Jose Cuervo Christmas Cookies

During Christmas season, I receive a TON of emails with heartfelt stories, poems and cards filled with Christmas spirit. Some are nice, some I've seen last year (and the year before that, and the year before THAT) and some are just annoying. This one made me laugh. This was definitely an original and I'm hoping you enjoy it as much as I did.


Jose Cuervo Christmas Cookies

1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila

Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one peastoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still ok, try another cup just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy.

Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit off the floor.

Mix on the turner.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaters just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who geeves a sheet. Check the Jose Cuervo. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

Add one table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.

Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the wishdasher.

Cherry Mistmas!

Things I thought as a child

Oftentimes, I think about how life looks and feels different as an adult when compared to what it was like when you were a child. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Life was so much easier (and MUCH less stressful) when I was younger. I didn't know what was going on in third world countries. Wars didn't bother me because I never saw the violence and never heard about the casualties. Christmas was the best day of the year (no question), and a little hug and a kiss made all my troubles (and boo-boos) go away.

Recently, I've started to think about the things that I know now that I didn't understand before. I would laugh at myself thinking "how could you think that?" It just reminds me how differently children may view things. Mentally, I started a list a few months ago of things that I thought when I was a child. Most of them were obvious misinterpretations of things and I took many things literally. Some of them are silly, some of them are weird and some of them simply just make you want to say "what?"

• "Drinking and Driving" meant drinking any type of liquid while driving. I think I've only told this story once. My mom was drinking coffee (I think) and we were heading off to church. I was sitting in the front seat of our van. We passed an anti-drinking billboard saying "Don't Drink and Drive" and added something about how it's against the law. I remember my reaction to this billboard. I turned to my mom and I told her "You're in trouble! You can't drink and drive!" She was busy driving so she didn't bother to explain what it meant. She just said "No, it doesn't mean normal drinks." I didn't understand what that meant. A little while later we arrived at church, and I was still bothered by my mother "drinking" and driving. There was a group of people talking (to this day, I still can't remember who) and I brought up drinking and driving. They all agreed that it was a very bad thing to do and told me to never do it. Then I announced "my mom drinks and drives." I was crushed and I almost didn't notice my mother's reaction. Needless to say, she was very embarrassed and it wasn't until later that I found out what "drinking and driving" actually meant!
• Chicken pox was an itchy disease spread by chickens if you played with them too much (Yes, I know... what?)
• Washington DC was the capital of Washington state
• Alaska was way down south of America right next to Hawaii exactly like the map shows instead of up next to Canada
• Hawaii was right next to California instead of way out in the ocean
• The Boston Tea Party was one big fancy party for upper-class citizens (then I felt stupid when I learned all about it in history class during middle school)
• G.I. Joe was a man's name instead of a group of men in the military
• All the superheroes were brothers and sisters (Superman, Spiderman, Batman, etc) (Yes... again, what? In my defense, I never read any of the comic books)
• According to Tom and Jerry, cats and dogs (and cats and mice) CANNOT be friends. I remember the initial shock of seeing a neighbor's dog and cat that were very best friends
• Goofy was some kind of mutant (but cute and friendly) mouse instead of a dog
• After seeing The Little Mermaid, I believed that there were real mermaids out in the ocean, and I wanted to become one
• I was amazed at how anything and everything you ate (no matter the color) always came out brown
• Blue moons meant that we'd have a real blue moon. I kept my eyes out for a blue moon for a long time but never saw one :(

The list could go on, but a long list would only reveal just how clueless I was. Right now, I'm wondering what else is out there that I haven't discovered yet!

What's Your Sign?

The lamest pick-up line heard around the nation is making its way onto my blog. But don't fret - this is the last you'll hear of it (from me, at least). Somehow "What's your sign?" evolved from a pick-up line (that may or may not have worked) to a running joke. Along with "Are your legs tired? Because you've been running through my mind all night!", "what's your sign" has been cast as the universal language for geeks (or college freshmen) chasing after the woman they'll never get...and I thought that this would be the only way I'd hear about it.

I decided to look up my Horoscope for today...

You can tell that things are a little different today -- but you might not be
able to put your finger on it. Let your subconscious investigate for the time
being -- things are going to get even more interesting soon!

I don't have any insights on what that might mean, but I don't really care. Maybe today's different because it's Monday, not Sunday.

Anyway... the other day, I had a conversation with someone about birthdays. He was looking me up on Facebook and noticed my birthday. Coincidentally, our birthdays are less than a month apart - which meant that we were both Tauruses. "Ah, Tauruses - perfect match, don't you think?" (or something along the lines)... Whether that was a pick-up line or not - that's the least of my cares right now - that actually made me think.

People either believe in Astrology or they do not. I've seen people check magazines and newspapers to see what the horoscope was for the day. I had a friend who would read the Astrology page to see if her day would be good or bad. I always thought that was funny - allowing what someone says on a newspaper page shape your day.

Have you noticed? Astrology is "carefully" an art. What I mean by carefully is that the "predictions" are both positive and negative. It is neither straightforward nor too abstract. Astrology will say that you're going to have an obstacle but you will triumph. Yeah - an obstacle could be a red light on my way to work, right? Maybe not.

People who read Astrology also believe in what they say about who they will get along with best and who are supposed to be their mortal enemies. People will make decisions about you, your personality, likes & dislikes based on your birthday. How about that? They also decide who you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with.

Astrology lists your strengths and weaknesses along with what you're like personality-wise, how you handle problems/stress, etc... When you really think about it - any of the signs could apply to ANYBODY. How you've lived your life, what your family's like, your socio-economic background, etc all determines who you are, not what Astrology says....

So if anybody asks me what my sign is, I'll kick him in the nutz.

Captioning: Bonus Feature or Required?

Originally written for Houston Deaf Network

Imagine that after a long day, you'd love nothing more than to sit on the couch and watch the newest cutesy animated movie from Pixar. No doubt, you cannot be disappointed... after all, it is Pixar, right? They have delivered pretty stellar movies in the recent past and this should be no different. Now, imagine being confronted with the shock that the DVD has no captioning at all. Maybe you don't have to imagine it. Maybe it happened to you, just like it happened to me.

My roommate scolded me, "Tsk, you should have checked Netflix and Redbox first to see if it had captioning or subtitles." No, I didn't check before I rented the movie, but in this day and age - practically every movie has either captioning or subtitles that most of us don't even think to check anymore, right? It was silly to think that I could have vested so much importance into a cute animated movie to help me unwind, but the fact is - I was extremely disappointed!

At first, I thought I was alone. I must have gotten a bad DVD somehow. Just my luck, huh? Then over the next few days, I began to see steady streams of complaints from friends and fellow Deafies asking about the captioning on "Up."

First it was a "marketing decision." Then it was a "manufacturing error."

In a country where closed captioning is considered mainstream, this was a pretty big shock. Pixar (and Disney) released their newest full-feature animated film to all major rental companies without captioning or subtitles. If you required captioning in some form and wanted to watch "Up," you were out of luck. Well, no... not exactly. If you wanted to watch it bad enough, you could buy the retail version. Conveniently, the retail version has captioning along with the bonus features.

Pixar considers closed captioning/subtitles a bonus feature. Really? Shame on you, Pixar. Back in the heyday, captioning might have been a luxury but today, it is expected. In a place where we have captioning practically everywhere, it is expected of major motion picture companies to produce their movies with captioning.

After a pretty big uproar from the community, Pixar has announced that they will release a new batch of DVDs that includes the bonus features to rental companies.

Let's analyze what Pixar meant by "marketing decision." Could it be that they wanted (or needed) to save money by removing the bonus features? Surely, the animation giant would already have all these features someplace. All it would take is a little manpower (and technology) to integrate them with the feature film. So it couldn't be about saving money. When I sat down to think about it, the only (and most obvious) answer came to mind. If adoring fans wanted to watch "Up" bad enough, they'd buy the DVD, right? Or maybe not. It may be safe to assume that in this economy, Pixar might be suffering just a tad bit just like the rest of us. Apparently, they thought the best way to boost sales was to force those of us who require captioning to buy their DVDs. Lame.

Let's look at "manufacturing error." Error? Yeah right. A complete set without bonus features conveniently ended up at rental places while the other batch (WITH bonus features) ended up in retail stores? A mistake can't get any more perfect than that. For Pixar's sake - let's believe for a second that it truly was an error. With the movie being passed through so many hands from start to finish, it's appalling to even think that everyone could have missed that.

Thousands of devoted fans have become disgruntled customers overnight. I guess Pixar just never accounted for how many there are of us out there. And by "us," I mean those who need captioning to enjoy their movies and those who just like to have captioning on their screen. If everyone stands together and makes one united voice, we can truly make a difference.

Let this be a message to Pixar and anyone who will listen. Captioning is NOT a special feature!

A difference 15 minutes could make

For most of my life, I was governed by the 15-minute rule. It was not taught by anyone nor was it passed down by my parents or any of my relatives. It was something that I came up with as a child and I have stuck with it thus far. And I don't know why. I didn't even know I had a rule until my friend complained "ME - you ALWAYS say it's 10 minutes!" Back then, I lived by the 10-minute rule. Whenever someone asked me something about how far something was or how long it would take me to do something - I'd always answer the same. 10 minutes. Somehow, somewhere along the years, I've changed it to 15 minutes.

My 15 minute rule is as follows:

Ask me where my parents live and I'll tell you that they're 15 minutes away from me.

Ask me how long it takes me to get ready in the mornings and I'll say 15 minutes.

Ask me how long it takes to get to church from my old apartment and I'll tell you 15 minutes.

When friends ask how far away I live, I tell them 15 minutes (if we're in the general NW area). Not 10, not 20 - it's 15.

Ask me how long I typically hit snooze in the mornings and I'll tell you that I snooze for 15 minutes. To be accurate, I snooze for 18 minutes. If you round it out, it's 20 minutes. My clock snoozes for 9 minutes each snooze and I typically snooze twice. I can't snooze once and three times is too much. Two is just the magic touch for me.

I am either early or late - I am rarely on time (Except for work. For some reason, I'm on time for work and late for everything else). If you ask, I'm either 15 minutes early or 15 minutes late.. most often, it's late. I'll be the first to admit that.

Recently, I had two appointments in the Cy-Fair area. One at a school and one at the district building. With appointments at places that you don't really go to often, you most often debate how long you should take to get ready and how long you should allow for driving time. Me - I just solve all my problems by saying "15 minutes." 15 minutes to get ready and 15 minutes to drive. Realistic, huh? Realistically without traffic, it IS possible to get to these places in 15 minutes - but when you factor in Houston traffic, that 15 minutes goes right out the window.

I decided to allow myself an EXTRA 15 minutes each to ensure that I get to wherever I'm going on time. When morning comes, I end up snoozing that 15 minutes out of fear that I will have ended up wasting 15 minutes of precious sleep.

Most mornings, I think about how much difference 15 minutes could make. When I'm late, I start thinking "If only I got up 15 minutes earlier. If only I left 15 minutes earlier." But when I'm early, I always think "Man, I could have stayed home and slept an extra 15 minutes."

So I wonder... how many of you out there are like me?

A Rocky Start

It's been almost a month since I've been back here. Whether that's good or bad - I haven't decided. Moving into the house was a challenge and I've had plenty of ups and downs trying to get ready for the move. Honestly, I wouldn't have ever gotten through it if it wasn't for a close friend of mine. C saw me through everything and was there to help me when I needed it. She's the best!

So - here's what happened....

I started packing as soon as I got the news that my application for the lease on this house was approved. I packed with a frenzy at first, packing all the things I knew I wouldn't need for at least a month or so. I felt good. I was getting a head start on packing and felt that when the time came to move, I wouldn't have miscellaneous stuff laying around the apartment waiting to be packed at the last minute.

Well, I underestimated myself. With a full-time job, two kids, a dog and many other responsibilities, I packed less and less over the span of a month. Moving weekend came and I found myself packing and taking apart furniture well into the night. Moving day came and I was still packing and taking apart furniture. Thank goodness - J was there to help me, but of course, it wasn't without a whine or two. He hates early mornings just as much as I do - probably even more.

Anyway, as soon as I was approved for the lease, I started making the many phone calls necessary to cancel current services at the apartment and ordered new ones for the house. That also included the many change of address forms that I had to fill out. Fun, isn't it? I called AT&T for Internet and TV service at the new house and I had to order gas from Centerpoint. Also, the house didn't have a fridge or a washer/dryer so I had to buy them from Conn's. Both AT&T and Centerpoint required someone to be there to let someone into the house, as well as Conn's. With all the deposits and initial activation charges on many things - I couldn't afford to miss work (and AT&T/Centerpoint wouldn't come on a Saturday) so I was stressing out. Since my friend, C, is off on Fridays, she volunteered to come and stay at my house (which had no TV, no Internet and no fridge) to let all these people in.

Well - Conn's showed up but with a washer/dryer that was damaged. They apologized and said they'd be back Saturday morning with new ones. Ok - not too bad, right? Well - AT&T showed up right after Conn's did and found that there wasn't any connection. The AT&T guy thought maybe something was wrong with the phone line behind my house so he called for a phone tech to come check it out. It took the phone tech guy ALL DAY to show up (The TV guy called him around 10am and he showed up around 4pm) only to say "You're too far to get any services from AT&T." Poor C - she waited at the house all day for nothing. While she was at the house, I was running my many errands - one of them was visiting 4 different schools to withdraw my children from Katy ISD and to enroll them in Cy-Fair ISD. Yes - 4 schools - because my kids attend different schools. Fun! By the way - Centerpoint never showed up either.

So - on my way to one of the schools, I knew I would be passing the house so I stopped by and gave C some lunch. C was texting me all day long keeping me up to date on the many problems there was at the house. What made matters worse was that T-Mobile's servers weren't working that day. The only thing that worked on our phones was text. I ended up having a chat with the AT&T guy about the problems. That stressed me out even more. I ended up not going to work after all because I was just too mad/upset about everything. Since I couldn't make phone calls (no Internet, no phone, no nothing!), the nice AT&T guy decided to hang out and help me with these issues. He called Comcast and set up the service for me. How nice! Funny - he was being paid by AT&T and helping me get set up with Comcast. I wonder how his superiors would feel!

I also called Centerpoint to find out why they didn't show up and they gave me the run-around about some stupid deposit that they never told me about. After two days of trying to find out how to pay the deposit, I finally paid and they finally showed up on Tuesday to turn it on. So - I had to go a couple days without hot water and a oven/stove. Again - fun, huh?

Comcast also came on Tuesday. Since AT&T was stupid in not checking before my appointment whether I could get services or not - I had to go without TV and Internet for a few days. In the old days, that wouldn't have been so bad - but when you live in the world of technology, the Internet means everything. I make phone calls, pay my bills and check my emails. Without the Internet, I'd have no contact with the outside world. Scary.

Finally - with everything turned on and working on Tuesday, my roommate moved in. I thought that things would finally settle down. Nope. No problems here, but a house comes with responsibilities. I've been cleaning out the garage, trying to decorate and watching my bank account take a dent with buying the necessities for the house (toilet paper, anyone?).

It's been fun, but tiring at times. All I can say is that I'm loving the house and good riddance to 3 flights of stairs!

Is It Over Yet?

Wow, I really need to get back to writing more often. After reviewing my last post - I realized just how behind my blog is. So much has happened in my life in just a short period of time. I am having a hard time coping with everything but I'm thrilled with the path my life is taking. Just take it one day at a time, right? Wouldn't hurt to have friends to talk to about it :)

Well - first things first, I didn't take that ASL job offer. First I thought I might take it, then decided "absolutely not." Then a few days later, I woke up feeling anxious about my bills and thought that money would be the way to go. More money = bills paid = happy life, huh? Probably not. I've searched within myself and asked different types of friends for their advice. Funny thing is - I don't even know why I asked for their advice because I already knew what type of responses I'd get from each of them....

J - sure enough, he told me to go for what would make me happy and not for the money. Probably because he went for the money and is miserable.

R and C - Both told me to go for the money. Obviously because they'd like to have better opportunities and their bills paid.

Everyone else - "That's something you have to decide for yourself." Gee - big help from them.

As you can see, after talking to a select few friends - I was getting nowhere.

So.... one morning, I woke up and decided - I better talk to my boss about the possibility of leaving. I talked to her and after a long and productive chat, she convinced me to stay. I have to say - I'm extremely happy with my decision right now.

Now - about the house... yes, I can't resist. 4 MORE DAYS!!! I cannot WAIT to finally move into a house where there's room for my children and dog to run around in. The backyard is super and extremely roomy. I see the possibility of having get-togethers at the house... yay!

I'll say this now... L & P - you guys would be the first people I'd invite. You guys mean lots to me!

Everyday whether I'm packing, watching TV, working or driving - my mind wanders over to the house and the tons of opportunities I'd have. I thought I'd record them here so that I don't forget my ambitions!

1. I'd love to get some canvases and just splash and flick on it to make abstract paintings. Wouldn't that be so cool!?

2. I would really like to get into the garage (or backyard) and try my hand at spray-can painting again. I adore the painting I made over 10 years ago and would like to make more.

3. I really need to have a space where I can do scrapbooking and finally finish the 5 quilts I've started. My bedroom is HUGE so I can set up a nice desk with organizing drawers next to it in the corner of my room for all my craft supplies. One reason why I don't do puzzles or scrapbooking is because my kids will get into them or my cats will sit on them and scatter everything around. With tons of space in my bedroom, I'm hoping I'll be motivated to finish my projects. I can lock my kids, dog and J out of my room and FOCUS! Looks like a trip to "The Container Store" is in the near future! Or probably Hobby Lobby would be good enough.

4. I've always wanted to try my hand at decorating. It takes money and I never felt the need to go all out at an apartment. But I'm hoping that this time around, I'll roll my sleeves up and put some nice looking stuff (and not too expensive) in the house and make it feel like a home.

5. I'd LOVE to get a big flat-screen TV. I'll have the space for it now. Yay!

6. My neighborhood has a walking trail by a creek (or a bayou, whatever it is) and sidewalks all over the place. I'm going to start rollerblading again and allow my kids to ride their bikes on the sidewalks so that we could all get some exercise. Who knows if I'll keep up with it.

7. I can finally get back to working out with my Jillian DVD! I bought it last summer and it requires jumping jacks and stuff like that. There's people below me that doesn't appreciate my working-out, so once I move into the house - I'll have the go-ahead to jump all I want. When I started on the DVD, I worked out 6 days straight and was seeing the difference by day 3. I've LOVE to start feeling that way again!

8. More to come.... :)

Major Decisions Suck

I hate what luck I've been having. As many of you know, I've been looking for a job for a long time. I've worked different odd jobs, taking whatever income I could get. I landed a full-time job that I hated for little money - but it was better than no job at all. Then I got laid off. Fun, huh?

I've had to learn to make ends meet with just my part-time data entry job (from which I was laid off in May), my volunteer teaching position and whatever savings I had left. In the spring, I applied to any school district I could think of and that I was willing to work at. When summer rolled around, I was as positive as possible - thinking that I would land a teaching job by fall. As the days went by, my positive thinking became diminished. Halfway through summer, I was contacted about a job out of state. At first, my initial thought was "no way" but then I reconsidered and decided that it might be fun. Once I convinced a friend to move with me, I went ahead and applied for the position. Weeks went by and I heard nothing. I was feeling pretty discouraged.

August came and by then, I've had 3 job interviews but no offers. By luck, I got a job through networking. A girl I went to high school with contacted me and asked if I wanted to work at her mother's company. She knew I was looking for a job, but she wasn't sure if I'd want this job. After a week of being in contact with my friend's mother, an interview was set up. I went to the interview and was hired on the spot - but only as a temporary assistant to help them through the busy season (which would last through October). This position may or may not become permanent. I was in desperate need of money so I took it.

Within days of starting at AFT (A Finishing Touch), I was contacted by the state school in PA and offered a job. This was two weeks before their classes would start. My friend had already started classes and made the decision to stay another year. It wasn't realistic for me to pack up and move everything within two weeks and then start teaching. I had to turn them down. Two days later, they contacted me and asked if I'd please reconsider and that they will have a sub to take my place until I was ready to move. Nice, huh? I felt it wasn't the right timing and since I had a full-time good paying job already in Houston, why move? So I turned them down again, but expressed that I would love to move up there next year.

Now - a day after THAT, I was contacted by HISD and was asked to be a long-term sub for 6 weeks. I would be subbing for a teacher who needed to be out for surgery. While I really wanted the job, it was only temporary. At the time, my position at AFT was temporary, but had the potential to become permanent. So I said no to HISD.

A week after HISD, Cy-Fair contacted me and asked if I wanted to come on as a long-term sub for a new girl that would be transferring into the district. She needed full one-on-one attention. However, this position would only last until they had a meeting to decide where to place this girl. If she stayed in the Deaf Ed department, the position would become permanent for the current school year. If she was moved to an adaptive behavior classroom setting, the position would end. Again - I was thrilled at the offer but had to turn it down. I couldn't leave something that was potentially permanent for something that was probably only temporary.

After 2 weeks (just one week after turning down Cy-Fair) of working at AFT and proving my skills, my boss gave me a raise and asked me to stay on as a permanent employee. She wanted me to take on more responsibility and take over for a girl who would be quitting in February when her baby was born. Turning down HISD and CFISD seemed to be good moves. Everything worked out....

I was contacted again by CFISD asking to be a regular sub and I was promised I'd be called in everyday and kept busy. They desperately need sub teachers that are qualified and know ASL (so if any of you are looking for jobs, contact CFISD). I decided to stay with AFT because of the income and other reasons. Now - with a flurry of job offers coming my way - that had to be the end of it, right? Wrong.

A few days ago, I was contacted by Fort Bend ISD to join them as an ASL teacher. This was one of the positions I interviewed for during the summer. They didn't want me and decided to go with someone else. That person decided not to take the job and the other candidates turned down the position as well. Basically, I was their last choice and they need me now. My first initial response was to say "No, too bad." If I'm so bad that they considered me as the last choice, then I wouldn't want to work with/for them.

All day long, I felt queasy. I was put in a position that I didn't want to be in. Yes, I know I shouldn't complain. Getting all these job offers has been nice but the timing on all of them sucks. It seems to me that the school districts are scrambling to fill in their empty holes and they want me to fill it. How does that make me feel as a person? I understand that as a new teacher, they may be apprehensive about hiring me and once I proved myself, they'd be happy with me and ask me to stay another year... but still, it makes me feel lousy.

I've gone back and forth in my head millions of times about what to do. No brainer - right? It's a teaching job, pays well, has good benefits and not to mention all the vacation time. But that's where the positives stop. Here are all the negatives: I just got a house and I'd be moving away from Fort Bend (and closer to AFT). It would be a 45 minute drive to work - which is what I'm driving now. I guess it shouldn't make a difference but I moved partly so that I could be closer to work. Ironic, huh? Another thing is that I'm not looking forward to dealing with high school students. I don't like them - simple as that. The third thing I don't like about this job is that it's an ASL position. I never wanted to teach ASL (I don't even use it). Fourth - I'd have to make new child care arrangements. Right now, I'm able to get my kids off to school then go straight to work. I only have to worry about child care for after school for about two hours until I got home. Now I need someone to get them off to school in the mornings and watch Logan until I get home around 3:30. Anyone interested in a paid part-time child care position? :) Fifth, the hours aren't flexible. At AFT, my boss says to just come in whenever I can in the mornings and work 7.5 hours from there (we get paid for lunch). It has been nice being able to do that. And 6th (yes, the list goes on and on), I'd have to (ew) dress up. At AFT, I come in wearing jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. How nice. At Travis HS, I'd have to wear nice clothes. Gross.

I really like being at AFT... although some of the rules are a little strict (no Internet and no phones), I can get by. The co-workers are nice and I work with two deaf people. I actually like my job - I'm busy, have my own desk, responsibilities, etc. I see a potential of getting raises and stuff if I stay there. I get to play with the websites that we have. I'm learning codes. I upload photos, add products, organize the website, do the invoices, sales orders, manage the customer contact list, get the email newsletters out to them, etc, etc.. Lots of things to do so it's not just one mindless boring thing.

BUT... the money just keeps getting back to me. I'd be able to pay off my debt in just two months. I'd have plenty of money left over for fun and the best thing about all this is that I will finally have good benefits.

Yesterday - I had decided. I wasn't going to take the job. But today is another story. I think I'll take it.

Sometimes good luck can be a curse.

Movin' On Up!

Well, it's been a while since I've been back. I don't think I'll be able to write as much as I could before. That's a bummer. Having a full-time job really takes a lot out of a person..

A lot has happened in the last month. Since getting a job (which was supposed to be temporary), I've been promoted to a full-time position that is permanent. I was also given a raise. Two raises, actually - but that's not important....

With my new permanent job and income, I decided it was time to start looking for a new place to live. Almost 4 years here at the apartment on the 3rd floor is enough for me. In order to afford all the deposits, the moving expenses, start up fees, etc - I needed a roommate.. and a roommate I got!

I signed the lease papers on the house on Thursday and I am so thrilled. I am eagerly anticipating moving into a roomy house with a backyard for my children and dog to play in. This house is a little over 2,000 sq feet, has 3 bedrooms and a game room upstairs. We plan on converting the game room into a bedroom for one of the kids. With my roommate helping out with a little bit of the rent, I'm going to be paying LESS than what I am paying now for my apartment. How good is that!?

The kitchen is huge and will be a nice upgrade from the small one I have in my apartment. I no longer have to worry about my children or dog being too loud and bothering the people underneath us...

I took some pictures of the house on my phone when we went to do out final walk-through to make sure we still like the house... and like it, we did!


This.. is the pantry. Huge, huh?

Backyard

Living Room - view from the kitchen. That door is the front door.

Standing in the same place in the kitchen... to the left of the living room is this breakfast room. The living room and breakfast room is divided by a 1/2 wall.

This is the kitchen - view from standing in the breakfast room. Don't worry - that wall isn't pink. It's just bad lighting! If it IS pink (and I think I would have noticed), that wall will be the first I will paint... if I ever do paint.

Nice house, huh? :) I didn't take pics of the upstairs because it's just too much to take pictures of... Ya'll come and visit once I get settled in... ya'hear?!

Not enough time in the day

It's amazing how much 8 hours a day can change your life.

I have been so busy that I haven't had time to write, but that doesn't mean I forgot. Writing, or rather blogging, has always in the back of my mind. Sometimes I'd think of something that I would want to write about and that it would be a really good topic - I've had to push it out of my head and tell myself I'd have to get to it later. Lately, I've been coming up with ideas at the most inopportune times... right when I'm about to fall asleep (how I wish there was a dream recording device or an electronic filing software in your brain), when I'm at work, in a meeting, in church.. basically anywhere that would be inappropriate to whip out the phone and start taking notes. Once, I had the urge to write right before I fell asleep and actually got out of bed to take notes. I started writing and writing - and when I was done, I couldn't sleep. Couldn't sleep for an hour, and I had an early morning the next day. That wasn't fun. I write best when I get the urge to - but as I've learned (and probably all other writers), you don't always get to write at that moment. I guess it's handy to have a word processing software on the computer (at home and where I work) or my phone nearby to take notes with - but it's just not the same as actually sitting down and writing.

Anyway, what's new with me now? Not a whole lot but it certainly feels like my life has changed. First of all, I got a full-time job and I enjoy it (for now). I hate getting up in the morning - that hasn't changed and it never will - but I do look forward to going to work. Yes, you heard me right. It's not because I LOVE my job so much (although I do like it - the hours are good, income is enough, and the people are really nice), but it's because I'm DOING something. I want to feel worthwhile - I want to feel like I'm contributing to something rather than just taking up space and air. While this job isn't my dream job, it's enough to make me happy. I'd love to teach, but I can't say that teaching would be my dream job ... I think I haven't discovered that yet about myself. What do I do? I work for a school apparel company. It's a small company started up by a friend's mother. The company makes t-shirts, handbags, accessories and hairbows (especially hairbows) for girls involved in cheerleading, sports, dance, etc. I really like how my boss values my time and my help there. I have been so busy doing my job and helping several co-workers around the office. It's really nice to feel appreciated.

Enough about my job... let's talk about something fun and exciting. Because I have a job now that pays well and is stable/long-term, I've started looking for another place to live. I've been meaning to move out eventually but never had a good reason to. Why move out and run the risk of having to pay a higher price when income isn't really stable? I started to really think about moving out when I got word that PA might want me to teach there. Back in June, I was contacted about the opportunity to move and teach at a school for the deaf in Scranton, PA. Initially, my response was "no way!" I slowly warmed up to the idea. I discussed it with a close friend and finally came around to telling my parents. Of course, they had their concerns about me moving so far away, but I have family in the northeast so it wouldn't be that bad. After thinking for a while, my decision was made. If I was offered the job, I would move. A month and a half came and went and I heard nothing from PA. My dreams of moving right next door to NYC were dashed.

Over the last two weeks, I was contacted by three different school districts and I was offered a job. Two were long-term substitute positions that would be temporary. One of them MIGHT become permanent but I couldn't take a gamble on that - especially not that I've landed a full-time job. Finally, PA contacts me and tries their hardest to convince me to move up there. They were offering me a substitute to come take over for me until I decided I was ready to move up there and take over. Ultimately, after considering everything, I had to say no. Maybe next year. Hopefully.

With PA spurring my thoughts on moving to a new place (instead of apartments, I had planned to rent a house up there.. cost of living is cheap in that town), I decided that I wanted to move out of this apartment and into something better. When this job came up and I was offered a permanent position, I immediately jumped on the idea of renting a house instead of apartment.

Sooo... for the last week and a half, I've been looking and looking online for houses to rent. I visited four houses over the weekend and fell in love with one of them. The location's great, the price is really good (only $100 more than my apartment), there's a yard for my kids and dog to play in, a nice sized living room and kitchen, includes all the appliances... what's not to like? I had initially wanted a 4-bedroom house and this one was a 3-bedroom. While I have a yard, it's not quite large enough. Sooo, I'm on the hunt again this week for 4-bedroom houses and hopefully will be checking them out soon.

Well, I think I've managed to write an actual chapter on just two little topics - new full-time job and house-hunting. Maybe I have the traits to become a successful (but boring and drawn-out) writer, haha.

As I mentioned above, not much has really changed in my life, but it's enough to make me happy. With a small change such as a full-time job, I feel like it's the starting point to help me become happy in other areas. While money isn't everything, it's obviously very important. I'm being kept busy (maybe too busy, because I still have my obligations as a GED teacher on Tuesday nights, manager of the LBDCC at church, leading the women's retreat, acting as treasurer again for the women's ministry, and filling in for people who tend to flake out on stuff. Let's not forget being a maid, friend, mother, sister and daughter), and I'm rarely alone anymore. I'm always around people now, so I'm grateful for that.

Anyway, it's time to close up shop here and get to bed. My kids are starting their first day of school tomorrow. It'll be my son's very very first day of school and he's super excited! I'll be back tomorrow (or later this week) to write on his blog, armed with photos and maybe a story or two about my son's exciting adventure of starting school!

The Unknown

"You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore."

I had this quote in one of my posts a while back. I found it fitting to post it again. Sometimes we all have to remind ourselves that in order to experience new things, we have to let go of what we are familiar with. It's scary to step into the unknown but sometimes that's what we have to do. It's even better if you have a friend or someone to do it with instead of being all on your own. I know I'd rather have someone with me - admittedly, I don't have the guts to do much on my own. That's probably my greatest downfall.

I got offered a job yesterday. Today was my first day. It's an alright job that pays me enough so I can pay my bills. It's a temporary part time job that may or may not last until October. They may keep me on until January. Or maybe not. It may last longer than January. Or maybe not.

I got another job offer today from Houston ISD. I am being offered a long-term sub position if I want it. It's only for 6 weeks.

What I'm mad about is that the jobs are temporary. What I need is a permanent stable job that gives me an income for the next school year. Is that too much to ask!?

A while ago, I was playing around with the idea of moving to another state for a job if I was offered the job. The more I thought about it, the more I knew that I wanted to move. I still want to move for many reasons. The weather being one of them. NYC being the other.

Now - I'm thinking that even though I was offered these two temporary jobs (and I can only have one, not both), it wouldn't last. So now I am thinking that maybe I still want to move anyway. A part of me thinks that it's a stupid and rash decision. The other side of me thinks that this is what I may need to do. Maybe I'll find a job there that isn't teaching-related.

One thing is for certain - I HATE JOB HUNTING!

What's On The News

When something big happens, you tend to hear about it on the news all the time. I never really thought about it much until now. At times, it was pretty annoying. Other times, the news coverage was actually informative and helped all of us keep up with new discoveries in whatever big case or situation.

I have a pretty bad memory. I'll get my dates mixed up. When I'm telling a story, I can't remember whether it was a Monday or a Wednesday. I'll get the facts straight but they'll be jumbled up. I'll be the first to admit "I don't really remember for sure" or that facts are "vague." But if I know I'm remembering things right, I'll say so and I'll know I'm right.

So - because of my bad memory, I thought I'd record what I've been seeing on the news lately. Mostly for myself - so I can read this 5 years from now and be able to remember accurately what went on. Also, I thought it'd be fun to have another chance to complain about a few things.

First off - more than a month after Michael Jackson's funeral, I'm seeing news EVERYWHERE about him. People are still writing/talking about the funeral and how LA paid millions (1.2 million, I think) for his funeral. The funeral was free to spectators who wanted to visit and pay their respects. Later on, LA decided they wanted to ask citizens for help in paying for the funeral by making donations. Oops - guess they realized that they can't afford it. Not only they're STILL talking about the funeral (did you know that they're saying that MJ wasn't actually IN the coffin during the service at Staples Center?), there's lots of attention on his estate and his children. Who's going to get the estate? There was a brief argument over who would take the children - and ultimately the courts decided that MJ's mother will have full custody of them. NOW people are expressing concerns over the children's upbringing because MJ's mother is allegedly a Jehovah's Witness and Michael wanted to raise the children Catholic. Apparently it says so in the will... or maybe not. I'm not sure where the "catholic upbringing" is coming from.

What business is it of ours (including the media) to express concern over the children's religion? All that matters now is that they grow up in a loving, stable home environment that will teach them values and help them become good adults. Whether they're JW, Catholic or Baptist shouldn't matter at this point. They just lost their father and they are being uprooted from their home and they're trying to grieve in the middle of all this attention. Leave them alone.

I've been getting chain emails with a link to a video that supposedly shows MJ's ghost at Neverland Ranch recently. I was curious so I checked it out. I was able to discern the "shadowy figure" that people were talking about. Yes, it looks like a figure walking across the doorway. BUT - that's all I'm willing to acknowledge it as - a shadow. The footage could have been doctored. What made me laugh was that some people said "I thought ghosts only come out a year after they die? So that can't be MJ" People were taking this seriously. I thought it was crazy and moved on.

Another thing that I'm seeing on the news constantly is the careful watch on this year's Hurricane Season. Typically, hurricanes should have already been coming (and missing us). However, this year - no hurricanes have formed at all. Some people are rejoicing. Could this be a sign that we will not have any major storms that could wreak havoc on one of our cities and kill our citizens? Maybe so. Our weather has been really strange lately. We've had almost NO rain (except for a few days of downpour). What could this mean?

News stations are saying that this is indeed good news - BUT to be careful and still be prepared. In 1983, Alicia was the season's first hurricane (and most destructive for many years) and Alicia didn't come until August 15th. While it's valid to be concerned about the lack of hurricanes and be happy about it at the same time - I don't think it merits the amount of attention it's garnered.

Other than the upcoming tax free weekend, there isn't much on the news (that I care about). I'm about to go and watch this newest reality show - Dating in the Dark - it's funny, new, and an interesting social experiment. I wonder what else TV will come up with.

Still Recovering

I went on a camping trip over the weekend. Today, I'm still trying to recover. Even though I didn't do much but sit, talk and hang out - sleeping on a hard ground (or NOT sleeping) can really do a number on you! I am so glad to be back at home and in my own bed. In fact, I slept 14 hours!!! Today, I woke up past 1pm and then went back to sleep at 3. Took a nice long 3 hour nap. I THINK I'm caught up now. Whew.

The water was really low in many parts so we decided it was safer to just stay at the campgrounds and chill. I was thankful for that. I wasn't in the mood to be sitting uncomfortably in a tube for hours on end getting sunburned on my front side. Overall, it was a good trip.

I said I'd post pictures so here's a few.

Made a pit stop at Buc-ees! The photo was rotated but won't show up correctly here. Oh well.

Doesn't it look calm and serene?

Me and the river

Just sitting and chilling - that's what we did during all our waking hours!

I think he's camera-shy

Perfect picture to show how exhausted we all were! I think he's the only one who took a nap!

Me and Robert being silly in the river. See how low it is? Just a few feet over, the water was down to our ankles. And yes, I'm drinking water. Ew!

10 Things I Hate About Texting

I'm back at home tonight, but I'm not sticking around for long. It wasn't in my plans to return home tonight, but I've come down with a small cold. I've got the chills, fever, cold, gas, and a horrible pit in my stomach. The pit has nothing to do with my cold. The past couple days was nice, but being back at home has caused me to come crashing back to reality. Reality that is my life and reality of what is going on around me, my friends, my job hunting and everything else.

I was supposed to come home yesterday to do errands, wash clothes, pack (and re-pack) for the next few days, but I was tempted into playing another game of Cashflow. When we were done, I planned to head on out but the friends I was staying with convinced me to stay another night because it wasn't "safe" and pretty late. Soooo, I stayed another night. THEN we played the game AGAIN ... TWICE.... today. Whew. I didn't get home until recently so I have lots to do tonight. I almost didn't come home, BUT the cold hit me and hit me hard. Now I'm not sure if I should even go out of town now.

Anyway, the past couple days, I've been texting and been texted-to like crazy. I've talked to more people than normal (and I'm still wondering how that happened!? Although I'm hearing from lots of random people, I'm not hearing from my closest friends at all. This makes me really sad). This also brings me to more "text" conversations. What I mean by "text" conversations are shortcuts that the electronic world considers actual words. And I've come to be annoyed by them. Very Annoyed.

For instance, why do people say kewl instead of cool? Both takes 4 thumb-strokes. It's NOT a shortcut - just a stupid word to make you sound "cool." How about "aiight"? That isn't a shortcut either, no matter how you slice it. It saves you one thumb-pressing and gives me a whole lot of "nails scratching on the blackboard" feeling. Just say "ok". Just do it. It means the same, trust me.

When driving, I'm all for using shortcuts to make words shorter and I even talk in ASL with a friend of mine sometimes - just to use less words. It's a luxury when you're trying to fight traffic and carry on a conversation at the same time. Times like these I wish I was hearing. Oh well.

Next time you're texting and feeling lazy (or busy), go ahead and use shortcuts... but make sure they're actual words instead of slang that's all the rage now. Trust me, in a year or two, you'll feel stupid over the fact you even said these words.

All of a Sudden...

It's been 8 days since I've last contributed to the blogosphere. I've been out and about lately. It's funny how the whole summer I've had almost nothing to do and yes, I complained about it to whoever would listen, that I've got hundreds of things to do now. It's not that I was looking for a pity party but just a venue to vent my frustrations out. My problem isn't lack of interest in things - God knows I'm interested in LOTS of things. My problem is being alone. I hate hate HATE being alone. How do I cure that? No clue.

Now that summer's almost over, I'm finding myself with lots of things to do. Last week, I was pretty concerned about finding things to keep myself busy (and not being alone). The one and only person that I spend most of my time with was going out of town so I was feeling a bit lost and wondering how I would ever pass the time. Even though I never said anything, it seems that my concerns were heard by many. All of a sudden, I've had people contacting me left and right - inviting me over to their homes, spending the night, going out to dinner, etc, etc. My head was spinning trying to fit everybody in.

Now I know how J feels. Trying to accommodate everybody and everything and still try to do what I want. I haven't slept in my own bed in a while. I can't remember the last time I ever slept someplace else. It was probably a few months ago and it was at a hotel. It seems that every time I go out and sleep someplace other than home - it was at a hotel. Now I am finally sleeping over at other people's houses. It's weird. Lately, I have come to hate my apartment. The walls were starting to close in on me. But now, I'd be grateful to be back in my own bed.


The way my plans are going right now - I won't be back in my own bed until Sunday night at the earliest. I THINK I'll be home after that, but a friend's trying to convince me to go up and visit him for a couple days. So that means maybe I won't be back in my bed until the 6th or so. Oy veh!

I can't complain. Right? I'm not complaining now, but I do have one little wish. I wish that everything would balance itself out to where I'd be going out plenty and still be at home at times. It'd be nice to do that instead of being at home for 2 straight months then going out for 3 straight weeks.

Anyway, I better get going here. There's 6 of us here sharing one computer and I think I've used up my time. I'll be back in a few days, hopefully, armed with pictures from the camping trip and much more interesting things to say.

Don't Be Shy!

I'm usually messing around with my blog, looking for ways to improve it. When I say improve, I mean messing with the background once in a while, changing the layout, and adding gadgets. Tonight, I found a nifty gadget that I've added to my sidebar. It's a chatbox!

This allows all my faithful readers to give a little shout out (although, that's what the comment boxes are for, right?) and to let me know you're reading my blogs. Think of it as a mini-forum or a central point for all my readers to interact with one another.

I don't know how many different readers I have, but I get at least 5-10 hits a day. Maybe it's just one or two people checking back so often, lol.

So, if you're a fan and you've been reading, drop me a note and let me know you're around! Don't be shy!

Storm's Brewing

I was watching a special made-for-TV movie on the Disney channel with my daughter. My son was on my computer playing, for what it seemed to be the 100th time, a virtual reality Pony game. He is nuts about horses and I happened to find one where you could take care of a horse, feed it, give it water, groom it, take it for walks (it pees) and you can even race it. Logan LOVES the game. It's so kid-friendly that even he figured out how to navigate the game without my help.

Anyway, during a commercial, I glanced around the apartment for several things. I like to make sure that my dog, kids and my phone are ok. Yes, I check my phone to see whether the light's blinking green or blue. It's been green all day. Boo. :(

While I was glancing around the apartment, I noticed a very pink hue streaming through my windows. Curious, I looked out the window and was amazed by what I saw. Even though I'm not a fan of pink, what I saw was beautiful. I ran outside with my camera and attempted to take some photos. I'm not particularly savvy with a camera (but would like to gain photography skills) but I'm proud of what I've done. These photos have not been altered in any way.

Looking back at what I saw and at these photos, I got (and still get) an eerie feeling that a storm was/is brewing. The wind picked up somewhat while I was outside so that made it all the more spooky. The weather today certainly has fit my mood.

When I woke up, the sky was sunny and clouds were very fluffy and white. A short while later, it became dark and moody. It brightened up again only to become dark again. I thought this was an interesting end to an interesting weather today.

I hope you enjoy the photos - and let me know what you think!

This is my first picture right after stepping out of my apartment. The pink is barely there but it was noticeable.

While the front was pink, the back was purely white, grey and blue. I thought it was interesting how the sky could look so different just by walking to the back of my building.

This is the other side of the sky that's behind my building. Darker and more clouds.

After taking photos of the sky behind my apartment, I decided to go back to the front to see how the pink sky was doing. It had become much darker and a lot more pink in just a short amount of time. This is exactly what the sky looked like.

Another point of view of the sky in front of my building. Isn't it amazing?

Deciding What's Important

I actually started this post two days ago... having the kids around after being gone for 5 weeks is hectic. I spend all day trying to entertain them. When I'm not entertaining them, they are kind enough to inform me by sticking by my side everywhere I go. They have even formed a habit of following me into the bathroom. How annoying is that!? By the time they are in bed, I am at the point of where I just want to sit on the couch and do nothing. I spend most of my evenings watching TV and movies now - because there's no way I can do that during the day. Thank God for DVR.

The kids are gone for the evening. I have an early morning and didn't want to make it any earlier than it is so I decided to drop them off at the baby sitter's tonight. Even though my hands are aching (I messed them up a few years ago by typing TONS of papers for my BA degree, and when I spend a tad bit too much on the computer nowadays, my hands let me know), I'm going to use this downtime to finally write.

I've been thinking about the last 7 years of my life lately... pretty much since my daughter was born. I became a mother fresh out of high school, but that never stopped me from going to school. I was determined to prove everyone wrong when they said I wouldn't make it. I vowed to never become a statistic. The last 7 years of my life was pretty much being a student and a full-time mom/wife. I have worked a total of 6 jobs in my entire life. Only one of them was full-time and that only lasted for 2 months before I was laid off. All other jobs were either short-term or only required me to do data entry a few hours a month. That's hardly a job.

Now that schooling is over, there is no job at the moment and I've downgraded from full-time mom/wife to just a full-time mom (working overtime) - I've thought about what I should be considering. Job hunting has taken a toll on me. I submitted TONS of applications when I completed my BA degree and received my TX certificate. There's only about 1,000 paralegals in the state of Texas that hold a certificate - and I'm one of them. That oughta land me a job, right? Soon enough, I found out that having a BA and a certificate means nothing if you don't have experience. But - that's a whole 'nother story. I allowed myself to feel down for a while, picked myself back up and went back to school to get a teaching degree. Surely, I'll have an easier time finding a job then, right?

I've looked for various part-time jobs over the last few years, but never seriously pursued anything for lack of interest and motivation. I had a means to pay my bills so why drain myself? So... school's over so it's time to get a job.

When I look at the last 7 years of my life, I spent a lot of it just playing around. I was at home all the time, played lots of computer games and watched TV (in between running errands, taking care of kids, and cleaning house). I suppose I could continue this way of life - but frankly, I've had enough. It's time for me to work and to contribute to society.

I've sent in applications to at least 5 school districts around Houston. I've had two job interviews. I didn't get the first job and a decision hasn't been made yet at the 2nd district.... I've started to wonder now - maybe I should look elsewhere.

Moving to another city/state is scary. Many times, I have told myself and many others that I would never leave Houston. It's my home - always has been and always will be. If things didn't work out here, I'd just be moving in with some other people and living a different (that means poor) life. Anything just to stay in Houston.

However, I've recently started to think.... I need my sanity and I need to feel that I'm worth something. That means I need to work. Does that mean I will have to move? Only time will tell.....

A whole lotta effort

The other day, I had a brilliant idea. Why not revamp my blog again? This time - from scratch. AND create two new blogs... one for my daughter and one for my son. I decided that general things about myself, what I'm thinking and what I'm mad about will stay on my blog. What my kids have been up to (and their photos) will go on their blogs. Fun, huh?

I decided to start with banners. I found some backgrounds I liked and customized them. Took me a few hours of fighting with a program that is NOT user-friendly (VERY much like PhotoShop). I finally did it. I have their blogs up!

Today, I decided to do another project - completely changing my background and customizing a banner. I found a nifty background that I loved but it was WAY too narrow in the center. I decided to do a lot of cut and pasting and widened the borders. So far, so good. This also took me a couple hours of teaching myself HTML through a lot of trial and error. But - I did it. At least I'm coming away from this project with some knowledge. I certainly feel smarter now that I can manipulate stuff on my website (mostly related to column sizes, but hey, it's something!)

I also created a banner (this is what you see at the top of this blog right now) using a photo editing software. I'm lovin' it! BUT there are some kinks that I'm NOT happy with so I decided to totally REMOVE it all and put my original format back on. Ugh! Hours and Hours of work and nothing to show for. Oh well.

In the meantime, I've posted RSS feeds up on the side to my new blogs. If and when I post anything on either one of their blogs, you'll see it here. How cool is that?

I'm off - to write a blog about my son. Check back soon!

Change of Heart

I've had a change of heart.  I blame the media.

Today, I plopped down on my couch - it was early, but I was already exhausted - to get my soap opera fix for the day, but my soap operas didn't come on.  Why was I exhausted?  One word:  kids.  My kids came home yesterday after staying with their father for 5 weeks.  I was looking forward to them coming home.  Was being the key word, lol.  I adore my kids and I MISSED them terribly but I didn't miss their antics!

I met Jeff halfway at about 12:30.  He had to pull over to clean up a HUGE mess that Becki made in his truck so they were late.  Better his truck than my car!  We ate at Subway and hung out for an hour.  On the way home, Becki and I chatted with her in the backseat and with me looking in the rearview mirror.  Logan was incredibly happy to be back with his mommy, so he kept giggling and pointing his cute stubby little finger (and thumb) at me.  If you know his "trademark" pointing, you'd know what I'm talking about.  We headed straight to my parents so that the whole family could visit with each other.  We had dinner there, hung out for a couple hours afterwards and got home late.  Ava was THRILLED to see her cousins and begged & begged to come home with us.  I had an interview this morning, but against my better judgment (and too soft of a heart), I let her come home with us.  We all stayed up and played until 1am.  At about 3am, all three kids came marching into my room and climbed into bed with me.  Thank goodness I have a king-sized bed.  Perfect for occasions like this.

We all woke up pretty tired and groggy.  Getting three kids ready to go is much harder than two.  What's worse - it was pouring outside!  I dropped the terrible trio at church so my mom could watch them while I went to my interview.  After the interview, I went back to church and picked up my kids.  Ava tearfully begged to come again so I let her.  Mom promised to pick Ava up at Noon when she was done teaching.  That's a whole 'nother story (Ava ended up staying all day... I am EXHAUSTED!)

ANYWAY, back to the point of this blog.  After my interview and hauling the three musketeers around, I sat down ready to watch my soap operas.  The line-up was different and sure enough, an hour later, they started airing Michael Jackson's funeral live.  Since I had the TV on and figured all major networks would be airing it, AND out of curiosity, I decided to watch it.

One word to sum it all up:  Wow.

I started out watching the funeral with such indifference.  He was somebody I didn't personally know and never really liked.  I liked the music but not so much the person.  One by one, lots of people came up on the stage to give a speech.  They shared memories and feelings.  Others came up and sang songs - some that Michael wrote/performed and some that were fitting for the funeral.  My daughter knew that MJ died.  Last night, she asked me to show her why people were so crazy about him, so I showed her some of his classic music videos - the ones that made him famous.  She was in awe.  She was a fan - but only because of one song.... "Will You Be There," the song to the Free Willy movie.  She was clueless to everything that's been going on with him.

Anyway, midway through the funeral, that song came on.  My son looked up at me - mouth open and eyes wide - and said "WILLY!"  My daughter was at the computer at the time - she came over to the TV and said "they're singing the Willy song."  Then, she asked me why.  I explained that it was a tribute to him.  She actually looked sad, watched until the song was over then walked away.

I sat in front of the TV for almost two hours watching people cry, laugh and share heartfelt and personal stories about who Michael was.  How giving he was.  How he was a child forced to grow up too soon.  They showed video montages of him when he was a little boy singing with his brothers, then later taking the stage on his own and catapulting into stardom.

At that moment, I realized... I didn't like him because of what I saw on TV, in newspapers/magazines and on the Internet.  Because of what the media showed.  There are MANY of us that never knew the real Michael - the Michael behind closed doors.  Maybe he was a molester - but maybe not.  That was never proven.

Although I always thought he was so weird, I started to see that he had a whole different life when there weren't cameras in his face.  These people that spoke proved that.  They portrayed him in a way that many of us never knew because these things were so personal.

Reverend Al Sharpton looked down at Michael's 3 kids (who sat front row next to Michael's mother, 5 brothers and 2 sisters) and said "There was nothing strange about your daddy, what's strange is what your daddy had to deal with."

At the very end, MJ's family took the stage.  Earlier, his brother Jermaine sang MJ's favorite song and broke down into tears.  He was still crying.  It was Marlon's (one of the original Jackson 5) turn to say something.  When Marlon was done, the family turned to leave but MJ's daughter said something to Janet, so they stopped and lowered the microphone for her.  MJ's daughter started out trying to say a few things but broke down into tears and said "I love him so much."  My heart broke for her and yes, I shed a tear.  No child should experience the loss of a parent at such a young age, regardless of who the child or the parent is/was.

Even though MJ wasn't my cup of tea, he was a person and there are lots of people that are grieving for him - his family, children, and close friends.  Out of respect, I unpublished the joke I recently put up and my last post about him.

Captioning in Movies

If you're like me, you probably check websites every now and then to see if any good movies are showing in theatres with captioning. While messing around and doing some research on how open captions work, I found a website that allows RSS feeds on movies playing. I figured this would be an excellent way to check for updated information without having to check multiple websites.

This also saves me (and you) the hassle of checking back frequently to see if it's been updated. I remember waiting two days to check the website for updated information and finding out that I was 2 hours too late for a movie that I REALLY wanted to watch. That sucked.

I've put in an RSS feed over in the right column on this website for myself and any others who would like easy access to ALL movies playing in ALL theatres - regardless of whether it's OC or RW. Before today, I had to check three separate websites to get the information, so hopefully it'll save my finger from excessive mouse-clicking.

Enjoy.

Hope for Fat Dogs

How cute!

What the Bleep?

So.. most of you know that I'm going for my masters in Deaf Ed. 23 months down with 1 month to go and that month couldn't come and go any faster than I'd like it to. I'm down to my last two requirements for the worthless degree I'm about to get (and by the way, I have already received my certification, yippee!!!). A huge Comp project and of course, the Comp Exam, which is due in about two weeks. If I haven't told you yet about the Comp project, you'll find out about it now.

Basically, the Comp project is a super-long paper (I'm up to 15 pages so far and I'm NOT even halfway done) detailing what I will do during certain points of my first year as a teacher. Prior to the start of school, first week of school, end of the first 6 weeks, end of the semester, beginning of the 2ND semester, early spring (ARD preparations) and end of the year. I have to painstakingly explain what I will do in which situation at these points of the year and why. Fine, I get the point of the project - but as I struggle to complete it each day, I get more and more frustrated. Why? Get ready because I'm about to give an eyeful.

In every aspect of the paper, I'm required to recite how I plan to incorporate speech, language and audition skills in my lessons along with the other normal stuff like seating, IEP goals for individual students, blah blah blah. I have to talk about how I plan to evaluate the students, determine whether they're improving and how I plan to incorporate new ideas into new lessons based on the students' success. Language I can understand but speech and audition!?

I had an interview last week with a school district that I'm not too crazy about. I had an interview with them back in November as a long-term teacher... needless to say, I didn't get the job. However, this time around, I was much more prepared for the interview because I had a very good idea of what type of questions they would be asking me. Regardless of my teaching philosophy and my personal experience, I answered the questions according to what I knew they wanted to hear. Never mind my beliefs - I was willing to say whatever BS possible to get the job. I'll find out Friday whether I got it or not. I highly doubt it, though.

Now, as I'm completing the Comp project, I'm looking back at the interview and thinking about what they asked me. The more I work on the project and the more I think about the interview, the more I get agitated and angry over their philosophies. It just seems to me that Deaf Education programs are being overrun by hearing people who know crap about Deaf people. In two years of my education and my interviews, I've seen that these people are more concerned about the Deaf kids that has the potential of speaking and hearing. Never mind those who are mute and profoundly deaf with no possibility of hearing a sound. Who needs them, right?

I may be profoundly deaf now but I'm certainly not mute. I may not have grown up profoundly deaf but these "insignificant" profoundly deaf and mute people are my parents and friends. It really bothers me that people put more of a focus on deaf children who may be able to achieve much more than those who cannot hear or speak. What the hell? Who are they to decide early in the children's life who and who may not be successful based on how much skill they have in hearing and speaking?

In every lesson, I'm required to think and talk about how I can accommodate those who can speak and hear. I have to talk about how I plan to improve these skills and incorporate them in everything I do. What about the others? What about using your time to think about what visual aids you can use to provide better education for those who cannot hear and speak?

Ultimately, I know that if and when I become a teacher, what I do in my classroom is up to me. However, I do have to follow laws and abide by the IEP goals, district rules and of course, the program rules. I've told myself that I could always put up with stupid people for a while until I found a position at a district that I could appreciate. However, the more I think about it, the more I wonder... am I willing to compromise my beliefs and the children's education because the program coordinators think they know what they're doing? Don't get me wrong - I have no formal experience under my belt so I am not in any position to say I'm better than they are... but I AM a deaf person, I DO have deaf parents and I ALSO have a deaf child.

I teach GED to deaf adults that are struggling really bad (and I mean, bad) in English and Reading. The funny thing is - 3 of the 5 adults grew up in oral schools. My heart goes out to them - and I just keep thinking.... if people cared about them in the beginning and provided them education in their natural language along with visual aids (frankly, ANYTHING that could take advantage of their eyes rather than their ears), would they be at the same place they are today?

White and Nerdy - Funny!

Found this video today... with subtitles!

White n Nerdy - Captioned Video- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

My Favorite Comic

I first saw him on a summer reality show called Last Comic Standing. He ended up winning the season and the title. He's hilarious!

Josh Blue - Last Comic Standing- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

FaceBook in Reality - Idiots of Ants

Facebook in Reality - Idiots of Ants (Captioned)- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

FaceBook Manners

Facebook Manners - Captioned- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Recognizing The Benefits of Deafness

The benefits of being Deaf:

1. We have the innate ability to block out annoying sounds (ha!)
2. We can stand clear across the room from each other and still be able to
communicate quietly without bothering others.
3. One can stand inside on the 3rd floor of a building with windows closed
and still be able to communicate with another down in the parking lot. So
cool, huh?
4. We can talk about anybody or anything we want (for instance, bowel
movements) in a public place and not worry about being "overheard." BUT -
be careful, you just never know who may know how to sign.
5. When you're having an argument with someone, you can "scream" as
loud as you want with your signs and still be silent!
6. My favorite: When you're arguing or being annoyed by someone, just
avert your eyes or close them - instant solution to making the person go away
(unless they constantly tap you or follow you around - which I will do
if you ignore me)!

All joking aside, Deafness can be considered a hardship. Depending on your family, the amount of your hearing loss, your first language, and millions of other factors, some of you may experience more hardships than others. We face many things: discrimination, lack of communication with parents/people, slower language development, and so on. But ultimately, if deaf people are supplied with the proper tools and match them up with motivation and desire to improve themselves, every deaf person can be successful in one way or another.

Last night, I was up all night talking to J about lots of random things. We saw Star Trek a few days ago, so we talked a bit about that. The movie was awesome! I know very little about the characters and stuff, but found the movie very interesting and captivating. Anyway, off the topic here... We eventually started talking about the frustrations of being Deaf. The number one problem we probably face as a Deaf person is communicating with other people. Something as simple as giving directions or asking someone to hand you a wrench could be problematic. I grew up with enough hearing to talk on the telephone, listen to music and carry on as an almost-hearing person. I also developed the ability to speak well (most of the time), so I could not totally 100% relate to the profoundly Deaf. However, since losing all my hearing 14 years ago, I've had to learn to deal with a new problem - not being able to hear anything at all.

I was at the movies the other day. Something as simple as purchasing a movie ticket could become a really embarrassing task. I've maintained my ability to speak, so stating the movie title is not a problem. However, when I told the lady that I wanted a ticket to Star Trek, she said "12:40." I understood her and the numbers she was saying, but somehow, I had thought it was the dollar amount she was charging me. I kept telling her, no - $7.50. She repeated "12:40" several times then finally tapping at her watch. Finally, it dawned on me. She was asking me which time I wanted a ticket for. Duh. (But in my defense, the next movie wasn't until like 1:30, and when we were purchasing tickets, it was 12:15 or so. It would make sense that we'd want to see the 12:40 show instead of the 1:30.)

Even though we face a lot of hardships, there are plenty of good things we can bring to the world. Here's a word of encouragement. Even though you may face hardships such as communicating with others and not being able to express yourself the way you may want to, there are many fine qualities that you can bring to people. Think about it, as a Deaf person, you have been given a tool, a tool called experience. Through your personal experience, frustrations and your opinions, you have the power to influence people to think differently about the Deaf and our culture. You have the power to make an impact in people's lives: both hearing and deaf.

I don't see myself as one that is fully embedded in the Deaf culture but I do appreciate it. As Deaf people, we can educate others about the workings of the Deaf culture. You can inspire others to become an excellent interpreter (and we know we could use more of those). Or, if they do not become interpreters, they may become an advocate for the Deaf community and play an active role in supporting Deaf rights. Before you "Deaf Power" people start criticizing me, I do believe that the Deaf community should be led by the Deaf, but it never hurts to have hearing people to take an active interest in our culture. After all, there are lots of more of them than there are of us.

Finally, maybe we were born deaf (or lost our hearing) for a reason. Maybe we were put here to help other less-fortunate Deaf people. This is my number one reason for becoming a Teacher of the Deaf. I want to use my experience and my connection to the Deaf community to help young Deaf children grow to become successful. The best kind of role model for young deaf children is a Deaf adult who has the knowledge and motivation to push the children beyond their limits and help them recognize that anything is possible.

If you want to think out of the box, think about the Deaf people that reside in third world countries. Who better to help them than Deaf people who have compassion for their own kind? Someday, I'd like to travel someplace and spend several weeks helping the less-fortunate people in any way I can. It'd be good for anybody - to see and understand the reality of what these people go through... not only facing deafness (which earns them almost no rights in their country), but hunger and diseases. I guarantee you (and myself) that we'll appreciate the American life far greater than we do now.

So, next time you think about the things you can't do, start thinking about the things you CAN.

Living a Whole Lifetime in 7 weeks

After 14 weeks of student teaching, I am back to my old life. Going to bed late, sleeping in, being a kid at heart almost all day (and it's exhausting!), cleaning up and doing things around the apartment. This is only my 3rd full day back at home, and I already feel like I have too much time on my hands. While it's exceptionally nice to be back at home, I feel happier when I'm working. Contributing to society, supporting myself and my kids, and most importantly - keeping myself busy.

Don't get me wrong. It's really nice to be back at home again full-time. I can get things done and go grocery shopping during the day. How I missed grocery shopping in the daytime during the week. I've gotten used to enduring long lines in the evenings and on the weekends along with the working people. Now I share the lines with stay-at-home moms, the recently unemployed and lazy bums.

In just 7 short weeks, I've learned more than I ever could in my entire life what NOT to do as a teacher. Teaching high school was a mess! In my personal opinion, some of the teachers created much more drama than the students did. They actually leeched off the drama between the students and recreated them. They call it "professionally discussing their concerns for the students" but they are really feeding off the energy and amplifying the situation. Some of the students acted more mature than a few of the teachers. How sad is that?

During my evaluation (which I passed with flying colors - but that doesn't mean anything to me coming from an ineligible sponsor), my supervising teacher gave me some advice - two, actually. First, he said I needed to be more social with the students and the teachers. Yeah - because I didn't want to hang out with him during my free time, that means I'm not social enough. Right. Second, he said I needed to dress more professionally. There he was - telling me that when he himself was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Maybe he meant I should wear skirts or pretty myself up. If that's true - he deserves a fist in the face. Here are some "Don'ts" I've observed and told myself to NEVER EVER do when I'm a teacher. It's also my advice to the supervising teacher I had:

1. When a student needs help on an assignment, never tell him/her to hold
on so you can finish talking about another student and his/her problems (in the
presence of a class).
2. Don't leave your student teacher alone for 30-45 minutes at a time
(almost daily) to wander the halls, talk to other teachers and come back with an
excuse saying "I had to deal with a problem."
3. When you make rules, never break them. If YOU break them, your students will.
4. Never make up grades based on how you feel about the students. If he earned it, good. If not, do NOT give him a passing grade! That only sets them up for failure in the future.
5. Do NOT back stab or gossip about your co-workers. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday it'll come back and bite you in the ass. Hard.
6. Don't teach the same lesson every...single...day. It's BORING! No wonder your students hate you.
7. If you're lazy - you're NOT meant to be a teacher.
8. When you often dump your class on another teacher because of a "situation", do NOT call that teacher lazy when he wants you to return the favor once in a blue moon.
9. Do NOT meddle in your students' lives. There's a fine line between caring and getting involved.
10. If you give assignments and tell them it's for a grade, do NOT just throw them in the trash when you've decided you don't want to be bothered with the gradebook. It's a waste of the students' time (especially when the assignment is 2nd grade material...like, really!? You'd give seniors a 2nd grade assignment!?).
11. When the student teacher teaches for a week, creates an assignment/test, and administers it to the students, do NOT disregard that as "practice" for the student teacher and simply place the papers aside. At least when the student teacher teaches, the students are actually LEARNING. Look that up in the dictionary - I'm sure it's a very unfamiliar term to you.
12. Again - if you're lazy - do NOT become a teacher.

Overall, you can see my experience wasn't a very good one. I did enjoy some of my time there. I met some teachers that I've become friendly with and hung out with during my breaks. There are some decent people there and the students can be super nice.

If you or anyone you know is planning to intern at HISD, please PLEASE talk to me first. I'll tell you who's good and who's not - so you can be sure you're not placed with the same teacher I was stuck with.