<p>Those familiar with V a n d e r b I l t…is there a benefit to doing an alumni interview? The closest one listed is 1.5 hrs away. I could see where it would demonstrate interest, but the CDS says it’s not considered.</p>
<p>D has a good friend who is a junior in HS, who has watched D get all of her acceptances, and is starting to ask for advice about applying to colleges. </p>
<p>I feel kind of silly for being excited to have the chance to use all of my CC knowledge to help this other girl.</p>
<p>Since you are all waiting with virtual baited breathe for the next chapter in my saga…</p>
<p>The meeting with the vice principal went well. It’s hard to defend a teacher who has no class rubric on file, no lesson plans and only six graded assignments (10 pt assignments no less) for five months. Not to mention that he has not taken his Praxis tests for speech or drama, does not participate and has not joined the Thespian Society. We also went over the fact that DD13b is designated G/T in musical theatre and they are not providing her the services that she is entitled to. I suggested that she take the rest of the year and do independent study or whatever but we are not wasting any more time with this guy. Of course, he isn’t the VP that audits this teacher. It’s the VP that I. HATE. WITH. A. PASSION. She was out yesterday and he promised to speak to her today and get back to me. If I don’t hear something by the end of the school day, I will be calling them. I also have a call into the G/T people at the district level. Haven’t heard back from them yet either. They need to understand that I’m not going away.</p>
<p>I did not mention one thing about the selection of the musical or the abysmal casting. Two more senior girls dropped out yesterday in addition to my D. Oops…maybe he should have listened to people who KNOW what the talent pool is like and the fact that all of our boys that can really sing are all Mormons who object to the content. What a dummy.</p>
<p>Stay tuned for Chapter 3…</p>
<p>Oh and thanks for all the puffs… I’m feeling a little shaky today. I think I’m having puff withdrawal. I need a fix…</p>
<p>MD13: We aren’t going to do an alumni interview for that school. It isn’t considered and we’ve already done two tours and a road show. I think that’s enough.</p>
<p>Well, Walker. I tried to puff you again but apparently I must puff others first. Mind you, I’ve been watching to see who needs puffs and adding them. Hopefully others will begin to gaze in awe at the parents of 2013 all with 654,378,206 puffs a piece. CC will have to make our little name boxes bigger to accommodate our squares!</p>
<p>Good morning! I am an hour late to work because I had to go to my semi-annual trip the the dermatologist to be tortured. Being fair-skinned and living near the beach in Southern California has a price and the price I pay is having the derm freeze off all my pre-cancerous spots on my face and other places with what looks like a blow torch. Fun stuff.</p>
<p>No school news. I think my college boy will go back tomorrow. I like having him home, but he is allergic to our house so it kind of makes me sad. My older daughter is student teaching and her school went back yesterday. She said all the kids were complaining about going back “early”, but the teacher reminded them that they got out a week earlier than everyone else. For the first quarter she only went to the school 2 days a week and was basically observing (although she did present a few lessons, walk around and help,etc…). Starting next week she will go 5 days a week and take over 2 classes, be in charge of lesson plans, etc… </p>
<p>No real news on my S3. He went to a Physics review yesterday and has been running again. He doesn’t tell me anything, but I think he is close to being boyfriend-girlfriend with a very sweet girl who has been in and out of the picture for the last 2 years. </p>
<p>I puffed on everyone I could yesterday until it said I had to wait another 24 hours before puffing again.</p>
<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>Just checking in after quite a hiatus. I have lurked and tried to keep up with all your posts, but I’m too behind now to properly address each and every one.</p>
<p>I vaguely remember people begging for green squares…
</p>
<p>And who posted about NYC and seeing the ball drop, b.c. I just wrote a Top 10 Bucket list and seeing that silly ball on NY Eve is number 5. (Well, toss up between that and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.)</p>
<p>Good to hear about your DD, SteveMA. </p>
<p>Confetti, your “accidental” post was timely and uplifting. It was familiar, but one of those I needed to read again. </p>
<p>On the college front, DS recently submitted regular decision app for HMFR (OOS, top public school). He is in the process of contacting all the schools he has been admitted to about the possibility of deferral for gap year, now that he has received an official invite to join the City Year corps in DC. </p>
<p>I’m nervous whether any scholarships will be affected. Hope not.</p>
<p>He says he will likely apply to one last school before Jan 15 (EAII). It is his one and only CTCL school, but seems a great fit for his personality, if the $$$ comes through.</p>
<p>Part of the reason I’ve been absent is that I’ve hit a real emotional and spiritual slump (quite opposite from my normal). </p>
<p>I don’t know if it is:</p>
<p>a. normal post-Christmas blues, or </p>
<p>b. the fact that my last child will be graduating in five months and leaving, or </p>
<p>c. I’m realizing I’m getting older and haven’t achieved nearly as much as I thought I would by this time, or </p>
<p>d. my joblessness and the subsequent drop in savings/checkings account has really hit my ego, or</p>
<p>e. I had to turn down an interesting job yesterday b/c it simply was too far from home and I couldn’t justify the very, very long commute for the salary being offered (…been there, done that, and not anxious to put hubby or son through it again. Not just yet.)</p>
<p>f. I’m scared to death I won’t find anything closer to home that pays a living person’s wages. To be honest, I don’t even like living here, but I don’t see us uprooting son in his last months of high school. Best to get him settled wherever first, then DH says he’ll be more open to looking at other opportunities outside of this dying town.</p>
<p>To be quite frank, the one bright spot is lurking on here and reading some of your insanely funny/uplifting/wise/helpful commentaries.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry this is such a “down” post. I guess I need to get back to journaling and pour out my feelings there instead of vomiting it all here in public. Please keep your great posts coming–it does cheer me up.</p>
<p>keli–so sorry but this is a great place to vomit. I think there’s something in the air this week. I was just exchanging e-mails with a friend about both of us being in a bit of a funk. Don’t know if it’s post-holiday stuff, dealing with New Year’s resolutions, <em>not</em> dealing with New Year’s resolutions, or what. I love these down times with the kids all home but there’s also a teensy part of me that’s ready to get back to the routine. '13-er will go back to school Monday, my middle will go back to college next weekend, and the oldest is packing up and heading west in about a week. Christmas is mostly put away but the house feels topsy-turvy (random stuff–98% dirty laundry–is everywhere).</p>
<p>Re: the work woes, we’ve been through several rounds of unemployment in our house over the years but I always go back to what my mother taught me–that things always work out for the best. That’s gotten me through a lot and it actually seems to be pretty true.</p>
<p>I’d say feel as sad as you want for as long as you need to, but also take a moment to be thankful for what you do have. If you look around you, there are always people who are worse off. </p>
<p>Or run screaming to Walker’s basement. That’s bound to help.</p>
<p>Hang in there.</p>
<p>Keli, feel free to feel down, think about it and analyze - that always helps me when I just am open and honest with myself about the pros and cons I see in my life at the moment. It also helps me usually take stock in what I can and cannot change and what energy I apply to it - sorry though you are feeling down!!</p>
<p>I think D2s EA schools will be releasing soon and I’m happy but now so nervous for the answers!! I just want her to get big YESes and have choices she loves and also for the selfish reasons of knowing she’ll be much easier to live with :)</p>
<p>AND IT’S FRIDAY!!!</p>
<p>keli - gave you some puffs! And also, feel free to vent here! It’s all good! On the job prospect - any possibility the job you are talking about could have been/be with a flexible schedule, such as 4-10 hour days? or 3-12 hour days for slightly less pay? Or work from home? Perhaps that could reduce your commute time and make it worthwhile, since you might only go in 3 or 4 days instead of 5? Sometimes (I’ve heard) that once they offer a job and they want you to work there that flexible schedules could be part of negotiating? Just a thought, and it may not be applicable at all, but maybe?</p>
<p>Sometimes just venting is enough. Sometimes one needs more than that, and wants to hear that someone empathizes with you. Please know we care!! :)</p>
<p>Also, for those with one square - I’m concentrating my puffs at you, whenever I am able to offer them :)</p>
<p>Hi all! I was a poster several months ago but have been lurking for the most part since then. I love reading about all of your sagas, but I usually don’t feel like I have much to contribute because DS made this process ridiculously easy - he fell in love with Bama when we visited, qualifies for the NMF and engineering scholarships there, and applied and was accepted in August. He refused to apply anywhere else so that was that. 
His friends have been hating him since the beginning of the school year, although now some of them are in to their schools also. Every once in a while over the fall I would try to get him to consider applying elsewhere “just in case”, but he was having none of it so I just gave up. And I do agree that Bama should be a wonderful fit for him and the honors college offers so many opportunities to high achieving kids. But it was weird not to participate in all the application/decision angst that I was expecting and so many of you have been dealing with! ::ducking:: please don’t hate me! LOL</p>
<p>I am having a little trouble getting out of a funk for the New Year also. Maybe I need a trip to Walker’s basement! :)</p>
<p>Sorry for not responding individually, but lots of good thoughts going out to everyone!</p>
<p>Gave out my quota of puffs today :D.</p>
<p>I gave you a puff, Steve, just for giving out puffs. Is there a twevle-step puff program?</p>
<p>Oh, forgot to say, my kids loved Cyberchase and STILL love Mythbusters! I think that working on Mythbusters would be the greatest job for an engineer. Would love it if my DS ended up working with Adam and Jamie. :)</p>
<p>Looks like somebody puffed me, although I know I don’t deserve it, but thanks!! Will spread the love.</p>
<p>One more thing - I went ahead and filed the FAFSA just in case we want DS to take out a loan. Does an EFC of 99999 just mean “no f*ing way are you getting financial aid”, or is that supposed to be a real number??</p>
<p>Keli…I hear ya, it hasn’t been pretty around her either. Hope 2013 is better for us all!</p>
<p>Lisa…I told my son from the beginning that he could do that…Bama was a sure thing that we knew we could swing…he wanted to shoot for the moon though. I do hope he can enjoy the last half of his senior year now that all apps are done. He has scholarship apps to do, but those look to be pretty spread out.</p>
<p>Going poof-tapping now!</p>
<p>Walker, I am giving you a puff for giving Steve a puff for handing out puffs.:)</p>
<p>^^that deserves a tap, but I need to " spread love"</p>
<p>I need to join. Today I will work on the first of twelve.
Step 1: I admit I am powerless over scale puffing - that my life has become unmanageable. :eek:</p>
<p>Welcome back, Lurking Lisa of Late. Glad you have now become Lisa in the Light. :D</p>
<p>FRC build season starts tomorrow. Anyone else have kids in this year’s FIRST Robotics Competition? I highly recommend it if anyone’s kids have the opportunity. Best after school activity ever for mine.</p>
<p>Walker - admire you so much for willingness to go up against the “system.”</p>
<p>Kellijake - sorry to see that you’ve got so much to mull over at the start of the New Year. Hope you felt better just being able to type it all out and getting it out there. May better days await you ahead.</p>
<p>This time of year can go either way: a funk of sorts and an embrace of all things to come.</p>
<p>Part of the reason I fell out of the process here is also due to job stress. Can’t win, right? Grateful to be employed in these times, but also just boxed in and forced to deal with challenges while trying to stay afloat.</p>
<p>Let’s hope things bounce upwards this year, right?</p>