I REMEMBER - RAYMOND R YORK

2996 is a coalition of bloggers brought together by D.Challener Roe to pay tribute to the lives of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. You can find a list of participants and tributes here.

I am remembering forty-five year old Raymond R. York who was a 20-year veteran of the New York Fire Department. He is survived by his wife - Joan and their four children.

From the New York Times :

"He Always Was My Hero"

Raymond R. York spent nearly two decades fighting blazes and loving the New York Fire Department when a shoulder injury 18 months ago forced him into light duty. But he found a second calling, teaching children about fire safety at the Fire Zone at Rockefeller Center. There, he was "Fireman Ray" to the youngsters whom he captivated.

But on Tuesday, he learned of the World Trade Center attack from a television crew that was doing a story on the Fire Zone, jumped onto a nearby fire truck and headed downtown. After traffic held him up, he hitched a ride on an ambulance and reached the Fire Department's command post at the trade center.

"We're so proud and we just want everybody to know what a great guy Ray was," his wife, Joan, said. "Everybody's saying, 'He's a hero, he's a hero.' He always was my hero. Now the world knows he's a hero."

She described her husband as a man in love with life, a man who insisted on flying the flag. "He was a Little League coach, he was a scout leader — when it came to his kids, he was there for everything," she said. That included building an ice skating rink in the backyard of their Valley Stream, N.Y., home when his son, one of four children, wanted to learn how to skate.

---Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on September 17, 2001.


From the Chicago Tribune :

"Raymond R. York"

Raymond York, a 20-year veteran of the New York Fire Department, had every reason not to be in harm's way Tuesday. The 45-year-old husband and father of four had been placed on light duty with a shoulder injury and was giving a TV interview at Rockefeller Center when he saw the first airliner strike the World Trade Center on the camera crew's television. York headed for the scene, hopping on an ambulance. He had just reached the fire command post when Tower Two collapsed. York is presumed dead. "He saw that this had happened and he couldn't sit still," said York's mother-in-law, Rosemary Abruzzino.Abruzzino said her son-in-law had a passion for life, his family and his job. "I know people say only good things about people after they die, but in his case, we don't have to embellish anything," she said. "He was a great man and a tremendous father to his children." Among York's interests was kayaking, and he had planned a trip Wednesday. He had started a kayaking club for firefighters and dubbed it "Blazing Paddles."

- Liam Ford (The Chicago Tribune)

( picture courtesy of RaymondYork.i8.com)

A Fireman's Prayer

When I am called to duty, God, whenever flames may rage;
Give me strength to save some life, whatever be its age.

Help me embrace a little child before it is too late
Or save an older person from the horror of that fate.

Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout,
And quickly and efficiently to put the fire out.

I want to fill my calling and to give the best in me.
To guard my every neighbor and protect his property.

And if, according to my fate, I am to lose my life;
Please bless with your protecting hand, my children and my wife.

Additional Tributes to Raymond R York

http://raymondyork.i8.com/

http://www.legacy.com/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=93194
(great comments and thoughts by family and friends)

Saturday night and some memories.....

Last night Charles and I went to the first home game of the TCU football season in Fort Worth. It was alot of fun. They played UC-Davis and TCU won 43-16. We stayed for the whole game and it was a super nice evening out weather-wise. The entire place was a sea of purple and if we go again, I think I am going to have to get a purple shirt to wear....as if I don't already have a million. Here are a couple of pictures from my seat of the game and the half-time band performance [taken with my camera phone] :

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tomorrow is the anniversary of 09/11 and I, along with thousands of other bloggers, will be posting a memorial post to a specific victim of that day and as part of my tribute I will leave it as my headline post all next week. So, no updates until next weekend.

I wanted to take a minute today to post my own remembrance of that day. I had been in NY the day before it happened, at LaGuardia airport on my way back from Providence, RI with my brother. We had been visiting Johnson and Wales Culinary school trying to decide if Joey wanted to go there or to the one in South Carolina. We had arrived back in Texas on the evening of September 10th.

The morning of September 11th, I got up, earlier than normal, to take my brother to the airport because he was flying home, from Texas back to Florida....Tampa to be exact. I dropped him off at the airport early and watched until his flight took off.....and then I went to work.....at American Airlines. I remember sitting in my office when one of my co-workers came in and asked me if I had any pliers [I worked in tech support] - he needed them to try and change the channel on the TV in the conference room because he had heard that a commuter plane had crashed into a building in NY. I didn't have any.

You all know the events that unfolded after that, so there is no need to recap. But, in addition to the events we all went through, I can remember waiting and waiting so that I could call and talk to my brother. Watching the clock as his landing time in Tampa approached and being scared to death. Even now, tears come to my eyes just thinking about it. It was one of the happiest moments of my life when I finally talked to him as he made his way in the Tampa airport to get his luggage. He still has his boarding pass from that flight.

Everyone has a memory of that day, what they were doing and where they were and I hope everyone takes a few moments of silence tomorrow to remember. And, if you've bought a new car in the last 5 years or your American flag sticker on your car is faded, buy a new one and remember that no matter how horrible that day was, it was also a day when a nation united as one, the way we always do and always will.

God Bless America !

My car does trigonometry

Who knew ? Today in trig we were doing story problems - yuk ! - and we learned that there is actually something you learn in trig that is used in real life. It has to do with the rotation of your tires and the size of your tires which determine how far you go in miles. And, did you know that all odometers are based on standard 24" tires ... so if you change your tires out to something larger, then your odometer is never accurate going forward. Your car may think you've gone 1.0 mile when you've actually gone 1.2 miles......CRAZY !

Everyone have a great weekend !

Rest In Peace - Steve Irwin

For the last 24 hours, my thoughts have been on the untimely death of Steve Irwin. It's weird, actually. I don't really watch his show with any regularity and I never saw his movie. But, if you even saw him once, any human being would feel the loss. He was so alive.

So, my heartfelt sympathies go out to his wife and children, to his endless number of fans and to the animals he loved and protected every day. His absence will be felt by the planet.

Rest in peace, Steve Irwin.

Steve Irwin with his wife Terri and children, Bob and Bindi, on stage at his Australia Zoo at Beerwah, Queensland, in 2004

School Update

So, apparently, everyone needs a school update. Week one is over. Hurray !

It's gonna be tough.

The two classes I have on M, W & F mornings are going to be OK.....one is Trigonometry and one is Applied Mathematics....both are my favorite subject and I think with a little work here and there, they will be a breeze.

Now, Biology is another story. HARD. First of all, it is for science MAJORS, which I am not, technically. Lecture, two nights a week.....lab [3 hours] once a week. Lots of reading, lots of studying......5 tests in lecture, 3 in lab......HARD. My lab instructor says that the average lab scores are 65 on every test and only once has someone scored higher than a 92 on a lab test and that was someone taking the class for the 3rd time......YIKES ! Also, she says the professor that writes the tests [my lecture professor] tries to give all possible mistake answer choices on the test...in other words, he figures out how you might mis-calculate and puts that answer as a choice.

Bottom line.....I have finished getting out of the old apartment....and after tomorrow [crossing fingers] I will be totally un-packed in the new apartment. I have 2 work related things on Wednesday and Thursday this week - my days off - grrrrrrrrr. And then, I'm all work and school, nothing else.

I think I can. I think I can. I know I can.

P.S. Tom, I decided I needed a seperate folder/notebook for lab/lecture in biology....so you'll be pleased to know that the notebook/folder for lecture is now green and the lab is yellow.

Things you may not know about me......

You don't have to reply and give me your "four things" but you can if you want.

Four jobs I have had:
1. Revco Drug Store
2. McDonald'se
3. Allen's Ace Hardware
4. American Airlines, Inc.
Four Movies I have watched over and over:
1. Legally Blonde
2. You've Got Mail
3. While You Were Sleeping
4. Two Weeks Notice
Four places I have lived:
1. Long Beach, CA
2. Germantown, TN
3. Charleston, SC
4. Commerce, TX
Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Law and Order : SVU
2. 24
3. The Closer
4. Psych
Four places I have been on vacation:
1 Disney World, FL
2 Las Vegas, NV
3 Toronto, CN
4 Branson, MO
Four of my favorite foods:
1. Crawfish Etouffee
2. French Fries
3. Pizza
4. Mexican Food
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. With my mom, dad and brother
2. With my sister and her family
3. Disney World
4. At the movies

Now, you know a little more about me.

Check it....

....check out my new profile pic over to the right. LOL !!!

HMMMMM : Teaching the dog to drive

A woman in Hohhot, the capital of north China's Inner Mongolia region, crashed her car while giving her dog a driving lesson, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday.

No injuries were reported although both vehicles were slightly damaged, it said.

The woman, identified only be her surname, Li, said her dog "was fond of crouching on the steering wheel and often watched her drive," according to Xinhua.

"She thought she would let the dog 'have a try' while she operated the accelerator and brake," the report said. "They did not make it far before crashing into an oncoming car."

Xinhua did not say what kind of dog or vehicles were involved but Li paid for repairs.

OMG !

2:05p - It's raining !

2:12p - It stopped and now it's sunny and muggier than hell.

Drat !

All moved in !

Well, the move is over and thanks to JoLynn, Sam, Lewis and Eddie, I am now surrounded in my home-office, living room and kitchen by about 50 boxes that all need unpacking. Hurray !

I slept pretty good last night.....had a hard time going to sleep.....new place and all. But, now I am up and at work. Today should be slow at work so I am going to try and get as much done as possible today....because the next time I will have time to work on un-packing is Wednesday. I don't have cable over here yet so no Emmy's for me tonight. I was going to go somewhere to watch them but now I have decided to just stay home and work on the apartment instead. I can find out who won on the internet tomorrow.

School starts tomorrow and life gets busy....I'll try to give you the scoop on teachers later this week once I've met everyone.

I'm just saying.......

So I am talking to my sister about the move tomorrow and the guys that are helping me move, God bless them......

Tracy says:
i am going to get some gatorade and water to have for them
JoLynn says:
good idea
JoLynn says:
and styrofoam cups for spitting
Tracy says:
gross
Tracy says:
I am totally blogging that request
JoLynn says:
yes - but styrofoam the bottom won't wear out
JoLynn says:
like it does in paper cups
Tracy says:
double-gross
JoLynn says:
and they won't stain your regular cups
Tracy says:
triple-gross

HMMMMM : Iguana Boom

A Southwestern Florida community facing a reptile overpopulation problem is taking drastic measures.

Residents in Lee County said they are being overrun with iguanas.

There are so many of them that the County Commission has decided not to protect the lizards so people can get rid of them.

Commissioners voted Tuesday night to allow Lee County residents to use any means necessary to reduce the iguana population.

Officials said iguanas outnumber people on Gasparilla Island 10 to 1.

The best part about this is that I actually witnessed this while I was on my vacation in Florida back in May.....we went to Gasparilla Island and there were a BUNCH of Iguanas and we talked about the whole issue. Now it's national news......crazy.

School days, school days......

......good 'ole golden rule days. Oooops, that's my dad's song. By the way, dad, if you want to call and sing to me on Monday, you need to do it around 7:30a your time.

So - what is the school plan......here is the schedule :

This probably looks pretty daunting, but the thing is, I'm really trying to get this done. As of a couple of weeks ago, I was only taking 6 hours...basically, M, W, F 8:00a -10:00a and to be honest it just didn't seem like enough. So, now I have added a class on T, TH nights from 6:00p - 7:30p - it is a Biology class and it has a lab on Thursday afternoon. Now, I have 10 hours, which seems like maybe a lot, but I decided that I need to just COWBOY UP and get on with it. I can still get a Saturday off if I need to but my visiting with the Abilene gang will be limited over the next 3 1/2 months and we're just going to have to deal with that.

Oh, and I'm sure some of you have been dying to know what colors [folders, notebooks, etc.] I am using for this semester so here is the rundown :

Trigonometry : Red
Applied Mathematics : Hot Pink
Biology : Yellow

Wish me luck !!

What is wrong with me.....

.....I haven't blogged in FOREVER. My apologies to the faithful readers, you know who you are. ::wink:: Let's see, what's going on with me.....?? This may be a long one.

So, I did move my office over to the new apartment with much appreciated help from my friend Charles....it was proof positive that I need to lose weight and that I am old. Hmpf. But, with one phone call to AT&T, my DSL was up and running and the office was ready to go.

Basically, the rest of my days off were spent with errands. I did move some more stuff over to the apartment but not as much as I had planned. It is just so HOT here that it wears me out walking up and down stairs in the middle of the day. I think we are on day 15 of over 100 degree temps. Yikes.

So, I worked Friday thru yesterday and each day I brought something over to my apartment. Yesterday was pantry food and refrigerator food, so all of that is over here now. I'll probably move my microwave over here tomorrow....but most of tomorrow will be spent packing everything that is left so that everything I own is IN A BOX by the end of the day Friday.

As I've mentioned before, the big move is Saturday, probably starting around 11:30a and hopefully ending quickly since I have LOTS of awesome help. I'm fortunate that I have so much support so that I didn't have to hire someone to move me. The financial changes of living on my own are going to be a struggle at first so every little bit helps.

So, today is my normal day off but I am working for a co-worker who is then going to work for me on Saturday so I can supervise the move but I am off tomorrow as usual.

I'm going to try and log on tomorrow some time to give you a school update which starts on Monday.....some changes to what some of you know about so look for that too.

Until then .... ciao !

By the way.....

....I am still not biting my fingernails. Yay me !!

HMMMMM : New Blog Feature

While working, I frequently search the news sites for news and current events. It never fails that I run into something as ridiculous as this in my daily trek thru the news sites. From now on when I see one of these I will be headlining it in my blog under HMMMMM :

A woman is suing the J.C. Penney Co. after an alleged run-in with a store mannequin that she says left her with a cracked tooth, a bloodied head and recurring shoulder pain.

Diana Newton, 51, of Westminster sued the Texas-based retailer last month in Orange County Superior Court, claiming she was cracked in the head by a legless female dummy at its Westminster Mall store.

Newton said the incident happened nearly a year ago in the women's department, as she was shopping for a blouse. The only one in her size was on the mannequin. As a salesclerk was removing the garment, the dummy's arm flew off and struck Newton's head, according to her lawsuit.

"I felt a burning sensation," she recalled.

Paramedics treated her bleeding scalp at the scene. Newton drove herself home, then had someone take her to a hospital for further treatment.

The blow also cracked a molar, which led to a root canal, she said.

The suit seeks unspecified damages.

A spokeswoman for J.C. Penney said the company doesn't comment on pending litigation.

My "weekend" plans......

So, my two days off start tomorrow.....I started my laundry on Sunday and finally got it finished yesterday morning so no laundry to do. Basically, I will be finalizing installations of services at my new apartment and will probably actually move some stuff over there tomorrow. Fragile stuff like plants, pictures, etc. Also, in the afternoon tomorrow, I am moving my OFFICE over there. I have my DSL modem from SBC and my phone over there is now on, so I figured it would be good to move my office over on my days off before the real move and get everything up and running. And, then starting Friday, I will go over to the new apartment to work and come back to the current apartment for sleeping, etc.

Of course, there will be a WalMart run sometime in the next two days also. I don't really need much stuff, milk, butter, some lunch meat.....but I will be getting a few things for the apartment like a new shower curtain, ice trays, etc. And, I do plan to have a lunch with my friend Eric on Thursday.

All in all, a good two days off. Probably won't be on the computer much other than when I set it up tomorrow so have a good Wednesday/Thursday and I'll be back at the end of the week.

All about me, Monday !

So, my sister put this on her blog to see what her friends knew about her and I thought I'd try it on my blog....now, if you want to answer, you'll have to figure out how to comment on my blog. Go on, try it....the blog won't bite. Hi-light the questions below, select EDIT, COPY .. then click on comments.... select EDIT, PASTE and then answer the questions....you can do it !! And, let's see how well you know me.

Your name:
Where did we meet:
Take a stab at my middle name:
Do I believe in God:
How long have you known me:
Do I smoke:
What was your first impression of me upon meeting:
Color of my eyes:
Do I have any siblings:
What's one of my favorite things to do:
Do you remember one of the first things I said to you:
What's my favorite type of music:
What is the best feature about me:
Am I shy or outgoing:
Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules:
What's your favorite memory of me:
Do I have any special talents?:
Would you consider me a friend:
If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be:
If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would I bring?

OK - answer away and don't cheat by reading other people's answers !

Have fun !

Belated birthday greeting, days off, new apartment....

Lots to talk about....this is a long one.

First of all, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY to my friend Curtis. His birthday was yesterday and I didn't get on my computer at all yesterday so I didn't give his day the attention it deserved. Click on the GRAND MASTER CURTIS link to the right to send him a belated greeting.

So, days off happenings.......Wednesday, I got the keys to my new apartment so I went over there to check things out. Turns out I do have a fireplace [yuck] but I can deal with it. I just don't think when the temperature daily is 105 degrees, I can appreciate the need for a fireplace in Texas....even in the winter it is not that cold. Everything else looks great. It is smaller, no doubt about it, my place now is very big, but it will be nice and cozy once I get settled in. Ran some more errands on Wednesday and then met my friend Charles for a movie, MIAMI VICE. It was OK. I guess I tend to compare movies like that to Bad Boys or Die Hard or something action packed like that and this one was good but not as action packed as I would have liked. I am experiencing some kind of random insomnia lately so when I got home, try as I might, my uncooperative blue eyes would not close until 4:15am. Grrrrr.

Thursday, I got up [after about 4 1/2 hours of sleep] and went to Half Price Books to sell back some more books that I had come across in my random packing efforts. While I was there I was wandering around and came across what I thought was the textbook for one of my classes. I was thrilled. I asked them to hold it for me so I could confirm. After I got my money for my books, I went to meet my friend Alberto for lunch, it was great to see him. I haven't seen him in like 3 1/2 months. We had a talkative and yummy lunch and promised to make it a habit in the future. Then, off to the UTA bookstore and sure enough, it was the book. Woo hoo ! Went back to Half Price Books and bought it.....so, the book was $65.00 at the UTA bookstore and $5.98 at Half Price Books, what a bargain. Yeah me !! Home again, and then to color the hair, Loreal Preference Dark Golden Brown.....and of course, last night, we hit No Frills for dinner and trivia and then came home.

It was a busy and fun two days off. Another insomniac night put me to bed at 4:00am but I was up and ready to go when I got a call from my brother, Joey, at 8:20a. I have missed him soooo much, I can't even express it. I was trying to remember how long I have ever gone without talking to him and I can guarantee you that it was not anywhere near 28 days. So, I am thrilled to have him back at my beck and call......ha ha !

Whew.....a long one. Well, I was going to post some apartment pics, but the blogger picture uploader is not working [frown] so I will try again tomorrow. I am outta here, everyone have a great weekend.

Maria Rodriguez Update......

My cousin, Tom, posted a message back on the old Maria Rodriguez post I did in May....and it made me think it was time for the update I had promised you back then. As I predicted, the space below the stairs has changed......here are the original pictures I posted :

Well, here are two updated pictures from today :

So, this could be like a game - can you spot the changes. Let's see how many you can come up with......

Good Luck !

Arrgggh, matey !

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me .......


Well, FINALLY, I went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man's Chest the other night and it was awesome. As most of you know, I have been to Disney World in Florida more than 50 times and I can assure you, I have ridden the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at lease 100 times so I always enjoy the movie because believe it or not, there are many things in the movie that come directly from the ride. Most of them were in the first movie but I saw many in this one too, which is fun.

I'm on day 3 of my work week and I must say, again, working on the weekends is really not that bad. The call volume is lower [it's 9:00a on Sunday and I haven't taken a single call yet] and to be honest, I don't really do anything during the day anyway - too hot !

Three weeks until my big move to the new apartment. I'll be sending out new address info, etc. soon. I am looking forward to being a grown-up again and living on my own. If anyone wants to help with the move, it all happens on Saturday, August 26th around 12:00n. Bring your muscles or your truck or your dolly or whatever you've got and we'll get it done in no time. FREE burgers and beverages when we're done.

I'm working on a Maria Rodriguez update which should be up tomorrow....so stay tuned for that. Until then, ciao.

Thursday, ooops, I mean Monday.

I'm so confused....this is the 4th day of my work week, so I call it Thursday, but really it is Monday. Ummmm.....right. Anyway, the normal people's weekend is over and I work today and tomorrow and then start mine.

Well, as I mentioned before, JoLynn and I, mainly JoLynn, got about 75% of the apartment packed this weekend. And, now, I am done for a week or so until it gets closer. I probably wouldn't have packed this early since the move is a month away but when you have free labor you have to take advantage. ::wink::

Nothing exciting for this week. That's it......my boring life.

Back at work....and packing. Blech !

So, I kinda dig the two weekdays off thing. I was able to have lunch with a friend on Wednesday. Got some errands run, made a hair appointment for weekday in a couple of weeks, etc. It was nice. I'm sure when I am working all day tomorrow and Sunday I might think differently.....but I'm not sure. I don't really do anything that significant during the day on Saturday and Sunday.....and I am off at 5:00p in case I want to do anything in the evening. So, we'll see.

My sister came in yesterday, so she is here helping me pack my apartment. Of course, there are some things that have to stay unpacked until I actually move but there is plenty to be gone through and packed or tossed before the big day. And, yes, dad, we are tossing a lot. We have actually finished in the living room and have done about 3/4 of the kitchen. This afternoon and tomorrow will be entirely focused on my bedroom, bathroom and closet.....which is where 75% of my stuff is housed. Of course, I am working so I can only direct her and help a little in between calls but it seems to be going OK so far.

Mom and dad are doing well. They have been to see Joey twice, once on "visiting" day and then the other night for group therapy. I think the group thing will benefit all of them ... sounds like they had some good feedback from both sides . Everyone was emotional and honest...which is good. I'm looking forward to hearing more updates from them each time they see him. He wants mail, mail, mail.....so JoLynn and I went and bought a bunch of cards for him yesterday and will start sending them more often.

That's all I know for now.

New schedule

So, I haven't blogged in a few days. Nothing much really going on. I finally found an apartment so I have that all lined up. I know, I know, I waited until the last minute but I just didn't want to settle for something too quickly when there are so many choices out there. I ended up getting a really good deal that will help me transition from paying half of everything to paying everything so that is good. Plus, I am on the 2nd floor and in the back of the complex.....which meets all of my safety concerns. Of course, you can't have any certainty in this day and age that something won't happen to your car or your belongings but every little precaution helps. JoLynn and the kids are coming over this weekend to help me with going thru some of my stuff and slimming down my belongings before the move.

I started a new work schedule this week in preparation of school starting. So now I am working this crazy schedule :

Mon, Fri : 11:00a - 8:00p
Tue, Sat, Sun : 8:00a - 5:00p
Wed, Thu : days off

It's seems all over the place but it does accommodate my school schedule and that was the important thing. I would have like to have one weekend day off but I guess having two days in a row is good too.

Dad is doing good and finally got the OK to go back to work part-time which makes him happy. Mom and Dad went and saw Joey on Sunday and said he was looking well and wanted mail....ha ha ! I am still not biting my nails.....it is getting easier.

So for now, all is good.

My virtual team

So, this is a group picture we took while my Cynergy Data group was in Dallas for training. There are 9 of us that now work from our home-office locations. Pretty good looking group, huh ??

Sitting from left to right : Brandon, Mark and me.
Standing from left to right : Melody, Rey, Alex, Curtis, Ama [trainer], Janet and Sylvia

Giving up is harder than giving in.......

So many of you that are close to me, know that my brother is an alcoholic. This is a struggle that he and my family have been quietly dealing with for many, many years. I could blog a hundred blogs about his struggle but instead I will say that giving up is harder than giving in.

Yesterday he entered a 28-day rehab program and I am so proud of him. More than words can ever say. He has made it through 36 days of daily AA meetings and now he is choosing to give up this addiction for something better.....something that I am sure is much harder than giving in to it.

As a show of support, I have asked everyone in my immediate family to give up something while he is in rehab. My sister is giving up Dr. Pepper, my mom sweets and I'm not sure about my dad. Maybe he can comment here and tell us. I am giving up biting my nails. Which, trust me, does two things......shows my support for Joey and makes me think about him every day, many times a day. I bought this horrible tasting stuff that I have painted on my fingernails so that I won't bite them. So, every time I put them in my mouth, it reminds me of Joey. The stuff is so horrible tasting that just the slightest taste and you have to cough and spit for 5 minutes just to get it out of your mouth....so far it has been a good deterrent to my nail biting...obviously.

Anyway, all I want is for my brother to love himself as much as we all do and I think he is on the track to getting there. PLEASE keep him and my family in your thoughts as we all struggle to give up our addictions instead of giving in to them.

Don't fret.....

If you decide to leave a message on my blog, you may notice this new note : "Comment moderation has been enabled. All comments must be approved by the blog author. " - well, that is because some anonymous person is comment spamming me.....basically they use some program to comment on ALL of my posts at once.....and with each comment is some mysterious link.....which I have never and will never click on nor should you. So, when you leave a comment, you won't see it right away, but I'll check often and approve them so that they appear fairly quickly. This way I can reject the spammer instead of having to spend 20 minutes going thru ALL of my posts deleting their random messages.

Happy Tuesday !

Monday, Monday.....

So, after sitting in my home-office all week I have very little inclination to turn my computer on over the weekend....my apologies therefore, for the lack of updates. Since my last entry :

I went and saw Superman Returns.....which I thought was great. Some of you may have heard me say I was not going to see it because of my devotion to the one and only Superman in my eyes, Christopher Reeve.


Anyway, I thought it was a re-make. Turns out, it is a sequel, so, I gave it a shot. It was definitely worth it. The new guy did an admiral job playnig both Clark and Superman. I thought there were a couple of continuity issues but overall it was really good.

Dad is home from the hospital which I am sure he is happy about. A nurse comes for the first few days he is home to give him some kind of shot. He is hoping to go back to work on Thursday but I think Mom is hoping he'd take a little extra time. I would imagine the little work-a-holic will be back at work on Thursday. ;)

Saturday, I went and looked at apartments. I figure it's about time I get my act together and get something finalized. I had been momentarily thinking about moving into the dorms at school but that has gone by the wayside for several reasons; 1. too expensive 2. I'd have to take 12 hours to live there which is a lot while working and 3. too expensive. I think you get the idea. Saturday night, a long over due dinner with Charles at Joe's Crab Shack......yummy.

Yesterday I did my WalMart run and then picked JoLynn up from the airport. Didn't do much else because quite frankly it the temperature and been near 'sun-surface' level lately and it just drains me......I know dad, I'm a wuss.

Now, another week in the home-office.....hopefully some decisions on an apartment. Later.

Tracy the jetsetter....

....well, I wish. Yesterday, I took my roommate to the airport at o-dark-thirty for a flight to Salt Lake City and ultimately Jackson Hole, Wyoming where she is spending a week with one of her friends that works on a dude ranch. Then, my sister came in last night and I took her to the airport pre-o-dark-thirty for her flight today to, where elese, Salt Lake City, where she will be spending four days doing her favorite thing...scrapbooking. So, needless to say I am tired. Early to bed for me tonight.

Updates on dad.....he is STILL in the hospital and it is driving him NUTSO !! He hates it. Basically, they put the internal defibulator in late Tuesday and they wanted him to stay in bed and rest all day yesterday to get all the dyes, etc thru his system after the catheter and this little procedure. I think he was hoping to go home yesterday....but, no.....now, they want to check out his legs and lungs for possible clotting issues. So, today he has to have a cat-scan and a leg-scan to check that out and then they may put him on some kind of blood thinning drug which word has it takes some bothersome effort to regulate initially. Then with any luck, he will get to go home later today. Not sure how long he will have to be at home recovering until he can go back to work and how much he actually will be able to work when he goes back. But, I know he is antsy so being home will be an improvement.

Later.

P.S. Congrats Joey on 30 days - you're doing awesome !!! I love you very much !!!

A dad update......

......I'm not sure anyone is actually reading this blog anymore. But, for those of you that are.....my dad had his catheter yesterday and basically it went well. The blockage he has from his heart attack over 20 years ago is still pretty much the same, so that is actually good news with the most recent events. Today they will be putting in an 'internal defibulator' which monitors his heart beat and give him a little jolt if anything goes awry - the device is only the size of a micro-cassette and goes in right under his collar bone. Apparently, in this day and age this is a fairly common procedure so no worries. The procedure is at 4:00p EST today so keep him and my family in your thoughts during that time.

If you're reading.....I'll keep you posted.

Get well soon, dad !

The hardest part about living 2000 miles from my parents really comes out on weekends like this.....Saturday morning my dad had a mild heart-attack. He's in the hospital now mainly giving the nurses a hard time and getting irritated at having to stare at a clock all day. He's doing OK and they are going to do a heart catheter on him tomorrow morning to see what's going on in there. I'm hoping it was just a knock on his thick skull reminding him to eat better and get a little exercise.....but the catheter will tell us if it is more than that. It could require more angioplasty or even a bypass procedure but no need thinking about all the possibilities until we know more. So, I'll give another update tomorrow night.

Mom and Joey are doing OK, given all the craziness......I'm glad they have each other during times like this. I just wish I was there to give them both a big HUG !!!

Peace and rest to all three.....and, please, keep them in your thoughts a prayers.

Off to Abilene........ciao !

Whew....this is more challenging than I thought.....

....so today was the first day we really took calls from home on our own with the new job....and I am exhausted. The thing is, I know what I am doing but doing it in their systems with their methods is proving to be quite the trick. It's just a matter of developing a flow and getting into all the systems when you need them. Time will make it all come together but today was flat out exhausting. And, they are so busy reminding us what to do differently, that it is hard to be sure you are doing anything right at all.

Tomorrow is Friday and then we have a weekend which I think all of our brains and nerves will need in order to start fresh on Monday. Keep me in your thoughts.

I watched the flag pass by one day,
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil
How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of Taps one night,
When everything was still,
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin.
Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

KELLY STRONG
Commander - Unites States Coast Guard

- - - - - - - - - - - -

My thoughts and prayers go out today to all of the military men and
women of today and yesterday as we celebrate the birth of a great nation.

Happy 4th of July !!

Seriously, what is going on in the advertising world....

...lately, it seems I am seeing more and more idiotic commercials than ever.....downright annoying....and not in that way that makes you remember them...but rather makes you vow to NEVER buy the product. Maybe I need to change my course of education, 'cause I think they need some new blood, not to mention, talent, in the industry. Here are just a couple that I am ashamed to even give any more credence to......

Sprite SubLYMONal - click if you want to be annoyed

Here's one of the many annoying Toyota Yaris commercials :



Skittles - here is a web page showing two.....basically, these are just wrong.

As I see them this week ... I'll add more. I know you want to comment and add your own.....come on, give 'em to me.

Training

So, just a REAL quick update to say that training is going well. I am enjoying it....it seems like not only is working at home going to be great.....but the job and company too. Training ends at 6:00p on Saturday and then I am "off" until Wednesday when the IT group will be calling to update my computer. Then a few days of getting my "office" ready and playing around with the software and I start taking calls on Monday, July 10th. I'll post more when training concludes.

My obsession has ended......

......well, my Dirk Nowitzki obsession has officially ended.....I've searched the internet and read and viewed about everything on him and basketball season is over for now; so, I am done. For the ladies, this parting picture which I found while on my quest to know everything about the German..... ::sizzle::

Weekend update.....

So, yesterday I went to Hillsboro for my best friend's dad's birthday. He is the big 7-0. I really love my friends family. They are very close like my own and although this was a big milestone they tend to get together often for family gatherings which I have been fortunate to have participated in many times. I haven't seen many of them for awhile because mine and Charles' lives have been so busy and our free time conflicting but I hope we can remedy that in the coming months. As requested on my invitation, I brought homemade chocolate chip cookies [without nuts] and needless to say everyone was happy to see me when I got there.

Today, Sunday, I am working on re-organizing my bedroom which will soon be my bedroom/office. Once I move, I will move the office out of my room to the dining room or maybe a sunroom but for now it will stay in my bedroom. I need to get some shelves for my personal stuff so my desk area can be business only. But, that will have to wait until next payday....which is fine.

Tomorrow, Monday, I have the day off because our training starts on Tuesday. I am spending most of the day doing school stuff, going to TCC and UTA to make sure all of the Ts are crossed and Is dotted in time for the fall semester. Hopefully, my financial aide is in place otherwise I'll also use this time to see what their payment plans are like for tuition/books. I'm going to try and squeeze in a lunch with Charles tomorrow too if he calls me.

Well, that's it for now. I'll update more tomorrow night before my big training day.

I hate nut grease.

Remember when I said I loved to make my titles something that would make you want to read them…….?? How was this one ?? Ha ha.

So, today is my last day at Encore Payments Systems…..it's a sad and happy day. I am sad to be leaving so many great people that were really there for me when I needed it. But, I am happy about the new job that starts Monday.

Oh yeah….the blog title. I promised to make Curtis some chocolate chip cookies for his last day here at Encore [which is also my last day] and his only request was that I put WALNUTS in the cookies. Now, I am not a fan of nuts in my cookies but I gave in and made them last night. Well, when you add nuts to cookies…..in this case walnuts…..it adds what I call ‘nut grease’ to the batter and that makes the cookies bake flatter….which I hate. As my roommate can tell you, I am VERY particular about how the cookie from the oven LOOKS. It has to be the perfect brown on the outside with a crunch and soft a yummy on the inside and it absolutely CANNOT be flat. So, there you have it….I hate nut grease.

Have a nice day.

I still love ya.....

Well, I had hoped the Dallas Maverick's would come back to their home court and get their act together but I guess it just wasn't meant to be this year. I am still a fan and still proud of them for getting to the finals..........and Dirk, I still love ya ! With all that double-teaming and still 29 points and 15 rebounds last night, I'm still your #1 fan.

Change is good.....

When I started this blog…..my first title was CHANGE IS GOOD … and now that is the title again. Well, change is good and here is another one for me :

Two weeks after I started working for Encore, I was contacted by an industry recruiter about a potential job in the area. Basically, the company he represented was creating what they called ‘a pod’ of home-based employees in the Dallas area. The job would be providing customer service and technical support for credit card terminals and the merchants that use them. My training for the new job, starts Tuesday, June 27th….and will last for 5 days. Then, I am on my own from home. The beauty of the new job is that once my 3-month probation period is up I can get a more flexible schedule which will help me finish my college goals sooner. PLUS, no more commuting, no more toll-tag, no more dress-up clothes, no make-up….etc.

It was a tough decision no matter the benefits…..I am a loyal employee and I am very grateful for the opportunity I had at Encore when my career was on the line. They welcomed me with open arms and I was a nervous wreck the day I gave my notice. But, as expected, Matt was awesome about it and very understanding.

I’m looking forward to the new challenges that lay ahead and I plan to share it all with you here. Please feel free to leave comments or contact me in some other way if you have any questions about the new job. Oh, by the way, it is with a company named Cynergy Data based in Manhattan, NY.

GO MAVS !!!!

Don't even get me started.......

…on the Mavs game last night. Referees determine who wins games, not players, not awesome plays, not even coaches…..referees. And, apparently this season they are all fans of the Miami Heat. I know my Dirk and his team will step it up now that they are back in Dallas so I am not worried….but sheeesh !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DIRK !! Today is Dirk's birthday.

This weekend was a busy one…..Friday night was the usual No Frills Grill for food, drink and NTN trivia. Saturday I got up fairly early and Courtney and I went to see The Lake House with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. It was VERY good…..I don’t want to give anything away on it but I can say it does NOT end like City of Angels….so I hope that helps. In the parking lot as we were going in, we saw this bumper sticker in the window of a car. Any ideas on what this might stand for ??? Anyone, anyone ??

Saturday night, I went to my friend Bev’s wedding. We have been friends for - wow - half my life. And she married an awesome guy, James. If I could have described the perfect guy for her, it would have been this guy. Here are a couple of pictures of her in the bride room before the wedding :

Sunday, I drove to Denton and cruised around looking at apartment options. I am thinking about moving there so I can be close to UNT to work on my school stuff. I was disappointed at how run down most of the town was. I haven’t ruled it out yet, but it does require some additional thought. On the way home I stopped at Wal-Mart for a few items and during a bathroom break [I know - more than you wanted to know] I saw this in one of the bathroom stalls :

When I die, please do not memorialize me in a bathroom stall. Please. And, in case you ever hear in the stall next to you “Say, cheese !” it may just be someone’s camera phone taking a picture of bathroom graffiti. I’m just sayin’

Nbr41sGirl

So, many of you that know me, know that my email address is Nbr8sGirl@...... some have asked what this means and some probably could care less. I have had this email address since Troy Aikmen joined the Dallas Cowboys and the expanded version ‘Number 8s Girl’ reflects my dedication to Troy - Dallas Cowboy’s #8. Well, even though I will not be changing my email address…..going forward, I would like to call myself Nbr41sGirl since my new sporting crush is Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks.

Now, you may be saying that my devotion is misplaced since he shot 2 of 14 in last nights game four against the Miami Heat, but I say…..”pleh”…he’ll be back in full form on Sunday….and I still feel that the Mavs will win the series.

So, until then…….GO MAVS !!!

Signed, Nbr41sGirl ::wink::

Are you in the right place.....

If you want to read about serious topical things that may even spur a conversation or debate, then I would recommend you click on DIGITAL FORTRESS over there to the right. However, if you want to read stories about people burping loudly in the movie theatre or bumper stickers that read ‘Silly boys, trucks are for girls…..” then you are in the right place…..

So, I was at the movies the other day….either The Break Up or The DaVinci Code….and there is this man sitting in the row in front of me with his wife and daughter. We are fairly early so the only thing going on in the theatre is the slide show of repetitive movie trivia and not once but TWICE the man in front of me burps and I mean BURPS….loudly. His wife and daughter don’t even turn to look at him and he acts as if nothing happened which makes me infer that this is normal behavior for him and even in public places. Interesting. I mean, at the very least, I think an acknowledgement with a ‘Excuse me” or something to his companions. Now, even if he has a medical condition of some sort, I still think an acknowledgement is needed in a PUBLIC place. If he’s at home, who cares, they are probably used to it.

Anyway, that’s is my totally non-political blog for the day. Stay tuned for an important blog tomorrow … or maybe later tonight.

Hurricane Alberto

Seriously, I can only handle one Alberto in my life at a time…..and I already have one, thank you. So, for those of you watching this storm today, please keep my parents and brother in your thoughts…..they are on the outskirts of the storm and should be OK but with hurricane season in full force now, they can use the extra positive thinking on any of these occasions.

Final Vacation Recap....kinda long and very late.

Sorry for the delay. Life has been CrAzY to say the least. So, where were we.......ah, yes. Disney World. We decided to just go to downtown Disney and not to an actual park...none of us had $60 bucks to spend to get in and Downtown Disney is just as fun, well almost. ::wink::

So, here are a few pics from the trip.

Of course, there was a lot of emphasis in the Disney Store on 'Pirates of the Caribbean' so here is dad with some of the cast......

And, here are Joey and I trying on a couple of hats [taken with the camera phone] .... mine seemed fairly appropriate.....well, maybe they bother are. ::wink::

And, then my favorite store ... the lego store. These first two pics are of a serpent in the lake. This thing is made entirely of legos - awesome :

And this one - WOW !

And then you go inside, and you get this :

It is a life-size full body lego sculpture, I just took a pic of the head. The store itself is amazing. This next picture is just a huge section of walls with legos in every shape and color.

And then this wall.......can you guess what this is??

Then we went to Coronado Springs Resort for lunch.....yummy as usual. And then for a drive over to The Animal Kingdom Lodge. I don't know why I didn't take pictures of the inside because it was AWESOME....but I did take pictures of the animals that surround the backside of the resort. Imagine having a room facing one of these views :

Then it was time to head back to Punta Gorda.....on Monday, we went down to Casey Key where we had lunch at Pop's. Once when we were there we actually saw a Manatee surface in the waterway but today our only visitor was this bird :

Well, the rest of the week was spent going to the dentist, yes, the dentist. When your mom works for a dentist you get in for FREE stuff whenever you are in town. I lost about a pint of blood [the dental assistant said a gallon] on the first day I was there but the second and last day was much better even though it did involve a scalpel and a dissolvable stitch. OUCH !

Oh, and playing cards, and NTN trivia and going to see Mission Impossible III. You have yummy meals cooked by my mom and Joey. You hang out at 'Pinch-A-Penny' a couple of times when dad and Joey are selling pool/spa stuff and doing water tests. You go wash love-bugs off of everyone's car a few times ... here's a poor picture [phone camera] of the front of Joey's car after it had been attacked by the little bastards :

We did quite a few other things while we hung out just being a family.....the best vacation ever !!

Now, that I have finished the vacation recap....I'll get back to regular blogging this week. Until then.....ciao !

We interrupt this vacation recap with the following announcement.....

Jeff got a job !

That is all.

I’m baaaccckkkkk…..

So, I’m back. And, here I am at work….yuk ! I had a great time visiting with Mom, Dad and Joey for 10 WHOLE DAYS. I plan to do a recap of the trip over the next few days including some pictures.

As mentioned over a week ago, I arrived safe and sound on Thursday, May 25th around 10:00p. Mom, Dad and Joey were there to greet me of course. Mom was off work for the next four days and Dad was off work for three of the next four days so we were able to go out and about for the long weekend. You may notice me mention MEALS a lot in my recap posts which is due to the fact that I had made numerous requests of my mom and brother on what homemade meals I wanted to eat while I was there. They are both great cooks and know my favorites.

As mentioned previously, on Friday [the 26th] we went to see OVER THE HEDGE which was great. We were going to go down to Casey Key that day but it was rainy and muggy so we decided on an afternoon movie instead. After the movie we went to the store to pick up dinner fixins and then home for dinner and a little NTN Trivia.

Saturday [the 27th], dad had to work so basically Mom and I ran errands. We met Joey for lunch at TGI Friday’s and then headed home to get dinner ready. This was our first night playing cards…..we play this awesome game called SHANGHAI which is kind of a progressive-rummy type game. I, in some kind of wrinkle in the space-time continuum, won the game.

Sunday [the 28th] was Disney Day…..updates and pictures on that tomorrow.

I'm alive.....

.....just a quick update. I am still in Florida......flying home tomorrow [Sunday]....and I will resume posting then. It's just too hard to post while I am here because we have been busy, etc. I think I will do a vacation review all week this week so you know what I did while I was gone.....like you care.....plus, I have some pictures I want to post too.

More soon.......

Safe and sound....

Well, I made it to Florida, safe and sound. We got to the house around 11:30p on Thursday night and pretty much went to bed. Then yesterday we got up and had yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then we went to the mall and the afternoon movie to see 'Over the Hedge' ... it was really cute.

We came home and relaxed for the afternoon and then Dina came over for dinner. For dinner, Joey grilled pork chops and made a tomato salad, mom baked some potatoes, regular and sweet, and we had some sun-dried tomato bread with dipping oils. Overall, super good. Everyone was stuffed. We played a little NTN trivia on the TV before bed and then we all gave in from the exhaustion of the late night we had the day before and hit the sheets.

Today, dad is working and mom, Joey and I will just be running around all day with little errands, etc. Tomorrow we are going to DISNEY WORLD just for the day and not to a park just Downtown Disney, etc. I can't wait. More updates later. Everyone enjoy the long weekend.

Soul Patrol ! Soul Patrol !

I am thrilled that Taylor Hicks won American Idol last night. I had wanted Chris Daughtry to win and trust me, he was robbed. But, when it came down to Katherine and Taylor, there was no question.

Taylor Hicks all the way !

And, KMAN …. Please, explain to me what happened on your favorite show last night. Yes, I do watch it every week so I am totally up to date but if last night was supposed to “resolve” issues and “answer” questions…..I missed it. I have more questions now than I have had all season. Help me. [but, I loved it…..]

And lastly……I’m leavin’ on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again……Well, actually, I’ll be back again on June 4th. I will be blogging while I am gone so stay tuned.

Why blog .....??

Lately it seems, my friends and family have been waxing philosophical in their blogs which brings us back to the age old question “Why do you blog ?” I’ve decided I blog for several reasons :

• I want to keep those that are not near me up to date on my life
• I want to encourage others to blog
• I want to rant, vent, philosophize, amuse, announce and basically just talk

So, why do you blog or if you don’t blog, what do you like about the fact that others do blog ??

Comment away.

And, guess what ? I leave for Florida TOMORROW !!! Yipeee !!!

iPod update and 24

352 songs in the iPod now.....and growing. I'm trying to get 500 in there before I leave for Florida but it is slow as I pick and choose things from each CD I am importing rather than loading the entire CD every time.

Let me just say, as I have said so many times before......24 is the best show on TV. Sure, there are unrealistic elements but it is by far the most compelling, thought provoking, enthralling show I have ever watched and the suspense that the Season Finale brought last night in the last 2 minutes, makes the wait for January 2007 almost unbearable. If you have never seen this show, I encourage you to rent the DVDs of previous seasons for your summer viewing pleasure.

Have a great Tuesday !

Birthday Updates and weekend happenings.....

Whew….Monday, Monday. Sorry for the delay in posting.

I had an AMAZING birthday……first of all, a group of friends and family bought me an iPod Video 30GB….it is really cool. So far, I have loaded over 200 songs into it and some pictures. It has a couple of games on it which are really fun too. Overall, it may be one of the best gifts I have ever received. Thanks to Courtney for coordinating such an awesome gift.

Courtney’s birthday is the day before mine, so we went to eat at ‘Simply Fondue’ for her birthday and ‘On The Border’ for mine….both meals were yummy. Friday, we went to the normal ‘No Frills Grill’ and stayed for the Mavs/Spurs game 6 - which was fun even though the Mavs lost.

The rest of the weekend was spent running errands, packing, laundry, washing the grey right outta my hair, loading the iPod, etc. in preparation for my Florida trip….which, by the way, is in THREE days !!!

Happy Birthday to Me !! [updated 10:56a CST]

So, today is the big day ! The big *4*0* ... who cares.....I feel the same. So far it has been great ! My friend Curtis at work made me an gorgeous purple birthday banner that says 'Happy Birthday Tracy !!' - I love it.

Happy day to everyone !!

10:56a CST UPDATE : I just received awesome flowers from my family - here they are :

Batman, magic potions, a mystery guest and patio furniture....

Happy Birthday, Courtney !

I love making up fun titles for my blog…..it makes you want to read it, doesn’t it ?? By the way, we’re now into the single digits for my vacation countdown…8 days until Florida.

OK, so last night two of my friends, Jeff and Alicia took me out for graduation dinner which because of the delay in coordinating it, turned kind of into graduation/birthday dinner. We had dinner at ‘The Magic Time Machine’ in Dallas which was awesome. In case you aren’t familiar, the waiters dress up as characters and as you might have now guessed, our waiter was Batman. It was fun and he was funny, but the funniest thing was that this guy, the restaurant photographer, comes by our table, presumably to take a picture of us that he hoped we would later purchase and he says “Is it just the four of you tonight ?” We glance around the table to see of there is a mystery guest sitting there that we missed and cautiously reply “Ummm, no only three….” Needless to say, he continued to try and be funny, took our picture, which we did not buy and left. Dinner was yummy, and we each had a drink called “Magic Potion”, not sure what was in it but Alicia got a red one, Jeff got a blue one and I got a green one and when they came they were bubbling and smoking…..eeeeee. Here is a picture of mine, but you can’t really see the bubbles and smoke.

Before dinner, Jeff and Alicia had given me my graduation present back at the apartment. It was new patio furniture for my new apartment I’ll be getting in September. When we got back to their apartment, I made them set it up and get their picture taken. Here is my awesome new patio furniture :

Anyway, it was a great night, and they are great friends. Until next time, ciao !

Change is good....

10 DAYS UNTIL I LEAVE FOR FLORIDA !!! Yipee !!

Whew…..it’s finally over. I am taking a break for the summer because I have to re-think where I am going next. I was planning on going to UTA or maybe UNT but now that I will be moving over here at the end of the summer, I need to re-think. But, change is good. I am still leaning toward UNT but I need to make sure the commute will work from here to there in the evenings. Plus, on my own, I will probably need to get a 2nd job for awhile to make ends meet so I may have to delay the next step of my educational journey to the spring. But, I tend encounter a challenge in everything I attempt so this will be no exception.

Stay tuned.

P.S. My new schedule at work for the summer is 8:00a - 5:00p CST.

Graduation 2006

<-- As we arrived at the Tarrant County Convention Center....Morgan was trying on my mortar hat. After we got there I wished I had decorated the top of mine with jewels, sparkles, etc. There was even a girl there with Christmas garland draped around hers. Oh well, next time.






--> After graduation, a really nice man stopped and asked if he could take our picture and we of course, jumped at the chance.




<--And, here I am after graduation. Talking of course.....probably trying to tell JoLynn how to take the picture or Morgan to stay awayt from the street or something equally nagging.





--> And lastly, here I am with my graduation present from the Hightower's...my very own build-a-bear graduate.





I just want to say thanks to everyone that believed in me and helped me achieve this goal. As exciting and fulfilling as it was for me personally to finally reach an educational milestone, it was made that much sweeter thinking about all of the people that were there with me on each step of the journey. And, guess what ?? I'm not done yet ! Stay tuned.

What up, fool ?

Well, this picture hardly needs any words……

…….but, here are a few. This is Curtis, he worked with me at my old job and now he works here. Lately, he has been learning some new “hip” words and phrases, like “What up, fool?”, “Word.” and he tells everyone he “…has more game than Parker Brothers.” He’s a white boy computer/photography nerd and you gotta love him.

Grades

So, I thought the grades were going to end up being one A and one B but I didn't think they would end up like this :

Course / Grade
Business and Professional Communication / B
Introduction to Psychology / A

But, the above, are the officially posted grades on the school website.....so, YEAH !!!

I am the “Alberto” of Encore….

This is going to be more than you ever wanted to know about my job. Everyday, I work from a list of customers that need credit card equipment installed and/or re-programmed in order to use my company’s services. I think a good day for anyone is to complete at least 8 of these work orders. When I worked at my old company [FAPS], I was the supervisor of a group that did the same thing and that was a good goal for them too.

I had an employee there, named Alberto, who was my highest producer [and a great friend] who was consistently completing 8 or more a day with many days in the double digits. I think some days his co-workers resented his abilities but the bottom line is he came to work each day, sat down and worked. A fairly straightforward process. Well, now I am the “Alberto” of Encore, my new company, because I am consistently averaging 10-11 a day while my co-workers have developed an irritation with me. By lunch time, they ask, “How many have you done Tracy ? 20 ?” Of course, I laugh and tell them no, just 5 or 6 but I somehow find it amusing that I am now getting the flack that Alberto always got just for coming in, sitting down and working.

What’s the big deal…..it’s my job.

MI:3, graduation and Harry Potter

I went to see Mission Impossible III last weekend….it was good. Regardless of how I feel about Tom Cruise’s shenanigan’s….which of course are really none of my business…he is a good action actor and the movie was excellent. We went to a theatre call The Movie Tavern...where you sit in chairs with tables in front of you and waiters bring you food, snack, drink [alcoholic or not] and yes, mom...dessert. It may be the only time you will see a menu that says "All sandwiches and burgers come with either french fries or popcorn." Seriously.

I took my last final last night...basically. I have an "exit interview" in my speech class tomorrow night and then that’s it. Graduation, Friday night. Finally, an educational accomplishment.

JoLynn and Morgan are coming in for graduation Friday...so I will spend some time with them this weekend too which is always fun. It will be a girl’s weekend.

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix...I re-read it and finished last night. Not really my favorite of the books so far...it seemed kind of anti-climactic. I'm sure the movie will fix that but I was a bit disappointed.