Let's all get our schedules out!

First of all, I am putting my reunion recaps on hold for a little bit. Don't worry, I'll get back to them. As a bit of a twist on this posts title, those posts have already been written and scheduled to be posted. Blogger has "fixed" their pre-scheduling feature and released it from beta testing. I've actually used it for the past 2 posts to test it out. The reason I have scheduled those posts for next week is that I will be going out of town. You'll never even know I am gone as I should have one post a day automatically pop up between noon and 1, from Wednesday thru Monday, when I get back. I'm headed down to Jacksonville, FL to visit Courtney and Sean. Plans are also in the works for us to go camping and meet up with a friend of ours, Heather, that I haven't seen in at least 14 years. (I don't think Courtney's seen her in about 10 years.) When I say "camping" let me clear up any confusion. Courtney will be staying in the RV with Heather, and Heather's husband Omar. I will be in a tent. So I am camping Courtney is RVing. I plan to take Sean on his first camping trip, and since we're MEN we won't be wimping out in the RV. Of course Sean may veto that at any point in which case we may all wind up in the RV. The title of this post is probably only funny to my immediate family. Whenever there's a gathering, at some point either my mother or my sister Amy will say it. You see it's really tough to keep track of each other. Despite being "retired" my parents travel all over the place and get into lots of trouble. Thanks to Uncle Sam, my brother is always on the move, both in this country and outside, often at the drop of a hat. Out of everyone, my schedule tends to be the easiest. Here it is:CFCC Academic CalendarBecause I run on an academic calendar, all of my "holidays" are set a year in advance. This is a good and a bad thing at times. While at the ATO reunion with Andrea we were discussing plans to get back together for the Big Pig Jig in October. I kept referring to it as "next year" and Andrea kept correcting me. To her (and most of the world) October 2008 is THIS year. To me, it is "Next Year." My "Years" now run late August to early May. One of the "down sides" to an academic job is that my holidays and vacation are set in stone. I can't "take a day off." (Well, theoretically, I earn 1 "personal day" a year I can use to go to a conference or something.) Of course the payback for having a locked schedule is that I get TONS of vacation days. I really can't complain. (Although I have been complaining this past week because I have had NOTHING to do and I'm going nuts!) Thankfully, summer classes start next week, so I will have something to fill my time. For two days a week.To those of you who have been jealous of my work schedules this past year, I suggest you go a head and start eating your heart out now. First off, that's right, I'll only be working two days a week. And while I do have to teach nights, I have a my afternoons free on Mondays and Tuesdays. You may also notice I have no office or "campus" hours on my schedule. When i asked my boss about summer office hours his reply was simple: "You can schedule any extra hours you like, but we're not paying you for them." You see, all of my summer teaching is considered "contract" or "over and above" work. For me, it's pure profit. My contract officially says I work 9 months a year. I had the option of being paid 9 months or 12 months. After consulting with my Edward Jones rep, Skip he made it so very simple. (When it comes to money, you need to make it extremely simple for me to understand.) If I take 12 paychecks, I am basically giving my employer an interest free loan until summer hits when they slowly repay it. If I take 9 paychecks and invest them without fail then I will be earning interest on my own money. So this past year I have been taking out 1/4 of each paycheck and stashing it away earning interest. With my last full paycheck this past month, I have money set aside to "pay myself" during the summer. So whatever money I make from summer teaching is just bonus. Go me! So what do I plan to do with all of this extra time and money? Well obviously I am going to learn to surf! In late June there's an adult surf clinic being held by Adventure Pathways, the same folks who arranged my Oak Island Lighthouse trip back in March. So that way I can surf Carolina Beach on the nice days, and surf the web when the weather stinks. (I also have a few friends at UNC-W who can surf, and I am tired of being left out. Of course that means I now have roughly 6 weeks to get a base tan and get in shape, because no one on the beach wants to see "The Snowman" on a surfboard. Of course neither my summer teaching, nor surfing will fill up all of my free time, so I have been thinking about getting a summer job. The question is, what kind of job? I really would rather get away from teaching and computers, since I get plenty of that at my "real job." At first someone suggested I go work as a Wal-Mart greeter. But after a few trips to Wal-Mart I have decided that I couldn't do that. While it would certainly be good to brush up on my social skills, I am certain that I'd get fired for some snide remark to a customer. ("If your pants make you look like a water buffalo being eaten by a python, then maybe should step up to XL.") I thought briefly of revisiting my youth and selling seafood. But then I realized that, here in Wilmington, I would get laughed at when I told them I used to sell seafood in Conyers, GA. ("What beach is that on?") Back in February, when I was buying Courtney's chocolate covered cherries at Just because Chocolate I asked about summer employment. When they found out I teach computers they got all excited. Apparently they wanted me to help them set up their POS ("Point Of Sale") software. I want to make chocolates! Sadly, I haven't heard back from them after filling out an application, so my dreams of being an Oompa Loompa are in danger. I'll be stopping by there early next week to see what's up. And speaking of next week. Don't put your calendars away yet! An additional perk to being on an academic calendar is that I already know my schedule all the way thru December. So come back tomorrow and we'll talk about Fall! And bring your calendar with you!