Institute - Kelly

It's so funny how TFA-centric my life has become. Not only did I devote two years of my life to being a corps member then sign on for a third (and fourth) year as a program director... but I'm devoting every second of my June and July to working on institute staff.

Institute is where corps members are trained to become teachers. They spend five weeks at one of seven sites around the country going through "teacher boot camp". I am a School Director this summer, which means I run one of the school sites where corps members attend professional development and teach CPS students.

Don't get me wrong- I absolutely LOVE my job and love working for Teach For America- but I just kind of can't believe that I'm back here again. I started my TFA career as an intern (and low man on the totem pole) at TFA's Houston institute in 2006. Four years later I'm back in a role quite a bit higher on the totem pole but in so many ways it feels exactly the same.... so much work to do, so much to figure out on my own, so overwhelming and so much fun.

I actually started this position (part-time) in January so the four weeks I have left feel incredibly short although I still have SO much work to do.

Here's a picture of me with my co-interns in Houston in 2006:



And a picture with my SD team at a conference for this role at a conference this spring:



Crazy to think of everything that has happened between then and now!

Two Pictures - Brady

Here are two of my favorite pictures from this fun weekend.

Sunday night sunset at Kevin's parents' Lake Wawasee condo.

Mr. Cuteness himself at Club Soda in Fort Wayne.

Summertime

What a way to kick off the first official weekend of summer. I love Lake Wawasee.

Also, it's been nice to remember our wedding here around this time in 2005 and think about what a great 5 years it's been.

Longest Day of the Year - Brady

Did you know it's the longest day of the year today?

To celebrate, I decided I needed to be up by dawn and awake until after the sun goes down. So I made plans to get up and walk to the lake to see the sunrise. This was an interesting choice because, if you haven't figured it out yet, the longest day of the year also means the earliest sunrise of the year.

My alarm went off at 4:30. I got up. Got dressed. Reassured Kevin he didn't need to come with me (and then kind of wished he had as I walked down dark-ish Belmont with all of its late night/early morning characters). I got a tiny coffee and made it to the harbor with about 15 minutes to spare. It was really, really pretty. I probably sat there half an hour.

I took pictures, but we don't have our camera cord in Chicago these days. So here are some public photos of where I was:


(Photo from chicagoharbor.info)


And the view looked something like this:



(Photo by Gerald Ferinas)

No TV, No Internet - Brady

I've been leading a different kind of life the last month or so. Kevin and I decided to forget about cable this summer. Then, this weekend, my parents' electricity went out, and I also went down to see my Grandpa who doesn't have an Internet connection.

I will tell you this: I've slept more, read more, talked more to my family, and exercised more than I ever do when I have access to both TV and Internet. It's a little weird at first, but I'm kind of liking it. The TV thing may be a semi-permanent change. Even after this summer, Kevin and I might put the money we would normally use for a cable bill toward one big concert a month or a couple of plays at Goodman or Steppenwolf.


Photo from imageafter.com

Don't worry. I know. - Brady

Ready for a cheesy post?

Here goes!

People always say things like you don't know what you have until it's gone, that when you get down you should realize how lucky you are compared to 99% of the people in the world. Etc.

After a very difficult fall (because of my own nervousness about graduate school and living apart from Kevin - not because of any external circumstances), I feel like I've turned a corner and am aware basically all the time how lucky I am.

This past weekend was case in point. I went to four parties: a wedding shower for Amy at her friend Ashlie's beautiful house on Pine Lake, a fun, chill bachelorette party (wine + facials + comfy beds = a pretty amazing time), another wedding shower for my cousin Kristen (seeing hilarous relatives after too long + quality time with shortest, fattest dog I've ever seen in my life also = a pretty amazing time), and a celebration of my grandma's birthday.

The birthday girl herself along with this handsome guy she hangs out with occasionally.

My grandparents' porch. As my grandpa's favorite sweatshirt says, "It doesn't get any better than this."

As this wonderful weekend was winding down, I went and sat in the hammock on my grandparents' lawn and listened to my aunts, uncles, and cousins arrive. There was no homework to do, no rush to get back to Chicago (WITH Kevin), plenty of veggie lasagna + birthday cake to eat and lots time to spend with my La Porte family. I was 100% happy. Who gets a life this good? Seriously?

What kind of year is it? - Brady

‘there are years that ask questions & years that answer’ [zora neale thurston | their eyes were watching god]

Quoted on one of my favorite Chicago blogs, red letter daze.

I am definitely in a year that's asking questions.

A New Placement -Amy

I received my placement for next year, and spent my last teacher day of the 2009-2010 school year working with the wonderful staff at my new school. I got very lucky, because I was placed at the school where I did my student teaching. This is making this transition much easier than I thought it might be. While I do have to switch grade levels, I have been told that the jump from 4th to 5th is not all that great, so I shouldn't have too much trouble.

I am so going to miss the staff and the students at Handley. It is very sad that I have to leave them, and I got really close to quite a few of the teachers there. Still, I am thankful that if I HAVE to move, I am moving to such a great place. I am just thankful to have a job, and a job that I really, really enjoy.

So, I am here to say that I am officially a Crichfield Cougar from here on out!


Also, I know some of you that read this blog do not know about my other blog. I thought I would attach the URL for family members that might want to check it out.

www.thetortoiseandthehappyhare.blogspot.com

It's pretty much following the wedding plans and funny things that have happened as we figure all of this out. It's a lot of fun, hope you enjoy it!

"I was in love with a place..." - Brady

I was a teensy bit afraid that, while living in Fort Wayne, I was idealizing Chicago and that when I got back here I wouldn't love it like I remembered loving it.

Not an issue. I love everything about it. I love the buildings and the skyline and the tiny gardens people have outside of their tiny houses and the El and all the cool stuff to do and especially Lake Michigan. I even love things other people hate, like the ridiculous weather and hearing my neighbors all the time (last night I fell asleep to some fratty guys yelling at each other and woke up to a mom screaming at her kid "I can't TAKE IT when you spit at me!") Sufjan Stevens has a song called "Chicago," and one of the lines is, "I was in love with a place." I know exactly how he feels.

Last night is a perfect example of why I feel so strongly about this city. After work, Kevin and I put on our jogging clothes and ran the 6 miles or so down to Millennium Park where a free concert by She & Him was going on. I said to him at one point how amazing it is that, on any given Monday night, I can run along the coastline of one of the biggest freshwater bodies of water in the world to one of the most famous parks in America to watch the sun set and see a band for free whose concerts would normally cost at least $40/ticket.

Here's an old picture of Kevin and me, maybe our senior year of college, in Chicago in a park at a concert. I expect there will be many, many future versions of this photo.

Guess what I did today? - Brady

Cuddled a bulldog puppy that looked a lot like this while we were waiting to have our oil changed at Jiffy Lube. Ollie. I most definitely have puppy fever.



Photo found here.

27 - Brady

Kevin and me, near midnight on my 27th birthday.

27 has been a weird age for me. I think it's close enough to 30 that I'm feeling what can only be described as weirdness as I realize that time is actually passing. My life is actually happening. I'm about to celebrate my 5th wedding anniversary. My younger sister has a dog and is heading up an entire staff of people this summer. My youngest sister is getting married, starting her 2nd year of teaching, and driving the scary highway back and forth from Chicago like it's her job. I've been out of college for 6 years. Out of high school for 10 years for goodness sake! It's not necessarily a bad feeling I'm having. Just weird, like I said.

I was talking to a friend who goes back to middle school today who, at the end of our chat, apologized if he had been "unenlightened" as a high school boy. I told him not to worry and that I regret stuff I said and did in high school and college all the time. (Amy and Kelly, you may remember the time I yelled at you: "Milk is for baby cows! Not for humans!") I could list tons of embarrassing, obnoxious things I did, but I'm not brave enough.

THE POINT is, it's nice to be 27. It's nice to talk to an old friend and realize we are both better, wiser people than we could have been at 18.

Moving Day -Kelly

I'm making the official move to the coach house with Adam today. He moved in over the weekend and it's looking awesome. The only problem is we think a small animal might have died in a vent because a funky smell has been infiltrating our new home... fun! :) My parents are coming up on Sunday to help with some finishing touches (and most likely- cleaning!). I can't wait to show them the new place!!

I will absolutely post pictures once we have it looking presentable.

My Grad Program - Brady

After turning in two final papers in the past two days, I trekked down to the University of Chicago campus to see an alumna of my grad program speak.

Her story is so cool. She finished up coursework and the other requirements we have to meet and decided to move back to New York to live with her parents and finish her dissertation. On a whim, she decided to apply for a job she saw posted online with the Harlem Children's Zone. She got it. Now she's the director of educational research at HCZ - one of the most successful initiatives ever aimed at eliminating the achievement gap.

My friend Sarah and I are vying to be her when we grow up. :)

Click here to go to the HCZ website.