Flying Spaghetti Monster!

So, I don't know if many of you know about the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was created by a Science teacher in Kansas in response to the controversy over teaching creationism and evolution in schools. The Flying Spaghetti Monster is apparently what created Earth and all things in it. It caused an uproar, but was really just to show the ridiculousness of the fight. Anyways....
Today I saw a Flying Spaghetti Monster decal (like the fish decal for Christians and the Darwin decal) on the back of someone's car!!!! I about died from laughter/surprise. I knew most of Kansas knew about it, but wasn't sure how much the rest of the country knew. I just thought it was interesting.

Relays and Whatnot

So, Relays weekend is over. As much as I like Relays and think they're an awesome thing for Des Moines and the Drake community, I'm always a little happy when they're over. I really don't like having to fight for a parking space in my own parking lot or deal with drunken parties outside my window when I'm trying to go to sleep because I have to get up at 6 AM and go teach...

We did have fun this weekend. Friday night we went down to Court Avenue and listened to the bands and had some drinks with some friends. This was the first time I'd ever actually gone down to Court Avenue for Relays weekend. It was actually pretty fun. Makes me glad I'll be here next year! On Saturday I went to the stadium with a couple of my friends and watched the actual relays events for a few hours. We saw someone break the world record in the Women's 100 Meter Hurdles!!!! That was pretty awesome.

My uncle is now out of the hospital and living at my house in Wichita for a few more weeks. At least he's doing a lot better. This is my last week of student teaching! As much as I love teaching, I'm ready to be done, especially since I won't be doing much more this week because I'm supposed to be giving the class back to my teacher...

We had "Mystery Day" on Friday with the kids, which was basically a long scavenger hunt and they were outside for about 2 hours. It was pretty fun for them, and we had gorgeous weather! It's amazing to me - it was pouring 3 days ago, and now it's 80 degrees and sunny, not a cloud in the sky!

2 weeks until graduation. That's a scary thought.

Job!!!!!

I got a job!!!!! I will be teaching a 7th Grade Language Arts/Reading class at Waukee next year!!! I'm so excited! This was pretty much my ideal job, and I'm so glad that I got it! Granted, I will have to be cold for at least another couple of years, but I think I can deal with it.

Just a quick update! I should have more, but my brain's going too many different directions.

My uncle should be getting out of the hospital this weekend, which is good :)

I got my graduation announcements all done and will be mailing them tomorrow, probably.

2 weeks until graduation.

Pictures!!!

As promised, here are pictures from Street Painting that my friends have so nicely tagged of me on Facebook! I have not quite figured out how to set up the pictures on here in any sort of order, so I'm just going to let the blog do what it wants. Enjoy! As you can see, I don't have much paint on me, but that's because I stay on the square and out of the way of people with paint!!!! :)

Street Painting!!!!

I just got done with Street Painting a few hours ago. Street Painting is the weekend before Relays, and it's a great time to get out and be a part of the Drake Community. Organizations design squares around the theme for Relays and their own theme, and paint them on the Painted Street. Usually, people end up getting painted as well! It was gorgeous weather for it this year!!! I only hope that next weekend is just as nice for Relays. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because I didn't want to ruin my digital camera with paint, but hopefully some of my friends will have them up soon, so I can borrow some and let everyone see them!

I had an ISEA Student Program Conference this weekend. At first I was a little apprehensive about going because I felt like I'd been through all of the sessions, but it actually turned out to be really fun, like it generally does. It's cool to get to meet new people and network. I hope that we can get our DEA chapter to be bigger in the coming years - it's just hard when the SOE is not part of the campus, and people don't want to participate in things, even when they are part of the organization...oh well.

A good thing!!! My uncle is now sitting up, awake, and they took the respirator out!!!! A step in the right direction. I just pray that things continue to improve and that there are no more setbacks.

I'm graduating in exactly 3 weeks. How scary is that!?!?

Long Weekend

It's just been a long weekend, and I feel like it's going to be an even longer week. Saturday I drove home because my uncle is in the hospital. Right outside of Osceola, I got out of my car to get a pop, and I locked my keys in my car! Of course, I had locked my phone in there as well. Thankfully, pay phones don't cost anything to call the State Trooper. So they had to connect me to a locksmith who came out and unlocked my door - bye bye $50 because I'm sure my mom will forget to send it in to insurance to get reimbursed... The rest of my trip was fairly uneventful. When I got home I went to see my uncle. It didn't even look like him. He had all sorts of tubes and bags and everything sticking out of him. My cousin kept reminding me that that was "good" compared to what he had looked like. Kind of a sad deal. He wasn't doing too well the majority of the weekend, but apparently today he was doing better, so that's good.

Sunday, my little cousin had her first communion, so we had to go to lunch for that, and then it was my grandma's 81st birthday, so everyone was up for that. It was kind of fun, and I got to eat real hamburgers!!! I miss being at all of the family events. I drove to Manhattan and stayed with one of my friends for the night. It was really nice to get to see her and talk to her again, since the last time I saw her was July!

This morning I got up and drove to Topeka to visit the school that offered me a job. I sat in on three classes. I liked the teachers I met, and the students are pretty much just normal high school students. I don't know what I had in my head, but the pictures kind of clashed. So, then I called the assistant superintendent that I have been working with, and told her I tentatively accepted the job. (After recent family events, I really feel that I need to be closer to home.) However, she had to call the principal that I had just left, and figure things out. The only thing I've heard back from them is that she still has to talk to them...therefore, I'm still going to my interview at Waukee tomorrow. Technically, as long as I don't have a contract in my hand, I can do whatever I want. I just feel like I need to keep my options open. I just assumed the principal knew she'd offered me a position and that if I accepted it, everything would be taken care of...apparently not.

I went straight to tutoring when I got into town, and then I went grocery shopping. I went to dance tonight. Some days I really like going, and others I just really don't. Tonight was kind of inbetween. I don't dance 7 days a week like some of the girls. I'm lucky to still be able to turn fairly well and at least look like I know what I'm doing! I did have some good turns tonight, it's been awhile since I've had those. I will definitely miss that studio if I do end up in Topeka. I really like that they still push me and correct me, even though I'm not ever going to be a ballerina...

Tomorrow it's back to the 6th graders and Mystery. It will be nice to see them again. Last week they were upset I wasn't going to be there today! Only 3 more weeks till I'm done student teaching, and 4 more till I graduate. It hardly seems like it should be here. This semester has really just flown by.

I really really need to start addressing graduation invitations.

Decision????

So, I'm still trying to decide what to do. I'm sending yet another application out tonight since my teacher at East called me and told me there's an English and coaching position at Ballard. I'm going home this weekend and probably going to stop by Topeka again to visit the school. The reason I'm going home is because my uncle isn't doing well from the quadruple bypass surgery he had on Monday. Part of me feels like the decision has already been made for me - I can take the job in Topeka and be closer to my family for another few years, maybe when I need to be there the most. However, I don't know if that's the right way to look at it all. I'm so conflicted with what to do now. There are reasons to stay and reasons to go, I just don't know which ones outweigh the others. Who would've known this would be such a hard decision? I'll figure it out I suppose... I'll keep you updated!

Happy Easter!

Ok, so it's a day late... I had a good Easter weekend. I went out to my cousin's in Lincoln, NE, and just spent the weekend with them. It was kind of nice to get away for awhile and not be around school stuff and things that stress me out. Out there, I didn't have time or a reason to think about jobs and graduation and all of that other stuff. (Which reminds me, I need to start addressing graduation invitations). I will admit, Sunday I was a little tired since we got up to serve breakfast after Sunrise Service, but other than that... I love my family, even the very extended ones.

I'm currently trying to set up a time to go back down to Topeka. Part of me is beginning to think that I should just take the job - I'm pretty much guaranteed the ninth graders, which is ok with me. I found out I didn't get the Waukee job because they chose someone with more education and more experience - nothing I could have done differently. But then, how am I supposed to get more experience if no one hires me????? There are some things keeping me here, but the more I think about it, I would probably be ok if I went there. I don't know - I'll have to see after I go down there again.

We started our Mystery Unit today. My first block really got into the read aloud, but second block didn't really. We'll see. Maybe they'll get more excited as we go along and find out more about the mummies! I'm getting observed tomorrow. It's really amazing how I'm no longer nervous about it. I feel so comfortable in front of the classroom and in front of the students that it's just another part of my day. I suppose that's good. The weeks have just kind of flown by in the middle school - only 4 weeks left there and 5 until I graduate! I'm not sure that I'm ready.

News, but it's not good...

I wish I had some good news to report about my job interviews, but all I have to report is that both schools offered the positions to someone else.... So, I guess I'm back at square one. It's a little annoying, especially since I was pretty sure I had one of them in the bag... Everything happens for a reason I suppose, I'm just still trying to figure out what the heck it is.

I'm really much calmer now than I was last night. I got the call right before I went to tutor, and that couldn't have been at a worse time. What really really got me though is that the principal didn't call me - she had her HR guy call me and tell me she'd offered the position to someone else, even though she'd basically handed it to me on a platter. She knew I'd be upset and she didn't want to face it. I wouldn't have either. Whatever.

It's cold here, but no snow on the ground. Apparently, we have 3-4 inches of snow at home in Wichita... Awesome for Easter!

I guess I'm going to try to set up another meeting with Topeka to go down there and look at the school again. Otherwise, I guess I'll be sending out more applications. Everyone says it's still early to know about jobs, but I'm not that patient, and I'd like to know what to expect for this summer. I can't drive all around just to get to interviews - waste of gas and money. We'll see.

I'm going to my cousin's this weekend. It will be nice to get away and be somewhere else for awhile, just get my mind off everything else.

Snow???

We had snow flurries this morning!!!! I'm not used to snow in April - it's annoying. Right now, it should be 60 to 70 degrees and very very windy, not 30 with snow. I don't think I'll ever get used to this cold weather.

At the risk of jinxing my Waukee job possibilities, I just heard from West Des Moines. They offered the position to another candidate and he/she took it. He didn't really say much more than that. Though I personally thought the interview went well, I did get the feeling that I wasn't the right person for what they were looking for. Oh well.

This weekend is Easter! I'm looking forward to going to my cousin's and getting away from Des Moines from a bit, even though it's not going to be much warmer. I wish I could go home, but with student teaching and everything, I just really can't see the point in driving 6 hours just to have to drive back on Easter. It'll be fun, just so long as I don't have any go-kart accidents...