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Author Topic: Just a general pop in thread  (Read 26105 times)

mare

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #225 on: September 20, 2024, 09:08:07 AM »

Artists should really be held accountable for cancelling shows. There seems to be no accountability for anything at all these days.

She STILL hasn't returned our things. She did text and say she's been busy, and she'll bring them by next week but if I was a betting woman, I'd bet it's because she can't locate some of the missing items. My sister refuses to leave her a bad review because this lady is a friend of a friend. Ugh!

I go back and forth between wanting to move to another place or just staying and dealing and adding on things. Pros and cons of both.
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Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don't want to make eye contact while doing it. ~ John Green

RokofAges75

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #226 on: September 21, 2024, 12:01:36 AM »

Since it's been a week... have you gotten Chloe's things back yet, Mare?  I hope so!!

LOL I knew you would hate someone thinking you were a Trump fan!  I set her straight too, but an author's note wouldn't be a bad idea, in case anyone else makes that assumption!

That's unfortunate that your house has an upstairs and laundry in the basement.  I'm glad you have your sister to help, but that has to be frustrating for you to only be able to access about a third of the house.  But renovations are expensive, and moving is such a hassle, especially when it requires selling and buying a home.  I don't know what the housing market is like where you live, but most houses have been selling quickly here... but then it's hard to find a house to buy because anything decent at a decent price gets snatched up as soon as it goes on the market - or sometimes even before it goes on the market.

Steph, that is so weird about the whole tour being cancelled, especially if the artist really had no idea until the last minute.  Very sketchy...  That sucks about Shawn Mendes, too!

My school year has been okay so far.  My class of 26 is exhausting... two oppositional-defiant students that suck up a ton of time and energy, on top of the typical array of ADHD, learning disabilities, etc.  It's gotten better as we've established expectations and procedures and settled into a routine, but I can tell it's going to be a long year.
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mare

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #227 on: September 21, 2024, 08:31:22 AM »

Nope, still don't have Chloe's stuff back. Like I told Steph, I have a feeling that she can't find a lot of it and is panicking.

Ugh! That does sound draining. Hopefully their behavior will get better as the year goes on. Just one discipline problem in a class can so change the whole atmosphere. Like when that kid is absent, it's SO noticeable.

I think I will be adding on an AN to that one. I might hope over and do that right now, someone has been going through all my old stuff this week. I've been getting random kudos on stories. Not that one though. lol
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RokofAges75

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #228 on: September 21, 2024, 07:31:17 PM »

Ugh... like Steph said, I hope you'll leave her a negative review if you haven't already!

Yes, that's exactly how these two are.  The atmosphere is totally different when they're absent, out of the room, or actually following directions without disruption... but when it's the latter, there's still the tension of not knowing what could trigger them to start spiraling again.

Ooh, random kudos are always fun!  I got a guest kudo on three different fics in one day recently, which is rare, so I assume it was all the same person.

How's your writing been going since finishing your fic and getting back from your cruise?  Are you starting to get your inspiration back for your other story?  Mine has been slow lately.  I had plans the past two weekends, so I didn't have as much time to write as I wanted to, and I'm trying to get stuff done around the house this weekend because I'm going to see Nick next weekend.  No complaints there, though!
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mare

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #229 on: September 22, 2024, 09:34:53 AM »

Like I told Steph, my sister won't let me leave a bad review because this girl is a friend of a friend and came highly recommended from that friend. It's annoying.

Classroom discipline was always my least favorite thing. I hated it! I would always dread seeing those classes that had a few really hard kids in it and would just be elated if one of them were absent. Regretfully, those were also the kids that never missed school. Their parents would send them even when they were sick, which was probably part of the problem. I felt bad for the regular classroom teachers who had to deal with some of them all day long, but then again, the plus to that would also be a constant when it came to discipline. When those kids come to the specials, a lot of them feel like it's a break from behaving. When they go to a special, unless they're in their own classrooms for it, they get to sit somewhere different and usually are engaging in a fun activity which also sets them off. I always did fine with the younger ones but when it came to 7th and 8th, they are like an entirely different ballgame. I don't miss that part of it, that's for sure!

I've actually been doing a good amount of writing. I was able to update my other story this week and I think I'll have another chapter done in time to update again next week. I'm two chapters into my new story and will probably start on chapter 3 right after I click off here. With that one, it helps knowing people are actually looking forward to reading it. I still have no clue what I'm going to name it though. That is seriously always the hardest thing for me. Either I get the name even before I start writing, or it takes me forever to come up with one. Speaking of sequels, do you know how to link the two stories together as a series? I know it can be done but I can't figure out how. I tried to do that with my short stories but had no luck.

Have fun seeing Nick. I think he was just up here in Niagara Falls, but the Canadian side.

Random, but I had really wanted to get to 5,000 on the Invisible Child and was bummed It had stopped at around 4,780. But I've noticed it's been steadily going up. Maybe people are reading to get ready for the sequel? Not sure but it's up to 4,981. I'm hoping it'll hit 5,000 before I start posting the new one. I'm a dork! LOL
« Last Edit: September 22, 2024, 09:44:13 AM by mare »
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RokofAges75

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #230 on: September 22, 2024, 11:49:42 AM »

I just realized I missed your whole post at the top of this page LOL.  Sorry for asking questions you already answered!  I was still catching up on the posts on the previous page of this thread when posted Friday night.

That is so true about the difficult kids rarely/never missing school.  Their parents don't want to deal with them at home either!  As a specials teacher, I'm sure it was difficult to have to deal with all the kids in the school year after year.  I may be stuck with them most of the day, every day for a year, but at least I can send them on to 5th grade when the year's over LOL.  Pros and cons of different teaching positions.

I'm glad you've been getting a lot of writing done!  Congrats on starting a new story!  I usually struggle to come up with titles, too.  Like you, I either come up with it really quickly or agonize over it forever.  Unlike you, I can't make much progress on the story without having a title I feel good about.

When you go to post the sequel, there's an option to check "This work is part of a series."  Then it gives you the option to create and use a new series.  You type a name for the series in the box.  Then, once you post the sequel, the series will appear in the Series section on your dashboard.  You'll also need to edit the first story to check this same option and add it to the series.  Then you can go to the Series section to edit and reorder the series so the stories show up in the right order.  I hope that makes sense. Let me know if it doesn't!

LOL I keep an eye on my stats the same way.  If Invisible Child is already at 4,981, you should hit 5,000 soon.  My hits are still going up on My Brother's Keeper, which is the predecessor to the story I'm writing now, just not as quickly as they did when I was actually updating it.  I was thrilled just to get to 3,000 hits with those two, so you're doing great to be at almost 5,000!  I know the stats are all relative based on fandom, though.
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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #231 on: September 23, 2024, 04:47:42 AM »

Well done on starting a new story Mare.

Those school kids who disrupt the rest of the class must be hard work.  My daughter is a teaching assistant and often comes home with stories of some of the awful kids.
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mare

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #232 on: September 23, 2024, 09:19:13 AM »

Oh, no worries. I figured you just missed it. lol

Your directions made sense, I'll let you know if it works when I try it. I'm not going to start posting until October. I want to really give myself a good head start, and I need a title. Succession hits vary on the kind of story it is. Most of them tend to be in the 2 - 3,000 range but some Roman and Gerri's are all the way up past 8,000. Number of chapters have to do with it as well. My story was 22 chapters so 5,000 would be pretty good. However, the sex filled RomGerri fics would hit 5,000 in 5 chapters. People are horndogs!

Thanks, Steph! I can't believe I've already written three novel size Succession fics and about to post number four. I really only saw myself writing maybe two tops.

It really does suck having those kids every single year. Sometimes they start out little sweethearts and then something clicks in them once puberty hits and they become terrors. That happened to one of my little boys. He was a doll until 7th grade and then I don't know what happened to him, but he became intolerable. The best is when it happens the other direction. When they are awful in K-3 and then suddenly you start to see them mature and calm down.  Unfortunately, it tends to happen the other way more often. Ironically, it's the behavior problems that always seek me out on FB. It's weird having a good number of former students as my FB friends and seeing them getting married and having babies. It's nice to see so many thriving. A handful going on into music ed or other artistic fields. One of them is running for town council.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2024, 09:23:32 AM by mare »
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Carter-Orange

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #233 on: September 25, 2024, 02:42:15 AM »

Yes it must be good to see the problem kids change and become better behaved, even seeing them grow up and settle down etc.  My son was a bit of a handful in school when he was really young, but once he got to year 6 (age 10/11) he finally had a teacher who understood how to treat kids with aspergers/autism and he became a different child in school.

I know that not all kids have that as an excuse and are just generally awful.  I think a lot of the time these days is because parents are lazy and can't be bothered.  They just sit them in front of the TV or ipad while they themselves are on their phones.  My daughter has kids in her class who don't even know basic stuff, and all they want to do is play on ipads!
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mare

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #234 on: September 25, 2024, 08:58:44 AM »

I agree with what you said, Steph. A few nights ago, I was scrolling through FB reels, and I came across a bunch of teachers who left their jobs in the middle of the year and most of them sited it was because parents just don't parent their kids anymore, so they spent a really large portion of their day babysitting them and taking care of emotional needs and the teaching became background. Texas seems to be one of the worst places to teach ever! Big surprise! Seems like they don't really do much in the way of training and in-services and instead expect the teachers to train themselves by watching hours of videos on their own time. I didn't know your daughter was a teacher, that's awesome!

The special needs kids I taught, especially the ones on the spectrum were some of my most well-behaved kids. It's those others that are just spoiled brats and feel entitled that are really the worst. Maybe it has to do with patience level. I had more patience for kids with special needs or kids I knew were going through something bad at home than I did for the kids who were just spoiled and not used to hearing the word no.

Speaking of annoying!

That lady finally brought back Chloe's stuff yesterday and she was kind of huffy. The first thing she said to me was "Well I thought it was really nice of me to give you guys a total refund for Puglsey even though I had him for two days and even helped get him to the vet." As if she was expecting applause or something. I countered and said, "Well it's a good thing we got it all worked out otherwise we would have come home to two dead animals, so yeah, thanks." Seriously lady? As it is, the vet actually took down this lady's name and made a mental note of it so if anyone came in and mentioned her as someone they were letting their pet go to, they would make sure they knew what she did. They were more annoyed about it then we were.
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Carter-Orange

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #235 on: September 26, 2024, 06:44:45 AM »

Wow, I can't believe she said that, what a cheeky cow! She shouldn't be a pet sitter if she doesn't know how to look after pets.  I'm glad the vet took her details too.  And I'm glad you finally got all the things back.

My daughter is a teaching assistant, she was going to do the extra year in university to become a fully qualified teacher but has changed her mind at the moment because there just aren't any jobs for teachers here.  But the class she's in she does the majority of the teaching and trying to discipline the kids as they just don't get it at home.  All the teachers there tell her that teaching is not what it used to be. 
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mare

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #236 on: September 26, 2024, 09:10:46 AM »

















Teaching is a funny field, either there are too many of them or a complete shortage. Here there seems to be a shortage in most places. It's tough. I can't even imagine training and being a first or second year teacher now.

Yeah, that lady is something else! Glad we're done having to deal with her.
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Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don't want to make eye contact while doing it. ~ John Green

Carter-Orange

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #237 on: September 27, 2024, 02:17:11 AM »

There are a shortage of teachers here, but the budget has been cut for them so schools are really struggling and qualified teachers can't get work.  This country is spending money on the wrong things :(
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mare

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #238 on: September 27, 2024, 08:51:59 AM »

This one too!
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RokofAges75

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Re: Just a general pop in thread
« Reply #239 on: October 04, 2024, 07:49:46 PM »

I'm sure your daughter does have stories, Steph!  I will say, things have gotten better the past couple of weeks.  Most of the kids have settled into a routine and gotten used to my expectations.  One of my two heavy-hitters seems to be done testing me and is much less argumentative than he was the first month.  The other one is still obnoxious, but he missed 3 out of 5 days this week due to a doctor's appointment and illness, so I had a relatively easy week.  It's amazing what a difference one child can make.  I hate to admit it, but my class and days are much more pleasant without this kid in it. 😬  At least his parents are supportive and don't make excuses for him or deny that there's a problem, which certainly helps.  It would be a thousand times worse if his parents were obnoxious, too!

Parents who don't want to parent are definitely a growing problem.  We see the effects of kids who have grown up with far too much screen time.  They have no attention span and can't handle being "bored" or not being overstimulated all the time.  And some of them are definitely lacking in basic skills.  I have 4th graders (9 and 10-year-olds) who can't tie their shoes or tell left from right.  And we've seen an increase in kids that age who frequently have bathroom accidents (both kinds) at school without any medical diagnosis that would explain it.  It's like some of them are not even being properly potty trained.  I never thought I would have to deal with that kind of stuff as a 4th grade teacher!  I understand why there is a teacher shortage.  I'm grateful to have good administrators and a good union in my district that try to make the workload more manageable, but even with decent working conditions, it's a difficult, demanding job.  And I've certainly heard horror stories and seen those videos from teachers in other districts who have it much worse.  I would never want to teach in Texas or Florida, for example!

I've taught many kids on the autism spectrum, and while some of them were a handful, most of them have been very likeable and often among my brightest students!  Sometimes I hear horror stories about students from their previous teachers, and then they turn out to be fine in a different setting with a different group of kids and teacher.  I had one last year that one of my former principals, who's now in charge of a different school, told me was the most challenging student he'd ever had in his 25+ year career.  After having this kid in my class all year, I wouldn't even put him in my top 5 most challenging students!  He had his moments, but most of the time he was fine for me.  He was a quirky old soul who knew a lot about pop culture from even before he was born, and he had a great sense of humor, so it was easy for me to find commonalities and bond with him.  Sometimes it just comes down to personalities meshing, even between adults and kids.
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~Julie

"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling
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