Singlehood Saturday: The Arabic Teacher

Tune in each Saturday for random stories from my single life.

The good, the bad, and the cute.

The Arabic Teacher

So let me ask you a question... Why is it that your friends/acquaintances line you up with other single individuals based on your age?

Typical conversation:  "Oh how old are you?"..."Oh I have a brother/nephew/grandson/friend/cousin your age."

Okay so we're the same age. So turns out that for 12 years I went to school with people my age. I saw them every day. Rarely was that a recipe for success. So why would that be a determining factor for success as I get older? I just find that silly. Now, granted I'm not looking for someone like 10 years older than me, nor ten years younger, but you get my point.

So this was one of those situations. "Oh I want to set you up with my cousin. He's older too, and really fun.", says my 22 year old friend. :) I'm thinking, so why am I going to get along with him because he's older or because he's fun? But of course I agree. We plan a double date. My friend(male) is taking my best friends(female) niece, whom is 20, so it's not some crazy thing. So it should be fun. I know most the people going, aside from my date of course. Otherwise it wouldn't be a set up...(cough)

My friend sets up the whole thing, I never talk to said Arabic Teacher but that's okay. We plan on having dinner and doing something fun. We show up to his house around 7:30, I haven't had dinner yet. And if you know me, well I need to eat to stay chipper. We show up, he shakes my hand (classy! ha). We walk in and we find out we're making pizza... Um, do you know how long it takes to make pizza?! I didn't either! Like at least an hour! I was so hungry! While we were putting the toppings on I just kept eating pieces of cheese and ham that we cut up. It was delicious! Good thing we had a task to do because it was almost impossible to get this guy to talk and carry on a conversation. So I just resorted to involving the whole group. I'm all about making situations comfortable, awkward doesn't work for me.

Turns out that Mr. Arabic Teacher is quite smart, not only would he keep saying things in other languages(not to impress us, just things like 'gracias') but he'd also talk about things none of  us knew about. So I'd keep leaning into my BF's niece and saying "Is he speaking Arabic?" She and I just kept laughing. I don't think he liked it all that much. I think we said that at least ten times that night and busted up laughing every time. Better sooner than later they learn how loud my laugh is. Right?

After we finished eating he thought it would be fun to solve some riddles... Not your normal riddles, like number riddles. Ones that you look at and they just do not make sense. But he found this so fun. We were all just standing in his kitchen staring at this white board him and his roommates have on the wall with these random riddles on there, purposely made to stump people and make them mad.

Then my friend(male) took his date home so Arabic Teacher and I were left at his house. (oh! Because my friend and I drove down together since we had to travel for about 30 minutes.) So there we are just sitting in his front room with one of his roommates who had just brought a date over too. Now I sure hope that the two of us didn't look as awkward as they did. It was just sad.

But in spite of this all I tried to keep an open mind. He was nice, and a good guy, responsible, and not all too bad looking (okay so I wasn't attracted to him at all! But I was trying to not be shallow. Turns out I am... a bit...) so I thought sure I could go out with him again so I tried to be open to it and flirted (okay so not that much. Just a tiny bit. In fact I'm not really sure anyone watching would even qualify what I was doing as flirting.)

Turns out that wasn't necessary. He didn't say anything about us doing something again, nor did he even ask for my number. Ha! My friend said "What an idiot! Well next time I'll set you up with someone younger." Yeah, because his age was the problem....

Tune in next week for: What to do when you run into people you were set up with and never went out with again....

Singlehood Saturday: Online Dating

Tune in each Saturday for random stories from my single life.

The good, the bad, and the cute.

Online Dating.

(yes. yes. I did)

None of you married folk can understand the feeling of signing up for LDSSingles.com. This is a feeling I'm grateful you never have to experience. Was I forced to do it... Yes! in a way. Why? Boys are dumb and don't ask girls out(except you C.K.) And I have been set up on so many blind dates lately that I decided I'd rather choose my blind dates... (Again I make things clear, NOT DESPERATE. Just tired of lame guys you meet conventionally-minus you C.K.)
Well it's slim pickins my friends. Slim pickins. And it's no different than dating in real life. You see a cute boy. You 'flirt'. They don't react. You feel dumb.
Not so cute boy sees you. He 'flirts'. You don't react. You quickly realize "Hmmm maybe I'm not as cute as I though." (Nah we know that's not true. haha)
You get messages like "Are you interested in chatting?" Um, no not so much you 45 year old man who's never been married. Sorry but technically you could be my father. A very very young father, but still.
And let's be honest not every single guy in the area can be "Fun, easy going, love to laugh, and just looking for a great girl." Seriously, we're not all easy going all the time. Nor are we fun all the time. I almost want to change my profile to say this...

Hi. So I am pretty fun, and chill most of the time but when I get tired I am not someone you want to mess with. Sure I enjoy doing fun things and going out in the outdoors like the rest of you, but you know sometimes, especially after a long week, I really enjoy my sweats to putting on skinny jeans and going out. Whereas I am pretty positive most of the time and easy to smile, I really hate having to put on an 'act' while I'm getting to know someone. I am very forgiving, but if I find out you lie to me in any way... well that's not good. Most the time I'm not picky about what we do. I enjoy most activities and make things fun, but if I tell you that I don't want to do something, well listen to me and don't try and talk me into it. I love sports. Honestly I do. But, maybe we don't have to watch sportscenter all the time and see the same stories from four different angles. Maybe we can turn the tv off and actually do something. And just like you the gospel is the most important thing to me, so don't be surprised if I choose it over you. Have a good day!

Now that would be some great online dating...

Tune in next week for "The Arabic Teacher"

"Is it good for man[kind] to be alone?"

I found myself in a very frustrating situation and I was finding myself quickly becoming frustrated.
I hated it. 
I stopped myself from escalating that wretched feeling that starts in the back of my stomach.  I recognized that the situation was not caused intentionally, and I really did not need to be getting upset. I recalled a time when I would not have gotten upset.  I missed those days. 
Correction. 
I miss me as I was during those days. 

I had time to think more about how I got to be a bit less unlike that girl I worked so hard to become.  I liked her very much.  Luckily I still see her in myself quite often.  However, with the ever increasing amount of time I have to spend with myself, thinking about myself, working on my goals, thinking about my school, about my soon to be career... well it's far easier to slip from that girl I was able to once be.

I've been single for some time now.  I do not mind. 
Much. 
I am very happy.  I do not sulk.  Nor do I think I'm doomed to be alone the rest of my life.  I'd consider myself a healthy single person. 
However, after this moment of amounting frustration and me realizing that I wasn't quite 'myself' lately I thought "This, this is why we have families.  So that on days when it's just that much harder to work hard we have someone else to work hard for."
It is far easier to get out of bed early when you're getting up early because someone else is counting on you.  It is far easier to keep a promise to someone you love more than it is to keep a promise to yourself.
So being alone I understand how truly vital it is for us not to be alone.  How much easier it is to fight and stand up for the right things in life when you are fighting with someone else. When someone else is depending on you to fight with them. To stand up with them. So they don't have to stand up alone.  

"No. It is not good for man[kind] to be alone..."

Teaching...

I'm going to be a teacher.  I had no idea what this endeavor would entail when I began my graduate degree.  Seriously, don't you think "Oh you take some information and teach it." Nope not quite. Here are just a few things that you are supposed to always remember.
1. Everybody can learn.
2. Don't make kids dumber.
3. Every student learns differently.
4. Find out each students back ground knowledge.
5. Keep in mind their learning styles.
6. Teach to the required core.
7. Be creative.
8. Get students to be active in their learning.
9. Be assessing their learning.
10. Make them feel safe.
11. Find out their reading levels.
12. Don't just give tests and quizzes.
13. Make new information applicable to the student.
14. Be firm in your rules.
15. Make sure they know you care about them.
16. Don't step on any toes within the school administration the first 3 years of teaching.
17. Join a teachers union or not to join a teachers union?
18. What committee will you be apart of?
19. Get the parents involved.
20. Accommodate all levels of learners in each lesson.
21. Find ways to hold kids accountable.
22. Make group work effective.
23. Help make students into productive people in society.(Really that's the whole point of public education. Does it happen?... Not so much.)
24.
25.

Seriously though I could keep going.  Needless to say, I really am starting to think that I've chosen probably the hardest profession out there.  If only I didn't love it so much. (Sigh) 

Words for thought...

For class this evening I went to hear a guest lecturer on the topic of 'critical race theory.' I have never heard much on this topic so I was interested.  Instead of taking you through the majority of the lecture I'll share with you the question that he posed to us.

Imagine that aliens made contact with the united states. They came down and told the united states government that they,(the aliens) would solve all the problems the United States is facing today if in exchange they would give them, (the aliens) all the black Americans. Would you say yes?

In 1994 HBO created a 3 part mini series called 'Cosmic Slop.' This is the first of the three parts called "Space Traders." So this short film highlights this issue.  Before agreeing, the U.S. Government asks to see proof from the aliens.  The aliens in turn change the statue of liberty into pure gold, not to be pretty but to provide money.  They then get all the pollution out of the lakes.  It's all very cheesy with the special effects but you get the point.

So what do you think they decided to do?  They put it to a vote whether or not they should agree to this.  Everyone in the country was supposed to call one of two numbers. One for yes, and another for no. The vote was a landslide "yes." The short film ends with the black Americans being tractor-beamed up into space ships.

Crazy right? Well, what if we really did have to make that decision.  Many would say or hope to think that they would not agree to it and think of humanity first.  But sadly, seeing the world as it is today I have a hard time believing that this piece of fiction would not become a piece of non-fiction. 

But then I thought.  So what if Americans did agree to this?  Sure the aliens would deliver on their word, but I imagine that the clean water would get dirty quite quickly.  And that debt that would be paid would probably accumulate after too long.

I don't know where superiority started.  It's been around throughout the history of this planet.  But it sure does produce some pretty sad and disgusting results. 

p.s. Sorry. Not a fun post like last time. But I'm realizing very quickly that being a good history teacher is going to be really hard.

The Secret to Falling in Love

I've found it. The secret to love. It's been staring me in the face my whole life. For centuries it's been proven to develop lasting and enduring feelings of true love. No other method has been proven as effective. But I'll have you know that I'm convinced this is what's wrong with the world today, we've taken out the one thing that guarantees true love as a result.

Dancing.

Tell me I'm wrong!

(Wow. This is very fitting for Valentines Day! I didn't even plan that!)