Well, I'm writing today.... at 10:30 in the morning - which means that I'm not working today. I woke up at 5am with good intentions to get up, get ready and then go to work. But I had a monstrous headache that made me feel sick to my stomach. I haven't had that kind of headache in a really long time.
I tried to wake up my daughter, but she refused to wake up. Her eyes were closed, but the corners of her mouth were turned up just a teeny tiny bit so I knew she was giggling on the inside. She was awake. After several minutes of trying, I was reminded that I felt sick. I decided to just call in sick and went back to bed. I figure my huge headache had to do with only sleeping 4 hours each night on average, working 8 hours, going home to deal with the kids, do homework and some lesson planning. Lately, I just haven't been able to sleep....
So this morning, I crashed. I woke up again to get my daughter ready for school. Again - she didn't want to wake up. I was still feeling sick so I thought, forget it, she'll stay home and suffer another lesson. She hadn't missed a day of school yet so I decided it was ok to miss today.
At around 9:00 or 9:30, she wakes me up and says "I'm ready to go to school now." Haha, yeah right. I told her no, she was staying home today. She got upset and started crying - she WANTED to go to school. A little bit too late for that, huh? She just wanted to sleep in a liiiiiiiitle bit. Sorry honey, doesn't work that way.
So, I kept her home and had a talk with her. School and work does not work on OUR schedule. We can't just wake up whenever we want and decide "Ok, it's time to go." Today, I'm teaching her another lesson. She's staying in her room. She doesn't get the TV. She's going to work in an educational lesson book for several hours - and she's going to get all the worksheets right. Tonight, she's going to bed at 7.
Maybe now she'll think twice about sleeping in again.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Things happen for a reason
I grew up hearing the same thing from different people inside the church. Things happen for a reason. Sometimes we know immediately what the reason is, and sometimes we wait months, years, or even decades. There have been times in my life where I would make a mistake or something would happen to me, both good and bad. We've all made mistakes and we've all had good and bad things happen to us. Later, I turned around and helped a few people that are going through the same experiences....
Really, when I say I "helped" a few people, it's more of giving advice on what NOT to do - based on my own personal experiences. Also, it's usually just listening and lending a sympathetic ear because boy, I've been there. I know exactly how it feels and I know EXACTLY how important it is to have someone willing to sit, listen to you, and comfort you while you're crying.
No, I'm not depressed. I'm doing okay actually. Life has been keeping me busy lately... really, school has been keeping me busy. I have the pickiest professor on earth who has expectations that are WAY too high. It's amazing I haven't failed any of her classes yet. I took on a volunteer job and am preparing for it. That certainly has been keeping my brain busy with lessons, quizzes, assignments and activities. I'm getting a teeny tiny glimpse into what it will actually be like to be a teacher. Yes, it's a lot of work and physically/mentally draining at times but I'm enjoying it so far.
Anyway - back to the point....the past couple weeks, I've been feeling a major deja vu. I've been talking with some friends here and there and they're all going through something. What's really strange is - I went through what they're going through now - or made the same mistakes they did. And with some of my friends, we're experiencing the same emotions and feelings about particular things in life. While it hasn't been a fun ride, I do appreciate having a little knowledge (or should I say experience?) when it comes to these situations. I can say that I helped a few of my friends feel better about their situation, held their hands through some rocky periods and listened to them when they were depressed.
I can't say I give good advice or bad. That's up to individual opinions. Of course, my friends don't always have to listen to me. I do try to share opinions rather than telling them what I think they should do. Everyone's lives are different - even in the same circumstances. While one decision might be right for someone, the same decision for someone else in the same position might be wrong.
So.... things happen for a reason. I don't have a reason for everything that's happened in my life yet - but I have a reason for many of them. Right now - for many of my experiences, my reason is so that I can help others. And in that, I feel better about having gone through a lot of stuff.
Here's something we've all heard before: Pay it forward. Do something nice for somebody. They'll really appreciate it, especially if they're going through a hard time.
Really, when I say I "helped" a few people, it's more of giving advice on what NOT to do - based on my own personal experiences. Also, it's usually just listening and lending a sympathetic ear because boy, I've been there. I know exactly how it feels and I know EXACTLY how important it is to have someone willing to sit, listen to you, and comfort you while you're crying.
No, I'm not depressed. I'm doing okay actually. Life has been keeping me busy lately... really, school has been keeping me busy. I have the pickiest professor on earth who has expectations that are WAY too high. It's amazing I haven't failed any of her classes yet. I took on a volunteer job and am preparing for it. That certainly has been keeping my brain busy with lessons, quizzes, assignments and activities. I'm getting a teeny tiny glimpse into what it will actually be like to be a teacher. Yes, it's a lot of work and physically/mentally draining at times but I'm enjoying it so far.
Anyway - back to the point....the past couple weeks, I've been feeling a major deja vu. I've been talking with some friends here and there and they're all going through something. What's really strange is - I went through what they're going through now - or made the same mistakes they did. And with some of my friends, we're experiencing the same emotions and feelings about particular things in life. While it hasn't been a fun ride, I do appreciate having a little knowledge (or should I say experience?) when it comes to these situations. I can say that I helped a few of my friends feel better about their situation, held their hands through some rocky periods and listened to them when they were depressed.
I can't say I give good advice or bad. That's up to individual opinions. Of course, my friends don't always have to listen to me. I do try to share opinions rather than telling them what I think they should do. Everyone's lives are different - even in the same circumstances. While one decision might be right for someone, the same decision for someone else in the same position might be wrong.
So.... things happen for a reason. I don't have a reason for everything that's happened in my life yet - but I have a reason for many of them. Right now - for many of my experiences, my reason is so that I can help others. And in that, I feel better about having gone through a lot of stuff.
Here's something we've all heard before: Pay it forward. Do something nice for somebody. They'll really appreciate it, especially if they're going through a hard time.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Recovering still....
It's sad, seeing Galveston and its neighboring towns in total ruin. It's been 4 days since Ike hit us. There's a lot of mess in a lot of places, still. Power was restored at my parents' house just 22 hours after it went out. I consider that very lucky. The power came back on at my apartment the next day (on Sunday), but I didn't have the internet until this morning (Tuesday). Even so, I consider myself lucky.
There are lots of people that I know that are still without power right now. I feel for them. I don't consider myself a survivor of Ike - more like a spectator. My home wasn't destroyed, and I only lost power for two days. I didn't have to "tough it out" like the millions that had to evacuate and come back to nothing. If I had to, I could live without power for a while. Just gather around a lot of reading material, friends, games, food, and water and I'd be set.
Even though I think I could handle going without power for a few days, I certainly didn't look like it on Saturday night. A friend came over to my parents' to hang out and on the spur of the moment, my sister, friend and I took off to College Station for dinner. Yes, we traveled an hour and 1/2 one way just to get some dinner. The power was out and the night was still young - so why not? We ate at one of the best mexican places that a friend introduced me to - Rosa's Cafe. You haven't lived until you've had their fresh tortillas. There aren't any locations in Houston - which sucks - but College Station isn't too far away. My mouth is already watering and looking forward to the next time I'll eat there - in just a few weeks.
It's still a mess around here. Grocery stores are still closed. If they're open, they're only selling canned items. I imagine they took a bit of a loss with all the dairy, meat and frozen foods. They probably had to toss them all out.
It's sad to see Galveston on the news. My sister heard on the radio that 1500 historical buildings were destroyed. Although I wasn't around in 1900, it seems like this was as dangerous as the one back then. Everything in Ike's direct path over on the coast is gone. The only difference now is that the seawall was constructed and that people were evacuated. At last count, only 21 people died in this storm in the whole area. I'm sure the number will climb, but I don't think it'll go up too much.
I guess I'd have to say that this an interesting way to end an interesting summer...
There are lots of people that I know that are still without power right now. I feel for them. I don't consider myself a survivor of Ike - more like a spectator. My home wasn't destroyed, and I only lost power for two days. I didn't have to "tough it out" like the millions that had to evacuate and come back to nothing. If I had to, I could live without power for a while. Just gather around a lot of reading material, friends, games, food, and water and I'd be set.
Even though I think I could handle going without power for a few days, I certainly didn't look like it on Saturday night. A friend came over to my parents' to hang out and on the spur of the moment, my sister, friend and I took off to College Station for dinner. Yes, we traveled an hour and 1/2 one way just to get some dinner. The power was out and the night was still young - so why not? We ate at one of the best mexican places that a friend introduced me to - Rosa's Cafe. You haven't lived until you've had their fresh tortillas. There aren't any locations in Houston - which sucks - but College Station isn't too far away. My mouth is already watering and looking forward to the next time I'll eat there - in just a few weeks.
It's still a mess around here. Grocery stores are still closed. If they're open, they're only selling canned items. I imagine they took a bit of a loss with all the dairy, meat and frozen foods. They probably had to toss them all out.
It's sad to see Galveston on the news. My sister heard on the radio that 1500 historical buildings were destroyed. Although I wasn't around in 1900, it seems like this was as dangerous as the one back then. Everything in Ike's direct path over on the coast is gone. The only difference now is that the seawall was constructed and that people were evacuated. At last count, only 21 people died in this storm in the whole area. I'm sure the number will climb, but I don't think it'll go up too much.
I guess I'd have to say that this an interesting way to end an interesting summer...
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The aftermath...
I slept like a baby. After watching the news for a while, I went to
sleep at 1am. And I didn't wake up until 11. I guess I could say I
missed the storm.
sleep at 1am. And I didn't wake up until 11. I guess I could say I
missed the storm.
There's no power at my parents' house, which sucks. But I have my trusty
Sidekick so I can keep in touch with people, check the news on the
Internet and of course, write my blog. Later on today, I'm going to
check my apartment out.
There isn't much damage around here. Just a couple of big branches that
broke from trees. The neighbor lost his fence. There's a dog roaming
the streets. I wonder if he had shelter overnight. If he didn't,
obviously he's ok.
The storm was overrated, just as I thought. Sure, Houston might be a
mess and there's no power (2 to 3 million without power), the storm
itself wasn't too destructive. My current challenge is to figure out
how to pass my time until the power comes back on.
It's time to go back to our roots. To live by candlelight and actually
engage in conversation with people to pass the time. It would be a good
time to get a bunch of friends together, play party games and chat....
The kids here are not having any problems with boredom. They're taking
turns putting a bicycle air pump in their belly buttons and pumping air
into it. Whatever floats your boat.
For breakfast, I had a couple of mini-cans of fruit and a few Kudos
bars. For lunch, I suppose I'll have a peanut butter sandwich. Maybe
some apples with the peanut butter.
Not much news here, just that we're all ok. I've been in touch with
more people this morning than I have all week, checking on each other to
make sure we're all ok.
Ike, thanks for visiting, but don't come back.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Making it through a storm
Say hello to Ike.
I'd like to say that this is my first major storm - ever. At least, one that I will remember. Back in 1983, Houston faced Hurricane Alicia. She hit Galveston and Houston as a Category 3 storm; with winds up to 96 mph. The gusts were recorded at 127 mph. I was just a year old then, so I don't remember anything. I've heard it was pretty crazy.
Then there was Rita in 2005. Also a Category 3 but fairly small, in my opinion. We lost power for 3 days but the storm itself wasn't that bad. I considered it more of a mean tropical storm. There was some damage but nothing to the extremes.
Now we're facing yet another major hurricane. Ike is about to make landfall in 3 hours. Ike is rearing his nasty head and is barreling head on for Galveston and Houston. I guess he heard Houston was just awesome so he decided to check it out. He's just a Category 2 storm, but may make it to Category 3 (but not expected). BUT winds are already close to 110 mph or so. The radius of the whole storm expands more than 250 miles at last report. So this is a pretty huge storm....
I've gone back and forth on the storm all day yesterday and today. I kept a close watch on the storm on the Internet and on TV. I shopped for the basic necessities and I taped up my windows. I packed what was important to me and brought them with me to my parents to "hunker down." But really, I think it's all overrated. People are getting all paranoid over a little storm. But then I tell myself, I don't really know how bad it is out there. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
I've never been one to worry myself to death. I take precautions (usually) and then I just wait. Whatever will happen, will happen. No point in worrying yourself to death. If you're the type of person to worry, maybe it's best for you to just evacuate instead of obsessing over whether the storm will take you down with it. Whining or stressing out to other people is just going to stress them out so - it's not really recommended.
Since Ike is causing such a stir (pun intended), I figured I'd record what I was doing and the conditions of the weather throughout the day. Mostly for my own benefit - so I can remember this day, but I figured it'd be interesting for those of you who wasn't in Houston....
September 11, 2008
First off - It's the 7-year anniversary of 9/11. I thought it was interesting that I was preparing for the storm on this particular day...
I went to work as usual but was released at 11am. I decided to run to Sam's Club (no way I was going to Wal-Mart or another grocery store) and got enough water and canned food to feed a couple of people for a few days, probably a week.
I ran a bunch of errands that I really needed to do but kept putting off. I ended up back home and intended to work my part-time job but got too involved in watching the news. I watched two movies. It was nice to have my mind taken off the storm; however, the second movie kind of spooked me. The movie itself was good and not particularly scary - it's just the ending. It was a typical sci-fi "space mission" movie where a crew went up into space to save mankind. They had to re-energize the sun because it was dying. Anyway, the point is, as I watched these people just standing there, just waiting to die, knowing what was about to happen - I couldn't help but think about Ike. We're all sitting ducks here, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Of course, I could have evacuated but then (and now), I didn't think it would be serious.
September 12, 2008
9AM:
It was a beautiful morning. Bright and sunny. By just looking at the weather, you would have had absolutely no idea that a massive storm was coming our way. I took my dog outside to pee. My son came with me in nothing but a t-shirt and a diaper. My son and the dog was roaming the area behind my apartment, running around on the grass with lots of clouds and sunlight behind them. It was a perfect Kodak moment. Too bad I didn't have my camera. I planned to stay home. I wanted to stay home. But eventually, I ended up going to my parents with my kids and dog.
1pm:
I was out driving around. I took time to notice what was happening around me. As I was driving by Bear Creek park, I saw a lone jogger. Some roads were absolutely bare, while others were busy. Gas stations were full with cars waiting their turn for gas. Other stations had signs saying they were out of gas. The stores were deserted, even Wal-Mart. Shocking. Wal-Mart never closes! The sun disappeared somewhat. It became a little overcast - lots of clouds in the sky. There was an Asian woman trying to board up her business with 2x4s. Talk about waiting until the last minute.
1:30pm:
I was watching the news, looking for an update when I saw a pier partially collapse in Galveston. Others were already starting to fall apart. It wouldn't be long before these piers are completely gone. This is about 14 hours before the storm was due to hit.
There are still quite a bit of people in Galveston, a full day after the officials ordered mandatory evacuation. Stupid people. There was a woman on the news with her two kids saying she didn't want to leave her house, mostly because she had too many animals. Now she wants to leave but she's trapped. The roadways between the island and the mainland are flooded. I wonder where they are now....
In the background, there was somebody in a big bear suit skipping along the beach. He looked a lot like Winnie the Pooh. There were others snapping pictures of the pier and the waves.
On the walls of houses or boarded up windows, there are jokes. "Go away Ike, Tina isn't here" is my favorite.
3pm:
I decided to head back home. It was still a fairly calm day. I wasn't about to waste it just sitting around doing nothing at my parents house. There were plenty of other people on the road, some were even walking. I saw a few people still trying to board up their windows.
8pm:
After doing what I wanted at my apartment, I started to head back to my parents. Only because my parents were obsessing over how the storm was getting stronger. At that time, I thought it was still pretty mild. Mostly calm with a few gusts of wind. I saw people STILL trying to board up their windows (different people, different buildings). Wow.
10pm:
I sat outside in the backyard with my dog. Eating what may be my last hot meal for the next few days. It is still quite calm outside. A couple bursts of wind every now and then but still pretty quiet considering what I'm seeing on the news. Galveston is flooded, winds are bad and lots of rain. And Ike is still 4 hours away at this point.
11:30pm
I'm sitting here writing this blog. No problems with electricity so far. Keeping my phone fully charged until the power goes out. Then I'll have access to the Internet, email, text and im. I can't imagine ever living without a cellphone now. It would make the next few days bearable.
The storm isn't expected to fully pass us until after 2pm tomorrow afternoon. After the storm passes, I plan go home and check it out...
Signing off now - will post more updates as the night goes on. Best of luck to us all.
I'd like to say that this is my first major storm - ever. At least, one that I will remember. Back in 1983, Houston faced Hurricane Alicia. She hit Galveston and Houston as a Category 3 storm; with winds up to 96 mph. The gusts were recorded at 127 mph. I was just a year old then, so I don't remember anything. I've heard it was pretty crazy.
Then there was Rita in 2005. Also a Category 3 but fairly small, in my opinion. We lost power for 3 days but the storm itself wasn't that bad. I considered it more of a mean tropical storm. There was some damage but nothing to the extremes.
Now we're facing yet another major hurricane. Ike is about to make landfall in 3 hours. Ike is rearing his nasty head and is barreling head on for Galveston and Houston. I guess he heard Houston was just awesome so he decided to check it out. He's just a Category 2 storm, but may make it to Category 3 (but not expected). BUT winds are already close to 110 mph or so. The radius of the whole storm expands more than 250 miles at last report. So this is a pretty huge storm....
I've gone back and forth on the storm all day yesterday and today. I kept a close watch on the storm on the Internet and on TV. I shopped for the basic necessities and I taped up my windows. I packed what was important to me and brought them with me to my parents to "hunker down." But really, I think it's all overrated. People are getting all paranoid over a little storm. But then I tell myself, I don't really know how bad it is out there. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
I've never been one to worry myself to death. I take precautions (usually) and then I just wait. Whatever will happen, will happen. No point in worrying yourself to death. If you're the type of person to worry, maybe it's best for you to just evacuate instead of obsessing over whether the storm will take you down with it. Whining or stressing out to other people is just going to stress them out so - it's not really recommended.
Since Ike is causing such a stir (pun intended), I figured I'd record what I was doing and the conditions of the weather throughout the day. Mostly for my own benefit - so I can remember this day, but I figured it'd be interesting for those of you who wasn't in Houston....
September 11, 2008
First off - It's the 7-year anniversary of 9/11. I thought it was interesting that I was preparing for the storm on this particular day...
I went to work as usual but was released at 11am. I decided to run to Sam's Club (no way I was going to Wal-Mart or another grocery store) and got enough water and canned food to feed a couple of people for a few days, probably a week.
I ran a bunch of errands that I really needed to do but kept putting off. I ended up back home and intended to work my part-time job but got too involved in watching the news. I watched two movies. It was nice to have my mind taken off the storm; however, the second movie kind of spooked me. The movie itself was good and not particularly scary - it's just the ending. It was a typical sci-fi "space mission" movie where a crew went up into space to save mankind. They had to re-energize the sun because it was dying. Anyway, the point is, as I watched these people just standing there, just waiting to die, knowing what was about to happen - I couldn't help but think about Ike. We're all sitting ducks here, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Of course, I could have evacuated but then (and now), I didn't think it would be serious.
September 12, 2008
9AM:
It was a beautiful morning. Bright and sunny. By just looking at the weather, you would have had absolutely no idea that a massive storm was coming our way. I took my dog outside to pee. My son came with me in nothing but a t-shirt and a diaper. My son and the dog was roaming the area behind my apartment, running around on the grass with lots of clouds and sunlight behind them. It was a perfect Kodak moment. Too bad I didn't have my camera. I planned to stay home. I wanted to stay home. But eventually, I ended up going to my parents with my kids and dog.
1pm:
I was out driving around. I took time to notice what was happening around me. As I was driving by Bear Creek park, I saw a lone jogger. Some roads were absolutely bare, while others were busy. Gas stations were full with cars waiting their turn for gas. Other stations had signs saying they were out of gas. The stores were deserted, even Wal-Mart. Shocking. Wal-Mart never closes! The sun disappeared somewhat. It became a little overcast - lots of clouds in the sky. There was an Asian woman trying to board up her business with 2x4s. Talk about waiting until the last minute.
1:30pm:
I was watching the news, looking for an update when I saw a pier partially collapse in Galveston. Others were already starting to fall apart. It wouldn't be long before these piers are completely gone. This is about 14 hours before the storm was due to hit.
There are still quite a bit of people in Galveston, a full day after the officials ordered mandatory evacuation. Stupid people. There was a woman on the news with her two kids saying she didn't want to leave her house, mostly because she had too many animals. Now she wants to leave but she's trapped. The roadways between the island and the mainland are flooded. I wonder where they are now....
In the background, there was somebody in a big bear suit skipping along the beach. He looked a lot like Winnie the Pooh. There were others snapping pictures of the pier and the waves.
On the walls of houses or boarded up windows, there are jokes. "Go away Ike, Tina isn't here" is my favorite.
3pm:
I decided to head back home. It was still a fairly calm day. I wasn't about to waste it just sitting around doing nothing at my parents house. There were plenty of other people on the road, some were even walking. I saw a few people still trying to board up their windows.
8pm:
After doing what I wanted at my apartment, I started to head back to my parents. Only because my parents were obsessing over how the storm was getting stronger. At that time, I thought it was still pretty mild. Mostly calm with a few gusts of wind. I saw people STILL trying to board up their windows (different people, different buildings). Wow.
10pm:
I sat outside in the backyard with my dog. Eating what may be my last hot meal for the next few days. It is still quite calm outside. A couple bursts of wind every now and then but still pretty quiet considering what I'm seeing on the news. Galveston is flooded, winds are bad and lots of rain. And Ike is still 4 hours away at this point.
11:30pm
I'm sitting here writing this blog. No problems with electricity so far. Keeping my phone fully charged until the power goes out. Then I'll have access to the Internet, email, text and im. I can't imagine ever living without a cellphone now. It would make the next few days bearable.
The storm isn't expected to fully pass us until after 2pm tomorrow afternoon. After the storm passes, I plan go home and check it out...
Signing off now - will post more updates as the night goes on. Best of luck to us all.
Monday, September 8, 2008
EEEwwww!!!!
My son has the right idea. Lately, he likes to scrunch up his face, wrinkle his nose and say "eeww!!!" Usually, it's with a Q-tip in his ear or a finger up his nose. And that happens... a lot. There are plenty of things to say "ew" about. Work, school, stress, life in general. But not today - at least for me.
I'm feeling positive today. I wish I could say I took a happy pill or something special happened to me but nope. I just happened to wake up in a good mood. I had a good weekend - I was kept busy, which was good because I didn't work last week and was starting to get restless.
I went back to work today. Yeah - I'm crazy but I was looking forward to it. I can't imagine staying home all week, all day anymore. I need to be kept busy and soon, I'll certainly be busy all the time. Knowing myself, I'll probably be complaining about how busy I am within a week of starting.
Today was a little bit slow at work but we got a lot done. That's an ideal workplace for me: getting many things accomplished and not feel so rushed about it. During one of my downtimes at work, I made a long list of things to do. I was determined to get half of it done today. When I got home, I got to work and crossed most of them off. I deserve a pat on the back.
Right now, it seems like I have a lot going on - but I have a problem. I finish things too quickly. I work fast at everything I do and I work to get it DONE. Then I'm left with nothing to do or really, nothing I WANT to do. The fact that I work so quickly doesn't help me understand how some of my friends stay at work ALL day long - all WEEK long doing something that I could be done with in a few days and not even have to do it ALL day.
I'm excited. In about 3 weeks, I'm going to be teaching night classes at the Lillian Beard Deaf Connection Center. I'm going to be teaching GED courses to help Deaf people prepare for their GED exam. Of course, it's volunteer for now - but once we get funding (I'm also on the committee), we'll be hiring for full-time positions in different areas of the center.
Sometimes I feel cynical. I don't think it'll take off. Who wants to take a bunch of life management courses when it's not required? Who wants to take general education courses when it's not required? Although I know there are tons of people out there who don't have a high school diploma or a GED, who will come? I figure my courses could also help them prepare for college if they ever want to go back to school - since it'll be like a college preparation thing too with all the courses we'll be teaching along with a course on how to study.
But, I have to stay positive. The first of the life management courses are starting tomorrow. I'm anxious to hear the results.
Here's another thing I'm excited about. The new Fall TV lineup. I'm excited that my shows are coming back and there's new episodes to see. I was getting sick of seeing the reruns and all the reality shows.
Sorry this blog isn't an insightful one. I'm SO not in the mood for that. Maybe another day sometime soon....
I'm feeling positive today. I wish I could say I took a happy pill or something special happened to me but nope. I just happened to wake up in a good mood. I had a good weekend - I was kept busy, which was good because I didn't work last week and was starting to get restless.
I went back to work today. Yeah - I'm crazy but I was looking forward to it. I can't imagine staying home all week, all day anymore. I need to be kept busy and soon, I'll certainly be busy all the time. Knowing myself, I'll probably be complaining about how busy I am within a week of starting.
Today was a little bit slow at work but we got a lot done. That's an ideal workplace for me: getting many things accomplished and not feel so rushed about it. During one of my downtimes at work, I made a long list of things to do. I was determined to get half of it done today. When I got home, I got to work and crossed most of them off. I deserve a pat on the back.
Right now, it seems like I have a lot going on - but I have a problem. I finish things too quickly. I work fast at everything I do and I work to get it DONE. Then I'm left with nothing to do or really, nothing I WANT to do. The fact that I work so quickly doesn't help me understand how some of my friends stay at work ALL day long - all WEEK long doing something that I could be done with in a few days and not even have to do it ALL day.
I'm excited. In about 3 weeks, I'm going to be teaching night classes at the Lillian Beard Deaf Connection Center. I'm going to be teaching GED courses to help Deaf people prepare for their GED exam. Of course, it's volunteer for now - but once we get funding (I'm also on the committee), we'll be hiring for full-time positions in different areas of the center.
Sometimes I feel cynical. I don't think it'll take off. Who wants to take a bunch of life management courses when it's not required? Who wants to take general education courses when it's not required? Although I know there are tons of people out there who don't have a high school diploma or a GED, who will come? I figure my courses could also help them prepare for college if they ever want to go back to school - since it'll be like a college preparation thing too with all the courses we'll be teaching along with a course on how to study.
But, I have to stay positive. The first of the life management courses are starting tomorrow. I'm anxious to hear the results.
Here's another thing I'm excited about. The new Fall TV lineup. I'm excited that my shows are coming back and there's new episodes to see. I was getting sick of seeing the reruns and all the reality shows.
Sorry this blog isn't an insightful one. I'm SO not in the mood for that. Maybe another day sometime soon....
Friday, September 5, 2008
My current challenge as a mother
Kids are smart. Smarter than I'd like them to be. I'm not talking about being academically smart - all parents want their kids to be geniuses. I'm talking about the street smarts that kids pick up from observing adults. Eventually (usually sooner than later), they figure everything out.
As a mother, I'm always constantly amazed at what comes out of my daughter's mouth. Her word choice and the way she expresses herself makes her almost seem like an adult at times. A part of me applauds her language development and another part of me is freaking out over the fact that she's growing up and soon - she won't be a little girl anymore. Notice I didn't say sweet - she stopped being sweet a long time ago when it came to following rules. If anything, she was born to break them.
Thankfully, I haven't seen her cuss yet - a huge blessing in comparison to other
parents who report that their children has started cussing at the age as early as 1. I guess I should credit my daughter's deafness to her non-cussing. There's a bunch of nasty things to be heard on television and thankfully, my daughter doesn't hear them. Now, if only I can shield my son from it....
A couple times a week (more times than I care to have), I get into a routine bedtime argument with my 6 year old daughter. It's always about the same thing. How her going to bed earlier than mommy and her brother isn't fair. Or even when her brother goes to bed at the same time as her, it isn't fair that Mommy gets to stay up.
"Fair?" I asked her. "How is it not fair?" She reported back that Logan has to wake up at the same time as her and Mommy has to wake up even earlier AND Mommy works. So it isn't fair that Mommy and Logan gets to stay up a little bit longer. I was certainly not in the mood to continue this argument so I settled it by saying "Just go to bed, because I said so!"
Oh, the horror. I turned into my mom. I hated hearing "because I said so" when I was growing up and swore up and down that I wouldn't use it with my kids. Now, I realize it's just a shortcut for parents to end arguments when they're at a loss for words.
As soon as I said those words, I knew it was a big mistake. My daughter screamed (yes, she screamed) at me and said "YOU'RE not the boss of me!" Funny - just the other day, when my son wasn't behaving, my daughter sat him down (yes, she did) and explained "You have to listen to Mommy, she's the boss."
Bedtime arguments aside, I marvel at the cuteness and cleverness of my daughter (when she's not challenging my authority). When she lost her third tooth, she told a friend that she was going to give the Tooth Fairy's money to Mommy to make her rich.
Sure enough, the next day, when she woke up with $2 under her pillow, she gave me $1 and said the other $1 was for Daddy and that the money was going to help us become rich. Wasn't that cute? Oh, how I wish $1 would solve all my problems.
My daughter has also learned the art of negotiating. She'll negotiate anything from eating vegetables, going to bed at a later time and basically, getting out of anything she doesn't want to do. Sometimes, I take the bait and proceed to negotiate with her. If she comes up with a fair trade (or a cute one), I'll let her have it. I imagine she'll grow up to be a businesswoman - only time will tell.
Speaking of language development - my son has got to be the cutest 2 year old on the planet. He's learning new words left and right and it's a thrill seeing him try to figure out how to sign it. It's pretty cool to see a little child light up and get really excited at seeing something familiar and knowing what it's called. When he lights up, I light up as well. I had never thought I'd get excited at the concept of signing "elephant". His newest word: ice cream. You can thank Grandma for that. Now, he asks for ice cream more often than I care to count.
As a mother, I'm always constantly amazed at what comes out of my daughter's mouth. Her word choice and the way she expresses herself makes her almost seem like an adult at times. A part of me applauds her language development and another part of me is freaking out over the fact that she's growing up and soon - she won't be a little girl anymore. Notice I didn't say sweet - she stopped being sweet a long time ago when it came to following rules. If anything, she was born to break them.
Thankfully, I haven't seen her cuss yet - a huge blessing in comparison to other
parents who report that their children has started cussing at the age as early as 1. I guess I should credit my daughter's deafness to her non-cussing. There's a bunch of nasty things to be heard on television and thankfully, my daughter doesn't hear them. Now, if only I can shield my son from it....
A couple times a week (more times than I care to have), I get into a routine bedtime argument with my 6 year old daughter. It's always about the same thing. How her going to bed earlier than mommy and her brother isn't fair. Or even when her brother goes to bed at the same time as her, it isn't fair that Mommy gets to stay up.
"Fair?" I asked her. "How is it not fair?" She reported back that Logan has to wake up at the same time as her and Mommy has to wake up even earlier AND Mommy works. So it isn't fair that Mommy and Logan gets to stay up a little bit longer. I was certainly not in the mood to continue this argument so I settled it by saying "Just go to bed, because I said so!"
Oh, the horror. I turned into my mom. I hated hearing "because I said so" when I was growing up and swore up and down that I wouldn't use it with my kids. Now, I realize it's just a shortcut for parents to end arguments when they're at a loss for words.
As soon as I said those words, I knew it was a big mistake. My daughter screamed (yes, she screamed) at me and said "YOU'RE not the boss of me!" Funny - just the other day, when my son wasn't behaving, my daughter sat him down (yes, she did) and explained "You have to listen to Mommy, she's the boss."
Bedtime arguments aside, I marvel at the cuteness and cleverness of my daughter (when she's not challenging my authority). When she lost her third tooth, she told a friend that she was going to give the Tooth Fairy's money to Mommy to make her rich.
Sure enough, the next day, when she woke up with $2 under her pillow, she gave me $1 and said the other $1 was for Daddy and that the money was going to help us become rich. Wasn't that cute? Oh, how I wish $1 would solve all my problems.
My daughter has also learned the art of negotiating. She'll negotiate anything from eating vegetables, going to bed at a later time and basically, getting out of anything she doesn't want to do. Sometimes, I take the bait and proceed to negotiate with her. If she comes up with a fair trade (or a cute one), I'll let her have it. I imagine she'll grow up to be a businesswoman - only time will tell.
Speaking of language development - my son has got to be the cutest 2 year old on the planet. He's learning new words left and right and it's a thrill seeing him try to figure out how to sign it. It's pretty cool to see a little child light up and get really excited at seeing something familiar and knowing what it's called. When he lights up, I light up as well. I had never thought I'd get excited at the concept of signing "elephant". His newest word: ice cream. You can thank Grandma for that. Now, he asks for ice cream more often than I care to count.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Hoorah for Palin
I was a skeptic. First-term Alaskan governor... what could Palin know about running the country? Probably not much. To top it all off, she has a family to worry about, not to mention an infant son with Down's Syndrome. My first thought was, she shouldn't be worrying about the nation, she should be focusing on her family.
After watching her speech (bits and pieces of it anyway), I was impressed. My opinion of her changed. Regardless of what's going on with her family, I feel confident putting the future of America in her hands. Now if only McCain would just somehow disappear after becoming president....
At times like these, I give praise for free speech. None of the execution-style type of shooting for me for saying bad things about the superior being that's running (or might run) the country. He has to be what, 100 years old?
Enough about McCain. A week ago, the majority of us had never even heard of Palin. I didn't know who she was, what she stood for and what she planned to fight for until now. It was more of an introductory speech - introducing herself and her family to the nation. And it was a nice one.
She has a likable personality and she's got a bit of comedienne in her. I like her philosophy - she sold the previous governor's private jet because she felt it was too luxurious. What's so cool is she listed it on Ebay. She's an Ebayer! She fired the personal chef and she drives herself to work. That's my kind of woman. People who can't cook and drive for themselves are lame.
I do have some disagreements over what she stands for, of course. Like staying in the war, for instance. Enough is enough. But what am I gonna do about it? The way I figure it, any Republican would be better than a Democratic.
If McCain-Palin isn't elected president, I do have one encouraging remark for Palin. She's a much better public speaker than Bush and McCain combined.
To read her speech, visit http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_palin_text
After watching her speech (bits and pieces of it anyway), I was impressed. My opinion of her changed. Regardless of what's going on with her family, I feel confident putting the future of America in her hands. Now if only McCain would just somehow disappear after becoming president....
At times like these, I give praise for free speech. None of the execution-style type of shooting for me for saying bad things about the superior being that's running (or might run) the country. He has to be what, 100 years old?
Enough about McCain. A week ago, the majority of us had never even heard of Palin. I didn't know who she was, what she stood for and what she planned to fight for until now. It was more of an introductory speech - introducing herself and her family to the nation. And it was a nice one.
She has a likable personality and she's got a bit of comedienne in her. I like her philosophy - she sold the previous governor's private jet because she felt it was too luxurious. What's so cool is she listed it on Ebay. She's an Ebayer! She fired the personal chef and she drives herself to work. That's my kind of woman. People who can't cook and drive for themselves are lame.
I do have some disagreements over what she stands for, of course. Like staying in the war, for instance. Enough is enough. But what am I gonna do about it? The way I figure it, any Republican would be better than a Democratic.
If McCain-Palin isn't elected president, I do have one encouraging remark for Palin. She's a much better public speaker than Bush and McCain combined.
To read her speech, visit http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_palin_text
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Bits and Pieces
Plenty has been going on lately, both in my personal life and out there in the world, especially in politics. Normally, I don't care much for politics but this year, I took a special interest in the running mates and actively voted in the party nominations. Now that McCain is up for President, I lost interest....
No, this isn't going to be a long political blog. That's boring. My mind is racing with a lot of little comments about a wide variety of subjects. While presidency is important (like, really?), it's at the bottom of my list right now.
Today, I'm off from work. Work has been slow this week (Thank God for that, after a horrible week last week), so my boss gave us the option to work in another department or stay home. Naturally, I decided to stay home because I have things I need to do.
I realized this morning that I was growing up. My first thought was "I can sleep in!" I have to laugh...nowadays, sleeping in means sleeping until 9am after a week of waking up at 5am. I miss those days where I wake up at noon, but at the same time, I feel it's time to grow up and wake up earlier. I get a lot more things done during the day now. Being productive is a good feeling. Also, I tried sleeping close to 12 hours the other day and I woke up with nothing but a headache and feeling horrible. Not doing that again!
Here's a little bit of news. I received my paralegal certification in the mail yesterday. Yipee! I am now "Maryellen Sarles, CLA". That has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Since receiving my certification, this only means one thing - another round of job hunting. I sent out 7 resumes yesterday so let's see if I hear anything. I don't want to hear an excuse from the employers, "You have no experience." Yeah, maybe I have no experience but I have certification so I know my shit. Excuse my language.
I'm going apartment hunting today among many other errands I need to do. So good luck to me finding an apartment I'll be satisfied with (safety, neighborhood and price). I absolutely love where I'm at. I don't want to move for numerous reasons, number one being that I can keep my 3 pets. Now, if I can just find a better paying job, I'd be able to stay (and paralegal jobs pay goooood moolah). If not, I'd have to move. I have two weeks to figure everything out. Like that's going to happen.
Change of subject: I have to commend McCain. He's trying hard to stay in the spotlight after Obama's been getting all the attention. Poor guy, Obama's getting all the rave because he might be the first black president. Then the RNC experienced a set-back for a couple of days because all the attention was on Hurricane Gustav (wanna bet he's black?). Recently, McCain grabbed all that attention back. He's named a woman for his running mate. And her 17-year old daughter is pregnant (AND people are joking John Edwards is the father). I don't blame her daughter. What else is there to do in Alaska but to stay warm by having sex? Jokes aside, this is turning out to be an interesting election. No matter where the votes go, this election will have a first-something. First black president or first female vice president. AND, I'm willing to bet that McCain is going to croak in the next 4 years, thus making Palin the first female president (Ha! Take that Clinton!). I'd LOVE to see that happen. Kill three birds with one stone: 1. Republicans take over the US again, 2. McCain isn't the president, and 3. Clinton gets to sit back and watch another woman bask in her glory.
Well, I better get going. I have to be an adult now and go do my duties. Now, if I can just get this fat cat off my lap....
No, this isn't going to be a long political blog. That's boring. My mind is racing with a lot of little comments about a wide variety of subjects. While presidency is important (like, really?), it's at the bottom of my list right now.
Today, I'm off from work. Work has been slow this week (Thank God for that, after a horrible week last week), so my boss gave us the option to work in another department or stay home. Naturally, I decided to stay home because I have things I need to do.
I realized this morning that I was growing up. My first thought was "I can sleep in!" I have to laugh...nowadays, sleeping in means sleeping until 9am after a week of waking up at 5am. I miss those days where I wake up at noon, but at the same time, I feel it's time to grow up and wake up earlier. I get a lot more things done during the day now. Being productive is a good feeling. Also, I tried sleeping close to 12 hours the other day and I woke up with nothing but a headache and feeling horrible. Not doing that again!
Here's a little bit of news. I received my paralegal certification in the mail yesterday. Yipee! I am now "Maryellen Sarles, CLA". That has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Since receiving my certification, this only means one thing - another round of job hunting. I sent out 7 resumes yesterday so let's see if I hear anything. I don't want to hear an excuse from the employers, "You have no experience." Yeah, maybe I have no experience but I have certification so I know my shit. Excuse my language.
I'm going apartment hunting today among many other errands I need to do. So good luck to me finding an apartment I'll be satisfied with (safety, neighborhood and price). I absolutely love where I'm at. I don't want to move for numerous reasons, number one being that I can keep my 3 pets. Now, if I can just find a better paying job, I'd be able to stay (and paralegal jobs pay goooood moolah). If not, I'd have to move. I have two weeks to figure everything out. Like that's going to happen.
Change of subject: I have to commend McCain. He's trying hard to stay in the spotlight after Obama's been getting all the attention. Poor guy, Obama's getting all the rave because he might be the first black president. Then the RNC experienced a set-back for a couple of days because all the attention was on Hurricane Gustav (wanna bet he's black?). Recently, McCain grabbed all that attention back. He's named a woman for his running mate. And her 17-year old daughter is pregnant (AND people are joking John Edwards is the father). I don't blame her daughter. What else is there to do in Alaska but to stay warm by having sex? Jokes aside, this is turning out to be an interesting election. No matter where the votes go, this election will have a first-something. First black president or first female vice president. AND, I'm willing to bet that McCain is going to croak in the next 4 years, thus making Palin the first female president (Ha! Take that Clinton!). I'd LOVE to see that happen. Kill three birds with one stone: 1. Republicans take over the US again, 2. McCain isn't the president, and 3. Clinton gets to sit back and watch another woman bask in her glory.
Well, I better get going. I have to be an adult now and go do my duties. Now, if I can just get this fat cat off my lap....
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