Northern Noise

Sometimes I feel like everyone is going to find out.  Somehow, someone is going to realize that I'm not really a grown up, nor am I that smart, and they'll say, "How did she get into this position?"  I always felt a sense of irony that I became a teacher when I don't really believe in schools.  It was like I was pulling a fast one, getting a chance to shape young minds and incite rebellious thinking under the guise of English 9.  And then I got promoted - I'm in central office. WTF? Don't they know that I don't really believe in our school system, or that I don't see the education world the way others do?   Don't get me wrong - I love teaching, I love students and I believe that our world will be okay because young people are smart. Sometimes, I want to be king of the world for just a few days.  Long enough to change the way people think.  Long enough to make teachers, especially those in high schools, step back and think about kids first and...

So at last I'm posting some picture of my "new" house.  It's not even done yet - door still to be installed and countertops aren't in yet but we're home and my house feels new. So here's some pics. The view from the front door: The view from the living room: The view of the whole thing: Pretty amazing transformation.  Will be even better when its done!  New front door, new bathroom door, countertops.... I'm loving it! It's especially exciting when at one point it looked like this: And this And this And then like this

Last night here at Wedgewood Apartments.  Truthfully, it's not that bad but the simple truth is, it ain't home.  I'm ready to be home.  I know lots of folks live in close proximity to others, but I'm missing my 5 acres of quiet. My house looks totally different - new bathroom, new kitchen, new layout and we seem real uptown.

I don't know what it is, but today's family are seriously missing out.  I can think of 3 staples from my childhood that people today totally don't appreciate - and they should. 1) Tang.  A day's supply of vitamin C and a year's supply of sugar in every glass.  It's what the astronauts drank.  Need I say more? 2)  Spam. It's meat! In a can! Fully cooked but yummy heated. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Even in sushi!  And now I hear it's available in teriyaki flavor.  Most people who knock it have never tried it. 3) Cream of mushroom soup. This magic in  a can turns any leftovers into a casserole.  It's the key ingredient to Tator Tot Casserole.  Green bean casserole at the holidays wouldn't be the same without it. I understand that times change.  I don't let my kids ride their bikes without helmets, even though I jumped board with nails in them on a bike with a warped tire and survived.  I make them wear seatbelts, a...

I'm getting closer to being able to get into my house and I can't wait.  We have moved into a different apartment in the same building, but this one doesn't have tobacco smoke emanating from under every doorway and hallway (despite the fact it's a non-smoking building). The kitchen and bathroom are being taped and mudded, sanded and will be painted.  I've picked out about everything except a towel bar, and bought everything except the over the range microwave and a new table.  The table may have to wait because I have a very clear idea of what I want and I haven't found it in Fairbanks, yet. I am such a homebody.  I want my routine, my boring life, and I really, really, miss my dogs.  I hope they're not totally traumatized by the lack of attention and loving.  They've been outside for almost 3 weeks; will they be feral, crazy, or so happy to be inside again that they'll behave?? At least a friend has invited us for Easter and that will be a fun...

I'm officially the worst mom ever.  Last night I put the boy to bed and tried to teach myself to play Xbox. I even looked up the walkthroughs.  They told me what to do but not how to do it.  Like what buttons to push and what does what.  After dying repeatedly on the second phase, I gave up. Tonight I decided to try again, but this time I did a bad thing.  After assuring my son that it wasn't too gory, and to do as I say not as I do, and that no he cannot play rated M games, I made him get out of bed (he wasn't asleep yet) and teach me how to punch a zombie.  Then he told me how to use the D buttons and how to read the codes provided by the directional arrows. As a result I made it through two more achievements, and actually quit the game at the end of an episode - and while still alive. I'm the parent, so it's okay for me to do things I would never let my kids do??  And it's okay for me to make my son look at a Walking Dead graphic video game alth...

I bought myself a video game.  A real one.  For the XBox 360.  It's The Walking Dead season 1 .  I have papers to write, exercises to do, books to read and last night I put the boy to bed and tried to learn how to play a video game. For the record, I suck at it.

So tomorrow is Friday, and I'm happy.  I'll go check on the dogs and then see what progress has been made on my kitchen/bathroom.  Today I went up and there were: subfloors on kitchen AND bathroom which means insulation on all the plumbing dryer vent is in ceiling fan/light is in crazy holes getting squared so sheetrock can go in Woo hoo!   I hadn't realized I was going to be so excited about this whole project.  But boy am I, and am I ready to move back home when its done!

Today I went up to the house and I am happy.  When we discussed adding some renovation to replacing the rotten floor, I had three desires. 1.  I wanted the washing machine moved out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. 2. I wanted a hood / vent of some kind over the stove. 3. I wanted a real door on the bathroom, and ideally it would not open directly upon the kitchen table. As of today, I have all three dreams realized. And I have light switches that are wired correctly and work for the layout. Woo  hoo!

Every night about 9:00ish, the smokers come out.  This is supposed to be a non-smoking building but between the smokers at the door and the smokers on their decks all around the stench seeps under the doorway and into the air.  It's not too bad if I stay out of the kitchen, and keep the sliding door closed. I keep telling myself that apartment living isn't so bad. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.....

I'm SO over snow.  Woke up this morning to about 1/2 inch and it snowed lightly all damn day.  I'm done with winter.  Drove up to check on the dogs and our muddy driveway was frozen.  Ugh.  The good news is that apparently Della dog goes into the doghouse during the day so I don't have to worry about her freezing. It's April and its supposed to be getting close to springtime, but we're predicting below 0 temps later this week.  I want warm, I want my house, and I want my dogs.

When we moved into this apartment, we brought 5 days of clothes for me and 5 days for Jed, plus some knockarounds for evening/weekend.  Today, I needed to do laundry.  I got my tokens from the front desk, found out where the laundry room is, and gathered clothes and detergent.  As I was headed towards the door I suddenly realized that every, single murder/cop show I've ever seen has had someone killed in the laundry room - Law & Order, Castle, Bones, even The Walking Dead. Sometimes of course the victim is sleeping with someone's husband, or witness to a crime, but sometimes it's simply a matter of bad timing.  So I exited the door with caution, and made sure Jed knew to call 911 if I didn't return in 30 minutes. I walked out of our entrance and made my way down the sidewalk to the entrance to the laundry room.  A man was walking out and held the door.  He looked normal enough, but I made eye contact confidently and watched to see him actually get in...

Jed and I are sitting here on a Friday night in Wedgewood Manor.  Yup, displaced from our home we're in "extended stay" housing. The irony is that I lived here a bit in college; I've come so far. Jed keeps commenting on how weird it is to live in a little box.  "How do you have birthday parties in an apartment?"  "How do you practice your trombone in an apartment?" "How do you wrestle in an apartment." It's not THAT bad, but it's certainly odd.  And Jed came home from school on day one and said, "My friends say people get shot at Wedgewood." After reassuring him that wasn't true, Bob leaned over and showed me the Newsminer article.  Sure enough, last month two shot, 5 arrested in a drug shooting in the same building we're living in.  Luckily, my biggest gripe so far is the stink of tobacco smoke from the smokers who stand in the doorway. I tell myself that in a few weeks I'll be home AND I'll have a...