What would Judi do?

This is going to be a strange and disjointed post.  I have things to say but haven't yet figured out how I want to do this. At the end of my ITP (Interpreter Training Program), I had to do a practicum that included a bunch of different settings.  I interpreted in church (that was interesting), psych (horrible) and school (weird).  I wasn't much older than a lot of the students so I would get checked for ID by teachers.  I hated (and still do) being in the educational setting but an interpreter has to do what an interpreter has to do.  One of my mentors, N, remained a friend for many years.  Hanging out with her and her husband was fun.  They were hunters, republicans and as conservative as I was liberal.  But we liked each other. After I moved to MD, we stayed in touch occasionally.  Nothing regular but Christmas cards and the occasional letter kept us in each others' lives.  But after my dozen moves in as many years, we fell ou...

It's cold out.  And I'm not happy.  Nope, not happy at all.  I hate being cold. I don't normally wear a coat.  It makes me feel like Ralphie's little brother from A Christmas Story.  Come on, you remember..... I broke down and wore a coat.  I don't normally wear gloves because somewhere around the age of 7 I learned that mitten clips weren't cool to have.  So I lose one of my gloves Every. Single. Time.  Just like umbrellas.  I lose those too.  But today I wore gloves.  And earmuffs.  Seriously. I didn't want to get out of bed but I did.  That's one of the hazards of being an adult, I suppose.  The entire time I was getting ready I was praying that my car would start.  It did (and yes, I thanked the Universe).  I got the girls to school (mostly) on time.  And I got to work early.  If I get to work early I can wear make up as I keep my make up in the car just for those days when I ...

Huh.  Alissa over at Clever Compass and the other bloggers came up with another stumper for me:  what have I do with my life that makes me feel proud.  Funny, one of my girls asked me about that the other day.  Finding an answer to that question is kinda hard. So let me see what I can come up with. Hmmmm.....what am I proud of?  Oh!  I have a few! I started my first business, Discovery Records, at the age of 19 with a $250 investment from my brother. I scared myself silly by flying to Poland to meet a guy I dated for about a month 6 years earlier when I did a short student exchange program in Germany.  We met in Poland (yes, we recognized each other) and went to the Warsaw Ghetto and Auschwitz and Austria (and a bunch of other places) so I could see where my family lived and possibly died. I've interpreted for Paul McCartney (a few times!), at one of President Clinton's Inaugural Balls, for Mrs. Clinton, for the births of 8 babies, THE CURE!!...

Yesterday I walked around Lake Artemesia in College Park.  I used to train there for the Avon Walk for Cancer but stopped after I no longer needed to walk every day and after a car accident made it painful to do so. I had a little time between my job in College Park and the next assignment in Silver Spring so I headed over. I even had sneakers and socks in the car.  I did not, however, have my ipod.  During all my training, I had either Amanda, Andrew, another friend or my music to get me through it.  I can't ever remember walking without something or someone to entertain me - and I rarely walked during the work day when it's quiet out. I thought it would be a boring, quiet walk.  I was wrong. It was noisy. I heard ducks and sea gulls.  I could hear kids playing at a school or playground not far away and it made me laugh because the sounds of the kids and the squeals of the sea gulls were remarkably similar.  I never noticed that before.  Th...

I think something is wrong with me.  Other people have have goals.  Bucket Lists.  Must-do things.  I don't really have that. Well, I sort of do. I've been thinking about this for a few weeks, ever since Alissa over at www.clevercompass.com came up with the idea of doing a post about our bucket lists.  I feel like there's something wrong with me.  I have never had a bucket list. Now, that said, I've had a few things that I've always wanted to do.  I've come up with three I'll make public and one that is a secret.  When I make that one happen, I'll announce it from the rooftops.  Trust me. My bucket list items are pretty simple.  They all involve travel.  I would like to go to three places: Prague, Puerto Rico and Croatia.  In that order.  I'd actually like to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, too. I don't want to jump out of a plane, climb a mountain or find the world's biggest roller coaster and not throw up o...

Happy 2013. This is the time of year when I'm supposed to be reminiscent of 2012 and make resolutions for 2013, right?  Well, I don't want to do that.  But I suppose I will.  Just because. 2012 was a mixed bag sort of year.  It started off rough with the death of my mother in law.  I set and met a goal (which is a rarity for me) with the Avon Walk for Cancer.  I walked my ass off (literally).  Just so you know, if you stop walking insane amounts of miles, the ass comes back.  That was depressing. I took my first vacation without members of my family in 15 years.  That's 15 years, folks!  Really, it's probably longer than that but I refuse to go back further in time to figure it out.  My boyfriend, Andrew, and I went to Geneva and took a quick side trip to Paris.  That was fun and a great adventure for me.  I learned that I can indeed travel without insane amounts of anxiety and that there's a not so hidden part of me...