Digging for change

Good morning. Tink has been bouncing around today and chattering since it is her first day in the new grocery store. Last night, management held a party for the workers and she brought me as her date (so nice). As we walked into the new store, we were greeted by a woman who gave us name tags and mints. Then we turned right and were given veggie chips which were not bad. Walking down the produce aisle, we realized that there was a food station at the end of each aisle giving samples of food to the partiers. That's when the fun started....freshly cooked roasted turkey sandwich sliced by the butcher, drinks by the soda aisle, cake near the bakery, hot dogs, soup, salads, wings, meatballs and ice cream! It was like we were at a party at a supermarket! Oh, that's right....we were....Dang, we ate so well and hobbled home. It was a neat way to open the store and meat (I mean 'meet') Tink's manager and co workers. Today BP Grandmom and pop are going to meet me there and will have our photos taken with the Philly Phanatic....yep, that's basically my life in a nutshell...eating, shopping at the food store, and hanging out with a local team's mascot.

On another note, I lost my cool in class yesterday. I never did this before but I was pushed by a group of manner-less people. Here's the story....last week during our weekly college bowl game, I had the teams compete for points on their final grades. As teams, they had 5 seconds to answer some tough questions about content that they either read or had in class. One student froze and blurted out the wrong answer for his team knowing that it was wrong. He stressed out. It happens to all of us which is why I play this game in class...to get the students to think quickly under pressure. As he blurted out the wrong answer, one of his team mates screamed at him "you idiot!" Yes, it was malicious and unwarranted. I stopped the game and asked the teams to respect one another....OK, so yesterday....

The students had a big exam yesterday morning and were still wired. That's their issue, not mine. Anyway, a few of them never settled into class and were disruptive as I showed videos, slides, and lectured. At one point, there were several classmates who were talking and laughing across aisles. I tried to ignore it, then I fumbled, and had to stop. I then went into reaction mode....in other words, I went 'postal'...."Excuse me. I cannot continue since I am very distracted." The class stopped and looked at me.

"I can't do this. Please take 5 minutes, leave the classroom and come back when you are ready. I can't teach under these conditions."

No one got up until I said it again...."Please get up and go outside. Get whatever it is that you need to say to each other said and then come back." Shocked, about ten students got up and walked out, probably to discuss how they were going to put a net over my head and have me committed.

I was so angry that I put my head down and wrote a fast email to dad: "I just stopped class....laughing...and disrespect...ridiculous.." I hit click....then I looked at the front of the room and my email was there. The left over students could see everything that I wrote. OYE! That's right. In my attempt to decompress, they read my email as I wrote it. Guess what? I spelled 'ridiculous' wrong too.

It was not a good moment, day, year, month, or millennium for ole BP mom. Now I know that I have not only lost muscle tone in my right arm through lack of use, but also my mind from overuse. It is time for happy hour. As Lt Colonel Henry Blake said to his assistant Radar O'Reilly in MASH: "Where is the key to the liquor cabinet?" When the students returned, I had a "come to Jesus" talk and even pointed my finger as to the lack of respect. I also told them that I would no longer tolerate it and if they needed to, they were permanently dismissed from class. Yep, I gave it to them. One note, I really felt bad for the people who did nothing, but let me tell you, they were just as distracted by the laughter and chatter as I was.

With that said, after class was finally over....one student...just one....came to me to apologize. That's it...out of 10 or so, 1 had the decency and guts to walk to the front and say that she was sorry. After, I offer her my admiration, and am miffed at the people who gathered their bags and left in a huff. These are the individuals who had better NOT ask me for a reference when they graduate, because their true selves were exposed in class. They are going to have to rebuild their relationship with their professor before the end of the semester. Just sayin'




All right, enough pontificating and focus on my woes and constant faux pas. Is there a way to take a vacation from life for a while? Does Apple Vacations have a package plan that can offer a trip to nowhere that is relaxing and can take your mind off your troubles? I wonder...do they call this a day at the spa?



I actually went to Sh'Bam after class thinking that a work out would be beneficial but as my mind wandered back to school, I started making goofy mistakes and could not keep up in class and looked like a doofus. I was making myself more stressed with my remedy for stress. Did that one make sense?

And so, it is only Wednesday morning and I need the weekend to come....pronto.....I wonder if George Washington ever felt this way? Abe Lincoln? Mary Lincoln? Richard Nixon? Richard Simmons? Retail therapy would help if dad had not told me just yesterday not to spend money. Now what? I have a verbal freeze on the credit card. Does he have any idea how stressful that is? Now I will have to dig under the chair cushions, through my coat and blazer pockets, and in my pocketbooks in the closet for some quarters and dimes to go to the new grocery store....maybe I will find a 5 dollar bill.....breathe in and out.....out and in.....namaste......



Later!