Long Overdue Post
No, I don't have a top-secret blog that I update on the sly. The paradox with me is the more I have to say, the less I update. Nevertheless, I wanted to keep with my tradition of updating my year in review. I admit it's somewhat more difficult to do this time around due to not having blog entries to look back on to refresh my memory.
January 2009 - where did I leave off in my last year-in review post... probably the low-key celebration at the Cue house that is fast becoming tradition. It's so nice not to have to worry about driving or the other crazy drivers out there plus I simply have a blast with everyone who comes. It's usually the same people plus or minus a few friends every year. We always play fun games and it's just fun all around.
The next few months revolved around work, no doubt. Call it "still getting settled in" with my first year. The spring went by in a blur. I know people visited us, staff parties were held, Avi & I hung out as always, I became a fixed presence at the Hanumantha home, or the Hanu vortex as I affectionately called it. Oh yes, let's not forget the chaos that descended upon DC with the inauguration of Obama! I finally met a few people for the first time. Also got to know some people more, and no I'm not gonna "name-drop" here.
Early February - Smitha and I roadtripped it to Rochester to see the Superbowl and we had a blast there!
March brought the Academic Bowl regionals where the Woodson team came in second after being undefeated - it was a good feeling as a first-year teacher/first-time coach, especially knowing that so many people doubted us. The majority of the credit definitely goes to the team though!
State testing came around (see - my life was hopelessly wrapped around school) and I was quickly sucked into the nightmarish hell of administering those tests, talk about exhausting! When not wrapped up in reviews or testing or Academic Bowl practice, I was still very much a homebody!
That brings us to May - Academic Bowl Nationals where I was just happy we won more than one match, emerged as a decent contender against the best of the best, and we all had a blast. The April showers brought May SOLs. Another trip was accorded to fair Rochester for graduation round #10928401984.
When June rolled around the corner - all was well again. It was Woodson's graduation time, and I found myself amongst a sea of faculty sitting in cap and gown - a requirement for Woodson staff. An odd tradition we didn't observe at my old high school, but it afforded me front row seats to see Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia whose grandson went to Woodson. Even though he's a conservative, I still found his speech quite riveting and I'll never forget the last line, "Bingo!" (it was all about platitudes and the such).
The little sister came out to visit DC for 10 days. Dad told her it was too long. The other sisters told her it was too long. Heck - even I told her - but she's a stubborn 14 year old. She was bored within a few days. I'm still glad she came, we bonded more and she brushed up on her sign language skills! I also learned that migraines are no fun!
Once work finally wrapped up, Jamie, Avi and I skedaddled to Colorado. It was the first time I had been home since Christmas and I vowed never to do that again. It was simply too long in between visits and I missed everyone - but money rules the universe and the matter could not be helped! The two weeks spent there were just carefree lazy days. Avi & I got soaked in a sudden downpour on a bike ride. We hiked the Blue Lake which was no easy feat! Most of all we just chilled.
One weird thing the whole year was getting used to NOT having the feeling of "ugh I need to finish this project or this assignment or this class or my undergraduate degree before my graduate degree, etc". I had a HARD time adjusting to it, no joke. I had become so used to that burden on my shoulders that I kept looking behind to see if it was still there! It was also odd NOT needing a summer job or figure out a way to make money.
I quickly learned that I have a hard time just relaxing and enjoying myself. I'm so used to work.
I flew back to DC for exactly 24 hours at the end of June. Barely enough time to sleep, pack my clothes, go to Wal-Mart to get some travel items then it was time to meet Ms. Hanumantha at good ol' DCA. Laden with our heavy packs and tingling with anticipation - we were about to embark on an awesome Southeast Asia trip.
Thailand. We only had round trip tickets there - we knew we'd decide the rest once we got there! That's how this Wordpress (ktquiet.wordpress.org) blog got started actually - to chronicle the trip! Once in Thailand - we puttered around Bangkok just sleeping, eating and enjoying the nightlife for a couple days then we flew to Phuket (oy! note to self - check weather before flying to a beach!) then from there we flew back to Bangkok after several not-so-miserable (we made the best of it) rain-soaked days.
Mingling in the Bangkok airport - we caught a flight to Siam Reap. Of this whole trip - I was most excited about Cambodia. I had already been to Thailand before so Cambodia was new and from what I heard about it - I knew it'd capture my heart in a way that only India could previously. I cannot even begin to explain Cambodia - easily my favorite part of the trip so read my blogs below for more details. It was awe-inspiring, touching, memorable, and a whole bunch of other platitudes that Scalia would scoff at (bingo!).
We caught a flight to Phnom Penh after seeing Angkor Wat and stayed there one day before driving to Kampot. Meeting Ronise was awesome and the place is just so peaceful. Seriously, I could go on forever about Cambodia so I will stop here. From there we returned to Phnom Penh to visit Developing Deaf Programme and to meet some people who worked there. Then we caught the bus to Ho Chi Minh City.
... to say that Vietnam was ...chaotic would be an understatement. From Smitty getting hit with the motobike to the torrential rain, violent masseuses, sweltering heat with sweat beads racing each other down our noses and the constant reminder of the "American War" - it wasn't one of my favorite places but I'm still glad I went and I would go back just to give it a chance to make a better second impression on me.
We eventually returned to Bangkok and Ronise joined us there where we spent several fun-filled nights in the city and Khao San road before returning to America. All of the above took place in just three short weeks then it was July before I knew it!
Grumbling at the miserable oppressive DC heat in July/August - I stayed a week then blew my meager savings on a ticket to Colorado. I had nothing to do here so I figured I might as well grab more time with my family! I don't really remember what I did at home - probably caught up on sleep and hung out. I finally paid off Oscar after 5 years of $400 monthly payments. What a relief!
Sadness ensued with my return to DC in August - a couple weeks before work started, I had a lot to do. My beloved roomie/bestie/whatever of 4 years was moving into the Gallaudet dorms. We had to pack up our apartment and say "goodbye for now". I moved into the Hanumantha basement for a month or so. It was sad not living with Avi anymore, but it made our friendship stronger and I had a blast living with the Hanumanthas.
Their house is always so warm and welcoming for me and I always feel at home. I was spoiled by Indian food every day (although my digestive system protested at the gross injustice at first - after a good scolding, it was ready to go again). It felt like home again with a house full of people, lights on, a noisy environment, people chattering, people going god! I wish I could get some peace and quiet even though they miss the noise when it's gone! I miss those days both in Colorado and at their home here in Virginia.
I was also on time to work everyday, hot damn! Having to take Smitty to the VRE everyday really helped and even my co-workers marveled! :P
Speaking of co-workers, I was reluctantly convinced to do the Academic Bowl again even though it meant building the team practically from scratch. It was nice to be in my second year but I started feeling... unfulfilled. Knowing what this bodes for me, I tried to suppress that feeling!! I also tried to keep myself busy by taking on a second job teaching ASL at the local community college.
October - time for another trip to Colorado again! This time for Holly & Miranda's housewarming and bringing the Hanumantha sisters for a meet 'n greet with the fam! I also had to give the SOLs again. I was really coming to love the damn tests! I also bid the Hanumanthas a sad farewell to move in with two boys, Alim & Tamer, and Tamer's dog, Meeko!
November - mah birthday. 27? 28? 29? Heck - the years are starting to blur together now :P We got together at an Asian restaurant with champ lychee martinis -it was nice to toast the event with a good group of people! Thanksgiving was spent at Tina & Art's home with friends and even though it was weird not being home for the 2nd time, it was still nice to be with good friends.
December - full on winter break fever was in full swing. Avi and I finally had to say goodbye and prepare for life living more than 15 minutes apart. The first goodbye didn't count since we still got together as much as we could, we knew the other was "page-able". It, of course, did not hit me until much later but it was surreal for the both of us and we were both "sadding" as we would say.
Bad luck started hitting from left and right. I was pulled over and almost got 5 tickets but luckily the (asshole) took mercy and whittled it down to three. I got into a hell of a car accident which put Oscar out of commission for a month. I still don't have him back and am on my 4th rental car. Don't get into accidents. It's a logistical and redtape-ridden nightmare! I nearly spun out my Dad's truck on black ice in Colorado while home for break... but I am getting ahead of myself.
Back up a bit - I was asked to give a speech in Colorado for a family friend's tax firm, which I did. I was nervous as hell but hey free ticket home, top terps in the state, and it was very well-received and I was nicely compensated. Not bad for a few weeks of angst and agony over the IDIOCY of my agreement to do said function in the first place!
Fast forward to a few days before Christmas. Meanwhile, we were all counting down the days until break and then DC was inexplicably dumped with a hell of a blizzard. 24 inches in 24 hours. Even Fairfax canceled school for the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before break ON SUNDAY!
Where were my roomies? Gallivanting in India. Bastards. Oh, how I wished I could be with them instead of walking a hairy dog in knee-deep snow every 4 hours. Why does the hair matter? Because you have to clean off the ice clumps when you get back in which takes awhile! And let's not forget the wet dog smell. Lovely!
But I will grudgingly admit that having a dog in the snow was like having a little kid. We both had fun romping through the snow, so I won't complain too much :P
After flight delays - I was on my way to Colorado at last! Albeit a few days late! Christmas was low-key/bittersweet as always. Nobody was really in the Christmas spirit and oddly, I found myself with only 3 gifts to buy for instead of the usual pile. I chuckled at the irony. Now that I finally have the money to buy decent gifts, I don't have to. Murphy's Law but not gonna complain! I also finally visited Mom's grave and saw the engraving on it for the first time. I know I will never tire of saying this, but it truly is hard to believe, no matter how many years/days/months/weeks/minutes it's been, that she's gone. What is it now... our third Christmas without her, and we'll have dozens more, no doubt. It's becoming more routine but it never becomes easier.
NYE was rung in in a similar style as 2009 and thus begins the new decade! Bad luck continued to follow me and I vouched to NEVER drink that much before flying ever again. Once I finally slumped in my seat as we began taxiing out the gate, I awoke in a deluded whirl of confusion. We were back at the gate. "Mechanical problems" which meant a hour's delay. Which meant missing my connecting flight. Which meant I could feel like shit cramped into a plane seat that much longer. The joy consumed me with a fiery passion.
And that, my kiddies, concludes my year in review. It was full of ups and downs and I am only glad that I was able to keep everything down and toss nothing up on my plane ride back to DC ;)
What does this year bring? Who knows. I feel extremely restless and have been doing a lot of soul-searching and questioning of everything/everyone, so only time will tell. All I know is that it is going to be quite a few interesting months full of ups and downs. I'm ready for a few changes. Perhaps I shall blog more about it so I don't have to do all of this from memory!
And now I should get back to planning for this semester's ASL classes as I foolishly agreed to teach not one, but TWO. Yes, still trying to suppress that nagging feeling. We'll see how it works! Oh and I have to give the SOLs tomorrow too hah.
Happy (belated) New Year's!