The Thing Is, They Speak Portuguese in Brazil.

Today Jake and I went to Chipotle. The man in line in front of me turned to me and asked, "Do you speak Spanish?" I said, "Umm...I speak a little bit, I guess." I wondered if he was asking me this because he wanted to say something to one of the Hispanic workers behind the counter. Then he asked, "Do you speak French?" I responded, "No, not really..." and gave him a quizzical look. He went on to say he was asking because I look "either Brazilian or Eastern European or something..." I said, "I guess I have a German background? That's European..."

Geez, what a weird, random thing to say to me. How the hell do I look Brazilian? Not that I'm complaining. I guess they say Brazilian women are hot. Maybe it was his strange attempt to hit on me.

The moral of the story is: if this is what some people go around saying to other people randomly, I should be a little bit more comfortable starting small talk with people. I think I could come up with something a bit more intelligent to say.

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I created this a while ago...so, since everyone else is posting these, I thought I would too.

Sick Day

I took my first sick day ever from work today. I have a sore throat and a cough, and frankly, I'm also sick of work. It's not at all surprising that I've come down with something. I've had a kid spit all over me, been coughed on by a couple kids, and have generally been exposed to all sorts of germs. I'm glad to sit at home today in my pajamas and relax. Now I only have to go in for eight more days of work before I come home for spring break.

Some of the people in charge at my job bother me. I feel like they're always lying (or distorting the truth) to cover their asses. For example, last week they knew that a student's mom was going to come in and observe. They moved around a bunch of staff to that student's room so that she wouldn't see how short-staffed we really are. Yup...if our school were doing a good job, they wouldn't have to do shit like that. I'm sure this mother got a completely inaccurate view of what our school is really like. I've overheard plenty of the things that one woman in particular (who would be my boss if they moved me into a teaching position) has said to parents and case managers and I get the feeling that she is just trying to provide good PR to cover up how disorganized our school really is. I feel horrible about what we are doing. I don't want to push anymore to be moved into a teaching position because of the way I feel about the woman in charge there. I just want to get out.

I work for such a shady organization...I still suspect that they are breaking some labor laws through some of their practices. I'm not entirely sure, though, because there could be some loopholes for non-profit organizations or something that I don't know about. It would end up costing me a few hundred dollars if I wanted to consult with a lawyer about it, so I guess it's not really worth it to me to look into it too much. I just need to get out of my job very soon.

The one thing that I really like about my job is the camaraderie with my coworkers. I like them. I hope they all get out, too.

The problem with me taking today off is that by the time the wedding comes around, I'll only have three and a half days of vacation saved up. I plan to ask for eight days. I think if they can't give the days of unpaid leave to me, I will tell them I plan to quit. Back to square one and the job hunt...

My Chest Muscles Hurt

I lifted weights on Tuesday and my chest muscles are killing me now. Gaaah.

I haven't been up to much lately. More and more kids are coming into the school I work at and we aren't hiring anyone new. To me, it seems a setup for disaster. I feel less and less safe at my job all the time. I need to get out.

It's been really warm here. Yesterday it was 80 outside. However, it's predicted to snow tomorrow night. The weather is insane. I think all these changes are going to end up making me sick.

Last night I went to the theater and saw the movie "Maxed Out". It's a documentary about credit card debt. Then I depressed myself thinking about how our society is so focused on money. I really want to get out of the rat race. Really. I think about just living in a retreat from all profit. I'd be content living in some commune and just exchanging goods and services instead of money.

Nothin' happening...

This past weekend went by fairly quickly, even though I didn't feel like we did too much. On Friday night, Jake and I went to check out a Wizards game because I got free tickets from work. I got bored and depressed during it, so we left at halftime. We were way up in the nosebleed section and I didn't really care who won anyway. It can't really compare to being in the student section at a Badger game. :) Saturday we wandered down to King Street, saw some dogs that were going to be in a dog show, and went shopping at Kohls. Pretty boring... We just did the usual errands on Sunday.

Jake and I are looking into joining a CSA. I've been in contact with a guy from Graceland Farms. I'm hoping we can still get shares for the summer. There are limited spots open...

Work sucks...my employer is so disorganized. That's all I want to say about that right now... The good news is that I only have 19 more work days before spring break.

Oh! One thing amused me this weekend that I forgot to mention earlier. So, Saturday night Jake decided that he would like to buy a bottle of Malibu so we could mix some drinks at home. We went to the VABC (the only place you can buy liquor in VA is in these state-run liquor stores called VABCs...it's so weird...) at about 8pm. When we got to the store, it was all locked up except for this little entryway. We could see one employee inside. Jake and I assumed that the store had just closed up or something. But, then we watched this old black man go up to a little glass window in the entry and ask the worker inside to get him a bottle of something. So, we had to order and pay through a little window...it was so sketchy...Whenever I've been to a VABC before, we've been allowed to walk around inside and browse the aisles. I swear I've been into one later than 8pm, too...so I'm wondering what's going on with this particular VABC.

Phew...2 hour delay

I have a two hour delay at the school this morning. I'm glad. I have some time to breathe this morning, yet I don't have to make up any more snow days (we have had 4 so far this year...we've made up 2 and still need to make up two more...oh, work on Saturdays...). I would have liked to stay at home all of today because I really need some time to relax. My job is driving me nuts. We had a six day week last week and I don't like the room they've had me in recently. I know I don't want to have to make this up, though.

I think my job is breaking labor laws, but I don't know how to bring it up to them without putting myself at risk. Is there a way for me to whistleblow without them tracing it to me? They make us drive kids home in the afternoons sometimes. This can take up to three hours sometimes. They pay us a flat rate of $14 to do it. How can they do that? It's less than minimum wage. Jake thinks they are also breaking labor laws because we don't get breaks or a time for lunch...we have what they call a "working lunch". I have to shovel food into my mouth while running back and forth handling kids having maladaptive behaviors.

In happier news...
Jake and I went to DC Improv mid-week. I always have a good time watching comedy. I think that I should care less about being responsible at my job and just go out and have a good time when I can.

We also went to see the movie "An Unreasonable Man" at E Street Theatre. Ralph Nader came and spoke to the crowd afterwards and answered questions. It was cool. I really appreciate Ralph Nader a lot more now. I didn't even know all the stuff about how he made it so we have seatbelts in cars.

Jon and Ellen had us over yesterday afternoon to watch the Badger basketball game. I can't believe we lost by one point. Ugh! Well, I think we're going to show Ohio State by kicking ass in the NCAA tournament. So there.

Tim is coming out to visit Jon and Ellen in a couple of weeks. I think Jake and I will have to make a point of going to hang out with him while he's here. That should be fun...I haven't seen Tim in a while, so it'll be nice to catch up.

I feel like I don't have enough time for self-reflection lately. Or, at least I don't feel that I have enough time to write about what I've been thinking. Jake's probably had enough of me talking about the meaning of my life and how my current job doesn't fit how I've personally defined the meaning of my life. I maybe should write out some of the things I've been thinking about because otherwise I might forget them later. I just don't feel that I have enough time in my day. I have to put in all this extra time at work lately...I have a million books I'm working on reading...I'm trying to have a social life...I keep falling into the temptation to job search online...I just feel like I'm bouncing around like crazy right now.

I joined the gym at the patent office this past week so that I can meet up with Jake after work a few times a week to exercise. I have to go in and meet with a trainer on Wednesday. They're going to tell me about my body composition and I don't know what else...maybe try to sell me on more sessions with a personal trainer.

Okay, this is random and disjointed but I felt like putting an update on here.

Oh, five more work weeks until I come home! Let the countdown begin! I can't wait!

Beauty School Dropout

I need to learn how to put on makeup. It'd probably look best if I wore some on my wedding. I just don't think I really know how to put on makeup very well. Any of my friends...are you able to give me a tutorial?