Today's question: Who do you miss?
I found this on the internets when I was trying to give my blog a facelift. I've recently come into a bunch of free time at home that I didn't expect. After a day of travel let downs that I'll discuss in a minute I'm finally hunkered down at home. Spending some serious time with my couch and catching friends up on what happened to me today that I checked up on my friend's blog BestBlog : Life Belongs to the Energetic. She's been doing a 30 day blog challenge and actually sticking to it. Since I'm so terrible about updating my blog I decided that I would take a page from her and re-re-re-dedicate my self for updating and maintaining this tiny little spot of cyber space.
While I was looking for ways to jump start my writing process I stumbled across the NaBloPoMo website. A total fluke but super nerdy and definitely hilarious. And I decided to take the Blog Month challenge. Feel free to severely verbally lash me if I can't see this one through. There are two reasons this is going to work. 1) I am committed. 2) My wonderful exciting trip to DC for Spring Break was unexpectedly canceled thanks to the loving employees of Southwest. From here forward known as Southworst.
Today's experience answers the question. I miss a lot of things. My friends who live far away from me and my family. I made a decision to move across the country three years ago and I do not regret it for a second. Still, on days like today when the stupidness of air travel ruins my plans I fully realize and feel how far away I am from most of the people I know and love. Overall, thinking about people I miss makes me understand the fragility of life.
At the same time I'm still on vacation and some deep deep relaxation must occur. I want to get a seaweed wrap and have small midgets walk up and down my back. On that note...more tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Saturday, November 20, 2010
And besides, you're not the only one and it isn't that bad.
One of my favorite quotes for the past ten years. People usually hate it when you say it to them especially if they are complaining about something which to them appears to be a big deal. And it really isn't. Because honestly most things we complain about aren't. And it's almost certain you aren't the only person going through it.
Turns out I'm not the only one deeply touched by Willow Smith's anthem to the youth...which according to my 11-13 year old sources "has been out for at least 6 months".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhFh-JqQuMg
It's seriously hilarious. Best part I was watching it at work with my co-workers and this is how the conversation went:
CoWorker 1: Now Jimmy Fallon is doing a good Neil Young but he doesn't really look like him. The face is all wrong. But that guy is doing an awesome Bruce.
CoWorker 2: Yeah, I don't know who he got to play the Boss but he sounds just like him.
Yes folks, IT IS Bruce Springsteen. FYI: spell check just dinged me when I accidentally left the G out of his name. I thought last names weren't in spell check. Mine always gets the red squiggly line. I guess when you get to a certain level of fame the enter your name in the spell check database. On that line of thought, is there a spell check database? Each year new words are supposedly entered in the dictionary. Or each time they do a reprint of Ye Ole Websters or American Heritage or dictionary.com. I wonder. Is spell check a computer program or is it actual people? I bet there is a Google (which has the red squiggly line until I capitalized that G) article about spell check somewhere.
The idea we're tackling this week is SELF IMPORTANCE. Yes you are great! Yes you are important! Some people take it way too far. Myself included (at times). I take issue with Katy Perry. And not just because she spells our name with a Y. I just watched her video "Firework" on my sisters tumblr page. The message is in the right place but the fireworks shooting from her breasts really held my focus. This is what teens watch. And they are an influential group, in advertising, in media, (which are basically the same thing to me at this point) in fashion (check out that little chick who has a fashion blog, Tavi Gevinson) and one thing many teens subscribe to is SELF IMPORTANCE. You are a firework! You must spread your light and shine forth. Do the right thing! But do it in your best interest and for the good of the people?? These are complicated messages. But they go out to teens everyday. It's a bit of a superficial dip into a much larger issue but the point of my blog is not to answer your questions. It's to make you think about things.
I started this blog thinking about the dating world. And it's been a year. Since then a lot has changed on my blog. I found the cyber dating world to be a simultaneously scary and funny place. Lately I've been thinking about setting up more dates just for the stories. Now I think the blog needs to be a vehicle for people to know all the important things I think in my head! And besides, I'm not the only one and truly it isn't that bad!!
Turns out I'm not the only one deeply touched by Willow Smith's anthem to the youth...which according to my 11-13 year old sources "has been out for at least 6 months".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhFh-JqQuMg
It's seriously hilarious. Best part I was watching it at work with my co-workers and this is how the conversation went:
CoWorker 1: Now Jimmy Fallon is doing a good Neil Young but he doesn't really look like him. The face is all wrong. But that guy is doing an awesome Bruce.
CoWorker 2: Yeah, I don't know who he got to play the Boss but he sounds just like him.
Yes folks, IT IS Bruce Springsteen. FYI: spell check just dinged me when I accidentally left the G out of his name. I thought last names weren't in spell check. Mine always gets the red squiggly line. I guess when you get to a certain level of fame the enter your name in the spell check database. On that line of thought, is there a spell check database? Each year new words are supposedly entered in the dictionary. Or each time they do a reprint of Ye Ole Websters or American Heritage or dictionary.com. I wonder. Is spell check a computer program or is it actual people? I bet there is a Google (which has the red squiggly line until I capitalized that G) article about spell check somewhere.
The idea we're tackling this week is SELF IMPORTANCE. Yes you are great! Yes you are important! Some people take it way too far. Myself included (at times). I take issue with Katy Perry. And not just because she spells our name with a Y. I just watched her video "Firework" on my sisters tumblr page. The message is in the right place but the fireworks shooting from her breasts really held my focus. This is what teens watch. And they are an influential group, in advertising, in media, (which are basically the same thing to me at this point) in fashion (check out that little chick who has a fashion blog, Tavi Gevinson) and one thing many teens subscribe to is SELF IMPORTANCE. You are a firework! You must spread your light and shine forth. Do the right thing! But do it in your best interest and for the good of the people?? These are complicated messages. But they go out to teens everyday. It's a bit of a superficial dip into a much larger issue but the point of my blog is not to answer your questions. It's to make you think about things.
I started this blog thinking about the dating world. And it's been a year. Since then a lot has changed on my blog. I found the cyber dating world to be a simultaneously scary and funny place. Lately I've been thinking about setting up more dates just for the stories. Now I think the blog needs to be a vehicle for people to know all the important things I think in my head! And besides, I'm not the only one and truly it isn't that bad!!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Whip MY hair...
When I was in college or just recently graduated the song 'Too Little, Too Late' was all over the airwaves. It was a song by JoJo who I think was maybe 12...possibly 13. But seriously readers, her lyrics spoke to me and many other women much much older than 13. Now we have a new selection by a delightful tween who sums it up pretty good. "Don't let haters keep me off my grind. Keep my head up I know I'll be fine. Keep fighting until I get there. When I'm down and I feel like giving up I think again"
Truth: Wisdom comes at any age. Second truth: The way people behave in middle school (the tween age) is just a base line for how they will behave for the rest of their life. I'm really starting to believe that second truth. Not to say that people can't change. They absolutely can but it's difficult and most people prefer to remain in their comfort zone.
Speaking of comfort zones, I recently attended a concert that did EVERYTHING IN IT'S POWER to transcend people's comfort zones. Far far away from the world of Willow Smith (which I'm just realizing is a bizarre name play on her father's name) exists Of Montreal. A great band I definitely recommend checking out but definitely not for the conservative minded or faint hearted. The lead man, Kevin Barnes, is an according to my brother a straight man. I'd like to add with homosexual tendencies even though after this show I think he might just be done to experience whatever life brings. Here are some photos:
When it was all said and done I was entertained, heard good music, but also felt as if I had attended a higher budget GSP theater show. (I have no idea if any of my readers know what GSP theater is, it's the low-budget theater group I was involved with in college). Even at NYU there had to be a band of drama misfits that didn't apply to Tisch and couldn't even get accepted to the College of Arts and Sciences until Junior year...but I digress.
The show was so bizarro out there I thought: "This must be what doing acid is like." Because truth 3: I've never done acid. But I imagine Kevin Barnes has and that is when he created this show. The overall goal was to make people a little uncomfortable. I whip my hair at people who can't transcend their comfort zone. Does that mean that I'm comfortable making other people uncomfortable? I guess I need to start behaving very normal in order to make myself take things to the next level. Ok Haterzz here I go....
Truth: Wisdom comes at any age. Second truth: The way people behave in middle school (the tween age) is just a base line for how they will behave for the rest of their life. I'm really starting to believe that second truth. Not to say that people can't change. They absolutely can but it's difficult and most people prefer to remain in their comfort zone.
Speaking of comfort zones, I recently attended a concert that did EVERYTHING IN IT'S POWER to transcend people's comfort zones. Far far away from the world of Willow Smith (which I'm just realizing is a bizarre name play on her father's name) exists Of Montreal. A great band I definitely recommend checking out but definitely not for the conservative minded or faint hearted. The lead man, Kevin Barnes, is an according to my brother a straight man. I'd like to add with homosexual tendencies even though after this show I think he might just be done to experience whatever life brings. Here are some photos:
 |
| The beginning... |
 |
| I think this when the Sunshine people came out. |
 |
| Gold body suits are totally rad and I think I helped them make those sun heads in my classroom on Friday. |
 |
| Janelle Monae is BOSS!! |
 |
| Sometimes you just gotta ride away on your people rhino. |
The show was so bizarro out there I thought: "This must be what doing acid is like." Because truth 3: I've never done acid. But I imagine Kevin Barnes has and that is when he created this show. The overall goal was to make people a little uncomfortable. I whip my hair at people who can't transcend their comfort zone. Does that mean that I'm comfortable making other people uncomfortable? I guess I need to start behaving very normal in order to make myself take things to the next level. Ok Haterzz here I go....
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Obviously you are not a blogger...
Ok, so RE my last post. I thought I had published it on my furlough day...hence my cute little title and my promises of more posts! Then, I started giving my sister crap (in my head) about how she hadn't posted anything new on her "I'm studying abroad" travel blog. But I went there today and found A HA! She had updated. Which caused me to think. Go update your blog, hypocrite. At which point I realized...duhh you didn't publish your last post. So lost, so lost in this interweb that is supposedly dead.
Moving on. I'm not so great a blogging. I'm really trying folks. I must win this battle.
Like the ocean triumphs over the land
I've gotten really into using visual supports with my students this year. Literally I support them....with my eyes. No. Usually if we're reading a story, or creating a classroom rule I try to create a picture that helps illustrate whatever is written. I have no gift for the visual arts. I think I've mastered through the level of stick figure. So I end up spending a lot of time of google image search. And it is amazing. For example, when I type in the word solemn many things pop up. A sad faced homeless woman. People marching at a funeral. Other serious things. But there are some words that my students don't know that aren't easily defined by pictures. For example, avoid, I get a bunch of pictures that look like this:
Students you must AVOID the white man....actually, that might not be bad advice. But I digress, so I'm getting really into google image search and I have a pet turtle named Squishy. Two completely unrelated things, I know. Squishy is my class pet. I don't have an actual photo of him but he looks a little like this:
Moving on. I'm not so great a blogging. I'm really trying folks. I must win this battle.
I've gotten really into using visual supports with my students this year. Literally I support them....with my eyes. No. Usually if we're reading a story, or creating a classroom rule I try to create a picture that helps illustrate whatever is written. I have no gift for the visual arts. I think I've mastered through the level of stick figure. So I end up spending a lot of time of google image search. And it is amazing. For example, when I type in the word solemn many things pop up. A sad faced homeless woman. People marching at a funeral. Other serious things. But there are some words that my students don't know that aren't easily defined by pictures. For example, avoid, I get a bunch of pictures that look like this:
Students you must AVOID the white man....actually, that might not be bad advice. But I digress, so I'm getting really into google image search and I have a pet turtle named Squishy. Two completely unrelated things, I know. Squishy is my class pet. I don't have an actual photo of him but he looks a little like this:
But he's also much bigger. Last week I decided he was having neck problems. Trust me readers, his neck looked weird. So I decided to google image search, "Red ear slider necks". I don't know why but I did. And then I got caught by my student. He said, "Why are you looking up pictures of 'turtle necks'?" He suggested I type in "fat neck" I don't know why I listened to him. Safe to say fair readers, maybe you should google image search fat neck. It's bizarre. And on that note, I'm off.
There are bigger fish to fry and flag football games to supervise. A la prochaine!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Furlough or not to...lough
Here in the California the economy is not good. Maybe you've heard about it. Though I'm starting to think nobody knows about anything. Including myself. So maybe you don't. But as a result of the state having almost no money...this year they made teachers take 3 furlough days...well maybe that's just in my school district as a way to save money. I think so. Hello internet obviously I know nothing!
I have the day off. That's all I'm trying to say. And I'm not getting paid for it. I got it in my head that since I'm not making any money today then I shouldn't spend any. Unfortunately as with most rules I make for myself I broke it. That paragraph has a lot of I's.
It's the 6th week of school and things are finally starting to feel normal again. Each day it gets harder and harder to get out of bed on time and I find the students less annoying and the faculty more funny than anything else. Being over it has never felt so good.
I have the day off. That's all I'm trying to say. And I'm not getting paid for it. I got it in my head that since I'm not making any money today then I shouldn't spend any. Unfortunately as with most rules I make for myself I broke it. That paragraph has a lot of I's.
It's the 6th week of school and things are finally starting to feel normal again. Each day it gets harder and harder to get out of bed on time and I find the students less annoying and the faculty more funny than anything else. Being over it has never felt so good.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Things get faster as we get older
So, a summer in review, mainly based on a loose time line I have created. My summer falls into four sections. I find it appropriate to give each section two names.
Summer of 2010 Part I: Summer School i.e. Having a excuse to wake up for World Cup games.
The World Cup came and went. And as with every four years, it was awesome! I was really rooting for North Korea but mostly I wanted to see a team that has never won before win. So that happened and it was awesome. Total feel good moment! Favorite two parts of the Cup: France's team (Mais qu'est-ce qui passe?) and the sports anchors 30 second pitch for South America as the final word of the cup. Heartfelt, unedited and raw! And summer school was a mild distraction during the cup. It was good though. The kids were super special and totally awesome.
Summer of 2010 Part II: Dog Sitting i.e. Deciding to move
Next stop on the Stay part of my vacation was dog sitting for my friend. Her dog is my best bud and we spent quality time walking around her neighborhood, getting lost, and barking at the mailman. Well she barked and I egged her on. I spent about three weeks living in Oakland and basically decided I 100% needed to move. I already had thought this would be a good idea but I began to realize how to make my plan take action. So I went to look at a bunch of apartments. Hated them all. Started to feel overwhelmed. Then, changed my plan of action.
Summer of 2010 Part III: Moving Day i.e. It ain't life if there isn't a time crunch
After giving up on finding an apartment through craigs list I returned to the old fashioned way. Pounding pavement. Or really driving around different neighborhoods and writing down the phone number for any available apartment. It worked amazingly well! Found a place in about 2 days. Realized I had to give my 30 day notice about 28 days too late. Threw some cash into the wind and moved all my shit. With the help of three all star friends! Then decided, "Hey! I'm going to Boston two days after I move". Why not? Right. Right.
Which brings us to.......wait for it......
Summer of 2010 Part IV: The joys of home i.e. It's been a month this has been sitting in my edit box clearly I don't value blogging.
That's right folks. Summer is OVER. That's O (oh) V (vee) E (eeeee) R (arrrrgh). I did go to see Arcade Fire last night. That was fun. And this is the only way I can figure out how to post the video so my sister can see.
I'm back folks. The blog begins again and again and again and again...BUT THIS TIME FOR REAL!!!!
Summer of 2010 Part I: Summer School i.e. Having a excuse to wake up for World Cup games.
The World Cup came and went. And as with every four years, it was awesome! I was really rooting for North Korea but mostly I wanted to see a team that has never won before win. So that happened and it was awesome. Total feel good moment! Favorite two parts of the Cup: France's team (Mais qu'est-ce qui passe?) and the sports anchors 30 second pitch for South America as the final word of the cup. Heartfelt, unedited and raw! And summer school was a mild distraction during the cup. It was good though. The kids were super special and totally awesome.
Summer of 2010 Part II: Dog Sitting i.e. Deciding to move
Next stop on the Stay part of my vacation was dog sitting for my friend. Her dog is my best bud and we spent quality time walking around her neighborhood, getting lost, and barking at the mailman. Well she barked and I egged her on. I spent about three weeks living in Oakland and basically decided I 100% needed to move. I already had thought this would be a good idea but I began to realize how to make my plan take action. So I went to look at a bunch of apartments. Hated them all. Started to feel overwhelmed. Then, changed my plan of action.
Summer of 2010 Part III: Moving Day i.e. It ain't life if there isn't a time crunch
After giving up on finding an apartment through craigs list I returned to the old fashioned way. Pounding pavement. Or really driving around different neighborhoods and writing down the phone number for any available apartment. It worked amazingly well! Found a place in about 2 days. Realized I had to give my 30 day notice about 28 days too late. Threw some cash into the wind and moved all my shit. With the help of three all star friends! Then decided, "Hey! I'm going to Boston two days after I move". Why not? Right. Right.
Which brings us to.......wait for it......
Summer of 2010 Part IV: The joys of home i.e. It's been a month this has been sitting in my edit box clearly I don't value blogging.
That's right folks. Summer is OVER. That's O (oh) V (vee) E (eeeee) R (arrrrgh). I did go to see Arcade Fire last night. That was fun. And this is the only way I can figure out how to post the video so my sister can see.
I'm back folks. The blog begins again and again and again and again...BUT THIS TIME FOR REAL!!!!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Blogiphany: It's like an epiphany you have with your blog.
OH EM GEE WHY GEE. I am the worst blog hypocrite on the face of the planet. All I can keep thinking is how I am supposed to get a book deal or a TV show if I don't update my blog. Now probably in order to get those things I need to be less obvious but...that's just not my strong suit.
But I digress....fans, online dating and blogging has proved more difficult than I thought. For many reasons that I will over time disclose..it's not you, blog. It's me. Yesterday as I drove to a particularly special encounter my thoughts wandered, as they often do, to my list of things to-do. Top of my list is always, update the blog. But I never do it. Maybe I'm disappointed because my dates, while funny, have been simultaneously depressing. Maybe it's because I'm lazy. Or maybe it's because my internet hasn't been working for a months and months. Excuses fans! And it shall stand no more.
Plus on top of that my friend recently emailed ANOTHER online dating blog. Written in a similar style to mine!!
And here we find ourselves again. I've been bad. There have been dates fans. Online dates. Dates that occurred in the real world but began online. And I did not write about them. As a recent online dating commercial informed me....1 out of every 5 dates starts out online. I looked up some other 1 in 5 statistics...just to you know, compare. 1 in 5 pregnancies end in abortion...literally that's the first thing that came up in google AND bing. 1 in 5 Americans has genital herpes. Equally uplifting. Oh here we go. 1 in 5 people in our world don't have access to clean water. Well thanks internet search engine for lifting my spirits. Whatever, that commercial makes no sense anyway how could they possibly figure out how many dates a person has been on in the first place?
So there has been a choo choo train of special gentleman callers over the past few months. Some were such a let down that it isn't even worth writing about. Some got a little too x-rated too fast. Some were so G-rated I had to sneak away. Best moment was explaining to a guy that Flag day made me feel a little homesick so I'd have to take a rain check. Most important fact is that none have stuck. So...what do I do when life is getting me lonely? Go downtown. Or find something else to write about. I've learned recently that living so far away from most of the people I know and love has led to some pretty interesting situations. I will be writing about them here. Trying to maintain my connection to the online dating world. Trying to keep things cyber. I'll be posting updates to my facebook page but I'm seriously considering deleting facebook and changing to some other internet home. But fear not readers. I'm on vacation and frankly, I need a hobby.
Until next time (which I promise will be very soon).
But I digress....fans, online dating and blogging has proved more difficult than I thought. For many reasons that I will over time disclose..it's not you, blog. It's me. Yesterday as I drove to a particularly special encounter my thoughts wandered, as they often do, to my list of things to-do. Top of my list is always, update the blog. But I never do it. Maybe I'm disappointed because my dates, while funny, have been simultaneously depressing. Maybe it's because I'm lazy. Or maybe it's because my internet hasn't been working for a months and months. Excuses fans! And it shall stand no more.
Plus on top of that my friend recently emailed ANOTHER online dating blog. Written in a similar style to mine!!
And here we find ourselves again. I've been bad. There have been dates fans. Online dates. Dates that occurred in the real world but began online. And I did not write about them. As a recent online dating commercial informed me....1 out of every 5 dates starts out online. I looked up some other 1 in 5 statistics...just to you know, compare. 1 in 5 pregnancies end in abortion...literally that's the first thing that came up in google AND bing. 1 in 5 Americans has genital herpes. Equally uplifting. Oh here we go. 1 in 5 people in our world don't have access to clean water. Well thanks internet search engine for lifting my spirits. Whatever, that commercial makes no sense anyway how could they possibly figure out how many dates a person has been on in the first place?
So there has been a choo choo train of special gentleman callers over the past few months. Some were such a let down that it isn't even worth writing about. Some got a little too x-rated too fast. Some were so G-rated I had to sneak away. Best moment was explaining to a guy that Flag day made me feel a little homesick so I'd have to take a rain check. Most important fact is that none have stuck. So...what do I do when life is getting me lonely? Go downtown. Or find something else to write about. I've learned recently that living so far away from most of the people I know and love has led to some pretty interesting situations. I will be writing about them here. Trying to maintain my connection to the online dating world. Trying to keep things cyber. I'll be posting updates to my facebook page but I'm seriously considering deleting facebook and changing to some other internet home. But fear not readers. I'm on vacation and frankly, I need a hobby.
Until next time (which I promise will be very soon).
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