Well this week was busy for sure. I helped run a day camp in Brighton Monday-Thursday. We had 32 kids and a handful of volunteers from the church as well. The day camp program through Camp Fowler is different at each site and is kind of hard to explain, but we basically try to bring a typical camp day to city areas. Which means we have recreation, art, nature, and some form of Christian Education piece to the day on top of big group games. During the four summers I spent working at camp I worked at and led 12 different day camps. Most people thought I was a little crazy for this, mainly because most camp staff dislike having to leave for more than one per summer, and here I was leaving for 3 or 4 weeks a summer to work with kids that are many times very different from the ones we get up at camp. Now don't get me wrong I love both types of camp, and it was a hard balance while I was on staff. But now that I live in Rochester, it's nice to give back to the community and last year and this year I've been able to use my day camp skills and work from home to lead the camp. Now for staff, day camp is draining. You are constantly working from 8-4:30 with children pretty much the whole time. And then you might get an hour break before going out to dinner with someone from the church, where you are still holding up appearances and trying to make conversation. By about 7:30 or 8 you are finally done and exhausted but still have a little planning to do for the next day. Luckily it's only a week long!!
This week went well, especially considering it was only the second time the church had done it recently. The camp grew a decent amount from last year which was promising. We had both church and neighborhood kids and for the most part everyone got along well, which was really good to see. The age range was second through seventh grade, which always made things interesting to say the least. The youngest kids just wanted attention by the end of the day and were really tired. The oldest kids were "too cool" to play some of the games but were pretty good about working with us.
When it comes down to it, the kids had fun, and that's what matters! I could make you a list of the little things that went wrong and every little detail that didn't go as planned, but most of the time we made sure it didn't impact the kids (or that they didn't even notice) and that's why it worked well.
I was feeling pretty stressed throughout the week. Mainly because I was in charge of too much and I was conscious of that fact. Not only had I organized and planned the daily progression of the week but I was being expected to heard the children through it, and everyone looked at me to do that. I also planned the art projects and then ended up leading those half the day. While planning them wasn't a problem, I probably shouldn't have been leading them, but that is how it all worked out this year. It is what happens when new, or new to day camp staff, is sent. Add that to still trying to live my life here to some extent and I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed.
Thursday was a blast! We took the kids to Ellison Park for half the day for a field trip/service project to clean some of the areas of the park up and pick up trash but also to just play and have fun. It was really cool to see them have fun running around in wide open space, because most of them don't get that regularly. I had some great conversations with kids and it just made for a really fun day. After the field trip we had a picnic at the church with the kids parents so they could see what we had done throughout the week. It was a long day but definitely a great end to the week.
By the time I got home I was ready to relax. I spent the night talking with a good friend about both of our lives. It was wonderful, and healthy, and just exactly what I needed. Friday I didn't do much of anything. I brought my car to the shop and then took a walk to the bank, watched a few tv shows, started online apartment searching, did my laundry, and when I found out my car still wouldn't be done over the weekend realized how reliable a good friend is (and bribe-able by cheesecake). I had another wonderful night eating pizza and wings and catching up with another good friend. These nights are showing me what I'm going to be leaving soon which scares me more that I'd care to admit. I know the wonders of the phone and internet, and I've always been able to stay in touch with people pretty well long distance. I also know that I'll be able to make new friends but that has never been easy for me so I'm a little apprehensive going in.
This weekend and week will include my last days at both Old Navy and Sylvan, and more work on my car. Hopefully I'll make some time to relax and have some fun with friends before going down to see my parents for a day and then driving to Virginia to sign papers and look for places to live.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
New Job!
The moment I've been waiting for, for about 3 years now, has finally come. I've accepted a full time teaching position for this coming school year in northern Virginia/suburban DC. I'll be teaching at two different high schools, every other day because it is a split position, but it works because they are on block scheduling, and I'll be teaching Algebra 1 and Geometry! Needless to say my life is about to drastically change!
The story leading up actually receiving the offer is kind of crazy. I've written about it a little before. The phone interviews leading to a call about wanting to do a face to face interview but not having clearance to hire. Well at that point I was pretty discouraged, granted that was 2 1/2 weeks ago. I decided to try calling the school this past Tuesday to check in, which was 2 weeks after I had gotten the news that they weren't sure the status on the position. When I tried to call, first I got a busy signal, then a recording from Verizon telling me that my call could not be completed, and then another busy signal. I got a little worried, I mean it's not like a school just up and moves, but I figured I would try calling the next day. Well the next morning I received a call from another department head at a different high school in the same county. Which led to yet another interview in which she told me they are looking for someone to fill a split position between the two high schools. So she was asking if I was still interested, and then continued with a bunch of different interview questions, granted she didn't even have my resume in front of her because she had just gotten my information from the other people who had interviewed me at the other school. As we were ending the conversation I asked what the next steps would be, and if they would like to meet me in person. At that point she told me I was in the top two and that she wasn't sure if they would want me to come down or not but that she was going to talk with everyone involved and try to give me some indication of where we stood before the weekend. (This was Wednesday). Thursday morning I had a message from her asking me to email her my resume, so I did. Thursday evening after I got out of work I had a message from someone in the personnel department asking me to call her back. Of course by the time I got out of work it was 7:30 and too late to return that phone call, so I was left guessing what it could be about. I returned the call in the morning, and still hadn't heard anything in the afternoon and was getting antsy, so I tried calling again and left another message. She finally called me back as I was on my way to work. I answered the phone and lo and behold she was offering me a job! I was shocked! After 3 phone interviews and a few weeks of waiting I was being offered a position! They didn't want to meet with me in person, which was a little surprising, but I'll have to go down to fill out paperwork and start the whole process, but I have a job!!
I pulled into a parking space at work, wrote down all of the important information she was giving me, and then quickly called my parents as I was walking into work at Old Navy. It was ridiculous! I had 7 minutes to call both of my parents and tell them what happened. I'm pretty sure my coworkers thought I was crazy, but once they heard what was going on they were excited for me as well. My parents went out to dinner and celebrated (I think they were just as excited for me to have a real job as I am). Once I got through work (hardest 4 hours to make it through of my life) I went out and had a low key celebration with one of my girl friends and then came home and just sat in awe of what my life is about to become. What was hilarious was that we also had evaluations at Old Navy... I was On Target in all of the areas, and I got a whole .19 cent raise!! What a day!!
So now starts some craziness! I have to figure out how to move to Virginia! The first day of new teacher orientation is August 8th, which means my life is going to be uprooted pretty quickly. I'm going to become an adult quickly. I need to go down there to fill out paperwork, sign my contract, transfer my certificate, get fingerprinted (again), and all of the other lovely things that go with new jobs. Not to mention I need to find a new place to live and get to know the area. I did just find out that the assistant principal at the school I've been working at the past two years used to work in the county, so I feel like the stars kind of aligned (he was one of my references) but also because he will be able to give me a lot of valuable information on both the schools and the area itself. My parents are being super helpful and have already started looking into things with moving and the area itself. My mom works in a school so she has the summer off and I know having her help will be invaluable. I am still in shock about all of this. Absolutely excited, thrilled, and terrified all at the same time! It's wonderful!
Other information in my life: This week is day camp!! So on top of trying to figure things out, I'm helping to run a day camp with close to 30 kids here in Rochester. It will be interesting for sure. There will be some staff coming down from Camp Fowler where I used to spend my summers. Plus some great volunteers from the church. I'm not sure what the week will hold, really I never am, but I'm sure it will go well, it almost always does. It's always a little stressful but fun! I get to play with kids all week, what can be bad about that?!
Oh I also went to the neurologist this week. What a waste of time! My appointment was at 10:30. I didn't see the doctor until 11:15. And then we hemmed and hawed about whether to up my dosage or keep it where it was (we left it alone). And the one concern I had (seeing stars), I was told "Well it's not glaucoma, I can tell you that, but other than that I'm not really sure, I don't think it's a side effect of your meds though so I wouldn't be too worried." Great!! Luckily I don't have to go back for a year... oh wait I won't be here, which means I don't have to see her, I'll either have to find a new doctor or just stay on these drugs! Sometimes I get frustrated with doctors... can you tell?! Oh well, my headaches are stable and better than they have ever been in the past so I guess that's all I can really hope for. We'll see what happens.
I think that is all for now! I'm sure there will be more exciting life changes as things progress!
The story leading up actually receiving the offer is kind of crazy. I've written about it a little before. The phone interviews leading to a call about wanting to do a face to face interview but not having clearance to hire. Well at that point I was pretty discouraged, granted that was 2 1/2 weeks ago. I decided to try calling the school this past Tuesday to check in, which was 2 weeks after I had gotten the news that they weren't sure the status on the position. When I tried to call, first I got a busy signal, then a recording from Verizon telling me that my call could not be completed, and then another busy signal. I got a little worried, I mean it's not like a school just up and moves, but I figured I would try calling the next day. Well the next morning I received a call from another department head at a different high school in the same county. Which led to yet another interview in which she told me they are looking for someone to fill a split position between the two high schools. So she was asking if I was still interested, and then continued with a bunch of different interview questions, granted she didn't even have my resume in front of her because she had just gotten my information from the other people who had interviewed me at the other school. As we were ending the conversation I asked what the next steps would be, and if they would like to meet me in person. At that point she told me I was in the top two and that she wasn't sure if they would want me to come down or not but that she was going to talk with everyone involved and try to give me some indication of where we stood before the weekend. (This was Wednesday). Thursday morning I had a message from her asking me to email her my resume, so I did. Thursday evening after I got out of work I had a message from someone in the personnel department asking me to call her back. Of course by the time I got out of work it was 7:30 and too late to return that phone call, so I was left guessing what it could be about. I returned the call in the morning, and still hadn't heard anything in the afternoon and was getting antsy, so I tried calling again and left another message. She finally called me back as I was on my way to work. I answered the phone and lo and behold she was offering me a job! I was shocked! After 3 phone interviews and a few weeks of waiting I was being offered a position! They didn't want to meet with me in person, which was a little surprising, but I'll have to go down to fill out paperwork and start the whole process, but I have a job!!
I pulled into a parking space at work, wrote down all of the important information she was giving me, and then quickly called my parents as I was walking into work at Old Navy. It was ridiculous! I had 7 minutes to call both of my parents and tell them what happened. I'm pretty sure my coworkers thought I was crazy, but once they heard what was going on they were excited for me as well. My parents went out to dinner and celebrated (I think they were just as excited for me to have a real job as I am). Once I got through work (hardest 4 hours to make it through of my life) I went out and had a low key celebration with one of my girl friends and then came home and just sat in awe of what my life is about to become. What was hilarious was that we also had evaluations at Old Navy... I was On Target in all of the areas, and I got a whole .19 cent raise!! What a day!!
So now starts some craziness! I have to figure out how to move to Virginia! The first day of new teacher orientation is August 8th, which means my life is going to be uprooted pretty quickly. I'm going to become an adult quickly. I need to go down there to fill out paperwork, sign my contract, transfer my certificate, get fingerprinted (again), and all of the other lovely things that go with new jobs. Not to mention I need to find a new place to live and get to know the area. I did just find out that the assistant principal at the school I've been working at the past two years used to work in the county, so I feel like the stars kind of aligned (he was one of my references) but also because he will be able to give me a lot of valuable information on both the schools and the area itself. My parents are being super helpful and have already started looking into things with moving and the area itself. My mom works in a school so she has the summer off and I know having her help will be invaluable. I am still in shock about all of this. Absolutely excited, thrilled, and terrified all at the same time! It's wonderful!
Other information in my life: This week is day camp!! So on top of trying to figure things out, I'm helping to run a day camp with close to 30 kids here in Rochester. It will be interesting for sure. There will be some staff coming down from Camp Fowler where I used to spend my summers. Plus some great volunteers from the church. I'm not sure what the week will hold, really I never am, but I'm sure it will go well, it almost always does. It's always a little stressful but fun! I get to play with kids all week, what can be bad about that?!
Oh I also went to the neurologist this week. What a waste of time! My appointment was at 10:30. I didn't see the doctor until 11:15. And then we hemmed and hawed about whether to up my dosage or keep it where it was (we left it alone). And the one concern I had (seeing stars), I was told "Well it's not glaucoma, I can tell you that, but other than that I'm not really sure, I don't think it's a side effect of your meds though so I wouldn't be too worried." Great!! Luckily I don't have to go back for a year... oh wait I won't be here, which means I don't have to see her, I'll either have to find a new doctor or just stay on these drugs! Sometimes I get frustrated with doctors... can you tell?! Oh well, my headaches are stable and better than they have ever been in the past so I guess that's all I can really hope for. We'll see what happens.
I think that is all for now! I'm sure there will be more exciting life changes as things progress!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
So Much Change!
This is the week I've been dreading for about a month now. Knowing that it was coming just meant that I tried to pack more into the week, which helped to some extent, but also made the transition harder.
Monday was a typical day, work at school and at Sylvan in the afternoon. And then I hung out with a friend after work which lead to plenty of thinking. Not being able to sleep afterwards was quite frustrating. I went into Tuesday running on about 5 hours of sleep, which made for a very interesting day. Tuesday was my last day at school. Then I went to Goodwill and donated 3 large bags worth of clothes, and bought a pair of capris and a super cute dress for only $12 total (both from Gap too)!! Then I started laundry and went grocery shopping because I cooked dinner for people. Then I started cooking, around 3:30. People came over around 6:30, and I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen. As much as I enjoy cooking and feeding people, when I don't prepare enough ahead of time it stresses me out. This was one of those days. Had I started an hour earlier I would have felt significantly better about the whole day, but nothing seemed to be going right. I mean everything worked out fine in the end and people enjoyed the food, but I felt tense the whole night. But nevertheless here are the recipes I made:
Porcupine Meatballs:
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2/3 cup uncooked rice
2 tsp. oil
2-3 cups V8
Directions:
1.) Mix ground beef, salt, pepper, onion, and rice together in a bowl. Use your hands to make sure everything is incorporated together well.
2.) Form into 6-8 balls.
3.) Heat oil in a pan and brown meatballs on all sides.
4.) Once meatballs are browned at V8, cover pan and simmer 45 minutes.
Brown Rice Herb Salad (Similar to Tabouleh but Gluten Free)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown rice
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh mint
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove finely chopped
1/2 seedless cucumber cubed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Direction:
1.) Cook rice as directed on package. Let cool at least 1 hour.
2.) Chop herbs and vegetables. Mix together with the rice.
3.) Wish oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper together. Mix into salad and refrigerate at least one hour before serving to let flavors marry.
I also served apple crisp, and that recipe can be found on a different blog post, if you search under the recipe tab.
Wednesday was the start of my summer, which isn't too different from regular "school year" life. I did get to sleep in a bit which was nice. I didn't have to wake up to an alarm which was wonderful! I relaxed a little and finished cleaning up from the night before. And then I tutored for an hour and went to work at Sylvan. After work I dropped leftovers off at a friends place and ended up staying and talking for a while. It was definitely a good thing to do, I needed to relax and actually feel safe and be able to be myself, which doesn't happen often at all.
Thursday was wonderful and long and busy and stressful. I woke up, started to get a few things ready for the day, and then tutored for 2 hours, and then packed and drove to Schoharie, NY about 3 1/2 hours away from here. The drive was easy, nothing to worry about. The reason I was going was to meet with people there to work on planning for a day camp that I'm helping to lead there in mid-July. I was also going to have the chance to see some people from camp who I hadn't seen in close to a year and plan with them about the day camp that I will be helping to lead here in Rochester in a week. It was wonderful to see people and I got more hugs in a few hours than I had gotten in a few months of being here. Real hugs too, the kind that mean something! It was so good! I miss these people and it made me really wish I could be working at camp all summer, despite how illogical I know it is. The stress camp from talking to the people who are coming to work at the Rochester day camp. They are new to doing camp/day camp so its putting a lot on me to plan and organize. I have a lot to get done! Luckily I know what I'm doing, it's still terrifying to think that it starts in a week and I don't have a lot planned yet.
I did spend Thursday night catching up with a great friend that I met working at the Schoharie day camp the past few summers. She was in charge of it for the 4 summers I worked there and she is just an amazing person. It was wonderful to spend the night talking with her. Despite the age difference and the differences in our lives in general, I can honestly say we are friends and that there is genuine caring behind our conversations. We gossiped like school girls about some things, and had serious conversations about others. It was beautiful and amazing in every way possible and I feel truly blessed to have people like this in my life, even if they are hours away from me.
Friday I drove home, stopped at the outlet mall and found a few cute things for me, and for my brother that he asked for. Then came home, had an interesting conversation with a friend, and then grabbed dinner with my brother. I hadn't seen him in close to a month and a half or so. It was good to catch up with him. Then I worked 6:30-10:30 at Old Navy. I am not a fan of that shift at all. Closing just gets boring and its late!
Saturday was busy in the morning but the afternoon and evening were quite nice. I had to tutor in the morning and then I ran a bunch of errands and made basil lemonade. It was a productive morning/early afternoon but ran much later than I planned. One of my friends was having us over to her parents cottage for a day out on the lake to go tubing and just to relax. It was a beautiful day, highs in the mid 80's and sunny and I wanted to get out there as soon as possible but nothing was working as I planned. Things always work out in the end. I had a good time out on the lake! We had great weather and a delicious meal. Good times all around!
I've been spending a lot of time listening to various people talk about different things in their life. I love listening and it's reminded me of how different all of our lives are. Each of us has a very different set of circumstances facing us. Not to mention that at any given time things can change very drastically, making life significantly more difficult to deal with. Listening has reminded me how self-centered I can be. I don't know if it shows outwardly, I hope it doesn't, but if it doesn't someone please tell me. I feel as if I tend to worry about all of the things going on in my life, or all of the problems I'm having, on repeat in my head, and feel as if they are just as "bad" as everyone else's but that I shouldn't talk about them because it isn't my place. Maybe it is the people in my life, or just the situations I'm in, but in most cases I feel guilty for even wanting to talk, bringing me back the being self-centered. I spend plenty of time listening to my friends because it makes me happy and I like to think that in some little way I can help, or at least make whatever it is they are dealing with a little easier. But maybe that is just my selfish way of justifying it.
Today was spent sleeping in, teaching my last algebra 2/trig boot camp class and then cleaning my room and apartment up a bit and just relaxing. I'm hoping to spend tonight relaxing and not doing much of anything so that the rest of the week can be productive between work, planning day camp, more work, and a visit to the neurologist.
Monday was a typical day, work at school and at Sylvan in the afternoon. And then I hung out with a friend after work which lead to plenty of thinking. Not being able to sleep afterwards was quite frustrating. I went into Tuesday running on about 5 hours of sleep, which made for a very interesting day. Tuesday was my last day at school. Then I went to Goodwill and donated 3 large bags worth of clothes, and bought a pair of capris and a super cute dress for only $12 total (both from Gap too)!! Then I started laundry and went grocery shopping because I cooked dinner for people. Then I started cooking, around 3:30. People came over around 6:30, and I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen. As much as I enjoy cooking and feeding people, when I don't prepare enough ahead of time it stresses me out. This was one of those days. Had I started an hour earlier I would have felt significantly better about the whole day, but nothing seemed to be going right. I mean everything worked out fine in the end and people enjoyed the food, but I felt tense the whole night. But nevertheless here are the recipes I made:
Porcupine Meatballs:
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2/3 cup uncooked rice
2 tsp. oil
2-3 cups V8
Directions:
1.) Mix ground beef, salt, pepper, onion, and rice together in a bowl. Use your hands to make sure everything is incorporated together well.
2.) Form into 6-8 balls.
3.) Heat oil in a pan and brown meatballs on all sides.
4.) Once meatballs are browned at V8, cover pan and simmer 45 minutes.
Brown Rice Herb Salad (Similar to Tabouleh but Gluten Free)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown rice
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh mint
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove finely chopped
1/2 seedless cucumber cubed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Direction:
1.) Cook rice as directed on package. Let cool at least 1 hour.
2.) Chop herbs and vegetables. Mix together with the rice.
3.) Wish oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper together. Mix into salad and refrigerate at least one hour before serving to let flavors marry.
I also served apple crisp, and that recipe can be found on a different blog post, if you search under the recipe tab.
Wednesday was the start of my summer, which isn't too different from regular "school year" life. I did get to sleep in a bit which was nice. I didn't have to wake up to an alarm which was wonderful! I relaxed a little and finished cleaning up from the night before. And then I tutored for an hour and went to work at Sylvan. After work I dropped leftovers off at a friends place and ended up staying and talking for a while. It was definitely a good thing to do, I needed to relax and actually feel safe and be able to be myself, which doesn't happen often at all.
Thursday was wonderful and long and busy and stressful. I woke up, started to get a few things ready for the day, and then tutored for 2 hours, and then packed and drove to Schoharie, NY about 3 1/2 hours away from here. The drive was easy, nothing to worry about. The reason I was going was to meet with people there to work on planning for a day camp that I'm helping to lead there in mid-July. I was also going to have the chance to see some people from camp who I hadn't seen in close to a year and plan with them about the day camp that I will be helping to lead here in Rochester in a week. It was wonderful to see people and I got more hugs in a few hours than I had gotten in a few months of being here. Real hugs too, the kind that mean something! It was so good! I miss these people and it made me really wish I could be working at camp all summer, despite how illogical I know it is. The stress camp from talking to the people who are coming to work at the Rochester day camp. They are new to doing camp/day camp so its putting a lot on me to plan and organize. I have a lot to get done! Luckily I know what I'm doing, it's still terrifying to think that it starts in a week and I don't have a lot planned yet.
I did spend Thursday night catching up with a great friend that I met working at the Schoharie day camp the past few summers. She was in charge of it for the 4 summers I worked there and she is just an amazing person. It was wonderful to spend the night talking with her. Despite the age difference and the differences in our lives in general, I can honestly say we are friends and that there is genuine caring behind our conversations. We gossiped like school girls about some things, and had serious conversations about others. It was beautiful and amazing in every way possible and I feel truly blessed to have people like this in my life, even if they are hours away from me.
Friday I drove home, stopped at the outlet mall and found a few cute things for me, and for my brother that he asked for. Then came home, had an interesting conversation with a friend, and then grabbed dinner with my brother. I hadn't seen him in close to a month and a half or so. It was good to catch up with him. Then I worked 6:30-10:30 at Old Navy. I am not a fan of that shift at all. Closing just gets boring and its late!
Saturday was busy in the morning but the afternoon and evening were quite nice. I had to tutor in the morning and then I ran a bunch of errands and made basil lemonade. It was a productive morning/early afternoon but ran much later than I planned. One of my friends was having us over to her parents cottage for a day out on the lake to go tubing and just to relax. It was a beautiful day, highs in the mid 80's and sunny and I wanted to get out there as soon as possible but nothing was working as I planned. Things always work out in the end. I had a good time out on the lake! We had great weather and a delicious meal. Good times all around!
I've been spending a lot of time listening to various people talk about different things in their life. I love listening and it's reminded me of how different all of our lives are. Each of us has a very different set of circumstances facing us. Not to mention that at any given time things can change very drastically, making life significantly more difficult to deal with. Listening has reminded me how self-centered I can be. I don't know if it shows outwardly, I hope it doesn't, but if it doesn't someone please tell me. I feel as if I tend to worry about all of the things going on in my life, or all of the problems I'm having, on repeat in my head, and feel as if they are just as "bad" as everyone else's but that I shouldn't talk about them because it isn't my place. Maybe it is the people in my life, or just the situations I'm in, but in most cases I feel guilty for even wanting to talk, bringing me back the being self-centered. I spend plenty of time listening to my friends because it makes me happy and I like to think that in some little way I can help, or at least make whatever it is they are dealing with a little easier. But maybe that is just my selfish way of justifying it.
Today was spent sleeping in, teaching my last algebra 2/trig boot camp class and then cleaning my room and apartment up a bit and just relaxing. I'm hoping to spend tonight relaxing and not doing much of anything so that the rest of the week can be productive between work, planning day camp, more work, and a visit to the neurologist.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Beautiful Weekend after a Long Week!
My week has been busy as normal but this weekend totally made up for it. I have been honestly joyful and happy for a while, despite pain and work and the normalcy of life. This weekend has been truly beautiful in my eyes and has just been great!
All week was borderline crazy. Monday I got a voice-mail from the school in Virginia asking to set up a face to face interview. I was a little shocked considering the phone interview was a little shaky from my perspective, but thrilled none the less. Then Wednesday, after playing phone tag with the Assistant Principal for two days I find out that he doesn't have clearance to hire yet and there is the chance that someone may be transferring into the position. So it isn't worth it for me to drive down there quite yet, but he'll keep me in the loop. It was frustrating to hear and just disheartening. I'm trying to stay optimistic but we'll see.
I finally went to the doctor on Wednesday for a cough I've had for about 3 weeks now, mainly because my parents yelled at me on the phone and told me I needed to go. So instead of continuing to get lectured from 6 hours away on the phone, I figured it would be easier to go and get checked out just to make sure I was okay. The Physicians Assistant basically told me it was a dry irritating cough that was probably just left over from something and gave me an inhaler and a cough medicine pill and said that if it wasn't better in 2 weeks to call her.
I did finally finish Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games series. It was so nice to finally finish. I've been reading it for a while but tended to only pick it up when it was slow at school, which hasn't happened much in the past month or so since exams are coming up. It didn't end quite how I pictured it would but it had a nice twist to it. I like how she wrapped everything up and things ended neatly. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.
So on to why this weekend was so great! Friday was a pretty typical day. Just worked at school, then ran some errands throughout the afternoon and relaxed. I even tried to nap, which failed miserably, during the afternoon. I went to work at Old Navy 6:30-10:30. It was relatively slow, which made for an easy shift. It was my last shift working with the best manager because she is leaving, which was sad! After work I came home, had a cider and caught up with a good friend on the phone who I hadn't talked to in a few months.
Saturday was kind of long but it was awesome! I worked at Sylvan from 8:30-1. Then I came home as just vegged out. I worked on the answer key for my class on Sunday but really I just watched a few tv shows and did nothing. Then I went to a friends house and hung out with a few people for a few hours. We really didn't do much, just talked for a while. Then I went out to a bar with a few other friends and caught up on life. It was so good to just hang out with a few girl friends and just talk. Then, out of no where a guy bought us a shot, saying "I just got a new job and wanted to buy the cutest girls in the bar a shot to celebrate!" All of us girls were just kind of in shock by the whole situation, but we were grateful and did the shot and said thank you. A little while later he came back and asked if we wanted to play darts with him and his friend, so we said yes. We had such a fun time. The guys were super nice, didn't even ask for our numbers, we all just left and said good night. Honestly, it was the first time anything like that has ever happened to me in a bar, and I had a blast. It was a great time with my friends, and then the random guys were good company and were respectful and nice on top of it.
Today was glorious! I got 9 1/2 hours of sleep and didn't wake up until close to 10am. I had a lazy morning, working on more of the answer key for class this afternoon. Then I got ready for work. This is probably the one part of the week I really enjoy working. I'm teaching a class and the 5 students are really good and actually want to learn. I really enjoy the algebra 2/trig curriculum, I'm not sure why because most kids hate logarithms and trig equations in general, but recently I've found it all quite interesting. Not to mention this is the first time that I've been truly teaching other than subbing for a long time! It feels good! Then I went and hung out with friends for the evening. We had a picnic dinner and just laid out in the sun and enjoyed the gorgeous weather!
I haven't felt this good in a long time. And I'm remembering that all of that can change quickly. I've got 2 more days of school, a dinner party to cook on Tuesday, a meeting in Schoharie to help plan Day Camp later in July, and tutoring a student in Geometry for 4-5 hours on top of working at Sylvan and Old Navy for a bunch of hours. It's going to be a transition and I don't do change well. I have a day at the lake with friends to look forward to on Saturday which should be good. Plus one more Algebra 2/Trig class to teach on Sunday.
All week was borderline crazy. Monday I got a voice-mail from the school in Virginia asking to set up a face to face interview. I was a little shocked considering the phone interview was a little shaky from my perspective, but thrilled none the less. Then Wednesday, after playing phone tag with the Assistant Principal for two days I find out that he doesn't have clearance to hire yet and there is the chance that someone may be transferring into the position. So it isn't worth it for me to drive down there quite yet, but he'll keep me in the loop. It was frustrating to hear and just disheartening. I'm trying to stay optimistic but we'll see.
I finally went to the doctor on Wednesday for a cough I've had for about 3 weeks now, mainly because my parents yelled at me on the phone and told me I needed to go. So instead of continuing to get lectured from 6 hours away on the phone, I figured it would be easier to go and get checked out just to make sure I was okay. The Physicians Assistant basically told me it was a dry irritating cough that was probably just left over from something and gave me an inhaler and a cough medicine pill and said that if it wasn't better in 2 weeks to call her.
I did finally finish Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games series. It was so nice to finally finish. I've been reading it for a while but tended to only pick it up when it was slow at school, which hasn't happened much in the past month or so since exams are coming up. It didn't end quite how I pictured it would but it had a nice twist to it. I like how she wrapped everything up and things ended neatly. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.
So on to why this weekend was so great! Friday was a pretty typical day. Just worked at school, then ran some errands throughout the afternoon and relaxed. I even tried to nap, which failed miserably, during the afternoon. I went to work at Old Navy 6:30-10:30. It was relatively slow, which made for an easy shift. It was my last shift working with the best manager because she is leaving, which was sad! After work I came home, had a cider and caught up with a good friend on the phone who I hadn't talked to in a few months.
Saturday was kind of long but it was awesome! I worked at Sylvan from 8:30-1. Then I came home as just vegged out. I worked on the answer key for my class on Sunday but really I just watched a few tv shows and did nothing. Then I went to a friends house and hung out with a few people for a few hours. We really didn't do much, just talked for a while. Then I went out to a bar with a few other friends and caught up on life. It was so good to just hang out with a few girl friends and just talk. Then, out of no where a guy bought us a shot, saying "I just got a new job and wanted to buy the cutest girls in the bar a shot to celebrate!" All of us girls were just kind of in shock by the whole situation, but we were grateful and did the shot and said thank you. A little while later he came back and asked if we wanted to play darts with him and his friend, so we said yes. We had such a fun time. The guys were super nice, didn't even ask for our numbers, we all just left and said good night. Honestly, it was the first time anything like that has ever happened to me in a bar, and I had a blast. It was a great time with my friends, and then the random guys were good company and were respectful and nice on top of it.
Today was glorious! I got 9 1/2 hours of sleep and didn't wake up until close to 10am. I had a lazy morning, working on more of the answer key for class this afternoon. Then I got ready for work. This is probably the one part of the week I really enjoy working. I'm teaching a class and the 5 students are really good and actually want to learn. I really enjoy the algebra 2/trig curriculum, I'm not sure why because most kids hate logarithms and trig equations in general, but recently I've found it all quite interesting. Not to mention this is the first time that I've been truly teaching other than subbing for a long time! It feels good! Then I went and hung out with friends for the evening. We had a picnic dinner and just laid out in the sun and enjoyed the gorgeous weather!
I haven't felt this good in a long time. And I'm remembering that all of that can change quickly. I've got 2 more days of school, a dinner party to cook on Tuesday, a meeting in Schoharie to help plan Day Camp later in July, and tutoring a student in Geometry for 4-5 hours on top of working at Sylvan and Old Navy for a bunch of hours. It's going to be a transition and I don't do change well. I have a day at the lake with friends to look forward to on Saturday which should be good. Plus one more Algebra 2/Trig class to teach on Sunday.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
12 hour days...
Having Monday off was just a way to spoil me. While I tend to feel a little guilty when I actually have time to relax and do nothing, this week left be craving the ability to veg out and watch a movie!
Tuesday I worked at school and then had lunch with a few friends. It was a nice way to ease into the week. I had to tutor for an hour at night but other than that it was a very easy day.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were all insanely long! Since I was in charge of running Algebra testing at school for all of the 9th grade students this week I had to be at school by 7:15 each morning and stay most days until 2:30 instead of my normal 12:30. That's not a huge deal in general. It was a little annoying. It meant logging on an average of 25 computers 3 to 4 different periods a day and then signing each computer into the test system and setting it up for each student individually. I got pretty quick at it, only 15 minutes for a whole class or so, then just giving directions and watching them take it and logging the computer off or getting it ready for the next class. It is just a very tedious way to spend my day, especially when I could be spending it teaching math. After school on Wednesday and Thursday I had enough time to stop at the bank, or stop to get gas, and then I had to go to my next job where I worked 3:30-8:15. It evens out to about 12 hours of work without a real break other than the drive. By Friday I was exhausted. Luckily I had a break between jobs on Friday, I was able to come home and eat some food and then work 6:30-10:30pm. Still a long day but I somehow made it.
On top of working a lot I got a phone call on Thursday from a school in Virginia which lead to a phone interview on Friday afternoon. It went alright, there were a few questions that I had never really been asked before and therefore wasn't expecting but I think I handled them alright. It sounds like they have a lot of people to talk to so I'm not sure if it will lead to much more but I can keep hoping.
Saturday I worked in the morning, and we had a bit of a rough ending. As we were leaving we found out that one of our students fathers had been hit by a car while he was there for tutoring. He's only a sixth grader, and his father had just been walking down the street when the car had accidentally jumped the curb. It was just another reminder of how frail life is and how quickly things can change. I really hope this student is okay. It was his last day with us for the school year, and to have to deal with this now is just tragic. I can't imagine having to process that kind of loss as an adult let alone as a child.
Once I got home I ate some lunch and then I came home to work on the answer key for the class I'm teaching at work. Luckily I can do Algebra 2/Trig while watching a movie! It's kind of sad that my goal for the weekend was to watch a movie and while I accomplished it, I did it alone and while doing math problems (over 150). Then I went back to work at Old Navy 6:30-10:30. Oh how these long days are getting old.
Today I got lucky! I was scheduled to work at 8am at Old Navy and they cut my shift so I was able to sleep in a little bit! My body let me sleep until 9:30, it was glorious! I had some breakfast and a lazy morning in general and then I headed to work to teach Algebra 2/Trig Boot Camp! Oh let me tell you, 5 students on a Sunday afternoon for 2 hours, that's a blast! Luckily they were all pretty serious about doing math and understanding what we were working on so it seemed to go well. The rest of the day I've just laid low and tried to relax.
With the weather as crazy as it's been my headaches have been driving me crazy lately. I've been lucky to get through the week. Most days I've wanted to curl up in a ball and just not get out of bed, which obviously isn't an option. The intense pain comes and goes, it always has, and with it rains or we get thunderstorms it's always worse, which explains why this weekend has been so painful. It is just very difficult to handle. Pain that is caused by something that I have absolutely no control over is frustrating. At least when I figured out the gluten was causing problems I could (and do) limit my diet and control what I ate. But I can't change the weather, although that would be nice. The fall and spring are hardest because it is when things are changing the most. Part of it is also my stress level, which I do have some control over I just have a hard time exerting control on it. I can handle a busy work schedule, I've learned how to deal with that, but social stress and stress due to the changes coming up in my life are throwing me for a loop. I'm hoping that the transition out of school and into my "summer" schedule/life goes okay but honestly I'm really not sure it will.
Tuesday I worked at school and then had lunch with a few friends. It was a nice way to ease into the week. I had to tutor for an hour at night but other than that it was a very easy day.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were all insanely long! Since I was in charge of running Algebra testing at school for all of the 9th grade students this week I had to be at school by 7:15 each morning and stay most days until 2:30 instead of my normal 12:30. That's not a huge deal in general. It was a little annoying. It meant logging on an average of 25 computers 3 to 4 different periods a day and then signing each computer into the test system and setting it up for each student individually. I got pretty quick at it, only 15 minutes for a whole class or so, then just giving directions and watching them take it and logging the computer off or getting it ready for the next class. It is just a very tedious way to spend my day, especially when I could be spending it teaching math. After school on Wednesday and Thursday I had enough time to stop at the bank, or stop to get gas, and then I had to go to my next job where I worked 3:30-8:15. It evens out to about 12 hours of work without a real break other than the drive. By Friday I was exhausted. Luckily I had a break between jobs on Friday, I was able to come home and eat some food and then work 6:30-10:30pm. Still a long day but I somehow made it.
On top of working a lot I got a phone call on Thursday from a school in Virginia which lead to a phone interview on Friday afternoon. It went alright, there were a few questions that I had never really been asked before and therefore wasn't expecting but I think I handled them alright. It sounds like they have a lot of people to talk to so I'm not sure if it will lead to much more but I can keep hoping.
Saturday I worked in the morning, and we had a bit of a rough ending. As we were leaving we found out that one of our students fathers had been hit by a car while he was there for tutoring. He's only a sixth grader, and his father had just been walking down the street when the car had accidentally jumped the curb. It was just another reminder of how frail life is and how quickly things can change. I really hope this student is okay. It was his last day with us for the school year, and to have to deal with this now is just tragic. I can't imagine having to process that kind of loss as an adult let alone as a child.
Once I got home I ate some lunch and then I came home to work on the answer key for the class I'm teaching at work. Luckily I can do Algebra 2/Trig while watching a movie! It's kind of sad that my goal for the weekend was to watch a movie and while I accomplished it, I did it alone and while doing math problems (over 150). Then I went back to work at Old Navy 6:30-10:30. Oh how these long days are getting old.
Today I got lucky! I was scheduled to work at 8am at Old Navy and they cut my shift so I was able to sleep in a little bit! My body let me sleep until 9:30, it was glorious! I had some breakfast and a lazy morning in general and then I headed to work to teach Algebra 2/Trig Boot Camp! Oh let me tell you, 5 students on a Sunday afternoon for 2 hours, that's a blast! Luckily they were all pretty serious about doing math and understanding what we were working on so it seemed to go well. The rest of the day I've just laid low and tried to relax.
With the weather as crazy as it's been my headaches have been driving me crazy lately. I've been lucky to get through the week. Most days I've wanted to curl up in a ball and just not get out of bed, which obviously isn't an option. The intense pain comes and goes, it always has, and with it rains or we get thunderstorms it's always worse, which explains why this weekend has been so painful. It is just very difficult to handle. Pain that is caused by something that I have absolutely no control over is frustrating. At least when I figured out the gluten was causing problems I could (and do) limit my diet and control what I ate. But I can't change the weather, although that would be nice. The fall and spring are hardest because it is when things are changing the most. Part of it is also my stress level, which I do have some control over I just have a hard time exerting control on it. I can handle a busy work schedule, I've learned how to deal with that, but social stress and stress due to the changes coming up in my life are throwing me for a loop. I'm hoping that the transition out of school and into my "summer" schedule/life goes okay but honestly I'm really not sure it will.
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