12/09/06 Cruise Continued ~ Pirating Bananas DIS Geekorama Part 2 Part 2

[MrsMork]

John1,
I asked this on "the other thread", but I think it got lost in the chatter. Why do you have to be in the first 5 cars of the subway in NYC? Really wanting to know incase we get there on our travels......well of course we will need to go there!

 

[Jhalkias]

John1,
I asked this on "the other thread", but I think it got lost in the chatter. Why do you have to be in the first 5 cars of the subway in NYC? Really wanting to know incase we get there on our travels......well of course we will need to go there!

Sorry Angie,

I forgot about it while trying to get caught up. It is really a simple answer. The station at South Point - Battery Park, is too small for the whole train - so if you are not in the first five cars, there is no platform for you to get off on. We were like the keystone Kops jumping cars at every station to get to the first five.

The NYC subways are REALLY confusing to me as a non-native. Some tracks have three trians, A, C, and E trains. Every one of them makes different stops on the same line, and you have to know which one to get on for your stop. The stations were also really HOT, and the cars really crowded at times.

 

[MrsMork]

Sorry Angie,

I forgot about it while trying to get caught up. It is really a simple answer. The station at South Point - Battery Park, is too small for the whole train - so if you are not in the first five cars, there is no platform for you to get off on. We were like the keystone Kops jumping cars at every station to get to the first five.

The NYC subways are REALLY confusing to me as a non-native. Some tracks have three trians, A, C, and E trains. Every one of them makes different stops on the same line, and you have to know which one to get on for your stop. The stations were also really HOT, and the cars really crowded at times.

So, it was just that one stop that would have been a problem for you. I was picturing thousands of people all trying to get into the first 5 cars for every stop. Talk about Keystone Kops! We used the metro in DC and in Atlanta and they were both pretty easy to figure out. Hmmmm, we may need to have Carla be a tour guide for us when we do NYC.

 

[87Heel]

I've been following the Hurricane Dean story, and it looks like Costa Maya will take a pretty serious hit from this storm.

From http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070821/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/tropical_weather

"Dean could be even stronger than Wilma, which stalled over Cancun and pummeled it for a day. The fast-moving Dean was passing farther south, and was likely to deliver a brief but powerful punch to Mexico's Maya heartland.

That area stretches from Tulum south to the growing beach resort at Mahahual, where authorities evacuated hundreds of tourists on Monday. Between the two lies the 2.5 million-acre Sian Kaan nature reserve, with a 1,200-year-old network of Mayan canals.

Government anthropologists said they were preparing 13 archaeological sites for the storm, pruning trees and removing signs and vegetation that strong winds could turn into damaging projectiles."

 

[bubbasmom99]

I was just reading that same news story. It seems like they are glossing over it a bit since it is missing Cancun and Cozumel, but I take it just a bit personally since we were JUST there in that quaint little village a few months ago.... seems like they were just getting the whole tourism thing going in that area and this is going to set them back for a few years

 

[87Heel]

I was just reading that same news story. It seems like they are glossing over it a bit since it is missing Cancun and Cozumel, but I take it just a bit personally since we were JUST there in that quaint little village a few months ago.... seems like they were just getting the whole tourism thing going in that area and this is going to set them back for a few years

Joy, I had the same reaction to the "it should miss Cancun" comments.

 

[klineyqueen]

Can I join in on the whining about schools when I technically still have a week before DS starts? I posted this on the CB but I guess I will post it here as well. Do you guys think I am just feeling upset for no reason just because I am new to all this?

DS starts K next Tuesday and we have all been so excited. Tonight was the Back To School Night for K students at his school. When we get there they take the kids off to the playground and out for a bus ride and the parents go to the library for an overview of the K classrooms by the K teachers. The school has two K teachers both of whom are very experienced with teaching K and who have both been with the school for a long time. Their reputations are both very good. I was feeling very good about DS's year since I knew he would have some experienced teachers.

Well we have the discussions and they go over how their classrooms are run (how they do snacks, rest time, folders, etc..) and then we find out that they have 5 more K students registered than the limit for the 2 teachers so they are going to have to hire a 3rd K teacher. They just found out about 30 minutes prior to the meeting. They don't know who it is, where they are coming from, how much experience. They don't even know what room they are going to have. This school is already really crowded and they were thinking that the new K teacher might take over the art room.

At the end of the meeting they read out the teachers for the kids and of course DS has the mystery teacher. Nathan was so excited that he was going to meet his teacher and see his classroom tonight and now he couldn't because they don't know who it will be. On top of that the teachers stood up there and said that after the screenings that happened last week they divided up the kids into who they wanted in their classes and based on parent requests. #1 I didn't know they had parent requests and #2 they just then told everyone that has the mystery teacher that their kids were not "wanted".

So now we get to wait until the school-wide Back To School Night on Thursday and they hope to have somebody hired and have them a room. On such short notice I cannot imagine what kind of teacher and how organized everything is going to be in DS's classroom. DS really does pretty well with structure and I can't imagine that at first his class is going to be all that structured.

On top of all that we go to pick up DS from the playground and I notice he has red stains on his mouth. Well they had popsicles. I asked him if he told the principal (who was the one out there with them and provided the popsicles) that he was allergic to milk and corn. Nathan said he told him several times but the principal told him it would be fine. I go to find the principal to see what popsicles he had and I find out the popsicles had corn syrup in them. The principal said that Nathan told him several times that he was allergic to milk and corn but he said he just didn't think about corn syrup. Thankfully DS does not have terrible reactions and just breaks out in a rash but still I can't believe a kid tells him he has allergies and they still hand over the food without checking with a parent or at least reading the box. The principal seems very nice and was very apologetic but after the whole mystery teacher thing I was already a bit frazzled.

So am I just new to this and overreacting? This is not exactly how I pictured sending DS off to K.

The popsicle would have made me crazy if my kid was not to have it!

AS for the mystery teacher. That is unfortunate but that is due to parents who do not enroll their children until the last min. We had that happen at my school 2 years ago. We had 19 kids enroll within the last 2 weeks of summer..what a SCRAMBLE!!!! I can't believe the teacher referenced them as unwanted, that was not cool. I would not stress about a new teacher. Often they have great ideas and I am sure that person will be taken under the wings of the elder teachers. More experienced teachers LOVE to show the new guy the ropes. I would not stress about that, it could be a wonderful experience.

 

[klineyqueen]

DISNEY WAS FABULOUS!!!

Darn hot...very very very hot...but we had a blast!


This was the first time we ever went on vacation when we didn't have a friend or in-law or parent going too. It was great!!!

We went back to POP every afternoon and rested. The evening were great. They felt "cool" they were in the 80's as compared to the days which were hitting over 100~~~~~YIKES!

 

[klineyqueen]

Brack - great pics!

 

[klineyqueen]

Angie and Dennis, I am so sorry for what your family is going through right now. Hugs to all of you. I am praying for you and your family. That is all that can be done at a time like this.
God Bless.

 

[MrsMork]

Angie and Dennis, I am so sorry for what your family is going through right now. Hugs to all of you. I am praying for you and your family. That is all that can be done at a time like this.
God Bless.

Thank you, Brandi. I cannot tell you how much the prayers mean to us. The kids seem to be doing ok, both having some sad moments still of course, but over all they are doing ok.

 

[klineyqueen]

Thank you, Brandi. I cannot tell you how much the prayers mean to us. The kids seem to be doing ok, both having some sad moments still of course, but over all they are doing ok.

I am glad the kids are feeling better. It will take a long time to heal.

 

[87Heel]

So, are the kids back in school for anyone? We don't start until after Labor Day.
I thought Becka would have a kindergarten update (a good one, I hope).

 

[becka]

So, are the kids back in school for anyone? We don't start until after Labor Day.
I thought Becka would have a kindergarten update (a good one, I hope).

I could give you an update but I don't have time right now since I have to leave in a few minutes to get to the grocery store. The highlight of his first day was the hour he spent in the principal's office and the subsequent phone call I got at work from his principal to discuss DS.

 

[87Heel]

Becka, that's the way to leave us hanging!!

 

[MrsMork]

Becka??

 

[MrsMork]

We don't start until the Tues after Labor Day also. I cannot believe DGS is starting his senior year. He will be 18 Sept 12. How did that happen? Aaron started this week. He was supposed to start last week but he was camping with Grandpa and Grandma so he could not make it. He and DDIL moved to Lancaster, CA to take care of her dad who is ailing. DS is hoping for a SOON transfer. He misses them alot. Anyway, when we planned the camping we did not know he would need to be in school so soon. Aug 13 just seems way too early, but he gets a 3 week break at Christmas and a 2 week break in March so they start 2 weeks early.

 

[becka]

Becka, that's the way to leave us hanging!!

Well I had to make sure that when I came back you would be hanging on my every word.

The morning started off really well. DS was so excited and he was even happy to pose for the obligatory pictures at the house before I drove him to school. DS is signed up for the before-school program at the school so that is where I was dropping him off at. He did really well and walked right in. He was there maybe 30 seconds when he decided this was not where he wanted to be. He got real clingy and his eyes started to well up a little. (Of course that made me just want to cry myself but I held it together.) I stayed with him for a few more minutes before I left. I did come back to peek on him a few minutes later and the facilitator saw me and gave me a thumbs up so I was feeling a bit better. Of course I still cried a little on the way to work.

About 3:15 I get a call from the principal telling me that Nathan has been in his office for about the past hour because he poked a kid in the neck. The principal said he had talked to the two boys and he got the same story out of both of them. They were lining up after recess to go back to the room and the other kid told DS that the line was moving and apparently that upset him so he poked the kid. The other kid apparently really reacted and started to cry and demanded first aid (although according to the principal he was not really hurt just kind of shocked). He told me that he had talked to DS about what other choices he could have made, etc. but they wanted to let me know.

When we picked DS up from school we were obviously not thrilled. DS was telling us that he didn't want to go back to K that he wanted to go back to pre-school because "mean Nathan" was not there. The kid he apparently got into it with was actually the other Nathan in his class. After talking to DS some it sounds like him and "mean Nathan" had some issues earlier in the day. Nathan said that the other Nathan was trying to pull off his backpack earlier in the day and made him cry. He also said he was calling him names and being mean. Well I have no doubt that DS was not 100% innocent in all this but I really feel that was some truth to it. We reinforced that he needs to keep his hands to himself no matter what, etc.. and convinced him to try going back to K the next morning.

The next morning drop-off went much better. He really seemed to enjoy the before/after school program. We have had 1/2 days these past 2 days due to heat and tomorrow is another 1/2 day. Nathan seems to be doing better. He says his new teacher is very nice and he even seems to be getting along a little better with "mean Nathan". He did tell me yesterday that "I like the outside part of kindergarten but I don't like the inside part very much". He also told me that "kindergarten is harder than I thought it would be". Poor kid....growing up is tough.

I think he adjusting now. I think he was really just very overwhelmed especially that first day. Hopefully that will be the last personal call I get from the principal for a very long time.

 

[lbgraves]

I've been following the Hurricane Dean story, and it looks like Costa Maya will take a pretty serious hit from this storm.

From http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070821/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/tropical_weather

"Dean could be even stronger than Wilma, which stalled over Cancun and pummeled it for a day. The fast-moving Dean was passing farther south, and was likely to deliver a brief but powerful punch to Mexico's Maya heartland.

That area stretches from Tulum south to the growing beach resort at Mahahual, where authorities evacuated hundreds of tourists on Monday. Between the two lies the 2.5 million-acre Sian Kaan nature reserve, with a 1,200-year-old network of Mayan canals.

Government anthropologists said they were preparing 13 archaeological sites for the storm, pruning trees and removing signs and vegetation that strong winds could turn into damaging projectiles."

It does make it so much more personal when I can picture the faces of those children so happy last December.

 

[lbgraves]

He did tell me yesterday that "I like the outside part of kindergarten but I don't like the inside part very much". He also told me that "kindergarten is harder than I thought it would be". Poor kid....growing up is tough.

I think he adjusting now. I think he was really just very overwhelmed especially that first day. Hopefully that will be the last personal call I get from the principal for a very long time.

Isn't that the truth for most work? LOL!

Glad that he is adjusting. It wont be long and he will be a K expert.