Sunday, August 28, 2011

Fall 2011 prospective schedule








It is still missing dance tutorial practice times or dance class times and meet up times for the Spanish TA tutorial and I am revising my work schedule but this is basically and specifically what my week will look like and in what city I will be in for the next 3 months.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

A sense of.....

I may not be able to beat the world record for being able to hold my breath the longest or by creating the biggest cookie but I can say that I currently* hold the record for fastest track time at the People at Play abridged course, hucked a rainboot the farthest in the women's division at a casual work picnic, and was reigning Pinewood Derby champion in 1996. Each of these ridiculous accomplishments will stand out in my mind the most as the greater achievements in my life (along with eating an entire half gallon of ice cream in one sitting), more so than winning any paper certificates for great efforts in science, math, or reading in high school and more so than becoming volunteer of the month at the local science museum. Who can say with pride that they are able to toss a boot pretty far? Who can say that they know how to operate an Excavator adequately well enough to ring a large tire around a post, bowl a spare using a sideswiping motion with the bucket, fill up two buckets with dirt, lightly knock a soccer ball into the bucket using the teeth of the machine and then slowly slide the ball into another bin, and knock tennis balls off of orange traffic cones? Who can say that they built a super fast Pinewood Derby car (and painted it sparkly red) and beat out all the boys when they were only 6 years old? To me these are immense achievements and I am very proud to say that I can and have done these things.

Back story:

Today I went with several of the G.WIZ! Summer camp staff to the People at Play in Bradenton and learned how to operate an Excavator, utilizing both its brute strength and finesse to complete an obstacle course in record time. It was super fun! We had to wear hard hats (pink!) and safety vests (orange!). 7 of us total. It was definitely worth waking up at 7am on a Saturday. An experience of a lifetime, I highly recommend it, although the price might not be up your alley (upwards of $300?).

Cool story written by my daddy
(cool because it's about me, etc)



100yrs ago, Rachel had her first pinewood derby contest.  She had seen the event when her sister D'ariel had done it and she told me she wanted to "win the big trophy".  I can't remember exactly what I said, but I did try and downplay her expectations a bit.  I had explained that you can either make a fast car or a car that looked cool and could win a prize that way (D'ariel had won a prize for the way her car looked).  Since the "big trophy" was the fastest car she naturally wanted to make a fast car.  I knew there were some serious families competing (multi-sibling winners, etc)(a couple of Dad's even build there own racetrack to perfect the car prior to race day)(the Dad's actually had their own race with cars they had made after the kids were all done).  Anyway the car turned out relatively blah looking and I didn't hold out much hope for speed (D'ariel's car didn't even make it across the finish line - it stopped part way down the flat part of the track)(and they re-ran it several times to see if her car just had a fluke run - nope it never crossed the finish line!).

So Rachel wins her first heat.  And then keeps winning and - you guessed it - she ended up being the fastest car in the room.  Beat out about 100 other cars and won the big trophy!  I was shocked.  Rachel, age 6 or 7, took it all in stride.  When all these other kids came up to congratulate her she always said, "Thanks.  And you did well too."  When the Dad's came up and asked her how she did it, she replied, "we asked for a fast block of wood" (which was actually true when we bought our kit) ...
When life bogs you down, blog it up!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

mini classes tomorrow

I'm so excited to be back in the swing of school yet today as I sat in Ham sipping on some OJ I felt estranged. So many first years that are so far from the place that I watch them from.

Quote of the day

"when you have to make a hard decision, flip a coin. Why? Because when that coin is in the air... You suddenly know what you're hoping for"

Thursday, August 11, 2011

I wish I could read minds so that I could tell if homeless people are lying when they ask for money for various specific things. Also, a note on hobos, according to a kid at my camp they are "cannibals." Another kid's response to that was that "no, they are homeless men." The complete ignorance of children ftw.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

7/30

The day we met. Before I forget details I should probably document so I can look back and go "aw." It was a Friday. I had a hard week, working 40+ hours in just 5 days (like a regular person!). I had gone on a date every single evening and it had taken its toll on my morale, especially since the first date ended in a nasty letter and the second date ended in awkward uncomfortability. Scratched off both. At work on Friday I had given Mr. H my number to give to his friend because I had decided to just plug ahead and keep going, however I had promised Pat that we would hang out Friday night after he got off work and I was determined to keep this date (he was the guy who I had canceled on several times because I was exclusively dating someone else before and once I was too tired to make the drive). I didn't have to go into work-second job- on Friday because the manager had let me not come in because I told her I was worn out and needed a break. I ended up staying at the camp until 7:30 or so helping with the Harry Potter special event, basically I helped dissect squids (yay!). I had to leave to give me enough time to shower and get ready for my date but ended up hanging out with Nicole for an hour or so before going home. She wanted to hang out with me and got very sad when I told her I already had plans that unfortunately didn't include her. I then tried to back out of my date with Pat so I could keep Nicole company and not let her get depressed. She turned her mood around and insisted that I continue with my date as planned because "this could be the one." My new philosophy with all these dates is "F it, I'll just go" so I showered and got ready for my date and drove the 50 minutes out to Clearwater to meet him.

First impression: well, he only had one picture available and it was a close up shot of his face and he had on sunglasses so it wasn't quite representative at all. He had a pleasant face and almost no hair (on his head and on his face) which always surprises me in a guy (plus in his pic he had some chin hair). He had a very calm/pleasant aura, like a natural way about him. He asked if I wanted to go to the beach or sit and talk by the pool. I opted for pool because driving makes me nervous with new people. He lives in an apartment complex with a beautiful pool with a little path and sitting area right over a lake with couches and chairs, which is were we sat to talk. I took a chair so we wouldn't have that awkward "how close do we sit together on a couch" moment. We talked about all sorts of things and I got a very good impression of who he was by his casual nature and how collected he was, in his mannerisms, gestures, and life history. He made me feel almost completely at ease, except for the "breaking the first physical barrier" moment that always happens with new relationships. Eventually I went over and sat next to him on the couch to get more comfortable physically. My arm touched his but ever so slightly. The night wore on and I started to worry about the 50 minute drive home. Suddenly we were holding hands, but not for long because I wanted to sensually explore and ended up feeling the lines in his hands, his fine arm-hair, and long fingers. I felt like I had known him longer than I actually had. I was very tired and started saying random almost delusional things because it was past 2 in the morning. I wanted to cuddle up next to him and sleep, to feel protected and comfortable. I mentioned being so comfortable, with him, that I could sleep right on that couch outside. Long story short he invited me to not fall asleep driving and sleep over, no funny business, so I did.

I feel this natural connection with Pat that I had not felt with most all my other dates this summer. There is no trepidation that I'll find out some secret or unworkable trait or life style characteristic, only excitement to learn everything and spend every waking and non-waking moment with him. The only thing I'm missing now is the seal of facebook officiality.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Soft Contrast


 Darkened creases
Signify pleasures of the past
Or fantasies of the future.

As long as I am stroking the lines
Connecting you and me
Our presents collide.

Instantaneous connection
Lips, heart, and soul
I had been Urging for the feeling.