Military Ball

This makes the third year that I've gone to our group's military ball. It was this past Saturday, at Salvatores in Buffalo. I had to work that day. Cinderella? You bet...[not]. I was picked up after a hectic day at work around 3:30. We picked up another cadet on our way up, and arrived at about 5:00 or a little after. After I had changed into my dress blues, I went to try to find the other three members of our honor guard. We had been asked to present and retire the colors, and we had practiced...somewhat. But we needed serious practice of the dress rehearsal variety. I may or may not have been on the verge of panic, but we finally all arrived, and then began assessing the room-- and this being about an hour and 15 minutes before we were supposed to do it for real. There was a problem, and that problem was: tall flags, short ceiling. Plus chandeliers. And the environment was not conducive to ceiling-scratching or chandelier-knocking. So...we weighed our options and our flag bearers were careful. And we didn't knock any chandeliers down...score 10 points for us!

I was a rifle bearer, so it was pretty straight forward for me. Except for...the honor guard commander (a flag) forgot about a move that the rifles had to do, so he skipped calling it or waiting for us to do it. And the other rifle person and I were like, what?? But of course, being all official and stuff, we just improvised and carried on. And since people are (theoretically) at attention while colors are posted and retrieved, I think it ended up being okay. I mean, we didn't drop any rifles or knock over any tables...

Anyhow, moving on to pictures. This first one is the squadron photo.

This is me with that cadet that we picked up on the way to the ball.

This is that cadet with Sarah and me. You remember Sarah, of course, from previous CAP-related posts.
This is Sarah and me again. Fairly normal...

This is that cadet with Sarah. Also fairly normal.


This is that cadet with Sarah and me again. It's a reflection, of course. It's pretty cool.

This is me with the wing commander, my squadron commander, and the group commander. And you are not allowed to notice that my collar is messed up, or that my top suit jacket button is missing because the stupid thing popped off 30 seconds before we retired the colors, but I put it in my pocket and I am going to sew it back on, annoying little bugger.

Oh, this is also a reflection. But it's the ceiling. See the maroon and white thingy in the center-ish of the picture? That's me and the white is the jacket (technical nomenclature: shrug) that I'm wearing. I'm looking up. That cadet is also standing there looking up. The thing hanging down in the lower left hand corner is a chandelier. Those chandeliers were fairly common.
Basically, after the frantic honor guard practicing, I changed (with the other honor guard girl), then ate, then changed and retired the colors, then changed again (with the other honor guard girl), and then hung out with mostly Sarah and that cadet, us being the way cool homeschooled, Baptist cadets that we are. We walked around the restaurant...it's amazing...and took pictures...and then left at about 10:45. We dropped that cadet off, and then dropped me off at work so I could drive back home. I got home around 1 or something. And so that's that for the mil ball, till next year anyhow.

Hey, stay warm and check back again soon...I'll post within the next 30 days or so, I hope.

happy new year? or what?

Hi.

It's the time of year when people-- strangers, good friends, family members, or anyone in between-- turn to one another and say: "Happy New year!!!" It's happened to me several times over the past few days. I'll be there, minding my own business, when out of nowhere, I hear "Happy New Year!!!" And it is always followed by at least 3 exclamation points. My only question is...what is the proper response? For a response is always good. I've categorized it down to a few:

Them: Happy New Year!!!
Me: Uh, happy New Year?
[awkward pause in which they walk away fast]

Them: Happy New Year!!!
Me: Hehehe, same to you!!!!!!
[awkward pause in which we realize that we really have nothing to continue the conversation with, so one of us needs to walk away fast]

Them: Happy New Year!!!
Me: Oh, hi!
[awkward pause where I wonder if I'm going to be mugged for not returning the holiday spirit]

Them: Happy New Year!!!
Me: ohhihappynewyearnicetoseeyouhahaetcetera?
[awkward pause which ends when they give a brief, forced laugh and walk away fast]

What can I say...I'm an introverted social creep. But the worst thing is when people say: "So how was your new year?" It's sorta like the "Hey-how-are-you-doing" thing that people rattle off and don't expect an answer to. I never know if I should go into an in depth story about exactly how my entire New Years went, or just say, "It was good!!!" (remembering to put in my three exclamation points, of course). And then am I supposed to ask them how their New Years was? What if I don't care? I don't like being disingenuous...if I want to know how you are doing or if I want to know how your New Years was, I'll ask and expect to stand there listening to you respond. But if I don't care, it's a waste of time. So normally I don't ask people how their New Years was in return. And I normally don't go beyond the "It was good!!!' response. But I'm always confused after encounters like that.

Eh, ok. I need to return to my biology paper research. Final project proposal is due on Saturday, but I want to get it done today. Anyone have any great resources on sensory processing disorder (its definitions, causes, and treatments), and specifically how it relates to the field of occupational therapy?

By the way, happy new year. (!!!)

Bowling, etc

On December 18th, our homeschool friends gathered at a local bowling alley for a surprise party for Jessica. As most of you know, Jess went to Mexico on December 31st, and we wanted to have a going-away/birthday party for her before she left. We managed to keep it a complete surprise. Jennifer did an excellent job, taking Jess out for coffee, and then keeping her busy until it was time. So when the two arrived at the alley, it was a complete surprise, and we had a blast. Here are some pictures, both from the bowling, and then from our house where we went afterwards.































Jessica got to Mexico safely and met up with the missionary family. She's having a good time, getting acclimated there. She will be working with the three oldest children, helping them with homeschooling. I think they're starting on Monday but I'm not sure. Be sure to hop over to her blog...she promised to keep it updated! (www.jessicassoapbox.blogspot.com)

Yeah, so.

Yeah, so I have 2 blog posts in my drafts folder. The reason they're not published is because if you could see inside my brain, this is essentially what you would see:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
????????????????????????????????????????????????
:P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P
?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*^!#!&*^#$!#&!)#*!*#1hCBK!YC#!OIY#)*)#&!#B)!&@
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
??????????????????????????????????????????????????
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

A rough translation would include elements of excitement, happiness, confused, questions, amused, very confused, and busy. Hence why I do not for coherent thought-sentences and resort to symbols. So the reason those two blog posts are not published is because I have excellent thoughts, for about 10 minutes. Somewhere between the "I must think this through before I try to type it out" and the actual thinking part, I get diverted to college/work/food/talking/laundry/etc. And then I come back to blogger and am promptly seized with writers block, which results in an ineffective blogger. Except I am doing pretty well right now, probably because I am actually saying absolutely nothing of substance.

I'm fighting the urge to hit "save" and finish this later. But I'm not. So tell me. How are you? What are you up to? Why haven't YOU been blogging? :)

Work

I'm sitting at my computer, feeling *very* un-writey, so what do I do but go start a blog post. I'm going to tell you about my job...this will be like therapy...a sarcastic commentary on what it's like to be a housekeeper at the Comfort Inn.

Wednesday morning, I got a call from Sally at the Comfort Inn. She wanted to know if I could come in for an interview. So I drove down (with my mom...yes, I'm a wimp like that) and talked with Sally. The upshot of that was I was supposed to come in to work Thursday morning at 9:30 and Janice was going to train me. Whoever Janice was.

So I drove to work the next morning, slightly apprehensive. Janice is roughly five feet tall and I worked with her Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Teresa is also a housekeeper and Carolyn does the laundry, and there are some random desk people. Sonny and Sally are the managers, and I have yet to see the actual boss. Anyhow, I walked in and learned how to punch in. Then Janice and I headed off down a hallway to a random room and commenced cleaning. I basically watched her for the first room, but by the second and third, I was able to help. We did maybe 6 or 8 rooms that day, and I got done shortly after 2, I think.

Basically, you make the beds, by which I mean, you change the sheets. Not the blankets, though...I think I was sorta disgusted by that part. And you pick up any garbage, like pop cans, and dust and vacuum, and you clean the bathroom. Cleaning the bathroom is where you use the chemically cleaning supplies that chap and hurt your hands (and the pink stuff smells bad so that you sneeze or cough if you breathe too much of it). I think I want gloves. In other words, just call me Cinderella. Except that Cinderella had multitudes of adorable singing mice and birds who banded together to help her. The Comfort Inn version of adorable and helpful singing mice and birds is a spray bottle filled with a lethal cleaning substance. :P at them.

There are signs all over the place that say basically, "Yay!! You're here and we're so happy that you're our guest!!" I think someone in India wrote them: "Ah...you wish me to write words of welcome on signs for your Inn of Comfort? Yes...yes...I shall do that..." And so the signs are there. Also, in each of the rooms, we put an envelope with the housekeeper's name so the honored guests can cough up a cash tip for the poor people who worked exceedingly hard cleaning up after them. However, it's moreso, for the guests know who was responsible for the cleaning, so that after they complain, the managers can be sure that they shoot the right one.

Sadly, it looks like I'll have to work every other Sunday. I worked yesterday, and I was fairly independent (as in, semi-out-of-training). And I did 9 rooms all by myself. I still don't have a uniform, but I should be getting one soon. Then I will look like an alien. Can't wait. I mean, why did they have to pick THAT shade of blue? What about navy blue? Why this weird light blue alien style color? And I can't even wear jeans, and the managers can and so I kinda go "grr" when they stroll casually by in their jeans while I have to wear my brown pants cause they're like the only pants I have that aren't dressy, white, or jean.

Anyway, I'm sure I will have exciting updates in the future. But now I am going to bed. Yeah, this whole working thing means I have to get up at early hours like 7:30. Yeah, like in the morning.

November

Y'know, it's sorta been a while, well, since the last updatey post. Grandma Suzy came up to visit the end of October, and we had our Thanksgiving with her then. The Mom's Side Relatives came over like they normally do, and the food was really good, of course. Election day also happened, and that was my second time voting and it was cool. The Election Day dinner at our church was also nice. Annetta and I had a conversation with Uncle Bill, in which we learned some new things. See, whenever Daddy tells us stories about when he was a boy, they're told in typical younger brother style. So Uncle Bill found it incumbent upon himself to tell us how it *really* happened. Those stories where the innocent young Dave would pull away Uncle Bill's book while Uncle Bill was reading, and then got pounded on? Maybe not so innocent, if you believe Uncle Bill. But, he did concede that "it was hard for him, not being able to read. We would give him books with pictures, and maybe words, like "cat" and "dog" or "republican," you know." So I'm sure we're forever grateful for Uncle Bill for opening our eyes to the truth, and also making us laugh so hard we almost cried.

Moving on. School. Jess is in her second year doing distance learning from PHC. She has an exciting opportunity coming up this spring, but we'll let you know more about that once it's been officially announced :) I'm starting 2 online college classes from Empire State College today. They're Human Biology and An Introduction to College Reading and Writing. And no, I do not have a major selected. The rest of the kids are still in various stages of school. Not sure if Katna is doing anything, but everyone else is.

Snow. As I type, the snow is melting, but we got maybe a couple inches on Friday and Saturday. I took advantage of this last little while we have of (relatively) bare ground and took a walk yesterday afternoon. It involved getting rather lost, but not to worry, I made it home safely.

So in closing, some pics of snow. Have a good day, folks, and stop by sometime soon! You just never know when I'll get an irresistible urge to blog.

An Open Letter to the Kid About to Get Braces

Dear Metal Mouth,

Endearing, isn't it? You'll be Metal Mouth (or worse) for roughly the next twenty-eight years of your life. But I thought I'd make the initial stages a bit easier on you by writing you a reassuring letter. The first step of the braces process is to go to the orthodontist's office and have an "initial" consultation with him. He is very nice, knowledgeable, friendly, smooth, and reassuring, as are all the staff. Don't be fooled. In his other life, your orthodontist worked closely with Fidel Castro, and received his orthodontic training in Communist prison camps, by trial and error (which is still his preferred method of work).

But once your mother, taken in by the nice feel of the place, sets you all up, you are stuck. Every so-called "escape route" (and I mean *every* single one) is blocked by electrical wire and soldiers with AK 47s. Do not be the kid who has personal experience with these...trust me, it's not worth it.

The methods of orthodontic torture procedures differ from kid to kid. They say it's because everyone's different, but it's really because they can't remember what they're doing. It's best if you realize this now. They will use things called RPEs, biteplanes, crickets, archwires, and brackets, but close inspection reveals that these are, in fact, parts of atomic weapons left over from the 1960s. If your orthodontist should ever say something to the effect of "you don't need to be a nuclear scientist to be an orthodontist," I recommend running away from home.

You'll also become familiar with "rubber bands." These were invented in 1931 by a sadistic orthodontist in socialist Russia. By the way, have you ever wondered why Stalin turned out the way he did? As a schoolboy. he was selected to take part in Russian orthodontics as they worked out their system, which was later widely used in POW camps during the Korean War.

Your orthodontist and his assistants have a completely different nervous system than you do. They'll say, "You may feel some slight discomfort," or "This might hurt a little bit," but when they say that, be prepared for agonizing pain. The truth is that they've become numb to how outside people feel -- outside of Communist prison camps, that is. However, you can hardly blame them for that. Usually they're not trying to be malicious -- they just struggle with separating their former lives with life in the post-Reagan/Thatcher world.

But if you survive the orthodontic treatment (read: as long as you aren't selected to be a guinea pig for any experiments in Moscow), you will have straight, beautiful teeth. Happy you!

Oh, look at the time! You'd better go now...you'll be late for your initial consultation! And you don't want to make them mad this early in the game, do you?

Love,
Erika
(written from a dark cell in Pyongyang)

Fall Photo Shoot

Yesterday was a gorgeous day. It had been raining for a couple weeks almost continually, but it finally cleared up. The leaves are pretty, and Annetta, Jessica, and I decided to head out back to our woods and take some pictures. More pics on facebook...but the assumption is, if you care enough to see them, chances are pretty good that we're friends on facebook so you can just go find them yourself :)

So how is life going? I've been working on college stuff...looking into online classes from Empire State College. And trying to get a job. And still doing CAP and AWANA and so forth. So tell me about your life. What's new and exciting...or even old and boring?