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lunadelcorvoWhere indeed? It's been a ride, I can say that much. I'll try to keep this short, but in as much as it's supposed to be a journal, I suppose I should at least fill in the gaps a bit, no?
And if you're new here (Hiya, if so!) consider this something of an introduction.
I'll divide this into 'categories,' for my own organizational sanity as much as anything.
Work and academia:
Last I was on here, I was teaching adjunct at uni, and had started teaching at a small, wonderful, private school. I earned a second Masters around then as well, for free, no less! Still, I leaned ever more into the private school, seeing these kids as quite literally the future. I knew even then they were special, though I would not realize just how exceptional until later... I spent almost a month in and out of the hospital (hell, almost a decade ago now!) and for that and several other reasons, decided to focus solely on teaching at the private school.
COVID hit and did its thing, however, and while our little school did an amazing job at teaching quality content online, when all the dust settled, the school lost a lot of enrollment. So, teachers had to be let go, and as one of the most recent, I was among them. Lest I paint too rosy a picture there were a few reasons I was almost relieved, but overall, I was heartbroken - I love those kids and the vision of that school, and miss it still; now more than ever!
I bounced about for a while, teaching reading at a local tutoring center; fascinating stuff, worthy work, and a nice new set of tools added to my skillset, but it wasn't really for me. Then I landed another job, that paid over twice what the last one had! I was over the moon! Well, for a minute, at least.
That job was at another very small private school, but it was an Islamic school. I loved those kids dearly, and think of them often, but...that was quite an experience. I'll say more about it in another post, but let's just say even I, with all my years of study in religion, fundamentalism, and the history of Islam was in no way prepared for the realities of such a setting. Before anyone chimes in that I am racist or prejudiced, or (as someone did once) mention that if I had no issues at a Catholic university but I did here then I must be the problem, let me simply say you have no idea. None. No, really, trust me. Again, more on that later. Suffice to say it was not a good match, and once again, I found myself scrambling through the summer for work.
I managed to do the nigh impossible, however, and by force of will (and considerable goodwill of other kind folks) I earned a Rank II teaching certification that allowed me to teach in the public school system, despite having never set foot in an education classroom (something I have come to regard as a distinct advantage!). So since last year, I have been teaching 7th grade history at an urban middle school. That, too, has been an adventure which has vastly outstripped anything I could have anticipated. However I have (finally!) job security, and by now fully three times the salary of either my years teaching adjunct or at the first private school. Believe me, I will be blogging about my experiences there, so if you're interested in an outsider's inside view of public education, stay tuned!
It hasn't all been easy sailing, though. Years of living hand to mouth and scraping meant I had a lot of debt, and with the investment it took to fast-track that certification on top of all that, I actually declared bankruptcy this last year. Best call I've ever made! I am still struggling to push through student loan forgiveness, though I have, as of now, worked for 14 years in non-profit education. With things going as they are, that may never come to pass, but I'm still going to try.
I still don't really have diddly in terms of savings, but I've finally been able to start setting at least a little aside. Again, things going as they are, well...I don't like to think too hard about that. So, it's one day at a time, one foot in from of the other.
Personal and love life:
So when last I was here, I was freshly divorced, and trying to 'date.' The less said about that the better, but suffice to say that I learned a whole lot about what narcissism looks like up close. I still tend to be a bit mortified when I think of how I got sucked in, but a few things remind me
to hold my head high. First, while one could say I was foolish not to see it sooner, I consider myself lucky--lucky because I had never had to deal with that sort of thing before, lucky that I missed the signs because I have never been in an abusive relationship like that. Secondly, I am proud to say that I never once believed or internalized the awful things hurled my way. Sure I excused them, but I never believed any of it. That might not make much sense unless you've dealt with someone like that, but it means a lot. And finally, I walked away, wiser, and more confident in who I am than ever, and more certain that my life with myself is so much better than having a man underfoot! And that is the end of what I will say of that.
Since then I have just been enjoying MY life MY way, and it's been awesome! There are moments I wish I had companionship, but my son still lives here (and is still an awesome young man, of whom I am very proud and very fond!). We are up to four cats, too! We realized Widget and Midnight, despite their scrapping, actually did sort of depend on each other, and that when one of them passes, it will be a blow. However, that's a bad time to introduce a new cat, so we decided to add a kitten now. Then we realized that putting one kitten in with those two chuckleheads was hardly fair, so we adopted a pair of foster sibs from a wonderful rescue. So now, in addition to Widget (the male tuxedo) and Midnight (black long-ish har diva), we now also have Aurora (sassy, dopey little tortie), and Jinx (black shorthair gremlin who is the chattiest cat I have ever met, and an absolute sweetheart).
I'm still doing art, studying medieval history when I can, and even still costuming on occasion. I'm also doing a lot of gaming, and have discovered a few new game passions, like Skyrim, the Horizon Zero Dawn series, and Destiny 2, one I play with not just the kiddo, but with several of his friends as well. (Yes, they know I'm his mom, and they have just accepted me as one of the team. It's lovely. Egad, I'm just realizing that I am going to need a whole new set of icons.....) Oh, and I built myself a gaming PC a bit over a year ago. She's a beast, and I love her, even as I growl and froth in rage at the travesty that is Windows.
Politically, I am as left as ever, if not much more so. I have grown so much in my own awareness of my own and my culture's ingrained biases, and while I know I will always work under my own privilege, I feel confident enough to be an advocate and ally as best I can. I'm still a godless heathen, ardently critical of capitalism, nationalism, and the ills of looming theocracy. (Actually, I'm trying to get a website going with all of the background info I have about American Theocracy; more on that later, but if anyone is interested in participating, look for info here soon.)
And that, my friends, is what the last decade of my life has been about, more or less. I am sure I am forgetting all kinds of important things, which will likely pop up here eventually. Meanwhile, feel free to ask anything you like!
And if you're new here (Hiya, if so!) consider this something of an introduction.
I'll divide this into 'categories,' for my own organizational sanity as much as anything.
Work and academia:
Last I was on here, I was teaching adjunct at uni, and had started teaching at a small, wonderful, private school. I earned a second Masters around then as well, for free, no less! Still, I leaned ever more into the private school, seeing these kids as quite literally the future. I knew even then they were special, though I would not realize just how exceptional until later... I spent almost a month in and out of the hospital (hell, almost a decade ago now!) and for that and several other reasons, decided to focus solely on teaching at the private school.
COVID hit and did its thing, however, and while our little school did an amazing job at teaching quality content online, when all the dust settled, the school lost a lot of enrollment. So, teachers had to be let go, and as one of the most recent, I was among them. Lest I paint too rosy a picture there were a few reasons I was almost relieved, but overall, I was heartbroken - I love those kids and the vision of that school, and miss it still; now more than ever!
I bounced about for a while, teaching reading at a local tutoring center; fascinating stuff, worthy work, and a nice new set of tools added to my skillset, but it wasn't really for me. Then I landed another job, that paid over twice what the last one had! I was over the moon! Well, for a minute, at least.
That job was at another very small private school, but it was an Islamic school. I loved those kids dearly, and think of them often, but...that was quite an experience. I'll say more about it in another post, but let's just say even I, with all my years of study in religion, fundamentalism, and the history of Islam was in no way prepared for the realities of such a setting. Before anyone chimes in that I am racist or prejudiced, or (as someone did once) mention that if I had no issues at a Catholic university but I did here then I must be the problem, let me simply say you have no idea. None. No, really, trust me. Again, more on that later. Suffice to say it was not a good match, and once again, I found myself scrambling through the summer for work.
I managed to do the nigh impossible, however, and by force of will (and considerable goodwill of other kind folks) I earned a Rank II teaching certification that allowed me to teach in the public school system, despite having never set foot in an education classroom (something I have come to regard as a distinct advantage!). So since last year, I have been teaching 7th grade history at an urban middle school. That, too, has been an adventure which has vastly outstripped anything I could have anticipated. However I have (finally!) job security, and by now fully three times the salary of either my years teaching adjunct or at the first private school. Believe me, I will be blogging about my experiences there, so if you're interested in an outsider's inside view of public education, stay tuned!
It hasn't all been easy sailing, though. Years of living hand to mouth and scraping meant I had a lot of debt, and with the investment it took to fast-track that certification on top of all that, I actually declared bankruptcy this last year. Best call I've ever made! I am still struggling to push through student loan forgiveness, though I have, as of now, worked for 14 years in non-profit education. With things going as they are, that may never come to pass, but I'm still going to try.
I still don't really have diddly in terms of savings, but I've finally been able to start setting at least a little aside. Again, things going as they are, well...I don't like to think too hard about that. So, it's one day at a time, one foot in from of the other.
Personal and love life:
So when last I was here, I was freshly divorced, and trying to 'date.' The less said about that the better, but suffice to say that I learned a whole lot about what narcissism looks like up close. I still tend to be a bit mortified when I think of how I got sucked in, but a few things remind me
to hold my head high. First, while one could say I was foolish not to see it sooner, I consider myself lucky--lucky because I had never had to deal with that sort of thing before, lucky that I missed the signs because I have never been in an abusive relationship like that. Secondly, I am proud to say that I never once believed or internalized the awful things hurled my way. Sure I excused them, but I never believed any of it. That might not make much sense unless you've dealt with someone like that, but it means a lot. And finally, I walked away, wiser, and more confident in who I am than ever, and more certain that my life with myself is so much better than having a man underfoot! And that is the end of what I will say of that.
Since then I have just been enjoying MY life MY way, and it's been awesome! There are moments I wish I had companionship, but my son still lives here (and is still an awesome young man, of whom I am very proud and very fond!). We are up to four cats, too! We realized Widget and Midnight, despite their scrapping, actually did sort of depend on each other, and that when one of them passes, it will be a blow. However, that's a bad time to introduce a new cat, so we decided to add a kitten now. Then we realized that putting one kitten in with those two chuckleheads was hardly fair, so we adopted a pair of foster sibs from a wonderful rescue. So now, in addition to Widget (the male tuxedo) and Midnight (black long-ish har diva), we now also have Aurora (sassy, dopey little tortie), and Jinx (black shorthair gremlin who is the chattiest cat I have ever met, and an absolute sweetheart).
I'm still doing art, studying medieval history when I can, and even still costuming on occasion. I'm also doing a lot of gaming, and have discovered a few new game passions, like Skyrim, the Horizon Zero Dawn series, and Destiny 2, one I play with not just the kiddo, but with several of his friends as well. (Yes, they know I'm his mom, and they have just accepted me as one of the team. It's lovely. Egad, I'm just realizing that I am going to need a whole new set of icons.....) Oh, and I built myself a gaming PC a bit over a year ago. She's a beast, and I love her, even as I growl and froth in rage at the travesty that is Windows.
Politically, I am as left as ever, if not much more so. I have grown so much in my own awareness of my own and my culture's ingrained biases, and while I know I will always work under my own privilege, I feel confident enough to be an advocate and ally as best I can. I'm still a godless heathen, ardently critical of capitalism, nationalism, and the ills of looming theocracy. (Actually, I'm trying to get a website going with all of the background info I have about American Theocracy; more on that later, but if anyone is interested in participating, look for info here soon.)
And that, my friends, is what the last decade of my life has been about, more or less. I am sure I am forgetting all kinds of important things, which will likely pop up here eventually. Meanwhile, feel free to ask anything you like!
no subject
Date: January 3rd, 2025 06:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: January 3rd, 2025 01:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: January 3rd, 2025 05:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: January 6th, 2025 08:38 pm (UTC)Those who have never had to move around teaching at different places don't know what an adventure it could be. Sorry that you had a tough time at the Islamic school. Good luck in the public school!
Sorry you had a bad relationship, but I'm glad you got out.
Gods what a mess we are in politically right now. It's going to be a very interesting next four years.
no subject
Date: January 7th, 2025 03:56 pm (UTC)Politically...yeah. I am not at all certain this will be a four-year thing. I hope we can just vote it all away, and emerge, democracy intact, but lessons learned. Then again, I hoped that in 2016, too.
no subject
Date: January 7th, 2025 08:02 pm (UTC)Nice to have you back! I've missed you tons! My last year I've barely written at all, but I'm still around. I'm looking forward to seeing more from you and hope to have more to offer once the shock wears off.
no subject
Date: January 9th, 2025 06:50 am (UTC)Is it weird that I miss being in school? Not only is this job stressful, I feel like the academic part of my brain is starting to leak out my ears. It was nice the first few times my colleagues commented that I know way more about the subject than they do. Now I'm just starving for a cogent conversation about...anything beyond a middle school level!
I tried to get some of the other faculty to get together and read Dante or Sartre or something, and they looked at me like I'd sprouted another head.
no subject
Date: January 9th, 2025 08:00 pm (UTC)