Hello World!
It's been quite a while since I last posted. Much has changed. I went back to school to become a physical therapist assistant and I graduated in July (2015). During the course of completing my education I had to downsize my beloved business, Stretch-n-Grow. I attempted to sell it to a wonderful woman who would have made a great owner, but corporate dragged their feet until the woman backed out of the deal. Very disappointing. I was crushed and heartbroken and just couldn't bring myself to try to sell it again. Now it just sits dormant and I fear that corporate will let it rot and/or let it be picked over by other affiliates. Ultimately, I suppose, it is I who is responsible. Sigh.
Despite my heartache over SNG, I persevered through school. Attending Tri-C was not at all enjoyable or life-affirming. It was the exact opposite of that. The Evil One Whose Name I Shall Not Speak continues to berate, disrespect, and abuse the students in the PTA program there. I hear rumors that she is retiring and that is the day the munchkins will once again dance in the streets with joy in their hearts.
I rose to the challenge when she nearly crushed my spirit and stole my dream by dismissing me out of one of my clinicals without a single conversation with me. Shameful, but I won't bore you with the heinous details here. Suffice it to say, that with the support of my friends and family and especially my AMAZING MENTOR, I was able to pick myself up, dust myself off, and go forward to graduate with two degrees and with honors. Good for me!
I secured three PRN jobs locally and began to build my skills. I was working with a travel broker in the hopes of getting a travel PTA position in Colorado or one of the other states I wouldn't mind checking out. In the meantime, I continued to look for full-time work in Colorado as that is where my heart has been set for the past 10 years.
I found a couple of jobs, applied, convinced them to interview me over the phone to see how things go. Both places agreed. Both places then wanted me to come to Colorado for face-to-face interviews which I did just three weeks ago. I interviewed on Januaray 12 and got BOTH jobs!!
My sister and I spent the rest of the week securing an apartment for me. This was a tough job because the housing market is exploding in the springs. Rent has skyrocketed and there weren't any apartments available in my price range. I was able to secure a studio apartment that will be ready to move in by February 15. I took it even though I was unable to see it.
I ended up taking the job with the lower pay scale because it offers incredible opportunity and the owners are about the nicest people I have ever met. I am excited to start and they wanted my first day to be February 1!
I rushed home and began packing. It was incredibly stressful and happened a little to quickly for my blood as I was unable to see all of my friends and loved ones prior to my departure. This just added to the stress, but when opportunity knocks you can't ask it to wait!
I sent the majority of my belongings out with a moving company to be delivered to my tiny studio sometime between Feb 15 and Mar 7. I packed my immediate necessities in my car and headed west on Saturday, January 30. I stopped in Iowa to visit Natalie and her family, spent the night and headed out early Sunday morning hoping to get to Colorado Springs before nightfall.
The drive wasn't that bad. Nebraska and Kansas were quite interesting to me. I was surprised by this because I greatly feared the flatness of it. However, the absolute nothingness and isolation was amazing. I have never seen or experienced anything like that. I played some John Cougar Mellencamp and enjoyed the bright blue skies and wide open roads of Middle America.
All was well until I crossed over into Colorado. It was beginning to get dark, but I only had a couple hours left. I decided to go for it. I wish I had pulled off and stayed in a hotel.
Ahead of me the sky looked strange - white and gray, but not in a familiar way. I suspected snow, but I'm from Cleveland - snow is not a big deal to me. By the time darkness fell, the snow was really coming down and I couldn't see a thing except for the tiny slice of snow-slicked road ahead of me illuminated only by my headlights. I was completely alone on the road and could not see a single thing in any direction. It wasn't blocked by driving snow, but by complete and total blackness. Nothing. Not a house, a street light, another car, or any sign of life at all. I was completely alone and terrified! I couldn't tell where the edge of the road was. I couldn't see what was beyond the edge. Was it a ravine? A cliff? I had no way of knowing. I tried to stay in the middle of the road but often times I couldn't tell if I was way over to the left or the right. I was only able to go about 20 MPH in order to keep from sliding. It was terrifying. Finally, I saw a couple of tail lights ahead of me and some headlights behind me. I felt comforted, but it was short-lived as those folks turned off eventually.
By the time I reached the edge of the springs, I was worn out and emotionally drained. I pulled into a Wendy's parking lot to gather myself. I was happy to be within the city limits with street lights and life around me, but it was a mess. Cars and trucks were skidded off the roads in all directions. I inched my way to my final destination and when I finally arrived I hugged Monna a little too hard.
She helped me unload some of my belongings into the ministry house that she and Eddie had so graciously opened to me while I wait for my apartment to become available. I was desperate for a hot shower, a warm bed and a TV, so I packed up a little bag and headed back out to check into a hotel just for the night.
My new start date had been pushed to Feb 2 and I was grateful for that. I now had Feb 1st to get some of my affairs in order now that I was physically in CO. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. I was able to check out of the hotel, find a grocery store and get back to the ministry house. That was about it. The roads were terrible and most businesses were closed due to the weather. The locals keep assuring me that this is unusual weather for the springs. However, we have had a very unusual weather in Cleveland this year. Hardly any snow at all. There was one big snow storm while Carla and I were in CO. So this was my first real snow fall of the entire season and it was February! That has never happened in my life! Today (2/2/16) it is 55 degrees and sunny in Cleveland. Meanwhile, here in Colorado the snow is up the sides of my car. When I attempted to go outside, the snow is higher than my knees! This is crazy!
The clinic is closed due to the weather, so my new start date is Wednesday, February 3. I am so excited to start my job in my new digs. It's a whole new life - again! It is so hard to leave family and friends, but I am very excited to see where this path leads.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Monday, November 9, 2009
Learn your homonyms
Hello World,
To, Too, and Two are different words that are NOT interchangeable. Same goes for There, Their, and They’re. Let’s not forget about Your and You’re. I can’t take it anymore! Doesn’t anyone pay attention in English class? I have made it very easy for you. Read it, learn it, live it. Thank you.
To, too, two
To usually refers to direction (We are moving TO Dallas) or used with the infinitive form of verbs (TO run, TO go, TO laugh).
Too means also (I like snow, TOO) and to an extensive degree (He has TOO many hats).
Two is the number after one.
There, Their, They’re
There is a location (I live over THERE).
Their is possessive (I love THEIR dog).
“They’re” is the contraction of They Are (THEY'RE already there).
Your and You’re
Your is a possessive pronoun (I like YOUR haircut).
You’re is the contraction of You Are (YOU'RE annoying me).
To, Too, and Two are different words that are NOT interchangeable. Same goes for There, Their, and They’re. Let’s not forget about Your and You’re. I can’t take it anymore! Doesn’t anyone pay attention in English class? I have made it very easy for you. Read it, learn it, live it. Thank you.
To, too, two
To usually refers to direction (We are moving TO Dallas) or used with the infinitive form of verbs (TO run, TO go, TO laugh).
Too means also (I like snow, TOO) and to an extensive degree (He has TOO many hats).
Two is the number after one.
There, Their, They’re
There is a location (I live over THERE).
Their is possessive (I love THEIR dog).
“They’re” is the contraction of They Are (THEY'RE already there).
Your and You’re
Your is a possessive pronoun (I like YOUR haircut).
You’re is the contraction of You Are (YOU'RE annoying me).
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Poor Dead Skunk
Hello World!
I am awakened in the middle of the night by the stink of skunk. This is the second time in the last few weeks. My entire bedroom smells rancid. I somehow get back to sleep. I walk out my door this morning and there is a dead skunk at the bottom of my steps! He looked so peaceful - no injury or sign of fighting or anything. The smell is horrendous! I call my neighbor, Larry, who comes over and cleans it up for me, but he said he would not dig a hole. I am not sure exactly what is going to happen to the little fellow at this point. However, my bedroom and sunporch smell pretty bad. My car stinks to the high heaven!!
I have no idea what happened to this poor skunk. It's like he was trying to get to my door for help and didn't quite make it. I am so sad about this. Larry thinks he might have eaten something poisonous or was just really old. Either way, who finds dead animals right at their doorstep? I started feeling guilty like I should have went to check on him as soon as I smelled it in the middle of the night. But what could I have done if he was in need of help? Call Skunk 911? There is nothing I could have done anyway and who is going to head in the direction of skunk smell? No one. Anyone with any sense would go in the opposite direction. Am I right?
Poor little skunk.
I am awakened in the middle of the night by the stink of skunk. This is the second time in the last few weeks. My entire bedroom smells rancid. I somehow get back to sleep. I walk out my door this morning and there is a dead skunk at the bottom of my steps! He looked so peaceful - no injury or sign of fighting or anything. The smell is horrendous! I call my neighbor, Larry, who comes over and cleans it up for me, but he said he would not dig a hole. I am not sure exactly what is going to happen to the little fellow at this point. However, my bedroom and sunporch smell pretty bad. My car stinks to the high heaven!!
I have no idea what happened to this poor skunk. It's like he was trying to get to my door for help and didn't quite make it. I am so sad about this. Larry thinks he might have eaten something poisonous or was just really old. Either way, who finds dead animals right at their doorstep? I started feeling guilty like I should have went to check on him as soon as I smelled it in the middle of the night. But what could I have done if he was in need of help? Call Skunk 911? There is nothing I could have done anyway and who is going to head in the direction of skunk smell? No one. Anyone with any sense would go in the opposite direction. Am I right?
Poor little skunk.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Olympic Volleyball
Hello World!
I was just wondering...why do woman wear skimpy bikinis while playing professional volleyball, but men wear tank tops and shorts?
I was just wondering...why do woman wear skimpy bikinis while playing professional volleyball, but men wear tank tops and shorts?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Wal Mart Story #1
Hello World!
Okay, so here is the story. I do not like Wal Mart. I believe I started boycotting Wal Mart several years ago when I was into politics and I had good, solid, educated reasons. Now, I must admit, my reasons are more like: the stores are too damn big, they are dirty, the quality of the merchandise is sub par, etc. I have held onto my one "political" reason as "I will not patronize an establishment that treats its employees poorly" - low wages, forced unpaid overtime, no health care benefits.
So I decide to go to Wal Mart and purchase a bat bag for my nephew. I walk in and the "Greeter" doesn't greet me. I don't really care, but come on, your one job is to welcome the customers and you can't do that? So I start the hunt for sporting goods. I find it relatively quickly and I begin looking for bat bags. I am not having any luck, but I can't really figure out the logic in the department. There are baseballs and helmets with the golf equipment. Then I find bats with the soccer equipment. I think it's possibe that I am just unable to locate the bat bags. I begin seeking assistance and I hear a page, "Customer needs assistance in sporting goods". I'm thinking, "Wow! They are watching me and are sending help. Maybe they really have changed since the last time I was here." I see another customer walk up to the counter and wait. I realize that is who the page is for, but who cares? I can get some help, too.
We begin to wait. Eleven minutes. Eleven freakin' minutes?! I am beginning to get irritated. I walk down an isle and see an employee walking toward me. I gesture to him to see if he is the one on the way to sporting goods to assist a customer. He makes no response. I keep walking toward him and make another gesture. No response. He is looking right at me! He is too far away for me shout to him. I keep walking - another gesture. NO RESPONSE! I finally call out, "Are you coming to help us in sporting goods?" NO RESPONSE!!! Are you kidding me? This man is not only not responding to me, but he is taking his good ole time getting to me.
He finally saunters up and tells me he can page someone to help us. I explain that we have already been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes. I further explain that I just want to know if you carry bat bags. He says he can look around for me. He begins to move (honestly, I have never seen a human being move this slow) and I realize he is about to wander through the department looking for my product. At this pace, this could take hours!
He also has a bit of a smirk on his face. I ask him if he is moving that slow on purpose? He is a little surprised by my boldness - as is the other customer. Hell, I even surprised myself, but what the hell, it slipped out so I'm going for it. He explains that he is a rather large man and this is how he moves. I acknowledge his size, but insist that he can move a little better than that. He smirks and shrugs. I then explain that I feel that he is just being plain disrespectful. I think on some level he actually respected my honesty, so he began to search for my product. FINALLY, the paged employee comes to assist. I ask her if they carry bat bags - she doesn't know either. I am just done at this point. I have been in the store for nearly a half hour and I don't even know if they have the product! I say thank you and begin to leave. Two other employees walk up and begin to search for bat bags. No one knows whether or not they carry them. The large man rounds the corner with another employee and they have a bat bag! I am appreciative that he put forth such tremendous effort in finding the item, but I am so pissed off that it has taken this much effort on MY part just to shop there that I don't want to make the purchase. I go back and forth on this a few times, but I decide to make the purchase. (Please note I had to return the freakin' thing anyway because it wasn't what my nephew wanted afterall!)
So here is where I am. This is not by any means a horrible story about Wal Mart. However, I find that I am boycotting a business mostly because of its poor treatment of its employees and the employees suck. Really. I am happy the large man found my item, but it took a total of four employees to accomplish that goal. And more than 45 minutes of my time. Yes, 45 minutes because I was in line FOREVER in the express lane with only one person in front of me who was already in the process of checking out! There was absolutely no sense of urgency from any of the employees and whogivesashit was their battle cry - I should say "battle sigh" because "battle cry" implies effort.
I am no longer boycotting Wal Mart because of poor employee treatment. Now, I just don't shop there because of crappy customer service.
Okay, so here is the story. I do not like Wal Mart. I believe I started boycotting Wal Mart several years ago when I was into politics and I had good, solid, educated reasons. Now, I must admit, my reasons are more like: the stores are too damn big, they are dirty, the quality of the merchandise is sub par, etc. I have held onto my one "political" reason as "I will not patronize an establishment that treats its employees poorly" - low wages, forced unpaid overtime, no health care benefits.
So I decide to go to Wal Mart and purchase a bat bag for my nephew. I walk in and the "Greeter" doesn't greet me. I don't really care, but come on, your one job is to welcome the customers and you can't do that? So I start the hunt for sporting goods. I find it relatively quickly and I begin looking for bat bags. I am not having any luck, but I can't really figure out the logic in the department. There are baseballs and helmets with the golf equipment. Then I find bats with the soccer equipment. I think it's possibe that I am just unable to locate the bat bags. I begin seeking assistance and I hear a page, "Customer needs assistance in sporting goods". I'm thinking, "Wow! They are watching me and are sending help. Maybe they really have changed since the last time I was here." I see another customer walk up to the counter and wait. I realize that is who the page is for, but who cares? I can get some help, too.
We begin to wait. Eleven minutes. Eleven freakin' minutes?! I am beginning to get irritated. I walk down an isle and see an employee walking toward me. I gesture to him to see if he is the one on the way to sporting goods to assist a customer. He makes no response. I keep walking toward him and make another gesture. No response. He is looking right at me! He is too far away for me shout to him. I keep walking - another gesture. NO RESPONSE! I finally call out, "Are you coming to help us in sporting goods?" NO RESPONSE!!! Are you kidding me? This man is not only not responding to me, but he is taking his good ole time getting to me.
He finally saunters up and tells me he can page someone to help us. I explain that we have already been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes. I further explain that I just want to know if you carry bat bags. He says he can look around for me. He begins to move (honestly, I have never seen a human being move this slow) and I realize he is about to wander through the department looking for my product. At this pace, this could take hours!
He also has a bit of a smirk on his face. I ask him if he is moving that slow on purpose? He is a little surprised by my boldness - as is the other customer. Hell, I even surprised myself, but what the hell, it slipped out so I'm going for it. He explains that he is a rather large man and this is how he moves. I acknowledge his size, but insist that he can move a little better than that. He smirks and shrugs. I then explain that I feel that he is just being plain disrespectful. I think on some level he actually respected my honesty, so he began to search for my product. FINALLY, the paged employee comes to assist. I ask her if they carry bat bags - she doesn't know either. I am just done at this point. I have been in the store for nearly a half hour and I don't even know if they have the product! I say thank you and begin to leave. Two other employees walk up and begin to search for bat bags. No one knows whether or not they carry them. The large man rounds the corner with another employee and they have a bat bag! I am appreciative that he put forth such tremendous effort in finding the item, but I am so pissed off that it has taken this much effort on MY part just to shop there that I don't want to make the purchase. I go back and forth on this a few times, but I decide to make the purchase. (Please note I had to return the freakin' thing anyway because it wasn't what my nephew wanted afterall!)
So here is where I am. This is not by any means a horrible story about Wal Mart. However, I find that I am boycotting a business mostly because of its poor treatment of its employees and the employees suck. Really. I am happy the large man found my item, but it took a total of four employees to accomplish that goal. And more than 45 minutes of my time. Yes, 45 minutes because I was in line FOREVER in the express lane with only one person in front of me who was already in the process of checking out! There was absolutely no sense of urgency from any of the employees and whogivesashit was their battle cry - I should say "battle sigh" because "battle cry" implies effort.
I am no longer boycotting Wal Mart because of poor employee treatment. Now, I just don't shop there because of crappy customer service.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Bike Ride Down Memory Lane
Hello World!
I ran some errands on my bike this evening. While I was on my way home, I decided to ride past my elementary school and junior high school. I was taken aback by the flood of memories that hit me as I rounded the end of the junior high school (turned middle school) end of the building and came up on the back of the elementary school. There I was playing softball as a young girl...then I was running across the field because the boys were trying to steal my comb from my back pocket...there's the swing where Karen Baylor got hit in the face and had her two front teeth knocked out...I'm racing Eric Zigman and Jimmy Bevis across the playground...there's the three humped monkey bars that always made my heart race because I was afraid of falling off...my friends are pushing me on the swings...there I am again at the first field up to bat hearing the crowd yelling, "Show them where you live!" and I can hear the train in the distance...I can see the kids sitting on the wall hanging out during recess...the playground, the baseball fields - they are completely different now, but I can see them clearly as they once were. As I continue around the rest of the building, I can hear the cacophony of children crowding through the front doors, papers rustling, teachers shouting...it was all so vivid. I rode all the way home with a big smile on my face. Ahhhh...childhood....
I ran some errands on my bike this evening. While I was on my way home, I decided to ride past my elementary school and junior high school. I was taken aback by the flood of memories that hit me as I rounded the end of the junior high school (turned middle school) end of the building and came up on the back of the elementary school. There I was playing softball as a young girl...then I was running across the field because the boys were trying to steal my comb from my back pocket...there's the swing where Karen Baylor got hit in the face and had her two front teeth knocked out...I'm racing Eric Zigman and Jimmy Bevis across the playground...there's the three humped monkey bars that always made my heart race because I was afraid of falling off...my friends are pushing me on the swings...there I am again at the first field up to bat hearing the crowd yelling, "Show them where you live!" and I can hear the train in the distance...I can see the kids sitting on the wall hanging out during recess...the playground, the baseball fields - they are completely different now, but I can see them clearly as they once were. As I continue around the rest of the building, I can hear the cacophony of children crowding through the front doors, papers rustling, teachers shouting...it was all so vivid. I rode all the way home with a big smile on my face. Ahhhh...childhood....
Thursday, April 24, 2008
What a Beautiful Day!
Hello World!
Today is bright and sunny and warm and just gorgeous! I am going to clean my bike and take it for a ride! I'm so excited because I was injured last year and was unable to ride my bike. That was a real bummer. I'm almost scared - isn't that weird?
I am going to ride my bike up to Wal Mart. Yes, I said Wal Mart. I have to return something that I purchased there. Yes, I purchased something there. I feel dirty just talking about it! Most of you know that I RARELY set foot in Wal Mart because I think it is evil. Well, due to many circumstances I decided to walk in there and buy a product. I wanted to see what would happen. Well, check out my next blog to get the story...
I am trying to figure out this blog thing and I am not having much luck. I want to make the page a little more interesting to look at and to offer some other features like links to cool places and a spot to post my Quotes of the Day. Just bear with me. Argh! I am getting so frustrated with this thing! I want to move this paragraph of text and apparently you can't just cut and paste. What the hell? I am posting this blog as is because I can't figure out how to move things around. So let's see I have to do my writing in a word doc and then copy it over to my blog?? That is stupid. Can someone enlighten me? I can't stand having to read tons and tons of irrelevant information just so I can figure out the very basic functions of this freakin' blogging shit.
Now how the hell am I supposed to enjoy a pleasant bike ride? Wal Mart better be on their toes because that is where I am headed. Do you see how easily one's mood can change?
Okay, let's get that sunshiney disposition back again, shall we? Ahhhh...deep breath...pretty sunshine...warm breeze...aaaand I'm back. Now where's my helmet?
Today is bright and sunny and warm and just gorgeous! I am going to clean my bike and take it for a ride! I'm so excited because I was injured last year and was unable to ride my bike. That was a real bummer. I'm almost scared - isn't that weird?
I am going to ride my bike up to Wal Mart. Yes, I said Wal Mart. I have to return something that I purchased there. Yes, I purchased something there. I feel dirty just talking about it! Most of you know that I RARELY set foot in Wal Mart because I think it is evil. Well, due to many circumstances I decided to walk in there and buy a product. I wanted to see what would happen. Well, check out my next blog to get the story...
I am trying to figure out this blog thing and I am not having much luck. I want to make the page a little more interesting to look at and to offer some other features like links to cool places and a spot to post my Quotes of the Day. Just bear with me. Argh! I am getting so frustrated with this thing! I want to move this paragraph of text and apparently you can't just cut and paste. What the hell? I am posting this blog as is because I can't figure out how to move things around. So let's see I have to do my writing in a word doc and then copy it over to my blog?? That is stupid. Can someone enlighten me? I can't stand having to read tons and tons of irrelevant information just so I can figure out the very basic functions of this freakin' blogging shit.
Now how the hell am I supposed to enjoy a pleasant bike ride? Wal Mart better be on their toes because that is where I am headed. Do you see how easily one's mood can change?
Okay, let's get that sunshiney disposition back again, shall we? Ahhhh...deep breath...pretty sunshine...warm breeze...aaaand I'm back. Now where's my helmet?
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