job hunting

My school is in dire straits. There is no other way to say it. Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to job hunt when you need three letters of recommendation from coworkers? There is no secrets in this profession. This blows. Three possiblities

1. University of Central Florida. One of my alma maters. Pluses - brand new program. LOTS of friends in FL. Minuses- Central floridais INSANELY expensive. High tax base, rent is the 4-digit range, my fibromylagia HATES heat (witness me nearly needing a cane all this week while the temps were in the 90's), hell I plain hate heat. It makes me ill in so many ways. My doctor's advice for improving my health, no lie, GET OUT OF FL! But the biggest minus, FL is FORTY-EIGHTH worst state in the union for education. I mean that is horrid. I pity anyone trying to raise a child in a state that is so rock bottom there is nowhere to go but up. If I have issues now with ill prepared students could you imagine teaching in a school that is two steps from being dead last? FL was the one state I swore never to return to. I think maybe I shouldn't be swayed by 'having an in' with the place.

2. Washington & Jefferson. This is in my backyard practically when I was growing up. Pluses - baby ivy-leaguer. My friends and family are there, close enough to visit regularly WITHOUT having to spend the night. It's a good school, plain and simple. Minuses -While I know microbiology I haven't taught it before. I don't quite fit what they want.

3. Carthage - Pluses - it's a private school. It's back in WI. It's exactly what I teach now. Minuses - It's in the Kenosha area which is closer to Chicago/Milwaukee and it's Madison I'm in love with. I wasn't wowed by Kenosha.

Then the Columbus Dispatch ran a feature on Madison (comparing the beauty of U of WI to OSU's area). It really made me want to cry (if my head wasn't already pounding from a migraine, I might have). Sadly Uof WI is about the only college in Madison, outside of the technical school (which might have nursing, I should look). I need to be a big time research ph.d to teach there. No, I think I have to accept that my only ticket back there, outside of a winning lotto ticket is to become a self-sufficient writer and we all know the likelihood of that.

I find this process so difficult, my stomach clenches at merely clicking on the chronicle of higher education's link.

back to making my physiology test. must get into better mood before i accidentally hurt them.

and naturally....dragons



and now all the ones that were bred in the last day or two.

Fic Update - Sorrow's Dark Array Chapter Twenty-one

Sorrow’s Dark Array
Author - cornerofmadness
Disclaimer - not mine, all characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa et al, Square Enix and funimition.
Pairing – Roy/Riza, Ed/Win (eventually) Winry/OC, mentions of Maes/Gracia and Al/OC
Rating – THIS CHAPTER HAS A FEW R RATED (BORDERLINE NC-17) Moments
Time Line – anime based, spoilers all the way through the anime and the movie and does have strong manga elements such as Armstrong’s older sister and the land of Xing
Summary – As Roy and Riza prepare for their wedding, while dodging assassins, Ed and Al try to find their way back home.
Author’s Note #1– This was written after much prodding by evil_little_dog as a sequel to the source of sorrow and is now her holiday gift even if she has beta’ed part of it. So thanks to her and lyricnonsense for the beta. You do not have to read the first story to understand this. You’ll quickly pick up that Riza has retired from the military to be Roy’s wife and bodyguard. Olivia Armstrong is now president and she’s assigned Roy as the ambassador to Ishbal; oh and that Roy was severely injured in the destruction of the Gate, requiring some of Winry’s automail.
Author's Note #2 - This is a longer work and like real relationships, the ones listed in the pairings, take time to mend and come together. They have to work at it. Hope you enjoy the ride.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter eight
Chapter nine
chapter ten
chapter eleven
chapter twelve
chapter thirteen
chapter fourteen
chapter fifteen
chapter sixteen
chapter seventeen
chapter eighteen
chapter nineteen
Chapter twenty

( Please, my son didn’t do this. Don’t take him from me )

Chapter twenty-two

picspam

well to counterbalance the depressed post, have some pictures

imperial dragon plaque Evil_little_dog got me for my birthday


hope chest, manga and Asian décor

handpainted glass Chinese zodiac…and Buffy characters

new bed side table with retractable shelf

the bookcase a million cuss words built

my new Renn gown

close up of the gown, cropped since I looked like I weighed 500 pounds