Happy Birthday JH!

Today is my dear friend JH's birthday.  I don't think he reads this but regardless it is a reason to celebrate. 

Reasons I like JH:

1. He always tries to find the positive in every situation. 
2. He is one of the most hard-working people I know. 
3. He has depth that many people do not get to see.
4. He only eats beige foods. 
5. He has clear boundaries. 
6. He is generous and caring. 
7. He loves to work with students.
8. He is super funny. 
9. He makes "that's what s/he said" jokes all the time. 
10. He comes to karaoke.

Happy Birthday JH!  You Rock!

PRIDE

This is PRIDE week at Dartmouth.  The students have done a great job putting together a week long series of educational and fun programming.  I am proud of them.  Events like these make me marvel at how far the school has come in so many ways.  When I was a student it was a challenge to celebrate National Coming Out Day.  We certainly didn't have a week long celebration and we didn't hang the flag from the pillars of the Collis Center.

The flag hanging from the pillars is one of the reasons that I love the office/building I work in and why I am so proud of the Bossman.  Three years ago when we put that flag up, there was so much backlash and concern.  He stuck to his guns and said it fit in with out core values as a student center and as a college. Now, it is a staple and LGBTQ students can see public acceptance and celebration of who they are.

The Walk

I have grown to like the walk from my BFF's place back to my house.  It gives me time to think.  Sometimes you need a little time to think.  It is amazing.  In the 15 minutes it takes me to walk from one place to another I can change moods so dramatically.  I can really get a chance to go inside my own head and get really worked up about something.  Or I get a chance to calm myself down about something.  Either way, lots of quality emotional time.

Tonight I walked home and it was a beautiful night.  I was feeling a bit melancholy.  In that 15 minutes, I managed to get out of my own head and enjoy the breeze and the fresh air.  I enjoyed my ability to move and walk.  I enjoyed the fact that I wasn't breathing heavy.  I enjoyed that I was thinking about all those things.

It is a good walk.

Ask me again when it is raining or freezing.  :)

Happy Teacher's Day!

Today is National Teacher's Day.

I have been blessed in my life to have wonderful educators in my life that have believed in me, have challenged me, have supported me, have held my hand, have hugged me, have corrected me, have allowed me to make mistakes, have allowed me to excel, have allowed me to grow and have seen me clearly when I couldn't see myself. 

I am tremendously grateful to these educators.  They have been all ages, all areas of my life and both inside and outside of the classroom.  They continue to inspire people everyday.  They continue to give selflessly and put their entire heart into everything they do.  They continue to change the world through the lives they touch. 

Thank you to amazing educators I have had in my life

Mary Leger
Michael Abelon
Melissa Agosto-Cruz
Iraida Colon
Annalisse Santana
Laura Murphy
Jim Fitzgerald
Helen Fitzgerald
Stacey Hurd
Amy Macneill
Brenda Goupee
Holly Sateia
Eric Ramsey
Jeanne Flavin
David Nelson
Ilya Magazanin
Mrs. Woods (12th grade calculus, hated the class but she taught me a lot)
Dr. Edwards
Brittany Perro
Terry Chausse

Uh - sorry

Wow, I have been incredibly bad at updating this blog lately.  I know I promised NH (formerly NM) that I would update regularly again.  The truth is though that the blog is rarely far from my mind and I often think things like....oh, I should write about this in the blog.  Not sure why the translation from thought to action hasn't been happening.  Interesting questions to ponder.  :)

So to those that seem to be checking back regularly.  I apologize and will do better.  :)

My weekend

I potentially had the laziest weekend I have ever had this weekend.  I got back to my apartment late on Friday (working) and have not left it yet.  I will be leaving it shortly to go back to work.  I slept ALL day on Saturday and most of the day yesterday.  I didn't speak to another human being until Sunday around 5:30pm, when I called a friend because her facebook status was concerning.  I watched episodes of the Cosby Show and Ally McBeal. It isn't something I could do all the time, but it was certainly worth it.



This song was my weekend anthem.  Thank you Bruno Mars for providing me with the soundtrack needed.  He has dancing monkeys, mentions both the snuggie and doing the dougie, and pulls down his pants.  LOL  The video is pretty awesome.  :)

Work well done

About a month ago, I hurried home because my stepfather was in the hospital.  I was distressed, nothing was quite working the way it should have.  The man that worked the customer service desk at Enterprise, where I was trying to rent a car, was super patient, helpful and just plain great.  So I wrote a letter to the CEO of the company telling them that this guy named Kevin in West Lebanon, NH was awesome.

Yesterday I got a letter from the Vice President of Customer Service thanking me for thanking them. The first paragraph read, "Thank you for taking the time to write your letter.  We are most appreciative of your positive comments.  it is especially valuable to us because generally customers only take the time to call or write when things go badly, not when things are handled well."  I hope Kevin gets a raise or a bonus or a gift card from it.

I was thinking about writing back to them thanking them for thanking me for thanking them - but that seems like a vicious cycle.  LOL

So I truly believe that we should be thanking people for doing things right and celebrating positive work.  It is WAY easier to focus on the negative though and whine and complain.  I'm glad I followed through.