Job Search

So, she is going to hire me and will be allowed to. She says she is 99.9% sure it'll work out. Yikes, 0.1% has never seemed so scary.

Also, I start work at her house this week. We're unsure of how much of it there will be.

She is hiring you as a teacher and as a gardener?

That'd be great!

Good, littleK.

I'll back you up on the planting for maturity business. We used to stuff more in and/or use bigger container sizes for things like model homes or wedding deadlines, but for a long term garden, maturity size is a key consideration.... well, you know that.

Yep, Beth, gardening and 'teaching' as an assistant in a learning resource room with Special Ed kids. It's a pay check like last year's (not great). But, also like last year, I get benefits. I will be working with several kids, instead of one, and I will be traipsing around from subject to subject because it's middle school (fun!).

Osso, the garden had been planted too close and it needs to be thinned. Maybe I misunderstood her comment about my pix. She has a yard that needs work on at least 3 sides. The front is the one over-grown. It's weedy too.

I'll start there weeding, pruning, and possibly moving some plants. I'll also build a long and shallow bed at the base of a stone wall in the front yard. She has two bags of bulb plants - 5 clematis (can I plant them now, or should I wait til frost?) and a mixed bag of echinacea, liatris and asiatic lilies (they'll go along the stone wall).

The big job is the back yard which needs trees down before I can start working. Eventually, a rock wall needs to be put in after the back yard is extended a few feet back into what is now woods. Sort of a retaining wall, but more casual. Even more eventually, there will be (according to my plans anyway) a shady garden back in there.

She had an arborist come out and he told her a lot of the same things I did (get rid of all the maples, keep the oaks and prune them up, plant the kousa in that corner, etc). Made me feel good, he validated my take.

Also, a landscaper/construction guy is getting requests for gardening which he doesn't do. He asked for my info and might pass along my name and number to people.

I am a little hesitant to get happy about all this yet. I still need to earn most of September's rent, yet. And August is slipping away.

Glad to hear things are getting better!

Well, that 0.1% just came and kicked me on the ass. The middle school job is being held up and disputed - budgeting..... (onetwothreefourfivesix....). So, back to nearly square one.

Oh no!

"Oh no!" is right. (Searching for needles and voodoo dolls to deal with the school board.)

That's ok, I have a little more than 2 weeks to find a job (gulp).

Fairy Godmother put my garden work at her house on hold until contractors get through with hardscaping. But, she may have that job for me at the middle school opening up. Previous Principal called and left a message today that I didn't get until 9 pm. Will see what he has to say tomorrow. In the a.m. I go for an interview with a new school system for a job I really don't want (k-2) - but it's a job.

Need more work for August. Will do some this week at home for $ off rent. Am waiting to sign up for state health care plan until I hear back from Fairy Godmother and Previous Principal.

Am doing my best to hold my dominion, but it sure is hard to get a grasp on these days.

Was offered a job outside the district I've been working in. It's a town closer to home and one I know fairly well. That's a nice thing. The principal and teacher I'd be working with seem great. The problem is that the pay is even less than what I was making last year. I do get benefits. I need to let them know by the end of the day.

Meanwhile, I still haven't gotten a hold of the Previous Principal and don't even know if he's got a job for me.

Take it!

If something better comes along, take it too. You've been abused by that system for way too long. Now, it's time to start looking out for littlek.

Aaack. Except the one with the bennies might turn out good considering.

Any way to leave a message for the prev princ that says something about having a deadline on a job offer with good and bad points? Not that that is a smart thing to do, it might not be. You know that principal and (receptionist?) better.

That's interesting, Roger. I see your point.

Roger, I will take it by the end of the day if I don't hear back. I have a hard time agreeing with you in practice - easy in theory.

Osso, any full time position in the school system will provide benefits. I did leave a message with PP saying I had to give a yes or no by the end of the day. I also said I'd prefer to work with him.

Always a great relief to hear good news on the job search. You deserve them!

Wow, just got a call from the Fairy Godmother - I can take the job in middle school. I'll make twice as much. Not rich pay, but something I can live on......

Sometimes, you just have to take charge of your conscience, and beat it into submission. Aaah, your conscience is more highly developed than mine. You'll make a choice you can live with.

Daggnone cross posting!

YES! Good for both you and Fairy Godmother. (It's her middle school, isn't it?)