sara, darling.

1. i’m just lopping off the “morning” because, on any given monday, who has time to do this in the morning?  it’s a monday update, and you are GOING TO LIKE IT.

2. my mother is flying to costa rica today.  she is accompanying an acquaintance who is going to the land of surf, sun and, i’m assuming, many other scrumptious things to have gastric bypass surgery, and needs a nurse/friend (frurse?) to go with her.  my mother happened to have a valid passport and took the place of the lady who was going to go but had to drop out.  i can imagine the look that you are giving me right now when you think about the words “surgery” and “costa rica” together, because they are conjuring other words up like “back alley” and “is she crazy?”.  the surgery center actually is run by U.S. surgeons (the surgeon, for example, who is doing her surgery teaches at tulane university medical school) and is accredited by the same U.S. joint commission that governs all the U.S. hospitals.  maybe that will make you feel worse, i have no idea. 😉  but, it’s all resort-like, spas, medicine, rich people-esque.  despite these amenities, and paying for two round-trip tickets to costa rica, this surgery will still be about $13,000 less than having it in the states, where her insurance doesn’t cover it.

my mom found out last week she was going.

and she wasn’t going to bring a camera.  so i set her up, since my parents bought the exact same camera as i have.

2.  the thought of anything happening to my mother [knock on wood] makes me literally short of breath.  i’m an adult, and it literally gives me palpitations.  does that ever go away?

3.  in a consultation with one of my writing professors on my philosophy of teaching writing paper, she says “has anyone ever told you that there is a slight discrepancy in what you think, what you say, and what you write?”  we were talking about my anxiety i associate with writing, and how every paper i write i think will almost be the end of me, etc.   she is immensely good at what she does, and although we were just talking about my writing process, i’m pretty sure that sentence could sum a decent bit of an issue in my life in general:  consistency.  interesting to think about.  or in my case, OVERthink about.

4.  you know how the boy says ‘i love you’ using only three words?  cleaned.  my.  bathroom.  we don’t live together, folks, and he scrubbed it out, and didn’t even want a gold star or some kind of medal ceremony (although i offered).  it’s just how he is.  he definitely gets the last bite of dessert for awhile.

5.  i have my interview tomorrow for my teaching program at school.  long uninteresting details of the whole process i will spare you, but you have to pass this interview and a writing sample and an application before you can do the three semesters of education/student teaching which commences this summer before you can officially enter the program.  i wasn’t too worried about this, because i get the feeling that the interview is less of a competitive issue, and more they want to make sure you don’t say that you are going to barbecue high school freshman on the spit; nevertheless, when i overheard a bunch of my fellow students talking about how they prepared for it and were nervous, etc., i started to get nervous and thought perhaps i was missing something.

my writing professor informed me, after i mentioned this in a conversation, that i gauged the situation correctly, and that as long as i don’t say anything crazy, we’re all good.

she then mentioned that to allay any further fears, i just had to remember that i was being judged against elementary education program students, so i’d be fine.

she was kind of kidding 🙂  no offense to elementary ed folks, i actually think their job is way harder, which is why i’m sticking with the middle school/high school kids.

but it made me laugh.

6.  whenever i tell people what i’m in school for, i get the overwhelming response of “oh, i can totally see that.”  what does that mean, i wonder?  i mean, i’m complimented for sure.  but what about me says ‘teacher’?  for the record, i have had two people hesitate and comment that they would not have pegged me for that.  interesting.

7.  i refuse to buy teacher clothes [you know exactly what i’m talking about], but i am a fan of the tote bag, albeit not ones with “world’s greatest teacher” emblazoned on the side.  if anyone gets me anything like that, you go on THE LIST.

8.  my evneing in two words and a three-word hyphenate: mac-and-cheese, hemingway, writing.

9.  i’m wishing it were:  30rock, boy, sushi.  or, lottery, riches, vacation.  or…

10.  remind me to tell you about reading the craig daily press (the boy’s hometown newspaper) online the other evening.  that was the best entertainment we had all weekend.

11.  my sister-in-law julie has bacterial pneumonia.  she is so miserable, and it makes me so sad!

12.  i’m really enjoying my hemingway book.  i’ve been reading aloud to the boy.  i have a good read-aloud voice, i think.

and that’s all the news that really isn’t, my lovely friend.  or friendS, plural?  there is more than one of you, right?  of course.  i am famous among tens.

hysteric – yeah yeah yeah’s it’s blitz!

excitedly awaiting the new yeah yeah yeah’s album in two days.

this song…had gotten into me.  makes me want to immediately and inexplicably do so much.

does that ever happen to you?

realize my every dream, live in san francisco, dance around all limbs and elbows, fall deeply, go far far away and also immediately and gratefully see everything [and everyone] i have right in front of me so clearly.  oh, i love music.

you suddenly complete me…

am i making sense?  probably not.  just listen to the song instead, it’ll all make sense.

the boy, who sold his previous sign making/graphic design business which he had for five years [which he started himself] to move to colorado springs to be with me [how amazing is that?] and embark on a different direction with his design work [doing more work focused on design over sign-making, freelance graphic design, web design, etc. [in a city that does not have so much, say, taxidermist-based design work] has launched his new business’ website.

that he built and designed himself.

and i’m really really proud, of course.  [insert bracketed side note of complimentary words here].

as an aside, the name of the company comes stems from the stories he would tell me about how he would end up doing many things as part of his business that went far beyond his artistic talents.  like the times people would pay him to just find stuff and buy it online for them since they didn’t know how to use the internet.   after many of these stories, i told him that these things happened because he is a fixer – a general name used for people who solve problems for people, whether it be travelling, arrangements, etc — albeit usually illegally 😉 i told him that he was the solution-finder for things; it is his natural ability.

and so when he was thinking about what he does with graphic design, and how he works with so many disparate and varying clients who often have such different needs – and does it well, i might add – the idea of being a fixer seemed to fit the best.

and fixer design was born.

also, because he’s not just talented in graphic design, the boy will be showing his paintings at shuga’s starting may 15th for a few weeks.

did i mention that he paints as well?  got his degree in it?  i don’t have to use my fake-interested face, because his work is really good?

sigh.  swoon.

he’s all mine, you can’t have him.

but you should definitely check out his website here, and check out shuga’s in may!  and if you need any design work done, big or small, you know who to call.  and i’m really sorry that rhymed.

i digress.

in the immortal words of denise williams, let’s hear it for the boy.  let’s give the boy a haaaaaaaand.