Hi Tara,I was a secondary (yr7 -y12) teacher for many years. Now I am a stay at home mum with 3 kids. My son is 8 now and is in yr 3. I am really appreciating the view from the other side of the desk. He goes to a state school in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia) and the experiences and the teaching he receives are outstanding. I wish you all the best for meeting your new students and have a great start to the school year.Helen

I am off for the summer! Yay for me! This past school year went pretty well. I feel way better about work at the end of this school year than I did the past few years. Unfortunately, there are other areas of my life that I am not feeling as good about. However, I look forward to coming here to BookTalk to take my mind off things.

It's good to hear your job is going better. It really sucks to have to wake up each morning dreading going to work. I'm hoping to get back into the Thursday night chats so maybe you can find the time to meet us in there once in awhile. Sounds like you need the socialization. When is your next trip to Florida? We'll have to get together.

Yes, Chris, it is so much easier to get up to go to work in the morning without the dread I was having the past two years. Thursday is not a good night for me to chat anymore, as I play tennis/have dinner out on Thursdays. I may be able to make a change regarding that soon though. If I am at home, then I will certainly check out the chats! In the meanwhile, if you see me on BookTalk and want to chat, go into the chatroom and I'll join you or put a message in my inbox telling me to go there. That goes for anyone, BTW! Over the summer I have much free time and am happy to chat!I will probably be making a trip to FL sometime this year. I may go in November for my brother's graduation. I would definitely want to get together with you, Chris, when I come down! I'll let you know of any plans in advance, so you can schedule me in!

Sounds good. Give me as much advance notice as possible so I can block out time. We had fun during your last visit.There is no perfect night to do the casual chats. One night will work for one member and then not work for the next. Since we did the chats on Thursday nights in the past I think it is best to stick with that same night now. For live author chats Thursdays seemed to work nicely. Tell your tennis partner to join BookTalk and come to the chats. Edited by: Chris OConnor  at: 7/1/06 12:03 pm

I've been away from BookTalk for awhile sorting out my personal life. Since I last posted on here, I left my boyfriend of 10 years, was engaged for two days to another man?, left that liar, and am back out in the dating world! There is so much more that has happened as a result of all those changes that it would take me days to catch you all up. I am relatively happy now and checking in on my old friend, BookTalk.

Hey tarav,

Glad to see you back!

There have been some changes here, so take your time readjust and get comfortable.

Later

Thanks, Frank!

You've been through a lot of ups and downs lately. Maybe logging in here once in a while will do you some good. You've got friends here and at least you can stimulate your mind with our discussions. I know finding intelligent people out there can be a challenge.

You're right, Chris. Coming here is good for me and finding intelligent people out there is a challenge!