Pink Flamingo on Toast

So many things going on.

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:47:00 +0000

I feel like I haven't had a chance to breathe lately. With Jerry's family and now mine it seems like something is always causing "drama". We try to live drama-free but it doesn't always turn out. Here is the latest:

Jerry's mom had surgery today to clean out her incision and was put on a vacuum to speed up the healing. She may be ready to leave the nursing/rehab home soon. That means Jerry and I will have to help her find a suitable place to live. She really can't be at home alone until she becomes more independent.

My dad had a tumor removed from his bladder and ran into a few complications. He is home now and we are waiting on some test results to see what happens next.

Tomorrow I move to a new school. The good news is I get to sleep in a little bit as it doesn't start until 9am. The bad news is it goes until 4pm-ish. I'll miss getting out at 2:30pm. I'm looking forward to the change of schools though

Another big change is the size of my monitor. Yes, if you didn't see it earlier my darling husband got me a new 24 inch monitor. It's taking a little getting used to. I'm sure I'll muddle through.

_\,,/

Things that are bugging me right now!

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:09:00 +0000

People who use 2 for to or too.

People who use prety for pretty.

People who use comming or cuming or cumming for coming.

Teachers who are too busy texting to take control of the classrooms.

Drivers who don't know how to merge into traffic. Yield does not mean come to a complete stop!

Not knowing what's going to happen next. I know, you never know. Doesn't mean it can't bug me!

Neighbors who think it's cool to sit in their driveway for an abnormal amount of time with the radio so loud I can hear it inside my house like it's coming from my radio.

Having to bite my lip because I can't correct a teacher when they are just plain wrong.

The tag on a shirt that just won't stay tucked in.

The pothole in the road that never seems to get filled.

**Whew, that was cathartic!**

Happy Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:41:00 +0000

First of all, Happy Veteran's Day. It is a great honor to live in this country and we should all remember and honor those who have fought for this country in our military. Thank you!

I'm off today, due to the holiday. Tomorrow is going to bring some uncertainty to my job. I will still have job but I really won't know where I'm going to be placed. I hope to move over to one of the other middle school as the current interpreters there are wonderful and the opportunity to learn more from the would be amazing. I've learned at my age though to be flexible and just go with the flow. I could be put at a high school or elementary school. *shrug* It's all good. Just having a job is good! I'm going to miss my current school.

So many emotions!

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:31:00 +0000

I'm kinda choked up tonight. I think I've cried 3 or 4 times since 11:00pm. I'm proud to be an American. I'm excited for President Elect Obama. (and that his girls get a new puppy) I'm touched by the turn out at the polls. I'm overwhelmed by the number of people who voted. I'm also thankful that it's over. Jerry and I haven't really stopped talking/obsessing/web surfing about this election in a month. Tonight we both quietly celebrated as the man we both voted for won and will be our next President.

With a little help from Clement C. Moore

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:39:00 +0000

Twas the night before election, when all through the house
Not a computer was glowing, or the clicking of a mouse;

The sample ballots were on the table and ready for review,
In hopes that the poll lines would be steady and few.

The voters were all nestled and snuggled in beds,
While visions of hanging-chads danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I with my nightcap,
had just settled down to watch an campaign recap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my recliner to see what was the matter.

Away to the door I flew like the "Flash",
I tore open the screen door and checked out my stash.

The moon on the breast of the campaign signs below,
Gave a lustre of mid-day to the garden gnome below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a decked out SUV with eight tiny volunteers.

With a little old drive, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be our neighbor Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
and he whistled and shouted and holla'd their names;
"Now Jimmy! Now Johnny, Now Cindy and Jane!
On, Jerry! on Lisa! on Fitzpatrick and Blaine!
To the windows! to the doors!
Now hurry up, hurry up to the apartment top floors!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with the voters, each telling them "Hi".
So up to the porches and patios they flew.
With candidate info and lawn signs too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard my doorbell ring,
The campaigning of eight volunteers, who apparently did sing.
As I drew in my hand and was opening the door,
Nick started reading the local amendments with a great mighty roar.

He was dressed all in swag, from his feet to his head,
And his clothes were all pressed and he sounded well read.
A arm full of literature he took from his pack,
The paper was heavy and I'm sure hurt his back.
His eyes- how they twinkled! His chin so sturdy.
His glasses so nice, not the least bit nerdy.
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
His whitened teeth were as white as the snow;
He was pleasant and nice, a polite young fellow,
I laughed when I saw him, I was feeling quite mellow.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know that I had nothing to dread;
He talked quite a bit but got right to the point,
I knew he wouldn't over stay his welcome and would soon leave this joint.
He finished his spiel and gathered his team,
loaded up the SUV and gave me a beam.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Election to all, and to all a good-night."

Voting

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 15:24:00 +0000

Jerry and I voted on October 20th, the first day of Early Voting. We wanted to make sure with all the things that had been going on in our lives the past 8 (wow!) months that we would get our votes in. Jerry was also concerned about his mom voting. Would we have to take her to her polling place, could we do early voting, maybe an absentee ballot? That's what he settled on. He put in the request weeks ago. It never came. He put in another request and it still hadn't come on Friday. He told his mom and she said that it was okay with it. Disappointment set in. I think he feels it's not only a privilege but a duty. He was darn right cheery when the absentee ballot arrived yesterday in the mail. We quickly went to the nursing home and watched as she filled it out. Helped her seal it up and made sure the envelope was signed and dashed off to the nearest post office box to make sure it would reach the elections office before 7pm Nov 4th. I'm sure she didn't vote the same way we did. It's okay though, that's what makes this country a great place.

Rock the Vote!
_\,,/

One Week... (be warned, I'm rambling)

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:38:00 +0000

I'm going nuts! I've already voted (Yes, this Registered Republican voted for Barack Obama! I also voted NO! to #2) and now I have to wait. I'm overloaded on videos, commentaries and websites. I need to stop this Election Obsession. I can't ever remember being this involved in an election. If I remember right the last two elections I didn't really care about the candidates. I voted the lesser of the two evils...boy..that was a mistake. Now I care and I'm anxious. It's not like the world will end if my candidate doesn't win, although I can't see a bright future any other way. OK ok ...enough...I need to go watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on TiVo

few and far between

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 02:13:00 +0000

I haven't been updating as much as there isn't much going on other than work, and medical drama. I wish I had good news but over all things are still hectic.

MIL has pneumonia and is doing a little better although today she fell out of bed.

My dad was told last week that he has a tumor in his bladder and they will be taking care of that after he and my mother travel to Texas to visit both my Sister and brother. He also had some squamous cells removed from the side of his face. He had a long stitch line and was calling himself FranClemstein. (last name is Clemens and he has been called Clem his whole life) At least he can laugh about it.

Work is going well. Each day I'm getting more and more comfortable with the interpreter role and not over stepping the boundaries. It's hard not to teach.

Jerry and I did go to the movies Friday night. We saw "W." It was interesting. I didn't have much knowledge of President Bush's life. The movie really makes you feel sorry for him. He is such a sap. Jerry has a great review of the movie at his blog. Check it out.

Alright..can't think of anything else...my life seems to be one continuous day.

12!

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:21:00 +0000

Happy Anniversary Jerry, I love you!

Uncle!

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:45:00 +0000

Jerry's mom was taken to the ER after complaining of shortness of breath and some tightness in the chest. She has a history of heart issues so we didn't want to play around with the nursing/rehab home. They agreed and got her over to ER within an hour.

She then spent EIGHT hours in the ER. I can't even begin to express how upset that anyone would have to spend that much time in there. They told us after 2 hours that she was going to be admitted and it took them 6 to get a room? Come on?!?

We're hoping that they caught the fluid around her heart in time and that she isn't in danger of any heart attacks. Prayers would be appreciated.

Jerry and I are exhausted. We are going on month 5 of dealing with hospitals/nursing homes/rehab centers of some kind. UNCLE!!

Just scary!

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:11:00 +0000

A heartbeat away? SCARY!

insert clever title here..if it were up to me it would just says "Updates"

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:31:00 +0000

Mom-in-law goes in for surgery tomorrow at 8am. Hopefully everything will be simple and there won't be any complications. Prayers would be appreciated. Jerry and I keep giggling about calling her Peggy or Eileen but it will probably be too soon for such antics. I also suggested buying her an eye patch and parrot...Jerry just glared. After the surgery will come more therapy and then some decisions on where to live and things like. Hopefully a new rehab place will actually teach her how to pivot and improve her upper body strength.

Lots of family visits the next couple of days. As I type, I'm doing laundry to prepare for Jerry's sister and her friend to stay with us. Hope they don't mind me waking up a 5:50am every morning to get ready for work.

Work is going good. I still love it and am finding more of my weaknesses. This is a good thing. Knowing you need work is better than thinking you know it all. Everyday I'm learning a new sign. I love learning!

Gettin' the groove!

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:24:00 +0000

It's been two weeks since I started my new job. (Interpreting at a middle school). I love it!!! The school is clean, the staff is friendly and the kids...well....what can I say, they are kids. It's funny to hear them talk about boys, Hanna Montana and Sponge Bob. I had forgotten what a peculiar age 13-ish is. One of the best things about my job is that I'm done by 2:30 which leaves me time to do things if I need to. I've been slacking on the housewife duties for a while now and that needs to change. I need to find my groove!

Jerry's mom is still waiting for her leg amputation. We are hoping that after her cardiology appointment on Friday they will finally schedule the surgery. It really needed to be two weeks ago. If you are in Jax and you have a family member that needs to go into a nursing home/rehab, please, PLEASE do not put them in Jacksonville Nursing and Rehab off Dunn Ave. They will not get the attention, care and rehabilitation that they need to be independent individuals again. ...and there isn't enough Febreze in the world to make that place smell nice. After the surgery it's back into a *different* rehab center to learn to balance and get around without her left lower leg. Hopefully she won't be in there nearly as long. She needs to get her groove back!

Politically speaking, Jerry and I are going to get our Obama Groove on Saturday at the rally here in Jacksonville. We're both really excited to hear him live. Now we just have to hope for good weather! (Only 30% chance right now..so it's looking good)

_\,,/

GAH! and Yay!

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:51:00 +0000

So the surgeon's office called Jerry to let him know that the nursing home did not get his mom cleared for her surgery on Tuesday. WTF?! They had a week and they knew that she was going to surgery on Tuesday. They did an EKG and an x-ray but they couldn't find a cardiologist to come in and "clear" her. So now, we have to wait for them to get a cardiologist to clear her and hope that the schedule is open soon. The fear is that the leg in her infection gets worse and causes more complications. Hopefully the nursing home will step up and and take care of this quickly. I highly doubt it though...gah!

Okay, now for some good news. I was offered and accepted a job with the Duval School System as a full-time interpreter. I was just beginning to doubt the life journey and *BAM* Strange how that works...(my angel must be pulling strings in that big corporate office called Heaven) I have been there two days and I have to say, I'm lovin' it! The school is SO clean and everyone I've met is nice. I'm feeling thankful for the work and the opportunity.

Staff

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:15:00 +0000

Jerry calls me "staff" at times. At Christmas, he jokes to his employees that his "staff" will take care of any wrapping or things that need to be done. During the rest of the year my staff duties include picking up prescriptions, banking and any other errands the "boss" can think of. It's okay, I know he doesn't like doing the mundane things and I really don't mind.

Today was definately a "staff" day. Picking up things for the house, getting some bins to store some paperwork of his parents and going to pick up death certificates at the funeral home. I don't think I mentioned the chatty funeral home director before. Every time we walked into that man's office it was at least 45 minutes of chatting. In his defense, he made last week very easy. He's a good man.

Not much else on the docket around here. Next week consists of mom-in-law's leg amputation and more of working out things for mom-in-law's estate. Hopefully things will go smoothly on all fronts.

_\,,/

Pet Peeve

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:51:00 +0000

grate - noun, verb, grat•ed, grat•ing.
–noun
1. a frame of metal bars for holding fuel when burning, as in a fireplace, furnace, or stove.
2. a framework of parallel or crossed bars, used as a partition, guard, cover, or the like; grating.
3. a fireplace.
–verb (used with object)
4. to furnish with a grate or grates.

great - adjective, -er, -est, adverb, noun, plural greats, (especially collectively) great, interjection
–adjective
1. unusually or comparatively large in size or dimensions: A great fire destroyed nearly half the city.
2. large in number; numerous: Great hordes of tourists descend on Europe each summer.
3. unusual or considerable in degree, power, intensity, etc.: great pain.
4. wonderful; first-rate; very good: We had a great time. That's great!
5. being such in an extreme or notable degree: great friends; a great talker.
6. notable; remarkable; exceptionally outstanding: a great occasion.
7. important; highly significant or consequential: the great issues in American history.
8. distinguished; famous: a great inventor.
9. of noble or lofty character: great thoughts.
10. chief or principal: the great hall; his greatest novel.
11. of high rank, official position, or social standing: a great noble.
12. much in use or favor: “Humor” was a great word with the old physiologists.
13. of extraordinary powers; having unusual merit; very admirable: a great statesman.
14. of considerable duration or length: We waited a great while for the train.
15. Informal.
a. enthusiastic about some specified activity (usually fol. by at, for, or on): He's great on reading poetry aloud.
b. skillful; expert (usually fol. by at or on): He's great at golf.
16. being of one generation more remote from the family relative specified (used in combination): a great-grandson.
–adverb
17. Informal. very well: Things have been going great for him.
–noun
18. a person who has achieved importance or distinction in a field: She is one of the theater's greats.
19. great persons, collectively: England's literary great.
20. (often initial capital letter) greats, (used with a singular verb) Also called great go. British Informal.
a. the final examination for the bachelor's degree in the classics and mathematics, or Literae Humaniores, esp. at Oxford University and usually for honors.
b. the course of study.
c. the subject studied.
–interjection
21. (used to express acceptance, appreciation, approval, admiration, etc.).
22. (used ironically or facetiously to express disappointment, annoyance, distress, etc.): Great! We just missed the last train home.
—Idiom
23. great with child, being in the late stages of pregnancy.

I'm tired of seeing people typing "he/she has done a grate job" GAH!

typing thru the tears

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:09:00 +0000

As many know my mom-in-law has been having some problems and fell and broke her leg. Last Wednesday she was transported to the doctor from the nursing home to get an update on her leg. The plan was for Jerry, Jerry's dad and me to all ride with her in the wheelchair transport to the doctor's office because we knew that the doctor was going to tell her that her leg needs to be amputated from the knee down

We got there a little bit around 10am and knew that the transport would be showing up at 10:30-ish. Jerry's dad, Jerry Sr. wasn't there...Jerry decided that he would go with his mom as she would be upset about the news and I would go find Jerry Sr. (he is known to have car problems at the most inopportune times) I was a little worried but I drove over to the house and noticed the van wasn't really pulled into the drive well. It seemed crooked to me. I knew right at that point that something was not right. I went to the door and started knocking very loud as Jerry Sr is deaf. Buddy the dog was barking his little heart out but no answer. I started knocking harder and decided to try hitting a pole on all the windows around the house so that Jerry Sr. could hear me trying to get a hold of him. 15 minutes pass and no luck...Jerry still on the phone with me and I'm asking him if I should break in when the neighbors notice that I'm having problems. James and Patty, Jerry's parents neighbors who have helped them out the past month helped me break into the house and unlock the door. James and I notice that the bathroom door is closed and can hear the shower running. He opened the door and screamed "Oh my God, Call 911!". Tears and adrenaline flooded into me and I told Jerry that I needed to call 911 and I would call him back. It seemed to take Rescue forever to get there but in all actuality it was about 2-3 minutes. Jerry Sr. was unconscious in the tub, with the water flowing but his head was resting on the side. Patty held him and talked to him as I stayed on the line with both 911 and Jerry. After Rescue arrived I quickly gathered Jerry Sr's wallet and followed him to the nearest hospital. More tearful calls from both Jerry and his sister Melissa as I waited in the ER.

Meanwhile at the doctor's office Jerry's mom, Joyce had learned that her leg indeed did have to be amputated but because of what was going on they would wait on us to schedule it. Jerry rode back with her to the nursing home and took a cab to the hospital.

Waiting rooms.....I've decided I don't really like them. Too much time in them recently. I do want to thank the compassionate strangers in the waiting room that reassured me and passed me tissues. We all got to know each other and I hope their families are well.

Jerry arrives and we go back to see his dad to discover that he has had a massive stroke that effected his entire left half of his brain and that his right side was completely paralyzed. This meant that he would never be able to be breathe, eat on his own. After sitting with him for hours we headed to tell Jerry's mom the update. Ugh...no one should ever have to tell someone that their spouse of 46 years has suffered such a terrible stroke. She was heartbroken.

After a day of family visiting and many decisions back and forth, Jerry's family decided that Jerry Sr wouldn't want to be sitting on life support and not being able to engage in the things he loved: Sports, eatting M&M's, Taking care of the pets, the list goes on. A tough decision. On Friday, late morning they took him off the ventilator. After about 30 minutes to see how he would respond, they moved him over to the Hospice Center into a very comfy room. Jerry and I were impressed by how wonderful the people at Hospice were/are. Truly angels!

Saturday, Jerry Sr is holding on. It was Joyce's birthday and we all prayed that he would hold on until after her birthday so she wouldn't have that memory on her birthday. Jerry and I went up to sit with him during the Jaguar Pre-Season football game. I don't know if it was coincidence or that he knew what was going on but just about kick off time he started to vocalize. It seemed every time the Jags did well he would get excited. Very upsetting for me....we left at halftime, emotionally and physically exhausted. We just wanted to go to bed.

...But we didn't. Neither of us were able to calm down. We both were feeling anxious and never got around to actually going to bed. It's like we knew that something was going to happen. About 1am, Hospice called and told us that Jerry Sr. had taken a turn for the worse. Jerry called his sister Melissa and we scrambled to get out the door to drive through Tropical Storm Fay so that we could be with Jerry Sr. When we arrived, a nurse was holding his hand and said he was still with us.

It was peaceful. I'm so glad that Jerry got to be with him. I thought that I would be hysterical but I wasn't. I'm feel privileged to have stood by Jerry's side as he said goodbye to his father.

Seconds after he passed, Melissa arrived, terribly upset. I understand, I don't know if I could stand seeing my dad pass either.

I think we ended up staying in the room with him for nearly 45 minutes, chatting and crying and even laughing at times. Melissa and her friend, Mary went home and Jerry talked to the nurses about what happened next. I think we got home around 3am and to sleep about 3:30...

It's been a blur of activity since then. Funeral arrangements to make, trying to get Jerry Power of Attorney so he can take care of his mom's finances while she is in the nursing home. Tip on that: Make sure that if you are married that all property is jointly owned or that you have a will stating who gets what. Also if you have a grown child, you might want to put them on your bank accounts. This is especially true if one of the parents has poor health. Between Jerry, Melissa, Mary and myself I think we have it all set.

Services will be held at George H. Hewell and Son Funeral Home at 4747 N. Main Street, Jacksonville, FL 32206. The viewing will be Wednesday August 27th from 6pm until 8pm. The memorial service will be Thursday August 29th at 10am. The family will then travel to Oakey Grove Cemetary in Georgia for the interment ceremony at 2pm. A small reception will follow at Open Door Baptist Church at 3pm.

Thank you to all of you that sent us well wishes and prayers. We appreciate them!

_\,,/

Tropical storm Fay + JEA = ?

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:07:00 +0000

So it's Monday. Apparently we are going to get some bad weather here as Fay passes by in the next couple of days. Because we will be to the east of the eye we will get the brunt of her rain bands. Go us! I'm not really worried about the rain, or the wind...I'm worried about how JEA hasn't trimmed the tree limbs in the area and we'll probably lose power for a few days. I did buy some extra batteries today. Not only because of the storm but because I just had to replace the ones in my Wii controller

Refreshing Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:05:00 +0000

It's been a wet day here today in Jax. I knew we were supposed to get some rain but today but not this much. Maybe it is because I wasn't expecting to be out in it today.

Last night when I went to bed, I was thinking to myself that I didn't really need to leave the house today. Maybe for some milk but that was it. Life as a contract interpreter means never really knowing when work is coming. The 8am phone call proved that. A welcome noise though for this interpreter who was beginning to doubt her life choice again. Thank goodness for my guardian angel that shows me hope when I'm feeling down about things. I feel lucky and grateful! So being out in the rain to me was refreshing!

Speaking of rain and fun, blip.fm is my latest obsession. You can share music with your friends/neighbors. I've been blippin' rain songs...hehe. I'm sure Jerry is thinking about removing my tweets from his SMS because of all the updates. I'll change it so it doesn't go to twitter *shrug* If you join blip.fm, I'm on there as Gknee. Like that's hard to figure out

Vivanno Review

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:58:00 +0000

So today while I was waiting for Verizon to waste my time not updating my phone, I headed over to Starbucks to try a Vivanno. It was, okay. I wouldn't get it on a regular basis. If I'm going to pay $4.00+ for a drink I want it to be yummier. The chocolate banana wasn't bad tasting..just not great. I don't know if it's the protein powder or what but it left kind of an aftertaste. Sure the 21 grams of protein and the 6 grams of fiber make it a great meal alternative (lunch for me today) but the taste/cost wasn't worth it. I'll stick to iced lattes or frappuccinos for a cool refresher from Starbucks.

updates

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:22:00 +0000

Interpreting - Not much going on lately. I've been in contact with a few agencies and hoping to pick up some gigs soon. Have a few errands to run to open up some opportunities.

Mom-in-law - She is still in the nursing/rehab home. Her leg isn't healing very well and the surgeon told her she needed to keep it elevated or she would lose it She has been a little depressed since that news. Don't blame her, gotta be tough to hear.

Vacation - 2 1/2 weeks until we head to Seattle for PAX. I've never been to Seattle and am looking forward to it. I have no clue what the weather is like in the pacific northwest though. I'm thinking it's going to be a little cooler than Florida. Fine by me! It's been a hot one this year.

Polite Parking Lots

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:31:00 +0000

I think that I'm a rather polite person. I try to say "thank you" and "please". I let people "in" in traffic.

I have had my downfalls though too. Jerry and have had many arguments in parking lots. His parking manners are very different from mine. I always look for something close to the door. He doesn't care, just pull into the first spot you see. I have learned a few things from him though. For example, pulling throw in a crowded parking lot can cause the people coming down the other row to become upset. I didn't know what he was talking about until this morning. I headed to the grocery store bright and early. Mostly to avoid the soccer moms and seniors. The parking lot was empty. Maybe a few scattered cars and there was a parking spot close to the door. JACKPOT! I was golden. That was until some woman in an oversized pickup decided that she needed to cut across the parking lot right there! No..she couldn't behave like a normal person and avoid the only other moving car in the parking lot...she had to block it so I couldn't park in the spot. Not only did she "pull through" but she lingered until I had to swerve around her to a legitimate spot (2 spots away). Now, I know I can use the exercise. But that isn't the point here. The point is that she didn't consider anyone else. How rude!, said in her best Jar-jar voice.

Will this stop me from "pulling through"? I dunno, because it is nice to pull away from a parking spot. I refuse to back up into them though. Takes up too much time. Half the people we see backing into parking spaces should never do that in public. It's embarrassing how terrible at backing up most people are. Why would you want to show your weakest driving ability in front of all those people waiting on you to move so they can get to the other parking spots?

I guess I've rambled enough about parking lots. Next time you are parking, take into concideration your fellow "parkers" and don't waste their time or energy. I'm sure the good parking karma will come back to you.

Cha-ching!

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:31:00 +0000

Got my first check as a contract interpreter today. Woo hoo! Feels good to get paid for something I love.

Now I just need more gigs!

windmill brain

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:53:00 +0000

I hate those night when the mind just won't stop so you can't get to sleep. I wish I could blame the comfort of my bed but the Select Comfort is NOT the problem here. (45 seems to be where I'm settling ) Lots going on with Jerry's mom in the hospital and stuff. I did end up watching Blast from the Past and Babe last night. Both great little movies.

Speaking of mom-in-law and the stuff, she is actually moving from the hospital to the nursing home right now. They didn't even inform us. Jerry heard through his aunt who happened to call his mom. GAH! Terrible customer service! So anyway, she is moving to a nursing home she has been in before. People stole her things, they were lax on her rehab and she developed scabies while she was there. Yeah, I definitely would go back there, pfft! My skin crawls just thinking about that place. It's closer to her home though which means Jerry Sr. can go visit her more often. And..it's what she wanted.

All these things coming up have made Jerry and I talk about our own health care. Quality over convenience is the key with us. Now I just need to keep us healthy so that isn't even an issue.

The journey continues...

noreply@blogger.com (Gknee) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:16:00 +0000

Today I got to take a new path in my journey of being an interpreter. I had my first official "gig" and it went great! It feels good to get out there and actually do it. Now I want more! Yes..I'm greedy! I can only get better with more exposure. So let me expose myself (that's what she said...)

In other news, Jerry's mom is still in the hospital. She started her physcial therapy but it's going slow. Hard when you've been sick for so long to get up and moving. We thought she might go to a rehab facility this week but it doesn't look like it's happening. I think they want her to be able to get to a restroom on her own..not sure...

Shout out to all my CMU Alumni friends that were camping this week. Glad you had fun and maybe one summer we'll join you all. (Notice the you all and not y'all...haven't lost all my Michigan speech patterns)