Sunday, January 6, 2008

Starting off the New Year

I looked at my last blog, and much to my surprise, I noticed that a few people still read it from time to time. Thanks Heather and Draper! I just wish that there was a way for me to know how many times it had been viewed, otherwise I would have put more time into keeping it updated. Now it has been over two months since my last entry, and I feel like a schmuck because of it.

To be honest, part of the reason has been my new found addiction to Facebook, which has replaced TV as my biggest time waster. It's amazing how many people I have found (or even found me) through this thing. And I had first thought that it was a big waste of time. Well, it is, but I am enjoying it immensely.

Life on the reserve is going OK, but to be honest I am looking forward to finding work elsewhere for next year. The place is OK, and the staff is great, but I can't help but feel that this is not where I want to set down my roots. To most of the people at school, I tell them that the lack of a decent pension is my biggest reason to want to leave, and that is the truth, but I am also tired of the hoops it seems like I have to jump through to get things done the way I would like them to happen. Sometimes I feel that there are those higher above the school who think "If we ignore his complaints, eventually he'll stop bothering us". Added to that the fact that too many of my students take their education for granted, even more so than in other schools I have been in. It makes it discouraging. I still try to give my best effort, but I realize that my time here, as valuable of experience as it was, is coming close to its end. Let's hope I'll have an easier time finding work somewhere else. We are hoping for Alberta, but we'll see.

Jen had a great time in Edmonton and is on the right road to recovery. It will hopefully mean that she will be healthy enough to have a child this year, which is something we are hoping for more than anyone can imagine. Her personal trainers quickly became close to her, and because of this she is pushing for an Edmonton area job. I would like that allot, but I will also try for anywhere south of the Edmonton area.

It is almost 10:30, and I have school tomorrow. Loved the Christmas holidays, but hate going back to school. I really wish the school year started sooner so that at least the semester would be over before the holidays. Ah well. Here is today's Top 10 List.

Top 10 Favourite Things About 2007
10. Being able to get through the year without having to replace the car (I swear, the only reason I do not wash our Sundance is because the dirt is the only thing holding it together!)
9. Winning Teacher of the Year for last school year (voted on by the other teachers)
8. Surviving the July heat-wave!
7. NDP being voted out of the last provincial election in Saskatchewan!
6. Getting almost all of Stargate SG-1, all of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the latest seasons released of Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and Dinosaurs, plus two of the last three Star Trek Seasons I am missing on DVD (the last Trek season was purchased in December on Ebay, and arrived a few days ago, so technically it's 2008)
5. Reading the final Harry Potter book (if you haven't read it yet, WOW, what a story!)
4. Watching Transformers (twice!) on the big screen.
3. Spending Easter with all of Jen's family (and they came here for it too!)
2. Reconnecting with a myriad of people through Facebook.
1. The blessing Jen received in May from her former Stake President.

Happy New Year everyone!

2 comments:

Heather said...

It was a great year and their is a site counter that you can get and keep track of how often your site is being visited and the ip adress or something of who is visiting you. I think it is www.sitemeter.com. You can also set up your blogger account to have it email you when someone comments on your site. I also have to say it is nice to see that there is still someone else in the family still blogging!

Geoff Draper said...

Sorry for not responding to your recent chain email, but at least it reminded me to read your blog again.

If you're ever in Salt Lake City, feel free to visit! Since my mission, I've watched the first 7 Star Trek movies, so we'll have something to talk about besides Le Mans and Cahors/Toulouse. :-)

If you're curious to see a recent family picture, here are some:
http://www.cs.utah.edu/~draperg/about_me/family/dec2007/