I've been trying to get this one out for awhile

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New Digs (yep that's Clarence Straits)

When you spend 10 minutes at school looking for car keys that have been in the ignition the entire time. Funny thing about this is that I’ve been leaving my keys in the ignition every since I moved to this island. It made me smile and reminded me that I live in a really safe place.

 I’m currently drinking a whiskey ginger (with homemade ginger ale!!) watching a storm roll in from Clarence Straits from my new pad in Coffman. Life could definitely be worse.

Happs? Where to start…I don’t even know. This job is so overwhelming and consuming that sometimes I don’t  know where school ends and I begin. Sometimes I just have to laugh. Why does anybody do this?

I know the answer, it’s really rewarding. Let’s see, I’ll start with the bad and finish with the good. Something very troubling that happened lately, about a month ago most of our middle school and high school students (all 10 of them) went to a leadership “lock in” on the other side of the island for the weekend. It’s a great opportunity for them; I’m a total proponent of Phlight Club (that’s the name, don’t ask me why). Any who, we needed a chaperone to go with them (again all of Friday and Saturday), James (the savior that I work with) arranged for two teachers from other schools to watch our kids; he had to stay home to watch his own kids. I didn’t want to go because at this point I was still commuting from Thorne Bay (an hour each way), sleep deprived, and starting to get sick. I didn’t want to be “locked in” to a school for two and half days with 50 kids…crazy I know. At any rate, my Superintendent (the same guy who moved me out here) thought it “defied all logic” to send 10 students and no chaperone. James and I tried to explain that while we were not going, we had chaperones covered. This did not satisfy the guy, and he basically tried to strong-arm me into going. I thought long and hard about and decided that I didn’t want to go and that I wasn’t going. The long and short of this is that I managed to piss off the entire administration. I’ll remind you that over half of this camp was outside of my contracted teacher workday so it’s not like they could “make” me go. Anyways, the Superintendent was out to my school last week and literally didn’t even look at me. He told James that he’s “really pissed.” WHATEVER. You know what, I’m really pissed! This job is ridiculously demanding, and I’m all right with that. I know that the more I put in the more I get out, but I can’t do everything. I’m willing to do 98%, but occasionally when I wont commit to doing an extracurricular activity, I want that to be all right too. As if I needed more reason to find a new job next year, give me a break.

Second funny thing… last week I got to school at my normal hour (7am) and was asked to be back at school by six to make sure the school was open for archery practice, and be prepared to coach if the coach didn’t show up. Whatever, I usually stay at school until six anyways, no big deal. Six o’clock rolls around and I open up the school to one drunk coach (typical), I’m just relieved I don’t have to coach because I’m tired (again I’m pushing almost 12 hours at school). I’m making small talk with the coach who is a parent of two of my students and I’m like, “How’s it goin?” And he’s like, “I’m tired, I’VE been working all day.” Now, I’m not sure if he meant it this way, but this is definitely how I perceived it….”You wouldn’t know anything about working, but I’ve been working all day.”

 I was just standing there thinking, “What the fuck do you think I’ve been doing all day? At least your job allows you to be drunk.” This guy is totally harmless, I actually really like him and his family, but this exchange almost pissed me off, instead I laughed. I seriously wonder what he thinks I do all day.

Okay, good news! Let’s see, I moved into my new place and it’s AMAZING! It’s warm, has no bugs, and a GREAT view. Seriously, everyone should come visit me in the next nine months, because I don’t know if I mentioned this, but it will probably be my last. The best part about my apartment is that there’s a big window that looks out to Clarence Straits and I position my yoga map directly in front, yes my own personal yoga studio. Last week I saw some whales migrating south from my window. I’ve been practicing with one of my student’s parents, which has been great. That is one thing that I can say about Coffman, a little more progressive than Thorne Bay and THANKFULLY way less fundis!

My new place does not have a washing machine or dryer so I’m back at the school for all of my laundry needs. No worries, we have a really efficient machine at school. Other nonconventional activites at school include composting. I’ve been in such a routine of composting that it’s hard for me to stop. Luckily, even though I don’t have my own compost at my place, the school  has two greenhouses, several raised beds, and an orchard that does have a proper compost pile. It feels a little funny carrying my compost and dirty laundry to school, but whateves, it’s Alaska, I guess.

Last funny thing, I had some people over this weekend for a house warming and wanted to vacuum the one rug in my place. I decided that since I don’t own a vacuum I would just borrow the schools (completely logical). The school has a really nice Dyson (lucky). Any who, by the time I get around to going back to school to borrow the vacuum, somebody else has beat me to the punch. The vacuum was gone. It was eventually returned, but it does make me laugh. There’s a reason I have no problem using the school facilities and resources like their my own. EVERY ONE in this community behaves in the same manner. It’s a combination of a sense of entitlement and community. I’m not complaining, just observing. 

This picture has nothing to do with what's actually going in my life right now. 

What else? I’m done be angry about the district moving me out here, what a relief. Being angry is such a burden. Um…… I’m almost finished with the last season of West Wing…..I’m reading Animal Farm by George Orwell with my 9^th grade English class. Volleyball is starting….XC is almost over. I’m hosting Dining for Women tomorrow night. I don’t know, so much happening, you should just know that I’m overjoyed to be in my new place and feel blessed that I’ve been given a little space to figure our my next step.