New Jobs and Tetanus Shots

Well it's official folks-- I have a job!! :) And the one I was really gunning for too! Like I told you earlier I moved home on a wing and a prayer that I would find a job. I wasn't sure that I would. At least not this early, but I got one at none other than my alma mater: Glenn High School! That's right I'll once again be a Glenn Bobcat. Crazy huh? Cachia retired and another teacher moved to PE so they had 2 Social Studies openings, meaning they got to fill with 1 position. Thankfully they chose me :) But filling Cachia's shoes will be no easy task. The man was a legend. He taught my mother for crying out loud, along with everyone else in Kernersville under the age of 53! You know what else that means? It means me and Mrs. Heffner are colleagues now. Boy you should have seen her face when I told her that :) Needless to say I gave her a few gray hairs in Chemistry. However I was very pleased to see my senior photo and prom group picture still taped to the side of her chemistry flame hood built in wall thingy-- you know the thing she stores all her textbooks in. Don't worry-- Shannon, Kate, Daegan, Jennifer, and Anna-- you're all still represented as well :)

I was offered the position about 3 weeks ago and signed a contract saying I would not talk/meet with other high schools and that I was committed to Glenn. I still wasn't 100% so I didn't put it on full blast. However I got a call Tuesday morning from Human Resources for Winston Salem Forsyth County Schools who asked if I was coming to the orientation meeting Wednesday at 8:30am! I had no clue. They mailed all my info to Raleigh, and for some reason it hadn't been forwarded to me in Kernersville (although my bills and stupid catalogues I get despite having never even heard of the company still come to me). I said heck yeah and went Wednesday morning. After a few hours of filling out tax forms, longevity/sick leave transfers, health insurance info, payroll info, and peeing in a cup to prove I am drugg free, I was made official. I even have the WSFCS contract to prove it! And, on a side note the only other person I met going to Glenn is the wife of a guy I taught with at Southeast. He's in grad school at Elon now, so they moved from Raleigh and we ended up at the same school. So now I won't be going through this alone. Woohoo!

Now onto the Tetanus shot. So in the packet of info that was never delivered to me was a physical form I had to fill out, get signed by a doctor, and turn in. Since I got it Wednesday (the day it was due) I was told to get it filled out and returned to them ASAP. You know the usual: blood pressure, vision and hearing checks, lots of deep breaths while they move around your back, and the ever exciting TB test. They can't officially sign me off on my health sheet until I come back in 48 hrs to have my TB test read. So I go first thing today (for once I'm not procrastinating!) and get my shot. Then I realize, holy crap 48 hrs. is Saturday. I'm in Whitney's freaking wedding Saturday. Like bridesmaid in a wedding. And Sunday I'm leaving out first thing to go to the beach for Nikki's Bachelorette and then Raleigh for the rest of next week. And I can't wait until the end of next week when I get back to mosey into the PrimeCare and have them read my week old TB test. I was informed "it just doesn't work that way." Ok fine, I'll run up to Kernersville during the middle of the day Sat (after hair/make-up but before pics) and have them read my left arm, determine I'm perfectly healthy, sign my paper (they assured me I won't have to wait in the waiting room they can check me off immediately), mail it off, and then return ready to once again resume the role as the gracious bridesmaid. Sound simple huh? Well not so fast. After we get the TB mess straightened out the doc asks "so when was your last tetanus shot?" I don't freaking know lady-- that's not one of the random facts I keep floating around in my head. Luckily I had my Wake County teaching info in the car. I went and got it and saw my physical and medical info from 3 years ago. Of course my tetanus shot was on it and what did it say? I got my first tetanus shot before I began kindergarten in 1989, followed up in 1999, and low and behold when do you think it expires-- in 16 days. Son-of-a-! So the doc informs me that she can't sign me off without one-- although I argued that technically if she signed it today (or Sat) I'm still current. Again obviously it doesn't work that way. So I asked the doctor if I would be incapacitated or unable to hold up flowers Sat due to my sore arm (dude I hear those shots hurt!). She told me I'd be sore but should make it through my bridesmaid duties just fine. Well what about, hypothetically speaking, if I drank a little Sat night after the wedding. I'd hate to cause a physical reaction in my arm/body with the alcohol and shot stuff. No such thing. Then I said well I'm going to the beach Sun, I don't want to burn/irritate the injection site and I'll be out in the sun. Maybe we should just wait. Again my fears were calmed. Dang! Ok, fine, just give me the stupid thing. And I roll up my sleeve. She leaves to find the shot and I wait in fear dreading. Note: shots don't normally bother me. In fact I give blood all the time. And the finger prick, eh? No biggie. But the talk, hype, and urban legends about how bad tetanus shots are have me really freaked out. I don't remember how bad I hurt last time I had one. Some would argue that's a good thing because obviously it didn't hurt that bad or I'd remember it; I prefer the other psychological approach: it was murderous and hurt so bad I blocked the entire event from memory. Either way I'm starting to sweat as I sit all alone in that sterile white room on the loud and awkward paper strip staring at signs reminding me about the importance of washing my hands. Then the door opens. The doctor emerges. And guess what she tells me. They are all out of tetanus shots! They gave their last one this morning and they are fresh out. Are you freggin kidding me? How do you run out of shots? Isn't that like a necessity? At this point I'm bummed. I had psyched myself up for it. Plus I'm thinking, ok when can I get one ASAP? I asked if they had like an hidden stash kept for emergencies, you know like a kid comes in bleeding with a rusty nail in his foot, but no such luck. The doc then informed me that even if they did I'm still perfectly healthy and wouldn't be able to tap into that resource. Doctors are so stingy sometimes. Ok so I'll just come back tomorrow and get one. Right? Wrong. Their shipments don't arrive until evening. I'll be at a rehearsal then rehearsal dinner. Crap! Then she tells me that I can get it Saturday when I come for my TB reading. Ok fine. Well I can't go get my TB reading until after lunch (to make a full 48 hrs). I won't have time to drive to PrimeCare, sit in the waiting room, get called back, wait for the doc, get my shot, then drive back and resume my duties. Ok, well when do you open on Sat? 8am. Got it. So here's the plan: get up early (being somewhere at 8am borders on the crack of dawn for me), get to PrimeCare when they open, get my arm stabbed, go to the church, get hair done, get make up done, eat lunch, go back to PrimeCare, have my TB test read, go back to church, change into dress, smile for photos, be in a wedding, get down at the reception, collapse into bed, and wake up at 8am (again crack of dawn), drive across the state, and finally get to relax on the beach for a few days with my girls. Whew. Sound like a mouthful? Just try living it. Lets hope I survive the weekend.

Again, though, I'll go through all this with a huge smile on my face because I GOT A JOB!! :) And the one I really wanted at that! :)