Little White Lies are OK

Today marks DAY 1 of the lovely week long "Great Beginnings" training for newly hired FCPS employees.  What a day it was.  Today's meetings started off with a message from the Superintendent - expected - another message from the founder of the Credit Union the district partners with - not surprising - and a final message from the Superintendent of HR - again, fairly standard procedure.  

Then things started to get interesting.  The Pledge of Allegiance included a full-on Presentation of the Colors by 4 High School ROTC members.  Everything is so official in the DC suburbs.  I almost forgot that I was there as a Teacher and not a member of Congress, or something fancy like that.  After an impressive rendition of the National Anthem, performed by a local H.S. student,  I glanced down at my agenda and happily noticed that a performance by a Fairfax High School Dance Troupe was coming up next!  Perfect!

...six dances later, seriously, SIX dances later, I was officially at a dance recital.  After the 5th dance, the 1200+ Teachers started to exit the auditorium for what we thought was our first break - NOPE - one more dance.  The "troupe," which consisted of 5 girls, walked on stage in a Rainbow Brite inspired ensemble.  Picture this...

...but on an adult.  Now, don't get me wrong, I could sit in an auditorium all day long and watch one performance after another, especially if they involve dance, but there were AP Physics and Calculus teachers sitting in the audience.  Let's be real - 1 dance was enough.

Next came the keynote speaker, who was actually pretty good, but that's boring, so on to lunch - after all, it is my favorite subject.  This is where the White Lie title comes into play.  So, I'm waiting patiently in the lunch line for my "complimentary lunch," and I quickly learn that there is only one choice - a turkey caesar wrap.  :/  Now, beggars shouldn't be choosers, but I really don't enjoy lunch meat, and honestly, it looked seriously questionable.  And so, in a moment of desperation, I instantly became a vegetarian.  I know, I know, so high maintenance, but come on, it's 2011 - at least offer tuna fish!  After learning of my predicament, the very polite lunch lady, patiently walked to the back of the kitchen to grab me a vegetarian wrap.

I am a firm believer that sometimes in life, it's OK to tell a white lie.  Lesson learned.  Tomorrow I bring my lunch.

Oh, and yes, I stood in a real lunch line, lunch lady and all.  The life of a teacher is oh so glamorous.  :)

Oh deer!

Look who was hanging out in the backyard on this beautiful Sunday morning! 

       

This post is dedicated to Jaime's madre - lover of animals and avid deer gazer.  :)

It's official...

WE HAVE A HOME!!

After our minor setback on Wednesday, Thursday brought good news...the current tenant "decided" to leave after all!  So, we stopped by the office to sign the lease this morning and skipped away with excitement!!  :)      

Right Under our Noses

Today marks about 1 1/2 months working at Towers Watson. It also marks the day of a shocking and absolutely hilarious realization about a cafe located in the buildings ground floor. Hopefully it wont take you a month and a half to see what is wrong with this Cafe's logo...the questionable and baffling resemblance seemingly provokes no disavowal or hesitation with the famished workforce that floods through their door daily.  For good measure though it might not be a bad idea to stay away from any options with the words "meat special" in it.  

Apartment Update

So picture this:  Wes and Jaime arrive at Potomac Towers Complex, practically skipping, excited to sign the lease for our first place together (camera in pocket).  They knock excitedly on the landlord's office door, enter and say, "Hi Susan, we're here to take care of the paperwork!"  Susan's reply:  "The jacka$$ tenant who's unit you are supposed to take has decided he would rather stay" (at least that's what we heard her say). 

"Wait, what?"

So, just like that we're back in limbo.  Basically, the current tenant provided notice in writing, so technically the lease terms hold him to the notice; however, the management company would have to pursue legal action to make any real movement if he's not willing to cooperate, which could take months...grrrrr.  Luckily, the company is trying to work with us, so we should hear back today about some alternative options if this guy is going to be a tool.  So far the alt. options include:  renting a handicap unit temporarily until another unit becomes available, renting a handicap unit permanently, taking another smaller unit for the beginning of October, or waiting to see what else pops up for October, once September arrives (they require 30 days notice if planning to vacate).  All good things are worth waiting for, right?

...as we learn more!

Our 9 to 5's

Take a peek at where we spend our weekdays:

Here's a look at the building that Towers Watson occupies!  Isn't it a beauty at night? Wes looks out over the left of the building.   

Close up!

Providence Elementary School.  Isn't it pretty?!  The 3 bottom windows on the right belong to me and my kiddos!  Stay tuned for pics as the inside comes together!

We Have a Home!

We found out this morning that our application was accepted for the Potomac Towers apartment!!  The building is located in Arlington, in a neighborhood called Court House (click on Court House to read a little blurb about the area).  The pictures below are of the model, but ours only differs by minimal square footage here and there.  Enjoy the tour!

Here's a look at the living room from the kitchen.

The opposite view.  We love the open floor plan!

Quaint little dining area.

A look at he bedroom from the doorway.   To the right is the closet - the 'definitely not big enough for the two of us' closet.  Luckily we have a good size bedroom - we'll definitely make the space work with other pieces!  

The bathroom.  We were told the tile could be blue, yellow, or pink.  We've asked the landlord about 3 times for confirmation on the color so that we could prepare ourselves if it's pink.  She's responding to other requests, but still nothing about the bathroom color, which means we're definitely getting pink, right? :/

Fitness Facility

And some more motivation.  Plus there's a pool (which is standard for most buildings in the area), an onsite convenience store with surprisingly convenient hours, and a dry cleaning service.  The building is located directly next to one of Arlington's many bike paths, and a small park!