"Globes and maps, they charter your way back home…

…i want to hang onto something
that wont break away or fall apart
like the pieces of my heart" -Something Corporate


What have I been doing since being back from Mexico…

…sitting in my hammock chair out back. I tried to read/sleep but was foiled and instead listened to my iPod. So peaceful, I didn’t know the hammock was moving until I noticed the reflection in my iPod of the trees moving.

…finished Reunion by Fred Uhlman. It’s about the holocaust, sorta, or really about a friendship right before WWII. Everybody should read it, and it’s short. It’s a novella. Especially if you teach history. Very poignant, different than other literature I’ve read.

…tried to be busy? Haha.

…went to a job fair for the gov’t. It was really stomach churning to be around all these people whose lingo I don’t understand. I’m not “qualified” for most job opportunities (security clearance-no, engineer-no, etc.) but I have someone telling me not to worry about that. For now, I would like to work in a library full time and get paid while doing it. I also applied at a local bookstore as a “clerk.” I stopped at one booth and she asked me what types of opportunities I was interested in. I asked if they had a “research library” at the job location as I am looking to be in Information Services, and the lady said, “I wish.”

…went to a local medical clinic that I hope to volunteer at doing Interpreting/Translation. I was surprised to find they only use people about once a month, I had expected once a week, I don’t know why I thought that. I have a list of things to learn, yay!

…finished my resume, again. I really wanted to put things on it like
-strategically shooed cows out of the yard
-resolutely cooked dinner for 20, w/o regard for multiple opinions
-convinced children they have friends, when the facts might say otherwise
-tricked children into cleaning the whole house in a timely manner
-did 8 loads of laundry in one weekend, with one washer, one dryer, and 7 clotheslines.
-made stovetop popcorn without burning (too much) of it.
-anticipated waste of refrigerator energy and told the kids not to open it
-hugged kids, even when they were smelly
-expert at saying “No.”

…slept in. till 10. TWO DAYS IN A ROW. This is a miracle. Unless I attribute it to still being on Pacific time, which is highly probable.

…enjoyed the smells of honeysuckle, tall grass, trees.

…enjoyed that wind brings clouds and RAIN!!!!!! Not just dust.

…got hot and sweaty! (It’s sooo much warmer here than in Mexico.)

…got overwhelmed driving on the highway, looking at the steeples mixed in with brown brick apartment buildings.

….saw how BROWN the water was from rewashing my Mexi-clothes. (guacala, with a SOFT G –that’s for you Danielle.)

...lost the book I was reading and didn't have 24 other people to blame it on!!!! hahahaha.

One of my children had a test Monday night. It’ll probably take a week to find out how she did, but I bet she passed. She just needs to pass one more Math test and voila, 7th grade watch out for her! It has been hard being back. My heart is torn. But I know I’m not supposed to be in Mexico. The night I was packing I had two girls stay up with me. C---- and M----- looked like two friendly vultures, kindly taking things off my hands that I wouldn’t need anymore.

One of my favorite things about San Diego this past weekend was going up to the 15th floor and seeing the harbor through the glass elevator. The contemporary art museum wasn’t bad either. My favorite video was the people going up the steps of the Sydney Opera house, but they had digitally cut all the people out and had only left the shadows. Spending time with 7 people I really enjoy didn't hurt either.

I had a long-ish lay over in Dallas, and got to see Kyle and Doan, so that made me happy as well. They picked me up from the airport and we drove to a place you can only go to in Dallas (Steak 'n Shake) and then the mall, and then back to the airport. It would have been nice to have a longer layover :)

My brother called me on Monday during his break at work to chat with me. WHICH I LOVED. look I'm gushing. I have to wait to see him till Friday night!!!! (and I get to see Brittany Friday!)

OK. a to-do list is calling, but which one???
-the finish taking all my stuff off the back porch and into the house to-do list? (very useful so that I wouldn't bring any beetles in the house. I saw one come out of my suitcase in the hotel in San Diego. GROSS.)
-play piano?
-finish reading Perelandra?
-put up photos on Facebook?
-find a wedding outfit?
-find a job?
-make appts. with friends?
-study Spanish?
-hang out on freerice.com (quiz questions that earn free rice for people! time wasting with a charity spin!)


life is always full of great choices, they just aren't easy to make.