carpesensum

Part of my plan for The Future is that at some point I will join the Peace Corps (it keeps getting put off further and further for one arbitrary reason or another) and so to that end this semester I have started volunteering to teach ESL! Last Thursday was my first night and I was super nervous. The last time I volunteered for pretty much anything I felt pretty depressed about it. It was doing paperwork for a hospice, and the combination of office work and death can't be much fun for anyone.

But this opportunity is actually pretty fun! The course is for Lower Intermediate students, meaning that they can understand basic words and form really basic sentences. Unfortunately for the teacher, the Basic courses were filled up and they put a bunch of people who do not speak English into the classroom, so she (Kathy, who is super nice) was overwhelmed. My job is mostly to focus on the students who need the most help, so she may instead teach most of the class.

The student I am helping the most is from Afghanistan and speaks Farsi. He's a perfectly nice guy, but he gets frustrated really easily. The first day, when I tried to help him on the computer, I tried to help him and he spit at me "I do no speak English!" which is sort of a weird thing to say in an ESL classroom. His defeatist attitude probably extends from being placed in a level of ESL that is too high for him, meaning that his fellow students are at least able to follow the instructions and turn to the right page and he can't even write his name correctly in the Latin alphabet. So while Kathy is teaching the rest of the class, I sit with him and make him read the lesson to me. I think he appreciates the special attention (from a lady no less!), and even after two classes he was already reading better.

There are a few things I am already learning. The number one thing is that I don't know grammar at all. I went through this when I was studying Spanish; when they start talking about past progressives and gerunds, I go cross-eyed. Students will ask me why they "went hiking" instead of "went hiked" and I will not know how to explain it to them. Usually I'll shrug or call Kathy over, and then later ask her why and get a little grammar lesson on the side. I think now that I'll be showing up every class, I'll at least know what Kathy says and be able to parrot it.

I don't know when the ESL class ends, but this should be a fun semester!

When the end of the world comes and I'm left here with the sinners and urchins that God has forsaken, I think I'll be OK. I think as long as I have this fire, a tray of cheeses and crackers lined up in front of me and a microwave heating my milk in the next room I'll survive. When I run out of cheese, I'll have Wikipedia to look up how to make more. The room is mostly silent except for Christmas carols playing; I can imagine carolers in the street singing under gas lamps, and that is OK with me. The crackling of the fire is enough soundtrack for me. I'll survive. The end of the world will have to do without me, because I'll be here, toasting my cheese and the new year.

Passport:

To dream that you lose your passport, indicates that you are trying to find yourself and get a sense of who you are. Alternatively, you may feel that opportunities are being close off to you.

Pregnancy:

To dream that you are pregnant, symbolizes an aspect of yourself or some aspect of your personal life that is growing and developing. You may not be ready to talk about it or act on it. This may also represent the birth of a new idea, direction, project or goal.

Rush

To dream that you are in a rush, suggests that you need to better manage your time. You feel that you do not have the time to do all the things you want to do. The dream is also representative of the pressure you are putting on yourself.

It's Sunday, I'm up at fucking 930 because the 4.5 year old decided to run around outside my door IN HEELS screaming "I'M WEARING HEELS," the mom is cooking their fucking spicy disgusting breakfast in the kitchen, which so happens to be right under my window so I'm fucking baking in it and the 9 year old is alternating between yelling upstairs to her sister and coughing her fucking head off. There's bugs in my room crawling all over my things, sometimes I walk into my room and my stuff has been moved around or the little girls have just left their shit in here, and the parents have no respect for me. Guys, I pay rent to live here, all I'd appreciate is the parents hushing the little girls saying "Shh, shh, be respectful." And also if they'd make sure that the fucking kids didn't touch my shit when I wasn't there. And if they'd turn on the fucking AC.

In my new place, I kept a mug in the bathroom. It was inherited from the folks and it said "DO A KAHLUA." It was not age-appropriate.

I woke up one morning and found the mug in the bathroom trashcan. Curious, I pulled it out, only to find that it had been broken in half. My mind went "Huh." Then it went "I wonder if the the family will mention it."

Two weeks went by and I didn't hear anything about it. I didn't want to ask them about the Case of the Broken Mug because I didn't have that much emotional attachment to it, accidents happen especially when you live in a small house with a 4 1/2 year old, and I didn't want any bad karma between us.

But I arrived home today and the 8 year old gave me this-


Cool! A new mug and an acknowledgement of my Recent Graduation.

I also got a letter from Nordstroms thanking me for my application and apologizing for not having any employment opportunities at this time. So it goes.

This may sound fucking emo, but it's seven in the morning and I haven't slept all night because I'm writing this paper, and besides this is fucking livejournal so I feel sort of obligated to be whiny emo me-me-me, but I really miss having a group of friends in which everyone knew each other and we could talk about each other and gossip and we'd roll in a pack instead of nowadays where I have random friends that kind of know each other but I'm sort of the odd-friend-out. I guess it'd be easier if my friends weren't so spread out between work and school, and especially if I hung out with my friends more. Blaugh whatever fml I need to finish this paper and get some fucking sleep.

Once I graduate-

1. Make/finish that damn website.
2. Start making movies with regularity.
3. Apply for the Peace Corps.

That's about it.

 malachitefrog: (1:24:12 PM) the sky is falling.

carpesensum: (1:24:28 PM) with rays of sunshine

malachitefrog: (1:24:41 PM) and gumdrops.

carpesensum: (1:24:51 PM) those hurt when they hit you

malachitefrog: (1:24:59 PM) i got a concussion last time.

carpesensum: (1:25:06 PM) a delicious concussion

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Guys I'm really excited. I went to the Watchmen premiere, and it was an all right movie (on Facebook I have a quick review about the film), but I was really distracted because of something far more exciting! I sat next to a random stranger, as you often will in a packed theater, and of course I struck up a conversation. We talked about Patton Oswald, the future of printed media and Star Wars. Not only that! I asked him what he did for a living.

"Oh, I'm the managing editor of the Record."
"No kidding?" That's ONLY the paper I want to work for after I graduate, and he's ONLY the one in charge of management at the paper! I had to be cool, though. "Oh, that's cool. I want to work for that paper after I graduate."
"Really? Doing what?" And then I explained something about reporting or something.
"OK. Well, let me give you my card." He didn't have his card, but whatever. "Tell you what. Give me a call, the number is on the mastiff, and we'll talk."

GUYS GUYS GUYS. Just by going to the Watchmen premiere and being chatty I may have a job after I graduate! I shouldn't be too excited, because if I do that then it'll all fall through, but I can't help it! I want it to be nine AM already so that I can start calling people and bragging!