This week I just have to let you all know that I have a new appreciation for a certain segment of society and it's all due to my video series.
I know you are at the edge of your seats awaiting this revelation so here goes. I will try my best to explain this thoroughly.
Hats off to school teachers across the land! I'm not just saying that due to Mrs. Price and Mr. Kirkpatrick who read this blather weekly. I will now gently, yet effectively, ease into another paragraph and explain until you reach for the sedative bottle.
As many of you know, I have a goofy little video series on YouTube. I call it Lounging with Lisa, the video series that has me lounging, while coming at you with thoughts of the day. Oh goodness me, I am so used to saying that all together that I automatically wrote the whole thing out. It's really just “Lounging with Lisa.”
I make a few short videos throughout the day and then I go live on the weekends. The reason why I keep the videos short is because I have found that many here in this country have been more or less groomed for “bumper sticker sentiments.” In other words, something short and to the point, which is NOT my strong suit. You may have gathered that over the years, by the by.
When I do the live gigs I often play games with my subscribers, which is super fun and it keeps our minds off of the hideous political scene, etc.
This is where the praise for the teachers comes into play. I have discovered that people do NOT listen, nor do they pay attention. OMZ (oh my Zeus), it is really out of control and I have no idea how you all dealt with this jazz over the years.
I will now illustrate my point to the fullest of my ability. Remember when I used a game from a recent “show” for my column? I think it was two weeks ago or something. It was a list of quotes and the reader was to guess who said it. Clearly I did this live as well and I had it all planned out for group participation, of course.
A “chatter” was to pick a number between 1 and 30, I think it was 30—anyhow, then I would read the quote and give that person first dibs on answering it before I opened it up to the rest of the chat room participants.
So far that sounds fairly straight forward, right? WRONG! Person A picked a number, I read the quote AFTER explaining in full the total instructions and wouldn't you know, Person F jumped right in and answered it. This happened many times, by the by.
I found myself constantly imparting the rules to those who had been there from the get-go. Clearly I understood those who were late to the game not being fully aware of the situation. (I'm not a total tyrant and do allow for these things. I'm only a partial tyrant.)
The next thing was how my voice was actually giving out on me due to my having to speak louder than usual. I was trying to regain control of the room and also give the directions over and over and over and over again. (As you may imagine, my loss of voice is almost like a person losing vision or something serious like that. I am nothing if not a bloviating type person so this was quite severe for me. Is this a digression? I hope so.)
Another situation unfolded which had me actually lecturing the players. This was because I would LITERALLY say something like: “OK Person C, pick a number between 1 and 30 EXCLUDING numbers 7 and 10. I think you can imagine what happened directly after that. Person C said, “OK I pick number 7.” It was at that point when I realized how horrid I was in school and how I probably drove all teachers in my path to dash madly to the teacher's lounge and take a shot of whiskey.
This happened several times during the game. Now, let me be perfectly crystal clear as there were many who totally paid attention and did not have to be lectured by a chubby woman on her porch barking orders out live on YouTube. Whew!! How as that for a description?
Also I feel for those of you who have toiled over lesson plans. I find myself prepping for quite some time prior to the show so that things can run smoothly. So when people are not at full attention I tend to become upset. I know you can relate to this.
I also try to give the class—I mean the participants several breaks throughout the gig. I will get up myself and seize more coffee etc., thereby allowing the students—I mean chatters, some time to simply banter about in my absence.
I have now developed a way to get my stern lecture across to all in my path but with a loving and tender smile upon my face. When I play back the video I see how fake this looks but I must do what I can to provide a good experience for my pupils.
At any rate, I think that really covers it for the week. I don't have any cute way to end this and tie it all up with a neat bow. I salute all teachers who have to do this daily rather than just for an hour on the weekends. I don't know how you manage but perhaps that whiskey comes into play? Hmm.
THE END (Interstate Crosscheck – AIPAC – Geoengineering)