Style Of Glamour

• One of the employees at the Kalamazoo Plato's Closet told me I had great style today! Especially since I wore this same outfit yesterday and needed to shower at the time, I was all like...

Games We Play

In the spirit of trying to get back to the essence of my blog, I'm going to restart my listing format. I want to keep doing this but I refuse to get bogged down in "catching up". What's the point if I'm always behind? So, today...

• Enjoying hot chocolate, games and amazing conversations with my bestest friends. I love that we can have serious conversations in such a casual way. And Scattergories with Jason and Justin is pretty much the best. (Honestly, they're just super creative!)

The Going Ups & The Going Downs

• Ups and downs of work lately: 
• UP - I got THE cutest apron from Serena, who was my secret Santa. She said she saw it at the store and thought of my! How cool!
• DOWN - Katie found an awesome mission trip to Korea and when I asked if I'd be able to take time off for it, I was told I couldn't because I won't have enough vacation time by then :(
• UP - I really feel like I've found my place as a teacher at the center :)
• DOWN - When I tried to redirect children who were using blocks as guns, I was told not to do that in that classroom. This was really hard for me in the moment (because of the recent school shooting) and is difficult overall, just because that's not what I believe or how I was raised. The teacher who told me this gave me some books and articles that support this idea but it's still hard :/

Banquet Scene (Dec 14)

• Last night was the band banquet and it was great! Very fun to see the girls - I missed them - and make good speeches. Plus, Mr. Liska's video was fantastic - it made me remember all the great stuff and forget all the crappy stuff of the season.
• Tonight, we had our guard dinner. Lindsay's mom picked a great restaurant - finally! I got there a little late and the girls called me over to sit with them right away :) I talked a lot with Lindsay and Leah, which was wonderful - I will miss them so much! I also got great pictures with all the girls, thanked all the parents who attended one-by-one, and loved the gift that the girls got me (LONG FUZZY SOCKS!). Plus, Molly's dad said these super heartfelt things to me about how much Molly loves guard and how much that is thanks to me. It was a great way to celebrate the end of our season.
• After the dinner, Jackie was hosting a sleepover for the girls at her house, so I went for a little while. Jackie's house was awesome! It was painted crazy colors, had tons of interesting furniture, and contained a home theater and tiki bar in the basement! It was exactly what a grown-up house should be - whatever you want! :)

The Calm Before The Storm

• This weekend was a wonderful way to relax. It was great being with Anna and with her family, baking, watching movies/New Girl, Christmas shopping, being inspired with DIY stuff and just hanging out. It was a lot better than relaxing in my apartment alone, except that I didn't get to be with Chloe. Plus, I have a really busy week coming up, so it was especially nice :)
• I interacted with 6 workers at the Meijer on Zeeb Rd. tonight. They were all so nice! There weren't many people in the the store so all of the workers were really helpful to me - even stopping what they were doing to ask if I needed anything - which was especially great because I needed some really weird stuff. I'm excited to do the customer satisfaction survey on the bottom of my receipt!
• I can't wait til Chloe gets a cat roommate...I think she'll be very happy about that :)

Driving With Myself

• I drive a lot. Now, I know this is not a shock - to anyone, really. And it's kind of an occupational hazard when your best friends and friends-who-are-family live all around the state. But here are some recent indicators that have reminded me how much I drive (and, honestly, how much I love it):
• Newly-paved roads (Cross St.) and increased speed limits (on Washtenaw! To 45 mph!) feel like presents from the Road Commission to me - and only me.
• I get excited about new road projects when they will clearly improve traffic flow (Washtenaw and US-23 interchange).
• And, I mean, this is what my driving over the next 2 weeks looks like:

Clean As A Thistle (Dec 7)

• I am sleeping over at Anna's this weekend - yay! It's already been awesome and I've only been here for 4 hours. On the way over, I talked with PP, for over an hour, about all kinds of things. It was wonderful - just like how we'd be talking if we lived together. Basically, one topic leads to another in one stream of consciousness shared by two people. It's great :) Then, somehow, almost as soon as I came into Anna's house, we headed into her room and I made her clean it. It was the normal messy, but with stuff everywhere - we couldn't even really see the bed. So we cleaned together. It was awesome. She let me throw things away and told me where to put things. And we vacuumed. In less than 1.5 hours, it was beautiful. Literally, beautiful. Allie and Tyler both agreed - and I can't wait to hear what her mom has to say about it :)

A Line Allows Progress, A Circle Does Not

• I had a great meeting with my director today. It's technically called a "probation" meeting (I'm still in what is officially called the "probation period" of my employment) but that makes it sounds WAY worse than it was. It was honestly a wonderful conversation. I took the time to answer the questions she gave me (albeit, the night before) and I think it my answers made me look really prepared. We talked about my experiences so far, when I explained about the struggles I've had they were well-received (rather than being thought of as slights on the center), and she shared with me about her experience as a 1st grade teacher in south Dallas. I told her my concerns about food disposal and we had a great conversation about what we can do, within the confines of the licensing laws, to diminish what we are throwing away. She complimented me on how well I'm doing in the role of a "float" teacher and explained that my position is basically a training position for when a core teaching position becomes available. Cool! She was also very receptive to my career goals, stating that they knew when they hired me that I might not be interested in staying at Towsley for the remainder of my teaching career. My thought process during this part of the conversation? "And they hired me anyways? Wait, does that mean I'm actually qualified and good at what I do? AHHH COOL!" (See posts from July 2011 when I was seriously wondering why I became a teacher.)  She told me they are happy to have me as long as possible and that she will not hesitate in giving me great recommendations. I'm so ridiculously lucky to have this job :) Plus, I got to work in one of my favorite rooms today. And one of the little girls insisted on giving me a kiss when I told her I was going home.
• On the bus ride home, I briefly started reflecting on the impact going to EMU has had on my life. I've pondered this before but the difference now is that it's impossible to imagine what life would be like if I'd attended college elsewhere. Almost everything in my life is a result of my decision to go to Eastern and the things that don't necessarily seem connected probably are.
• On a slightly more depressing note, although I've been working a full-time and 2 part-time jobs for almost 4 months, I am currently at the same financial spot I was in September...basically broke. I'm not saying this to glean pity, I just want the world to know that I think THAT IS COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS.

Knock Three Times

• Memorable quote from work today:

Deeksha (girl): "Knock knock!"
Me: "Who's there?
Deeksha: "No, we're not playing the knock knock game, we're just knocking you up!"

I Went To Your Wedding (Dec 2)

• Even though I still felt too exhausted to go to the service today, I headed up to church around lunch time to help with the Hanging of the Greens. Mandy gave me lots of great hugs, I got some free food and I helped decorate - it helped me feel better :) Plus, I was dubbed in charge of "fluffing" the artificial wreaths, because I was apparently awesome at it. The little old lady who is super OCD about decorating gave me that title! I was pretty excited :)
• After this, I met Anna at Bed, Bath and Beyond and we shopped for a wedding gift for Leeann. Our procrastination was summed up when the cashier printing the registry for us faltered as he checked the date of the wedding. We finished his sentence of "And the wedding date is..." with "Today - yes, we know!" But we found some pretty great stuff. Mostly baking-themed, to relate back to the good old days of TBS bake sales :) And they gift-wrapped everything for us in a VERY pretty box/bow. It was fun!
• We then went back to the apartment to get all prettied up. Anna helped me with a French twist for my hair and I wore a maxi-dress I've had for a couple years but have never worn. I didn't get a ton of compliments on it and I don't really like how it fits, so I'll probably be doing some re-making to it. We were ready with time to get gas and coffee AND we arrived early...WHAT? It was awesome :) The wedding itself was beautiful. The colors were light pink and gold and everything was so classy (well, except the bright blue PPT slide projected behind the alter, proclaiming that it was Leeann and Jaren's wedding day...). Plus, it was great to see and hang out with so many friends from EMU/band/TBS (especially Kathi, since she lives in faraway Florida now).

LOVED her dress :)

Best "Guest Book" idea ever!

Aaaand from the photo booth :)

I'm Not Immune

• Happy December!
• Well, I planned to get a bunch of things accomplished around my apartment today, and maybe venture out to find some Christmas gifts - but I was thwarted by my immune system again! DEFINITELY not as bad as last time, but the sinus crap I got was pretty lame. Among not being able to breathe and using at least half the box of Kleenex my mom bought me, I was in bed/sleeping from midnight until 5 pm today - except for the hour I this morning when I went to get medicine. And I'm now going back to bed at a normal time, despite the excess of sleep. Hopefully, I'll feel better for Leeann's wedding tomorrow!

Save The World Tonight

• Mandy and I got together to save the world from impending Pandemic tonight. Too bad fudge, tea, knitting (on her part), talking and New Girl got in the way. I guess we wouldn't be the best superheroes...

Nap Champ

• Apparently, I have a strange and unique power over preschoolers in getting them to go to sleep. I can usually get even the toughest/most stubborn kids to nap. Woo! I especially like the ones who fight it for a long time and eventually just conk out - I usually whisper "ha ha" to them as I move on to a different kid ;) Wendy, a teacher about my age in one of the preschool rooms that I'm in a lot, LOVES when I'm in their room at naptime and always laments when I'm not. About half the kids in that room don't nap, but I can usually get some of the difficult ones to sleep, or at least get them to rest. And I love that makes a point to mention the fact that she loves having me around :)
• I viewed some new apartments with Becky and Michelle today. Conclusion: I/we should have never left the apartment on Perrin! It was SUCH a great apartment - layout, location, price, amenities. I was too spoiled with my first apartment! Hunting in Ann Arbor is just depressing after that place. Plus, looking for a new place without my roommates is sad. BUT I'm super-grateful for the relationships I have with them. I mean, I called Carrie tonight just to talk about finances :)

Please! Please! Please!

• Memorable conversation from work today:

Several 2-year-olds at the same time, as we try to get ready to go outside: "Zip me up!" "Put my coat on!" etc.
Me: "I think some words are missing..." (trying to get them to say please)
Nina: "Please can I have some more...[realizing that this wasn't really right but compelled to finish the phrase, out of habit]...zips!"
Celia: "Please pass the mittens!"

You Married A Fool

• So, you know how it sucks when your ex gets engaged? Well, SURPRISE! The guy I went on a date with/kissed a few days before I left Korea - South African, too charming for anyone's good, tall, etc. - got MARRIED over the weekend. MARRIED. Full-blown Korean wedding to a Korean girl MARRIED. In case you can't do the math, that was less than 4 months ago. Seriously??? WTF. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. On Sunday, I yelled at no one in my apartment about it, Skyped Anna and yelled to her about it, and messaged Katie and Carrie (who offered to dip a sweater in deer pee and mail it to him for me). Then I ate fudge, watched What Hip Hop Taught Me and went to bed. On Monday, I tried to forget about it - but a friend posted pictures...so I looked at those, but then I went to dance and danced it out (and got to know Jayme and Nikki better :)). Tonight, I sold the dress that I wore on that date to Plato's Closet and used the money to help me buy New Girl Season 1. As I only went on one date with him, I believe my allotted grieving time is over. So, all I can do now is bask in the fact that I have more common sense and a longer decision-making process for life decisions than either him or the Korean girl, and thank the Lord that I am not her.

I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo (Nov 24)

• Today was Bell Thanksgiving :) I met and snuggled with Roger and Laurel's baby girl Alex - she's so sweet. We had AMAZING food - I was ridiculously full and it all was so good. Kyle and I reminisced about how awesome Korean barbecue is. I hung out with Charlie, my adorable red-headed second cousin. It was a great day. The age difference between me and most of my cousins has kind of always made get-togethers a little weird for me, but I like hanging out with my mom's side of the family more and more :)
• MORE friend time! Love it. I picked up Krystle (sometimes, we need to be rescued from our families) and we met Katie, Jason, Justin, Ryan and Phil at (where else?) Roadhouse. We hung out there for a while and, even though much of the time was spent listening to Phil and Ryan bicker about ridiculous things, it was great - literally, like being with family :) Plus, Jason and Ryan both gave me pick-up-and-spin-around hugs, which are fun. I can't wait to visit them again.
• I think this visit with my friends was so wonderful because A) there was way more hangout time than I expected and B) this was the first time I've had a Thanksgiving free of stress to hang out with people! I didn't have any homework or sub planning to do. Just having fun. I loved it.
• Also, as I was driving to and around Kalamazoo this weekend, I kind of realized something...I really can't imagine myself permanently living anywhere else. I love that it's a new tradition going to Long Rd. to see Christmas lights every year. I love that whenever I drive through the Oakland neighborhood I know which houses I would love to live in. I love that I know how to get anywhere and how long it will take. I love that it's where my friends come home to. Like, I thought about permanently living in Ann Arbor and it didn't work. Not in a bad way - I love where I am and what I'm doing now - just in a not-quite-right way.

Pandemic by Nature (Nov 23)

• Today was an amazing day of seeing friends-who-are-family. Plus, I started the day with baking/cooking (sweet potato casserole), so that's awesome too :) Oh and no crazy Black Friday shopping :D I'm cool with that.
• We had a BKC Thanksgiving get-together at George and Linda's house. First, it was all cleaned up and there was new old furniture. It looked so great. Didn't get to see the upstairs but...someday :) Not too many people came but it was wonderful hanging out with George, Linda, Greg, Ben, Reese, Katie, Amanda, Jason, Justin, Charlie, and Krystle. We had some yummy food, too - though, mostly sweets, so around dinner time, we went to Panera for soup and stuff. And after THAT, Krystle, Jason, Justin and I went to Phil and Kristin and Jane's, where we were later joined by Mandy and Alec. We played Euchre (haven't done that in forever), got and ate ice cream (YUM), watched a weird movie (that I, apparently, should be very familiar with), and played Pandemic - an AWESOME game that Mandy introduced us to! It was a fabulous day :)

Thanks For Everything (Nov 22)

• Thanksgiving was a great day (again) this year :) I stayed at Mom's on Thanksgiving Eve, so I woke up (albeit an hour late) to watch the parade. Collin, Ben, Erin and I made awesome hand turkeys from Mom's scrapbooking paper/supplies. We had yummy cinnamon sugar frosted scones, plus coffee and eggs for breakfast. And we finished up by semi-watching the dog show. OH and we sneaked outside as much as possible to enjoy the SIXTY degree weather! After all that, Collin, Erin, Ben and I headed to Dad and Barbara's. They were still in the midst of some very yummy-smelling cooking when we arrived, so we snacked on cheese, crackers and fruit and toasted being together :) Then we taught Erin and Michael to play Fluxx (their response? "This is an...interesting game.") and convinced Ben to play a few rounds of Peanuts with us, while watching some football games (I wasn't allowed to watch the parade replay :( ). Around 6:00, dinner was ready! There were SO many lovely dishes! (Barbara said she felt bad, when she saw all of our food and thought about the people who had so little.) Let's see, we had turkey, corned beef, tofurkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, a cold rice salad, rolls, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, asparagus and several kinds of wine. Whew! It was all fantastic and we slowly made our way through everything - and then seconds. After we finished eating, the kids were responsible for clean-up. We did pretty well! Collin and Ben cleared off the dishes, I filled the dishwasher and then Alex and I took turns handwashing the big stuff while Erin cleaned the stove/counters/etc. We kept ourselves out of a turkey stupor with coffee and a cleaning version of "Be A Man". It was awesome :) And when we finished, it didn't look like anyone had cooked! (Unless you looked in the fridge, and saw all the leftovers.) After that, we all squeezed into the living room to finish the Thanksgiving episodes of Friends we'd been watching ("The One Where Ross Got High", "The One With All The Thanksgivings" and "The One With The Football") - and after a while, we took a break for pumpkin, key lime and oatmeal-chocolate-chip pies. We started "Miracle on 34th Street (1947 version)" together but everyone had to leave partway through - it's okay though...I finished it after everyone had left/gone to bed :D Like I said, it was a great day :)
• In addition to listing my awesome day, I also wanted to make a list of what I'm thankful for:
• My job at Towsley - there are a lot of people who don't have jobs as good as mine, but there are also a lot of teachers there that drive a LOT farther than me and have to make a lot more sacrifices to work there.
• My job with WAY - I'm really getting to know my Researchers and a couple of them truly amaze me with their positivity, resilience and determination.
• My job at Farmington - as always, even through the tough and frustrating times.
• My kitty.
• Food :)
• Peace, however temporary, in Israel. And for the Egyptian president - as long as he pulls his act together.
• The ability/opportunity to vote.
• Being a Methodist.
• The privilege to watch movies, get on Facebook, write my blog, etc. with the internet/TV.
• Friends around the state (especially) who love me and are willing to shelter and feed me.
• The ability I have (and have honed) to accept the hospitality of my friends and family.
• My family - and the time I've been able to spend with them lately, especially Erin.
• Most of all, my friends. I'm so lucky to have so many amazing people surrounding me, whether in MI or around the world. And I would be nothing without my BFFs, roommates and camp people. They are my family and I love them quite as much :)

A Crush Is A Crush

• I think I have a crush. On boy who only speaks Russian. Who is also 3 years old. WHAT? I can't help it! He winks at me almost every time I see him! Totally not my fault.

Temporary Visitors

• I really loved having my mom and brothers visit. Collin drove Ben (and put up with my poor directions) to get me some things to put shelves up in my apartment - and bought me tools to go with it. My mom helped me find tons of great things at Plato's Closet and then bought them for me. Ben helped me attempt to put up my mirror. We all watched HIMYM and played Bananagrams. Mom gave me a flu shot. She did my dishes, because she knows I hate doing them by hand, and her and Ben trimmed Chloe's nails. Every time we left my apartment, they warned me not to look at the pile of vomited Ramen outside my building. Plus, just having them there was wonderful. I'm really lucky to have had a lot of visitors at my place. And this weekend was another great one :)
• Hurray for days that are sunny and 50 degrees!

Shopping Spree (Nov 17)

• After sleeping in (YAY), I got to Skype with Nida! It was such a lovely surprise and it was awesome to catch up with her. She gave me some updates on Korea and her life and we even talked a little about US and South African politics. It was a great way to start the morning :)
• Then my mom and brothers arrived! I gave them a little tour of my apartment and then my mom and I went shopping, while my brothers got some screws and tools for me (which was quite a task because, apparently, I wrote down the wrong directions...). Mom and I found some fantastic things at Plato's Closet and Kohl's (yay shirts and jeans and boots!) and Collin got a text from my phone that said "Found this phone at Target"...guess I left it there, oops! We had dinner at Tower Inn and finished the night by watching several episodes of HIMYM. Pretty good day :D
• Happy Birthday to my Dad!

Cookies and Swagger (Nov 16)

• Well, I think it's safe to say I'm a casserole girl, when it comes to cooking. I made a chicken-broccoli-and-cheese casserole tonight and it was relatively easy and very yummy - I think I will try to cook this way for a while! At least until I figure out more complicated cooking.
• After my yummy dinner, I had to try 4 rounds of making the-chocolate-chip-cookies-in-a-jar that I got from a kindergardener last year in order to get them right. Ah well, the last round (made in a muffin tin) was pretty good :)

The Bus Is Rolling (Nov 15)

• I really enjoy riding the bus to work. Now that I'm not driving to Farmington several times a week, I'm able to take the bus to and from work and I've gotten into the habit of doing it almost every day. It's really interesting, comparing this experience to riding the bus in Korea. First, Koreans have pretty homogeneous looks. I'm not saying it's hard to tell them apart. Korean people just generally look very similar. But people on my Ypsi/AA look very different - from Koreans and from each other. Second, there are too many seats on these buses. It's nice when I get a seat (something I could count on less than 50% of time in Pohang), but there is not enough standing room and people don't stand in the back (where there are more seats)...they just crowd in the front when the bus is full. Third, the buses have rushed past me 3 times this week (THAT is the same as Korea), BUT sometimes the driver waits several minutes for passengers who are rushing across the parking lot! No wonder the schedules are kind of unreliable :/ It's really frustrating. Despite these things, it's really nice to have the public transit available and FREE to me. I still need my car but I've saved a lot of money on gas so far. Yay!
• Had a wonderful surprise mini-Korea-reunion with Ashley, Dave from England, Shelby, Jordan and Abby! Dave is visiting for a few weeks so we had dinner at Sticks (yay Ypsi awesomeness) and it ended up being Trivia Night! We named ourselves the "Ajummas" and had a pretty great time :) Plus, it was wonderful to catch up with everyone, especially Abby and Ashley (my Pohangers!). I want to see them again soon!

Heat It All Up (Nov 14)

• I'm currently conducting a heating experiment in my apartment. I haven't turned it on yet (well, except on the day I was sick). Woo being heated by the apartments above and below mine and having a low electric bill! The joys of being an adult ;)

Sickness and Diseases (Nov 13)

• Well, this past weekend was supposed to be an awesome reunion with PP - and Friday was great (we went to Aubree's - my first time!) - and then I woke up on Saturday and threw up. Turns out I caught the bug that shut our preschool down on Friday. And I caught it bad. I spent the rest of the day going between the bathroom and my bed, rather than going to the EMU game (and seeing Sara and Halley rock it out :/) and then having a sleepover at Cara's cottage. GRRR!!! Stupid sickness. On Sunday, my symptoms were over but I was too tired from being sick to even move. Anna came to visit PP, so I got to see her for a little while, before PP headed home. PP was awesome though - she took care of me and stayed at my apartment, even though she could have gotten super sick. I love her! She's the best roommate ever :)
• Although, since I had to take sick days yesterday and today, I had a little time to craft/draw/paint while watching Princess Diaries 2 tonight :)

Same Place, Same Time (Nov 3)

• We started the day with a sunny, fun practice and a fantastic runthrough (it was honestly the best run of the season – including the States performance!). 
• Before we left the school, Mr. Randall said, "What, are you going out to the club later tonight?" in response to my outfit of a turtleneck, a blazer, jeans and pointy shoes. He followed it up with, "Well, compared to the rest of us, you're like an 8 1/2!" It was very funny (especially because he called my boots "obnoxious" the other day) and I told Steele, Brad, Anna and several of the kids. So, when I was leaving, I said, "I'm off to the club!" and Randall and Steele laughed and Steele said, "The crochet club?" It was very funny :) 
• I love going to States because it's always the same (and I love that I can say that statement - that we've consistently gone for 4 years now!). Driving around the same few blocks because we arrive early. Unloading into the loading dock alcove for the first warm-up (I also gave out butterscotches to the kids as they got off the bus this year ;)). Practicing as best as we can in the loading dock, when the drumline, pit and horns are also practicing and the sound is bouncing all around (I decided to bring a Long Ranger this year - brilliant idea! No yelling :)) - though this year was a little different, as I was really comfortable with the level of our show by this point...not much more to practice! Lining up and waiting at the top of the tunnel (this year, applying glitter while we waited). Then heading into the storage room down the tunnel, for final warm-up – AKA the time where we use the bathroom, remove warm-up coats and pants and stretch a little bit. After that, we made our way into the tunnel and then onto the field with the band, to wait for the final time. Anna and I made sure the girls knew that we were meeting back at the tunnel to drop off equipment and about the taped hashes and numbers and then turned to watch the group before us (we were wholly unimpressed by their costumes and their large amount of equipment and changes – 2-3 per song!). Then it was our turn! Maya’s misplacement of her Closer flag (she changed it in time) made me a little nervous that they would get flustered and confused by the differences in this field/performance space. And yes, the first number was a little rough. BUT not terrible – almost all of it was together :) And after that, they were fine – 3rd number was much better than it has been all season and they finished the 4th beautifully. It was a great run. AND the band sounded huge! It was great. We exited the field, posed for pictures, watched most of L’Anse Creuse’s show (not really impressed by them, relative to the level that they should be), and headed back to the truck. The Pit Dads were so complimentary of us, as were Henry and Patrick (who had made the trip for the performance) – it was great to hear :) We loaded everything into the truck and went back into the stadium (I had a stab of nostalgia looking at the entrance, where the EMU Band stood – and froze – after the Ford Field game in 2006). We didn’t get to see many performances before the awards ceremony. Long story short, we retained 5th place! Harrison only beat us by 0.15 points! (Really awesome, considering they used props, a small child running around the field, and several thousand more dollars in their show than us.) AND we got 2nd in the Music score! 2ND!!! SO COOL! The kids were disappointed at missing beating Harrison again but were much more excited when they realized the above facts – and in general, were very happy and proud :) 
• Upon returning to the school, we headed straight to the cafeteria and started Senior Circle. After a little while, Brad told Anna and me why we did that instead of getting out of uniform and hanging out in the band room. While we had been at Ford Field, some people had broken into the band hall, ransacking any bags and personal items in their path, throwing the food and pop that the parents had set up around the band room and over people’s stuff, smearing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the whiteboards, switching and locking some locker padlocks, sending inappropriate texts to parents, vomiting in the band room and stealing money and Ipods. It was terrible. The police and administration were there and we all had to go into the area and describe what, if anything, of our things was out of place. The kids were really thrown off and upset – many of our girls were crying. Anna and I were quite proud of them though – a lot of them were crying out of frustration that someone would do this and how people can be so immature and stupid. It was such a cool reaction to see out of even the youngest in our group. (It was also nice for Anna and I – that is how we both would have reacted so it was easier to deal with than flat-out panic. Hugs went a long way and I appreciated that we could be a parent-figure for the girls who did have parents present.) Most of the kids were able to enjoy themselves at the after-party in spite of the events that happened. And in general, it was fascinating and awesome to realize that one of the reasons the kids were so upset by what had happened is that band is literally a family and the band room/hallway is our home. I mean, would the basketball team be as upset by a theft in the locker room? Would individual students feel so violated if their school locker was broken into? Probably not. Just another indicator that band and band kids are just awesome :) As far as the theft goes, the police gathered a lot of evidence (fingerprints too – just like on TV!) and the security cameras got footage of the kids (yes, kids) who did this. Hopefully, they will catch them. And that there isn’t lasting emotional damage to any of the kids.

Get Your Hands Off My Casserole, Or Else!

• Today, like most Sundays, has been lovely. Krystle, Mandy and I woke up, ate yummy breakfast sandwiches and then headed off to church - arriving EARLY! True, we had set a goal departure time that would have put us at church quite early, but we STUCK to it! It was very exciting :) We wanted to arrive with plenty of time to find seats for the service. In addition to some fabulous organ music and some great old-school songs ("Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee," "Be Thou My Vision," and "My Hope Is Built"), Reverend James Lawson spoke today - he is a relatively famous nonviolence social justice activist and was a good friend of Martin Luther King Jr. It was very cool to hear him. He was relatively soft-spoken but nonetheless powerful. My favorite quote of his today:

"If it is true at all, it is true for all of us." (In reference to being created equal and in the image of God.)

• After the service, most of our Wesley friends set to work on homework and studying. Krystle and I lounged on the couches, played SET and just talked. It was nice and relaxing :) Plus, the free lunch was yummy. And we had a mini-engineering lesson, where I asked a lot of questions. And Krystle and I taught everyone how to make big snowflakes.
• Krystle and I left after that, and she took a nap before leaving for home. It was wonderful having her stay :) And then I headed to Target where I found the rainboots I wanted and a new shirt (which is actually a maternity shirt, but you totally can't tell).
• When I got back, I did some dishes and started making a casserole that would give me lunches for the week. I began with the alfredo sauce...which I promptly burned. Oy. The resulting everything was all thanks to my Dad, who helped me fix the recipe and gave me all the tips to make sure I cooked everything right. And yes, fine, it turned out okay...;) And it should be quite yummy for the rest of the week. Although, even after 2 hours working on it, I was more proud of the fact that I had cleaned all of my dishes than finished the casserole. Ah well :) Thanks Daddy!

Pumpkin Hunting

• Tonight, I got to carve pumpkins at Cara's! It was so cute how her mom asked me when I was available to do it last week :) It was slimy and seedy and very fun. Melissa, Cara and I each did one and then we took pictures and looked at pictures from last year (Cara's Dad pulled them up on his iPad). I very much appreciate her family taking me in sometimes :)

Just Dance

• I got 2 Evergreen kids who never to fall asleep today! And I almost got a third but I figured out the best way to get her to sleep too late...I'll try another day muahahaha :D
• Tonight, after my 10-hour workday, I decided it would be fun to use part of my Groupon that I got from one of my directors at work...8 dance classes for $25 at a great studio in AA! I changed my clothes at work, had a Panera broccoli and cheddar bread bowl for dinner (totally gnawed at the bread bowl in the middle of the restaurant too) and then headed to 2 dance classes. The first was a ballet class. About halfway through, I realized that I've never had a ballet class before - DUR! Everything I know about ballet I learned in guard. Huh. I thought about trying the Level 1 (instead of the Level 2, which I did tonight) next week - before I went to my 2nd class. It was a contemporary class and I loved it. The stretching alone (which lasted about 30 minutes) was worth it! And the instructor started a new combination tonight and it was awesome. Plus there are only 3 people in the class. And it was just more my style of dancing. (I can't believe how much I've come around to Modern.) Can't wait to go back!
• One thing that turned me off to the ballet class was that I honestly understood how a ballerina could be lead to an eating disorder. I felt too big. ME. I know that I am not fat. I understand that I am not even CLOSE. And it's not like anyone in the class said anything about it or was even particularly skinny. I mean maybe I was even just standing in front of a weird part of the mirror. But I knew that I didn't feel ballerina-like enough and that included my posture and training (or lack thereof), along with all of the imperfections of my body. Now, since I don't know what spurred this craziness, I would ABSOLUTELY be willing to try a ballet class again. But for this, and the above bullet point, I'm sticking with the contemporary class for now.
• Happy Birthday, Anna!

The Grey Havens (Oct 20)

• Whew, today and yesterday were busy. Friday = remember everything for the weekend + work + rehearsal + parade + tailgate + alumni band rehearsal + rainy game. It was fun though :) And so many recent FHSMB grads came back for alumni band so that was great. And Anna and I managed to stay relatively dry despite being rained on almost constantly for the game. The girls had a pretty good show, considering their silks were heavy, wet and slapping them in the face the whole time, and that they were wearing their raincoats. We were dismissed early (WOO!) because of the rain and Anna and I went to 7-11 for popcorn and Mike's and headed for the warmth of Karen's house. It was a lovely evening :)
• Saturday was wonderful. I love Saturdays because they are like little marching band havens - no homework, after-school tests/meetings, sports teams sharing the field, cars parked in the parking lot field, and (at least during our rehearsals) great weather. The guard has time to get to school early and get ready in a calm and complete way. We even had time this Saturday to retape poles and make them look awesome! Rehearsal was fun and productive, especially since I had Anna by my side :) Then I got Jimmy John's for many, everyone got ready, we headed out to the buses...and proceeded to wait for 45 mintues! The 3rd party buses that we'd hired went to the wrong town! Somehow, a former band parent used her connections at the Farmington bus garage to get us a ride to Clarkston. Whew! We only arrived about 30 minutes before our performance time. When you consider that we have to walk from the bus to the truck, unload the truck, warm-up and then walk to the field and be there 10 minutes before our step-off time, you can see why we felt rushed! A lot of the Clarkston parents along the way were supportive and sweet though and we got everything we needed when we needed to. The show was pretty good too :) A lot of personal mistakes but and overall good idea. We ended up with 74.25 (I think) and 5th place. Considering our bus issue and the fact that we competed against some tough groups we haven't seen yet - that was a good score/placement. Looking forward to continue improving!
• After getting back to FHS, Anna and I said goodbye, I went home to say hi to Chloe and then went to Cara's for the evening. It was fun to stay there, I love talking to/catching up with Cara, and Maureen's bed has become SO much more comfortable somehow! It was lovely.

All The Kids In Michigan

• Today was a busy day at work, which was nice, because I was dreading going back and starting with a 10-hour day. I was in Evergreen most of the day but we listened to Gemini (a guitarist who comes in once a month) and then went on a walk around the park. We had tacos for lunch and there was lots of extras because the kids didn't really like them. Then I got to go into Willow for about 30 min before heading to Sycamore to join their walk to a Michigan Marching Band rehearsal :D THAT was really fun! Almost all the classrooms take a trip to a rehearsal in the fall and I've been hoping to go with one of them, but no luck til today. It was so fun to walk with the kids down there and then be there with them. Plus, it's way less creepy to attend a rehearsal with 20 children in tow than by yourself. AND (best part) I got to see Alex and Baron, and give/get big hugs :) It was also very cool to watch an MMB rehearsal. Maybe someday I'll coach college guard...

I Paddle My Canoe

• Our canoe trip today was awesome! It was so fun to do something as a staff outside of the center. It also honestly helped us with the communication skills we discussed yesterday. And we were in boats based on our teaching teams - so I was with Maya and Cindy (other subs) and we were the "Super Subs" :) Plus, I finally got some BEAUTIFUL fall pictures! I'm very excited to get caught up on my picture-posting...
• Anna reminded me that she was staying over tonight and I was so excited - a visitor! We ate yummy popcorn, watched the debates and fixed my yoga pants :)
• Oh and I reported an attempted car theft on my way out of the parking structure. Ahh! It was kind of scary, even though I just passed by. I have no idea if it was real or if they caught the guys if it was. Good thing we had our "Active Shooter" training this morning!

Like A Professional

• We had professional development at work today, no children. I was expecting it to be a little boring but it was actually pretty great. The lecture that we had in the morning was a lot about communication and I felt quite comfortable talking with everyone and expressing my weaknesses - which is hard to do at work, I think. I was also able to ask a lot of questions about curriculum and planning. One of the teachers has been really helpful in explaining a lot of things to me, and this continued today. A lot of the teachers are very helpful :) And everyone is so nice. It's been great getting to know everyone. And I'm excited to be going canoeing (yes, CANOEING!) tomorrow for more PD :)
• Panera bagels for breakfast and a Brown Jug quesadilla for lunch made me very full into the evening soooo...cake and ice cream for dinner!
• Watching Mary Poppins! I was planning to watch Sound of Music too but I forgot how long both of those movies were...
• I miss shopping in HomePlus. The ladies who work there are so friendly. And I loved the discount produce shelf.
• After working on my personal records of my check register for an hour or so tonight, I compared it to the bank's online records...the totals match! Woohoo!

Finally Begin (Oct 13)

• Spent the day celebrating the long-awaited marriage of two of my Sisters, Don and Tori. It was wonderful to see them and all the other EMU people that attended. Don told me more than once that he was so glad I came, and it was nice to hear - I was happy I could celebrate with them. And the food was amazing! Green beans with pecans in a butter sauce - revolutionary! I've never gone back for seconds of GREEN BEANS. And the cheesy potatoes...nom nom nom. Also, I felt pretty fabulous in my brown Italy dress. Which I fashionably (though begrudgingly) paired with black heels. It was a wonderful day and it felt so good to finally see them as Mr. and Mrs. Hibbert :)

The Ongoing Debate Concerning Present Vs. Future

• I grabbed a bag of leftover chips to eat for lunch today. About 3 chips in, I realized that the bag had been left open. In my pantry. Where Chloe's box is. And after that, I just couldn't untaste the cat litter.
• Very much enjoyed the Vice Presidential Debate tonight. It was more verbally accessible, more interesting and incredibly moderated. (Martha Raddatz did a fabulous job - I want her to do another one! Or redo last week's.) I was glad to be able to interpret what the candidates were saying - maybe listening to debates takes practice. Didn't like what I heard from Ryan (US policies are better than the UN's?) or didn't hear (How exactly are you reducing the deficit). Wasn't proud of Biden's attitude of condescension (constantly referring to Ryan as his "friend") but I like how he demanded truth from Republicans and revitalized Obama's supporters.
• I hate the yelling I hear from the apartment above me. Shouting at midnight would be one thing, but when the man is shouting at his child who is still young enough to cry often, my heartstrings are tugged. Nothing abusive seems to be happening so I guess I can't do anything for now :(

Below My Feet (Oct 10)

• Mumford & Sons must be a good band because I'm pretty sure that most of my family and close friends love them.
• I'm getting to know some of my coworkers :)
• I renewed my library card tonight! First, I'm super excited about that. Second, it as kind of cool to show the librarian my license and proof of residence (2 official pieces of mail to that address) - I'm actually a resident of Ypsilanti :)
• Roamed around Meijer for a while, in between finding things I need.

Love/Hate

• Well, today turned into a bust. I hate that, because it didn't really start that way! I blame traffic. Apparition would solve many problems.
• But I did get my fancy EMU license plate in the mail! And I didn't even have to go to the post office to get it! I'm excited to put it on my car :)
• And there's a little girl at work with whom I have the following conversation almost every time I see her:

Girl: Is that a necklace/earrings/bracelet?

Me: Yes:

Girl: Can I have it?

Me: No!

Girl: Why can't I have it?

So cute :)

• Question to ponder (responses welcome): What happens when the thing you love is acting like the thing you hate? When you replace "thing" with "person", the answer is a little more straightforward, at least to me. Any ideas?

Beer For My Horses (Oct 8)

• Today, I had to explain to one of my kids today that beer is not for children, after I asked him what he was doing and he said "sitting here watching the cars, drinking beer". I had to repeat "Beer is for adults, not for kids" at least 10 times and try to appropriately answer the resounding "Why?"s without laughing. It was quite a challenge.
• I met Erin's equestrian instructor and her husband - we talked about band and I found more proof of the 6 degrees of separation.
• Hung out with my sis - whom I haven't seen/hugged since Christmas and haven't just hung out with in I don't know how long. I also helped her start writing a letter/proposal to businesses to be a corporate sponsor for the MSU Equestrian Club...I pulled out stuff from TBS and it reminded me how much fun TOTW with Anna was (and good we were at it).

Super Official (Oct 5)

• Today started with a trip (in my new car - driving stick again was way easier than I thought it would be) to the credit union to sign my loan papers. Woo! It was actually pretty exciting and very easy. Made so by Jen, for sure. After that, it was official! The car is mine - and so are the loan payments...ah well :)
• Then I went to the Secretary of State's office to adjust my address for my license and for voting. Woohoo, now I can vote in Washtenaw County! Althought, I realized that this means I don't get to vote for Sheriff Fuller :(
• After that, I had my first conversations with my WAY students - I'm excited to get to know them better :)
• And then I was off to the Miller-Fitzsimmons wedding, up in Charlevoix! The drive up was AMAZING! I think I'm addicted to fall colors on the leaves. Even along 131, it looked wonderful. All I wanted to do was jump out and take picture about every 500 feet. Not that much extra time though :( The only bad part of my journey was seeing a wrap-around-a-tree car accident along the way. I didn't see the accident happen but I passed by only a few minutes after it happened, and burst into tears as soon as I drove by. There was not enough room in that crumpled metal for a human body. And, of course, it brought back memories of our crash. And then I missed the turn I needed to take and got slightly lost.
• Eventually, I arrived at Castle Farms though. The grounds were pretty and I wish I could have explored more but boy was it chilly! I went inside and found almost all the family :) Hugs were exchanged and it was nice to catch up with people, while we were waiting for the ceremony to start. I told Trevor and Grandpa about the weird foods I ate in Korea. I met Charlie and we bonded over being gingers :) I saw and loved Jack's (and his groomsmen's) choice of wedding shoes. The ceremony was beautiful and it was great sitting next to Katie for it. I got to see Uncle Bob for the first time in a long time - it was crazy, but nice. I didn't have a placecard (and therefore a place to sit :/) but  Aunt Elaine made sure that I sat with our family. We had Beef Bourguignon for dinner (Julie and Julia!). Dancing was fun and the Mother-Son dance was adorable...Jack and Lindsey had anyone who qualified as "Mother-Son" join in too - which meant a lot of our family! I caught up with different family members. We watched Kyle try to hit on a girl at the reception. We went to a little bar afterwards and hung out a little more. Jim, Trevor and I checking in at the hotel and realized how not worth the $80 per night it was. VERY good time :)

Hazelnut Eyes (Oct 4)

• Today I went into McDonald's for an Iced Caramel Mocha - and realized it felt weird to be there because I haven't been to McDonald's since being in Korea! And they don't have hazelnut McFlurries :(
• Happy Birthday to my sissy!

Anniversary Waltz

• Happy Anniversary to President Obama and our First Lady! Sorry you don't get to celebrate tonight. Some kind of discussion going on between you and a guy who likes Big Bird ;)

In The First Place (Sept 29)

• Great competition day yesterday. Started with the amazing hospitality of Karen, letting me spend the night and then making me a very yummy breakfast. And having such a great conversation with me that I was late to rehearsal...oops. I was also late because I NEEDED to stop at Starbucks. No, really, I did. And it was a good thing I did because I got to educate a family about competitive marching band! They were behind me in line and asking about the "Cirque Du Soleil" reference on the back of my t-shirt (my show shirt from this year). I explained to them about the show, and then how competitions work, what I do with the band, and it's relation ti DCI. It was a couple and their teenage daughter and they were really interested in everything I was saying - it was so cool! Once I got to the school, I taught the girls how to do sock buns and re-realized how awesome they (the sock buns, that is) are! They just make the perfect little buns. We refined the make-up look and they looked fierce and ready to go :) Then we had a great practice, in the beautiful sunshine, where we had the field to ourselves. It was a lot of fun and one of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday. After that, we finished getting ready and - get this - the guard was ready 10 whole minutes before we were supposed to load the buses. 10 MINUTES! And I didn't even have to do anyone's hair or make-up on the bus! Amazing. I rode in front of the bus with Lauren and Katherine and had lots of fun chatting with them. (At one point, Lauren told me I should teach high schoolers. Melissa told me that last year too...maybe I should think about it?...) Once we were at the competition, I glitter-fied the girls and we headed to warm-up. On the way, I got to see/chat with Chad, Alex and Timon! Yay! It was so fun to see them, I just wish we could have talked for longer - though we did get to chat long enough for Chad to ask about Korea and be impressed that I got an MCBA "Director" badge :) It's so crazy to me that friends from college (who are my age) are in charge of marching bands and music programs. It's so cool! And I love that I get to see them throughout the competition season. After a pretty good warm-up, we headed to the field. We had a good show - not as musically good as last week but still strong, and visually better though we still have a lot to work on. It all balanced out though and we ended up getting "Best General Effect" and 1st place! It's all relative to who we're competing against, of course, but I am still proud of and excited for the kids. Can't wait to finish everything off! Last thing that was memorable was Lauren showing Brad a misspelled text from a friend and Brad saying that maybe the friend typed it with his typewriter...he meant "keyboard" *smh* :)

Corner Of Her Jacket

• My navy blue spring jacket had it's first American adventure today. It received many compliments and enjoyed the breezy but 70-degree weather :)
• The girls really enjoyed the work I wrote for them for 4th number :D I like it too and it's nice when they are excited about it.
• I LOVE NEW GIRL.

End Summary

I know, I know...no posts in a few weeks. Keeping a blog is hard without regular internet access! How rude. Hopefully that problem will get fixed soon. Amongst the new job, Farmington drama and fun of all sorts, getting gas, sewing, figuring out internet, and loving NPR, here are some highlights from September:

• I love Michigan sunsets. I usually end up driving home from Farmington (going west) around sunset time on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and sometimes Saturdays. This means that if it's clear - or even a little cloudy - I get to see fabulous sunsets more than I don't. They are miraculously pink, orange, yellow, purple and blue and they always remind me of my favorite Firebowl song, "Have You Seen?" They are even better when there are "clouds suspended like feathers". Sunsets (and sunrises) in Korea were fabulous too, though I couldn't seem to see them for as long, because of the mountains. Plus they came earlier because I lived on the east side of the country.
• I'm very thankful for my Dad helping me figure out all this grown-up stuff.
• I love the family I have with Krystle and the Eischeids. Jen and Andrew make us food, house us, call the spare bedroom “your bedroom”, send us home with food, trust us with Ella and Katie, and are just always there for us. I love it and am so very grateful that they have become such a big part of my life.
• Anna came to visit last week! The main purpose was to work on the sleeves we are making for guard but the other purpose was to visit. We had Jimmy John's, Dom's donuts, Biggby and Dairy Store ice cream; had visitors in the form of Kim, Kyndra and Halley, who also served the purpose of helping us keep Chloe off of Anna and out of the 35 yards of black China silk; watched Tangled, Princess Diaries and Peter Pan; made considerable progress on the sleeves; stayed up til 1:45 am, which neither of us have done in quite some time (I'm going to pin that on the project deadline, the coffee and the fact that we were just excited to be together); and slept our normal way - sharing a double bed. We talked about lots of things and it was a wonderful night. I miss having people to come home to. And having Anna be one of them. Also, she left me sticky notes all over my apartment. I loved it! And it reminded me of those that PP left before she went to England - some of which I still have in my DVD collection and sewing stuff :)
• I did get to talk to PP a few times last week, which was nice. I definitely miss living with her too, because she has the best reactions to things I need to talk about - we have a very similar thought process. It stinks that we are both living alone in apartments, simply because we are too far away to share. (I feel similarly about Katie, Carrie, Krystle, and Carlee too.)
• It's nice that I get to see Cara all the time (when I go steal her internet and a little food) though. Yay for some people still being close by :)
• I received a compliment from one of the teaching teams I worked with this past week. I was filling in for a teacher who was sick (finally - actually subbing for someone, instead of feeling extra and in the way) and, when I went to ask if there was anything I needed to do during nap, they said no and followed it up with telling me that I was amazing and proactive and they loved having me in their room. Yay! I definitely needed that. The day after that, I went in their room because I was extra. When I was called out to fill in somewhere else, I told them and they said, "We heard! [frown face]" It was cute and I'm glad some of the teachers are finally able to see how I work.
• First band competition yesterday! It was fun and we managed to only get rained on for about 10 minutes! Woo. The girls were nervous but ended up doing okay. And the band scored such that they got first place! It was so exciting for them. It was a scholastic competition (like the ones I did at Mattawan) so the scoring and competing bands were different than in MCBA. But it was a good ego boost for them and I'm hoping it will inspire more effort for the rest of the season. Now for writing more work for them...
• My cat likes peppers. And ate half of my cereal when I left it unattended this morning. She is so weird.
• I went to FUMC Ann Arbor and Wesley lunch today again. Yay! It was nice to see the new friends I met a couple weeks ago and meet other people. Plus, free food. And I love that church building. And singing in service. And I found out my bus comes right here! (YAY for accidentally getting an apartment on a bus line that goes to work AND church!) And one of the verses really stood out to me: James 2:18 "Show me your faith apart from your works and I by my works will show you my faith." It was a great morning/afternoon and I'm excited to come back next time :)
• I want to go visit Korea. I miss things there a lot. I'm trying hard to see if I can save money and go visit soon...I hope it works out!
• I still miss my blankie :(

Family Ties

• I love the family I have with Krystle and the Eischeids. Jen and Andrew make us food, house us, call the spare bedroom “your bedroom”, send us home with food, trust us with Ella and Katie, and are just always there for us. I love it and am so very grateful that they have become such a big part of my life.

Support Your Troops (Sept 9)

• Met some new friends from U of M Wesley last night! Mandy invited me to dinner and, even though I was totally physically and mentally exhausted, I went and I'm so glad I did. It was yummy, carefree, relaxing and filled with exploration (of Mandy's awesome co-op) and laughter. Can't wait to hang out with them again. I'm so grateful for wonderful friends who give me hugs, eat yummy food with me and take my mind off things.
• And today I moved into my new apartment! We had beautiful weather and, thanks to my dad and my brothers and Barbara, it went so fast - everything was in the apartment in under an hour and we finished arranging and putting (most of the) things away shortly after that. Yay! And I'm so excited for how the apartment looks. Still a little nervous about living without my roommates but let's take it one day at a time.

Fair Warning

• Just so all my lovely readers know, I will not likely be posting every day (as you may have noticed). I considered stopping this blog altogether, what with me not being unemployed anymore (I mean, I even have benefits!), but it's such a habit for me now - it even changes how I think about my day (I often find myself thinking, "This is what today's post will be about!" which is a great injection of positivity into my life). So I don't want to stop. But I also don't want to feel forced to write every day. Honestly, there will probably still be a lot of posts - if nothing else than to quote my adorable preschoolers - but this is my warning ;)

Work To Make It Work

• Even though I worked 10 hours today, it was a good day. One of the little girls I worked with today told me all about how her dad is teaching her Korean. When I started asking her if she knew such-and-such words, she was like, "Do you know Korean?!" I said that I had just lived there for a while so I knew a little. I just got to sit during lunch (hasn't happened since I started). I got to stay with the sleeping kids during nap time (yay reading time!). I hung out with a bunch of very cuddly kids today :) :) And there were extra people in my room at the end of the day so I got to leave a little early. It was nice after the amount of stress I endured yesterday.
• Tonight, I watched Michelle Obama's DNC speech, Ann Romney's RNC speech (for comparison) and The Daily Show from yesterday. Several interesting points came to mind:
• Do you think they (Michelle and Ann) frame their speeches as the president's wife and as mothers because they are the First Lady (and prospective First Lady) or because it's a reflection on our current societal views on feminism?
• (From Carlee) Because of ^, it will be interesting when we have a female and/or single candidate.
• Tom Brokaw and Jon Stewart had a really great, actual conversation about media, the campaign vs. the job that needs to be done, among other things and I really enjoyed it. Notable quote: "By the time people tune in to [various news programs on whatever channel], they already know what happened...they want to know what it means - what was right, what was wrong." I'm glad Tom Brokaw is still around :)
• Thank NPR, for providing transcripts of both speeches. You are cool.

Late Night Shopping Spree (Sept 4)

• I stress-purchased season 8 of Grey's, season 4 of Big Bang Theory, season 4 of How I Met Your Mother and 2 mini-bags of pretzel M&Ms. Maybe not my smartest financial choice, but they were all on sale, I got a free gift card to Best Buy for it, and it made me feel a lot better after a very frustrating day. And now I can catch up on Grey's before the premiere! :D

Funny The Way It Is (Sept 3)

• Today was a great last day of a long weekend. Katie texted a little after I woke up asking if I wanted to get breakfast. Since I was about to indulge in blueberry buckle and coffee, I invited her over and she was there about 45 minutes later! We talked and got caught up. I miss her and wish I could see her for more than a few hours at a time - but, at the same time, I'll take what I can get and any time we are together is always well-spent :)
• After breakfast, I went over to the Hammonds' to hang out for a while. Kristin made a yummy lunch, Phil agreed with me about how credit - and the fact that you need it to be financially trustworthy - is stupid, and Jane was adorable and let me play with her. And when Jason came over later and was playing video games with Phil, Jane would go over to his computer and push a bunch of buttons and it was so funny to watch. She kept pushing keys that actually did things and Jason feebly threatened and told her not to do things, while also telling her what to push to help him out. It was adorable and hilarious.
• Sidenote: I had Maroon 5's "Phone Booth" song stuck in my head all day
• I engaged in a "sunset chase" on the way to Mom's. I drove on 94, then to 9th street, then to West Main. It was fun and worth it:

• I'm really lucky to have a best friend who struggles with a lot of the same things I do - we can't solve each other's problems, but it helps to be able to talk about them together.

September All Over (Sept 1)

• Happy September! And Happy 400th blog post :)
• My dad and Barbara made me a celebratory dinner of scallops in a butter garlic pan-seared sauce, zucchini stir-fried with olive oil and garlic, red pepper alfredo pasta, and viogioner white wine. It was fabulous and tasted like a restaurant. Be jealous.
• Got to see Krystle, Katie, Carrie, Phil, Charlie, Justin, Jason, Ryan, Joe, Ben and Kathreen all in one place! My own lateness made it a short visit but it was fabulous nonetheless.

Theme From The Apartment (Aug 31)

• My week at the day care has been an adjustment, but there were some highlights: 1) The playground has one of those mushroom fountains and, since it was 95 degrees this afternoon and one of my flip flops broke, I got to wander around in the water barefoot with the kids. 2) I was in the 2.5-year-old room, which I love because they are cuddly, relatively easily consoled and take naps. AND 3) One of the boys I played with on Tuesday put a taco and cheese into a coffee maker and said he was making grapes. True story. 
• Tonight, Cara and David were awesome enough to try one of the Korean restaurants I found on South U this week. I got 냉면 and it tasted like "home" - I mean, until I actually tasted the noodles and they tasted like a box. But the 김치 saved it...eating that reminded me of with my Korea loves :) 
• I have an apartment! It's not fabulous yet, but it will be when Cara and I are done with it. Chloe (my lovely kitty) and I will enjoy all the closet space but we hope for lots of visitors because it might get lonely sometimes. There will be lots of movies, baking and sewing that will happen there - at least after marching season is over :)

My Blanket And Me

• So, as I was unpacking/repacking after arriving home from Korea, I realized a terrible terrible thing - I had left my Blankie at the hostel we stayed in. This may not sound that awful. But it really is. I've had my yellow Blankie since Erin was born - that would be 22 years. In middle school, my mom tried to get me to use a new one, because the original was getting old and not yellow. But that one is packed away somewhere, and looks good as new. Over the last 10 years, I've left my Blankie many places - home as I was headed to camp, MSU, NYC, Royal Oak - but it was always with someone who could send it back to me. If I left it somewhere that was within driving distance, I drove back to go get it. This time, despite my efforts to contact the hostel (and their efforts to look for it), it hasn't been found. I'm actually tearing up a little writing this. My Blankie has gone with me everywhere and was a big comfort when I climbed into my bed every night. It smelled good (despite what other people said) and it was amazing, since it had tangled itself into an undoable knot over the years. I know it's silly, but I feel like something close to me has died. And the fact that this happened at a time when so much in my life is changing makes it worse. The terrible symbolism here is that this loss of my childhood comfort came right before I was offered my first Big Girl job. Right as I was applying for a car loan, looking for an apartment, having bills transferred to be paid in my name. This is when I could use a snuggle with my Blankie the most and instead I'm faced with the idea that this is an archetype of my childhood ending and my actual adulthood beginning. I know going into adulthood doesn't make you an adult (*cough cough* Linda and George). And this is clear when I want, more than a lot of other things right now, to have my Blankie back so I can hold it as I fall off to sleep before my first day at my real job.

Hot 'N Cold

• Today was a very stressful day. First, I woke up late. This wasn't a huge deal, as I was close to the place I needed to be and the start time of the event was pretty flexible. But still, no one likes being late. Second, I wasn't informed that the Detroit Public Library (the place for my meeting) would be closed today, nor that the parking lot I was supposed to park in would be labeled "Staff" but that I could park there anyways. So I drove around the block like 5 times and eventually parked in a structure. Then I got out and walked (with both of my laptops) in the steady rain to the front doors of the library - where I was greeted with the stubborn "click" of a locked door. I stood there for a minute before a cleaning lady opened the door, asked if I was here for the training and told me I had to walk around the building to be let in by the security guards. Oy. She was very nice so I thanked her, but then turned around to face the rain again. I got back to the sidewalk, at which point she yelled to me that I was going in the wrong direction, so I turned and walked back to her to get the correct instructions and she then told me that she made a mistake, I was actually going the right way. Oy. But still, I remained cheerful. There was also a man returning books to the drop box who told me that the library was closed until 10 am. I told him that I guess I just get an extra shower today then :) So I walked around and found the right door. Then I had /got to walk through what I assume are the bowels of the library. There were old research volume sets, children's books, files about Detroit, huge books, a card organization system of some kind and a really old locker room/bathroom. It was pretty cool and I doubt I'll get to go down there again. Then began my make-up day of training for WAY. It wasn't terrible, since there were different presenters than my first time and one of them was one of the founders. It was fun to talk to them and the other new staff members. We also got yummy bagels, yogurt, pizza, salad and (most importantly) coffee. However, I had to make tons of phone calls at any break possible (apartment, Cara, BandShoppe, etc.) and was worrying about a lot of different stuff throughout. Plus, it was geared more towards the people who will be working at the WAY Academy, and therefore acting as Mentors, Experts and Lab Monitors, rather than just Mentors (which is what I'll be doing). So, while the content was interesting, it wasn't necessarily relevant to me. Oh well. THEN, on the way to see an apartment, I called the bank to inquire after the "bank speak" in a letter I got and discovered that I am STILL being punished for that stupid stupid stupid mistake someone at the IRS made against me in 2005. And I have to find the time to figure it all out. GAAAAAAH! I can't believe it. So I kind hyperventilated in the car while driving down 94. Then, I met up with Cara and she saw an apartment with me (we liked it and she LOVED the guy who showed it to me/who I've been talking to) and we wandered around the Student Center, chatting/reminiscing. After that, we headed to the Bubble so I could return some silks to Kim and so we could visit our little guard babies who are all grown up and doing college guard. Change of plans meant that practice was actually at the practice field but we popped in to see the Bubble really fast before heading over there (it was neat, but also hot and seems like it costs a lot). At the field, we finally found our girlies! It was great to see Halley and Sara, especially when Sara ran towards me once she saw me :) I can't wait to see them march! We also got to see some other band/guard members who we knew. It was fun :) We finally headed home, where we met up with Melissa to eat dinner/cookies and shop for dresses on ModCloth/in each other's closets (suitcases). It was an up-and-down day, but turned out well over all.

Especially In Michigan (Aug 26)

• As I was driving to Detroit today, I compared it with my mini-road trip down the west coast of Michigan from yesterday. I love the west coast, from south to north, and love that Michigan has woods and beaches right next to each other. I also think it's awesome that I can travel a few hours and be in a thriving metropolis that houses many of my favorite people and many places I haven't yet been able to explore. I think it's fabulous that I get both in one place. Pure Michigan :)
• Hangout time with Krystle :) And watching Friends with Erica :)

High Time For A Detour (Aug 25)

• Band camp was pretty good this year. Our group of girls is fantastic and are really starting to come together, as a team and a performing ensemble. On Monday, I did have to talk to them about sitting out, but after that, we didn't have many problems that weren't actual injuries. Amazing - when you're clear with your expectations, the kids know what they can and can't do. Also, Anna and I were reminded why we spent most of our breaks in the hammocks last year :) On Tuesday, we had a big booboo though - Miss Monica fell during dance work and the evil ground hurt her ankle. Not sure on her prognosis for the season, but it will definitely take a while to heal :( Anna wrote and helped me write some great choreography throughout the week. I can't wait to put our costumes and all of our different equipment on the field, and see the reaction of the audience and judges :) Thursday, everyone was having issues and we had a relatively unproductive sectional - Anna and I were squabbling, the girls were have memorization trouble and I couldn't tell my left hand from my right. Luckily, it quickly turned from stressful to silly and we vowed not to do it again. Maybe we can blame the drumline - they were eating sassafras leaves all day. That night, the staff did a great skit ("The Candy Shop") and we got a standing ovation, lots of shouts and plenty of high-fives. On Friday, we had several breakdowns/almost-breakdowns - you could tell it was the end of the week. And many of Anna's and my frustrations from the week peaked that day. We were definitely ready for staff time at a local restaurant (...and bar) during the Senior Campfire that night. Anna and I (and others) tried some new drinks and everyone had a pretty good time. I think Lauren was excited to see that side of me :P Saturday brought humidity and more frustration but we made it to and through the Parent Performance without any major issues. Overall, it was a good week that went by really fast. I was sad to not feel like I had more time with everyone, but if it had felt any longer I may have tried to run away.
• Anna accidentally forgot to turn onto Russell Rd. when we were leaving camp, so we ended up turning around at the Happy Mohawk Canoe Livery down the road. Only, when we pulled in, we both kinda looked at each other and said we wanted to go canoeing. So we parked, got out, checked the prices, pondered a bit, decided we'd rather float down the river on tubes but didn't want to spend the predicted 3 hours that it would take. As an alternative, we chose to take the scenic route back to Kalamazoo, go through Grand Haven and stop by Lake Michigan. We did just that and it turned into a mini-road trip! We stopped where we wanted to, ate yummy food, walked the pier, waded in the lake, bought fruit from the side of the road and watched the sun set out of our window. And we didn't talk about guard at ALL...well, almost. (Mostly when we mentioned it, it was just to say how we couldn't believe that we weren't talking about it. Which kind of ruins it, but we were proud of ourselves nonetheless.) It was a fabulous way to go home.

Hey Julia (Aug 17)

• Flip phone for the win this week - my battery lasted (with me using it) from Sunday to today, and it wasn't even dead.
• Listening to Katie talk last night and today made me really wonder about language acquisition and it's relation to child development. She's only two and a half and she has an amazing grasp on the syntax and semantics of English, whereas I struggled immensely to get my five-year-old Korean students to a basic understanding of English. I do realize that the environments are totally different. But there are other factors at work and I'm pretty sure age is one of them - which makes this topic even more fascinating. In my next life (or maybe even this life), I'll study it more - along with allergies.
• I spoke with the best loan officer at PNC today. It helped that he knows my dad pretty well, but he also just seems like a genuinely awesome person and it was great to have that interaction with someone when I was doing something that could be really stressful. Between him and the landlord I spoke with the other day, I feel like I can totally conquer adult things, as long as I have some fabulous gay men on my side :)
• On the train ride home, an older (like 30-ish?) guy asked me "College colorguard?" because he saw me board with my flags. I told him yes, but now I also coach in Farmington. He said, "Awesome!"and kept walking. It was a quick, fun, positive interaction - a lot like the ones I had in Korea but did not expect to have upon returning home. Yay!
• I watched Julie & Julia on the train ride home, in honor of what would have been Julia Child's 100th birthday (which was on August 15). I WILL read the book someday soon too.
• Packing for band camp is slightly more challenging this year - it is usually my 4th camp of the summer and I am well-versed in remembering what to bring...but not this year. My weekend-in-a-backpack skills that I acquired in Korea are not as useful in this situation :/ Plus, all of my stuff is in a box or a suitcase right now. Boo.

The Failure Epiphany (Aug 16)

• Eischeids! So so happy that I got to see them tonight/tomorrow, even if it’s only for a little while. Jen and Andrew were so happy to see me and excited to hear about Korea and other things in my life; it was so sweet. And Ella and Katie are ADORABLE! They have grown so much in the last 6 months, especially Katie. Ella almost still looks the same as when she was a baby, which is both cute and interesting. Katie - with her longer hair and extremely expanded vocabulary - seems SO much older. It’s so funny/amazing to listen to them talk, hear their worries, pray with them and see them play together. And, after initially being wary of me, they both warmed right up and wanted me to do everything with them (I’m pretty sure they do this with any visitors at their house but I love it anyways).
• At least 3 people this week have told me that they stalked my pictures from Korea while I was gone - I love this! It’s so cool to have people, even in my Farmington community, that are so interested in my life :)
• Why do I always have my epiphany moments in the shower? I seriously always think of a million things I need to do but, of course, I can’t write them down. But by the time I’m out, I don’t remember what I was thinking! Boo.

Real As Can Be (Aug 15)

• Kayla came over and we hung out for a while, since we can be “real” friends now and she’s headed to Grand Valley soon. We baked, watched a movie and just talked about random stuff. It was great :) Though it did remind me how much I miss the seniors from last year, both in guard and in band.

Perfect Egg Salad Every Time (Aug 14)

• I'm so grateful to Karen and Laura for letting me stay at their house this week :) It is a charming little house and, just like Jen and Andrew's old house, everything has a place. I feel very comfortable here and am very thankful that I am able to stay here - I don't want to leave on Thursday! Plus, Karen told me to eat their produce that was left in the fridge (they aren't here this week), so I made the BEST salad ever. PP (big fan of salad bars) would be proud.

Love Lockdown (Aug 13)

• I got to see Anna today!!! We ran towards each other - she even dropped her stuff on the ground, all dramatic-like. It was fabulous. I don't really think I can survive without her...she keeps me sane and I kind of love all her crazy quirks :)
• We had a lockdown at the school today during rehearsal! A guy (or 2?) with a gun went MIA on school grounds, so we had to stay inside unexpectedly for about an hour. Crazy.
• Rachel informed me today that, at one point, she was in India, I was in Korea, Mike was in England and Elise and Brad were in Farmington. Weird.

More Than A Feeling (Aug 12)

• It's kind of the best feeling ever when your students run at you and attack-hug you because they've missed you in the 8 months since you've seen them. Makes all the problems seem small and reminds me why I love what I do :)
• The next best feeling is when one of your new students says, "Emily, you're nothing like what everyone said! You aren't mean!" I like scaring the newbies a little ;)
• Also, having a Bestest that loves one of the things you love most and will help you write choreography on a Sunday morning is awesome.

How Many Friends (Aug 11)

• Today turned into a fantastic day for seeing friends! I tagged along with Katie to the post-Lake Louise meeting at Matt and Liz's. We got to chat for the whole car ride, which was great. I love that girl. Then we arrived at Matt and Liz's house and, after Liz opened the door, Robert saw me and came running out. It was soooo cute and I LOVE how much he's talking now and his adorable little voice. Then Rachel saw me and ran out too! It was wonderful. I got much needed extra-long hugs from Liz and Phil, plus Amanda, Joe and Sara (and Matt, of course) were there as well and I got awesome hugs from them. Carlee Skyped into the meeting and it was *almost* like hanging out/talking to her in real life. There was lots of good camp talk, a yummy lunch (where Robert volunteered to pray!), and I got to help Rachel get dolled up for Rene's wedding. And then I rode home with Phil :) He insulted my former taste in music and gave me some pretty good advice, regarding my blanket. Shh, don't tell him I said that, I'm not supposed to compliment him.
• After seeing my dad and brothers briefly, I boarded the train to Royal Oak. Not only did I get to see and hug on my Bestest when I got off 3 hours later, but I was happily surprised to know that we would be eating dinner with Charlie and Blair at a good old American diner. It was yummy and we had a fantastic time catching up about camp, Korea, houses and jobs. They came back to Krystle's afterwards and we hung out with the cats, listened to the TV show that is life in Krystle's house, and perused Charlie's new book Awkward Family Photos, which is in fact a collection of very awkward family portraits. It was lovely. And after they left, Krystle and I got more time to talk, about everything. I've missed her a LOT and it's surreal that we've just been able to hang out and catch up tonight :)

A Little Leftover (Aug 9)

• Ben and I made pizza from random things in the fridge for lunch today. It turned out pretty yummy! Then the boys and I played Bananagrams - only we played one board together and had themes...including chemical elements and numbers.
• I started writing guard work :) Too bad the rain made me stop, I was totally on a roll.

Irony In The Shadows

• Today, I picked up my mail (and other things) from my dad. A few months ago, I ordered a necklace on ModCloth and asked for it to be delivered to me in Korea. About 6 days later, I got an email saying my package had been sent back because they couldn't deliver it to my house (Really, ModCloth? The package got to Korea and back to America in less than 6 days?), but they couldn't tell me why. So they sent it to my American address free of charge. When I opened the package today, I found the necklace and an adorable pink striped bow! It was labeled with 2 sticker: "A Free Gift From Us!" and "Made in Korea". That MAY be the most ironic thing I've experience in quite some time.

There's A Fine, Fine Line (Aug 7)

• Well, today I did a whole day of training for my new WAY Mentor Program on no sleep. Yes, after waking up at 8 pm, watching the Olympics with mom and the boys for a while and then visiting with Katie and Carrie until 3 am, I decided not to sleep between then and my 7 am alarm. It wasn’t too bad either, until about 1:30 pm. But by then I was on my 4th cup of coffee and we were doing enough new things to keep my brain mostly occupied. And then I came home, managed to stay awake until Mom got home, and promptly fell asleep at 7 pm (and basically stayed that way until 5 am this morning). 
• I’m surprised, and slightly horrified, at how easy it is to fall back into the routines that I had here before I left. So much has happened to me in the last 6 months but I’m going about everything here as if it hadn’t. It makes me want to cry. I don’t want to forget all of my memories, experiences, and relationships. I can’t, can I? But it’s easier to quickly summarize my 6 months and then get to talking with someone about our task at hand or their lives than to go into detail about mine. And it seems kind of selfish, to only want to talk about my super-exciting life. Especially when I’m met with, “I always wanted to do that, but I got married and had kids instead” (that was literally a response I had yesterday). How rude of me to be parading my world-traveler-ness in these people’s faces when they never got or took the chance to do the same. This is a weird balance that I’m going to have to figure out. I started a little with Kathreen yesterday. I was just telling her random facts - about coffee, food, the lack of sandwiches – about life in Korea throughout the day. She was very appreciative and amused, and I definitely thank her for that. I also spoke with a woman (who, as it turns out, knows Liz Carr from forever ago) about my time in Korea and she was really interested. We compared the schools here and there and it was a nice conversation (especially because I had an interesting first impression of her). I guess I’ll just have to figure out how to be recently back from a completely unique experience and how to do the things I have to here at home at the same time. One of the million reasons I wish being home in the US meant I got to see Carlee.

MCs Come And MCs Go (Aug 1)

• Pastor Richie and his family took me to lunch today :) It was nice to see them one last time and to see them interact as a family. We ate at the food court of a multi-story shopping center on the other side of town – it wasn’t that great, but they paid ;) 
• Tonight I got to host a talent show! Isn’t that the most random thing? Pastor Richie asked me a few weeks ago if I knew anyone who’d want to MC a talent show as part of the Fireworks Festival. They’d have to help recruit English acts but would be rewarded 500K Won (about $500). I was like, “Uh, me!” It was a lot of work to convince people to join and to figure that stuff out, but we made it to today. I brought both of my new dresses – which was good because it was SUPER windy and I had to change right before the performance, to avoid showing my spanks to the crowd :D It was a little bit scary being on stage but I tried to act like I wasn’t nervous and that speaking on stage is just something I do every day (which, I suppose, it kind of is). Turns out I was pretty good – a few people thought that I was translating what the Korean MC was saying, when, in reality, we had agreed on what to say beforehand – COOL! I can handle being taken for a person who is fluent in both Korean and English! We actually had to end the show early because it was so windy and they were afraid of the stage falling down and possibly starting a fire that would spread to POSCO (no joke). So that was lame, because it was just as I was getting into the groove of announcing. And I felt like I had lured the people I’d recruited into something they didn’t really want to do and then they didn’t even get any prizes. They reassured me that it was okay and I ended up helping convince the talent show board to split the prize money evenly between the entrants (instead of large amount to 1st place, middle amount to 2nd place and small amount to 3rd place). Plus, later at Tilt (the foreigner bar), a few of the people who were going to perform did so there. Overall, it was a very cool/random/unique experience :)

Platform Blues (July 31)

• Rachel went out to get donuts for our breakfast :) After that we headed to the train station…slowly, but surely. We got there with plenty of time to spare. We sat on the platform, chatted a little and avoided thinking about how long it would be until we saw each other again. I hugged her extra-long and waved until the train left.

Cake And Eat It Too (July 29)

• At this point it's strange to hear my friends talk about things they'll be doing after I leave :( 
• It was my last Sunday at PICC! I’m so lucky to have found a church that is such an amazing community with active and loving members. It was a huge part of making Pohang feel like home. We celebrated with a cake from Paris Baguette, just like we have with everyone else who has left this summer. 

• I followed up a restful afternoon of packing with an unexpected and fabulous night with Paul and Liz, that included eating intestines, drinking soju, hanging out on the roof of Liz’s building and getting to know each other. Even in my last days here, I’m getting closer to and learning new things about my friends :)

Smells Like Fireworks (July 28)

• Today was Wolpo beach day with Ingrid and Nida! We got started a little later than planned but got on the right bus at least :) And we got dropped off right in front of Ashley’s apartment (and got a tip from the bus driver that we could get picked up there as well – woo less walking!). The original plan was to spend part of the day baking in Ashley’s apartment…but we couldn’t get in! She gave me the wrong pass code :/ But the alternative was laying on the beach all day. And as it was another hot, sunny day, that was not a bad alternative at all. We tried to use our feminie/English wiles to get an umbrella for cheap but no luck. It was a good choice to pay for it though! The sun was pretty wicked – we wore sunscreen and stayed in the shade most of the time but still all got fried! We spent the day talking, swimming, people watching and fully enjoying each other’s company (trying to pay no attention to the fact that I have only days left in Pohang). We snacked on Korean chips and I had a ridiculously spicy seafood dish for lunch (I didn’t expect either spiciness or the seafood-ness). I played in the sand with a couple of Korean kids :) We marveled at the similarity of Korean high school boys to all other high school boys. We saw a man wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a polo t-shirt, shorts, leggings, socks and a sun hat – that’s sunburn prevention dedication right there. And, after today, I have now swum in all of the oceans surrounding Korea! 
• After our beach day, Nida went home and Ingrid and I went to the Fireworks Festival. I don’t usually like fireworks that much – but this show was amazing! It was a competition between different countries and they all did a great job. It went on for at least 2 hours and we had some street food while lounging on our beach blanket. 

• Then I somehow fought my way through the HUGE crowds to find Monique, Richard, Monique’s mom and Kelly (and her boyfriend). We walked a REALLY long way and eventually ended up at a samgyeupsal place that was really yummy. We relaxed, ate, watched some obscure Olympic events that Korea was competing in, and enjoyed our last time hanging out. So glad that I met Monique and Richard during orientation!