Delayed Honeymoon

Well, we're back. John and I just returned from a three day honeymoon in Gatlinburg, TN. Sadly, I don't have pictures to upload because I had to use my dad's old film camera (it's actually old enough that it doesn't have zoom, and the flash is an attachable light. Shocker, right?) because my digital camera isn't working as well as I'd like. For the first time in many years, I am going to have to wait for my pictures to be developed!


Anyway, this has been the first vacation I've had that wasn't scheduled, wasn't really planned, and was almost totally stress free. I loved it. I have never been to Gatlinburg, and I was also eager to get into the great Smoky Mountains. While my husband prefers the ocean, I have always been a mountain girl. When I went to the French Alps, I took close to 300 pictures I was so in awe. I couldn't get one picture that captured what I saw and how I felt--the sheer size and the rough cliffs rendered me speechless. Can't say I didn't try.

So, was glad to go to Tennessee. Seeing some of the oldest mountains in the world was an awesome experience. Granted, we were seeing them in winter so most of the trees were bare, but it was still an impressive sight. Even skeletal looking it's hard to deny the beauty, especially as the sun set while we drove through the winding roads. I can't wait to see them again during the fall and summer seasons.

We went straight into Gatlinburg from where we were staying in Pigeon Forge to eat and walk around. I loved it. The German-style town is decked out in Christmas lights right now, so even though we arrived at night and couldn't see that the town was in the shadow of the mountains, the lights were fun to look at. With theme rides and bazaar sideshow attractions, Gatlinburg is definitely the family friendly Las Vegas of the South. John and I walked up and down the strip enjoying the cool weather and pondered what weird attraction we wanted to check out first. We both decided that if I could ask Neil Gaiman one thing, it would be why he didn't use Gatlinburg as an Olympus for his gods--if there ever was one, Gatlinburg should be it. From the Chocolate Monkey store with weapons to the sketchy ghost film theater and all the Ripley's Believe it or Not stores, it's hard to believe Gatlinburg wouldn't have a god or two running around.We ate at a BBQ restaurant (it's the South, how can you skip a good BBQ?) and wandered around some more before going back to the hotel to relax. Before we left for the night, we stumbled upon what I think was both our favorite part of the trip--The Village. From the outside, it looks like a continuation of the cute German style stores, and it is, sort of. Walking through the arched entrance it is like someone has muffled the sounds of the roads only feet away. A small sitting area with a water feature (with fire flickering on top!) greets you. From there, branches of cobblestone walkways lead to more stores. It felt like we were transported into a small Austrian village--the ideal small town where no one locks their doors and fairy tales come to life. It was charming, to say the least. We could scarcely believe that just a few feet away was the bustling neon strip with the sound of rumbling cars and heavy foot traffic. Because it was getting late, most of the stores were closed and the muted night air added to the enchantment. I expected a sprite to appear dancing around the flames on top of the water feature, spy nymphs poking out of the evergreen trees.

The next day, we drove into the mountains a ways and took some pictures. I hope they turn out, I haven't used a film camera in quite some time, let alone one as elaborate as the one I have. We returned to Gatlinburg to try our hand at an elaborate mini-golf set up that scaled a short bit of the mountain. After playing a round through the outdoor course, we then went inside to the glow-in-the-dark black light course. We walked around more, and had dinner at Johnnie Rocket's. 50's theme diners being my weakness, I ordered a dark chocolate malt and enjoyed the ambiance.

We did actually cut our vacation a little short--we both were eager to get home to MoMo. I've never had such horrible separation anxiety from a pet before. I missed seeing a furry face sleeping next to mine, his purrs lulling me back to sleep from a bad dream, his leap onto the bed to wake us in the morning. John and I may not want kids, but MoMo is definitely our baby.

I think what I loved the most about this trip was how much more I felt connected to my husband. Anyone could say that we spend time together on a daily basis to some extent--after I come home from work, when he gets home from school, the weekends when I'm not out filming something. But there is usually some kind of buffer--one of us (or both of us) is on a computer, someone is texting, someone is watching TV, ect. On this trip, there was not one moment where we were not totally focused on each other and the world around us. Our phones never really made an appearance, and I never felt like we weren't really paying attention to each other. As we walked along the Christmas-lit street at night or when we were talking in the car, I caught myself feeling...well...bliss. I felt like I was falling in love with John all over again...and again, and again. I don't think I've ever been more myself, more at home with the man I married. For a few days, I forgot my worries about money, school, and life. For a few days, I got to spend uninterrupted time with my best friend, and not once did I feel less than happy. Sure, I missed our kitty, but we missed him together, lamented his absence together.

All in all, it was a great couple of days.

There you are!

I seem to have found the hope I lost this semester. Part in thanks to my loving husband, part to my favorite high school teacher's pep talk...but mostly, I think I found it hiding on the other side of my Intro to Theory class: my last day was on Thursday. I didn't even know that old feeling of excitement had returned until I woke up today. I lay snuggled against my warm hubby, feeling our cat, MoMo crawl on top of my bedside table (attempting to push my Harry Potter book off the side, by the way) when I caught myself thinking about teaching.

I considered the scenario of standing in front of my own class of college students, wondering what the hell I was going to say. I considered my dislike of the typical 'get to know ya' first days, my loathing of text books, and my absolute new-found hatred for literary theory. If this was a research class I was going to teach, I needed to find a way to make it interesting. I figured I'd start off by asking them to tell me their names, what their favorite literary genre was, and what author they loved most. If that isn't a conversation starter in a room of English majors, I don't know what is. Then, I'd hand out the dreaded syllabus and ask them who knew what a multi-genre research paper is. Who says research has to be all five paragraph form, who says it needs to be boring? The multi-genre research paper is my key to all things relatable, exciting, and creative in an otherwise dull class. Maybe by that time, people will know what it is. In my first creative writing class at Bemidji State University, only one other person knew what a braided essay was. I guess it just hasn't caught on yet. Thanks again, favorite high school English teacher!

In a research based class, I'd make the MGRP the final semester (or midterm) goal. The rest of the time I'd spend giving examples and having them write research through different types of methods. The first paper might be interview based. I'd ask them to take a historic topic and write about it through the context of another event. For example, I'd ask my grandmother to tell me about her school experiences as she lived through WW2 in Holland. Or I'd ask my mom what life was like growing up while Richard Nixon was in office (talking about Watergate), and how it may have effected her outlook on life. For something closer to home, they could interview (for example) a teacher about their daily routine, and how they coped with the events of 9/11 (as it was a school day). I would stress the importance to my students of seeing everything in context. One thing I've learned over the last semester is how important it is to make subjects relevant to students. I hated my literary theory class because it seemed so useless (and at times seemed insane or just stupid). Research writing doesn't have to be a tedious, panic-attack inducing thing. If my theory teacher had been open to a little creativity, this semester would have been a lot different. I wouldn't be yelling in my sleep about my theory paper, for one.

I even tried to think if I had read any books that I could use in the class to help people see the creative side of research. I almost laughed when I realized I already have two such books on my bookshelf.

Anyway, it's good to have my excitement for my future career back again. I was so happy this morning, I got up and made my husband breakfast in bed. I know this next semester is probably going to be full of more research papers, full of five paragraph themed essays (I'm taking an advanced Composition class among others), but I'm feeling more relaxed about it. As my teacher said, I just need to give the professors what they need, and escape with my voice and style in tact. I think I'll be able to do that without a nervous break down now.

For old times sake, I wanted to include my first attempt at at MGRP...but Scribd seems to dislike the file, no matter what I turn it into. Ah well, I'll just have to take another crack at it in the future.