Now that I am a little less frustrated and cranky, its time to mention the good things that have happened since my move. First, I have actually met quite a few fun people to hang out with here and there. I mean, its not like I have a new best friend yet or anything like that, but I keep myself pretty occupied for the most part. One concern in moving was that I would no know anyone and be sitting home on my butt every night. But it has been quite to the contrary and I somewhat enjoy those nights of sitting at home to do nothing.
I started work this week as well. I have 13 kids in my tiny little class. No, thats not normal, and those kind of numbers is what worries me that this is going to be a not so permanent job. But for now I will keep my hopes up and just trudge on. The beginning of a school year always wears me out. I dont consider myself a lazy person during the summers but being on my feet all day is very tiring for the first few days back in the new school year. Its a fun school, nice people, but it runs so differently than the schools did in Utah. I am not gonna bore you with details but basically, its very different. The kids are cute though and as of the third day of school I am already "the best teacher in the whole world." One boy comments on how nice my clothes are every day and tells me I am pretty. Haha, if only boys my age could be more like 6 year olds! Maybe thats why I teach little kids, it definitely is a little self-esteem booster every day.
My friend Becky moved down this past weekend as well. It will be nice to have a familiar face available when needed, even though it does take a whoppin 45 minutes just to get to her house! Hopefully we will find a nice hang out spot somewhere in the middle. Molly came to visit for like a day as well. She was here less than 24 hours which is kind of a bummer though. We did hit the slots and had a grand time with that. We also saw the movie House Bunny- so funny! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hopefully she can come back soon and stay just a tad bit longer. I will admit that I was quite bummed when she actually got on a flight out of here, I was hoping she would get stuck for an extra day or two. Good news is that my job (if I keep it that is) is year round, and my official "off track" time is in three weeks! I really want to go and visit the fam for a few days and the sis a few days but frankly, at the beginning of a new school year, I am always dirt poor. So the trip out to Indiana will prob have to wait a while. Who knows if I can even afford the gas to get to California! But- in the long run, the lack of money thing rarely stops my sporadic spending sprees, so I will say all plans of take-off are pretty much still a go!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
My Horrid Week
I can say nothing other about this week than it has been an adventure. It definitely had some ups and some downs, and some more downs, and even some more downs, but I am hoping that the worst is behind me and things can only get better.
I will start with my job. Because I waited so long to get my butt in gear actually looking for a job in the LV area, the district had been put on a "hiring freeze." Basically, until official school numbers come in on the official "count" day, they are not technically allowed to hire any more teachers. Some schools, however, are pretty sure that they will need a teacher so they hire a "long term sub." Basically its not a guaranteed position, but they make a class for that teacher, and hope that by count day they have the numbers needed to keep that teacher as the real teacher. Well that is what I was hired for. My application to teach in the district had all been approved so I thought, how hard is it to get hired as a sub? A lot harder than one might think! To make a long story short, I drove back and forth to the district office about a bazillion times which I might add, is in the middle of the freakin city, taking approximately 45 minutes one way just to get there. Then you wait in line, get finger printed. Go to the State education office, to find out you have to go to yet another place to have another set of fingerprints taken! These places dont take check or CC either, you need to find a 7-11 to get a money order for a bunch of money that you dont have cash for so you have to go get cash so you can go back and buy that money order. Back to the district office to learn that the next thing that needs to be done can only be done on Fridays! Squeeze in two visits to the dr. for a shot, then the checkup of the shot. . . It was the lengthiest process I could possibly imagine and by the end of the week I was seriously considering just going back to California to crawl under a hole!
But somehow, I got it all done. Somehow I got a classroom decently set up for a "meet the teacher day" that I was not informed of until 2 days before when all the district crap was still an issue. Meanwhile, the water heater in the house broke and drowned my closet so I was squeezing in days and time to deal with water heater fixers and carpet cleaners and wall repairers. I had left a lot of my classroom stuff at home and mom decided to bring it up to me on Tuesday. She would come in the afternoon, stay the night and leave the next afternoon. But she had some unexpected injuries that through that plan out the window so Dad and a friend of his drove all my stuff up on Thursday instead. I got to hang out with them for about an hour but there was so much to do I couldnt see them for any longer. So sad. So nice to have parents that care enough and are willing to drive 5 + hours up to see you just to turn around and go home. I dont know how I ever got so lucky.
Now, all I can think of is what a relief it is that this heinous week is behind me. I have TONS to do before school starts on monday but I am actually now thinking I will make it. And yay for Molly who comes to visit me tomorrow for the whole day!
I will start with my job. Because I waited so long to get my butt in gear actually looking for a job in the LV area, the district had been put on a "hiring freeze." Basically, until official school numbers come in on the official "count" day, they are not technically allowed to hire any more teachers. Some schools, however, are pretty sure that they will need a teacher so they hire a "long term sub." Basically its not a guaranteed position, but they make a class for that teacher, and hope that by count day they have the numbers needed to keep that teacher as the real teacher. Well that is what I was hired for. My application to teach in the district had all been approved so I thought, how hard is it to get hired as a sub? A lot harder than one might think! To make a long story short, I drove back and forth to the district office about a bazillion times which I might add, is in the middle of the freakin city, taking approximately 45 minutes one way just to get there. Then you wait in line, get finger printed. Go to the State education office, to find out you have to go to yet another place to have another set of fingerprints taken! These places dont take check or CC either, you need to find a 7-11 to get a money order for a bunch of money that you dont have cash for so you have to go get cash so you can go back and buy that money order. Back to the district office to learn that the next thing that needs to be done can only be done on Fridays! Squeeze in two visits to the dr. for a shot, then the checkup of the shot. . . It was the lengthiest process I could possibly imagine and by the end of the week I was seriously considering just going back to California to crawl under a hole!
But somehow, I got it all done. Somehow I got a classroom decently set up for a "meet the teacher day" that I was not informed of until 2 days before when all the district crap was still an issue. Meanwhile, the water heater in the house broke and drowned my closet so I was squeezing in days and time to deal with water heater fixers and carpet cleaners and wall repairers. I had left a lot of my classroom stuff at home and mom decided to bring it up to me on Tuesday. She would come in the afternoon, stay the night and leave the next afternoon. But she had some unexpected injuries that through that plan out the window so Dad and a friend of his drove all my stuff up on Thursday instead. I got to hang out with them for about an hour but there was so much to do I couldnt see them for any longer. So sad. So nice to have parents that care enough and are willing to drive 5 + hours up to see you just to turn around and go home. I dont know how I ever got so lucky.
Now, all I can think of is what a relief it is that this heinous week is behind me. I have TONS to do before school starts on monday but I am actually now thinking I will make it. And yay for Molly who comes to visit me tomorrow for the whole day!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
I've Moved!
This is me in front of my new hometown. It is bigger than it actually looks!
But a lot has happened in the weeks prior to my big move, so I better catch you up!
A few weeks ago Molly came into town. We did all sorts of fun things while she was here. We went swimming and worked on her tan(she was practically an albino before coming!), we hit the beach, went out to eat (of course!), went bowling, and just goofed around home quite a bit. She was quite the entertainer for the week so I captured a few of her many silly moments . . .
At dinner one night Molly told the kids of the good ole days when mom used to take us toilet papering. We tried to convince Bonnie to let us take the kids for their first experience but she said absolutely not. Molly wouldnt drop it however and on the way home from dinner (wearing Aubs cute glasses I might add) her and Cayd began chanting some silly rhyme about going to vons to buy toilet paper. As you can see, Cayd got quite into it!
At the beach, Molly discovered some old gross seaweed. Feeling a bit bored I guess, she bargained with us that she would chew through the seaweed for a mere five bucks. We took that offer, of course, and got to witness her bite open the crusted thing. She would not however, swallow it for ten.
Molly and I ended up leaving town on the same day. She flew back to Indiana, I drove up North to Las Vegas to prepare for my big move. It was a good trip. Saw the house I would be living in, met the girls I would be living with, got a job (wahoo) and saw my friend Chris who was moving out of Las Vegas the same day I was basically moving in.
Then I continued north to Provo to collect the last of my belongings, and to say good bye to some of my friends. I headed down to LV for a few more days, then back to California, all in about a weeks time. It was a fun, rather tiring, and somewhat sad trip to make.
I was home for a few more days, before having to unexpectedly come back to Vegas a little earlier than anticipated. I got a kind of indefinite job teaching first grade here at a school so unbelievably close to where I live that it really could not have worked out any better. But I had some paperwork that needed to be done and had to be done here and today. It was a stressful time, I will admit, I learned I had to leave California sometime around 8:45 in the morning, and was on the road by 10:30 am after packing my belongings, some of my classroom crap, getting the kids taken care of, and on top of that, finding their lost dog. But I made it, and for the most part, am happy to be here. The day before I left me and mom got to squeeze in another trip to Legoland (it was her first time!) where we got a cute picture of them eating their different colored ice cream cones, and me in front of my new home town. (Yep- that picture at the top is not the REAL Vegas- fooled you!) :)
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