Is it really the middle of August already? Well, at least we are heading into autumn,
which is always my favorite time of year.
I love the last four months of the year, and I don’t really mind August,
even though it can be one of the hottest months, because it feels so good knowing
that fall is just around the corner.
So, the first part of 2009 was actually not all that
eventful, since I still had quite a few students, and curriculum projects
always seemed to be an ongoing thing.
One project would get done, and two more would crop up. As I would
finish a project, I would almost get anxious that I would run out of those
extra tasks, but the worries were unfounded, since there was always something
that needed updated, added to, taken out and on and on. It’s not that I did not
enjoy teaching, because that was truly the favorite part of my job, but I have
always enjoyed having a lot of variety with any job, so the added work was just
a bonus for me.
When the school was sold, the directors (the original
owners) did stay on for a time. One
retired in early 2009 and the other one stayed on until September. In the spring and over the summer months, new
personnel were added to the staff. Two
of them were wonderful additions and the third one, well, not so much. Unfortunately that person was basically in
charge and made some terrible decisions for the school that wound up hurting
the school rather than grow it. This was
also during the time when the economy was so bad (well, it’s still not that
great, is it…), and even though that person was eventually let go, the damage
was done. Some good things did happen
though. We switched over to a learning
management system, which is a type of platform where everything is online,
including textbooks and assignments.
There was a lot of work involved with learning this new LMS, but it was
actually a lot of fun, at least most of the time. The staff went into it with a
bit of trepidation, because it was a pretty big change, but in the end, it
worked out pretty well. There were a few
things I would have liked to have done differently, but no job ever goes
exactly the way you think it should go, right?
I don’t remember the exact sequence of events, but over the
next few years the logo of the school and the name of the school were changed,
along with a brand new website. It was a
very busy time with lots of projects, meetings, and keeping up with
students. I also switched from an
independent contractor to an employee, and that was a huge change for me, as I
had been working as an IC since 1990. I
liked being my own boss, but it was also kind of nice to have a paid vacation
for the first time in about 20 years.
Even though there were some very difficult things to work
through over the first few years of working under new ownership, I have to say
mostly I still felt very fortunate to have a job I loved. One of the new hires, the director of
education, I had the pleasure of meeting in person when my husband and I took a
long weekend in Seattle. We met for
coffee, and Joe said he would go for a walk or check out some stores. What was supposed to be maybe an hour or so
of chit chat turned into many hours and a very long walk for Joe! But it felt so great to connect so easily
with someone I now consider a friend as well as colleague. Plus I discovered the great city of Seattle and
hope to make it back there someday.
Maybe it was because we stayed at the same hotel where the Beatles once
stayed. That in itself was pretty darn
cool, even if being a Beatles fan is dating myself!
