Meaningless Quotes, Nerves, and Pigeons

Feb. 18th was a great day. I got the "big" envelope, inviting me to an interview for vet school. Yipiee! I had interviewed 2 years before, but as an 'alternate' and deep down, I had the feeling that it just wasn't my year. So there I am, jumping up and down, pumping my fist vigorously in the air after seeing a large manila envelope in the box. I was so pumped, so much so, that cars driving by thought there was something terribly wrong.

I interviewed, and I was asked by the committee if I was nervous. My response was, "I am excited!" Now this might sound inappropriate to many people, but I truly was excited. I have been waiting an entire year to get back in that room, to show them I am not going away, to show them that this is what I truly want. The interview I felt went extremely well. I was much better prepared than the previous two years. About half my questions were new, half were ones I had been asked before. So now the nerves are beginning to set in. I have to wait two more weeks to hear.

I think about receiving the next 'big envelope' every hour of every day, and it even haunts my dreams. Although I am passionate about teaching, and truly love my job, over the past year I have realized that this IS truly what I want. It consumes me. I had nightmares of being late to my interview the week before, because the manatees I was rehabbing needed to be watered down with a hose while I was keeping them in my spare bedroom. Yep. Reading that last statement makes as much sense as dreaming it..... none at all.

The last question they asked me was actually one that I found the most difficult. "What type of cartoon character are you? What character do you relate to, and why?" Wow. I had no previous idea about this one. So I sat, and I pondered....out loud mostly. I don't like all the Disney characters...although they are great, the movies have way too much singing in them. So I remembered "Space Ghost".


I LOVED Space Ghost, Coast to Coast. The late night 30 minute comedy cartoon, where Space Ghost interviewed random people and in between managed to bully reg, harass, and hang out with Zorak and Moltar. Space Ghost is a sarcastic guy, but a goof-ball none the less. After contemplation, I felt like that was a good answer. I try to run my classroom (to some extent) like Space Ghost runs his 30 minute comedy show. A little sarcasm, stupid analogies, and some meaningless tangents in between the good stuff.



Some of my favorite quotes from the Space Ghost CTC show...


"I am the lone locust of the apocalypse, think of me when you look to the night sky."

"Hey, you.... Don't Touch Me!"

"I need to go to the store to buy some butter and cheese...."

"I want some orange roughy, sunbloated."

"There is no weekend! We live in a time continuum, there is no weekend."


All of the quotes seem completed stupid, and meaningless. Wait, they are. But here I am, sitting in the interview room. The room with the 3 people that I want to make a positive impression on. The day that quite possibly, could define the rest of my life. And now I'm about to start laughing because I can't get the image of Zorak the mantis (even though he claims to be a locust), out of my head, and then I think about how irritated I get when people can't get their insects right......TANGENT!


So here I am, waiting. Soon I will be lurking and stalking the mailman, once again. At least my kids are keeping me entertained until then. Especially when we covered dopamine and one of the students could seriously think that all pigeons have Parkinson's Disease. At least I'm now back to my regularly scheduled program and the nerves can settle a little... for now.