Tuesdays are my Mondays

I say that because Tuesdays are always more stressful than Mondays: I work longer hours, and there are more kids at school. One of my co-workers REALLY likes routine, and when something does not go according to her plan, she stresses out. Unfortunately, I sometimes pick up on her stress. She does not always speak to me in the best tone, which I do not appreciate. I did switch my Tues, Wed, Thurs hours from 8-6 to 8:30-6:30 so that I have a little more time to myself in the mornings (if I can get out of bed). I intend for this to make a positive impact on my mood. After work last night I met Anique and Eliz and went to my first Second City show. It was a great thing to do on a Monday night. The skits were based on the holidays, and I definitely got in some good laughs. My favorite was a guy "Frost they Snowman" who walked around with sticks as arms.

As for my weekend: It was nothing too exciting but very enjoyable. I went over to Jessi's after work Friday night. She made another delicious dinner: apple muffins, vegetable soup, Shepherd's Pie and pumpkin pie. I stayed over there for a couple of hours and then received a phone call from Lauren. She wanted to finally see The Secret Life of Bees. She, Melanie and Rachel picked me up, and we headed downtown to the movie theaters only to discover that it was sold out! We couldn't believe it; the movie's not even showing at some theaters anymore. I must say... There is potential for some great people watching at the theaters. Lauren and I had a great time seeing everyone coming up the escalators, standing in line, etc. I was going to go back to their apartment but wouldn't have had a very reliable ride home later at night. As a result, I called it an early night. That was okay though because I babysat 8-2:15 on Saturday. Then, I ran my typical errands and relaxed for the rest of the day. Grace came over that night, and we watched The Breakup as we caught up on life.

Sunday was a rejuvenating day for me. I went to a spin class in the morning, followed by a delicious breakfast of cinnamon, apple and raisin pancakes. While it was really cold outside, I found it refreshing. I met my head teacher, Dominique (who I absolutely love), downtown that night to evaluate our students. We had dinner at The Grand Lux Cafe. There were only two dinner options for me, but I ended up loving my dish: Crispy Sesame Tofu served with Stir-Fried Vegetables in a spicy szechuan orange sauce with steamed rice. The dinner allowed me to think about the students in a positive way and why I like the job. When I get going, I have so many funny/sweet stories to share about them. Yesterday one of them whispered in my ear, "You're beautiful." How can you not smile at that? :) We conducted our evaluations and then walked along Michigan Ave for a bit. It was lightly snowing, and it made me excited to think about Christmas time in Chicago (not that most of the decorations aren't up already). Then we made a ghiradelli stop. She was craving a brownie, and I ordered a hot chocolate. I must say... The drink failed to meet my expectations, but it was nice to talk with Dominique outside of the classroom. With so many little ears around, we don't often talk about our love life (mine=non-existent), our goals for the future, etc.

It's about time for me to get back at it, but as I offered Jessi well wishes on the phone last night (She's heading to London to become a certified ESL teacher and then going to Thailand to teach and take scubadiving lessons.), she encouraged me to blog everyday about something I learned. I will get back to you on that one. :)