A Bit More Information

So, CT had her conversation with the principal of LHS this morning, and she told me that the decision is down to a choice between me and someone who’s already working as a sub in the school.

I gather from what CT was told that the English department head has taken an unpaid leave every spring semester for the last five years to do some work in the Dominican Republic, and the other candidate for the job is the person who fills in for him.

All of a sudden, I’m not so optimistic about my chances.

The thing is? I’m not sure I WANT to take the job over this person. I know how crappy it feels to be passed over for someone “from the outside” – that’s what happened to me at my internship school. I don’t want to be the one who “does” that to this woman. This should not be a question – unless she’s done something inappropriate or is somehow underqualified, she should get the position. I’m not just falling on my sword here, either; I really and truly believe that.

Could Go Either Way

So, here’s the scene. I’m at my hotplate, making barbeque sauce, when my cell phone rings at my hip. When I answer, it’s CT, wondering if I’d heard anything about the job. The conversation went something like this:

Me: “Hello?”

CT: “Chili, it’s CT. ANYTHING?!”

Me: “CT, COME ON, now!! Do you THINK I would hear something and NOT call you?!?”

CT: “Are you KIDDING ME?! They STILL haven’t called you?! Oh, for CRYING out loud! Hang on, I’ll call you back.”

It was at this point that she essentially hung up on me.

She DIDN’T call me back, rather she came up my driveway and hung out at my place for about an hour after CALLING THE PRINCIPAL of Local High School and asking, essentially, what the hold up was all about. She ended up pulling the guy out of a meeting (!) to ask him what she could say in my favor that would convince him that hiring me is a good idea. He didn’t have a whole lot of time to talk with her, so they made a phone date for tomorrow morning. She DID find out, though, that there were two positions available and that one of them had been offered to and accepted by a man. The second position was up in the air between me and another applicant.

I’m not sure how I feel about CT going to bat for me like this. On the one hand, I really, really admire her gumption and, well, big brass ones. I’m also honored and humbled that she thinks so highly of me. On the other hand, though, this enthusiastic support could backfire on me – I know I sometimes have a hard time balancing between “charmingly enthusiastic” and “pain in the ass” and I’m not sure how this gesture is going to be viewed by the people making the decision.

If nothing more, this should spur a decision along. And as soon as it’s made – and I’m made aware of it – I’ll let you all know.

(note: the image above came from http://www.petrabrown.supanet.com. Much cuteness abounds there)

Update

So, here’s my status as of 4:25 on Friday afternoon:

-On Saturday, I received the paperwork for my licensure from the state and sent in my one-hundred-and-thirty-bucks (!) to get the paper back saying I’m legal to teach in my state. The check has cleared; the license hasn’t yet arrived.

-neither, actually, has the diploma. We graduates were told, in the little folder they handed us at commencement, to expect the document declaring our completion of coursework and attainment of degree in the mail. As yet, nothing.

-I’ve also not heard anything from Local High School, even though they told me to expect a call by the end of the week (that would be, well, today). I’m okay with that, though – I don’t mind waiting (no, really) and the last time I got a phone call from LHS it was well after 7:30 in the evening, so school-day time models don’t seem to apply in this situation; the call could still come today. If it does, I’ll let you know.

-I went to see Sam again today and received my portfolio back. One more step in the official closing of the “Graduate School” chapter of my life (at least, for THIS degree. The final nail in this proverbial coffin will be the arrival of above-mentioned diploma). He made some helpful comments on how I could make “a really good portfolio into a great one,” though I’m hoping to not need it anytime soon (see above-mentioned phone call from LHS).

-The girls have two more weeks of school left to go. We’re pulling them out on Friday the 16th so we can jet to Florida (I know, I know – who goes to Florida in JUNE?! The Chili Family, that’s who! We SO need a vacation!). They’ll miss the last day, which is really a half-day where I suspect no real learning will be lost. I, personally, can’t wait to go swimming with my babies and have literally nothing that I HAVE to do aside from be vigilant about sunscreen.

That’s all I’ve got for ya today. Thanks for askin’.

The Horror! The Horror!

I’m reading The Poisonwood Bible and, in the process of reading and talking about it, Kizz said, and I quote:

It’s a great book, huh? I read it ages ago and still remember certain specific images from it.

I’m also fascinated by the Congo and how weird and awful the missionary process was there. Might be time to go back and actually READ Heart of Darkness instead of just listening to the discussion and taking the test.

I took an entire semester’s worth of reading, writing and thinking about this particular bit of Conrad‘s work, and I’d be more than happy to revisit the book and provide this space for thinking, questioning, ranting and learning. It’s available free online (don’t you just LOVE that?) and is, all told, about 95 pages, depending on how big the font is.

Any takers?