"Omar": MISS KATE! I lost my orthotics [a sole insert for bad feet] and my feet hurt!
Me: I bet they do! I have a friend who wears those and when she doesn't, or they get worn down, her back gets all out of alignment and her muscles really hurt and--
Omar: --and I get pinkeye sometimes.
Me: Bahaha. No. You do not get pinkeye from not wearing your orthotics.
Omar: [resignedly and matter-of-factly] Yes, Ms. Kate, it's just one of those things.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Unexpectedly long
Well...yikes. I haven't blogged in a million years. Today's blog is about celebrating the lacerations on my back and upper arm.
You see, they are fairly mild and not terribly painful, but I got them from crouching inside a barrel and then rolling down (and, consequently, up, and back down again) a half pipe (a sort of u-shaped skateboard ramp). It was a good day at work. I can say, without a trace of doubt, I never thought I would ever roll down a ramp in a barrel, let alone as part of my job.
Other things I never thought would be part of my job:
-Cleaning black stuff out of horse troughs. And enjoying it.
-Falling backwards off of said horse trough into mud. And laughing about it.
-Wearing Run Watch clothing while aforementioned muddy clothes were washing and drying. And looking like Christmas in July.
I've worked hard to get to this spot, dammit, and I'm going to celebrate it. Celebrate all the blow-ups, and the aggression, and the Fuckyougotohellbitch nights. Celebrate the Ihateyou's and the whining/complaining/nagging. Celebrate the tears and the laughter and the silliness and the nicknames and all the emotional outpouring I've put into this job. Celebrate the moment I realized this isn't just a "job" and I don't always get to just clock out and not think about it anymore. Celebrate the boys who work their asses off to conquer stuff that most grown-ups I know have never had to conquer, in a setting that would drive anyone mad. Celebrate me growing and learning to stand my ground. Learning what it means to love someone even when they, literally or figuratively, spit in your face. Learning to protect people who swear they don't need it, but scream it with their silence. Learning to give, and to forgive. Learning to lose the small battles (most difficult) in order to win the war. Learning to let my guard down. Learning not to take crap and to stand up for myself. Learning to laugh while sprinting up and down cheat-grass covered hillsides in 90 degree weather. Learning to do all this and not give up. Despite all the mistakes. Because, then, when I'm lucky, a kid pulls me aside, reads me an apology letter, and tells me he's ready to turn a new leaf.
You see, they are fairly mild and not terribly painful, but I got them from crouching inside a barrel and then rolling down (and, consequently, up, and back down again) a half pipe (a sort of u-shaped skateboard ramp). It was a good day at work. I can say, without a trace of doubt, I never thought I would ever roll down a ramp in a barrel, let alone as part of my job.
Other things I never thought would be part of my job:
-Cleaning black stuff out of horse troughs. And enjoying it.
-Falling backwards off of said horse trough into mud. And laughing about it.
-Wearing Run Watch clothing while aforementioned muddy clothes were washing and drying. And looking like Christmas in July.
I've worked hard to get to this spot, dammit, and I'm going to celebrate it. Celebrate all the blow-ups, and the aggression, and the Fuckyougotohellbitch nights. Celebrate the Ihateyou's and the whining/complaining/nagging. Celebrate the tears and the laughter and the silliness and the nicknames and all the emotional outpouring I've put into this job. Celebrate the moment I realized this isn't just a "job" and I don't always get to just clock out and not think about it anymore. Celebrate the boys who work their asses off to conquer stuff that most grown-ups I know have never had to conquer, in a setting that would drive anyone mad. Celebrate me growing and learning to stand my ground. Learning what it means to love someone even when they, literally or figuratively, spit in your face. Learning to protect people who swear they don't need it, but scream it with their silence. Learning to give, and to forgive. Learning to lose the small battles (most difficult) in order to win the war. Learning to let my guard down. Learning not to take crap and to stand up for myself. Learning to laugh while sprinting up and down cheat-grass covered hillsides in 90 degree weather. Learning to do all this and not give up. Despite all the mistakes. Because, then, when I'm lucky, a kid pulls me aside, reads me an apology letter, and tells me he's ready to turn a new leaf.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Henceforth...
From now on, you may refer to me by my new name, given to me by a student at work this evening:
Mrs. Fuck.
Mrs. Fuck.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
And I think to myself...
Aside from being pretty miserable with a head cold/whining about being miserable with a head cold, this was a pretty great weekend. Let's just review some of the highlights, shall we?
-Anne, Kelsi, and I revealed to Sydney, Kyla, and Steve, that the cake they received earlier this week from their "block captains" was actually not from their "block captains." They had rightfully been shocked that anyone could think the "Trail Mix Cake," as it was called, was good enough to share with neighbors. The cake had, in fact, been constructed by us after we cleaned out our pantry. Main ingredients were: Slim-Fast, instant mashed potatoes, and mint hot chocolate mix. We also included dried-out marshmallows, actual trail mix, pancake mix, and broccoli soup. We threw in an egg and some oil, made an official "block captain" letterhead, and dropped it off at Kyla's house. Bwah. ha. ha.
-We had a graduation party for Kelsi. Fun times gathering people together to celebrate. I also became so mesmerized by the membership sign at Costco that I rammed into the guy ahead of me with the party cake. Luckily no damage was done.
-Carly and Ty got married. Lovely wedding that they totally made fit them. Not vomitous at all. It just seemed fitting to watch my childhood friend who used to shove grass in my braces marrying my childhood neighbor who used to play elaborate police-style games with me and our sisters.
-And I have amazing roommates. This is for real.
...what a wonderful world
-Anne, Kelsi, and I revealed to Sydney, Kyla, and Steve, that the cake they received earlier this week from their "block captains" was actually not from their "block captains." They had rightfully been shocked that anyone could think the "Trail Mix Cake," as it was called, was good enough to share with neighbors. The cake had, in fact, been constructed by us after we cleaned out our pantry. Main ingredients were: Slim-Fast, instant mashed potatoes, and mint hot chocolate mix. We also included dried-out marshmallows, actual trail mix, pancake mix, and broccoli soup. We threw in an egg and some oil, made an official "block captain" letterhead, and dropped it off at Kyla's house. Bwah. ha. ha.
-We had a graduation party for Kelsi. Fun times gathering people together to celebrate. I also became so mesmerized by the membership sign at Costco that I rammed into the guy ahead of me with the party cake. Luckily no damage was done.
-Carly and Ty got married. Lovely wedding that they totally made fit them. Not vomitous at all. It just seemed fitting to watch my childhood friend who used to shove grass in my braces marrying my childhood neighbor who used to play elaborate police-style games with me and our sisters.
-And I have amazing roommates. This is for real.
...what a wonderful world
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Momentous Event in History
Today was a pretty fantastic day and here is why.
I AM THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER AT THE GYM.
You should know that I have never been the grand prize winner of anything and I was expecting to win a pencil. So, obviously I was ecstatic, as was Emely since we were in it to win it together from the start. And now we will be enjoying dinner out, massages, and a night at a hotel via grand prize.
Then. Lunch with the ever-hilarious Ashlee who allowed me to interrupt our lunch with phone calls/high pitched squealing to people about my grand prize
Then. My boys just made my heart so happy at work. I was "the only staff who is not an idiot" to the 10-year-old. And then I took a group off campus to do a clean-up and they did so amazingly well. One of those rare times when everyone in the group is looking out for the welfare of everyone else and willing to make compromises. I could care less if they all grow up to be brilliant scholars or "successful" billionaires. If they can treat each other with the dignity and respect they did tonight, well, my job is done.
I AM THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER AT THE GYM.
You should know that I have never been the grand prize winner of anything and I was expecting to win a pencil. So, obviously I was ecstatic, as was Emely since we were in it to win it together from the start. And now we will be enjoying dinner out, massages, and a night at a hotel via grand prize.
Then. Lunch with the ever-hilarious Ashlee who allowed me to interrupt our lunch with phone calls/high pitched squealing to people about my grand prize
Then. My boys just made my heart so happy at work. I was "the only staff who is not an idiot" to the 10-year-old. And then I took a group off campus to do a clean-up and they did so amazingly well. One of those rare times when everyone in the group is looking out for the welfare of everyone else and willing to make compromises. I could care less if they all grow up to be brilliant scholars or "successful" billionaires. If they can treat each other with the dignity and respect they did tonight, well, my job is done.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Hulk-in-training
So I think that blogs where people go on about how awesome they are generally come across to the rest of the world as extremely annoying. This does not, however, stop me from spouting off something I am proud of. You will need a microscope for this next part.
With the help of your microscope, you may notice small muscles beginning to form. This is actually a live photo taken of my arm. Believe it if you dare, but it is actually slightly more pronounced in real life. This is because, for the past 6 weeks, my roommate and I have been doing a fitness challenge at our gym that involved doing some sort of activity/healthy habit about 7 days a week. As was the goal, I had to branch out and try new things. Thus, I learned that the weight-lifting class that looks so scary is actually not scary at all. Water fitness classes are entirely survivable and senior citizens provide a good dose of humility while they kick my trash. I also learned that senior citizens are very chatty and sometimes they only kick my butt because they are not actually doing anything. Being a recovering perfectionist means that the bar is usually too high for me to really be proud of myself, but I was proud of this one!
With the help of your microscope, you may notice small muscles beginning to form. This is actually a live photo taken of my arm. Believe it if you dare, but it is actually slightly more pronounced in real life. This is because, for the past 6 weeks, my roommate and I have been doing a fitness challenge at our gym that involved doing some sort of activity/healthy habit about 7 days a week. As was the goal, I had to branch out and try new things. Thus, I learned that the weight-lifting class that looks so scary is actually not scary at all. Water fitness classes are entirely survivable and senior citizens provide a good dose of humility while they kick my trash. I also learned that senior citizens are very chatty and sometimes they only kick my butt because they are not actually doing anything. Being a recovering perfectionist means that the bar is usually too high for me to really be proud of myself, but I was proud of this one!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
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