sick, sad world: board of education edition

gripes i have:

• i get a job as a school counselor at the nydoe and the principal threatens my tenure and job about 10 months after he hired me.
• constant harassment that no one calls him on because everyone was "afraid" of him.
• the reason he wanted me gone? i quote: "you're a good guidance counselor, but i want you gone. if you go now, i'll give you a good recommendation."
• the fact that there was no reason i was fired? oh yeah-
• and the fact that the form i was "discontinued" with clearly stated at the top: NOT FOR GUIDANCE COUNSELORS

let's continue:

• my " hearing " takes place on november 12, 2008 at 65 court street.
• principal does not show
• principal calls in late
• case is NOT thrown out- conspiracy theory? wait- it gets better...
• the superintendent's/principals representative at the hearing states repeatedly for principal to STOP TALKING!!
• don't worry- everything is on tape, recorded.
• i order the tape BEFORE i LEAVE 65 court street.

UFT and DOE tells me:

• Once I receive the results, I can take it to court.
• December January February, etc...go by. No results. NONE.
• over TWO YEARS later, my lawyer FINALLY REACHES them!!
• the case stands.

isn't that weird?  it gets EVEN BETTER!

I STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED THE TAPE!

Really, DOE? You have the children's educations at heart?

Why don't all staff undergo mandated counseling before they are hired- ESPECIALLY PRINCIPALS AND SUPERINTENDENTS?!!

or maybe, you can answer me why i still don't have the tape that i could have proceeded to a court of law with?

maybe you can tell me why i had to get my LAWYER to actually receive the results, 3 years later?

has this happened to anyone else? i'd like to start a club.

"Secret" Subway Stop in NY

i saw these on the yahoo news page...

here's the linky (just click!)

really cool!

Queens Tornado Reminiscent Of 1895 Twister

Please read the link below...told you New York was a whacky place to live :)

A good friend of mine road it...love his work!

Queens Tornado Reminiscent Of 1895 Twister

Enjoy and don't forget about my giveaway!

love me,
the globetrotting gamine

My Vocational Development

In October of 2002, I wrote this essay for a class I was taking in my graduate program. Here it is, today, revised.
"When I was a little girl, I wanted to be everything and do everything. Of course, watching the grown-ups around me AND television, I realized that I couldn't very well do everything. But I WOULD try to squeeze everything into my schedule.
One of the earilest memories I have of being a little girl is sitting up in my room, in the middle of a pile of papers, pens and crayons. I was making a "family newspaper". In the newspaper, I would attempt to draw pictures and add articles about what was going on with each different family member. My older sister didn't like this idea after my parents saw my paper, so the "family newspaper" idea was nixed.
After years of 'job flip- flopping', I realized by the time I was in my teens that I couldn't do anything science or math related. It just wasn't me, and I couldn't get the hang of either subject without the help of outstanding teachers or tutors. Or both. I realized I wanted to help people.
At this time, I was more aware of the world around me. I knew that everything else I wanted to be as a little girl made a lot of money if you worked hard- and I also knew that it wasn't for me. I started to get a greater understanding of budgets and acquiring money when I was in the 10th grade. My parents went on vacation for a few months and had left me with an allowance to hold out until mid-September. I pulled it off without a problem. I was never broke, and I came out saving more money then anyone thought I would.
Since I was aware of the value of money, I was also aware of what the world around me needed. I didnt' want to be a police officer for the money. I wanted to be an officer to help people and make a difference.
I had some time before I settled down in this career choice, and I decided that instead of depending on my parents for money, I should get a job. Not wanting me to venture out into the real world yet, my father decided to take me under his wing at his job, since he needed someone there to e a secretary and receptionist. This had to be me, since I was the most organized person in the family. When that time span was over, every file and piece of paper missing was found, organized and color-coded.
4 jobs later, sometimes 3 at a time, I completed my bachelor's. I changed fields- and completed my Masters. I was barely 23.
Lo and behold, a year later I actually get a job in my field just two months after I got married. The job landed on my lap, and the person who found me it was trying to prevent me from getting it because the boss was a loon. And was she ever right...
He landed on the news 3 years later. Resigned from pressure. He harassed me and multiple others in the workplace, with no consequences for himself, but I was terminated and my career was not even 4 years in. My work was excellent accoriding to the three other supervisors I'd had. I've been writing letters and making phone calls since, but why would the government want to be found wrong?
Well, karma will get them all when they're down, won't it? So here I am, a year and a month out of a job that felt like home and where everyone was a big family. Writing, researching, and trying to figure out why.
And the rest? I wrote it. In a book that I've not finished editting. Will it be a best-seller? I don't care. I'm not even 30, unemployed, and overqualified to get any job I apply to. The job market for my field sucks, and there are NO leads! I speak 3 languages,  have countless certfications. SO SO SO Frustrating! All flushed down a drain because of one man who is actually recorded, photographed and the like for being insane. And he's still working somewhere else, directing people. Heaven help us all.

Thanks for the chance for letting me get that off my chest!

Much Love,

MG