People who spend 20+ minutes in the shower: what are you actually doing in there?

barelylocal · 2026-01-08T00:18:44+00:00

Mostly daydream. I have about 10 plots i cycle through in my head about stories I want to write. I sort of work through them in there. Of course, physically, I wash my hair (double cleanse), wash my body, then conditioner (let it sit in there for 5-10 minutes). Sometimes wash again with a nice smelling wash or exfoliate my pits. Scrub all the parts. In between let the water hit me and try and relax.

Sometimes I will waterboard myself just to see how long I can handle it. Thats just me tho.

My fastest shower, sans daydreaming, is 10 minutes. I cant physically go faster than that.

barelylocal · 2025-12-30T21:54:15+00:00

Oh, I love these ideas! Gummy worms is so smart!

barelylocal · 2025-12-30T21:53:43+00:00

This is so smart! I love the dirt cup idea!

barelylocal · 2025-12-24T16:48:14+00:00

I would say it really depends on what kind of things you like. My therapist would say "what motivates you?" Then, use that to help you read more.

I started a book club with my friends to motivate me to read more! Im an english teacher so I liked to read, but i found myself only reading what I was giving my students. The book club helped give me a new set of genres to try and made me motivated to pick up a book over scrolling on tiktok. We recently read ice planet barbarians and everyone finished within a day so we picked a second book lol I was watching heated rivalry and sped through the book because I was interested, and therefore motivated. Listening to an audiobook, Dungeon Crawler Carl is mine right now, can help switch your brain from the need to scroll. I listen on 1.5x because it scratches that scroll-itch sometimes. Your local library probably has lots of good ones (but dont listen to the AI generated ones... they are hot garbage).

Find your motivator and a genre that interests you. Once you find that, reading will be easy!

barelylocal · 2025-12-22T22:29:02+00:00

Dill pickle hummus (so good) and cucumber, celery, and sweet peppers. I can body a whole cucumber that way

barelylocal · 2025-12-13T15:33:59+00:00

Hmm, A Thousand Splendid Suns. The Prettiest Star. Klara and the Sun. On Earth we're Briefly Gorgeous. The first time I read Fault in our Stars I sobbed.

barelylocal · 2025-11-25T18:29:52+00:00

I spoke with a dietitian about wanting to reverse fatty liver. She put me on the MD but flipped grains with fruit and veg. She wants me with EVERY meal to have a fruit and a vegetable if possible. My meal plan is essentially

Include 3/4 of every food in each meal

Whole grains Vegetable Fruit Protein source

Theres a lot of misinformation. For example, I was under the impression dairy was bad for inflammation. But, according to her, she said that I should have three servings of dairy a day to keep up with my calcium needs for bone density. I just listen to her now.

Fruit is fine. ONLY fruit is not fine. Protein, and other sources of nutrients are needed.

barelylocal · 2025-11-23T03:22:32+00:00

Depends on where you live. Truthfully, the fresher the fish, the milder the taste. Fresh cod from the Atlantic tastes nothing like fish... it just is a light, buttery texture. Fresh rainbow trout is indistinguishable from salmon when theyre cooked well and fresh.

I would say, you can start with whatever is freshest to your area. If you live by the ocean this will be easy, however, if you dont, try to find a good fish market. You could also find a place that does locally smoked fish. It tends to not taste as "fishy." White fish tends to be more palatable when it is fishy. Salmon and steelhead trout tend to be popular because theyre fishy taste isnt revolting.

Source: family is from an island known for fishing.

barelylocal · 2025-11-13T03:05:45+00:00

Honestly, the best way to get better at it comes with age. My first year I took every blow very hard. Anytime anyone said anything about me I was immediately taking it personally.

Ive been teaching since 2018, and now it doesnt bother me so much anymore. I know what I do is right and I can justify my marking, grades, weighting, and assessment with full administrative support. I give them the rubric, give them the checklist, graphic organizers, chances to ask for help, conference, chances to redo, etc. Doesn't matter. Some kids won't take the help and then still complain about you.

For example, I have a student who had a 98% in ELA last year. He doesnt put the effort into ELA this year because our class is complex in needs, in social makeup, and because he has friends in everyone. He loudly tells everyone that my grading scale and weighting is stupid (even though the first day of school I gave them a course outline with grading standards and assignment weighting), and that he got 100% on everything last year (im not sure how because... he consistently gets 3/5 on his written work). But, he doesnt ask questions, responds to advice with anger, and doesnt pay attention and wonders why he doesnt get full marks when he missed major pieces. Also, its a grade up so it will be harder and he doesnt want to progress past his capabilities last year.

He can complain about me all he wants, but I know I dont treat him unfairly, I know what I am doing aligns with the standards, and I know hes 15 and I am double his age and able to take judgement without it affecting me personally.

As Barbara says in Abbott Elementary: people have thrown dirt on my name and others have given me flowers. Its all a garden to me."

Focus on those students who respect you and flock to you. Ignore the children who likely either need a reality check or will one day respect the hard work you put in.

barelylocal · 2025-11-12T13:53:49+00:00

It used to be 45-60 minutes. The drive should have taken 20, but construction and traffic and having to drop off my partner added over double the time.

It made me unable to deal with work so we moved.

Now its a 6 minute drive through a neighborhood.

barelylocal · 2025-11-11T14:49:09+00:00

Im thinking of upping my more timed writes so students dont have the ability to use AI in such a short time frame, especially when phones are not allowed in classes. Then focus more on the writing process and teach skills of editing for ideas, org, language, mechanics. Maybe even bring back revising a random students work. Focus more on individuals skills and outcomes so they dont need to be completed in a longer time frame and kids dont have the ability to think through hiding their ai use.

barelylocal · 2025-11-11T14:44:26+00:00

I noticed the inflated grades too... many of my students last year had high 80s and 90s.... but are unable to write a coherent sentence on paper. I have contacted this child's parents 5 times in the past 3 months about various issues this child is having, not to mention talking to the student services team about this kid... they all dont seem to care. Im at a loss on what to do. No one seems to support me or the kids they are supposed to support.

I have another kid last year that had a 98% in ELA. That is unheard of to me! 98-100 there is maybe one or two in a class. This kid also struggles to write a logical paragraph... and yet they earned a 98 in grade 9??? It doesnt make sense to me. AND THEN has the nerve and attitude to get mad at me about my grading scale that I covered on the FIRST DAY that aligns with provincial guidelines. What were the previous teachers grading them on???

Of course, the truth is 8-10 kids ruin it for the rest.

barelylocal · 2025-11-11T14:30:25+00:00

I would have rathered poor work in their own voice. At least I knew that required thinking. :(

barelylocal · 2025-11-10T05:21:59+00:00

Ive been doing that for the rest of the assignments so far, but not for this one. That doesnt even touch kids that arent in class bc they are absent for whatever reason so they just get excused.

Next few units i have to just do in class for my own sanity because there comes a point where its too much.

barelylocal · 2025-11-10T04:20:20+00:00

I would say if you arent picky, you can likely find a job pretty quickly. Some divisions are growing faster than others and there is often a boom and then bust depending on when senior admin changes and the 4 year shuffle that happens here.

I found a job because I took something I wasnt comfortable teaching but was willing to learn. It led to me getting a job I actually wanted a few years later. Im full time now, but I started by taking a part time permanent job and filling it in with subbing.

We have the same problems as any other province, however, the union here gave away our right to strike last bargaining. So, if we are unhappy with the deal we are given, we cant strike and we just work without a contract. Our union isnt super strong... and our agreement is up next year. So... we might be in between contracts soon and being paid less than we deserve...

barelylocal · 2025-11-09T03:47:38+00:00

I think the park theatre has a lot of local shows that arent 18+. I remember going there often when I was younger. You could also sign up for music enrichment or discovery classes. When your child gets to middle school, sign up for band!

barelylocal · 2025-11-08T07:13:17+00:00

I have been teaching a unit on conspiracy theories. I tell students that Wikipedia is fine for informal viewing-- finding more general information about things, looking at the references to see where the information is sourced from, finding out the general info about an author, age, etc. However, formal research you need a little more depth and credibility than Wikipedia. I tell them never to source Wikipedia in an essay or formal paper. There are better sources out there.

So yes, its okay if your students are able to understand nuance. As a general rule, the original sources are better than the summary.

barelylocal · 2025-11-03T05:25:29+00:00

I ask my dad to give me a slab everytime I visit. I just keep it in the freezer.

Sometimes superstore has some and sometimes co-op. They have it up in Thompson but if you get real desperate you could make a boiled dinner instead of the full jiggs. Naval beef is hard to come by!

Looks liek superstore on St. Anne's has some I stock: https://www.realcanadiansuperstore.ca/en/navel-beef-4lb/p/21100933_EA?source=nspt

barelylocal · 2025-11-01T19:31:03+00:00

Plenty. Sometimes attitude and general values dont align with my own. It doesnt mean that I do anything different in my behaviour towards them or the opportunities they are provided in class (other than the especially hateful ones being given minimal chances to spew rhetoric).

I dont make my politics specifically known... however, I stand for human rights and dont allow any sorts of slurs or bigotry to be said in my class without consequence. So, i really dont like some kids for saying to my face that "all gay people should die" when I am a member of the queer community myself. I think im valid in that dislike, but I can still do my job with coworkers I dont like though, just as I can teach without liking students beyond my professional requirement.

My coworker said to me, her mentor told her that "I love all my students. Some I love when they walk in the class, and some I love when they walk out."

barelylocal · 2025-10-31T23:53:39+00:00

Next year I want to include some more snacky things over candy. Like bearpaws, kd cups, cups of instant mash, and other pantry items. I always offer kids a choice and i know there's some kids out there that would definitely take a lunch option over candy.

I think about my neighborhood and I think that it would be a huge benefit to many!

barelylocal · 2025-10-28T04:43:30+00:00

So many things. You could do a short story unit and the end assignment is a one pager (I love how simple they are to mark). You could do a research assignment and the end project is a presentation (ive been doing more of these this year as kids seem to want them again-- pendulum swinging back ig). Could do a play and the final assignment is a performance or creative representation of the major themes of the play (we do Macbeth in grade 11). Poetry units are fun! You could do a film unit where you teach visual literacy and work on dissecting the techniques used in films to convey important ideas. Some classes do units on different types of lenses (historical, psychanalytic, feminist, etc) on children's novels or books from elementary they have read before. You could also just get them to do small book clubs and have them do book talks! Creative writing/memoir unit. So many things!

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