New Year's Eve 2013 into 2014

This has become a bit of a tradition, to fill out a survey of sorts that reflects on the previous year. For this year, something slightly different, but still just as good.

TEN of this year’s movies you liked
These can be movies that weren’t necessarily released this year, but movies that you discovered and saw for the first time this year and fell in love with. 
1. Silver Linings Playbook 
2. American Hustle 
3. Hunger Games: Catching Fire
4. Thor (more so the second one than the first though) 
5. The Hangover Part 3 (yeah, not that great, but good to see the whole series go full circle and what not) 
6. Pitch Perfect
7. The Help (the movie was so much better than the book in this case) 
8. Psycho (yup, finally saw the original…holy crap!) 
9. The Fighter (finally saw this one too three years after it came out, and the more I think about it, the more it grows on me) 
10. The Avengers 

NINE things you are thankful for this year 
Things, people, places, anything that you’re thankful for, list them. And if you want to say why, go right ahead. 

1. My mom: She's become so much more than just a mother to me as I've gotten older. We've always had that good bond where we're friends as well as mother-daughter, but when something goes wrong, she's the one that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I can go to for help, reassurance, or just a hug.

2. My Friends: They may come and go, they may drop out for a bit and then return, or they may be there every single day, but the true ones are great and I couldn't ask for a better bunch of them.

3. My Dog: Yes, he's my best friend. Taurus cracks me up every day, he's a great listener, and he's the best snuggling buddy a girl could ask for.

4. My Grandma: She drives me crazy sometimes, but she's more like a sister to me than an actual grandma. (This includes all of the sister fighting that occurs with siblings over stupid stuff too.)

5. My Books: They are like a second home to me. (Well, 2nd all the way through 2000th home if you really want to get technical since they all take you to different places.)

6. My Career: Teaching is not only what I do, but it's who I am. I'm thankful that I was able to find a job again this school year (though it will be done at the end of January sadly) so that I could continue to do what I love. 

7. My Job: Starting to work at UNYTS in February was a blessing, not only because it gives me time to read (yay!) but it also makes me feel good that it's such a wonderful organization to work for that is making such a difference (Donate Life!)

8. My Fitness Pal: I've made some amazing friends on there (Agent 13!) who are there to call me out when I eat what I shouldn't or if I say that I'm going to go to the gym and don't. This past year, I balanced out at having lost 12 pounds, which isn't a lot, but that's a pound a month, and it's better than having gone up that much. MFP has helped immensely with that!

9. Gluten Free Products: There are many, and it would be silly to thank them all, but I'm thankful for all of them. It makes living this way much more tolerable.

EIGHT things you learned this year 
Can be anything from a simple, interesting fact to a gigantic life lesson. 
1. Rudolph's red nose is caused by a parasite. (Yes, I'm the queen of useless science facts!)

2. We may be living inside of a black hole and not even realize it. Like what if the whole universe was inside of a black hole, and another universe was studying that black hole trying to find out what it was and everything. (Thank you Penn State!)

3. I can hike. I may hurt myself and end up with bruises and bone contusions that you can still see on my legs, but dammit, I can hike!

4. Barnes and Noble is my personal heaven.

5. I finally gave in to Twitter and hate it. Then I started up a Tumblr and am hopelessly addicted.

6. I am really good at cooking when I put my mind to it. Give me a recipe once, and I'll make it my own, and it will be delicious!

7. There's always a silver lining. You might not know what it is right away, but just wait for the clouds to clear and you'll see it.

8. Being honest with yourself is even more important than being honest to those around you.

SEVEN best memories/moments 
Things that, no matter whenever they happened this year, you could never forget. Not this year. Not ever. These are the moments that mattered. 
1. Penn State Black Hole Conference 
2. Fossil Giveaway in Ithaca at the Paleontological Institute 
3. Hunger Games Day at Science Camp (nothing could have gone better that day, it was a dream!)
4. The phone call from the principal at a school that I interviewed at this summer. I didn't get the job, but her phone call made that okay and was the push I needed to stick with this. 
5. Being called "Elmo" by one of my students…because "everyone likes Elmo, and everyone likes you too." 
6. Hiking along a stream/creek outside of Albany carrying a giant boulder that had a ton of garnets in it (so that I could give it to my mom since garnet is her birthstone and I was so proud that I found it) and just appreciating how beautiful and peaceful it was and that I was able to do it, especially after how "wonderful" my knee was at the start of the year. 
7. Gluten Free Expo in Toronto with Mom

SIX accomplishments 
Everyone has at least six accomplishments. They don’t have to be big accomplishments. Just what you think are accomplishments, don’t be shy about it. 
1. I lost 12 pounds. 
2. I got my knee back in working order.
3. I got accepted to participate in a Penn State Astrophysics Conference/Workshop, which about 200 people apply for each year, and only 20 are accepted.
4. All of my ESL students passed their Regents Biology exam that I prepped with for months.
5. I survived another summer of science camp, while interviewing for what seemed like a million teaching jobs, taking two geology courses (4.0 GPA still!), and working at UNYTS part time.
6. I am getting better, and that’s probably my biggest accomplishment this year.

FIVE things you regret 
Everyone has regrets. Here’s your chance to admit to them and hopefully vow not to repeat them in the next year. 
1. Allowing myself to be fooled by some people, including myself.
2. Not telling people what’s on my mind when I needed to.
3. Slacking off with taking the Earth Science CST, so now it will be a bit harder.
4. Thoughts of giving up and feeling trapped. While I don't really regret them, because they would have happened anyway, I regret letting them take over my life for so long. 
5. Not following my budget as well as I should have the past couple months, so now I'm starting to go into panic mode.

FOUR favorites this year 
Pick any four favorites you want. Food you discovered. Book you read. Movie you watched. TV show you started watching. Video game you played. Class you took. Vacation you went on. Song you heard. Highlighter brand. Anything you feel like should be a favorite, include it. 
1. Movie: Silver Linings Playbook
2. Book: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock 
3. Book Series: The Mortal Instruments 
4. Food I Discovered: Bone Marrow outside of Albany…OMG absolutely amazing, so much so that it should be a sin!

THREE plans for next year 
Everyone’s got plans for the next year. These three should be your most important plans…the ones that mean the most to you. 
1. Finish up my Earth Science teaching certification and get my professional teaching certification finished up (everything is done for it, I just need to get everything in order and submit for it)
2. More professional development/conferences/workshops this summer (which will definitely include another NYS Geology workshop…this year's is in the Finger Lakes)
3. Enjoy life to the fullest, and find a way to separate the little things that shouldn't matter from the big things that always will matter.

TWO major changes in life 
Has anything this year changed your life? To better? To worse? What has made you restructure your life? What made you improve? What opened your eyes? 
1. I found out that I definitely need to exercise every day, because even one day of being lazy will cause me to barely be able to move thanks to my knees. Just those 15 minutes every morning of knee exercises before getting ready make a huge difference, and I need to do them.
2. I've come to the conclusion that I am the one. Seriously…I've been in a couple short lived relationships this year, and they all fizzled. But I'm the one who has to deal with myself 24/7, and so long as I love myself, I'm happy and content.

ONE resolution for this coming year 
This is your resolution. The most important thing you need to do. 
2014 is going to be happier and healthier than the rest. That is all.

Most importantly, I know not many people read this, but I would like to wish you all a very happy new year. Cheers to 2014 being amazing and better than the past!

"the list"

It's been a really long time since I've posted an entry on here. Gone are the days of Kiwibox where I posted every day and freaked out if there was no entry. I figured out tiny little things to put up on there, even if it was just a few words. I miss that...but there's just not enough time in a day anymore.

The list came out for cuts for the upcoming school year. NYS is going through a major budget crisis, and our "lovely" governor has decided "hey...let's take money away from kids and give it to rich people instead!" Great idea, huh? So even the district I'm teaching in now, which has been known as one of the "safer" districts to be employed by, is going through massive cuts. Needless to say though, by the grace of God, I'm somehow safe. I seriously think Bob, my department chair, and the principal pulled every bit of weight they had to keep me. Bob's going to be teaching IB classes in 2012-2013, and he'll need someone to teach the AP biology classes...my Masters Degree in Gifted Education definitely helps for that. Plus, Joe is going to be retiring around then too, and they know that I'm interested in continuing the Anatomy and Physiology classes if given the opportunity. So yeah...I'm safe with a job for next year. Whew! I really do love it there...feel like I've gone full circle to be back teaching in the school I went to. I hope, like the principal said, this is the place I'll stay at.

is it really so hard to believe?

Yesterday I went to dinner with a large group of friends. No really, I mean large...as in took up an entire side of Applebees large. We ranged in ages from 10 through 60. This occurs every Monday night, but I'm rather picky about when I'll go. Okay, to be realistic, I've had class every Monday evening for ages, so that definitely hinders things, not to mention the lack of an official gluten free menu there. I'm terrified of those kind of things still, because who wants to be sick for Thanksgiving? Not me. But anyway...

When I got up to leave at 8:15pm to make the twenty minute trek back home to my poor little dog who twisted his foot, one of the older guys asked why I was leaving so early. I said that I have school in the morning, to which he asked "what time is school?" I answered that I had to be there at 7am, and he was appalled, wondering what college course starts that early. When I told him that it's not me going to school, that I'm educating the future of tomorrow, he didn't believe me. Now, I've known him for a few years now...I've been going for this whole teaching thing since 2007...don't believe me? I had to explain to him how I teach 10th grade Living Environment to a bunch of kids that I love (though who love to give me a constant run for my money.) He still didn't believe me for a while...

Am I really not the "teacher-type?" Is there one?

Sure, if you would have told me five years ago that I was going to be a teacher, I'd have laughed in your face telling you that it couldn't be true. I had it stuck in my mind that it would be doctor or bust, no matter how foolish it seemed. And foolish it was...because now that I'm teaching, you couldn't pay me to do anything else. It's fun! I absolutely love it, even on the days that I want to come home crying. Seriously! Sure, a ton of work, definitely not a 9am-5pm job, frustrating at times, time-consuming grading and lesson planning and calling students' homes (for good and bad.) But when you're up at the front of a classroom, watching students who aren't seeming to get it all of a sudden reach the corner, and when they turn around that corner, everything comes into the light for them and "oooooo, I get it now" takes over...it's awesome. When the students confide in you, trusting you enough to share their problems and joys with, asking you for advice for their own futures...that's fabulous too. It's a completely satisfying and exhilarating yet frustrating and maddening job all at the same time with little respect. But when you think back on your life, you can describe the good ones no matter how long ago you went to school. Can you do that with the top football or hockey player from twenty years ago? Or what about the most influential business people? Nope...but teachers you can.

There's a poem...pretty much sums it up...

rhino poop

Don't ever tell me that you can't use the phrase "rhino poop" in an interview and not get the job.

So during science camp, Liz and Veronica noticed a posting for a Living Environment teacher at KE, which is where I went to high school. I figured that I'd never get it, because the science chair had told me that they wouldn't hire anyone without a dual science certification, and to date I only have one, but I applied anyway. What was there to lose, you know?

They called me for an interview. I went and the panel was fabulous. My old biology teacher and a few others, and we laughed and talked and I answered questions for half an hour. Yes, I even included the phrase "rhino poop" in one of my answers. The next day I got a phone call that I was in the top two for an interview with the superintendent, which would be the following day.

I went for that yesterday morning, and he asked me the basic questions. Told me that I'll want to get a second science certification if I want to stay on board at the school (I'm 3-4 classes away from a chemistry one, so we're going to go for that once I finish my masters in December.) And then he told me to hold on a minute, and comes back with the teacher contract, opening up to the salary step scale. He started going through with me what the pay would be, and what they'll up it to when I finish my masters in December, and what taking extra classes and all would raise my pay to. And all this time I'm thinking "they don't usually do this at an interview...this is weird...what's happening here...I'm confused." Finally he asked "so, what do you say?" I was like "is he offering me the job? Is this it?!" I responded as best I could "I'm in if you're in," and he welcomed me back to the district. I was in shock, but wanted to start doing a little happy dance right away, but I had to fill out all the paperwork, and wow, there was a lot.

Called the school when I got home, and when the secretary for the principal answered, she asked "so tell me Marie, are you our teacher?" I said yes and she started screaming into the phone...awesome. I went in that afternoon to meet with the principal who went over my schedule and all with me. Four classes...three co-taught with a special education teacher (who's new to the district too, so that's kinda nice) and one general education...Regents Living Environment. Then a rotating lab (they go on a six day schedule, so there are some periods on some days where I have a lab and the others are free.) And one day a week for science AIS (academic intervention services...basically helping out and tutoring anyone who is having trouble with science in general.) He showed me my room, which is where I took biology when I was there.

He told me that after he escorted me out of the first interview, he got detained in the main office for about 10-15 minutes to handle something, leaving the rest of the panel on their own. When he came back in, everyone asked him when I could start. It was unanimous, which I can't believe but was so excited to hear. He told me that he liked how genuine I was in my answers, that they didn't sound rehearsed or like "what does the panel want to hear me say," and that he thinks I can sell anything. The school got red-flagged by the state for their special education student test scores, and he thinks that I would definitely be the one to bring up their scores. Lofty ambitions and goals, but he said that so long as he can see an improvement from the beginning of the year to the end in them, he'll be happy with me. Plus, he wants me to start a club focused on organ and blood donation, to which there's a nice stipend at the end for having one meeting a month and promoting the cause.

The principal is newer...it's his second year there. There was a huge scandal at the school a few years ago where the previous principal stole from the prom funds (literally stealing from the students) that killed morale not only for the students but for the staff as well. This principal is trying to rebuild the school, bringing in new people that he thinks will be able to help motivate the students and build back up the school spirit from the ground up. He seems like a really great and genuine guy, someone who supports his staff and wants the best for the kids, strict but easy to talk to. I could definitely see myself working for and with this guy to make things better for the school and students.

It's crazy though...it doesn't seem real yet. Everything has happened so fast, and it will go by even faster now as the actual start of the school year approaches for the students. I'll have my own room...not one that I'll have to give back to the original teacher halfway through the year. I've been working so hard for this, waiting so long for this, and now it's finally here...and I can't believe it!

Good news...I told myself that once I got my first full-time, full-year position that two things would happen.

1. Switch to per diem at the hospital. This means that I'll have my weekends again to myself...not having to work them unless I pick them up. I need to pick up two shifts a month and work one holiday a year. Just don't want to completely leave, just in case...

2. Buy a Keurig coffee maker. I bought it yesterday, used it this morning, and mmmmm. Heaven.

Now all I need to do is figure out what to bring to the classroom and what to keep at home. As of now, it is a complete blank slate with the exception of a few models of plants and cells, and I think perhaps a skeleton poster.

Yay!