| In Burbank |
[19 May 2008|08:10pm] |
..in the Extended Stay - Burbank Airport. Room 416. Party over here! ..err, no. Not exactly. It's friggin burning up in here, and the AC won't stay on long enough to cool it off.
Took forever to find my bags, because someone had taken them off the carousel and put them on the side opposite where I was standing. I waited a long time for my bag to come around, and another guy who was on the same flight let me know about his luggage being over there. Went from there to the Enterprise Rent-a-car, where I got a smaaallll compact. Chevy Aveo. Small and kinda silly looking, but it'll work. Dude kept trying to get me to go with another car or something, but oh well. I'll drive as little as possible, except for Wednesday.
Everyone is busy. The Honors Convocation is probably going on now, so I can't get anyone. That's kinda crappy. Anyway, cheers, we're here.
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| In Phoenix Airport |
[19 May 2008|04:29pm] |
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...And we have about 40 minutes until we take off from here and head toward Burbank.
Not much to say. Temperature is 104 here, so that's precious. Birdies are in the airport. Got a couple of pictures, but they kept moving so I couldn't get a good shot.
Anyway, couple more hours and I should be at my destination. Cheers!
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| In Birmingham International Airport |
[19 May 2008|09:04am] |
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...early.
Got a friend to bring us here to Birmingham, because I didn't want to drive and have to park my car out here for this long. He works third shift, and I just got him to bring us out as soon as he got off work, so he could go home and get some sleep. So yeah, we're sitting here with plenty of time to burn. Good thing I have my laptop and stuff, I guess.
It's funny that when most people would probably be worried about something going wrong on the flight or whatever, the only thing I've been worried about for several days now is that I might not get everything. It's trivial, but I friggin woke up at 4:30 this morning thinking about what I have packed, and what I would need. That's kind of annoying.
The last time I flew, I was only a baby. I had problems with my ears, so my grandma said I cried the entire time. I hope there isn't a kid like I was on our flight.
I really look forward to this trip. I've already told Lisa that I get the window seat, because I want to look out. She can remember flying, because it wasn't too terribly long ago that she did. I can't remember it. I get special treatment. ;p
One thing I do NOT look forward to is driving from Burbank to Long Beach on Wednesday. I don't like driving. I'm from Alabama. We have nothing akin to the traffic I'll be facing there. That will definitely be teh suX0rz.
Right. Off to kill more time doing something else.
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| Blah! |
[12 Apr 2008|08:58am] |
Sometimes I get sick of myself. I fell asleep in the middle of a friggin scene, AGAIN. That gets old. The scene was getting somewhat ...interesting, too. That crap gets old. Kinda like I must be, I guess. I'm sure it's extremely annoying to my play partner, but she is very graceful about it. If I were her, I'd probably fuss at me a lot about that. I can make excuses about working too much and all, but in the end, they're all excuses. Geez, that's annoying.
My fiance, Lisa, works at a service station. She is very frustrated with her job, because they hired her saying she would be working days. It turns out that the only time she works now is closing. Last night, I called her at work for a moment. She was voicing her frustration about her job, and saying that she needs to find another job. I heard a customer in the background, and told her that she may not need to talk about that in front of customers. She called me after work and told me that she figured out one reason I told her not to say that in front of customers. I asked her what she meant, and she explained that the customer she had said that in front of had called her back at the store later. He had offered to pay her, to be his ..'companion.' She went off on him. heh.. She said something about having a fiance, and dude was like .."He doesn't have to know." Some people are just sick, I guess.
So yeah, since the word is out anyway.. Thanks Matt! =P I'm going to be trying my best to go to Jaycy and Ken's wedding. Unless something big comes up to keep me from going, things should work out. I was thinking of setting up the flight and paying for it this weekend. I will definitely *NOT* be flying with American Airlines. They keep canceling flights. I'm sure that has to be annoying to people who are trying to get places. Southwest Airlines seems to have decent deals, and I haven't heard of them canceling any flights. I've never flown before ..at least since I was old enough to remember it. I've never been that far from home, either. It will definitely be a new experience. I am looking forward to meeting a bunch of people whom I've played with through the years. It's going to be awesome!
I've mentioned it before, but in comments. I work with the computers, phones.. (heck, almost anything technology related) at the Gadsden, Alabama Goodyear Tire and Rubber Plant. Sometimes it is funny to work with people who know absolutely nothing about computers and stuff. Other times, it is quite annoying. I was on call last week. I received a call at about 11:30 p.m. or so. The AS/400 terminal on one of the tire machines was messed up. I was trying to roleplay, of course. (Trying being the operative word, since my roleplay is pretty bad now) Dude was all like.. "It's not working. There's no phone over there, so I don't have time to walk over there and back. It's just not working! Normally I would try to fix it for something, but.. it's just not working! You have to come in to fix it, it's just not working!" So I try to log on remotely to figure out what the heck is going on, but I find that it is a connection problem. Apparently, I do have to go in to troubleshoot. When I got there, I took a moment to look over the connectors and all, to see if something was wrong with them. Then I looked at the cable, taking it up into my hands and feeling for breaks. As I felt along the cable, it just came up into my hands.. The friggin thing was not plugged in completely! You would think that would be one of the things they checked before calling us, but I guess not. I get paid time and a half for that, and when we have to go in we automatically charge an hour, so it's not all that bad.
My i key seems not to be working so well, and I don't feel like proofing this. Just insert i's and corrections in your head for me. ;p
Anyway, I'm done rambling here for now. I had been meaning to update and figured I would go ahead and do that.
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| Tips for Pumping Gas - Sounds legitimate enough. |
[07 Mar 2008|06:01pm] |
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I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline....Here in California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon. But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon.. Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose , CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons. Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps. When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money. One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount. Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.
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| At it again... again?! |
[27 Oct 2007|01:02am] |
Okay . I'm at work again. Lovely work. Testing two T1s at the moment. How fun!
So, as you know I was planning to do, I put in my two-week resignation notice Wednesday. The supervisor wasn't all too happy. It's pretty funny, thinking back on it.
I remember vividly when I interviewed with her, it went something like this.
She: So what times are you willing to work.
Me: Well, I would love to work first. If not first, then second. If I *have* to, I will work third. But I absolutely don't want to work weekends.
She: Oh, well that's fine. We're looking for someone to put on second shift.
Me: Well, that's fine.
So, anyway it turns out that they wanna screw the third weekend guy out of his job recently. He owns his own business that he works at during the weeks and came to work here on the weekend nights. From the information I've gathered, I believe he does Cisco network consulting and maybe sells PCs or something. Anyway, the beloved telco here, Deltacom, goes to him and is all like ..Hey, you can't be selling PCs and working for us. That's a conflict of interest. I wasn't even aware that Deltacom sold PCs. So when he asks what he can do, they tell him that he can drop his business and then come back to reapply for the position here. Hah! It seems like they were looking for a reason to get rid of him to me. So then they come to another second shift guy and myself and are all saying it's going to be one of us who goes onto the weekend third shift position. I DID NOT want this crap AT ALL, and I let them know it.. As it turns out, the other guy didn't want it either, so it fell to me as I was the lowest guy on the totem pole. The supervisor told me, and I quote, "We've got a business to run." What she could have said is something like, "We don't care about you and what we told you when you came here. You're going on third weekends. Screw you." She kept sugar-coating it and trying to make it look better, but even with a 10% shift differential, I don't want this stupid bullcrap. Of course I was going to be looking for another job so I can have more normal hours.
In the transfer from second to weekend thirds, my hours got all screwed up. Sup told me to work Sunday (last, when I made my post) and then just to go on and start working the third shift after that. I didn't think anything about it, so I was just going to wait until Thursday and come in for a few hours to fill in the extra hours I don't get on the three 12 hour shifts.. Wednesday, I was on the way out here to turn in my notice and she called me and said something along the lines of, "Hey, I was calling you to let you know that you need to come in and make up some hours." I responded with, Uhh, yeah.. I was going to do that Thursday, right? And she told me that the pay period ended Saturday morning at midnight (Friday night/Saturday morning) and that I would miss out on 22 hours if I didn't make them up. So, while it took me a bit to figure out what the heck she meant when saying I only got 6 hours for Friday, because I knew I'd worked 8 hours the past Friday, I finally realized what she meant, and how I was screwed.. (12 hours from the Sunday shift, 6 hours from Friday (today) 6pm to 12 midnight when the pay period ends is 18. 40 - 18 = 22. I had 22 hours to make up..and I had two hours to do it. That kinda sucked, thinking I had Wednesday and most of Thursday off, and ending up working 12 hours on Wednesday and 10 on Thursday, along with the 12s I have to work today, tomorrow, and Sunday.) So cheers, I was headed in this direction anyway, so I might as well do it, eh? heh..
Anyway, on to when I actually handed her my resignation notice. She read over it and looked at me for a minute like she didn't believe it. heh.. She said things like, "I don't feel like we didn't let you know everything about it" and, "We told you it would probably only be temporary." Two of my favorites were, "So, you're not going to work that shift until we can get someone trained to do it?" and, "Well, I'm really a little disappointed. I feel like I gave you an opportunity when you needed one."
So, while she was apparently trying to make me feel bad for putting in my notice, she only made me even more mad. I was already mad enough to have been forced to work what I feel is the worst shift in the place because they don't want someone running his own business...or whatever the heck the deal with that is, then she added this on there.
I was thinking about it this morning, and I realized what she was really thinking when I was in there. She was definitely thinking something along these lines.. "Oh, man. We're screwed." Zane, the other data guy who was up for the running for the position is the only data guy on second now who is trained to work the highest priority tickets.. They never wanted to put any of their buddies from the cushy first shift onto the position.. well, because it's trash and none of them want it. So as it turns out, they are indeed 5KR00D. Oh well. They never should've forced Michael out the door. He was a really good technician, and really knew his stuff.
Anyway, I've rambled and railed enough on this issue, so I'll let it stand.
You guys have gotten me to post two times in one week. How about that crap? ;p
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[22 Oct 2007|02:32am] |
Okay Mike. Here you go, I'll make a post.
I am at work. I do not want to be here right now, but here I am. I was recently put on weekend third shift hours (6p - 6a Fri, Sat, Sun and 4 hours sometime during the week) by the management here at this lovely telco. I'm not busy, but I would much rather be working second, as I was previously. I will be putting my notice in soon. Moving along. I'll be working in the data center at the Goodyear plant in good ol' Gadsden, my hometown. Pretty decent pay, with a couple opportunities for a raise somewhat quickly.
I am in the process of finding time to read Tosca's (player of Siera and Banda) book, Demon: A Memoir. If you haven't yet heard about it, you should check out demonamemoir.com I bought my mom a copy. I also bought Mike a copy.. now I just have to get it sent.
A couple of other things I've thought about recently..
What the heck is up with ADHD? When we were younger, most of us were hyperactive. When we were too hyperactive at the wrong times, we got our bottoms smacked for it. You know what? We learned not to be bad at inappropriate times. So, we grow older and parenting gets worse... and along comes ADHD. Just another excuse for parents not to be parents. Their child has a disorder, and here's the medicine for it. What happened to good old fashioned spankings? Oh, people can't do that anymore. Whoops...
Anyway, if you disagree with that ..sorry, I don't actually have kids and don't want any, but I would indeed spank my kids if they were too hyperactive at the wrong times. They would learn, as I did.
Now, why is awful automatically a bad word? Awe is an overwhelming feeling of reverence. Full is filled to the utmost capacity. So then wouldn't it make sense for awful to actually mean filled to the capacity with overwhelming reverence? Yeah, so it actually does mean that, just that hardly anyone uses it in that way. So, there's awesome. Why couldn't that be the bad one? ;p
One more thing.. Work with me here, it's only getting worse.. it is 2:45 a.m.
Okay.. So, probable and possible. One means that there's a good chance it will come to pass. The other means it could happen, but there's almost an equal chance of it not occurring. Now what happened with improbable and impossible. Since probable means that there's a good chance that it will happen, why doesn't improbable mean that it won't happen? That's impossible. ::shrug:: If you've gotten that, they seem all flip flopped around.
Again, it is 2:45 in the morning... but I've actually thought about these things during normal hours. =P
Cheers and congratulations if you've made it this far. Bet Mike won't be asking me to slap up too many more entries in the near future. ;D
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[03 Oct 2007|05:08pm] |
Of the interesting things you see while working at a Telco, this was not on the highest end of interesting, but I'm not really all that busy and I found it as an excuse to make an LJ entry.
LOCATION A: Edwards, MS LOCATION Z: Tallulah, LA CUSTOMER: DELTACOM EVENT REMARKS: Initial Update: Deltacom fiber
technician is reporting that Deltacom
has fiber in danger between Edwards,
MS and Tallulah, LA. KCS reported
that barges are loose down the
Mississippi River. The NOC will
continue to monitor.... ADDITIONAL DETAILS: View Outage Report REMEDY TICKET DETAILS: 000000012120944
================================================================== LOCATION A: Edwards, MS LOCATION Z: Tallulah, LA CUSTOMER: DELTACOM EVENT REMARKS: Final: The barges have cleared the MS
River Bridge, and the Bridge
Commissioner has cleared the
structure for train traffic. Problem
clear. -NSA
ADDITIONAL DETAILS: View Outage Report
REMEDY TICKET DETAILS: 000000012120944
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| Quite a strange bit of thievery |
[15 May 2007|08:54am] |
Missing:
Television
DVD player
VCR
Large collection of ...ummm ...self-obtained DVDs (copies of movies -- no, not exactly bootlegged, just burned =P)
Small am-fm/cd/casette player
Computer mouse
So, I stay out of town on the weekends. When I returned yesterday morning, I noticed that one of the windows on the house was open, and the door was also open. I go into the house to find the aforementioned items missing. However, I can't quite believe my eyes as I look around the living room and see the aftermath. On and around the nearly-empty entertainment center is a large expensive stereo system with big speakers and all that jazz. It is still there.
Right beside the entertainment center is a computer that I was planning to play around with linux on. The computer isn't hooked up or anything. It is very easily accessible. It is still there.
On the shelf right beneath where my burned copies of movies were is a shelf with legally purchased copies of movies, cases and all. They are still there.
I put a lock on my door when my brothers were staying there, because I didn't want them to take anything from my room. However, this past weekend I left the door unlocked. When I tried to open it to check for my computer and stuff, it was locked.
I opened my door and looked around in my room. My computer is still there, and still running some processes I started on Thursday. The mouse to my computer is no longer there, though. Yeah, it was an optical mouse with blue lights and it looked kinda cool.. but who the heck cares?! You take my mouse and leave my computer?! O-kay.
So, yeah. The radio that was taken from my room was purchased for me after the *other* radio I had in there was taken from my room. That was kinda crappy.
I then go to the room where my brother's computer was. Well, guess what? Of course, his computer is still there.
There are quite a bit of things odd about that, and I have a few ideas about who it might have been, but no absolutes.
These things happen, but I thought they wouldn't happen to me. Guess I was wrong. It's enough to make you wonder what in the heck the person was thinking and feel sorry for them, and at the same time make you sick to your stomach.
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| Gotta love computer savvy people. |
[20 Apr 2007|10:07am] |
Wow. Glad this one is not mine.
A customer can't figure out for the life of her where she should hook up her speakers. The tech then tries telling her how to test it by placing a CD in the CD-Rom tray.
(Paraphrased)
Customer:
Oh my God! My CD is stuck. How do I get it out?
Tech:
Press the button underneath the CD tray.
Customer:
All I see is a hole. Is that where the speakers go?
Tech:
No ma'am. There should be a button that you press to open it.
Customer:
All I see is a hole. I'll bet that Bellsouth (Phone Company) guy stole my button.
::shrug:: What are you supposed to say to that? ;p Glad it wasn't me.
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| Thought I'd join the group |
[28 Mar 2007|04:46pm] |
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I figured I had might as well get in on this influx of updated journals, so here I am.
Rambling on...
I'll just make this an update on my work life: I'm working a couple of jobs. My first job (the one I've been with longer of the two) is as an IT Lab Assistant at Gadsden State Community College. At the college, I'm basically an assistant to the computer networking teacher, so I really just help out the students in the classes like Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Intro to Computer Networking/Data Communications, and I help the students enrolled at the Cisco Networking Academy through the college.
The other job I have is as a Computer Technician at a place called Millennium Business Solutions. At that one I basically work on computer problems, clean the craploads of spyware and viruses off people's computers, and support a group of computer illiterate people. Okay, I just want to vent a bit about the spyware and virus volume we run up against. I realize that the people may not use computers like we (those who might be reading this) do, but GEEZ! You would think that they would know not to click to download this free program that just pops up. Maybe you can't assume that intelligence from people. Perhaps I'm just being too hard on them, but we clean so many viruses off these computers it makes me sick. Last week, one of the people who works for the group of computer illiterates (Enrestoration, Inc. a company that is owned by the same people as MBS) had us "fix" her personal laptop because it wouldn't work. After a single boot-time virus scan of the machine, we cleared 1477 malicious files from her computer. These malicious files DO NOT include cookies and temporary files like those the spyware programs grab. 1477. That simply amazed me. Amazes me. I can't imagine how one could go and unknowingly get 1477 malicious files... but I digress.
An interactive part to the rambling. Has anyone ever had any dealings with someone from the company named Primerica? I did some networking work for a Regional Vice President of the local Primerica office and his pitch sounds good. I was thinking of trying it out part-time. Let me know if you know anything -- anything that is more than just hearsay, that is.
I really miss roleplaying, and that has nothing to do with work, other than the subject of the lack of time I have to play due to work. But anyway! I'll just talk about that another time.
Okay, I'm ending it here. Hopefully I'll come back and update again before too terribly long.
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| Very touching story. A little long, but worth it. |
[12 May 2004|10:37pm] |
Whether you are for or against
Bush as President, this is truly
an honor to those who are fighting for
our country and our way of life.
Let us all be supportive of them.
Please read ....
I was sitting alone in one of
those loud, casual steak houses
that you find all over the country. You
know the type--a bucket of
peanuts on every table, shells
littering the floor, and a bunch of
perky
college kids racing around with
longneck beers and sizzling platters.
Taking a sip of my iced tea, I
studied the crowd over the rim of
my glass. My gaze lingered on a group
enjoying their meal. They wore no
uniform to identify their branch of
service, but they were definitely
"military:" clean shaven, cropped
haircut, and that "squared away" look
that comes with pride.
Smiling sadly, I glanced across
my table to the empty seat where
my husband usually sat. It had only
been a few months since we sat in
this very booth, talking about his
upcoming deployment to the Middle
East. That was when he made me promise
to get a sitter for the kids,
come back to this restaurant once a
month and treat myself to a nice
steak. In turn he would treasure the
thought of me being here, thinking
about him until he returned home to
me.
I fingered the little flag pin I
constantly wear and wondered
where he was at this very moment. Was
he safe and warm? Was his cold any
better? Were my letters getting through
to him? As I pondered these
thoughts, high pitched female voices
from the next booth broke into my
thoughts.
"I don't know what Bush is
thinking about. Invading Iraq. You'd
think that man would learn from his old
man's mistakes. Good lord. What
an idiot! I can't believe he is even in
office. You do know, he stole
the election."
I cut into my steak and tried to
ignore them, as they began an
endless tirade running down our
president. I thought about the last
night I spent with my husband, as he
prepared to deploy. He had just
returned from getting his smallpox and
anthrax shots. The image of him
standing in our kitchen packing his gas
mask still gives me chills.
Once again the women's voices
invaded my thoughts. "It is all
about oil, you know. Our soldiers will
go in and rape and steal all the
oil they can in the name of 'freedom'.
Hmph! I wonder how many innocent
people they'll kill without giving it a
thought? It's pure greed, you
know."
My chest tightened as I stared
at my wedding ring. I could still
see how handsome my husband looked in
his "mess dress" the day he
slipped it on my finger. I wondered
what he was wearing now. Probably
his desert uniform, affectionately
dubbed "coffee stains" with a heavy
bulletproof vest over it.
"You know, we should just leave
Iraq alone. I don't think they
are hiding any weapons. In fact, I bet
it's all a big act just to
increase the president's popularity.
That's all it is, padding the
military budget at the expense of our
social security and education.
And, you know what else? We're just
asking for another 9-ll. I can't say
when it happens again that we didn't
deserve it."
Their words brought to mind the
war protesters I had watched
gathering outside our base. Did no one
appreciate the sacrifice of brave
men and women, who leave their homes
and family to ensure our freedom?
Do they even know what "freedom" is?
I glanced at the table where the
young men were sitting, and saw
their courageous faces change. They had
stopped eating and looked at
each other dejectedly, listening to the
women talking.
"Well, I, for one, think it's
just deplorable to invade Iraq,
and I am certainly sick of our tax
dollars going to train professional
baby killers we call a military."
Professional baby killers? I
thought about what a wonderful
father my husband is, and of how long
it would be before he would see
our children again.
That's it! Indignation rose up
inside me. Normally reserved,
pride in my husband gave me a brassy
boldness I never realized I had.
Tonight one voice will answer on behalf
of our military, and let her
pride in our troops be known
Sliding out of my booth, I
walked around to the adjoining booth
and placed my hands flat on their
table. Lowering myself to eye level
with them, I smilingly said, "I
couldn't help overhearing your
conversation.
You see, I'm sitting here trying
to enjoy my dinner alone. And,
do you know why? Because my husband,
whom I love with all my heart, is
halfway around the world defending your
right to say rotten things about
him."
"Yes, you have the right to your
opinion, and what you think is
none of my business. However, what you
say in public is something else,
and I will not sit by and listen to you
ridicule MY country, MY
president, MY husband, and all the
other fine American men and women who
put their lives on the line, just so
you can have the "freedom" to
complain. Freedom is an expensive
commodity, ladies. Don't let your
actions cheapen it."
I must have been louder that I
meant to be, because the manager
came over to inquire if everything was
all right. "Yes, thank you," I
replied. Then turning back to the
women, I said, "Enjoy the rest of your
meal."
As I returned to my booth
applause broke out. I was embarrassed
for making a scene, and went back to my
half eaten steak. The women
picked up their check and scurried
away.
After finishing my meal, and
while waiting for my check, the
manager returned with a huge apple
cobbler ala mode. "Compliments of
those soldiers," he said. He also
smiled and said the ladies tried to
pay for my dinner, but that another
couple had beaten them to it. When I
asked who, the manager said they had
already left, but that the
gentleman was a veteran, and wanted to
take care of the wife of "one of
our boys."
With a lump in my throat, I
gratefully turned to the soldiers
and thanked them for the cobbler.
Grinning from ear to ear, they came
over and surrounded the booth. "We just
wanted to thank you, ma'am. You
know we can't get into confrontations
with civilians, so we appreciate
what you did."
As I drove home, for the first
time since my husband's
deployment, I didn't feel quite so
alone. My heart was filled with the
warmth of the other diners who stopped
by my table, to relate how they,
too, were proud of my husband, and
would keep him in their prayers. I
knew their flags would fly a little
higher the next day.
Perhaps they would look for more
tangible ways to show their
pride in our country, and the military
who protect her. And maybe, just
maybe, the two women who were railing
against our country, would pause
for a minute to appreciate all the
freedom America offers, and the price
it pays to maintain it's freedom.
As for me, I have learned that
one voice CAN make a difference.
Maybe the next time protesters gather
outside the gates of the base
where I live, I will proudly stand on
the opposite side with a sign of
my own. It will simply say, "Thank
You!"
(*Lori Kimble is a 31 year old
teacher and proud military wife.
A California native, Mrs. Kimble
currently lives in Alabama)
To those who fought for our
Nation: Freedom has a flavor the
protected will never know. GOD BLESS
AMERICA!
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[17 Feb 2004|04:14pm] |
Thought for today. Tuesday, February 17:
"I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. Therefore, I accept responsibility for my actions and I will do my part."
My mom got out of the hospital on Saturday, Valentine's Day.
Tricia had their child (hers and Josh's) on Valentine's Day. He was about nineteen and a half inches long, and weighed six pounds, thirteen ounces. His name is Damian Lee Blade Lankford. ::cough:: Good thing Josh has a normal middle name (Lee). If I were Tricia, I probably would have named the baby Thacker, but I'm not complaining that my nephew has the same last name as I. I would assume that they plan to get married one day, but with Josh you never know. He's about as self-serving as they come. Surprisingly enough, to the best of my knowledge, he has acted as the responsible daddy so far. He's even changing diapers, and I have a friend whose baby is almost two, who has rarely ever changed a poopie diaper. Hopefully he sees that this means he has to grow up and be a man and a dad. ::shrug:: I don't want to be pessimistic about that deal. Today was the first time I saw Damian. If I thought young children were cute, I might think he was cute. I can see a bit of cuteness in him, but ...::snicker:: well, I saw bits of E.T. the other night, and at points while holding Damian, I was reminded of that movie. ::flee!::
::Now, from a distance::
Been talking with an old friend lately. Her name is Julie. We lost touch for about six or seven years. We were really close friends way back when. She's married now, and has three children. She owns her own business, too. We met for a while on Saturday and chilled. That was cool.
Anyway, other than minor problems with money that should soon be solved, I'm doing quite well. It will be a bit longer than I hoped before I get my own computer, but the bills are more important than my having a computer, although barely. ;D
Take care, everyone.
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| Thought for the Day. Friday, February 13. |
[13 Feb 2004|01:18pm] |
In speech class, Professor Hand puts a thought for the day on the board every day we have class. These are some pretty good tidbits to put a bit of thought into, so I thought I would start sharing these with you all.
He always concludes with "Te amo, Uncle Ed." ::grin:: The man is awesome.
So without any further ado, here is your thought for today...
"Don't wait for your ship to come in. Swim out to meet it."
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[29 Jan 2004|03:11pm] |
Welcome friends and neighbors to this glorious house of love.
Err...wait a minute. That was wrong.
Hello again, people. Figured it has been long enough since I wrote last time, so I guess I will write a little more.
The topic shall be school! You have my permission to move on to another post.
I have four classes: Fundamentals of Public Speaking, Intermediate Algebra, Principles of Microeconomics, and English Composition II.
Speech is excellent. My teacher is Professor Edsel Hand. He is the oldest active (still teaching) teacher in Alabama. He is eighty-one years old, and a wonderful man. He has something of a bad memory, but he's eighty-one, and he has five classes! I know I would have trouble remembering if I've done certain stuff in a certain class without notes. Wonderful class.
Math. A breeze. In high school, I was terrible at math. Now that I'm in college, I'm actually applying myself to learning, and I have an excellent teacher. She actually teaches, unlike those teachers I had in high school. I started this semester with a different teacher, a guy, and he was not all that great. I only kept him for one day, because it was obvious that he did not plan to teach. In only one hour and fifteen minutes, I could tell that he was just up there to try and show off his intelligence; forget what the students learn! I'm not with that. I convinced my teacher from the previous semester, Ms. King, to squeeze me into her already-full class.
English. Last semester I dreaded english class. I am alright at writing, but the teacher was so strict (and I did not want to be told that I was anything less than perfect. ;D). This semester, english is rather odd. Our teacher's method of teaching thus far has been . . . we sit and listen to her read short stories directly from the Literature book. Some read along. (I never knew William Faulkner was such trash).
Microeconomics. Last semester, in Macroeconomics, we had our teachers switch on us. Most (..yeah yeah, practically all) students in the class say that the change was for the worse. I have the same teacher this semester -- The teacher from the latter part of the semester. It is a Friday only class, so it is somewhat long.. and just bleh. I knew the teachers had differences, when we got switched around last semester, but I never realized how tremendous the differences were until this semester. We went over Unit One in our book. Ms. Smith (current teacher) makes things SO much more complicated than they actually are. Ms. Waits (previous teacher) was such a good teacher. Ms. Smith is a really smart woman, and I guess she cannot completely fathom that someone does not have her deep understanding of economics. This class will be the biggest challenge. I know I can do well, because I weathered the storm last semester and came out of it rather well. I will do the same this semester; it will just take a bit of study.
Enough about school. Time for random thoughts. I miss my computer. I miss roleplaying. I cannot wait until I get a computer with internet access at the house. Finally got my W-2's today, praise God Almighty. ::grin:: I have been eagerly awaiting those since the beginning of the new year. Anyway, I'm closing this off.
Take care of yourselves.
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| Bleh. |
[10 Nov 2003|01:19pm] |
It's sad that it takes a somewhat momentous event before I even think about updating my journal. I read all my friends' journals often, because this is one of the only ways I can feel close to the online scene I miss so much. So, yeah, take that as a hint to write here more. ;p heh, sure.. practice what you preach, Shaun.
Leah has been somewhat ..odd for a while now. I can very well understand, too. She is taking six classes, substituting for any school that calls (often), accosting a bogus grade she received in a required Catholic traditions class (which is rooted mostly in the fact that her teacher discriminated against her and a friend because of their beliefs and the differences of his and theirs.), and the restraining order she got on that (insert whatever adjective here that refers to a piece of crap person) dude (her ex-boyfriend abused her a lot) is soon to expire, so they'll be going to court to try and extend it.
Any one of these things is something that would cause one a good deal of stress, and I can understand that, even if I can't emphasize. Because of this, I did expect her to be a little strange. What I didn't expect is that she would not talk to much, and when she did, she was somewhat snappy toward me. I've tried dealing with it the best I knew how. I've been really supportive of her, and everything. I just felt like I was fighting a losing battle.
Finally, last night, I caught wind that there was something else bothering her. I just knew she was going to say that things wouldn't work out between us. Let me try and give you my situation at one point -- Somehow the fact came out that something was up. I asked about it, and she said she didn't want to talk about it, because it would upset me. THEN, she said, "Hold on a minute." and went to do something.
In those moments that she was gone, I was pretty miserable. Whether I liked it or not, I wasn't going to allow her to keep whatever it was to herself. It was obviously bothering her a great deal, so I was going to have to get it out. I couldn't allow her to torment herself with this just because it would upset me. What I got out of her wasn't the serious blow that I expected, but still hurt.
She told me that she didn't act like herself while talking to (and around) me. She said that it was mostly minor stuff, but that she was worried about what I might think about these things. Some who know me know that I usually use clean language, and don't use what I consider vulgarity. One such term she used before (and I let her know what I thought about it) was an example she gave. She said she used that term several times every day, but just not around me. All this ultimately led to her saying that she just wanted to stop being considered a girlfriend (and having those pressures placed on her) until she can figure out who she is.
She made sure to tell me that there was nothing I had done wrong, that it was all her, etc. etc. I don't hold those same beliefs. I am a pretty picky person. I am sometimes rather outspoken, and don't care whether people like what I say or not. I might even be taken sometimes as aggressive on some points of view I hold. These characteristics can be negative, and I think that's what has gotten to her. She won't admit that it was anything I have/had done (she might not even realize it), but I think that's mostly what the deal is about.
She told me that she still wanted to talk, but she just didn't feel as though she could handle the pressures of being a girlfriend right now. I'm hurt, of course, and hold out hope that we'll get back together in the end. But.. (yeah, don't you love buts?) I'm naturally pessimistic. My motto is "Expect the worst and hope for the best." This is the way I look at a lot of things. One might ask, "If you look at things that way, how can you say that you are Christian?" My reply to that is this: Christian does not mean perfect. I am far from perfect, and God is still working on and in my life. I know He is with me always, and that all will work out in the end. But I am human! I want things to work out according to my plan sometimes. I am selfish.
Who knows? We could end up getting back together, or we could end up separating and never seeing each other again. I would prefer the former, because I truly love her with all my heart.. but if it is the latter, I just hope that she can move on and find someone better. Someone who will treat her better and make her feel like the wonderful person that she really is. Either way things work out, I hope she is happy.
I am drained. I was thinking of writing other stuff about school and all.. but I don't think I can right now. If you actually wanted to hear more than my angst-ridden story, I apologize for taking up your time. I'll try to write up some stuff that's going on soon.
As a final note, I am not looking for sympathy. I just needed somewhere to go to try and organize my thoughts, and at the same time do a bit of sharing what is happening with me lately.
Everyone, take care of yourself.
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