A Fashion Show

What with all my free time, I thought I'd spend a couple hours looking around online for teacher-appropriate clothing that fits my style. It's pretty hard, but I think I've made a big step in rediscovering the Anthropologie website. Here are my favorite items, for your perusal:

"Oh my ears and wiskers..."

"... how late it's getting!" the White Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland

I can't believe this winter break (my last as a student) is almost over. Two-thirds, to be specific. I will be back in NC, preparing for my last semester of college and my next two years as a Teach For America teacher, and getting ready for a week of sorority recruitment, in exactly one week. This may be the last time I'm in Seattle until next winter. It is probably the last time I'll ever be in Seattle for more than one or two weeks.

The break feels as if it's coming to an end. The aunt/uncle/cousins contingent has moved into their new home, so the house is significantly quieter and emptier. I am quickly growing sick of my high school friends. I miss my apartment. I miss having a purpose.

I'm still okay with being able to sleep whenever I want to, though.

Lazy lazy day

Popular Kid

In high school, everyone knew your name - even if you didn't know theirs. In fact, your still skating by on your looks and charm. Nothing wrong with that!

Who Were You In High School?

Is it strange that the thing that sticks out the most in that answer is that it should be "you're still skating by" instead of "your," grammatically?

I guess it's somewhat true, although I like to think I am also intelligent, witty and a good person. Teehee! And I wasn't like the girls in Mean Girls. Just to clarify.

Anyway, nothing big to report today. I think I'm going to go do crosswork puzzles on the elliptical machine for awhile, then maybe read The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson. Have I mentioned that I love being on a break?

Gurgle gurgle.

I think I'm becoming lactose intolerant. I won't go into the details (well, any more than I did in the post title) because I don't want to be grossing anyone out, but it's not pretty. I need to just come to terms with it and stop eating dairy products but it's hard since I don't like soy milk and I love lattes. I guess it's just coffee from here on out. Sigh.

In other news, I CANNOT WAIT to find out my T.F.A. regional assignment. I really really really want to know because then I can start obsessively researching that area for apartment locations and all kinds of other sweet stuff.

For my final brief update, I have 88% decided to sell my car in the next 6 months and use the money as a downpayment for a used Subaru Forester. Okay, maybe longer than 6 months because I need to be working and have an income for the payments, but as soon as possible. This is because my car (a 1998 VW Jetta) is just not that safe. It doesn't have anti-lock breaks and doesn't drive very well in bad weather. I'm kind of nervous about the concept of car payments, but I'm thinking I'll be okay if I take as much of the amount of the payments out of my rent budget. However, that will depend on where I live. ARGH!

So basically my life is at a standstill until January 5th.

Merry Christmas!

I'm off to bring in Christmas at a candlelight service at First United Methodist here in Seattle. I wish you all happy holidays no matter what you celebrate or don't celebrate!

Like a sponge.

Ever since I learned I was accepted into TFA, I have been reading like crazy. I spent most of today searching online for information about teaching, reviewing a couple of blogs by corps members and reading books I've recently bought in a mad quest for as much information as possible (in typical me style).

I finished Wendy Kopp's One Day, All Children... about the beginnings of Teach For America (cover is shown below in the photo-filled shopping post). I really enjoyed reading it. It put the program in an entirely new perspective for me, but one I can related to from my own programming and development experience (obviously not on the same scale though). I'm even more inspired now!

Also, I changed my web browser homepage from my university's homepage to the T.F.A. homepage and watched the recruiting video for what I think is the 4th time. Obviously I am obsessed.

Finally, I started a notebook full of jotted ideas for teaching and my classroom and everything ever that I pick up and don't want to forget. So far I have 4 pages front and back of notes. I wish I knew my region, at least, so that I can start obsessively researching that area as well, but I suppose it's probably good that I don't so that I get some sleep/ free time in during this last big break.

Next, I'll be starting on that classroom management book I mentioned in that earlier post, Setting Limits in the Classroom. For a cool kid, I'm a pretty big nerd!

Gooooooal!

You're Brazil!

You're athletic, charming, and probably a good dancer.
 Unfortunately, you don't really mind chopping down the rain forest, and you probably
consider homeless people expendable in certain circumstances.  Of course, your
personality is so diverse that it's hard to track down exactly what you're like.  You
definitely like Pele, the World Cup, and shouting "gooooal" at the
top of your lungs.


Take the Country Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid

Retail Therapy

Started off the day in a tiff at my mother. As a result, I spend the rest of the day in a shopping frenzy all over the city of Seattle, starting in Pioneer Square:

Stop 1. Elliott Bay Book Company. Purchased two books on teaching/ education:



Trekked from Pioneer Square to the Ave in the U District.

Stop 2. University of Washington Bookstore.
Purchased one book on teaching:


Stop 3. American Apparel.
Purchased two shirts (same style, different colors), and a shirtdress:



Stop 4. Pitaya.
Purchased a Victorian-style lacy shirt, a rockstar black leather studded bag and a pretty necklace (couldn't find pics, sorry)

Ran through the Anthropologie at UVillage, didn't find anything, then came back home to read and chill. Now, all my high school friends are coming over to make dinner and hang out for awhile. Hopefully the day will end better than it started, it's looking good right now!

Hoorah!

Good news! I have officially been offered a place in the 2006 Teach For America corps! I am very excited, and am eagerly awaiting January 5th when I get my regional assignment and tentative grade level, as well as the information about the institute and everything else that should be coming shortly after that. I can't believe that's just two weeks and a day away! It's also the day before I go back to school. My how time rushes by.

Close to perfect

Right this moment, I am happy.

It's still relatively early, and my uncle got up to take one of my cousins to the airport really early, so everyone else in the house is still asleep. I brought my laptop into the living room, where one of the cats is curled on the big blue chair. I turned on the fire, and am now curled up in a warm fleece blanket on the loveseat, about to settle to reading a book and maybe taking a nap (I also got up early this morning to drive my mom to work). The Christmas tree we bought yesterday is up across the room, but hasn't been decorated yet. I find out in a few hours if I'm in Teach For America.

This morning is all anticipation of great things to come: family all around, decorating the tree, a couple more weeks of relaxation, and my future. This morning is close to perfect.

I forgot to mention!

Tomorrow I find out if I've been accepted to Teach For America. Keep your fingers crossed!

Making the grade

I finally got all my grades. Well, except for pilates, but that's pass/fail and I know I passed so it doesn't really matter (although, it's always nice to see that final P on the page). My GPA for the semester is a solid 3.75 made up of two A's, one A- and one B+, so I'm happy with that.

I'm a little frustrated, however, because it only improved my overall GPA by 0.02, from a 3.44 to a 3.46. I also determined that even if I get all A's next semester, the highest GPA I can graduate with is a 3.52. I don't really know what I was expecting, and obviously that's a great GPA. I guess it's more of a reaction to the knowledge that college is pretty much over and there's not much that can change anymore. Weird.

In other news, I'm going out with the fam to get a Christmas tree today. Pretty exciting, since we haven't had a tree at all, much less a live tree for years! Hoorah!

And now, our math lesson for the day

me + extreme boredom + cell phone + a dash of booze = lots of poor decisions regarding guys I used to date

Some Friends

Really really annoyed right now because one of my friends totally backed out on going to this show tonight that I really wanted to go to. I am not going by myself. Not because I can't go to shows by myself (totally untrue, I've done it before), but because I don't want to be walking around bars in the city at night alone. That's just sketchy and marginally unsafe. ARRRRGH! Way to add on to an already terrible day.

Now trying to motivate myself to get dressed up and go to the ex's cocktail party even though I don't really want to. At least there'll be free booze.

Time keeps on slippin'

So far today I have:

- wandered aimlessly around my house
- rummaged up some breakfast
- twice tried to eat dairy products (yogurt and string cheese) only to have them taste moldy even though that's not possible for either of them
- made tea
- watched Sesame Street
- played coloring games online
- defrosted frozen guacamole
- made scones

Basically it's been an ideal day spent rotating between doing absolutely nothing, baking and playing with a 4-year-old. One of those days where spending 30 minutes scooping up beans and pouring them into a bowl over and over and over again isn't boring.

I love winter break.

Also: it would be sweet if my professors would just suck it up and post their grades so I can stop checking the website every 10 minutes. Is that too much to ask?

Home at last

Finally made it through everything, including the longest state-state flight ever, and am home again. The kiddo (my cousin's son who is 4) is very very cute and crazy, genius-type smart.

I'm sure I'll have more stories later. Maybe like the one where my ex who picked me up at the airport brought me flowers....

But for now, just gotta enjoy doing nothing.

Schweeeet!

Well, I'm still not feeling so hot. I spent all day working on my last silkscreen without the benefit of cold medicine, but I really like it so far. I'm basically finished, with only one color left to do. The stencil is currently drying on my screen and I'm planning on going in in the morning to print my last color. Yay!

Then, I will be returning to my apartment to watch TV, finish my mini education assignments and eventually packing! I am excited for tomorrow. Then, on Wednesday I am getting my hair straightened (chemically) and trimmed, turning in my final silkscreen portfolio and heading off to the airport for my 11 hour trip to Seattle.

Yes, you read correctly: 11 hours. To get from NC to Seattle. Through Dallas. With a 3 hour layover. Not cool. But I'm not going to let that get me down right now! I love being practically done with the semester!

Might as well...

Now that the hangover haze has lifted and left me feeling ill only because I have a cold, I guess I might as well get at least a little bit of schoolwork done.

Things I Still Have To Do By Wednesday:

1. Design and print last silkscreen project
   
2. Education research proposal
   
3. A couple other short education assignments
   
4. Pack
   

Since it's now manageable and I don't have anything else to do, I've fallen back into my procrastination trap. But never fear! I am resolved to get at least my silkscreen design done this evening. How's that for some motivation?

Iffy on the Meds

I'm not a big medicine taker. I usually don't take pain medicine unless I really really need it (I think a reaction to overusing it when I played high school soccer for a coach who dropped you down a team if you missed practices or games due to injury). I rarely make use of cold medicine. I just prefer not to take medication if I can get away with it.

Today, however, I took some Aleve Cold & Sinus (the 12 hour variety) so that I could leave my apartment to make those nametags I mentioned earlier. It definitely took the edge off my sore throat and headache enough for me to enjoy three hours of basketball watching and nametagging fun, but now I'm back home. The edge is still gone, but everything is still sore and achy, and I'm still congested and wah!

Sorry, I just needed to complain for a second. I'm gonna go lie down and watch tv/ read/ nap for awhile. Hopefully that will help because I'm supposed to be going out tonight. We'll see.

Pathetic heap

I am sick. I am mad that I am sick because classes are finally over and I have very little left to do before I go home on Wednesday for a three week break. I would love to go out partying with my friends, but I see that slipping away as my sore throat and headache get stronger.

And, this time I'm not even sick because I've been stressed out, or at least not primarily. This time I'm sick because I spend three days a week caring for a kindergartener who is spreading his sick-germs around me. Argh.

On the upside, I'm going over to hang with some of my sorority sisters and make nametags for recruitment in a little. That may not sound like fun to you, but if you knew my sorority sister's you'd think otherwise!

Stagnating

I am in that terrible end of semester anti-productive mood. Actually, it tends to happen around midterms as well. Really anytime I have a lot of stuff building up that needs to be done.

Basically, I am currently mentally denying the fact that I have work to do and instead of working on one of the myriad of upcoming projects (including homework that is theoretically due this afternoon but I've decided to ignore completely), I am sitting on the sofa, updating my blog, watching Martha and considering what to eat.

Why does this happen?

The Halfway(ish) Point

My oh my, I can't believe it is T-3 days until the end of my last fall semester in college! Classes end on Friday, I don't have any finals, my last portfolio is due the next Wednesday and as soon as the critique is over I am on a plane to Seattle for three weeks of rest and relaxation (ok, that is probably a pipe dream due to the aforementioned large quanitity of crazy in my house at the moment).

Following those three weeks I will return to North Cackalacky (as we fondly call it) for sorority recruitment (also known as a week of singing, clapping and smiling at freshmen), then my LAST SEMESTER AS A COLLEGE STUDENT! EVER!

Oh dear God.

Golly

Things I Have Due/ To Do Over the Next 1.5 Weeks (Updated):

1. Silkscreen project (due Wednesday)
   
2. Educational Psychology final exam (on Wednesday)
   
3. Interviewing candidates for orientation leader positions
   
4. Meeting with a dean in the dean of students office to talk about a program I put on that she wants to be involved with in the future (moved to this Thursday)
   
5. Performance test in ballet
   
6. Teach for America day long interview
   
7. Attend and write description of ballet performance
   
8. Sorority semiformal
   
9. Appointment with advisor of next semester's Independent Project (this week)
   
10. Final Photography portfolio (due Monday, Dec 5)
    
11. Ballet journal (due Tuesday, Dec 6)
    
12. Final Silkscreen portfolio including the completion of my first project, the already completed second project, my third project (see item 1), and a yet-to-be-thought-about fourth project (due Wednesday, Dec 14)
    
13. Write research proposal for hypothetical education research project
    
14. Read Failing at Fairness
    
15. Write an analysis of gender bias in schools

Yeesh. Making progress, but not quite to the end yet. However, I did manage to find the time to put up festive Christmas lights around my huge windows in my apartment and clean extensively (except for the "study," which is a pit of papers, books and other random crap), so my apartment is very nice and soothing and welcoming right now. Thank gosh, because everything else around here is stressing me out.

Yeesh.

My blog hasn't let me post the last couple time I try but I have big hopes for today.

Well, not that big, since I just finished my Teach For America interview (9am unitl 2:10pm) and am too exhausted for anything clever or witty. I think the interview went really well though. I can't think of anything I would change if I had the opportunity. Yay! Now I just need to finish this semester and wait until I hear on the 20th if I'm in or not! That I can do.