EPM Photo of the Day

Photo of the Day: The X-Lounge

EPM has an on-beach nighttime lounge where you can bask in the beauty of the beach as the sun sets and falls into the ocean.  It is uber-modern with white couches and tables, bar service for as long as people are around, and ambient lighting once the sun has departed. 

So...you think you want to change your name.

Well, I agreed with the husband long ago that I would indeed change my name.  My previous college-aged women-libber self would not have gone along so easily (I dragged her kicking and screaming) but it was pretty important to my husband, and the more I thought about it, it would make life a little easier, especially when/if children join our family.  So, I thought, cool, I'm going to change my name.  A few months after the wedding I stopped by the Social Security office, ready to change my name.  Either I was completely dazed or they messed up - but I came out with the name (first) Mindy (middle) Joy (last) Dahl Chai.  I then ventured to the dreaded DMV, where I again received an identification card with (first) Mindy (middle) Joy (last) Dahl Chai written on it.  I didn't really recognize any issues, that is until my husband opened the letter containing my license from the mail and exclaimed 'Dahl Chai? I thought your middle name was going to be Joy Dahl!'.  Wow.  I honestly - truly - had not even recognized this until he said that.  I felt like a complete idiot.  Am I that mentally busy (is my cognitive load really that high) that I didn't see this? 


Then, topping it off, we visited Sports Authority to get me an annual fishing license.  Using my driver's license, the dude behind the counter only entered my 'first' last name - Dahl.  The husband gave me that look 'see, I told you people would get confused' - when all along, I agreed with him and never wanted 2 last names.  Wow, what a ride.

Today, I re-visited the SSN office, and the DMV, all in about 40 minutes.  Thank goodness for small towns on a Thursday mid-morning.  And the biggest issue?  They made me re-take my license picture, which had finally been a good one.  Meh.

A Photo a Day

I am becoming increasingly excited for our Mexico 2010 trip (94 days to go!), so I decided to pull down a few photos of Excellence Playa Mujeres (EPM) resort and make a collage for my computer's desktop background (dork, I know).  Then I thought - I should share these fun photos with the world!  Maybe this will even convince a few more of you to come along to EPM. 

This pic was taken inside the resort; they have 'pools' that form a kind of river around and through the property, with bridges that go over the river.  Apparently you can grab a pool floatie and glide around the resort at a leisurely pace. 

Rest your wings my butterfly

I love listening to Josh Groban while I grade student responses and papers and exams.  There is a significant link between music and various events in my life.  For instance, in graduate school, while I wrote my comprehensive examination responses, I listened to to Enigma over and over and over again.  Josh Groban creeped into the end of the comps process, and then continued while I was writing my dissertation.  I know every word, every transition, every key change in those songs.  And most of them were learned subconsciously, because technically I was multi-tasking the entire way through.  Hopefully I'm still pretty good at multitasking and am grading student work fairly as I continue to listen.  ;)  Only 1 week to go this semester, and then I get a 4-week break before summer session begins.  I'll be teaching a class at LCCC and UW again - both online - this summer session, for only 8 weeks (versus the usual 16-week semester).  Then, I get another 4-week break in August before the Fall semester starts.  The more I do this teaching thing, the more efficient and effective (hopefully!) I become.  It's pretty exciting stuff.