The J O B

Ok Ms. Mom! Here are the gritty details... I got hired on at a charter school that just completed its planning year so this will be the first year that the school is actually up and running which means no cliques, no preconceived notions, and fewer barriers to break down (I hope!). I'll be the only special ed person for grades 6 through 9 which is my favorite age span given that 6th grade is about the time that most students start to really develop a solid self image and decide how they feel about education.

I got to see the building where the school is going to be which, coincidentally is where my other half attended high school which is a neat connection. The principal has promised to teach me Russian (I learned how to read and write it but can't speak it to save my life) and he plans to take the staff on an international field trip at the end of the year.

Otherwise, this new job is a great big unknown quantity given that the school is brand new. So for all I know it could be nothing but darkness and maybe a few dragons but I'm hoping that's not the case!

On another note, since I start work on the 17th (two weeks of orientation before the first day of school) I have decided to spend my last week of freedom taking the most out of every day! I know, I sound like a convicted killer off to death row but my nights of going out until 3 am are quickly coming to an end since I'm old and can't function on less than 9 hours of sleep. This evening we decided to drive down to Connecticut to see what was going on with the car scene. It was my first time going to this particular strip and I was in awe almost the moment we made it down there. There were cars everywhere, taking up almost every parking lot of every fast food joint, gas station, and strip mall. Hot rods, muscle cars, giant trucks. There was even a firebird jacked up on 42" tires.

In the parking lot of a small strip mall, all the import cars were gathered, turbo engines screaming every time they spooled, blowoff valves spitting air as guys blew by in their mortgages on wheels. We decided to give them a little show and took off to drift the 240 around the light poles in the empty half of the parking lot. It was crazy to see the crowd that gathered to watch while the tires billowed smoke and the front bumper of the car rode just inches away from the pole, pulling into a perfect circle.

Of course, this inspired some of the other clowns who got their licenses from a Cracker Jack box to attempt to show us up. (Cue ominous music.) The first MENSA candidate to try pulled into the empty parking lot in a brand new, $90,000 car. He kicks the car into gear, starts to slide sideways, then totally loses his shit. The car goes crazy and the kid can't seem to get it under control. Five seconds later he's pulling back out of the parking lot after damned near wrecking the most expensive vehicle in the parking lot. Needless to say, he didn't come back after that.

The next up was a brand new Corvette Z06 who also managed to hook the car sideways, made it halfway around the light pole, then lost control and went careening towards the center island. Near accident number 2!

The only car that came close was a beautifully built Subaru Impreza Sti. Being an all wheel drive car, the Sti can't drift but it certainly made a great show of doing donuts in place, looking like it was floating in circles on a cloud of smoke.

Then the cops came. Whoops. See what we started?