Randomness...

First, here's something that I read in a magazine that I thought was funny:

U.S. Ship: "Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision."

Canadian Reply: "Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision."

U.S. Ship: "This is the captain of a U.S. Navy ship. I say, divert your course."

Canadian Reply: "No. I say again, you divert YOUR course!"

U.S. Ship: "THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA. WE ARE A LARGE WAR SHIP OF THE U.S. NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!"

Canadian Reply: "This is a lighthouse. Your call."
(have I posted this before? It seems familiar, but I can't remember!)

Tonight, while babysitting for Gracie and Oliver, Gracie told me that when she grows up she wants to be two things - a teacher, and a babysitter who works at Pottery Barn Kids!

Four weeks and counting until I fly out to Michigan :)

Rain!!

Something amazing happened - it rained today :)
Okay, so I know I live in Seattle, where we average about 55 days of sunshine per year, but you've got to realize that those 55 days pretty much fall in the summer months, and that most summer days there isn't a cloud in the sky! Which is why it was so amazing that it rained late last night and into this morning. Everything about it was wonderful and divine, from the first spatters of rain on the trees outside my window to the temperature falling and Seattlites being forced to pull out our sweaters and fleece.

I can remember a fall day back in 2003 that was just amazing. I remember that it was a Monday in November, and it did nothing but rain. For 27 hours. Rain came down in buckets and I had to go home and change my clothes after every class because my pants were all soaked up to the knees from rain dripping off my raincoat and splashing up when I walked. By the time I went to wind ensemble that evening, I was in a skirt because all my pants were hanging on my bunkbed, drying. A paper for NT Letters was due that evening, as well, and I remember handing it over in a large, Ziploc bag so it wouldn't get wet in my backpack. There was nothing but coziness that day. As great as it was to be out in the rain, smelling its freshness, it was just as great to go inside, peel off a layer of wet clothing, and pull on an old, dry hooded sweatshirt. Ever wonder why Starbucks does so well in Seattle? Well, I think part of it has got to be the rain: there's nothing better than curling up in a comfy velvet chair with a steaming triple-grande-nonfat-extra foam-carmel-macchiato on a chilly, rainy autumn day. Yeah, I remember that it rained 13 inches in 12 hours that day.
I love rain :)

Goals

Since I have decided that I need a year of flexibility and don't want to teach this year, I am trying to make goals to do things that I wouldn't normally be able to do while teaching full-time. So far I have:

1. Visit Michigan in October and finally see my best friend!!
(plane ticket is already purchased!!)

2. Join the "B Group" women's Bible study at church that meets Tuesday mornings
(already signed up!)

3. Get back into the habit of writing real letters to my best friend every week
(something that I would like to be able to do while teaching full time)

4. Get back into the habit of journaling (this one may be hard)

5. Go to the Puyallup Fair, something I have wanted to do for the past four years

6. Help start up the post-college group at church (already underway)

7. Cook more, as in actually dirty more than one dish to make dinner
(no more salami sandwiches for dinner!)

8. Knit my Christmas gifts before December 20th. I'm serious this year.

9. Go to Urbana this December with the team from church and then to Kenya with the same team next summer

I may add more to this list, but I don't want to make it too long and overwhelming. Let me know if you have any other ideas of stuff I could do. And I'll make sure to keep y'all posted on how I'm doing on these goals!

Scrabble

Since my sole devoted Scrabble opponent is now in law school at USC, I have started to play Scrabble against my computer. The following message is what popped up after playing several rounds tonight:

"Master Maven (my computer) thinks (s)he can wipe out all but good tournament players. There are maybe 200 players in North America stronger than this. Are you ready to declare yourself one of the Scrabble Elite?"

I think I'm getting good at Scrabble...!