Not an actual move, but a laptop move. I think this can be as time consuming as a real move sometimes!
I have an old laptop, but it's been acting a bit suspicious lately so I thought I better take the plunge and actually start using the work laptop I was sent 3 months ago. The thing is I have everything already installed on my personal laptop. Outlook, all my bookmarks, ACT (our horrible contact manager database) and other things. Not to mention all the passwords to silly sites like Kodac.com that I have no clue what my password is but my laptop has it memorized. Those things are going to take forever to clean up!
Right now I am on my new computer but need a break. I realized I have not posted in a while so I thought I would knock out a quick one. So...here is a question for the 5 people that read this post...can a person function with two computers or does one really just need to use one? I can't decide if I should move most of what I do to my work laptop or try to use two. I like the idea of keeping it separate, but I think I might get tired of working off two laptops. Do most people work from two? Please post your thoughts in the comments section.
Showing posts with label difficulties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label difficulties. Show all posts
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
I thought it was a good week. Until Wednesday.
My week started off great. We had Cyr's family over for raclette on Sunday. I thought it went pretty well, even though I do get nervous having everyone over. What if there is an awkward silence? I can't fill it because my French isn't that good. I can only ask questions really. But it was fun. Cyr's Mom brought two bottles of the fantastic wine and we sat around and ate melted cheese and hams all afternoon.
Monday morning was spent trying to get rid of the headache I had from the wine and the Chartreuse I drank on Sunday. The afternoon however was fairly interesting as I had a meeting with some division of the French government about my carte de sejour. Cyr went with me to translate. I saw a doctor and got a chest x-ray, they took blood, weighed and measured me and then put us in a room to watch a film about France. I really do wonder if they don't let people in because they have high blood sugar or are too heavy. "Oh, sorry miss, but we already have our quota of women under 5'2" (translate to metric though) so we are not going to issue you a Titre de Sejour. Merci."
Then I was called in to speak with a women who was to determine my level of French and see if I could get the free classes. I did a quick one page test and tried to speak with her. She said my French was not that bad, but that she could give me 150 hours of class if I would like them. I told her "heck yeah" in French and I should be getting a letter that tells me when and where. All I know is it's 12 hours a week and not on Tuesdays. I am really excited about that.
Then we waited some more and saw another woman (girl really, probably 22) who had me sign a contract with France. Apparently I am now legally bound to believe in the equality, fraternity and liberty. Not a problem. Then she pulls out a folder, after much stamping and signing of documents, and hands me my shiny, new laminated Titre de Sejour!! WOW!! I have it! I can work with my real card! Until November 11, 2009 that is, then I have to renew it. They also told us that after we are married for 3 years I can apply for a 10 year card, that's nice to know.
Tuesday I had my classes. I thought they went well actually. I had my two crazy classes first, which I ended early and began doing oral exams with part of the class. I had them sign up last week so they knew it would be a short class that day. I then went to teach at my Big School and the class went pretty well there too. I ended up staying late helping a student with a letter, then packed up to go home. Then came the first problem of the week. I could not find the key to the classroom. I searched everywhere and it was not in the room. I searched pockets and it was no where to be found. I thought maybe the person that was teaching before me picked it up because we both had our things strewn around the front of the class. Alas, no key.
This typically wouldn't be a big deal. If it were not for the fact that the keys are ALL master keys and open every door in the building. I tell the receptionist I will look through my things at home and bring it back if I find it. On Wednesday I looked through my things and there was no key to be found. I decided I better call my supervisor at the school. Before I could do that, my cell phone rang. It was my supervisor from the Other School, I guess I can call it The Small School because it's not a Grand Ecole (Big School). She sounded very upset, I could tell in her voice something was wrong. She finally got around to telling me that one of my students complained about me yesterday. He went to someone (I think the front desk person) and told her I had ended class early and it was not the first time I had done so. Wow, this is the first I have ever heard of this happening. Then she said I should either write to the student and apologize or speak with him and tells me his name. Seriously? I need to apologize to a student for letting them go early? Interesting. I told her that if they felt this was something awful maybe the teacher that is going to take over my classes in March should take them over right now. She said the kids had enough change this year with new English teachers and that I should continue. Oh...please fire me. Please.
I got off the phone with her and called my Big School supervisor to tell him about my inability to locate my key. When I asked him what typically happens he said "Well it's a master key, so all the locks in the building will have to be changed." Fuck me. If they dock my pay I will probably owe them money. What a freaking moron I am. Plus I had to tell everyone that I was leaving and it's hard to find teachers so I'm not exactly on everyone's favorite list. I hope I don't plan on teaching when I return to Lille. I'm leaving quite an impression on everyone, and unfortunately it's not a good one. Maybe they will have all forgotten me by then...
My plan is to talk to the student and tell him that if he has a problem with the way I teach or what I teach that he is free to come to me to talk about things. I thought this was a business school. Is that how they teach them to do good business? "To get along well in the workplace kids make sure to complain about people to their bosses as opposed to working it out with them." I just don't think it's necessary to go over someones head. It' s not like I am intimidating or anything. I find it a bit cowardice to not face your problem head on. I'll talk to the kid, but I won't be bullied. I am half tempted to let them go early again next class just to piss him off, but I won't. I also don't understand why everyone is so afraid of the students here. I remember when I first started and they kept changing the day and time of the class because the students didn't want to have class on a Friday, or they didn't want to have it after 4 during the week. They are students, I thought we told them what their schedule was. I was wrong.
I'm sure something else will go wrong, it's only Wednesday today after all. I have a group of oral exams Thursday, maybe someone will freak out on me.
Monday morning was spent trying to get rid of the headache I had from the wine and the Chartreuse I drank on Sunday. The afternoon however was fairly interesting as I had a meeting with some division of the French government about my carte de sejour. Cyr went with me to translate. I saw a doctor and got a chest x-ray, they took blood, weighed and measured me and then put us in a room to watch a film about France. I really do wonder if they don't let people in because they have high blood sugar or are too heavy. "Oh, sorry miss, but we already have our quota of women under 5'2" (translate to metric though) so we are not going to issue you a Titre de Sejour. Merci."
Then I was called in to speak with a women who was to determine my level of French and see if I could get the free classes. I did a quick one page test and tried to speak with her. She said my French was not that bad, but that she could give me 150 hours of class if I would like them. I told her "heck yeah" in French and I should be getting a letter that tells me when and where. All I know is it's 12 hours a week and not on Tuesdays. I am really excited about that.
Then we waited some more and saw another woman (girl really, probably 22) who had me sign a contract with France. Apparently I am now legally bound to believe in the equality, fraternity and liberty. Not a problem. Then she pulls out a folder, after much stamping and signing of documents, and hands me my shiny, new laminated Titre de Sejour!! WOW!! I have it! I can work with my real card! Until November 11, 2009 that is, then I have to renew it. They also told us that after we are married for 3 years I can apply for a 10 year card, that's nice to know.
Tuesday I had my classes. I thought they went well actually. I had my two crazy classes first, which I ended early and began doing oral exams with part of the class. I had them sign up last week so they knew it would be a short class that day. I then went to teach at my Big School and the class went pretty well there too. I ended up staying late helping a student with a letter, then packed up to go home. Then came the first problem of the week. I could not find the key to the classroom. I searched everywhere and it was not in the room. I searched pockets and it was no where to be found. I thought maybe the person that was teaching before me picked it up because we both had our things strewn around the front of the class. Alas, no key.
This typically wouldn't be a big deal. If it were not for the fact that the keys are ALL master keys and open every door in the building. I tell the receptionist I will look through my things at home and bring it back if I find it. On Wednesday I looked through my things and there was no key to be found. I decided I better call my supervisor at the school. Before I could do that, my cell phone rang. It was my supervisor from the Other School, I guess I can call it The Small School because it's not a Grand Ecole (Big School). She sounded very upset, I could tell in her voice something was wrong. She finally got around to telling me that one of my students complained about me yesterday. He went to someone (I think the front desk person) and told her I had ended class early and it was not the first time I had done so. Wow, this is the first I have ever heard of this happening. Then she said I should either write to the student and apologize or speak with him and tells me his name. Seriously? I need to apologize to a student for letting them go early? Interesting. I told her that if they felt this was something awful maybe the teacher that is going to take over my classes in March should take them over right now. She said the kids had enough change this year with new English teachers and that I should continue. Oh...please fire me. Please.
I got off the phone with her and called my Big School supervisor to tell him about my inability to locate my key. When I asked him what typically happens he said "Well it's a master key, so all the locks in the building will have to be changed." Fuck me. If they dock my pay I will probably owe them money. What a freaking moron I am. Plus I had to tell everyone that I was leaving and it's hard to find teachers so I'm not exactly on everyone's favorite list. I hope I don't plan on teaching when I return to Lille. I'm leaving quite an impression on everyone, and unfortunately it's not a good one. Maybe they will have all forgotten me by then...
My plan is to talk to the student and tell him that if he has a problem with the way I teach or what I teach that he is free to come to me to talk about things. I thought this was a business school. Is that how they teach them to do good business? "To get along well in the workplace kids make sure to complain about people to their bosses as opposed to working it out with them." I just don't think it's necessary to go over someones head. It' s not like I am intimidating or anything. I find it a bit cowardice to not face your problem head on. I'll talk to the kid, but I won't be bullied. I am half tempted to let them go early again next class just to piss him off, but I won't. I also don't understand why everyone is so afraid of the students here. I remember when I first started and they kept changing the day and time of the class because the students didn't want to have class on a Friday, or they didn't want to have it after 4 during the week. They are students, I thought we told them what their schedule was. I was wrong.
I'm sure something else will go wrong, it's only Wednesday today after all. I have a group of oral exams Thursday, maybe someone will freak out on me.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Fun with food
Well...there was a bit of a traumatic incident with the rabbit. As I was taking the little guy out of the wrapping and telling myself that it was not in fact someone's beloved pet, but a piece of meet just like a hamburger I felt sure that I was going to have no problem cooking this thing.
That was until I moved the top part and Thumper's head peeped up at me. His teeth bared, his eyes glossed over, his fur missing...it freaked me out. I ran out of the kitchen and grabbed my manly carnivore of a husband and asked him to please stop the rabbit from checking out the ceiling lights. Well, it might have been more like "flight" from the "fight or flight" instinct. I just couldn't do it! Here is the evidence.
I even forgot to take a picture of the done deal! It's was pretty good once his beady eyes were not checking me out and judging my culinary skills. I pretty much just slathered him with mustard and cooked him for about 30 minutes. I know next time to cook at a lower temp for an hour maybe. Not sure why, it just sounds right.
Though I don't have a picture of the rabbit, I do have a picture of Cyr's fantastic leek quiche!! He surprised me with a heart on top made of cheese...awe...ain't that sweet...
We also went out and got a "galette" which is a crusty pie thingy that has a plastic figure in it. The person who is given the piece with the figure in it gets to (has to) wear a crown (that is so conveniently supplied with the cake) for rest of the day. Or something like that. You must be careful when eating that you don't bite down on the little guy and loose a tooth. I'm sure dentists are frequented this time of year for just that. We were pretty cheap and got our galette at Carrefour which is the big grocery store near us. It was a Harry Potter themed galette. Turns out I was the lucky one. Without even cheating not only did I get the guy, I got him on the first bite!! The bummer was that it wasn't even Harry!! It's some random guy who probably taught math at Hogwarts.
So far 2009 has been a pretty good year. I did discover that I gained 4 lbs. over Christmas. But each gram was sooooo worth it! The food and drink...ahhh....beside, I'll burn that off just trying to fend off hypothermia while walking to work.
That was until I moved the top part and Thumper's head peeped up at me. His teeth bared, his eyes glossed over, his fur missing...it freaked me out. I ran out of the kitchen and grabbed my manly carnivore of a husband and asked him to please stop the rabbit from checking out the ceiling lights. Well, it might have been more like "flight" from the "fight or flight" instinct. I just couldn't do it! Here is the evidence.
I even forgot to take a picture of the done deal! It's was pretty good once his beady eyes were not checking me out and judging my culinary skills. I pretty much just slathered him with mustard and cooked him for about 30 minutes. I know next time to cook at a lower temp for an hour maybe. Not sure why, it just sounds right.
Though I don't have a picture of the rabbit, I do have a picture of Cyr's fantastic leek quiche!! He surprised me with a heart on top made of cheese...awe...ain't that sweet...
We also went out and got a "galette" which is a crusty pie thingy that has a plastic figure in it. The person who is given the piece with the figure in it gets to (has to) wear a crown (that is so conveniently supplied with the cake) for rest of the day. Or something like that. You must be careful when eating that you don't bite down on the little guy and loose a tooth. I'm sure dentists are frequented this time of year for just that. We were pretty cheap and got our galette at Carrefour which is the big grocery store near us. It was a Harry Potter themed galette. Turns out I was the lucky one. Without even cheating not only did I get the guy, I got him on the first bite!! The bummer was that it wasn't even Harry!! It's some random guy who probably taught math at Hogwarts.
So far 2009 has been a pretty good year. I did discover that I gained 4 lbs. over Christmas. But each gram was sooooo worth it! The food and drink...ahhh....beside, I'll burn that off just trying to fend off hypothermia while walking to work.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Computer Germs
Oh man!! So my computer was acting a bit funny, not letting me get to some sites, redirecting me when I did searches to sales or porn sites. This bug is super smart. It also blocks access to any anti-virus pages, so you can't get to NOD32, Norton, Symantec or anything out there that can help. Then my little guy went into a coma. Just a frozen screen with no movement. I would have to force her off by holding the power button and then the screen would go black and a noise similar to static would be heard as she painfully powered down.
Lucky for me (right now) my computer completely freaked out two days before I was to move to France. I went to Micro Center and bought new memory and a new hard drive because I thought it was fried then. When I got to France and ran some add-ware program it went back to normal so my memory and hard drive have been sitting in the closet up until now. Plus, computer items are WAY more expensive here, so I now have a better set up for much less than I would have had to spend here.
A second lucky thing; Cyr is a brain and can actually replace these items, get my computer up and running and is going to somehow get the files off my old hard drive. The only pain in the butt is that all my docs and things I am going to need for the wedding including budget, guest list, addresses and old pictures are now sitting on my sick hard drive here on the table. I can feel the files looking at me, wanting to be part of my day, almost pleading to be placed back in their natural habitat on my little Dell here. I hope my hero Cyr can save them!!
So watch out people! I have no idea how I got this. But it's bad news...I'm not opening any attachments until my anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-whatever else is out there is fixed.
Good news - we booked our photographer for the wedding!! His name is Luc and he is great. I can't find his link right now...but I will update this post later and include it so you can check him out. I think he is fantastic, he really takes very unique pictures. Plus we actually saved money with him because the one we were going to use was referred to us by the Chateau (reception site)and they really mark up the prices. Woohoo! No mark up for us, we will just pay the already a bit high regular price thank you!
Lucky for me (right now) my computer completely freaked out two days before I was to move to France. I went to Micro Center and bought new memory and a new hard drive because I thought it was fried then. When I got to France and ran some add-ware program it went back to normal so my memory and hard drive have been sitting in the closet up until now. Plus, computer items are WAY more expensive here, so I now have a better set up for much less than I would have had to spend here.
A second lucky thing; Cyr is a brain and can actually replace these items, get my computer up and running and is going to somehow get the files off my old hard drive. The only pain in the butt is that all my docs and things I am going to need for the wedding including budget, guest list, addresses and old pictures are now sitting on my sick hard drive here on the table. I can feel the files looking at me, wanting to be part of my day, almost pleading to be placed back in their natural habitat on my little Dell here. I hope my hero Cyr can save them!!
So watch out people! I have no idea how I got this. But it's bad news...I'm not opening any attachments until my anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-whatever else is out there is fixed.
Good news - we booked our photographer for the wedding!! His name is Luc and he is great. I can't find his link right now...but I will update this post later and include it so you can check him out. I think he is fantastic, he really takes very unique pictures. Plus we actually saved money with him because the one we were going to use was referred to us by the Chateau (reception site)and they really mark up the prices. Woohoo! No mark up for us, we will just pay the already a bit high regular price thank you!
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