Head Start Origins

Here is the mostly irrelevant back story to this post: I have been wishy washy about my major and basically what I want to do with my life professionally since I started college. I was a declared English Major, and then I took an English class. And then undeclared myself. I have been considering either Early Childhood Education or Elementary Education for my major, so I decided to volunteer this summer at a head start program to get some experience and see if I actually like it.

I have only volunteered for two days so far; I go in Wednesday and Thursday mornings for a total of ten hours a week and basically babysit, but not really. I have babysat a lot and this is so different (probably because it is professional) and it will definitely take some getting used to. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I really just want to go home, but I think that is normal for just about anyone with anything new so I am hoping that it will grow on me or I will at least acclimate enough to be able to make an educated decision.

I loved the younger class I helped with one day, they were all two and just to the point where they are starting to talk and communicate and they are mobile but still so little and loving. I have never gotten so many hugs. They were just so sweet and I really enjoyed it; I stayed later than I had to just because I wanted to. However, on the second day I was in with the three year olds and just really really didn't have as much fun. I am willing to try it again because I am a girl, and those hormones and moods do fluctuate, but as far as that Thursday went I was a little disappointed.

On thing that is special about where I volunteer is that it is a government funded head start. It is free to the families who meet certain qualifications. The kids who participate are usually either from very low income families or have some sort of disability and it is very apparent with some of the kids. I think that that definitely makes it more challenging, and I am not saying it won't be rewarding, I am just not sure if it's for me. The special needs kids are especially hard and it's hard to give them all attention like they want you to and I am not sure I like that at all. The ESL kids are just fun, and that was the majority of the younger class I helped teach. There was only one little white girl and the rest were Hispanic. They are fun and the hard thing is trying to understand the little kid Spanish, but most can speak English too. Which is so crazy to me; little kids are so smart!

Kicking Against the Pricks

These are just some of my favorite songs telling the current story of my life.

Arcade Fire- We Used to Wait: http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/. This is a really awesome music video too.

Adele- Rolling in the Deep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JcQqw.

Bishop Allen- The News From Your Bed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw4AmQSFKLU.

Arcade Fire- City With No Children: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9riPB-OR0nU.

I want to escape. Here are all of the ideas I could think of. England, it looks like a Jane Austen novel and is so gorgeous.

I have actually been here, on this very bridge. Florence, Italy. My favorite Italian city.

Hogwarts. No explanation needed.

Isengard. Because that's where they are taking the hobbits.

The Aurora in Alaska. I want to see this someday.

The coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Italy. I have been somewhere similar, and it was easily the most magical and unreal evening ever. Romantic, but without a man.

Paris; seeing the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre are definitely on my bucket list.

Japan.

Switzerland; if this doesn't look like Rohan I don't know what does.

South Africa, apparently, even though I didn't know they had zebras there. I want to go to South Africa but that is the only part of Africa I will ever visit. The zebras and elephants won't lure me.

Rivendale. Again, no explanation needed.

Confessions: Part 2

So I've decided that "Confessions" is probably a bad title for these series of posts. I should have named them "look at how super weird/silly/self-centered I am" and "look at how super weird/silly/self-centered I am: Part 2", or maybe "random facts that probably aren't very unique but true nonetheless" and "random facts that probably aren't very unique but true nonetheless: Part 2". However, this fact didn't hit me until today and so I am sticking with the unoriginal and probably only partially true title "Confessions" for consistency and continuity, hence the title of this post "Confessions: Part 2". So here I go again, mostly because my memory constantly fails me and there is always more I forget to say.

-I really like feet, and I think my feet are really cute. Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

-I also think pictures of feet are really cliche and sometimes mock them. However, I've obviously taken some and I think they can be cute. This is just one more way I can be very hypocritical.

-I break phones very often. I have dropped two in the toilet (don't ask), and the other two or three just wore out or decided they didn't like me anymore or maybe I dropped them one too many times... Whatever the reason, I just really suck at caring for my technology.

-I love working with married men. I know that sounds creepy and awful, but my reasoning isn't. I like working with married men because it is like working with girls, but they are guys so they aren't ridiculous like girls can be. They are way cool and chill, but you don't have to worry about talking to them too much or saying the wrong thing and giving them the wrong idea. You never ever have to worry about them asking you on a date (unless you work with awful married men) or anything weird like that happening. You can just be yourself, joke around, have fun, then send them all home to their wives. It just makes life so much simpler.

-I use guy razors because they are better. Yep, I am a sexist pig.

-I am a crybaby. I cry all the time over lots of things. It is very pathetic, but it's just how I have always been. I am also a sympathetic crier, so if someone else cries I cry. This can make church and girl's camp very difficult.

-I love Katy Perry. So much. I really like her music and I think she is the most gorgeous woman on the planet. Also, I love her E.T. music video. It is so weird. But really good. Here it is, please ignore Kanye West because he is gross, also the naked boy bum at the very end. That isn't why I like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Sd5c4o9UM

-Bishop Allen's song News From Your Bed may be my favorite song, and I feel like it's my song sometimes. I don't always think that in a bad or negative way (it is kind of a sad song), although a lot of the time when I feel like it's my theme song I am feeling sorry for myself. But it is really good and I really love it. Here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw4AmQSFKLU&feature=related

-I want laser hair removal. That would be the nicest thing ever.

-I am kind of spoiled and high maintenance, and I like it when people spoil me. I love getting presents.

-I also love giving presents, and I always have things picked out and bought months in advance. For example, my sister's birthday is July 2 and I purchased her present last week.

A Marketing Scheme

At work I have noticed new covers on some of the old classic novels. Some are weird and comic-like and others are just very strange, and at first I didn't like either of them much at all. However, the very strange ones have grown on me and I am so tempted to buy them all, even though I already own many of the books. Bill (a hilarious customer that I will be doing a feature on later) says it's a marketing scheme to sell the old classics to a younger generation. I am being targeted, and it is working. I still think the comic ones are lame, but here are some of the ones that I love:

Curse you blog!

So I have discovered a downside of blogging. My memory sucks. So basically I have all these good ideas and stuff I want to include in a post and then I write it and post it and a day later (like today) I remember so many things that I forgot to say! Gah! I may start including P.S. posts.

Treasure and Inheritance P.S.

I also inherited the really awesome Lord of the Rings glass "ale" mug. Actually, I don't know what it's technical name is, but I can't help thinking of the Green Dragon when I look at it so I think ale mug is appropriate. That is all.

Treasure and Inheritance

Yesterday I helped my grandma clean out her garage. There was so much stuff, and there were a lot of treasures, but my favorite boxes by far were my Uncle Ben's. I had asked him to come over and help because I knew I wouldn't be able to lift most of the boxes (because I am a wuss), so he was there when we got to his boxes. He went through them on the spot and I was able to be a witness as he uncovered the relics of his pre-mission past. I felt like Sheldon Cooper at a certain garage sale. Let me explain something. I am so nerdy for a reason. It's because it is in my blood. Here are some examples from the unloading of Ben's boxes that will illustrate that point and also prove how epically nerdy he is.

• One box contained a Klingon Bear. Yep, that's right. A teddy bear with a creepy plastic half mask and long hair that made it resemble a Klingon. The same box contained Romulan Ale. Upon this treasure's discovery my uncle exclaimed, "Aged Romulan Ale! I remember I had to get Richard (his oldest brother) to buy this for me because I was too young..." Ahh... The memories...
• Did I mention that he kept both of those? They made it into the take home to Lindsey box, and I am sure she was thrilled.
• One box was full of a Sega Dreamcast and games for it. I am not sure exactly what that is, but I know that if I don't know that makes it even more nerdy. Because I know many nerdy things.
• Upon opening another box my uncle said "ugh, more freaking Pokemon stuff!" (Because we had just gone through a box and found a stuffed Pikachu and some other stuffed chu which had been thrown away.) But after saying that he picked up the stuffed animal in this box, saw which one it was, and said "oh... but I love Sigh Duck..." Sigh Duck was placed in the take home box. You know, for posterity and stuff. (Also I realize I am most likely spelling Sigh Duck's name wrong. But I'm not the one who loves him.)
• There were a lot of comic books. A lot. Most were thrown away, because, as my Uncle Ben explained, "the ones in boxes I don't really care about, I put my good ones in here" (at that point he gestured to his airtight waterproof container full of comic books). Don't worry, he took those home too.
• We found this binocular-looking thing and could not figure out what it was. We knew it had to open because it had hinges, and when we finally got it we saw it was a Star Wars toy. Then we were like, of course, this looks like the thing Luke uses to look for sand people in episode 4. Yes :)
• The amount of Lord of the Rings paraphernalia we found in those five boxes was astonishing. There was a movie guide to the Fellowship of the Ring, a JRR Tolkien little kid biography, a glass mug, a trivia game, a one ring, and lots more I am sure I am forgetting. It was definitely the most represented. And here is where my inheritance comes in...

Muahaha... You see, I already have a One Ring. It was included in my Lord of the Rings Risk game (yes, I am that cool), so naturally it isn't super nice although still very cool. Well... My uncle gave me this very beautiful, precious ring of power. I have taken to wearing it because I love it so much. Not creepishly and gollum-like. I just think it is so cool. Here is my precious:

Also, don't be shocked. Harry Potter was represented. I just saved the best for last because I inherited all "H-P" stuff my uncle had. So I have a sweet, very nice metal bookmark with the Hogwart's crest on it, and a new pillowcase! It combines two of my favorite things, Harry Potter and glitter. Exhibit A:

The only thing that is less than perfect with this pillowcase is the Ravenclaw Crest. It is my favorite house and the one I would be sorted into, so I only wish it was better represented on the piece of material where my head will sleep. Exhibit B:

Despite that fact, I should definitely not complain. It was definitely a good haul and tons of laughs for cleaning out a garage. Not everyone is as lucky as I am; I have an awesome uncle with nerdy boxes who would definitely get along with Dwight Schrute.

Confessions:

My first order of business: coming clean. Here comes the long list of confessions.

-I have held to the opinion for a very long time that blogs should only be for married people with children and that all other blogs are really dumb.

-I am a filthy hypocrite (see above).

-These are two of my favorite pictures from one of my favorite days:

-The only Jane Austen novel I have ever read in it's entirety is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Which only partially counts.

-I have purchased things for my children. They are unborn, unconceived, and half of their genetic makeup has yet to be determined, but they have some very cute Disney books.

-I hate dogs. So much. That probably makes me an awful heartless person, but it's true. It's because they smell weird. Cats are okay, but only if they smell like the house.

-I am obsessive about how my hands smell. If they smell weird I can't function and I feel dirty (which is probably why I hate weird-smelling animals).

-I am so weird about smells (which you probably gathered from above). Smell can make or break something for me and is something I pay too much attention to. For example, I can be attracted to someone based completely on how they smell.

-I eat when I'm hungry and I eat just as much as I want to.

-I laugh at my own jokes, all the time.

-I am a complete nerd. I create characters for myself in all my favorite fantasy books, quote Lord of the Rings with all my best friends, and my favorite thing ever is when I randomly quote something and discover a new friend.

-I love babies, and I probably talk about them way too much.

-Sometimes I feel like I am at the maturity level of a twelve year old boy, but I really just can't help the things I giggle at.

-I love saying things just to make people feel awkward or just to be awkward. I love to creep.

-I am pro at stalker pictures and I've only been caught once. Stay tuned for some juicy examples.