Google Rules the World.

So last Friday, I received a very special email inviting me to use Google Voice. I had put my name down on the waitlist a little while back and then promptly forgot about it…so it was a very pleasant surprise. I went ahead, created a new phone number and have been using it ever since. Incidentally, if you are someone who calls me and did not receive an email from me with my new number, shoot me an email and I will give it to you. Still, my old phone number would still work – it just wouldn’t have all of the fancy Google Voice features.

The coolest thing is receiving voicemail as emails or texts. Seriously. If you leave a voicemail, some super-computer will transcribe it and send it to me instantly so I don’t need to bother with listening to my voicemail and writing pertinent information on a post-it that I will then misplace. At first, I thought someone at a call center in India would know all of my business, but I have since learned that it’s actually completely automated.

What has been really fun is to see how well the computer can transcribe different people. Jamie – with his radio voice and perfect enunciation – is 100% accurate. Whereas my beloved mumbling brother-in-law, Scott, is not quite so accurate. See an example transcription from a phone call yesterday:

hey sis it's me just calling to check in i guess i forgot you guys and then i think mister got that so anyway i was just see how you all are doing haven't going to summer and then yada yada…

Now, Google Voice will gray out words it’s not sure about…I will say that most of these words were gray. Scott will blame the fact that he was calling from France and the connection was probably weak. Everything after “check in” and before “yada yada” was just a total mess. When I actually play the message it goes something like this:

Hey sis, it’s me. Just calling to check in. I guess I forgot you guys were gone. I think Maine. I just forgot that. So anyway, I was just seeing how you all are doing…how everything is going for summer yada yada yada...

As I transcribed it myself, I’m realizing that it wasn’t all that far off. I had to listen to it a few times to get it right. Scott speaks really fast. That being said, I cannot wait to see what happens when my dad leaves a message. Hee hee!

Weekend Update(s).

I've been mediocre at best for a while. Let me explain...actually, best not to explain. Just know that there have been many times that I have wanted to update all three readers of my blog and just have not found the time. Things are busy. Between Summer School (going pretty well, by the way), preparing for next school year, and just trying to survive each day on no sleep...updating of the blog has been infrequent.

But I'm here now. So it's time for a quick update at blinding speed.

Our friends Rob and Mo got engaged. Jamie and I and some other friends all went to Artomatic to see Rob perform some songs from his new CD. It was good! To make it even better, he ended the night with his acoustic version of Beyonce's "Single Ladies", got Mo on-stage, and proposed

to her in front of the crowd. It was romantic. I may have cried.

Jamie and I also went to the Peep Show. Not that kind, perv. We went to the famous "Peep" Show at Artomatic. There were some pretty funny entries this year. My favorites were both D.C. related...the first, of course, is a reference to the madness that was the Purple Ticket holder debacle at inauguration. The second is a reference to something that happens every summer when the tourists flock to D.C. and do not obey the "Stand Right, Walk Left" rule on the metro escalators.

A Capitol Fourth. After three years with little luck, Jamie and I FINALLY won the office lottery and got invites to view the fireworks on the 4th from the rooftop of his building. Considering that they have a pretty straight shot to the Washington Monument, this was pretty sweet.

We saw Elton John (!) and Billy Joel (!!!) in concert! You may know that I have a shameless love for Billy Joel. I remember fighting in the backseat of the car with my brother over whether or not we could listen to the Billy Joel tape again. And Jamie surprised me with tickets! Actual tickets to see him! I was half-expecting disappointment...after all, I knew he wouldn't be able to hit many of those high notes any longer...but he did! It was most awesome.

Splendor in the Grass. Skip forward to this weekend when Jamie and I went on a date to the movies -- which we hadn't done in a long while. We saw the newest Harry Potter movie and went to a yummy dinner. Today, we took a picnic brunch to the National Arboretum with our friends, Ben, Ragan, and their adorable son, Carter.

All in all, a pretty great weekend! Now that you're all pseudo-caught up...I will leave you with one more morsel of information to digest. Today, my father joined Facebook. Hee!

Krazy. (With a K)

It's time to revisit good ol' Barats and Bereta. This one is for all my teacher friends:

Someday, I will be able to post again. Someday soon...but for now, Summer School is eating away all of my time. Take comfort in knowing my life is not all that exciting these days as it consists mostly of Summer School and work-related things...

Although, I did get to see Billy Joel and Elton John in concert last weekend. That was exciting! But, like I said...pretty uneventful.

Too Busy...

...for a real update.  

In the meantime, enjoy Kittens, Inspired by Kittens!  (Apologies if I've posted this before.  It's an oldie but goodie.)

Boom Goes the Dynamite.

It was bound to happen.  I was just thinking to myself about my wonderful driving record.  Over a decade of driving and a squeaky clean record -- no tickets, no dings, no nothing.  I should have known better than to congratulate myself on my driving.

This morning I got into a car accident.

Nothing serious -- everyone was fine and the car is still able to drive.  Geico was very quick and efficient with my claim and it'll all be taken care of Monday morning.  While I choose not to dwell too much on the actual accident (it makes me mad), I do feel as though I handled myself in a calm and collected way.  I am proud. 

In other news, the Pre is coming out tomorrow!  Perhaps my obsession can come to an end!  Jamie and I are going to make a trip to the local Sprint store to check it out.  I do feel as though I already won a little though: today, Jamie told me in a quiet little voice, "now, I want a Pre too."  Huzzah.  The battle has been won!   

(P.S. I think Jamie now has seen Code Red of Obsession Alert.)

A Wonderful Day.

I don't have time for the full update yet, but I will just say that the wedding was perfect.

Finally: an Update!

Yikes!  So much to say in not enough time!

I'll do this in chronological order.  I guess the first big development was my bout with H1N1.  That's right: SWINE FLU.  

Now that I am completely in the clear, I am able to blog about it.  So, remember when I was sick a little while back?  Well...I had a "probable" case of the virus.  In all honesty, I don't really think that I had it, but I guess when you work in a school, and you're dealing with a "pandemic" you don't monkey around.  

I called my doctor who told me not to go to the emergency room, but rather had me list all of my symptoms and their progression.  After listening to me he said:  "Yup.  Sounds like Swine Flu."  Couple that with the fact that I was in close quarters with someone with a confirmed case of

 Swine Flu right around the time I started getting sick and it was enough.  The Powers that Be at work called CDC and I spoke to a CDC person who listed me as a probable case, but me on a map and told me I had to stay in the house for the next three to seven days.  Three!  To SEVEN???  

Since I did not know I would be home, I did not bring my computer home.  Nor was I allowed to go to work to pick up my computer or bring home work to do.  So, I was on a forced vacation.  Except I couldn't leave the house.  (I slept.  A lot.)

Next up: Jamie and I ventured to Ann Arbor, MI!  For Robin and Joe's wedding!

The Carleton Crew.

It was an absolutely beautiful wedding -- the bride was gorgeous, the weather was perfect (no rain), the people were high-spirited, and there was lots and lots of dancing.

Which brings us to this weekend, when Abby and Samir are getting hitched!!!  I cannot wait for Lovefest 2009!  I am nervous about the toast...but I generally find that I am not a mess when it comes to speaking about things (or in this case, people) that I love.  And I love Abby and Samir.  You can count on me posting weddingful updates on this blog when I get back.  I might even be twittering throughout the day...that is, if I remember.

Fixation Update.

Okay.  So I'm sick at home -- not deathly ill, mind you, but enough so that I have been advised that it was my "patriotic duty" to stay home by the boss.  As a result, I have had a chance to catch up on much-needed sleep, work, and obsess over The Phone some more.

I realized that it is just silly for me not to share The Phone with you all......most of you don't even live in places where you could steal my potential Phone away from me.  Besides, rumor (in the geek underworld of those obsessed with this Phone) has it that the official release date -- and with that, the marketing push -- will be published tomorrow in the Wall Street Journal, so everyone will be privvy to the awesomeness of my future phone.

The Palm Pre!

Let me geek out some more: isn't it pretty??  And, on top of that it supposedly does all these things that the current iPhone is unable to do (yet.)  For example:

• Want to check your mail, have a GChat with someone, and read the latest news on washingtonpost.com at the same time without closing one of those programs?  No problem!  
• Want to sync all of the contacts in your Facebook, Gmail account, and Microsoft Exchange?  It's automatic! 

• How about take out the battery and put in a new one?  You can!

I'm such a nerd.  I'm just hoping this phone is not a million dollars.  

Okay, I'm done with the geeking out for a little bit...

Fixation.

Anybody who has known me over the years, will know that I have tendencies to get absolutely fixated on something and then never stop obsessing until I get it.  

On a trip to Reno, NV when I was no older than 8, I was fixating on a mini slot machine piggy bank.  I proceeded to needle my dad for the remainder of the trip until he finally caved and got me the friggin' slot machine.  (I still have it.)

When I was older than 8 it was a puppy.  But, really, what little kid doesn't go through a puppy stage.  And I obsessed for a good many years before I actually got the puppy.

In my teenage years, it was me goading my poor, defenseless brother into allowing us to cut our ski trip one day short so that I could go on a second date with this guy who I really liked and to whom he had to send a wedding invitation even though we had only been on one date.  (What can I say?  With Jamie, I just knew immediately.)

There are many other instances of fixations that I am too embarrassed to admit here...I will be the first to say that I am spoiled by the people who love me.  Really spoiled.  

So, my latest fixation has been simmering away for the past two years and recently went into a rolling boil.  I wanted an iPhone.  

Man, did I ever want an iPhone.  Poor Jamie, has been subjected to me asking for an iPhone ever since before the iPhone came out, but, bless his heart, he has kept me at bay.  

Homeboy thinks he has experienced the full force of my fixations...homeboy has not.  In reality, I think my poor father is the only one who has...

In the bottom of my heart, I have known that getting an iPhone was not something I should do.  It would mean changing our phone service to one that doesn't work on the Metro.  It would mean paying a lot more.  Lots of things.  So I figured I would wait patiently to buy an iPhone and if it ever became available to Verizon, I would make the switch.

Then I learned about this other phone and I could care less about the iPhone.  

I don't know how I learned about it, or where I saw it first, but I am now completely fixated on this phone.  I don't even use the phone that much.  But, I have daydreams about having such a device to keep me uber-organized and connected to the internet all the time (well, except for on the Metro.)

I am so fixated on this phone, that I won't even say what phone it is for fear that someone else may become obsessed with it as well and thereby lessen my chances of getting one of these phones by one.  They have not announced when it will be released.  They have not said how much it will cost.  These are things that only make me fixate more.  

How bad do I have this fixation?  (Some examples)

1. Yesterday, I was watching 30 Rock on Tivo and I actually went back to watch a commercial because they flashed this phone on the screen for a split second.  They did not even say the name of the phone...it was literally on the screen for a split second.
2. Jamie is already sick of hearing about it, and I haven't even gone into gear three yet.
   
3. Despite being on my deathbed over the weekend (I exagerrate), I strongly considered (and am still considering) going over to the store where said phone will be available eventually and begging to be put on a waitlist for when it is available.

I would like it noted, that for someone who depends upon the internet as much as I do, it is amazing that I do not already have a Smartphone.  Jamie can mock me for being spoiled (like I said, I know I am), but he has had his little Blackberry for years already while I had my piddly little lame phone.  My time has come.  At least, it will once they RELEASE this phone!

Fancy Neighbor!

To take advantage of the nice weather today, Jamie and I decided to venture out into our neighborhood and play frisbee in the park.  I really do love this city.  On our way back, we started playing the "Which House Would You Choose?" game...basically, picking out our favorite houses on each street.

When we got to the one I would have chosen, we noticed a fancy pants Suburban waiting outside as a man was locking up the front door.  IT WAS RAHM EMANUEL!  He was all decked out in his tux for the Correspondent's Dinner tonight.  Jamie stared while I tried to avert my eyes as he climbed into his crazy Obama-mobile.  Officially, our second "run-in" with Rahm Emanuel in less than a week.  

So, today I learned that Rahm Emanuel lives in my house of choice if I were a millionaire a few blocks away from my actual house (which coincidentally is my house of choice, period.)  Again, let me reiterate: I love this city.  (Most of the time.)

Sleepy.

I am TIRED. 

Thankfully, it's the weekend.

Lunch Break.

Took a little break from a work and used it to peruse Cute Overload.  They had this up and I had to "borrow" it...again, is it a sign that I'm going a little stir-crazy that I found this hilarious?

So, many of you have probably seen that part in Matrix 2 when Keanu Reeves is attacked by a bunch of Hugo Weavings...

It's a long scene, so it's best to probably skip to the end.  Anyway, this popped up today and it made me happy.

I love how the puppies just walk off dejectedly after the kitty gets away.  It's exactly what the Hugo Weavings do at the end of the fight scene...too bad the YouTube clip cuts it short.  You get the idea though...

Okay, back to work!

Home Office.

For the past couple days, I have been doing that thing that many people long to do: I have been working from home.  Considering my profession, I never thought this day would come.  While it is wonderful to have the option of doing your work sans pants, I have found that it does not meet my wildest expectations.  And for the record, I have been wearing pants.

First, there is the pressure to do a great job with the task at hand.  After all, if I were to do a poor job than I will never again have the option of working from home.  This is problematic since the task at hand is somewhat impossible to do well in the time frame given (3 days).  So instead, I have downgraded my original intent and am now going to do a damn-fine job building a solid foundation for the rest of the work to be done later.  

Second, (and this relates to the first) is the fact that there is a fuzziness regarding hours.  When you go to work, there is a definite ending point for the work when you go home.  Granted, most nights I bring work home with me anyways, but there is a logical place to stop.  At home, you can keep going on and on -- evidenced by the fact that it's way past midnight and I'm considering the time that I am writing this post as a "break" from work.

Third, I miss my colleagues and seeing the kids.  I didn't realize how much seeing the students and seeing the people who would benefit from my work actually motivates me throughout the day.

On the flip side, I am way more productive.  I have made more progress in the last 48 hours than I could have if I was holed up in my office.  Unpredictability is King at a school.

Another flipside?  When I am home I get to see what sort of messes my cats get themselves into while we would normally be away.  Their interactions with the Roomba provided a little entertainment on Monday.  I also got to watch Junior get herself into (and out of) a little predicament today...

Sadly, I did not get the camera in time to allow you to witness the peak of the squirming.  Is it cruel that I thought this was a little funny?  Or have I been working from home for too long?

Weekend Update!

Last weekend was fun!  Lots of fun!

As you may or may not know, my dear friends Abby and Samir are engaged.  So engaged that it is actually now under a month before my dear friends Abby and Samir will be MARRIED.

Hee!

So, this weekend Abby and the bridal party made the trip to DC to celebrate the fact that Abby and Samir are getting MARRIED!  We chatted, laughed, ate good food, talked and laughed some more, watched My So-Called Life (such a good show) on a really big screen, and baked!  So fun!

We were also able to take a tour of the White House.  Again.  This time was infinitely cooler, though, because someone infinitely cooler is President.  Our friend Jon has an awesome job, and he was kind enough to take us around.   I got to see a lot of those important people I hear about on NPR.

Thanks, Jon!

All in all, a very good weekend filled with good people and good memories.  Not so much sleep, but so worth it!

The One Where I Embarrass Jamie. (a late addition)

Jamie has been cracking me up lately.  Either he's funnier these days or I'm just way more tired.  It's probably the latter.

1) Last night when he got home I hid downstairs.  Actually, I was not really hiding, I was just tucked in a corner and he didn't see me and then I decided to jump out and say "boo!"  So he gets home and starts putting his bike away.  After about a minute I jump out from behind the couch...

...his immediate reaction?  Pure and utter happiness and joy at seeing his wife.  It was very heartwarming.  Mere seconds later the huge smile on his face melted away and he screamed in terror in what I have deemed the MOST HILARIOUS DELAYED REACTION EVER.

I am still laughing at the thought of it.  And while I'm sure you needed to be there to see it for yourself and probably don't find it funny at all, I am enjoying the opportunity to relive it by typing it out.

I loved that his first reaction on seeing me was joy and that that is his instinctual response to seeing me.  I also love that he blames the one beer he drank before coming home for the fact that his brain didn't process being surprised right away. Don't worry, I made sure to surprise him from an arm/leg's length away in case he had a karate reflex.

2) Today I was listening to my voicemails on speakerphone while Jamie was in the room.  I saw that my dad had called and announced that he was back from his trip through the South and Central Americas.  As I played the message, Jamie started to smile broadly.  

Immediately after it was done, Jamie cooed: "Your dad is so adorable.  He has the cutest little voice!" It was my mom.  Hilarious.

Don't hate your son-in-law, mom and dad.  He is overworked and underslept...and so silly these days.

Short-Lived (OR, The One With the Cherryblossoms)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I finished up my Saturday duties two weekends ago.  In other words, this past weekend was the first time in a long while when I was able to sleep in on a Saturday.  In effect, I had two whole days to recharge my battery from the week rather than the usual one day.  

This was glorious.  I woke up on Saturday feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world.  Or, at least host a couple dozen friends at a BBQ.  Sunday was similarly grand.

The problem didn't come until Sunday night.  When I got into bed with a full battery...and proceeded to toss and turn for near FIVE hours.  Granted, for some of those hours I was in a state of miserable half-sleep.  In the end, according to my sleep monitor, I had logged in a whopping total of 2 hours and 22 minutes of sleep for the night.  Grand. 

So much for recharging the battery.

Another thing that was short-lived, but wonderful nonetheless were the cherryblossoms in D.C.  Sure, these are a few weeks too late, but like I said: I'm catching up.  One day, way back in early April, Jamie and a couple of our friends got up bright and early to take pictures of the blossoms without the crowds.  It should be noted that the reason that I did not go wasn't because it was too early.  No, dear reader, it was because that would make me LATE for work.  On a Saturday.  But, at least I got to enjoy the pictures that Jamie took...(and now you do too!)

Weekend Round Up (the 2nd).

All of the sudden it's like, 90 degrees in D.C.  I'm not prepared.  

Despite the fact that it is beautiful and sunny outside now...and yesterday was more of the same...it did not fail to rain on our BBQ.  It never fails...if Jamie and I plan something that will take place outdoors --> it rains.  Yesterday was less disruptive than usual, in that, by the time it started storming most of the festivities had moved back indoors...but still.  We are cursed.  Or blessed, depending on how you look at it.  

We are now left with so much more alcohol than we can drink in a year.  Probably more like two years.  Fortunately, I'll be having company over again next week and we will probably be able to make a little dent in the beverages I have as well as some of the food.  Because there is SO. MUCH. FOOD.  

And, while I would love to update with pictures from the party, I will refrain as I do not want to embarrass any friends.  Yet.

Instead, I give you a pitbull with no short-term memory:

Wow. Just Wow.

When I saw this little headline on CNN.com, I thought there must be some reasonable explanation.  Perhaps it was unclear what it was.  Maybe, another kindergartner put it in the backpack as a trick.  There is no way that a teacher put it there maliciously.

I think she did.  As someone who has had a student poop on the carpet before...and someone who knows many people who have had a student poop on the floor before, I think that picking it up, putting in a bag, writing a note about it, and sending it home in the child's backpack would be the last thing I would do.

Wow.

Not the Best Ever...

...but worth mentioning because of its pertinence.

And, they acknowledge the greatness that is Shawshank.

Test Time.

Anyone in the world of education is very familiar with those statewide tests that decide the fate of the schools.  When I was in Baltimore, it was the MSA.  In D.C. it is the DC-CAS.  Well, today was the first day of the DC-CAS.

It was so great to see our students excited to show their stuff on the test today.  Anthony wasthe first one through the doors at 7am.  His first words were: "Is it time to take the test??"  My Joevontae practically jumped into my arms when he first saw me he was so excited.  I am so proud of these kids.

I think the best story came from Kayla though.  We had given our students some mints to suck on during the test to help perk them up when they were getting tired.  It's also supposed to stimulate memory (although I think it's more of a recall thing through association -- if you're eating mints when you learn something blah, blah, blah.)  Kayla then overheard Anfaney talking to himself (I hope that if Kayla ever reads this post, she is able to correct me...I know I have this wrong):

Anfaney: Those mints sure were good!

A: That BCR was hard, but then I got that mint!

A: And it did the trick!

Anfaney is getting an extra mint tomorrow...

Oh!  And for you Traffic Light Boy (TLB) fans out there.  I got an update who says that he is doing very well!  Next stop, Department of Transportation (or whoever handles traffic lights.)

Weekend Update. (Or: The One Where I Hiked 17 Miles)

This weekend has been a fun one!  In fact, I haven't been able to post because of all the fun.

Friday was Emily's (a teacher friend) birthday and so Jamie and I headed over to her place after work.  While there, I realized how long it has been since I hung out with my friends...too long.  I am now inspired to have a BBQ and enjoy this gorgeous weather next weekend.

Saturday was good for two reasons.  First, it was the last day of Saturday Academy which means that starting next week, I get to seize my Saturdays back.  No more getting up at 6:45am on a Saturday morning!  No more early Friday nights!  Actually, who am I kidding, there were still be many early Friday nights.

Also, we got to see our friends Ben and Ragan and their adorable son.  Better yet, they brought him to our house which makes it the first time we have had a toddler at our house!  Of course, Junior hid for the duration of the night, but Cody and Carter became fast friends.  They even shared a head bump (Cody's favorite display of affection.)  Good to know that Cody likes babies.  Or at least, tolerates babies.

Last weekend, Jamie and I made the trek to our favorite old haunt Shenandoah National Park.  A couple Christmases ago, we had gifted each other camping gear.  Him: new hiking boots, Me: a new backpacking pack.  Since then, we had not yet ventured out into the wilderness and were long overdue.  Our plans for winter camping in February were foiled, and work and life had gotten in the way of subsequent plans.

So, we planned our hike, made GORP, and packed our packs.  The rain didn't deter us...in fact, it gave us more motivation because it meant that those other, less hardy, campers would not crowd our hike.  And we set out into the misty woods.

We chose a 17-mile loop that took us along a ridge, down a mountain, along a river, and back up the mountain.  Despite the wetness and the mistiness -- it was actually perfect backpacking weather.  We were motivated to keep on trekking since we would get cold if we stopped.  By the time we were getting ready to stop for the night it was sunny and gorgeous.

One thing that kept the hike exciting was that there were 14 "stream" crossings.

I say "stream" in quotations because it was more like "river" crossings.  I'm guessing Spring is actually when the water is at its higher levels and so we had to brave the cold water throughout the day.  I resigned myself to walking through the water, but Jamie showed off by hopping from moss-covered rock to moss-covered rock.  He paid the price when he fell a few feet from a waterfall, but aside from that was definitely drier than I was for most of the walk.

All-in-all it was a great hike and I would actually love to do it again.  Not too easy and not too hard.  Good views too.

Sadly, despite the fact that we slept in a tent in 30-degree weather, I was better-rested after that night than I had been all week.  Go figure.

The One Where I Met My Hero. (Maybe)

Tire dilemma fixed.  Hooray for husbands with flexible work hours.

So, "The One Where I Met My Hero."  This actually happened a few weeks back on my way back from San Francisco (after visiting my nieces).  

Now that airline companies are nickel-and-diming everything, there are various lines to enter the plane.  I was in the normal person line and next up to board the plane when a woman hurriedly walks through the important person line (a.k.a. Premier Class).  Through the magic of peripheral vision, I had seen her coming from behind me and I hesitated before handing my ticket to the attendant because I figured they would take her first.  

He had actually taken my ticket and began to tell the lady to wait, when he looked at her and the gentleman with her, and then handed back my ticket and took hers instead.  The woman continued her hurried pace onto the gangway, while the man sheepishly followed.

It took me a while to realize who he was.  My heart believed it, but my brain couldn't.  

As I walked behind my hero on the gangway he turned to me and apologized for cutting in front of me.  MORGAN FREEMAN apologized to me. Red!  My favorite character from the best movie of all time.

The Shawshank Redemption (Trailer)
Uploaded by Tower-of-Dark

"That's okay!" I say, "we're all ending up in the same place anyway"...and while I meant the airplane, MORGAN FREEMAN smiled at me and said -- in a way that only Red can (with that life-weary, all-knowing, March of the Penguins voice): "That's what I always say."  And I knew that he was talking about life and death.  

This moment was too good to be true.  So, afterwards, my brain kept telling me that it couldn't really be MORGAN FREEMAN.  It had to be someone who looked and sounded uncannily like him. After all, wasn't he supposed to be filming some movie far, far away?  Still, I'd like to believe that Red and I shared a moment on that gangway.

And, while Morgan Freeman may not actually be my hero, he's still pretty darn rad.  Much better than Danny Baldwin or Jimmy Fallon.  (Apparently, I am destined to sit near famous people on planes...I finger-quote famous for Danny.)

Edited to add: Incidentally, after I had posted this, I went back and did another random rereading of my blog...and I saw this post where my love for MORGAN FREEMAN was evident all they way back in March of 2004.  To the point where I actually wrote his name in all CAPS then too. 

Hold Me To It.

TWO posts in one night??  

Let me tell you why: firstly, the last two posts have been downer posts.  Secondly, while my life is boring, it is not without pockets of excitement.  Sure it's mostly manufactured excitement, it still counts for me.

So, after taking a little time to go back and revisit my blog circa May 2004 (the blogiest month in the history of this blog -- 48 posts!  It is clear that my primary method of procrastination during finals was through blogging.) I have decided that I am going to blog more so help me.  No matter how nerdy, and cringeworthy I will feel down the line when I look back at it.  To make sure that this renewed sense of urgency does not go by the wayside, I will now list a few "pockets of excitement" from the past few weeks of my life so that later, when I feel like I don't have anything to blog about...I can at least blog about one of these stories:

• The One Where I Met My Hero
• The One Where I Hiked 17 miles
• The One With the Attack Cats
• The One With the Cherryblossoms

These were all moments when I actually thought to myself, "I should really blog about this!" but then got too busy to think about.  I'm taking the moments back!

Starting tomorrow.

Flat.

It was a later night at work today.  My car was the last one on the street and generally-speaking, past a certain hour it is not a good idea to be alone on a dark street in certain parts of D.C.  Unfortunately for me, when I got to my car today my front tire was flat.  Not completely dead-flat, but enough to make my car tilt heavily to one side and question the ride to the nearest gas station.

I weighed my options: 1) change the tire in the dark, rainy, not-crime-free street, 2) take my chances getting to the nearest gas station, 3) tempt fate further by getting to the nearest gas station in a less sketchy area, or 4) call and beg my husband to save me by coming to work and changing my tire for me.

After further consideration, I realized that despite watching and helping Jamie change flats before on several occasions, I had absolutely no idea where to start.  Also, it was RAINING.  Option #1 was out.  While I really wanted to do #4, I knew that would never actually work...so I opted for a hybrid of #3 and #4 which was to call my husband and whine about it a bit, then drive really slowly to the farther gas station.  

The gas station did not change the fact that I still didn't know how to change my tire or that it was RAINING.  Nor was the service shop early because it was late.  So, instead I pumped my tire with air and made the rest of the trek home without incident.  Jamie graciously agreed to change the tire with me once he got home.  Crisis averted?  Let's hope.  Of course, Jamie just got home and it's still RAINING and now it's also kind of late...

Breathe.

A little over a year ago I burned out.  Despite the fact that I loved being in the classroom, that I loved my students, and that I loved teaching...I burned out.  It was to the point where my teaching was suffering and I knew that the next thing that would suffer would be my students and I couldn't have any of that.

Fortunately, I had a way out and other opportunities came up and I got a job that I could love just as much but that removed me from the daily stress of the classroom.  I could still work with students!  I could still devote my life to the mission that I truly believe in!  Life was good!

However, I was quick to learn that this new job was actually more work than my previous one.  Sure, it's a different kind of stress.  It's not the obvious, physical, emotional, daily stress that comes with being a classroom teacher...but rather a more subtle, chronic and acute stress.  One that sneaks up on you but leaves you with your head spinning and debilitated because you don't know where to begin attacking what must get done.

The camel is many straws past the broken back, but despite all this, I still love my job.  Funny how that works.

All this to use as an excuse for not posting regularly.  I do intend to keep this blog going...I am proud of keeping it as long as I have (although, yes, I realize there are some years that have very few posts).  I just need to find a way to sustain the blog along with other things (aka: work).  

Also, when one works all the time, there is very little interesting content to blog about as most of one's time is spent thinking/dreaming/worrying about work.  Add to this the fact that one actively tries not to blog about work to avoid any dooce.com-esque loss of job stability.  Incidentally, if anyone from work is reading this: I LOVE MY JOB AND ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES ARE WONDERFUL PEOPLE.  

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  

I will post again tomorrow with adventures from our most recent journey into the wilderness!  How very exciting and not-work-related!

CAN YOU HANDLE IT???

GAH!  My nieces are so undisputably ADORABLE.  See below:

Riley!

Leah!

It was wonderful to spend time with them and to see how much they have grown since December.  It's incredible how much chubbier their cheeks are!  Now, at almost six months, they are babbling away and have even ventured into their first "bites" of solid food...  

...the success of which is debatable.  And they were willing to duke it out to prove who was most deserving to earn the right to wear the awesome onesies provided by their Tia and Tio...

Despite the fact that it appears Leah may have sucker-punched Riley at the beginning of the round, it ended in an amiable tie.  

I will be working on a sequel to my first video...but it may be a while before I have the time...

Back!

It's been a long time and I'm going to start with a short post.  These movies in under a minute things have been floating around for a while and for some reason I felt the urge to post this one.

Maybe it's because I liked the Kill Bill movies.  Mostly, it's because I like the last five seconds.

I promise that I will be posting more often in the upcoming days!

Prepped Up!

My school is famous again!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

How can you watch that and not want to be in education??  I love my school.

The New Day.

Yikes!  I let a whole week go by without posting about Inauguration Weekend.  To be honest, that whole weekend was busy and I filed way more than I could handle in my "to blog later" pile.  So now, I'll try to briefly recap using what I remember.

On Sunday, we headed down to the Mall for the Opening Concerts.  Jamie was fortunate enough to secure some tickets which allowed us to completely jump the line.  You know, the line that stretched for a long, long while down Constitution Avenue.  While we didn't have the fancy pants tickets that got us into the seated section, we did have front row "seats" (a.k.a. standing room).  I do admit that I felt  pretty guilty spread out on my sectioned-off portion of The Mall, when across the reflecting pool there were people hanging off of trees for lack of space.  

The concert was pretty great -- lots of interesting readings and big celebrities -- and the walk home was a good way to thaw my toes again.  On Monday, we went to a Obamabash sponsored by Jamie's group.  They had some pretty good musical acts and really tasty finger foods.  I also finally got to meet all of the people that Jamie had been working with for so long in his group.  

Then, of course, we had the Inauguration.  For a long time, I had been planning to avoid the crowds, and just watch the event from the warmth and comfort of my living room.  I feebly resisted...and by Friday I already knew I was going.  I was NOT, however, going to wake up at 4am to get there.  Instead, we decided on a much more reasonable time of 7:30am and aimed to meet some friends of ours on the way over at 8am.  We knew that we would probably not get the best view, but figured we could position ourselves near a Jumbotron and see well enough.

We met up with Trevor -- Jamie's friend from college -- who was wearing his "Minnesota" outfit.  I guess while he was braving the cold there, he regularly wore this particular jacket over a t-shirt.  What I don't think he took into account was that in college you only have to face the freezing cold air for short bursts of time, whereas this event would require at least 5 hours of freezing cold air.  Suffice to say he was cold.  But I think he was excited enough for the Inauguration that he didn't mind too much.

We followed the signs as best we could...mostly following the crowds and ended up with an incredible space despite our late departure.  We were super close to the first Jumbotron and could still also see the Capitol.  The crowd was incredible.  Normally, my claustrophobic self (yes, even outdoors) would not last long -- but my fears of a stampede quickly vanished when I stood in the crowd and realized nothing could dampen this crowd's spirits that day.  Everyone was just so happy and so friendly.  Even when the almost 2 million people were trying to funnel out of the Mall, everyone was friendly and apologetic for pushing.  It really was great.

But the best part (aside from Obama being sworn in) was watching Bush get into the helicopter and fly right over us.  The crowd around me waved and sang goodbye...

It's probably more interesting with the video.  I haven't gotten around to uploading all of the video we took...it'll be up soon -- er, at least some of it will.  We walked home once again from The Mall -- this time through some pretty crazy crowds -- and by the time we got there we were frozen and starving.  We had some of our friends over and all looked back fondly at our morning.  

That night, Jamie and I had the Youth Ball.  I will not delve into the mishap with my dress...but let's just say there was panic and we got out much later than intended.  We waited in line to get in...a line which was around the block...and not at all fun to stand in when it is below twenty, and you're wearing a short dress...and strappy sandals.  We knew not to expect much: we figured we'd be on our feet all night with no place to sit, we ate a big lunch because we figured there wouldn't be food, and we planned to hold our coats as the coat check would be a nightmare.  Really, the only thing that motivated me to go and brave the cold in the strappy shoes was the idea of seeing President Obama up close and watching him dance.  Never mind the musical acts...not a big fan of Fall Out Boy, Kid Rock, or Kanye West.

I am not kidding when I say that Jamie and I were the last ones locked out of the ballroom.  The only person between us and that freaking ballroom was a Secret Service guy.  AND, he was not at all what I expected him to be.  I was expecting stoic, threatening, and not unlike those guys with the fuzzy hats in England.  This guy was talkative and friendly.  Friendly, except he was NOT letting us in.  Boo.

Jamie and I eventually did get in, but long after President Obama left.  Still it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Although it did feel like prom like many told me it would.

Probably the best Inauguration-related thing that happened was actually today at work.  I was observing a teacher with a Pre-Kindergarten class.  As part of their Morning Meeting they were talking about big events that happened in January (as the month comes to a close).  The teacher pointed to a picture of Obama and asked who the gentleman was and all of the children started raising their hands enthusiastically.  FOUR YEAR OLDS...tripping over themselves to talk about our President.  I heard facts about our President excitedly burst out of their mouths: "44th President!", "dad's from Kenya!", "his wife is Michelle!", "he works with everybody!"

Later, when I was talking to one of these FOUR YEAR OLDS I mentioned "President Obama" and he quickly corrected me in his little voice: "President Barack HUSSEIN Obama" with special emphasis on that middle name.  So funny.

I love that these children are excited about their new President because it means that their moms, dads, uncles, aunts, grandmas, grandpas, foster parents, brothers, sisters, neighbors, etc. are excited about their new President.  It truly is an incredible time to be working with children because even the four year olds know they are living through a historic time...

I am sorry for the shoddy writing in this post.  There was a lot to cover and it is below 50 in this particular room of our house and I'm trying to get out of here before I freeze.  Like, I'm thinking, it's in the low 40s.  Stupid windows.

We Are There.

Remember that time when I found my car on Google Maps twice? Well, I found me! Take a look.


See that little itty-bitty yellow circle? That's where I was! This picture is from an hour plus before the actual Inauguration...so it actually filled up even more from there...craziness...(Thanks Abby for sending me the picture!)

More on the Inauguration Weekend soon.

Continuation of Nerd.

Well, we've already establish that I'm old and a nerd. What's that you say? You don't believe me when I say I'm a nerd? (sarcasm). What if I tell you that I laughed -- a lot -- when I watched this.

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

Whippersnappers.

D.C. is buzzing with excitement these days. Yay! The bleachers are up along the parade route! Look! There's our future President at our local chili place! People are still chanting on the Metro and our students are still excited about politics. It's all very exciting.

So, Jamie managed to get us tickets to a bunch of events going on around town. Upon realizing that an Inaugural Ball is called a "Ball" for a reason, I scrambled today to find a gown...and shoes...and all that good stuff. Ick...I hate shopping for dresses.

This whole process has also helped me learned how old and lame (note: I do not mean to imply that being old also means being lame -- I am just both of those things) I am now. One of the other events we are going to has a pretty interesting line-up of performers and speakers including: Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. Among those reading historical passages will be Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington.

Of those, I am excited about the decidedly old-school performers. Yes, I am more excited about James Taylor than I am about Beyonce. No, I don't really know who will.i.am is and I really like that "For Once In My Life" song by Stevie Wonder. Man, I'm uncool and OLD.

Plus, Beyonce is performing at the ball we are going to also...that's twice the Beyonce I've ever had in my life within two days. Too much booty-shaking if you ask me.

West Side Story on the East Side.

Jamie has been working like a dog lately. He only had 1.5 days off for the holidays, and ended up going to the office while we were in San Francisco visiting the family. He's been working non-stop since then, not even taking a break for New Year's Eve or the weekends. Poor guy.

Actually, that's not entirely true: he did leave the office "early" yesterday -- a SATURDAY NIGHT -- to take me to see the new Westside Story. He had purchased tickets as a Christmas gift and it provided him with his only break since Christmas Day. Not that I'm complaining (maybe just a little), but I just miss my husband.

Anyway, the show was great! It was interesting because they made it more "authentic" by having scenes and dialogue in Spanish. When the Sharks were talking amongst themselves they spoke and sang in Spanish. The cast was great and I was super happy to see that Cody from my guilty pleasure reality show Step It Up and Dance was playing Riff. It was pretty great to see him dancing in real life -- he's really good -- a nice to know that he could sing as well. Good for Cody! Oh and hey, that was him in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"!

By the way, if you actually want to see Benjamin Button, don't watch the trailer from that website as it shows the entire film. I exaggerate, but not all that much.

Disclaimer.

I'll begin this post with the warning that you may not find this video all that interesting if you are A) not related to me or B) not obsessed with babies/cuteness. That being said, I spent too much time on this not to post it on my blog. Also, I still feel like gloating about how adorable my nieces are. But again, I warn you that this video is long (about 8 minutes) and is probably only interesting to those meeting the aforementioned requirements.

I know it's a low-quality video, but I will upload a larger version soon. If it's not abundantly clear, I absolutely love these babies. I am glad I managed to finish the videos before I started work again (tomorrow)...there wouldn't have been a chance otherwise.

It will be back to regular posting content tomorrow!

Premiere.

Here is my first attempt at editing film using my Flip. I went against Jamie's advice and decided to make many smaller movies using the video from our trip rather than one big one. At the very least, it would be easier to upload...Enjoy!

Belated Holiday Wishes...

Just got back from my trip out West to see the family. I'm just going to cut to the chase and give you what you want.





Aside from how adorable they are, the thing that struck me most was how quickly they are growing up. Last time I saw them they were 10 days old and not all that unlike blobs. Granted, they were cute then too, but they did little else than sleep and eat. And poop!

This time, they were (much) larger blobs that cooed and attempted to roll and showed their personalities. And poop in larger quantities. I just left yesterday, but I'm already itching to get back so that I can watch them grow some more...

Christmas with the family was pretty great. Jamie and I flew to California on the 24th. Poor Jamie had to work on the 26th and on -- but we still enjoyed ourselves. He managed to pull a couple of strings and get permission to work out of the San Francisco office so that he could at least spend a part of the evenings with us.

I hope that all of your holidays were exciting and relaxing. I will be posting again soon with my first attempt at a video! In case I don't make it back today, I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and enjoys the extra second of 2008!

and Many More to Come...

When we got married, Jamie and I (okay, just Jamie) decided that we would no longer celebrate the anniversary of our first date.  After all, we had a new, more significant date to celebrate.  Instead, we would simply commemorate it with an extra hug and smile and maybe a nice dinner.  While I was a little saddened at the prospect of "losing" the 8 years we had been together before getting married, it did make sense.

BUT, despite all that, today we did celebrate our "date-iversary".  Granted, our actual date-iversary isn't until tomorrow, but Jamie is super busy with work these days, and this would be our only opportunity to get out to a fancy meal.  We decided to celebrate this one because it is the TENTH anniversary of our first date!  10 years!  

I think that's pretty special.

So we went to a nice dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the District.  Even though it wasn't Chinese food like on our first date, we figured it was a good choice since it was an "asian fusion" restaurant.  Yum!  

I would also like it noted that I abided by the rules laid down by Jamie and did not purchase any date-iversary gifts.  He did not.  However, he is forgiven because he got me really purty jewelry.

More posts soon! 

The One Where I Steal from Other People's Blogs.

I fell off the blog-posting wagon!  Sad.  Well...I will update briefly now.  I say briefly because I need to put together a presentation for tomorrow and I haven't started...at all.

First, the obligatory picture of my nieces as they rounded the jolly age of two months.

So funny.

Next, a video that our lovable best man (a.k.a. my brother-in-law) posted on his own blog about his venture into comedy.  Actually, it's just a little song he performed with his friend at a Thanksgiving celebration in Italy (?) with his graduate program.  Although his Bret imitation leaves something to be desired (there can only be one), it sounded as though the ladies in the crowd disagree with me.

I miss the guy.  He needs to return from Italy yesterday.  Also, there would appear to be a lot of woo-girls in Italy.

And finally, some pugs for no apparent reason.