Updating

Ok, so the month of February has turned out to be busier than expected and every time I would get a minute to sit down and blog, it wouldn’t happen.

We had winter break just after Valentine’s Day, although it didn’t seem like much of a break as my grandparents came to visit, then I had two field trips over the course of the break. I learned that Applebees has good food to go and the couple times I’ve asked them to deliver it to the bus, they’ve acquiesced. All things considered, my life has been extremely busy.

Being a floater again is like walking on air. Yes I get the few kids that drive me nuts, but then I don’t have to see them again for at least another 2 weeks. My voice has remained intact and the stress level has decreased quite a bit. When I’m stressed, I’ve learned I lose my voice. Losing your voice on a busload of children is NOT a good thing.

There have been some changes up at the bus garage, starting with the field trips. I’ve now become an airline attendant before every field trip. We have to give a little speech about the proper fire escape procedures to some very rude and obnoxious children who insist on not paying attention. I keep tweaking my speech to include things I forgot to cover in the last group. The bus shop didn’t really give us any real guidelines, so I suppose it’s as long or short as the driver wants it to be. We’re also supposed to collect rosters from the schools prior to actually going on the trip. The coaches and teachers must have the rosters on the bus and must give us a copy. I actually like these new guidelines because it gives us a little more control over the situation, plus we actually know whom we are hauling to and from events.

I had a field trip on Friday taking the local 6th grade middle school kids to the movie theater. Yes, that’s right the movie theater. I had heard we were going to see Coraline, but we ended up seeing Ink Heart. I don’t know WHAT the educational value of each of these movies is, but it wasted 3 hours on a Friday. Ink Heart was actually a decent movie starring Brendan Frasier and a few other unknown people. The premise of the movie was somewhat interesting and completely engulfed in fantasy. Again, I question the educational value. This is the time of year we typically get a lot of the “stupid” field trips that have little or no education behind them.

Overall, it’s been a good month and hopefully I’ll be able to blog more in March.

In Like A Lion,

The Bus Driver

Christmas Madness and Insanity

Well, I have definitely neglected this blog since Thanksgiving, but my schedule has just been filled with insanity.

First, I traveled up to Indiana to testify in a court case (guilty!), then returned to a myriad of doctor appointments and random field trips that take up most of my weekend time. I also babysit for a friend of mine on the nights she goes to work her second job until her husband comes home (approx 1 hr or so) so that has been keeping me very busy. So, that being said, I simply haven't had time to sit at the computer all that much and catch up on my regular blog reads.

The doctor appointments were successful in that both doctors (a foot doctor and an ear, nose, throat doctor) identified reasons for my suffering. (I have constant foot pain and sinus infections.) Turns out, I have heel spurs on both feet, with one being worse than the other. Luckily we caught the heel spurs early enough for proper intervention to fix the problem. I'll be getting custom made orthotics and I'm in a foot brace during the day (till the orthotics come in) and a night splint at night. My sinus problems are being caused by my adenoids, so they possibly have to come out. Yay me.

On to more recent events. Today I drove a group of 4th graders to a local television station. The kids got a tour of the station which included the weather "green screen" and got to meet the various anchors of the news. I stayed outside with the bus, but soon needed to seek a bathroom. I caught the noon news just as it began to air. The kids still hadn't come out from their studio tour, so I figured they were probably behaving so well, that the studio had allowed them to watch the taping of the news. At the last 3 minutes of the news, the studio flashed the kids on the screen and they got to wave and say goodbye. The news anchor voiced over the picture and said "S Elementary from W. County, State is visiting us in studio today!! Wave goodbye kids!!" It was way cool considering that they don't typically do that with school groups. The teacher said that they were very well behaved so they earned that treat. The kids were so excited when they got back on the bus, and it was so unexpected that noone thought to record the news. I hope they are able to get a copy from the station or that someone's parent recorded the news.

Speaking of news, Alternative Boy got arrested at school for possession of Cocaine. He hasn't been on the bus since, but I've seen him wandering the neighborhood. I suspect he's been expelled or suspended from school.

Pipsqueak badly needs a seatbelt. For the life of me I cannot get that child to sit still in his seat. I have removed his backpack from him since he tends to go inside his backpack, then when its time for him to get off the bus, all of his stuff is falling out of his arms as he wanders up the aisle.

My middleschool kids are learning the hard way that I mean business. In the mornings, with the exception of 2-3 kids, I tell them what seat to sit in as they get on the bus. In the afternoons, with the exception of a handful of kids, I also tell them where to sit, though its slightly more difficult because I need my trouble makers up front and still have my little ones on the bus at the time.

I'm now having trouble out of my highschool group who has decided to take advantage of me. I'm beginning to think they need assigned seats as well. My second run is the worst as far as behavior problems go because my 4th and 5th graders like to talk back to me. I can't wait for Christmas.

The Wheels on the Bus......

The Bus Driver

High-Life Adventure and Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all who read my blog. May your day be filled with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and all that comes with a delicious turkey dinner.

Now, on to the Overnight Trip.

I drove the High School FBLA members to their Fall Leadership Conference. The drive took approximately 5 hours one-way including stops for food and restroom breaks. When we arrived in the city where the Conference was being held, I navigated the 40-foot bus through the most narrow streets and places. It’s a wonder that I didn’t damage a mirror or any of the bus by pulling through some of the spots. I did end up taking out quite a few curbsides, but its better to hit the curb than to hit a vehicle.

We pulled into the hotel parking lot and unloaded the bus in the hopes our rooms were ready. The rooms were not ready yet, but the hotel graciously stored our luggage so we didn’t have to haul it from where the bus would later be parked. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, right across the street from the Conference Center. This Hilton offered a Dinner Grill and Room Service that included food made to order. The Breakfast Buffet was better than your standard continental breakfast and included eggs and omelets made to order as well as a large bar of fresh produce, cereal, and other standard items you would find in a continental breakfast. The prices for dinner were reasonable and breakfast was a standard $10.95 charge for the custom made plates. A large fitness center and swimming pool (puddle) were also available for guest convenience. The lobby contained a full service bar and near the guest check-in desk was a small pantry with a myriad of items available (for a price of course) to the weary traveler.

The hotel was located in the center of downtown with easy walking distance access to restaurants and stores. After we unloaded the bus, I was given vague instructions on where to park the monster. I circled the block once and found a very nice security guard lady who told me where to go. I was under the impression that we would be parking underneath the Convention Center and that when I would take the elevator, it would bring me directly up into the Convention building itself. I was also given the impression that it was a very large parking area, well marked and well lit. I eventually found the parking lot and paid 20 dollars (provided by the trip coordinator) for two days worth of parking. I swing the bus around and find the parking garage is pretty well packed with other buses and no one directing traffic. I managed to squeeze my bus between the brick wall (taking out the curbside) and another bus. I literally had approximately 5 inches of space available on either side. I figured if there were no space underneath the garage, I’d circle the block and come back for another pass. I get in the garage and there is very limited space, I pull over to evaluate the situation and find out that my rear-end is blocking one of the inner garage exit points. I decided that its probably not a good idea for me to keep on blocking an exit point and rather than risk a ticket, I pulled forward. I found a pretty decent parking space further down the line.

Now I had to find out where the elevator was. I saw some FBLA students from another county walking past my bus, and figured they knew where this fabled elevator was. I shut and locked my bus and walked in the direction they went. I found there was no elevator in that vicinity and ended up walking up the hill to figure out where I was. I saw a building and made my way towards it. I found the fabled elevator inside, only this elevator was not warm and cozy as I had expected, but it was a random elevator within a cold parking garage. About halfway up the hill, I realized I had forgotten my jacket, but since I didn’t want to hike back down the hill and back up again, I decided to keep on trucking. When I got inside the elevator, I rode it down and figured out where the elevator was located in relation to my bus. Then I rode it up to street level and walked the rest of the half-mile to the hotel in a short sleeve shirt in 35-degree weather.

I begged the concierge to let me get my sweatshirt out of my backpack that was stored with the rest of the luggage from the group. He graciously allowed me to do so. I then set in search of lunch. I found this quaint Japanese Sushi place just across the street from the hotel. After a meal of Sushi, I wandered back to the hotel in hopes that we would be checked into our rooms shortly. My friend from 7 years back was on her way to visit me at the hotel and I was hoping we wouldn’t have to visit in the lobby, but in the privacy of a hotel room. I got back just in time to pick up my luggage, room key, and I found my room. I got lucky and did not share a room with anybody else. In overnight trips, one may be expected to share with the kids, a chaperone, or be placed in an individual room. My room had a king size (very comfortable) bed, a mahogany desk, and a beautiful HD 30+ inch flat screen TV. (Yes!!! High-life here I come!!!) My friend made it and we visited and reminisced, then she left and I went in search of the pool and dinner. I discovered the pool was nothing more than a 3-foot deep puddle approximately the size of a 20 by 10 foot bedroom. Having nixed the pool idea, I ate dinner in the hotel lobby after contemplating whether or not to order room service. I slept on the most comfortable bed known to man!

The next day, I had to leave the high-life of a custom made omelet and retrieve the bus from the cold parking garage. Not wanting a repeat performance of yesterday’s parking garage fiasco, I inquired at the front desk about a shuttle to the lower parking garage. They graciously obliged and I retrieved the bus after a short panic worrying if it had been towed. We then toured around town and saw some of the historical sites. We went to the mall where we had a close call with a motorist (I can’t say much here for fear of being identified), and then drove down “frat house lane” on the college campus before we headed back to town. On the way back, we got stuck behind “Pokey Pappy” (the traditional old guy in a truck that refuses to speed or go the speed limit) for a while, but eventually made it back in one piece.

My next adventure takes me on a personal trip to Indiana where I have to testify in a court case Dec 1-3. Be watching for updates regarding that adventure.

Adventured Out!

The Bus Driver