To Get The Gecko

Many months have passed since my last post, and as such, many events have transpired. I knew that teaching 7th grade would come with many stories and, boy, have I got ‘em. I wish I could find the time to write daily about all the ridiculousness of junior high. Unfortunately, I barely have time to do anything other than lesson plan, grade, and work on certification stuff. I have some priceless stories to tell, but sadly, some have already been lost just to a jammed brained that has forgotten many details.



So how am I writing this post? This post is brought to you from above…about 2,500 miles up. I left my kiddos for the afternoon and Friday to catch a 5 PM flight to Wisconsin to be with my sister and celebrate her birthday. It’s funny how it takes an airplane to seat me long enough to write these days…


A fresh 7th grade magic moment that must be shared because of its complete immature absurdity, is a boy’s bathroom story. Of course. 13 year-olds just think differently from adults and children. They’re almost a complete synthesis of both- childlike thoughts with a budding adult sense of logic trying to develop. And then at other times, they just don’t think at all. We had a lovely 7th grade boy decide that while he was relieving himself in the bathroom at lunch, aiming for the urinal just wasn’t inspiring nor fun enough. Instead, he thought it would be better to take aim at something new… like an electrical socket. I don’t know how many other young fellows were in the bathroom with him at the time, but by 5th period, there was a buzz about so-and-so peeing on the outlet. I later heard that the outlet sparked and started a small fire. The walls in that bathroom are black now because some child prodigy decided he was too good for just a urinal. And as expected from most middle-schoolers, a burning wall in a bathroom will go unreported. No one wants to be a snitch. By 6th period, a cash reward was offered to the person that gave the name of the little pisser. One of my students begged to go to the office, bolted, and sprinted down the hallway. Then I saw a number of boys, as if they were being chased by a pee-induced socket fire, sprint towards the office. I guess being a snitch is OK if you get a hundred bucks out of it. Needless to say, the culprit was suspended. No end of the year Christmas party for him. In my opinion, the little guy was lucky. He could have been electrocuted from the nether-region. Who would want to go throughout junior high and high school as the guy that almost died because his junk was shocked from peeing on an outlet? And I don’t know if telling a kid that he’s suspended from school (especially for it being so close to Christmas break, anyway) is a harsh enough punishment for starting a small fire on campus with bodily fluids.


Another story: I just had a moment in class where I came to reality. Even though I teach 7th graders, they’re still just kids. I often get wrapped up with these high expectations about how they should know this and that and act this way and that way. But realistically, they’re so much like my former 3rd graders in behavior and thought than I realized, and some aren’t even much taller than the 3rd graders. I had one of my students come in from lunch, skipping to my desk, clearly clutching something precious in his hands. He said grinning, “Look!! Look what I found! What do I do with it?!” He held in his hand near my face a baby gecko. That was unexpected. That little pink and brown reptile had to go. I couldn’t help but smile to myself. Some days I have to regroup to find reality. These kids are smart and capable and becoming young adults, but at the bottom of everything, still and always just kids. They’re curious little humans, figuring out the world and themselves, wanting to know "why" incessantly, and unafraid to get the gecko. They’re someone’s baby and someone loves them. And for those who don’t have that someone… it has to be me.


There will be more to come for sure. This flight isn’t nearly long enough to cover the happenings of junior high, room 150, 7th grade Math TAKS.

Finally, an update!

Remember me?

*This may be a little long but we’ve got a lot of catching up to do.  I promise it’s worth it, and hopefully it’ll make you laugh.*

So, I’ve been away from the blogging world for awhile!!!!  Once upon a time, I only had a part-time job at CVC in the Biology department as a lab instructor.  I had free time to blog, sulk and worry about the unknown future, and cook purple chicken.  Worry, leisure, and playtime was the month of May.  Then June came along…Whoa.

I don’t know if I mentioned in past posts that I had been accepted to Texas Teaching Fellows (which I will refer to as TTF for now on), an alternative certification program to become a teacher.  I’m going to be honest here and say that teaching was never my first choice for a career.  I always pictured myself as some employee (preferably, the boss) of a company/organization (preferably my own or government-run) that travelled to different countries on business trips to work abroad for months at a time, doing good deeds and spreading good cheer.  I basically wanted the job of a well-paid international social worker/team-leader.  You could say that I want to be a rich, year-round Santa Claus.  As life would have it, I’m convinced that such a position doesn’t exist for me… yet.  Then, after years of jet-setting, making a name for myself, acquiring lots of international friends and properties, and changing the world for the better, I would settle down and become a teacher.  Tell my students about travelling and the world and people and living…

God thinks differently.  Ha-ha-ha

Before my six weeks of summer institute, literary the Saturday before my first Monday, I met a boy.  After about the third date, I quickly decided that I really liked him.  So, during the six weeks of institute, I not only working my butt off student-teaching and submitting work products for TTF, but I kept my job with CVC on the side and spent time with a boy on the weekends.  I didn’t sleep much.  But it was good.  Life was busy but good.

I also forgot to mention that in June, the very first day of TTF institute, I got a text from my mom to call the principal of Kaufman Jr. High.  I called, was offered a teaching position (7^th grade Math), and accepted the offer.  So, I quickly became an employee of the very Jr. High that I attended.  My current principal was once my 3^rd grade teacher when I first moved Texas. The Math Department Chair - she taught me Algebra in 8^th grade, was best friends with my mom, and took me to six flags every year until I was about 16.  About 6 of former teachers have become my colleagues.  Some of the younger (excuse me, newer) staff members graduated with me or not too much before me.  The new tennis coach - we graduated from Kaufman together; in fact, we were friends.  She was Kaufman’s 2005 Homecoming Queen… I was Valedictorian.  Was it weird at first? YES.

Post-institute/Pre-first-day-of-school was all catch-up on sleep, enjoy that last bit of vacation time, spend time friends, and enjoy time with (can you believe this…) my FIRST-ever boyfriend (turns out, he liked me backJ.)  It was a good 3 weeks.

Then school started.  If anyone tries to peddle some story about teachers and how lazy they are, please slap them across the face… as hard as possible.  Jesus would agree that it would be well-deserved.  There is nothing like waking up super early in the morning; standing in front of a classroom full of awkward, smelly, low-retention, hormone-enraged, inattentive pre-teens trying to teach them math; creating engaging math lessons for a generation of calculator-dependent, academically-apathetic, and lazy children; grading failing assignments and not trying to feel like a failure yourself; and sleeping 4.5 hours at night only to wake up and do it all over again.

I’m still debating whether or not I’m completely cut out to be a teacher.  I do enjoy it.  I love the kids; they are ridiculous (I’ll go into details in a bit).  And I’m desperately trying to get them to be better people.  This stage of life is hard for them, I know, and Kaufman, as a small rural town, can only provide so much for them.  It’s stressful.  I refuse to be a bad teacher, so I work myself until I pass out.  I like working, but the more I teach, the more I keep thinking of my former goals of jet-setting and travelling.  I want to leave.  I want to stay.  I want to be a student again.  I would want to teach again.  So I’m trying to decide on going to grad school.  Oh, life.

Here are some snipits from my classroom:

First week of school- Got a note from a student that said, “You’re cute.”  Next day, the same student gave me another note that said, “You’re very cute.  PS.  I’m good at rubbing sore feet <3.”  …That note went to the principal’s office.

Second week of school- Found a note in the hallway from one jr. high girl to another.  Girl 1 was telling Girl 2 about losing one’s virginity, betrayal, sex with someone’s brother… they’re 11,12, and 13 years old!!  I cried in the teacher’s lounge bathroom.  But just one tear.  I was so disgusted!

Third week of school-  I’m convinced some of my students have etch-a-sketches for brains.  I spend 53 minutes a day trying to artfully craft a math masterpiece into their brains.  Then the bell rings, they shake their heads, and it’s lost forever.  Everyday's a new day.  Is it possible for tweens to have Alzheimer’s?? but really…

Fourth week of school-  My students' initial fear of me began to wear off and they've now started to like me.  Crap.  Every class gets the “I’m NOT your friend; I’m your teacher” talk.  Some still aren’t convinced.

Fifth week- called some parents about teasing.  Called some parents about inappropriate farting in my classroom.  Called some parents about excessive talking.  Had a seating arrangement change and a "come-to-Jesus moment" with my 5^th period class.  (Update: they’re doing better behavior-wise although they may need another moment later.)

Sixth week-  Freaked out when I had to write my first two office referrals.  Had a student tell another one, “Ain’t no muthaf**ker gonna tell me to shut up.”  Uh, really?!?!

It’s a new six weeks.  Only 5 more six weeks left.  There is never a dull moment in teaching. Never.

Taste trumps color

Today, I felt like being creative in the kitchen. I’ve always admired chefs. I long to be more skillful in the kitchen, invent my own recipes, and wow people with deliciousness. I was just not in the mood for another turkey and cheese sandwich. I searched the fridge and freezer and took inventory of what was inside. There was chicken, broccoli, pre-cut seasoning veggies, left-over white rice, and fresh garlic. Ooooh, and some red wine. Idea! Put all these ingredients in a skillet and let it simmer with the wine. Chefs do that all the time on the Food Network.


I decided to lightly brown the rice with the veggies… that came out well. Then I needed to prepare the chicken. Interestingly enough, this chicken was pre-cooked, and had just been frozen. Holla! I basically just needed to heat it up since it was already cooked through for me. I added the red wine. I guess professional cooks know about adding wine to food. I’m questioning whether they actually add red wine or maybe it’s just red wine-based vinegar. Maybe it’s always white wine…. I watched the chicken cook, and slowly, it become pink… oh, then lavender. The chicken absorbed the flavor, and unexpectedly, the color as well. HA-HA-HA. I really don’t know what I was thinking. Here I was cooking WHITE meat in RED wine. Duh.

Pastel purple chicken doesn’t look very appetizing, but could it really taste bad? It’s not like I added poison to the chicken. As soon as I took that first bite of my mauve-colored breast piece, I knew right away that color didn’t matter. It’s what’s on the inside that matters. Please, don’t judge my purple chicken. It’s delicious.

Ever tried to break into your own house?

I blame this incident on my new garage door opener… and maybe, Beta. I would have written this post on the day it happened (Wednesday), but I've been preoccupied with essay-writing for Texas Teaching Fellows.

Beta is a special dog. He's active like a puppy (despite his non-puppy size), runs at the speed and style of baby gazelle being chased, and only plays with toys that squeak. One of his all-time favorite things to do is watch the cars and trucks pass by our house. From our sloping backyard, he'll stand at the highest point, watching and waiting for the nosiest vehicle, and once he's gets the right one, blindly chases it along the fence. Sometimes he just spins around and around in circles. To each his own, right? Well, lately Beta has decided that he'd rather stay outside in the hot sun and chase cars rather than return to a cool air-condition house with his canine lounge bed and squeak toys. He just stubbornly ignores his name and the command "Come". My dog: the rebel. Well, it's annoying. I can't chase him down to get him in the house, but I feel guilty leaving him outside for such a long time in this increasing Texas heat. Since he disobeyed that morning about coming in before I left for work, he was just going to have to stay outside until I came home for lunch.

While on my way home around noon, I was worried about Beta. I hoped he had enough water and had found shade. I pulled into the garage using my new garage door opener, and immediately headed to the backyard to get Beta inside. I found him wedged between the wall and the air-conditioner unit trying to get into the shade. I attached the leash to his collar, but he came quietly and submissively, as if, he finally regretted his decision about not coming inside when he had the chance. When it was time to go back to work, I merrily headed towards the laundry room to get to the garage. It's important to know that the door leading the garage door has a lock on the door knob. It's one of those doors that can be locked before it is shut. And that's exactly what happened; I turned the lock and shut the door. I open the garage door and hopped into Harriet. Uhh… the key light was blinking. I moved my purse closer the ignition (my car has this keyless feature, meaning the key just needs to be near the car to operate it). Well, moving my purse closer didn't work. Still, no luck. Are my keys even in my purse? I dug around and …(*insert bad word here*)

I knew without a doubt that I had locked the door, but I tried it just in case it would miraculously unlock itself for me. It didn't. (*insert a string of impolite four-letter words here*) Ugh! I could visualize where my car keys lay, and unfortunately, a locked door and some hallway separated us. So now my stubborn dog, Beta, is comfortably locked inside the house while I'm locked outside. I tried going through the backyard, hoping maybe I forgot to lock the backdoor. Turns out, I have an incredible memory for locking things. Before my garage door opener, I had to go through the front door, which has a normal lock. You know the sort - where you open the door, shut the door, insert key, turn, and leave. It would be near impossible to lock myself out of the house in the pre-garage door opener days.

After trying all the doors, I called my parents, hoping they had some spare key hidden somewhere. Nope. Well, then my Dad suggests trying to go through a window. Ummm… I just thought back to that news story with this Black (Harvard, maybe) professor was locked out of his house, and tried to break in. It resulted in his neighbors calling the cops, and the situation getting political. There's really not a good way to break into your own house… especially, when your house in on the corner. If I tried to be sneaky, I'd look suspicious. If I looked obvious, well, I'd still look suspicious. I tried popping off a screen like Dad suggests. Well, I'm happy to know that our screens don't just pop off. Although, I didn't work too hard on prying it off. It was the middle of the day, and I was fighting the rose bushes to get to a window on the front of our house. It was plan I was happy to abandon. Mom just panicked when I told her the news. She promised to leave work and come home to rescue me. Really? She wanted me to wait an hour for her? I'm cleverer than that.
I decided to just call one of my co-workers to pick me up from my house to get back to work. That was an awkward conversation.

"Hey, can you do me a favor?"
"Uh, sure. What?"
"Would you mind coming by my house to get me, so I can return to work? I locked my car keys inside… and myself outside."
"Ba-ha-ha…Sure thing!"

 I could only laugh at my situation, too. My solution: un-stack a lawn chair from the garage and wait in the shade.

April showers bring May flowers

So a few things may have rained on my parade recently, but that just meant there would be some blooming...

1.  My brother came home... so I left for awhile.  I'm in Miami for ANOTHER week, and I've been here for a week already!!  It's been a much needed break.

2.  After lots of sweat and soreness, I'm no longer a size 10 but a 6-ish.  I can't recall the last time I could wear something that was a single digit.

3.  My first attempt to take my Generalist 4-8 content exam for teacher certification was cancelled due to a snow-strom!  Crazy, huh? I stopped studying completely until the week before my rescheduled test date.  After much stress and doubt, I passed!! 283/300!  So pleased!

4.  My car killed my iPod.  I pitifully took it to the Apple store to be saved, but instead it was replaced for FREE!  It only had a 1 year warranty and it was over 4 years old. Amazing customer service, Apple!

5.  I regrettably allowed my mother to trim my hair... big mistake.  Not only did it look rough and dead still, but now uneven and butchered.  Weeks later, new haircut! Talk about serious damage control.

So...

Decisions I'm making and goals I'm setting:

1.  Go into teaching for awhile.

2.  I must go back to school... I miss it.  So, I'm deciding on graduate programs or law school.

3.  I'm going to France and Australia next summer.   I'm not backing out.  I'm going! :-)

4.  Oh, and I'll begin my search for a date to Dana's wedding...maybe... whatever.

Easter

I absolutely love Easter. Along with falling in line with Spring, it is such a glorious time of renewal.  A couple of years ago, I spent Easter in Scotland.  I got up before sunrise and walked down to the beach and from the West Sands, I watched the most gorgeous display of colors fill the sky and ripple across the waves of the North Sea.  It was an Easter like no other, and will stay with me for the rest of my life.  This year was more of a typical Easter for me.  I went Shreveport to visit family and attend church at St. Paul's United Methodist Church where I grew up going. The church recently got a new pastor, Rev. Beverly Connor, and she is unbelieveably fantastic!  Her sermon was dynamic and touching and spiritual and wonderful and oh, I could go on.  She was just that good.  I was surrounded by my wonderful family, little girls in springy dresses and white stockings, good food and loud laughs, and a striking awareness of love and grace.

Jesus suffered every pain and every humiliation possible from man... and then from God.  And then He died.  He died an absolute death, one that we will never have to face.  Jesus, who had not one iota of glory on earth, died for our sins, and for our pain, and for our humiliation, descended into Hell taking the worst parts of us with Him.  But by His eternal power, He rose from the dead.  He defeated death for us.  We can never be separated from God because Jesus sacrificed himself for us.  He died a criminal's death, a temporal and human death, and then conquered it.  He then ascended into Heaven, to His Kingdom, with full and eternal glory.  There's no story or miracle like it.  Thousands of years after His death, Jesus' blood still washes me clean,and His love is eternal along with the grace we have been given.  Oh, it just makes my heart swell with gladness.

And now my belly can swell with gladness, too.  I get to eat cookies again, and trust me, I've already begun to make some real progress on a box of Girl Scout cookies. 

vernal equinox

March 20th was the official first day of spring, the vernal equinox.  Well, Texas - having predictable and consistent weather like always- decided that the DFW region might like some more snow since it hadn't had enough already.  It's completely crazy.  My grandparents have always warned us about that Easter snap... but it was always around, oh I don't know, Easter.

I must admit, snow is very pretty, but in order to have beautiful snow, near freezing temperatures are required.  That's the not-so-pretty part.  I hate being cold and then really despise being near freezing.  Winter was supposed to over yesterday, but decided to make another surprise visit.  I'm really looking forward to an enduring heat wave that will bring gorgeous mid-seventies temperatures, sunny days with cool, light breezes, and rain/thunderstorms that let the sun shine through.

I really like the transitional seasons, spring and fall, but I seem to near fall apart during my own transitional seasons of life. This is all kind of cheesy, but Texas' unpredictable weather patterns and nebulous seasonal changes are turning out be similar to my life.  For a few weeks, everything will seem temperate and cool, only slightly cloudy.  At the drop of a hat, a massive storm cell moves in or some freaky cold front freezes everything.  I'm left waiting for things to clear up and return to "normal," but never really sure when that'll be.

Lent… and I don’t mean that dryer stuff

Although not all Christians participate in Lent (I believe it’s more of a traditional thing), our church and family do. I think growing up in Louisiana where everyone celebrates Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, I had to learn the significance of the celebration and the meaning. Way, way back in the day, the Catholic Church established a fast that would last 40 days leading up to Easter. The 40 days would start on Ash Wednesday, so the day before was supposed to be one super huge feast and celebration to get you through the next 40 days. I can’t imagine fasting from Ash Wednesday to Easter, so clearly Fat Tuesday was serious business. It’s like a bear eating tons of food to add up a hefty fat storage right before it goes into hibernation for a season.

Nowadays, the tradition lives on, but it doesn’t demand total starvation for 40 days. It’s customary to give up certain things for the duration of Lent season. In the past, I have given up things like eating after 7:30 PM, cokes (soft drinks/sodas, not the drug), fried foods (so difficult!), and sucking my finger (that was a long time ago like 1st or 2nd grade).

This Lent season, I have decided to give up cookies. Oh, cookies! They are my downfall. No more chocolate chip, oatmeal, snickerdoodle, peanut butter, shortbread, Girl Scout, sugar-frosted, Oreo… I should stop. No Cookies! Not even on Sunday (which Sundays are not counted in the 40 days). I also decided to do something different this year. Not only have I committed to subtracting cookies from my life, but I’ve also committed to adding exercise to my life. Everyday, I must actively exercise. I count taking Beta for a walk as exercise (if you tried to walk him on leash, you’d agree it’s a workout), doing self-led yoga, and Wii. Oh, how I love the Wii. It keeps track of minutes and progress and is ridiculously fun.

Lent also makes me more aware of my faith, and lately, I’ve been more contemplative of God, Christianity, the human condition, other religions, freedom, philosophy, politics, and how in the world are we supposed to make sense out of all of this. Just for today, I have constructed a concept may while sitting at my desk, waiting for those work-related emails to trickle in. It’s quite basic, but I figure a concept map is supposed to be pretty basic, showing correlations and main ideas.
 
 
 

 
Hmmm... I took a picture of my computer screen.  I'm not sure if it'll get larger when clicked on...(?).
 
After Easter, I will be eating a Mrs. Field's cookie cake.  The entire thing!!!

Scatter-brained

I can't seem to focus my mind right now. I probably should have waited for my mind to clear some before writing this entry, but I figured it needed to be now or then who-knows-when… So, my sincere apologies for jumping topics, non-cohesive paragraphs, and scattered remarks.

And it's happened, folks!!! I got a car! I love my new car. J It's a Nissan Versa SL hatchback that's very bright red. I've named her Harriet…my chariot. So far, it's been two weeks with Harriet and she already has about 420 miles on her. She started out with a mere 11. She has already taken her first road trip, too. Just a few days after her purchase, she transported my friend Chelsey and me to Waco. It was delightful. Absolutely delightful.

I've started working solo now, no more training. I really like my job. They gave me the title of Instructional Support Associate, but my self-proclaimed title is Webmaster, B.A. (and the "B.A." doesn't just refer to my degree) *wink*. My job is assisting in the management of all the online courses… and I'm nothing short of amazing at it. Well, I think so anyway. I hope the professor and students feel the same way. Ha-ha. I get my very own little "studio" (another one of their fun titles for cubical) complete with textbooks, computer, all the office supplies I could ever need, mini file cabinet, and a coveted window view. I think the best part about my job, is that the professor takes the time to get to know me. He asks about my interests and goals, and he's always giving me different organizations to look at or suggesting different grad schools. I really appreciate that. I like that he's encouraging and sees my potential even when I at times cannot.

Oh my goodness! The snow! I almost forgot to mention the snow! Dallas/Fort Worth had record-breaking snowfall today. It has snowed ALL day long. I tried to make a snowman earlier, but Beta kept eating and attacking my piles of snow. But honestly, I could make an entire snowman family or a snowman army. I've never seen the snow get so deep. It was gorgeous but at the same time… annoying. I wonder, is that an indicator that I'm getting older? Yes, the snow is very pretty and I wanted to play in it, but at the same time, it's an impediment to just about everything. I have my teacher certification test tomorrow, and I had to call around all afternoon to figure out how the snow and icy roads would affect my test. I wanted to take Harriet to the library today and then to the grocery store for key lime truffles ingredients, but no. The snow foiled that plan. So, does that make me half a grown-up? Enjoy the snow, but sick of the snow simultaneously?

 I'm currently obsessed with two songs that I recently downloaded. Song 1: Bloodline by Matt Morris. The music is gorgeous, I'm in love with verse two, the harmony is sweet, and his voice is wonderful. Youtube it… fo realz! Song 2: Undertow (feat. The Fray and Estero) by Timbaland. Listen here! I love the beat, the rhythm, and the voices. Hooray iTunes.

I baked snickerdoodle cookies and worn knee-high music note socks today. J

The End.

PS. I'm sad I won't be going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, but I'm sure it'll be crazy with the Saints win at the SuperBowl. I'm going to brush up on my baseball knowledge. Target has awesome spring/summer sandals already on the shelves (bought two pair already). Valentine's Day: chick flick or an Indian Jones movie???

Dog! Job! Car?!

 So I challenged the new year, 2010, to "bring it"!... well, it brought it! Praise da Lord!

Many things have happened since the start of the year both sad and happy. I would like to start off by mentioning my beautiful and beloved grandmother, Betty Jean Lattier. She is a fallen hero of mine. She passed away a few weeks ago. She had been sick for years and was constantly undergoing all sorts of treatments since I was a little kid. My mother believes that she let herself get ill when 'Bubba' Lattier, her husband/my grandfather whom I never met, passed. Although she was sick, I could always remember how funny and kind she was. Apparently I get my wit and humor from her. She was sharp and brilliant, loved puzzles, a school teacher, and a strong mother of 8 kids…. DANG! So, the beginning of the new year was spent in Louisiana with family. Her funeral was great. Of course I cried buckets, but the service was beautiful. I'm not used the charismatic services, but it was fitting and truly a celebration of a joyous life. And I had forgotten how powerful and moving black gospel choirs can be… oh, how I'd missed it and didn't even know. Grandmother Betty Jean will forever be with me. She was a true gem.

After regrouping and returning back to Texas, life of course has to continue. A new season for job hunting…
ugh. I had registered to take the Texas Teacher Certification exam, so I figured I'd divide my time between

cover letter writing and studying. Great… two things I'd rather not do but must. But before Christmas my mother had adopted at dog that had been living on the street and hit by a car. He's a German Shepherd/ Lab mix. Well, finally a couple of weeks ago, he was healed, healthy, and ready to come home with us. The day we went get him and bring him home, a lady that my mom works with at the Vet Tech office told me about her friend in the Biology department that would be in need of an assistant. She gave me the number and I called. In a matter of minutes I found myself in his office discussing the position in dirty jeans and a hoodie. He asked me to send him my resume and come back the next week to discuss paperwork. Could it be? I was getting a beautiful dog and a job all on the same day?!?!

We brought, Beta, our new large puppy home. It's been almost three weeks and I'm pretty much in love with this dog. He's so cute and sweet. He doesn't bark much, plays and naps, and adores a good neck rub. He also likes it when I give him hugs which is great because I love hugging this dog. He's wonderful!

I went back the next week about the job, and thank you God, I got it. I started working last Monday. My official title is Instructional Support Associate… it means I'm basically a glorified T.A. It has to be a part-time position because of budget cuts and school funding, but no matter. A job is a job, and so far I really like it.

So I'm employed! Hurray! How am I getting to work, you might wonder? I'm still borrowing my mom's car. But this system can't last forever. That's right, folks. Mama's getting her own set of wheels real soon!! We looked at cars two days ago. I'm so excited. I'll be sure to post more about the coming changes. All these wonderful things are happening at once. It's quite overwhelming, undoubtedly in a good way. I've prayed for so long. I didn't exactly wait patiently, but I did do a lot of waiting. God knows I'm still impatient and undeserving, and just as He gives, He also takes away. So I think during all of this I can say that I've learned to appreciate the little things I'm blessed with more and more. And I understand what it means to fully enjoy the company of others, to be and to have real friends.

Boy oh boy, life sure is swell.

You better bring it, 2010!

I realize that it has been awhile since my last blog. The holidays get really busy and exciting, so I forgot. I mean, I’m sure I had the time to write, but I just didn’t think to do it. So anyway, Happy New Year! 2009 was a good year. I graduated in 2009… which was cool, also somewhat unfortunate, but cool nonetheless. I had a lot of adventures that year, too! I’d rather not go into a full-detailed recap of 2009, but in broad, vague terms just know that spring semester of senior year was legendary with a most-epic spring break in Florida with friends and family, along with a random-awesome summer, a formative and transitional fall, and a ridiculously cold winter. I did a lot of complaining in 2009, but I did a LOT of laughing as well. Fun always wins, and I surely had a fun year.

I’d like to share the tale of my New Year’s adventure. It would only be appropriate that my first post of the 2010 be about the events leading up to and occurring at the start of 2010. So…

December 29th: I’m sitting around the dinner table with my family. My sister has been in town for Christmas, and tonight was the night before her early morning departure back to Florida. As we sit there enjoying dinner, a friend from church drops by to deliver a Christmas gift, and she then talks about the choir schedule with my parents. She reminds my parents that there won’t be any rehearsal tomorrow night. It was then that my dad replies, “We weren’t planning on going anyway because we’ll be at that concert.”

Concert? This gets me thinking. What concert? And then like Wile E. Coyote, I got a ton of bricks dropped on my head… oh, crap!!! I had been making plans to go to Amarillo to see my good friend Cole - who now lives and works in France –while he’s in the U.S. on holiday. It was to be a road trip with Claire and John. John and I took this road trip during the summer, and were pretty excited to go again. The plan was to leave Wednesday, December 30th and return Friday, January 1st. But this concert was that Wednesday night to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra with my parents. When my Dad bought those tickets, he was so excited. Early in November, he emailed me the ticket confirmation the day he bought them. He talked about them for days afterwards. Then when the tickets were mailed to our house, he gave them to me for safe keeping. The issue at hand was that the going to the concert would cancel the Amarillo trip. By going to the concert Wednesday night, the trip to Amarillo would be pushed back to Thursday. There was no way for us to push back our return day because Claire and John had things to do that Saturday. An overnight trip to Amarillo, 12 hours being spent in transit, would just not be worth it. We would drive all day there, spend the night, and drive all day back. We at least needed a full day with Cole and his delightfully crazy family. So it all came down to me. I had to choose to either sacrifice the concert for the trip or the trip for the concert. I was also made to believe that if I didn’t take this trip, Claire and John would not go without me. So… no one would get to see Cole. But it would have made my Dad so very happy if I didn’t waste this concert ticket he was so excited about. After thinking about it long and hard, I’d be guilty no matter what I decided. I was going to disappoint someone. As awful as it sounds, I choose to disappoint my Dad, but realistically, I can make it up to him later. And by nature of being an awesome Dad, he’d understand that a 22 year old would rather road trip to Amarillo to spend a few days with friends than not and attend a 2.5 hour long concert with him and Mom. Love you, Dad!

The morning of the 30th was spent packing and talking to Sallie Mae (she’s a greedy ho!). When John arrived, it was no surprise that I wasn’t completely ready since it took a little over an hour discussing my student loans with a lady in India on a computer. Eventually John and I set off to get Claire. We took her car and then set off towards the wild west.

Once west of Fort Worth, Texas becomes the textbook stereotype everyone knows: flat plains with those oil pumps scattered about, cotton fields, windmills, crazy big wheels of hay, and cattle ranches. But let us not forget the most important part: the Texans! Oh glorious, Texas and its priceless inhabitants. After a few hours of driving, Claire asked if I could drive some. Well, of course I could. Thank you, Texas driver’s license. Well, we stopped at a timeless gas station somewhere off highway 287. This place didn’t have an actual store, but instead had a large double-wide mobile trailer/home acting as the convenience store. Then outside beside that wonderful establishment was a line of about 8 port-o-potties. It was most high-class. And yes, we took pictures. How could we not photograph a roadside gem such that?!

So then I drove. That was fun… until it was time to stop for gas. I guess I underestimated the width of the car when getting close to the gas pump judging by the awful destructive sounds we all heard. If you’re on the edge of your seat right now, let me comfort you. No, I didn’t crash into the pump. No, the car was not damaged. But yes, I got a wee bit close. The hubcap/tire banged and rubbed the curb. It was pretty embarrassing. Of course, it wouldn’t be right if someone else didn’t see what happened. So yes, there was a lovely Texan named, Wade, finishing pumping his gas on the other side. He got quite a kick out of it. He reassured us that no damage was done, but I’m without a doubt that later on that night, dear Wade would be pulling up to some little honky-tonk bar in the middle of West Texas with a slew of bad jokes about women drivers. But the cherry on top of the pie was when Wade – without even a hint of hesitation or couth – just opened the passenger door, popped his little West Texan head in the car, and while giggling said “Now y’all drive safe now,” before driving away in his pickup truck. So that was terrifying. Note to self: never leave the doors unlocked even for a second… immediately relock. I thought Claire was going to have a heart-attack in her seat because Wade so boldly invaded her personal space.

The rest of the journey was fairly normal. We made two other pit stops: one in Chillicothe to get some “Dang Good Candy” for the Casper family and the other to switch drivers again. When we arrived it was a big welcome by the Casper’s and dinner. Then Cole, Claire, John, and I all went to Roasters for coffee and meet up with Cole’s Amarillo friends – all great people I’d met in the summer. Then they all came back to Cole’s house for cakes, cookies, and drink. Merriment and laughter ensued… followed by the next day.

It was a good New Year’s Eve day filled with yummy bagels, Baylor paraphernalia and Chinese jackets found at antique shops along Route 66, and another Roasters run. New Year’s Eve night has never been terribly exciting but this was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. We all went to Chase’s house for their New Year’s Eve party. They had just gotten back from a hockey game and had invited the hockey team to the party. Oh my word! The guest list was a pretty good representation of West Texas demographics – quite a few honky-tonk hillbillies with trucker caps and their crazy wives. Thrown into the mix were a few pseudo-Canadian toothless hockey players and then… us. It was great. We toasted at midnight with wine and then continued the night with wine… oh and then champagne… and maybe some beer too… was there some beer pong, too??? YES. Let’s get real, though… would beer pong even be remotely shocking?! It was complete and total fun.

Around 2 AM or so I was hailed over to stand back-to-back with Chase’s girlfriend, Nicole. I thought it was pretty weird. Clearly, she was the taller one. But was it was later said that they were measuring the length of our hair. Hmm… I won and my prize from the middle-aged hicks was to take my top off. O_o eeerk! NO! HA-HA. These people…

About an hour later: “Hey you with long hair! Why do you still have your top on?!” Oh dear, sir, could it be that I’m not a drunken whore?

Around 5 AM, we went back home. What a fun New Year!

The day, post-sleep and post-hangover (kidding…hmm) day consisted of Looney Tunes followed by my first trip to Waffle House. My stomach has never known such sudden indigestion and grease with fists, but I survived… and so we headed home. But not before hiding Cole’s Rubrix cubes in the bathroom. It was for his own good and my sanity. Great trip!

Whelp, Happy New Year! 2010 has to prove itself now. 2009 had its ups and downs but it’s over. This year commenced with fun and great friends and will hopefully end just the same. What happens between that time… surprise me, God.