Career Change: The Job Offer (Part 2)

You know that old saying "Good things come to those who wait??"  Well, that is definitely the case when it comes to my career change.  I have very exciting news, but first...

Let's review where I was on the job situation:  I had been hired for an ESL position in Revere, but due to not passing the ESL MTELs, I was unhired, for which I was relieved as I didn't feel qualified to do that job.  For the past couple of weeks, I've been going on a flurry of job interviews, which ran the gamut from higher elementary grades (5th and 6th) to high secondary grades (11th and 12th) from as far north as Lawrence to all the way down to Somerville (a town just outside Boston) and everywhere in between.  Today I went on my final job interview.  Why final? Because today's interview resulted in a job offer!!  YAY!!

My new teaching position is perfect and is exactly the kind of job that I was specifically looking for.  I have been hired by one of the high schools in Lawrence, MA - the Business, Management & Finance High School.  A little background about the Lawrence school district:  this district is a Level 5 turnaround district, which means that it has been taken over by the state and is in receivership.  There has been a huge turnover in personnel and it was the one school district that I was itching to work for because of the exciting changes going on and that it is a TFA partnership district that is the closest proximity to my home (a mere 30 minutes away).  The campus of Lawrence High School (pictured above) actually houses 6 different high schools - my new high school is one of them. 

At 8:00 am this morning, I went on a job interview with the principal of BMF High and it went extraordinarily well.  By 11:30 am, she had called me and offered me the position.  I went back this afternoon and got a chance to see my new classroom.  No chance for any grass to grow under my feet, as new teacher orientation starts at 8:30 am tomorrow morning.  Whew!  

My new position is:  teaching 2 classes of Freshman (1 reading and 1 writing), 1 class of 11th grade honors and 2 classes of 12th grade college prep.  The 12th graders are probably going to hate me because it's World/British literature.  According to one of my colleagues whom I met this afternoon, the 12th graders typically do not like British lit.  That's just a sad state of affairs for them because it's my favorite, which is why they're going to hate me!  :-) 

I am truly excited and thrilled for my new position. So much so, that I spent a good portion of the day celebrating, which included eating 2½ pieces of disgustingly greasy, yet oddly delicious pizza and an obscene amount of candy. I get to meet all my new kids next Monday.  I suspect that each class will have anywhere from 20-25 kids per class.  This promises to be the most challenging, exhausting and totally thrilling job that I've ever had in my life and I can't wait to get started.  I'm sure I'll have days that I just want to sit and weep and other days I'll think are the best days of my life.  It's going to be a great adventure and I can't wait to begin.  Again, stay tuned for future updates!

Wish me luck!

Singin' in the Rain?? You Must Try It!

Okay, I didn't actually sing or dance like Gene Kelly did in the movie, but last night I walked home from a friend's house in the pouring rain - thunder and lightening included - and it was AMAZING! I am certain that everyone at some point in their childhood splashed through puddles in the rain, but how many of us do it as an adult?

Early last night, I walked approximately 15 minutes across town for a small dinner party at a friend's house. Later in the evening, when I noticed that there was lightening, I decided to head home before it started to rain as I didn't have an umbrella on me. Well, "best laid plans" and all that, suffice to say it didn't work.  Five minutes after leaving my friend's house, the skies opened up and there was a torrential downpour. Instead of starting to run or ducking into a place to wait out the storm, I decided to continue my walk and it was just glorious!  I had the best time - surprisingly so.  Along the way home, I met a few other people who got stuck in the rain including a couple who were howling with laughter because it was incredibly fun. They decided to embrace the experience as I did. By the time I arrived home 15 minutes later, I was soaked to the skin and freezing, but I didn't care. The experience of walking in the rain was well worth the minor discomfort. I wish I could verbalize why it was so exhilarating. I guess it's something you just need to experience first hand.

The next time there's a downpour, don't grab your umbrella.  Just head out and try walking around and see what it's like. I promise you it doesn't disappoint. The only 2 changes I would make if I decided to do this again in the future is: (1) to wear different shoes - flip flops are horrible for walking in the rain so I took them off and walked barefoot.  Walking barefoot was actually pretty sensational, but a little painful after 5 minutes of city street walking.  The second change is to either to be wearing my contacts or have little windshield wipers on my eyeglasses. Looking through eyeglasses that are streaming with water is a bit difficult.

All in all, Gene Kelly had it right - walking, singing and dancing in the rain is joyous!  Sing it, Gene.

A Motorhead's Dream...

Reason #876 why I love living in Newburyport - a classic car show! 

I fully admit it - I am a motorhead!  Always have been.  I love cars.  If I were to win the lottery tomorrow, by Saturday, I would have already picked out about 4 different cars that I would be planning on purchasing and contemplating a few more. Watching car shows is a favorite guilty pleasure - Top Gear being the best of the best.

So imagine my delight that upon arriving home today (after a really horrid day, which included waiting for AAA to show up to jump start my car), I discovered that there was a classic car show in Newburyport ("Crusin' the 50s") for one day only!  Happy happy joy joy! Christmas came early.  Although why they called it "Crusin the 50s" when there were cars dating from the 30s through the 60s...  Boggles the mind.  <shrugs>

I hadn't heard that this car show was happening so this ended up being a very nice surprise! I even bought a Crusin' the 50s t-shirt.  Yeah, okay, I'm a nerd.  I fully embrace my nerd-dom. Pictured above is just one of the many cars that I would purchase if given half a chance - a classic 'Vette!  Below is probably my all-time favorite classic car - 1965 Ford Mustang.  This would be my first purchase - although I'm not a fan of the color. I would prefer blue or red. <growl>

If you'd like to see all the photos that I took, check out my Crusin' the 50s photo album.  Enjoy, fellow motorheads!

Security is an Illusion!

Do you remember when you gave up your security blanket or teddy bear or whatever it was that you thought kept you safe? I learned at a fairly young age that life isn't always as secure as we think it is -- that it is tricky and fleeting.

Yesterday, as I was out for my daily walk, I passed two of the most adorable girls who were riding bikes with their dad. They both had training wheels on their bikes and all of a sudden I had a flashback moment to when the training wheels came off my bike. That's not hyperbole, I'm talking literally. I can't remember exactly what age I was but I imagine it was around the age of 5½. My training wheels came off in a rather unusual way. What had happened was: I was flying down the hill of the street I was living on (sans bike helmet, of course because no one wore helmets back in the '70s), secure in the knowledge that I had 4 solid wheels under me. Unbeknownst to me though, the training wheels on my bike had loosened up and were about an inch or two from the pavement. Goodness knows how long I was riding around like that, but my father noticed that the wheels weren't actually doing anything so he removed them and off I went. There was no fanfare, no major celebration, just life going about its merry way. But it was also a lesson that I learned quickly about how many things in life can be just an illusion. 

Yesterday's memory helped clarify some things for me. It reminded me that nothing in life is safe. Something for me to remember when I'm freaking out over why I don't have a fall placement or any other of a number of things in life which I think are invulnerable. Just a little reminder that just when you think your life is secure, the training wheels may just come off.  (Yes, that was hyperbole.)  The only thing you can truly count on in this world is yourself. 

Career Change - Teach Abroad?

I've been thinking of planning yet another adventure - teaching abroad.  I'm not ready right now - at all, but I'm thinking that perhaps when my commitment with TFA is up in 2 years and I've got my Master's degree that perhaps it might be time for me to revisit my dream of living and teaching abroad. While living and teaching in England has been, and will always be, my first preference, I'm sure that would be difficult to get a work visa (let alone finding a teaching position) there...as will anywhere in Europe. Anywhere in Europe (pretty much) would be my second choice after England, but most likely everyone wants to live and teach in Europe. Competition for those jobs would be fierce. The areas which have a ton of teaching positions available are Asia, the Middle East and Africa, but I don't know if I'm quite that adventurous. If I had to choose one of those, I'd probably choose Africa. (Going on safari!) I suppose there's always South or Central America as well. I have a friend who has been living and teaching in Japan for nearly 10 years and he loves it! He's been trying to convince me to move there for ages. Fortunately, I don't have to make this decision today or even anytime over the next 2 years. I have plenty of time to research my options before making any decisions, but I really think I need to do this before I'm way too old to do it.

Of course, I could combine live/teach abroad with getting my PhD, then I might be able to swing Europe.  Hmmmmmmm. Also, if I could find a place in which slightly odd-looking, witty, sarcastic plus-sized women are considered attractive, then I'd be set.  Shoot, I've come full circle back to England.  :-)

I have always wanted to live abroad and I truly have nothing that tethers me to staying in the US except for a handful of friends and a cat. I keep hearing stories from all my fellow TFA corps members who have studied extensively abroad and I really want to have that experience. I wish I had seriously looked into teaching abroad this past year, but in 2 years I'll still be relatively young and can perhaps still do it. Thoughts?

On the TFA front: Last week's Round 0 was (as I predicted) exactly that - a big, fat zero!  It was an almost complete waste of my time and money. The only saving grace was the fact that last Wednesday through Friday's sessions will count toward my Master's degree. Beyond that, it was an annoyingly frustrating week of pointless drivel. Today started much the same.  In fact, I staged a walkout right after lunch...now, granted it was a walkout of one (me!), but a walkout all the same.  After spending the entire morning reading a book because I couldn't do any of the work that they assigned us, I got fed up and said that I was leaving.  If I could have staged a coup d'état, I would have. All the work that other CMs were doing had to do with setting up their classroom culture. Kind of hard to do when you don't have a placement. The classroom culture for a 5th or 6th grade class would be markedly different than a 10th or 11th grade class, so it's impossible for me to come up with any plan and, theoretically, I could be hired for anything from 5th through 12th grade. I did have a job interview last week for a 5th grade Humanities (English and Social Studies) position, which would be pretty fantastic, but so far, I haven't heard anything. I'm also continuing to apply for positions outside of TFA.  Stay tuned...

Strange Olympic Trivia...

Did you know that 'tug of war' was once an event in the Summer Olympics? Seriously! Or that during the 1904 Summer games in St. Louis, the gold medal winner of the marathon was administered a concoction of eggs, brand and strychnine during the race? Weird but true. Or that live pigeon shooting was once an event? Yuck!

While tooling around the internet last night, I stumbled upon a fantastic website - Mentalfloss.com, a site of random, interesting and amazing facts, which had posted these facts and other strange Olympic trivia. For anyone who is a fan of the games, you might find this trivia to be a really fun read.  I know I did!

Today is the final day of the Olympics and it has been a fantastic two weeks of inspirational stories and incredible sportsmanship. The United States athletes did fantastically well (unsurprisingly), but the Great Britain athletes did their home country proud. Well done, GB! I don't know what I'll do with my evenings now.  Oh well, it is just a mere 2 more years until the 2014 winter games, which will take place from the 7th to the 23rd of February 2014, in Sochi, Russia.

By the way, for my fellow Harry Potter fans, Mentalfloss.com had another interesting article, 13 Brazen Harry Potter Knock-Offs From Around the World.  Well worth a visit to the site to read that article.

Seinfeld - The Best Sitcom Ever?

Yesterday, as I was watching Elaine Benes "dance" for the umpteenth time, it occurred to me just how much I love watching reruns of Seinfeld.  In the 20+ years since the first episode of this show aired, I have probably seen every episode a dozen times and yet I still find that show to be hilariously funny! So it got me thinking - is Seinfeld the best sitcom of all time? In my humble opinion, I would give a resounding "YES!" Okay, hear me out for a minute on why I have chosen Seinfeld. First, I will acknowledge that Jerry Seinfeld is a terrible actor but for some reason that didn't affect the quality of this show. Why? I can't really answer that question, but it just didn't. Plus how can a show about nothing with 4 of the most obnoxious characters be so brilliant? Again, I don't know but it just is. Mostly the reason I chose Seinfeld as the best sitcom ever is that it is timeless, the characters are relatable, and Seinfeldisms are now a permanent part of the lexicon.  Let's break those down:

Timeless:  Yes, Seinfeld is timeless. I can't imagine that there won't be a time when we won't be able to find an episode of Seinfeld on television. Plus, the show is consistently funny - no matter how much time has passed.

The characters are relatable: Definitely! Much as we hate to admit it, everyone knows someone who is just like Jerry, George, Elaine, Kramer, Newman and every other character on that show. If you don't know someone who is similar to a character on Seinfeld, then you probably are the Seinfeld character.  Additionally, much as we hate to admit it, each one of us wishes we could be like those characters. Yes, at times, they're rude, repellent, and shallow, and yet, we still love them!

Seinfeldisms:  Who hasn't used or heard of "master of your domain" or "yada, yada, yada" or "no soup for you" or "Festivus for the rest of us" or "spongeworthy" or "not that there's anything wrong with that" or "giddyup"?  Anyone?  Anyone??  I thought not.  Is there a more quotable show? Okay, I recognize that  I Love Lucy is a hilarious and timeless show, but is anyone using "Vitameatavegamin" on a daily basis?  Um, no!  If you want to see the complete list of Seinfeldisms, check out this page.

I will give honorable mentions to the following American sitcoms which are hilariously funny and timeless (in no particularly order): Frasier, M*A*S*H, Friends, I Love Lucy, All in the Family and the hundreds of other sitcoms, but none of them can hold a candle to Seinfeld. I would also like to give honorable mentions to the following British sitcoms which I think are equally uproarious (in no particularly order):  Black Books, Father Ted, Absolutely Fabulous, The Office (I don't care for the American version but the British one is brilliant!), Blackadder, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers, and dozens more.  If you're a fan of British comedy but haven't seen any of these shows, you need to check them out!

Anyone disagree on my conclusion of the best sitcom of all time?  Feel free to prove me wrong.  Meanwhile, here are some of my favorite moments from Seinfeld.  "Sweet fancy Moses!"