So I keep wanting to post a blog, but whenever I sit to blog, I can't think of anything to write about. I have that feeling now, so I'm just going to babble on for a while.

In October I moved to a new apartment in Waterloo. Now I am 7 minutes from my job at the Playhouse instead of 50. The drive makes a big difference - both on my mental happiness and my gas bill.

I went to the Elementary Christmas concert at Tripoli last week. That was cute and it was nice to see my former students. I do not miss teaching. I could tell that the teacher they have now teaching elementary music knows her stuff -- and actually wants to teach elementary -- so that is really good for the students. But yeah. I don't miss teaching.

Dan and I have been engaged for about four an a half months now. (Have I even blogged about that? No? I might have to go back and put something in...) No set wedding plans because neither of us have extra money right now. Dan is still looking for an actuary job and has met with several "dear applicant" letters. I know he is really frustrated. He passed his third actuary exam in August and now he is beginning to study for the next test.

His job search is kind of a catch 22. He's passed 3 exams (FM2, P1, MFE), but he doesn't have an actual degree in a quantitative field -- so it's been difficult to convince employers that he has the know-how that they are looking for. Also, an internship is also a way to get a full-time job -- but the problem there is you have to be a student. (The whole: you can't get a job until you get an internship, but you can't get an internship if you're not a student.)

The actuary department at University of Iowa had told Dan that if he passed the exams it wouldn't matter if he had a math degree or not. After frantically applying for jobs this summer Dan has found that this was not exactly the case. Long story short, (which involves the stupid faculty at UofI. I would like to give them a piece of my mind!) Dan is now working on enrolling at the University of Northern Iowa in a mathematics graduate program, with an emphasis in actuarial science. He believes that he will be able to finish this masters program in 3 semesters (by taking classes over the summer.) And with this degree he will have a more versatile resume and skill-base.

This program is also promising because of the way the faculty have been lending their services to Dan. The head of the math department was very surprised that Dan does not have a job yet with 3 tests under his belt, but acknowledged without Dan's prompting, that the lack of an internship could be a bit of a road block. (Something UofI was blatantly denying or ignoring.)

I'm trying to decide if I want to take up a second job again -- just to have money to start putting away for our wedding. I would love to ask the people I want to be in my wedding party, but since I don't have a date, I don't feel that that's fair to them. How could they say yes or no if they don't know they have a conflict? But yeah, a second job... Not something I want, but I could do it. Red Lobster is actually just around the corner and there's a Perkins in town. I could work weekends.

So I guess I did have a lot to blog about. The Hobbit comes out on the 14th. I'm trying to decide if I want to go to the midnight premiere or not. On Friday, Dan and I are going to Des Moines to see the play War Horse at the Civic Center. I am really excited for this, because the horse puppets are supposed to be AMAZING. Today, I am going to continue to work on unpacking my new apartment, cleaning and maybe decorating for Christmas. It snowed a little last night and it is supposed to snow tomorrow.

I am excited about that. I want snow. :-)

Election 2012

NEWSFLASH:

Mitt Romney manages to help one man keep his job!

Some political snark of my own...

As I weigh my student loan debt in one hand, and measure the potential success of my future with the other, I am of the opinion that a candidate's stance on being "pro-life" or "pro-choice" is NOT the only issue that is important to me in this election.

While packing for my move...

I receive this gem of a text message...

I have awesome friends. :-) Thank you Rachel V. for cheering me up while slogging through all this packing!

Proof...

I am definitely waiting on my front lawn for a Big Blue Police Box.

In regards to the current political climate...

So tonight was the vice presidential debate between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Paul Ryan. A debate like this was something rather hard to listen to while you're in and out of the room packing in preparation of a move... But I thought I'd summerize it for you:

The Republicans were like:



And the Democrats were like:


And Republicans reply:



And Americans around the nation are like:


If anything:

Pachelbel Rant T-Shirts

Celebrating my 26th birthday...

"I AM NOT WRAPPING YOUR BIRTHDAY PRESENT." -Dan, speaking through a wrapping paper tube as he walks through the living room.

Bored and sharing...

Okay, so I made this video last summer. I just discovered the annotations at the end are not working. I am trying it on different browsers to see if it is just a Safari problem. Edit: It is a Safari problem. At least a problem with MY Safari. If you are watching this video with Google Chrome, you will be fine.

Also, my siblings will appreciate this... Although, I think our version was better, do you guys remember this show? :-)



And this:



I'm totally singing along.

All the clips of Beauty Lou and the Country Beast that I've found don't have the barnyard animal song.... :-( I'll keep looking.

Aged 32, respectively... Depending on how you count...

Happy Birthday Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom!

Dress pictures...

My new dress came! Here are two initial pics:

My face is blurry because I had to race to get into position with iPhoto on my computer. I need to get some jewelry and shoes to go with the outfit. Now that I've SEEN what it looks like on me, I have a better idea of what to get.

Awaiting a new dress and why I can't have caffeine.

So I am moving on and moving forward with this new path in my life. I still feel that leaving my teaching position was the right choice and it's weird and different how suddenly everything is new.

Dan's sister, Libby, and her husband David have been really awesome in taking the time to teach me about the advertising business. About every-other-week we get together over dinner and discuss the assignments they've given me. So far I have written (and re-written) pretend ads for:

1.) A bank wanting to advertise a mortgage to newlyweds
2.) A senior assisted-living facility
3.) A new brand of capsaicin-laced coffee

Again, all these topics are invented. Libby and David think that I've developed these "campaigns" enough for them to introduce me to some of their designer friends and start putting together material that looks more like a final project. Hopefully from there, I can start putting together a portfolio and then get a job at an ad agency in the Cedar Valley.

What is REALLY exciting is that I do have two freelance writing jobs from the University of Northern Iowa. Real writing jobs, where I am going to get paid. They come from the industrial technology department, so I am learning a lot about construction management and the department in general. I am doing my best to stay on track and get these completed to the best of my ability. I know these are not like college papers that I can just put off until the night before. Not even the week before!

Dan is working hard at his job at the grocery store. He finished up a successful season in the garden center and is now working inside in the air conditioning. In all of his spare time, he is studying very hard for his next actuarial exam. It is called the MFE (which stands for Models of Financial Economics) and is one half of the 3rd level exam out of 7.  The second half of the 3rd exam is called the MLC (Models for Life-Contingencies) and is not until May of 2013. Dan's goal is to pass the MFE, get a job as an actuary, hopefully in the Cedar Valley area, but Des Moines might be a possibility. With an actuarial job, he would also get paid to study for the MLC.

Getting officially engaged with a ring and everything is somewhere in there too. Just sayin'. :-)

Dan and I were able to go down to Grinnell and see my brother Daniel's Iowa Ambassador's of Music farewell concert. It was a phenomenal concert and we both enjoyed it very much. It was interesting to see how the numbers for IAM has changed. The choir was definitely smaller this year compared to when I went in 2004 and when Mary and Matthew went in 2008. It was also good to see my family and Dan got to briefly meet my Dad's parents. It was good to see them too.

June went by really quickly. A lot of it was spent helping Dan pack and move out of his apartment in Iowa City. We also went and saw Brave (which was AWESOME) and went to the first of four weddings that we have this summer.

Our next two weddings are next weekend in Chicago. One is for two college friends of mine, and the other is for a high school friend of Dan's. Somehow we lucked out and both weddings are the same weekend, so we don't have to pick-and-choose or drive a ton. Just one trip to Chicago and back. It took some creative thinking trying to sort out who needs to be where (because Dan is in his friend's wedding, and the rehearsal dinner is during the reception of my friend's wedding) but we got it figured out. Also, while we are there, we are planning to visit the Lincoln Park Zoo, which looks like it will be really fun.

I am also really excited because I bought a new dress to wear to the weddings. It's my first purchase from ModCloth, and I haven't purchased a new dress since I graduated from college.

It kind of looks plain on the mannequin, but the pictures and reviews are really great. It hugs your curves and has this great 1940s look. I am excited to accessorize it with some fun ballet flats and maybe a cuff bracelet and/or a belt.

I actually love a lot of ModCloth's clothes. I've been lurking through their website for a couple years now, and finally bought a dress.

_____

I am getting back into the exercise routine. After finishing my Zombie 5K at the beginning of June I took a little bit of a break, and now it has gotten to the point where I miss running, so I'm starting back up again. I want something I can work at and be good at. Among other things in my life, I can work at running and it is something that doesn't require a lot of "stuff" to do, I can work at it at my own pace and get fit. (Also, I have pictures from the 5K... I need to post those.)

The caffeine bit is the important part though. Which might sound like a surprise to some people reading this who knew how much coffee I drank in college and when I was teaching. I have been seriously limiting any sort of caffeine intake since I first met with my doctor. I've been drinking green tea a lot as well as things like those Sobe sports drinks. It's been about 2.5 weeks since I've had a serious cup of coffee or any significant amount of caffeine.

With all of these measures, I have been doing a lot better than I have before. I've put together that a lot of my depressed emotional crashes that I had in May and June were not only depression-related, but had also occurred after I had consumed a lot of sugar. It has been an adjustment to find non-sugary foods to snack on, because that is what I do while I write. I have found goldfish crackers to be an excellent substitute for munching. Not as messy/salty as pistachios. Just something *there* to keep me busy.

On Monday, Dan was over and I was making a late breakfast. Dan is not on any sort of recommended caffeine restriction, and since we've been together, I've gotten him to be quite the coffee drinker. At the grocery store the other day I saw a new summer-only product for cherry pie-flavored coffee. Since cherry pie is Dan's favorite pie, I picked it up, because I thought he would like it.

Since, I was having the coffee with a meal, I didn't really think through any sort of future consequences. I had a cup and a half of coffee, ate my meal and worked on the stuff I had planned for the day. About noon, I started feeling a little queasy, but I thought maybe I was getting sick, or my stomach just didn't like something I had eaten. I took some Tums and that made me feel a little better, so I kept working.

By 2pm, I started feeling really tired and my stomach had forgotten that I had given it something to make it feel better, so I tried to take a nap before I had to leave for work at 3:15. When I got up at 3pm I still felt ill and now I felt weak to boot. I got myself ready, trying to mentally convince myself that I was going to be fine and that I just needed to decide that I was going to feel better. I ate a little something and kissed Dan good-bye and left for work.

As I drove, I kept feeling hotte

*Fingers crossed*

Today I mailed my 48th job application... In 3 years I have applied for 48 jobs, (2 of them twice). Of those 48 applications, only 9 have interviewed me (including my current job).

These stats are really discouraging.

My friend, the things that do attain

MY friend, the things that do attain
The happy life be these, I find:
The riches left, not got with pain;
The fruitful ground; the quiet mind;

The equal friend; no grudge; no strife;
No charge of rule, nor governance;
Without disease, the healthy life;
The household of continuance;

The mean diet, no dainty fare;
Wisdom joined with simpleness;
The night discharged of all care,
Where wine the wit may not oppress:

The faithful wife, without debate;
Such sleeps as may beguile the night;
Content thyself with thine estate,
Neither wish death, nor fear his might.

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey

Other 5K races...

There was a fun article on CNN.com about various 5k races that are out there. The race I am doing in June is the last set of pictures. The Color Run 5K is the next one I want to do... That one looks really fun. :-)

Zombies, September 1st, and other things

So it's time for another periodic update where I ramble about the stuff that is going on in my life.

I am currently training for a 5K race. It will be June 2nd, in Minneapolis. The race is called "Run For Your Lives" and it's really a 5K Obstacle Course Zombie Race. Runners wear 3 flag football flags and people dressed as zombies (full hollywood make-up deal and everything) chase the runners trying to take their flags. Obstacles throughout the course include cement pipes, creeks/streams, hay-bale hills, mazes, cargo net ladders and a variety of terrains. It is going to be super muddy and messy and awesome. There are prizes for time and if you have any flags left your time is marked as "human" and if the zombies manage to take all of your flags, your time gets set as "zombie" because you were "bitten."



Rachel D. is running it with me and we are both really excited. She is training for a marathon, so she is already way on the way to being fit and ready to dominate this race. I, on the other hand, am working my way through the Couch to 5K program, a nine week running schedule that builds each week for nine weeks. I am currently on week 4 and I have about 7 weeks left to get up to running 5K straight. I downloaded an awesome app for my phone that tells me what to do for each part of the program. It tells me my pace, the distance I run for each set and shows me the map that I run and my heart rate. It's pretty sweet! Today I ran for 3 minutes, walked 90 seconds, ran for 5 minutes, then walked 2 minutes 30 seconds and then once again. I survived. I'll probably be a little bit sore tomorrow, but I feel really accomplished. Rachel and I have registered under the team name "Nerdfighters." :-)

I have started an additional part-time job at Hy-Vee in Waverly. It was nice not working an extra job (read: waitressing), and I was basically making all of my bills, but I'm not making enough to put money into any sort of savings account/emergency fund. I want to repay my parents for the tires on my car, start paying for my own cellphone bill and start saving so that Dan and I can get married. During school I'm working about 18 hours a week in the evenings and on weekends, and then I can work full-time over the summer. It's nice to have a stable hourly income that is not dependent on tips and I like not getting hit on by drunk people. It is a little hard going right from teaching to running the register and stocking shelves... My feet hurt pretty well at the end of the night, but that's why there's ibuprofen and sleep. It won't be so bad during the summer, because then I won't be working 15+ hours some days.

Teaching is going well. My spring concert was last week and now that it's over I feel like I have better control over my life. I was definitely running around like a crazy person, trying to coordinate 209 students, all their songs, all the instruments needed, all the speaking parts, and all the solo parts. On top of that, I also had TAG classes to teach, and the senior play at the end of March. Needless to say, I have survived. Many parts of it was not fun, but everything came out fine.

On a side note, I am totally FOR starting school after September 1st. I am really annoyed with how we are starting school earlier and earlier. I also love going to the Iowa State Fair and it would be nice to be able to go on a WEEKDAY. I like having a last little bit of summer vacation. Starting after September 1st would mean students who take livestock to the fair would not miss school. The temperature in the school would not get SO HOT like during August. The next person at school who complains to me is gonna hear my actual opinion. That is one part of the education reform stuff that I LIKE.

Yesterday, I took the 5th grade class to see the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra perform a youth concert. They played Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. It was a super excellent concert and my students behaved so well. (As well they SHOULD. I drilled concert etiquette into them.) I actually had a couple students (who are NOT in band and have showed no significant interest in "classical music") tell me that the orchestra was awesome and they thanked me for taking them to the concert. :-D

I am still actively looking for a band job. It's incredibly frustrating, since I am playing a terrible game of Catch 22. I want to teach 5-12 band (or any combination of those grades. I just wanna teach BAND.) but I am gaining more and more experience in K-5 general music, which is NOT 5-12 band. This is my 3rd year teaching and now it seems like my experience in general music is slowly working against me. These concerts and students at Tripoli do so well because I work my tail off getting all of this stuff together, but that's working my tail off for something that I merely enjoy. Imagine what I could with something I love...

... I am really tired of applying for jobs, though. It makes me really anxious and stressed when I think about it. I also have come to really not enjoy socializing with the other directors at the honor bands my students are in... Because it becomes such a reminder of the dream I haven't achieved yet. It's painful... I can't really describe it. I usually just sit in rehearsal and read. I have too much trouble controlling my bitterness and jealousy towards my lack of a band job to be able to "talk shop" with the other directors.

I am working on the slow process of saving pictures from my Facebook account to my computer. I still have plans to delete my Facebook and just use twitter, (maybe Google+, because they seem nicer and less creepy.) I just have about 600 more pictures to go. Facebook just stresses me out too. Their privacy policies and forced changes are uber lame.

Thanks to Mary, I was able to read The Hunger Games. At least the first book. I need to start the 2nd book, but as you can read, I've been busy. I also feel bad for jumping on the bandwagon so, so so so sooooooo far after this book has sailed onto popularity, although I have read her Gregor the Overlander series, so I at least know her OTHER works. Anyway, Dan and I went to see the movie last weekend. The movie was good overall. I mean I liked it, and I'm really glad that Suzanne Collins was on the screenwriting team, but the TWO things I SUPER LOVED about the book were NOT IN THE MOVIE. (Are you surprised?) Lame. Super lame. Also, AGAIN there were people talking and whispering throughout the movie until I told them to shut up. And I actually used those words too. Am I sorry? Not in the least. If you are there to watch the movie, it's probably because you've read the books. If you haven't read the books, you are probably seeing the movie with someone who has. WHY ARE YOU EVEN TALKING DURING THE MOVIE???

Honestly, I think if I keep going to movies in the theatre, I am going to get arrested for assault after I punch someone for being stupid. I'm gonna either have to wait until the very, very, very tail end of a movie's run and suck-it-up and pay the evening ticket price for the latest movie time, or save my money and invest in a super awesome sound system and create a kick-butt super awesome personal movie-watching lair.

I can't stand rude people.

Over the weekend the Des Moines Register had an article on student debt. However, NONE of the people who they interviewed about their student loans had an amount even CLOSE to mine. I *wish* my student loans were $25,000. I wanted to tell those people to stop complaining. My loans won't get that low for another 20 years. Their $25,000 will be well payed off by then. $25,000? Hah. Try $60,000+. And I know I'm not the only one with crazy-high insurmountable student loans, Jessica, the Rachels and I have all had long, depressing conversations about our amount of dept. ("Can you imagine how much money we'd have if we didn't have student loans?" "I know... I can't even FATHOM that notion...")

I just want to get married to Dan and start a family. I will happily teach full-time and work part-time to make that happen. My nights and weekends were pretty open anyway. We'll deal with the fact that we can't afford children anytime soon until after we're married.

Maybe we'll win the lottery.

Misdirection in the election...

I don't consider myself a feminist, nor do I consider myself a liberal or any sort of activist. I'm not going to refuse to walk through a door because a man is holding it open for me, and I'm not going to join up with the Occupy movement. Politics is one of my least favorite topics of conversation followed closely by religion.

With all that being said, this is my blog and my tiny space on the internet to write what I think. I know I haven't been updating for a while, so I don't know how frequently people even read this anymore, but whatever.

I am really annoyed and very much fed up with Conservatives FREAKING OUT over the Obama's mandate about birth control. While I agree that if a church believes that birth control is morally wrong, the government should not enact a law requiring the insurance provided by that church to fund birth control. I also think that if people require birth control and need insurance to fund it, perhaps working for specific churches is not in their best interest. You wouldn't go to a Kosher Deli and be outraged when you found you couldn't order pork, would you? Insurance is a messy business and its funding and the government regulation of its practices is a tangled web.

What really makes me upset is the fact that all this outrage and condemnation regarding "who should and shouldn't be forced to provide birth control" from these churches and conservative leaders has been centered around female birth control. Not ONCE have I heard ANY discussion about male forms of birth control. What about insurance covering vasectomies? What about other forms of male birth control? Where is the discussion about any of THAT??? A vasectomy gives a man just as much "sexual freedom" without the consequence of children.

I hate double-standards.

ALSO, what about the committee that met about this whole issue... It was all men! Wartburg-Track-and-Field! A committee made of entirely of men, deciding what should and should not be done with women's bodies? Yes, many of the people there were clergymen belonging to various religions, who claim to know God's will and want to eliminate the government from messing with people's consciouses, but that should not be an excuse for excluding women in this discussion. What they are discussing and deciding affects 1/2 of the population... Shouldn't that part get a say in all of this?

I am also disgusted with Rush Limbaugh's poisonous condemnation of Sandra Fluke. I am appalled at the language he used and directed towards her. Calling her names and devaluing her as a person, even though he has never met her, and has no information about her life other than Fluke is a 3rd year student at Georgetown University. Regardless of a woman being on birth control, that is NOT an indicator of them being sexually active. Limbaugh's claim that Fluke is having so much sex, she can't afford her birth control is libelous. Calling her a prostitute and stating that she (and the other women of Georgetown) should post sex videos online so that the people who are paying for her birth control have some reward, is disgusting. I am repulsed. It makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable and frightened that there are people out there listening to him and thinking these kind of statements are "okay."

Limbaugh is engaging in the poisonous rhetoric that is still so prevalent in our society -- about how women are lesser people. How they can be purchased, owned and objectified. How women do not deserve the rights and honors that men have held for so many years. His terrible statements are no different than the thought that if a women is dressing provocatively she is "asking" to be taken advantage of sexually.

*smacks keyboard* NO! No, no, no!

Limbaugh, you are an [insert very strong four-letter word here].

Finally, riddle-me-this: The Catholic Church teaches that couples should always be open to new life and that all forms of birth control are morally wrong. Married couples should engage in natural family planning to space and prepare for offspring. Okay, that's fine.... BUT then how does this statistic come about? 87% of Catholic women who are currently sexually active (ages 15-44) are using some form of birth control.

That's a big number. And while statistics may fluctuate, I doubt they would fluctuate to any extreme. 87%.... How can that be? If the Catholic church is teaching that birth control is wrong, how can that statistic exist? Clearly, there is a failure of communication somewhere... Either from the pulpit to the congregation or from the parents to the offspring. 87% is a pretty significant number to be going against the teachings of the Catholic church. That means that only 13% of Catholic women are either not sexually active at ALL or simply not using birth control.

Finally, finally, what about people who take birth control to manage and regulate other aspects that only affect women? Extremely heavy menstrual cycles? Ovarian cysts? That is what Sandra Fluke WANTED to talk about, but was not allowed to speak at the all-male committee for various excuses. What about all of THAT????

So, there you have it. My little rant.

TL;DR

-A committee of only men making choices regarding the female body is a bad idea.

-No discussion or outrage over MALE forms of birth control (i.e. vasectomies, condoms, etc.) shows the bias in the system.

-A law is not going to made requiring a Kosher Deli to sell pork. Why make a law that requires a church who is against birth control to pay for it?

-Limbaugh is a stupid-face who is encouraging the belief that women are objects.

-87% of Catholic women who are currently sexually active use birth control.

-No where in all of this political-moral vomit battle does it discuss women who take birth control to manage other aspects of the female body (ovarian cysts, excessive heavy menstrual cycles.) In fact that is why Sandra Fluke was STOPPED from addressing the all male committee.

__________________

What is the world coming to? I wish the GOP didn't have stupid people running for president. I also wish that this election focused more on balancing the budget, improving education, job scarcity and turning this country away from its obsessive consumerism and overseas profiteering. What happened to Made in the USA?

Life decisions...

So I've basically come to the realization that if I ever want to get married, I am going to have to take on a second job in addition to my full-time teaching position. Otherwise I don't know how I ever would ever be able to pay for a wedding and a life together with Dan. (And I'm not even talking about anything ridiculous... like right now, a simple wedding with a reception at a park or something.)

I don't have a savings account. I don't MAKE enough to have a savings account. My bills take up all of my paycheck. I usually have about $15.00 left in my account each month.

I don't even know how any of this works. How do you coordinate two lives who are not legally and religiously bound to FUND the means to secure this binding -- when both members of the party barely maintain a balanced budget??? (And not due to any ridiculous spending. Simply bills.) There is no surplus to put towards an engagement ring and wedding band unless they come from someplace like Claire's. (And I've posed that option to Dan. A ring from Claire's and a bottle of clear nail polish. It would work.)

Do you just take out a bank loan? Play the lottery? Just go to the courthouse? Elope to Vegas?

What do you do????

A conversation from class:

TAG Student: Ms. S I want to write a report for our radio show about James Bond.

Me: What? The ornithologist?

TAG Student: Huh? No, the spy. What's an ornithologist?

Me: It's the study of birds. Well, the requirements of this assignment are that you do a report on someone who is real. Ian Fleming got the name for James Bond the spy from an author of book about ornithology I'm not sure what information there is about James Bond the ornithologist.

TAG Student: ... Maybe I should pick a different person...

Something quick...

Dan gave me a Wii for Christmas and his family gave me a graphics tablet... I have several pictures that I am working on right now, but this is what I drew this afternoon while I watched TV.

This is Watson hiding behing my Wii console. Because, with cat logic, if it covers more than 40% of your body, you must be hidden... Right?

Also, I want elections to be over, because I am tired of all the political ads.

Happy caucusing, if that's what you're doing.