Lisa's Little Blog

End of semester blahs

2011-05-22T10:15:00.000-05:00

Blah blah blah

Now that I've quit the second job in April, and the semester is over, all I want to do is sleep. I'm more exhausted than I realized, but I also wanted to clean my apartment and take clothes I don't wear (or no longer wear) to Goodwill. I've made a dent in the second task, but not the first. However, I still have two weeks to get things done before the 12-week summer session begins. Sometimes I (and probably the rest of us) just need to take a break and rest, so we can keep going.

Don't be a stranger...

2011-02-11T17:19:00.001-06:00

which should actually be my tag-line. After all, I haven't written on this blog in three months, so it's past time for a new post. Among a few things going on:

1. I've been learning Chinese for the past few months; however, working two jobs and pursuing other interests have really dragged me down. Thus, I don't know how long I'll continue with it. Maybe I should just take a break from it for a while.

2. I can't seem to find the right car (4-door gas-saving economy car) at the right price. Annoying, very annoying :/

3. I've been rediscovering historical fiction, but I never imagined that I'd be checking out Spanish history of all things, particularly during the reigns of Isabella and Ferdinand (late 1400s-early 1500s). One newer author I've discovered is C.W. Gortner, who wrote a novel (The Last Queen) about Isabella and Ferdinand's daughter Juana, commonly known as Juana la Loca (Joanna the Mad), who may not have been as crazy as her contemporaries made her out to be. He has a book coming out on Isabella sometime next year. I.Can't.Wait. However, a large part of the history of Texas is tied up with the history of Spain since Spain ruled Texas for over 300 years. Of course, they're examples to show that humans have neither the ability nor the right to rule themselves, no matter how good their intentions.

4. Not only do I need to write an exam this weekend, but I also need to grade papers. I'm really having a hard time motivating myself to grade since it's not one of my favorite activities. Maybe if I write the exam first, I might feel like grading papers. I've already promised the students I would have both quizzes and some labs graded, and I really need to keep my promise. Unfortunately, the library books keep calling my name ;)

5. This winter, for the most part, has been milder than last winter. However, the bitter cold, snow, and sleet that we had the last two weeks have more than made up for it. I can't stand the cold weather because all I want to do is sleep, and it makes me depressed, so I can't do anything, which is a problem.

That's it for now, but I'll try to post more often.

From the ridiculous to the sublime

2010-11-02T16:45:00.001-05:00

For those who don't know, the motor went out on my car about a month ago, and a generous sister from my congregation is letting me borrow her spare van. However, I'm looking for a good, fuel-efficient car that will get me to and from work in Cypress, and will be good for the field ministry, so I've been combing the ads on the local paper's website, Craigslist, and tamu.forsale. Unfortunately, the cars are either more than I can afford, or they're being sold for parts.
Another brother has a used car lot, and he has a Mazda 626 (maroon, people, maroon of all colors in this town). I went over to test drive today, but could not, because....

the mechanism that moves the seat forward doesn't work. Yep, you heard right, I can't move the seat forward so that my stubby little legs can reach the pedals. Who said that little things don't mean much? For such a small thing, that one problem turned into a huge issue because I couldn't safely drive the car if my feet can't reach the pedals, and I'm not buying a car I can't drive! If that isn't the most insane thing I've dealt with in cars, I don't know what is. If the whole situation wasn't so funny and ridiculous, I'd be crying right now. Back to square one...and hoping somewhere that I have a rich uncle or aunt to front me the money... not happening anytime soon :( Time to pray some more!

In the meantime...psst, hey Aggies who need a new car, there's a maroon Mazda 626 at Cal's Body Shop in Bryan that's calling your name, especially if you're over 5'2" and don't need to move the seat up to reach the pedals. Kurtis would be happy to help you get the Aggie car of your dreams ;)

Life's too short...

2010-06-17T18:50:00.000-05:00

to wear other people's tire tracks :P

It had to happen sometime...

2010-06-05T17:52:00.000-05:00

the A/C went out earlier this afternoon, especially after an encouraging morning of sharing in the ministry. Boo. Hiss.

After calling the property coordinator twice to find out when the maintenance guy would come out, I had to leave and go somewhere with cold A/C. I went to the mall, bought a really icky-sweet Toll House Mocha from the Nestle shop, and walked around looking at stuff I can't afford.
Then, I went to Wal-Mart to see if a friend who works at the vision center was working today (she wasn't) to see what price I could get on new glasses. I finally went to the eye doctor yesterday after 4 years. The good news is that my eyes are healthy; the bad news is that my prescription changed slightly, so I need new glasses. Since I bought the last few pairs of glasses at LensCrafters, I thought I'd price replacement lenses for an old set of frames which are still in good shape. I'm still recovering from the sticker shock -- $243 just to replace the lenses :O
I then went home where my apartment was still hot and called the coordinator, who reminded me to turn on the A/C. Oops. I turned it on and -- wow -- I have A/C! Who would have thought that ants could short out the fuses? I guess they were looking for a cool spot, but I really would have preferred that they would not have blown the fuses on my A/C! Oh well, I'm now sitting in my cool apartment waiting for the temperature to cool down (98 degrees F at Walgreens around 4:30 pm) so that I can go grocery shopping.
What a day!

We now interrupt this show...

2010-05-19T14:33:00.001-05:00

to announce that the semester is OVER! Maybe I might actually get to blog, or crochet/knit something more adventurous than scarves and dishcloths :) Oh yeah, I'm also teaching the 12-week summer session, so I'll be busy again. Sigh.

Too busy, too long

2009-12-09T16:24:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that I haven't entered anything here since November, but I'll try to rectify that soon. I've had too much going on for far too long. In fact, my brain is toast, but the weather's way too chilly for Texas. I realize 43 degrees (Fahrenheit) is seasonal for most people in other parts of the country in December, but for Texas, that's much too cold! Also, I've been enjoying comfort food -- visit my cooking blog for the results. I haven't decided if I'll make Mac 'n' Cheese Florentine or simple White Cheese Mac 'n' Cheese -- I've enjoyed the Bacon Mac 'n' Cheese so far, but I don't want to clog my arteries too quickly. Hmm, I could also try Mexican Mac 'n' Cheese too. So little time, so many possibilities!

I'm also on Twitter as well, as ChemEdGirl. Not sure if I like it though -- I'm a bit too longwinded to fully appreciate it :/

Back to teaching again

2009-11-08T09:12:00.001-06:00

Well, after my whiny post of October 6, I ended up getting two teaching sections for the spring. I'm OK with it, but I'm looking for ways to enjoy the class and minimize my grading load. I guess I was a little harsh when I said that teaching was not right for me -- some parts of it are, but did I mention that I HATE grading ;) At least the grading load per week won't be so bad; maybe one or two labs, a quiz, and every once in a while, an exam. The Summer I or II grading load is much worse! One other instructor is giving four exams and the final, one exam one week before finals. My one deviation is that I'm only giving three exams and the final because I'm not stressing myself to write and grade two exams in a two-week period, and I'm not stressing the students out with taking two exams in two weeks. I'll be driving a lot since one section is at Kingwood and the other section is at Cy-Fair (within the Lone Star College System). Right now, I'm working on the Gen Chem I course for Kingwood because my department head and another instructor sent the book and lab CD, so I can plan until I drop :) I hope to get the Cy-Fair materials soon so that I can start work on that course.

BTW, I ended up having to quit the writing job. I was having a hard time getting motivated to write a course that would teach the course on paper, especially after I found out that I wouldn't be paid unless or until the entire course was complete -- which would have been April or May. Ouch! Totally uncool :P Right around that time, I received an offer for a writing job for another job I'd applied to before I received the teaching jobs; unfortunately, I had to decline that one because it would take more time than I had available to do it. Sigh. I hated to turn down that job because writing a script for a set of chemistry videos would have been a lot of fun, but the schedule for the scriptwriting went through the spring when I would have no time. Argh!

Mid-Life Crisis

2009-10-19T21:11:00.001-05:00

Hoo, boy howdy, what's going on with my life?
I'm 40 but feel like 80,
My internal solar flares produce infernal strife,
And I'm confused about matters that are weighty.
My pocketbook is skinnier than I,
My life is hanging in mid-air,
I'm digging a deeper hole no matter how I try
To get out of it, but to be fair,
I'm reaping what I've sown,
The consequences of poor choices.
By choice I remain alone,
But I can't filter the effect of voices
From the past, which discourage me
And keep me from spreading my wings,
Yet if I own and learn from past mistakes, I see
I soon can find the most important things.

Facebook -- What was I thinking?!

2009-10-06T19:01:00.000-05:00

I finally did it -- I joined Facebook.

It was a bit scary, especially since I've found more than half of my high school graduating class (Magnolia High, 1986) on Facebook. Of course, high school wasn't exactly fun -- think stage mom, braces and headgear, and perpetually bad hair -- oh I nearly forgot about the general growing pains of adolescence. Would.Not.Go.There.Again. What's even worse, some people have pictures of me at our high school graduation on Facebook. Not only did I have the bad hair, but I was so nervous during my speech that I couldn't look up at the audience. Nor did it help that my dad was drunk and complaining about the lack of beer :( Thank goodness I managed to grow up, ditch Mom's hairdresser, and improved my public speaking a bit from congregation meetings. Both of my parents are now dead, and fall is the hardest season to deal with because they both died in the fall, Dad in September 1994 from lung cancer, and Mom in October 1996 from respiratory failure, but had septicemia because she jacked around with her skin problem until it was too late -- don't even get me started because it still makes me angry after all this time. Mom's death was preventable, but she was also a very bitter and angry woman who was disappointed with her lot in life and with me because I refused to live out her dreams. Funnily enough, I have found myself in jobs that Mom would have wanted me to have, but were absolutely and totally wrong for me -- like teaching. I enjoy working with the students and designing the lessons, but I really HATE grading, and I still get nervous in front of people. What else do we expect from introverts (ISTJ for the longest, but recently tested INFJ and INTJ)?

I'm still figuring out what I want to do when I grow up, but one thing I've always wanted to do since junior high was to write. I'm grateful for the curriculum writing assignments that I've had over the years, but I like other writing as well. My resume suffers from the shotgun effect -- I've had so many different jobs over the years all over the place. I'm fast coming to the conclusion that I'd be better off self-employed than to continue to deal with the job hunt -- I don't have great aim, and self-promotion isn't exactly my strong suit. Come to think of it, that's not so hot for self-employment either. I've thought about tutoring since I live near a major Research I university with humongous freshman chemistry classes (300 students per section). I have the ad and my policy sheet all ready, but I have to make myself get on Craigslist to put in the ad. I'd rather place it elsewhere, but free is better than cheap, and I can't afford even cheap right now. At this point in my life, tutoring and writing may be my best bets.

Wow, I didn't expect to take such a somber tone, nor did I expect to tell so much about myself. For once, I hope no one really reads this because I feel a little too exposed right now. Maybe in a day or two I might update my knitting and crocheting projects or post another attempt at poetry.

Looking Backward, Looking Forward

2009-10-05T18:29:00.000-05:00

Looking backward, looking forward
In the rear view mirror,
Almost hit the car in front.
Looking backward, looking forward
Remembering the past,
Anticipating the future.
Looking backward, looking forward
Dealing with past issues,
Analyzing my next step.
Looking backward, looking forward
Reaching back in history,
Planning for the future.

Waaah!

2009-09-29T16:12:00.000-05:00

Waaah! I'll have to cut the "official vacation" down to 2-3 days. I'm behind on my curriculum writing work and need to catch up. Unfortunately, that means I'll have to work through at least Wednesday of next week to get caught up, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to pay bills.
I haven't been in the mood to write any poetry or write a new Hub (over on HubPages), mostly because I've been working on the chemistry curriculum project. I have everything finished on the first module except for four versions of the module exam. I was supposed to have *two* modules complete by tomorrow, but I haven't felt too great all month. Thus, I'll be playing catch-up for the rest of this week into next week.
I have some ideas for writing my first hub, but I'm not sure which I'll work on first. Please send your comment and let me know which you'd be most interested in:
Everyday Chemistry
Chemistry and Kids
Chemistry In Verse
Recipes (I have a few, but I need to type them up)
Some of my crochet designs (ditto on the designs plus I need pics)

Lisa

Lisa's Official "Vacation" Oct 5-11

2009-09-24T14:09:00.000-05:00

Howdy,

I've decided I need to take a week off from work, stress over money, and the normal stuff for one week. I haven't had a vacation of any kind in over *three years*, so I'm seriously overdue. I may (not) check my email, blog, or anything for a week just to give myself a break. I may not be able to go anywhere, except maybe one out-of-town day trip, but even if I just get some rest, that'll help a lot! Now I'm off to find a vacation planner that has an open format since the one that came with my computer (Works) has a huge list of items I don't need. Ugh!

Paralysis by Analysis

2009-09-21T14:34:00.001-05:00

Hey, wait a minute,
What could possibly go wrong?
Oh, someone could make fun of me,
Or this idea won't work,
Or maybe this idea will cost too much money!
I'm not qualified to do this,
And I really don't have time.
Oh, never mind!
I'll think about it later.

Hooks and Needles Update

2009-09-17T22:25:00.000-05:00

I've been revamping my blog, and I noticed that I need to update projects on the hooks and needles. All the projects I was working on this summer are finished. Unfortunately, the baby blanket had to be frogged since I dropped stitches at the beginning of two rows, which I frogged those and ended up dropping far more stitches. Never fear, however, I simply designed a crochet pattern with the help of Simple Stitches Crochet and came up with a simple but cute design for a baby boy. My friend was quite happy with the blanket :)

Projects on the hooks and needles (Note to self: update my projects on Ravelry soon):
Waffle Stitch Dishcloth (needles): almost done
Two Hearts Dishcloth (needles): 75% done, for another friend's wedding
Fan Stitch Scarf and Cap (hook): scarf design and sample complete, haven't started the cap design
Easy One-Piece Slippers (hook): one slipper complete, need to start on the second one (Note: this is a different pair)

That's it for me tonight -- y'all come back :)

Hook and Needles, Yarn and Thread

2009-09-12T17:45:00.000-05:00

Hook and needles, yarn and thread,
Together make so many different things,
A warm blanket spread on the bed,
A beautiful pillow to carry wedding rings,
A child receiving a cuddly toy,
Or a warm cap for a cancer patient's head.
Just a few things that bring comfort and joy
With hook and needles, yarn and thread.

Much Ado About Too Much

2009-09-07T19:58:00.003-05:00

Busy, busy summer! The first half of the summer involved teaching a Summer I chemistry class, and attending an assembly and a convention. By the second half, I was ill, and so was the car :( However, it could be worse. While I don't have a teaching position for the fall (I'm hoping for spring), I do have a curriculum writing position for the next eight months. I'll be busy writing an entire high school chemistry curriculum, to be completed by the end of April. Maybe I'll check with the Census Bureau. My current job situation reminds me of the Three Bears, where Goldilocks tries each of the bears' food and beds. One job is too much physically, the second is too much emotionally, and the third one is just right!

Uggh, allergies strike again!

2009-05-16T21:52:00.003-05:00

I'm not doing too well at the moment -- the allergies are really bugging me right now :( I'm waiting on the Benadryl to kick in and knock me out :) 'Tis indeed the season to be sneezin'.

Currently on hooks and needles:
Easy One-Piece Slippers -- crochet (hooks)
Sunny Baby Blanket -- knit (needles) (Note to self: get this done before a friend's baby shower)
Swiffer Reusable pad -- needles

That's it for now,
LB

I Refuse to Worry

2009-01-15T17:02:00.004-06:00

Worry -- what's that?
Stomach churning,
Heart racing,
Mind whirling,
And feet pacing.

Who needs that?
Not me, say I
No worries,
No illness,
No hurry!

Yikes!

2009-01-06T08:32:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's post was definitely an exercise in desperation. I have two jobs, but they've had very little work since Thanksgiving. Nancy at The Hook and Needle had some temporary data entry that I was able to do, but that's also finished. My ideal job would be a chemistry curriculum designer, virtual assistant, or knit/crochet designer. At this point, however, I'll have to take what I can get to pay my bills. Back to the job search for the umpteenth time :/

Wanted: Job for Geek

2009-01-05T15:50:00.003-06:00

Howdy,

Please let me know if you know anyone who wants to hire a geek (me) as a virtual assistant or data entry person. I'm currently doing some medical vendor data entry in Access for a client, but I can also enter business data in QuickBooks or other types of data in Access and Excel. Additionally, I can write business letters, keep up with email or snail mail correspondence, edit or create web pages, create brochures and PowerPoint presentations, and most other office tasks. Please leave a comment on this blog or email me for a copy of my resume. Please do NOT send links to work-at-home business opportunities since most of those require money (which I don't have) and are scams.

Thanks,
Lisa

A New Year - What Next?

2009-01-03T21:21:00.003-06:00

A New Year, what next?
Knitting and crocheting
Getting a dog or a cat
Self-employed or worker bee
Moving or staying
Making big stuff or learning to tat
Swearing off school or getting that Ph.D.

So many decisions, so little time!
Such is the business of life in this rhyme.

Back for more

2008-11-19T22:43:00.002-06:00

Two sinus infections and six weeks later, I have two projects going:
1. A knitted dishcloth, which I'm making from Sugar 'n Cream yarn that I frogged from another project that wasn't going well at all.
2. A crocheted hexagonal coaster and tea trivet set that I'm designing myself.

The dishcloth project is progressing much faster than the coaster/tea trivet project, but who feels like knitting or crocheting or thinking with a congested head? Not me!

2008-10-17T20:54:00.003-05:00

Oh my goodness, seven months is too long to wait -- and another allergy season is here :( Oh well, here's to the ragweed, elm, and grass that's currently irritating my nasal passages :P

Too much has happened since the last post -- my freelance writing job ran out, I sold most of my valuables, and went back to the laundry that I'd worked at before, as well as taking on a side data-entry job. It wasn't all bad; I started crocheting again after a five-year hiatus, and I finally learned to purl, so I can knit now :) On top of that, I discovered the local yarn shop, The Hook and Needle, while cutting through to get home. Hobby Lobby hasn't seen much of my money since discovering The Hook and Needle.

Update and Allergy Poem

2008-03-12T22:07:00.003-05:00

I don't have much going on -- I'm slowly getting off the Jane Austen obsession (more specifically Persuasion -- fast becoming my favorite Austen novel) as the Complete Jane Austen on PBS is winding down to Emma and Sense and Sensibility. Unfortunately, springtime in Texas means allergy season, so I wrote a silly poem about it:

Allergy Season
'Tis the season
To be sneezin'
Plants are bloomin'
I'm a gloomin'
People mowin'
I'm a goin'

Aah-Aah-AAH-CHOO!