My New Jobs

The past few months have been quite busy with lots of changes for me on the job front.  In May I applied for and was offered a job at Sylvan Learning Center.  It's been a great part time job for the summer; however, the overall experience has not been what I expected and I don't plan on continuing my work there in the fall.  I also applied for and was offered a job as a W-A-Y mentor through the main branch of our local school district.  Though much of my previous work in the field of education has been with very young children, I'm looking forward to trying my hand at helping at-risk teenagers as a welcome change of pace.  I start training for that tomorrow, and I'm excited to see where the job leads.

This past week was particularly busy as I interviewed for a position at East Washtenaw Multicultural Academy in Ann Arbor.  The interview went well and I found out on Friday that I'll be working as a preschool teacher for them this coming school year.  While I don't see myself teaching preschool for the long haul, I do want to work with young children and this is a way for me to get my foot in the door and get some valuable experience under my belt.  The program for which I'll be working is a state funded GSRP program, which means I'll be servicing low income families who might not otherwise have the chance to send their children to preschool.  I'm looking forward to the coming week, when I'll be able to meet the families with whom I'll be working for the 2011/2012 school year.  In considering this job and my future, I've decided that if money and this horrifying economy were not an issue, my true ideal job would be to teach second or third grade in a public school setting.  Unfortunately, this job market is not one which lends itself to any sort of cherry picking--a job is a job after all.  Still, I think it's good for me to have some kind of idea of what I want for my future.  I'm pretty broadly qualified, educationally speaking, which was an intentional choice on my part.  It's not that I wouldn't be happy teaching other grades/ages, or, for that matter, using my reading endorsement and teaching language arts to middle school students, but at least if I have an area upon which to set my sights, I'm more likely to make intentional choices toward that goal.

Time will tell.  There are several other jobs for which I've applied, and I haven't heard anything about any of them.  I'm not exactly sure what that means...I suppose it could be good or bad.  It's August now though, so I would imagine most schools will be conducting interviews and making their decisions very soon.  Unless something unexpected happens in the very near future, I'll be teaching preschool for the foreseeable future.  A job is a job, after all! 




   



                      
 

           

Heat Wave

Back in the spring, someone I was talking to predicted this would be a hot simmer.  Turns out they were right.  We're currently in the midst of a heat wave the likes of which I've never seen.  All the news stations are reporting, "excessive heat warnings" & relentlessly advising us how to stay cool.  Something happens to your brain when you see things like, "feels like 115" at the left.  Suddenly you become extremely curious.  "What exactly does 115 degrees feel like?" you wonder.  So you go outside and find out.  It's not so bad at first, then you decide to move.  Wow, that's hot.  I walked to my neighbor's house two doors down this afternoon, with our two-year-old on my shoulders and by the time I got there, I was wilting.

I feel very fortunate that I have access to central air and AC in my car, and that going outside is a choice for me.  I really can't figure out how people who work outside for a living are functioning through this extreme heat.  I got out early to water the garden this morning, and even by 9:00 it was HOT.




   



                      
  

The Search is Over...

Quite a long time ago, I wrote A POST about church and my {rather conflicted} feelings on the matter.  I did attend the church I referenced in that post for about six months, nearly every week.  I even went to Sunday school, and I met some people there that I still remember fondly now.  For reasons I won't bore you with here, I fell off the bandwagon.  Life got very complicated for a time, and then our son was born.

Life got even more complicated.  Everything changed.

One thing that didn't change though, was that my spiritual existence felt very unformed.  Any time I thought of God or church or religion at all, I pictured a mental image of a blank screen with a little cursor flashing in the corner.  Like those old Compuware 486 computers used to do when you first turned them on.  Like, "Come on already will you please DO something?"  When our son turned two not that long ago, I started talking to my older sister about how I was feeling.  I told  her that I really wanted to start taking the little one to church because I wanted him to have a moral foundation upon which to grow and learn.  We talked about how we can teach our children morals but we really want/need a moral community within which to raise our children so that those lessons we teach can be reinforced by the broader "community" if you will.  We also talked about how many of our closest relationships over the years blossomed as a result of our shared experiences at church.  Call it divinity or whatever you will, but my sister had a lot of the same feelings I did regarding church.  Though we hadn't previously discussed it a lot, we had both been wrestling with it privately and wishing for a solution.

That was it then, we had to start going to church.  We enlisted the support of our younger sister, who has also been wanting to find a church she can attend.  Three sisters strong, we started church-hopping to see what was available.  The first church we attended, chosen by me, had an excellent children's ministry but left us all feeling a little uncertain in other ways.  We decided we would each choose a church per week until we (hopefully) found one about which we could all feel good.  The next week, my younger sister chose for us to try Unity Church of Ann Arbor.

As it turned out, neither of my sister's made it to church that week, which left me attending services alone with my little one.  Despite the slight, inevitable awkwardness of attending church alone, and despite the fact that I didn't know children's services were only available at the 11:00 service, meaning I had to entertain my two-year-old the whole time, I loved the church.  I found myself thinking that I really hoped my sister's would like this church too because I was pretty sure I wouldn't be looking any further.  I left there that Sunday feeling spiritually full, like I was ready to face the world and all it's complications.  My mind wandered back to points from the sermon several times that following week.  I felt not only like I wanted to be a better person, but also like I could be a better person.  I felt the way I always imagined my church would make me feel.  Since that time, my sister's have also attended--and become very fond of--the church.  We all sort of feel like we belong there, even though it hasn't been that long since we started attending.  The things I like best about this church are:

• There are many different skin tones, both among the congregation and among the clergy members.  
• They teach based on the foundation of the bible and Jesus but they relate it to today, to real life.
• They practice meditation and mind calming techniques.  
• They teach based on a set of principles that leave room for different interpretations.  
• They don't have a "my way or else" philosophy.  
• The church is not tiny but not huge.  I'm already beginning to know people and I don't feel lost in the crowd.  
• They are open to questions and individual interpretation of their teachings.  
• They love my little boy and have welcomed us with open arms.  

There are other reasons I like this church too but they can all be summed up by saying that I feel that I can truly be myself here.  I can come in with my questions, my doubts and openly seeking a stronger connection with God and that will be supported.  I can teach my son the things I believe and know that his spiritual journey as he grows will also be supported and nourished.  That is profound, and so far, so is the Unity Church of Ann Arbor.






   



                       

This Time Next Week

Right around this time next week, I will be sitting in the convocation center at Eastern Michigan University, wearing my cap and gown and listening to...who knows what kind of commencement speech.  Shorty thereafter, I will be the proud holder of my bachelor's of science in elementary education.  I am SO excited, there really aren't enough words to encompass how I feel. 

Last night I went to a little cap decorating party with some of the awesome women who have been with me along the way.  Our caps look smashing and I had a great time hanging out with them.  We are all so ready for next week but there is nervous anticipation too.  Now it's actually starting to feel real! The journey from this post, (way back when I was first making decisions) to now, seems like a thousand miles.  And yet, the time actually seems to have gone by rather quickly too.  It's an odd conundrum really but I guess that's what happens when you're so busy. 

In any case...I am absolutely thrilled to have come so far and I feel really proud of all I've accomplished.  According to my transcript, I'll be graduating magna cum laude next week, which means I've been able to maintain an overall GPA of 3.75.  Considering all the other major things I've had on my plate over the past three-and-a-half years, and considering we've also had some significant life changes thrown into the mix, that's pretty darn awesome.  Come on, April 16! 




   



          



         

Sweet!

When you hear the word "sweet," what kinds of things do you think of?  Kisses maybe?  Or candy?  Maybe your best mate or your roomie?  What about pie?  Well yes...pie is sweet but what about pi?  Pi as in 3.14, do you normally think of that as sweet?  If you're anything like me (a bit of a math-a-phobic person really) the answer is probably no... 

...until now that is.  You simply must hear this to believe.  The sound of Pi is actually quite sweet.  As someone on a friend's Facebook feed so eloquently put it, "MIND = BLOWN!!!!!!!! Its like math just exploded into song!!!!!"  I couldn't agree with that more and so, without further ado, I'll leave you with this:

   







   



          
          

42 Days...

...until I GRADUATE!!!  I know not everyone will understand but this is HUGE for me.  This is a lifetime goal that I've always held and it's been a loooong time coming.  My educational path has been non-traditional in nearly every way.  My journey has included many twisting, winding, sometimes bumpy roads.  I was definitely not the girl who graduated from high school knowing exactly what she wanted.  There was a time when, despite my knowledge that it was important, I wondered if I would ever earn my bachelor's degree.  That was actually a really big factor in my decision to go back to school at the ripe old age of 32 - the knowledge that having a four year degree was something that really mattered to me in the grand scheme of my life.

There's a song by the Avett Brothers that I really love right  now.  My favorite line says, "Decide what to be and go be it."  I love that!  It speaks to me in the deep.  The song also talks about, "...a kid with a head full of doubt" and I feel somehow that the kid is/was me.  I wish I had been able to make those decisions when I was younger and I wish (sometimes) that I had just gotten all this done years ago.  But then...if that were the case, I wouldn't be who I am and I wouldn't have had any of the rich and rewarding experience along the way either.  Those twisting, turning roads have not been bad, just long at times.  For the most part though, my former educational and career experiences have been value added to the person I've become.

I wonder what the next chapter holds?  I wonder when/where/if I will find a job?  I wonder who my future students will be?  Which of those children will have "a head full of doubt" to which I may be able to add a ray of hope?  Although it took me a long time to get to where I am and although the uncertainty of being a job-seeker in the worst economy since the Great Depression is, to say the least, daunting, I can say for sure that my decision to be a teacher was absolutely the right one.  Gone (but not forgotten) is my head full of doubt.  Although fear is definitely in the mix too, I'm now able to look ahead with pride and confidence in how far I've come.  I'm also able to look ahead with hope that I may be able to make a difference in the future by influencing the people who will live in it.

 





   



          
 

This is the big one...

...this is the one we've all been waiting for!

OK well maybe we haven't all been waiting for it, but I certainly have.  I've been doing snow dances every time any kind of system moves through our area and this time, it seems to have finally worked!

If you didn't already know, teachers (including student teachers like me) LOVE snow days!!

This is what greeted me on weatherbug dot com a few minutes ago:

BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY


• A Blizzard Warning Means Severe Winter Weather Conditions Are Expected Or Occurring. Falling And Blowing Snow With Strong Winds And Poor Visibilities Are Likely. This Will Lead To Whiteout Conditions...Making Travel Extremely Dangerous. Do Not Travel. If You Must Travel...Have A Winter Survival Kit With You. If You Get Stranded...Stay With Your Vehicle.Urgent - Winter Weather Message, National Weather Service MI
 
Impacts...

• Heavy Snow...Strong Gusty Winds...And Widespread Blowing And
Drifting Snow Will Make Travel Dangerous Tonight And
Wednesday.

• White-Out Conditions With Visibilities Of One-Quarter Of Mile
Or Less Due To Intense Snowfall And Blowing Snow.

• Quickly Accumulating Snow And Blowing And Drifting Snow Will
Make Roads Very Hard To Clear.

• Untreated Roads Will Become Slippery...Snowpacked...And
Dangerous.

• Heavy Snow And Strong Winds May Cause Power Outages.

Hazardous Weather...

• Snow Will Spread North Into Southeast Michigan Late This
Evening And Become Heavy Overnight Into Wednesday.

• Northeast Winds Will Gust In Excess Of 35 Mph Tonight And
Wednesday Morning...Creating Areas Of Blowing And Drifting
Snow...And Widespread Blizzard Conditions.

• The Heaviest Snow And Strongest Wind Gusts Are Expected To
Coincide Between Midnight Tonight And 10 AM Wednesday.

• Heavy Storm Total Snow Accumulations Between 8 And 12 Inches
Are Expected.

• Wind Chills Are Forecasted To Range Between 0 And 5 Degrees
Below Zero Tonight.

I've also already learned that Eastern Michigan University has closed for tonight and tomorrow, which is VERY rare and the public libraries in our area have all closed for tomorrow.  Obviously my first and most important concern is for everyone to stay safe and warm...and to stay OFF the roads if at all possible.  Bearing that in mind, bring on the snow!  I'm guessing the preschool where I'm currently student teaching will close for two days, based on what my CT and other veterans had to say this morning.  Two days of unexpected time off?  That definitely works for me!!  

I'll be sure and post pictures and updates later, assuming I'm not buried under the white stuff!  

 





   

A List of Apps

I was recently catching up on my blogroll and came upon a great idea for a post from a blog I read regularly.  I've had my iPhone for a little over a year now and I'm pretty sure I would be lost without my little mini-computer.  Still, there are so many apps out there that it can be hard to make heads or tails of the app store at times.  I find that the best apps are often those that I've downloaded due to conversations with fellow smart phone users.  With that in mind, I decided to follow a great lead and create my own "favorites" list of apps.  These are by no means the only apps I use but they are the ones I get the most functionality or enjoyment from.  They are all apps that I consider indispensable in my smart phone world!      


1.  Instagram - FREE!  This app is a fun and easy way to share photos, as well as to follow other friends who use the app.  It has some fun "filters" you can add to the photos you upload and it easily connects to most social networking sites and has privacy settings you can control.  I would expect popularity of this app to grow over the coming months. 

2.  Shazam - FREE!  This app is simply awesome!  It "listens" to a snippet from any song you are hearing and it tells you the name of the song, artist, album, etc.  It also gives you the option to connect directly to the iTunes store so you can purchase that awesome new song you just found.  I love this one! 

3.  NPR News - FREE!  If you are an NPR listener, this is a "must have" app!  I use this just about every day to connect to the live stream of NPR from anywhere I am.  I can also download tons of free podcasts and other content that NPR has programmed in. 

4.  Words With Friends - FREE (or paid).  This app is a fun, quick way to connect with friends and have fun.  If you like scrabble, you'll like this.  You can play games with friends/family who also use the game or you can play with random strangers.  I like the fact that I can have several games going at one time and it only takes me a couple of minutes to play my rounds. 


5.  Around Me - FREE!  This one is good for when you are out and about, especially in a location with which you are unfamiliar.  You can use it as a GPS, or just to find local listings of just about any type of establishment you could want.  I don't use it every day but it's been quite handy on more than one occasion. 

6.  Bump - FREE!  This one was used a lot more when I first got my phone than it is now but it's still pretty cool.  Allows you to share content from your phone (contacts, photos, music, etc.) to another phone loaded with bump by simply "fist bumping" the person with whom you wish to share content.

7.  Fooducate - FREE!  This app lets you scan the bar code on any food product using your phone's camera.  Once scanned, this app generates a list of the pros and cons of the item, along with a "grade" for the food you have scanned in terms of its nutritional value.  Handy tool to have at the grocery store when you want to quickly compare two similar products. 

8.  The Weather Channel - FREE!  This one is pretty straightforward but I still like it much better than the default weather app on my phone.  It provides hourly weather snapshots, weather warnings, videos, etc. for the weather wherever you are. 

9.  Time Waster Games - all FREE!  I may be cheating a bit here but I have a whole folder on my phone called "Time Wasters" and I want to share them.  These are aptly named because they are perfect for those moments when you are stuck somewhere and you just need to pass the time.  I have often used them while waiting (obviously parked) in line at the pharmacy, or in doctors offices, etc.  In no particular order they are:  Run Stick Run, Fall Down, Tap Tap Revenge, Jungle Crash, RedBall, BubbleFree, and Fat-a-pult.  They are all a little silly but easy to play and fun if you just need to kill a few minutes. 

10. Shop Savvy - FREE!  This app is new on my phone and as such, it's one I haven't used a ton yet.  Still, I'm impressed with its features.  Lets you use your phone's camera to scan the barcode on any product in any store and then it will generate a list of comparison prices at other similar stores.  If you're willing to shop around, this could save you some dough.