Embarrassing Moments

Here is something I wanted to write about previously, but forgot. A couple of weeks ago, I was at a school focus group meeting. We got into little groups to discuss our school's accreditation. Anyways, I was voted secretary, which I always love (please note the sarcasm). I was busy writing down everyone's thoughts, when another person joined our group. I didn't have time to look up, and I figured it was just another teacher. At one point, I had to spell the word "achievement." Okay, so what's the problem? For some reason, this word bugs me. I always think that it's spelled "ei" instead of "ie". I think it's an exception or something. So I took a second and said, "Wait. This word always bugs me." This teacher said, "I before E, except after C," and I told him I knew the rule, but that I thought this was an exception. People were staring at me like I was an idiot, so I just went to write down the damned word. Except, before I wrote the word, I looked at the new addition to our group. It was our school's new Assistant Principal. Aargh. Now he thinks I'm an idiot. Why couldn't I have looked up sooner? Why couldn't I have known how to spell the word "achievement"? Why couldn't I have just written it whichever way without asking first???

Unfortunately, things only got worse as the meeting progressed. At another point, while frantically scribbling down comments, my friend mentioned something as being a continuum. I didn't get what she said, so I asked, "continuum?" The teacher across from me said, "C-O-N-T-I-N-U-U-M. That's how you spell it." I almost DIED!!! Aaah! I wasn't asking how to spell it! I just wanted to know what she was referring to! So now the whole group thinks I'm even more of a moron, and the AP is sitting there wondering how I got hired as an English teacher in the first place. Geez!!! I quickly said, "No, I don't want to know how to spell it, I want to know what is a continuum." What awful phrasing!! So the same teacher says, "A continuum is when you have...blah blah blah." I almost committed suicide right there. I quickly blurted out, "No! I know what a continuum is, I just wanted to know what's a continuum!" What the hell is wrong with me? Why couldn't I just say, "Excuse me, you mentioned a continuum, but I missed what you were referring to"??? Instead, I just kept asking WHAT was a continuum!!! Not what was a continuum. The teacher, again, defined the word for me. *sigh* I had a small fit, people looked at me weird, and then seemed to give up. They turned away from me and began talking about something else. I finally turned to my friend (the one who was initially talking about a continuum) and asked her my question. She answered.

Needless to say, I'm waiting to get fired.....