A Childhood Story

Blog Challenge Day #18: Tell a story from your childhood. Dig deep and try to be descriptive about what you remember and how you felt.

I have a hard time pulling random memories or stories out of my past. But, here goes!

In the second grade, I had to go to PE for about an hour, hour and a half every day. During the warmer months (which is most of the year in Texas), we would start by running laps outside. I hated running laps, I hated the heat, and I hated sweating. One day, I was being harassed by the best friend of a guy I had a crush on. I got fed up, punched the guy in the stomach, then kept running my laps. As a tiny runt (I didn't have my growth spurt until 8th grade), I was damn proud of myself, and I felt like a badass.

As I was nearing the end of my laps, I was called out by one of the coaches. The little bastard had ratted me out, and I was in trouble. They wrote me up and told me to go the principal's office. As I was walking out of the gym, the guy I had a crush on glared at me and said, "I dump you FOREVER." It was quite dramatic. I then spent the next two days sitting in the principal's office rather than going to PE, which suited me just fine, since it meant I didn't have to run laps in heat.

Moral of the story: If you don't like running laps in the heat, punch your crush's best friend in the stomach.

That wasn't very long or descriptive, but without a more specific prompt, that's the best I can do.

Blog Challenge Days 16 & 17

Oops! I forgot to do blog challenge day #16 yesterday! So I'll knock out both #16 and #17 today.

Blog Challenge Day #16: Something difficult about your "lot in life" and how you're working to overcome it.

I am a pretty lucky/blessed/etc person on most accounts. At the most basic level, I have shelter, food, clothing, and warmth. I have a loving family and wonderful friends, as well as two adorable and kooky cats. I have a great job in a great environment with great co-workers and great benefits, and I get to positively impact the lives of students every single day. I live in a beautiful and lively city, nestled between the Columbia River Gorge and the Pacific ocean. In the grand scheme of things, life is pretty great for me.

I'm having a hard time coming up with something because everything I think of seems... petty. I suppose some times it's challenging to come from a small town in east Texas, because people tend to automatically assume 1) That I'll have a thick accent and drawl, 2) I'm a conservative, or 3) I'm an inbred idiot. All of these are inaccurate stereotypes in general, and absolutely none of them apply to me. I mean, I do say "y'all" and "fixin' to", but I don't have an accent. I'm also definitely not conservative; in fact, despite having gone to one of the most conservative public universities in the nation, I am a bleeding heart liberal, and damn proud of it. And I don't intend to make myself out as a genius (because that's not true, either), but having earned both my Bachelor's and Master's degree, I'd like to think I'm relatively intelligent. Plus, I'm not a product of inbreeding, so there.

Blog Challenge Day #17: A favorite photo of yourself and why.

I've always loved these two pictures. This was sophomore year of college, my roommate and friend Abby was away, and I was bored. So my solution? Set the timer on my camera and take crazy pictures of me whipping my hair back and forth. And the result was awesome. Plus, I think they're a good representation of my fun and some times silly personality.

A Day in the Life

Blog Challenge Day #15: A day in the life (include photos from throughout your typical day - this could be "a photo an hour" if you'd like).

Well, because I started this challenge late, this particular question has fallen on a Sunday. I feel like a weekday would be a more "typical" day for me, so perhaps I will come back tomorrow and post a picture story of my typical weekday. Besides, all I've done so far today is wake up at noon, make coffee, and watch The L Word. Not too exciting.

Update: Here are pictures from my typical day.

Ride the Max to work...

... and ride the Max home.

Sit at desk, look at computer, call students
(as long as the phone is actually working).

Look out the window at beautiful downtown Portland.

Sigh as I realize that I live in an awesome city.

If It Makes You Happy...

Blog Challenge Day #14: Ten things that make you really happy.

1) A purring cat (or two).
2) Strangers who make direct eye contact and smile at you, just because.
3) The smell of fresh, clean air in the Columbia River Gorge.
4) Every time a new state approves marriage equality.
5) Coffee with just the right amount of cream and sugar.
6) The feeling you get in your stomach when you ride a roller coaster.
7) Laughing with friends.
8) Singing a song at karaoke that gets everybody up and dancing.
9) Driving the car with the windows rolled down.
10) Pictures of Neil Patrick Harris and his adorable family.

A Public Apology

Blog Challenge Day #13: Issue a public apology. This can be as funny or as serious or as creative as you want it to be.

I would like to issue an apology to all the LGBTQ citizens of this country. I am sorry that you live in a country that treats you like second-class citizens, despite the fact that you pay taxes like everyone else. I am sorry that our country feels like it can deny you certain rights and privileges based solely on your sexual orientation or gender identity, particularly when it's none of the government's damn business in the first place (that's "small government" for ya). I am sorry that in many states, you can be fired from your job based on your sexual orientation, no matter how great your performance on the job may be. I am sorry that in many states, you are denied the ability to commit your life to the person you love in an official, legally recognized marriage. As a result of the previous statement, I am sorry that you are denied thousands of tax benefits because you cannot legally marry your partner. I am sorry that for so long, you had to hide your true identity in the armed forces due to the atrocious Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. I am sorry that you experience verbal and physical abuse at the expense of other people's ignorance. I am sorry that we keep having to air news reports about another LGBTQ youth committing suicide because of the constant harassment they endured for their sexual orientation or gender identity.

But I also want to say that I am grateful that Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been abolished and you are now able to serve your country openly and proudly. I am grateful that we're seeing more and more states enacting employment non-discrimination policies and giving same-sex couples the right to legally marry their partner. I am grateful that we are seeing a slow but steady shift in the attitudes and perceptions towards the LGBTQ community. Though all of the statements in the first paragraph disappointment and anger me, I would like to focus on the positive statements in this second paragraph as well as the continual progress this country is making towards equality and justice for ALL.

Now enjoy "Same Love" by Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis, and enjoy the fact that a song like this was recorded by well-known, mainstream artists, which I think shows how much progress we've made.

I Miss Being a Sea Aggie

Blog Challenge Day #12: What do you miss? (a person, a thing, a place, a time of your life...)

Lately I've been really nostalgic and thinking back to my early college days. In particular, I miss freshman year. I was at Texas A&M University in Galveston, a small branch campus with about 2500 students, where I was a "Sea Aggie". I lived on-campus, in B Dorm, and I had a wonderful view of the bay, looking north towards Texas City. I loved my lofted bed, my chunky desk, our brightly colored furniture and decor that we got from the college section at Target, etc. I even miss the crappy cafeteria food and going to dinner at 4:00pm so we could get the freshest food.

I guess I miss how relatively care-free I was back then. My parents were still providing a lot of financial assistance (car insurance, cell phone bill), and I had absolutely no credit card or student loan debt. I didn't have a job the first semester, and in the second semester, I only worked 13 hours per week in the cafeteria. All I had to do was wake up, go to class, and do my homework. Outside of those responsibilities, I had so much freedom. Because I went to school on an island, I would often go to the beach in between classes to work on my tan. I mean, c'mon, how awesome is that? *sigh*

Enjoy the pictures from my freshman year of college as I walk down memory lane...

Celebrating Rick's 19th birthday.

Beth, Abby, and I made lovely faces.

The giant bear in downtown Galveston.

Arrrrrrrrgh!

John and I rocking out with Guitar Hero.

My half of the dorm room, complete with lofted bed.

One of the historic mansions in Galveston.

Colorful buildings in downtown Galveston.

Oh yeah, I was a cool kid.

Putt putt golf.

Rick had drawn all over me with Sharpie.

I took lots of sunset pictures while I lived in Galveston. I mean, look at those colors!

10 Words or Less

Blog Challenge Day #11: Sell yourself in 10 words or less.

Helpful.
Funny.
Responsible.
Loyal.
Passionate.
Caring.
Dependable.
Advocate.
Driven.
Positive.

I think I took it quite literally by coming up with 10 words, but whatever, there you go.