The Other Boleyn Girl

Yesterday we saw The Other Boleyn Girl. I was very disappointed. It's such a wonderfully rich tale and to have taken poetic license to the limits that they did was frustrating. I'm familiar with the story, so to have seen this spectacle and how history was so discarded was unsatisfying. The costumes were amazing and the scenery was beautiful, but these were about the only redeeming qualities of the movie. If historical accuracy is something that interests you, then this film will not deliver. Watch The Tudors; it's just as lovely with its attire and settings and follows history much more closely. Of course, it also has the advantage of being a series on Showtime and thus is not bound to the time constraints of a typical flick. The actors are believable and the storyline engaging. For about $30 bucks at Wal-Mart you'll get your money's worth.

Lawn Mower Luck

My hubby's bad luck with lawn mowers continues. A change in climate and time zone has not abated the situation. We purchased a new push mower yesterday and today the Hubby assembled it, fueled it and then when push came to shove, he lost. He thought he may have broken his toe, but it seems he only bruised it. Whew, crisis averted. Tomorrow he gets to try again with another new push mower. May the Lawn Mower Gods have mercy on his soul.

The $6 Dollar Car Wash

"Excuse me ma'am. My friend and I, we're starting a business for the summer. We're washing cars for $6.00 a car. We clean inside and out. He gets $3 and I get $3 so that's $6 total. We'll be washing cars on Thursday since I don't have a change of clothes with me today and he can't do it tomorrow because he's going to watch the Clippers. So Thursday we can do it. We're trying to earn money for stuff. I want to buy a new amp and shoes. See, my shoes have holes in them."

Well darn, how can I possibly say "No" to a sales pitch like that?! I even offered up the hubby's car, so I'm in this for $12 bucks. The kid assured me that they're "really good".

Notebooks

Yesterday I found seven notebooks in the backyard. I looked them over and discovered that the fella that they belonged to took what appears to be excellent notes. He drew colored diagrams and has neat, precise handwriting. Fortunately he also had his name written on the covers of each notebook. I looked up the last name in the phone book and noticed two entries, the second was close by so I called that number first. A woman answered and seemed alarmed, or at the very least, curious as to who was calling for her son. I explained that I had his notebooks. "Oh thank God!" was her reply.

Evidently the young fellow set his backpack down and left it unattended for a moment. Someone stole it. Some of the contents ended up in my backyard. As to the backpack, text books and whatever else was contained within, I do not know what happened to those items. I just hope they're returned to the young man who owns them.

Mother and son arrived shortly after the phone call and retrieved the notebooks. They were both very relieved and grateful. I was just so pleased they were in the phone book! If someone had found my items I'd want them back. I was happy to have helped.

Math = Fun!

I wonder what the upcoming weeks will bring for me, but for now, I'm loving my Stats class. It's fun?! FUN?! Math fun. Crazy, never would have thought it possible. I blame the professor, it's his fault I like it. He's passionate about the subject matter and uses real life examples that I can truly relate to. He's just a happy fellow who seems to love teaching. His style of explaining and working out the problems is easy to follow, it makes perfect sense - even when I'm at home alone working on the problems!

Yesterday was the first of 10 quizzes. When I looked it over I realized, "Hey! I know this stuff?! Wow! I'm going to pass this quiz!" What a great feeling. I don't recall that ever happening in math before. Not even in elementary school with the "simple" stuff. Math has always been my worst subject. I managed to get by, but I didn't ever really understand or "get it" until now. As I live my life I'm finding that many of the things that teachers spat at me are finally coming together and forming a big picture that I can make sense of. As a child things were discussed and I just did what I had to get by. Now I enjoy it and "getting by" isn't good enough, I want to really understand it so I can apply it.

The world needs more Dr. Richard Siegers teaching math!

Math = fun. A crazy formula that I know finally believe!

Thinking good thoughts

I've been frustrated with a co-worker for some time. After looking at the situation from several different angles I've concluded that it's a waste of my time to be angry. I'm now thinking good thoughts. Instead of letting things get to me I'm focusing on what I do like about this person. The list is short, but I'm working on making it longer.

3 Day Weekend

I've been very busy at work these last few weeks helping HR interview and hire for 3 new classes of 7 - 9 people per class. Fortunately in the AV there are many, many people looking for work! We had over 300 resumes for 23 positions. 16 of the 23 job openings are for a 2:00 pm to 10:30 pm shift. I was surprised to find so many people interested in working such hours. I suppose work is work. If those are the hours it's better than being unemployed. The other shift we hired for is 6:00 am to 2:30 pm. That's a very popular shift and more people are interested in those hours... but it also pays less than the mid-shift by over 75 cents an hour.

I'm just relieved that we've managed to fill all of the positions, and as a reward to myself, I'm taking Monday off!

Statistics

Years ago I attempted (twice!) a statistics class online with the University of Phoenix. I've since left UOP in hopes of attaining higher education from a place that actually expects its students to perform at a higher level. Enter: AVC (Antelope Valley College).

AVC is local, has a very nice physical campus, and it's super affordable! My text book cost almost as much as the class itself! It's convenient to get to and from, it offers a wonderful selection of classes and offers them at times when I can actually attend.

Last Monday (2/4/08) I sat in on my first lecture at AVC. The statistics class is from 6:00 pm to 10:05 pm. I'm usually in bed by 8:30 - 9:00 pm, so I knew it was going to be tough, but hey, that's life. Until... I heard there was a Saturday morning class from 8:00 am to 12:05 pm. Today I attended it (same professor) and liked it much better than the Monday night class. It's held in a different class room with very comfortable chairs (this is important when your ass is planted in it for FOUR hours!). Also, the clock in this room works and it has tables instead of a tiny little desk-like surface which only accommodates a couple of items at once.

I added the Saturday class and dropped the Monday class. This process was quick AND painless. The more I deal with at AVC and discover, the more I like it. Perhaps I'm just a physical and social being so a live campus is just more exciting than sittin' in my pj's conversing online with some 19 year old who knows next to nothing about the subject matter cause he or she doesn't have any real life experience to relate to, like I encountered at UOP. Perhaps it's just the newness of finally going back to school (again!) and doing something with my life. Perhaps its none of these things. Whatever it is, it's good to be back in school and on a path that will serve me well.

By the way, my professor, Dr. Richard Sieger, is amazing! He is a little bouncy when up at the white board, but a lot of fun and very passionate about stats. I couldn't have found a better teacher if I tried searching for one. I'm so, so very pleased that I'm actually looking forward to the next class?! And, to use the word "fun" to describe statistics was something I'd never have done before taking Dr. Sieger's class.

Bring on the numbers! Can't wait to make another histogram! Woo hoo it's data grouping time! (Hmmm, wonder if I should seek medical attention?)

Screamin'!

The wind is screaming. All night I could hear it and it seems it will continue all day. In fact, it's so loud I can barely hear any vehicles driving by.

The dogs won't even go out in it?! Crazy animals. I don't much like the wind either... but come on girls, you have fur coats. My poor baby is running to the store, I said I'd wait at home. Guess I'm no better than the dogs.

Hubby needed to purchase a few things to watch The Game later today. I'm staying home to stamp my little heart out. Maybe make some chocolate truffles and other baked goods, depends on how motivated I feel.

I was invited to watch the Heads on Fire Guys (that's what the helmets look like anyway) play some other fellas in tight pants, but it's just not my thing. I'd rather have a pajama day and hang with the critters.

While the wind screams on, I'll be in my PJ's, toasty warm, stamping cards, maybe even do some baking, as the doggies and kitties sleep. What a perfect end to the weekend.

Rain

My first winter in the AV was very dry, hardly any rain fell. This year there has been a steady supply of the wet stuff. Not the earth pounding sheets like we had in TN, but a soft, gentle falling of drops. It's quite pleasant. The nearby mountains have been generously sprinkled with snow, even the foothills, it seems, are receiving their fair share.

I HATE snow. However, even I must admit it is pretty on the mountains. I sure as heck don't want any of it creeping down to the streets I drive on. My experience is people don't drive very well in dry conditions, so wet rainy or snowy streets is just a wreck waiting to happen. Especially when people are sooooooooooooooo busy talking on their cell phone, or worse, texting while being inconvenienced with having to drive.

With all this rain I'm expecting a spectacular spring filled with poppies and other beautiful wild flowers. Last spring we drove out to a park to experience the local beauty of our environment, only to find a lot of dirt and three tiny poppies hanging on for dear life. The winds in the AV can be quite violent, ripping plants out of the ground and depositing them far, far away.

Looking forward to being overwhelmed by gorgeous orange expanses as far as the eye can see. Bring on spring, I'm ready for warmer days!