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Hello!

21 December 2007

On vacaaaaaaaaaation!

We had a pep rally at work today. It was pretty good, although I may have been mistaken for a student not once but twice.

One of my students got me a chihuahua ornament which I thought was a clever gift.

My sister's in town, so I'm OUT!

19 December 2007

Sick day and some videos

I'm home sick today - the first time I've been sick in three years of teaching. I actually started getting sick Sunday, but I haven't been able to take any time off because this is such a busy time of year. I had presentation yesterday and I'll have more on Thursday so I can't miss those two days.
Isn't it awful when you have to schedule your sickness like this? I mean, what's the point. Plus it's such a pain to deal with the aftermath of a sub. I don't even assign readings anymore when I'm out. All I trust a sub to do is put in a movie and pass out a worksheet.... Not that there aren't good subs, just that I always come back to reading packets left incomplete and the students telling me they just watched "Ice Age". Whatever.

I hate being sick. Doesn't everyone? I just hate not being able to do anything. I want to work out but I can't breathe when I'm just sitting around, so I probably shouldn't push it. Blech....

Enough about me. This one goes out to the FOOL who tried to revoke my Puerto Rican-ness yesterday even though he knows full well that he doesn't have the qualifications to do so: "Y así le grito al villano: yo sería Borincano aunque naciera en la luna"

Something I've always wanted to do, but have never done successfully:


Love that song...

Another good one for all the Boricuas at this time of year: "El banquete de los Sánchez". Y'all know that's how we do. "Tanto chicho, tanta panza..." And how typical is that pellizquito? Ha, ha!



Gosh, that video makes me hungry! I want some pasteles, biandas, and habichuelas....

18 December 2007

Disappointed by a lack of tackiness...

So usually there are two houses on the way to my parents' house that have a Christmas tackiness face off. They try to out do each other with oversized inflatable lawn decorations and mismatched lights. There are Nativity sets, snowmen, Santas, icicle lights, blinking lights, candy canes - you name it, it's on that lawn. This year, however, the tackiness is seriously toned down. PLUS the usual house is not even decorated. WHAAAT?! Granted, there are two houses on that same road with an assortment of lighted candy canes and a whole herd of shining reindeer grazing on the lawn and several Nativity sets, but nothing - NOTHING - compared to the glorious tackiness of yesteryear.

It kinda hurts my heart.

12 December 2007

No shame

We had our second Spanish Club sale today, which went well. As I was packing things up and heading back to the classroom with my students, this kid came to me and said, "I'm switching to your class. You sexy." Are you KIDDING me?! Who says that?! I am a good ten years older than you, I'm an authority figure and you come at me like that? Can you just imagine what he's like with his peers? Goodness!

These kids....

11 December 2007

Oh-so-cheerful

What is it about this time of year that makes me get into a funk? Without fail, late November and early December suck for me. Maybe it's because it's interims time, maybe because it's so stinkin' cold, maybe because I'm stuck in that waiting between holidays, hoping for something better.... Who knows. I'm tired, overworked, and without enough time for myself. I've got things to look forward to, but everything good seems like it's a long way off....
I miss Puerto Rico. Miss Atlanta. Miss people I haven't seen in ages. On top of that, I'm restless. I can't even tell you how badly I want to go somewhere. Not just vacation, but away - away-away. Not coming back, away. I'm kicking around the idea of moving again. While moving back in with the parents isn't my ideal situation, neither is my current living arrangement. And to pay for it is just to add insult to injury, especially when I could be saving money for Philly....

Philly.... It seems like everything I want is summed up in that one place, in my plans for next year. Who knows what will end up happening, though.

Alright, so as not to depress anyone, I'm out.

08 December 2007

Wizards' game

So the Wizards suck. We lost miserably, they put up no real defensive fight, and the game wasn't too exciting. HOWEVER! I caught a T-shirt that was launched up to the nosebleeds. It's an extra large which means that I'll never wear it out in public, but I like to know that I can win free shirts. :)

One moment I was telling Michelle that no one ever launches things up into the nosebleeds and the next moment, a shirt was flying at my head. Irony...

06 December 2007

Long awaited Vietnam pics

Here are some pics from Vietnam... Long overdue, I'm sure.

Here we are in ao dai - looking fabulous. I got so many Indian comments in my ao dai...





At our favorite fast food place reading the menu as best we can.




On the back of Mr. Giang's motorbike.


Trying on pants at the market. This is where all shame flies out the window. Good thing I'm not too shy.
More to come at another time....

Looking back on the year because it's a snow day...

1) Where did you begin 2007?
Ummm, I totally can't remember... It was either church or my parents' house....

2) What was your status by Valentine's Day?
super single. Quite frankly, I'm not a Valentine's Day kinda girl even when I'm dating. I'd much rather not deal with the crowds and sit around at home eating Indian take-out and watching movies on the couch.

3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Well, I work at a school, so yes.

4) How did you earn your money?
Teaching Spanish

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Nope.

6) Did you have any encounters with the police?
I got pulled over for doing 45 in a 25 zone just before I left for Vietnam. It was a female cop, so there was no getting out of it.

7) Where did you go on vacation?
Technically, Vietnam, although that was more of a working vacation, minus the trip to Ha Long Bay, most beautiful place on earth.

8) What did you purchase that was over $500?
A new computer to replace the one that was stolen, and my trip to Vietnam.

9) Did you know anybody who got married?
Yes, but I was fortunate enough to not have to go to any weddings.

10) Did you know anybody who passed away?
Wow, actually last year was the first year in a long time when I didn't lose anyone I cared for.

12) Did you move anywhere?
Almost did, but not quite.

14) What concerts/shows did you go to?
Maná - so fantastic! Also I saw Wayne Wonder and T-Pain

15) Are you registered to vote?
Of course!

16) Who did you want to win American Idol?
I remember being okay with Jordin Sparks winning, but I know she wasn't my number one choice. The bad thing? I don't remember my number one choice...

17) Where do you live now?
VA, and becoming okay with that.

18) Describe your birthday.
Geez, I think I went out with Maggie... Yeah, that's what we did.

19) What's one thing you thought you'd never do but did in 2007?
I'm copying the answer that the person before me wrote: Fall for a jerk. Also, be pursued by a professional athlete (granted, this was in Vietnam), eat eel and frog, ride a bicycle 20 km, travel to the other side of the world, defend myself in a non-European language, break my nose, and be considered tall

20) What has been your favorite moment?
Vietnam - all five/six weeks there, seeing Bethany for Thanksgiving, and countless others.

21) What's something you learned?
I am much more sure of what I want than most people my age, I'm a simple girl, and I'm not always as tough as I think I am.

22.) Any new additions to your family?
Not officially, but I will soon have a brother-in-law. It feels like he's already family. :)

23.) What was your best month?
July/August. It's a toss-up.

24.) What music will you remember 2007 by?
The latter part of the year will be heavily influenced by Kanye West and Alicia Keys. The first half of the year by Maná.

25) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
My Nalgene bottle... I'm not much of a drinker.

26) Made new friends?
Sure.

27) Best new friend?
She's an old one: Bethany. Best friend that I've reconnected with? Sammy.

28) Favorite Night out?
Nights out with my girl BK. :)

05 December 2007

Blech

Because life can always be summed up in a song, this is the one for today: "Lesson Learned" by Alicia Keys.

I hate cop outs and the path of least resistance. Nothing worthwhile is easy to get.

03 December 2007

To think that I hate Faulkner for his stream of conciousness...

It's been a hot minute. I've been so busy with meeting after meeting, working out, all that jazz... Busy busy. There's been some craziness at work - beaurocratic foolishness - that has made me not love every moment of my job. That's a feeling I hate. I love my students, love the classroom aspect, freakin' love the extracurriculars, but I hate the beaurocracy of it - the silly non-teaching things like standing in the hallway (as opposed to talking to my students), filling out forms, being a babysitter... Oh well, it is what it is and there's not much I can do about it.

In other news, two weeks till Christmas break (cue happy dance here) and days until I go to a Wizards' game with the boys from Gentlemen's Club (hands down, my favorite extracurricular, no matter how unorganized). GC, to clarify, is the most inappropriately named good idea ever. It's for boys who are struggling - with classes, with discipline issues, with attendance - and teaching them the skills they need to become successful young men. The group is feeling a little more cohesive these days, and I like that. Plus, the field trips are fun.

This will be my first pro basketball game in the States, and I'm excited.

I need to get some Christmas shopping done - I got a gift for my mom and am heading to the store tomorrow to get a gift for my picky sister (she will quite literally tell you that your gift sucks) that I KNOW she will like. I'm kind of at a loss when it comes to my dad and a few other friends. Also, there's the question of J. Do I get him a little something or not? If so, how little? Something that hints at the easy closeness we've developed? Something that respects the boundaries of the time and space we're giving each other?

Time and space. Ha. We may not be hanging out outside of work these days, but the past couple weeks we've ventured back into the hanging out in classrooms territory. Here's the thing: we've switched venues. He goes out of his way to come to my room. His is at least on the way to the copy room. Mine is on his way to nowhere. I feel that this is a fair arrangement seeing as the ball is in his court (I heart the basketball analogies in this specific situation). He's the one with the issues, he can decide when he's ready.

Today at the GC meeting, we were talking about values, the things that we want in life, that are important to us... This doesn't exactly link, but in my head, it does. Anyway, as I was thinking about my own responses (top 3: challenging career, succesful and fulfilling marriage, and faith) and J's comment about the marriage and how he couldn't take nagging, and a conversation I had yesterday about not liking diamonds, I realized that I'm really a simple girl.

You don't have to dazzle me with bling or a car (though it should be nicer than mine - that's not asking for much) or your bank account. What I do want is to be dazzled by your sparkling wit, your passion for working with people, and your acceptance of my flawed state. I'll accept your flaws, you accept mine. Really, not asking for too much.

I'm not the perfect woman, not the poster child for anything, really, but I'm not presenting myself as such either. And I'm working on my known failings and willing to work on the unknown ones in the future. That's life. These are people: lovely messes that we come to love for their imperfections.

I think about this, think about how easy it is to fall for a bit of swagger because you know there's a flaw behind it, how easy it is to fall for an apology, a confession, a glimpse of weakness... It's the thing that lets you know you're not alone in your floundering, in those moments when you're trying to gather your thoughts and move forward...

This is the point of too much vulnerability - the point where I start to feel exposed. I'm not such an exhibitionist yet, so I'll cut it here. I'm out.