* tiny but powerful *

Today was a big wedding-planning day, what with (separate) meetings with both our reception site coordinator and our officiating pastor. It was a bit intense but good to see what we already know and what we still need to decide/get done. Interesting that the meetings happened to fall on our 50-day landmark! Wow, 50 days... :)

I'm also starting to tackle the disaster zone that is my apartment. It totally deteriorated into various piles (some neat, some not so neat) over the last couple months. Now the task is to identify, categorize, sort, and either throw out or pack in a box. I'm going to start moving gradually into our future apartment in a couple of weeks, since my current lease is ending and also so I can minimize the amount of stuff I need to get done after the wedding and before school starts again. We'll be living in Sunnyvale, pretty close to my school (I'll send out new contact info when the time comes). I'm excited about our new place! I'm told I should hog all the closet space before Brian moves in after the wedding. ;)

It's fun to finally be able to focus on the wedding and getting moved. As I've told a couple people recently, I feel like all year I've only been able to do a little bit at a time, just enough to "keep the plates spinning". I've been itching to CLEAN THE DARN APARTMENT but just haven't had the time. Some of you know that the first thing I used to do after a midterm was clean up my room! It makes me happy. :-D So now this is pretty awesome, even though it does involve some icky tasks. And I normally hate moving (and still do), but as moves go this one should be relatively unstressful, since I have a couple weeks to spread out all the work. It's also nice not to move in at the same time as Brian, so I can spread out all my junk and get it organized before he brings in all *his* junk. The timing has all worked out pretty well.

Off to be productive! YAY!

After a week-long marathon of grading, grading, and more grading, I am finally DONE WITH THE SCHOOL YEAR!!! I can't believe it. My mind is still cranking and trying to find the next thing I need to get done. (Well, actually, there is still stuff I need to get done, but nothing more than involves both students and deadlines. I need to check in textbooks and assess damage, for example, but that's cakewalk compared to the last nine months of neverending lesson planning.)

I definitely couldn't have done it without Brian, my Super Duper Helper who does all the totalling for my test scores (via computer spreadsheet, of course) and staples all my packets and brings me food and kicks me awake when I zonk out and otherwise just provides moral support when I'm too depressed to look at my students' wrong answers anymore. THANK YOU so much!!

While I'm at it, here's the running list I've kept all year of the wonderful people who have in some way helped me with my teacherly duties: Justin, Eric, Melisa, Hannah, Grace, Beth, Allie, Mindi, Minna, Kari, Katie, and Felix. Thank you all for supporting me in concrete ways -- it helped me make it through that day probably more than you realize! (I actually don't remember adding anyone lately, so if I missed someone please let me know!)

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I could only have made it here carried by God's grace. I still can't believe I made it to the end of the year.

Soli Deo Gloria.

This morning, at the last Staff Meeting of the year, our principal concluded by leaving us with a challenge for the summer. He wants us, as a staff, to see if we can come back having memorized Philippians 2:1-18.

I honestly am not sure whether I'll be able to do it, because I've never been great with memory verses (not that I've tried all that hard). For that reason, though, this is a great challenge for me. I've always struggled with trying to recall the exact phrasing of Scripture or where exactly in the Bible something is mentioned. It's something I know I should really work on - having more consistent, meaningful, and lasting growth in the Word.

Anyway, it was a very inspiring way to end the year.

¹So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ²complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things without grumbling or questioning, ¹⁵that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, ¹⁶holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

This past week was our last week of actual classes, and all that's left is 3 days of finals next week. The end of the year feels so close, but I still have sooo much to get done, between grading TWO sets of old lab reports, dealing with unhappy parents, grading the actual finals, collecting/checking in textbooks, and turning in final semester grades.

I felt like this week was simultaneously NEVER going to end and that it was flying by WAY too quickly. Our seniors go on a retreat during finals week, so they have to take their exams early, which means that teachers have to get them their review materials early and write their finals early and get everything ready EARLY, which is not the best word to describe my year, to say the least. So it's felt like trying to juggle too many balls at the same time -- needing to catch up on grading old stuff (being behind), preparing and photocopying new stuff (being ready for right now), and staying barely one step ahead of what the seniors needed from (being "ahead"...ha ha, right). It didn't help that my seniors fell into like 10 different categories: some who needed to take their exams in the Academic Center, some who needed to take it in two sittings (because finals are 1.5 hours but class periods are only 45 minutes and the library is only open for 1 hour after school), some who are in both my Chem and Math classes so they had *four* halves of exams to take, some who needed to take it in my classroom, and of course the ones who couldn't take it at the time they originally said they'd take it, and yadayadayada. I definitely sort of got run over by all the senior activities and modified schedules this week while still trying to force the rest of my kids to actually STUDY.

Most of the seniors attempted to finish their exams by Wednesday, because Thursday was "Senior Servant Day." This is a TKA tradition where, for an entire school day, seniors become the "servants" of whoever was the highest bidder when they were auctioned off the week before. The proceeds go toward buying their class gift for the school. It's voluntary, but it's such a tradition that most everyone participates. I didn't get to see a whole lot of what went on, but I hear it's really cute when a bunch of 6th graders pool their money together to "buy" a senior and the senior ends up hauling them around on a wagon and carrying their backpacks and taking notes for them in class. I definitely saw several wagons go by that day.

Luckily, after that, Friday was only a half day. All class periods were only 35 minutes long, which was both good and bad since I was tired but we really needed to actually use the time for review. Then right before lunch, we had a "Senior Chapel" where the seniors basically run an entire assembly on their own, alternating between leading worship songs and giving advice to each grade level behind them and performing funny skits and doing special musical pieces. One of the seniors also gave a personal testimony about how TKA has made a difference in his life. It was a really touching time, and I could really see and feel how much TKA is like a big family. I'm so thankful that God has brought me to be a part of it all.

Then came Locker Clean-out and Yearbook Distribution and the ensuing madness. I was so exhausted that I ducked out pretty early and will just deal with signing yearbooks next week while my kids take their finals. I was definitely sort of numb with the realization that the bulk of the year is over and I just need to press on for 10 more days. TEN more days!! That's insane. This academic year has definitely been the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life.

I received two of my first thank-you gifts as a teacher, too. One will just live on as a memory, because it was one of my seniors in Chemistry buying/delivering me lunch earlier this week. He said, "You're always helping people during lunch. I just wanted to do something for you, too." This was a senior who started out the year getting a D because he wasn't putting in the effort. But after much prodding, somewhere along the line he realized he could do it. All of second semester he wanted to get every lab report perfect, came in after school to make sure he understood each new concept, and started studying for each test before anyone else. I'm so proud to see his work pay off, not only with an A in Chemistry but with an overall 4.0 for his last semester of high school. Such a refreshing change from senioritis!

The second gift was also from a senior, who presented it to me after Senior Chapel yesterday. This was a math student who spent the most time in my classroom after school working tirelessly just to pass pre-calculus with a C, even though math is really not his subject and most other seniors in his position chose to drop math after first semester. I was incredibly impressed by his attitude and perseverence. I don't think I had any other student this year who worked as hard at something they weren't naturally good at. Most students either just get it easily or try to skate by with the minimum effort needed to get the grade that they want. But this senior--when he wasn't able to complete an assignment or was even several assignments behind, rather than turn in something incomplete or not turn it in at all, he would take the time to meet with me or another teacher until he completed every problem.

Anyway, over the course of the many afternoons he worked on math after school, we had the chance to talk about a lot of things, including what I used to be involved with while in high school. I mentioned that I used to be the captain of our Varsity Badminton team, and that I missed playing. So yesterday, when I opened the cylindrical package he handed me, I was surprised to find that he remembered such a random thing about me -- it was a set of badminton birdies! Not only that, but he had written a message on each birdie head inside. The top one said "The Greatest Math Teacher", a couple others had equations like the Law of Cosines and the trig identity "sin^2(x) + cos^2(x) = 1" , and the last one said "06-07 Advanced Math" to commemorate my first year of teaching. The card attached said, "To Ms. W, the most patient and helpful math teacher I've ever had." I mean, just...wow. It blew me away.

You hear stories about stuff like this but it's pretty amazing when it actually happens to you. I'm definitely at a low point in terms of how I feel about the year, but Marilyn was right when she told all the first-years that the kids actually do appreciate what we do for them. I know it's going to be a strange next week, saying goodbye to the first set of high school students I've ever taught. I hope I can feel like I've made a positive impact, even among all the things I know I could have done better. But after all, God works even (or especially) through our weaknesses. (In the mornings at staff devotions, we often remind ourselves that that day, God will work either through us or in spite of us, but regardless His will will be done.)

Come June 4, 2007, I am going to breathe a huge sigh of relief!

I recently sent out an update email to my bridesmaids, and I was amused by the first lines of the responses I received:

"Hi Teeny-Weeny,"
"Yo silly."
"Hey bop!"
"Hi tinar nar!"

What can I say, I am known by many names. ;) But really, it was just another reminder of how much these girls have been a part of my life. I'm so lucky to have them be a part of my wedding!

Can you guess who said what? (It seems pretty obvious to *me*, but then again I'm me...)

Only 100 days left until the wedding! Wow. That's pretty crazy.

Counting down the number of school days left is a little more immediately exciting, though: only 26 class days left, and then 3 days of finals. Yipes! I can't believe the year is almost over. Seriously, God deserves the credit for getting me this far, because - on my own strength? - HA. Not so much. It's going to be tough keeping both the kids and myself going till the end, so wish us luck. Things are just accelerating from this point on with plenty of disruptions/distractions to go around: SAT school testing, AP exams, end of the year banquets, the spring play, dance/music performances, "Senior Auction", awards nights, and the long Memorial Day weekend right before finals. *deep breath* Here we go!

In keeping with the music theme this week, I'm joining in on this song-title-fortune-teller meme. There's a few different versions out there, and Rob actually did this particular one on his blog almost a year ago. Hey, what can I say - I'm slow. Here goes!

Musical 8-Ball:
Put iTunes (or whatever you use to listen to music) on random, ask the question, press next, and see if iTunes answers your question with the song you get. (Don't take answers that don't make sense.)

1. What is missing from my life?
"Feels Like Today" - Rascal Flatts

2. Will I find love?
"It Is You" - Dana Glover

3. Will I become rich?
"Less Is More" - Relient K

4. Does someone have a crush on me?
"So Subtly" - Rescue

5. What should I do with my life?
"The Best Thing" - Avalon
[Yes...but what is that?]

6. Am I good looking?
"Good For Me" - Watermark

7. When am I most happy?
"Ordinary Day" - Vanessa Carlton

8. What is my biggest regret?
"Alas and Did My Savior Bleed" - Greg Thomson
[Well...yes and no, I guess.]

9. How does the world see me?
"Who You Are" - Caedmon's Call

10. What do my friends really think of me?
"Neverending Story" - Limahl

11. Will I have a happy life?
"Better is One Day" - Passion

12. How can I make myself happy?
"Little Guys Can Do Big Things Too" - VeggieTales

13. How will I die?
"Grapes of Wrath" - VeggieTales

14. Do I act my age?
"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" - Nine Days

15. What type of tattoo should I get?
"Change Your Mind" - Sister Hazel
[Okay! No tattoo!]

16. What is my spirit animal?
"Turkey Trot" - (whatever version Danse Libre uses)

17. Do I like pain?
"Breakaway" - Kelly Clarkson

18. Is there anyone else like me out there?
"Meet Virginia" - Train

19. Do I love to party?
"Every Move I Make" - Passion

20. Where should I move to?
"No Place So Far" - Erin O'Donnell

21. Will I ever be president?
"Something Like That" - Tim McGraw

22. What is fun for me?
"Triangular Waltz" - Twins

23. Will I ever learn to fly?
"I Don't Want to Live on the Moon" - Sesame Street

24. What is my super power?
"Open Up the Sky" - FFH

25. What is some good advice for me?
"Breathe" - Michelle Branch

-----
Now, you try! :)

Apparently I've been tagged. Thanks, Bry. ;) I figure I should do it now or else it'll probably never happen.

Instructions: List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what they are. They must be songs you are presently enjoying. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

In no particular order:

1. "I Am" by Mark Schultz
2. "Walking Her Home" by Mark Schultz (this song is *so* sweet - you should click on the link to listen to it along with a slideshow of the lyrics - and be sure to listen to the end!)
3. "Mercy" by Laurell Hubick
4. "I Will Lift My Eyes" by Bebo Norman
5. "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne
6. "Over It" by Katharine McPhee
7. "Come Clean" by Hilary Duff

Now, I would tag Brian, except the main reason #5-7 are on my list is that he plays them on repeat while I'm around. So, adding in his usual Vienna Teng fare, I pretty much already know what 7 songs he's presently enjoying. Plus he's never a good sport about these types of things. :-P

So without further ado, here's my list of newly tagged its:
- Eric (as per Bryan's suggestion to "complete the square"...you may all groan now)
- Felix
- Carrie
- Tim
- Gavan
- Jenn
- Sophia

The real reason I wanted to post tonight was to share with you one of the few perks of grading tests for hours on end:

From a student's answer to an extra credit problem on today's chem test (transcribed exactly as written):

"When gases have pressure put on them they are forced to mix w/ other things. (ie. soda) When soda gets warm the gas won't stay w/ the liquid as well b/c its not as soluble so thats why if you open up a warm soda it pops really loud. if you come up to fast from scuba diving you'll become a human soda can b/c all the O2 has been absorbed into your blood b/c of all the pressure from the H2O. if you come up to fast, you explode. Which would be bad because you'd be dead. If you're dead you can't learn about chem, and apparently if you died from scuba-pop you should have taken chem b/c you'd know not to come up too fast.

Take chem or die is basically my point."
[Yes, this part was actually written larger than the rest of it.]

Well...I guess they do learn some stuff. ;)

I couldn't avoid it any longer. Blogger required me to change to the new previously-beta version before I could log on to post tonight. I knew I'd have to at some point, but I kept living in wishful thinking for awhile. =P Ah well. I really prefer the old way of publishing/archiving, but since I've disabled the normal Blogger archive function in order to remove access to my older archives, it doesn't bother me as much. If I decide to move to a different blogging service later, I may delete those old ones completely (since I prefer for them to look the way my blog page did *at the time*, with the old template and everything).

Anyway, just wanted to get that out of my system. Farewell, old Blogger. You shall be missed.

Brian and I are amused that I now share significant characteristics with the two (and only) TV shows we watch. Heehee. We saw this coming far in advance, of course, and had joked that I could only be both "TWW" and "24" for 365 days, but now that it's here we've realized that it'll actually be less than that. Oh well - might as well enjoy it while it lasts. ;)

Thanks for all the birthday wishes today! I have so much to be thankful for, and not enough time to write about it all. I'll see if I can get a thankful list up sometime soon. :)

Sorry for not coming through with a sleepover post, even though I was sitting next to K while she dutifully put up her daily entry. However, as a consolation prize, you get to read the story we wrote together by switching off one sentence at a time. It's a whole lot of awesome!

Once upon a time, there was a penguin named George. George had a big family. This is because he and his wife like to… you know… a lot. They all have names that begin with G. Like Georgina, and Georgette, and George… Jr. Their feet get cold from walking on ice all the time, so they all like wearing shoes. But one day, George realized that shoes looked silly on them – since they’re penguins – so they should find another solution to their cold feet. Instead of waddling, they would jump and hop! Sadly, George and the other penguins did not understand the laws of physics so well. They realized they could get around much more efficiently by skating around on their stomachs. This was a hot and sexy look for them, so suddenly George and all his fellow penguins were highly sought after for exciting parties and get-togethers. They were even asked to put on skating performances! Then suddenly, in the middle of one of their performances, George started clucking like a crazy chicken! Everyone was confused at first, but they figured that since George came up with a great idea like stomach-skating, clucking like a chicken must also be the cool thing to do. Within weeks, the whole world was clucking like a chicken and skating on their stomachs, and George and his family basked happily forever in the adoration of millions.

THE END!

Can you figure out who wrote the first sentence?