Reduction in Force (RIF) Notices for Teachers and Other Social Service Workers in California

Hi all....today is a weird day for me. I am kind of worried as the economy in my state is going crazy! Lets see, where do I start? I responded to Mama Flo's blog and realized how fed up I am with financial decisions that have been being made by people who have no clue. During the last eight years with the Bush Administration, I have seen federal education funds cut to practically nothing. The "No Child Left Behind" laws have really hurt kids and left LOTS of them behind! Teachers and support staff in public schools and other social service institutions are waiting for RIF (reduction in force) papers because there is no money for schools and teachers, but there is plenty of money for defense. Our state funds are pretty non-existent too. I understand that gas is over $3.50 a gallon and times are tough all over. The sad truth of the matter is most people DO NOT WANT TO SEND THEIR KIDS TO PUBLIC SCHOOL (if that can possibly help it.) Between violence, lack of supplies and sometimes forty bodies stuffed in a room in the most overcrowded places, I can't really blame them. A lot of people want other educational options for their kids and I agree that Charter Schools can be good thing along with other specialized programs. The problem with Charter Schools is that a lot of money is taken from the public schools and then the schools slip into a state of decline. Hopefully, I will not get a notice of non-reelection come this Friday. I am close to being permanent in status with LAUSD. There are lots of other people that will get laid off before me. Wish me luck. I haven't smoked yet!
Peace,
Diva

Catching Up on My Blogging....Stress Sucks!

Hi there all.....
I just gone done catching up on all of the blogs I used to read daily. I miss you guys and my support system and figured I better post! I have been craving cigarettes like mad! Sometimes my best thinking is not the way to do things.... I had been on Chantix for four months so I figured that when the prescription ran out, I would not fill it. I figured that I was on it a month longer than most people so I would be fine if I just stopped taking it. Bad decision! I was cranky and irritable because it is the most stressful time of the year for me and I have a lot of things to do. After four days of being one very unhappy camper, I called my doctor and told him I thought I should taper off slowly and he agreed. (My students probably would have agreed too if you would have asked them. I refilled the prescription and he told me to either take a full dose every other day or go down to one pill a day. I am taking one pill a day and my anxiety and stress level is way better and fortunately, I did not smoke even though I was really tempted. I DO NOT want to be a pack a day smoker and spend a lot of money on killing myself and smelling bad! I am finalizing my historical research project that I will present at the beginning of April and am finishing my resume, cover letters and other paperwork I will need to send out during spring break. The budget for California just came out and a lot of teachers are probably going to be laid off on March 15. The economy is going crazy out here and a lot of people are losing their jobs along with their homes. I hope all is well everyone and I continue to look at fellow bloggers posts when I feel good or when I feel bad! I like being a non-smoker 90% of the time and want to keep it like that!
Holla back all!
Peace,
Diva

Too Much Work! I Can't Wait Until Spring Break! About 118 days on Chantix.

Hey All:
I am really tired and need a vacation....OK, maybe I just need a few days to sleep in late. Spring break is coming up March 15th through March 23rd and I am still not sure what I want to do besides look for a new job. I figured between preparing for that History conference I am scheduled to present at and looking for a new job I better be able to get at least a long weekend in. Well, this year has not had a lot of relaxation tired to it but I am finally taking the whole summer off! In the nine years I have been teaching, I have only taken ONE summer off and that was my first year teaching. I will have to wait until June to really relax and I may then still be looking for a new job! I am going to start applying early (during spring break) and hopefully have something lined up by the end of June. Well, I can hope right? I can't believe that it has been 118 days that I have not smoked and a cigarette has sounded pretty good today. I know that thinking about one and smoking one are two different things so as long as I don't take action on my thoughts I will be fine. I called in to refill my Chantix prescription and I am going to do the taper down thing like Maggie did. I will start out by going to one pill day for awhile and then to the half pill thing. I will post about how it goes.
Peace.
Diva

Didn't Smoke In Vegas and Won $600.00! Yeah!!!!!!!

I had a great time in Vegas! First, I did not smoke! I thought about it a couple of times and once when I was sitting next to someone on a slot machine who was smoking I thought about asking for one. Oddly enough, as quick as those thoughts came into my head, they went out just as quickly! I went with a friend who wanted to go to Circus Circus because she brought her daughter and I was like, "I'm gonna gamble in Circus Circus? Ok........" She took her daughter to where the kids play for prizes and I sat down at one machine and started playing nickles. I won over a hundred dollars and decided to cash it out since I had lost about that much the night before. I decided to play the same type of machine right next to it and was playing it for pennies. I could feel the machine was gonna hit and when it did, I had no idea that I won $550.00 worth of pennies! Too bad I wasn't playing nickels! That would have been a few grand! My friend was shocked that I won that much money playing pennies. I was definetly happy to be walking out of Vegas with money instead of scraping together money to drive home and get snacks! I was only gone for a day and a half but I had a great time. It was definetly a good way to celebrate my birthday even though today is my actual birthday. I Hope everyone is doing well and staying smoke free.

Peace,

Diva

VEGAS BABY!!

I was supposed to go to Rosirito Beach in Mexco today but there were problems with the reservations. The reservations said I booked for February 11, 2008 which just passed and was last weekend. I know I booked the trip for The Sunday of Presidents day to celebrate my birthday. The timeshare company is checking it out. Well, since that trip did not work out, I am going to Vegas for the today and tomorrow. I have been dying to get my gamble on! I have also thought about smoking recently but every time I smell cigarettes I think YUCK! HOW GROSS! I think I will be fine in Vegas. I am still on Chantix and I am going with non-smokers. I did fine at the Pachanga Casino in November after I got over the smell. Gotta run and pack!
Peace,
Diva

Happy Valentine's Day All...Wishing Everyone Lots of Love!

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. I do not have a special "valentine" but did have a great time seeing the Aretha Franklin concert with some friends. My Godmom got us tickets and we had a blast! Aretha rocked the house. I was bummed that she did not sing one of my favorite songs "A Rose is Still a Rose" but her rendition of "Chain of Fools" was definetly was worth seeing the show for. I was sitting somewhere near a smoker because I could smell it and I am really amazed that my sense of smell has become so good. Anyway, I am off to bed.
Peace,
Diva
PS: For whatever reason, my spellchecker is not working on blogger! If I seem less literate than usual, that is why! I was wondering why the last few times I ran the spell check feature there were no errors! I thought I was getting smarter! NOT!

Life is a Fragile Thing....No Where is Really Safe Anymore....

When I was driving to work the other day, all of the streets were closed down. I couldn't figure out what was going on so I started listening to traffic radio. I began hearing about a "man armed with multiple weapons who shot two LAPD SWAT officers, killing one and wounding another, has been killed, and three other men also died at a Woodland Hills house." I live in the next suburban area near there called Winnetka! Well, come to find out after I could see that the house was going up in flames that morning that the radio was wrong! It was happening in my area of Winnetka (two blocks from my house and no wonder I could not get to work!)

A lot of people died needlessly in that situation and it made me realize how fragile life really is. No place is really a "safe" area. I was driving through a "better and safer area" to go work in a "more dangerous area of town" across the Valley. My heart goes out to the officers whose lives were lost in the line of duty trying to save the family of some nutjob who decided to kill off his own family members! I just can't even imagine what was going through this guys mind. He originally called the police saying he was going to kill his family and then had a shoot-out with them after killing his family members in cold blood. I guess the guy who did this was 20 years old and not a very stable individual. I am not sure if the police killed him or he is in jail.

I am still amazed and shocked that all this happened two blocks away. I definetly feel that it is important to live in the moment as you never know what can happen. I think the world is going crazy and not in a good way! Sorry to be a bummer today but lets just say the whole thing made me think!

Peace,

Diva