Wills and Wars

And now, the tale of the Three Trips Up North in One Week...

The first trip was to a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale for a small gathering of GVSU alum. The Athletic Director and his wife were in town for a conference/vacation, and a few alum were invited to have dinner with them. There were only four of us, but it was a lovely evening and it was great to hear about all the great stuff happening back in Allendale. I had scallops and mashed potatoes, and they were so good. I mean, I LOVE a damn scallop. And I love a damn Laker. :)

Toward the end of January and the beginning of February, a theater company called Shakespeare Miami does a production, for free, in local parks and venues. This year's show was A Midsummer Night's Dream and my good friend The Aussie was in it, as Robin Goodfellow, everyone's favorite mischief-making fairy, also called Puck. I actually saw the show twice, once in Pinecrest Gardens, former home of Parrot Jungle, and once up north in Hollywood with coworkers and Team Weaver. This was trip #2 for the week.

We had a little picnic, a little wine, and watched a little fairy mayhem ensue. The show was well done, an adequate amount of glitter without being over the top, and there were even some "special effects" that were fun. It made me realize just how crap our version of the play was in high school. Ahh well, you know better you do better, I guess. Free and well-done Shakespeare is still free and well-done Shakespeare, so yay.

Trip number three marked a day I'd been waiting for for a long time: The Civil Wars concert! When I found out they were coming to FLL, I was so excited! Plus, tickets were only $25, which is awesome.

The band sounds just as good live, if not better, than they do on Barton Hollow. The duo, made up of Joy Williams and John Paul White, haven't been around that long, but they sound like they've been singing together forever. Here's what we saw while we were waiting.

The two aren't married (to each other, anyway) but their voices marry perfectly. They have great musical chemistry as evidenced by this picture. Here they are, huddled around one mic and one guitar. :)

Just after the show, the group was nominated for several Grammy's AND we found out that Joy was actually pregnant with her first baby! How awesome! She is so darn cute when she sings I can't even take it. And JPW isn't bad on the eyes, either. He's like if Jonny Depp and Jack White from The White Strips had a baby. A hot, guitar-playing baby.

The duo sang every song I wanted to hear, including my favorites, BRILLIANT covers of "I Want you Back" by the Jackson 5 and "Disarm" by The Smashing Pumpkins.

Here's a little video of them singing one of their own songs, "I've Got This Friend."

This band is my newest obsession. Their music is just so... pretty. It's soothing and kinda sad, but just so beautiful. A while back I made my journalism class watch this music video, for their song "Poison and Wine" and write a review of it. I don't think they loved it as much as I do.

Teenagers. Bless.

Much love!

Hello 2011

Well, Christmas and New Year's are officially over and we're well into 2011. So far, so good, it seems. But first, a recap of Christmas.

A couple days before, Mom, Dad and I took my cousins, Megan and Tiffany, out for lunch. It was great to see them and spend time with them, considering I never get to. It's crazy to think that Tiffany could be one of my students... and I remember when she was born. I=old. But I'm not so much worried about Tiffany, she seems to be making good life choices. Megan, on the other hand, doesn't watch Glee and listens to Lil' Wayne, so we had to have a chat. She has since informed me that she has watched Glee and I gave her some Florence + the Machine, so she could be on track to good life choices. :) That's what big cousins are for, right?

There was also the annual trip to Rum Runner's, where Eric and I celebrate our anniversary because that's where we met, realized our mutual love of piano bars, and became friends. And now he's in Miami and I'm so happy about that fact. It's kind of magical, how life works out... :)

The night was also slightly magical because a dream of Eric's and mine came true. The piano player did the "Bedroom Intruder" song, which was basically amazing and hilarious. In fact, I think all of our requests got played (the serious ones, anyway). Key. And I got a video of it... also key!


Christmas Eve we did the Noche Buena thing, which I never even knew WAS a thing until I moved to Miami. It's also my dad's birthday, so that's pretty cool. The piggy was better than I ever remember it being and seeing the fam was good too. It's sort of a somber gathering these days, with everyone getting older and, it seems, farther apart, and my grandmother being, on a good day, somewhat cognizant. Still, it was a gift in and of itself to even see everyone, and spend time with them, and talk for a little while. I'm lucky that I get to see them at holidays, even though we live far away.

Here's the traditional cousins picture... I remember when Liz and I were the only tall ones in the picture!

And this one might be my favorite, my dad in his new beret lookin' straight pimp. Holler.


That night, we did Christmas at our house, with the cool, new edition of texting back and forth with Steve, Raquel, and J.P. in Texas. It was kind of cool, actually. The miracle of technology at work. I must've been a good girl this year because Santa was good to me, hooking me up with a GPS that will certainly be useful and help me break my addiction to GoogleMaps. Even Bubba got in on the action, opening his present (almost) all by himself.


The next morning, Christmas Day, we drove to the Creek to have Christmas with Mema. It was a little sad, not having Grumpa there physically, but we all know he was with us anyway. Brunch was delicious; I've missed the cheese casserole Mema makes. It's a good thing we only eat it at Christmas because it's pretty aweful for you, but oh man is it delicious. Grumpa used to love it.

Bubba and Kody got along well, and Kody was actually quite the little doggie mode, posing in his favorite spot.

Brunch and family time was great as always, and we did the traditional family photo. I played with the timer on the camera and after a few tries, finally got it right.

As you could see out the window, it was a white Christmas, but it was mostly leftover snow. I think it started to snow a little bit as we arrived, but it didn't snow much on my trip overall. Sad day. I did borrow the really nice camera and I was taking pictures all break, trying to familiarize myself with the camera and see if I could get some good shots. I ended up with this one, which is kind of my favorite. I don't know what kind of plant it is, but I took it in the backyard.

The day after Christmas we had VanCooter Family Christmas. Trash and Gary picked me up and dropped me off at Coot's house, where I played with his iPad and watched the Lions win (what?!) and waited for the rest of the VanCooters to arrive. We went for hibachi, which is becoming a tradition, and then we went to the Wayne County Festival of Lights. Here we are at dinner...

And here are some of the lights:

The festival of lights was at a park. Basically, the displays were set up throughout the park, and we drove through and looked at all of them, oohing and ahhing at the elves playing baseball, the brontosaurus eating leaves, the elves skiing, and the tall Advent candles in a wreath. It was actually pretty cool, but extremely difficult to photgraph, even with a fancy dancy camera. After the lights in the park, we went out to Livonia to the house of some people who love Jesus so much they have a huge light show every year that goes along with music. Most of this music is of the Christian Christmas variety (I dig) but when we got there, the show happened to be almost over and the song playing was "Happy Birthday Jesus" which is even worse than you imagine it to be. Anyway, it was still pretty cool to see. I imagined all the other people in the neighborhood, thinking their lights were awesome, and then realizing... fail. The House family (yes, we went to the Houses' house) wins.

After Christmas, I went shopping at the Howell outlets with my mom and dad, where I got some work clothes. The key is that I could buy short-sleeved spring stuff because I live in Miami where I can still wear them. KEY! I also got to see Bob for a bit, 'cause he came to Lansing one day. We went to Beaner's, excuse me, Bigby (lame) and chatted. It was necessary that we catch up, so I'm glad we got a chance to.

I also saw a couple of movies over my break, namely Black Swan and Tangled. was super intense and I'm not sure I "liked" it, per se, but as a work of art, as a film, it was pretty spectacular. It was well acted, well directed, well filmed. The story was interesting; it all worked. I'm just not sure it worked for ME. I do love some Natalie Portman, though, so that aspect was a win. Tangled was super cute, and I love fairy tales where the princess saves herself, or even saves the prince. I think that's how fairy tales should be anyway--instead of teaching little girls to wait for Prince Charming to save them, they should save themselves and hope Prince Charming can keep up. If he can't, peace out princey.

I came back to Miami the 30th, in order to spend NYE here. Michigan New Year's just doesn't cut it, probably because everyone I'd want to spend it with there is so spread out, or visiting people because they also have time off, that Miami is just a better choice. This year, a friend had a party at his place, and I headed there. It was a small gathering, but the new year came anyway, and the ball dropped, and champagne was drunk, and merriment was made. I meant to take pictures of the evening, but somehow ended up without any. Fail. But I suppose all I wanted was to ring in the new year with people who make me smile, and I certainly did that. Let's hope my year is filled with such a gift.

Much love.

Birthday Bonanza and Other Bits

I figure that if your birthday falls in the middle of the week, like, say, a Tuesday, you can celebrate without guilt on both the weekend before and the weekend after.

Birthday celebrations started a day earlier than expected when my friend Yesi called me at 9:30, when I was deeply into pajama mode, and asked me to go with her to see her friend and fellow drama teacher receive an award and play a song. Not being one to turn down a chance to be fabulous, I put on my party pants and shoes and we headed out.

It took us quite a while to even FIND the dang place we were looking for, and on the way Yesi informed me that we were going to the "Miami Dance Music Awards" which kind of made my stomach hurt considering how much I love (read: HATE) dance music. Then we finally found the place and walk in, and it was like walking into another country WITHIN the foreign land that is Miami itself. It was loud and everything was in Spanish, and I walked in to a room full of laser lights with a band onstage playing what sounds like 80s tunes, and I look up and see a dude playing a key-tar. It was secretly amazing.

We proceeded into the place, across the laser-lit dance floor, and found Yesi's friend who, I thought, was a DJ since she was, apparently, a "freestyle" artist. Well, come to find out, "freestyle" is a kind of music that made it only to Miami, New York, and L.A... Like Latin 80s dance music, as far as I can figure. And the awards? They were more like lifetime achievement awards or something, and at one point Tito Puente Jr. was, like, chillin' on stage. Everyone who won an award had contributed greatly... no one, as far as I could tell, was still making music.

Yesi's friend finally performed a little after midnight, and her song was, like, a fun 80s tune (in English!!) and it was cool to see her. But by far the best act of the night was this dude in a bedazzled black t-shirt (I'm talking FULLY bedazzled--gold jewels in a geometric grid ALL over). He won an award for a song and band I'd never heard of, which at this point I was expecting, and then the guy who gave it to him was like, "Why don't you just do a little song for us?" And Mr. Bedazzled is like, "What? Me? No, I couldn't possibly..." When you know the WHOLE time that $#!t was planned. It was hilarious. And then Mr. Bedazzle croons a song, in Spanish, from, like, the disco era and it was out of control. I was like, Is this really happening? WHAT is going on?

Then in the process of being there, Yesi sees a guy looking at me so I discretely try to look back. Turns out, dude's totally gay, which explains the look. lol. I also saw a little person, which was amazing. Actually, MOST of the people there were characters, including the HOT bartender and an awkward relationship between an ugly dude and his email order bride/escort/lady of the evening. I'm just saying she was wearing clear heels (SURE sign) and a "shirt" that, I was certain, would show her nipples at any moment if she continued to dance the way she was dancing. Wow. The entire eveing was certainly an experience to be remembered. I still haven't processed it all; it was just too much for my senses to take in.

The following day I had my birthday celebration (version 1.0), which wasn't anythign too amazing, mostly because all my brilliant ideas were somehow foiled by fate, timing, money, or all of those. I settled on dinner at RA, a sushi place in Sunset. I've always had good food and a good time when I go there, so it seemed like a wise choice.

There ended up being a dozen of us for the dinner portion and it was yum. RA has the appetizer called, like, Dynamite Scallops or something, and it's basically the perfect food: scallops (although bay, not sea), mushrooms, and spicy goodness. WIN. I also had a roll (I can't recall which one but it was good) and all was pleasing. Now, I ate a good deal, but I didn't quite feast like SOME people...

I believe there were seven plates in total. OUT of control! :)

Here's a group photo of us, enjoying dinner.

After dinner, the waiter, who I'd sort of harassed earlier in the night because I wanted my tonic wanter bubbly, brough the obligatory birthday free dessert, which was some sort of ice creamy thing. Tempura icecream, maybe. I was so excited about it, I forgot about the "blow out the candle" thing and just started eating. My friend Jeff filmed the presentation, song, eating and candle blowing. If you're really that interested you can watch video of the big event here.

After RA, a few of us (read, two) went to Fox's where a couple other friends came out for a drink. It was great to see everyone, some of whom I haven't been able to see since my return from Boston. It was a fun night, and I got home at a decent time so all was well. No more birthday ragers--I'm getting up there!

Birthday celebration part deux came the next weekend when The Weave came down from Boca and Eric, who was out of town the week before, came to hang out with us, too. We went to dinner Saturday night at Benihana, which sends you a coup for $30 during the month of your birthday. Holler! It was a fun dinner with good people, and my favorite part of the dinner show is the onion volcano! Yay!Here we all are, re-celebrating.

We finished the night at Crazy Pianos because I had two $25 certificates I'd bought over the summer for not even half that price. It was a fun (and cheap!) night, and we made friends with the (hot) bartender because we wanted to request the bed intruder song. Our dream was not realized but it was fun anyway.

The next morning, we all met up again on the Beach to have "Drag Queen Brunch" at The Palace. Eric's gone a few times, and he says it's always fun, which it proved to be. The draw is paying $35 for breakfast and unlimited mimosas, but, since I can't really drink more than one, I got a bloody Mary and eggs Benedict, both of which were delicious. The other aspect of the breakfast is the drag performances, which happen about every 15 minutes or so. It was thoroughly entertaining; the emcee was quite funny and the performances (some of them) were pretty outstanding. I managed to get this photo of Champagne something-or-other, who I'm pretty sure, was my waitress at Lips last year when I went for another friend's birthday. The drag queen world must be a small one.

All in all, a very successful birthday, I'd say. I'm looking forward to this year being...milder than last year. My Master's is going well, teaching is challenging but awesome, and, so far, I'm managing everything well. This year, I am once again hopeful about and excited for what is to come.

Much love.

Boats, Buildings, Buzz, and Boston Pops

The day after my last post, the 29th, a fellow R.C. and I went "adventuring," which is my new favorite term for exploring the area. We went to the Boston Harbor and the North End in search of The U.S.S. Constitution, the oldest American ship still in the water. We took the long way to the boat, I think, but had a lovely walk around the harbor. The coolest part was that the waters along the harbor docks are filled with jellyfish! It's crazy and SUPER cool! See?

I've never seen anything like it before, certainly not just naturally in the water like that!

We made it to the ship after a bit, and it was absolutely magnificent. The ship is huge--massive, actually--and beautiful. It's currently under construction, but that doesn't really detract from how lovely and majestic it is.

We waited for the guided tour from a sweet young guy from Seattle who was "a sailor pretending to be a tour guide" and not the other way around. He was adorable and I'm sure his mom is happy he's giving tours and not...elsewhere. He showed us all around the ship, or at least the two decks we could fit on (the second floor down was too short for me--I had to duck the whole time). We saw the gun deck and then went down to the sleeping quarters where the guys all slept in hammocks with virtually no space between. Um...no.

It was really interesting and free, which is awesome. Plus, I got to drive the boat...

Okay, so that part's a lie but it was still super fun for free 99. We also walked about the museum for a little bit afterwards, both to get cool and to learn more, and then we headed back to our temporary home. Great afternoon. :)

On Wednesday, I decided to go to the studio to watch a paux de deux, or partnering, class. It was the lower level of boys and, I think, mid-level girls. Another RC and I creeped on them from a semi-secret room above the largest studio. It was so fun to watch, and to see the kids in a completely different light. This one couple, a Brazilian boy and this tiny blond girl who embodied the word "fierce," was awesome. Plus, the teacher is totally a "silver fox" and he was beautiful to watch as well. It's great that I know most of the boys, because that made the class fun to see; my girls are the youngest so none of them are in the higher level classes, although they are very good.

After the class, I ran into a kid named Conner, who wanted to kill some time by going to the Library but couldn't find anyone to accompany him. (Kids here have to use the buddy system and are not allowed to go anywhere without a "buddy.") I took him because it was close and because I wanted to explore it a little further anyway. And because it's a library. And because I'm a nice person.

I'm glad I did because there was a beautiful photography display on the third floor, beautiful architecture and art throughout, and this lovely bust of Mark Twain, whom I love.

That night, we had our weekly "staff bonding" activity, which was bowling. For some reason, I was kind of good at it, and, at one point bowled three strikes in a row. I was even winning the second game for about three frames.

I know, I couldn't believe it either. That's why there's photographic evidence. Shortly after this, I began to bowl as I normally do, and ended up in third place.

The next day, I didn't have to work until 7 pm, so I went adventuring to Cambridge to visit Harvard. I took a bus that dropped me off right outside the Harvard Book Store, a beautiful, beautiful wonderland for a person such as myself. Of COURSE I went inside, and of COURSE I got lost in there voluntarily for a good while. It was awesome.

Right outside the bookstore is the entrance to Harvard, which I felt was kind of pompous. In case you can't read it, it says "Enter to grow in wisdom." Really?

The exit says something similar, like "Exit to share your knowledge" or some crap like that, but I suppose it's a nice gesture. And hey, it's the Ivy League so I guess they can do what they want, huh?

I think I only saw a small part of the campus inside the gated area, and I wandered out into the science complex (I think) and I know the medical and law campuses are in a different area. The best thing I saw though, was this:

It doesn't really come across in the photo, but if you look down at the bottom you can see six bottles. They're bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade lined up nicely outside the gate. I just found this to be kind of ironic and definitely funny. Young Ivy League-ers who want to party it up drink cheap booze too! lol. But anyway, the campus is beautiful and old as one would expect, and I'll actually be going back in a couple of weeks for a real tour of "Hahvahd," not just a walk about.

Every weekend here there are two trips the kids can go on. These trips are optional, but chaperoning duties are not. Saturday was the trip to Six Flags New England, which, I'll admit, I wasn't really excited about until I got there. I mean, I live in Florida so I'm kind of over theme parks. But it turned out to be pretty fun.

Six Flags has some wicked roller coasters, and, with help, I managed to avoid the evil people dressed up as characters. Score!

We went on, I think, every roller coastser in the park and didn't have to wait long at all. In fact, for Batman we walked on, rode it, walked off, got right back in line and were on the ride again in ten minutes. It was pretty awesome. I don't know where all the people were--probably in line for the most wicked roller coaster there, Bizarr-O, which was the ride we waited the longest for. Or maybe they were at the water park, since it was a hot day. I suppose the important thing to remember is that they weren't in line for the rides I was in line for, and it was awesome.

The last ride we went on was a sky tram thingy, gondolas that go across the park and back again, which was not only thrilling in comparison to roller coasters (lol) but a great way to take some shots of the park.

This is a picture of a ride called, I think, the Mind Eraser. Clearly I can't remember because it worked.

The kids actually showed up to the bus on time, and the day turned out to be fun. Plus I didn't get sunburned, so woot.

The following day was July 4th, a holiday I've always enjoyed. There was something special about it this year, maybe because I was reminded at my grandfather's funeral just how great this country is and why it's worth fighting for. I don't know, maybe I can't explain it well, but this Independence Day was special.

I spent the morning working at the desk here, and in the afternoon I watched The Sandlot, a Fourth of July tradition, and hung out with some kiddos until dinner. That evening, we had a gathering on the 9th floor of Shelton Hall to watch the fireworks over the Charles. It was actually the perfect spot to watch--not crowded, perfect view, and air conditioned--especially after we put the Boston Pops concert on the radio. The show is timed to the music, so it was pretty much necessary.

I got a small bit of video of the show, which I hope will play if I post it here. We'll see...

If not, here's a picture just to give you an idea of how awesome the show was.

It was pretty cool to see fireworks commemorating our nation's birthday in the place where it actually began.

Also last week I saw Toy Story3 which was the first movie I'd seen in a theater since, I think, Christmas. I just couldn't help but have this overwhelming feeling that, if I went to see a movie, I would hate it. So I didn't go. They're too expensive to waste money on, I figured, so I just wouldn't waste it. I really enjoyed the movie, although it was pretty intense at times. I teared up quite a bit, and the ladies I went with were full on crying. lol. I remember loving the first one, and I know I saw the second one as well, and this one seemed like a great way to finish the story off, if, in fact, that's what they were doing.

This morning I actually went adventuring to the North End and Harbor area, but I'll tell you about that next time.

This is called "suspense."

Much love.

Since We Last Saw Each Other

I've been up to the same shenanigans--literature, arts, you know how I roll.

Crystal, whose friendship with me is old enough to drink legally, was in Orlando a couple weeks ago with her boyfriend and I drove up there to see her since I hadn't in over a year. We didn't manage to get together at Christmas, so I figured four hours there and back was worth it. So I drove to Kissime where she was staying, and another friend from Sarasota met us there too, and we had ourselves a lovely afternoon.

We decided to go to Celebration, which is the town owned by Disney. As Stew so eloquently put it, it's a place where most people "drink the Kool-Aide." The town was pristine and had a total Pleasantville feeling about it. It was creepy in a completely calming way. The whole place was totally...serene. Check out this lake, for example:

Serene, right? And of course, there was a fountain. And of COURSE we took a picture by it...

We had lunch together at a Japanese place, and then dinner a few hours later at a seafood place. Crystal's boyfriend Andy joined us. It was great to meet him. Anyway, Crystal, Stew, and I have a sort of tradition, I guess, when it comes to taking pictures. We like funny poses in restaurants. So this time, we came up with this...


We are awesome, I know. Be jealous. :)

It was a great day and the four hour drive both ways was totally worth it. Now I just need to get up to Sarasota to see Stew more often.

I also went to go see The Vagina Monologues at Lynn in Boca because Annie directed them this year. The show is always great to see, and it's also always for a good cause. There were some new monologues this year that I'd never seen before, which was cool, and, of course, the old standbys as well. Overall, it was a great show and I'm really proud of Annie for putting it together so well.

In other news, I've been really into spoken word poetry lately. I've been watching loads and loads of poets on YouTube, and even looking into readings and open mic nights here. We'll see if I actually finish any of the poems I'm working on, or if I manage to gather the courage to share them. We'll see. But in the mean time, here's one of my favorites, by a guy named Jon Sands, it's called Mollie & Jacob.

I've been out of my mind busy but that means I'll have a lot to talk about, so get ready!

Much love.

The Little SALTT Camp that Could (aka, "Bootleg SALTT Camp")

I am currently fighting a plague of some sort, brought about by a week with little sleep and snotty-nosed kids of various shapes, sizes, and ages. Please forgive me if I make no sense. My brain seems to be trying to escape through my left nostril, while simultaneously trying to explode out my forehead. It's awesome, trust me.

As many of you know, SALTT camp was last week. SALTT is a club at our school (Service And Leadership for Today and Tomorrow) that ministers to Guatemalan children of Mayan descent, most of whom are illegals. They had to flee from Guatemala because of their ethnicity--the government doesn't want them so they have to get out, or, in some cases, die. Our kids put on a camp for them for one week during the summer and our goal is to not only teach them about God, but to show them that education and good choices can open up a world for them that seems closed. But the biggest, most important thing we do, is love these kids who are told, time and time again, that they are unlovable.

While camp is stressful, sleep-deprived haze of children and crafts, the mission of what we're doing is important and so I go, to participate and to witness.

This year's camp was slightly "bootleg" as timing and weather prevented our first two field trips from being what they could have been. It was kind of the running joke throughout the week. We did make it to bowling (for what seemed like 10 hours...) and the water park so all was well in the end. EXCEPT that at the water park, we found out about the death of Michael Jackson. RIP, Moonwalker.

The day of the water park, Thursday, was uber traumatizing. Not only did MJ die, but I called my friend Drew to de-stress and he told me about Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon. PLUS I was having a nervous breakdown over the way the lady in charge runs things (which I went to camp knowing would happen) and I basically couldn't take it anymore.

Funny story: I'm in the back of my car with three ILS alum. One, the only guy, is driving because I couldn't take his back seat driving anymore (yes, I actually pulled the car over and got out mid-trip), another is in the front seat with a bum ankle, and the third is in the back seat with me, offering me her hand for comfort. The three girls are, like, bitching about everything, basically, and the poor guy didn't know what was happening. I think we may have destroyed his life. lol. This SALTT camp also highlighted something I've known to be true for quite some time: I have a SUPER awkward life. Like, seriously awkward. Case in point: on Tuesday morning, two random guys (CUTE guys, too) show up to camp after breakfast. I a) look like a homeless person b) am not wearing any make up and c) have HUGE bags under my eyes from lack of sleep. Needless to say, I was not looking or feeling very presentable so I avoided these two guys. I said hi, but otherwise avoided them like the plague. But Father Frank, like, corners me and makes me introduce myself to them. I was like, "I already said hi mumble, mumble, I gotta go." I went back to the library (where the girls sleep) and made myself more presentable, then went to find out what these dudes were about. Turns out they were in town for a deportation case, they were "doing a story" on it and they had heard about camp through Father Frank, who they'd heard of because of the case. They were cool guys, or seemed to be, so whatever.

So a little bit later, I'm in the library writing names on bags (trust me, it was VERY important) and the camp director comes in going, "Have you seen Father Frank?" I reply, "He's probably with those guys." Then I hear, "You mean us guys?" Yeah... they were there, in the doorway. Awwwwesome. At least I didn't say, "He's probalby walking around with those hotties" 'cause yeah, that would've been more awkward. And if all that wasn't bad enough, Father Frank and D insisted they get my phone number for NO reason AND they talked to the guys about me like I wasn't even in the room but I WAS SITTING RIGHT THERE! I wanted to sink into the floorboards, for SURE.

And let's not neglect my final awkward story. I was called a boy THREE times during camp. Twice it was by kids, so whatever, I can deal. In their culture, much like the culture of Miami, girls don't have short hair. So they see short hair, and they assume that person is a boy. Okay, fine. I can deal. But then I go to Walgreens to get stuff for the poor sprained ankle (see above) and I'm checking out, and the guy goes, totally unprompted, "Uh, like, don't take offense but, uh, I thought you were a dude for, like, two seconds." Um... Really? REALLY guy who works at Wallgreens? WHY did you feel the need to share that?! Did I ASK you? Did you call me "sir"? No. AWKWARD! More so for him than for me, really. Whatever. In his defense, though, I did look like a homeless person.

Sadly, that was my second adventure at Walgreens during camp. The first adventure, whose point I cannot at this time recall, was funny only because I found this:

Had it not been $20, I would have bought that hot little number and worn it every day. Aww yeah!

Our fieldtrips were, as I said previously, pretty bootleg, but we did manage to make it to the water park for a good three hours and I spent my time there with Aileen who is so sweet and lovely. Here we are after an afternoon of waterslides.
At the end of the week, the kids put on a little show. They have singing, drama, and dance classes throughout the week, and they all culminate in the show, which was Alice In Wonderland this year. The show is always a shortened, dare I say bootleg, version of the real thing, but it goes along with the theme which was uniqueness. After the show, we always do a group picture, and here it is. You can barely see anyone, but trust me, I'm there in the bottom left corner, with Selvin and Domingo on my lap.

Selvin, I decided, is my child, not only because he's cute as heck, but because his last name is also Garcia. Clearly, meant to be mine.
After the show we have a carnival and then the kids leave on the bus, just as they do every day previous. But on the last day, the big kids follow the bus nearly into the street. It's really touching. Here's what it looks like.

All in all it was a great week, although I wish I could have gotten more sleep and I wish I could tell D how to run it more efficiently and smoothly. But I know if I tell her, it won't really matter, so that sucks. Anyway, this last photo is my favorite of camp. Ana Lourdes (another Ms. Garcia and memeber of the English department) took it and when I saw it the first time, it brought tears to my eyes. I just love it...

I think it says so much about the camp experience--it's all about hands. Two hands, reaching toward each other, trying to hold on for a minute.

On the way back from camp I almost got into a serious car accident because the road was wet and this IDIOT of EPIC proportions decided to come into my lane (FALSE) and I slowed down and moved to the next lane but lost control and slid across four lanes, ending up facing oncoming traffic in a ditch. It was scary and horrible, but luckily no one was around so I didn't get hit, I didn't hit anything, and both me and Georgia (my car) are fine. I was pretty shaken up, but I made it home and Tanya, my savior, picked me up for our friends' going away party. I am clearly a rock star.

Monday night I drove up to Ft. Lauderdale to have dinner with Annie, which was nice, and then Tuesday I had lunch at Five Guys, which, apparently, is super famous but I've never been. Let's just say I WILL be going again! It was delicious!

This week has been devoted to researching London, finishing up travel plans, watching Hugh Grant movies, and healing myself from this awful plague. I leave for London tomorrow... I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!

One final FYI--my church is doing a competition to promote their summer series called At the Movies. Congregants had to remake scenes from a famous movie, and my friend Yesi and I couldn't resist. Here's what we made--check it out! The video with the most hits is the winner so watch, watch, watch and tell your friends!

Much love!

My First Weekend of Freedom!

The stress and anger I felt most of last week all melted away on Friday when we checked out officially for the summer. I had a seriously stressful last week, due to a student who can't manage to follow directions and a poor decision on my part. Anyway, that's all over, and people get what they deserve and life goes on.

Thursday night was a night of premature celebration in the form of the English department's end of the year party. I made Sloppy Joe's ("man food") and we ate, drank, and generally made merry. It was an interesting event, because at last year's party we were saying goodbye to Margie and hello to Melanie, and this year it was goodbye Melanie and hello (again) Margie. Ironic, I suppose, but wonderful all the same.

The highlight of the night was Bree-Ana unveiling the finished version of a song that's been brewing all year. It was captured on video for all of posterity and you can watch it here at YouTube. There are some naughty words, so beware!

Friday night, my first officialy evening of freedom, I met up with my pal Drew and we had dinner and went to a co-worker's show. I have a co-worker who does improv comedy (and apparently has done for years) and so I thought it would be fun to see his show. Turns out, it was a fun night. We ate at a middle eastern place (falafels and baclava are YUM!) and saw the show. Improv always amazes me; the actors (parciticipants?) are so quick! I sometimes think I could do it... but other times I'm convinced I can't. Ahh well, maybe some day.

Saturday morning I had a baby shower to go to for a woman at church. I made her a sweater and it turned out to be perfect--the baby's colors are green, navy, and brown, and I made a mint green sweater. The daddy to be requested two more (Can you guess the colors?) before the little tyke is born.

That afternoon, we had a book club meeting/potluck, a little goodbye to Anya, who's going to New York for the summer. Our book for this meeting was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who liked it, or at least I thought so until we discussed it. I figured out a few things throughout the course of the conversation, so I was quite happy about that.

As the evening wore down, we decided a move needed to be made, or it was time for pjs and bed. T, Adam, and I went out to Crazy Pianos (I told you I'm obsessed!). My quest to become BFF with all of the piano players comes further and further to fruition each time I go, and this outing was no exception. Adam (not my upstairs neighbor but the piano player from G.R.) and I chatted for a while and he hooked me up with a shot of tequila. I am not one to turn down such a gift, especially when that gift is from a cute boy who plays piano and has a great smile.

The best part was the two girls who were kind of stalking him were waiting for him at the back bar and eventually worked their way into his buis-nass. I'm certain that I saw the word "help" written in Adam's eyes, but I have no time to fool around with girls like that, and found the whole situation amusing anyway. It was a fun night and we ended up practically closing the place (a first for me and something I haven't done in ages).

Sunday was pool time and church, and I've been working out and working on stuff for the rest of the week. I'm trying to figure out next year, for both my juniors and seniors (yeah, still don't know what I'm doing there...). I've got this week and next before I head to migrant camp, and then a few days later it's London town!

This summer is going to go by very quickly, I can already tell, but I can't wait for London!!

Much love.

New Hair and Sea Bass

Wednesday night my life changed. Derric and Meagan from church invited a bunch of people over to watch So You Think You Can Dance and I went; not because I'm a huge fan of the show, but because it was better than sitting at home. Plus, let's be real, I dig a show about dancing. So anyway I'm watching, and I see Mark, the new love of my life. Let's just say he's beautiful and a great dancer and this pretty much made me want to cry for days. That's Mark, my future husband. It's fine. This was also pretty brilliant, although no Mark. :( The lady who choreographed it, though, is apparently from Coconut Grove. Score!

So anyway, I see Mark and I decide I want his hair cut. So I got it, kind of. Well, a girl version of it. My hair's never been this short before... perhaps not even when it first started growing! The lady who cuts it does a great job, though, and I really like it. I think you really have to have personality to wear that hair and I'm kind of proud that I can pull it off. At least, I think I'm pulling it off. It's fun and faux hawkey and I like it. Now I finally feel like I can grow it 'cause this is what I wanted all along and never managed to get. So here it is. I dig.

I took my hair out for it's debut on Saturday because Fredy owed me. :) We went out to a fusion restaurant in South Beach called Sushi Samba. The place had Japanese, Peruvian, and Brazilian food. I know, they're all so similar. Noooot so much. But I'm telling you--this place was amazing. Leave it to Fredy to know a great place and to order some amazing appetizers. We had a tuna ceviche and the most amazing sea bass skewers I've ever eaten. This bass was so good I'm still thinking about it. Right now. As I type this, I'm wishing I could eat more of this sea bass. I've been thinking about it since we parted ways, in fact, and the thought of it makes me so happy. Seriously--it was that good. I can't even deal.

Margarita got a new camera and she decided to put it to good use, so here's me (my new hair) and the Fred.

This flower was a garnish... I like to wear garnish.

Outside the restaurant was this amazing tree (they're in abundance here) with this viney-flowers hanging down. Cool tree+me=photo op. You know this.

After dinner, we went to Art Walk down in the Design District. All the galleries down there opened their doors and you could just walk around and browse. Now, I fully admit that I don't understand most art. Like weird stuff that looks like baby poo and vomit on a canvas is not lovely to me. Seriously. But yeah, some of the stuff was cool... and some was just wierd. An enjoyable evening all in all.

This is just a snapshot of a graffiti wall we walked by. I liked it...graffiti I get.

So that was my weekend so far. I'm going to be pretty much living at church until next Saturday night, as Adventure Weekend (the event I've been working on all summer) starts Friday. I'm excited and nervous and anxious about it all, but I'm sure it'll be great!

Then I get to go home!!

Much love.

The end is in sight

I had a week like most others at CIS, simply a bit more hectic because I had to finish all the books I've been teaching. Mission accomplished on that front. Also, I was just trying to enjoy my kids for the last week, but somehow they got on my nerves even more than normal. I think we're both just ready to move on; as much as I love them, a year and a half is a long time. I'm excited to see them graduate tomorrow and get another step closer to becoming, like, real people. Crazy.


I'm also getting ready to leave Korea, my home for the past year and a half. That part's not so easy... I'm nearly all packed for my trips, which is amazing. Honestly, I didn't think all my stuff would fit. And it doesn't, but that's because the diabetic girl has to take two months worth of supplies along. Fun. So I just bought a carry on bag and I'll put books/diabetes supplies/a coat in there and then send it along when I get down under, I think. Speaking of sending things home, I think I'm going to send my beloved laptop home, too. I kind of need to cut the cord with the internet, and just really relax. I can always go to an internet cafe to check email and stuff like that. Just typing this is giving me a bit of a panic attack, but I'm dealing. I can live without the internet. I can.


At least, I hope I can because they're probably coming to turn it off tomorrow. Oh balls.

In weekend news, yesterday the parents of my kindergarteners took me out to lunch and got me the most amazing gift EVER. A Swarovski crystal necklace. Serioiusly, it's gorgeous. I almost cried when they gave it to me. And Joon, my little kid that left my class around September, came with his mom so it was great to see him too. Here's a pic of the whole table of beautiful ladies. Seven of 13 ain't bad.



The best part of the whole thing? Lucy's mom brought Lucy and baby sister, the cutest kid IN THE WORLD. Seriously. Look.



Seriously, I can't even stand it.


Last night I went out with school people (Rodney, SeetandJames) and some of my friends came as a sort of farewell last hurrah. Beer and nori bong were in order and it was a late but enjoyable evening. It's all getting very sad, though. Gah...


I hate change and wish everyone I love in the world lived in the same damn place. Balls.

Today I met with Jade, the lady I used to do Language Exchange with and whose wedding I went to. It was great to see her again and catch up. Then I went to church and now I'm home making the CDs for my kids for tomorrow. I'm putting the movie I made on a CD for them, after buying 38 CDs that don't work I finally got 15 that do. That is NOT awesome. But I'm watching Ugly Betty while doing it, so life isn't all that bad.


Graduation tomorrow, packing, packing, Thailand!! I'll try to update again when I can, but don't know how soon that will be. Definately by April...when I'm home. :)


Here's my kids' last Performance Theater from Thursday. Enjoy. ;)


Much love.

I'm still alive... don't worry!

I realize I haven't posted in ages but I'm still alive, I assure you all. I've been busy trying to get my travel itinerary together, buy plane tickets, find places to stay, all that garbage. Shoot, finding a backpack to take was hard enough work... BUT, I found one and I've (kinda sorta) packed it and now I'm just counting down the days. I doesn't seem real yet. It really doesn't. I mean, part of me is SO READY to go and part of me just wants to stay because so much of my heart is here now. I mean, there are 13 little babies here that I just adore, not to mention the co-workers and friends I'll leave. I need to just have a nervous breakdown about it all, and then I'll be fine, but it's just not ready yet.

As far as life goes, I had a really busy last Saturday, running all over town for a haircut, a backpack search and hanging out, too. I went with Phillip (and entourage) to a street fortune teller for fun and it ended up being hilarious. She told me I'd get married when I'm 30 to a guy who's a designer of some kind. So I guess I am destined to marry a gay guy! lol. Hmm, what else? Oh, she said I heard music in the womb, and that I have "music in my heart and hear music in my dreams." I don't know if all that's true, but it was nice to hear. I also took silly photos in a photobooth with Mark (and entourage) and then played Jenga at a board game cafe. It was a busy but super fun day.

I've also been running around trying to get last minute stuff done, which is tough cause I'm super broke til Monday when I'm (supposed to) get paid. We'll see if that actually happens. Plus I'm sending home an entire life and several seasons of clothes so the post office is my new hang out. Balls. And let me just mention that carting a crapload of stuff to the post office alone is NOT my idea of a good way to start a morning. I'm just sayin'...

Now let's move on to the photo portion of the program. First, my haircut. I got a different style this time, and my boyfriend who cuts it said I should be a hair model about 5 times. I'm just saying... :)

It's a little shorter than it should be, but he cut it short 'cause I'm traveling. So yeah... a gay boy told me I look like Liza circa the Cabaret years, so I'm okay with it.

Next are a couple of funny ones. This first one is on the back of a van in the parking lot of the apartments where I live.

Um... it's called grammar. Check it out.

And this one is a sign on a clothing store in Suyu. It may not appear funny, but the humor's in the placement of the space. Really.

Awesome. And finally, here's the video I made for my kids. It kinda makes me cry. Whatever.

Okay... don't know when my internet's gonna be shut off but I should be able to update once more before I leave. Which is in a week. For Thailand. To lay on a beach for 10 days. And then go to Hong Kong. And China. And Australia. Oh, and New Zealand. Because that's how I roll.

I can't wait!

Much love.

Another week closer to the end... :)

Not much of note happened this week other than school aggrivation. My new supervisor showed up to learn her job and I made her cry on her first day. And I wasn't even mean. Plus, she's an idiot. AND a baby. Here's an example: Her mom's a teacher and gets up early and her dad overslept one morning so SHE DIDN'T EAT BREAKFAST because no one was there to make it for her. Clearly, a genius. I can tell it's gonna work out well. OR NOT.

I did manage a cute pic and a video, though. First, the pic. This is what my children do at ANY random thirty free seconds in the day. Taken by my little Eric, who's gonna grow up and be a photographer.

Don'tcha love how Willy snuck his way in?

And SPEAKING of Willy click on this, you won't be dissapointed. I promise. I especially love the part when Caroline grabs my arm and the camera shakes.

This, ladies and gentleman, is how I spend my days. Clearly, I am changing lives.

And as for my weekend, I finished Christmas shopping and did a little bit for myself. Like ya do. Nothing really to report. I went shopping in Itaewon and Meyongdong where I managed to find some treasures. Yay for finishing my shopping. :) Also, I booked a plane ticket to Australia (!!!!!) which is about the best thing ever. Saturday night a friend came over and we watched Elf and it was awesome. I haven't watched it since LAST Christmas, so it was hilarious all over again. I <3> Will Ferrell.

Also on Saturday I managed to find a little treasure that helped put ME in the Christmas spirit, but made a little doggie I know pretty pissed.

Um, I may be a bad person.

Today I went to church and then came home and chilled out, then went out for Thai food. Which was yummy. Eating rice out of a pineapple is awesome.

Wish I had more to say but it was too cold to be outside too much this weekend. 'Course, inside my apartment it's just as cold. AWEsome.

Much love.

I'm pretty sure Blogger HATES me."

So, of course, I'm trying to update about Hawaii and stupid Blogger won't let me put up pictures. GAH! This is the same crap that happened with the wedding pics... Clearly, it hates my guts.

So anyway, in leiu of a Hawaii update, I've made got two new videos on YouTube. Here's one and here's the other. They're both my kid's at Performance theater. One's New Kids, the other's THE CUTEST thing ever. Sometimes, Bjork is awesome. :)

Last night my soul was rejuvinated because 7 of the CIS staffers headed to see DJ Shadow who, it turns out, is AWESOME. My SOUL needed that. It was amazingly fun and a SUPER good show, but 7 teachers were draggin' today. Man... Getting home at 2 am and then getting up to teach=no fun. Still, my kids were rockstars today so that helped.

Hmm... my feet are a disaster. Seriously... they hurt and they're peeling and cracking and yikes. I kind of want them to stop sucking.

Linds (of JohnandLindsay) stopped by school today and it was nice to see her. Glad those two crazy kids are back in Seoul. They're good people.

Much love.

"I couldn't even have a WEEK..."

I'm back from Hawaii nice and safe. It was, as expected, an amazing time. I'll update about it more when I finish photo editing the pics I took. I promise.

But for now, let me leave you with this. It's a video of my kids singing "Free Fallin'" for Performance Theater. It's SUPER cute. Watch and love.

In other news, I came back to my hot water being turned off for 12 days, and my school not paying us when we are contractually supposed to be paid. Oh, and the other campus of our school got Monday off.

Ain't life grand? Oh Lord... Can it be January now?

Much love.

"You know somethin's up, don'tcha Bubba?"

I took my dog to Karen's last night, crying the whole walk there and home. I really miss him. I know that staying with her is the best thing for him, because a kennel would just be aweful, but that doesn't mean I miss him any less. :( Hopefully, Karen will call me before I leave, so I can at least know how he did on the train ride. I can't believe I won't see him for a whole week...

I'm pretty much packed and ready to go. Still have a couple loose ends to tie up, but once I get dressed and head out, I can take care of them in a couple minutes. It's just the getting dressed part... lol.

I cleaned today so I'll come back to a nice clean house and nice clean sheets. That's kind of exciting.

So... in about an hour I'm meeting friends for lunch but I just wanted to update quickly before I took off. Oh, and I wanted to post this. It's a movie I made with pics and video from my time here. Watch and enjoy.

I'm sure I'll do a monster update when I get back.

Much love!