My morning had a lovely start. While I was cleaning out Kari's litter box, she decided to do #1 right next to my foot - outside the box. I'm not sure if she was expressing her frustration with me because I hadn't fed her yet, she saw me cleaning her box and realized she *really* needed to go, or if it may be some kind of an UTI. I cleaned out several clumps of #1, so I think this was a first (I hope!!!)

I realized this morning that my vet appointment was for today, and not tomorrow -- which was impossible for me to do. So I called the vet this morning to let them know I needed to reschedule. I got their voicemail. About 2:30 they called back and left a voicemail saying that the next available appointment would be Oct 26, and that I'd be charged a $15 holding fee.

Considering how old Kari is getting, I want to get her shots done ASAP so I can get her spayed. Waiting another two weeks isn't going to cut it. So I called another place, and can bring her by on Thursday afternoon before 4:30. They are quite a bit more expensive, but it is worth it so I can at least get in and see someone!!

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This afternoon I was in the middle of teaching one of my third grade sections when SrN came by. The 3rd grade teacher and I were working together on a Saints research project. The kids were working on researching their different Saints. SrN unfortunately came in while I was running around the room helping the kids put their Saints name in the search engine. She started telling me she thought it was way too hard for the kids and that they'd get overwhelmed. I told her that the Monday section had done it, and had done quite well with it. I probably was quite a bit more short with my response than I would have been if I hadn't been in the middle of class and on the third week of working on this project ... She also told the 3rd grade teacher the same thing - 3rd grade teacher had done the same project last year with her kids, and it was in her lesson plans she turned in a few weeks ago ...

Ugh!

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One thing I'm having to get used to here is never knowing when people will just waltz through your classroom. This week so far we've had at least three groups of donors tour through campus. Then today we also had one of our more major donors/fundraisers/volunteers make a presentation from pictures he and his group took during the Summer School program. Never a dull moment!

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I had been planning on getting an iPhone 5 when it came out. Of course, that didn't happen. So now I am thinking about getting an iPhone 4 -- if, as I've seen reported, it will sell for $100 (w/2 yr contract.) My current phone could then become my defacto iPod touch for a 50% less than getting a 4S.

Or ... I suppose I could wait til the 5 comes out, and possibly get the 4 for free ... (like the 3GS will now be ... only the 8GB one though)

It sure has gotten cold here. Very different from Texas .. there we'd have shorts and sandals weather til nearly Thanksgiving most years. Here, we had a low of 27 degrees Friday night, and I imagine last night was even colder, because at 8 a.m. it was only 30 degrees!

I slept most of yesterday - still trying to fight off whatever this bug is that I got.

Today I spent about three hours picking out appropriate youtube videos for my 6th - 8th graders to watch on their various plagiarism topics. I couldn't find a good one for citing music MLA format (well, I did find *one* but not exactly appropriate.) I used quietube to make the links devoid of any advertisements or links to other videos.

Then this afternoon I spent about five hours doing inventory at the library. I made it through A - F in the E Fiction section. Before I can process any new books, I have to complete a full inventory. Our circulation system (Destiny) was purchased in the middle of last year, and merged with the old circulation system. So until all the books are accounted for one way or another, there is something called a "barcode filter" in place. I can create my own barcodes for new books, but by doing that I run the danger of using a barcode already assigned to a book. Once the inventory is complete, then the barcode filter will be removed, and the barcode field will fill automatically with whatever barcode is next in line.

I have a bunch of new (or newish) books that are ready and raring to be processed. I forsee a number of Sundays going forward spent doing inventory, then a number more getting the books processed ... Oh well, not like there is all that much else to do around here.

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Tomorrow after school all the teachers are riding busses with the kids. Two teachers per bus. I'm glad I didn't get put on the super crowded bus - though I did get put on the one with the longest route. I will need to be sure to dress warmly!

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Wednesday after school I have a vet appointment for Kari. I'll hopefully find out how old she is, and then get her started on her shots. (She did have some shots already, but her previous owner can't find the paperwork, and the vet clinic (she'd gone to a free clinic) didn't keep any records! I hope to get her through all her shots and fixed before she goes into her first heat! (One reason I think I/we've always gotten male pets ...)

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Probably on Tuesday after school I will go get my oil changed. I really should have done it last week when we had the half day instead of going to see a movie, but oh well.

Over the last two weeks I've been progressively feeling yuckier and yuckier. I was even beginning to think I may have caught strep or an ear infection. I took some Mucinex D (two doses) and my throat and ear started to feel better ... but then I realized that I most likely had a sinus infection.

Our school nurse suggested a Neti Pot. So Tuesday was Pet Day (half-day). I went into the town with the Walgreen's (only one in a 90+ mile radius ...)and got a Neti Pot and some OTC Allegra D. I took the Allegra D last night, and got some relief. Then this morning I tried the Neti Pot for the first time .... still need to practice with it (swallowed more than I cared too ..)

In talking with the school nurse again at lunch today, she suggested taking oregano. I was like, I have some of that at home. She told me you have to take it in the pill form - that supposedly it does wonders for all kinds of illnesses. Kind of an all natural antibiotic. She had a bottle at school (unopened) and gave me 6 pills for me to try.

I took one around 1:30, and by 2:30 I was already feeling much better!! I unfortunately left the other pills at school, but am still feeling better than I was last night (or this morning.)

Who knew that an herb used to spice up sauces could possibly clear up a sinus infection??

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I have to tell you about Pet Day! Tuesday was the celebration of Saint Francis - patron saint of animals (or something like that). I'd guess that about 50% of the students brought an animal -- lots of dogs and cats ranging from maybe 8 weeks old to adult; hamsters; turtles; guinea pigs; hermit crabs, etc. There was going to be a horse and a donkey, but they didn't come due to the rain. (We've been getting LOTS of rain!)

All the animals that were in cages or smaller than the kids knee (and on a leash) were allowed in the cafeteria while the kids ate breakfast and lunch. It was simply *amazing* to me that there were NO dog fights, and that the cats were overall pretty darn calm with all the commotion. At 10:30 we had a "Pet Parade" where SrN picked up the PreK from their classroom (PreK-K only had stuffed animals) and then picked up all the other grades. Originally we were going to have the blessing of the animals outside ... but well ... it was raining. So we all went into the gym. Pets and all. There was one dog that was going a little haywire for most of the time we were in the gym, but otherwise, the animals were pretty quiet.

Before the Pet Parade though, we had other excitement. A particular charity came and gave a free pair of shoes to every student!! SrN had been panicking about how we were going to do the shoes AND Pet Day in a half-day ... so we were very very well organized. We managed to get 200+ kids fitted with their new pair of shoes in about 90 minutes flat. Every kid as they left said thank you to the truck driver/organizer. He (truck driver) said to SrN that our school was the most organized and the kids some of the most appreciative (we were school #57 on his route.)

The shoes really are more of a water shoe type, so probably won't be usable till summer - but maybe would be good for indoor wear before then ...

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This coming Monday all the teachers are going to be riding the busses out on the reservation. I rode one bus when I was here for my interview, and I am very curious to see how this different bus route will look. Somehow I don't think we'll get quite as far out (or up) on the rez as I did when I went on the food run -- but it still will be a good experience to see where the kids live.

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One of our teachers was posting some very drunken posts on FB this past weekend. Saying some very incindery things about Native Americans. Apparently a couple of the people he has been "hanging" with and drinking with busted out his back car window and stole a couple things (not sure what.)

The big problem with what this teacher was posting is that one of their "friends" is a parent of a student at the school. A Native American student. So not only could his posts cause problems for him, but also for the school.

Anyway ... especially with the new format on FB (UGH!!!!) one must be *really* careful about what they post AND what they comment on/like. No telling WHO might see it.

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Like many techies, I was really disappointed that what was looking like the iPhone 5 turned out to only be an iPhone 4S. My protective cover for my iPhone is on its last legs, and I was just waiting to get a new iPhone/new cover. Now though, the upgrade really isn't all that much over the 4. So ... as long as this phone works, I'm going to keep on chugging with it. I will however *need* to get a new protective cover ASAP. My current one opens up if you blink at it.

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Oh! Tuesday when I was in town for Walgreen's, I also finally saw Contagion! I thought it was really quite good. I saw it with the middle school science teacher (who has a Master's in Ornithology I think). She lived in Taiwan (teaching ESL) near the end of the SARS outbreak. So the movie seemed all too realistic to her (face masks, grocery stores, etc.)

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I think I've decided to not do the Af * Lac secondary insurance. If I had a kid, then I might be more interested in the Accident supplement ... but even as Klutzy as I am, I don't think I'd get my money's worth.

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RIP Steve Jobs

Today was teacher in-service. We got to go into work an hour late.

I'm now up to the beginning of season 4 of Ally McBeal with yummy Robert Downey Jr. Too bad he doesn't last very long on that season ... he could have probably lasted out the show (and maybe have saved it from its downward spiral in Season 5) if he himself hadn't taken a downward spiral. I'm just glad he was able to pick himself up and rejuvenate his career ... otherwise Iron Man 1 and 2 wouldn't have been half as good (with some other person playing the part.)

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I spent a lot of money at the grocery store today. I'm not sure exactly what was up with my thinking ... bought quite a few prepared meals, etc. I also bought a couple different cat sprays (the kind to keep cats from scratching things, the kind to attract cats to certain areas you DO want them to scratch, and a wet/dry cat shampoo) and a cat toy (it was $10 and so far seems to be a dud ... wonder if I can take it back??)

Any ideas on how to keep Kari out of my trashcan? I moved it away from anything jumpable, then she figured out that she could knock it over. So then I put it in the laundry room with the door closed ... and she figured out how to get under the door. Then I stuffed the door with a mat, and she figured out how to pull the mat out!! I'm out of ideas quite frankly.

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Buddy (moms dog) apparently bit another person last week. My mom was taking him out to do his business, and a neighbor lady was behind the garage door. It drew blood. She asked to see his shot records. Thank the Good Lord mom had gotten it together (finally!!!) and had him for his shots the week before. Oh yeah, he of course wasn't on a leash. This might get her to put him on a leash for a week or two, then she'll get too annoyed at the hassle ... or over confident in her "control" of him ... Ugh!!!!!

During this same phone call where she told me about this, she also essentially asked me to tell her why she shouldn't move in with this guy (the guy who's broken up with her 4 times in the last 7 months ...). I wasted my breath, all the while she was telling me what good advice/wisdom I had. The move in day was Thursday - haven't heard from her, so more than likely my words went in one ear and out the other. So I'll get to spend Thanksgiving at this guys house. Ergh!

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The same woman who gave me Kari told me yesterday that she is pregnant! She's 33, so not too much younger than me -- and she's single. I'm happy for her, even though maybe slightly jealous. She's due in May - so that's really pretty perfect.

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At our in-service today, the Duck Company (which starts with an Af and ends with lac) had a representative. I've had them before, and remember getting paid "wellness" benefits for doing things like getting a dental checkup and annual physicals, etc. Of course, I had them my first few years of teaching ... so I'm debating on whether or not it really makes any sense (financially) to go with them again. The cost has definitely increased since 1997 (ha ha!) I'm thinking of doing the accident/sickness/cancer plan, which would be around $45/month.

I'm 35 and relatively healthy (although in the obese weight range). I haven't had a real checkup in almost three years now, so who knows what may come up whenever I get one done (now that I have insurance again!) I am a certifiable klutz. And well, cancer, the incidences of that occurring in young people (relatively young ...) seem to be increasing rapidly ...

What do you all think? Is it a waste of money? Or, is it like any kind of (health) insurance, if you can afford it, you can't afford to NOT have it??

A couple days ago I'd written a big long post, and then Kari (my cat) walked across my keyboard ... poof!

Today we had teacher in-service. It was okay as far as in-services go. We had a real Mass (versus the version we do each week at school.) That was interesting - especially the way the Bishop sing songed most things (other than the homily.)

After we were done, I stopped at Wal-mart and got groceries. When I got home, Kari had knocked down her food container, and her food was all over the floor. Her food container now has a new home.
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The last few nights I've been on an Ally McBeal kick. I'm almost through the first season. I asked some of my coworkers if they'd watched Ally - one said she liked the dancing baby. Later I realized that most (if not all) of the teachers at the table were under 27, so most likely had been in elementary school when Ally was on. (Thank you Netflix for letting me get my Ally fix.)

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Last weekend I was in San Jose, CA celebrating my grandma's 90th birthday. It was good mostly. The very best part of it was going up to Napa and seeing my brother for a few hours. He's recently gotten a job on the Napa Wine Train, and so is pretty much working 7 days a week. This new job is in his field (what he actually got his degree in), so we're all hoping that eventually he'll be able to get out of the restaurant business. (being a waiter is fine, but it is hard on the body + he's got a college degree - it would be good if he could use it!)
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I came up with this project for 6th, 7th and 8th where they are being put into pairs (or trios) and each given a topic related to plagiarism/citing sources. They have to research it, then create a storyboard and a script. Finally, they will make a video (3 to 5 minutes) sharing their information. The Title 1 teacher was in the lab when I was explaining the project to the 7th graders. She later asked me if I had a camera - I told her that I have a flip camera, plus my iPhone camera. The next day she told me she told her husband about my project, and he offered to give me (the school) an extra video camera!! So we'll have a real honest to goodness camera to use!! The Title 1 teacher also taught the 7th graders how to do a storyboard - they had no idea what I was talking about when I introduced it. That works for me - I was planning on explaining it in more detail when we got to it, but now I won't have to spend so much time on it.

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I just remembered something I was going to post about last time. Buddy (my mom's Maltese) apparentally bit a small child. I'm not sure of the whole story (and with my mom .... who knows what *really* happened) and I guess he also caused her to fall and scrape her leg when he lunged after a man who was running by (he seems to have something against males of a certain color - he goes nuts mostly only when he sees one ...). So the long and short of it is that she is looking to find a new home for him.

As soon as I heard she'd dumped J and gone back to M, I had a gut feeling that she was going to start looking for any excuse to get rid of Buddy. M and Buddy don't get along too well.

I would take him if I had the time to get him retrained, and wouldn't have to leave him alone from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (or later) 5 days a week. And of course there is the matter of Kari - I really don't know how he'd handle another animal taking my attention (or how Kari'd handle it.)

It just makes me sick. To me, when you take an animal into your home, you are making a lifetime commitment. That animal is yours to care for until it dies. I personally even have life insurance to make sure that if something were to happen to me, that whomever took over the care of my current pet, would be financially compensated.

My mom and I are alike in some ways, but in many other ways we are worlds apart.
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When my brother was here helping me move, he checked out my stereo to see what I would need to connect my iPhone to it (to play my iPod music, etc.) While I was visiting him in Napa, we stopped by a Radio Shack and got the needed cord. I now can play my music over my stereo!!

Possibly in November, or perhaps December, I'm going to upgrade to the iPhone 5. Then I'll keep my current iPhone(3gs) as a dedicated iPod/radio. (The regular radio here only gets maybe two or three stations - none of which I care for.)

Well ... I will be Friday morning. I'm heading out to CA to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday. I'm taking two days off work (leaves me with one personal day for the year ...) It'll be worth it though.

I'll be staying in Albq Thurs night, and leaving my car at the hotel. If the movie theater is close enough, I might go see Contagion.

The person who gave me my cat Kari will be looking in on her while I'm gone. She came over tonight so I could show her where everything is, and she was exclaiming over how big Kari's gotten.

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School's been in session nearly a month now, and I can say that I really like my job. There are times that are a bit stressful, but only having the different groups for 30 - 60 minutes at a time once a week .. can handle anything just fine.

I also feel like I am where I belong. For the first time in *years* I almost always go right to sleep at night. There is no (or very little) night dreaming (like day dreaming, only at night). Pretty much as soon as my head hits the pillow, I am asleep.

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I'm really not sure what to do about Thanksgiving. One of the men my mom was dating bought me tickets (with air miles) for Thanksgiving. She has subsequently ditched him and gone back to the guy who is so wrong for her. So when I go there for Thanksgiving, most likely she's going to want to spend it with him. And if the relationship actually lasts any length of time (they broke up and got back together 4 or 5 times in 6 months) they may be getting married this summer. What I feel like saying is "if you're still married 5 years from now, I'll throw you a big celebration. Other than that, I have no interest in attending your wedding." But ... ugh! I'd really be shocked if it makes it that far, but I was shocked with her last ex-husband too. So, who knows.

The Thanksgiving tickets are already bought, and I know she'd feel really bad if I didn't go visit her ... Oy vey! Family.

Yes, you read that correctly. A cat that plays fetch. In fact, the cat in question is my 4 month old kitten Kari. I discovered this quite by accident Monday afternoon while sitting on my couch reading. She was bumping up against me wanting attention, so I wadded up a piece of paper that was nearby and threw it. Next thing I knew, she had brought the paper back to me and dropped it on the couch. So, incredulous, I threw it again. At least 25 throws later, she was tired and fell exhausted on her back.

I thought maybe it was just a fluke, but this afternoon when I got home I did a similar thing. She again went after the paper and brought it back to me. Only 5 or 6 times this time though. I wish I had video of it!

I'm very curious to see what all I can get her to do once I start clicker training her.

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Today was payday. Last paycheck basically went to finishing off my moving expenses, plus a bit of current expenses. Todays paycheck pretty much covers Septembers expenses. The next paycheck (18th) will go towards October's expenses, and then I'll be back on track. Once I have $2000 saved up again in my EF, I plan to restart my retirement savings. That should be right around October (2nd paycheck). Boy will that feel good!!

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Today I let the girl who was such a royal butukus last week (switched names with other girl and was quite rude) be in charge of checking out books for her classmates. She was quite pleased, and said she had fun. I don't know for sure if that is the right approach to take with her (7th grader) but I'm hoping that being given a responsibility like that will maybe begin to soften her attitude. She did a good job.

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Tomorrow I have to go back into town so I can get my Synthroid. They were out of stock when I went to pick it up on Friday. :big eyes shock: That is very annoying, but I really can't go without it till Friday (when I'd normally do my shopping trip.) So I'm going to try to get what I need tomorrow. I may need to pick up more bananas on Saturday after church - hate to do that, but the bananas most likely wouldn't last a week and a half.

First I'd like to mention that I finally updated my Living frugal blog (actually two updates since I last mentioned it here.)

---Silly kitty! I had almost finished the above sentence when all of the sudden my computer started shutting down! Kari had started chewing on the edge of my computer - where the power button is - and managed to hold it down enough to shut it off!

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I took my car to a tire/mechanics place here in town (the only one here) and had them check my tire pressure. According to them, the pressure is just fine. So the little twerp who let air out of my tire(s) didn't let out too much. Whew!

While I was there waiting, I sat next to a Navajo woman who was *extremely* talkative. She was telling me all about these conspiracy theories. That Nasa is trying to keep the repercussions of this new planet that was recently discovered hush hush. (Something like Nubari or Nbaro ...) The reason for all the disturbances we've had the last few years (earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc) has been this planet system getting closer and closer.
She kept up talking for an entire 30 minutes.

Interesting.

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I ordered several books from Amazon. One arrived already on Friday. The one that arrived though, has an interesting story. It had two delivery attempts -- to the post office. Apparently no one was there to receive it at 10 a.m.

Just have to laugh.

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I found out last night that Kari (my cat) LOVES spinach. I was eating a Spinach Souffle and she was *absolutely determined* that she was going to get some. I'd never seen her quite like that. I finally had to put her out of the room and close the door so I could finish my food in peace.

I'm planning on click training her. I already know several commands I'll be teaching her -- OFF and Leave It!!!

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I stopped at Walgreens after church today to pick up my Synthroid. They were out of stock!! Seriously??? So that means I'll have to either wait till I go into town again on Friday, or make an extra trip on Tuesday or Wednesday.

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No school Monday, so only one really crazy day next week. (Tuesday) Then the next weekend I'll be going to CA for my grandmother's 90th birthday - will be taking Friday and Monday off. Then the next two Friday's we have Teacher In-service days. I feel bad for my 5th grade boys and the 6th graders - they'll be missing 3 weeks in a row of computer/library. (There is no one to sub for me when I'm gone - if I'm gone, they just don't have the special class.)

So for the last few weeks I've been trying to figure out how to get our grade program up and running for this school year whenever I had a spare moment. (ha ha) Today, Sr N canceled my two classes I'd have on Thursday, and let me take the whole day to just focus on getting this done. The teachers were getting really antsy.

It took yet another phone call to tech support, where they finally told me a work around to what I'd been struggling with previously. Basically create 4 spreadsheets with the information and sync it. So, that's what I did. About 5 p.m. today I uploaded the third try, and checked out the gradebooks -- it worked! Yay! Now maybe I'll have time to update the rosters in several other programs. On Wednesday I had 8th graders checking out books, and they saw that they are still listed as 7th graders. Oops. It won't be an easy fix because of how the students were all entered. If it had been done differently, I could do a batch update (update a whole slew at once) but I'll have to do it one at a time.

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Tonight we had open house for K - 5 parents. I had quite a few kids and their parents come to the media center. One funny story:

A family walks in (mom, grandma, two daughters) and the mom says "We come bearing gifts to appease the library gods." It turns out that her oldest daughter had lost a library book when she was in the second grade. Her grandma had just found it. The daughter is now in the sixth grade. The book wasn't in our system, although it had a barcode and label with our name on it. It most likely was marked as lost and the file eventually deleted.

Wow! Last night shortly before I headed off to bed, I checked Facebook. One of the teachers who live in the trailer park posted that I might want to check my tires before doing any highway driving. One of the neighborhood boys ( a 2nd grader at our school) had been letting air out of my tires - she'd caught him red handed. He admitted it wasn't the first time he'd done it either.

She, or another teacher must have told SrN because this morning I saw her talking to him, and he was in tears. She also called his mom.

I'm not sure I would have done anything about it - just for fear of making it worse...

I'm very glad I have an air pump!

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Something scary happened today -- one of our teachers may have had a stroke. She's been taken by ambulance to the nearest major town. She's not very old ... maybe mid to late 50's if that.

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I went to the Family Dollar today and got a watch. When I was a teacher I always had a watch on. But after getting out of teaching, I only used my cell phone. But for practical reasons (i.e adolscent boys) I am back to a watch now.

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Yesterday was very stressful.

I had the two sections of seventh graders today. I did the same lesson with them as with the 8th graders on online predators which had went really well. With the 7th boys, it went so-so. The girls though ...OY VEY!! There was one in particular who was being quite rude and disruptive. The other girls realized that I was going to be taking points away from her "house" (points management system for grades 6-8). So at the end of the class, two of them came and told me that they had given me several wrong names when I was making the seating chart for the library classroom.

I have over 200 names to learn - I'm starting to get some of them ...but this seriously burns me. I'm unlikely to forget this one girls name though!!!

Today I started the internet safety unit. I had 3rd, 4th and 8th grade. All of them seemed to enjoy it, but the 8th graders most of all. I was shocked to hear a couple of the kids even say outloud that they liked the lesson and that it was interesting. Not something that most teenagers would readily admit in front of their peers. We were talking about online predators and the warning signs. We also watched a video called "Tracking Teresa" which showed how someone could track another person down within 20 minutes just based on her user name in a chat room and email address. The kids were pretty wowed by that one.

When I got home today I had to wash dishes. They'd been piling up and I was out of bowls. Kari was so funny. She kept trying to jump up on the counter by the sink, but couldn't quite make it. So I put her up there. (I know, I know, bad habit to let her get into.) She sat there watching me wash the dishes, occasionally getting sprayed with the hot water. When she'd had enough, she jumped down and laid right behind my feet washing herself. She is definitely not a cat that likes to be alone.

Right now she's asleep on my lap.

No spending news this weekend. I do need to get a watch soon though. Using my phone as my watch isn't the best way - especially when I only have my bra to use as a pocket. Not a good place to remove something from in front of any boy older than maybe 2nd grade.

And I am TIRED!! The kids were great today (again). Right now I'm feeling pretty good about my decision to get back into teaching/classroom. Maybe my being older (perhaps somewhat wiser?) is helping, or perhaps the break of six years has refreshed me enough ...

I didn't get by the PO today to see if any mail came - stayed late at work setting up a username/password spreadsheet for one of the programs we subscribe to.
Tomorrow I only have two classes!! However, I have plenty to keep me busy! It will be nice however to eat lunch in the cafeteria. M,T and F I only have 25 minutes between my last morning and first afternoon class -- not really enough time to clean up, set up AND go to the cafeteria.

Tomorrow a group of teachers/staff are all going to a Steak and Sushi place to celebrate one of the teachers birthdays. I'm hoping that they have something that I can eat ... if not, I'll drink water and just participate in the celebration.

I'm definitely going to bed early(ier) tonight!

It's pretty crazy how many places in the US today felt an earthquake ... makes you wonder.

Today was our first full day of school. Last week we had three half-days. It was a long and very busy day, but it went pretty well. I can't believe I'm saying this, but my very favorite class I had today were the two 8th grade sections! I taught them how to use Google Advanced Search (none of them had heard of it before.) They had to find a current science article to write their findings on and present in Science class on Friday.

I read all the classes (except 8th, because we had too much to do) the Shel Silverstein poem "Peanut Butter Sandwich." Every class (K, 3rd, 4th) seemed to enjoy it.

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So my dad called me Saturday afternoon and told me that grandma had sent me something to the address I'd given them, and it had been returned "Addressee unknown" or something like that.

I also received an email from Geico telling me that my new insurance documents had been returned to them.

So I stopped by the post office and double checked that I had the right address. I was told that it is the correct address, and they weren't sure why it was getting returned.

The person working the counter told me she'd talk to the person in charge of the PO boxes and make sure they were on the lookout.

Life in a small (miniscule) town!

My first week back in the world of teaching is over. I had 4 classes - all of them 5th grade. Wednesday I just had enough time to go over procedures and what we'd be doing this year. Thursday I attempted to get them signed up on edmodo - hah! 4 of 17 managed to get signed up. The internet just hung and hung and ...

I also helped several different staff members with computer stuff. One of them told me that they were so happy I'm here - apparently the computer teacher last year several times told them when they had a problem/question - "Oh, that's easy!" and then would walk away. What she needed help with *was* easy -- for me -- but I've had enough experience walking my mom and dad through stuff step by agonizing step that I KNOW better than to SAY it's easy.

On Monday I will be starting my full regular schedule. I still don't have the library ready to go ... so will have to go in on Sunday - probably most of the day.

I'm a little frustrated. I mentioned to Sr. that I would like to get some playaways for the library - they are like mini-mp3 players only they have audiobooks on them (usually one - two stories per playaway). She thought it was a really bad idea because they'd get stolen. Same thing with cameras - digital or otherwise ... Ugh! I'm seriously curious about how I'm supposed to do a yearbook and newspaper without access to a camera??? (The school has one digital camera - that Sr keeps under lock and key - she doesn't think anyone would be responsible with it and it would get lost or stolen.)

I think once the next paycheck comes in, I'm going to get a digital camera. My iPhone camera is sufficient for personal pictures, but really need something better for yearbook/newspaper.

Oh well, I knew this wouldn't be easy. I still really like the people here.

---
On one of the forums I frequent, a frequent poster had gone missing. Many people were attempting to locate her and find out what happened. I logged in today to find out that it was confirmed that she'd died of cancer this past weekend. She's the second frequent poster in this one forum that has died of cancer - the other one died about a year ago. Both really good people.

Well... the guys did come by this morning. First the MHPM had to find me to borrow my keys - the extra set was in a truck that went out to the lake (20 miles +). Then later while I was at home for lunch (and had figured out that the hot water still wasn't working) he came by and told me why it wasn't working yet...

Apparently the first people setting it up had left some parts out or something. So today when they tried to light it - they had a small gas explosion! Thankfully no one was hurt.

Later this afternoon he came by the library to get my keys so the gas man could take a look at it. My extra set of keys were "mis-placed." The gas man needed some parts he didn't have, so will be back tomorrow.

So ... maybe tomorrow I'll have hot water again.

---

I nosed around today on the various sections of the school server and stumbled across a few helpful nuggets left by the two previous librarians (before last year's.) I now have access (for the kids and teachers) to the Gale databases and have an inter-library loan type deal setup with the county public school system/district for teaching resources.

I won't be getting my first actual paycheck till the 25th. I'm not sure where I got the 17th from .... Oh well, I'll survive.

Our copying machines leave a LOT to be desired. I attempted feeding a two-sided document through to copy on one side. No can do. (should be possible, but copier refused to do it)

I also had a teacher approach me today about a lesson she wants to do periodically in the computer lab.

--
The most difficult thing for me right now is that as a classroom teacher I was used to preparing for one or two grade levels with a pretty set curriculum (though with leeway in how I carried it out ...) I also had only one room to think about fixing up/decorating.

But as the librarian/computer teacher, I'll be seeing/working with TEN grade levels in two separate sections of a building , and attempting to correlate what I'm doing with the curriculum the various grade levels are doing. All the while I've also been strongly told to use this one program for computers (which I've been told by several teachers that the kids hated) ...

And today Sr told me when I mentioned to her my plan to choose the best behaved classes as the "Golden eBook" class every six weeks or so -- she tells me that I shouldn't do any rewards unless I need it for management ... huh? To me at least, rewards/positive motivation are just as important as clear expectations and consistency. She said that I could start something like that if I really needed to in October ... oy vey! Now I wish I hadn't said anything to her, cuz going ahead with it would be insubordination.

---
Forgot to mention - I used my new stool today. It was SO much better than the chair I attempted to use yesterday!

I had a choice of two stools - same price. One was already put together, but was just a plain wooden stool. The other had to be assembled, but had a back and a cushion. Not knowing what tools I'd need to put the stool together, I chose ... the plain wooden one!

They brought the new water heater in my house today, and even put it in the right spot. But for who knows what reason, they didn't connect it. *shrug* So tonight I asked one of my teacher neighbors to use her shower - ahhhhh .... clean again.

Hopefully they'll be back tomorrow and finish installing it. Then I can get back to my exercise routine.

Tonight I ended up having to go to the town 30 miles east again. I really didn't want to - but I really needed to. My circulation computer desk is designed where the computer is set up at above waist height. That way you can work on it while standing. That's great if you're there only for ten or fifteen minutes checking books in and out --- but not so great if you're there for hours and hours cataloging books. --- So I went to Walmart yet again and got a stool.

The previous librarian had a stool that was hers, and took it with her. (which wasn't made clear to me until today - otherwise I would have gotten one when I got my trashcan!!)

I got all of 6 books cataloged today. Most of it was trying to remember what sites I used in my cataloging class. There is a tool which will make it a lot easier/faster, but it costs money. I doubt I can get approval for it. I may offer to pay for it myself (if it isn't too expensive!) I've got probably 200 more books to go - need barcodes, spine labels, and entered in the computer.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with Sr N (today's got postponed due to her double booking) and then I plan on working pretty late trying to get as many books done as possible. Friday at 9 is our first whole school teacher's meeting - so my time won't be my own anymore.

I really like the technology coordinator. She is Navajo and really down to earth. She doesn't seem to be too annoyed by all my questions. I posted a video on Facebook today from the Sock puppet iPhone app that I'd made. She commented on it that she's looking forward to all the changes I'll be bringing to the school. I hope that's a good thing - being seen as someone bringing changes....

This morning I had a fun trip to the town 30 miles East of me. This was after doing some internet research and making some phone calls. What was I after? A lockable trash can! I've already missed two trash days (Thursday and Monday) and the bags are piling up! Most of the time I do love my GPS, but times like today trying to find the G Lumber and Supply store (where I bought my trash can at!) and yesterday's fiasco of trying to find the Walmart in the town 30 miles West of here --- UGH!

After buying the trashcan ($9.99 - loads cheaper than anything else I saw online, and the only one available within a 200 mile radius) I stopped at Wal-mart. This was of course after a 9 mile detour thanks to missing one turn. I returned a Brita water thing (not a pitcher but the bigger thing) due to a crack in the bottom (not to mention it was ten dollars cheaper at Costco!) Then promptly spent the refund on groceries (plus a bit more.)(The Brita thing is needed due to pretty much undrinkable water here, and the need to stay very hydrated.)

I *think* I am now pretty good on the basics as far as groceries go now - at least enough to keep me for two weeks or so. I'd forgotten to mention that I need to do curtains ... badly. The dust can get pretty intense here - not to mention that several of the mini-blinds are not exactly ... whole. But they'll just have to wait.

I put the stuff away and made it into the library around noon. After being shown my office area, I started looking through everything. I've read many stories of lovely librarians leaving behind detailed notes and tips for those who come after them. The former librarian here was not such a person. There was absolutely *nothing* that spoke of what she'd done the past few years, nor any lists of passwords for programs, etc. The lesson files also seemed rather ... thin ... I was feeling quite discouraged until I discovered the plethora of library resource books! Many of which I had on my amazon wish list, but thankfully had NOT bought.

I have an appointment to meet with the head Sister in the morning - I guess to go over new teacher stuff. I'm the only new staff member this year - which is really pretty amazing for this school. (from what I've heard - of course, I am also taking over two positions ...)

I'd meant to start cataloging the huge stacks of books which need to get put in the computer .. but got distracted by all the library resource books. Will definitely start that tomorrow!

My brother called me twice! Once just to say hi, and then the second time to tell me something really cool that AT&T does! If you have AT&T you need to call them and ask them to upgrade your mobile to mobile plan to include ANY mobile carrier! My brother has been using LOTS of minutes lately with his new sweetheart and called today looking to upgrade his minutes - but instead found out he could do a FREE upgrade. I don't know how useful it would be for me, because I rarely go over 400 minutes, and have tons of roll over - but I might do it anyway, just for the heck of it.

Update to yesterday's post -- After two nights in a row of being sick, I *think* I'm past it. I actually managed to get a somewhat real meal down. Good part of it is the scale says I'm down nearly 10 pounds since a week ago. Bad part is that it probably won't stay that way for long.

Oh! Also, the MHPM stopped by this evening and told me that he has my new water heater! It should be installed tomorrow morning (hopefully before my meeting with SrN) or later in the day when I'm home. Yahoo! I won't have to beg a shower from one of the other teachers!

What a LONG week this has been! I'll give you the highlights:

Sunday (July 31) - Guys I hired get to Uhaul place nearly 40 minutes late (lost.) Instead of taking a total of 3 - 4 hours, it ended up taking a total of over 6 hours (after driving the moving guys back to their car - only one of them felt comfortable driving the truck.) Between the rental truck, trailer, and moving guys = total ~$1150!

Monday night - Picked up brother from airport at midnight. Didn't get to bed till nearly 2:30 a.m.

Tuesday - Brother and I on the road about 9:30 - 0nly 30 minutes later than planned. As soon as we passed into the New Mexico state line, we had RAIN! Something I hadn't seen in way too long. Total cost of gas ~ $350

Arrive at destination a little after 10. Are met by the Mobile Home Park Manager - very nice. LOVE my home (with the slight caveat of NO DISHWASHER!!!)

Wednesday - MHPM comes by and lights the hot water heater. Brother and I want to get the internet set up (I know, priorities!) but in order to do that need my bag of cords - somewhere on the truck. We end up unloading the truck *completely* by ourselves!! (Even though I'd been reassured a couple times that there'd be people lined up ...) While I go sign the lease and get a PO box, my brother takes a nap and sets up the internet. We have WiFi!!

Head out to the big town 30 miles West and do some major damage at Walmart and Home Depot. I got a power drill!! One thing I needed but *still* have not located is a lockable trash can. We ate a late lunch at Sizzler (last time I ate at a Sizzler .... elementary school!) Damage ~ $220

When we got back, I worked on unpacking the kitchen boxes and my brother put together my office/exercise room and setting up my stereo. Fell exhausted into bed around midnight.

Thursday - Head to airport, and along the way stop and see the elementary school we attended (I graduated from in 1989!) and also one of the two houses we lived in.

Got to airport just in time to meet mom as she's coming off the plane. Eat a light lunch. See brother off. Mom and I head to the teacher's store -- light damage $62. Then we head to Costco ($238) and again to Wal-Mart ($111). Ouch, ouch, ouch!

Friday - Do tons of loads of laundry. SO thankful for a washer and dryer!! After second load realized that there is no hot water. MHPM comes by - says it is kaput. Will have to order a new hot water heater on Monday. Gives us the key to the empty home next door to use to shower (till Sunday afternoon.)

Manage to unpack all but two boxes before calling it a day.

Sunset - Sweet relief and rest! Guilt free no messing with the house!!

Saturday - After driving around for over an hour, finally manage to find the church. Sweet people, although they are in the middle of an evangelistic series which isn't my favorite thing. Eat potluck in the "hogan." Find out the new pastor's wife used to attend a church I taught school at in Texas. Found some visitors who used to be church members of a TX church my dad pastored.

Sweet sleep.

Evening - Hung almost all my pictures ( a few had frames that are falling apart.) Got the living room and kitchen looking picture perfect.

Sunday - Mom woke up feeling drugged - had to stop 3 times for a bathroom on a two-hour trip. Finally after drinking a lot of water, she started feeling better.

Stopped by the church/school. Then ventured to find a nail salon. Mom's "friend" was treating for both of us to get a mani/pedi. Over three hours later my simple mani/pedi was finished, and I was feeling yucky. Went to Walmart and picked up a thank you card. Got back to the nail salon. 30 minutes later my mom's nails were done ( a fill???) Rushed like speedy gonzoles to the airport and dropped mom off.

On the way home I stopped at a Denny's. They were *really* short staffed. At one point I had to go grab silverware off another table so I could eat.

When I got home I was feeling extremely lousy, and did something I hadn't done in years - lost whatever food I'd had that day. Went to bed, though didn't sleep very well.

Monday - Forced myself out of bed around 10. Called the various places I needed to change my address at. Then got my documentation together for registering my car and changing my drivers license. After driving around for over an hour, and finally stopping at a police department, I found the MVD. Nearly 90 minutes later, I had my car registered, and a dl. Damage = $73. Attempted to go to Walmart, but the GPS led me to some forlorn warehouse, so ended up just going home.

Tomorrow will have to go to Walmart to take back a couple items, and get a few groceries I forgot.

I forgot - on Sunday while I was at Denny's I got a call from one of the ladies at the church who is a school teacher. She told me that the librarian at her school is looking to retire in the next few years - so that might be an opportunity for me if I'm still here. She also offered to let me spend the night at her house on Saturdays so that I wouldn't have to make two trips (one for church, and one for groceries.) I thought that was really sweet of her.

I've pretty much wiped out what was left of my savings with this move. So I am looking very much forward to my first paycheck on the 17th. I don't forsee any more big expenses coming up, so will be able to restock savings pretty quickly -- and restart my ROTH again!!

Hi all,

Sorry I haven't been posting lately (or keeping up with the blogs ...) I thought surely I'd have more than enough time - but most of my time seems to be taken up with searching for resources for teaching library/computer and getting the last minute stuff done before moving.

This past Sunday afternoon my church threw me a goodbye party. It was *awesome*! The theme of it was card and board games. People came and went, but overall I think there were about 20 people who showed up. I played dominoes (where we kept score - never did that before), and Rook!! LOVED IT!!

Last Monday I went out with my good friend T. She treated me to a 30 minute chair massage (in the mall) and lunch at the Chessecake Factory. Then my landlady and I saw Larry Crowne (with Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks.) LOVED!!!! One of those rare (very rare) movies with no language, no sexual overtones, and an overall theme of personal empowerment and the importance of education. And it was funny (with Tom, how could it NOT be funny???)

I wasn't going to do any more tutoring this week, but one of my parents begged me to do one more session. She and her son had gone to Kenya for a few weeks, and I guess when they got back they found/found out that he had to read the whole Lightning Thief series and write an essay on one of the books discussing the hero/myth theme. This was very interesting considering how much I know about mythology/Greek gods. (You could fit it on the end of a pin.)

I've received a good number of emails/contacts from my fellow coworkers. Several of them sound like they are very interested in collaborating. I just hope I can pull off some good collaboration.

I received my health and dental insurance cards in the mail yesterday. No information yet about what the plans cover ... but I've got my cards!! Woohoo! First time I've been insured since March 1, 2009.

I've hired three unemployed men from my church to help me load my truck on Sunday. Then I'll be parking it in front of my ex stepdad's house until we leave. My brother will be flying in around midnight on Monday, and then we'll be heading off down the road on Tuesday morning. Wednesday we'll unload the truck (I've been promised that there'll be people to help), and then Thursday I'll take my brother to catch a flight back home. About that same time I'll pick my mom up from the airport, and we'll head off to a teacher store and to Costco, then to my home. She'll help me get my place settled, and then I'll take her to the airport on Sunday.

Then .... I'll have a house ALL TO MYSELF!!! This is something that hasn't happened since September, 2009 (other than short vacations my mom and stepdad went on - but it wasn't my house.)

I meant to write about this a long time ago, but kept forgetting. About the second week I was here in my current home, the toilet stopped flushing. After investigating, my landlady and I realized the (get ready for the technical language!) thingy that connects the flush handle to the thingy that controls the water flow had broken. In fact, the little thing that made a place to hook something on it, had come completely off. My landlady at first was thinking that we'd need to go to Wal-mart and get a new contraption. But I suggested that we could use rubber bands or twisty ties to connect (this was before we realized the connecty thing was completely off.) She agreed to try. In the process, she ended up getting her drill and drilling a hole on the top of the plugy thing. Then we used the twisty ties to connect everything back up. Still works like a charm, and didn't cost a penny.

I got some sad news Sunday night. The dad of a good friend of mine had a heart attack and died. He and his wife were in Loma Linda where he was getting Proton treatments for his prostate cancer. (Loma Linda University is pretty famous for this, as well as for being the place where the first heart transplant occurred - a chimp/baboon heart.) He was just about clear of the cancer, so his dying of a heart attack was pretty shocking. I'd forgotten until my friend called me Sunday night that they were in LL. So I called my dad right away - he was their pastor in the early 90's. He called the mom and arranged lunch with her on Monday (along with my grandma, twice widowed.) I'm not sure of what all went on, but when I called him Wed night for an update, he was in the middle of moving my friends mom out of the house where she and her late husband had been renting a room. Apparently the landlady had backed into my dad's car earlier and put up a real fuss about exchanging information?? Also, she had gone into their (friend's mom and late dad) room while he lay dying - with a pair of rubber gloves and carpet cleaner. She informed my friend's mom that she (meaning my friend's mom) needed to clean the carpet. Later she also told my friend's mom that the mattress had to be replaced (since the husband died in it.) Sounds like a real class act.

Anyway, my dad moved my friend's mom into the extra bedroom at his and grandma's house. Her oldest daughter will be getting in on Friday, and then they'll be driving together to Minnesota for the funeral.

I kind of think that my dad was put in that area partly just for this.

I was supposed to work tonight and tomorrow (insurance processing) but all the jobs I could do were already finished, and no more will be indexed til Tuesday. Not totally bummed about that.

I have 3 guys from my church lined up to pack my truck for me on the 31st - my brother should arrive on the first, and then we're off!

I found out that I will be in charge of the newspaper and the yearbook - both starting in October. Yikes! I was the editor of our high-school paper my senior year and basically had no direction and did a lot of it myself. When I did my student teaching, I put together a very simple cut and paste type yearbook for the small school (25 kids and 2 teachers) I was at. I had no real training for either one. So ... this should be interesting.

I'll be having a partly fixed and partly flexible schedule. Really ... if I can run with this and make things fly ... I might just end up staying longer than two years ... I already have ideas for what I'd like to do for summer school in computers ...

I really need to get back in touch with my finances ... been way too loosey goosey with them lately. Even though I have this real job to look forward to, I don't have the first paycheck til Aug 17, and even then I really hope to SAVE more of it than SPEND!!

For example - I finally got my $20 Amazon gift card from Zoombucks which I ordered towards the beginning of June. I had it spent within five minutes - 4 books for classroom ideas ...

One awesome thing though showcasing how much better two heads can be than one. I was looking at these flipcard management system holders - green for "doing fine" yellow for "need help but can keep working" and red for "Help ASAP!" They wanted $10 each. Not!! So I showed them to JJ (my landlady) and we came up with the idea of tri-folding a piece of cardboard and three-hole punching laminated colored index cards with some kind of ring attached. We figured that we could make 20 of them for the price of one!

It's 12:01 on Sunday morning now, so I probably ought to catch some ZZzz's - will try to catch up with everyone later today.

Thank you everyone for all the words of congratulations. I'm not sure if it has sunk in yet that in a few short weeks I'm no longer going to be having much free time. It's really weird, because ever since I was laid off I've really had a pretty easy schedule. There were times I had to get up early and work long hours, but they weren't constant. Teachers are expected AT school by 7:45 a.m. so that means getting up WAY early - Monday to Friday. Of course, I'll have a two minute commute ... so not too bad.

So I started off the week before my trip spending WAY too much money on clothes and getting a mani/pedi. Most of the clothes I got off the clearance racks at Walmart, but a few I got of the sale racks at Macy's, and I got two pairs of sale shoes at DSW. I'd looked and looked *everywhere* for shoes, but the only place that had shoes that fit *and* that I liked was DSW.

On Monday my landlord JJ got me to the airport in plenty of time. As we were driving there, I checked the gate info and found out that the plane was delayed 20 minutes. After getting to my gate, it turned out to be more like 45 minutes! When I got to Houston, I had ten minutes to make my flight - I took off my shoes and barefooted it past 20 gates! I was one of the last passengers to get on board!

Sr.'s N and M (who share a mobile home) met me at the airport. They both are older ladies - perhaps late 60's/early 70's. I was really impressed with both of them over the whole time I was there. Neither one of them had ever heard of Seventh-day Adventist, so they both had quite a few questions on that.

In Albuquerque we stopped at Fuddrucker's - their idea. We chattered easily the whole time - at the meal and the two-hour ride to their home. We also made a couple stops - one at Walmart. Sr. M picked up a small round of cheesecake after learning that I shared her love of all things chocolate - but especially cheesecake.

In order to get groceries (more than what you can get at the local Dollar General) there are 3 towns 30 miles away in 3 different directions. Otherwise, there is Albuquerque, about two hours away. So, obviously whenever they make a trek to Albuquerque, they try to consolidate it with errands.

That first evening I got settled in to my room. They share a 3 bedroom double wide mobile home. It is one of the larger and nicer homes in the mobile home park - they even have a one-car garage/shed! It was built/bought originally by a well-off mission volunteer who sold it to the mission when he and his wife had to leave due to health concerns.

Once I was settled, we all three ate cheesecake while watching the movie "Windtalkers." What a gory movie. - more gory than even "Saving Private Ryan" or "Glory."

The next day we got to the school in time for me to see the kids at the 7:30 a.m. breakfast/assembly. I was very impressed at the noise level in the cafeteria and how generally well behaved all the kids were. Before they were let go, they had "prayer." Instead of what I'd normally consider prayer - they sang a slightly different version of "You Are My Sunshine" after doing the sign of the cross in Navajo. Then they did the Pledge of Allegiance in Navajo. After that, the many volunteers that were there were introduced, and I also was introduced.

I was supposed to go out on a food run (taking food to the elderly Navajo who are far out on the reservation) but the woman who does that didn't show up. So instead, the upper grades Language Arts/Math teacher took me around. Two volunteer teachers were teaching her normal classes. It was really great talking with her. She seems like a very positive minded person, and she talked about how she really hoped that whoever the librarian was would collaborate with the LA teacher for the different lessons. I told her that that was music to my ears.

I got to visit the two classes being taught by the volunteers. One class was discussing different reasons/forms of writing to go along with an art project they'd finished earlier. They were quite attentive, and fairly responsive. The other class was responding to pen pal letters from students in Chicago. Some of them were having a really hard time knowing what to say back because there was not much they could relate to.

Then I got to go into the computer lab and library. They are both located in the same modular building separated by two bathrooms. The computer lab has about 25 computers and a smartboard. The computer technicians office is also in that same building. I had an opportunity to talk with her for awhile, and really liked her. She showed me the library's automation system (Destiny) and also showed me the handheld scanner that she hadn't figured out how to use yet. I found a user's guide on the internet and bookmarked it for her. She is working on getting all the books in the library cataloged into Destiny - they only got the program towards the end of this last school year.

While in the computer lab, I had the chance to take part in a computer class taught by one of the visiting teachers. One thing I noticed was that only about 70% of the kids were paying attention when the teacher was doing a PowerPoint presentation - the others were doing stuff on their computer. I mentioned to the computer technician, and to Sr. N (the principal) about a free program that could be installed so that the teacher could have complete control of ALL student computers from one computer. They were quite excited about that.

I was pretty impressed with how comfortable the kids seemed to be with using PowerPoint. I did definitely notice that there would need to be some reinforcement of lessons on not just cutting and pasting.

The library is fairly large, and within it is a large classroom which I was told is pretty much soundproof. There is a projector in both the computer lab and in the library classroom. One thing I didn't notice was an area for storytime/rug lessons. That is something I definitely will want to add - especially add in some comfy reading furniture like bean bags and low to ground futons. There were books all over everywhere, so I didn't get a really good idea of the tables - these were the books being cataloged. Overall, I was impressed by the library.

After school all the teachers/faculty go out to the busses with the kids. I got to ride on one of the busses. One of the kids from the computer class that I'd helped with her project was on it, so we had a chance to talk a little bit more. Some of these kids live nearly 40 minutes away from the school.

When I got back, we had our formal "interview." I was already pretty comfortable with Sr. N, so it was more of a continued conversation than anything like an interview.

Tuesday evening we had two of the teachers over for dinner - one of them was the upper grades teacher who'd taken me on a tour that morning. I of course was the main course. We had a lot of discussion of religion. One of the teachers has a cousin who is a Seventh-day Adventist - so she actually knew a little bit about it. It was too funny - at one point one of the ladies was saying "well, does it really matter what day of the week you worship on?" and the teacher with an SDA cousin was going "to *some* people it *does* matter" with her eyebrows raised high and indicating me. They asked me if I'd have any problem with attending mass every week. I told them I'd never been to a Mass, so had no idea, but if it was like the weekly chapels we had in my various schools, I'd have no problem.

Something really funny that happened (and I really hope this isn't offensive to anyone ...) but at one point one of the ladies said something about how many people have the misconception that Catholics worship Mary as the Mother of Jesus - but that the truth is that they honor her. After saying this, as a group, all four ladies turned towards me with solemn and intent looks. The same lady then asked me - "Do YOU honor Mary as the mother of Jesus?" I told them that Mary was the mother of Jesus, and that was an honor for her, so yes, I consider her to be special in that sense. They all seemed satisfied with my answer. I do wonder though if their meaning of "honor" is somewhat different than mine.

We also talked about Saints and about food. There was also some conversation about the school itself and the kids - but really not all that much. After dinner, the upper grades teacher took me over to her home so I could see what my potential home might look like. Most of the mobile homes are single-wide 3 bedroom places with a backyard. Furniture such as couches, beds, and tables are provided if you don't have them. The kitchen was quite nice with all the usual appliances.

The next morning we all slept in a little bit. While Sr. N and I were sitting out on the back porch eating breakfast and enjoying the morning air, she asked me whether or not I'd be ready to sign a contract if she had one ready for me when I got back from the food run. She said she needed to speak with a few people first, but wanted to know what I was thinking. I told her that I'd be more than happy to sign a contract.

When we got to the school I asked to see a copy of the teacher handbook. Wow! Having been out of the regular school environment for six years, things have definitely changed. They had nearly three pages devoted to rules and regulations about technology use by teachers and students. One thing in the dress code for teachers which really struck my funny bone was that we can wear "dressy" capris. I've never thought of capris as dressy, so later asked Sr. N what that meant. She defined them as having a "tailored" look versus what you might wear to a picnic. She also told me that the capris I was wearing when I asked her about it, were just fine.

While I was waiting to go out on the food run, I had a chance to talk with one of the volunteers from Chicago. He was a pretty nice man (married!) In the end it turned out that our talk was a very good thing, because he and some of his group followed me and the food run driver in a van on the run. We'd gotten a late start, and by 12:18 only had half of the meals delivered. I needed to be back to the school by 12:45. So the people in the van took me back. Of course, we didn't actually get out of there til nearly 2 p.m. ...

The lady driving the jeep for the food run was a Navajo. At first she was pretty quiet, but then she started talking more (after I showed her some interest). She'd been off the reservation and working as a nurse's aide in Albuquerque, but had had to come back due to some family problems. Most of the homes we went to were of some type or degree of mobile homes - generally set out by themselves, or in a group of two or three. There were LARGE amounts of space between each home or set of homes. Mostly the roads were rutted dirt or gravel. Can you say Dust?

I sort of learned how to say Hello and Thank You in Navajo. I attempted it with a few of the people we stopped at. From what I was told, the Navajo are very much about saving face - so even if I'd completely mangled the pronunciations, they would not say anything. At one point, everyone got out of their vehicles and we were taken into a traditional hogan. The elderly woman in it was someone who enjoys visitors. No electricity. No running water. No air conditioning. She was very friendly. The Navajo woman driving the jeep translated back and forth for us.

Oh - almost forgot! I found out from the jeep driver that there had actually been another person they interviewed for this position who'd been there the week before.

When I got back to the school, there was a contract waiting for me on Sr. N's desk. She told me that everyone she'd spoken to (including a number of the volunteer leaders) had spoken highly of me.

After I signed the contract she printed off a number of informational sheets for me. I also found out that I will get a 401K type plan! She also said that they'd be meeting on Tuesday to figure out the scheduling. (I'll be teaching PK3 - 8th grade library, and only 1st - 8th Computers. I'm going to be quite busy!)

As we were about to leave to head out to Albuquerque, we had quite the excitement. One of the neighbors dogs broke out of it's collar and ran over to our house. She eventually got into the backyard (fenced). The sister's dog Ben (sweet old fella) placidly laid there watching all the excitement. Both of the Sister's were trying to get the dog out. I ended up successfully getting it out (once - it ended up getting back in) by getting its attention, and then running away from it. It then of course ran after me and out of the yard. We ended up leaving with it still in the backyard (it managed to squeeze through the space between the gate and fence.) Quite exciting.

Overall, I am very excited about this opportunity. I think it will be quite challenging - definitely take me out of my comfort zone. Attempting to do a good job as both the librarian and the computer teacher is going to be very time consuming. But .. there isn't much in the way of evening entertainment anyway. I will be very much in a fishbowl as far as my faith is concerned. They will be watching me very closely I imagine - one of the Sister's asked me if I'd ever met a Nun before. I told her that I hadn't. She laughed and said that they better be on their best behavior then so I get a good impression. I responded by saying that I too need to be on my best behavior so they get a good impression of Adventists.

Working with the kids will be a challenge too. I've worked with full classrooms of younger kids, but not too much with older kids (other than my tutoring students.) One thing Sr. N stressed strongly was the need for strong classroom management - but also that she will back me up when needed.

The older kids (6th - 8th) have a really neat system set up campus wide. They are divided into "houses" ala Harry Potter. (haven't read them, so not totally sure what that entails) Teachers can add or deduct "house points" for behavior, homework, etc. At the end of each quarter (I think) the winning house gets to go on a field trip. The points, etc. are all done online. Each "house" has a leader and several other students that act as kind of motivators.

I'll be leaving towards the end of July so that I have time to get settled into my house and get started on my classroom/library.

Oh! Almost forgot. Due to my Master's degree, I will get nearly an extra $1k per year to my salary. I'm going to be the only new staff member this year. The other teachers have been there anywhere between 2 years and 8 (other than Sr. N who's been there for over 16!)

Pat yourself on the back if you actually made it through to the end of this.

I'll have to write more about my trip later when I get home, but I had to share this with you all! This morning Sister N asked me if I was ready to sign a contract if she had one ready for me when I got back from the food run. I told her yes of course.
She just had to talk to two of the teachers we had dinner with last night.

When I got back, she had a contract on the desk waiting for me.

God is good!!!!!!!

I want to add THANK YOU! Y'all have been so good to me and so supportive. I love my SA family.

Yikes! I'll be leaving to go to my interview in New Mexico on Monday around noon. I'm pretty much packed - found a few clothing items at Walmart on clearance. Now just need to get some nice sandals.

I hadn't heard from them since May 28!!! I'd sent a couple emails with some questions ... and was starting to get worried. Finally today I got an email that told me "don't worry about dressing fancy, jeans and capris are fine."

Well I have two pairs of capris, and a pair of jeans, and a nice broomstick style skirt (long) - all courtesy of Walmart's clearance. I was really needing something cooler than my black dress pants and dressier than my pink or blue track pants for wearing to my tutoring appointments.

I wish I had clue one about what all we are going to talk about. The Sr. and I will have a TWO HOUR drive from the airport to the school. Plus she said we'd stop to get something to eat (would it be appropriate to say Taco Bell if asked??)

Tuesday morning I get to go out on a Meals-on-Wheels run so I can see the reservation. Then I think my official interview is Tuesday afternoon. I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing Wednesday morning. I was hoping to be able to spend some time in the computer lab and library before my interview ...

JJ (my landlady) thinks I should keep my hair in an updo the whole time - it would be more professional looking. Maybe a French roll?? It sure would be cooler than having my hair down ... (and easier!)

Arghh!!! I'm nervous enough when it comes to interviews that are an hour or less worth of interaction. This is going to be nearly three days - including lots of time in cars ... I tend to clam up when I'm nervous or not comfortable .... or ... I become Miss Chatty Cathy and say lots of stuff to just fill the silence (half of which I wonder why I just said whatever it was I said)

I know I have a lot of people praying for me (although quite a few of them I think are praying halfheartedly - they want me to stay here, or at least not go to NM!) If this is where God wants me to be, I just have to trust that it'll all work out. If not, then I know I have a way of bringing in income one way or another.(insurance processing/tutoring)

I'd really love any suggestions from y'all regarding the in-reality Three Day Interview!

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I updated my Living Frugal blog with the story of how I managed to graduate debt free from grad school. Although with all the spending I've been doing this past while (plane ticket, fixed car a/c shredder??? and refilled freon, dental work ....etc.) my savings account is looking really slim.

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Today I finished my first full week doing the insurance processing. There are some things I really like about it (especially once I get my first paycheck!) and some I really don't care for. Overall, it is a good stopgap measure - definitely not something I'd want to do long term.

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JJ has no cartilage in her knees. And in order for her to have any kind of knee surgery, she needs to lose weight. The only exercise she can do without killing her knees is the reclined bike. She has had a membership with twenty 4 hr fitness for several years, but hasn't used it in 9 months. So ... on Monday morning we went in there and I told the sales guy that I was *only* going to be here till the end of July, and I would be moving someplace *nowhere* near one of their facilities. I ended up being signed on as a family member on a month-to-month plan for a total of $64 (good till Aug 15.) Ouch.

The good thing is that JJ and I have been there 4 times this week. Her granddaughter came with us twice. On Monday I could just do 20 minutes on the treadmill (intervals). Today I did 40 minutes. It is still hot in the gym, but WAY cooler than outside (100+ degrees!) It will be worth it if it gets JJ back into the habit of gym going (and it's pretty good for me too)

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My brother's taking flying lessons!! I'm not sure what brought this on, or what his plans are beyond getting certified to fly a small plane ... but how cool is that??

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I had a very scary experience while driving a few weeks ago. I was stopped at a light when a lady in a red car stopped behind me. I noticed two things pretty quickly - 1. Her hood was smashed in like she'd been in a head on crash, and 2. She had a cigarette hanging out of her mouth (drooping would be more apt). She had an overall look of someone not altogether with it. My defensive driving senses came to alert status.

While the light was still RED, all of a sudden I noticed the lady behind me coming closer and closer. She then preceded to BUMP my rear!! Finally the light turned green. We preceded to a narrow two-lane road surrounded by construction projects going on. She kept on going slow behind me, then speeding up. I was going the speed limit. Then suddenly, she is right on my bumper, and passes me - double yellow line with a cement truck coming the opposite direction - I had to slow down quite a bit so she wouldn't cause a crash!!

She got stopped at the next light, and I took a picture of her license plate. Then we were both turning left. Before the left turn signal turned green, she got out into the intersection, and came within centimeters of getting T-boned by yet another cement truck!! I noticed after turning left that she pulled over into a side lane - I think she was waiting to see if I was going to follow her.

My adrenaline was sure pumping - but I had to go to the bank and run some other errands.

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I have a new tutoring student!! The mom of the preschool girl I tutored last semester, and who's son I am now working with, is a hairdresser. She and her neighbor/friend/client were discussing their children and it came up that her n/f/c was looking for a tutor for her son. I had my first session with him on Tuesday. A really sweet kid. Oh, the funny thing about the other boy? My mom had worked with him and his older sister - said he was very difficult to work with. I've now worked with him three times, and have not found that to be the case at all!

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I can't remember if I mentioned this or not ... but ... I got a new computer!! I had to get a new monitor for my processing job (19") and I'd been saving all my Amazon gift cards, etc. that I'd been earning from the various sites for the goal of replacing my computer. Well, with the graduation money I received plus the AGC money, I decided to bite the bullet and get a new computer!

It's an Acer Slimline w/ Win 7, 1 tB memory, 9 usb ports, etc. I was worried about how I'd like Win 7 versus XP, but I actually do like it quite a bit. Plus now when my dad calls with technical questions about his computer (running Win7) I can actually SEE what it looks like, rather than trying to visualize from his descriptions.

The CPU unit is SO small! My screen is both wider and taller than it.

Now I just need to get my printer working again ... It is a wireless printer, and the Wi Fi here doesn't work - you have to be plugged in. I have my printer plugged in to the computer via USB, but after working two or three times, it has now just stopped responding. When I get back next week I'll have to spend some time on it.

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I'm so sad. My Sabbath School assistant is moving in a couple of weeks. She has been SO reliable - like my right hand. We are having a Primary SS Potluck and Charades next weekend. Unbeknownst to her, we also are having a thank you/goodbye party.

It looks like the nominating committee has found two possible people to be my assistants. (New year starts first Saturday of July). I hope they are even half as reliable as OB. Especially since I may have to be leaving my kids in their hands. (if I get the NM job)

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Did you hear that ING has been bought by Capital One? YUCK!! Even as the interst rates have dropped, I still have been a big fan of ING. They have such awesome customer service, and better yet they actively encourage people to SAVE!

I'll wait till CapOne starts charging fees for every little nit picking thing - but I will be moving my money sooner than later.

Someone on FB suggested Ally, and another person suggested USAA. Is USAA open to non-military, etc. personnel?

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Okay, I better close out this book. I need to make sure not to take so long between updates.

Now I'm going to attempt to go catch up on all the blogs!

It is late so I won't write too much, but had to share the good news. Tonight I passed the second test, and was officially accepted as an insurance certificate processor. I start my first shift Friday at 11 a.m.

It's been a long and busy week - but a good one too!

We had orientation on Monday night, then class Tuesday, Wednesday and tonight. We started with 6 in our class, and are now down to 4. I got a 92 on both tests.

Now, for a while at least, I will be assured of at least $200/week, up to $320, plus whatever little I make with tutoring. Biggest bonus - NO GAS MONEY (except for tutoring of course)

Will write more later!

I got a phone call and an email tonight letting me know that the training class will start Monday night! It will be for four nights. Then I can start putting some hours in!

This is the insurance certificates processing job. (Not a scam - one of my housemates has worked for them since October/November.)

What this basically means is that I won't have to eat into my savings this summer just to survive - thanks to a dearth of tutoring students. God is good!

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I worked with my new student today. I'd heard he was really obnoxious and spoiled. He didn't give me any problems whatsoever. It may or may not last, but first impression at least is that he's a good kid.

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Have any of you heard about what is happening in Los Angeles? The LA school district has RIF'd (laid off) ALL 85 of it's school librarians. As if that isn't enough of an insult (and detriment to the kids educations!!), they are now making the librarians go to court and prove that they are teachers!!! The whole reason behind it is that if the ISD's lawyers can get the judge hearing the case to say that a school librarian is NOT a teacher, then they (the ISD) does not have to find them (the librarians) another position within the district.

Here is an impassioned blog post about it by one of the affected librarians:

LA School Librarian blog post

Here is an article about it from the LA Times:
Disgraceful interrogation of L.A. school librarians

The bottom line to all this is unfortunately just that - the bottom line. Money. What these school district officials just don't see though is how these short term "savings" will have innumerous long term effects. There are numerous studies showing how a certified school librarian positively affects students test scores. CA also has a law where a library cannot operate without a certified librarian. So, in just one of the schools, the library has assets worth at least $1 million dollars. If the library is closed, that is a lot of assets going to waste. If the schools decide to circumvent the law and have non-certified personnel run it, or just leave it open for students and teachers to get materials at will, then chaos will surely rein and much loss of property will occur. (Not that anyone will mean for it to happen, but ...) The long term costs though are the most serious. Classroom teachers are already overwhelmed with everything they have to cover. Having a librarian there who can teach the necessary research skills to students, while connecting it with the curriculum, is invaluable. Having a librarian there who, as part of their job, keeps current with technology and passes that knowledge on to teachers and students, is invaluable.

The kids lose out today, and they lose out tomorrow.

Argh!!

Tonight I had a really fun tutoring session. It's the kind of thing that makes me wish all tutoring could be like this. I've worked with this boy (going into 7th) for about five weeks now. He's done with school and his mom asked me to concentrate on reading comprehension and writing with him. So I found this great book at Mardel's which is divided up into 6 themes with vocab practice, fluency practice, comprehension and writing exercises -- but it is fun! We worked together on everything up to the 3 survival stories (the theme is Survival). After he got his first 100%, he was motivated to get more just to see how crazy I would make the next one. He seriously is a great kid to work with. Next week we're focusing on Fables, and will be writing one. I can't wait to see what he creates!

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I heard from the hiring lady at the Insurance Certificate processing company (work at home job) today. She said she'd received my paperwork, but still no training classes scheduled. I really hope they don't schedule them for when I'm in New Mexico!!

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Last week I worked for most of 6 days with my Junior tutoring student (now a senior!!) to finish his incomplete in English (a GIFT!) and a credit by examination test. Both of us were exhausted by the end of the week - but we got everything done! I was especially happy to see how much his writing skills have improved. For the CBE test he had to write a 5 paragraph essay on Great Expectations. I gave him very little assistance. He managed to write a whole 5 paragraph essay which made sense and answered the question! It gives me hope that next year he may just be able to handle it on his own - except for maybe the reading - that he'll still need someone to hold his hand on.

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I had two cavities filled today. $300. OUCH! Something really cool which I'd never seen used before is this comfortable plastic piece. They put it in my mouth on the side not being drilled, and it kept my mouth open just wide enough. It was SO much more relaxing than having to manually try to keep my mouth open. I'm definitely going to ask for it again the next time I need any dental work done!!

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Tomorrow I have NO students. It is my first real day of vacation. (Sunday and Monday this past weekend I worked at my local church's school helping the principal / teacher close out the year.) I'm planning on doing absolutely NO driving! The only time I'm going near my car is to clean it out. I also want to get my room finished. I still have piles and stacks everywhere. Then I need to figure out an assessment to give my new 4th grade student on Thursday.

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I heard from the mom of one of my former tutoring students today. It was kind of spooky because I'd been planning on calling her today. She told me that she and her older son are going to the orientation meeting for his summer classes tomorrow and then she'll know more about how much she might need me.

So ... this week my income will be ... $45!!! Woo hoo! Raking in the big bucks here. I shouldn't fuss too loudly though. Last summer at this time my income through most of June and July was a big fat $0!

I also realized as I was driving home tonight that this is going to be the first Sunday in quite a long while that I won't be working with my tutoring student. So I can actually sleep in on Sunday!!


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I read this fantastic book by Wendy McClure - Wilder Life. Wendy imagined herself to be a part of "Laura World" when she was a young girl. (Laura Ingalls Wilder) When she was an adult she happens across a copy of one of the Little House books again, and her obsession begins again - she even gets her boyfriend into it. She takes off on a journey through Laura Land, and ends up making some important discoveries about herself and life. -- Very funny and poignant - especially for those who loved Laura as a child, but also for those who have lost their mothers.

I had a very scary experience Tuesday night. Probably one of the most terrifying so far in my life. It may not have felt so terrifying were it not for the string of tornadoes ripping their deadly path through the US the past month. I don't know about y'all, but I think most people are extra nervous when the severe weather warnings sound.

So I was sitting outside the house of my Tuesday evening tutoring student. I'd arrived a few minutes early and was going to give them time to get settled. That is, until I heard the warning sirens going off! I quickly made my way to the house and saw that the family had the news on with the Doplar Radar. It sure didn't look good. The husband was looking out the window into their backyard. I went over to see what he was seeing.

I questioned and requestioned myself if I was just imagining things, or really seeing it. Finally I turned to the dad and asked "Is that what I think it is?" He asked me if I thought it was a funnel, and I told him that was sure what it looked like to me! At this point the mother started putting blankets and pillows in the bathroom, and we all (4 of us) decided to huddle up in there. Nice and cozy. I was trying to find out if a tornado had been sighted in Denton county, and was not finding anything.

We stayed there for about ten minutes, then decided to venture out and see if anything was happening. When we looked again, the funnel looked much more distinct .. and closer. We all scrambled back to the bathroom. Ten minutes later all was quiet, so the dad left to check and gave the all clear.

For the next thirty minutes the tv was on with the forecasters talking about the progress of the storms and possible tornado sightings and touchdowns, as well as hail as big as softballs. Needless to say, it was difficult for me to concentrate on working with my student.

About 9:20 it was lightly raining and I started home. By 9:30 it was raining so hard I could just see the road in front of me. For the next 30 minutes there were intermittent periods of hail - ranging in size from pea size to much larger. By 9:55 I was less than a mile from home, and the roads were just about completely invisible. It was only by GPS that let me know when my turns were coming up. Five minutes after I pulled in and got in the house, the rain completely stopped.

I can emphatically say that I do NOT ever wish to personally get that up close and personal with a funnel cloud again. (It was confirmed by numerous people that at least one funnel cloud was sighted in the area. So ... it wasn't our imagination.)

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On Wednesday night I talked with the Sister in charge of the mission school in New Mexico and a colleague. I'm not totally sure how well it went, but in the end they did ask me to come out and visit for a face-to-face interview. They also mentioned that they are interviewing one other person. Gulp. I'll be leaving on the 20th and getting back either the 22nd or 23rd of June.

I did something kind of foolish. Later Wednesday night I realized what one of the ladies was actually asking me about during our conversation. I wanted to make sure that I addressed the issue quickly ... so I got my phone out and started typing out an email. Before I had two sentences finished, somehow the email sent!!! So, I started a second one. I got about a paragraph into this one, when it too seemed like it sent (later found out it had saved to Drafts.) So, I started a third one, which I was able to finish and send properly. However without the second one, the third one would make little sense. Ugh!! This morning I wrote a fourth email explaining that my phone had been acting up on me, and reiterating the entire message (after asking her to delete the other emails.)

I hope she doesn't think me a dimwit.

Oh, they asked me what, if any, dietary preference I have. So I told them that I am a vegetarian. From their reaction it doesn't sound like there'll be many options for me in the cafeteria. I told them that as long as there's veggies and fruit, I can easily get by (adding my own entrees, etc.)

So ... how does one deal with a 3 - 4 day interview - especially where you'll be staying in the home of the head/principal??

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My aunt booked a flight for me to San Jose in September. It'll be my grandma's 90th birthday as well as a celebration of my graduation. I'd tried to hold off on nailing down a date considering I have no idea what my employment situation will be by then, but my dad kept telling me my Aunt really wanted to lock it in now because prices were going up, up, up. I found out from my Aunt that my dad was thinking I'd come out for a few weeks. In the middle of September. He was keenly disappointed when I let him know that I was thinking more along the lines of a long weekend. Going for two weeks in December is one thing, but in September??? Luckily my Aunt understood my position.

My Dad is being very negative about my going out to NM for the job interview. I don't know if it is that he really dislikes the area, or if it is more that he is really disappointed that I'm not finding anything in CA. Either way, it is really frustrating.

I finally heard back from the new HR department of the insurance certificate processing company on Monday. I was asked to fill out some paperwork and email it back by Tuesday night. I emailed it all back Monday night. Now it is just a waiting game to see when they'll schedule the next training class. I really hope it soon, considering that after tomorrow I only have one for sure tutoring student, and one or two possibles - all totaling not more than 6 hours a week. Not much to live on - especially after gas.

Speaking of gas --- Since moving here at the beginning of May, I have spent nearly $200 on gas. GULP! My highest before (excluding traveling out of town) was just under $100. I *really* don't make enough to afford that much in just gas! After tomorrow my driving will be greatly reduced though (along with greatly reduced income!)

Last night before going to bed, I took one Vicodin at about ten p.m. My dad called me about ten minutes later and I was the definition of Loopy. I slept soundly til about 4 a.m. when the pain woke me up. I considered taking another one, but (thankfully) decided against it. I finally got up around 8 a.m. and was standing talking to JJ when I got *really* light headed and felt like I was going to faint or be sick. I sat down and JJ got me some water. The light headed/nauseous feeling didn't really subside til nearly 11 a.m. - just before I had to leave. Before I left I gave myself the "sobriety" tests - walking a straight line, touch fingers to nose, etc.

*knock on wood* but I didn't have any major pain attacks today! Tonight I even managed to eat food which required minimal chewing motions (refried beans and overcooked macaroni) -- but it was REAL food and not Ensure or Equate.

I'm feeling somewhat hopeful that this may have passed. Who knows if it is the allergy medicine or the antibiotics .. who really cares at this point. If it will just go away!!!

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One of my tutoring students texted me yesterday as I was almost home asking if we were tutoring on Wednesday (that day). I told her no, and that I was at least an hour away from her. She said she had a final essay due today (Thursday). I told her to email whatever she came up with, and I'd correct it. Never heard from her. She owes me $75. I'm not holding my breath on getting that from her.

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Tomorrow after I'm done tutoring one of my two remaining students, I plan to go over to the church school and start working on the Cum files and possibly the library. It's very, very sad. Unless a huge miracle happens (as in they double their student body before June 1 for next school year), the school will be closing its doors. One effect of this is that YA, the principal/main teacher's last contract day is May 31. The kids last day is May 27. YA has to have *everything* ready for the school closing on the 31st. If the school wasn't closing, she'd have until the 2nd or maybe 3rd.

I'm also planning on helping on Sunday afternoon after the Kindergarten graduation. Last year it took me 4 afternoons just to put the library back in order ... I don't know if I'll have that much time this year. Although after Thursday neither of my two remaining tutoring students will be using me ... so I could spend all day Friday helping - as well as Sunday and Monday. Maybe I can get my mom to come spend a day too ...

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My dad and grandma got an iPad2 a couple weeks ago. I was pretty impressed that they did that. Both my brother and I think it is funny that they were willing to try the iPad, but not the iPhone. The iPad is virtually a bigger iPhone w/o the phone capabilities. So far they seem to be liking it and getting the hang of it. His sister and her best friend will be staying at dad/grandma's in a few weeks - so I bet they will help them figure more out with it.

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I've been doing really badly tracking money lately - both income and expenses. I need to get back on the ball and do it. Especially since after next week there may not be much in the way of income. :*(

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I cashed out again for Beezag. Hopefully it'll come in the next few days. I'm almost 200 points away from finally cashing out at Zoombucks, and am waiting on the 4th card from Irazoo before ordering a 5th one. Yesterday I cashed out for my second AGC at Swagbucks in May. They're going MUCH slower now that I'm not on as much and only am doing videos when I have extra time.

What a busy few weeks it has been here! I realized I hadn't told about what I did for Mother's Day! My mom is a serious Cowboys fan. Back in October there was a Groupon deal to purchase VIP Guided tour tickets of the Cowboys stadium for 50% off. I jumped on it! My mom guessed we were going to the stadium when we were about five minutes away. She was totally stoked. Later, she told me she doesn't know how she'll top it.

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Last Sunday I was fiddling with my GPS on the way home from tutoring when I looked up --- a truck had come to a complete stop in front of me. I slammed on my brakes, but still ... Crunch! I got out right away to see the damage. I hadn't touched the actual truck, but had impaled my bumper almost completely on it's trailer hitch. The guy was so nice- asking if I was ok. He didn't ask for insurance info -- thankfully. I'm so glad my car stopped when it did!!
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I went to the dentist on Monday. He took xrays of my right upper and lower teeth and roots. He could find nothing wrong that would cause the pain I'm having. So he prescribed antibiotics in case it's an infection of some sort. I also started back on my allergy pills just in case. So far the pain isn't any better. I've even resorted to accepting the offer of Vicodin from the dentist so tonight I can maybe get a full nights sleep.

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My landlady suggested that maybe the bad flareups are related to stress. I unfortunately had the opportunity to prove that wrong tonight. On the way to take JJ to pick up her car from the shop (catalytic convertor) I stopped for gas. After getting the car, I went to Walmart to pick up some more swallowable w/o chewing foods. When I went to checkout, my wallet was missing! After a frantic trip to the gas station and thinking of all the calls I was going to have to make ... I looked in my purse ONE more time. My wallet was in my phone slot!! WHEW!

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I received my application packet for the mission school and emailed all my references the reference form. Now it's just a waiting game. Hoping it won't take too long.

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The work at home company I was supposed to train with was bought out by another company. So training has been postponed indefinitely. I only have one week left of good tutoring money ...

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Speaking of tutoring ... One of the parents with 4 boys two of whom I was tutoring and thought would continue through the summer ... Decided to not keep me on. The reason they gave is that I might not be here the whole summer! What? Even if I get the NM job, I wouldn't go until at least the end of July. Ugh!!

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I got a rather unfunny joke in the mail. A copy of Bridal Guide. I know *I* didn't sign up for it!!

On Sunday my mom and her beau came and helped me move most of my stuff out of my ex-stepdad's house -- in the pouring rain. I'm glad her beau was there, because it would have taken a lot longer with just my mom and I. We stuffed both cars full. I still had to come back on Tuesday and again on Thursday to finish getting everything. But all it cost was gas.

I love my new housemates. JJ is almost 70 years old, but is lively as can be. LH is around 55 years old (JJ's daughter - JJ married young) and is funny and vivacious. It was a bit frustrating when I got to the house and saw that they hadn't moved out some of the things I thought they were going to ... but it is all working out.

I am really trying to embrace my new minimum hour-long commute to get to any of my tutoring students. I have a number of audiobooks on my iPhone, as well as a complete Spanish course (compliments of the library.) Thankfully the inverter + my extra battery charger is sufficing as a car charger.

This week I came ** this close ** to telling my one Junior tutoring student cyanora and don't let the door hit ya! Sunday morning I worked with him for two hours and basicaly we got nothing done because he was fighting sleep the whole time (he has narcolepsly.) Normally, this wouldn't be too big of a deal, but those two hours were the first quality time we had to work together in TWO WEEKS! Then, 4 days this week we did not work together. 2 of them was because as soon as we got to the house he found out his father needed him to translate. 2 other days I got to the house and rang the doorbell and knocked for over ten minutes. One day he claims he was watching a movie and listening for me, but didn't hear me. The other day he claims he thought I'd canceled our Thursday session. Because ... he'd lost his *library* copy of the book we were reading together on Tuesday, and on Wednesday we weren't able to find a replacement copy. (He will be paying the replacement fee for the book - it was checked out on my card.) His host mom had a "come to Jesus" meeting with him Thursday night, and he called me and apologized. At this point I really don't know if I'll be able to get him caught up. I hope to get him caught up enough for a D ... and that is really, really sad considering he was on high-honor roll last quarter.

I heard back from the work at home job. (the one where one of my new housemates has been working since November or so). I start the training class on Tuesday. If I past the two tests on Wednesday and Thursday, then I will officially be hired!! The only bad part of it is that two of the training classes happen while my brother is in town. If I didn't attend these, I'd have to wait a month or more to start. I think my brother will understand.

I had my last session with one of my students on Wednesday. The other boy that I work with (and who's mom is the one who first mentioned the wah job) is going to take a bit of a break - but then it looks like the mom is wanting me to work with her senior high-school son this summer while he takes government and something else, as well as the student I've been working with this year.

The two brothers I'd started working with two nights a week for the past few months - As of next week I'm down to only one night a week. I'm not sure exactly how this happened, but my mom somehow made the boys mom think I didn't have enough experience working with kids in the older grades, and that she could help the boy going into sixth more than me. Grr!!!!

I've filled up my car 3 times this week.... really trying to not cringe. In a few weeks I'll be able to reduce my trips over to where all my tutoring students are - maybe try to consolidate them all to 3 days ... that'll help.

I got the paperwork packet from the Mission school today. I just need to get the reference forms sent out to people, and mail the other paperwork in.

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ONE WEEK FROM TONIGHT I WILL HAVE A MASTER'S DEGREE!!!
*hopefully I will also have a part-time job

For the pt job, I'm going to need a new computer monitor - need at least a 19" screen. I found one on Amazon for a bit under $100. I'd like to go through Amazon, since I would be able to use my gift card balance, but if I can find one cheaper somewhere else ... Any ideas?

I was also contemplating the idea of just going ahead and getting a new computer .... I was looking at this all in one with a 20" screen, Acer I think ... for just under $600. But ... it probably isn't a good idea, considering I've had the same screen through 3 computer units .... and my computer still works pretty well ... I have a bit over $300 now in Amazon gift cards and paypal cash (Beezag/Sidetick, etc.) So it would be 50% free ... More than likely I'll just go with a new monitor and leave it at that.