Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Obama Wins It!
I have just won a hundred dollar bet! Obama did it! whoo hoo! whoo hoo! whoo hoo! Finally, a Democrat wins the Presidency. Goodbye G.W!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Happenings
Yesterday, I sat in a class with a group of teachers. As a teacher, I find that the worst part of the job entails sitting with other teachers in meetings. Why can't I just get to teach? Even when the kids get you discouraged, and you are grading papers and wondering what happened to their memories, I have realized that I would rather be working with my students any day as opposed to a whole day in class with teachers. So yesterday, I was in a Psychology class and I learned a bunch of names of a group of men and women who did research on humans, mostly children, and came up with a host of theories. Now, my job is to memorize those for a final exam. Joy joy joy!
Actually, it wasn't that bad. I learned something in the process but the only thing I couldn't understand was why would someone want to give their opinion on a theory. Why bother? Doesn't the word theory say it all?
Later on, at the end of the month, it will be 9 months since my wedding. In August, I attended the wedding of another one of my high school friends. It was another inevitable wedding. It was bound to happen one day or another. At the wedding, some of my school friends asked me, "how is married life?" It's a question I hear from everyone and most often, I reply with a one word answer, "good." However, these were my long-time friends and I answered honestly.
Married life is an adventure. As a strong-minded person married to another strong-willed person, it takes some kind of negotiation at times. Ami and I never lived together before we got married so even though we were boyfriend-girlfriend for almost five years, there were many things that we had to learn with regards to eating habits, sleeping times, the kind of TV shows we liked, opinions, differences in how we practiced our religion, cleaning, etc. We both learned how to compromise as opposed to superimpose our beliefs on each other. Nine months later, we are still learning new things. It feels as if we only knew each other superficially for the five years prior to being married.
Things change when you get married. I learned to cook. That was something I never really did when I lived at my parent's. I never realized the extent to which I was spoiled but apparently, it was a whole lot! Ami is a cleaning kind of person and I wasn't that much of one before. He is constantly working. I was more organized and detailed though...if that makes any sense! I guess you learn to care more for the other person when you get married. You learn that when you make a decision, it will not be your own decision but it will impact someone else as well. You learn to walk upright with four legs functioning as one body. If one of the two falls, you have no choice but to stop as well and if you are running, you are running together.
Sometime ago, we were watching TV together, and Ami made a comment. He said that we were not an eharmony or match.com couple but he liked what we were together. I guess he shares the same feelings about the marriage and that's always a good thing when you are thinking on the same page. I think for the most part, I married a person who matched the qualities that I did not have. Even our thought processes are different. We think in different ways, we see different sides of the same story. For me, married life thus far has been entertaining and worthwhile. I like the change and the fact that everyday brings something different with someone I don't mind being with at all.
Actually, it wasn't that bad. I learned something in the process but the only thing I couldn't understand was why would someone want to give their opinion on a theory. Why bother? Doesn't the word theory say it all?
Later on, at the end of the month, it will be 9 months since my wedding. In August, I attended the wedding of another one of my high school friends. It was another inevitable wedding. It was bound to happen one day or another. At the wedding, some of my school friends asked me, "how is married life?" It's a question I hear from everyone and most often, I reply with a one word answer, "good." However, these were my long-time friends and I answered honestly.
Married life is an adventure. As a strong-minded person married to another strong-willed person, it takes some kind of negotiation at times. Ami and I never lived together before we got married so even though we were boyfriend-girlfriend for almost five years, there were many things that we had to learn with regards to eating habits, sleeping times, the kind of TV shows we liked, opinions, differences in how we practiced our religion, cleaning, etc. We both learned how to compromise as opposed to superimpose our beliefs on each other. Nine months later, we are still learning new things. It feels as if we only knew each other superficially for the five years prior to being married.
Things change when you get married. I learned to cook. That was something I never really did when I lived at my parent's. I never realized the extent to which I was spoiled but apparently, it was a whole lot! Ami is a cleaning kind of person and I wasn't that much of one before. He is constantly working. I was more organized and detailed though...if that makes any sense! I guess you learn to care more for the other person when you get married. You learn that when you make a decision, it will not be your own decision but it will impact someone else as well. You learn to walk upright with four legs functioning as one body. If one of the two falls, you have no choice but to stop as well and if you are running, you are running together.
Sometime ago, we were watching TV together, and Ami made a comment. He said that we were not an eharmony or match.com couple but he liked what we were together. I guess he shares the same feelings about the marriage and that's always a good thing when you are thinking on the same page. I think for the most part, I married a person who matched the qualities that I did not have. Even our thought processes are different. We think in different ways, we see different sides of the same story. For me, married life thus far has been entertaining and worthwhile. I like the change and the fact that everyday brings something different with someone I don't mind being with at all.
Taking time to make time
October 19, 2008: Lately, it's been a rather difficult thing staying happy when people around you have been suffering.
October 20th, 2009:
I've just read the above statement and realized that maybe I grew up a little more over the past year and one day. I remember when I wrote the above sentence and of what I was thinking when I did.
Last June, six months into my marriage and a mere two months after a second cousin who I had cared for as a baby died, I got the news that the cousin closest to me, very much like my brother, had been diagnosed with a very rare but aggressive cancer. At the time when I wrote the sentence, he was very sick because he had gotten the flu after the chemo had weakened his immune system and he was hospitalized. I remember then, the fear I had of losing him.
One year later, sadly, the news are no better and once again, he is tethering on the edge while we all hope for a miracle. For a short time, we thought that he had been cured only to find out that the cancer still thrived in him. I cannot truly begin to sort the range of emotions, very human emotions, I have felt or have been feeling but I am aware of them and observing them. Somehow, somewhere, I learned how to be an onlooker to my own self. I have learned to be happy even while staring misery in the face. Life isn't bad when you see it with the eyes of a student. There is always something to learn and some lessons are learned harder than others and leave a much larger impression.
So no, I no longer think I am fearful of losing him but I am aware of his constant, incessant pain and I pray more than ever that the pain stops.
PS....I cannot remember why I named the blog as I did but nevertheless, the title stays.
October 20th, 2009:
I've just read the above statement and realized that maybe I grew up a little more over the past year and one day. I remember when I wrote the above sentence and of what I was thinking when I did.
Last June, six months into my marriage and a mere two months after a second cousin who I had cared for as a baby died, I got the news that the cousin closest to me, very much like my brother, had been diagnosed with a very rare but aggressive cancer. At the time when I wrote the sentence, he was very sick because he had gotten the flu after the chemo had weakened his immune system and he was hospitalized. I remember then, the fear I had of losing him.
One year later, sadly, the news are no better and once again, he is tethering on the edge while we all hope for a miracle. For a short time, we thought that he had been cured only to find out that the cancer still thrived in him. I cannot truly begin to sort the range of emotions, very human emotions, I have felt or have been feeling but I am aware of them and observing them. Somehow, somewhere, I learned how to be an onlooker to my own self. I have learned to be happy even while staring misery in the face. Life isn't bad when you see it with the eyes of a student. There is always something to learn and some lessons are learned harder than others and leave a much larger impression.
So no, I no longer think I am fearful of losing him but I am aware of his constant, incessant pain and I pray more than ever that the pain stops.
PS....I cannot remember why I named the blog as I did but nevertheless, the title stays.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Loooongest Summer Ever!
I am guessing that many people will welcome a two month break without any sort of hesitation. However, if you aren't constantly occupied during those two months, it gets so incredibly boring so quickly. Thus far, I've been faring well. I've done two weeks of classes and gained six credits towards my masters. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Last Saturday, I saw three of my students at three different places. I miss them. When I'm at school, I cannot wait for the break and when I'm on vacation, unbelievably, I miss them. I do not know how I will adjust to going back to the normal workday when this summer is over. It is such a distant idea right now. See, as soon as the vacation started, I went back to my night-owl habits and quite frankly, I barely wake up to see a fraction of the morning unless if I really have to.
Today, I was listening to NPR. Ami got me hooked on this station. Throughout the entire hour that it took to take Ami to work and come back home, I listened to a very bleak and equally depressing account of the economy. The banks are in trouble and they have no one to blame but themselves for writing out mortgages to people who they knew could not afford to pay them off. I listened to an old, old lady's voice talking about the fraud they may have committed in the process. A cartoon on a popular New York magazine showed bears walking down the street. I guess we saw this coming first. When we worked at the store, we began noticing this lack of spending as far back as the fall of 2005. Right about when Wilma struck.
I've literally been watching the hummus prices in WalMart for a while now. In February, I stopped buying hummus. It used to be 2 for $5. Now, it's $3.98 plus tax for the Sabra brand (the only one that is not too salty) and frankly, I refuse to buy at that price. The whole wheat spaghetti used to be $1.15 and now it's up to $1.50. Those are just two examples. And anyone who has been grocery shopping recently knows what I am talking about. It's not just the gas prices.
Normally, I would have been on at least two road trips already but I reconsidered. For the first time ever, I think it is cheaper to buy an aeroplane ticket. This will take away the thrill of the road trip and actually seeing places along the way. I think that is what we enjoyed most about the road trips...The fact that you could stop out anywhere, in a totally remote and different place and see how people lived in that area. Maybe this is why my summer seems so incredibly long and drawn out.
In other, not so boring news, at least I've been keeping busy. There's another wedding on the horizon and it will get hectic quickly. Still coming to terms with it but Furgie is actually going to get married! I am reading Silas Marner by George Eliot. I'm almost embarrassed that I've waited this long to read this book. But then again, there are certain allegories that I would have missed if I had read it when I was younger. I was telling my optometrist today that it's been a while since I read a book that was written in really proper English. I've taken to making tiny notes along the margins and actually highlighting the literary devices in the novel. It's a treat. So yes, I will actually say that the summer is looooong but I am actually enjoying it and heaven knows, I needed the break when it started.
Last Saturday, I saw three of my students at three different places. I miss them. When I'm at school, I cannot wait for the break and when I'm on vacation, unbelievably, I miss them. I do not know how I will adjust to going back to the normal workday when this summer is over. It is such a distant idea right now. See, as soon as the vacation started, I went back to my night-owl habits and quite frankly, I barely wake up to see a fraction of the morning unless if I really have to.
Today, I was listening to NPR. Ami got me hooked on this station. Throughout the entire hour that it took to take Ami to work and come back home, I listened to a very bleak and equally depressing account of the economy. The banks are in trouble and they have no one to blame but themselves for writing out mortgages to people who they knew could not afford to pay them off. I listened to an old, old lady's voice talking about the fraud they may have committed in the process. A cartoon on a popular New York magazine showed bears walking down the street. I guess we saw this coming first. When we worked at the store, we began noticing this lack of spending as far back as the fall of 2005. Right about when Wilma struck.
I've literally been watching the hummus prices in WalMart for a while now. In February, I stopped buying hummus. It used to be 2 for $5. Now, it's $3.98 plus tax for the Sabra brand (the only one that is not too salty) and frankly, I refuse to buy at that price. The whole wheat spaghetti used to be $1.15 and now it's up to $1.50. Those are just two examples. And anyone who has been grocery shopping recently knows what I am talking about. It's not just the gas prices.
Normally, I would have been on at least two road trips already but I reconsidered. For the first time ever, I think it is cheaper to buy an aeroplane ticket. This will take away the thrill of the road trip and actually seeing places along the way. I think that is what we enjoyed most about the road trips...The fact that you could stop out anywhere, in a totally remote and different place and see how people lived in that area. Maybe this is why my summer seems so incredibly long and drawn out.
In other, not so boring news, at least I've been keeping busy. There's another wedding on the horizon and it will get hectic quickly. Still coming to terms with it but Furgie is actually going to get married! I am reading Silas Marner by George Eliot. I'm almost embarrassed that I've waited this long to read this book. But then again, there are certain allegories that I would have missed if I had read it when I was younger. I was telling my optometrist today that it's been a while since I read a book that was written in really proper English. I've taken to making tiny notes along the margins and actually highlighting the literary devices in the novel. It's a treat. So yes, I will actually say that the summer is looooong but I am actually enjoying it and heaven knows, I needed the break when it started.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Listen Up
The first time I saw this advertisement for Listen Up, I thought of some relatives for whom it would be perfect. It's a device that will amplify a sound so that you don't have to strain to hear what is being said...In other words, a perfect macoing tool. The advertisement is hilarious too! There is this part with a guy in the gym and he is listening in on a conversation between two ladies talking about how "in shape" he is. I guess I must be bored today=0)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Since my last blog......
It's coming down to the end of my first year as a public school teacher. I still remember at the end of the first week when I walked out of my classroom and I told a veteran teacher, "I survived the first week!" Truthfully, I never thought that I would get along with teenagers, older teenagers, but I think I found a way to do just that. It's coming up to the really long summer break, and I am desperately searching for things to do so I can keep occupied. Maybe, I'll just blog=0)
I remember when one of the girls who passed my class by the skin of her teeth came back and told me that she still remembered Avogadro's number. That day I was elated. I've come upon the conclusion that teaching is one of those professions from which you get "delayed satisfaction." However, when the students return and they tell you that they actually learned a lot from you (even life skills) you get the satisfaction. It's a truly rewarding feeling.
In my school, I found that many of the students came from broken homes. At times, they just needed someone to talk to. I saw quickly how my life as a child was so much more sheltered by the mere fact that I had both my parents in my home. The discussions were about everything including which kind of birth control pill was better to take or which acne medication would work better. You do get humbled quickly and you learn just as much from these students even though you think you are the teacher. It's a mutual relationship.
In January I got married as well. It was a full three-day wedding that turned out even more traditional than even my parents thought. In the end, it turned out really well. We even had a second Sunday and all. All the planning was really done in two weeks and the fact that people showed up in their numbers to help, made it even more traditional.
It felt as if my wedding was a village affair even in these times in South Florida. I loved it and looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way. Everything was home-cooked, even the sweets! Every time I looked out in my backyard since the Thursday before the wedding, there was always a bunch of people standing below the tent cooking or preparing something. My decorations were hand-made, thanks to Furgie and my cousin's creativity. Furgie was my hairstylist, make-up artist, dancer, entertainer, decorator, and overseer of the event. In addition, she even trained herself to cry on cue!!! To say the least, it's been an eventful six months since my last blog......
I remember when one of the girls who passed my class by the skin of her teeth came back and told me that she still remembered Avogadro's number. That day I was elated. I've come upon the conclusion that teaching is one of those professions from which you get "delayed satisfaction." However, when the students return and they tell you that they actually learned a lot from you (even life skills) you get the satisfaction. It's a truly rewarding feeling.
In my school, I found that many of the students came from broken homes. At times, they just needed someone to talk to. I saw quickly how my life as a child was so much more sheltered by the mere fact that I had both my parents in my home. The discussions were about everything including which kind of birth control pill was better to take or which acne medication would work better. You do get humbled quickly and you learn just as much from these students even though you think you are the teacher. It's a mutual relationship.
In January I got married as well. It was a full three-day wedding that turned out even more traditional than even my parents thought. In the end, it turned out really well. We even had a second Sunday and all. All the planning was really done in two weeks and the fact that people showed up in their numbers to help, made it even more traditional.
It felt as if my wedding was a village affair even in these times in South Florida. I loved it and looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way. Everything was home-cooked, even the sweets! Every time I looked out in my backyard since the Thursday before the wedding, there was always a bunch of people standing below the tent cooking or preparing something. My decorations were hand-made, thanks to Furgie and my cousin's creativity. Furgie was my hairstylist, make-up artist, dancer, entertainer, decorator, and overseer of the event. In addition, she even trained herself to cry on cue!!! To say the least, it's been an eventful six months since my last blog......
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