Saturday, October 25, 2008

Ahhh, a lazy Saturday. Finally! It seems like every weekend since Labor Day has been completely booked with plans from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. But right now I am still in my sweats and hoodie and it's nearly 3 p.m.--love it. For the most part, I am incredibly happy to be out with my friends, driving across the state for parties, meeting people for lunch or dinner or drinks, etc., but every once in a while it becomes exhausting. I definitely needed a break, and this cloudy, dreary, dull-looking day is the perfect kind of day for sleeping in (also a rarity), lounging around watching TV, and cleaning the house. Also the perfect day to update this blog which I feel like I never have the time for.

So what's new since I last wrote...Jeff and I celebrated our second anniversary (already!!) on October 14th. We had dinner at Bravo Bravo in downtown Mystic and then stopped by the Hilton where we had our reception. Since it was a Tuesday night, the place was relatively quiet, so we went to the front desk and asked if they wouldn't mind letting us into the ballroom. They were so pleasant about it and opened the doors, turned on all the lights, and let us wander around. In typical Tara fashion, I had my tiara with me and placed it on my head for a photo opp. with Jeff. Being in that room made me feel an array of emotions from nostalgic to wistful to happy and to melancholy. It's hard to believe that I spent a mere six hours of my life in that room and yet it created such an amazing impression. I will never forget that day and I hope that we continue to celebrate it with as much enthusiasm each passing year.

The next few weeks at work should be fairly entertaining. This Tuesday, Nate and I are going to pick out our pumpkin for our team's pumpkin carving contest that is scheduled for Thursday...then on Wednesday my new team is having a team lunch...on Thursday we're having pizza with my current team and then doing the carving outside on the picnic tables...and on Friday the entire department will be judging our pumpkins for the winning entry. These are only a few of the reasons why I love working there so much. The following week (from the 3rd through the 6th), I am flying down to D.C. to assist with open enrollment meetings. So far I have one meeting scheduled for Wednesday at the Department of Justice which is right downtown. The meeting is from 9-2 and then I plan on changing into comfortable clothes and checking out all of the monuments again. It's been over six years since Jeff and I went there in the spring of 2002.

I will also have the opportunity to telework two days a week starting when I come back from D.C. I am really excited about this because although gas prices have started falling, I have managed to put over 10,000 miles on my car since I bought it at the end of April. It will be interesting to see what a difference working at home makes not only in our budget for the month, but also in the extra time that I will gain from not having to commute 2 hours a day. When I sign off my computer at 4:15, I can go directly downstairs to work out on the elliptical instead of getting in my car and driving for an hour first. I will be working at home on Tuesdays and Fridays so stay tuned for how all of that is going.

I managed to reconnect with two people (both were important to me at one time in my life) last week on facebook. I realize that it might sound lame because facebook has become synonymous with lazy communication and lack of human interaction, but it certainly does serve its purpose in allowing people to network and touch base once again. The first person was one of my best friends in 6th grade that I admired. We were only close for about a year, but I think when you are 11 and 12 years old, you truly gain insight into the person you will eventually become, and therefore those friends definitely help create who you are. She lives a few states away now, and we wrote messages back and forth and then I mentioned that my dad burned a bunch of our home videos onto DVDs last year, and that I have her singing in our living room as well as a solo she did in our 6th grade concert on DVD if she wanted copies. I don't recall her parents every videotaping school events, but since my dad taped EVERYTHING, I thought maybe she would be interested in looking at moments long gone by. I was right--she was so excited at the prospect of seeing her younger self, and she said her husband would be, too. I couldn't stop grinning for the rest of the day because I know how important all of those videos are to me (and I constantly thank my parents), so to give someone a piece of their life to them, I don't know, I just couldn't think of a better gift to give, especially after all these years.

The other person that I reconnected with was one of my 4th grade students from when I was student teaching at my own former elementary school. She is a great kid, and I saw her photo in my hometown newspaper this month for receiving a $1,000 scholarship. She is in 9th grade now, so I figured she might be on facebook. I sent her a message to congratulate her, figuring that at 14 she would most likely be too cool to write back to an old student teacher (especially four years later!) but I was happily surprised by her message:

"oh my goodness!!!!!oh my gosh i miss you so much!! I love Holy Cross it's awsome and yes I am doing dance. Trying to get better and better everyday. My teacher says im improving so much. Holy Cross is a lot of fun. I made so many new friends. Caitlyn and I had another student teacher together who was so funny but we like you better. Christina goes to Westover now and Lumbardh is at Woodland. Hmmm who else? Jamie is doing good too she also goes to Woodland. I can't believe you guys are married. that is so cool!! I wish I lived near the beach, your so lucky. I was just thinking about you the other day and how you made that desert for us and showed the layers of the earth, and how christina went up on stage to sing. How are you? Are you teaching? Your class can't be nearly as fun as ours was. haha I'm just kidding im sure it is."

How cute is that? I know that I am not meant to be a teacher because I really love what I do now and I can see myself being very successful at it, but this part of teaching is the one aspect of it that I will miss. There is no greater reward in life than to make a profound and positive impact on someone. She said she actually thought of me the other day...and I haven't seen her since the summer of 2004. That really is the point of life, I think, to truly make a difference to as many people as possible in our short time here.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

I am so tired of politics. And economics. And debates. But they are practically everywhere and nearly impossible to escape. Of course I care about what happens on November 4th-who doesn't-but since February, some form of political news show or parody has graced my television screen thanks to my politico-loving husband. From Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews, to Tina Fey and Sarah Palin, from Barack Obama to John McCain, and Hillary to Bill and Keith Olbermann...I've had enough.

Just a few minutes ago I had to walk out of my living room because I can't stand watching debates, or any kind of competition for that matter (i.e., ice skating at the Olympics--I find it stressful waiting for the triple lutz to turn into a triple klutz with a crash at the end). Real life continues to play itself out daily, but it seems like no one is taking the time to notice. There is more to life than the Dow Jones industrial average, than the plentiful "drill baby drill" Sarah Palin speeches (if you Google "Sarah Palin quotes", you will find 2,630,000 results), than the constant bickering between Republicans and Democrats. Call me selfish, because I guess in many ways, I am, but I don't always view things in a high level fashion; if it doesn't pertain directly to me, I become increasingly stubborn and disinterested. And this is not to say that I am not going to vote (because of course I am) or that I don't have an opinion on these subjects or on the politicians themselves (I do). However, these subjects are not all I think about. I would rather hear about a friend's problem, read a stimulating book, watch almost anything else on TV, go on the elliptical machine, and play with my cat, than get caught up in the next few weeks of drama which I am sure will only escalate as we approach Election Day. I am not interested in the barrage of emails I've been receiving that are anti-Palin, pro-Obama, pro-women, put your name on this list, sign here, do that, join us, whatever. I think that politics are a personal issue, and should stay that way.

That said, in the spare few hours that I have been able to wrangle the TV (just kidding, Jeffrey :), I of course have gotten sucked into all the "Drama in Real Life"-type shows on the Investigation Discovery channel. What a surprise, right? I can seriously sit through 48 Hours: Hard Evidence, Extreme Forensics, Life of a Crime, and Wicked Attraction for hours at a time. I guess because all of the stories involve real people and surreal stories. I am fascinated by the victim in most cases and the murderer in others (Derrick Robie and Eric Smith, for example). I wonder if my strange interest stems from the Beaudoin murder of 1977. It happened next door to my childhood home...before I was born, obviously, but my parents had just met the children the night before they were killed when they came over to see if they could play in our backyard. Extremely eerie. My parents were one of the few couples to call 911 when they woke to the crackling of fire and smoke early that July morning. (Lorne J. Acquin killed 9 people--8 of them children--when all was said and done, and then set fire to the house). I guess I always want to understand people, to get to the bottom of who they are and what makes them act the way they do...but these shows never really get me any closer.

Well, looking back on this entry, I guess I am actually the weird one. I know that the majority of America is probably watching the debate right now, and weighing their options regarding Election Day while I am blogging about child murders and creepy TV shows. I'm not even sure if this has been coherent or if it makes a point at all, but I was overdue in posting, mostly because my mind has been so cluttered with politics and Newsweek and SNL sketches. I will be back soon with more about my own life as promised, but until then good night.