MYB

Hello!

Now that I have been here for 3 months (!!) I feel like I should add detail to my blog.

Maryland Youth Ballet is my favorite job. When I reception there 2 days a week, I answer the phone, sell concessions, check people in, and that is most of it! My boss is Julie Miles and I absolutely adore her. Everyone who works in the office has danced their entire life and we love to laugh, show each other clips on youtube, eat, and did I mention take class?? My schedule is so flexible there and it is not stressful at all. MYB pays me 2x as much as my other jobs!

I started teaching 6 classes last week and I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! MYB has a set curriculum and I teach within that. I teach 2 (with parent) 3 ( little dancer) and 4 (creative movement) year olds and 2 classes of each. This month, the theme for my class is Earth, in honor of Earth day. I teach them concepts of high and low using trees, animals, environment, etc. Any and all suggestions of how to teach recycling or conserving water, please let me know!

I think part of the reason I love MYB so much is because people love MYB. We have 70 year old grandmas who come in every single day, our staff tends to work overtime without getting paid, we have kids that come back every year even though they already know all the songs, etc. Everyone loves to dance and loves to be there!

One of the great parts of MYB is the Music in Motion project. Jennifer Cox started this for her granddaughter, Mary, who has cerebral palsy. I am one of Mary's helpers and even though she has done the same class for 7 years- she comes every week. They said during the snow people were complaining about coming in for work- then they saw the wheelchairs come in!

This is a video of Mary when she was a super for the Joffrey!

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=6447417

Rumor has it, one of our teachers is leaving and someone (ahem) is going to be offered her classes if she really does leave!!

I LOVE AND MISS CA!!!

My mom is visiting me this week! Details about her visit next week!

How are you???

-Chrissie

winter to summer

So winter is gone and summer is here. What happened to Spring? I am asking myself the SAME question. The weather jumped from thunderstorms to 85 degrees ( man, i miss that cafe) in one week. WHAT????????????????????? If someone knows where my perfect 73 degree weather is- please let me know! O, wait, it's in CA huh?

I am happy it is sunny though! I love the sun and I get to buy new clothes!

Things are moving quite along here. I start teaching on Saturday at MYB and I am SOO excited. NDEO is going well and I am taking on more responsibility. However, they do want me to cut down on my hours due to budget. So I will be working 20 hours instead of 25 a week. At Copper Canyon I am training for "to-go" which means I can make more tips! The next two weeks are packed with work and I do not have a day off until May 17 when I go to Philly again.

Living in White Oak is extremely comfortable. It really is just like Irvine and I enjoy living in such a nice place. I wish it was closer to the metro though!

I took a trip to Georgetown last weekend and that town is adorable! The streets are lined with shops, restaurants, and bars while people roam all about! The waterfront has a Vegas sort of feel to it while the main street feels like Disneyland. Some of the houses are absolutely stunning and I hear Georgetown Cupcake is the best cupcake in DC.

I am continuously making new friends in random places and I enjoy trying new places to eat! If you come and visit, I will take you to some of the cool places I have found!

I love and miss CA

-Chrissie

shout out 6

Mcdonalds Iced Coffee- $1.90

Spring Dress from Urban Outfitters- $29.99

new make up because my summer tan from last year is long gone- $20

winter being over- PRICELESS!!

THANK GOD FOR BETTER WEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!

from Philly to Thunderstorms

Hey everybody,

It was SUNNY for the past 4 days and now there are thunderstorms. Sad......

This past weekend I went to Philadelphia to visit Olivia! We got cheesesteaks, ate at Lorenzo's, walked around South Street, ate at China town, shopped, and saw the Liberty Bell! It was a short trip and there was some drama getting back bc my bus was over an hour late. But it was only a dollar bus ride- so I got what I paid for. UPenn is a great campus and it made me miss UCI. I was only in Philly for about 24 hours but I feel like I got a good jist of the city.

Why was I there for so little? On Saturday I watched a wheelchair ballroom class. It was really sweet to watch the two couples waltz around the room. One person was in a chair and one was standing. I hope someday someone will take a ballroom with me if I am in a wheelchair.

The move went well, I have yet to unpack everything. The girls, Rosa and Sarah, have everything already so I didn't need to bring much. The apartment is similar to a Villa Sienna apartment in Irvine. Getting there is a bit of a pain but I think it is just an adjustment.

This next week is filled with work, dance, and meeting up with friends for meals. Hopefully I won't get sick with all the rain.

Is there anything you would like to know about DC? Just message me!

I love and miss you all.

and I miss the great state of CA too

-Chrissie

shout out 5

a Philadelphia cheesesteak- $7

a slice of pizza at Lorenzo's-$ 2.75

a bus ticket from Philly to DC- $1

Having friends to show you around a new city-Priceless

Thanks to everyone that has hosted me so far!

-Chrissie

NYC and after

Hey everybody! Sorry it has been so long since my last post.

So last weekend was one of the best weekends ever. No joke. I saw Rock of Ages, went to a museum, walked through central park, tried different bakeries for red velvet cupcakes, and so much more! I went to a dance class with a woman in a wheelchair, Kitty Lunn, who is one of the most inspiring dancers I have ever met. She takes class nearly everyday in her chair! I had the best company and enjoyed hanging out with old and new friends.

When I got back from NYC I was on this unnatural high. I left my favorite city in the world craving to go back. I really want to go to NYU for grad school and I thought it would be so great to live there and have a good weekend- every weekend. I could apply and be at NYU by next spring.

But then reality set in this week.

On Tuesday I had a complete meltdown. I figured it was bound to happen sooner or later. I wasn't enjoying my time at Copper Canyon, I was shredding paper at my internship all day, and I was so unhappy with my life. I truly felt like I wasn't doing anything worthwhile in my life. I should be out in Haiti helping people or in the Peace corps, not teaching rich kids ballet. I was feeling awful, I even left work for an hour just to walk around.

Thank God for my sister and Josh, who put a lot of things in perspective for me. I am so young, I have time to do everything I want in my life. If I don't go to grad school by 23, then so what? I don't have to live in DC and work at a restaurant until then either. I can be flexible and I am more than just a dancer, or a host, or a receptionist. I am a child of God.

So I started looking at other jobs. Other intern jobs at various non profits. But I don't really qualify for any of them. Then my boss calls me into her office.

I am now the new administrative assistant for the National Dance Education Org. She thinks my work (my paper shredding skills) are valuable to the organization. So now I work less and get paid! Funny how things turn out?

Now I work 3 days at the NDEO, 2 days at MYB, teach 2 days at MYB, and work whenever I can at Copper Canyon. I don't officially start teaching until April though.

In case you didn't know, I am in DC indefinitely........

I love and miss CA.

-Chrissie

shout out 4

6 piece bed set-350 dollars

my new lamp-20 dollars

bus ticket to NY-23 dollars

A boyfriend who is incredibly supportive, can calm me down during a breakdown, and is 3000 miles away- priceless

Thanks Josh for being an amazing person and bf. I am so lucky to have you in my life!