Monday, August 29, 2005

Ok, What's Up?

Ok, you can't see that I learned how to make new paragraphs on the computer! I hit enter when I finished a paragraph and then indented to start the new paragraph, but when I published my blog, it still came out as one looooong paragraph! What's up?

Is it working now? What do I have to do to get this to work right? Does anybody out there know? Do you care? I'll see how this blog goes to see if I've got it this time.
Is it working now? I'll check and see.

Bittersweet Symphony

Hello bloggerland. This weekend was bittersweet for me. First, this was the weekend my nephew, Kendric, moved into his dorm at U.T. Austin. I rode down with him and his parents. I wanted to cry, but didn't because I didn't want to embarass him in front of his roommate. I cried like a baby when I got home. I just can't believe that time's gone by so fast. It was just yesterday that Kendric was gaga over Pokemon and couldn't wait to play the tickle game with his favorite aunt, me! I feel like Kendric's life just slipped through my hands. I feel like I had him in my arms one minute, looked away for a second, and then he was gone to college! It hurt to let him go, but I was also very proud of him. Not every kid makes it this far. Kendric's a good kid with his head on straight and I'm so grateful for that. I know he'll do great in college. And I should be happy he chose U.T. Austin instead of Cornell. If he were that far away I really would be a basket case!
I had some good news for myself. As you know, I got fired from my job last Monday. Well, I got a new job with my best friend, and I start tomorrow. This job is only part-time and just pays minimum wage, but at least I'll have some money coming in. Plus, my friend said if I can't pay my rent I can live in the back of her antique store where I'll be working. The store is really a charming, two-bedroom house. I can have the back bedroom,which is quite large, for a place to stay, rent-free, if things get too tight in my apartment. I have a great best friend, and I'll take her up on her offer if I have to, but I'm really trying hard not to have a second eviction on my record, so I'll avoid moving out at all cost. Speaking of cost, one of my crocheted bears sold on Saturday. My friend has another antique store where her son works and she let me put some of my bears in there and one actually sold! And only one day after I put them out! I'm hoping and praying that this will be the beginning of a lucrative business for me.
So, this weekend really was bittersweet. My nephew, my baby, went off to college, I got a new job, and one of my bears sold. And, as you can see, I found out how to make paragraphs on the computer! Sometimes, life is beautiful!

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Just Trying Something

I just want to see what my post will look like with a different alignment. If I like this alignment better than the align left position, I'll use it for all my post. If I don't like it, then I won't. Of course, I'll have to check out the other alignments, too. I'm totally new to blogging and writing on the computer so I'm learning as I go along. What I'm really trying to figure out is how do you make a new paragraph? Every time I try to make a new paragraph, I forward to the end of the line so I can start to write on the next line. But the problem is that when I do that the last word I've typed always comes down to the next line. I want to be able to space down to the next line, without carrying the last word with me, so I can either indent to start a new paragraph or go down two lines and then start a new paragraph. Does anyone understand what I'm trying to say? I know I don't have the computer lingo down yet. I hope someone out there knows what I'm asking and will give an answer. Thanks in advance. PoorGrrl.

Pat Robertson Was Right!

I'm sure everybody and their grandmothers have heard what televangelist Pat Robertson said about Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. Well, I happened to be watching the 700 Club when Mr. Robertson made his comment and I must say I wholeheartedly agree with him. First off, Mr. Robertson didn't come out on his show and call for Chavez's assasination right off the bat. Instead, there was an in depth news analysis of Chavez and the threat he poses to the U.S; after that, Mr. Robertson was commenting on Chavez and mentioned that Chavez had accused the U.S. of trying to assasinate him. Then Mr. Robertson said that if that was the case, the U.S. should "take him(Chavez)out" and avoid another "200 billion dollar war" a reference to Iraq, of course. And, as I said, I agree. It would be nice if we lived in a paradise where all conflicts between nations could be settled without violence. But we don't live in a paradise, and if violence is part of international relations, then isn't it better, more moral, to kill a handful of leaders who actually implement the policies that threaten you, rather than wage war on a whole nation of people who have nothing to do with their government's policies? Why is it that so many poeple are prepared to swallow the camel of war, however distasteful it may be, but strain on the gnat of assasination? Look at it this way, if the democracies could've brought down the Nazi regime and replaced it with the democratic opposition by killing Hitler and his major henchmen, wouldn't that have been better than waging a war that killed 50 million people? That's what Mr. Robertson was getting at. Maybe his comment was too blunt for our politically correct times, but we need more blunt truth and alot less pc mush. Chavez is no nice guy. He's an America-loathing dictator who's muzzled his nation's press, made it illegal to criticize him, supports Columbia's Marxist FARC narcoterrorists, receives moral support from an Argentine Holocaust denier, and wants to use Venezuela's oil billions to support Muslim extremists. He's a danger to the U.S., and if it takes a few well-placed bullets to solve the Chavez problem, so be it. Pat was right!

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Somtimes, Life Sucks!

Hi people, it's me, PoorGrrl. It's been a while since I've blogged, but I'm beginning to wonder why I should even bother because no one's even listening to, or should I say reading, me. I feel rejected, like when you send a manuscript to a publisher and they send it back saying, "No thanks!" You had such high hopes for your literary baby, then someone comes along and tells you that your "baby" is deformed. That's how I feel. I feel like my life's deformed. I got fired from my job yesterday, which, ironically, was also my anniversary date for getting the job. Now I need help from the blogging community more than ever, but I seriously doubt that anyone will donate even a dollar or two. I'm really down in the dumps. I'm sort of relieved to be out of that job, even though I need the money desperately. My director, Deborah, and I have been on a collison course since June when she changed my time care behind my back. Yeah, that would piss off anybody, but Fearless Leader didn't see it that way. Supposedly I was "milking the clock" when I clocked back in from my break then went to the bathroom. Yes, I had a two hour break, but I didn't have to go to the bathroom then. I ate lunch in the schoolers' room (I worked in day care) then I went out to my car and took an hour nap. I've done that many times before, and then clocked in when break was over, went to the restroom, then went to my classroom to finish out my day. It seems to me that if Deborah had a problem with what I was doing she should 've talked to me about it earlier instead of waiting a year or more then changing my time card behind my back. She took six minutes off my time card when I was in the bathroom no more than three minutes(I also brushed my teeth). Well, to make a long story short(er), I had a confrontation with Fearless Leader and stormed out of the building. I also didn't work the next day because when I showed up for work Deborah and the assistant director, Esther, were both waiting for me and tried to get me to sign this paper saying I was wrong. I refused to sign and left. I did go back to work the next day, but tension between me and Deborah was just beneath the service. It boiled over this past Friday when I confronted Deborah about why she let another teacher put her disruptive child in my class at naptime without asking me first. It's not that I want to tell my director what to do, but I feel that any teacher should be asked, or at least politely informed, if they're going to have a difficult child dumped on them. After all, the receiving teacher might have her hands full with her own difficult child(ren) and can't handle another one. That's why directors need to communicate with their staff, but Deborah never thought she should. She didn't think twice, for example, about enrolling a new kid in your class without giving you any prior notice. That happened to me on five different occasions. On one of the last ocassions, I was so mad that I complained to a parent that I was quite close to, and she got it! She understood that not informing me about a new child made me feel stupid. I was floored that a parent who's not in child care understood and Deborah didn't. When I talked to Deborah about it she got defensive and angry and started rambling on about day care being a service business. Yes, day care is a service business, but that has nothing to do with not communicating with your staff. In fact, communicating with your staff is even more crucial in a service business because knowing what's going on makes your staff look more professional instead of like amateurs who're just shooting from the hip. But Fearless Leader didn't see things that way, so now I'm out of a job. I'm hoping for the best. In the mean time, I really need help from the blogger community. If anyone out there is kind enough to help, please look at my page on savemesites.com and donate. Just a dollar or two from 500-600 people would help me tremendously, and I know that there are millions out there writing and reading blogs. You can find a link to savemesites.com and full info on finding my page on my first post. I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing. Hope I have some good news when I post next. Bye for now! PoorGrrl

Sunday, August 14, 2005

A Few Questions

Hi y'all! I know it's be a while since my last post. I've been sick and I just haven't felt like posting. But now I'm back. I'd like to ask a few questions of my fellow bloggers. First, did anyone check out my page on savemesites.com? I hate to ask for help. I really have to swallow my pride to do so. Mostly, I'm afraid people will think I'm a bum who doesn't work and is just looking for easy money. It's not like that at all. I work hard every day at a full-time job taking care of the most important things in the world: children. You'd think I and my fellow child care workers would get paid far more than we do, but at most we get $2 to $2.60 above minimum wage. I stay in this job because I love my babies and their parents, but it's really hard to make ends meet when you're single and have only one paycheck. I'm trying to get a second income going. My best friend just opened up an antiques and crafts shop and she said I could put my crocheted bears in there. I'm working really hard on my bears and have three almost ready to go, but crocheting is time consuming, and even when I get the bears ready I still have to wait for them to sell. In the mean time, bills need to be paid NOW. So I'd really appreciate it if my fellow bloggers would check out myhttp://savemesites.com page and give a little donation.(my page is titled PleaseHelp;click on Site Listings, scroll down about 30-40 titles to find me;the info's a bit dated,I've gotten July's rent taken care of, but I still need help with August's bills). My next question is about writing blogs. How do I make paragraphs? I know, the question's probably a dumb one, but I need help. You see, whenever I forward to the end of the page to make a new paragraph, the last words on the page move too. I want to make an indention for each new paragraph so I won't have these long run-on paragraphs but I can't figure it out. I've tried toying with the align left,right,and center icons but it still doesn't come out right. If anyone has any advice for me, please give. I'm listening! My third question is about a movie. About ten years or so ago I saw this sci-fi movie on network tv. It was a pretty good movie and I've been trying to find out if it's out on video. The problem is, I can't remember the name of it. The movie was about a guy who's trying to find his kidnapped little sister. I don't remember the names of any of the characters or the actors who played them, but I do remember that the name of the bad guy, or rather bad thing, was the Sublime Plenum. I did a google search for Sublime Plenum but didn't find the movie. Does anyone out there in bloggerland know about this movie? If you can help me find out anything about this movie, even if it's only the title, I'd greatly appreciate! Well, I'm going to go read the paper and then work on my bears. You'll hear from me again soon By for now! PoorGrrl

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Well, I'm back. I took an unexpected leave from blogging this weekend because I spent some special quality time with my sister and nephew(and my nephew's best friend). My nephew's going off to college at the end of this month so I won't be able to spend time with him whenever I want to like I can now. So the time we spent together this weekend was special. I'm going to miss my nephew so much. He's as much my child as he can be without actually being my child. I don't want to think about him leaving. My Dad died in February and I'm still coping with that--the whole family is, really--and now my nephew going to college is another loss I've got to deal with on top of Dad's death. I feel really sad right now. There's just all this loss in my life right now. I want to talk to my Dad so bad. I only got to really know him after I'd grown up, and when he died I realized that that knowing process was only in its infancy. And now I can't talk to Daddy ever again. I can't ask him questions about life, his life, his feelings about all the things that have happened in our family. I can't ask him if he really loved Mom or why, if he didn't, did he stay married to her for so long even though it was hell on earth for both of them. Daddy's gone;I've lost him for good, and now I'm going to lose my nephew, the only child I'll probably ever have. I know going to college isn't the same as dying. I'll be able to talk to my nephew and see him on school breaks. But this step--going to college-- is the official beginning of adulthood for him. I haven't lost my nephew, but I've lost the little boy he once was, and I've lost him forever. Gone forever are the days of buying Pokemon cards for his birthday, talking endlessly about video games, or running around the house playing the tickle game. I'm afraid the man who'll come home from college won't have time for me anymore. My nephew doesn't even want to live in Texas when he finishes school. If he moves out of state I'm afraid it'll break the special bond between us. I love him so Much! I want him to take on the world and come out winning. I just don't want to get left behind in the process. I'll cry alot the end of this month, but I guess it will be like that old Chinese proverb: If you love something(one) set it(him) free. If it(he) comes back it(he)'s yours, if it(he) doesn't, it(he) was never really yours to begin with. I believe he'll come back.

Friday, August 05, 2005

Tired. Very tired. I almost didn't post anything tonight because I'm so tired. Of course, I should be tired after chasing around 10 toddlers and infants all day. But I decided to post to give people something to read besides just my first post; to show I'm serious about keeping this blog going. And also, I want to train my brain to stay in writing mode. I want to be a serious writer, a real author, someday, but I have really bad writer's block. Or maybe it's just scattered brain syndrome. Well, what ever you call it, I've got it. It's so hard to keep my mind focused on the task at hand. I believe if I write everyday on this blog it will teach my mind the discipline it needs to write well. But again, I'm so tired, it's hard to think. So this will be a short post. In fact, this is it. I'm going to take a quick bath, go to bed, and face all those demanding toddlers all over again tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Hello out there! This is PoorGrrl, and this is my first post on my first blog. You'll be hearing alot from me and learning about me as time goes on, and I hope you like what you see because I hope it will move at least some of you in bloggerland to help me. You see, I didn't start this blog just to share my thoughts with the world. I started it firstly to ask for help. Yes, I have to swallow my pride and ask for financial help on the 'net. I have a little page on the site that this first post is titled for and I need people to read it and donate. I don't want people donating gazillions of dollars at once. No, I know times are hard for us all. Rather, I'd like people to give just a dollar or two. If many people see my page and donate, a dollar or two will add up. I only need about $500-600 to get caught up on my bills. Surely 500-600 people can make it to my savemesites.com page from the millions who read blogs. If you're curious enough to look up my page, go to www.savemesites.com, click on Site Listings, scroll down about 20 or so site titles till you get to PleaseHelp, that'll be me! I really do need some caring people to offer me a little helping hand. I'm not a bum who doesn't work. I work hard every day caring for other people's children. I bring home a paycheck, it just not enough right now. I guess you could say I'm the face of the working poor. And I don't want your donation for nothing, either. My blog will be your "reward" for donating. If you like what you read here;if you think it's really, really, cool;if it makes you mad;if it makes you sad; above all, if it makes you think, then I will have done my job well by you. So take a step into the PoorGrrl Zone, I think you'll be glad you did! Ciao! PoorGrrl (Oh, one more thing. My page on savemesites.com was posted on July 24, so the info's a bit dated. I still need help because August's rent is due(I've paid only about half of it) and I've only gotten one donation so far. Also, time is an issue. Saturday, August 6 is the last day you can pay rent at my apt. complex before late fees kick in, so please, anyone out there who wants to help, please hurry! Thanks!)