spring is coming...

I know spring comes every year, and it won't fail to come again this year, but waking up to yet another 3 inches of snow after a beautiful, warm weekend is a little discouraging to say the least. Growing up in Colorado, I'm kind of used to the weather teasing me like this, but we haven't even seen the ground underneath the snow since we moved here two months ago! On Saturday we finally were able to see the dirt road leading to our house, and there were the first green blades of grass by the side of the house, just out of reach of the snow cover. We were so excited that spring was finally coming...and then it snowed again. Everything is white, and gray, once again. We will just have to wait a little longer. Spring is coming. I know it is.

subbing: day 2...

Today was pretty much the same as yesterday, but I was able to interact a little more with the students. And, I helped a girl with her geometry homework...I think Mrs. DeVeaux would be proud of how much I remembered! I don't have any more subbing jobs lined up, but I should be getting called again pretty soon...

subbing: day 1...

Well, I was pretty much paid to sit and read my book today. The teacher left excellent notes, and plenty of work for the students to keep them busy. The kids were good, so all I had to do was relay the message, sit back, and supervise. All in all, it was a good day, and I think I'll go back again tomorrow.

update...

Well, I have a job...sort of. Tomorrow (Monday) and Tuesday I will be substitute teaching for the Computer Apps/Business Math teacher! Am I nervous? Yes. Am I excited? Yes. Am I scared out of my mind? Only sometimes... :) I'll let you know how it goes.

Nathan's out snowblowing the driveway since it's been snowing all day (snow day tomorrow? Don't count on it.) He's still working hard with construction, and learning to like it a little more. The work is getting easier as he gets used to the guys but the commute will always be the hardest thing for him...and me. 1.25 hours one way...ouch! He's a trooper though, and is taking care of us so well.

That's the newest from this end. 'Til next time...

the power of a list...

I think I've finally figured out how to stay sane while not working...it's called a list. Sunday evening, with the help of my oh-so-handsome hubby, I sat down and wrote out a list for the week. On it are things like "call so-and-so," or "check mail," but it also includes very important things like "organize the filing cabinet" and "order pictures for my photography portfolio." (My favorite is "practice signature" for when I get pictures printed off so I can sign them...) Because of this wonderful thing we call a list, yesterday was so much more fulfilling than the past couple weeks combined (ok, that's maybe a bit of an overstatement...but not much.) I was able to check several things off the list, and even do things that weren't on it!

The most exciting part of the day was when I got to go to the high school and help with the band and choir classes. The piano player at our church also plays piano for the high school choir. The director was to be gone yesterday and she asked if I could come and help since I have expressed an interest in substitute teaching and possibly being the accompanist for the junior high choir in the fall. The director was very open to that idea and "he is very anxious to meet" me (according to my piano playing friend.) So, today my list of things to do includes another trip to the high school to meet him. I am really hoping to work there in the fall, so keep your fingers crossed! Anyway, the classes yesterday went very well and I am proud to say that I was not as intimidated as I thought I would be. The kids were very respectful when I asked for their attention, and they seemed to like me. As much as substitute teaching is out of my comfort zone, I think it will be fun, and a good way to meet some of the young people around here.

Even though I may have found the trick to avoiding insanity, this has still been a rough few days for both of us and a rough couple weeks for me. We were both really homesick this weekend. We miss our family. We miss our friends. We miss our 380 square-foot cabin. We miss living at Summit and all the community we had there. The saying is true...you don't know what you got till it's gone...

thoughts in the life of the unemployed...

In honor of Black History Month, I decided to read a book about slavery. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs is the one I chose. Jacobs, being a former slave herself, brings a very harsh reality to slavery. It's not that I didn't know how horrible slavery was, but I have never heard it from a slave's point of view. As I read this book, I was often sickened by the cruelty of certain slave owners ("cruelty" doesn't even come close to describing what they did, but I couldn't think of a horrible enough word for them.) I wanted to pick out a couple passages from the book to share, but there were too many to choose from, so I hope someday you'll pick the book up for yourself (from your local library, right, Jess?) and be amazed at some of the things slaves had to endure. Don't be afraid to look into our nation's past and realize the horrible things we did, if for no other reason than to determine that we shall never return to that state again.

I also just finished another book (I still don't have a job, so this is what I do with my time.) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. This book I would not recommend to everyone, but it is considered a classic. I'm still trying to decide what I thought of it. Any recommendations on what to read next? I'm on kind of a classics kick, so try to stick with a classic... ;)

Life is really a funny thing. We have our moments of being so excited to take on the world and make a difference, but more often than not, we end up settling for a predictable 9-5, Monday-Friday, pizza and a movie on Friday night, church and a nap on Sunday kind of life. Where does it change? When do we accept this new idea of what life is all about? Being at home by myself so much lately, I have begun to think about this, and I don't yet have an answer. The bank is hiring again for a part time job...should I apply? Where's the meaning in counting cash and persuading people to get an account that better suits their financial needs? I want to do something that means something. I don't necessarily mean I want to change the world, but maybe just a little corner of it. I always wanted to live in Africa...where did that dream go? Did it ever really die, or did it just get buried under "real life"? I don't know the answers to all this, but I want to. (If you have any words of wisdom for me, please feel free to share!) All I know is that I want to live a life with some purpose behind it. I have always loved those that no one else loves. I want to think I would have been one of the kind slave owners who helped set their slaves free and treated them like real people instead of a piece of property or livestock to use and sell for my own gain. Would that have been me? Will I ever really know? Harriet Jacobs describes the slave as inferior, but only because he was made to be that way by the white slavetraders and owners. If you treat someone like they are stupid, or inferior, or less than human for so long, they will begin to believe it, and then they will begin to be it. I hope someday I have the chance to show someone who is stuck in that lie just how capable they really are.

Anyway, I didn't mean to be depressing today, but I thank you for sharing in my thoughts!

10/12 Pitch

I may not be afraid of heights, but I sure like to keep my feet on solid ground. This realization was instilled in my brain quite quickly with my first roofing job. Maybe a 10/12 pitch isn't the steepest roof around, but I'm not sure it really matters when you're standing on any angled surface thirty or forty feet off the ground!
My first day on the new job consisted of nailing tongue and groove to 32" spread log rafters. After putting tongue and groove on as high as we could reach, I got to learn what a "toe board" is (a long 2x4, nailed to the roof so your toes have something to catch to slow you down just before you fall down and go boom). Lesson for day 1: Tool belts are handy, especially when the surface you're standing on is too steep to set anything on. Also, roofing kills your ankles, toes, and back.
Day two began with a big fork lift with an extendable boom, dropping trusses down from above, with 3 of us standing on 4" wide walls, trying to stay balanced while the wind rocked these huge trusses back and forth. The rest of the day was carrying 4x8' sheets of OSB from the stack on the fork lift, onto the roof, over to the next roof, where I kept doing a face plant because the roof was so steep I couldn't get any traction. But at least I had a tool belt. Lessons for day 2: (1)good balance does come in handy, (2)always check your cutting depth on your saw before you cut, so you don't cut through 4 sheets of OSB all at the same time (oops!), and (3)"new guy" will be blamed for everything that goes wrong.
Day three was insulating, driving 8" screws, more sheeting, and more picking on "new guy," also known as "Richard," who "new guy" replaced because "Richard" was making mistakes all the time (as was "new guy," hence the new name of "Richard"). Day 3 lesson: "Richard" still gets blamed for everything.
Finally, day four. More sheeting, more insulation, and rolling out "paper" (waterproof barrier). What did "Richard" learn? (1) don't cut a sheet of OSB and lay it down on the roof unless it's going to be nailed to the rafters immediately. Or else someone, like maybe your boss, will come along and fall through the roof, cuss you out, and make you go clean up all the trash around the house. (2) If you want to get off the steep roof because you need to stand on solid ground for a while, cut a sheet of plywood and lay it down on the roof, but don't nail it. Then, maybe someone like your boss will step on it, fall through, cuss you out, and make you get off the roof to go clean up trash. Works every time.

Really, the week wasn't all that bad, but I did make a few mistakes and learn some good lessons along the way. Don't worry, my boss is okay, and I don't think he's going to fire me anytime soon. For now, it's Friday, I have a 3 day weekend, and I won't be back on a roof until Monday.