Long Awaited Update

Well, after some significant nagging from Julie (heart you!), I have decided to take up my blog again.  Julie logged in and changed it for me (as that was my excuse--it was still about NY) and now I have no more excuses. As I haven't blogged since June of 2011, I have some catching up to do, I suppose (though not really sure why, as the only people that read this know my story, but o well, here goes).

After coming home from NY in May of '11, I was soon headed out again. This time, I was headed to Boston for 2 months to teach at a summer program out there. It was very exciting, and I made lots of friends. I was also able to hang out with some of my friends that live out there. While I was there, I attended Amanda and Matt's wedding--super exciting! It was a great time, but I still missed home.

After my 2 month stint back in the northeast, I was finally home. However, finding a job (which I had been looking for all summer) was proving extremely difficult. Unfortunately, funds were dying out, so I had to make a choice. I decided to accept a position in HR and move to Dallas. I wasn't thrilled, but I was determined to make it work. I was determined to make myself be happy there. In September, I moved to Dallas to start working at Rent-A-Center in the payroll department. Unfortunately, circumstances there were less ideal than anticipated. I had committed that I would not continue looking for teaching positions while there (at least for that next school year), because I was going to make it work. However, on the encouragement of Mom, I started looking nearly right away.

In March I was offered a position to teach. I was thrilled. The caveat: it was in Japan. :) I was all set and ready to move. My bags were quite literally packed and on my floor when I decided that leaving June 1 to move across the world might not be the best idea. I postponed my departure in hopes of finding a better-fit job stateside. I scoured the country looking for jobs. I was contacted by 4 schools for interviews--awesome! This was farther than I'd ever gotten before! I was really feeling hopeful. Three of the 4 were in CO, too! Bonus! After explaining that I was in Dallas and agreeing to skype and phone interviews, I'd made my best efforts around the country. One school, a boarding school in OH had me go through so many rounds of interviews, they even flew me out there. It was a nice trip and I enjoyed the opportunity, but in the end I was offered and accepted a job at Hackberry Hill Elementary in Arvada, CO. I would be teaching 3rd grade GT. Perfect! This is right up my alley! As it turns out, it's like a school within a school where the gifted center is a full-time gifted school within the elementary school.

So, now you're caught up. I'm teaching in Arvada (about 15 minutes from my house, where I live with Julie and Sara again) and absolutely loving it! My kiddos are the best (yeah, they all say that, but mine really are), and the parents are just as awesome!

It's been quite a start to the year. When I arrived at school, I was informed that I would have a teammate! Yay! They hired another 3rd grade GT teacher, so I would have only 18 students! Wow! That's awesome! Then, on the 2nd day of school, it was decided that we were able to hire another teacher. This time it was for 5th grade. It was exciting and great news for the 5/6 combo classes that were HUGE, but it was bad because we didn't have any space to put another teacher. So, on the second day of school, I was told that I had to move. I had the 2nd smallest class size (Jessica, my teammate had 1 less, but she had some needs in her room to keep her where she was), so I was chosen to move. I would be moving into the conference room. However, after further investigation, the district deemed the conference room an unfit classroom. Instead, it was decided that Jessica and her class would move into my room and we would co-teach the 33 kids together. That would free up her room for the new teacher and give the 3rd grade GT unity that they had been used to (the class had always been one).

So far, all 3 weeks into this new arrangement, it's been amazing! Jess and I work really really well together and it truly is the best thing for these kids! The parents have been so supportive of us, and we cannot express our gratitude enough! I truly have the best kids, parents, and colleagues!

It's been a long, been a long, been a long...

Well, aside from the cheesey musical reference (+10 pts to someone who can name it!), it has been a long time since I've written. I've since graduated with my Master's Degree from Columbia University! I received a 4.0! And I returned home! I'm so happy to be back home in Colorado; o, how I missed it. Further, I am enjoying relaxing before beginning my summer position with Exploration Schools.

Since I've last updated, so much has happened! As I've stated, I moved back home to Colorado, and I'm loving it. I really missed it here. Sadly, also, my grandfather (my dad's dad) passed away on the 22nd. My family will be coming to Denver so we can all drive to Casper for his funeral next weekend. While I'm very excited for them to come, I'm sad that it's for this. We'd been talking about going to Casper for the 10 year anniversary of Dad and Grandma's deaths, but we never thought we'd end up doing it for Grandpa's burial. We're saddened and grieved, but glad to be together.

Other than those things, life's been pretty normal. I'm still job searching (hate that) and hoping (and praying like crazy) to get a job. I'm preparing for my summer position and enjoying the relaxing CO life for now.

Post more later...

Reflection is Natural

As time passes and change approaches, it is only natural to become reflective. Right? Sure!

So, as I look back on my nearly one year spent in New York City, I think about all I've learned and accomplished and the things, people and places I'll miss so much.

Things I've learned:
1. Some things, only NYC can teach you. For example, crosswalk signs are worthless. The only thing that dictates whether you cross or not is traffic. You can always spot the tourists/people that don't belong because they're waiting when there aren't cars in sight! Another example: how to hail a cab. It's funny; it seems intuitive, but it's really not, and nobody really teaches you. So, I'll teach you and save you the frustration next time you're here: the light on top is the key. The middle light on means he's available. All lit up means he's off duty and won't stop. Unlit means he has a fare (again, he won't stop). Finally, if you want to survive, don't be afraid to ask! New Yorkers seem so rough and tumble, but really if you just ask, they're friendly and very helpful (especially with directions).

2. I love teaching, and I'm born to do it! Not that this is really news to me, but it has definitely been reconfirmed in this year here.

3. I am strong. Again, this may not be new news, but I've been taught over and over these past few years just how strong I am, and this year was no exception. It was hard being out here alone, but I not only did it--I thrived! I love New York, and while I'm happy to be going home (I've missed it a lot), I will definitely miss it!

People/Places/Things I'll Miss:
1. My friends! This is obvious! I've made some GREAT friends out here. I'll really miss seeing them, and I hope they come visit me out in CO soon. I'll also really miss being so close to the friends I grew up with. I've seen them more this past nearly-year than I have since I left New England 12 years ago! It's been great. I miss them a lot, and it's been so nice being so close.

2. Jesus Taco, Wafel Truck, S'Mac, Max Cafe, Appletree, Subsconscious, Metro Diner...are you getting a theme here? I'm totally gonna miss the food here. Not only that, I'm gonna miss that I can get it any time day or night delivered to me, usually for free! I love this place. Haha. How am I not 6000 pounds?

3. I'll miss discovery. I've discovered so many new things and places while here. The abundance of learning astounds me. It's my crack (perhaps that and food). And while I've desperately missed my mountains being out here, I'll miss the discovery of the City once home.

Overall, it's been a fabulous year, but I'm so glad to be done with school and going home. I've missed it a lot! I'll come back and visit; the City can't quit me that easily. ;)

I heart NYC! :)

Awesome awesome weekend!

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but there’s good reason…I’ve been working! My school work and work-work are pretty much consuming my life, and I haven’t really taken many adventures around the city or otherwise.

However, this weekend was different. This weekend was a girls’ weekend adventure

extraordinaire! The plan was for Ali and Kate and me to paint Bean Town red with style! However, unfortunately, Ali wasn’t able to join us. So, Kate and I had to make up for her missing and cause havoc enough for the 3 of us, right?

Saturday was the Five O’Clock Shadow 20 year reunion show, so what better excuse did we need for a trip, right? Right. It was decided. We rented a car from Newark Airport and booked a hotel outside the city and were gonna make a memory *cue Bon Jovi*!

Kate and I left Saturday morning at 7:30 to head to Newark. According to The Great Goog, it should have taken 1.5 hours to get there from our house…wrong, goog, wrong. We took a subway, then had to kill 45 minutes to wait for the train. Took the train and had to take an airtran to the other side of the airport, then another shuttle van to the rental place. That’s a lot of modes of transportation just to pick up another! Anyway, by about noon we were finally on the road headed out.

We were snuggly situated in the car, ready for a ride. Cabbot was quite comfy lounging across the backseat. And we were off! We had the GPS unit (which we lovingly named Iris) programmed and talking us through navigating the City. By the time we finally made it out of NY, we decided that since we were travelling through New Haven anyway, we should drop Cab off and not have to worry about him.

After stopping in New Haven and then getting on the road, we made it to our hotel by about 4. It was a long day. Since the show was soon, we decided to just chill there and hit Boston

tomorrow.

Lunch at Friendly's--SCORE! Miss that place!

Hot ladies, ready for a great show!

What a show it was! The guys did amazingly (not that there was any doubt)! It was so fun. Way to go, guys!

Tribute...one of my absolute faves!

Once we finally made it to Boston Sunday morning, we wandered around Quincy Market and had some Chowda! Kate had never had clam chowder before…crazy! I was popping all kinds of V-bubbles for her (FOCS, Boston, and now chowda). Wandering around one of my favorite cities in the country, I felt a bit nostalgic and homesick (surprisingly, since I've never actually lived in Boston). But, amazed and engulfed in its beauty I was so happy to share it with Kate.

After wandering and pestering the city, we met up with Oren and got to properly hang out, since after the show was so hectic with all his fan-mob and whatnot ;). It was a nice time to catch up and introduce Kate. Then it was time to hit the road again *cue Daddy singing for the road trip "On the Road Again"*!

RAIN! OMG RAIN! Apparently we drove the length of the cloud because it rained the WHOLE trip. There were times it was rather torrential. But alas, I made it (dropped Kate off in New Haven to stay with Bill). I finally got the car back to NJ and really wanted to just cab it back home (love that cab is a verb in NY). But they wanted to charge $130! Um no. So I took the train, finally getting home at 1am.

It was quite a weekend and had SOOO much fun. We really missed Ali, too. Made lots more fun memories (as we always do when we go out).

Will really miss it here.

Weekend Warrior

I love it when I have a productive day. I always tease Patrick, that it's his favorite kind of day, but I can see why. It just feels so good to get your shit done!

Anyway, this weekend, I had a seminar class. I was really not looking forward to it. I just knew I had a lot of stuff to do and didn't want to give up my whole weekend to do it. But, I had to. So, Friday morning bright and early I reported to class. It was on Augmentative & Alternative Communication. It was FULL of speech pathology students (as it was part of their program), and I was generally lost in the mix. O well. But...good news came! I found out late Friday that class was not meeting on Saturday, after all! What? Really? AWESOME! I got a whole day I thought was lost! Fantastic!

So, Saturday I vowed to make the most of my time. I slept in (seems like a counter-productive move, but it was needed!) and got rolling right away. I got up and went to the gym (a foreign concept, in general, but I'm trying to get better) and came home to wash up and get going. I finally made it out to queens and ran some errands. It was only 2:00, and I had already gotten a lot done! I was so excited. I was multitasking, too. I was reading on the trains and getting some homework done. WOO HOO, look at me! When I came home, I buckled down and wrote and wrote and wrote. It was a good feeling to get some things crossed off (as it always is). Then, Saturday night I watched the UConn men's game with mom on the phone (just like old times). It was a fantastic victory, and a really good game.

Then, Sunday, I went back to class and finished up. We got out early, which was nice, so I went back to the gym (2 days in a row! Who am I?) and came home to write some more. After working a bit more, I decided I'd be done for the day. I vegged a bit and curled up in bed with the UConn women's game. At halftime, though, I called it quits. I just couldn't stay up longer.

I was saddened to wake this morning to find out my girls had lost. :( But, there's still hope for the men tonight! LET'S GO HUSKIES!!!

So, while it may not sound like much (and certainly not exciting), it was a good weekend for me. I feel good, productive, and happy. YAY!

Always the adventure

I live in one of the greatest cities in the world, filled with some of the greatest food in the world. Hence, I travel great distances to try these amazing places. So, when a coworker of mine told me that there is a restaurant downtown that serves nothing but mac and cheese, I was all over that! Tonight, Kate and I decided to track it down. It's in lower east side at 12th and 1st, which means about 45 minutes by 2 trains.

We were so excited! It's gonna be awesome. The menu looks fantastic, and who doesn't love a place devoted to mac and cheese? When we finally get there, we walk in and it's tiny. Like, not just New York tiny, but TINY! And it's only carry out and delivery. What!? Are you kidding? This is so our luck. Of course I blame Kate because in our walk over to the place she joked that it would totally be our luck that they closed yesterday or moved yesterday or something. "Don't jinx us, Kate! You know our track record!" Then, we see this. Are you kidding me? We're discussing what we want to do, if we can figure out a place to eat it or we just want to find something else in the neighborhood. It's weird, though, because their website didn't mention anything about being take-out only. I decided to ask the guy at the counter if they had another location and maybe I had just taken us to the wrong one not realizing. He says no, this is it, except for the sit-down one. What? Where's that? That's what we want. "O. It's like 2 doors down," he says with a look like, you moron!

O thank goodness we didn't leave. This long of a trek for nothing when we were really that close really would have pissed me off! So, we went next door and it was small, like NY small, but worth it! I got glorious Americana Mac & Cheese with hot dogs, just like childhood (minus the Kraft part...sorry mom), and Kate got a slightly fancier 4 cheese variety with chicken. Overall it was pretty fantastic and well worth the trek. Plus it was a fun date with Kate (which they always are).

Until next time...

Really? All that for a sandwich?

It's been a while, but here's the update: I've been working hard on my Master's Thesis project. This curriculum is going to be awesome! I just hope I get to actually teach it one day! :) And for Spring Break, I got to go home! It was a short visit, but it was a much-needed break. It's always hard to leave, though. I know I only have 2 months left and a LOT going on till the end, so it'll be ok.

Now, for the adventure! :D

I bought some shirts online (why do I pretend like I can actually shop successfully online? I don't know!), and, of course, they didn't fit. I bought them for an interview and they didn't arrive in time, anyway, but then they didn't fit, so I really don't want them. Unfortunately, because Sears owns Kmart now, you can apparently buy stuff from Sears through Kmart, but if it's from Sears, you have to return it to Sears, not Kmart. Grr! So, I have to trek out to Queens (at least 45 min and 3 trains) to go to Sears to return these stupid shirts instead of the nice direct shot down to 34th for Kmart. So, I decided to give it a go this evening. In the mean time, I also decided it was dinner time and I needed peanut butter anyway, why not make a pitstop at the Peanut Butter & Co. store?

Unfortunately, the train was running pretty slowly tonight (traffic or construction or something) and it took longer than I thought it would to get down there. So, by the time I ate and got done at PB&Co, I figured it was too late to head to Queens, as I didn't really want to walk home from the Harlem stop at 10. So, essentially I wasted 2 hours and 2 trips on my MetroCard for a peanut butter sandwich. O well, at least it was tasty! :D

I also had a fabulous lunch date with Tomomi today, and discovered chai lattes. Wow! Yum! Then I had the shakes all afternoon...apparently they're wicked high in sugar and caffeine. Ooops.

Other than that, I've been really good on this whole sugar-less diet thing. Over spring break I went back to the doc and she was amazed at my improvement! She said I may be ready for my races by summer if I keep it up, but it's still kinda a long shot. But more importantly, we can focus on my muscles and joints now (like we're supposed to) instead of just my ligaments! YAY!

So, overall, things are going well. I have just under 2 months till I graduate; things are looking pretty positive! I'll definitely miss NY and the wonderful friends I've made here, but I'm happy to go home, too. I miss it terribly.