The final big change that has come this fall is my work. I changed jobs in mid-September, I am now a high school counselor! I'm still at the same school, which is really nice because it made the mid-quarter transition easier. After ten years of teaching this is a BIG change! So far I'm really enjoying it, but still feel very much like I'm swamped and climbing a steep learning curve. My constant refrain is, "I'm not sure, let me check on that and get back to you." I say this many, many times a day. I still have barely unpacked my office. It was over a month before I got anything put up on the walls. It is also a transition from the large space of a classroom to the small space of an office. Not as much wall for posters so I had to be selective.
So, the first photo had me at my desk, courtesy of my colleague Josh. Here's another shot of the desk without me. This is what it looks like if you are standing in my office doorway facing my desk.
This is the view if you are standing in the doorway facing straight. I have one of only two counselor's offices that have windows and mine is the only office with two windows. My office mate (the closest office to mine), Rich, has one big window - but more space. So, there's the trade off I guess. The big windows are wonderful, but they make the office cold. I don't complain to any other counselors though because I'm the new kid and I got the windows.
Here's the view I pretty much have from my desk. I look out into the area of the building known as the Northwest Commons. It is a little hexagonal seating area. Sometimes the teachers use it as teaching space, which is fun to see. It is a corner where two hallways meet.
Behind my desk I inherited this crazy piece of furniture that I have managed to fill with all manner of things. There is little organization, rhyme, or reason to how things are in my office at this time and I don't know when that will change. It may not be until next year. But, I brought some of my favorite toys with me to my office, like my 8 ball collection. And most of my Elvis stuff.
My newest additions are the Wonder Woman stuff. I love Wonder Woman! She's my favorite superhero! When I was a little girl I watched the tv show and then I learned that Lynda Carter and I have the same birthday. So, I have the same birthday as Wonder Woman, that has to mean some of her powers rubbed off on me, right?! Anyway, Sandy learned of my love for WW and gave me the Collector's Edition Wonder Woman Barbie for my birthday. One of the best things is the comic book that is in the box with her is "Wonder Woman for President". Then, in celebration of my new job Sandy & Katie gave me the book, "What would Wonder Woman do?: An Amazon's Guide to the Workplace". Too funny!
When I'm sitting at my desk if I'm not looking out into the commons or out the windows I'm looking at this. I have the force with me, and I have my "Say Anything" poster (I love John Cusack!), and some of my other favorite things to look at. The best part of being a counselor is that almost everyday I feel like I really got to help a kid, or that I really tried. The biggest perk about being a counselor is no grading. A job without homework has taken some getting used to, but I'm managing. I miss parts of the classroom though, it is an adjustment and sometimes a lonely one. I guess it all just takes time.
This is the last of the "What the Heck Have I Been Up To" series, we're pretty much caught up now.
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