I worked a late shift at the sawmill today and had some time to chat with folks that I don't usually hang with. One of the girls has a newly graduated daughter who was hired as an interim teacher following her December graduation. She excitedly went about her business setting up a classroom and teaching fourth graders, even though she prefers middle school math. Anywho...she was devastated to find that when time came to fill the position for next year, she was passed over in favor of someone else from another county. AFTER she administered TCAPs and took a tour of the new building they will be moving into. AFTER the April 16th date upon which all teachers are to be notified of next year's employment status. Somewhere in the fine print, the powers that be found a little clause that told them they didn't have to treat her the same because of the term "interim" meaning she saved their ass by stepping in mid-year. It reminds me a whole lot of the for-profit mental health provider that was BG's first employer, straight out of college with a social work degree and big ideas on saving the world. Her job consisted of a fixed caseload plus a trial and error deal setting up small group sessions for at risk kids in local schools. The group thing was grant funded and brand new, so nobody gave much thought to the distribution of her workload with this added responsibility. She burned out in less than a year. I've read a lot lately about how much tuition costs are rising and how new grads can't find jobs. It makes you wonder what's the point of going into debt for a job that won't even repay the loan from "big banks" and the feds.
I am so totally disgusted with the way things are in this country both economically and politically that I could just curl up in the fetal position and hibernate. I am a BS graduate myself, with 35 years tenure at the same job, licensed as a supervisor by my state board, and working for less than a plumber makes per hour. It's not that the plumber doesn't deserve it. If I could figure out how to survive without playing corporate America's game I would damn sure do it. What really sickens me is the way the middle men got after FB, assuring its' failure probably because they all have shares of Google AND they made a shitload off of the quick buy-sell-buy game. Until reading about that, I never realized that actual bots can trade with no people involved. Sweet baby jeebus!! No wonder we're in such a freakin' mess.
But then I think "well." I broke the twenty dollar hummingbird feeder from the giantmegastore and had forgotten that there's one hanging by the basement door. Sweet! They showed up shortly after I hung it and it really inspires awe in me to think about how far they travel just to go back to the same old place or area. That's a really keen sense of direction, ya'll. So far Mr. Snake has left me alone for a few weeks but it's early. I love walking around barefoot in the grass, so I keep it short so as not to give him a hiding place. Mom and daddy are umm..status quo if you know what I mean. My brother is headed for his second vacation since I last had one three years ago. He's one of those who has his first dollar framed and no kids. Obviously he's the one with the math smarts, so I gladly count pills and listen to moans and groans with the occasional hissy fit thrown in for good measure. Dad barks, she cries. His dementia doesn't allow him to see past his rigid schedule and she's just another notch on it now. Blind, unable to walk well and feeling guilty for being a burden. Not to worry Mama...you had my back when I didn't even deserve to be believed in.
My ethereal friend drifted by yesterday and we talked Edgar Cayce and all that jazz which is really quite cool. She eats almost completely organic food and is a yoga student. At 53, she could easily pass for 35. We've worked together on and off for years so it's a been there done that type of relationship where few others would even know who we're talking about. Like Dr. P, for instance. When I first began in the lab at our county hospital, the pathologist was a wealthy Cuban who fled his country. He was there forever, as well as a kazillion more doctors of pathology/clinical laboratory. Most were kind and fun to be around, but there were some strange ones. After Dr. Inclan died, Dr. P came on board..another Cuban who had made his way to America. When he realized that he didn't have the knowledge or time to give to the clinical lab side, he recruited a partner. She was a lovely Egyptian who attended church with me and was a tremendous support during my divorce. When she died suddenly in a car accident, we all were in shock.
After that, Dr. P continued to lead us but his heart wasn't in it and he missed his family in Florida so he retired and moved to where all good Cubans go to retire. There was a note on the white board this week that he had been buried on his birthday, May 18th. He had specifically asked his wife not to tell "his girls" until after his burial. Thanks to the interwebs, we were able to locate an address to send a card to his wife. She is a elegant woman, precious and sweet in a way that complemented his boastful sometimes arrogant behavior. Adios Esteban ^j^
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