The Search is Over

After I graduated with my Masters, I spent five months applying to jobs.  I had started applying a full four months before graduation.  It took over 160 applications, and ten interviews.

Today I received the wonderful, long-anticipated phone call:  I will be teaching English full time at MacArthur Middle School, in Ft Meade.  I am thoroughly excited, and feel that all my dreams are coming true.

First I got the girl (Rachel)
Then I got the experience of a lifetime (Oxford)
Then I got the job (MacArthur)
Next, will I get published.....

:-)

A great Saturday

This past Saturday, Rachel and I drove to the MD Renaissance Festival, where we met her cousins and uncle.  The day was great, especially because of all the people we spent it with.  Met my friend Sarah there, and then had dinner in DC with Rachel's best friend Heidi and her brother.  It was good to have a day of fun, and to enjoy the suddenly cool fall weather (mmm, warm cider).

Sigh...

Been a year since one of the best weeks of my life, my week abroad with Rachel...

Rachel's Birthday

I took Rachel to Colonial Williamsburg for her birthday.  We spent two nights at a resort, and then a day in the Colonial city.  It was nice, and she had never been there before.  The people we spoke to were all very entertaining, yet extremely knowledgeable.  We toured the Capitol, saw a number of smaller shops, and then  saw a production by a group of actors discussing theatre history from the period and putting on scenes.  After that, we went to the Burton Church and the Governor's Mansion, where Patrick Henry spoke.  We had a nice dinner at Chowning's, before a ghost pirate tour.  All in all, a lovely day.  I forgot my camera's battery, so our pictures were only taken with our phones.  These are my favorite pics.

From Beach to Rock

Last week, I had off from work (not by choice- camp got canceled).  The first few pics below were taken during that week.  On Friday, Rachel and I drove to South Bethany Beach.  Rachel had family friends, Barb and Jim, who asked us to stay with them at their beach house.  They requested that I not take their pictures, so there are none of them below.  Barb and Jim, along with their dog Duncan, were wonderful hosts and extremely kind and generous.  I am looking forward to going back to the beach house.

On Saturday, it was cloudy, but Rachel and I went to Bethany, at the northern edge of the boardwalk.  We relaxed and had a great day.  On Sunday, we drove to Assateague Island, home of wild horses.  We were walking back to the parking lot when we were mobbed by a group of horses, they were great to see.  We then relaxed at the beach on Assateague.  On Monday, we went shopping and then started a game of mini-golf.  The weekend came to an abrupt stop when Rachel got a call about her mother.

The remainder of the week was difficult, as I try to be Rachel's "rock".  Her mom is dying, and the hospice care providers told us it will be any day now.  It is difficult to watch someone deteriorate in front of you, but death is one part of life that will come to us all...

  

Renn Faire

I have actually reached the limit on my Picasa free web album storage space, however want to keep uploading pictures.  With that goal in mind, here is a photo album (shown in movie form) of a trip Rachel and I took to opening day of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.  The theme this year is Shakespeare vs. Marlowe- a good idea, though one-sided at the fair, since they only showed Shakespeare scenes/plays...

Olympics

The Olympic opening ceremonies focused heavily on a large green mound, which represented Glastonbury Tor.  That was cool- especially considering I was there just last fall!