CNY 2012

I've never marched in a parade before. I used to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade while growing up and one year I was lucky enough to go with my parents to New York and see the floats up close.

Yesterday, I experienced San Francisco in a way that I never had before. I got to march down Market Street, up Kearny, into Chinatown, with my students. They were the dragons and I, as one of the adults, was the flames. I had friends watching from Macy's department store windows and high hillsides, shouting "We love you Meg" with bullhorns. I got to dress up in costume, entranced by the way that the city was glistening in red and gold around me. The year of the dragon, 2012.

Tribute while lonely

I've been feeling lonelier than usual lately- it must be all of the puppy training and nine-year-old life that I immerse myself in each day. So, it came as a surprise when I got an email from my friend Pryor who I feel is a kindred spirit (also feeling lonely right now) that she wanted to do a blog post on me. I'm thankful for who she is as a person, our friendship, and for her new blog.

Here goes:

Tribute #1

If you have read The Hunger Games then you may be a little bit confused. I’m using tribute in the traditional sense of the word. For example, I’d like to paytribute to so-and-so. On second thought, maybe I am referencing The Hunger Games a little since I’m using tribute as a noun instead of a verb. No matter. I’d like to pay tribute to some tributes.

Here in blog world, and internet world in general, its very tempting for “me, me, me” to become the focus. (I’m realizing that is okay and good to talk about myself. I’m learning to trust that people care and want to know what is going on in my world. After all, I like reading my friends’ updates/blog posts, etc.) Okay, enough of that, I want to pay tribute to my girlfriends. I want to pay tribute to those that I love, those that have impacted me for good, and those that have blogs. (I may expand to non-bloggers, too. We’ll see.)

{I thought about doing this before I moved to a place where I had no friends. Now that I’m in this place not only do I hope these posts will a. encourage those in which I pay tribute to, but also b. make my heart glad by remembering those that I love and c. prevent loneliness.}

Tribute #1 (for real now)

Meg Garner.

Friendship Bio: I met Meg in San Francisco in 2007. At the time, she worked in a call center for a high-end fashion company (not really her thing). Now, she’s in her first year as a licensed/certified (I’m not sure the proper way to refer to an official teacher) elementary school teacher (very much her thing). She has a new puppy, a new job, and is still living in SF.

About Meg: Meg is a giver, I’m not sure that she would call herself one, but its true. She gave me my first pair of knitting needles and my first skein of yarn. She gave me an easel when I was on a painting kick. As an artist, her giving and creative nature compliment each other very nicely.

Meg taught me to knit. This has proved very beneficial to me since I have now made this hobby slightly profitable. Also, I have enjoyed passing time in the car, making something out of nothing, giving gifts with an extra special meaning, and teaching others to knit.

Giving. Artistic. Creative. Meg is also SPASTIC in the very best sense of the word. She has so much energy bottled up inside of her – its infectious. When she dances, I want to dance. When she’s going to a new show/restaurant/street fair, I want to tag along. When she is excited about something, I want to get in on that thing that she’s excited about, no matter what it is.

Now, let’s hear from Meg herself.

What is your greatest strength?

Hmm… while talking to my friend Adam at a party last night and explaining to him the joys and troubles of raising a puppy, he told me that I always have a propensity to bite off more than I can chew. I think that this is a strength and weakness: I’m up for anything all of the time and open to new people and experiences, but at the same time I often will feel overwhelmed after I’ve taken it all on. A lot of teachers I know just teach and that’s enough- they don’t have a social life or middle school girls that they mentor or host for people at an apartment without a sink. But, I don’t think that I would want to live life any other way.

Describe your perfect day.

My perfect day is one that I’m constantly tweaking. But, I think that it would start with a walk at Land’s End with my puppy Levi. Something art-related would definitely be involved- be it an independent movie, listening to live music, a trip to a museum, SCRAP, or a thrift store to come up with creative ideas for a new project. Other people would definitely be involved- good friends of course and there would be good food and drink too. Some kind of social gathering at night involving dancing would wrap it up nicely.

What’s your favorite book?

I’ve been reading more now since I’m sharing my love and enthusiasm for reading with my students each day during the curriculum we use. I don’t know that I have a favorite anything most of the time, but I just read The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides and loved it. I’m a big Shauna Niequist fan too.

Describe how we met.

Well, this is one that I remember pretty clearly. You met my friend Rachael first at Young Life and I was with her when we met up with you at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass four and a half years ago! You were wearing overalls and were with Wimberly, who had a pink tutu on and was hula-hooping. I just knew that we would be friends.

What hobby/ activity are you interested in learning and why?

I would really like to learn to play the guitar because I think that it would be something great to do with my students- just busting out in song when they are being unruly.

What is the reason you started a blog?

Well, it first started with a book idea about my adventures living in France. I had some free time when I first moved to San Francisco, thinking that I could use it productively and record my European experiences while they were fresh in my mind. The book idea never came to fruition, but it was my first blog post.

I started a blog because for some reason I believe that I have experiences that no one else has and that I want to share with other people. Who else can say that they overloaded themselves with groceries at Trader Joe’s, parked up a hill far away, and then ended up just shoving the shopping cart in the bushes? Or that they made their own muppet in New York and dressed up as her for Halloween, more for herself than her students? Peace, love, and happiness was one of those phrases that I was obsessed with in middle school- I had necklaces, t-shirts, you name it. Now, my fourth graders love the same thing and I laugh about it every time I see them doodling it on their papers.

What is the reason you have continued your blog?

Again, similar to the reason above. I know that my mom reads it. And that people like Pryor (who I don’t get to share my life with on a daily basis but who I still want to be up on my adventures) read it. So I keep going.

Here’s to Meg!