Rewriting the Map

Oyster Sauce and I are just now landing back on Earth after yesterday’s NCCTE Summer Conference adventure - and I do mean adventure . We rolled in ready to spread the gospel of CTE + Epic = DREAM TEAM , Unreal Engine in hand, boots laced, badge polished, and vinyl personas fully activated. And you know what? It. Was. Glorious. I stood there talking about game engines and education ecosystems, while secretly marveling that somehow, after everything, this is what I get to do now. Real Teachers in the audience. Real questions. Real "ooooh" moments when we talked about project-based learning in esports design or 3D rendering as career prep. And the vinyl figures? Big hit. (CEO of Creativity badge = absolutely going to be a sticker. Or patch. Or tattoo. We’ll see how far this goes.) But let me pause here and tell you what it’s really like after a presentation like that. My brain? Not “busy.” We’re talking 85 browser tabs open , 5 of them playing audio, one at 2x speed , ...

  Let me be clear: there was no Rivian display at the NCCTE Summer Conference. That was me  - me, Oyster Sauce (CEO of Creativity™), and a custom slide I designed to close out my session with just the right amount of flair, future-thinking, and feline approval. As I prepped for my presentation on how the Epic ecosystem can drive CTE learning , I found myself doing a deep dive into Rivian’s tech, innovation, and sustainability model . I couldn’t stop thinking about how vehicles like this could spark student curiosity and create incredible cross-disciplinary learning opportunities . 💡 Electric vehicles like Rivian offer entry points for: Embedded software and systems engineering UX/UI design and user experience analysis Advanced manufacturing Clean energy and sustainability pathways Oh - and yeah - high student engagement 😎 My Rivian image wasn’t just a visual gag. It was a call to imagine what happens when real-world innovation meets high school career e...

Today’s rhythm wasn’t loud, but it was steady the kind of day that hums with quiet power just beneath the surface.  It might actually have been Oyster Sauce's purring and her judgemental guidance from above.  I was propelled. I sorted. Not just supplies, but purpose. All the little pieces that have made the past year magical: A rainbow of teas -  tools of focus, comfort, and little ceremonies My favorite pens (the ones that glide like thoughts do when you’re in flow) Leftover prizes and stickers , like breadcrumbs from epic quests Epic Games , Unreal Engine , Studio Ghibli Even a few DISC enamel pins , small and mighty I built a backdrop for what’s coming next ... A green screen sanctuary , now (ALMOST) ready for: The UNCG Scholastic Esports advisory meeting The upcoming Epic Accelerator week (yes, still happening) And wherever I need to beam in as the most professional version of myself + one glowing Oyster Sauce cat I even pulled scans...

Catch-Up:  Oyster Sauce helping write yet another cover letter Y'all I can’t believe it’s already July. Yesterday, July 1, was my first official day untethered -no more logins, no more SparkNC email, no more classroom keys. That surreal moment where you go from “This is my identity” to “Wait… who even am I now?” It wasn’t even a clean break - halfway through the day yesterday, July 1 I lost access. Before that, I was frantically downloading every bit of digital work I’d ever poured my heart into. Hopefully I grabbed everything. Hopefully. But the truth is, the unraveling started long before July 1. Somewhere back in the chaos, I realized I had to prepare for a life beyond Chatham. I’ve applied to over 100 jobs - 100 different visions of my future. And somehow, with every application, I’ve been writing my story again and again. Rewriting it. Reclaiming it. Sam and Claude have helped me dig through old resumes like archaeologists dusting off the bones of my career, reassembling a ...