Kasey’s Not in Kansas Anymore…

She looks in the mirror and sees what she sees.

That new cover up she bought doesn’t do anything to cover up the awful zit. Red lines take away from the blue of the eyes. Ten too many pounds make a round and ugly face. Don’t they see the imperfection?

And then comes the boy with murmered confirmations. Your face is lovely. Those eyes are blue and perfect. You are soft and comfortable and beautiful.

She listens to him and wonders: which opinion is more correct? Her own, negative thoughts, or his love inspired words.

She hopes it is him.

But she looks in the mirror and sees what she sees.

Time marches on

and I am frozen.

Time stands still

and I race toward the finish.

Time sits on my shoulder

and mocks me.

Time stands across the room

and beckons me to victory.

Time is a moody mistress:

tick tock.

So, 2009 is just days away. When I look back over the past year, I can hardly believe how much has happened and changed. In my teaching program, we are ALWAYS being pushed to reflect upon our teaching. Now I’m taking a minute to reflect on some other things.

This has been a pretty intense year for me.  

Big things?

• In May I graduated with my dual bachelors degree in English Lit and Theatre, only to start MAT two weeks later.
• I am halfway DONE the MAT program. . . a mere five months away from a Masters degree, certification and my initiation as a card carrying member of the real world.
• I began ACTUAL teaching of REAL kids. This has been one of the scariest but most awesome experiences I’ve had so far!
• Alex and I celebrated our four year anniversary in November. After all this time, we are still going strong. I’m very lucky, and very proud of how far we’ve come.
• 2008 was the year of the wedding. While I only had one friend actually get married in ‘08, I had a TON more who got engaged in ‘08 with weddings coming up in the new year. I’ve been busy with showers, dress shopping etc. This is one of those things which particularly made me feel like a grown up.
• Aiden (the nephew) learned to walk, run, talk, and generally be a little adult himself. Seeing the difference between him now and this time last year is SHOCKING. Oh, and he learned to say my name (or, tries to say my name). There isn’t much better than being greeted by a grinning toddler running at you yelling “TAAAAAAAAAATEEEEY”. Look, K’s and S’s are hard! 3 out of 5 letters ain’t too shabby :]
• I turned 22. This was odd, because I waited SO LONG for 21. This year was the beginning of the non exciting birthdays.
• I also got an e-mail letting me know my 5 year high school reunion is being planned for Spring ‘09. HOLY. MACKEREL. I really don’t know how that’s happened. But then, I HAVE been pretty busy since then :]

In general, this has been a pretty good year. Everything as been going well for my family, my friends and in my academic pursuits.

As I look to 2009, I cannot help but be excited. This time next year, I will be half way through my first year as a REAL teacher making a real salary and living with the boy I love ( . . . who I might  even be calling my fiance).

I can’t help but feel that 2009 is going to be the year when all of the things I have been working for and seeing through come to fruition for me.

And that is one thrilling concept.

I haven’t posted in this in so long. So much has changed in my life since my Masters program took control. Good news? I’m halfway through my journey to becoming a teacher!

So, anyway, I’ve decided to try and make a better effort to update this sucker. I really enjoy blogging, I’ve just been terribly lazy about it.

To cick off my (hopefully) more consistent posting, a little poem:

You’re in my heart

But we’re apart so often now:

Grown ups, you and I

Keeping grown up time.

Hours with you – moments

Minutes apart - ages.

Lover you are my oxygen

And lately it’s been hard to breathe.

Yeah, so things have been . . . how do I put this delicately . . . f*$&ing busy.

Due to this business, I have not been updating my blog, which is BLASPHEMY I know, but hey, I can’t help it.

So, first order of buisness, I’m gonna provide the answers to the truths/lies meme I began forever ago (TRUTHS are in bold, explanations of LIES in italics!):

*I have a small purple birthmark on my butt.

*I have played every Disney Princess on stage at least one time in my acting career (I’ve played a LOT of them, but never Jasmine of Sleeping Beauty)

*I wear color contacts to make my eyes an awesome shade of blue, but I tell everyone it’s my natural eye-color.(Nope. It’s all me, baby!)

*I have seen “One Night in Paris”

*While playing The Sims 2 (my latest obsession) I create myself and other real people in my life so I can control outcomes and make them do my bidding. ( I REFUSE to do this, even though I DO play the SIMS 2 a lot, because it would make me feel too creepy!)

*Every month, my boyfriend and I sit down and read through my issue of Cosmo and his issue of Playboy together.

*I’ve auditioned in NYC for a show (I have auditioned FOR broadway, but in Baltimore City, not NYC!)

Now that that *important* buisness is out of the way, onto an actual update about my, you know, LIFE.

So, the biggest news is all about my FUTURE (eek!). Yeah, you know how you always say “I want to be _____ when I grow up”? Well, it turns out that for ME, thats not so far away! Thankfully, everything is progressing better than I could possibly hope!

I have been officially accepted into my Master in the Art of Teaching program, which I begin June 2nd (after graduatign my undergrad May 21, oh what a LONG break I have, right?) which will give me my masters AND teaching certification in ONE year. Which is amazing, and I am so thrilled that I got in!

However, it turns out I wasn’t in much danger of NOT getting in. Apparently, I am a super desirable candidate for the program. You know how I figured that out? When they offered me A TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR SCHOLARSHIP. Yeah. The whole degree was going to cost approx. $15,000. I’m not much for math, but I DO know that $15,000 minus $10,000 is $5,000, which I know is freaking UNBELIEVABLE to get a masters degree! So, hooray for not being completely poor. I feel like if your starting salary in your job is worth MORE than your total debt for education, you are doing GREAT. Thankfully, my work in my undergrad really has paid off for me and is making this possible!

So, that’s my future laid out for me right there! I graduate in May ‘09 a certified teacher with a Masters, ready to enter the classroom. I am so so so excited, and I promise to track my craaaaaaaaazy experiences through this one year sadistic endeavor educational journey which will be taking over my life completely rewarding and cool.

PS:

If you do not watch the TV shows BONES, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, or PSYCH (plays on USA in the summer), you should check them out, because they are all super funny and awesome. You’ll thank me later.

So, apparently my prayers, shooting star wishes and ritual sacrifices have not gone in vain . . .

 The writers strike is over!

Yes, it’s true. And while I may not have *actually* made any literal sacrifices (animal, vegetable, mineral OR virgin) I definitely sacrificed my ability to tell other people about what I was watching on TV without feeling deep and immense shame.

You see, I love TV. TV is that old friend I turn to when I’m feeling down or bored, and it cheers me up. I love to watch my scripted dramas and comedies and tragi-comedies and delight in the hi-jinx/man-candy that ensues.

But lately, what with shows like Pushing Daisy’s and Bones being gone, I have felt like a jilted lover. Why, TV, had you forsaken me???

And then, like any person blindsided by a terrible loss of a relationship, I turned to . . .  a rebound.

Namely, I began watching total and utter crap. Have you seen the E! True Hollywood Stories Reports on Women who love men who are behind bars and on death row but don’t realize they have deep emotional problems because the man they want to marry has actually been convicted of the murder of his first wife THREE TIMES?? Because actually, I have. And no, the crazy does NOT fade with viewing.

I’ve also watched some reality TV that makes me cry a little on the inside. None worse than a SHOT AT LOVE with Tila Tequila. I don’t know about YOU, but when that girl gave a lap-dance to the grandma of her lesbian love interest, I realized just how desperately I needed real TV back.

So, it’s on its way. And I am SO pleased.

And now, stolen from my big sis, a bit of fun:

Below, you’ll find three truths and four lies about me.  Which ones do you think are true?  Can you pick out the lies?  Leave your guesses in the comments and I’ll reveal the answers next time! (granted, I don’t know how many people even read this, but what the hey)

*I have a small purple birthmark on my butt.

*I have played every Disney Princess on stage at least one time in my acting career

*I wear color contacts to make my eyes an awesome shade of blue, but I tell everyone it’s my natural eye-color.

*I have seen “One Night in Paris”

*While playing The Sims 2 (my latest obsession) I create myself and other real people in my life so I can control outcomes and make them do my bidding. (MWAH HA HA)

*Every month, my boyfriend and I sit down and read through my issue of Cosmo and his issue of Playboy together.

*I’ve auditioned in NYC for a show

Hello, blogging world.

Things have been pretty busy for me over the last few weeks.

 I have OFFICIALLY passed that praxis exam I was telling you all about, which means I’m now in full grad school application mode. Woo essays and portfolios and all that other fun application process stuff. The deadline isn’t until March 15, but I want to apply nice and early. I’m just relieved I passed. And I passed by A LOT. Which is always a nice ego booster!

 In other news, one of my very best friends is getting married! She got engaged this Christmas, and I’m her Maid of Honor! This is incredibly awesome, because not only am I just flat out thrilled and excited for her, I get to help with the planning and dress picking out and the like. This means I can help play wedding even though I am by NO means ready to walk down that aisle myself! Seriously, it’s going to be wonderful.

Earlier this week I got back from a vacay to Orlando, FL with the boyfriend. For those of you who don’t know, I am a Disney FREAK. I’m a Disney Princess (and I’ve played nearly all of them on stage, too). So, Disney World really is the happiest place on earth for me. It was wonderful, and we had such a great weekend.

On a slightly less fabulous note, I came down with a nasty sinus infection the day we came home from FL. I’m glad it held out till we were leaving, but let me tell you, flying and cabin pressure is NOT cool when you have a sinus infection. Feeling much better, though, since being blessed with nourishment from the antibiotics god. Oh, antibiotics, I love you more than anything.

That’s pretty much it for the update. I told you I’d been busy. Otherwise, I’m just kind of gearing up for the semester to start. Boo break being over. But yay for graduating.

 That’s all for tonight. I promise a more witty, entertaining post at a later date once I’m fully recuperated :]

First off, I hope everyone had a really happy holiday season. I sure did, so yay me. :] Now that the holidays are over, I can return to actually keeping up this blog!

For those of you who don’t actually know me (which is now quite a few of you, since my big sis Kelly sent people to my little corner of the web – WELCOME!), I’m currently a senior in college double majoring in English Lit and Theatre. I know, I know. It sounds like I picked the two most useless degrees I could get! But not to worry, these are the degrees I need for entering my Masters Program in teaching. That’s right, I’m going to be a high school English and Drama teacher when I grow up (which is SUPER soon lol).

I’m in the process of officially applying for this Masters in the Art of Teaching program, which will give me my masters, student teaching, and full teaching certification in ONE year. I’m pulling together my portfolio, writing my entrance essay and filling out my app. However, the one thing I hadn’t had together yet was taking/passing the PRAXIS exams.

PRAXIS, for those who don’t know (which is probably everyone unless you are in the education field) is SATS for teachers. You know how you want to know your children aren’t being taught by total idiots? These exams are supposed to be one of the ways that is prevented (although based on some teachers I’ve had, it can’t be as effective as they think).

I am not, as most people would agree, an idiot. I am, however, math retarded. I was that kid who was in the 98th percentile for her verbal SAT score, and the 50th percentile in math. My skills are DEFINITELY one sided. This is not to say I’m stupid, but math has always been something I had to work way too hard at to maintain my A/B average. I took my last math class my freshmen year in college and NEVER looked back.

Which brings us to PRAXIS. PRAXIS is a series of tests that must be cumulatively passed. The tests are Reading, Writing, and Mathematics. The good thing is that since I only needed a combined passing score, I didn’t have to technically pass the math score. Which made me happy, considering no calculators were NOT allowed. *gasp!*

I studied my math-hating butt off.

And it WORKED.

I took PRAXIS yesterday morning, and I have to say, I deserve a pat on the back. Since I took the computerized exam, I was told my reading and math scores once I completed the exam (writing score must be mailed, since the essay can’t be graded automatically). Each score is out of 190 points, passing being a 172 or 173 (can’t remember the exact). I got a 186 on the reading portion. Woo hoo! 4 points off of perfect!

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd . . .  a freaking ONE EIGHTY FIVE in math! The weight lifted off of my shoulders is very nice.

So, even though I haven’t technically passed yet, since my writing score hasn’t been determined, it’s almost definite that I did. So, hooray.

According to this test, I’m intellectually competent to teach your kids. Don’t you feel better now? :]

Merry Christmas everyone!

You know that verse in the Christmas song “Home for the Holidays” that goes:

“From Atlantic to Pacific, gee the traffic is terrific”

?

Well, the only time in the past week I have used the words “traffic” and “terrific” in the same sentence is when I exclaim sarcastically (whilst sitting in my UNMOVING CAR FOR 15 FREAKING MINUTES WILL I EVER MOVE AGAIN OH GOD) “Well this traffic is just f*cking TERRIFIC.”

So what I have learned from this discrepancy between LYRICS and LIFE, is that songs totally lie. BIGTIME.

My innocence is gone.

Maybe . . . . maybe my heart WON’T go on!? But how will I reconnect with my Popsicle-lover now residing at the bottom of the sea?

If a dream isn’t a wish my heart makes, what is it? Is something chemically wrong with my brain? Seriously, DO I NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR HERE PEOPLE? I have dreams, and if they aren’t coming from my HEART then I am at a loss.

If there isn’t a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby over the freaking rainbow I will be SOOOO pissed. I mean, come on. THERE HAS TO BE. And that witch BETTER be dead. She had a house drop on her for goodness sake. But I don’t know if I trust those munchkins . . .

My world is SO falling apart.

Wait . . . wait I’m okay. I just realized there is proof that not ALL songs are dirty, dirty liars like “Home for the Holidays.” After all, can’t we agree that Britney has definitely “oopsed”, and done it again (and again, and again and again)?