My Daily Life

I am going to attempt -- to the best of my ability -- to capture what a "normal" day is like for me.  But there's really no such thing as "normal" as a teacher: every day is different.  We live this bizarre existence dictated by bells where we must quell our basic urges like needing to go to the bathroom and needing to eat.  There is no freedom, no alone time, no trips to the breakroom to chat with colleagues at the watercooler (except, of course, in frenzied bursts of time during nutrition break and our piddly half an hour lunch break).  And, of course, as a high school teacher, there is no escape from the room full of giant high schoolers staring at you to be a mix of teacher, rock concert performer, balloon-bending circus clown, janitor, and nose-wiping mommy. 

But, nevertheless, here is my attempt to explore my daily existence. 

5:25 am:  My first alarm goes off.  I turn it off. [I am a sound sleeper and require pre-waking to make sure I don't sleep too late]

5:50 am: My second alarm goes off, this time on my cell phone. I turn it off. 

5:52 am: My third and final alarm goes off, which I inevitably snooze at least twice. 

[sometimes I turn my TV on in the morning and watch a bit of whatever I fell asleep watching the night before; generally, Friends]

6:05 am: I heave myself out of bed and stumble immediately into the bathroom.  Finished, I brush my teeth, apply deodorant, and rinse off my face.  I get dressed, brush my hair (usually putting it up in a barrette and a hair tie), put on my class ring and a watch, put on my shoes, and my jacket. 

6:15 am: I leave my bedroom. (Yes. Ten minutes later. Sometimes five.) 

6:15 am: I assemble my lunch (which I have prepared the night before and stowed in a pile on the second shelf from the top on the right of my fridge), gather my giant pile of stuff* and leave the house. 

[*giant pile of stuff equates on any given day to a combination of the following: my gym bag, my lunch box, my nested pile of inbox buckets, which are rubbermaid dishpans, my rolling cart with my two teachers editions of my textbooks, piles of student work, and shopping bags with supplies for my classroom I've picked up at Target or Wal-Mart]

6:17 am: I dump my pile of stuff into the backseat of my car, climb in and begin my drive to school. 

6:23 am: Invariably am required to stop at the light at Shoal Creek and Ted Williams Parkway. 

6:27 am: Arrive at the Poway Starbucks parking lot.  I order a grande non-fat extra hot Chai latte and await it.  I immediately stopper it with a spill stick and carry it back out to my car. 

6:35 (give or take a few minutes): Pull into the Poway High School parking lot.  Unplug my iPod and drop it into my purse, remove my purse, school keys, and latte from the front seats/cupholder and exit car.  I place these things on my trunk and gather my giant pile of stuff from my backseat.  Balancing everything AND managing to carry my latte, I plod off to my classroom. 

6:38 am: I arrive in my classroom and immediately begin warming up and signing onto my technology.  It takes generally a full 9 minutes for my computer to boot up and log on, so I turn it on and then settle my stuff.  I stow my purse and lunch box behind my desk, and then find places for the rest of the stuff to live:  put supplies away, address student work, and begin to enjoy my latte.  I also try to neaten my desk off so that it will look less heinous by the end of the day. 

6:45 am: Marie, my colleague and neighbor, pokes her head in when she arrives.  Depending on the day, we compare notes on TV (Big Bang Theory, American Idol, etc) and generally discuss the plagues of the world. 

7:00 am:  Computer finally logged on, I print whatever I need to make copies of and dash off to the copy room, copy masters and instant oatmeal, paper cup, and utensil in hand. (Our staff lounge can't necessarily be counted on to have the necessary accoutrements to manage breakfast). 

7:15 am: Return to classroom to set up PowerPoint presentation with homework and class warm up.  Make sure that my three agendas for my three classes of the day are accurate and make any necessary changes. Do last minute things in classroom, like address piles, find materials, prepare any additional supplies necessary to teach effectively. 

7:23 am: First bell rings.  Students begin to trickle in after I unlock my door.  

7:30 am: Second bell rings and first period officially starts. 

[more to follow... ]