may 2021
Friends reunion who? Give me more Val Cherish.
Well, I got it! Since the last time we checked in, she's been busy. I got two offers for high school ESL jobs in the Twin Cities! One was for a charter school and the other is for a public intermediate school district that supports students with IEPs and "non-traditional" students (adult learners, etc.) The charter school offer came first, so I accepted that. Then, the public school offer came and I was like "Uh oh." After experiencing the shitshow that is the NYC Department of Education, I have firsthand knowledge of invaluable unions are - even when they are run by nincompoops. So, I had to decline the offer I accepted and I went with the public school. Juggling multiple offers was not as fun as I expected it to be!
In the end, I feel like I made the right decision and the beauty of teaching is, if it ends up not being the right decision, I can re-evaluate where I'm at after next school year and switch it up. For now, I am really excited about building my skills to be a better teacher for all students and their different learning styles and needs. I know it will be difficult, but I'm up for the challenge.
Tito the Traveler
Tito the Traveler
Later in May, the entire Haus of Abundance (including Tito) ventured onto a real live aeroplane to go check out our new potential habitat: the Twin Cities. It was Tito and Diego's first time (did I mention we're flying by the seat of our pants here?) and phew, they liked it! It's so damn green (when it's not powdery white), with tons of parks, bodies of water, and bike paths. We checked out a few neighborhoods, went to the amazing bowling alley/theater/restaurant from that viral drone video, drove by Paisley Park, said hello to the Mississippi River and checked for Grimes on a riverboat. Our waitress at the last restaurant had recently moved from Manhattan because the pandemic had her all like "Hell no." We took it as a good sign.
Tito explores Minnehaha Falls
The trip was essentially our gut check and we came back to our cockroach infested Brooklyn apartment knowing that we have had it - officially. Plus, we met our realtor who is queer and amazing and specializes in first-time buyers like us. All in all, our guts said "We can do this." Of course, there are random moments when your stomach drops and you're like "Everything I know is about to change!" but that comes with the territory of taking risks. And a risk we are ready to take!
It was a risk to uproot my life and move to New York back in 2009 - a risk well worth it. Of course it was never always easy, or happy, or life-affirming. It broke me the hell down, but I built myself back up and I'm not sure what that would have looked like anywhere else. I'm proud of myself for taking that risk and becoming who I am today.
And who I am today is just another cliched Zillow millennial who bought roller skates and is chasing that dream starter home. It could be worse. I could be a geriatric millennial!
Went to the Met to see Garibaldo!
One final life important life update: we watched Eurovision for the first time ever because we needed a break from binging Girls5Eva. Well, consider me a stan. It isn't as weird as I thought it would be - no, it's fucking campy!! It wasn't until I watched it that I realized how starved I've been for good old fashioned camp. Seriously, the new Drag Race queens could learn a thing or two from these folks. I have fallen off a Eurovision cliff, and this month's playlist reflects that. You are welcome!