I'm Diving in...

There is a kid in my 7th grade classed named Pat. This kid is one of the funniest, and yet most frustrating kids in my class. To describe him in this little post would be near impossible. But suffice it to say, he keeps me either entertained or pulling out my hair all day long.

Pat has some "trouble" completing assignments, so everyday I have to initial his planner as insurance for his parents that he has actually written down the correct assignments for the day. Today was certainly no different; unless you count the fact that Pat was particularly wound up. He started in his regular seat, was moved to the back of the room, and was well on his way to his dad's classroom (his dad is the fifth grade teacher across the hall). Sending Pat to his dad's classroom is the equivalent of a prison sentence for the poor kid. So I try only to send him there as a last resort. Anyway, back to the planner. He hadn't turned in his math homework, so I was writing that fact on his planner.

However, while I am in the midst of this Pat begins to run his mouth. Honestly, I don't even remember what he was saying. But I told him that I was going to write on his planner that he was having some attitude problems (I really wasn't going to. I was just bluffing to get him to be quiet.) Except that Pat didn't catch that. He decides to flip out in a way that only Pat Smith can...He starts hyperventilating while half-screaming "noooooooo." He leaps out of his chair and dives across the table in a vain attempt to grab his planner. Not only does he not succeed in wrestling the planner away from me, but he scatters a stack of about 300 papers from where I had placed them a few minutes earlier. He then lands unceremoniously in a heap on the floor at my feet. Yep, that's my student. If it hadn't been so funny I definitely would have sent him to his Dad's room.

There are moments when spending day after day with these kids is worth it. This was one of them. Thanks, Pat.

Reliable?

I must have a sticker on my forehead that says "Cancel on me." I have no idea why, but there are certain individuals in my life who feel free to cancel plans on me whenever they feel like it, at the last minute even. To top it all off, they don't even care that I might have turned down other invitations to go places and do fun things with other people because of said plans. Nope. Makes no difference to them. They apparently couldn't care less that their lack of consideration basically wipes out my day. Thanks guys. Appreciate it.

xlntway

I am an official, one-hundred percent, bonified resident of the state of Nevada. The last DMV paper has been signed, the last of my Illinois identity stripped away. I now have Nevada plates.
Anyone who sees my little green Dodge Spirit will now stare at my bumper and play the game of trying to figure out what my plate means. Let me tell you: "xlntway" translates into "excellent way." In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul says, "And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongue of men and of angels but have not love I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbol. If I have the gift of prophesy and can fathom all mysteries but have not love I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing." If I were to have a "life-verse," that would probably be it.
On the upside, it only cost me 44 dollars to register my car (as opposed to 80 something in Illinois). I thought that it was going to be a lot more...I suppose that is a benefit to having an older model car. The downside to the new plates is that when I make a poor driving choice I can no longer let people think that I am an out-of-towner with my out of state plates. I guess I can't have everything!

Really interesting

I am going to start my new job in 40 days. I am extremely excited..but also pretty nervous. I keep having these invading thoughts that are something to the effect of "you are crazy for taking this job because you'll never be able to do it." I know that it is just Satan attacking me. Add to that the butterflies that come with a new job. I keep reminding myself that last August when I started teaching I knew absolutely nothing about anything. And I have learned along the way, and I have made it. I can learn new things. I can learn new things.

On another note, my Dad and one of my very best friends is coming out to Carson City in about a month. I could not be more excited!!! Whooooo Hoooooo

rollercoaster

This last week has felt like an emotional rollercoaster. Two of my friends ended up in the hospital, I might be changing careers, and there is a boy who wants to go out with me. All in the same week. The expression, "when it rains it pours" comes to mind. Yet oddly enough, it the midst of all of this I have not felt overwhelmed. It is certainly not because of my calm, cool demeanor. My sister will attribute to the fact that I about passed out when I thought Southwest had lost my luggage and I was going to have to go to China with what I was wearing. No, definitely not my calm, cool demeanor. And it is certainly not because these circumstances have not affected me. I have thought of little else this week other than my sick friends, my vocation, and this boy. So, I must come to the conclusion that my state of mind this week has nothing to do with me at all. And I personally think that is fantastic.

Tomlin Mania

Chris Tomlin has a new CD out titled "Arriving," and if I must say....It is completely fabulous. Drop everything, run out right now and buy it. You will not regret it.
And to top it off...Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Casting Crowns are playing in Sacramento, CA in two weeks. I am so there...

Dream maker

Darlene Zschech has a new song out called "Kiss of Heaven" that I love. The chorus of the song goes a little something like this:
My Jesus, dream maker;
My Jesus, life giver.
I'm livin' under the kiss of heaven ,
and I'll never, ever be the same again.
Those words mean a lot to me in this moment. Jesus is the maker of my dreams...all these secret longings I keep locked away in my heart have an Author. Perhaps this relevation will give me the courage to act on some of them. Thanks, Darlene.

the end...

I am sitting here at my desk at MCC for the last time today. I have a box for my computer waiting to be filled, and a camera to capture some last memories on film. It went too fast, and I wish I didn't have to go. sigh.

A day in the port.

So today Lindy, Stephanie and I went to Portsmouth to have some lunch and walk around the downtown area. It was in all respects, a good time. The weather was fantastic, the food was good. The only problem was I was extremely tired. More than usual. I was at that tired point where talking is too much of a task so you just think things in your head and wish that people could hear your thoughts so you didn't have to speak. Anyway, this guy approaches us on the street with a discman and tells us that he wants a moment of our time to promote his band. I was yelling at him in my head saying, "No I don't want to listen to your garage band and put those dirty headphones on my ears! GROSS." But instead, all i did was stare dumbly. Unfortunately at the time, it was about all I could manage. Stephanie finally said that we were in a hurry and couldn't listen to his discman. After we got into the car I promptly fell into one of those tortured sleeps where you have all these crazy dreams where weird things happen to you. So except for the crazy band member and the tortured sleep, I call the afternoon in Portsmouth a success.

ugh

so i have been avoiding something all semester: finishing speech class. I never took speech, and I found myself a senior and in desperate need of those credit hours. so what do i do? I take the proficiency test. I pass the proficiency test.However, you also have to write 2 five minutes speeches and video tape yourself delivering them. Oh joy of all joys. Well, guess what. I haven't done that yet. And I find myself sitting here at my computer thinking: "I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this." I hate writing speeches...why do you think I avoided taking the class? At any rate, I want to graduate in twenty five days more than I abhore writing these ridiculous speeches. So alas, here I go.

Family Fun

Ok, it's been a long while since I have had anything to say. Actually, I check my blog and others often, it is just usually by the time I am done reading everyone else's blogs I have lost the motivation to update my own. Ah well....
Anyway, this last week my Dad was here to visit me in Manchester. I was really thankful that he got to come visit and be here for Easter, and get the opportunity to see where I have been living and working for the last three months. We traveled all around the central Vermont area visiting old family friends and relatives (i'm originally from Vermont). It was a good chance to visit people that I only get to see every few years.
Speaking of my Dad: He's is a gifted engineer and mechanic. He's a real "meat and potatos" kind of guy. He can fix anything, take anything apart and put it back together, he loves to build things. Well, last week I took him to Pickety Place for lunch. Pickety Place is a quaint restaraunt in NH that serves five course gourmet lunches. They grow all their own herbs, everything is made from scratch and is very tastey. So the waitress comes out with our entree and starts to explain what the different herbs on the plate are (they give you several sprigs of different kinds of herbs to season your food to your liking). The waitress leaves and my dad promptly removes all the herbs and says, "I don't eat shrubs." Now despite the fact that my dad is at home knee deep in grease and car oil he also possess a lot of class. So to hear him mumble, "I don't eat shrubs" was a bit of shock. Although a funny one. Only my Dad would associate "shrubs" with gourmet food. Ah, I love my Dad! (by the way, he really did like the food!)

Video Rental Mayhem

Why, why, why do people ever think that going to the video store with a large group of people will ever result in something good? I am here to tell you right now, that it absolutely cannot. Inevitalbly this is what happens: We wander around for a good twenty minutes picking up every video case, reading the back, and saying to one of our many friends in attendance, "hey, how about this one?" When the person says "no, i happen not to like that movie", then the process is repeated with another title from the shelf. This is a vicious cycle...and I beg all of you to help stop it! It is impossible to get in and get out of the video store in less than twenty minutes. Almost no one leaves completely satisfied....and it is just more than I can handle some days. Please people, when you are driving past the video store with a group of people and feel the urge to stop...Just say NO!

Signs of Spring!

It has been a long winter, and I am definately ready for some different weather. Thankfully, today there were some signs of spring! Prepare yourself...I am actually wearing my flip flops and I haven't gotten frostbite on my toes. I hate wearing socks and tennis shoes and only do so when I absolutely have to. So, I must say that my spirits were lifted simply because I could cast away my socks and wear some summer footwear. Sometimes the simple things in life bring the most pleasure.

Bessie

My car's name is Bessie. She is a blue 1989 Subaru GL and has served me faithfully for nearly seven years now. Recently, Bessie and I were in an accident together. It was snowing and I drove through some slush, starting spinning and careened off the road nose down into a ravine/creek. It was not a good day. Thankfully, both Bessie and I escaped with our lives. Needless to say, I now have some serious apprehensions about driving in the snow. Call it fear, call it post-tramautic stress syndrome, call it being a chicken...whatever. Point is, whenever it snows and I know there is a remote possibility that I am going to have to drive somewhere I break out into a cold sweat, my heart pounds and i near the hyperventilating stage. And being as I am now living in New Hampshire it is something I seriously need to get over. Case in point: Last tuesday we got a mini-snow storm. Not really much snow to speak of, but it was snowing fairly heavily on tuesday night. Well, Lindy and Kelly decided it would be great to go sledding. I whole-hearted agree with sledding. There is nothing more American than a bunch of youn'ins outdoors in the snow all decked out in hats and mittens and scarfs. It screams Kodak moment. However, on this particular evening i was going to be required to drive myself to Kelly's house. Cue heart pounding and hyperventilation. However, I was persuaded (more like guilt-tripped) into agreeing to drive over if I took my roommate stephanie along with me. I figured if I was gonna carreen off the road and die, I was absolutely taking someone with me. So, I drove 25 miles an hour on the interstate, white knuckled and tense the whole way...But alas...I made it! Score one for Bessie. So what is the moral of my story? Don't spin off the road and almost kill yourself and you won't be scared to drive in the snow later.

My first blog!

I would like to start by giving a big shout out to Lindy, who finally gave me the shove I needed to enter into the mighty world of blogging. I have been saying for weeks now, "gee i should really start a blog site..." However, it was lindy who finally surprised me by starting the site for me! Thanks lindy!

Just the Beginning

We can change anything you don't like about your new blog. Or, we can have Lucas change anything you don't like about your new blog.

~Lindy