Well, it has been a couple of months since I last wrote, and several of my oh-so-faithful readers have inquired about my situation since the last journal entry. (Thanks to those who write to me with such encouraging thoughts. It definitely makes things easier to handle, knowing there are those out there in journal-land rooting for me – or barracking for me, as my Aussie readers would say!) Get a cup of coffee or tea or a beer or a soda, cuz this is a long one. An intermission has been scheduled. Heh.
At the end of July, my parents flew into Atlanta to come and help me finish packing up. Okay, so Mom had to help me start packing. I’m a bit of a procrastinator alright?! Heh. Anyway, my plan was to pack the things up, load them up in a truck that I had rented, and move on the last day of July.
We got everything packed with little drama. We won’t mention the many times my father told me how much it was costing him to not be working, even though he was on a vacation that he was forced to take or he’d lose his vacation days. Bah! As the days closed in, though, I realized that my dad and my friend/colleague’s dad were not going to be able to take some of the bigger things down by themselves comfortably. So, I decided to look into hiring some movers so that my dad wouldn’t have over-burdened, nor would my friend’s dad. Dad liked that idea.
Well, I found someone that seemed decent enough. He had a non-profit business where the money went toward a youth program. Wonderful! Money well spent, I thought. However, on the day that they (three men for the price of two) were supposed to move me, they called and said their morning job was taking longer and that they wouldn’t be able to get to my place until about 7 p.m. No problem. I didn’t have that much stuff, and with three people, it would probably take them no more than two hours to take it out and load it into the truck. Long story short, they called at about 8 p.m. to tell me that they were on their way. By this time, my father was thinking that if they could come early in the morning, it might be better. I asked the man if that would be better, and he said, nah, they would come that night. They got there around 9 p.m. and it was dark. Very dark. And there is no light in my part of the complex in the parking lot. Needless to say, arrangements were made for them to come early in the morning. (As an aside, by the time the men got there, they were having trouble with their truck and were unsure they could get it started again if they turned it off. This is not my rental truck, but their transportation. Dad told them that if it didn’t start in the morning to make sure to call and he would go and pick them up! Heh. Yes, we got a call in the morning that their car wouldn’t start.)
When Dad got back from picking up the men, it was apparent that this little business that he and his son were doing was not so . . . how do I say this . . . altogether proper. It turned out that his partner hurt his back the previous day so he wouldn’t be coming to help. No worries, right? I was paying for two men, so when I heard that the third one was unable to help, I just figured that it would take a bit longer – the entire three hour minimum would probably be used. I was paying for three hours, so if it took them three hours, so be it. When they showed up, though, I was taken aback at the son. He was twelve. Yes, he was TWELVE years old. That is not two MEN! Being the wonderful person that I am, I didn’t say anything and just let it happen.
There was a third man who did much of the work of moving, though. Dad. The man and his son got down most of the big things, but my dad was right there taking lots of things down. My dad moves fast. He gets things done. He ended up working twice as hard as both of them put together. I felt bad because it was one of the hottest days of the summer. I had wanted my dad to relax and not have to work too hard. Instead, he had to help the movers. I could go on about the poor work that they did, but I won’t bore you with the details. Needless to say, I will probably not go about finding movers the same way next time.
The drive home was nice. Mom rode with me and Dad drove the truck. We spent one night in a horrific hotel, which made the trip more tolerable for me. I am not one who enjoys driving twelve hours straight. Splitting it up into two days was fine for me. Gas was expensive, but fortunately I had held onto much of my tax return knowing that I was moving, so it was all good.
When we pulled into town, one of my sisters (Tonya), her husband, my nephew, my other sister’s (Roslyn’s) business partner and a couple other people came to help us unload my stuff from the truck and put it in the storage unit Tonya rented for me. Because I had no permanent address at the time, I figured storage was the best option. (I have a lot of stuff for one person – of course, one-third of it was school stuff. If you ever help move a teacher, remember to keep that in mind!) After we unloaded my stuff, we took the truck over to Roslyn’s house because she and her family were moving, too!!! They had a truck rented, but it was not enough. Besides, they were in limbo for the evening because they had to be out of their house that night but couldn’t move into their new house until the next morning after they signed the papers. So, we finished loading Roslyn’s stuff and then went to the home of one of helpers for a feast of shepherd’s pie (or something like that). The next day we all went over and helped unload Roslyn’s family’s stuff and move them into their new house. It was a fun weekend to be had by all!!
Gosh, aren’t you glad that I am updating? Sheesh. Such exciting things kept to oneself is never a good idea.
Since then, I have been applying, calling, filling out forms – all to try to find myself a job. I thought that once I had a Midwest address maybe the offers would come pouring in. Okay, I exaggerate. But I did think that it would help!
There are two school districts that I have been focusing on since the beginning, both in Naperville, Illinois. Since I felt led to Naperville, it’s been interesting how my attention is continually drawn there – newspaper articles, things in the news, finding out certain businesses are there (yay for Trader Joe’s!), etc. I really thought that I was headed in the right direction. I applied for all their open positions that fit my credentials. I mailed a hard copy of my cover letter and resume to each of the principals in both districts. When I hadn’t heard anything and still saw the open positions, I decided to e-mail a copy of my resume to the principals where there were open positions, specifically addressing the position of interest. I received some return e-mails stating the position had been filled or whatnot. The positions started disappearing from the site, although some remained. I just kept updating my application, which was all online, and hoped for the best.
Then school started. My hopes had been crushed, without a doubt. I didn’t understand how someone with my experience, education, and training could possibly be overlooked. However, there wasn’t much I could do about it anymore, so I forged onward and realized that I would perhaps have to – taking a deep breath – substitute teach in the districts to maybe get my foot in the door. So, I started looking into that possibility, applying where I needed to, going down to drop off the packet, scheduling the meetings for substitute teachers.
< ITERMISSION - Go to the bathroom, refill your drinks, grab some popcorn - The saga continues. >
Nearly two weeks ago, I went to District 203’s substitute meeting with a bright attitude, thinking that I would be working soon. I knew I’d have to get my fingerprints taken and a background check would be done. I learned that day, though, that I couldn’t start working until the background check came back. The people in charge said that because of the backlog of background checks being done by all districts at the time, it might likely be a couple of weeks before we could start getting assigned sub jobs. I thought, alright, no problem. A couple more weeks with the folks isn’t going kill me. I also found out that it is more than okay to work for more than one district, so I figured that I would still go to the meeting for District 204. Working for both should definitely keep me busy enough and bring in enough dough (i.e. money) to make it possible for me to live there.
By the time I got home later that evening, I had already received a call from the woman who is in charge of Human Resources. I thought that I had possibly left something off of the application or they needed more information. I didn’t let myself think anything good because that would just be too good to be true. Since it was a Friday, I had to wait until Monday to call. Bright and early on Monday morning, I called the woman back and found out that because my driver’s license is still from Georgia and my temporary address is in Wisconsin, that red flags went up. No worries, I thought, I would just explain that I just moved and didn’t have a permanent address yet but would change my driver’s license as soon as I got a job and moved to the area. Well, she would have none of that. She disagreed that that would be a workable idea. She said that it was legally wrong. (On a side note, I have talked to several police officers since then and they agreed that I could wait a bit more than the thirty days due to not having a permanent address and that it shouldn’t be a legal issue.) I pled with her to realize that it was all due to just moving, not because I was a terrorist to the fine state of Illinois. She couldn’t seem to see past it to see that the intent was pure. Basically, she told me I was unemployable.
She also told me that my provisionary teaching license for which I jumped through major hoops to actually receive was not good enough to substitute teach – I’d need a sub certificate. Oh, and all I needed for a sub certificate was a college degree. Hello!!! I had to have a college degree, teaching experience, and a valid out-of-state license to actually obtain the provisionary license. Why the heck would that not be good enough? Who knows. When I finished my conversation with her, I was so distraught. All I could think of was going back to Georgia where I knew I could work. What the heck had I done to myself??? It just didn’t seem right. People move all the time and have out-of-state licenses when they acquire jobs. It should also not be their concern whether or not I have changed my license. That is my legal and personal business, I think. I could understand if there was something in their district regulations where a teacher has to live in the district and show proof of residence. But even then, a driver’s license is not necessarily proof of residence. It’s just proof of where you have registered yourself as a driver! Anyway, I was completely and utterly floored by this news. It took me a couple of days to really get over it.
I started looking again for sub positions in the state of Wisconsin. However, to sub here I have to renew my Wisconsin license, so I have to go through the hoops again of getting yet another teaching license. I should never have let it expire, I know. But I did. Anyway, more searching for jobs was done by me. Again.
A few days later I decided to call the other district in Naperville (204) because my meeting was scheduled for the following week (next week, the 22nd). I thought I better find out if they, too, have an issue with the license and address before driving down there. Well, I was told that it would not be an issue. I was also told that the provisionary teaching license was more than adequate for substitute teaching. I had briefly told the person that the other district had issues, but the lady was as dumbfounded as I was as to why that should matter. Needless to say, my spirits were raised just a bit. There is still hope. I have decided, though, that if I go to the meeting and something doesn’t work out, the door to Naperville will be officially closed. I will consider that I was led home, not necessarily to Naperville.
So, the weeks have passed. I’ve tried to stay busy with staying one top of my applications and whatnot. I’m trying to be pro-active in my search once again. However, this time it’s for substitute teaching. It is my hope that I will be able to move into my own place (with or without a roomie situation) within the next few weeks.
Little else has been happening. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family. I’ve spent some time with my best friend as she prepares to get married in November; I am her maid of honor. That is a journal entry unto itself! Heh. I continue to try my best to maintain a positive attitude. It WILL all work out. I WILL have a job soon.
It’s all good.
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