the waiting period, part 1.

Other Fellows' blogs tell me that I'm not the only one treading the tide of assignments due before pre-service training even begins. Although there are a myriad of reasons I'm excited beyond all reason about my upcoming move, one of those reasons is certainly being able to connect, in person, with other people who are experiencing all of this. It's overwhelming, but in the best way.

I'd just gotten a hold on the first wave of assignments when the second wave hit today. I'd mailed in all the assorted proofs of grades and identity. I'd started putting out feelers in hopes of landing a classroom observation in the next month in either Little Rock or Memphis. I'd made a healthy dent in the 500 page manual we were saddled with the day we got our acceptance letters. I'd started two large piles of belongings on my bedroom floor, one of things to donate and one of things to discard when it comes time for me to shrink my stuff down to that which can occupy a single room. And then, today, the second wave hit and I realized the headway I'd made on my work in the past two weeks was paltry compared to what I'll be accomplishing in the next month, not to speak of what's to come once I'm in New York.

I've been assigned to the Bronx, a prospect I'm equally excited and nervous about; I simply don't know anything about the Bronx other than the stereotypes that every non-New Yorker knows. Wikipedia's been helping, though, as have Google Streetview and anecdotes from friendly if not reliable sources. Really, the only reason I'm disappointed I didn't get assigned to Brooklyn is because I think my personality is more in tune with it.

I digress. Now that my borough assignment has been established, I'm free to start apartment and job hunting. Over the weekend I'll be reformatting and updating my resume, and penning a cover letter, then making some initial contacts next week. I'm a little stressed that I can't be in the city until the late May - I'll be missing several ed. job fairs, not to mention the welcome banquets for new Fellows.

Nerves, nerves. On the flip side of that: pure excitement. The initial thrill of getting accepted has faded, and sure, a little fear has crept in. The excitement, though, that's only been building. I've got a new planner, a newly updated to-do list on my dry-erase board, a stack of books on my coffee table I borrowed from the ed. section of the library, and I've got verve to spare.

I can't wait to tell you what comes next.

June 2009 Cohort

Hello! Welcome to my little patch of net-heaven. You can call me R; I'm a Tennessee native, an Arkansas transplant, and a soon-to-be New Yorker. I'm also a roller derby player and enthusiast, a queer activist, a cat person, a non-hipster-identified hipster-music lover, and a foodie.

But none of that is why I'm starting this blog. On 12/10/08, I interviewed for New York City Teaching Fellows; on 4/10/09, I was accepted for Chemistry/General Science. I'll be using this blog as a space to organize my thoughts and record my experiences as I venture forward in the Fellows, and ultimately I hope to use it as a source of reflection as well.

So if you're also a current or prospective Fellow, if you're back in Arkansas and wondering what ever became of me, or if you just ran across my blog accidentally and took a fancy to me, stay tuned.