Panicking is my middle name. Everyday for the past 2 months I searched multiple online avenues, contact everyone I knew (and even some people I didn't know) all in this crazy attempt to find sutible living arrangements for Luke and I in Kodiak. By suitable I mean dry, somewhat warm and with running water. I wasn't to terribly picky. I just wanted SOMETHING.
2 weeks before we were sceduled to leave and still nothing. I had no plan B. The hotels and B and Bs were full. I guess we could have camped out with the bears. Deep down I knew God would provide, and as always it would be at the very last minute, but the panicky, independent stubborn side of me thought I had to actually find the place. So much for trust. I had called on every piece of property for rent that allowed children in and around the city. I even called on a house that had 86 steps just to get to the front door !! I was desperate. - But God was in control. Why do I always seem to forget this? Maybe I just think that He'll forget about me this one time and then I'll be screwed.- Hello Corrie !!!
Luke has been told in no uncertain terms, not to answer my phone when I'm at work unless it's a relative. I have caller ID so he can easily tell if it's "safe" to answer the phone or not. Yesterday Luke decided that he should answer the phone because the call was important. He could tell the person calling was from Alaska because of the area code, but I get a lot of calls from AK, why he answered the phone is beyond me, but I'm glad he did it. It was my new boss telling me to go check my email. She had just sent me 3 leads on housing. As soon my customers went away I ran to the back room and logged on. There before my eyes was a listing for a 2+ bedroom HOUSE. I called right away of course.
The house not only has 2 bedrooms, it also has a sun room, plenty of parking- close to the house not at the bottom of a hill, and it's furnished !! It's close to playgrounds and downtown. The Land Lady and I hit it off right away. She was happy to hear about Luke, and glad to know she wouldn't have to move the furniture. She only rents to school district employees which made both of us more comfortable. The rent is right with in my price range. She's faxing the rental agreement over today. God provides is ways we could never have imagined. and more than we could have ever hoped for.
Luke at our Campsite in Homer
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
The beginning
OK so the URL is kind of a lie. We aren't on Kodiak just yet. 2 weeks and 2 days to go. It has been quite the adventure just to get this far. It all started back in January when I decided that the reason I was upset over a break up wasn't because of the guy ( I knew from the beginning that we weren't ment for each other) but because I really wanted an excuse to move to Alaska where he lives.
Everyone who knows me knows that I will occasionally get these crazy hair brain ideas and obsess over them. After a few months (or set backs) the adrenalin rush wears off and life as normal resumes. Well not this time. I really think God had something to do with this whole thing (duh !)
Just getting my teaching license in AK was a long, expensive and tedious process. I started it in January and just got my license a few days ago. Then there was the whole "finding a job" thing. At first the plan was to move to Juneau and rent an apartment from my friend Mike (at least until I found my own place) and use his truck for a while. After a while I began to feel really uncomfortable with that idea (another God thing). I spent humungous amounts of time doing online searches of job openings in Juneau. In case you know nothing about about Alaskan geography, Juneau is only accessable by plane or boat so when I say I was looking in Juneau, I mean just Juneau. That meant 1 school district. Who by the way, layed off over 25 teachers this past spring.
I had planned to attend a Job Fair in Minnesota at the end of April souly to interview with the Juneau school district. I had already sent them my resume, application and all accompanying paper work. On my way up to the Twin Cities God and I had a little talk. I realized that if this was ever going to work I had to be open to what ever, where ever he wanted. So I walked into the job fair having made the decision to interview with which ever school districts would have me.
Upon entering the room I was told that because I taught special ed. I had better be prepared to sign a contract that night (I wasn't). I made a beeline for the Juneau School District booth and took my place in line behind 3 or 4 other hopeful, eager young teachers desperately seeking employment. I don't wait well. I started looking around at the other booths surronding Juneau's. Kodiak was to the left. This really nice younger lady who I later learned was named Heather and was the Director of Student Services asked me if I knew anything about Kodiak. I dumbly stared at her and asked her if Kodiak was the place where that special ed. teacher was mauled to death by wolves a few weeks earlier (nice first impression I know) I didn't really care what she thought of me b/c I thought I was a shoe in in Juneau. I agreed to "talk" to her later on. that "talk" turned out to be an interview in which I was immediately comfortable. After talking for 10-15 minutes she told me she wanted to hire me. The voice inside my head was screaming "Juneau, Interview with Juneau" so loudly I think I probably missed half of what she said after that. I told her I had to interview with Juneau first, but would talk to her before I left for the evening. Next came interviews with Juneau( very uncomfortable- the dude was pompus and sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest while he complained about one of the priciplas he worked with- who does that during an interview???- ) Nome (these people were great !! very friendly and easy going.- At the end of the evening they offered me a written intent to hire- but I knew that wasn't where God wanted me so I turned them down 2 days later) and finally Hooper Bay. The super from the Lower Yukon SD told his HR guy to go write me a contract 5 minutes into our interview. They offered me the world. But Luke would have been one of only 3 white kids in the whole town, which I later found out had no indoor plumbing- extremely poverty reigned supreme in that corner of AK.
I drove home that night with a lot to think and pray about. Long story short- Kodiak was very excited to get a call from me a few days later asking if I was still being considered for the position. They thought they had lost me to Juneau - little did they know Juneau was the only district at the job fair that didn't want me . The HR guy from Anchorage (who I turned down interviews with 2 times ) told me that I was the "hot ticket commodity" of the evening. Special ed. teachers with K-12 credentials and experience who are willing to work in AK are few and far between I guess. It felt really good to be wanted and admired like that.
I had to get over myself and start the process of relocating soon after that. And what a crazy adventure that has been. More about the relocating process later.
Corrie
Everyone who knows me knows that I will occasionally get these crazy hair brain ideas and obsess over them. After a few months (or set backs) the adrenalin rush wears off and life as normal resumes. Well not this time. I really think God had something to do with this whole thing (duh !)
Just getting my teaching license in AK was a long, expensive and tedious process. I started it in January and just got my license a few days ago. Then there was the whole "finding a job" thing. At first the plan was to move to Juneau and rent an apartment from my friend Mike (at least until I found my own place) and use his truck for a while. After a while I began to feel really uncomfortable with that idea (another God thing). I spent humungous amounts of time doing online searches of job openings in Juneau. In case you know nothing about about Alaskan geography, Juneau is only accessable by plane or boat so when I say I was looking in Juneau, I mean just Juneau. That meant 1 school district. Who by the way, layed off over 25 teachers this past spring.
I had planned to attend a Job Fair in Minnesota at the end of April souly to interview with the Juneau school district. I had already sent them my resume, application and all accompanying paper work. On my way up to the Twin Cities God and I had a little talk. I realized that if this was ever going to work I had to be open to what ever, where ever he wanted. So I walked into the job fair having made the decision to interview with which ever school districts would have me.
Upon entering the room I was told that because I taught special ed. I had better be prepared to sign a contract that night (I wasn't). I made a beeline for the Juneau School District booth and took my place in line behind 3 or 4 other hopeful, eager young teachers desperately seeking employment. I don't wait well. I started looking around at the other booths surronding Juneau's. Kodiak was to the left. This really nice younger lady who I later learned was named Heather and was the Director of Student Services asked me if I knew anything about Kodiak. I dumbly stared at her and asked her if Kodiak was the place where that special ed. teacher was mauled to death by wolves a few weeks earlier (nice first impression I know) I didn't really care what she thought of me b/c I thought I was a shoe in in Juneau. I agreed to "talk" to her later on. that "talk" turned out to be an interview in which I was immediately comfortable. After talking for 10-15 minutes she told me she wanted to hire me. The voice inside my head was screaming "Juneau, Interview with Juneau" so loudly I think I probably missed half of what she said after that. I told her I had to interview with Juneau first, but would talk to her before I left for the evening. Next came interviews with Juneau( very uncomfortable- the dude was pompus and sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest while he complained about one of the priciplas he worked with- who does that during an interview???- ) Nome (these people were great !! very friendly and easy going.- At the end of the evening they offered me a written intent to hire- but I knew that wasn't where God wanted me so I turned them down 2 days later) and finally Hooper Bay. The super from the Lower Yukon SD told his HR guy to go write me a contract 5 minutes into our interview. They offered me the world. But Luke would have been one of only 3 white kids in the whole town, which I later found out had no indoor plumbing- extremely poverty reigned supreme in that corner of AK.
I drove home that night with a lot to think and pray about. Long story short- Kodiak was very excited to get a call from me a few days later asking if I was still being considered for the position. They thought they had lost me to Juneau - little did they know Juneau was the only district at the job fair that didn't want me . The HR guy from Anchorage (who I turned down interviews with 2 times ) told me that I was the "hot ticket commodity" of the evening. Special ed. teachers with K-12 credentials and experience who are willing to work in AK are few and far between I guess. It felt really good to be wanted and admired like that.
I had to get over myself and start the process of relocating soon after that. And what a crazy adventure that has been. More about the relocating process later.
Corrie
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