T is for Things, Various

Again, typically I start each blog with a list of things I’m not talking about, but today I’m just gonna yammer on about several different topics, in no particular order.

• I am tired. Not of or because of this blogging challenge; just because of life in general. Mother Nature has been waxing so schitzo lately, I don’t know what she’s up to. Today? Sunny. Yesterday? Cold and windy and rainy. Day before that? Warm and sunny. Day before that? Cold and windy. I’m a little barometer, so changes like this tend to make me ill, or more specifically, give me a migraine. Nothing like a dagger-through-the-skull pounding headache to take the wind out of your sails. (Yes, that’s a cliché… which normally I would avoid like the plague… but again, I’m tired.)
• Tears are hitting me again. I seem to be entering the anger stage of grief – the part where I’m really really mad at Cindy for up and dying on us like that. How f*ing dare she!?!??!
• Some/many of you may not be aware, but I am a teacher. I am mauling molding journalism students at the university by learning ’em how to do graphic design. It’s exhausting and rewarding, both. And my OCD wants me to give feedback on projects in minute detail, but I haven’t the time. Thus, grading is a struggle.
• So, of course: time. When I was younger, I’d heard that time moves faster as you get older. I thought whoever told me that was wrong. Well, turns out they’re right, right, right. Time is flying by. And I’m starting to have {more} trouble remembering when things happened. Also, seems forgetfulness is a fun family trait: minds like a sieve, or as my uncle put it, teflon memory. Oh boy.
• I love turtles. I have one as a pet. Her name is Jilly, and she’s a red-eared slider. They like water and “land”, so she has a small tank with some water and some rocks and a stone big enough for her to sit on and bask. One thing I never expected is how messy turtles can be. Their water gets algae all up in it, and of course they potty right their in the water… and eat their food right there… yeah. Messy.
• I love the theater. LOVE it. But I learned pretty early that my role/lot in life wasn’t on the stage, or even behind the stage, but under it. Literally. When I worked at the Center for Puppetry Arts as the Marketing Director, our offices were in the basement. I didn’t create programming; I just promoted it. And how did I learn the fun fact about myself, that I shouldn’t be on stage, you ask? Well, even if you didn’t, I’m gonna tell you: one year whilst in high school, we put on a production of The Music Man. Even tho I have zero acting ability, I was still cast in the play as a non-speaking background part, such as a townswoman to walk across the stage when needed (and I did an excellent job at that). For some reason, the director decided I should be at the front of the line for the Shipoopi dance. I was supposed to lead with my right foot to start out, and every single night, I led with my left. Yeah, it’s a behind-the-scenes hard knock life for me.
• I was reminded tonight by a student that I am currently undergoing a transformation. If we are still taking up space on this planet, then we are changing every day. Some changes we have no control over; for instance, we are constantly shedding our cells and growing new ones. We can’t control our circumstances either, but we can control how we react to them. Beating ourselves up for not being perfect does nothing positive.

So I guess that’s it for today. There are six letters of the alphabet left; I wonder what I’ll come up with for U? As of now, I haven’t a clue!

PS Don’t forget to go visit my dear partner-in-blogging and cheerleader Chad Clark and his alphabet of monsters!