Yeah, but you have to keep cutting it. A lot. THAT'S the pain.

I am in bad transition too. Since the ear chopping of my last haircut...which also featured the butchering of my bangs ala Mia Farrow of old...I have not wanted to think about finding a new hair cutter. THIS is the bother of short hair in my world. I can't cut it myself!

That seems weird. Most girls have longer hair as they get into their teens.

When I was a kid, elementary girls tended to go for the Pretty Pretty Princess long flowing hair, and high school girls were more likely to want something with more shape and style, which would generally be shorter.

The interwebs are totally crazy. Jilli - you will laff and laff.

So a friend that I (and a number of us) made here through Jilli moved to Michigan a little while back. Today, that friend posted to the wall of a totally different friend that I made through Joe. A woman he and his parents have known for 20+ years. My two friends - who did not know until today that they had a connection through me - met at a Witch's Tea a while back.

HOW HYSTERICAL IS THAT??

Well, we got agreements today. I wasn't offered an agreement at this time because of absences -- 6 days, the 3 this week for the worst flu ever with a doctor's note, 1 day when I DROVE INTO A DITCH during an ice storm and 2 days with migraine/bad cold.

I was told "maybe we'll offer you an agreement if you don't have anymore absences till June 3rd. But even then, we don't know if your position will be here because we are getting a 2 million dollar budget cut."

Which is bullshit, because if they "cut my position" they would have one English teacher in a high school of 200 kids. And the second English teacher was not offered a contract at all because of the same "budget cuts." And several high school teachers with good track records were told they will only be offered positions if their kids meet a particular EOC score.

For the 4th year in a row, they are cutting 75% of their upper school staff. And I was asked today to sign a petition signed by many teachers to the board about leadership concerns within the school. Which I am NOT going to sign, because I do NOT need that on my references list. A year of foreclosure hanging over our heads trumps idealism.

So. I told the head office very politely I understood, that of course my school was the school I wished to teach at, but that I had to be practical and have a plan B, so they should not take it as a sign I didn't wish to return, by that I would have to be sending out resumes. I am going to, of course, still be teaching as well as I can, but I am not going to be working any more 80+ hours weeks.

I can truthfully say I was a mid-year replacement teacher, and the school had a $2 million budget cut which affected my position. That is what they told me in the meeting. I have the strong feeling that even if I should work 80 hour weeks and not miss a single day until June 3rd, I would not be offered an agreement. So, I am looking. I have two months of a paycheck and looking time, at least.

I am still going to look for teaching jobs, but I'm also going to be applying for admin jobs, so that maybe I could just do something crazy for a while, like work a 40 hour a week job with NO classroom management for a while/people in crisis and focus on freelance writing. It's very tempting right now. It sounds very soothing.

Ugh. Ok, I had to write that all out and process it.

Thanks for letting me vent and think.

Well, I'm sorry for the bad news, Erin, but it does sound like you're getting your head in the right place and making good solid plans. That also means you can ask for references at this current school, right?

My two friends - who did not know until today that they had a connection through me - met at a Witch's Tea a while back.

Wait wait, you mean my #1 Minion?! Ha! That's funny.

Oh ugh, Erin. I'm sorry.

plus if you are laid off due to budget cuts you qualify for unemployment, yes? It's never enough, but better than nothing in a worst case scenario kinda way. You do seem to be handling the situation very, very well. That's batshit that they have that kind of turnover, and terrifying.

Erin, that school sounds like a horror to work at. I wish you luck finding a better place.

I don't know what to do about my hair. People told me it looked really good short, but after seeing some photos, I think I looked pinheaded. Maybe if I were still thin. I really didn't like having a naked nape, either. Only twice did I get a short haircut that I really liked; once from a random stylist at the cheapo place, surprise; and the first time I ever cut it short - but that stylist was never able to re-create the look she first gave me, and I was always disappointed. The way it curls, it's really hard to get it to look right around my face - I end up with little horns. I like having long hair. In the summer, short hair became a pain to keep off my face, because I couldn't put it back. And I hate to have to keep going to get it cut every month. So, for me, it's long hair. (Sorry, Hec.)

Mmm, I don't think I qualify for unemployment; it's an at-will contract anyway, so they can fire me at any time, no reason, no warning, and I'm just not getting a contract renewed.

Anyway, I got a note back from That Place, asking me to do 6 writing exercises, which seems pretty awesome and positive. Four of the 6 exercises are -- BONUS -- on books I am teaching this semester! Woo!

I told her frankly if they liked my writing, they would be getting someone who could write as much as they need after April, and furthermore, someone who can read 4 books a day.

Basically, the site is writing Buffista-style snarky but intelligent study guides for students. Um. Who do I have to KILL to do this?

And I have another freelance writing gig I haven't been contributing to as much as I would like because of my insane work schedule. So. Things will be OK if I just keep my head on straight and keep my nose to the plow and my hand to the grindstone. Or something.

Off to write!