I'm so unmotivated right now.

I really thought that getting a job and actually knowing what the plan was for next year would really light a fire under my ass and get me moving on my classes, but I think I may actually want to do LESS. No more, tomorrow is the day of much homeworking.

I've been into Pampa twice this week in search of a new abode, and its just not looking good. I managed to find all the apartments in town, but I have come to the tragic realization that my current place has spoiled me for anything I am going to be finding there. Every place I drove by was just so ghetto...and while I am not above staying the night in a trashy motel in the search for a cheap place, I am most definitely above living in a trashy ghetto apartment for a year. I just cant do it anymore, I've had better, and I want to stay that way. My only lead on a place is at what appears (from the outside) to be the nicest apartments in town. They have one opening for August, a one bedroom townhouse that is a little smaller than my current place. The only problem is that she has NOTHING that she can show me before that. So I could sit on my hands and wait until August 10th for this place to open up, and then look at it and make a decision, or I can jump in and decide to talk it sight unseen. In my friend Brad's eloquent words, They want me to Buy Pandora's Box, and move on in. I really would rather have a house than an apartment, but I just cant seem to find anything that is available to rent, instead of buy. I'm not really in the market to BUY a house in Pampa this year. No, not so much.

The SBUX countdown is now officially on. They handed out the work schedules for the next two weeks yesterday, so I know when I am working right up until my LAST day, August 3rd. Yay! Now, lets see if I can stand the place that long, its getting more and more difficult.

Work work all week long, punchin' that clock, dusk til dawn

So, I've been a little on the lazy side about keeping up with this silly thing. Call me busy.

I've been working 40+hours/wk at sbux lately, plus trying to keep up with all my summer classes. It hasn't exactly been working, and I fell pretty behind in my classes. Hopefully I caught back up in time, but I guess I wont know until grades have been posted for them. Its been a pretty stressful summer, and until today I had been pretty worried about the future.

I interviewed twice for a job teaching art in Groom, TX...and I thought it had all gone pretty well, I was confident that they liked me and that I was probably getting the job... NO. They hired the other girl. Boo.

I drove my ass to Dallas to interview for a job in Whitewright, TX. Actually, it was more complicated that just that. I had asked off work for 4 days to go home and hang out with the fam, and specifically get to see Vivan. But, the Friday before I was supposed to have Monday-Thursday off work, Groom called to set up my second interview. They wanted Tuesday, but I convinced them to set it for Thursday. There went one day of the vacation, but hey, maybe I would get a job out of the deal. Then, Monday morning I woke up to get ready to leave town and go home, and almost immediately received a phone call from Whitewright, wanting to know when they could talk to me about the open position. Not just talk on the phone, but in person. Gee, how convenient, sure I'll find a time in the next few days that we can talk in person...So then the plan for the week changed drastically. I left Canyon that day at 2, and drove to Abilene. I went to dinner at Roadhouse with the fam, and then I piled Vivian into my car and we drove to Ft. Worth that night. Katie and Bobby were nice enough to let us stay with them, and when we got into town Viv was all wound up and played with the dogs for what seemed like forever to me (maybe it was all the driving I had done that day?)We went to bed well after midnight, and I got up again at 4:30 to get ready for my interview. I had to shower up and get all pretty, and leave town by 5:45 if I was going to make it to Whitewright by 8am...it was a 2 hour drive to N. Dallas. The interview went well, and went on for all of 20 minutes. And then it was over. I drove 8 hours to get there at a convenient time for them, and it took 20 minutes. The (brand new) principal assured me they would let me know something within the week. I got back in the car, and headed back to Katie and Bobby's apartment. I made it back before Vivian even woke up, so when I got there I kept quiet so I could get a little down time. Once she got up and moving, the 4 of us hit Hurricane Harbor for the day. It was a blast! Bobby and I hadn't been since it was Wet n' Wild, and they had added a lot of new slides since then...and Vivian had never been before. I had been wanting to take her to a water park for years, so this was a really good time for us. We stayed until they kicked us out at 7, then went back to the apt and showered up for dinner. We all got some significant sun. Cheddars for dinner was tasty, and Viv and I hit the road for Abilene afterward- completely beat. It was a freakin miracle we made it back, I was so tired I was falling asleep. I had to stop a couple times and shut my eyes so that I didn't crash the car. We got back to town at almost 2am, and by that time I had no voice at all. Did I mention I am apparently allergic to Dallas? I got up the next day about lunch time, and couldn't speak. My lymph nodes were all swollen up, and I was running a 100 degree fever. I was almost certain that I had somehow acquired strep throat after looking at it. Ridiculous. I slept off and on all afternoon, just trying to feel less like shit. I finally got on the road for Canyon at about 7, and rolled into town about 11:30. Still feeling like shit.

The next day I still had no voice, and still felt remarkably like crap. I hit the student medical center with the intent of getting the strep shot, but they tested me for it and it came back negative. Instead I got a big fat allergy shot in the ass, an antibiotic to treat me for tonsillitis and some stuff they apparently mix up in the medical center that they called "throat numb" (it was appetizingly kept in a piss cup). I hit sbux on my way out of town for some sick tea, and my manager made me gargle some salt water...and by some strange luck by the time I made it to Groom for my interview, I actually had my voice back. The interview went great, and they said they would let me know something by the next afternoon. On my way home from Groom, Whitewright called to let me know they had hired the other girl. Thanks guys. I only drove 20 hours roundtrip to talk to you. That doesn't show dedication or anything. The next day, Groom called and let me know they had hired the other girl as well. Well Damn.

Up until today, things had been going much the same. I hadn't interviewed with anyone else, and had few actual prospects. But today, my luck changed. I interviewed in Pampa, a town about an hour Northeast from Amarillo. We talked for quite a while and things seemed to be going well (something I apparently can't actually gauge), and she was wrapping things up and excused herself to speak with the superintendent for a moment. I sat and waited for what seemed like forever, and got more and more excited about the job. I came up with several more questions I wanted to as her. When she came back, she sat down and immediately said "so here's the deal, I want to offer you the job." I'm pretty sure my eyes bugged out of their sockets, and there was really no concealing my excitement. Obviously I accepted it. I'll be the only art teacher at the high school (4A), and I'll be teaching 6 classes a day. They are remodeling the high school right now, so I haven't seen my room yet- but it will be all new and redone when I get to move in. Yay! They have 2 kilns, and she said that they would basically get me whatever I needed. I'm pretty stoked. They are also paying me a lot more than I was looking at receiving at the other schools, so thats good too. Now I just need to find somewhere to live a little closer than an hour and 20 minutes away. I'm hoping to find something in Panhandle, so that I can split the difference between Amarillo and Pampa. That way I can see my friends whenever I want to. Yippee for big girl jobs!

Tomorrow night I work til' midnight, but after that I think Courtney and I are hitting Hoot's to see the Electric Gypsies! Its time to celebrate!