Daily Examen part 2

Yesterday morning I decided to go to a Unitarian Universalist church here in San Jose. I've been going to them since about February 2009. It was one of the best jumps I've ever taken. Yesterday confirmed the fact. The church is a wonderfully old building that incorporates so many aspects of UU culture and history. It is called The First Church of San Jose. I feel like I've never seen a church that has incorporated so many different religions into one building. There were definite influences from the Roman pantheon, a Greek agia, Russian churches and Shinto Shrines. The stole the minister wore had the symbols of all the religions I definitely know. Of course there were some there that didn't jump out at me right away. I'll have to have a look into religious symbols. The most beautiful part of the church though was the altar. It was backed by the perfumed flowers of the Mexican Day of the Dead. All of this was draped over a Shinto Shrine which was topped by and Islamic crescent moon and a Hindu Om. It honestly was one of the most beautiful things I'd seen in my short experience with the UU's.

The topic of the sermon was a daily examen. It was founded by St. Ignatius many year ago. It's basic premiss is that you have to look at your life at the end of every day. While you do that, you have to identify a time when you felt life just coming out of you, "Working with the Universe" as the UUs would say. The other time you have to reflect upon is when you felt life just getting drained out from you. Then you have to look forward to the next day.

So, the first time I do this I'm going to focus on riding a Cable Car in San Francisco listening to Judy Garland sing San Francisco. My bad time is when I heard from the airline companies and had to go to SJ international airport twice just to get my bag.

Any thoughts?

My Daily Examen

I've been out here in California for awhile and I think the past 24 hours have been the most exciting times I've had out here. Friday after work I drove up and met some old friends from the Peace Corps in Oakland. One thing I love about those friends is that we immediately had to cut through all of the friendship pleasantries in the Peace Corps. We were our support network. We were who we all relied upon. That made for some quick solid friendships and quick solid enemies. But that is a post for another day.

However, the reminiscing with old friends from 5 years ago and from 15 years ago was amazing. After wonderful dinners and wonderful laughs, I headed out to do my favorite thing ever - Stadtbummeln. There is even a Facebook page dedicated to it. Though sadly it is not too extensive. I've been trying to practice contentment in my life throughout the past through years. After Peace Corps, I just can't genuinely feel there is any way I could be discontented or upset about my lot in life. My rambling through the city of San Francisco only solidified that for me. I didn't have an aim. I didn't have a map yet I survived and had one of the most clichéd gay experiences of my life. This is your cue to cringe Liz. All I'll say is it involves a Cable Car and Judy... :)

I ended up walking from Market Street to Coit Tower (not very far but almost COMPLETELY uphill) stopping at various stores along the way. One of them was THE famous book store of San Francisco and it's beat generations. I had to call my friend for the name because her father told me years ago I HAD to go. Now I got to the top of Coit Tower and had some wonderful views but knew my feet couldn't take anymore of the hills. Down is pretty easy though. I got down to the bottom of the hill and saw Lombard Street. I didn't climb to the top though. I knew from just my proximity to water that I was too far to walk to the BART to get back to my car. So I did as you naturally do in SF and I hoped on a Cable Car. Just as I did, some weird cosmic force affected my iPod and Judy Garland's version of San Francisco came on shuffle. I laughed and grinned ear to ear as I was hanging on a cable car on my way home.

More soon.

DOMA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOMA

There has not been this much hate written into a short little law since the Jim Crow laws.  Truthfully though, not much thought was given to it until last month.  Many things are happening now that are getting me so incensed I some times just break down in desperation.  We went to Canada after our wedding and it was so wonderful to know that right over the border is such a progressive nation.  Canada treats A as my husband and not my domestic partner as his employer now says.  Even though we were told it would be recognized they have since cited DOMA as an excuse for not recognizing us as married men.  I can't believe that if my name were Amy, nothing like this would be happening.  Even though I am the enternal optimist I am getting mad.  I will at least have health care starting Jan 1st - as his domestic partner.  Does anyone else see the absurdity of this?  The CO is accepting our marriage license as proof of a domestic partnership.   I hope the people that are keeping me out of this are on their fourth or fifth wives.   All I can think though is ALL IN DUE TIME.  Overseas friends, should we start a Enemies of DOMA overseas chapter?  Let's donate as much money to that as people did to that freaky witch from Delaware

On a happier note, I have officially told EVERY  person in my life about A and I.  I was a little shocked from the most recent revelation.  I spent September to May 2002-03 in Costa Rica and Guatemala and I'm still in contact with my Costa Rican host family.  Some of that host family have come onto Facebook.  I contacted my tia loca there because of a mudslide in the family's hometown.  My host mother responded with such enthusiasm and love I got teary eyed.  Gotta get to Costa Rica soon.

Some thoughts on America

I've been silent for awhile I know.  But I have been going through alot recently.  As many of you know, I'm getting married this week.  Friday will be the day I join up with a guy I've been dating for the past year.  It's a time of mixed emotion.  While I am OVER THE MOON there are people I wish could be there.  Mom, Mag and Noel won't be able to be there.  While with Noel and Mag, I'll be able to check in with them in person thanks to the modern miracle of Skype.  Mom will be a different story.  I'm bringing a picture of her to take photos with and my brother sent me a note saying some nice things that really are helping me process the emotions I'm going to be dealing with.  I would have to deal with her wanting to be SO involved. :)  But the past two weeks have been very emotional.  October 3rd was my little nephew's 5th Birthday.  October 5th was twenty years of my mother's death and man it hurts just as much as the day it happened.  I am certain that I will live my life to the fullest in honor of her.  It helps thinking how delighted she would be with where I am in my life now and what has happened in the past 20 years with her children.  October 15th I will be getting married in the state of Vermont and the 16th I will be turning 28.  Wow, I'm getting teary just writing about it.  Adam did something amazing for me.  He bought a star from the International Star Registry in Switzerland.  He named it Maria Hefele.  The certificate got delivered on her anniversary.  Needless to say I lost it.  I was trying to drive to work through a veil of tears.  However, now I know for "certain" that she is always looking down on me.  Missing her though shouldn't mean I can't celebrate the addition of Adam and two yes TWO sets of in-laws.  I'll get the biological set and a step set.  

Another thing that has been on my mind since yesterday is the climate in which I am getting married.  Sadly enough, outside of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Washington D.C. and Iowa our ceremony will not be valid.  However, yesterday a judge in California issued a worldwide injunction to stop using Don't Ask Don't Tell.  The government has 60 days to file an injunction.  I don't think it will happen but I am hopeful.  I am also hopeful that this will bring someone's attention that DOMA (the hurtful Defense of Marriage Act) is just as discriminatory.  I wonder if by the time I get home from Canada or at least by my first anniversary I will be able to call myself married from sea to shining sea.

I'll talk to you after I go North.

Tonka Train T

Pittsburgh is not a city that you think would have a good public transport system. Of all the places I have been in the world, I think Europe does it the best. I might say that Berlin is the most efficient city train system in the world. But Pittsburgh does have one. It's called the T and it's run by the Port Authority. I know, think what you want. Pittsburgh is 300 plus miles from the coast and it has a PORT!!! :) Anyway, the T reminds me of my friend's kids' train set. That train set is Swedish made and probably more sturdy too. The T is actually a trolley that goes about 5 feet between stops. It was built in the 1980's and shows it. 3 of the stops are downtown, underground... therefore, we can call it a subway!!!??? But my favorite thing is that the color scheme of the T looks like a mixture of dirt, cocoa and poop. The signing for the system looks like tonka pieces and you still buy tickets.

Where is Sir Toppum Hat?

More soon.

Another reason why...

I want to join the Foreign Service... cars will be the responsibility of the Automobile Pool and you wouldn't have to go through what I just went through in the past two days. About a week ago, my car started to rattle. I had some problems earlier with a hole in the muffler and went to company M looking for a fix. They fixed it for $100 and not much fuss. I took them back because I thought it was a problem that they may have not fixed too well. They said they didn't write up that there was any problem with the muffler and therefore there was no guarantee. Grrr. I had them look at it anyway because if I have any hope of passing emissions tests this year, I think I need a working muffler. They looked at it, had me look at it (like I had ANY idea what I was looking at.) Then they handed me a bill for $514 saying I needed an entire exhaust system. I was pretty upset because the car wasn't even making as much noise as the last time round. I called A and asked for his step-dad's number because he's a mechanic. The step-dad got on the phone and asked me what's wrong, talked with the mechanic and came back to me laughing. He basically said get out of there, they are trying to price gouge you. I did.

It was only this weekend that I got up to his house about an hour away. 2 days, a myriad of problems later, I have an inspected car and a spot in the poor-house. Hopefully not for long because my new job is starting on Monday!

More soon

A curious trend

So everyone, I've finally got steady employment here in Pittsburgh. I've actually got 3 jobs but they are all part time.

Job #1

Is at the University of Pittsburgh. It's at the University's Center for Social and Urban Research. I do the telephone interviews for the Center to collect data. I make about 100 calls in a four hour shift. Need I say more? I don't think I should bad mouth them too much though because I told them about job #3 today and they were very understanding. This job is very grant based... soooooo when the money runs out, there are no more hours. Let me tell you though, I definitely get some interesting conversations with the nutters out there in suburban Pittsburgh. for example (Why the hell you calling me? It's too hot to talk!)

Job #2

This job hasn't really panned out yet. It's down town in the golden triangle, in the same building as a friend of mine. It's at a international ESL and Translation firm. I've put my name on the list to work on a contractual basis as an ESL teacher and a Translator. I've filled out all of the paperwork, but I haven't heard anything yet. Keeping my fingers crossed that this pans out a little bit. It would be very interesting work.

Job #3

Is right around the corner from my house. IT'S AT THE APPLE STORE!!!! NEED I SAY MORE? :)

PS. I also passed my FOREIGN SERVICE EXAM!!!! Now I have to write my Personal Narratives and land a job in Nauru????

More soon

Hello from Pittsburgh

3 months in hiding and I put two posts up in one day. I'm going to start getting better at this. Last time I wrote you all, I was living in Philadelphia, teaching first grade and generally just miserable all around. Now I'm writing you from leafy Mt. Lebanon in Pittsburgh. I've been looking for jobs and been quite lucky now. I'm living with A now and generally enjoying myself. I'll admit for the first month I felt very lost. My career seemed like it was stopped. I felt like I just hit a brick wall. I didn't know that many people in Pittsburgh. Felt like I was just drifting and floating. I also felt like I've been forcing myself into someone else's house. But since then lots of stuff has gone right. I'll fill in more tomorrow. Until then, LET'S GO GERMANY

PS. I'm going to the Hofbrauhaus in Pittsburgh tomorrow to watch the game. Should be fun!

Cell Phones

I did something tonight for the first time ever. I was so fed up with my cell phone from all the phone calls I got today. I just couldn't carry on a conversation with anybody... so I turned my phone off!!!! Now let's see if I can just keep myself off of this too. But that might not work so well if I get a job that I have my sights on.... more soon.

Hello My Name is Ian

and I'm an _________aholic. I was realizing the other night that I am not perfectly happy with just doing one thing with my technology. The latest thing I feel I need is an Amazon Kindl. Why? I don't know. I love nothing more than reading a good book with a cup of tea.

The other night as I was at Adam's house, I had my iPod running, the TV running and I was taking a final exam for my course. Is that what our lives have come to? We are just little 30 second bites that can't keep our concentration until ....

wait what was I saying?

Germany Germany Germany

So I was put in charge of a team for the Reading Olympics of my school. We are team Germany. I just wanted to tell you all about my favorite time I've had this Year At School.

I was leading the kids in a cheer for Team Germany. They were going Germany Germany Germany and then they asked me how to say Germany in German. Two of the girls said DEUTSCHLAND!

Suddenly, the entire auditorium was cheering Germany Germany Germany. The principal laughed saying to me "They don't really know what they are saying!" No, they didn't but an auditorium full of Latinos saying Germany Germany Germany is enough to keep me going.

Still loving it.

What happened?

What happened to my site tracker outfit? I don't know what happened to it and I don't know how to get it back.

Help me (Liz)

2010

Teaching can beat you up both physically and mentally. I have never been so tired. 2010 didn't start out too good for me. I got so sick with Strep Throat in mid January that Adam had to bring me to the Emergency Room. That was an experience. We were the only people in the ER with any sort of education and probably the only people that would really pay. Yet Adam couldn't help me in the actual ER cause he's 'not family.' We do live in the 21st Century don't we? Why do people still have the power to legislate over who someone can be with?

After 4 days absence I went to school. Two days later I was trying to break up a fight and got clocked in the jaw. It cracked 3 of my teeth. 3 days of worker's compensation. It caused some of the hardest and deepest reflection that I have had to do in my life. But I am back at that school and the next posting will tell you why!

Teaching and loving it.

Stereotypes

I've been thinking alot about stereotypes recently. It's been mainly since I started teaching and since my boyfriend came into my life. It's been interesting because I'm falling into some stereotypes. I.e. drinking red wine and playing Wizard of Oz monopoly while away on a weekend mini-break with A. But I'm wondering about stereotypes of my students and something that happened at church today.

I'll admit, I have a minor crush on the minister of my UU church (laugh all you want Liz!) Why is that though? I'll admit, he's got a Ken Doll look about him. But there is something about the forbidden fruit of a minister. I mean, isn't there a literary stereotype of the preacher's daughter? Corrupting the bad? Striving to be saintly? I guess in the 21st Century, one can go straight for the preacher. Not that I will, just fun to have a crush.

Now, my students - they live in the ghetto, they have hard lives and now it is my job to find the good in all of them.

It's the little things

I feel I've used this title before for a blog post. However, I don't feel like I have the patience to go back into the over 5 years of blogs to find it. It's also a song from that rather cooky musical COMPANY. But for me, it's becoming my life mantra. Something happened yesterday when I dropped the kids off in the computer lab. There was one kid E who whipped it out of his pants and decided to urinate on the floor of the lab. I don't know why but I lost it laughing. Does that make me a bad person?

The other much more positive little thing I learned about today is all the way out of Africa. I finally saw some pics from the theatre competition that I started in 2006. It went from 6 schools in 2006 with $1000 budget to a 2 day competition with 22 schools and an almost $10,000 competition in 2009.

I'm happy!!!! No Zanex involved.

Is it still sad?

I've been around a lot of death in my life. It has always been a major feature in my life. Maybe that is why I don't really fear it. I just don't. It's part of life. However, when I got home tonight I got some bad news from across the pond. A good dear friend died about 2 weeks ago. She lived in Pinner, NW London and was one of the kindest women I have ever met. Her name is Katharine Young and she died at 101. She was the mother of a friend of my mother. I used to go and visit her in London whenever I was there. Last time I was in London, she had her 100 birthday and I wanted to visit but she was not home. The family took her to Spain for the birthday celebration! She's been in and out of my life for many years and I always enjoyed watching some of those crazy gameshows with her.

What I'm wondering now. She lived a full life. I mean not many people really make it to 100 years! She touched so many people and I'll always remember her. All these good things about this woman that lived THOUSANDS of miles away...

Why is it still sad?

PS. I HATE the term passed away or passed. Don't know why...

A nuisance

So I haven't blogged since I started my job as a teacher. I'm dreadfully sorry to everybody who has read this so much over the years. I'm going to start up with a vengence again because I've picked up my journal and felt so wonderful. But after 38 days of school (112 left!), two separate grade assignments, finally understanding the definition of crack baby and finding someone who likes me I'm back.

I'm writing to you today about two things. Since it is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, we have elections. That means no one really notices and nothing really happens. We call ourselves the greatest democracy on earth? I don't get it honestly. I woke up this morning really happy that I would be able to vote but wondering if it would really matter. Of course I decided that I would have to. I knew too many people in Africa that would have slapped me silly if I didn't vote. It's just something we take too much for granted. One thing for certain, I don't understand why we don't have a civil holiday. South Africa has a national holiday AT THE WEEKEND every year. When I went, I asked them how many people they have seen so far today. They said 25. 25 out of 400 eligible voters in the district! Is voting a nuisance?

The other nuisance was proved to me today. A teacher was complaining about how horrible life is right now. Then a good friend of mine sent me a story of someone he knows. This person was laid off a month ago but was able to get her old job back. Her new job requires a lot of traveling and moving around. The catch is she is blind. But she would rather worry about "that small" problem with a job than worry about all the other problems that come with not having a job.

So let's breathe!

Process

Life's about the journey right? I've had a couple of journeys worth mentioning.

First, I'm buying my brother's clunker. It required that I trade in my Connecticut driver's license for a PA license. Easy enough thought right? Wrong. I woke up early to try and get to the Department of Motor Vehicles here in Philly - which the curiously call PENNDOT. I keep imagining some sort of Jetsons-esque house cleaning robot. Anyway, I get down there and see signs literally plastered on the outside of the building that they only take personal checks. Personal checks?!?!?! Leave it to the government to use something that no one else really takes any more unless you hand over your first born. Anyway, back up Columbus Blvd to my apartment to root out the dusty check book I only use to pay rent. :) Back down. I get the number, fill out my form, say NO I haven't been a residency of PA before and fork over $28. I'm then issued with a temporary photo ID that will serve as my driver's license until I get the real thing.

Now I wanted to be the nice neighbor to fill up the car after I used so much gas. I was in such a government induced stupor, that probably about $3 of gas poured all over my foot! But no matter, I have a PA driver's license!

More to come about the adventures of the swat team in NYC. Food poisoning, the SWAT team and the hottest week in recent history made for a fun time.

Gesellschaft

Who IS the Boss?

So in the 1980's, there was a wonderful (read typically cheesy) American sitcom called Who's the Boss?, starring one Tony Danza. As with most 80's sitcom stars, he's pretty washed up now. Haven't really seen him do ANYTHING in a long time. I did find though that he was in the Producers on Broadway for 6 months. When you get so unknown, what do you think of doing? REALITY SHOWS!!!

Tony Danza's newest venture, I'm not joking, is going to be a reality show in Philadelphia. He won't be at my school (thank GOD!!) but he will be teaching English at Northeast High in Philly! I just want to know what the Mayor of Philly and the School Chancellor are thinking! None of this makes sense. I mean how will the students even learn. I'm all for career changers, but folks teaching is harder than he thinks. You fake it and the students will eat you alive! It is kind of ironic how they are putting him in a rather "quiet" neighborhood school. Doesn't this reek of exploitation though? I just shudder at the thought of allowing school fights to happen so they can up the ratings.

Anyway, I was waiting for my friend in front of the school today and Tony Danza walked right up. He looks ROUGH! His hands are knarled from arthritis and my friend put it perfectly, "Damn he looks like beat up shoe leather!"

Oh yeah, this is the guy that the Tony Danza slap is named after because of his previous history. Look it up!