I totally have a crush on dr. house

I started volunteering today in a second grade class at a low income school. My friend is the teacher, so it's kind of a win-win situation because we can chat a little :) My name is on the sub list at four schools as well, and I'll be tutoring kids through the Title I initiative starting next month. My goal is to have a lot on my plate and a lot of resume updating to do when the nice placement officer calls asking what I've been up to. My PC program is primary teacher training - any other ideas on volunteer work for that? Also does anyone have any experience with sending in your dental stuff separate from medical in regards to being dentally cleared? I know my dental package was delivered on Monday morning because I got the delivery confirmation, but I haven't been told yet that it got there, that they're looking at it, or anything. I keep hoping for that little email in the morning saying they're at least reviewing it, but I guess in the grand scheme of things it's only been a day. Silliness, see latest entry :) I was gone most of the day today at the school and then running errands and shopping this afternoon. It was a lot better than sitting around reading blogs and timelines, shocking!

Does anyone watch House? See the premier last night? Hot. Also, I bought some Tom's of Maine toothpaste to get in better touch with my hippy side. I got the kids' Outrageous Orange-Mango flavor, but I'm not too happy with it's foam-ability. Their website does say the kids' version is less foamy than the adult version, but it's still going to take some getting used to. Hmm. Talk amongst yourselves.

starting over

So I stumbled upon a couple blogs that I'd written in and left behind, or that I no longer wanted up online. While I understand that nothing is ever *really* gone from the internet, I deleted some things and am starting over.
I spent the last year of my life trying to figure out exactly what I wanted. I was a teacher who wasn't rehired, for reasons unknown to me. (that is a whole other discussion that frankly, I'm tired of discussing). I wasn't sure where I wanted to move to, and the options were endless. I had zero money and no job prospects (since finding a job from a remote location is damned near impossible..) so I moved back in with my mom. I spent a lot of time thinking about my life, not liking my situation, and taking steps to improve it all. I budgeted more carefully than I had ever before, I paid off as much debt as a could, I started a retirement account, and I started to turn things around. I realized that if I wasn't in control of my money, I wouldn't ever have choices in life - my options would be limited by what I could afford. I never wanted to NOT be able to do something because of money.
Fast forward nine months. I was teaching kindergarten with the most awesome group of women ever, but I wasn't rehired. Again. FML. The school year was winding down and I was again scrambling to figure out what to do. I had already planned on going to live with my cousins in SC for the summer to try out a different city and get away from the everyday that was bringing me down. The third day that I was in South Carolina I went on a hike. I came to a mountain lake and was blown away by how pretty and serene it was. I realized that I never wanted to go back to my life again. Not that I wanted to run away or kill myself or anything like that, I just didn't want to stay on the same path I'd been on. I didn't want to trudge along and settle down and do the same thing I'd been doing and just wait for something to happen. Shortly thereafter I logged on to the Peace Corps website and filled out an application.



That was on July 14th. Two weeks later I received an email and a package in the mail saying that my initial application looked good and that I was being sent onto the next round. I got fingerprinted, filled out FBI checklists, hounded people for recommendations, and sent in my college transcripts. Two weeks after that I sent an email checking on everything, got a phone call in return and had an interview scheduled. That was two days ago and when we were done, I got a nomination :) As of now, I will be moving to Africa in February 2011 to live and work for two years as a primary teacher trainer. The next six months will be spent getting medical tests done, x-rays taken, giving my things away, eating at all my favorite places, and seeing as many people as I can before leaving. It sounds really weird when I say it outloud, "I'm moving to Africa for two years."