not even one toe in...yet

Since last posting I went from Montreal almost directly to Arizona, where I spent a grueling week in Arizona while my Mom had surgery and I tried to keep my Dad from wandering into traffic. Now I'm home and Loopy has gone to Chicago. I'm supposed to be pursuing jobs and/or signing up to sub.

I feel exactly the way I used to when I was a summer camp counselor, and we'd go to this swimming hole every day, and the water was sooooo cold. I always knew I'd get used to it and it would feel fine, but there was this moment when I just looked at it and dreaded the first icy immersion....

Similarly... I know once I get into the routine of subbing it will be fine. I've gotten lots of handy tips from friends & acquaintances and it sounds like it's actually pretty fun once you get going. But that first day, or first few days, before I really know the ropes, are just like that icy water...

Never mind having my own classroom. That's seriously scary, espcially at this point when I'd ahve exactly two days to prep. I try to be nonchalant about it ("other people have done it, so can I") but it's unconvincing. Anyway, it looks unlikely that I'll have my own room this year. I'm still checking the vacancy postings daily and applying to everything that comes up, but, no nibbles--they want a license in hand, I guess, and it'll be a few more weeks before that happens.

So yeah... today (yesterday) was a waste. Thought about taking the steps to pursue subbing and/or the few jobs still available...panicked and played with Flickr all day.

Well. On to tomorrow.

On the plus side, playing with Flickr has its benefits for you, dear readers. Check out the first batch of pix from Montreal on my Flickr site.

Here are a couple you won't see if you don't have a Flickr account that I've linked as a "friend" or "family"...

Shamus at "Fondue Mentale"

...where dinner consists of three courses of fondue!! delish!

Ted & Carolina at Maestro SVP

Hey, we're not the only ones who take photos of our food! (Ted's dessert--three flavors of creme brulee--was absolutely incredible!)

the love of my life

I love this photo. I don't know why. :-) We just had our 13th anniversary on the 26th--yay us! We celebrated it a lot, repeatedly, though I will refrain from providing any details.



Speaking of the love of my life, the other day, I was talking with her about how our couples' therapist is so wonderful and how he has allowed us to not only revitalize our marriage but actually have a much better marriage than we ever did before, even at the beginning.

I said, "we should send him something, you know, to show our appreciation." Loopy reminded me that we do send him something, all the time--it's called money.

Going to bed now.