I got punked!

It's still hot!

I do not have an air conditioner in my cell, so I have a fan on me at all times! Not kidding, no exaggerations, if I move, the fan moves with me. If I happen to forget about moving the fan with me or my eyes get dry and I turn the fan to the side, just a little - I get beads of sweat on my forehead. Not kidding, no exaggerations, no lies. This is serious stuff, people! 

Just HOT LIKE FIRE.

Anyway, it's been an interesting couple of days. Sit back, because you will not believe my first story. Remember that interview that I had on Tuesday. For some reason in my head, I thought I might be okay. Well, no! The closer it came to the interview, the closer I wanted to call her and cancel. I had to do a sample lesson for 28 Kindergarten students. It's not a typo, I wrote a two and an eight!

If you know me, you know I can roll with mostly anything. I can handle a lot, I have handled a lot and that is just who I am. However, tell me why 28 kindergartens punked me! I mean, straight-up took OVER! I didn't even want to put this on a blog, because it was so embarrassing - I couldn't believe it myself.

Let me start from the beginning. I am in the class and they are having a dance party! It was coordinated by the teacher as a reward for them being good. Yup, some Wii like guy is doing a dance and they are all dancing on the rug. It was absolutely cute. The woman who coordinated the interview comes in and I ask her, while they are dancing, can I go to the board and write my objectives and expectations. She is nonchalant and says, "oh sure". I get to the front, they stop the dance party and the teacher introduces me. I'm looking at her like, "Uh, I'm not ready". What? Anyway, I am caught totally off guard - I fumble a little and then get myself together. I tell the kids, I've been living in the Washington, DC area for the past 10 years and then I ask them, "What important, famous person lives in Washington, DC and he happens to run the United States?" They answer everything from Sponge Bob to Michael Jackson. I then say, "does anyone know President Obama?" They all yell, YAYYYY! I'm mentally shaking my head now!

I then have them transition from their "rug spots" to the tables. All of them, except two students get up. At the same time, they both start crying. Not just crying, but hobbled over on the rug, holding their stomachs and crying real tears. I quickly got them up, moved them to a desk away from the rest of the class so they could calm down.  Nobody has time for that! One boy walks up to me to say that these two girls are messing with him. I then ask him to pass out the papers, which turned out to be bad, as well, because he was fighting with one group and not giving them the papers. SMH. Another girl kept getting up to do her hair, three or four kids kept coming to me with their papers, saying they were done, the same little boy who handed out the papers came to me six times to say, "that they were looking at him". By the sixth time, I asked the boy, "are you going to melt away, because they are looking at you?" He thought about it for a little while and then said, "no". So, I said, "SIT DOWN then".

I think I said, these phrases 20 times a piece. No joke, no exaggerations, and no lies.

• "Please sit down"
• "Please have a seat"
• "I'm going to need you to sit down"
• "I can't help you until you sit down"
• "I said, have a seat"
• "Sit it down"
• "Sit down"
• "SIT DOWN, NOW"
• "1, 2, 3, all eyes on me"

They were running all over, I had to raise my voice a couple of times, one girl gave me the rubber band, so I could do her hair, one boy refused to sit down after I refused to answer his question, until he sat down. One girl, insisted she was going to throw up. So, I insisted that she step away from me, quickly. I meant to say, away from the class. *clears throat* You know.

PUNKED People - they punked me.

Afterwards, they wanted to debrief. AHA. She asked me how did it go.  I said horrible. She laughed. She asked me what I thought I did right, I said, "I thought I utilized the student who was going to give me problems by having him be my helper, but that backfired, so I can't think of anything". She then gave me about 8-10 things I did do right and echoed the same things I thought should have been better. She laughed when I said, you actually saw that many good things? SMH

Anyway, my interview today was interesting. It was very different from my last interview, no more sample lessons. I refuse to do them! Today, I analyzed data, said what programs I would create and spoke with the principal. I used this as my opportunity to interview him. I don't have a job, no apartment, but I decide to take this time (like I have time) to interview him and see what type of organization am I dealing with, what type of leader and what is the culture. The funny thing was that I had just met with the other guy that was interviewing for the same position and we worked for the same organization at different times and he was a male. For me, I knew this was key, because men are lacking in the education field and I know that it is important for them to be represented. Well, as I crossed both of those jobs off my list of potentials, I get an email, asking if I can come in tomorrow for a final interview. It was not the kindergarten mob, but the other high school that I interviewed with today. I was shocked, but said I would inquire of my supervisor.

Anyway, those were my interviews!

My escapades on the train!

I was so tired and this guy had his legs open taking up the two-seat row. I was so tired, I did not even care. I went to him, motioned for him to close his legs so I could sit down. So, this was right at the end of the car and in my head, I thought I was safe from foolishness. Well, this guy comes walking through from the other car. He was not moving extremely fast, but he was swift. Then I see two police men, not the MTA police, but the real police come to the door in the car next to the one I am in. They are looking through the window and acting like because the car is moving, they didn't want to walk through. I sit and try to send them subliminal messages on how stupid that is, because whoever they are chasing, is long gone now. Well, they must have got it, because they went running through the car a few seconds later. I was like, right, Sherlock.

I had on another dress today and as I am walking down the street, a gust of wind sweeps through. Even my dress went up, AGAIN. A lady walked past, talking about, "Ah yay, ya". I'm looking like, lady - please. I need to wear pencil skirts from now on.

On the platform, I'm waiting for a train and I notice this brown-skinned girl walking towards me, but I couldn't tell you what she had on, because her lipstick was BRIGHT ORANGE. NOT RED, like fluorescent ORANGE. I'm looking like, "why do I see lips walking towards me". Originally, she was walking like, she knew she was it and nothing could stand in her way, but by the time people including myself started looking at her strangely, she bumped her shoulders down a few notches and hid behind a column. Probably to wipe that mess off. Literally, all I saw were these thick full orange lips walking. Crazy.

I went to lower Manhattan yesterday evening, near Grand Central Station. It was beautiful. People were outside, lying in the park, talking on the phone, playing music, selling incense, records, dancing, there was a Starbucks, banks and it was clean. I realized I've been in the Bronx, Harlem and Brooklyn. This was where the cleanliness was located, along with the thousands of cabbies. I was so excited, I sat down on the side of the road and enjoyed my Starbucks. I hadn't had that in three weeks. For that matter, I haven't seen a Starbucks in my travels for the past three weeks. It was great. They had good restaurants and then I realized why everyone wants to live in Manhattan. It is nice. It's the city, but despite that NY reputation, people were just out and sitting - listening to the music, dancing, kissing, or enjoying the scene.  

Speaking of scenes. I was walking to work today and I saw this guy, who had a leash, but I didn't see a dog at the end. It was a turtle. I stopped to take a picture, but some guy got in my way and then I was too far away, but this is what it looked like. This one was a new one for me.  

COUNT DOWN TO MY JOB: 2 DAYS

COUNT DOWN TO MY APARTMENT: 6 DAYS