debbie
August 29, 2005
New Student Orientation at NCCC...
A shorter entry for today.
I have been running around this past week; packing my bags and tote containers for school. It’s making the experience all the more real for me. I am starting to get excited about moving away. Before I was nervous, but now it’s becoming more about excitement.
Besides school stuff - I have been enjoying the last vestiges of summer. Last Thursday was Chris and my first-year anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend. We spent the day together, he had to go to DMV to get registered for CT license and plates. I, not wanted to spend the morning standing in lines, told him to drop me off at my old school, Northwestern Connecticut Community College [NCCC]. I knew they would be having new student orientation around the same time - so I figured I could help out. It’s what I had been doing for the past 3 years, I could get new students around the school with my eyes closed. It was nice to hang out with the people that I used to spend time with - it felt like old times. Naturally I got some pictures:
Brian, Debbie, Triona
Past senate presidents [Brian and myself], and the current president [Triona].
Group Photo of the Student Senate
School started today for the folks at NCCC. It was really weird to not be heading off to school. I already made plans though, I am stopping in tomorrow to say one last good-bye to my friends on the Student Senate and at NCCC. I wouldn’t want to miss the first Senate meeting of the year. But as everyone that I talk to about missing NCCC says, it’s good that I am moving on. It just hurts more than I imagined it would.
~Debbie
Posted by debbie13 at 03:48 PM
August 21, 2005
Closing a chapter...
This past Friday I closed a huge chapter in my life. It was my last day of work at Guido’s, the grocery store I worked at for the past three years. It wasn’t a “See you next summer” sort of goodbye. It was “See you next time I come shopping in here” goodbye. I planned to quit working there, specifically to help further my academic career. I plan on interning next summer, so I wouldn’t be able to come back home, to this specific job. It was a sad prospect, but deep down inside, I knew that it was time to move on. I would be starting a new chapter in my life with Simmons, so I needed to start anew in all areas of my life.
Now, two days later, I realize that these people I have worked with for the past 3 years, are truly part of my extended family. I have my mother figures, my father figures, sisters, brothers, and here I met my boyfriend. I know that when I go to another job I will find the same thing. People will become a part of my family, no matter how I might try to avoid it. It was the dynamics and interactions and the lessons we taught one another at Guido’s - that I will carry forever. I know that sounds corny, but lets face it, it’s true. You draw from your past experiences. I know that the experiences that I had at Guido’s will help me deal with the new relationships I will have at Simmons.
One customer put it best. If you work in retail for any period of time, you can work anywhere.
So, without further ado, here are the pictures of my extended Guido’s family:
Bev was my one of my supervisors. Even though she’s no longer my boss - so this isn’t sucking up - she was cool to work with.
Two of my fellow co-workers, Devon and Tess.
Do they look like they are working hard, or hardly working?
This is me and Amie. Amie works in the Natural Foods section of the store.
Randy is one of the baggers. We have a running joke that whenever a customer gets frustrating we’ll say “Piece of Cake!” He’ll then burst out into giggles which lightens the mood.
Nick is the other bagger. He’s like a big brother, constantly watching out for me and the other cashiers. He is one of the Guido’s staples, in that, it wouldn’t be the same without him.
Zach is another “brother” figure at Guido’s. He and I would while away precious worktime picking on each other. To put it in Zach’s words, “Work? Huh. Who needs THAT?”
Nancy is a lot like my mom; sweet, quiet, always looking for a laugh, and a wicked sense of humor. That’s probably why I bonded with her so well. Whenever Chris and I were having a bad day, I could go to her and complain about how much he doesn’t understand me. I know I will probably miss her the most from Guido’s.
Renie is actually the owners mother. She is a fun little Italian lady. I always respected her, not just because she’s the owner’s mother - I want to be like her when I got older. A fiesty Italian woman.
Here’s a cute picture of me with my boyfriend, Chris. It was also the last day we worked together, so we were both sad that we could no longer peek around the corner and see each other.
Posted by debbie13 at 10:53 PM
August 15, 2005
Living History
Imagine spending the weekend with a clothed vise clamped around your waist. Imagine wearing layers of clothing that are meant simply to keep your body covered and your virtue intact. Also imagine it being extremely hot out, with no A/C, no modern conveniences, and chasing a 2-year-old around. I spent the weekend wearing a chemise, corset, petticoat, a long-sleeved work dress on, and chased my friend’s daughter around. I am not complaining, no. I actually appreciate the time I spent this past weekend. It has helped me realize how lucky I am to live in the 21st century.
You’ll never take for granted the power of shorts when you can’t wear them on the hottest day of the year.
As a Civil War re-enactor, it my job to portray the time period as accurately as possible. Thus I have to wear the full regalia of a woman my age who lived in the time period. It’s a good teaching tool, though I am starting to believe more for myself than the people who come to watch. I’m not deceiving myself. What would you rather do? Watch a woman sewing/knitting/collecting sanitary commission items or watch the surgeons tent as they “hack” off limbs? Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best comparison. What if it was a full-fledged battle that entails calvary, infantry and the pyrotechnics of the artillery? I thought so. Hence, I make no delusions that I am not there for other people’s education. I have helped educate people, especially women, as to what the women wore. Women seem to be enthralled with that. I think it’s because we can have a feeling of superiority and freedom. “Look, I don’t have to be constrained by a corset!” Ladies, there are other forms of restraint, and it isn’t in the form of a whale-boned corset.
I am receiving an education that I can’t get from school. No matter if it’s middle-school up to graduate school. To understand what these women went through, you have to LIVE it. I recommend that school’s require students to do at least five re-enactments. The first two are learning about what is going on, the last three are to help you absorb everything. I would also recommend the troop that I am a part of. Yes, I am partial to the people, but I also know that they are committed to recreating the time period. They will gladly answer any questions you have regarding the period, no matter how dumb or little you might think it is. They are teachers. But they also know how to have fun and make events fun. History is fun, you just have to look in the right places.
Enough with my educational endorsements. I wasn’t paid to make them.
Unfortunately I was unable to bring my camera with me, there were no digital camera’s in the Civil War. I will, however, bring it next weekend to the event in Concord MA. You will then be able to sit and laugh at me all dressed up, and see my boyfriend dressed up as a cute private.
I can’t wait for that. ~Deb
Posted by debbie13 at 08:01 PM
August 06, 2005
Summertime and the living's easy...
Summertime has always been a time of promise for me. I always promise myself that I won’t waste a single moment of my summer. I will seize the day and make the most of it. I always say this when I am chained to my desk, trying to finish my first final in it’s last five minutes. When under the wire of exams, you seem to make a lot of promises to yourself. One being you will never ever put yourself through the pressure of waiting until the last minute to study again. But then you go and do it again for next year’s finals. Funny ain’t it?
I digress.
While my fingers are throbbing from gripping my no. 2 pencil a little too hard, I say to myself, “I will enjoy this summer…I will go on hikes, see the countryside, go to local concerts, explore and relive the summers of my childhood. Most importantly, I will not allow my job to get in the way of all these plans.” But, you guessed it, it is always the latter that wins out. I spend most of the beautiful New England summer days in the air-conditioned market asking people if they want “paper or plastic” to pack their groceries.
This was going to be a different summer for me.
I went into this summer with a different attitude. My thinking was this: it would probably be my last extended period at home. I would be transferring as a Junior to Simmons this fall, and figured that I would do my internship the next summer. A part of me is hoping that whatever it is, it will allow me to stay in Boston, or travel someplace else. Trust me, I would love to stay home for the summer, but the prospect of going someplace new and exciting appeals to me as well. This would also be my first time living away from home.
So, this summer has been one of reflection.
My thoughts have been mixed. I have been wondering if I would ever be able to pull this off. I come from a community college background, one where I would live at home and commute to school. There was a certain comfort in the thought that no matter how bad the school day got, no matter how many failing grades I got [just kidding] I always had my own home, my own room and my own teddy bear to return to. Now, rather than fall into the comforting arms of my mother or my boyfriend when I have a rough day - I have a roommate. Actually three total. But I highly doubt my roommate would appreciate that. I am sure that her reaction would be one of “Um Deb? I REALLY need to finish this report on molecular biology.”
Nah. My roommate is great, I have been lucky enough to have an e-mail relationship with her before we pack all our stuff into a tiny room this fall. I can tell she has a great sense of humor. She is going to need it if she wants to survive this upcoming semester with me. It’s the only way to survive around me. Especially since this is going to be my first semester away from home. New and different situations tend to scare me, so my coping mechanism is to lash out - with humor.
However, I must admit - this summer has been a time of bittersweet memories. I know that it sounds corny, but it is the truth. I treasure every moment that I spend with my family - and realize that the day is coming soon where I will no longer see them in the morning. I will no longer have a chance to tell them in person that I love them, and how much they mean to me. This is not the end, of course, but it will be the beginning of a prolonged absence. And that, is the beginning of a new chapter in my life.
~Deb
Posted by debbie13 at 08:40 PM