Resolutions

So, I know that January is typically the month of resolutions but I say why wait ?? If you have a resolution to make, make it. So, for the month of November, I resolve the following :

1. Never get the "best" full service car wash. I went to the full serve car wash today because my car is filthy and I needed an oil change. I get the oil change and a transmission fluid flush and as I pull up to the car wash I decided to get the daily special - the "best" wash. $ 24.99 What a ripoff ! My car doesn't look any better than it would have if I had got the normal Basica Wash which is $10.00. And, when I buy the best, I want to get the best. I don't want to need to walk around the car and tell the guy all the places he missed.....and trust me there were plenty. So, no more "best" car washes for me.

2. As I mentioned last month, every blog starting today will contain a picture. What better way to start that resolution than by posting a picture of my world's best dad - dressed in his Halloween costume. I love it !! Love you, Dad !!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!

Enjoy your tricks and treats !!

Flip-flops.....

OK, so it is evident on the college campus, the flip-flop is the footwear choice of many. I think this choice will prevail through rain, sleet, snow and all seasons. This is fine with me. If people want to wear flip-flops year round - more power to them. Certainly, their choice.

But alas, a word to the flip-flop wearing population ... and at first, I thought this might apply only to men but now I know it applies to ALL that choose this footwear. PLEASE, do not wear flip-flops if your toes/toenails look like they have recently been thru a wood-chipper. Trust me, no one wants to see that.

If you are going to put your feet on display - then by all means make the effort to make them presentable. A pedicure by you, your mate or even a professional is well worth it. Some lotion and some polish [ladies] even if it is clear or non-discript is much appreciated by those around you. And, why, you may ask am I looking this closely ?? I can't help it when you work in my group or prop your feet up in front if me in class or in the library.

Please.

Masonisms

A Masonism is basically something Mason does that is so darn cute you have to write about it. Sometimes it is just his interpretation of something. Here is an instant message conversation with my sister about one.

JoLynn says: I have a masonism for you to blog
Tracy says: ok
JoLynn says: we were at target and he was looking at computer games for his christmas list and he found a game he wanted
JoLynn says: it was one where you design houses and then you get to look at them in 3-D
Tracy says: ok
JoLynn says: do you not get it?
JoLynn says: it was software for people to design their homes - like architectural software for adults to use
JoLynn says: he thought it was a game
Tracy says: Oh, LOL ! I guess I didn't get it. Since you said it was a game, I thought it was too. LOL ! Now, we have a Tracyism.
JoLynn says: right
JoLynn says: LOL

Love that kid.

VW Beetle

For those of you that don't know me that well....I feel certain, if I can swing it, that my next car will be a VW beetle. Hopefully, I can get one before they quit making them but I don't see a new car on the horizon for me anytime soon. I've always thought that if I got one, I would get a custom paint job at some point too. I've kept these two pictures on my computer for years to give to the paint place if I ever get one.

However, today I found a new picture of a custom paint job that is making me reconsider. What do you think about this one ?? Is it me, or what ??

It's official.....

.....I'm PINK ! As I mentioned, last night I went to the No Frills Grill where I play a game they have called NTN trivia. You can become a Player's Plus [PP] member for free and when you do then you rack up points for every game you play...and more if you win the game among the others playing. So, if you are a PP member then you have a little colored plus [+] sign next to your name and the color represents how many PP points you have. So, last night, my plus sign turned pink because I passed the.......drum roll please......750,000 PP points mark. Yes, it is official, I am a dork.

"Bring two scantrons."

These are the three most dreaded words from a professor to any college student before a test because this means there will be MORE THAN 100 questions on the test. Ugh. Well, in my case, it may not matter....after another dismal showing in my most recent Biology test [sorry, Tom] - I am about 95% sure I will be dropping the class this week. The thing is, I got my associates degree with a 3.87 grade-point average and I really don't want this class to mess that up. I mean, if I have to re-take it, fine, but no sense lowering my GPA in the process. It was probably too much to take on with my other two classes. Lesson learned.

I printed out the schedules for Spring and I am in the process of trying to put together my schedule so I can get something together for a work schedule starting in January too. I had one-midterm test today in my Applied Mathematics class and I think I did good. It was a little "more" than I expected but I felt good about it. I won't know my grade on it until the end of next week because there was a take-home part too that I turn in on Monday.

Weekend plans .... well, No Frills Grill tonight. Oh, and I found a website for the them - click HERE to see my favorite place, I go to the Eastchase location. Also on the list for the weekend, buy a new printer, do a WalMart BIG run and clean the apartment. I got some new shelves for my office that I also need to put together. Big fun.

So, that's it - I'll probably blog some more this weekend. Ciao.

Heidi, my jeweler....

First, hurray, JoLynn - starting her new job today. She hasn't been working for 6 weeks and I know she is thrilled to be getting back into the swing of it. And, I can already tell she is super happy with the new experience and opportunities.

So, the holidays are fast approaching, and with a new job, I have no idea what days I am going to be off and which days I am going to work. It would be nice to have some time off from both work and school but one never knows. I'm going to send a message to my bosses today so that they can start working on my schedule. I am kinda unique because I work the weekend so we'll see what they come up with. My preference would be to work more days around Thanksgiving and less days around Christmas because my mom and dad will be here.

Of course, we all want my brother to come down too but he is holding out saying he needs to stay and work, etc. Last night I was talking to him on the phone and he wanted to know the next time I was going to go to Abilene [my sister's] - he wanted us to go to this silver store near my sister and get him some rings. He said "I'm going to have Heidi, my jeweler, measure all of my fingers so you guys can look at rings for me." His jeweler ?? I laughed my head off at that and said, "That is so going to be my blog title tomorrow." At which point he laughed. Yet, here it is. Anyway, I hear my mom in the background informing him that my sister told her the place was closed. He said "What? Well, there goes your 1% chance of getting me down there for Christmas." So, if anyone else knows a good place to buy silver by the ounce in pre-made jewelry items, please let me know. I'm hanging on to the 1%.

November Resolution

So, my parents and my brother bought me this awesome digital camera and printer for Christmas last year but it seems lately I have not been using it much. So, I am making a November resolution to include a picture in EVERY entry I post in my blog.

I think with my busy schedule and my lack of trips to Abilene the picture taking has come to standstill but that is about to change. There are still some pretty random things I see on a daily basis while going from home to school to home and back again. I'll probably start adding some pictures this month to get into the habit.....but next month, there will be one on EVERY post.

Stay tuned.

Way to go .... Morgan Le !!

So, my niece, Morgan entered a contest among 2nd graders to create a poster for National Fire Prevention Month. No one even knew she was doing it and the next thing you know she won for the whole 2nd grade at her school. Here is a picture of her with her poster and another picture of just the poster.

She went to an award ceremony last night where all of the other winning posters from other 2nd grades at other schools came together for an overall contest. She didn't finish in the top 3 but she got to ride in the basket of the firetruck - you can see her peeking out here :

She also won a bicycle and all the protective gear - and here it is in a picture with Morgan and her teacher Mrs. Phillips.

Way to go, Morgan Le !!

The Library

No, not the bar in downtown Ft. Worth....the REAL library. I need to read, read, read on my biology so I think when I get off of work tonight at 5:00p, I am going to go to the library. I could read at home but I always get distracted by something. Normally I would have biology class tonight, but we don't due to some personal thing my prof had to do tonight for his daughter. So, I think I will go read, at the library.

Nothing else going on this week......just more school and more work. If anything notable happens, I'll let ya know.

Where to begin.....

...this is what happens when I don't post regularly.

So, in school news......my trigonometry teacher has shingles, but she is managing to teach on. I had shingles many years ago, and basically I can tell you it is a re-emergence of the chicken-pox virus that manifests itself as a rash and ALOT of needle-piercing pain. Ouch.

Still dissecting the fetal pig in biology lab.....I was going to post some pictures of our pig which we have named 'Wilbur' from Charlotte's web, but I decided you guys probably wouldn't want that much information from my biology class. No tests this coming week, but probably the next week.

On Wednesday, I stopped by the new class of Cynergy Data's remote agents. Several of my friends from old jobs were in the class and I hung out with them for a couple of hours after delivering a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. After class, I took the two instructors out to Grapevine Mills Shopping Mall for some shopping.

Thursday morning I had a weird phone call with someone asking for "JoLynn" - which oddly is my sister's name. I told them that and they told me they were looking for a JoLynn Jennings which is not, nor has it ever been, my sister's name. It was very weird considering I had only had this number for a month and someone calls asking for a JoLynn, which is obviously an unusual name, and they get me, someone with a sister named JoLynn. Freaky.

Friday, class and work and trivia at No Frills Grill.

Yesterday, I had to meet up with the Cynergy Data instructors again for some training on some new stuff I am going to be doing at my job. The training was in the morning and then we had lunch. I had the rest of the day off which was nice.

Today, I am reading biology and doing some spot cleaning and organizing in between calls. I'll try to be more diligent with my postings this week.

Ciao.

Hurray !!

I made a 97 on my Trigonometry test.

School Update.....

....I've been avoiding this public update on school because I know my cousin is going to go ballistic.....but he is in Florida right now, so even if he reads this [which I am sure he will] - he won't be able to throw anything at me.

Everything at UTA is going well, my two math classes there have so far been a breeze. I've taken 2 quizzes in Trigonometry - got a 95 and a 100 on them. My other math class is mainly just in class work - our first test is October 20th but everything in there is also going well.

Now.....Biology. I'm really working hard at it and I will not give up, but, so far we have had one lecture test and one lab test.....I've made a 73 and 70 respectively. Now, that is a C average....which I am not happy with but it is not failing which for me in a science class is a good thing. The average score for all of my professor's classes on the lecture test was 64 and on the lab test was 54....so I am above average. But, I am still not happy about it. I have been spending more hours reading and studying since these tests and I am incorporating some new techniques into my studying so we will see how it goes. Yesterday in lab, we dissected a fetal pig which was pretty interesting and I felt like I understood it all. Next lecture test will probably be a week from Tuesday and I'm not sure when the next lab test is.....but I already know it will have over 150 questions. Sheesh !!

HMMMMM : Teacher Fighting For Job

FRISCO, Texas -- An award-winning teacher in Frisco is fighting for her job after an approved field trip to a Dallas museum has upset parents.

Fisher Elementary school art teacher Sydney McGee came under fire last April when she took 89 fifth graders on a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art. Parents raised concerns over the field trip after their children reported seeing a nude sculpture at the art museum.
The parents had signed permission slips allowing their children to take part in the field trip.

Now, McGee, who was honored with a Star Teacher Award two years ago, is on paid administrative leave until her contact with the school district expires in March.

Other parents are worried about the future of the art program at the school, which they cite as a reason for moving into the neighborhood.

"Our main concern right now is what's going to happen to the children and what's going to happen to the art program at Fisher Elementary. It is the best art program. That's the reason we moved to this neighborhood. It's because of the teachers," said Shannon Allen, parent. "It was a principal approved trip. What's the big deal."

Officials with the Frisco school district declined to comment on the matter.

I just think this is ALL kinds of wrong. This award-winning teacher took her students on a field-trip that was approved by the school and she was granted permission from each individual student's parent. It is an art museum. There might be nude paintings, sculptures, etc. If you didn't want your kid to go or had concerns, that was your choice.....but she should not be losing her job over this when everyone approved.

Am I wrong ?

Pictures

First : HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM !!!!! LOVE YOU !!!!!!

I must start carrying my camera with me everywhere. I need to find a winter purse that has some kind of pocket for it. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have class from 8:00a - 10:00a - due to parking, I try to get to campus at 7:00a. I bring some milk and a granola bar with me for breakfast and I listen to news radio and eat breakfast until class time. Today I left my car at about 7:30a to walk into the building and as I walked thru the parking lot I must have passed at least 3 cars with people sleeping in them. And I don't mean, leaning back in the seat resting their eyes....I mean SLEEPING. One girl was in the back seat of her car with a blanket and pillow. One was in the passenger seat fully reclined back with a blanket. What does this mean ?? Do they live in their cars ?? Are they getting a good parking space for a 10:00a class or an afternoon class and they are just sleeping until then ?? Wednesday I am taking my camera and then you can be the judge.

Celebrities.....

First of all, I went Friday and got yet ANOTHER cable box and all seems to be working OK now. I am fianlly able to see the guide and record two shows at once. Hurray !

I just wanted to make this short post....I was watching Jay Leno the other night, Friday I think, and Calista Flockhart was on. You may or may not know her, she was on Ally McBeal and she is dating/married to Harrison Ford AKA Indiana Jones. Anyway......Jay was asking her what her 5-year old son Liam liked to play with, etc. He asked her if he liked Legos to which she replied "What are Legos?" - this is why no celebrity child can have a 'normal' childhood.

And the conspiracy continues......

...so, yesterday I went to the TIME-WARNER store to trade in my single-tuner DVR for a double-tuner DVR. This change is so that I can tape one show while watching another, just FYI. I come home with the new tuner and plug it all in. It plugs in a little different than the old one so I call the cable company to make sure I have it right. I do.

Now, the way it hooks up, my TV has to be on VIDEO1 in order to watch cable....which means everytime I turn the TV off and back on I have to change the TV to VIDEO1.....I don't like that.

Secondly, I turn it all on and the on-screen guide is BLANK. Everything says TO BE ANNOUNCED and the time on the screen says 12:00m. I think nothing of this and am sure that it just needs some time to update after being hooked up. I wait one hour. Same thing. I call the cable people, again, they ask me to turn it all off and they are going to send a signal, wait 15 minutes. I wait 20 minutes. Same thing. I call again, now they are sending a stronger signal, wait 30 minutes. I wait an hour. Same thing. I leave everything off and go to school. I get home, same thing. I call again. They have me do a 'cold boot up'. Same thing. They talk to a level 2 technician. He asks if it still says 12:00m. I say yes. He says, the box is defective, you'll have to get a new one.

And the conspiracy continues......

Cable conspiracy.......

.....I swear if it is not one thing it is another with this new cable company. So, for those of you that don't know.....I did not get DISH Network at my new apartment because my apartment complex charges an additional $300.00 for a deposit if you have a satellite. Which to me is just flat out wrong. First of all, they require you to have like $50,000.00 of renters insurance before you can get it. So, why a deposit ?? If anything happens, that is why I have insurance.....and you can't tell me that a couple of screw holes in the balcony railing requires a $300.00 deposit, come on. Well, I have yet to give in.....but, I am getting close.

So, I have TIME-WARNER cable....which means, I can only have cable in my living room, not my bedroom because there is no cable outlet in there. It also means I have no SoapNet which I'm not happy about. And, then there is yesterday.....yesterday at some early hour, TIME-WARNER decided to change it's cable channel line-up ... so basically what was on channel 15 is now on channel 5, etc. So, everything I had set to record yesterday, recorded something else. Not to mention, all future recordings I had set up were now all jacked-up.

Then, while looking on their website, I see that their DVRs [digital-video records] of which I have one....are supposed to be what they call dual tuners, meaning you can record one show while watching another.....or record two shows at once. Well, guess what, mine isn't !!! So, I call customer service about it and they apologize and really have no explanation as to why I got a single tuner. So, now I either have to wait for 2 weeks for them to come swap it out or I can take mine to one of their centers to swap it out.

Enough already.......feel free to mail me donations to the 'TRACY WANTS DISH NETWORK FUND' to help defray the costs of the $300.00 deposit.

I'm back.....

First of all, I must say :

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU !!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU !!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR JOEY !!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU !!

Also,

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, JOLYNN AND SAM !!!!

So, my week......busy. School and work keep me very busy every day. I am always running from here to there and back again. I manage to get in at least one trip each week to the No Frills Grill thank goodness, where would I be without my trivia. Ha ha !! I finally unpacked the last box in my apartment which seemed to take forever. You never have the same kind of place to put something that you had in your old place. The extra storage on the patio has been a blessing and I am finally organized. I'm happy because living out of boxes and having a busy schedule were tiring.

My company just hired a bunch more people to be home based employees. I am looking forward to working with some of my former co-workers from First American Payment Systems and Encore Payment Systems. After a great review last week, everything is going well on the job front which is very nice.

Lastly, just a comment.....I was walking out of a CVS pharmacy the other day and a man was walking in. He had this white t-shirt on with a BIG picture of Mickey Mouse - so you know it caught my eye - and then in the upper right corner it said "Las Vegas". Now, what on earth does Las Vegas have to do with Mickey Mouse and vice-versa !!?? Nothing. Do not put pictures of Mickey Mouse on shirts from states/cities that have nothing to do with Disney ! Please.

That is all.