007 - License to Teach

That was what was on our cake Wednesday night for our student teaching seminar. Actually, it was spelled "licence," but it's a difficult word to spell for somebody who works the bakery at Safeway.

I just want to sing "Schooooool's out for the summer!! Schooooooool's out for-ever!!"

Of course, it's really not - just mostly. I have one more class to take this summer, and then I'll finish up my Master's Project in the Fall. I anticipate getting my degree in December, but I was told that it could take until February. Whatever, as long as I get it in the 07-08 school year.

The ESD did not give me any credit for previous experience on the pay scale, but they did give me credit for the Master's, so I have to finish it during this year or I'll owe them.

I still don't know where I'm working in the fall. There is an opening on the Community Support Team (where I did my student teaching). While I would like to be placed there, and have lobbied for the position, I don't think I will get it because there are so many people who want that job who are more senior than me.

I have the next three weeks free before I begin work at the Kiwanis Camp. I'm spending my time cleaning the house. I'm turning the closet in the office into a sewing center. Right now I have the contents of the closet strewn about the room. Hopefully I'll get this project finished this weekend.

I'm going to look at a car today. It's a '97 Subaru Outback. It has 189,000 miles, which is high, but it's only $4,000. I'm a little wary of it, but I drive an 82 Caprice, so anything is an upgrade. I'm going to take it to my mechanic before I make a decision, but I'm still nervous...

And that's my update. I'll blog more later since I don't have any assignments due!!

I Got the Job!!

At 4pm yesterday, I was eating an early dinner at Baja Fresh (two fish tacos), getting myself ready for my yoga class. My phone buzzed. It was KW from NWRESD, calling to see if I was still interested in a position with them. She wanted to put in a "Reccommendation for Hire" to HR. I told her I "most definately" was still interested in the position and thanked her many many times. I got so excited that I got off the phone without knowing where I was working, nor how much money I will be making. I didn't care. I had (have) a job. I immediately called Navigator who asked me "How much did they offer?"

"Um. I forgot to ask. I'll find out next week when I get my letter from HR."

Yep, I'm an idiot. I've looked at the salary schedule online, and they should offer me high 30's. I would like low 40's, but who are we kidding? I'll take whatever they offer me. high 30's is double what I made at Head Start, and I'll have many many more vacation days. If I feel the need, I can sub for Head Start on my off days. OR, I can build a sewing room in the closet of our office and a murphy bed in our guest bedroom. And I can paint the rest of the walls in the house. Yeah. I'll take option 2.

Now I have the daunting task of picking out a restaurant for my husband to take me to celebrate.

Interview

Last monday I had a job interview with Northwest Regional Education Service District for the position of Early Childhood Education Specialist. There were five positions posted and fifteen applicants. I learned on Wednesday that three of the positions were currently being held by three of my classmates who are on emergency licensure. They had to apply and interview for the positions they have been doing for the past year... and now they have competition from twelve other people. Great!

I felt that my interview went well...after I checked the dictionary. During the interview, we were discussing teaming and collaboration, and I said the word "Shmuck." I had said that in previous teams where I was the "senior" member (whatever that means), I thought that it was extremely important for the rest of the team to feel comfortable enough in the team to be able to say "Hey Dawn, you're being a shmuck." The interviewers seemed to wake up when I said that. They had been so busy writing down what I said verbatum that when I said the word, I realized that they weren't really listening to me at all.

And then it occurred to me that "shmuck" is Yiddish for "penis." FUCK!

Growing up, I thought that shmuck meant stupid oaf. That's how we always used it. It was never a bad word. It was one of those words that you could call your sibling in front of your parent and get smacked, but no soap in the mouth. It was a safe word.

I went home and looked up the word in the dictionary, positive that I had ruined my chances of working for the ESD. To my surprise, the definition for shmuck is "stupid oaf." Written in parenthesis and italics at the end of the entry is from Yiddish - penis. So I figured, as long as they're not Jewish, I'm fine.

The next day, one of the interviewers told my cooperating teacher that I'm "a delightful young lady." I felt much better after that.

This week, my references are being contacted. That is good news. Nobody bothers to check references unless they're planning on hiring you. I just hope that my three classmates keep their positions.

ADZPCTKO

I spent the past weekend at Lake Morena, CA giving the current year's PCT thru-hikers an F-Troop sendoff. (I'm actually F-Troop-in-law, but they love me like family).

We spent nearly $800 on food for hikers. We cooked veggie burritos for dinner Friday night and French Toast for breakfast Saturday morning.

It was hot, and not just typical California Desert in late April hot. It was miserable. My lips were chapped and cracked by 8am Friday morning, and we rolled into the campground at midnight. Add standing in front of a hot propane stove, stirring beans or flipping toast AND drinking alcohol, and you have a recipe for disaster. Needless to say, I was feeling downright shitty Saturday afternoon. I couldn't drink water fast enough. It didn't help that the campground water tasted like rusty pipes, either.

I took a cold shower (because that's all they had to offer there) and a long nap, and felt a little bit better by the time the sun started to sink behind the horizon. I didn't drink Saturday night, and was called "mom" by some total drunks when I yelled at them for setting off Roman candles in the middle of the cabin parking lot in the dryest year yet.

Fuckers.

The good times outweighed the idiots, and I'm glad it was a success. It was great to see old friends and make new ones. I was amazed at how many '03ers are hiking again this year, and I'm glad I was there to wish Sharon (Double I, who is now being called "Cloudspotter," but I think that's a stupid name and am lobbying for "Nimbuskull") a good hike.

I get to mail her some of her resupply boxes. That's a BIG responsibility for me. I'm really bad at getting anything into the mail on time.

Here are some pictures from the KO.

Agent, Teatree, One & Ladybug with two of our four shopping carts at Costco

The "fixins table" at the Burrito Feed

Apple Pie and Roni from Israel sharing a special moment

Saturday night entertainment at the cabins
(I figured out how to use a low shutter speed on my camera!)

'03 & '05 hikers for Sunday morning breakfast

Very Sad Day

I have been meaning to post about spring break and student teaching, but things have been hectic around here (still). I will get to that soon. Possibly this weekend. In more pressing news, I heard a very sad thing on the radio today, and I had to share it... Kurt Vonnegut has passed away. I LOVE Kurt Vonnegut. When I lived in NY, I fantasized about stalking him and becoming his mistress.

Kurt Vonnegut 1922 - 2007

I was first introduced to Kurt in 8th grade, by my English teacher, Mr. Boozer (yep, that really was his name). He suggested I read Cat's Cradle. I didn't understand most of it, but I re-read it in college and loved it. From there, I moved on to Slaughterhouse Five, Breakfast of Champions (my personal favorite) and Player Piano. When I lived in NY, I missed the chance to meet him at a book signing for Timequake because I had to work and I arrived too late to get into the room where he was speaking. Sigh. Now, I will never have that chance.

If you have never read Vonnegut, I suggest you start now. You are missing out!

End of the Term Wrap-Up

Tomorrow is the last day of winter term. I have been a piss-poor blogger because I haven't blogged since January. So, here is the wrap-up:

Winter Term

Winter term wasn't nearly as difficult as fall term. I didn't hole myself up in the office for hours, doing homework. In fact, I spent many nights snuggling on the couch with my honey, watching really bad network TV.

That's why I didn't blog...

My friend Sharon told me that it's quite alright not to spend every available moment on the internet, so I don't feel guilty.

Today I present my work sample. I have no idea what is expected of me. I lost the paper that explains it. I hope that my presentation goes well. I'm not doing a powerpoint presentation like everyone else. For one, I don't have powerpoint on my computer. For another, everyone else is doing one.

I also have a presentation in my second class. Once again, I'm not doing a powerpoint presentation. In fact, if I had my druthers, powerpoint wouldn't exist. I really hate powerpoint presentations.

Tomorrow is my final in my research class. I haven't studied for it. I figure I'll do a little tonight. Half is open book, and I got 100% on the midterm, so I feel pretty good about it. After class, we're going to the Goose Hollow Inn for Vegetarian Ruben sandwiches and lots and lots of beer.

Today is the first day of Aries. Our cohort leader, Dr. Dave R. Allen, is an Aries. He's also vegan. I am picking up a vegan chocolate cake from Whole Foods (which says "Happy Un-Birthday Dave!"), and we're throwing him a birthday party during class today. We also had a pool to guess which day in Aries his birthday falls. We hope he tells us because the lucky winner gets $30. If he doesn't, I have no idea what to do with the money. I guess we'll have to spend it at Happy Hour tomorrow!

Practicum

I had a superfantastic practicum experience. I was in Milwaukee at Clackamas ESD. It was a pain in the ass to get there, but I was able to ride my bike from practicum to class, which made the distance from home something I could deal with. I was teamed up with a Physical Therapist and an ECSE specialist. This was an Early Intervention home visiting model, and I was able to observe and participate in diagnostic evaluations. My cooperating professionals were absolutely wonderful to work with, and I gained quite a bit of knowledge from them. I am sad that I have to leave, as I was just getting into the groove with things.

Student Teaching

I begin student teaching next term. I wanted NWRESD because it's closest to my home. I was told that they weren't taking any student teachers from the full-time program because many of their employees are in the part-time program and they will be placing them into student teaching positions, and they don't have any more highly qualified teachers available.

I was pissed, and then I asked if a certain person who works for the ESD had a student teacher placed with her. She's been in the business for over 20 years, and is highly qualified. Turns out, she didn't have one, so I requested her. Surprisingly enough, I got it!! I'm so happy that I pushed for it. If I hadn't, who knows where I would have been placed. I'm meeting with her on Friday to discuss everything. I can't wait!

Spring Break

One nice thing about being a student is that I get spring break! This year, the Galli family is planning a trip to Disney World. It's going to be weird being a tourist in my home state. Well, maybe not... But still, five days of Disney theme parks? I don't know if I can handle all that excitement!

Master's Project

I have been accepted into a Masters Project. I'll be working at the Kiwanis Oral Hull Camp for children with autism, and helping to design and improve trainings for staff. The first three weeks of July, I will be working at the camp. This fall we'll be putting our project and paper together, to present in December, and then I can graduate!! That's so exciting!!

Well, I think that's all the update I have. Hopefully I'll be more of a writer during my student teaching when I will supposedly have more time....

Six Weird Things About Me

My friend Waterfall had this meme on her blog, so I thought I would follow suit. I think that six is a low number, as there are many weird things about me. However, I will try to list the six weirdest things about me.

1. I count. I have been doing this since I was little. I count when I'm nervous, when I'm bored, when I'm exercising and when I can't fall asleep. It often happens unconsciously. I will sometimes catch myself counting and I'm already at 76 or 324. I don't count things like bunnies, sheep or the tiles in the bathroom. I simply count.

2. I don't mix my food. When I eat, I eat one thing at a time. I do not move onto the next thing until the first thing is completed. For example, if I have the following for dinner: fish, broccoli & pears, I will eat them in that order. I will not take a bite of broccoli or pears until the fish is gone. I hate it when the juice from one food item gets into another food item. This is especially difficult when eating at an Indian restaurant. Exceptions to the rule are as follows:

1. If corn kernels and potatoes are on the menu, these must be mixed.
2. If rice is on the menu, it can be mixed with anything (ie beans & rice, Indian foods like daal & rice, and Chinese foods). However, if there are two items to be mixed with the rice (eg daal & paneer), they will be mixed and eaten in turn.
3. bread can be eaten at any time, and dipped into saucy foods.
4. grilled cheese must be eaten with soup, preferably tomato soup, and can only be eaten after it is dipped in said soup and thoroughly drenched.

3. Laundry must be folded a certain way before it can be placed in the dresser. If it is not folded in the way that it is supposed to be folded, it is to sit in the laundry basket until such a time that it can be folded. If my husband tries to fold the laundry, I have to re-fold it because his way is wrong.

4. If the tines in the fork are uneven, I cannot use the fork.

5. I have been known to wear the same pair of socks for more than a week straight.

6. If my nose has anything in it, I cannot concentrate. If there is a dry booger in there, that's all I think about until I can set it free.

Snow Day - Part II

When Navigator got home on Tuesday, we decided to shovel the walk and build a snow man. I got the camera and took a bunch of pictures. After spending 7 hours on Tri-Met, getting to play in the snow with my honey was a great reward! I was so happy he came home early!!

Navigator Shoveling snow off our front walkway


Our backyard & snowy deck

The pool
We played a game where we tried to lob snowballs over the fence & into the pool from across the parking lot. Navigator fared much better than me. I couldn't get any of mine over the fence.

We rolled snowballs down the hill and around the parking lot

Then I pushed them up the hill next to our deck.

It took both of us some time to get the second one on top of the first. They were HEAVY!!

We carefully molded the body of the snowman so that it looked nice & clean.

Navigator placed the head on the snowman...

...and we cleaned it up.

I went inside & found the proper accouterments for our man

And here we are! He towers over us!!

It turned out to be a fun day after all!!

School was cancelled on Wednesday, so I decided to go for a xc ski trip on the Fanno Creek Trail by my house. I created a trailjournal, which you can find here. Portland State is open today, but I don't have class until 4pm, so I have plenty of time to play in the snow before the rain comes and washes it away!

Snow Day - Part I

It began snowing at 5:45 this morning. I was supposed to go to my practicum in Milwaukie. I called one of my cooperating professionals who told me that if the ESD isn't closed, then home visits go as scheduled.

My original plan was to ride my bike to the Tualatin Park & Ride, take the express downtown, then a bus to Milwaukie. Total time, 1 hour. Due to the snow, I left the bike home and left the house at 5:53, hoping to catch one of four busses to get myself to Milwaukie.

The #76 bus, to Tualatin Park & Ride, was due at 6:08. It arrived at 6:15. I got to Tualatin Park & Ride in time to catch the #96 bus at 6:35. I arrived downtown a little before 7:00. I stopped at a deli to get a bottle of water, and got to the bus stop for the #33 at 7:05.

I had forgotten to bring my camera with me, so I was at the mercy of my cell phone for pictures. Sorry for the crappy resolution. This is what downtown Portland looked like at 7:05am.

The #33 showed up at 7:13. We made it to Milwaukie without much trouble. I hopped on the #29 bus to find out that the bus driver was unsure that we would be going anywhere. She had a call in to Tri-Met for information. They replied that because of the snow issues, it would be at least two hours before they could get out to her and get chains on her tires. She decided to risk it. We headed up Lake Rd. at 7:40.

I arrived at the Clackamas ESD office at 8:10. This is what the road up to the office looked like:

I waited for Chris, the PT I was scheduled to join for home visits. He arrived a little after 8:30 and told me that he was going to cancel his home visits. He did just that, then drove me down to the Milwaukie Transit Center, so that I could pick up the #33 back to downtown Portland. I was on the bus at 9:00.

I made a few vital mistakes:

I called Teatree. This kept me from thinking straight. Because I was on the phone, I didn't realize that I left my gloves on the bus. Because I was on the phone, I didn't think "Hey, these buses don't have chains, I should hop on the MAX." Because I was on the phone, I got on the #12 bus to Tigard.

The #12 bus got me about 1/4 mile down the road before it hit a street lamp and a pole. It took 20 minutes to get that far. After demolishing the street lamp, and sliding to a stop against the pole, the bus driver said "You're all on your own!" and kicked us off the bus. I have a sneaking suspicion he drove us into the pole on purpose. This is our bus. The item the person on the left is stepping over is the street light. In the foreground, you can see the glass bulb that was once part of said street light:

Instead of heading north to the MAX line, I thought I could pick up another #12 farther south. That was totally stupid. I wasn't on the phone anymore, so I can't blame that for my poor decision. I can only blame my ambivolence to carbon blazing as the reason. I headed the way the bus was headed...

I crossed highway 26. This is what it looked like:

I wandered down some roads, passing numerous busses, each with their hazard lights flashing. One bus was crushing a Cadillac. I thougt to myself "I should have parked Grey Eagle downtown last night! Tri-Met could be buying me a new car right now!"

I continued up the road and looked behind me. I laughed at the stranded busses:

I called Tri-Met to see if the MAX was running. The number was busy. I called Navigator to have him check their website. He told me to call back in 10 minutes. I asked a bus driver standing on the side of the road if MAX was running. She said it was. I decided to head to MAX.

However, when I got to 5th, I saw a #44 bus. The #44 bus goes to Barbur Transit Center. That's halfway to my house. Once again, I made a poor decision. I walked down the street to find a bus stop.

While crossing a street, I slipped and fell. A woman helped me up. We got to talking and found out we were both headed to Tigard. Together, we hailed a cab. The cabbie asked where we were going. We replied "Tigard." He said "No FUCKING way," rolled up his window and left us. A #44 passed us. We tried to hail the bus. The bus driver ignored us. A second #44 came by immediately after the first. We hailed that one. It stopped. I hopped on the bus and reached into my pocket to grab my phone to call Navigator. It wasn't there. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!! My phone fell out of my pocket when I fell. I had to get off the bus.

I had to retrace my steps.

I had to carbon blaze.

I didn't even know if my phone would be there.

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!

As I approached the spot where I fell, I saw my phone poking out of the snow. Thank God! I grabbed it and saw that I had a new voice mail. It was Navigator. I called him back. He looked online for me and told me that MAX was running, as well as the #76. I decided to walk to MAX, take that to Beaverton, then pick up the #76. I headed back towards downtown.

In the meantime, I talked to my friend Jennifer and killed the battery on my phone. No more pictures.

I got to the PSU campus and picked up the streetcar, then took that to the MAX. It was 11:00 when I got on MAX - nearly lunch time! I was getting hungry & I had to pee.

I arrived at the Beaverton Transit Center at 11:25, wishing I had taken MAX the entire time. Why was I so stupid to try to take the bus, when the train is the only reliable thing in this town when it snows? Whatever, I had a bus to catch, and it looked like all the busses in the 'burbs were chained up. That was good news.

I waited....

........and waited........

.................and waited..................

......................and waited...............

The #76 showed up at 12:15. The bus driver was neither friendly nor apologetic. In fact, when she arrived, she said, rather abruptly "No one is to get on this bus until I get back!" and before you could say "I'm freezing my ass off!" she was off the bus, doors locked and trotting across the transit center like there wasn't any rush to get anywhere.

MOTHERFUCKER

Suddenly, I couldn't feel my feet. I could feel my core body temperature dropping. I was getting hypothermic. I just wanted to lie down and go to sleep.

OK, so I was being a little overly dramatic at that point, but I had been dealing with Tri-Met for six hours, AND it was past lunch time! Did I mention that I had to pee?

At 12:30, the bus driver returned. TWELVE FUCKING THIRTY! What was she doing for 15 minutes? No pee takes that long. She opened the door without an apology, then demanded to see everyone's fare. Fares are only valid for two hours. At this rate, your fare expired while you were on the bus. Thank goodness I have a pass.

My toes regained their feeling about five minutes before my stop. I sloshed through the snow in my crappy sneakers (because I seem to have lost my hiking shoes) and walked in my front door at 1:45. I immediately took off my shoes, socks & pants, turned on the heat and stuck my feet on the register. They screamed in pain. My toes were blue. I thought I was going to lose them. I wasn't being dramatic. They really were blue.

I cried.

Once I was relatively warm, I realized that my feet were slightly discolored by some old watercolor paint that had dropped on my crappy shoes one day when I was working. It stained my feet when my shoes got wet.

I called Navigator & made lunch. I recharged my phone. I began feeling normal again.

.....to be continued....

Exercise and the Grad Student

In a wild attempt to lose the 5 pounds I gained last term, and continue losing weight, I have decided to walk and/or ride my bike whenever possible. To help me with this, I have created a training log at Buckeye Outdoors. It's the same one my friend Nina uses to log her runs.

I did fairly well this week, and can only hope to do just as well next week. I have found that it's much easier to ride to school than to ride home from school. Unfortunately, the weather turned bitter cold on Wednesday, and I was afraid to ride my bike on icy streets, as Navigator cracked some ribs a couple years ago doing just that.

I'm also considering purchasing a heart rate monitor. My former roommate Bandanna has one, and she claims that it has turned her normally mundane bike commute into a super-fun workout.

My practicum is located in Milwaukie, which is quite a jaunt from here, but I found that if I take a 1-hour bus ride there, I can ride my bike from practicum to class, mostly on a bike trail. The distance is roughly 8.5 miles, which is an easy 45 minute ride. I'm meeting with the team I will be working with for my practicum this afternoon, so hopefully I will be able to work something out with them.

I have not yet decided if I'm going to sign up for yoga this term. Navigator thinks it will be good for me. I think it will be good for me, but I'm afraid I will miss as many classes this term as I did last term. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.

Hiker Quiz

A friend of mine had a "How Well Do You Know Me?" quiz on her blog. I took it and scored 50%. I then created my own quiz, which is all about my hiking life. Take it if you dare! Good luck!


Create your own friendquiz here

First Snowshoe Trip

On Friday, Navigator & I went snowshoeing with Sharon. We went to the Wind River area of Mt. Hood. It was my first snowshoe trip, and it was a blast. I was a little fearful at first, since we were simply walking wherever we wanted, and I had no idea where we were for most of the time.

We built a snowman before we headed home for dinner & beer at McMenamins. It was a great time! I can't wait to go back.

Navigator

I don't know why I try to take self portraits...I always look dorky.

Sharon builds the snowman's body!

Group pose with Pablo, the snowman

Snowy trees!