chou chope

mean jolene

i had a really bad day

i don't believe in bad day blodging, i'm opposed to it, but i'm so far behind here, and maybe you can help.

went to mentoring with katie. on my way, i stopped by true's classroom (it's directly across the hall from the mentor reading room.)

i could see that miss fin was deep into a lecture. true's class is learning about texas this week. armadillos, the alamo, davey crockett...you name it. it was an imaginative little lesson going on and i didn't want to disrupt it.

so i stepped up behind the door and leaned against it and listened. and you know what i heard? i heard my true talking non stop, just like he does at home. i gained so much respect for miss fin at that moment. it was like she kept talking and controlling the lesson even as true fought to get some attention out of the class. all the kids were yelling out and having a good time. what an artist, that teacher, she really has a great way with kids.

anyway, i'm standing there, listening at the door when mean jolene happens by. she says, "can i help you?"

i recognize her as the reading specialist that gave the mentors a cram course on helping kids with their reading, however i couldn't remember her name. i said, "oh hi, i'm true's mom. i didn't want to disrupt his class by poking my head in, so i thought i'd just listen to their lesson; they are really having a great time."

she just walked away with a student in tow, then stopped, turned around mid-step and declared she had a message to deliver to the office and then headed that way.

i went on listening. shortly thereafter, katie walked up with miss r, the mentor coordinator, and we all walked into the reading room and got busy reading.

not more than five minutes later, the school secretary walks thru the door and says, "i don't want to have to say this to you, miss chou, but they've sent me here to tell you that we can't have you hovering out in the hallways. when you mentor you have to come directly to the reading room and then leave the campus. if you want to see your son, then you need to go to the office and get a pass."

OBSERVATIONS:
1) my knee jerk reaction is to cool down and then let them know i don't need to volunteer my time or skills to such an ungrateful organization, but i know that would really only hurt katie. she didn't do anything wrong.

2) i realize as a parent, it's good that they have rules to prevent adults from lurking in the hallways. BUT i'm there every week, they all know me. miss r was visibly offended as she witnessed the whole 'fuck off, chou' delivery speech. they know my son is in that class, and when he was in kindergarden, his teacher had me read to his class all the time. it was like we were expected to care enough to come and participate then, but now, a year later, it's all voodoo and shit. wtf?? anyone?

3) i also realize that women who work in mass estrogen outlets such as malls, schools and hospitals (god bless you ladies, i would start killin' eventually) are prone to drive high drama out of didley squat. it's how they show their prowess. if that's all this really amounts to, i guess i'm going to just have to suck it up and move on. drama begets drama and the only way to win is not to play. or so they tell me, i'm walking pms, who am i to say?

4) i almost cried. it made me feel like a child molestor, a criminal. i have no idea why no one thought it would sound offensive, but i have some serious concerns about how they view me at the school. fucking bitches, why you gotta hate?? if katie had parents that gave a crap about her, they wouldn't need me to read to her, no? are they not serving up a beat down on the few of us left that give a shit? cause i sorely feel like giving up.

so great blodging public...what would you do? where is the high road? i'm looking to get on it.

capitalist piglet

true, "mommy, if i get dressed, can we all go to the bank?"

me, "why do you need to go to the bank?"

true, "cause i want to watch em count my money and tell em about all the bionicles i'm going to buy."

me, "nobody likes a bragadoches, boy."

little debbie and the temple of doom

to answer your earlier question, chrissy, yes. i'm blodging in hindsight now. everything that's happened to me lately has happened in a blurry busy fog. too much work, too much pressure, too many dirty dishes..life can get real sucky real fast if you let it.

part of my mia period was spent in austin. ended up staying with my dear friend little debbie. now little debbie is deep in the 'about to get divorced' funk. believe me, i have been there, so don't mistake my tone for judgement.

the night i came, little d had reserved right to the home and the dog, and the hubby had hit the town, staying the night with a friend. what the fuck was i thinking? did anything about working overtime scream go spend the night with your friend who's in the earliest throes of divorce? mercy, i'm a moron.

so debbie and i got drunk. i mean, what else can you do? and then the phone calls came. at least one an hour, the freaking ringing. then the beep of the text messages, then the ringing again.

all the while, i'm trying to be supportive to little debbie. on loan, her own things, only for a couple of hours, then she has to vacate again. their home is beautiful, save for the shrine to their now dying love. every wall in the place had a framed wedding picture of some kind.

do you know anyone who decorates pretty much solely with pictures of themselves? i have one or two framed pics of myself in my entire home. one is a friend from grade school and i at a reunion, the other is me in front of lake louise in banff, canada. the most beautiful place i think i've ever been. but a shrine? not to me, maybe to the kiddos, though.

anyhoo, it was uncomfortable, to say the very least. i sat in the embattled home, surrounded with pictures of love, pictures ingrained in my own memory on every wall, pictures of the day when this day would never come. it was torture. all the while, hearing repeated tales of dissappointment, depression, and dissonance. it was the worst sleep of my life, and more stressful than i could ever imagine.

weird thing is, little debbie and her hubby are actually at war over who gets that nightmare of a landing pad. they communicate every day primarily to map out when and why each of them needs to be onsite. a constant, ongoing struggle for control. "look, i get the home, i need it. no, i left last time, you leave." i think if i was their marriage counselor i'd ask them to burn it to the ground.

guess that's why i'm a financial counselor and not a marriage counselor. one night in the temple of doom and i thought it time to cut losses and run. i'm a realist, and ain't no way to way to feel good about laying claim to a graveyard. sadly, our refuge, our solace, our happy place, our home, is only a graveyard of lost souls and memories once love moves out.

good news is, i escaped the temple of doom by the skin of my teeth. i headed out on ice covered roads just as soon as my eyes opened. unscathed, for the most part, i was happy to get home. and this time, i really was thankful for all that i have. life is good, kids are home, home is sweet, home sweet home.

the meat & taters of investing

on tv, a van kampen mutual funds commercial

me, "i like their funds... that's where the kids' college money is invested."

spur, "i like their pork and beans."

ooh la la

nice, isn't it?

blight hooked me up.

she's all preggers and nursing a sick kiddo and still had time to love up the chou chope. i can't believe what she was able to do with this place, i love it!

plus, redneck was calling me the velocibitch. looks like you're my beyotch again, my redneck friend.

thanks, sweet kelley, i do appreciate ya

intranet witchcraft

ok, this shit is starting to get to me. i do it, yeah, i have to. once in a while, it's like they're psychic or something. check it:

see? how do they do that? unbelievable.

and then there was this:

Your Birthdate: November 10

Independent and dominant, you tend to be the alpha dog in most situations. You're very confident, and hardly anything ever shakes you. Mundane tasks tend to drain you - you prefer to be making great plans. You are quite original. When people don't "get" you, it bothers you a lot. Your strength: Your ability to gain respect Your weakness: Caring too much what others think Your power color: Orange-red Your power symbol: Letter X Your power month: October

creepy, huh? seems like your typical intranet bullshite until you dig down deep. isn't my power color UT burnt orange? isn't october stock market crash month? it's like some of those far out freaky minions have implanted me with tracking sensors or something. i am very afraid.

in other news, i've been sick as a dawg. sick as a dawg with a shot gall bladder. no, sick as a dirty flea bitten dawg with a shot gall bladder and two bickering puppies.

i have been burning the candle at both ends. the kids went away this weekend, so i went to austin and worked. i had my best month since i moved back to texas (yay, me) but if i keep up this pace, i'm going to spontaneously combust or something. deadly projectile vomit just felt right somehow. that's me alright.

later blodge bretheren, thanks for all your well wishes and i didn't mean to disappear, just viral is all.

happy trails

happy valentine's day

well, not so much for me really

got dumped last night. yep, ole spur pulled a quick draw and shot me square in the heart, dead. hell of thing to do on valentine's day eve, but then again, i guess i had it coming. don't ask me why, god only knows how a man's mind works.

sweet zonker had the best advice. he said, "awe shoe, don't think of it as valentine's day, think of it as independence day." i'm trying buddy, i really am.

and the kids are soooooo excited. i meant to scan in their valentines but haven't figured that out yet over here at munu. mine from true said, "I love you" on the front and on the inside it says, "Dear mom, I love you very much. you are the best mom ever in the hole wide world." can't ask to be more appreciated than that, can i?

his valentine to his teacher mrs. fin is priceless. it says, "Roses are red, Violets are blue, you are pretty love, true" i swear that boy is going to be a lady killer when he grows up. pretty easy reading his mind, eh?

now all y'all blodgers have a loverly day.

update: figured out the upload pics...they are in extended entry. enjoy!!

mine:

for zapatamama from alley cat:

but i'm young in blog years

true: mommy, did you know that in nineteen hundred and ninety-two, colombus sailed the ocean blue?

me: wow, did you know that in nineteen hundred and ninety-three, i graduated from the university of texas at austin?

true: whoa, you are oooooooooold.

snake eyes

americans cry wolf

when did mommy lose her mind?

kryptic kumho and the michelin man

and now an urgent memo to blown-eyeds..

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