Melinda Musil dot Com

Posts Tagged ‘jobs’

Lately it’s felt that way.  I’ve had so many jobs pouring in, and between that and my volunteer work, I’m so busy I can barely think straight.  That’s not a complaint though- it has been a very good kind of busy, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Plus last night I was working on my taxes, which meant lots of reviewing all my receipts and income and so forth from the past year.  It is so easy sometimes to think, oh I’m broke, I don’t get paid enough, I don’t earn much money, that kind of thing.  But then when you sit down and look at every penny that you have been paid for the past year, and you realize that you’ve really earned quite a bit- well, it’s humbling.

Wow, what a day!

I started my morning out with a half day at the alternative school.  It was fine.  There’s not a whole lot to say about that… the kids were crazy, as alternative school kids are apt to be, but it was fine.  I had one girl who was pregnant and one boy with a really bad mullet. (Seriously, will that hairstyle never die?)  No surprises.

This afternoon, I had a doctor’s appointment.  Those of you who follow me on Twitter already know about that- I sat in the waiting room and twittered.  It was not an appointment regarding the nose- this was a standard “checking in” appointment.  I have those every six months due to my prior car accident.  I started blogging about it here, and after my twitter conversations today, I am thinking I will probably pick up the story again soon.

That appointment was in Overland Park, Kansas, a good hour’s drive from home.  Lots of doctors are over there- I think the cost of malpractice insurance is cheaper in Kansas.  Good for my car’s gas mileage- lots of highway driving to get there.  Anyway on the way home from the doctor’s office, I drive past the school where my mother teaches.  So as usual, today I stopped by to say hello.  I don’t get to visit her school very often anymore since I don’t go to that side of town very often.

When I left my mom’s school, I happened to pick up my Blackberry and check my email.  I received a response to a question I had asked about a contract job that was offered to me.  It was a very, very good response, with information that was far better than I had expected.  Basically what I was told was that, in this position, I have the earning potential of between $40-$400 per week, and will most likely earn $100-$150 per week.  Those numbers are MUCH better than I had expected, and I am very glad to learn this!  Of course, to earn my “maximum potential” (which in all likelihood will not be $400 a week, but whatever is earning as much as possible per week) it will be a lot of work.  But, at the same time, I’m glad to get this job, to get my foot in the door, and hopefully to start down this path that will lead to better jobs!

I am also waiting, somewhat anxiously, on a response to an email I sent to a couple of my favorite principals at my favorite school.  I emailed these people (a lead principal and two vice principals) and told them that I was thinking about applying for a full time job next year, and did they expect to have openings in their building next year.  I think I want to do that, although I must admit that I’m very nervous about the prospect of returning to education.  Getting this freelance information today also makes me wonder (again!) if this is what God wants me to do.  I hate not having the answers.

I also talked with a friend from college today.  We only sort of keep in touch- mostly through Facebook and that’s about it.  She was telling me about a grant that would pay the full cost of a master’s degree in education if I wanted to teach in math, science, special ed, or reading specialty programs.  Once again, this is tempting… getting a master’s degree for free just might be the best possible way to get a masters!

I certainly don’t have any answers about what my future holds, but I will most likely fill out a job application with the school district.  An application isn’t a commitment, and it’s all a moot point if they don’t offer me a job.  But I still hate the not knowing.

I got a call this morning at around 6:30 asking me to sub in one of the elementary schools.  I accepted the job, but not five minutes later I got another call from the substitute gal telling me that the job had been accepted by someone else just before she got to it, so I wouldn’t be needed after all.

Since I was awake, though, I went ahead and got out of bed.  Sub gal promised that if another job came up, it would go to me, so I went ahead and put on my nice, dressy “teacher” clothes.  Then I spent my morning surfing the internet, catching up on email, and generally relaxing and enjoying life.  Finally, at around 1pm, I decided I probably wouldn’t be called today and changed into a pair of jeans and a tshirt.

Otherwise my day was delightfully slow.  I wrote some ads and made a dent in my feedreader.  I got a response from the lady who contacted me about some possible content writing work- that is looking like such a fantastically legit opportunity, and I’m really excited to see where that leads.  Basically the future looks bright today.  God has been really reassuring me that I’m on the right path, so I’m very excited about… everything!

I am housesitting for my best friend tonight.  I housesit for her frequently- she has six cats and two rabbits, as well as an extended family that is spread out all over the country.  I love housesitting for her.  For starters, she has six adorable cats who can be just so amusing, and who are always so loving (when they’re not ignoring you!).  For another thing, she has satellite television, so I can watch the History Channel, Discovery Health, Science Channel, and othe various nerd channels, which I love.  Her husband told me the networking passwords so I can hook up my computer to their wireless network and surf the internet.  Plus, on top of all this wonderfulness, they let me sleep here.  Housesitting for her is a vacation for me.

I am scheduled to work a half-day tomorrow.  I must confess that I thought about cancelling tomorrow’s job and staying “home” to watch television and just enjoy life.  But I’ll probably go… it certainly won’t kill me and it would be good to get that money.

I am also starting to put together my job application to teach in this district.  I can barely believe I’m even saying this, much less doing this.  I thought I would never again teach full time.  I only started subbing for the money.  But I’m loving it, in a way that I can hardly believe.  And when I imagine living life with health insurance and a regular paycheck… it makes me happy.  It makes me imagine a relaxed life, where I won’t have to worry about having enough money.  It’s a very nice thought.

I am thinking about getting into Flickr again.  I have always been kinda wary of Flickr- just something about storing my photographs on someone else’s server feels wrong.  But if I got a pro Flickr account, it would be much easier to manage photos, and I would also be able to upload photos from my cell phone.  What do you guys think?  How many of you have Flickr?  What do you think of it?

I don’t have a whole lot to say tonight but I still wanted to update before I go to bed.

I am still home “sick”, meaning… I’m just not quite peppy enough to be working full time.  I actually feel pretty good, aside from a nagging cough and some wheezing and chest tightness (classic bronchitis!).  I get tired really easily, which is not a surprise since I’m kinda struggling to get enough oxygen.  Last time I had bronchitis, I got a fast acting inhaler from my doctor (I think it may have been albuterol?), and I could go back to her and beg for one, but I’d have to pay for the visit in cash so I’m trying to hang on without it.  I’m still getting around… I have run errands every day and been out of the house quite a bit.  Sometimes I take a power nap in the  middle of the day, but mostly I feel good.

This is part of what I am afraid of, if I go back to teaching… if I have another year as sick as this one, I don’t know if I could do it.  On the other hand, I’d have sick leave… and health insurance, so I could go to the doctor.

I think I’m gonna have to get my Blackberry replaced… again.  I have figured out how to back up my BB to my PC, so it’s not like a massive problem, but it’s definitely an annoyance.  At least it’s still under warranty.  It works but it’s started acting tempermental.

I can’t remember what else I was going to write tonight.  No worries, though; I’ll be around tomorrow and who knows when else.  I have plenty more to update- lots of sites that I’ve seen that tickled my fancy, designs to create, you name it.  See you in the morning…

Perhaps it’s a bit late for this, but I want to tip my hat to all of there heros in the Miracle on the Hudson plane crash.  They are really too many to name:

• Pilot Sully Sullenberger
• Co-Pilot Jeff Skiles
• The other crew members and flight attendents
• The passengers on the US Air flight, whose calm demeanor helped keep everyone safe
• The “first responders” on the nearby ferries, who immediately began pulling people out of the water
• The helicopter pilots, rescue divers, and all other “professional” emergency responders

This list is absolutely not all-inclusive.  Events like these make me proud to be an American.

This is also why I tell my students we do those disaster drills in school.  We’ve all been through them- every school has fire drills, and depending on where you live, schools also have various severe weather drills (around here it is tornado drills).  Nowadays schools are also doing various “invader” drills.  But let’s be honest: How many students will experience a real fire or severe weather problem in school?  I certainly haven’t, and I’ve been in many schools for many drills.  So why do we do those drills?  Besides the obvious “training the students to get out of the school in case of a fire”, we’re also training the kids to react calmly in an emergency.  If you’re at the movie theater and someone yells “fire”, then hopefully you will know that you need to calmly leave the building in an orderly manner.  If you’re in your house and there is a fire, hopefully you will remember that you need to calmly get out.  If you’re on an airplane making an emergency landing, hopefully you will remember that you need to stay calm.  THIS is why we do disaster drills.

I predict this post will not make much sense.  Deal with it.

I have been debating whether or not to apply to teach at the Independence School District full time next year.  I can think of many reasons I should and many reasons I shouldn’t.  It’s an annoying, constant back-and-forth in my head.  So, what better place to discuss it than here.  I’m sure that I will keep adding to this list as I think of more.  Sigh.

Pros:

• Regular paycheck.  Almost twice as much money as I’m making now.
• Two words: health insurance!
• Great principals.  Great faculty.
• Basic lesson plans are already done.
• Working with people who I already know, from growing up in this district and from working as a sub.
• Will have more flexibility in the lesson plans than I do as a sub.
• Go back to school, get a doctorate, become Dr. Melinda.
• Lots of great stories for this blog.
• More money= new computer, new electronic toys.
• Tenure

Cons:

• Always a chance that a good principal will be replaced by a bad principal.
• Basic lesson plans will need to be supplemented.
• A chance that I will have to teach ancient-history-bordering-on-evolution, which I’m not comfortable with.
• Will have to grade tests and enter grades for all the students.
• Will have to teach some students who don’t care about school and only come for the free food (free/reduced breakfast and lunch).
• Will probably have to serve on a committee.
• First year is always the hardest.  Will have to attend first year teacher functions and work really really hard.
• Probably will need to join a health club (spending $$$!) and make time for exercise and swimming.
• Definitely will need to go back to school eventually for a master’s or doctorate.
• Definitely will need to get at least 2 college credit hours before December so that I can renew my certificate.
• Will have to disguise all stories before they reach the blog.
• Earning tenure.
• Pressure to join a teacher’s union.

Conclusion:
I HAVE NO IDEA!!!!

What a day!  I subbed at my favorite middle school today for a 7th grade social studies class.  The teaching part of the day went fairly well… I sent several kids to the principal, but he backed me up, and the rest of the kids behaved quite well, so it was a very non-stressful day.

I’m coming down with the cough that my mom has had for awhile.  I don’t have any other symptoms, besides the cough, and I won’t be surprised if some degree of laryngitis follows (since my mom got that as well).  Mostly it’s just annoying.

I AM hoping, though, that it resolves itself quickly, since I have my appointment with the ear-nose-throat doctor next week (thursday), and I doubt he can do anything if I am sick.  I don’t get many days of school, but next week is only a half-week with a long weekend- half day Wednesday, off on Thursday, Friday, and the following Monday.  I’m getting really fed up with the nose issues I’ve been having and I’m so ready for it to be over- even though I’ll have to pay a lot of cash.

Anyway… Tonight, my parents and I decided to go to Wendy’s for dinner.  That is a fairly standard Friday night dinner for us.  It’s been a beautiful day, highs in the 60s.  In fact, I was sorely tempted to wear my flip flops to dinner.  It was only a minute or two before we left that I decided my toes were cold and I would wear my tennis shoes.

We ate a delightful dinner, and after dinner we stopped at a car wash near our home to clean up my mom’s car.  This is one of those quarter-feed do-it-yourself car washes.  My mom and I are proud of our ability to wash a car thoroughly in three quarters or less.

When the car was clean, we all piled in and my mom turned the key.  Nothing.  She turned it again.  Nothing.  At this point, as it sinks in that the car isn’t going to start, I was seized by a moment of insanity and volunteered to walk home and return with another vehicle.  We only had one coat among the three of us (it was a nice evening, after all!), so my parents gave me the coat and stayed behind inside the car.

At this point, I was thanking God that I was wearing my flip flops.  It wasn’t a terribly long walk- maybe a half mile or so- but it was long enough that it would have been uncomfortable without good shoes.  It was dark, with a cold wind.  Not far into my walk, my lungs reminded me that I am coming down with a cold and they’d really prefer to stay in a warm car.

But I pressed on.  There were parents depending on me.  I walked all the way home, grabbed my driver’s license and car keys, grabbed enough jackets for all of us, double checked to make sure I had jumper cables, and returned to the car wash.  Just a side note: the drive back was MUCH faster.

I (carefully!) pulled my car in opposite my mom’s car.  My dad and I hooked up the jumper cables and (thankfully!) my mom’s car started.

It is so nice to be at home, in my warm house, looking forward to crawling into my warm bed as soon as I publish this post.  I forget that sometimes.

Today we had a lockdown at school.  It was right in the middle of the lunch period, which is never a good time for a lockdown.  Luckily my class was one of the last to go to lunch, so we were still in the classroom.  But it was way too much excitement for them.  Half of the kids were upset because their lunch was (a half hour) late.  The other half of the kids became convinced that “we’re all gonna die”.  So at this point, it was quite an adventure, to attempt to calm the kids.

I found out later that the reason we had the lockdown was because one of the students brought a gun to school.  It was stupid, but I don’t think he had poor intentions- he just wanted to brag.  The police came and confiscated it from his locker.  It was surprisingly not a big deal… which maybe concerning, since it should always be a big deal when someone has a gun in school.

I have a lot on my mind today. Naturally opera mini is being stupid today too. Grr.

I really enjoy subbing. But I am debating if I want to apply to teach full time here. I don’t know if I want to go back to teaching. I just don’t know. I know I could do it- that’s not an issue. But would I enjoy having all the responsibilities of a full time teacher? I know I’d enjoy the money and the insurance. Would I enjoy the work? I don’t know. What if I get another terrible principal like I had when I was overseas? I can’t handle that again. I think I would have a nervous breakdown, literally. But it would be nice to not worry about money so much.

Speaking of full time teaching, should I apply to teach summer school? I would have all the same concerns. But it would pay well- $150-$190 per day (depending on grade level).

And, if I go back to teaching, I would really need to go back to school and get a masters or doctorate. It would be pretty cool to be “Dr Melinda”. But again, do I want to do that? It all goes back to my original question: do I want to go back to full time teaching?

I just don’t know.