Teacher Discount

It has been an extremely tough week at work for me. This "phase" began last Thursday and rolled into this week, when I felt extremely overwhelmed, stressed, and frustrated by a complicated situation at work.

Of course I am exhausted from all of it...and mere lack of sleep. To rewind a little, I woke up at 4:30 AM yesterday morning to drop BF off at LAX. He got a last minute call to fly to SF for a day to meet with ebay people. :) He is re-designing something for them (what a talented man I have!). By the time I got to work, he had called with disastrous news -- his flight had been canceled! So I worked fast to book a ticket and then he ran practically half way around LAX and literally boarded the plane as the door was closing (just like in the movies!). Somehow, he managed to leave me the sweetest voicemail before he boarded. I have to point that out b/c he is typically really goofy with me (vs. sappy) so that really made my morning.

...Until he landed in the middle of my CFY observation and called to tell me that there was more bad news -- he had landed at the wrong airport! He was supposed to land in San Jose! So he got whisked away in a $150 cab ride. (FYI: this is not his fault).

The rest of his day was jam packed with meetings. He waited until I picked him up in the evening to tell me this part...He also met with somebody else who picked him up in his luxury vehicle. BF thought, wow, this guy must do really well; he has his own company and drives a nice car. Well, little did he know that the guy's office (with 1.5 employees) turns out to be the guy's garage! It gets better. They're sitting at a dining table (i.e., "conference table") in the "office" discussing business when the guy's wife walks in to do the laundry! That was awesome! Xtn didn't know whether to laugh or be impressed b/c the guy really knew how to put up a good front. Homeboy even has an "office line" with an extension!

Anywho, it was nice for BF to be back home as I've been in this funk for a few days. I was feeling better last night until it was time to sleep. I couldn't fall asleep b/c I kept thinking about 2 of my kiddos (with respect to everything going on). I tried to remind myself of what my therapist brother e-mailed me earlier on in the day:

"You really are too hard on yourself. You only have two hands and so much time, so make sure to not overwhelm yourself. It's like solving poverty or homelessness. There is only so much you can do at one time...Remember to be confident in yourself. You have lots of innate skills that no on can teach!"

I eventually fell asleep but when I woke this morning, I was even more tired and really not feelin' the day...and what lay ahead. This doesn't happen often, but considering how the week has been going, I reluctantly saw my kiddos (which are not the "problem").

I have to give it up for my Blackberry boy. He was the highlight of my day b/c he had me LMAO (while the entire day was stressful and intense). Review: We typically have great conversations interjected with intense articulation drills. He is in general ed but in speech for his severe lateral lisp. So we were talking about pets, and he reminded me that his family has a miniature poodle. The rest of our conversation goes sort of like this:

Blackberry Boy (BB): I have a question. Why do pure breds cost so much?
Me: honestly, I'm not sure. My guess is that it's rare to have pure breds these days. [Then I went on a tangent about mixed breeding causing high rates of health problems...but how there are also expensive "designer" dogs that are intentionally mixed.] You know, the dogs that are so small that the celebrities carry them in their expensive purses.
BB: Oh. Well, I guess that's why my parents are trying to find our poodle a spouse.
Me laughing b/c he used the word "spouse" for his dog's mate!: Spouse? I see.
BB: Yeah, they want to find our dog a spouse so they can...[pause]...have fun [he gestures the "walking" gesture consisting of moving his index and middle finger] and create pure breds so that we can sell them for a lot of money.
Me laughing hysterically at his "have fun" implication: really! I bet you could sell them for a lot if they are pure bred.
BB: Yeah, my parents are saying maybe $2,000.
Me: Wow, $2,000?
BB: Yeah. Do you like dogs? You could buy one from us!
Me: Um--
Before I could respond any more, BB says: Don't worry, I'll give you a teacher's discount!

I was LMAO at that! He even said again on his way out, "Don't forget, I can give you a teacher's discount if you want to buy a pure bred poodle!" I couldn't believe the kid! I was cracking up so much that I immediately called BF up; this story was one of the rare ones that couldn't wait until the end of the day.

If only he knew how much 1) that lightened up my week and 2) how much of a sucker I am for discounts! Especially student or teacher discounts! Still, I didn't expect such cleverness from this one. That was awesome.