Woo! I’ve got a conditional job offer from those interviews I had last week! The condition is only that I be able to pass a drug test and a physical capacity evaluation at a level high enough to please the company that provides the workerman’s comp coverage for the library.
I’ve been offered the position of Public Services Specialst in Youth Services at the local library. I am super, super, stoked. I’ll be doing readers’ advisory mostly - being out in the Youth/Children’s sections of the library, answering questions, helping people find materials, blogging (sweet!!!), and possibly even helping some of the programming if there’s time (it’s only a part-time gig, and I work all day Saturday, which I’m told is a pretty busy day).
The best part, though, may just be the schedule - I’ll be working Wed, Thur, & Fri nights from 5-9, and all day Saturday. This means my Mondays are open, and I’ll be able to squeeze in trips to KC for the Sunflower Knitting Guild, which I’m planning to join. Heh. Like I said to Jo and Carmen in the comments of the post I linked earlier, the power and awesomeness of gathered knitters was something I’d only read about before - now that I’ve experienced it in person, I’m not sure why I never went seeking it out before! The little taste I got just at the vendors market for KITH (as the cool kids all seem to call it) seems to have hooked me!
So, this job of mine. It’s not exactly the goldmine of blog fodder like the last one was at times. But, it keeps me busy, and one of these days, I’ll even get paid for it (monthly paychecks! what rotten scheme is that?). It’s interesting, though.
I’m working as a para at an elementary school. I work with special needs kids in a so-called self-contained room, although almost all of the kids leave the room as often as possible to join their peers in the classroom. Our students are mostly dealing with either Down’s Syndrome or autism, so it can get a little weird and shouty and stubborn at times (like, around 1:15 in the afternoon, almost every day). It’s okay, though, since I get to do fun stuff like put one of my kids into a top so he can spin around. Seriously. It’s a big top, maybe 2.5 ft across at the top. He just plops in like you do in a papasan chair, and then he can roll around, almost like his own personal Tilt-a-Whirl. It’s not an everyday thing, but still. There’s a top, it is large enough for a 4th grader to sit in, and he spins around. Cool, huh?
Just some prints I found on Etsy that I’m liking today:
A bright and colorful abstract from Etsy seller Terrace Gallery. Mmm…bright colors help me remember that spring is coming, even if it’s acting like a bashful toddler hiding behind the legs of winter.
Good Night Possum from Etsy seller Poor Dog Farm. Notice the baby possum on the far left is clutching her teddy bear. I like details like that. Apparantly, it’s a painted print - she prints out the line drawings and then paints on the color individually, so it’s a little more individually special than a standard print.
Hope you like these. I’m planning to try to be more scheduled with my posting, and I think Tuesdays are going to be my Etsy day - probably it’ll usually be art, since that’s what I most covet and can least afford. Maybe when I have a real grown-up job again I’ll be able to start buying smaller pieces like the possum print!
Years ago, when I was working in the instructional resource center for the education department in college, I read a lot. Like, all the time. I had shelves and shelves of good YA lit at my disposal, and new books coming in all the time. One of the first books I picked up didn’t seem to fit in too well - it was a mass market paperback that looked pretty un-YA, and the back cover copy made the book seem more adult-ish than YA-ish. I picked it up to read anyway, since it still sounded like a good read.
It was. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down. Literally. My boyfriend of the time, who was used to my nose being stuck constantly in a book, was complaining about my not putting it down. I just pretty much devoured the book without even stopping for dinner.
A few years later, I started hearing about the book again, as well as the two sequels that completed the trilogy. It was getting fantastic reviews, and now I was seeing it in trade paperback format, with redesigned covers that made the books look more like the YA they were.
Well. I finally got around to reading the sequels. I re-read The Golden Compass early last week (again, could not put the thing down). I finished The Subtle Knife last Friday (started it that morning and finished it that night), and will be to the end of The Amber Compass very soon. They’ve all been a treat to read, but I think the last of the three is the weakest of the trilogy, based soley on my ability to put it down. I know I’m probably the last to tell you, but if you haven’t read the trilogy, or at least the first of the three yet, well, get thee to a library already!
I don’t know - something about living at home (i.e. Mom and Dad’s house) makes me a bum. I mean, sure, I’m working and trying not to eat too much of their food, but still, I seem so very unproductive.
I had two interviews, though! They were both for the library, one in adult services and the other in children’s. They both seem like really cool positions, and I really hope I get a call for one of them - I don’t really have a strong preference either way. The interview with the adults services people seemed to go better. Not that the other one went badly, it’s just that I was a lot more on for the adult position. So, yeah. Those of you that sent the good mojo - thanks! Feel free to keep on sending it my way, since I won’t know (they won’t decide?) until sometime this week.
In other news, I may have found some knitting mojo again. Maybe.
Last night, Seth and I were eating out in KC, and 4 or 5 tables near our booth were being pushed together. Seth asked if it was a prom party coming in (it’s that season, after all…), and the waitress said “No, I think it’s a bunch of knitters…?” Immediately I recalled Stefanie Japel announcing she’d be the Featured Artist at the Sunflower Guild’s convention, and realized that this must be what’s going on. So, after meekly eavsdropping for a bit, I asked one of the ladies about her sweater, and they were all “Whhaaaa? Are you a knitter?!” and told all about how I should come the next day to the convention. I couldn’t afford it, I insisted. So then the knitter who I’d originally asked about her sweater said, “Well, come on into the Vendor’s Market, at least! You don’t have to pay to get into that much!” Heh. She’s good. She’s reeeaaallll good. Because you know I did. And you know I bought some yarn. And a book. And some stitch markers and a little project bag. And that lady who was so sweet to tell me all about it? Yeah…some of that was purchased from her. Like I said. She’s good.
The haul was good, though - I got some sock yarn and Cat Borhdi’s New Pathway’s for Sock Knitters. And some other yarn that is destined for giftitude for mom, who does read the blog, so that’s all that’ll be said about that for a while. And, of course, the project bag and stitch markers. So, now, I think I may go dig in and see what I can start!
Apparantly what I needed to improve my pace was to complain about it. Today, I ran an average of about 30 seconds less per mile than I have been.
In related news, it was really cold and windy, and my hands were pretty much just finger-cicles, and so some of my speed may have been derived from the urge to get back to shelter and warmth.
Have I told you that Seth and I found an apartment? Yeah. We’ll move in around mid-April. I’ll tell you more about that tomorrow.
I know you were just sitting on the edge of your chair, hitting refresh every 10 seconds, waiting to hear if I was okay. Rest easy, okay? I’m fine.
The job is good. It’s a new experience, and so somethings are still weird, but overall, it’s good. I’ve got another interview for a second job scheduled for Monday - it’s one I’d really like, so send the good mojo my way Monday afternoon between 4 and 5 central time. More details on that when I know more myself, as I’d hate to jinx it!
Oh, okay, so I’m running again. (Wooooo!!!!!) My times are fairly slow, and it frustrates me mostly because they’re a bit slower than they were last summer before I left for Taiwan. Of course, back then I did the Couch to 5k before I started in with Hal Higdon’s Spring Training, and this time I just jumped in with the spring training, but still. I want my old times back now, please. But, of course, my legs have other thoughts - not getting injured, perhaps - and insist on going a bit slower. I know it’ll get better, and as it warms up, I’ll be able to start running in the mornings before work (and before eating!), which I vastly prefer to running in the afternoon or evening. In the past, afternoon runs always seemed slower, as if the day’s work (or was it the day’s food?) was slowing me down. It’s okay though. I’ll keep going, and I’ll improve, and I’ll be healthier and happier for it, right? Plus, I’ve got myself a few long-distance training partners to keep me on my toes, pushing me to greater and greater distances. Tomorrow may only be 3 miles, but this fall? Marathon, baby.
…although it might seem like I was, since it’s been forever since I posted.
Life has been sort of nuts, what with looking for cars, getting a car, looking for jobs, getting jobs, visiting friends and family, and who knows what else I’m forgetting.
I’m off to my new job this morning. I found a para position in an elementary school in the same district my parents teach in (nepotism is a wonderful thing when it works for you). It’s a special ed. position, so that should be interesting. I’ve never done special education, and it’s a little worrisome. I’m not entirely comfortable with it, but I’ve been told over and over that I’ll be fine and it’s not as scary as I think it might be. And then, Seth tells me what to do if I get bitten. Yeah. That inspires confidence.
Today, I did many things. I got up early and read the newspaper. I made breakfast. I bought a new nike+kit since my first sensor died. I ran. I applied for a job. Also, Lindsay and I went to Chipotle for lunch. It was tasty. You can see the photographic evidence here: Lunch at Chipotle
Oh my. This is so boring. Tomorrow, perhaps, I’ll write a better post. It might be fictional, though. You’d be okay with that, right? Let me know.
We’re home! We landed at MCI (aka KCI) around midnight and met my sister, Marie, at the gate. She took us to Lisbeth’s parents’ house, and we’ve mostly been resting since then. I’ve mostly been resting, anyway. Lisbeth has done an admirable job of pretending she’s not feeling any jet lag, and I’ve fallen asleep more or less intermittently. I think I’m going to do that again right now so I can maybe have a productive day tomorrow. G’night!
We’ve purchased tickets to the US and given notice at our job. After much flip-flopping, wishy-washiness, mind changing, and whatever else you may call it, we’ve made a final decision to come home. See you soon!
If only because I haven’t posted in a seriously long time. Not much is new with me. We haven’t taught kindy all week, we have most of next week off for Chinese New Year, and we’re finally beginning to catch up on our sleep debt. I went to sleep around midnight last night, and Lisbeth around 1:00, and we slept till a little after 11:00 this morning. We could have used more sleep, too, but we figured we wanted to be able to sleep tonight.
So we spent the day rearranging the living room(s) and cleaning the kitchen, and now we’re watching BSG. Man, I really love that show. We need to find a good follow-up, though, since we’re already into season 2 and we haven’t been watching it all that long. Firefly won’t work, we’ve already seen it, and we’ll probably watch Earth2 soon, but no matter how good it may or may not be, it’s what, 12 years old? Fifteen*? Good or not, can it stand up to Battlestar Galactica, particularly as the following act? Somehow I doubt it. I’m hoping to convince Lisbeth to watch The X-Files with me, but since the only episode she’s ever seen is the single most disturbing episode ever I somehow suspect that’ll be a hard sell. If you watched The X-Files, you know the one. When I told my dad she’d only seen the worst episode, he said “Which one? Oh! With the… With the mom under the bed, and the… Oh, God. I wouldn’t want to watch it ever again either.” So maybe we’ll do Sliders, but that seems like pretty light fare after the loss of Caprica and the search for a possibly mythical Earth. Suggestions, anyone?
Also, someone is reading this blog from Mission, KS, and I’m curious who it is since I know only a handful of people in that area. If you don’t mind, would you let me know who you are either by commenting on this post, or by emailing me at sethcwhite(at)gmail(dot)com? I’d really appreciate it!
*IMDB says 1994, so that’d be 14 sometime this year. I suppose I’d know that if I’d brought my DVDs from the US instead of just loading them on my hard drive.
So we’re reaching the end of our first two-day weekend since we got to Taiwan. I’m already a little bummed thinking about the fact that I only get one of these weekends. For some reason they only cancelled my Saturday classes for three weeks, and this is the only one that doesn’t have an unusual Hess event happening. Next week we have some kind of banquet on Sunday, and the following Saturday I have to participate in some kind of Chinese New Year festival, despite the fact that Chinese New Year isn’t until February. I can’t wait to have normal hours again.
Regarding the Chinese New Year festival, I asked my manager what I’m supposed to do. She told me, “Sun and moon and…” Then she thought for a minute, then drew a cloud with her finger.
“Cloud?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Sun and moon and clouds.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding slowly, fighting the urge to tell her that even if that had been a complete sentence rahter than a thought fragment, there was still no verb in it. “What do I do?”
“The sun and the moon, and the… the clouds.”
“Uh-huh. What do I do with the sun and moon and clouds?”
She thought for a few more seconds, then let me know she’d tell me later. If past experience factors into it, and I’m fairly certain it will, I’ll find out right before I actually do whatever I’m doing, even if I ask her every day between now and then.
Stupid Hess Language Schools. Don’t work here, please, and if you’re in Taiwan, definitely don’t send your kids here.
I’ve been sitting on this story for a while, but I haven’t posted lately, so here goes:
BoingBoing has had a couple of posts lately about a magic rubber pig that squishes and returns to normal. We have a couple of those each, though I have a pig and a tomato, and Lisbeth has a duck and an egg. We use them in classes for games. A few weeks ago I took the tomato to a class in which none of the students had seen any of the magic balls. One of the girls, (around 12,) saw me squeeze it and said it looked like “the little chicken.”
That can’t be what it sounded like, right?
To help me find out what obviously innocent thing she actually meant, I asked “What now?”
“Little chicken,” she said. “Is a boy’s… um… a boy’s,” she shook her hands exasperatedly, trying to think of the word as I noiselessly flapped my mouth, intending to tell her “Stop. Seriously, stop talking right now.” As I worked my jaw, still unable to speak, while she “ummed” and continued waving her hands and rolling her eyes to the ceiling, a boy jumped up onto his chair, pointed to his crotch, and yelled “Teacher, this!”
I’d have felt much better if she hadn’t smiled and said “Yes, that.”
Why am I posting a photo of an orange? Let me tell you a little story:
In front of our kindergarten, there are a handful of potted trees. Recently, some of the kids one morning began pointing at one of the trees and shouting “aw-run-jooh!” This is six-year-old-Taiwanese-English-student for ‘orange’.
I looked at the tree and saw nothing orange. “Where?” I asked them. One of my boys came up and pointed to a small, green something, about the size of a shooter marble, dangling from the tree. I then noticed several of them. They were all miniscule and a darker green than a perfect lime. I wondered why immature fruit would be just now growing, since, warm or not, it is winter here. I also wondered what the kids might know about the life cycle of plants, so with great difficulty, after several attempts at restating my question until one of them understood what I was asking (they are mostly six, after all,) I queried “When will the fruit be big and orange and ready to eat?” Eva, a very bright, very sweet, and ridiculously cute little girl,
(only complete face in the picture,) lit up as she realized what I was asking. She excitedly smiled up at me, raised her hand, index finger extended upward in the universal gesture of one about to bestow knowledge upon another (otherwise known as “droppin’ science,”) and answered, “Wait.”What does that have to do with this particular orange? Well, naturally, it’s one of the very same oranges from that tree, now ripe! It fell off the other day. And for an idea of why I picked it up and brought it home, here it is again, in my hand for a size reference:
