Life Choices

You may or may not know that I volunteer at the high school tutoring on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Normally I really enjoy it, especially now that the kids know my name (after 7 months of wearing a name tag), but today I got really flustered with the kids. I felt like a babysitter instead of a tutor, a task master instead of a mentor. I was sitting at a table with three kids, only one of which, Martha, was being remotely productive. Sebastian would not work on a single thing no matter how much cajoling I tried, and Estefania went in and out of school focus. At some point I tried telling the kids that their grades really do matter and the more education they get the better their lives will be. Estefania mentioned she can start working and making money now. I tried convincing her that $15/hour is not super great in the grand scheme of things. I got so frustrated, but it wasn't until I got home that I figured out a better way of putting things. I'm now going to type it out so hopefully I will remember enough to be able to go back to them on Tuesday and restate my opinion.

There are a million ways to be a good person and lead a happy life. I've had family and friends who've not gone to college, or not finished and have been perfectly happy with how their lives have turned out. I've had family and friends who've led amazing professional and academic careers who have also been happy. If you don't like school, that's fine. It may NOT be for you. But at least respect yourself enough to think through the decision and be proactive about making it instead of doing nothing and letting the decision be made for you. You can be just about anything you want in this life. Almost nothing is predetermined for you if you have enough gumption to go after what you want. Doing well in school and going to college only opens up more opportunities. But again, if you don't want them, that's fine, but just make sure that the path you're on is the one you want before it's too late or too hard to choose another.

Kids say the Funniest Things

Or maybe I should say kids are entertained by the funniest things. This past Saturday I had the chance to accompany my high school kids to Central Washington University to tour the campus and see what life is like down in Ellensburg, WA. It was a nice enough campus. I think we went on two or three different tours. I was a bad influence and walked in the back with two girls who were also fairly indifferent to the knowledge being offered to them. Instead of listening attentively like a good example would, I regaled them of stories from Boston, one of them is obsessed with moving there and was keen on learning everything and anything about her beloved city. They were both equally excited about the strangest words that came out of my mouth like ta tas (can't imagine when I've ever used that term before but I did and they LOVED it), tush and tokus (both yiddish for bum). I have to say I've never before been idolized because of such seemingly innocuous words. But there you have it, Sara's molding of Wenatchee's young minds one tokus at a time.

Airport Manager Needed

Today during lunch Matthew and I were looking through the Wenatchee Classified Ads and came across a job posting for an airport manager for the Cashmere Airport. Now per Wikipedia at the 2000 census Cashmere boasted a population of just under 3,000 so I can only imagine the size and use of their airport. I'm not really sure who they are looking for and what the job would entail. The posting just said:

Part time. Hours and salary to be negotiated. Send letter of interest to . . . . To be received no later than April 15, 2009.

With only a day to respond to the query, Matthew and I sat down and wrote out a simple letter of interest and sent it along. Now, I have no hope of actually securing this job but wouldn't it be so fun to tell people I managed an airport? Even if it only services private planes and crop dusters? Maybe I'd be able to catch a ride some time. Oooh. Doesn't that make you wild with jealousy? No? Well it did to Matt.


Update as of April, 20. No love, they've hired someone else. All my hopes and dreams down the drain. I only pray that my heart will recover.

Washington State Apple Blossom Festival

I was walking over to the high school the other day for tutoring and I saw it - the first signs of the Apple Blossom Festival that everyone keeps talking about. Six plastic patio chairs with a bench made out of cinder blocks and ply wood all tied together by a sturdy looking rope. I had heard that the Festival is a big deal and my RadiSys co-workers made me a fact sheet before I moved noting how early the parade route got scoped by very forward-looking attendees, but I had to see it to believe it. A full two weeks early and already the number of chairs on the side of the road are multiplying exponentially every day.

I finally got around to looking up the Festival online and found a three-page itinerary of events that lasts from April 23rd to May 3rd. That's close to two weeks!! There are three parades, three fairs, a prayer service, a hydroplane regatta, a race, a pie-eating contest not to mention a pie bake-off, and my personal favorite for it's sheer randomness a Bocce Ball Tournament. And the best part about it is not having to find parking because although our apartment is kind of dumpy it IS within walking distance to all the fun. I'm actually getting a little excited now that it's dawning on me just what sort of event this is to be.

So, if you can't find me sometime during those two weeks you know where I'll be. Yep, that's right, getting my face painted. Wahoo for the Wenatch!!

Wahoo for Spring

Spring in all of it's 70 degree glory is finally here. The buds on the trees remain dismally absent for the most part but it's sunny and 70. I really can't complain. Especially since it means Matt and I can resume our after-dinner walks. Yesterday we walked to the grocery store and back passing our new favorite street lined with well maintained tudor-esque homes. The sprinklers were going and a group of kids were playing tag football in the street. Everything about the scene cried out idyllic.
We talked about pulling out our baby BBQ, our future, and how wonderful the evening was. It feels nice to be in the sun and warmth and to remember that the earth does continue to revolve, along with our lives, even though we sometimes think that it has gotten stuck somewhere along the way.