Grand Plans...

I was going to be meticulous about my blogging for my year of fun. Apparently I was having so much fun that I could not find time to blog...
I am reforming, especially as I received an email asking for my URL. That was the motivation I needed to actually start writing something again. (Although I'm sure that all of my students are also reading...ha!) I was feeling the need to catch up on all that has been done so far, but that has only proved to help me in my procrastination. Despite my lag in blogging, I have been slowly working on the list of things I want to do, be, and accomplish. There was a fabulous trip to Minnesota to see friends - the best way to start a year of fun!, movie nights and coffee shop meetings, new volunteering and ministry opportunities, and less time at school. Still a work in progress, but it's a start.

2010 - The Year of Fun

I am embarking on an adventure. At the encouragement of my concerned family, I have decided to make 2010 my "year of fun" - a New Year's resolution of sorts. I had realized at the end of the semester that I was working too much, becoming less of me and more of a joyless workaholic who lost sight of the true meaning of what I do. The plan was formed sometime during Christmas vacation; while I cannot remember the exact timing, I remember the idea coming about because of a conversation with my aunt, cousin, and mother. Sitting in the living room around the Christmas tree, it was decided that I needed to have more fun so that work wouldn't be so hard and so all-consuming. A chance to be me again.
There are several layers to the plan for the Year of Fun, some of which too personal to discuss on a public forum that my students may or may not read. I plan to do things that I love to do but have stopped due to work. I want to try new things and travel. I also want to do a little work on my inner self. (This is where it gets personal; also, due to my faith and the fact that I am a school employee, I'm not sure that I am supposed to talk about it unless specifically asked what I believe, even on a personal blog.) And I plan to record my adventures on this blog - in part so certain people can keep tabs on me to ensure I am actually having fun.
So here's to the Year of Fun. May it live up to its name.

The Proposal

No, I did not recently get engaged. But I did watch Sandra Bullock pretend to do so, and it was interesting to say the least.
Romantic Comedy must be a tough genre for screenwriters; it has to be hard to come up with something new that has never been done before, especially when the audience basically knows how everything is going to come out. Several new titles come out every year, and the previews always make them look so good. They do pretty well at coming up with a new situation, but it still seems to be the same story again and again. Yet we still keep coming back, demanding more.
Finding love and being in a romantic relationship is a story that everyone can relate to or at least somewhat desire. We gravitate towards things and ideas that we can relate to our own stories, so we keep coming back to this idea of finding love that can satisfy us. That could be a discussion in and of itself: how another person can never fully complete you or fill the holes in your life. But going back to The Proposal, I was hoping to enjoy that connection, looking for that same familiar story that I've heard in slightly different ways so many times. Instead, I walked away shaking my head. I found it kind of strange.
Yes, we have a single guy and a single girl. They hate each other, one does the other a favor, there is conflict, and in the end they fall in love and are planning their wedding. But between the awkward waiter/cashier/exotic dancer, the ridiculous immigration officer, and the wacky "Gammy," I lost the connection and felt it was a little much. Maybe it's just not my kind of humor; I didn't think it was one of Sandra's best. While I did enjoy a fun evening with friends, The Proposal made me want to say no.

Fog Delay

The perfect way to celebrate the first day of Fall would have been to have a fog delay. I was so hoping as I woke up and looked outside that my view of the houses across the street would be obliterated by thick, soupy, grayness rather than the clarity that was really there. Normally, I fight for clarity and wish that all fuzziness would be eliminated from my life, but this is where I embrace it. Maybe I should learn to embrace more grayness rather than striving for solely that which is black and white. In the meantime, while I learn to do that, I am still hoping for a fog delay. Maybe the superintendant can work on embracing fogginess, too.

What is Really Necessary?

Looking at my calendar for the next few months, my weekends are already planned. I have events and meetings for most of the days of the week. I am feeling unbalanced and not sure what to do. How does one know what to eliminate? What is really necessary?
All of the busyness is due to "good" things. Work, professional development, church, plans with family and friends...how can you - how can I - say no? I am realizing that something needs to give. I cannot do it all. Because of my personal beliefs, I know I need assistance from a higher Source. This is a blog for school, so I will not go into detail about that, but I think the concept is something that everyone, including my students, have to struggle with. There are only 24 hours in a day. How should they be used? How a person spends his or her time shows the true reality about what is most important in that person's life. Do your - and my - ideals and thoughts match up with reality? If I say my family is most important, does my life reflect that?
I am going to do some personal readjusting. How this will actually look, I can't yet say. I just hope that my life will be a better reflection of what matters most.

The Flying Cupcake

I miss living in the city. There are so many opportunities and so many chances for adventure that you just don't find in small towns. While it wasn't the Twin Cities (where part of my heart will always be), I spent part of the weekend with my family in Indianapolis. I certainly can't complain about the company; you just can't beat my brother and his family. We went all over the place, but ended the day together at The Flying Cupcake, somewhere in Broad Ripple. I love unique bakeries, and I adore cupcakes. It was magnificent. The cases are filled with giant cupcakes piled with frosting, and as soon as you open the door, the smell of freshly baked goods envelops you. I didn't want to leave. We tried a German Chocolate cupcake, "Red Velvet Elvis" with chocolate chips and cream cheese icing, a vanilla cupcake with rich vanilla buttercream dubbed "Happy Birthday to Me," a light and airy almond cupcake with almond buttercream whose name I've lost but was my favorite, and a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter icing. We shared, and laughed, and rated our favorites. It was the kind of day that makes you grateful for the life you have.

It Has Begun...

Even though it is the middle of August, we are back in school. I could spend a lot of time complaining about our early start date and providing incredibly logical reasons why we should still be on summer break, but I won't.
I always get excited for the possibilities of each new year. Back in college, I really liked getting new syllabi and seeing the plan of what I was expected to do. I realize this is incredibly nerdy, but I'm okay with that. Somehow, I doubt most of my students felt the same way when I went through the plan for our year together. Even so, I think I'm going to have a great group of students this year. (And I'm not just saying this because I may use this as an example in class for the blog project.)
Despite this, it is hard to get back into the swing of things...for all of us, teachers and students alike. It seemed like everything broke the first day, and nothing really went as planned. And even though I think I'm really going to have fun with my students this year, I miss my students from last year. It's strange not to see the same faces in the same seats.
It will be interesting to see how this year goes and the events that happen. It will be an adventure...that is for sure.