Balancing work and play

Weekends tend to fly by when one works a normal 7-5 Monday through Friday job. Needless to say, I made the most of the weekend and had a lot of fun, got a lot of sleep, and did some work too.

On Friday, I got home around 6 and the internet at my apartment wasn't working, so I decided to take a nap in hopes that it would work itself out. At 9, it was still not working, so I decided to continue sleeping. I woke up at 6:30 Saturday morning, and was refreshed after a much needed 12 hour nap.

The internet was still out, so I made my way to Starbucks and got some papers graded. Then I met up with some friends to watch the Gators play Kentucky! We went to an Alumni bar up here and it was a great time. 

The Gator bomb shots had nothing to do with the great time, it was mostly the winning that made everything awesome. I have gone to an Alumni bars a few times, but they are usually so crowded that I haven't stayed long. This time, we reserved a table, so we had a place to sit and it was really nice.  I also found out that our Alumni Association in New York has these T-shirts and it may be the next purchase I make:

My friend Jenny and I had a few hours to kill before her team (K-State) played, so we ate chinese food, watched the end of the Yankees game (14 innings!), and I may have taken a nap to sleep off those drinks from earlier.

We then headed to her Alumni bar and watched K-state beat Oklahoma, which is quite an accomplishment for them! It's always fun to watch football games with football fans, they get so pumped when their team does well.

After a day of food, drinking, and football, I came home to meet the newest member of my household. 

Sunday morning, I ran some errands, baked some pumpkin bread, and then went and tutored for a few hours. Now I am preparing for an Emmys party, even though I am bummed that Revenge isn't nominated for anything. I do hope New Girl wins something and Girls goes home empty handed.

Overall, a weekend well balanced. I just hope my body feels the same at 5:30, when that alarm goes off.

We are starting a zoo.

My roommate bought a new puppy this weekend.

 

  This is Veruca Salt, from Willy Wonka, and she is a teacup pomeranian.

She is itsy bitsy, but she is pretty adorable.

Now I just have to hope my cat doesn't disown me. or eat her. 

Concerts and such

My life of recent hasn't been only work. I vowed to continue doing fun things, and I have kept that promise.

I saw the backstreet boys. Yes, I am a 13 year old girl trapped in a 25 year old body. It was awesome and I sang my heart out.

I also went to an Imagine Dragons concert last Friday. Can I tell you how much love I have for this band? I have now seen them twice and they rock my socks off. I don't think there is a song I dislike, but my favorites are Radioactive, Demons, and On Top of the World.

I like them so much that I want them to succeed and do well, but I was sad when I heard their song on Glee this week because now everyone is going to know who they are and I'm not ready to give them up yet.


On Wednesday I went to my usual trivia night and we won again! We are on a 5 week streak. It was also my friend's birthday, so it was great to have a lot of people come out to trivia to celebrate with him!

I also spent this past Friday night at a 90's One Hit Wonders Sing Along. We danced, we sang, and I may have embarrassed myself by being overly enthusiastic when the DJ asked who had been to a sing along before. Favorite song of the night: Barbie Girl! I know every word.

Saturday was full of football. I went and watched the Gator game at a bar with my friend Jenny. The Gators won! Then we went to the K-State Alumni bar, because that is her team and they won too! Successful football Saturday.

After football, I went out with some friends to a bar called Calico Jack's. It was semi bar, semi club, but the music was pretty good. After a few hours of hanging out, the DJ turned on the lights and announced that a celebrity had walked in the building. Everyone got really excited and tried to get a better look.

That would be Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell. I'm not sure we can classify him as a celebrity in current times, but it was pretty hilarious to sing the Saved By the Bell theme song and see girls trying to get their picture with him.

It's been a good week.

Commuting

I must admit that I assumed commuting over an hour to work would be the number one most awful thing about my new job.

I was right.

It is terrible, but it also allows me to accomplish two of my favorite things: reading and people watching.


Last week I read three novels:

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell was an easy read and it was chosen for one of my book clubs. The entire book is written in emails between two co workers and it involves a security officer who is hired to "watch" the company email system and make sure there is nothing inappropriate happening. It was funny, but predictable.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green was a book that was recommended by a friend. It follows the story of a 17 year old girl who has Cancer. This book was unpredictable, but a tear-jerker. I'm sure that someone else is currently writing a blog post about the girl who was crying on the 5:30PM crosstown bus last week. It was slightly embarrassing.

Divergent by Veronica Roth is the next Hunger Games. It is almost too similar to the Hunger Games to feel like a different series, until there is a twist in the story. The story takes place in a utopian society where you are placed in a faction that fits your personality and life style. One faction runs the government, one faction produces research and technology..etc, etc. It seems like a system that might be beneficial until someone decides that they want all of the control. Read it now, before the entire world does. There is also a sequel that I am half way through, Insurgent.









Let's move on to people watching: it is amazing! People do some of the craziest stuff on the buses and subways. Last week, I noticed two people have panic attacks about almost missing their flight because traffic was holding the bus up. One lady seriously got on her phone, cancelled her flight from LGA, rebooked a new flight from Newark, and then proceeded to demand the bus driver let her off the bus immediately because she had to make it to the new airport. Usually, bus drivers only open the doors at the bus stops, but this woman was pushing people, making a lot of noise and being rude, so he let her off in the middle of the street when we were sitting in traffic.

I have also had the pleasure of seeing where numerous homeless people sleep. The A train has one of the longest rides from start to finish, so the homeless choose it because they can get the longest nap before they have to exit the train.

I wish I could remember some of the other amazing people watching episode from last week, but I'll keep my eyes open this week for some more!

Big Girl Pants

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of crazy in my life. School started Sept. 4th and I have been busy busy busy since then. I have had my ups and downs, but so far I am liking the fact that I have my own classroom.

It comes with lots of responsibilities though.

For example, I have to wake up at 5:30 every morning to get to school. That's super early for a night owl like me.

I have to lesson plan. A lot. Everyday, the kids come into my classroom and expect me to have something new to teach them. Who knew that was expected?

I actually love the planning part, except when it eats up 5 hours of my Sunday. I love coming up with my own lessons and activities and I am having fun implementing them into the classroom. I never have to ask if my idea is good or if we could change something because I have 100% control over my lessons. It's awesome and I love being able to do all of the projects that I have wanted to try over the past few years.

I also have to do things like teach the Code of Conduct, write IEPs, and show up to faculty meetings. There is so much paperwork in teaching, but I am learning how to get things done during my planning periods, and not taking much home with me at night.

Now for the fun part:

Here is my classroom. No Judging, it's a work in progress and it may have been a closet last year that I had to transform into a classroom this year.

The pillow on my chair is a gift from one of my friends when we graduated from college! I love sitting down every morning and thinking about my girls and how we are all teaching now. I also have some bulletin boards on my back wall, one for each grade I teach because it's 3 different types of history. I tried to stay in the yellow and green family as far as colors, but some blues and browns found their way in. I have a lot more to do, but it works for now and it's all mine!

Bucket List....

So it's August and I am so thankful that Fall is around the corner. I'm talking scarves, salted caramel lattes, Halloween parties, and Turkey. Before I get too ahead of myself, let's look at what I may or may not have accomplished in August:

Go to a Museum that I have never been to - Check! I went to the Native American History Museum and the The Museum of The Moving Image.
Eat brunch out with the girls - Check again! A group of us went to brunch for a friends birthday this month!
Eat better and at home more - I'm going to give myself a check minus. I definitely ate at home more this month and ate more fresh fruit and veggies, but I am not completely happy with this goal.
Post at least 17 times this month - Ha! I failed worse this month than in July. Putting the pressure to blog makes me not want to blog so this goal is ending.
Explore the new neighborhood - Super Check! I found a brunch place I love! I found a nail place that is super nice and cheap! I am walking distance to the grocery store, post office, library, and produce market! I am a hop, skip, and a jump from the subway - Basically I have yet to find something I don't love about this neighborhood!
Make some of the crafts that I have been swooning over on Pinterest for months - Negative. I got busy.
Get my room unpacked, organized, and make it feel like I own it  - Also, negative. I ended up not being super crafty r domestic this month. I'm hoping once school starts I am able to tackle this on a weekend.

In other August News:

I got a job! I do a whole post about my classroom once it's done being set up!
I went to see Mary Poppins on Broadway!
My new roomie and I hungout and got to know each other better.
We hosted a rooftop party for a friend's birthday!
I went to see Rocky Horror Picture Show with friends and we visited a themed bar called The Trailer Park!
One of my bestest friends from college came to visit! We went to Dylan's Candy Bar, The Comedy Cellar, and attempted to get tickets for Book of Mormon, but failed, so we saw Magic Mike instead. 
I saw the Backstreet Boys perform live on Good Morning America
I saw Adam Brody filming a movie on the street
I went to the US Open!

In September:

I start school this week and I have an hour and a half commute each way, so I am not making too many promises. 

I will NOT order food just because I am tired. I will cook dinner almost every night!
I will attempt to go or do one thing I have never done in the city before.
I am going to see Imagine Dragons this month and I'm pretty sure it will be epic!
I want to buy a crockpot and make some awesome crockpot dinners :)
Maybe I'll get around to painting the other walls in my bedroom...maybe.
I might be going home to Florida this month and if it happens I want to spend some time relaxing with family and friends. I haven't seen anyone from home since April. 

I am making myself promise that with the exception of this first week of school, I will go out with friends at least one week night every week. I do not want to become one of those 25 year olds who have no social life outside of work. I love having events to look forward to and I moved to the city to experience everything it has to offer, I will not waste those opportunities. I can sleep when I'm 80.