As the year comes to a close and we're just a few hours away from 2008, I thought I'd take a little while to reflect on the past year. Overall, I can say that it's been a much better year than 2006, in spite of a few troubles here and there.
The year started off as Michael and I had just arrived back in Seattle after my first trip to Alaska, and I spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home, getting ready for the start of winter quarter at school. Michael was at the Vogue for the last time before they closed their doors for good.
We jumped into a winter quarter that was a bit less hectic than the fall of 2006 had been (thank goodness!), and we've spent the year strengthening our relationship as well as working on ourselves as individuals. Michael has excelled in his studies and is about to graduate with his first college degree this spring (I'm so proud of him).
I spent much of the past year trying to decide what direction I want to take my career, and during many days of this search, I was frustrated and a little bit depressed. The biggest blow of the past year was being passed over for the directorship of the Loft, and it took all of my courage to continue in the job search after that slap to my confidence. However, I have the most amazing and supportive boyfriend in the world, and he told me that something better would come along. His faith in me kept me going when I wanted to crawl into my comfortable little hole at North and give up. And he was right--something much better did come along.
Some of the highlights of the past year:
March: We took a spring break trip to Long Beach, and I got to show Michael the fun little beach town where my dad spent all his summers while he was growing up, and where I spent many of my school vacations.
April: I taught huge load of classes for Career Link, including an art class and an English class in which I convinced my little gangstas and punks to not only read but also to enjoy Shakespeare.
June: Sixty-five of my Career Link kids earned GEDs and walked in the college graduation ceremony. I got the privilege of going on stage to introduce them.
Berta, Emily, and I met in Denver for the first ever Women Who Love Hanscom Men vacation.
August: Kevin and Emily announced Emily's second pregnancy, and we began eagerly awaiting the newest Hanscom.
Hope and Peter got married on the Big Island in Hawaii.
September: We were forced to move to a new apartment so they could do emergency repairs on our old apartment.
Berta and John visited Michael and I and got to see our cute (new) little apartment for the first time. They were our first visitors.
October: I went to Vancouver for Mom's birthday and spent a wonderful weekend with Mom, Kima, and Hope.
November: Mom visited us for my birthday, and Hope, Mom, and Michael made it into the best birthday I can remember in recent years.
Dad visited us for Thanksgiving.
December: One of my favorite Career Link kids finally earned his GED and thanked me for pushing him and encouraging him to work so hard. He's enrolled in the auto mechanics program at Shoreline Community College for winter quarter, and I have all sorts of confidence that he's beginning an excellent career. (He's just one of the several examples of student success stories from the past fall.)
I was hired by CWU to be the Des Moines campus writing consultant.
It was a full year, and for the most part an enjoyable year. There were a million little moments that didn't make my list of highlights, picnics and theater date-nights and movie nights and cuddles on the couch while watching snowflakes. We're building a lovely life for ourselves, and even with the struggles, I'm the happiest I think I've ever been in my life.
So, what will the new year hold for us? A new job for me, a new college degree for Michael, and a summer road trip for the two of us so that we can explore some more national parks, for sure. Beyond that, it's a blank slate right now. It's an adventure, one that I'm looking forward to with great anticipation.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Cell Phones
My new boss, Teresa, the director of the CWU main campus writing center, asked if I have a cell phone number, and I had to confess the embarrassing truth. The following is part of the email I just sent to her:
"Theoretically, I do have a cell phone, but I don't even know the number. I have resisted the cell phone craze as much as possible, and only last winter finally bought a very simple phone that lets me pay $10 a month for 30 minutes that I've never used, but which make my boyfriend feel safer on the rare occasions I travel somewhere without him. Let me see if I can figure out how to make it give me the number...
Ha! I found it! (Okay, I asked Michael, and he gave me a weird look, but he did tell me the number.)
(number omitted)
You're welcome to give it a try, but I warn you that I rarely turn it on, and it spent most of the month of October lost in the bottom of a school bag that had become too small for all the stuff teachers seem to gather in order to properly do our jobs and had therefore been regulated to the bottom of the coat closet. I think I know how to check the voicemail. (Honestly, I think email might be the best bet until my office phone is set up.)"
I just have never been able to see the need that anyone might have to get a hold of me 24/7. If I'm not home and I don't answer the phone, leave me a message and I'll call back later. Cell phones all too frequently offer (in my opinion) an excuse to be rude in public and to drive unsafely. I refuse to buy into the theory that I need to be in constant contact with everyone. I have a home phone, an office phone, and three computers with Internet access. That's enough! (And for the few times I do actually need a cell phone, I'll admit, it's nice to have the little emergency phone. It's there for me when I need it, but it's not built into my ear.)
A story about cell phones and earpieces: On campus one day last quarter at North, I walk approaching the library. Outside the doors, a woman who I know very slightly was standing, apparently lost in thought. I prepared to smile and nod as I passed her, when to my surprise she said in a very friendly manner, "How you been doin' girlfriend? I haven't seen you in forever!"
I was surprised, because I thought we had a smile and nod relationship. I started to respond, "I'm... um... okay..."
She looked at me like I was nuts, then continued the phone conversation she'd been having on the tiny little phone that was shoved in her ear (and hidden under her hair). I should also note that she was wearing dark sunglasses, so there was no way to see whether she was talking to me or not. I felt like a complete moron, and I've avoided eye contact every time I've seen her since then.
"Theoretically, I do have a cell phone, but I don't even know the number. I have resisted the cell phone craze as much as possible, and only last winter finally bought a very simple phone that lets me pay $10 a month for 30 minutes that I've never used, but which make my boyfriend feel safer on the rare occasions I travel somewhere without him. Let me see if I can figure out how to make it give me the number...
Ha! I found it! (Okay, I asked Michael, and he gave me a weird look, but he did tell me the number.)
(number omitted)
You're welcome to give it a try, but I warn you that I rarely turn it on, and it spent most of the month of October lost in the bottom of a school bag that had become too small for all the stuff teachers seem to gather in order to properly do our jobs and had therefore been regulated to the bottom of the coat closet. I think I know how to check the voicemail. (Honestly, I think email might be the best bet until my office phone is set up.)"
I just have never been able to see the need that anyone might have to get a hold of me 24/7. If I'm not home and I don't answer the phone, leave me a message and I'll call back later. Cell phones all too frequently offer (in my opinion) an excuse to be rude in public and to drive unsafely. I refuse to buy into the theory that I need to be in constant contact with everyone. I have a home phone, an office phone, and three computers with Internet access. That's enough! (And for the few times I do actually need a cell phone, I'll admit, it's nice to have the little emergency phone. It's there for me when I need it, but it's not built into my ear.)
A story about cell phones and earpieces: On campus one day last quarter at North, I walk approaching the library. Outside the doors, a woman who I know very slightly was standing, apparently lost in thought. I prepared to smile and nod as I passed her, when to my surprise she said in a very friendly manner, "How you been doin' girlfriend? I haven't seen you in forever!"
I was surprised, because I thought we had a smile and nod relationship. I started to respond, "I'm... um... okay..."
She looked at me like I was nuts, then continued the phone conversation she'd been having on the tiny little phone that was shoved in her ear (and hidden under her hair). I should also note that she was wearing dark sunglasses, so there was no way to see whether she was talking to me or not. I felt like a complete moron, and I've avoided eye contact every time I've seen her since then.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Coming to an End
The holidays are slowly coming to a close, and it's been such an absolutely perfect holiday season that I'm a bit reluctant to let it end. Michael had the past three days off, and we've spent every minute of those three days celebrating. We slept in until 10 every morning, and took afternoon naps two of the three days.
Over the course of the vacation, we've seen four movies, which is unusual for us these days. We hadn't been to a movie in the theater since last summer. It's been a complete luxury to have the time to go to movies!
We highly recommend Elizabeth: The Golden Age as a great sequel to the first Elizabeth movie: the acting is superb, the costumes and sets are exquisite, and the script continues to closely follow the book I Elizabeth (and theoretically, history as well).
We both enjoyed The Golden Compass for its visual effects, although Michael, having read the book before we went, was a bit disappointed with their handling of the story. I, not having previously read the book, didn't know how much had been omitted or changed for the purposed of the film portrayal, and I was able to get caught up in the story. I'd recommend seeing the movie before reading the book, as I found it enhanced my enjoyment of the book when I got around to reading it last weekend. Doing it the other way around was slightly irritating for Michael and my sister Hope.
We have very mixed feelings about Sweeney Todd. On one hand, Tim Burton's vision of the story is incredible to watch: it's the perfect musical for him to choose to direct. The costumes and sets are incredible and the acting is very good. However, the singing (especially on the past of the major characters) is weak. As much as I love Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, they're not trained singers, and as a result a lot of the show's songs had to be cut down to compromise for their voices. The only really good singer in the show is the young actor playing Toby. The actress playing Joanna appears to have been cast for her looks. I wish Burton had cast a few more really talented singers in some of the smaller parts to compensate for the stars' lack of singing ability. Additionally, while we both knew the show was going to be violent, the violence seemed a bit more gratuitous that it needed to be, and the element of dark comedy that pervades the stage version was entirely absent. Depp's Todd is brooding to the point he's frighteningly malevolent, which detracted some from our enjoyment of the show.
We ended our holiday movie-fest on a very high note with National Treasure: Book of Secrets, which we encourage everyone to go and see. It's worth it (if for nothing else) for the Disney short film that begins the picture. How long has it been since you saw a movie that began with a short? And this is a good short: Goofy learning to set up a home entertainment center. The movie itself is an action-packed roller coaster that glides from one impossible situation to the next, with witty banter and lots of laughs in addition to the action. It's not the brainiest movie out there, but it's well written, and we both agree it's the most fun of the movies we've seen this holiday season.
I don't head back to work until next week, but I did spend most of the day today making notes on my Career Link students and writing a letter to the teacher who will replace me there, so that whomever he or she is, he or she will not be entirely overwhelmed at first. I have some initial planning to do for my new job too, of course, and I will be spending much of the weekend working on that.
Michael should be home soon from his first day back to work, and we're expecting our friend Rick to visit for dinner this evening, so the holidays aren't entirely at a close yet. We still have some Christmas money from Grandpa Don (my dad's father) to spend, whenever we feel like braving the mall for a bit of shopping. Still, it's a bit sad for the vacation to be ending.
Over the course of the vacation, we've seen four movies, which is unusual for us these days. We hadn't been to a movie in the theater since last summer. It's been a complete luxury to have the time to go to movies!
We highly recommend Elizabeth: The Golden Age as a great sequel to the first Elizabeth movie: the acting is superb, the costumes and sets are exquisite, and the script continues to closely follow the book I Elizabeth (and theoretically, history as well).
We both enjoyed The Golden Compass for its visual effects, although Michael, having read the book before we went, was a bit disappointed with their handling of the story. I, not having previously read the book, didn't know how much had been omitted or changed for the purposed of the film portrayal, and I was able to get caught up in the story. I'd recommend seeing the movie before reading the book, as I found it enhanced my enjoyment of the book when I got around to reading it last weekend. Doing it the other way around was slightly irritating for Michael and my sister Hope.
We have very mixed feelings about Sweeney Todd. On one hand, Tim Burton's vision of the story is incredible to watch: it's the perfect musical for him to choose to direct. The costumes and sets are incredible and the acting is very good. However, the singing (especially on the past of the major characters) is weak. As much as I love Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, they're not trained singers, and as a result a lot of the show's songs had to be cut down to compromise for their voices. The only really good singer in the show is the young actor playing Toby. The actress playing Joanna appears to have been cast for her looks. I wish Burton had cast a few more really talented singers in some of the smaller parts to compensate for the stars' lack of singing ability. Additionally, while we both knew the show was going to be violent, the violence seemed a bit more gratuitous that it needed to be, and the element of dark comedy that pervades the stage version was entirely absent. Depp's Todd is brooding to the point he's frighteningly malevolent, which detracted some from our enjoyment of the show.
We ended our holiday movie-fest on a very high note with National Treasure: Book of Secrets, which we encourage everyone to go and see. It's worth it (if for nothing else) for the Disney short film that begins the picture. How long has it been since you saw a movie that began with a short? And this is a good short: Goofy learning to set up a home entertainment center. The movie itself is an action-packed roller coaster that glides from one impossible situation to the next, with witty banter and lots of laughs in addition to the action. It's not the brainiest movie out there, but it's well written, and we both agree it's the most fun of the movies we've seen this holiday season.
I don't head back to work until next week, but I did spend most of the day today making notes on my Career Link students and writing a letter to the teacher who will replace me there, so that whomever he or she is, he or she will not be entirely overwhelmed at first. I have some initial planning to do for my new job too, of course, and I will be spending much of the weekend working on that.
Michael should be home soon from his first day back to work, and we're expecting our friend Rick to visit for dinner this evening, so the holidays aren't entirely at a close yet. We still have some Christmas money from Grandpa Don (my dad's father) to spend, whenever we feel like braving the mall for a bit of shopping. Still, it's a bit sad for the vacation to be ending.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The Christmas Puzzle
A Family Scene
Originally uploaded by Prairie Brown
One of my family's Christmas traditions has always been that Santa brings a puzzle, and during the holiday vacation, everyone chips in and we all work to put the puzzle together before the end of the break. Traditionally, this meant that since most of the people in my family have education related professions, we had around a week at least to fit the puzzle together.
This year, however, as in many recent years, we found ourselves, due to grown up children's busy schedules, with only one weekend in which to do the puzzle. Additionally, Santa had chosen a very challenging puzzle: a hundred brilliantly colored butterflies, broken into a thousand tiny little pieces.
Fortunately for all of us, my sister Kima is a puzzle expert. She sat right down to the task and inspired the rest of us to dig in as well. In 48 hours, the puzzle was complete.
It was my job this year to document the task, as I've never been terribly good at putting puzzles together (some visual-spatial gap in learning, I suppose). There are more photos up on my Flickr page, both of the puzzle party and of my holiday weekend with my family in Vancouver.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas Afternoon
Michael and I didn't get up until around 10:00 this morning. Then, while the cinnamon rolls baked in the oven, filling the house with their delicious scent, we opened the gifts "Santa" had left in our stockings (lots of cute socks and stilly stuffed animals in mine, plus huge amounts of my favorite Christmas candies). After munching the warm cinnamon rolls, we decided it was too early to be up, and went back to bed for a couple hours of nap time.
When we woke up, we came out to the living room to find it snowing, the first real "white Christmas" I can remember having in Western Washington. We opened the "big" presents while watching the snow come down. My favorite presents include a great waffle iron (with reversible grilling plates, so it functions as a griddle as well), a hot pot for my new office so I will have hot tea at school all winter, and a collection of Bram Stoker's novels (all of which, except for Daracula, have been out of print for forever and are really hard to find). Michael also found me Season Two of the Muppet Show, and a copy of Stardust, which for those of you who missed it in the theaters, is now out on DVD (and everyone needs to see it because it's the best fantasy movie in years).
After present time, we put together a lunch of some of our favorite snack food treats (little sausages in barbecue sauce, mini bagels, and vegetables with ranch dip) and settled down to watch an episode of Lost, which we've been getting from Netflix. When we finished lunch, Michael decided he needed yet another nap, so he's currently snoozing. I cleaned the kitchen, and now I'm watching dusk close in on the snow covered day. I'll let Michael sleep a little while longer, before I wake him up to help me make the traditional Christmas lasagna.
When we woke up, we came out to the living room to find it snowing, the first real "white Christmas" I can remember having in Western Washington. We opened the "big" presents while watching the snow come down. My favorite presents include a great waffle iron (with reversible grilling plates, so it functions as a griddle as well), a hot pot for my new office so I will have hot tea at school all winter, and a collection of Bram Stoker's novels (all of which, except for Daracula, have been out of print for forever and are really hard to find). Michael also found me Season Two of the Muppet Show, and a copy of Stardust, which for those of you who missed it in the theaters, is now out on DVD (and everyone needs to see it because it's the best fantasy movie in years).
After present time, we put together a lunch of some of our favorite snack food treats (little sausages in barbecue sauce, mini bagels, and vegetables with ranch dip) and settled down to watch an episode of Lost, which we've been getting from Netflix. When we finished lunch, Michael decided he needed yet another nap, so he's currently snoozing. I cleaned the kitchen, and now I'm watching dusk close in on the snow covered day. I'll let Michael sleep a little while longer, before I wake him up to help me make the traditional Christmas lasagna.
White Christmas!
For the first time in the 31 years of my life, it's snowing on Christmas in Western Washington! And it's actually coming down hard enough to stick! It's amazingly beautiful, and a completely wonderful Christmas surprise. Michael just went out to snap a few pictures to prove it's really snowing, and I'm in the midst of making a Christmas lunch. More later, I'm sure, but now it's time for me to get on with this lovely holiday.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Bittersweet Moments
As with every time I've started a new phase in life, I'm finding myself a little bit sad to be leaving the old one. It's scary to think about leaving a job that I've done for the past two years for a new one that is as of yet completely undefined. (Don't get me wrong--I totally want the new one, and I worked hard to get myself to a point I could have a job like it.) It's just that there are many parts of the old job that I'm really going to miss. I should clarify: I will miss the security of having a job I am already comfortable doing, and I will miss the people who have been so helpful and such great friends to me.
Yesterday I put out an email over the Loft list-serve to tell all the other tutors I won't be coming back for winter quarter. Within half an hour of sending the email, I already had emails back from a couple people, congratulating me and wishing me well. Today, the emails keep coming in, and I'm reminded of how many wonderful friends I've made in the Loft. There's such a wealth of knowledge and experience in teaching writing and reading there, and I'm hoping that I've learned enough from them to carry it with me to my new job. I know they're all happy to see me moving on to something that will advance my career, but I'm going to miss them greatly.
I will really miss my Loft students as well. They have shown me so much more of the world than I'd ever imagined I'd get to see. From the life stories of a single mother from Peru, an exchange student from Japan, a refuge from Ethiopia, an immigrant from Russia, a 55 year old American-born man returning to school for the first time since high school, a young Iranian wife and mother learning English to fit into her new country, and countless others who have so kindly shared their stories with me, I've gained insight into more cultures than I can even count.
Today I spent the afternoon in my little office at Career Link, going through my files and lesson plans, and putting together my classes for the next quarter, classes I won't be teaching. I couldn't leave the amazing people who'd employed me for the past two years struggling to figure out what to do with the kids, and I couldn't let the kids' education suffer because I'd had to quit before a new teacher could be hired. I still have to look at my grade book and put together notes on all the kids to send to Nancy (who will be teaching my classes until they can hire a new English teacher). As I looked around, sitting at my nearly empty desk, and I realized that it was the last time I'd be there as a Career Link faculty member, I'll admit, I cried a little bit. Career Link has given me so much, and helped me to grow as a teacher and a human being.
From the great administrators, Nancy and Belinda, from Sara, the amazing office assistant, and from Deanna, the incredible math teacher, I've always felt the warmth of being included in something larger than a faculty. This loving group of women has created a family at Career Link, and in many ways I feel like a child leaving home as I move on to advance my career. I will never be able to thank them enough for their support and guidance, as well as their acceptance into their group.
My students at Career Link have helped me to grow as much as I've helped them. My little "gangstas" and "punks" at Career Link showed me the incredible importance of educating each and every young person. I never thought I'd want to work with teenagers, but they showed me how much fun it can be to let go and play while I'm teaching. They taught me patience and self control (often giving me lessons on a daily basis). They also taught me about helping people (with much bigger problems in their lives) to learn when sometimes they really don't want to. They taught me that people have incredible amounts of strength, and they can survive just about anything and still be really great people. They taught me that the kids who are being left behind don't deserve to be left behind.
As the euphoria (and last night's champagne) wear off, I'm still as excited and thrilled as ever to have my new job. It's going to be great fun figuring out how to make this next phase work, and I know I'll be meeting wonderful new people along the way. However, I'm still going to be a little bit sad to be leaving the old phase behind me. How could I not: the people there are awesome.
Yesterday I put out an email over the Loft list-serve to tell all the other tutors I won't be coming back for winter quarter. Within half an hour of sending the email, I already had emails back from a couple people, congratulating me and wishing me well. Today, the emails keep coming in, and I'm reminded of how many wonderful friends I've made in the Loft. There's such a wealth of knowledge and experience in teaching writing and reading there, and I'm hoping that I've learned enough from them to carry it with me to my new job. I know they're all happy to see me moving on to something that will advance my career, but I'm going to miss them greatly.
I will really miss my Loft students as well. They have shown me so much more of the world than I'd ever imagined I'd get to see. From the life stories of a single mother from Peru, an exchange student from Japan, a refuge from Ethiopia, an immigrant from Russia, a 55 year old American-born man returning to school for the first time since high school, a young Iranian wife and mother learning English to fit into her new country, and countless others who have so kindly shared their stories with me, I've gained insight into more cultures than I can even count.
Today I spent the afternoon in my little office at Career Link, going through my files and lesson plans, and putting together my classes for the next quarter, classes I won't be teaching. I couldn't leave the amazing people who'd employed me for the past two years struggling to figure out what to do with the kids, and I couldn't let the kids' education suffer because I'd had to quit before a new teacher could be hired. I still have to look at my grade book and put together notes on all the kids to send to Nancy (who will be teaching my classes until they can hire a new English teacher). As I looked around, sitting at my nearly empty desk, and I realized that it was the last time I'd be there as a Career Link faculty member, I'll admit, I cried a little bit. Career Link has given me so much, and helped me to grow as a teacher and a human being.
From the great administrators, Nancy and Belinda, from Sara, the amazing office assistant, and from Deanna, the incredible math teacher, I've always felt the warmth of being included in something larger than a faculty. This loving group of women has created a family at Career Link, and in many ways I feel like a child leaving home as I move on to advance my career. I will never be able to thank them enough for their support and guidance, as well as their acceptance into their group.
My students at Career Link have helped me to grow as much as I've helped them. My little "gangstas" and "punks" at Career Link showed me the incredible importance of educating each and every young person. I never thought I'd want to work with teenagers, but they showed me how much fun it can be to let go and play while I'm teaching. They taught me patience and self control (often giving me lessons on a daily basis). They also taught me about helping people (with much bigger problems in their lives) to learn when sometimes they really don't want to. They taught me that people have incredible amounts of strength, and they can survive just about anything and still be really great people. They taught me that the kids who are being left behind don't deserve to be left behind.
As the euphoria (and last night's champagne) wear off, I'm still as excited and thrilled as ever to have my new job. It's going to be great fun figuring out how to make this next phase work, and I know I'll be meeting wonderful new people along the way. However, I'm still going to be a little bit sad to be leaving the old phase behind me. How could I not: the people there are awesome.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Early Christmas
For the past few days, I'd been feeling a little glum, because I hadn't heard back from CWU after what I'd thought had been a pretty awesome interview. Then, yesterday afternoon, when I'd nearly given up all hope, the phone rang. It was Teresa (the director of the CWU main campus writing center), telling me that they'd narrowed the field to two candidates, and I was one of the finalists! We talked for about 45 minutes, sort of a mini follow-up interview, clarifying a few final questions. She hinted during this phone call that I was her first choice, and she said she'd call back as soon as the committee had made its decision.
This afternoon at about 12:00, the phone rang. Michael and I nearly jumped out of our seats, as we'd been sitting for the past half hour or so staring at the phone and willing it to ring (apparently that really does work). Teresa offered me the job, and as of about 12:15 this afternoon, I'm the new CWU Des Moines writing consultant. I'm THE person to go to with writing questions on that little campus. It's my job to get this new writing center off the ground and flying. I'll be the entire writing center for the first few quarters, but as the center grows I'll be training new tutors to help me. I can't even begin to try to explain how ecstatic and excited I am (or how close to being in complete shock). Teresa had all sorts of complementary things to say about how well my interview had gone and expressed enthusiasm for my tutoring abilities. She sounded genuinely thrilled that I'd accepted the job, and I'm honestly thrilled to be working with her as a director. She's done amazing things for the CWU writing center, and I hope that with her mentorship I'll be able to help grow the CWU Des Moines writing center into something great as well.
I am heading to Ellensburg shortly after the new year for a new faculty orientation (and to get my new laptop--one of the perks of the job). While I officially start January 3, I'll likely be spending some time on campus before then, figuring out where my new office is and setting up everything so that I'm ready to jump right in to tutoring.
I'll be a little bit sad to leave Career Link and my kids, of course. The hardest part of today was going to North to tell people I wouldn't be returning for winter quarter. They're all so great and supportive, and they made it easier on me that I thought it might be, but it is still pretty sad to think that I won't be working with them anymore. I am going to stay in touch with the program though. Nancy said I could become a member of the Technical Advisory Committee, and I told her to definitely sign me up, so I'll still be going to meetings and staying a part of the program in a volunteer capacity. I'll go back for a morning during the first week of classes to say goodbye to the kids, and I'll spend a few days in my old office there before I start at CWU, organizing and setting things up for the new teacher, so there will be files on each of my students' programs and the kids won't be set back in meeting their goals.
Mostly, right now I'm in a sort of happy daze. I got the job! A real, career building, life-changing, challenging, amazing job! I can hardly wait to get started, even while I can't quite believe it's happening. The little dream I'd been building in the back of my head is becoming a reality: when Michael graduates in June, we'll be able to find some sort of perfect little place for us south of the city somewhere, and I'll start to build my career in earnest, as he finishes his education at the UW. It still seems very unreal, but I suppose very shortly it'll start to sink in: I got the job!
This afternoon at about 12:00, the phone rang. Michael and I nearly jumped out of our seats, as we'd been sitting for the past half hour or so staring at the phone and willing it to ring (apparently that really does work). Teresa offered me the job, and as of about 12:15 this afternoon, I'm the new CWU Des Moines writing consultant. I'm THE person to go to with writing questions on that little campus. It's my job to get this new writing center off the ground and flying. I'll be the entire writing center for the first few quarters, but as the center grows I'll be training new tutors to help me. I can't even begin to try to explain how ecstatic and excited I am (or how close to being in complete shock). Teresa had all sorts of complementary things to say about how well my interview had gone and expressed enthusiasm for my tutoring abilities. She sounded genuinely thrilled that I'd accepted the job, and I'm honestly thrilled to be working with her as a director. She's done amazing things for the CWU writing center, and I hope that with her mentorship I'll be able to help grow the CWU Des Moines writing center into something great as well.
I am heading to Ellensburg shortly after the new year for a new faculty orientation (and to get my new laptop--one of the perks of the job). While I officially start January 3, I'll likely be spending some time on campus before then, figuring out where my new office is and setting up everything so that I'm ready to jump right in to tutoring.
I'll be a little bit sad to leave Career Link and my kids, of course. The hardest part of today was going to North to tell people I wouldn't be returning for winter quarter. They're all so great and supportive, and they made it easier on me that I thought it might be, but it is still pretty sad to think that I won't be working with them anymore. I am going to stay in touch with the program though. Nancy said I could become a member of the Technical Advisory Committee, and I told her to definitely sign me up, so I'll still be going to meetings and staying a part of the program in a volunteer capacity. I'll go back for a morning during the first week of classes to say goodbye to the kids, and I'll spend a few days in my old office there before I start at CWU, organizing and setting things up for the new teacher, so there will be files on each of my students' programs and the kids won't be set back in meeting their goals.
Mostly, right now I'm in a sort of happy daze. I got the job! A real, career building, life-changing, challenging, amazing job! I can hardly wait to get started, even while I can't quite believe it's happening. The little dream I'd been building in the back of my head is becoming a reality: when Michael graduates in June, we'll be able to find some sort of perfect little place for us south of the city somewhere, and I'll start to build my career in earnest, as he finishes his education at the UW. It still seems very unreal, but I suppose very shortly it'll start to sink in: I got the job!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Through the Interview
My interview with CWU was yesterday morning, and I think it went pretty well (although it's always difficult to tell about these things). It was one of the most comfortable academic interviews I've been through yet, with a small (three-person) committee, reasonable questions, and really friendly people. It didn't have that "witch hunt" feeling many interviews have, where the candidates leave feeling like they've been released from a horrible, personal, kind of humiliating examination. I left feeling like I'd spent two hours having a nice conversation with interesting people.
After learning more about the job, I'm even more convinced that it would be something I'd like to do. The person who is hired will be responsible for further establishing the writing center at a CWU branch campus. The center that's there right now is only open two days a week. It will be the job of the new writing consultant to increase the hours of operation, and to do the marketing necessary to encourage the center to grow. It is a great opportunity for someone to get introductory administrative experience while continuing to meet with students, and I think it would be a really great job for me (not that I wouldn't be really sad to leave my students at Career Link).
I should (hopefully) hear back from the committee sometime in the near future. They want to hire someone before they leave for the holiday break. Send me good vibes, everyone!
After learning more about the job, I'm even more convinced that it would be something I'd like to do. The person who is hired will be responsible for further establishing the writing center at a CWU branch campus. The center that's there right now is only open two days a week. It will be the job of the new writing consultant to increase the hours of operation, and to do the marketing necessary to encourage the center to grow. It is a great opportunity for someone to get introductory administrative experience while continuing to meet with students, and I think it would be a really great job for me (not that I wouldn't be really sad to leave my students at Career Link).
I should (hopefully) hear back from the committee sometime in the near future. They want to hire someone before they leave for the holiday break. Send me good vibes, everyone!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Intestinal Rebellion
I seem to be having a problem staying healthy this fall/winter. The latest in the string of aliments is what I will call "intestinal disgustingness" (I'll spare you the gory details). I'm surviving on saltine crackers, toast, and ginger ale at the moment. Thank goodness all my students skipped today because of the storm, and Nancy sent me home early. Hopefully whatever this grossness is, it will be gone by tomorrow.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Rain Again
It's warmed up to a whopping 47 degrees, and the snow has turned back into Seattle's usual rain. The inch or so of snow we got this morning has been melted away by the steady drizzle that's been coming down out there all afternoon. It actually looks like there's a bit of a storm blowing in for the evening. The clouds are rolling along very quickly, and the sky is an eerie sort of grayish-yellow. I hope Michael gets home before it really starts to blow! It looks like it's shaping up to be the perfect evening to light some candles and curl up in bed with hot chocolate and books and listen to the storm. Yes, I'm one of those weird people who enjoys a good winter storm (as long as the power isn't knocked out for too long!). It always feels so cozy to be secure in a comfortable, warm place, listening to the weather outside.
Oooh! A big puff of wind just rattled the windows and shook the tree outside!
Oooh! A big puff of wind just rattled the windows and shook the tree outside!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Snow in Seattle!
Michael and I just spent the afternoon decorating our apartment for the holidays (putting Christmas lights in the windows, decorating the kitchen table, etc.). As Michael took the first string of lights out of the box, the first few flakes of snow started to fall from the sky. We popped in our newest holiday CD (Christmas Swing), and started putting the lights in the windows. It's a regular winter wonderland outside right now, and it really feels like the holiday season has begun. I think I'm going to go eat a candy cane...
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