“Okay, now let's try really hard to not get shot.”
—Diana, while we were walking in Uptown, 4/5/06
“Tick tack toe, you're fitting into place / and now the old ways don't seem true / Stick stop blue you're only changing / in the same old space you always knew / Tip top ready for the rocket / And I'm tip top ready to go / Tip top ready for the sky / And I'm tip top ready to go, go go // ...Nobody knows where they might end up / Nobody knows...”
—Psapp, Cosy in the Rocket (from Grey's Anatomy courtesy Diana)
April 6 , 2006
Spies? Spring? Students?
time 9:23 am feeling irritable, but pretty good wearing pink shirt, Kirsten sweater, new ghetto JCPenney LEIs music Grey's! reading term limits, kind of ready for SLEEP next flash! yay
First things first.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT(S)!!!
- Yesterday was 4/5/6. I appreciate the no fewer than 4 people who directly emailed me to celebrate this fact, knowing how numbers-obsessed I am. THANK YOU! It was indeed an awesome day, so you can bet I am looking forward to 5/6/7.
- I'm moving. On Saturday. If you want my new info and you haven't yet received it, email me, and perhaps I will be so kind as to send it on.
- Zacarias Moussaoui. Perhaps this is inappropriate but oh well. Despite my ever-bleeding heart, I have no sympathy for you. Everyone's had a rough life, plenty as rough or rougher than yours I imagine. So suck it up buddy, and deal.
- IMPORTANT! It has been brought to my attention via my Incredible Internet Stalking Capabilities (IISC) that there is at least one, possibly more, person(s) viewing this site that either (a) probably shouldn't be [i.e., 'colleagues'], haha (b) are people with whom I would like to converse. So, if you are indeed spying on me as a result of good ol' Google or thereabouts, please, make yourself known!! It's not mandatory, obviously...this IS the internet!, but it would be nice. Thanks. (What I really mean is...I'm watching YOU. You know who you are.)
.....
So. Being the spoiled brat I am, every spring of my 'youth' (or sometimes winter, as the case may be), I was fortunate enough to be taken on some type of a family spring break trip. Let's recap, shall we? (because I'm dumb):
- 4 mos (just kidding, this doesn't count but it's for fun!). Florida. The plane almost crashed. I vividly remember this and like to scare my Dad with that fact.
- Elementary school, early years. Chicago. We went to museums, Ed Debevic's (sp?), and dollhouse shopping. Hence why J and I are now total museum junkies ala my Dad.
- 5th grade. Cancun. We missed a week of school IIRC. Divine.
- 6th grade. Mexico again. We missed another week of school (?) AND Stephie came. Double divine. Oh yeah and I tried speaking Spanish a lot. Ha.
- 7th grade. Gulf Shores, Alabama. Alabama, despite its somewhat sketchy reputation, is paradise within an 18-hour drive. True bliss.
- 8th grade. Alabama again. Even better than the last.
- 9th grade. The only mistake we've ever made as a family for spring break. We went to Florida. Too hot, too crowded, but still a really fun time.
- 10th. Alabama again. Perfecto. Tons of people we knew were there too. That was awesome.
- 11th. Cancun once more. My how it had changed since 1992. Totally different, however it was still an awesome, kickass vacation. Birthplace of my Dad saying, " 'Hielo.' HELLO ICE!"
- 12th. Alabama. A tried and true favorite, it never fails to disappoint and totally delivered once again.
- Freshman year. Nothing for me. However I got my Sony Discman then so it was all worth it (isn't that weird? but that thing rocked my world, until my Mini came along).
- Soph year, winter break, so it doesn't belong but oh well. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. HOLY F. We had a great time and my family was so much fun as always.
- Junior year. Matt's family took me to St. Barth's. PURELY DIVINE DECADENCE, in case you hadn't already guessed. Indeed. (So I guess this wasn't with my family, but oh well.)
- Senior year. Alabama. WITH Stephie this time!!! This was for my parents' 25th anniversary (yet I still forget it each year...). Without a doubt that was one of my most favorite family vacations ever. I will never forget it.
WELL THEN. Holy shit I am INCREDIBLY SPOILED. OMG end of discussion. The point is, I am a spoiled brat and my body or SOMETHING is totally used to this spring break 'release', whereupon my return only then do I believe it is spring. Ergo, these past two springs the season has snuck (sneaked?) up on me completely, for I have no frame of reference. No matter however. I had JJ/LX Do Switzerland + I LOVE spring (because I hate winter).
(Side [unrelated] note. My old bank, after receiving my request to change my credit card billing address, just emailed me to see if I wanted to open an account. Can't these people READ??!?!?! Ugh. Morons.)
So. Spring having arrived, and me finally realizing this (perhaps the move helped?), I am feeling not only awesome, but incredibly amazing. (How's that for preteen adjective use?!) God Bless Spring. With or without Season before to stomp me down, spring continues to be a release of sorts, and I begin to once again feel free.
Happy spring.
.....
Students. Teaching them and being one (in the past, that is). Tuesday night I was fortunate enough to attend the UMN GD senior/junior portfolio chit-chat thing (not sure what it's really called). Nevermind that I am a mere two years out of school and therefore severely underqualified to do such a thing, when Grant makes you an offer/request you don't refuse (ha! that was for D. Side note, DO NOT MESS WITH D. She will hunt you down.).
Backstory. Shortly prior to this I had an experience at work that made me feel like a complete loser. I can't go into details but suffice it to say despite my kickass dev abilities (well, sort of), I suddenly realized I no longer knew how to design. And that I sucked, hardcore. Not so good.
Monday however I cleanly and simply redeemed myself by pulling something out of nowhere that the client now likes and is requesting files for. Needless to say I feel a thousand times better and somewhat less sucky. Yay.
BUT. Tuesday when I arrived at near, dear McNeal hall after nearly a two-year hiatus, I immediately ran into Randy and Carol. Randy was my boss at my internship after I graduated. He was a great boss and it was great to see him. Carol is THE Carol, of DHA fame. You can read more about her if you so desire (and are so bored) in my first semester senior year ramblings and other things. She is awesome. Just a great lady all around, really.
Somehow we got on the topic of whether or not I was indeed underqualified to be reviewing portfolios, and Carol made a comment about me that TOTALLY lifted me and completely made my day/week. Seriously, I am such a SUCKER. But whatever, works for me, right? It just made me proud to remember that although ofttimes I fall to believing that I got where I am and accomplished what I did solely based on my somewhat 'buoyant' (credit Waning) personality, SOME people believe that I am actually good at what I do, even if sometimes I don't. Make sense? Didn't think so. The point is, Carol rocks.
Anyway. I saw five kids and their portfolios, or whatever they were working on. At least one of them is one we might hire, she is Tom's barista. (Who has their own barista, I might add?) I like this other kid too but we'll see. The point of THIS is that once again I was faced with the reality of the TRUTH of my abilities (this inherited from my parents, no doubt): despite claiming that we were born to be artists, engineers, or a combination of both, we're really the best at being teachers/ mentors/what have you. I'll leave it at that (for now, anyway).
.....
We just ordered our backup system (finally!) and the total came to $666.56. NOT GOOD. POSSIBLE SPELL OF DOOM/DEVIL/ETC. Anyway. Have a nice day.
—Lexi