I can now post

It took me forever to figure out how to make a new post. I would click on dashboard and sign in/sign out, and would get an error message.

Now that I know what to do, I'll fill you in with all the latest, although now it's time for me to get ready for work. I'll be back later. Here are some bullets.

-Robert Lighthouse
-Mardi Gras party (Ed was there)
-My dad was a guest speaker in class
-my new cell phone
-the mean thing I did on Saturday and almost got busted

I had to switch to new blogger

Well, I guess I logged into old blogger for the last time on my last post.
I ended up going to the 80s party and it was fun. Ryan didn't go, and I think that was for the best. He did go to the afterparty with me, and he had a good time. I think I should've won the costume contest, but no one has to tell me I won. I won in my own mind. :)

I wore a light pink cable sweater with a grey izod underneath (of course the collar was up). Acid washed jeans with black legwarmers, silver pumps ( with a clip on flower at the end) with white socks, one long dangly earring, a headband, atrocious hot pink lipstick, and thick blue eyeshadow (reminiscent of Mimi from Drew Carey). I found my old Koosa at my mom's house and carried that around. I think that was everything. Scary mama. I was looking for my Class of 85 tshirt, but I think my mom threw it away. That was my second shirt if I got too hot in the sweater. A lot of people had on those leggings with lace, mini skirts, the cut up tshirts and sweatshirts, and there were a lot of headbands on foreheads. Mine was in my hair.

Today I got a text message from someone with a 605 or 607 area code. This is the second text I've gotten from this stranger and it's spam. They sent me stuff about friendship and someone sent something about Valentine's Day. Whoever they are, I wish they would stop. I think it costs me 15 cents to look at text messages. I am not a fan of texting unless it's absolutely necessary. Next time I'm going to call the person and a) find out who they are and b) tell them to stop sending me their junk text messages. Ugh!

Drama...

I never have drama in my life. I lead a pretty boring life, and I like it that way. The day of truth appeared last Friday. Lisa (Ed's sister in law) is having a huge birthday bash this Saturday. She always has a big event for her birthday, and this one is really big because she's turning 30 (There are 80 positive responses at this point). So, she did the evite thing, and the theme is the 80s. Everyone's supposed to dress up in their 80s outfit, and show up at the bar around 2pm. Well, I was wrote that I would be there plus 1 guest. I checked the list on Friday, and I noticed that Ed's name was in the yes column.

Now my dilemma-a)Do I still go to the party with Ryan and try to do my best to ignore Ed? b) Do I go to the party alone so I don't have to deal with any of this even though I already invited Ryan and he said he would go with me? or c) Skip the party because I'll be seeing Lisa and some of her friends the following weekend?

The answer is c. I already emailed her to tell her I wouldn't be going. It kind of sucks because I would like to celebrate with her on her big day, but I don't want to be around if Ed gets drunk and starts flapping his yap. Ryan told me he doesn't want to be in an uncomfortable situation and he'd be fine if I went alone (of course). This also saves me from having to buy an outfit that I would wear once and end up taking it to Goodwill next Saturday. I think this is why I have no drama. I always do the right thing. :)

I'll Give Myself an A-

My first day of class went pretty well. So far, I have 5 women in my class. One is an older lady, and the rest are freshmen in college. They need to take my class and pass in order to take the remedial community college math and continue with their studies. Since it's a free class, they want to be there, and I think that helps tremendously. I introduced myself, and according to the Instructional Specialist, I made a fatal error stating that this was my first time teaching the class. I was debating whether to mention that, but I figured I would since we are all trying to learn the best we can, and if I'm doing something wrong, maybe they'll feel more free to speak up. The IS said that the students wouldn't have confidence in me if it was my first time. We'll see how it goes.

They had to take a placement test yesterday, and they all got about the same score. Afterwards, we went over it, and I realized that most of them have to start at the beginning. They can add, but they have trouble adding numbers that involve carrying. Same with subtraction. They know their multiplication tables (amazingly), but they have trouble with long division. So..I definitely have some work to do, but after the class yesterday, they seem to like my teaching style, and they make faces when they don't understand. :) Because the class is all girls, I really think they feel comfortable stating that they don't understand. There are no guys to impress and boys tend to show off even though they don't know anything either, so I like class the way it is.

It snowed here today, and I'm hoping that we have class tomorrow (if not, there is no class until next Wednesday), but it's supposed to get icy overnight, and I have a feeling class will be cancelled. The good news about that is that I don't have to set up a lesson plan. The bad news is that I won't know until tomorrow morning, so I have to set up a plan anyway.

My mother is STILL in the hospital. She's going through test after test, and she's going to have to wear the oxygen tubes all the time, but I don't know what else is wrong, and why they keep giving her tests. Hopefully she can come home tomorrow.

Today's Funny

On my drive home, I was thinking about where I went last year for my two-week vacation. And then I thought...oh yeah, I had a two month vacation when I got fired. DOH! I didn't go anywhere!

I'm going to Sturgis again this year, and as of right now, I'll be riding out solo. It will be great if I end up meeting up with someone or not. I'm getting a little tickle in my stomach thinking about it. Unfortunately, Emmie, my best friend in the whole world, won't be able to make it, but she'll be there in spirit!!

My Stubborn Mother

My older sister just called me to tell me that my mom is in the emergency room. She had a hiatal hernia (her stomach was moving towards her esophagus and making her burp and throw up a lot) two summers ago (I think), and she had to have a breathing capacity of at least 90% before she was released. Recently, she has been feeling very faint, and I guess it's all due to her breathing. My family is crazy. I say this because this is my phone conversation with my sister:

Sis-Did younger sis call you? (Note: younger sister is a dentist)
Me-No, why, what's going on?
Sis-Mommie's in the hospital.
Me-Why?!
Sis-She was having trouble breathing, so Daddy took her to the emergency room.
Me-Well, is there an update?
Sis-No. Daddy left because he had a dental appointment.
Me and Sis-Hysterical laughing.
Me-Wait, so Mommie can't breathe, yet Daddy is leaving to get his teeth cleaned?
Sis-*Still laughing* I know! Younger sis said people cancel their dental appointments for a headache, meanwhile Daddy is leaving his wife of 36 years who can't breathe to have his teeth cleaned.
Me and Sis-More laughing.
Sis-I think Mommie hasn't wanted to go to the lung doctor because they would make her go on oxygen and she doesn't want to do that, so now she's paying the piper.
Me-Figures. I totally understand her point (long time readers may remember her trip to Africa).
Me-Well, call me when you hear something.
Sis-Well, since neither of them knows how to check voicemails, I'll just have to wait for a call. If I hear anything, I'll call you. I'm on my way to the gym. Later.
Me-Bye.

The Two Sides of Me

I was talking to Krystyn today on gmail and we had a grand conversation. We were talking about the wedding and preparations and stuff like that, and then I mentioned that I was going to see Wicked tonight.

Two weeks ago, right before we left for Medieval Times, I went to the bar with Ryan's brother's girlfriend and another buddy of theirs. We'll call the girlfriend Kate (I love making up names). She was telling me that she wanted to go to NYC to see Wicked but it was too expensive, blah blah. I mentioned that I had season tickets, and I was telling her about some of the other shows that I had gone to see. Then I remembered that I had an extra ticket, and I asked her if she was interested in going (This was a total afterthought). Of course, she said yes, and she was excited. I told her that she'd have to sit behind the man with the big head, but for a free ticket, who cares?

I called her last week or maybe the week before to let her know that the show was tonight and to let me know if she was still interested because she could meet me at my house and we could ride in together.

Well, she never called me back. So this week, out of the goodness of my heart, I figured that maybe someone else would like to go. The show has been sold out for a while, and everyone has been talking about how they would want to see it. I, being the space cadet, had no idea the show was going to be so popular. I called a few people and no one could make it. I found someone to go with now, but let's pretend for a moment that I didn't.

This afternoon when I left work, I noticed that there was a voicemail message on my phone. I checked it and of course, it's Kate. She's like 'Sorry to get back to you so late, but I have to work late tonight because we're getting audited..blah blah blah.' I am so not surprised. I can't believe she waited until 10a on the day of the show to let me know she couldn't go. If her message said that she still wanted to go, I wasn't going to call her back. hee hee. How rude. I offered her my 50 dollar ticket to go see a show, and all she can do is bail the day of the event. I'm not so happy with her. Luckily, I don't see her that often, and I only have to deal with her when I see Ryan's brother, but she only gets two at bats from me, and she's struck out on both accounts.

So, the good side of me is the one that gives out free tickets to the theater to strangers. The bad side of me (and this is what Krystyn and I talked about) is that if I consider you a friend, I'm really not very nice. I was telling her that I suck at being a bridesmaid, and I never call my friends back "just to talk." I'm mean, in the nicest way possible, I guess. The moral is-don't get close to me, or you'll get burned. *evil laugh* HA!!HA!! (Ok, that makes me sound really mean, and I'm not that mean, just a little mean)

Blogger Troubles

It seems that a lot of people are having trouble with blogger, but I'm not. Sometimes when I log in, it says 'do you want old or new blogger?' and I say old. I did have trouble commenting on a couple people's blogs that switched to the new one, but that didn't last very long.

I wonder what's going on, and I wonder if I'm going to have to switch. I hope not because I like the blogger that I know and am used to. I guess time will tell.

If I wasn't such a cheapskate, right now I would be enjoying the hot Miami weather and playing Xbox with Donovan McNabb and Clinton Portis. Unfortunately, I'm sitting in my housecoat, catching up on blog posts, and drinking strawberry/orange juice. *sigh* One of these days I'm going to have to bite the bullet and spend a dime.

I did treat myself to a manicure/pedicure yesterday. I hope I don't get a weird foot infection. That would be just my luck.

My Class List is Official

It's almost Friday!! I get paid tomorrow, and I'm so happy about that. Well, not that it really matters, but it's always a good day when you get a check in the mail.

Speaking of checks in the mail, I received two on Monday. It was such a pleasant surprise. One was from the community college for 20 bucks. I don't know if that's my signing bonus or what, but I will gladly accept it (I sent the lady my direct deposit info today). My bank is far away, so I always have to mail my checks, and direct deposit is so much easier. The other check was for 100 bucks from the Harley dealership. I put down a deposit years ago thinking I would buy a Harley, but I never did. I guess they realized that and sent my money back. It's like Christmas around here. :)

I went to my final orientation session last night, where I received my class list amongst a million other papers. I realized that I needed a tote bag (so I could be cool like all the other teachers), and I ended up buying a Timbuk2 messenger bag. It has reflective stripes so I can use it while riding also. It also has a laptop compartment so that if I have to travel with work, I won't look like a typical business dudette carrying their laptop. I try so hard to be a little different.

The verdict is that I will be teaching 6 students. I'm hoping that with such a small class size, no one will drop out, and everyone will be able to get into the remedial math class at the college upon completion of the course. I have next week off, and then I'm going balls to the walls into my second career as a teacher. You have to give back to the community once you're happy/satisfied with the life you have.