06.26.07
Posted at 8:47 pm by Becky
We arrived in the Northwest on Saturday evening. The kitties are at Grandma and Grandpa B.’s house, hopefully not causing too much mayhem. We tried to stay in a hotel, but it was “not up to our expectations” to say the least, so now we are at my grandparents’ boarding house for the transitionally challenged. Our house will be ready on the 1st, but the locks still might need to be changed, and our worldly goods do not arrive until the 4th or so. Makes moving more interesting!
I spent Monday at the bilingual job school. I really like them. A lot. Best practice (teacher talk for doing the good stuff according to research and experience)? Check. Focus on professional development? Check. Very cooperative and fun group of people? Check. Hit it off with the principal? Check. Working with kids who really need good teachers? Check. Opportunity to become more fluent in Spanish? Check. 45 minute commute? Check. Oh. Wait…
So, yeah, the only thing stopping me is the commute at this point (and Jamie wanting me to interview other places). The job is still mine if I want it, and even if she finds someone else, the principal will tell them that she has someone else pending. Whenever she introduced me to teachers it was “This is Becky from Chicago. We’re recruiting her because we really want her to work here.” Group participation: How long is your commute? How does it influence your job satisfaction and general feelings about life?
In other news, after spending a lot of yesterday at Peets using Quizno’s wireless to work on an application to a school in Seattle, then figuring out how to use the grandparents’ wireless to print it out (yes, my grandparents have wifi… how cool are they?), I went to the school. Very unwelcoming. Principal walked past random, unknown, professionally dressed-up person in her office without even saying hi. Wouldn’t even pause to shake my hand. On top of that, the job changed from 4th or 5th grade to 4th/5th split half-time job sharing. Not thinking I want to work there, even though it’s a mile and change from our house.
Another time I can write about the joys of cats and airline security. Not today, though.
Don’t get distracted by the thought of the kitties… remember the group participation question!
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06.18.07
Posted at 12:30 pm by Becky
School is over. I am now officially unemployed. Here’s hoping that doesn’t last too long.
On the last day of school I got on a plane to California for Andrew and Bianca’s wedding. Delightful. Jamie flew down to meet me, so we got to have a little mini-vacation, and see a bunch of Whitworth folks. We need to get together more, people! We returned at about 3:30 am and I slept till 11. Whee!
(Side note to Bianca: Jamie bought a copy of The Economist in the airport. I really liked it and thought you’d be proud!)
Random Rave/Rant: I love the West Coast. It just feels more like where I need to be. The Midwest is very much not for me, as it is so hot (89 degrees) and humid today that I just want to lay around instead of packing all of our worldly goods. And the drivers are mean, too. And there’s no Starbucks or smoothies in Midway airport. What?!
To do list for today:
- Cancel utilities
- Forward mail
- Figure out how to dispose of Jamie’s car
- Pack
- Find pet friendly hotels in Chicago and Seattle
- Kitty doctor appointment
- Small Group
- Laundry
- Groceries
Boy, I bet Jamie’s glad to be back! He’s gonna be busy! 
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06.13.07
Posted at 6:07 pm by Becky
In case you were wondering, flip flops are not a good footwear choice for the day you’re moving your classroom back home. My feet hurt. My classroom possessions fit into about 20 boxes, and about 6 fit into the car at a time… it’s been an adventure type of day.
So glad all of my records are done (not glad I had a “checker” who actually thoroughly checked them and discovered that I put the wrong number of days in the school year on EVERY card! Enter fine tip sharpie!) and my room is all packed. Now it’s just down to making some copies for the new teacher, schelping stuff home (incidentally, schlep is my new favorite verb. Jeni, please don’t tell me it’s a curse word in Yiddish), and getting dolled up for our Oscar night themed end of the year/retirement party. Whee!
THEN IT’S TIME TO GO TO CALIFORNIA TO SEE SOME OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE (and my favorite person–my hubby I’ve missed for two weeks!). I’M SO EXCITED THAT I’M EVEN USING ALL CAPS AND I KNOW IT’S RUDE AND I DON’T CARE!!!
(Oh yeah, and for those who are interested, we’re flying to Seattle (ONE WAY!!) on June 23rd.)
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06.09.07
Posted at 5:57 pm by Becky
Today Jamie signed a lease for a house! Let’s see if I can figure out how to post pictures!
Yay! I figured it out all by myself. Don’t ask me how to make them not tiny…
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06.03.07
Posted at 5:31 pm by Becky
The past few days have been weird. I didn’t go to work Friday. Instead, I stayed home, went out to breakfast with Jamie, then helped him pack for Seattle. We then drove both of our cars past Midway Airport (about 90 minutes) so we could drop my car off at the transport place. For extra fun, the stereo wasn’t working since when it was repaired earlier in the day the power supply was cut off, thus the stereo thought it was stolen and required the security disc to get it to start. It was a very quiet hour and a half.
After dropping my car off (bye Gil!), we raced to the airport and got Jamie there with a whopping 50 minutes to spare. He made his flight, at least. I then drove back up to Rogers Park, which took about 2 hours. At least I was on Lakeshore Drive, which, oddly enough, goes by the lake and was gorgeous. I then uberquickly made some fruit salsa to go with some pita chips (yum) and went to the GCF barbecue. We made it inside just before the thunder storm.
Yesterday I got very bored. I miss Jamie. Anyway, I worked out, cleaned the house, knit a bit, and went to the dentist. The dentist was really cool. Really. There is a big flat screen monitor on the wall facing the chair. They use digital x-rays, so as they take the x-rays, you get to see your teeth. Pretty fun. They also use this ultra-sonic water pick thing instead of a metal scraper. Too bad I’m moving away from the high tech dentist.
I also tried to apply for a job. Note my use of the word “tried”. I already sent in a paper application to this district (which happens to be my first choice), but they changed to an online application, so I needed to do it over. Well, I went through and did the easy parts and left ones requiring thought for later, since I was feeling feverish (I think I had a 24 hour cold, if those exist, since I’m perfectly fine today). Well, I hit the wrong button and accidentally submitted my incomplete application. Bah. I’ll just have to ask them to delete it so that I can submit a complete one. Whee!
Today I woke up feeling much better, went to church (the new sermon series is on Psalm 119–I think I’ll listen online over the summer), and then our small group had a barbecue at a park. It was great fun. LOTS of food (I’m still full 5 hours later!), great friends, and an ultimate frisbee game. Little bit of a burn on the nose, but it was sunny enough to get burned! And it didn’t storm until way after we left, despite the ominous clouds. I’ll miss the group a lot.
Now I’m looking for ways to spend my husband-less time. I started reading Celebration of Discipline, which is interesting. There’s always boxes to pack, and I could even write lesson plans for next week (bah! There are 7 days left! It’s worksheets, packing, and basically babysitting my kiddos!), and perhaps even use up my yarn stash. Or I could just call Jamie…
By the way, his first day of work is tomorrow! Exciting!
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