Friday, October 28, 2011

Here We Go Again

In true form, it's been 7 months since my last post.  I didn't get a job this summer at a zoo, but I'm back working at school in the same job I had last year as a sub.  I have a contract for this school year, so I'm saving money living at home, carpooling with mom every day.

But with no real job prospects on the horizon, I'm planning on taking the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) in January or February, so I can attend Graduate School in Fall 2012.  My goal school is the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), for environmental education.  There are a lot of steps for an application for grad school, though.  It's a bit daunting.  There's the application to the university, then the application to the department, then the GRE, then the essay, letters of recommendation, resume, and a few other things (and then add in any financial aid forms/procedures, or applications and hoops for possible assistantships or fellowships).  So I'm seeing the little life I had going away fast.  The application deadline for UWSP is March 1, so at least I'll be done with the laundry list of things by the time I head to Germany for Claudia & Maik's wedding!  In addition to all that time, I'm at a loss for money too (so I'll take donations!).  It looks like grad school tuition at Point is around $19,000...which on top of my undergrad loans, could really bury me for a long time...so hopefully President Obama will save me from the suffocating loans.

But for now, I've got the 2011 GRE Prep book, and all the online prep stuff that comes with it.  So I'm working on a schedule, and reading the book, and pacing myself, so that I can learn & remember everything that I need to know for the test.  Not to mention scheduling my time so that I can get all the application materials finished, in time, in an orderly fashion.

So I guess don't plan on hearing from me socially until Summer 2014--with a Master's in Environmental Education and hopefully a job under my belt!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Creative Title :)

Well, there's not tons to report.  I'm still working at school in Lomira as a long-term substitute paraeducator, working with 3-5th graders all day.  Except I haven't been to work the last 2 days because I haven't been feeling well.  Went to the doctor on Friday and they're running a bunch of tests, so hopefully they'll know why I've been feeling so crappy lately & be able to do something about it.

I am working on a couple job applications--one for an outdoor education coordinator at Northern Illinois University, and the other is a program assistant/volunteer coordinator at Heckrodt Wetland Reserve in Menasha, WI. So hopefully one of those will work out.

I had a phone interview for a job at the Kansas City Zoo last week that I would've been perfect for.  But it was only 25 hours a week, $8.50 an hour, no benefits, and only from late March to early June.  So I just couldn't afford to move to Kansas City for that job.  Especially since it would be $50 less per week than what I'm making subbing--and with my college loan payments every month, $50 is a lot of money.  If I had no expenses I probably could've swung it, but realistically it wasn't the right choice for me.  But the guy I interviewed with was very nice and encouraged me, if I'm closer to Kansas City, or can move there, next year to apply (because the job was PERFECT for me).  So that was a downer.

But at the same time, the fact that they contacted me (and did so pretty quickly) made me feel better.  I was starting to feel like I'd never find a job and getting really kind of depressed.  But hearing from them has helped.

I'd brainstorm more, but I'm gonna go eat dinner, so I will again leave you in suspense of what is going on in my life.  Trust me, it's not much.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

This Time I Have An Excuse

So it's been about a month since my last post (surprise, surprise), but this time it's because I've been busy (instead of lazy).

In February, I filed to substitute teach in our local school district.  I now have a three-year substitute teacher license.  But the calls I was getting were all for paraeducators.  (For those of you who don't know what a paraeducator is, they are teacher's assistants who usually work in different classrooms through the day.)  The district had one paraeducator leave her position, and I was offered the long-term substitute position. 

This last week was my third full week of working this job.  It is completely exhausting.  I work in 6 different classrooms, at 3 different grade levels, and I also have recess duty with an additional 3 grades.  It's a lot of names to know, and rules to keep straight.  But it's good.  And it's a paycheck, which is good seeing as my college loan payments are due each month (one week of this job=almost an entire loan payment).  So at least it's keeping me fiscally sound.  Not to mention, I'm helping the district--I'm sure they could've found someone to take the position, but my schedule was flexible enough (read: I had no obligations) that I can be at school 5 days a week.

There's definitely a learning curve.  I didn't go to the public elementary school, so there are different rules.  I mean, there were 40-50 kids in my whole elementary school.  There are 16-20+ kids in each of the classrooms I work in, so there are more rules.  It also isn't easy working in so many classrooms--each teacher has their own classroom rules, and ways they want things corrected (my brain sometimes has trouble keeping things straight). 

But I enjoy it.  It is fun--I like the kids, and they seem to like me.  Like I said, this last week was my third on the job, so names and rules and everything is getting easier and more normal/natural.  But it's definitely not what I thought I'd be doing at this point in my life.  And it's not what I went to school for--I never took any classes that revolved around instruction or conflict resolution, or anything to do with teaching. So a lot of what I've had to do the last 3 weeks has been to rely on my intuition, what I've observed in the years I helped in the elementary school, or hold off issues until I can ask one of the teachers what the rules are.

So I'm learning.  Which is good, because don't they say if you stop learning, you're dead? Isn't that a thing?  I think it is.  But I keep applying for jobs, because even though I have a job through the beginning of June (the end of the school year) I definitely don't want to keep doing this.  It is a temporary job. And after a temporary job comes another job, hopefully one that is not so temporary.

So keep your fingers crossed (and thumbs pressed) that I find a "real" job, or as I like to call them a "big girl" job. And I will hopefully keep you posted.

Monday, February 7, 2011

And the Packers Win the Super Bowl!

True to form, I've skipped out on the blogging...again.

In my defense, I've subbed a couple days, and I got sick (yes, again).  All those darn kids in 4K totally gave me the worst cold I've had in quite a while.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose my voice between right now (pretty squeaky & scratchy & not right) and 24 hours from now.  I will be going to the Celebration in Titletown tomorrow at Lambeau Field to celebrate the team bringing the Lombardi Trophy HOME to Green Bay.  I'll be going with Abbie, who is an Alpha Xi Delta from Marian University.  Abbie is to Theta Tau Chapter what I am to Iota Lambda Chapter when it comes to passion for the Green and Gold.  Abbie & I have never actually met, so it will be very fun for us to have this be our first interaction outside of Facebook :)

I'll definitely be posting a lot of pictures on Facebook tomorrow, but I'll try to pick out a few good ones and put them up on here.  I figured the $5 ticket and the time/gas to get the Green Bay was totally worth it to celebrate a Super Bowl win.  This is only the 2nd time in my life that we've won a Super Bowl, and while I believe we can come back numerous times in the near future, I don't know that I will have the opportunity to celebrate with the team in the future.  Not to mention just how proud I am of this team.  I've always been proud to be a Packer fan, all my life, and will continue to be so until the day I die.  But there is something about the adversity, the difficulty, the injuries that this team has had to overcome.  The number of young guys who stepped up when a veteran got injured and couldn't go, has astounded me.  These young kids, no one has heard of, out of small colleges no one knows where they are, come in and make plays, and just like that we're in the Super Bowl--WINNING the SUPER BOWL.

Needless to say, I was rather speechless last night.  Even this morning, it took me a second to remember that we really did win the Super Bowl.  It was a great experience.  I was crying with the guys on the field, knowing (even if just fractionally) how much it means to guys like Charles, Donald, Ryan, and John, and how much it will mean to the younger guys on the team, when they have been in the league longer, and have a chance to really appreciate what this means.

The thing I really love the most about the Super Bowl--any Super Bowl?  Post game, that confetti's flying, and what do you see?  Grown men, holding their little kids, crying like big babies.  I love it.  Not only do I love when you get to see these "tough guys" crying because this means so much, but there is nothing, NOTHING, more attractive (and honestly, sexier) than seeing a guy be a good dad.  Now, sure typically those moments are between married men, but it's still completely adorable (and a great example).  There's one picture I saw from last night I really enjoy that has Aaron Rodgers, his parents, his brothers, and his grandparents.  I love when you see a guy like that, single, sharing this special moment with the people who really got him there.  Much like the picture of Clay Matthews III with Clay Matthews Jr.  I don't know where the rest of the Matthews family ran off too--because I'm sure at least his immediate family was there, if not his Uncle Bruce, and Grandpa Clay Sr.

So there you go.  That's my life.  I'm sick.  I'm going to see my Green Bay Packers tomorrow to welcome them home.  Any Questions?  Post them here.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Superbowl Bound!

Well, true to form, I've skipped out on my blogging commitment (and my workout regimen).  I made a trip up to De Pere to have Dollar Burgers at the Keweenaw Pub and Pasta with some of my Alpha Xi Delta sisters and friends to "celebrate" my new unemployment.  Then I had a couple doctors' appointments, and I got sick (see the sick day post), and just like that...*BAM* I'm flaking out on my commitments.  I'm not a flake, unless I'm doing something for me.  Then I just keep putting it off.  Is there a name for a person who flakes out on themselves?  I mean, really, I've just been letting myself down the last week.  I need motivation...like a big, strong, muscle-y man to keep me on task...if anyone has one of those sitting around, I'd love to borrow him for a while.

Maybe fifty-three big muscle-y men preparing themselves for the Super Bowl on February 6th will be motivation for me.  If the Packers can get ready to face the Steelers in the biggest game of the season (the biggest game of their lives), maybe I can get my ass out of bed, and be productive every day.  As much as I like bed, I need to light a fire under myself and get something started.

There you go, short post. Not overly rambling.  Not full of information (I apologize, if you actually care about the goings on of my life), but at least you know I'm alive, right?  Right.  Great.  Now I'm going to bed, while my Super Bowl high is on the downswing and is making me sleepy.

Go Pack Go!!!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Sick Day

Sorry, kids--no legit post today.  I was woken up at 5am feeling lightheaded and kinda goofy, which turned into nausea, and then full on stomach flu.  For one hour I felt ridiculously sick, and since then, all day I've been drinking flat Sprite, eating saltine crackers, toast, rice, and a banana.  I still don't feel the greatest, and needless to say the workouts I was going to catch up on, and the snow I'd planned on shoveling for when my parents got home didn't see me today.  I'm hoping to wake up magically better in the morning, and get everything on my list done tomorrow...I'm also hoping to not be woken up at 10 to 5 in the morning sick to my stomach.

Wishing you all good health (as a tip, stay clear of me for a little bit)!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

And We're Going to The NFC Championship Game!!!

This post doesn't really have anything to do with me, but, it kind of does.

If you haven't gathered from the previous posts, or if you don't know me, I'm a HUGE Green Bay Packers fan.  Like crazy Packer fan.  I have my own rituals that I do before every game day & during every game.  I always sleep in Packer pajamas the night before a game, in addition to wearing all the clothes I outlined in my post yesterday. 

After a little rocky start to tonight's game, I ran upstairs to add a sweatshirt--it did the trick.  I also had a temporary Packers tattoo waiting in the wings in case I needed the back up.  Just like last week's game, we started out a little rocky, I made a fan adjustment, & we won--it's clearly all my doing. 

The team did a great job tonight--facing a #1 seeded team in the NFC, with a strong defense, a young reliable QB, & a healthy team.  It completely amazes me that we've made it to the NFC Championship game with 15 guys on IR...especially when 6-ish of them are starters & another 7 are big name 2nd stringers or promising rookies.  The team has pulled together, guys have stepped up at every position, and the depth & youth of the team has really paid off.

Does it seem to anyone else that I'm a little scatterbrained tonight?  That's how I feel...soooo if this is a confusing post, I apologize.

The other major accomplishment of today was filling out my substitute teaching license application.  During which I learned that I will need to submit my fingerprints to the Department of Public Instruction.  Why, might you ask?  Because I physically studied out side of the US, it's territories, Canada, or Great Britain (see the Australia blog...I think I linked the other day...or at least mentioned--google it).  I don't really understand the point, and if it's to make sure I'm the same person I was when I went, they don't have any prints to compare them to, PLUS why couldn't I have stolen my identity while living my whole like in the US?  I just don't get it.  I'd rather they just accept that I studied abroad, and that doesn't mean I have any sort of abuse felony on my record.  Very strange.

I'm now searching my brain for something to post about...sooo I'm just going to stop rambling & let you all go back to your regularly scheduled lives.

Go Pack Go!  See you next weekend in either Chicago or Seattle!!! (Figuratively--I can't afford Packer tickets or the travel costs)

Friday, January 14, 2011

Opening Horizons

Today I broke my self-imposed area in which I'll be applying for jobs.  I had told myself I would only apply for jobs east of the Dakotas, north of Tennessee, and west of Ohio.  Today I applied for a job in El Paso, TX.  And when I said this to my parents, they both sighed & rolled their eyes at me. 

But it's a good job: Zoo Education Specialist, $38-52,000/year, through the El Paso city government, and all they want is a bachelor's degree and one year teaching experience.  Now while I don't really have the full year straight teaching experience, I do have the degree, and plenty of experience observing teachers and I've done some teaching.  It's kind of a "what the hell" kind of job application.  I figure it's a job that's actually a full-time job, not just a seasonal position or another internship.   And whether I get it or not, at least I'm applying.  And if I get a call back, it's more interview experience.

Besides, it's not like I would stay there forever--we all know I love snow too much.  But one perk of working for the El Paso government--they count your birthday as a legal holiday, which is just plain cool.  But it would mean I'd have to live in El Paso, and besides being in the top 3 safest US cities for the last 5-ish years, it's in TEXAS.  Do you know what's in Texas?  Cowboys.  Dallas Cowboys.  First question I'd ask in that interview--"Do you know a good bar in town with NFL Sunday Ticket?  I need to see the Packer game."

But the "Yay" part of my day:  Makenna is home!!!  I picked her up from the pet store tonight.  She's very energetic and climb-y.  She's also not very good in-hand yet, because she really hasn't been handled.  She loves her wheel and has spent the majority of time home running in it (taking breaks only to drink, eat, or climb the cage walls). 


She even got to run around in her ball in the kitchen for a little while. 

This weekend I need to fill out the form to substitute teach at Lomira, and write some cover letters for the other jobs I'm applying for--they're basically all either seasonal or internships. 

But MORE importantly: tomorrow is the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, pitting Your Green Bay Packers against the dirty birds of the Atlanta Falcons.  I will be anxiously awaiting Gametime.  And unlike last week, I won't be starting out wearing the wrong jersey (What WAS I thinking?).  I have two jerseys that I wear on Packer Gamedays--an authentic green Matthews jersey and a white Matthews jersey (that I bought at Walmart) that has glitter numbers (it's very cute).  I tend to be a little superstitious.  I wear the same color jersey as the team every game. EVERYTHING else on my body tomorrow will be Packers apparel, with the exception of my bra--something I think the NFL needs to work on.  I even have green and gold fingernails & toenails.  And I cuddle up with my Packers blanket.  Some people say I have issues, that I'm a little crazy.  I like to think that I'm helping my team, I'm sending love and faith and the boys pull through.  I'll admit to not being a "normal" 23 year old woman, but I'm not crazy...yet. 

Also, if you'd like more information on the awesomeness that is one of the top Linebackers in the NFL, & my personal favorite Packer player check out this NY Times article on the Matthews family--believe it or not, I actually learned something new:  For Matthews Clan, NFL Is All In The Family

If you have any desire to visit that blog I mentioned.  The original inconsistent blog about studying in Australia, the link is below.

http://laura-pickart87.livejournal.com/

It's Not Like I Have Anything Else to Do

Hello Blogosphere.

This is technically my second blog.  I have one at another site that I haven't written in in about 2 years.  But since that one was focused on studying abroad in Australia and this one is just focused on my life, I started fresh.

Yup.  My life.  It's not especially exciting right now.  The excitement in my life this week consists of the Green Bay Packers making it through to the divisional playoff game this Saturday, a dentist appointment, dollar burgers in De Pere, WI with some of my sorority sisters, & getting my third hamster tomorrow.  So I'd expect to hear a lot of the following: Makenna did something really cute today (Makenna's the baby hamster's name); Go Pack Go, CBA negotiations, & general NFL-ness; I applied to 1,000,001 jobs today and have still heard nothing; heading up to Green Bay for no reason other than to be that creepy graduate that never leaves campus.

This is my life.  I live with my parents.  I can't really even live in my own room right now because of all of my stuff--since I've been living in 2 places the last 4+ years.  I'm sleeping in my sister's old room--the bed's newer anyway.  I'm currently on day 7 of the NFL Training Camp EA Sports Active video game for Wii--and I'm getting my butt kicked (in both the good and bad ways).  I've been unemployed for a week, and I have now taken to rambling to the internet in my free time.

But what better time to decide to make changes and add commitments in my life than during a period of unemployment after graduating from college.

To my friends, family, and random internet people who got tricked into reading this:  if you have any questions (about me, football, life, hamsters, etc.) I'd be happy to answer them, to the best of my ability; if you have any requests (you want to know how I make my lasagna) let me know--I'll post about them;  if you want me to shut up about a certain subject--that's too bad, I've got a right to speak & I'm going to utilize that right, along with the one where I can formulate any opinion I want. Learn to deal with it. 

The title of the Blog is "I Make No Promises."  I've never been a good journal-er, writer, blogger.  I tend to be few and far between with posts & I tend to ramble (if you haven't gotten that from this post yet).  I apologize in advance.  I write how I think and speak, it's how thoughts come out of my brain & sometimes I don't filter well or forget what I mentioned 3 paragraphs up.  So if I make no sense--just skim it.  It probably doesn't make sense.  But sometimes you can figure out what it means--deciphering my brain can be like translating a language you only know from a year of high school instruction.  I wish you luck in reading my thoughts--I hope they don't drive you as crazy as they drive me--and hopefully you are wishing me luck in being able to reliably post this time.