Throwback Thursdays

Every Thursday on Z97.1 is Throwback Thursdays.  For the run of the day they play throwback songs.  This generally means that they play the 80s and 90s.  It makes me so happy.  As the previous post noted, I love pop from the late 90s and early 00s.  The truth is that I love most music.

It is also so fitting that Throwback Thursdays is on Karaoke night.  Always gives me ideas about what to sing.

Speaking of, anyone out there have any ideas about what I should sing?

Oops I did it again...

Okay, so last night's episode of GLEE was all Britney, all the time....

First, I adore the show Glee.  I think it is clever, irreverent and hilarious...most of all I love the music.  I am one of those people that kind of wishes life was a musical.  I often want to break out into a song that is perfectly fits the mood of the occasion.  I want choreography.  I want harmonies.  I want costume changes and dramatic pauses.  I want dream sequences.

I have always felt this way.  Frankly, if you know me well you know that I actually do often break into song when the inspiration hits.

So I love Glee (to be clear though...I don't love High School Musical - just felt the need to make that crystal clear).

I also will admit that I have a deep affection for pop music, particularly late 90s and early 2000s pop music.  I know all the lyrics to Britney, Christina, *N'Sync, Backstreet Boys...etc..I am not ashamed to admit it.  So that the Britney episode was particularly dear to me.

High on the joy of the episode of Glee, my best friend and I spent tonight watching YouTube videos of our favorite pop classics.  We sang.  We danced. We remembered when.  Most of all we laughed and laughed and laughed.

There have been a lot of things since my last post that I wanted to write about and I will....but Britney - thanks for continuing to bring me joy years after you rocked our world with "Baby One More Time"

Thankful List - 9/27/10

My current thankful list includes...

• My best friend
• Aleve/Advil
• elevators
• AOL instant messenger
• forgiveness
• Netflix Watch instantly
• my lovely and sassy niece
• DarTV & the Gilmore Girls @ 5pm while I'm working...

What are you thankful for? 

The dialogue not the decision...

I serve on a committee that helps render decisions when students have made academic or conduct violations.  We hear the student out and make a decision about 1) whether that student is in violation or not and 2) what the sanction should be if s/he is in violation.

These are really difficult and trying meetings.  It is not generally an easy conversation.  Holding students accountable for their actions is not an easy thing.  I often leave these meetings with a heavy heart and I wonder what could we as an institution have done to keep this from happening, to help prepare our students, to engage them in meaningful ways earlier...etc, etc, etc...

Today as I walked away from the meeting after we had made a final decision, I thought about the process that I had been through and while the decision was difficult and didn't bring joy - I take satisfaction in the dialogue, in knowing that a student was able to have their voice heard and that the decision was thoughtful.  

I guess this isn't really a post about joy but about taking satisfaction and pleasure in a good process that treats students with respect.  It isn't always that way but today good work was done.

BFF = Best Friends Forever

Today was kind of a challenging day for me...sometimes I get stuck in my own head and can beat myself up about things.

*shrug* - it happens

Luckily, I have the very best friend that a woman could have. Support, caring, compassion, challenge, honesty, sincerity and hilarity all tied up in one person.  I am lucky indeed.

Thank you BFF for being in my life.

The approaching winter

What I love about the approaching winter, and up here in NH it is approaching quickly, is that when there is a beautiful unseasonably warm day everyone takes advantage of it and gets outside.  

Yesterday was one of those days that was warm and sunny and reminds you that summer existed but winter is coming.  It was a day when everyone went outside to play and bask in the glow of the sun.  

I love fall in New Hampshire.  The days are warm - high 60s or low 70s - which for me is the perfect temperature.  The nights are cool.  It is the time when layers become necessary and we get to start wearing sweaters.  I like when it is cool enough that I need to pull out my scarves but not my coat.  I love scarves and gloves and hats but I dislike coats.  I don't know it is one of those strange things about be.  

Fall is my favorite season.  

Another Thursday Night in the Upper Valley

Yesterday a student asked me whether I enjoyed living in the upper valley.  He asked the question full of the undergrad desire for big cities and more options.  I remember that feeling.  I remember feeling trapped here in the wilds of Hanover as an undergraduate student.

Now that I am "grown" and have lived in New York and enjoyed all its glory, I have to say that I like living in the Upper Valley quite a bit.  It surprises people when I say that for several reasons. First, I'm a brown woman...there aren't very many of us in this community.  Second, I'm single in a world full of couples, so finding a mate is also complicated.  Third, I hated it as an undergrad.

While, I am sure that I will either grow weary of this place or end up here forever...right now, it is where i should be.  I have really good friends here.  I have started to make a place in the community.  I have discovered that while I love the city in small doses, I grow tired living with the pace.  I like having people know my name.  I like that the bar I go to knows my drink without me having to order it and they know I'll cash out at the end of the night, so I don't have to leave my card.  I like knowing local vendors.  I like community libraries.  I kind of like small town life.  If I start getting involved in local politics and enjoying the outdoors then I may become an upper valley lifer.  I'm not quite there yet.

So, my Thursday night is an example of why I was able to tell my student that I really do enjoy living here.    It was nothing out of the ordinary but a great night.  Browsed the shelves of Borders with NB checking out ridiculous magazines, marvelling at the monstrosities that pass as runway fashion and taking self-help quizzes to discover our personality type.  I also had the song "Telephone" by Lady Gaga and Beyonce stuck in my head and wandered around singing it.  NB then graciously drove me to The Cave for Thursday karaoke.

As I have already said....I love Karaoke.  The Cave is the place where people know my name, my drink and my table.  LOL  I love it.  I miss MdS something awful since she departed to wedded bliss but it is still one of my favorite places.

Like I said, it wasn't an extraordinary evening but it was my life.  Good people, good fun and lots of laughter...

Posting dilemma

On my mind has been how do I go about posting on this blog....

Do I post once day and give multiple joyful moments in that post?  Do I post whenever the spirit of joy moves me?  Do I hold onto snippets of joy for those days when I feel like joy has betrayed me? 

All these questions swirl through my head and keep me from posting because I can't figure out if I am doing it right...Isn't that lame? 

And who cares, does it matter?  This blog is supposed to be about me reconnecting with things that make me happy...it is not supposed to be an additional stressor. 

If you have opinions about it, i'd love to hear them..but for now I will try to stick with posting when the spirit moves me.

Flirting

I like to flirt.

It makes me laugh.  It makes me twinkle just a little bit.

Shhh...don't tell anyone.  ;)

Drop-ins and emails

I don't know if I have said this already but I love my students.  Even when they are being difficult and challenging and unreasonable or just plain boneheaded....I enjoy them and am glad that I get to work with them everyday.  When I find myself irritated about work I have discovered it is never because of the students but mostly because of the politics that the "adults" are involved with - but I digress...

The last few days I have had wonderful visits both face-to-face and electronically from students new and old.  They have come back to campus full of news about their travels far and wide.  They have come back to campus brimming with excitement, anxiety, eagerness and curiosity. These students drop-by my office, some I have known for 3 years and some I met just last week.  I am lucky enough to get to chat with them about their lives and about their coming year.  I get to hear all their plans and stories.  We get to laugh together.  Whether it is a few stolen moments or a conversation that lasts longer than we realized - those are the times I work for.  The lives I am lucky enough to be a part of and that leave me deeply marked and changed.

When I am really lucky, I get to hear from those students again after they have left Dartmouth.  I receive emails, like the one I received from a dear student just yesterday, that overflow with the life lessons they are learning out in their new world.  These messages are different then the communications we had when they were students.  They are more informal now that they are no longer my student.  And yet, so many things are still the same.  They still are full of questions, joy, anxiety and wisdom that comes with each new day.

I am very lucky indeed.

Unexpected reminders...

In my office there is a bowl of quotes.  All kinds of quotes about kindness, gratitude, friendship, diversity... Every few days I pull out a quote and I write it on the dry erase board on my door.  Today I pulled a quote that has been a part of my life for a long time:


"None of us is as smart as all of us." - Ken Blanchard


I pulled the quote out, read it and immediately started smiling.  SLTP, the Student Leadership Training Program, has been a part of my life since I was 13 years old and now I'm 31.  This program has shaped who I am and changed my life.  I hope I give it even a small piece of what it gives me.  This quote remains a reminder to our staff that together we are stronger and smarter than we are alone.  It is a lesson that is often missing from other parts of my life as members of organizations all try and be the best all by themselves.

The lesson that together we are better is one that we all need to understand more fully and embrace as part of making all aspects of our lives better.

Choosing that particular quote out of the bowl reminded me of all the wonderful people I have been lucky enough to work with through SLTP and the amazing experiences I have been lucky to have.  I am truly blessed to get to work with this group and this program.


**************
SHAMELESS PLUG:


If you are reading this and have or know children in grades 7-12, give them the opportunity to do something amazing and join the SLTP family.

www.sltp.info

I'm happy to answer questions.  :)

Sleep

Today I woke up at 10:45am.

That frankly is enough to be joyful about.  The boss-man ordered me not to come into the office until noon.  I had every intention of defying his orders and being there well before noon.  He tries to get me to rest and work less but I don't always take instruction well and I am a bit of a workaholic.

My body though knew better and didn't wake me up at the usual time it let me sleep and now, unless he reads this entry, he will think that I paid attention and didn't come to work until noon.

Markers, a cappella & stolen palmtrees

I am a woman that takes pleasure in small things.  (No, that is not what she said).

Taking on the commitment to notice the little amusements in life, I am finding lots of them.  

Today, I was writing on the giant dry erase calendar in our office.  I went to the bowl that contains all of the dry erase markers and I discovered that new colors had been ordered.  We had purple and orange and green and yellow... They had the chiseled edge that allows me to write nice and neat on the board.  I was, and still am, very happy about this new discovery.  I have written numerous things on dry erase boards today just so I could use the many different colors.  

I ran into a student on the street today.  CH is one of my favorites, so running into him is  in and of itself a joyous moment.  That is not what I want to write about though.  Instead, the content of our conversation is what made me laugh.  CH informed me that the a cappella community (we have 10 different groups) think I am the world's biggest a cappella fan.  The reason this new moniker has been bestowed on me is because during the recent orientation showcase, I was in the front row and I was bopping along to the songs.  This is a showcase that is run by our office.  I am the advisor to the a cappella organizations.  I love music.  Truth be told though, I do not really enjoy a cappella all that much.  What I do appreciate is how hard they work and that they are talented students.  Seems like my excellent audience participation was read as full-out fanatic.  Better that they believe that than otherwise.  Still it makes me laugh.

During tonight's event (which turned out just fine) I watched as a student grabbed a giant inflatable palm tree and started to walk out the door.  Before she could leave the building I stopped her and asked her why she was stealing the decor.  Her response was that it matched her room. I thought about the space needed to store such an item in our closet.  I thought about the absurdity of wanting one of those giant things in your room.  I thought about the sheer audacity of simply walking out of an event with the tree.  With all those thoughts whirling in my mind, I turned to her and said  - next time you want to steal decor, just ask.  Then proceeded to let her have the palm tree.  I hope she enjoys it.  

When things are insane...

Right now everything that could be going wrong with an event is going wrong.  Not enough of anything.  Not enough planning.  Everything is late or not working or ..... you name it.

I feel partially responsible because I know that I could have coached the students through the process more although I know that I worked to do it and it just hasn't come to fruition.

So where is the joy?  This is supposed to be a blog about finding the joy....

Well, in the chaos of creating this "Four Seasons Festival", I have had to do the following:

• Create a paper snowman and cut out lots of little carrot shaped noses for "pin the nose on the snowman"
• Locate blenders for "mocktails" in the spring room
• Track down the delivery of our cow-milking competition machine, cotton candy maker and sno-cone machine (I am very thankful for emergency contact numbers for vendors)
• Create an assembly line for the stuff-a-moose activity
• Sound teched the different rooms and made sure all the music was working.

Just a handful of the fun and exciting tasks that are part of my job.  LOL

It was an excellent snowman.  

Off to be photographer extraordinaire....

Thankful Lists

On a dry erase board in my office I have a thankful list.  Over the last year I have tried to update it at least once a week.  The other day I looked at it and realized that it had been over 6 months since I updated the list.

WHAT?  Had I stopped being thankful?  What had happened?

I had stopped taking time to update my thankful list and there are so many profound and mundane things for which I am thankful.

The list right now:

• FYSEP (First Year Student Enrichment Program)
• Sleep
• the internet
• my BFF
• karaoke
• Orientation Team
• furniture sliders
• Google Docs
• flash drives

Have you thought about what you are thankful for lately? 

Caught you!

I will admit that I take great pleasure in the awkward interactions I have with students when I have caught them doing something that they don't want me to see.  Usually, it is that I have caught one of the students that I work closely with drunk and doing something stupid.  I live basically on campus and on the nights that I work late or am out with friends, I walk down the hill to my house and pass countless students.  Usually these moments of passing are innocuous, pleasant and generally forgettable...but occasionally, I meet one of "my students".  I meet a student that I work closely with and they are in a position they do not want me to witness.

Tonight, I ran into SM with a group of friends.  I was walking home and he was just walking.  He was singing loudly and laughing.  He had clearly had a few beverages.  Then he sees me.  There is a moment where he struggles to make a decision about whether to ignore me or to acknowledge me.  He is torn but I make the decision for him and say "Hi SM"!!  I am perky and cheery.  I wave.  He is awkward but acknowledges me.  It doesn't matter the student, it is a similar story every time.

I keep walking reveling in the awkward encounter and chuckling as the sound of the student acknowledging to his peers that I am his advisor wafts down to my ears.  I enjoy the awkward interaction.

Let the joy commence

Today I was rocked by joy.  

I was working tonight until 1am at an orientation event.  I work at a small liberal arts college and have the dubious responsibility of helping plan social programming for our orientation week.  Tonight was karaoke and a dance party.  I LOVE karaoke.  I enjoy singing it, but more importantly I enjoy watching other people sing it.  I love when people truly love a song and whether they can sing well or not carry a tune, they throw their entire selves into the song.  

Tonight, I watched as student after student sang songs they loved, cheered each other on and danced while their classmates sang.  They supported each other.  They laughed and danced and sang.  

It was beautiful.  

As I walked home from work, I realized that I was smiling and I stopped in my path to pay attention to that feeling.  It was this warm glowy feeling of joy.  I was glad that I noticed it.  I want to remember it.  I am the only person that can notice my joy and let joy embue my life.  So here I am - starting this blog to document my year of joy!