The weather today was warm, sunny, blue-skyed, and March-like, for the South. That horrible two-month cold spell has finally relaxed its grip. During this endless winter, Savannah had 30 nights which were below freezing. I hated it. Although it's not really spring, (i.e., the azaleas aren't blooming yet), today's temperature was a harbinger of sweet, sunny days to come. Liberto and I went to Home Depot for supplies to spruce up the house for Monday's appraisal, and I eagerly bought some beautiful flowering plants for the front yard, in bright reds, yellows, purples, and white. The appraisal value, whether high ball or low ball, won't really matter in the process of the refinancing since we have plenty of equity, but as a matter of pride, we've been racing around trying to fix odds and ends so our home won't look like the Ewell's home in To Kill a Mockingbird. Two neighbors told us that their houses immediately lost thousands in value when their appraisers came by for refinancing, due to the slumping market, so I'm expecting ours will too. But no matter, we're getting a phenomenally low interest rate on a 15-year mortgage, with the plan in mind of being able to have the house paid for at the time of L's retirement.
Our long-time friends from Atlanta, Roger and Debbie, are coming to Savannah on Sunday for a conference, and we'll meet them for dinner on Tuesday. I've known them since we occupied the same block of Married Student Housing in Baton Rouge, in 1980! Roger was beginning his Masters Degree at the same time I was beginning my Ph.D. We became couples friends, though I was still with Maynard. Two years later, Roger finished his Masters and decided not to pursue a Ph.D., so they moved to Atlanta, where he got a position at a private high school. He continues to work there today. When I re-surfaced in their lives with a new husband in the mid-80's, they had no trouble adjusting, and we've remained good friends since. Most of the time, we go to Atlanta and stay at their house; I don't think they've been down here to visit for at least 10 years. We're excited about seeing them.
The latest from the state of Georgia is a prediction of 4,000 layoffs within the university system, due to the budget crisis. Things aren't looking too hot for the secondary system either. I continue to think about whether to explore possibilities for two-year-degrees within health care. Let's face it, my career in education is most likely over. Liberto wants me to have a viable career and pension possibilities in my own right, so that if something happens to him and the life insurance money doesn't stretch into my 100's, I will have something reliable.
We've been working all day trying to pick up the house. Paul went to the landfill twice to drop off junk. I told Liberto this morning that we need to pick the top 5 things because we just can't do it all. I have a pile of student folders to read too, and have to plan activities to keep the restless kiddies occupied for a full 90 minutes every day, all week. The frustrating part is that I often spend several hours creating tasks that will take them a fraction of the time to do.
The Governor has decided to introduce a new bill that would financially reward teachers whose students perform the best. Hah! Many teachers have written letters to the editor patiently explaining (as though to a mentally challenged child) that students' performance is much more tied to family background and income than anything a teacher does in class?
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