What I see right now:

Sprout, wearing a red and green shirt and a pair of blue/black/green stripped leggings, with a green basket on his head, sitting (fully clothed) on his potty, and dancing wildly to banjo music.

"Free spirit" is putting it mildly.

Where's Your Loincloth?

Watching the Disney Tarzan with the tot this morning - he looked at the little boy Tarzen and pointed, and said, "That me!"

Yes, I think it is officially past time he had a hair cut.

Class Rehash

That didn't go too great, really. I lectured, but I didn't know whether I was getting to them at all. They just sat there... because I was too simple and boring, or because I was talking over their heads...? I have no idea.

The video clip did get their attention, so things went a bit better in the second half of class, but that first half was a bit awkward.

Oh well. I've got 11 more weeks to get it right, I guess.

Today's the Day

My in-class course has its first class tonight. I have my Power Point and notes, and the video is all set to go. A little bit nervous, but not too bad (so far). I put everything away by 8 or 9 last night, so I wouldn't obsess. Sadly, though, I made the error of staying up to watch Blow because I couldn't settle down to sleep. Man, that thing was depressing.

But, off to drop tot off to daycare soon, and then off to campus.

Wish me luck!

Interview Update

It went really well, I thought.

I almost had a stroke at first though... 2.59, no Skype call... 3.02, no Skype call... 3.03, no Skype call... I started freaking about whether my privacy settings were not letting them contact me, or maybe I was wrong and Penn is in a different time zone, etc. haha - Panic is fun! Anyway, they did call, and the tech stuff was pretty much glitchless (for once).

The actual interview was fine, I think. I droned a little on some questions, and I flubbed one of them (sorta), but I totally frigging nailed a couple questions I couldn't possibly have anticipated ("What are the main differences between teaching Native American religion to Canadian students versus American students?" WTH?) - so that has to count for something.

However, I just got an email reply to my "thank you" in which the interviewer ended with "All the best," which of course makes me start thinking I am out of the running... Pretty silly to let wording run away from me, but it can't really be helped. Nerves happen.

In general, quite okay. Fingers crossed on getting a second interview.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow, I have my preliminary job interview with Big American University via Skype. I am not entirely sure how to prepare for that, but I am digging through the uni and dept websites, and the CVs of the people who I "meet" with, as well as refreshing my memory about my own CV and my dissertation.

I suspect there will be questions such as, "Tell us about a great teaching experience," and "Give us an example of a difficult teaching experience and how you handled it," which are questions I still have no answer for. Mostly, I think it will be a meet-n-greet, to see if I am worth bringing down for the real interview and audition... So, basically I have to convince them I am worth making the next round.

Now... How does one do that?

Coaxial Cable Hunting

So, it turns out my phone wasn't working because my coaxial cable was holding on by a thread. (The one leading from the net hookup to the phone terminal, since my phone co is a bunch of tools and decided digital phone was somehow the way to go - sigh).

Being a very helpful sort of bear, Sprout finally snapped that last tether, making me realize the problem causing my phone to blink out randomly now for days. I knew it wasn't healthy, but I thought it was the network or the modem causing the issues. duh.

Anyway, once the tot wakes from his nap, we are off to make an unexpected trip to the drug store/dollar store - anywhere they might have such an item. The tech on the chat said I could go to one of their outlets and get one for free, but since I had no clue how to get to the location he gave me, I think I'm better off spending the buck or two, rather than getting lost out in the snow.

So - wheee!

I Feel Like Poop - Mean Poop, at That...

Well, Sprout is at daycare... and I am sitting here alone for the first time in about seven or eight months - the last time I had the apartment to myself was the day before my dissertation defence, I think. Man, it's eerie.

He cried and cried. And I tortured myself by standing outside the door listening to the "mooooooooommmmmyyyy!" for about a minute, before I couldn't take it any more and ran. I do hope he enjoys himself, though he looked so small and confused. :(

I don't like this.

***
ETA: When do you think is too soon to call and check in?

***

ETA2: Sprout made it through his first day in fine shape, and so did I. :)

sadness, guilt and indecision

I feel awful about sending Sprout to daycare. Today's the day, but I have this urge to call him in sick today - take one last week together. (He only goes on Mondays and Tuesdays.)

I feel guilty about sending him on a day I am not actually teaching in-class, like I am shuffling him off without a good enough reason. Sure, there are things I can do (cleaning, writing, computer stuff), and I have my online teaching tasks, etc, but it just seems so wrong to dump in at daycare and then come back home. If I'm here, then he should be, too. I have never ditched him for no good reason before, and I feel like crying.

Still, I don't really want his first day to be the day I am not near a phone... But this is killing me a bit. :(

Ingrate!

We've packed the tot's book bag with his water bottle and such, and the satchel containing the things we have to leave in his locker at the centre (diapers, toiletries, blanket, change of clothes). All that's left is to sneak his sock monkey into his backpack for nap time.

He is currently sitting in the front hall of the apartment with his backpack on, telling me it's time to go. The little ingrate.

Oh, and my phone box keeps dying and rebooting every half hour or so... I guess I shouldn't have cancelled my tech appointment, after all. sigh.

Tomorrow is the big day - no tot from 9am til 4pm. I am a little flustered as to what to do with myself. Let's just hope the phone works well enough for me to call a couple times to reassure myself he is doing okay.

How did he get old enough for daycare so soon, anyway???

:(

Panic

Woke up this morning in a major state of anxiety - I thought I had overslept and missed something really important, like work or class, etc... It makes sense, I guess, since today is the last day before everything starts off and running. Today, I have lots to do to prepare - laundry, and the phone tech guy is coming to figure out why my phone line dies every couple of hours and reboots continually.

Tomorrow, the real stress begins: Sprout starts daycare, so I am in knots about that, making sure his little bag is packed with his supplies and so forth. Lots of maternal hand-wringing going on there. I hope he likes it.

Tomorrow, the online course also begins, and I still am not certain what the hell I am supposed to do with the thing.

Thursday, I have my Big Scary Job Interview via Skype with a uni in the States, for a job I never, ever thought I would even have a shot at. I have no idea how to even prepare for that, aside from polishing my webcam lens.

Then, next Monday, not only does Sprout start daycare for his two days a week, but I start teaching, with my first actual class. It's a little horrifying.

So, add to that all the work I need to get done this month, and I am a little freaked out. But, today is still a holiday, so I need to breathe and stay calm. Cleaning, laundry, spending time with the tot... Calm.

Really, not calm... But working on it.

***

ETA: I just had the extreme pleasure of cancelling my phone tech appointment, since the phone seems to be doing fine now (since about 4pm last night). The guy on the phone ran a test, and he said it looked fine from his end, as well. I suspect it was a system problem that had nothing to do with my phone box, anyway. In any case, phone is working and I don't have a tech guy infiltrating my home today. So, now my day is clear to work, do laundry and prepare the tot and I for the onslaught we face this week. Now, to explain "daycare" to the poor kid...