So I'm watching CNN and I think, what if there was a parody character called "Kellyanne Conway Twitty"??? And of course, I am not the first to think of this... I'm not sure who was, but Seth MacFarlane, for one, beat me to the punch.
Ah, Seth MacFarlane... I have mixed feelings about him... he is drop-dead gorgeous and insanely talented, but his sense of humor is no smarter than a fifth-grader. A precocious fifth-grader, but... anyway, great minds think alike, eh??? ;D
Seth either loves or loves to rag on ol' Conway. Like all Southern white kids in the 70s, I was exposed to regular doses of Conway Twitty. We watched all those GREAT country music TV shows every Saturday afternoon (as my Granny used to say about watching Andy Griffith) BECAUSE WE HAD TO. Now, I really love to wax nostalgic about the old country shows and seriously, they played a YUGE part in making me the music lover I am today. The TV alternatives were limited. Today's youngsters can not begin to imagine three or four channels. Even the "big three" have local networks!
I don't remember just three channels. I don't remember a time before PBS. I'm not sure when public TV came to Nashville, but I do remember seeing "Sesame Street" mentioned on another show, before I had discovered the Muppets. That was the first time I ever saw that my mom tried to hide things from me. She did not want me to start watching "Sesame Street" because she foresaw exactly what happened. She knew I'd get hooked. She didn't want to have to watch silly puppets!
If she were here, I would ask her if she really thought Gilligan was any better.
But back to Conway Twitty. I DID discover him when I was young, like age four, but that's when he looked like this (from "Hee Haw," by the way, and also used by Seth MacFarlane on "Family Guy"):
If I'd discovered him when he looked like he did in this next clip, I probably would have thought he was hot, like my aunt Peggy and a lot of other women who were young in the 1960s and 70s did. OMG. When Conway died on June 5, 1993, Peggy and one of her friends stayed up late, drinking adult beverages, crying and listening to his music, probably on vinyl... possibly on cassette... maybe, but probably not, on 8-track... and maybe on a CD... not everyone had a player then but they were gaining popularity. I understood that SHE liked him and I could understand, kind of, because I figured she was about 50 and he was probably about 50 and he sang all those sexy songs and had kind of a cool voice, but I didn't think he was HOT. But in this clip below, he was kind of cute, and that song is freakin' amazing:
Here is another phenomenal clip of the same song... I did not know this show existed. As performances go, it's not the best Conway ever did (although it might explain why he didn't dance much once color TV footage began), but it's a piece of broadcasting history for Dick Clark's intro alone. Conway looked very uncomfortable and staged, and had to be lip-synching (I just don't think there was any other way back then) but wow! What a lucky break for an Arkansas boy to share a TV audience with Fabian!
It's only make-believe... just like he's making believe he is singing... I have a real-life, not make-believe, Conway Twitty story. When I was 12, I ran into him - I mean, I literally ran.into.him - in a bowling alley in Hendersonville, TN. He was polite, maybe a little annoyed, but polite. Later I saw him playing in the 11th Frame Lounge, adjoining the bowling alley, just through the door. I didn't go in. That would've been a riot. I was there with my church youth group. He didn't look it in black-and-white, but he was in his mid-20s by the time he made it to Dick Clark's Beech-Nut Show. That makes me feel better. I think it's kind of creepy for an old woman to think such a young man would be attractive! But my daughter will be 25 this summer - NEXT MONTH! - so I guess that's why Conway looks like a kid in those video clips.
I have always had a great sense of imagination. I'm glad that it has grown up along with me, but I am really sorry that I haven't written everything I've dreamt up over the years. I created characters based on people I knew but mostly based on "what if" scenarios I dreamed up about them. I have a lot of these stories but now, I don't have nearly enough time to write about them. I'm trying, though. I'm busy in my "real job" but I have a lot more time than I let myself believe. I like writing non-fiction as well as fiction.. or maybe I should say, real life as much as make-believe. I'm blessed to have great memories and imagination for both.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Thursday, June 01, 2017
Wednesday, May 03, 2017
How can people have no feelings? Easy to be hard... easy to say no
I don't go political too much, but I have been hearing so much about healthcare reform, etc. lately. I have a lot to say about it, not as an employee but as a wife, mother, and daughter... as a woman, as a human.
No, health care is not a "right" per se, but in a country that wants to be one of the greatest, people should be able to access the necessary healthcare no matter their income. We have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If we have the right to life that means we have the right to do what's necessary to avoid death. Being ill can often feel like imprisonment, the opposite of liberty. One can be happy in poor health, but it's not easy. I have no problem with working to pay for my health insurance. The rock star and I always have. I also have no problem with my tax dollars helping people who truly cannot work to pay for their health insurance. For example, my mom had stage IV cancer and worked as a "cafeteria lady" far longer than most people in her condition would have because long-term disability wouldn't pay enough to maintain her coverage. She got a type of state-funded insurance, which she had previously when she was working in a job that did not provide insurance. Her doctor became angry when she changed coverage, but she had little choice if she wanted to buy food and have running water and electricity. Someone I knew years ago was paralyzed on a motorcycle. He has since passed, but he couldn't work. He was in his early 20s. Could you look him in the eye and tell him he didn't deserve healthcare???
http://www.salon.com/2017/05/02/alabama-congressman-people-who-lead-good-lives-dont-have-preexisting-conditions/
I read an article where a man said that people who lived right don't have pre-existing conditions. The writer specifically mentioned strokes, heart problems, and birth defects. The rock star had a stroke at age 4 (yes, four) because of a birth defect - a heart problem. Not only that, but my grandmother had a stroke at age six. I'm not kidding. Personally, I am INSULTED that I would be blamed for my child having a birth defect. Yes, I had one of those too. I still have him! I did not smoke or do drugs when I was pregnant. I had a cold and had to take some medicine early on, which was okayed by my doctor. I don't want to say I'm a victim, but I don't think it was my fault. Nor do I blame my father-in-law for becoming the father of the rock star ten months after coming home from Vietnam where he was often exposed to Agent Orange... he didn't get drafted, he enlisted... but no, it was not his fault that his son was born with a life-threatening heart defect. I read someone's comment that Jimmy Kimmel's child was born with a heart defect because it was "karma" because he made jokes about Donald Trump. I disagree. Besides, what did that tiny baby do to deserve that?
I have a pre-existing condition, though i wasn't born with it. I'll take responsibility for my Type 2 diabetes. I ate my way into it. I'm sure all those low-fat, high-carb foods I ate in attempts to lose weight and maintain it in my 20s and 30s didn't have anything to do with my body becoming insulin resistant. I had inherited a predisposition to blood sugar issues. And my mom's cancer? She didn't smoke, seldom drank, tried to eat right and maintain a healthy weight, and exercised regularly most of her adult life. So why did she get cancer? Oh, that was probably hereditary too. What do you think about people whose genetic profiles show predisposition to diseases? Should we deny coverage to those people because we know it's going to cost more to take care of them? You going to look me in the eye and tell me no? And the young but now deceased motorcyclist? What if I told you he was driving too fast and was at fault? Would you look him in the eye and deny him coverage after that?
I have a problem with people who think it's ok to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. Even though our insurance pays for those, our dental insurance would NOT cover needed dental implants for our child who was born with a cleft palate, and had teeth that did not form enamel properly (a condition that also affected my brother, though his lip and palate were fine). He had two root canals that had broken in the growth and surgical process. He had one tooth I jokingly called a "bubba tooth" - he laughed at it too - but it really wasn't funny, it was only about half a tooth. This after nine years of braces, 12 years of dental appliances... in his (then) 18 years of life.
If my brothers, uncle, and I had not just sold my mother's house, I'd planned to refinance my car to borrow that money. We're talking five digits worth of money, and that's not counting the numbers on the right of the decimal. I felt like we were lucky. I'd rather have had my mom living in that house, but I felt she would have approved of the money being spent that way.
I agree that the ACA - "Obamacare," as it is so frequently called, is not really its name - needs work and maybe even replacement. I want to see pre-existing conditions left in. I say we do not need caps on coverage. My sweet rock star and son might have had to do without healthcare... and who knows when we'd have had to start doing without. My mom's insurance company re-analyzed several medicines over the years. I think they were surprised that someone who had been through all she had was still alive, so they didn't realize they had to keep paying for those drugs!
When I was a new nuclear medicine tech back in the early 90s, occasionally I would see kids who had been born with cystic fibrosis (CF). Back then, a kid born with CF had a life expectancy of maybe 20 years. Now, babies born with the disease have a much longer life expectancy as more and more patients are living into their 40s and even beyond. If you put a cap on their benefits, some of those kids would not survive that long because they sometimes spend a lot of time in the hospital. I care, and that's because one of my childhood friends has a child with the disease. I don't know for certain but I would be beyond shocked if I learned that they had done anything at all during pregnancy to "deserve" a child with such a condition. No, that, like so many other things, is a GENETIC issue.
If you are healthy and have lived a "good" lifestyle, you are LUCKY. You won the genetic lottery. You may be taking good care of yourself and for that, you should be proud, but you should not judge others, for you do not know their stories. Can you honestly say you've never overeaten, or had too much ice cream, or just once, slept instead of working out? Can you truly say you've never broken the speed limit? Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. As the saying goes, Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. (source unknown; attributed to Plato)
No, health care is not a "right" per se, but in a country that wants to be one of the greatest, people should be able to access the necessary healthcare no matter their income. We have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If we have the right to life that means we have the right to do what's necessary to avoid death. Being ill can often feel like imprisonment, the opposite of liberty. One can be happy in poor health, but it's not easy. I have no problem with working to pay for my health insurance. The rock star and I always have. I also have no problem with my tax dollars helping people who truly cannot work to pay for their health insurance. For example, my mom had stage IV cancer and worked as a "cafeteria lady" far longer than most people in her condition would have because long-term disability wouldn't pay enough to maintain her coverage. She got a type of state-funded insurance, which she had previously when she was working in a job that did not provide insurance. Her doctor became angry when she changed coverage, but she had little choice if she wanted to buy food and have running water and electricity. Someone I knew years ago was paralyzed on a motorcycle. He has since passed, but he couldn't work. He was in his early 20s. Could you look him in the eye and tell him he didn't deserve healthcare???
http://www.salon.com/2017/05/02/alabama-congressman-people-who-lead-good-lives-dont-have-preexisting-conditions/
I read an article where a man said that people who lived right don't have pre-existing conditions. The writer specifically mentioned strokes, heart problems, and birth defects. The rock star had a stroke at age 4 (yes, four) because of a birth defect - a heart problem. Not only that, but my grandmother had a stroke at age six. I'm not kidding. Personally, I am INSULTED that I would be blamed for my child having a birth defect. Yes, I had one of those too. I still have him! I did not smoke or do drugs when I was pregnant. I had a cold and had to take some medicine early on, which was okayed by my doctor. I don't want to say I'm a victim, but I don't think it was my fault. Nor do I blame my father-in-law for becoming the father of the rock star ten months after coming home from Vietnam where he was often exposed to Agent Orange... he didn't get drafted, he enlisted... but no, it was not his fault that his son was born with a life-threatening heart defect. I read someone's comment that Jimmy Kimmel's child was born with a heart defect because it was "karma" because he made jokes about Donald Trump. I disagree. Besides, what did that tiny baby do to deserve that?
I have a pre-existing condition, though i wasn't born with it. I'll take responsibility for my Type 2 diabetes. I ate my way into it. I'm sure all those low-fat, high-carb foods I ate in attempts to lose weight and maintain it in my 20s and 30s didn't have anything to do with my body becoming insulin resistant. I had inherited a predisposition to blood sugar issues. And my mom's cancer? She didn't smoke, seldom drank, tried to eat right and maintain a healthy weight, and exercised regularly most of her adult life. So why did she get cancer? Oh, that was probably hereditary too. What do you think about people whose genetic profiles show predisposition to diseases? Should we deny coverage to those people because we know it's going to cost more to take care of them? You going to look me in the eye and tell me no? And the young but now deceased motorcyclist? What if I told you he was driving too fast and was at fault? Would you look him in the eye and deny him coverage after that?
I have a problem with people who think it's ok to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. Even though our insurance pays for those, our dental insurance would NOT cover needed dental implants for our child who was born with a cleft palate, and had teeth that did not form enamel properly (a condition that also affected my brother, though his lip and palate were fine). He had two root canals that had broken in the growth and surgical process. He had one tooth I jokingly called a "bubba tooth" - he laughed at it too - but it really wasn't funny, it was only about half a tooth. This after nine years of braces, 12 years of dental appliances... in his (then) 18 years of life.
If my brothers, uncle, and I had not just sold my mother's house, I'd planned to refinance my car to borrow that money. We're talking five digits worth of money, and that's not counting the numbers on the right of the decimal. I felt like we were lucky. I'd rather have had my mom living in that house, but I felt she would have approved of the money being spent that way.
I agree that the ACA - "Obamacare," as it is so frequently called, is not really its name - needs work and maybe even replacement. I want to see pre-existing conditions left in. I say we do not need caps on coverage. My sweet rock star and son might have had to do without healthcare... and who knows when we'd have had to start doing without. My mom's insurance company re-analyzed several medicines over the years. I think they were surprised that someone who had been through all she had was still alive, so they didn't realize they had to keep paying for those drugs!
When I was a new nuclear medicine tech back in the early 90s, occasionally I would see kids who had been born with cystic fibrosis (CF). Back then, a kid born with CF had a life expectancy of maybe 20 years. Now, babies born with the disease have a much longer life expectancy as more and more patients are living into their 40s and even beyond. If you put a cap on their benefits, some of those kids would not survive that long because they sometimes spend a lot of time in the hospital. I care, and that's because one of my childhood friends has a child with the disease. I don't know for certain but I would be beyond shocked if I learned that they had done anything at all during pregnancy to "deserve" a child with such a condition. No, that, like so many other things, is a GENETIC issue.
If you are healthy and have lived a "good" lifestyle, you are LUCKY. You won the genetic lottery. You may be taking good care of yourself and for that, you should be proud, but you should not judge others, for you do not know their stories. Can you honestly say you've never overeaten, or had too much ice cream, or just once, slept instead of working out? Can you truly say you've never broken the speed limit? Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. As the saying goes, Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. (source unknown; attributed to Plato)
How can people be so heartless
How can people be so cruel
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold
How can people be so cruel
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold
How can people have no feelings
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no
And especially people
Who care about strangers
Who care about evil
And social injustice
Who care about strangers
Who care about evil
And social injustice
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd?
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend
Care about the bleeding crowd?
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend
How can people be so heartless
You know I'm hung up on you
Easy to give in
Easy to help out
You know I'm hung up on you
Easy to give in
Easy to help out
And especially people
Who care about strangers
Who say they care about social injustice
Who care about strangers
Who say they care about social injustice
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend
Care about the bleeding crowd
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend
How can people have no feelings
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no
Songwriters
Ragni, Gerome / Rado, James / Mac Dermot, Galt
Ragni, Gerome / Rado, James / Mac Dermot, Galt
Friday, April 07, 2017
What a day that will be
That's an old gospel standard, written by Jim Hill and part of the Speer family catalog. Today is a beautiful day and it's been good for me, because I got the results from the ARRT. I'm now a "real" MRI tech! However, it's a sad day in southern gospel music, because Ben Speer slipped the surly bonds of earth less than an hour into this day.
I've written before about how southern gospel made me who I am today (among other genres) and in the last couple of days I've thought a lot about the "Old Time Singing Convention." It was a simpler time, and even then I'm sure people thought we were headed to Hell in a hand basket compared to "old times." I'll be 50 in a month, and I don't like thinking that my childhood was in the "good ole days," but things really HAVE changed! Like this blog. I'm sitting in the passenger side of Randy's truck on I-40 between Lebanon and Carthage, typing on a PHONE I hold in my hand and though the coverage here probably isn't great, I will be able to publish this online, worldwide, in a few minutes, for almost free, just the cost of my service plan. We're listening to a podcast from Randy's iPod. I made this trip many times in the 1970s in the back seat of a Monte Carlo with an AM radio. Maybe we had an 8-track player. This band featured on the podcast was around in the 70s but we didn't know it yet (Big Star - that was a grocery store chain back then).
What a day, indeed.
I've written before about how southern gospel made me who I am today (among other genres) and in the last couple of days I've thought a lot about the "Old Time Singing Convention." It was a simpler time, and even then I'm sure people thought we were headed to Hell in a hand basket compared to "old times." I'll be 50 in a month, and I don't like thinking that my childhood was in the "good ole days," but things really HAVE changed! Like this blog. I'm sitting in the passenger side of Randy's truck on I-40 between Lebanon and Carthage, typing on a PHONE I hold in my hand and though the coverage here probably isn't great, I will be able to publish this online, worldwide, in a few minutes, for almost free, just the cost of my service plan. We're listening to a podcast from Randy's iPod. I made this trip many times in the 1970s in the back seat of a Monte Carlo with an AM radio. Maybe we had an 8-track player. This band featured on the podcast was around in the 70s but we didn't know it yet (Big Star - that was a grocery store chain back then).
What a day, indeed.
Friday, March 31, 2017
When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all.
Watching Soundbreaking, one of my favorite PBS shows... tonight it's about the early days of music video... when I was in high school. It was a great time to be alive!!! :D I was into videos for sure. My dad hated MTV and called it "Hell Music." Did that stop me from watching it, oh, hell, no! I loved it. It was a great turning point in music history. Video may have killed the radio star, but it sure opened up a lot of doors for a lot of people.
Today I took the MRI ARRT registry exam and... well, I think it went all right, but I'll know for sure in a week or two. After all the studying, it's a wonder I can think at all. But now, at least until I know how I did, I can start focusing on the next challenge... which will be writing and web development. I do have to do my taxes (yuck) and work on bill-paying (double yuck). I have plenty of work to keep me busy this upcoming week, and lots coming up in the next few months, which is a good problem to have.
Today I took the MRI ARRT registry exam and... well, I think it went all right, but I'll know for sure in a week or two. After all the studying, it's a wonder I can think at all. But now, at least until I know how I did, I can start focusing on the next challenge... which will be writing and web development. I do have to do my taxes (yuck) and work on bill-paying (double yuck). I have plenty of work to keep me busy this upcoming week, and lots coming up in the next few months, which is a good problem to have.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Loving a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be...
Well, you can say that again. I'm still waiting for my tour bus and swimming pool. Hahaha! I can't really complain, though. He's a good husband and he's bringing home dinner!!! Also, our band is playing this weekend... but more about that later.
So I have a lot of big plans for my writing and webpages. I know, I say that about once a year, but maybe God is trying to tell me something.
For one thing, I'm not getting a lot of work hours right now, and this was supposed to be one of my busy times. In February, I had 21.5 weekdays scheduled to work in March. By March 1, two days had already been canceled. On March 3, a tech called about her upcoming some surgery, which will put her out 8 weeks. She works 4 days a week. Of course, I have some days I'm scheduled to go other places. I can only be one place at a time, but the lead tech knows this, and I'm sure they'll work out the details when it gets a little closer.
On March 6, I learned that I wouldn't be needed on the 7th as well as the 12th through the 15th. They also cancelled 4 more weeks scattered through the rest of the year at that location. On the 7th, I learned they could not use me on the 8th. I called the CPR office and was able to pick up a few days there. That day, the surgery date was set for the above-mentioned tech, so I was able to make some plans, which included two days of teaching CPR, including the 13th and 14th. Naturally, as soon as I did that, a coworker asked if I could work on the 14th, so I canceled that day too. A few hours later, the lead tech asked if I could work on the 13th. I told her that I had just canceled 3 CPR days and I need CPR to keep the wolf from the door during the slow times, but I'd work in the morning if she needed me to, and she took me up on that. So, I ended up working a half a day on the 13th, then rushing over to teach CPR. On my way home, I got a text message saying that they did not need me on the 14th after all. Unfortunately, they didn't need me to teach CPR by then either. Last night they called me in to work today, where I learned that I am no longer needed Wednesday through Friday. So I was planning to work 21.5 days and I'll end up with 13.5, unless something changes.
And so it goes.
Besides that, I've been inspired to do a lot more writing. A few months ago, I started subscribing to a website called newspapers.com. I'd heard of it before, when I was teaching, but I didn't subscribe because I didn't think I could get my money's worth out of it. In one of my "fact-finding missions" I do researching sometimes, I discovered an article on the site and it suddenly dawned on me... I could use it to help me with Hee Haw, country music history, Frank Sutton history, Ridgetop history, and the list goes on. We're playing this coming Saturday night, the 25th, in Dickson, TN, at the VFW. I don't know the time, I would guess 8:00 pm, but I will try to get that updated ASAP. I also want to get the Brewer's Chapel page updated. In the next few months we will be getting a new pastor. This is pretty standard procedure, Methodists switch out pastors every few years and our pastor's getting ready to retire. He has had some health issues in the past, but this past year has been particularly hard on him. I am not sure what to expect from our new pastor, but we have had this website for a long time that I haven't been updating, and I think if we want more younger people involved in the church, a strong web presence would be a good thing... and that includes getting control of the Brewer's Chapel Facebook page. A former pastor started it, which is cool, but since he's somewhere else, we need to get that. I don't mind updating it, either, as long as I don't have to tweet!
Those two things alone would be plenty of writing, but the Hee Haw page needs some serious updating too. One of those days off this week I will go to Springfield, to the library to do some research, and to take some pictures of the Royal Inn before it gets torn down. Now, it may be years before they tear the place down, but it could be tomorrow! There is a man named James Lileks, a writer and reporter in Minneapolis who has a website with motel postcards, etc. Really, he has a veritable treasure trove of modern American history. I need to send him a picture of the Royal Inn if I can get one before they tear it down, since he has one from there. Maybe I can send him a link to that pic on the FB "You Know You're From Springfield, TN if..." page, too. I'm sure Bill Jones would enjoy Lileks' webpage. It'd also be good if I can get it on my Royalty page too.
So I have a lot of exciting ideas for my webpages. Another idea I'm considering is oral history type stuff, or interviews with older folks. I think there are organizations like libraries that have organized programs for this, so I'll have to check into it. Another oral history idea I have is doing people's memories it Brewers Chapel in a online type thing, maybe on the web page.
But if you will, bear with me a couple of weeks because I'm scheduled to take the MRI registry exam on Friday, March 31. I will be doing a lot of studying for that in the next couple weeks. After that, I plan to be writing a lot. Of course, if I'm working in MRI a lot at that time, then I won't really have a lot of time to work on writing then either, but I'm pretty motivated right now. I've discovered that I can dictate while I'm driving. I can set up the phone and the iPad both to record my dictation, and I can also use the voice recognition to record on the other one so I can put them together when I get home. That's what I've done today. It's taken me some time, but I still have several hours before I have to go to bed, so I can study after dinner.
So I have a lot of big plans for my writing and webpages. I know, I say that about once a year, but maybe God is trying to tell me something.
For one thing, I'm not getting a lot of work hours right now, and this was supposed to be one of my busy times. In February, I had 21.5 weekdays scheduled to work in March. By March 1, two days had already been canceled. On March 3, a tech called about her upcoming some surgery, which will put her out 8 weeks. She works 4 days a week. Of course, I have some days I'm scheduled to go other places. I can only be one place at a time, but the lead tech knows this, and I'm sure they'll work out the details when it gets a little closer.
On March 6, I learned that I wouldn't be needed on the 7th as well as the 12th through the 15th. They also cancelled 4 more weeks scattered through the rest of the year at that location. On the 7th, I learned they could not use me on the 8th. I called the CPR office and was able to pick up a few days there. That day, the surgery date was set for the above-mentioned tech, so I was able to make some plans, which included two days of teaching CPR, including the 13th and 14th. Naturally, as soon as I did that, a coworker asked if I could work on the 14th, so I canceled that day too. A few hours later, the lead tech asked if I could work on the 13th. I told her that I had just canceled 3 CPR days and I need CPR to keep the wolf from the door during the slow times, but I'd work in the morning if she needed me to, and she took me up on that. So, I ended up working a half a day on the 13th, then rushing over to teach CPR. On my way home, I got a text message saying that they did not need me on the 14th after all. Unfortunately, they didn't need me to teach CPR by then either. Last night they called me in to work today, where I learned that I am no longer needed Wednesday through Friday. So I was planning to work 21.5 days and I'll end up with 13.5, unless something changes.
And so it goes.
Besides that, I've been inspired to do a lot more writing. A few months ago, I started subscribing to a website called newspapers.com. I'd heard of it before, when I was teaching, but I didn't subscribe because I didn't think I could get my money's worth out of it. In one of my "fact-finding missions" I do researching sometimes, I discovered an article on the site and it suddenly dawned on me... I could use it to help me with Hee Haw, country music history, Frank Sutton history, Ridgetop history, and the list goes on. We're playing this coming Saturday night, the 25th, in Dickson, TN, at the VFW. I don't know the time, I would guess 8:00 pm, but I will try to get that updated ASAP. I also want to get the Brewer's Chapel page updated. In the next few months we will be getting a new pastor. This is pretty standard procedure, Methodists switch out pastors every few years and our pastor's getting ready to retire. He has had some health issues in the past, but this past year has been particularly hard on him. I am not sure what to expect from our new pastor, but we have had this website for a long time that I haven't been updating, and I think if we want more younger people involved in the church, a strong web presence would be a good thing... and that includes getting control of the Brewer's Chapel Facebook page. A former pastor started it, which is cool, but since he's somewhere else, we need to get that. I don't mind updating it, either, as long as I don't have to tweet!
Those two things alone would be plenty of writing, but the Hee Haw page needs some serious updating too. One of those days off this week I will go to Springfield, to the library to do some research, and to take some pictures of the Royal Inn before it gets torn down. Now, it may be years before they tear the place down, but it could be tomorrow! There is a man named James Lileks, a writer and reporter in Minneapolis who has a website with motel postcards, etc. Really, he has a veritable treasure trove of modern American history. I need to send him a picture of the Royal Inn if I can get one before they tear it down, since he has one from there. Maybe I can send him a link to that pic on the FB "You Know You're From Springfield, TN if..." page, too. I'm sure Bill Jones would enjoy Lileks' webpage. It'd also be good if I can get it on my Royalty page too.
So I have a lot of exciting ideas for my webpages. Another idea I'm considering is oral history type stuff, or interviews with older folks. I think there are organizations like libraries that have organized programs for this, so I'll have to check into it. Another oral history idea I have is doing people's memories it Brewers Chapel in a online type thing, maybe on the web page.
But if you will, bear with me a couple of weeks because I'm scheduled to take the MRI registry exam on Friday, March 31. I will be doing a lot of studying for that in the next couple weeks. After that, I plan to be writing a lot. Of course, if I'm working in MRI a lot at that time, then I won't really have a lot of time to work on writing then either, but I'm pretty motivated right now. I've discovered that I can dictate while I'm driving. I can set up the phone and the iPad both to record my dictation, and I can also use the voice recognition to record on the other one so I can put them together when I get home. That's what I've done today. It's taken me some time, but I still have several hours before I have to go to bed, so I can study after dinner.
Friday, December 09, 2016
me and my drum
Have I written about this song? It's on TV right now. It was playing in the room when my grandfather passed away... in a few days that will have been seven years. Or as he would say it, seb'm years. I miss him all the time.
My blog hasn't been very active lately. My focus of late has been set on preparing for the ARRT MRI registry. I still have about 90 procedures to log before I can take the test, and it isn't something you just walk in and do before you've seen 10 of them. It's not like what I do in nucs, which is so repetitive and so ingrained into my brain that I can actually focus more on taking care of my patients and doing the many other things that are part of the job. I do hope I can work at least part-time hours in MRI for my current employer, because I've been a part of that environment and I really, really like the pace and the interaction with the emergency room there.
I want to write about so much more. I want to write about medicine, and education, and places and people and fiction and non-fiction. I want to keep teaching CPR and doing nucs and MRI and hopefully some TEE too, although I think they're more likely to get one of the heart station techs for that. I like being there. I like what I do for a living. I like doing it there and in the capacity I do because it is a good pace for me. I'm getting old and I need all the help I can get.
So tonight I'm writing about writing. I have been journaling as I usually do, documenting everything from my desire to drink a whole quart of boiled custard (not something I would recommend for a diabetic) to details of Randy's eye disease. For me writing is not just something I do to document history or to tell stories, it's something that helps me sort through the insanity that runs through my brain.
My brain has caused me a lot of trouble, which I'm trying to turn into something a little more constructive. Depression, or bipolar disorder if you believe the most current diagnosis (and I do), has taken its toll on me and this house. Chronic pain hasn't helped either. Diabetic neuropathy has been horrible to me. I'm not quite as heavy as I was, but I'm more crippled by it along with the degenerative changes I've had, like plantar fasciitis, arthritis, avascular necrosis, and other issues. And somehow during the years of constant lesson planning and grading and exhaustion, I totally lost control of this house and my finances. I've been working on the house, not just to create a more writing-conducive environment but because I need to organize the budget and paperwork. It's really not that we can't pay the bills anymore, because we do a pretty good job of it. I just need to get ready for the day when I can't drive to Nashville anymore, when it's time to move to assisted living or what have you. Hopefully, that day is a long ways off.
Today I cleaned under my son's old bed and then moved the queen mattress and box springs into his old room. I have a place for the twin mattress and frame and the old box spring is ready for the dump. I have a box spring for the twin where it's going. I moved my old recliner and took a TV into the kitchen/office and I am set up to get this room and all its paperwork under control so I can get out of debt. I do see that as a possibility someday and it excites me. Getting in there and working was exciting for me too. So hopefully, in a few days, I'll be ready to start on some of the projects I think about all the time... like updating all my websites. The Hee Haw almanac and website need a lot of work and I have some real goals to work on. I need to get my ads up to date on all my sites and try to make them pay off a little. I want to sell some of the collectible stuff I have and thin out my collections. I want to write a lot more about country music history because there is a whole lot of it to share. I want to write about not just the health issues I have but also those that are in the news and on the medical TV shows... about health education for health science teachers and college students who are interested in medicine. And music... I want to market myself as well as our band. I want to have information about my health and wellness business. And lest I forget, this is where I sometimes do a little preaching. So watch this space for more...
My blog hasn't been very active lately. My focus of late has been set on preparing for the ARRT MRI registry. I still have about 90 procedures to log before I can take the test, and it isn't something you just walk in and do before you've seen 10 of them. It's not like what I do in nucs, which is so repetitive and so ingrained into my brain that I can actually focus more on taking care of my patients and doing the many other things that are part of the job. I do hope I can work at least part-time hours in MRI for my current employer, because I've been a part of that environment and I really, really like the pace and the interaction with the emergency room there.
I want to write about so much more. I want to write about medicine, and education, and places and people and fiction and non-fiction. I want to keep teaching CPR and doing nucs and MRI and hopefully some TEE too, although I think they're more likely to get one of the heart station techs for that. I like being there. I like what I do for a living. I like doing it there and in the capacity I do because it is a good pace for me. I'm getting old and I need all the help I can get.
So tonight I'm writing about writing. I have been journaling as I usually do, documenting everything from my desire to drink a whole quart of boiled custard (not something I would recommend for a diabetic) to details of Randy's eye disease. For me writing is not just something I do to document history or to tell stories, it's something that helps me sort through the insanity that runs through my brain.
My brain has caused me a lot of trouble, which I'm trying to turn into something a little more constructive. Depression, or bipolar disorder if you believe the most current diagnosis (and I do), has taken its toll on me and this house. Chronic pain hasn't helped either. Diabetic neuropathy has been horrible to me. I'm not quite as heavy as I was, but I'm more crippled by it along with the degenerative changes I've had, like plantar fasciitis, arthritis, avascular necrosis, and other issues. And somehow during the years of constant lesson planning and grading and exhaustion, I totally lost control of this house and my finances. I've been working on the house, not just to create a more writing-conducive environment but because I need to organize the budget and paperwork. It's really not that we can't pay the bills anymore, because we do a pretty good job of it. I just need to get ready for the day when I can't drive to Nashville anymore, when it's time to move to assisted living or what have you. Hopefully, that day is a long ways off.
Today I cleaned under my son's old bed and then moved the queen mattress and box springs into his old room. I have a place for the twin mattress and frame and the old box spring is ready for the dump. I have a box spring for the twin where it's going. I moved my old recliner and took a TV into the kitchen/office and I am set up to get this room and all its paperwork under control so I can get out of debt. I do see that as a possibility someday and it excites me. Getting in there and working was exciting for me too. So hopefully, in a few days, I'll be ready to start on some of the projects I think about all the time... like updating all my websites. The Hee Haw almanac and website need a lot of work and I have some real goals to work on. I need to get my ads up to date on all my sites and try to make them pay off a little. I want to sell some of the collectible stuff I have and thin out my collections. I want to write a lot more about country music history because there is a whole lot of it to share. I want to write about not just the health issues I have but also those that are in the news and on the medical TV shows... about health education for health science teachers and college students who are interested in medicine. And music... I want to market myself as well as our band. I want to have information about my health and wellness business. And lest I forget, this is where I sometimes do a little preaching. So watch this space for more...
Sunday, May 08, 2016
I get a peaceful, easy feeling... and I know you won't let me down.
Hey, y'all... been a long, long time since my last post and probably for good reason. Life has changed forever, and whether that's a good or bad thing is still kind of too soon to know, but it's been great so far. The Rock Star had a gastric bypass in January and since then it's been... well, even before that it got pretty crazy. I could write a book about it, and someday maybe I will. The great part is that, so far, any changes it's made in him have been very positive.
We haven't had a real smooth road. Well, the Rock Star has but I have taken the whole process very hard as it has opened some really bad emotional baggage from years ago. And just like opening luggage that's been closed for a long time, it has been pretty nasty at times. But like washing out old, well-built suitcases and well-made clothes, the end results can be profitable (like selling them in vintage clothing stores). I'm not selling my marriage at the flea market or giving it to the Goodwill. I'm keeping it because by golly, this old suitcase is the bomb.com. But I did get rid of the 50-year-old straws and napkins. The bell bottom jeans are staying too.
I have been through a lot of issues about my body size, and tomorrow I may feel totally different, but I'm in a little better place since I decided to stay away from the scale and focus on looking the best I can for the adventure that day will bring. My diet... well, that's whatever I need to do to keep my blood sugar in a good place. If my blood sugars tend to run over 140, my feet hurt a lot. Now, other things can aggravate the feet too, but if there's no other logical reason (such as a heavy workload or strenuous exercise the previous day, or lack of sleep or an incoming storm or weather change), I look at my blood sugars. I don't check it every day but I do look at it several times a week at different times of the day and if I see it trending upward I keep a close eye on it until I get it under control. I need to exercise more but we've been doing a lot of hiking and in general I try to move more than I did in the past.
And then I didn't end up with one ounce of weight loss, and I thought maybe I needed to have a gastric bypass, but the doctor suggested a change of lifestyle, and I changed it a little more by watching my diet a little closer and moving a tad more, and changing my diet drastically, and then thinking, this is not sustainable... and going through another low point where I felt completely devastated. So several people I talked to said, "Go to another doctor, surely you will find someone who will help you with this," and I realized that I really do not WANT to have a gastric bypass at this point in my life. I may later, if I continue to gain weight even after the lifestyle changes, or if I don't lose any weight at all... but at this point I am not ready for that. I am enjoying the "new" Randy a lot. He seems to be enjoying me too. I have a lot to be thankful for... and one of those things is that Randy likes to do a lot more stuff outside the house and it's really great to get to do that with him.
I'm actually sort of a Cheatham County Rock Star myself these days. Randy's band "Traveler" invited me to be a part of their lineup and I'm happily doing so. Always on the lookout for more gigs and singing opportunities... so keep looking here and on Facebook for updates (www.facebook.com/travelerclarksville).
This week on RFD-TV they're featuring from 2/26/1977, Season 8 episode 22, with guest stars Ernest Tubb and Jody Miller. I'm not sure how I feel about this "Hee Haw" episode... it features Ernest Tubb, which is great, but Buck Owens is singing "Peaceful, Easy Feeling" and I'm not sure how I like that. Funny, though, I may go back and listen to it again sometime so I can feel for some higher harmony. Too bad Don Rich was already gone by the time this came out...
And this song "Roll Me On the Water" by Jody Miller... wow. Those are some risqué lyrics for the 70s. She was cute though. Wonder what ever happened to her??? Well, I wondered and here is what Google told me. http://www.jodymillermusic.com/
Hee Haw salutes Ernest Tubb's hometown of Crisp, Texas! I heard that the Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Music Valley Village has closed. I sure hate that. I wonder what happened to the old tour bus there?
Well... that's not all by any means, but it's a return to the blogging world and I hope someone is glad I shared.
We haven't had a real smooth road. Well, the Rock Star has but I have taken the whole process very hard as it has opened some really bad emotional baggage from years ago. And just like opening luggage that's been closed for a long time, it has been pretty nasty at times. But like washing out old, well-built suitcases and well-made clothes, the end results can be profitable (like selling them in vintage clothing stores). I'm not selling my marriage at the flea market or giving it to the Goodwill. I'm keeping it because by golly, this old suitcase is the bomb.com. But I did get rid of the 50-year-old straws and napkins. The bell bottom jeans are staying too.
I have been through a lot of issues about my body size, and tomorrow I may feel totally different, but I'm in a little better place since I decided to stay away from the scale and focus on looking the best I can for the adventure that day will bring. My diet... well, that's whatever I need to do to keep my blood sugar in a good place. If my blood sugars tend to run over 140, my feet hurt a lot. Now, other things can aggravate the feet too, but if there's no other logical reason (such as a heavy workload or strenuous exercise the previous day, or lack of sleep or an incoming storm or weather change), I look at my blood sugars. I don't check it every day but I do look at it several times a week at different times of the day and if I see it trending upward I keep a close eye on it until I get it under control. I need to exercise more but we've been doing a lot of hiking and in general I try to move more than I did in the past.
And then I didn't end up with one ounce of weight loss, and I thought maybe I needed to have a gastric bypass, but the doctor suggested a change of lifestyle, and I changed it a little more by watching my diet a little closer and moving a tad more, and changing my diet drastically, and then thinking, this is not sustainable... and going through another low point where I felt completely devastated. So several people I talked to said, "Go to another doctor, surely you will find someone who will help you with this," and I realized that I really do not WANT to have a gastric bypass at this point in my life. I may later, if I continue to gain weight even after the lifestyle changes, or if I don't lose any weight at all... but at this point I am not ready for that. I am enjoying the "new" Randy a lot. He seems to be enjoying me too. I have a lot to be thankful for... and one of those things is that Randy likes to do a lot more stuff outside the house and it's really great to get to do that with him.
I'm actually sort of a Cheatham County Rock Star myself these days. Randy's band "Traveler" invited me to be a part of their lineup and I'm happily doing so. Always on the lookout for more gigs and singing opportunities... so keep looking here and on Facebook for updates (www.facebook.com/travelerclarksville).
This week on RFD-TV they're featuring from 2/26/1977, Season 8 episode 22, with guest stars Ernest Tubb and Jody Miller. I'm not sure how I feel about this "Hee Haw" episode... it features Ernest Tubb, which is great, but Buck Owens is singing "Peaceful, Easy Feeling" and I'm not sure how I like that. Funny, though, I may go back and listen to it again sometime so I can feel for some higher harmony. Too bad Don Rich was already gone by the time this came out...
And this song "Roll Me On the Water" by Jody Miller... wow. Those are some risqué lyrics for the 70s. She was cute though. Wonder what ever happened to her??? Well, I wondered and here is what Google told me. http://www.jodymillermusic.com/
Hee Haw salutes Ernest Tubb's hometown of Crisp, Texas! I heard that the Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Music Valley Village has closed. I sure hate that. I wonder what happened to the old tour bus there?
Well... that's not all by any means, but it's a return to the blogging world and I hope someone is glad I shared.
Wednesday, June 03, 2015
The day Billy Joe McCalister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
It was the third of June!
See the video of "Ode to Billy Joe" here.
Anyway, it was quite a day. I had a venous Doppler ultrasound on my leg, which swells when it wants to and hurts most of the time. I forgot to take my morning meds so I suffered through the early afternoon, napped for a couple of hours with the cats all up in the bed with me, and then I woke up, packed the vehicle, and headed to my daughter's place so I can be closer to my jobs for a couple of days.
Lately I've been doing a lot of website work because in a few weeks the nuc tech work will dry up a little bit and I'll need more money. Heck, I need more money now!!! So, in the next few weeks I'm hoping you'll see a lot more activity on this blog and my others as well. Well, maybe not the teaching blogs, but some of the others anyway.
Stay tuned...
See the video of "Ode to Billy Joe" here.
Anyway, it was quite a day. I had a venous Doppler ultrasound on my leg, which swells when it wants to and hurts most of the time. I forgot to take my morning meds so I suffered through the early afternoon, napped for a couple of hours with the cats all up in the bed with me, and then I woke up, packed the vehicle, and headed to my daughter's place so I can be closer to my jobs for a couple of days.
Lately I've been doing a lot of website work because in a few weeks the nuc tech work will dry up a little bit and I'll need more money. Heck, I need more money now!!! So, in the next few weeks I'm hoping you'll see a lot more activity on this blog and my others as well. Well, maybe not the teaching blogs, but some of the others anyway.
Stay tuned...
Sunday, February 10, 2013
I will wait, I will wait for you...
I like this song. It's actually being performed on the Grammys right now. I am really out of touch most of the time but I like this song and these guys.
I have spent a lot of time waiting in the last few days. Waiting for Mom to take the next breath when she laid there on the bed breathing and then not breathing again for 15 or 20 seconds. She's been like this since Friday. I went home today because I needed to go home, I guess. I have cried and I have slept and I've eaten. My mind is shot... maybe my body is too, but it's probably better than my mind.
I suspect that my next journal entry will be describing the end of her journey. Maybe then I will be able to make sense of it all.
I have spent a lot of time waiting in the last few days. Waiting for Mom to take the next breath when she laid there on the bed breathing and then not breathing again for 15 or 20 seconds. She's been like this since Friday. I went home today because I needed to go home, I guess. I have cried and I have slept and I've eaten. My mind is shot... maybe my body is too, but it's probably better than my mind.
I suspect that my next journal entry will be describing the end of her journey. Maybe then I will be able to make sense of it all.
Friday, November 16, 2012
I tell it like it used to be.
Yesterday I had this song on my mind. I guess you could take it different ways. I am not living in the past like the writer of the song. It was more like telling it like it will be.
Sometimes I have to fight the negative thoughts in my head. Don't we all, sometimes? Like, I sometimes find myself thinking, "I'm depressed" for no apparent reason. Oh, I have as many reasons as most people to be depressed: a stressful job, more month than money, car troubles once or twice a month, a sick relative (or two or three) at least that often... I could go on, but I won't because I don't want to get depressed. I have just as many, if not more, reasons NOT to be depressed: a wonderful husband, amazing children, a good family, a warm house and a steady job, a great church family and good friends, and I could go on and on.
So yesterday when "I'm depressed" entered my head, I thought, "No, I used to be."
And I thought, I could apply that to so many other negatives in life, not just mine but others' lives as well.
I'm lazy. No, I used to be. Now I'm not.
I'm selfish. No, I used to be. Now I'm giving and caring.
Maybe it's crazy to carry on both sides of a conversation in your mind, but then again, maybe it used to be. Maybe now I'm rational.
Sometimes I have to fight the negative thoughts in my head. Don't we all, sometimes? Like, I sometimes find myself thinking, "I'm depressed" for no apparent reason. Oh, I have as many reasons as most people to be depressed: a stressful job, more month than money, car troubles once or twice a month, a sick relative (or two or three) at least that often... I could go on, but I won't because I don't want to get depressed. I have just as many, if not more, reasons NOT to be depressed: a wonderful husband, amazing children, a good family, a warm house and a steady job, a great church family and good friends, and I could go on and on.
So yesterday when "I'm depressed" entered my head, I thought, "No, I used to be."
And I thought, I could apply that to so many other negatives in life, not just mine but others' lives as well.
I'm lazy. No, I used to be. Now I'm not.
I'm selfish. No, I used to be. Now I'm giving and caring.
Maybe it's crazy to carry on both sides of a conversation in your mind, but then again, maybe it used to be. Maybe now I'm rational.
Friday, August 03, 2012
you might think I'm delirious...
Oh, it was back in the day. Way, way back in the day... a lot of water's gone under the bridge since then - the Prince Green bridge, or its predecessor, which I hit in my big old land barge Catalina - and I am reliving it tonight on Facebook. I heard this song the other day and I would've posted on Tim Horn's wall how this reminded me of going to Ridgecrest, but I had posted a link to "PYT" on Tim's wall the day before and God knows I don't need anybody thinking I'm fooling around with somebody because I posted songs from 1984 on their Facebook wall.
I normally don't like to think about 1984 much, and especially not this time of the year and now, my baby is starting HIS senior year and I know exactly how many years it's been (do the math! there's a teacher answer for you). But for some reason, this year has mellowed my memory of 1984 and I can deal with the ugly memories... most of them anyway. The ones I don't like to remember are the ugly ones caused by me. The other not-so-pretty memories, well, they are what they are and at least I still have them.
Summer's about over for me. We had open house at school tonight. Down here in the extremely hot South we send our kids back to school in the heat of August so we can spend a ton of money on air conditioning (and believe you me, we need our air conditioning in our schools without windows). It gets earlier and earlier too, although I will say that the August 7 start date is a few days later than the August 4 start date we had my first year in our neighboring county to the east-northeast. Usually, we get out in mid- to late- May and that makes coming in from bus duty soaked with sweat a little more worthwhile.
Every year I say I'm going to be a little tougher than I was the year before, and every year I end up being a pushover. I don't want to be meaner than I ought to be, but I don't want to be a pushover, either. I'm praying and honestly, at the moment, I feel like I'll be all right. I know I can make it. I know I can handle it.
I do know that one thing I need to do, in order to make it, is to go to bed and get some well-deserved rest.
I normally don't like to think about 1984 much, and especially not this time of the year and now, my baby is starting HIS senior year and I know exactly how many years it's been (do the math! there's a teacher answer for you). But for some reason, this year has mellowed my memory of 1984 and I can deal with the ugly memories... most of them anyway. The ones I don't like to remember are the ugly ones caused by me. The other not-so-pretty memories, well, they are what they are and at least I still have them.
Summer's about over for me. We had open house at school tonight. Down here in the extremely hot South we send our kids back to school in the heat of August so we can spend a ton of money on air conditioning (and believe you me, we need our air conditioning in our schools without windows). It gets earlier and earlier too, although I will say that the August 7 start date is a few days later than the August 4 start date we had my first year in our neighboring county to the east-northeast. Usually, we get out in mid- to late- May and that makes coming in from bus duty soaked with sweat a little more worthwhile.
Every year I say I'm going to be a little tougher than I was the year before, and every year I end up being a pushover. I don't want to be meaner than I ought to be, but I don't want to be a pushover, either. I'm praying and honestly, at the moment, I feel like I'll be all right. I know I can make it. I know I can handle it.
I do know that one thing I need to do, in order to make it, is to go to bed and get some well-deserved rest.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
SI wk 0 day 6: School's out for summer
Not quite forever just yet...
I really enjoyed my day today. I wasn't at school all that long and I came home and piddled around here after that. I decided that every day I'm going to try to do several things.
One, I'm going to do something each day to improve my health. Today... well, I ate broccoli and cheese for supper, along with baked beans. Not the healthiest meal but not the worst either. I didn't exercise today because my feet have hurt just about all day. I relaxed. Isn't that good?
Two, I'm going to do something fun every day, or some kind of treat to myself. Now you have to realize that I can have fun with a lot of different things! I did several fun things today. I watched "The Women of SNL" which was pretty funny. I've relaxed on the hammock several times (isn't that healthy too?). I worked on my Jux account, because I'm thinking about trying to sell some medical photography. Maybe...
Three, I'm doing something school-related each day because I have lots of good ideas and I'd like to get ahead of the game. I had to set a limit on that - no more than four hours a day. There will be days when I have to do more than four hours a day, because of professional development and such. I'm excited though. Today was a half-day so there was my four hours.
Four, I'm going to do something spiritual every day. That's sort of broad... a lot of things fit in here. Doing something for somebody would fit, as would singing in a nursing home. Could I count meditating in the hammock here?
Finally, I'm going to do something for the home each day. I washed dishes and a load of clothes. I folded a load of clothes, and I dusted the dresser in the master bedroom. I had to deal with Sonny's urine... don't want to talk about that. I haven't done a lot of housework but I've done something today and will improve tomorrow.
I really enjoyed my day today. I wasn't at school all that long and I came home and piddled around here after that. I decided that every day I'm going to try to do several things.
One, I'm going to do something each day to improve my health. Today... well, I ate broccoli and cheese for supper, along with baked beans. Not the healthiest meal but not the worst either. I didn't exercise today because my feet have hurt just about all day. I relaxed. Isn't that good?
Two, I'm going to do something fun every day, or some kind of treat to myself. Now you have to realize that I can have fun with a lot of different things! I did several fun things today. I watched "The Women of SNL" which was pretty funny. I've relaxed on the hammock several times (isn't that healthy too?). I worked on my Jux account, because I'm thinking about trying to sell some medical photography. Maybe...
Three, I'm doing something school-related each day because I have lots of good ideas and I'd like to get ahead of the game. I had to set a limit on that - no more than four hours a day. There will be days when I have to do more than four hours a day, because of professional development and such. I'm excited though. Today was a half-day so there was my four hours.
Four, I'm going to do something spiritual every day. That's sort of broad... a lot of things fit in here. Doing something for somebody would fit, as would singing in a nursing home. Could I count meditating in the hammock here?
Finally, I'm going to do something for the home each day. I washed dishes and a load of clothes. I folded a load of clothes, and I dusted the dresser in the master bedroom. I had to deal with Sonny's urine... don't want to talk about that. I haven't done a lot of housework but I've done something today and will improve tomorrow.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Summer improvements week 0 day 2: I don't wanna work... or maybe I do
Today I have mostly been lazy. We had our church homecoming today, which was nice. I messed up my song, and I was already a bit emotional when another soloist got choked up singing his, which obviously reminded him of his grandmother who died in February. His dad, too, was emotional when the time came for him to dedicate the gift from the memorial fund in her memory so the tears flowed freely today.
After that, a huge unhealthy meal and since then a long nap and then the runs and during that time a good read of a book about neuropathy. I have had a tough time with neuropathy lately. I have always tended to be a wuss about pain or so I was told. I believed this too until I walked around for 6 hours with a broken ankle and then worked for 3 hours with a broken hand. I don't like pain but I can put up with a lot. This chronic pain of neuropathy has really put a cramp in my life. I can't stand up for long periods of time and I am just getting worse. I have decided that starting now I am going to eat less carbohydrate and sugar. I feel like I need to be on one of those commercials like the people who are young and suffering the effects of smoking. Yes, sugar can do this to you! Give up the candy bars now! And, sigh, the sweet tea. I always liked that more than candy anyhow. I can do candy in moderation. I don't do cheesecake in moderation. Ice cream is a big temptation too. I hope it helps. If nothing else then at least I should lose some weight and maybe then people won't blame my pain on my weight. Sigh. I think I can live with a less wheat based diet. I hope so.
Randy is home after a long shopping trip. I don't know where he has been so I hope this is good. He had been to his mom's. Oh, well, that explains it. THANKS FOR MAKING ME WORRY FOR THREE HOURS. I don't mind him going to his mom's and Lord knows he doesn't have to answer to me for every minute of every day, but he not only was gone for 4.5 hours doing a one hour job, he didn't respond to a text an hour ago. We only live about 20 minutes from his mom. I am not one of those control freaks who keeps her man on a tight leash. If I had been, I probably wouldn't still be married to Randy. Sometimes, though, I feel the need to remind him that he is married and because he lives with someone, occasionally he needs to let us know what he's doing.
I have been so lazy this weekend. I didn't clean house, pay bills, or shop or anything. Well, I DID go to the store yesterday. I hope I have a better attitude. I should. School is out after Tuesday (even though I have to go until Thursday). I never thought I'd be one of those teachers who counted the days until summer vacation. But you really can't help it. It is so stressful when the kids are ready to get out... which is every day, but worst in May. I spent this, my third year, trying to find another job. There, I admit it. I don't think that helped my attitude a bit, but my finances were the harsh reality that teachers just don't make the money nuclear medicine techs do. And, oh, yes, let's not forget I didn't WANT to get out of the field, it just seemed like a better option than where I was when I did... working in an office with uncertainty and no benefits and a toxic environment after being laid off from my dream job. If I hadn't gone into teaching, if I had stayed, I wouldn't have had any hours in December. That would've been a lovely Christmas. Granted, that Christmas sucked anyway (my grandfather died on Dec. 23) but it would've been rough if I hadn't been paid.
It sounds like it'd be easy to find PRN work, but nobody wants to hire a PRN tech who can only work in the summer. They want people who can come in at the drop of a hat anytime (and from my previous experience, who can work all those school holidays so they can be off with their kids). If I had been working somewhere PRN when I started teaching, I could've done it. I really should be glad I'm not doing nucs anymore. My old feet couldn't take it, for starters, and I don't miss working with people in that environment. I mean, I work with complainers (the students) and other adults (the teachers) but it's different. There is less of the "keeping up with the Joneses" because nobody's got any money. There's less drama because we're the grownups (most of the time). I miss patient care, and I wonder if that's not part of my issue, that I'm having to treat myself as a patient. I could work as a CNA but I don't know if I could handle an 8 hour shift on my feet.
There IS a nuc tech opening in Gallatin, 47 miles away. And no, don't suggest that I could move because it is not that simple. Randy has a job about 15 miles from here (and approximately 62 miles from Gallatin) and halfway between the two is... well, it IS in Derek's school district but that would mean selling this place and that is not something that can be done overnight in this neighborhood. Besides we're assuming I'd get the job. A nuc tech can't assume that anymore especially one who is 45 and fat and has a reputation of working here there and everywhere. And has a pretty well known health history. Again losing weight would help, but I couldn't lose it fast enough to help get that job. And then there is Derek's upcoming surgery (hello, patient care skills) and all that entails. I am better off staying put for now and doing transcription when I can, writing, and just hoping being a tech coach and data coach will keep us afloat until I can get my car paid off.
After that, a huge unhealthy meal and since then a long nap and then the runs and during that time a good read of a book about neuropathy. I have had a tough time with neuropathy lately. I have always tended to be a wuss about pain or so I was told. I believed this too until I walked around for 6 hours with a broken ankle and then worked for 3 hours with a broken hand. I don't like pain but I can put up with a lot. This chronic pain of neuropathy has really put a cramp in my life. I can't stand up for long periods of time and I am just getting worse. I have decided that starting now I am going to eat less carbohydrate and sugar. I feel like I need to be on one of those commercials like the people who are young and suffering the effects of smoking. Yes, sugar can do this to you! Give up the candy bars now! And, sigh, the sweet tea. I always liked that more than candy anyhow. I can do candy in moderation. I don't do cheesecake in moderation. Ice cream is a big temptation too. I hope it helps. If nothing else then at least I should lose some weight and maybe then people won't blame my pain on my weight. Sigh. I think I can live with a less wheat based diet. I hope so.
Randy is home after a long shopping trip. I don't know where he has been so I hope this is good. He had been to his mom's. Oh, well, that explains it. THANKS FOR MAKING ME WORRY FOR THREE HOURS. I don't mind him going to his mom's and Lord knows he doesn't have to answer to me for every minute of every day, but he not only was gone for 4.5 hours doing a one hour job, he didn't respond to a text an hour ago. We only live about 20 minutes from his mom. I am not one of those control freaks who keeps her man on a tight leash. If I had been, I probably wouldn't still be married to Randy. Sometimes, though, I feel the need to remind him that he is married and because he lives with someone, occasionally he needs to let us know what he's doing.
I have been so lazy this weekend. I didn't clean house, pay bills, or shop or anything. Well, I DID go to the store yesterday. I hope I have a better attitude. I should. School is out after Tuesday (even though I have to go until Thursday). I never thought I'd be one of those teachers who counted the days until summer vacation. But you really can't help it. It is so stressful when the kids are ready to get out... which is every day, but worst in May. I spent this, my third year, trying to find another job. There, I admit it. I don't think that helped my attitude a bit, but my finances were the harsh reality that teachers just don't make the money nuclear medicine techs do. And, oh, yes, let's not forget I didn't WANT to get out of the field, it just seemed like a better option than where I was when I did... working in an office with uncertainty and no benefits and a toxic environment after being laid off from my dream job. If I hadn't gone into teaching, if I had stayed, I wouldn't have had any hours in December. That would've been a lovely Christmas. Granted, that Christmas sucked anyway (my grandfather died on Dec. 23) but it would've been rough if I hadn't been paid.
It sounds like it'd be easy to find PRN work, but nobody wants to hire a PRN tech who can only work in the summer. They want people who can come in at the drop of a hat anytime (and from my previous experience, who can work all those school holidays so they can be off with their kids). If I had been working somewhere PRN when I started teaching, I could've done it. I really should be glad I'm not doing nucs anymore. My old feet couldn't take it, for starters, and I don't miss working with people in that environment. I mean, I work with complainers (the students) and other adults (the teachers) but it's different. There is less of the "keeping up with the Joneses" because nobody's got any money. There's less drama because we're the grownups (most of the time). I miss patient care, and I wonder if that's not part of my issue, that I'm having to treat myself as a patient. I could work as a CNA but I don't know if I could handle an 8 hour shift on my feet.
There IS a nuc tech opening in Gallatin, 47 miles away. And no, don't suggest that I could move because it is not that simple. Randy has a job about 15 miles from here (and approximately 62 miles from Gallatin) and halfway between the two is... well, it IS in Derek's school district but that would mean selling this place and that is not something that can be done overnight in this neighborhood. Besides we're assuming I'd get the job. A nuc tech can't assume that anymore especially one who is 45 and fat and has a reputation of working here there and everywhere. And has a pretty well known health history. Again losing weight would help, but I couldn't lose it fast enough to help get that job. And then there is Derek's upcoming surgery (hello, patient care skills) and all that entails. I am better off staying put for now and doing transcription when I can, writing, and just hoping being a tech coach and data coach will keep us afloat until I can get my car paid off.
All I did to improve the house today was wash dishes - fair enough, since I dirtied quite a few preparing potato casserole and cookies for church - and sweep the kitchen. I spot-mopped a little of the kitchen floor too.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Only Thou art holy...
I have noticed that most churches have songs or stories they really like. When I was a kid, I went to a church called Bethel. We had lots of songs we sang often, but I do remember the story of how Jacob had a dream and named the place Bethel. My cousins went to a church called Ebenezer. They liked that song with the line, "Here I raise mine Ebenezer." Even now, when I hear the song, "O Little Town of Bethlehem," I think of Bethlehem Baptist out in the country. At Trinity, where Rachel was baptized, they liked "Holy, Holy, Holy," with the line, "God in three persons, blessed Trinity."
I went to Trinity for four or five years. We started there when Rachel was just big enough to ask to go to the church with the orange crackers, before Derek was born, and we left when she was in the first grade. I hated leaving, in a way, but some things about it really got on my nerves. I went there tonight to see Billie and her family. Usually the funeral home has visitation at the funeral home but I guess they're pretty crowded right now. It was nice to go to the church because it was only 5 miles from here compared to the 14 or so to the funeral home.
I chose this song, though, because it is truly a worship song, even though it was traditionally number 1 in the Baptist Hymnal (as opposed to being projected onto a screen), even though it as written a long, long time ago (and not in the 1990's), even though it sounds like a hymn and not a praise chorus. I've always liked it even before our Trinity days. This morning I went to Madisonville to the annual women's conference. I would've gone back for the evening session if I hadn't been planning to go to the visitation. I don't regret going to the visitation instead. That was needed. I told my friend Karen that I wanted one of them to have a prophetic vision or something for me... I wish I could get a little more insight into what God wants me to do. It was good though. I enjoyed it.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
And I-I-I - will always love you....
I watched the Grammys tonight. I haven't enjoyed an awards show that much in a long time. I didn't think I'd want to watch the whole show but it was great. Loved the Beach Boys reunion. Yes, they are old as water but they REALLY sound good. Why didn't they put Glen Campbell up there with them? He used to be a Beach Boy too. I think he is getting out just in time (poor guy), but I love him and his songs. I can sing "Wichita Lineman." Paul McCartney is also up there in the geriatric category, but he ROCKED. Foo Fighters rock too, always. I thought Coldplay was pretty good, sort of liked Rihanna. Did not enjoy Nicki Minaj's... whatever that was. Some people didn't like Jennifer Hudson's tribute to Whitney Houston, but I thought she did a wonderful job. I am the keeper of the "Hee Haw" flame, and did not care for Taylor Swift's set that looked like some junkyards I've seen in Robertson County. (Cheatham, too, for that matter.) I didn't pay much attention to the others... And that's my Grammy review.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
The greatest love of all
When I was a freshman in college, this song took the world by storm. This morning I heard it on "Coming to America," performed by Eddie Murphy as Randy Watson, "who played Joe the Policeman on the 'What's Goin' Down' episode of 'That's My Mama!'" Tonight, I played the real version, in memory of the late great Whitney Houston. God rest her soul. So sad.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
We shall overcome, some day.
Is today an anniversary of some event in the Civil Rights Movement? I'm asking because I just got through watching "Mississippi Burning," and now "Ghosts of Mississippi" is on. I'd never seen the first movie before today, but I'd heard of it. The latter's one of my favorites. (I just love Alec Baldwin with a Southern accent. It drips like honey from his mouth.) I know it's not MLK's birthday, or anniversary of his assassination. Emmett Till's birthday is next week, and Medgar Evers' was week before last. Actually, if you Google "July in Civil Rights History," you'll see that several events took place in July.
I'm home alone tonight. Randy's got a "gig," Rachel's working at school, & Derek's spending the night with a friend. If I think about it, I get kind of sad thinking that my babies are grown up, but I'm really too busy to be lonely. I've been to see friends today anyway so I don't feel lonely. I got my hair cut really short today. I wanted to go back to the natural color, and besides, it was hot. There's plenty to do: laundry, coursework for my Desktop Publishing class, dishes, balancing the checkbook, recording stuff on the DVR for my collection, lesson planning, studying the CNA book, and reading the Bible!!! I'm starting CNA classes on Monday.
All summer, I looked for a part-time job I could do in the summers and perhaps on weekends during the school year too. Well, nobody wanted a Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist who could only work PRN in the summer. So, I applied for care partner positions, and other medical jobs that I'm probably over-qualified to do. Nobody thought a CNMT could do anything except punch buttons and I can imagine them asking, don't they handle radiation? Why doesn't she find a job in oncology or something? Uh, because first, I'm not qualified to do radiation oncology and second, there are 35 jobs - nationwide - if you type in "nuclear medicine technologist" on CareerBuilder, and 20 of them are for medical technologists or nuclear pharmacists or other jobs I am not qualified to do. The other 15 are all over the country, the closest being in Atlanta, 4 hours away. If I wanted to go full time, the closest position is in Florida, 8 or more hours away.
Most of the care partner jobs, as well as home health aide jobs, require a Nursing Assistant certification (CNA). You can't challenge the board on that. You have to go to 100 hours of schooling. Some long-term care facilities (nursing homes, assisted living facilities, etc.) will pay for you to do it, but most want applicants who already have their CNA. So, I decided to go on and do it. The first six weeks of school will be crazy...I'll finish one graduate-level class, start two more, finish the CNA class all while teaching! I'm sort of excited but also sort of scared! I believe I can do it, though.
Well, on that note, I guess I'd better get to work.
Monday, April 11, 2011
We were young and strong, we were running against the wind.
This evening I've been writing my sermon. Yes, you read that right. I am taking a Lay Speaking Course, and Saturday, I have to give a sermon to a jury of my peers, I mean, my class of beginning lay speakers. I am not planning to become a pastor. I do not think God's calling me to do that. Maybe to fill in a pulpit here & there, but no, the shepherding instinct is just not there. God's been working on me for a long time. I've felt the call for about 30 years now, but sometimes I ran from it. Sometimes I was just too busy serving myself. Sometimes I didn't trust God to do what I thought was right. At times I wondered if God was even concerned with me at all. Still, He was always taking care of me, always had a plan for me. Right about the time I first felt the call, my pastor at the time, the late Mike Nelson, started a sermon one Sunday with the song, "Against the Wind." He told us we needed to stop running against the wind and let God have us. I thought I was doing that, but I kept trying to take back the control of my future. I had no idea what I was in for!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
But time makes you bolder, children get older, I'm getting older too
I haven't blogged lately, because although I've been busy, I haven't had anything profound to say. Now that Spring Break has arrived, here are some updates on the family.
The boy is now 16 and has his driver's license. I thought I was going to lose my mind...just knew he'd get himself or someone else killed the first time he pulled the Grand Prix out of the driveway...but a month of driving has been pretty uneventful. Unlike when his sister started driving, jobs for teens aren't aplenty around here, but we think he might get a decent summer job (if gas prices don't crash the economy again). They're about to crash OUR economy here in the CCRS household.
The girl is loving Lipscomb and social club (read: sorority) life. She has a date for the formal next month, and they seem to be enjoying one another's company. She, too, is on Spring Break, but right now she's sleeping in her room, and he's on a mission trip with one of our cousins. She's planning to go on a mission trip in June.
The CCRS (man of the house) is doing all right. It's his busy time of the year, so he's NOT on Spring Break with the rest of us. He's getting quite a lot of playing time these days, which is probably good because it helps him blow off steam, but sometimes I wonder if it doesn't just make his stress level increase because it's quite time consuming and really messes with his sleep schedule. Of course I know nothing so I don't bring this up.
I'm doing much better. Though the neuropathy is bugging me at the moment, overall it bothers me a lot less lately than it has in the last few months. I'm taking new meds & they've been a real answer to prayer. School's been going all right, though I'm struggling with feeling like I am boring & don't make exciting, engaging, thought-provoking lessons. As I type this, I feel a little stressed just thinking about it. I may be a tiny bit better at showing my backbone these days, but I have a ways to go. I struggle with what God wants from me. I want to do what God wants me to do, but sometimes, I wonder just what that is. I'm taking the Lay Speaker Course next month. I don't see myself becoming a pastor (PLEASE don't get me started on that) but someone suggested I take it since I DO sing in other churches and it might help with giving testimony and things like that. I think I get plenty of public speaking experience.
We've unfortunately filled this week with medical appointments; today D & I go to the optometrist, Thursday he goes to the orthodontist, and Friday I go to the doctor for a follow-up on all the lovely health conditions that seem to enjoy hanging out in my body. That's all right. I'd rather go on vacation when I have a week to clean house prior and a week to relax afterward - I guess I was meant to be a teacher after all. Yesterday I sang at the nursing home again. I always love that.
The boy is now 16 and has his driver's license. I thought I was going to lose my mind...just knew he'd get himself or someone else killed the first time he pulled the Grand Prix out of the driveway...but a month of driving has been pretty uneventful. Unlike when his sister started driving, jobs for teens aren't aplenty around here, but we think he might get a decent summer job (if gas prices don't crash the economy again). They're about to crash OUR economy here in the CCRS household.
The girl is loving Lipscomb and social club (read: sorority) life. She has a date for the formal next month, and they seem to be enjoying one another's company. She, too, is on Spring Break, but right now she's sleeping in her room, and he's on a mission trip with one of our cousins. She's planning to go on a mission trip in June.
The CCRS (man of the house) is doing all right. It's his busy time of the year, so he's NOT on Spring Break with the rest of us. He's getting quite a lot of playing time these days, which is probably good because it helps him blow off steam, but sometimes I wonder if it doesn't just make his stress level increase because it's quite time consuming and really messes with his sleep schedule. Of course I know nothing so I don't bring this up.
I'm doing much better. Though the neuropathy is bugging me at the moment, overall it bothers me a lot less lately than it has in the last few months. I'm taking new meds & they've been a real answer to prayer. School's been going all right, though I'm struggling with feeling like I am boring & don't make exciting, engaging, thought-provoking lessons. As I type this, I feel a little stressed just thinking about it. I may be a tiny bit better at showing my backbone these days, but I have a ways to go. I struggle with what God wants from me. I want to do what God wants me to do, but sometimes, I wonder just what that is. I'm taking the Lay Speaker Course next month. I don't see myself becoming a pastor (PLEASE don't get me started on that) but someone suggested I take it since I DO sing in other churches and it might help with giving testimony and things like that. I think I get plenty of public speaking experience.
We've unfortunately filled this week with medical appointments; today D & I go to the optometrist, Thursday he goes to the orthodontist, and Friday I go to the doctor for a follow-up on all the lovely health conditions that seem to enjoy hanging out in my body. That's all right. I'd rather go on vacation when I have a week to clean house prior and a week to relax afterward - I guess I was meant to be a teacher after all. Yesterday I sang at the nursing home again. I always love that.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
I don't want to go through the motions...
A few weeks ago I wrote about hearing this song. It's called "The Motions" by Matthew West. I really need to purchase this song and listen to it every day of my life. It's a contemporary Christian song.
- I don’t wanna go through the motions,
- I don’t wanna go one more day
- Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
- I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking
- What if I had given everything?
- Instead of going through the motions
Tomorrow is January 14. Last January 14, a girl I knew in high school died of breast cancer. I had not seen her in years but had taken care of several of her family members and her sister is my friend on Facebook. Then on January 15, I learned that my childhood heartthrob had died that same night. (I wrote a long post about that, here.) It was one of the saddest weekends of my life. I can't believe it's been a year. I think about it every day. I'll never forget it.
I have been out of school for a week, and while I have enjoyed it, I just dread going back more after time off. I've copied 16 episodes of Hee Haw onto DVD this week, and that's enough. I wish Jim Ed Brown and the Opry cruisers would leave for the Caribbean already. I bet that commercial was on 100 times in 16 hours. Gee whiz.
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