The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

I am obnoxiously happy at my new job. This morning I had to present at a staff meeting.  Last year, even if I just had to say a few words about something, my principal made me rehearse in his office.  (I say "so" too much and phrase things as questions rather than statements.) *So*, this morning, when my principal called me up to speak, my stomach was flip flopping.  (And not in a good way, like when a boy I like texts me.)  I went over my "Menu of Reading Specialist Services," and it seemed to go well.  People were smiling and nodding.  But the best part was afterwards.  My principal pulled me into her office to tell me how impressed she was, and how I'm going to be her right-hand person this year.  It is so nice to be listened to and respected.  She even commented that I didn't have to be so formal!  I also had FIVE teachers approach me for advice today, and I am helping them with various things in their classrooms.  (This is actually a bigger deal than

This weekend was unexpectedly great. Whitney and I hung out on Friday night.  We started the evening at Rootstock.  I felt very grown-up just ordering a glass of fancy whiskey.  They have my favorite bourbon there, too, so I know I'll be back.  The food was also delicious. The night was still young after Rootstock.  We were teetering on the edge of drunk (at least I was) and needed a break from alcohol.  So our next stop was iCream, where you choose if you want ice cream, frozen yogurt, or pudding, and they make it right there in front of you.  Last week I had white chocolate ice cream with Oreos, and it was awesome.  This time, I went for the frozen yogurt option (stupid Weight Watchers) and was not happy.  I don't like frozen yogurt that actually tastes like yogurt. I asked Whitney what she thought about checking out the line for Violet Hour, and she was down, so we strolled over there and hopped in line.  We were seated quickly, and, as usual, I ordered a drink where I

Before I left on my trip, I'd decided that The Dixie Chicks' "Long Way Around" would be my theme song.  But I fell in love with "Map Song" by The Super Saturated Sugar Strings, and I'm blogging about it because everyone should download it RIGHT NOW. The band is from Alaska. My friend recommended them to me, and his sister sings on a few of the tracks.  They're a pretty new band; their album just came out in May.  But I am head over heels for this song.  I listened to it almost every night on my trip before I went to bed.  The words are so sweet and romantic, and I love the harmonies.  It makes me smile every time, especially the part where they say "but you by my side is like a big shot of Vitamin D."  I don't know why; it's just adorable. It's so new that there isn't a video on YouTube I can share.  But if you go to The Super Saturated Sugar Strings' website, they have their music playing.  I like their other stuff

I think most Christians would agree that God has a sense of humor. This morning, I was listening to the Joyce Meyer podcast.  (I highly recommend her app!)  It was about the fruits of the spirit, and she focused on patience and peace.  When she was talking about how we react when things don't go our way, I was feeling pretty good about myself.  I was thinking that was something I was pretty good at. And then, God decided to mess with me. Because I had a day that required a ridiculous amount of patience, and nothing went my way. I thought I had a meeting at the middle school.  Turns out it was a three and a half hour training.  None of us knew what we were in for.  We hadn't brought lunches and didn't get out of there till 1:45.  To make things worse, there was a guy there who actually didn't know how to go to a website on the internet.  Seriously.  This man is teaching our students.  This training was a 3.5 hour exercise in patience. THEN, I get back to my cla

I'm  really behind on blogging.  I still have two more canyons to blog about, and I didn't write about my time in Phoenix at all. There were two nights that tie for best night in Phoenix.  One of them is not appropriate for public viewing, but involves shenanigans with Rachel and Jenna.  The other great night was my last night in town, which I spent at a Scottsdale bar with Kristin and Jason. I was nervous when I arrived.  Kristin wouldn't be there for a while, but Jason was hanging out there with a bunch of friends.  Jason and I have a weird friendship because almost all of our time together is spent in canyons and camping.  The three of us know each other intimately, because that's what happens when you spend that type of time with people.  I don't know how to describe it, but the person I am in the canyons is slightly different than the person you'd see out at the bars.  It's complicated and difficult to explain, but this was only the second time I

This weekend was pretty wonderful. After a week of not sleeping well, I'd had enough.  After work on Friday, I took off for Bong Recreation Area, near Kenosha.  Just a little over an hour from the city.  It seemed to be the closest place to camp. I got there close to dark, so there wasn't much to do.  I sat outside and read my Kindle, then went to bed early. Now, I will be honest- I didn't sleep as well as I'd hoped.  My bed at home is pretty comfortable, and so was my bed at Rachel's.  I woke up several times during the night, just like I have been at home.  But here's the difference- I always knew where I was.  I laid there listening to the crickets, looking at the stars and trees, smelling fresh cut grass and forest, and was so happy. Another thing I like about camping is that I get up relatively early.  So I was up at 7 that morning and went for a run on a trail that I had completely to myself.  (That's one of the great things about camping- you

Okay, I’ll admit it.  I’m excited for fall.  I LOVE fall.  Things I’m looking forward to: Sweaters and hoodies Cinnamon candles  Leaves crunching under your feet Carving pumpkins and toasting the seeds (that I will give as gifts because I don’t actually like them) Going to the apple orchard with my mom… apple donuts and apple ciders slushees… Scary movies Watching my Charlie Brown DVDs Starting school!  I swear, September always flies by in an adrenaline-filled haze… The smell of burning leaves Football!!! Making apple pie (that will most likely be given as a gift because I’ll be dieting) Fall crafts (I think this year I want to attempt a wreath) Hot apple cider My one and only complaint about fall is that it means winter is coming…

I n the few nights since I've been home, my bed has become the enemy. I put off bed time as long as possible.  Finally, I stand there, staring at it distastefully. I know it will take forever for me to fall asleep.  My upstairs neighbor stomps around like Michael J. Fox on that episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm .  The ambulances seem to go by non-stop.  There is a constant parade of motorcycles and people with their bass up.  The city is so loud. When I do finally get to sleep, I know I'll wake up in a few hours and spend a few terrifying minutes having no idea where I am.  How crazy is that?  It kept happening whenever I stayed at someone's house on my trip.  The only place I slept well was in my car.  One night, at Deborah's house, her dog was trying to get in my room, and for a few hysterical moments I thought it was a bear.  (Which was actually pretty funny in the morning.)  But I thought that surely, when I got home, those issues would disappear.  Nope.  I wake

After 8 weeks of traveling, I am home.  It felt weird walking into my apartment last night; everything seemed new. I was restless today.  For two months, almost every day has been about getting up and hiking or adventuring.  I didn't know what to do with myself today.  I dusted, scrubbed the bathtub, did laundry, went shopping, went for a run, finished watching Love in the Wild, unpacked, did some decorating, made Jason's birthday gift, and worked on things for my classroom.  I couldn't sit still. I definitely have mixed feelings about being home. I miss quiet.  I forgot how loud my street is, especially since I live next to a hospital.  Maybe that's why I stop so often and marvel at how quiet the canyons are.  I could barely sleep last night. I miss the moon and stars.  One of my favorite things about camping was waking up in the middle of the night and looking at the stars.  Even at Rachel's, my bed was next to the window, so I slept with the blinds open a

Behunin just sounds like a big canyon, and it definitely was.  Many people come to Zion to do the Angel’s Landing hike.  It is thought to be extremely strenuous and nerve-wracking.  We had to do this hike on the way to the canyon. Well, kind of.  We had to climb to Scout’s Landing, which involved a series of 27 switchbacks called “Walter’s Wiggles.”   From there, it was just another half mile to Angel’s Landing, so we thought, why not?  This was another hike where I started off feeling great.  I had the song “Tongue-Tied” on repeat on my iPod and was just so happy as I was hiking.  A lot of people freak out about the exposed hiking along the trail, where a chain is provided for you to hang onto. (I think there’s a 1000 foot drop on each side of you; you’re hiking out onto a little peninsula.)  Canyoneering has gotten me so used to heights and exposed climbs that this wasn’t even a big deal.  People were definitely giving us funny looks as they clung to the chain and we just bo

Thursday was kind of a bummer.  Jason’s good karma paid off, and he and Kristin were able to get a permit to do Mystery, which Tom Jones rates as one of the best canyons in Zion.  However, it was decided that I should take a rest day, since we’d be doing Behunin tomorrow, which would be a big day.  It was probably a good decision, but it sucked sitting around all day, waiting for Jason and Kristin to come back.  I hung out with my feet in the Virgin River, reading my Everett Ruess biography, but it was still pretty hot. I was really glad when they came back (raving about the canyon, but saying the approach was awful), and Jason took us to a ghost town outside of Springdale where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was filmed.  We ended the day with sangria at the Bit and Spur.

I felt good going into this hike.  I just knew it was going to be a good day.  The Russell Gulch approach was really easy and scenic.  Of course, the problem with an easy approach is that the exit will probably be evil. At the 4th rappel, something unexpected happened.  Jason yelled, “rope,” and someone yelled back.  We were confused because we knew we were the only ones with permits for this route today.  Kristin and I rappelled down to the bottom and saw two guys trying to down climb a nearby ledge.  Looking at it from the bottom, it wasn’t possible; we could see they were going to reach a huge drop-off that wasn’t climbable.  And the downclimbing they were already doing was pretty sketchy.  Jason yelled over to ask if they had rope, and they said yes, so he figured they were okay.  But it was clear that they weren’t.  Jason went over to help and discovered that they didn’t have any technical gear, just some rope they’d gotten at a hardware store.  Oh boy. So Kristin an