Confession

I have a problem.


I am obsessed with books. 


It's a good thing that I have a Kindle so I can feed my obsession at minimal cost, aka none. The free collections are my saving grace. Admittedly, some of the promotional items lack literary value, but many are quite good and make for great, quick escape reads. And the classics? Well, those are my joy anyways! 


I binged again today. "Bought" more books. 


I have over 100 books on my Kindle by now, and I'm sure at least half have not been read. But that's okay. They'll get read eventually. Until then, I will keep splurging on Amazon Kindle books every few times a month. 


Books are good for you. 


Read them.


Binge wisely. 


:)

National Family Day

Apparently, today is National Family Day. I like that... I have a pretty awesome family, you see. My mom emailed me and helped make my day better, after a tougher weekend. I live with my wonderful grandparents, and it's sort of awesome how much fun we have together. I'm not around quite as much these days, but its still great when we're all together. My great brother Chad took time from his jam-packed day to troubleshoot my "check engine" light, and Michelle fed me yummy waffles. I love visiting them and seeing Carson and Brooklyn! (I'm really good at putting Brooklyn to sleep, too.) If I look back at last month, I had a wonderful time living with Alex, Megan, Ethan, and Natalie while I finished my Provo stint. I miss playing with my kiddos down in Springville! And Mark is just plain awesome. I loved walking around campus with him as I passed the college baton. (He also saw my printed thesis the other day... I haven't even done that yet!! Take a picture please, mom?) Yeah, I've got a pretty great family. Lest my dad think he's not remembered, well, that's just silly. He sends me great thoughts and quotes at those times when I particularly seem to need them. And Elder Jeff keeps up on my life so well for being focused on his mission! He's so positive and I love getting to email with him on Saturdays. There's many more family members who have touched me lately, but I do have to end somewhere and my contacts are starting to adhere to my eyeballs. So I'm out for now. You can look at this pretty picture I played with today. 


PS. The news also said that great teaching is the supreme act of great leadership. As a new teacher, that either makes me feel really awesome, or really apprehensive of all the responsibility. We'll go with the first until I figure it out  :) 

Castle, Lisbon, Portugal

Mirrors

Ever look in the mirror and not really recognize the person looking back? As if you're looking at someone almost you, but not quite? I had that tonight. I'm not sure who was looking back at me... I even took off my glasses to see if that made the difference. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I was ready for bed 3 hours ago, but myself and I looked different from each other, and one almost looked . . . grown up. Hm. Well, grown up or not, a bunch of little kids await me tomorrow so I best hit the sack. Me or whoever is currently inhabiting me, that is. 

Good news minute

Remember, friends, I'm not in Provo anymore. That means this good news minute has nothing to do with engagements, dating, or exams. It has to do with my ...

new job!!

That's right, I'm now a first grade teacher at Challenger School in Salt Lake City. Technically, I'm not a "teacher" yet, but by the end of the month I will be taking over my class of 27-28 students. The school is pretty rigorous, so I don't have much (read: any) latitude in decorating my classroom. Campuses are in California, Utah, Nevada, and maybe another state, and they want uniformity for the students. So, if you go to a 1st grade class in California, then transfer to mine, it will look the same. I didn't become a teacher to decorate, though, so that's not a big deal to me. 

Why did I become an elementary school teacher?? That's a good question, and I'm not sure I have the answer. Obviously, I needed a job. And I have experience teaching, albeit at the college level. And I quite enjoy teaching, on a personal level. If I could make the bookoo bucks at any occupation, I would teach college. If I had desired to teach elementary students, I would have majored in that. For whatever reason I'm unsure of, I felt like teaching was the right step for me to take. I surely prayed, fasted, and attended the temple enough that I trust  the Lord helped me find this position. Whatever happens, I feel like I can make a small difference in the lives of these children. I know they will make a difference in mine, if only to train me how to handle young children! I also get the benefit of being able to continue pursuing my hobbies of dancing and traveling. 

The Lord works in mysterious ways. I don't usually understand the why until long afterwards, if it even comes then. But I do know it is worth it. Now I can focus all my prayers on some unsuspecting young man....... that might take a bit longer than finding a job did!!

Poetry

Poetry on Prezi

Wish me luck.

I am teaching ridiculously smart 1st graders tomorrow. 

Most first graders are just learning how to read. 

I am assured that these students can read quite well. 

Even a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. 

I just hope I make a good connection with this poem

And how to use patterns to learn about writing. 

Really, wish me luck. 

I'm scared that I'll fail. 

And part of me might be afraid to succeed? 

Liter-at-ure, Litrachur, Littachur

I have never considered myself to be a big quoter. Take movies, for example. Sure, I watch movies and pick up on the funny lines in them. But very rarely do I use movie lines in my general conversations with people; nor do my general conversations trigger thoughts of movies in my mind. I'm even worse with song lyrics because half the time I don't know what the lyrics really say. I listen to the music of the music, not the words of it, generally. But books... well after today I think that I just may be something of a word nerd. 


I had a few instances today where various short phrases triggered thoughts of different literary works in my mind. (Of course, I got interrupted between the time I started blogging and the time I got to these examples, so I only remember the most recent one.) For some reason, I thought that bar exam results were announced today. My brother took the bar exam, so it's sort of a big deal for him to know if he has passed the bar. Despite not being particularly versed in the poem (haha, versed in a poem, haha) I immediately thought of "Crossing the Bar" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. 


Man, I wish I had focused, because this was going to be such a smart little blog entry, and now it's sort of..... odd and short. 


In other news, I have started reading David McCullough's 1776 and I'm pretty sure that I'm already in love with it! And I have some job testing tomorrow and potential interviews with DYNO (submitted a resume to a special contact person). Things are starting to roll... now if only I knew which way they were going!

An Apple for the Teacher?

Well friends, I applied to be a teacher. I know, I thought it was too late this year too!! But a charter/private school in Salt Lake said they're accepting applications so I decided to throw my hat in the ring. I've always said that I'd prefer to teach older students (aka college-age), but maybe I've been limiting my vision. I'm currently waiting to hear back on another job I interviewed for last week. It would be very exciting to work there, and I would be very happy to get an offer. But, I trust that the Lord is guiding my job quest, so if I don't get an offer, then I know that it's not where I need to be. In an effort to pull my life together, I have decided that if that job doesn't work out, I'll contact the local school district and become a substitute teacher! They don't require a teaching certificate; plus, my masters degree and college teaching experience ought to serve as some type of qualification. It's so interesting to see how life morphs from one expected pathway to another unforseen trail. Is there a God? With all that has happened in my life, I think the more appropriate question is, how could there not be?? I'm ever so thankful that He is. 

Reminiscences

Today I happened across some blogs, Facebook updates and pictures, etc that shared the joys of other people: their marriages, their coming babies and so on. While I am confident that my turn will come and it will have been worth the wait, sometimes I wonder what its like. What is it like to be married and attending school? What's it like to have a best friend like that? What is it like to know that you have a family of your own and are bringing a new spirit to this world? What is it like to be engaged? What is it like to be a parent at 25? Some of those experiences, like being married and in school and all that comes with that, I'll never know the answer to. Thankfully, the others I will get answers to eventually, more or less. (Not the parent at 25 one!) Still, days and moments come when I feel like I missed out on something, just a little bit. 


Lest ye think I'm 'woe-is-me' about this, though, I then contemplated the things I have done. Traveling to Europe, for example. (Of course, I then wonder what it's like to travel the world with a husband who loves that as well and.... well, I just hope I find someone who can satisfy my wanderlust.) Reading oodles of books into the wee hours of the night. Performed with numerous dance companies. Danced for over 20 years. Good things; different things. Sometimes it just makes me think. 


I decided to play with Photoshop while I pondered my awesome traveling adventures, and here are the results. I think I'm getting better with this program, at least in editing pictures. I don't know much about photoshopping someone into a picture or layering different photos, but.. baby steps. 

Versailles, France

Known for its opulence, these following pictures reflect some of that French Baroque style and lots of the bright colors that await the eager eye of the traveler. 

Bayonne, France

What would I give for some legit European chocolate?? Feel free to send some my way!

Figuiera de Foz, Portugal

Chapel in a Castle. Remember how my Colombiano lover finally talked to me that day? I miss exchanging winks and smiles with him over breakfasts of bread, jam, and hot chocolate.

Dare I say I miss the beach too? This one was a bit cold and vicious when we were there, but it was still so much fun to see and hear the massive waves crashing as we tried not to get tagged by the them on their beachward progress.

Saintes, France

I still haven't looked up Victor Hugo to see if he spent much time in this area. Hm. Apparently Victor Hugo is the name of the Rue (street, in French).  Well, despite being tricked into getting 2 crepes instead of just one, the Creperie Victor Hugo proffered some excellent cuisine. I want a crepe maker like they have!

Point du Hoc, Normandy, France

I worked on this photo a while to try and create the sense that it is old. The landscape, of course, is what it looks like today, but I think I did a decent job giving it the grainy and washed-out look that many 40's-50's era photos have. I think. 

Silver Bullet

I did it! As of today I officially applied for the one "dream job" that I could find/think of for my skills, interests, and profession. Have you ever heard of the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.?

Yeah, the main headquarters of the Smithsonian Institute are in this castle. (And you thought America didn't have cool historical stuff like castles!) The actual job is for a museum curator of Folk Art at the American Art Museum, which is a separate building. (It doesn't look like a castle.) But hey, you've got to have a dream, a castle in the cloud to chase after, right? 

Happy Days (This is not about those)

I was very happy that day. 

In Portugal.

At the beach.

Dancing across Europe.

Sometimes lately, though I feel more like this. 

My days aren't quite so bad as all that, but there are definite moments, which seem to increase in frequency, when I just have a ruff rough time remembering my happy self. I need to get structure and meaning into my life, hopefully ASAP!! 

In an attempt to end on a positive note (which I am definitely not feeling very strongly), I am looking forward to going to a singles ward tomorrow. Young married wards the past two weeks, plus a sealing today plus a reception tonight make me miss my fellow compatriots in singledom very much. I just hope they're not all 18 years old. I'm an old fart with two degrees and no job. When I look at that series of events I can't help but feel discouraged that for all my wonderful education, I'm doing nothing. I know it will change. I know that I was right to leave Provo, including the possibility of getting my old job back there. But that doesn't make this ambiguity any better. Well, maybe that wasn't all that positive in the end. No one has commented recently on my cool pictures, though, so I'm going to trust that other people are currently busy with their own lives and thus may miss reading this post :) And if you're not and you did read this.... well go check out my picture posts and comment there instead. They're much happier and prettier!