H2

H2, originally uploaded by Rabujee.

As in Hummer 2...I always hated these gas guzzlers, they look and feel so obnoxious to me...and most of the time their drivers hold the same driving habits (though I should not generalize).

But yesterday I was literally bouncing in my seat when I got the privilege of driving another guzzler... an Escalade. (Controlled Chaos can attest to just how friggin' excited I was).

Okay granted, Escalades are pretty common, you're probably thinking what's wrong with her? It wasn't the car but the fact that it had a corvette engine installed and every time that thing roared to life, I ...um....squealed like the girl that I am (*sigh* I'm sorry its just natural even though I hate doing it, most of the time the sound has already escaped my mouth before I notice).

It was my friends company car, which she gets to work on, and test out...hence the Corvette engine. I loved hearing her stories about work and I was completely fascinated (again) by the auto industry.
And at the end of it all, I was left thinking...

DAMN YOU, Whoever screwed up this economy ...for taking away my chance at an automotive career....ughy!!!!!

*shakes fist*

Its just too unstable to risk getting into as a new engineer...*sigh* *sigh* *sigh*

That is all my friends.

Also, please pray that my friends job (and that of thousands and thousands of auto workers) stays secure and stabilizes. If she keeps it up, she hinted in a few months I might get to drive a corvette... Hehehehe ;)

Counting down the days, God-willing.

Jobless in Seattle

Okay so I don’t live in Seattle. But maybe that city would offer me more than my own.

I’m traveling abroad this summer, God-willing. I got a scholarship to study Arabic in Cairo again for two months. It’s from the middle of June to August (8 weeks); they’re paying for ticket and everything! I’m going early though, in May, so I’ll have to pay for myself for those 4 weeks.

There’s only one teensy little problem. I’m going broke. Literally. I work 4 hours a week teaching Sunday School which pays about $12/hour, which is pretty great. But that’s just not going to cut it.

So here’s my budget:
Tuition for Arabic: $776
Apartment: $250
Food: $150
Transportation: $50
Personal Shopping: $250
Grand Total: $1,476

I talked to my dad and he said he’s willing to pay a portion of the costs. But my dad’s an engineer and with the way automobile industry is going these days, I don’t think that portion is going to be very large.

What's the logical thing to do then?

Start job hunting.

ASAP.

When they say “hunt” they really mean it. I felt like I kept shooting at deer that just kept running away. Stupid deer.* I called about 20 places and they all said the same freaking thing.

“I’m sorry we don’t have anything available currently. Buh-bye.”

Why thank you for so easily slamming the door on my face. One lady with a very strong Indian accent actually paused and said, "uh, nooo" in a way that made me feel so stupid for even asking.

I really hate looking for jobs. It takes too much energy out of me. Plus I feel like a failure when I go through hours of looking only to end up in the same place I began in.

Help me!!!

(*Disclaimer: I do not approve of going around shooting deer for game)

A whole new world.

A year or two ago, I took a Special Education class in order to fulfill a part of my teaching certificate requirements.

I learned a lot in this class and even considered pursuing an undergrad degree in it. I had a tough teacher that made us work hard to earn our two credits and an "A".

At the end of the semester, I was appreciative towards her and everything she taught us during such a short amount of time.

I really don't know what happened and what made me stick to Elementary Education, but the idea of Special Education was pushed to the back of my mind.

Now I've started my new job at a new school working in the Resource Room. In the Resource Room, students come down from their class, for about an hour, to work with a teacher or paraprofessional (teacher's assistant) on a more personal, one on one type of setting.

A lot of these students are mentally challenged, have a mental and/or emotional disorder, or simply did not meet the school/city/state (whatever it is) testing standards and thus were dubbed as needing special education services.

Sometimes these kids need it. Sometimes they don't. After working with a couple of them, this is just my two cents.

If you followed my student teaching posts then you can see that I'm in a completely different setting. It's a total 360. I went from working with students that were at a much higher level than expected of them to students who can barely read or write their first name.

Everyday I walk into the classroom a nervous wreck.

This setting deals with Special Education jargon that I can't recall from the one special education class that I took. IEP's.Cognitive Impairment. Emotional Impairment.Autism. Social Anxiety Disorder. Agoraphobia. Bipolar Disorder. Occupational Therapists.Speech Therapists.Social Workers.

Every hour equals a different student.A different grade level. A different lesson plan. A different emotion. And a different disability.

Although I thought I was up for the challenge, I find that I underestimate myself more now than during my student teaching days.

Hopefully this is just a phase.

The summary of our (or at least my) school life

So I was emailed this hilarious forward from someone, titled Universal Representation. And I had to share it with you guys.

It's so funny!

Ready?

New semester:

At the first week:

At the second week:

Before the mid-term test:

During the mid-term test:

After the mid-term test:

Before the final exam:

Once know the final exam schedule:

7 days before final exam:

6 days before final exam:

5 days before final exam:

4 days before final exam:

3 days before final exam:

2 days before final exam:

1 day before final exam:

A night before final exam:

1 hour before final exam:

During the final exam:

Once walk out from the exam hall:

After the final exam, during the holiday:

For whatever reason, my friends came to some agreement that it looks and acts like ME (just cuz I flap my arms like a chicken, and procrastinate, and bang my head against the wall, and cry and act like my life is over every time..)



Whatever. I take it as a compliment.

Hah!

Hasn't started to make sense of the world yet but thinks it's beautiful all the same.

Hasn't started to make sense of the world yet but thinks it's beautiful all the same., originally uploaded by Rabujee.

I used to be able to do all sorts of weird things like this when I was a kid. Why do we lose our flexibility as we get older?
Hmph, the world is so much fun when you're upside down. I know you get what I mean.

Anyways, this was my day with my niece. I love Fridays and I feel completely relaxed when I get home from work. Today, I tried to take pictures of her while she kept giving me ultimatums like: "Just ONE more picture and that's IT Ani "(that's what she calls me). I tried to engage her in a conversation but she's too smart and figured me out.
I don't ever make her pose, I learned my lesson long ago. Posing for some reason, is a highly annoying thing to kids and actually I think they look best when they're doing exactly what they do naturally. (Same goes for adults by the way, posed pictures are so ... boring, no?)

Anyways I wasn't even supposed to write all this but I guess I started rambling. So, how was your Friday?

Mrs. Cullen: The Mother

Dear Friends,

I think I am going to be a mother. I am not [at all] prepared. And I didn't even see it coming. One day I bought a fish tank, the next day a few fish. And next thing you know. You got a fat, fat, fat fish. Thats why I said "I think" I am going to be a mother. I don't really know much about fish except that they have a six second memory span and caviar is orange. At least it was for Nemo's siblings. Anyways, I hope my fish isn't prego. We just bought her today. But she just looks much bigger than her sister [or brother or cousin or friend or tankmate or I dunno]. We didn't even name her yet! I really hope shes not pregnant. Ew. Anyways. I don't think my family will be too excited either. Especially my dad. He thinks we bought some ugly fish [just like this blog layout].  Then there will just be more uglies swimming around. The only one that will be excited is my Cat. Ever since we got the fish shes being going crazy [no pun intended---for those of you who know]. She keeps starring at the fish and following them around as they swim from side to side. Then she tries to grab them. Its quite amusing. We even put a chair for her to sit on, right in front of the tank.

Speaking of mothers. I have to take my mom to the doctors tomorrow. I told her to relax and I will WebMD her symptoms but she told me I'm "stupid" and to "shutup."  I just walked away and pretended like that didn't hurt my feelings. Sigh. 

Speaking of tomorrows. I was supposed to have my court date tomorrow because of my Civil Infraction a few weeks ago. But I don't know what happened. My dad is so odd.  After I told him I got the ticket he was like, "Don't worry about it" and "I got it taken care of." And I'm all like "You're not Superman, what do you think you can do?"  And hes all like, "Gurl! Whatchu know!" Ok he didn't really say that. He told his lawyer about my ticket and his lawyer "has got it under control." But I don't get it.  I don't know why I couldn't just have gone to court tomorrow and payed the fee and prayed the points would get waived. But no. Instead. We pay the lawyer. And pay the fee. And get two points only [instead of three]. I really don't know what my dad is thinking. He said they will be mean to me because of the scarf on my head. I said no they won't. I gave him my grandma's suggestion. She said I should take off the scarf and dress all pretty and scandalous for the court people. He didn't agree. The End. 

Now, I don't have court tomorrow. But instead in April.  I dunno whats going to happen. I keep picturing this whole case where there is a jury and I get to sit in that box thingy. And they question me and I have a lawyer. And then we figure out the cop murdered someone. And then I fall in love with the lawyer. We get married and have a son but three years later it turns out that the cop is the father of my son. Ok sorry. I got a little carried away. Anyway. I'm going to go paint my nails another coat of Bright Pink. 

Yours for the sake of Peace, Brotherhood and Birth Control,

Mrs. Cullen

Just Life...

I always wanted to invent something that would move around & make funny noises & would change the world as we know it & then I realized that's just called a kid., originally uploaded by Rabujee.

I always wanted to invent something that would move around & make funny noises & would change the world as we know it & then I realized that's just called a kid.

~StoryPeople quote....with a twist by le moi ...

I always felt that kids are some of the best teachers. So, pay more attention to the kid(s) in your life. They hold something valuable which we lost long ago, a worry-free attitude. SO its nice to just kick back and take a breather once in a while. Do something purely fun, just because you can! =)

I'd like to think that things are getting better but my eyes are getting worse, so maybe I miss a lot

I'd like to think that things are getting better but my eyes are getting worse, so maybe I miss a lot, originally uploaded by Rabujee.

I like to drive. I like the speed, the rush, pushing the limit (and immediately checking in the mirrors for cops hehe...what can I say my conscience gets the best of me). I've never sped insanely except for this one time, in a rush and a little frustrated with things, I hit close to 100 mph.

It doesn't help that I have a 4 cylinder Toyota, that doesn't speed up that fast, and always has to fight drag extra hard to keep up with the other cars on the highway. I still enjoy it though.

Two summers ago I used to drive 40 miles to work in the wee hours of the morning and I started feeling like the drive was so robotic to me, I mean my mind was completely relaxed, not engaged in the task most of the time. I knew all the twists and turns of the road, I knew which exits to take, I even knew when to change lanes and avoid those gihugic potholes Detroit is notorious for. If it wasn't for the early timing, I would have thoroughly enjoyed the empty roads on those summer mornings.

That time in the car alone is what I savor. I talk to myself, sometimes loud, sometimes under my breath (I don't care if you think I'm weird for it). When my favorite song comes on I crank the radio up and even dance a little. Okay so those of you that know me can't really imagine this, can you? Well get over it! I stuff my face with food and worry about making a mess. When I get in the car, I immediately go through my cell phone to find people to call, sometimes I get an answer on the first try, sometimes not. I admit I have taken pictures of places/things while driving and I've given it up. Too dangerous and distracting so now I only take pictures from the car if the car is stopped at a light/stop sign or I pull over.

My car needs to be clean/smell nice and there's only one other friend of mine that has a spotless car (cleaner than mine and I must say I am jealous). I hate winters because I never get motivated enough to go for a wash, but you really should if you want to protect the body from getting eaten away by those nasty snow salts.

I think black tinted windows are sexy. My car came with tints and I'm not sure what I' would do if I had to get them removed. (Although they're fading to purple now...ughy)

There are some things I would never do though, that I have seen other drivers engaged in while in their cars:

1. Pick my nose - do I really need to explain?
2. Eat with a fork and a knife - these things become projectiles if you ever are in an accident and I don't want to imagine where they could end up.
3. Leave glasses and china dishes hanging around the back seats/floor - Same reason as for #2 and seriously what do people do in their cars? Have gourmet meals??
4. Read a newspaper/magazine/book/use my laptop - speaks for itself; trust me I've seen this a number of times
5. Prop my foot up on the dash or let it hang out the window - umm I'm too short for this so I wouldn't try even if I wanted to

I'm a decently slick (does that make sense) go-cart driver and I only wish I could take a real car on the track. That's why, one day, I really, really, REALLY want to drive a Bugatti Veyron down the Autobahn at its top speed (250 mph baby...OH YEAH!!).

I also think Mini Coopers are the cutest boring-looking cars out there. If you've ever watched The Italian Job you know what I mean. Also, I have made it a point to snap a picture of cutesy VW Beatles. And then when I have tons and tons of those pictures, I'll make a collage one day. Or maybe I'll use all the tiny pictures added up to make a big picture of a VW. I don't even know if you're following what I'm saying anymore but here, this is what I'm talking about.

Well that's all for my randoms on driving and cars.

No wait, I might have mentioned this before but I really want to learn how to work on cars, you know fix this and customize that. Sometimes, I want to go ask one of the mechanics I always go to, to let me follow them around and learn things but then I get creeped out...so I'll just make my future husband teach me the mechanics of it all. That and learning to drive a manual. Yea...

And for those of you who are left wondering why you've never gotten a phone call from me when I drive home....its just...

umm...

err.....

uhh.... yea end of post. k bye.