New Beginnings

I'm finally settled in my new home and got my Internet service going. We cleaned for days; the previous owner was a pack-rat and NASTY. We worked for half of the deposit; I think the landlord got the better end of the deal. He should have paid me a deposit. My brother, bless his heart, worked with me for so many hours that I owe him a lifetime of babysitting. Speaking of which, my niece is such a doll. Mom babysits with her M-F now and the baby has brought the life back into Mom's eyes. She seems so happy. This move was good for her.

It was good for me too. I finally got a job. Woo Hoo! I had applied at Tulsa Community College for the lead tutor position at two different campuses. At the West Campus interview, a panel of 5 interviewed me, one of which was the Asst. Dean of Liberal Arts. Last week, on Tues, she called and said that an instructor had to leave, breaking her contract, due to health reasons; she needed a teacher immediately. I reminded her that I only had a BA. She said these were developmental classes and I was well qualified. How could I pass up this opportunity. During the interview I had asked about possible promotions, in which I was told that they rarely hire new teachers, especially English. Well, I am now an English teacher. I teach Writing I, which is called Eng 0923 and meets Tues and Thurs for 1 1/2 hours, and Writing II, which is called Eng 0933 and meets Mon and Wed for 1 1/2 hours. This, of course, is only part-time. I was told that after so many hours of graduate credits were completed, I could advance to Comp I. The only problem is that almost all of the teachers are adjunct, which means I will remain part-time for a very long time. But at least my foot is in the door. Ginny, my boss, said that she can't guarantee that I will be offered a position next term, but two of my students already told me that they want to take my Wr II class next term. I told them to tell my boss. We've only met for a week, but I feel like we've already accomplished so much.

I saw Jack, my ex-brother-in-law, today. He mentioned an old friend's name who we both knew in the SCA. In the SCA, everyone goes by a different name and persona. My name was Ly. Dervilia O'Shannon and I was a Calligrapher from Shannon, Ireland. There is one man whom I wanted to look up when I returned to Tulsa, but I can't remember his real last name. His SCA name was Gest Grimsson and his real name is Tony. Searching online through SCA stuff showed nothing recent, so I wanted to try his real name. Jack said he'd ask around because he can't remember it either. I'm not even sure if he is still around, but I'd like to find out.