I'm No Good with Kids...

Somewhat ironically, when I first started typing this nearly an hour ago, I only got as far as the title, when the kid showed up and I had to quickly close this window and shut my computer off.

So I'm at my boyfriend's house, and we're setting up for his little sister's 4th birthday party. She's actually his adopted sister, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, I've moved tables, unloaded chairs from a pickup truck, set up said chairs, and filled a Hello Kitty pinata. All this in addition to keeping the little kid company for a while.

I'm exhausted. I don't know how to deal with children. Jerome is losing his patience with the whole thing, as well. To top things off, I forgot to even buy her a gift.

Well, I think I'm learning, though. When she started asking me too many questions and I was too tired to answer, Jerome asked her what she wanted. She replied, "nothing." He then asked what she was doing in his room. Before the kid had a chance to answer, I told her that if she was looking for nothing, there was a whole lot of nothing in the living room. She actually went into the living room in search of "nothing." It lasted for a good 30 seconds.

Happy 100th Birthday to My Grandfather

Okay, first and foremost, my grandpa died when I was 10. So he's not still alive. But if he were, today would be his 100th birthday, God rest his soul.

Anyway, he kind of started getting dementia when I was a very young child, so unfortunately, I don't have many memories of my grandfather. One that does stick out in my mind, however, is the time he walked me across the street to the grocery store. Whenever he let go of my hand, I remember that my hand smelled like gasoline and motor oil and GoJo cleaning cream. My grandpa was a mechanic, so his hands perpetually smelled like mechanic work.

I really don't have many other memories, except for the times he was living in a nursing home. A few other moments that I can recall are the time he "told on me" for eating margarine straight from the tub, and the times he claimed that I wanted to go eat pizza when he really did. Okay, let's be honest. I did too. Miss you Grandpa!

Catching Up

You know, it just occurred to me that I haven't updated this blog since Bob Weir's birthday. Let's see... how to recap the past few weeks into one post?

In no particular order...

I bought Halloween candy for all my students. That cost a pretty penny. I then handed out candy to trick-or-treaters here in the 'hood. That was fun, though I'm not very good with kids.

Courtesy of a joint co-operation between some of my students and Urban Dictionary, I learned the gaming term "teabagging." 'Nuff said on that one.

I read four essays from students telling me that PS3 is better than Xbox 360.

And one that World of Warcraft is better than City of Heroes/City of Villains.

I made gnocchi for the first time. It wasn't the disaster I feared it would be.

Got observed for work. Same day, a student brought his guitar to class and played "Dust in the Wind." During the break, of course. That was pretty cool. Speaking of guitar, I've been practicing mine almost every night. Mainly Grateful Dead tunes, but I occasionally mix it up.

I bought my own video game system. Betcha can't guess what it was! I also bought a Blu-Ray of Woodstock stuff and a Grateful Dead scrapbook. Early birthday gifts to myself.

Having four (4) parties at school next week to celebrate my birthday. Two of the classes really got into it and seem really excited.

Finally watched In Cold Blood, Dead Poets Society, and the original Stepford Wives.

Anyway, my birthday is coming up on Tuesday. I'm sad to see 25 go--it was such a good year. Andre says that 26 will probably be even better. I hope she's right.

Happy Birthday, Bob Weir!

I love celebrating celebrities' birthdays. I used to celebrate Fred Savage's and Buddy Holly's birthdays every year. I started celebrating John Lennon's quite some time ago, but this is my first year for celebrating Bob Weir's. My Bob Weir obsession appreciation began when I was introduced to Sirius 32: Grateful Dead channel. Well, let me take that back, I've thought Weir was hot ever since I bought my lone Grateful Dead CD. But then, he was 18 or 19 when the picture in that album booklet was taken. Anyway, I started hearing more songs and getting a feel for his voice and realized that I really liked it. Plus, I learned that he got even hotter through the late '60s and early '70s. But I have consistently liked his music throughout the years. I hope to get the chance to see both a Furthur and a RatDog concert someday. Well anyway, happy birthday, Bobby!!

Happy Birthday, Sir Paul!

Just wanted to wish Paul McCartney a happy birthday.

Just When I Didn't Think Things Could Get Any Stranger...

I find out that I share a birthday with country singer Miranda Lambert.

Strange thing is, I have this love/hate thing with country music. I love some of it, and hate some of it. I happen to love Miranda Lambert's music, though. A few years back, when her song "Me and Charlie Talking" came out, I remember it was one of the few songs I'd stop at a country station for.

Side note: I'm the world's most annoying radio hog in my car. I will "surf" the stations the way some people surf cable. If I hear a song I like, I stop and listen to it. If there's a certain line of a song that I like, I'll listen for that, but sometimes will start surfing again once the favorite line is through. Numerous times, I have taken a 20-30 minute drive without listening to one song in its entirety.

Anyway, I'm driving home from church today and "Kerosene" comes on. Haven't heard the song in a while, so I decided to listen to it. I like Lambert's music because it's sassy, but not bitchy. Or at least that's my take on it. Well, really I can't explain it well. She's just one of the few female musicians I like. Her songs? The rhythm is good, the accompanyment excellent, the lyrics superb.

Suddenly a thought occurred to me: I have no idea what Miranda Lambert looks like. I can't even tell how old she is. So, when I got home, I decided to Google her. In all the results that came up, the one that said "November 10 1983" really stuck out to me. Two girls from my school also shared the birthday with me, and we all seemed to think it was the coolest thing ever. Well, until we grew out of it, anyway.

So I guess this year, Good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise, I'll have to tell Miranda Lambert happy birthday too :)

Happy Birthday, Marguerite!

I know the day is almost over (and for some of you, it already is over), but February 20th is Marguerite's birthday. If you get a chance, drop by her blog and leave a pleasant greeting. Thanks :)

Happy Birthday, George!

Today's my dad's birthday. No, his name is not George. Yes, that is my nickname for him. Well, my day consisted of going to work for about an hour to do some proofreading, applying for a job online, and trying to keep my cool as the computer froze up just after I submitted my application but before I could attach additional documents (resume, cover letter, etc.). I started my crocheted beret (that I had intended to work on during the Arizona trip in October) to try to keep my blood pressure down (though I was quite angry).

My friend, AG has not updated her blog in FOREVER. It's seriously been nearly a year. I don't want to hear those whiny excuses about having a husband and a kid and being in grad school and working on a thesis. Ugh, students these days ;)

Seriously though, if AG is reading this, I'd love to see an updated kiddie photo or two if you can spare the time. I know thesis writing is tough and very time-consuming. Unless of course you do a creative writing one like I did. Then it's just fun and time-consuming.

Well, as usual, I've managed to get hungry at a bad time. I really shouldn't eat in the evenings before I go to bed, but I'm going to head into the kitchen and see what I can find... peace out.

Birthday

Well, today was my birthday. I went out to eat with my parents, went to the mall, and then came home and opened gifts. We ran into a local newscaster at the mall. My dad said, "Well, there's a familiar face," and the newscaster got a strange expression on his face as if he were thinking, Should I know this guy? I guess I need to say something, and then he said, "Hey, how's it going?" and playfully patted Dad on the back. It's fun to freak out even local celebrities.

BJ, I apologize for having not yet finished Se7en to write a movie review on it. Lately, I've been so sleepy that I haven't been able to watch movies at night like I generally do before writing reviews. However, that being said, I do intend to finish it (and hopefully soon). I also bought The Good Shepherd today. I don't usually buy movies unless I know for sure that I like them. But I took a chance on this one. Hopefully I will produce a review of it soon, as well. Oh yes, and if I can get Blogger to cooperate, I also plan to post more pictures soon.

All Apologies

I'm sorry I haven't written anything thus far this week. I haven't been terribly inspired to write anything. So now, I have to force myself to write about something so I don't forget how to do this.

One bit of news: apparently my thesis is NOT yet at the library. I don't understand this, because my copies have come back from the bindery, but when I do a search on Booth browser, it says my thesis is still at the bindery. Odd.

I helped celebrate my uncle's birthday on Saturday. Wait, maybe there is something blogworthy about eating a birthday dinner in my grandma's garage. Her Contour makes a great backdrop for all the birthday photos.

My birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks (yes!) Looking forward to the garage dinner. Then, my cousin's birthday will be the 22nd of November. He's due to come up from Texas for the occasion. He and his sister both live and teach in the Rio Grande Valley. I applied for a job there as well, but then I received a letter saying they had filled the position. Oh well, I guess I can say that I won't have to pay for expensive airfare to come to my own birthday this year.

How's that for a post? I didn't think I had anything to say, but it didn't stop me.