I was offered the job last Friday. I'm hesitant to say much before I sign the contract, but I'm really excited about it. It's going to be a big challenge, but I feel like I'm ready for a new challenge. Teaching has certainly been difficult and rewarding in many ways, but I certainly don't feel like it's my passion. So here's to change and to all the pieces falling into place.
I got my acceptance letter from law school on Saturday. I wasn't totally surprised, but it was still a good feeling to have that piece of paper in my hands.
I had a second interview at a health clinic in Nashville. I haven't talked much about it, so as not to jinx it. If I get it I'll talk more about it. If not, this may be all you ever know about it. I should hear one way or the other in a week or so.
Michael had an interview at a private non-Christian school in Nashville. It was a little odd. Not sure he would take it even if they offered, unless they offer pretty good money.
We made an offer on a house. This would be contingent on my getting the job. It's in foreclosure and has a couple other offers on it, so we're trying not to get our hopes up about it since there are so many ifs. If it doesn't work out you probably won't hear much about this either.
So far nine law schools have emailed me and asked me to apply to their programs, including the University of Notre Dame School of Law, which is a top 25 law school, and Charlotte School of Law, who offered me a $15,000 scholarship for each year. I must admit that I'm tempted, but not tempted enough not to move to Nashville. Still, it's nice to be wanted.
Yesterday we made the announcement to the student body that we're leaving. It was not the most fun moment. And some students came to beg us to stay and offer all kinds of "incentives" for us to stay. Kind of awkward, but, once again, nice to be wanted. We had originally hoped to keep it a secret and just slip away at the end of the school year, but alas, that was not to be. The rumor got out, and then we just had to address it.
In other news: Michael and I both have interviews when we're in Nashville during spring break, which is way ahead of where we were last year at this time when we wanted to move. It kind of feels like everything is falling into place for us to leave for real this year, which is good, since we've already told everyone that we're leaving. I don't know what God was waiting for, maybe to teach me patience, or for me to rediscover some passion in my life, or for some unknown reason, but I do have hope that it will really all work out this time.
I didn't know that LSAC often sends out the LSAT test results early, so imagine my surprise on Sunday when I opened my hotmail account, and it was sitting there, and had been sitting there since Sunday at 4:15 pm! Later, I read up on it and apparently LSAC frequently sends out the scores a day or two or three before the deadline. So that saved me from the last anxious night of worrying. I'm pretty excited about my score. It puts me in the 88th percentile. Top 22%. Not too shabby for a non-pre-law student who studied for about a month before taking the test. It made me think I really could have aced it if I had more time. But whatever, the average score to get into Nashville School of Law is a 149, and I pretty much crushed that. A 149 is in about the 50th percentile. Anyway, I'd been preparing myself to score a few points lower than my lowest practice test: a 159. And telling myself that a 157 was fine. Because I really didn't feel good about my logic games section. So I was thrilled to get a point higher than my highest practice test: a 162.
So after I got my score I jumped around and stood on the couch and screamed and laughed. Yesterday was a very good day.
Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world. -George Bernard Shaw
I feel like checking out. Michael has been showing a lot of movies in class, and I'm trying to keep teaching relevant material and to remember that although I am frustrated and wish I weren't here right now, I have an obligation to do my best for my students. In other words, I'm trying to keep myself clean and bright.
Also, I get my LSAT results next Monday, and I've been anxious about it. I know that my anxiety serves no purpose, as I can do nothing to make my score better at this point, yet I've had nightmares about getting a 132. That would be horrible. But it is unlikely.
And as always, I'm trying to do the next right thing.
That's what my week is like.
I was supposed to be on supervision tonight, but with the drifts up to my knees almost the whole way to the school and then back, I found someone to cover for me who's still at the school.
For my birthday I made myself a grasshopper pie. It was delicious. The recipe includes heavy whipping cream, marshmallow fluff, a little sugar, mint flavoring, and green food coloring. And some butter to hold the Oreo cookie crust together. Pretty simple, really. Also: not really a part of my diet, but I decided for my birthday I could eat whatever I wanted. And since this pie lasted for several days longer than my birthday, for those days too. 
Back in December I went to Marche artisan foods in Nashville with my dad for brunch, if you live in Nashville (Tim and Carissa) and haven't been there, you definitely should. They have pretty moderately priced food, with great fresh ingredients, and the menu changes according to the season and what's seasonal. I've loved every meal I've had there. Anyway, that time I got toast with poached eggs in tomato sauce topped with flakes of parmesan. It was fabulous. Especially for this non-egg-loving girl. So I've been craving it ever since, so I decided to try it. It was my first attempt at poached eggs, and they turned out fairly well, I suppose. My version was pretty good, but definitely not as good as Marche's. Still, it was worth a try and it was a change from our regular menu.
Friday afternoon, as I realized that a huge snowstorm was about to descend on the region, I freaked out. Not so much about the snow itself, or the gloom, or anything like that, but the Law School Admissions Council was canceling the Law School Admissions Test for Saturday all over the region, and in Philadelphia, which is where I was scheduled to take my own Sabbath Observer's LSAT on Monday. I've been studying and taking practice quizzes, practice tests, practice writing samples for more than a month now. I haven't had a Sunday without a practice four hour test since January 10. And if I had to wait any longer to take this test my head would explode.
On Sunday I checked the LSAC website several times, and there was no news of canceling my test for Monday, so Michael and I headed out to Philadelphia. We took a practice drive to the test center. We hung out with Jared and watched the Superbowl (actually, I stopped caring at the end of the third quarter and decided to go to bed).
Monday morning I woke up at 6:15, which I assure you, is unnaturally early for me, ate a relatively huge breakfast (veggie sausage patty, hashbrown, half a banana and some apple juice), and got on the road at 7:00. Even though we were in the suburbs of Philadelphia, it took an hour for us to get downtown to the test center at Temple University. I don't know if that's typical or if the snow made it worse, but it was a long commute.
I arrived around 8:00, feeling a little sick to my stomach, don't worry, it was just nerves, not actual sickness. I found the room, and the proctors told me to have a seat in the lobby. Shortly before 8:30 the six of us Sabbath keepers were given instructions, fingerprinted, and assigned seats. We were not allowed to have any electronic devices, including cell phones, ipods and calculators. Other things not allowed: mechanical pencils.
Copied from my LSAT admission ticket:
Permitted in the Test Room (must be stored under the chair and may be accessed ONLY during the break)
Test takers may bring into the test room ONLY a clear plastic ziplock bag (maximum size one gallon/3.79 liter) containing ONLY the following items: LSAT Admission Ticket stub, valid ID, wallet, keys, hygiene/ medical products, #2 or HB pencils (no
mechanical pencils), erasers, pencil sharpener, highlighter, tissues, and beverage in a plastic container or juice box (20 oz./591 ml. maximum size) and snack for break only.
Permitted on Desktop
Test takers may have only tissues, ID, LSAT Admission Ticket stub, #2 or HB pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener,
highlighter, and analog (nondigital) wristwatch. No electronic timing devices are permitted. Beverage and
snack are NOT permitted on the desktop and may be accessed only during the break.
I thought this was pretty hardcore. We had first two sections of logical reasoning, one of my favorite sections, then a section of reading comprehension, my other favorite. Each section was 35 minutes long. Then we had a fifteen minute break, in which I tried to subtly do jumping jacks in the hallway when no one was around. Get the blood flowing, you know? I had my granola bar, took an Advil to stave off the beginnings of a headache and drank a little water, not too much, since you aren't allowed to leave the test room once you enter. When we came back my first section was another logical reasoning (hooray!) and then, the bane of my existence: logic games. On each LSAT there are two logical reasoning sections, one reading comprehension, one logic game section, and then one extra that will be one of the previous three, so it could be any of those kinds, and if I had to do another logic game, I think I would have melted from nerves. Anyway, you finish with a writing sample where you are given an argument, you pick a side and defend it using evidence given in the writing prompt. So four and a half hours after we began, we were allowed to leave.
I felt approximately ten pounds lighter and much happier when I was done. Now I wait three weeks for the results. I'm curious, other graduate school graduates -- was your entrance exam this stringent? No water on the desk? No mechanical pencils?
My dad emailed me and said the kid in this comic strip reminds him of me when I was a kid. Specifically, I used to try to put spells on our cat. Anyway, I don't remember having her rhyming prowess, but I like the idea that I was that crazy and hilarious. 
"...the story of any one of us is in some measure the story of us all." - Frederick Buechner
1) What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
I went to Mexico, I was my sister's maid-of-honor, saw Billy Elliot and In The Heights on Broadway, made crepes.
2) Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions, and will you make more for next year (this year)?
One of my resolutions for last year was to lose some weight - I lost 15 pounds! My other resolution was to move to Nashville. That did not happen. My resolutions for this year are to move to Nashville and get into law school.
3) Did anyone close to you give birth?
Michael's friend Joe had a baby. Or rather, his wife did.
4) Did anyone close to you die?
Not especially close, but my great-uncle died.
5) What countries did you visit?
Mexico
6) What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
More time with friends and family.
7) What date(s) from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
May 31 - Christa and Wes' wedding
8) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I think finishing the school year was pretty big.
9) Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had a cold or two, but pretty uneventful in this regard.
10) What was the best thing you bought?
Once again, plane tickets.
11) Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
A whole bunch of congress people and senators.
12) Whose behavior merited celebration?
I think a lot of the people I know are truly amazing. They are serving God in all kinds of ways and are looking for ways to help those around them and to better themselves. That deserves celebration.
13) Where did most of your money go?
Savings, bills, food.
14) What did you get really, really excited about?
Christa's wedding.
15) What song will always remind you of 2008?
I've been thinking about this and I really haven't come up with anything. I don't really listen to pop music, so I don't know what's new and on the radio. Mostly I listen to NPR. I'm that person. Ten years ago I would have thought I was totally lame.
16. Compared to this time last year, are you?:
Wiser? I hope so. How does one measure this?
Healthier? Maybe. Once again, how does one measure this? I'd probably have to see a doctor to know, and I try pretty hard not to see a doctor.
Richer? More in savings again, so yeah.
17) What do you wish you'd done more of?
Reading, spending time with Michael and my family and friends.
18) What do you wish you'd done less of?
Anxious worrying, obsessive-compulsive thinking.
19) How much did you spend on christmas?
I don't really keep track of these things.
20) Did you fall in love in 2008?
I love my husband a lot.
21) What was your favorite blog post that you wrote?
Not that it took a lot of writing... but In The Car
22) What was your favorite TV program?
The Office and 30 Rock
23) Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Today is maybe a bad day to ask. Work can be very frustrating sometimes. I spent a lot of time after work yelling at people who weren't there.
24) What was the best book you read?
Some of my favorites: Water for Elephants, The Book Thief, The Gift of Asher Lev, Bel Canto, Skeletons at the Feast, Captivating
25) What was your greatest musical discovery?
Fireflies and Songs by Sara Groves
26) What did you want and get?
A Nook!
27) What did you want and not get?
A move to Nashville.
28)What was your favorite film this year?
I can't really remember watching any movies this year... must have been awesome, huh?
29) What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Well, I don't really remember my birthday. Sad, huh? But a couple weeks later Michael took me to Billy Elliot. And I turned 26.
30) Which celebrity/public figure did you like the most?
I don't think I like any celebrities or public figures this year.
31) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008.
Sweaters, stuff with asymmetrical lines and/or buttons, comfort.
32) What kept you sane?
Sunshine, Michael, God, Hope, Friends
33) Who did you miss?
My mom, Christa, and lots of friends, mostly Leslie. She shouldn't be allowed to go to Thailand for six months at a time.
34) Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
I don't always get what I want. (This may seem obvious, it's a constant re-learning, I suppose.)
35) What did you lose this year?
15 pounds
36 )What did you gain this year?
A dream for the future.
37) Who was the best new person you met?
I really enjoy some of my new students this year. They are fun people. They shall remain nameless to protect the innocent.
38) Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I am fighting to stay open, open like a lake.
Some new recipes I tried this year. Chocolate walnut thumbprint cookies with a cherry center and chocolate drizzle, and chocolate mint cookies. They were both really good. 
Here are some pictures that we took for our Christmas card this year. So Merry Christmas, you get to see some of the out-takes. Our tree was kind of short, so we had to get some perspective by putting the camera on the other side of the room, on top of the coffee table, on top of the ottoman, on top of two books, on top of a small decorative bureau, then we set the timer and ran around to the tree. It was fun. 
Back in November we had a joint birthday party for my mom and my sister. They both had milestone birthdays this year - 30 and 60. So on a two day trip to Nashville I spent a day doing whatever my mom wanted. We watched some Christian female comedian on DVD while doing some crafts together - making beaded bookmarks, then met Christa for lunch and did some shopping. That evening we had a special dinner with friends. It was a good time. Here are some highlights...
Today I'm thankful that:
My first snow storm of the season didn't incapacitate me.
My Christmas tree is up, and it's beautiful.
I have a warm house to be in.
We finished watching season 2 of 30 Rock on DVD. Hilarious.
I have a husband who likes to plays games.
There's a purring cat beside me.
The Broncos won.
I'm wearing a soft red sweater.
There's less than two weeks until Christmas vacation.
I'm really loving Sara Groves' remake of Jars of Clay's Flood. I bought the whole $30 package that came with extra downloads, a mug, free trade coffee and an autograph. And I think Flood was worth it. Also, my favorite song on the new album, Like a Lake. I think it's about being open even after we've been hurt. My favorite lyric from the song
"Everything in me is tightening,
Curling in around this ache
I will lay my heart wide open
Like the surface of a lake
Wide open a lake."
It's beautiful and a little sad.
I'm also enjoying her jazzy remix of her own version of When the Saints.
Also today, I'm really glad to be a literature teacher, for the simple fact that I get to read the literature too. We read part of Walden today. Parts of me think that Thoreau is totally ridiculous, unrealistic and pompous. But parts of me really love him and I smile when I read it.
My favorite quotes from Walden for today.
"For a man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone."
"I have frequently seen a poet withdraw, having enjoyed the most valuable part of a farm, while the crusty farmer supposed that he had got a few wild apples only."
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
"I would drink deeper; fish in the sky, whose bottom is pebbly with stars."
Otherwise, the last month has been very difficult at work. I don't really want to go into it or talk about it anymore. Suffice to say that at the end of many days, I come home, look at Michael, and think that he's the only person left in Pennsylvania who I like. (This is not altogether true, but you all know I'm perhaps prone to exaggeration, and it definitely feels that way some days.) So I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving break, but not the parent-teacher conferences that come before it. But if I can get through that without being screamed at (remember last year?), I think I'll have a really good break. I'm going to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday with her. Which freaks me out. How can I have a mom who's 60? I'm not prepared to have my parents grow old and die. And too often I dwell on it too much and then can't sleep. I digress. I'm going to try to start keeping a gratitude journal. Because I feel that my spirit could use it. Maybe I'll share some of that here.
In any case, you should go buy the new Sara Groves album, and if you can, you should get the extra downloads. Also, if you haven't yet, you should see Up. I cried a little. My favorite line, "I hid under the porch because I love you."
And I'm not going to try to write some conclusion to wrap this all up.
I got the postcard from Millionaire almost two weeks ago. Sorry for not updating. I am not needed as a contestant. I'm pretty OK with it. The whole two weeks I was waiting I kept thinking that I didn't really want to go, but also that maybe I was just kidding myself and trying to talk myself down in case I wasn't accepted. But when Michael called me from home to tell me I hadn't gotten I was just like, Oh well. I think this was largely due to a couple of near sleepless nights of anxiety associated with just thinking about being on national television. In any case, I won't be going on, nor winning a million dollars.
In other news, we had college days yesterday, which included getting up at 3:30 to leave at 4:00 for Washington Adventist University (formerly CUC). We had a pretty good (really long) day. At least it was quite a bit better than my last college days experience there three years ago. And by the way, yes, this is my fourth year teaching. How did this happen? I'm not quite sure. Sometimes I have to really think through it chronologically to believe it. I'm starting to forget names from my first two years. And not be able to remember who was in what class. I expect this will only get worse.
Tonight we're going to Cirque Del Soleil (or however it's spelled) with the gymnastics team!
Tomorrow is homeleave! We're flying to Tennessee! I'm going to see my family! My sister and her husband bought a house! I'm going to help paint the living room!
That is all.
Today Ben Yancer texted me to tell me I should check out mylifeisaverage.com. He promised I would not be disappointed. I've been laughing out loud a lot since then. Here's maybe my favorite:
Today, I was standing around waiting for my friend, when a businessman walked by on his phone and said "I don't care how hard it is, just stick it in!" I whispered to myself "That's what she said." The man heard, stopped walking, came back to me and high-fived me. Then continued walking. MLIA.
We've made it to our first homeleave. So far the school year has been pretty good. We had a good Senior Retreat, my third in four years. We elected Senior class officers and I think we got some good ones. There were some issues during the retreat, but nothing that we haven't survived, although one of our senior boys was expelled afterward.
My classes are going pretty well. My first section of English is so quiet. I practically have to beg for participation. Second section I have to cut them off. Class dynamics are so weird, one group will love something and the second just won't care about it in the least. My business math class I have 28 students. (!) I'm pulling my hair out a bit with this one. My classroom is too small for this many students and it ends up getting really loud really fast. I'm already really frustrated with it, which is not a good sign. I've made seating charts, I've threatened, I've taken points away, I've nearly cried in class... nothing is working. I'm going to make a new seating chart this week and give it another go.
Our housemate has made it almost six weeks. We're hoping to start integrating him back into the dorm soon. Maybe a night or two a week at first to see how he handles it, and hopefully by this time next month he'll be back in pretty much full time. We've felt mostly pretty good about it, but we do miss our privacy. And he's messy. That's annoying. I mean, I'm no neat freak, but this is beyond that.
This homeleave we went to New York for a couple of days. Tuesday afternoon we drove to Newark, New Jersey and got into our hotel. Then we got tickets to In the Heights, so we went into the city. It was a really great musical. More modern music and dancing. It was about two days in Spanish Harlem. We recommend it. It was right up there with Wicked and Billy Elliot.
Wednesday we slept in a bit and then went to try to get the lottery drawing tickets for Shrek the Musical for the Wednesday matinee. Lucky for us there were only about 16 people there trying for the 16 tickets, so we got cheap tickets and pretty good seats for Shrek. It was fun, not as awesome as some of the other shows we've seen, but still a good time. Then we found the Strand, New York's largest bookstore, with used, new and rare books. My book loving heart enjoyed it. Then we got some awesome Thai food (they have vegetarian duck) down near China Town.
Thursday we went to Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Michael's been wanting us to try out for a couple months, so we finally went. To audition you have to sit through tapings of the show, so it was really long. We got there at about 10:15 and we weren't done until 4:30. To audition, they have you come into the studio and sit to take a 10 minute, 30 question multiple choice test. About 200 people tried out, and they don't give the results until after three tapings of the show. Which was a really long time. We were pretty done by that time. And the test was really hard, so we didn't think we had passed it at all. Only about ten people did pass, and actually, I was one of them, and the only woman! I was pretty nervous. Don't really want to go on TV. Anyway, so after the show I had a short interview with one of the show's producers and they took my picture (we had already filled out these long questionnaires earlier), and that was it. I'll hear in a couple of weeks whether they want me for the show or not. Really, I'm pretty OK if I don't get on, because it just makes me anxious to think about it. But at least I know I'm smart. I guess, it's really just trivia, not smartness. Actually, I think it's just as much about being able to make good guesses as anything.
So anyway, we're home now and enjoying a quiet Sabbath together. Tomorrow we're back on duty. It's nice to have the house to ourselves for a little while.
