'Twas the Night Before...

In a post from this time last year, I observed my colleagues closely to find the Ten Most Annoying. This year, as I sat in my first staff meeting at my new school, I was reminded of that list. It seems that no matter where we go, these annoying people show up. I thoroughly enjoyed watching my new colleagues roll their eyes at the Clarifying Questioner and others. I actually sat next to a "Shusher," who, when I made a joke about the quality of the presentation, shushed me as she hung on every word of the presenter. I swear she looked a lot like the "Shusher," at my last school.
One interesting thing I have noticed here in Connecticut is that many of my colleagues looked weathered. Now, many of them are a bit older than my young self, but I'm not sure what to attribute this to. Is it the 90 degree summers followed by the 20 degree winters? Is it the school environment? Kind of like when Bill Clinton went into office looking young, fresh and, well, fresh, but came out looking old, dated, and haggard?
I finally received my class list, at around 5:30 pm. Reading over the list made me nervous. Not because I have to teach, but because I have to pronounce their names. This school has a large Hispanic population and some of their names are difficult for me to pronounce clearly. This would frustrate Senora Mosely who taugth me Spanish in high school. Maybe I should just start class by saying, "Hello, my name is Mr. McNamar--a name you will pronounce incorrectly most of the year,--please forgive me for being a silly Gringo who can't pronounce your names."
And to my buddy Stence, I'm sorry this isn't that funny. I had promised him it would be funny, but now that I am done typing this post, I realize that I don't have any funny stories to tell, yet. Plus, there is something about telling school stories to your fellow battery mates in person. Oh, wait, I do have one funny story for him: as I write this, the Yankees are losing 16-0--Go Sox!