How I got my job

Busy day yesterday, big day ahead of me, so of course I get insomnia and can't sleep this morning. Oh, well, I may as well tell this amusing little story about getting my job.

One day this summer -- I think it was a Wednesday -- I got a call from the Monroe school district (the next district over to the east from where I live, and one I wouldn't mind teaching in at all) to set up an interview at Monroe Junior High. They wanted to know what was a good day, and I told them either Friday or the following Monday, but I'd prefer Monday. "Great," they said, "we'll call you later today to tell you which day for sure."

Later that day, I got a call from someone who quickly said, "Hi, this is So-and-so from the M---- school district, and we'd like to set up an interview for a job at the junior high on Friday." Somehow, I got it in my head that this was from Monroe, so I said "Sure," assuming that this was in regards to the earlier call and that Monday wasn't going to work out. So she wanted to give me directions, and needed a reference point. I said I'd be coming in on Highway 522, and she didn't know where that was. I figured that was odd, as that was one of the main drags through Monroe, but mentally shrugged and said "the fairgrounds," as the Evergreen State Fair is held there every year, and that's another major landmark in town that I'd be near to get to Monroe. When the person I was talking to said, "What fairgrounds?" I twigged on that something got crossed, and finally asked, "What district did you say you were calling from again?" It was Marysville, not Monroe. Once that was straightened out, I got the directions and everything was fine. And Monroe called later that day and I got a Monday morning interview there as well. (I have no idea how well I did in that intweview, however, as Marysville made the offer on Tuesday -- one of the benefits of a references list with summer contact information! -- and as I was very impressed with the interview team and their program, I immediately accepted and wrote to Monroe to bow out of consideration.)

Now, the ironic twist to all this, and perhaps part of the reason for my confusion (aside from both starting with M), is that both districts are part of my family history. My grandmother worked in Marysville for many years -- and still lives there, for that matter. My dad and his brother and sister all went to school there as well. In fact, the building I'll be working in was the brand new high school my father attended. My aunt and uncle live in Monroe, and she was a teacher in that district. In fact, she may have helped plant the seeds for my career. When I was still in high school, she was the librarian at one of the elementary schools, and they gave themselves the nickname of Wizards. (This was long before Harry Potter, of course. The logo they used looked more like Gandalf or Merlin.) My aunt knew that I was a fan of The Wizard of Oz, so she invited me to give a talk to some classes and show off some of my collection. "Neat," I thought to myself, "and I can get out of school for a day." I had a great time, and I got better at my talk as the day progressed, and it seemed to go over very well. I've never thought of that day as being the genesis of my teaching career, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if it wasn't at least a factor. (By the way, by a twist of fate, that day I was a guest speaker in Monroe, there was some snow flying around. My school district delayed the start by an hour, but Monroe did not. So I was one of the few kids in my district that didn't get to sleep in that morning...)

(due to posting difficulties, this entry was written by Eric, but posted by "Tegan")