Happy Birthday to Me...

Twenty-eight years have slipped by.

Settled

A settled feeling has finally descended upon me. The boxes are unpacked, new routines have replaced old ones, and survival has give way to thriving. I’ve learned that my idea of change is somewhat unrealistic. It is slow and gradual, not instantaneous as I would have it. Real change, slow change, is lasting though, and so I wait for it like one waits for the gentle, painstaking unfolding of a new flower.

A Lethal Weapon

Yesterday, I learned how to break a rapists arm in one single, surprise move!

Farewell

It is moving day! Rather, it is moving day #2. Yesterday I, along with the much appreciated help of a few others, took some things to the house. Today I will pack up my remaining worldly possessions and make the final transition. It is with mixed emotions that I say farewell to many creature comforts that I have grown so accustomed to.

Farewell to groceries magically appearing in the refrigerator.

Farewell to dad always checking up on my car and servicing it for free in the driveway.

Farewell to elaborate dinners spread before me with no effort on my part.

Farewell to sharing a bathroom with a filthy guy. (It's not that my brother is filthy, it's his habits that are filthy).

Farewell to strange odors thinly masked by incence which test the gag reflexes. (Simply filthy).

Farewell to overhearing a constant Spanish study session by my parents. (I really am proud of them).

Farewell to having someone around to talk to or laugh with most of the time.

Farewell to LOST nights in (my old) town.

Farewell to intense kickboxing with Heather.

Farewell to my workout buddies at the Y.

I have many new things to say hello to that surpass the farewells however:

Hello to choosing what food I will buy and eat.

Hello to new friends and activities.

Hello to my own schedule that doesn't clash with someone else's schedule.

Hello to entertaining friends in my own place.

Hello to talking out loud to myself without anyone evesdropping on the conversation! ;-)

Hello to the satisfaction of budgeting my money and surviving!

Hello to never again explaining why I am still living with my parents. (At least I hope never again).

I'm sure there will be many more things I will say hello to in my new life, but because it is just beginning I have no idea what they are yet! The only things I refuse to say farewell to are my friends and my family. These two treasures I take with me wherever I go.

Montessorian

Now that Scantron testing is finished I have been able to meet and work with my students. I absolutely LOVE planning lessons and materials to teach concepts to my students. I have been having so much fun all week pulling out resources and planning and giving mini lessons! Words cannot describe how satisfying and...fun it is for me. I am meeting with students four days a week in groups of three or four. I have divided my week up with math on Monday, writing on Tuesday, reading on Wednesday, and the remaining math students on Thursday. Friday is my open day. I also teach a computer class on Monday and Wednesday afternoons!

Just for grins I would like to share with you one of the Montessori math materials that are used to concretely teach the abstract concept of multiplication:


This is called the Multiplication Checkerboard. It is used to do short and long multiplication. The first green square on the right is the ones place, the blue square to the left is the tens, the red is the hundreds. The next green is the thousands place, then ten thousands, then hundred thousands. These colors represent the place value system throughout Montessori math. The numbers are placed on the right edge and bottom edge of the board. Numbers are multiplied and bead bars are placed in the appropriate squares. The only rule is that at the end, only one bead bar can be in each square. There is a lot of combining and exchanging, and sometimes sliding. When a student begins to move toward abstraction, the process is recorded in the form we normally see it written out in. This is a little tricky to learn in the first exposure especially if you have already been taught the abstract way. It is quite fun to do though!

December 11

Take note.

Mark it on your calendar.

Besides marking another year in the joyous existence of my btother Dave's life, this is the date that LOST season three will hit the stores. For anyone who missed an episode (or two, or three) this is exciting news. This is also exciting news for any die hard fan (and believe me with the way the show is going we're dying a slow and painful death) who knows the wait for a new episode will stretch on into February! It is a relief to have bonus material to look forward to and the opportunity to search for easter eggs in episodes gone by. So, I will dutifully make my way to Best Buy on December 11th, purchase season 3, and add it to my collection. For all those who wish to revel in secret LOST conspiracy and so ease the pain of prolonged endurance, parties will commence soon thereafter.

Postponed?!

The women’s personal safety class, which I was greatly looking forward to, has been postponed due to lack of enrollment! Lack of enrollment! I find this absurd. I find it so because personal safety is one thing that women should be skilled in, but never invest in until it’s too late. I’ve heard many stories of women who have been battered and raped, and live to tell their stories preaching to women everywhere to be safe. After the ordeal, they do all they can to equip themselves so there will never be a next time. What would a little prevention have done to change the outcome of their situations? Of course I realize that there are situations when a woman does all she can and things still go very wrong, but we may be able to avoid many dangerous situations by simply being alert. It also doesn’t hurt to know a few moves.

My mom received an email some time ago about a woman shopping at the mall who returned to her car to find she had a flat tire. She was approached by a man dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase. He offered to fix her tire and did so. Afterwards, he told her that his car was on the other side of the parking lot and asked if she could give him a ride. She felt a bit obligated after his kindness, but thought this was a little strange and asked how he ended up on the other side of the parking lot. He told her he’d met a friend inside and then exited the wrong door. She then realized that his briefcase had been closed in her trunk. She asked him to wait in the car while she returned for something she had “forgotten”. Inside the mall she found a security guard and returned with him to her car. The man was gone, but looking inside his briefcase they found duct tape and rope!

Thankfully this woman used common sense and paid attention to that little nagging voice inside that warns us of danger!

It still wouldn’t hurt to know some moves!

Home is where...

I have found lodgings in Holland! I will be moving all my worldly possessions after October 4th! I made an incredible contact, which will allow me to live for a few hundred dollars a month for the school year (then I will hopefully move to Detroit for the rest of my Montessori training during the summer). It is a bit sad to leave behind friends, family, and activities I've grown to love here. I embrace this fresh, new season in my life, however, as a new beginning.

To New Beginnings!

A Noch in the Wood

I made it through the second week of school! I'm learning students names, building relationships, and taking lots of Dove chocolate perk-me-up moments!! We began Scantron testing this week. Students must take three tests online: Math, reading, and language arts. We will be finished with the upper elementary on monday, then we will begin with the lower elementary. We should be finished testing the entire elementary in another week and a half! This is not the most exciting part of my job. I am looking forward to when I will actually begin working with small groups and one-on-one, and planning lessons for my students.

I got to meet with all of my students to do an informal get-to-know-you though. I introduced myself, gave them a tour of the room (pointing out my report cards from 4th and 5th grade and my classroom rules), and played a game with them. I learned that one certain group of boys will not work together!

I have a very strong lead on new lodgings in Holland, so we'll have to hold our breaths to see how that will turn out.

Three nights this week were eaten away by meetings and events! I've only been able to go to the gym once this entire week! I can't say I was ignorant about the plethora of exhaustive meetings and extra-curricular activities that are demanded of teachers. It just comes with the territory. Unpaid of course.

Instincts

A free Saturday! The only hitch is that I have to get gas. Grrrrrrrr. Go to the gas station, get it over with. I pull up to the pump and out of the corner of my eye I see a group of guys standing around their truck. As I get out of my car, I try to ignore their stares, grins, and whispered comments. I hold my head up high and strive for the confident, independent look. I purposefully unscrew the gas cap and punch the unleaded button, all the while keenly aware that my every move is being watched. They know I know. They make a few comments to me, nothing obscene, just obnoxiously trying to engage me in conversation. I pretend not to hear. It’s best not to encourage this sort. I finish putting in my measly twenty dollars, and round the car under their careful scrutiny. I grab the door handle and it surprisingly snaps back into place unopened. “Crap!” This has not gone unnoticed in the play-by-play observation of my behavior by the guys and a delighted groan goes up from the group. My instincts, at noticing the group of excited men next to me, caused me to unconsciously lock my door as I shut it behind me with my keys and phone inside. I have no choice now but to turn around, acknowledge them, and ask to borrow a cell phone. One of the dudes asks me if I thought they looked like thugs or something. Gol, I hate being transparent! Of course I deny that and continue on with my confident, un-intimidated charade. Thankfully, I recognize someone else at the station who can give me a ride home. I end up waiting close to an hour, blocking the pump, for AAA to come unlock my car.
My new motto will be: Vigilant, yet calm. I can’t let my well-meant instincts to get me into trouble and embarrassment. I am, however, taking a women’s personal safety course later on this month. It has been something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time, and, obviously, something I need to do very badly.

The Last Frontier

We made it back from our week cruise in Alaska last Thursday! We had a fabulous time. I mostly spent time in the spa, in the hot tub and sauna, ate food, and looked for adventure on land. I also met a handsome, amazing man on board the ship whose identity must remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of his job! (How's that for a little mystery?!) Unclassified details of the cruise will now follow in the form of pictoral narration:

I am aboard the Carnival Spirit with a breathtaking view of Alaska behind me:

This is what our ship looked like in port:

Here we are striking it rich in Juneau. Panning for gold is painstaking and addictive (rollin', rollin' at the river!):

In port, the rugged Alaskan terrain brought out the raw adventurer in us:

Time on the ship was spent doing a variety of things like towel folding!! This is a dog:

Even a big ship like us had to be careful of Pirates!:

New

For those of you who do not yet know (thanks to my mother that leaves mighty few of you), I got a job teaching in Holland! I'm not a full fledged teacher thanks to the over abundance of candidates and scarcity of available positions, but there is room for growth and I have my foot in the door of my choice school! I will be working with struggling students many who qualify for special education. There is a high school and an elementary. I will work with the 4th/5th graders. Here is a picture of the main building and high school:

I will be working in a smaller building wich houses the upper elementary:



I have also been cruising around in a new car which, we (Katie, Mary, and I) have named Summer Girl (as an ode to our summer days together):



Of course when anything new comes about, there is always a death of the old. That is why change is so difficult. My life is changing, has been changing for some time. I am in transition, which is at times depressing. I am missing a lot:

I miss Barak, he was my friend
I miss my girls, whom I have 4 days left with
I miss my cousin
I miss my band, and singing, and leading worship (at times)
I miss having friends I can call up at any time, they are all gone
I miss having a hopeful picture of my future
I miss believing good things will always happen to me
I miss my dreams and expectations, they are shattered

The hardest thing is moving forward.

A Funeral, and a Resurrection

For the sake of old times, a subtle pang for nostalgia, a hint in the breeze of simpler, more carefree times, I have decided to post. While I doubt that there is anyone out there anymore, or anyone who cares, I do it for the sole purpose that I Can. I am learning again how to do things because I simply want, to for pure enjoyment, rather than Should...Have to. I emerge from the confining restriction of the college cocoon to find I am no longer the same person. It has not been without struggle or price.

I have stepped down from leading worship. It was a hard decision, but a necessary one. I found myself doing it mindlessly, dronelike. It was simply expected. I also find myself looking ahead to my future and realizing my need to re-prioritize. I have severely neglected my Self in the past year and I suffer daily in mind and spirit because of it.

I have been busier since graduating than before! I have been preparing for interviews, creating a portfolio, working and re-working my resume, writing cover letters, organizing, purchasing materials and things I need (I was unable to shop during my last semester, for anything...except gas). I did have one initial interview, which will hopefully result in a second one for a school in Holland.

Charlie is dead. He drown, dying a hero's death. I really liked Charlie. I didn't want him to die. We now have a long wait, until February, for LOST to return. There will be three more seasons, 48 episodes, 16 episodes each season, and every mystery will be revealed. Finally. I won't know what to look forward to after that. My new favorite website is www.stationzer0.com. It has really great easter eggs from episodes, theories, and is easy to comment on. I visit it at least once a week for LOST info.

Alvar Hanso Exposed!

Here is some shocking insider knowledge of the Dharma Initiative revealed by Alvar Hanso himself!

Hanso Exposed

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A Blogger's Rules

I have been blogging for some time now and, while I’m no expert, I have learned a few things along the way. I have compiled what I have learned from my experience, and also from reading other various blogs, into a list of what I think are some good rules of blogging, which I try to follow.

Variety- A good blog is one that offers variety to its readers. Let’s face it; people will be much more interested in your blog if you aren’t always talking about the same thing in every post (particularly yourself). The style of posts can also be varied for effect.

95% Lighthearted- Most people can’t handle very much to think about at one time. Especially while reading a post. People like to read about something that is entertaining, not something that makes them think. It is important to make people think, however, so I reserve about 5% of my blogging to do so. If you are going to write something heavy, try to keep it short.

Randomness=Ratings- Generally, the more random the post, the more comments it gets. People love random because they don’t really have to think about it. Random is more entertaining and…lighthearted. It’s also usually funny and people like funny.

Create Community- This is one of the most important aspects of blogging. Blogging is about the readers not the author. If you can create a place that people love to visit, are entertained, and feel valued, they will keep coming back. And they will become valuable contributors to your blog making it much more than you ever could by yourself.

Frequency- The best way to lose readers is to rarely make posts and then do so sporadically. Even if your schedule is incredibly busy, you can still find time to make one post a week. I have posted one liners before while in the grip of finals! If you have to, start a post in Word and work on it whenever you can. Your readers will be grateful.

Length- Another big turn off are extremely lengthy posts usually made to make up for infrequency. It is better to make frequent short posts than long novellas posted few and far between .

Add Ons- Add Ons are like hidden treasure! Shout boxes, links to interesting websites, links to other bloggers (community) are invaluable to a good blog.

Wit and Sarcasm- While writing a post these two things will make the most boring detail sound interesting and funny. Ultimately, if you find what you are writing about interesting and write about it in an interesting way, others will be interested too. No one has a perspective quite like yours, so let them have it!

Pictures- Pictures connect the reader to you and what you are saying. Pictures are like windows into the mind and life of the author. This aspect of blogging should not be underestimated. I also like having a separate picture blog so that my readers can get to know me better.

Integrity- Most importantly your blog should be a true expression of yourself. Find what you love, what you find interesting, and share it with others. Whatever you blog should also be your own creation unless you properly cite who you are borrowing from. Borrowing should probably be kept down to 5% too.