started the other day...finished now.
The summer is ending, and I've had a great time overall. Exciting things happening lately:
I've been spending the past week in the classroom, observing the start of the secondary school year. I have to say, I was afraid that I'd be nervous and awkward, but I feel remarkably confident and comfortable in that stuffy eighth-grade classroom. Today I shared with one of the many Jordans that I, too, like Underoath. He was wearing their shirt. They're one of his favorite bands, he says. Then I found out that he's the neighbor of my mentor Kim, and his dad died a year and a half ago in a fire and they had a really rocky relationship, and it was only right before he died that it started to get better. And now he's all hesitant and quiet and heartbreaking. One of my biggest problems in teaching is definitely going to be this: I feel an almost-immediate affinity for all the little freaks and geeks and it takes me a smidge longer to warm up to the Abercrombie crowd. I have to make a commitment to not be like my eighth-grade science teacher who only wanted to hang out with the cheerleaders, only inverted. And introverted. Hahahaha.
Last night I ended up watching a little girl during group here at 'Harbor. She's three, is nowhere near potty-training, and you can only understand about one in five words she says because she always has her "bink" clenched tightly in her teeth. And even when her pacifier has been removed, her speech is so underdeveloped, you can't tell what the heck she's saying. The first night I watched her, we spent the first fifteen minutes with her in one of those little toy cars rolling up and down the hallway. When she got to one end of the hallway, she'd say, "That's not Mommy's." "Nope." "Nope. Let's go this way." We'd turn around and travel to the other end of the hall. "That's not Mommy's." "Nope." "Nope. Let's go this way." Turn around. Then she found a pole. We spent the next twenty minutes stalking up and down like Elmer Fudd and gasping in surprise at the enemies we supposedly spotted. This time, we ran in circles (which was "dancing") for twenty minutes. At one point, however, she just totally fell apart with wanting her mommy and began a frantic search for her "bink" which she'd actually removed, and she wouldn't let me put her down even to change her because she was so upset. So I was holding her in my lap, trying to comfort her while sitting on one of those Little Tykes yellow chairs which are not big enough for these hips. She kept saying, "Hold me right" but I didn't know exactly what she meant. When she finally got situated against me the way she wanted, she fell right asleep, still kind of whimpering. I thought, "How true is it that sometimes it seems life would be all better if someone just knew how to hold us right."
Locked my keys in my car for the first time. Fortunately, my windows were open enough that I just needed a hanger to pop the button. I remained surprisingly calm during the episode. I felt so efficient. Until I remembered that I'd locked my keys in the car in the first place.
Kim treated the girls at the office to a spa treatment. There was a facial and three pedicures in the mix. We flipped a coin. I got the facial. I was just fine with that; my toes are a little embarrassing right now. I often clip my toenails really short. Sometimes way too short. Painfully short. My first ever spa experience. The esthesiologist or whatever took me to a little room with a chair that looked like a deluxe dentist chair and lots of bottles and things. Then she said, "You can keep your pants on or not, whichever you're more comfortable with..." I thought "WHAT? Where are you going with this?" Turns out I had to take my shirt off. She left the room so I could strip and wrap myself in this terry-cloth thing and get under the blankets on the chair. Left my bra on, though, so I'd feel more secure. Definitely left my pants on. I had no idea what to expect. I had to keep telling myself to relax, because I was thinking, "Oooh, what's this she's putting on my face? What's she doing now? What does this thing do?" She rubbed all kinds of stuff on my face. After each application, she wrapped my face in a hot towel. Near the end, she had some stuff on my stuff that was extremely tingly. Almost uncomfortably. To distract me from that (I surmise), she massaged my shoulders, the back of my neck, and those three inches or so between your clavicle and your cleavage. Well, I should say "my" instead of "your." It was great fun. And after watching the other ladies get their pedicures, I kind of wanted one, too. So I think I may go back. I'm supposed to get a coupon in the mail that gets me $10 off my next visit. Is $20 decent for a really great pedicure? I have no basis for comparison.
Moved my stuff from home into Fair Commons. Have most of the stuff from DH in my car to move. Parents coming up Saturday to bring the big stuff. Lots of stuff. I kind of hate it. I'm glad for my friends coming back to campus, though. Jenna's back and lots of others on the way. Miss my graduated friends. I hope I hope the new roommate works out.
peace, love, and Zach Braff singing on the soundtrack to his new movie. It's so beautiful. I mean that literally. It's a beautiful song. Find it online to listen to. Myspace has it.
I've been spending the past week in the classroom, observing the start of the secondary school year. I have to say, I was afraid that I'd be nervous and awkward, but I feel remarkably confident and comfortable in that stuffy eighth-grade classroom. Today I shared with one of the many Jordans that I, too, like Underoath. He was wearing their shirt. They're one of his favorite bands, he says. Then I found out that he's the neighbor of my mentor Kim, and his dad died a year and a half ago in a fire and they had a really rocky relationship, and it was only right before he died that it started to get better. And now he's all hesitant and quiet and heartbreaking. One of my biggest problems in teaching is definitely going to be this: I feel an almost-immediate affinity for all the little freaks and geeks and it takes me a smidge longer to warm up to the Abercrombie crowd. I have to make a commitment to not be like my eighth-grade science teacher who only wanted to hang out with the cheerleaders, only inverted. And introverted. Hahahaha.
Last night I ended up watching a little girl during group here at 'Harbor. She's three, is nowhere near potty-training, and you can only understand about one in five words she says because she always has her "bink" clenched tightly in her teeth. And even when her pacifier has been removed, her speech is so underdeveloped, you can't tell what the heck she's saying. The first night I watched her, we spent the first fifteen minutes with her in one of those little toy cars rolling up and down the hallway. When she got to one end of the hallway, she'd say, "That's not Mommy's." "Nope." "Nope. Let's go this way." We'd turn around and travel to the other end of the hall. "That's not Mommy's." "Nope." "Nope. Let's go this way." Turn around. Then she found a pole. We spent the next twenty minutes stalking up and down like Elmer Fudd and gasping in surprise at the enemies we supposedly spotted. This time, we ran in circles (which was "dancing") for twenty minutes. At one point, however, she just totally fell apart with wanting her mommy and began a frantic search for her "bink" which she'd actually removed, and she wouldn't let me put her down even to change her because she was so upset. So I was holding her in my lap, trying to comfort her while sitting on one of those Little Tykes yellow chairs which are not big enough for these hips. She kept saying, "Hold me right" but I didn't know exactly what she meant. When she finally got situated against me the way she wanted, she fell right asleep, still kind of whimpering. I thought, "How true is it that sometimes it seems life would be all better if someone just knew how to hold us right."
Locked my keys in my car for the first time. Fortunately, my windows were open enough that I just needed a hanger to pop the button. I remained surprisingly calm during the episode. I felt so efficient. Until I remembered that I'd locked my keys in the car in the first place.
Kim treated the girls at the office to a spa treatment. There was a facial and three pedicures in the mix. We flipped a coin. I got the facial. I was just fine with that; my toes are a little embarrassing right now. I often clip my toenails really short. Sometimes way too short. Painfully short. My first ever spa experience. The esthesiologist or whatever took me to a little room with a chair that looked like a deluxe dentist chair and lots of bottles and things. Then she said, "You can keep your pants on or not, whichever you're more comfortable with..." I thought "WHAT? Where are you going with this?" Turns out I had to take my shirt off. She left the room so I could strip and wrap myself in this terry-cloth thing and get under the blankets on the chair. Left my bra on, though, so I'd feel more secure. Definitely left my pants on. I had no idea what to expect. I had to keep telling myself to relax, because I was thinking, "Oooh, what's this she's putting on my face? What's she doing now? What does this thing do?" She rubbed all kinds of stuff on my face. After each application, she wrapped my face in a hot towel. Near the end, she had some stuff on my stuff that was extremely tingly. Almost uncomfortably. To distract me from that (I surmise), she massaged my shoulders, the back of my neck, and those three inches or so between your clavicle and your cleavage. Well, I should say "my" instead of "your." It was great fun. And after watching the other ladies get their pedicures, I kind of wanted one, too. So I think I may go back. I'm supposed to get a coupon in the mail that gets me $10 off my next visit. Is $20 decent for a really great pedicure? I have no basis for comparison.
Moved my stuff from home into Fair Commons. Have most of the stuff from DH in my car to move. Parents coming up Saturday to bring the big stuff. Lots of stuff. I kind of hate it. I'm glad for my friends coming back to campus, though. Jenna's back and lots of others on the way. Miss my graduated friends. I hope I hope the new roommate works out.
peace, love, and Zach Braff singing on the soundtrack to his new movie. It's so beautiful. I mean that literally. It's a beautiful song. Find it online to listen to. Myspace has it.