2 weeks until school starts and training

Two weeks to go until school starts and I am mentally getting myself ready!  Sorta...On Monday Liz had an interview for the new Kohl's that will be opening in October.  It was really funny because I went with her and they thought I was applying. They thought she was 12!  Poor kid always gets mistaken for a little kid, they even give her the kid's menu in restaurants!  She'll be happy about that someday! 

Afterward, my father and stepmom stopped by because they are up from Florida to attend my stepbrother's wedding tomorrow night.  My father looks great for 70, tan and healthy looking.  My wonderfully disfunctional family did everything right on cue.  I had told my brothers (I have 3, all younger) that Dad and Toni would be in town & to call my father, and find out the dates.  Nobody of course did and now they are all upset that he didn't call them!  My mother died in 1999, she was the glue that held this family together.  My stepmom is 53, she has only a 25 year old son, she has no clue as how to function in a family our size.  She pretty much follows what my father says to do.  Oh well, gotta love your family no matter what right?

We had training yesterday all day for work.  As I said in my earlier entry we bid on our routes and buses all according to senoirity.  We have a union and everything is supposed to go by the book.  I get more choices every year, because we have many employees who retire each year.  I move up each time somebody ahead of me leaves.  We have 3 pages of employees and I am now in the middle of the 2nd page!  Last year I moved up 3 spots because they had my start date wrong!  The routes are posted for a week and we are allowed to go in look them over, make a list and then we all assemble together, hang out outside the building, usually we have  a cookout, and then go in by 3's & bid for routes, by senoirity.  We are only allowed 5 minutes, otherwise we'd be there all day and into the night.   I am going to work today to look over the routes.  I haven't decided whether or not I'd like to drive special service (a PC way of saying special ed) or regular route.  I pretty much know the neighborhoods, and schools, last year I got a great route with good kids, but as I said before I was talked into switching.  I will NOT let that happen again.  I did learn a lot though about student management.  I will be using my experience from last year, this year.  Tomorrow we have a 1/2 day meeting about that very subject--student management. 

As far as buses go our fleet has close to 100 buses.  The newer styles (2005 - 2007) have all electric doors with the controls on the steering wheel -- including the buttons that control the amber and red 8 way system, which lets others know we are picking up kids.   They are automatic and basically drive like a normal vechile, but longer & of course bigger.  I perfer manual parking brakes and the manual style service door (the door the kids enter).  Less confusing...that is the type of bus I am going to try and bid on.  Some people like the newer buses, some like the buses that are parked close to base as we have assigned slots.  I guess we all have our preferences.

Liz is at the White Sox game today with Mike (boyfriend), he is leaving for Southern Illinois University for school tomorrow.  Hopefully, this year she won't go into a tailspin and get depressed like last summer.  We both have projects to do around the house though so I am sure she will be fine.  She told me that she is having a hard time hanging out with her girlfriends as they seem to only want to party and drink.  My child is very sensible when it comes to this.  I am glad, it seems like such a waste to me to spend your senior year drunk...one of the girls is one I used to have in my brownie troop, many years ago.  She brillant, but so insecure, her parents are both high up in the school district, I remember mom being very critical.  It's all such a waste to me.

It's hard to be a kid, so much pressure.  We all partied in our day, but I never did in high school, I wasn't in a hurry to grow up.  Some days I still have that problem!!