House Bill Three, and the loss of my job.

I was sitting at Book People, contemplating wasting some time by studying for the GRE or drinking the medium good coffee ( with free soymilk,) when a message popped up on my computer. It was my principal, informing me that there had been some "changes in the legislature that would affect my schedule." I was told to call her. When no one answered I emailed and was instructed to arrive at the school at 10 am. Its not like I didn't know what was going to happen. OK. Back up. For a year now I had been working as a theatre teacher for a charter school. I loved my kids, enjoyed my job, was actually USING my degree ( I know, shocker!) The money, however, stunk. There was no room for mobility. We held classes in a portable and when it rained I would run from class to class, portable to portable, uually with some old t-shirt left over from a costume project over my head. I was always allergic to my classroom. The kids kept getting me sick, and I bought an endless supply of hand sanitizer. So not ideal, but the kids were lovely, and I enjoyed the management. I was prepared to ride out the years of teaching until I decided what I reallllly wanted to be when I grew up. But then, the dreaded email that sent me to the principals office arrived. I was told that a bill in the legislature removed the 2 years of arts requirements and brought them back just to one. And they raised the years required for foreign language. Spanish in, Theatre out. And I was out. On my butt. Once again, without a job.

This week has been a turning point for me. While I spent the majority of the first few weeks of my summer sitting on my butt watching ninja video-- now I am on a mission. Unemployment groups and networking, grad school prep and resume building-- follow me as I figure out how one actually figures out what they want to be when they grow up, what you do when you really have no money and still want to have fun, and the secret tips and tricks I will learn about the job search, in Austin, along the way.