First work....but now time for play

 

I have finished up my work commitment for this spring. I would use my working as an excuse for not posting but I know that isn’t the case. I just did other things.

Those weeks were spent waking up to the early morning alarm and drives into work. I am partial to the “rooster crowing” sound on the cell phone myself, but Remi, the small wonder dog, listens for the initial “buzz buzz” and has been known to try and find the phone and attempt to bump it with his own nose. All the dogs quickly established an attitude of resignation on workdays. They demonstrated not excitement past being fed breakfast and then looking forlorn with the knowledge that they were about to be deserted for the day.

I would call work a four-letter word if it were not for the enjoyable people that share seats around me. Evaluating educational proficiency tests is similar to working with state secrets for the amount of dollars and time that the educational departments spend on developing the test questions and the creating the rubrics used in the evaluation process. So I can’t about my interesting discoveries and observations regarding the youth of America and my thought on how their minds work but I can share that the employees that participate in the evaluation process are “stories” in their own right.

The majority of employees are retired for their first careers with balance made up of individuals that are self-employed or participants from fields that are currently struggling at this point in the economy. I have sat with lawyers, med students and the woman who had chosen to stay home and raise the children and is now getting a chance to use her college education again. Retired professors, architects, engineers, biologists, artists, graphic designers, are all sitting among rows of retired educators and government employees. There is no upper age limit. Does your mind still work? Can you see the computer and sit all day? They can use you.

I discovered an older gentlemen just last year (and he was back again this year) that looked familiar. Then I heard his voice. Sure enough, it was my history teacher for high school. I am guessing his age to be about 80. So there will be a place for me in the future if I want to continue to earn additional money each spring to support my hobbies and life’s added adventures.

For now, as I mentioned above, my work commitment for this spring has ended. I turned down the next 2 large projects. It is time to make my final preparations for summer travel to Alaska! The gas money has been banked it is time to pack for serious.