taylweaver: (Default)
That's what I thought the van parked in Chinatown said. It's much more interesting than what the van actually said - "demolition and carting" - and it also shows how tired I was on Friday.

As for what I was doing in Chinatown in the first place - well, that is a happy thing - I finally got my last paycheck for the summer. Now, if only I could get my first paycheck for my current job... that would make me very happy.

In other news, I started wandering around to the new schools on my caseload. I was sitting in an office looking at documents in one of them when a person walked in and introduced herself as a speech teacher. She looked at me for a moment and said something along the lines of, "you look familiar, but you're in the wrong context. What's your name." I told her. Then she asked, "were you AN's roommate?" "Yes. How do you know her?" "I live with her now."

And did I mention that all three speech teachers in that particular school are Jewish? They showed me the one kosher place in the neighborhood - a falafel place, which also sells sushi. Does every single kosher place sell sushi now? It didn't quite match the other foods there - all very Israeli. Made me think of the article in the Times this week (last week?) in the dining section about how Chinese food gets mixed with all sorts of other cuisines - including Kosher. Of course, Sushi is Japanese, but never mind...

On a different note, it's strange enough when I realize people my age are married. Even stranger to meet someone around my age who is divorced.

at last

Sep. 20th, 2005 07:38 pm
taylweaver: (Default)
It's been over a week since the last entry. Shows how busy life has been. Also stressful. But mostly busy.

So here, now, is an update that is likely to be far too long, as it includes all sorts of randomness and so forth.

First of all, I have been spending literally hours a day on public transportation. At least three hours a day, if not four, depending on my schedule. Thankfully, this is likely to improve as of today, but more on that later. My commute is at least an hour each way, depending where I'm at when the day ends. Plus, there is the travel between schools. At least those "commutes" count as work I get paid for... Yes, that's right. I get paid to sit on the Q train and do the crossword puzzle.

That having been said, I have been on so many bus lines and train lines and at so many different subway stations. It has really been interesting. Over the past week or so, I have ridden the following trains and busses: 2/3 (probably both), N, Q, R (so I could get to 23rd st - more on that later), D, B (I think - that may have been last week), B64, B72. I have seen many different subway stations, having gotten heavy use out of the Q station at Avenue M (Yay Jew-land!), the N station at King's Highway and the Coney Island Stillwell Avenue station, which, by the way, is beautiful. It's full of light without any direct sun, and when the Q train pulls in, if I am in the last car, I can see the front of the train curl around far ahead of me such that I wonder: is the train really that long? I am also getting a feel for the different characters of different subway lines or different stretches of different subway lines. It's amazing how different the subway feels when it's above ground and I see houses and trees and such. Plus, no matter what line I take, I get to enjoy the Manhattan Bridge twice a day.

I have also noticed some interesting characters on the subway. It's amazing what people do on the subway. Like the woman who was testing her blood sugar (cringe) and the man who was clipping his nails (different sort of cringe) and the man who was muttering curses, then stopped muttering, then started cursing again and banging on the door. And the woman who was so tense, she kept shifting in her seat. Also, the woman who was so scared of losing her balance that she remained standing, clutching a pole, until the next time the train came to a stop - or she tried to wait, anyway, then finally gave in - before taking one of many empty seats.

In other news, I killed a yellow jacket this morning. It was on my front door. That is, the front door to my apartment. On the inside. I don't usually kill bugs, but yellow jackets sting. So it is dead now. Ew. I hope this doesn't turn into a trend. Downside to a window on the courtyard side, perhaps?

And I got to see [livejournal.com profile] mysticengineer last night. Regrettably, only for about ten minutes. During that time, Fresh Samantha (sorry, too tired to link) kept referrring to her as "engineer" while demanding help with her new cell phone. This seemed like a misuse of [livejournal.com profile] mysticengineer's title, so I decided to take true advantage of her engineering expertise (really, her HVAC expertise) to ask her why my air conditioner was getting cold, and also collecting condensation - it got my blanket wet - but not cooling the room. I was not surprised when she immediately said it was the fan. I think that in my head, I was thinking, "the problem is the part that makes the cold air come out into the room." Plus, I have learned a lot about air conditioners just by listening to the aforementioned engineer discuss her work. Of course, when the doorman wrote the work order for me, he did not write what I said - only that it wasn't cooling the room, so I am now waiting for the maintenence men to say it is cold enough and nothing is wrong. We shall see.

And con ed lost three checks we sent - two from subletters - so it has been interesting to sort out that mess. And I had to change the name on the cable in order to change the address, but after going to 23rd street two days in a row, waiting for... an average of 20 minutes each time? - and dealing today with a woman I saw yesterday and had hoped that I would not end up dealing with because she seemed to not really know her stuff - the cable is hopefully set.

And I still do not have the check for my last two weeks of summer school. Every time I call, they tell me, "in a few days," pretty much. It keeps getting pushed back - and I am getting frustrated. NEVER tell somene to mail you a check...

And math class is going okay... two kids give me attitude. And I don't really have an interpreter yet... but I am surviving without one so far... It will be interesting to get one later on.

And my case load for the rest of the day just changed - so less in-between commuting. We will see if the commute is short enough to stop at some of the kosher restaurants for lunch. (the ones on Avenue M, that is). So now I start all over again with meeting kids and so forth - which will just serve to give me more time to figure out what I am supposed to be doing with them...

And I guess that means I will be riding fewer trains - no more Stillwell Avenue. Oh well.

And no, still not fully moved in. Give me time...

And this concludes my update.
taylweaver: (Default)
So it's been a forever since I have updated - over a week. And so much has happened in this week. [livejournal.com profile] mysticengineer pointed out to me that two of the ten most stressful things one can do are move and start a new job. Well, I moved on Monday and began my job on Tuesday. I feel like there is so much to get done that I don't even know where to begin. At the same time, it is nice to know that I will soon be settled in to both my new apartment and my new job.

As for what's been going on...

First, infinite thanks to [livejournal.com profile] mbarr for helping us move in this past Monday - by which I mean he shlepped far more than the rest of us put together, and it is deeply appreciated. As an aside, he is now somewhere in the South - he was in Texas over the weekend but he thinks he is headed to Mississippi now - helping set up communications networks for Katrina victims. (Is it any surprise that the people in charge have no clue what to do with a group of people waiting to get networks set up?) So thank you.

So Monday was moving day. I think I went to bed at 1 AM? Maybe later. My room is a mess, but at least a few things have been put in their proper places... I have my own bedroom now, and it has these gorgeous windows - they let in so much light! Sometimes too much. But Iight is a good thing.

And, even better, our livingroom now has a window. Granted, they were supposed to build a wall for us before we moved in, and it is still not quite finished - it added a bedroom where half the livingroom once was - but it is there, and the livingroom is great. And we have two couches, and a sibling - not mine - who made them fit!

We even hosted dinner on Friday night for thirteen people, which was a wonderful way to start our tenure here.

And then there is my new job. That is still a big stress because I am still somewhat clueless. I am a related service provider for deaf and hard of hearing students. I am what is known as a hearing teacher. I pull them out of class - or go into class with them - and help them with their auditory (listening) and lipreading skills. I found out on Tuesday that I am working in the Coney Island area - a loooong commute - about an hour and fifteen minutes - but at least I know how to get there.

I had orientation on Wednesday, in which I got completely overwhelmed, but also met two other observant Jews - the people in charge bought two kosher bagels for them when they bought breakfast. (It looks like it will be very easy to be Jewish in this job.)

Then, on Thursday, a more experienced teacher took me around and showed me how to start things off in all the different schools - who to speak to, what to ask... I met a grand total of one of my students. Friday was more of the same - except that when I went to drop something off in one school office, I returned to her car to hear, "change of plans."

In the afternoon, I will still be doing related services. In the morning, I will be teaching high school math to deaf and hard of hearing ninth and tenth graders at - guess where, [livejournal.com profile] daphster - yes, your very own Murrow High. So that was even more overwhelming - I found out on Friday and I am starting on Monday. I spent the afternoon at Murrow, learning as much as I could about how things work, and what I will be doing there. They know I am not the best signer, so I will be teaching with an interpreter, but it makes me nervous not to speak the language. It also makes me nervous to teach high school - a new age for me. But at the same time, I am so excited. I am going to have two classes! I will be teaching math! I have no idea how my supervisor knew I could do that, but math is a subject I want to teach. So I had this nervous/excited grin plastered on my face all afternoon.

So that's what's new in my life.

And yes, I know, it has been a while since I updated [livejournal.com profile] taylwoven. I have a feeling the Verizon guy hasn't gotten her phone line set up yet.

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