Update for Everyone V: Born Under A Bad Sign

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I'm officially in the certified teacher hiring pool for the 2017-18 school year in two districts so far. Hopefully, second time's the charm for me.

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I'm officially in the certified teacher hiring pool for the 2017-18 school year in two districts so far. Hopefully, second time's the charm for me.

Do you have any idea which schools you might be teaching at?

Not at the moment. It totally depends on where the openings are.

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Some of the aging conservatives at my church are honestly pretty terrible. I chose this religious community for myself and so I believe I'm obliged to cherish and to some extent defend it, but some of them make it pretty hard. A lot of these people are wonderful but some are simply garden-variety post-truth goons and it can get pretty damn frustrating.

Any chance you could be able engage some of them in a serious conversation and help them see things from your perspective? Not necessarily convince them, but at least build a bridge of some kind. I think you're one of the leftists on this forum who would be most capable to do that.

Oh, there's not really much ideological daylight between the ones I get along with and the ones I don't, it's almost all personality. There's this one guy who's a really hardcore Trumpista and would probably tread the fumi-e without a care if the daimyō "wasn't PC"; this is someone who seeks me out to complain about "the feminists" to even though he seems to know it bothers me.

Yeah, it's obvious these days that there are many people whose only goal in politics is to stick it to "the other side" - I mean, look at Santander (though it happens on the left as well, of course). Not much point in seeking those out, though it's a shame.

I briefly mentioned it in one of my posts, but I think being a jerk and insulting people who disagree with you is just so tempting and satisfying for people, whereas actually engaging with people who think differently and trying to understand where they're coming from takes a lot of humility and patience. Especially after the election, I've tried to do the latter as much as I can, though I admit that sometimes I catch myself getting pissed off about something, and trying to "stick it to the other side." I'm not perfect, but I'm trying to be better about it. It can get especially frustrating when some people just want to rub it in.

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My grandfather has suddenly become ill, and we're afraid that it might be pneumonia. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be posting much for a bit, lest I let my emotions get the best of me.

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My grandfather fortunately does not have pneumonia, and he seems to be recovering. Thanks to anyone who wished him well.

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I was on FOX News multiple times during CPAC this week!

Cool! As a guest? Or just in the background?

Interviewed once and then in the background at least once more (actually, FOX panned to me cheering in the audience during Trump's speech)

What sorts of questions did they ask you?

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Well, I finally did something I've wanted to do for a while, and got a high quality microphone. Now, I can finally do some recording without worrying so much about the grainy quality of my computer mic!

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I haven't been too active here recently because a lot has happened for me this week. Mostly good things, since I did get a teaching position, but I've had a lot to take care of, so it's been a bit stressful as well.