Four Weeks to Go

By this time in four weeks, I'll be in an airplane. Probably somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. Heading for St. Petersburg.

WHOA.

This has been a pretty eventful summer. My job at Utah Lake has kept me well-occupied during the day, and lately all of my nights have been spent writing essays for my application to the English Teaching Program at BYU. After weeks of effort, I finally turned in the finished application yesterday. (Huzzah!) Which means I'll have more time now to spend on important things - like blogging, right?

Let's see, how to fill you in on what's been going on? Well, I guess since I already brought it up, we can talk about the English Teaching Application first.

I used to be an English major, see? But I've been trying to work my way into the English Teaching program for months now - it's a separate major, and a recently closed program, so I have to apply before I can be a part of it. If I get in, then when I get back from Russia and start going to school again, I'll be able to take teaching classes instead of just generals. I'll actually be working on my career! (Real life is ever-looming...)

The application was a lot of work. By the time I'd finished, I had a folder with ten pages of essay, an article from the English Journal, a progress report, several signed documents, a lesson plan, and a ten-minute video tape of me teaching an English lesson. Phew! It's nice to have it all done and out of the way, because now all I have to do is wait for them to call me and arrange an interview.

In the meantime, I guess I'll keep getting ready to go to Russia. (Less than thirty days now. I'm starting to feel the wriggling tentacles of panic creeping in on me.) I've got to figure out a packing list and start gathering the materials I'll need (including a whole new wardrobe of "teacher clothes") and keep practicing my Russian. Здравствуйте. У вас есть карандаш? I've already finished all of my payments, so now I can work on making enough money to sustain me while I am there, and pay for my many trips to the Russian ballet!


That's why I'm working at Utah Lake, no? It's been a really great job. Lately I've been working with a lot of dedicated hunters - basically, men who come in to do volunteer hours so they can get hunting privileges - which has been interesting. I've had four of these guys so far: Levi, early twenties, who was a big promoter of dating websites; Chad, early forties, who's been a firefighter for fifteen years; and two guys in their early thirties who were so irritating that I can't even remember their names. I have another hunter coming in on Monday, so it seems to be getting more and more popular as the season goes on.


I've also had a slight problem at work . . . a man named Boyd. (*sighs*) He really deserves a post all his own. Sufficeth to say he comes by regularly to see me - originally to bring me Russian-learning material and now just because he likes me. He is ninety years old and claims to have adopted me as a granddaughter, which would make more sense except for this part: he's trying to date me.


...yes.


So you see? I may not have been blogging, but I have been keeping myself rather busy as of late. Hopefully I'll be able to post more often now, since I've finished most of my summer projects. And maybe this post has had SOMETHING to interest you, so that I might still have readers even after my three week hiatus. Good, that.


See you in August!








(Did you notice I have 11 people on my engaged/married lists? Only one more to go, then my prediction will have come true!)

Ducks at the Zoo

At work, I am caged.

It's not so bad, though. My cage is well-equipped for human habitation; it has food, water, a CD player, three cushioned chairs, books, and a computer with internet access. It may be rather small, but there's enough room to move around and get a minimal amount of exercise. And while sitting in a cage on display for the public for ten hours a day can be pretty boring, I usually don't mind. They pay me well enough.

But it's these ducks . . . .

(Yes, these are them.)

They come every day, the pair of them. Their shiny white feathers seem to clash with their mud-smeared beaks, but ducks apparently don't find personal grooming very interesting. What they do find interesting is me. I am the local curiosity - a short, awkward girl in a cage, playing with her spinning chair. They used to watch me from across the street, from the comfort of their little pond. Lately, though, they've changed up their routine.

"Amelia?" One of the ducks said, turning to her twin sister.

"Yes, Abigail?"

"How would you feel about getting out of the pond for a bit? A change of scenery?"

Amelia twitched her white head in excitement. "Ooh! That sounds wonderful!" Her heart sank after a moment, however, and she looked down at her leg, which was recovering from a bad limp. Hesitating, she said, "Oh, sister, it sounds like a grand idea, but I'm not sure I'm up to much traveling."

"Not to worry, Love," Abigail said, looking across the way. "We'll just visit the zoo! I never tire of watching that bizarre creature, and I'd just love to see it up close."

"Capital idea, Abigail!" Amelia said, stretching her wings. "Simply capital. Let's go!"

And thus, I have a pair of white ducks standing just outside the booth, looking in at me through the glass door and honking whenever I don't pay them enough attention.

Customers always comment on it, saying something about how lucky I am to have two adorable ducks hanging out with me. My coworkers love it, too; they offer the ducks bread and try to lure them into the booth. To them, the ducks are like pets. But I know better. WE'RE the dumb animals in this equation. I've seen the demeaning look in those eyes. I'm stuck in a cage, and they're . . . well, free as a pair of birds. I refuse to be ogled at this way.

And yet, every time I chase them off, I swear I can hear them giggling about me. Ha! We made it run! Let's do it again!

A Declaration: I Love America

The Founding Fathers were awesome.

I am so grateful for all the people who fought - and are still fighting - for the freedom of their fellowmen.

Happy Independence Day.

Happy 4th of July.

Flight Plan

I just got an email from my contact at the ILP. I have a flight plan!

I leave from the Salt Lake International Airport on August 27th at 7:00am! I'll be flying all day and all night, and I won't get to St. Petersburg until the evening of the 28th. But it's all good. I've never flown on an airplane before, and I'm soooooo excited to be going, that I probably won't get sick of flying until at least three hours in.

(*gasping with excitement still*)

I can't believe I'm really going. I just can't believe it! I'm going I'm going I'm going!!!!

(FYI, the countdown has been corrected now that I have a DEFINITE date of departure. Less than sixty days!!!)

(Oh, and Happy July, everybody!)