Yay!

Dreams do come true!

Snowstorm-1, Bloomberg- 0

Snow Day, please?

Currently crossing my fingers, toes, ears, eyes, legs, etc. in the hope hope hope for a Snow Day tomorrow. It would really just make my entire week! It's been snowing since 7:00 am and it doesn't show any signs of stopping. Just praying that the NYC DOE will close!!

Come on, Klein and Bloomberg! Let's make some teachers happy!!

Book #5

I finished Bringing Home the Birkin. In the end, it turned out to be a nice fluffy book to read. It definitely held my attention during my train ride to Boston. I enjoyed the thrill of the hunt for the Birkins, the amusing interactions with all of the different types of salesclerks as Hermes. What a life to live...jetting from country to country, city to city, in seek of the ever elusive crocodile Birkins. I will admit, I am a bit skeptical of the timing of some of the events described in the book. Some seemed to be too conveniently timed together to create a sense of drama. Otherwise, entertaining choice.

So, for Book #6, I think I'm going to return to the Percy Jackson series with The Titan's Curse. I'm hoping it's a lot better than The Sea of Monsters.

ETA: Apparently, it's only Book 5. Must have mislabeled in previous entries. Whoopsies!

In city life, I am looking forward to going to St. John the Divine tomorrow with my students! I have never been to the Cathedral, so I am uber excited to see all of the amazing architecture and fantastic geometric designs.

Top 10 Tuesday: Things I want to do in the next 5 years

1. Move to Boston

2. Teach in my own classroom in a public school

3. Find love

4. Get married

5. Buy a house

6. Travel abroad

7. Learn a new language

8. Start writing a children's book

9. Get a dog

10. Get another degree

Le sigh

Nothing like Valentine's Day Weekend to make a single girl feel so self conscious about not having a man in her life. Especially when a Game Night on Valentine's Day Eve turns out to be a couples event, minus your truly as the token single girl. Of course, it's one day out of the whole year that's devoted to love, a Hallmark holiday if you will. I'm a firm believer that one should celebrate love every single day, not to make a huge production of this random day in February. However, it's hard to escape the pink, red, chocolate, roses, kisses, affection, teddy bears, etc. of the day. It's hard not to critically evaluate oneself and wonder, "What the hell am I doing wrong? What's wrong with me?"

I attempt to live an optimist lifestyle, a glass half full kind of world. I bring the smiles to my work life, the bubbly attitude, the can-do persona. I am flexible, accomodating others' needs and wants before my own at times. With the constant battle to please everyone and maintenance of this cool and collective attitude, I sometimes wonder the point in doing it. Half of the time, I do not reap the benefits of these kind works.

Sometimes, I feel like no one listens to me or even realizes that I am here.

Parenting

At times, I wonder in amazement how my parents successfully raised two kind, respectful, and well-mannered daughters. They were able to parent without self-help books, parenting blogs, emails to experts, etc. My mother and father fostered strong family values, held high expectations, and believed in open communication with each other and with my sister and I. These days, I'm not so sure parents know what they are doing. They want the best for their children, but don't heed expert advice given. They request assistance with a family conflict, but question the course of action recommended. There's a lack of common sense and trust in the experts they call upon.

Here's what I want to say: Try to problem solve yourself first. Chances are, a heart to heart conversation with a child will yield the information, results, responses, etc. that you need! Then, instead of running all over the place trying to figure out what is wrong and what to do, you can spend the time with your child, building and strengthening your relationship and creating memories.

Book 5

Bringing Home the Birkin by Michael Tonello

Not that impressed by the structure of the book so far. Mainly fluff and whimsical descriptions of food, but where are the bags?

I'm having one of those winter blah days. The days when it is freezing cold outside and you can't bring yourself to leave the house. A combination of boredom and surprising melancholy. I honestly have nothing to be sad about, but for some reason, I have a case of the blues. Granted, there has been a lot going on...lack of communication with some good friends, a surprise marriage, and a general sense of wondering, "What am I doing with my life?" I love my job, love teaching, love my students, but maybe I'm starting to feel ready to leave New York. The high paced life, expensive living, nose to the grindstone lifestyle. Great for the wealthy and carefree, but difficult for the girl with a budget and desire for something more.

Book 3 and 4

Modified slightly...instead, I read Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies (wife of Detective Stabler on SVU). Wonderful read--a memoir about moving to Oberlin with her professor husband, only to find that their marriage falls apart.

Now, onto The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold, of The Lovely Bones fame. I'm about a third of the way into it, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's a little graphic in terms of violence and other events...we'll see how it turns out.