Back to School

I am going tomorrow to begin setting up my classroom. As it stands now, I am going to teach a pre-kindergarten classroom. However, there still may be a chance that I am switched to first grade. I just hope to get a concrete answer soon.

Today I went to a teacher store in Brooklyn with a new friend of mine. I bought my welcome back to school poster, my grade book, a calender, a dress the bear weather chart and more. My new friend is another teacher at my school. Her name is Hana and this is her first year of teaching too. We met when we went to an orientation for our school last month.

I will tell you more as I know more. I apologize for not sounding more excited. However, this time of year for a new teacher is filled with paperwork, pressure, reading , preparation and anxiety. Once school begins and the students are in I know I will have a million stories and I am sure you will all be tired of me telling you about my classroom.

Love you all,

Callie

Too Much

As many of you know, I have been offered a job teaching at PS 185. The school houses grades from Pre Kindergarten to Second Grade. I am not sure which grade I will be teaching yet but I am thrilled to be a part of this school.

On Saturday I had my last night out with Stefanie. Stef has lived with Ryan and I since the end of May. I will be sad to see her leave on Sunday, but Ryan and I will enjoy having the space back (finally, I can get him out of my closet.) Below are the pictures of Ryan, Stef and I saying goodbye in style. It was not my proudest night in NYC, but man did I have fun.


I was so excited that the cab had an interactive tv in the backseat. Apparently, this is an ancient development, I just haven't been getting in the right cabs.


We were feeling pretty good at this point.


Stef referred to Ryan and I as Dad and Mom. So this is our Mother Daughter photo :)


Ryan and his friends Kevin Brady (Brady) and Kevin Smith.

It's Been Too Long

It has been more than a month since I last posted a blog. So I think I will catch you up on my life in New York.

A few nights after the cockroach, my friends Molly and Jeff came to stay with us. Ryan was bummed that he would be out of town for that because Molly and Jeff are a lot of fun. We did all the tourist things while they were here. We even walked from my apartment to Battery Park (check a map and you will be stunned). From there we could sit by the river and look at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

After Molly and Jeff left, we had our friend Adam here for a weekend. And then our friend Julia came to visit. Julia was staying at the Library Hotel near Grand Central. Between 5 and 9 they have a free wine and cheese hour. Needless to say, we finished a bottle of Prosecco and headed off to a VIP North Face event that she was hosting through work. The event was sponsored by Bullet Bourbon, so we did our fair share of damage there (who ever knew a bourbon and lemonade tasted so good?) After the event, we met up with Ryan and some of his buddies from work and the Whiskey Lounge just south of Central Park. The night was long but fun and we ended it the best way possible, at McDonald's.

I did not ever quit my job at The Lenox Room. Nevertheless, they are shutting down and remodeling for the next 3 weeks. So this Saturday will be my last day at Lenox :) During the time they are closed, I will prepare for my first year of teaching. I have received a nomination letter from PS 185. They would like me to teach either pre K, K, or First grade. I have not signed my contract with them yet and so I am not positive this is official. I have a meeting at the school tomorrow and then I will know more.

Ryan had this whole weekend off. We spent the whole time together and it was great. We have a new 46inch plasma tv and I think he is in love :) Last night we watched the Tiger's play in High Definition. Even though they lost, it was fun to watch them on the big screen.

I apologize for the length of this Post. I will be sure to update more frequently in the future.

Love you all,

Callie

COCKROACH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stef and I are home alone for the week and just 10 minutes ago we received a very unwelcome guest. Stefanie went to wash out her cereal bowl that she put into the sink. All of a sudden she screamed and jumped away. I didn't want to look, but there in the sink was a 2.5 in long cockroach with antennas that reached another 3 inches. As soon as I saw it, I screamed too.

What is wrong with me? I just got back from South Africa where I had to spray my bed with bug spray nightly. But for some reason, this bug was toooooo much for me. Every time we got near him, he spread his wings threatening to fly away. Stef and I would scream and rum to a corner, jumping up and down and holding on to one another. We looked pitiful.

Finally, we got the mini monster to crawl on to a magazine. From there, we covered him with a cup and carried both the cup and the magazine to the hallway window. The window looks out over the trash area and from the sixth story we through our new friend to the ground, magazine, cup and all.

The drama is over. Stef is cleaning her room now and I am going to try and sleep. I have a big day of scrubbing the apartment from top to bottom tomorrow.

I knew this day had to come. Every New York apartment has a cockroach or two. Hopefully mine just had one :(

Love you all,

Callie

I QUIT

I can't do this any longer. This job is too terrible. The girls I work with are very nice, but I cannot work for the people I work for anymore. You heard it here first. I am done, done and done!!!

Now I just need to let them know ;)

My Apartment

Finally, pictures of my apartment. The first picture is of my living room. Ryan and I have put in out futon with two book shelves to the side of it. In front of the futon on the opposite wall is our tv (that is where the flat screen will go.) The color of our walls are Shakespeare Tan. Ryan was impressed that I painted everything in one day. He never knew I was so handy :) Our walls are still blank, but we are in the process of picking where to hang everything.


Down below is our kitchen. It is pretty big for an NYC kitchen, but small by all of your standards :) There is lots of cabinet space and we even have a cute little table, compliments of Helen (Thanks Helen).

Next to the kitchen photo is our bedroom. It is kind of boring looking, but once I have a job and more decorating funds, I will play around with this room too.



Missing in the photos is our bathroom, closets and guest room. But they are not very exciting so you are really not missing much.

Love you all.

Callie

Pokey Peter

I am sitting in my apartment at 1:00 waiting for my Super. He called to say he would be right up to put a bike hook in our ceiling. "Thank you Peter, I appreciate you doing this." I say to him. What I am really thinking is. Wow, it only took you one month to get up here. But we know he has been very busy lately.

So Peter (or Pokey Peter, as Ryan calls him) is here right now. He is putting in ceiling hooks and making all sorts of noises. Some of which come out as grumbling expletives. While all this commotion is going on in the kitchen. I am sitting on the couch, wondering when he will finish and writing to all of you.

I just wrote this to let you all know that Peter is one of my favorite characters I have met in New York City. What would I do without Peter?