Main » February 2005

February 28, 2005

Just Checking In

Not much going on today. My Anatomy kids took a test on muscles. The "Biology class from Hell" reviewed for the midterm exam they will be taking Wednesday. I felt really crummy after going in for a root canal Saturday so I tried to pace myself (like THAT is going to happen!!). Now I'm just sitting here relaxing and smoking a nice Dominican cigar while watching the news. The rosacea flushing has been very minimal recently. The only problem has been extremely dry skin, so I've upped the amount of creams used. I always enjoy these times where I don't have to constantly fight the flushing. So.... back to the news and see you all later in the week.

Posted by Ken Albin at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)

February 21, 2005

What a long, strange trip it's been

Sorry it's been while since I've posted. It's been a bit crazy around here.

In Anatomy we began the cat dissection, studying muscles. I am always so sad seeing those beautiful animals that have been killed because people did not want them. Though we at least get some redeeming benefit from their sacrifice, I will be most thankful when I retire that I won't have to see those pitiful little faces. In honor of their lives, my wife and I went to a pet store last weekend to adopt from a no-kill shelter that is there on Saturdays. We found a little grey cat with golden eyes named Freddie who was a special needs cat. He is semi-feral and was found in someone's greenhouse. No one had ever worked with him so he was pretty terrified. When we saw him we knew that this was our new cat number 6. To make a long story short, we worked with Freddie at home for a several days with him crying all night and not eating. We finally had to take him to the vet. He was put on an appetite stimulant which also calmed him down. By this past weekend Freddie had improved enough that he was eating with the other cats and without medication. He is still pretty wary of us, but he is wandering the house as I write this and has had a lot of fun playing with cat toys in the living room. Things are looking good for Freddie and I will post a picture when he is less afraid of us.

I had one real scare this week. When we were working on the cats te first day, one of my female students suddenly fainted and hit the floor. Whew! She came to quickly and I calmed her while the nurse was summoned. This student came back at the end of class and was ok the next day. I did make sure that she sat on a stool while working.

The principal came in for my formal evaluation, staying for around 20 minutes. The kids were all really focused on the lab, so it should have gone well. At this point in my career I don't place a high priority on evaluations anymore. The only thing is that evaluations can be used to make your life miserable if you have done something to bring down the wrath of the administrators on you. So far as I know I am ok with them this year.

The rosacea has been better this week, but I've been battling a tooth abcess. It was drained this weekend and I go for a root canal next Saturday. It's a funny thing about rosacea, but I and other people with rosacea have noticed that when we are ill with something else, the rosacea usually lessens. I don't understand why this would be true, but it does happen.

Posted by Ken Albin at 05:36 PM | Comments (0)

February 06, 2005

Superbowl weekend

Hi all. Another week ends at school. Friday afternoon our principal called an unannounced assembly in the courtyard for all students. I threw out my lesson plans for 6th period and we gathered and stood in the cool weather for about a half hour waiting for the Patriots to come out to thank us for disrupting the school an entire week so they could practice here. Finally they drug out the center, a rookie running back, and a tight end. They waved to the crowd for 30 seconds and then went back inside. Wow, what an exciting assembly! The principal got his PR video for the local news and snapshots which went up on the website immediately. The coach and quarterback were mysteriously absent from this assembly. It would have been nice if someone would have at least thanked the school and made a little speech about the importance of education to athletes.

Saturday my wife and I went into St. Augustine. I got a haircut and we then grabbed a coffee at the Casa Monica hotal coffee shop. A number of celebrities such as John Travolta and Destiny's Child were staying there. We saw lots of limousines and private security people but the celebs mostly hid behind tinted glass or stayed inside. We wandered around the shops on St. George street, walking down to the old fort.

When I got home the rosacea flushing was bad. This usually happens after getting a haircut for some reason. I took all my usual pills and put on creams for it and the flushing was much better by today (Sunday).

I watched a nice segment about St. Augustine on Good Morning America. They showed many of the areas we walked through yesterday. I think the overall coverage of Jacksonville and St. Augustine has been very positive, showing the beauty of the area. I am really proud of St. Augustine and highly recommend it to tourists who love historic sights and relatively unspoiled nature areas.

I'm going to relax more today and just enjoy the warmer weather and the game tonight. We are staying away from the crowds in Jax and will probably just hang around the house.

Posted by Ken Albin at 05:48 AM | Comments (0)

February 01, 2005

Odds and ends

Today I called one student's parents in the large 9th grade Biology class. They were supportive when I explained their son's poor behavior. I am continuing to crack down on the 'class from Hell' and expect them to act like human beings, something that they apparently haven't had to do in most of their other classes. They actually are a pretty bright bunch. If they can work on the maturity issue we will all be happier. The rosacea flushing is bad again.

Tom Brady told the newspapers that their practice field was dismal. This is the practice field that our staff and hired professionals with Superbowl experience spent the better part of a year improving. They are also whining about having to dress in a regular P.E. room though they had special lockers built just for their practice week. Guess who I am going to root for Sunday! I don't have much use for a bunch of wealthy prima donnas who don't care at all about the students here.

Posted by Ken Albin at 02:19 PM | Comments (0)