6 replies to this topic

[Don Quixote]

Now that the trade deadline has passed....

I've had a few things come up lately that have demanded a lot of my time - normal life stuff, I suppose. Most of it has to do with my never-ending job search. After giving up on geography just after New Year's 2011, my full focus has been on higher education as a career. A couple of weeks ago I thought I was getting good news when I found out I was eligible for financial aid, but last week I found out the higher education administration grad program I was admitted to costs over twice as much as I thought. The way the program was advertised was very misleading, and now I can't afford it.

So, the full focus is back on finding a job. Several potential opportunities have recently come up, and I'm waiting to see how those shake out; some of them would require going back to Kansas for the foreseeable future, while most others would take me closer to Richmond (which would start out just as commuting) or Baltimore. My wife is set to begin her practicum in the fall semester as she finishes her master's program (MLS), so if we don't move before then, both of our searches will be restricted for a little while. Before and after that, though, it's pretty wide open.

I'm just hoping to get a bright spot soon. The last three years have easily been the most tumultuous time of my life, and the past 18-19 months have been very, very dark. I don't bother people much with it if I can help it. My wife has been there for me, but there are times when even love can only do so much, those times when there is no security. So the next couple of weeks will say a lot about how the next few months or more will probably be. Like I said, hopefully I will get a stroke of luck, because that is the only way I will get anywhere.

In the meantime, I will pretty much just lurk, with perhaps an occasional post. I had hoped to help out a lot with the discussion of Redskins, Olympics, etc., but other stuff takes precedence. I'm enjoying some of the discussion going on around here, though - not a bad place at all. Best to you.

[JeremyStrain]

Sorry to hear that buddy. Keep your head up, I know it's really rough out there.

Have you considered doing Teach for America and teaching Social Studies? That's the one you basically earn your Masters while teaching, and they cover the bill. Drawback is you usually end up in crappy schools in the beginning.

[Chris B]

Disappointed we won't hear from you in the Olympics forum, because you've been doing a fantastic job with updates, but real life > forum life.

[Don Quixote]

Less than five seconds after I made the OP, the POS MacBook (Late 2009 - no soup for you!) I was on turned off and won't turn back on. Then about a half-hour ago I got a call saying my wife has an interview for a FT job in Edgewood. Please let this be the start of a change - the second item, anyway. Now, if UMBC would look at me for the job I applied for there, we might be in some real business.

AS - don't have certification, and I've spent enough time in schools as a pseudo-employee to learn some things that really turned me off. Trying to score a college job is better for me in the long run if it can be done.

CB - true, true.

Thanks, guys.

[SammyBirdland]

Break's over. Come on back now.

[Coker]

Best of luck with everything!

Looking forward to some of that 'Skins talk once the season really rolls around.

[Don Quixote]

Waiting on many job apps I have put out there, some before the OP and some after. Only thing I noticed was that a couple of jobs I applied for out west came off the website a couple of days after I sent my stuff in - not sure what that means but I would like for it to be good. I had applied for two other jobs at the same place and will be applying for a fifth very soon.

Wednesday we went for the interview in Harford County. It went okay, but we had scouted out the work site before the interview, and the site, location, pay, and move prospects just weren't the right combination for it to be worth it. We really weren't familiar with the area, being from downstate and never really having occasion in the past to be up there. After that we went on with the scenic tour, 40 over to 213 and down to 50, the outlets (which aren't what they used to be), then back home. Can anyone tell me WTF is so great about the Hatem Bridge that the toll is MF-ing $6.00? Highway robbery, indeed. Had a little time Thursday to make a few posts...was enthused by Machado's and Griffin's debuts. Meanwhile, the wife has many other apps going.

At this point, I sort of want to get one of the "western" jobs - the ones I have applied for are less demanding as far as experience requirements, though I fear I could be pricing myself out of the market. It's very hard to tell, even though I didn't ask for the world. If I got one of these jobs, I would be back in Lawrence, KS, though I wouldn't be working where I was before. I highly recommend downtown Lawrence to anyone who happens to be around the KC area for one reason or another. It's accessible from I-70 or U.S. 40 or 59, or Kansas 10. It's so hard for me to get a job, if I get one, I will probably just move out there myself with some clothes, computer, and such, and after my wife finishes her practicum here, get her and all our other stuff and finish the move.

Still daily questioning the value of my existence. Waiting for that to change.... In the meantime, I have been around on occasion, as promised.

The best to you each morning....