I'm the Kind of Gal Who Likes to Live on the Edge

I've decided not to go to Saudi Arabia - at least, not this year. I've also worked my last day at the ticket office. Which means, I'm currently unemployed. Sort of.

I have a 2-week teaching job that starts next week. After that, I have no idea what I'll be doing for work. I'm hoping to get a job at the University of Oregon, but I won't know for a few weeks. And if I don't get it, I'm back to where I was last January.

I probably should be more stressed than I am about all this. I'm sure it will kick in soon and I'll start to freak out. My apologies in advance if you get caught up in the maelstrom of my insanity. But in the meantime, enjoy my unexplainable calm about the whole mess.

You Can't Be Allergic to All Of It

Here's my list of known allergies:

cats
dogs
feathers
molds
trees
grasses
weeds

I probably live in the wrong place. There are 3 dogs and a cat in my house. It's over 30 years old (the house), so I'm sure there's mold. I sleep under a feather duvet. There are trees, grasses, and weeds everywhere I go - it's the Pacific Northwest!

In 6-12 weeks, I hope to be a little less allergic. I'm taking vaccines that are supposed to desensitize me to my allergens. If nothing else, it's an exciting way to take medicines - I get to use syringes! Thankfully, there are no injections involved. At least, not since the day of diagnosis - there were a LOT of injections that day!

At least I'm not allergic to dust! I'm not exactly good at keeping things tidy, which includes dusting. I just hate the idea of turning perfectly harmless bunnies out of their homes, when they're really not hurting anyone.

Sometimes You Just Stand There, Hip-Deep in Pie

Well, the fellowship does not seem to be working out as planned. Which I'm sure my father will be thrilled about, since he really didn't want me to move to Bosnia. Just wait until he hears what I'm considering now... :)

I do have some ideas about my next step, though I've decided not to publicize them until they're much more likely to actually happen. I really don't relish the thought of going through another round of "Hey, weren't you going to _____?"

I spent the afternoon with my former colleagues in Auburn, cheering for graduating international students and eating Thai food. I really miss spending time with those incredible people. I learned so much during my all-too-brief stay there, and not just about teaching! I keep hoping the stupid economy will shape up, so we can all go back to work there again.

I do have to mention my pride in one particular student who graduated today. When I first met her, she was in Level 2 (out of 5) and only stayed in my class for 2 days before deciding she didn't like me and transferring to another class. I taught her again in Level 4, and really enjoyed having her in my class - at the end of the quarter, she even apologized for her prior behavior! And today, she graduated from Level 5, and told me how much she missed me. She is the reason I love teaching - she and all the students like her, whether I witness the transformation or not, make my (former and - I hope! - future) job completely and utterly worth all the planning and grading and stress.

Now if I can just find the right teaching position again...

One Does Want a Hint of Color

As I stood at the bus stop last night, having thoroughly enjoyed a reading by David Sedaris, a party bus pulled up in front of The Lusty Lady. Which just happens to be next to my bus stop. It's kind of a fun place to wait for a bus. But I digress.

So, this party bus pulled up, and a group of people got out. This was clearly not their first stop of the evening. I don't think it was a bachelor party, because there were women in the mix. Although it's difficult to say nowadays - I don't wish to jump to conclusions without all the evidence. But what really struck me about the gathering was that there was a definite theme to their merriment, and that theme was plaid.

A couple of the men were wearing plaid suits. One of them (the suit, not the man) may have been seersucker, although I wasn't close enough to know for sure. And another gentleman in the group had donned a full-length plaid skirt, possibly wool. A few of the women had also chosen cross-gender attire. In all, it was quite an amusing sight to see while waiting for a bus.

My only regret is that I wasn't invited along. Of course, I wasn't dressed for the occasion, having not a stich of plaid on me at the time. I shall have to be better prepared for such eventualities in the future.

OK, I'm Sorry I Ate Your Fish!

And I'm sorry for my long absence. Honestly, I just haven't felt like I had much to say. But here's an update:

I'm working again, at the Seattle Symphony ticket office. I'm doing the same job I had before I moved to Poland in 2003. I'm trying very hard to be grateful that I'm employed, rather than feeling like I'm going backwards. It would help if we were getting more than 1 call every 20 minutes or so.

I'm hoping to be heading back overseas this fall. I've applied for a teaching fellowship, very similar to Peace Corps except I would actually get paid. I should hear by the end of May if/where I'm going.

Um...really, that's it. My life just doesn't have the same here's-something-interesting-and-foreign-that-happened-to-me quality that it did in Poland. You can see why I want to leave the country again!

But on a different note, my title does put me in mind of a question I've been wanting to ask for a few years now. What, exactly, constitutes an apology? Let me give you an unfortunate real-life example:

Him: I owe you a big apology.
Me: OK (expecting something along the lines of, "I'm sorry for saying something mean to you & making you feel bad about yourself.").
Him: That's it.

Apparently, there are people for whom the mere expression of the intent to apologize is equal to the act of apologizing. While in my mind, I am STILL owed an apology by someone who shall remain nameless, especially since I haven't seen him in almost 6 years.

I'm curious, not only to find out what others think, but to discover if anyone is still out there, desperately waiting for my long-awaited return to blogging. So please submit your opinions: did he apologize appropriately, or should I hunt him down & demand proper atonement?

Have You Any Idea What the Street Value of This Mountain Is?

It snowed in Seattle. I'm grumpy. The two are directly related.

Except...I currently have so many reasons to be grumpy.

1. I've had a headache since August 2. None of the numerous medical tests so far performed have been at all enlightening. Though they have yielded quite a variety of medications.

2. I'm job hunting again. Enrollment is down for winter quarter, and I was among the most recent hires. It's the economy, stupid. It's the stupid economy!

3. It snowed in Seattle, and it's too cold for it to melt. I am, therefore, scared to drive anywhere because of the ice and the idiots. Maybe not in that order.

OK, so I have 3 reasons to be grumpy. But I think #1 should count at least 4 times (one for each month of pain), and #2 counts twice - not only did I lose my job, I now have to find a new one! So that makes a total of 7 reasons to be grumpy.

Of course, I did make about 20 dozen snowball cookies yesterday, which just might subtract a point or 2 from my grumpiness score. I'm not sure exactly what the grumpy-to-snowball exchange rate is. I'm sure there's some fairly advanced math involved.

Drive carefully!

Scarecrow, I'll Miss You Most of All!

I survived the insane, intensive course! And I sort of miss it. It was a little weird to get up this morning & know I didn't have anywhere to be or any homework to turn in. But not bad weird.

I've got a couple of weeks until school starts again, and very little to do, which I plan to enjoy to the fullest. I do have a couple of projects planned, including a return to scrubbing the walls of the kitchen. If anyone has some free time and is looking for something to do...

I'm starting to look forward to fall quarter, mainly to get myself back on a regular schedule. I find myself at a bit of a loss when I don't have anything to do, even though I'm sure I'll be nostalgic for it around mid-October. And I'm planning to take a class myself this year too, in addition to teaching. I'm registering for it tonight, if all goes as planned. I'll keep you informed.

So this is mainly just to let everyone know that I'm back in the world again. Did you miss me? :)