lotta catching up...

so remember the job interview i went to at the end of June? well, at the end of July they suddenly called and offered me the job! needless to say i took it as fast as i could dial the phone.

so now i'm working at a charter school (no union, so i can't hold my head up among socialists anymore, but as they're all still campaigning for fuckin Nader (!!!), i don't really care to).

it's actually humane, and there is even some human dignity allowed to exist. the teachers are not cruel to the students. the principal is not cruel to the teachers - in fact he is wise, strong, kind, very mellow, extremely supportive, and basically unflappable. i'm teaching social studies to 7th and 8th graders; i have a totally awesome schedule, where i see only one grade per day - 8th on Mondays and Thursdays, 7th on Tuesdays and Fridays, and they alternate Wednesdays (so one wednesday is 7th, the next is 8th). so every day i only have to worry about preparing for one class. It's really great. the kids are not easy, but they are nowhere near as angry and defensive as my students last year. when they all come pouring out of the school you just feel like, this is what a school is supposed to be like - instead of trying to break up ten different fights in the first ten minutes. the parents are not necessarily economically better off than the parents at my old school, but they do seem much more stable in their lives. Overall - a very interesting experience.

Just recently I've started to feel like maybe I could think about getting my life back a little... posting on Flickr, blogging, etc. - the way things were before Loopy got sick, we moved to Chicago, etc. It's an amazing thought. Not live every day in total stress, fear, panic, and despair? Is it possible???

Hope you are all doing ok. I'll try to be in better touch with everyone soon... :)