What's your name again?

I've been learning the names of about 40 little children over the past two days. I know most of the names but I don't know what face they belong to. Working at a school can be difficult.

As a new staff member at Honey Creek I've come to realize that I'm not horrible with kids. Also, they don't scare me anymore. They just exhaust me. After only three hours of running around with them I feel like I'm about to collapse. I've really been enjoying it, though. Most of the kids seem like genuinely decent human beings. Hopefully they'll continue on that track.

I've also discovered the next great quarterback. This kid has the worst mechanics, but he can chuck the ball. It has a perfect spiral, some zip to it and it hits me right in the chest every time. I really hope he continues on that path and finds success. He's also a pretty decent soccer player. However, I know nothing about soccer and, frankly, I can't stand the sport. But this kid has some skills.

I don't know any of the parents yet. It's kind a struggle when the kids leave because I'm supposed to sign them out. If I don't know the kid's name how can I sign him/her out? I've employed the help of some of the kids. I've already found the really helpful ones.

I've also found a group of kids that love chasing me and telling me I need to shave my arms. I'm definitely not ready for children.

In other news, I'm still waiting for the substitute teaching company to contact me. I'm going to call them tomorrow, I think, to make sure nothing was lost. I'll also be subbing at Honey Creek, which is cool.

A friend of Alexa's turned me on to a different job opportunity recently, too. I'm going to apply, for sure. It's a science writing position at U of M. I would be writing and editing things for a newsletter about the Great Lakes and how their resources can be used. It's only part time, though. I'll probably be working about four jobs for the next several months until I'm married and I can figure out where the hell I'll end up. I could be freelancing for the Saline/Milan papers, subbing/after caring at Honey Creek, subbing for PESG (the subbing company), and writing science things for U of M. Hopefully that would take care of all my bills (which isn't much) and allow me to save some money for married life. I don't really like transition periods.

All in all, though, life is running fairly smoothly. Kids are a trip.