The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round!

Let me just tell you how glad I am that today is over. When I first got hired back at Reagan, I was told that I would have to get my CDL in order to drive the activity bus since I'm one of the softball coaches. Since everyone is trying to find place to save money, this was an obvious first. If you are the coach of a team, you have to be able to drive the bus since you are already getting paid. No more hiring drivers just to drive a team around.

So in July I went through the CDL course with a coworker of mine. It was a week long class and on the last day we had to take 4 written tests. There was a test on the brake system, a general knowledge test, a school bus test, and then a passenger (coach) bus test. I made 3 100's and a 95. Not too shabby.

Then we were told that it would be up to us to take our paperwork to get our permit and then have someone work with us to drive and learn all the different aspects of the skills test. So I went and got my permit to buy myself about 6 months. Softball season doesn't start until February 16th, so I knew I had time and put it on the back burner. That back burner was still burning, though. I thought about it often. It loomed over me like a dark cloud. 'You need to take care of this!' that cloud would scream at me!

So enter January and being back from Christmas break. It's time to get serious. I start talking to my coworkers and asking them about the test. They told me about what they had to do and most of them said it wasn't a big deal. 'You'll be fine' they said. So I went driving with a friend of mine and turned some corners and practiced backing up a little bit. I was pretty impressed with myself and felt pretty good.

Now it's time to schedule my test. So I call and leave a message. I call the next day and leave a message. I finally get my AD to get the guys cell phone number. After I tell him I'm ready to take the test and I need to schedule a time, he asks me if I'm ready to do the 68 inspection points that make up the pre-trip test. EXCUSE ME?! I just kind of chuckled and he told me that he was serious. I would have to point out 68 different things on the bus and talk about what I'm looking for to make sure they are working ok. I said, into the phone, ' Holy shit.' He just started laughing and said that someone lied to me! Then he went on to tell me about the skills test I would have to pass and then it's time for the actual driving. Up a mountain, down a mountain, parking here, driving there, turning here, train tracks there. HOLY SHIT was right.

Now I'm in Panic Mode. With tears in my eyes and a shaky voice I tell him I'll see him Thursday. It is currently the Friday before hand. That leaves me ONE week to get my shit together.

So I study. And I study. And I study. But words only mean so much. I can read a list of words over and over again, but if I don't see what I'm talking about, it's worthless. So I meet a guy on Tuesday night who walks me around the outside of the bus. I take pictures of the stuff under the hood and I print them out and label them. I study all Tuesday night. Wednesday another coach at Reagan met me at the bus to go through the stuff on the inside of the bus. His advice was stop being a book nerd and studying and just chat the guy up. He told me all about his daughter and his son and asked me who doesn't like talking about their kids. I just laughed and we continued. I had another good friend of mine that told me in order to get what you want in life, just get on your knees! (That sounds like it's going to be sweet, but she was talking about something else, not the praying part!!)

So today was T-Day (test day!). I got up at 6:00 and got my shower, the whole time going over and over that bus. I figured out where I was going, looked through my stuff one more time, said a prayer (or 1,000), and then I was out of the door. As I was getting dressed I was thinking about what I should wear. The guy that taught the class this summer was the one that was doing the test. He was a really, really nice guy. I remember talking to him and he had quite a Southern drawl and we talked about hunting. So I knew he was a good 'ole boy. On went the cowboy boots. Jeans and a black turtle neck sweater. It was, after all, 32 degrees when I left home!

So after getting very lost, I made it to the bus garage. Right on time. I met the guy in the office and then we headed out. The pre-trip started. I. BANGED. IT. OUT. Absolutely killed it. He had complimented me on my written test grades, so I had to show him that I meant business. The only things I left off - the damn steering wheel, horn, and the handrail. Seriously? I can remember the alternator and the entire braking system (including the hose, chamber, slack adjuster, and drum), but I coudn't remember to turn the damn steering wheel to make sure it wasn't loose? I would have loved to have aced that test, but I'll be ok with a 92!!

There was another guy there, who actually took the class with me this summer and wasn't too impressive, so I waited for him to finish. While we were waiting I took the coaches advice and talked about his daughter and his son and what they were doing now. Homeboy made a 94. Damn. He came to play. I'll get him back.

Off we went to the DMV to do our skills test in the parking lot. Pulling down a lane and back and staying in it. Stopping on a line. Backing into a space. Basic stuff. After watching a trucker fail it, I was a little bit nervous. KILLED IT. 0 deductions for a 100! And a thank you!

Now it was homeboy's turn. While he was doing his test, the guy looked down and noticed my boots. He told me that he liked them and talked to me about how his son wears boots all the time and how they can be really good for your feet and how I must have meant business to come in there with my boots on. Mission accomplished. He loves me.

Homeboy had 0 deductions for a 100, also. 1 test left. I have to step it up.

So I saddle up and head out on the open road. We take left turns, right turns, get on the highway, park on the road heading up and down, answer questions about the bus, and a bunch of other crazy stuff. I. KILLED. IT. TOO. A 94. Beat that, homeboy! The only thing I did wrong was take a few turns a little too fast and couldn't stay in the closer lane. I am my father's daughter, what I can say. My right foot is 65% lead. The guy told me I passed, shook my hand, and told me congratulations. I was done. This was over. THANK. THE. LORD. I can truly relax for the first time since the beginning of August.

(Serious side note: I do want to say that the guy who did the test was great. He had the approach that once we get this license, we won't be taught how to drive a bus anymore. We'll be on our own. So not only was he testing what we knew, he was also teaching us new things. When homeboy told him he had been an awesome teacher, his response was, 'Well that's a lot of answered prayers.' He is a great, great guy and is really good at what he does.)

Now it's homeboy's turns. He did ok. Even though he curbed it a few times, stopped as he was entering the highway, and botched railroad tracks, he did an ok job. Obviously needs a little more practice, but it was enough to let him pass. Not that anyone else was really paying any attention to this game I created that pitted me against homeboy, but I went home knowing that I hit him where it hurt, and I WON!

So I left that place with my bus driving license, my sassy cowboy boots on, and two men that were very impressed with my intelligence and my ability to manuever a large vehicle. Mission Accomplished.

J-O-Bs!

Well I've got some good news! Since my last update Ja and I both managed to get jobs!

I am going to be back at Reagan High School (where I was before the move to Jville) and I couldn't be more excited! I will be teaching Alg 1, AFM (Advanced Functions and Modeling), and Integrated Math 2. To those of you not in the education world those names may not mean a lot, but to me that sounds like a pretty good schedule! I will also be coaching Varsity softball as an assistant to the one and only Ray Chandler! Good times.

Jason will be at North Forsyth High School doing EC Inclusion and coaching football. It is going to be a huge adjustment for him and I am very lucky he loves me enough to make this move for/with me!

Now the last piece of the puzzle is being processed. Everything has been submitted and we're waiting for the final approval of our home loan so we can set our closing date and make the move! I am so ready to just be up there and start getting settled in our new home!

There is a lot of goodness to come!

It's Been So Long...

Ok, so I know it's been about twenty-eleven days since I wrote a blog. A LOT of shit has been going on in this day and time and I have been hesitant to talk about it because it has been changing on a DAILY basis! This is going to be long, but there is a lot to get out. There...there's your warning!

First of all, school is out! Today is the very last work day and we are waiting for just a couple of things to come in from Central Office so we can finish up our work and head on! I am so incredibly glad this year is over. I've heard the third year is the hardest, but didn't believe it. I believe it now. There were several things that went into this year being really tough, but IT IS OVER! I've made it! I've also completed the third year of my four years of payback for my North Carolina Teaching Fellows Scholarship. One more year and I've got college paid off! Not a bad deal, huh!

I plan on teaching for the next few years, but I honestly don't think I'm going to be a lifer. There is a lot more in this world than school and since I just finished my 20th year of school as either a student or a teacher, I'm thinking I won't be satisfied until I see what else is out there. I have no idea what I might venture into, but I'll keep you posted! : )

Aside from school being extremely stressful and eating up most of our time, WE ARE MOVING TO WINSTON SALEM!! Most of you already know this, but it just feels good to say it again! So, now onto the drama of that sitch-ee-ation.

Before the wedding, Jason and I spoke about the prospect of moving, but due to it's tense nature we decided to table that discussion until after the wedding was over. No need to ruin our last few weeks of engagement! So I'm pretty sure it was Sunday night at dinner (as in the Sunday after we got married on Saturday...impatient much?!) I casually brought up the discussion. It wasn't long before we had decided it would be best for us if we moved. So we called Jason's realtor that he bought the townhouse from. We started showing the house right before we left for Vegas. 3 weeks and SOLD! In this economy we were kind of worried about the place selling, but Jacksonville is apparently immune from a lot of the economic woes on the real estate side and the place got snatched up. So, we set the closing date for the last work day of school. That way we could move out of that place and into a new place (oh, if life were only so easy!). Other than the appraisal being $3,000 under what we sold the house for (meaning we lost $3,000 womp womp) everything with that has been pretty smooth. We have been packing for lord knows how long and my nerves are about shot. For someone that has slight to severe OCD (depending on the day), living in a sea of boxes = STRESSFUL. There were some bumps and clashes along the way (Read: Two really hard headed people who think they both know the right and perfect was to pack trying to pack together made for some very interesting nights and road trips and leave the other to their own devices!), but we've made it through and we're strong for it. We sign the papers today and move out tomorrow! The new people will sign and move in on Monday. Their only stipulation was that we had to get the carpets cleaned. I was shocked. Who doesn't love the smell of stank wet dog slapping you in the face when you come home from a long day!!

Ok, now onto the new house and its drama. So once we got back from Vegas we decided to start looking hard core for a new place. Erin, my brother-in-laws younger sister, is our realtor and she has been beyond amazing. She hooked us up with an MLS website that let us look at every single house for sale in all of the Triad Area. I'm not sure how Jason or I got any work done because we would both come home and talk about the houses we had found during our planning periods! We looked at houses that were WAY out of price range just for fun and we got down to some serious business at finding areas we could afford and the type of house we were both looking for. We determined there were a few main areas that fit us and so we started looking in Southern Forsyth County, close to Leslie and Will. There are a lot of houses down there and new ones are being developed every day. We even got pretty serious about building a house, but some things didn't work out with that and we ended up finding our dream home after that obsession was over. Erin called us one day and said she had found an incredible house. She went by there and looked at it and talked to the guy and took pictures and she just couldn't believe how much house there was for the price tag on it. Jason came home and had actually found the same house on the MLS site. I know things were falling in place. About a week or so later I got on the site and saw that the price of the house had gone up $43,000. I immediately called Erin and she said she had seen it and that she was working on it. She called the neighborhood representative (who is a friend of hers) and pretty much said that if we like the house we are going to offer the original price because that is ridiculous. The builder was just trying to make up for lost profit...but he's not going to do that here! So as soon as we could Ja and I hopped in the car and headed to Winston. Will, Greg, Michelle, Jason, Anna and I all went to the house and walked around. At one point Jason and I were walking at each other from opposite directions and we both mouthed, 'This is it!' It was absolutely beautiful. Hardwood floors in the kitchen, two car garage, stainless appliances (all of them!), finished bonus room upstairs, garden tub, separate shower, huge closest, and the list goes on and on. So we put an offer on the house. The guy that Erin was working with said that there were three offers on other houses that he was sending to the builder and maybe he could slip ours in for the original price. THEY TOOK IT! So we are stealing that house for everything we're getting. It is also in the perfect location. It is in the northern part of town where I used to live and it is down the street from Gold's, a BB&T, and under 10 minutes from both of our (prospective) jobs. We went through all of the loan applications and processes and we got approved and locked in and the only thing we needed...job contracts.

Well shit. We don't have jobs in Winston yet. We were busy finishing out the year here and with hiring freezes and job shortages, they weren't even able to talk to us.

We are now at the juncture of moving out of our place here and being homeless. Another storage shed has been rented (for a freaking dollar the second month!) and our things will have to sit and wait for all of our i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed. I am going to live with Mom and Dad since I'm going to keep Kamryn for another (and probably my last) summer. Ja will bounce around. We both have interviews coming up - mine is on Monday at 2 at Reagan and his is on Tuesday at 9 at North Forsyth. I can't tell you how amazingly wonderful it would be if we could both lock these jobs down. Then we could close on the house (which they have been nice enough to hold until we can get everything together - bless you!) and begin to get settled in to our first home together! I cannot wait and I wish I had a fast forward button so I could see how it all plays out. We are moving out blindly and just hoping and praying that it all works out. We will see!!

Ok, well that pretty much covers the last however long since I posted. If you stuck with that all the way to the end, congrats. You must have a lot of time on your hands! I'll do my best to do better with these things, but no promises. Once we get in and get settled I'll be sure to post pictures of what our new humble abode looks like! YAY!!

What A Great Few Weeks

Some congratulations are in order...not to me, but to Greg and Michelle (Geg and Chell to Banana Pants) because they are ENGAGED!!!!! This past weekend Greg, with ring in tow!, and Michelle went on Michelle's first ski trip. They went to Sugar Mountain (with their Sugar...haha, Michelle) and Greg bopped around on his skis while Michelle rocked out on the snowboard. After eating it coming off of the ski lifts, she successfully managed to become a snowboarder! Thankfully they ended the day before anyone broke or tore anything. After that they headed to Appalachian State's campus where they headed to a gazebo that is over a creek that runs through campus and it was there that Greg asked her to be his wife!! Everyone, except for Will, made it over last night to have a celebratory dinner for the happy couple! One wedding down, one to go! We've got December 19th marked down on our calendar and we couldn't be happier!

Congratulations you two!!!!