I’ve been in need of a theme. I also need a theme song, but that will just have to wait.

I’ve decided next year, the year of 2014, shall be drizzled, draped, and doused in “Consistency”

I love routine. I thrive in a world of procedure, practice, and pattern. Good or bad, if I can get into a groove – I am unstoppable.  I stay going until I stop — then once stopped… well I stay that way too.

I’m going to add a little bit of a good thing here, and a pinch of better behavior there and get it going and flowing until there is no room in my routine and no time in my day for things I don’t want to do and actions I don’t want to take.

So follow along – tell me your favorite routines, your must-dos, your preferred groove to get into.

I’ve been following a whole slew of blogs. Occasionally, I’ll branch out and leave a comment. That comment leads people back to this blog, where they see… nothing. 

Because I don’t update and don’t blog and haven’t said anything for a while. 

So I should write something. 

…yep, I’ll get right on that. 

In other news, I’ve really been slacking with washing my hair (yep, this is news). The end result has been more wearing my hair up, wearing hats, getting inventive with cocoa powder, or perfecting the roll-outta-bed look. Unexpectedly, I’ve been scoring compliments like no ones biz on my hair. Which makes me wonder why I try on anything appearance-related. I may experiment with this some more in other areas of my life. Only problem is I already barely put any effort forth as is it. 

So to recap – I haven’t been sayin much and my hair is dirty. peace.

Man, I have NOT been posting. 

But I have. You see, my super-awesome job has me writing blogs over on their site now. It’s all start-up, tech-world stuff – full of code-y goodness and gifs of apps. But if you just find yourself hankering for a Sage-quip, go check it out. 

http://www.appfirst.com/blog/author/sage-mclaughlin/

I’ve been re-reading these old blog posts and realized I probably needed to give an update on where I (we) are now… the years that have passed.

After working for the VP of Research, I quit that job and started grad school for education. I realized I loved summer vacations more than teaching children and dropped out after a semester (a perfect semester and a wonderful private school in the city – no big deal *dust yo’ shoulders off*)

From there I found an AMAZING job at a software startup company where I’ve been for the last year plus. I love my job. 

M graduated law school and together we bought our first home – a condo just outside the city. We are very much living the big city, urban professional life. We’re still in Minneapolis, we’re still traveling, and we’re still alive. 

So there you have it-

In the midst of a move, M looks at the clock and says, “Man, driving around with you all day is a drag.”

I stare at him, waiting. Surely he doesn’t mean that (I’m a hoot).

M (realizing he’s a idgit), “Umm… you know, a drag. …. Really cool, like all things really cool. Drag races, Dragoons, Dragons.”

….

Well played, M – a decent sized vocab will get you out of everything.

Excitement makes M sick.

As a child if M got excited for trick or treating, a birthday party, or just a day with friends – he would get terrible migraines and be down for the count in a dark room for a day or two until he was able to throw up and bounce back (usually after the exciting event was over). Sad life for a little kid.

As an adult, he hasn’t grown out of it. This leads me to constantly being in a state of “Yey!!! This is awesome!” quickly followed by “hows your head?” and “you gunna yack yet?”.  A lack of headache is a dead giveaway when M says he’s pumped for something and really just wants it over with. Oh, you can go outdoors and walk completely upright? I guess you’re not really as excited about visiting my old high school friends as you said.

Excitement makes Sage a nut.

I, however, lived for the build up. The days before the event: the planning, the anticipation, the possibility. I remember crying at birthday parties as a child because now that the plan was in action, there was nothing left to look forward to.

As an adult, I’ve come to embrace the whole process: plan, project, and post. With one caveat. Where before the anticipation was my meat sauce, now I think it’s my quick path to insanity. It’s not stress, you see – I can roll with the best of them. My problem is when I get excited… I think I’m going to die.

In the days, sometimes weeks, before romantic vacations, grand life events, and any other thing that might have me bubbling up with annoyingly excited buzz, I am certain that I’ll be wiped off the road in some awful wreck, will be victim of some grizzly murder, or simply fall over dead and cease to exist. I get so excited for something, and then worry I’ll die before I get to experience it.

So excuse us while M tosses his cookies in a darken bathroom and I’m crouched in the fetal position whispering “don’t die”. We really couldn’t be more excited.

I went through all my pinterest boards and un-followed anything categorized as ‘food’ and ‘photography’. 

And just like that a site that lets you “Share and organize all the beautiful things you find on the web” becomes Porn. 

I’ve mentioned him before: The amazingly talented Peter Podgursky.

Well he’s done it again. Peter created a great short movie that is up for some national recognition – and I’m damned and determined to get the word out for people to watch and vote for this great movie: The Night Caller.

For those that are worried about ratings, etc – no worries, it’s a little spooky, but totally family friendly – and in under 7 minutes you can watch it during your hulu commercial breaks.

Please take a moment and cast your vote for The Night Caller to screen on PBS WNET Channel 13, the most watched public television station in the country at http://www.thirteen.org/sites/reel13/category/vote/#

Background knowledge: I’m in Grad School getting my Masters in Education so I can teach 5-12th grade Communication & Language Arts

Today in class I had to present two chapters to a group of fellow classmate. I had to present two while every other student had to only present one, due to a combination of the amount of chapters being covered versus people and because the professor hates me.

I had colorful handouts, great examples, technology based aids, and enthusiasm coming out my nose. I knew my stuff and I was on mark. Because of all the chapters we were covering today, we were told to keep the lesson under 15 minutes. 10 minutes or so and power through. Then as I give my first chapter, the teacher says when I stop around 10 minutes that we were suppose to take 15 minutes and I finished too early. BOO.  Second chapter finished too early too – around 10 minutes. I was going for UNDER 15 mins because she had emphasized the need to “power through”. Boooooooo.

Most of the feedback was good. Good aids, actions, blah blah blah, with the exception of a problem I have had forever: I talk too fast.

Every feedback form said this. Spoke too quickly, talked fast, micromachine man, sounded like an auctioneer of info, etc etc.

So then I’m down. Back to where I’ve been often this semester: I might be lousy at this, I may hate it, and I may be barking up the wrong tree with this teacher thing. I probably am. Continue? Care? Quit?

Then Rose, a classmate from Kenya, comes up to me and asks to speak with me. She talks about how organized I am and driven and enthusiastic and how much she loves my voice inflections and ability to communicate. She said she loves when I speak up in class and during my presentation today she wished she could speak like me.  She asks where I am currently teaching (I am not) and what my area of study is.

My spirits rise a little and I’m feeling a little more focused on all the things I am capable of, even if it isn’t speaking at a pace that makes people think I’m not out to Paper Moon them.

Then Rose asks me if I’ll come over some weekend and talk to her daughter. Her daughter is in first grade and, according to Rose, doesn’t have any really confident outgoing organized people in life. She doesn’t have someone who speaks like I do (Rose has a thick African dilect) or who “bubbles” (I get called on my bubbliness often… when I’m not at home… carbonating.)

I don’t know if she’ll call or if I will in fact go and meet her kid. It might be neat. But even if it doesn’t happen, she totally made me feel good about me. With all my damn quirks and quips, apparently someone still thinks I’m good enough to influence their kid.

So I kind of dislike give aways. Not because I don’t win  – I usually do, then end up with something I didn’t really want, but was just too competitive to let anyone else have – but because it takes a whole blog post away from some one/thing I’m usually interested in and gives way to marketing, capitalism, quiznos (insert Easy A quote here).

BUT, my goodest….goodliest….goodgodiest friend Jade is doing just that: A give away for something adorably mom/child/family-cute: not at all Sage-related.  Go ahead and take a peek and then enter to win or whatever whatever. Marketing, capitalism, blah blah.

And here is where I’ll insert my shameful plug for something I think is great.

Google.

Google Chrome, Google Plus, Google Desktop, Gmail, Picasa (google pictures), Google reader, Google docs, Google calendar, and iGoogle, and much much more (just Google it).

And I don’t even have to give it away, because it’s always free anyway.