2011 in review

Kidney stone aside, 2011 was a good year.  I think I passed it BTW.

Before I get into my 2011 year in review, many of you may have noticed that I did not write a 2010 in review.  I didn't get a chance to since I was in an unpredictable and unstable situation and did not know what to expect from one day to the next.  Since I don't want to hash up bad memories, I'll just say it was an awful year, though I am thankful for the support of my friends and family for helping me get through it.

On to 2011-

Who would've thought that being dumped by my ex-fiancee and throwing me out on my ass would be the best thing that ever happened to me?  After that happened, I spent a few months living in a basement studio before I moved in with Cory.  Cory and I have a good relationship, and his girlfriend Mesthey is awesome; I love that I don't feel like the third wheel when they're together.  I am still working as an instructional assistant, and it has been the most amazing experience.  I now know my calling, and that is to work with special needs kids.  I took the course last spring to get my special ed certification.  I still work in the call center, and even though I can't stand it, I refuse to let it suck the life out of me the way Comcast did.  It's also a huge help that I have awesome co-workers there.  Buuuuttt....once I get offered a full-time teaching position I am out like a Jheri Curl.

Another thing that really helped me out was seeing a therapist over the summer.  I went to a Christian Counseling center, which I took with a grain of salt; the main reason I picked this place was because it was close to my house.  This therapist took a unique approach because he took ideas from both the DSM-IV and the Bible.  It really helped me out in terms of how I approach relationships, and he helped me with my level of confidence.  This only began to scratch the surface, as I would consider seeing a therapist again in the near future.  Just earlier this afternoon I had another "argument" with my ex-wife; I cannot remember what it was about, though.

Another thing that made this a good year is the fact that I found a church.  My therapist suggested that I go to church again (to some extent I was annoyed by the evangelical portion of his work, but at the same time I saw where he was coming from).  He suggested that I check out the ROC church, but I knew that wasn't going to happen.  Last August I discovered Bon Air United Methodist Church, and they treated me like I was a member of the family from the first service.  Last month, I made the leap and officially became a Methodist in the new member ceremony.  Thankfully I did not need to be baptized since I was already baptized in the Catholic church; I'd feel sorry for whomever would have to lift me into the water.  Right now I am praying for a full-time teaching job so that I can do more at the church.

On a bit of a sidenote it was a great year to be a sports fan.  The Lions are in the playoffs, the Tigers made it to the ALCS before finally choking, and VCU made it to the Final Four.  Oh - and the NBA and it's egotistical greed finally imploded on itself.

And that takes me into what I have up my sleeve in 2012.  I am starting classes in January to get my full Special Ed certification.  I am also going to keep tromping on to get a full-time teaching job.  I will be posting more about this in the coming days.  Stay tuned...

The End of an Era

I made a milestone this week.  I deleted my online dating profiles.  I did it for a couple of reasons, but my main motivator is the fact my psycho ex-fiancee has been slutting it up on the Internets.  I can only take so much of seeing her bare-shoulder headshot with the headline "Wanting to Cook for Mr. Right."  How am I supposed to move on looking at that?  I don't want her back, and she can marry her heartthrob Ryan Reynolds for all I care, but I don't want to have to look at her face and get pulled into the hell that she made my life.

The main reason why I opted to delete my online dating presence is because I've never developed a meaningful relationship off of a website.  I joined these sites back in 2004, shortly after I left my ex-wife.  In that time, I've met my fair share of women.  Of the women I've met, one of a few scenarios ensued.

1. I'd meet someone and be interested in them, only to have them fall of the face of the earth.

2. I'd meet someone and not have any interest in pursuing anything further, only to have them stalk me.

3. I'd meet someone, we'd both realize we had no interest in each other, and we'd go our separate ways.

4. I'd meet somone, we'd have an instant connection, get hot and heavy, and have it blow up in my face.

5. (and my personal favorite) I'd make a friend out of it.

I will say, though, that I have developed relationships with women from #5, but those relationships didn't actually develop until months, or even years (in one case 10 years) after initially meeting.  With that in mind, I'm going to take my search offline for a while for reasons I will get into later.

Time to get caught up (part 2 of 2)

My first post I talked about my failed engagement.  Now, time to talk about the reason I am firing this bad boy up again - my career path.

Before I moved here I was working as a substitute teacher in Florida, and realizing how much I missed that line of work.  I quit that school division, however, and moved here.  As I mentioned in my previous post, it took me two months to find full-time work.  I began working as a substitute teacher in Hanover County, along with working for the TLK Group, a third-party vendor for Comcast.  I did that for a couple of months before I got a job offer as a special education instructional assistant.

I'm also going back to school.  I am working towards getting my Special Education certification.  I took SPE 513 through University of Phoenix this spring, so I am now eligible for a special ed certification.  I have been looking for a teaching job since last summer.  I start classes in the fall towards my full special ed certification, so I am hoping that helps.

This is one of the main reasons why I am firing this blog back up.  I want to pass on the good news once I am given a contract and begin the next chapter of my life.

Stay tuned...