I'm starting a new game at Beef O' Brady's tonight at 8. I hope that even with the last minute heads up from me, you'll still be able to make it.
If you can't make it, I'll share details here later.
I'm super excited, and I think this new format will be wonderful.
Beef O' Brady's, on 29th avenue, Hickory, NC. There are directions on my other website www.triviawithcarmen.com. I hope I'll see you there. :)
When I read the document I posted earlier, I am amazed to find it the best advice I've ever heard. It touched me very deeply, and I think it will help me to be a better person. I think it would help anyone be a better person, but it is exactly the kind of person I want to be. It's hard to read in the picture, so I typed it out:
Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter: for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. Take kindly to counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.
Found in Old Saint Paul's Church, Baltimore MD, 1692
So, I've mentioned that my mom is in college, studying to be an sign language interpreter. She's good. She's always had a big dramatic streak, which she clearly passed to me. It makes for some durn good interpreting.
Apparently, her professors all agree. She was chosen for a scholarship that they give to the rising Junior of their choosing. So, she'll get money this year and next year for school, because she's awesome and the right people noticed! Isn't that cool?
In other news. . . I've been on pain killers for days and my head is more than a little fuzzy. I'm just going to shoot out some unconnected nonsense your way, and you can just gather up whatever you want to take away from it.
I saw my friend Michael from high school. I haven't seen him in 10 years, and it was lovely to get reacquainted. It was nice to catch up, but mostly, it reaffirmed to me that I have really just always had this exact same personally. I've grown and matured, but I'm still the same old girl. I find this comforting.
Karaoke is being moved from Saturday to Thursday. Awesome. I am officially reclaiming my weekend. Sweet. Any ideas, though, for a fun pop culture game? I think I can choose between another game or karaoke...I'm thinking about it.
I'm going to see Titanic at Hickory Community Theatre tonight. They're going to sink a ship on stage. I'm excited about that. For some reason, though, that place has lost every single bit of it's magic for me. And people, I'm all about magic. So, I'm kind of sad about that.
I've hardly been working at all here lately...I used to get calls every day for schools, but for the last 3 weeks, nothing. They make teachers say a month ahead of time what school they'll miss, and there aren't any workshops, so not much need for teachers. Yesterday I actually worked. When I signed in, I noticed I was the only sub for the day. I mean, usually, there are 5 or 6, or even 10 on somedays. I wasn't in any condition to work yesterday, but with no calls for 3 weeks, I really felt the need to go in. The day went pretty well until recess. I know these kids pretty well...taught them all last year, and they're great. This one kid fell on the playground. He split his head right open, within 5 seconds of us walking in the playground gate. So I left my class with another teacher, and this kid and I start walking. He is screaming...high pitched, short little shouts...kind of like he was in labor, but much more shrill. "Heee Heee Heee Heee", and good Lord is he bleeding. As we're walking, huge drops of blood are trailing behind us...each drop is bigger than a quarter, and we're leaving these drops every 6 inches or so. So then we were back in the school, hurrying down the hall, leaving our pretty trail, when we hit a traffic jam-3 kindergarten classes. One down both sides of the hall, and one class lined up in the middle. They're all waiting for the bathroom and the water fountain, and they see the blood. And now, tears from the kinders. But, the sweet kid with the bloody head has started calming down. Now, he's sobbing, clinging to me as we speed down the hall. Finally, we make it to the nurse's office. Not there. In my years of teaching, this is what I've learned. When you need the nurse, she won't be there. It isn't ever her fault...and that kind of goes across the board, all the schools I've worked at. It's not just this one nurse...it is all of them. They spread them too thin, and they're never there. But, the school secretary always is. FYI-the school secretary is the real boss. And I'd work for this one, Faye, any day. Very lovely lady. She took over at this point. I called the mom while she calmed the kid, someone else called custodians for our blood trail. After all the hysteria calmed down, the kid and I chatted while we waited for his parents. The blood let up some. He probably has stitches by now, but we had wonderful conversation. He wanted to know all about stitches, whether or not they hurt, if I was scared when I got mine...precious kid. And tough. He kept it together well.
I got to see my dad on Sunday. That was cool. He took fly fishing lessons in Boone, and I went up to have lunch with him. My dad and I have a lot in common and it is fun to see him.
I wish that my mom and my dad both lived in my town. My in-laws live here, and that is wonderful. I think it would be swell if by the time I had babies, the babies had 3 sets of grandparents around Hickory. But. . . that's still in the future.
I think that's enough of pain pill influenced Carmen for the day.
Monday morning I got my wisdom teeth taken out. I am a big fat baby when it comes to my teeth. Something (maybe the pain pills) has this effect on me that basically makes unstable, and I've cried approximately 2 times an hour since I got home. Not because it hurts, even. Just because I'm kind of crazy. Poor people around me.
I'm still not really feeling like writing, so I'm just going to show you pictures of what I've been up to, with the most minimal of explanations. In no particular order:
My mom is currently in school, learning American Sign Language, to be an interpreter. She is awesome at it, and it doesn't hurt that she has a pretty deep dramatic streak. At her school (UNCG) they have a competition like American Idol, but with sign language. She ended up coming in second place, which was outrageous. She and my sister were actually far a away the best, and people were surprised and even quite irritated by the result. But, she was awesome. Camera wasn't doing well from far back. She and my sister performed "I Can See It Now" from Hairspray.
My dad has puppies...I've posted a few pics before, but I visited and got more.
We went to the cabin. It was the bees knees.
We're dogsitting Nikki. Nikki is insane a little bit. She watched TV intently, and runs around in circles barking and whining every time and animal comes on. One of these pics is her watching TV with Jon.
We have a wedding this weekend at The Peacock Inn. We went to scout it out, and it is a farm too! At the wedding, we won't spend much time with the animals, so I took pictures then.
I haven't even opened my computer since last Wednesday. That would explain the lack of blogging. But I'm not really gonna do it now, either. I'm backed up now since I've been avoiding.
Sorry. I'll get back to you guys soon.
We got to spend the day with Marjorie and Jason, who are getting married soon. The result, I think, is a whole mess of great pictures. You can see the rest here.
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| From EOG |
I'm at my dad's, and we're looking online for quotes for his website (www.dilligad.net). My favorite so far:
"Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.” William James
To answer Liz:
Art on the Avenue is most certainly kid friendly. It is also free. Come to the SALT Block (where the library, art museum and Science Center are) anytime between 10 and 3 tomorrow. It's pleasant for kids and adults, and I'll be bored, and I like you. So, come see me!
I've really been taking steps toward living a more natural life. I used to slather on lotion, makeup, hair gel, etc. The result wasn't spectacular. About 6 months ago, I started using a loofah every day, and then putting coconut oil on my body instead of lotion. Amazing results! My skin is soft, and the little bumps that have resided on my arms my ENTIRE life have gone away. Awesome. Last week at the farmer's market I picked up some natural oil with rose, jasmine, and sandalwood. I mixed it into my coconut oil, and now I smell like heaven. Seriously people-heaven! Next time you see me, smell me. You'll see. Also included in the natural switch are deodorant, soap and conditioner. And I've mostly been skipping makeup. Not because I don't like it, but because my skin looks better than it used to, and the less makeup I wear, the better my skin looks. Oh-and instead of moisturizer for my face, I use rose oil with water in a spray bottle.
The closer I get to the earth, the happier I am. And, I've never looked or smelled better.
Think about this-there are lots of medicines that come in patch form. That tells me that our skin is entirely capable of absorbing anything we put on our bodies. So why put all kinds of fake chemical nonsense on there?
I think the incredible surge in cancer is mostly caused by all of the unnatural things we do to our bodies daily. Our bodies want to be healthy, but we don't give them what they need. We have to start thinking of food as fuel for our bodies.
Doctors are required to take 2 nutrition classes. Then, for the rest of their lives, they are bombarded by drug companies. It's no wonder that they don't often address the fuel we give our bodies...they just want to medicate.
I hold that if we think of food as medicine, we would all be fine. That doesn't mean it has to taste bad. It just means that ho-hos and oreos and splenda and soda probably aren't the best choice.
I tend to cook meals like this: Corn on the cob and pork chops grilled outside with a salad (from the Farmer's Market). Or lightly marinated chicken breasts grilled with zucchini and asparagus with a slice of fresh bread.
This is the way I see it:
Natural veggies=good
Meat=good
Bread=tasty, but in small quantities
Dairy=awesome if it is organic
Packaged stuff=usually bad
Anything with ingredients I can't pronounce=not food.
Vitamins=unnecessary if you eat right
Soda=Delicious, but of the devil.
Sweets=good. But only if I make them from scratch. Otherwise, they fall into the category of things I can't pronounce. But I will never turn down some cake from scratch.
I didn't mean to sound so preachy...I'm totally not a preachy kind of person. You eat whatever you want. My only point here is that the more natural I go, the more incredible I feel.
I've not been sweet to my blog lately. I've been acting like it isn't a priority. I've been doing 25 second posts and being fine with that.
One reason is because I was working on the wedding website, and I sill am. The other? Laziness.
Or busy-ness. Whatever.
Tomorrow the art museum is doing a big thing...Art on the Avenue, and I'm on the microphone all day. Then, I get a couple of hours off, then to karaoke to be on the microphone all night. Good thing a microphone is one of my favorite things.
I've been feeling a little overwhelmed. Also, I've been dealing with a little stress that I can't talk about on my blog, and that has been weighing me down. Typically, when I have something stressful I can't talk about on the blog, I blog less.
Maybe I should start a secret blog for this sort of nonsense.
Yesterday was Allison's birthday. I made her a lovely book, and made some cake. What I didn't do was go to the baseball game. I'm sorry Allison. She ran into her least favorite person there, and I'm sure that was fun times. But, it was Thirsty Thursday at the Crawdad's game, and Allison was thirsty, so the girl escaped a good punch to the face. :) Allison, I love you.
I'm teaching high school today. Rather, I'm sitting at a computer all day while my classes sit at their computers. I'm bored. And I have to pee, because I've been drinking all this water. I can't pee till 11:15, and that's gonna be a stretch, people!
Since Sunday, I have had about 2 ounces of coca cola. I've been hitting the water like a champ, and I'm feeling good. With the cigarettes, I'm still at 4. I need to step it down to 3, but I don't waaaaaaaaaant to. 3 makes it feel like I don't have enough. Boo.
1: Happy birthday to my very best friend, Allison Suggs, who is 27 years old today. I suspect we'll be celebrating all weekend.
2: Our governer is cutting teacher pay. Because being average (25th out of 50 states for teacher pay) is just too good for us!
There is a new experimental brain surgery to help you lose weight. Because apparently, it is easier to have your brain operated on than to diet. This country is freaking ridiculous!
The Farmers Market is open again! Yay!!
I stocked up today. It feels so good to buy local produce. I also got some locally made soap and goat cheese. Oh! And some lettuce growing in a pot. When I want some, I just tear it off the outside layers and make a salad!
Also, my elbow is green. It skipped the black I expected, and kind of high tailed it over to an icky green color. Still hurts when I bump it, which is more than I like to admit. I am not a careful person.
You should be ashamed of yourself. Someone we both know is completely convinced that we've been communicating through e-mail for the last 3 years. No amount of my convincing could have changed his mind. Now...hmmm...why would that someone think that? Could it be because you've been reading my blog to learn about my life, then telling him that we talk to manipulate him? Could it be that the 27 years of manipulating you've done didn't quite cover it? Please don't bring me into the crazy. I made a distinct, difficult decision to move on, and please, just don't bring me into the crazy.
Someone else we both know told me that I didn't know what it meant to be married. Well, perhaps you could give her the message that the two of you don't know what it means to be parents. Being parents DOES NOT mean that you break your children and then send them into the world to fend for themselves. Being parents, first of all, means not breaking your children. But if you do, please have the courage, the gumption to take some freaking responsibility. Don't send them out that way into the unsuspecting world. And please, don't make it worse by FORCING them out into the world to fend for themselves.
Now, those of you who aren't a person in New Bern probably think, woah Carmen, that's harsh.
But please trust me when I say that it isn't anywhere near harsh enough. I want to say much more, but decency is keeping me from it.
And also, Mr. Reader in New Bern, you are not welcome on my blog. I know that I can't stop you from reading it, but I want to make something very clear. I do not want you in my life in any way shape or form. I think you are one of the worst sorts of people. You should feel like a spy if you read this blog, because I am closing my life to you. I do not like you, and I do not like you cyberstalking me. Please just go away.
There is this fabulous fellow at one of the schools I work at. I taught him last year, and this year also in 2 of the classes I regularly sub for. He's autistic, but pretty high functioning. He makes me laugh regularly, but today, he tickled me to my bone.
I say "Hey-I missed you! I haven't seen you for a while!"
He said "Well, I don't actually like you very much. But you're OK as a teacher. I guess."
I'd let this hurt my feelings, but I can't. 1: I know he likes me. 2: He said it so dead pan that I almost peed my pants. 3: He really hates loud things. I am a loud thing. Last year, every time we did something loud, I had to let him sit in my office or in the hall. So I know I'm a little much for him to handle.
Just now, as I finished typing, he came up to me and said, "I'd be willing to sign a peace treaty. Just try not to be so dang loud, and I'll be your friend."
I said I couldn't promise anything, but I'd try.
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