Thursday, March 7, 2019

Currently... (Vol. 37)


Taking... a sick day.  I've felt as if I've been fighting some bug all week and this morning I finally had enough.  Trying to do speech therapy with a sore throat and laryngitis is not fun.

Hoping...  that March is a little drier than February.
Yes, that's a little over exaggerated, but sometimes it has felt that way.

Over...  rain, winter coats, rain, cold, rain,  perpetually gray skies, rain, and winter in general.  Oh, did I mention rain? Seriously, Louisville received something like 8.5 inches of rain last month.  So. Over. It.





Dreading...  the time change that's coming up this weekend.  This one throws me for a loop.

Fed up with...  state politicians who have declared war against public education and public school employees.  I have paid into the Kentucky Teacher Retirement System for 19 years, whether I wanted to or not.  It is not an option. When I retire, all I want is what was promised to me, it's that simple.  As a speech pathologist, I could've made a lot more money working in the medical sector, but I chose to work in the schools for several reasons.  One reason was the defined retirement benefit.  I have been willing to take the lesser salary over time in exchange for a defined pension.  I resent the governor of Kentucky and several members of the state legislature for making public school employees out to be selfish and unreasonable when we voice our concerns and fight back.  

Urging...  members of the state legislature to think outside the box in terms of finding alternative revenue sources.  For example, if you cross the Ohio River and go to one of the many casinos in Indiana, some that are on the banks of the Ohio River itself, the majority of license plates on the cars in the parking lots are from Kentucky!  Can you imagine the amount of $$ that is going over the state line, money that we could put to good use here at home?

Tired...  of the general public referring to educators as "over paid babysitters."  My response:
  1. Trade jobs with any teacher for one day and at the end of the day let's talk.  Oh, how I wish this would happen.
  2. Babysitting would pay more.  Think about it - $10 a kid per hour x 25 students in a class = $250/hour.  $250/hr. x 7.25 hours in a day = $1812.50/day.  $1812.50/day x 175 schools day per year - $317,187.50 per year.

Apologizing...  for the rant.  Sorry to be such a "Negative Nancy," but I've just had it on several levels.  On to more positive things.

Enjoying...  the larger, rainfall-like shower head that my husband bought and installed "just because."  It's absolutely heavenly.

Loving...  these wise words from Disney:





Counting... down the days until Spring Break (12 work days including today).  

Walking... a lot. If the weather cooperates, I will walk 18-20 miles this week.

Looking...  forward to seeing the musical On Your Feet at the Kentucky Center next weekend.

Reading Listening...  to the audiobook In Movement There is Peace: Stumbling 500 Miles Along the Way to the Spirit.

Watching...  not much.  The Masked Singer season finale was last week and the only other show I've been watching, other than CBS Sunday Morning, is Shameless.  It's season finale is this Sunday.  


Wishing... my dad a very Happy 70th Birthday and my maternal grandparents a very Happy 68th Wedding Anniversary at the end of the month!

Laughing... at this: 

I know...  it's corny!  LOL!

Agreeing...  with:



February in a Snapshot:



What have you been up to lately?

Linking up with:

19 comments:

  1. I love all those quotes!! Some good ones there. And yeah, I'm so ready for the Spring but I don't want it to be all rain, all the time either. Sigh. I'm with you on the governor of KY. He needs to go away and stop saying dumb things.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. Thanks! There were several others that I found, but I opted only to include a few. I'm hoping that spring will be drier than our winter. I'm not sure if we can handle a wetter spring.

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  2. I've had it on those same several levels. Stop crapping on teachers. They are actually not paid ENOUGH for the job they do. I'm over it so I imagine it is worse times a million for people in public education.

    Hope you feel better!

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  3. Hope you feel better!! I am trying to increase my daily steps so walking is a priority these days. Love it

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    1. Thank you. I'm fairly certain it's just sinus related or maybe a touch of a cold, so I should be back to normal in no time. I, too, enjoy my walks. Unfortunately this time of year it's hard because of the weather. Earlier this week, I walked 3 miles in 25F degree temps and with the windchill it supposed felt more like 15F!

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  4. Please send some of your rain our way! I'm from Cape Town and last year was super stressful with the drought. We are going into autumn now and just hoping we get alot of rain!
    That is such an amazing anniversary that your grandparents are having.
    Hope you feel better soon. Sometimes a day spent resting makes such a difference.

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    1. Oh, girl! If I could, I would definitely send you some of this rain. It has been ridiculous.

      Yes, 68 years is quite a feat! My paternal grandparents, who are both now deceased, made it to their 64th.

      Thank you. Hopefully I'll be back to my old self soon!

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  5. Rainfall showerheads are the best. Enjoy!

    This is why I was eager to cash out my retirement in Colorado. That state has terrible retirement policies that go along with their terrible state standards for education (the worst I've seen in 4 states of teaching). I didn't trust that that money would be there in x number of years. I paid a few thousand dollar tax but whatever.

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    1. It has been delightful! I fear, however, that our water bill is going to go up because I'm taking longer showers! LOL!

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  6. I hope you feel better soon.

    Your mention of the time change made me realise I have no idea when our clocks go forward, so I looked it up in a panic. Turns out it's not until 31 March.

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    1. Thank you. As of today (Saturday), I'm feeling better. Still not back to par, but improving.

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  7. I hope you feel better - definitely sensible to take a sick day when your job involves your voice so much. Teachers are definitely underpaid. No excuses needed for the rant - we all need to vent sometimes.

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    1. Thank you. Exactly! I've gone to work with laryngitis before and it's only made it worse. Not worth it.

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  8. it has not stopped raining! it's insane. i am SO over the rain. those memes are hilarious and so true. sorry you're not feeling the best. i love corny jokes so i am so sharing that chicken one with KC. totally agree with your rant. I make fun of KC when he complains about having to work until June when I'm over here having to work, you know, all year, but it's all in good fun because we both know I could 100% never ever do his job. He deserves the summer off, among many other things. What I don't get is the people who call teachers babysitters or think they are overpaid or don't deserve a pension... when those people are parents it just blows my mind. Don't you want your kid's teacher to care about their job? to want to come to work? You chose to work in education for a reason, if those reasons disappear, so will the teachers and other staff. Anywho. End rant lol.

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    1. That's already happening - I know several teachers who have left the profession altogether because the cons outweighed the pros for them. I'm too far along in my career to leave the school system, but had I known that all this was coming, I might have chosen a different sector earlier in my career. It's just an exhausting mess right now.

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  9. Replies
    1. Thank you! Sorry for the late response, but I've been on an accidental hiatus from blogging for most of the month.

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  10. I JUST came down with something and I'm already over it. I hate being sick. Especially as an adult. The pressure to still get stuff done/go to work is always right there.
    I love those Disney quotes!
    I agree about teachers. My mom is a first grade teacher and I wouldn't switch places with her for one single day. It's such an active, busy, demanding job. And she's been screwed on her retirement age-wise. She's in her mid-50s and has at least 8 more years of teaching. Ridic.

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    1. It seems this winter was harsher than normal in terms of sickness. I know a few people who caught both strands of the flu and one of my students had Flu A, Flu B, and strep all at the same time!

      Regarding teachers... i look around at my coworkers and how demanding their classroom jobs are and I know I couldn't do it. As a speech path, I have my own unique set of work demands and I realize that I have it easy in comparison. I fear there will come a day when teaching will be one of the jobs with the greatest shortage because of the rising work demands and dwindling benefits.

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