Thursday Life

What a crazy busy day! Meeting with my Career Specialist (resume work), My wonderful Tax guy (duh), a few errands then home to continue working on my "Switching Careers Resume". A painful but necessary evil. We had invited Susu for dinner and hanging so she got sucked into helping before dinner. It was good to see her. I miss her living in the neighborhood. She used to call or show up to hang. It was nice.

Why is it no matter how long you work on a resume it does not seem to complete? It's like Jello you did not follow the recipe on. It just looks wrong. You keep hoping it will magically gel but just doesn't. I will live but really don't have much more time for this task among my other tasks and studying. Wow, this whole school experience is flying by! I feel I'm missing some of the experience with working and being the head of the household and a mommy. I will say I am exceptionally proud of myself in what I am accomplishing! YEAH DIVA!

I took the memory book with me today in case I had any moments to read it. I was able to glance a few times here and there. It is interesting so far and hopefully gonna save my ass!

Gimme my snow already!

For the last two weeks we have had several near misses and no-shows on Snow. The last two days on the news they were sure the snow would be a few inches and down to the Valley floor but I have yet to see any! Outlaying areas and the hills have got a dusting to several inches. The Gorge is getting buried. Sure, I am at 45 feet but a girl can dream.

The latest forcast is the snow level will fall from 1'200 down to 500 feet midday. Could this be my chance? My worry is if this does happen I will be deep in the heart of Beaverton at class and get stranded there, yuck! I am goofy. I want snow but I dont want to have to drive in it , get stuck or miss school. I know, you have to choose but since it's all about me . . . . . .

Watch out for what you wish for. On the way from my afternoon class in Beaverton to the class by OMSI at Sylvan the snow was falling and sticking! I'm glad we headed right out and looked for a place to eat closer to school. There were several people that were late for class.

The midterm is coming up. My class mates and I are anxious if we have the knowledge. We are having a study group here on Thursday before class. It started out small but got out of control. We may have eight to ten folks in my little place. Hope everyone showers.

I had been home from class this evening a few minutes when I got a call. Mr. PDXCat called me from Comedy Sportz to say he had the memory helping book. I was excited to get this book and reading since I have soooo much to memorize to pass this course! I was so proud to read the first page as it is about paying attention (in my head people watching, my favorite past time!) I will read more tomorrow but I am already excited!

Thank you for helping in my success Cat Dude! I hope to be my own rawking Valentine with an awesome grade!

Think good snow thoughts

500 is good

I was surprised to see that this would be post number 500! I have always enjoyed this, my original blog more than any other I have done. I dappled with Live Journal, Greatest Journal and my blog on My Space but I always end up back here to "I'm Still Standing". The title says it all about my life and the tenacity in which I live it. I have lived a lot of life in the last seven years. I ended a 14 year marriage/21 year relationship, have had my heart broke several times, walked away from a cheating life partner, survived cancer, lived through a debilitating ankle injury, slammed into perimenopause, had a child behave so badly we parted ways, was almost homeless, was orphaned (not by death) and unemployed more than working for lack of marketable skills. Despite all that I am here and Still Standing. I am proud and pleased to be me.

When I logged today it was to tell of my inner feelings of late. The excitement and confidence of a future is so strange. Seems fitting on a millstone post to type it here. I cant remember the last time I felt this way. I am only in my third week of school but I am making future plans like I have not in soooo long. I'm planning my Graduation and beyond! That is such a weird concept to me that I cant think of how to put it into words. I'm still anxious about all I have to memorize and know for my tests but despite that I am oozing confidence and positive feelings that make me smile. I am making my future. That is so completely awesome I am just busting!!! I don't know if even last summer I would have been ready for all this goodness. I needed to have no distractions or guilt to be able to get to where I am now. With Nick coming unwrapped and Wil needing to be away from the terrorist-like conditions of being around his brother I was not ready. All of this is not just for me but the boys too. I want to help them both move on to their future. I hope my new career makes all of our lives easier and brings us closer. That is my hope. The future is giving me such a "Sunny" feeling it is crazy but I like it.

Help is Good so GIMME!

This is the end of week two in my Pharm Tech class. Things that have come as a bit of a surprise (good and bad) to me are:

~ The PT class only goes until March 17th. The mid-term is middle Feburary. I thought I had VI (six) months. eek!

~ How much I need to know/memorize! For the class tests, the job and the National PT test I take a little over a month after the class is over.

~ how cool it is that they used Greek and Latin to name everything! Body parts, ailments, drug names, perscription instructions but how much there is to memorize!

~ That the math is coming back and sticking. I have a hill to climb yet but I'm gonna keep hiking. That is also because of my awesome math tutor, Josh.

So here is my question that I am putting out there to all of you. Do you have any tricks you can share with me on cramming things in my brain? I have never had to study for anything of this magnatude before. There are some things that flash cards wont work. I'm reading things over and over to store it in the brain. My biggest concern is lack of time. I have my days off on school days but I work Friday - Monday. I read on breaks and lunch at work. I also use any free time to study but am not comfortable that it is enough. Any ideas good!

Yeah, that's gross!

Monday on the news they said that by 5pm we would have rain mixed with snow then maybe straight snow later. I was stoked at this prospect! I wanted to go to class but I really wanted some snow at my 45 foot level! I was willing to trade off missing class for snow AND I would go home and study! The last two chapters are killing me! Got off work late because my schedule said off at 4:30 but hers said on at 5pm. The sad fact that the snow never came probably because the storm came through earlier.

I got to class with five minutes to spare but no teacher. He was late and didn't seem right. He said he didn't feel well. We had no idea until he grabbed a garbage can and ran out the door puking. I am sooo glad I sat in the back of the room. While he was in the bathroom we decided class was over! He was going to try to go on!?! We started class at 5:35 and were out by 5:50.

I called Wil on the way out to tell him we could have dinner earlier. He was cool with that as he was hungry. I was not too sure I wanted food quite yet but . . . Not the early out I wanted but I did study and went to bed at a good hour so I could start up early today!

I have two classes today. The first is Career planning from 1-4 and then Pharm Tech is 5:30 to 9:30. Hopefully He feels better!

The YoM is kinda weird at times. What can you do.

Going well!

I have completed my first week of school. I am feeling pretty good about my student abilities. The math flusters me at times only because I have not done it in so long. Wil's friend Josh has been a life saver for me! He is the one that tutored me for the placement test. Recently he has come over to explain some things math-wise that has helped me sooo much! The teacher is not so good in explaining the "whats" and "whys" so I was left not understanding the important equations I needed to know. I really need to spend most of my time reading, memorizing and working through math - lots of homework. Speaking of that I gots to go read two chapters tonight so . . . . . . Later!

Girl Power is the Best

During the last couple of years I have really appreciated movies and TV shows that promote Girl Power. When I feel that things are closing in on me and I need a little kick-ass Girl Power to keep me going. They have helped me when I have felt beat down by life and the powers that be, when I am getting ready to deal with an unpleasant ex or anyone wanting to do unkindly to me or my boys I have retreated into my foxhole (momentarily) and got ready for battle. I did that by looking inward, listening to empowering music (Aaliyah "Aaliyah", Christina Aguellera "Stripped") and watching uplifting Girl Power shows.

Disney's "The Little Mermaid" or "Mulan" are nice. "Moulin Rouge" is a movie about a woman showing you how to get what you want and how to protect yourself or the people you love. TV shows that really has kick-ass women are "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (on for seven seasons), "Charmed" (also seven seasons) or "Sex and the City" (yes, seven seasons). The ultimate girl power movies would have to be "Kill Bill l and ll". She should have been dead but low and behold she is Still Standing, hum. Not only that but she goes after all the folks that tried to take everything away for her. For that task she picked herself up, got strong and found each of them in turn and killed them. The scene in the bar when she is battling the Crazy 88's she hesitates momentarily at the massive tip of scales against her in the battle but she gets her mind set in an instant and finishes her slaughter to get to her goal. I have definitely felt that in the past. These shows have helped me from big (big) lows but also from general sad times. I can be feeling sorry about the not taking care of the boys the way I want or not being able pay bills the way I want but if I watch an episode of "Charmed", "Buffy" or "SaTC" I feel stronger or tougher to deal with whatever is getting me down.

I don't always have to have girls kick ass to uplift me. There are movies that just make you feel good. Some that I have seen recently and recommend are "Because I said so", "Juno", "My big Fat Greek Wedding", "Sisters of the traveling Pants" to name a few. Movies I fall back on are "Coyote Ugly", "Bring it on" and "FlashDance". In general it's shows in which strong women find the power within themselves and come out better because they made it happen. They are inspirational and comforting at the same time. I don't want it to sound like I resort to a fantasy state but rather a diversion before tacking lives tough moments. So rock on and kick-ass!

Cherished Days off

I had two great days off! It was sweet to have my last working day before days off a holiday earning me time and a half pay. I had a rocky morning after waking up late and watching "Charmed" I got the call from my distressed Dad that Mom was at Good Sam ER. I got home just before 2pm drained. DJ was coming over to watch "Grind House" (the part with Zombies and Rose). Anyway, Wil was not home to cook for us or watch the second "Grind House" with us so I chose My Special Breakfast Bagel Sandwiches to cook and to go with DJ's Champagne he was bringing. (Happy Year of Marta!) We ended up watching a different movie and an episode of my fav Adult Swim show "Home Movies". After DJ left I watched "28 Days" starring Sandra Bullock. I really liked it and would probably add it to Girl Power movies. She was out of control but realized she was worth getting sober and fight for herself!

Today I slept in again (which is anytime after 7:45) and enjoyed a morning of "Charmed" with coffee and internet time. I was slow to warm up to my chores I could not put off again. While watching HGTV I finally got going. I did five loads of laundry, worked on money issues, finished a posting, took a nap and took down all the ornaments and boxed them back up ready to put back in storage. After all that fun I walked to the store in a delightful down pour (it was super cool) to get a few needed food items. (after first watching the evening episode of "Charmed") I came home to make the morning coffee, my lunch, tonights dinner and a killer marina sauce for tomorrow!

I really do enjoy being single especially right now with the busy I got coming up but one day I would like to find someone I can care about and spend time with. I want them to be the Cheese to my Macaroni. That would be cool.

Beware of the dangers!

Some things are just too dangerous! Take exercising for instance. My mom was on the way to work out yesterday and broke her shoulder joint. She slipped on the wet stairs at the gym and went down hard on her shoulder. The description the doctor gave is kinda vague but here it goes. The arm bone is like a long stick and at the end of it is the joint. The joint is like an ice cream cone. When my mom fell she broke the ice cream off the cone. They probably wont do surgery but she will know more tomorrow morning. For now she is in a lot of pain and wearing a splint.

Decide how badly you want to keep that New Years resolution. Getting in shape and losing weight can be more painful than you might think.

The End

I am saddened to say that we have come to the close of our Podcast. Ken and I could not afford to purchase the better recording devices that would make editing easier for Ken. Also we have both been busy in our lives with lots of big changes for Ken. As much fun as it was an a success to bask in we just cant continue. We have not recorded for over a year but I had hoped we would find a solution. The LibSyn site has been canceled but I hope we are still on iTunes. Thank you to all that supported us. I dont want to name names and forget anyone. Thank you all.

Do congratulate Ken as he was promoted at Comedy Sportz. He is now a member of the pro team. I'm real happy for him. Maybe on day we can try again to do our Podcast.

Welcome

Welcome to the Year of Marta. Bask in the warmth and goodness that is the YoM. Work hardy and gather the treasures close but be sure to share the wealth.

Go forth and seize adventure.

Marta the Diva of all but especially the YoM.