I feel somewhat in limbo right now, because I am done with school, but I don't know yet what's going to happen. I also am not yet done with my portfolio for my class (I will be soon), so there is that to work on. I finally got my stuff in my room at school all cleaned up, so I could "check out" for the summer.
The end of school was pretty weird for me this year, because I am not really sure if I will be back next year. I felt like there were some kids that I would have wanted to say a more emotional goodbye to, if I knew that I was leaving. I did tell all of them that I liked having them in my class, etc., but there are certain students that just made my life better, you know? I did give my freshmen a speech about how everyone always says freshmen are difficult and I was really nervous about teaching them for the first time, but that they had been wonderful all year and I was so glad I got to teach them. They seemed really pleased with themselves, and many said they hoped they had me next year as sophomores. If I am here I am really looking forward to having them the most. Sophomores are probably my favorite group, I've decided.
The Justin concert was the best thing ever. I wish we were a little bit closer, but we were close enough that it wasn't bad. The best part was his dancing. He was sooooooooooo good. He also looked totally adorable and sounded great. The only thing I was sad about was during "Cry Me a River" he didn't do the "Oh!" part, which is one of my favorite parts. I can't think of a better person to go with than Elizabeth because she makes everything fun, and she also loves Justin as much as I do. I totally recommend going to his concert if you get the chance, just make sure you are close enough to the stage. He sang all of his big songs, as well as some of the N'Sync songs. Christina was actually pretty good herself. Whatever you want to say about her, she can sing. I didn't think she lived up to her new diiiiirty goal; she was pretty tame if you ask me. I got a copy of her CD and it is a lot better than her last CD. Also, supposedly she is now fat, but the only thing fat about her is that she has a tiny pooch of a tummy. I think it looks cute. My favorite song was "Impossible" which she does with Alicia Keys on the CD. The only disappointment was the opening act, Black Eyed Peas. I had heard some of their music a while back and I thought they would be pretty good, but I just wasn't really feeling it.
A few of my students made me the funniest/cutest Justin Timberlake card to say goodbye. I thought that was the sweetest thing ever. I didn't tell a lot of them that I was going to the concert because you know how teenagers are--some of them are "above" Justin. But those that I did tell were really excited for me, and a ton of them came in on the last day of school to see how the concert was. I love my students so much.
My house is a disaster area, so I told myself I could spend one hour on the Internet and then I have to work on cleaning, my portfolio, and getting myself organized.
My mom is back in town, so I was able to go visit her this past weekend. I am so jealous because she is living in Northwest Portland in an area right near downtown and near NW 23rd. Her apartment is tiny, but it would be so cool living near so much fun stuff. I hope and pray that I get to move back to Portland, too.
We saw Bend it Like Beckham which I thought was a really cute movie. There have been mixed reviews for it, but I thought it was good. It was totally predictable, but I loved it anyway. We were between that and Raising Victor Vargas but I was a little nervous about seeing that because it sounded like there would be sex scenes in it. Here I am 25 years old and I am still embarrassed to see movies with sex scenes with my mom! I really want to see that movie, though. I love actually being able to see a more independent film, because out here they never have them at the theater.
I have a few interviews coming up (finally!) and I am really nervous about it. If anyone has any tips for me (Epiphany?) about how to look good in an interview, please let me know. I won't have to do a sample lesson in any of them luckily. I just hope that I get one of the jobs. I really don't care at this point, I would take any of them. If I can be my boombastic self, any school would want to hire me, right?
For one of the schooles I had to take this weird personality phone survey that totally freaked me out. Some of the questions were really easy, but then there were ones that I thought were difficult. I just tried to be really honest on all of them, but they were the kind of questions where I wanted to say, "Disagree, but....blah blah blah." Instead I just had to put 1-5 whether I agree or disagree. The good thing about teaching interviews is that they let you know really quickly whether or not you got the job, so I will know very soon whether I will be here next year or not.
We had the end of the year staff party. It went okay, but it didn't last as long as it usually did. I think this has been a tough year for everyone. We have lost some teachers due to budget cuts and everyone is just sort of overwhelmed and sad about what has happened to Oregon's school system. We used to be considered one of the best places for schools and now there is national attention about how awful things will be. Not to mention that Oregon has the highest unemployment rate in the nation.
I got a new dress and shoes for Jasmine's wedding. It is so cute! It is white with black flowers on it, and it is sort of a fifties looking dress. I wore it to Justin's graduation, too, and his family said it was really cute. I can't wait to wear it again. I never look good in dresses, so this was really something. I also got four new t-shirts that are really cute. I probably shouldn't have spent the money, but I didn't spend ANY of my tax return, or any of my refund for the classes I paid for. I still have plenty of money in my savings account if I need to move.
