Big Blue Skies
I went to Chicago with one of my bff’s. She and I have created a list of U.S. cities that we want to visit and Chicago was the first one on it. It was a great trip! It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to hang out with just the two of us. It’s complicated for two main reasons:
- She lives in New Hampshire, and I live in California. We only get to see each other every 1–2 years. The pandemic really threw a wrench into that timeline, so we haven’t really seen much of each other.
- She has a son, and even though I love the kid, it’s not the same spending time with her when he’s around. Not only that, but before the little dude came along, anytime I would go see her, or she would come see me, we had to spend time with others and not get as much alone time.
Needless to say, we had so much fun together! Our room was on the 38th floor of the hotel, so we had a spectacular view of the city. We learned so much about Chicago and its roots, saw all the great architecture, and just had fun. I made sure to subtly flip off the Trump building whenever we passed by it, which was often. We also went swimming in Lake Michigan on our last full day, so, now I can say that I have swum in a Great Lake. The section of the city we were in (Miracle Mile) was super clean! This is surprising because most big cities can be pretty dirty. We lucked out with the weather, too. We only had one truly warm and humid day, and the rest of the days gave us beautiful weather. We want to hit up either Hawaii or Seattle next, but it probably won’t happen for a couple of years. One bucket list city has been knocked off the list, and I can’t wait to knock off the next one.
Fry the Fucker
Speaking of Trump, he’s ramping up his plans to run for president again. Every report I’ve read points to the fact that he’s trying to avoid any legal proceedings or convictions stemming from his role in the January 6th domestic terrorism incident. No, I’m not calling it an insurrection, I’m calling it what it was. The Jan. 6th committee has been hearing testimonies, as well as questioning people who had any sort of involvement or knowledge from this day. Obviously, the committee wants to be able to charge Trump for the role that he played. I hope they can, not just to stop him from running for president again, but because he needs to be held accountable for his actions and inactions. But, he’s a slimy and slippery guy who has gotten away with all sorts of illegal and morally corrupt activities in his life. I sure hope they can throw the book at him, and maybe some fecal matter, too.
Movin’ On Up
I was walking today and thinking about where I see myself in my career in the next five years, and it didn’t involve teaching. As much as I love being a teacher, it’s a tough job. I’m in charge of 30 or more kids for five periods a day, there’s homework to grade, lessons to plan, and everything else that comes along with the job. There is a lot of unseen work that teachers do, and that can be really draining. My goal is to transition out of the classroom within the next five years because I just don’t think I will have the energy to continue to do this job. Keeping this in mind, I have accepted a new position at work as this year’s AP Coordinator. I want to add more to my resume that will help me to either move around into a different role in my district, or take me out of teaching and the education field completely. Plus, I get paid extra for taking on this role. Luckily, my bff is the AP Coordinator at his site, so I know I can ask him for help and advice. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m just trying to angle myself now so I can move on in the future. Fingers crossed I don’t completely fuck this up!
Time Might Be Up
I have always loved the song “Simple Kind Of Life” by the band No Doubt. The song is now 22 years old, old enough to buy me a drink. The thing that has always struck me about this song are the lyrics. Even in the year 2000, when I was just 18, they resonated with me. There are times when the song will pop into my head for no apparent reason, sometimes it shows up on a Spotify playlist, but I always listen to it when I hear it. It’s true, all I ever wanted was a simple life with simple things; it doesn’t take much to make me happy, satisfied, and content. Most of what I dream for in my life are basic things that almost everyone I know already has. These thoughts of feeling like I’m behind in life, or left behind are topics that I want to start working on in therapy, which will be painful. In many ways, I feel like my time has run out on the things that I have always wanted. I try to tell myself that everything I want will happen or be achieved when it’s the right time, but maybe not? I don’t know.
