It's been a busy busy month!

Well, I haven't updated very much lately but I've been busy with work (both at Kohl's and subbing) and enjoying the warm weather in Pittsburgh. Thankfully, the snow is all gone (except a pile by one of the CMU parking ramps which is in the shade and will probably take until July to melt) and we haven't had tons of rain thus far.

Yesterday, I kicked a kid out of my 7th period class because he wouldn't stop throwing paper crumpled up into balls in the recycling bin and said "you're not a real teacher anyway". He lingered in the hall so a teacher told me he'll get at the minimum a 2 hour detention. My hands were shaking like crazy when I sent him out. It's not really a power surge, like my other friends have said. I'm always nervous because the kids are usually bigger than me, especially in the high school. Subbing, overall, is going well but I'm really looking forward to having my own classroom with kids who know me, know the content that is being taught and know what I'm doing (at least with the academics). Who knows how I'll do as an actual classroom teacher, but I'd like to be at least given a chance with a long-term substitute position

Other than subbing, I'm still working at Kohl's. The plan, since I've gotten more teaching gigs as of late, is to start putting the Kohl's money into a savings account that will be used to pay off the student loan debt (awesome). Currently, I deferred by loans until September because I don't have a full time job or one that pays me very well in the first place. Figuring all of that out was definitely a load off my mind.

My friend Laura is coming to visit for Easter. She currently lives near Dayton, OH and we're also going to see the TSO concert on Easter Sunday. They're performing Bethoven's last symphony so it should be AMAZING! I'm super excited to see her since the last time we hung out was August 2008. I'm pumped to show her my city! She's our first real guest and I can't wait!! I'm also going to Athens, OH April 17-18 to see my brother compete at a Forensics competition. It's only 3 hours away from Pittsburgh so it's totally do-able for a weekend visit. Kirsten and Ross are coming for a visit May 14-16 and I'm going home to EC May 21-23 for Jake's graduation from UWEC. My grandmother is also coming from CT for Jake's graduation and we're meeting in the airport. It's going to be great to see her and see home!

I filled out my NCAA bracket and am doing quite well. I'm in a pool with Matthew's research group and am currently in second place, behind Matthew's advisor's 11-year old son. I'm glad I didn't pick Kansas or Villanova to win the National Championship! I didn't do any research on the teams this year, just picked and chose, which seems to work out the best. I love that Northern Iowa and St Mary's are doing their very best and beating higher ranked teams. It's great to see upsets, since I think that's what this tournament should be about.

I'm still in the search for a summer job but have pseudo-interview on Monday with the Collegiate YMCA at Pitt. I really hope it works out because then I'd be able to ride the bus or my bike (when I buy one) to work (it'll beat driving every day).

Matthew and I celebrated St. Patrick's Day with some wonderful friends from CMU.