Dinero

I am only teaching one class next quarter. I do not know how I feel about this situation. It was a choice I made, a choice I agonized over.

Over the past few days, I was presented with several different employment opportunities. Some were very appealing, others were not. I chose the safe route -- not necessarily due to a lack of kishkas(as I was afraid of doing in my previous post), but more in an effort to maintain my sanity.

At no point was I offered three classes at once. Well, that is not true: the community college offered me three, but by the time I got ahold of the Department Head, one was already gone. This afternoon, I was left with my final decision: teach for two colleges and keep my day job? Drop the day job and just teach the classes? Teach one class and keep the day job?

Each choice had an appeal: If I went with my first option, I would rake in some serious dough. Well, actually, it was not that much, but a lot for me. The second option might compromise my financial stability, but would allow me to escape a job that I am not sure that I want. The third option would allow me to continue to pay my bills and the opportunity to impart my vast wisdom (yes, that was sarcasm) on others.

As always, I sought input from others and bounced various ideas around. As always, my husband advised me to follow my heart and the rest would work out. One of my co-workers pointed out that I might be foolish to refuse the cash and that I could suck it up for 10 weeks and deal with a grueling schedule and the demands of three positions. My wisest friend pointed out my most recent mission: to calm down, enjoy life, and breathe.

After thinking about the difference one class could make in my life, I decided to go with the third option. If I die next quarter, one quarter's paycheck really doesn't matter, but my quality of life will. Over the next several weeks, I should experience chaos as it is: most of my team will be going on vacations and I am supposed to be transitioning on to my new team where there is a new set of issues. In addition, I need to hire several people, design curriculum, be a decent wife, etc...

For the sake of my sanity, I decided to forgo some pretty sweet dinero as I just do not know if I can take on that much...As always, I am going to trust my gut and hope I made the correct decision...