All's Well

Dad had a great time at his party. It was actually a good time for all. Most was family of course but there were some clients of his that he's close to that showed up. I thought was really nice of them. His partner, Mike, was so not what I expected. I thought he was an older guy who was probably a cop or something years ago just like my dad. He's only 35 and very rambunctious which is different because my dad is so laid back. I can tell that they're going to be in business for a long time. He seems like a really nice guy. I didn't get to talk to him much since he was trying to hit on some ladies at the bar but he seems like he's a generally good guy. My dad was hilarious. I don't think I've ever seen him in such high spirits. My brothers were there and my sisters too except Cheryl. She said that they couldn't come because Johnathan had a football game. That seemed odd to me since it rained like it was nobody's business here on Friday. The wind was kicking too so who knows. My brothers were both trashed. I kinda figured Jimmy would be since I think he might have a drinking problem. It might be wrong of me to say this but he weirds me out. I don't know why...he just does. My other brother Doug was feeling mighty fine too but he's a happy person and I guess since he was around us when we were kids, he doesn't make me feel weird. Jimmy wasn't really around much. I vaguely remember him growing up. I mean I saw him at Christmas and stuff like that but it was just odd. Anyway it was fun and my dad had a good time too which is what counts. I have to write Mike to thank him and all that. He didn't have to do that and the fact that he did shows how good a person he is. Ms. Toni was there too which was awesome. I haven't seen her in 5 years. She's a lot different now than she was back then. When we were younger we thought she was my dad's girlfriend but when we met her we realized that was the furthest thing from his mind. He's more like a dad to her than anything else. She's a lot younger too. I think she's 35 or so. I don't know and it's impolite to ask a lady her age.

Since it was Dad's birthday and all, Ali and Paul came up. We hung out on Saturday just driving around. There wasn't really anything to do so we just drove around looking for a pumpkin. The one we got is a sad little thing. I guess with the weather we had this summer it really messed with the local pumpkin crop and it was the weekend before Halloween. Most of the good ones were taken already. Yesterday Keith and I went to the movies. We saw "Saw III". It was a great movie even if it was super gory. I thought I was going to freak out or something because I don't handle horror movies well the first time I see them. I only cringed the first 10 minutes. I was proud of myself. Anyway it was good. I don't think I'll watch it again because I generally don't watch them more than once. It has to be a funny movie or just one of those really good dramas for me to watch them again. Yes there will be another. The next one will probably be out on Halloween weekend of next year.

Well that's all for now...Halloween is tomorrow. I love Halloween!

Butterflies

I got butterflies right now...I'm not going to say why at the moment but I do. I'm kind of excited about this evening. I know it's going to be awkward per usual but it should still be a good time. I flunked my math test with flying colors. The page of notes I took in was completely useless. Almost everything on the test was from the first chapter..not cool considering it was pretty much a review and I just drew a blank. I was so mad at myself for forgetting to study that stuff. I guess that's what I get. I think that if I do well on the rest of the homework, quizzes, and tests that I should still be ok. I don't know...I was really disappointed with myself after that. I'm working on my other homework for the time being. Lord knows I got plenty of it. I just started my new class yesterday. I don't know how this one's going to turn out either but I'm hoping that it's good. I think it will be. It's pretty relevant to my area of study. It's comparing the worlds religions to each other. I'm one of those people that think that most religions have the same ideas and theories although they vary on different subjects from time to time. It should be interesting. As long as he doesn't teach like my sociology teacher does. Man I wish there was a way the students could really tell the people in charge of the hiring and firing at the school what the teachers are really like. I mean we do student evaluations and all that but I don't think they really read them. I mean the teacher that I had for Intermediate Algebra was terrible. He was a nice guy I just don't think he was cut out for teaching. There are some people that aren't. They should just accept it and move on to another job instead of messing the futures of others. Sorry for the rant. I'm trying to think happy thoughts for this weekend. I'm super excited. I shouldn't get my hopes up though. Every time I do they get shot down by something or other. I think it might be true what they say: the less you expect the less you'll get let down. Anyway that's enough. I want to finish these questions before I leave work so I don't have to think about them this weekend.

I Swear I'm Not Blonde

I hope no one takes offense to that. It's a generalization not meant to hurt anyone's feelings. Something funny I did today...I wasn't exactly 100% awake this morning and was rushing around to get to work on time which I was still 15 minutes late. I just bought a new pair of tennis shoes and still have my old ones for when I'm out in the yard and all that...well I got one of them mixed up and realized that I'm wearing one of each pair. I just noticed when I was putting a sign up on the conference room door. I just couldn't help but laugh. Good thing about it is that you really can't tell unless you take a real close look. That's typical me though. When I was in high school I had a similar experience except with socks. I was getting dressed in the dark because I was tired..yeah I know that was stupid but I used to do it a lot. I knew where all my clothes were and most were interchangeable. Well anyway I opened the sock drawer and put on a pair of what I thought were white socks. They weren't. They were neon green. I had them for years and kept them as a spare set of socks to wear around the house. People actually noticed. Maybe it was because it was high school or something but it was still embarrassing.

I went to the library last night to attend a presentation on the CSI Effect. There were a ton of Girl Scouts there...they thought that it was only open to Girl Scouts and then we found out that you had to register. My teacher had talked to the library a while back and they said that we didn't need to register or anything like that so it was a shock when they wouldn't let us in. Finally they did though once they saw that there were seats available. It was boring. I thought it would have been a little more interesting but I guess it really depends on the person presenting the information. Hey I got an extra 10 points out of it for attending so what the heck right? When I got home I had to start my paper for my semester project that's due today. I finished it though so I'm done with that for now. One less thing I have to worry about. It was only a 2 page paper about a picture I took...I used one that I took back at the Darfur rally because I had a hard time finding stuff to take a picture of around here or I forgot my camera. Anyway it's done and over with and I'm so happy about that. Tomorrow I have my math test. I can take a page of notes in with me though which is a definite plus because for the life of me I can't remember formulas most of the time. I have to write that out tonight.

Friday is my dad's 70th birthday! I can't believe he's that age. Yes he's older than my mom...he's 18 years her senior. That's one of the reasons I'm sure their marriage didn't work. Anyway a friend of his is throwing him a party so that's where I'll be on Friday night. I'm kinda looking forward to it even if it's going to be awkward because of the family and all. I know some people aren't going to be there like my Aunt Betty and Uncle John because they've been at loggerheads with my dad for a while now. It should be fun though.

Sorry for the long post...I didn't think I had that much to say but I guess I did even if it was for the most part pointless.

Right Way

Well....nothing new as usual...I was thinking about getting a dog. The more I think about it though the more I think it's a bad idea. I'm not home a lot because I leave for work so early and I don't get home til later in the evening and with school and all...I just think it would be unfair to the poor dog. I think if I had a job closer to home and was out of school it would be better. I still want a dog though but I think it would be best to wait a little while. My sister's birthday was yesterday. Happy Birthday Ali even though she doesn't read this. She's 26 so for a couple weeks we are the same age...well as far as years go..I'm still 11 months older than her. She's always hated that. When we were kids I was the typical older sibling...I was trusted a little more than my sisters were and got to do some things that my parents didn't feel were age appropriate for my sisters. Alison would always say "she's only 11 months older than me...not even a whole year!" It's funny now but back then it used to make her really mad. My sisters and I are like steps: Amanda will be 25 in a little under a month, Ali just turned 26, and I'll be 27 in about 3 weeks. It's strange you know..aging. I don't feel any different now than I did when I was 23. I've grown up a lot as far as taking responsibility for my own actions and stopping all the partying that I used to do. Now you'd be lucky to get me to have more than a beer when I'm out with friends. I think it's a good thing though. I mean I had my time and it's done and over with Thank God!

It's hard to believe I'm going to be 27 though. I didn't think this is where I'd be at this age. I don't know where I thought I'd be but it certainly wasn't here. You know how people always say they have no regrets? I always thought that was a bunch of bull...recently I've been thinking and sure there have been a lot of bad times but there were good times too. There are things that have happened that I thought were terrible but when I look back I'm grateful they happened. Take Frankie going into the army. If he hadn't I know I would be in a bad place in my life...probably dead or close to it. I know that sounds bad but I think had he not left I would have continued drinking and abusing drugs and who knows where I'd be. Sure I miss him and I wish he was around more but while he was gone I grew up. I could never tell him that though...I think he'd be hurt by it which isn't my intention at all. I'm just saying I would be in a bad place had he stuck around....and I don't even want to think about what would have happened had we gotten together...that would have definitely been a bad thing so I'm glad things turned out the way they did.

I know I'm heading in the right direction now. I don't know where I'll be this time next year or in the next 5 years but I have a general idea. I know that I'm going to take things as they come and like the old cliche goes I won't sweat the small stuff. I'll just keep on keeping on like I always do. I'm excited about where things are going...life is good. Oh and a really good song to listen to is "How to Save a Life" by the Fray. I know it's a little sappy and all that but I like the story behind it which is that he wrote it about a crack addicted teen he was mentoring years ago. Anyway it's a really really good song.

Touching Base

Things are pretty much the same as usual here. I've been busy with school...lots of work to try and keep up with and I'm not failing any of my classes which is a definite plus. I took my first couple exams...I got one of each: and A on the history one, a B on the forensic science one and a C on the sociology one. Sociology is my least favorite class...I don't like the format and I don't like the teacher. In other news Maggie and Longo got married last week and moved to Kentucky today. My best friend from high school, Crissy, got in contact with me. We're going to hang out Friday. I'm so stoked about that. I miss them a lot. Ummm...the Ravens lost their first game :( It was so sad I could have cried. We were so close yet so far away. Mom is back on the wagon. Hasn't had a drink in over a week...super proud of her for that. Her birthday is tomorrow and so begins the marathon birthday season. Next week is Ali, the week after is dad and there is one every week after that for a bit. Then there's a break and it starts back up again heading into Christmas.

And now some songs I've been listening to:

1.) "SexyBack"Justin Timberlake: Don't laugh at me! It's a guilty pleasure for me. I know I shouldn't listen to it but I can't help it...it's catchy

2.) "When You Were Young" The Killers: I haven't heard the whole album yet but I'm going to get it next week. I'm so excited and this song is fantastic.

3.) "Diary" Alicia Keys: One of my favs...I love it!

4.) "Welcome to the Fold" Filter: Ah, Filter...what happened to you? You were awesome and then you went away.

5.) "Give Me Shelter" The Rolling Stones: One of the best songs ever.

6.) "Cornflake Girl" Tori Amos: Apparently Tori is an acquired taste...I love her music but most people I know hate it. I don't know why...it's awesome.

7.) "Crush" DMB: I swear one day I will see DMB in concert and my dream of marrying him will come true (just kidding but I did have a dream I married hime once...it was weird)

8.) "Baggage" Mary J. Blige: Great song! Enough said.

9.) "Ridin" Chamillionaire: Another great song that is somewhat of a guilty pleasure...and Weird Al did a spoof of it so it's definitely good.

10.) "Call Me When You're Sober" Evanescence: Not a big fan but I really like this song.

Kooks!

I read an article this morning that really pissed me off. Some kook down in Georgia is trying to get Harry Potter banned from the library. Ummm I thought there was such thing as freedom of speech in this country? Not only that but they stopped a plan to have spanish language fiction from being put in the library because they felt it supported illegal immigrants. How stupid is that. This is the kind of things that make me wonder about this country. Anyway this lady thinks that it condones witchcraft....has she read the books? Witchcraft really isn't a major theme of the books. It's about the struggle between good and evil. I wish these people would get a clue. This country is going to hell...I mean it's so sad. If you don't want your kids to read something or watch something then don't let them...it's up to you as a parent to instill values and morals and a sense of right and wrong. I'm just flabbergasted. I know this isn't the first time something like this has happened especially in recent years with the Harry Potter books. I don't understand peopel sometimes. It's so frustrating. These are the type of people that set us back hundreds of years. I think the fact that kids are reading is reason enough to let Harry Potter in the library. No one seems to mind the "Left Behind" series. I don't have a problem with it but there are people out there that do and you don't see them protesting having them in the library. It's all about freedom of speech. It can be a bitch sometimes but you have to take the good with the bad. I wish I could shake these people....wake them up to see that there are worse things around than Harry Potter. Take aim at the KKK or something like that. Not a book...a work of fiction. I have to give props to J.K. Rowling for not letting crap like this keep her from writing these fantastic books.

Feeling a Bit Bogged Down

My life for the most part is pretty much the same it was last week minus Frankie leaving. He called to let me know he made it to Kuwait. He should call in a couple weeks to check in. That sounds bad...he doesn't have to check in. He knows I get a little worried if I don't hear from him in a while. I should probably go see his mom sometime soon. I told her I would and I'd feel bad if I didn't. Jenn and I both made a deal that we would go talk to her and all that. We haven't seen her in probably 3 years or so and it would be better and easier if we went together. Since her stroke and all that she's not like she used to be ie. she doesn't hate us or think we are bad influences on Frankie. Speaking of Jenn, I hung out with her and Mike yesterday. We've decided to make it a sort of tradition to watch the football game on Sunday. We won again! Not that it was an easy win but we won nonetheless. Mike was acting a bit off but that was because of his medication. After that we got some coffee and then I went home. Maggie came by later on...she and Longo are getting married today. I don't think it's the best move but like I've said before it's her decision and she knows how I feel about it. I don't think she's 100% sure it's the best idea either but she said that she's got 7 months to decide. Anytime within the next 7 months she can have it annulled.

I talked to Keith on Friday. I miss him. It's been so long since we've talked. I mean we've talked on the phone a bit here and there but I haven't seen him in a long time...at least it feels that way. Now that I know how to get to his house I'll have to stop by more often. Funny thing is that it's about 5 minutes from where he used to live it's just a little trickier getting there.

Mom went to the dr on Saturday and they referred her to an orthopedic specialist for whatever is wrong with her. I think they think it's her back..honestly I couldn't tell you what the deal is. I think most of it is her drinking. She needs to cut back and go back to meetings but what I say really doesn't matter. They're just going to keep letting her drink on top of everything else. Something needs to happen though...don't know what but something. My way of dealing with this is somewhat looking over it. I acknowledge is but I don't at the same time. I just distance myself from it. I shouldn't because avoiding problems never solve them but I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I'll figure it out eventually...well that's my general goal.

I'm still playing catch up a bit with math. I think if I had had more time to do my homework and study, I would have done better on the test. On a brighter note I still have an A in the class. I got a 73 on the quiz...not bad but not good either. I'm hoping to get most of it done this evening and tomorrow. I have another test I need to prepare for...Science. I like it though. Hopefully I'll get it all done and over with by the end of the week with good results.