Birthdays and Baseball

Last night, we went to Buca de Beppo for Deb's 30th Birthday. Happy Belated Birthday Deb! (even though it wouldn't really be late since I was there and said so on your birthday, but in case you wanted to be wished h. b-day again, there you go). The food was great. It was fun to go out with friends. The service was not the fastest, but all in all it was a lot of fun.

The sad news is that the Twins lost tonight. Althought, my husband (and probably many many others) predicted that they would lose because they didn't have home field advantage. I'm sad about it now. I was hoping for the best for the team. Sonny says it wouldn't have mattered. He, again with many others, believe that the Twins wouldn't have made it far if they had won, and neither will the Sox. I guess that means I will be rooting for the Rays this weekend.

Twins Game

So, a guy from Sonny's work happened to have tickets to the last game of the Twins/White Sox Series. And for whatever reason, a week or so before the game, he offered the tickets to Sonny because he couldn't go. Sonny, of course, gobbled them up and we went to the game. And on Wednesday night, at the end of the second game of the series, we realized how big the Thursday night game was going to be.

We made sure to wear Twins gear. We had been to three games earlier in the year and every time we went, the Twins lost. We almost thought that we shouldn't attend because of this trend. But we were hopeful that they were going to win. Also, if they did win, they would be a half game ahead of the White Sox in the division, and that would be awesome.

Well, the game did not have a very promising start. No score in the first, second, or third. Top of the 4th, the Sox scored 6 runs. It was at this point, I asked Sonny if we should leave. We weren't so hopeful anymore.

Twins scored two at the bottom of the fourth and from then on were consistent in averaging at least one run per inning. By the end of the 8th inning, they were tied, 6-all. At the end of the 9th inning the tie remained and we entered the 10th inning. The Sox made no progress in the 10th and the Twins managed to score therefore winning the game!!

(For those of you that already know all this, I apologize. But not all my friends follow baseball.)

It was awesome to be there!! We had awesome seats in the second row to the right of the foul line. It was so exciting in there!! I could hardly stand it!!

I did manage to hold onto my voice. People at work the next day were surprised I had a voice left. I'm a speech path. I know better than to scream my lungs out, for the most part.

And another crazy thing, besides the come from behind win was the fact that I ran into my ex, Phil, there. He happened to be in town taking a mini-vakay and we just happened to be at the same game in sections right next to each other. Crazy!

More Videos that I forgot

I forgot to add a couple more of the YouTube videos that I like.

This one is a Velvet Underground song: I'm sticking with you. It's a funny little video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrgujzqSrRI

And after I added the other JibJab video, I thought I better add this one because it gets stuck in my head too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztj2qfui114

Enjoy!

More YouTube

Lately, these are my favorite youtube videos.

Time for Some Campaigning (a JibJab video as seen on Jay Leno)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adc3MSS5Ydc

SNL Digital Short about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (random, although it was better when it was actually on SNL so the picture moved)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmd8iS2895s

They Might Be Giants: Never go to work (from their Here Come the 123s DVD as seen on the Disney Channel)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3Kgj6EiZtw

The three of these seem to take turns playing through my head. But I think that my personal favorite is the TMBG song...because I like to think about having the option of never going to work. :)

I don't look good in tenure.

I know that there are a couple people that read this and don't like when I use it like a journal to vent. So, if you are one of those people, now would be a good time to go your email or some other site because this is a venting entry.

At the end of the last school year, I was working .6 in one building and .2 in another. The SEC (Special Ed. Coordinator) for the building that I worked .6 in asked me if I would return if they only had the .6 for me for this year. I knew that the family was using the insurance through my work and I also knew that I wouldn't qualify for that insurance if I worked less than .8, so my answer at the time was no.

As a result, I sat all summer waiting for the phone call that never came. (Last year, I got a phone call in mid-August to come back, but instead of 1.0 (or full time), it would be at a .8 (or four days a week). My husband and I kept an eye on the website and we left town for Vegas for our end of summer vakay and when we came back, that school's posting was gone. I called and found out that they had filled the position. I was SOL.

So I browsed the website some more and found my current position. Well, not actually. I found some positions in early childhood and I thought that they might be right up my alley because I have an child that age and I might 'get it' now and be a good choice for those positions. But again, those positions had been filled, and thusly, I ended up with the position I have now.

Now, granted I do have a full time job, and granted I am making pretty much double the paychecks I was making last year at this time. But it doesn't make up for the fact that if I have a job in the district again next year, I start over in my probationary period (well, not really because I have already done two years), but in terms of working towards tenure, I would.

Then I started thinking, "Aside from job security, what do I need tenure for?" It's just causing me headaches and making me sad that I screwed myself over in the tenure department and knowing that I won't be tenured, if I cared to be, for at least another 4 years. I mean, I get paid the same either way.

And then I thought, "What if I didn't care if I never became tenured?" And for the first time in like a month, I felt totally calm. My headache subsided momentarily and I realized that tenure is just a word. It doesn't define me or my abilities. It just locks me into a position. And at this point, I don't honestly know if that's something I would want or not...

Post Script: But just for the record, that doesn't mean that I probably won't continue to worry about this...it was just interesting to have this thought today.

Mourning

So today was one of those icky days at work. It wasn't icky in the sense that the kids were bad or anything like that. It was more along the lines of the fact that I was talking with a teacher and we were discussing tenure. She believed that tenure was achieved after three consecutive years. I am crossing my fingers that is not the case because I am too old to start over next year.

So then on the way home I was listening to a CD and it had the song Mourning by Tantric on it and singing along to it made me feel a bit better. It made me remember the first time I heard it. I first heard the song back in February 2002 as I was sitting at Tabula, on the University of North Dakota campus, prepping for my NESPA (I think that was the name of the test). My friend Harmony and I decided to take a break from studying and she said I needed to listen to this song. She put the headphones on me, started the song and walked off to get something to drink.

As I listened, the words spoke to me, as songs tend to do for college-aged kids. I had recently been through a big break up and instantly liked the song. I don't remember that it made me sad. It just made me realize that things happen for a reason. So I guess listening to it today maybe created the same feeling: that things happen for a reason. Even though right now, I am blind as to what those reasons are when it comes to working in this district.

Clarification

To clarify yesterday's entry: Sonny goes into Lukin's room at night, when Lukin can't sleep and starts to cry. He doesn't go into Lukin's room when he (Sonny) starts to cry. After I read the comment, and read the entry again, I could see the point and I laughed as well. Thanks TR2!

"Aha" Moment

So the other night,I went downstairs to go to bed and noticed that my son's bedroom door was open. I peeked in and realized that my husband was sound asleep on the futon. I know that my husband only goes into Lukin's room when he cries at night and I wondered why I didn't hear him. Nevertheless, I went in and woke my husband and told him to go to bed. He did just that.

As I turned around, I saw my son sitting up in his crib. That was an odd thing to see at 10:30 at night and so I walked over to his crib. He said, "Da?" And I replied that daddy has to go to work so he has to go sleep in his bed. This answer appeared to appease Lukin and so I gave him a hug and he laid back down.

I asked if I could cover him up with his Pooh blanket and he nodded yes, already laying with his eyes closed and his fingers in his mouth. I asked something else and he nodded again with his eyes closed and then I smiled as I left the room. Apparently, all he really needed was for mommy to come and retuck him in.

That's when it occurred to me. I have a student at school that just needs someone to pay attention to him. When I paid the attention to Lukin, he was fine in seconds and laid down to go to sleep. Maybe if someone gave that kid at school 5 minutes of their time at home, then he would be better able to focus and make good choices instead of only bad ones to get attention. Maybe not. But that's my thought for the day.

9/11

I know that I am a week late to comment on 9/11, but I am going to do it anyway. And I want to add the disclaimer that I do not intent for what I want to say to be offensive or insensitive in any way, it's just my thoughts.

So the other night, I was watching a program on the History Channel entitled: "102 Minutes that Changed America". It showed the events of 9/11 from 9 different points of view from 10 different locations around the city on the day of those fateful events.

As I watched the program, there were several times when my eyes began to tear up. I remember that day. For me, and for several other people around my age, it was the first national tragedy that we had been alive for. Maybe that was why I was tearing up: because it was a national tragedy that I remember.

I mean, I remember exactly where I was sitting when Cathy (my student teacher supervisor) took the call from her husband. I remember the way she said, "Oh no!" And I think back to what a poignant moment that was. There I was, thinking that something sad had happened and, at that moment, not really knowing just how profoundly sad it really was. I mean, I thought it was something like an uncle or grandparent had passed away. It never crossed my mind that it would be anything like it turned out to be.

I remember thinking about how I (along with many others around the country) couldn't tear ourselves away from watching it one more time on the television and then not being able to turn away because maybe this time, it wouldn't collapse. I remember the sense of sadness that I felt every time that it did. It was denial.

So when I watched it on tv the other night, I remember experiencing those same emotions again. It was depressing. Like I mentioned, there were several times that I had to wipe the tears from my eyes.

But then I got mad. Why did they show this on tv? Granted, I did't have to watch it, but I did because I remember. I mean, watching it, I was just as sad as when it happened, and for what? My husband says that they show programs like that so that we don't forget.This didn't help my anger. I hadn't fogotten!

My over-analytical self kicked in at this moment because I thought about how sad I was for this tragedy and realized that it was not the sadest I had ever been in my life. I have been through some sad experiences before. The main one that comees to mind is the death of my sister. But (thankfully) no one recorded every moment of that occurrence so that I could pull it out and replay it on an annual basis. Why would I want to do that? Why would anyone want to relive a tragedy like that over and over again? So they don't forget? I don't think that you really can forget when there is a tragedy that affects you as an individual.

When Steph passed away, I remember so many different moments of the following week and all its surreal events. I remember how sad I was when it actually happened. I remember how sad I was when I had to call everyone to tell them what was going on, and how bad I felt that so many people were so happy to hear from me only to find out that it wasn't a social call. I remember how my aunt Mic dropped the phone when I told her. I remember getting up the following morning and having my dad tell me that he didn't know how he was going to make it through the next several days and that he would need my help. I remember not really crying for a couple days after that because I was trying to be strong for the family. I remember the exact moment when I finally did break down and bawl (Wednesday night). I remember the funeral. I remember the burial service at the cementary. I remember how sad the whole thing was. So why would I want to relive that annually? So I don't forget? I don't want to remember it all with crystal clarity.

So, I guess that's why I had mixed emotions about the program on 9/11. I understand that its intent may have been to make sure that we remember, but really, for those who are old enough to remember, did we really forget?

Stacie and Mike's visit

So Stacie and Mike made their way to the cities the week after their wedding. They stayed with us on Saturday and we took them out. The plan was originally dinner, bowling, and then the piano bar.

Even though, Mike had wanted to go to Psycho Susie's, we ended up going to have Juicy Lucy's instead. We ended up skipping bowling because we got a late start and because someone forgot her ID when we went out. So we went back to grab it and then headed downtown to 'The Shout House'. (I should have taken a picture of the sign, but I didn't think of it til now.)


If you have never heard of it, or never been there. It's a dueling pianos style bar. It's a lot of fun. Stacie and I especially liked the bouncer. We didn't know he was going to sing "Shoop" for us. That made us laugh, partly because he was singing "Shoop" and partly because he reminded us of our friend Derek.


Stacie said that the bar wasn't what she expected. But I think that she and Mike had a fun time. Mike especially liked the part where some people paid $85 to have them sing the NDSU school fight song. He had the biggest smile on his face for that part.


I also took advantage of the opportunity to introduce Stacie to the best Cosmopolitans I have ever had. Yum!


We took photos on the way home to show what a good time we had.


And I am sure that a good time was had by all.

My sister (and new brother-in-law)'s wedding

This would be the morning after we arrived in Cavalier. It would also be the boys attempt at helping to decorate the legion. It would also be the only picture I took that day. (Sorry for forgetting to snap a quick photo of the Legion after it was decorated...not to mention pictures of the rehearsal.)


The next morning, we had to go get our hair done. I, in my usual over-analytical state, was trying to figure out why we get our hair done for a wedding. Is it supposed to be a relaxing fun time? Is it just to make it so you don't have to do your own hair? Or is it just an excuse so the guys can go golfing while we get up early to get our hair done? I'm not sure.


A shot of the bride by herself.


The bride with her sister.


More proof that we are sisters. Thankfully, it's just my camera and not the photographer's.


In case you thought Lukin wasn't on this part...oh I guarantee you, he'd be on.


The wedding party.


Proof that the bride had a shot when she was 'kidnapped'.


The first dance as husband and wife. Awwwww.... It brought a little tear to my eye.


Obligatory Family pose...even though Lukin wanted no part of it because he didn't have a nap and Mom and Dad have their eyes closed because it's bright out...This is why we just have Lukin on the Christmas card people.

All in all, it was a very fun weekend. Exhausting, but very fun. I was honored to be the Matron of Honor for my sister (as I am sure that Sonny and Lukin were happy with their roles as groomsman, and Ring Bearer, respectively). Congratulations to Stacie and Mike!!

Hair: check. Nails: check.

Okay so besides this being the week of Stacie's wedding, it is also the first week of school. But being the over-organized freak that I am, I have compartmentalized everything that needs to be done this week, including getting my hair and nails done.

Hair was last night. I went back to having some blonde. I only had that brunette thing going on for a few months but it was weird to have the blonde all of a sudden. (But don't worry Stacie, I look freaking adorable...just like the day we tried on dresses...) :)

Then tonight after work, I stopped to get my nails done. I wanted a manicure, but I was worried that they would try to push the full set on me. Thankfully, they didn't. And I was able to get a nice French manicure (not American, too everyday, not formal enough) without the worry of having to go back every two weeks. Now I just hope that they last through Saturday night. After that, I don't care.

Well, this is the last entry before the wedding because we head out tomorrow after work. I will promise to take pictures and I will actually get some on here this time.

Dear Stacie

So here it is, Stacie, the big week. The week you have been looking forward to, and probably dreading all the work involved with, for the last year. Having been through this "big week" myself, I want to offer up some advice. And, in case you are wondering, it is real advice.

I know that I have been giving you grief about getting all your stuff packed and getting the favors done, and though those are things that you are working on, those aren't the things I want to write about.

I also am not going to write about my speech...which I haven't started yet. But don't worry. I will try not to let it start with, "Stacie, you are lucky because Mike is a really great guy..."

What I want to say is to enjoy this week. All of it. For as much as some of the things you have to do this week may seem like a pain in the ass, they are necessary to help give you the wedding day you have dreamed about all your life. And every detail you have to prepare, as mundane as it may seem, tend to it with excitement, because it is all leading to your wedding.

Don't wish a moment of this week away. Because before you know it, it will be over. And Sonny and I will be the first to tell you that it's such a let down when it is all over (probably more so for you two since you have been planning longer than Sonny and I did). I mean, you plan and plan and plan and before you can blink your eyes, it's over. And I have to confess that the wedding let down is worse than the day after Christmas let down (because at least with Christmas, you know it will happen again in a year).

So enjoy it while it lasts, and have fun.

Oh and one last piece of advice, I'm not saying not to drink at your wedding, but I wouldn't advice getting really drunk either (I have no idea if you even plan to get drunk or not, but I am just saying) because what would the point be of spending oodles of money on a wedding and reception and dance, if you plan to get too drunk to remember it?

So, there's your advice from your older sister.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!! I LOVE YOU!!