Anyone for a round of the "Hallelujah Chorus"?

Friday, May 2 will be my last day at my job.

I was never so happy to go to work as on this past Tuesday with a letter of resignation in my hands. My supervisor about dropped her teeth when she found it on her desk. After 8 1/2 years at Blue Cross, it was time to go.

During a meeting on Monday, my supervisor was discussing with me the fact that my work had been below the standard I set for myself for quite some time. She was right, it hasn't, but I have remained depressed, anxious and distracted by the events that happened in December. I tried to explain this to her, as well as telling her all the steps that I am taking to make it better. At that point, she very calmly looked at me and said, "what happened to you in december is no excuse for your sub-par performance". It took every ounce of self-control I could muster to not reach across the table and rip her face off. After much discussion and research about the options, we decided that as of May 2, I will stay at home with my kids.

I am still actively applying for teaching jobs, and last I checked there are a record number, 5 music jobs available in Wake county right now. The Wake County teacher job fair is on Saturday and I will be there, at 6 a.m. with bells on. Last year I got there at about 6:45 and was number 135 or so in line. I will be there at 6. Anyone that gets there earlier than that deserves to be ahead of me.

Thank God!

This is a bit off topic from what I usually type about, and a bit more intense, but this is HUGE for me. Those of you who have known me for a long time, will know how big this was when it happened. As a sophomore in high school, one of my cheerleading buddies and classmates, Jessica Keen was murdered. She was found naked, but for 1 sock, beaten to death and raped, in a cemetery near her home. Her body was found on March 17, 1991. It was the most surreal moment of my life until finding out about Henry's death. I can't even being to say how many people were afraid to even go to school out of fear that her killer went to school with us. Until this week, this murder had gone unsolved.

Weird though it may be, the man who raped and killed my high school friend transferred his parole (for other rapes) to NC and was working in a Walmart an hour away from here. He has now been arrested in NC and is awaiting extradition to Ohio. I'm still in shock, but so very glad for her family.

Jessica had the voice of an Angel, and more talent than any other person I had met at the time. I have very vivid memories of her playing tom sawyer in our middle school play, and it came so naturally to her. Please pray for her family as well as anyone else who has been effected by her death. Please continue to thank God for the law enforcement officers who have never let this case get too cold. Their time, effort and perserverence will hopefully give Jessica's family closure after 17 years.

Here is a link to one of the recent stories:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/04/09/jessica.html?sid=101

I have some pictures of myself and Jessica together, that I will post when I can.