My First Book Signing

Hi everyone!  I am very happy to say that I am doing my very first book signing at the Brower Bagel  in Oceanside, NY. On December 20  from 2:00-4:00.  If you have been reading my blogs and are not too far away, I would very much like to meet you.  Grab a bagel and a book.  You can't go wrong.
Brower Bagel
2816 Brower Avenue

I'm On Tour! Enter To Win A Copy Of My Book!

Book Tour

Hi everyone:

Good News! The day is finally here. My book tour begins today. Please complete a raffle through BK book tour and win a chance to get a free e-book of Ignition: AN Educator's Journey. Good luck everyone!

Join me for my next tour on December 3rd, click here

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Academia promotes Gangs & Bad Behavior

Is it possible that all this academic, common core pressure actually instills negative behavior in children. I think that depends on the child's home life. Many of my students do not come from a stable home. Their parents are definitely not involved. Some of my students are crack babies. When I am teaching them, they will act up by talking to their friends, making sounds, and do anything to get attention and not have to work. I started to think today on my ride home that these children should not have to endure and deal with the common core standards. Academics is not for everyone. There are definitely some students that need to be challenged academically and would never disagree to that. However, the children I am thinking of would benefit from learning a trade instead. If a student is in to cars, their classes should focus on the auto industry instead. They should still have some academics too, but based on the industry that they are interested in. I guarantee you that children would behave. Students may actually be excited to go to school. The gang rate might decrease as students would not feel the need to belong to a group. They already belong to the class where they are learning what they enjoy in their comfort zone. Stress would decrease as tests would not be administered in the same manner. I think society would be better as a whole.

RIP Robin Williams

The news shocked me last night as it did to many. Robin Williams dead by suicide. I could not believe it. He happened to be one of my favorite comedians. He had the look of a sincere, sweet man. I can't imagine what was going on in his head before he decided to take his life. I have a friend whom I admire in the sense that she keeps going on and on with her life. Every year, something horrific happens to her. It is like she has a black cloud on her or even a hex. I can only hope that hex dissipates and this person finally has good luck that she deserves. However, I admire their strength that they do not give up. Many times I have felt the need to give up, but would not take my life. Maybe travel to a deserted island away from it all or a tropical garden filled with its natural bliss. However, I cannot understand why Mr. Williams would do that to himself and quite frankly, it bothers me a bit. I would have loved to trade places and be the talented actor and he could be the teacher/author. I feel sorry that he did not have the will or need to hang in there and be as strong as my friend. I find humanity to be strange, upsetting, and yet beautiful at the same time. When something upsets me I need to blog about it, and this tragedy is one I needed to blog about. RIP Mr. Williams.

Car Shark!!!

How many of you have watched the 1975 hit movie, "Jaws?" Visualize that you hear the music, "Du, duh, duh ,du, dadada." Any minute a shark may come to you and devour your flesh. However, in my life I am not in the ocean, but rather a car dealership and the shark is the salesman. He is not trying to devour my flesh, but rather my bank account. Since a moron decided to drive another car into my car that was parked at the time, I have been searching for a car. I find it very frustrating taking the fun out of my summer. A few years ago, it was much easier to negotiate with dealers, but now they could care less if you leave and don't take the deal or if you stay. I left many shops recently when their deals were astronomical. Do you think the salesman cried into a tissue when I left their store? Absolutely not! Car dealers are indeed ruthless sharks! If you are a dealer reading my blog, I don't mean to offend you. However, one thing about me is that I say it like it is. I know that I could never be a car salesman, nor would I want to. I understand that everyone has to make a living. However, does a car dealer have to treat their customers like a guppy? Food for thought :)

Suffering from Writer's Block

I have been lately suffering from writer's block. I have not had the desire to write so therefore have not blogged in a while. I took a course on the Holocaust last week in order to help me with my next novel. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances was not able to complete the course. I love and enjoy writing, but lately have not found time to write. Since I may have a little case of writer's block, I wrote a 4 line rhyming piece. If you are a writer or enjoy writing you may be able to relate to what I wrote.
Writer's block controls my mind
When it consumes me, the words are hard to find.
Then I feel dense;
When the words that come to me do not make sense.


How many of you have suffered from writer's block?
People may have suffered from this when they have to write a term paper for school.
However if I analyze myself, I may not be suffering from writer's block, but rather time.
I guess I suffer from lack of time. Now that I have done this self-reflection, I know I have to make time to write. I will try my best to blog at least once a week.

A New Perspective

For those of you who read my blog the previous day, my apologies. The politics behind education affected me in a bad way. The new evaluation system reminds me of a Nazi regime. I dealt with a lot this week and felt quite stressed. I think the expectations for teachers and students are unrealistic. Everyone is not created equal. There are some students who struggle and should not be held to the same expectations as everyone else. Teachers that work with special needs should also be evaluated on a different scale. The world of education is becoming a business more than an institution for learning which utterly disgusts me. In my time, we learned and had fun learning without these enormous expectations. I can honestly say that I am thankful that I am not a child attending school. I also cannot remember any of my teachers ever being observed. When administrators walk into a room, the room turns into freezing cold temperatures as the tension builds up leaving a feeling of uncomfortability in the air. Teachers teach differently, paraprofessionals are on edge, and students are nervous. If the "powers that be" are doing all of this to help the students as well as assist teachers to teach efficiently, in reality it is actually hurting us instead. I don't know what this world is coming to, but I will say that students today seem to run the asylum. I guess all this academic rigor is too much for them causing them to act up. When I was a student, I don't remember fights ever breaking out. Kids were not as angry, and most important, kids were kids. Teachers were teachers and had the power to educate their students the way they wanted. They did not have "vultures" looking over their shoulder every second. However, I will say not all administrators are vultures, but when they do come into a room the clarity of their visit fills the air with horrific trepidation that one cannot escape. Shame, shame, shame on the "powers that be!"

Troubled

This week I am feeling quite perplexed. I consider myself to be a pessimist. I wish that I wasn't, but one cannot change whom they're. I had a lot going on this week. My anxiety escalated that caused myself to go through a psychosis of trepidation. I interpret things very negatively and feel if something did not go well, it probably didn't. My family and friends lecture me that I cannot make predictions. However, lately I have been worse about believing negatively. I don't know why, but I do know that I have to try to be more positive, and hope for the best. Therefore, when I write it is like my very own therapy. Based on my recent anxiety, I wrote a poem which I would like your feedback.

Anxiety has taken over my inner being
It has taken over my very own soul
A monster lives within me
Taking over my thought process negatively
A strong person listens to the monster
Combats it with its own positive, wise voice
I must believe in me and that should set me free!

Teaching is Demeaning!

If you were to think of a profession that can be insulting, what would it be? Thanks to the new rating system, teachers definitely fit into this category. Teachers used to be rated by getting an E for excellence, S for satisfactory, or a u for unsatisfactory. It was not the best way to rate teachers. However, it was much better than it is now. The powers that be (I call them Lucifer) decided on a new plan. If you are a teacher or have a child that attends school, you know that your child gets his/her score based on a rubric generally scored from a level 1 (being low) to a 4 (high score). Today, they decided to rate teachers on the same scale of 1-4. Teachers are being equated as to how children are scored which is very demeaning. They are also being evaluated by surprise visits from assistant principals/principals. If you have a lesson prepared that you must do because it is part of the curriculum, but you don't feel strong or comfortable teaching it, then hold your breath. Prepare to score a 1. Teachers tend to get bad names from silly movies such as, "Bad Teacher." Unfortunately, they now made this into a TV show which I am sure is disgraceful. The new system puts pressure on teachers causing them to have an overabundance of stress which leads some to illness. Instead of nitpicking and analyzing teachers constantly, think of ways as a whole in order to appreciate teachers and take away some of the rigor and expectations from children. Remember, they are children and deserve to be until they reach adulthood. When teachers and staff feel appreciated, it motivates them to perform effectively. Don't treat teachers like children, but rather educators that were hired to help our future generations.

April 8, 2014
Dear Diary,

This may appear to be one of my strangest blogs by far. However, I am letting you in on my life tonight and I want to share with you a very emotional moment. Tonight, I am pretending that you are my diary and you are part of my deepest secrets, emotions, and inner being.
Tonight I went to my friend's wake. If you are reading this and you are young, you are probably thinking that I am elderly and my friend is in her seventies. However, I am young and my friend was only forty. Mastocytosis is what caused her demise as I have blogged about before. I never heard of this malicious, evil disease before her. At the wake, I saw beautiful photos her family displayed from her past. I looked at pictures of her from her childhood. She was an adorable girl. She also made a beautiful bridesmaid at her brother's wedding. I was able to see how the disease was able to cause her to look deteriorated. When I came home, I decided to go on Facebook and look her up. To my surprise, I found an old email she wrote me wishing my dog, Lucky a happy belated birthday. This put a tear and smile on my face as it showed me how selfless she really was. As sick as she was, she was kind enough to think of my dog. I know that she is no longer in pain, but hope that she is truly happy in a wonderful place as she deserves. Thank you diary for letting me vent my emotions.

PS As you can guess I am not attaching any videos or pictures as usual as you would not see that in a diary entry.

Farewell To A Dear Friend

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my friend who was not doing too well in the hospital. She suffers from a horrid disease called, Mastocytosis. I wrote a previous blog about the disease as it is not too common. Unfortunately, my friend passed on last night. We all have guilt when someone dies. I feel bad that just this year, at my birthday, I did not really spend as much time with her as I would have liked. If you go in a large group, you generally hang out or gravitate toward two or three close friends and forget about the rest, which is not right, but it is a fact. At least, that is the way it is for me. Unfortunately, I can't say that I was truly close with her. I am thankful for the time we shared together. We once traveled with another close friend of mine to Texas. We went for vacation purposes and visited the Alamo. However, my tummy did not do too well in Texas so it was not the most memorable time for me. Two summers ago, my friend and I decided to have plans and go to a movie,. It would just be the two of us which is a first because we never hung out one on one before. It was always with a group. However, I cold honestly say that we both opened up to each other about many things. She opened up to me about her disease and that is when she had asked me to blog about it in hopes of educating others. I am truly thankful for the day that I was able to spend with her. In honor of my friend I am going to write a simple poem.

She is now an angel in heaven's sky
Did not have time to say goodbye
Inflicted with a rare disease since birth
Did not have too much time to spend on earth
She is no longer in pain and has been set free
Flying on her angelic wings, but taken too early.

Is change a good thing or a bad thing?

Some people like change. "Out with the old in with the new," is a common expression used. We can associate change with "Spring cleaning;" a term used when it is time to throw away the old and make room for new things. I, personally hate change. I like keeping old things and I guess Freud would consider me anal. Tonight, my husband updated my iPad and I was livid. I was upset because everything looks different. I detest that because I was quite comfortable the way things were. In terms of my writing, I don't mind change. For example, my novella, Ignition: An Educator's Journey changed dramatically from the original way I wrote it. It was originally written from a third person's point of view. This then changed to a first person's point of view, my main character, Karen Woolsworth. Later, I was told to add much dialogue so that the reader can fully be part of the characters' conversations. This kind of change, I did not mind. I rather enjoyed making all the changes as I knew it would better my book. However, it's the nitty gritty changes that involve updates on an iPad, cell phone, computer, cable service that I become uncomfortable with. I guess change can be good, but you have to want that change to take place. It can also be horrifying as well. For example, changing a job or moving to a new land. What do you feel about change? Is it time for you to do some spring cleaning in your life?

Marketing Yourself Is Not An Easy Task!

It is very hard for me to market myself. In the past when I first started blogging, I used to send my blog to celebrities. Naturally, I never heard a response. However, I secretively hoped that they read my blog. One time while getting my nails done, I mentioned my book to someone while we were drying our nails. She sounded interested, but you never know. It is very difficult for me to be aggressive and push my book. My husband has no problem promoting my book. In fact, he actually got positive feedback from someone he met on a train one day. The man he met purchased the book in front of my husband on his kindle. I deposited my first check from my book for one whole dollar. Yes it was only $1.00. Authors do not make much at all. We do it for the pleasure of writing; imagine that. Anyway, while depositing my check I decided to advertise myself to the bank teller. She wished me congrats but didn't really question me about my book too much. I did not have that salesman approach and let it go. I am a little lost for words and do not have any idea what to do in order to advertise myself. I do believe in my novella, Ignition: An Educator's Journey. However, my inner self prohibits me from advertising myself in a boastful manner. Any suggestions???

Superhero Day

Today at my school, we celebrated Superhero day where students and teachers dress up as their favorite superhero. In order to be part of the school spirit, I decided to dress up. Besides I thought it could be fun. I wore a blue and red cape that draped my back giving me that "super" look. Today, I ordered lunch with a few friends and we were talking while eating. Then it happened. A woman eating with us started to choke. It went down the wrong way and she started turning red and a touch of purple. Everyone surrounded her and tried to help her. I screamed out, "she needs a drink." I ran to get her drink,leaping over desks and chairs in a single bound. She was able to sip it slowly and was healed. The irony of this day. I was a superhero, at least for the moment. Was it me or was it the cape?

Ignition Trailer

When Your Novella Comes To Life.

I recently published my novella titled, Ignition. The genre for Ignition is realistic fiction. This novella depicts a typical school with challenging students. Today, I am in awe to say that my novella came to life. For example, I had to cover a class in the safe-house. The safe-house is a place where students go when they have broken a rule. For example, getting into a fight, cursing out a teacher, doing something either offensive or naughty. One girl in the room refused to do her work and called me feisty when I told her to do her work. Then she addressed me as her "homegirl." She reminded me so much of my character, Leslie from my book. If I were to create a movie based on Ignition, she would have definitely landed the role as Leslie(a troubled teen who gets into trouble physically, emotionally with the dangerous student, Kevin Connelly.) Later that period, we heard yelling in the corridor outside the safe-house. This girl commented, "Oh well, someone is getting raped." I was appalled by this comment and knew that even my character, Leslie would probably not joke about rape. I felt sad for this girl who took such a horrific word so lightly. Rape is nothing to joke about especially for a young lady to do.
Anyway, I did want to share with you what a typical day can be like for a teacher in a school. As you can see, it is calming and tranquil filled with delightful, caring children that embrace the world with kindness and sincerity. One can hope!

What is a true celebrity?

I ask myself a question, what is a true celebrity? Today the world views celebrities differently than they did years ago. Celebrities used to be viewed as classy, sophisticated, and glamorous. In order to be a celebrity, you had to be in the movies. Today, you just have to cause controversy or be on a reality show in order to receive that title. I usually listen to the radio in the morning. They announce every day a different celebrity's birthday. Yesterday they announced that it was Joey Buttafuoco birthday. I do not nor would I ever consider him to be a celebrity. That made me feel disgusted. The radio talk show did announce his name in a derogatory way. However, why bring him up at all? I also cannot understand why the Kardashians are considered to be celebrities. Have they acted in a movie lately? I mean "really" act in a movie. The same goes for Paris Hilton. I do kind of like the nostalgia of the glitz and glamor associated with old fashioned "Hollywood." I miss that way of thinking. However, there are positive changes that takes place today and not years ago. Years ago, you had to look, act, or move a certain way. Today there are many talented people that are accepted and I appreciate that. However, I would not consider any "drama queen" or an "adulterer" to be a celebrity. It is an elite title and should be thought about before using it loosely. How does this make you feel?

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