Philosophical question: What happens if some knight actually locates the Holy Grail? Does he take it home? Stick it on the bookshelf? Sell it on EBay?
There are some quests which just AREN'T SUPPOSED to have a material conclusion. The seeker has an epiphany along the lines of, "Oh! The real Grail was an abstract concept!" or, "Dammit, Mom was right; I do suck at knightly endeavors, and really should have sold encyclopedias." And they go home.
This is kind of relevant to me at the moment, because, while I didn't find the Grail, something crazier happened: Baltimore actually got around to processing my teaching certificate.
Yeah, I know. I looked for the flying pigs, but they must have been circling Ravens Stadium instead. It only took BCPS a year to check off 5 pre-selected boxes, too. It's pretty impressive.
Anyways...this now poses a couple interesting questions. Like...wtf do I do NOW? Apply to Jersey, duh, but the NJ certificate won't show up until September-October. That leaves me available for maternity leave openings, but those will leave me unemployed again the following year, even assuming I get them. I could tutor...but, hourly and no benefits. Finally, I could scrap the degree and start over in the private sector, assuming I can get a job.
It's funny. Two months ago, I would have been so happy to find this scrap of paper. Now, it's meaningless. So, I'm going to take my Masters-degreed self, and go back to my part time secretary job. I wonder if there's a way to get that into the Hopkins alum 'zine? "Hopkins: Relevant teaching for real world opportunities!"
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3 comments:
Glad to hear it worked out in the end. My vote is unless the two of you are hard up for money, take a well deserved break. Do nothing and enjoy it.
It depends on the romance you read. The Cistercians said that you basically stayed where the Grail was and worshipped it for a few decades, then ascended to Heaven (unless you were Sir Bors, in which case you went home and told everybody the story). Wolfram von Eschenbach's version has the Grail in an enchanted castle surrounded by knights who were worthy to find it; they basically set out and right wrongs with a divine mandate. (Sort of the way we imagine the Knights of the Round Table, except that in the romances those guys actually sit around waiting for a quest to turn up while the Knights of the Grail actually go out lookiing for people in trouble.)
I suppose it depends. Do you still want to teach? If so, apply to Jersey and see what happens – are you that likely to get a permanent-esque position in your first try there anyway? A maternity leave opening would get your foot in the door, assuming you could get one. If you don't want to teach, then all bets are off. Personally, I'm in favor of training hamsters to knit. (Or be ninjas. Either one.)
Adam's advice does have some merit. Taking some time off can help you figure out where you want to go in life.
And congratulations on (finally) defeating the bureaucracy.
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