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Wading Through...

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My Second Home

I have a second home (some days it feels like my real home).  I have a place I love to go and sit and read and talk and work and listen.  I have a place that doesn't judge me (we take that shit to starbuck's).  I have a place where the coffee's always hot and the pastries are always ready to eat.  I have a place where good friends come to chat and new friends are met.  I have a home filled with colors and patterns, art on the walls.  I have a place... And that place is my local coffeehouse -- Firefly Coffee House.  It's been here since 1999 and I have been coming off and on since 1999.  I came in high school.  Even when I went away to college, I would come on breaks.  Once I moved back, I came when I could get away.  Now that I'm employed part time, I spend many days here.  I bring things to work on.  I blog, I type, I search, I talk, and sometimes I just watch a movie or a TV show from Netflix.  I do whatever the day offers until it's time to go get the boys from school.  It's a place that's comfortable.  It's filled with wonderful characters.  It's inhabited by interesting employees.  I love it here.

When I've been away (like over the Thanksgiving break), I feel myself yearning to get back.  Back to the front table with computer out and ready, coffee cup on one side, plate of food on the other side, and friends across from me.  The bf always tells me he gets more work done at home, but I get way more done here.  I get on a roll, blogging, organizing, writing, etc.  I start working and before I know it, it's past lunch time and just about time to get the boys.  But that's okay. I haven't wasted a day, I spent a very enjoyable day at my second home.  And that's a great day, any day.

tags: coffeehouse
categories: Life
Wednesday 12.01.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Highlight of the Week -- Holiday Recap

What a crazy couple of days... We did a lot, but didn't do a lot.  We we busy, but not that busy.   We had some great moments and some not so great moments.  It was a typical holiday week for us.  For this week's "Highlight of the Week" I've decided to do a huge recap of the holiday activities.

Wednesday

Our city has a huge tradition on the night before Thanksgiving.  The Santa and his reindeer display, Christmas tree, Christmas wreath, and other lights are lit with much fanfare and local celebrities.  Starting two years ago, my mother and stepdad started taking the boys down for the ceremony.  This year all of us were going to go.  We had a plan to go to Coney Island (right next to the Santa display) before the lighting and then walk around downtown partaking of the free hot chocolate and cookies before heading back to the block for the actual lighting.  Sounds great!

And then reality hit... we live in Indiana and guess what happens in Indiana in November...  It does one of three things: 1) drops 30 degrees the day of, 2) experiences a blizzard, 3) rains.  Well this year, we experienced two of the three happenings.  Tuesday the temperature was around 50 degrees, Wednesday the temperature was 34 degrees.  And it rained, all day and all night.

We made it to Coney Island fairly early.  We ate and then had around an hour and a half to walk around and enjoy the sights.  But it was freezing and raining.  So, we decided to get back into the car and drive around until the time was right.  We popped by the skating rink to watch for a little while.  N decided that he wants to learn how to ice skate, preferably this Wednesday.  We will go, but now need to find time.  We wasted enough time, and it was time to get back downtown.

The speeches and singing took forever, but finally the switches were flipped and Santa was lit.  Since we had been standing in the rain for over an hour by this time, we made the executive decision to go home.  We saw the lights, we enjoyed the festivities, but it was time to get warm and dry.

Thursday

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at home.  Thirty family members crammed into one house with ridiculous amounts of food and football.  Typical holiday.

Friday

We made it to the bf's parents for Thanksgiving.  Had a nice lazy morning before heading over at 4 for dinner.  Had a nice Thanksgiving dinner.  The boys behaved themselves, played with the dogs and some cars.  Nice fairly lazy day.

Saturday

Mom and the step dad took the boys to Science Central to see the train exhibit.  They had a barrel of fun.  It was all they could do to stop talking about the trains.  The parents had a dinner to go to so we were on our for dinner.  The bf and I decided that sushi sounded amazing.  Now to get the boys to like sushi.  They had teryaki chicken.  Took a long time for N to try it, but then he proceeded to eat all the mushrooms.  I enjoyed the dinner.

Later I went to see a favorite band with the bff.  We had  great time and enjoyed some ridiculous music  The usual.  Good night.

Sunday

Did nothing and loved it!

Highlight

Watching N do his crazy robot dance in the pouring rain waiting for Santa to be lit.  It was priceless!  Really wish I had had my camera, but since it was raining, the camera was back in the car.  Nonetheless, the dance was awesome!  Made my week.

tags: Holidays
categories: Life
Sunday 11.28.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Thankfulness from the Boys

As a part of my boys' Thanksgiving week, their teachers asked the parents to write them each a letter.  We were to talk about things about them we were thankful for, memories of them, or a special note.  Part of their standards for 2nd grade are learning to write a letter on actual paper.  Since we are moving more and more toward computer communication, I thought it would be a good exercise for the boys to write a blog entry highlighting what they are thankful for.  Without further ado, here are their lists. N is thankful for:

  • my Uncle Cory
  • our dogs Toto and Casper
  • mom
  • dad
  • Pokemon cards

A is thankful for:

  • Uncle Cory
  • animals
  • mom
  • dad
  • friends
  • trees
  • brownies
  • grandma
  • blankets
  • Christmas
  • Spring
  • Fall
  • Summer
  • Snowmen
  • Turkeys
  • fire
  • Snow
tags: Alexander, Holidays, Nicholas
categories: Life
Thursday 11.25.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Beauty of Earth

I found these pictures of various locations of earth from one of my "interesting" blogs.  The images were taken by satellites and then false color was added.  The one I feature definitely reminds me of Van Gogh's "Starry Night".  The green patches are phosphorescent plankton.  I love the swirls of the ocean compared with the green and brown of the land.  It's a beautiful contrast.  Seeing an entire island this small, I feel like a speck on the earth.  And really I am.  I am one of ~6 billion people on the earth.  One of ~300 million in the United States.  One of ~6 million in Indiana.  One of ~300,000 in Allen county.  I am small compared to those giant numbers, but I love these photos.  They give me a tangible perspective.  I am really enjoying the beauty depicted.  And after the day I had today, I need something beautiful.  So enjoy!

Gotland, Sweden

Gotland, Sweden

tags: art, nature
categories: Life
Tuesday 11.23.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Highlight of the Week -- Firefly Conversations and HP!

Usually I pick one highlight of the week, but this week I just couldn't choose.  So I'm choosing two highlights of the week!

Firefly Conversations

I spend most days at Firefly, a local coffee shop.  I'm there so often, I've officially become a regular.  The baristas know me by sight if not by name.  I've had conversations with many of the other regular patrons.  The owner even stops to chat a minute almost every time I see her.  Overall, it's a great homey spot.  I love the decor, the coffee's good, the music's usually good (except last week's classic lite rock debacle), and the conversations are always great.

Some days it's just me.  Others the bf joins to work on his real job.  And then there are those days when a good "mom" friend and the bff join.  Those are the days that get out of control, but are always awesome.  This past week was no different.

On Wednesday, the bf, bff, and "mom" friend all joined at the Firefly.  We chatted about this and that, but then our conversation turned very weird.  I was looking through ThinkGeek.com for Christmas Present ideas, when I ran across the most amazing shirt ever.  In medieval looking script it said, "Huge tracts of land."  For those of you not up on your Monty Python, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail there's a great scene of a dad and his son.  The son has been betrothed, but "just wants to dance."  The dad is trying to sell the son on the marriage.  In describing the betrothed, he comments that she has "huge tracts of land."  He is referring to her land, but says it by pantomiming large breasts.  It is priceless.  The skit goes on for a few minutes like that.

Of course, the bff, "mom" friend, and I are huge fans of Monty Python and immediately started laughing.  The "mom" friend commented that her husband would love that shirt as she has "huge tracts of land."  The bff looked chestward sadly and commented, "I don't have 'huge tracts' so can mine say 'Medium tracts of land.' Or how about '.567 acres assessed?'  And add 'a spacious backyard.'"  I was laughing so hard, I could hardly catch my breath.  Even the guy sitting at the next table, was laughing with us.  Or was it at us?  At any rate, we had a great laugh.  For the rest of the time there, we kept sliding the comments back into casual conversation.  I was laughing for the rest of my time at the coffeehouse.

It's days like Wednesday that make me realize how much I appreciate my friends.  They are there for me in good times and bad.  They make me laugh to the point of almost peeing my pants.  But most importantly, they "get" me, weirdness and all.

*I must get that shirt now!  It's too good not to.

Harry Potter

I have been waiting for the first part of the finale for months.  Of course I had to go to the midnight showing.  And of course, I loved it!

Midnight showings are a tradition.  Starting last school year, some of my students and I and sometimes some other teachers would attend midnight premieres of movies.  We always arrive sometime around 9 and then... wait for 3 hours.  We could just go see the movie on Friday night, but where's the fun in that? Sometimes we have four people attend, sometimes we have ten people.  Whatever the attendance, it's always a good time.  We stock up on candy and drinks, sometimes get popcorn, and make sure to throw a deck of cards into our purse before leaving.

Last night was no different.  I had an array of candy and drinks, the bf bought popcorn, and we had UNO to entertain until the movie.  Usually they let the audience into the theater sometime around 11:30, but because the crowd was large, we were let in at 10.  So we moved into the theater, grabbed our regular seats (row behind the railing), and then... waited.  We joked around, saw people we knew, and act a ridiculous amount of snacks.  Finally it was 10 minutes before midnight.  Cue the pre-movie pee to make sure our bladders are empty for no interruptions during the movie.

The previews began:  A great one for Tron, one for The Green Hornet, another for The Green Lantern, and one or two that I can't remember.  I plan definitely to see those three movies.

And then the actual movie started: Awesome!  Slower movie, but remember this is part 1 of the finale.  In many ways it was setting up for the big battles.  I loved the quiet moments; in between times of reflection or conversations.  The characters have definitely grown over the short break between the stories.  I see them developing into who they will be after.  I loved the action sequences.  The scene in Godric's Hollow was creepy on-screen.  I even think I jumped a bit, even though I knew what was coming.  The sets were on an epic scale.  It was great!  I loved every minute of it.  It didn't drag at all.  I was awake and paid attention the entire time.

I can not wait until July!!!!  I smell another midnight premiere on the schedule.

tags: coffeehouse, friends, movies
categories: Life
Sunday 11.21.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Frankenstein Apple

While randomly browsing through the internet, I ran across this photo.  Interesting, weird, slightly disturbing, beautiful... Are those contradictory?  No, I think not.  Those words describe this photo perfectly.

 Apple OP by wolkentanzer

 Apple OP by wolkentanzer

Phrases that come to mind: A juxtaposition.  Opposites attract.  A monster.  A mash-up of sorts.

Thoughts after viewing: This is a perfect visual representation of my life right now.  I feel like I have these two sides that I'm trying to stick together.  But they don't connect naturally.  They may even in fact be polar opposites.  The flimsy staples are a an attempt to connect two very different pieces.

I have recently started a new job.  After three years of teaching high school social studies, my school closed.  I now have a part-time job doing marketing for a Facebook application company.  You might be thinking "Okay just a career change."  But here's the thing, I've always wanted to be a teacher.  And the three years I was getting paid (very little, but that's another story), I absolutely loved it.  I love teaching (and teaching high schoolers to boot).  As a child, I would play "school" with my stuffed animals and dolls.  I think I was destined to be a teacher.  But my school closed and then I was going to move to another state to attend law school.  But then that plan had to be put on hold indefinitely.  So, then I needed a job.  And guess what?  The local school systems are in the process of cutting the budget and that means cutting jobs.  Bottom line: no teaching jobs available in the immediate area.

I went on unemployment and started applying for anything and everything that would make about the same salary.  (Hey!  I have two kids to try and support and need a livable income.)  Surprise surprise, nothing really out there.  Oh there are tons of job listings on Careebuilder and Monster and the like, but none of those companies really seem to be hiring.  For example, the local hospital was hiring patient registrars.  I worked for an orthopedic surgeon off and on for the past 6 years.  Guess what I did?  Check patients in and out, schedule. answer phones.  And this hospital told me that I wasn't qualified for the position.  Phooey!

About two weeks ago I was offered a job as a Marketing Intern for this new company. What do I know about marketing?  Nothing really. I'm making this up as a I go along.  I've checked out books from the library.  I've read people's blogs.  So far, so good...

But this isn't my dream job.  I don't want to be doing this for the next five years.  I want to get back into teaching or go to law school and be a student.

Right now my life really feels like this Frankenstein Apple.

http://wolkentanzer.deviantart.com/

tags: art, jobs, teaching
categories: Life
Friday 11.19.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Highlight of the Week

It's always good to reflect on our lives. What's gone well?  What's gone bad?  What was absolutely ridiculous?  So what was my highlight of the week?  The best thing/activity/conversation/etc.?  The best of the best... This week's best -- Karaoke on Friday!

Friday night I went to dinner with some friends, moved to Firefly for some good acoustic music, and then arrived at the bar.  My bff went on and on all week about doing karaoke this weekend.  We finally decided to do it.  And I have to say, it was awesome.

When we arrived the bar was half full of crooners over 65 singing country and Sinatra.  Interesting crowd!  Then we come in with some very unrelated music.  Of course we had to first prepare ourselves for the experience.  I am definitely not the fearless one of the group, so we all needed a little encouragement.  After two gin and tonics, we were ready to go.  Now what songs to choose?

We had to start with our standard "Build Me Up Buttercup"  and then moved to "Knock Three Times."  Of course to get to our songs, we had to wait probably 30 minutes and endure some very off-key country songs (think Alan Jackson without half his teeth).

And then we discussed our next songs: do we go with country, try a real song with real notes, or move to the ridiculous?  The bff decided to go the ridiculous route, but I found out later that she hid the slip in her bra!  Ugh!  Woman!  What you doing?  Anyway, the bff's sister decided we had to do Joan Jett's "I Love Rock n Roll."  Always an amazing choice.  But then she left before our slip came up.  Ugh!  But that's okay, the bff redeemed herself and sang with me.

Awesome karaoke fun!

*The bf spent most of the night doing crossword puzzles on the iPad and/or laughing at our singing.  One of these days, he will embarrass himself like us.  That day would definitely make the highlight of the week!

tags: karaoke, music
categories: Life
Sunday 11.14.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

These are a few of my favorite things...

Taking a cue from my friend Catharine's blog, I present a list of my favorite things:

Hot tea on a cold night

Random humming

Pumpkin Chai Lattes

Signage mistakes

Giggles

Greek Pasta Salad

Purple

Red Shiny Stiletto Boots

Blank Composition Books

Freshly sharpened pencils

Warm breezes

Ridiculous Karaoke

Bar Bingo

Wall murals

Colorful pens

Plaid

Cell ringtones

Furniture shopping

Paper lanterns

Little boy imaginations

New haircuts

Stick figures

Music (any music really)

http://caites-whispertothewind.blogspot.com/

What are your favorite things?

tags: favorites
categories: Life
Saturday 11.13.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
Comments: 1
 

Wading in to another blog

I've started another blog.  This one is for me...  a place for me to collect my thoughts, share some ideas, be a record of me.  The two other blogs that I write for are very specific.  And while I enjoy writing for them... they are just so darn specific.  If I want to wonder about the weather or share my thoughts on a non-education or tech book I just read, I can't.  So, this one will be my personal outlet.  If anyone gets around to reading this... enjoy!  Just remember, most days I am fairly scatter brained and random.  Prepare to get ridiculous!

tags: welcome
categories: Life
Monday 11.08.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 
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