Rain is a good thing

It's been raining a lot, which I know is good for the flowers, but it doesn't help my mood. I've been sick, and stressed and generally grumpier than normal. This is silly because I have a lot of potentially exciting things going on right now. I'm moving and starting a new job, but with these exciting things come stress. I typically use a regression method of coping where I just ignore anything that could potentially cause anxiety. I'm trying to stop doing that because it usually causes more problems down the road. So I'm dealing with stuff. Here's what I'm stressed about: I just quit my job. That's scary. Many of you know that I've been accepted into the Indianapolis Teaching Fellows, which I am extremely excited about, but even you will be scared after I tell you this next tidbit...There's a test you have to pass (two tests really, but I already passed the first one) before you can start the program June 1. I took this test April 24 which was both the first and last available date for me to take it and be eligible and I don't find out if I passed until next Tuesday. I consider myself a fairly competent test-taker, but this test was hard! I don't know calculus! I debated publicizing this for fear of public humiliation if I failed, but I figure I might as well get it out there. On top of that I have a bunch of work to do before June 1 for this program that I may not even be accepted into, have to worry about moving while finishing out my final two weeks with people who aren't exactly 100% supportive of my decision to leave.

So that was me venting. I'm usually a pretty optimistic person so each time I start to dwell on one of these stressors, I repeat this quote that I read on a "Things I've Learned" poster in my doctor's office: I've learned that most of the things I worry about never happen - age 64. I love that quote because it's so true, and it's helped me quite a bit. So I'm back to my optimistic self and seeing the glass half full. There's nothing I can do abuot that test now so I shouldn't waste time worrying and chances are that I passed it, I'll get everything done that I need to because I always do, and the moving and starting over thing is more exciting than it is scary. It's all a matter of perspective. There's a country song out right now that says it better than me.

It clouds up in the city, the weather man complains
But where I come from, rain is a good thing.

Denny's Ditty

If you listen to WFMS in the morning, you may have heard of Denny's Ditty. It's a segment on the ACM Large Market Personality of the Year-nominated* morning show, Jim Denny & Friends. (Sidenote: Jim Denny is actually a lot better looking in person than you'd think listening to his ditties) So anyway, Denny's ditty is a song that he makes up on the spot, and every day people e-mail suggestions which are then read to Jim Denny live on the air, he has like 2 minutes to write a song and he then plays/sings it for us. Well, I've been thinking about this blog, and it seems like when I sit down to write, I can't think of anything to write about and when I think of something that would be fun to write about, I am no where near my computer and have lost interest by the time I am. This brings me to the point of this entry. I think I could do my own version of Denny's Ditty (No, I will not be singing, but if I did, it would be amazing). My version would be more of an improv writing exercise and it would have a clever name - probably an alliteration a la Denny. Somebody gives me a topic (I envision utilizing twitter or facebook for this), I then take 20 minutes or so and write something clever. I could see myself doing this once a week or every other week. So that's my idea, however it does require reader participation so I need your help. Before you tell me if you're down or not, let me tell you why you should be. 1) You get to participate in what I write - that's like telling Bob Dylan what to sing about. 2) I'll write more so you'll have more to read to pass the time and 3) It'd be fun for me, so do it!

OK, let me know what you think! I can't do this without you!

*http://www.cmt.com/acm-awards/nominees.jhtml