The Stickler Ninja

So I managed to go to Morro Bay with the boy and my camera, but didn’t snap a single picture. I know, I know, but I totally took some poetic mental postcards and here they are:

Morro Bay

Windswept waters,

bobbing otters

above of the tips of kelp beds

poking their heads

and flippers to see

the strange humans staring at them

from the road

and throwing nuts at the beach squirrels.

The rock looms like an asteroid on land

and breaks in the wind in two.

And there we stood

watching the waves

hair flying wildly

and fingertips entwined

like so many tangles of seaweed

watching the wind comb back the water

and comb over our hair

until we were forced to squint

from sun and sea alike.

And this one is more a poem of a different kind:

Paul

He may not look like much to you,

but I can see the tossed seas in his eyes,

and I know the place between his thighs,

and he’s held me softly while I cried.

He may not look it,

but he’s sweet and kind,

though he plays another part sometimes,

and I can the flecks of secrets

in his eyes,

and I’d hold him to me if ever

he cries.

And I will look into

those sea-tossed eyes

and tell him it’s okay to cry

and let go of the tempests inside

and find calmer waters

in my arms.

Today was the last staff meeting of the year for me at my school. I was expecting it to be relatively light and fluffy, considering that it’s the end of the year and everyone’s apathy is so damn palpable that it’s practically another member of the faculty, but no. No, my friends, it couldn’t be that easy. Quite the opposite, the administration planned yet another session of “Death by Powerpoint” for us, which wouldn’t be so bad if we were actually getting paid for the time we spent listening to people drone on about Moodle or something akin to that.

I mean, seriously. The best part of the meeting was also the longest since our principal wanted one of us from each site to give a brief recap of the successes we’ve had over the year. Well, that quickly degenerated into a session of school asking every single one of their subject area faculty to “weigh in” on how the school had thrived under the new program.

And then I went up and presented for my site, and I did a damn good job if I say so myself. I highlighted what each of us had accomplished and how we really worked as a team, despite everything that’s happened, and that I was exceedingly lucky to have had this experience as my first teaching position and that the women at my table represented some of the greatest educators I had ever known.

Oh yeah baby, I socked it to them.

After the break that came mercifully after another short presentation, I took the liberty of introducing myself to the new principal and telling him that I won’t be around next year. He said he had no idea but he wished me luck and said that enthusiasm like mine is hard to come by. Damn straight. I got some high fives from peeps on my speech and the site that followed me cried “No fair!” when I was finished. I rule at public speaking on the fly, y’all. It just felt good to have one final opportunity to show the school just what they were losing by sacking all of us who so clearly love our jobs and our kids. Oh well, hopefully someone else will snatch us up.

After the speeches, the meeting went from zero to unbearably boring. I mean, they spent over an hour and half talking about Moodle. I left the room twice, once to use the bathroom and another time to check my voicemail in case I had a job offer. Turns out it was an appointment reminder. Oh well. Anyway, by the end, I was flagrantly texting the boyfriend and pleading with the gods to end the misery. I mean, they’re only supposed to pay us for three hours and we were already over that. I wrote a note to another teacher telling her that I plan to put four hours on my timecard. (And yes, kids, teachers pass notes, too.)

I was so jazzed to get out of there I practically ran for my car and found myself speeding at several points on my way home. I was so over it all that I forgot about an appointment I had at one. I made it for later, thankfully, but I just could not focus on anything other than lunch when I was done with that purgatory of a meeting.

So, in sum, staff meetings are irritating and generally completely unhelpful. Just so you know what you have to look forward to the next time your employer mentions one. I recommend bringing reading material or a sudoku just in case.

I already told you about the boyfriend thing, and that is definitely awesome. But what’s equally awesome is the fact that I have a job interview in early June, making that two responses out of *insert absurd amount of applications here*.

But you want to know something else that’s unspeakably awesome? I have a new car. Yes, a new-new car from a Toyota dealership in Santa Maria. I put down the down payment today and have had my lease approved for a 2012 silver Corolla LE. And yes, the car has a name already: Astrid. I couldn’t be happier.

Yesterday after school, I got a bug up my butt about getting a car, since I’ll definitely need one when I head back home in the summer. That, and Paul is way the hell in Bakersfield and I can’t drive poor King Leonidas all the way there since one of wheel pinions is set to fall out if I take it too far. King Leonidas, by the way, is my dad’s 2000 Corolla that has been through the war and back, hence his Spartan name. Poor guy is a hell of a car all things considered.

Nonetheless, I started my search on Carmax and then called my dad (something I did a great deal yesterday. My dad is basically like consulting a walking blue book). He told me to just go to a dealership since the site was asking for a lot considering the mileage and specs on the cars I had in mind.

So, I headed to Toyota and was prepared to be totally overwhelmed. Thankfully, I met Javier, one of the dealership’s salesman, and he asked me what I was looking for in a car and showed some reasonably priced used cars on their lot. He showed me a 2003 Camry and 2009 Saturn Aura, both of which I took for test drives around the area. I really liked the Saturn, and I was actually ready to purchase it right after the drive, but refrained.

After a quick consult with dad and getting the Carfax sheets on both cars. My dad said that even though it older, the Camry would be a better deal overall. Well, to make a long story short, Javier came back and told me that with my credit I could get a good financing deal to lease a new Corolla, top of the line and fully loaded. Not surprisingly, I said that that sounded awesome and I tested out the car.

Let me just tell you people that Toyota’s are great drives anyway, but this car was more like flying a UFO than driving a car. And yes, I mean that in the best possible way. And to wrap this up, all I had to do was put $800 down and that got me a monthly payment of a little under $250. I mean, DAMN!

So I signed all the paperwork on Astrid (my new baby!) and she’s sold. But the only sticky wicket is the insurance, which I can’t quite afford to money down for at this time. Thankfully, the dealership is willing to babysit Astrid until I can pick her up when I get paid at the end of the month. I just wanted to make sure that my loan and everything was locked down before I walked away.

I mean, it’s been a whirlwind week and I have to thank the Big Guy upstairs for looking out for me in a big, awesome way this past month. I’m on a major life adrenaline rush right now. I am just thankful for it all, quite simply.

So ninjas, if you want to be able to lease a new car in your mid-twenties, make sure you pay your bills consistently on-time and communicate with your lenders if things are short at times. I worked my tail feathers off to get the score I have and you can do it if I can. Trust me.

Love you guys and gals!