no training, not even a training manual.

a previously clean record.

one incident with a kid who has been a problem before.

fired.

yes, indeed, saxy did lose his job. we figure that the people involved didn't "investigate" as they claimed they were doing but pretty much had decided to let him go from the get-go. the whole suspensions was just a show. saxy has explained he has had no formal training, doesn't even have a manual, and to no avail. he suggested that perhaps a retraining program would be better, allowing them to keep an employee who has otherwise given them no trouble and him to keep his job in a desperate employment situation. no go.

saxy was the second to last person still at that campus from the previous director. the last person, the teacher that saxy was an aid for, is obviously very worried about his position.

both saxy and i have begun job searches. there's literally nothing out there for him. a lot of nursing jobs for which he has no training. that's it. i found one district hiring subs and have been working on updating my pathetic resume and filling out the application. (how do you answer "state briefly why you would like to be a sub teacher in our district. include a brief evaluation of yourself and why you are a strong candidate for a sub."? i hate questions like that.) i have to go out monday and give ssi and hud a copy of saxy's termination letter, and probably run around and get unofficial copies of my transcripts for this application. i honestly don't hold out much hope for employment though, there's just too many laid off teachers and sub in the area with certification and experience that would beat me out in a heartbeat. i don't even have a permit. all i have is a card saying i passed the cbest. wee. oh, and the b.a. that puts me between a rock and a hard place.

we're going to be fine - we still have the child support and my son's ssi (although the ssi next month will be a bit short because saxy's checks cut $190 off my son's income), it's just going to go back to being very tight until one or the other of us can find something. course, job hunting in 100+ degree heat is going to be a pain. and how do you arrive at an interview looking good when you've spent the morning on a bus trying to get there and when waiting for the bus, the temps are soaring? the downside to no car: public transportation is not conducive to applying for work. the upside: no insurance, no gas costs, no maintenance, no repairs.

anyway, i do have a few other issues to work through to do my own job hunt: i need some decent dresses and i'll have to pay for a medical check up and fingerprinting, which costs more money than we have. the fingerprinting alone is around $200.

but we will make it. we're just tired of being here. just barely surviving is exhausting.

oh, and to the one person in r.l. who suggested saxy go and spend money to appease the depression from losing his job: no wonder you have financial difficulties. unemployment does NOT equal go spend money. unemployment equals be careful with the money you have. ESPECIALLY when you have kids. get a handle on your own financial matters before telling us how to handle ours.

oh, yes, that particular piece of advice did irritate me. we have enough trouble without spending what little have left (and need to survive) on frivolous things. now, saxy and i are going to spend $12 to go see lxg tomorrow, but we're taking our own snacks and soda. our last fling before everything shuts down entirely and $12 means 2 gallons of milk, a loaf of bread, and toilet paper for a week.

see what having kids does to your thinking about money.