End of School

The end of school is drawing to a close. There are only 2 full days left with the students and then 6th Grade Graduation on Wednesday morning. 6th Grade has been fun, though their attitudes get old. They are also very concerned with boyfriends and girlfriends and could care less about school. We had some good drama the other day do to a break-up. As this job comes to an end, its time to start looking toward the future. I will be calling Lee County tomorrow to schedule an interview. I haven't been able to follow-up with other schools I have applied to, since I have been a little busy during the day. I hoping to get a job at Beulah. After this week is over I will be able to focus my attention and energy to finding a job.

i got a job, i got a job, i got a job, hey hey hey hey!

Yep, that right I got a job! I am long-term subbing at Beulah in 6th grade. The teacher (who is younger than me) is pregnant and has 2 months left in the pregnancy but is already having contractions, so she had been put on bed rest. I subbed all last week for her and then found out Friday that she would not be returning. I will be teaching math and science and reading, spelling, and grammar to the homeroom class. Right now the students are taking SATs so there isn't much teaching going on right now. Its going to be quite an adventure.

J-O-B

I sat down today to get things together to apply to various schools. And by "things" i mean resumes, transcripts, copies of my teaching license, letter stating I Highly Qualified according to NCLB standards, SS card, and reference letters. So far I have officially applied to Mountain Brook and Hoover. I have talked to other school systems but these are the 2 systems that actually have openings in elementary education. I am also applying to Homewood, Baldwin County, St. Paul's, and St. Luke's.

This is a very daunting process, especially when you are applying for the first time and I hate having those awkward conversations when you have no idea what to say. I wish I could skip this whole process and just have a job. To bad it doesn't work that way. I think more than anything I am ready for a change and getting out of Auburn is the start. It would also be awesome to know where I'll be in the fall so I could I get settled in new surroundings before school starts.

Ode to the Economy

Well its Sunday, another week has passed and my life has gotten duller, if thats possible. Its a good thing its March, March Madness!! Its crazy, its madness (haha), and it keeps me entertained. Plus, Auburn is in the NIT and have played 2 games here and have made it to the third round, which will be here as well against Baylor. Its nice having post-season games to go to, although it will all come to an end on Tuesday. If we win on Tuesday the next round is played in NYC. Maybe I should go back...haha!

I am still looking for jobs...constantly, all day long. I had a lead recently back home in Baldwin County. It was for a long term sub position in 4th grade. I made lots of phone calls, jumped through hoops and got no answers. Found out that the school was possibly going to be closed next year so there was a lot of tension with in the school and the community. I decided that I did not want to put myself in that situation and that it just wasn't meant to be. So, now its just a waiting game till contracts our signed by current teachers for next year and pick slips have been handed out. Its going to be slim pickins thanks to the economy.

Well back to sports. Its spring, basketball season is almost over, so that means that baseball season is just weeks away! I am watching Fever Pitch and getting really pumped about some CUBS baseball. Hopefully this summer i'll be making a few trips to the ATL to watch them play.

Thats my life in a nutshell right now...dull and boring.
Sorry that you wasted your time reading.
I can't sleep, so that's the only reason why I wrote this.

South Carolina

Last Monday I drove to South Carolina to check out the area where I am trying to get a job. I stayed with a family friend, who is also trying to get a teaching a job. I had a screening interview with one district Tuesday afternoon. This was a generic interview to feel out the applicants and then the district office passes applicants to the principals. Its also a way to feed out all the crazies. That interview went well, but there are no openings right now in that school system so its just a waiting game. The rest of the week I helped my friend out with her 3 children and we looked at houses/apartments/townhouses during the day while the kids were at school. I feel in love with the area and found a townhouse I want to buy. I had a awesome time with my friend and her family. I usually only get to see them once, maybe twice a year. I spent the most time around her 3 year old who is a trip. The kid LOVES High School Musical. And when I mean LOVE, I mean the kid and sing all the songs and quote the movie. Her favorite song is "Fabulous" and she can sing it without music. Its crazy and highly entertaining. Her mom had to bribe her with HSM3 so she would participate in swim lessons. So when we took her to Wal-Mart to get it she is walking through the store saying quite loudly "High School Musical 3! Its my favorite!" Combined I think I saw 2 and 3 a dozen times. The week got more exciting when her oldest son, who is 9, broke is arm Thursday night. He stopped himself with his hand from running into a wall at basketball practice. We didn't realize how bad it was until he was x-rayed Friday afternoon. We didn't even think it was broken at first. Lets just say he had to go to the hospital on Saturday to have it reset. Saturday was also the day of a job fair in another school district. My friend and I went and we were thinking that we were going to be interviewed. Well when we got there we found out that all we were doing was introducing ourselves to the principal/assistant principal of all the schools. None of the schools have openings that I am available for, so again its just a waiting game. None the schools have given out contracts for next year cause they are all waiting on state budgets. So I probably wont know anything till April or May. In the mean time I think I might go crazy. I really need to get out of Auburn.

Its that time of year again.

You know when we can't walk into a store without seeing reds, pinks, balloons, flowers, and tons of different candies. Its appalling to me that people get so worked up over this and "define" their relationship on what their significant other got them. Seriously? It makes me want to scream!! And people wonder why marriages fail. It seems that most people in this country don't know how to have a relationship and show that they love their husband/partner through out the whole year. What's the point? I know I am not the only person with this opinion, but I would much rather receive or give something on any other day of the year BUT Feb. 14th because I know the gift isn't being given out of love but rather because everyone else is doing it. Sooo cliche!

I came across this article on CNN today and it hit the nail right on the head.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/11/martin.valentine/index.html

It can be summed up with the last few sentences:

The people who plan their lives around Valentine's are like those who spend more time planning their wedding day rather than planning their marriage. The day is nice and wonderful, but what makes it last is what you do on the "non-special" days.


I felt so relieved when I read this! Its good to know that there are other people out there that agree with me.

SNL material

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/02/06/cloned.puppy/index.html

We are in an economic crisis and these people spend $105K on a cloned dog. They also got this opportunity through an auction...strange. I know its sad to loose a pet and I know I would be devastated if anything happened to Taylor. You'd think with that much money they could help the county out or something.

Might be a little cynical, but just seems a little crazy to me.

I have decided to apply to teach in South Carolina. We have family friends who live in a small town that is just south of the NC border. The school district where their children attend school is opening 2 new schools in the fall. I am also looking at 2 other school districts near by. Lately I have been trying to get everything together so I can post my application and mail my resume and cover letter to a bunch of schools. I am going to be visiting the area in less than 2 weeks. I am hoping for some interviews while I am up there. I will also attend a Job Fair for a school district, one of the ones that is close to where my friends live.

Other than that I have been subbing at Beulah (where I interned). So far I have only done 4th grade (including the class I interned with), so I know all the kids. I don't think my kids where to thrilled to have me back. Well at least one wasn't. I guess I wasn't as nice as before. Oh well.

Here are some pics from Auburn Basketball games:



This is at the Women's game. They are ranked #5 and have only lost 1 game (stupid dawgs). As I was taking this picture I got hit with a t-shirt. As the starting line-up is called the girls run to the center and throw a shirt into the crowd. The shirt is signed by all the players too.


This was the halftime entertainment at one of the men's games. It was hilarious because none of the mascots could see where they were going, except for Aubie and few others. If they got the ball they just threw it in the air, having no idea where it was going. The Bay Bear's head fell off at one point. HAHA. And the mouse you see is the Alabama Dept. of Health mascot. Ok? Not sure what thats all about. The mascot from the Atlanta Falcons (Freddie) was by far the coolest. The guys in front of us kept yelling "Air Ball" at him, so he would come over and act embarrassed.

Auburn after college...

isn't so exciting. Its actually quite boring. My days consists of cleaning, organizing, decorating the den, cooking, Friends marathon, and reading. Its like I am a house wife without the husband and kids. For fun yesterday I went to Hastings for like an hour, although I find Hastings entertaining wether or not I am bored to death. Its been the highlight of my week! At least tonight I am going to the men's basketball game Florida.
I got all my paperwork in to sub at Beulah (where I interned), now I am just waiting on them to call me. $60 sure would be nice. Today I was looking for teaching jobs that were available now and came across one in Atlanta. I decided to investigate even though the school is part of Atlanta Public School so I was just assuming that the school would be in the heart of Atlanta, which would not be where I would want to start off teaching. Well much to my surprise the school is located in Buckhead, the nicest part of Atlanta. We have some close family friends that live in this area and the school was very close to their house. What are the chances! So I called and talked to my friend and then called to school to see if the position was still open, but of course it had already been filled. So I got all excited for nothing. Oh well, life shall go on.
Though this whole process I have decided that I don't want to stay in Auburn. Its not the same anymore and I have nothing here excepts a few friends and lots of memories. So after all the excitement from the Atlanta job, I decided to look some more. Alabama isn't looking to promising for jobs since the economy blows and plus its Alabama. So, where to look? There are thousands of schools in this county. My method of searching was to find a city first, so I started with a top 100 best small towns. Nothing promising, so basically I have no idea.

More Moon Pie hooplah

This is the political cartoon from Mobile's paper today. J.D. Crowe is a genius! I love his work.
You know, the so called Moon-Pie looks more like the Krispy Kreme Hot Sign. HaHa.

Moon-Pie Poetry? REALLY!

This sounds like a perfect topic for "Really! with Seth and Amy" a segment on SNL, however Amy is no longer on the show.
How more ridiculous can this Moon-Pie hoisting get? Councilman Clinton Johnson was so inspired by the event that he wrote a poem! How sweet!!! And I thought the whole leprechaun siting was the worst this city has seen.


"A Moon Pie Over Mobile, a sight for all to see,
"I stood in the crowd that night while thousands watched with me.
"A crane it took to hoist the pie, with lights flashing very bright,
"It startled all as they looked on this cold, cold New Year's night.
"Chattanooga Bakery was on the scene with the World's Largest Moon Pie,
"RC Cola was there as well, when the electric pie lit the sky.
"Mobile is now the City of Dreams, the Moon Pie confirmed this fact,
"I'll await this event next year, when the Mobile Moon Pie comes back.
"I commend you Mobile for this joyous event, don't let them steal your story,
"Keep raising your Moon Pie for years to come — watch the Moon Pie bring you glory!"

New Adventures

Well as my college career has now come to an end, it time to impart on a new chapter in my life. I am not ready to "settle down" somewhere and start a career. I am to young for that. My friend Kami, who was one of my roommates from Italy, is currently teaching English as a second language in S. Korea with plans of returning to Italy in 2010. I am hoping to join her 2010. I feel the experience will be useful one day in the classroom with the increasing number of students in our schools who do not speak English. As a classroom teacher it wouldn't be my responsibility to teach them English, but I could help them and I would be able to be more understanding of where they are coming form. I would have to be trained, but I might be able to do it online since i have a teaching degree. Otherwise, I will have to go somewhere to be trained. This is all "up in the air" right now, so I will just have to wait to see how things unfold. But if I am not planning on going anywhere till 2010, then I am going to need a job. I am not sure a teaching job would be the best since I know I will only be there for one year. Thats a lot of time and effort for only one year. I don't think it would be right going in knowing I would only be there for one year. We shall see.