Hi Mr. Blog,
I'm having some serious anxiety
about leaving to work on the cruise ship tomorrow.
My latest worry is that the ship will sink.
When I told my hairdresser that yesterday she said,
"Why would you think that?"
To which I replied,
"Ever heard of the Titanic?"
She just laughed.
She has the nicest laugh of anyone I ever met
and said, "What would you being doing if you don't go?"
I told her fairly honestly that I would be moping
around the house in my pajamas all day
trying to figure out what my defect is
that I can't get hired as a full time teacher.
She told me that if that is the case,
I have to go.
So I'm going.
It is harder this time because after
being away from home sixty days last spring,
I really began to miss my husband and kids
and now I like them again.
Not enough to stay home
and freeze to death and
mope around depressed.
I'm not much of a wife and mother
when I'm jobless and depressed.
I'm mean and cranky and no good to anyone.
So, off I go!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
9/22/2011 The Tacoma Washington Teacher's Strike
Hi Mr. Blog,
Thank God you are here.
So dependable.
I've reapplied to work on a cruise ship for
November and December down in the Caribbean.
I'll work ten hours a day, seven days a week
for $5.00 an hour.
The youth staff on cruise ships do a bit more recreation
than education and it is very fun.
Because I love to teach and want to use my UW degree.
Yes, I could make more at McDonalds.
But my passion is teaching.
Don't the Tacoma teachers know that for
every teaching job in Washington State
there are 300 applicants?
When the economy went bust,
thousands of people from private industry
came over to look for more secure jobs
and flooded the market.
I can't cross a picket line
but I looked at the school district website
out of curiosity and they had so many applicants
the whole system had crashed. Okay, I'm done ranting.
Thank God you are here.
So dependable.
I've reapplied to work on a cruise ship for
November and December down in the Caribbean.
I'll work ten hours a day, seven days a week
for $5.00 an hour.
The youth staff on cruise ships do a bit more recreation
than education and it is very fun.
Because I love to teach and want to use my UW degree.
Yes, I could make more at McDonalds.
But my passion is teaching.
Don't the Tacoma teachers know that for
every teaching job in Washington State
there are 300 applicants?
When the economy went bust,
thousands of people from private industry
came over to look for more secure jobs
and flooded the market.
I can't cross a picket line
but I looked at the school district website
out of curiosity and they had so many applicants
the whole system had crashed. Okay, I'm done ranting.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
9/20/2011 The Suicide of Tom Marsten
Oh God Mr. Blog,
I've just about had it.
Jobless depression drags on,
intensified by finding out about
my friend Tom Marsten's suicide.
I was out working on the cruise ship
when it happened and only found out last week.
He was jobless, broke
and couldn't cope.
Having a teenager made it harder
for him and he met his limit.
I have been severely depressed since I found out.
I liked Tom Marsten.
He tried really hard to be a good dad to Alex.
Alex started scouting with me when he was six
and Tom did the best he could to get him to meetings
and sign him up for camp.
Tom was a quiet man.
Friendly and unassuming.
I liked seeing him around town.
At the grocery store.
At Rite Aid.
The last time I saw him was at Safeway last winter.
I gave him a hug and greeted Alex.
Alex had died his beautiful blond hair black
and Tom asked what I thought of it.
I told him Alex was a fine young man
and was growing up.
Tom rolled his eyes and we laughed together
standing in front of that little movie rack
across from the tiny Starbucks stand.
I just want to say
that I liked Tom.
That I will miss seeing him around town.
That I am sorry we won't get to grow old together.
I've just about had it.
Jobless depression drags on,
intensified by finding out about
my friend Tom Marsten's suicide.
I was out working on the cruise ship
when it happened and only found out last week.
He was jobless, broke
and couldn't cope.
Having a teenager made it harder
for him and he met his limit.
I have been severely depressed since I found out.
I liked Tom Marsten.
He tried really hard to be a good dad to Alex.
Alex started scouting with me when he was six
and Tom did the best he could to get him to meetings
and sign him up for camp.
Tom was a quiet man.
Friendly and unassuming.
I liked seeing him around town.
At the grocery store.
At Rite Aid.
The last time I saw him was at Safeway last winter.
I gave him a hug and greeted Alex.
Alex had died his beautiful blond hair black
and Tom asked what I thought of it.
I told him Alex was a fine young man
and was growing up.
Tom rolled his eyes and we laughed together
standing in front of that little movie rack
across from the tiny Starbucks stand.
I just want to say
that I liked Tom.
That I will miss seeing him around town.
That I am sorry we won't get to grow old together.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
9/2/2011 Jobless, Jobless, Jobless
Ugh Mr. Blog,
I have the worst insomnia ever.
I checked the AESOP job site all day long
for tomorrow.
Nothing, nothing, nothing...
I just can't stand it.
What a waste of time and money college was.
Age discrimination is illegal but
there is no way to prove it.
I'm so depressed.
I'm so depressed.
I'm so depressed.
I have the worst insomnia ever.
I checked the AESOP job site all day long
for tomorrow.
Nothing, nothing, nothing...
I just can't stand it.
What a waste of time and money college was.
Age discrimination is illegal but
there is no way to prove it.
I'm so depressed.
I'm so depressed.
I'm so depressed.
9/1/2011 The First Day of School for Troy and Teddy
Hi Mr. Blog,
Everyone got up and out for the first day of school.
I still can't believe Troy is a senior in high school.
Seems like I just cranked him out a minute ago!
And Teddy.
Oh my God that little rascal towers over me
at six feet tall.
He is in ninth grade at Kenmore Junior High
but they moved the foreign language program
to the high school so they go up there for
their first period classes and then bussed down
to the junior high.
Probably fun for the kids.
Sound tiring to me!
So, Troy DROVE his baby brother to school!
That cutes me out something fierce
to have them driving to school together.
Seems like two seconds ago they were in
kindergarten and second grade
standing on our front porch for their
first day of school pictures.
They were so tiny that our 7801 house number was
a foot over their dear little heads.
Now it is at their waist level.
Funny funny as Brenda would say.
I haven't seen Troy yet to find out if he
likes his schedule for his last year
at high school.
I just hope he has all the required classes taken.
When I picked up Teddy to drive the football pool
from Kenmore Junior High the parking lot scene
was a big fiasco.
More construction up there as usual.
He was busy putting his pads in his football pants
and didn't want to talk about
his first day of school anyway.
It was one of those end of summer sunny days
with the nip skippy air that makes you
see your breath.
Michelle Moyes came out for lunch and said
it was down to forty-seven degrees this morning.
Brrr.
So, Troy is finishing high school this year.
And on to bigger and better things.
Hopefully including moving out
since he is so darn contrary.
Little rascal was born
marching to the beat of his own drummer
that's for sure!
Everyone got up and out for the first day of school.
I still can't believe Troy is a senior in high school.
Seems like I just cranked him out a minute ago!
And Teddy.
Oh my God that little rascal towers over me
at six feet tall.
He is in ninth grade at Kenmore Junior High
but they moved the foreign language program
to the high school so they go up there for
their first period classes and then bussed down
to the junior high.
Probably fun for the kids.
Sound tiring to me!
So, Troy DROVE his baby brother to school!
That cutes me out something fierce
to have them driving to school together.
Seems like two seconds ago they were in
kindergarten and second grade
standing on our front porch for their
first day of school pictures.
They were so tiny that our 7801 house number was
a foot over their dear little heads.
Now it is at their waist level.
Funny funny as Brenda would say.
I haven't seen Troy yet to find out if he
likes his schedule for his last year
at high school.
I just hope he has all the required classes taken.
When I picked up Teddy to drive the football pool
from Kenmore Junior High the parking lot scene
was a big fiasco.
More construction up there as usual.
He was busy putting his pads in his football pants
and didn't want to talk about
his first day of school anyway.
It was one of those end of summer sunny days
with the nip skippy air that makes you
see your breath.
Michelle Moyes came out for lunch and said
it was down to forty-seven degrees this morning.
Brrr.
So, Troy is finishing high school this year.
And on to bigger and better things.
Hopefully including moving out
since he is so darn contrary.
Little rascal was born
marching to the beat of his own drummer
that's for sure!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
8/31/2011 The Little Girl That Got Locked Out
Hi Mr. Blog,
The black hole of jobless depression
has swallowed me whole.
So, I'm thinking about a little girl
that I ran into at the football luau.
Only she is not so little anymore.
Almost tall as me.
They moved away last year to
a different part of Kenmore.
So, how do I know her?
She is the little sister of a football player
that Teddy is playing football with.
For five years,
when she got locked out,
she came to my house.
She knew me because I had been
her substitute teacher.
She was just a little scrap of a thing
the first time she got locked out.
Thin little blond with
a frightened look on her face
with no where to go.
I called her mom and told her where she was.
Single working mom, like what I had.
Then I gave her a snack
and had her get out her
homework
and sit at my dining room table
and tell me whatever was
on her little mind.
I pretended she was my daughter
because you know what Mr. Blog?
Little girls ARE sugar and spice
and everything nice.
So, after she finished her homework
we'd sit on the couch and watch TV.
Those young people shows
like "The Suite Life of Josh and Zack"
or "Hannah Montana."
Then around six her mom would get home
and she'd go home.
The black hole of jobless depression
has swallowed me whole.
So, I'm thinking about a little girl
that I ran into at the football luau.
Only she is not so little anymore.
Almost tall as me.
They moved away last year to
a different part of Kenmore.
So, how do I know her?
She is the little sister of a football player
that Teddy is playing football with.
For five years,
when she got locked out,
she came to my house.
She knew me because I had been
her substitute teacher.
She was just a little scrap of a thing
the first time she got locked out.
Thin little blond with
a frightened look on her face
with no where to go.
I called her mom and told her where she was.
Single working mom, like what I had.
Then I gave her a snack
and had her get out her
homework
and sit at my dining room table
and tell me whatever was
on her little mind.
I pretended she was my daughter
because you know what Mr. Blog?
Little girls ARE sugar and spice
and everything nice.
So, after she finished her homework
we'd sit on the couch and watch TV.
Those young people shows
like "The Suite Life of Josh and Zack"
or "Hannah Montana."
Then around six her mom would get home
and she'd go home.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
8/30/2011 Gagging on a Bitter Pill
Ugh Mr. Blog.
Tomorrow is the first day of school for the younger kids.
I stared holes through my phone
hoping for a job today.
It's a bitter pill to swallow
that I didn't get hired for the eighth year
in a row.
Substitute, schmubstitute.
That's all I have to say.
Tomorrow is the first day of school for the younger kids.
I stared holes through my phone
hoping for a job today.
It's a bitter pill to swallow
that I didn't get hired for the eighth year
in a row.
Substitute, schmubstitute.
That's all I have to say.
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