Don't Rain on my Parade
Okay, it's time for an actual life update. What have I been up to? Well, let's see:
I went furniture shopping and bought my living room furniture at Ashley Home Furniture Store. I looked at four or five different furniture stores total, and Ashley just had the best showing. The prices were perfect (with taxes and delivery I paid a total of $1500 for three pieces of furniture), the quality wasn't matched anywhere else, and the salespeople were friendly and helpful without stalking me around the store, trying to get me to buy.
I went looking for something similar to this: http://www.roomstore.com/shared/pages/product/product.aspx?ItemId=1410763&ChildId=1414598&xs=95563cfad1b-c2bc-4079-8695-c400ea490163
And bought this: http://www.ashleyfurniture.com/Showroom/Item_Popup.aspx?sItemSku=82803U1&sSelectedItem=8280338 with the chaise here: http://www.ashleyfurniture.com/Showroom/Item_Popup.aspx?sItemSku=8280315&sSelectedItem=8280338
I'm very happy. They are going to be delivered May 1st. Since it's a factory direct store, and they didn't have it in stock, they have to actually manufacture it, but it's worth the wait. The next time I need to buy some furniture (dining room table!!), I'm definitely going back to Ashley.
Also, I bought a 47" TV online for about $800, but have been having a bitch of a time getting it delivered. I won't go into the details. Lets just say I ordered back at the end-ish of March, and I'm finally getting it delivered this Friday. It has been a little bit of a hassle, but in the end, as long as I get it, I'll be happy!
I've been doing a LOT of shopping and money spending lately (trying to help boost the economy!!) since that nice First Time Home Buyer's Credit came in. Don't worry. I put a nice chunk of it into savings, as well. Still, it's nice to have that extra cushion of money and to be able to buy things for my home that I both want and need!
Speaking of my home, I am getting a roommate! She's a great girl that I met at church and I'm very excited for her to be moving in. Also, it'll be another source for income! So, that's not bad, either.
The big earthquake that struck in Baja California, Mexico on Easter Sunday could be felt all the way in the Phoenix area. I've never experienced an earthquake before. By the time the waves hit us, they were very much weakened, but it was still enough to set my house a very gently swaying. I was home alone, and had laid down on my couch (college dorm futon!) for only about five minutes when I felt the couch moving. At first I thought I was going crazy, then I was suddenly sure someone had snuck into my house and was moving my couch (and was afraid to look for a minute) and then I realize that my whole house was moving. Except, when I saw the walls and blinds swaying, and the hanging lights swinging, I thought I was experiencing some kind of vertigo, until I realized that was the house itself moving and NOT my eyesight doing crazy things.
It lasted 10, 15 seconds tops, but was kind of exciting! Of course, that's because I wasn't at the epicenter. I'm sure down in Mexico it was very frightening!
The schoo year is quickly winding down to a close. I can't believe I'm almost done with my second year of teaching! We have four weeks of actual school left, and then the week of finals (the students only go to school through Thursday) and we're done! It really will be over very quickly! I signed my contract for next year, yesterday afternoon and this year I actually get to go up a step in the pay scale, so a little bit bigger paychecks next year, hurrah! And I have a job still, hurrah! I also found out that I'll be teaching Theatre again, and most likely on my prep, so I'll get paid extra for that, as well. And, by second semester (or soon after it begins) the performing arts center will be completed and I'll be able to teach in there instead of cramming kids into my classroom or fighting with the cafenasium staff to use the stage in the lunchroom while they're trying to clean, so we're definitely going to wait to do theatre the second semester.
And my creative writing class looks like it's staying, as well. Since it was no longer open to freshman, and the numbers dropped so much, there was only one section, and it had only 19 kids. They were possibly going to get rid of it since the numbers were so low! But at the moment it looks like it's staying. So, next year I'll have two blocks of regular freshman english, plus one block of creative writing. Then second semester I'll have three blocks of regular freshman english (ugh!) and one block of theatre. Honestly, I think I'll be okay!
Well, the play got cancelled again this year. The kids are just too involved to commit enough to make a play happen. So, they voted to scrap it and just do another Improv Show. But they really did well at the Improv show last semester, so I know they'll be fine. It's better than not having any production at all!
Also, I am going to be involved in the school talent show as part of the "Faculty Follies" deal. I am parodying the "Camp Granadah" song (Hello Muddah, hello faddah...) to fit the high school more. Since it's supposed to be follies, I didn't want to just get up there and sing. I do that well. That's not funny! So, I thought a parody would be better! I hope the kids like it and that my fellow staff members don't mind getting roasted just a bit.
I think that pretty much covers all the big stuff. Once again, I'll try not to take so long to update again.
I went furniture shopping and bought my living room furniture at Ashley Home Furniture Store. I looked at four or five different furniture stores total, and Ashley just had the best showing. The prices were perfect (with taxes and delivery I paid a total of $1500 for three pieces of furniture), the quality wasn't matched anywhere else, and the salespeople were friendly and helpful without stalking me around the store, trying to get me to buy.
I went looking for something similar to this: http://www.roomstore.com/shared/pages/product/product.aspx?ItemId=1410763&ChildId=1414598&xs=95563cfad1b-c2bc-4079-8695-c400ea490163
And bought this: http://www.ashleyfurniture.com/Showroom/Item_Popup.aspx?sItemSku=82803U1&sSelectedItem=8280338 with the chaise here: http://www.ashleyfurniture.com/Showroom/Item_Popup.aspx?sItemSku=8280315&sSelectedItem=8280338
I'm very happy. They are going to be delivered May 1st. Since it's a factory direct store, and they didn't have it in stock, they have to actually manufacture it, but it's worth the wait. The next time I need to buy some furniture (dining room table!!), I'm definitely going back to Ashley.
Also, I bought a 47" TV online for about $800, but have been having a bitch of a time getting it delivered. I won't go into the details. Lets just say I ordered back at the end-ish of March, and I'm finally getting it delivered this Friday. It has been a little bit of a hassle, but in the end, as long as I get it, I'll be happy!
I've been doing a LOT of shopping and money spending lately (trying to help boost the economy!!) since that nice First Time Home Buyer's Credit came in. Don't worry. I put a nice chunk of it into savings, as well. Still, it's nice to have that extra cushion of money and to be able to buy things for my home that I both want and need!
Speaking of my home, I am getting a roommate! She's a great girl that I met at church and I'm very excited for her to be moving in. Also, it'll be another source for income! So, that's not bad, either.
The big earthquake that struck in Baja California, Mexico on Easter Sunday could be felt all the way in the Phoenix area. I've never experienced an earthquake before. By the time the waves hit us, they were very much weakened, but it was still enough to set my house a very gently swaying. I was home alone, and had laid down on my couch (college dorm futon!) for only about five minutes when I felt the couch moving. At first I thought I was going crazy, then I was suddenly sure someone had snuck into my house and was moving my couch (and was afraid to look for a minute) and then I realize that my whole house was moving. Except, when I saw the walls and blinds swaying, and the hanging lights swinging, I thought I was experiencing some kind of vertigo, until I realized that was the house itself moving and NOT my eyesight doing crazy things.
It lasted 10, 15 seconds tops, but was kind of exciting! Of course, that's because I wasn't at the epicenter. I'm sure down in Mexico it was very frightening!
The schoo year is quickly winding down to a close. I can't believe I'm almost done with my second year of teaching! We have four weeks of actual school left, and then the week of finals (the students only go to school through Thursday) and we're done! It really will be over very quickly! I signed my contract for next year, yesterday afternoon and this year I actually get to go up a step in the pay scale, so a little bit bigger paychecks next year, hurrah! And I have a job still, hurrah! I also found out that I'll be teaching Theatre again, and most likely on my prep, so I'll get paid extra for that, as well. And, by second semester (or soon after it begins) the performing arts center will be completed and I'll be able to teach in there instead of cramming kids into my classroom or fighting with the cafenasium staff to use the stage in the lunchroom while they're trying to clean, so we're definitely going to wait to do theatre the second semester.
And my creative writing class looks like it's staying, as well. Since it was no longer open to freshman, and the numbers dropped so much, there was only one section, and it had only 19 kids. They were possibly going to get rid of it since the numbers were so low! But at the moment it looks like it's staying. So, next year I'll have two blocks of regular freshman english, plus one block of creative writing. Then second semester I'll have three blocks of regular freshman english (ugh!) and one block of theatre. Honestly, I think I'll be okay!
Well, the play got cancelled again this year. The kids are just too involved to commit enough to make a play happen. So, they voted to scrap it and just do another Improv Show. But they really did well at the Improv show last semester, so I know they'll be fine. It's better than not having any production at all!
Also, I am going to be involved in the school talent show as part of the "Faculty Follies" deal. I am parodying the "Camp Granadah" song (Hello Muddah, hello faddah...) to fit the high school more. Since it's supposed to be follies, I didn't want to just get up there and sing. I do that well. That's not funny! So, I thought a parody would be better! I hope the kids like it and that my fellow staff members don't mind getting roasted just a bit.
I think that pretty much covers all the big stuff. Once again, I'll try not to take so long to update again.