She may not be everyone's favorite, but she's a class act in my book. Here again, my favorite pictures from the last year:
Happy two year anniversary, California!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Anniversary
I've been seeing someone for two years now, and I think it's pretty special.
She may not be everyone's favorite, but she's a class act in my book. Here again, my favorite pictures from the last year:
Happy two year anniversary, California!
She may not be everyone's favorite, but she's a class act in my book. Here again, my favorite pictures from the last year:
Happy two year anniversary, California!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
MittenLanders - Day Four
Day four was mostly consumed with job hunting.
I had submitted an application to work with the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles,
and they had promised to call me that day for a "brief phone conversation" (translation: they are considering SO MANY people that they have to narrow it down by phone first, so not good odds). I had no way of knowing that this job and I were not meant to be, so the morning was spent looking at recipes for the Meulenberg Olympics the following day, watching the Big Bang Theory, and fretting and trying to think of what they were going to ask me.
Oh yeah, and I also visited with my other grandma in the morning, who lives much closer.
Having bombed the phone interview (I didn't think it went too terribly, but they did not call back, so I must have said something wrong) I went shopping for the ingredients for chocolate strawberry shortcakes, my chosen recipe for the family get-together. And then I went to dinner with A and S, who are high school friends of mine.
A cat also came to visit, and hang out by the pool.
I had submitted an application to work with the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles,
and they had promised to call me that day for a "brief phone conversation" (translation: they are considering SO MANY people that they have to narrow it down by phone first, so not good odds). I had no way of knowing that this job and I were not meant to be, so the morning was spent looking at recipes for the Meulenberg Olympics the following day, watching the Big Bang Theory, and fretting and trying to think of what they were going to ask me.Oh yeah, and I also visited with my other grandma in the morning, who lives much closer.
Having bombed the phone interview (I didn't think it went too terribly, but they did not call back, so I must have said something wrong) I went shopping for the ingredients for chocolate strawberry shortcakes, my chosen recipe for the family get-together. And then I went to dinner with A and S, who are high school friends of mine.
A cat also came to visit, and hang out by the pool.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
ColdMitten - Day Three
I drove back to the town where I first started teaching, amid a thunderstorm and a wash of memories.
Literally everywhere I looked, I could remember things. Remember when I got lost on the way to the interview. Remember when I thought that the "Waffle Farm" campground was a funny name. Remember when I thought this town was perfect for me for awhile, and when I knew it was time to leave.
My first stop was to see one of my favorite people in Coldwater, who is also leaving. I knew this might be the last time we got to hang out in person, so I was very glad to get the chance. We talked, he showed me his house with all its boxes almost ready to go, and then his wife showed me the new house they are moving to. It is the exact opposite of my little apartment in the big city, and they seem very happy with it. I also got to see his 2 sons, both of whom I had the privilege of teaching. Once again, I did not manage to snap any pictures because, well, I just forgot to.
After that, and before an early dinner with other friends, I toured the town. It took about an hour:
My old school
My old door to the outside world
The water tower (this thing always creeped me out and made me feel like I was living in the town where "In Cold Blood" took place)
The front window of the school, and proof that Positive Behavioral Support is indeed running rampant across the whole country, thankfully taking the place of Assertive Discipline but still not as good as Love and Logic
The drive-in theater, probably the coolest feature of the town!
I also made a quick trip to Minnetonka Moccasins, but did not buy anything.
After that it was time to head over to dinner, with my friends M, M, S and A. It's always good to catch up with people, especially people who seem to erase the 2 years I was gone. My time in LA felt like a long weekend, and we fell into dinner like it was just another payday Friday.
After dinner I headed over to B and D's, and they drove me back to the school so I could actually get inside my old room!! I was smugly elated to find many things exactly the way I left them (argue all you want, but this is proof that most of the changes I made were, in fact, somewhat logical).
From my first year of teaching:
Diane!
Time to head home :(
Literally everywhere I looked, I could remember things. Remember when I got lost on the way to the interview. Remember when I thought that the "Waffle Farm" campground was a funny name. Remember when I thought this town was perfect for me for awhile, and when I knew it was time to leave.
My first stop was to see one of my favorite people in Coldwater, who is also leaving. I knew this might be the last time we got to hang out in person, so I was very glad to get the chance. We talked, he showed me his house with all its boxes almost ready to go, and then his wife showed me the new house they are moving to. It is the exact opposite of my little apartment in the big city, and they seem very happy with it. I also got to see his 2 sons, both of whom I had the privilege of teaching. Once again, I did not manage to snap any pictures because, well, I just forgot to.
After that, and before an early dinner with other friends, I toured the town. It took about an hour:
My old school
My old door to the outside world
The water tower (this thing always creeped me out and made me feel like I was living in the town where "In Cold Blood" took place)
The front window of the school, and proof that Positive Behavioral Support is indeed running rampant across the whole country, thankfully taking the place of Assertive Discipline but still not as good as Love and Logic
The drive-in theater, probably the coolest feature of the town!
I also made a quick trip to Minnetonka Moccasins, but did not buy anything.
After that it was time to head over to dinner, with my friends M, M, S and A. It's always good to catch up with people, especially people who seem to erase the 2 years I was gone. My time in LA felt like a long weekend, and we fell into dinner like it was just another payday Friday.
After dinner I headed over to B and D's, and they drove me back to the school so I could actually get inside my old room!! I was smugly elated to find many things exactly the way I left them (argue all you want, but this is proof that most of the changes I made were, in fact, somewhat logical).
From my first year of teaching:
Diane!
Time to head home :(
Friday, July 16, 2010
MittenSchoen (Day Two)
After 2 years in LA, I felt I had to get back to my roots. To walk among my people and feel like I have come home...
...or just engage in some Very Cliche Dutch Activity.
The west side of the state is home to many things. The first and most important: Grandma!
3 generations, and you can definitely tell we're related. Grandma time is always good (except for the part where she paged through my yearbook and said "very nice...lot of foreigners". After a stunned silence, my mom bravely volunteered that California is very diverse. Grandma nodded slowly, and probably forgot the conversation 3 minutes later).
After that it was off to lunch with my friend P. For some reason I forgot to take pictures at this leg of the trip; I think we were too busy gabbing. You'll just have to trust me when I say it was a good time, and lunch was very good, except the avocados in MI just don't do it for me anymore... one more thing California has ruined me for.
With a whole afternoon ahead of us, we pushed westward to Holland, Michigan, home of the Dutch Village. I think the pictures will explain it pretty well.
Also, I got a little pair of Delft Blue ceramic shoes to go on my bookshelf, which were wrapped up for me by the tallest teenager (so very Dutch looking) that I've seen in a long while.
After a quick trip to Lake Michigan...
The last stop on the tour was Saugatuck.
I have no idea how this little town, nestled in the midst of conservative west Michigan, ended up being the most gay-friendly and generally liberal town in the state. It's also home to some of the cutest shops, and if we hadn't had to turn back for the 2+ hour drive home, I'm sure I would have spent way too much of my rapidly dwindling money.
Oh yeah, and here's my dad striking a victory pose as we refueled in Okemos:
...or just engage in some Very Cliche Dutch Activity.
The west side of the state is home to many things. The first and most important: Grandma!
3 generations, and you can definitely tell we're related. Grandma time is always good (except for the part where she paged through my yearbook and said "very nice...lot of foreigners". After a stunned silence, my mom bravely volunteered that California is very diverse. Grandma nodded slowly, and probably forgot the conversation 3 minutes later).
After that it was off to lunch with my friend P. For some reason I forgot to take pictures at this leg of the trip; I think we were too busy gabbing. You'll just have to trust me when I say it was a good time, and lunch was very good, except the avocados in MI just don't do it for me anymore... one more thing California has ruined me for.
With a whole afternoon ahead of us, we pushed westward to Holland, Michigan, home of the Dutch Village. I think the pictures will explain it pretty well.
Also, I got a little pair of Delft Blue ceramic shoes to go on my bookshelf, which were wrapped up for me by the tallest teenager (so very Dutch looking) that I've seen in a long while.
After a quick trip to Lake Michigan...
The last stop on the tour was Saugatuck.
I have no idea how this little town, nestled in the midst of conservative west Michigan, ended up being the most gay-friendly and generally liberal town in the state. It's also home to some of the cutest shops, and if we hadn't had to turn back for the 2+ hour drive home, I'm sure I would have spent way too much of my rapidly dwindling money.
Oh yeah, and here's my dad striking a victory pose as we refueled in Okemos:
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Mittenscape - Day One
It's always nice to head back to Michigan, but this trip was especially nice. After a few months of craziness (and I am by no means out of the woods yet unfortunately) it was a relief to slide back into the green humidity of my home state, and see familiar and comforting faces.
The first day found me in Lansing.
I got to see my brother, sister-in-law and most importantly, my nephew, C. We all went to P.F. Chang's and got wild....not really. But my mom did knock over her wine glass while attempting to make the baby laugh. After the sound of shattering glass echoed through the restaurant, my mom froze and her eyes shifted from side to side like a 3 year old caught too close to the cookie jar. A waiter appeared as if from nowhere and had the mess under control in seconds. Then my brother knocked over a bowl of sauce, and it took about thousand napkins to mop up. Amazingly, the waitstaff was still being nice to us despite our glass-and-vinegar covered table.
Also, I had a traditional Chinese dessert of red velvet cake :)
Also, this kid is SO CUTE!!!
The first day found me in Lansing.
I got to see my brother, sister-in-law and most importantly, my nephew, C. We all went to P.F. Chang's and got wild....not really. But my mom did knock over her wine glass while attempting to make the baby laugh. After the sound of shattering glass echoed through the restaurant, my mom froze and her eyes shifted from side to side like a 3 year old caught too close to the cookie jar. A waiter appeared as if from nowhere and had the mess under control in seconds. Then my brother knocked over a bowl of sauce, and it took about thousand napkins to mop up. Amazingly, the waitstaff was still being nice to us despite our glass-and-vinegar covered table.Also, I had a traditional Chinese dessert of red velvet cake :)
Also, this kid is SO CUTE!!!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
One reason it's not good to be short in Los Angeles
The sidewalks here are no wider than in any other city, and are consequently ill-equipped to accommodate the foot traffic of some 4 million people. So inevitably while walking around the neighborhood, there is some side-stepping, smiling and "excuse me" saying, and occasional run-ins with hyperactive dogs (I really don't mind those). This is usually not a big deal.
However, my neighborhood contains more than its fair share of aspiring models. And let me tell you something about these women:
First of all, they are 12 feet tall.
Second, they have terribly big egos, especially considering how freakin' tiny they really are (size, not height)
Third, they walk down the dead middle of every sidewalk, usually swinging a giant purse. And they do not move. There is no excuse me with these girls. Because clearly they are the Most Important Thing in the Universe. They are the sidewalk equivalent of an SUV doing 15 over on the freeway, zipping across lanes and cutting people off as they go.
Here are my options:
1. Literally step off the sidewalk.
2. Hold my ground and see what happens.
And usually I opt for #1, but sometimes I just get annoyed. When I choose to hold my ground however (like today), Ms. Amazon Ego almost always runs into me. Usually the contact is pretty
light, just an arm brush accompanied by a sideways head turn that seems to say "who do you think you are, hobbit?" A few times I've seen them lean into it like some scrawny, bitchy linebacker; this means that they DO in fact see me. Sometimes I actually get pushed lightly off the sidewalk.
In my head, I tell them they look like a dead tree branch, and then try to move on with my day.
However, my neighborhood contains more than its fair share of aspiring models. And let me tell you something about these women:
First of all, they are 12 feet tall.
Second, they have terribly big egos, especially considering how freakin' tiny they really are (size, not height)
Third, they walk down the dead middle of every sidewalk, usually swinging a giant purse. And they do not move. There is no excuse me with these girls. Because clearly they are the Most Important Thing in the Universe. They are the sidewalk equivalent of an SUV doing 15 over on the freeway, zipping across lanes and cutting people off as they go.
Here are my options:
1. Literally step off the sidewalk.
2. Hold my ground and see what happens.
And usually I opt for #1, but sometimes I just get annoyed. When I choose to hold my ground however (like today), Ms. Amazon Ego almost always runs into me. Usually the contact is pretty
light, just an arm brush accompanied by a sideways head turn that seems to say "who do you think you are, hobbit?" A few times I've seen them lean into it like some scrawny, bitchy linebacker; this means that they DO in fact see me. Sometimes I actually get pushed lightly off the sidewalk.In my head, I tell them they look like a dead tree branch, and then try to move on with my day.
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