Girl Things

It's great fun to have a sister who's getting married. I just spent the afternoon at the mall with Kima and Hope. Instead of a bridal shower, Hope requested a shopping trip with her sisters to get the necessary honeymoon lingerie. After four hours of shopping, I think we came up with a wardrobe worthy of a princess, with a few sexy-silly surprises thrown in. I won't give details (so Peter, if you're reading, you don't get to know anything in advance), but Hope is going to be one smokin' hottie on the honeymoon!

Lazy Morning

I LOVE summer! This morning, even though it's a Friday, and we haven't been able to sleep in on a Friday for months, we were able to stay in bed as long as we wanted. In fact, it's 2:00 p.m. and we just got up. I'm not teaching on Fridays this quarter, and Michael doesn't have to be at work until later this afternoon, so we just decided we weren't going to get up. We had breakfast in bed at around 10, then we've been lounging, napping, and playing with the new computer ever since. It's absolutely lovely to have some down time!

Roller Skates and Snorkels

You know, roller skating is a lot harder than it looks (or than I remember it being when I was a kid). We spent some time on wheels in the little park this afternoon, and my legs actually hurt a little bit after the effort. It's that good sort of hurt that you get after exercise though; the type that comes after using muscles that apparently haven't been used for a while. I think I'm going to really like skating once I get used to it again.

I definitely like snorkeling though, even not ever having doing it before this summer. We hit the pool after our skate, and although it was too cold for Michael, I spent a very enjoyable half hour paddling around with my Hawaii snorkel gear on. I learned to dive today--and I'm actually pretty good at it! We're still playing around with Michael's mask and mustache, trying to figure out how much mustache he can keep and get a good enough seal on the mask to put his face in the water and breathe through the snorkel. I'm afraid he might end up looking a little bit goofy in Hope and Peter's wedding pictures, but really, a mustache is a small price to pay for being able to see under water. How often are we going to be in Hawaii?

First Day of Class!

Today was the first day of classes for the summer, and I think it went pretty well. Since I hadn't expected to be teaching this summer, and had only made arrangements to tutor in the writing center, I wasn't expecting to work this week. However, I was invited to teach an ESL (English as a Second Language) class at the last minute, so I had to do a little bit of rearranging to my summer snooze schedule. I'm really glad that I did though--my new class is going to be a lot of fun! It's definitely going to be worth giving up some nap-by-the-pool time to teach my new students.

I have a very enthusiastic group of students this summer, who were willing to participate right from the beginning. They seemed to enjoy the first day introduction activities I had ready for them, and there were lots of giggles and grins. They were very appreciative when I explained exactly why we wouldn't be holding class next Wednesday. They'd all heard about the 4th of July being a holiday, but they didn't know exactly what made it a holiday, so we started out with a brief lesson in American history. I was very happy I'd just refreshed my memory for my Career Link students' unit on government this spring!

I was a little bit worried this morning about starting to teach a class for which I hadn't even seen a book or a class roster, so I got to campus early and peeked at the book in the campus bookstore, and was very relieved to find that it is a very small book, primarily containing conversation starters and vocabulary practice. It won't take me too long to catch up. I think I'll be able to manage to stay a couple days ahead of my students! Fortunately for me, it sounds like most of them signed up for the class because they want a fun summer class. I can do fun. The majority of them want to work on their conversational English, and I think we'll be able to find plenty of things to talk about.

My students this summer are from all over Asia, it seems. So far, I know I have students from Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam. There was a bit of confusion about classrooms this morning, so I've only met about half the class. I'm expecting to expand the international mix even more in the next couple of days. I'm looking forward to a great summer!

An Afternoon with My Sisters

Looking for Little Crabs
Originally uploaded by Prairie Brown

My sister Kima is in Seattle this week for a conference, and she brought her friend Kyle along for the ride. While Michael and Hope's fiance Peter went off on an adventure to the Rat City Roller Girls roller derby, Hope, Kima, Kyle, and I were able to spend some time together. After a walk at the dog park (which included Peter, but not Michael, since he was at work), we sent the two boys off on their adventure, and the four of us spent some time wandering around. We went to our favorite little Ethiopian restaurant for dinner, then headed down to Carkeek Park to work off the bottle of Ethiopian honey wine. It was an absolutely beautiful evening for a walk on the beach, as you can tell from the pictures.

Home Again!

Denver Vacation, Red Rocks Amphitheater
Originally uploaded by Prairie Brown

I got home early Wednesday evening from our wonderful, fun-filled vacation in Denver. All of my trip pictures are up on Flickr now, so just click the picture above and it should take you to the rest of the vacation pictures. We saw a lot of interesting things in Denver, my favorites being Red Rocks Park, The Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave, and the Denver Art Museum. Mostly though, I appreciated just getting to spend time with Berta and Emily, and getting to know each of them a bit better than I did before the trip. Many, MANY thanks to Berta for organizing everything!

I've been busy since I got home. Yesterday, Michael and I went on a shopping adventure to get some gear we've been wanting for a while: roller skates for me, roller blades for him. We have often been jealous of the people at Green Lake who glide by us on skates, and we decided to give it a try for ourselves this summer. As neither of us is very advanced yet, we've found a tame little park in Shoreline to practice in until we're ready to go to Green Lake without wobbling.

It's shaping up to be a really busy summer. I had a surprise phone call this afternoon from the chairperson of the ESL department at NSCC, asking me if I could teach an advanced speaking and listening class this summer. The class that was available fit perfectly with my summer Loft schedule, so of course I said I'd teach it. Now I have two days to develop a syllabus before the first class meeting on Monday. And one of those two days is already claimed by Hope's bridal shower! Eeep! (Fortunately, I have a good course outline from the department, and the textbooks have already been ordered, so I'm not overly concerned about the short notice.) I'm really looking forward to this class. I enjoy working with the ESL students in the Loft, and I've enjoyed the ESL students I've had in my developmental writing classes, and my favorite part is always conversation skills, which is the focus of this entire class. I'm sure I'll learn a lot of interesting stories by the end of the summer. I do love meeting people from all over the world!

Tantilization

At the Denver Art Museum
Originally uploaded by Prairie Brown

While we were at the Denver Art Museum yesterday, Emily took this picture of me with the giant spider sculpture. I thought everyone (some of you more than others) would appreciate this tantalizing little glimpse into some of the things we've been doing on this trip. More to come!

Last Morning in Denver

We're actually having time to sleep in this morning, which is quite a novelty on this busy, busy trip. I've been up for a little while, but Berta is still sound asleep, and I think we're both enjoying having a leisurely morning. I've just been down to breakfast, which is one of the nicest things about this very nice hotel. Most places slap out some bagels and donuts and coffee and call it breakfast, but our great Denver hotel has a grill that makes omelets and hash browns and things of that nature, and they also put out a very nice selection of fresh fruit and pastries. I've had a different (and yummy) breakfast every morning we've been here.

I'll write a longer, more detailed post when I get home and have had time to rest and go through all of my pictures, but we'll let it suffice to say for now that this has been a wonderful vacation, and I've been having a really good time. We've seen a lot of fun Denver sights and done a lot of fun Denver activities, and I'll fill you all in on all of them very soon.

Day One: The Great Denver Adventure

Today is the beginning of the vacation with Berta (Michael's mom) and Emily, which Berta has been planning and plotting for years. She wants to give us a way to get together and talk about "the boys" without them trying to listen in. Today has been a very long day of travel for the three of us.

At 1:00 this morning, our phone rang (or so Michael tells me--I had ear plugs in and was dead to the world), but neither of us was awake enough to get up to answer it. John (Michael's dad) left us a message saying that Berta's flight out of Anchorage had been delayed (we later learned that it was due to a storm in Texas--yeah, the weather in Texas affects flights in Alaska) and she would not be able to make the connecting flight in Seattle. I would still catch the morning flight, but Berta would be taking a later afternoon flight. I would be in Denver in time to meet Emily's flight, and the two of us could figure out the next step in the plan.

Two hours later, at 3:00 a.m. our alarm went off and Michael and I groggily stumbled through our morning routine in order to get me to the airport in time to catch my 6:00 a.m. flight. Neither of us thought of one crucial little detail: I didn't know what airline Emily was flying. I didn't even know whether she was flying out of Eugene or Portland, as both had been discussed. Michael dropped me off at the airport and the flight from Seattle to Denver was uneventful.

I arrived in Denver to find that they're having a bit of a heatwave here:it was 85 degrees at 9:30 in the morning, and it went up from there. I found the baggage claim, picked up my bag, then went on a search for Emily. And discovered that there were five potential flights that fit the description I was looking for. And that the Denver airport has 19 different baggage claim carousels. I started to wander. And I wandered. And I wandered. There was absolutely no way to know where she could be. I called Michael to see if maybe she had a cell phone: no. He called John, who wasn't home, to see if he could get me more flight information. Right when I was about to give up and find a table and sit and wait, I bumped into Emily, almost literally.

We found a convenient Taco Bell, as we were both starved, figured out how to use the wireless connection on our computers, and started sending emails to try to figure out the next step in the process. We debated and researched different options for getting from the airport to the hotel, but they were all expensive and would have taken forever. And we discovered that we could download an episode of CSI and watch it on Emily's computer. So we did that. Then we looked at the bus schedule again, and decided to go get ice cream and wait for Berta.

Berta's flight finally came in around 4:30 p.m., and we promptly picked up the rental van Berta had reserved and headed out to find our hotel. Emily held the map, Berta drove, and I did my best to look for the streets Emily was calling out. We found the hotel with no trouble at all. We settled into our very comfy room and headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Emily came back to the room to relax in front of the cable TV (an unknown luxury in our world), and Berta and I headed to the pool and spa for a dip. I'm writing up a quick post while I wait for my turn in the shower, and then it's off to bed for me--we have a wake-up call coming in at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, so that we'll be up in time for our bus tour of the city.

This is going to be a great vacation! I'm already having a wonderful time. For those of you who are waiting for pictures, I promise, I'll take some tomorrow. I figure you've all seen airports though...

Happy Father's Day

Dad and I on the Tram
Originally uploaded by Prairie Brown

I know this is a day early, but I'm afraid I'll forget if I wait until tomorrow, since I'm headed to the airport so early in the morning for my trip with Michael's mom. I just wanted to tell you, Dad, how special you are and how much I appreciate all the great things you do for me.

For those of you out there who don't know my dad, let me tell you a little bit about him. He's the type of dad who is always involved in what his kids are doing. He never missed a basketball game, soccer game, or track meet (even though I wasn't very good at any of the sports I tried, and often would only play for a minute or two). He would come straight from work to track practice and help coach the team. He would often drive a car-full of giggling teenage girls to away games so we wouldn't have to ride the school bus.

For my 13th birthday, he rented a beach house and took me and three of my best friends to the beach for a weekend adventure. My dad is very big on adventures, and he's always planning something fun. When I was 14 and madly in love with the New Kids on the Block, but too afraid to mention that I'd love tickets to a show, because I was sure my parents would think it was dumb, I found five tickets under my dinner plate one night. He drove my sisters, one of my best friends, and me all the way to Seattle to see the show, because they weren't playing in Portland.

This love of showering his children with attention and planning adventures continues up to today. The picture above is from a trip he planned last summer, starting in Palm Springs and going up the California and Oregon coasts. He's taken Michael and I on several trips to the Washington coast, and is helping to finance our Hawaii trip later this summer.

Another thing I should tell you about my dad is that he loves to build furniture for his kids. Each of us has several pieces of specially-designed furniture to make people ooh and ah when they come into our homes. Ever since my first college dorm room, when he designed bookshelves that made me the envy of everyone who came into the room, I've had the best living spaces of anyone my age, thanks to him. Michael and I currently have a living room full of his designs, and people still walk in and admire his handy work.

I could go on and on, but what I think I'm trying to say is, "Thanks for everything Dad! I love you!"

Congratulations, Class of 2007!

Career Link Academy Class of 2007
Originally uploaded by Prairie Brown

I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all my students at the NSCC Career Link Academy, the students of the Loft Writing Center, and the students of North Seattle Community College, who have all worked their very hardest this past year to make it to tonight's commencement in their caps and gowns. I'm more proud of you than I'll ever be able to express, and it's been an honor to teach you this past year. I know you'll go on to do great things!

Graduation Morning

This morning, I'm up early (for a summer morning) because I have to attend the graduation rehearsal at NSCC. And it's raining. And graduation will be outside. Hold your breath and cross your fingers, everyone, that the sun will come out by this afternoon. The kids I teach and the students I tutor have worked really hard this year for their moment on the stage in their caps and gowns, and they deserve some sunshine! (I hear that they've ordered raincoats for the graduates, just in case, but the kids are all very concerned that the coats would cover up their gowns and they'd look like ordinary people.)

Michael and the New Computer

Michael and the new computer
Originally uploaded by Prairie Brown

Welcome to my newest attempt at keeping a blog. Actually, since I've never really tried this before, it would be my only attempt this far at keeping a blog. I've always been a big fan of old fashioned paper journals, and I have a stack of those sitting in a closet. Since grad school though, I've found my motivation to write has been sort of lost (maybe due to the hundred page thesis iI had to write before they'd give me a degree). I've decided that my goal for the summer is going to be to see if I can start writing again, and just for fun, I'm going to make it public.

This afternoon, Michael and I, after debating it for a few weeks, set out on a mission to find a laptop computer. In the past, we've not really had a need for one, but with Michael's continuing school work and the upcoming travel events of the summer, we decided that it would finally be practical to have a portable computer.

I have to say, buying a laptop turned out to be a little bit more complicated than I'd anticipated. Both Michael and I have been Mac snobs for a while now, but a Mac laptop was simply out of our budget at the moment. We (with a few winces) decided we were going to go with a PC. We set out to our local Best Buy, convinced that as their name implies, they would likely have the best buy on what we were looking for--a cheap laptop computer.

I really don't recommend the Best Buy experience. We browsed by ourselves for a few minutes, located a computer we liked, then stood there waiting for a salesperson to come and unlock it from its cage so we could buy it. And we waited. And we waited. And we went looking for someone. We located a salesclerk behind a help desk (seems a likely place for such a person to be), but he was already helping another customer. So we got in line to wait. After a few minutes, the clerk acknowledged our presence and said he'd be with us shortly. Then another couple, apparently of the opinion that since they were old and one of them was in a wheelchair, they didn't have to wait, cut in line in front of us.

After the couple pushed in front of us, another clerk came up to the desk and helped them! We were standing there, open jawed and starting to get annoyed. The guy behind the desk was still with another customer. The salesgirl finished with the elderly couple, and without giving us a glance, walked behind the desk and started to play with a computer, with her back toward us. Our jaws fell a bit more. After a minute or two, she turned around and asked, "Did you have a question about something?"

To which, we responded, "No thank you," and walked out of the store. I'm very unlikely to shop at Best Buy every again. The customer service there (at least at our local branch) is terrible, and if I'm going to spend $1000 (a lot of money in my world), I want someone to at least fawn over me a little bit. Acknowledging my presence would also be a plus.

From there, we went to Staples, and again found a computer we liked. Once again, however, we were deterred from our quest by bad customer service. Two employees watched us walk in and find the computer section by ourselves, too wrapped up in their conversation to even greet us. Then, after we'd found a computer we liked, we had to go looking for a salesperson. We hovered in the general vicinity of a man putting new CD cases on shelves. I assume, since he was wearing a uniform, he worked there. He ignored us. We hovered closer. He ignored us. We paced between him and the computer section. He ignored us. Finally, as we were about to give up, he asked if he could help us. We said no, and left the store.

Beginning to wonder if we'd ever end up getting decent customer service anywhere, we headed across the street to Office Depot, our last chance, since we couldn't think of any more stores that might sell computers in our area.

Once at Office Depot, we quickly noticed that in front of each computer was a tag that we could take up to the cash register at the front and use to get the product we wanted to purchase. They all but advertised not to expect customer service, and we respected that--at least the computers weren't locked in a cage that would require assistance to open. However, just as we were making our decision, a store employee (I might add, pushing a large cart and obviously on his way to do some other duty) stopped, smiled, and asked if he could help us. He stayed and chatted for ten minutes and was genuinely helpful. Under his guidance, we selected the new Gateway laptop computer pictured above. If you're in the market for a new computer, I highly recommend shopping at Office Depot. Their employees are friendly and knowledgeable and their prices are competitive. Quite frankly, we ended up spending a little more than we'd intended because we were so happy to finally find someone who was willing to talk to us, and we went with a more expensive computer than we were looking at in either of the other two stores.

We have it all set up now, and Michael is sitting behind me as I sit here at my cute little iMac, typing away on a post of his own about the new toy. It's fun for both of us to be in the same room playing on computers, something we haven't ever been able to do in this apartment, since we both have desktop models, and our desks are in different rooms. Maybe the key to maintaining a healthy relationship is being able to blog in the same room... We'll see!