from Dragonfly: The Wheels Are Turning

Last week I went right up to the prison warden and told him about my "camp" transfer approval from October and that I was repeatedly told that that clearance had never occurred. Well, I guess that got things moving, because I just received an email from the Warden's email letting me know that my "exit" paperwork (i.e. transfer to the camp) is being processed. Looks like I will actually be going there to finish out my sentence. Not sure when, but this is definitely a cog in that direction.

Meanwhile, I am still waiting on medical to sign the form that allows my case worker to send off my halfway house request papers. It'll be a good 60 days before we know my fate, once those are sent. My current case worker promised that she will stay on getting it processed, even though I will have a different case worker at the camp.

Obviously, one piece of my move that I am not happy about, is the fact that at some time in the near future, I will need to resign my job in education. The good news is that my 'newish' co-tutor is excellent and the transition will go very smoothly (I believe) for the students and my supervising teacher. I am scheduled to teach two new ACE classes starting in just a couple weeks (Employment Skills I and Word Problems), but I believe I already have tutors who are willing to replace me in those courses. I would have really enjoyed working with the students in those areas. I will see if I can get hired by the education department at the camp, but knowing that I have only months left, I don't believe I would be a good candidate. I will try though.

South leaves on Monday - just 2 days and a wake-up. I guess those wheels are turning as well. She chose the scenic 24 hour bus ride home, rather than have her family fly her home. I'm not sure I would ever choose the bus ride, but she wants to take pictures of places she sees and get the "down time" before she is inundated by family. I can totally understand the need to clear our head fog once we leave here. I'll probably want to lock myself in my bedroom for days... although, I won't. I know that there are many, many people awaiting my release, and I will want their hugs as well.

The wheels are also turning on my attempts to get back into school. Sporty sent me a GRE study book and I am learning about the new GRE test. When I took it a couple years back, it was a different test. The scoring is totally different, now, as well as the exact contents of the test. Plus, we can now use a calculator on the mathematics sections. Sometimes, using a calculator is a hindrance, so I think I'll practice with both the calculator and without. Plus, the screen calculator does not have all the "magic" keys on it - like the fractions or exponents keys. I like the challenge of some of the difficult questions in the study book. They are certainly a step higher than in my GED courses, but still it only goes up to Geometry (just like the GED).

When I do transfer, I will be very sad leaving Lola behind. Her sentence is much longer than mine and we are the best of buddies. Once at the camp, I will not be allowed (or able) to communicate with her at all. She needs to get her wheels turning on getting transferred to the camp, too. That will be awesome, but not knowing if she will get there, especially before my "out" date, will be sad. Everyone needs a friend here, and she's one of the few I trust. I will also miss my morning conversations with Freckles. She's been a shining light (so positive) since I arrived here. She will leave in about 9 months from now. In the meantime, we will have no communication either. Sometimes, the rules of making friendships and then leaving them behind suck!

A friend sent me a Looney Tunes cross stitch pattern book and I'm excited to get back to my room and finish designing a "tweetie bird" on a plastic canvas. That will be my highlight of the day. But at least, the wheels keep on turning.