Sunday, October 13, 2013

Big Doins'

Well..hi. I have been unbearably busy lately. Why? I GOT A NEW POSITION AT A NEW PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT IN A DIFFERENT TOWN AND I AM SO HAPPY I COULD DIE ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY! Seriously, I am 100% more relaxed and happier where I am. It's great. The bosses are AMAZING, my co workers are AWESOME and fun and helpful. They probably think I'm "weird" or "eccentric", but I'm used to that, because come on...I am all of those things. However, I'm an amazing teacher and nice person, too. So, it all evens out.

So THAT has been happening. And I'm LOVING it. There is a lot to learn that is different at this new place from my old place of employment. Mainly procedures and just a different culture in the school, but it's great. I'm sure people think I'm an airhead and weirdly forgetful, but hey...I'm older than they are and there is a lot of stuff in my brain. I have to make room for new stuff. I'll get it...it just takes me a bit of time since I'm all old and decrepit. When you have kids, your brain gets full of stuff fast. Memories, etc....waaaahhh...which brings me to....


Another MAJOR thing going on is this: My baby...my oldest son has moved away to finish college. Excuse me while I engage in another bought of inconsolable crying. I'll be right back.

Anyhow, *sniff*, we got him moved into his dorm, which is very nice and safe and all that. He has successfully negotiated his first month or so at school away from home. He changed his major. TO ART. Let me just inform you that I am less than happy about that, but I am letting him BE HIM. Just like everyone has told me to do..."just let him be him....he has to grow up.." So I am. Now, this is the child who has been adamant that he is going to be a paleontologist since he was 2. I mean, never wavered. Never. Not once. Never did he say, "Oh, I want to be a fireman and a policeman and a stuntman oh, and a paleontologist, maybe.". No. It was always, "I am going to be a paleontologist, so I'll probably have to travel a lot if I get grants from Universities to have digs...like in China and places....I will probably have to live in Utah or Wyoming or something...." All that one day went bye bye when he said, "I think I'll major in Art." If you know me, picture my face frozen in confusion. Then horror. Then I stuttered and asked "Wh..wh...wha...what about P p p paleontology?" Him: Nah. I'm over that. What???? Over something you've been wanting for 19 years??? Really???? Dear lord. I don't mind paying for paleontology, but ART? Why? So he can starve to death? No, he says there are many fields that need artists. Okay, I'll trust that. I pray daily, though. He is doing well, and I'm proud of him. I raised a decent, fine, kind, smart young man. He's a keeper.

Now, the other child. My baby. He is a senior in high school and well...less than interested in scholastics. He is a major football freak, although he's never played. He seems to think he is on the Chicago Bears' team...they just haven't called him onto the field. yet. He is insane and sweet and very protective of me. Again, I did good raising that one, too. He will go to college for a couple of years here at the local school, then transfer like his brother did. IF WE ARE VERY VERY LUCKY. Our goal with him every year is this: "LET'S GET HIM THROUGH THIS YEAR OF SCHOOL SUCCESSFULLY....THAT'S ALL WE ARE ASKING FOR..."

Back to my son who is away at school. Something has been occurring that disturbs the hell out of me. He is 21. He just turned 21, actually. We are getting actual CREDIT CARDS in his name at our house. He has no job. We are his money suppliers. Wells Fargo is hot on his butt. They say they have an account number and he has a checking and savings account, (with no money in it since he's never been there), and he needs to sign this and this and this and come give them money. Ummm...no. He was paying his tuition and his school didn't take his debit card, which we got for him for that very purpose...and they tried to get him to GET A STUDENT LOAN. WHAT??? The kid was trying to give you money and you wouldn't take it and now you want him to get into debt? Over my dead ass. Or live one...it isn't happening. I mean, seriously...who doesn't take Visa or Mastercard???? Who?? Texas State University, that's who. He had to go to the NEXT town to find a branch of his bank and get a stupid CASHIER'S CHECK and take it back to school. I am proud of him for solving that one on his own. But I was a nervous wreck.

The next day, he decided to do his laundry for the first time. I was so proud! Then I called him later and he sounded a little weird, so I finally harassed him into telling me what was going on. His student ID card, which he has to have to get into his dorm, get his meals, etc...well...he put into the card slot in the dorm washer...and it ate his card. All the other washers had duct tape over the slot..but he got the one that didn't. He didn't know the stupid thing would eat his card. Shouldn't it just have spit it back out at him, like when you try to put a dollar bill into a Coke machine and it's wrinkled or something? No....it kept it and he wanted to take care of it on his own, but didn't know how so he did nothing. It was probably 7 pm and he had not had lunch or dinner. He said there was a "work order" in to get his card. I said, "Do you think those guys have your missing card at the top of their work order list? Do you think they are working at night? Do you ever want to leave your dorm or eat again?" He was furious for me for interfering, but had my husband and I not interfered, he would be a skeleton sitting in his dorm room. First, my husband called and did his routine which NEVER works. He thinks threats of violence will snap people into shape. Nope. He called and told the poor kid RA who answered the phone that he was on his way down there with his "angle grinder" (whatever that is) to open that washer up and get our son his card back since they weren't doing it. The kid begged him not to. He hung up. He called campus police. I meanwhile called back to the RA and calmly explained what had happened and I was concerned that my son had no eaten and I had paid a lot of money to that school to make sure my son was educated and safe. The RA quickly got him a temporary card, told him where to get a replacement card in the morning and that was that. He was able to eat and do everything he needed to. The poor kid on the phone asked me to please keep my husband from destroying their property. My husband accomplished nothing except make all the people think my son has an insane lunatic with a violent streak for a Dad. (True.) I helped fixed the problem with decency and niceness. My son? FURIOUS.
Anyhow, crisis averted. He thinks all dorm functions are lame and will not participate. He goes to class, eats, and goes to his dorm room to work. I should be thrilled, but I hope he branches out a lITTLE BIT socially. There is a club he is thinking of joining that will have tons of kids like him in it. Similar interests, etc. He isn't the most social person in the world.

My husband is still obsessed with Nazis, hating Obama and gun rights. He is certifiably insane. I have blocked him from my Facebook as have his children and all our friends because all he posts is ridiculous anti Obama rants and accusations. WE GET IT, OKAY? YOU HATE OBAMA! DEAL!!! I DEALT WITH YOUR DUDE FOR EIGHT AGONIZING YEARS IN WHICH BECAUSE OF THAT JACKASS, I LOST A PERSON I HELD AND STILL HOLD VERY CLOSE TO MY HEART. HE'LL NEVER COME BACK, THANKS TO BUSH AND HIS WAR OF LIES. So far, nobody I love has died because of lies this president might tell. Hell, they all lie. Just not all of them put hundreds of thousands of American lives in danger to further their own bullshit agenda. And to all of you complaining about "obama care" or the "Affordable Care Act" as it's actually called, get over it. Go a year without insurance because although you are working as hard as you can and it's hard to live paycheck to paycheck, you do not have insurance...I ask you...would you be opposed to getting healthcare at an affordable rate? Then, when your appendix inconveniently ruptures as mine did...you don't have to worry about how much the stupid hospital will cost, as I did. There are seriously ill people who cannot pay for NECESSARY prescriptions. 500 bucks for a 15 day supply of meds is ROBBERY. Who can do that? Nobody. That's why we need universal health care. Canada is doing great with it. Don't say the quality of health care will decline...why would it? Doctors will all of a sudden become jackasses? No. Anyhow...go Obama and your healthcare thingie. I'm not thrilled with all of your decisions, but I think universal health care is important. I don't care where his family is from, I don't care that his middle name is Hussein, I don't care if people don't believe his birth certificate...he is intelligent, articulate and a breath of fresh air from Howdy Doody who used to pretend to run this country, and we were universally reviled. I apologized to people in Europe when they asked about Bush. All I could say was "I am so sorry our country has that idiot as President...I did not vote for him". Coaltion of the Willing my ass. Yeah, everyone knows the Dominican Republic has a MAJOR ARMY to help us. (No idea if they were one of the less than 10 countries in the "coalition"). But Poland? They tried to fight Nazis on horses, for God's sake. Wait, the Nazis weren't on horses...they were in tanks. The Poles were on horses. Anyhow...

When I have no more actual writer's block, I might write something decent, but this is all I have for now. I'm too exhausted to write real stuff. OH! To add to my sightings of weird things: I saw a man riding a unicycle in front of a cemetery the other day. Just cruisin' along like it was totally normal to ride a unicycle past a cemetery on a main road. WITH GROCERY BAGS IN HIS HANDS. I love these sightings. They make my heart happy, even when nobody believes me.
Toodles, bitches.