I don't know how it happened. I was innocently searching for a job to fill my time in between school and to of course help pay for it all. What I stumbled upon was something much greater. I just got a job with a family who lives on Summit Ave. It is by far one of the coolest houses I have ever been in. And I have some friends with some pretty awesome houses, and this one is up there on the list. The family is nice and we get along very well. I have met the boy I'll be nannying yet, but it will be kind of unavoidable when I show up on Monday morning to drop him off at school. Then we will have to meet. Can't avoid me forever! Little did I know that this job will produce more than some sort of income for me. While at a meeting to discuss salary and hours and so on, we got to talking about what I was doing with school and what my plans were for the rest of the year. It was that moment when I truely was hit by how much my life is going to change and has already changed. I started out this summer enrolled in a semester in India. I then was set on going to North Carolina. And now I am here, living at home, going to school and nannying my life away. And I have to say, I am enjoying it far more than I thought I would. I brought up the fact that I am trying to take online classes for the fall since I can't start classes on campus until the spring. I was having trouble getting started because a lot of the online classes were already filled up since I have to take them as a non degree seeking student for now. This is when the mom I am working for told me she is taking an online Microbiology class and that I should take it with her. So here I am, taking a break from reading the syllabus for the Microbiology class that starts on Monday. Now me and school have not exactly meshed well together, but I have to say that I am pretty jazzed about this. She has a lot of connections in the field of work I want to go into and is a great person to know. It will also be really helpful to have someone to work with while making this transition.
The jobs and school aren't the only things that are working out for me right now. I have to admit that I was kind of worried about living with my parents again. But so far, no problems have arisen and we are having a great time. I don't really know what I was worried about, I mean we did live together for 18 years before I went off to college. And I really like hanging out with them because I don't really know when that will all end and I will move out and go my own way. So I am trying to savor the moments I can. So naturally, with my popularity and numerous invitations to attend prestigious social gatherings, I have been busy this week. So on Thrusday, I just wanted to hang with my parents and not do anything since every night before that had been occupied. So I change into my comfy clothes and am ready for night of relaxation and parental hang out time. So I go upstairs, and they go "K goodbye, we are going to the cabin! See you Sunday, maybe Monday". Awesome. I rejected an invitation to go dancing to stay home with them and they leave me. But I like it. They aren't letting me being here again to stop them from doing what they want, which they shouldn't. It's just funnny that that happened. But I made the most of it! I went to Cub, got some good food for the weekend, rented True Grit(fell asleep halfway through...not that good...) and had a great time by myself. Had two girlfriends over last night, and it was one of the most fun nights of my summer so far. Tonight, I am going to a Lynx game with Janey. Tomorrow, dinner with girls from school. It's just nice to have people around that love me. And as many of you know, I can have fun in pretty much every situation on the planet. So it's never in short supply.
I don't have any inspirational words on wisdom, not really funny stories that you will pass on to others, and I am not going about my life doing soemthing amazing at the moment. I'm just savoring the little moments and making the most of everything. It was my last day of work with my pubertal toddler on Friday,and I'll admit that it was kind of sad. I got him to admit that he'll miss me. I don't know if I would rather him hate me, it was just weird when he would be nice to me. But that chapter is over now, a great learning experience, that's for sure, but I'm glad I'm moving onto something else now. All my friends are going on their seperate adventures at the moment, I will probably have one on every continent except Antartica by the end of this year. And I will be here, having my own adventure. And I look forward to what it will bring me. Until next time something strange or ridiculous or inspirational happens to me!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Ordinary moments turned extraordinary
What a wonderful 24 hours it has been. It is amazing that there are moments, seemingly ordinary to the naked eye, that are actually quite amazing. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the world is kind of in a crap shoot right now. It seems as if the news is merely the bearer of bad news, never ending and only broken up with bits of not so bad news. But even with all the bad that is going on in the world right now, life for me is strangely content and unyieldingly happy.
Yesterday was the Buffalo Wild Wings fundraiser event for Leo. And what an amazing event it turned out to be. Who knew that eating wings could be so awesome. As I have mentioned before, I love my friends. Their loyalty and willingness to do what it takes makes them friends that will be around forever. Even though this BWW's was in Eagan, my friends were there, supporting me. It means more to me than they will ever know. It seems like a simple thing, to come to a restaurant and eat, but to me it was much more than that. They didn't have to come. I didn't force them to come. They just did. Actions like that speak louder than words ever will. I can't thank them enough for that. After the event, the girl went to a friends house and watched a movie. It was just one of those nights that makes you smile when you think back on it. Just like the bonfire the night before. For a long while, it was a girls night. Just sitting outside around a fire, roasting mallows(which to Meghan's dismay were store brand and not Jet Puff "Mallows are just one area in life that you don't skimp on!") and laughing about the stupid, funny and utterly "why would I do that" moments. It was the perfect goodbye to Meghan, who leaves us for four months tomorrow.
Then there is today. Today, in my opinion, has been one of those subtly perfect days that will stand out in the array of quite ordinary days I've had. I had no special plans today. But from the moment I woke up today, I just knew something was going to be different. My Lauren and I have started this thing that when we hang out, we go for walks around this neighborhood that we don't even live in. We just chat about life, issues I like to think I know a lot about, boys, our outfits, where we want to travel to etc. The conversation is never ending, flowing like a river on a warm summer day. Talking to her isn't like to talking to most of the people I know. She has such a passion for life that is actually quite awe-inspiring. She has this "take no crap" kind of personality that I admire with the subtle undertones of actually caring for what happens to those around her. She doesn't read US magazine. She doesn't watch pointless reality television that has drawn most of the world in. She reads books about the political system in India, about women's lack of rights in certain parts of the world. She actually cares about things that matter. It's amazing to me how caught up with the superficial people can get. I have been blessed with the "I don't care about what other people think" attitude. I admit though that I don't know as much about the world around me as I should. But talking with her inspires me to be better. If I go into a conversation with even a hint of doubt about a situation I am in, I always seem to leave confident and and inspired because of her. We walked this morning, and it was perfect. It was a nice 65 degree morning in August and we just walked. It felt good to start out the day like that. Work, as always, is nothing special. I don't have a great affect over the pubescent. He sleeps in way past anytime a human should, completely ignoring my annoying yelling of his name to get up, my incessant trudging up and down the stairs to make as much noise as possible. I swear he is the living dead when sleeping. It was a fairly ordinary day when he final rose out of his grave. Anxious to get him out of the house, we drove towards the mall, grabbing some lunch. At this point, I have had not one cup of coffee and couldn't go any longer, so I swung into the Starbuck's drive through for a nice coffee with milk. Now, the Starbuck's drive-thru is not a place where I would have expected something amazing to happen to me, but it did. As we were sitting there, waiting for my coffee, a women pulled into the space next to the drive-thru window. She had two bouquets of flowers in her hand to match her awesome flower pants and sunny disposition and was walking inside the building. I got my coffee from the very attractive barista that witnessed what happened next with a dazzling smile and quiet chuckle. The lady double back towards us and all of a sudden, she stuck one bouquet of the sweetest smelling flowers through my window and said, "These are for you. I hope you keep having a really great day." It was one of those moments that I will remember for a long time to come. She didn't ask me for money, she didn't force them upon me, she just handed them to me with a smile and left. I was in shock. I giggled with utter happiness that this had just happened to me, in a drive-thru, at a Starbucks. I yelled "I hope you have a really great day as well ma'am!" and still in shock and smiling ear to ear drove away. I can't describe the high I am still riding just from this simple encounter with the flower lady. A simple kindness so greatly appreciated by me.
I called my mother last night and she told me that on a full plane, in the middle seat, she started to bawl her eyes out. She had an overwhelming feeling of emotion when a song came on her ipod of gratefulness for her family. And I couldn't help but just love her more than I already did. This got me thinking about my family and just how much I love them. My father, with his sometimes quiet disposition around people, but get him going and you will witness a great smile and a booming laugh followed by a cough. My sister in all her glory at the fundraiser, just laughing with kids, raising money and simply amazing me with how far she has come. Even my dog, with his calmness and unwavering belief that he doesn't weigh a hundred pounds and can therefore climb on top of you to cuddle. My mother, with her kick butt work attitude and absolutely amazing personality that will love you no matter what but isn't afraid to kick your butt in bags. Its these simple things that I love, the simple things that add up into a greater family dynamic.
Of course I can't make it through a post with out rambling, but I hope my ramblings prove to be useful and insightful. If you get anything out of today's post, understand that you are loved. By who and how it's shown doesn't really matter unless you accept that its there first. The flower lady loved me today. She showed it with flowers and a smile. My family loves me with hugs, kisses and teasing. My friends love me with their unwavering loyalty. My dog loves me with the satisfying growl that comes from scratching his belly. Its the simple things that happen throughout life that can turn even the most ordinary moment into one that is extraordinary.
Yesterday was the Buffalo Wild Wings fundraiser event for Leo. And what an amazing event it turned out to be. Who knew that eating wings could be so awesome. As I have mentioned before, I love my friends. Their loyalty and willingness to do what it takes makes them friends that will be around forever. Even though this BWW's was in Eagan, my friends were there, supporting me. It means more to me than they will ever know. It seems like a simple thing, to come to a restaurant and eat, but to me it was much more than that. They didn't have to come. I didn't force them to come. They just did. Actions like that speak louder than words ever will. I can't thank them enough for that. After the event, the girl went to a friends house and watched a movie. It was just one of those nights that makes you smile when you think back on it. Just like the bonfire the night before. For a long while, it was a girls night. Just sitting outside around a fire, roasting mallows(which to Meghan's dismay were store brand and not Jet Puff "Mallows are just one area in life that you don't skimp on!") and laughing about the stupid, funny and utterly "why would I do that" moments. It was the perfect goodbye to Meghan, who leaves us for four months tomorrow.
Then there is today. Today, in my opinion, has been one of those subtly perfect days that will stand out in the array of quite ordinary days I've had. I had no special plans today. But from the moment I woke up today, I just knew something was going to be different. My Lauren and I have started this thing that when we hang out, we go for walks around this neighborhood that we don't even live in. We just chat about life, issues I like to think I know a lot about, boys, our outfits, where we want to travel to etc. The conversation is never ending, flowing like a river on a warm summer day. Talking to her isn't like to talking to most of the people I know. She has such a passion for life that is actually quite awe-inspiring. She has this "take no crap" kind of personality that I admire with the subtle undertones of actually caring for what happens to those around her. She doesn't read US magazine. She doesn't watch pointless reality television that has drawn most of the world in. She reads books about the political system in India, about women's lack of rights in certain parts of the world. She actually cares about things that matter. It's amazing to me how caught up with the superficial people can get. I have been blessed with the "I don't care about what other people think" attitude. I admit though that I don't know as much about the world around me as I should. But talking with her inspires me to be better. If I go into a conversation with even a hint of doubt about a situation I am in, I always seem to leave confident and and inspired because of her. We walked this morning, and it was perfect. It was a nice 65 degree morning in August and we just walked. It felt good to start out the day like that. Work, as always, is nothing special. I don't have a great affect over the pubescent. He sleeps in way past anytime a human should, completely ignoring my annoying yelling of his name to get up, my incessant trudging up and down the stairs to make as much noise as possible. I swear he is the living dead when sleeping. It was a fairly ordinary day when he final rose out of his grave. Anxious to get him out of the house, we drove towards the mall, grabbing some lunch. At this point, I have had not one cup of coffee and couldn't go any longer, so I swung into the Starbuck's drive through for a nice coffee with milk. Now, the Starbuck's drive-thru is not a place where I would have expected something amazing to happen to me, but it did. As we were sitting there, waiting for my coffee, a women pulled into the space next to the drive-thru window. She had two bouquets of flowers in her hand to match her awesome flower pants and sunny disposition and was walking inside the building. I got my coffee from the very attractive barista that witnessed what happened next with a dazzling smile and quiet chuckle. The lady double back towards us and all of a sudden, she stuck one bouquet of the sweetest smelling flowers through my window and said, "These are for you. I hope you keep having a really great day." It was one of those moments that I will remember for a long time to come. She didn't ask me for money, she didn't force them upon me, she just handed them to me with a smile and left. I was in shock. I giggled with utter happiness that this had just happened to me, in a drive-thru, at a Starbucks. I yelled "I hope you have a really great day as well ma'am!" and still in shock and smiling ear to ear drove away. I can't describe the high I am still riding just from this simple encounter with the flower lady. A simple kindness so greatly appreciated by me.
I called my mother last night and she told me that on a full plane, in the middle seat, she started to bawl her eyes out. She had an overwhelming feeling of emotion when a song came on her ipod of gratefulness for her family. And I couldn't help but just love her more than I already did. This got me thinking about my family and just how much I love them. My father, with his sometimes quiet disposition around people, but get him going and you will witness a great smile and a booming laugh followed by a cough. My sister in all her glory at the fundraiser, just laughing with kids, raising money and simply amazing me with how far she has come. Even my dog, with his calmness and unwavering belief that he doesn't weigh a hundred pounds and can therefore climb on top of you to cuddle. My mother, with her kick butt work attitude and absolutely amazing personality that will love you no matter what but isn't afraid to kick your butt in bags. Its these simple things that I love, the simple things that add up into a greater family dynamic.
Of course I can't make it through a post with out rambling, but I hope my ramblings prove to be useful and insightful. If you get anything out of today's post, understand that you are loved. By who and how it's shown doesn't really matter unless you accept that its there first. The flower lady loved me today. She showed it with flowers and a smile. My family loves me with hugs, kisses and teasing. My friends love me with their unwavering loyalty. My dog loves me with the satisfying growl that comes from scratching his belly. Its the simple things that happen throughout life that can turn even the most ordinary moment into one that is extraordinary.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Who really cares what day it is
Dancing. Not many things are as fun to me as dance is. Its so freeing and exciting and such a way of expression. The picture to the right is from the night I got my nickname, the dancing queen. We were on a boat on our way to Athens, Greece. I danced all night long. I got many weird looks from people sitting down, in a very un-fun fashion. I wasn't drunk, I wasn't on drugs, I was high on life! Hahahaha, doesn't get much cheesier than that phrase, "high on life". Whatever, I like my cheese. If anyone has ever seen me dance, I don't have moves. I'm a straight up white girl who has no idea most of the time what the next move will be. For those of you who don't know, I was the mascot at Marquette, as I have mentioned before. And besides the fact that I have these not so discreet things on my chest called boobs, the only way you could tell if I was mascotting was the way I danced. My parents called me the chicken. And not only was that because my mom thinks all birds are chickens, but it was because my dance moves often displayed a chicken-like quality with the flapping arms and head bobbing up and down in a very jerky motion. I'm proud of my dancing. If you see me at a party with music, I'm probably dancing. If a good song comes on in the car, I'm making do with the limited space and giving the head bob and obnoxious singing show to passing motorist, while still being safe of course. Cleaning is the most fun. Thats when things get really crazy! Thats when the duster microphones come out and the windows fly open and the vacuum turns into a dance partner while the Beatles blast out of the stereo. It's the little moments in life that are changed by a song. I love to dance. Not once will you hear me say that I'm good at it, but the great thing is that I don't really care. I'm not going to make a career out of it, unless it's in the pro mascot business. Dancing is fun. Thats all there is to it.
I got accepted to Metropolitan State University today. And I'm excited. I got clearance to start in online classes in the Fall and I am well on my way. I had an interview with College Nannies and Tutors and was unofficially hired. All I have to do is get a family to hire me now and I'm in. It's progress. These are all reasons to do a happy jig. We all have one. Don't deny it. Think about the happiest moment in your life. What did you do? Jump up and down in a giddy girl way, do the tootsie roll, drop it like its hot? I bet you were doing some form of dance in that moment. Thats the great thing about life. No matter what, there is always something to dance about. Dancing is the new form of social networking as far as I'm concerned. The party rock anthem, dropping it like its hot, the YMCA, the electric slide, all country line dances. Dancing is a way for us to connect. The picture to the right is one of my best friends Mark and I dancing on a rooftop in Greece(Of course I'm leading, I'm a bad follower when it comes to dancing). It was one of the most fun I can remember having dancing. I have done Native American tribal dance, African dance, Grecian dance, country line dancing, club dancing etc. I've done it all. What is so great about all these dances is that they aren't just steps thrown together. They mean something to the people who do them and the people who invented them. I would like to think that one day, I'll have a dance move named after me. I'll work on it. You'll know when it comes, because everyone will be doing it. And it's going to be awesome, so prepare yourself for some jerky version of the chicken dance. It's going to be called...well I don't really know yet, but ideas are being accepted. Do a little jig today people, there isn't really any reason not to. :)Monday, August 1, 2011
Day 31- I'll Blog About It Later
If you skinned my shoulders, face and neck, you could make a leather coat out me. I can only remember one other occasion that I have been burned so badly. Thanks to the St. Croix River, a shiny metal boat, my body hitting the water at an intense speed therefore wiping all my sunscreen off, and my awesome Irish skin, I am now the color of a tomato at peak ripeness. Good thing is though, after a few days of hurt and an entire bottle of aloe vera, hopefully it'll be an awesome, usually inexistent tan! Minimal peeling being prayed for.
Anyhootlebootle, this weekend was very blog worthy. For all the friends who wish to be mentioned in said blog, you know what you have to do! For those who already have, aka just Janey(Meghan too, but the lack of you in my life, be as it is sad, has an impact on your blog mentions), you have done well. You will be rewarded. So my parents, awesome as they are, sent me a text on Thursday during the day saying "food in freezer, see you later". This of course was expected but still funny, especially since I "food in the freezer" means frozen micro meals. Lovessss obviously. I mean who can say no to a perfectly portioned frozen asian delight! No one, thats who! But this meant, as many of you may have figured out, that I was on my own for the weekend. And obviously that means I threw a party right???!!!!!!! No, I didn't. I instead, got home at 4 oclock and watched The Expendables, Invictus, and half a documentary about character actors before falling asleep at 9:30. Riveting I know, but in reality quite pathetic. But never fear my young padawans! I made up for it!
Janey, being the awesome fwend she is, invited me over! To move... But us, being awesome, made the best of it. Fun fact, if a curb is painted yellow, you cant park there! I must have missed that part in drivers education. But Janey, again showing why she is a GEM, informed me of this rule then pulled of a passing parallel park job while a really weird lady looked on. Got the nod of approval, THANK GAWDDDDD, cause I don't think I could of lived with myself if this woman hadn't approved. And I wasn't even driving. We were in bed by 11, so again, a riveting night of frivolity and post teenage angst.
Again, I know your worried about my social skills at this point. This is when the whole weekend turned around, not that I'm complaining about the first part of it. So when you sleepover at the Janey's house, you can expect hot coffee and pancakes for breakfast. So this is what I got on the glorious Saturday morning, in mah pjs, just chattin it up with THEE Dawn, drinkin coffee, eating pancakes, and a piece of a little too crispy bacon, but its okay Dawn, that was Anna's fault. This is when you're supposed to sit on the couch and watch Saturday morning cartoons, but NO! Not in that house, which I'm perfectly okay with because it made me feel accomplished and blow off some steam(because the previous two days had been so stressful ;))We went to boot camp. A fitness class taught by this awesome short, and extremely in shape man. It was so fun to punch a punching bag with real boxing gloves on. Made me feel like a bad butt. Now, in preparation for the awesome bonfire with our tons of friends that we have, I went home to shower and pretty myself up! But I had five hours to do this, and as many of you know it only takes me about 3 minutes to make me into a beauty queen. So, as Janey and I decided that this bonfire should be a celebration of everyones birthday, I went to Cub to get a cake. Cakes are like 20$ at Cub. Rippp OFF! Soo I bought(I mean made ;)) a 4$ angel food cake and proceeded to make it look like a firecracker exploded on it. It was awesome. And it was good. And for all that ate some, you know you loved it. Great night, great people, great lightening. I think I made the phrase "I'll blog about it later" popular. Probably trending on Twitter. Check it out.
Now Sunday is where life gets interesting. We, being Tori, Andrew, Phil, Dan and Janey(there, now your in it Tor) decided that a 7 hour canoe ride was just what we needed. So a couple stops, a few terrifying jumps, lots of laughs, and wayyy too much sun, we completed our journey through the wilderness of Wisconsin and Minnesota river bends. I may have felt like that piece of too crispy bacon that Dawn fed me just the morning before, but I also felt so accomplished. 17 miles of windy river canoed, by me, who has never successfully canoed before. Bucket list, you're getting a dent in you! And now we are here, at work, blogging about life and watching Easy A on Starz. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Sorry for spelling mistakes, I was too busy with cloud class in elementary class to worry about spelling! Peace and bullessings.
Anyhootlebootle, this weekend was very blog worthy. For all the friends who wish to be mentioned in said blog, you know what you have to do! For those who already have, aka just Janey(Meghan too, but the lack of you in my life, be as it is sad, has an impact on your blog mentions), you have done well. You will be rewarded. So my parents, awesome as they are, sent me a text on Thursday during the day saying "food in freezer, see you later". This of course was expected but still funny, especially since I "food in the freezer" means frozen micro meals. Lovessss obviously. I mean who can say no to a perfectly portioned frozen asian delight! No one, thats who! But this meant, as many of you may have figured out, that I was on my own for the weekend. And obviously that means I threw a party right???!!!!!!! No, I didn't. I instead, got home at 4 oclock and watched The Expendables, Invictus, and half a documentary about character actors before falling asleep at 9:30. Riveting I know, but in reality quite pathetic. But never fear my young padawans! I made up for it!
Janey, being the awesome fwend she is, invited me over! To move... But us, being awesome, made the best of it. Fun fact, if a curb is painted yellow, you cant park there! I must have missed that part in drivers education. But Janey, again showing why she is a GEM, informed me of this rule then pulled of a passing parallel park job while a really weird lady looked on. Got the nod of approval, THANK GAWDDDDD, cause I don't think I could of lived with myself if this woman hadn't approved. And I wasn't even driving. We were in bed by 11, so again, a riveting night of frivolity and post teenage angst.
Again, I know your worried about my social skills at this point. This is when the whole weekend turned around, not that I'm complaining about the first part of it. So when you sleepover at the Janey's house, you can expect hot coffee and pancakes for breakfast. So this is what I got on the glorious Saturday morning, in mah pjs, just chattin it up with THEE Dawn, drinkin coffee, eating pancakes, and a piece of a little too crispy bacon, but its okay Dawn, that was Anna's fault. This is when you're supposed to sit on the couch and watch Saturday morning cartoons, but NO! Not in that house, which I'm perfectly okay with because it made me feel accomplished and blow off some steam(because the previous two days had been so stressful ;))We went to boot camp. A fitness class taught by this awesome short, and extremely in shape man. It was so fun to punch a punching bag with real boxing gloves on. Made me feel like a bad butt. Now, in preparation for the awesome bonfire with our tons of friends that we have, I went home to shower and pretty myself up! But I had five hours to do this, and as many of you know it only takes me about 3 minutes to make me into a beauty queen. So, as Janey and I decided that this bonfire should be a celebration of everyones birthday, I went to Cub to get a cake. Cakes are like 20$ at Cub. Rippp OFF! Soo I bought(I mean made ;)) a 4$ angel food cake and proceeded to make it look like a firecracker exploded on it. It was awesome. And it was good. And for all that ate some, you know you loved it. Great night, great people, great lightening. I think I made the phrase "I'll blog about it later" popular. Probably trending on Twitter. Check it out.
Now Sunday is where life gets interesting. We, being Tori, Andrew, Phil, Dan and Janey(there, now your in it Tor) decided that a 7 hour canoe ride was just what we needed. So a couple stops, a few terrifying jumps, lots of laughs, and wayyy too much sun, we completed our journey through the wilderness of Wisconsin and Minnesota river bends. I may have felt like that piece of too crispy bacon that Dawn fed me just the morning before, but I also felt so accomplished. 17 miles of windy river canoed, by me, who has never successfully canoed before. Bucket list, you're getting a dent in you! And now we are here, at work, blogging about life and watching Easy A on Starz. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Sorry for spelling mistakes, I was too busy with cloud class in elementary class to worry about spelling! Peace and bullessings.
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