Here Come the Holidays!

This is always my favorite time of year, just when it is getting crispy out and the Christmas lights start showing up on the houses. Grand Rapids lit there tree a couple of days ago, unfortunately we couldn't catch seeing it because it was a late day for Jon at work. Boo.
Jon and I travel as a team you see, one car and one direction :) Monday through Friday we wake up at 5:15 (me at 5:25) and get going by 5:50. We drop Jon off first at Corporate Color and then I switch seats and take off for the sticks of Dutton (Caledonia). We reverse the operation anywhere from 6-7:30 pm depending on the UPS driver at Jon's work. He is not my friend. Sometimes I wait in the parking lot til the last minute and I want to just hunt the big brown van down so we can go home! But then I feel bad because it's Jon who has been working the whole day, not me. I just have a before and after school job assignment through the YMCA. Not a terrible job, certainly gives me plenty of downtime :/
BUT there are the weekends :) And there are the relaxing and fun parts of the day to look forward to. And the holiday lights to get out! We left our little fke tree back in NY so we'll have to upgrade to maybe a real one this year :)

Dead end

I am being overdramatic. There are worse places to be, worse situations to be in. But I find myself facing walls at every turn I make.

Since my return to West Michigan I have been 1)hired on as a part-time ESL teacher 2) denied MI teaching license 3) no more part-time teaching job.

This has been hard to deal with. Not only am I unemployable as a teacher in Michigan but there are scarcely any jobs to be had around here. Apparently I am qualified to teach inner city kids in NYC but when it comes to Michigan....they don't think I can? Not to mention I have a Masters in teaching. It's all because I went through a "non-standard" certification process. So much for Federal programs like Teaching Fellows...What was the point?

Now I've got to figure out the next step. Next career choice. What's the plan...

Can't Help but count down...

It's inching nearer...and what am I doing? Not a whole lot.

I had field day today for my eighth graders. I am outright jealous of the classes that I see calmly walking around, loading into their buses and just chilling out for the ride. These are not my kids. My kids are 1) obnoxious 2) so so so mean to eachother! 3) cursing about anything and everything 4) LOUD
I walked away (kicking and screaming!) from those buses hoping NEVER to repeat it. In two weeks I have to chaperone Prom (8th grade prom, really?) something tells me they will be slightly classier on that ride. The fact they wont have to ride the "cheese bus" might help their attitudes some.

On a less annoying note, I am going on a solo vacay this weekend to DC. I am excited to get to the capitol city. I haven't been there since the 4th grade, and I was sick the whole time...boo. So, I'm hoping BoltBus after school gets out to arrive in DC at my hostel by 10pm. From there I will get to see the museums and the Mall. I don't know anyone in the DC area, but sometimes that can be an adventure. I really enjoyed running around London by myself, Italy was a little harder. I took a train in NW Italy and got off on the wrong stop and could not for the life of me communicate with the people at the station. Stressful, but eh, it all worked out :)

Hear's to adventures...

Here it comes.. the end of an era

Today is one day closer to the last day of teaching in NYC public schools. Although we still have several actual "teaching" days left it feels all but over to me. The kids are crazy restless and unmotivated. I really can't blame them- I just turned in their final report cards. They are annoying, not bad kids but just annoying. I'm regretting that I ever taught them the word lethargic as that is all they say to me. "Ms. I'm mad lethargic today." Ugh.
Other news, my knee and foot are really starting to hurt me. I've begun to cycle to work and back and they are not happy about it. It began around mile 60 of the tri and although I took a week off from really training I am nervous it is something more than just a sore spot. But I already signed up for the Grand Haven triathlon on July 12th. It's an Olympic distance (1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run). I want to try to stay fit- I like training for big things. THe tri (duathlon I guess) was really a fun experience.
I'll end this rainy Tuesday with tea and Netflix :)

Whoops

:) I forgot to write anything....for a whole year!

So why am I writing now? Well, I have created another blog for one of my ELA classes and it has been going really well (for the most part), so every time I sign in to view and update thtat blog I run into this one...and then I feel bad. Silly.

Today is Friday, I am sitting here in a sweet apartment blogging about nothing. I am really just too tired to go out...even if I had somewhere to go! I had swimming practice downtown at the Union Square YMCA. It is funny that now after years and years I have decided to take proper swimming. It's all because of my upcoming triathlon! I am swimming across the Hudson on my first leg, cycling 91 miles towards Philadelphia and then running a 10K ending at the top of the Rocky statue. Whew! Luckily it is at the end of May and I am in the 2nd month of true training, getting more serious this month. I am actually really excited to get back into peak condition. It has been too long since the Atlantic City Half-Marathon and even longer from being the muscled rugby player from college. I kind of miss that.

Maybe I should be a coach. Forget the teacher bit.

That's another thing...I am soon to be relocating back to Michigan after 3 years of living here. In some ways it does not feel that long, in others it does- considering I saw many of my best friends and myself get married in that time! Yeesh.