Thursday, August 15, 2013

Feelings of Weirdness Today


{Sigh.}
So. It’s August 15. Just about every kid in the Kansas City area is heading back to school this week. The teachers have been prepping their rooms, going to Professional Development meetings, getting ready for another year.
 
It’s weird.
 
I’ve been trying to figure out how I feel about it. I met with some teacher pals earlier this week, and got the scoop on how their “back to school” is going. It didn’t make me sad. I just feel…weird.

 As an English teacher person, I know that “weird” is a terrible adjective to describe how I’m feeling. But I can’t quite put my finger on these emotions. I’m not sad; I’m not disappointed or dejected; I’m not even really longing to be back. I still feel like I made the best decision for me. It just doesn’t quite feel right to hit the middle of August and not be back at school. I mean, I’ve been back in a classroom every August for the past 24 years. (How crazy is that?)

Anyway, I wish all of my former colleagues a great first day back with kiddos today. It’s exciting, it’s a little nerve-wracking, and it’s a LOT of work. I know you guys will have a spectacular year!

On a side note, I received my last paycheck from the school district today. YIKES. The anxiety levels are creepin’ up, day by day… Also, did you know that I can spend twenty freaking dollars at CVS and only come out with a package of razors and a pack of gum? Daylight robbery, Gillette Venus razors. Daylight robbery.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Weekly Recap (Don't Worry, I Made A List)

{Well, hello}
Happy Friday! Does anyone else love (like, love love lurrrrve) making lists? I am a fanatical list-maker. I make grocery/Target lists, I make “TO DO” lists, I make lists of things I’m thinking. There is something satisfying about writing things down and then crossing those tasks off the list. It’s a visual accomplishment, you know, for buying Diet Coke. (Also, does anyone else group their grocery lists by either food group or store aisle? No? Just me, being all OCD? Okay, then.)

In honor of the end of the week, I thought I’d make a list of what I accomplished. (Some of these, I would cross off with gusto, with a metaphorical fist pump and a “YESSSSS!”. Some, not so much.) So, in no particular order (because I’m trying to relax and let some of that ODC go), here we go:

I got a much-needed pedicure. However, it was not as relaxing as I had hoped. The girl pummeled my calves, arches and toes while grinning at me and nodding, like, “you’re okay that I am beating your legs to a pulp?” And I just sat there, kind of tensing the rest of my body, unsure of how to reply. So I smiled uncomfortably and braced myself on the chair, thinking, “she knows what she is doing, right?” And then I limped on outta there. My toes look spectacular though.
 
I ate cereal for dinner three nights in a row. (I’ve rediscovered Apple Cinnamon Cheerios.)
 
I ate a box of Dots.
 
I ate a pint (yeah, not a scoop…a pint) of Daiquiri Ice sherbet from BR. (My teeth throbbed.)

*Sidenote—I ate both the Dots and sherbet on the same day. Not my proudest moment, but it was pretty delish. #worthit

I discovered that the word “sherbet” only has one “r” in it. (Am I the only one who has been pronouncing it “sher-BERT” for the past 29 years?! Is that wrong? What the heck.)
 
I bought my first pair of Converse. I love them. (I’m such a hipstery-hipster  now. My brother is probably groaning as he reads this and immediately throwing his pairs away.)
 
I applied for three jobs. (THREE!)
 
I obsessively wrote notes and made lists about these three jobs.
 
I researched how teaching relates to marketing (and I made more lists).
 
I worried a lot about the job sitch.
 
I went to the pool. (It helps ease my worries.)
 
I did NOT have my weekly tennis lesson. Kinda bummed on that one.
 
I celebrated my friend’s birthday with cocktails last night. Happy bday, Sarah! You know it was a good one because, holy hangover today.
 
I discovered The Vineyard on ABC Family. It’s pretty terrible and really hard to watch. (Yet after watching the second awful episode, I went back and watched the equally horrible premier episode as well…hmmm…what does this say about my level of television intelligence?)
 
I read my second David Sedaris book, Me Talk Pretty Someday. I read Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim earlier this summer. I like him. He's entertaining. (I’ve been on a memoir kick this summer. I reread The Glass Castle and decided that real life can be just as entertaining as fiction, but mostly only if your parents are NUTS.)
 
I vacuumed my house three times. (Holy cat hair, Rascal. Quit shedding.)
 
I did MULTIPLE posts on the ol’ bloggy-blog. Yee-haw!
 
 
Not a terrible week. Here’s hoping the weekend is even better, and I get a few interviews in the near future—any crossed fingers or positive thinking you care to mentally shoot through the atmosphere (or blogishphere?) and send my way are much appreciated!