What an awful Halloween

This morning at 4am, Blake woke up with the flu. I had to be at work at seven, so I told him to skip class and just rest.

Well, work rolls around and I start to feel awful also. It hit me at about 10 am.

Needless to say, neither of us were able to stand up for that long without getting queasy and dizzy, so we didn't go Trick-or-Treating.

I know Glade wouldn't have remembered it at all, but I still feel bummed

This is a picture of her in her costume. I bought it in August and had her try it on. (She is mad, because Blake was in Vegas and she missed him).

She definitely was the cutest monkey. I just wish I had been able to take her out in public.

The Book Thief

When Rachelle came down a few weeks ago, she let me borrow The Book Thief. She had just read it and said it was fantastic, so I figured I would give it a shot.

The writing style is strange to begin with, but it actually makes the story better. It is a German book and just for some background for you, in Germany everything is a person, not something abstract. Death is a person, greed is a person, love is a person, and so on. This book is narrated by Death himself.

I was reading it at work when I was on break or other times and at the end I just couldn't read it there anymore. (It would be weird to be at work with tears streaming down your face).

Tonight I finished it. I read the last 30 pages to Glade because she wanted to be held and I really wanted to finish it. She would sit next to me and look at the book and comment as I read sometimes.

I have never know fear or doubt like they did. I didn't have to go through a World War or a bombing. I have never had a leader that discriminated against an entire religion or race. I have never been scared that my parents would be taken away by the government because they did something they weren't supposed to.

As I read the last 30 pages to Glade, all these thoughts kept running through my head. What if something happened to me? What would Glade do? Would she remember me like Liesel remembered Hans? Would I have taught her enough? Would I have kept her safe enough?

When I was in Germany we went to Dachau when we were in Munich. It is a totally different atmosphere than anywhere I have ever been (besides other Consentration Camps). Even though it is completely open (well, there is a fence all around it), nothing of the outside world comes in. There are no birds, no car noises, it is just absolute silence. And the strangest part of the entire experience is that you don't truly realize people were held here during WWII. People died there. People who were loved and honored before Hitler.

Would I have the courage to stand up for them? Or would I be one of the people on the sidelines just watching?

I looked at Glade and hoped that she would never have to ask herself those questions. I hoped that no matter what, she would be safe.

It is so incredibly hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes. That is probably why there is such a difference between empathy and sympathy. They always say "History is written by the victors". In this story, it is the utmost truth. The ones who stood up, they were the victors. Against the odds they lived.

I just wish there was a way to honor them. We could all learn so much.

A Legacy of Excellence, my &#$ !!!

Blake can register for his classes for next semester starting on Tuesday the 28th. Since I do all his classes and make sure he is set up with everything, I went in yesterday to look at classes he needs and what he has and all that since he is SOOOO close to his Bachelors.

I went in and saw that they had 5 of the classes he needs available. He is 21 credits away from graduation, so this puts him within 6 credits of graduation after next semester.

BUT, they don't offer the other two classes he needs until next FALL!!! What the freak?!?!?

And since six credits would only be part-time enrollment and we need the grant from full-time enrollment, he has to take 2 classes he doesn't need so we can survive through that semester....

TWO FREAKIN' CLASSES AND HE WOULD BE DONE!! Stupid, stupid school......

To my relief...

I started at Convergys today! I have six days of training before I actually go to the call floor permanently, but I actually got to start this job!! I was so worried friday and all weekend that I was going to get the call I got before... When this morning rolled around and it still hadn't come, it was amazing!

Training is actually more boring than orientation, if that is strange to believe. It is six days of seven hour shifts where you just sit and learn. The most interesting part today was when we actually went to the call floor and just sat with someone and listened and watched as they took calls for 2 hours. It went by FAST and it was way interesting. The programs to use are very simple (at least I think so) and it looks pretty easy to learn.

There was one call where the guy got mad, because the system was actually down so we couldn't help anyone with anything. He said he had a business to run and he couldn't sit on the phone all day or at the computer because he had houses to paint. She just said sorry and took it while a smile on her face. At one point he said he was just going to cancel his account and pull all his money and she just smiled and muted the mike and said "it's people like this that actually make my day". She unmuted him and said sorry sir and kept smiling and trying to calm him down. It was actually truly comical.

But the best part of this job is all the added benefits I get. In 60 days I get paid time off, holiday pay, benefits, tuition reinbursement, 401k, life insurance, and accidental death insurance. It is absolutely fantastic! I have never had paid time off before and I am so excited to take a vacation and get paid for it!!

I actually think that is the best part!!

I also can get $0.20 raises every 3 months ($0.80 a year) so I should be making over $9 an hour in April. Which is AWESOME!!

If we do move, also, there are tons of places I can transfer to. Especially if Blake goes to the U in a year, there are a few in Salt Lake, and 1 in Provo/Orem I can look into.

And I am sure it has its downsides, but every job does. I am just excited to finally be working!!

HA HA HA HA HA!!!

If you need a laugh, just look at this:

Legal case against God dismissed

The plaintiff argued an omniscient God would know of the lawsuit
A US judge has thrown out a case against God, ruling that because the defendant has no address, legal papers cannot be served.

The suit was launched by Nebraska state senator Ernie Chambers, who said he might appeal against the ruling.

He sought a permanent injunction to prevent the "death, destruction and terrorisation" caused by God.

Judge Marlon Polk said in his ruling that a plaintiff must have access to the defendant for a case to proceed.

"Given that this court finds that there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant this action will be dismissed with prejudice," Judge Polk wrote in his ruling.

Mr Chambers cannot refile the suit but may appeal.

'God knows everything'

Mr Chambers sued God last year. He said God had threatened him and the people of Nebraska and had inflicted "widespread death, destruction and terrorisation of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants".

He said he would carefully consider Judge Polk's ruling before deciding whether to appeal.

The court, Mr Chambers said, had acknowledged the existence of God and "a consequence of that acknowledgement is a recognition of God's omniscience".

"Since God knows everything," he reasoned, "God has notice of this lawsuit."

Mr Chambers, a state senator for 38 years, said he filed the suit to make the point that "anyone can sue anyone else, even God".

The definitive example

My daughter is the definitive example of what happens when you tell a child no. We were practicing pointing to body parts and I asked her where her nose was. She pointed to her ear, so I pointed to her nose and asked her where her nose was again. She pointed to it, but instead of just pointing, she stuck her finger in it.

I laughed and told her no, and asked her again where her nose was...

Of course she stuck her finger in it again, but this time she giggled at me!!

It is like when she was first crawling and getting into everything. My mom had to deal with this first, and Glade would crawl over to the pictures and then get her hand slapped and a harsh no. She eventually learned that if she touched them, she would get slapped, so she would reach to the pictures, without touching them mind you, and then look back, giggle, and hold her hand out. She thought it was very comical.

Now she is kind of doing the same thing. She has been sticking her finger in her nose everytime she is not getting enough attention, then we tell her no, take her finger out of her nose, and she giggles and puts it back...

Sometimes it makes you wonder what is truly wrong with her sticking her finger in her nose. It is only wrong because someone way back when decided it was bad manners, but since he did this, we have to stick to it! You can't have your kids running around at the park with only their knuckle hanging out of their nose!

But if you ever have trouble with your children, just look at mine and it will give you a very firm giggle.

High School... oh boy...

Burkburnett High School
Berlin Brandenburg International School (the whole thing is the school now. When I was there it was just the two middle buildings and no Olympic size track and pool....)
Green Run High School (definitely the most ghetto school ever... we had open campus behind us and a teacher was shot in the parking lot)

1) Did you date someone from your school? Two actually. Joshua Young (VA) and Christopher Felten (Germany)

2)What kind of car did you drive? I didn't.

3)Did you pass your driver's license test the first time? When I took it after I got married, yes.

4) Were you a party animal? Not really. I think I only went to one party and that was when I was in MUN in Russia.

5) Were you considered a flirt? Not at all

6) Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Not in High School. I was a huge theatre geek though.

7) Were you a nerd? Still am!

8)Were you on any varsity teams? Not in High School.

9) Did you ever get expended or expelled? No

10) Can you still sing your fight song? I don't even think I ever learned my fight song...

11) Who were your favorite teachers? Mr. Padiokov (math in Germany), Mr. Jacobs (History in VA), and Mr. Sternadel (History in TX)

12) Where did you sit at lunch? I went to the IB room in Germany, and in VA I sat at the same table my entire senior year when I actually had a lunch period.

13) What is your school's full name? Burkburnette High School, Berlin Brandenburg International School, and Green Run High School

14) School mascot and colors - Orange and Black were the colors and a bulldog was our mascot. The colors were blue and white and we didn't have a mascot. The colors were green and white and the mascot was a stallion.

15) Did you go to homecoming and who with? I went to the homecoming game but only because I was on the float. But I didn't go to the dance or anything.

16) If you could go back and do it again, would you? Depends on the day. Some days I would just because it was so much fun, and some days I just look at my life and wouldn't want to change anything.

17) What do you remember most about graduation? Josh broke up with me that night. (Sad thing to remember, but that's all I can really remember about that day.

18) Where did you go on Senior Skip Day ? I went to the beach with Amber.

19)Were you in any clubs? National Thespian Society... I think that was it

20) Have you gained weight since then? I have actually lost about 15 pounds...

21) Who was your prom date? Josh Young

22) Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Probably not. It depends how I feel in 7 years.

23) Did you have a job while in high school? I had a few babysitting jobs and I worked at the Embassy for a summer.

I tag Amber, Rachelle, and Andrea.