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21890. arkymalarky - 6/3/2007 2:55:21 AM Today I've been soaking up the reality of this horrendous school year being over and almost being done with graduate school. It's been great to be at home with no projects or papers due, none to grade, no pressing deadline breathing down my neck. My rural activist partner just finished her last year of teaching and I think she's going to enjoy retirement, since rural activism has been a second full-time/overtime job for her--much more than for me--the past two years that I've been in grad school. My last class starts Monday at noon, and after it's done I will just have my work/home routine in the fall. I will be doing much less local rural education activism, but will continue to be active at the state level. That means life will be less crazy for a while.
Eleven years ago tomorrow we moved into this house. About seven years ago I left my job to work where Bob does and was so miserable and homesick that by October I'd already been hired back where I am now. I was happy as a clam at home and work when Mike Huckabee announced his grand plan to close rural high schools and I hit the ground running to try to fight it. We won that battle with a huge effort that ended with my superintendent retiring early with a return of lymphoma. We've been struggling ever since. The internal conflicts are what's going to get us in the end, and they're almost always impossible to win. I'm very tired of that struggle (the state political stuff became fun after it was less directly threatening), but I've got one more short round with it and then what happens happens. I really feel like I did all I could.
This summer I'm going to reclaim my health and my house, and next year--whatever happens to my school after that--is going to be a good one. After that I can take it a year at a time and work there as long as the campus is open, and when it closes I will take one of two standing offers, and in 3 years I will go to 5/7 time, which is four classes a day. I can do that pretty much anywhere. Or I can flat out retire and do something else.
I really can't quite believe summer's finally really here. I can't remember the last time I looked so forward to it. 21891. alistairConnor - 6/3/2007 9:30:45 PM Clip of Jane Fonda on Letterman, talking about her eco-friendly clothes 21892. betty - 6/4/2007 3:20:59 AM Do you see that notebook type thing in my hand...it is a diploma!
21893. betty - 6/4/2007 3:21:41 AM congrats on being donw arky, I know how good that feels. 21894. arkymalarky - 6/4/2007 3:44:15 AM Hey, you look great! I love the dress. And that diploma is stunning! Can't wait until I get mine. I "graduated" in May according to the commencement announcement, but don't get it until August, since I have this one class to take. They don't do August graduation. 21895. Ms. No - 6/4/2007 7:05:49 AM Betty, you look wonderful and I agree that the diploma is the perfect accessory! 21896. wonkers2 - 6/4/2007 1:17:27 PM Congrats, Betty & Arky! 21897. judithathome - 6/4/2007 3:31:35 PM Betty, you look great in that dress! Can I borrow it for a wedding in July?
And congrats to both out smart ladies of the Mote...! 21898. judithathome - 6/4/2007 3:32:03 PM OUR...sheesh. I reread it, too. :-( 21899. thoughtful - 6/4/2007 5:13:04 PM Congrats to the graduates!
Good job on the dress, even better job on the diploma!
21900. wabbit - 6/4/2007 6:54:35 PM Congratulations to Arky and Betty!
Arky, in reading your Message # 21890 I was struck by how long some of us have been conversing. The initial fascination with web communities has faded and we have become casual as old friends do. We may not post here every day, but I know I check in almost every day just to see how folks are doing. I remember how miserable you were when you took the job at Bob's school. I remember when Betty was in Philadelphia, pre-weed, talking about First Friday gallery crawls (back in the Fray). The Mote will be eight years old this September. It doesn't seem possible. 21901. betty - 6/4/2007 7:30:17 PM I forgot there was life before Weed. 21902. arkymalarky - 6/5/2007 1:21:20 AM Wow, Wabbit. I can't believe it either. It's funny, I don't remember posting much about Bob's school, but I must have. It's just that the Mote's been such an integral part of my daily life for so many years I don't separate it out from rl. I loved the people and the kids there. It was just the job that sucked. ;-) Bob loves it there, but his setup is completely different. They still ask me every year or two if I'd like to come back, which makes me feel good. They assure me I will have it much easier this time if I do. The principal they had left a year after I did.
And another thing about the Mote that still very much applies, is that when I have a question no one around here can answer or an issue I need perspective or even help on, the first place I think to go is here, or to email Mote people and ask.
21903. arkymalarky - 6/5/2007 1:33:33 AM And it can be a great place to rant still, so I'd rant about the dolts who dumped me out of my last class, which is this summer term, because I hadn't paid tuition by their deadline which I had never received information on and figured was not a big deal since today was the first day of the class anyway. But I'm too exhausted to rant and I already dumped all my good stuff on the poor lady behind the computer terminal who was trying to explain why I had to find my advisor and re-register for a full class after I'd pre-registered without him online. I finally had to go across campus and his secretary did it for me, even though it's already full. I went back and paid, and the same lady was there and I got my revenge by dripping sweat all over my check.
Or I could rant about the meeting that was canceled that I drove 30 miles to go to because I didn't get the message on my home phone that it was canceled because I was huffing and puffing all over campus trying to get into that blasted class and Bob was outside all day doing yard work. 21904. judithathome - 6/5/2007 11:57:08 PM Arks, do you remember that that weekend is Father's Day? No biggie here but just thought I'd mention it.... 21905. arkymalarky - 6/6/2007 4:07:00 AM I thought about that. It's not a problem for me, if it's okay for y'all. If not, the next weekend is good too. I'll have to take the Sunday train back, which doesn't leave until around 2:30 (evidently add two or three hours to that, from my past experience ;->). 21906. Ulgine Barrows - 6/6/2007 7:45:16 AM 21884. judithathome - 6/1/2007 4:10:04 PM
Beautiful link. Thanks! 21907. Ulgine Barrows - 6/6/2007 8:43:17 AM larky.
'This summer I'm going to reclaim my health and my house'
I know you'll do well, larky.
My asperations are much the same, even though my now-husband snorted at them. 21908. robertjayb - 6/6/2007 3:45:19 PM D-Day... 21909. arkymalarky - 6/6/2007 3:49:09 PM now-husband? Is that the same one you've always had?
Mine just nags me about it, but I don't listen. He's all about the health since he's doing so well after being an overweight smoker for so many years. And I am proud of him. It's been around 3 years now and he's not only kept the weight off and kept away from the tobacco, but he exercises still and his numbers are all great. If I lost the amount of weight he did to get where he is I'd weigh 85 pounds. And he's not bad, just borders on preachy sometimes--he claims I call mentioning the subject "preachy."
I have lost five pounds from my highest weight, but it's a slow process, especially wrt the house.
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