December 13, 2009
My bumbling Bengals lost to the Vikings today in rather embarrassing fashion. I knew they were going to, but it was still disappointing. This is due to the fact that I also knew they were going to lose to Pittsburgh twice, Baltimore, Green Bay, and others. They beat 9 teams that I would have easily believed that they would have lost to, so why not beat the Vikings? Well, because they are not as good as the Vikings, that's why.
So speaking of Minnesota, I have told people in the past that I really enjoyed my 14 month stay in Bemidji, Minnesota. I worked for Kmart at the time, and was promoted from a store in Northern Kentucky, to the store in Bemidji. It was a 1000 mile move and took me away from my girlfriend/future bride, Beth. To this day, I wonder why I did it except that the people who asked me to go played into my ego by saying that I was the person they hand-picked for the position and that I could clean up the problems at the store. Since I then took 3 more promotions in the next 5 years based on the same criteria, I guess you could say my ego was kind of a mo. I cleaned up the store in Bemidji, went on to clean up a store in Buffalo, New York, and then cleaned one up in Erie, Pennsylvania, and then almost died trying to fix one in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I finally figured out that Beth and having a family was more important than playing to my ego after that.
Anyway, I really did like Bemidji. If you have never been there, it is (or was then) a town of 11,000 people. Almost everyone I met there was super nice, especially my assistant at the store, Carrie Moe. Ironic, yes. She was the one who taught me how you could assure the sex of your child, which is a "scientific" fact that I still quote to this day. If you need help in predetermining the sex of your baby, let me know and I can share this secret. As for everyone else in the town, they spent their time rooting on the Minnesota teams, drinking, and figuring out ways to play outdoor sports. The summer in Minnesota was on July 24th and 25th, so the rest of the year they were convincing themselves that it wasn't cold outside. In Spring, once it turned 30 degrees outside, the shorts started selling.
You may know that I am not fond of the cold, so when I pulled into town and parked at the motel, I should have known something was up when there was a post next to every parking space with an outlet. When I asked why, I was informed that this was where you could plug in your engine block heater. Pardon me?!? Apparently, this was just the beginning. I laughed when someone told me that the lake would be frozen over by Thanksgiving. It was not only frozen over, but people would drive their trucks out on it, build fish huts, and cut holes in the ice to fish. Inside these fish huts could be found heaters, televisions, and alcohol. One guy came into the store the day after building his fish hut on the ice with an ear that was red and swollen. When asked what caused it, he said he forgot to wear a hat and kept that side of his head towards the wind the whole day so only one ear would get cold. Did I mention the alcohol?
It was nothing for the people of this town to travel from Bemidji to Fargo, North Dakota or The Cities (Minneapolis/ St Paul) just to go shopping. Both of these shopping excursions took 5 hours to drive, one way. My wife and I moved from one part of Cincinnati to another because it took 10 minutes to get to the grocery store instead of the 3 minutes it takes now.
So, since this is a blog and not a novel, I will wrap up my feelings on the town of Bemidji by saying that both Beth and I enjoyed our stay there, brief as it was. We still talk about the Taco Juans fast food place, the bar we used to go to and drink Killians, the dog man, and the people we met there. They sure knew how to have a good time, though we don't remember all of it. Did I mention the alcohol?
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Bless this weekend off
December 12, 2009
Finally. It seems like a long time between weekends off, mostly because it has been a long time. I know that for those of you who have to work every weekend, I will evoke no sympathy, but it has been a month since I have had two days off in a row. I guess I have gotten soft, but I really need the two days to get body and mind back together in order to do it all over again. Things have been so busy at the store this year that it leads to a level of frustration when you walk out of the store knowing the closing team is going to have a rough night. I know the team working this weekend is going to be challenged as well, and I will consider it a blessing if no one calls or texts me about something going wrong.
Anyhow, my main concerns for the weekend are having fun with Beth and CJ and staying warm. Boy, am I a whiny child about being cold. Our new furnace is getting a workout. CJ generally walks around in boxers, a tee shirt, and bare feet; while I have on pants, socks, shoes, a long sleeve shirt, and a sweatshirt. Still, my hands are cold and if I pressed my nose against your belly, you would probably take a swing at me. You may think it's funny, but it's snot.
Thus, I need an explanation about this jogging thing. It is 0 degrees outside with the windchill, and there are people out there running in shorts. Sure, they have on a knit cap and gloves, but really? I also know that exercise generates body heat, but how do you convince your mind to walk out the door and make your legs start moving. I once saw a movie about a runner and it really drove home the point about how large a role the mind plays in the ability to run, especially for distance. You have to convince yourself that there is no pain. Apparently, my mind is not equipped for such things as I am in pain just THINKING about running.
What surprises me about this though, is that I actually have a strong threshold for pain. I have bad knees and ankles, and feet, yet I go about my business every day without too much complaining. When I bang into something or cut myself, I just rub some spit on it and get back to work. However, ask me to walk to the car in the cold, and my brain causes my whole body to tense up and makes my ass pucker.
I dream of living some place warm someday, but it all depends on the future CJ chooses. I think it reflects my unconditional love for him that if he opts to live in Cincinnati or somewhere near these parts, I won't be able to live in the south and not see him or his kids often.
So, I am going to go jump in the shower (not literally, that would be dangerous) and see if that warms me up a bit. I realize I could also work out to generate some body heat, but did I mention what a weak mind I have? Weak mind, weak body. They seem to go together. Actually, I plan on working out today in some manner. My gym membership has not been getting much use lately. If I stepped onto a Wii Fit board today, the little thing would go "one at a time please". I suppose it could happen...just like me putting up the Christmas tree the other day. :)
Finally. It seems like a long time between weekends off, mostly because it has been a long time. I know that for those of you who have to work every weekend, I will evoke no sympathy, but it has been a month since I have had two days off in a row. I guess I have gotten soft, but I really need the two days to get body and mind back together in order to do it all over again. Things have been so busy at the store this year that it leads to a level of frustration when you walk out of the store knowing the closing team is going to have a rough night. I know the team working this weekend is going to be challenged as well, and I will consider it a blessing if no one calls or texts me about something going wrong.
Anyhow, my main concerns for the weekend are having fun with Beth and CJ and staying warm. Boy, am I a whiny child about being cold. Our new furnace is getting a workout. CJ generally walks around in boxers, a tee shirt, and bare feet; while I have on pants, socks, shoes, a long sleeve shirt, and a sweatshirt. Still, my hands are cold and if I pressed my nose against your belly, you would probably take a swing at me. You may think it's funny, but it's snot.
Thus, I need an explanation about this jogging thing. It is 0 degrees outside with the windchill, and there are people out there running in shorts. Sure, they have on a knit cap and gloves, but really? I also know that exercise generates body heat, but how do you convince your mind to walk out the door and make your legs start moving. I once saw a movie about a runner and it really drove home the point about how large a role the mind plays in the ability to run, especially for distance. You have to convince yourself that there is no pain. Apparently, my mind is not equipped for such things as I am in pain just THINKING about running.
What surprises me about this though, is that I actually have a strong threshold for pain. I have bad knees and ankles, and feet, yet I go about my business every day without too much complaining. When I bang into something or cut myself, I just rub some spit on it and get back to work. However, ask me to walk to the car in the cold, and my brain causes my whole body to tense up and makes my ass pucker.
I dream of living some place warm someday, but it all depends on the future CJ chooses. I think it reflects my unconditional love for him that if he opts to live in Cincinnati or somewhere near these parts, I won't be able to live in the south and not see him or his kids often.
So, I am going to go jump in the shower (not literally, that would be dangerous) and see if that warms me up a bit. I realize I could also work out to generate some body heat, but did I mention what a weak mind I have? Weak mind, weak body. They seem to go together. Actually, I plan on working out today in some manner. My gym membership has not been getting much use lately. If I stepped onto a Wii Fit board today, the little thing would go "one at a time please". I suppose it could happen...just like me putting up the Christmas tree the other day. :)
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Beware the ghosts of Christmas
December 8, 2009
Beth let me in on the fact that she changed my blog's password, and that is why I could not access my account. She has restored it and I am back. Since there has been a lot going on, I will give you snippets on the happenings.
As for work, I still haven't lost my temper with coworkers or guests, though they seem to be challenging me to do so. If you are ever in a big box retailer, look up and see how high the ceilings are. Then imagine a dude telling you that he "dropped" his phone which is currently stuck above one of the ceiling tiles. He was a big dude wearing a University of Cincinnati shirt, so I assumed he is on the football team. They are currently undefeated and playing in the Sugar Bowl on New year's Day (congrats), so I think these guys may be a little too giddy right now. Without reviewing the video, I'm guessing one of his also rather large buddies took his phone from him and tossed it into the air where it entered and stayed in the ceiling. I obtained a very large ladder from the stockroom and retrieved it for him with the promise that any more shenanigans would bring a beat down from me. They chuckled (I am 5'10", 160 pounds). Fortunately, they left not long after.
Another adult female the same night decided to bounce one of the super bouncy balls very hard on the floor, thus, knocking down one of the decorative ornaments hanging from our ceiling. She then had the nerve to complain that it almost hit her on the head.
While I can't say that I was pleasant with either of these two folks, I also refrained from losing my temper. I am really trying this year. Our whole management team has tried very hard to stay calm and get the job done, and I think we are managing thus far. We are all very tired though, so if you shop at our store, or just about any retailer this season, please be gentle.
As for more personal things, I created a stir with a comment on June Garden's blog inadvertently this past week. She has asked for volunteers to perform random acts of kindness towards strangers, and then report back. It was and is a great idea and has spurred many good tidings. One person paid for the Starbucks order of the person in the line behind her at the drive thru. At first I thought that paying for another person's Sbux seemed like helping the not so needy. Other people had gone to their respective downtowns and handed out money to homeless people and such. However, the more I thought about her act, I realized that it is about the act of kindness, not monitoring the income levels of the recipients. Besides, what if this RAoK spurred the recipient into a pay it forward mentality and a whole bunch of people started being nice to other people. That would really be something. So I posted a shorter version of this sentiment which was promptly received as an insult by the person who had performed the act. Wow, was it taken out of context. She posted a rebuttal, her sister posted a scathing rebuttal, during which she threatened to cut me (I assume cut metaphorically), and it got ugly for a bit. I never posted back as I had headed off to work and didn't know what had happened, but it got touchy for awhile. I have decided to just be a lurker on June's blog as there is no reason to create that kind of stir again.
At home, we have stimulated the economy of late with a television purchase, a computer purchase, and a new furnace/air conditioner. We got great deals on all three, and two of the three were necessary purchases. It has caused Christmas to come early at our house. CJ was very sweet when he saw these purchases as we have already put them into use. He realized how lucky we were to be able to get these things and said to just buy him some chocolate for Christmas. Beth and I love the fact that he has a sense that money does not grow on trees and there won't be much more money spent on gifts. Beth and I do not exchange anything big as we like being able to spend money the rest of the year without having blown our whole wad on Christmas. CJ's birthday is 12/20 and he will be a teenager. That is the subject of a whole other post, but it sounds scary. However, we do plan on getting him a birthday gift, please don't tell him.
So while I am really looking forward to the holidays being over, I am trying to keep in mind that an almost 13 year-old may actually like this season. I'm thinking of putting up our tree today to let him know that I don't need to be visited by the three ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. I'm workin on it...
Beth let me in on the fact that she changed my blog's password, and that is why I could not access my account. She has restored it and I am back. Since there has been a lot going on, I will give you snippets on the happenings.
As for work, I still haven't lost my temper with coworkers or guests, though they seem to be challenging me to do so. If you are ever in a big box retailer, look up and see how high the ceilings are. Then imagine a dude telling you that he "dropped" his phone which is currently stuck above one of the ceiling tiles. He was a big dude wearing a University of Cincinnati shirt, so I assumed he is on the football team. They are currently undefeated and playing in the Sugar Bowl on New year's Day (congrats), so I think these guys may be a little too giddy right now. Without reviewing the video, I'm guessing one of his also rather large buddies took his phone from him and tossed it into the air where it entered and stayed in the ceiling. I obtained a very large ladder from the stockroom and retrieved it for him with the promise that any more shenanigans would bring a beat down from me. They chuckled (I am 5'10", 160 pounds). Fortunately, they left not long after.
Another adult female the same night decided to bounce one of the super bouncy balls very hard on the floor, thus, knocking down one of the decorative ornaments hanging from our ceiling. She then had the nerve to complain that it almost hit her on the head.
While I can't say that I was pleasant with either of these two folks, I also refrained from losing my temper. I am really trying this year. Our whole management team has tried very hard to stay calm and get the job done, and I think we are managing thus far. We are all very tired though, so if you shop at our store, or just about any retailer this season, please be gentle.
As for more personal things, I created a stir with a comment on June Garden's blog inadvertently this past week. She has asked for volunteers to perform random acts of kindness towards strangers, and then report back. It was and is a great idea and has spurred many good tidings. One person paid for the Starbucks order of the person in the line behind her at the drive thru. At first I thought that paying for another person's Sbux seemed like helping the not so needy. Other people had gone to their respective downtowns and handed out money to homeless people and such. However, the more I thought about her act, I realized that it is about the act of kindness, not monitoring the income levels of the recipients. Besides, what if this RAoK spurred the recipient into a pay it forward mentality and a whole bunch of people started being nice to other people. That would really be something. So I posted a shorter version of this sentiment which was promptly received as an insult by the person who had performed the act. Wow, was it taken out of context. She posted a rebuttal, her sister posted a scathing rebuttal, during which she threatened to cut me (I assume cut metaphorically), and it got ugly for a bit. I never posted back as I had headed off to work and didn't know what had happened, but it got touchy for awhile. I have decided to just be a lurker on June's blog as there is no reason to create that kind of stir again.
At home, we have stimulated the economy of late with a television purchase, a computer purchase, and a new furnace/air conditioner. We got great deals on all three, and two of the three were necessary purchases. It has caused Christmas to come early at our house. CJ was very sweet when he saw these purchases as we have already put them into use. He realized how lucky we were to be able to get these things and said to just buy him some chocolate for Christmas. Beth and I love the fact that he has a sense that money does not grow on trees and there won't be much more money spent on gifts. Beth and I do not exchange anything big as we like being able to spend money the rest of the year without having blown our whole wad on Christmas. CJ's birthday is 12/20 and he will be a teenager. That is the subject of a whole other post, but it sounds scary. However, we do plan on getting him a birthday gift, please don't tell him.
So while I am really looking forward to the holidays being over, I am trying to keep in mind that an almost 13 year-old may actually like this season. I'm thinking of putting up our tree today to let him know that I don't need to be visited by the three ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. I'm workin on it...
Monday, November 30, 2009
Blecchh Friday
November 30, 2009
Yeah, it has been awhile since I last posted, but did you know I worked in retail? I have been crazy busy at work and have found very little time for Call of Duty even. This time of year I generally have to choose between a relaxing family life or doing a good job at work. Doing a good job this time of year means dedicating yourself to long, thankless hours trying to satisfy both your boss and those pesky guests. It, unfortunately, means being tired and cranky with your family and not being around as much as you would like. It does, however, mean you stay employed and can afford to buy them lavish gifts and take them for outrageously expensive dinners.
Speaking of which, did you ever make a facetious suggestion that took fire and became the idea everyone adopted? Well, that is what happened for our Thanksgiving dinner this year. I was reading the paper one day and a Steak and Shake ad popped out. On it I saw that they were having their half price shakes and drinks happy hour special all day on Thanksgiving day. Wouldn't it be awesome to go to Steak and Shake for Thanksgiving was my suggestion. And that is what we did.
Beth loved the idea because it eliminated two of the things she dislikes the most about preparing the Thanksgiving dinner (or any dinner for that matter), the shopping and cooking. I KNOW!! Quite the catch!! Then the idea took flight as Beth's mom got involved. First, it was my idea, which carries a lot of weight with mom-in-law as I married her daughter when it appeared that no one might.
I do both like sex and dislike being suffocated in my sleep, yet I continue to give Beth a hard time in this post. This is mostly because anyone that knows Beth, knows that I am the one who married up, and because it is really cute when she stomps her foot and punches me in the arm...REALLY CUTE!!
Continuing on, the second idea that made mom-in-law go along with his idea, is that having my brother-in-law into either her house or ours may involve getting some bed bugs as new pets. As the daughter of the best man in my wedding once eloquently stated, "Bugs, sick!"
So there we were at Steak and Shake getting our chicken sandwiches and burgers and shakes for our Thanksgiving meal. The wait staff was SO excited to see us when we came in. There were six of them crowded around the counter and no customers. It was 5:00pm. I don't think we were the first ones in there all day, nor were we the only ones that ate there that night, but that did not stop them for showing their enthusiasm for our entrance. I heard one of them tell another after we ordered, "And they all want shakes". This was not said with joy as you might have guessed.
Anyway, we had a great time. I think it may become a tradition. We are all fancy like that.
So Black Friday was also great fun. I worked from 3:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon and watched all you crazy people go after the big deals. It was actually the best Black Friday I have been involved in and my store did its highest one day sale total ever. The top store in the company was in Delaware.
So House is on and we can catch up with the DVR (on our new tv, which is another story), so I will post again later (on our new computer, which is another story). Obviously, all the ads on my blog are generating scads of income. If you can't see them, make sure you take off the pop up blocker.
Yeah, it has been awhile since I last posted, but did you know I worked in retail? I have been crazy busy at work and have found very little time for Call of Duty even. This time of year I generally have to choose between a relaxing family life or doing a good job at work. Doing a good job this time of year means dedicating yourself to long, thankless hours trying to satisfy both your boss and those pesky guests. It, unfortunately, means being tired and cranky with your family and not being around as much as you would like. It does, however, mean you stay employed and can afford to buy them lavish gifts and take them for outrageously expensive dinners.
Speaking of which, did you ever make a facetious suggestion that took fire and became the idea everyone adopted? Well, that is what happened for our Thanksgiving dinner this year. I was reading the paper one day and a Steak and Shake ad popped out. On it I saw that they were having their half price shakes and drinks happy hour special all day on Thanksgiving day. Wouldn't it be awesome to go to Steak and Shake for Thanksgiving was my suggestion. And that is what we did.
Beth loved the idea because it eliminated two of the things she dislikes the most about preparing the Thanksgiving dinner (or any dinner for that matter), the shopping and cooking. I KNOW!! Quite the catch!! Then the idea took flight as Beth's mom got involved. First, it was my idea, which carries a lot of weight with mom-in-law as I married her daughter when it appeared that no one might.
I do both like sex and dislike being suffocated in my sleep, yet I continue to give Beth a hard time in this post. This is mostly because anyone that knows Beth, knows that I am the one who married up, and because it is really cute when she stomps her foot and punches me in the arm...REALLY CUTE!!
Continuing on, the second idea that made mom-in-law go along with his idea, is that having my brother-in-law into either her house or ours may involve getting some bed bugs as new pets. As the daughter of the best man in my wedding once eloquently stated, "Bugs, sick!"
So there we were at Steak and Shake getting our chicken sandwiches and burgers and shakes for our Thanksgiving meal. The wait staff was SO excited to see us when we came in. There were six of them crowded around the counter and no customers. It was 5:00pm. I don't think we were the first ones in there all day, nor were we the only ones that ate there that night, but that did not stop them for showing their enthusiasm for our entrance. I heard one of them tell another after we ordered, "And they all want shakes". This was not said with joy as you might have guessed.
Anyway, we had a great time. I think it may become a tradition. We are all fancy like that.
So Black Friday was also great fun. I worked from 3:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon and watched all you crazy people go after the big deals. It was actually the best Black Friday I have been involved in and my store did its highest one day sale total ever. The top store in the company was in Delaware.
So House is on and we can catch up with the DVR (on our new tv, which is another story), so I will post again later (on our new computer, which is another story). Obviously, all the ads on my blog are generating scads of income. If you can't see them, make sure you take off the pop up blocker.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
November 17, 2009
Remember how scary the flying monkeys were in The Wizard of Oz? Well, now they just look like kids dressed up for Halloween in their flying monkey pajamas. Is it the colorization? I think so. We showed CJ a clip from the movie right before he went to bed last night (trying to give him nightmares, I guess) and he looked at us like we must of been the most scaredy-pants kids in the history of kids wearing pants. I explained that the movie came out in the 1960's, and then Beth corrected me that it came out in 1939. I was very close. He let this go as an explanation, but I do remember being rather afraid of these monkeys. "And your little dog too", still rings in my ears. No, the monkeys don't speak, but the bad witch says that, and the monkeys are her friends...duh.
As for the length of this post and the infrequency of posts in general, I have been very busy with work and Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2. I decided to buy the newest version despite the warnings about inappropriate scenes involving terrorists. I have seen this scene, and deemed the purchase okay for two reasons. First, the scene is in story mode, which CJ hardly ever plays. And second, there is the opportunity to skip this scene and CJ will be doing so if he ever plays story mode. Otherwise, I have found the language to be less offensive in this version than World at War, except from the on line players, but they can be muted. Therefore, I have taken to playing this game instead of posting more. I received no comments from my last post, even though there was some begging on my part, so this has returned to being my own personal journal.
The next couple posts will have something to do with The Bengals, Xavier basketball, or Modern Warfare 2, as none of these things have let me down of late as much as "my faithful readers". Sniff.
Remember how scary the flying monkeys were in The Wizard of Oz? Well, now they just look like kids dressed up for Halloween in their flying monkey pajamas. Is it the colorization? I think so. We showed CJ a clip from the movie right before he went to bed last night (trying to give him nightmares, I guess) and he looked at us like we must of been the most scaredy-pants kids in the history of kids wearing pants. I explained that the movie came out in the 1960's, and then Beth corrected me that it came out in 1939. I was very close. He let this go as an explanation, but I do remember being rather afraid of these monkeys. "And your little dog too", still rings in my ears. No, the monkeys don't speak, but the bad witch says that, and the monkeys are her friends...duh.
As for the length of this post and the infrequency of posts in general, I have been very busy with work and Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2. I decided to buy the newest version despite the warnings about inappropriate scenes involving terrorists. I have seen this scene, and deemed the purchase okay for two reasons. First, the scene is in story mode, which CJ hardly ever plays. And second, there is the opportunity to skip this scene and CJ will be doing so if he ever plays story mode. Otherwise, I have found the language to be less offensive in this version than World at War, except from the on line players, but they can be muted. Therefore, I have taken to playing this game instead of posting more. I received no comments from my last post, even though there was some begging on my part, so this has returned to being my own personal journal.
The next couple posts will have something to do with The Bengals, Xavier basketball, or Modern Warfare 2, as none of these things have let me down of late as much as "my faithful readers". Sniff.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Are you saying my kid's an idiot???
November 4, 2009
I just found out one of CJ's teachers reads my blog. She was out sick for our parent teacher conference, so I wanted to give her a bit of a start upon reading the title.
The most surprising thing I learned at the PTC, was...THAT CJ'S TEACHER READS MY BLOG!! I know, I am supposed to be way more interested in what the teachers had to say about CJ (and we will get to that), but the fact that I now know of 3 people that occasionally read this bit of frivolity intrigues me. Since no one ever comments (besides my favorite blogger, June Gardens), I had no idea that anyone besides Beth reads. Are there more lurkers out there? Hey, feel free to leave a comment every once in a while, just let me know you are breathing and I will make more of an attempt to post instead of taking free time to play Call of Duty.
So anyway, we did get good news and not as good news about CJ and his schoolwork. Sitting there with the teachers made me feel sorry for my parents at PTCs as they always had to hear about my behavior problems from the teachers. "He is really smart, but he gets so distracted.", or "He would get better grades if he quit pulling Lisa Child's hair and caused less classroom distractions." Well, sure, Lisa was not a big fan of the hair pulling, and I'm sure Billy's parents would have really liked it had I not pushed his face down into the water fountain and chipped his tooth. However, I think going undiagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder could have been a problem for many kids of my generation.
Speaking of ADD, perhaps I should get back to the original point of this post.
My point of bringing up my own PTCs, is that it is a tremendous feeling to have never been told of any behavior issues from CJ's teachers in the 8 years we have been going to PTCs. He is a good kid at home, and apparently is a good kid at school. Mrs. Science Teacher told us how he helped some classmates understand some science they were having issues with, and Mrs. Math Teacher told us how he was a leader amongst his small group and she liked how his brain worked. (Fortunately, I don't think she has seen his brain work after a glass of Dr Pepper or too much sugar, yeesh!)
So he has a problem with his writing skills. If Mrs. Language Arts had ever read my blog, she would be more understanding of how genetically he has a lot to overcome. Thank goodness for spell check and creative license. I choose to whip out my license anytime you think the sentence I just typed is strangely structured (like this last one for instance). I think the reason Beth does not comment on my blog is that most of the comments would be something like "could you use a few more parentheses", or "how about finishing a thought, ya mo", or "you know a lot is two words, don't you? What exactly did your parents pay to send you to Xavier?"
Wow. Where is this hostility coming from?
So to attempt to wrap up (and I wonder why no one comments..too exhausted wading thorough the muck), we discussed with CJ how important it is to be able to communicate well through the written word. He gets it, and says that he will try harder and ask for more help from his teachers. "This is why they get the big bucks", I explained. If any of you are reading, he also says you are the best teachers he has ever had, and the funniest, and the smartest, and he hopes this year will never end. :)
I just found out one of CJ's teachers reads my blog. She was out sick for our parent teacher conference, so I wanted to give her a bit of a start upon reading the title.
The most surprising thing I learned at the PTC, was...THAT CJ'S TEACHER READS MY BLOG!! I know, I am supposed to be way more interested in what the teachers had to say about CJ (and we will get to that), but the fact that I now know of 3 people that occasionally read this bit of frivolity intrigues me. Since no one ever comments (besides my favorite blogger, June Gardens), I had no idea that anyone besides Beth reads. Are there more lurkers out there? Hey, feel free to leave a comment every once in a while, just let me know you are breathing and I will make more of an attempt to post instead of taking free time to play Call of Duty.
So anyway, we did get good news and not as good news about CJ and his schoolwork. Sitting there with the teachers made me feel sorry for my parents at PTCs as they always had to hear about my behavior problems from the teachers. "He is really smart, but he gets so distracted.", or "He would get better grades if he quit pulling Lisa Child's hair and caused less classroom distractions." Well, sure, Lisa was not a big fan of the hair pulling, and I'm sure Billy's parents would have really liked it had I not pushed his face down into the water fountain and chipped his tooth. However, I think going undiagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder could have been a problem for many kids of my generation.
Speaking of ADD, perhaps I should get back to the original point of this post.
My point of bringing up my own PTCs, is that it is a tremendous feeling to have never been told of any behavior issues from CJ's teachers in the 8 years we have been going to PTCs. He is a good kid at home, and apparently is a good kid at school. Mrs. Science Teacher told us how he helped some classmates understand some science they were having issues with, and Mrs. Math Teacher told us how he was a leader amongst his small group and she liked how his brain worked. (Fortunately, I don't think she has seen his brain work after a glass of Dr Pepper or too much sugar, yeesh!)
So he has a problem with his writing skills. If Mrs. Language Arts had ever read my blog, she would be more understanding of how genetically he has a lot to overcome. Thank goodness for spell check and creative license. I choose to whip out my license anytime you think the sentence I just typed is strangely structured (like this last one for instance). I think the reason Beth does not comment on my blog is that most of the comments would be something like "could you use a few more parentheses", or "how about finishing a thought, ya mo", or "you know a lot is two words, don't you? What exactly did your parents pay to send you to Xavier?"
Wow. Where is this hostility coming from?
So to attempt to wrap up (and I wonder why no one comments..too exhausted wading thorough the muck), we discussed with CJ how important it is to be able to communicate well through the written word. He gets it, and says that he will try harder and ask for more help from his teachers. "This is why they get the big bucks", I explained. If any of you are reading, he also says you are the best teachers he has ever had, and the funniest, and the smartest, and he hopes this year will never end. :)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Heavens to Mergatroid!
November 1, 2009
So, apparently sometime last night or this morning, I popped a hemorrhoid. One time in a Magnum P.I. episode, Thomas Magnum taught me that if you were scared of something-say being circled by a shark while treading water in the middle of the Pacific Ocean-and you gave it a silly name, it will swim away and leave you alone. Well, I would love for this thing to leave me alone, so I have started calling it an asteroid. Seems both appropriate and silly enough. Now if it will only swim away.
I just got finished raking the leaves after emptying the dishwasher. Beth asked me why I did these chores as it is football day. I had said earlier that my plan was to lay on the couch and watch football. However, I decided that to take my mind off of my asteroid, I needed some activity. It worked. The reason I decided this was the best course of action, was that the only other time I wasn't thinking about my asteroid today was when Beth and I were doing our volunteer shift at Kid's Club. This is the day care at our church. We take care of 3 year olds whilst there parents attend service. We chose the 11:45 shift today so we could sleep in, go to the 10:00 service, and then do day care. The original schedule showed them short-handed for this time slot, so volunteer we did.
At first it looked like we were not going to be too busy as kids were slow to arrive. Kid's Club has an electronic check-in system, so you have a screen that tells you who to expect. Then you use the touch screen to move them from "on-the-way", to "checked in". The supervisor said that with the time change, this service may not be too busy since most people had an extra hour to get to the 10:00 service. Then, they started to come. And come they did.
When the kid shows up, you check them in, give them a sticker to designate what room they are in (we are the snake room), and put a sticker on their jacket with their name to facilitate the parent pick up. All was going well. Kids were getting checked in and were joining in some activity. There are toys to play with, coloring to do, puzzles to build, and all kinds of things for a 3-year old to do. Then...the 8th kids came, followed by 9 and 10. The touch screen wasn't working to change the status from OTW to checked in. Then numbers 11 and 12, and 13 came. On the screen we could see 5 more kids were on the way. One of the new arrivals was crying for mom, and then number 14 started to cry as she was checked in. Beth called the front desk using the same tone I remember her using when I was fixing a faucet in the house and the water started to spew everywhere. It was if she were yelling to the front desk "TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OFF!!" This was not actually what she said, nor did she yell, but from my side of the phone, I could tell she wanted to.
Anyway, it was just Beth and I in this room, but they sent another volunteer down to help us out. We were outnumbered 18-2, so another helper would reduce the odds some. That is, if the other person could actually live up to the name "helper". Kid's Club has a system in place that you can alert the parents in the service by flashing a 4 digit number on the screen that corresponds to their child. The parent then leaves the service to retrieve their child. We did this with one of the girls who would not stop crying, and thought it would be a good idea to do the same with the other. However, our "helper" decided that she had calmed down enough to stay. She was wrong unfortunately, but Beth and I were involved in the large group activity already, and taking care of the other 17 kids, so the opportunity was lost. As those of you in child care know, two adults taking care of 17 3-year olds, is very similar to herding cats. You may be able to get them where you want them to go, but food better be involved. So we get them back for snack time, and our "helper" has prepared 17 Dixie cups full of pretzels for the kids.
The choices are pretzels, Goldfish, and Cheerios. Given these choices, which would you prepare? One other time, a "helper" had said that we could not mix the cups. I have heard about not crossing the streams when it comes to bustin' ghosts or peeing in a men's trough style urinal, but who thinks it's a bad idea to mix Goldfish with Cheerios?
So we sit 17 kids down in front of Dixie cups full of pretzels, two kids are now sobbing, and 10/15 kids are saying they want fish, not pretzels. Well, yeah, me too. So we started to switch things out. A calm came over the room for awhile. Our "helper" got a phone call and had to leave. However, the worst was hopefully over. We then took to having them make crowns for themselves as this was today's small group activity. It went surprisingly well as they stuck stars onto their "King David" crowns. Beth and I were holding our own. The one girl was sobbing, but doing so quietly while eating. The other girl was sobbing and crying for mom, so we took turns holding her. Yes, this made the odds 16-1 for kids to the other parent, but they really were doing okay. The room isn't that big, you have to get one down off a step stool or table every once in awhile, and only a couple of them had to go potty. We survived. God tested our mettle, and we survived the storm. We even got to appreciate how cute some of the kids were, and we even memorized most of the names.
Fortunately, today's parents have decided that naming any child Michael, Stephen, John, or Mary, is against the law. We had a room full of Devon, Justice, Jenesis (yes, with a J), Goddess, Shomfe, Grayson (2 of them), Marcus, and a Brenner. For some reason, I am blanking on the two girls names who sobbed the most.
Anyway, about 3 weeks ago, the church had an event for the volunteers of the parish that was free and rather extravagant. Food, entertainment, drinks, etc. Beth and I felt a little guilty for attending since we had only volunteered a couple of times each. We looked at each other after today's Kid's Club, and said we did not feel any guilt anymore for attending the event.
Thank you God for the opportunity, and for helping us help them. We will be back as we know that we love these kids and Your guidance will see us through. AAAmen.
So, apparently sometime last night or this morning, I popped a hemorrhoid. One time in a Magnum P.I. episode, Thomas Magnum taught me that if you were scared of something-say being circled by a shark while treading water in the middle of the Pacific Ocean-and you gave it a silly name, it will swim away and leave you alone. Well, I would love for this thing to leave me alone, so I have started calling it an asteroid. Seems both appropriate and silly enough. Now if it will only swim away.
I just got finished raking the leaves after emptying the dishwasher. Beth asked me why I did these chores as it is football day. I had said earlier that my plan was to lay on the couch and watch football. However, I decided that to take my mind off of my asteroid, I needed some activity. It worked. The reason I decided this was the best course of action, was that the only other time I wasn't thinking about my asteroid today was when Beth and I were doing our volunteer shift at Kid's Club. This is the day care at our church. We take care of 3 year olds whilst there parents attend service. We chose the 11:45 shift today so we could sleep in, go to the 10:00 service, and then do day care. The original schedule showed them short-handed for this time slot, so volunteer we did.
At first it looked like we were not going to be too busy as kids were slow to arrive. Kid's Club has an electronic check-in system, so you have a screen that tells you who to expect. Then you use the touch screen to move them from "on-the-way", to "checked in". The supervisor said that with the time change, this service may not be too busy since most people had an extra hour to get to the 10:00 service. Then, they started to come. And come they did.
When the kid shows up, you check them in, give them a sticker to designate what room they are in (we are the snake room), and put a sticker on their jacket with their name to facilitate the parent pick up. All was going well. Kids were getting checked in and were joining in some activity. There are toys to play with, coloring to do, puzzles to build, and all kinds of things for a 3-year old to do. Then...the 8th kids came, followed by 9 and 10. The touch screen wasn't working to change the status from OTW to checked in. Then numbers 11 and 12, and 13 came. On the screen we could see 5 more kids were on the way. One of the new arrivals was crying for mom, and then number 14 started to cry as she was checked in. Beth called the front desk using the same tone I remember her using when I was fixing a faucet in the house and the water started to spew everywhere. It was if she were yelling to the front desk "TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OFF!!" This was not actually what she said, nor did she yell, but from my side of the phone, I could tell she wanted to.
Anyway, it was just Beth and I in this room, but they sent another volunteer down to help us out. We were outnumbered 18-2, so another helper would reduce the odds some. That is, if the other person could actually live up to the name "helper". Kid's Club has a system in place that you can alert the parents in the service by flashing a 4 digit number on the screen that corresponds to their child. The parent then leaves the service to retrieve their child. We did this with one of the girls who would not stop crying, and thought it would be a good idea to do the same with the other. However, our "helper" decided that she had calmed down enough to stay. She was wrong unfortunately, but Beth and I were involved in the large group activity already, and taking care of the other 17 kids, so the opportunity was lost. As those of you in child care know, two adults taking care of 17 3-year olds, is very similar to herding cats. You may be able to get them where you want them to go, but food better be involved. So we get them back for snack time, and our "helper" has prepared 17 Dixie cups full of pretzels for the kids.
The choices are pretzels, Goldfish, and Cheerios. Given these choices, which would you prepare? One other time, a "helper" had said that we could not mix the cups. I have heard about not crossing the streams when it comes to bustin' ghosts or peeing in a men's trough style urinal, but who thinks it's a bad idea to mix Goldfish with Cheerios?
So we sit 17 kids down in front of Dixie cups full of pretzels, two kids are now sobbing, and 10/15 kids are saying they want fish, not pretzels. Well, yeah, me too. So we started to switch things out. A calm came over the room for awhile. Our "helper" got a phone call and had to leave. However, the worst was hopefully over. We then took to having them make crowns for themselves as this was today's small group activity. It went surprisingly well as they stuck stars onto their "King David" crowns. Beth and I were holding our own. The one girl was sobbing, but doing so quietly while eating. The other girl was sobbing and crying for mom, so we took turns holding her. Yes, this made the odds 16-1 for kids to the other parent, but they really were doing okay. The room isn't that big, you have to get one down off a step stool or table every once in awhile, and only a couple of them had to go potty. We survived. God tested our mettle, and we survived the storm. We even got to appreciate how cute some of the kids were, and we even memorized most of the names.
Fortunately, today's parents have decided that naming any child Michael, Stephen, John, or Mary, is against the law. We had a room full of Devon, Justice, Jenesis (yes, with a J), Goddess, Shomfe, Grayson (2 of them), Marcus, and a Brenner. For some reason, I am blanking on the two girls names who sobbed the most.
Anyway, about 3 weeks ago, the church had an event for the volunteers of the parish that was free and rather extravagant. Food, entertainment, drinks, etc. Beth and I felt a little guilty for attending since we had only volunteered a couple of times each. We looked at each other after today's Kid's Club, and said we did not feel any guilt anymore for attending the event.
Thank you God for the opportunity, and for helping us help them. We will be back as we know that we love these kids and Your guidance will see us through. AAAmen.
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