Things in my life are changing again. I am getting to the point in my life where I want to know what lies ahead of me. I love surprises and I feel that I can be fairly spontaneous, but when it comes to my livelihood, the “unknown” kind of loses its charm.
A lot of things are going on at school again. It seems like something happens every year to make me think that my position is at risk. I fortunately don’t have to worry about whether or not I have a job; I do worry about whether or not I will get to teach at my current location. Argh!
Our district claims that it is in a nearly two million dollars in the hole. Therefore, there will be no cost-of-living raises. Or, if we want the COLA raise, we will have to get the money from somewhere. One of the places, of course, would be in foregoing the twenty-to-one classrooms that we have here in California. It’s not a mandatory policy (having classrooms of no more than twenty students), but schools are given some money if they do choose to implement it. Well, apparently the amount that we are funded is not enough to keep doing it if we need to save money in some areas. It would cost less for bigger classes than to keep “extra” teachers for the smaller classes. What that means for me is that I would be sent to another school cuz I am low man on the totem pole. Darn it.
I’m beginning to wonder if I really want to keep working in a place where I have to worry about my job every year. Our attendance is low. We are going to make bigger classes. Either one is enough to send me packing, but both together? Hello! No one is talking to me yet about the possibilities of what might happen over the summer (ie, I’m sent to another school), but one doesn’t have to be hit over the head more than once to know what might be coming.
I was talking to my friend Sandy a week or so ago and we talked about the possibilities of me moving down south to find a job. Although it’s always been just a topic, something to mull over in my mind, it was now beginning to be a true option for my future. I messaged Sandy and she happened to be online and she did a few searches and found some links for some school districts in Georgia. I have chosen Georgia as my possibility because I haven’t lived in the South before and Georgia is one of the few southern states that seem to pay their teachers more than a dime an hour.
My job is not the only thing that makes me want to think about relocating.
I have talked before about the loneliness that I sometimes feel out here. There aren’t a lot of places where I can meet people my age. I am thirty-three years old, for crying out loud! I am not getting any younger. I try putting myself in situations where I might meet some eligible young men, but since I’m not into going to bars or clubs, the options are limited. I’ve found a church that seems to have a good-sized singles group, but I haven’t had a chance to attend any of their meetings. I feel a little weird about making that a criterion for what church I attend, but at the same time, I have to put myself in places where I’ll meet men my age. Right? Am I completely crazy?
I’ve considered finding a pottery class . . . or something, but when I look at where these are held, it’s in senior citizens and whatnot. I live in a small town where I have little chance of meeting someone my age who is not a) married, b) a parent of one of my students, or c) toothless. I have my standards, you know. If I go to some kind of class or something “down below”, the percentage of young, straight men is not high. I’m just a mess, I tell ya. Heh.
So, this would be another good reason to relocate. Moving somewhere where there might be more people my age is not an unusual desire, is it? So, there you have it. I might be relocating in the next year to the might South. Of course I am open to other areas, too, but it’s Georgia that I am looking at right now. I am not fond of job hunts and the time and effort that is required to find another job, but I am at a good place in my life right now to do something like this. I am single. I have no children, and I have a job that can take me anywhere. I guess this would be one of the few advantages of a single person. I also have the spirit of adventure that fights to be freed every now and again (much to my family’s chagrin).
Woo hoo! I went to a taping of a PBS special featuring Josh Groban last month. Well, it finally aired tonight! I taped it and watched it as it was taping. I was really eager to see if I would appear on any of the shots. I did! I saw myself. How cool is that? I was on television! I did make a mistake once, though. I got all excited at a close-up of myself until I remembered that I didn’t wear red that night. There is someone out there who looks an awful lot like me! Scary. Towards the end I finally saw myself. Amazing.
The broadcast was simply wonderful. It was so much fun being in the audience as they taped, but it was spectacular to see it all finished and on tape. Josh was on the set of PBS, too, during the broadcast to talk to us between segments. He’s such a delightful young man. He has a wonderful road ahead of him. I really do hope that he can hold on to his humility and kind spirit.
The PBS special is running throughout December, so check your listings now! ;-)
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