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September (1/2) Dump featuring Colds and Festivals

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So, before we discuss anything that happened in the second half of September, let's look forward to October and November. First of all, welcome to spooky season. Second of all, welcome to election season. Early voting for the midterms starts October 14 in Shelby County. Here is a full list of locations and hours:  https://www.electionsshelbytn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/EV-Locations-11.3.26-Election-with-hours-8.5X11-9.17.26.pdf.  Please make a plan to vote. I would say I don't care who you vote for as long as you vote, but I do care. There are certain people that I do not want running my city, my state, or my country. Furthermore, for everyone over the age of eighteen, voting is your civic duty. If you don't vote, you can't complain. Anyway, back to September. I got back from Los Angeles. Got sick the next weekend, as one does. I still feel sick to be honest. I took one day off of school, but otherwise I've been completely booked. Work, other work, classes. It ...
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September (1/2) 2026 Dump featuring LA and BTS (Part 2)

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I have a lot of thoughts on Los Angeles. Like A LOT. First, the city is huge area-wise. In fact, I'm not even sure it's a city. I think it's more of a conglomeration of different cities masquerading as one. My guide for LA in a Day dropped the fact that, in terms of square miles, LA is basically New York and Chicago put together. And that's why it takes forever to get places. People warned me about the traffic and yes, the traffic is bad. But the traffic seems to be a result of the sheer spread out nature of the city and people trying to get from work to home to everywhere else. Like, a barista at a coffee shop in Beverly Hills can't afford to live in Beverly Hills, so they commute. That's distance plus traffic equals nonsense. My commutes were okay in terms of traffic (except for Thursday morning trying to make it to my tour, ughh, but I still made it); everything is just super spread out.  Second, let's talk prices. Gas was expensive. The places you expect...
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August 2026 Dump featuring BTS (Part 1). And School.

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Y'all, I'm tired. August was long and there was a lot going on, good and bad and in the middle. Let's start with the bad. Being a woman is hard and you sometimes have unexpected health issues. IYKYK. Now, the in the middle. School started, both for teaching and my online classes at the University of Memphis. Let's start with teaching. I'm at a new school, and I was hired to be an auxiliary teacher that does small groups, push-ins, etc. And for one glorious day of in-service, I was an auxiliary teacher. And then we still needed an 8th grade ELA teacher and here we are. It's fine. Behavior is a major focus (thankfully) and my classes are way smaller than I've had in the past. But just in general, I am feeling less and less invested and hopeful about the state of public education. So this is just a general reminder to hold your children (if you have them) accountable for their actions and hold your elected officials accountable. Get out and vote when it's t...
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June (1/2) and July 2026 Dump featuring Hilary Duff and the City of Memphis

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So, summer is over. Sad times. But man, it's been a darn good two months. We've already covered the majesty of Malaysia, Singapore, and Bali. For the rest of the summer, I spent most of my time at the Memphis Zoo working as a camp counselor. If you didn't know, the Memphis Zoo is consistently ranked as one of the top five zoos in the nation, and it is a joy to work there. Kids are kids, so they aren't always well-behaved, even at something fun like summer camp at the zoo, but the animals are fantastic. My favorite behind-the-scenes animals, that only come out at certain times like camps, are the birds. Red is a macaw and Baroness is a red-tailed hawk. Both are 10/10. For the 4th of July, Mom and I went to Phoenix, AZ. Mostly because I wanted to see Hilary Duff and that's the show that worked in my schedule, but also because of the Grand Canyon. We hit up two museums in Phoenix (the Musical Instrument Museum and the Heard Museum). Both were fantastic. The Grand Canyo...
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May (1/3) and June (1/2) 2026 Dump Featuring Singapore, Malaysia, and Bali

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Y'all, I'm going to be honest, the Salt Late City to Seoul flight nearly got me. My butt hurt so bad and I got no sleep. But I made it, I got a brutal massage at the Seoul airport (1 out of 10.5 massages for the whole trip), and I touched down in Singapore right on schedule. That extra day in Singapore was crucial. I wanted to explore the airport, and I did, but I also took a four hour nap and ordered room service for dinner.  The next day (May 24, four days after the last day of school), I flew to Malaysia and I experienced a two and a half week miracle. My back didn't hurt. My shoulder didn't hurt. I felt rested even on early days. Headaches were rare, and I think driven by caffeine withdrawal. Was I hot? Absolutely. Was I sweaty? 100%. But it's Southeast Asia, you just have to embrace the sweat and take 2 showers a day. No biggie. Where did this miraculous pain-free existence come from? Every other day massages? Those helped, as did the all inclusive spa and no w...
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