Crisis Averted

After sacrament meeting today, my roommate turned to me and said, "Hey, are you teaching today?"

"No."

I said it immediately without thinking. I had not prepared a lesson. I didn't want to teach. I was supposed to teach the Sunday after I get back from Ohio. There was no way I was teaching today. But I had this nagging feeling that I should probably check...just in case.

So, I was scheduled to teach! Talk about a heart stopping, want to die type position. Sacrament meeting was over, I did not have the Ensign talks that I was supposed to be teaching from, and I was in a panic. Also, I looked hideous, and I tend to like to look better on days that I teach...

I raced home as fast as I could (walking) and had exactly one half hour to print out the talks and figure out what I needed to be teaching on. The lucky thing is, I love the Teaching for our Times messages. All the talks given in any general conference are good and they all have pertinent information. Also, the talks (found here and here) came from the the Ensign, so it isn't likely any of the girls studied ahead or anything and everything I read would be something they heard/read awhile ago.

I showed back up in Relief Society with enough time to catch my breath and act totally calm and collected, as if I knew I had been teaching forever and was ready to go. All the while praying that things would go well. Even when the president of the Relief Society came up and confirmed that I was teaching (ha!) I said, "Oh, yeah, of course I totally have this covered..." As if I hadn't asked her just after Sacrament if she had the teaching schedule on her...which she didn't.

I didn't admit to anyone that it was a surprise to me that I didn't know I was supposed to be teaching. I didn't apologize for "taking the majority of my lesson straight from the talks." I just stood in front of the group with my outlined talks, with a few questions written in the margins, and I taught. And I encouraged as many comments as they would give me.

Yes, I did read a little bit more than I would have liked. But the material was good and the girls were all very quiet. I couldn't tell whether or not they were falling asleep or really attentive. But, there were plenty of comments, so I think that hints at the latter - a great relief to me, as my biggest fear is being a boring teacher. The lesson went great considering the amount of preparation, and maybe even just considering. I got befuddled once and that was just because one of the great comments jumped ahead a bit and I couldn't decide whether to skip material to catch up or leave it to come back to later. I also ended perfectly on time, which I worried that I wouldn't have enough material prepared.  I could have gone on longer if necessary, but it wasn't necessary.

In fact, after I ended my lesson perfectly on time (the only time I'm on time...) the Bishop got up to speak. Now, for some reason, the Bishop feels the need to get up and speak to us nearly every time he visits the relief society and it isn't always on the lesson, and it isn't always... I don't know. Sometimes I think he just likes to talk to us. And then AFTER that the president got up and added her comments. I always think this is a little superfluous, and I hate when I get jipped out of singing the closing song. But I ended on time (with 10 minutes to go) and that was what matters. I still would have liked to sing all the verses, though.

It's just a testimony to me that the Lord works with what He has. And sometimes all He has is an ill-prepared misfit of a teacher. My visiting teacher came up to me and thanked me for teaching with the Spirit. That's all I had to go by. I know that anything that touched the girls while I was teaching came strictly through the Holy Ghost, and had little to do with me. Obviously the talks that were used as the lesson material were inspired when they were given.

I can't believe how many of the girls went out of their way to thank me for a lesson I was sure would be awful and boring. One girl asked me if I enjoyed teaching, and when I admitted that I did not, she said, "Why? You're so good." That just baffles me. I've always thought of myself as a terrible teacher. It was the reason I changed my major all those many years ago. When I told her it was because I thought I read too much, she said, "No," I didn't. I asked the right questions, led a good discussion and brought the Spirit into the class.

Really, I think it is the girls in our ward that bring the Spirit into the class. They are typically very reverent, responsive to questions and just have really great, awesome life experiences to add to the class. I have been very blessed to be in this ward and to be a part of this Relief Society.

I usually try really hard to avoid getting to know the girls in my ward. I'm only interested in the boys...they're better looking, more interesting, funnier, etc. But the girls in this ward have really worked their way into my heart and I'm almost sad to be leaving now that I am moving out.

And now I sound like a member of the Relief Society...

So I'll just sign off. But I really did think that today was an amazing example of how the Lord works through other people (Cami reminding me about my lesson) and through our inadequacies and poor preparation in order to create a perfectly acceptable and inspiring lesson for those that needed to hear it. It's kind of cool to see things work out like that, and I'm beginning to think that I don't dislike teaching nearly as much as I thought I did.

Of course, that could just be because the compliments are going to my head.

Dunh Dunh Dunh!

Main Entry: finish

Part of Speech: verb

Definition: bring to a conclusion; get done

Synonyms: accomplish, achieve, bag it, break up, bring to a close, carry through, cease, clinch, close, complete, conclude, crown*, culminate, deal with, determine, discharge, do, effect, end, execute, finalize, fold, fulfill, get out of the way, halt, hang
it up, have done with, make, make short work of, mop up, perfect, put finishing touches on, round off, round up, scratch, scrub,
settle, sew up, shut down, shutter, stop, terminate, top off, ultimate, wind up, wrap, wrap up

Your parents know who to thank.

I'm going to preface this story with the facts:

I went to bed around 3 a.m. this morning. I woke up at 9:15 a.m. I was therefore, "ready" for the day by 9:30 a.m. Which means, I threw on the first outfit that made as much sense as I thought necessary for a Friday, pulled my hair back in a pony tail and tried to conceal the majority of the zits on my face. (It's been a stressful week, and my skin has returned the favor in kind.) Needless to say, I was not looking my best.


So Todd comes downstairs and says we need a treat. Which, I never disagree. Breakfast is always a good thing, and I usually only eat one when there is something here in the office.

So I was standing in line at Einstein Bagel and I happened to be standing behind a man. This man was very tan, except where his sunglasses have been in place all summer, wearing black leather gloves and a cut off t-shirt. He also had longish hair. He was older, probably early 40s and had straight, white teeth that were probably fake. These observations only took place after he started talking to me, otherwise I would have never noticed him.

He turned around and said,"That's a nice ride you have." (I was driving the Ford Escape from work.) "A nice ride for a nice-looking lady."

"Yeah, thanks," I said. I like the Escape. I wish I did drive it in real life.
"Your parents know who to thank," he says. "I just get to appreciate the beauty."

I don't really recommend that as a pick-up line, unless your goal is to completely stump the person you're talking to. I nodded my head and said thank you again, and hoped that he was the next one in line. I didn't know how to respond to that. "Can I have a ride on your motorcycle?" seemed a little too forward.

When the Lights Go Down in the City... the Stats Must Go On

So we were just sitting there, me ranting about how I hated p-values and he sitting there with his half-smirk, half-chagrin, half-I'm-probably-going-to-strangle-her look and the power goes out.

RELIEF.

I just knew that I wouldn't have to think about p-values until tomorrow. I mean, c'mon, there's absolutely no light. The whole complex is out! Not even the moonlight was bright enough to make its way in. No sooner had I decided to start packing up, William plops down his little LED candle stick and insists that I continue working.

I make a comment about the lighting being bad for my eyes...he brings out a larger flashlight with more power. And so the torture continued. It was fairly amusing to work by flashlight, and even more... we're still on track. So I guess that's a good thing too. I guess I'm really just in awe of how undeterred William is with helping me. Because really, he doesn't have to be invested at all, and yet he has refused over this last year and half to let me quit and give up and worse, give in and actually give me the answers. He has been a life saver. And I owe him HUGE.

He's probably smiling here because he can't believe that I got the question wrong. Again. Because 1) I didn't finish reading the question, 2) I read the question but still chose to make some dumb error with either math or lack of sense (and usually it's using poor math skills coupled with the lack of sense) or 3) It's about p-values and I can't figure it out to save my life.

When I finally left his apartment at midnight, William had to walk me to my car, and the cool thing about the entire complex being without power is the fact that the stars are super visible because there isn't any light anywhere. It was a nice way to end the night, looking up at the sky and praying that something a lot more invasive gets in the way of tomorrow's study session.

Just kidding. I really do want to get this done. Promise.

Drought

What's up with the places that discriminate against ordering water? I know that it is free (or supposed to be) and that they want to up your bill as much as possible... but what if I'm not a cheapskate? What if I really just want to drink water?

I'm not a pop addict like many people I know. In fact, I almost always prefer an ice cold water to soda, juice, milk or anything else. And I know I'm not the only one. Of course, there are those that just don't want to pay anywhere from $1.50 - $3.00 for a beverage and I really can't blame them for that.

The purpose of this rant, though, is when I go out and order a meal to go and then ask for a water and every restaurant/fast food joint wants to give you the small Styrofoam cup that holds half a cup of water. Do you remember how I ordered the hot sauce? Yeah, that's right. I'll need a little bit more. And they always give me crap and/or charge me when I ask for a bigger glass. If I were dining in, then fine, I can refill when I want. But since I'm LEAVING the establishment, why punish me?

Costa Vida is the worst. The girls get really snippy when you ask for a larger glass. And then they want to charge you. And I think, if I'm being charged, then I should probably get my money's worth and actually drink a pop...but I don't want pop. So now I've just paid more for a water than I would have had if I had just bought a water bottle from somewhere else.

What's worse is when you've gone to a fast food place, and then not only have they just charged you for your giant water, but then they proceed to take half an hour to fill your order. What happened to the word fast? Yeah... I already hate the fact that I can't tell if you are a man or woman and that you charged me for water when all I wanted was a larger cup, but now you are wasting my lunch break.

Thanks.