Week 1 of work, in retrospect

I have finished my first "week" of "work."  It was actually only 3 days, and it was mostly PD meetings.  So nothing to stress about.  Good news - I survived the first days.  Starting the new job brings back those memories of school - it is somewhat like reliving your first day of high school.  Walking in to a strange place, not really knowing anyone, or where to go to the bathroom, or where to eat, etc. etc.  Thankfully I am a grownup now and can overcome such trials.  Plus there are lots of new faces in the high school, since all the 10th grade teachers are new. Only problem is that my face is apparently a little too young-looking, since I had to answer the question, "So is this you first year teaching?" a few too many times for my liking.

This coming week I will be able to go to my own school building and get accustomed to my classroom.  Hopefully we will have some free time in the coming days - and I hope my lab equipment is arriving soon!


In other work news, Rachel has a full time job now.  Yeah, that's right, she's full time.  She was called and asked to take on more classes, and decided to go for it.  Teach 2 more classes for 2x the pay.  Alright!  So she will have 3 classes of World Studies and 2 classes of American History.

Finally, I have been taking full advantage of our new neighbor - IIT.  This small university offers some fun perks.  1) Their 9 hole disc golf course is a fun diversion which I have played on ~5 times so far.  Friday I played twice, and scored +3 and +4 over par, respectively.  I need to work on my putting.  2) They have a little known bowling alley / bar in the basement of one of their academic buildings.  It is only open Thursday and Friday nights (really...that's it) but it is cheap and we can walk there.  We find ourselves walking over there enough...maybe I should enroll!  Second masters?

-alan 

Sleep troubles?

For the past weeks, I have been setting my alarm even on days I could sleep in, because I did not want to be too sluggish once I returned to work.  I woke up today with no trouble, though my body is feeling a little worn.  I should be sure to get to bed extra early.

But perhaps the larger sleep troubles have been with Rachel?  Yesterday morning I had to carefully tiptoe my way to the bathroom...because Rachel's bedside table was toppled on its side, drawer splayed open, lamp pulled out from its socket.  And she awoke with no memory or recollection of what happened...

-alan

First day...

Tomorrow is my first day of work.  It is teacher meetings - and my first introduction to the staff.

To prepare, we went back-to-school shopping today to fill some holes in our professional wardrobe. 

Exciting times!

-alan

Purple scavenger hunt

Being big NU fans, our eyes are always open for anything NU.  Rachel's favorite past time of late is looking at the rear windows of cars - because any NU employee has a small purple sticker there for parking purposes. She found one car on our street, and now she is pointing them out to me everywhere we go.

But in Target the other day, we found a bonanza.  Which is a shock, because big box retailers never carry NU gear - they usually only have pro team and maybe some Notre Dame stuff.

So when I sauntered into the shoe department, I was shocked to see a half aisle of purple staring back at me.  Flip-flops and slippers.  Lots of them.  And all on clearance!  Needless to say, we stocked up.

-alan

Strange transition

A common question asked of us this summer has been, "How are you doing transitioning back to life in America?"

The truth of the matter is that we have easily eased back into life here.  Familiar neighborhood, same church, many old friends, and nearby family have made our move largely stress-free.  We also do not get some of the adjustment issues faced by some who return to America from destitute areas - our day-to-day interactions were with a very materialistic Chinese middle class.  Walking into an American grocery store, or into a mall does not cause us to freak out, because on certain levels it is not that different from what we experienced in China.

One strange thing, however, is the adjustment to light.  Daylight, in particular.

In China, I did not own sunglasses until I had already lived there for 6 months.  I actually bought some because we were traveling out of the country.  The cloud cover simply made it unnescessary.

But since moving back to Chicago, my sunglasses have hardly left my side.  Situations where I would not have given sunglasses a second thought a few years back, I now find myself squinting without them.  I think my eyes have not yet adjusted to life in a land of sun.

-alan

Food attack

A few pictures, highlighting Rachel's highs and lows for the week:

Rachel cooked Indian food for Sarah and Dave - including the fabulous Tandoori chicken seen above.  My favorite, though, was the fresh, homemade naan.  Both were grilled outside.  We love our grill! 

Feeling particularly adventurous, Rachel made pasta.  I applaud the effort, but the 1/4" thick pasta was a little chewier than either of us could stomach.  Now she knows why pasta makers are key.

-alan

Officially employed!

I turned in my paperwork on Monday, and I am now officially employed for the 2010-2011 school year.  Hooray!

Rachel has had some snafus, but got it cleared up and registered her paperwork yesterday.

Now, it is time to turn my attention towards the upcoming school year.  I will begin teacher inservice next week, as I will have 3 days of teacher meetings.  I already traveled up to Evanston to meet my coworker, so that we could talk about supplies for the lab.  The new chemistry lab needs a lot of stuff, and I am worried about getting everything I need - and in a timely fashion.  If I REALLY knew what I was doing, I could have done this weeks ago.

alan