This and that and then some

Hello! Sorry for not posting in nearly a month. I have no excuse other than to say that I really did not have much to post about. And even now that I do have a lot to post about, I'm posting more to let you know I'm alive than anything else. So, let's get going, eh?

I got back from LA safe and sound. I learned on my flight back that there is an acceptable amount of fuel leakage on transcontinental flights. For the record, it is much higher than I was comfortable with, but those airplane mechanics must know more than I bc we made it back in one piece.

The first week back I made up for all the sleep I'd missed out on in the past year. I would wake up just enough to say good bye to Brian as he left for work and then I would roll back over and sleep for another couple of hours. It was pure bliss. Again, didn't do much. Read a few books (still not HP, so don't ruin it for me!), bummed around Annapolis/DC/etc, caught up on the Food Network, indulged in Restaurant Week - you know, important things.

My apartment had been powerwashed and repainted while I was away so I came back to a shiny new building and a dirty, bug-infested bedroom (since my room faces the street, all the crap from the building got pushed in via the powerwashing). I spent the better part of the first week back getting my management company to take care of it. And even though I have not spent a single night in the apartment since I returned from my seminar, victory has never tasted so sweet.

The administration at my school changed while I was away. This was something I knew was happening, but I still came back to a handful of surprises which included a new schedule (I was slated to teach ninth grade world history instead of seventh grade Civics) and a new classroom (I was moved out of the classroom I have had for my entire three years and into a shared rooming situation, which requires me to teach my four classes in three different rooms). I was able to reinstate my schedule as it was set before I left for California (same as the past three years), but it was an endeavor that left me not feeling so great about the start of the year. As the year gets under way (we are just over halfway through 2 weeks of training), I am struggling with how to interact with the new administration, how to re-establish myself as a leader, how to figure out when to fight the system and when to just let things be. I know this will be a meaningful learning experience for me, but I am hoping that it can also be a positive one.

My roles for the upcoming school year? Teach three courses each semester, continue as a behavior management coach, continue to mentor and co-plan with the "new" Civics teacher, oversee the implementation of interim assessments in the social studies department, and facilitate/lead the middle school academic team. Oh, and I have been asked to coach debate, although the jury is still out on that one.

This week marks six months since Brian and I first went out and I continue to shake my head at how normal and adult of a relationship it is. Really, things are so great. You have to remember kids, this is me we're talking about. I'm not sure I can remember the last time I was in a relationship that wasn't plagued by some kind of drama (whether internal or external). The ease of it all, the comfort and all of the great things that come with being with him is something that makes me pretty damn pleased. Since coming back from California, there have been a lot of changes to deal with and even still I realize that not only am I content living out here and happy with my life as it is now, but that I cannot imagine wanting any other life at the moment. And that I think I'd like to keep this going for a good long while. It was startling for me bc this life is not really quite what or where I'd pictured, but, no matter how stressed and overwhelmed I am by work at the moment, overall I'm happy and that's more than enough right now.

Now...back to unit planning.