Roller Coaster

Did you ever feel like you're riding a roller coaster without having set foot near the amusement park? That's how I've been the last couple weeks. No, this post isn't going to be some clever little ditty (except for the roller coaster analogy), no interesting stories, no insightful comments. Mostly, it's going to be a rant.


The first couple weeks of school are insane. Forms to be handed out, filled in, returned. Changes made to schedules, faculty, rooms numbers (I can't find anyone anymore). Field trips to plan, grades to enter, new computerized attendance forms to fill out. Parents to contact, assemblies to attend, advisees to advise. Oh, yes, and teaching to do, at some point.

Additionally, the way my school works, there is a progress report of some kind going out every three weeks. I can understand why. Parents pay quite a tidy sum to send their kids here, and deserve to know on a regular basis what the result of that is. I don't fault the system. But, hell, when I'm just starting to feel like I'm in the swing of things and then grades are due?

There are teachers here that make this job look amazingly easy. I wonder if they are like ducks, calm on the surface but paddling like mad underneath.

So back to the roller coaster. I realized this just now when it came to me that today is Friday. (All day yesterday I thought it was Friday. Have you ever done that? You know, where intellectually you know it's Wednesday but in your gut it feels like Monday? You can't imagine my disappointment when I finally realized that yes, I have to get up early the next day.) So the week is a roller coaster ride. Fast-paced, thrilling, full of hills and valleys, but they go by so quick that if you blink you miss them. And then on the weekend, you pull into the station and have just enough time to catch your breath and start to think about the ride you just had, when whoosh! You're off for another go around. Because on this roller coaster, the seat belts are locked in place permanently. You can't get off this ride.

Of course, this doesn't mean the ride can't be fun. It's just that sometimes you need to stop and catch your breath. And the times you need to aren't always consistent with the times they give you. (By "they" I mean, of course, "They", which are the same ones you refer to when you say "Why don't They time the traffic lights better?" or "It's ridiculous how They treat you when you answer the phone." and "Why can't They invent a Raisin-Bran-like product that doesn't get soggy in milk?" and so on (and by "you" I mean, of course, "Me".))


So, it's Friday, and in a couple hours the roller coaster will pull into the station. I'll have time enough to wave to the people on the platform, but that's about it, because in no time at all, it'll be Monday again, and we're off on another ride.