The Challenge

Weight: 12 pounds lighter
Mood: Freakin' Fantastic
Listening To: Cherry Lips by Garbage, oh yeah!

Every time I walk from my car to Lincoln High in East LA, I pass this house that is okay. It's not completely worn down like the others on the block, but it's not the best on the block either. The first animal I ever saw in the yard was an aging Chihuahua. In the passing weeks we would share moments of him barking at cars - not people, and me trying to wake him up when I thought he might have been dead. To my surprise I also discovered two turtles that like to wander around the yard, and check out people as they pass by. They get rather courageous in sticking their heads up and looking right at you at the edge of the gate. Every time I pass by, I hope to say hello to the turtles, but they have a mind of their own and aren't always around.

This morning was no different than any other when I passed the house, but it was totally different when I arrived on campus. I thought I was going to be working with this counselor who I "lovingly" call Miss Stupid Head. Mostly because she wants to be the popular girl on campus with the kids - not their counselor. I have a strong suspicion she didn't have many friends in High School. When I arrived at the office where she is located, she was not as her desk as usual. So I headed over to her mom's office. (Yeah, her mom is a counselor on the campus, too. . . . I'll give you a moment to let that sink in . . . . . moving forward.) They let me know that there is a meeting today, and Miss Stupid Head doesn't have any work for me to do today. Did someone say early day??

At the meeting, two things happened. I desperately wanted to give Miss Stupid Head some sort of pill so she would start using her indoor voice, not her outdoor voice; and the counselor that I have learned the most from is out indefinitely for "medical" reasons. Really, word around campus is that he is getting cut loose. As I contemplated the reasons why they would try to move him out and not Miss Stupid Head, I decided to use this to my advantage.

I aggressively, sneakily, wiggled my way into his spot. Hey, I can pick up his slack! Not a problem! You want me to program classes, not a problem. Did I mention that I'm looking for a job? What do you think of hiring me on for next year??

It took me somewhere around two hours to organize all of the crap on his desk to get some sense of order and what the hell I was doing, anyway. Once I had a plan in line, it all went to crap. Students were in and out all day - Hey Miss, can I have this? Hey Miss, can I have that? Miss, what about this?? And I ended my day with a senior who will have to take 2 classes over the summer, and he's considering dropping out because of that . . . . really??

The day just FLEW by and I loved every minute of it. I controlled my impulse to also organize the desk drawers. Don't want to go too crazy in case he's coming back. I'll wait until next week to do that.

So with this pumped feeling of joy and accomplishment, I have decided to put into action a plan I've been tossing around for the past few days - as soon as Brian steps foot out the door, I am not drinking alcohol for two weeks. Well, okay he leaves Tuesday and I'm starting Monday, but you get the point. I wonder how long this will last, but I'm sure there will be multiple blogs on it. . . . .

Now if you will excuse me, I have to go work off the Salvadorian food with some Wii boxing . . . .