Hey, I've got nothin' to do today but smile!

Just applied to two jobs!

I have the same excited and nervous feeling I had this summer. And anxiety!

All the possibilities!!

Tag, You’re It!

1. What is your worst fear?

OFF TO A HEAVY START THERE, EH DARCY? (;

I am super afraid of vocalizing my insecurities, to the point where sometimes I have little anxiety attacks if I’m pushed too much to do so. I guess the real fear there would be that I am afraid of people seeing the negative things that I see in myself, and then thinking less of me for them.

2. If you could make ONE wish right now and it would come true, what would you wish for?

If I could make one wish right now, it would be to live closer to one or more of the people that I love and that love me back. 30-50 minutes to the nearest not-very-close-at-all-friend, an hour and a half to Matthew, 3.5-4 hours to the family… It makes my heart hurt, especially on days where I don’t have enough things to do to occupy my time. Lonely South Jersey is lonely. I miss my fam!

3. Favorite physical feature on you?

Or rather, how my whole face changes when I smile :P

4. Favorite personality trait of yours?

I love that I am so thoughtful and giving with those that I love. I just like making people happy, and it helps to be a good listener.

5. Would you rather raise a girl or boy?

If I were using my experiences babysitting and teaching to make this decision, I’d probably say “boy” because none of the boys I’ve worked with have made me play Barbie, or ponies, or watch Bratz movies ad nauseum…

BUT I know that if I had a kid, they’d probably be pretty cool (by my own definition) ((because, ya know, I’m pretty cool)) regardless of the sex/gender, so it really doesn’t matter to me.  My final answer: If and when I have children, I don’t really care if it’s a boy or a girl, or a male that identifies as a female or a female that identifies as a male. I’ll take physically and emotionally healthy, please!

6. Favorite childhood memory?

I really enjoyed swimming in my friend Becky’s pool after dark! Her dad used to throw us as far as he could into the air, and I got a kick out of that! I have plenty more, but that’s the first one that came to my head, hehe

7. Something TMI about you.

I FOUND A TINY DEER TICK IN MY UNDERWEAR THE OTHER DAY AND I THOUGHT THAT HE WAS PRETTY RUDE FOR NOT ASKING MY CONSENT BEFORE HOPPING IN THERE. For everyone’s information, if he had asked, I would have said, “I don’t think my boyfriend would appreciate that.”(thanks for the line, Em!), but instead, I had to pry him out of my mysterious, VIP only lady regions.

8. Biggest pet peeve?

I absolutely cannot stand it when people talk over me. I grew up in a big, LOUD family where everyone fights to talk over one another in order to be heard, and I gave up participating in the competition long ago. If I have something to say, I will say it, and if you don’t want to listen or you feel what you have to say is more important, I will mentally check out of that interaction/ possibly that relationship if it becomes a trend. I am not fighting to be heard by someone that doesn’t want to listen.

It really means a lot to me for people to listen to me and acknowledge me during a conversation. Maybe that’s the introvert in me? But I really don’t talk a lot. I don’t just say words to say words- I speak when I have something to say. So if a person talks over me when I have something to input into the conversation, I don’t appreciate the disrespect of a competing voice. Trying to express something while being interrupted just takes too much energy.

This is why, if I am trying to tell a story, and I get interrupted, especially more than once, I will refuse to participate any further.

9. Favorite physical or mental feature of whatever gender you’re attracted to?

Physical: I am a sucker for a full-face grin.

Mental/ Personality: Intelligence, thoughtfulness, biting humor.

10. POST A SELFIE RIGHT NOW.

Ughhh, #putsonclothing.

Eh, gave me an excuse to try on the hand-me-down that the landlady person gave me. It’s too big, but I’ll still wear it. I like looking like I fell out of the nineties. Also, check out my fake pigtail. Yikes, Gillian. Don’t do that.

11. If you had to pick a single favorite memory/day/hour of your entire lifetime, which would it be?

In my entire lifetime?! My brain cannot process this much good stuff.

I really really really loved last weekend when my whole family was together for the first time in three years. That made me stupid happy.

Also, pretty much every moment with my two best friends, Doctors 10 and 11. (I am Doctor 9.)

Also, the first day I met Matthew. First week, even! (We got to hang out four days straight at our orientation week!!)

Also, the internet New Orleans weekend because I met so many lovely people.

Alsoalso, visiting New Orleans for the first time after I got accepted! And then living there for four perfect years. And falling in love with hoards of third grade students that I had the privilege to work with.

Also, STOP IT, I can’t stop thinking of all the happy times!! Was this your intention, Darcy?!?! Thanks for reminding me how lucky I am. My life is awesome.

OKAYOKAYOKAY. My turn? Does anybody even wanna play?

1. If you could be friends with a fictional character from any tv show/ movie/ book/ WHATEVER, who would it be and why? What would you do together?

2. What is your favorite smell? Does it evoke a memory?

3. You know when you see someone out in public (I people watch, you probably do too, right?!) and you see them randomly smile, either for no apparent reason, or triggered by something private, like a glance at their phone? Tell me about something that makes you smile privately to yourself! Ya know, if you want.

4. Who is your most special (or one of your most special) humans? What makes them so dear to you?

5. In what position do you sleep? (I can only fall asleep on my tummy at bedtime, but can sleep in any position at naptime! #weird)

6. What was your favorite ever Halloween costume?

7. In all of your days, what have you done that makes you most proud of yourself?

8. Tell me about your weirdest dream! The weirder the better!

9. Free ticket to anywhere! Where do you go?

10. What’s one movie that made you cry? (Don’t even pretend it’s never happened…)

11. If you could do one thing (professionally) for the rest of your working days, what would you do? (AKA, dReAm JoB??!) Are you already doing it?

AmeriCorps Stats!

Within our year of service, our measurable goals as written in the grant are:

• Do 50 presentations
• Do 50 assessments
• Do 5 volunteer trainings
• Organize 3 projects
• Accrue 100 volunteer hours (getting volunteers monitoring streams) and 100 stewardship hours (getting volunteers participating in clean up events)
• Do 2 informational interviews
• Complete 1700 hours of service in 10 months.

So far I have:

• Done 82 presentations to ~1900 students, at least 8 more on the schedule.
• Done 22 stream assessments (right on track— this is a later spring activity) with at least 5 more planned for next week. Probably more like 10.
• Done 2 volunteer trainings, with at least 6 more planned for June.
• Organized 3 projects, with 2 more in the works.
• Accrued 99 volunteer hours and 211 stewardship hours with many more to come (volunteer trainings add to volunteer hours and volunteer participation at projects adds to stewardship hours).
• No interviews done, #schwoops!
• Completed 1320 hours of service in 8 months (with two vacations taken!!)

What a year it’s been so far! Two more months, and plenty more to come! Biggest worry: avoiding ticks and poison ivy!

Today, I ran a field t rip with ~100 seventh graders, teaching them how to scoop for living things on the banks of a lake. We found dragonflies, damselflies, leeches, crayfish, mayflies, snails (lunged and gilled), sunnies, catfish, bass, tadpoles, a bullfrog, etc. It was a lot of fun!! I felt like a veritable naturalist.

Great day, or great day?

What the hey?! And some other things.

Tumblr is recommending to me blogs that I most certainly followed already…  Some of my favorites, even! Is that a thing?? Tumblr unfollows people?

In other news, I am spending this day at the office looking for jobs and trying to write some cover letters!

Transitioning for always, lolol.

But I had an awesome weekend going hiking with Matt in the prettiest part of NJ! (Hunterdon County).

Wish I could have seen my momma for mother’s day, though.

GUESS WHAT THOUGH? Momma Guts-Squirt is no longer “obese”!!!! Down to the “overweight” category. This lady, guys. So amazing.

She’s lookin’ pretty smokin’, too. Such a proud daughter.

Adventures in Growing out a Pixie: 4 month Edition.

Slow and steeeeeady.

I am a shaggy dog. May 11, 2013. ~4 months growing with many awkward mullet trims.

Also, a need to take a shower, oops.

I’ve got a case of the post-family sads!

All by my onesie again!

Thanks for reminding me what I miss all the time, jerks.

~2.5 more months in south Jersey, and then maybe I can go somewhere closer to some of my humans!

Ridiculous.

I did a dance test between dresses 1 and 2 (in my head, I didn’t want to wear dress 3!) Freak alertttt.

While I feel most “me” and sassiest in dress 2 (B&W floral), it’s probably too casual for a wedding… I’ll wear it to my AmeriCorps graduation in July! I can find a better belt by then, toooooo.

Which means that I guess I’ll wear dress 1 (colorful floral) tomorrow! I don’t love the way it looks from the front since I lost some mass from my upper body (wah wahhhh, RIP boobehz.), but my behind looks pretty okay (;

Alsoalso, you should see these other self timer photos… I make some WEIRD faces when I dance. Mostly cycling between ultra-excited-happy-face and uber-sassy-furrowed-brow-duck-face. Oy. Alsoalsoalso, my dancing is mostly duck lips and arms. And tossing the head around. So mechanically challenged.

Alsoalsoalsoalso, please note the hair. I called it a bowl cut earlier, but bestie suggested it was more of a Carol Brady sort of style. There are worse comparisons! Hehe.

I don’t know what to wear to my cousin’s wedding tomorrow!!

Help!

Colorful flower dress? I wore this to graduation. I liked it better on me before my chest got smaller!!

Flowery dress? it’s actually a hand-me-down given to me by the lady with whom I live, and it’s way too big, so I have to belt it… but does this color belt look stupid? It’s all I have!

Black and white? BUT, Brenna’s wearing black and white!

OR should I run out to Target and try to find a new dress / new belt for #2??

I tried on two other dresses, but they make me look frumpy.

Help meh?