Endlings and beginnings...old paths and new paths..

I'm thinking about endings and beginnings....the end of summer, even if I was actually working through it,..the beginning of school and the fall season yet to come.

I'm still working in the Walmart pharmacy near my home.  Yep, $7.65 per hour for an English graduate and certified elementary and middle school teacher.....I'm GLAD to have money coming in (some money at least), but I'm kinda caught in the tedium of the work.   The "Wally-World" experience has been well documented by other bloggers. I'm leaning toward researching online educator jobs.

The thing that sustains me is walking and hiking, whether on the beach or in the marime forests near my home, or in the Blue Ridge mountains where I'm from, and where my family lives.  I decided to post some of my favorite real paths, in the hope that these will spur me on to other adventures...

In remembrance....

Today is July 4th, so I'm posting my favorite picture that I took of the flag at the Ft. Pulaski entrance, just after sunset one summer evening.  Remembering all  the battles our country has fought  - always hoping one day battles won't be necessary...

This is a picure of a Tybee sunset that I took as dolphins passsed along the channel.  You can see a mother and pup if you look closely!  I am posting this in honor of my brother-in-law Vince, who passed away on June 25th at age 49.  He always liked my pictures, and this was his favorite - he had an enlargement on his wall.  He died of a heart attack on his mother's birthday.  She died a year and a half ago.  She suffered from MS, and required constant care in her last years.  Vince did much of the day to day care until she passed.  He was a big guy with a big heart, but his heart just could not sustain him any longer.  He died suddenly and peacefully in the arms of a dear friend, perhaps the sort of death that any of us would wish for, when our time comes.  Vince, you will be greatly missed!

It's all about perspective....

I never get tired of watching shrimp boats in the north channel...

Notice the beach erosion we've experienced...nothing stays the same on a beach.

Love that serene early morning time!

I am enjoying my ONE day off this week - six day weeks in the Walmart pharmacy are about to get to me...but of course I am glad to have a job!  I just wish my 51 year old brain wouldn't "shut down" when I get really tired. I've made several stupid mistakes this past Friday and Saturday, and I'm not a person who handles that well - I fixate on each one.  No, the mistakes did not cause anyone harm, I did not give anyone the wrong meds, but I just feel stupid...

I am amazed at how different customer perceptions are...I have seen rather affluent customers complain bitterly over the cost of $20 prescriptions, and customers of lesser means who just shrug with a "that's life" attitude and pay over $100 without a complaint.  It really is about perspective.  Maybe that's what our country as a whole has lost....

Working it.....

I haven't posted in over a month...why?  I have a job now! No more hours spent cruising job websites and prepping for interviews.  I am a pharmacy cashier at the Walmart near my house (just a half mile away), and am going to train as a technician.  So this is my "third career" I guess... first public relations, then teaching, and now pharmacy tech...not to mention a few years as a stay at home mom.  I really appreciate my beach walks now, as they are harder to schedule!  I was on Tybee's north channel last Wednesday morning and took these photos.

Saw lots of shrimp boats out, which means lots of yummy shrimp to buy and eat!

Always love this beach view of the lighthouse - have photographed it many times...

There were plenty of shore birds - pelicans, gulls, skimmers, and my favorite - sandpipers.  Gotta love the little guys!

In like a lion....

March in Savannah is proving to be very windy, as usual!  I haven't posted lately.  In late January I FINALLY got a job.  I am working at the Walmart less than a mile from my house, in the pharmacy.  There are basically no teaching jobs available for the over fifty set, and our school system keeps adding requirements.  It is not worth the effort to keep applying, and definitely not worth the effort to add more certifications to my teaching credentials.  I never thought I'd be taking a minimum wage job....but it is far better than not being able to pay bills.  Actually, it has been interesting to learn new things, and VERY interesting to meet the pharmacy customers....At least now when I am off, I AM OFF!  PERIOD!  No lesson plans, no meetings, no parent phone calls.  Jeez, I sound like I hated teaching.  Truly, I loved the teaching part of it, building relationships with the kids.

I had a windy and cloudy walk today, but nothing energizes me like time spent spent in a natural setting.

A great spot to sit and think!

Happy New Year - 2012!

 I don't have a photo of a dove, so I'm putting a picture of shore birds in flight. Here is one of my favorite quotes, to start off the new year : "When the power of love is stronger than the love of power, the world will know peace." - Jimi Hendrix.  Something to think about in an election year.  Peace may seem unattainable, but is worth always striving for.