smiley life

after a lovely visit by my sister, callie, the not-so-tiny-anymore-but-oh-so-in-her-terrible-twos baby kylie, jen, diane (girls i love you and our bimonthly 2 hour talks) and clay, i've realized something wonderful: i am quite content with my life right now. i can happily say that things in my life are just how i want them to be (with very few exceptions).

i live in a wonderful apartment in the best part of town with an amazing roommate. everything i want to experience in austin is practically within walking distance of my home.

i have a job that means something to me and coworkers i enjoy being with inside and outside of work. i've had the opportunity to experience some eye opening things through those people.

i lead a relatively stress-free life with no really pressing obligations when i come home from work (quite different from last year). although i do miss teaching, it is nice to have so much freedom with my evenings.

i'm part of the most inspiring church i've ever attended. i volunteer with the youth group there and am really happy to have "kids" again. it's extremely diverse in age, race, socio-economic status, making it a very different experience from growing up in a rich, white episcopalian church. the priests and the parishioners are so incredibly focused on helping the poorest, most down-trodden in this world, which is really what christiantiy is all about. mostly, it's a place where i feel myself growing and becoming a better person while being part of something so much bigger than myself.

and of course, i'm lucky enough to call some of the most amazing people on this earth my friends and family.

all of these things bring a smile to my face every morning when i wake up and every evening when i lie in bed. life is good, yes it is.

rockstars, rockstars everywhere

i swear every man i meet in this town is some sort of musician. it doesn't even impress me anymore. most times i just smile politely and change the subject. how sad is that?

jigga what

i've been in training at my job for almost three weeks now and today i got to take my first calls with a peer trainer. i haven't written much about what i do because of confidentiality issues (i.e. my not knowing what i can and cannot say to people outside of work about what happens at work). but today was a big one, and i feel like sharing my experience.

we were paired up with a peer trainer that listened in while we received the reports of abuse. my first call was from someone that meant to reach the spanish unit, so that was a short and sweet transfer. and then, the real fun began. i heard about a 7th grader whose mother called a boy she had been talking to and said "listen to this" and then tied her up and beat her with a belt; a newborn whose coke addicted/former heroin addict mother was breast-feeding her while on methadone treatments (and has 6 other children at home); a 9 year old who was suicidal because he is living in a house where mom, mom's boyfriend and two older siblings smoked and dealt "trash bags full of weed" and where he doesn't get food or clean clothes; and last, but not least, a five year old who was raped by her 14 year old uncle and whose 3 year old sister is now being molested by a neighbor.

the good things about this job: i start the process for these kids getting help. i don't know the kids. seeing their little faces would make the process impossible for me. my coworkers have a good sense of humor. we find things to laugh about when we can. i'm learning some really valuable people/interviewing skills. and finally, i never have to bring my job home.

so that's the life of my right now. hope you all feel thoroughly informed.

it's science, and we don't argue with science.

driving home from soccer last night, i passed the flag football league that plays near my house. it sparked a brilliant revelation: there is a very distinct hierarchy in the level of attractiveness of men that play different sports. i shared my theory with tess and she agreed with a few points of dissent. let me elaborate.

at the top of the sport-playing-attractiveness chart (to be referred to as SPA from here on) are a quite obvious group: the soccer players.

soccer-playing men earn their coveted status for a couple of reasons. 1. the level of skill and pure athleticism involved in the game. these men are IN SHAPE. 2. the international factor. hot foreign men with smokin accents play this sport throughout the world. it's a virtual shmorgusboard of attractive athletes. (questionable spelling, i know.) 3. the general attitude of this group. sure you have your occasional zidane, but overall they tend to be laid-back, cool guys with good taste in music. 4. most of them are hot. really hot.

just below these men is a tie between what i like to call the adventure sports and the cyclists/runners. this includes kayakers, climbers, triathletes, etc.
again, the level of athleticism required factors in as well as the nature of the sports themselves. they tend to be a bit less caught up on ego and more focused on achieving an admirable goal.

next on the SPA are the lacrosse players. don't really know why. perhaps i like foreign sports a bit?

below these men are the basketball players. the fact that other nations have begun to beat our spoiled athletes in this area helps to secure the spot for them as a whole.

rugby players fit in somewhere down here. attitudes tend to knock them down a few spaces.

next we have baseball players. cute butts, cocky attitudes. that about sums it up.

football players. not that impressed. you play for 4 seconds at a time and then take a minute break. and what's with all the pads? suck it up and be a man.

finally, we have tennis players, golfers and bowlers. perhaps they will move up the SPA with age, but i seriously doubt it.


so there you have it. men everywhere take note.

now i'm really sure

i saw the nilla stealer again yesterday at heb. we were in the baking aisle. he grabbed enough salt to either cure a deer or keep a body preserved for about a month. it was MUCH creepier than stealing nillas.