Sad Michele is less sad then yesterday.

I'm not going to Hong Kong. I was so sad and upset and frustrated about this yesterday. Why didn't they pick me? I'm awesome! So I thought to myself, "What would Barney Stinson do?" and I answered "Well, I can just stop being sad and be awesome instead." And that's the plan. I'm going to plan to do something awesome and incredible and fantastic, because that's who I am and that's what I do.

I'm going to try to plan a European trip/extended teaching experience. I'll start with a sure thing: I'll go back to Italy. I'll also apply to this program I know of in Spain, where they pay for your flight. From there, I would like to see Portugal, Amsterdam, Greece, France, the UK, Austria, Switzerland... I want see it all! Yes, I know this is expensive. I don't think I'll be able to do everything this summer, but I'll be able to do enough. Italy, Spain and Greece are the main points on my list. And my main goal is to be in Spain for La Tomatina in August.

Do you know what La Tomatina is? It's a GIANT tomato fight. In the town of Buñol, Spain, THOUSANDS of tourists invade and throw over 50000 pounds of tomatoes at each other. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a really good time to me. In fact, it sounds like it's a fantastic thing to attend and every one should go at least once in their life.

What will I need to help me with this? A job, for starters. I've applied at a private tutoring company. I'm hoping to hear from them this week. If I don't get it, I'm not worried: I'm getting $30 for participating in a Linguistic study tomorrow. Oh and I won $6 on a Bingo lotto scratch ticket. I did, however, spend $20 on lunch, but that's because we have no food in the house, again. Hopefully, someone will go grocery shopping tonight.

I have my sculpture class tonight: I really like it! I thought it would be awful and too intense, but I like it a lot. I'm carving plaster for now. Then I'll make a clay thing a little later this semester. I'm really enjoying it, but I'm at a loss as to what to carve on a certain section. I could easily do "whatever," but I'm going to be spending a lot of time on it and I'd like to be able to display it when it's finished.

The moral of the story? I think I'll be fine.

One Step Closer

Hey everyone! I've got some freaken awesome good news!

I am once step closer to to going to beautiful Hong Kong for my final field experience. WOO! I'm really excited about this. I just have to wow the two interviewers and then I'll be on my way! I want this, I deserve this. I'm ready for this. I'm ready to start (or continue, after Italy) my life as an international ESL teacher. I WILL do this and I WILL be awesome and I WILL succeed. And the best part? I'm going and grabbing life by the horns. I'm making things happen. I'm not waiting to something to just fall into my lap. Look at that picture. Isn't it beautiful? I belong there, I mean look at the skyscrapers: some of them are pink! I'm sad, though, because I've found out that some deserving people didn't even get an interview. I'm sorry that I won't have the opportunity to be in Hong Kong with her. She and I weren't in direct competition for a spot, so, for me, there's no upside to her not getting an interview.

Something else I'd like to mention is this video from 2009's World of Science Festival. In it, Bobby McFerrin demonstrates the power of the pentatonic scale. It's just incredible that people who don't really know each other and don't know what will happen next can (correctly) assume what note will be next based on the three note set up McFerrin gives them. It still gives me chills, even though I've watched it many time.

Humans are fascinating, aren't they?

My goals

My (short term) goals are as follows:

1. I want my room to be perfectly clean.
2. I want to lose enough weight that I feel comfortable in a bikini.
3. I want to write (and publish) a book.
4. I want to go to Hong Kong to do my final field experience.

Let's look at these one by one, starting with... well... the first one.

1. I want my room to be perfectly clean.
Okay, for my room to be perfectly clean, I have to clean it, right? Well, I'm trying. I really am. I'm up to what, part six of my room cleaning saga? This is a goal I can control, and I am controlling it. I'm setting some time aside as often as possible to clean as much as I can. As I clean, instead of just moving things from one side of the room to the other, I'm actually packing it in boxes and reusable bags. This way, I can easily stack, store, and (later) find my books and DVDs (which seem to be the stuff of which I have too much). This way, everything has it's place and it's place isn't randomly strewn around my room. This is a goal that I am in control of. I can (and will) achieve.

2. I want to lose enough weight that I feel comfortable in a bikini.
Ahh, this old thing. Yep, the weight thing. So, I'm fat. I'm not delusional about this, it's a fact and I'm okay with it. Well.. not really, if I want to lose weight, right? This is a health thing, not a vanity thing. I'm out of breath all this time, my knees hurt, my heart beats so freaken quickly... I'm too young to have all these problems. Also, I have an awesome tattoo that NO ONE SEES because I'm too ashamed of my fat belly to show it off. So I'm eating better, not dieting. Dieting is a deprivation of certain foods. I'm not ready to (nor do I think I have to) cut out whole items from my daily menus. Instead, I'm eating less bad stuff and more good stuff and making better choices in my day to day life. I'm also exercising more. I'm not going to the gym because a) I'm poor and b) I don't think I need to go to the gym right now. Gyms are great for those with time and money and I have neither at the moment. We have an elliptical at home and if I use it more and walk the dog more, then I think that'll be enough for now! This is a goal that I am in control of. I can (and will) achieve.

3. I want to write (and publish) a book.
I think this may be the easiest of the goals to accomplish. Now a days, anyone can write and then self publish a book. The thing is, I don't want to be a self-published author. I want to be a real author. A good author. I want to write something that people who are not my family and friends will buy, read, and love. My mom says all I need to do is get an idea and run with it, but that's a lot easier said than done. I mean, if it were easy, I'd have already done it. My mother raised a good point by asking my what kind of book I want to write. Well, I have no idea. Whatsoever. Not a clue. But, if I persevere, I might actually succeed. This is a goal that I am in (somewhat) control of. I can achieve it, if I try.

4. I want to go to Hong Kong to do my final field experience.
Seriously, this is a possibility. It would be a DREAM COME TRUE in more ways than one. I'd be teaching in Asia. This could open up a whole new bunch of possibilities: I'd have my foot in the door of a teaching job in Asia. Also, I'd be going to Asia on my school's dime, which really isn't that terrible of thing, is it? Hong Kong is a beautiful city. I really want to be chosen for this... That's right. Chosen. This is NOT a goal that I am in control of. I've written my letter of intent and all I can do is hope that it gets me an interview. After that, I can just pray that I've impressed them enough to pick me as one of the lucky 8 people from TESL to go. I hope I can achieve it.