Heading home

This week has been full-Holly's bridal weekend extravaganza was fantastic, with a dinner out, bridal shower and bachelorette party.

Staying with Rocio has been fun as well...we went driving around Tampa, I've seen a bunch of movies and, surprisingly, gotten caught up on sleep.

I got a check-in call on Tuesday, and the girls are doing well (do they even notice I'm gone? I dunno).

I head back to the airport in about 2 hours to spend my last few days of Spring Break with my honey and my furry babies. He's been gone over the Break as well (he went to Vegas!) so I'm sure we'll have a lot to catch up on. It's also our 2-month anniversary, so after meeting me at the airport, we're going to dinner, then spending a quiet evening at home. (He has to work over the break now that he's back, so time, as always, is precious.)

It's so fun to be away, but every time I realize how much I love going home.

Hot tea and a spa evening

Tomorrow I get on a plane! I am so happy to be seeing friends and getting to travel.

Last night was normal, schedule wise, but physically...ugh. I'm not really sure what got into my system, but it's giving me headaches, queasiness, and fatigue. But strangely, it settled in last night, made me miserable for a while, then went away until this morning's train ride. Michael is a total sweetheart and made me tea and coaxed me to eat (I know, that's completely mushy stuff...sorry). I am determined to be better in the next 48 hours so I can party with Holly to the highest extent and dance the night away with Rocio in Florida. I am lucky, because Michael is competely on-board with my get-well-quick idea and has taken it upon himself to facilitate the process...I slept on his shoulder for most of the train ride, and when we got to school, he disappeared for a few minutes to return with a full breakfast and hot tea.

Tonight is going to be a mad dash to get ready for vacation...there are clothes to be washed, nails to be painted, packing to do and kitties to snuggle extensively before leaving for almost a week. It's also my last night to see Michael for the week, so we're going to have a special dinner and relax before we have to spend time apart.

I can't wait to see everyone! I'll be checking my email tonight after school, so if after that you need to get in touch, please call!

Straight thru

Yesterday was really relaxing. I was scheduled to have a dentist's appointment after school, but I was running a little late and when I called to tell them so, they simply rescheduled. Michael had decided to play hooky from his after-school work (totally shocking!) and met me at the train.

When I told him I no longer had anywhere to be, we decided to go ahead and hang out in Manhattan for a bit. We walked around in the village and got dinner near St. Mark's. Then, we went home and slept. I haven't slept that soundly in a very long time. He woke up around 10:30 and headed home, but make sure I was back in bed before he left. I didn't wake up again until the alarm went off this morning!

It's a new day, and spring is definitely here in NYC! The trees on my block are starting to bloom with delicate pink and white blossoms, and the temperature is expected to be nearly 85 today. Only a few more days of being cooped up in the building left to go!

Prepping

So, including today, there are only 4 days left until I get on a plane for some fun in the sun! Yay for me!

Michael is so adorable...even though I made these plans before he and I even started dating, he is pouting a bit at the idea of me being so far away (and in a bathing suit on the beaches of Florida). To ease some of the pressure of the separation, we are having sleep overs for three out of the four days we have left. It is really amazing to have someone so fantastic to be with me at home. And Sydney, man, she loves him sooo much! (She slept soundly on his bag last night.) And, I am working really hard at being more domesticated.

Working towards the idea of having a home together, I have started organizing and cleaning everything and started cooking. It is really funny, but he's actually kind of impressed. He notices everything, from the fact that I finally went shopping to when I put on a different kind of eyeshadow.

This past weekend was quite fun. I went out with Michael and met his best friend from high school. And, well, got totally and completely snockered. I don't think I've ever been that drunk. And, boy, did we dance! (I had no idea he was such a fantastic dancer! And the real "I-lead-you-follow" kind of dancing, too. ) It was so fun. (We have plans to go to the Midsummer Night's Swing at Lincoln Center later in the summer.) Being drunk was definitely a rare thing, but enjoyable as it happened.

Saturday Michael left early to come in to school while I slept for a few more hours. Then I went in to school as well and picked up a small group of kids and took them to Central Park, Times Square and to see a movie. Sunday was beautifully lazy and I spend the majority of the day snoozing- both with and without kitties.

Yesterday I went to the wrap up of the theatre conference, and Michael came over last night. Again, it was great having him come home to my home. And it's actually kind of fun coming to work on the train with him. (I never thought 3 trains over 45 minutes could really be fun, but it goes by a lot faster with him there to talk to.)

I am looking forward to Spring Break, but it is going to be strange not to see him for so many days in a row. However, I'll cope by getting to see all my friends and with the knowledge that he's going to pick me up at the airport on Thursday. (I have always, always wanted someone to be there for me at the airport. It's just another sign that he is the right one for me!)

Acting out

Went to the theatre conference yesterday, which was tons of fun. Professional development with theatre people is nothing like anything I've been through with all of the ELA/test prep garbage I've been asked to attend in the past.

Went straight from Manahttan to Queens College, where I spent a little more than and hour going through the more than 250 emails I've received since the last time I checked my inboxes (so some of you should have reply emails from stuff you sent two weeks ago, hahaha).

Went to class, got out of class, commuted for about an hour, stopped by the store for cat food and ended up home about 10:45. Talked to Michael until about 1, mostly about how we have to do something about our crazy schedules to have more time together and not be on the phone until 1 in the morning every night. I don't know how we're going to do it. I want him to take an early night once a week to come over and be with me (since he usually gets off at 10, and early night would be more like getting off around 8). I know that he wants to spend more time with me, too, but things are happening at his after-school program that he really needs to be aware and present for, and I understand and support that.

The thing is, the exhaustion from all the late nights is not as pronounced for him as it is for me. His body chemistry is just different--he simply needs less sleep to function well. I, on the other hand, am starting to be less patient, more distracted and developing dark circles under my eyes from the lack of rest.

We tried setting a limit to the amount of time we're on the phone to be off by midnight, but neither one of us are really trying to enforce that. Part of the problem is that I seem to get a small second burst of energy around 10:30 and then want to use that energy to talk to him and start to feel slighted when he (quite rationally and kindly) starts to maneuver his way off the phone with me.

I guess he'll just have to move in so we don't feel like we always have so much catching up to do. :) In fact, despite the talk that it would be crazy for us to actually do that so early on in a relationship, I already am amassing a collection of his stuff over at my place anyway. After a change of clothes, a toothbrush and favorite CD, what else is there really left to "move" anyhow? We're going out again on Friday, where I'm sure negotiations of this sort will continue into the very early morning.

Almost all clear

Got back from my appointment. From the initial exam, it appears that all is well. We'll be more certain (whew!) after the results from the tests come back in about 2 weeks.

Michael is such a doll. I can't even believe how lucky I am to have him in my life. He is totally bewildered by "my generation" with all of our blogging and digitizing everything. I had told him I was blogging, but he just didn't understand the whole mess of just putting it all out there....("You mean anybody could read it? Anybody?!?) He pointed out that "we" are a lot more open with all of our personal lives and he doesn't really understand that mentality. But that's okay...I'm not expecting anyone to be into everything that I'm into. However, I didn't want him to be concerned that I was plastering the internet with naughty photos (especially since they don't exist) and figured it was about time he actually saw the blog.

So, I showed him.

Hahah. Now that he knows that I've been getting online and gushing about how fantastic he is, he's a bit more comfortable with the whole idea. And, in his "I have to do everything and do it to the utmost" attitude, he has gone from "What's a blog?" to "Hey, I could use this to ...market my consulting business/community fitness center/fitness college/after school program AND communicate with friends..." in about 30 seconds flat.

Besides that, I've been doing research for a paper in my lit class...."The dichotemy between the femme fatale and the happy housewife." my prof is really into this whole idea that classic American literary heroes shift from this kind of pansy-like existence to the need to go "back into the wild frontier" and find their "inner hunter." I thought it would be interesting to explore that idea from the female perspective and analyze characters that find their "inner huntresses" by creating another identity for themselves (in contrast to the need to go into the forest). So far, I'm using Sydney Bristow from Alias (of course!), Catwoman, Charly (from The Long Kiss Goodnight) Maggie (from The Point of No Return) and some real-life spy sagas that I haven't quite nailed down yet. Anyway, comments/ideas on this theme would be helpful (especially since said paper is due in a week or so).

Okay, time to go....I've been doing research to pass the time waiting for my honey to get out of football practice, and it's finally time to close up shop.

Hectic is Beautiful!

Cat...I would LOOOVE to see you that weekend. You are more than welcome to stay with me! As soon as I can get to my email (probably tomorrow) I'll send you info to get in touch via phone. (I cancelled my home internet service since I have a computer in my classroom now, but it has a computer nanny program installed from the Dept of Ed, so I can't check my email from here.) It is great to have company.

Things ARE hectic, but still good. I have a doctor's appointment today for that kind of doctor. I've been thinking about going on Seasonale (the idea of only 4 periods a year sounds really good to me) and it's just been a few, um, years, since I've had a routine checkup in that area. I always put that off because I had a really horrible, traumatic experience at my first exam and seem to have residual anxiety about that as soon as I get near a doctor's office. However, I have to say that Michael is simply the best. I didn't even have to ask him to go with me....as soon as I told him I had an appointment, he just stated that he would take off work to go with me. It is truly wonderful to have someone in my life who knows exactly what I need and does it without having to be asked. It is even more of a comfort this time, because when I made the appointment, I was really overly focused on the issue of birth control options. It wasn't until last night that I freaked out about having to have the tests that would indicate the possibilty of having cancer. Don't get me wrong, I have no symptoms, so there really isn't anything to worry about. It's just emotional since it will be my first test regarding this since cervical cancer took my mom.

Anyway, that aside, I'm excited because of two things: one, Michael is coming with me to my appointment, then (after putting in a few hours at work) is going to come back and spend some time with me, and two, I get to go to a theater conference tomorrow and see "Streetcar" with John C. Reilly ("Chicago and "The Good Girl"). No school for me!!! Yay!

Finally, Spring Break is only 6 working days away (I get to go back to theater on Monday, too!) I am really, really looking forward to seeing my friends again! I miss ya'll!!

Patience

Hmmm, a great, great weekend. I was really lucky and got to see my honey Saturday AND Sunday. It is a wonderful blessing. He was going to travel and not be around Sunday, but at the last minute he called and decided to stay around so he could come have lunch with me.

We actually started out early for lunch, with him getting to my place around 10. We found him a parking spot, which is a total bitch in my neighborhood, then had an early lunch, and spent the rest of the day hanging out at my apartment talking.

Sunday we walked around on Steinway (my shpooing drag) for a bit, had lunch, watched "The Transporter" at my house, took a nap, talked, snuggled, then had dinner before he went out to Jersey.

It is wonderful to see him so much in one week. However, it makes it even harder to be away from him now. My apartment feels a bit lonely when he's not there. Even Sydney misses him, and spent most of Sunday evening curled up asleep on his gym bag.

{Sigh}

In other news, I am happily gearing up for my Spring Break trip. Shower in Houston for a few days, beach in Tampa for a few days, then back to New York the day after the two-month marker for me and Michael.

School is starting to wind down, and the building is starting to feel it. Everyone is anxious to be out in the sunshine and even the teachers are beginning to get antsy. Less than two months before we'll be all done! The last two weeks of June my eighth graders aren't required to come to school (like when we were seniors in high school) and they'll spend part of that time at prom and on the senior trip. (Good thing I've secured my prom date already!)

Merge carefully

It is a wondrous thing how people become part of each other's lives. When I first met Michael back in September, I had not even the slightest twinge of any forethought that he would totally and completely change my life.

It's been just barely more than a month, and already he is integrated into my daily life. This was especially apparent to me last night when he stayed at work a little later than usual and didn't call at the same time he always does. I wasn't mad, but I immediately noticed the change, and, unlike my previous nature to do whatever it was I was going to do, actually sat and waited by the phone for it to ring.

Sometimes, being in love with him makes me feel crazy.

At this point, we are both anxious to "start" the time we have together, and it is getting harder and harder to be at home without him there. Even though we see each other at school, we still talk on the phone about an hour every night (sometimes more) and it still isn't until we're both falling asleep that we finally resolve to hang up.

There have been things that needed to be discussed for this relationship to go well, but for the most part, I think we've tackled the big ticket items. Since then, I have been continually amazed at how easy this is with him. It's never been this way for me. We spend a lot of time together in a stressful environment and have to work around both of our crazy schedules, but no relationship I've ever been in has felt like it took so little effort.

fountians of fun

Saturday I took my little drama group to Lincoln Center. It was so much fun, I could hardly believe it!

We were scheduled to meet at school at 2 pm, so I went up a little early since I knew Michael would be working. I hung out with him for about an hour and told him my iterary for the day. When I told him that the train to get into the city was displaced and I was going to take the girls on a shuttle bus (a bus that runs the same line as the train, only above ground and has to deal with the traffic and the lights) he told me that he was leaving the school at 2 to go to Penn Station anyway and that we all should ride with him. It took a little convincing (I wasn't sure how I would address questions from the girls about that coincidence if they came up) but eventually I agreed that would be for the best.

We set out almost on time and went into Manhattan, letting the girls see the city up close! We got dropped at Penn and took the train to Lincoln Center, where we saw 2 exhibits at the Library for the Performing Arts-1 about Disco (actually got to see John Travolta's suit from Saturday Night Fever!) and one about the man who wrote the song "Somehere Over the Rainbow" among others. We stopped to take pictures in front of the fountian and then with the windows of the theater in the background. Then, we went to dinner at a diner, then back to Lincoln Center where we shopped at the gift store for the Opera . After that, we had about an hour to kill, so we went to Starbucks and had coffee. Finally, we finished the evening with clarinet recital by a student at the Juilliard School.

Micheal had also arranged for the same driver to pick us up when we were through, so it was wonderful not having to take the train home. I got to show the girls somewhat where I live (since we used the 59th st bridge to get across the river) and they got to see the Manhattan skyline "in real." When I asked them if they'd had a good time, at first there were some "uh-huh's' (they were really tired-we'd been out and about for nearly 8 hours at that point) when one of them exclaimed, "No, I had a GREAT time!" Such things warm the heart! All in all, it was a really beautiful day - both for me and the girls- and made me realize for about the millionth time how lucky I am that Michael and I ran into each other in the hallway back in September.