Oh hi, nerves. You're a little tense lately.

I am officially one-step closer to having to having a job...I got an interview! I mentioned here that there was a chance that there was a possible job opening for me to start teaching, and it has happened. Now, I can actually talk a little bit about it.

The job is at my old high school, and it would be teaching theatre, which incidentally, is exactly what I went to school for. The theatre teacher that I had has changed positions within the high school and now I have this outstanding opportunity before me to take her place. The interview is tomorrow, and I have been nervous about it since the moment I found out, which is odd for me, because I'm generally not an overly-nervous person. It's just that I really, really, really want this. While I no longer live in the city limits of my hometown, I do live a whopping twenty-minutes away, which has allowed me to stay active within the community via my church. With the number of things that our church does that I've assisted with over the years, I have been fortunate to know a lot of the students in the high school already, and I feel that that's a good thing, especially since their current teacher is leaving mid-semester.

Overall, I feel like I have the ability to really 'wow' the interviewers tomorrow, but I do feel like I have one strike against me that could definitely be a defining moment as to whether or not I get this job. I'm still not at the point to start my "internship" level of my program, which is the level where I may legally be hired as a full-time teacher. However, in about two weeks, I will be. I take my content-area test this Saturday, and it takes about two-weeks for the results to come in. That's all I have to wait for---the results of the test. As long as I pass it, (which I feel confident that I will) I am legally hirable. Hopefully, the interviewers will be so taken by me that they'll be willing to wait.

Dear God, I hope so. I feel like a little kid crossing their fingers in hopes of getting that pony for Christmas.

I have ashamedly gotten my hopes up for all of this, which frustrates me, but someone told me yesterday that having my hopes up will show how much I want it in the interview, so I guess there's that.

Quick change of topic:

For the people that seem to think that status updates on Facebook = a diary...

Get an online journal. Please. I do not need or want a minute-to-minute play-by-play of the occurences in your life. If I wanted to read every mundane detail of your life, I'd subscribe to your LiveJournal account.

But then again, you'd probably have a Xanga.

There is honestly someone who has posted not 1, not 2, but SIX status updates today, all of which were posted by 10:30am.  It's not even noon. Your day cannot be that exciting before noon. I refuse to believe it.

If you feel like I'm taking about you, I probably am, in which case, it's time for you to get an account with one of the aforementioned online-jounal communities.




Now that I've said that, hopefully I'll know something soon about the job. If you're reading, please do whatever it is that you do when you want to wish someone luck, whether it be praying or carrying around a rabbit's foot. I'd really appreciate it, times eleventy. :)

Happy WINsday!

Thanks to my DVR, I seldom watch commercials anymore because commercials tend to annoy me.

Thanks to Ellen, I did see this commercial today, and I feel like it's a "win" for the week.

This "WIN" is a win for loser-dom. It's not that it's so hilarious, but it's just that it's so ridiculous.



1. If everyone at work bought a Fridge Locker, I'd be annoyed as a co-worker, because about 9 people would be able to use the refrigerator.

2. Due to my aforementioned annoyance, I'd be tempted to take it and toss it.

3. Sure, by taking it and throwing it away, I didn't get to "steal" their food, but I certainaly kept them from eating it and they're out $19.99.

4. If a person was truly hungry enough and had chosen to steal your Fridge Locker because your leftover meatloaf looked so delightful, I'm sure I could find a way to break into it. It's made of plastic, not steel, you know?

I hope that my friend from high school, Matt, makes a parody of it ASAP on his YouTube channel.

Enjoy!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

What does this make you think of? That's right! The fall!

When I think about the fall, I think about:

-big trees with falling leaves

-sweaters

-hot chocolate

-cappuccinos in big ceramic cups

-being cozy

-the holiday season

-smiling a lot

-pumpkins

My corner of Texas has gotten the first cool-front of the season, and I couldn't be happier. I like to call this weather "windows-open weather" because it's cool, breezy and there is little to no humidity in the air. After what always feels like 360 days of summer, I always embrace this wonderful change in climate.

Today, my friend and I were running errands with the windows down, volume up and listening to a playlist that may or may not have included Justin Bieber and LFO. I can honestly say that I had nothing to do with the song choices, but I cannot promise that I didn't fist pump/sing along.

The best thing about it? I didn't care because the weather was so fantastic and I was in an equally fantastic mood.

Now that I've rambled about the weather, I will say that I am in the home-stretch for taking my TExES Content Exam, which will prove to the state that I am highly-qualified to teach theatre and that I do, in fact, know what I'm talking about. This past Saturday I went to a one-on-one review that my certification program arranged for those taking the test and my review-leader was very encouraging to me and told me that I will do well on the exam. That gives me a nice boost in confidence and hopefully that will help me to do well on the test.

Taking the steps to finally start my certification program has been incredible. The feelings of happiness and accomplishment that I feel are phenomenal after countless months of non-motivated discontentment. From day to day, I didn't realize how much I missed having tasks to achieve on a regular basis, and this change feels great. It makes me happy. Very, very happy. I've noticed that in the last few weeks, I've felt happier than I've felt in a long time, and that makes me content.

I think I'll start something new...WINSday!

It's completely unoriginal, but I don't really care. I'm going to try to remember to post something that I found to be hysterically funny on Wednesday, and label it as the win of the week.



The internet is so glorious, because some people really are just that funny.

This week's win comes from http://www.funnyordie.com/ and to me, is genius. I did share this on Facebook already, but if you haven't seen it yet, you should definitely watch it.

Are you familiar with Latisse? This is FOD's parody of it. If youv'e not heard of it, there's an explanation below the video.


Anyway, onto the WIN for the week!




Latisse is something you can put on your eyelashes to help them grow longer, but it has a horrible list of side effects. (This is copied and pasted from their website, but I did take out a paragraph)

Possible side effects.

The most common side effects after using LATISSE® are an itching sensation in the eyes and/or eye redness, which were reported in approximately 4% of clinical trial patients. LATISSE® solution may cause other less common side effects which typically occur close to where LATISSE® is applied. These include skin darkening, eye irritation, dryness of the eyes and redness of the eyelids.

Special warnings.

LATISSE® solution use may cause darkening of the eyelid skin which may be reversible. Although not seen in the clinical studies, may also cause increased brown iris pigmentation of the colored part of the eye which is likely to be permanent. Increased iris pigmentation has occurred when the same formulation of bimatoprost ophthalmic solution was instilled directly into the eye.

It is possible for hair growth to occur in other areas of your skin that LATISSE® frequently touches. Any excess solution outside the upper eyelid margin should be blotted with a tissue or other absorbent material to reduce the chance of this happening. It is possible for a difference in eyelash length, thickness, fullness, pigmentation (darkness), number of eyelash hairs and/or direction of eyelash growth to occur between eyes (e.g., results may vary for each eye). These differences, should they occur, will usually go away if you stop using LATISSE®.

Yikes. Well, Brooke Shields uses it, so I guess it's okay.

Gettin' Edjumakatid.

Well, I've been busy and neglecting my blog because I've finally started my classes for my alternate certification program so that I can be certified to teach. My classes started a week ago today, and so far, so good.

I go Tuesday nights from 6-9pm and on Saturdays from 8:30-3:30pm. Each class is 3 hours, (we have 2 classes on Saturdays) and it's actually not too bad. The class goes by relatively quickly and I'm meeting some nice people.

I will say, however, it never ceases to amaze me just how stupid some people can be, even future educators.

In order to be accepted the particular program that I am enrolled in, you make an appointment at the office, you go in, you watch a video that breaks down how the program works. After the video, a representative of the company, (in my case, the founder of the program) comes and takes questions about that video, then explains that a critical thinking skills test is going to be administered. You then take the test, turn it in, and wait for it to be evaluated. When they're ready, they call you in, let you know if you've been accepted, and if so, they explain the program to you AGAIN and give you a folder with all sorts of information, including a flow chart of how the program works.

HOW IS IT that people STILL had questions about it on Tuesday, our first day of class? Seriously? It's not that difficult.

1. Get accepted.
2. Begin your classes.
3. Take your content-area test. (so the state knows you're competent in your subject)
4. Do observations
5. Do an internship or student teaching.
6. Take another state-test.
7. Become certified.

Not difficult. At all. Yet after our teacher went through the program breakdown on Tuesday, a jillion hands shot up. I just don't understand how it's so difficult to understand. I mean, teachers are supposed to be somewhat intelligent, right?

At one point, our teacher was asking people what everyone's content-area is, and this guy honestly responds, "Uh...I think it's uh...social studies."

Really? You think you're certifying in social studies? Shouldn't you like, know or something? I mean, considering if you're taking the course, you HAVE to take your first content test in the area that you have the most college hours in. People really exasperate me sometimes.

However, I have found a friend in the class who experiences the same frequency in eye-rolls as I do during our classes. She and I have taken to shooting looks at each other when we really want to just raise our hand and yell, "SHUT UP, seriously."

Additionally, I'll never fully understand why people feel the need to randomly interject their long-winded personal stories and outlooks in the middle of the lecture. It's one thing if we're having a Q&A time, but when the teacher is trying to explain the principles and theories of Piaget, why must someone raise their hand and just start telling their personal life story on why Piaget has influenced them to become the magnificent teacher they hope to be at that moment? The rest of the class would like to just hear what the paid professional at the fron of the classroom has to say about Piaget, not the fellow student.

Maybe I'm bitter from endless years of schooling, but that kind of stuff just bothers me. The teacher isn't there to be a one-on-one conversationalist with you. The teacher is there to teach THE CLASS, so please respect the time and money that everyone is spending on the class and SHUT UP.

:) Oh, the life a student...I thought I was done. I may sound really negative, but I've found myself looking forward to going to class and all of that. I'm enjoying learning about being a better educator and knowing that each class is bringing me one step closer to becoming certified, but I just have a low-tolerance for idiots.

The Waiting Game.

Life is so full of fun little games.

There's the OMGI'MABOUTTORUNOUTOFGASIHOPEIMAKEITTOTHEGASSTATION game. (Who doesn't love a good round of that?!)

There's the I'MGOINGTOSWIPEMYCREDITCARDANDHOPEITAPPROVES game, played mostly in college.

There's the I'LLJUSTSLEEP5MOREMINUTESMYALARMWLLTOTALLYWAKEMEUP (I THINK) game.

You know, fun games.

My current fun game I'm playing is...the waiting game.

I can't really go into too much detail now about it, because the whole situation is kind of hush-hush, but someone I know just interviewed for a job and is trying to get my lined up as their replacement, so in order to be ready if they get hired, I have done everything I can to be ready for an interview. Since my last post, I have applied and been accepted to a certification program for teaching, I have registered and paid for my test over my content area (theatre), I have finally completed the whole "changing of the name" task that I've been too lazy to do for months, I have my TB skin test and fingerprints (required by the state) and I just have all my ducks in a row. Did I mention that IF this works out, it's an actual teaching job with actual students with actual pay and benefits for an actual public school?

It would be absolutely fantastic IF this all works out in my favor, and as much as I want it to become true, I refuse to let myself get overly hopeful about the situation. I am preparing myself for them to call me and say, "sorry, it's not going to work out, peace out, homie" because if that actually happens, I won't be ready to chug a gallon of bleach. IF it does work out in my favor, then I'll know that I'm incredibly lucky and blessed to the in the situation and hit the ground running. It's sort of difficult to keep that mentality, which is why I keep typing "if" in all-caps, but it's because I want it so badly. I know that if it doesn't work out, then something better WILL come along, but it would just be nice IF this does work out in my favor.

We will see as the waiting game continues.

Little Accomplishments.

When it comes to household chores, I don't really mind them too much. Once I get in a cleaning mood, I can get things cleaned thoroughly and quickly, and I love the way you feel after you've cleaned an entire room or your entire house from top to bottom.

However, there is one chore that I absolutely cannot stand, and that's laundry. My poor husband ends up doing most of it, because I just absolutely hate it. It's SUCH a long process. You have to gather them, sort them, put them in the washer, take them out of the washer, put them in the dryer, take them out and then fold them or hang them and then put them away. It's the never-ending cycle, and I hate it. I would honest-to-goodness rather scrub the toilets than do laundry, because toilets are quick. I mean sure, they're gross, but it's not like my bathroom is a public restroom. You just put the cleanser in, let it sit for a few minutes, scrub it with the brush, wipe down the seat/lid/rim and voila! You're done in 15 minutes or less, and it's not a daily chore.

Sorry, I'm rambling. What else is new, right? Anyway, yesterday, I got a bite from the cleaning bug and decided to really, really clean our bathroom, more thoroughly than I ever had and it's just so stinking clean. Additionally, I have washed, folded/hung, and put away all most every article of clothing/towels in our house. Currently, there is a load of jeans in the dryer, a load of socks in the washer, a small batch of towels and a small batch of shirts that have to washed in their own load, because they were dyed recently and have to be washed in their own load for the first 5 washes. That's it.

I also am about halfway through getting the kitchen cleaned, and I honestly just this minute, since I started typing this sentence decided that I'm going to clean out the refrigerator today.

Seriously. I feel so accomplished right now. I think it's those little feelings of accomplishments that get me by since I still can't grab a job.

Oh, and one more thing. I can rarely smell the detergent we use on our clothes, which always bums me out, because it seems like everyone I know always has these great-smelling clothes and mine just don't. ALL of the loads I've washed since yesterday smell spectacular. I switched from using liquid Gain to powdered Gain because you get 16 extra loads for the EXACT same price as the liquid (64, liquid: 80, powdered) and it's the same scent as the liquid I was buying, but it's JUST SO FRAGRANT and that makes me happy. :)

Again, little accomplishments.

My Near Death Experience(s) on the Interstate

Yesterday, I had the fabulous task of driving through Houston. I decided to go at a time when the roads wouldn't be clogged with traffic, since I just knew that would make my drive easier.

My lesson? Just because you're not in bumper-to-bumper traffic doesn't mean that you're not on the highway with Houston's finest idiots.

I was probably about 15 minutes into my drive, enjoying my Frou Frou CD somewhat mindlessly when I realize that I'm going about 55mph in a 65mph zone. UM...WHAT THE HECK? I immediately throw on my blinker to get around the bozo in front of me that has NOBODY in front of him so that I may continue on my journey at a speed that is suitable for highway driving.

OF COURSE I CAN'T GET OVER. Everyone is speeding around ME, being truly Houstonian and NOT LETTING ME OVER. Then, the vehicle in front of me starts speeding up, and I was like, "Oh, good. He finally got the memo that this is NOT the place to be trailin' along like Granny."

Nope. He slows back down to his comfortable 55mph. This guy is killing me at this point, so much that I may or may not be audibly saying in my best whiny 6-year old voice, "Dude, COME ONNNNNN-UH!!! JUST DRIVE-UH!!!"

I finally manage to get around this person, and of course when I do, traffic is slowing down a little due to merging lanes and whatnot, and I find myself wishing I was still behind "10 & 2" my favorite slow-moving driver, (I actually verbally called the slow guy '10 & 2' at some point, because when I was driving next to him he had his elbows locked and his hands precisely at 10 & 2) because I have managed to get stuck behind an 18-wheeler, and that's never fun. What felt like decades later, I finally am able to get past the slow-traffic, past 10 & 2 and past the 18-wheeler. I'm driving happily at 65mph, (I truly am not much of a speeder) where there wasn't really anyone on either side of me and I start coming up on another chunk of slow-traffic ahead. (That's part of the beauty of Houston traffic. Just as soon as there's an open part of the highway, it's only seconds before you're at the next slow. SO FUN. Try it sometime.

I inevitably find myself in the left lane sandwiched between the barricade from the highway and yet another stream of 18-wheelers, driving behind a very large industrial big rig. This makes me uncomfortable because in my head, my reality is turning into a scene from Final Destination and it always freaks me out a little. Moments later, a lane begins to merge into the left lane of the highway, and there's nobody coming, so there's finally more space. It was like a breath of fresh air and happiness to me until...

OHMYGODOGMYGODOHMYGOD. IS THAT TRUCK SERIOUSLY ABOUT TO JACK-KNIFE IN FRONT OF ME?!?! OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD. WHY IS HE SWERVING? I'M GOING TO SLAM DIRECTLY INTO THIS GUY AND BLOW UP WHEN MY CAR HITS HIS GAS TANK. OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD.

These are the thoughts going through my head as the industrial big rig starts swerving in front of me at weird angles. I start slowing down as I'm picturing explosions and imagining what it's going to feel to die in 10 seconds when the truck gets it together and keeps truckin' along and starts speeding to about 75mph.

What just happened? Why did this guy just put MY life in danger? Doesn't he know how to drive that thing?

As I'm contemplating whether or not this guy even has a license or the training to drive that vehicle, yet another fabulous incident occurs. Before I tell you, let me explain something to you.

Down here in the good 'ol south, there are LOTS of large trucks, and the kind of trucks I'm referring to are called "DUELIES" 'round these parts. Usually, "DUELIES" are meant for farm-use, as denoted on their license plates, but I always manage to see these stupid trucks on the INTERSTATE IN HOUSTON, which is clearly NOT on the farm. I believe that in order to own a "DUELIE" you have to be completely devoid of intelligence or driving skill, because these are always the jerks that are inconsiderate on the road.

For anyone scratching their heads and thinking, "Really...what is a 'duelie' and what does it look like?"

ENTER "DUELIE" DRIVING HICK WHO CUTS ME OFF AND ALMOST HITS ME WITH HIS EXTENDED 5th AND 6th WHEELS.

Seriously, had I not just encountered a horrifying near-death-experience with the random industrial big rig? Was that just NOT enough? Ugh, sometimes, driving in Houston is just too spayshul.

I did manage to make it safely to my destination, in one piece, without my life turning into a scene from Final Destination. Whew.