December 21st, 2008 by Kathleen

So church was cancelled again. We got a million texts, emails and phone calls. Not that anyone would be dumb enough to go out in that snow.  We have about 8 inches on the ground right now.  The news people lied that the snow would stop this morning and it would be raining by now but it is 7 pm and the snow is falling heavily as it has been all freaking day.  If my work is open tomorrow it will only be open for 5 hours.  We are supposed to get another 3-6 inches of snow tonight and there is yet another Winter Storm Warning going on from the National Weather Service.

My brother and his girlfriend want to meet Jim and my dad has offered to go pick Jim up in his car if we both have a day off this week which is looking really likely due to this damned snow.  Even Chingu seems to  be tired of it.  This was the kind of snow we all wanted as kids and rarely seemed to get. Now that we can’t afford a snow day it’s coming back to bite us in the ass.  Sigh…

December 20th, 2008 by Kathleen

So today was another stuck at home day.  However I supposed it was better that I was stuck at home than out on the roads or scrambling to move like my boyfriend. Or stuck on a plane like my sister.

The airlines get a big thumbs down from me.  They cancelled my sister’s flight but they wouldn’t give her a refund right then and there nor would they do a damn thing for her.  Seriously, I had no clue they could cancel your flight and then leave you stranded.  I thought they would have to reschedule you onto another flight if they cancelled yours but apparently they can leave you stranded and they don’t have to help you at all.  So if you had no money and no credit card with space for another ticket and no one to help you out what are you supposed to do?  My sister’s friend who she was visiting was able to get her a ticket on another airline and even paid for it  but what if you didn’t have any financial means to buy another ticket without the old one being refunded.  Stupid airlines… Honestly cancelling someone’s flight and then doing absolutely nothing to help them should be against the law.  My sister got home safe although driving  home from the airport was a nightmare even for my dad in his 4WD vehicle.  My fuel effecient economy car was not going out in that at all.  Which sucked because my boyfriend could have used my help.

His crazy roommates all wanted to move out of the house they were renting to leave this freeloader couple and their baby plus her two kids from other men high and dry.  These people moved in back in October and supposedly they were supposed to be contributing 200 dollars to the rent plus moving out after three weeks.  Instead they didn’t pay one red cent to contribute and they were stealing.  They stole food, dvds, cds, toiletrees and they were stealing pay per view movies through the cable and getting them charged to Jim’s account.  Plus they were disgusting slobs.  My boyfriend and his other roommates kept the house fairly clean b ut once these freeloaders moved in the place turned into a pig sty.  To top it all off, a friend of theirs that Jim dubbed “Fat Guy” just randomly showed up at the house one day and moved in.  He didn’t even tell the freeloading couple he was staying nor did he ask anyone. He just showed up and made himself at home.  I can’t believe some people have the audacity to do that.

So Jim has been spending the day scrambling to move and now he is stuck at work. Why his work decided to open today I do not know as the nasty snow storm has already started and out of 40 available lanes at his bowling alley only three are even being used.  I’d say his boss is wasting more money paying employees than he is making.  Jim and his roommates are planning to pull an all nighter tonight to finish moving. His roommates are moving to an apartment complex and he is moving back to his mom’s temporarily. I do not blame him.  His roommates were the ones who allowed the freeloaders to move in in the first place.

My brother and his girlfriend arrived from LA this morning with one of their scottish terriers. Chingu thinks that the small dog Griffon is just for him to play with.

December 19th, 2008 by Kathleen

Would be nice to be posting something positive for a change this week but nope I am getting yet another day off from work.  Without pay I am sure.  I found out last night that work was closed today due to heavy snow so kinda dragged my feet even getting up this morning.  Today was sunny and clear but the weather people say an even worse (!?!?!)  snow storm is due to hit us late saturday/ early sunday so this was the calm before the storm.  Hitched a ride with my parent’s in their suv to costco  just to get out of the house. That and my mom has such severe arthritis that she needs help at the store.  Especially since my dad disappeared to look at who knows what as soon as we got in there so after my mom got situated in a motorized chair/cart thing I went around the store with her and helped her by grabbing things off shelves etc.  Then we all went to the KFC/A&W hybrid near home to eat.  Other than that I have been stuck at home which is not as bad as my sister. She is stuck in an airport on the east coast. Her flight was cancelled. She was supposed to come home tonight. I don’t know what she is going to do. Her airline is saying they don’t have another flight for here until the 22nd so last time we talked to her she was trying to find another airline to get home on.  Her friend who she was visiting offered to buy the ticket although I really hope the airline refunds for the cancelled flight. I mean the poor girl is stranded.

Here’s hoping for some good news soon and maybe the blizzard will miss us.

December 18th, 2008 by Kathleen

Ugh so the heavy snow has finally hit my work neighborhood and it’s dumping here again too.  I woke up at 5:30 and my work was running on a delay. So I went back to bed until my usual wake up time of 7 am and by then my work had closed down.  Grrr 8 days without pay.

Yesterday I tried to make the most of the snow day. I tried learning to play Guitar Hero on the WII.  I did some cleaning.  And I took a very long nap.  By evening the snow had melted out enough for me to go over to my boyfriend’s mom’s house to meet his mom and visit with him.  Bad news is that he is moving back into his mom’s house this weekend due to a bad situation with some freeloading roommates so no privacy for us until one of us moves out again.  Due to the distance between our jobs and the newness of the relationship (3 months on the 27th) I do not think we are ready for living together.  We did get some cuddling in while watching tv but his mom had apparently laid down the law before I came over that he can’t have me in his room etc.  I suspect it is hard for him moving back at 27 especially since before the roommate situation started a year ago he was living with his ex until they broke up and he moved in with the roommates.

I was optimistic for today based on the melting snow last night but nope it refroze and it is snowing hard out there with more coming this afternoon. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

December 17th, 2008 by Kathleen

We got snow finally on Sunday. It was enough to cancel church due to icy roads.  I got three phone calls, an email and a text message from my branch telling me church was cancelled. Not that I was planning to risk my life out on those roads but good to know someone cared.  We did not get a whole bunch of snow.

Monday the roads were icy but it was clear and cold.  Same with yesterday.  My work was on a regular schedule for me at least although they opened late. I am a closer so opening late doesn’t really matter to me since I am not there anyway until three hours after the center opens.

Today I woke up to heavy snow outside my house.  I called work and it was closed so that brings my 6 days without pay up to 7 days now since I really doubt we will get paid for today unless we are a 90 day or more employee.  So unfair.  I hate this weather.  On the plus side although I am losing a ton of money I get to stay home where it is safe and not attempt the icy street.  According to the news no snow has hit the neighborhood I work in although it is expected to hit soon. I guess the closures are a preemptive measure so people don’t get stranded.  My home neighborhood has gotten hit hard by snow though so back to bed for me.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

December 16th, 2008 by Kathleen

There have been a few really aggressive children in my classroom lately.  Today my coteacher and I documented one particular child’s behavior over a 2 hours period.  This child lashed out 5 times within 2 hours both at other children as well as at the Spanish teacher. It was as if this child could not stop.  We turned in the documentation to our supervisor who will be having a conference with the child’s parents soon.

People say that two  year olds are aggressive because of inability to communicate but I am starting to doubt that.  My kids in my class have wonderful english skills and can use their words when they want to.  I think the aggression is more that they  haven’t developed the skills to control their actions and emotions yet.  They know how to say “I want it.” “Give it to me” “I don’t like you” but they don’t realize yet that hitting isn’t an appropriate addition to using their words.

We have a new child in the classroom and one child is in love with the new kid to the point of obsession and wanting to be the new kid’s bestest friend in the world. It really is adorable how much this child likes the new kid but the new kid doesn’t doesn’t like the child back.  In fact the new kid cries whenever this child gets near him but this child says things like “Hey new kid wanna play with me?” “New kid, come sit on my lap and I will read you a story.” “Hey new kid want me to pat your back for nap?”  Also this child goes and grabs the new kid and forces the new kid to play with them even though the new kid often wants left alone to look at picture books or to do a puzzle.  It is cute though but we have to intervene a lot so new kid gets some space.

December 15th, 2008 by Kathleen

So my former employer has reached a new low.  I heard today from my former coworker who I periodically text message and email  that the boss’s idiot son taught the school age kids how to build a bomb. What the hell?  According to my former coworker, the boss attempted to stop her son but he did not listen and built the bomb anyway and showed the kids how to set it off on the playground.  I guess it was not a very explosive bomb.  The boss did not do anything to her son except whine that he should have listened to her.

This really makes me detest my former boss even more.  Her son needs a taste of the real world desperately.  He is 20 and the only job he has had is working for his mom.  Any other boss would have fired him immedietely for endangering the kids and likely reported him to an authorities because last time I checked building a bomb is not freaking legal.  But no this bitch did absolutely nothing to him except pretty much a slap on the wrist.

He is so disgustingly spoiled it makes me want to vomit.  He doesn’t have to pay for any bills. He doesn’t even have to get financial aid for college. His mommy is paying for it.  Plus he whined and cried about problems with his girlfriend’s financial aid enough that his mom is paying for her tuition as well.  Plus his girlfriend is also living with the family and neither one of them pays any bills or helps out at all.  Whatever money he makes working at the child care he blows on crap like soviet army uniforms and bomb building materials it seems.  His mommy buys his clothes, text books, food, pays his cell phone bill and buys him a bus pass to get around town.  Now when I was 20 I had to work part time while going to college, bought my own clothes, paid my parents rent and I currently owe 18,000 in student loans.  And I never had my parents to work for. I had to deal with real employers in the real world where if you screw up or aren’t doing a great job they can lay you off, fire you or cut your hours and pay.  I had to learn.

December 14th, 2008 by Kathleen

I stayed home from church with a severe migraine. I have been getting a lot of migraines lately. Not sure if it’s a side effect of the nuva ring or if it is stress.  This entry won’t be very long though.  I have mostly been in bed with a blanket over my eyes.  Darkness makes me feel better when I have a migraine.  I’ve also had a migraine pill and a lot of caffeine.  The post title is from a Raffi song that is on the naptime cd in my classroom. The mood of the song kinda fits my mood right now. Just kinda blah.  I couldn’t find this particular raffi song on you tube and I do not have an MP3 of it to share but if you’ve heard it you’ll know what I am talking about. :p

December 13th, 2008 by Kathleen

My 28th birthday was thursday.  I was trying to keep it on the lowdown at work but my boss keeps a birthday list in her office and I got surprised with an absolutely gorgeous vase of flowers and a bunch of two year olds singing “Happy Birthday”. Cute!  We were doing an art project at the time the flowers got brought in and I was getting the broom to sweep.  One little boy said “Are you swiffering?”  I guess he had never seen a broom at his house. His parents must just swiffer the floors.  Still it was so adorable that he mistook the broom for a swiffer.

My sister made brownies for me and my parents bought ice cream so I hung out with them on Thursday.  My sister is becoming quite a good baker.  These were yummy brownies with chocolate chips and craisins and milk chocolate. Very good.

My boyfriend had to work that night so he took me out friday.  He is quite poor so we went to burger king but he did buy me a nice slice of hershey’s pie there and I hadn’t had any burger king food in forever.  Then we went back to his place and I got to hold his roommate’s absolutely adorable 2 month old baby.  Sigh… yes my biological clock is starting to tick and I’m really wanting a baby.  When I left late last night it was quite cold and windy but the snow hasn’t hit yet. Thank goodness! I used to love snow as a kid but as an adult I despise it.

December 12th, 2008 by Kathleen

I’ve got to leave for work in a few moments and I am picking up Jim tonight so I probably won’t be home until late.  Chingu has been trailing me around this morning. Usually he is not allowed out of his crate this early but my mom was feeling generous.  I was supposed to be moving today but because of this unpaid vacation that I found out about at the staff meeting I had to cancel the hold on the apartment I’d found.  It was a cute little place with a fireplace and washer and dryer in unit.  Of course it was too far away for the carless Jim. About 20 miles from him which doesn’t seem far to me. Only about 30 minutes by freeway.  I am driving 50 miles one way to work right now but I can’t do that inevitably but I feel like if I move it will ruin things between myself and Jim because he got upset when I accepted this job and told him it would eventually mean moving.  The thing is this apartment complex is right on I-5 and a few blocks from a park and ride that is served by an express bus that comes directly from Lakewood where he lives. The Lakewood-Seatac express bus stops at the park and ride a few blocks from this apartment complex twice an hour from 3 am until 11 pm at night. It would be a very very short ride in fact. Only about 40 minutes which is not bad considering that it is only 30  minutes by car.  They will keep my application for 90 days so if they have another opening I will hear from them.  I really hope I do. It was a very nice place and had reasonable rates and move in fees.