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.