Less than 3 months

Zac and I will be getting married in 86 days!

Getting back on track

I'm good at making excuses for why I'm not eating the way I know I should be, or doing other healthy things that I know I need to do. It's always the holidays, or a tough day at work, or a celebration of some kind. I've been good about consistently going to the gym (I went 5 times last week without thinking about it too much, and am going to be going for the 2nd time this week in a few minutes), but my eating habits leave a bit to be desired.

So, less snacking. That's number one. When I snack, I don't think as much about what I'm eating and tend to eat unhealthy things. The exception to the rule here is snacking sensibly-- some sugar snap peas or a whole grain tortilla. No chips, cookies, etc.

I should probably keep myself from eating things other than fruits at After School, too.

Also, desserts. Zac and I have been talking about switching to healthier things, and I think this will be good. We had an apple for dessert a few nights ago, and I've stocked up on Jello, too. Fruit and things like jello-- this is what I remember dessert being when I was a little kid and I remember never missing cookies or cakes, because we had them sporadically and they were such a treat when we did.

Soda I'm not going to restrict myself with. Not for now, anyway. Someday I'd like to be free of my caffeine addiction, but right now I get way too much enjoyment from it. Maybe going to the dentist will change my mind about that, though.

As soon as it warms up, I'm looking forward to increasing my non-gym activity, too. I miss going for walks for fun. And oh, to be able to get out for a bike ride! I can't wait. Healthy living! Yay!

2008 Highlight Reel

Here's a quick summary of the last year.

January: Celebrate the New Year with Zac and a friendly pair of lobsters; begin student teaching 3rd graders at Nichols Elementary.

February: Enjoy more than one snow day, as Madison is pummeled with several feet of snow.

March: Travel to the Midwest Gaming Classic, and become cooler to 3rd graders.

April: Pack up the Uhaul and move from current residence to cohabitated state.

May: After 5 years of studies, graduate from UW Madison. Celebrate with family at Laredo's, receive humorous note from Zac's coworker and Rock Band from Zac. Travel to Delaware for Al's wedding, and meet Zac's family.

June: Complete student teaching, and begin four week long session of summer school, teaching kindergarteners math and reading. Also begin job as captioning assistant, with the thought that the job will last only a few months.

July: Reflect on first three months of living in the new apartment, in which a neighbor was shot by the police, the washer broke and flooded the bathroom, and hornets began a nest leading into the bedroom. Decide the place is alright.

August: Busy enjoying the end of the summer, gearing up for a school year with a real job. Suffer from disappointment, and retain job at Captel as a source of income.

September: Celebrate the 24th anniversary of my birth with friends, tacos, a D cake and a pinata. Begin working at After School, which is not as good as teaching. Become discouraged with the job hunt, and consider relocating. Welcome Henry as a member of the family.

October: Travel to the Dells with Zac, enjoying the last warm weekend of the year. Pass on the prime rib. Ride a duck. See David Sedaris speak.

November: Spend entire month looking forward to Thanksgiving, then enjoy two of them. Continue working to make a living.

December: Begin the month with bowling in honor of Zac's birthday, and have visits from Robbie and Zac's mom. Relocation more of a possibility each day. Apply to several school districts.

So that was my year, and it was a pretty good one. Always an adventure, sometimes a disappointment, but always looking forward, and always moving on. If the rest of my years are similar to this one, I would not for an instant be able to complain. I'm looking forward to 2009.

Henry just knocked Sinclair off of my desk, while eating my plant. Fuck.

Going the distance

I like to go a long time between posting.

I just finished wrapping all of the gifts in the house, and packing up boxes to send off to Anna and Vici for their kids. The gym is calling me, as I've been trying to go more consistently, and then I'll head off to After School.

The alternate job search has not been going well. I had a first and second interview at Sylvan Learning Center, and an interview at Epic, but I've realized that I don't want the Sylvan job and I didn't get the Epic job. What I want to do is be a teacher. Which means moving.

I called the Maryland Department of Education today about the status of my application packet that I mailed in to them in September, and the guy confirmed that they received it then and when I asked how long it takes to hear back he said 16-18 weeks, in general. So I've got at least a month before I hear back, apparently.

I've talked with Zac about everything and this seems like the best option for now. I can make a lot more money out there and Zac's pretty certain that he'd be able to get a good job. It looks like TDS doesn't have offices out there now, looking at their website, but by next summer, who knows. Maybe there'll be some good opportunity that will come up.

The idea of moving is pretty exciting. It'll be hard to leave, but awesome to get to know a new place, and we'll be able to come back to visit.

My plan for now is to stay at After School unless something absolutely amazing that I really want to do comes along. I think some consistency will look better on my resume than anything else.

I can't believe it's already December. Robbie's coming to visit in 6 days, and Zac's mom will be here in just a few weeks. I have to do some mad cleaning before they come, but I'm looking forward to their visiting and having a clean house again.

Changes

We went out for karaoke for Gemma's birthday a few weekends ago. (I didn't sing. Not drunk enough, I guess.) A drunk old man got close enough for me to smell the hard liquor on his breath, and asked me, "Is this what you all are going to do with your lives?"

I don't think we're going to move out east in the next year or so anymore. Zac started a job at TDS a few days ago, and really likes it. I think it'll be great for him. I don't think it'd be fair to take him away from something that he's found that he really likes, and I'm not all that hung up on finding a job teaching anyway.

The change in plans equals a change in my work situation, though. After School was supposed to be a temporary job for me-- something to hold me over until we possibly moved out east, and I could find something more permanent. With the change of situation, I've started to look for something I can call a career here.

I feel guilty about leaving my kids, but know that it'll be better for me in the long run. One of my kids asked yesterday, when a risk management assessor showed up, "Is Dawn leaving?!" I told him no, and he said, "Good. We've had too many substitutes." Then another little girl said to me, as we were playing tetherball outside waiting for her mom to come, "You're the weirdest and coolest person I know!" God, my heart.

But I'm applying for jobs that I think would be good for me-- I had a phone interview with Epic, which provides software to health care groups, for a job as a trainer. I've also applied at a few other companies for training jobs. As soon as I got a few years of training under my belt, I'd be able to go almost anywhere to work as a trainer, and make a pretty decent salary.

So I'm excited, nervous, sad and happy about the change all at once. It sounds snarky of me, but I feel overqualified for After School, and feel like I could be doing something more challenging with a work schedule that I enjoy more, and that pays a whole heck of a lot more. I have to give 3 weeks notice to After School before I leave. My guess is that if I find something, I'd either be out of there in the middle of November or the beginning of December.

I could quit Captel, too, which would leave me with weekends and evenings free. Oh, the gloriousness of it all. I just want to settle into something long-lasting. Something that I can work on getting better at, something that I can use my skills at, and somewhere that I'll feel appreciated.

In other news, my goal is to get back into shape. I read once that it takes 10 weeks to get to the point of being "in shape", so for the next 10 weeks, I'm going to make a point of exercising much more, and eating a bit better. This Friday will be the end of week one. I already feel more energetic and hopeful. That could be the combination of everything involved in life, though. Looking for a new job, a good relationship, Zac's happiness with his new job... the future looks bright.

Me to a T

My Personality

Neuroticism	14
Extraversion	67
Openness to Experience	55
Agreeableness	82
Conscientiousness	95

You rarely get angry and it takes a lot to make you angry, however you feel strong cravings and urges that you have difficulty resisting. You tend to prefer short-term pleasures and rewards over long-term consequences. You enjoy some excitment and risk taking in your life. You tend not to express your emotions openly and are sometimes not even aware of your own feelings. You dislike confrontations and are perfectly willing to compromise or to deny your own needs in order to get along with others, however you feel superior to those around you and sometimes tend to be seen as arrogant by other people. You take your time when making decisions and will deliberate on all the possible consequences and alternatives.


Take a Personality Test now or view the full Personality Report.

I realize that
1) Not having a real job or at this moment any promising prospects of a real job is hard. I feel lucky to have a part time job to keep me from going insane.
2) Somewhere along the line, I forgot what to do with free time. I blame school, and myself.

I like
music
Zac
laughing