Simple Woman's Rainy Day Book

FOR TODAY

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Outside my window...

Students are students are studying in the Craft Room. In groups of 4, 3, 2 and by themselves. The room is full and all the tables have students at them. It's nice to see life in the Student Center again.
I am thinking...

About how nice it would be to be at home or in a coffee shop reading a book on this raining morning. The weather is changing and it's cooler so it'd be nice to get all bundled up with a good book.
I am thankful for...

Being inside and not on the road. San Antonio drivers are bad to begin with but even worse when it rains. I'm always afraid of getting in accidents when the weather gets like this.
From the learning rooms...(if this applies)

Students are studying. We have mandatory study hall for our Athletes and most of them just pretend to study but some might actually study since we have seen their grades improve since we started.
From the kitchen...

Or the cafeteria...we see students coming out with food, lots of energy drinks and hot chocolate. The coffee here is pretty weak but energy drinks are very popular. I just want to scream at the students "they're horrible for you!"
I am wearing...

A brown long sleeve dress and closed toe shoes. It's wet outside so I didn't want to have anything dragging on the ground but I also didn't want my toes to get cold. I'm also wearing an entirely too thin khaki jacket that is not keeping me warm at all.
I am creating...

A mess on my desk. I have paperwork that is completed it just needs to be filed. I also have business cards spilling everywhere and too many bottles of hand sanitizer.
I am going...

To pick up academic regalia eventually today, when it stops raining for tomorrows PTK inductions. Academic Regalia is heavy and may not all fit in my little little car.
I am reading...

"A Framework for Evaluating the Success of Early Academic Outreach Programs" and "The Texas Education Code" when I get bored with one I move back over to the other, cause both are long and wordy and don't hold my attention for long. For fun at home I'm reading "The Romantic Movement" and "Status Anxiety" by Alain de Botton both are wonderful.
I am hoping...

To go Karaoke-ing tonight after class cause I kinda want to sing to relieve some of this stress. I'm also hoping class goes by quickly tonight and it doesn't rain while I'm driving to and from Karaoke.
I am hearing...

Sonya's music through her earphones- I think it's R&B. I hear students studying- which means they probably aren't studying but chatting instead. I also hear ping-pong balls bouncing outside my door because we moved the ping-pong tables closer.
Around the house/office...

Carla is speaking to whoever will listen and it's hard to tell if she needs a response or not, Carrie and Trish are talking about budget while Sonya, Aaron and myself are in our own worlds.
One of my favorite things...

Is feeling accomplished enough at my desk to take a quick break to write a blog post. I've done almost half of my Tuesday To-Do List so I feel confident to take intermittent breaks.
A few plans for the rest of the week:

PTK Induction Wednesday Night, Thursday Night Music Club and Outdoor movies Friday Night- the weekend studying. I'll probably throw a little guitar playing in there somewhere and possibly sleep and food.
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...(add your picture here)

This is a picture of my sister and two of her husbands friends. Last Friday night after having dinner with her husband. Two of her husband's friends invited her out for a couple of drinks. Her husband didn't mind and let her go out with them (not that she needed permission but you get the idea). I thought it was incredibly cool that he didn't insist on going with her. I ended up going with her, but he just stayed home that night. They're still technically newlyweds and yet they seem so comfortable and set in their ways that they can go out with friends independently and don't always have to be together. I really like that.

xkcd.com

I'm kinda addicted to xkcd.com right now and this comment totally reminded me of my brother-in-law

Back to school...

Every fall while in undergrad I loved that second Sunday in August. I loved taking 1604 past Randolph, then I-10 East past Woman Hollering Creek and Marion where the Ware pare live. I loved taking the back road down HW 90 to get to campus 3 ½ minutes faster than taking the 46 exit. I loved moving back into the dorms at TLU and getting everything set up. I loved trekking to Hein for that first meal of the semester and I loved walking to chapel and the auditorium for opening convocations. That first step onto TLU for the fall semester always held such excitement and potential for greatness.

Monday I drove to UTSA- took the frustrating 40 minute drive (due to traffic) down I-10West from Downtown. I turned onto UTSA Blvd past Costco, past Valero and staked out the parking spaces in the main lot. I walked the mile from the parking lot to the Starbucks through the concrete cement unattractive corridors and hot outside of the non-green UTSA campus. From Starbucks I walked another ¼ mile to my classroom probably a mile and a half from where I actually parked. There was no joy, no potential for greatness, just the unattractive and non-green campus of UTSA. I didn’t get that great “welcome home” feeling like I’d received at TLU.

While SAC started school last week and most of UTSA did as well, I was one of the lucky ones whose class did not start till this week. UTSA started on Wednesday last week and my classes are Monday-Tuesday- score me! Anyways so I took the summer off from grad school and loved it. It was so nice to have my Monday and Tuesday nights back and I didn’t miss the boring reading or paper writing or anything. So needless to say I was kinda not looking forward to going back to school. The two classes I was taking also sounded really boring Multicultural Issues in Higher Education and Program Planning and Evaluation. “Multicultural? I totally took a class just like that last year” and “I’m a freakin’ activities coordinator, why the hell do I need Program Planning?”. These were my attitudes. Luckily I was super pleasantly surprised. My Multicultural class should be much better than the last one and actually have to do with Student Affairs in Higher Ed- yay! And my Program Planning class has all my friends in it and my favorite Professor in my department, so it too should at least be entertaining. The syllabuses look totally doable, even though this year my work load has tripled for the fall and I will be traveling every weekend in October, and not as time consuming as last year. I’m super excited about my classes and getting to see my friends every week.

I’m excited about school but wish UTSA was prettier, friendlier and smaller.

Dating by the stars...part 2

I’ve never dated a Virgo but after reading about their personality maybe I should. Virgos are supposed to be modest, reliable, practical, analytical, worriers, critical and conservative. Why haven’t I dated one of these before? Interesting. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for Virgos cause it seems like I could totally get along with that type of personality.

Libras are interesting. I’ve only dated one Libra before and he totally matched the easygoing, idealistic, charming, flirtatious, indecisive and gullible characteristics one associates with Libras. What initially attracted me to this sign was the easygoing charm he had. I later found easygoing to be laziness and his charm fleeting. He’s an okay guy and I’m sure perfect for someone but for a strong and driven Aries he just was not the one.

Scorpios are one sexy sign in my opinion. These men are forceful, direct, exciting, passionate, obsessive, emotional, and a little secretive. I’ve dated a couple Scorpios and they were great. They were all highly passionate and driven people. I saw a lot of similar traits between us and I think we were both attracted to the fact that we were both hard workers. But in the end that became the problem we were such work-o-holics that we forgot to make time for one another. But we’re still kinda friends even now.

I off and on date a Sagittarius. A freewheeling, fun-loving, easy-going, lazy, irresponsible, careless and reckless. Need I say more? For an A-typical Aries like myself that just does not mesh. This guy is great on the 3 days a year this Aries likes to let her hair down, but the rest of the time they can just be annoying. They don’t have schedules they don’t think practically and are content to just let things happen. I can’t imagine myself ever getting serious with a Sagittarius.

I have had several long-term relationships with Capricorns and was even engaged to one for a period of time when I was in college. Capricorns are great guys they’re patient, kind, practical, ambitious, a little pessimistic, disciplined and sometimes hold grudges. But the two I dated are/were (depending on my mood) just great, great guys. They were both very patient and when dealing with a moody Aries it is definitely needed. And they all had some ambition even if it leads them into bad fields. They are hard workers and can look at things practically. The reason these relationships fell apart was totally me- their patience sometimes seemed like they were just waiting forever- like they weren’t moving forward but in actuality they were just waiting for me to move the relationship forward.

I’ve also had two long-ish relationships with Aquarius’s and had the same problem with both. Their personalities are great and with both we started out as friends first. They are friendly, honest, loyal, unpredictable, creative, intellectual and sometimes unemotional. As friends these guys were great and we could talk for hours and hours on the phone I remember losing lots of sleep in high school talking to these boys. Unfortunately they did not live up to the “loyal” trait of their sign and both strayed causing our relationships to end. This leads me to tend to stay away from Aquarius’s now.

The last Fire and Water sign pairing of Pisces with Aries has also been disastrous. Fire and water don’t mix so I should have known better. All the Pisces I’ve known, male and female, have been a lot alike. They are secretive, blunt, critical, lost, loners, dreamers, intuitive and sympathetic. I’ve only dated on Pisces but having a once best friend a Pisces has also probably turned me off them for a while. They hate being judged but are totally judgmental. They were constantly trying to change me even though the Aries is the most stubborn sign. They are also completely unappreciative. The original mystery that attracts and Aries to a Pisces is totally lost when the Pisces refuses to stand up for the Aries like they’ll do for the Pisces.

The last sign I’ve dated is another Aries. They are just the male version of me and a whole lot of fun. We both had so much energy and passion for things that it was almost unbearable to spend time with anyone else. We hated to be apart and had to keep ourselves seriously distracted to keep from going crazy. I would definitely date another Aries because they are just too much fun and just a totally great match.

Overall I don’t date solely based on someone’s sign. But I definitely see the coincidences based on them and the similarities between them.

Dating by the stars...part 1

I’m an Aries. Artistic, energetic, impulsive, passionate, independent, outgoing, direct, selfish, procrastinator, free, impatient and adventurous- to name a few. I possess quiet a few of these traits both good and bad. And sometimes I’m sure I’m lots of them at once. I’ve dated all the different signs in the zodiac (but one-Virgo) and I’m starting to think there’s kinda a lot to be said for dating by the stars. I’ve dated more Leos and Capricorns than all the other signs and some totally personified their sign depending on their location to the center of that signs cycle. It’s really interesting…at least to me. But it’s easier to go in order.

I’ve only dated one Taurus and good lord remind me not to do it again. Half of my family members are Taurus so that should have been a clue to stay away. I fight with my family all the time so why did I think I wouldn’t fight with the Taurus. Tauruses are known for being possessive and Aries are known for wanting to be free. Tauruses are also unchanging and don’t compromise well at all. When a Taurus makes up his mind, their mind is made and that can be frustrating to live with. The best part about the relationship was that each of us was really passionate about similar things and so conversations were great and watching movies together always good but the fun stopped there.

Geminis- the twins. Their name is so fitting because it often felt like they were two different people with entirely different personalities. I’ve only dated one of these as well and I use the term date very, very loosely because he could never sit still long enough to take it seriously. Geminis are huge flirts, with everyone. The great thing about Geminis is that they’re talented at many, many things. They can be artistic and creative totally inspiring that part of the Aries but they also are a tad ADD and often move on to something new without finishing what they’ve started. The problem with my Gemini was timing I think- today we are great friends and he is one of my best guy friends and totally dependable, sweet and charming and if we didn’t have our history I would totally consider dating him again but I think it’s best for us to just be friends. I wouldn’t be apposed to dating another Gemini in the future just because I think if you catch them at the right time they could be great.

Every once in a while you come across a sign that you totally instantly connect with and want to spend tons of time with. All the zodiac charts tell me to stay away from this sign cause their water and I’m fire but I just couldn’t get enough of the Cancer I met last spring. Cancers are strong, passionate, nurturing, protective, loyal and creative. They have a tough outside and a delicate side hidden away. The crabs of the zodiac world actually do better when in a pair and my one amazing like 13 hours with one makes me believe it. I met the guy in a bar and ended up staying up all night and most of the next morning with one talking about all the things we had in common and talking about music, movies and books. I’m totally intrigued and want to meet another one just to find out if they’re all like this. The reason this guy was only around for 13 hours (and a week full of phone calls and emails) is because he moved far away, out of the country actually but I still secretly hope when he returns I’ll get another 13 hours

Leo the lions. I’ve dated so many of these guys and I don’t know why I think they’ll be different, one day I’ll learn I guess. But there is not room enough in any relationship for the ego of two fire signs, especially when one of them is a Leo. Leos make excellent leaders or artists or something because they are so confident and self-assured. They are incredibly passionate like most fire signs but because both the Leo and the Aries want to be the center of attention and the one receiving the affection the relationship can become exhausting and fights eventually break out when one side wont compromise. I think the reason I keep coming back to Leos is because their confidence makes them extremely attractive and they are also very competitive to the point to where its like a challenge for them to get you to stay with them. They’ll spoil you rotten but Aries’ love can’t be bought.

Dating by the Stars and other revelations to be continued…

There are just some songs...

Make New Friends but Keep the Old

In the last year a lot of people from the past have been popping back into my life. And mostly they've been people from High School. Yes we normally find each other on Facebook, but sometimes fate intervenes and reconnects us in other ways. (And yes they are all guys)

A little over 2 years ago when I first started working at SAC that summer we hired someone in the office to work part-time that had gone to ISA. I didn't know him back in high school but he had apparently known who I was. He's worked in our office ever since and we've become really good friends. He was a couple of grades below me in High School so I pretty much understood why we weren't friends back in school but now I'm so glad we are. We have lots of fun together and have some fun things in common.

A year ago 2 guy friends from high school came into my life from seemingly out of the blue. We caught up on Facebook for a while and then started hanging out. I was getting ready to start UTSA and one of the guys was too so we started hanging out more at school and outside of school. What was funny for me was that in High School I wasn't really friends with them at all, I went to a tiny school so I knew them, but we'd never hung out before. We kinda talked about it but kinda avoided the subject at the same time, but for about 6ish months I hung out with at least one of the guys on a pretty much weekly basis.

Then last Christmas another random guy from high school who I knew a little better popped back into my life. We started chatting on Facebook too and eventually started hanging out. When we hung out it was mostly at bars or involved alcohol in some way and it kinda darkened up my Christmas break. Not in a bad way, but we ended u enjoying each others company by drinking and just being really sarcastic about things. We're much more sporadic friends and maybe hang out every 3ish months or so.

Late this spring in April I started going to these Thursday Night Music Club events out in New Braunfels with my family. I started playing guitar and singing more. One night this woman came up to me after I played and asked if I'd even be formally trained to sing and I explained that I had been a musical theatre major in high school and found out that I had been in class with her son. Her son and I had been friends in high school and knew all the same people, but had lost touch over the years. She gave me his number and told me I just had to call him. I eventually did and we played phone tag for a couple of months before finally getting to see him last week. We've only hung out twice now in 6 years and already it has been just a blast. He makes me laugh and we have fun and it's so easy to remember why we were friends all those years ago. Unlike the others we actually were friends before.

I try to keep touch with all the guys kinda regularly or irregularly, but it's hard. The first and last are easy cause one I see daily at work and the other one is still new, but the middle guys I actually have to make an effort to see. I totally enjoy keeping in touch with people from the past I kinda think it helps ground me and it definitely helps me remember who I am and who I was in high school. I just think its interesting how it happens, I was on Facebook years before the middle guys ever made the choice to contact me and the last guy's mom has known my birthmom for years, but she's only just now getting more involved with our family's stuff.

I wonder what old friends will return this year.