The Imagined Life

I am a sentimental person. I think it comes from watching too many dramatic films, but it is also just me. And, I couldn't help but feel a warm fluttering as I drove away from our nation's capital with the Washington Monument in the background. I have been waiting for this day for a long time, and I remember the first day I drove all of my stuff down and saw it and kept saying to myself, "I did it! I did it!" I have this annoying habit of forgetting that I accomplish things I set my mind to. I don't set my mind intensely to too many things because disappointment is too shattering for me, but there are a few things that I have been able to achieve because of my drive and focus. I wanted to move to DC. So, therefore, I did it. It was a difficult year. Probably my hardest transition experience yet. And, after a long long LONG bout of self-pity and a daily tear-stained face, I was able to "buck up" and accept my situation. I think I'll change 'able t...

You know that feeling when you happen to come across an old pair of shoes or an old piece of clothing that you just loved , was amazingly comfortable, and fit just right? You'd been missing them for so long, and you're so happy to have them back. You put them on again to try and get that exact feeling again that you used to have when you wore them and to fill that ache that's been inside of you ever since you lost them...They feel great, and you feel warm and fuzzy, but it isn't the same. You've changed; you've grown. The clothes or the shoes seem tattered or worn, and they're out of style now. The fit isn't quite right. You take them off and put them away to sell or give to someone else. You don't need them anymore. That's what it felt like to come back to the UAE. To come home. Hardly anyone has the chance to revisit an old place like I have. It was good for me. I needed to do it. I have been living a year of pining and aching. Or perhaps it...

I've just stumbled across some disturbing news. I only have two viewers to my last and previous blog posts! And when you think that one of those could potentially be yourself, that's when it really gets sad... So, here's to you, my two viewers: America cannot hold me for long! I will, to my extreme excitement and relief, be heading to Taiwan in August for another round of the ol' teaching! James will be doing the same. I know I am a stress head anyway, but I cannot express to you the deep stress that comes when trying desperately to find a solution to a long distance relationship (meaning move to the same place) and trying to find something that works for each person! But, James and I have been so lucky as to find a wonderful school that we are extremely excited to join! I've realized that I'm a bit of an overdoser on exclamation points. I have become the resident email writer for special events for my office because they know I enjoy constructing them in a s...

Oh, so I see that my last post was written in January, so I'm not doing TOO bad on blog upkeep, but it's still not ideal. I'm an aspiring writer but also a perfectionist and a little afraid of success or failure (who knows), so I do not write as much as I ought. I have a lot of exciting things on my plate at the moment, and I'm a bit in a tizzy on how to handle them all! I'm looking for my next step come this fall as well as trying to maintain an active teaching certificate, searching for a lucrative part time job, and trying to pursue my dream of being paid to write (AT LAST!) If I've learned anything from these past months of return and reassimilation, it is this cliche: C'est la vie: Thus is life. It took a lot of hard accepting and understanding to come to this realization, but it has given me such an unbelievable freedom, that I don't quite know how to proceed with it. (typical me: at a loss). I used to think, and sometimes still do, that one day...

And so it begins--the repeated cliches bang around your brain: "Back to the grind, back into the swing of things." My vacation has now come to an end. I've returned from Cloud 9 in the far off land of South Africa to about a bajillion miles west and about 50 degrees colder and to 50 boxes on my desk. I had the amazing opportunity to visit my wonderfully generous South African boyfriend (James) in his hometown, once again, to attend his brother's wedding and generally meet and hang out with the extended family. It was a beautiful time. It was just what I needed to cure the ailments of 4 months of long-distance relationship as well as the general life-changing events of moving, getting a new job, etc. Side note: I've been given the strict explanation of how Africa should not be used in the context of it being one whole country that's all the same. For example, "In Africa, people do this...blah blah blah" doesn't make sense. Africa is HUGE as is e...

I'm finally getting the chance to take the time to sit and write a more well-formed detailed blog entry. As life would have it, we no longer have internet in our house because we were being cheap and using a hot spot that cut out on us. So, I'm sitting outside at a "fancy" DC cafe with some newly made friends, finally having the chance to breathe after the whirlwind of the past few months. And a whirlwind it has been: new location, new job, new apartment, new acquaintances, new routines, new cultural reintroduction, new socially awkward moments, new adult life problems. But at last, I can say that my comfort level is rising slowly but surely, and I'm forming routines. I find myself making cheesy work jokes with coworkers and being able to join in on the work goss. I love the feeling of my OWN house key in my hand as I head home at the end of the day. I actually had a housewarming party last night with my roommate, and even though 95% of the people were her frien...

Good Morning--two seemingly harmless words that when put together appear to be a kind and socially normal morning-time greeting. But, for some reason...I CAN'T say them. If I ever do say them, it's as if I must drag them from my mouth and spit them out. I don't know what it is. This has been an issue since my younger days, and I've tried to analyze this problem, but I've come up with nothing. What I've created instead is a strange, perhaps off-putting singsong type of "Hiiiiiii" for the morning hours. As morning greetings go, I'm not sure it's appropriate because I get the sense that people don't know what to say back. It's the same feeling you get when you discover that in America, we don't have a physical greeting between a handshake and a hug. A handshake is for people you've just met, and a hug is for people you know well. What did we do with the people we haven't just met and kind of know? An awkward handshake-hug da...