In my attempt to get some packing done before the movers get here on Thursday, I decided to pack my clothes up that are not going to Auburn and New Jersey with me. The movers are bringing a box for my bridesmaid dresses (since those are really my only long hanging clothes), and for the first time, I have all six of my dresses hanging in the closet together. I'm well on my way to my own version of 27 Dresses.
Before I packed up my clothes, I went through all of them to figure out which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I wanted to donate... I ended up with three garbage bags full of clothes to donate. Go me.
While I'm jobless in Virginia this coming school year, I am hoping Mom will let me use her sewing machine to make a quilt out of my sorority t-shirts. I have SO many of them, but I don't wear them anymore, but I don't want to throw them away.
This time next week I will be in Auburn... Officially out of Dothan. It doesn't feel like I'm moving in a matter of days. It seems like yesterday that the school year was ending, summer was starting, and my impending move was weeks away.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Almost Moving Time!
The deposit is paid. The movers are scheduled. The move back to Virginia is official. The movers are going to be here August 4th and 5th, and on the 6th, I'll turn in my keys and head to Auburn. Heather is going to watch Harley August 7th through 12th while I am in New Jersey. Once I fly back to Atlanta, I'll go back to Auburn and stay there until Labor Day weekend. Or.... If I am fortunate enough to find a job in Virginia, I'll drive up as soon as I can and stay with Rebecca and Eric. Mom and Dad close on the house on/around August 29th.
I hate that nothing worked out down here, but I'm honestly looking forward to being back in the D.C. area. I never realized how much I liked that area until I left and tried to establish my life elsewhere. The area has so much to offer me, not only as a teacher, but as a 25-year-old woman. Not to mention the fact that I'll be closer to my parents. Eventually I'll move out of their house for good, but I would still like to stay within a reasonable distance from them.
If I could take all the people that mean so much to me here in Dothan back up to Virginia with me, this move would be easy as pie. And if I had a job to go home to, I think I'd feel a little bit more calm about moving, but honestly, I'm freaking out. Yes, I have a room to go home to, but I still have bills and I have no idea how I'm going to pay those with no job. And I'm a teacher... That's what I went to school for. The thought that I may not have a classroom of my own this coming up school year is kind of upsetting. Almost like I'm some kind of failure. I know I can sub and stay pretty busy with that, but that's not the same as having my own classroom. Hopefully I can snag some pretty good ideas from the subbing gig, and I can get my foot in the door with some schools for the next school year.
I just have to remember that God has a plan for me. If I wasn't supposed to have been pink-slipped here and not having a job work out for this year, forcing me to move back to Virginia, then it wouldn't have happened.
I hate that nothing worked out down here, but I'm honestly looking forward to being back in the D.C. area. I never realized how much I liked that area until I left and tried to establish my life elsewhere. The area has so much to offer me, not only as a teacher, but as a 25-year-old woman. Not to mention the fact that I'll be closer to my parents. Eventually I'll move out of their house for good, but I would still like to stay within a reasonable distance from them.
If I could take all the people that mean so much to me here in Dothan back up to Virginia with me, this move would be easy as pie. And if I had a job to go home to, I think I'd feel a little bit more calm about moving, but honestly, I'm freaking out. Yes, I have a room to go home to, but I still have bills and I have no idea how I'm going to pay those with no job. And I'm a teacher... That's what I went to school for. The thought that I may not have a classroom of my own this coming up school year is kind of upsetting. Almost like I'm some kind of failure. I know I can sub and stay pretty busy with that, but that's not the same as having my own classroom. Hopefully I can snag some pretty good ideas from the subbing gig, and I can get my foot in the door with some schools for the next school year.
I just have to remember that God has a plan for me. If I wasn't supposed to have been pink-slipped here and not having a job work out for this year, forcing me to move back to Virginia, then it wouldn't have happened.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Z z Z z Z z Z z Z ....
I love summer vacation. What teacher doesn't?
But one of the things I hate most about summer vacation is not having anything to do. And because of that, my sleeping schedule gets all sorts of out of whack. I stay up late and sleep in late. And the later I stay up, the later I sleep in. The cycle continues until I'm up all night and I sleep all day. I hate it, but even if I try using an alarm to get up at a decent hour, I know that I have nothing going on, so I turn off the alarm. Or I'm sleeping so heavily, I don't even hear it. I wish I was able to have found some kind of summer job so that I had something to do and get up for in the morning. But no one is hiring around town. Damn economy.
I gave Harley a bath tonight. What. An experience. Haha. For some reason, he decided to go to the bathroom on the carpet right next to his litter box, even though his litter box was completely fine. I had just scooped it a few hours ago. Then, not only did he decide to pee outside his box, he decides to walk all over it and sit in it while he cleaned his legs. That is beyond gross... Into the bathtub he went. Now he smells like baby shampoo and I love snuggling up to him. Baby shampoo is seriously one of my most favorite smells in the world. It's so clean and refreshing. I really wish I had taken pictures of his "wet cat" look... Haha, he was so mad.
On a completely unrelated, but totally brighter note, my birthday is on Wednesday. It's the big 2-5. So, given that I've had two pretty stressful years of teaching and two stressful summers of unemployment, I decided that my birthday present to myself is a trip. Over the years, I've accumulated 97,000-something airline miles, so I decided that I would use some of my miles to go to New Jersey to see a family I used to babysit for in Alaska. The last time I saw them was the summer after my 10th grade year... That was nine years ago! Since this trip is a birthday present for myself, I figured I'd splurge on the airline miles and get first class tickets. Hell yeah! Atlanta to Chicago to Philadelphia... Philadelphia to Chicago to Atlanta... All first class. I am amazingly brilliant. And I'm SO excited for this trip. I deserve this for myself. August 7th can't come fast enough!
But one of the things I hate most about summer vacation is not having anything to do. And because of that, my sleeping schedule gets all sorts of out of whack. I stay up late and sleep in late. And the later I stay up, the later I sleep in. The cycle continues until I'm up all night and I sleep all day. I hate it, but even if I try using an alarm to get up at a decent hour, I know that I have nothing going on, so I turn off the alarm. Or I'm sleeping so heavily, I don't even hear it. I wish I was able to have found some kind of summer job so that I had something to do and get up for in the morning. But no one is hiring around town. Damn economy.
I gave Harley a bath tonight. What. An experience. Haha. For some reason, he decided to go to the bathroom on the carpet right next to his litter box, even though his litter box was completely fine. I had just scooped it a few hours ago. Then, not only did he decide to pee outside his box, he decides to walk all over it and sit in it while he cleaned his legs. That is beyond gross... Into the bathtub he went. Now he smells like baby shampoo and I love snuggling up to him. Baby shampoo is seriously one of my most favorite smells in the world. It's so clean and refreshing. I really wish I had taken pictures of his "wet cat" look... Haha, he was so mad.
On a completely unrelated, but totally brighter note, my birthday is on Wednesday. It's the big 2-5. So, given that I've had two pretty stressful years of teaching and two stressful summers of unemployment, I decided that my birthday present to myself is a trip. Over the years, I've accumulated 97,000-something airline miles, so I decided that I would use some of my miles to go to New Jersey to see a family I used to babysit for in Alaska. The last time I saw them was the summer after my 10th grade year... That was nine years ago! Since this trip is a birthday present for myself, I figured I'd splurge on the airline miles and get first class tickets. Hell yeah! Atlanta to Chicago to Philadelphia... Philadelphia to Chicago to Atlanta... All first class. I am amazingly brilliant. And I'm SO excited for this trip. I deserve this for myself. August 7th can't come fast enough!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Ch-ch-ch-changes...
I'm about 99.99% sure I'm moving back to Northern Virginia in August. My lease here ends August 12th and I have a pretty strong gut feeling that I'm not going to get hired back with the school district here. And the job I interviewed for last week... I don't think my heart is in it as much as it should be. So I've just decided that I'd rather move back to VA. I don't want to have to get a non-teaching job here and work a bunch of hours just to stress about whether or not I'm working enough hours to pay all my bills. I'm barely scraping by on what I get on my teacher's salary, and if I were to make the same amount of money on minimum wage, I'd have to work like 85 hour weeks! It's not worth it, to me, to work that hard and that much to make just enough to scrape by.
So, the plan right now is for me to finish out my lease here and move my stuff into a storage unit down here. Then I'll go to Auburn and spend a few weeks at Heather's place, while my parents find a house in VA. Once they find a place, they'll call me and I'll drive up there. Unless, by the grace of God, I get a position with FCPS... in which case, I'll leave Dothan as soon as I can and drive up to VA and stay with my friend, Rebecca, and her husband and daughter until my parents get a house.
I'm more sad to be leaving the people I've become close to in Dothan than I am leaving the actual town. But, I know for a fact I'll be back because I'll have to eventually get my stuff out of the storage unit.
So, the plan right now is for me to finish out my lease here and move my stuff into a storage unit down here. Then I'll go to Auburn and spend a few weeks at Heather's place, while my parents find a house in VA. Once they find a place, they'll call me and I'll drive up there. Unless, by the grace of God, I get a position with FCPS... in which case, I'll leave Dothan as soon as I can and drive up to VA and stay with my friend, Rebecca, and her husband and daughter until my parents get a house.
I'm more sad to be leaving the people I've become close to in Dothan than I am leaving the actual town. But, I know for a fact I'll be back because I'll have to eventually get my stuff out of the storage unit.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Just call me the Energizer Bunny...
... I keep going and going and going and going....
I never consumed an energy drink until my freshman year of college. One night, while I was doing study hours in the library, a couple of guys were walking around on the 3rd floor with a cooler. I watched them quietly disturb all the students, offering them a free can of Red Bull. I silently wished for them to come my way, as I was studying World History (which, if you know me, you know how much I hate World History... I'd seriously rather watch paint dry) and thought the can that "gives you wiiiiiiiiiings" would make the crap I was reading make more sense. They must have heard my silent pleas... They finally came my way. I was so excited to drink that Red Bull. I practically inhaled the can. Then I waited for the wings to come and for me to feel this energy boost these two guys had promised. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited some more. Nothing. No energy. No wings. No miraculous sudden understanding of World History. And then I had to pee. And I pee'd... And I pee'd... And I pee'd. I thought, "Ok... So Red Bull must not work for everyone... It clearly did not give me wings, but instead, made my bladder double in size and fill up super fast."
Throughout my years at Auburn and these last two years of teaching, I tried other energy drinks. Different brands. Different flavors. Low carb. No sugar. Energy shots. Still nothing... Nothing but a full, and suddenly bigger, bladder. No energy burst whatsoever. Not even a little... poof... of energy. I figured the reason they weren't working was because I am so immune to caffiene. If I liked coffee (which, by the way, I do not -- I hate coffee almost as much as I hate World History... almost), I could drink a cup as I was going to bed and be fine. I tried to cut out Diet Coke and my head fought back with the worst caffiene withdrawl headaches... "There won't be any cutting out of the Diet Coke, Erica... Or I'm going to make you feel like complete and utter crap..."
I quit on the energy drinks. It makes sense... 1) They don't work for me. Clearly. 2) They make me pee. A lot. And 3) Why pay for something that doesn't do what it claims to do?
So... With all that in mind... Remember that cake I baked at 2:00 this morning instead of sleeping? The one I practically drenched in food coloring to make the cake blue and the frosting green? Hello energy!!! Y'all! I have been ON THE GO since just before 3, when I ate my small sampling of the blue and green masterpiece. I decided to clean out the closet by my front door, which is a task that has been on my to-do list for months. Seriously. As I cleaned out the closet, I made a trash pile, a things-that-need-to-go-upstairs pile, and things-to-go-through pile, and then after I finished the closet, I went through the one pile, took the other pile upstairs, and took the trash pile to the dumpster, along with the rest of the trash in the kitchen. Two birds. One stone. ....Winning!
Since then, I have taken out more trash, done the dishes, cleaned out my coffee table, paid my last month at the gym and canceled my membership, paid my utilities bill, checked on Christine's cats, cleaned the kitchen went grocery shopping, unpacked said groceries, talked to Mary as she was walking to work, read the newspaper (what?!), cleaned out the fridge and freezer, and did some laundry. I just finished eating lunch and am only now starting to get a little tired. We have Dinner with a Message tonight at church... I'm hoping I can stay up until 8 so that I can go to DWAM and then come home and crash. However, seeing as how it is now 1:45 in the afternoon, I may be admitting defeat pretty soon.
I never consumed an energy drink until my freshman year of college. One night, while I was doing study hours in the library, a couple of guys were walking around on the 3rd floor with a cooler. I watched them quietly disturb all the students, offering them a free can of Red Bull. I silently wished for them to come my way, as I was studying World History (which, if you know me, you know how much I hate World History... I'd seriously rather watch paint dry) and thought the can that "gives you wiiiiiiiiiings" would make the crap I was reading make more sense. They must have heard my silent pleas... They finally came my way. I was so excited to drink that Red Bull. I practically inhaled the can. Then I waited for the wings to come and for me to feel this energy boost these two guys had promised. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited some more. Nothing. No energy. No wings. No miraculous sudden understanding of World History. And then I had to pee. And I pee'd... And I pee'd... And I pee'd. I thought, "Ok... So Red Bull must not work for everyone... It clearly did not give me wings, but instead, made my bladder double in size and fill up super fast."
Throughout my years at Auburn and these last two years of teaching, I tried other energy drinks. Different brands. Different flavors. Low carb. No sugar. Energy shots. Still nothing... Nothing but a full, and suddenly bigger, bladder. No energy burst whatsoever. Not even a little... poof... of energy. I figured the reason they weren't working was because I am so immune to caffiene. If I liked coffee (which, by the way, I do not -- I hate coffee almost as much as I hate World History... almost), I could drink a cup as I was going to bed and be fine. I tried to cut out Diet Coke and my head fought back with the worst caffiene withdrawl headaches... "There won't be any cutting out of the Diet Coke, Erica... Or I'm going to make you feel like complete and utter crap..."
I quit on the energy drinks. It makes sense... 1) They don't work for me. Clearly. 2) They make me pee. A lot. And 3) Why pay for something that doesn't do what it claims to do?
So... With all that in mind... Remember that cake I baked at 2:00 this morning instead of sleeping? The one I practically drenched in food coloring to make the cake blue and the frosting green? Hello energy!!! Y'all! I have been ON THE GO since just before 3, when I ate my small sampling of the blue and green masterpiece. I decided to clean out the closet by my front door, which is a task that has been on my to-do list for months. Seriously. As I cleaned out the closet, I made a trash pile, a things-that-need-to-go-upstairs pile, and things-to-go-through pile, and then after I finished the closet, I went through the one pile, took the other pile upstairs, and took the trash pile to the dumpster, along with the rest of the trash in the kitchen. Two birds. One stone. ....Winning!
Since then, I have taken out more trash, done the dishes, cleaned out my coffee table, paid my last month at the gym and canceled my membership, paid my utilities bill, checked on Christine's cats, cleaned the kitchen went grocery shopping, unpacked said groceries, talked to Mary as she was walking to work, read the newspaper (what?!), cleaned out the fridge and freezer, and did some laundry. I just finished eating lunch and am only now starting to get a little tired. We have Dinner with a Message tonight at church... I'm hoping I can stay up until 8 so that I can go to DWAM and then come home and crash. However, seeing as how it is now 1:45 in the afternoon, I may be admitting defeat pretty soon.
Colorful
I'm baking a cake. A blue cake. And I have green frosting waiting in the fridge to go on top. I love food coloring and making boring things colorful.
I also love that I'm doing this at 2:00 in the morning. I'm fully aware that I should be sleeping. But I'm on vacation. So I'm choosing not to.
Also... I'm going to see Britney Spears next month with Mary. She really wanted to go and I told her I'd go with her. But when she went to get tickets, the cheaper ones were sold out. So, being the awesome friend I am, I called her boyfriend and was like, "Get those tickets! I'll split the cost with you!" And being the awesome boyfriend he is, he was like, "I'm all over it!" Score. Me and Mary. Britney Spears. July 17th.
Then, I get a text from my brother today, like I do every year... "What do u want for ur bday?" I said, "I don't know." He said something along the lines of "Figure it out or you get nothing." So I just happened to mention the ticket to the concert that I need to pay Teddy back for... After a few more texts, Michael said he'd send me money to give to Teddy. In other words... Michael is paying for my Britney ticket. SCORE! Best. Brother. EVER! :) I'm so pumped!
Adrienne --- Any chance you're going to the concert? It's in Atlanta... I figured you'd be ALL OVER that one! :)
I also love that I'm doing this at 2:00 in the morning. I'm fully aware that I should be sleeping. But I'm on vacation. So I'm choosing not to.
Also... I'm going to see Britney Spears next month with Mary. She really wanted to go and I told her I'd go with her. But when she went to get tickets, the cheaper ones were sold out. So, being the awesome friend I am, I called her boyfriend and was like, "Get those tickets! I'll split the cost with you!" And being the awesome boyfriend he is, he was like, "I'm all over it!" Score. Me and Mary. Britney Spears. July 17th.
Then, I get a text from my brother today, like I do every year... "What do u want for ur bday?" I said, "I don't know." He said something along the lines of "Figure it out or you get nothing." So I just happened to mention the ticket to the concert that I need to pay Teddy back for... After a few more texts, Michael said he'd send me money to give to Teddy. In other words... Michael is paying for my Britney ticket. SCORE! Best. Brother. EVER! :) I'm so pumped!
Adrienne --- Any chance you're going to the concert? It's in Atlanta... I figured you'd be ALL OVER that one! :)
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Stinger
I was perusing Facebook a few minutes ago and I noticed that my school from last year has officially welcomed five new members to the faculty. My position has been filled, and I officially know now that I will not be at that school next year. I was surprised at how bummed I got when I saw it posted right there on the school's website. I keep reminding myself of Dr. Seuss' quote, "Don't cry because it's over... Smile because it happened." My grandlittle in my sorority gave me a framed copy of this quote when I became an alum, and currently have it hanging up in my apartment.
I have a lot of memories from last year. Some good, a few not so great... But not only am I leaving that school with the memories, the experience listed on my resume, and three shirts, I'm taking a lot of "lessons learned" away from the year as well. I have no idea where I'll be next year. But what I've learned in the last year only makes me a stronger person and a better teacher.
I have a lot of memories from last year. Some good, a few not so great... But not only am I leaving that school with the memories, the experience listed on my resume, and three shirts, I'm taking a lot of "lessons learned" away from the year as well. I have no idea where I'll be next year. But what I've learned in the last year only makes me a stronger person and a better teacher.
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