From the Barrio

I had heard Sumo talk about their Halloween costumes. He was actually sort of sad that last year they didn't dress up like vatos. This pic is hillarious to me. Especially the faces of Rita and Sumo. I LOVE IT

Teacher Cliches and the younger man....

I met a 25 year old from Seattle. He was soooo lame. He kept telling me about his ultimate goals to be a father and prepare to be a financial provider. This was with in 10 minutes of conversation. I love the mormon bait.... (tell me what you think I want to hear. BLAR!!!!)The worst part is he kept insisting that he was smarter than me because his plan was to become a nurse (and with an associates he could make 50,000 a year)and my plan to be a teacher wasn't financially savy (point taken). ARGGG. Then he kept saying how much he loved tall girls, because in junior high he realized that they were easier to dance with or something. Usually comments like make me feel good, (i think tall woman are sometimes not appriciated like they should be) but, he sucked so much, it just annoyed me. Then he mentioned that he had had 5 girlfriends in the last 3 years....(I did not care). He then said, "All the teachers I meet are boring, but you are not boring" (Shut up, shut up, shut up!!!!).Anyways, I refuse to talk about dating on this site, however...this was not dating, this was lame city.

Dirty Dancing.... a Ricks College Tradition.

It's not what you think. We didn't get all crazy at the club, nor did we get all crazy in the Manwaring Center. We just really liked to watch Dirty Dancing in college. I mean so much, that i think for 100 days straight, we watched it. Yeah, I didnt' really go to class back then, and my only other responsibilities were donating plasma and looking good in my fur coats (before the Veganism began). Anyways, somehow the movie Dirty Dancing brought us closer togeather. We didn't care that some of us were messier than others. We didn't care that some of us were breaking the honor code, for someone named Italian Stallion, we didn't care that we were from all walks of life and spiritual levels. All we cared about was Jonny and Baby and their love.

Sometimes, much like Kelly on the OFFICE will respond to the question, "what's new with you?" With a response of well, "Paris got out of Jail, Brad and Angelina had a new baby, and Suri is finally learning to walk....I am affected by others lives. Sometimes at dinner, one would pose the question, "exactly when did Johny fall in love with Baby?" We would discuss it passionately. Every woman with her own opinion. Now that question might be brought up later, when the movie was on, and we would pause the TV, looking for some indication of when Johny truly loved baby. We pinpointed it after much research. Strange as it sounds, I hunger for that exact look in the eyes of every lover. I know that when I get the look, the look he gave her after they did the merange at the other resort, but before they did the sexy dance in the cabin.... then I will know i have found true love.

Today, Dirty Dancing was on cable.... It all came back to me, as I quoted the lines, re-inacted the last dance of the season, and tried to pinpoint the exact moment when Johny loves Baby, I realized Dirty Dancing is timeless. Dirty Dancing is a classic. Dirty Dancing is the best movie of all time.

PS....Hungry Eyes and Overload are the best songs of time.
PPS....If you don't know why saying, "I carried a watermelon" is so devestating, this post did not touch your heart.

Tonight We Dance Like We're In Love.

Saturday Night.... I did two things, I went to the Inter Stake Center(the average age was probably 22), where I felt old. Than, I went to Gary's house party (where the average age was 35) where I felt a little young. Isn't that funny, the environment one puts them self in, can effect how old they feel. No more....I am just loving 30 no matter what, where or who I am with. (As if I didn't secretly love it already)

Pic 1- Shane and I, he is by far the only reason I brought back back scratchers at church..... i was giving them up for classiness sake (but how could i resist the Tucson Boy)

Pic 2- I saw these guys rocking the short shorts at the interstake center. I must admit I felt a little weird when I took a picture of their aces.

Pic 3- These are my new friends, Brittney, Rob and Brady. We spent the weekend together and it is definitely great to be meeting fun people again.

Pic4- I love this guys costume. He was a crowd stopper, but i didn't understand why he kept putting "I lost my Dog" posters all over the party. Interesting...

Sluts and Teen Wolf.....

I love Teen Wolf. The best movie of all time. When Michael J. Fox is going through those changes. And he is at the party with Boof and he goes in the closet for 7 minutes of heaven (never played that, always really wanted to). And he gets all wild, cause the wolf side is coming out. He is in a struggle between fighting the wolf side, and the good boy side.

Every Halloween we get gussied up. It is our chance to be what ever we want. There is always a party, a wild carnival, where the level of excitement and anticipation is higher then normal. The east valley offers a wide array or choices for Halloween festivities. Which one will I choose? I do not know, but this I do know. Girls will be dressed like whores.

Have I dressed like a whore in the past? Absolutely...but it was all in innocence. Now when I was 12, Grandma Goodman gave Karrie and I black, rabbit fur coats. They were short, so they ended at the waist. This coat was screaming to be worn on Halloween. And I knew just the theme. SLUTS. In my 12 year old mind, sluts wore rabbit fur coats and short skirts and dark lipstick. And at 12, I wanted to be that. I guess it is just the Mormon girl backlash or every girl backlash for that matter..... being a floozy is forbidden. So we embrace it on Halloween, we gotta let that wild side out. We are like Teen Wolf. We got a struggle going on, and at Halloween it is o.k to let the animal out. GRRRRRRR.

Looking back now, we trick or treated, at all those Mormon households.... looking like prostitutes. And when my mom said, "jodi, what are you dressed like?" I replied an 80's punk princess. And you know what, I have classed up the look a bit (no rabbit fur) yet, I still rock that 80's punk princess aka wild girl look in some form or another on Halloween. I guess I still gotta dabble in the forbidden. Even if it is in the safety of the Inter Stake Center, with my bishop as a chaperone, and making sure my outfit is modest, yet oh so seductive.....

INSTITUTE.... A REFLECTION

It has been a long road. A road paved with long lulls of lonliness, hot nights of hottness and always one force, one beacon stands strong...letting me know I am not alone on this journey we call "single". Institute. The chapel on Southern, inbetween Stapely and Gilbert, has been the hub of all things social for the 24-30 crowd( But lets be honest some 45+ year old men are still sneaking in, trying to make it happen). Institute I want to toast you.... you have elevated my spirituality, reconected me with old friends and people who went appostate (yet find their way back to the tute) and have given me a romance here or there. But most of all, you have given me something to do on a Thursday night.

And now some highlights.....

1. THE COMFORT ZONE... sitting on the stage with the 5 dudes that I love, but would never date...as they pick out woman they find attractive and I agree or disagree. Especially superficial when they see the back of a woman only and make a snap judgement.

2. THE EX.... because it is the gathering place, it is littered with, "loves that once were". Usually hillarious when someones ex is still in love with them, and the person is desperately trying to hide. Very ammusing to see an old roomate, and I say, "hey i saw Brandon here, he is looking good" and the roomate says, "shut up jodi, he is totally stalking me at institue, i can't handle it".

3. THE I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU, I WANT TO TALK TO HIM, BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE RUDE, BUT THIS IS SORT OF ANNOYING BECAUSE I HAVE DROPPED LIKE 4 HINTS AND YOU ARE NOT GETTING IT, SO I WILL JUST LOOK OVER YOUR SHOULDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THE REASON I PUT ON MAKEUP, IS STILL IN VIEW..... It happens, it sucks and it will live on forever.

4. THE PURSE...the institue over the last few years have offered meals and treats. When they started offering candy bar mini's. I started stalking up. Butterfingers, M&M's, peanut butter cups, etc. I gotta be a freegan...only eat food if it is free (Rusty told me about that last night, it would be Rusty to tell me about Freegan's)Yesterday, a friend of mine, saw me with my black purse and laughed he was like, "oh yeah Jo, you gotta stock up in that purse".

5. THE GETTING CALLED OUT... I made the mistake of letting a few fellow institute pals, know of my travel plans. So after my short stint in Reno, and laying low during the aftermath, not a tute goes by where people don't ask, "hey didn't you move to vegas or something". I keep the explanation short and sweet, yet I hate being called out. This instance has made me recommit to living a private life (blogging excluded).

6. THE ONE WHO GOT AWAY... you are long gone, but you were the reason I looked foreward to so many tute nights from 2002-2006. Oh what we had, and what was lost at the tute. RIP.

Oh INSTITUTE... you keep it constant but keep it so real. thanks.

The Fire Drizzle

Ummm, today was the worst fire drill of all time. I hate my 7th hour. It changes everyday and no matter which group of kids i have last....I hate em. So we had the fire drill and sucked at it. I never really knew I could be bugged by my lack of fire drill abilities...yet i am. So we were not in a straight line, we walked in the dirt, another teacher had to yell at the 8th graders(mostly the math kids) because they were setting a bad example. UGR.... I hate other teachers disciplining my students. Maybe we are not good examples to the K-5's but that is my business. I guess that is one more quality I need to develop...rocking a good firedrill. God Bless

I am a quitter, it's about time.

Today I quit. Soccer. I was having a hard time getting there anyways, it is about 30 min. from ASU, where I have swim lessons and kayak club on tuesdays. Anyways, This team wasn't that fun to play with (my other team is better). Plus i hate it when there are too many girl subs and the girls won't come out (a complex i developed in jr. high).

Anyways, it feels good to quit. I seem to always quit the wrong things though. I quit basketball (i was really good, and have never met a woman with bigger hands) when all my ward friends got cut or quit, i just had to quit too (stupid). I also quit massage school because I joined a pyramid scam (aka multi-level marketing). I thought i would be rich and never have to rely on massage as an income. Years later, I even quit grad school. When 2006 and I were hot and heavy, we had a plan that I would go to University of Phoenix for Grad School, because he worked there (cheap tuition for the spouse of an employee). Shucks, I was all accepted at ASU for their English as a Second Language Teaching Masters. Yet, I believed 2006's plan for our future would get us through. He lost his job and we didn't happen....I hate that quitting story.I blame only myself.

On the flip side, I just can't seem to quit teaching junior high English, although it has got to be the hardest job on the planet. Everyday I deal with kids mid puberty, with all the notes, talking back, confidence or lack of, smells, identity finding, sexual humor, but like a moth to a flame I keep on going back. Blar. I want to quit things I don't need, and pick up things I do. Shucks, I also can't quit watching Law and Order, it is just soooo good.

On a happier note. I am glad I didn't quit kayaking(although i thought about it, AZ surely isn't the best paddling state), I finally got my role. So I think the point is, quitting is alright. Just quit the right stuff, and don't trust your University of Phoenix boyfriend to make all your educational dreams come true.

5ks, Volcom and relating to my students.

IT happend again. The warehouse sale. When Industrial opens it's doors and lowers it's prices and all the skaters at heart, (or us, who want to dress like them) come out of the woodwork. I had just finished my 5k, i had a very poor showing at 26 minutes. Made even more pathetic by my friend Brendan's 2nd place overall finish. We used to run in HS togeather. I was always amazing super fast, he was always just on the cuff between Varsity and JV. Oh how the tables have turned. Now, I am trying to get it back and hopefully with a new speedy training partner all my running dreams will come true. So that was the 5k.

So i pulled up to the warehouse and got in line. A super long line. I immediately made friends with a rather attractive man and his snaggled tooth friend. Anyways, that made the wait a bit more bareable. However, the real kick was when the Armainian woman infront of us would yell things out to the people cutting like, "Hey what are you doing, we have been waiting and you just cut" or "are you crazy, who do you think you are?" Anyways, the wait was long and tedious. They let 200 people into the warehouse and then we would have to wait untill people came out. Then Sumo and Mitch came, and thank goodness we were behind the Armanian lady. She kept yelling at everyone who would cut, she was relentless. Then someting incredible happend. 9 of her son's friends came and got in line with her. And wouldn't you know, not a peep. The snaggle tooth friend said, "what do you say now, where is your no cut comment now". We laughed, human behavior at it's finest. Finally Van (my brother) and his 2 friends showed up. Everyone was cutting. But if I hadn't been there, then they would have been waiting for hours.

All in all, we were victorious. I helped out everyone to get in early, to get the deals. I scored on some sweet Volcom outfits. I don't care about the name brand (well sort of). Yet, my students are all taken back to see their teacher rocking the Volcom. I think it's funny when they ask, "Miss Goodman, does that say Volcom, (long pause)....sweet".

If only.....

If only my students would stop saying, "that's what she said", after everything.

If only teenagers didn't stink up every place they sat in for prolonged amounts of time.

If only I didn't have to continue going to institute, in order to "feel social".

If only the phrase, "30 is the new 20" really meant something. I don't know what that means.

If only I could actually pull my ace out of bed at 5 am like I plan to.

If only I had paid those speeding tickets on time.

If only everyone I know who is cool, hadn't gotten married and could still hang out.

If only they paid teachers more.

If only I had bought properties before the rise of prices.

If only I hadn't listended to Tamera's plan, for us to be in the rodeo.



You know what, things aren't that bad. 1 out of 10 times the kids say "that's what she said", it is actually funny. For the most part the kids shower regulary, it only stinks after PE. Our institute is probably the most happening spot for 24 and older singles on the planet and they have good food. I would rather be 30, than 20. One of these mornings I just might follow through and go to swim class. Hopefully the suspension of my liscense will be canceled and I can drive legally soon (just a bit expensive). I can still email, blog and see them at other married peoples parties. They don't pay teachers well, i knew that before I got into it. However, 32K a year, was a ton better than the 12K I made for 4 years as a bus driver. So I didn't make it rich, and even though my condo now has problems, at least I got some real estate. Then finger got broke, I got a lot of pain killers and insurence picked up the bill. If only... Nah the Universe is Exactly how it needs to be.

Sisters

Rita is pregnant. Do you all know what this means. I will be an aunt for the first time, at the ripe age of 30. Finally, my Mom, will be a Grandma at 60. I don't think Tamara is in any rush to multiply and replenish, because she has Cole (and is 20). She loves her coal, colored Weimer Reiner. Furthermore, I am not going to be helping out anytime soon. So, I am glad Rita and Sumo realized it was their responsibility. I know that I will love that kid, more than any other (until my day comes). For now, I just can't wait to spoil that kid. You know, most of my friends have been aunts or uncles for years. Many of my friends started the family expansion mission. But, this family has had a famine, and finally that is ending, Haleluejah! Good job Sumo.

life

Pic 1 Travis and some random girl
Pic 2 Marky, Jenifer and Bev-el

Tonight... i was out on the town. It was the asu institute opening social. Jen asked,"are we too old for this"? I said, "nah, next year we will be too old, this year we are just on time". We went to the institute. There were a lot of familiar faces, yet our crowd is decreasing every year. I found a quiet spot to eat my hamburger (i promise the Veganism begins tomorrow) and wouldn't you know it, the most wholesome man, with an honest face came up to introduce himself. Immediately he said, "my name is Glen". Oh how I love the wholesome name. Now most of you who know me are going to think I found my next love, right there on the stairs with my last (pre-vegan) hamburger. Nope, I just had a great conversation, no agenda, no looking over his shoulder for someone better, just two saints, exchanging pleasantries, with no agenda. And not having an agenda, to me, is awesome. Also, it was the first time I have seen the new institute and matching parking structure. It was amazing. To finish off a wholesome, mormon night at the tute, i came home to watch a little Saturdays Warrior. Seriously.

quiz that is 100 percent correct. Believes it

Your Birthdate: September 27

You are a spiritual soul - a person who tries to find meaning in everything. You spend a good amount of time meditating, trying to figure out life. Helping others is also important to you. You enjoy social activities with that goal. You are very generous and giving. Yet you expect very little in return. Your strength: Getting along with anyone and everyone Your weakness: Needing a good amount of downtime to recharge Your power color: Cobalt blue Your power symbol: Dove Your power month: September

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?