Old Friends

My second trip down memory lane of the day was brought to me by gchat.

A friend of mine from high school DW found me today on google.  He and I have been friends for about 20 years.  We were an unlikely pair in high school.  People often wondered why were we friends.  He had a reputation for being kind of cold, aloof and generally unpleasant, whereas, I was generally viewed as joyful, pleasant and kind.  People had both of us a little bit wrong.  Regardless of other people's opinions we were very close friends and remain close today, even though we don't talk often.

It was great to catch up with him today. We have both had a lot of changes in our lives lately.  This year for the first year ever, I missed his birthday.  I apologized but he did point out that when we were younger he forgot my birthday all the time and we saw each other everyday and lived less than 1/2 a mile away from each.  VERY TRUE.  So I feel less guilty about missing the birthday.

It was great to chat with him.  I didn't realize that I missed some of the connection to who I was when I was younger until today.   I don't want to be the girl I was at 16.  I don't want to repeat that time in my life.  Yet, there is something special about connecting to people who knew you back when.  People that remember ridiculous stories.  People that remember where you came from and how you got to where you are today.

I don't have a lot of people that I call FRIENDS from high school or college.  Those that fall in the category tend to be people that despite days, months, years of lack of conversation we can pick up where we left off without an issue.  They know my family and I know theirs.

Thanks gchat - for connecting me to people that know me and love me.

Medium French Vanilla Ice Coffee - Light & Sweet

From Dunkin Donuts.  Love them!

Today I had my first iced coffee of 2011.  It is funny how things like that can bring back all kinds of memories.   Whenever I drink a Dunkins iced coffee I think about high school and my dear friend LB (although, I guess she is LM now).  We would spend hours and hours in the Dunkin Donuts near my house.  It was open 24 hours and we would hang out there at night and play cards.  Don't judge...lol.  We weren't wild and crazy kids.  Drinking caffeine at 11pm was our big adventure.  LM would smoke a cigarette but freak out and put them out whenever she saw someone that we knew.  Man, we were young.  We used to have such a great time.

Today's trip down memory lane brought to you by Dunkin Donuts. :)

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.  :)