Ticklin' the Ivories

Tonight, as a conclusion to one of my New Year's resolutions, I had my first ever piano recital.

I have performed in so many venues in my life, from massive crowded ball parks to intimate family picnics. It's always interesting to me what situations make me nervous and what situations feel like a breeze. Playing the piano in a small college auditorium, hilariously enough, was one of the more nerve-wracking encounters in my performing career!

This is pretty ironic considering that less than a year ago, I sang in front of 35,000 people at Fenway Park. But it's a totally different feeling. By and large, big audiences feel anonymous. You can't actually see whom you are singing to, so it feels almost like you are performing by yourself. But put me in front of a small crowd (that included my boss, by the way) and it's a whole different world. You can see people's faces, hear their voices! They can see your mistakes UP CLOSE! 

Obviously that's a silly thought, because they don't notice your mistakes ever. But it just feels that way, especially when your hands are visibly shaking over the keys! And especially when it's your first stab at really performing an instrument that still feels so new to you! 

Besides the super shaky hands (thanks, Dad, for the genetically inherited occupational tremor!) tonight actually went very well. I was the last act in the recital of all of the vocal and piano students for the semester. My friends Amanda and Meredith came to listen to me play and Jason was there, too! It was so nice to have my friends there to cheer me on. Even though it made me nervous to have them there, it was also really joyful! 

If you are a real piano player and you watch this video, you will laugh because it is so simple. But I am really proud of how far I've come in just 12 weeks of lessons. When I started, I couldn't play a scale or even read a bass clef. I have decided to keep taking piano for a little while even though the school year is over-- it's just too fun, and I'd like to eventually be able to accompany myself when I sing! Maybe next time there won't be so much shaking! 

Enjoy! Peace and Love. 

Blossoms by Night

I have bad luck trying to visit the Cherry Blossoms. It seems like every year, I'm just a little bit off and I always wind up disappointed. One year, I was on vacation during peak weak. Another year, I helped a friend schedule a visit with her whole family, only for them all to bloom and and fall off extremely early before they arrived. Even this year, my grandparents visited last weekend, scheduled to be the "peak," only to find that most of the blooms had not yet arrived. But I was bound and determined that this year, I'd go see them in all their glory! 

Jason and I decided to go Friday after work, but a batch of loud morning thunderstorms that day had taken their toll. The ground was covered with petals like snow, blown off by the wind and the rain, and green leaves dominated most of the trees. As we approached the tidal basin, I also realized our timing was off. At close to 8 pm, it was dusk more than sunset, so already it was hard to see the expanses of pink and white in the distance that make the experience so breath-taking. 

"Ugh," I sighed. "We missed it. And it's dark. This is very underwhelming." 

"Just keep an open mind," Jason replied. "We'll just go for a walk, it will be nice up close." 

So we carried on, and decided to loop the trail and just enjoy an evening stroll since we were there already. But we hadn't gone far when I noticed a bobbling white paper lantern, and a small group gathered around the distinctive shape of a park ranger hat. My grandpa has always taught me to stop and listen to these kinds of things, since volunteers and tour guides will always know more and be able to tell you the inside story, so I tugged on Jason's sleeve to stop and listen, if just for a few minutes. 

Well, before I knew it, the park ranger, Doreen, had passed off her lantern to me so she could hold up photos as she told the incredible history behind the Cherry Blossoms in DC. I was entranced, right along with the rest of the tourists. Doreen was someone with passion and warmth, she loved her job and was such a good storyteller.

Doreen is in the background!

A few minutes quickly became more than an hour as we followed Doreen around the basin path, stopping every so often to learn about the people, history and science that lead to the amazing festival we have today. For example, I didn't know that the trees we see today were actually a second batch sent from Japan-- the first batch arrived to Washington infested with insects and disease and had to be burned. And I'd never heard about the society ladies that chained themselves to the cherry trees in protest over the construction of the Jefferson memorial (Sadly, their noble efforts didn't amount to much-- the memorial stands, as FDR wasn't interested in their environmental "flim-flam.") We also learned about the conflict the park rangers face each year as trees' natural predators, beavers, try to make a home by chewing down these diplomatic gifts! 

I love cheesy things like this tour, and couldn't have been more pleased that we had run into this group. I left the tidal basin skipping and smiling, and Jason teased me with a healthy dose of "I told you so." Running into that tour was a complete surprise for both of us, but proves that you never know what amazing things can come out of a situation if you refuse to write it off as a failure. Just take a walk and see what you find!

You can read the official history here: http://www.nps.gov/cherry/cherry-blossom-history.htm

Peace and Love. 

Wowee... Grandma and Papa visit DC

It's been a long time since I last wrote in this blog, and with Lent over and my return to social media, I decided now was the perfect time to revisit my writing. Especially because this blog's two biggest fans-- my Grandma and my Papa-- were here to visit me in DC this weekend!

I've worked with children of all ages for a very long time, and one of my favorite things about working with kids is how differently they see the world. It's refreshing to look at life through that different lens, to feel their energy and appreciation for the little things like lunchtime or discovering a dandelion puff. But spending the weekend with my grandparents this weekend (as well as with my other Grandma a few weeks ago) has really got me appreciating the view of the world through the eyes of people who have been on this planet for 8 decades.

My grandparents are still very active, and wanted to visit the Air and Space museum, the cherry blossoms, and the World War II memorial, which wasn't there the last time they were in DC. It was a lot of walking and rides on the metro, but they were troopers! We decided to go to Air and Space first.

I have been to Air and Space a half dozen times, and have reached the point in my life where the Smithsonians are old news. But being there with my grandparents made the museum come alive in a whole new way. My grandparents wanted to check out the WWI and WWII exhibits. For them, it was not just a museum, it was a trip into their past. It's incredible to me to think that my grandparents lived through these times. For me, WWII is the fodder of American Girl books and TV miniseries. But for my grandparents, looking at a plane isn't just looking at a plane, it's realizing it's the kind of plane that my grandmother's cousin died in. Seeing the pilot's pamphlets and wartime pinups bring my grandparents back to their childhoods. They remember living on rations, listening to the Pearl Harbor bombing on the radio, the people in their towns who earned the medal of honor. I suppose that one day, I'll feel like that walking through the 9/11 exhibit at the Newseum. I'll be able to say, "I was there...I remember that day."

After a long day of sightseeing, we all went out to dinner to Buca di Beppo, which delighted my grandparents with its decorated walls and Italian music. "Wowee!" my Grandpa said. "Never in my life have I been to a place like this!"

Over dinner, even more amazing stories came to out-- for example, I learned that my Grandpa had a speaking role in a John Wayne movie, and that John Wayne was always bumming my Grandpa's cigarettes. I learned that my Grandma's cousin who died in the war was abandoned by his mother who ran off with a man to Reno, and was raised by my great grandparents. If anyone reading this is related to a certain Effie Brown in Reno, our family still has it out for you!! And of course, my grandparents finally met Jason, and loved him, which made us all very happy.

Overall it was a lovely weekend with my grandparents, and I'm thinking of my Grandpa's advice: "Just look forward, no more looking back!!" He and my grandma living it up in Florida this winter, sightseeing all over Williamburg, VA and Washington, DC, and sharing their memories and enjoying each day was a great reminder to love every day that you're alive. Thanks G and P-- I love you!

Peace and Love,
Tori    

Fabulous Florida, YEP and the power of new sneakers

Oooo, those Sunday night jitters. That icky feeling before you head back to the office, a feeling that's somewhere in the middle of "I know I forgot something important" and "Do I have to?!" Are they ever worse than after a long weekend, when they're actually Monday night jitters? Time to update the blog and take my mind off of whatever is coming up tomorrow! 

It's been a great and productive start to the New Year, and I just got back from a work trip to Florida. It sounds pretty luxurious, but trust me, I spent the majority of it in my classy rental Kia Rio driving down the west coast and back up the east coast. Florida is deceptively big. But I did come back with two positive impressions from my trip. First of all, I'm pretty convinced that if I'm lucky enough to grow old, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure I can move to one of those amazing retirement communities they have down there. It's like college all over again: You arrive to a totally self-contained campus that's loaded with tons to do, plenty to eat, and everyone living in your building is your age! And they DO have classes, but just like in real college... going is optional! Everyone I met on this trip was having the time of their lives at these places and really living life to the fullest. I was really inspired by the joy with which they embraced every day. 

Secondly, I loved seeing some of Florida's nature up close. Florida had beautiful flowers and tropical trees, but the animals were by far my favorite. There were lizards everywhere! And awesome seabirds and pelicans. And, best of all, I saw this guy! A local told me he is a "gopher tortoise" and that they dig holes and burrow, hence the name.  He looked just like a cartoon, and I almost died when he hid in his shell. If I ever go back for vacation, and have some spare time, I plan on doing a tour of the everglades. I read up on them when I was down there, and they really do seem like the most fascinating place. Plus, what's a trip to Florida without seeing a gator or two? No such luck this time!

Well, hello there.

Back in DC, I've taken on a new challenge. Before Christmas, I applied to be on the board of a national organization called Young Education Professionals. It's a totally volunteer-run non-profit that serves the pretty unique role of uniting everyone in the education area-- teachers, policy makers, non-profit workers, and more-- under one umbrella where they can network, train, share ideas, and more without the traditional "ed reformer vs. traditionalist" battles getting so much in the way. It's primarily targeted at people in their 20's and 30's, and I've enjoyed their events and programming for some time now, so it's great to be in a position to give back. My job, as the Vice President of Development and Partnerships, will be to help raise support for the organization with local individuals, businesses, and foundations. I'm really excited for the role and the chance to rock out E-board meetings again (APO shout out!) Check out the organization here: http://www.youngedprofessionals.org/yep-dc.html

Finally, I'm progressing slowly but surely on my goals for the New Year. I am registered for a piano class (yay!) and got some info about retirement plans from HR. I still haven't called any doctor's offices yet, but I haven't forgotten. I checked off all of my "mini resolutions" last weekend, which was great, and now I'm trucking forward with my other big goals I carried over from last year, including my goal to run a half-marathon in March. I'm reaching that point in my training where I can't chicken out anymore and things are starting to hurt. My "easy" runs are now 4 miles, which means I can't do them so easily on a lunch break if I actually intend to shower, and my hard runs have reached 7 miles, which, well, just stops being fun around mile 5. You real marathoners out there are laughing at me, I know, but sometimes I need to get myself little treats to keep myself going. A new little treat arrived for me in the mail this week: New running shoes! They are Mizunos, my favorites, and I swear-- just like when you wear a new shirt or something for the first time and it feels so glamorous, that's how putting on new running shoes feels. It makes your run so much easier! Just look at my purple shiny feet go!

Zoom zoom.

Anyhow-- that's all for now. My birthday is coming up, and my sister Kat is on her way to visit next weekend. Updates on those adventures next time!

Peace and Love. 

The Token New Year Post.

In every tall building pretty much everywhere, architects decided to skip the 13th floor. 13 is supposed to be bad luck, so, why not just pretend it doesn't exist? Unfortunately, Pope Gregory XIII decided to pass on this option when he signed off on the modern calendar. But, since the Mayans were wrong, and we've all got a nice long 13-ish year to look forward to, I guess now is as good a time as any to make some resolutions for the upcoming year, may good or bad luck prevail!

I debated blogging about my resolutions because, like so many other aspects of my life these days, on paper they look rather boring and adult. But since sharing resolutions makes it statistically more likely that you'll keep them, here we go:

1. Get a primary care physician. Although I've had my own health insurance since I graduated college, I somehow dodged this obligation by using walk-in clinics for the occasional Z-pack and relying on my OB-GYN for pretty much anything else. I have been telling myself for a while that this is a dumb system, and this time, I really intend to do something about it, be a big girl, and get a doctor.

2. Meet with a financial adviser. I now have the opportunity to get a match from my work for money that I put away for retirement. So how much should I put in? How much should I save? Can I ever get back that money I have hidden somewhere in the depths of the State of Maryland's retirement fund from when I was teaching? How much is too much to spend on delivery sushi? Time to let someone who is good at math tell me what to do. Maybe I'll even get crazy and buy some stocks! I've always wanted to buy some shares of Krispie Kreme ever since I picked it for an economics project in high school. Is 2013 the year to invest in sweet and delicious sugar and grease? Maybe....

3. Take a piano or guitar class. At one point in my life, I was learning piano. Then I quit because I was 8 years old and hated practicing. At another point in my life, I was learning guitar. Then I quit that too. (My primary reason for learning that instrument was to take revenge on my 8th grade nemesis by starting my own band, and as you can imagine, that didn't work out well for me.) Unfortunately, the only instrument I did take seriously when I was young was the clarinet. And more unfortunately, you can't sing and accompany yourself with the clarinet at the same time. I really, really regret not learning an instrument I can sing with. So that's changing in 2013!

There are lots of other little things too, (GET NEW WATCH BATTERIES FOR THE DEAD WATCH THAT HAS BEEN IN YOUR JEWELERY BOX SINCE 2010) but those are far too many to list here on this blog.

I'll close this entry out with one final resolution. It's a cliche, but I've always liked it. "Be the person your dog thinks you are." Wouldn't that be great? Have I mentioned I love my dogs? They're not even mine anymore. They belong to my parents. It's very sad. All the same, it's amazing to go home for breaks to visit and play with them, even if just for a little while. Going home for Christmas was so much more special because of my pups! Here's a video of them getting a stick on a beach in Rhode Island!!

Happy New Year! Peace and Love.

Hickory Dah

Do you know who Andy Williams is?

If you’re a grown-up reading this blog (and by grown up, I mean, someone older than 40) you probably do.

But if you’re a “millennial” grown-up, like me, you probably don’t. Well, you might not know him by name, but you WILL know his voice, especially if you listen to the Pandora Christmas station. And if you’re anything like me, you had no idea that this guy singing “So whoop-de-doo and hickory dah” was such a big deal.  I certainly didn’t, until my mom visited me and turned on Andy William’s Christmas special on PBS.

This Andy Williams Christmas Special blew my mind.  I'm still struggling trying to figure out anyone or anything to compare him to in our current entertainment scene. Not even Justin Beiber is this cuddly and innocent. Anyways, let me try to explain what I mean: Andy Williams was a pop star. And every year, he did a Christmas Special that was broadcast on national TV. And in this Christmas special, he and a supporting cast sang Christmas carols on a tacky sound stage wearing tacky costumes. Sometimes there was a coordinated, Broadway-esque dance scene --or!-- choreographed ice skating! to go along with the singing. And then, there were times when he would just be sitting on a couch snuggling with his wife and kids, singing Christmas carols.

 

And apparently, the American public gobbled up this corny goodness for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My mom said that you simply DID NOT MISS THE ANDY WILLIAMS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL. It was just what everybody watched. And everybody loved. For more than a decade!

"This was the era when there were only three channels on TV, and they went off at midnight," she remembered. "If something like this was on, you watched it! People couldn't believe they had this kind of entertainment in their houses, for free!"

I confess that I started watching this show sarcastically. I had a "get a load of this, it's so LAME" attitude. But when my mom went to change the channel after about 20 minutes, I heard a voice say "Stop! leave it on..." and it was ME! Something about that show had totally enchanted me, and dare I say it, inspired the warm fuzzies. I found myself so happy to just be sitting there with my mom, bundled in a blanket, watching something so PURE and HAPPY and KIND. There just isn't anything like it anymore, and now I get why old people think our country is going to the dogs and young people are all miscreants. I mean, my favorite TV shows are about zombies, drunk guidos, adulterous advertising executives, and psychotic self-centered brides. What IS wrong with America?

So, in the spirit of Christmas, and an ode to my mother's visit, I give you Andy Williams, everyone. Enjoy, and I won't judge you if you accidentally love it.

Just try not to be obsessed:

 

Peace and Love.

Aventuras, Actualmente.

This blog, and its title, was born in 2008, when I went to Spain to study abroad. Spain was the first time I fully immersed myself in the Spanish language. It was also my first life experience where I felt really, truly uncomfortable and out of my element every single day. Someone once told me that living through another language is like using a prosthetic limb: you can get by, but it's awkward, and you can never quite feel 100% of what is going on.

Despite my "Aventuras" in Spain being one of the most challenging chapters of my life, it was also incredibly special. Learning a second language has been the one of the best decisions of my life. It has opened so many doors for me, and I've never stopped using it. From giving tours in Spanish of Dodger Stadium in LA, to teaching Spanish in Washington, DC and now, using Spanish to communicate with a variety of communities at my current job, I can't emphasize enough how important this "accidental" major has been to my career. But I do have one regret. I have never fully immersed myself in the language since that rocky semester in 2008.

So, when I got an email through some TFA contacts inviting me to apply for a professional development conference in Mexico, I was thrilled. An application process was involved, and I was accepted with a generous grant that would fly me to Mexico for four days to engage in a conference with other young non-profit leaders called "El Arte de Dar: Ladrillo Por Ladrillo" (The Art of Giving, Brick by Brick.) I peer pressured some other TFA friends to apply, and they were also accepted. We were so excited!

But as the week of the conference approached, I started feeling apprehensive. I remembered all those moments in Spain where I felt so lost and confused. I remembered a tearful breakdown my first week in the hotel, and missing classes and even a FINAL EXAM because I never quite understood what was going on. I thought about how hard it was to scrap by then, when I was at the peak of my Spanish learning. That was when I was 20 years old. Now I'm nearly 26. How was I going to make it through this week?!

What I didn't account for was everything else that has changed me as a person in the last six years, and how much I've grown since I was that timid student stepping out of her comfort zone for the first time. I remember our professors encouraging us to make friends with the young local Spaniards, telling us it would be the best way to enjoy our time in the country. Ugh, I wish I was mature enough then to have taken their advice then, because after this trip, I realize what I was missing out on the whole time.

In Mexico, I met young Latinos from all over the world. Participants arrived from Spain, Cuba, Miami, Argentina, Guatemala, Mexico, and many other places. Everyone there was enthusiastic, kind, passionate and so much fun. And to my relief, I was able to dive right in to speaking Spanish without too much pain at all! It was so invigorating to  dust off and actually use the language I worked so hard to learn for four days straight, day and night! One moment that really struck me as special was making friends with participants from Brazil. For them, Spanish was also a second language, and I was taken aback by the fact that we were able to communicate despite not knowing anything at all of each other's native tongue.

Besides the thrill of making so many new friends and learning about their countries, their lives and their non-profits, the conference itself was a really valuable experience that would have been fantastic in any language. We had typical "retreat"-style leadership and trust exercises, and there were also excellent sessions on topics like personal branding, or how religion influences our work in the non-profit sector. Best of all, conference participants got the opportunity to partner with a Mexican non-profit called "Ayudame, soy Tambien Mexicano." (Help me, I'm a Mexican too.) It is a Habitat for Humanity type non-profit in Mexico that works to provide sustainable housing for some of Mexico's most poor.

We spent a full day hauling adobe bricks and building two homes alongside families in rural Mexico (about 3 hours outside of Mexico city). The power of this day is something I'm still processing. This is the first time I have truly witnessed what life is like in the "third world." No water, no electricity. No medical care. No nothing! It felt both powerful and hopeless to work in this community, due to the vastness of the crisis I witnessed.

I returned home fully exhausted, yet fully thrilled with my experience last week. My only regret is that, apparently, speaking Spanish is STILL too mentally taxing for me to handle gracefully, as somewhere between the bus from the hotel and my arrival in DC, I lost my digital camera. Not entirely surprising, but I was mad at myself all the same. So the pictures below are thanks to the beauty of social networking, and the talents of my new friends!

Hasta pronto, todos. Paz y Amor!
A special thanks to the Schusterman Foundation for sponsoring the trip!