Taking a Trip Down South
Posted on December 28, 2009
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Now that the holidays are just about over, I just have one more trip left before I have to go back to work. I booked off the next two weeks so that I could make a trip to my brother’s home in California, and I am looking forward to spending it in the warmth that the state provides.
Unlike many brothers, we actually get along really well and I would say that we are best friends. There is only a couple of years between us, and since we were the only two kids in the area when we were kids (we lived on a farm), we either could have been close or had no one to play with.
I do like spending time with him especially since he became a little bit of an airsoft nut. It isn’t uncommon for us to go out for the day with his KWA guns and fire off a few thousand rounds. There is just something powerful about firing some of today’s automatic weapons (even though they only shoot pellets).
Needless to say, I am really looking forward to spending some time with my best friend from childhood. My only regret is that we can’t do it more often.
Sometimes Being a Parent is Frustrating
Posted on December 27, 2009
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I would like to think that most of the time I am a good parent. I have the patience to play with children, listen to their fighting and thoughts, and I love to color. Okay, well those aren’t all the skills required to be a parent, but they are a start, right?
Well, I thought I was a good example of a parent until tonight. You see, over the holidays we have had many people come through our home, and I have taken many pictures of all the special moments that we have shared with them. Okay, I might be a bit of a scrapbooker, but their are worse things I could do with my time.
I thought that things had gone extremely well and that the kids were really good while we had a house full of company. Little did I know that by having so many people in my house that I would fail to notice the mischief that they were up to.
I wasn’t until tonight when I went to clean out the toys from the bathtub that I noticed that my SD multimedia card just “happened” to be in the tub. As I took it out of the tub, I could see the water come out of it – I knew that it surely had been ruined.
The kids got of unscathed as they were sleeping, but I sure felt frustrated and angry. Sometimes I wonder why I decided to be a parent in the first place.
Goodbye Mac and Cheese
Posted on December 26, 2009
Filed Under Culinary Arts | Leave a Comment
If I have learnt anything over the past few months, it is that knowledge is power. Those who have the right knowledge at the right place definitely have an edge over others. In fact, I would be a good example.
You see, just a few months ago, I finally had my first taste of freedom living under my own roof. I moved into my own little apartment and I felt what it was like being an adult for the first time – I was in heaven.
Those first few days I spent unpacking my stuff and eating out. I suppose most of us teenagers are guilty for eating too much fast food, so after a few days I decided to cook a meal for myself.
Catch is, I had no idea how to cook.
So for the next three months, I ate macaroni and cheese every day out of a box because it was the only thing I knew how to cook. It was a disgusting experience, but I needed to survive while I learned how to cook from the classes I was taking at cooking school.
It only took two weeks, and I was finally able to make some decent meals of my own, at which point I said goodbye to the macaroni and hello to real food. I never realized how much I took my mother’s cooking for granted, but it is something that I will never do again.
Reviewing Projects from my Students
Posted on December 26, 2009
Filed Under Education | Leave a Comment
If you are a school teacher, you will know what a blessing the Christmas break can be. Sure, most people enjoy the time off of work and the chance to visit with family, but a teacher enjoys it for a different reason. You see, it is a chance for us to get caught up.
It seems that no matter how hard you try, you can never really stay ahead on everything that needs to be done for your class. Whether it is planning classes or marking assignments, there just never seems like there is enough time to take care of everything.
So when the Christmas break comes, I breathe a sigh of relief. I take the two weeks that I don’t have class and divide up all the work that needs to be done before I go back. This way I can work on a little bit of it each day, and then I don’t feel so overwhelmed.
I know that during this next week, I will be marking the mock trade show display dioramas that each student made. They were asked to create a pop up display to market a fictitious company at a trade show. They were given a list of items that needed to presented and otherwise they were allowed to use their creativity. Based on the few that I looked at, it looks like I will have a busy week marking them.
Why Realtors Are Looking at LEED
Posted on December 24, 2009
Filed Under Real Estate | Leave a Comment
LEED certification is something that is typically obtained by people who work in the business of green building. However a lot of other people who work in related areas of business are starting to get LEED training as well. A strong example of this is realtors who are flocking to LEED classes in droves. Why?
The reason that people in other areas of business are very interested in taking LEED classes is simple; it’s because of the economy. The downturn in the economy has caused people to need to do all that they can to set themselves apart from the competition in the job hunt. Realtors have taken a really hard hit since the real estate market is so bad. To improve their chances of doing well in this economy, they are trying to get as much education as possible. LEED certificate teaches them about green building and helps set them up in the niche business of working as a green realtor.
The economy crashing down is a terrible thing. However it’s been good in the sense that people are going back to school and learning important things that they might not have bothered to learn otherwise. LEED certification by realtors is just one example of this big change.
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