1.29.09: Served Me Well

Don't get me wrong... there are so many things I have loved about working in a restaurant: feasting on delicious leftovers at the end of the night, celebrating the end of a tough shift with a round, running around with adrenaline pumping for hours straight, and, of course, working with fun-loving friends who, when we're on our A game, are like a choreographed vaudeville act cracking jokes about rude customers and teasing each other in between flipping tables and running food. After three straight nights of picking up shifts during the super-busy "Restaurant Week," however, I am wiped. I am grateful, therefore, that I can pick up shifts when I want and that I have other work that is less draining to tide me over during the rest of the month. Whew!

1.28.09: La Escuela Fratney

It has been awhile since I have been on a field trip so it was a blast to head east with a group of grad students to go to La Escuela Fratney, a bilingual school (Spanish/English) in Milwaukee. The school was delightful - the building itself is so charming, the kids were so poised, and the principal so passionate. It was exciting to see a real life school embodying the principles we learn about on campus and read about in books. My favorite moment was helping a little guy open his milk carton during lunch. Or maybe when a fifth grader realized that "knowing two languages helps you know both better" when he figured out what "equilateral" meant by knowing that "lado" means "side" in Spanish. Or maybe it was when I got to eat a gluten-free pound cake at the co-op a few blocks away. Mmmmmm. Pound cake.

Check out this school - it's doing wonderful things.

1.27.09: Snap, Crackle, Pop

Before I begin, I have to confess that I just wrote "Smack, Crackle, Pop" and "Crack, Snapple, Pop" before coming up with the real slogan. Sheesh. This gratitude post, however, is about all of those noises that my back makes when I take a deep breath, twist to the side, or sit down. Thank goodness for my chiropractor who popped my rib back into place on Tuesday. It's already slipped out (my own fault for having no muscle strength... if I had to arm wrestle an amoeba, I would probably lose), but the temporary relief is so sweet. It is unbelievable how much noise can come out of my neck when she cracks it back into place. Yowza. But a good yowza.

1.26.09: i love to teach

So... if I ever question what my absolute favorite professional thing to do is, somebody shake me. It's not research, it's not curriculum planning, it's not even writing (though I do love to write). I love to teach. That's that. My methods class started back up on Monday and I have great students and things went really well and I had so much fun. It's the best three hours of my week. It feels good to be good at something, you know? Cue contented sigh.

1.25.09: International Buddies

One of the best parts of grad school is getting to know people from far-flung places. Tonight, for example, I was served dinner in honor of the Chinese New Year by a dear friend from southern China. She made gluten-free rice dumplings, a "hot pot" stew with beef and mushrooms, and sweet rice peanut things. Min cracks me up and I hope to visit her someday when she goes back home. Another good friend is back in Colombia now but, thanks to google video chat (yep, another mention!), she and I could catch up and gossip in real time. The world is so small anymore, and I think that's ultimately a good thing.

1.24.09: Nostrils

I should be more specific... unclogged, not red and raw, non-mucusy nostrils. A head cold is the best reminder of how wonderful it is to be healthy. Luckily, it was a Saturday when I had nothing else to do so I could curl up in a ball with a roll of tissue by my side and breathe out of my mouth all day. I also finished the "Time Traveller's Wife" (sniff, sniff... not from the cold) and made a fresh batch of gluten-free chicken noodle soup. All in all, it took me back to sick days with TLC from my mama, so I was really cheerful despite the lack of air flow.

1.23.09: Man Pies

Even if you haven't seen Sweeney Todd, I don't think I'm giving anything away here by the title of the post. I got an email last week announcing half price rush tickets to see the musical and was lucky enough to get center row seats (in the nosebleed section) for me and three friends. My friend Abby gave me the idea for the post when she said, as we were walking into the theater, "How lucky are we to be coming here tonight when it's so cold outside and people are at war and other people are sick and hungry?" Kind of a downer, but she was right. The show was good - what was most fantastic was the actors played all of theinstruments. Astounding. I can clap rhythmically. That's about it.