an apology

Dear Reader(s):

I apologize profusely for my absence. You are right to be upset as this sister. Life has been very distracting--and, frankly, I've been lazy. When I'm not working on my lesson plans, traveling between Harlem and Flushing, I've been spending my free time in front of the tube, watching the Netflix's Lost series. Tom and I were trying to get both season 1 and 2 finished before season 3, but it hasn't happened. Partly because two of the discs were stolen in transit, so we were over a week without any Lost to entertain us.

It sounds horrible, writing this. It makes us sound so boring. We read and watch TV because everything else costs money, and we're trying to save money. When it was lighter after Tom got off work (8 pm) we'd go to the park and eat sushi, but that's ended. It is too dark by that time now, and though Central Park and Riverside Park are much safer than a decade ago, it's stupid to tempt fate.

My remedial ESL class has ended, so my schedule is more open now. I am teaching two more classes, starting next week, but they meet only twice a week. So my income will shrink, but it also means I really should dust off my thesis--ahem, book (my brother insists I call it that (he says publishers won't take it as seriously--he should know, since he works for Sage))--and revise revise revise and send stuff off to contests. I have had one small piece published online. So, my time hasn't been wasted altogether.

Fall has officially begun, and it makes me happy. Though it is still warm, the warmth doesn't oppress one any longer, and I've broken out some of my warmer clothes. I like fall because it seems to me to provide one with different avenues of dress. No longer the t-shirts and jeans or t-shirts and skirts and flippy flops. And now that I must dress "professional" for my job (anything denim is strictly forbidden at LIBI), it's that much more interesting. I bought my first real suit a few weeks ago, which was incredibly weird. I haven't worn it yet because it needs to be tailored. The legs are so long it looked like I was playing dress up in Mummy's clothes when I tried it on in the store. I bought another pair of dress pants a while ago; they too need to be chopped. It just hasn't happened yet, because my tailor/dry cleaning lady is down at Menno House. I know, I know--I should find one uptown. But I like the lady and she seems to like me, and I don't feel like changing.

Okay, enough about clothing. It's ridiculous how much time I've spent on writing about clothes lately. It is very un-Menno of me. I did buy the suit at an outlet store and got a 300 dollar suit very cheap, so I haven't lost all my Mennonite values.

Speaking of--this past weekend Tom and I went to a church retreat upstatish. (Tell me how weird it is to be one of those city folk that escape to the country for a retreat. When I was living in the country I saw nothing relaxing in it.) And some of my fellow members were talking about not standing up during God Bless America or the national anthem or performing the pledge of allegiance. And though I understand and pretty much feel the sentiments, I have never found them to be that bad. People (children in this case) shouldn't feel forced into the pledge. I do hate God Bless America and it's hideous tone--I much prefer This Land is Your Land--but I've secretly always liked the anthem. Less because I like what the words mean, but more for the music itself. It's always been interesting whenever I've listened to it live, because I always wonder: is she going to hit it, that final high note that soars or goes horribly flat?

And more often than not--she doesn't make it. And it secretly pleases me.

Maybe some of this harkens back to my high school days. When you got asked to sing the anthem at a home game, that meant you were it. It meant that people admired your voice and didn't mind letting it out to the public. At least that was in my head. Maybe that wasn't it at all. And I was one of those it girls. And I made that note--or at least that's how I remember it! So I look back at that moment with fondness.

I don't think these anthem/pledge wars should be taken so blessed seriously on both ends. There are more important things to worry about in this world. I'll stop now, and do some work.

Love, me

employment!

Yes, I've joined the masses yet again after a two year hiatus. It happened suddenly. Last Thursday, a woman called from--get this--the Long Island Business Institute. She had looked at my resume (I had found the job on Cragslist.com) and wanted me to come in for an interview for a job that was starting Monday. I came in on Friday, she'd hired me an hour later, and I sat in an orientation that afternoon. I was given a workbook that has to be covered in five weeks. So for three hours a day, Monday thru Thursday I teach 10 people ESL. It's only part time and for five weeks, but hopefully I'll get another teaching gig after that. This school doesn't go by a typical academic schedule. They start a new semester every 15 weeks. A new semester starts the week after this class will be finished.

It was a little daunting at first. The longest lesson I'd planned at the time was 45 minutes. But we have so much material to cover the problem is making sure I get everything covered in 3 hours. Now the main trial--besides the teaching itself--is making the lesson plans. I spent hours on them every evening this week. I'm getting in the groove, sort of. My plan for this weekend is to finish all plans for this coming week. It'll be harder, because I have on 3 days this week to cover two units that usually would take at least 3-6 normal lessons--depending on if they're 45 or 90 minute lessons, which are more normal.

The final trouble is it's out in Flushing, Queens. On the last stop on the 7. So it takes around an hour and 15 minutes to get there. The neighborhood is decent. It's the Queen's Chinatown, so I feel at home. It's a good job, and since it's a college, it pays more than a regular ESL job. It is double what the two other places I interviewed paid.

My grammar's going to improve, though you can't tell with this blog. (That last sentence especially) I'm learning the names of the rules, like subject pronouns, possessive adjectives, etc. One of my classmates at my TESOL course told me (being a French teacher) I just have to stay one chapter ahead of my students.

I'm not the only one in my family that's starting their teaching career. Check out my brother's blog. Only he's teaching math. Scary.