Need I Say More?

A Charmed Life Once Again

Remember how I used to have a charmed life? Well, lately, it has seemed a little less charmed than usual. I've not been enjoying my job, I've done silly things financially, I got blood poisoning, and you've all read about the losers I've met (and here, here and here). It would appear my charmed life has once again returned.

The other day I was driving to work, minding my own business, basically minding the rules of the road (ie not speeding too much, generally using my turn signal, etc). As I do this drive ten times a week, I'm afraid it is somewhat of a mindless endeavor. I arrived at work, pulled into the church parking lot next door (where we have overflow parking) and turned off my car. I then heard a little blip. It was that kind of noise that I can't explain, but that everyone knows: the sound of a siren being turned on and off in quick succession. I looked over to my left - nothing. I looked to my right - nothing. At this point, I was assuming it was an emergency vehicle driving by, so I got out of my car.

It was not a car driving by. There was a police car right behind me, and there was an officer walking towards me. While waiting for him, I considered what I could have possibly done wrong that would warrant being pulled over. The only thing I can come up with is that I must have been going faster than I thought I was. I quickly found out that I was not speeding (or if I was, that wasn't why I got pulled over). Instead I was being pulled over for rolling through a stop sign. Apparently, there was a state mandated 'pulling people over for not stopping' thing going on, and I got caught. Was I guilty of this infraction? Heck, yeah. I don't know anyone who stops at the stop signs I was going through. I roll through those suckers twice a day (at minimum). Do I think I'm putting anyone at harm? Nope. They are stop signs with clear views of all the roads, etc. Will I keep doing it? Most likely. But that's not the point. The point is what happened next.

After explaining why he pulled me over, the police man asks if I am dropping things off (my car was an awful mess at this point) or going to work. I let him know that I am headed to work next door (which, by the way, is a domestic violence agency and shelter). He then asks for my license and proof of insurance. I get out my wallet, and low and behold, I don't have my licence. I quickly tell the officer that I was at our gala that weekend and my licence is in another purse. I'm sure I'm getting a hefty ticket at this point. The officer asks if it was the one Detectives so-and-so went to (our local dv detectives). I confirm that this is true, and he asks for anything with my name on it. I give him my health insurance card - this seems to work just fine. He takes down my name, address, social and birth date (which I inform him is incorrect on my license - whoopsie!) At this point, I notice his name badge and realize that this is the same cute police officer who kept smiling at me at lunch the other day and chatted up my mom. I hadn't noticed before because he had on a hat and sunglasses. He then hands me back my insurance card and tells me to have a nice day. I'm not sure if it is because he thought I was cute or if it is because I work where I do, but I didn't get a ticket for any of my multiple offenses.

Changing Jobs

I decided I needed a new job (the whole almost getting fired thing really cinched the deal), but I wasn't sure what I really wanted to do. I spent countless hours pondering this very thing and discussing my life with my friend, Jan. She asked me a compelling question: "If you could do anything with your life, with no concern about money, what would it be?" The obvious answer was teach, but I realized that having a full time teaching job wasn't really what I wanted. I don't enjoy office politics, and I found at my last full time gig, there was a bit of that: who taught what class at what time, when were you in your office, etc, etc, but I never experienced that when I was adjuncting. It hit me that what I most wanted to do was have a couple of part time jobs.

I new the main thing I wanted to do was teach, so I quickly updated my CV and sent it off to a few schools. I felt certain I would hear something despite the fact that I sent things off a little late for fall semester. Sure enough, I got a phone call (while on vacation in Canada, no less) from a community college wanting me to teach three classes, which I quickly accepted. Then a few days ago I got another call from a woman I used to work with. She was in a bind and needed someone to cover a few classes, and she thought of me. My schedule is now booked up through December! Amazing how things come together, isn't it!

I'm still not entirely sure what I want to do for the more stable part time job, but I definitely want to help people. I'm sure something great will come up soon!

Memories?

I have a tendency in life to remember things in a positive light. My father does this, and I have always admired this in him. He thinks back fondly of a childhood that many others might use as an excuse for all that happened to them. Being able to look back over your life with rose tinted glasses seems the ideal thing to do. After all, the past is the past and what good could it possibly do to focus on the negative?

For instance, if you are reflecting back on a trip you took, it behooves you to not think about the sunburn you got, and to only remember the really fantastic parts of the vacation. But there are some instances where only remembering the good really sucks. Don't get me wrong, I think if given a choice, it is better to remember the good things than to recall only the bad; however, some times I wish I did a better job of tempering some of the good with a little of the bad. Most notably with relationships. My ex-boyfriend/best friend reminded me of something that occurred whilst we were dating. Did I have any recollection of this? Nope. In my world, our relationship was just fine and then we grew apart. This was clearly not the case, but that's how I remember it. In this case, it is fine. It isn't hurtful for me to look back fondly on the time we spent together as a couple. But in the case of my ex-husband, it would be beneficial if I ONLY remembered the bad stuff because then I wouldn't miss him so much. I try to remember something mean he did anytime a positive thought about him pops into my head, but it doesn't always do much good.

The same is true for a recent relationship I had. I generally only think about the person with great fondness, but I realized the other day that I had totally forgotten the jerky things he did while we were dating. Somehow I had romanticized the relationship to this point where I thought it should have worked out. How silly am I?