An unusually uplifting Monday

Today has been such an uplifting day for a Monday that I had to blog about it immediately because I'm overjoyed. Before I get to that-I've been meaning to blog about NYE 2011 and a couple of other events but I keep getting side tracked! When I write a blog, or write in general, I go into a writers zone and don't come out for hours. I can't be distracted or interrupted so now that I got some peace and quiet to actually do so; I'm going to blog about what my Monday of January 10th 2011 has been like up until this hour. Later today or tomorrow I'll get back to what I originally have been meaning to blog about.


So I've been trying to get a day job for the longest time and the hunt has been unsuccessful. I haven't been too down about unemployment though because I have a lot of other things going in my life besides the whole unemployed single mother aspect. The other day my son and I went to the local beauty supply store (not the coolest place for a little boy to accompany his mother with) because I needed products for my hair exstensions. I LOVE the beauty supply store and loved that they had like 4 different signs stating they were hiring. I asked for a job app and couldn't wait to get home to fill it out.


After I dropped my son off at his school today, I came home and got myself *ViRGGED OUT* (aka looking beautiful and awesome) to go drop off the job app. Travolta, my Dad, was ranting about how he doesn't understand why I needed to get "ready" to drop off a job app or to leave the house in general. He continued to rant saying, "You're dressed, what else could you possibly have to do before you go out?! Why does it take you SO LONG to get ready every damn time you go out?! I-I don't know, I-don't-know-why. Jesus Christ. You take forever!!!" Travolta goes on this rant about me all the time and does so while he's in his room downstairs and I'm upstairs in Virg world. What Travolta, and other's, may not understand is, Virgo's take careful measures in their appearance and are highly detail-oriented, so if one thing is out of place with my look you best believe I will take forever to perfect it.


ANYWAY, after I was done with my Virgo tendencies and felt 100% successful with my appearance, I looked over my job app and realized I left out the personal reference section. For some strange reason I immediately thought to write down my old auto-tech teacher's name as a reference. Mr. Nelson aka Nelson. I haven't thought about Nelson or my old auto class in a long time, so the fact that I thought to write down his info was strange but happened for a reason because it led me to my amazingly happy Monday experience.
Back track to Mama Virgo's high school days: I went to 2 schools during my last 2 years of high school, my main high school and then a school called BOCES that teaches different skilled trades. I originally signed up to take cosmetology classes like most girls do when given the option to go to BOCES, but quickly realized after 2 days of being in that class that my heart wasn't in it and I transfered to auto-tech class (excellent decision). The auto-tech class was 99% male students at the time, the only other girl in the class was my long time friend Michelle, who kept telling me that I should switch to the class from the get-go (she's also a Virgo- had to add that). The appeal of being around cars, being able to take them apart and put them back together all while in the company of cute boys and one of my closest female friends was too good. I grew up around cars, my Dad's a car junkie and our house is basically like an auto shop, I love the smell of auto shops and the way guys who have been working on cars all day smell, its really comforting (TMI?).


I looked up the phone number for BOCES on Google and wrote Nelson down as a reference without hesitation. My relationship with my auto teachers (Nelson was my main teacher but my class also had Ward & S, yes we called one of our teachers S) was beyond good. After the first 10 minutes of meeting Nelson I knew I was going to have a blast in his class. I may not come off as a person who enjoyed high school or had respect for teachers, but I genuinely loved my high school experience and my teachers. I was nicer to my teachers than I was to the majority of adults in my life. I can honestly say I love the majority of teachers I had throughout my education and spent a  lot of time talking to them after class. Nelson is definitely one of my all-time FAVORITES!!
So I went to the beauty supply store to drop off the app and the timing was perfect because soon as I walked in, one of the district managers had just come to the front of the store and saw me holding the app. He called me to come to the back of the store to talk. What he had to say was positive news and hopefully all goes well with that.


Once I got back to my car I couldn't stop thinking about Nelson and how much I missed BOCES. The school wasn't far from where I was and I had time to kill before my son got home, so on a whim I drove to BOCES. The vibe was great soon as I got onto the campus. Like I used to do back in the day, I drove directly up to the auto-tech garage and ignored the rules of where one is "supposed" to park their car. I opened the door to the garage and Nelson greeted me before I could even blink an eye as to how different his garage/classroom looked. He greeted me as if I had never left and was still one of his *favorite* students (lol). I literally could not stop smiling and was so happy to talk to Nelson and see his giant bald head again (we used to joke that he looks like Mr. Clean). We caught up on a bunch of stuff and he asked me how Michelle was, I really wish she was there with me today. Reminiscing about the way our class was, the class of 2005, was awesome. Nothing but good times. I told Nelson (and Ward) that I'm now a mom and showed them my son's school photo. Showing them his photo and waiting to see their reaction gave me a feeling close to that of when I told my own father that I was naming my son after his father (my Grandpa) and waiting to then see his reaction. Nelson and Ward had big smiles on their face when they saw my son's photo and their response was filled with positivity. I feel as if I let them down as a student in the past because I didn't take their lessons seriously so explaining to them my life now and telling them about my son made me feel a little vulnerable of being judged but once I told them it was clear they passed no judgement on me and were just so excited to see me. 


Michelle and I were always looked forward to leave our school and get on the bus to go to our *other* school where we could be in a way more interesting environment and hang out with our friends from auto. Everyone in auto had to wear a mechanics jumpsuit over their clothes, and since we were the only girls in a class of 35 guys, Nelson was over-protective of us and was like a second father. He always wanted us to go in the bathroom and put our jumpsuits on instead of getting ready by the lockers where all the boys did. Sometimes we'd go to the bathroom...and other times we'd just put our jumpsuits on by the lockers with the boys ;) Nelson would get so annoyed which was always entertaining. There were so many things we did just to get a reaction out of Nelson and our other auto teachers but Nelson's reactions were by far the best. Whenever we were supposed to be working on cars with our assigned group I would end up either flirting with assigned group or moseying on over to Nelson's desk to bother him. I really loved seeing the look on his face whenever I'd approach his desk, it was a look of utter annoyance yet happy to see one of his girls wanting to talk to him. I never had anything in particular to talk about I just wanted to bullshit and say whatever came to mind that would shock or disgust Nelson--basically this is what I wanted to do with my own Dad but couldn't because I always had to censor myself around my Dad, and didn't feel like I needed to do that with Nelson. I could just be myself.


No matter what kind of day I was having at school,  going to auto class improved my mood, even if it didn't seem like it to my teachers or classmates. There were a lot of times when I'd be completely withdrawn, would not participate in class, barely say 2 words to anyone, and just sit at my desk with my head phones on drawing or writing in my notebook (other times I'd just straight up fall asleep on my desk). Sometimes Nelson or Ward would get mad at me and tell me I had no choice but to work in the garage, and other times they just let me be. Its like they knew when I was in that mood to just leave me alone and I'd come around, and I always did. Our class would rotate between having Nelson as a teacher and having Ward as a teacher. S didn't come into the picture until halfway through the first year if my memory serves correct. He was Nelson's assistant but then later got his own auto classroom so I never had him as a designated teacher but he was really cool. One time he took a bunch of us for a ride around the parking lot in a convertible car we had all finally finished re-assembling. It was a sunny day and everyone was in a good mood. The auto teachers had an attitude about them that I've never experienced with traditional teachers. Maybe they were more friendly and lenient with Michelle and I because we were the only girls. All the boys in our class had very distinct personalities and backgrounds. They were a real group of characters and so much cooler than the boys from my main high school. I still keep in touch with a few of them. The way the auto teachers treated the boys was so amusing to Michelle and I. We would literally just wait to see their reactions to some of the crazy things the boys would do and say.


Back from my trip down memory lane and to my conversation with Nelson present day, it seriously changed my mood and I haven't felt this happy or smiled this much in a very long time. Nelson and Ward both told me they would help find me a job, although I told them that's not what I came to see them for at all, they insisted on keeping me informed of job openings in the auto-field.  I've been putting off visiting my auto teachers for years now. Nelson was just as astonished as I was that it had been 6 years since he last saw me and couldn't believe how much time had gone by since 2005. 6 years is a long time to put off seeing people you admire and care for so much. Admire is the best word to describe my feelings towards Nelson, Ward and S. They created an unforgettable classroom experience that I'll always be grateful for even though I  wasn't a model student. Grades didn't really matter to me in high school, I was your typical rebellious I-don't-give-a-fuck teenager. I did however always look forward to seeing my favorite teachers, and it always brightened my mood to talk to them. The events leading up to making the decision to visit Nelson and the BOCES gang today happened for a reason. It just goes to show Monday's don't always have to suck and making positive decisions that may seem small at the time will go a long way and bring happiness.


Sadly I have no pictures to accompany this entry with :( the digital camera craze was not in effect when I was in high school. The disposable camera trend was still big and I did take pictures with a disposable camera one day during auto class but unfortunately the pictures from that day came out so blurry and dark that only I can tell who is who in the pictures. I'm still really bummed about that but whatever memories last a lifetime as corny as it sounds. I'll be going back to visit Nelson, Ward and S more often now. I have no excuse the school is literally 4 minutes away from my house. I feel bad I didn't have time to see S, I had to rush back home to get my son off the school bus. The physical appearance in the garages changed a lot but my teachers didn't and the mutual happiness of seeing one another after all this time is enough to last me, the usually melancholy Mama Virgo, a good month or two (hopefully). I've also been wanting to visit my other  high school teachers for a few months now, last time I went was 2008 when my younger sister was graduating, so enough with the putting-off-seeing people habit! I'm going to visit all my old teachers that I care about and continue to learn from them. There really is no time like the present...ok I'm done with the positive sayings for now...ending my happy Monday blog entry with a smile :)