Sorry!

Due to much work craziness and no internet access at home I have been unable to post any updates lately and I do apologize. I promise many a fun update just as soon as I return from Boston next week. And after the wedding in June.

The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me

I met with a financial advisor today and other than being embarrassed at having to admit to an expert all the inexpert ways I spend my money, I enjoyed it immensely. I think a large part of my enjoyment was because this meeting is one of several new catalysts in my life for goal setting and dreaming.

I don't take time to do this enough. To ask myself (and then voice to others) the acts I want to accomplish, the person I want to be, and the places and things I want to experience. It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day getting byness and forget where I meant to be headed. I don't want to lose sight of all those grand visions and castles in the clouds. I need the inspiration and rich flavoring that dreaming adds to my seemingly insignificant days. Dreaming gives me hope and reminds me of who I am.

I am an over comer and I am ready to fight back. I'm done pulling a Jonah and am on my way back to kicking asses and taking names. I will take better hold of this time given to me and I will do something good and lasting and great with it. Bring it on!

Just One of Those Days

I need a hug.

Let Your Yes be Yes

I agreed to teach Sunday preschool at a friend's church here in town after going over my budget and realizing that I need the $75 I will be paid for doing this "favor". "It'll be as easy as craving chocolate!" I assured myself and brashly accepted the position.

I figured that even though I said I never wanted to teach again after quitting last year, this would be an ok compromise to make under the circumstances. It's just three Sundays for half an hour each time (which is a significant improvement from the 60+ hours a week I used to work) and I'll be paid. Also, I'm great at it. There's no reason to say no.

However, I fear that I may have greatly underestimated the depth of my burn out and the strength of my fiery hatred for all things teaching. I guess sometimes you don't know how much you don't want to do something until you do it.

Any ideas on how I can get motivated to make lesson plans? Or at the very least get motivated to show up on Sunday?

Success!

It's nice to know that what you do for a living matters. Today I finally found proof that I have personally recruited one student to our University.

An essay written by a student who recently attended our scholarship competition weekend reads:

"One memory that still sticks with me today is when a representative from WUcame to my high school in Oregon. I remember walking into the Career Center to see a smiling young woman who greeted me with a firm handshake. Right then I knew that this was someone who was friendly but also very eager to leave a lasting impression. She did, as WU is my top choice for a University today."

The best part is that I actually remember meeting this student and seeing as how she's an awesome student I'm pretty stoked that she'll be on campus next fall. It must have been my stellar handshake.

Praise God from Whom all GPS's Flow

Traveling with a GPS system has made a world of difference in my travels. I now have the confidence and freedom to eat better food, shop, coffee myself into a coma and take spur of the moment detours. Today I used my new best friend to find a local coffee shop where I bought a fabulous herbal blend and pesto bagel for under $3. The shop had an artsy laid back ambiance and I spent a good hour reading, drinking tea and listening to fantastic jazz music.

As an added bonus, GPS systems also improve self esteem because you feel really smart for being able to follow directions and multi-task.

I'm excited to try GPSing out in San Francisco this Friday.

"It Might Be Fun"

For a variety of good reasons I spent a good portion of last week dreading my trip to California. In an attempt to trick myself into optimism I've repeating "It might be fun" to myself almost hourly to no avail. The dread remained and yesterday's rocky start seemed to confirm my worst fears that I was in for a very long, lonely week.

Today, however, my trip took a turn for the better. A wonderful college rep. from University of San Diego took pity on me and helped me carry my piles of boxes (thanks Jim) to the fair location giving us ample time for chatting and friend making. This put me in an excellent mood which allowed me to have a sense of humor when I found out shortly thereafter that the fair heads weren't expecting me. Because of some clerical snafu they never received my registration and didn't have a table or materials set up for me. The real tragedy though is not being included in the list of schools attending that is handed out to all students who attend the fairs so they know to look for us. I resolved to be charming enough that everyone would want to talk to me regardless of our lack of listing.

Bolstered by my success in having made a friend so early in the week, I informed the woman in charge that I was here to stay and demanded a table and bottled water. She provided the table and forgot the water, giving me an excellent opportunity to make friend number 2 . I convinced the cute UPS rep to give me one of his two bottles.

As far as fairs go, this one was pretty slow but that ended up working to my advantage since it left me time to talk and make more friends which I did. K from University of Montana and I made a pact to be lunch/shopping/sun lounging buddies and between the two of us we managed to rope some fun (and cute) reps. from Jamaica and Mexico into hanging out with us at the complementary dinner. After much laughter we all promised to meet up at tomorrow's fair for more fun and I'm looking forward to it.

I topped my successful social day off with a lengthy impromptu drive through San Francisco (I stubbornly tried to drive through downtown on my way the the Golden Gate Bridge and got lost) that added about an hour to my evening. Luckily I had my trusty GPS with me and was able to get to my hotel without too much trouble. All in all, today was a really fun day. Who would have guessed that where I failed to trick myself into having fun, Jesus would sneak in and make things actually fun?