Three pieces of furniture and a cat.

That's all I have at the moment. Well, and some food in the fridge.

No, no one broke in. I am almost totally moved out of Corvallis!

When I first realized that I would have to spend a month here, it seemed like an eternity away, but now that I seriously only have 4 days left, I've realized that the hardest part of leaving Corvallis is Corvallis itself, if that makes sense.

When you want to leave a place but can't, you only see the negatives about it. But, when you want to leave a place and then you're leaving before you thought you would be, all you see are the things you'll miss.

And there's a lot I'll miss. Everywhere I go in Corvallis holds some sort of special moment. I guess it's not hard to fill a town with memories when said town is so tiny it only takes 15 minutes to cross it. I suppose if I'm ever feeling super nostalgic, I can come back and get my fill of memories in less than half an hour. Efficient Nostalgia.

Plus, I'll be back every couple of weeks to get my hair cut. This may seem ridiculous to just about everyone, but my hairdresser really understands my hair and I would seriously follow her to Timbuktu, if I had to. If I didn't have my hairdresser, my tresses would look something like this:



I am super excited to move though, and start our life in Beaverton. We are actually living in a house, which will be a welcome change from our years of living in apartments. The littlest things about having a house are just so exciting to me. Like, I can't believe we'll have a driveway, instead of parking for a spot and worrying about some guy denting your door. Or, the idea of having a solid foundation under our feet, so I can do my Wii to my little heart's content, and Newton can tear around the place without our downstairs neighbor pounding on our floor with the end of a broom. Simple comforts.

So yeah. One more week in cozy Corvallis and then, new adventures!

Alone Time

Sometimes I am so worried about a situation that I fail to see the silver lining until it basically hits me in the head.

The situation at hand is that I am currently spending a month alone here in Corvallis. Evan got a teaching job at Beaverton High School and of course, had to move up to that area to start teaching the savages aka high school freshmen.

As much as I wanted to go with him, I had to realize that I have a full-time job here with my own breed of savages, also known as middle schoolers. The way the economy is now, I would be a tad more than moronic to leave a decently paying job and a place that I worked so hard to have a voice in because I am a little nervous about being left all by my lonesome.

Of course, on paper it seems really simple: He goes and makes moolah, and I stay here and make moolah, and at some point, we come back together and share said moolah.

But, if you will, picture our plan as a cross-country runner. This guy is running smoothly, nothing in his path, and the sun is shining.

Images courtesy of Google

Now. Picture a mean guy in a trenchcoat walking up to our runner and throwing a gigantic wrench in his path. making the runner run straight into a very well-grown patch of poison oak. We'll call this wrench Anxiety.

The truth of the matter is, I have anxiety. Pretty badly, actually, and the idea of being left alone every evening was terrifying. Not to mention just about doing everything alone. I couldn't fathom grocery shopping alone, or running errands all by myself. It was too daunting.

So, back to our runner. He's picked himself out of the poison oak, and albeit itchy, he keeps going.

And, out of the bushes springs a crazy, rabid animal with a penchant for aluminum foil and all plants and he sinks his teeth into the runner's leg.



We'll call this crazy, rabid animal Newton. Frankly, this cat is really bizarre. I feel like a single parent (okay, maybe 1/100000th of what they feel) when I'm home alone with this feline. He gets into just about everything that isn't bolted down or welded shut, he eats everything (his latest meals: a magnet, bamboo leaves, gravel, and a large piece of aluminum foil), and then takes just about the smelliest poops I have ever experienced. And, trust me, I know animal poop.

So now our runner is itchy, and bleeding. As he's limping along, let's say that a very angry looking raincloud bursts open right on top of this poor guy, and a torrential rainfall begins to fall on him. Since this guy is an Oregonian right down to the core, the rain itself doesn't bother him so much as the absolute swamp of mud this rain is creating for him, bogging down his every step forward.

We'll call this muddy slop Loose Ends That Need Tying Up. On one hand, a month seems like forever, and when I think of all the little things I have to do, I feel like I am already out of time. And money.

What's crazy about this metaphor, is that our runner will eventually get to the finish line, and he'll be stronger after such a journey. And so will I.

I will take this time to live for myself down here; to go shopping for shoes I don't need but desperately want without Ev behind me looking like I dragged him into the store. I can browse for makeup or books for hours and not have to worry about anything or anyone but myself. I can learn a lot about myself that maybe I missed out on by living with someone for the last 3 years. It's so easy to put someone else that you care so deeply about before you and even lose yourself in that devotion. This is my chance to find myself again a little bit. To take a slightly scary journey that I know will have its fair share of obstacles, but in the end I will make it to Beaverton, and I'll be stronger when I get there.

And, at least, I don't actually have Poison Oak.

Oh bother...

I've been lazy.

Well, at least as far as blogging is concerned. I can honestly say I had a lazy-free summer. It went by entirely too quickly, in my opinion. Maybe I'm just used to college-level summers, where you are free as soon as you get out of your last final in the early days of June, and don't amble back into a classroom until the very end of September.

Well, those days are long gone. I was definitely in a classroom on the second day of September, doing battle with a bulletin board (why are those things so darn difficult?!) and cutting out little stars, hearts, sharks, and dinosaurs from card stock for nametags.

To be honest, though, I don't know what I would even do with an extra month of summer; we crammed so many things into the 2.5 months I did have. I suppose I would sleep a lot, chase after my energy-riddled kitten, and spend most evenings jamming to the awesome new Beatles game that I had to have (thank goodness for old, deaf neighbors).

Oh, and Netflix. A lot of Netflix. Especially since we would go weeks without seeing some of the movies we got this summer because we weren't in the city at the time.

Anyway, while a part of me is definitely bitter about waking up a little bit after the sun rises and dealing with hormonally charged teenagers soon thereafter, I also feel good about settling into this scary "adult" thing a little more easily than I did last year, and so far, this year is going well for me. I like the teachers I work with, and the best part is that I for half the day, I work almost entirely in Spanish. It's been great to dust off that part of me and get some much-needed practice in. There were a few years there in the middle to high-school age where I almost lost my ability to speak this gorgeous language. I feel like now, I am making up for lost time.

Also in today's news, Google is telling me that this is my 50th blog post, which I think is pretty nifty. I started this as a way to just chronicle my thoughts and experiences as I left CollegeLand and headed into the "real world" whatever that means. It has been a lot of fun, but I think I will start talking about other, more serious issues soon. Before, something would get me either really amped, or really infuriated and I'd be afraid to talk about it because I was sure I'd get a comment saying, "you're the dumbest person ever; cancel your blog immediately before my eyes start bleeding from reading your ignorance."

Frankly, now that I think about it, this is my blog, made just so I could say whatever I wanted, ignorant or otherwise. If you guys are ever at odds over something I say, please tell me; I love debating issues. If you guys are ever offended, by all means, click away from my blog.

Don't worry; I'm not going to get super serious on all 4 of you. There will still be plenty of posts about my crazy life, tweenager wrangling days, and new to the blog, crazy stories about my seriously ADHD kitten, Newton.

And of course, there will be pictures like this one to just make your day:

Sunburnt lips while camping, August. Angelina Jolie, eat your freakin' heart out.

And they call them the "dog days of summer"...?

I think they need to seriously think about redoing that term...I've never seen a dog sleep quite like Newton can!

Newton.

I was going to do a blog about our new place (which rocks, by the way) but decided instead to do one about Newton, a kitten we are kitten-sitting for a week.

We were a bit apprehensive about taking him in at first because I have a pretty significant cat allergy. By pretty significant, I mean that I get hives the size of Alaska and sneeze my frontal lobe out every time I am near a feline. I wasn't always allergic, but ever since I went off to college, it was bestowed on me. Phooey, I say.

But, alas, his cuteness won me over, and I decided that living off of Benadryl for a week would be worth it. I missed having a cat around.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the little guy.






Also, I took some video of him playing with the laser pointer. I think they are pretty entertaining. When he's awake, he's more or less non-stop. I can only write this now because he's sleeping, otherwise he'd be on top of my laptop, attacking the keys.

An apartment cleaned, a lesson learned

It's not often that one has an epiphany while cleaning an oven.

But, it happened to me.

See, I was really anxious before we moved. Suddenly, I couldn't remember why we were moving. After our roommate moved out, our apartment felt huge again, and I could not fathom living anywhere else.

I cried a ton on my birthday, because each time I saw our mountain of boxes, I didn't want to leave. I cried when we came to the new apartment because it felt so different than our home. I didn't sleep at all the night before we moved, and I felt sick and miserable about leaving.

But anyway, the truck was packed, and on what felt like the hottest day in the history of the world, we moved out of our little tree house.



I kept wandering around the new place, feeling like I was just on vacation and would promptly be returning home, while Evan, totally enamored with the in-unit washer/dryer, promptly did four loads of laundry and went about unpacking boxes while I moped.

The next day, we trooped over to the old apartment to clean it. I was nervous, because I just knew that I'd be overcome with homesickness and never want to leave it again.


But, as I dusted, vacuumed, scrubbed and washed this old apartment, I suddenly saw it just as it was: an old, empty apartment. There was nothing in those old rooms that made it feel like home. I didn't feel overcome with homesickness because this place was so obviously not my home. It was an old, (very dusty) apartment that I had lived in once.

I had just a little bit of time to think about this, because the next day, we headed up to Portland to celebrate the Fourth with my family. And here, I was home. I was home because I was with my family, and with people I loved.

And a few days after that, we came home to Corvallis. Again, I was home because I was with a person I care so very much about.

Most of you probably know this, but it took me a good hour of cleaning out our old oven and vacuuming corners with dust cougars to realize that it's not a place that makes a home, or the furniture in it: it's the people that make it home. One doesn't go home after a long day thinking, "I am going home to a great, Craftsman-era bungalow with great built-ins and wood detail," they think, "I am going home to my family."

Regardless of where I am, if I am with family, with people I love, then I am home. Right now, home is right here in this quiet corner of Corvallis with Evan. I know that now, and I couldn't be happier.

Plus, the in-unit laundry is pretty rockin'.

Packing up and movin' on out!

So, it is final. We are headed out of this wonderfully ancient apartment and moving 3.3 miles down the road to a better one here in Corvallis.

For posterity's sake, here are the things I will miss:

• Having not one, but two parking spaces assigned to us, and not having to pay a ridiculous amount for it.
• The trees all around our apartment. Since we live on the third floor, it is a little like living in a tree house, and I just loved looking out of the windows and seeing a forest of green.
  
• Having the coolest manager ever. Steve is awesome. I am pretty sure he can hear me singing at full volume in the shower because our bathroom shares a wall with his apartment, but he has never mentioned it, or given me the stink-eye after I belt out The Killer's "Mr. Brightside" fifty times a week.
  
• Being super close to downtown. I love taking walks to the waterfront and dinking around all the little bookstores and shops without having to worry about parallel parking (aka me crashing into an expensive car while trying)
  
• The windows this place has. Seriously, we don't ever need to turn a light on in the summer. Or winter, for that matter. Natural light just tends to stream in.
  
• This is probably more applicable to Evan, but the kitchen here is pretty awesome. I have been able to appreciate it when I go in there to get a glass of water or make toast. Ev really likes having a really giant island he can do his (or all,) cooking done.
  
• The office. We are actually moving to a slightly smaller place, and I will miss the size of our office here. We could comfortably fit a bookcase, two desks, and a couch in our office and still have room to spare. I wrote all my final papers, letters, and journal entries in here because it was always relaxing to be in that space. I crammed for tests, cried over the grades I received on tests, and had some of the best conversations with Evan in that room.
• Just the comfort I feel here. This was our first apartment together, and we've had millions of moments here that built up and made it feel like home. There is a part of me that is scared to leave this place, because even with it's flaws, it is perfect to me.

And, to ease the fear of moving, here are the things I won't miss:

• Drunken college students walked below our balcony every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.
  
• The Big Brother-esque street light that shines directly into our dining room
  
• Kitchen cabinets that are crooked and roughly the same color as Snuffulufagus
• Yellow, faux marble countertops.
  
• Having to do our laundry in a dungeon next to where they keep the Dumpster.
  
• A shower door that seemingly hates to stay on the track, especially right at the moment the water gets cold and you have shampoo in your eye.
  
• The stairs to our third floor apartment here are so steep and treacherous that one must almost hire a Sherpa to help ascend. All (and I mean all) of our friends (and most of our parents) have tripped or fallen going up or down those stairs.
  
• Being half a block from the fire and police station. I sleep through all sirens now, which I fear is a disadvantage in trying to survive. If they go by during the day, however, I can tell the difference between a cop car, ambulance, or fire engine just by listening to the stupid siren.
  

All in all, it has been a wonderful two years here, and while I will miss it and always look back on our first big Couple Adventure with fond memories, I think this move will be good for us and bring on a whole new slew of moments. The next blog entry from me will probably be from our new home! 'Till then, take care, and blog yourselves so I have something to read when I take a break from packing!

June 2009

Please excuse my absence, I've been trying to stay sane with everything June has had me up to.


First, I had to keep my students entertained until the last day, which was a feat unto itself. The 8th had been checked out since the 1st of June, and I all but had to juggle textbooks for them to pay attention. When the last day finally came, I realized that I would definitely miss those kids, especially the ones that I had forged a connection with. I told one that I was planning on going to his high school graduation, and when I said that, he looked at me, and said, "do you really think I'll make it there?"

I said, "of course you will!" And his eyes teared up and he said, "okay teacher, I will see you there!"

I hate to sound cliche, but it's moments like that that seem to evaporate all the bad days. It has been such a great year, and I have learned so much. I don't think those kids realize how much they have taught me about patience, compassion, commitment, humor, and love. I owe them a lot, and will miss them next year.

My 8th graders

Good luck with everything, guys!

Also in the last few weeks, we've decided on a new apartment here in Corvallis, and are planning to move on my birthday, July 1st. It is going to be a big move for us, but I think we're ready. Also, we get to choose paint colors, and being the gigantic HGTV freak that I am, I am totally excited about that.

Finally, but most importantly, Evan graduated from Oregon State University on the 13th, with two degrees! One in Education and one in History, plus a teaching license. It was exciting to sit and watch him culminate these last five years of school. He has worked hard, and I could not be more proud of him! It's funny to think that we met as college freshmen, and are still together and facing new experiences as graduates. I can't wait to see what new adventures Life takes us on!

Evan in the sea of graduates

Apparently, OSU has a song that Alumni are supposed to know

Me with the new alum!

Congrats, Ev!

sing it to me, Ray

I love Ray Lamontagne, (evidenced by my going and buying all three of his albums because I couldn't stand to leave one behind) and I especially like this cover he did of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". I know, I know. I too, got so sick of that song during the summer of 2007 that I felt nauseous when it came on the radio, but Ray (we are on a first name basis; he just doesn't know it) puts a really great spin on it, and I can listen to it over and over, dramamine free.

The homestretch

That's what all the teachers call this time of year. I see it more like I've been climbing a mountain, and these last 5 weeks are like the super rocky, slippery part right before the summit, where you're not sure if you have enough oxygen or strength to make it to the top. Summer would be the easy downhill climb, and once you reach the bottom, it's almost September and you may as well turn around and start climbing again.

Anyway, I haven't meant for this to become some sort of monthly thing. I always thought I'd be one of those annoying people who blogged almost daily about just anything. I know I keep promising to be more consistent with this, but I may as well stop and say that once I reach the top of Middle School Wrangling Mountain, I will be back more often.

So, good news: I have been offered my position at Linus Pauling for next year, same hours and everything, and I would be a moron of gigantic proportions to not take it. The major sacrifice we have to make is pushing our plan to move back to the Portland area another year, but I think we can live with that, especially if we get some sort of furry pet to make up for the serious lack of people around.

Another plus: apartments are waaaay cheaper here in Corvallis, and we've decided on a two-bedroom, one bath in a much nicer part of town. It is a definite upgrade from the place we have now. Don't get me wrong; I love it here, but the complex was constructed somewhere near 1972, when I suppose not having lights in the closet, golden-hued countertops matched with dark dark dark cabinets, or a slightly slanted kitchen floor wasn't a big deal.

I suppose the hardest thing for me these last few weeks was to actually find the silver lining in staying here another year. I had really amped myself for leaving, and starting a new chapter in our lives, and I felt like I was being held back against my will. Then I'd get mad at myself because hey, it was a job, for crying out loud, which, right now, is a lot more than some people have. And yeah, there are days when I want to pull my hair out and punt more than one kid out the window (there is a reason those windows don't open all the way, and why Glencoe High School had none: the temptation is too great) but in the end, I adore my job, and I adore my kids.

So yeah. Staying here another year certaintly won't kill me, and who knows what lies in store for me, or us, in the upcoming year. I'm sure there will be more surprises.

Okay, if you made it this far, here is your reward:

This is what happens when you get two tired educators on a Friday night!

I cannot get enough of

Slumdog Millionaire!

I just watched this last night (every time we tried to see it in theaters one of us came down with the flu, so we just resorted to Netflix so we could watch it, plague-ridden or not) and I loved it. Rarely does a movie move me like this one did, and if you haven't seen it, please do!

Also, being the soundtrack junkie that I am, I am currently obsessing over the music in this film. Here are two of my favorites, although I thought it was all fantastic.

ssshhhhhh, I'm hunting an apawtment...

I apologize for not writing more often. I have an excuse other than laziness, however. I have become totally enthralled and addicted to apartment hunting, which I know doesn't sound horribly exciting, but considering the fact that I've had the flu not once, but twice (my immune system is no match for middle schoolers), it's about all I have the energy for.

There's just something about comparing floorplans, and amenities offered, and oh, ratings. I love ratings and reviews.

Okay. I know I sound like a loser with too much free time, but really, it's addicting. We've made a list of about 8 complexes (complexi?) in the Hillsboro/Beaverton/Tanasbourne area that we're going to scout out during Spring Break. If you guys (all 6 of you) know of any we should know of, or avoid, I am all ears.

I'm not saying I want a baby...

But shopping for other people's is a lot of fun. Especially when you can get stuff like this:





The shoes are my favorite. For now, I'll vicariously dress other people's children as I would my own. That'll definitely do for now.

Oops. Is it really February?

Well. It's been a while since I've posted, and I wish I had a decent excuse, like a really high-powered job, or kids, or moving to an exotic island and realizing there is no internet.

But, to be honest, my real reason is that I've just plain gotten lazy. I've had ideas, but then something happens, and I want to post about that, but there's this twang of guilt that I won't be posting about the former thing and well, it is a vicious cycle.

That's why I am going to try to cram everything that's happened in one post that (hopefully) won't bore all six of you to tears.

Which will be tough, since I haven't posted anything since we made gingerbread houses and they have gone the way of the dinosaurs and Pauly Shore's film career.

I think what I will do is a "yay" and "nay" post, because they seem to be the most energy efficient, and we're all about being green here in this household.

Yay to having Christmas Break start a few days early.

Nay to Corvallis apparently thinking we don't need the roads cleared and that we still can use horse-drawn sleighs to get around.

Yay to taking the chance to walk around Corvallis and realizing that it looks like an old timey Christmas card during the winter.

Nay to losing my debit card and driver's license in the stupid snow while sledding.

Yay to the amazingly nice lady at Wells Fargo who heard my story through my hysteria and let me have an emergency card.

Nay to realizing the emergency card only had 60 bucks on it because I couldn't provide a form of ID other than my OSU student identification card.

Yay for stores that have special sales for people like me who leave Christmas shopping for the 23rd.

Nay to dealing with students who have had three weeks of vacation and have somehow forgotten everything taught to them the 3 months prior.

Yay to watching Obama's inauguration and experiencing such a monumental moment with my students.
Nay to the other teacher in the room who promptly turned off the inauguration because he voted for the other guy.

Yay to also being able to attend Carl's wedding reception back in Hillsboro and see him be so incredibly happy.

Nay to realizing that yes, my friends are getting married, having children, and getting jobs and are, by most accounts, adults, and therefore (gasp!), so am I.

Yay to coming back home to Corvallis and settling back into our routine and being able to play with our new Christmas goodies. One of which was this amazing book of the classic Life portraits. Best part about it: it comes with actual prints that I can put into nifty frames!

(don't actually click on it to look inside...)

Nay to a newfound aversion to snow. It snowed this last weekend, and when I saw it peacefully falling outside my window, I moaned and said, "Ugh, more?"

Yay to the sun finally coming out again and being able to go outside again and not fear breaking an ankle. We went to Eugene for the day recently and went to 5th Street Market and Prince Pucklers, the best ice cream in the world. Even Obama has been there!


Nay to not actually being there when Obama stopped by.

Yay to at least being there with Evan, whom I have had the pleasure of spending three wonderful years with. He is an amazing person, and I hope to share many, many, more years with him. Especially if we can still stop by Prince Pucklers.

Nay to Corvallis School District for announcing that their budget will be utter crap for the next two years, which means I probably won't be working at Linus Pauling Middle School next year.

Yay to seeing this as an opportunity for us to move back up to the Portland area where we would be closer to our families and friends, along with the fact that Ev and I would probably have a better chance of finding a teaching gig, what with there being more than one district nearby. Also, a major plus: not walking out the front door and being instantly hit with the smell of 3,000 cows. No, really. It happens.yay! nay!

Nay to leaving all the kids that I have gotten to know. I really don't know how teachers can watch their students leave their grades year after year. I get all sad and teary just thinking about it. I've already promised to come visit them in high school.

Yay to most apartments in the Tanasbourne area allowing pets bigger than fish! And that have fur!

Nay to being allergic to most things with fur, resulting in our probably having to buy something with "doodle" in it.
well..they're not that bad...

Yay to having a fish meanwhile. And he is the coolest fish in all the land. His name is Osiris and he was my reward for surviving an uber cold that had taken over my sinuses and made me its minion for a week.

I call Ozzie for short.

Nay to having a cold so severe that when I tried to go to work, my coworkers took one look at me and said, "Sweetie, we don't mean this the wrong way, but you look horrible. Go home and sleep." And this was after I had taken two Dayquils. At least I got Ozzie out of the whole ordeal.

Yay to finally catching all 6 of you up on what I've been up to. I hope you guys haven't given up on me, and that you have not totally gone comatose after reading all this. I will try to be more consistent with updating this so it's not a manifesto every single time. Here's to February, more adventures, and hopefully more blog posts!