I have had a ridiculous amount of exams to grade and a scary timeline in which to do so.
I am finished with grading and recording.
Life will resume.
Which means blogging will as well.
Tomorrow.
I have survived.
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Category Archives: Work
Less Craptastic Than the Last Post–Barely
Oh MY!! This morning was one for the books. So last night I ironed a bunch of clothes. I usually iron in the morning because I am to lazy to iron loads of stuff all at the same time. But last night, I ironed, which saved me this morning.
So this morning I had a meeting with my boss. I had prepared and was ready for the meeting. What I was not prepared for was waking up 10 minutes before the bus came. (In Turkey lots of employers send buses for their employees—I don’t ride with the kids.) Bulent would not have been able to drive me this morning. He needed to get to work himself in a different direction.
I brushed my teeth and hair. Threw on my ironed clothes and dirty socks. The only ones I could find. It was taking too long to dig through the sock drawer. I grabbed some makeup and tossed it in my bag and ran out the door while scrubbing my face with a baby wipe. Adrenaline and panic are not two of the best morning guests.
Now usually I set two alarms. I am neurotic about waking up. I relaxed a little and what happens? Even though I checked the alarm twice last night it didn’t go off. If I hadn’t been responsible and ironed last night I would have been out of luck. In my panic I did forget it is an option to take a taxi. It would have been a bit pricey, but still an option. I have to remember that!
Starting Work a Month Late
My Work Permit finally came. It was supposed to be processed sometime in early September. It was supposed to be ready *next week* for about five weeks. Well, I have it now. We moved into our apartment provided by the school last night. I am excited, it is quite large, has two large balconies, a large kitchen and TWO Bathrooms. TWO Bathrooms! It is also closer to downtown. Where we were living was, great. The apartment was beautiful and only about 10 minutes from my school, but it was 20 km from downtown. So Bulent’s commute to downtown would be long, expensive and frustrating. But this new place is equidistant to downtown and my work. There is also the added benefit of living in the same building as the other foreign teachers, aka neighbors I can talk to, and invite over. My former neighbors were very friendly and inviting, however they did not speak English. One of my old neighbors invited me over for tea several times, and it was very awkward. We would talk in baby Turkish, and body language until she got frustrated and called her son in Istanbul and had him translate on the cell phone. That poor man, he is patient but really, there is a limit to which I will subject strangers to inane small talk—and that is it.
You Will Have No Sympathy
I have been back to work for two weeks now, after a glorious 6 months of traveling and relaxing. And things never change. Two weeks after I started working I realized I had to do laundry. Right. Now. Because I have no clean underwear for tomorrow. Not even the granny panties. It is funny how quickly you get back into the cycle of not getting what you need to done–in a timely manner. Thankfully I realized this 9 pm and will not have to go commando tomorrow. Also, soon I will have more time for mundane chores.
Yes, once school starts I will only be working 4 days a week. (Yes, that is right, I will have one weekday off a week, plus weekends.) And right there is where you might want to smack me. Also, maybe step on my toes because….of the perks. Convenience. Every day, I eat a well balanced, freshly prepared lunch, for free. It saves so much time messing around in the kitchen the night before, or in actuality—2 minutes after I should have left. I know. But here is the thing, we are not cold cuts people, so sandwich material tends to be limited. And you do not always want to haul leftovers out. Or the leftovers you have might not be as appealing as one would hope.
This was nice about my poor student days at San Diego State when I also worked at 7-11. I got all the free day-old sandwiches I wanted. I had one for lunch almost every day. And for dinner on the nights I was too tired to cook. The wages were horrid but I made up for it by eating my own weight in stale sandwiches.
So far my lovely free lunch on real plates has not be taken for granted. Though it may soon be eclipsed by another service, I just found out about. There is a Doctor on campus, who will see you, diagnose you, and call in your prescription. Which is THEN delivered to your classroom!! Obama, when you are looking for ideas for health care—take a peek over here!!!!!
Far From The Sticks 