Rome if you want to…. October 30, 2006

Happy Monday to everyone!  Tomorrow is Halloween and I have yet to be invited to a party or had the desire to throw one so I may be just handing out the goods to the little goblins of the world.  I just got back from a sweet trip to Asheville.  I got to see Sarah, Jon, Amelia, her man David, Debbie, my mom, dad, mother-in- law, my bro and sis-in-law,  my niece Rachel, and most of my mom’s side of the fam.  It was great and much needed.  I forgot how much I need to talk to girls and just girls that actually understand where I’m coming from.   Some pictures of that trip are in my blogroll.

On my drive back, I read a billboard that has bugged me all day.  It said:  “See ‘em Both”  and it was referring to some local attractions in the area.  The “‘em” part really gets to me.  Why must we delete the “th”? Why? I also hate it when they take out the “a” and the “d” in the word “and”.  Example:  kibbles n bits or chicken n biscuits.  I’m not even sure how to punctuate that.  Or how about the popular men at work sign that says, “Let ‘em Work, Let ’em Live” encouraging us to slow ourselves down.   For some reason it does not bother me when they leave the g off of words like:  huntin’ and fishin.  Wil’s big pet peeve is when they make c’s into k’s for the sake of cleverness.  Example:  Kountry Kitchen or Kody’s  Kampground.  He hates that.

 I drove to Nashville today for lame ol’ bank training.  I drove/was stuck in traffic for 2 and a half hours and the training only lasted two hours.  They could have atleast had snacks!  At one point while stuck in traffic, I thought, “I’ll be no good to them once I’ve gone mad.”  Once I got back home,  I took a stroll to take in the last of the great leaf season we’ve had.  I am about a week late for color peakness but enjoy them anyway. 

 

Looks so perty, I just wanna eat ‘em!

All Dressed Up…. October 25, 2006

Tonight, we attended a dance and dinner called the Debose lecture.  In some ways it is the prom of the seminary.  It was really fun but I must say, I was frustrated by my husbands need to leave and my need to stay.  I had a great time.  I bonded with many a new friend.  You’ll see the pictures in my blog roll.  I am writing this entry now past my better judgment since I am still in “party -mode”.  Eric said I had too.  And frankly, I do what Eric says.   While in the bathroom, I was wiping something off my boob area that I had managed to collect when I ripped inadverently ripped my necklace off, tearing it into a million pieces. All the while, a woman complemented me on how  pretty I looked.. It was quite a moment.

I went on a walk today.  Thought a lot about gravity and how I really think I felt it.  I could acutally feel the earth’s rotation baring down on me and it was heavy…very heavy.  I also thought a lot about my after school program.  Tomorrow is my last day before my new job and I am really going to miss some of the kids.  Especially Eli who I just love.  He is crazy but so funny and just right up my alley.  I wish there was some way to keep in touch with him without being creepy but their is no way.

I also thought about being blind and how hardcore that is.  I looked upon a lake today and the water sparkled and the trees were all golden and red and I thought that blind people better get some justifacation from smells or sound to make up for sight because man, it would be a task to live witoiut it.

I want to give a shout out to Ali andf Simon who just underwent a live liver Transplant surgery.  It is one of those things that just makes you thankful.  I love you guys!   If any of this doesn’t make since, I will make up for it later…when I haven’t been drinking.

Way too much time on my hands…… October 20, 2006

I went to a little website called myheritage.com and using a photo, it matches my face with other celebrities to see who I most resemble.  My results were flatering and sometimes scary.   Half the stars I have never even heard of.  Apparently I look a lot like Ron Livingston- the main dude from Office Space.  You learn something new everyday.  If you do this, email me your results! 

Foggy Friday October 20, 2006

The fog here at Sewanee is nothing like I’ve ever seen.  If the windows are open, I can see it coming into the house.  I hear it can get so thick that you can’t see your hand in front of your face.  One night, when we were driving home from a dinner party,  we couldn’t see the yellow line due to the fog.  It was fun but kinda scary since I wasn’t sure if we were on the road or at a stop sign.  Here are a few pictures of mild Sewanee fog in our front and backyard.  Also, a picture of our house:

 

It makes me want to stay in bed and when out of bed, drink coffee, wear my robe and snuggle with my dog. 

In other news, I got the job at Regions Bank and start my training in Nashville on October 30th.  I am very glad to finally have a full time job where I don’t have to change my personality completely to do the job at hand.  Also, my brother-in law by marriage is coming home (New York, USA) from Afghanistan this week so I want to give a shout out to him and Amy.  I hope they enjoy their time together before he has to go back.  Hope everyone has a beautiful fall weekend.  The leaves here are amazing so I need to go visit them.

Who Will It Be October 17, 2006

I have had the blog hits counter on my side bar climbing the charts for months now.  It is exciting to know that my page is being viewed by so many and so often.  A milestone in my blog career is about to take place.  The 1000’s person will soon view my blog.  Who will it be?? Will be it be someone I just met or someone I’ve never met?  Will it be an accidental address bar entry or a close friend that knows my secrets?  This is so very exciting.  I ask of you, number 1000, to leave your name in the comment box so that we can make history together. Thanks for the memories.

High School from Hell October 16, 2006

If you’ve been following my job woes, you know that I turned down a job teaching at a school 45 minutes away.   I was offered the job when I first moved to Tennessee and just didn’t want to teach and that far away assuming that I would get another job not to far following.  Well, I haven’t gotten anymore job offers so when I heard about a teaching job only 30 minutes away, I applied.  I went on the interview to find out a few interesting things.  One:  I would be teaching Math.  Next to Social Studies and then Science, math is right up there with my worst subjects.  Two:  I would be teaching Special Ed kids.  Not the handicapped kind but the learning disabled kind.  The principal told me he thinks half of them are “just lazy” and don’t “want to do the work.”  And the last thing that came out of the principals mouth was, “So, are you mean enough to handle this?  You have to take NO prisoners.”  I said all the right things, nodded at all the right places and he offered me the slightly temporary position.  He also added he had trouble keepig a sub in the room because of the kids so I need to start this week.   Um……..I didn’t know whether to cry, laugh, run in the other direction or embrace the challenge.  I am just not cut out to work at a job where you have to be a total bitch and teach a subject I know nothing about.  Sadly, I am considering taking the job because Wil and I are going to be in money trouble very soon.  I have to let Principal Colquit know by tomorrow morning.  Something to sleep on…………… I hope I don’t have nightmares.  There is just something wrong with public eduation if they are offereing me this job.

PS:  We’ve been dog sitting.  Check out the cuties! 

Big Guitars, Chicken, and Paper Towels October 14, 2006

I went to Nashville today.  The big city of country music.  I went for a job skills test for a local bank.  I might be a teller soon.  Nashville is perty and big and trafficy.  I didn’t do so well on my test.  Being a teller is a bit more complicated then I thought.  I didn’t explore the city much since it was business oriented and I had no directions to anything cool.  I did see some souvenir shops and a big guitar.  I’ll explore more later.  This evening, Wil met me at Chick-fil-A for din din.   Yummy but awful for ya.  Before leaving, I needed to pee.  Went to the john.  Came out and washed my hands and went to pull a towel from the towel dispenser when……..the whole thing came off the wall!  Of course two other women came in the door at that very moment so I felt I needed to say something.  I said, “whoa.”  They said nothing.  I started to laugh because there I was with the dispenser in my hands and a shocked look in my eyes.  They went into the stalls and I just started to laugh and didn’t know what to do with the big plastic dispenser, so I tried propping up on a few things but nothing worked.  I was getting worried that the ladies were going to finish up to see me with the dispenser still in my hands so I quickly put it on the floor and left.  A very eventful day for sure.

Freedom of Faith October 11, 2006

Tonight was yet another amazing Spiritual Direction group.  I sat next to a woman..not much older then me…who just gave birth to her 5th child.  Her husband was out of seminary three years ago and has yet to get a job and they have no income.  She is so sure though, and has no fear.  It is hard to believe.  How can someone fear nothing?  Her faith is truly that strong and she says, “I have food in my cupard, clothes on my kids, a roof over my head, we are blessed.”  When the question got to me, I had a list of things I feared.  Some highlights:  my career, money, the future in the church……..ugh, I fear many things.   Then the question turned to:”Why aren’t we, as spouses, in the discernment process?” At first, I was confused by the question then I asked,”Define Discernment.” So the leader told me it was just peeling  away the layers of someones faith, questioning what they believe.  This whole time I thought discernment were hoops you had to jump through to be a Priest so when originally asked the question I thought of all the reasons why I shouldn’t be a Priest.  They asked me why now why I’m not called to be a Priest.  My first thoughts scared me.  I still don’t truly believe in some truths needed to be in the church as a teacher.  I got all my courage up to tell this group of people that I don’t believe that Jesus is the only son of God and that religion is kinda harsh and I would prefer it if we all could just get along…after all of it was out of my mouth, I waited for them to judge me.  Big shocker, they didn’t.  They did the opposite and praised me for the courage I had to say the things that all people should think at one point or the other when figuring out their spirituality.  The main point I came away with tonight is to live each moment the best we can.  Sometimes the best is kinda messy or not right but as long as we are conscience about it, it will all work out.

I Did Not Know That October 5, 2006

Camp update:  I am still alive, barely but alive.  I am three days into my week long camp and it is going very well.  We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve played with turtles and made slime…it’s been great.  I’ll tell ya though, I am learning a lot about little kids.  I have never really worked with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th graders so it has been quite an adventure.  For starters, they hurt themselves a lot.  They might get a cut or complain of a twisted ankle or maybe they just have a tummy ache. Whatever it is, they find a way to complain about it.  Next, they say things like: “I know why trees lose their leaves…….they don’t have enough electricity to hold onto them.” or I overheard a conversation between two girls about some drawings they were making.  They both complimented each other and then one said, “Are you really just being polite about my drawing because I really don’t like yours?”  The other girl agreed.

It is true that they are cute but they are also vicious and life sucking.  I have never been so tired (well, maybe back in college but not lately) and if they lose a game, it is not pretty.  They are also very clickish and mean to the weaker of the herd.  I feel like I’m watching National Geographic.   So I want to give props to all you parents or soon- to- be parents out there that know exactly what I’m talking about and are destined to enjoy that which is kid for a few years more.  I’ll join you one day but until then, I am going to sleep in on Saturday, watch television A LOT and eat two bowls of ice cream right before bed. 

To Floss or Not to Floss…. October 1, 2006

Pride and Prejudice:  a movie, much like Sense and Sensibilty or Anne of Green Gables, that can always make me burst into tears right at that  moment where the clever girl gets the dreamy guy.  What is it about these movies that makes my heart feel as though it will burst?  That feeling, the feeling of the first time someone looks you deep in the eyes and you are all they see and they proclaim their love for you. That feeling is so powerful and so rare in a person’s life. Sometimes I get worried that I won’t feel those feelings again.  I know love will always be there but how about that longing and heart stopping passion?  Where a touch of a hand sends shivers down your spine?  Where a look from a guy could make you blush?  Is magic lost when you see someone floss?

After seeing movies like these, I always want to wear flowy dresses, sit under big trees and read books next to creeks while the sun sets, run threw hallways on my tip-toes, catch a glimpse of something scandalous through a key hole…….one things for sure, I wouldn’t trade what I have for a fleeting feeling but I know those feelings exhist and I feel fortunate to have had them.