Personal update

Greetings. Well, the week has been fast and busy. Monday went well, especially after the Time Warner repair man left and I had my Cable TV and Internet connections back. The past three days have been filled with things at work, from reviewing with my Windows students for their final test tomorrow, to doing evaluations, to doing some miscellaneous things like cleaning up floppy disks, and much more. If I ever thought I wouldn’t have enough to do as a teacher back when I started, like in April and May, I was wrong. I’m managing to stay caught up, somehow, but I can see now how the 2 hour planning period often is not enough. Of course, we’re near the end of one cycle and moving into another one. Which will, among other things, bring me a new set of students to teach. I’ve been given one of the 3 different Windows classes to teach, at the same time as the one I’m teaching now oddly enough.

On another note, doing the computer evaluations on the new keyboarding students, which for me was 9, and going straight to another class has been kind of rough. My colleagues warned me that this would happen, that I would get run dry from getting the new people started, doing evaluations, and meeting all the other requirements of the first few weeks of training. However, for whatever reason, I just filed what they said away in the, “Yeah, right,” category. I’d like to go back now and acknowledge their comments,  Of course, this is all taking place during the largest group of new students ever at the Center. Normal conditions would be no more than 3 new people at once, if that much, per class. Oh well. And, just when I got a handle on things, there’s another new group coming in October. It apparently never ends.

However, getting new people in keyboarding only means that others move onto Windows, and getting new people in Windows means that others move onto their next class, and so forth. I’m quite pleased with my current batch of Windows students. Sure there were rough spots, but those are the things I can note and hopefully improve upon in the next cycle.

On the topic of Tony, that’s gone relatively well too. I’ve gotten lots of condolences from people at work, and even a few from people in other places. I’ve come to terms with Tony’s death mostly. I will still think and mourn for him every so often of course, but I’m better able to cope and handle things now that there’s more time between now and when It happened. Although, tomorrow around the times that things were happening last Friday, I’ll probably remember and be sad all over again. Hopefully not as much though. I think the hardest time was last weekend, in the first few days. Having my parents here really did help. If I needed to cry, then I did. And it was good to have a shoulder to cry on, and to talk and laugh about things that happened with Tony in years past. I don’t cry often, so last weekend made up for the past few years or more. Now though, I’m in the process of giving many of Tony’s things away. I will keep his mat in my bedroom, and his main leash and collar. But most other things I’m giving to people who have guide dogs or are getting them. I figure that guide dog users would be a good group to give his things to, since there are times when its hard to get out and get supplies for one’s dog. Plus, its kind of a memoriam for Tony to pass his things onto another guide dog. I’ve also contacted the school I got him from, The Seeing eye, and let them know of his passing. Before anyone asks, I might get another dog, but not right now. I’m living in an apartment. Since Tony has lived with me for a number of months, I can appreciate how interesting it can get to have a dog in a place like this. Not to say that I won’t ever get one again. Truthfully, I haven’t decided. I like being able to feel everything in my environment with my cane, instead of giving directions to someone else, such as with a dog. Besides, there’s also the issue of the daily responsibility, like taking the dog out every morning at 5:30 or 6, no matter what. So, we’ll see.

Even though this has been a short week, I’m going to be just as glad when my planning time comes around tomorrow at 3, and even more when 5:00 comes. Aside from all that, football starts big time this weekend, with the Cowboys starting their season and Texas playing Ohio State. It has been fun to watch all the activity surrounding a big game in a top 25 college town. Coming from a smaller lower ranked school like North Texas, that was nothing like this. Anyway, I plan on putting up those tributes this weekend or early next week. Until then.