Access Denied.

So, I'm sitting here in my little room at school, hiding from the Homecoming pep rally that is going on in the gym. I thought to myself, hmm, I'll catch up on reading some blogs! So, I'm reading along, and I'm totally enjoying Spoonleg's most recent post. I haven't mey anyone that hates Bush as much as me, until now. (A kindred spirit.) I am also loving Kam's granny. I thought women like that were a hollywood creation. So, I wanted to share this all with Spoonie, but the damn web filter at my school blocked me from making a comment on her site! It sited "bad content." Whatever. Maybe the ditrict is pissed off becuse it's in the reddest county in the ENTIRE country! Honest to God, it was on CNN. This county I work in voted 99% for Bush in the last election. I don't know, but I leave you with my favorite quote from my favorite partriot.

"Never was there a good war, or a bad peace."
-Benjamin Franklin

Spoonleg, I can't wait to meet you on my visit!!

Bring our boys & girls home. Visit my senator's web page. The only US Senator to vote AGAINST the Patriot Act, a true patriot, Russ Feingold.

Booked.

We're booked. Rook and I purchased our flights for the trip to H-Town. We'll leave October 27, and return the 31st. I am hyped.
I haven't seen BabyBerry since he was still a real baby (12mo old). He'll be almost 2 1/2 when I get down there. He's almost a kid. This is a good thing too, as we can do a lot more fun stuff with him. Does Houston have any cool children's museums? Oh, I can't wait to get down there and spoil him, as if he's not spoiled enough. :-)
I have a sinus headache like you wouldn't believe, and it's making it difficult to write. I have to get going on our pre-closing to-do list for the condo. It's long. We even have to buy furniture for almost every room in the house. It's fun, but tiring. I want to sleep, but not until I get home. Later.

How Clever!

Phe sent me a bunch of pictures of Japanese inventions. Here are a couple of my favorites.



Maybe I should get my sister this one for my very cute nephew.


















Just what everyone needs! A butter stick!

Proof is in the Pictures

Phe sent me the U2 pictures last night. Here is a sampling. I didn't realize that I looked at so much Bono butt.

Here we are!! It's Rook, me, and Phe from left to right. Did I mention that we got to sit in a suite, sweet!

This is Dashboard Confessional. They opened, and ROCKED!!! The lead singer is so cute, and has sexy tats all over his arms. You may have heard their single "Vindicated." Don't you hate it when people show up AFTER the opening act is done, or talk all through their show. How rude!

Here are those cool beaded curtain things.

Close to Bono, as he walks through the curtain! Check out the people inside the walkway of the stage. I wish I had been one of them.

There they all are. Our seats were so great. And there's my cute little EDGE on the right.

Here is a cool shot of the entire stage. Bono is on the walkway over to the left. All the guys were wireless, except for Larry on drums, but even he got out on the walkway for one song.

BerryGirl & SillyNessa, I can't wait to see you!! (And maybe U2 again!)

The BEST Concert Ever!

I don' think I can put into words how I felt at the end of the U2 concert last night. By far, it was the best concert I have ever been to. I just love them. They're great musicians, they appricate their fans, and they're inspiritional. They do so much good using the fame that we have given them. They know that God has put them here, and given them their talent to achieve a higher goal. I have never been to another show where the band members literally look their fans in the eyes as they wave and leave the stage. It was so cool.

I took this picture with my phone. My camera was too bulky to try and sneek in. Phe took a bunch of pictues with her little camera, and I will post later. The swirl at the bottom is the actual stage. and then there is a walkway around a whole group of people in the middle there. The stage design was so cool. There were these things that looked like giant beaded curtains, but they were lights, and each bead was like a TV pixel, so they had designs and pictures going across them. They opened with "City of Burning Lights." Such a great opening song. Bono claimed that we were a cool crowd because we could sing all the words (I could sing most). They played a special set, or so they said, because yesterday was the band's 29th anniversary. The anniversary of the first time they got together at Larry's house to form the band. In the set they played a few of their old, old songs that were on their demo and first albums. So cool. They also played a lot of their "political" themed songs from the years. I guess you could say that it was a "deep" concert.

The show solidified my decision to go and visit the Berry Family at the end of October. U2 is playing Houston the last Friday in October. I wanted to visit them that weekend since I have a 5 day weekend, and the show sealed the deal. Plus, I'll get to go trick-or-treating with my Godson, Berry Baby. YEAH! I have to buy tickets. There are two airlines that fly direct to Houston from Milwaukee, and their prices are the same. Here is the difference. Continental flies to Bastard President Sr. Intercontinental Airport, which is close to Berry Girl's home. It is a 60 passenger communter jet. Midwest flies to Hobby Airport, across town. It is first class, and you get a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Difficult decision. What would you choose?

There is so much going on in this little world of mine, but I have to end today's post here. Love you all!

PS - OMG! The Edge is SO HOT!!! He is so cute in his sneakers and skull cap. I love him, even though he can sing like a girl. They're all so cute, esp. Larry too. But, oh! The Edge!

U2 Tonight!!!!

I have 8 minutes before I have to kick Rook out of the bathroom so I can do my hair and make-up. We're off to the U2 concert tonight!!! After over 6 months of anticipation, it's fianlly here. I had two of my tickets auctioned off for Katrina relief. They went for $80 over face value. I'm SO excited. We have suite tickets, and I love Bono. This is my favorite band (that is still together, my other is the Beatles). I am so hyped. We had an adventure of a weekend, but no time to write now. I'll let you all know how the evening goes.

I thank God that the Berry Family is all safe and sound with no Rita damage. Sigh! I love you, girl!!!

Scared and Angry

I just read BerryGirl's last post, and it has me scared. She and the family, including MY Godson are going to ride out Rita in a home that is most likely going to flood. The freeways are jammed - take the side roads! There is no gas - syphen it out of your other car! Do what ever you can, and get the hell out is what I think. I know it is in God's hands, but I do NOT want to see the Berry's climbing out of a hole in their roof on the evening news! I'd call her, but I'm sure the cell phone service is out; it was already out last night. I don't know what to do. I guess my only choice is to go and cook supper. I don't even want to turn on the TV because I know it's just going to be Rita the whore all over the place! I think I'm going to cry now.

The Quiet Life of a Math Resource Teacher

I love my new job, but sometimes it can get a little dull. I love helping students understand their math and to succeed. I hate waiting for them to come in for help. In my first week or so here, I've read an entire YA novel. On Thursdays we have early release. The kids go home at 2 O'Clock, while the teachers stay at school for meetings. My room stays open until 3:15 in case students want to come in and do homework. It's my second Thursday here, and I have not seen any students during this time. They know that I am here!! I've been advertising! So, here I am. I have no real work to do, and to make matters worse I keep thinking about Baby Berry, BerryGirl and SillyNessa waiting out Rita with Nessa's family. They'll still get hit pretty hard, but it won't be as bad as in Houston proper. Mr. Berry is staying at their house, why, I don't know. I told BerryGirl that she'd better stash some water, supplies, and a hatchet in the attic, just in case. What the hell is he thinking?! Anyway. I guess all we can do now is pray. It's in God's hands. I'm going to go and play with my calculator and some Pre-Calculus homework in case I get those students tomorrow. Honestly, I haven't done some of that math since the good old high school days with Mrs. Desponde. And to think, I'm a math major! Oh well.

Worried Sick

I feel so helpless. I'm sitting here in Wisconsin with beautiful weather, while my best friend is down in Houston preparing to keep herself and her family safe and secure. There's like the biggest storm ever bearing down on them, and all I can do is sit here. What do I do? If you read this, BerryGirl, call me! Better yet, get in the truck with Mr.Berry and the baby, and get your butts up to Milwaukee!

Brewers are up 5-4, in the top of the 8th against the cubs. As if I didn't have enough to get the acid churning in my tummy!

BREWRS 5, CUBS 3!!! OOOO, for OVERBAY!

We got FREE tickets for the Brewers/Cubs game tonight, and it was oh so sweet!! Rooks' brother plays golf with and umpire team when they visit Minnesota, and they worked the Twins series over this past weekend. Anyway, they set up up with their guest tickets for tonight's game. How cool is that?! The seats were right behind home plate on the second level, right below Uke's broadcast booth. I could almost hear him as he called the game. It was SO cool, but silly me left my camera in the car, so no pictures. A scan of my ticket stub will just have to do. My mommy came with us, but Spongebob (my dad) couldn't come because he was sick. :-( The best part was being a proud Brewers fan (which I am in good times and bad - I'm a bigger Brewers fan than Packers fan - shhhh). The FIBS outnumbered us Brewers fans, which made the win even sweeter. My two favorite Brewers, Geoff Jenkins and Lyle Overbay, both hit homeruns - so perfect. It was even a fun, eventful game, no boring, slow spots.

We have an accepted offer on the condo! We close on October 14, and I can hardly wait. I'll soon be living in South Milwaukee - a place I thought I'd never live since I still get lost when I drive through. Maybe I'll have to overcome that defecit.

Silly Nessa and BerryGirl, I'm praying for you and your families as you prepare for and weather Rita. You can "refugee" at my place anytime.

Fatal Error

So, today I gave my mom the URL for my blog here. Now I have to be a good girl, like I ever am really bad. I just feel like I've done something silly. Mom, I love you! Come by anytime. I'll keep it clean. :)

My camera also ran out of batteries at the party yesterday, so no new pictures. It was supposed to be a no gift party, but no such luck. I showed up with only card for everyone, and then I got gifts! I felt like such a looser! Like I'm trying to scam my family. At least I know I'm loved, but do they know I really love them more than a Hallmark card can ever say? I bet they do, but I still feel bad about not buying gifts. Maybe I'll get them all little somethings here and there to make up.

It's been a long day.

High Bidding and a Cute Baby

So, we did it. Last night Rook and I put in an offer for a brand new condo. It's so nice, and we like it a lot. It's a side-by-side ranch, so it feels like a house. So nice. I'll post pictures after I get to go in it again. I want my brother in law to look at the plumbing this week. I want to see if he can put in pipes for an ice maker and a gas stove. It's scary, but exciting at the same time. The best kind. Our realtor just called to tell us that they'll accept the offer with only a few ammendments. Cool. We'll close within a month. We'll be out of this stinkin' flat.

I have to say that it's discouraging not having any comments on my little blog here. I've been thinking about installing a counter to see how many visit, but I'm afraid that I'll be the only person it counts. I've got to find a theme, a reason for people to read me. Am I really that boring, or are people not just finding me? Hmm... I know! I'll post a picture of my nephew because he's just too damn cute.

It's the most recent picture I have, about two weeks old. This was taken right before his two month birthday. We'll call him JT here. The ENT doctor just confirmed last week that he's completely deaf in his left ear. It won't effect his development as his right ear is perfect. We have to wait until he's bigger to find out if it can be reversed and the cause. There will probably be genetic testing too. The good news is that his speech will develop just fine. His eyes are so blue, like me and my sister. I'll see him again tomorrow at the September family birthday party. I'll tell you all about it.

My new job is going well. No real news to report, and that's a good thing. Later.

NO SCHOOL!!!! Yipee!

To day would be my second day of my new job, but I was sent home, given the day off. I hope this trend continues. :) We had a big wind storm in Southeastern Wisconsin last night that knocked out power to a lot of people. I heard that it's the 2nd largest power outage in the area's history. Anyway, my new school is one of the places without power, so NO SCHOOL FOR ME! The pricipal is giving me a couple of hours pay to do some work on the computer here at home. That's trustworthy. I am honest, and I will do my work. My first day, yesterday, was SO busy. If I wasn't introducing myself to classes, I was doing my job helping kids with their math. I almost missed my lunch! So far, so good. I can tell that everyone is happy that I'm there, kids included. We'll se how it goes. I'm really diggin' this idea that I can teach all day, and not have any "homework" to do. Well I'm off to take a nap. My body is fighting this new schedule. I promise not to sleep more that 45min.

Last Day of Freedom

I have enjoyed my extended summer vacation, but like all things, it comes to an end tomorrow. I'm starting my new job, and there will be no freedom until Christmas. I did sleep in today, until 10:30! Rook gets on me when I sleep in, but I counter him by mentioning that neither of us will ever sleep in again once there are little kiddos. I'm getting my zzz in now! I'm cleaning, doing laundry, and generally getting a bunch of junk done, so it won't be sitting there when I have no time for it. Our land lord is also coming by to take pictures of the flat. He's putting together a flyer for possible new tennents. We're out of here at the end of October. I guess I need to get back to work because it never ends. Blah!

No Longer Jobless

Well, Thursday's interview proved fruitful; I have a job. I start on Tuesday, and I am excited. I'll be a math support teacher at a local suburban high school. It's a pretty high income area. As a support teacher, I'll run the math support room. I'll tutor kids throughout the day, and eventually I will be coordinating a tutoring program with college age and peer tutors. It should be cool. I won't make as much money a a "regular" teacher, but it's still about the same as I was making at the private Catholic high school. I'm content. So, my leisure filled days are over. It's actually kind of sad. I was beginning to enjoy having little responsibility.

The Results of the Popcorn Attempt

This is a current picture of my living room ceiling. I just knew there was a moral to that story!

Listen to your Local Boyscout!

He will tell you to be prepared. I just got home from my interview. I think it went well, I'll hear from them tonight or tomrrow. It will either be quick jubilation or like a band aid - better to get the pain done with quickly. So, I'm a math teacher, and it never occured to me to practice math over the summer. Well, for this interview, they had me do math! What the heck? I've never had to actually show that I can do the math while interviewing for a math position before. The degree in mathematics is supposed to tip them off. I'm glad that it was easy. I checked my work, but I hope that I didn't overlook any stupid mistakes. There were two geometry questions, which is my forte, they were cool, but there was this one where I had to find the discriminant of a 3x3 matrix using diagonals. OK, when I read the question I was stumped, but I had the book, so I looked it up. Turns out that it is a technique I spent about 5 minutes on in my Linear Algebra class in college. I had forgotten it. I am ashamed, well not really since that was five years ago. Oh well. If I get this job, I'll have to study up on my calculus, something I haven't even wanted to look at since college. It can be painful. Later.

Future Maury Guests visit the DMV

Yesterday I made the dreaded trip to the DMV to get my drivers license renewed. Here in WI, we only have to go once every eight years, but that will be more than enough for me. I was there for about an hour, and I was only being helped for about 10 minutes. While waiting I took in one of my favorite past times - people watching. Shorlty after my arrival, two high school aged girls walked in. At this location, everyone is issued anumber, so you wait in chairs insted of a line. One of the girls was wearing one of those highly ghetto-fashionable basketball jersey dresses and high-top tennis shoes. I was thankful that it fit her well. Her friend (or cousin, as I later overheard) was wearing a short jean skirt and one of those tube top, mumu things that my grandmother used to favor (may she rest in peace). The girl wearing the tube top also had on a matching bra, straps all hanging out, because she had the biggest boobs I think I've ever seen. Silked screened across her chest was the saying "baby girl." How cute. Anyway. They ran into the mother of one of their friends, who was sitting next to me. The friend, and son of the mother, was away someplace. The mother gave a stamp to one of the girls to send a letter to the son because he was lonely, and no one visited him. It was at that point that I realized that the son was in jail. His mom mentioned that she might have enough to bail him out next month, if he's not charged first. The discussion went on to a party that the son threw and the girls attended. The mom told of how she found a used condom in the bathroom, and asked which girl that was from, one fessed up that she slept with the son at the party, and the other mentioned that she was "wit" the son's cousin at the same soiree. Laughs and good memories were shared by all - especially from mom. All I could hear in the back of my head was Maury saying, "You are NOT the father."

That was the highlight of my day. Being unemployed is not as glamourous as one may think. Once you've caught up the to-do lists, life is pretty dull. I do plan meals and cook now. :) Well I'm off to get ready for my interview. I'm moving slow this morning. I decided that yesterday would be a good day to start lifting weights at the Y, after taking the summer off of weight training. OUCH! I pushed it too hard. Until later...

Day One and the Aftermath of the Popcorn

So, here I am; my first post. It's going to take me a while to get used to this all, and to get things the way I want them. Forgive me please. I started this blog due to a little peer presure. My best friend in the whole world, Berrygirl (I'll figure out how to link that later), has now taken to leaving me messages on her blog insted of e-mailing or calling me. So, I am left with no choice but to start my own. My description is me in a nutshell. I might also add that I am an unemployed teacher. I hope that this situation will retify itself as I have a solid interview this Thursday. I'll keep the public updated.

So, on to the aftermath of the popcorn... Our landlord, who is also a friend, spent today preparing the house for an appraiser that is coming by tomorrow. He decides that he needs to re-"popcorn" a patch of ceiling in the living room to cover up a huge water stain that formed from the leaking central air unit ealier this summer. First of all, he mixes the "popcorn" paste in my kitchen, throwing the powder all over the place. Shortly later, he throws his back out, and retreats to my living room floor. Having pity, I gave him water and drugs. He thought the best course of action was to call his dad to finish the job. Meanwhile Rook, my boyfriend, gets home from work, and is enlisted to help with the job. So, picture this, my landlord is lying on the floor trying to direct his father and Rook on how to correctly "popcorn" the ceiling. They didn't listen to his direction on how to tape off the area, so now I have "popcorn" all over the living room. And two hours later I now see that the water stain is starting to peek through again. I know there must be a moral to this story, and I'll share it if I can think of it, but for now this is where my post will end for tonight. Until next time...