Last Week in Philly

This past week was my last week in Philadelphia! I had a lot to do such as, say goodbye to friends, work my 40 hours, train my replacement (Cathie), pack, and tie up loose odds and ends. One hilarious fact about my replacement is that a year and a half ago when Colin was working in Philly, his one co-worker had asked him what Temp Agency I had gone through to get my job. (I was only supposed to be there for a month, but they ended up hiring me so it's definitely a success story!) I gave Colin the information to give to his co-worker. Fast forward a year and a half....When I told my company I was leaving, they decided to go through the Temp Agency again. Here, they sent over Colin's previous Co-worker! She had been working for them this whole time and was looking for something a bit more permanent! 

On Tuesday, my managers took Cathie and me out to lunch at a nice Italian restaurant in South Philly. It was an "Early Admin Day" and "Thank you" lunch for me, and a "Welcome" lunch for her. That evening, I had the girls over for Girls Night. We ordered takeout from Tampopo, my go-to restaurant in West Philly when I didn't feel like cooking. It was nice having the ladies over one last time and being our silly selves. Plans are already in the works for a reunion with some of them. Yes, I know Philly is only 2.5 hours away, but it'll be strange not getting together every few weeks or for impromptu happy hours!

On Wednesday, it was Administrative Professionals Day! My company gave all of us Admins (even Cathie) a travel mug and Starbucks gift card. After work, Nicole and I went to Tria Wine Room in University City one last time. 

On Thursday, it was "Take Your Kids to Work Day." My co-worker Shaheed brought in his daughters, ages 4 and 6, for half a day. He gave them plans to highlight and I gave them a "report" that I really needed help with. They highlighted the bold headings, tabbed every page, and wrote the first word of each page on the labels. I also printed some tracing and sight word worksheets for them when they finished the report. It was so fun having the little ones at the office and made me excited to be around little ones all the time when I start teaching! That night, after such a big day at work, I was far too exhausted to do any packing and went to bed early!

On Friday, I tied up some loose ends at work and reiterated some of the more important duties with Cathie. She actually brought me a gift for helping her all week - a hot pink planner (she had one and I kept telling her how much I loved it all week), a gourmet cupcake with peanut butter icing (she noticed that I eat a lot of junk food at work, including donuts and peanut butter cups. woops), and a gift card for Colin and me and to go out to dinner in DC. She wrote a lovely card saying that none of this would have happened if Colin and I hadn't come into her life. It was such a sweet gesture and made me feel really good.

I went out to lunch and happy hour with some co-workers. My mom even drove in just in time for happy hour to meet all my friends! We had a great time, but were in bed before midnight because we still had a lot of packing to do the next morning!

Colin arrived Saturday morning around 10:30, but unfortunately my bedroom was still in a pretty messy state. But we rallied together, threw things in boxes, got everything in the van and cars, and cleaned up for the new tenant. Colin and I were back in Arlington by 5:30 and moving everything in was fairly easy.

I remember when Colin and I first started dating and he had said to me "How would feel about moving down here?" Well babe, it only took 4 years, but I couldn't be more excited about this new chapter of our lives!

Vomit Writing

Okay, I know it's kind of a gross title, but I'll explain in a minute. I love writing. Clearly, or I probably wouldn't have a blog. I love creating stories. I love to journal about my own real stories. I love exaggerating real stories. When I was about 8 years old, I asked Santa for a type writer because I wanted to type my stories so badly and I knew that a computer would be too expensive...for Santa to bring me.... (I was a smart girl haha). I got something in the middle...a word processor with a handle that I would carry around everywhere in case I was inspired to write a story or a play. I loved hitting the print button and hearing the sound of the typebars hitting the paper. As I got older, the less and less I wrote. When I was younger I wasn't exhausted after an 8 hour work day and didn't get lost on facebook or pinterest for hours at a time. When I was studying abroad, I told myself  "I'm going to write a book or a play about this experience." And I told myself the same exact thing when I lived in Prague and again in Korea. I have a bunch of random paragraphs or sentences written...ideas that just hit me or interesting things that I saw. But I've never done anything with those chicken scratch pieces of paper. 

The other day when I was at work, I was catching up on some blogs (oops) and came across this post, by Rachel at Elephantine, that really hit home for me. Every time I get inspired and start feeling like it's "different this time," it ends up going nowhere. I also liked the fact that she hand writes on legal pads. When I write, I really like using the computer. I'm a fast typist and I love having the Internet handy to do research and use the thesaurus (my best friend when writing!) But after staring at a computer for 8 or 9 hours a day at work, sometimes the last thing I want to do is come home and sit at a computer again. And when I do, I admittedly get lost on facebook, pinterest, hulu and beautiful blogs and before I know it, it's bed time, but my mind is wired. Then, I read her update on her novel here. It got me thinking that maybe hand writing is just what I need to do. It doesn't have to make sense right away, facts don't have to be correct just yet, and simple words can do for now. But the point is to actually write and get those ideas down on paper. Vomit Writing. No filter. Just write...and don't stop. Then, if...when I finish, the editing process can be done on the computer. But at least by that time I will already be able to hold my legal pads filled with my writing.

After work that day, I bought two legal pads, poured a glass of wine after dinner, and started writing. I did do some computer stuff, but then wrote a bit before bed again. It felt very therapeutic and helped me settle down for bed. I do think my next goal will be to give myself a deadline, but for now, I love sitting down, writing, and seeing what comes out of me.

But if anyone wants to buy me this amazing USB Typewriter, I will definitely NOT object! :)

Dance Pants

My friends have a fake band. They have had this band for seven years. They are called The Push. A few years ago they decided to start making Christmas videos. This was their very first Christmas Video, It was an instant hit among our friends, random people on Facebook, and even my family. Now every year, we eagerly countdown the days until The Push releases their next Christmas Video. After this video in 2011, I was unsure if they were going to be able to top it for Christmas 2012.

But they did.

And now, they aren't just a fake band. They are a real band. And I love them. My mom loves them. Scranton, PA loves them. We are trying to get Ellen to love them.

In the beginning of January, they had their first album release party. (The album entitled "Greatest Hits: Volume One." Get it?) There was a full band, Tim and Jim played instruments (I honestly had thought this entire time they fake played - but they actually know how to play instruments!), there were intense costumes, bad/awesome jokes, and gimmicks galore. And there was dancing. Lots of dancing. They played a few cover songs, but mostly songs they had written over the course of SEVEN years. And they were amazing. And it was awesome. And we danced. 

This past weekend I had the pleasure of seeing them perform again: confidence up, more bad/awesome jokes, and better ridiculous costumes. They are fun and quirky and clever and they are almost at 100,000 views on youtube! I hope that others will make The Push a part of their Christmas tradition, that someday we will see them on Ellen, and that you will get your Dance Pants on people!

"I'm with the band!!"

"Forget your worries and just hurry. Get your dance pants on!"

You've Just Been Pep Talked

"You were made to be awesome. Pass this video along and let's get the whole world to dance!"

Four Years....and Counting

Four years ago today, I met my honey in Prague. To be more specific, we saw each other for the first time 4 years and a few weeks ago. I was finishing up my final paper for the Teaching English as a Foreign Language Course at the Caledonian School, when a gentleman shuffled into the computer lab. We locked eyes for a few seconds and then we looked away. Did I stare too long? Did he really stare at me, too, or did I just imagine it? He sat two computers down from me and I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. I thought for sure I saw him peeking at me, too, but I couldn't be sure. A few minutes later he said, "Excuse me. Does anyone have a pencil?" A pencil folks. That's how he got me. I never reached for a pencil so fast before in my life. We made small talk about the TEFL course which he had passed a few months before. He returned my pencil, wished me luck with the course, and left the building. We hadn't even exchanged names. 

A few weeks later over Easter weekend, my friends Jessica and Kendra came to visit. They were on Spring Break from Barcelona and Prague was their first stop. I hadn't really done much exploring at this point because I had spent so much  time in the TEFL course, so the three of us explored the city together that weekend. It was the most wonderful, beautiful, fun day. We had a photo shoot in front of the John Lennon Wall, walked around the castle, took the funicular up Petrin Hill, got lost in the mirror maze, wandered the cobblestone streets, drank delicious Czech beer at the beer garden, went to the sex museum, ate goulash and dumplings, and danced all night at the most ridiculous Euro club in all of Prague. It was the day I fell in love with Prague.

When we went to the sleazy Euro club, we had to walk down one level, through a doorway that said "Welcome to the Gates of Hell," and then down another level to a bar that felt like a cave. A group of boys started talking to us and the one looked extremely familiar. Finally he said, "I think we met before. I borrowed your pencil." It felt like fate. We talked and danced all night. And by all night, I mean all night and the girls and I missed getting up early to go to the Castle for Obama's speech! The girls and I still attempted to go, but were late, got stuck in a huge crowd, couldn't see anything, and only caught the end of his speech. Regardless, it was awesome to be around such excitement. My lovely profile picture was taken that day: me holding an American flag and a Czech flag and LOVING LIFE! Sidenote: Yes I had to wear the same shirt two days in a row. No I am not ashamed.

A week later, I was leaving the school and I ran into Colin. Sidenote: Jessica had tried to tell me that his name was Dillon. Thank goodness I didn't listen to her! (Later, Colin told me he went to the school everyday that week hoping to run into me.) I remember feeling kind of embarrassed because I wasn't really sure if he liked me or not. He stopped me and asked if I wanted to hang out sometime. A few days later we went to the beer garden and after that...never really stopped hanging out. We went on our first official date at La Pizzeria Romantica (good one Colin), went dancing every weekend, soccer games, music festivals, ate goulash dinners and had picnics in parks. We explored Prague together, went on day trips, and left love notes for each other in our teacher mailboxes. I knew I had fallen for him when we went to the grocery store together and we were still having such a fun time...together...in a grocery store. I couldn't sleep that night because I kept thinking about him and around 6:00 am finally realized it was love....just like Dr. Seuss said.

When I moved to Prague, a relationship was the last thing on my mind. I had gone to kind of find myself. I passed the TEFL course, made an amazing group of friends, found a great apartment, and got a great job. I was already on cloud 9. Then, I ended up meeting someone who made life even better. I will never stop believing that the way we met was fate. Everything seemed to fall in place just like I had always imagined and hoped it would. Two recent college grads who wanted an adventure and ended up finding each other.

I'm a DC Teaching Fellow!!

I am finally able to tell the world about the exciting new step in my life...I'm going to be a teacher! A real life, certified teacher who works in America's public schools. (Provided I pass my training of course.) I knew I needed a change in my life and I just kept going back to the idea of teaching. I really missed being in the classroom and my little kiddies in Korea. I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of actually being a teacher. Not just someone who used to teach EFL once upon a time. I finally told myself, Just DO it. Apply to grad schools, get certified, and get in the classroom. As I was looking for programs that would help me to get certified and my masters at the same time, I was frustrated by the fact that I wouldn't be in the classroom for another year or two, provided I found a job. A friend had mentioned the Teaching Fellows program to me a while back and I had dismissed it, as I didn't think the program was right for me. But then it hit me that this really WAS the perfect program for me. Not only is it an extremely rigorous training program to ensure that you are a highly effective teacher in an inner city school, but I could be in the classroom by the start of the upcoming school year. They also have programs all over the United States, including Washington DC. Colin and I have wanted to live in the same city again, but it was a bit scary to just kind of move on a whim, or move for a job that I may not be entirely into. I told myself: Just apply to the program in DC and SEE WHAT HAPPENS! It took me a while to complete my application, spruce up my resume, and answer the  difficult essay questions. But I was able to get my application in by their first deadline. I also registered to take the Praxis I. A week after I submitted my application, I received this email:

I was super excited to get this email, but this was also the week that the tragedy at Sandy Hook occurred. It did make me question whether teaching was the route I wanted to take or not. Sandy Hook changed America and it's going to continue to change the way schools are run. I felt so sad and scared for so many reasons. The Sandy Hook tragedy broke my heart. But I just kept thinking, those little kiddies need me! They need to be educated effectively and they need to feel safe when they're at school. For some of the kids I'd be teaching, school may be the only place they feel safe. I had to do this.

A few days later I had a 20 minute phone interview. It was TOUGH. The woman asked a lot of situational questions that I cannot believe could potentially happen in the classroom. I wasn't really sure how I did, but just hoped for the best. A week later I received this email:

Wahoo! I couldn't believe it! The following week, I took and passed the Praxis I. A few weeks after that, I traveled to DC to do a 5 minute lesson, a 20 minute in person interview, then retaught my lesson incorporating feedback that was given to me. The whole process took about 4 hours as you had to be a "student" for the other interviewees. It was actually kind of fun and I felt really confident about my lesson. I stumbled a bit in my reteach, but was still able to incorporate their feedback. I realized that if I wasn't accepted into the program, I was going to be pretty devastated. I really really wanted it. But I also knew I did the best I could do and the other interviewees did their best, too. Tough competition. We were told it would take 3 weeks for an answer, which just felt like forever. I thought about it everyday and would get a sick pit in my stomach if I thought about not getting accepted. I knew it would just mean I would take another route to be a teacher, but Fellows just seemed so perfect for me.

A week and a half after my interview, I was on gmail and literally watched the email show up in my inbox.

Holy Guacamole folks! I DID IT! Out of all the applicants, I was a part of the 20% who are accepted! I am going to be a Teacher! I quickly accepted and sent in my commitment form.

Three days later I had to take my Praxis II for Elementary Education. I was so nervous because most people don't pass the first time they take it. At the end of the test, my score popped up on the computer screen...a PASSING score!! I just couldn't believe it.

The application process wasn't easy to say the least, but it felt easy in the sense that everything fell into place so perfectly for me. It makes me feel as though this is what I am supposed to be doing with my life and the path I should be headed on. It feels pretty darn good :)

 It's going to be a lot of hard work, but I'm so excited to start. I'll train during the summer, interview for jobs within the DC public school system, start teaching, then continue to take classes during the school year toward my Certification. This also, of course, means I'll be moving to DC in a month. I'm sad to leave Philly, but also thrilled to explore a new city and be with my honey! I sure hope the kids in DC are ready for me cause I am ready for them!!