notes from another sunday night

well yet another weekend has passed by without any major excitement... It's amazing how easy it is for me to find other things to do rather than work on my resume, cover letter, portfolio, and school assignments. I busied myself cleaning the apartment (which still is cluttered and messy, but that's nothing new), went on several grocery missions and managed to make a hell of a yummy dinner - honey garlic baby back rrriiiiibs. mmmmm
So I now sit on my bed when I should be getting ready to sleep, trying to type out notes for another group work, open book quiz that my university apparently believes is a useful way to test a person's knowledge. how boring. funny though - haven't bought the textbook yet - i have several like this one and just couldn't bring myself to spend another $100 on something that would benefit this school.
seriously check this out:

tuition: $5400
books & expenses (gas, supplies, etc): $2000
laptop: $2000
rent for 8 months: $5200
applications to school boards on applytoteach.ca: $10.65 PER board = about $150
union fee (OTF): $237
certification fee: $300
police check (which I have already done once this year and came out fine): $27
graduation fee: $45
overall cost of getting a teaching certificate from an Ontario university: about $15,000

realizing that you still haven't added in the cost of groceries to this bill: priceless
well this might not be priceless to anybody reading this - but i'm sure the look on my face as I added up this total tonight would have been.

This week my financial situation eased up a little and I was approved for an upgrade on my line of credit. Unfortunately the price of this means that my father is now a cosigner. I understand that the bank doesn't want to give a non-working student (abeit with great credit) a $30,000 educational line of credit. I'm just glad to get it. This means that I can finish school without worrying about running out of money. Problem is, this also means that I will be even MORE in debt later. Paying for two people to live is starting to really get pricey...

Now I realize that I sound very bitter right now - which really isn't the case. I came into this situation, quit my job, left my friends, and moved to a city I didn't like and didn't know very well in order to get this certificate and hopefully a job someday. I can deal with the ridiculous costs and the loneliness, but some nights it just gets to you. Usually Sundays for some reason. Maybe it's the knowledge that yet another week has passed by, and I still have no clue where I'll be six months from now. I haven't taken too much time to analyze it.

Tomorrow I get to meet my new class for Placement #3 - once again out in the freakin county - a place called Amherstburg. Looks like a pretty little town, and this time I get to be with the youngest of them all: Junior Kindergarten. Should be a very interesting time...
I know this will be a fun placement, but I'm also concerned about managing a class of 4 year olds when I've become so accustomed to 8 year olds. That age difference is startling. I can't believe how quickly people develop from helpless little ones who need instruction and assistance to even tie shoelaces, into thoughtful, insightful and independent kids.
ah well, i'm sure i'll have a lot of cute stories about the things the kids have to say - that's one of the best parts of the job.

g'night world - happy sunday.