Are You There Vodka?

I had a few hours to kill on Tuesday afternoon so I popped into the local bookstore and picked up a couple of fun reads. I haven't been reading much lately, but one of them, I COULD NOT PUT DOWN. Seriously, I finished it in one day. I actually don't find Chelsea THAT funny in "real" life or on tv and I don't often watch her show, but I laughed out loud while reading this book MANY times. If you're looking for a great summer/easy read. This one's for you.

A Day in the Life

The past twenty-four hours have been some of the most awesome I’ve had in a while. Best friend D and I had to take the Praxis II (a CT/VT teacher certification test) this morning but we had a half day at school yesterday so we decided that we could take advantage of the early afternoon and head out for happy hour while still getting home at a reasonable time to rest for the test.

HA!

That’s me laughing in yesterday’s naive face.

We should have known better.

It started out innocently enough with one beer in an hour, a cheese board from Ginger Man and some perusal of the testing materials.

Then we ordered another beer.

Then we started dialing our friends.

Then we ordered a pizza.

Then one of our friends met us out.

Then we ordered another beer.

And another.

And sweet potato fries.

And a pulled chicken quesadilla.

And another beer.

Do you see where this is going?

Next thing I know we’re at the loft, wearing matching black and white fedoras we borrowed from two guys we met at the bar, DJ headphones on setting up an awesome playlist, and running the dance floor.

It’s an exhausting life we lead.

We made it home around midnight just in time to brush my teeth, drunk dial a few (11) people and lay down for the 5:45am alarm to go off.

Remember that test we had this morning?

Yea…we had to be there at 7:30am. Yikes.

You know that I am completely OCD so we arrived thirty minutes early and got situated in our room.

We’ve taken three tests in New York for teaching certification and the difference between these tests were incredible. New York is like a well-oiled machine who doesn’t give a F*ck WHO YOU ARE. They yell at you, treat you like idiots (to be fair, it’s mostly warranted- - you should SEE the people there), and then spit you out like last night’s beer you drank by mistake.

Connecticut is all sunshine and rainbows but completely unmanageable because of the lack of organization and incompetent proctors. It took the women in charge FIFTY-THREE minutes to hand out the tests and sign us in.

I wish I was kidding.

So, because Connecticut is sunshine and rainbows (and madly infuriating) D and I were assigned to the same room where we could choose our own seats. OUR OWN SEATS! And they requested that we sit near each other! The proctor hands us our exams and we look down to start reading- - there in a BOLD BOX is the text, “Calculators are permitted for the math section of this exam.”

WHAT?

We had not been notified that calculators were allowed. Typically NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES ARE PERMITTED.

NONE.

I asked the proctor if she had an extra calculator.

No luck.

So? We spent the next sixty minutes feverishly computing math by HAND. Seriously. I was doing long division in the margins.

When those unbearable 120 minutes were over we were STARVING so we headed to a local diner, then to my apartment so I could regroup. Then? We headed to Greenwich to see the Tall Ships.

I’ve been looking forward to seeing the Tall Ships all week. I love the water, I love boats, I love special events like this. We I had originally asked D if she wanted to come with me she responded, “Tall Ships? I don’t know what that is.”

She can give me a hard time all she wants for never having been on a sailboat but at least I know what the damn TALL SHIPS are!

Turns out part of the Tall Ships event is a fair complete with games, rides and fried dough. D suggested that we go on one.

I am a (semi) risk taker and have always loved rides. However, I have not actually BEEN on a ride? Well, I don’t think since high school honestly. Let me tell you, that ride was like jumping off a cliff.

SCARY.

INVIGORATING.

SUPER FUN.

I’m NOT kidding. We were the only two on the ride except for two ten year old boys. We laughed and screamed the ENTIRE time. I had to close my eyes and I couldn’t even control the noises that were coming out of my mouth. “Whoooooeeeeeee!” “Eeeeeeee.” At one point D turned to me and said, “WHAT are you SAYING?!!?”

I have no idea.

I felt like a rockstar.

We were laughing so hard by the time the ride ended we had tears streaming down our cheeks. It wasn’t that anything was THAT particularly funny, it was the ride. We had made it.

Then, we hopped down out of our chair.

I felt like I had been at sea for seven days; my legs were wobbly, my head was spinning and I couldn’t walk in a straight line. We sat down to rest on a bench overlooking the harbor and we soaked up the rays for an hour.

It was incredible.

It’s days (nights) like this that are going to make it hard to pack up and leave Connecticut. I’m just glad I’ve still got a few memories left to make.

(on a side note I drunkenly gave some guy my number at the bar last night. No, I’ll never learn. And he ACTUALLY CALLED ME TODAY. I’m not interested but this is the FIRST time that I’ve been here that a guy has ACTUALLY called after I’ve given them my number.)

Over It

I have reached the point in the year where I am just. OVER. IT. I'm over everything. I'm ready to pack up the apartment, move home, be in summer-mode...I'm ready to relax.

I love my kids, and I love my job, I am just ready for that next point. To move on, to get acclimated in my new school, and to be in a new place.

I have also ordered an attitude adjustment for this morning. I'm hoping it arrives.

Givin' it Up

I gave up shopping for Lent. Did I tell you that? I did. I used to be a SHOP-A-HOLIC. Honestly. I would just shop, shop, shop, shop, shop. I scaled back a little after college, and then SERIOUSLY scaled back when I moved to Connecticut because, let's be honest, making less than $20,000/year and putting yourself through graduate school while managing to not default on any loans and still contribute to a retirement account does NOT exactly leave a lot of money leftover in the budget.

AT ALL.

When Lent came around I thought about giving up dessert (HA!), or drinking (HA!HA!) or even diet coke, but shopping seemed like a more reasonably option. It would save me some money, I really don't NEED anything, and it would be kind of easy.

My sister, M, Sister 2 is basically the exact opposite of me. Well, we're either exactly the same or exactly opposite. Does that make sense?

We're opposite in regards to shopping.

I do.

She doesn't.

So when we ventured out this weekend on a little shopping spree, me to celebrate lent being over and having a real job lined up for the fall and her to celebrate ordering a vacation to West Palm and getting it, I didn't know what to expect.

Well...shop we did. For two days. It was amazing. We had so much fun and our friend D joined us and we were all in dressing rooms at the same time laughing, trying on clothes, gossiping, it was just like a scene out of a movie.

Sister 2 had a "look" she was going for in particular so the latter part of our shopping experience was trying to find white jeans. We looked at Gap and J Crew but didn't find anything with fit she was looking for.

We decided to try Banana Republic on our way home. In the back of the store they had a stack of 7 pairs of white jeans. We held them up. She didn't love them but I encouraged her to try them on.

She tried them on, turning from left to right, she wondered if they were too see-through. She stepped out of the dressing room to look in the large mirror. A woman was waiting for her daughter to try some things on and glanced up, "those look wonderful on you," she said, "what size are you?"

Sister 2 looked down at the tag, "Oh. 26waist, 00."

REALLY. a DOUBLE ZERO. HONEST TO GOD.

We stood in line to buy the jeans and we left with them in a small shopping bag.

That would have fit ONE pair of my underwear.

Not Sister 2 though. She got a whole dang pair of jeans in there.

If I didn't like her so much, I'd REALLY hate her.

Dreams

I’m not one who over analyzes horoscopes or dreams but last night I had such a vivid dream it’s hard not to think about it a little. I took a small sailboat (I have NEVER been on a sailboat in my entire life) with my sisters and some family members across the ocean (that was in an enclosed building) to a glass building in the middle. The idea was that you could go down in the building and see all of the marine life. We had just gotten inside when we saw the first animal. An orca. It was amazingly beautiful and just crested through the swell of wave. Then we saw another one. And another one. And another one. Before we knew it I counted 22 orcas surrounded the building, swimming around. Then? It was like a flip switched and they all started to brush against the building. Then run into the building and they continued to ram the building until the glass was shattered and water was pouring into it.

Then I woke up.

Strange, right?

And I haven’t even watched Free Willy lately. Promise.

Miles to go Before I Sleep

Today I had my longest run to date- - 20 miles. I know! I’m sitting on the couch now and I ache and it’s a little hard to go down the stairs, but overall? I feel pretty fantastic. If I had any doubt about my ability to actually do this- - to run 26.2 miles- - I think I can safely say it’s quelled. This was probably my slowest run yet (roughly 9 min/mile) but I have to expect that as the distances increase my time will decrease.

That IS how it works, RIGHT?!?

I wish I there was someway I could record my stream of thought while I’m out running because I’m never sure exactly how I get to certain inner monologues and honestly, it’s kind of fascinating. I was running for 2 hours and 45 minutes today.

PLENTY of time to cover a WHOLE LOT of topics in my head.

What I like the most though is when I’m so absorbed in thought that I don’t think about the act of running- - putting one foot in front of the other, how my right knee pulsates every time I step, how my outer foot bones and big left toe ache or how I’d give ANYTHING to trade places with the windsurfers in the water.

That’s definitely one thing I thought about today. As I rounded the corner and the beach came into full view I saw four people standing erect on top of the water, pulling on the strings of their sail to catch the best wind. At that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than to give my body to the wind, to let it take me wherever it wanted, to be weightless for a moment.

Instead, I took a deep breath of salt air, relished in the beauty of the ocean and the area that I live, and put one foot, once again, in front of the other.

G-Chatting with a Friend

Discussing his weekend plans...

"I'll have to go out and find some girl with good looks and little morals tonight."

HA. I love my friends.

3rd Grade Geometry

Directions: Draw a shape that has 6 angles. Draw as many triangles as you can inside.

Student: "Wait. Does angle mean point? Or line?"

Next Weekend

I have babysitting jobs lined up for the next few weekends but a family asked me to babysit for the ENTIRE weekend next weekend. I have a test and another commitment so I asked my sister if she was interested in helping me out.

Her response?

"Oh! Next weekend?!? I'd love to! but... J" (the NON boyfriend...), "and I are heading to West Palm Beach! You should come!"

Uhhhhhhhh. REALLY?!?!?

Soul Mate vs Mate

I've always been a hopeless romantic. Not so much in that I thought Prince Charming would swoop through town on a white horse, throw me on the back, and gallop me off into the sunset... more like, the man of my dreams would find me when I wasn't even looking, sweep me off of my feet, and the rest? Would be history.

See the difference?

The funny thing is, I can only define "man of my dreams" broadly. I'd like to think that this will increase my chances of actually finding someone but I also think it might send me in directions that aren't always the best. My friend D would agree with this whole heartedly. She feels that there are certain guys I'm willing to entertain the thought of dating that I should automatically say no to.

For me, there really is no automatic "No".

And, if I'm going to be honest, I can picture myself marrying *many* of the guys in my life right now. How ridiculous is that? I'm PRETTY convinced that I haven't yet met the person I will spend the rest of my life yet, BUT... if I HAD to marry someone I've met- - I would be okay with that.

Is that crazy?

I know some people believe in soul mates and maybe, in certain instances, that's true. Like the two people who accidentally bump into each other at a coffee shop and then end up married the next month, or the couple who gave up on love individually until they were both doing laundry at 9pm on a Friday night then lived happily ever after.

For me though- - I think you just find a mate. Someone who is at the same place in time that you are, who wants the same things, who you can love, who you can live with.

I just happen to be compatible with a lot of people.

Did I REALLY just type that?!?!?

My best friends and sisters (and ex-boyfriends) may say that I am NOT. That I am actually, generally INCOMPATIBLE, but I don't think that's true. When I think of the guys that I've dated recently and not-so-recently I can see a life with them. It wouldn't be perfect, but what relationship is?

Although, I have to admit each time I date someone I learn a little bit more about myself and what I want out of a relationship which, I GUESS means, I'm not doing this whole thing for NOTHING.

Best Text

I received a text from my sister tonight, "Hey! I'm heading into the city to meet J..." ((the NON boyfriend)),"for dinner. Probably won't be back til the am to get ready for school."

!!!!!!!!!!!!

A bed to MYSELF tonight! Woop, woop!

I guess it really is the SMALL things we learn to appreciate...

1/2 Marathon, etc

I was home (again) this weekend to run in the Vermont 1/2 Marathon Unplugged. I was really nervous because it was the first really official race I've ever run. I've run two 5k's before, one with timing chips, one without, but they paled in comparison to the seriousness of this one.

My mom and sister 3 woke up early with me and dropped S and I off at the start. They stayed for the start of the race then drove ahead to a checkpoint along the way to cheer us on. We thought that they'd then head to the finish to watch us, but they surprised us by stopping at one more stop before the end! I was amazed at how motivating it was to have people you know on the sidelines cheering for you. It definitely gave me the endurance push I needed to get to the end.

I had lost S by mile 5 (speedy- - whatever) but at the very end of the race you have to loop around and come back so we ended up passing each other with less than a mile left to go! S finished at 1:38 and walked back to find me and ran the last .25mile with me (all uphill). I don't know HOW he had the stamina to do that but it REALLY made me want to run faster because he was doing it for the SECOND time and still encouraging me. Yikes.

I finished at 1:48:40.

Being that this is my first real race I have NO sense of how that is overall for me, but I was excited!!! Less than two hours AND if I can keep that pace up for the FULL marathon I think I'll finish under 4 hours which is my goal!

My legs have been sore since Sunday which is a little unusual for me but I'm hoping some serious stretching between now and my 20miles on Friday should do the trick. My ass is also killing me due to my new love of regular underwear. After wearing thongs for the past 10 years my lower cheeks are having a hard time getting used to elastic digging into them (maybe that says something about the size of them?!?!). It's better than the alternative though- - chafing. I won't even GET into those details here. You can thank me later.

Yea, We Went Out Last Night

My sister, D, and I all went out last night to celebrate the gorgeous weather we've having, SPRING, and my NEW JOB! Initially, I almost canceled because I just wasn't feeling it, but I'm so glad we motivated to go. We had *so* much fun.

We headed to The Ginger Man in SoNo. Have I mentioned how much we *love* Ginger Man? It's the best place EVA. We ordered our Blue Moons and the cheese plate...and then we started talking. And didn't stop until after midnight. I'm not even kidding. I don't know WHERE the time went, but before we knew it we were four rounds deep and ordering another pizza to top off the night. Really. We RARELY go out on school nights but when we do, I guess we go all the way.

As three teachers, who are best friends/sisters who work and live together you would think we'd have OTHER things to talk about besides our students. Notsomuch. I cannot IMAGINE what we'll be like when we have our OWN kids because we talked about our students ALL NIGHT LONG. We're all fairly exciting people but we hardly veered from talking about the kids. It's nuts.

Well... we did detour the conversation enough to debate the 2Birds1Blog debate about wiping position. (Please, go read that post if you need a laugh.) ((We're all sitters if you care). While I'm at it, Meg @ 2birds is quite possibly the funniest person ALIVE.

So we're sitting there chatting and I get a text from my mom, "Just had a lovely chat with Coach".

...

They were all at the bar together. I, of course, was DYING to know what they talked about because my own communication with Coach has been rather lackluster lately. (I cannot figure him out. I'm still trying to play it cool but am secretly hoping that I'll see him while I'm home this weekend. I'm not sure on ANY fronts how that will play out.) I almost texted him about it, but while I was contemplating that I got a text from him, "Just had a beer with your parents." Which started a texting conversation that lasted most of the night and ended with a drunken, 1am phone call.

My mom thinks he's "so nice", my dad thinks he's a player... I don't really care WHAT he is, as long as he's into me.

There, I said it.

I woke up this morning READY to go but I am fading...FAST.

Assistance

I received an email from a parent of one of my students:

Hi Miss T,

Hope you are enjoying the incredible weather.
I don't know if you are on the babysitting, etc list, but I thought I'd
check to see if you might be able to help me this weekend at a party I'm
having. It's a casual party, and all you'd have to do is help me
put food out and wash plates. I know it's last minute, but my husband is
going to be away and I'd love the help. It would be from about 5:45 to
10 or earlier if you want. I will be at school for a meeting at 8 and
may check in to see if you're interested.

-Parent

Put out food? Wash plates? For a dinner party that she's having which will most likely have our other parents as guests? NO THANK YOU.

Seriously.

She came in this morning right at 8am to double check and when I told her I would be out of town for the weekend she responded, "Ohhh, I'll just use paper plates then."

SERIOUSLY?!?!??!?! She has to resort to PAPER PLATES because I WON'T BE THERE TO WASH DISHES?!?!??!

And SECONDLY. I'm pretty sure I didn't just shell out $30,000+ for a masters degree so I could wash dishes at family parties (other than my OWN) on the weekends.

That's not to say that I think I'm above ANY sort of job- - I'm NOT. I just can't believe the families around here sometimes.

Do your own damn dishes.

Marathon Update

My sister has officially QUIT the marathon. What a loser. I cannot believe it. The whole reason I’ve been so dedicated to this training is because she was doing it with me. I had someone to commiserate with and someone to complain to and someone to head out on 10+ mile runs with.

Now? I come back from long runs and she’s freshly showered drinking a glass of wine.

B*tch.

We’re all signed up to run a ½ marathon this weekend to practice for the big day and I think she’ll still do that with us, but… it’s not the same as running the marathon with us. I hope she changes her mind before then but, if you know my sister, you KNOW that’s probably not happening. Once her mind is made up there is NO turning back.

The training has been going surprisingly well. It was warm-ish while I was in Vermont for two weeks so I got all of my runs in. I was supposed to run 19 miles last weekend, but I was home for Easter and a bridal shower and out drinking every night and the days just got away from me. That is the ONLY run that I’ve skipped this entire time so I hope it doesn’t hinder my training and ability to run the full marathon too much, but… the weekend was a freakin’ blast so I’m not TOO worried about it.

We’re on the downward slope of all of this training and I can’t wait until it’s over. Although, I’m not sure WHAT I’m going to do with all of this extra time. I haven’t quite figured out if this training has turned me into a runner or if I’m still just someone who runs occasionally. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Wedding Etiquette

No...I'm not getting married. HA. I can barely keep a boyfriend and have so many non-husband- material boys in my tangled, tangled web there's not room for anyone else. BUT I am invited to two weddings this summer so, weddings are on the brain.

I know that everyone makes choices that are best for THEM on their wedding day and that is the way it should be. Believe me, when I do (finally) tie the knot I'm probably NOT going to take ol' Aunt Ida's personal preference into consideration. I get it- - your day, your decisions. Take it or leave it.

HOWEVER (you knew this was coming, right?!?!) , I just can't seem to shake this wedding issue that has presented itself recently and I wanted to get your opinion.

One of my best guy friends (P) is getting married this summer. Our other best friend is my friend S who I talk about here all the time (of Turkey Bowl fame). P & S have been best friends since kindergarten, I didn't come onto the scene until junior year of high school but since that day all three of us have been best friends. P and I were closer in college, but S and I are closest now and I would say that I am closer to each one of them than they are to each other.

When P started planning his wedding he asked S to be his best man. (via text message. I wish I was kidding.) I, honestly (crazily, I KNOW. I'm a freak.) kind of thought that I should be in the wedding too. I get it- - I'm not really friends with the bride, but I'm the BEST FRIEND. Sorry I'm a girl.

It's not going to work out. FINE.

Anyway. S and I were home for the weekend so we went to P and finance's for happy hour. As we were leaving P says to me, "Oh! Just so you know all 6 of you (my family) are invited to the wedding! But, numbers are a little tight so none of you got a +1." I didn't even have time to think about this and S says, "Oh! Did I get a +1??) and P responds, "Obviously. You're in the wedding party."

Uhhhhhhh.

I don't know how to feel about this. I'd be fine if S didn't get a +1 either, then we would just be together the whole night and I love my parents and sisters so we'll have fun together regardless, but...I'm a little miffed by the whole thing. One of my sisters LIVES with her boyfriend and has for over a year. I understand that I'm the "real" friend so if he didn't want my family to get the +1's that's fine, but shouldn't I still get one? I'm 25 years old, live in my own apartment and LAST HE KNEW... I had had a boyfriend.

Am I crazy here?!?!?! I told S the only reasonable solution is to bring ME as his +1 and then I'll get to go to the rehearsal dinner and sit at the head table anyway. Seems great to me. (And I'm a GREAT date). I called his sister to get her advice and she agreed with me too. She said, as the best man, it's his responsibility to fix it. ;)

What do YOU think?!!??!?!?!

VT Bound

I got a job offer this morning, for a school in Vermont.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!