Surviving

So, it has been almost two months since I've updated. Much has happened. The biggest thing is probably that I've started teaching full time. It's been a bit insane and I feel like I just survive from one day to the next. I truly would like to have a three day weekend because it would give me at least one day when I could truly be free of school. As it is, it is always on my mind in some shape or another. If I'm not just thinking about it, then I'm probably doing something related to it.

I wish I could say that I love it, or that I feel born to teach. At this point I'm not feeling it. I don't dislike it, but it is certainly frustrating. Friday I left with a horrible eye headache/pain and I am really hoping tomorrow doesn't end the same way. Anyhow, I need to finish grading some papers and all that fun stuff. Two weeks down.......

Books, Books, and Books : )

Okay, so I haven't done this before, and I'm not big on book plugs, but I'm just going to put it out there. You don't have to read this book! But if you do, you'll learn a few interesting bits of information and will have something to talk about at all those cocktail parties you attend.

Well, actually I've read two books that I'll mention as worth reading. The first is The Candy Bombers by Andrei Cherny. It is a in depth look that the Berlin Airlift and the individual (Gail "Hal" Halverson) who started the whole candy drop process. It was a very interesting read, and unlike most historical accounts that I've read it wasn't dry and boring or over the top. I'll admit that I did get a few of the individuals confused at first, but soon was able to remember the key characters. All in all, it was a very interesting read and I feel like I learned a lot about something that is only briefly mentioned in the history books that I read in school.

The second book is Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson. This book was also very interesting and easy to read. Although one should know the outcome of the book before reading it, it still reads a bit like a suspenseful novel. This makes it an enjoyable, easy read. Again, I learned some interesting facts that might prove useful for starting conversations at all those cocktail parties that I attend. For example, Booth was surrounded by 26 men, all armed, who really didn't know how to handle the situation. Do they shoot? Do they charge? Do they send one person in on a suicide mission to take the heat for the others? (Booth was heavily armed). Well, in the end the only person who had the balls to do anything and act, actually had no balls. Literally. He castrated himself in order to avoid being tempted by fallen women. Weird, no? Well they certainly don't write that in the history textbooks.

So I am now on my search for my next book to read. I will be reading 52 Loaves for my next book club meeting, but am also looking to read another non-fiction book that is loaded with all those little jewels of information that are fun to discover. I am certainly open to suggestions, and would welcome books of any genre or topic. So like I said, I'm not big on book plugs, but I figured it was worth saying that I would recommend either of these books to somebody looking for a book to read.

New Post, New Job, New Adventure

Well, I haven't been very good about updating on any sort of regular basis, but I figured I needed to at least mention that my job hunt has come to an end! I will be teaching middle school English. Wait? What?! Well, it WILL be and adventure, good or bad remains to be seen. Either way, I am looking forward to it.

Today I drove to their central office to be finger printed, turn my paperwork in, and have my id picture taken. The next step will be a more intensive orientation and more paperwork. I'm anxious about getting more information about the curriculum and about having the chance to set up my own classroom. Yay! Anyhow, it has been a long, productive day and I and exhausted.

Our Midwestern Tour

It has been a crazy couple of weeks/weekends for us. Kyle went home for a bachelor's party. The next weekend we went on the all church retreat, which was awesome. That was followed by a funeral in Florida. And this past weekend we were in Illinois for two weddings. It was wonderful to be able to see so many people, but exhausting. We also managed to squeeze in a a couple of baseball games. I've also had two job interviews in the past two weeks. I decided I would just post a couple of pictures of the various events. Unfortunately, the order of the pictures is a bit jumbled.


This was just before I started the ropes course during the church retreat.

This is the new bridge the built over the slough. It makes for a nice short cut. We were able to visit the campus before Joanna's wedding.

This is from the new back deck at Carlsson Hall. Kyle lived there as a sophomore, but it is now an academic building. His old room is now an office.

This was at Joanna's wedding. We had a great time catching up with friends from Augie.

We got a nice picture of some of the Augie people. Joanna showed up right after we took this picture, but I don't have a copy of that photo.

This was at Mark and Ilea's wedding....the day after Joanna's and back in the Chicago area. It was beautiful. However, the ceremony was outside and I managed to burn my shoulders.

At the reception.

Our first Nats game of the season. We went with the church and it rained. But we still had a great time.

Our seats for Strasburg's start. It was an awesome game. We went with some friends who had company tickets :)

On our drive to the the QCA for Jo's wedding we were treated to a real Midwestern storm. We had to pull over because visibility was so bad, not to mention that our car was shaking because of the wind. We didn't mind. Storms on the East coast are a bit wimpy.

This is part of the high ropes course on the retreat. Unfortunately the trees make it difficult to see the entire course. It was quite extensive and takes the average person about 45 minutes to complete.

This was Kyle walking across the swings. It was pretty far out, so it's a little fuzzy.

Round Number ?

Well, I am back at the beginning with the job search. I had one opportunity that was very promising, but ended up being given to another candidate. While it would have been nice to get the job, I'm okay with the fact that I didn't. It just means that I am back at square one with the job search. Which, given the fact that I started looking for a job over a year ago, is a bit disheartening. That being said, I've decided that if I don't find a teaching job after this hiring season, I am going to move on to other possibilities without much reservation. While I don't doubt that I would enjoy teaching, I don't feel it is the only thing that I can do and enjoy. Personally, some days I feel like teaching isn't really the best fit for me anyhow (although these days are usually days that I sub and have several horrid experiences). Kyle thinks that I'm not as interested in teaching because I'm feeling discouraged by not making any progress. There is probably a lot of truth to that. But at this point, I need to move on because after spending nearly three years at home all day I am going crazy. Plus, it would be nice to be able to pay more than just the minimum on my student loan payments.

Frustrations with the job search aside, there are several things that I am looking forward to this summer. First, Kyle and I have two weddings to attend. It will be nice to see some of our friends from college, since we haven't seen many of them since we graduated. We are also planning on taking some sort of vacation with family. At this point we haven't decided what or where or even when that will take place. Unfortunately, Kyle's vacation time will limit our ability to do both the lake and Hilton Head, so it might just have to be one or the other. Our third anniversary is also something that will be fun to celebrate, but since it falls during a weekday, I think we might try to celebrate it 4th of July weekend and get out of town. My 25th birthday is also this summer. Truthfully, my birthdays have been less than exciting ever since I left for college, because nobody is ever around to celebrate with me. Maybe this year I will plan a party or something. If nothing else it will be an excuse to have people over. The only problem is that since we don't have a patio we can't grill or go outside, which is less fun. After all that, hopefully the school year will start....this time with me as a teacher, which will be another celebration if it happens. Anyhow, this summer will bring some excitment that will be a nice break from routine.

What ever happened to chivalry?

Perhaps a better title would be that common courtesy is dying, but either way one gets the general idea. Yesterday I was coming home from doing some grocery shopping and was in the process of taking my groceries upstairs. If you have ever had to live in a high rise, then you understand this is not an easy task. It involves carrying as many bags as possible to minimize the number of trips one needs to make, plus opening several doors, one of which is probably a key card door, which requires maneuvering yet again and then hopefully getting to the elevator without dropping anything. Well, yesterday I managed to do all of that, only to get to the elevator and have a man look at me and say "I'm going down lady," and promptly hop in the elevator and push the close button. Really? I mean, he could have at least offered to hit the up button before heading down, one floor, to the basement....does anybody use the stairs anymore? And unfortunately, the word lady doesn't really have a connotation of respect. As much as being called Ma'am makes me feel old, at least it still feels respectful.

Now I realize that I am overgeneralizing. Most people offer to hold to door or will push the button on the elevator for you, but sometimes I just wonder what people are thinking. Anyhow, this is just one example of several experiences I've had of late that has just left me feeling irked.

May 1st marked the one year anniversary of my job search. Happy anniversary to me! While I'm not unemployed, I certainly am feeling worn down by the effort of looking for a job that is something I want to do. I do have a follow-up interview for an 8th grade Language Arts position. I will be going in to teach a lesson for the school this coming Monday. I'm excited that I've finally had some action in the job search, but am still apprehensive about how I feel about the position in general. Middle school wasn't were I saw myself teaching, but at the same time this is the only response I've had since last August.

I've been thinking a great deal about what my next move will be if I'm not offered this job. Lots of ideas about what I want to do in general. So I'm just going to see how this interview goes and then move on from there. In the meantime, I will wrap up my tutoring next week and continue to sub for the remainder of the school year.

Random Bits and Pieces

So nothing too crazy has happened of late, but I thought I would share some highlights.

Kyle has decided that there is a market for a cereal like product that would provide complete nutrition, aimed specifically at bachelors (or men like him, who don't cook if they are on their own for dinner). He wants to call it Man Chow, or Man Kibble. I told him he was nuts.

I still have not heard anything back from any of the schools I've sent my resumes to.

The Cherry Blossom Festival is in a couple of weeks and I am excited. Unlike the people who visit us might think, we rarely go downtown. In fact the last time we went down town was? Probably when somebody came to visit. Well, it is worth the trip (and the crowds of people) to go down town and see the flowers. Maybe this year we will grab something to eat while we are down there.

Church softball starts in April. Kyle is uber excited. I am less excited, but am looking forward to it.

I'm currently trying to decide if I want to start looking for jobs outside of the classroom now, or if I want to wait until July when the public school openings will be posted. The majority of my sub jobs have left me feeling less than inspired to become a teacher. I have a job lined up for the entire week after spring break. Maybe that will give me a better perspective.

There are some garden plots across the street from us, which can be rented. I called to get one this year but was too late. I'm currently on a waiting list, but have no idea what the likelihood of getting off the list is.

Kyle and I toured a condo that was for sale during an open house. It had two bedrooms and a garage for the low price of $450,000.

Tutoring is going well for the most part. Next week is spring break, so I won't see one of my students for 2 weeks. It will be a nice break. They live rather far away, so getting there and back takes a large chunk out of my evenings.

Well, that's it. Nothing too exciting, or really even noteworthy. I just needed something to do.

Still Looking

Yesterday I spent about 2 hours working on cover letters at the library. I went to the library because our place is still a mess and there are no tables with chairs to sit at, unless you count the coach and coffee table. Not ideal. Anyhow, the chaos of the apartment was not conducive to helping me concentrate. The library wasn't much better. All the tables and desks were filled, so I sat in an armchair. Oh well. I have a love/hate relationship with libraries. Studying or getting work done in them has never been easy for me, but I like to look at books. However, when you are struggling to write a half page cover letter, it doesn't help to be surrounded by people who are published. Or rather, their books.

Anyhow, the job search continues. Today I got an email back from a job I applied to two weeks ago saying that said "Although it sounds like you are enthusiastic and are off to a good start in your career, this year's applicant pool was very strong and we just have other applicants that are better matches for this position." In other words...get some experience first. Well, I'll send out the next batch of letters tomorrow. Maybe something more positive will come of them. And if nothing happens with those letters I get to wait until July when the local public districts post their openings.

On a more positive note, my sister came to visit last week and we had a great time. I also had a movie night w/ some women w/ my Bible study last night. I just wish we had more get togethers like that. It gets old spending every night in front of the TV wishing people lived closer to us so we could have impromptu get togethers. Kyle and I did meet a soon to be married couple at church who live rather close to us, which could be great. We hope to get to know them better. Softball season also starts in a couple of weeks, which will be fun. Anyhow, I'm glad that spring is almost here and that the days are longer. It makes looking for a job a little easier.

Digging Out the Car

We spent about 6 hours digging out our cars and some neighbors' cars. It was a bit crazy. Digging out of a parking lot is tricky because you have to put the snow somewhere, and that somewhere shouldn't be behind the car next to you...

Anyhow, we finished digging out our cars just in time. They are predicting another 6-10 inches with the storm that is expected to arrive here tomorrow. Kyle has another snow day tomorrow, and who knows what Wednesday will bring.

Snowed In....Again

I think it must be a sign that I am not quite normal, that I feel let down by the blizzard that went through our area Friday and Saturday. I mean, to be sure, 17 inches is nothing to sneeze at, but when the meteorologist repeatedly puts 30" out as final snowfall amount, 17" seems kind of paltry. Some areas around us did get the promised 30"....I'm jealous. Anyhow, I can't wait to head outside at take some pictures of the craziness. Kyle is hoping that the Federal Government will be closed Monday so that he can have a snow day. As I'm looking out the window, I see cars on the highway, so I'm not sure how much of a shot his dream has.

Church was cancelled, so I think most of the morning will be spent digging out the cars and maybe playing in the snow a bit. Last night there was an ambitious group of people playing tackle football in the street. It was fun to watch them slide around. Hopefully, the roads will be cleared soon because we are expecting another snow storm to come through on Tuesday or Wednesday. I of course, being unemployed, say bring it on. But, for people who have to work and are forced to use personal time on snow days, the weather is understandably frustrating.

On that note, the job search is going as expected for an English teacher. Slow. Painfully slow. I actually sent out two resumes last week for private schools. I'm not sure if I'll hear back from them, but at least I was able to take some action. I even felt hopeful enough to create a spreadsheet of schools I'm applying, or want to apply to. AND....are you ready?....I labeled a folder "Job Search 2010." Take that unemployment! To be fair, I am still working as a nanny, a sub, and a tutor. So I am employed, but not in any permanent full time fashion. But whatever happens with these two job openings, I anticipate that that search will be long and spread out. The larger public school districts aren't even posting teaching positions to the outside world until July 1. Lame. And so, I wait.

Well, I think I will get ready to go move some snow...assuming I can find a shovel. I'll post some pictures later if I get any good ones.

Paying off my student loans, one sub job at a time

Today I was in a 6th grade Language Arts class. The students were taking a quiz, so it wasn't a really hard day. But sometimes it's the little things that make me feel exhausted at the end of the day. It probably didn't help that it's a Friday and that the students have a long weekend, but sometimes I just wanted to look them in the eye and tell them to "grow up". Just a thought.

For example, I had one student come in late to class. I had just handed her the quiz and she looks at me and tells me that I have "puffy hair." Puffy hair?! Seriously?! I'll admit that I didn't have a great hair day today. Part of that is due to the fact that I accidentally bought two bottles of shampoo and didn't have any conditioner...so I'll give her that. But why would you say that to a person, especially a person you didn't know?

I had one table of students who had a fit of the giggles. I asked them to stop. They didn't. I reminded them they had a quiz that they needed to focus on, and also that they were disrupting the concentration of their classmates. Didn't matter. So I split them up. This of course set off a whole litany of complaints and didn't solve the giggling problem. Meanwhile, the rest of their class is sitting around glaring at them or awkwardly trying to ignore them. If it was my own classroom I would have taken their quizzes from them and given them an incomplete grade on their work. I would also have put them in the hallway...but it's hard to do that kind of stuff as a sub.

So like I said, it wasn't a terrible sub job, but is there really such a thing as a good sub job? At any rate, I don't generally like to sub. But, for the time being, it is what is helping me pay off my student loans.

Nannying is generally more fun for me, but still isn't what I want to be doing long term. Which leads me back to the same place that I find myself every couple of weeks. Do I want to hold out and hope to find a teaching job next year? Or, do I want to start looking for something in a completely different direction? But if I decide to do that, where do I start looking. I joke about being a dog walker, but I'm only partly joking.

My motivation is lacking and my sense of direction is disappearing. Hopefully, I'll find some motivation soon.