Saying Goodbye to 2005
Well I've officially postponed this blog update so long that only a novel would do justice to the events that have passed. In all honesty I had good intentions in postponing an update - including finding a spare daylight hour to take pictures of the newly snowy neighborhood. (No easy task when you work two jobs and there are only eight or so hours between sunrise and sunset.) But I finally managed to get out there - albeit through my car window - so here they are:
and finally, a view of downtown Grand Forks from across the river in East Grand Forks, MN
As for the rest of the news, I'll try a top 10 format to keep it short and sweet. So without further ado, here are my
Top Ten Events Between Thanksgiving and Christmas: (in rough chronological order)
1. Seeing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Okay technically this happened before Thanksgiving, but I'd been looking forward to it probably since the last movie came out. Since it's my second favorite book of the series (recently moved from the top spot by H.P. and the Half-Blood Prince), it was definitely a treat to see the movie!
2. Visiting family at Thanksgiving
No, I didn't fly home to California during the most hectic travel weekend of the year. Luckily, my Mom's sister Ann lives in Minneapolis with her family, and they invited Matt and I to their new house for the holiday. It was great fun to relax with Ann and Carrie and my two cousins Jordan and Ben doing puzzles and foam crafts by the fire. Also my aunt Tracy came out from Riverside to round out the fun - she always has something new to share. Plus, everyone finally got to meet Matt, after hearing about him for so long. All in all, the weekend was just what I needed to recharge for my next five weeks in Grand Forks.
3. Getting my car fixed
The only blight on our Thanksgiving trip was realizing Friday morning that my car battery had died over the holiday, after having taken it in the week before for that very problem and getting a brand new battery put in. Luckily AAA was able to jump it, and when we got back to the Toyota dealership in Grand Forks and insisted that they fix the problem and not just the symptom, they found out that I had a faulty light switch so that during cold weather (which, surprisingly, we have a LOT of in North Dakota), the circuit connected and my lights came on even when the car was off. Which is a good way to drain your battery. At any rate, they got a new switch after just a day and didn't charge me at all. And my car is living happily every after.
4. Avoiding Black Friday
Thanksgiving weekend is the biggest one for Michaels, so we weren't allowed to request it off. Luckily for me, my bosses are pretty accommodating, and when Heather found out I was hoping to spend Thanksgiving in Minneapolis, she put me on the overnight restocking shift for Friday night rather than during the day on Friday. This meant that not only did I have ample time to make it back from the Twin Cities, (even with a dead battery and small snow storm), but I also didn't have to deal with the mad rush of people out to shop the bargains on the day after Thanksgiving. Which sounds small but to me is priceless.
5. Getting and Algebra II student
Sylvan actually told me the week before Thanksgiving that there would be an Algebra II student coming in, but I didn't want to get my hopes up like I did when the calculus student had called but then ended up dropping the class rather than getting help. But this Algebra II kid has come true! Since he's a senior in high school he gets to take a reduced courseload and so comes in every early afternoon for a couple of hours. And since it's before regular Sylvan hours, I get to work one on one with him, and it's been so fun to do the kind of math that I really like rather than drilling times tables and reducing fractions.
6. Making new friends
And it only took me four months! But I can officially say that I have a Grand Forks friend (one of my coworkers at Michaels), after she invited me out for drinks with a group to celebrate her birthday. She has a boyfriend also, so it ended up being a fun kind of double date situation for me and Matt. I'm super excited about making a friend, just because it often takes me quite a long time to get comfortable with people. Hooray!
7. Getting a calculus student
Just when you thought Algebra II was too good to be true, here comes an AP calculus student! He also comes in early in the afternoon but doesn't overlap too much with my other senior, so I'm getting to do a lot of one-on-one with him also. His sessions aren't as intensive, he really just needs a little extra guidance on that pesky integration, so it's just math fun time for me. It has, however, revealed just how rusty my calculus has gotten, so I'm being sure to bring my notes back with me.
8. Working lots of hours
Between the two students of my very own at Sylvan every day and the regular Sylvan hours and regular Michaels hours, I've been working a LOT. A lot more than I'm used to I guess. There were quite a few days in the last weeks that I'd leave by 8:30 in the morning and come home around 10 that night - exhausting! (And perhaps now it's easier to understand why I didn't hop on the computer for an hour to compose these fantastic blog entries.) ;) The good thing, though - more and steadier hours means a bigger and steadier paycheck. Which is really good around the holidays.
9. Eating lots of Christmas goodies
Between peanut brittle in the breakroom at Michaels and plates of cookies from students and Sylvan, I was definitely enjoying the sweet side of the holidays.
10. Coming home to California
Matt and I flew out of Grand Forks on the 20th and I've been soaking up the 50s and 60s ever since. It's so great to see my mom and Patrick and Dexter - I've been missing them so much! Also on my list of things to do in California: Eat all the food I can't get in Grand Forks, including In-n-Out burgers, sushi, tempura, good Chinese food, Greek food, Jamba Juice, and much much more. I'm also catching up with old friends and planning a New Years celebration with a couple of my roommates from Stanford, which promises to be a blast.
So here's looking forward to the new year! One of my resolutions is to find routines that work for me, and I hope to add blog updates to the list! Thanks for all the encouragement, and you should be hearing from me more often. Happy Holidays and an early Happy New Year!
Sara & Matt
The ol' apartment building
Pictures from around the neighborhood
and finally, a view of downtown Grand Forks from across the river in East Grand Forks, MN
As for the rest of the news, I'll try a top 10 format to keep it short and sweet. So without further ado, here are my
Top Ten Events Between Thanksgiving and Christmas: (in rough chronological order)
1. Seeing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Okay technically this happened before Thanksgiving, but I'd been looking forward to it probably since the last movie came out. Since it's my second favorite book of the series (recently moved from the top spot by H.P. and the Half-Blood Prince), it was definitely a treat to see the movie!
2. Visiting family at Thanksgiving
No, I didn't fly home to California during the most hectic travel weekend of the year. Luckily, my Mom's sister Ann lives in Minneapolis with her family, and they invited Matt and I to their new house for the holiday. It was great fun to relax with Ann and Carrie and my two cousins Jordan and Ben doing puzzles and foam crafts by the fire. Also my aunt Tracy came out from Riverside to round out the fun - she always has something new to share. Plus, everyone finally got to meet Matt, after hearing about him for so long. All in all, the weekend was just what I needed to recharge for my next five weeks in Grand Forks.
3. Getting my car fixed
The only blight on our Thanksgiving trip was realizing Friday morning that my car battery had died over the holiday, after having taken it in the week before for that very problem and getting a brand new battery put in. Luckily AAA was able to jump it, and when we got back to the Toyota dealership in Grand Forks and insisted that they fix the problem and not just the symptom, they found out that I had a faulty light switch so that during cold weather (which, surprisingly, we have a LOT of in North Dakota), the circuit connected and my lights came on even when the car was off. Which is a good way to drain your battery. At any rate, they got a new switch after just a day and didn't charge me at all. And my car is living happily every after.
4. Avoiding Black Friday
Thanksgiving weekend is the biggest one for Michaels, so we weren't allowed to request it off. Luckily for me, my bosses are pretty accommodating, and when Heather found out I was hoping to spend Thanksgiving in Minneapolis, she put me on the overnight restocking shift for Friday night rather than during the day on Friday. This meant that not only did I have ample time to make it back from the Twin Cities, (even with a dead battery and small snow storm), but I also didn't have to deal with the mad rush of people out to shop the bargains on the day after Thanksgiving. Which sounds small but to me is priceless.
5. Getting and Algebra II student
Sylvan actually told me the week before Thanksgiving that there would be an Algebra II student coming in, but I didn't want to get my hopes up like I did when the calculus student had called but then ended up dropping the class rather than getting help. But this Algebra II kid has come true! Since he's a senior in high school he gets to take a reduced courseload and so comes in every early afternoon for a couple of hours. And since it's before regular Sylvan hours, I get to work one on one with him, and it's been so fun to do the kind of math that I really like rather than drilling times tables and reducing fractions.
6. Making new friends
And it only took me four months! But I can officially say that I have a Grand Forks friend (one of my coworkers at Michaels), after she invited me out for drinks with a group to celebrate her birthday. She has a boyfriend also, so it ended up being a fun kind of double date situation for me and Matt. I'm super excited about making a friend, just because it often takes me quite a long time to get comfortable with people. Hooray!
7. Getting a calculus student
Just when you thought Algebra II was too good to be true, here comes an AP calculus student! He also comes in early in the afternoon but doesn't overlap too much with my other senior, so I'm getting to do a lot of one-on-one with him also. His sessions aren't as intensive, he really just needs a little extra guidance on that pesky integration, so it's just math fun time for me. It has, however, revealed just how rusty my calculus has gotten, so I'm being sure to bring my notes back with me.
8. Working lots of hours
Between the two students of my very own at Sylvan every day and the regular Sylvan hours and regular Michaels hours, I've been working a LOT. A lot more than I'm used to I guess. There were quite a few days in the last weeks that I'd leave by 8:30 in the morning and come home around 10 that night - exhausting! (And perhaps now it's easier to understand why I didn't hop on the computer for an hour to compose these fantastic blog entries.) ;) The good thing, though - more and steadier hours means a bigger and steadier paycheck. Which is really good around the holidays.
9. Eating lots of Christmas goodies
Between peanut brittle in the breakroom at Michaels and plates of cookies from students and Sylvan, I was definitely enjoying the sweet side of the holidays.
10. Coming home to California
Matt and I flew out of Grand Forks on the 20th and I've been soaking up the 50s and 60s ever since. It's so great to see my mom and Patrick and Dexter - I've been missing them so much! Also on my list of things to do in California: Eat all the food I can't get in Grand Forks, including In-n-Out burgers, sushi, tempura, good Chinese food, Greek food, Jamba Juice, and much much more. I'm also catching up with old friends and planning a New Years celebration with a couple of my roommates from Stanford, which promises to be a blast.
So here's looking forward to the new year! One of my resolutions is to find routines that work for me, and I hope to add blog updates to the list! Thanks for all the encouragement, and you should be hearing from me more often. Happy Holidays and an early Happy New Year!
Sara & Mattposted by Sara | 5:48 PM
1 Comments:
It's good to see that you're still updating us! Wondering if you're still in the area or back to the COLD STUFF. ??? I have to wonder, while I'm wondering, if MAYBE we shouldn't encourage Greg to visit you. Is there an offering for TOTAL IMMERSION CALCULUS that he might benefit from in your neck of the woods? (Like, one-on-one from his calculus teaching cousin?) Just kidding....doubt we could drag him away from his "commitments" long enough.
Love the pictures---will look forward to more later. Hope all are staying happy and healthy.
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