What Is A Place Essay Reflection

This essay was interesting to do. It involves a topic I believe in combined with my personal experience at the World War One Memorial. I have been into military history for as long as I can remember. I even tried to continue my families legacy in the military but was denied due to health issues. My Uncle is mostly in to the wars that shaped America, namely the Revolution and Civil Wars. I am more in to the wars that shaped the world like the First and Second World Wars, and the Wars on Terror.
This essay allowed me to do something no other homework assignment has let me do: connect with family. This essay allowed me an opportunity to interview my Uncle and learn many things I didn't know about and to relive the trips we took to the Museum when I was younger. When you are younger, things that should be important to you usually aren't. But my Uncle has a way of getting them to sink in. I enjoyed the trip to the Memorial, but when he took me to see the Bricks he placed for our family, it really set in what this War meant. It effected everyone everywhere. It was a war that was so much more important and broad than most people realize. As time passes, so do the memories and experiences of those who were there, until all that we have left is silent relics from the past that collect dust unless people like my Uncle take the initiative to make sure they are remembered.
The thing that I found most difficult to do was to document my research. One reason was that there is only one website for the Memorial, and its the official one. Everything else is Wikipedia. I tried to use multiple pages to broaden my citations. I also interviewed my Uncle as well. But having never done a research paper like this before added some challenges. I read and reread my handbook. I hope it makes sense!
I found all but one of my writing groups workshops useless. They all said the same thing, “perfect!” “great detail!”, etc. Only one had any constructive criticism in it. I was able to use it to help my proof reading and add details and break up some run on sentences. I appreciated her help a lot.
I like the workshop for the most part. I try to be helpful but I don't know how helpful I am because no one says anything. They just type up their papers and submit them. I'm guilty of doing the same thing, so I imagine we all are like that in that respect. I sometimes found it tedious, especially if the paper was not interesting to me. It could be a real struggle to not just say “It sucks, get rid of it!”
I am most proud of the details I added to my essay that I got from my Uncle. While tiny details, I feel they added to the importance to the topic and my experiences. To me they tie the paper together and make it not just about me, but my family and how important I feel it is to know the contributions they made for me and the world.

ISIS Inc.

I picked an article by Fox News on the terrorist organization ISIS (actually ISIL). I chose Fox because its mostly all I get what with only having an antenna. ISIS has become a huge story. We first heard about them several months ago trying to take over Iraq from the North, capturing a vital fresh water damn / power plant, and generally being a nuisance. We started bombing missions on ISIS compounds and training camps, carried out by US Fifth and Sixth Fleet. We were told they were just a bunch of pushovers and would be dealt with quickly. Of course, that was not true. We are again spending millions of tax dollars to fight a terrorist group that would rather destroy the lives of innocent people just going about their lives - and our allies in the area (Turkey) don't really want to help. ISIS is not the push over we first thought. They are stealing roughly a million dollars a day in oil, sex slaves, bank deposits, and even from grocers and vendors in the areas they control! If people don't give over money, they are threatened, either by having their homes and businesses damaged, to having relatives kidnapped and killed. The oil is hitting the black market, giving ISIS millions in laundered funds - and eventually a lot of that oil is reaching American shores to be used by us. Its near impossible to track. The best we can hope for its to try to freeze their accounts and assets, and hopefully make it near impossible for ISIS to bank anywhere. I believe this article is trustworthy not because it has Fox News stamped on it ( that does help), but mostly because the Associated Press contributed to the article, meaning most if not all of this information is available to other news outlets.  This is just my opinion, but I believe public opinion is starting to shift again, as I think Obama wishes. He even admitted he and his cabinet and many of our allies underestimated ISIS. We are going from a support role to a more active role against ISIS, possibly with a ground offensive which means more tax dollars spent on another war, and more kids sent to fight - and die. I hope more can be done to avoid another ground war, but we will have to wait and see.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/10/23/us-islamic-state-oil-sales/

Senses Writing

I would rather be at Two Rivers right now. Two Rivers is a mountain bike park situated where the Finley and James Rivers meet south of Nixa. This is where I went on some of my first group rides when I started mountain biking. Its beautiful. Big trees seem to go on forever from where the blue sky meets at the top to the blue waters of the rivers down below. The trail starts going up, never seeming to stop. There is the taste of caramel in the air from the dust that is kicked up by us riding. We would ride for two or three hours, stopping to take a break every now and then. I would drink from my Camelbak looking at a tree that was hit by lightning. You could still smell the chard wood, reminded me of a barbecue. When we started back up we spooked some birds from the trees, screaming in irritation. After a long climb the best part starts- the decent. I would catch myself listening to the air rush through my helmet going downhill and tasting the sweat on my lips as we rode back up. Our bikes are quiet except for the clicking of the freewheel. Its not uncommon to hear and see deer and beavers scamper off as they get startled by me going by. The musky odor from the moss and damp earth grows stronger the closer we get to the bottom of the mountain. You can hear the river flowing and see fish swimming in it. The trail gets faster and faster the farther down we go, switching from worn smooth rock to hard pack dirt and back again. It almost feels like I'm weightless every time I crest a mound. The trees grow a little to close for comfort at times, scraping my elbow as I ride by. The greatness of it is that it always changes. Its never the same. One day you go out and its as hard as can be, you're aching and sweating and the bugs are eating you alive because you forget your bug spray, or the spray gets in your eyes! Another day its seems like the easiest thing in the world and relaxing. The flowers give off a wonderful scent, but the pollen makes me sneeze. The maple trees give of a sweet smell, hinting of the syrup within. The sun setting spreads across the sky and water in a rainbow of color that seems to go on forever. It brings to a close what was a wonderful day. As we ride our bikes down to the parking lot, crunching over the gravel, we see some other riders washing their bikes down from all the dust. We take a break, waiting in line. I wash my bike off, dry it, and re-oil it. Its a weird mixture – oil, sweat, bug spray, and water. But it seems so right together. I take a drink from my Camelbak. The water tastes sweet and fresh, after all the dust I've ingested. The only thing better after a hard ride is a nice cold beer with my friends in the rest area. We sit and chat about our experience until it gets almost too dark to see. We take the signal and head on home, waiting for the next trip.

Mama's Mexican Egg Rolls

Mama’s Mexican Egg Rolls:

Preheat Oil to 325 degrees

Ingredients Needed:

Egg roll wrappers (full package)

1 lb. of Hamburger meat (Tiffany likes to use 73/27, to make as less fat as possible)

1 pk. of taco seasoning (Tiffany likes to use a mild spiced seasoning)

1 pk. of Mexican blended cheese

1 pk. of shredded cabbage blend (includes cabbage, red cabbage and carrots)

Season to taste Ms. Dash Garlic Blend or (whatever spices you might like)

Dipping sauce:

1 container of sour cream

½ a jar of picante sauce (if you like chunky sauce use chunky if not don’t)

(If you are a ketchup person like my girls are, they are really good to eat with just ketchup)

Equipment to use:

Fry Daddy (if you don’t have one pouring oil in a frying pan deep enough for the eggrolls to cook in is good enough.)

Frying pan

Large and medium size mixing bowls

Spatula

Mixing spoon

The Story behind the egg rolls:

Tiffany has two girls and wanted to make something different for them. She got tired of making the same ole’ same ole’ things. So she decided to take an egg roll and taco recipes and combine them. Hoping that her children would like this, Tiffany put in the plan of action to make them. They ate the Mexican eggrolls and they have been a hit ever since then. Both of her girls ask her all the time to make them!!! She made them for a friend’s daughter’s birthday party and every time she goes over there, she is asked to make them as well! It’s funny how just a simple combination of recipes has made a true hit.

How to make the egg rolls:

First of all get a cup of cold water so you can stick your first knuckle of your middle finger and where your pointer finger nail is, to get the wrappers wet to seal them up. Next then smell the hamburger meat and listen to it sizzle as it fries. Then drain the hot grease and add the delicious smelling taco seasoning. After that add all other ingredients (she starts hearing the vegetables break as she starts blending everything with her hands, also feeling the cheese squish between her fingers) and the taco meat in a huge bowl together. You will then take about 3 heaping teaspoons of the taco mixture and fold into an eggroll. Taking your middle and pointer finger and dipping it into the cold water to seal up the wrapper. (Below is a picture of how to make an egg roll if you’re not for sure how to. It says to use egg whites, but you don’t have to, water works just fine.) Making up 3 or 4 at a time will save time just standing watching the egg rolls cook one by one. Then putting 2 or 3 in the fry daddy watching it bubble up the egg roll wrapper as it fries. When the egg rolls are light to golden brown (when floating on top of the oil) they are done. Set them on a plate with paper towels on it to soak up the grease. Next to last while you are frying the egg rolls, you can make the dipping sauce. Just take the sour cream and picante sauce and mix it in a medium size bowl cover with plastic wrap. Stick it in the fridge to keep it cool while finishing the egg rolls or remember if your family likes ketchup you can use that too! Then lastly, chow down on these crunchy homemade Mexican egg rolls that your family will just thrive over and will want you to make them all the time!!!!

This is color of what the eggrolls should look like, if you like them cruncher, then leave them in a little bit longer.

Blog Reflection

Here we are, a month or so after we started our Blogs for class. I got to say as a whole I enjoyed the assignment. In the beginning this assignment was mostly about free writing and learning how to let my thoughts flow onto paper more effectively. As time went on and I learned to let my thoughts, both good and bad, flow, I started to be able to turn the assignment into my own journal. I used the daily Blogs to share what was going on in my life as best I could. Not every day was a good Blog, but I tried to at least hit the base line. Some days I had writers block so I just wrote whatever I managed to get out (mostly complaints about whatever happened that day). My biggest complaint I have and have voiced repeatedly is having to do this daily. It got in the way of other homework, and I believe one reason I turned in my essay late. I was so hung up on getting these posts in I forgot my essay was due. I know, no excuse, but my memory isn't perfect. I can only cram so much in there at a time and retain it. I would have enjoyed it more if it was every other day, or if I could choose to write a post every now and then and tell about what happened between postings, but I understand the necessity of requiring an entry every day - most people wouldn't do the assignment if we could just do it whenever. I wish that my posts were acknowledged by Ms. A and my fellow students more, so it wouldn't feel like I was alone, but I know its impossible for Ms. A to comment on every post. I do believe I have benefited from it though. My fluidity is much better than it was and I am enjoying writing more because of it. I think my essay benefited from this Blog assignment as well. I also have been able to incorporate some of the writing workshop in my writings, such as using long sentences and punctuation better. I will continue to Blog for the rest of the semester. It wont be every day, but I will continue to write. I like being able to share with my class what is going on, even if no one reads it. I think it will continue to help me improve my writing ability if I stay with it. So here ends my last official Blog post. Hurrah!

At a Loss

So I got this assignment in English. I'm supposed to write a story using words provided by everyone in the group. I talked about this in another post. I'm finding I'm having a really hard time with this. The words are so random that its hard to lace them together. One of my classmates did a really good story on working in a call center and how stupid people can be. I could do that about AutoZone but I don't know if I want to do a story that is that similar to hers. But This assignment is due tonight and I don't want to be out all night trying to come up with something. I need to do the brakes on my car and check the power steering before a trip tomorrow and I'm rapidly losing daylight. I think I'm going to take a break and come back to this before it ticks me off even more. It may not be so bad if I knew if the assignments were still worth doing or not since I will probably get a zero for that essay I turned in 12 hours late. Ugh this sucks!

One can dream

One of my friends showed me a video of Danny MacAskill , who is a highly accomplished trails rider. Trials riding is a type of riding where you are to get through an entire course or trail without putting a foot down. So you can imagine how highly skilled these guys are. The movie was mesmerizing. Danny went back to the Isle of Skye, Scotland where he was born and road the Cuillin Ridge line. I am in awe of his skills. I thought I was an OK cyclist, but nothing compared to Danny. It makes me wonder what I a capable of if I try hard enough. Can I bunny hop gaps and turn 180's without touching the ground. Can I jump gaps and hit a trail without bonking. Then the question is, if I could develop those skills, would I be brave enough to try? That's a big question. Self preservation usually trumps all in most of us. But if everyone was concerned with that then we wouldn't have people like Danny in the world. You got to admit, being able to pursue your passion without getting overly caught up in self preservation would definitely make life sweeter. But before you can fly, you gotta drop in off that ledge... Here's to everyone reaching for their dreams!

Forgot to submit an assignment. Great.

So I forgot that my final copy of my essay was due yesterday. I was so busy cramming for business that I forgot. No excuse. So I'm going to get an F for it. I'm already at a 70%. I'm honestly wondering what the purpose is at completing this course. I wont get an A, or even a B with the amount of time left in the semester. I have a couple assignments I can do for 30 points, but 30 points is nothing compared to the possible 100 I just lost. I'm so mad and disappointed right now. I have been so good at getting assignments done and turned in. Then the one big one I have been working on for weeks comes due and I don't get it in! I could just scream right now! Ugh. I would drop the class if it didn't mean losing the money I paid for it. But getting a bad grade on my transcript might be even worse. I don't know what to do.

My Five Words

Got an assignment this week - come up with my five favorite words and what they mean to me. Never really thought of my favorite words, or even ones I use a lot. Now that I have to put them to paper they escape me. So lets see.

Seriously comes to mind.

Seriously as in "did you really just say/ do that? There are so many people out there that do things that make you wonder how they got so far in life without getting dead.

Bonk. That's a fun word. To me its official use is in the bicycling world when someone crashes or they run out of fuel and they just cant keep going. They "bonked" up that hill. Well, I like to play with it when I screw up or someone else does. Oops, looks like I bonked that one!

Dude! Who doesn't like to exclaim Dude! when you just heard or saw something really awesome or crazy and cant wait to share the glorious details. Its just makes the whole experience more real. This is also often used in conjunction with Seriously! - type moments.

OhMahGa! This one is fun. It is a creation. At my work I'm reasonably certain. It is a contraction of Oh, My God. Thing is, one of my co-workers says Oh, My God so fast it sounds like OhMahGa! Great for exclaiming surprise and general dumbfoundedness.

BOOM! This has great versatility. It can be used to describe and explosion, car wreck, things falling, or just for dramatic effect. Never gets old. Commonly used along with the other words in this list.

Sweet. OK, so I'm sure this word is way overdone and needs to be retired. But I have yet to find an alternative that is as versatile and able to bring together all your feelings on a topic / subject so concisely.

Looks like my words are pretty useful in the situations I normally find myself. Its cool how they can all be connected in a single sentence to exclaim a general circumstance or sprinkled throughout the description of the newest viral YouTube video!

What to Write?

I don't know what to write about tonight. Its getting like that much more often the longer this Blog goes. I just commented on some of my classmates' Blogs for the bonus points. Now I have to write my own. So lets see. I was commercial driver today. It helped it go much quicker than last night did. Being able to get out of the store is probably the best thing about where I work. I'm not stuck inside always. Tomorrow I got to work on my friends car. His rear brakes need done so Ill be doing that then doing homework. That will probably take 4 hours out of my day. I'm also needing to go pick up my mountain bike from the shop. One of the bearings went bad, or so we think so it was getting replaced. Hopefully its fixed and I can go ride this weekend. After I pick up my bike tomorrow Im probably going to meet some classmates from my Business class to finish up a piece of our project that didn't go so good. SO hopefully we can fix it because the revision is due Thursday. Then after that, Ill probably go home and watch TV until its time for bed. Oh, wait, I have to come write another one of these Blogs...

Tired

I'm tired. Worn Out. Capuut. Done. I didn't sleep good at all last night then had to get up early for work. It was truck day, so all the worst customers show up and want our undivided attention while we haven't o put up over a thousand new parts. It gets old. Then my knee started hurting half way through with made things worse. Then the people that try to steal things come in and do there thing, thinking were not looking. Then I had to come sit outside the library to write this. I'm like most people in class. I'm finally starting to loose the oomph to do this blog. Nightly is too much. They say online classes are to allow you to do the work in your own time. I don't know how that's the case when I am making time for assignments. The world revolves around it. I wont ever take another online class. Its exhausting. So I'm cutting it short tonight.

Editing My Essay

I started editing my essay today. My group had some good constructive criticism about it. I tried to implement it as best I could. I went through it and tried to cut the fat like I learned in out Writers Workshop. This allowed me to expound on the ideas my group came up with while staying under the 4 page barrier. I think I did OK. I'll try to get the writing center to look at it before its due. To those that are in my group:

Irene: I wanted to expand on the backgrounds of the men who helped me, but didn't want to say too much. They have the right to privacy just like everyone else, no matter what some people may think. I tried to give details on Bull and a few other that I was very close to. I hope it shows that people can overcome anything if they truly want to. I also tried to reword my first paragraph to make it BOOM more.

Destiny: Expanding on my family was also something I had to cut. Before I knew it I had over a page and a half of nothing but my family. I ended up cutting a lot of it before I submitted my rough draft. I tried to put in some details about my family, specifically my Grannie who thought me the most about the morals I now follow. I tried to reword the sentences you commented on, about learning things I shouldn't and how it made me believe certain things. That was a sloppy paragraph and I think most of it needed deleted. I also tried to clear up and edit my first paragraph and make my thesis clearer.

Christina: I reworded my first sentence, hopefully making it a stronger, clearer thesis. I also found the misspellings and grammar errors and tried to correct any others that I saw.

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and help with this Essay. Hopefully it meets your standards. I'm going to re-post it and let you guys read it and re-comment on it if you like. I'll also email you this so you're sure to see it. :-)

What to do with free time?

You ever have that feeling when you are free to do what you want you just cant decide what to do? I HATE that feeling. It makes my skin crawl. I ache all over when I cant decide what to do. Its almost like a mini panic attack,... I guess? I don't know what else to call it but its real. With my ADHD and OCD I usually have to plan out my days to some extent. When plans go awry and I don't have a back up, or if I just have a lot of free time with nothing to do, I freeze. Ill get all mad or mopey, or something until I figure out what to do. Sometimes it reaches the point that nothing sounds like its worth doing, sounds fun. I usually work through it. The meds help. So does Tiffany, so I get through it. Not as bad as it used to be. This weekend I have the place to myself and I'm going to try and use it productively before I have to do more homework. I'm going to draw (something I have not done in a LONG time), I'm going to clean and arrange the guest bedroom, and maybe, just maybe, Ill try working on the Honda tomorrow and get that damn door open! Wish me luck!

What do Tests Prove?

I just took my third business test. This is the first one I didn't get an A on - I got a B. The test was over 3 chapters. management and Leadership, Structuring Organizations for Today's Challenges, and Production and operations Management. My Business book came with an online version that is to pace you and make sure you read whats important. You also answer questions relating to the chapters and it molds the learning to your needed areas. On the two previous tests, I had no problem. I read the chapters, did the review, and did it all over again. It seemed to be working. Well, not on this test! I could not for the life of me keep everything straight. Who knew there were 5 different production plans, or that under each one is a set of specific rules to follow! I have been reading these chapters for over a week and a half now. I still am getting answers wrong. So I figured I'd read some more and redo the review. Still did not help that much! So this leads me to my question; what is the point of testing? What does this test prove? That I am not management material? That I'm destined to be a lowly staffer all my life? Does it really prove anything other than I cant memorize all of what someone things I should know before a deadline? I mean, I understand this stuff is important, but would it not be more important if I could put it to practice and see how it effects my understanding of these terms? This is like Isaac Asimov's personal narrative "What is Intelligence, Anyway?" and Russell Baker's personal narrative on "School vs. Education." Its all just stuff that people who are deemed smart in the area of Business management put into a book and say "you need to know this to be like us." No, I don't need to know all this "stuff." Yes, it will help, but until l can put these words to action, then they aren't worth much more than the paper they are written on. According to OTC, that paper is worth a few thousand dollars... Guess I better memorize ever cents' worth...

Otaku Unite!

So as some of you may know from our greeting posts at the beginning of the semester, I am a big Anime and Manga fan. I am an Otaku (one with an overly healthy addiction to most things to do with the subject, i.e. GEEK!). Now Im sure when most of you think on Anime and Manga, you think of Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z. Yes, (unfortunately) those are Anime and Manga, but there is so much more out there! Anime is the Hollywood of Japan, well not in the respect as a physical location, but in comparison of what they produce. Japanese Seiyu (voice actors) are famous and are Japans version of our movie celebrities. Japanese bands even fight for the right to create theme music for shows. You can find horror, comedy, Shonen (for guys), Shojo (for girls, think chick flick), drama. You name it. It exists! Anime is one of my passions. I enjoy it for the stories, for the beautiful artwork, for the exposure to another culture. It is an escape to me like reading is to others. Its an entrance to the imagination, to other worlds, to other times! There is no limit. Plus as I am an artist I love to create my own versions of some beloved characters. Right now I am watching Samurai Champloo, a bohemian rhapsody spin on Samurai in Edo period feudal Japan ( just watch it, its a classic), and Sword Art Online, a show on the world first VRMMORPLG (Vrtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, man that a mouth full!) and one you log in, you either beat the game, or die...in real life! I mean, some of the stuff Japan comes up with would make killer movies over here instead of the same old same old Marvel Comics movies. It does seem at times Hollywood is out of ideas... Yes, like everything there are shows that make Anime seem like its just for kids, namely those mentioned above, but just give it a shot! Watch some on TV some time. Cartoon Network / Adult Swim on Saturday nights has a great lineup of new shows. Barnes and Noble has a huge Manga (graphic novel) section that most Anime are based on. Be one with your inner Otaku. Let me know what you think!

A Day of Reflection...

Here we are at the end of another day. Its been a good day. I feel at peace today. You ever have those days where it just feels like Someone said "its time for a break'" and everything was just Cake? I got my Business homework done, actually had people participate in a group discussion for once! I got to watch some of the TV shows I have missed (Dexter and Samurai Champloo) and spend time with Tiffany. I still haven't managed to get my Honda's door open, but the Camry is running so all is good. I am going to work on a friends car in the next couple of days and maybe get paid for it! This past week was rough, but hopefully it is smoothing out. I was disappointed with myself this past week with everything going wrong though. I didn't act the best. I let my anger control me at times, said things I shouldn't, just wasn't myself. I need to remember the things I learned in Texas. I need to remember that its not always as bad as it seems. That if you can take a breath, and just give yourself some time and ask for help, it makes things easier. Tiffany is good at helping when I let her. Sometimes though, I find that I am just being as stubborn as I can for no reason at all. It really makes me think looking back on it now. I need to open up and let people help like I used to. No one can do it all alone, and its usually better if you have more along for the ride.  Number of people involved goes up, immensity of the problem goes down. I need to remember that. Ask God, family, and friends for help before I let myself get angry. Anger is such a waste. Time and energy spent on something that could be put to better elsewhere. Now if I just had some real cake!

Redemption!

A couple really good things happened today. A couple not so good. But the good outweigh the bad so Im rolling with it! So to start off, I went and talked to Ms. A today during office hours. The feeling is mutual; its nice to put a name to a face and meet our instructor. She was very nice and very caring and understanding. I spent quite some time in her office today and got some important matters for myself and a few other students addressed. This really put me at ease for the coming semester. I may not understand everything that's coming, but if I have questions I know I can go visit her and she will listen. Another good thing that happened today was that I got new keys made for my car! While it cost $100, it was cheaper than towing it to Toyota and letting them at it ($700). They came to me an my car and were able to make the keys in a little over a half hour! It was great. Now i plan on making at least 4 copies! I  have never lost my keys. Misplaced yes, but lost no! I NEVER want this to happen again! I am supposed to be a mechanic. Mechanics don't do things like this! After I got the keys made I changed the oil and now Im sitting at Orange Leaf with Tiffany as I write this. So its been a pretty good day. Hopefully tomorrow picks up where today leaves off!

Spinning My Wheels (No, not my Mountain Bike's)

I feel rather erked today. Its like all my frustrations are coming to a head and I need to find a way to release them that is healthy and proper. The best way I can think of doing that is riding my bike. Unfortunately it does not look like I will be able to do that today since I have to work on the car that has the bike rack that can take me to where I want to go ride... I still have not found the keys to it. So today I am going to Toyota to have a key made. Then if Im lucky the keys I lost will be in the car. But I doubt it. So that means replacing the ignition interlock. Which Im not sure I can do - because you need the key to release it... So that means smashing my out with a screw driver or punch. Not something I look forward to as too much can go wrong. But I will probably have to. On top of that school is sucking the life out of me. I spend more time on the computer doing assignments that may or may not be correct because I have no feedback. I knew that online courses would be much different. But this is crazy. If I wanted to type endlessly without any point, I would be on Twitter or Face book! I did not pay hundreds of dollars to do what I could do for free in my own time! I pray it will change. More than that, I am going to do what I can to make it change!

Icing on the cake part 2.

So here it is Sunday night and I am without a functioning car. My Toyota Camry is still up at work. I never did find the keys. Luckily no one else did either or it would probably have been stolen. I tried to fix my Honda today. Im pretty sure I did. Well, then I decided to test it by shutting the door. I now no longer have a functioning driver door! It will not open. I am so pissed right now. I have never, NEVER, been without a functioning automobile. So I have to call work and have my boss find someone to fill my Monday shift while I go have keys made, replace my ignition, and then if Im lucky and have one working car, Get to kick the living crap out of my Honda and hope the door pops open. I was without words. Speechless. I cant believe this has happened to me. I guess free writing has helped my ability to get thoughts to paper, because I had nothing to say until I opened my blog to try to type. So I guess that is one good thing. Another good thing is I rebuild my mountain bike and found nothing wrong with it. SO maybe, just maybe, if I get a car or two fixed tomorrow, Ill reward myself by going to the group ride out at Two Rivers tomorrow. But I got to work fast, because it starts at 2! Hopefully I can also get some studying in for Business afterwards. English has taken so much of my time this week I have not been able to focus on Business. Im so burnt our right now. I hope things ease up in the coming weeks. Only time will tell...

Icing on the cake

Today I did something I have never done before. Well, to this extent. I lost my keys! At work! And cant find them! Today started at 7 AM. Got up to go to work at 8. Today I thought would be a cool day since I was going to be a commercial driver. I like being able to get out of the shop and drive the company truck and make deliveries. It really helps make the day go faster and helps put me in a good mood. Well, that got shot down because we only had 6 deliveries all day! So it dragged and dragged. I was able to come home for lunch and spend some time with Tiffany. Also got some homework done. After that I headed back to work. It was slow, but at least we didn't have too many crazy customers. Before my boss left he gave me and another coworker one last task. Just rearranging part of the store. Finally, 5 o'clock came and I clocked out. I go out to my car and my keys are missing off my belt! I look in the car, they aren't in the ignition and of course I locked the car after lunch! So I go back in the store and look everywhere I have been. I call my boss, my other managers, almost everyone. But no luck. No one has seen them. I call the few commercial accounts that I visited today. Of the few that were still open, none had seen my keys. I look for over an hour. I finally concede defeat and get ready to walk home. My manager takes pity on me and throws me his car keys. I at least got home quicker. But I still have no idea where my keys are. For all I know someone has them. Hopefully my car will still be there come Monday because I will have to go to Toyota to get another key made, and possibly change my ignition since the keys are different... Wow. How could this have happened? I have a good day and things seem to conspire to make it turn to crap sometimes... Such is life.