Today...

I taught my sixth block how to dance salsa.

Just a basic step, but so much fun.

I promise, it's a tool to teach grammar - the imperative and giving orders, to be exact - but it's also a ton of fun. The girls all end up dancing with each other, one or two of the guys surprise everyone with their dance skills, and I realize how much I move my hips.
We all laugh, no one is terribly self concious, we forget this is school and that we are learning - culture, grammar, verbs....

It's FUN.

Definitely my favorite lesson to teach. With sixth block, it's a refresher on the imperative, but the best part is that next week, I get to do it again with third and seventh blocks when they discover the joys of giving orders.

I'm looking forward to it.

Besides, it's a good workout. ;)

Gratitude

Things I'm thankful for:

1. A positive observation
2. Naps to fight off migraines
3. The greatness of God (and by great I mean big)
4. Feeling tiny and insignificant, but in a good way, after seeing the lunar eclipse
5. The elliptical being down in the basement
6. The fact that I got my lazy bum out of bed this morning for a twenty-minute session on the elliptical and that I put in a full 70 minutes of exercise while watching AI
7. My upcoming trip to PR
8. A body that works
9. Papa John's thin crust veggie pizza - light on the cheese
10. Getting in the recommended servings of fruits and veggies in one day (someone should congratulate me)
11. My family and friends
12. A possible soccer game on Saturday (I get to play with the boys AGAIN!)

S told me that if I went outside I could see the lunar eclipse, and I kind of didn't want to because it's cold and it snowed (two things I hate). But then I decided I didn't have to sit out there and watch it for hours, so I stepped outside, stood on the porch in my t-shirt and yoga pants, and checked it out.

There is nothing that makes me feel as close to God as the beach, but a lunar eclipse might be close. There's something about the perfection of the natural world that really makes me aware of how vast and how precise God is, at least in my understanding of Him. He's got this whole complicated system worked out - He works it out - and it's beyond me.
I love that feeling of being dwarfed by Someone so wonderful.

Mrs. West...

This seemed appropriate for today:


"I don't know if you got a man or not, if you've made plans or not, if God put me in your plans or not...." Go ahead, Mr. West.

Sixth block students rocked my world with their funniness. I love them all.

Observation and faculty meeting tomorrow. Parent conference, Thursday. The reality of living with my mother again, daily.
*sigh*
It is what it is.

Ah, and to all the haters, I love me some Kanye. He's arrogant. He's cocky. BUT, he's freakin' talented, and I think he's one sexy, sexy man. I mean, that smile...

One step forward, two steps back...

It's official, folks.
I live with my parents.
Remember the time I said I was leaving and wouldn't be back? Yeah... eating those words now. So far, it's not as bad as I expected, but it's only been a week. In some ways though, I feel like I suck at life; like this week, and the finality of unpacking my stuff, have somehow cancelled out all the years I've lived on my own. Like all that erases all my years of living like a responsible adult and paying rent. It erases all of my contributions to society. It erases my effectiveness as an adult.
I know. I'm ridiculous. I realize I am still as productive a citizen in my parents' house as I was while paying (too much) rent for a (craptacular) condo. I realize I can still call them my roommates, if I want to sound cooler. ;) I realize that I'm still all the things that I was before (AND frugal). It's a pride thing that I'm wrestling with.
This is what I never wanted to do, and yet, here I am. There should be no shame in this, but I'm struggling with it. The funny thing is that in my own culture, I would've been home until the day I got married.
It's temporary. A sign of my commitment to grad school, to moving to Philly, to pursuing a dream....
A necessary hardship.
Five months.
It won't be that bad.
Right?



PS - Points if you can name the song I was humming after typing the title. Bonus points if you don't judge me for it. ;)

Potomac Tuesday

Eight years ago, on a day like today, I cast my first vote. I was seventeen, and was going to turn eighteen in time for the presidential elections, and was thus qualified to vote in the primaries. I remember going to the polling station with my mom and showing my license, then going into the booth and casting my vote.... I felt like an integral part of the democratic process.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm Latin: I understand corruption in ways that most Americans can't. I don't for a minute believe that the process is without flaw, but I still believe in the importance of participating. I believe in that moment of making a decision and standing for something you agree with. I cast my vote, and I cast my voice. This is what I believe. I believe that this person can represent my interests and the interests of the nation as a whole.
So I voted today, Potomac Tuesday, they called it. It was the day for the DMV's primary (for all those outside the region: D.C., Maryland, and Virginia) and I went, despite the fact that I'm in the process of moving, despite the fact that we were getting some freezing rain, despite the fact that I've lost my voice. I got my little sticker - a badge of honor - and went home feeling like a model citizen.
The funny thing, I remember how excited I was that first time, eight years ago, and I swear, I was just as excited this time around. It's always that exciting for me. It's that democratic process, that being a part of decision making, that I love.
The process and Obama.... ;)
Hope y'all voted....

You know that feeling?

I woke up not too long ago to "Lágrimas negras" by José Feliciano, the light of my lamp, that terrible feeling of contacts sticking to my eyeballs, and the knot in my stomach that made me think I was late for work.
For a minute I was panicky, and then came the deliciousness of the realization that it was Saturday. Mmmmm.... One good thing in this scenario.
I'm sick, I'm stressed, my back hurts, but it's Saturday and I get to go back to sleep as soon as I feel like it.

Yum. Love this feeling....

La belleza cotidiana

This is the quote from Sojourner's Verse and Voice today:

Christ moves among the pots and pans.

- Teresa of Avila

This is my view on faith: it's that hanging on in the everyday; that hoping for something better, in spite of; that ordinary grace that we receive and extend daily....
I hate when people talk about their "secular lives" - it's all colored by faith and belief. It's all spiritual life. The good, the bad, the ugly, the sublime - it's all spiritual life.
I see Christ moving subtly when I get a wake up call in the morning when I might have otherwise been comatose in my bed. I see Him moving subtly in an email from a student who moved away. I see Him moving subtly in my baby steps towards progress. I see Him in the faces of my students - even the ones that are a little less loveable.

Anyone can believe when everything is wonderful, or when the world is crashing down. Christ is even more lovely in that everyday, though. It's a quiet security, a nudge forward - that stumbling beautifully through the mess that is life.

Love it....

PS the title means "Everyday Beauty"

And as an after thought, there's this song:

Even though the quality sucks, Maná rocks my world:

Tú me salvaste del infierno
Volví a nacer
Cuando no creía en nada,
Volví a creer.
Sanarás mi pesar
Tu amor lo va a vencer
Me salvaste del infierno

Gracias por llegar a mí
Gracias por estar aquí
Yo juré que era mi fin
Gracias por amarme así
Gracias por estar aquí
No sé qué haría sin ti

A rough translation:

You saved me from hell
I was reborn
When I didn't believe in anything,
You restored my faith.
You will heal my pain
Your love will prevail.
You saved me from hell

Thank you for coming to me
Thank you for
being here
I swore it was the end for me.
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for being here
I don't know what I'd do without you.

Sí se puede

This made my day today:



I heart me some Barack Obama....

Please STOP!

Grammar police alert.

1. Good is not an adverb. An adverb describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. You don't do things "good" - you do them "well". You sing well, you play well, you dance well, you cook well. Please, people, get it right!

2. Conversate is NOT a word. Seriously. It's not. The word is converse. Save a syllable and sound smarter.

3. An apostrophe denotes possession, NOT plurality. Leave the apostrophe out unless it's a contraction or a possessive. If you simply want to say that there is more thatn one, add an "s" or "es", and forget the apostrophe.

That's all for my grammar rant.

Fútbol

Played soccer last night - midnight to one - with the guys from church. I'm sore today, but it was crazy fun. A few pics:


Alex el flaco is the only one in focus here...


Bad quality, but cool shot of Brian in action...



Someone told Juli to "just stand in the middle" and she did.



It wouldn't be soccer without diving.


Keepin' up with the guys...


Action.


Multi-tasking: fixing my hair AND keeping an eye on Samuel.



Booty.



Through the (dirty) glass. PS Bonus points if you can guess which song title I was channeling...

So yes, my quads are a little sore today, but I'm feeling good. Lots of fun, and the boys actually let me play. Whoo hoo!

Cryptic

If you get it, you get it.

Also, John Legend is one sexy, sexy man.

Moving....

I'm exhausted. Thursday rocked, Friday sucked, and I'm moving this weekend.

Not moving everything, mind you, just all the essentials. I'll be back for the furniture later.

This is all part of my plan to save money for grad school, which will begin in August. Geez, there is something absolutely terrifying about moving back in with the parents. I've been gone since I was 18 and I'm now 25, nearly 26. It's been a loooong time of no supervision, coming and going as I please, and listening to cds with parental advisories.

My parents are SO Puerto Rican. Sometimes I worry that I'll have to answer to them about every dime I spend and everything I do. Did I say sometimes? I worry about that A LOT. Don't get me wrong, my parents are wonderful people - my mother is one of my best friends - but they are still parents. They don't always remember that they've already done their job, and done it well.

So yeah, basically, I'll be around less often as I transition.

Wish me luck!