"Reckless, O soul, exploring,

hey y'all.

so i've been terrible with the updating since, like....winter.
but it's all good.

i've been so busy i don't know where to start.

i will summarize as best i can:

things are great.

...

..

seriously. i'm exhausted, my body aches, i'm totally emotional over the fact that school ends on wednesday. but i really am doing well.

our school had 5th grade celebration the other day, and it was really cute. one of my girls was wearing a prom-esque dress, which was awesomely over-the-top. these kids are so amazing. they drive me INSANE but god i love them so much.

i've posted pics of my latest trip to sunny seattle and a few from our civic engagement project post party at our house, which essentially consisted of alcohol, karaoke, & a firepit. and, excuse me, we freaking earned it. the CE process was insanely frustrating and tiring.
a summary:
we worked from november through the end of may on identifying a need of federal way (community empowerment) and how to address it (we created a walk a thon from scratch, which raised money for kids who can't afford to pay for sports, music, etc).
we deserved a night of merriment.

so school ends on wednesday, but it's really a half day (read: nothing will happen). except all the staff goes out to say goodbye to the kids at dismissal. i am 99.99% sure i will cry.

so starting june 22nd, i will be at summer school in the morning and summer programming at westway (where we built the playground) in the afternoon. we only have 12 days of summer programming, but for these kids, it's the only summer "camp" they will get. we're also taking them to point defiance zoo in tacoma on the 25th, which i am TOTALLY PSYCHED FOR. word on the street is they have elephants. we have about 125 kids plus all the staff. it's going to be crazy.

oh and my birthday is on the last day of programming, thursday the 9th (write it on your calendar and plan ahead), which is a celebration day for all summer programs AND the end-all, be-all of shindigs at 33350 20th avenue south. we're having a night of nights, and it's going to be fun.
the next day, friday 10th, is graduation, and then we're done.
jemmy's coming out on the 15th, and then we fly back on the 21st.
yikes.

so that catches you up. oh, by the way, i am getting married in less than four months. so, plan ahead for that, too.

love from unseasonably-warm washington.

hi all.
how are you? i'm pretty good, too, thanks.

so this won't be a very long one, just to let you know i'm still truckin' along here in the land of starbucks.
school has been going very well. since i came back last month (february's over next week? seriously?), i've been dealing with some interesting issues at school, but i'm determined to make each day as good as possible. corny? perhaps. i realized that i have 5 months from today left here, so i want to get the most out of it that i can.

now, don't get me wrong. i haven't transformed into some wonderfully irrepressible and happy-go-lucky gal who LOVES everything all the time. 1. no one is like that--even if they say they are, they're lying, 2. that's not me. i have ups and downs, as i always have. but i'm trying to really look at every day as a new day and not get hung up on things as much. it's really hard for me, given my pessimistic nature, but i'm doing pretty well.
i'm sickeningly sweet and nice with my kids, even the ones who i'd like to slap (i love all my kids, i just don't like them sometimes), and i REFUSE to give up on the ones who would like me to.

there have been some issues lately with my team and miscommunications and, i will confess, i've had a few days where i've been upset with a couple people i haven't been upset with at all since we started. it's all part of the experience, i guess, and i'm dealing with it.

anywho. things really are okay...i don't mean to sound too 'down'.

we have a four day weekend, so i have tomorrow and tuesday to finish up my documentation which is due friday.

we have another SERVES conference next month, and then two days off for conferences. and then, THEN, it's spring break---and my man is coming out to visit!

ps...i went to seattle today for lunch and leisure, and i had a nice time even though it was cold and rainy. i sat at a window table at lowell's overlooking the ocean, enjoying my over-priced grilled cheese and diet coke (my favorite meal ever) and read my book. it was lovely.

i found a cute little chinese man (i'm aware that sounds slightly odd) in pike place market, who did character-names for real cheap, so i bought one of my name. i put the picture up on my picasa site.

okay, i said this would be short, and it's not really anymore, so i'm out. peace up, a-town down.

love,

shannon

Hi all,

So it’s been a while. How have you been? I have been well, thank you for asking.

So Christmas came and went. It was awesome, even though I barely made it home. Most everyone else at Sea-Tac was either stranded or told to go home because of the freak snowstorm that hit Seattle Christmas week for the first time in 18 YEARS. Holy crap and sweet Jesus, I can’t believe that I didn’t get an ulcer from that day.

Moral of the story: people in Seattle do not know how to deal with snow. Stupid airline after stupid airline kept on canceling their flights: We don’t have enough de-icer, We can’t see in the snow, We’re a bunch of whiny little wimps who can’t deal with a little precipitation SO WE’RE CANCELING EVERY FLIGHT THROUGH CHRISTMAS EVE OR POSSIBLY CHRISTMAS DAY.

I will say that this was the first time I have flown United, and they were one of the few airlines that was not canceling all their flights. Congrats, United. You have my temporary allegiance.

So, basically, my flight kept getting delayed and delayed from 1:20-2:40, to 2:50, to 3:15, to “about an hour”, to 4:25 when we finally took off. So I sat in the airport, waiting patiently (?) and dying inside, minute by minute, creating said ulcer, waiting to hear “Attention all United passengers: All flights are canceled, you won’t get on a flight before the 25th, so go home” (which is literally what they were telling people) over the intercom. I made friends with the fella sitting next to me. We cheered and celebrated when the damn plane finally got off the ground. Since we were so late leaving SeaTac, I missed my connecting flight in Dulles, so I spent the night in the airport. If you’re thinking that sounds like it sucked, you are correct. It did suck. But I was so grateful to get the hell out of Seattle that I almost was okay with it. While waiting in line for food at the only restaurant open at 1:30am at the airport, I was around miserable, horrible people who were looking for reasons to hate everything around them, but once I left them I went to the mostly empty B terminal and laid down. I would say “I slept”, but those are strong words considering I didn’t sleep at all. However, I was on the national news (according to my mama). Apparently some news creeper filmed me and I didn’t even know it.

My next flight in the morning was delayed over two hours, but I was finally on my way home about 10:40am.
Being home was weird, I won’t lie. I was so glad to see everyone, though, that it didn’t really matter. I guess I just feel like I’m between “homes" right now. It’s strange.

Now we’re back into the routine of school, and it’s not so bad.

Plus, I have a NEW computer. It has a working screen that stays on and the computer doesn’t turn off when I’m doing more than one thing at once! (Sorry, B-ri. Don't take offense.)

We’ve started C.E.R.T. (community emergency response team) training, which is pretty cool. It’s 8 weeks of intensive training to prepare for disasters…and believe me, Washington could have its fair share. We get earthquakes, mudslides, volcano eruptions (Mount Saint Helens, anyone?), you name it. Tomorrow we’re doing fire suppression training, which means we get to put out real fires with real fire extinguishers. Huzzah!
We have this Monday off from school for MLKJr Day, but we are doing a service project. Plus we have the next Monday off from school because of the new semester starting. I have to do documentation that day, but it’s still a break.

So that’s it for now. Things are good. Today was a real goonies weather kinda day. If you get that reference, bonus points for you.

And speaking of that fantastic 1985 movie, stay tuned for spring break when Jeremy and I tackle--Astoria, Oregon…Home of the Goonies.

Love to all,

.s.

hi friends,

well, you've caught me at a 'top of the curve' moment, meaning that i am on my 2nd 1/2 day off from school, and things are pretty good. we had a half day wednesday, which was fantastic. my roommates and i, less one, had a great feast yesterday. everyone contributed, even i. yes, YES...i cooked. my ziti was quite good, too, although i have a shitload of it left. guess i know what i'm eating for the next 3 days. le sigh.
our house is all festivus-ed out. we have a christmas tree up(!), and lovely lights and harvest deco in the dining room. check out the pics.

so i haven't felt well the past couple days, but today i went to see madagascar 2, and it was very amusing. it was me and 103849 children, but that's okay. the mall was crowded, but not as bad as i expected. in the morning it was surely worse.

so i've started something that i feel i should share with you all, a little something called.....hot yoga of federal way.
now, some of you may have heard of hot yoga, and many probably haven't. (by the way, the official name is bikram, if you care...but it's okay if you don't, because i don't especially, either).
i'll say this: it is exactly as it sounds. the studio where the class is held is set at about 105 degrees. it's 1 1/2 hours, going through 26 different yoga poses and stretches.

if you're wondering why on earth i would do this, i understand your confusion, since:

1. 1. i don't like heat. it's as simple as that.


2. 2. i have never taken yoga before.


3. 3. i hate sweating. i'm gonna say that again. i.hate.sweat.


4. 4. i don't care for "hot".

i can't really explain why i chose to go, other than i gave in to peer pressure and was feeling a little risk-take-y. my roommates swore by it, so i was like, "what the hell, let's try it, it's only $10 for 10 classes". no joke, it's really $1/class.

so i tried it, sweated out about 7 pounds, most of my brain and approximately half my college education through my skin, felt like i was DYING EVERY SINGLE SECOND...and decided to go back. and back again. i've been to three classes. oh, and i should mention that the first class i went, there were 75 people in the studio. so the studio is set at 100-105, but the temperature goes up by at least another 5-8 degrees when there are that many people in a relatively small space. in.sane.

so why do i go? i don't really know. except that i feel better afterwards. i feel like i have accomplished something, that i have something to be proud of. and shit, if i can do hot yoga, tutoring difficult children is a piece of allison's pumpkin cake. (i am still thinking about yesterday's dessert.)

during the class, you feel nauseous, dizzy, weak, and just...weird. they say that your goal for the first class is to simply not leave the room. i did not leave the room. i spent 1/3 of the class on the floor, but i did not leave. in fact, i have not left for any of the classes thus far. i kinda messed up my left wrist this week, but it was my fault for trying to do a pose that i was not ready for. le sigh. it's better now, thank you for asking.

so there you have it. i have not been since sunday since i have felt crappy this week, but i am going to try to go before the weekend is over. i would like to continue with it, even if only once a week, but it is expensive. it's unfortunate that yoga is a yuppie/upper class thing since it's so damn expensive, but i might be able to afford to go once in a while. plus, jeremy is going to come with me when he comes out in march, aren't you, dearest?

the next few weeks are going to be difficult, since i am so looking forward to coming home on the 21st, and since there are no days off until winter break. we have after school ELO starting monday, and it's every day, monday-thursday, with 4th and 5th graders, in MATH, aka MY FAVORITE SUBJECT EVER. (caps lock to emphasize that math is not, in fact, my favorite. it is my least favorite.)

the kids are probably going to be awful. but i have to keep in perspective that it's because the holidays are uber-stressful for these kids, since they don't know where their meals are coming from most of the time or where they will even be staying. it's a fact that the majority of the school is on free or reduced breakfasts and lunches, so once they leave school for a couple weeks, it's no exaggeration to say that they might not get fed hardly at all. it's humbling, and puts things in perspective. keep that in mind the next time you are frustrated about not being able to find the right kind of bread or your dinner doesn't come exactly perfect at a restaurant. i constantly remind myself of this...most of the kids i work with barely have enough food to eat.

i hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving, friends. enjoy, and see (many of you) soon.

love

shannon

hi friends,

how has your week been? mine has been both stressful and awesome. allow me to share.

as you may or may not know (and if you don't know this, we really shouldn't be friends anymore, with the possible exception of some of you outside the country), this week was election week. myself and a great deal of others put our support behind mr. nader, however, i was relieved and slept a teensy bit easier knowing that mccain did NOT win. thank you, america.

this week in the schools they made a big deal out of the election, which was cool. kids even got to vote for who they wanted. now, i understand that children cannot understand the issues behind of healthcare, abortion, war, the economy, etc., but they were still able to make their voices heard which was the important thing. at least in most cases.

on tuesday, i was present in a fourth grade classroom during the voting process, and i have to take a moment to describe the idiocy and ignorance i witnessed in that class. and no, i'm not talking about the students, i am speaking of the teacher. their teacher (someone i normally enjoy to talk with and be around), took and photocopied a ballot with ALL of the candidates names, from the two big 'uns through nader/gonzalez, down to mckinney/clemente. my first thought was, "wow, that's awesome, for a teacher to be open-minded and include everyone, not to mention give the kids a chance to speak their mind, even if it isn't what everyone else thinks". unfortunately, once she passed out the ballots, she said these exact words (any italics are mine, not hers):

"now, when you look at the ballot, you see mccain and obama at the top. underneath are all the other people who are running.
now, if you want, when you get your ballot, you can vote for, oh, say cynthia mckinney. but do you think your vote is REALLY going to count?
probably not. i don't know, maybe she'll vote for herself. but if you want your vote to count, you need to vote for one of the two at the top, mccain or obama.
you can vote for darth vader (she really called ralph nader that...i don't get it to begin with, clearly if any of the candidates would be considered head of an evil empire it would be mccain), but i wouldn't. so pick either mccain or obama.

i truly thought i was going to scream. i haven't been that livid in a loooong time. who the hell in their right mind tells children that they don't matter unless they go along with the flow? who the f*&@ do you think you are, woman, to tell these kids that they have to be pigeon-holed, and be like everyone else, or else they don't matter??? because that's EXACTLY what she was saying, and don't you try to convince me any differently.
i can't believe that this is the crap some teachers are dumping on kids, right after telling them to be who they are and it doesn't matter if you're different, that's okay because you're special. bastards.

i'm leaving that topic now. on to another. friday we had civic engagement, or CE as we lovingly call it. my housemates and i have not been looking forward to it, because we've heard mixed reviews from last year. CE is pretty much as it sounds. we, as a team, have to work together and go through a long and complicated process in order to identify a need in our community and do something about it. for example, in a previous year they identified one particular neighborhood's need for community, so they proceeded to create a get-together, which they named "summerfest", for the community of westway to bring people together. so we are spending from now through january in individual unit-teams, and each working on a particular section of the process to better help us in making a good decision. bottom line--it's a long and difficult process, which can be frustrating, but also promises a good time. i'm on the unit 4 team, also known as the "gargantuan grizzly bears", and our job is to help facilitate the decision-making process on identifying what need we are addressing, which helps us determine what issue we are focusing on. for example: hunger is a need, therefore an issue might be that there are too many children in the federal way area that go to bed or go to school hungry every day. so we had some planning time on friday to get started, and we also created short skits to present our group's focus to the whole group. bottom line: we had a good time. it's going to be a lot of work, and quite possibly frustrating at times, but it should be good. i hope so, since we literally are spending the rest of the year on it. in addition to juggling everything else like tutoring struggling kids, dealing with volunteers (more on that anon), living below the poverty line, etc.

in brief, because i don't feel like going into it too much, i've had to deal with a volunteer this week who has been causing me much grief and stress. basically, she is a great person and a valuable volunteer, but she never shows up on time, cuts her hours and some days can't come in at all. not only is that a pain, but it's a direct violation of her contract with us AND her contract with her workstudy program. i am not a confrontational person, so i've literally been sick over this all week, but i finally bit the bullet and called her thursday and had my speech all worked out. it was the second scariest confrontation/conversation i've ever had to deal with. she filled me in a little on what's going on with her life (messy stuff), which i understand, but since it's not working, we need to find something different that will work for everyone. so i have to talk to her again today to figure out where to go next.

last night, i had a great night. danielle invited over two of our teammates, who happen to be engaged and both really sweet, for a spectacular dinner feast. i should mention here, if i haven't before, that danielle is something of a genius cook, and makes things from scratch (i.e. pumpkin bread from pumpkins). last night it was raviolis from scratch, mushrooms, green beans with tomatoes, potatoes, and lamb. we had a great time, ending the night with a rousing game of scattegories. the wine was flowing and we had fun. the end.

today i slept in wicked late, which is unusual, but i think it's the stresses of the past week catching up to me or something. i'm so loagy and uninspired to do anything but watch AD and lounge.

this week we have tuesday off for veteran's day, which is a big yahoo for us all.

by the way, i found kung fu panda (greatest movie of 2008 next to the dark knight) for $11--including shipping!--on ebay yesterday. i am very pleased with that.

that's it for now. miss everyone. make it a good week.

-shannon-