Get Out the Map

Carney Sandoe + Associates (CS+A) has referred me for two positions in private secondary schools, one in Pottersville, and one in Burlington. I'll save you the trouble of getting out a map: they're both a schlep. But theoretically "doable," if not geographically ideal, so a cover letter & suppporting documents went out to each of them today. The jobs are different, one in admission, one in counseling, so I'm hoping I get to talk with both schools as a part of my ongoing exploration. Meanwhile, I also finally talked to LT, my contact at CS+A, something that RW recommended, causing me to think "Well, yes, of course!" RW also asked how I had "gotten" LT, to which I replied that I have no idea how the folks at CS+A match clients with "matchmakers," maybe it's just geography, maybe it's random, who knows. Still, LT has been doing this about as long as I've been doing admissions, so I feel like I'm in good hands. And PA at George School is a previous client of his, so that's ANOTHER thing we can talk about in our meeting on Friday.

Busy busy busy!

Yesterday was my first day of part-time consulting at TCNJ, and it felt just great. It took me a little while to get settled in -- email account, phone access code, new ID card (with old picture, yay!), etc. etc. -- but once I did I was really motoring along. Left at 4pm because that's about as much kid-free time as I could stand, and of course he was totally fine when I popped into Laura's around 4:30pm.

I found that working in an office environment required much less stamina than full-time care of a toddler, but at the same time I was glad last night that I didn't have to gear up for another all-family exodus in the morning. Seems like this part-time thing might really help us all make the transition next fall.

Meanwhile, with my "I am working for money again" energy boost, I got a lot done this morning and afternoon. Sent out transcript requests to Brown and Penn, finished up a personal statement and submitted that along with my resume and cover letter to PDS, checked in w/ GB to thank her for keeping me in the Newtown Friends loop, sent a thank-you note to CD, and sent an email to Carney Sandoe to let them know that their "upload your stuff" feature isn't working for me. Still have more to do, but I'm definitely making progress.

A Positive Outlook

After having had several conversations with well-meaning friends that fell into the "Yeah, you had better get cracking!" category, today's meeting at the Pennington School with CD was a great relief. He came to the area late in the cycle last year, and although he had some help from the powers that be at Princeton, ended up getting the job he has through good old-fashioned work and luck. CD gave me the sense that the folks in the local independent schools communicate with each other regularly, and encouraged me to send him a copy of my resume because, "I talk to a lot of people, sitting here at my desk." Left feeling quite buoyed.

Talk Therapy

Went down to visit with BG today at Newtown Friends, a terrific and well-established preK-8 Quaker school which is just down the road from (and something of a feeder for) George School. They're not anticipating any administrative openings, but she gave me a great tour of the school and the name of someone I could connect with at George. During the tour, I got a chance to talk with a teacher whose immediate response to my situation was, "You should find some work you can do at home." I respectfully disagreed, talking about the excitement of being part of a team and a community, and it was good to have a chance to articulate that, to myself as much as to her. The more I talk to people, the clearer I become.

It's A Go

Worked out the details of my consulting work with TCNJ today, after having decided over the weekend that I wanted to go ahead and run with it. Grammy made a good point, saying that if nothing else, it would be helpful to have a trial run at a new, "everybody out of the house in the morning," routine. I'm mostly excited, and not too nervous.

Zero to Thirty?

I've been explaining to friends that part of our motivation to have Mr. D in care a few mornings a week this year was to reduce the "zero to sixty" effect of his otherwise having to go from no care to full-time care. Spoke this morning with the folks in the Business School at TCNJ about the possibility of my working there a few days a week for the next few months, and if it works out, it may help to serve the same kind of function in my life. Get used to the rhythm of work on a part-time basis so that I'm in better shape to ease in, come fall. The conversation this morning went well, I think, and it seems like it could be a win-win situation; they are very excited about the prospect of bringing someone in who they've heard good things about and wouldn't have to learn everything from scratch. BD didn't want to approach TP about the dollars and cents until he had a better of idea of my level of interest, so now I wait until they confer and get back to me with something that looks like an offer.

It's the Little Things

Today was a "keep up with the little things" kind of day. Sent an updated copy of my resume to BG, and a thank you note and "Shelley resource packet" to UR. RH sent me a posting about a job opening -- not sure yet if I'm interested -- and a great piece of constructive criticism about my resume. And I'm starting to work on a master letter to heads of school... in my head. Actual words on paper coming soon!

Out of the Blue

I got a call today from BD at TCNJ, who I haven't spoken with since he was promoted. Seems that their Program Assistant of nine months got the job of her dreams and is outta there come next Wednesday. TP -- bless his heart! -- recommended that BD talk with me about the possibility of doing some "stop gap" fill in just for the rest of this academic year; they'll try to fill the position for real in September. BD said that the position is one that they frankly would not expect me to be interested in long-term (it's an entry-level professional position), but they're interested in at least exploring whether it might be a good fit in a kind of part-time, interim way, just so they don't have to let everything go totally fallow for the rest of the year. He sounded quite excited about the possibility, so of course I said I'd look into it and see what I could do. The first concern being childcare coverage. The second being whether I might be able to do a portion of the work for from home. This could be interesting...

Damn the Ice, Full Speed Ahead!

Went ahead with a planned meeting with UR today, despite dire weather predictions for the late morning. We talked about the rewards of counseling and the challenges that some parents represent. Also talked about the possible "transferability" of skills from a college-admissions to secondary admissions environment. He mentioned development as an area worth considering, and also wondered about the possibility of a good "fit" with one of the Quaker schools; I hadn't even remembered that Newtown Friends (K-8) existed! He also liked my idea of sending a letter to schools as well as applying to be listed with Carney Sandoe, so it looks like that's my next task. On the way home, my windshield wipers could barely keep up with the sleet; I got out of there just in time!