This weekend was fun, but so busy that I'm exhausted and my head is foggy this morning. On Friday, I left work at 3:30, which I almost never do, and went home to get ready for my triple birthday party. Jess and Chris came over to help make my cake, which turned out too bulky, and the top layer slid right off when it was put on the table. My party also didn't have ice or much to eat or drink...I think hosting parties in general makes me a little bit stressed, so I might just do simple gatherings of friends from now on...I just take on so much responsibility and wear myself out! Anyway, I got wonderful presents from my friends and it was fun to see all of them. We went for drinks and appetizers at Chino Latino, but of course I couldn't order any martinis since I still don't have a driver's license. I hate the DMV! I just know when I go tomorrow after school (tonight we have conferences until 7:30pm) that I'm going to be there for hours.

On Saturday, I woke up at 8 a.m., which wasn't actually that hard, and met my dad to go house-hunting. We saw some beautiful condos and bungalows, but I was shocked at how expensive even small houses are. I may need to live in a van down by the river.

My dad is really excited about this job: he'll have so much freedom and power, as well as being part of a new department from the ground up at the University of Minnesota. I hope the position is offered to him. I think it would be so nice to have my family closer, especially for holidays and when I have major car issues, etc.

I'm getting excited for Easter! It's my favorite holiday because it's all about rebirth, Springtime, marshmallow peeps, and sunshine. It has the anticipation of Christmas without all the commercialism and greed (I've become a little bit of a Christmas cynic, at least about the secular parts). I have Spring break during holy week, so I'm going to go to church as much as possible. My brother will be here for the weekend, so I'll have someone to sit with, which is nice, especially on Good Friday, when I usually get really emotional and cry in church!

I've been in a mood lately, mostly because I feel like it's time to grow up, get my finances in order, and make real and lasting decisions about my career. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly how to accomplish either aspect of that goal. I think the rest of my Spring break is going to be spent updating my resume and consulting credit counselors :(

This morning, or sometime last night, my wallet vanished from my purse sitting on the floor in my apartment. I have absolutely no idea where it went. I hate the DMV :(

The wonderful part of my job

I spent all Saturday at a competition for the afterschool gifted and talented team that I work with. It was an effort to wake up at 5:45 a.m. on a non-work day and to spend all of it the same way I spend every workday, carrying around bags and bags of books and supplies, all the while trying to make my students behave...especially since one had forgotten to take his medication.

Afterwards, after our team performed poorly, didn't place, and anticlimatically walked out in the middle of the award ceremony, I tried to placate my little troops. I told them the usual schpiel "it's not about winning or losing, but how you play the game," and "if they were judging our teamwork, we'd be winners!" statements that I realize now completely oppose each other. At the end of my speech, punctuated by many forced "Right?" 's to make sure they were paying attention, my youngest team member piped up. (He's a very thin Somali-American boy who's brilliant and adorable).

"Ms. _______? I think it's not about winning a prize, it's about winning in our hearts!"

It was such a Tiny Tim moment! I had to pause and refrain myself from effusive praise of his maturity and rationality, since that always embarrasses students when they make unconsciously profound statements...and so I just said, "Yes, that's right."

I've decided that my next career, whenever it begins, will be as a writer. I love writing, and I actually miss the looooong days of writing at Starbucks on Clayton and Forsythe! I once wrote 30 pages in 3 days back in my salad days...

In pursuit of that dream, and because I'm slightly putting off the actual writing until I decide on numerous subjects and finally narrow my focus, I've decided to start building my vocabulary (and reviewing my SAT words). I think my love of words led me to my current job; unfortunately, the linguistic ability of the students I work with restricts the number of challenging words I actually get to practice! So, my new weekly challenge is to understand every word in The New Yorker and New York Times. Here's my list for this week: -I definitely won't be doing this every week:)-

Lacuna- a missing piece (as in a manuscript or an argument)...this explains an aspect of "Eternal Sunshine and the Spotless Mind" that I didn't understand!

Indemnity- protection against damages.

Sartorial- pertaining to style, clothing, or tailors' work.

Anachronistic- chronologically misplaced; belonging to another time.

Sactimonious- hypocritcal or feigned show of religious devotion, piety, or righteousness.

Ossuaries- receptacle for bones of the dead.

Sepulcher- tomb.

Knäckebrot- very dry Swedish cracker-bread (I swear, a New Yorker writer used this to describe a dry, cracked argument. They are so pretentious! ...and I wish I was that pretentious!)

Schist- multi-grain, metamorphic rock. I remembered this, but I swear it wasn't used in reference to rocks.

Elision- omission of a vowel, consonant, or syllable in pronunciation.

Precepts- rules prescribing a course of action or conduct.

Axioms- universally recognized truths, rules, or laws.

I hope you have a good weekend..I'm enjoying the 40 degree weather!