I stepped on a slug barefoot.

So Oregon has been wonderful but also provided me with a little dilemma. I was chatting with a family friend on the 4th of July and he is the principal of a Junior High about an hour west of Portland. He totally wants me to interview. Well, I gave him all of my information (evals, resume, letters of rec) but then I chickened out for the interview. I don't want to live in Oregon, I really don't. I have Marci and Collette visiting in August and September, millions of friends getting married, an awesome place to live and I love my roommates. I was just afraid that they would offer me a job on the spot (which it kind of sounds like the way Mario was talking) and that would be so tempting to take. It would be an awesome position to teach geography IN SPANISH. So I just don't know what to do, but I decided that I need to get back to Salt Lake, let my head clear a little bit (because it's hard to think clearly in my crazy house). See if any thing starts opening up at the beginning of August. It's just ironic that it's usually super-hard to find a job in Oregon without a masters and there's supposedly a great shortage of teachers in Utah but my job lead is in Oregon and I have nada in Utah.

Well, some good things about Oregon is that I get to grill all the time. I forgot how much I LOVE my dad's barbeques. The weather is fabo, being with the family is good and I've been spending some quality time with both parents. This week, however, has been a bit of challenge because they are both gone at girl's camp and I am home with the 2 youngest brothers and my little sister. Riley has been smoking weed every day, which my parents are sort of aware of what he's been doing, but I don't think they realize how bad of a problem it is. And Joel's had a rough week, one of his close friends drowned in the Sandy river. Being the mother figure is difficult, I've been carting them all over town, making sure dinner is ready and trying to keep the house clean...what a job. It hasn't left much time for friends but tonight I got a much needed break by hanging out with my friend Tammy. We got some curry and then went to her house and watched the office and played cards. My friends definitely keep me sane, that's for sure.

Oh, and I think having someone pump gas for you is wierd. I missed it while I was in Utah, but now that I'm here it just doesn't feel right.

And also, I love Fonzie.

Oregon

So, I am ready to pay home a little visit!!! I will leave Thursday for Oregon and stay there for almost a month! I am excited to see some Oregon friends, go camping with the family, shop without sales tax and have someone else pump my gas. Exciting stuff huh?

People Who Need People

Yesterday I got an email from an old mission buddy who lives in Buenos Aires. We entered the field at the same time and so when we would run into each other we would chat about our progress and our crazy trainers and so on. It totally made my day because he just wrote the nicest things to me. It's funny because I realized that I am more sentimental than I thought. I have gotten to talk to a few "long lost" friends lately who have expressed that they appreciated having me in their lives...wow, it's just nice to know that these guys meant so much to me and that I also meant something to them. Okay, this is getting kind of mushy...I'm going to go watch So You Think You Can Dance.

Mexico

I really want to go to Mexico, but the ticket to Dallas was just too expensive. I am going crazy not working. You would think I would like not having to do anything, but I don't really enjoy it. I would love to be interviewing places and finding a job for fall, but so far, the only openings in GSD are for Elementary.

ROCK BAND Makes Everything Better!

Yesterday I was kind of bummed out for reasons that I cannot say. Reasons that I choose not to say because this blog is all about things that make me smile and not things that make me frown. But at the height of my bummed-out-ness while I was venting to Ms. Peck in the hallway I heard the sweet strains of ROCK BAND wafting out of her classroom. I entered to find not 1 but 2 tv's set up in opposite corners of the room, each with the full set-up. I quickly grabbed the base and started playing some song I've never heard of. The song just kept going and going. I kept looking at the clock and realized the bell was about to ring and my 7th graders would be leaving the cafeteria only to find their classroom locked and the teacher nowhere to be found. I was tempted to pass the bass on to an onlooking student but right about that time I got booed off the stage. Anyways, the last few weeks of school make me smile. For other teachers it might feel like a chaotic time, but I am actually very relaxed because all of the students are finally in good moods.

Big Gulps huh?

Today I am smiling because I got a paycheck in the mail! Seriously...I have been waiting for this since April. I am so stoked!!! I am also smiling because I had a interview at Union Middle. It was a good interview...not that it means I'm getting hired. I wish it did, but I'm the first interview they've had so I have to wait a week to find out. Hopefully I can get more soon. I'm also smiling because it's an A-day and I got to see my favorite math students.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

So---I got some graduation cards today. Whoo-hoo. The best one was from my parents; they said that the car they have been letting me use is my graduation gift. So I am relieved because I was wondering when I was going to be able to pay them for it. That made me smile. So did the other cards from people that I love.

Also, I smiled today when Jessica came in to find out her missing assignments. She has been uber-snotty the past few days, we are talking eye-rolling every 5 seconds I ask her to do something, yelling at me for helping her too much, yelling at me for not catering to her every need. BIG ATTITUDE. Anyways, she was polite and refrained from any rude comments today. That makes me glad because I really do like her and think she's a good girl. Just one of those people that you hate to be on their bad side.

Finally, another thing that made me smile today was when Jose Urcino got really, really up in my face and said "wanna fight". Completely random. I wasn't even talking to him. I had said maybe 5 words to him the whole class period. I inhaled, stepped even closer and said, "ni ahi papa". We both just busted up laughing.