K12 and happy about it

With all the commotion of working and then not working at Target (I got my first and last paycheck today), I totally forgot to mention the biggest news of all: I have a teaching license.

I’ve finished taking all my tests, and I’ve passed with flying colors. I sent in my scores and now I’m all cleared. I was issued a 1-year license with the expectation that I finish a Human Relations course to complete the Minnesota requirements for education licensure. This means that I have to take one of their approved courses showing that I have some background knowledge of Native American culture. I am filling out forms to submit my one of my courses from UW-Platteville as meeting this requirement. Wish me luck!

Does this change my situation much? You bet it does! I will continue to look for full-time licensed positions for the 2009-2010 school year, and I’ve already applied for several. This new license should help me be more competitive in finding the right job. But what this also means is that I can now work as a substitute teacher should I be unable to find anything more by the end of the summer.

Really, though, what it means is the end of a two-year long process of essentially completely changing my life. I’m glad I’ve finally reached this goal with the help of my family and friends, and I feel pretty proud of the accomplishment.

Off Target

I’ve really been enjoying my time in the CPHS media center, and I really think I’ve learned a lot. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that I love my job, except for two small things:

1. My job does not pay me for the summer months.
2. My job will no longer exist after early June.

Like families, governments and car manufactures everywhere, school districts are certainly hurting for funding right now and my district is no different. Unlike families, governments and car manufacturers, there are no unwarranted handouts for school districts in need of money. All they can take comfort in is the time honored tradition of the layoff. And, faced with an insurmountable deficit for next year (seriously, they’re talking about closing a school and STILL not having enough money to make up the difference in the next couple of years), my district has decided that they no longer want someone of my caliber running their laminating machine and asking students for passes 7.5 hours a day, five days a week.

Fine. Good. All’s well. I was planning on getting a licensed position next year anyway. I’m digressing. What I wanted to post about was my quest for gainful employment that led me to a brief but glorious five-day reign as a dairy department stock boy in a Target Super Center.

Thinking I needed to find a quick-fix job for the summer that could get me and my lovely wife through until I start a licensed teaching position (or subbing) next school year, I started applying for any job I could find earlier this spring. One of those applications was sent to Target, who were apparently so enamored with both my answers to their million-page long questionnaire (yes, I DID get good grades in high school) and my master’s degree that they called me to set up an interview the day that I turned in the application.

That should have been my first sign that maybe this just wasn’t the right fit for me. Find out why by continuing with this post!

Continue reading "Off Target"

I'm an elephant!

I'll grow up when I feel like it.

So, how's married life?

Well, I've been officially married to the same wonderful woman for six whole months today. Hooray!

When Molly and I took our pre-marriage counseling course in the months leading up to our wedding, we heard all kinds of tips and warnings. "Never go to bed angry," "Be sure to cut each other slack," "Some people aren't as clean as other people," and the like were almost a constant mantra that became the background of our first months as an engaged couple. But the one warning we didn't get - perhaps because it really is common sense - is that everyone would ask us "So, how's married life?" I'm guessing all newly-married couples face the same problem.

Here's my solution: tell everyone flat out on the World Wide Web. Here's the straight poop: married life is exactly the same as the bachelor life, only better. Before, I was happy; now, I'm much happier. Before I enjoyed being at home; now I love being at home with my wife. Before, I watched "Lost" and told my theories to my empty apartment; now, my wife has to hear my crackpot ramblings. Pretty much, everything I did before was fine - I was happy with my life. But every little thing in my life is so much better now for the simple fact that I have someone to go through it with.

So, I guess you could say that married life is pretty good.

You should be dancin' - Yeah!

Molly and I had our first dance class last night, and I now know two truths: I will enjoy this class much more than I expected, and I will never be the worst dancer in the room.

I know your head is probably full of questions right now. Questions like "why is Brandon in a dance class?" "Doesn't Brandon justifiably hate dancing?" Or "How can Brandon ever NOT be the worst dancer in the room?" And those are all great questions, so I'll do my best to give an acceptable explanation.

Our story begins, surprisingly enough, over a month ago. As a Christmas present to Molly and I, Molly's parents have promised to send us "fun money" every month - not the kind you buy at the dollar store for your high school musical production, but rather some money that should allow us to do something fun together each and every month. It was and continues to be a wonderful present.

Molly and I were discussing the possibilities for our first month of fun money when the catalog for St. Paul Community Education arrived in the mail. Surprisingly enough, I was the one to suggest that we sign up for one of the dance classes. My parents took a dance class (again a surprise) and both enjoyed it despite the fact that at any given moment at least one of them doesn't feel like dancing.

But Molly and I have talked a bit about learning more swing dancing, or hitting up a club near our neighborhood that has beginner swing lessons, so it seemed like a natural fit. And thats how I find myself learning the swing and jitterbug every Monday night for the next five weeks (excepting Presidents' Day, that is).

That one ill-conceived attempt to jitterbug at an eighth-grade Holocaust concert aside, I've never been much of a public dancer. My parents and family claim that I used to have jazzy feet, and there may even be video evidence of that. But those days are long gone, and I expected to easily be the worst dancer there when it came time to cut a rug at our community ed class. Thankfully, and somewhat sadly, I was not - though I did attract that horrible dancer right to my side.

After the introductions and roll-taking, the guys and girls (partners were mandatory in order to sign up for the class - no singles allowed) were split into to separate lines to learn the basic swing step. And next to me was a person with so little coordination and rhythm that I thought he might actually suck what little I have right out from me like some sort of Azkaban dementor. He seriously couldn't hit a beat right for almost the entire time we were there.

All told, though, we were actually not bad - most of that was Molly. We also had a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to heading back for our next class next week.