Happy Birthday, Jenn!
Do you have a Jenn in your life? If not, I highly recommend picking one up. They're awesome.
10. She has the best gossip.
We work together in a building with hundreds of staff members and thousands of students. And if ever I hear rumblings or rumors I know I can always go to Jenn for the skinny. That is friendship gold, imo.
9. She wants to hear about what's going on with you. No really, she does.
Or else she's the best damn faker ever. And it's not just autopilot listening. She's paying attention. She knows the names of all your friends, all your family, and which student pissed you off last week during third period. Which could be why, come to think of it, she knows all the gossip.
8. Jenn gets it done.
She is one of those rare creatures who does what she says she'll do. She runs the annual scholarship drive for our faculty association, she organizes professional development to drag our stubborn co-workers to the knowledge that yeah, we have gay students in our school, she attends every school board meeting and brings back detailed reports to those of us who were too lazy to get off our butts and get there ourselves. All this in addition to the full-time teaching job that she actually gets PAID for. Plus little, yet oh-so-awesome things like cheerfully accepting the dvd you plop down in front of her with instructions to watch and then actually watching the damn thing in a timely fashion and returning it to your hands, ready to discuss. Seriously. She's my goddamned hero in this area.
7. She's incredibly organized.
She'll tell you she's not. But she's lying. I ask her to do something, even if it's just getting together to watch a dvd, and she pulls her pink dayplanner out of her ever-present bag and writes it down. She is constantly surrounded by lists, and half the items seem to be already crossed out. She can visually confirm the color of her desktop at all times. This, of course, is why she's able to Get It Done.
6. She's up for anything.
Want to catch a movie this weekend? Jenn is totally on board. Do you want to try out that new restaurant that supposedly serves awesome blueberry martinis? Jenn is pulling out that datebook and her pen is poised. Do you need a wingman at the party where you won't know anyone? Or maybe the party where you sort of have to go but you don't want to? Jenn's your girl. Do you have a TV show Jenn has never heard of that you want her to drive 45 minutes to sit and watch? Jenn is on her way and will show up carrying some food item wrapped in bacon.
5. It's so nice to hang out with smart people.
Teenagers are inherently stupid. Even the smart ones. And much as it pains me to admit, so are my colleagues from time to time. And lets not even get started on the administrators. What a breath of fresh air it is to talk to someone who curses in German, has a classroom wall full of photocopied covers of books she's read in '08, and who named her cat after a character in To Kill a Mockingbird.
4. Jenn is extremely generous with praise.
Seriously, if you're having a bad day, hang out with Jenn. She'll shower you with thoughtful sympathy and tell you all the nice things about you. And she means it.
3. She is adorably girly.
I pretty much wear the same things to school that I wear to sit on my couch and watch TV. Well, maybe not quite that bad. But close. I pull a brush through my hair, put on a bare minimum of makeup, and walk out the door. Jenn shows up nearly every damn day looking so cute I'm surprised I don't want to kill her. Perfect makeup, including lipstick. Hair twisted up in ... some sort of twist. Glasses. High-heeled boots. Skirt. Sweater set. Chunky jewelry. It's like you crossed Lori Petty with a cigarette model from 1947.
2. And yet she's not at all dainty.
Jenn is the only woman I've ever heard say, "Suck my balls." I find that very impressive.
1. Enthusiasm, baby!
One is never in doubt about Jenn's reaction to something. She laughs, she snorts, she makes sarcastic comments, she whistles, and when she's really caught up in something she has a rapt expression that could power a medium-sized Christmas tree. This is probably the biggest reason why she's so fun to have around because it's present in every item I've mentioned so far. It's like if you take a normal friend and turn her to eleven.
Have the bestest birthday, Jenn. Love ya lots.