Freedom

Tomorrow, I'm donating part of my liver to pay for gas to drive home to Kansas. This maybe the last time I drive there, gas prices are painful and there is a train station right in my home town. I should of taken the train this time, but I didn't really plan ahead.
While home I plan to:
Play with the puppy
Make crafts, including cute magnets
Read "Water for Elephants"
Take a walk on the River Walk
Drink lots of sugary coffee
Hang with parents
Sleep
Tan

Ahhhhh.....
I'll be gone for a week,
and then June will be spoiled by me having to email daily my least favorite person to work on my master's degree portfolio.

Dancing in the Street!

Tomorrow is the last day!
Thursday or Friday I am going home!
I'm going to get a puppy in a month and a half!
I'm planning to Veg.
With Drool, and lots of Discovery Channel

The count down begins

One week from today...
SCHOOL"S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!
Thank the freakn' Lord!
I will officially be done with the year of hell...( although it could have been much worse!)
At Washington, I will be teaching four classes of Physical Science, and two classes of Earth Science. I'm the only one teaching Earth Science, so I can totally revamp the curriculum. I'm pretty stoked. After school gets out, I think I'll visit the relatives for a bout a week and then work on the Masters degree starts. I'll put in five hours a day to it, and it should be good.
I'm sad to be leaving this school, but excited to have a fresh start at the new one.

Day off

Today, I took a day off for my Birthday. I had the car's oil changed and the transmission flushed. I did laundry at the local laundromat. I watched a movie and folded clothes. I went grocery shopping and made my lunch for tomorrow. I paid my bills, and got stamps. I cleaned house a little.
AHhhhhhh.......
It was wonderful.
Can't you tell I'm an adult now?!
:)

Doggie?

So, I'm going to be moving the Third Weekend in July. This means I could get a new apartment--THAT ALLOWS PETS!
This year it was really evident that I need a dog to be happy.
I am actually thinking about a rescued Pit Bull. They are playful, medium sized dogs that could handle apartments as long as they are walked.
So cute. the dog above is named Lucy and has such a tragic story! I want her now!

Washington it is.

I'll be teaching Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, and Principles of Technology.
It was a really tough decision, but I made the safe choice.
It turns out the lead thing, wasn't a big issue as it first seemed.
But there were other determining factors to turn down the ****** job.
I feel guilty though because I know it is hard for small schools to attract good science teachers. I really hope they find somebody that fits their needs!

Silently Crying....

Read the previous two post for this to make sense, in a very sick way, it's kinda funny. :(

So I may be teaching at a "Superfund" sight next year

I'm lazy, so I'm copying and pasting from Wikipedia. How Lame is that?

HOW FUCKING RIDICULOUS IS THIS ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

"Testing by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Missouri Hazardous Waste Program has revealed elevated levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium and other metals associated with smelting in the air, soil, and groundwater in Herculaneum. [1]. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service found high levels of lead in fish, mice, frogs, and birds tested near **************. [2] Many of the birds tested were found to suffer from lead poisoning. Almost half of the children living in Herculaneum who were tested in 2001 near the smelter had high levels of lead in their blood, and a fourth of those under 6 years old had lead poisoning. [3] Lead is a toxic metal and lead poisoning has been linked to learning disabilities, behavioral problems, anemia, kidney disorders, decreased intelligence, and central nervous system damage.

The Doe Run Company has purchased more than 130 houses as a result of toxic metal contamination in **************. It has also removed contaminated soil from the yards of at least 430 homes in the town. Due to toxic metal contamination, the company tore some down some houses and left others vacant. [4] The Columbia Tribune reports that the town is "characterized by empty homes and vacated neighborhoods as a result of these buy outs, and the Saint Louis Post Dispatch has described the town as a "ghost town." [5] Although the town has long been recognized as an environmental disaster area, lead continues to be emitted at high levels and testing of the soil for lead contamination has shown an upward trend at least as recently as November of 2006. [6].

The New York Times reported in 2002 that there are clusters of brain cancer and multiple sclerosis in **************. The paper did not identify the cause of these disease clusters, although many people in the town believe these diseases were caused by exposure to toxic waste, including lead and other metals."

WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO NOW?!

Job Offer!

*HS has offered me a job!
This is a small school of about 500 students. I would be one of three total science teachers.

The good:
Class sizes of 20-28 students
the school has had no fights this year, period.
I'd be the only physical science teacher so I could make any call I want about the curriculum
I'd know all of my students better
they have a lot of technology options for a small school

The bad:
Tiny town, I could see myself get depressed if I lived there, I would maybe have to live in the town North of it.
Everybody knows everybody else's business
They didn't quote me a salary, so I'll have to do some research. The state website says they are 3 grand below the state average
Not sure about the Administrators... they are home town born and bred: could be good, could be bad.

I'm waiting for another district to get back to me. This other district is bigger, and would have a better salary. The town would be livable in, and would be more similar to what I'm used to at **HS.

So now it is a waiting game, for the other district to make up their mind. I have to let *HS know by Tuesday. If I say no to *HS and wait for an offer that never comes from the other district, I'm up the creek without a paddle!

Anyway, I won't be Subbing next year!!! WAHOO!