Science lessons? Right up your alley!

Glad to set that the employment area in your life is looking up. Also, glad to see you posting more frequently :)

I’ve said it before: positive thinking yields positive results

That’s what everyone is saying. I only hope they live up to the hype!

Just saw that a friend from high school is moving to South Carolina in December.. the Carolinas seem pretty appealing! :)

Dude, in Communist Red China I just write random numbers on the board and make kids right mathematical equations to get the numbers as rewards.

awesome :)

of course it was a real experience. I think you were expecting the worst, and really, this was the best possible outcome to get your feet wet. It was a way for you to practice your ideas in a comfortable environment. Yay :)

Wow, thank you guys so much. You have no idea how much this advice is for me. I can picture myself moving and settling in and logistically it seems simple enough. However, I think it’s difficult to imagine the emotional challenges so I haven’t really pondered them that much. Both of your stories have given me a great deal to consider before I make the move.

I can echo the emotional difficulty. Moving to Colorado wasn’t hard because I eased into it and it was easily within driving distance for a weekend trip back home.

But moving to Washington state was a completely different experience. I wasn’t prepared for how hard it would be emotionally. It doesn’t help that it’s cloudy and rains every day here. I’m still trying to deal, but I know I would have had a far worse time if it hadn’t been for the startup church community that I joined. This is the first church in which I was able to develop friendships with just about everyone and become integrated fully into that community.

It is important once you move down to where you’re going to find that support network, spiritually and relationally.

Best of luck.

I think you have accomplished so much already Brian, that I don’t think the move will be as difficult as you may think. I know we’ve had this conversation before, but I just want to say it again. You are a very strong person and you will get through the move just fine. And June is such a great time to move! :)

The move for me was tough emotionally, as I really had no one here for support. It took time, as I was in a unique position where I couldn’t have friendships with my coworkers as I am their supervisor. But, it has worked out and I am much stronger for my choices. If you can, try to get some friends to visit you when you first move or try to join a club or group when you get down there. meetup.com was a great start for me. :)

Well the COBRA is going to be far more than I expected, but I’ve found an alternative and it’s much more in my budget. I’ve found a much cheaper gym and it’s wonderful! I just went there today and it’s much cheaper, no hassle too. I’m signing up tomorrow.

horray for another post! What did you find out regarding the Cobra benefits? I’m sure high school will be a fun age to teach; what age are you most interested in teaching? I don’t think you will have to worry about grading papers until 2am- I think that would just happen to people who can’t prioritize. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind anyhow though, lol!! :)

congrats man. you’ll love teaching. just ignore the bad days and the bs from admin, at the end of the day, think who wins in the long run and what impact you’ll have. know it sounds corny, but really make an impression on kids and how much they have available to them in the future. reward enough? :-D

Thank you so much! I am so happy I was able to run those two miles. Tomorrow I won’t have time to do a workout but Wednesday I hope to run 2 miles again. I’m going to do this for about a week and then I’ll work my way up to 3 miles. It’s so close I can taste it!

awesome!! so glad to finally get a post from you again. :) I saw your post on face book where you stated you ran 2 miles- that is so great! It’s so wonderful to see that everything is working so well, and that hard work truly pays off.

Keep us posted on how the teaching goes :) So glad that you are getting your feet wet finally! yay!!

Thank you so much Amanda! That really encourages me. Teaching is something I definitely feel called to do.

Time invested in a place certainly doesn’t define who we are as people, yet so many seem to draw that conclusion. I am glad that you have pursued your dreams and are actively living through them rather than hiding behind a steady income job doing something you don’t like. While income is certainly needed, that will follow soon, and with your positive attitude you are sure to shine in being a teacher!

Thank you so much, Tree. I’ve been given the tools to be successful and as long as stay motivated it will keep me positive as well.

Chris, thank you for the offer but I don’t use Face book for too much network. Not yet at least. If you want, you can point Nathan to my blog, though.

You’re going to be a great teacher. You have a great personality, and you’re not easily frustrated. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you angry at all. We haven’t even met in real-life, and yet I’ve already learned so much from you.

At first I was a bit worried about you losing your job, but seeing your positive attitude makes all those worries float away.

You should friend my friend Nathan Butler on face book. He is an economics/social studies teacher near Atlanta, GA.

Depending on a number of things, including insurance, I could expect to pay between $7k-15k for the entire plastic surgery. That includes the panniculectomy and chest reduction. I definitely want to do my thighs but I don’t know the fancy medical terminology for removal of that skin.

As for the yard sale, I can’t wait! The last time I had it, I sold about $120 worth of stuff. I don’t think I have quit as much this time around but it will at least get things out of my apartment and turned into something useful(cash!).