Happy New Year

What are you doing for New Years Night you may ask. My dad came over for dinner and we watched Toy Story 3. Now I am waiting for Shorty to set up her skpye so I can talk to her face to face. It is already her birthday because she lives on the east coast.


While I am waiting I am listing to the police scanner. Things are really hopping around town.

A New Years wish to you: Good health spiritually and physically, and may 2011 be the best year for you ever!

How much is the Quilt in the Window

Yesterday I went out to lunch with Mrs. Neighborhood Hero. We went to a pizza and pasta joint that has been in town as long as I can remember. Mrs. Neighborhood Hero (MNH) is a crafter. She quilts, knits, scrapbooks, makes jewelry and everything else.

After lunch MNH wanted to stop at the thrift store. I told her about this thrift store that I went to this summer. I got a steamer trunk for a very good deal. I told MHN about this old log cabin quilt that I had seen the day I bought the trunk. The quilt was all beat up, but you could see that someone had spent many hours of work on it. I am not sure how old it is, but it looks like it was made by hand. I didn't buy it that day I bought the trunk.

It was about 1 o'clock in the afternoon. The first sunny day we have had in a long time. We drove up to the thrift store, there in the sunny front window was that old quilt. My heart dropped. Everyone knows you can't put a quilt where the direct sun will hit it. Surely the sun will finish off that poor old quilt. 

MNH said OH my, look they have that old quilt in the direct sun. So we go in the store and are browsing around. MNH says to me, you should tell the owners that quilt should not be in the window. I said you tell the owner. After sometime MNH convinced me to go talk to the owner of the thrift store about the quilt.

I did not want to TELL the owner what to do, maybe she knew that the sun would destroy the quilt. I asked for the owner. The owner came out from the back of the store. I said, I saw this quilt when it came in this summer... maybe you know this already but just in case the sun is going to disintegrate that old quilt. The owner said "there is no sun in that window." What, I said surprised. The owner repeated herself that the sun does not come in that window. I said I just walked in your store and the sun was blazing brightly in that window. MNH mouth was hitting the floor about this time. The owner said the quilt was much better off being in the window then people handling it all day.  The owner of the store says, well if your so worried about that raggedy old quilt why don't you buy it. I said how much do you want for it. She proceeded with her cocky attitude and said how much will you give me. I walked out of the store, MNH right behind me saying she could not believe the store owners attitude. 

So at 9 o'clock this morning I thought I would drive by and see if the sun was in the front window that early in the morning.

Sure enough. The sun must hit that window all day. So I took this photo. Maybe the owner of the store thought I said moon. Who knows. The quilt looks like a reckless quilter made it. Maybe that is why I have some sort of personal attachment to it. 

So I told my gig a low about that poor abandon quilt that the store owner is abusing. He said why don't you just go buy it. Maybe I will.  I am not sure.

The Difference between Romantic and Sentimental

"I'm a romantic; a sentimental person thinks things will last, a romantic person hopes against hope that they won't."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald  I just heard this quote last night. I love it!

 Are you a romantic ? Or are you a sentimentalist? 

I have worked my entire life not to be sentimental about to many things. Ok I am going to admit right here, right now that I am a sentimentalist according to the definition above.

Yesterday Was Fun!!

My day really did not get started until around 11:30 AM when we went over to my sisters house. It was fun because The Mt. Family was there, The Raider Family was there, and the old standbys. Anyways Mt. Son brought his girlfriend. They were homecoming King and Queen at their school this year. Young love is so sweet. Raider baby was the sunshine in the room, with her cute toddler ways. Raider brother is in the "oven" jumping around like crazy. He is still baking.  No way I was going to put my hand on Raider Mom's belly. It is kind of nauseating just watching Raider Mom's belly moving around "by its self." 

For lunch we had Carnitas. It has been a tradition to have Mexican food for Christmas lunch since my 2 mom died.  A good time was had by all. 

I got an email from Miss Sunshine that her Fiancée was going to be playing at this little whole in the wall grunge bar in Starboard. Later I found out that it was "Jam" night and GG-GP and his band would be playing there too. So at the very last moment me and my gig a low decided to go to Starboard. 

The Grunge Bar was packed full of men in flannel shirts and casually dressed women. I wore white tube socks with my clogs and jeans. Yes, I am saying neon white. I just don't care.  I like flannel shirts, seems like my kind of bar. 

It was Blues night. The house band started playing. Oh did I want a beer. It just seemed like a really good place to drink. When the band would change, people would fight their way to the bar. It was a do it yourself bar. YOU go to the counter and order a drink, they do not come to you.  I resisted extreme temptation. YEY. GG-GP's band went on, everyone jumped to their feet. GG-GP's band took authority over the stage, and they pumped out the jams. They slaughter all the other bands musically and vocally. They were great. I am not just saying that because my brother in law is in the band. Next Miss Sunshine's fiancee went on. He plays saxophone. He had a cool swagger going on as he was playing. He was awesome. It was fun seeing Miss Sunshine so happy. She really is Miss Sunshine now.  I really had a terrific time at the grunge bar, even without the alcohol.

Here is the funny part. We were home by 10:00 pm. Do you remember when 10:00 pm was the time you go out, not come home? :)

The Sky Is The Limit

The other day me and my sweet friend along with Allalian went out for a bite to eat. We where talking about work and our jobs not being very secure. Allalian said I work for a major corporation, you could get a job in my corporation. She said you have to pass a test. I said what kind of test? Math mostly. I said most likely I cannot pass a math test. Allalian said well RQ if "you expect to fail a test you will."

Oh how I hate those words.

When I was younger, I was a victim of "learned helplessness" during my k-12 years. After you fail test after test year after year, you do expect to fail. I stopped trying. After I graduated from High School and could not read or write, I found out I had dyslexia. I did not understand my diagnosis.

That all changed for me while I was in college.

First of all they tested me for a learning disability. It was confirmed that I have visual AND audio processing disorders. After all these years of being beat down by myself and other people who would say "if you would just try harder, your lazy, study more, IF YOU EXPECT TO FAIL YOU WILL," I was validated. There is a reason I fail test, even if I studied hard and expected to pass.

In college they tought me how to work with my brain malfunction and build new neurons. They gave me tools to check in with my dyslexia. They showed me modern technology that helps people like me. Like talking spelling check and a screen reader. They showed me text to voice scanning programs.  Is my dyslexia better? no. Can I work with it now? yes.

Sidebar: my gig a low helped me pass tests. He was there for me when I would cry and want to give up because it was all just to hard. Building neurons is painful. When I would hit the wall, and my brain just would not work, my gig a low was standing by with a warm hug. How lucky am I to have a man who understands my disability and who does not use my being disabled against me. I know you all have read the story about how my gig a low has helped me over the years.(see my funny and charming blog)


Let me remind you Allalian, I got a 3.75 in college. That is mostly an "A" average. I know about taking test. At the college when I had to take a test they accommodated my severe learning disability by giving me extra time and a scribe when I needed it. They never gave me a modified test. Not only that I spent hours and hours, months and months, years and years with tutoring. Just ask Dahlia. God bless her, it was no easy chore to tutor me.

I do not expect to fail a test.

I recently took a math test and failed. Was I surprised that I failed? no. Why, because now I know how my visual processing disorder limits me.

Do you think there is a difference between expecting to fail and knowing limits? Do you know what your limits are? Are you going to tell me there are no limits? Is it wrong for me to know and except my limits? Is that the same as expecting to fail? Do you think if I tried harder my brain would change magically?

Most people who say things like you did, really don't understand how learning disability's work. 

Merry Christmas

Hark the herald angels sing 

Glory to the newborn King! 

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled 

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

Christ is born in Bethlehem

Hark! The herald angels sing 

Glory to the newborn King!

The C word (Not Christmas)

Shorty's Birthday is coming up. Jan 1. Usually she is always late with her Christmas cards. Me I am more then late, I never send them at all. I got a card from her today. BEFORE Christmas. She always sends a photo of her two kids. Both are teenagers, good looking and smart! I called her up to thank her for the Christmas card, Anyways I am going to repeat this story Shorty told me. 


A couple of weeks ago one of  the students called Shorty and the other staff members a slang term about female anatomy that rhymes with bunt and starts with "C." Shorty says students call the staff all kinds of bad names, but they draw the line with that word. I am thankful I don't have students like that.

So the teacher called the mother in to discuss the students foul mouth. The mother said she was so sorry that the student called the staff the "C" word. The mother went on to say it must of been her fault, and she apologized. Apparently, the mother had been talking to the grandmother of the student on the phone. The mother called the grandmother a "C" and the student over heard the conversation, therefore, the student learned to use that word from the mom, and the mom was sorry that the student repeated it at school.

Wow, that is quite a story Shorty.

I will be talking to you again in just a few days, I hope you will have time to tell me more stories I can write on my blog!