Speaking of trips...

I like the Pomp and Circumstance...I graduated from APU on Saturday. It was the pretty typical graduation: unbearable heat under a black cap and gown made more unbearable by the prolonged speeches of people who like to hear themselves talk. It actually went by pretty fast. It was a nice ceremony and I ceremoniously made my grand exit from Azusa Pacific getting my heal caught in some cables as I returned to my seat after receiving my "diploma." Everyone's biggest fear, but I thought it was funny. And at least it didn't happen on the stage.

My trip to the ER and other fun stuff

This morning started out like the usual Monday morning. (Where did the weekend go?) So I'm on my way to work, la la la, getting off at my exit off I-10, innocently reach in to my purse to get my phone to call Ben to tell him about the road rage incident I just had (more on that later), when I feel something stab me through my pinky finger nail. I let out a yelp, pull my hand back to find blood gushing out. The pain is excruciating, but I expect it subside, which it never does. I get a napkin to absorb the blood and put pressure on my wound, but the pain gets worse and worse. I somehow managed to get myself a mile down to my school parking lot, all while still screaming and crying in pain.

I get out of my car and call a fellow teacher and friend over to examine me. She says it looks like a splinter right through my nail. She walks me to the nurse's office (nurse isn't in until 7:30 and it's 7:00). A couple of people try to get the thing out with some tweezers, to no avail. By now, my entire arm is in pain and they tell me to go to the ER.

So off I go. I call Ben and he tells me to pick him up (we live close to San Antonio MC, so I don't even have to side track). I check in and get seen within 20 minutes. The doctor numbs my hand, which quickly balloons up, but at least the pain is gone...for now. When he finally starts digging out the thing (which we thought was metal, maybe a staple) he has a hard time getting to it. He thinks he got it all out, but it seems to have broken up during the "surgery" so it may be out completely or not. The pain returns, I get discharged with a prescription for antibiotics, and am left to wonder what the Hell stabbed me. I have nothing in my purse that could have caused such a fiasco. Nothing...my cellphone, wallet, eyeliner, mirror, nail clippers, lipstick, Chap Stick, classroom keys. That's it.


So I am placing the blame on the A-HOLE on the freeway. He must be a witch and have had such animosity toward me for honking at him, that he performed some kind of voodoo curse on me.

I was in the far left lane minding my own business when this jerk, without signaling, decides to casually merge into my lane, with hardly an inch of distance between us. I honk thinking maybe he's still asleep. How dare I!!! He slows down to 60 mph in the fast lane, perhaps to get his revenge on me for honking. Still, I maintain my distance and merge onto the next lane to get past him. The sonofabitch cuts off the person I got behind and slams his brakes! I think he wanted me to rear end this person. I slam on my brakes and get back into the fast lane...and so does he! Can you believe this guy? He is so pissed off at me for honking that he is willing to wreck his brand new Lexus and maybe kill someone (especially me) over it! My God! I slow down to get as far away as I can and make my way over to the far right lane...good riddance. I am beyond disbelief.

At my exit, I stop at the red light and that is when the finger-stabbing debacle occurs. What a morning. So I am off from work today and am thanking the Vicodin Gods. The pain has been killed and I feel like I'm floating in the clouds.

It's finally over...

Working on my master's degree and PPS credential has consumed my life for almost two years now. As of yesterday, I have completed my required 600 hours of internship service. It is a huge weight off my shoulders. I cannot emphasize my relief enough.

This degree is something I never thought I could do; much less maintain a 4.0 through it all. I could never have done it without the support of the most important people in my life. I did it mainly to continue making my mom proud, wherever she is. I had told her I was going back to school for a master's and I kept my word. She would be so proud today.

On my graduation day (May 3) I will be holding her picture close to my heart as I receive my hood.

It's very gratifying

I have always been a procrastinator. I even procrastinated since my last blog entry, promising myself to do it tomorrow, and then putting it off.

Well, I must say it is very gratifying when I actually follow through with something and get it done. I found that making a plan and sticking to it without excuses yields positive results.

This week, I forced myself to get things done and when I did, I literally felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. I did my homework, I graded papers, updated my students' grades, made a lesson plan (quite an accomplishment for me), and called my relatives. It feels good not having all of that looming over my head, knowing that I am coming down to the wire and leaving myself almost no room for flexibility. Even the calling relatives part. Every day, I tell myself to call my dad and my aunt, but put it off. Now that I have done it, I can sleep easier.

So, why don't I do what I have to do more often? I'll never know. I just have to remind myself how good it feels to get things done...and how pissed I get at myself when I fail to do something.




While I'm at it, I have to congratulate myself also for sticking to that God-awful diet. I've lost 5 lbs in the week since starting it. Less than a week to go before I get my carbs back!

God Bless Dr. Arthur Agatston

Lately I have come to realize that I have gained too much weight and must stop my bad eating habits. We've started going to the gym once a week (hey, it's a start), but we need to quit making excuses to eat pure junk.

So, here we go, embarking on another South Beach Diet Phase One journey. We set off on Sunday and hopefully can hang with the torture of salad after boring salad for two solid weeks. The results will be worth it, but try convincing me of that every day at lunch!

I am currently weighing in at 141 lbs and a whopping 36.9% BMI. YIKES! No wonder I can't fit in to any my clothes! I am considered obese, according to those medical calculators.

My goal is to drop to130 lbs with a 25 BMI. Wish me luck. I will post my progress when it is evident.

This is me...

I've enjoyed reading other people's blogs and figured, maybe someone out there will care what have to say, so here we go...

My life is not very exciting. I am a middle school teacher, a graduate student at Azusa Pacific University, and the rest of the time I am Ben's wife. I have never really believed in the concept of "soul mates," but if they exist, he is the closest thing I have to one.

We've been married since July 2, 2005 and have 2 cats. We bought our first home last Summer, which I finally got around to painting. I am having great difficulty with the decor, as I have no eye for what matches and what doesn't. I could never make it as an interior decorator.

Anyway, after a tough first 2 years of marriage, Ben and I finally feel like we are where we want and need to be. I lost my mom 3 months after our wedding and spent much of my time between September '05 and January '07 trying to keep my dad from falling apart. He's female-dependent, so when he found a companion last year to fill that void in his life I was able to focus my energy back on keeping me and my marriage from falling apart. We have been through Hell and back, so there is no crisis that we will not be able to endure after all of this.

I know my mother is at peace now that I have fulfilled all the dreams she had for me.Well, okay, I haven't done the baby thing yet, but in due time.