Washington Bound!

I got hired! After months of limbo I am finally, once again employed as a music teacher. I just got a job in a small town in Washington teaching ½ day junior high and ½ day high school choir. If you could see me, you would see the relief etched upon my face.

This officially means that I will be exiting the Southeast corner of my parents’ estate, but I will take with me the knowledge this unplanned year has brought me. Below is a list of just a few things I’ve learned.

*My parents are the silliest and best people I know.

*I love being able to know my little sister as an adult.

*You can take the girl out of the small town, but you’ll never take the small town out of the girl.

*Sometimes it’s nice when everybody knows your name (and they’re always glad you came…okay I’ll stop singing now.)

*There is nothing like returning to your minimum wage college job to make you appreciate a salary with benefits!

*It doesn’t get much better than eating raspberries fresh off the bush.

*Sometimes the Lord teaches us gratitude by taking away the things we take for granted.

*I still love living next door to grandma.

*God’s plan and my plan have had difficulties merging. (Mostly because I wasn’t onboard with the merger plans.)

* The internet is a marvelous tool (and quite possibly the only reason I have not gone completely crazy in the last 12 months.)

*I can do hard things. (Including learning to play Moonlight Sonata!)

P.S. In case you’re wondering about the song at the beginning of this post: I had a skype interview for this job. The internet at my house is a bit sporadic so I went to the hotel where I work to use their internet for the interview. Upon completion of the interview I stopped to talk to a co-worker for a few minutes and then started towards my car. As I was walking my phone rang. It was the principal I had just finished interviewing with. They were literally offering me the job 5 minutes after the interview. As I drove home in shock and excitement this song was playing on my local radio station. I felt it fit.

I'm Not That Girl

Love is in the air. I had forgotten how many relationships pop up in the Spring in my little town. I feel like I can't go to any church function without being bombarded with new relationships. Now don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that some of these folks are finally officially "off the market." However, this evening was different.


I've been anxiously waiting to hear from the school I interviewed at last week. As the day wore on it became apparent I would not be getting a call, which is not exactly a good sign. Despite my worries about my future, I trotted off to the ward talent show ready to make a splash with my sister. I really needed a light evening of fun and laughter. It was not to be. Within five minutes of my arrival I noticed Bob (see previous post for more info on Bob) sitting next to a fantastic women in the ward. Moments later...yep you guessed it, they were holding hands.


Now, normally I would have felt a small twinge of jealously, followed by happiness for this lovely couple. However, I have recently allowed myself consider Bob as a possible dating option. I had a conversation with my little sister not too long ago about why I no longer assess whether a guy is a suitable dating option anymore. I just feel like it's a waste of my time. If I do end up finding someone who is possible dating material, inevitably he ends up dating some fabulous girl. Honestly, if I had to pick someone besides myself to date Bob, I probably would have picked the girl he chose. Sadly for me, I'm not that girl.


All in all, not one of my better evenings...on a happier note, my sister and I smashed up the stage with our fabulous rendition of "Sisters", red sequined vests and all!

Roamin' Wyoming/Flight of the Bumble Bee

Youtube has failed me. There is no video of the Bar J Wranglers singing "Roamin' Wyoming" So you'll just have to image your own version.

Life hasn’t really turned out as planned this last year. Even plan B fell through a few weeks ago. (See my previous post titled "I Know the Truth") So I’ve been busy applying for full-time teaching positions so I can return to my adult life and more importantly move off the parents’ estate. One of the positions I applied for invited me to come and interview this week. So that’s how I found myself driving through the middle of nowhere Wyoming. It’s a nice little town and I had a wonderful interview. I really feel that these are quality people and I think I could wrap my mind about working with them. The best part is the HUGE pay raise. We’re talking a 10K raise from my last job. Hopefully it will work out. I should hear in the next day or so.

I travelled via Salt Lake City and decided to stop and visit for the evening rather than continue driving several more hours. This worked out wonderfully because I was able to join some friends for a Bees Game (minor league baseball.) The best part was one of the girls had free tickets, parking and food vouchers. I don’t know that I caught much action, but I enjoyed my pizza and ice cream immensely. Plus I got to see the human-sized bee.

The Gym (Fat)

So I recently joined the local gym. I honestly don’t feel horribly great about the facility, but I live in a small town so it was this gym or no gym. The $10 a month fee isn’t bad and the equipment is passible. It meets my current gym needs. While I can deal with the small town and low quality facility, I am not super enthused about my fellow gym members.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind most of the people there, but last night I had an experience I just can’t keep to myself. A couple of young fellows were circling through the weights when I arrived. They have left teenage-hood physically, but have obviously not figured out how to act accordingly. They were your typical come to the gym to “see and be seen” type of guys. They clearly spend a sizable amount of time with the weights. Now I normally would have just ignored them, but I was having tough run and I needed some entertainment, so I started watching what they were doing. They were making fun of everyone in the gym. I feel like this is just poor gym etiquette. I mean honestly, we’re all in the gym trying to improve our current physical appearance and/or health. It’s not like we’re couch potatoes. I just feel it’s really bad taste to make fun of people who are honestly trying to have a good workout. While I thought their methods were rude I wasn’t totally angry until they singled in on me. As they walked by my machine they made several ridiculous comments about runners and how they don’t really work out. They then continued to loudly joke about how they were going to go for a run now. They both stepped on to machines not far from me.

I should point out at this juncture that I have just recently returned to the gym. I’ve had a couple of lazy months and am out of shape. I am also trying to train for a 5K in a couple of weeks so I’m really trying to increase speed and distance. At this point I had his about a mile and was panting pretty heavily (this may also have been due to the fact that I had eaten a rather large dinner and hadn’t allowed enough time for digestion.) At this point our two guys started mock panting very loudly and obnoxiously. I was planning to run two miles, but I felt like I might have to bust out Weird Al's "I'm fat", so I left when I hit 1.5 to save everyone from having to experience me singing, "Just watch your mouth, or I'll sit on you." Perhaps we should pass a law banning immature people from joining gyms...

Ironic

I have a pretty bad track record with men. Not that I’ve had bad relationships. Honestly, haven’t had many relationships at all. It seems that I never quite get to the relationship phase. Take this week for instance. There is a relatively attractive man I have recently become acquainted with. (We’ll call him Bob) Bob doesn’t have any glaring red flags. He has direction in his life. And most importantly, he doesn’t inch toward the door when I start to talk to him. On impulse I asked Bob if he wanted to accompany me (and my parents) to a play. He was busy that evening, but expressed sincere regret at not being able to join us. I figured if an evening with my parents hadn’t scared him off, I might have found a winner.

Since then I have been trying unsuccessfully to have a conversation with Bob. I invited him to join a few of my friends and I for dinner, but he had a prior commitment. Though we hadn’t been able to connect I was pleased to note that he seemed happy to talk with me over the phone and genuinely wanted to spend time with me.

A few days later I was pleased to see Bob at an FHE activity. When I arrived at the activity I spotted him. Not wanting to appear to eager I took my time circling the room and chatting with others on my way to him. Upon arrival I tried to start a conversation just as the person in charge decided to get started. We split up into groups and headed off to different locations for the rest of the evening. I thought I had struck gold when we ended up heading for the same house. Upon arrival I noticed Bob sitting on a comfy loves-eat all alone. I quickly made a comment about stealing the last comfy seat from my little sister and bounded over to the half-inhabited loveseat. I tried again to start a conversation only to be interrupted by the girl in charge who was ready to start the lesson.

After the short lesson we began a group game. This game required one person to be in the middle. Having played the game before, Bob offered to go first. While he was still taking his turn, two latecomers arrived and one promptly plopped himself down next to me on the love seat. When the round ended, Bob had to take a seat across the room. When the game ended I tried to move his direction, but we both got caught up in conversations with other people. Finally, after talking to nearly every other person present we managed to find each other at the far end of the room and have a real conversation. (This was facilitated by my very patient sister who had been ready to leave for at least 20 minutes, but was kind enough to allow me a few minutes to chat.) Upon leaving I felt very positive about the overall experience and looked forward to our next meeting.

My sister and I hurried off to join some friends at their apartment complex for a quick dip in their hot tub. I normally don’t go to these gatherings. I’m not a huge fan of donning a swimsuit and I will often stay home. For whatever reason that night, I felt the need to enjoy the hot water. We changed quickly and hurried over to meet our friends. Considering the late hour and the early month of the year it was a bit chilly running across the parking lot in my swimsuit. We arrived and spoke to our friends through the gate. They told us to go around to the front and enter through the clubhouse. We dashed around the clubhouse. As we rounded the corner we almost literally ran into Bob. He asked if we lived at these apartments (a strange question considering he’s been at our house on several occasions) and he and I stared awkwardly while my sister tried to open the locked front door. I quickly answered no and turned my attention to the locked door. My sister exclaimed excitedly that one of the girls from the hot tub was coming to let us in. As she opened the door it dawned on me that girl was not connected to our group. She also lives at the complex and had invited Bob to come and join her for a late-night dip. I mumbled thank you and dashed off the blessedly large hot tub. I quickly sank into the steaming water in a corner near the friends we had come to meet. Bob and the girl who let us in chose a corner away from my group.

What ensued was possibly the longest 30 minutes of my life. I got to sit in a hot tub with rambunctious girls trying to ignore that Bob was sitting a few feet away next to a different girl. I had plenty of time to contemplate how ironic the situation really was. Thankfully, the hot tub closed promptly at 10pm and my sister and I dashed back to our car as quickly as possible.

Stuck Like Glue

To help offset the costs of living I have become employed at the local school district. For the most part the subbing jobs are relatively easy and low stress. I especially enjoy subbing at the high school. The kids are usually very kind, thoughtful and hardworking. I actually try to get jobs at the high school because the days are so easy. The kids in this town are raised well and are exceptionally well behaved.

I have subbed a few times in the vocational technology classes. I have found the kids a little rough around the edges, but they are usually really good about doing whatever the teacher has left for them. Case in point: I taught woodshop and the construction class worked well on their project, including using the saws with no problems. I had another class, however that was not so well behaved. Since the assignment didn’t take most of them a long time I allowed them to go across the hall to the computer lab to work on other projects. I spent the rest of class walking back and forth between classrooms to check on both groups of students. While this was happening, a crafty group of youngsters decided to change the clocks so I would let them go to lunch early. They were able to change the clock in each room while I was in the other. I was a bit frustrated when I discovered they had bested me, but I wished them well on their early lunch. I was also excited to come back for a second day to “surprise” them. Yes, revenge is sweet when you hold the power.

However, I was not able to enjoy my victory. I have a favorite water bottle. It’s metal and has citrus fruit on the outside. I bought it for a few bucks at Old Navy a couple of years ago. One period I was in the computer lab with the class. When class ended I entered the regular classroom to discover two hooligans putting glue into my favorite water bottle. I think they were trying to glue it shut. They seemed a bit surprised to be caught in the act. I however, was a bit heartsick about the fact that these seemingly wonderful students would do something so completely disrespectful. I have to remind myself that they are teenagers and thus are prone to poor decision-making. I know I did some dumb stuff when I was in high school, but I’m proud to say that I never intentionally destroyed someone else’s property. Ultimately, I think it was the blatant lack of respect for others belongings that bothered me. I had done nothing to make their lives difficult. It was frustrating to realize that they cared so little about other people.

The good news: Dad says wood glue is water soluble so I was able to salvage the water bottle.

I Know the Truth/You'll Never Walk Alone

*This song is obviously about a relationship…I want to be clear, there is no man. Replace “Him” with “It” and think grad school dreams.

This week marks the second major disappointment for me in the last year. When Peace Corps became an impossibility, I was consoled by the fact that Graduate School was the next logical step.

Well this week I officially received a rejection letter from the university I auditioned at in February. Having already received a rejection from my top choice, my remaining option is too expensive. I have been accepted, but they are not offering me any tuition help, so I can’t afford to go. (Unless I want to spend 10 years paying off student loans.)

So…Grad School hopes have come and gone. I guess the thing that makes it most frustrating is that I feel like everything I want to do with my life has been thwarted in recent months. I wish I was a natural optimist, but I’m having a hard time seeing the silver lining in this. I have no doubt that the Lord has a plan, but it feels pretty elusive right now.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my students this week. At our last concert I sang this song because I wanted them to keep going when they faced tough situations. I can almost hear them reminding me to take a dose of my own advice.

There are lots of versions available, but I always enjoy Sissel: