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June 23 baby steppinTaking things little by little. I have a freelance job for July 17th and nearly had one for tomorrow night. Didn't respond quite quick enough for the one tomorrow night. Have to check my email more often and not hesitate.
Got a call to go for an in person interview at a college 3 hours away. It's where my youngest will be going to school and one of the benefits would be reduced or free tuition for him and I could take 2 courses per semester free as well. The district I interviewed with that I live in is still looking for people to interview... not sure why when they have already interviewed moi - who would do a great job for them. Maybe they have regs that say have to interview a specific number of people before they hire? Or maybe they did not like my answers. Who knows.
Did some yard work today and some going through some junk in the middle room. It's used for storage, but you really cannot move in there and alot of it was my mom's stuff. Got rid of so many dried up craft paint things and lots of other stuff. Hope to get some momentum going and keep going. June 19 so longWell, we took yesteday as our last day. Officially it's today, but there is nothing at all left to do. If the supervisor came in (he, like she would even bother!) she would probably assume we were in another part of the building. I find it ignorant that our supervisor has not bothered to say diddly to me since my lay off notice on Tuesday. What I get from that it is a "don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out" feeling. Besides, 2 of my friends are retiring and I am being laid off. What kind of trouble would we be in? I just can't say that it bothers me.
We saw some of the staff at a donut and coffee thing the library held and then at the lunch the principals throw every year. I said good bye to the people who I had made connections with through the years. The hardest part was our group hugs right before all of us hearing support people left. Very hard to say so long to them. My one buddy, Susan and I could only handle that for so long. Driving away from the building felt a bit odd as well. It will feel the most strange if I do not have a job by the time school starts again. Not going back then will be weird. Hopefully, I'll have something by that time!
This morning I selpt in pretty late. It felt good, but it would be bad to get used to that. Gotta be doing something toward getting a job every day. June 17 Strange Days indeedSo, yesterday was indeed notice of being laid off. Three days before the end of the school year thank you very much. 50 sick days left that will disentigrate into thin air... what a goof I was to not use at least 1/2 of them. The head of special ed and hr were nice enough. Wanted the bop the spec ed lady when she was droning on and on about why... Gaskin ruling... districts taking back kids as they can do it "cheaper" (not better mind you oh no, cheaper is what we're talking about!)... HR lady was as nice as she could be. This is tough to do I am sure. Funny... Liam asked if I got severance pay. This is education - no bonuses, no severence. After 14 years - see ya. Haven't heard a thing from my supervisor. She hasn't been near our room while we pack up. Very nice...
Eddie's graduation was last night. We all had a really good. time. Yes, I choked up when his name was announced. Got all 4 through high school, and I am proud of him for sticking with it. We all had alot of fun afterward. Maybe even Eddie. The "baby", out of high school. He will have a busy summer. Am a bit sad for this part of all of it to be over.... but am also pretty stoaked about the FREEDOOM! Will post the pics soon!
Today was the telephone modification hearing. Faxed everything yesterday, but domestic relations did not have it today and did not call me back to tell me. I called them when I receieved no call at the appointed time. Faxed everything again. Boils down to Bill got the downward modification for three months. The tone I got from our hearing officer was that now that everything is in the past (Eddie is 18 and has graduated hs), I have to be "reasonable". Collecting over $100k in arrears isn't going to happen. She asked for the temporary modification, for BIll to make efforts to get another job and orginially for me to halve the arrears. I agreed to cutting it to $70k. Halving it made me feel sick to my stomach so I did not do it. Oh, and I guess now we will not have the contempt hearing on June 25th. Yep.
Said good bye to some of the folks at work today. Kind of tough. I stink at this kind of stuff! Still... trying to soak in the good stuff! June 15 TuesdayTomorrow will be a strange day - full of highs and lows. The low is that I will be meeting with the head of human resources and special ed. to discuss "staffing needs for next year". More than likely, this is my exit meeting. No notice - just go see these two for this meeting and morethan liekly THEY will finally tell me - 2-3 days before the last school day that I am being laid off. Thank you very much for 14 years of excellent service to the deaf students of our county... now don't let the door hit you in the a** of the way out. I have to say that it probably much better for me. I've had 2 interviews in the last week and have two more leads. If all else fails I can do freelance work and video relay service. (that is in the works)
Tomorrow night, Eddie graduates from high school. I cannot believe it. Hopefully, we can get past the tension that has been between all of us. He stays away because all of us are always on his back... when he is here, I'm supposed to be thrilled to death to jump when he says so. ... him not being here makes me cranky when we do talk. Yep. Just want to enjoy the night and have him enjoy it as well. Saturday he is suppsoed to go to the national Skills USA competition in Kansas City. Should be cool.
Our last full day of work is set to be Thursday. So far, I have not fallen completely apart. I have been trying to soak everything in and have fun with my co-workers. We've been paking up the classroom since last week. There's only a little bit left to do. Soon a new part of all of our lives will begin. June 09 closingAlthough we still have more than a week left to work, we are slowly but surely sorting through and packing up our classroom. It's very bitter-sweet. Many, many dear memories. So many kids have passed through here and touched our lives. So many wonderful people I've gotten to work with.
A few teachers have been by to look through what we have. Two have dibs on the trash pick (but very nice) chairs we have for staff and computer work. Sometimes, it feels a bit like vultures picking at remains. Most of the time though, the practical side of me wins out - if the staff takes things, there is less that we have to pack up.
Many have stopped by to say that they cannot believe the program is closing and how much they will miss having us here. Even students have been thoughtful and understanding.
An end to an era, but in many ways a new beginning.
ReadingI caught up on my daughter's writing blog today. She's still flipping brilliant, although she sees herself as a failure. She had to stop going to school because of a loan and financial aid mistake. Part of it was me not sending something in on time. She's working 2 jobs so she can go to cosmetology school so she can make more money (and becasause she enjoys it which I am fine with), decide exactly what she really wants to major in and go back. There's huge guilt for me with that... if I had gotten the forms in on time... if... if ...if
I can take disappointing myself. Or maybe I can't and it explains the things I do not get done. Dissapointing my kids breaks my heart. I'm their biggest cheerleader and if/when push comes to shove they know I would protect them no matter what it takes. At the same time though, I have not shown them how to live. To deal with the everyday stuff that comes at you with resiliance. I've been beaten down enough to where there are some things I've let go or maybe couldn't ever handle. I suck at being an adult.
I read what my daughter writes cause I love seeing her shine. She shines when she writes. She is also bruteally honest. Hence the pity party. I am her protecter and destroyer. I love the protecter part of me and hate the destroyer part. The one that has shown my kids how to not get back up when you're knocked down. Damn that pi**es me off. Resiliance is one of the most important characteristics you need to teach your kids and you need to do it by example.
I need to do better. .... to quote a silly drinking song... "I get knocked down, but I get up again....." Need to do more getting up and trying harder.
Done feeling sorry for myself. May 22 reality...As our seniors and the co-workers who will retire excitedly count down the days until the end of the school year, reality is hitting me right between the eyes. I am not the only person who has ever faced being laid off, but this is scaring the hooey out of me. I have a tentative plan in place, but change can be frightening. The fear of this unknown - not having a salaried position with benefits is coming. It feels like it's coming fast!
I really want to enjoy this time with the students and with my beloved co-workers. I need to keep their joy in mind and not let my anxiety put a damper on the end of the year festivities. I really do not want to waste any of this time together on being sad. It is the end of an era though. Our program has been one of the best on the east coast.... recruiters from several colleges have raved about the students who graduate from here. Moreover, this has been the most supportive group I have ever worked with. They will be a hard act to follow.
 May 18 Mother's Day onMother's Day was quite nice. Colleen and Liam took me out to brunch. We went to the restaurant where both of the girls work and Jamie was working. She had just started training as a server so she was pretty overwhelmed. She did alright. The food was excellent as always. It was nice to hang out with Liam and Colleen. Then, Col had to go work at Starbucks. Bummer. Liam and I hung out for a while longer. Eddie was AWOL til about 3:30. Good thing I love the bugger or he would be toast. His girlfriend's bday was the day before so he HAD to be there. Then "didn't" have a ride. (even though both of my girls offered to pick him up) I don't know... I get that the girlfriend has something none of us can offer, but she has him on an extremely short leash. I should have put my foot down when they first started dating. Her parents like Eddie, so they pretty much allow them to do what they want. Yes, read into that exactly what you are thinking. Over nights for my 16 year old daughter? NO problem. WHAT! Never. And yes, I have told my son it is not acceptable. I am "always on his back" about something. Yeah... go to school, PASS everything and have a bit of a PT job. Good golly I am demanding. At gf's house.... pretty sure she did not pay for summer school when she had to go last year.
... anyway - not supposed to be a gf rant. (and yes, Eddie needs to be responsible for HIS decisions) When he did get home, he finished mowing the lawn, cut down some HUGE weeds in the the back and he and I got something to eat. He had offered to cook but I knew what was not in the kitchen. All in all it was a very nice day.
When I was upset about Eddie not being home, Liam came in my room. I explained I was upset about Ed and some of the other things coming up that were getting to me. We had an appointment for yet another child support hearing the next day. Bill wanted a downward modification. Liam just stands there for a minute, then says... "When I was little, I used to think we needed Dad and I missed him. I was mad he wasn't around. But ya know what? I didn't need him. You and Gram took care us and made sure we had what we needed. You raised us right. All without his help. You don't have to fight for the child support anymore if you don't want to. We're old enough and really never needed him. You and Gram were enough." I wish my Mom had been able to hear him say that. She always believed in the kids, but did not quite live long enough to see how great they turned out. Well, part of me thinks she can. Anyway... I can keep that in my heart and bring it to the forefront of my memory any time I need it.
The hearing? Same ole same ole. I took the whole day as a personal day. Since the hearing wasn't until 2:15, the girls and I hung out together. We went out to a dairy farm we used to take them to when they were little. We had fun looking at all the animals. (even though you cannot even remotely get near them any more) The girls picked out some plants.
The hearing was a bust. It was a phone conference since he is in Texas. Bill was not at the number he had provided, so we waited about 15 minutes for his boss to call and find him. Then Bill was not near a fax machine to send all of his documentation. Great. What he is saying though is that he can only work 24 hours a week at a "desk job" where he makes $6 something/hour because of the broken leg he got when he fell outside his work release job. (on frost... it was April!) He wants Eddie's CS reduced to $250/month. (including paying toward arrears) When asked how he affords his rent, he said his wife works. D took him back!!!!!!???? Oh my heavens.... she is far more stupid than I had ever imagined. I feel sorry for her in some ways.. although she is making a heck of a bed for herself. He has not applied for SSDB or Voc training. He gets medical care from the VA hopsital even though he chumped out on his Navy reserve duty. He is truly a sad waste of a human being who is sucking the marrow out of society. I really do not think he understands reality. Our conference is re-scheduled for June 17, a day after Eddie's CS stops. (the day he graduates from high school) I guess Bill's hoping we will take off some of what he owes - reduce the support retroactively. We shall see.... then he has a contempt hearing June 30th.
Hopefully Eddie will graduate. He finally handed in a paper he had to do to pass English to graduate, after MUCH drama. He can write a paper. May not be especially easy but he can. I don't get why he has to be sat on to do it. I swear, he's going to make me sweat this til the day he walks in to the stadium to Pomp and Circumstance with his classmates. (or not!)
Gotta go... need to pick up my perscription, then do laundry. May 09 figured out?Well, I just about had the job thing figured out for when the school years ends. Lo and behold, another curve ball comes my way. Last year I saw an opening at the school Eddie wants to go to. Many colleges have free or reduced dependent tuition as a benefit. Dang, I thought... the opening was a year too early! That's the way things go sometime... so I've been looking elsewhere.
My plan for right now is I will freelance and work for a video relay service. (basicly I sit in a cubicle with a webcam-like device and coolio secretary-ish headset and interpret calls between deaf and hearing folks) I really like working with kids, but every where around here would eother be too much of a pay cut or working in city schools. The video relay service is very decent money. It would be nice to work less and make more money. Even with paying for my own medical, I would still make out better financially.
Eddie got into the local community college and Penn Tech. (the technical branch of Penn State) He is leaning toward Penn Tech, especially since they are offering him a small scholarship for winning the state Skills USA competition. It's three hours away... which Mom will have a bit of a hard time handling, but he is fine with it and likes the more country-ish atmosphere. My brother Ron and sister in law Karen are about an hour away from him. I was happy for him that he got in.
I've signed up for careerbuilder, monster and a site specifically for sign language interpreters. Thursday morning I open an email from the interpreter site and find an opening in good ole PA. Yep.... PennTech. I checked out their website and if I am reading it correctly it would be FT and full benefits. I would have to move out there and take a small apartment... maybe have Liam move in and pay a litle rent so I can swing the mortgage and a second place. I have to sit down with numbers and see if it would be possible. Oh, yeah I would have to get the job first! There is a lot to think about. Got my resume emailed out them Thursday and my application and cover letter is all set to go out first thing Monday morning.
Sometimes a curve ball can be a good thing!
Happy Mother's Day
to all
Moms, Step Moms, Grandmoms,
like a Moms and Mr. Moms!!!
 May 03 Cars,roof & birthdayIt's raining and is suppposed to rain much of the week. We have a drip coming from a corner of my kitchen ceiling. There are no water pipes above the kitchen, so I have to assume my roof is leaking. Peachy. I definitely do not have enough money to replace the roof and my credit is awful. I guess the best I can do right now is see if I can find someone to fix that area. It was just enough to set me crying.
My car putzed out again Friday night. It had done the same thing last Friday. Had it towed to a place that gives you a reduced rate on a rental if you have it repaired there. A friend had come out before it was towed and said it was the starter. The repair place looked at it Monday and said the starter was fine. They would check the battery. (this was about 3:10 pm) They finally called on Tuesday morning and said the battery was bad. The battery is only 15 months old. They suggested replacing the battery. Not doing that...since they also talked about me having a "weird" key and one of the guys noticed the radio was playing when he got back in the car. Ok.... they charge the battery for me. Another friend tells me to take the car back and have the shop that put in the battery check it - if the battery is no good it should be pro-rated and it would be less to replace there. For some stupid reason I did not realize I had to do that right away. So, I am back in a rental now and need to jump my car so I can get it back to the shop. (the one that put the battery in) I also have to have them check the alternator, as if that is bad it will just drain the battery.
On a good note, Thursday night we took Eddie out for his birthday. We went to the restaurant where Colleen works. Oh my goodness. None of us knew what to order....I think because it was a bit more pricey than we are used to. (well, Colleen knows the prices) So, Col goes over to the chef and tells him waht we all like. First, our server brought out bread. It came with a tray with wells in it for olive oil w/ garlic, olive oil w/ basil and a carrot salad of some type to dip your bread in. Then, the chef brought out a tray of anti-pasta/o? It had warm pita wedge slices around the edge of the plate with humus, baba ganush (sp?), feta, olives, a salsa type relsih (that was not Latin/Spanish) and a few other things. After that, they brought out fried calamari. Finally, we got our entrees. Colleen had a seafood trio, I had salmon, rice and veggies, Eddie had a chicken dish and Kelsey had pasta and chicken. For dessert, the kids had tiramasu. What a nice dinner!
I went and picked up Jamie from school yesterday. She is done for the summer. They were supposed to go to Guadalajara for classes, but that has been changed to Spain. She was pretty upset about it. The airfare is double, and it does not fit into her concentration. (Latin American anthropolgy) Jamie started working at the restaurant yesterday. It's really nice to have her home. April 30 All grown up?Hmm... my "baby", Eddie is 18 today!!!! How in the world did that happen? Not really sure. Just believe everyone who has odler kids that tells you that you blink and they're grown. It certainly feels that way. We took Eddie out to dinner and I embarrassed him by telling his girlfriend stoires about when he was little. The dinner was fantastic. He's a good kid... and I love him. Who woulda though 18 years in that not so nice hopsital in Elmhurst that sweet little bundle would be bigger than me, kind, thougtful, strong, smart and a good person? (I did!)
Life is good. Happy birthday, Eddie.   April 04 Proud mom once againThere are many thing my kids do/are that make me proud. They are good people and I love how they are and who they are. Eddie got the mommy pride feelings going big time this week.
Wednesday through Friday, he was at the Pa SkillsUSA competition in Hershey. (SkillsUSA is what used to be know as VICA - leadership opportunities and skill competition for tech school students in their area of study) Thursday was his competition. I believe it took about 3 hours and he had to do about 3 drawings, one of which he had not heard of before but he figured out what it should be. We texted back and forth that night and he said he did not think he did as well this year. (last year he had gotten first at regionals to qualify and third at states) There were alot of really talented kids there. I gave him the "as long as you did your best" advice and waited to hear from him on Friday.
Had my phone with me so I could answer if he called during work. (would have stepped out into the hall obvoiusly) The students where I work had a half day, so they were out of their last class by 11:00 or 11:05. About 11:06 my phone vibrated. I was still in my last class as the teacher and I usually chat for a minute or two after class is over. I got a text from Eddie saying, "I WON!I'M GOING TO NATIONALS!" Well Kara had her back to me and was hanging up things on her wall/white board. I started yelling and jumping up and down. Scared her half to death. (sorry!)
I am so happy for him. He really was not expecting to win this year. It's great that there are more kids doing higher level drawings. He had said as they announced 3rd and 2nd and did not announce his name he was bummed out that he did not do as well as last year. When they announced 1st and his school he still did not think it was him, then he heard his name. What's cool is that the kids from his school all started jumping up and down and cheering for him. One of his classmates texted their drafting teacher. (only a guidance counselor and an adminstrator go with the kids for states) One of the boys from Eddie's school is a state officer and he got to put Eddie's medal around his neck.
Eddie and I tried to call each other back after he texted me. We didn't actually talk to each other til almost 12:30. He sounded surprised and pleased. I'm very happy for him.
I called his drafting teacher to thank him, assuming I would get sent to his voice mail. Nope, I actually talked to him. Thanked him for everything he's done with Eddie and the other kids and for believing in Eddie. Mr. M will go to Nationals with Eddie. It will be in Kansas City around June 21. Mr M said this is only the second time in 11 years he's had a student go to Nationals. Neato.
I stopped at a party store and picked up a big congratulations ballon for him on my way to pick him up at Tech school. Part of me kept thinking he would think it was really corny, but he got a big kick out of it. 17 year olds are just little kids in bigger bodies.
Almost forgot. With winning, Eddie got an offer for a $2500 scholarship to Penn Tech. (the technical branch of Penn Sate) Now he has some thinking to do. That is not enough to cover a third of his tuition, but winning may motivate Penn Tech to work with us a little more with financial aid. Eddie had been planning to go to community college for 2 years and then transfer to Penn Tech. This may change his mind. March 23 no surprise/surprsieAt 9:00 this morning, I went to a conference for my ex not paying child support. The no surprsie is that he did not show up. Assuming he was still down in Texas, I figured he wouldn't bother to show or give notice. Got there, signed in, waited the ten minutes from being early then an additional 15 since Bill did not show. The hearing officer calls me in finally.
We talk about the case briefly, and that he is obviously not coming. She says we have an option of sending out a 10 day warning notice, then issuing a warrant. The last hearing officer I had was incredible. He followed up on everything and stayed on top of events. He also did not balk on contacting the Feds and/or Bill's federal probation officer. When I spoke to the new hearing officer's assistant, she acted like working with the feds was a completely foreign idea. Lordy... I just love having to get a new person up to speed. Nothing like doing someone else's job for them. That's what po's me so much about Domescti Relations. I am always updating them, giving info... and then when I'm there for a hearing or conference they ask me what I want done. Here's a crazy idea - whatever is allowing by law. There ya go - not so difficult. He's out of compliance with the order - jail his butt. At least then he can be on work release and there is steady child support. (or hers in the case of deadbeat moms) If it is clear and simple, maybe so many people wouldn't try to cheat the system, and more importantly their kids!
So, I inform this hearing offier about the federal charges and that there is a probation officer in place. She lets me know that Bill is in NY. I ask if it is the Rockaway zip code and street address where his parents live and she confirms that. So, we leave it that she will call his probation officer and see where she can go from there. If that doesn't go anywhere, she may look into sending enforcement to NY. I can just imagine that. I'm sure Queens is much more effecient than a suburban county in PA. Uh huh.
My kids' dad is back in NY, and they have no idea. Jamie may know, as they have some communication. It's a sin... he moves and doesn't bother to tell them? Gawd. And, yeah I am assuming he is fading out of his second set of kids' lives as well. It sickens me. When he did that with mine, it put holes in their little souls and hearts, I swear. It's disgusting that he's doing it again!
Bill is 50. I am assuming he has no job and is probably living with his elderly parents. (I think his dad is 73 and mom is about 69 or so) I guess he's just never going to get that he has to pull himself together or all the damage he does to the children he claims to love so much. It's beyond sad. March 19 another day, another interviewLater today, I have an interview for a position with a video relay service. This one is about 33 miles from my house. While that is not ideal, right now I am okay with having to take it should nothing else come up. It would be it just to have some peace of mind. I am not as nervous for this interview as I would normally be since I have met the manager a few times and she has pretty much said to just come and talk to her and I would have the job.
So... think a good thought for me at about 3:45 today.
On a very sad note... many of you may remember me asking for prayers for a co-worker who has a vrery sick little boy. Her daughter, Avery had passed away from leuemia about 2 years ago when she was about 18 months old. Against incredible odds, Erin and her guy had twins and Nolan was diagnosed with the same rare leukemia. His twin, Cavlin does not have it. Nolan passed away yesterday. Apparently, his little heart could not take all the medical proceedures that were being done to him. It's beyond comprehension. Please send your prayers up for Nolan, Erin, Jeff, Calvin and Avery. Thank you. March 15 weekendMy weekend has been pretty doggone nice so far. Yesterday, I went to watch my nephew's basketball game. It was his championship game, and although they lost it was an exciting game to see. He's improved since the last game I saw too. I got to hang around with my buddy Robin for part of the day... we're good for each other and I am thankful she is in my life.
After that, I came home, took Colleen to work, then headed out to interpret a fire department banquet. It was in one of the nicest restaurants in our area and I was interpreting for two of the nicest people I know. The food was excellent. The presentations and entertainment were heartfelt and fun and the whole night was very enjoyable. Nights like that make many things worthwhile.
Today I need to get back to regular ole everyday stuff. Grocery shopping, doing taxes and financial aid stuff and at least a little bit of cleaning. The weather seems to be turning more Spring like - yeah! I'm debating if I should order one more shipment of oil just to keep the chill out during the nigth and early morning.
This week, I need to intensify my job searching. I have an interview on Thursday with the long established video relay service in my area. I think it is a formality, but will be on my best behavoir anyway. I am anxious to get some plans in place for the end of the school year. March 07 Jamie's back!Yay! Last night, Colleen and I drove down to Phila airport to pick up Jamie and her friend. The flight got in at 12:10 am, on time but they were a while coming out as no one could find the girls' bags. It felt like it took a very long time to get out of there - especially since there is "no stopping" at the pick up area. (basicly there is a cell phone lot you're supposed to wait untill they are ready to walk out the terminal doors or you're supposed to pay an arm and a leg to park) By the time we took Sheri home and got to our house it was a little after 2:00 am.
Jamie had so much to talk about. The people were what most touched her. She said most have very little but are careful about how they dress and very proud of what they have. The group did sooooo much in one week. There were countless lectures and meetings, visits to different organizations, families took students in for a night and breakfast the next day, benefit concerts, children that broke your heart - asking for money for something to eat (they were not allowed to just give anyone money) or to buy food for a younger sibling, the former addicts at one of the centers (who were as young as 9 - the glue fumes make them feel invicible and reduce hunger pains) .... she just had an amazing experience. I can see her making this her passion. She taught me all kinds of things about fair trade, free trade, farming and poverty in less than 24 hours. I am so proud of her.
Before they left, Jamie spoke some fair classroom Spanish. She said by the end of the week, she was having hour long conversions with people there. She's thinking about going back to Nicaragua instead of Guadelehara (sp?), Mexico in the summer. The violence that has been reported there is a big reason.
It was incredibly good to see her last night and today. We went out to lunch where Colleen waitresses and then I drove her back out to her apartment. (the airline is supposed to be delivering her bag there this afternoon) *It was delivered - I just talked to her.*
Well, my brain must be tired along with the rest of me - I've run out of things to write about! Thank goodness it's the weekend! March 02 snow baby!Careful what you wish for, I guess. I didn't even know there was a Nor'easter on the way til a friend mentioned it Saturday night. Even when he did, I thought - the weather people are probably wrong again and we won't get anything. Well, lo and behold they were right. This time the snow fall did a flip - more snow near the Jersey shore than the Philadelphia NW suburbs. I think we got about 6 inches - enough to cancel school for the day, even in Philly. (they rarely ever cancel for snow)
It's weird that Jamie totally missed this and is in 90 degree weather. Will have to fill her in when I pick her and a classmate up Friday night. Looking at her schedule, it looks like they do about 3 to 6 activities a day. I "youtubed" some of the places she is going to or organizations she will be working with. Very, very interesting. I am sure she will come back with many revelations. Today, they traveled about 3 hours to Matagalpa, had lunch with and economist (I think), meetings with 2 non profit groups, tourist time and a nice dinner. Tomorrow there is a visit to a coffee farm, another meeting with a vip, and an organization, then they meet the families that will take them all in for a night. I think she will enjoy that alot. Probably not as much as when they visited w/ an organization that helps street kids but quite a bit I'm sure.
Colleen is in Atlantic City with her boyfriend and his family. I feel bad that they got socked with the worst of the storm. Still, I'm sure they stayed nice and cozy and are having fun.
My snow day was not all that exciting. It was nice to sleep in! Once I got moving, I had a nice breakfast and enjoyed my coffee. Eddie went out and shoveled. Even though we were due to get some more, it's always easy to shovel some then come back and do the rest. I went out to get the rest and clean off my car later. That was about it for me.
Had planned to do some more, but I seem to have some of the symptoms back from before I had my fibroid proceedure. Grrr. Not happy. **and if the lady from the anti UFE group reads this - DO NOT bother sending me a message. I still have no regrets about having it.** GUess I need to schlep back to the doctors and see what she says. February 27 lotta stuffWhere to start...
Well, first off - Jamie had enough financial aid AND money from her 2-3 jobs she keeps on top of her full time schedule at college that she was able to get herself on a trip to Nicaragua with her Glocal Economics class. They are doing a packed scehdule. Visiting an ogranic, free trade coffee farm, having lectures on neolineralism and economics, staying with host families, visiting an organization that helps street kids.... the whole thing is unbelieveable. I cannot tell you how proud I am of her. She had been wanting to do something like this for the longest time, honestly since about 7th grade. She's always had an awareness of how there are folks in the world who have things far worse than we do and has always wanted to help in some way. I have never been off the East coast of the US. My darlin daughter got her own passport done and touched down in Managua at about 2:35 this afternoon. She had never flown before today. She somes back next Friday. Will try to list more what she is doing. Today was an overview and instructions, orientation, health tips, culture briefing, explaination of their roles, dinner and a lecture on the history of military and economic violence and time line. Tomorrow is a talk on Nicaragua and neoliberalism, socioenomic contrast tour, meeting with an economist about power and privilegde, a visit to a street kid rehab organization and a benefit concert. Whew.
I have settled into a sort of ruetine at work. When all students are there, I am busy nearly every period. One made a face today when I said I would "only" give him/her half of my time during my prep period to interpret for a ctach up session. Absenses are a problem... and unfortunately I cannot wear myself out because of it. If I were to end up out on disability from repetitive motion injury that does no one any good. It's either feast or famine. So, some days I can catch up on reading. Some days I barely have time to breathe. Go figure. Not at all optimal.
Liam is settling into his new job. He got a salary and benies position with a catering co who serves meals to a large industry in our area. After busting his butt for about 6-7 years as an elecrician's helper, then line cook or expeditor at a fancy restaurant... he is finally getting paid every 2 weeks, actually having a lunch break and will get benefits after he has been there for 90 days. Halleluiah! With some of the crap his past 3 employers did - shorting him 5 hours pay on a Holiday, shifting pay days 3 days then giving IOUs for about half his earnings and expecting him to be there from open to close it seems he has finally found a decent place. I am so happy for him. One of the first days he came over and told me a bit about the job. He has good knives, a nice work station, etc. Said they had a break for lunch - he grabbed whatever he saw quickly to eat, sat down with a bunch of co-workers and wolfed down his food. Looked up and realized the other guys were eating at a normal pace and still had half their lunches left. One asked if Liam had been in the military because of how fast he had eaten. Liam said no, I'm just used to having to eat between orders and not really taking a break. He was thrilled though. Has an ID and the whole nine yards. Yay
Colleen was made shift lead at her coffee job. Yay for her. They were firing people right and left, but she got a promotion. :-)
Me... working and looking for a job for mid-June. Bites here and there but nothing solid yet. Have had contacts from places like Aflac and Citigroup for jobs totally unrelated to what I do. Weird.
Oh, and the big certification test I took on January 16th? Yeah, I passed it! Got the notification yesterday via email. Almost yelled and jumped up and down in the middle of an accounting class. (the kids were all working on a project on the computers so I was checking email) Big relief. Wish I had scored into the advanced or master level, but I made some mistakes. It was fair. All in all I am proud of myself. February 16 brrIt's cold - I think 27 f. So of course we run out of oil. Have 2 calls in to the oil guy, so we should have oil by then end of the day today or tomorrow. Makes for a "I don't feel like doing anything other than staying under the blankets kind of day. Guess I would rather be at work of all places.
With the new schedule, I was pretty wiped out last week. Technically, the agency only has to give me a one period respite. With the classes I have though, I am hoping I am not always this tired. If so, I'm going to have to take sick days just to stay healthy - if that makes any sense. Six classes now - Accounting, Geometry, Biology, English and Public Speaking. Finding out I am not superwoman after all. Also finding out that I am less likely now to drag myself into work when exhausted/sick. I have 57 sick days left and about 76 days of work. Unless I get hired by another education provider I will lose all those sick days. Argh. Not so jaded though that I would take all of them and say "too bad" for the kids.
Enjoying my day off, even with the cold. I still have to finish Eddie's taxes so Jamie and I can work on FAFSA applications. Oh joy. Nessary thing. Going to go try to get warm and make myself take a shower.
Happy belated Valentine's Day!
from a card Eddie gave me:
"THANKS FOR EVERYTHING MOM, YOU'VE BEEN SUCH A GREAT MOTHER TO ME. YOU'RE MY HERO, MY GREATEST INFLUENCE AND I LOOK UP TO YOU SO MUCH. I LOVE YOU, MOM. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY. LOVE, EDWARDO"
Maybe I am doing something right. Thank goodness. What a neat kid. (remind me of that next time he'smaking me a little nuts!)
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