What I'm doing on my Summer vacation.

Now that school's out for the summer, my after-school tutoring job is non-existant for a few months. To make up that loss of income, I've returned to a job I used to have in college, working with emotionally disturbed teenagers at a residential treatment center.

In college, I worked mainly with younger girls with documented abuse and psychiatric problems. THAT was a wild ride, I tell ya.

This time around, I'm working in a group home for boys, adjacent to the main building. Working with boys is so much different. Wow. Not necessarily better or worse....but just shockingly different.

For example, one of my first nights on the job the first time around, I had to break up a fight between two girls. The fight came about because one girl accused the other of stealing a hair scrunchie from her TWO YEARS earlier, at an entirely different treatment center. Boys aren't like that.

On the other hand, girls don't spit on the ground as much. Maybe one of you guys can explain the boy spit thing to me, because I just don't get it. NOBODY needs to spit that much.

I think I'm going to like this job though. Today I worked 12 hours straight, and in that time I was paid to go see Cinderella Man, grill out in the backyard, play (and win!) Trivial Pursuit and watch Spaceballs. Not a bad way to earn a paycheck!