I just bought a bottle of Diet Pepsi. Every time I go to this particular Pepsi machine, I remember the firs time I met my friend Emiliano. It was a very humid day in August, and I desperately wanted a Diet Pepsi. So, I scrounged up some change, and headed off to the pop machine. And my money got stuck. So, I returned to my office and borrowed a few more cents from my office neighbor, the fantastic Darcey. The borrowed money also got stuck. Then, as I was standing there thinking dark thoughts about this Pepsi machine, this wonderful Guatemalan man stopped to help me out. He had some folded paper in his hand, which we used in an attempt to dislodge my money. He even put in some of his own money. All to no avail. Finally, Emiliano shook the machine, which made all the money we had deposited slide down into the machine and I was rewarded with probably the most tasty Diet Pepsi ever. A few weeks later I found out that Emiliano was going to be one of my mentors for the semester. We had a lot of fun. Emiliano is great. He left Guatemala in the 1980s as a result of the political unrest and disappearances that were happening in his country. He was telling us (my mentor group) about his decision to come to the US. He said that he was at a university at the time, and people would just disappear. You would leave school at night, and the next morning, friends and teachers would be gone. Very scary. I can't imagine living in an environment like that. I often try to remind myself that, as hard as my life seems sometimes, or as tired as I am, I really can't imagine what real hardship looks or feels like.
Today at lunch Deb introduced me to another faculty member that I didn't know as "wunderkind." I love my department. I mean, I seriously hit the jackpot here. Yay me!
Yesterday was a really long day. Mark and I got to work at the normal time. I worked on class stuff in the morning. I was really happy yesterday. Not only did I wake up feel good/healthy, but the world was just brighter. I was excited to go to school and to get things done. Then, in the afternoon/evening, I went to the last TCFL tournament of the year. We had a lot of students there from Augsburg, thanks to David's persuasion class and, I have to say, it was much more fun with all those people there. So, even though it was a long day, it was a good day.
This morning started off pretty well but went downhill rapidly. As I was sitting on the couch eating my bowl of cereal, the traffic report declared that the snow was causing a lot of problems for the morning commute, chief among these was the semi that tipped over on the interstate just east of where Mark and I exit to get to school. Mark also saw this report and expressed his dismay. "Yes," I said. "Maybe we should go through town today, instead of taking the interstate." Now, Mark is very wonderful and I love him alot, but sometimes he sort of pooh-poohs me when I make driving direction suggestions. I think that he likes to be the navigator, if you will, the expert on where to go and what routes to take. This was one of those times. He sort of scoffed at my idea, declaring that it would be just as busy going downtown and that he'd rather go farther south. This didn't fly with me because I HATE to backtrack. I mean, I really hate it. So, we wound up going the regular way which was a giant mistake. Our drive to school typically takes between 12 and 20 minutes. This morning, it took us ONE HOUR AND TEN MINUTES. During the drive (which Mark pointed out would have gotten us 1/3 of the way to Fargo) I tried to keep my spirits up, but I couldn't help thinking (and eventually saying aloud) that I had been right when I suggested taking Washington through downtown. Yeah, it would have taken longer than our usual drive -- but not 3 TIMES longer. We did eventually make it to school and my day has progressed pretty much according to schedule since.
Tonight, my first priority is going to the gym. This is going to be difficult, because I am very tired. But I am going to stick to my guns. Tonight should be a cardio night. If I can do half an hour, then I can come home and chill out the rest of the night. Maybe play Mario G... Maybe watch a movie. We should get Meet the Robinson's in the mail today. I've wanted to see it for a long time because of the part where the T-Rex declares that he can't grab the boy because has a big head and tiny arms. HA HA HA HA. That is very funny. I'm chuckling a little right now thinking about it.
And on that note... I'm out.
No comments:
Post a Comment