Five Years in Florida

This week has been cold as shit.

We were just in Michigan for two weeks, and I swear to Christ it was warmer up there.  If it's going to be this cold down here in the sub-tropics, we should by all accounts be getting some snow.

God knows we didn't get any up in Clare.

Anyway, with the Holidays over and done with, the mundane routine of daily life once again resumes.  I always hate this time of year; I'm a big fan of interior illumination, so having to pack up all that festive yule into dusty, old storage bins for eleven, long months is a horribly depressing affair.  

I can't help but assume that this is what Malakili was feeling when the Rancor was killed in Episode VI.

Fortunately for Yours Truly, Kris took the initiative and dismantled the Christmas Tree this year - I can't stand doing that.

With the decorations down, and the New Year upon us, Kris and I had no choice but to return to work... amidst much fanfare and excitement (pfft).  As could be expected, all of our kids were dragging their feet coming back from two full weeks off of school.  Not even the thrilling exploits of Alexander the Great could distract them from their new, neglected X-Boxes and PS3s and flashy new smartphones.

...and everybody know how much kids love Ancient Greece!

This week also marked the Five Year Anniversary of our move down here to Central Florida.  When we moved down here in 2007, we had no intention whatsoever of becoming permanent Florida residents.  Nay, we did so with an initial five- or six-year plan in mind, which is as follows:

1. Move to Florida
2. Obtain teaching positions
3. Obtain Masters in Education
4. Obtain Professional Certification
5. Obtain Loan Forgiveness
6. Obtain job back in Michigan
7. Move Back

As of right now, I'm on Step 5 - I should receive Loan Forgiveness by the end of this year (at a Title I school, this is granted after five years, so I'll get it by the end of the school year).  Since our national economy is currently in the crapper - and Michigan doing worse than most other states, due to the huge hit manufacturing has taken there - finding work back home in the Midwest will be nigh impossible.  I've been fortunate enough throughout this recession to remain steadily employed, and, now that I'm professional certified, I have a decent degree of job security as well (which is saying a lot in today's job market).

So next year, who knows where we'll be.  We could be here, in Orlando, or we could be back in Michigan, or we could be somewhere else entirely.  Who knows.  What we do know is that we have to move out of our current residency by July, as our landlord is anxious to sell the house.

This means that, come summer time, we'll be forced to either:  a.) find jobs back in Michigan and orchestrate a cross-continental move by the time our lease runs up in July, or else b.) find another house down here in Orlando thats the same size and in an equally safe neighborhood for a similar price (which will be extremely difficult, since we got a great deal on our current house).

Of course, there's always c.) sell our belongings, join the circus, and teach our kids how to juggle, swallow swords, grift, and con normies at games of chance.  Either way.

- Brian

Tenure

I shouldn't have to tell any of you that the economy these last couple of years has been nothing short of horrifying.

Yet, unless you're in the educational profession personally, you probably have no inclination as to how truly volatile the employment situation is for teachers and educational professionals today. Its a nightmare.

When I started out three years ago, things weren't so bad. But by the end of my first year, the axe came down and quite a few people had to be let go. Being a Temporarily Certified Teacher, I was at the bottom of the totem pole, and therefore the most at risk for being terminated. Yet, somehow, I survived the lay-offs and was invited back for a second year.

The situation (and the economy) only got worse the following year, when even more teachers and staff at our school were let go. I was so horrified of the prospect of losing my coveted salary job that I began looking into Plan Bs (none of which sounded fun in the slightest). Then, once again, I was invited back again for a third year. Huzzah for me - a lot weren't so lucky.

Down here in Florida, you have to teach for three years on annual contracts before you can become Professionally Certified. When you receive your Professional Certificate, you are pseudo-tenured, and are guaranteed a job within the district for five years. That's when you get your grown-up pants and can stop breaking into fearful anxiety attacks at work.

Well, after three years of surviving the guillotine, yours truly finally received his long-awaited Professional Certificate, and now have some degree of long-term job security. What happens after five years, who knows... but for right now, this guy's celebrating.

Slainte,

- Mr. Hough