Tag: surprise

Day one

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I am simultaneously not really worried at all and somewhat freaking out (mostly because I am so ‘no big deal’ about it all). Sure, I want to make a good impression and do a good job and all that jazz. But I also… it’s not that I don’t care about it all. Perhaps it is that the first day, in my mind, is just a day now. It didn’t used to be. But it seems to be for me now, anyway. I can’t get much done in terms of lesson-planning until I start meeting with students. So, I’d like to go ahead and meet with them in order to find out where they all are with everything. Language courses are kind of like that. Yes, we have specific goals for the year, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be able to start right away with new material. Most of them are new learners of the language, and most only have exposure during the school year and in the classroom. So, two months of no class means massive recession of their abilities in the language. And I didn’t teach these particular students last year, so I don’t even know what they truly covered, nor how well they mastered what they did cover. So, my first unit of the year, except for French I, is always a review unit to get everyone on the same page.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to it, I guess. I think it has the potential to be a really great year.

Thank you, God. Please, give me your perfect words this year. Help me to be your servant in my teaching especially. Help me always to pursue and fulfill your will. In your name, I pray in gratitude. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

AirDrop

Today was a free crêpe day at a certain restaurant, so we went to have our two free Nutella crêpes this evening at the restaurant. While we were sitting at our outside table, and I was looking at something in my man’s phone, a notification popped up: ‘Fio would like to AirDrop 1 photo to you’.

I showed the phone to my man, and he went for it – ‘Let’s see what we get!’ he declared.

It was a terrible, seemingly accidental and slightly blurry selfie of the nose-upward of someone who clearly was inside the restaurant. I had doubts she even knew she had just taken the photo, let alone that she had AirDropped it to anyone. My man thought it had said the name Flo, and so decided to screenshot a photo of the Progressive Flo and send it back…

And he discovered that the phone was actually called Fio’s iPhone, not Flo’s, but he offered the photo anyway over AirDrop. After a short pause, the photo was accepted and delivered. I told him he really should have just sent back the photo she had sent him, so she could see what clearly started it all. He laughed and agreed.

But, before he could send it back to her, he had another photo offer from Fio’s Phone. He accepted. This time, it was clearly an intentional photo of the friend in line with her. We immediately tried to determine who the pair were. I found the area of the restaurant where they had to be – the outer wall was all windows, see, so we could see into the restaurant rather easily from our outdoor table – and my man figured out who they actually were. As soon as he told me, and we both looked over at them, we saw that they were looking around, clearly trying to guess who was on the other end of the AirDropping, but not having anywhere near as many clues as we had – just that it was a male, due to the name of my man’s phone.

We both just keep looking at them, and they eventually notice that we’re watching and that he’s holding a phone and we’re both kind of giggling and smiling off and on as we talk and watch them – I promise it actually was not creepy, though it definitely sounds a little creepy as I write it out right now… As they clearly start to consider that we might be the other end of this exchange, we both give them a clear smile and I wave, making it obvious that they aren’t crazy and that we actually are the right people they were seeking.

They wave back, a little embarrassed, but not very much so. I turn and tell my man to send the original photo now, and then turn back to watch the reaction of the two girls, smiling with anticipation. He sends it, and I know the moment it had gone through.

The girl had no idea she had sent the original photo. The moment it clearly had popped up on her phone, she nearly fell to the ground, hand over mouth, utterly embarrassed and laughing, hard. The friend with her puts a hand on the girl’s back, and also keels forward in laughter. It is clear to us that everything suddenly makes sense to them and that they had unintentionally started the whole exchange.

We can’t stop laughing either, and turn back to each other, filled with joy at the utter silliness of it all. They seem far too embarrassed to look back at us, and we don’t mind.

It was a really great time, and it was super fun to be both detectives and totally silly and friendly all at once.

Thank you, God, for this fun and unexpected connection to others who also were willing to have fun and be connected. We are all people, all your children, and this was a wonderful experience of and reminder of how powerful that bond can be. Thank you for all of it. Thank you for today. Thank you for this life and this family of loving people. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Monday

Well, I went and got the adapter from IT to be able to connect my external hard drive (with all my teaching documents on it) to the computer they gave me. Then I promptly returned to my office to get to work, only to find that I had left the hard drive at home… ugh! Haha

So, I got other stuff done today, and then left a little early. I then went to the chiropractor, who made a small huge difference for me immediately, which was awesome. And then I went to IKEA. They have a teacher discount right now, so, I went to re-purchase and then return the dresser we had just gotten (rather than hassle with a price adjustment that places don’t like to do, though it is the same thing. Anyway, we had gotten it at a 5% discount recently, because I’m an IKEA Family member. Awesome. But the teacher discount was a 15% discount, which was a difference of going from $16.50 of savings to $49.50 of savings. It was only $33, but every dollar counts right now especially. I confirmed twice with my man that it was worth doing, and we finally determined that it really was and today was the day.

So, I go to purchase the dresser, and, when I look up the item location, I discover that it is on sale… for a hundred dollars off the original price. (!!!) And then I went to pick it up, and ended up helping this nice woman/girl load up her cart and not lose her wallet, then I got all my boxes in my cart and went to check out. I was worried the teacher discount wouldn’t work on already-discounted items. I was thinking about that before I even knew the item was discounted. But the discount still applied! So, instead of saving an extra $33, I saved an extra $141.25 (because of tax). Well worth the trip!

And then I celebrated with my free coffee (decaf, of course) and the currently anniversary-discounted apple cake that I’d never tried for a total of 87¢ with tax. And they were wonderful together. I felt like I was in a Scandinavian version of Café du Monde. And it was delicious. And then my man came and had coffee with me, and spun around a lot in the spinny high chairs I had picked for my snack time. 😛

So, anyway, be kind and love all, including yourself.

Thank you, God, for the successes and growth of today. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

So much stress

I had several errands to run today, and several strategic purchase to make during the tax-free weekend for clothing and backpacks. And the first of my errands kind of very much pissed me off – I was extremely frustrated. It was a simple matter of $14.06. I had been told by the store workers that they did returns without one week, and then exchanges or store credit only after that. However, they at this store seem utterly unaware of the fact that “return” includes returning the money to the purchaser, not merely giving store credit. I had even confirmed when purchasing the thing that it would be, “for a full refund.” But “refund” must mean to them “store credit”.

So, that was extremely annoying for me. And it was worsened by the fact that I’m at a financial place where $14 really does matter. But, when I looked at the receipt after the frustrating discovery that I was given store credit, and I saw that the sales tax I had paid was not refunded to me, the tables turned gently in my favor. The computer system was programmed to function fully without tax for the weekend, and they had no way to override it. So, they refunded another item on my original receipt to compensate. It was more than double the tax I had paid, but the store manager had approved it, as there was no way to reverse the initial return transaction, anyway, plus no way to add the sales tax. So, instead of just the dollar seven of tax I had paid, they refunded me another $2.25… refund being as store credit, of course; gotta use their lingo here…

Anyway, that was really hard for me on multiple levels, but I am grateful it turned out a little more positively than it had seemed like it would end. And the day turned out to be a hassle but worth the errands, so I am glad I went and handled it all today.

And then, I missed Mass, so ended up attending a 7pm Spanish Mass, and it was actually quite good. It was a church that usually is sparsely filled with folks for any English Mass I’ve ever attended, but was full tonight for the Spanish Mass. I stood out, to be sure, but I was able easily to participate and understand everything. And the homily was actually nice and got me thinking in a good way. Plus, the music was very Mexican yet also fun. I even went after Mass to ask for the names of two of the songs from the head music guy. He asked what everyone else was clearly thinking, and learned that Spanish was not my native language and, no, I didn’t learn it in school. But he commended some for it and didn’t hide his surprise at my speaking so easily with him in Spanish. It was silly, but fun, and it was great to have God bring together such different people so easily. I was very grateful tonight that my religion allows for participation in worship across cultures and languages so well.

Thank you, God, for the help today and for the blessings of your love today. Stay noticeably with me, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Saturday

Today was awesome. I got to see my aunt in the morning, eat fresh eggs with bacon, volunteer and make a positive difference at a rodeo event, learn loads about brisket and everything involved in it, eat great and free brisket, have a lovely free beer, be gifted some awesome paraphernalia with our family name, ride my Vespa, see videos of my man having a great time at the range, hang out with one of my best friends and her family, play with her daughter who is my former bedroom neighbor, have a dance party with the daughter and my friend, then play with my man with the daughter and even do some acro-yoga all together, and then come home for a great shower and some lovely air conditioning in our wonderful home.

Thank you, God, for this absolute blessing of a day – this was wonderful, and I am so grateful… Thank you. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Progress

I wasn’t as stressed today as yesterday. I was clearly still stressed, though, because I actually started to cry a little bit when I discovered that my “office” is a former storage room and is the only office that has no window at all. And it has no built-in shelving or storage like everyone else has… because it was a storage room.

Nonetheless, I went to the bathroom, and came back with the perspective of figuring out something workable. I turned the heavy (and dirty) desk to face the common area (that wall is glass, so it acts like a secondary window, you could say, getting natural light from the windows that lead into the rest of the office suite), and it fit just perfectly there. I then cleaned the desk.m and left it opened up to dry, so I could reevaluate if more cleaning would be needed tomorrow.

I then sat at the center table in the common area (which is filled with natural light), right outside my door, to handle the bit of computer work I had to do – well, wanted to have done – today before I went home. While there, I ended up meeting the rest of the residents of the office suite as they trickled in, and it was almost magical. This was truly the place for me to be this year. It is downstairs and the next building over from where all my classes will be (versus down the hall from the classroom on the same floor).

I was initially okay with the idea, though, because it would mean my own space instead of four cubicles in a single room, and my own locking door for keeping things safe at my own discretion. The lack of window, as I mentioned, put me over an edge of stress, though, and made me cry a bit. But I shared a photo with my brother, who is very high up in his company and recently ran into the problem of having no office at all to himself, due to a hiring surge. He had said repeatedly that he didn’t care if he only got a closet – he just needed his own space to work privately. He laughed at my photo and offer for him to take my storage shed office, and sent me a photo of his recently-found closet. He said I had him beat on space, and that he didn’t even have one of the adjustable standing desks he usually has. His photo cracked me up. Sure, the one wall was painted like the outdoors beautifully, but his office truly was like a closet. He said he can barely wheel out his chair to sit down in it, and he definitely cannot do any advanced yoga poses (his words, not mine). So, we both have former storage closets for offices now. But we are both glad to have them to ourselves, especially since I turned the desk and it made all the difference(!).

Now, to dive right into the real work tomorrow: preparing for actual teaching.

God, guide me to do a wonderful job at school and always to do your will. Thank you for this job and this call. In your name, I pray. Amen.

P.S. I totally forgot to mention that, when I went to leave for the day, and I locked the office door, it didn’t actually lock…. That is to say that the lock is broken… the irony. Haha. But, we submitted a repair request and it likely will be fixed before school starts next week. So, yay! Haha

Post-a-day 2023

Day one

Tomorrow is the first day on which I will be part of the faculty/staff body at this school, sort of for real this time, my third time joining them. I am only teaching part-time, officially, and as a long-term sub, technically. However, I am the hired teacher of four French classes for the entire school year. And my name will be on the classes this time, and my name alone.

I am curious to see how they relate to me, the administration. Will they see me as someone helping out or as a teacher? In a way, this year will be a massive test for my fit at this school. It also will be a massive test for me for myself, regarding my effectiveness at teaching. I know I can do very well in the short-term. But how do my methods and plans and organization translate to the longer-term? We certainly shall see, shan’t we? (I do hope so, anyway!)

God, guide me to do my best and to share your love. Help me always to pursue and fulfill your will. Grant me the gift of words that make the positive difference for all. In your name, I pray. And thank you. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Trust like children

I shared with my aunt today about the kakizome and the idea of these dreams God has given me being like the center of a labyrinth – they were recently just within sight and reach, but have suddenly swooped far away, like I have gone to the outer edges of the labyrinth… yet a labyrinth only has one path, and it eventually will turn all the way to the center goal… we just have to walk the whole thing, which weaves inward and outward many a times. She commented that the labyrinth comparison was a very good one to remember for all of life, that, yes, God is with us and guiding us and there is truly the one pathway on which He is guiding us, even though it seems to wander near to and far from our goals again and again…, but it still will reach there eventually. We just have to trust in God and follow His guidance.

On that note, she also commented that, when we trust in God, everything is easy. ‘That’s why He says to trust Him as children trust,’ she said. Because children trust wholly. As they grow up, they experience betrayal and they learn to be distrustful of others and of the world. But, when children are children, they trust wholly, and it is easy for them to be happy and free. Even when something bad happens, they are sad for a bit, and then bounce right back to being happy and free. They are trusting that they are cared for, that they are safe, that all is well.. even if they aren’t aware of it, they are trusting. And life is easy for them then.

What if we could trust God as children trust life? How free and easy we could be…

So, that is my goal: To keep an eye on my trust. If I am not free and easy, I can look to see where I am not trusting God in that moment. And then I can let it go and give it up to God, and trust in Him there, too. Just from our conversation this morning, I was able to see so much of how I was resisting trusting God, which was why I was so stressed still. As soon as I let it all go and gave it up to God, I suddenly was lighter physically, and was ready to go run errands I had dreaded so much, I had anticipated avoiding them entirely and skipping them. I went and shopped for – and found! – tops for work that fit me at two separate shops. And I had a great time. I wasn’t even stressed about it, though I had been the other day. I noticed the marked difference in how easy it was to find things and also to be okay when things didn’t fit, and just to move on without getting upset. It didn’t even occur to me to get upset when things didn’t fit, be they too big or too small, though that had not been the case the last two trips I’d made to look for work clothes. I’m not saying life was happy-go-lucky today. But it was significantly easier than it had been. And I actually had a great time today doing all of it.

I even had the first shop accidentally not give me the shoes I’d purchased, and I didn’t find out until after dinner tonight. I was loaded with adrenaline when I realized the error, and I was hoping they hadn’t re-sold the shoes to someone else, but I didn’t have this heavy sense of panic I typically might have gotten (or would have gotten recently, anyway). I just took action, found out the shop still had them for me, and got back dressed instead of showering and going to bed, and went to pick them up. I’m getting to bed an hour later than planned. And yet I had a good time even going to pick up the shoes. I’m still in a good mood now, and hour and a half past when I’d hoped to be in bed tonight. And it’s okay. I’m taking steps to improve, and I am trusting in God on a whole new level now… and it is amazing. And it is growing. And I love it all.

And I even had horrible diarrhea today, and I’m still in a great mood. It’s ridiculous and wonderful.

Thank you, God. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Goals and problems

Today, I started out the day with a few specific goals, mostly of watching all these videos I had lined up from this really great learning resource. That partly happened.

What happened unexpectedly was a tough conversation that ended in a massive stalemate. I won’t stop loving the person, of course, but the disregard for health and well-being is very difficult for me to accept. I want that person to be here for a long time and to be fully healthy and well for all of that time, for as long as possible. I also want to spend time together with this person, and a lot. Yet the subject of our disagreement necessarily takes away the chance of most of those desires. And it just really hurts, and I don’t know what to do about it.

God, please, give me clear guidance here. Please, help. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

But is it real?!?!

I was planning to shop for work clothes and that leather bag today at Walmart and at resale shops. However, my menstruation that began this morning kind of started hitting me hard by about midday – that, ‘It feels like diarrhea, but in the wrong place,’ feeling in the lower front part of my belly (aka my whole uterus area). So, I just got the Velcro I needed at Walmart, glanced quickly at the clothes and declined them, then went to three resale shops. I was quick in each, not even five minutes in any one of them. I got in, looked through all their bags, and got out. Well, I was probably in the first one a little over five minutes, because I had to wait in line to buy this great small leather purse that I likely will be using for a project in the future. It was two dollars efficiently spent, I tell you.

Then, there was nothing at the second store I liked much, so I was there only about two minutes, going through all their purses and handbags. It was easy not being in a mood to try on clothes. I knew I could do that another time with comparable ease. Today was focused on the Velcro and the bag search.

At the third resale shop, though, right as I entered, I glimpsed a bag behind a counter. A man asked if I needed help, and, though I hadn’t fully determined that I wanted to see the bag up close, I went ahead and asked to see it. After some quick research online, I agreed to buy the bag. I walked the store quickly, just to make sure I wasn’t missing some gem somewhere, and then purchased the leather bag.

I called my man to tell him I was headed home and that I’d found a bag. And, not only is it a good quality, real leather piece that I like, nor was it merely $35 plus tax, but it was also ‘a stinking name brand purse.’.

His immediate response was, “Is it real? Are you sure it’s not a fake?”

“No, I’m not sure! But now I want to know!”

It hadn’t even occurred to me that it might be a fake, because, well, I DIDN’T CARE. I cared about the quality and the leather, and those two things had checked the boxes. The name on it was more funny to me than anything else. But, now that he had mentioned the idea, I suddenly absolutely wanted to know if it was real or a fake. Mind you, I was and am still fully aware of the fact that it does not matter if the bag is a fake or not – we both agree it was a good purchase, whatever the case. I just really want to know, now that he’s brought up the idea.

And that almost feels stupider than caring about it for the sake of purchasing a crazy expensive purse just for the name. But, anyway, I still want to know now.

I looked up one article immediately and started comparing. Coincidentally, it passed the main tests – quality stitching, matching threads, quality and heavy-duty metal parts, quality and matching bordering leather. However, there is one test it fails: the tag. It doesn’t have a fabric tag inside it anymore. However, from what a quick search showed me, the bag is from the ‘90s. From the inside of the bag, this thing was not treated kindly by its last owner… at all. I crossed bags online with that little fabric tag partly or almost fully shredded. It would not surprise me if such a thing happened to such a tag in this bag. However, I will check tomorrow if there seems to be a seen in the right spot for that missing tag. In addition to that, the long strap on it has different thread. So, there’s a definite chance that the strap did not originally come with the bag. And the strap may be fake or may be from just another D&B bag altogether, and it merely got switched or stolen one day (mean that as you like it).

So, I’ll do some more online research tomorrow, especially with how to clean this poor thing. It really is great quality, especially seeing how terribly it must have been treated and how well it held up. With a good clean and conditioning, though, I think this bag will look spectacular again. And, as I said, whether it’s a real or a fake D&B purse, it was still worth the $35.

…. But I still want to know. 😛

Thank you, God, for this life and this success and fun today. Thank you for the amazing family dinner and music tonight. Thank you for my family. Thank you for my man, who carries part of my heart with him always now – thank you for such a blessing. Help us all to pursue and fulfill your will, being our best selves, better and better each day. Thank you. I love you. We love you. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023