Gifts started pouring in from students, often without any reason. I was given CD's, books, homemade goodies, bags of coffee, and lots of toys... stress balls and the infamous Count-A-Pillar. The gift of a disco ball hung from the center of my room... so my in-class dancing would seem even more pathetic, I think. For Christmas from The Pantheon (my third period Algebra II class), I received a lava lamp and a $25 gift certificate for supper at The Olive Garden. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of my students, and more so by the fact that it occurred all year long... not just at the holidays.
Algebra Parties continued as they'd had the year before. After school every day, students continued to seek my personal advice, help with math, or just to share feelings for a bit before heading for home.
In January 2002, feeling the pinch of my creditors, I took on another attempt at working a job on the side... this time doing it the right way. At first, I worked 20 hours per week, Sunday through Wednesday nights from 6-11pm at APAC Customer Services. APAC is a telemarketing firm, inbound and outbound, where about 30 Holmen students I knew at the time worked. My job was to take calls from guests for Harrah's Entertainment... folks going to casinos to play and wanting to make reservations at their hotels. I always enjoyed that job, and to date I am still working there.