New Places

I got the chance to travel for a job interview to a state that I haven't ever been before. I don't want to say too much else about it yet, but I have hopes that things went well enough... I'll hear an answer either way in a week. With a little luck and perhaps some good references, the job could be mine!

Re: the latest political scandal in the US, there's an interesting article in Slate comparing the disappearance of the SC governor to the disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson... very interesting. I know ASM from my class on women in American religious history at MHC. Awesome class, favorite professor, interesting subject. Actually, I'm in the middle (still) of a book about ASM -- it's good, just very academic.

Good Friends are... Good

To put it mildly, who doesn't need a group of great friends? Most of my great friends these days are drawn from the Mount Holyoke circle, whether we were actually great friends at school or are great friends since graduation. We are pulled into each others' lives in a way I would have thought impossible outside the dorms if it were not for Facebook: if they are compulsive or even occasional status updaters, I know much about the day-to-day rhythms of their lives. This one is a stay-at-home mom & small business owner, that one is a college professor & recipe fiend, another is a chiropractic student & gardener. They have formed such a support system, being involved from afar in the nitty-gritty of my day-to-day, cheering me on when I need it and reminding me that things work out ok most of the time. I hope that I can repay them when they need me.

One particular friend, who lives much closer and whom I see much more often than the rest of the crew, took me to an Indigo Girls concert last week. She wrote about it much more eloquantly than I could, so let me just link you there. Know that she hit the nail on the head about getting lost in the music and what that meant. Also about falling in love with Matt Nathanson.

Flipping Channels, Being Picky

Flipping channels this fine Saturday afternoon, I stumbled across a commercial for the movie "Elizabeth," which is, of course, about the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. At the end of the commercial, there was a clip of the movie that included music from Mozart's "Requiem."

This bothers me, for the following historical reason: Queen Elizabeth died in 1603. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was not born until 153 years later, in 1756 and did not compose the "Requiem" until 1791, nearly 200 years after the death of Elizabeth. Inaccurate.

School's out and there is still a little bit left to do -- a few grades to enter and my key to return... Spent the day doing nothing in particular though, which was nice.

Last Day With Kids

And oh, did I cry. I managed to hold off until the end of the day, when the kids were saying goodbye. One of my favorites was doing our special handshake and then he hugged me and then I started to cry. Then I cried some more when a woman I work with was all, "So, glad to be leaving?" Um, no, I'm not. I didn't want to leave. I don't want to leave these kids. I'm going to miss them, a lot.

I'm sort of exhausted and sick of crying. Have to go back tomorrow to finish grading exams, enter all of the data into the computer system. My classroom is all picked up, fortunately, just have to move boxes to my car. Perhaps tomorrow it will be less humid and I will be more likely to do so. Regardless, they will have to be moved tomorrow.

If no new job by the middle of July, I shall be moving to NH. There's a plan.

Oh, Neglected Blog

I am counting down the days until the end of the school year. My final exams will be given tomorrow morning, which is not exciting per se, but it gets me closer to the end. My classroom needs some serious cleaning yet and there are still at least a few boxes worth of things to come home. There are many interesting things out there on the internets these days, but I am not clever enough to remember them at the moment. I can't wait until I get my brain back.

A few morsels:
- What do to about bullies
- Changing math curriculum from textbook-based to internet-based
- Whether paying teachers more gets better results
- A cheating scandal cancels graduation somewhere in Ohio
- Blogs abandoned left and right!
- Vietnam draft resisters still living in Canada

- Lard is ok!

No job yet. What gives, universe? I need new signs, bold ones!

Monday, Monday

June 1st. No job yet. I'm trying to remain hopeful, applying to anything and everything that seems relevant. I'm also making contingency plans to move home to NH (can't beat free rent), substitute teach, and do something else too -- tutoring, babysitting, SAT prep, etc. Whatever it takes to pay the bills. (Ok, not quite "whatever," but close. Legal things. I do have some standards.)

In the meantime, I'm packing my life back into boxes, starting with books from school. I'll get to pack my fancy/work clothes into boxes after next Thursday/Friday, which will be nice.

On another note, there's an article in the NYT which outlines "The Waves Minority Judges Always Make." Good stuff.