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.