Not a long post, but hopefully just enough to get things going again.
I haven't taken the time lately to remind myself of all those out there who still care, so this is my shout out to you. I've spent the last few months out of place, over my head, and in need of some grounding in the familiar. Blogging has just been one casualty of the feeling that I have no time for anything right now.
So how have you been?
In a nutshell I am in a constant state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion. I have been pushing myself harder and further than I can ever remember, and I feel like I'm just breaking even. Is it better than subbing and working at the Gap? You're damn right. I just wish I would have prepared myself a little more for just how much I was getting myself into.
Everyone told me your first year would be like this, and I didn't believe them. I filled myself with a false sense of comfort and security based on my experiences and expectations in student teaching and long term subbing. But no practice in the world can really equal game time.
I miss you guys. The ones who still read this in spite of my negligence, and the many who stopped reading long ago. I can't blame you. I got lazy, but it doesn't mean I haven't thought about it.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Finally an Update
I've had a few people who still actually read my blog tell me they've been looking for updates. Well, I've been planning to get back on the old blog, but this is the first time I've set aside the time to do it.
I'm sitting here in my living room, typing in between breaks while watching the Michigan - Notre Dame game. Last week's game wasn't televised here, but I guess this game is big enough to be the nationally covered one on ABC. A little piece of home...
I've been down here over a month now haven't I?
Really, I haven't had time to be lonely. I'll call home or call friends when I have some time, and I forget that they're 800 miles away. Aside from how hot it still is and the few really strong southern accents I run into every now and then, I forget sometimes that I live in North Carolina. I look around and realize it's different from Holland or Ann Arbor, but I have to take a minute to remind myself that it's halfway across the country.
A month down in North Carolina, two and a half weeks of school finished, and I haven't yet had that feeling like I've made some sort of horrible mistake. Then again, I didn't really have any other options, did I?
For the most part, I like it down here. The new Target and Best Buy are open, so lack of Meijer notwithstanding I've got all the comforts of home within reach. The people I work with at school are great - the administration and other teachers are the same sort of friendly and helpful people that made my student teaching at Saline so great. The students in my classes.... Well, it's getting better.
No matter where I would have ended up, everyone told me that this first year would be the hardest work I've ever done. Having never taught World History, I'm coming up with everything from scratch. Sure I've got a book and some resources, but that just gives me and idea of what I should teach. I have the basic calendar for the semester figured out - the entire history of Human civilization from Mesopotamia to the War on Terror in 18 weeks. But as far as how to teach it - that's the part that takes so many hours to figure out. Getting 14 year olds to pay attention to the history of something that happened 3000 years ago for 90 minutes at a time is almost impossible and I need to make it look easy.
My 4th hour has been the only one to really test me so far (knock on wood). It's all freshmen, right after lunch, and right before they go home. They're just squirrelly as all hell, and I have to constantly ride them about being on task in order to get through the hour. It's slowly and very incrementally getting better, so I just have to keep at it. I suppose it's reassuring that I hear across the school how everyone's 4th hour is like this, but it's still frustrating.
I've also uploaded here a few pictures of my apartment. After I got some money I was finally able to pick up a few things to make it more of a home - lamps, sheets, kitchen table, plants, etc. I still need a few things like DVD and CD storage, but those will have to wait until the next paycheck.
I'm sitting here in my living room, typing in between breaks while watching the Michigan - Notre Dame game. Last week's game wasn't televised here, but I guess this game is big enough to be the nationally covered one on ABC. A little piece of home...
I've been down here over a month now haven't I?
Really, I haven't had time to be lonely. I'll call home or call friends when I have some time, and I forget that they're 800 miles away. Aside from how hot it still is and the few really strong southern accents I run into every now and then, I forget sometimes that I live in North Carolina. I look around and realize it's different from Holland or Ann Arbor, but I have to take a minute to remind myself that it's halfway across the country.
A month down in North Carolina, two and a half weeks of school finished, and I haven't yet had that feeling like I've made some sort of horrible mistake. Then again, I didn't really have any other options, did I?
For the most part, I like it down here. The new Target and Best Buy are open, so lack of Meijer notwithstanding I've got all the comforts of home within reach. The people I work with at school are great - the administration and other teachers are the same sort of friendly and helpful people that made my student teaching at Saline so great. The students in my classes.... Well, it's getting better.
No matter where I would have ended up, everyone told me that this first year would be the hardest work I've ever done. Having never taught World History, I'm coming up with everything from scratch. Sure I've got a book and some resources, but that just gives me and idea of what I should teach. I have the basic calendar for the semester figured out - the entire history of Human civilization from Mesopotamia to the War on Terror in 18 weeks. But as far as how to teach it - that's the part that takes so many hours to figure out. Getting 14 year olds to pay attention to the history of something that happened 3000 years ago for 90 minutes at a time is almost impossible and I need to make it look easy.
My 4th hour has been the only one to really test me so far (knock on wood). It's all freshmen, right after lunch, and right before they go home. They're just squirrelly as all hell, and I have to constantly ride them about being on task in order to get through the hour. It's slowly and very incrementally getting better, so I just have to keep at it. I suppose it's reassuring that I hear across the school how everyone's 4th hour is like this, but it's still frustrating.
I've also uploaded here a few pictures of my apartment. After I got some money I was finally able to pick up a few things to make it more of a home - lamps, sheets, kitchen table, plants, etc. I still need a few things like DVD and CD storage, but those will have to wait until the next paycheck.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Welcome to the New South
Yes, I know I've used the same Less Than Jake song title at least 3 times now.
And yes, I know it's been like a month since I blogged.
Those things aside, I'm going to get back on the horse here.
I'm sure nobody, myself included, expected me to be the one to move halfway across the country after graduation. I hate change. I love the familiar. And yet, here I sit, 800 miles from any friends or family.
July 1981 - May 1986: Arlington, Texas
May 1986 - April 1995: Lake St. Louis, Missouri
April 1995 - August 1999: Holland, Michigan
August 1999 - August 2004: Ann Arbor, Michigan
August 2004 - August 2005: Holland, Michigan
August 2005 - ?: Graham, North Carolina
Last August I was supposed to move to Plymouth, Saline, Okemos, or some other school district in Michigan. Instead I returned home broken and defeated, unemployable for a year. I knew I needed to expand my search for this year, and when the Captain relocated to Chi-Town it made perfect sense. Far enough away to have a better job market than Michigan, close enough to home. And having your best friend either down the hall or across town might be nice.
Nada.
After hearing nothing from March to June I initiated the emergency back-up plan to apply in North Carolina. I figured I could just keep it in my back pocket as I waited for schools in Illinois to get their act together. In short order it went from emergency contingency to viable option to only option.
And here I sit.
Before you make assumptions and jump to conclusions, I'm not feeling bitter and dejected right now. So far the places I've been and the people I've met down here have all been great. Going to the school and meeting some of the other teachers I'm going to work with, I feel optimistic for the first time in a long time.
I really am feeling good about things right now. Thanks to The Captain's insistence I have a new X-Box to keep me occupied, but if my orientation days are any indication of what's to come during the school year I think keeping busy is going to be the least of my worries.
I haven't freaked out yet. I haven't spent the evening rocking myself back and forth in a corner as I come to the realization that I am totally alone and totally out of place down here. I don't know when that will happen. I may still be in shock just from the overwhelming amount of change that's happened in the last week.
All I know is that right now, despite it all, I'm hopeful and optimistic about what's to come. I'm not miserable, and right now that's a good start.
And yes, I know it's been like a month since I blogged.
Those things aside, I'm going to get back on the horse here.
I'm sure nobody, myself included, expected me to be the one to move halfway across the country after graduation. I hate change. I love the familiar. And yet, here I sit, 800 miles from any friends or family.
July 1981 - May 1986: Arlington, Texas
May 1986 - April 1995: Lake St. Louis, Missouri
April 1995 - August 1999: Holland, Michigan
August 1999 - August 2004: Ann Arbor, Michigan
August 2004 - August 2005: Holland, Michigan
August 2005 - ?: Graham, North Carolina
Last August I was supposed to move to Plymouth, Saline, Okemos, or some other school district in Michigan. Instead I returned home broken and defeated, unemployable for a year. I knew I needed to expand my search for this year, and when the Captain relocated to Chi-Town it made perfect sense. Far enough away to have a better job market than Michigan, close enough to home. And having your best friend either down the hall or across town might be nice.
Nada.
After hearing nothing from March to June I initiated the emergency back-up plan to apply in North Carolina. I figured I could just keep it in my back pocket as I waited for schools in Illinois to get their act together. In short order it went from emergency contingency to viable option to only option.
And here I sit.
Before you make assumptions and jump to conclusions, I'm not feeling bitter and dejected right now. So far the places I've been and the people I've met down here have all been great. Going to the school and meeting some of the other teachers I'm going to work with, I feel optimistic for the first time in a long time.
I really am feeling good about things right now. Thanks to The Captain's insistence I have a new X-Box to keep me occupied, but if my orientation days are any indication of what's to come during the school year I think keeping busy is going to be the least of my worries.
I haven't freaked out yet. I haven't spent the evening rocking myself back and forth in a corner as I come to the realization that I am totally alone and totally out of place down here. I don't know when that will happen. I may still be in shock just from the overwhelming amount of change that's happened in the last week.
All I know is that right now, despite it all, I'm hopeful and optimistic about what's to come. I'm not miserable, and right now that's a good start.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Fuck you Atlanta
My trip down to North Carolina was way too easy, and the trip back more than made up for it by being a fucking disaster. Apparently a few raindrops in Atlanta causes the entire airline system to shut down. The downside of a good deal on airfare is that I didn't get a direct flight from North Carolina to Chicago. I had to fly to Atlanta for a layover, and that's where it all went to hell.
My 6:40 flight to Atlanta didn't leave until about 9:45. My connecting flight was delayed as well, so I still technically had enough time to land in Atlanta and make my flight to Chicago. That is until I spent an hour and a half sitting on the tarmac waiting to pull in to the gate in Atlanta. When I finally got to the terminal there was one flight left that was going to O'Hare that night, and the guy at the counter basically told me I was fucked for trying to get on it.
Once again, fuck the city of Atlanta, and an extra-special "Fuck You" to the Atlanta airport and its employees. Supposedly they had booked every hotel room in the greater Atlanta area, and told us that because it was a weather related problem and not a problem with the airline itself, they had no obligation to do anything but bend us over and fuck us. And so like refugees, there were about 200 of us who slept on the floor and various benches of the airport until the ticket counters reopened in the morning.
Luckily I was able to get onto a 7:00 flight in the morning instead of waiting for the 4:00 PM flight that they put me on the night before. They bumped me up to 1st class, which is the least they could have done, and because I could I had a gin and tonic at 7:30 in the morning.
My 6:40 flight to Atlanta didn't leave until about 9:45. My connecting flight was delayed as well, so I still technically had enough time to land in Atlanta and make my flight to Chicago. That is until I spent an hour and a half sitting on the tarmac waiting to pull in to the gate in Atlanta. When I finally got to the terminal there was one flight left that was going to O'Hare that night, and the guy at the counter basically told me I was fucked for trying to get on it.
Once again, fuck the city of Atlanta, and an extra-special "Fuck You" to the Atlanta airport and its employees. Supposedly they had booked every hotel room in the greater Atlanta area, and told us that because it was a weather related problem and not a problem with the airline itself, they had no obligation to do anything but bend us over and fuck us. And so like refugees, there were about 200 of us who slept on the floor and various benches of the airport until the ticket counters reopened in the morning.
Luckily I was able to get onto a 7:00 flight in the morning instead of waiting for the 4:00 PM flight that they put me on the night before. They bumped me up to 1st class, which is the least they could have done, and because I could I had a gin and tonic at 7:30 in the morning.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Time to Go to Work
I started Thursday morning in North Carolina with a complimentary breakfast at a restaurant next to the hotel. I was expecting bagels and muffins and such, but I got my first taste of culture shock going from North to South. Apparently biscuits are served in some form for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I went to the high school around 10 to meet with the principal, not sure if it was a second interview or just a meet and greet. After talking to her for about 2 minutes it was clear that I already had the job, and that I was just there to take a tour and seal the deal.
I am going to be teaching World History to 9th graders, and it sounds like they've got a lot of programs in place really focusing on the transition from middle school to high school. All of the freshman classes are in the same hallway, and that little part of the school is the "Freshman Academy". There's another new World History teacher, and a teacher who taught World History last year is now teaching a study skills class for the freshman, and has offered to help us by sharing her lesson plans.
The principal told me that new teachers in the department start off with World History, and that the upper level classes like US History and Government were usually taught by people that had been there a bit longer. From what I've seen they don't have any psychology classes, but I know they've got some more specialized AP classes like Earth Science, so they obviously have started expanding into AP. I'll figure out for certain once I'm actually in the system, but if they don't teach AP Psych yet I'll start nagging at them to let me start the curriculum.
As far as extra-curricular activities go, the one thing I've talked to the principal about is a student literary magazine. It sounds like there's an English teacher that wants to start one, so I'm trying to get on board. I think there's a few teachers from Michigan at the school, and I know of at least one who's been nagging the principal to let him start a hockey team. As much as I love hockey I don't really know anything about it, but I'd see if he'd teach me on the job as an assistant coach or something.
I went to the high school around 10 to meet with the principal, not sure if it was a second interview or just a meet and greet. After talking to her for about 2 minutes it was clear that I already had the job, and that I was just there to take a tour and seal the deal.
I am going to be teaching World History to 9th graders, and it sounds like they've got a lot of programs in place really focusing on the transition from middle school to high school. All of the freshman classes are in the same hallway, and that little part of the school is the "Freshman Academy". There's another new World History teacher, and a teacher who taught World History last year is now teaching a study skills class for the freshman, and has offered to help us by sharing her lesson plans.
The principal told me that new teachers in the department start off with World History, and that the upper level classes like US History and Government were usually taught by people that had been there a bit longer. From what I've seen they don't have any psychology classes, but I know they've got some more specialized AP classes like Earth Science, so they obviously have started expanding into AP. I'll figure out for certain once I'm actually in the system, but if they don't teach AP Psych yet I'll start nagging at them to let me start the curriculum.
As far as extra-curricular activities go, the one thing I've talked to the principal about is a student literary magazine. It sounds like there's an English teacher that wants to start one, so I'm trying to get on board. I think there's a few teachers from Michigan at the school, and I know of at least one who's been nagging the principal to let him start a hockey team. As much as I love hockey I don't really know anything about it, but I'd see if he'd teach me on the job as an assistant coach or something.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
A Long Strange Trip
I was going to blog while on the road but I ended up being without internet access from the time I left Wednesday morning until I got back Saturday morning. For future reference, when asking a hotel if they have internet access be specific about high-speed or wireless access. After I got settled in my room I called the front desk and asked about the internet, to which they replied "There's a phone jack in the room." And since I haven't used dial-up or any sort of ISP for almost 5 years now, I had no way to use ye olde internet while in North Carolina. So, I'm just going to change the posting day for this blog back to last Thursday, just to break things up a bit.
The trip down to North Carolina was easy, which unfortunately meant that everything went wrong on the trip home. I drove down to Chicago on Tuesday because it was like $150 cheaper to fly out of O'Hare than out of GR. I stayed with The Captain since he was gracious enough to drive me to the airport the next morning, and we came to the realization that the suburbs of Chicago were a Bizarro form of Holland. In Holland we vowed to never again go to the IHOP for fear of being stabbed (or at least made to feel disgusted of humanity) by one of the patrons there. So while in Holland, Denny's is the only viable option for late night coffee. There is no Denny's in The Captain's particular neck of the woods, but there are two in different directions on the highway. We finally decided after a history of bad service and creepy clientele that the closer Denny's is now dead to us, but there's an IHOP in town that has yet to scare us.
Anyway... got to O'Hare Wednesday morning with no difficulty because we were leaving before traffic. Once at the airport I made it through security and to my terminal in about 10 minutes, no hassle. So, I had plenty of time to start my column for The Newsletter and play Gameboy. The plane boarded and departed more or less on time, and I had plenty of time to leisurely make my connecting flight in Cincinnati.
I arrived in North Carolina without incident, and made my way to the Enterprise rental counter. I got a free upgrade (who doesn't?) from a Kia Rio to a Pontiac Sunfire. While that's not really that exciting, I was really pleased by the fact that they did not charge me the additional $40 fee for not being 25 years old.
And so, behind the wheel of my Pontiac Sunfire (I still hate Pontiacs), I made my way towards my hotel. Driving through North Carolina I actually forgot once or twice that I wasn't in Michigan. Aside from the addition of a few Waffle Houses and the lack of meager, the scenery looked like it could be any city in Michigan.
I spent most of Wednesday afternoon and into the evening just driving around, getting a feel for the area. Traffic does not exist down there. I was on the highway at 5:30, and it was nothing. In my travels I found all the staples of fast food, a new Target and Best Buy that were opening at the end of the month, and almost all of the other hallmarks of civilization. Unfortunately I had grown accustomed to the drought in Michigan, and was completely unprepared for the torrential downpour that came Wednesday night. I'm far enough inland that I won't ever be directly affected by hurricanes, but I sure caught one hell of a thunderstorm.
The trip down to North Carolina was easy, which unfortunately meant that everything went wrong on the trip home. I drove down to Chicago on Tuesday because it was like $150 cheaper to fly out of O'Hare than out of GR. I stayed with The Captain since he was gracious enough to drive me to the airport the next morning, and we came to the realization that the suburbs of Chicago were a Bizarro form of Holland. In Holland we vowed to never again go to the IHOP for fear of being stabbed (or at least made to feel disgusted of humanity) by one of the patrons there. So while in Holland, Denny's is the only viable option for late night coffee. There is no Denny's in The Captain's particular neck of the woods, but there are two in different directions on the highway. We finally decided after a history of bad service and creepy clientele that the closer Denny's is now dead to us, but there's an IHOP in town that has yet to scare us.
Anyway... got to O'Hare Wednesday morning with no difficulty because we were leaving before traffic. Once at the airport I made it through security and to my terminal in about 10 minutes, no hassle. So, I had plenty of time to start my column for The Newsletter and play Gameboy. The plane boarded and departed more or less on time, and I had plenty of time to leisurely make my connecting flight in Cincinnati.
I arrived in North Carolina without incident, and made my way to the Enterprise rental counter. I got a free upgrade (who doesn't?) from a Kia Rio to a Pontiac Sunfire. While that's not really that exciting, I was really pleased by the fact that they did not charge me the additional $40 fee for not being 25 years old.
And so, behind the wheel of my Pontiac Sunfire (I still hate Pontiacs), I made my way towards my hotel. Driving through North Carolina I actually forgot once or twice that I wasn't in Michigan. Aside from the addition of a few Waffle Houses and the lack of meager, the scenery looked like it could be any city in Michigan.
I spent most of Wednesday afternoon and into the evening just driving around, getting a feel for the area. Traffic does not exist down there. I was on the highway at 5:30, and it was nothing. In my travels I found all the staples of fast food, a new Target and Best Buy that were opening at the end of the month, and almost all of the other hallmarks of civilization. Unfortunately I had grown accustomed to the drought in Michigan, and was completely unprepared for the torrential downpour that came Wednesday night. I'm far enough inland that I won't ever be directly affected by hurricanes, but I sure caught one hell of a thunderstorm.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Time to Pack my Carpetbag
It's go time.
This week will come the deciding factor on where exactly I place my foot as I take that next step.
Wednesday morning I'm flying down to North Carolina to meet with the principal who wants to hire me. After a phone interview a few weeks ago, I called her last week to see where things stood. She said I was one of the top choices, but that the position was offered to someone else.
But that wasn't the end of the story.
Another teacher in the department was moving up to a curriculum coordinator position, and so this left a second vacancy for the same classes I had originally interviewed for. The principal told me she'd call me in a few days.
She called this morning.
She asked if I was still interested in the position, and that she wanted me to go down there this week. And so I'll most likely have a job in North Carolina by the end of the week.
But that's still not the end of the story.
Last week I also got a call from a principal at a school I had applied at in Illinois. He scheduled a phone interview for this afternoon, which went really well. The guy I interviewed with was the department chair, and a real straightforward and down to Earth guy. He said he wants this position nailed down ASAP, and that his goal was to call me tomorrow. As I said, I think things went well, so I may have a job offer in Illinois by the end of the week.
By the end of the month, I'll be a resident of either North Carolina or Illinois.
This week will come the deciding factor on where exactly I place my foot as I take that next step.
Wednesday morning I'm flying down to North Carolina to meet with the principal who wants to hire me. After a phone interview a few weeks ago, I called her last week to see where things stood. She said I was one of the top choices, but that the position was offered to someone else.
But that wasn't the end of the story.
Another teacher in the department was moving up to a curriculum coordinator position, and so this left a second vacancy for the same classes I had originally interviewed for. The principal told me she'd call me in a few days.
She called this morning.
She asked if I was still interested in the position, and that she wanted me to go down there this week. And so I'll most likely have a job in North Carolina by the end of the week.
But that's still not the end of the story.
Last week I also got a call from a principal at a school I had applied at in Illinois. He scheduled a phone interview for this afternoon, which went really well. The guy I interviewed with was the department chair, and a real straightforward and down to Earth guy. He said he wants this position nailed down ASAP, and that his goal was to call me tomorrow. As I said, I think things went well, so I may have a job offer in Illinois by the end of the week.
By the end of the month, I'll be a resident of either North Carolina or Illinois.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
God Save the Queen
"It is through terrorism that the people that have committed this terrible act express their values... They are trying to use the slaughter of innocent people to cow us ... but they should know they will not succeed... We will show by our spirit and dignity and by our quiet but true strength that there is in the British people that our values will long outlast theirs. This is a very sad day for the British people, but we will hold true to the British way of life... We will not allow violence to change our societies or our values nor will we allow it to stop the work of this summit... We will continue our deliberations in the interest of a better world.”
~ Prime Minister Tony Blair
Friday, July 01, 2005
Didn't see that coming...
A few days ago The Last Angry Man said in reference to the "impending retirement" of Chief Justice Rehnquist:
There are only nine of these people at any one time, surely it is not beyond our abilities to pay moderate attention to two of them simultaneously.
Apparently it is beyond our abilities.
The retirement of Justice O'Connor, a spring chicken at only 75 years old, came seemingly out of left field. Given her swing-vote jurisprudence, I wonder if the same list of nominees to succeed Chief Justice Rehnquist will be used to nominate a successor to Justice O'Connor's place on the bench.
I wholeheartedly hope that the Senate and general public will agree with President Bush that "The nation also deserves a dignified process of confirmation in the United States Senate, characterized by fair treatment, a fair hearing and a fair vote."
But we all know it won't happen. The Senate is a very ugly, very childish place right now, and the entire nomination process will be turned into a partisan circus.
There are only nine of these people at any one time, surely it is not beyond our abilities to pay moderate attention to two of them simultaneously.
Apparently it is beyond our abilities.
The retirement of Justice O'Connor, a spring chicken at only 75 years old, came seemingly out of left field. Given her swing-vote jurisprudence, I wonder if the same list of nominees to succeed Chief Justice Rehnquist will be used to nominate a successor to Justice O'Connor's place on the bench.
I wholeheartedly hope that the Senate and general public will agree with President Bush that "The nation also deserves a dignified process of confirmation in the United States Senate, characterized by fair treatment, a fair hearing and a fair vote."
But we all know it won't happen. The Senate is a very ugly, very childish place right now, and the entire nomination process will be turned into a partisan circus.
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