Busy, Busy

I have been so busy lately, and so tired. I have not had the time to blog. Actually, I felt a little more energized today than I have been so I worked on cleaning the house. I have been dragging lately. It has been so frustrating and stressful. Other than that it has been a good week.
 
Last Wednesday I got my scene for acting class. It is our final project – we have to do a scene with a partner. I got a good partner, Steve, and our scene is very interesting. I am a Human Resource person (and maybe dominatrix) who is interviewing this guy for a position in the company. I use him as my personal plaything. It is going to be very challenging for me because I have to be sexy, and act like I am having an orgasm . Yikes! I have not been feeling very sexy lately because I am the fattest I have ever been, so this is going to very hard. But this is good. I like a challenge. My monologue was not much of a challenge so now I get my chance to shine.
 
I made a new friend Wednesday at school (from acting class) and we had lunch at the cafe. Phil, my new friend, is planning on going to U of M Flint. He wrote in his blog that he is excited to be getting ready to transfer to U of M but he feels at home at Mott – he is starting to make friends and teachers are noticing him. I feel the same way. A good thing is that we know each other now, we can pal around at U of M and maybe the transition won’t be so hard. He has already been accepted. He said I should have no problems getting in with my GPA (3.5 and climbing). I am still thinking about other options though.
 
My husband and I got to keep his son overnight on Thursday because he did not have school on Good Friday. It is nice to have some extra time with Jordan. He got to pal around with his cousin Danny a lot this week-end. Chuck and I gave him one of his Easter gifts early – a game he has been wanting forever. Chuck and I had to go to 4 stores to track it down it time for Easter. Well now he has it and he spent Thursday night yelling at it the game. I guess it is a lot harder than he remembered.
 
We took the boys to a laser show at the Planetarium Saturday. I think they had fun. Chuck and I enjoyed it. It was laser lights set to Jimi Hendrix music and then they did Led Zeppelin. Blast from the past – it was cool. Or maybe I should say groovy dude.  The funny thing was the Planetarium staff made an anouncement that there was "no smoking of any substance allowed, if you are caught smoking you will be asked to leave immediately – no questions asked." haha, I bet they get some people smoking weed. This week-end they have a Pink Floyd laser show. http://www.longway.org/
 
Sunday we spent with my husbands family. We had dinner with all the usual trimmings. I made beans and everybody raved over them. We stopped by my parents house afterwords. My nephews were there. I have three nephews, Kenny age 4, Alex who will be 2 in July, and lil Brent who will be 1 in July. They are all so cute. The two youngest seem a lot calmer than Kenny. My poor SIL has her hands full though, with 3 so young.
 
Yesterday I had my first rehearsal for the play I am in – Shakespeare’s "Titus Andronicus". It is with the Flint City Theatre. It was interesting. We read through the whole play. I am only a soldier. I just wanted to get my feet wet onstage again. I did a lot of plays in high school but that has been almost 20 years now. I miss performing and it is good to be around theatre people again. Everyone is so interesting, talented and nice. It should be fun. http://www.flintcitytheatre.com/
 
Psych class has been interesting. I have a test tomorrow though and have not felt like studying one bit today. I have to get back to it though. I just felt like blogging real quick. It has relaxed me. I was feeling stressed earlier because I got some bad news. Now I feel better. More later.
Published in: on March 26, 2008 at 1:52 am  Leave a Comment  

Liars

I was listening to a radio show tonight while going to pick up my husband from work. It was about a study that was done on people that lie. Their brains were scanned and it was shown they have more white matter in their brain than a person who does not lie or at least does not tell a lot of lies. It was very interesting. I wish I knew the name of the show. It was all about lying and liars. It was on one of the public radio stations. I looked up some articles about the study:
 
 
 
Published in: on March 19, 2008 at 1:23 am  Leave a Comment  

Talking about Bored with your life? Bid on this guy’s – Internet – MSNBC.com

 Wow, this sad, interesting and brave all at the same time. 

Quote

Bored with your life? Bid on this guy’s – Internet – MSNBC.com

Published in: on March 19, 2008 at 1:07 am  Leave a Comment  

Why I went back to school…

Now that I am about to graduate with my Associate’s Degree I am thinking about the next phase of my education. I also have been looking back at how far I have come, what my inspiration was for going back to school.
 

INSPIRATION

 

There were three things that inspired me to go back to school in 2006.

 

First, my sister in law, Cecelia, graduated in 2006 with her associate’s degree. I remember watching her graduate and feeling very proud. She made it! I also felt I should be going to school, I should be graduating. That graduation inspired me. She is an inspiration herself because she was able to succeed in school while being a wife and mother of 2 kids plus a few other problems she overcame that I won’t go into detail about.

 

Second, well I am not sure this is an inspiration; maybe, in a negative sense. I hated my job at the time. I was working at an ambulance service doing office work and billing. I thought it would be my dream job but it was not. I found out I hate sitting around an office, doing paperwork. YUCK! I guess there were some aspects of the job I liked but it was not enough. I had to do something different.

 

Third, and this is pretty silly. I was sitting around playing “The Sims 2”. You can have your sim people go to college. So I was playing the game, had a sim in college and I thought, “WTF? Why the hell am I sitting here wasting my time pretending to be in college? I should actually go!” So I went. You can inspiration from the strangest places and circumstances.

 

MORE DECISIONS TO MAKE

 

I had started college a few years ago, so I already had some credits. That made it a little easier to start again. I quit going to school back then because I had to work while going to school and I couldn’t do it. I was not strong enough; my health was not good enough. I actually had to drop a whole semester (winter semester – darn cold) because of my CFS and fibromyalgia. I am so thankful that this time around I am strong enough. I also have more direction than the last time. Last time I wasn’t quite sure which degree to pursue (I had all kinds of thoughts/ideas running around in my head; mostly about how I can make some good money). I was scared that I would not have the energy to go into psychology. Although, when I went back in 2006 I still wasn’t sure, I soon decided that I would pursue a degree in counseling (whether it is through psychology or social work). I said to hell with it! I am going for it. Now that I am about to complete the first phase of my education, I need to decide which school I want to go to and exactly which bachelor degree I want. I have always wanted to go to U of M Flint but now I am having second thoughts. I can go to Rochester College right at my community college campus. It would be cheaper and I would still have classes with Dr. McCain, my favorite prof. She says the Rochester program for Counseling Psychology is a good one. I certainly think it would be easier for me to stay on the Mott campus but I can’t give up the U of M dream. I have much to research and ponder.

Published in: on March 18, 2008 at 3:37 pm  Leave a Comment  

Back to school

I am sad. I didn’t get half the things I wanted to get done over my week off from school. Now it is time to go back. I need another week! I can’t wait to get back to psych class but I wish I could have done more reading. The house is still a mess too. I hate the house being a mess – I can’t study if it is a mess. I feel guilty. This past week I was feeling yucky. I think it was the weather. I was so tired all week long and the first part of the week I was very achy. Stupid CFS and fibromyalgia! Oh well, I guess it was my week to goof off. I hope I will feel better this week and get some stuff done. I need to get motivated. I wish there was a pill for that. Haha.
Published in: on March 17, 2008 at 3:00 am  Leave a Comment  

Tinkering

I have been playing the computer game "The Sims" and in they (the Sims) can go and tinker with stuff – the dishwasher, shower, or a car. It has been reminding me of my Dad. He always says that when he retires he is just going to stay in his garage and tinker with stuff. Haha. I worry about my Dad sometimes. He works very hard – 7 days a week, 12 hour shifts when he can get the work, which is quite a lot. He does not have a lot of time to do fun things or hobbies, etc. I hope he makes it to retirement and is able to have a long enjoyable one. I don’t think that ‘tinkering’ will be enough for him. He always needs to be doing stuff. We have talked a little about retirement. He and my mother do not want the same things. I want my Dad to have something for himself, something that he really wants because he has worked so hard all these years and has helped me and my brother out numerous times. I guess I am worried that because my Dad and my Mom do not want the same things then neither of them will get what they want or be happy. I want them to be happy. I hope that they can compromise. My Dad has already decided, though, that he will not be able to get what he wants. I want to tell him not to give up – that is a shitty thing to do to yourself. I wish he would find a way to work it out. I think there may be a way for both of my parents to have what they want. I have a few ideas but I don’t think I should get in the middle of it, anyway there is no situation yet. He is not retired and my Mom does not know about any of this. I do know that she gets mad at my Dad because he is not open, emotionally. This is not likely to change. I probably should not be writing this but I think this is a problem with some people, especially older people. Some men just do not show their emotions. They repress them. That is what helps them keep going, and working so much. It has been on my mind so I thought I would write it out. I used to be scared that my Dad would die when I was young because his Dad died when he was only 16. I am lucky to have my Dad around a lot longer but I will be very pissed off if he dies before he retires. To work so long and so hard and not be able to sit back and enjoy it! I also will be pissed off if he is not able to enjoy a retirement because he gives up on his dreams or just doesn’t form any dreams because he does not think it can happen. And most of all, I will also be pissed off if my parents become two mean old people always mad at each other and the world because neither of them can have what they want.
 
Here is a poem I had to analyze for the class "Reading Pop Culture". It reminded me of my Dad. My critique is after.
 

The Unknown Citizen

W. H. Auden

(To JS/07 M 378 This Marble Monument Is Erected by the State)

He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be

One against whom there was no official complaint,

And all the reports on his conduct agree

That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint,

For in everything he did he served the Greater Community.

Except for the War till the day he retired

He worked in a factory and never got fired,

But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc.

Yet he wasn’t a scab or odd in his views,

For his Union reports that he paid his dues,

(Our report on his Union shows it was sound)

And our Social Psychology workers found

That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink.

The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day

And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way

Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured,

And his Health-card shows he was once in a hospital but left it cured.

Both Producers Research and High-Grade Living declare

He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Installment Plan

And had everything necessary to the Modern Man:

A phonograph, a radio, a car, and a Frigidaire.

Our researchers into Public Opinion are content

That he held the proper opinions for the time of year;

When there was peace, he was for peace: when there was war, he went.

He was married and added five children to the population,

Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation.

And our teachers report that he never interfered with their education.

Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:

Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.

From Another Time by W. H. Auden, published by Random House. Copyright

© 1940 W. H. Auden, renewed by The Estate of W. H. Auden

I like the poem "The Unknown Citizen" by W.H.Auden. It kind of reminded me of my Dad. He works, pays his union dues, doesn’t complain, just does what he need to do and does not over analyze things too. It is sad though. I was always think he is going to work until he dies and not have time to enjoy his life or retirement. He won’t ever get to enjoy freedom but if he had the freedom I don’t think he would know what to do with it. Too many years of doing what was expected of him, never thinking about what he really wants out of life. In my opinion that is the main idea of the peom.

A great many people, especially men, just live their lives like the "Unknown Citizen" Hey, it is easy just to live a life that already planned out for you – as long as you have the trappings that society finds important; such as being insured and having everything "necessary to the Modern Man: a phonograph, a radio, a car and a Frigidaire." Just go with the flow, do what is expected by society, don’t overthink things (don’t analyze society or your own actions). How can you be unhappy living a life like that? I say that especailly me live like this because they are supposed to work, be the breadwinners and never cry or complain. Stiff upper lip, be a man! My Dad would tell me (when discussing work issues) " It is not for me to wonder why but to do or die." I never understood that until I got older. That is all most people or jobs expect from you – do what they want, work how they want and get things done in their time frame and don’t think about it to much. A bunch of mindless soldiers marching to a drum, willing to sacrifice their happiness and freedom to the cause. The cause being whatever is the fashionable beliefs of the day.

You really can’t blame people for midlessly following society. Even if you analyze what is going on around you and disagree with society it is sometimes easier (and healthier or best for your survival) to just follow along. How many of us have not gotten caught up in just day to day living, trying to get by without really analyzing what we are doing or if we are really happy? Sometimes thinking for yourself and acting on those thoughts can be a luxury that cannot be afforded.

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I wrote this blog as a tribute to my Dad. I just want to express how much he means to me. How much I appreciate all his hardwork. Yes I do see it and appreciate it now. I may not have always but I see it now. I also want him to know that I may have not always followed his advice but I was listening. Now I hope that he will take some time for himself. I also hope that I can work as hard as him so if he needs me to, I will be able to take care of him.

Published in: on March 16, 2008 at 5:26 am  Leave a Comment  
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