Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Blog Tag

I took the bait because I have a thousand other things I need to be doing and I am stalling.

Here are my responses to this tag:

I am always supposed to be doing something (i.e. lesson plans, correcting student work, my own homework, research for my thesis, stuff for my calling etc) but I am very easily distracted so I end up reading blogs and doing tags that help me accomplish nothing.

I miss summer vacation. It is already cold here. In the summer it was warm and sunny and I had no responsibilities and now…well, that changed.

I think there is hope in the next generation.

I know the church is true, Jesus Christ is my Savior and that my Heavenly Father knows and loves me.

I want to visit all 7 continents before I die, including Antarctica and I want to ride from Beijng to Moscow on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

I have great friends and family.

I search for plane tickets to cool places at least twice a week, even though I don’t have any real vacation time until Christmas and no money. FYI -plane tickets are expensive right now.

I wish all parents would take care of their kids and that no child would have to grow up in an environment of drugs, prostitution, violence or apathy.

I hate the smell of New York City when it rains. I love the smell of rain everywhere else, but here it smells like a wet dog.

I am scared of cows and being shot into outer space.

I fear the wrath of my neighbors if McCain is elected president. Harlem is known for getting a bit violent and well, I am white.

I always turn the water off when I am brushing my teeth even though I live on an island and nobody around here thinks at all about water conservation, I have been trained by the California droughts.

I love the sound of dry autumn leaves crackling under my bike tires as I ride by.

I feel responsible to volunteer for anything and everything. I feel that because I was born to such privilege in a country with so many opportunities, I am bound to reach out and help others.

I hear noise ALL day so when I get home I like silence, not even music playing for at least 2 hours.

I don't remember most of my past roommates’ names. I have had 87 roommates since I turned 18 and I just can’t remember them all.

I wonder what my life will be like in 10 years. I honestly have no idea. I doubt I will be living in the same place, have the same friends or be working in the same industry.

I care about the social customs of hygiene enough to shower every day even though I don’t like shower. Oh, how I miss my dear China where showering more than once a week was considered excessive.

I regret never learning to play the piano and standing outside the Louvre in Paris and never going in.

I am not good at organizing…anything, my time, my papers, my room. I am an organizational nightmare.

I believe everyone should follow social courtesies like standing to the right side on the escalator if you are standing and letting the walkers, walk by on the left and waiting until those getting off the train exit before pushing your way in.

I dance in gay bars because the guys there don’t put their hands all over you and you are never worried about them following you home.

I sing only the hymns I know and only the melody and I rarely use a hymnbook. I can’t read music so I find the hymnbook useless.

I write positive notes to my students on post-it notes and stick them on their desk. The best thing I have learned as a teacher or a youth leader is that positive reinforcement is the best motivator. One day I wrote a positive note to one of the worst kids in the school and he stapled it to his shirt and wore it around all day.

I win card games because I cheat. I have no problem cheating at card games or trivial pursuit or any other board game. I think it is all part of the game.

I dream in Spanish sometimes because I am around Spanish so much these days. When I was in China I dreamed in Chinese, everyone in my dream was speaking Chinese but I still couldn’t understand them.

I lose at least 20 pens or pencils a day. I need a fanny pack to wear to school so that I have somewhere to keep them.

I never saw any of “The Lord of the Rings” movies and I don’t feel that my testimony has suffered for it because I was schooled in all the parallels to the gospel over the pulpit.

I listen to silence or people talking. I have no interest in listening to music despite repeated attempts to figure out what all the fuss is about.

I read on the bus and the train every day on my way anywhere I am going; and that is the beauty of public transportation. Right now I am reading the Anne of Green Gables series. I am on book six and I HATE Anne. I think she is so annoying, but I keep reading. I love reading books and I love that my students, who also ride the bus to school in the morning, see me reading.

I am happy, period.

11 comments:

laura said...

I love this post. You really do have some characteristics like me! Though I am not as organized as Dad, I now realize that I am more organized than a lot of people. And, I love quiet! I think because of our home for so many years. I also love to do things other than I should do (this is when I call you kids). I feel like I know you better. And, I am happy that you are happy - period.

Sue said...

That was Mom above.

Anonymous said...

When I read your blog I feel like the guy in "The Italian Job" who has to steal other people's dreams. I don't think I knew that the Trans Siberian Railroad existed, let along had a desire to ride it. Way to go.

laura said...

MOm or Dad- please sign out of my account, and resign in with your own name.
Jessica-
Organization has been troubling you from a very early age. I believe it started with all those STUPID stuffed animals.
Scared of cows?? Clearly a victim of Big Meadow.
I get chills when I see people conserving water. Why do so many people not do this?????
Can I have your IPOD?

Teresa said...

Yay! I really do love this tag. It is so interesting to me what we choose to write about ourselves. I LOVED yours. Laura has already vowed that she won't do it, we will wait to see if we get to hear more about the others. I also am very curious what you will be doing in ten years. I have my own ideas.

arisa said...

alright, jessica, i am one of your past roommates and probably the COOLEST one and if you don't remember me then you are crazy.

Anonymous said...

And I am your second coolest roommate. If you don't remember me...you are DOUBLE crazy. Yeah. Double crazy. and don't forget it, lady.

Jessica said...

Arisa and Carol,
Of course I remember you. You were my first roommates, how could I forget?
How is life? If Arisa would invite me to her blog I could find out for myself. It looks like you have 3 kids or else you really like taking pictures of the random neighbor kids who play on your bed.

jeff said...

Erin brought me a fanny pack from her trip to Ecuador. You've gotta be proactive about the stuff you want.

Anonymous said...

Jessica.
Despite the fact that you may or may not have forgotten me, I enjoy catching up with you on your blog. You are the same Jessica, and that is cool. And..not to butt in where i'm not wanted, but I think Risa needs to have your email address to invite you to her blog...and she ain't no creepypants, neighbor baby stealing weirdo, if that's what your comment was hinting at...those are her gorgeous and hilarious babies. :)

gChameleon said...

oh my heck! this post is hilarious.