Being in One Place

So I’ve been in Las Vegas for a whole two and a half weeks, aka the longest I’ve been in any city since May. (Well, I was technically in Hangzhou for a couple months but they kept moving me from school to school, so I was still moving around a lot). Plus I’ve been working. Like getting up and six in the morning and actually driving to a place of employment. I’d planned on writing a post about the injustice of such a situation, but actually…I kinda like it. I’ve missed teaching like crazy, to the point where I wanted to follow a school field trip around Liberty Square in Philadelphia. My friend wouldn’t let me. She oh-so-kindly pointed out that I could be mistaken for a stalker. I thought she would change her mind after catching a glimpse of their teacher (who wasn’t bad to look at, to say the least), but no.     So when I got the chance to take over my friend’s class in Las Vegas for a couple weeks I was thrilled. She gave me a run down on all the bad kids and the bad things that they have done (some so bad that they can’t even be mentioned on this blog!) but I was still excited. Who cares if I would just be a sub? I would get to TEACH.And they are great! Well. Mostly. I’ve had to call a few parents and issue a few zeros and mean looks, but I’m pretty happy. I love putting on my work clothes and seeing my old teacher friends. My narcissistic self loves hearing the excited calls of “Ms. Moore! You’re back!” from my students last year. My anticipated downsides of not having a home or not having writing time turned out to be non-issues, as I’m gotten into a little routine: School, writing at Starbucks, going to the gym, writing at Starbucks and then falling into bed in the room I’m renting from my friend’s mom. Oh – and that friend’s mom’s grandma made fudge last night, so I’m extra happy. I feel more productive working and writing. Although I haven’t matched the mad querying spree I was on last month, I’m still getting in at least 1,000 words a day on weekdays. So although I don’t want to be in Las Vegas forever or even for another few months, it’s been a nice landing spot after a half of year of traveling. It makes me realize that although living in a different hotel room every night is fun and exciting, having a town to call my own (and more importantly STUDENTS to call my own) is just as important. That being said, it's time to get out of here. I’m excited to be headed to Seattle tomorrow.