3 Dreams

My dreams have not been working out so well lately. Here are some from the past 3 nights.

First, I get heart-broken when Tommy suddenly decides to go back to Hong Kong, and since I have to stay and work, we have to get a divorce?... I am wondering who I am going to marry again. I am asked to sign one paper, and then suddenly, someone is holding another stack of blue papers. Then, Tommy is about to go out the door. I ask him very hopefully if I can make it back to Hong Kong, can we get married again?
His reply, " Probably not..."
I was crushed, and trying everything I could do not to cry.
(Luckily I woke up after this dream, and Tommy was right there, and I felt so happy, and put my arm around him. Then I turned the other direction, and then he did the same thing to me, while he was still sleeping. I felt so much better.)

Next, my extended family and I are on a terrific picnic on a beautifully green hill, when a van full of murderers get dropped off. I briefly talk to the driver, who is from the jail or something, and says they're not dangerous, and they're supposed to be dropped off here. It's my job to calm my family down and convince them we're not going to be killed (but hide them inside the nearest building, anyway), and try to not get the murderers to hunt us down or kill us, while also sort of befriending them to stay on their good side.

Last, Tommy and I are mad at each other, and then my dream jumps and somehow I find myself a new missionary on an LDS mission. My companion and I woke up late, AND we have the job to go track down a pair of thieves or murderers, so we're rushing trying to get ready. Suddenly, our mission president's face shows up (think Wizard of Oz) and he is chewing me out for not having personal scripture study. I'm trying to explain that it's not entirely my fault (and I'm a NEW missionary), and that we have to go catch these guys, but he doesn't care and warns me that I need to be better and it's my responsibility.

No, I'm not pregnant. I've had weird dreams like this my whole life. (Ask anyone in my family.)
And this is why there should be some device invented in order to record dreams...

L-O-A-N that's how you spell Loan!

Now you know, I have student loans, just like almost the rest of everyone else who is a US citizen and went to a university. It wasn't that much to begin with (less than $10,000), so that's a pretty awesome thing. Since I'm a teacher, I have the summer off. (I have from May 25-July 29 off, actually.) 2 months. I'd really love to take those two months to play and relax, because I know I could use it. However, Tommy is going to be working, and since we don't have any children, I really wouldn't have too much to occupy my time. I do get bored easily at times, and I don't have a lot of money to buy things to make crafts all day...

The other day I got to thinking and started to wonder, "What if I got a job on campus for those two months?" So I asked Tommy today, and my thought went even farther to, "I could use all of that extra money  from working an extra job to go straight to pay off my student loan, plus the money from my regular paycheck." Tommy agrees. We both want to be able to start actually saving money as soon as possible. Money goes in, and it goes out even faster, it seems like. As we were discussing things, we determined that if everything went according to that plan, then I can have my loan paid off by October! (Or maybe even before October!)

So, even though I don't actually want to spend my 2 months "off" working, I would love to pay off my student loan as fast as possible. The government wants me to pay it off in 10 years, according to their payoff plan. I think they just want extra money! I pay roughly 5 times the payment amount I'm required per month, so I'm on the 2 year track as of now, which is also not too bad. But paying it off by October does sound like a dream! (A dream that I can definitely handle!!!) 

Because I'm tired of paying extra money. And I want to save money. And we don't have a car yet, although we're trying to discuss that and figure that out. But riding the bus is very economical, as well as very environmentally friendly. Although it does take a very long time. We'll see. I'm just very hopeful about this. 

Or perhaps idealistic. 

I'm just tired of paying bills I don't want to pay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I want to get rid of one that stares me down each time I get paid. Goodbye to you, is my take.

I know this is a boring post. I'm sorry. 

I'm so excited for...

Well, first of all, my brother and sister-in-law (I have a sister-in-law now!) got married on Saturday, so congratulations to them! I'm excited for a new sister. She's awesome, too! And she looked so incredibly beautiful.

I'm always excited for one thing: spending time with my husband.
Which makes me excited for two dates, in particular:
April 12- last day of finals for my baby;
May 24- last day of school (teaching) for me.

I'm excited for next month, too, because that means spring break for me, but sadly, my husband will be studying away, which means I won't get to spend very much quality time with him. (But it will still be exciting to be able to see him and spend time with him when I can, because that will be more than most.)

I'm excited for April 12, because that means no more studying for classes! That means that when I come home from work, my Tommy Baby will be all mine! (For the most part.) We can do nice things, like walk to Foodland at night, just to walk around. We can watch movies together. We can go to bed at the same time!!! (I always have to go to bed before Tommy because he's studying, and I have to wake up super early.)

I'm excited for May 24, because after that, I can relax for the summer (from work). Then, hopefully, I will be able to spend even more time with Tommy. Even though he'll be working during the day, well, I can have lunch with him, or go find him if I want to see him.

He's looking for an internship for this summer, though, so hopefully we won't be apart, because that would be boring and stinky. (It depends on his internship schedule and my school start date.)
But, I'm not worrying about that right now, BECAUSE.... it gives me something to look forward to!
And, I like counting down a bit. Only 3 months until school is out for the summer for me!! (That includes spring break and the following week.) That is so close! 3 months goes by quickly!!! (Unfortunately, too, because that means my summer is going to be fast. :( )
I'm just excited, though. It helps me get through my right now slightly boring life. :)

Some Days Were Just Meant to be Bad

Today, for me, was one of them. Let's start by saying you got about 4.5 hours of sleep, and sum it up with having a crazy schedule, good kids, naughty kids, noisy kids, and grumpy kids at school. To top it off with a BANG!, we'll add on that the bus made a very noisy sound and the air or hydraulics system went out. The good part? It broke down next to a road you could walk on to catch a different bus that only comes 4 times a day. But you have to wait 30 minutes for that bus to arrive. At least you got to talk to other people who are always on the same bus as you...and kind of make friends.
....And so at the end, or middle, or whenever you are able, you can listen to "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter. Because as weird and strange as it is, listening to an upbeat song about having a bad day is indeed oddly vindicating, and also releases pressure/stress/whatever.
So, if you're having a bad day, just listen to that song.
If you want more of headbanging songs, try this one a few times. And if that doesn't work, you could always listen to Linkin Park (you should know this one).
Last, if you prefer mellow music, you should listen to Joshua Radin. And if you're going to do that, you might as well WATCH his music video for Brand New Day because it's really funny.

I guess the real point of this post, whatever your music preferences are, is that you should listen to music to feel happier after a long day. (But don't listen to music that will make you feel angrier! The world doesn't want that, peeps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

PEACE!

Ah, the Life of a Teacher

Today, I was blessed with the amusing and awe-striking experience of being a teacher. (Names are changed for protection.) FYI, I teach 2nd grade.

***DISCLAIMER: Most days are not anywhere near as...amusing and/or awe-striking as this fabulous Friday was. Most days are completely "normal" (compared to this one).***

Scene 1:
1st bell just rang, 5th grade cousin walks into room: "Mrs. Wong, What's Sam's mom's phone number? I'm his cousin [I knew that], and he threw up on his plate." Apparently someone got sick while eating school breakfast (and I honestly doubt it was due to what he was eating).

Scene 2:
Lunch Recess. Walking to playground. See a silly boy peeing on the grass. I'm not even lying. Of course, I motioned for him to come to me, but he just stayed put, and as I got closer, he went to play with friends. Well, I got a good look at his face, found him quickly, and we walked right over to the counselors to talk about such behavior (meaning we walked over together and I told the counselors what happened, and left so I could watch the other students).

Scene 3:
End of lunch recess. Students should be lining up with their classes. Some Kinders scream "His pants are falling down!" Yes, indeedy, they sure are. I'm questioning myself: "Why would he wear pants that are so huge on him to school?" The button and zipper are still done up, but the pants won't be pulled up. Note to self: pants are not too big; he pulled them down without undoing anything, and now they're stuck. He's running around, trying not to show his underwear to the whole playground. I get the fine task of unbuttoning and unzipping his pants, pulling them up, and then buttoning and zipping them right back up again. Oh boy!
It doesn't stop there.

Wait, why is he trying to pull them down?
Kinder boy: "I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!"
Other student: "There's somebody in there!"
Me: "Wait until your teacher takes your class to the bathroom. You can go then!"
Kinder boy: "I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!"
Other student: "There's somebody in there!"
Me: "Can you wait until your teacher takes you?"
Kinder boy: "No! I need to go!" (He's very wiggly and squirmy, and highly uncomfortable)
Me: "Okay, well can you use that one over there?"
Kinder boy: "Okay!!!" as he runs away, trying to pull down his pants.

Sometimes, when you gotta go, you gotta go!

Scene 4:
Today was the 104th day of school, but we celebrated the 100th day because our students needed time to do their displays of 100 items.
2 students put 100 stickers on a piece of paper. Students are individually presenting projects to the class.
George: "This is 100 hero stickers..."
I call another student up right after George.
Henry: "I made 100 stickers, too."
"What kind of stickers are on there, Henry?"
"Lightning McQueen!" exclaims half the class.
"Oh, you put Cars stickers on it?"
"Yes."
"Henry, stay there. George, come back up; hold your sticker sheet. Class, what kind of stickers are on George's paper?"
"Hero stickers."
"And what kind of stickers are on Henry's paper?"
"Cars!"
Pointing from their sticker sheets to their shirts, I point something out to the class. George is wearing a Captain America shirt and used 100 hero stickers. Henry is wearing a Lightning McQueen shirt and used Cars stickers.
That was the best observation I made all day! Plus, the class laughed, and George and Henry weren't sure if they felt special or embarrassed."'

Scene 5:
EVERYONE in class eventually understood the math lesson today! It didn't even take that long for most of them to get it!

Scene 6: I put a paper clip chain around my neck (a hundreds project a student made) and flaunt it to the class while he's explaining it. Well, that just made the whole day awesome, apparently. Those kids did not expect their teacher to wear a colorful paper clip necklace... another funny moment.

Nicknames and TheBus

Typically, society portrays Alice (from Alice in Wonderland) as having blonde hair. That’s why it was so hard for me one morning to decide if I was “Alice in Wonderland” or “Goldilocks.” You see, I was riding the bus one morning, as my usual routine in getting to work, and a man was speaking to another bus rider, but with an unusually loud voice.

“I have a name for every person who rides this bus every morning,” he boasted. “I call her ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ and that one is Goldilocks.” He babbled on about this for a few minutes, repeating himself a few times, and talking about nicknames for a few other people. I knew I had to be one of those two.

“But then again,” I questioned myself, “Why am I not Sleeping Beauty? Doesn’t he see me at least trying to sleep every morning?”

As creepy as it may have sounded, I did want to know who I was. I could ask him, but I didn’t want to spark a long conversation with him. I try to sleep on the bus, and that would foil my plans. As I posted it on facebook, most responses I got back were in favor of me being “Alice.”

Well, this Nickname Guy couldn’t be too creepy; I had a few nicknames for people before. Actually, one man in particular.

On a later bus I used to ride, a man with an earring, glasses, and a mole, who worked at a museum, would get onto the bus. Of course, since my eyes were closed, I would usually smell him before I could see him. That led his nickname to become “Coffee Boy.” He’d walk onto that bus with coffee every morning. Sometimes he sat next or close to me, and I could smell that coffee even more. I just started to call him Coffee Boy in my head. Whenever I see him (usually on the way home), I say to myself, “There’s Coffee Boy.” I guess some people earn reputations, neither good nor bad. I earned an Alice/Goldilocks rep because of my hair, and another man earned a coffee rep.

The one rule Nicknaming Guy broke: you should never tell people on the bus about your nicknames for other bus riders.

And I guess he just earned himself a nickname by breaking that rule. 

Life, I guess

Remember in my last post how I talked about my journal, and how it's easier? Well, I haven't written in it for a while. A long time. I don't really know why. And I'm not really sure how to get myself to start again. I don't necessarily think the root or stem of the problem is laziness to write (although that might be a "leaf" if we're talking plant metaphors here). I don't know. I want to treasure life as I have it now. I also know that if I wrote down all my blessings everyday, I'd be a lot happier. I haven't been as happy as I've wanted to be...probably since my birthday. Or before that.
I didn't even have a clue how attached to my journal I really was. When I lost it and tried everything I could to get it back, I was left devastated each time nothing worked. I've often thought to myself about how I feel like I lost part of myself when I lost that journal. those months, February through August, were a HUGE shaping point of my life, because SO MUCH happened. I still struggle with it sometimes. My lovely husband could even tell just now (while doing his hw), that I was having a bit of a hard time, so he made sure I was okay- twice. One day I told him that I don't know when I'll be okay, but I know I will be okay (regarding my journal). He told me that was a big step from where I first started. I'm obviously still not there yet, otherwise I'd be totally up to write everyday.
At the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013, I just kept thinking about how 2012 was the HARDEST year of my life. But then I realized, it was also the best year of my life as well. At that point, I came to the conclusion that if we're going to get big blessings, we're going to get big trials. Also, if we're going to get big trials, we're going to get big blessings.
Life is getting better, but only because I've been exerting a lot of energy into helping myself have a good attitude. Having a good attitude used to come so naturally to me, but like I said, 2012 was hard, and it really did beat me down a little. I got tired of being at that place, so I'm trying to take matters into my hands to be happy. I'm still working on it. Since I'm graduated and have a career, but live in married student housing, I'm in a tough position. I don't really feel like I have that many friends, and I live nowhere near any of my coworkers (who are all married and have children and stuff like that). It's easy to feel alone. Not to mention the fact that I NEED social interaction to keep myself happy. That's one struggle I have, because my schedule and life situation aren't very conducive to making friends with a lot of people.


On another note, I have been thinking about something lately (the past few months or weeks):
I've been thinking about how people tell others that there's someone who is always worse off or has worse problems than they have, and then their problems don't seem so bad. While I don't exactly want to thoroughly discredit this idea, OUR problems are OUR problems, which makes them feel incredibly real for ourselves. Sometimes, it seems like if we compare our problems to someone else's, ours aren't so bad. BUT,  this cannot exactly hold true. It can't hold true because the types of problems we experience wouldn't actually be an issue to that other person, or their problems would be too much for us to bear and/or handle, so we meet face-to-face with challenges that are meant for US, and are not to be compared. Example: Suppose a close relative died. "Compare" that to me "just" losing part of my journal. Seems like no big deal against coping with family loss. But it was HUGE to me!) Problems weren't meant to be compared. They were meant to be dealt with.

Good things are coming my way: David Choi concert next Saturday, Matthew and Amanda are getting married in less than a month, and I'm going to bed now!