My “So What?” Saturday
So what if my favorite café was out of my favorite bagel on Thursday (and I’d been salivating all day for it)? Friday’s barista made me a decaf coffee with steamed soymilk smiley on top.
So what if the powers that be at Temple University have decided, for whatever reason, that they no longer like me? Temple was only ever my fourth choice anyway.
So what if South Philadelphia is still covered in a blanket of snow, and that this snow has turned gray and icy, thereby rendering the sidewalks both ugly and impassable? My parents went away for the weekend and left me their car.
And finally, last but not least, so what if I’ve reached that conclusion that I’ll be more likely to find my “soul mate” at the bus stop than on eHarmony? The hopeless romantic in me never put much stock in online dating in the first place.
There are several factors responsible for my new found joie de vivre (including one which I’m afraid to mention, lest I jinx it) but I found my mood so improved by the time Friday night rolled around that I decided to go out.
Aside from my trip to Miami a few weeks ago, I can’t remember the last time I went out on a Friday night. (Actually I can: it was my last date with #17—which means it was last year.) My teaching schedule has turned me into a bit of an old lady as weekend adventures are concerned. I work from 8:15-11:15am and then again from 6:00-8:00pm. Even though I have an entire day in between, my Friday night classes are my most challenging of the week; despite the fact that I’m generally soft-spoken my Friday night girls enjoy nothing more than making me yell at them.
I’ve never worked so hard to connect with a group of students, and I’ve been teaching teenagers since I was still a teenager myself. I’ve tried bribery (cookies, chips and chocolate covered pretzels), movie nights (educational of course, but still “fun”), field trips, performances, a music suggestion box (they refer to my Duke Ellington CD as “elevator music”) and a few weeks ago, I even drew up learning contracts and a “student questionnaire” in which I asked, point blank: Why are you here?
Needless to say, I’m exhausted by the time I get home on Friday nights. I generally hit the bed by the wild and crazy hour of 10:00pm and spend the weekend doing sensible things like going to the gym or revising my manuscript.
But enough is enough. And so, I contacted my one single girlfriend in the entire city of Philadelphia and convinced her to join me at a nightclub in Northern Liberties. I had to take a nap between teaching gigs to ensure that I’d manage to stay awake past ten o’clock, which is rather lame in and of itself but it’s a start.
Fieldwork in Stilettos 
2 Responses to “My “So What?” Saturday”
May is just around the corner, toxic environment is what is causing this, it is not you, it is from the top down…hence the turnover at this studio.
I dont do well with little sleep and too many drinks. Seems to get me down for an entire week…. so good luck!!!
(Catching up on my bloging now… might be a little late?)
xx