Just Some Random Thoughts

1) I was the most fortunate 20-something in the world this weekend. On Sunday morning, I woke up to bright sunshine in Philly, on the opposite couch of my oldest and dearest female friend in the world, in the home of my oldest and dearest male friend in the world who was sleeping upstairs in his room (these are both friends I grew up with in Rhode Island), on the heels of one Sox win and with another tailgate and game just hours away. At that moment, I thought I could not be luckier right now.
2) The conversation I had with my mother (the most amazing woman in the world) last night reinforced the notion that I am not just a 20-something, but an adult. Sometimes that means that the roles reverse and that I am here as a listener for her when she needs someone to talk to, and not simply vice versa. She said that she felt badly about telling her kids when she’s not feeling so hot, but I think it is a wonderful thing that she can. My mom has given so much to me and my brothers in her lifetime; she has listened to all of my shit (and god knows I’ve told her my share of shit); there is no reason she should feel badly for talking to me about hers. If anything, I am so glad that I can give back to her some of the listening time she has given to me. And if she feels like she can talk to me, and to my brothers, then that also means that she has done a damn good job in raising us to be solid human beings in whom she has confidence that she can confide in.
3) OK, that last sentence was a grammatical nightmare. Too early to even know how to fix it. Caffeine, kick in, please?
4) I finally figured out how to set my VCR so that when I come home from class in the late evening, the Sox have been recorded from the first pitch of the game. I know I should upgrade to DVR or something so I don’t go through the nightly 9 pm dilemma of “ok, do I peek at the score now and ruin my chances of enjoying this game, or do I let the rest of the game go by and then watch it in the morning?” However, since I fall asleep and wake up to Sports Center or ESPN News, and since I get the Boston.com report in my email inbox every morning, there is virtually no chance that I will not know the score. So I’m still working on this one.
5) Summer Intensive Courses mean just that. Intensive. This also means a hell of a lot of work in a short amount of time. I should have listened to my advisor before thinking that I could go away every weekend and still maintain a fairly normal weekday schedule. Not the case.
6) At times, I am still in awe of the fact that I will be teaching children for the rest of my life. I love school. I always have. Now, I will be “doing school” forever, feeling the excitement of the fall and the inevitable relief of the spring every year, and trying my hardest to pass on my love of school to kids? What could be better?
7) Since 7 is my lucky number, I have to come up with one more random thought. I call 311 almost every night to deal with noise from the “restaurant” next door to me - the restaurant that is not, in fact, a restaurant, but instead a bar to which back of the house restaurant workers go after their shifts end at the various restaurants at which they work. I have complete respect for the industry, since I waitressed my way through college every summer in RI and bartended my way through a couple of years of figuring out what my “real job” would be in New York, but seriously, when the joint’s speakers sit directly against my bedroom wall, that line of respect sort of slides to the side of self-preservation (and the desire for a good night’s sleep). Hence my nightly calls to 311.
8) And one for good luck. Wright vs. Wake tonight. Let’s have those two W’s equal a W for us tonight. Wake deserves it.