House of Zathras

…buys his teen daughter a brand-new Mercedes to drive to school? To park in a lot full of crazy teenagers who can’t drive worth a shit?

An idiot whose daughter drives the aforementioned Mercedes which my newly-licensed daughter hit in that high school parking lot.

*sigh*

Don’t get me wrong…I’m very grateful I have a job. A job, aside from the regulations, that I do enjoy. Working with my students on most days brings a smile to my face.

But it effin’ pisses me off when people think teaching is a ‘cushy’ job. Work 8 to 3:30, several holidays and summer vacations. Nothing to it, right? God, how I wish!!!

If you think that, then I DARE you to spend a week with a teacher. I won’t get into the minutiae yet. I’ll be doing that as the school year progresses.

Today was officially the ‘first’ day back at school for teachers. But in the previous two weeks, I’ve put close to 40 hours into preparation for the school year. 40 UNPAID hours. One ‘regular joe’ work week WITHOUT pay. Would you do that for your job? No over time, no comp time, just time GIVEN to my job. This week I’ll probably work 10-15 ‘extra’ hours on top of the contracted hours. Before the students even come back. When they do come back next week, I won’t be leaving at ‘quittin’ time’. There’s always so much to do. Tonight, for instance, I spent two hours online completing mandatory training for safety, security, and sexual harassment awareness requirements.

Yeah, I could work the contracted hours and no one could say anything.

But it’s not enough for me. Because my job is just not about me…it’s about children. About helping them to become more, become better, to grow up. It’s an awesome, fearsome, and happy responsibility.

And for anyone who thinks that kind of responsibility requires no thought or preparation is a sorry-ass loser. Yeah, I called you a name. Puerile of me, wasn’t it? But that’s the only credit an ignorant detractor deserves. Sure, there are lousy teachers out there…sucking at the union’s tit and whining about their Viagra. But most teachers aren’t like that…there are jerks in every job type. You always remember the jerks, right, not the quiet workers who day after day effectively do what they’re supposed to do. And don’t go by teachers you had in school…you were looking at them through a kid’s eyes. Go back, volunteer for a week, and see it from a teacher’s perspective. A grown-up perspective. If I’m willing to give so much ‘extra’ time, surely you can too since teaching is such a ‘cush’ job, right?

And as it’s the beginning of the school year, I do want to thank you parents out there who send your kids ready to learn. You read to them, talked with them (instead of on your cell phone), set routines, and taught them how to behave in public. Parents are the first and MOST IMPORTANT teachers a child can ever have. You set the standard for their future learning. Thank you for giving them expectations that will make wonderful students and even better adults.

Now, I’m off to have my chocolate wine and then to bed, since I have to get up before the crack of dawn. Good-night.

Thank you ALL for your prayers and thoughts…it turns out Goob has mononucleosis…that’s right, folks, the KISSING disease, lol!

Actually, there’s not much lol in reality. He has to watch his physical activity for awhile (because his spleen is at increased risk of a rupture), which will affect his duty status. And he can’t kiss anyone, or share utensils or drinking containers or food, etc., for SIX MONTHS!!! IF he hadn’t been kissing (and other things!!!) he probably wouldn’t have gotten this disease. Maybe religious edicts seem restrictive…but for the most part they can keep you hale and hearty, both physically and mentally! Think about it, Goob!

Poor Goob…life keeps knocking him down. He needs to think about the path he’s choosing that keeps throwing up these warning signs…slow down and smell the roses…just don’t go kissing them.

Our Goob is being taken to the hospital in Korea as I write this…they originally thought he might have strep, but it’s not. There’s some kind of lump and bleeding in his throat. Abscess??? Who knows…just please send out good vibes.

Talk about feeling helpless…we can’t just drive there to be with him. Dammit.

I’ve been feeling very maudlin lately. I hate reading any kind of news because it’s just so damn depressing. I’m feeling overwhelmed with ‘normal’ life, too, with bills and kids and what-all.

So I’m trying something that might help at least for a little while. I’m trying to alleviate my blues with some blueberries. I just went out and picked some off our one bush. It had rained last night so the berries were freshly-washed…little drops of water cupped around the plump bottom of each berry. Hey…I said they were ‘fresh’!

And now I’m going to make some blueberry-pecan waffles and hope the scrumptiousness eases the blues for awhile.

And as for ‘scrumptious’, I just LOVE this video…the girl is only 27 months old:

I posted before about taking my daughter to New Orleans to try out for American Idol. We’ll be going with a friend whose daughter is also trying out. Fortunately, they have a friend in Mississippi who’ll be letting us use their condo while we’re there…just under an hour away from NO. That’s one big cost off of our backs! Plus, we’ll be able to cook some of our own food.

I just dread the process itself.

My niece is pregnant with her first child, who is not due until August.

She is in the hospital today…already dilated to three cm. The baby needs a little more time to develop stronger lungs and what-all…

Thank you….

****************UPDATE***************

Thank y’all! My niece may be sent home on bed rest today…she’s dilated and still having some irregular contractions, but the doctor thinks she can go home. Every day she can make it means the baby is one day stronger…

****************UPDATE #2***************

Her water broke…baby’s coming today…..

THIS is what the oil spill really looks like…watch the ugliness as it roils and splashes ashore, just a few miles south of my home. This is people’s lives being destroyed. A way of life disappearing.

The guy who uploaded this video commented that he had to stop filming because a woman behind him started crying. I feel like crying, too.

We just got our property valuation yesterday…with the economic downturn, it dropped 30 grand. And it will drop even more next year after this oil mess has been here a year.

My husband works for a company that depends heavily on tourism dollars. I teach in Florida, which depends heavily on tourism dollars to help fund education.

We are facing some scary times. And Obama isn’t DOING shit about it. To him, it’s not about the people…it’s how to manipulate this tragedy into a means of increased taxation and regulation…if it had been about the people and the environment, he would have accepted the offer of the skimmers (from Holland, I believe) early, early on. No, he could care less, as he demands billions more in emergency funds for more ‘stimulus’ that didn’t work the first time! And where will that money come from? Our INCREASED taxes, of course. Way to help us in this economic downfall, asshole!

Damn you, Obama. Damn you, BP. And damn you environmentalists with your smug, gleeful, superiority over this happening. It’s partly your fault that a necessary resource had to be searched for in such deep waters…what glee can there be in the destruction of not just the environment, but people’s livelihoods? I don’t see Obama doing one fucking thing to FIX the problem. A REAL FUCKING LEADER would stop pointing his finger and FIX the problem, no matter WHO caused it! I don’t care if Bush was the worst president ever…you, Barry, are the president NOW! So get off your skinny ass and do something about it. Or your legacy won’t be as the first black president. Your legacy will be the first black president who didn’t do shit when disaster literally hit our shores. There are thousands, if not millions, of Gulf Coast residents who are wondering if they’ll have jobs in the upcoming months…and YOU are off golfing and having dinner parties! What kind of legacy of black achievement is that? You sure as hell are no champion of hope and change. From where I sit, so near the tragedy, you are acting just like you accused Bush of acting. Lackadaisical, inept, and an arrogant disappointment to the people who believed in you, believed that you were different, believed that you could bring change. From where I sit, you are using the Presidency as your throne of ideological narcissism. You only get off your ass long enough to have a photo op squatting in the wet sand. You’re making Bush’s ‘Katrina’ mess merely look like ice cream falling off of the cone.

As a President, you sir are a miserable, sad, and distinct failure of hope. How’s that for a legacy for the first ‘black’ President. Shame on you for disgracing your heritage and the office of President this way.

With BP announcing today that it’s not paying out their quarterly dividends, it’s not too much of a stretch to eventually imagine their filing bankruptcy of some sort. Therefore, all the people whose jobs along the coast will be affected aren’t going to receive any kind of monetary compensation. Business will forfeit mortgages as the tourism rates dwindle. My property values will be sinking with this current oil mess. The coastline and wildlife will be affected for years to come.

So, since the Gulf is pretty much screwed anyway, let’s make it the official ‘drilling’ area of the US. Get whatever oil we can while we research and develop alternative VIABLE energy sources (around 30 – 40 years based on the reports I’ve heard). If this area is already f***ed up because of the oil, why not go hell-bent for leather and drill even more for ourselves. Provide numerous jobs to replace the ones we’ve lost, and lower the cost of oil and help the economy in the process. Relax the dependency we have on foreign oil and DO something for OUR economy.

My heart aches because of what I see happening to the sugar-white sands I grew up on…the oil hasn’t been stopped from the BP mess…if it’s going to be a disaster that takes years to ‘fix’, let’s at least get something more than hand wringing from ‘concerned’ politicians and businessmen.

I hate this shit.

Especially for Buck.

He is in the middle of cleaning his room (no electronical anything until it’s done!). Or should I say, excavating!!! But we’re working on some organizational methods and ways for him to find space for his belongings.

Currently he has a dirty clothes hamper that is divided into three parts: one section for pants, one for shirts, and one for anything else. He asked for a bigger one.

Me: Why?

Buck: This one is too small. I can’t fit much stuff into it.

Me: You know that once a section is filled, that’s the size of a load and you should go wash whatever is in that section, right?

Buck: *blink, blink*

Me: You can’t keep stuffing it full. It’s now why you have five garbage bags of dirty laundry. Tell you what, I’ll take you to a laundromat and you can get them all done at once.

Buck: NO! I’ll do it HERE!!!! (footnote: Buck doesn’t like unfamiliar places…he gets slightly agoraphobic.)

Me: Okay…but it will probably take you two or three days to get this all done and put up properly. And remember, no electronics till it’s all done!

Buck: Fine! We’ll go to a laundromat!

Me: And in the future, you have to do your laundry when each section gets full in the hamper.

Buck: *grumble*

Heh. Wait till he joins the Marines.

Speaking of which, the CO of his Young Marines unit is taking 7 or 8 boys for a week at Parris Island! I always knew Marines were the bravest of the brave, but driving that many sweaty, antzy, know-it-all teen boys on a 8+ hour trip??? That deserves some kind of medal!

Slowly but surely you’re taking away the livelihoods of so many people here…the fishing industry…the tourist industry…which means a loss of thousands of related jobs, possibly even my husband’s.

I don’t begrudge a company making money. Even companies that make ungodly amounts of money do it while making many jobs available. But are you going to give jobs to all these newly unemployed people? Are you going to revive an ecosystem when it is destroyed?

All because you skipped around some safety features.

And the Obama administration…wtf do you mean by being ‘on top’ of this disaster? You’ve given nothing but lip service. You haven’t really done ANYTHING to ‘fix’ this problem. Take that finger you’ve been pointing at everyone else and shove it up your nose. It would be put to better use there, because I don’t see where it’s made anything else better.

I live in a beautiful part of the world. The coast has always been a part of my life…the timeless beckoning of the waves calls to me and refreshes my soul. The heat and humidity couldn’t chase me away. The hurricanes couldn’t chase me away. But now we face a serious economic downturn…property values could drop, which won’t mean shit when the unemployment rate rises anyway.

My little corner of the world is being sullied. And I hold BP and the Obama administration equally responsible for fixing it. Blame Bush in one hand and crap in the other and see which gets results first.

The slick is edging ever closer. It’s not like a hurricane, after which we can rebuild. It’s killing the ecosystem. An acquaintance of mine recently pulled up 40 pounds of tarballs after going out in the Gulf in his kayak. That’s seeping in ahead of the body of the slick.

“And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood….

And a third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life died; and a third part of ships were destroyed…..” Revelations Chapter 8 verses 8 and 9:

I don’t always give credence to Revelations…after all, it can be twisted to apply to any situations, just as Nostradamus’s quatrains can. Relevant prophecy or not, it’s a man-made disaster. And certain men need to do something about it.

Just fix it, BP and Obama. That’s your jobs. That’s your responsibility. You owe it to people and the environment. Get serious and get it done. You can’t wash your hands of this mess. Even if Bush is to blame, he’s not ‘in power’ anymore. YOU ARE. So act like it.

So after I wrote the previous post, I went to the Church to do some praying. I lit a candle in front of St. Joseph, asking for his intervention. St. Joseph put his faith in God in marrying a pregnant Mary and helping to rear his stepchild. I prayed that I might find through his example the acceptance of Goob’s situation, and be able to give the support and guidance a young couple would need.

I left, feeling humbled and a little more at peace. Got in my car, turned it on, and a song came on the radio (shit you not!):

(more…)

Seems that Little Miss is planning on returning to Korea. Quitting her job and school over here, packing up as of this minute, and returning to Korea.

I’ve asked Goob (via chat on FB) if they’re married or going to be married when she gets there…silence from him.

We think they’re already married but scared to tell us. Like we could do anything about it.

Okay…I will admit that I ran off and got married the first time (but I did have a legitimate wedding date planned, flowers ordered, dress bought, that kind of stuff. So it wasn’t a surprise about the marriage itself.) But at least I stayed in school. In the back of my mind, I knew that I should always have something to fall back on. And I joined the National Guard. And my dad still paid for my school. So I wasn’t a helpless burden and obligation.

These two want to pretend that they didn’t have a MAJOR argument about some serious issues. Issues that can’t be worked out with some good sex. Issues that can’t be worked out with ‘we talked about it and everything’s okay now’. No, these issues are something that take time and counseling and patience and PRACTICE to not necessarily resolve…but to learn how to deal with repercussions.

But I guess Korea is full of rainbow-farting unicorns that make everything better.

They think we don’t understand and they want to prove us wrong…dear God, for their sakes I would love to be proven wrong. I would so dearly love to see one of those unicorns.

Some of you have been following the saga of the Goobster and his on-again, off-again fiancee…have to think about a blog-name for her.

She’s over in Korea right now…they’ve already had one or two knock-down, drag-out fights. She didn’t like what I said (after dragging me into it), and ‘defriended’ me on Facebook.

Then on Goob’s FB there’s a picture of an engagement ring.

And silence now. We’re wondering if they are in the middle of trying to get married over there.

In love with love. May God bless them both.

BR recently, reluctantly, went to the doctor. For a full check-up. The kind men don’t like to talk about. But the doctor is very good, very thorough, and included some blood tests.

Turns out BR needs to take a thyroid medication (seems his is out of whack, probably due to a serious head injury he suffered as a young man).

And he’s lost about five pounds since he started taking it.

No fair. No effin FAIR!!!! Why can’t I take a pill and lose weight? No, if I want to lose weight, I have to hop on the treadmill every damn day…he gets to take a pill then go sit down and play a computer game and lose weight while doing that! It’s not fair.

I have some serious questions for God if I get to heaven…about the differences between men and women. Gaahhhh…..

Especially if you live in the Bible Belt…do NOT go to Wal-Mart after noon on Sundays. You must get up early (like I did, not even taking the time to shower, because I would need to go a week or so without showering before I would stand out among some of the wafting odors there) to beat the Protestants who get out of church around noon. It is a mad-house of polyester pant-suits and mile-high bee-hive hair dos, all frowning at you because you’re not dressed in your Sunday best. (Excuse me, I went to Church last night…one of the benefits of being Catholic, following the old Jewish tradition of sundown being the beginning of the next day…you know, the Jewish tradition that Jesus followed??? Ahem.). And even after the Protestant crowd clears out (the Catholics went after Mass on Saturday evening, so they could get stocked up on beer to drink all Saturday night and not have to worry about getting up on Sunday to go to Church with a hangover), then you get a run of families with school-aged children, trying to get whatever they need for school lunches, socks, underwear, cupcakes for birthdays, whatever.

So if you must go to Wal-Mart on a Sunday, go before noon. It’s the only safe way.

P.S. To all the desperate ‘immigrants’ from south of the border: Maybe in Mexico it’s okay to rip open a box of ice cream bars and eat them while blocking the aisles and before you pay for them, but it’s not okay here. Until you pay for it, it’s theft. Don’t make us go Arizona on your ass.

Sometimes, you just have to go with what calls out to you.

Other times, you have to go with what’s available.

And when you find out that you don’t get your planning break for two days in a row due to Field Day events (the only teacher thus affected), and the principal basically says ‘tough shit’…you don’t care what’s available…just as long as something is.

Thus, cake and beer. To celebrate that I might not get a piss break during the day.

Work sucked today. I didn’t feel right, even getting the ‘shakes’ for part of the day. It was a really weird feeling.

As I finally started home I felt better and better. The further away I got from work, the better I felt.

At home, I started perusing the news sites and found the reason I felt so bad…Janet Napolitano was at the Navy base that is about five miles due south of my workplace…you can’t be that close to something so wretched and not feel it….

Yeah, I’m off to go shower now.

He’s been sleeping in the recliner in the living room because it helps him to breathe better sitting up. He dozes, watching tv on and off.

So the tv was set to whatever channel he last watched. When I turned on the tv this morning, up came the ‘Lifetime’ channel. You know…the man’s fault channel. Just about every movie on there has as its premise ‘it’s all the man’s fault for the woman’s trials and tribulations’. We hate that channel.

BR must have been running a higher fever than I realized…

Let’s say a young person makes very good grades at school, is involved with church, and is polite and well-mannered in his extracurricular activities.

But at home he: is surly; won’t do chores; gets royally pissed off when reminded to do said chores; pouts in bed and goes to sleep because he’s ‘exhausted and needs a nap’ instead of doing chores; wakes up when told friends are here to play with him (then is told ‘April Fool’, you’re friends really aren’t here, just wanted to see how tired you really are); gets pissed off when someone says NICELY that she cleaned up after herself so he wouldn’t have his regular kitchen chores to do but he was welcome to the bacon and eggs; won’t set his alarm to get up in time for school and/or other activities thus getting pissed off when someone turns on his bedroom light to wake him up (better than a glass of cold water poured on him); plays on the computer or watches tv while ignoring chores; goes and plays with friend for hours without telling where he is going which also results in hungry animals who expect to be fed by a certain time; wants to shoot his bb gun in a friend’s back yard which is surrounded by other homes, but it’s okay because they’ll put a board behind the target; leaves the gate unlatched on his way to school because he’s running late to catch the bus and the dogs get out; wears his boots on the carpet even though he has said ‘okay’ the umpteen times he has been reminded not to; leaves notes from a girl out on the carpet and then gets pissed when someone else finds it and puts it on the fridge for the whole household to see but can’t see the correlation to NOT leave his belongings spread out on the living room floor; expects to have a Marine-style haircut at 10:00 PM the night BEFORE his Young Marine meeting even after being told to ask earlier in the week if he needed it; getting pissed off at 9:00 PM the night before a YM meeting to find that he can’t wash his uniform because someone else is doing laundry even though he was reminded earlier in the week to wash his uniform because he is home several hours before others and has time to do his laundry but instead watches tv and plays on computer; and some other things that he hasn’t realized that I’m aware of but won’t repeat here; etc, etc, etc.

Yes, there are consequences. All those things add up to someone who can’t be trusted to stay a week at home alone during the day…when there are other kids in the neighborhood also on Spring Break, and bored kids lead to mischief, especially when one can’t monitor oneself for trustworthiness. So, this poor kid has to stay with grandparents during the week so he can be ‘babysat’. He’ll be helping out with chores around their house…but he MIGHT get to go fishing, too.

I hate that we can’t leave him alone for a week…but there are some chances that just aren’t worth taking.

…Why?

Because both BR and Princess No are home sick.

They’ll regret it, however. Because I’m watching my British drama from Netflix.

Take that, you fools, for daring to interrupt my Spring Break.

And next year…next year I’m not announcing my Spring Break till it’s over.

Just how many emails should one have? I have one for work, one for home, one for my blog, one for Facebook, and at least four others that I use for ‘anonymous’ commenting and/or using to comment on newspaper-type articles. And the other day, while going through some paperwork, I found another one I had forgotten about.

People used to be sent to the funny-farm for having that many identities.

It’s not the world I grew up in. I was thinking this morning that my kids have never experienced a full-service gas station. Or had the passion of waiting for Saturday morning to watch the cartoons (which I had to miss the three years I was in non-parochial school, because it meant I had to go to CCD on Saturday morning). Or being able to be gone in the neighborhood all day and no one had to worry. Or having to wait until Christmas to see ‘Rudolph’ and ‘Frosty’ and the like.

My grandparents would not recognize this world. And often, I simply don’t want to recognize it. Eight friggin’ emails. Why?

…in the hands of a teenaged girl…is a very, very scary thing.

Especially since she’s a tiny little thing, learning on a big ol’ SUV.

But I’m putting on my best face and trying to find whatever humor I can.

Like having her drive into the Church parking lot and go past the youth director who is talking to one of the little old Church ladies. And pressing my face and hands against the window, mouthing ‘Help Me!’.

And again at the Church parking lot, when an older gentleman of our acquaintance sees Princess No driving, and he acts like he can’t figure out which way to run, waving his hands in the air like a maniac. Princess No gets freaked out that I’m laughing when she can’t figure out which way to go around the guy.

Or laughing my ass off when Princess No can’t see if she’s made it between the parking space lines and bonks her head on the rolled-up window trying to check it out.

Yeah…it’s a wild ride. But so far, at speeds far below the limit.

Dreaming about hordes of invading zombies one night…and then nukes going off in New Jersey another night.

Maybe I should drink more before I go to sleep.

Seems Pvt. Goob is getting married. In August.

How did we find out?

On Facebook. A comment that I caught in passing.

*sigh*

Princess No is the ONLY loser who has to wait after school on a Friday for her MOM to pick her up! Everyone else has a place to go and cool things to do and Mom just doesn’t understand! HRH has to wait until Mom gets off work which means she has to wait almost a half-hour when everyone else zips away to a weekend of fun and friendship! Oh, the world is ending and Mom doesn’t understand!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Yes, there have been changes at the non-virtual HoZ. Changes in habits.

For example, last Friday I sat everyone down for a family meeting. I laid down a few rules about house cleaning. On Mondays, everyone would clean their bedrooms. On Tuesdays, dust and vacuum those rooms. Wednesdays would be for cleaning another assigned room, and Thursdays are for dusting and vacuuming those rooms. Fridays are for cleaning bathrooms. (Chores are already in place daily for cleaning the kitchen.) When you get home from work/school you may have a snack, but no tv or computer time until the cleaning is finished. If we can be regular at this, it would leave the weekends freer and less stressful.

Well, Buck was pouty. I pointed out that he had that whole weekend to adjust, and then the new plan would start on Monday. Yes, he had an extremely messy room, but he could at least get started on laundry and not have so much to face on Monday.

He did nothing. Monday came (bedroom-cleaning day). Since Buck leaves for school after us and gets home before us, I took the precaution of disconnecting the internet and locking the remote to the satellite service in my room. (He could change channels manually, of course, but he won’t stoop to that!) I came home, and he lay sleeping on his bed. I woke him up and reminded him of his responsibilities (nearly breaking my neck crossing the crap in his room to get to his bed!), but didn’t say anything further. No computer/tv for Buck that night.

Tuesday came (bedroom dusting and vacuuming day). When I got home, Buck had still done nothing, and was once again laying on his bed. Princess No and I got busy and finished with our chores. Then I left to have dinner with BR (thank you for the wonderful steaks, darling!), and Princess No got on the computer. As I left, Buck asked when I would be home. I told him I wasn’t sure, but I would be home by 10:00 (on school nights he does have to get off tv/computer by 9:00 anyway). I barely got to BR’s before Buck was calling, begging, pleading to please, please let him get on the computer (Facebook and withering crops in Farmville were calling him apparently) and he would promise to get all his work done.

I simply said, “No”, each time he asked. He finally gave up.

Wednesday came (cleaning the ‘extra’ assigned room; in Buck’s case, the living room where he’s pretty much the only one to watch tv). Princess No and I got home a little later than usual. But when we got home, Buck had cleaned, dusted, and vacuumed the living room, doing Thursday’s work one day early.

Can I have a “Hallelujah!!!”?

How can this be? It was colder here today than in Antarctica!!! Yes, yes, I know that it’s summer in that hemisphere, but it’s Antarctica! It was 35 degrees there, and 32 here! WTF?

Did I mention I hate cold weather?

Got a notification of our homeowner’s insurance renewal today.

$1100.00-that’s how much it went UP!!!! And we didn’t even get an effin’ hurricane this year!

FML.