Interview #1

Since people have just been begging me for an update, here goes...

Last Friday (as in June 24th) I was a little stressed out that I hadn’t had anyone contact me asking for an interview. Being the procrastinator that I am, I spent the morning creating separate charts for each school that had received a resume from me. Each chart has information like district demographics, proximity to Boston, necessary contacts, and “next steps”. The project took about 2 hours and 4 sheets of paper.

I made a passing comment to a co-worker (individual who has also been referred to as my “mentor”) that I was reluctant to apply for one job in particular because I wasn’t sure if I would actually want to work there. She pointed out that I was thinking too far head, concluding with, “You are no one”. Good point, friend. Anyhow, that was a kick in the arse and I decided to be more proactive. After several emails and phone calls, I had set up an interview with a school district outside of Boston for the following Monday at 10:00 a.m. Perfect, I thought, I can drive to Boston tomorrow (as in Saturday), stay with a friend for a few nights, drive back after my interview on Monday and get home around dinner time. Well after participating in a work-related trip to the National Zoo, walking around in the hot sun looking into empty cages for 4 hours and then getting stuck in traffic in D.C. on the way home, I didn’t have the energy to drive 8 hours north. Instead, I got an early start on Sunday and arrived in Boston (Brighton actually) on Sunday afternoon. After a good night’s sleep I headed out. If you recall, I had a mini-interview with the principal during the April job fair in Boston that I thought went really well. My interview was with another member of the school community who was originally from Berkshire County. Initially I thought the interview went really well but have since started second guessing myself with “I-should-have-said-that”s and “I-should-have-mentioned-this”s. After the interview she said, “Well, I know you would never consider a job offer unless you had seen the school first so I’ll meet you over there and give you a tour”. Wonderful, after making about 8 wrong turns, stopping to ask for directions once, and taking 15 minutes to drive 2.5 miles, I arrived at the school. It is a beautiful building located on a hill. Less than 5 years old, the school has a huge library/media center and auditorium. I spoke to the principal again, met the assistant principal and briefly met other members of the school staff. After leaving, I assured my interviewer that I was very interested in the position despite all of the other school districts I have interviews with (ahem), saying that, “Randolph is definitely my top choice at this point”. She said that she would take it into consideration and call me within a few weeks. Basically, I love this school and really want to become their 7th grade Ancient Civilization Social Studies teacher. Please keep your fingers crossed/say some prayers/hang a horse shoe/pick up a penny heads up or do whatever else you can to contribute to my fortune in this arena.

Oh right, it also took me 11 hours to drive to Virginia from Boston on Monday because I hit New York City at 4:00 p.m. (genius). I had timed it so that I would hit NYC at 3 p.m. but had to stop several times and missed my ETA by about an hour. I came to a standstill about 4 exits away from the George Washington Bridge. My speedometer didn’t go over 0 mph for quite some time and it took me almost 4 hours to drive 10 miles. Sweet.

Blueberry

So Friday I am driving home with my '95 Mercury Sable with 120K. The trusty vehicle has been in 1 major accident and has suffered an incident involving a large boulder that resulted in a lot of glass. I notice that the brakes are a little shakey but no worries, Big Dave has made an appointment to get the car checked out Friday afternoon. Turns out the front brakes are shot and it is going to cost close to a grand to get them fixed. Needless to say, I don't have a cool $1000. I ask the mechanic if the car could get me back down to Virginia as is. He says, "Get back down? You mean you drove this car up? You're braking on metal miss and these brakes are only going to last another couple of miles. I mean I don't want so scare you or anything." Right.

Because I will need a new car in about a month or so and instead of spending a few hundred dollars on plane tickets for my various trips home, my Dad and I starting shopping around. Jettas, Hondas, Jeeps, OH MY. After about 5 solid hours on Friday, another 6 on Saturday, and a wicked sunburn, I sign on the dotted line. (Or about 5 dotted lines with casually scrawled exes to the left.)

I am now the proud owner of a brand spankin' new 2005 Honda Civic with 29 miles on it. Dark blue, I have christened the vehicle "Blueberry". I am about to break in the rookie car in true Alyssa fashion- with an 8 hour, 420 mile RO-ad trip.

Absolutely. Fabulous.

This purchase does, however, give the whole job search concept an added urgency. I'll keep you posted.

Lovely. 

I Heart Pedestrians

With the last post I was simply trying to supply my readers with some important (I thought) background information. An avid follower (who shall go unnamed) of The First 180 claimed that it "wasn't funny". Right. It's all fun and games until Alyssa writes a boring post.

Anyhow, I have to share something with you. On my way into work today, as I was expertly maneuvering our company car (a Toyota Corolla that sits about 1.25 feet off the ground) through wretched D.C. traffic, I had a less than friendly encounter with a pedestrian. I was the last car in the queue to make it through a yellow-turned-red light. Just as I was squeezing Adam (the car) onto the block so as to not cover the crossing walk, a woman, dressed in heels and a navy blue skirt suit, literally sprang in front of my car. She then had the audacity to turn to me, lift her umbrella and shake her head at me with a disgruntled you-could-have-hit-me look on her face.

Now I know, pedestrians have the right away. I also know what it is like to be walking around in D.C. when the rain is coming down, up, and sideways. Usually, I try my best to give pedestrians, like this pleasant peach, a break because they are outside getting soaked and struggling with inside-out umbrellas while I am in my nice warm car listening to D.C. 101. BUT the nerve of her to look at me so accusingly. Like it is so absurd to think that I didn't see her given the 15-passenger van that she was walking out from in front of. Or the fact that it was pouring rain and the Corolla's wind shield wipers only have two settings, really fast and wicked fast. Did she not notice the 3 people waiting on the other side of the street or the 2 people behind her waiting until I had at least come to a rolling stop? Whatever, I am sure that she is a very, very important person with very important things to do.

In other news, today is a FABULOUS day. The Red Sox beat the O's (#1 team in the AL East) when our beloved Papi hit a 3-run walk off homer. To quote the big man, "I don't think about the next guy. I always think about 'OK, I got to get the job done.' I believe in myself; I believe I can do it. That's all I put in my mind." Wow- if that doesn't inspire you on this rainy day, I'm not sure if anything could.

Also, the Yankees lost.