Potential Best Day Ever
Posted by: kgd26 on: January 11, 2010
Yesterday was a huge day for me. Let’s start at the beginning.
I took my Praxis II test yesterday. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the education profession, most future teachers have to take a minimum of two tests in order to be able to get their certification: Praxis I and II. I did not have to take Praxis I because my SAT scores allowed me to bypass that requirement. However, Praxis II is required. Since I want to be a secondary mathematics teacher, my Praxis II test is on math content. That means I spent 2 hours answering 50 multiple choice questions on math that I’ve learned from my freshmen year of high school until this semester. It encompasses quite a bit.
I don’t know how I did on it. I don’t think I did awfully, but I don’t think I did outstanding either. In order to be able to teach in Connecticut, you have to get at least a 137 on the score. It is one of the higher requirements in terms of states across the country, but definitely not the highest. Maryland, Colorado, and a few other places have higher standards. I don’t find out what I got on the test until a month from the day I took it, aka February 9th. I’m hoping that my life picks up a little bit so time goes by super quick and I find out my scores. I’d love to not have to take it again, especially since it costs a decent amount of change.
After the test, I had that job interview that I mentioned in my last post. It went well, and they told me they’d call me later in the day to tell me if I got the job. Well, no call last night.. but they called me today and offered me the position. I am now a proud hostess (once again), and I have orientation tomorrow. Also, I will officially have no social life. Ya-hooo.
As previously mentioned, I’m a Cowboys fan. Yesterday my team had their wild card game against the Eagles. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the NFL, and specifically the Cowboys, let me enlighten you. The Cowboys, in the early to mid 90s, were THE TEAM to beat. They won 3 Super Bowls that decade. Then, in 1996, the Cowboys decided that they would have their last playoff win for an extended period of time. Thirteen years to be exact. But now, in the 2009-2010 NFL season, the Cowboys have broken that streak with their pounding of the Philadelphia Eagles, an NFC East conference foe. It was an awesome game simply because Tony Romo and crew embarassed the Eagles on offense, and DeMarcus Ware and friends did it on defense. This is me, a happy sports fan.
All in all, this is why my day yesterday has potential to be the best day ever. It’s two-thirds of the way there, but I won’t find out for another month if it’s official. I hope everyone has had an outstanding weekend as well!
So long sweet french fries.
Posted by: kgd26 on: January 5, 2010
- In: SparkPeople
- 1 Comment
Today is my first full day of completely dedicating myself to SparkPeople. I have to eat what they say, when they say it. Except I get to choose from a variety of things to eat. It makes shopping easier, at least. It also forces me to say so long to some of the greatest food ever, such as french fries. I don’t want to complain about this too much because it’ll make me crave them, and that would be no good.
Other news, a certain restaurant that I applied to over a month ago has called me back. They’re interested as hiring me as a hostess. This is good news and bad. The good: I’m in desperate need of more money so I can continue to not live at my house, especially during student teaching. I also only put down that I could work Thursdays – Sundays, which means that they’re interested in working with my hours. The bad: I’m already busy as all hell. How am I going to be able to manage this? Actually, I think I could manage it, but I’m just going to hate my life. It’s only 4 months though, right? I’d just have to utilize my time, especially at work, much more efficiently.
I hate having to go into a new job and saying, “I need these days off already.” What if they hire me? I’ve already booked my flights to Maryland for President’s Day weekend. I’m going, and no one will stop me. Education Club and CEA might get in the way a little bit, but I can work around that, especially since I need to bring in a new president sometime within the next few months anyway.
I’m going to call them back later this afternoon and hopefully schedule an interview with them. The worst that happens is I go tell them the truth, and they say they can’t schedule around that. I wasn’t really going to start looking for a job until closer to President’s Day weekend for that specific reasoning, but if they’re okay with it, then it’s okay with me.
On another note, I’m back into making friendship bracelets. I found a new site with way cooler patterns than the one I was using last time (Sorry old site. You were good, but I’ve upgraded. It wasn’t me, it was you.). Right now I’m working on a smiley face one for my friend T-mac. If you wanna see a picture of what I’ve done so far, it’s over on the right hand side in my tweets. This is easily the most complex one I’ve done so far, it’s so cool. After this, even though I’ve had some requests in from friends, I’m going to make breast cancer awareness ones. My boyfriend’s aunt (who is pretty much the only person in that family who shows me some love) just went through SUCCESSFUL surgery to get rid of the newly developed breast cancer they found. I think it’d be cool to give her this.
I really shouldn’t be making friendship bracelets right now though. I have to take my praxis II on Saturday. That’s a teacher test. It’s on college math content. I have to get above a certain score to teach in Connecticut. What sucks is that I don’t know where I’m going to be living in two years (thanks, boyfriend), so I have to get a score high enough to teach in ALL states. No pressure. Actually, the reason I started writing this post was because I got to a probability problem I couldn’t figure out, so I distracted myself with something else instead.
Well, I just finished my orange juice, so I have to go track it. Plus I’ve got some string calling my naaame. I’m probably going to be back here this afternoon writing a post solely dedicated to my sports teams. The past couple of days have been busy for them (NFC East Champs, babyy!).
My Top Obsessions of 2009: The Finale
Posted by: kgd26 on: December 31, 2009
- In: Random
- 2 Comments
In case you joined us late, check out the last two posts to catch up on all the fun details. After a 36ish hour break, I will reveal my top 3 obsessions of this past year.
#3: HBO Sunday nights
I cannot think of a better line up of television than True Blood, <insert show that isn’t Hung here>, and Entourage. My roommates and I would purposely not make plans because we had TV to watch. There’s really no other 2 hour block of television that does that for me, except 24.
If you have not seen True Blood or Entourage, I implore you to go out and buy/borrow/netflix the complete seasons of each before they return. There’s a reason they got nominated for so many awards: they’re amazingg! Because of Entourage, I don’t like Mandy Moore anymore. She hurt Vincent Chase’s feelings in the show, so now I’m also obliged to despise her in real life. Also, the cameos they get on that show are outstanding. The funniest thing ever happened in the last 30 seconds of this past season with Matt Damon. I won’t ruin it for you, but those of you who have seen it know what I’m talking about.
#2: Educational Issues
For those who have checked out my “Meet me” page, you know I’m an education major. I also hold a few positions that require me to have some knowledge of issues facing my future professional field. This past year I have spent more time than ever reading and researching about these issues.
I don’t want to go into my profession only knowing the glamorous side, like helping children every day and that kind of stuff. There’s so much more to teaching that many don’t even think about. There’s also the aspects the politicians try to run, yet they’re clueless. My biggest passion at the moment is the education of the underprivileged, especially minorities. The statistics on test scores and graduation rates between white and non white students as well as middle and upper class vs lower class in this country are mind boggling. It’s going to be my personal mission as a teacher to help as many students as possible get to college, especially the lower class and minorities. I can’t wait to get into the profession, which is why educational issues have been such a big deal for me this past year.
#1: Taylor Swift
Oh. My. God. The love of my life. The apple of my eye. Ha, okay, I might be exaggerating just slightly on this, but I’m absolutely obsessed with her. Anyone who knows me in the slightest knows this.
How could anyone not think she’s beautiful? Besides that, she is the perfect role model for children everywhere. She’s the definition of polite and respectful. Her music is outstanding. Overall, a talent.
I drove to Pittsburgh to see her concert. Easily the best concert I’ve ever seen. She cares about her fans SO MUCH, it’s ridiculous. She’s truly a unique person in the music industry, which is what makes her so great.
I could go on for hours about my undying love for her, but this will have to do. I hope everyone has an outstanding yet safe New Years Eve. Personally, I’ll be in Newport, Rhode Island sipping on some Sangria that I’m making myself.
Until next year!
My Top 10 Obsessions of 2009: Part II
Posted by: kgd26 on: December 30, 2009
..and we’re back! Check my last entry to see items 10-8. Here, we’ll get to the heart of the order with items 7-4. Without further delay..
#7: Friendship bracelets
Last spring semester, my friend, Angela, and I did our “Math in Diverse Cultures” lesson on the patterns in friendship bracelets. I hope it doesn’t sound complex, because it wasn’t. We had to make examples of the bracelets, and that sent me into a FRENZY. No joke, for approximately a month I was making friendship bracelets all day, every day. It was probably the most popular I had been in a long time. Here’s a picture of one not made by me that can serve as an example of what I did with my time:
Mine were way more cool and way more complex, but you get the idea. I actually thought about making some this weekend, but I decided to partake in my next obsession instead, which is…
#6: Coloring
Oh my goodness. Talk about time consumer. First of all, coloring is such a stress reliever. While I won’t give it all the credit for keeping me sane, it does deserve some kudos. I bought a 120 pack of crayons and giant Scooby Doo coloring pages to keep myself occupied. We have a few of the finished products hanging up around the apartment. I finished those, and now I’m working on Mickey Mouse and friends pages. What’s your favorite crayola color? Mine is cerulean, even though my overall favorite color is red. I swear I’m 21, by the way. Not really 7. You wouldn’t think so after these last couple things!
#5: Organization
I spent approximately 2 hours at the beginning of the semester oversized calendars to hang up in my room. I didn’t end up using them that much, but it was just one of my outlets for keeping my life in order. Not sure if you’ve read my “Meet me” page, but I’m an overachieving little girl. My rooommates make jokes when I’m home before 10 PM because that’s an early night.
Between my planner, sticky notes, the wall calendar, my google calendar, my phone, and my officers, I consider myself relatively organized. I mean, I’ve only missed one appointment, but it was finals week. I excused myself. Everything I’ve done this year are in binders, which are obviously tabbed and labeled. I”m a dork, sue me.
#4: Twitter
Don’t act like you aren’t obsessed either. I know you are! It’s my social network of choice. I love that I can follow my interests in real time. Hell, I knew Shaq was traded before he did because of Twitter.
I get tweets from a bunch of different people texted directly to my phone, such as @AmalieBenjamin (Red Sox beat writer), @TaylorSwift13 (the love of my life), @tonydthegreat (little brother), @sstabile and @maf8629 (good friends). I can keep up on my homies and the news with Tweed, my Twitter app for my luxurious Palm Pre.
I’m just getting into Twitpic, which allows me to take a picture and show it to my followers instantly. Also, it forces me to be witty by condensing me to 140 characters or less.
Overall, <3 Twitter. PS: follow me! @kgd26.
There you have it. Obsessions 7-4. Tomorrow you’ll get 3-1 and probably a quick statement about the boyfriend. It’s our 3 year anniversary tomorrow. Until then, humor me with your favorite crayola color!
My Top 10 Obsessions of 2009
Posted by: kgd26 on: December 30, 2009
It’s only 1:26 PM and I have to work til 5. I figured with this much time, a brand new blog, and a new year quickly approaching, there’s only one thing to do right now: a top 10 list. This, my blog buddies, is my list of my top 10 obsessions of this past year. Please understand that I’ve got an addictive personality that goes in phases. I will usually latch onto something for two to three weeks at a time and devote far too much energy towards it. These are the best of them from the last year.
#10: Burts Bees
Want to know how I know I’m going to have a bad day? I forget my Burts Bees at home. This isn’t a temporary obsession either. My Burts Bees is my inanimate life partner. I’m miserable without my chapstick. Trust me, I’ve tried many a brands of chapsticks, and none compare to this. I’m actually nearly out right now, and I plan on picking some up today. This product is the only positive benefit to bees and the reason I don’t make my life mission the extinction of bees.
#9: Time Management Games
I’m a junkie. It’s awful. I could play these dumb java time management games for-ev-er. Sometimes I like one so much I download the free hour-long trial, and proceed to sit there for an hour and waste my life away. I pretend that I’m such a busy person, but it’s really that I spend far too much time playing time management games. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but I would have a few more minutes in my day if my fingers didn’t insist on typing in www.games.com on such a frequent basis. Especially at work.
#8: Onions and mushrooms
I blame Jojo, my friend’s mother, for part of this. I was never a big onions fan. I’d eat them, but I would never go out of my way to do so. This summer, Joj made us steak with cooked onions, and it was easily one of my favorite meals of the entire year. I don’t know why no one introduced me to cooked onions earlier, but I’m loving them now.
As for mushrooms, there’s really no explanation. Maybe because I believe they accompany onions so well. Either way, I crave them on a very regular basis and alone or together, they’re delicious. A philly cheeseteak with onions and mushrooms sounds SO good right now.
I need to go get lunch. This has officially became a series as of.. now. Check back soon!
Define “Family”
Posted by: kgd26 on: December 29, 2009
- In: Random
- 2 Comments
Today I had lunch with my brothers, mom and “aunt” Pam. She’s one of those aunts that really isn’t your aunt but you call her aunt anyway. You know what I mean, right?
Well we got to discussing my dad’s late mother, and how much of a bitch wonderful woman she was. I didn’t realize until today just some of the stuff that she put my parents through. For example: she did not attend their wedding. HER OWN SON. She decided to go visit family in Indiana instead. Another example: when my mom lost the child between my brother and I, she wouldn’t make a blanket for the baby to be buried in. She fought with my father over it. I mean, these are just two incidents of her finer moments. Can’t you tell we all miss her greatly?
It just gets me to thinking that the term family is put on a pedestal. A very high one at that. It also creates significantly dramatic situations that could probably be avoided if this pedestal wasn’t involved. Are we supposed to care about the hardship the astranged aunt or uncle endures when he or she was never there for any of your hardships? Or are we supposed to suck it up because they’re family, and you’ve only got one of them. Quite the dilemma, right?
Personally, I believe that it’s okay to put friends before family. I think that people are left to create their family. I’m not saying to just ignore the family your born into, but I’m not judging those who decide that they cannot have a relationship with a relative for reason x, y, or z. There are plenty of people that I’m not related to that I would ask a favor of before those who are my relatives. I know, I know. That’s what makes them friends. I guess my issue is that I just don’t see why the term family needs to be ranked above it.
No sleep for the wicked.
Posted by: kgd26 on: December 28, 2009
Is that the saying? Or something else? Regardless, I’m not tired, and I need to be.
Today a few things happened. I signed up for sparkpeople.com, which is a site that pretty much tells you what to eat, when to eat it, and when to exercise. I see it as being free weight watchers with an attitude. I’m hoping that the specifics will keep me on track because I know I need some structure in order to be remotely successful with weight loss again. All my diehard readers can expect updates on this.
In other important news, the Cowboys have clinched a playoff spot. In addition, they’ve won two games this December. That is OUTSTANDING. My boy Tony Romo did his thing tonight against the Redskins. If they win next week, they win the division. If not, they’re a wild card. This means a lot, so the game against the Eagles next week is huge.
One complaining sidenote: If Roy Williams makes one comment about not getting the ball enough, someone needs to show him the clip of him dropping the most perfect pass in history of passes from this evening to remind him why Miles Austin and Jason Witten will continue to get the ball more than him. I’m currently on a mission to find this clip, and will hopefully do so ASAP. For the time being, he’s a written visual. Tony Romo puts a pass on a line that hits Roy Williams between the two ones on his chest. This pass goes right through his hands, bounces off said chest, and falls onto the ground for an incompletion. Yes, this does sound like just another dropped pass in the NFL, but it’s not. Not when this man continues to complain about his role on the team. I thought we got rid of T.O.?
For now, I guess I will call it an evening. Hopefully, sleep is on its way.
“Happy holidays.”
Posted by: kgd26 on: December 28, 2009
Well the holidays have (thankfully) come and passed. I still have a few dollars in my checking account, and no one was jailed. Overall, they were decent. I think it would be quite boring if I were to sit here and recap what happened because they were probably like most people’s holidays. Instead, I would love to quickly discuss the terms “happy holidays” and “merry Christmas.”
This topic was brought up by my boyfriend’s father, who was wearing a pin that said “You can say Merry Christmas to me,” and it was sponsored by some kind of Christain group. I was in a house full of people who practice and believe in the Christain/Catholic faith. The discussion then started that people who do not celebrate Christmas should not be offended or make a fuss over the act of being wished a merry Christmas. I find something wrong with this, but since I couldn’t make a fuss due to being the girlfriend that the family doesn’t like, I am resorting to here to state it. I find it highly oxymoronic that a group of adults who have been practicing a religion that is supposed to be supportive and respective of others think they are above accepting others forms of holiday celebration. I’m not going to take any more time on this because I feel like it’s an argument many have had, and few have won. It’s not about being politically correct. It’s about accepting diversity.
It’s so weird thinking that this is my last holiday season as a student. Wow.
Hello world!
Posted by: kgd26 on: December 23, 2009
Hi! I’m Kari. I’m a 21 year old student at Central Connecticut State University. I’m entering my second semester of my senior year. I am a secondary education major in math. I’m going to teach high school or middle school somewhere in this country in approximately a year.
I wanted a place to document my last year as a “not real person,” as I like to call it. I would do a scrap book, but I don’t have time for that. I feel like this is a much easier way to do it, and I can share it with friends and family. Since this is my last winter break as an undergrad, I think now is a good time to start.
So a quick tidbit on what you might see here in the future. I’m the president of my school’s Education Club as well as state chair for the Connecticut Education Association Student Program. I’m also involved with quite a few other things at school. I am also an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and Dallas Cowboys. I’m obsessed with Taylor Swift. I’m sure that these topics and more will be mentioned in the very near future.
There’s the quick introduction to myself. Have a great holiday!
