I'm Getting Better

A full week later, I'm still thankful when the school day ends, but things are better than they were. I had a rocky first couple days, but Thursday went well, as did today, and that gives me some hope. True, I had the students create collages Thurs and compete in an internet scavenger hunt today, but I figure, why the hell not make English class a bit enjoyable?

It's not that the lessons haven't been educational; they're just a bit alternative, which is the idea to begin with. Tomorrow they're bringing in their favorite song lyrics and perhaps a CD with their song to play in class. I briefly reviewed some poetic mumbojumbo like similies and alliteration, and asked them to pick out those usages in the song, taking it apart like they might take apart a poem. I figure we'll look at structure first, and then get into their meanings. Looking at songs seemed a good first step into a mini unit on poetry. Anything to get their attention and thinking that not all writing is boring ass shit.

I've got some sweet modern poetry to show them too, AND Chris might be coming in as a "guest speaker" to share some of his own poetry, answer questions, and perhaps tell them a bit about how he started writing. Of course they'll be writing some of their own poetry as well, which should be pretty fun, if I do it right. I have some ideas, just have to pick a couple and go with it.

Outside of teaching, which for the 12 hours a week fairly pathetically eats up my free time in trying to put together materials and plan lessons for each day, there's not a whole lot new around here. Thankfully it will get easier as the unit gets into the main phase of their writing. Easier to plan, but perhaps not easier to teach. I think I'm going to forget about getting a part time job for the next couple months and concententrate on not fucking up this job and finding a full time teaching job for the fall. It's so depressing to not get any call backs or emails. I'm going to call some places tomorrow and wake them up a bit. Not EVERY district can be that far behind that they aren't doing interviews yet. ::sigh:: Oh well. As my dad says, I'll always have a place at the Holiday Inn...or a factory. Comforting, hm?

In the car, I just can't wait, to be finished with my very first DAY

First day of summer school teaching....check
Beginning class of only 8/16 students...check
First minor setback during teaching...check

It could have been much much worse. Oh yes, much worse. As it was, I think I did pretty well, and came off fairly professional. Unfortunately, professionalism isn't exactly what's needed there. The kids aren't horrible, though they are brutally honest with themselves, their family, friends, and with me of course. I think they'll warm up to me as they go, but it may be a bit of a barrier that I grew up as, well, a good girl. And these are all students undergoing a program because they were alcoholics and flunked classes.

They're all smokers, since they cannot drink. Good idea, hm? They asked me if I smoke, drink, did drugs, etc. and I decided to be honest and say I did smoke 1 cigarette once...in a pub in Berlin after two big mugs of beer. However, I didn't like it, wouldn't do it again, and really can't stand the smell. As for drinking, I only have a couple drinks now and then (unless it's a special occassion--which I did not tell them).

Furthermore, since they're kids that were involved in all that junk, they hung out with a different sort of crowd SO they're not exactly fans of the same sort of things. I love reading, writing, never minded school, and got along with students and teachers. Instead of going out to parties, I'd hang out with friends and play games, watch fun movies, and basically, be a kid, all into fantasy and using my imagination. These are kids trying to grow up way too fast. Still, I did put up an Inuyasha poster I found at Suncoast and I plan on bringing my SW poster from home--I don't care if they think I'm a geek--I am one, and it's not like I'm going to bother hiding it.

Still, I think I can handle teaching this class. It's not like I had tons in common with the students at Altoona, nor the students in London, particularly. Besides, getting to know them today helped me make some decisions about the unit I will have them do this summer. I have many MANY options, but it looks like I'm going to have to design it to be as unconventional as possible, keep them on their toes, and keep them moving and learning. Some of them have the attention spans of a 3 year old...with a nicotine addiction.

So wish me luck, friends. I'm going to need it. That and a continuous supply of wine coolers, massages, time out with people born before 1986, and ice cream, lots of ice cream.

Bahp bah, bahp bah! This is the sound of settling

I'm almost moved in here at the house, things arranged pretty much how I want them. Granted, there's no bed in here, so it makes it a lot roomier and easier to decorate. It just looks a little empty, but I think I can solve that by bringing my TV, stereo, PS2, and a couple lamps the next time I drive home (in just over a week).

Anyway, I had a sort of "orientation" for my teaching position, and it doesn't seem too bad. I'll be teaching 16 students for 2.5 hours M-Th (and have an extra half hour just supervising the kids while they do some independent activities). Put it all together and it means I"ll have $1620 when I finish in July. ::sigh:: Not exactly what I was making over at AF, but then, only working 12h/week means I can pick up a part time job no problem...as long as I can figure just what sort of part time job I either want or am capable of doing.

Any good ideas? I'm sick of the Holiday Inn--6 years was enough--and I'd rather not waitress, nor would I really like to do customer service or telemarketing. Working at a bookstore would rock, I think, or maybe at a coffee shop. I suppose there's jobs at the mall too, and the hours there might work. Bleah...I just don't want to work minimum wage. Come to think of it, I never have. Not that I ever made a boatload of dough, just that it was either waitressing with tips, camp couselor with a decent wage, or factory work that paid great. Problem is I can't get an office type job cuz I'm busy in the mornings, so it's gotta be something in retail or restaurant pretty much, and I have no retail experience.

Sorry, just babbling on here today. I guess tonight a big group of us are all going to play volleyball--I just hope the weather holds out. And, that I don't completely suck, as I often tend to do when it comes to anything athletic aside from swimming. I'd prefer not reliving my oh so nice nickname of "Whiffer" tonight.

The Katie van is coming, and everybody's jumping, Green Bay to Minneapolis...

Listening to a bit of "get up off your ass" music as I finish packing up most of my belongings. HA, right, MOST? Probably only a fourth of what I have is going with me. The rest is staying here for another trip, or to just sit in storage until I have a house, or someone else claims my stuff.

There's so much I COULD pack, but I'm trying VERY hard to resist the temptation of filling the van to the brim. For instance, I could bring a bookshelf, and fill it with a zillion books I own. Or I could bring about 6 different lamps that are sitting around down here (I think maybe I'll just bring 4...or 3...) At least this time I don't have to lug my huge ass computer with it's desk. Oh, but I do need to grab the printer...dang, forgot about that.

Anyway, it's been was a late night, an early morning, and now there's a long day ahead of me. Thankfully, I saw pretty much everyone I wanted to see before I left town, and I had an absolute blast this week with friends and family every night. I even had a couple drinks with Joe last night, renewing and untying our "tied up" friendship. It was awkward at first, but eventually we started babbling on like old times. Probably just as well I'll be out of town though, that way he doesn't fall into any old ruts.

Oh, and I found out what position I have for this summer teaching job that I'm moving for...finally. Sadly, I'll only be getting maybe 10-12 hours a week, not exactly enough to thrive on even at $20.25/h. Still, it's an excellent opportunity and a HUGE resume booster for the fall. I'll just have to pick up a part time job for sure now, which I suppose isn't too bad either. Oh, and it also means I get to sleep in a little too ;) since class doesn't start til 9am. Sweet.

Well, time to get this party started. And I like to party, I like, I like to party...

The Ultimate Send-Off

Last night, I drank about five cups of coffee. One could say I'm addicted to caffeine OR one could say that I wasn't about to pass up on refills of Mocha Mint. Yes, my friends, after longs years of waiting, of arriving at my favored cafe and never seeing those sweet flavored words, I have finally once again tasted MOCHA MINT coffee at Caffe Espresso. And it was good.

Also very good were the tortellini with marinara and the House cheesecake that I consumed with relish that night. Joining me in my joy was Shelly, who I will miss dearly as an excellent coffee, restaurant, and bookstore companion. It was the ultimate way for Caffe Espresso and I to part ways, with no hard feelings, I assure you. I even saw a couple old high school folks whose names I cannot remember and faces I really didn't care if I saw or not, but still, it was sort of almost nice. Amazing that in all my time here in GB and the many times I went to Espresso that I didn't run into anyone I knew better. Eh, oh well.

Tonight I went to Tequilas for some authentic Mexican music, dancing, and alcoholic beverages. And it was good. My three favorite coworkers, friends you could say, met me at the bar, and we had a fun night of talking, joking, and a little dancing too. What really rocked wasn't so much the music as it was that all my drinks were ON THE HOUSE. Sweet, hm? I thought so. The bartender was cool cuz it's a new bar and grill, so they want new customers that come back again, AND the represntative for the temporary workers at AF was there and her husband was DJing for the bar. Overall, not a bad deal at all.

Top off the night with some quality time with my dad and Frank & Pat's pizza, and I'd say I'm about ready to crash right now. I still blame it on the residual effects of all the caffeine last night. Or maybe it was the two beers, sex on the beach (I so have to try that sometime), and a shot of tequila. Either way, that bed is looking mighty fine right now, so off I go. !Buenas noches!

GEEZ! What next?!

This week has been just full of surprises. First I find out I've got a new job, now I find out I've gotta move almost a week earlier than I thought. Turns out I'm off for MN on Monday, and before that I have a whole slew of appointments, packing, and fiesta-ing. I suddenly feel VERY overwhelmed and rather unprepared to move out.

Granted, this isn't like, my final "moving out" time thanks to not being able to fit everything into the van in one trip. AND, there's no way I'm packing absolutely everything, just the things I need and some things I want. Still, I have a feeling that van will be jam-packed before I get through with it.

I know I've been planning on moving out for a LONG time now, it's just that I never thought about it as an immediate sort of action, just something that will happen, eventually, in the future. But now, it's MONDAY, not some undetermined date. I think I'll be fine as far as getting things together, but there are a few things I thought I would do before I left that I don't think are going to happen:

*Sanding, painting, and fixing up the desk I bought at a rummage sale
*hanging out with Amy, Mary, and Shelly more
*patching things up with my long lost friend, Joe
*experiencing the somewhat dreaded, thought inevitable, maybe sort of nice, overall really no big deal of being in the same city as and running into old...friends
*having a fun-filled fiesta here at the house with coworkers and plenty of Corona and margaritas
*finally having my own grad party
*helping my mom and dad get rid of all their shit at a rummage sale

Getting to MN early is going to be a blast, I can assure you. However, there's something about "moving out" that has a finality to it. The next few days are the last of me really LIVING in this house that has been my home for 23 years (excluding 9 mo. out of the year). You could say it's just like I'm going to college...but it's not. This time, I'm not coming back, not for anything more than a visit. This is it.

Exiciting...scary...a huge hastle--all wrapped into one pivotal moment in my life. It's like I'm finally saying good-bye to my life as it was, and moving on; saying good-bye to my past and all it's ups and downs, being thankful for the good times and throwing a layer of dust over old memories. Sad that we say good-bye to so many things, so many people in our lives. Sometimes it's spoken, other times they just drift slowly away until they're just...gone. But you know, good-bye doesn't always mean forever. Sometimes time just needs to pass. And then, who knows?

The Time Has Come

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. The time has come at last...FOR ME TO MOVE OUT!!!! You heard it right, I'm moving on out of here in less than two weeks. Why? Well, it could be in part because I FOUND A JOB!!!!! Yeah, I'm pretty sure that has a lot to do with it.

This weekend I traveled to MN to first of all, see Jenni's ultra awesome little tyke, and second of all, to attend an interview I set up for Monday. The interview went great, a lot smoother than I expected, and later that day the interviewer said they want to offer me a position. KICK ASS!

What's the position, you ask? Oh come on, that's personal. As for the job, I will be a summer school English teacher from June 21-July 29. It's not a full time job, and doesn't mean I'll be set for a fall teaching job, but it's a hell of a start. AND, I'm finally using that handle little degree and license I have, which means finally getting paid like a professional too.

This means I have a hell of a lot to do before next weekend, including major organizing of my shit, and of course, having as much fun as possible with the few friends here in town as well. Oh, and in preparation for the move, I also FINALLY picked up a brand spankin new cell phone, whose number I will not divulge here, but I'll be sure to give you a call and let you know (those privaleged few, that is ;)

Yep, bounds of excitement here and plenty of busy-ness, so please excuse me if I haven't been really great about updating this blog lately. I'll do better--really I will! :) Aight, it's late, time for bed. Ugh, at least I can finally look forward to NO MORE FACTORY WORK!!!!!!!! Next week that is... ::sigh::

Tomorrow, in a country far far away...

JENNY LEAVES
EPISODE 2

It was a dark time for the Katie. Forces of nature and a great opportunity have sent Jenny once again across the ocean, into foreign lands. But there is hope...

Okay, not exactly like a Star Wars main title intro, but the occassion is just as epic, if not more so since it's actually taking place in real life. My friend, my very good friend Jenny, is flying out to London tomorrow to begin the next six months of her temporary British status.

On one side, I'm totally fucking jealous, chica. I'd so love to be there too, kickin it and having a great time in the UK. I miss the city, the people, the pubs, the stores, the whole shitload of historical/architectural stuff...it's a sweet place. And I know we'd be totally awesome running around London, the UK, Europe doing everything we didn't get to last time, or that we want to do again.

On another side, I know it's good that you're out on your own making some sorta scary, but really exciting, interesting, and meaningful changes in your life. It's not quite time for me to get back to the UK yet, though I'll be sure to get there again as soon as I can. Probably not this summer, which blows donkey balls, but that's how it goes. And you've gotta bet a certain Mr. H is VERY happy to be seeing you. AND, you can be sure that we're gonna go travel again sometime, maybe to someplace new and exotic like...New York. Yep, sounds so thrilling after everything else, hm? ;) Oh, I know, it'd still rock.

And so, a post to say "Bon Voyage" to mi amiga. Be safe, have plenty, and I mean PLENTY of fun, listen to the CDS, and I'll be talking to you soon. Buena suerte!