Don't stop... believin...

Things have remained crazy and chaotic at work. And it seems things in the rest of my life are no better. I have a couple friends that are guys... friends I've known awhile. It seems that each is vying for my attention recently. I don't really know what that's all about... but it is what it is and I'll deal with it as curve balls are sent my way.

I'm ready for this week... I'll have a tad bit of a break at work because I'm going to a training on Tuesday... which I get to sleep in a bit for... :) Yesssss! Anyhow, I am really looking forward to it! It's a training on Autism; basics about the disorder and then a bunch of things that can be done to aide in the school situation (and probably life in general for a lot of them). I also am made to think they'll be focusing a lot specifically on Asperger's Autism quite a lot... which is good because I work with several kiddos that have Asperger's.

Anyhow, the rest of the week should flow wonderfully... well, I hope at least. I'm really hoping to spend a good amount of time with my best friend this week. We want to take a girl's weekend. I have no idea what the plan is, but I can't wait... it will be much needed!!! You don't realize how much you love and miss your friends until you house/dog sit for them over the weekend. It's strange to be in a best friend's house and not hear the laughter and fun that normally goes on with them there the same time as you!

Weekend Relaxation

We've had my nephew since last weekend. It's been very interesting. First of all, last weekend I went to a visitation/viewing for my Great Aunt Mary who passed away. She was 94, and I had been expecting it because she was getting up there in years... but it didn't make it any easier. They showed a slide show of pictures, and I got pretty emotional. I will miss her.

This week with Conner here has kept us all going at a fast pace. How do 2 year old boys get that type of energy??? I mean, seriously... if I could bottle it and sell it I'd be a millionaire! Anyhow... I wasn't really around him ALL that much... usually when I got home from work during the week he was still napping... and then I would only see him for about 3 hours in the evening before he brushed his teeth and went to bed.

Work has been keeping me busy. Weds was an early dismissal day for the students, so I got to meet up with my Mom and Conner for lunch near the school that day because we had an extended lunch time. Then I came back and did some clerical work. Then Thursday and Friday went by pretty quickly. Especially Friday because I took a half a day off... so I was only there in the morning.

Now I'm ready to relax... except I have at least 2 loads of laundry to tackle, and really need to run to the store to grab a few things for snacks/lunches and some hair care stuff. I wanna go to Walmart, but I also know that Walmart will be especially crowded on a Saturday, so I think I've resolved to go tomorrow during the day. :) That's all for now... hopefully I'll remember to post something this week.

'Where in the world' is Kels...?

I've just been plain busy. And I've been tired. When you put these two things together, you get someone who comes home, eats a snack, does some "activity" like yoga, etc., and then takes a nap until dinner. This leaves little time to shoot the breeze on a blog. Until the weekend, of course.

I'm just feeling drained... physically more than emotionally. Although, after Easter day with my family, I felt REALLY emotionally drained. Every single family member there asked if I had a teaching contract for next year yet. My answer: no. "Well, when will you get one?!?" My answer: I don't know. I had to start trying to be inventive in how I answered no, and I don't know. It's like each of them didn't understand the language I was speaking. It's still a bit early... and honestly I may not hear something until June or July. That's the scary part. I whole-heartedly hope that I hear something by the end of this school year, but I just don't know for sure. Just like I'm really hoping to get a position at my campus, but I don't know. I work really hard, I try really hard to give 150% all the time... and a lot of the time I think I'm doing so much stuff that isn't seen... that it's not even realized that I'm the one doing it. At the same time, I'm not going to make a big deal about pointing out all that I do because then it looks like I'm fishing... and I'm not. I just like keeping busy, and I like helping out the people I work with as much as I can.

I'm just hoping and praying that this year will finally be the year I get a position! Please, Dear Lord... hear what I'm asking for. Now I entirely plan on going to bed soon because I'm tired. It was a long week, and the next couple won't be any treat, either! Although, at least we have Friday off next week for Battle of Flowers day. But the day before is a field trip to the Planetarium... I'm just hoping my kid doesn't freak out about anything and run off!!! :( I don't think his mom will be joining us this time.

I don't think I'm alone in saying...

I don't think I'm alone in saying I wish it were Friday already! Maybe it's because I've been waking up every morning sweating (because apparently my parents don't believe in A/C and even though I have 2 fans going on in my room all night long, it gets hotter than Hell in there! Or maybe it's because I know that Friday is a half day for the kids, which means, it'll go by fast and we'll be THAT much closer to the weekend! UGH!

Busy, long, and EXHAUSTING week

This week was jam-packed of things going on! Monday after work I went to buy a new pair of athletic shoes, and then upon returning home, Max and I went on an hour long walk. It was a nice day out and we thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. Tuesday was overall a good day... especially with my student who had 100% behavior again that day! I came home pooped and took a nap when I got home. On Weds. we had a pretty good day at work, and then I came on home and again, fell asleep! lol Thursday was a pretty good day, too... we had a meeting in the morning with about 10 of us dealing with some concerns with my student and how we can address them, etc. It was productive, and then the rest of the day went well... he again got 100% on his behavior, and he got a 100 on his practice spelling test. I came home and I worked on updating my resume... with the intention to work this weekend on adding more of my lesson plans from student teaching (as well as student work/pictures of them in action) to my portfolio in preparation for "interview season!" Then today was a pretty good day... my student had a little bit of a breakdown this afternoon, but we honestly should've seen it coming because he had a change in schedule, and autistic kiddos don't do well with getting off their schedule... hopefully we can avoid that in the future... but otherwise he did very well, and he did calm down by the end of the day!

This weekend will be fairly busy. Tomorrow morning I'm going out at 9am to get my copy of Twilight on DVD... then I will be going at 12:30 to get my hair done (I need to have the roots touched up on my low-lights and get a bit of a trim) and then after that I have a date with Daughn and Amy for pedicures. Then tomorrow night is poker night... so we'll be hanging out (hopefully watching TWILIGHT!) and spending time together! Anyhow, then Sunday I will be working on my portfolio stuff... it'll be a nice laid-back day to do that!

Off I go for now! I need some more down time!

100% day!

Well, I'm hoping that my student is easing out of the transition to having me as his full time aide... he's having better and better days. On his behavior contract he got a 100% for the day! This is the 2nd time he's done this... and he never was able to achieve this before I started working with him full time!

Additionally, he presented a drawing he did this morning at the Talent Showcase and he did a FANTASTIC job telling the students about his drawing, and giving a little history lesson as well (he drew a picture of a Mexican Uniform from the Battle of the Alamo).

Not much else is really going on... it's the beginning of 'hiring season' so I'm making sure that my resume is current and that I update my portfolio in various sections (mainly adding some more lesson plan examples, and possibly drudging out some examples of student work from my student teaching) so that I'm prepared. I think I will also let my principal know again that I love the campus and would really love to interview for any openings (there's a 2nd grade position opening up for sure, because a teacher is retiring... so I was first dibs!).

Apparently

Apparently making casual conversation through messages, etc. on Facebook (with LOTS of people) has ruffled some feathers. I didn't know that telling someone I know more about music than them translates to me "keeping tabs" on them... I also didn't know it directly translated into, "Where are you?" As if I'm planning to meet them for a trist behind their wife's back LOL

If you want to know more, ask. I'm not divulging anymore specifics on here than I just did... but I think it's hilarious...! If only this accuser knew that I talk to EVERYONE in this way... ya know, like how I constantly tell Ricky I want to make love to him when he's in his Edward Cullen persona... or how I call Melissa sexy or spiceyhott, and say I want us to be engaged again... or ya know, even how I send my fellow co-workers a "Ken" for Valentine's Day because he's the perfect man... he doesn't talk back!!! Or the fact that I'm still friends with my ex and we have a very healthy amount of banter that still passes between us because ya know... I guess the sexual tension never REALLY goes away...?

People should just chill... seriously. I'm a friendly person (so much so that I have friends I've never met in person and only know through blogs/myspace, Facebook etc)... and I have no life once I'm home from working with special ed. kids all day... so to release tension and stress, I get on Facebook a couple-few times a night, and reply to my friends' status messages as they pop up on my home screen. If I come off as flirty, it's probably because I am... but I could really probably be accused of being "flirty" with girls, too... it's less that I'm a flirt, and more that I like to be funny and make people laugh about things. Life is short, and you can just SUE me if you don't want me to die happy!

Purchases

Well... yesterday was payday! WOOHOO... and now, (after making my loan payment) I can finally replace my crappy, refurbished-to-replace-a-broken-flip-phone cell phone. :) YAY! I can also start buying up Xmas presents for everyone... I need to make a list and come up with a budget. :) The good thing is I'll get another good paycheck on Dec. 15th... just in time to finish up the last bit of Xmas shopping...!

In other news I attended Dustin's TBall game this morning... and now I'm spending some nice, quiet time at home... later this afternoon I'll venture out to spend some time with Daughn. We're Dustin-free (he went with his Nana and Popo Marty today after the game) and Damian has poker night tonight. This also means, we'll probably go grab some dinner after going to stop by the hospital to see her Grandpa (who has apparently been there for 2 days and JUST NOW said something to the family about it!)

Back I go to watching some tube... :)

Until we meet again... auf wiedersehen!

ACK!

Well, I have to say, I'm not really in a "blogging" mood today. It was a fairly uneventful day... went to church... visited my Grandma... met up with Daughn at the mall... didn't buy anything there... went on to Target... found some stuff in the $1 bins that I got... went on to the house with her... then went to pick up some dinner.

It's been a mundane day... I hope tomorrow goes quickly! I have TUESDAY OFF!!!! YAY FOR VETERANS' DAY! :) Then hopefully WThF will go quickly, too! The other upside to this week is I get my first paycheck... at which point I plan on getting a new cell phone... (YAY!) and I will be adding my own DVR box at the casa (b/c I'm tired of fighting my Dad for time to watch my shows off the DVR in the main room!) lol AND... I'm going to start Xmas shopping... I'm SUPER excited about that... b/c I love buying gifts for people... and this year will be more fun buying stuff for Conner b/c I think he'll have more fun tearing the paper off presents!

Until tomorrow... Adieu!

NaBloPoMo

It's National Blog Posting Month (in addition to NaNoWriMo... National Novel Writing Month). I've attempted NaNoWriMo before... but I think NaBloPoMo is more realistic for me. :)

So, I'll be posting a blog everyday this month... it may be like normal... or it may be a themed entry. At any rate, I'll have fun doing this! :)

Today is a busy day...!!! We have Dustin's TBall game at 11... then I have to come home and bake/decorate a cake for NaeNae's (Danae's) baby barbecue... don't let that sound misleading... she didn't want a baby shower, so we're having a barbecue to celebrate the new addition... and of course we need cake! :) Then tonight is the DAWGS (Georgia) game... SIC 'EM!!! They're playing the Gators... so Damian wants to go to Louie LeDeux's to eat gator... lol Anyhow... It's just going to be a seriously busy day...! But I can't wait!

Until tomorrow...!

Tchuss!

Jeremiah

Yesterday and today I've picked up Dustin from daycare and taken him home to his parents (because their work schedules are both weird at the moment... and he's only temporarily back at his old daycare before starting a new preschool program... had to get some medical stuff cleared away first, tho).

Yesterday we had the usual type of conversation... it was comprised of him telling me how his day was (IE: lying about taking a nap... making up OBVIOUSLY false things, like riding in a cop car and getting handcuffs put on, etc.) and asking me what the animal cracker shapes were from the little kid-size bag I brought for him (I always bring him a snack of crackers or something when I pick him up from daycare).

Today we had a similarly interesting discussion. He asked again what the various animals were... except today before he'd ask me, he had bitten off the head... I guess he was trying to see how good I would be at identifying headless animal shapes! Each time I would hear, "WOOK, CHACHI!!! What's THIS one?!" excitedly shouted from behind me. Then I asked if he took a nap today. "Yes, ma'am... I took a nap." So I asked, "Dustin... did you REALLY take a nap... or are you just telling me that when you really just laid there and didn't sleep but had your eyes shut?" "Uhhh... I'm just telling you that... I didn't really sleep." (HAHAHA I laughed hard when he said that... it *was* pretty funny!)

Then as we turned onto the street to get to his subdivision he started talking about Jeremiah... at first I thought he was talking about someone from daycare that he met... so I asked,
-"Do you know Jeremiah from daycare..?"
-"No... that's not how I know Jeremiah."
I asked a few times, "Who is Jeremiah, Dustin?" more because I was scared he was going to say some man that talked to him, or something.

But as we got closer to the entrance to the neighborhood he pointed to the left and said,
-"That's where she lives!" And I asked,
-"Where who lives?"
-"Jeremiah... that's where she lives!" (Sidenote: He was pointing to a soccer field/church field/church/parking lot) And so I said (to clarify with the 3 year old, of course!)
-"She lives there.... SHE? Jeremiah... SHE LIVES THERE?"
-"Yup... that's where she lives..."
-"Jeremiah is a girl?"
-"Yup"

I l-l-l-love that little booger! (it's l-l-l-love because we've been trying to help him enunciate his l's lately)

Keepin' Busy

I've been keeping busy lately. Last week my parents left for Washington DC. My Dad was going to the NFCA (National Fraternal Congress of America) convention there. My mom went along (as per usual) and they didn't return until last night. So, I tried keeping myself as busy as possible in their absence.

A large part of my everyday routine right now, because I don't yet have a teaching job, is to search on all the area school district job posting bulletins for availabilities and proceed to email anyone I am to contact regarding the position posted. I've also been trying to contact and update information with various HR depts. In the rest of the time that I'm not doing that, I'm trying to do things that de-stress me. I think not having a job is 100 times more stressful than it will ever be for me to have a classroom. I'm trying to stay extremely optimistic about things... I know that the school districts I've worked with before will not give an okay to their schools to hire more people to take care of extra registration until around the end of Sept. I'm just hoping that someone will finally take a chance on me. If they don't, then I maintain that I will take on a teacher's assistant position because apparently I can count that as "teaching experience." I wish the HR dept would have told me that 2 years ago, because then I would most likely have a job by now. Oh well, I know that everything happens for a reason... and had I done the TA thing 2 years ago, I wouldn't have ever met the teachers in the second school district that I subbed for... and thus wouldn't have had even more references to aid in my search.

Other than that, all is well, and nothing is really going on. I'm hoping to have dinner with Wolf and Jamey this week sometime... and other than that I'm sure I'll be spending time with Daughn and Damian. Until the next post...

Peace, Love, Happiness

Kels

Today is...

Today is the first day of school. This means... FOR ME... it's a bad day. Especially since there were a couple people I knew thru school that JUST graduated and apparently were able to get a position. Last night, I had a moment that I just cried... I don't understand why it is SO DIFFICULT for me to get a job... (actually, I do... I originally certified in an area that's so common... and subsequently SO OVERSTOCKED with candidates that I screwed myself... the only experience I have with MS or HS is subbing and for someone conducting interviews that just isn't enough experience for them... at least not for a grade level that is tested by the state).

Well, I have had a silver-lining in the day... I was totally ready to go do things to keep my mind off the fact that I SHOULD'VE been in my classroom today... I was going to go find a new swimsuit on clearance... then I was planning on going and killing myself swimming laps... and then I entirely planned on spending the rest of the day finishing Dexter: Season 2 and then watching either Reno: 911! episodes or The Office episodes... at least til Daughn/Damian would save me from the day and I could go over to play Wii or SOMETHING. Anyhow... I got an email today....

It had a link to my scores from my Special Education Certification test... and I PASSED! I'm REALLY hoping this will make it MUCH easier to find a job after the craziness with the enrollment influx right after Labor Day.... WE'LL SEE! I'll keep everyone posted... but for now I'm going to go about the rest of my day... and letting others know the good news.

STILL WAITING!!!!!!

I've never hated waiting so much...! I have decided if I do not hear anything by tomorrow evening, I will be emailing the principal I interviewed with. Considering I would have to report for duty on Aug. 11th, I don't think it's unreasonable to ask that I know something, one way or the other, by Aug. 4th (that would be a week before).

But this is mostly due to the fact that I can't wait anymore... and if he has made a final decision and given 2 people jobs, the least he could do is let me know that I am NOT being offered a position... especially because maybe... JUST MAYBE... I may be trying to get a job to start on the 11th somewhere else... and that I may just want to know if I have a job there before I take a position elsewhere (not that I have another job offer... but how does HE know that...??)

I understand it takes awhile to check things... but I'm a little ticked if that's the case... as far as I know (through my experiences with other school districts I've applied with/worked for in some capacity...) districts run checks on your schooling, degree, certification, and a criminal background check when you apply... in TX (I guess because there are SO MANY applicants right now) they usually require hearing back from 2 of your 3 required references before anyone on a campus will attempt contacting you for an interview.... So, if the situation is that the district didn't do any of this... and I originally applied with them in May of 2007... and updated my info. in NOV. 2007 to include my newly added certification... I'm a little ticked they dropped the ball...! This is the only reason I could see the principal taking so long to contact me back and let me know anything... if he's just taken the yellow-bellied way out and doesn't want to have to tell me that the jobs have been filled... then that makes me even MORE mad! Especially when in an interview, the candidate lists among her strong suits the ability to take constructive criticism, and apply suggestions in some form! lol

Okay, no more ranting... I have tons of cleaning left to do... we have a bunch of family coming over this weekend for a BBQ and I have to finish things around here.... This is Kelsie, signing out...!

Still waiting... bad sign???

So... I'm still waiting to hear back about my interview. It's now Thursday... over a week from when I interviewed... I'm really hoping to hear SOMETHING (good or bad) today... at least then I'll know and be done wondering/worrying!

I'm going to try to go back to sleep now... I've been up nearly an hour... maybe I'll go watch some Saved By the Bell... kinda bittersweet during these times to watch a show about SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!! :( Is it too much to ask to be given a chance to fulfill my passion for teaching kids? seriously!

On a side note, I just found out in these wee hours of the morning that apparently one of my good friends/ex crushes from back in HS days (who I keep in some contact with) apparently got a 22 year old gal preggers and is now a dad... again. (He was married before and has 2 kiddos from that marriage... they're cuties and it's unfortunate that they don't get to see their dad as often)... I found out because this girl sent me an email... directing me to add her on myspace... which is weird. It's weird to me that he didn't just tell me... I'm going to have to discuss that with him soon... I can't imagine he'd be dumb enough to think a perfect stranger should tell me that news... lol then again he IS a man...! I KID, I KID!

Nightmare on MY STREET

Ever notice how it's difficult to go to bed after seeing something scary? Maybe I'm just a weirdo that allows myself to be scared of silly little things... but here I am... after watching a scary movie... and I can't go to sleep... I don't want to shut out all my lights...! lol I'm ridiculous about stuff like this. Here I am nearly 27; you'd think I'd learn my lesson by now not to watch things like this after dark... or even during the day if they'll have staying power in my mind... but I continue to put myself through the thrill of being scared and then losing sleep over it!

It's so fun to feel like a silly 13 year old girl on summer vacation! lol

It doesn't help that my cat Mozart thinks she's seeing a bunch of things THAT AREN'T EVEN THERE!!! (or at least, they are not visible to me)

Hopefully I get more than 3 collective hours of sleep tonight... I'd really like to be awake enough to enjoy playing some Wii Rock Band with Daughn and Damian tomorrow night!

Oy! Too much free time!

Today has been kind of a gloomy day! It's been cloudy out almost all day long and the clouds are a little gray... but Fiesta is well under way here in San Antonio!!! ARRRRIBA! lol Tonight is the river parade... I think I'm actually going to watch a bit of it on tv this year... mainly because my parents are gone in Spring, TX... my Dad had something for work tonight (Monday) in Conroe, TX so he and my mom headed out yesterday around 2ish and figured they'd go get in some quality time with my little pumpkin boy nephew. I'm anxious to see pictures... we saw him about a month ago and when I talked to my mom last night on the phone she said he's moving around so much and really trying to get to pulling himself upright (he's been crawling about 2 months now). I think it's ENTIRELY possible he'll be walking on the beach when we go May 10-14!!!

In other news, I went out and bought a new memory card for my camera. If you can believe it all I had was a 128MB SD card! lol Office Max had 2.0 GB SD cards on sale for $15 so I went to go get one!!! I should've gotten 2! lol Anyhow, I went out and took a few pics of the dogs and the new fence (my Dad had a new fence put in last week in the backyard... it's nice... and it'll be nicer after it's stained). Anyhow... below are some of the pics of the dogs... I may even add the movie I took if I'm ambitious enough... lol (and please, no comments on my silly sounding voice... I'm well aware that I look and sound like I'm still in HS!).

Pictures:

VIDEO:

This is pretty typical... I try to get MAX to talk, and Dioji does all the talking... and notice how he constantly tries to get her to play with him... but she's too lazy! lol Enjoy.

Keep thinking good thoughts...

So, the interview went really well (or at least, I think so!). As the principal walked me out she told me that I did a good job, and I honestly don't think she would've said anything, especially compliment me, unless she felt it was duly owed.

I'm also hoping that it works in my favor that 3 of the 5 teachers on the panel (it was a panel of 7; 5 teachers, the principal and vice principal) I've either subbed for, worked with (spec. ed.), or know through my aunt (she's an aide in the spec. ed. autism unit... the head of the autism unit was on the panel).

I know it seems strange to those who aren't religious... but trust me, I've done NOTHING but pray since I graduated and was unable to get a full time position. As hard as it may be to believe, my faith grew mountains... because I realized I needed to put my faith in Him and set my cares aside... especially since the small bout of depression I suffered wasn't getting me anywhere, and I wasn't going to seek medical help for it and have that on any kind of record. I did it alone, and with God's help... again, I know that it's hard to understand if you're not a religious person... but I got through it. And, also unbelievably, I have a certain sense of calm. Like, inside my heart just feels excited and happy... not wrecked with fear that I may not get the job. And I may NOT get the job... I may get a call on Thursday telling me that they don't have a position they feel I'm suitable for... but I guess then my happiness is God resolving in me that there's another place for me.

Anyhow... I'd still appreciate good thoughts... the principal said I'd be told one way or the other by the end of the week... Since Friday is a holiday here in San Antonio (it's Battle of Flowers!) I'm guessing I'll know on Thursday. I sincerely hope that I have something to celebrate this coming weekend... and if I don't... at least I can take solace in knowing I have a backup plan.

Pirates, Pirates, EVERYWHERE!!!

Well, I haven't updated, but I've been keeping busy... Starting with Dustin's 3rd birthday party (A pirate party!) this past Sunday! It was a nice day for a party in the park and Dustin had a LOT of fun!


Dustin sitting by his cakes, not smiling ;)


Sneaking icing from the cake!


Dustin's Crew!


Cap't. Dustin holding us all hostage!


The outcome of a 3 year old's birthday bash :)

I spent Monday recovering, Tuesday mending a migraine, and Wednesday picking up Dustin from daycare and going to the playground in his neighborhood. Thursday and Friday I subbed all day at the intermediate school... That was fun... subbing right before Spring Break! ;) I'm ready to enjoy the week off, and hope to head over to Canyon Lake for lunch one day... :-D It's been ages since I've been out there, and I am looking forward to enjoying the scenery for a while... Next up for me? Getting through April and making it to May when I am going to Port Aransas for a week! (A more serious post not related to everyday happenings will occur sometime this weekend...)

The diet's going well... I've lost 18 pounds so far... not bad for a little over 2 months... :)

Funny 2 year olds' anecdotes

I was just thinking back today to a funny little thing that happened with Daughn's little boy Dustin who is 2 years old. One night I went over to their house to have some dinner and watch either Big Brother or Survivor (last season... not the current ones). Dustin likes technology, and thus likes to pick up anyone's phone that's sitting around and call people. On this particular night, he got ahold of Daughn's phone and called ME (I was the last call out from her phone and he hit buttons and ended up calling out to me again). So, I thought I'd play along, and I answered (mind you, he's standing right in the same room).

-"Dustin?"

-"Hi Chachi!" (this is what he calls me... although he can say Kelsie now... but still calls me Chachi).

-"HI DUSTIN!"

He looked right at me at this point and said,
-"NO! NOT YOU CHACHI! CHACHI ON THE PHONE!!!!!!"

Oh, 2 year olds... God love 'em! lol This brought a little ray of sunshine into my world today... which I needed considering I've had one of those bad luck days. I woke up early... ate some breakfast, got ready and headed out to Saturn to get my state inspection done (it expires this month)... YUP... apparently the guy had emailed me (probably about 30 minutes before I left) telling me they were booked up and that they weren't making appointments any earlier than Monday. I found all this out when I got there... the only glimmer or good luck in the situation is that I get my state inspection for free. :)

I feel a strong need to get out to the lake and take some photos and just take in the scenery out there. Perhaps some time this week. I definitely don't want to wait til Spring Break as MANY kids from all surrounding areas of the lake will be there... I'm not a crowd type of person. Anyhow... back to reading my book and preparing for tomorrow's subbing (I need to fix up my cover letter and resume to leave with the principal).