Another Job Disappointment

You may have noticed I haven't written about my job search in some time. For the last two weeks, I've been in hot pursuit of a job and decided that if I didn't blog about it, I'd have more chance of getting it. Turns out that idea was wrong.

About 3 weeks ago, a fifth grade teacher at the boys' school took a leave of absence for the rest of the year. Last week, the job was finally posted on the hotline, and the principal was given permission to hire (despite the job freeze). I was so excited, and called right away to schedule an interview. I've been trying to get into this school for awhile now, and this is the first position that has come up in over a year.

On Thursday, I was interviewed by a committee of teachers. They interviewed 21 applicants. That's right, 21! From what I understand there were more than 50 applicants. They then recommended their top four choices for the next round of interviews. I got the call on Friday and my second interview was set for Monday at 11:45. I spent all weekend reading teacher-type books, mostly about discipline. This class is extremely challenging, with 14 boys and 8 girls. Luckily, I have a little experience in the boy department.

So, yesterday I interviewed with the principal, vice principal, and other fifth grade teacher. I thought the interview went pretty well, but I didn't feel totally confident about it. I just can't put my finger on it, but I didn't have a wonderful feeling. That was confirmed this morning at 7:15, when the principal called me and told me they chose someone else.

Now, I can make myself feel better by remembering that I did make it to the second round. And if I had gotten the job, it was going to be extremely challenging to me and my family. And I would have had to put Jonathan in full time care instead of part time preschool. And it was a fifth grade job, and I prefer the primary grades. But none of that really helps. It still sucks. It still boils down to the fact that I really wanted the job and didn't get it. There's just no way to sugar coat rejection. It sucks.

Our new computer is here!!

Today is a "teacher duty day," when the kids stay home and the teachers complete their grades. Which explains while I still haven't showered or dressed, despite it being 12:15 in the afternoon. Anyway, about an hour ago, the doorbell rang, and there on my front porch was a fed ex man with our new computer!!! I eagerly signed the form and brought the computer inside. I've spent the last hour setting it up and trying to figure out what preloaded programs I want to delete. This computer is a step up for us...it's the next version of the Inspiron series The front is all silver andtthe screen is a bit bigger so it can show wide screen movies! Yea! My next task is to transfer all of the files from our thumb drive on to the hard drive. It will take awhile because I plan to go through all the files and only transfer the important ones. Looks like Chris and I will stay busy this weekend.

A politician in the making!

Benjamin has joined the "Student Government Organization" and is running for vice president (along with most of the other fourth graders in the group.) Here is the campaign poster he created this weekend, with the help of a die-cut machine. I'd vote for him!!! But, alas, I'm not in the fourth grade (thank goodness!)

TOY bus

Benjamin's third grade teacher, Liz Clayton, was not only named teacher of the year for Port Orange Elementary School, but she was also a finalist for the entire county! Each year they make a city bus with all of the finalists' pictures. We went with Liz for the unveiling. Here are the pictures!

Jonathan's artwork

While we're on the theme of Jonathan's artwork, here are some of his masterpieces. He was drawing pictures from the movie "Monster's Inc." The pictures are, in order, Sulley, Mike, and Celia.

Jonathan is writing his name!!!

While wiating for our food at Buca Di Bepo, we were surprised when Jonathan's doodles on his placemat turned into his name!!! Look carefully and you'll see "Jon" on one and "Jonnnananan" on another. Since that day (about 3 weeks ago), he has learned to write his entire first name!! I have to say, it's a bittersweet accomplishment. Part of me is so darn proud that he can write "Jonathan" at age 4, and another part of me mourns his childhood that is slowly disappearing. Sigh.

Some pictures

Our computer is working (for now) so I've had the chance to finally upload some of our recent pictures. Here are pictures of our family, Mom, and Elke at Buca, celebrating the painting of her house; Benjamin fighting Jack Sparrow at Disney; Jonathan finding a place to sleep on our hallway floor (!); Jonathan amusing himself in the rearview mirror; and Benjamin and Ms. Clayton, his teacher last year who now has her picture on a bus!! She was a finalist for Volusia County Teacher of the Year, and we think she should have won!

It keeps on going and going....

Well, yesterday we got our laptop back. I didn't set it up because I was waiting for Chris' thumb drive so I could put all my files on it as quickly as possible. So, this morning, Chris set up the computer with high hopes. As soon as it booted up to the desktop, it )(#*$#&^@&!*@()# went to a black screen. I'm still incredulous. Luckily for us, the screen periodically gets power and we can see what we are typing. We had enough time to download my files, and now it's been lit for an hour. But it's still broken.

After another hour and a half with Dell, they finally agreed to replace our computer. In TWO WEEKS, we're going to receive a "new refurbished" computer. In the meantime, whenever we have LCD power, we have to transfer all of our files onto disk so they can be put on our "new" computer. What a pain in my ass. I hate wasting time in front of the compter. Tomorrow I'm hoping it acts nicely so I can get most of my work done and files transferred. Needless to say, we won't be buying a Dell the next time!!!

I can't &*(#$@_!#@ believe this!

We got our computer back this afternoon at 3:30. At 3:45, I plugged it in and logged on to my email. At 3:47, it quit, just like that. No power, nothing. Sound familiar??? After an hour on the phone with the tech people tonight, they are picking up our computer for the final time tomorrow. If it is not fixed after this, they will give us a new computer. The big problem is that I'm in charge of a women's retreat for church (240 women in attendance) and all of the files I need are on my hard drive. Which I can't access without my personal computer. And the printing deadline is October 15th. What a frustrating week!

Max team split in two (by Benjamin)

Officially on Friday, the Max team was split up. The fourth graders are going to Ms. Rivera's classroom, while the fifth graders are staying with Ms. Cady and Mr. Miller. Strangely, Ms. Rivera's classroom was mine in second grade. Ms. Rivera seems like a good teacher, but I have become adapted to the Max team. It will take more adjustment to get used to the new class. We are trying to keep to the same curriculum, although there will be a few changes in routine. The Max team website will still be up, since Mr. Miller paid alot of money for Maxclassonline.net, even though it is not Max class anymore. I think that there will be a section for the fourth graders and a section for the fifth graders. Once again, it will take a lot of adjustment to adapt.

Jonathan's blog

Today I don't have school and I'm eating these good things that are called cheesy bites. And I like them. That's all. (Dictated by Jonathan)

Good news for WalMart haters....

As some of you may know, I have been boycotting WalMart for a few years now. The reasons are many: low-paid, ill treated workers, mom and pop stores going out of business, poor quality items, little to no customer service, etc. The last time I was in a WalMart I was buying something at 10PM when all the other stores were closed. Boy do I hate that store.

My cousin George (GJ to some of us) sent me this great link. http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB119135657404946747-lMyQjAxMDE3OTAxMzMwNTM2Wj.html It's an article from the Wal Street Journal, documenting WalMart's decline. Make sure to click on the video to watch the insidious spread of WalMart throughout the country. There's another SuperWalMart to be built in Port Orange that is meeting lots of local resistance. They have delayed the zoning hearing for another 4 months. I'm holding my breath, hoping they defeat it!

Our computer was here....and now is gone!!!

This is incredible. We received our computer on Monday afternoon. I was so excited, because it only took 5 days altogether to fix it. I spent a little while on the computer Monday night, trying to catch up with my email. The next evening, after having charged both of our ipods (what a relief!), we were typing emails when the LCD screen just went blank. I could barely see the print on the screen. It was as if a black veil was put over the screen. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. So last night I dutifully called Dell to complain. To my surprise, I was speaking to someone from the United States (Oklahoma City, to be exact.) He was helpful and did some trouble shooting with me for and hour and 45 minutes, to no avail. He thinks something "jiggled" on its trip to our house and simply needs to be reconnected. He turned me over to out of warranty repair, which was closed. So this morning I called them again and, after another 45 minutes, succeeded in convincing them to repair our computer free of cost. This afternoon DHL stopped by to pick up our computer. We're hoping to have it back again by the beginning of next week. What a pain. I'm using some else's computer right now, so our internet access will be spotty again for the next few days. Let's just hope that when we get it back it really works this time.

Our computer is on the way!

I'm at school, delivering treats to Chris' class and checking my email. We just got a call from Dell saying our computer is in the mail already. They picked it up on Wednesday afternoon, and hopefully it will be here tomorrow. Not a bad turnaround time, especially considering that it went to Texas and back. I didn't realize how much I relied on the computer until all of this. I can't wait to get back on our laptop (and back up all of our files!!!!)