Not Quite There Yet.

It's been 2 weeks since I became unemployed, and as one of my latest entries revealed, it's not exactly the most terrible thing in the world. I'm sure I've watched entirely too much television, but at the same time, I've started writing again and have gotten some creative ideas for photography and painting. I've applied to what jobs I can, and I even went and applied this morning to a bunch of jobs within the Nashville Metro School System. I wouldn't mind teaching art to 1st graders! But since I have a Bachelor's in English, it might head that way towards teaching English. Which is fine, because I've always had that little backup plan stored in the depths of my brain, just in case becoming a famous rock star didn't pan out. My mom has always told me she thought I'd make a great teacher and while I don't really have a whole lot of patience, I think actually enjoying teaching others about literature or art would kind of even out the aggravation. At least, that's my idealistic hope. We'll see how it goes should I actually get a position in the school system. Tennessee's apparently got a great program where they put wannabes through the license and certification programs even if you've never had experience, so I suppose that works just as well as going through 4 years of school to get the same thing.
In happy, wonderful, joyous news, I'm going home next week! J and I had a long discussion over the weekend and he made the point: this will (hopefully) be the last time this happens, and I may not get another opportunity to have this time off again. So while I have the (essentially paid) time off, I'm going to squeeze in a long trip home. This will be the longest trip I've taken since...well, since college. I'll leave Monday morning and go straight to my mom's house, and she got Tuesday and Wednesday off from work so we can shop and hang out together. I'm so excited to see her! I haven't seen her since Christmas. Thursday I'll leave to drive up to Front Royal to see my brother and sister-in-law, and my NEPHEWS!! I've been missing my nephews' hugs since October of '08, which is far too long. They live 5 hours from my mom, so there's never enough time to make a visit up there. Front Royal was my home for a good 3 months and I miss it everyday. I can't wait to see them, and it's right before Owen's 7th birthday, so I'll get to celebrate his little party, too. Then Sunday I'll drive back down to Roanoke and spend the night with my hoebag and stay with her Monday. Then I'll be back Tuesday. Maybe. I'm so excited to go home and see my family. Of course, when I get back, that means it's mid-May (eek!), so I'll really have to start hardballing with the job search. But it will be so worth it just to see my brother again and have our 1am conversations.
J goes home tomorrow through Sunday, so I have to figure out how to occupy my time the whole weekend. I'm obviously alone at the house most days, so it's nothing new. I'm headed over to T&M's for a birthday Friday but will more than likely be home by 8 or 9, and I'd like to get a girls' night, or just some sort of get together Saturday night, but it depends on everyone's plans. I haven't seen a few of my friends since my birthday, a month ago, and that's just unacceptable. They're a huge reason this unemployed round is so much easier to handle, but in order to enjoy their company, I sort of have to see them.
It's time to go work on my next great novel. And wait for time to crawl by to get to seeing my family next weekend. In addition to waiting for someone to pick up the phone to let me know they simply could not get through another workday without me in their offices.
LC.