1. I want to go to bed, but once again it's 10pm and I feel like I need to stick with this thing since I've made it this far. Blogging is weird. I've been doing it, at varying levels of regularity, since some time in high school (junior year, maybe?), so it's been over a decade. And I still don't know if I actually enjoy it. Hm.
2. Our staff at school has decided to do a once a month after school get-together, in a not-meeting format. Today was our first, and it was pretty fun. The people at our school are all pretty great, and it will be sad to leave them. But, such is life, and until then I'll just enjoy their company and take their good-natured ribbing about my propensity toward the hard liquors. (Everyone is really surprised when they find out I like moonshine and the like. I don't know why.)
3. I came across an interesting question the other day, and it got me thinking - if I could pick one day to relive, what day would I pick? My first thought was any number of family get-togethers, either my immediate family or my extended family (the day we got together with the whole of my dad's side of the family to celebrate my grandparents' 40th, I believe, was pretty awesome. I think I was...12? Hm. Maybe it was 50th. I don't remember. I think 40th. Anyway, what I do remember of that day was pretty fun, so that might be an interesting one). But once I really thought about it, I decided another day was a pretty fantastic day and it'd be great to experience it again. Obviously this isn't the definitive answer, but it's up there. It's the day, at the end of September 2012, when my roommate/coworker/delightful friend and I took a day off of work and went up to Estes Park early in the morning to go for an hourlong horseback ride, with a groupon we had bought months earlier. It was going to expire soon, so it gave us the impetus to go. And what a perfect day it was. We did the horseback riding thing in the morning, which was my first time on a horse since the one time I had gone as a preteen (and even then, it was just riding around a corral for a bit), and that was just awesome. Then, afterwards, we had the day to kill and were in my favorite place, so we drove into Rocky Mountain to explore. It was nearly perfect timing with the aspen change, so there were lots of gorgeous sights to see (of course, it's impossible to go there and not see lots of gorgeous sights), and we drove up as far as we could on Trail Ridge Road - they had closed it for a couple of days just before because of snow, so we couldn't go all the way to the visitor center up there. But we drove up to where we could, parked, and then walked a bit more, and it even snowed a teeny bit while we were up on the road. We walked around Estes some, too, and before we left we saw a huge herd of elk and my friend was kind enough to let me sit there in the car for a while and just watch them and take tons of pictures, as I do. It was just a pretty great day.
4. I just watched a movie that's been in my queue for quite some time (Safe Haven), and to sum it up, I'd say...meh. Predictable, not great acting, not great dialogue, and I just really don't understand the fascination with Nicholas Sparks. I read a couple of his books, and I've seen a few of the movies, and I have yet to get it. This is why I like to stick to the movies I know. Or TV shows. Like Sherlock. (Which...I only just watched over Christmas break, and then when the new season came out last month. But still.) Seriously, though, I'm not big on new movies. Sometimes something will come out that I really want to see, but usually it's something I'm familiar with. Or I go reluctantly and end up enjoying it. Or lots of people enjoy it for a really long time before I give in (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter - both books and movies). I guess I'm contradicting myself. But I think it's safe for me to say no more Nicholas Sparks.
5. It is the weekend, and that makes me happy, not in a small part because Saturdays mean coffee days. I gave up coffee (for the most part) back at the end of August for a special intention, and even though that prayer has been answered, I still haven't gotten back into my daily coffee routine. I got a pretty good system going with the tea, and I find tea to be a lot less work somehow, using less time and requiring less prep and clean up, so while I still occasionally make coffee on a weekday morning, usually it's just a weekend thing. But boy, you'd better believe I look forward to that freshly made Saturday Morning Coffee. Can't wait!
6. We got a quick thunderstorm here yesterday afternoon, along with a bit of a rainstorm, and now I'm itching for spring/summer. Spring, because spring is inherently lovely, even if Colorado is sometimes bad at it and lacks in the flower department (I still miss the azaleas from Maryland/DC/Virginia); and summer, because it means (I hope) more hikes and all the nice weather and the not-humidity and the (I hope) afternoon thunderstorms with rain (please, with the rain, and no fires this year! But not too much rain, and no floods this year either. Putting in my order now for a natural disaster-free Colorado summer). Also, summer means home again. And this year it also means adding to our family when my brother gets married.
7. I'm very glad that February is only 28 days, because I'm already in March mode, and if I had to wait another two or three days for it actually to be March, I'd be a little sad. But you know what's nice about March? Next Sunday, we get to lose an hour! Well, that part's not so nice, but it does mean longer lighted evenings (7pm sunset again! Woo!). I'm also frankly a little excited about waking up when it's still dark out. I'm not sure why, but it just feels right to wake up before the sun comes up when I have to go to work. Weekends are another thing. Though, with the fact that my curtains are so thin and pointless against sunlight, it might be nice for even longer dark mornings so I don't get woken up by the sun when I'm trying to sleep in. That aside, though, it just feels more appropriate to be waking up and getting ready for work when it's dark out. So. Color me excited for the time change.
(Darn. This actually took me 24 minutes.)
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Idealistic
One of the things I really want out of life in the next year is to be able to make enough money to get a place on my own. (Renting, obviously, because I have no misconceptions that I'll ever make enough to buy a house on my own.) Including this year, I have lived with roommates for ten years in a row, and in that time have lived with 17 different people for varying lengths of time. Not counting summers at my parents' house, the only time I didn't live with a roommate was my senior year of college when I had a single. But, since that basically amounts to the same situation I have now (sleeping in my own room, but sharing kitchen and other space with people), essentially I was still living with people. And it's getting old. Not that I don't like my roommates or anything, but oh, how I long for a kitchen of my own, and pots and pans and dishes that are mine and that I can take care of the way I want to. I don't quite know why this is, but I have a strong feeling that if I lived by myself, I would cook a lot more than I do now. (I have at least one friend who has a similar personality to me, and has said something similar. I think it must be some sort of introvert thing, but I'm not sure.) To be the only one making messes, and the only one who will be cleaning them up. To be able to sleep in without other people's noises waking me up. It just sounds so lovely.
In six months (an arbitrary future date at which point I hope once again to have full-time employment, preferably at a rate that will allow me to save a little bit of money each month while also allowing me to live on my own), I might be laughing at myself for wishing for this, but right now it sounds so nice. Potentially scary on those occasional nights, but if I do get a place on my own ideally I'll be able to take Nutmeg with me. (Whether or not she'd be a good guard dog is highly questionable given her propensity to love people more than other dogs, even strangers, but at least it's another living thing I'd have with me.) So, fingers crossed, prayers sent that I'll be able to find a job that pays me enough to make that possible. I'll be turning 29 this year, and I'm just really ready to live by myself like a real adult. Of course, an acceptable alternative would be to meet someone and get married, and trade in the idea of living alone with having a permanent roommate. But. Given my track record getting a well-paying job is far more likely. (Though...given my professional track record, that's not very likely either...)
While I'm wishing for things, I should also wish for my computer to heal itself and/or for some benevolent person to bestow upon me the money to buy a new laptop. Mine is making this extremely painful noise from the fan area intermittently - it started a bit before Christmas, and has just gotten steadily worse/more frequent since then. This week it's been doing it several times a day, even when I'm not using it but it's just sitting on my desk or something. Before it seemed to be linked to being not quite flat enough, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I just pray it can last me three more months, because I really can't afford either to fix it or replace it right now. I have had it for four years now, which is hard to believe, and it was quite a lower-end model when I got it, so I'm frankly surprised it lasted this long. But I need it to last a little bit longer. And my car's making this weird gurgly noise sometimes too, which - based on a basic internet search - seems like it might not be a big deal, but I don't know anything about cars so it's hard to tell. Oy. I just need things to last until the summer! Three more months, things!
So, here's hoping for good things in the coming months! I mean, worst comes to worst, I live with my parents for a while. They're pretty cool people. And I'm sure they'd let me cook for them. :) But regardless what happens, I'm really looking forward to summer. Twill be a lovely one, methinks.
In six months (an arbitrary future date at which point I hope once again to have full-time employment, preferably at a rate that will allow me to save a little bit of money each month while also allowing me to live on my own), I might be laughing at myself for wishing for this, but right now it sounds so nice. Potentially scary on those occasional nights, but if I do get a place on my own ideally I'll be able to take Nutmeg with me. (Whether or not she'd be a good guard dog is highly questionable given her propensity to love people more than other dogs, even strangers, but at least it's another living thing I'd have with me.) So, fingers crossed, prayers sent that I'll be able to find a job that pays me enough to make that possible. I'll be turning 29 this year, and I'm just really ready to live by myself like a real adult. Of course, an acceptable alternative would be to meet someone and get married, and trade in the idea of living alone with having a permanent roommate. But. Given my track record getting a well-paying job is far more likely. (Though...given my professional track record, that's not very likely either...)
While I'm wishing for things, I should also wish for my computer to heal itself and/or for some benevolent person to bestow upon me the money to buy a new laptop. Mine is making this extremely painful noise from the fan area intermittently - it started a bit before Christmas, and has just gotten steadily worse/more frequent since then. This week it's been doing it several times a day, even when I'm not using it but it's just sitting on my desk or something. Before it seemed to be linked to being not quite flat enough, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I just pray it can last me three more months, because I really can't afford either to fix it or replace it right now. I have had it for four years now, which is hard to believe, and it was quite a lower-end model when I got it, so I'm frankly surprised it lasted this long. But I need it to last a little bit longer. And my car's making this weird gurgly noise sometimes too, which - based on a basic internet search - seems like it might not be a big deal, but I don't know anything about cars so it's hard to tell. Oy. I just need things to last until the summer! Three more months, things!
So, here's hoping for good things in the coming months! I mean, worst comes to worst, I live with my parents for a while. They're pretty cool people. And I'm sure they'd let me cook for them. :) But regardless what happens, I'm really looking forward to summer. Twill be a lovely one, methinks.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
I miss talking about this stuff
Ack. I've got nothing. So, fallback to the old marriage topic it is!
Annulments, divorces, and remarriage have come up a lot lately in certain Catholic circles. A lot of people think that the Church needs to change some things in regard to how people who fall into these camps are treated (ie, let those who are divorced and remarried still be able to receive sacraments, particularly if they've applied for and been denied an annulment). There's a spectrum to what people think about it and what should happen, but I think it's an across-the-board agreement that it's not a great situation right now as is.
It's a really difficult conundrum, because marriage is so touchy. Our culture is not one that supports a full teaching of what marriage is and what it means, and what you should do before going into it. As a result a lot of people get married who shouldn't, or who aren't ready, or who haven't talked about the right things, and that means a lot of divorces that could have potentially been avoided. There are, of course, many cases where things were fine and then went all screwy, and there are a lot of very sad cases, but there are a great many where people just didn't know what they were doing or didn't take the sacrament seriously (or didn't even really receive the sacrament at all). And it's a hard thing for them to have to acknowledge that they messed up, that things didn't work out, and now they want to marry this other person and have perhaps gotten everything in order and really know what they're doing this time, but can't do anything about it Church-legally because their first marriage hasn't or can't be annulled. And then what? They either accept the fact that they can't ever get married again, or they go ahead and get married anyway and possibly leave the Church. Both sad situations.
I don't really know what the solution is, other than to go back to the beginning, or start there for those still young enough, and really emphasize from a young age what marriage is and what it means - and keep emphasizing it, until hopefully when people reach marrying age they know what they're getting into. As much as anyone can, anyway. But that doesn't really offer a solution for people who are already in that situation of a first failed marriage. There are a number of people, I think, who believe the Church should change her teachings regarding annulments. Perhaps there should be a way to grant annulments more easily when it's clear that those who entered into the marriage did not have the proper formation to know what they were vowing when they got married. But reading articles like this and this confirm what I know is true: the Church does not have the power, plain and simple, to grant some annulments. And if they can't be granted, that means that the original marriage still exists regardless of civil divorce, and there's really no way around that. Marriage is indissoluble, and that's just the way it is. The Church can't declare a valid marriage to be invalid any more than it can declare the Body and Blood to be just bread and wine.
The Church's teaching on marriage, family, sexuality, etc is just so beautiful, and I wish more people could learn/understand it. Or even took the time to study it a little bit. So many Catholics are incredibly misguided, either willfully or ignorantly, about this stuff, and it hurts my heart. They're often not easy teachings, but they're so worth the time and effort, both in learning about them and following them. I just wish more people knew that. I wish more people would take them seriously. I wish more people would follow them, period. But God does bring all things to good, eventually, somehow, and it hurts him a lot more than it hurts me, so, as is often the case, the best thing to do is to pray. He's pretty good with the miracles.
So. All that, basically to say...I have no idea what, if anything, should change. It's an extremely tough issue, and very emotional, and affects so, so many people these days. I'm looking forward to hearing more about what might come out of this recent meeting and upcoming ones. I don't know that there's a lot the Church could change within this issue, but who knows what the Holy Spirit has cooking.
Annulments, divorces, and remarriage have come up a lot lately in certain Catholic circles. A lot of people think that the Church needs to change some things in regard to how people who fall into these camps are treated (ie, let those who are divorced and remarried still be able to receive sacraments, particularly if they've applied for and been denied an annulment). There's a spectrum to what people think about it and what should happen, but I think it's an across-the-board agreement that it's not a great situation right now as is.
It's a really difficult conundrum, because marriage is so touchy. Our culture is not one that supports a full teaching of what marriage is and what it means, and what you should do before going into it. As a result a lot of people get married who shouldn't, or who aren't ready, or who haven't talked about the right things, and that means a lot of divorces that could have potentially been avoided. There are, of course, many cases where things were fine and then went all screwy, and there are a lot of very sad cases, but there are a great many where people just didn't know what they were doing or didn't take the sacrament seriously (or didn't even really receive the sacrament at all). And it's a hard thing for them to have to acknowledge that they messed up, that things didn't work out, and now they want to marry this other person and have perhaps gotten everything in order and really know what they're doing this time, but can't do anything about it Church-legally because their first marriage hasn't or can't be annulled. And then what? They either accept the fact that they can't ever get married again, or they go ahead and get married anyway and possibly leave the Church. Both sad situations.
I don't really know what the solution is, other than to go back to the beginning, or start there for those still young enough, and really emphasize from a young age what marriage is and what it means - and keep emphasizing it, until hopefully when people reach marrying age they know what they're getting into. As much as anyone can, anyway. But that doesn't really offer a solution for people who are already in that situation of a first failed marriage. There are a number of people, I think, who believe the Church should change her teachings regarding annulments. Perhaps there should be a way to grant annulments more easily when it's clear that those who entered into the marriage did not have the proper formation to know what they were vowing when they got married. But reading articles like this and this confirm what I know is true: the Church does not have the power, plain and simple, to grant some annulments. And if they can't be granted, that means that the original marriage still exists regardless of civil divorce, and there's really no way around that. Marriage is indissoluble, and that's just the way it is. The Church can't declare a valid marriage to be invalid any more than it can declare the Body and Blood to be just bread and wine.
The Church's teaching on marriage, family, sexuality, etc is just so beautiful, and I wish more people could learn/understand it. Or even took the time to study it a little bit. So many Catholics are incredibly misguided, either willfully or ignorantly, about this stuff, and it hurts my heart. They're often not easy teachings, but they're so worth the time and effort, both in learning about them and following them. I just wish more people knew that. I wish more people would take them seriously. I wish more people would follow them, period. But God does bring all things to good, eventually, somehow, and it hurts him a lot more than it hurts me, so, as is often the case, the best thing to do is to pray. He's pretty good with the miracles.
So. All that, basically to say...I have no idea what, if anything, should change. It's an extremely tough issue, and very emotional, and affects so, so many people these days. I'm looking forward to hearing more about what might come out of this recent meeting and upcoming ones. I don't know that there's a lot the Church could change within this issue, but who knows what the Holy Spirit has cooking.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Day 2
One thing I am quite grateful for about this teaching adventure out west here in "might as well be Utah" is that I have gotten to see a good deal more of Colorado than I had previously, despite having lived here for 25 of my 28 years. (Well, minus six.) I still have a lot of places I'd like to visit - taking the Million Dollar Highway to Durango (though I did get to traverse what is apparently one of the prettiest parts of it on my birthday last year, when my parents came out here and we drove to Ouray and then to Silverton and back. The piece from Ouray to Silverton was quite breathtaking indeed), seeing Leadville, revisiting places I haven't been in years like Mesa Verde, Sand Dunes, Buena Vista - but I'm glad I'm getting a chance to see more of this gorgeous state where I'm blessed to live. And I got to cross off one of my big Colorado bucket list items - seeing Ouray. I've probably been able to cross it off more than five times over by now! I hope I get to see some more around here before I leave - or else I'll have a good reason to visit again! And as much as I can sometimes complain about it, the drive between here and home really is beautiful, and peaceful (aside from the worrying about my car breaking down or something happening on some of those very not-trafficked highways I use to get home). I appreciate God's creativity even more than I did before!
I'm glad that, for the most part, I can appreciate all the places where I've lived, and even feel a little bit homesick for them (in the mini sense). Particularly the Virginia DC area. I mean, I always miss Notre Dame to some extent, because it was so transformative for me in certain ways, though I don't necessarily miss the greater South Bend area (other than pretty trees, especially in spring and autumn). I miss the history of the DC area, the pretty houses and flowers and trees, the feeling of being there. The year I lived in Virginia was a bit better than the year I lived in Maryland, and it was just a nifty place to live. Not necessarily my specific place of residence, but down the road a bit, exploring the Old Town area, things like that. It was nice. I miss it sometimes a lot. I don't particularly have a desire to move back, but boy I do hope I get to visit again sometime soonish.
But, for now, I am here, and here I am, and it was 62 degrees today. Other places in Colorado can't say the same. (Of course, I'd probably be just as happy with a 20 degree day, but it sure did feel nice out there today!) I think 60s is one of those temperatures that no one's usually sad to see. Admittedly, I have been one of those people a few times, mostly in the winter when it just won't get cold enough long enough for my tastes, or snow enough - I think I'm one of the only people in the country who hasn't gotten enough of snow this winter. But, to be fair, we really only had a couple of snowstorms here, and only two of significance, and only one of significance enough to close anything. But back to 60s. In the winter, (most) people are extremely happy if this temperature shows up in the middle of some cold days. A nice respite. And in the summer, especially in the middle of a very hot summer, the occasional 60 degree day feels downright chilly and wonderful, generally. I'm really not a fan of 40s, at all, I've discovered, but 20 degrees up or 20 degrees down in the winter can both make me a happy camper.
Lastly, today a friend told me about something called 100 Happy Days. You post a picture of something that made you happy every day for 100 days. So. I thought it sounded cool. I can certainly use more happy in my life. And I just calculated: when I finish, it'll be June 5, and most likely I'll be home again home again. So that'll be happy, too! I'm mostly just going to put them on the book of face, but here's my first entry: today's afternoon sky. Delightful.
I'm glad that, for the most part, I can appreciate all the places where I've lived, and even feel a little bit homesick for them (in the mini sense). Particularly the Virginia DC area. I mean, I always miss Notre Dame to some extent, because it was so transformative for me in certain ways, though I don't necessarily miss the greater South Bend area (other than pretty trees, especially in spring and autumn). I miss the history of the DC area, the pretty houses and flowers and trees, the feeling of being there. The year I lived in Virginia was a bit better than the year I lived in Maryland, and it was just a nifty place to live. Not necessarily my specific place of residence, but down the road a bit, exploring the Old Town area, things like that. It was nice. I miss it sometimes a lot. I don't particularly have a desire to move back, but boy I do hope I get to visit again sometime soonish.
But, for now, I am here, and here I am, and it was 62 degrees today. Other places in Colorado can't say the same. (Of course, I'd probably be just as happy with a 20 degree day, but it sure did feel nice out there today!) I think 60s is one of those temperatures that no one's usually sad to see. Admittedly, I have been one of those people a few times, mostly in the winter when it just won't get cold enough long enough for my tastes, or snow enough - I think I'm one of the only people in the country who hasn't gotten enough of snow this winter. But, to be fair, we really only had a couple of snowstorms here, and only two of significance, and only one of significance enough to close anything. But back to 60s. In the winter, (most) people are extremely happy if this temperature shows up in the middle of some cold days. A nice respite. And in the summer, especially in the middle of a very hot summer, the occasional 60 degree day feels downright chilly and wonderful, generally. I'm really not a fan of 40s, at all, I've discovered, but 20 degrees up or 20 degrees down in the winter can both make me a happy camper.
Lastly, today a friend told me about something called 100 Happy Days. You post a picture of something that made you happy every day for 100 days. So. I thought it sounded cool. I can certainly use more happy in my life. And I just calculated: when I finish, it'll be June 5, and most likely I'll be home again home again. So that'll be happy, too! I'm mostly just going to put them on the book of face, but here's my first entry: today's afternoon sky. Delightful.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Day One
I sort of decided to do the 7 posts in 7 days thing, but alas, here it is Day One and already I'm fresh out of ideas.
It's 10pm. I'm insanely tired, thanks to a few nights in a row of not sleeping well (which is fairly uncharacteristic for me). Last night had to do with the fact that shortly before we all headed to bed, my roommate's dog was acting funny and standing by the front door. Kind of freaked us out, and subsequently a few lights were left on that are not typically left on. (I'm very much a pro-darkness kind of sleeper. Darkness and white noise.) I think the night before that was because I had left my socks on when I went to sleep. I don't usually do that (only if it's particularly cold in my room one night, or my feet just won't warm up), because I inevitably end up too hot but am not necessarily conscious of that fact in the middle of the night when I realize I've been "sleeping" for several hours without yet feeling like I've fallen asleep. Alas. Here's hoping tonight's better, once I write something and hit the hay.
Speaking of sleep, I washed my sheets yesterday and oh, how I love freshly laundered sheets. Every time. It's just a delightful feeling. Clean, everything tucked up the way it should be, and lovely.
I'm currently working on two afghans, though one has been occupying a lot more of my time recently. It's going to take me a LOT of yarn, I can already tell, and it's already quite warm. This reminds me of the summer I spent in DC (which was, until the next summer, their worst to date), when I knit two or possibly three afghans. And we either didn't have or didn't use the air conditioning in the house where I was living that summer. It was hot, let me tell you. 100+degrees every day in July (and then some), and that awful humidity. And yet, still I knit, because once you get used to it the heat isn't so bad, and I'm not going to stop knitting just because it's hot out. That's crazy-talk. But, back to this afghan, I'm looking at it tonight and I just...I don't know. I'm dissatisfied. And I've already restarted it once after having done a good bit of work on it, and now I'm even further in. So I'm not going to do anything about it. And it'll probably look better when it's done, and spread out on a bed, instead of bunched up on the cable, but I might still always feel a bit like it could be better if I had adjusted this one part of it. It's not a mistake, or anything, it just feels slightly uneven to me, part of it. I doubt anyone else would agree, unless I specifically pointed it out and made them agree, but oh well. I can't be perfect.
One more thing and I'll call this good: I've learned a lot having to teach 3rd grade. Next up we're going to be doing sentence diagrams, and that is something I never remember doing in school. This doesn't mean that I didn't, but I definitely don't remember it, so that'll be interesting. But it's been pretty fun, overall, learning the rules and reasons behind a lot of this stuff I already knew. Or, more accurately, relearning. I'm sure I learned the rules at some point. But now I can be an even bigger grammar nazi, so that's good, right?
Day One. Boom.
It's 10pm. I'm insanely tired, thanks to a few nights in a row of not sleeping well (which is fairly uncharacteristic for me). Last night had to do with the fact that shortly before we all headed to bed, my roommate's dog was acting funny and standing by the front door. Kind of freaked us out, and subsequently a few lights were left on that are not typically left on. (I'm very much a pro-darkness kind of sleeper. Darkness and white noise.) I think the night before that was because I had left my socks on when I went to sleep. I don't usually do that (only if it's particularly cold in my room one night, or my feet just won't warm up), because I inevitably end up too hot but am not necessarily conscious of that fact in the middle of the night when I realize I've been "sleeping" for several hours without yet feeling like I've fallen asleep. Alas. Here's hoping tonight's better, once I write something and hit the hay.
Speaking of sleep, I washed my sheets yesterday and oh, how I love freshly laundered sheets. Every time. It's just a delightful feeling. Clean, everything tucked up the way it should be, and lovely.
I'm currently working on two afghans, though one has been occupying a lot more of my time recently. It's going to take me a LOT of yarn, I can already tell, and it's already quite warm. This reminds me of the summer I spent in DC (which was, until the next summer, their worst to date), when I knit two or possibly three afghans. And we either didn't have or didn't use the air conditioning in the house where I was living that summer. It was hot, let me tell you. 100+degrees every day in July (and then some), and that awful humidity. And yet, still I knit, because once you get used to it the heat isn't so bad, and I'm not going to stop knitting just because it's hot out. That's crazy-talk. But, back to this afghan, I'm looking at it tonight and I just...I don't know. I'm dissatisfied. And I've already restarted it once after having done a good bit of work on it, and now I'm even further in. So I'm not going to do anything about it. And it'll probably look better when it's done, and spread out on a bed, instead of bunched up on the cable, but I might still always feel a bit like it could be better if I had adjusted this one part of it. It's not a mistake, or anything, it just feels slightly uneven to me, part of it. I doubt anyone else would agree, unless I specifically pointed it out and made them agree, but oh well. I can't be perfect.
One more thing and I'll call this good: I've learned a lot having to teach 3rd grade. Next up we're going to be doing sentence diagrams, and that is something I never remember doing in school. This doesn't mean that I didn't, but I definitely don't remember it, so that'll be interesting. But it's been pretty fun, overall, learning the rules and reasons behind a lot of this stuff I already knew. Or, more accurately, relearning. I'm sure I learned the rules at some point. But now I can be an even bigger grammar nazi, so that's good, right?
Day One. Boom.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Seven Quick Takes: Coming Home! Edition
1. I haven't written in forever. Mostly because I start writing, it just turns out very word-vomity, and I give up. Or I get into too much personal stuff and I don't feel like publishing it. Or I kept talking about things I hadn't officially announced yet to people who deserve to be told first, so I didn't want to publish it. But. I'm going to give this a try again, because I enjoy writing and want to get back into it. (Maybe I'll do Conversion Diary's 7 Posts in 7 Days this week. Though what I would talk about every day, I have no idea.)
2. I'm officially not coming back here next school year. I've told the people who need to know, so I can talk about it more freely (though, I've already told most people who would be interested, anyway). It's hard to be leaving a place again, but it's the right decision for me mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and (I hope) financially. It's been an experience being here, and it's a nice town with some great people whom I will definitely miss, and much as I hate the distance between here and home, it is a nice excuse to get to see a lot of Colorado (but...it'd be a much nicer drive if I weren't always doing it by myself). But. It's time to go try to expand my roots back home.
3. I'm so. excited to be moving back. Other than the year between college and grad school, and some summers before and after, I haven't lived lived there since high school. That'll be ten years this summer. It's always been my home base, but I'm ready for it to be my home again, and not have to visit it on breaks and vacations and occasional weekends. I'm ready to grow in my relationships with my family again in a way that's hard, but not impossible, when I'm not physically in the same place as them a majority of the time. I miss my nephews, too - getting to see games, plays, even the occasional school Mass when one of them might be a reader or something like that. It's going to be so good to be able to have that option.
4. The philharmonic! Last weekend I went home because we had Friday and Monday off, and I won't get another chance to visit until spring break which is the first week of April. My dad surprised me with tickets to the philharmonic, which was wholly unexpected and awesome. I've gone a number of times with my mom, but I don't think I've ever gone with my dad. It just made me feel so special and loved. AND! Last weekend they announced next season's shows, and one of them is Bolero, which I'm very excited about. I love that song, and it'll be so great to be able to see it performed live!
5. Job-wise, I don't know what I'll be doing in a few months from now. I'm hoping I can find a job that pays me enough to be able to afford to rent a place by myself eventually, because much as my roommates are great, I'm really ready to live by myself. (Unless, of course, I find a great guy and end up marrying him and getting a permanent roommate.) I don't think it'd be great for me to live by myself in a place like this, because I don't have the community I'll have back home, but there I know I'd have lots of people to visit and have over and I wouldn't be starved for human interaction (yes, even introverts can get that way. We like people! Just...not a lot at once, and not for long, extended periods of time. Except I never get sick of being around my family. Well, rarely). That might not be financially feasible, given my current school-loans situation, but I'm hoping. I really want a job that doesn't expend a lot of energy outside business hours, so then I can focus my attention on things I really love, like adult faith formation (I really want to get involved in RCIA and that type of thing), and knitting. :) We'll see what God has up his sleeve for me. I had a hard time finding a job after grad school, but I was sort of shoehorning myself into one particular corner of the job market. I don't *need* a job in a Catholic organization, or some great ministry. Obviously that'd be nice, to be passionate about my company's mission, having that doesn't necessarily equate to the right fit. So, we'll see. I guess I could wait and post this tomorrow, but technically these things are supposed to be posted on Friday, and obviously it is no longer Friday. I could back-date it and pretend, though. Mwahaha.
6. Unrelated. I recently started re-reading Lord of the Rings, after reading The Hobbit this winter, and I'm excited. The first time I read Fellowship, it took me nearly four years to get through (thanks to a long hiatus after getting stuck with the hobbits in the Old Forest), so I'm hoping this time around I can get through it a bit more quickly. I just love that whole story and world that Tolkien created.
7. One of my best good friends, who moved to Korea around the time I started at FOCUS and has been there ever since (aside from a delightful visit home a year ago), is also going to be moving back at the end of this summer. That's the plan as it stands right now, anyway. So that'll be delightful. We've been friends since high school (I think we were friends our freshman year, but got really close sophomore year, so that's been...around 13 years), and she is lovely and I miss her face and the prospect of not only being in the same country again but potentially the same CITY (which, aside from a couple of summers, hasn't really happened since we graduated and headed off to our respective colleges) is slightly thrilling. As someone who has made good friends at all the different places I've lived, and most of whose friends from her hometown have moved on to other places, it's an exciting thing to think that an OLD good friend might once again be living within driving distance. (Seriously, it stinks having the majority of my good friends I never get to see because they live in Virginia or Ohio or Indiana or Illinois. Or, at the moment, Denver. Such is life, I suppose. Darn geography and lack of teleporters/the ability to Apparate.) Anyway. It's exciting.
2. I'm officially not coming back here next school year. I've told the people who need to know, so I can talk about it more freely (though, I've already told most people who would be interested, anyway). It's hard to be leaving a place again, but it's the right decision for me mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and (I hope) financially. It's been an experience being here, and it's a nice town with some great people whom I will definitely miss, and much as I hate the distance between here and home, it is a nice excuse to get to see a lot of Colorado (but...it'd be a much nicer drive if I weren't always doing it by myself). But. It's time to go try to expand my roots back home.
3. I'm so. excited to be moving back. Other than the year between college and grad school, and some summers before and after, I haven't lived lived there since high school. That'll be ten years this summer. It's always been my home base, but I'm ready for it to be my home again, and not have to visit it on breaks and vacations and occasional weekends. I'm ready to grow in my relationships with my family again in a way that's hard, but not impossible, when I'm not physically in the same place as them a majority of the time. I miss my nephews, too - getting to see games, plays, even the occasional school Mass when one of them might be a reader or something like that. It's going to be so good to be able to have that option.
4. The philharmonic! Last weekend I went home because we had Friday and Monday off, and I won't get another chance to visit until spring break which is the first week of April. My dad surprised me with tickets to the philharmonic, which was wholly unexpected and awesome. I've gone a number of times with my mom, but I don't think I've ever gone with my dad. It just made me feel so special and loved. AND! Last weekend they announced next season's shows, and one of them is Bolero, which I'm very excited about. I love that song, and it'll be so great to be able to see it performed live!
5. Job-wise, I don't know what I'll be doing in a few months from now. I'm hoping I can find a job that pays me enough to be able to afford to rent a place by myself eventually, because much as my roommates are great, I'm really ready to live by myself. (Unless, of course, I find a great guy and end up marrying him and getting a permanent roommate.) I don't think it'd be great for me to live by myself in a place like this, because I don't have the community I'll have back home, but there I know I'd have lots of people to visit and have over and I wouldn't be starved for human interaction (yes, even introverts can get that way. We like people! Just...not a lot at once, and not for long, extended periods of time. Except I never get sick of being around my family. Well, rarely). That might not be financially feasible, given my current school-loans situation, but I'm hoping. I really want a job that doesn't expend a lot of energy outside business hours, so then I can focus my attention on things I really love, like adult faith formation (I really want to get involved in RCIA and that type of thing), and knitting. :) We'll see what God has up his sleeve for me. I had a hard time finding a job after grad school, but I was sort of shoehorning myself into one particular corner of the job market. I don't *need* a job in a Catholic organization, or some great ministry. Obviously that'd be nice, to be passionate about my company's mission, having that doesn't necessarily equate to the right fit. So, we'll see. I guess I could wait and post this tomorrow, but technically these things are supposed to be posted on Friday, and obviously it is no longer Friday. I could back-date it and pretend, though. Mwahaha.
6. Unrelated. I recently started re-reading Lord of the Rings, after reading The Hobbit this winter, and I'm excited. The first time I read Fellowship, it took me nearly four years to get through (thanks to a long hiatus after getting stuck with the hobbits in the Old Forest), so I'm hoping this time around I can get through it a bit more quickly. I just love that whole story and world that Tolkien created.
7. One of my best good friends, who moved to Korea around the time I started at FOCUS and has been there ever since (aside from a delightful visit home a year ago), is also going to be moving back at the end of this summer. That's the plan as it stands right now, anyway. So that'll be delightful. We've been friends since high school (I think we were friends our freshman year, but got really close sophomore year, so that's been...around 13 years), and she is lovely and I miss her face and the prospect of not only being in the same country again but potentially the same CITY (which, aside from a couple of summers, hasn't really happened since we graduated and headed off to our respective colleges) is slightly thrilling. As someone who has made good friends at all the different places I've lived, and most of whose friends from her hometown have moved on to other places, it's an exciting thing to think that an OLD good friend might once again be living within driving distance. (Seriously, it stinks having the majority of my good friends I never get to see because they live in Virginia or Ohio or Indiana or Illinois. Or, at the moment, Denver. Such is life, I suppose. Darn geography and lack of teleporters/the ability to Apparate.) Anyway. It's exciting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)