So, two months off quazi-started today.  It was my last day with kids.  Friday is my last day as my school.  Great, right?

Totally great.  Summer is so wicked as a teacher!  I even get a salary.  I am not complaining.   But:

My kids are amazing.  My school is amazing.  It’s going to take a bit of getting used to to not have that everyday.  I guess that’s why today was a bit emotional.  At the assembly I got a “good-bye” gift, and my kids screamed their well-wishes.  It was really nice to hear their support.  They all pitched in and got me a really really over the top nice present, as well.  They said “thank-you” and “good-bye” and “I’ll miss you” a thousand times.

I really feel connected to this bunch (and even to this parent group).  I can’t wait to hear a zillion great things about their achievements.  Teaching is a pretty good gig!!  Days like today remind me of that. 🙂

PS–Joanne’s card made my day too… man i have it good!!!

  3 As morning dawned, the [teachers] were sent on their way with their [gradebooks, computers, and coffee to do report cards]. 4 They had not gone far from the city when [Dr. Zwodseski] said to his steward, “Go after [each superindendent, in each subdivsion] at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 5 Isn’t this [report card process too much for the people who do so much good for the world, even if they do have summers off]? This is a wicked thing you [administrators] have done.’ “

I had a really great weekend.
I had a really great day.
And, as I said today at breakfast, I’ve had a really great year.
Life is good.  *touch wood*

I have a super hyper ultra good circle of people around me.  They bring out the best in me, kind of.  This weekend was all about the Edmonton ‘peeps (well mostly).  It was really great to drive into the city, past the giant blue IKEA, breathe in… and know there was a very fun mini-vacation ahead of me.

Hanging out at the ‘bird’, walking down Whyte Ave after the big Oilers win, a big party Friday while jumping around a dance-floor, suppers out, taking in Jasper Ave.’s/Churchill Square’s festivities, breakfast visiting, shopping… all super nice.

Aside from my Mom, Sis, and Gramma today and Lisette yesterday it was basically a girl-free weekend which is atypical for me.  Some shout-outs to this weekend’s cast of guys:
DVB: the creme de la creme… my best friend forever… the funniest guy around… i have eternal shotgun in his car and a guaranteed place to crash for always in the city of champions… oh and did you hear?  he has his six seconds of fame this week!! very nice!!
KS: it’s been awhile… no one is more quick with compliments, or motivated, or friendly/honest/gentle/kind/forgiving… plus he just gave someone his six seconds of fame this week!! very nice!!
BT: a new aquaintence, but seems to have an almost equal amount of energy and craziness to me.  Who knew others existed??  Fun.  Funny.  Willing to bounce around goofily on dance floors.  Looks like another member turtle enough for the turtle club.
DMS: it’s good to be in touch again.  honest.  grounded.  an organizer.  challenges me intellectually, and reminds me i’m more ‘type a’ than i let on.  when i say i’ve had a great year, a big part of that is that i’ve learned tons this year (albeit… sometimes in bigger doses than I would have chose) and that i feel a fair bit more grown up… i owe a lot of that to this guy.  Montreal Part Deux will be nice.
A?/CE: thanks for waiting in line for us, so we didn’t have to.  someday we’ll return the favour… we’re not one to use others often.  😉 i promise.

RELATED NEWS:  Library-chic hair is getting mixed reviews.  Stay posted on it’s pending life-span.

I think sometimes I forget that I’m a teacher.  I don’t mean I have conversations like this:

“So what do you do, Travis?”  “I… ummm… what is it that I do again??  I uh… I”

I mean that sometimes I forget how long I’ve thought about being a teacher, or how hard I’ve worked, or how many decisions I’ve made to actually become one.  I’m doing what I always hoped I’d do.  I always looked up to my teachers (well mostly) and always thought schools had/have were these amazing places with their own unique and funky smell (one part cleaner; one part lost-and-found; one part toner).  I did it.  I’m a teacher.  I forget how exciting that is, kind of.  It’s busy… but it’s a lot of fun too.

It hit home for me this week actually.  A girl asked me to pledge her for a walk she was doing.  I thought about the zillion times I asked teachers for fundraising support.  I am now on the other side of that equation.  It was a cool revelation.  I gave $20, because that was always the number I secretly hoped for.  Plus, I’m loaded.

Or yesterday.  Joanne and I went to Jack Astors (QUICK ASIDE: she was quazi-offered a job.  very cool.).  On our way in, a Mini-van goes by.  I recognize one of my student’s parent’s in the front.  Next thing I know the whole van is waving frantically, “MR. ROBERTSON!!! MR. ROBERSON!!!”  I could hear them through closed doors and windows.  I was a total celebrity.

In other news: busy week ahead.  Report cards, French, cum. cards, Ripped, Filming a movie (for the students at my last years school grad ceremony), going to Edmonton to chill with my two Davids, Banff tomorrow, Fathers’ Day next Sun., Sports Day committee, *yikes*  Good thing summer’s close.

It makes me crazy when i do my usual scroll of blogs, and NO ONE has update theirs.  Ummmm… how am I supposed to pretend to snoop into your life if you don’t create new entries?  LET’S BLOG PEOPLE!!!  (or you might fall out of my usual blog-check).

Today I wore the “floodpants” again.  I also parted my hair flat instead of spiking/messing it.  I looked like I was just leaving my tennis lesson and on my way to the debate team.  I was told I looked like a tourist.  It was fun to “dress-up” and stand-out kind of.  I was in a strange mood; I think that was, in part, because of the whole get-up.

I just e-mailed some colleagues from my last school (my very first “actual teaching” school) who have also left, with a crazy idea to put together a video monatage (sp?) of well-wishes for that school’s current grads.  I bet they think I’m some sort of overzealous tourist/keener too.  I can’t wait to hear their responses actually.

David texted me to say I should come up next Friday.  It was cool to get the invite.  I always dig BFF time.  I kind of feel like a tourist in Edmonton now that I’ve been gone for awhile.  I never feel like a tourist within my group of Red Robinites, but parts of the city already feel foreign to me.

So many of my friends are travelling these days.  It’s crazy.  Europe.  Africa.  The states.  Australia.  TO.  Montreal.  We’re all grown-up.  It’s nuts.  None of us feel like true tourists though, [unless I’m projecting] because we feel less of an ‘us/them’ vibe and more of a ‘this is our world to explore, so why not?’ vibe or a ‘who knows? that might be where i end up’ vibe.  Being a tourist is so 1999.  Tourist is an adjective other people use to describe people who don’t quite fit the mold.

 
Montreal is totally booked.  My program, my accomodations, my flight, my insurance… everything.  God willing, I’ll be eating poutine and smoked meat sandwiches while sweating to death in pretty much a month.

Think you might be there too (or just interested)??… here’s the 411 on my excursion.

I leave around noon on Sunday July 10th.  I arrive back in Calgary fairly late at night on Tuesday August 8th.  My folks are doing the drop off but thanks for the offers.  For all of July I stay at UQAM.  For all but one day of August I stay at Concordia.  For the last night that I was feeling stuck over, I stay at U Montreal.  Every Friday I only have half days of French, and every weekend I’m up for action.  The program ends on July 28th so totally open too.

Have a “must do” for while I’m down… fire me a note or a comment!!  Don’t worry.  La Ronde and Chez Cora (not Dora as previously mentioned) are already on the list!!

Imagine being 24 & 27 and going to Calaway Park for an entire day.

Well we did, and it was fun.  Geeky, funky fun.

You can go too (and to other super hyper ultra cool other places in Calgary) for a DISCOUNT.  http://www.calgaryattractions.com/coupon.html#1
If only we knew about this.  We had to go at 2:00 to get the 2:00 deal.

I recommend the Vortex and Shoot the Chutes.  You probably know them as the ‘coaster and log ride.