Challenge.  It's there for the taking.  Or, it's there to vex.  I'm dealing with both types and trying not to pull out the small amount of hair I have.

My voluntary challenge is knitting a "simple" lace scarf.  This thing has literally been on the needles for over a year.  The challenge, to me, with knitting lace is the counting.  When it's quiet in the house, I get the rhythm of the knitting and counting:  knit one, yarn over, knit one, yarn over, knit three, slip one, knit two together, pass the slipped stitch over.  (In knitting patterns that's:  k1 yo twice k3 sl1 k2tog psso).  Initially this was quite difficult for me which is why it sat on the needles with no attention for so long.  However, I want to do something for myself.  I am not a quick knitter and often work on pieces for others for gifts.  I enjoy knitting for others, but I needed a change and a little something for myself.  Also, after a trip to the local yarn shop last week, I bought a new pattern for a pretty shawl.

Oh the joys of arriving home with a new pattern.  I have a large yarn stash and was wondering how to pair the new pattern with the yarn in the stash.  My eagerness was squashed, however, when I took a very close look at the pattern.  It's not a lace pattern but it's an odd pattern calling for stitches to be knitted out of order (but not using a cable needle) or grabbing a stitch from the row below.  I really did not believe I was up for the challenge so I picked up my old lace scarf.  Funny how now I am moving right along with no worries or difficulty.  Either it's my attitude or the quiet of the house, but I am making good progress and enjoying the process.  In fact, one I finish this project, I am considering knitting another for a Christmas gift for my step mother.

The vexing challenge?  Job hunting.  I have thought for a while that the online application system for teachers is a crock of crap.  Hundreds if not thousands of people can apply for the same job at the same job.  The challenge then is for the school to weed through the pile.  In the old days one needed to print the resume and letter on good paper and make it look good.  Those days are gone.  Last night on the PBS NewsHour a story about this was on.  The bottom line:  people are not finding jobs using these online job sites.  So, Jobungo and Monster.com are not doing what they advertise to do.  And, the gem of wisdom handed out:  make connections and network.  Then they recommended making connections at job fairs (have you been to one?  It's a meat market).  I'll just hope something comes up (or my husband gets a higher paying job).

I loved The Sound of Music as a kid and listened to the album often.  Today I am thinking of the song "How do you solve a problem like Maria?"  Change it up a bit and you get, "How do you solve a problem like Tyler?"

He is a bright, funny kid who simply cannot remember anything.  Since the beginning of school I've been asking him to bring home his English text book.  It's still not here.  Yesterday he left his hoodie at school (this is the hoodie his father bought him just Monday).  Now I wonder if we'll see it again any time soon -- or any time for that matter.

As a teacher I saw many kids like this.  They mean well, but they simply cannot remember to do what needs doing.  They forget homework, permission slips, lunch, lunch money, pencil, book, etc.  I would tell the parent and I'd get the same exasperation I'm feeling.  Oddly, as a student I don't remember seeing this.  Sure, there were kids who simply did not do homework, but I don't recall the number of kids who did not remember to do what needed doing.  What has happened to society?

Maybe playing outside has hidden benefits.  Maybe the fresh air helps kids remember.  Maybe these games systems hurt a kid's attention span.  Maybe I just have a forgetful kid.  In any event, how do I solve this problem??

Sour grapes don't taste too good but I keep eating them.

I need to find peace in my world and wonder if I'll ever find it.

My son's English teacher has high school experience only, was out of the classroom for 6 years and is just returning, and travels over an hour to get to work.  I wish, wish, wish I had been even considered for the job.  Money is tight here and I want to find peace so I can stop eating sour grapes and move on.

Another weekend has passed too quickly.

Yesterday we went to Tyler's football game.  The team was getting their butt kicked so one of the moms shouted something about how they needed to remove the second string and keep playing the better kids.  That just made my blood boil.

My son does not play for a team that will win anything for being best.  The league has all teams go to the playoffs.  They are only 14 years old max and in 8th grade.  Do we really need to push winning?  Shouldn't we be pushing sportsmanship??  Maybe it's the teacher in me, but I cannot stand when parents make negative comments about the weaker players.  How are the kids supposed to learn if they don't play??  For my son, this is the last year he will be on a team where winning shouldn't matter.  He is still at an age where he can learn from his experience.  Plus, we paid the same as every other parent to have our kid on the club; we have the same rights to have our kid play.

I do believe that when the stakes are higher (high school or college), it makes sense to play the better kids.  However, they don't need to play all the time.  If the team is killing the other team, that's  a prime time to allow the less experienced or less skilled players time to play.  Sadly I've witnessed coaches forget that they even had less skilled players as their team embarrassed another team.

This burr has been in my saddle since Tyler was six and he played soccer.  As it turns out, he had better skills as a daisy picker than soccer player, but what the hell, he needed to learn.  So, when the coaches asked who wanted to be in the goal, he volunteered (perhaps thinking it was an easy position as there was less running).  In any event, he wasn't in the goal for more than 40 seconds when he let in a goal.  The other kids on the team pitched a fit and wanted him out of the goal.  The coach complied and that was the end of Tyler's soccer career.  (It didn't help that Tyler's teammate told him he sucked when we were leaving the game that day.)

If we don't allow the six year olds to learn how to play, what hope is there.

Adults need to learn how to be the grown-ups.

I am thinking about all my teacher friends and acquaintances today.  Not one seems to have the difficulty I have obtaining work.  What is my flaw?  Is there help for me?

Some of the meanest teachers I know get jobs every time they interview.  Some of the best teachers I know don't get the job for which they are perfect.  Regardless, they have jobs and I don't and it makes me sad.

I think it would be interesting if, after an interview, you had to receive not just notification that you did not get the job, but full disclosure as to why.  Imagine the possibilities.  It might even be helpful to get full disclosure as to why you did get the job.

I have asked people how to get in the door.  They just shrug their shoulders and claim they don't know. Perhaps nepotism is at work.  Perhaps no one cares.  Perhaps schools are at the whim of the principal present during a particular opening.  In any case, it truly stinks being unemployed.  It's even worse to yearn for a job in a particular field, apply for said job and still not even be looked at.

What's down the road for me?

I belong to a group called Paperback Swap.  Basically, it's a place to list the books I have read or do not want anymore using the ISBN number to do so.  Then, other members may select one of my books.  When they do, I get an email, print the address and mail the book to them.  If I see a book on the site, I simply make a request and the person who owns it sends it to me.  Usually this is a seamless operation.
Not this week.

I shipped two different books last week.  Since I pay shipping on the books I send, I paid for two books that day.  One of those books arrived with no shipping on it (I suspect the mailing label was lost).  Now I have to pay again.  good grief.

It's also been a bad day shipping wise for something I ordered online from Target.  On August 16th I ordered a CD rack (we were finally going to get all the cds put away).  Today it's finally been determined that the piece is officially lost by UPS.  So much for tracking.  Ugh!

Well, back to the drawing board.

Communication.  So important, so easily messed up.

One thing I learned over the years is to rephrase what people say to ensure the understanding is equal.  I must admit that I don't always do it, but it's helpful.

I especially have difficulty with people in charge of children's activities who do not communicate well with parents.  I used to work for a woman who drove the parents crazy because she didn't get the point across well.  She would arrange for students to take a field trip but not provide all the little details:  when to drop the kids at the school; what time students would arrive at the hotel.  You know, the stuff parents really need to know.

My friend is dealing with this kind of thing now.  She is dropping her child off at a school but the people to whom she is entrusting her child are not there.  The farm where her daughter is being brought is expecting the daughter; the woman in charge is not there.  It's probably an oversight or misunderstanding, but if it were me, I would be enraged.