Goin' To Carolina In My Nitro

A couple days ago, it didn't look like I was goin' anywhere. I was faxing, e-mailing, and regular-mailing (sorry, but I really hate the term snail mail. I think snails are cool, and I know for a fact they would never be caught dead anywhere near the post office) my resume to every ding-dang school on the North Carolina map, from Kill Devil Hills to Burger Town.

My whole North Carolina adventure started well over a year ago, when I noticed an ad for a North Carolina teacher's job fair in the Saginaw, MI newspaper, of all places. Apparently, the state of North Carolina does not pump out enough qualified teachers every year to meet the demand, so they have to go looking far and wide to fill all of the available positions.

Since my wife and I have always fantasized about leaving California since, oh, about five minutes after she arrived, I figured I would look into teaching there. As it turns out, North Carolina will accept a California teaching credential, just as long as you pass two tests required by the state for teaching at the elementary level (I found this out the hard way last year, when I was almost offered a job until they realized that the tests I took for my credential in California would not qualify me to teach in NC, even though they basically cover the same material).

In any case, I got the testing out of the way last year, and figured at some point I would book a trip to North Carolina, with the hopes of finding out if Snappy Lunch in Mount Airy, NC really makes the best damn pork chop sandwich you've ever tasted.

But as of last Wednesday, I was seriously doubting whether I would be going out there at all. It was one thing to be taking this trip when I was still employed and had three weeks of vacation time coming to me. But now, like everything else in my life, this trip has taken on a whole new level of importance.

For starters, I actually need the job now! It was easy to fantasize about teaching when I didn't really need to count on that fantasy putting bread on my table. But now that this IS a reality in my life, I want to make sure I have the best shot possible of making it happen, since my other option would be to go right back to another job like the one I had before, assuming of course that I could even FIND another job like the one I had before.

In addition, my precarious financial situation makes this trip a calculated risk, since I am devoting precious, non-renewable economic resources to finding out if I can actually teach in a state that I have never visited, let alone ever lived in. Which is why I spent the better part of an hour last night comparing gas mileage figures on rental cars, to squeeze the most out of every dollar I still have.

In any event, everything has fallen into place over the last couple days, and I have lined up three different interviews in two different cities before the job fair next Friday, where I will then meet with numerous potential employers from the Northwestern area of North Carolina.

I am really looking forward to next week, and have a very good feeling about the whole thing. I am hoping to come back with at least one job offer, or at the very least, to meet some people who will give me some serious consideration for a teaching position next fall. If nothing else, I know I will enjoy cruising around on the Blue Ridge parkway in my Dodge Nitro, which is one bad-looking little trucklet.

(And yes, the gearheads out there might be wondering why I rented a mid-size SUV if I was concerned about gas mileage. For one thing, the new Nitro is the lowest-priced rental currently offered by Thrifty in North Carolina, for some reason. But I guess my main inspiration was to avoid the prospect of showing up to my interviews in a Kia Rio, which in my mind would be like showing up to my interview wearing one of those big, floppy red and white striped "Cat-in-the-Hat" hats, Ug boots, and a t-shirt that reads "I'm With Stupid," with the arrow pointing straight at my face).

Karen she's a silver sun
You best walk her way and watch it shinin'
Watch her watch the mornin' come
A silver tear appearing now
I'm cryin' ain't I
Gone to Carolina in my mind

"Carolina In My Mind" was performed by James Taylor