A New Opportunity!

I am happy about my new job at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It's my first "real" job, or maybe I should say the first job that requires a massive folder of paperwork that needed to be signed (they are very high on security and privacy). I love art, I love families, and I like working. Put them all together and "Voila!"- the perfect job for me!
I also like the location of the MIA (about 2 miles away). Some of the other employees (I feel so old using that word) live in Eden Prairie and St. Paul, so it is a blessing that I live close. It is also like 5 1/2 blocks away from my school, so I can just walk there from school.
Secondly, I like the people. I just met them today at orientation, but we should get along just fine. The team is ethnically diverse. There is a Russian girl, an African-American boy, a boy from South America (I'm pretty sure...), a boy from Germany (well, maybe he is not from Germany, but he looks like it, and his name is Gustaf. I will ask him), and then there are two other girls I still have to meet. So I am excited to have new friends! :)
Lastly, I get little perks at the MIA. They are not that important, but they are still fun to have. I get 20% off at the gift shop, and I get free admission to the ticketed exhibitions. So I will be checking out Rembrandt when I get a chance! I also get a cool security badge with my picture on it that lets me into doors and hallways at the MIA- now that's exciting! :)
So families, I hope to see you at one of the free family days. I will give you more details and such later on. You'll like it!

Water works wonders

This is an equation of events for 90+ degree weather-
Heat = go outside = become hot = thirsty = dehydration, discomfort, fatigue, pain, hate, cruelty, anger....(okay, maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but thirst brings out the worst in people).
The solution (no equation needed)-
Give out free water bottles at Lake Calhoun for MTTC!
        Let me tell you, people were HAPPY when they saw that sign and an ice-cold cooler filled with water. In fact, most people didn't believe we were giving water away for free. They started to take out their wallets and ask how much it was, others asked what they had to do for the water, or they wondered if this was a joke (now that's cruelty right there).  I'm sure you can figure out our responses to these questions. People walked away hydrated and grateful. Actually, several people ran away- I personally cannot comprehend why someone would want to go running right when the heat was at its prime. Yet, it was such a joy to make people happy with something so simple like water.

"All the Parks a Friend"

I  babysat another high-energy boy tonight. He was a very friendly (very friendly) 5 year old child.. And friendly children only have so much fun playing with a 16 year-old girl in their backyard, so after an hour we headed to the playground. On our way he saw a young boy, and he ran up to this boy and insisted that he come with us to the park- he did. So now I have two children. Once we got to the park other boys, young and old, shouted his name and said hi. I was slightly shocked that this 5 year-old was known by such a diverse crowd. The friendliness continued, this time with food.
I managed to collect a little pile of goodies that other people wanted to share with him. Since he is five, I only let him drink the juice-box (...sugar).
Summary of the snack pile:
Spicy lollipop- from a 4-year old boy
Oatmeal Cookie- from a teenager
Juice box- from a dad

But it doesn't stop there, the little boy was friends with a nice, Hispanic family who just happened to be having a cookout in the park. They warmly invited both of us to join them. The pool was getting cold, and he was not too excited about going home, so we accepted their offer. They cooked a big pot of corn on the cob. The lady served the corn by spreading mayo all over it and then dipping it into crumbled cheese. (Side note- I pointed to the crumbled cheese and asked ¿Qué es eso? and she said "queso." I paused, then it made me laugh).  They were a sweet family, and they invited us to also stay for helado (ice cream), but I had to kindly decline, because once again, I wasn't willing to risk giving the 5-year old any more sugar.

It was a fun night. I was able to speak very broken Spanish with the family for a bit while the kids played together, and they invited me to come visit them at the park again (so sweet of them).
Well, in conclusion, babysitting is great. Kids are great; they help and inspire me to become more bold and friendly.

More than a Sentence

"The Days are Long, but the Years are Short." -a quote from my one-sentence journal

In my case, the days are long and the weeks are short. This week was fast. I still can't believe it's Friday. Every night I write in my "one-sentence journal" to remember my days, because my life moves along, and I don't want to forget things. I like writing a sentence, it's very easy. Anyways....
As I look at this practice on a deeper level, I realize that one day my life will just be sentences. Life will be done, and I won't be here any longer.  The things I did will be left as sentences in that journal. I guess what I am getting at is that I can't let the things I do on Earth just simply be "sentence-worthy." They need to be "kingdom worthy." The things I do need to not just be for me. They can't just be of this earth. I can't take earthly things to Heaven. Sadly, most of the time my sentences are earthly and no more. They are about tests, activities, what I did, who I saw, and even the weather (lame).
I hope to drift away from those things being the only things worthy for the journal that I will keep for the rest of my earthly life.
A verse- But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:20

My journal. My past.

Let's go up

This last week I have been nannying a high-enery 10 year-old boy every day from 6:45 to 3:30.  Thankfully the weather has been superb, so we have been outside constantly. Outdoor things are fun, but today was Day 4 of jumping on the trampoline, gardening, and walking to local parks, so we needed to do something new, but still active. I was reminded of the museum passes at the library. Our family has taken advantage of them maybe once, mainly because there are six of us, and the pass only gives 2 tickets. But today 2 was the magic number.

So where did we go? The Foshay Tower. I had never been there before, and I assumed the kid hadn't been there either, considering he only lives in Mpls for the summer and school breaks. Ironically, I was wrong, but that didn't stop his excitement. He was more than happy to go again.

The next question you may ask: How did we get there? Biked, of course! No way was I driving on this beautiful day, and we needed an enery-burning outlet, so biking was the way to go. Yes, the Foshay tower is in downtown Minneapolis, and it may seem crazy to take a 10 year old biking in downtown, but I did bring Ben along so Ty was sandwiched in between the two of us the whole time.

The tower was beautiful, and the ride up the elevator was very fast. The reason people come to the tower is to see out 32 stories high from the looking deck, and that is what we did.

We could see Richfield, St. Paul, the Twin's stadium, hawks, window washers on other skyscrapers, and people driving from below. I was glad we went, plus the outing was completely free. I didn't have to pay for admission tickets, gas money, or parking-perfect.

Here are some picture from the Foshay-

The end, or should I say the beginning?

It's the end of the 2011-2012 school year. The Summer is the start of a new chapter. My Summer plans are still not finalized yet (well some of them). I will be sharing what those plans are as the days and weeks go on, but for now they don't matter. However, I do want to talk about graduating.
Watching the seniors graduate from Hope Academy was A. different, B. exciting, C. eye-opening. It was different because it has never happened before. ever. It was exciting because it really was an exciting graduation ceremony. It wasn't a long presentation of names; it was meaningful, entertaining, and promising. It was eye-opening because adulthood is so much more real to me. I have friends who are stepping into it. I will be a grown-up in a year. That's hard to grasp.
It wasn't sad for me, because I will see them again, but I will miss them. Instead, I just feel happy for them! They are doing exciting things, and I am proud of them all.
Well, I am thankful for another year of high school. I will treasure my senior year. I will treasure this summer. Life is short. Be thankful.