet to consume--especially when it comes to cleaning up tracked kitty litter, I decided to check into potty training a cat.
All of the you-tube videos made it seem quite simple and relatively easy. Though, they did hint at there being some steps that could get a little messy. I think this may be an understatement.
As there are several steps to the process, the kitty litter is not actually removed from the picture for quite a while. Allowing kitty litter anywhere near a toilet is going to call some caution to the matter. But...ah...as with any kid...pets, I've found...have no qualm in taking their revenge on the unknown and seemingly uncouth.
Within the first day of attempting this process, she, Chica, the cat, had overturned the bowl of (fresh) kitty litter into the basin of the toilet. In the midst of a shower, I had to quickly salvage what litter I could and figure out how to discard the rest (as it was a bit too thick to go down the drain).
We have since then learned to work with each other on this adventure, and there are now safeguards all over the toilet-for her protection and mine (and the toilet's).
24 March 2010
Unrelated Progress
Unrelated Progress
Had no idea this even happened!
Fortunately I'm only a few days behind. lol
I am pleasantly shocked. :-)
Had no idea this even happened!
Fortunately I'm only a few days behind. lol
I am pleasantly shocked. :-)
English Me This
Sign #1 my students are finally learning to understand and speak English: 2 students can almost completely correctly translate my words into Mandarin for the rest of the class; all except 2 of the rest of the students can understand me 3/5 to all of the time, whether or not they can speak in English. :-)
Sign #1 that we still have a long way to go:
T--'There are three red ducks and an apple.'
(repeating student's choice of spelling words to form a coherent sentence)
S--'There are three red ducks and a apple.'
T--'No. There are three red ducks and an apple. "An."
Not "A".' (something like 2nd or 3rd explanation use of "a/an")
S--'An?'
T--'Yes, an.'
S--'There are three red ducks and apple.'
T--'No. You must say, "and an apple.' (with full explanation--again)
S--'There are three red ducks an and apple.'
T--'No, "and an apple".'
S--'Erase the "d"?'
T--'Yes, erase the "d".'
S--'There are three red ducks an apple.'
T--'*Sigh*.........'
(rework mental process--think like a 7 yr old who is learning English)
Learning the writing process is going to be...........a process; some more comprehension skills as well. :-)
Sign #1 that we still have a long way to go:
T--'There are three red ducks and an apple.'
(repeating student's choice of spelling words to form a coherent sentence)
S--'There are three red ducks and a apple.'
T--'No. There are three red ducks and an apple. "An."
Not "A".' (something like 2nd or 3rd explanation use of "a/an")
S--'An?'
T--'Yes, an.'
S--'There are three red ducks and apple.'
T--'No. You must say, "and an apple.' (with full explanation--again)
S--'There are three red ducks an and apple.'
T--'No, "and an apple".'
S--'Erase the "d"?'
T--'Yes, erase the "d".'
S--'There are three red ducks an apple.'
T--'*Sigh*.........'
(rework mental process--think like a 7 yr old who is learning English)
Learning the writing process is going to be...........a process; some more comprehension skills as well. :-)
06 March 2010
Haole
At present, I have felt like an idiot pretty much every day I have been in this country.
Ergo, it is time to deal with my annoyance of feeling like an idiot, and act more like an idiot, so that eventually I won't be such an idiot.
A.K.A.: straighten up kid, deal with it.
Ergo, it is time to deal with my annoyance of feeling like an idiot, and act more like an idiot, so that eventually I won't be such an idiot.
A.K.A.: straighten up kid, deal with it.
Addiction to Personal Transportation
Sign #1 that I am an American: my need for a car (or at least a motorbike).
Having owned a car since age 16 (and driving well before that) I never imagined life without a car until I moved to Europe for a year. I thought my despondency was because I was stuck on the side of a mountain in the dead of winter with little money and very few job offerings. Then, on the island of Oahu, I assumed my frustration was simply island fever, as I had never lived in such a water-locked place before. Now, I realize that maybe my problem stems much deeper to my independence.
Simply put, I am craving a motorbike of my own.
Unfortunately, I am terrified of these crowded streets, the road rules (or lack thereof), the police (who I hear like to pick on the foreigners), and gas stations (as I will then have to learn specific vocabulary-like: gas tank, etc., as well as locate them-I think there may be one semi-close to my area...). I will have to obtain a motorbike license and pay a rental fee each month. I am also complaining, as in the States, I would have made sure to locate a car, an insurance company, and the local license center within the first month in town.
I am a foreigner. The local language and the local ways make me feel like an idiot enough of the time, so that I forgo what I need most: to get past my fears and get a motorbike so I can get lost and see more of the countryside, the way it should be.
Having owned a car since age 16 (and driving well before that) I never imagined life without a car until I moved to Europe for a year. I thought my despondency was because I was stuck on the side of a mountain in the dead of winter with little money and very few job offerings. Then, on the island of Oahu, I assumed my frustration was simply island fever, as I had never lived in such a water-locked place before. Now, I realize that maybe my problem stems much deeper to my independence.
Simply put, I am craving a motorbike of my own.
Unfortunately, I am terrified of these crowded streets, the road rules (or lack thereof), the police (who I hear like to pick on the foreigners), and gas stations (as I will then have to learn specific vocabulary-like: gas tank, etc., as well as locate them-I think there may be one semi-close to my area...). I will have to obtain a motorbike license and pay a rental fee each month. I am also complaining, as in the States, I would have made sure to locate a car, an insurance company, and the local license center within the first month in town.
I am a foreigner. The local language and the local ways make me feel like an idiot enough of the time, so that I forgo what I need most: to get past my fears and get a motorbike so I can get lost and see more of the countryside, the way it should be.
03 March 2010
Antz
Every place in the world I have lived has some sort of ant issue. In America, I have found recently, our ants are actually quite large compared to other areas of the world. I am sure there are bigger ones to be found somewhere. However, I had no idea how large the American ants are until I visited for a month recently. In Hawaii, the ants are fairly smaller than the mainland ants, but I still was unaware at the size of the American ants until this visit. The American ants looked like giants. Tumbling, lonesome giants. This was very odd for me as I had never had that conception about them before. The difference is, that now, I am used to miniature ants that never leave their string of warriors, even if it kills them. Well, I have seen a few scatter when faced with chemical warfare. And these little guys will eat....anything. And they're overly curious...... The sad thing is, I was actually scared by the American ants, based purely on their size.....like they could totally eat me....or....something......
God bless the geckos.
God bless the geckos.
No Water Season
In many parts of the world one will see a variety of seasons throughout the year. I have personally lived through: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Hot, Hotter, Cold, Colder, Wet, and Dry. Now I can add a new season; I call it No Water.
This new season came a bit of a surprise. I was always quite aware that I was in the Dry season. However, I had not heard (nor realized by all the greenery or usage of water around me) that there was quickly becoming a shortage of water.
The gov't gave orders for restricting the water.
So.
Within a day and a half, water was cut off from: most of the school and dorm as well as my apt.
:-D
Whoo-hoo! It's almost like camping!........
Except that I must make myself presentable every day to a full school of students as well as parents.
And this is no American land where I could at least think about rinsing off in a river, etc.
No. Mme is now restricted to activities that create little to no sweat. Wait. That means no breathing either.
The roomies and I have set up some buckets (which may last us another day...) to use before we head for the hotels. I am not looking forward to spending money in order to shower (even if it means I can work out!! Yay!!).
However, as the gov't has also (within a very short time) decided to jack up the electricity rates by 49% (yes, you read that correctly), a hotel also means we an use the AC with no worry :-)
So much for living cheaply in order to pay off the bills.....
This new season came a bit of a surprise. I was always quite aware that I was in the Dry season. However, I had not heard (nor realized by all the greenery or usage of water around me) that there was quickly becoming a shortage of water.
The gov't gave orders for restricting the water.
So.
Within a day and a half, water was cut off from: most of the school and dorm as well as my apt.
:-D
Whoo-hoo! It's almost like camping!........
Except that I must make myself presentable every day to a full school of students as well as parents.
And this is no American land where I could at least think about rinsing off in a river, etc.
No. Mme is now restricted to activities that create little to no sweat. Wait. That means no breathing either.
The roomies and I have set up some buckets (which may last us another day...) to use before we head for the hotels. I am not looking forward to spending money in order to shower (even if it means I can work out!! Yay!!).
However, as the gov't has also (within a very short time) decided to jack up the electricity rates by 49% (yes, you read that correctly), a hotel also means we an use the AC with no worry :-)
So much for living cheaply in order to pay off the bills.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)