conference time

I went away for awhile and was actually busy WORKING. Yes, working...a fairly foreign concept seeing as I didn't work for a solid month. It's almost enough to make a girl crazy...good thing I had my youth conferences to fall back on. I picked up 3 cities and had a good time in each:

Atlanta: Getting there was rough...never fly US Air if you can help it. After I arrived I met up with some friends from Wyoming. It was so great to see them but our time was limited due to the fact I had to get up at 7AM the next day...and with the time change I was fading fast. My kids that week were fantastic...they all loved each other so much that at the end of the conference, every single one of them cried...it was sweet. Then on to...

Irvine: I was happy to go to Cali if only to soak up some sun...and I did...by the pool. The conference was okay...I didn't like my kids so much...they didn't bond very well and several of them were...not the smartest. There was one girl who didn't know right from left and made a huge deal every time we asked them to move for various activities. These kids are in 9th grade...if you don't know your right from left at that point in life...you have some issues! We also had a disappointing moment where at the Variety Show, the emcees started improv-ing and one kid said, "Get up here and dance like a retard!" We have a whole workshop on appreciating diversity in which we talk about why maybe you should use your words more wisely and using that phrase can hurt someone. And they had all gone through that workshop...we failed at our jobs! The highlight of the week was going to Laguna Beach with Sam, Susan, Cindy and G. Sam decided he's going to live there because "if it's good enough for LC, it's good enough for me!"

Columbus: It was my first "new" city as I have never been to Ohio before! I was ed support which meant I got to hang out with the program coordinators a lot...one of them being my good friend, Amy. I had a fun time sorting papers and forms and checking facebook a lot...all while getting paid! I also got to drive a jeep cherokee around...I almost drove it all the way back to Missouri...I liked it so much! Columbus is also the home of the infamous State interview question: the hotel is located on 3rd and Gay St. The scenario for the question is how you handle students who are making fun of Gay Street. You have to role play this scenario out...it's really awkward and uncomfortable...but if you work State....you must answer it!

So overall, I was glad to be back teaching briefly. And now back to the job search...