I'm Famous, but they still can't pronounce my name

Someone made a comment last week that my name is in the paper a lot. I disagreed and said, once or twice maybe. Then my name was in the paper twice this week. First in the school newspaper regarding one of my students who was nominated for an award (I was interviewed as the nominator) and then in the Glendale newspaper regarding a program that I'm giving next month for PTA. I'm famous.

My student's butchered my name in class a lot yesterday--I corrected them and then said, it's probably a good thing that they mispronounce my name, because I'm sure I'll do the same with theirs. Ms. Hill disagreed. They just love to argue. [I especially enjoyed showing them how Lawyers can argue about anything. In our mock case there are hardly no facts to support extraordinary punitive damages, so I told them they could only allege those damages if they could make an argument for them. Ms. Hill wanted to know if disciplinary action was taken against attorneys who violate moral standards by arguing for punitive damages when there are not facts to support them. I proceeded to make a rather compelling argument for punitive damages on our very limited facts to a room (ok six out of twelve or so) full of astonished faces. Teaching this class is so much fun.]

We had the school supervisor for ROP observing my class on Tuesday and the students kept chitty chatting and it was hard to keep order. We started late and in general the class felt disorganized. We got our work done, but ... . So on Thursday, I gave a little lecture about how they made me look bad in front of the supervisor and how in the business world things like being on time and staying on task are really important. Chitty chatting decreased, but was not fully contained. Oh well, I'm not going to quit my day job.

The Spider and the Fly

There is a gnat or mosquito or fly in my room. It's been there for over two weeks. I didn't know they lived this long. [I don't want to think about the idea that it has procreated and that I may be dealing with hardy greatgrandson material.] And this is California--we don't hardly have any flying insects to begin with, so it is distressing to have it in the house and much worse to have it in my room.

Spiders are another story. The house came with spiders--lots and lots of them--ok, I kill about ten a year--not exactly a horror story "Attack of the Wall of Spiders," but for someone who hates all bugs, one is a horror. I bought a spider vacuum. If I remember to charge it, it works really good. I know that I haven't zapped all of them, because I got bit by a spider last week.

So my question for the universe is--Don't spiders eat flys? There's perfectly good food flying around in my room and we know the spider has successfully evaded the spider vacuum and yet it still bites me instead of dining on the fly. Is the enemy of my enemy, my enemy or my friend (my favorite line from "Dick Tracy") Is the spider mad at me like the cat? Years ago right as we were walking out the door to take the cat to the vet to have him declawed, a mouse literally jumped into our house (over me). The mouse successfully evaded all traps and the cat refused to chase it. I think the cat was mad at me for having him declawed.

And by the way, how did the fly get in my room. The door is closed all the time. The windows are closed all the time. Did the spider gnaw a hole in the ceiling and put out the welcome mat?

I don't think four hours of sleep is very good for you. But it was a really good book.

I Can't Wait

I can't wait for April to be over--I do not like the picture on my Kincaid Calender and I really want to change it.

I can't wait for all the stuff I have to do to fix the house to be done so that I can start planning for the stuff I want to do to fix up the house.

I can't wait for my vacation to finally be here.

I can't wait for this long list of boring stuff I have to do to be done, so I can be ready for the fun stuff.

I can't wait for the next Nora Roberts book--it's been a long time.

I can't wait to start giving speeches out of the Storyteller manual--it looks really fun, but all the spots for giving speeches are filled for the next month and we have a lot of new members who need the practice.

I can't wait to clean my office--separate, eliminate and organize, my heros.

Loss Leader

Apparently this you don't need willpower is a loss leader to get you to read the book, because the next chapter says, no bad self talk. Saying you have no willpower is a self fulfilling prophecy and apparently a bad thing. Don't be afraid of a little positive affirmation. No, Dr. Phil says, he doesn't mean "think thin" and then he goes on to describe thinking about yourself as thin (or as he says the person you are supposed to be--I read thin). He's very big on reality--get real--you have your "get real" weight. Of course when you actually look at the charts, your real weight is still pounds and pounds away, but reality, that's the ticket.

Since reality is soooo important, sports are going back up on the shelf. I won't say that I can't do sports, that would be negative self fulfilling prophecy talk and we know that's bad. We'll just say that putting sports up on a shelf will give me something to reach for. Baby steps ("What About Bob" was on a lot last week). First I'll walk and then I'll run and then we'll see.

It's not willpower

Thank goodness. I've used up all my willpower and the cupboard is empty. I'm reading Dr. Phil again because my weight is inching up and he says, losing weight forever does not depend on willpower. You know how sometimes you are so broke that you can't even add up the pennies to buy a hamberger at McDonalds, well that's the state of my willpower bank--it is all spent--there's not even dust at the bottom of the purse. It's time to kick it to the next level. I think that means sports. I've never been too good at sports. Too bad giving speeches doesn't use up a lot of calories.

$$mold$$

I called a mold remediation place and said, I have mold, can you fix it?
Do you have a mold report they asked?
No, but I know I have mold, can you fix it?
You need a report or we don't know what to fix.
I can tell you, it's in the wall.
We need a report--call Expensive Company and get a report and then we'll tell you if we can fix it.
So I called Expensive Company and they said, we can give you a very limited (sign this four page contract so that we can enforce just how limited) report for $520.
I already know I have mold in that wall.
We have to do very expensive test.
Ok, ok, do your very expensive test--give me the minimum, let me sign the very long contract limiting your liability to zero. [I asked the guy if he had ever read the very long contract he made me sign, while he was looking annoyed as I actually started to read it and he said no.]

I just got a 25 page report. There's only about five sentences that have anything to do with my house and guess what--there's mold in the wall. Lots and lots of mold. But no mold in the air in the house, just in the wall. Yea! I successfully contained the mold in the wall and I'm all set.
NO, NO, NO says the very expensive company, you need to remove that wall and take out the mold.
Can't they just put some holes in the wall and zap the mold with radiation or something?
NO, NO, NO says the very expensive company, you have to remove the whole wall and get rid of the mold.
How do I know that's the only place with mold and that it is just one wall that needs to be removed?
You don't, we'll have to conduct some more very expensive tests.

Competent Toastmaster

I finished my 10th speech in Toastmaster and won the Best Speaker award and made people think about their ideas about the Death Penalty. The next level of the speech contest that I am in with my "Buy Girl Scout Cookies" speech is next Wednesday. The next level is in May in Burbank and the final level (I haven't figured out how many levels there are in between) is in Hawaii. I have to pay my own way, but if I win all the way to that point, I'm going. (I hope it's not the same weekend as the New York trip I'm in a contest for).

Once you complete 10 speeches, then you go on to earning a Bronze award--10 more speeches in formats that you pick from different books. I chose the storyteller booklet and the humorous speech booklet as my next levels. I remember right after college, I had this big let down that I wasn't working for grades any longer--I missed that feedback (of A's). This trophy and award stuff is almost as good--it's not an A, but it's pretty nice feedback.

How busy can I be?

I have nothing planned for this weekend or next and my week next week is very light. Except for the Babe Hermann baseball tournament. And getting a few things out for ABWA. And I should read my student's essays--I mean I gave them all a participation grade, but they would probably appreciate it a little more if I actually read them. But really, I have nothing to do. So it's time to tackle that list of things to do. I can clean the ceiling in the kitchen--how hard can it be to lift those panels out and hose them off. True, there will be insullation all over the place, but really two years is a long time to have really dirty ceilings. And the filters need to be changed and the recycling should go out and the back porch needs to be swept and I have to check for standing water. Oh, I should check the roof too. And since I have nothing to do, I'll take the car in for a check up--it's been running funny. I think that last battery change was treating the symptom and not the problem. And since I'm over there I'll do some shopping--the price of diet coke is escallating to rival gas prices. Hey, I could read a book--I have six just waiting to be cracked open. Oh, and I'd really like to do some spring cleaning. I could make a list for every room. It would be so nice to go into the cupboard and have everything in order. Wouldn't that be fun, to put the kitchen in alphabetical order. Out of the corner of my eye I can see my PTA bag and I'm remembering that I never sent back the reflections entries--I really ought to do that since I have nothing to do. And my taxes--I think it's almost time for taxes. And then there's my really long list at the office. And my long list of home repairs--I'm laughing--I'm not doing any home repairs. My friend who is a property manager gave me the names of her people, handy man, painter, etc. It's just a matter of making some phone calls. Maybe this weekend--I have nothing to do.

30 and counting

My house is getting to the point in which I must hire someone to take care of all the little things that have been falling by the wayside. The termite guy said the trim must be painted, so we'll start with that. I thought it might be a good idea to make a list of all the things that I am aware of that need to be done--not because I am an expert or anything, but I've noticed things here and there that I think to myself, if I was one of those HGTV people, I'd fix that. The list has thirty things on it. Only a couple are pipe dreams (heater for my bathroom--never going to happen my friend). Some are getting rather imparative--check ceiling in laundry room. It's turning yellow and I just don't think that's a good thing. New screen for the crawl space. Every worker or inspecter who goes under the house complains about the screen for the crawl space. I stapled a large fed ex envelope to the frame of the screen (that's all torn out) to keep critters out. To me it was an inovative solution--those envelopes are impossible to rip--but to the rest of the planet it's a bandaid that's falling off. To each person who's complained I've asked who would create a new screen for the crawl space--who do I call to do that job. They've each said that I could do it myself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. (Do you remember that comedy act, Mom?) If anyone of them had wanted to earn a quick $100, I gladly would pay it.

Adam wants to built a structure in the back yard and get a pool table. I'm not sure that is feasible, but the plan is knocking its way around our house. He also wants to knock down the outside wall to his room and make it bigger. There's another pipe dream--never going to happen my friend. My plan is to build a kitchenette in the sitting room, take out the bathtub and have a walkin shower and put a washer/dryer in my bathroom. Then take out the door to the other part of the house and have my own house in the back. Pipe dreams--they're fun sometimes.