Thanks everyone for you wishes and good thoughts. On Friday afternoon, we found out that John did get back into the call center.

Thank goodness for small little miracles!

He has to go in at 10 AM on Monday to sign paperwork and what not. When he was let go on Thursday, he didn't get to get his belongings at his other desk. (They told him they were going to be terminating another person on Friday, and didn't want people to know he had been terminated until she was terminated...he had Friday off, that's why he was told on Thursday.) So he'll go in, get his papers signed, get his stuff, and then we don't know if he'll work or come home and start on Tuesday.

Nice thing is that when he had worked at the call center before he worked 8-5 Tuesday through Saturday. This time he'll work 9-6 Monday through Friday, with a flex Saturday once a month. As far as he knows, he'll be back with his former boss, on her team again, so that is great too.

John lost his job today. Terminated. Finished.

We knew it was probably coming. He had been told in a meeting about two weeks ago that layoff were coming and to be prepared. He was the "low man on the totem pole" as he had been in his new position for just shy of three months.

Thankfully two weeks ago, when he was told this might happen, John went to his former boss in the call center and told her of his situation. John left the call center on really good terms. She told him if he lost his job to call her. So he did. They are going to try to get him back into the call center ASAP.

We'll know Friday if John will have a job on Monday.

Please say a little prayer for us!!!!

Often times when I tell some people that I am the assistant coach for the forensics team, they look at me with shock in their eyes. I can read what they are saying...

You have a team of high school students who study dead bodies?

I quickly clarify that it is the Speech and Debate team at the high school, a member of the National Forensics League. I have been the assistant coach for nine years now. I happened to have opened my big mouth one summer nine years ago, when the former assistant coach had resigned to move back to her home state with her husband. I remember it like it were yesterday...Maureen and I were in the parking lot after a Saturday of shopping and having lunch, as she was moving soon, and we happened to run into Lyle and the school receptionist, who had also been out for the afternoon and used the high school parking lot as the meeting place. I casually told him that I'd be happy to help him out.

I had NO clue what I was getting myself into.

It has been nine years of:
~getting onto the big yellow taxi (school bus) at anywhere from 5 AM to 7 AM Saturday mornings during the winter to head all across Ohio.
~spending countless hours during and after school preparing students for various tournaments.
~sitting in rounds watching high school students perform their pieces, or give their speeches.
~having mental struggles during rounds, trying to decide who should get the "one" and who needs to come in second.
~getting home on Saturday nights around 11 PM or midnight.
~working with some of the most incredible educators from across the state...ESPECIALLY the Western Ohio coaches!!!!!!
~getting to hug my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth place finishers at each tournament.
~getting to hug my state qualifiers.
~getting to hug my national qualifiers.

This year, on Valentine's Day to be specific, I got to hug FIVE national qualifiers. FIVE! It is the ultimate test of our work as coaches, and the ultimate test of our students. The most students we've brought to a national tournament is four. And to think...we still have one more tournament in April which could potentially add two students to our group.

All five qualifiers are seniors. All male. And all wonderful students:

Dennis is going in United States Extemporaneous Speaking (he gets 30 minutes to prepare a seven minute speech on a topic he picks at random at the start of the round). This is his second trip to Nationals.

Joe and Brian are going in Public Forum Debate (they debate both the pro and con side to a given topic. This months' topic was: Resolved: That, on balance, the rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) has had a positive impact on the United States. Next month, at the state tournament, they will debate this topic: Resolved: That, on balance, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has improved academic achievement in the United States.) This is their first trip to Nationals.

Dan and Garet are going in Duo Interpretation (they perform a ten-minute cutting from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". The hard part about their piece that the only time they are allowed to look at each other and touch each other is during the introduction and transitions. The rest of the piece must be done in synchronization but without looking at each other.) This is their first trip to Nationals.

So from June 14 to June 19, we'll be in Birmingham, Alabama for the National Tournament.

EDITED: I should also add that yesterday, when the tournament was held at our high school, we were awarded with the team Sweepstake Award, meaning we had the most points from the two day tournament. That was a pleasant shock for us too!

Yes, I'm here. Wow, I can't believe so much time has passed since my last post!

I'm over the flu, thankfully, but now I'm trying desperately to get rid of my cough and lack of a voice. John also caught my bug, which he didn't let me live down! I certainly want to be better this week, as there is a HUGE tournament at GLHS this Friday and Saturday, and then Mom and I are headed to PA to see my Grandparents, Uncle & Aunt, and Cousins (and their families) for three days.

Tuesday night I went to see Spring Awakening. WOW. That is really all I can say about the show. WOW. I didn't know much about it before attending. Thankfully some people did warn me about how...graphic...it was, and had they not, I think I might have felt differently about the show afterward. I LOVED the music and I can't wait for the Broadway recorded soundtrack to get here (I finally ordered it...thanks Ed & Rozann for the gift card which helped me get it!). I think if the show comes to town again, I will probably go.

Friday and Saturday I was in NW Ohio for Little tournament for Speech and Debate. This tournament is the qualifying event for the state tournament in March. At this tournament eight boys qualified to attend the state tournament. There are also two other boys who have already qualified. So, it is Lyle, 10 boys, and ME going to state's! We don't have many girls on the team, and unfortunately none of them made it. :-(

Otherwise, not much is going on. I had a nice Thursday, being able to spend time with Colleen, Tom, Mom, and Dad. John wasn't able to join us for Colleen's birthday dinner, so I went anyway and still had a nice time.

This week is going to be BUSY. Monday is parent/teacher conferences. Thursday will be busy preparing for the tournament. Friday I have a sub but will be in and out of the building all day, preparing for the tournament which starts that day at 4 P.M. Then Sunday Mom and I are off to PA.

Lastly, as this is MY blog, I'd like to make a comment about the Octuplet mom. First, I must admit that the media is driving me NUTS with their incorrect terminology. Every time I hear a news report I find myself yelling at the reporters. DOCTOR'S CANNOT IMPLANT EMBRYOS!!!!!! If that were the case, then the success rate for IVF would be something like 95 to 98%. The correct terminology is TRANSFERRING EMBRYOS. Now, as for the ethics of it...I don't think it is right for the mother to have been allowed to put back six embryos, considering her age and the amount of children already in her home. The woman is a selfish person. I want children too, but you don't see me asking my doctor to put back six embryo's just to try to get a girl! Give me a break! Her doctor needs to be punished, even if he DID advise her of the risks. He should NOT have put her into that position! I unfortunately also think that this is going to damage the public's view of IVF even more. I don't know why, exactly, but I feel as if now, because of this woman and doctor, insurance companies are going to cover less infertility treatments than they already do. Any hope I had to get my IVF covered in the near future is now going further down the drain because of this bimbo. Thanks a lot Nadya Suleman!