Thank you insomnia...

Today I made the big jump and ordered an iPad 2.  I have somewhat coveted the iPad since it's initial release last year, but I kept telling myself I need to wait before I buy one.  In hindsight, I'm glad I got the second generation because it seems to have fixed a lot of the (minor) issues that the first release had.

I had a track meet last night, which tends to destroy my energy levels, so I humored the idea of waiting until my off period to order my iPad...I had to hope they didn't sell out of their initial order.  I ended up not being able to sleep very well last night, so around 3 am cst I made my order for an iPad 2 and a gray smart cover for it.  When I ordered it last night, Apple told me that it would ship in 5-8 days...as I type this right now it would ship in 2-3 weeks, so thank you insomnia.

If you were to ask me why I'm ordering an iPad I could give you only a partial answer:

• I ordered the wireless (without 3G) model to function like a laptop
• I think they're an awesome piece of technology
• I see some uses for it in my classroom next year possibly

None of those reasons really seems like a good reason to spend $500 on an iPad.  In reality though I spent a little over $100 on it because I recycled 2 old computers of mine through Apple's recycling program.  I'm also expecting to find new uses for the technology once I get it in my hands.  Hopefully, I'll be posting a number of ways I use my iPad when it comes in later next week.

Too much time?

I've lived in the Dallas area for the vast majority of my life and never have I seen so much snow and ice in my life.  This is the third day in a row that most of the school districts in the area are completely closed for the day.  Because Coppell ISD is one of these, I've had a lot of time to sit on the couch and think about the world for way too long, and here are some thoughts, ideas, and things I've gotten done these past few days:

1. Time off shows how much you love something.  When you read any number of social networking sites, you can see which teachers and students really do love school.  I can't count how many people keep talking about how much they miss school and really wish the weather would clear up quicker.  There are also a fair number of people spouting how much they are happy there isn't any school and how they wish the snow and ice would stay for a long time.  It's just funny to me how an abundance of time will show you people's true feelings about life.
2. The irony of this blog.  This blog, in case you haven't noticed already, is called "The Horner House".  If you don't know Haley and me, we don't currently own a "home"...we rent an apartment. We took steps during the break to move from apartment to home living.  We've been waiting for approval from the seller's bank to move forward and that came during the past couple of days.  Hopefully the rest of the home buying process will move along as quickly.
3. Bills, bills, bills.  I hate paying the bills.  I really hate the fact that after a long day at work I have to come home and calculate out how much I owe some company for the amenities of living.  We've done a good job of limiting our spending, but it's a pain that will never really go away.  I've taken a little bit of time to get current on some of our bigger bills and make sure we're budgeting for them.  The best part is that there's no headache!
4. I'm not a tech-savvy as I like to think I am.  One of the major uses of my time this week has been discovering new websites and new blogs to read about.  There are some people on this earth that are way more knowledgeable about technology and the internet.  I've sat at their feet the past few days and have come up with a few minor changes that I'm making to make my life a little bit easier on the whole.  

That's how I've spent my last few days at home, trapped by the snow.  It may sound boring, but this list combined with good programming on cable TV has made this enjoyable as can be.