Along with the April winds come the annual "will I have this job next year?" ponderings. Here we are again with the legistators cutting $400 million from education AGAIN - which very well could mean my job - and having the day-to-day laborers scramble to keep up with the demands placed on our shoulders anyway. How can you expect greatness, or even grand progress, when you take away so much every year? Part of me is empathetic to them - there is no money to give. So, instead of raising the sales tax a little, let's give just teachers a 10%+ pay cut, raise insurance premiums, take from our retirement, add up to 8 students per classroom, change to the national common core standards (huge transition), cut professional development to learn about the latter, cut all specialists in schools and cut back on assistant principals, take away more teacher-empowerment, and expect miracles in the No Child Left Behind assenine requirements. Please tell me, in WHAT other business is this expected?
What is the answer? I don't know. What I DO know is that I need to start seriously considering returning to be a classroom teacher-slave next year (after 7 years out as a specialist) and finding a new school to work at...again. I hate the thought of leaving this great school I finally found myself in - but realistically, I may have to walk away. Sad. I honestly do NOT look forward to teaching in a classroom again during these years of insanity. My current position is on the chopping block and maybe I need to look out for myself and get myself safe for the next few years. I love what I do as a language specialist / teacher mentor/coach. Maybe the fat lady has sung. The curtains are drawn. The eagle has landed.
There is nothing I can do about it right now - so I may as well TRY not to perseverate on the subject. April 11th is the first round of voluntary transfers...I'm not even sure there will BE openings, with the firing of 2500 teachers... this is all a mess. I am discouraged about the whole thing - but have to try and make it through the next month until real decisions are made. I wrote my congressmen. It won't matter. It is what it is. It will all work out in the end - maybe I just can't see the benefit right now. I don't like being left in the dark!
That's my update. On a happier note, I'm loving Boot Camp and other aerobic/strength training classes at the gym. And I love my trainer, Jeff - he leads Boot Camp also. All this exercise is paying off - I feel stronger, I can't fit into my pants anymore, and my endurance is improving. Inca Trail is in 74 days from today!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
A bump in the air...
SAGA, Part A
So Monday morning, I'm enjoying a meeting with 2 colleagues about a HUGE project we've been working on for 2 months (and just submitted today...yay!) when I get a panicked phone call from Carolyn. I was instructed to check my email because Spirit Airlines, through whom we got a GREAT deal on tickets to Peru, had sent us an updated reservation email. You see, out of the NOT-so-kindness of their black hearts, they just randomly changed our departure date and flight - to a WEEK LATER. No note of explanation, nothing even highlighted to catch our attention! We would have shown up to the airport obliviously! Annette, who isn't even going with us now, caught it and called Carolyn. She and Linda had been on hold with the airlines while calling me. Needless to say, I was devastated. When they both finally got answers, they included such politeness as "We can't tell you why your flight was canceled." and "Can't you go a week earlier or a week later?" I mean, really people? We have all our arrangements for our 2 weeks there and in-country flights already set up. So, I'm thinking that YES, it would be a GREAT BIG deal. After bickering some, we did get ALL our money back. Should we even have had to bicker? Is this what customer service is coming to? Is this what planning ahead leads to? (We got the tickets for cheap in November.)
SAGA Part B
So the day was filled with some anxiety about whether or not it was a "sign" that we aren't supposed to go, or if it was an "obstacle" to see how badly we do want to go and experience this whole Inca Trail Hike Trial. The flights on REAL airlines are more than double what we originally paid in November. It totally bites. But hats off to my friends who didn't let it stop them. After school, I headed to Carolyns to research and buy new tickets. Her internet was acting up over and over and so frustratingly, we drove over to my house. Same thing - wouldn't you know it. Cox was not highly spoken of Monday afternoon! So, Carolyn ended up going to her parents later that evening and, since they didn't have Cox, she tried their internet and got through. Happily enough, we purchased new tickets, having to leave THREE days EARLIER than planned. Since we're not drinkers, and THIS certainly would have driven ANYONE to drink, we headed off to the Mormon Bar to celebrate - D.Q. - nothing like a blizzard when you haven't had ice cream in months! Totally had a sugar hangover in the morning, too. Perserverance is key to goal setting.
SAGA Part 3
So, now that we had our flight to/from Peru taken care of, there was this little matter of switching an in-country flight from Lima to Cuzco (we're not spending much time in Lima). This, of course, couldn't be a simple story, either. You see, I don't have long distance on my phone and we knew it would take forever talking to Star Peru Air on our cell phones. This only meant one thing - figuring out how to use SKYPE. In order to cut our time down, we called someone we knew uses it all the time - the Eliasons. Taylor helped us get in contact with the Peruvian airline, now the story turns Spanish. La tenia que hablar en espanol, por telefono, lo cual is muy, muy dificil si no puede ver la cara. I had to speak through a computer IN SPANISH trying to explain our predicament and to see if they would let us change our flights to 2 days earlier than planned. It was difficult, but I got the job done and the 12 minutes only cost us $0.91. Now THAT was the cheapest charge we'd seen in days. Now we will have 4 days to acclimate to the much higher altitude and jet lag before beginning our trek - the company requires AT LEAST 2 full days before you're even allowed to begin the trek. We'll have plenty of time, and now can go see some cool things in and around Cuzco. So, I guess it worked out in the end...so far!
Now, I know what you're thinking... how can Robyn be so self-centered and self-absorbed by going on this trip when there are natural disasters happening right now in Japan and so many people are displaced, homeless, etc. I was having a difficult time with that, myself, earlier this week. And with so many people out of a job and losing their homes. With my dad's health declining. The answer is, I don't know. I work extra - long hours - to pay for such experiences in my life, and believe they make me a better person, better teacher, and better humanitarian. But I do know that I'm supposed to go do this trek experience for my own personal growth and cultural experience. So I'm going. And am very thankful that 2 other friends feel the same way and are coming with me. It will be an experience of a lifetime - and a happy 40th b-day memory for me!
So Monday morning, I'm enjoying a meeting with 2 colleagues about a HUGE project we've been working on for 2 months (and just submitted today...yay!) when I get a panicked phone call from Carolyn. I was instructed to check my email because Spirit Airlines, through whom we got a GREAT deal on tickets to Peru, had sent us an updated reservation email. You see, out of the NOT-so-kindness of their black hearts, they just randomly changed our departure date and flight - to a WEEK LATER. No note of explanation, nothing even highlighted to catch our attention! We would have shown up to the airport obliviously! Annette, who isn't even going with us now, caught it and called Carolyn. She and Linda had been on hold with the airlines while calling me. Needless to say, I was devastated. When they both finally got answers, they included such politeness as "We can't tell you why your flight was canceled." and "Can't you go a week earlier or a week later?" I mean, really people? We have all our arrangements for our 2 weeks there and in-country flights already set up. So, I'm thinking that YES, it would be a GREAT BIG deal. After bickering some, we did get ALL our money back. Should we even have had to bicker? Is this what customer service is coming to? Is this what planning ahead leads to? (We got the tickets for cheap in November.)
SAGA Part B
So the day was filled with some anxiety about whether or not it was a "sign" that we aren't supposed to go, or if it was an "obstacle" to see how badly we do want to go and experience this whole Inca Trail Hike Trial. The flights on REAL airlines are more than double what we originally paid in November. It totally bites. But hats off to my friends who didn't let it stop them. After school, I headed to Carolyns to research and buy new tickets. Her internet was acting up over and over and so frustratingly, we drove over to my house. Same thing - wouldn't you know it. Cox was not highly spoken of Monday afternoon! So, Carolyn ended up going to her parents later that evening and, since they didn't have Cox, she tried their internet and got through. Happily enough, we purchased new tickets, having to leave THREE days EARLIER than planned. Since we're not drinkers, and THIS certainly would have driven ANYONE to drink, we headed off to the Mormon Bar to celebrate - D.Q. - nothing like a blizzard when you haven't had ice cream in months! Totally had a sugar hangover in the morning, too. Perserverance is key to goal setting.
SAGA Part 3
So, now that we had our flight to/from Peru taken care of, there was this little matter of switching an in-country flight from Lima to Cuzco (we're not spending much time in Lima). This, of course, couldn't be a simple story, either. You see, I don't have long distance on my phone and we knew it would take forever talking to Star Peru Air on our cell phones. This only meant one thing - figuring out how to use SKYPE. In order to cut our time down, we called someone we knew uses it all the time - the Eliasons. Taylor helped us get in contact with the Peruvian airline, now the story turns Spanish. La tenia que hablar en espanol, por telefono, lo cual is muy, muy dificil si no puede ver la cara. I had to speak through a computer IN SPANISH trying to explain our predicament and to see if they would let us change our flights to 2 days earlier than planned. It was difficult, but I got the job done and the 12 minutes only cost us $0.91. Now THAT was the cheapest charge we'd seen in days. Now we will have 4 days to acclimate to the much higher altitude and jet lag before beginning our trek - the company requires AT LEAST 2 full days before you're even allowed to begin the trek. We'll have plenty of time, and now can go see some cool things in and around Cuzco. So, I guess it worked out in the end...so far!
Now, I know what you're thinking... how can Robyn be so self-centered and self-absorbed by going on this trip when there are natural disasters happening right now in Japan and so many people are displaced, homeless, etc. I was having a difficult time with that, myself, earlier this week. And with so many people out of a job and losing their homes. With my dad's health declining. The answer is, I don't know. I work extra - long hours - to pay for such experiences in my life, and believe they make me a better person, better teacher, and better humanitarian. But I do know that I'm supposed to go do this trek experience for my own personal growth and cultural experience. So I'm going. And am very thankful that 2 other friends feel the same way and are coming with me. It will be an experience of a lifetime - and a happy 40th b-day memory for me!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Just keep walking...
I have a new "passion." Walking. Not meandering, not saundering, but real speed-walking for real calorie-burning, frustration-exercism exercise. There have been days when I feel that the only way to rid myself of some frustrations is to get out and "pound the pavement." The weather has been so awesome these past few weeks, save a day here or there, that I've been trying to get out every night possible. I'm fortunate to have 2 friends on whom I can call to join me. Sometimes it's Carolyn and me, and other times it's Loralie and me, and maybe someday we'll all 3 get together at the same time! All the same - we enjoy pushing each other and visiting (when we can breathe) or listening to music with a fast beat. We no longer do little 1-2 mile jaunts anymore. A good walk is now 4-5 miles and we clock ourselves for speed. We use Google to map out our trails and vary them all the time so we don't get bored. It's been great. According to my sticker chart (yes, I'm a fan of the sticker), in 2 weeks, I will have reached 150 miles since January 1st. I can feel the extra room in my clothes, although I seem to hang on to the pounds for dear life! I'm tired of carrying around my "food storage" with me all the time! It's got to get shelved - and soon! I've got big plans, baby - 100 days from now, to be exact, I'll be heading to Peru. It has been extremely helpful having a big goal in mind. Our school has a 'running club' that has over 100 students and 40+ parents/teachers in it - every Tuesday after school, we walk, run, jog the field - and get our cards punched everytime we do a lap. Last Tuesday, I did 12 laps (3 miles) and had a good time racing the kids, encouraging the kids, etc. It was really sorta fun! I've also been enjoying Heidi's Power Sculpt and Amped Abs class at the gym on Saturday mornings and Power Sculpt on Tuesday nights. I even tried beginner's YOGA at the stake center last Saturday at 7am and enjoyed it enough to add it to my weekly repetoire. 
There's no doubt the connection that exercising (using natural endorphines) is a natural medicine. I feel great when I exercise and feel pretty crappy when I don't. Can't bottle and sell it - you just have to do it. I hope the weather stays nice for some time - I've really enjoyed getting out into the fresh air every day. YOU CANNOT CROSS A SEA BY MERELY STARING INTO THE WATER. Tried that. Got a headache and glasses. Just had to get started by dog paddling, and finally the strokes are becoming easier. Just wish the sea wasn't so dang big! :o)
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