BFF’s–Blog Follower Friends (or anyone at any restaurant where I’ve eaten for the past two and a half months; or at the Post Office; or at Savannah’s coffee shops) know that on June 21, I retired from Georgia Southern University after teaching English there for twenty-four years. [First retirement post. Second retirement post. My final GSU Walking Tour.] And I had such a fun retiring summer! Sitting in my backyard, visiting a vineyard, embracing the Savannah Asian Festival, getting put in jail, exploring a fort, going to a Savannah Sand Gnats game, Tybee Island partying, etc.
But then summer started to come to an end, and (as all teachers know) the REAL new year started–the Academic Year. I grew a bit restless. And thought about getting a part-time job to keep me off the streets and such, but neither of my Top Five Prospective Second Careers panned out:
1. Tug Boat Operator.
2. Little Caesars Sign Dancer. I became interested in this one because the LCSDers at the corner of Montgomery Cross and Waters here in Savannah always seem SO enthusiastic. So I researched the job a little. Here’s the description and qualifications from the Little Caesars website:
“Get paid to dance and have FUN! Part-time Sign Dancer job available! Are you an outgoing energetic individual looking for work? Are you someone who can attract attention? Do you like having fun at work and staying positive?” So far, so good. Work SHOULD be fun! And I write a happiness blog! This job seemed right up my alley.
“If so, this is the job for you! We are looking for a part-time Sign Dancer who can hold a sign and have fun at the same time. We are not just looking for your average sign holder. We are looking for someone who can dance with a sign and attract attention.” Again, surely I could HOLD a sign and have fun in a non-average way.
Requirements:
- You must be very ENERGETIC and get people’s ATTENTION!!!
- You must be in decent health. You will be outside.
- You must be able to wave at passing cars while on duty. I’m friendly!
- You must be able to stand the entire shift. I’m a teacher. I stand all the time!
- You must have reliable transportation and arrive on time.
- You must be able to pass a drug test. What about Allegra or Tums?
- You must be at least 18 years old. I’m SO over 18! This job is MINE, I thought!
But alas, after hours practicing with a broom in the backyard, I came to find out that Little Caesars wants sign dancers who are not quite so OVER 18.
3. Quality Control Praline Taster at River Street Sweets. (Pure pralines, NOT turtles!) Jen, can you HELP ME OUT HERE??!!
4. Famous Italian singer.
5. Part-time CEO of Apple. Afterall, I HAVE read the Steve Jobs biography, I have an iPhone, and I realize that Jobs and I have a whole lot in common, well except for the LSD, and the no-deoderant issue, and the need for absolute control (okay, maybe we have that one a little bit in common).
Anyway, recently I started seeing all those pencils and notebooks and protractors (is there really such a need for those things nowadays?) and composition books (does anybody else out there like to smell, really smell, composition books?) at just about every store I entered. And, still frustrated and pouting with hurt feelings over the Little Caesars debacle, I decided to go to Craig’s List to see what kind of jobs were available. Bad idea. I won’t even begin to tell you what kinds of “job opportunities” I saw there. So after an hour and a half, I left that site.
Then, after Googling “part-time job” + “$250,000 per year” + “low-to-no work requirement” and only getting hits for “U.S. Vice President” and “Ostrich Feather Fanner for the Kardashians,” I got down to business and Googled “part-time job” + “Savannah” + “education,” and an adjunct position posting at SCAD came up. SCAD is the Savannah College of Art and Design, an incredibly beautiful and innovative art school scattered primarily throughout the historic district of my city. Thrilled, I looked into the requirements, and soon after was asked to come do a teaching demonstration.
Initially terrified that I COULD NOT TEACH ART (well, actually I can do some cool little foam-board pictures with macaroni, dried pinto beans, glitter and Elmer’s Glue), I stopped hyperventilating and realized I would be teaching composition (my old stomping ground). The demo and subsequent interview process went well, and they offered me the job! (I figure I can work in the macaroni pics eventually.)
Doing a tad of research about SCAD faculty, I discovered on the college website that SCAD faculty include:
- Emmy® Award winners
- Academy Award® winners
- Fulbright scholars
- Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize winner
- National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship recipient
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award nominee
- LEED-accredited professionals
- U.S. patent holders
- Scholars published in academic journals
- Best-selling authors
- AIGA Award winners
- Character animators for Beowulf, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Chronicles of Narnia
- Illustrators for The New Yorker, Time, Disney and NASA
- Visual effects artists for Titanic and Jurassic Park
- Sequential artists for Dark Horse, DC Comics, Marvel, Cartoon Network and Warner Bros.
- Producer of Fried Green Tomatoes and The Breakfast Club
- Writer for The Cosby Show and As the World Turns
- Script Supervisor for Driving Miss Daisy
WOW!
I felt a bit overwhelmed. But then I checked back a while later, and lo and behold, something about Yours Truly was added!
- Finalist, Eighth Grade Spelling Bee (perhaps would have gone further but spelled “Georgia” as “Jeorgia” due to nerves)
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I am thrilled, THRILLED to be a part of the SCAD faculty on a part-time basis. I will be teaching international students English composition. I’m looking forward to this next phase of my teaching career and life.
Here’s the building where I teach:
It used to be the old Savannah jail.
I put retirement in jail.
Later.
