Sunday, January 30, 2011

She floats through the air, with the greatest of ease...

A few weekends ago, my sister and I went to Trapeze U in Gilbert for a 2 hour beginner class. It was 9 am on a Saturday and we were both totally dreading it, preferring to stay home in bed. But we promised each other that we would put on a smile for our mom since it was her gift to us.



They strapped us into our harnesses and started explaining the first trick we would do, the knee hang. Unfortunately, I thought that the instructor was just messing with us, so I wasn't paying attention to his directions at all, expecting him to start laughing and say, "Just kidding, guys. You're just going to practice landing softly on the net." No such luck.

Climbing the ladder was the scariest part. First of all, you're barefoot, the ladder is a succession of cold, metal bars, and even though you do have a harness on, you're not actually strapped onto anything yet. You feel totally vulnerable and can't stop looking down, hoping that if you do fall, you fall backward onto the net instead of forward or to the side into the ground. And of course, your dad is videotaping the look of utter fear on your face the entire time.

Once you actually get onto the platform, one of the instructors is holding onto the back of your harness, not letting you go until you do the take-off correctly. I had several false starts. The key to doing well is just listening to them and doing exactly what they say exactly when they say it. I was always a bad listener when it came to the take-off. At the end, they were teasing me and saying that I must have glue stuck to my feet whenever I'm on the platform.

After you let yourself off of the platform, the worst part is over. Performing the knee hang and dismounting were fairly intuitive and you feel completely safe, even though you're flying through the air. As far as the rest of the tricks go, the video speaks for itself.

I had an amazing time and can't wait to go back. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

A Cry for Help

Does still having my Christmas tree up make me a terrible person?

I had every intention of taking my tree down several weeks ago, but Target was already out of ornament boxes and now everywhere else is probably out too.

Is there any hope of finding a box to store ornaments or will they be in some warehouse-of no-return until next November?

In my defense, life has been a little too crazy for messing with Christmas decor. I started teaching English full time this semester at a high school. I feel so ridiculously lucky to have gotten a job right out of college, but I feel bad about the circumstances surrounding this blessing. To make a long story short, another teacher needed to resign for personal reasons and I happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Taking over classes mid-year has been a challenge, but things are really starting to come along. I'm wrapping up The Odyssey with my freshmen and gearing up to start The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (one of my favorites) with my juniors. It should be a great year.

In other news, here is another silly putty creation for your amusement. Frosty the SillyPutty Man.