Toil, toil...

"To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your work." -- Sister Mary Lauretta


There are moments in everyone's working life where they feel they are in the completely wrong job. I've had those days where it seems nothing goes right...the faculty seem impossible to please, students are trying to weasal their way out of a requirement, or they have added yet another duty to the list of the things I need to do every day.

But then, along comes a day or a week that makes it all worth it. For me, it was last week. A girl came in, upset that she would be unable to financially pay for school...I talked with her a while, found out more about her situation and gave her some advice. Lo and behold, she came back in the other day to say that I had helped her so much and that she woul be able to stay in school! I felt on cloud nine!

In addition, as students are getting ready to graduate, they come to see me regarding last minute graduation advice. One student told me that she could not participate in the graduation cermemony because she didn't think she would be able to afford the attire. Understanding what it's like to not have extra money for stuff like that, I called the Event office and they assured me that the student would not be without attire. Again, it felt good to be able to help this student find a solution. Now she will be able to participate in the ceremony and have her family cheer her on as she takes that walk across the stage. It is so frustrating to think that there may be other students facing the same issues, but they may not know that there are solutions out there.

Overall, I guess that is it for now...I'll share more later.

Until next time,
Karma

Happiness Is...

"Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times "


In college, my friend and I were each having a bad day, so we sat down together and wrote a list of all the things that were wrong at that moment...her feet really DID smell awful that day! Anyway, I thought I would do the opposite today...I am thinking on all the things, both big and little, that have the power to make me smile...

• The smell of clean laundry
• Sex
• Shaving my legs
• Rainbows
• The Colbert Report
• The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart
• My awesome performance review! :)
• Babies
• Professor T! she's a hoot!
• Tutoring
• Andy Barker, P.I.
• N.P.H. (Neil Patrick Harris...he's awesome as Barney)
• Movie quotes (like, "my dirty pee pants..." from Talladega Nights)
• Yogurt, fruit & Granola parfait from Starbuck's
• Chai lattes
• Hawaiian sunsets
• IM's with friends
• Holding hands
• Feel of a brand new book
• Dinner with friends
• DnD
• Pluto (the Disney dog)
• Pluto (formerly known as a "planet")
• My neice being true to her unique identity
• Real butter
• Chocolate Mousse
• Squirrels frolicking
• Men in Tights
• Polar Bears cubs
• Swimming

this will be an ongoing list that I will add things to as the need arises....

Until next time,
Karma

A life more ordinary...

"Never get so fascinated by the extraordinary that you forget the ordinary." -- Magdalen Nabb, author

Ok, so I'm back after a very long hiatus from writing in my Blog. I can't really explain why I haven't been sharing here. So many excuses...ugh! I'm tired of excuses. I think that was simply it, I was tired. I felt that I'd been going down this negative path with the Blog, with my feelings in general. The break really helped. In the last year, I've done a lot to change my outlook and recognize what I can do to make my life better.

The number one thing, I started volunteering again. For so long, I'd felt terrible about not giving something back. Yes, there is always donating money, but that is just not enough for me. I have so much free time, that I felt like I needed to do more. Last summer I took the initiative and found a local adult literacy program...since I'd missed their training, they asked me to volunteer as a math tutor for a 5th grader. That was awesome. She was a great kid!! I really enjoyed working with her...but once the adult literacy training came around, I felt like I had to move on. Adult Literacy is where my heart is!!

So in February, I completed my adult literacy training and have now started meeting w/ my learner. I'm so humbled by her life experience. I cannot possibly do her justice in this measly blog, she's lived through civil wars in her own country...watched people die around her...she was never allowed to go to school or be educated. Yet, she has this amazing smile and positive energy that spreads joy! She is so eager to read and write that I look forward to every meeting with her!

This goes to my quote at the top...enjoying the ordinary. I went to school for so long, but somewhere along the way, I forgot the joy in simply learning! The excitement one gets when a new concept is understood...or a new milestone is reached. I've taken the ability to read and write for granted and now I have the opportunity to experience the joy through H's eyes. I feeled truly humbled and honored to be able to spend time with this program.

As for other parts of my life

I've been, once again, working on being more active. Since D&P broke up, I've really made an effort to be there for D. This has meant more hiking and such. Basically it has meant getting out more in general...dinner parties, bar nights, poker, etc... It's actually been good to have the old D back, the way he was when we were just out of college. We had such a great time hanging out back then. The last few years have been such a struggle...it's been so much drama and angst. Probably stemming from the fact that we were both unhappy with ourselves...D and I would argue and it always left me feeling a little hollow and hurt! I'm sure I've hurt him over the years too. It's nice to have my friend back. Now, once he is in another relationship, or back w/ P, I may lose him again...but for now, my "big brother" is back!

All in all, I feel pretty happy right now....life is full of ups and downs and this high may not last long (perhaps I should find some good drugs?? lol ) I know that I need to take one day at a time and enjoy my life as it happens.

Until next time,

Karma