i have decided that if i want to be on time, i need to get a late start. if i get up early, i seem to have this feeling that i have plenty of time. so i don't move very fast. and i don't watch the clock. and then, before i know it, i am late. again.
whereas if i get up late, i know i have to hurry! i zip around with one eye on the clock. every minute has to be productive. there is no time to stand in front of my closet and decide what to wear--i just have to grab something and throw it on. there is no time to make a lunch--i just have to grab a hot pocket out of the freezer and go. there is no time to straighten my hair or put cream cheese on my breakfast bagel or apply mascara or have a conversation. if i get up late, it is all about getting out the door as quickly as possible.
these are inevitably the mornings when conversations happen. these are the mornings where i can't tell if the tights i pulled out of the drawer are black or blue--and inevitably discover that even though they looked black, they were navy blue. which would have been fine, if i wasn't wearing black skirt... these are always the mornings where i can't find my car keys--my one and only set of car keys. these are the mornings that the traffic is bad, and i miss both of the lights on my one mile drive to school.
these are also the mornings when i go off and leave the homework folders at home--the homework folders that have to go home TODAY!
THIS is why we have to buy a house that is close to our current neighborhood. because i fear that if we move more than a couple of miles away, i will get fired for chronic lateness. plus, i need to be able to drive home, retrieve whatever it is that i have forgotten (homework folders, lunch, cell phone, reading books,) and get back to work before my 15 minute break is over...
i'm spoiled. i know i am. there are thousands of people in l.a. who drive clear across town to their jobs. in traffic. during "rush" hour. and i just have to drive a mile. i have had jobs before where it took me half an hour to get to work, and oddly, i was rarely late. but now... now that i can practically see the school from my house, i am a few minutes late almost every morning.
i try to blame the traffic, and sometimes it isn't a ridiculous as it sounds. sometimes i miss the light, because there are a couple of cars ahead of me and one of them wants to turn left. sometimes i can't get out of our neighborhood because of all the cars turning into our neighborhood to avoid the traffic light. sometimes there is a pedestrian... slowly walking across the intersection where i need to turn. and sometimes, sometimes the school crossing guard gives me attitude and makes me wait. and wait. and wait.
and that is just the first crossing guard. two intersections = two crossing guards.
sometimes i think maybe i will be able to blame a parent. that is always a good excuse. because if a parent of one of my students happens to drive into the parking lot at the same time as i do, then i feel it is only polite to wait for them, and talk to them. you know, connect!
this rarely happens.
sometimes, if i am only a minute or two late, i try to blame it on ms. martha. ms. martha is the keeper of the door buzzer in the morning. this is not as easy as it sounds, because for some strange reason, the little thing she has to push to unlock the door when it buzzes, only works when she stands in certain places and puts the thing up against her chin before she presses it. and sometimes, even when she does everything perfectly, it still doesn't open right away. so yes, some days my tardiness can be attributed to faulty door buzzer operations...
this happens a lot. the problem with this is that i am rarely just a minute or two late.
i see no solution here. as i said, i've tried getting up earlier, but i just do more things and so i'm still late. i've tried setting my clocks ahead--and you know what a ruckus that caused. i've tried tricking myself into thinking i have to be at school 15 minutes earlier. but then i just get confused and end up forgetting what time i am really supposed to be there.
maybe they should just change the time i am supposed to be at school to 15 minutes later.
and not tell me...
these are inevitably the mornings when conversations happen. these are the mornings where i can't tell if the tights i pulled out of the drawer are black or blue--and inevitably discover that even though they looked black, they were navy blue. which would have been fine, if i wasn't wearing black skirt... these are always the mornings where i can't find my car keys--my one and only set of car keys. these are the mornings that the traffic is bad, and i miss both of the lights on my one mile drive to school.
these are also the mornings when i go off and leave the homework folders at home--the homework folders that have to go home TODAY!
THIS is why we have to buy a house that is close to our current neighborhood. because i fear that if we move more than a couple of miles away, i will get fired for chronic lateness. plus, i need to be able to drive home, retrieve whatever it is that i have forgotten (homework folders, lunch, cell phone, reading books,) and get back to work before my 15 minute break is over...
i'm spoiled. i know i am. there are thousands of people in l.a. who drive clear across town to their jobs. in traffic. during "rush" hour. and i just have to drive a mile. i have had jobs before where it took me half an hour to get to work, and oddly, i was rarely late. but now... now that i can practically see the school from my house, i am a few minutes late almost every morning.
i try to blame the traffic, and sometimes it isn't a ridiculous as it sounds. sometimes i miss the light, because there are a couple of cars ahead of me and one of them wants to turn left. sometimes i can't get out of our neighborhood because of all the cars turning into our neighborhood to avoid the traffic light. sometimes there is a pedestrian... slowly walking across the intersection where i need to turn. and sometimes, sometimes the school crossing guard gives me attitude and makes me wait. and wait. and wait.
and that is just the first crossing guard. two intersections = two crossing guards.
sometimes i think maybe i will be able to blame a parent. that is always a good excuse. because if a parent of one of my students happens to drive into the parking lot at the same time as i do, then i feel it is only polite to wait for them, and talk to them. you know, connect!
this rarely happens.
sometimes, if i am only a minute or two late, i try to blame it on ms. martha. ms. martha is the keeper of the door buzzer in the morning. this is not as easy as it sounds, because for some strange reason, the little thing she has to push to unlock the door when it buzzes, only works when she stands in certain places and puts the thing up against her chin before she presses it. and sometimes, even when she does everything perfectly, it still doesn't open right away. so yes, some days my tardiness can be attributed to faulty door buzzer operations...
this happens a lot. the problem with this is that i am rarely just a minute or two late.
i see no solution here. as i said, i've tried getting up earlier, but i just do more things and so i'm still late. i've tried setting my clocks ahead--and you know what a ruckus that caused. i've tried tricking myself into thinking i have to be at school 15 minutes earlier. but then i just get confused and end up forgetting what time i am really supposed to be there.
maybe they should just change the time i am supposed to be at school to 15 minutes later.
and not tell me...
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1 comment:
Sounds like you have come up with a good solution. Maybe if you are late enough they will change the time??
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