Journals....

I hate peer reviewed journals with a passion! They say the exact same thing in as many different ways as possible and when they run out of different ways they repeat it anyway! Grrrrrr. If they actually have enough time to write a journal like that they need to get a life in the worst way. Seriously. Grrrrr.
You know last night I counted out how many papers I've actually written this semester.... it's so wrong! By the end I'll have written 10...or was it 9? Anyway, too many. That's how it's different from YVC. You write more papers. I miss quarters. They seem like a distant dream...so close, and yet so far. That reminds me, someone is stupid and it isn't me! I went in to be advised for next semester and my advisor said it looked like I still had to take two gened classes. It became they said we said by both schools. I'm tellin' ya someone's stupid and it's not me. I may have to visit YVC during Thanksgiving Break. Maybe I could catch Mr. Blisard... sounds like a plan...oh and Mr. Anderson and Ben (Mayo). Those are the best teachers at YVC hands down.

I Love the weekend! It makes me happy, like I should be...

So it's Friday... yay! I'm so happy! This week has been crazy crazy! *sigh of relief* I only have one class today... at 1PM... actually I should be doing homework in my spare morning... oh well... I took a test yesterday for the class that's usually in the morning so there's no class. :) I got a good grade too. :) I'm doing laundry instead of researching/writing a paper... and Annie's going to Moscow this afternoon to spend the night with Claire at U of I. Val's coming to Pullman sometime today for the weekend 'cause it's the Homecoming game and all...I hope she brought me the hangers I asked her to... :D... it'll be fun to see her and to show her my home away from home etc.
Tuesday was a horrible day. Everything went REALLY wrong. Yep, enough said. I ate a half pint of strawberry frozen yogurt to make it a little better. Oh and Julie & Laura called to chat which was a nice suprise and a good end to a REALLY crappy day.
Wednesday I volunteered in the Food Bank... I really enjoy the people I volunteer with, they're tons of fun... :)
Thursday I studied for the test today that I took last night 'cause it's on webct6. If you've never heard of webct count your blessings. It's such a pain in the butt! Grrrr... okay, I'm done.

Update

I'm listening to the soundtrack from Anastasia I got from my friend Stacie... I think it's my favorite from any Disney movie.
Yesterday afternoon I volunteered at the Soup Kitchen here... there were three other people from Yakima there. I even knew one... crazy. :) I like working in the Food Bank better, but Autumn needed me in the Soup Kitchen this week... it was slow, but I got to talk with all the girls, so it was fun. (I go once a week for the semester.)
Last night I went to Intervasity worship. We played Bigger or Better... we went through Stevens Dorm to trade up. (Sadly we didn't have time to go to Community.) We ended up with a really big, bright beach towel with I am the proud owner of. :D
Oh and I believe I'm going to go the Urbana in December...I forget where it is... oops. It's about missions all around the world that you can get involved in and make your own so to speak.
Gotta run to class sadly so as a last note, Annie & I finished the 1st season of Gilmore Girls... :)

Killing time before class

So it's an eventful week. ;) Monday was class of course & then Bibke Study here in Community with a lot of girls I enjoy. Tuesday-yesterday, I went to dinner at my cousin & her husband Corey's apartment here in Pullman. They had peppers.... mmmmm. :) Today after class I'm going to The Community Action Center to see if I can volunteer there as part of my poverty (HD 403) class. Tonight is Intervarsity-yay! Oh, we get a room this week-last week we froze on top of the library. Yep, it was cold. Tomorrow I have a quiz... oh, I have a quiz. Good thing I'm writing it now... I'm almost forgot. Heh. Is anything eventful happening Friday? Hmmmm. Maybe Annie & I will go to WinCo? No se. I guess I'll see.
I still need to go to The Rock and see if I can live there... it's an all girls Christian house in the middle of Greek row right off campus, actually it's just downish the road from us.

Cherize & Kim came to visit on Sunday & Monday-Yay! It was tons of fun! We did all kinds of random things like get lost in Moscow. To be fair it was Cherize's first time in Idaho and the rest of us aren't much better 'cause at least I have no sense of direction. :D It was great to see then and they put up with the trucks & the heater clanking at about the same time-5AMish.

My hair looks good today thanks to Annie-kutos girlie. :)

I guess I'll post...

So I'm in Pullman at school. It's almost the end of the third week. Weird... it still seems weird to me. No se why. I'm here and things are different and yet the same. My profs are like my instructers at YVC, but some different. I have more papers to write, more tests. They still are all in the same week... grrrr. I'm still listening to Christian music in the background-PLR in fact just like at home. It's surreal. I don't know. I still go to school with a whole bunch of the kids I went to high school with. I just don't see them very often, if at all. Except Margaret of course. ;) I'm more involved with Christian groups-CRU and CCF. I could go on for quite a while, but I won't.
Tonight Annie, Margaret & I are going to CRU. I have a quiz tomorrow in HD 302 and a paper due in HD 304. Then I get to read A LOT of chapters in 7 of my books to be ready for next week. And I have one paper due on Tuesday along with a quiz, oh and a quiz and three tests separated into Thursday & Friday. (quiz & one test Thursday, 2 tests on Friday). Isn't school fun. ;) :P to my profs. You'd think they'd confer to each other since they're all HD profs and decide not to stress us out, but no. :P to all of them.
Well life will go on, I guess....

Time is racing...

It's sooo crazy that I will be leaving for school in 13 days not counting today which is almost over anyways. I'm offically done with my online STARS class... I turned in my last assignment earlier this afternoon:) Yay! One more day of Anthro and then the last test-no comprehensive final thank the Lord. I already packed up a whole bunch of stuff and it's a good thing I guess 'cause my 'rents want to take me to Lincoln City on the 12th-15th. I haven't been there in forever so it'll be fun... it just means I have to be packed by the 11th 'cause we're pullin' out on the 16th. I can't even tell what I'm feeling... I want to leave. It just shouldn't be in 13 days... weird. Basically that's the vib I'm getting...weird. Maybe if so many things weren't still up in the air I'd feel better about going 4 hours away from home until Thanksgiving... oh well, God's in charge as always.

Waiting

Waiting sucks. I really hate it. Inbetween times, waiting... they're overrated. I'm so ready to be done at yvc, but I'm not. Anthropology is such a waste of my life... evolution of humans... the only good part is my funny teacher Mr. Anderson. He has such lame jokes, I swear. On the bright side, I've only said something totally & completely blonde once.... ;) I wonder when I'll stop doing that. Probably never, but one can hope. My online class - STARS. Yeah, I took the same exact class sophomore year of high school so it's a waste of my life too... the only difference is that I get college credit this time. I just wish it was July 3oth. That's a good date. My cousin Ellie's wedding, only one week of school & work left, I'll be done with therapy... yep, it looks like a good date. Oh well, back to the STARS class, joy.
This is like writting in my diary 'cause no one's posted or anything since May. Meh. It's all good.

Yay:)

I got a letter from the DVR today saying that I qualify for financial assistance for school! It says I'm in Category 1- individuals with most severe disabilities:) I hoped my cerebal palsy & seizures would help me finish my education. Too bad I applied too late and am therefore on the waitlist:( But my counselor Daphne Martin will call me when I come off the waitlist so she can send WSU money. It probably won't happen until spring semester 2007, but better late than never:)
Thank you Lord... for answered prayers:)

Cell

Yesterday a little girl called my cell phone (and Annie's) five times. I only answered once, but not before I listened to the voice messages spoken in spanish... actually make that three messages in spanish. I tried to tell her that she had the wrong number the one time I answered, but I don't think she understood me 'cause she kept talking... I evenually hung up on her... I felt bad. We weren't getting anywhere though. Today I listened to another message. I understood pero, grasis and mi mama. The rest was definitely over my head. *shrug* It was fun to listen to 'cause it sounds so smooth and pretty.

In other news, I have my first final tomorrow in feature writing... it'll be easy... knock on wood...and I'm a goin' to the chapel to see my cousin get married at 7PM tomorrow at St. Paul's I believe... meh. I have to give up my bedroom for my aunt & uncle:(

A day in the life of Sally

Today Mexican President Fox came to visit Naches... Val and I drove by the protest against him on 40th & Washington ... we beeped our horn to support them. She was way excited.... don't really understand, but whatever:) We also went to see Stick It which is quite a good movie in my opinion. The main character shares my last name...that doesn't hurt;)
The quarter's over in 6 days!!!! I'm so ready to be done. Actually I'm more than ready to be done, but it's all the same.
In other news I'm getting a laptop in a few days.... it's comin' to the house in the mail and I got a cell phone for this summer & the next two years at least... while I'm away at school:)
Gonna go write two papers & stuff so ttyl.

Needing to vent

So today in like a half hour I go to classess to turn in two papers and do a debate about immigration. I was writing my paper for Ethnic Studies last night 'cause it was last on the list of things to do. My teachers are plotting against me by making everything due on on the same freaking day! So last night of course the computer totally froze up as I was about to write a supporting paragraph in the middle of the paper-the rest was written thank God. It evenually printed. So this morning dad was comparing me to his stupid 5th graders by saying that since they leave everything until the last minute blah blah blah and how they tell him their dog ate it, the printer ran out of ink etc etc. Hello I'm totally different than his stupid 5th graders! I have 4 different teachers and tons more work to do! When I have more than one paper plus other stuff to do something is going to have to be last. Anyways, I gotta go to class so ttyl.

Annoyed

I got my hair cut at SuperCuts this morning. My hair is too short! Short hair requires maintanence that I don't want to give it. I have better things to do with my time than make sure my hair doesn't flip out and look retarded. Grrrr. Plus it's too short and thick to put in a ponytail. (yes she thinned it) Plus it's different lengths which would've been cute just a little longer.... Grrrr. Hopefully it'll grow an inch or two real fast.
I saw Annie & Cherize at work:) I would've stopped to say hi and make fun of you guys, but Julie had other things she needed to do.
I signed up for summer classes today. I'm taking physical anthro and a child development class. Just 7 more credits and I'll be done:) Does Annie or Cherize still have an anthro book they want to let me buy?

Seattle

I went to Seattle yesterday for my doctor appointment and MRI. I swear Dr. Vlcek is gettin' skinner each time I see him... anyways he said that we're going to try and increase my Keppra and if that doesn't work we're going to go a new medication that starts with a T and ends with an l and if that doesn't work we'll go back to keppra and Tegretol. I wonder if it's possible to get through all that by August. I guess we'll find out, eh?
Now on to the MRI. It was interesting. I went into a tunnel thing and a machine made lound beepy and clicky noises. Oh and I had to lye perfectly still. It wasn't too hard though. I just closed my eyes and pretended I was in bed. I got to have those squishy ear plugs in so that my hearing wouldn't be damaged more than it already is. It only took half an hour.
After we were done at the Swedish Medical Center we went to Nordstroms! I got two pais of sandles:) Tevas and Keens. I'm totally excited! They're the only store that lets me get my two different sizes for the price of one. They kept the left foot 10 and the right foot 8 1/2 for the Keens and the left foot 9 and the right foot 7 for the Tevas:)
That was my day in a nutshell. Yep.

YESYESYESYESYES!!!

I got accepted to WSU fall semester 2006! Yay! I'm soooooo excited!

Fun with the Martinez Kids :)

Yesterday I got to hang out with Danny-8th grade, Maudi-7th grade and Pablo-4th grade.
Background: I was Pablo's mentor @ Orcas summer of '03. He and his siblings mentioned above attend/attended the after school program at WPC. They are Trailseekers. Their older brother Jesse raised them (he's 19), their dad is long gone and their mom is hooked on drugs. As a family they were locked in a bad cycle for a long time. They would live in an apartment/house for 3-4 months and then get evicted for not paying rent. The last time it happened in late January their mom abandanded them so they called Greg. For about a month they were living with a family member-I think. Then there was a hearing 'cause the kids are now a part of the system. When Greg showed up he was met by about 6 people from WPC who offered support/whatever he needed. The kids were going to be split up so the Chronisters volunteered to become their foster parents. (Jesse lives on his own & works fulltime.) Because they are now foster parents they have to go to two day long classes. Yesterday was one of them. So we took the kids for the day. I taught 'em how to play Apples to Apples, we watched Harry Potter #4, they played on the computer and we went to Randall Park to feed the ducks and ended up playing tag. My dad played too:) It's a miracle from heaven that these kids are so normal, smart, funny etc! Seriously, if you saw them you'd never guess. It's so awesome that they have a safe place to live now. Plus they have all kinds of new clothes and they get to shower regularly... stuff we take for granted. It makes me so happy to see them at church because they're finally getting what they deserve-a regular family life with all the fringe benefits.

And the news gets better. . .

Interject sarcasm.
This evening-like an hour and a halfish ago I listened to a message from Dr. Vlcek's receptionist that stated no driving for 6 months. Not really unexpected, but still sad. Just before that I talked to my boss (Roberta) who I called on Sunday so she could take my shift on Monday and not expect me on Tuesday, called my back. She said that she'd talked with her boss Shelly and they agreed that I need Dr. Vlcek to sign a paper to say that I can work by myself again. Roberta also said that she won't be telling the moms about my seizure. Does anyone else see a problem? So if you went into the future and you left your kids in a daycare while you worked (you too Margaret-I have a bet to win), you'd want to know if the employee taking care of your kids had had a seizure recently right? Of course. That's a no duh. So tomorrow I'm calling both Shelly and Roberta. I know the Chalet can't fire me, but if I can't work the hours Roberta needs me because the moms don't want me working alone with their kids, which is understandable- I'll quit so she can find someone else who can work the hours.
Just so everybody knows: no sad faces etc etc 'cause although I'm sad and this sucks majorly, it's all for my good. Okay so it isn't convincing quite yet. . . it will be. . . evenually:)
If you look on the upside I won't be wasting money on gas and maybe there will be interesting people on the Yakima bus. I've only ridden the bus in Yakima once to Kid's Castle this past summer with the kids at work and Roberta. It was actually kind of fun. Plus I could get a pass for the 6 months.

I need a title don't I. . .

On Valentine's Day I got this hilarious card from Banana girl! It has a REALLY ugly old man in a tutu on the front. He's standing on a trampline. On the inside it says ". . . and the search for Mr. Right continues." Heeheehee! Isn't that funny? I showed it to Aaron who said he should never see anything like it ever again. Later I had a conversation with Josh. He tried to tell me that all girls hate Valentine's Day if they're boyfriendless. I never got that. It's like those girls think that being miserable will do something. . . or telling everyone they hate Valentine's Day will get them a boyfriend somehow. Oh and I was talking to some other people who called it singles awareness day which spells SAD. How is that better? Personally I think people over play Valentine's Day. You get candy no matter what so I don't see what the problem is. It's just a day like any other really with the added bonus of candy. How can that make it a horrible day? I guess I'll just never get it.

Puzzeled

Today at 11:30-12:00 a gay couple & a lesbian couple got "married" in YVC's HUB. I'm puzzeled as to why YVC. I mean out of all the places in Yakima to get "married" they chose YVC. Anyway that was just weird and unexpected. It's not the first thing you'd expect to see upon walking into the HUB for Bible Study.
Otherwise life is regular & ordinary as usual. At work today I managed to break the phone. Don't ask me how I did it. I'm talented. I believe I pressed a button I wasn't suppose to on accident. Don't ask me how that broke the phone; it just did. It's the story of my life. :D
I get to write a paper this weekend, do summary questions & practice my presentation for nutrition.
It's Josh's b-day on Sunday. Anna & I made him a party in a box along with a little help from Aaron. :) We had a good time as usual:D
I was going to go visit my cousin, his wife & their two & a half month old baby next weekend with mi familia but I have to work Monday:(

Group Projects... grrrrr

I happen to REALLY dislike group projects in which the teacher chooses your group members. Mostly because I've never ever been in a group where someone besides me does any of the work! This time is no different. For nutrition we're doing a research project on different issues according to what group you're in. My group is doing Weight Issues/Energy Metabolism with vitamin B somewhere in there. It wouldn't be so hard except that we must get all of our research materials from scientific journals (which are next to impossible to understand), and they have to be studies of large numbers of people. Why doesn't Sarah just shoot me now and end my misery? I don't mind group projects when you can pick your group. That way you know if your group members are going to actually do any work so if they don't you dig your own grave. Unfortunately teachers have never seen it that way. They have extreme tunnel vision because all they see is that you'll meet/interact with classmates you otherwise wouldn't. But as a precaution they tell you that you get to grade your group members at the end. How 'bout in the mean time when I'm doing all the work?! Bet they never thought of that! It's like they blocked out their own group project experiences. (I refuse to believe that they all had great experiences because it's Murphy's Law that that'll never happen.) To top it off we have to write abstracts & summaries on the studies we find and then present it infront of the class. . . I HATE talking infront of groups of people!

ordinary as usual

Not a lot has happened since the beginning of the quarter, but then my life is pretty boring like that:)
On the 6th at work 4 yr old Mark told me that I can't do anthing right 'cause I'm just a woman. From the mouths of babes. . .
In math we gets points for easy things. . . like sending Mr. Jenck our email address and going to the bank and getting info on their different loan options:)
I babysat for an 18 month old this past Wednesday. He slept most of the time so I read.
Yesterday I filled out a paper and paid money so I can graduate after summer quarter.
I have my first big project in nutrition due on Thursday so I've been working on that a lot.
Tomorrow we're having a party for our minister of worship who's moving to Colorado at the end of the month:( In case people don't know my church is falling apart over the issue of divorce. I'm abandoning ship once college is over.

Back to School. . .

Today was the first day of school. . . sadness. It seemed like Christmas Break was just going to keep going on, but alas it didn't. Mr. Jenck for Math 102 is funny and interesting. He reminds me of Mr. Walker:) Mrs. Harrelson for Chicana/o art & culture should be teaching high school 'cause that's her teaching style. On the upside we get to read interesting books:) I read three chapters of one of the books already 'cause it was a real good read:) Too bad we have to write a paper on it later. . . oh well. Sarah in Nutrition is really nice:) Both Chicana/o & Nutrition are going to be a lot of work reading, nightly homework, papers, projects and weekly quizes/tests. (Definitely different from last quarter.)
It's snowing as I write this and my car's gas gauge is broken, the steering wheel is tight and it doesn't excellerate smoothly. . . so a trip to an auto shop will hopefully be in the near future. I gotta talk to my Daddy tonight. Oh and do a significant amount of homework:(

Only one more final to go. . .

Yes! I'm sooo ready to be done! I had my speech final today which I'm sure I did well on because the class is so easy and if you don't do well you belong back in junior high. (This class was high school all over again.) We had a group final for heaven's sake. Now I get to buckle down and prepare for the math final which is Wednesday. And then I get to tell Mr. Lopez goodbye forever and ever!!!!! He is such a HORRIBLE math teacher! I think he's worse than Berube was for the WV grads who might remember him. That's saying something.
In other news, my cousin Kate (pronounced Katie) got married this past Saturday. My new cousin-in-law is pretty awesome. Plus I actually "danced" at the reception:) And I got to know my cousin Ellie's fiance. Cory's a real nice guy:)
It is soooooo cold here in Yakavegas! I think it's too cold to snow. This morning I discovered much to my dismay that when it gets REALLY cold outside the water in my car door freezes and the driver's door doesn't latch when shut. That made for an interesting start to the day to say the least. Plus as I was trying to shut it one of the many times, I slammed my pointer finger on my right hand in it. So it hurts and is a nice purpleypink color.

Hospital rooms are REALLY small. . .

just in case you didn't know;) So as most of you know I went to Seattle's Swedish Medical Hospital for an EEG. I don't really know what that stands for. It means they monitor your brain activity to see if you're having seizures. I've had two EEGs before but they were short 20 minute ones. This one was 48 hours to the minute. I was stuck in a regular size hospital room (Hence the title), attached to the wall by a cord or as I called it a leash. It wasn't all bad. the leash was long enough to walk the length of the room and to the bathroom. And my mom was with me most of the time. We played cards, read and watch tv. . . plus my dad got me a portable dvd player so I watched Shrek 2 and Lois & Clark the Advertures of Superman season one. Oh and I did homework. :D The nurses were nice especially Audree-Rose, Criss and Janet. Oh and Colleen, but she's not a nurse. I forget what she is. . . no matter. And Greg the IV guy. He had a good sense of humor:) Anyways, I had wires stuck to my head via glue stuff that's water soluable which I'm still trying to get out of my hair after three washes. . . Oh and I was video taped for the entire 48 hours so I mostly had to stay on my bed so I was on film. . . my 15 minutes plus of fame ;) And the diagenoses is. . . the dead weight feeling is not caused by seizure but by my cerebral palsy. Translation-they can't really do anything for me. Strangely that doesn't bug me too much. As I was lying in bed Monday night I realized that this really isn't in my control 'cause whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen. End of story. It's going to be okay. My doc is going to decrease my baclofen and get me some physical therapy. I went to physical therapy at Memorial through 4th grade and at school through 7th grade, but this kind will be do it yourself 5 minutes in the morning 5 minutes at night stuff I can do in the comfort of my own home or wherever which is definitly better:)

And I Left the Teens Behind

Yep, it's my birthday! Twenty on the twentieth. I don't feel or look any older but what else is new?
I know everyone elses birthday too-
Steve- January 25
Josh-February 12
Jen N.-February 17
Andy-April 17
Kim-April 18
Margaret-June 22
Bonnie-June 26
Aaron-July 9
Dan-July 23
Annie-August 12
Cherize-December 18

This & That

I got my first birthday present today. Val got me these awesome lounge around the house pants. They're fleece and. . .RED! Yea!
Today I'm home because it's advising day! Kudos to YVC for having them:) I was going to do some errands but decided I didn't really want to go anywhere:)
On a totally different subject, last night we had salmon and this rice stuff which tasted really good! (This coming from a girl who had an intense dislike for the above two foods.) Who knows, maybe someday I'll try tomatos and decide to like them too;)

and life goes on while standing still

Yesterday my mom told me that the testing in Seattle will take place the 28th, 29th and the 30th of this month. The actual testing will be only the 28th & 29th. We'll be driving over on the 27th and home on the 30th. Life goes on because everyday until I leave will be a regular day-school, work, church stuff like always. Pretty soon I'll be registering for winter quarter classes. But it really stands still because whatever the testing does or doesn't find will define what the rest of this school year and beyond brings.

Update

I know, it's a very cliche title:)
As of yesterday afternoon I am now going to go to Seattle for the two day monitoring of my brain to hopefully find out what the problem is and how/if they can fix it. It'll probably take place next month sometime. I will have to miss two days of school :( This comes after me telling my mom the increased Baclofen was/is making the dead weight feeling worse instead of better plus an added bonus of random acts of dizyness where I lose the ability to see out of my left eye for a few seconds and sway on my feet. This two day testing will cost lots of money (we're talking in the thousands per day) and none of it's covered by insurance unfortunitly. I'd much rather they spend that money on paying for school but it seems I don't have a choice.

The main reason I'd didn't go hang out with you all at Margaret's house last night is that after sitting in a car for threeish straight hours, the dead weight feeling on the left side of my body was magnified much more than usual. I needed me time to pray and such. (That's a good excuse right Steve?) Although I was tired and hadn't had any real food since breakfast. . .

On a much happier note, tomorrow at work we'll possibly be taking the kids to Thirftway or Safeway to get pumpkins! I've never take a four, three and two year old to get pumpkins so it'll be interesting. We might be taking our 1 year old too if his mom says okay. On the actual Halloween day we have a party where the kids parade around the clinic in costume and the employees give them candy. All the staff dresses up. How cool is that? The dental hygentists are going to be hoola dancers:)
I have my three month evaluation on Wednesday. I'm kind of worried 'cause I have to rate myself in a packet my boss gave me which leaves so much room for error. If you go too high or too low. . . it's bad. But if I pass muster I get a raise! If not I'll get one at Christmastime :) So either way I win if I look at it like that. *shrug*
Had a fun time with Anna on Friday night! Kudos to chocolate milk, orange juice, popcorn and Evelyn!

Untitled

I'm not in math class right now because one of my classmates had a seizure. My first thought was that could just have easily been me. I was scared. Her seizure looked just like the ones I used to get. I know it wasn't me, but in that moment the past came rushing back. An ambulance was called. I've ridden in an ambulance because I had a seizure. Remember Margaret? If that did happen my life would be put on hold just as hers is going to be. I feel for her even though I don't even know her name. She won't be able to drive for 6 months to a year which might also mean she can't work or go to school. That's what could happen to me. This is the first time I've ever felt empathy quite so clearly. If I had been older when the seizures started for me, that would most definitly been me. I'm so unbelievingly thankful but at the same time so sad for her. As I sit here in the YVC computer lab I think about the fact that we didn't have to have the weekly math quiz and no homework for the weekend, but I would gladly trade it in for that girl not having a seizure. (We're talking in a heartbeat.) I have a need to call my mom and talk to her about it but I don't want to worry her so I'll wait until I get home from work.

Life's Ups and Downs

Well after the recent let down of my medication not working, I have exceptionally good news! I know in my last post I said I was going to switch majors and do early childhood education. Yesterday I went to the advising center to find out about it and we got to talking. I still want to do social work plus early childhood education so the really nice women at the advising center introduced me to a major I'd never heard of before. My new major as of today is Human Development. Yea!!!! It combines social work and early childhood education! The best of both worlds! So with this degree I could switch careers without going back to school! Chaching! I can work in head start, domestic violence, family support, childcare, residential treatment, elderly, juvenile corrections, and youth programs. It's only through WSU but they have a campus in Spokane! (Nothing against Pullman, I've just wanted to go to Eastern since I was 16 years old and if I can still got to school in Spokane, that's awesome. And my sis lives there.) Plus I can do distance through YVC. I really do want to go away to school though. So today I went to the WSU/CWU center at YVC and talked with Robin who knows all there is to know about the degree I want. After we were done talking she told me to go see my counselor Bob Chavez about my AA and junk. He told me I can get finiancial support from the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation place in Yakima because I have cerebral palsy! Chaching! (I knew it'd come in handy someday;) He also had CP until that left arm got caught in machinery and amputated so he knows. Talk about a good day! Gotta go eat lunch, so hope everyone else had an awesome day!

I Have News!

No my doctor didn't call. That wouldn't just be news. It'd be better. Anyways, I have decided to change my major. Early Childhood Education with a possible minor in social work.
My other news is TOTALLY awesome because it's a personal achievement. (The best kind.) Being unable to use my left hand, I could never tie shoes. Well, on the 23rd of last month I was at work. As usual one of the moms came down to tie shoes after naptime was over. Then we all went outside to play. Everything was fine and dandy until 2 year old Devin's shoe came untied. The first three times I tried to repair it. That didn't work. So I just untied it all the way and tied it. I believe I did it the way you all do it. *shrug* So yea! I told my mommy but she wasn't overly excited 'cause she believes I can do anything I decide I want to. The same goes for dad, Julie and Val. Last Tuesday Devin got up from nap early and Roberta was busy with our new baby so I tied his shoes. It took a freaking long time! I also tied 4 year old Mark's when he got up. Markie was really excited for me 'cause we had a talk about a month ago about how God made me different so I can't tie shoes. Devin just gave me his sweet smile and ran off to play. As of right now I can't tie my own shoes because of the different vantage point. But I'll work on it.

I don't really have a title for this so. . .

ummm yeah. On Friday of last week the stupid spastisity thing from last spring came back. I've been taking medicine for it since May. But it stopped working. That's bad in case nobody could tell;) So I went about my day with the nice feeling of a dead weight being pressed on my left side all of last Friday. Then on Saturday on my way to Shopko to get refills of Keppra & Baclofen, it happened again. Since then it's kind of a 24/7 thing. I told my mom Saturday and we talked about my options. First off, I don't like any of them. And the options are . . . drop one or more classes this quarter, take next quarter off, take this quarter off. And the winner is. . . drum roll please. . . drop one class this quarter! (cheering) All kidding aside, this totally sucks! I wanted more than anything to be done with YVC by the end of spring quarter. Now I'll be lucky if I'm done by the time summer quarter's over. The reason for all this is because last May my doctor said if this medicine didn't work the best next option would be for me to be stuck in a room for 2-5 days while they monitor my brain activity to see what's actually causing this. It also sucks because now I get to play a rousing game of phone tag with Dr. Vlcek's secretary and evenually get to go to Seattle to see him. (The testing would be at a different date/time after he sees me.) Another option is that he'll put me back on Tegretol which causes ostioprosis in women. So Saturday I was majoring pissed at God. I got over it during the service at church on Sunday. How ironic;) Right about now I wish I could see the reasoning behind his plan. That'd sure be swell. On the upside, the class I dropped had a boy in it that likes me. Don't like him. Enough said. There's always an upside;) So today I told my boss somewhere in the future I'm going to need some time off to go to Seattle and that works out great 'cause she's in the final process of hiring a new daycare attendant that could take my hours. Anyways, prayer would be nice. I was REALLY upset Saturday. All I want is a normal life. I guess I can give it up if God has something better planned :)
PS-if anyone is a little lost about last May and junk go read my post from May 21, 2005 called A History on Me.

Shock

I just got off the phone with Molly Morano. She called to tell me there's a really good chance she might have brain cancer. She goes in for a CAT scan next week which is just to be extra sure. The doctor has already told her about the different treatments she'll be going through. Now I feel bad for always saying and thinking the worst about her. She may be annoying most of the time, but she already had enough medical and family problems. I told her God has a plan. God never gives you more than you can handle is what I should have told her. Anyway, I'm asking for prayer for her. (For those that might not know Molly has been trying to be just like me for the last two years 'cause apparently my life is easier/better than hers. Who knew?)

Hey Anna . . .

This morning I was on my way out of the house to go buy books for class when the phone rang. It was Darren who's an Army recruiter. He asked me to come on down and have an appointment with him to talk over my options with the army. Riiiight. I told him I was NOT interested in being in the army in any way, shape or form. I nicely mentioned that popularity for joining is down 'cause ummmm . . . lets see here. . . how 'bout 'cause there's a war going on?! And he went on to tell me that the media plays it up and makes it worse than it really is. I bit my tongue to stop from pointing out that dead body counts don't lie. It's not like the reporters count the bodies. So he gave me his number to give to all my friends that might want to join up . . . anybody care to take me up on the offer? And then he wished me luck in college and said goodbye. Two seconds later, the phone rang again. Guess who it was? Darren calling to speak to Valerie. After I told him that Val has no interest in joining the army either, he told me to wish her luck and then he asked who was speaking. So he then realized he'd called the same house when I told him Val is my older twin sister. So then I went to school to buy books, find where my speech class is going to be and check to make sure they recieved my transcript from UW. Actually the books didn't cost too much. I got five books for a little over a hundred bucks.
On a different subject, does anyone else think Josh should get a blog? He says computers hate him, but they hate me too. Maybe someone who actually sees him could talk him into it-hint hint Anna, Bonnie.

The Joys of Working with Kids

Yesterday I got to work just in time to help get lunch ready. After lunch I took two year old Devin to go potty before naptime. (We're working on potty trainning him.) Anyway, as he was going potty, he informed me that boys are different than girls. He didn't go into much detail, but I had to bit my lip to keep from laughing! Of course he was being very serious just in case I didn't know that boys are different than girls. I almost told his mom, but I bet he's already told her.

Brian & Laura's Wedding

My cousin Brian and his girlfriend of 4 years and change. The wedding was just like all outdoor weddings. Too much breeze, beautiful view of the Yakima Valley 'cause it was up on Scenic and the cake was Costco cheesecake. Willy Jamieson played in the band along with Ron from my church and Jeff Smith who student taught at WVHS our junior year with Mr. Rees. Yeah, Mr. Smith didn't really remember me. Oh well, his loss. The best parts were seeing Val and Barbie who came home for the wedding and planning our cousin Katie's bridal shower for October 8th. We decided that we're going to do American Idol type entertainment with three judges and of course the participants. As of right now Barbie, Val, Aunt Lucy and myself are the participants and possibly Julie if we can talk her into it. Aunt Nancy will be one of the judges-the slutty one. (I can't remember her name.) Anyway, that'll be fun! Oh and we voted on who's getting married next on my mom's side of the family. (We decided it's a toss up between Val and our cousin Molly. Val says she hasn't been asked and Molly said a forceful no. *shrug*)
Now I'm off to email Anna on the matter of Old Boy so talk to ya all later.

Accidental Discovery

Yesterday on the way home from work I bumped my keys once with my knee and once with my hand and the key slipped out of the ignition! Miracles of miracles, the car kept driving along the rest of the way home without the key. So apparently once I start the car it can drive without keys. Weird. I guess it's pretty handy in a way. *shrug*
Oh and I went to the eye doctor earlier this morning. I'm getting new glasses frames instead of new contacts. I like contacts but sadly they don't like my eyes. *sniff* When I have money to spend I think I'll get laser eye surgery. Maybe by that time it'll be cheaper. I can always hope.

I think this is funny so enjoy!

COWBOY WISDOM-author unknown
Country fences need to be horse high, pig tight, and bull strong.
Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce. (AMEM)
Keep skunks, lawyers and bankers at a distance.
Life is simpler when you plough around a stump.
A bumblebee is faster than a John Deere tractor.
Words that soak into your ears are wispered, not yelled.
Meanness don't happen overnight.
Forgive your enemies. It messes with their heads.
Don't sell your mule to buy a plough.
Don't corner something meaner than you.
It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
You can't unsay a cruel thing.
Every path has some puddles.
When you wallow in pigs, expect to get dirty.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
Most of the stuff people worry about never happens.
Don't squat with your spurs on.
Don't judge people by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
Don't interfere with something that ain't botherin' you none.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
It's better to have been a has-been than a never-was.
The easiest way to eat a crow is while it's still warm. The colder it gets, the harder it is to swallow.
If you find yourself in a whole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
If it don't seem like it's worth the effert, it probably isn't.
It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.
Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got.
If you get to thinkin' you're a person of influence, try orderin' someone else's dog around.
Don't worry about bitin' off more'n you can chew; your mouth is probably a lot bigger'n you think.
Only cows know why they stampede.
Always drink upstream from a herd.
If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there with ya.
Good judgement comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgement.
Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
You can't tell how good a watermelon is 'till they get thumped.

The Best News in the Entire World!!!!!

I got a job!!!!! I got hired to work at the Chalet Dental Clinic's daycare. Oh yes! I'm soooooooo excited!!!!!! My new employer Roberta said 69 people applied, she interviewed at least a dozen , if not more and she chose me!!!!!! Hahahaha. Can you tell I'm happier than happy? I have trainning next Tuesday morning. *sigh of contentment* It's doubly awesome 'cause I got this job all on my own. The only other job I've ever had was working for my aunt so I didn't even have to be interviewed or anything. As soon as Roberta hung up I tried to call Anna, but her line was busy, so I called Cherize and told her. Heheh. And when I hung up with her and came to post I saw my Grandma walking to my aunt & uncle's house so I ran out and told her. Now I don't have to look for a job anymore! Do you know how happy that makes me? *sigh of relief* I sure hope Julie & Laura get here soon so I can be happy with them. I feel like I'm on cloud nine. Serwiously. Heh.
Happily & Excitedly Sally
PS- VBS is trying my patience this week. I have a group of five Trailseekers (they've been to Orcas) and I have no help. Three six year olds, one 8 year old, and a ten year old. So please pray. I want to show them God, give them love, attention etc, but it's hard with so many at once. Plus the three six year olds are hard to handle.

OH MY GOSH!!!!!

I've never been more scared in my ENTIRE life! First off, I was alone in the house 'cause my parents left on a trip yeserday morning and Julie comes back from a trip this afternoon or night. Last night I went to sleep between 10:45-11PM. I was woken up by the smoke alarm in my room at 3AM. It went of just once so I rolled over to go back to sleep. (The smoke alarm beeps when the batteries need to be replaced and that's what I thought it was.) But as I was trying to go back to sleep I thought about the noise it made and as I realized that it wasn't the same as when the batteries needed to be replaced, it went off again for probably no longer than 30 seconds to a minute, but it felt like a lifetime. So I grabbed my bear George, walked slowly to my bedroom door, felt it-it wasn't hot so I opened it and then promply ran through the house to see if there was any smoke, therefore I was really stupid had there actually been a fire. There was no smoke any where in the house thank God! I stopped in the dinning room and realized my heart was pounding hard enough to beat itself right out of my chest. I was soooo scared! Then I started to cry. I looked out the sliding glass door and saw that my Grandma's bathroom light was on so I called her crying. She answered almost immediatly 'cause who calls at three AM unless it's an emergency? So I put on socks and shoes, grabbed a flashlight and walked over to Grandma's house to spend the night. I don't know if any of you all have been in a real fire, but a fake one is just as scarey!
Gotta go get ready for VBS. Talk to ya later, Sally

Choices to be made

While watching Dr. Phil today I was researching different colleges. It was kinda fun 'cause I can now do it with the knowledge that I'll get to go to one of them in the fall of 2006. Anyways, I discovered that the only public university in Washington that has a good social work program is Eastern. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) So then I looked at private. PLU has an incredible social work program. Too bad my dad said Val and I can only choose from public schools. If I were him I wouldn't have let Barbie go to Whitworth knowing he had two more daughters to get through college also, but that's another story. . . anyways, they're really expensive, but they said that most students are able to cut the tuition down to $11,000 per year because of the financial aid and scholarships the bulk of students are able to get. Eastern is still my first choice, but I thought that was food for thought. I also was thinking it would be fun to study different religions. That's been on my mind since last Sunday when Anna, Cherize, Kim and I went to Four Square's second service. By the way, where are we going this coming Sunday? How 'bout the Central Luthern next to Four Square? Or a Penecostal(sp) Church? Anyone? If we could get into an LDS church that would be WAY interesting, but my mom said it's probably not a good idea.
PS-Jenn if you read this and wonder what happened to the last post you read, I deleted it 'cause I decided that didn't want the whole world to see that. I was really upset at the time so posted without thinking about the consequences. What if my dad, mom or sisters read it? That would've been horrible. Anyways, I feel much better now and don't really want to talk about it. Now that everyone else is throughly confused, I'll sign off. Talk to ya later.

Anna's Wedding

My cousin Anna. Her wedding dress was beautiful! (Except the strapples part 'cause I'd worry it was going to fall down and not be able to have a good time.) To each their own *shrug* I got to see my Uncle Lee & Aunt Nancy, Jason & his wife Jenny. Jason is way super cute now! He was really interesting looking as a teenager and young adult. He also now has a sense of humor! Who knew? Barbie and I had a good time talking with him. That is a first. No kidding. He made a point of asking me if I had a boyfriend. *shake head at bluntness of family members* And then he told me that some girl told him boys are like parking spaces- all the good ones are taken. You know, I don't necesarily agree; sometimes I can find good parking spots like at Shopko and church. Anyways, it was rather hot at Hieght(sp) Vienyards. Anna & Richard had a woman pastor officate the wedding which was cool except she mispronounced Anna's mom's name. There was dancing which I did none of except the chicken dance. That was fun. I might have had to dance with Cahnen except we ran out of time. Drat the luck! (Sarcasm) The wedding cake was cheesecake. . . .mmmmm. I love cheesecake. Costco makes the best just so everybody knows. (Unless it's homemade of course.)
I started plant sitting on Friday and will be done on Wednesday. She has a nice house. She also has a loud neighbor. This guy stands on his balcony and shouts into his cell. I'm glad he's not my neighbor.
I guess that's all that's been goin' on.

Orcas Island Encampment Project '05

That's the offical name. No one really calls it that. I am tired, sore, bruised, and sick from my week at Orcas. I had an AWESOME time! Jeffrey is such a sweetheart! He's also stubborn as all get out and obstinate at times. So what else is new, right? (All the boys are like that.) On to my adventures on Orcas. On Tuesday we take speed boats to another smaller island near Orcas called Matia Island. The speed boat I was in along with two other mentor/child groups and Greg broke down and we were stranded in the ocean for 20 minutes. It was sooo fun! On Matia we have to go down a cliff via a rope. I HATE that part! I always slide down the cliff. ALWAYS! I was wearing jeans so all I got was dirty and bruised. Then we have to go up a bunch of rocks to get to the tide pools. That was fun. Not. To get out of the tide pool place and back to the trail, you have to climb up the rocks. I got almost to the top and slid back down. Thank God Sam caught me and lowered me to the rocks beneath me. (Sam is Greg's son and was on support staff. Greg is the camp director.) *spacing for a few minutes due to being extremely tired* Anyways, the Yakima charter bus broke down Tuesday night on Orcas and wasn't up and running until Thursday morning when we had to leave Orcas. (Praise the Lord!) Tuesday night it rained cats and dogs so we moved all our outdoor stuff inside.Wednesday we hike around Cascade Lake which is right next to the camp where we stay. Wednesday night all the mentors dress up like clowns for dinner for our clown night. That is my absolute favorite part of camp! This year I looked adorable if I do say so myself. And we have speakers come and talk to the boys around the camp fire after dinner. This year they were two firefighters (indoor & outdoor), a retired Navy Lt, and a Washington State Patrolman. The firefighter let all the boys try on her suit. It was sooo cute! Thursday we went to the zoo. By dinner time most of us mentors were at our breaking point. Good thing Thursday night is mentor's night out. We go to Funtasia for like 4-5 hours. On the way there the Kennewick bus (which all 42 mentors and support staff were in), broke down and started rolling backwards on a hill in the middle of Seattle! *laugh* So we backed into a parking lot and waited for the Yakima bus to come get us. Friday we got dropped off at the monorail which we road to the space needle and then walked to the science center. It's pretty funny that I'd never been to any of those places including the zoo until I became a mentor 4 years ago. On way back to Yakima Jeffrey slept 'cause he was tired and he gets bus sick, so I got to sleep too. (That's good 'cause my voice was almost gone.) When we got back to 1st Pres Julie was there to pick me up and Jeffrey's dad was there to pick him up. (He actually wanted to take Jeffrey before the closing ceremony, but Greg said no although Jeffrey's dad told me Greg said he could.)
So today I'm going to do nothing except call the lady I'm going to be plant sitting for and wait for my parents to come home from Vermont. I know you called while I was on Orcas Bonnie. I'll call you when I have more of a voice. Or perhaps tomorrow since that's your 20th birthday and all. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Talk to yall later. (When I have a voice, ya know?)

What, no STOP sign?

This morning as Val and I were on our way to the gym to workout, we noticed a severe lacking of a STOP sign at the intersection of Meadowbrook and 79th. We saw it in the ditch. The metal was bent so that it looked as if it were in lots of pain and the actual sign was mangled and had black sploches on it. Who runs into a STOP sign? I mean, really? (Taking out the drunk people of course.)
In other more interesting news, this afternoon I went to go see Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Good movie! Action and comedy. I'm not usually an action kinda girl 'cause it brings on hand cluching and nail biting. But it was good. I recomend it. Granted it does have lots of people getting shot and dying, but they're all bad guys just like in the disney movies. (That makes it okay in my book.) There's car chases, which are always entertaining, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith try to kill each other at one point and in the process demolish their house. (And it was such a nice house too!)

Summer is Offically Here!!!!!

I just finished my last final!!!!! (*victory dance*) I'm sooo happy! No more something, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks! Okay that's so 5th grade and I don't even know all of it, but that's okay 'cause I'm done until next September! I'm kind of mad at my self 'cause it was a math final and I forgot a few important items that messed up like three-five of the questions for sure. Then you have to add in the stupid mistakes everyone ALWAYS makes. *sigh*
But it's okay 'cause now I get to look forward to 10:30 this morning! I'm meeting a fellow mentor & friend at Craft Warehouse where we will be getting paints, iron ons etc to put on tshirts for the opening ceremony for Orcas! It'll be tons of fun 'cause we're going to my house to put them together so we'll get to hang out!
And there's more to look forward to! On Thursday night Anna, Kimmie and Cherizey are coming to my house so we can make dinner like we did a few weeks ago at Anna's house. (This time I WILL NOT be embarrassed by Anna's mom!) So ha! I forget exactly what main dish we're making, but it's Italian so yeah! And I've never had homemade cream puffs, so we're making those too! Cherize you need to bring your musica 'cause you have better and more stuff than me and someone could bring Anastsia for me to borrow if they felt so inclined.
On the down side, I still am looking for a job. I HATE job hunting! It really sucks! But if I have no job I will be bored out of my mind this summer! Plus I won't make any money. But really it's just the bored part. Id like to work at a daycare 'cause I have experience with kids and I have the CPR cards etc that you need plus I'm pretty sure I'd suck at anything retail so they'd fire me IF I got the job in the first place. (I think I called the daycare near your house yesterday Anna and they aren't hiring.) I'll look tonight or tomorrow. I think I've called about half the daycares in Yakima as of now. So prayer that I could find a job would be totally awesome.

Summer is almost here!

Okay, today I started the day out right by my mom getting mad at me! It was sooo dumb! My sis Julie took her car to get fixed at our mechanic Cam's place yesterday. So she needed a ride to and from work today. I learned all of this a half hour before I needed to leave for school. Oh and did I mention I was suppose to give her a ride? Yeah. My parents are just great like that. So I told my dad I was NOT going to take Julie to work 'cause we had seminar in history and I wanted to be early to go over the notes with my fellow classmates. My dad was okay with this since I'd just found out, but my mom was pissed. Like it was my fault that she now had to take Julie to work therefore disrupting her morning schedule. (Julie messes up everyone's schedule 'cause she DOES NOT know how to be on time!) Whatever.
Anyways, I turned in a job app at La Petite Childcare Center this morning. They are hiring sooo cross your fingers!
In other news we have a psych test tomorrow. Our last until our final on Tuesday. So Anna I don't have a final on Monday. Do you? If not we could study for psych huh? We could invite Stover too. Your house, my house. I don't really care Banana girl.
Oh and my cousin Ellie mgot engaged on Moday night!!!! It was sooo cute. Her boyfriend Corey took her on a picinic and asked her to stand up. She asked him if there was a bug on her. You might think that was a strange reaction, but about a year ago he took her on a picinic and she thought he was going to propose, but alas, she had a bug on her. This time he proposed. So as her sis Anna said "They've come full circle." (Anna's getting married next month.) As all the aunts and uncles said Monday night, they're dropping like flies, they're all getting married-remember when we got married?, they grow up so fast etc etc.
Hungry for lunch so see ya slater!

Sweet Freedom

You are reading the blog of a girl who got to start driving again as of this past Monday! It was two months exactly since I last drove. How crazy is that? I got to be early to class for the first time in two months all this week! (Okay, I have a werid need to be early/on time every where I go.) In my personal opinion if you're always late it's because you think you're more important than anything/anybody else that you hold up by being late.
In other news, I had my history final this morning even though we still have another week of class before finals. We have a few things left to do, so I have two more days of history next week. Yea! (I've decided that 7:30 is too early for a class unless you absolutley need one to fill a requirement that's only offered that early.) I really like the teacher for this class, but I hate hate hate his tests! If it weren't for his dumb tests I'd have an A. Oh well.
Lets see. . . tomorrow I'm going shopping for toys to entertain Jeff for the 7 hour bus ride to Anacortas. That's always fun. . . dollar tree here I come! I also need to get a plain white tshirt for the opening ceremony to put a spidercrab on with Kim.
My class schedule for next year is algebra at 8:30, history 9:30, speech 10:30 and choir at 11:30. (Don't worry Anna it's only MWF so I'll be able to go to intervarsity worship.)
Yep, that's all folks. Talk to ya later.

A History on Me

As some of you know I went to my doctor in Seattle yesterday afternoon. In order for what he told me to make sense to you, lets go back more than nineteen years. My mom was pregnant with one baby; or so she thought. I was a suprise. Anyways, the baby my parents didn't know they were having had a stroke. Now we all know what strokes do to old people right? You got the trouble with talking, walking and moving usually only one side of their body. Well, if you have one as a baby they call it cerebral palsy. I have a mild form. There are some people that I've met who have CP who can't walk, talk etc. My left hand and arm are pretty much useless. They just hang around. Heh. That sounds funny. I walked with a really bad limp in my left leg until I was nine and had surgery. (My left arm and leg didn't grow as much as they should've so I was lopsided.) I still walk a little funny, but not enough so that people make fun of. (That's a plus.) Heh. About the end of fifth grade I started having what I would learn in about a year to be seizures. I went to every freaking doctor in Yakima and nobody knew anything. (My mom evenually asked a doctor from West Pres if he could recommend someone. The guy he recommened didn't have room for another patient so he recommended me to Dr. Vlcek.) Dr. Vlcek is a neuraligist. He told my parents I was having seizures. Then he told us the bad news: most people with CP get these seizures when they're three and they go away by the time you enter kindergarden. If you get them after age three, you'll most likely have seizures for the rest of your life. He put me on Tegretol. I was on that until July between junior and senior year of high school except for a brief time sophomore year of high school, but that came to a screeching halt when I had a seizure three days before my sixteenth birthday. (Margarete & Stover were with me. We were walking dogs for the Humane Society. The one time I've ever been in an ambulance and I couldn't even enjoy it. Sad.) Anyways, Dr. V. told us that Tegretol causes a loss of bone density in women. Joy. So he switched me to Keppra which does not cause bone density loss. Everything was fine until this past March when I had a mini seizure while running errands during spring break. So I said goodbye to driving and hello to increased Keppra. Alas, the seizures were still hangin' around. That brings us to the present. I told Dr. V. about the seizures I was having, but he doesn't think they're seizures. He thinks I'm having spasticicity so say hello to Baclofen. Yes folks I get to add another medication. Joy. Just what I always wanted. Spasticicity is this tightness in my left leg and arm that come around in my arm especially 'cause it doesn't get used. Most people or all people? don't know they whole story. I enjoy that fact 'cause if people know somethings different about you, they tend to treat you different. The old saying "make fun of what you're scared of or don't understand." Or maybe that's just my saying. *shrug*
All I have to say is God must have an awesome plan for my life 'cause what teenager would like any of the above?
PS- who comes up with these names of medications? Where do you get tegretol, keppra and baclofen? I mean, come on.

I'm getting excited!

Last night was the meeting with the whole Yakima team for Orcas. My pod (pod 'cause that's what orcas travel in), is made up of two women teachers, five girl mentors and two guy mentors. None of you guys know then except Anna and Cherize know two of them. Molly and Kim. Yes, you read right, Molly is in my pod. But it's okay 'cause the purpose of my going to Orcas has nothing to do with Molly. Maybe if I keep telling myself that. . . no it really is okay. It's just that as I discovered last summer, she pays more attention to me and my boy than her boy. That's bad. Plus she talks about her past boys in front of her new boy. She's talking to me or someone else, but he's right there so he hears which is not good. I need to talk to her about that. . . and now I'm ranbling. Anyways, my little boy for this summer is Jeffrey Martinez. I know his dad is white, his mom is mexican, he goes to Adams Elementary and he always looks like he lost his best friend. I will need to call the teachers of my pod to find out more so I can get age appropriate toys. The good news is that in comparing Jeff to last summer's Sergio, he'll be easier. *heave sigh of relief* We leave on June 20th and come back on the 24th. It's almost a month away! If only we could skip to the 17th of June. Then school would be over. (That's an added bonus.) But the 17th is when we puffy paint the blue sweatshirts for the boys. It's really fun! That's on Friday. The following Sunday we have commitioning at 1st Pres at 9:30AM instead of the usual 8:ooAM! Hooray for sleeping in! Then it's back to 1st Pres by 2:30PM to meet the 21 mentors, six teachers, the other director and assorted suppost staff from Kennewick. This year we're going to have a clown's communion. Does anyone know how that is different from a regular communion? I guess I'll find out in a month, but I'm curious. Then we get blabbed at for a while, eat dinner and have the opening ceremony where we get to meet our boys!!! My pod is the spider crab so we need to have a spider crab on us somewhere. Kim and I are going to make shirts. (That way we can wear them after Orcas is over.)
On a side note today I reread a book I'm going to recommend to all girls that read my blog. It's called forsuchatimeisthis by Lisa Ryan. I will lend it to anyone. It's a book about how to be a modern day Esther. (That's why no boys will be interested unless you want to be a modern day Esther too.)

Good Times in SpokaVegas

Today was Barbie's graduation from Whitworth. Dad, Julie, Laura and myself drove down this morning. Mom and Grandma went on Friday afternoon. We met at a restaurant across the street from Shari's 'cause it was packed. (I don't remember the name of it.) Anyways, I finally got to meet Barbie's boyfriend Jordan! He is sooo nice! Not to mention a Christian, super cute, very intelligent, with an awesome sense of humor! He was totally making major fun of Laura! It was only the second time he'd met her. During lunch I got to talk to Jordan 'cause he sat across from me. (I had to make sure he's good enough for my sister.) And before the graduation ceremony I got to talk with him some more. He's a werido! He enjoys disecting human cadavers. He does evenually want to be a surgeon, but still. . .Yuck!!! *shudder* So I'm not going to go to another graduation ever unless Valerie begs me 'cause they are seriously borrrring! But Whitworth does do something cool. They decorate their hats with something that relates to their major. Barbie had a double helix 'cause she majored in biology. The psych majors had fake rats on the hats, one religion major had a bobble head Jesus glued to the top, and the nursing majors all had those nurse hats made from paper.
Off to bed, Sally

The Best Five Days of the Year Hands Down

As I was laying awake last night from 10PM-12ishAM, I thought about what I'm going to post about now. As most of you all know, for the past three summers I've been a mentor at Orcas Island Encampment. This is a camp for underprivileged boys age six through nine.This camp is what made my decision to go into social work. The boys that come to this camp come from really crappy homes. If they have a dad, he's not the ideal role model. Their moms usually work more than one job so these boys fend for themselves and their siblings most of the time. These boys have been let down by the people who are suppose to love, provide and protect them. By the time I meet the little boy who I'll be a mentor to, he doesn't trust or love easily. You spend the first two and a half to three days of camp earning their trust. But it is sooo worth it! When you see them smile at you, when they grab your hand to drag you to see something "cool", in their laughter, in the way they beg for a piggyback ride. When you first meet them you having an overwhelming desire to take them home with you. They for the most part have big brown eyes, miscevious smiles that show a missing tooth or two, soft black hair, more energy than you thought could be in one boy, and a stubborn disposition. Most will do whatever it takes to push you away or make you cry. They've been hurt, therefore they will hurt you before you can hurt them. By the end of the five days they won't let you out of their sight. They cry when they find out we're going home. They tell you they hate you. But it's only because they've had an awesome time in "heaven" and now have to go home to "hell". (Not my words. My second summer, Pablo told me that.) My three boy are Chris age 11 now, Pablo age 10 now, and Sergio age 7 now. I get to see Pablo every once in a while. He still greets me with a hug hard enough to knock me over. I saw Chris last summer. His smile got extra wide and his words tripped over each other as he told me about school, his friends, his mom, sister and everything else under the sun. Sergio I got to see on a regular basis until his family moved. He is a very stubborn and willful boy, but he listened to me. My point is that I made an impact on their lives in some small way and changed it for the better. The best part is that this camp is funded through 1st Pres and West Pres so we get the joy of telling them about Jesus. As the directors say, we plant the seed. Someday they'll remember and want to know more. My dream is to start a camp just like this for little girls. Someday it'll happen.

Informational Meeting at WPC

I just got back from this meeting. It was about whether or not our associate pastor would still be our associate pastor. She will! I'm way excited 'cause she is an awesome person and pastor! I know she got a divorce and that goes against the Bible, but what about forgiveness? I thought for sure they'd fire her straight away, but as I learned at the meeting, apparently there would've probably been a protest 'cause the majority of the congregation want her back. When she came to WPC when I was a freshman we were having major problems with our church. It was falling apart from the inside out. She came to our church knowing all these problems, and she brought us back together and helped heal our church. I'm sooo super happy she's coming back! She starts again on the sixth of this month, I believe. Yeah!

The Trials And Tribulations Of My Eye

As I write this my right eye is swollen half shut. It's very sad. It's also a nice light pinkypurpleyyellowy color. I look just great! I know you're all dying to know how my eye came to be in such a state, so here ya go. Annie and I were at Bonnie's dorm room visiting. She has a thing that you put objects into and it makes the shape of the object. (I don't know what they are called. Annie? Bonnie? A little help.) Anyway, I put my face in it to get the profile of my face. Now I've done this before and my eye never swelled up and looked like I got a black eye. My eye was already sad 'cause about last Monday I noticed that my eye hurt. So thinking it was my contacts causing the problem in my poor right eye, I took them out. The pain got worse and the white part turned red. *heave sigh* I told my mom and went to the eye doctor on Thursday. He told me to not wear my contacts for three days. I thought the problem was an eye lash turned the wrong way or something, but alas; I was wrong. There was something on my contact that wouldn't come of with the solution. So now my poor right eye is red and half way swollen shut. Yep. Now I will be going to lay down and put an ice pack on my eye to see if it'll help.
It was great to see you Bonnie! Long distance hug.

The Pops Concert!

That's right folks, it's over offically. *sniff* I was sooo fun! Oh yeah. Three concerts in two nights. Last night it went WAY over time wise, but otherwise good. It was the first one so therefore we made more mistakes, but pshaw. I was a tourist, a hippie, and all in red. The themes were NYC, the 60s and the end is always black & white. (This year was the first time we got to wear red.) Tonight we had such a good time! Especially the last showing-7:30PM. (We do two on Saturday 5PM & 7:30PM) They're the most fun 'cause they get into more therefore we get into it more. They got a lot of extras. For example, the high schoolers randomly went out into the audience and danced during two of our songs, the whole choir laughed extra long and hard at Marvin's Jewish joke, some people in the audience picked up the candles from their table and waved them in the air along with the music and got up and danced to a different song. It was great! Plus some of my family came. My Grandma, two aunts and an uncle and Valerie. And. . . Anna and Cherize! Yea! They were sticking their tongues out at me to try and make me laugh. I held strong. Yep. I also got to be a part of the Von Trapp Family Singers. We wore curtins from the actual choir room from Wes Pres. Yeah. I know. I had a two word solo which went okay I guess. A Rogers Peet was a men's clothing store in case anyone was wondering. My Aunt Wendy and our pastor, Frank got up to dance and sing along badly to Mo-Town. That was funny. Marvin (choir director) & wife Linda were Sonny & Cher. That was great! Tomorrow we have the Sunday off from singing. It's Youth Sunday! Translation: we sing songs the old people don't know, Donny gives the message, youth lead singing, prayers, and children's message. I love them 'cause we sing songs I know and like at the right tempo. (Old people like to sing slow!)
I had an awesome weekend and it's not even over! Thanks for comin' Anna & Cherize! I hope ya had an awesome time seeing me make a fool out of myself in public on purpose!

SALT was awesome! (Yet again)

I caught a ride to Eburg with Stover. She had some car trouble. (It had something to do with speeding up and then slowing down too fast and 02) says the girl who knows next to nothing about how cars actual work and shrugs. We had a good time anyway. We listened to KLove music that Stover burned onto a CD. We also raced some old people who were actual going over the speed limit. Who knew they had it in 'em? Then we raced a black pickup truck. We lost. *shrug* We got there barely on time; Anna, Megan, Sharee and Ben were already there. I felt bad 'cause Ben didn't really know anyone but me and I meant to get there early because of that fact. The music was great as usual except I don't know half the songs they have. The message was great! Just what I needed to hear at the right time I needed to hear it. It was basically God shoving stuff in my face that I'd been pushing to the side for too long. Then we sang two songs I actually knew and another new one that was great. Oh and there was a Valerie look alike on the worship team. I'll have to tell she has another twin. Hahaha. We gave Ben a ride to his apartment and then went to Taco Bell where the guy taking the orders musta thought Megan & Sharee were drunk, but. . .yeah. Anna & I said we did't know them. Once back in Yakima Megan took me home. We had a REALLY awesome talk about a lot of stuff. It was really good to get a second opinion on/different look at some different things, and it was just a real God thing.

It's Somebody's Birthday Today!

Yes folks, it's Kimberly Sue Wilder's nineteenth birthday today! Yea!
(I already did this once with the help of Annie, but the server couldn't be found. I'll do my best to remember what Annie said.)
Annie : Birthday question- who would you rather date? Michael Jackson or Richard Simmons? I know I'm evil. Bonnie as of right now we have TWO lime yogurts in my fridge. (*shudder*) Oh, and something about how she is still kinda grumpy, but I make her feel better 'cause I'm happy. *shrug*
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kim! As my sister told me on our 15th birthday, it's your day, so be whoever/whatever you want to be 'cause you have a valid excuse.

Drum Roll Please. . .It's Somebody's Birthday Today!

Yes folks; Andrew Richard Hapel is nineteen years old today. Since he never reads my blog, I give the duty of telling him happy birthday for me to Steve. Also because he never reads my blog, I thought I'd have some fun. I invite everyone to comment on what they like best about Andy. Mine's funny. Andy and I had english together third trimester last year and much to my delight, I found out that it's easy to rile him up. Suprisingly easy. Heheheh. He sat next to me and one of my friends sat across from him. Just to make him mad we'd pretend to wisper about him to each other. (We really talked about her boyfriend. We did numorous other things which I've sense forgotten, but that got the best reaction.) I'd most definitly say that was my favorite thing about Andy. Yep.
PS-You might want to be quick about it as tomorrow's someone else's birthday. Any guesses as to who? (Annie is disqualified because she already knows.)

Are You Ready for A Sewiously Funny Song?

A group of eight never been married girls are singing Marry the Man Today and Change His Way Tomorrow for the Pops Concert. We have two high schoolers from IKE-Christina & Lena, two from WV-Julia & Malloree, one from Riverside-Erica, Megan & I from YVC and Julie from online UW. (I'm setting the stage.)
Megan- At Wanamaker's and Sak's and Klein's A lesson I've been taught You can't get alterations on a dress you haven't bought At any veg'table market from Borneo to Nome You mustn't squeeze a melon till you get the melon home You've simply got to gamble You got no guarantee Now doesn't that apply to you and I? Us seven remaining girls- You and me. Megan- Why not? Us seven remaing girls- Why not what? Megan- Marry the man today Trouble tho' he may be Much as he likes to play Crazy and wild and free. All- Marry the man today Rather than sigh and sorrow, Marry the man today And change his ways tomorrow. Echo with seven first, Megan second- Marry the man today Maybe he's leaving town Don't let him get away Hurry and track him down Marry the man today. Together- Give him the girlish laughter Give him your hand today and save the fist for after. Erica- Slowly introduce him to the better things Lena- respectable, conservative and clean Julia- Readers Digest Malloree- Guy Lombardo Me- Rogers Peet Julie- Golf Christina- Galoshes All- Ovaltine But marry the man today Handle it meek and gently Megan- Marry the man today and train him subsequently Seven- Carefully expose to domestic life And if he ever trys to stray from you Have a potroast Megan- Have a headache Seven- Have a baby Megan- Have two Seven- six Megan- nine Seven- Stop! Together- Marry the man today Rather than sigh and sorrow Marry the man today and change his ways and change his waysand change his ways Tomorrow.
I happen to find this song very amusing, but does anyone by change know what a Rogers Peet is? (If I have to sing it I'd like to know what it is. ) I don't believe it's a person. And does Anna know anyone with a rubber chicken that we could borrow for the concert?

One of Those Days

Yesterday was one of those days. My sister called me saying she'd locked her keys in her car and could I come rescue her. Normally that would be totally fine, but I've been having all the seizure problems and not driving. Nobody else could do this for her, so I went to 1st Pres which is where she was stuck. Problem: had a seizure-like dead weight feeling in the left side of my body. Oh great, was my thought because now I have to continue geting rides from people. Plus I have to call my doctor in Seattle and talk to his answering machine again. Not to mention that Laura & I left my car at 1st Pres which isn't the ideal place to leave a car as we all know. So I spent the afternoon at Laura & Cahnen's house watching Lilo and Stich. (Good movie) Tuesday night is 701 which through Megan I got a message from God. Here it is: "Therefore, everything that happens in your life-both good and bad-is a gift on your journey of experiencing the love that God has for you and wants you to give others." Simple and direct. Just what I needed to hear. It made it all okay for now. (Never fear; I'll need to read this again if not today, tomorrow. Faith is not my strong point.)
As a side note, Annie locked her keys in her car yesterday too.
In other more regular news, we had a psych test today. I think I did okay. *Knock on wood*
And on Saturday I'll be taking a First aid/CPR class so I'll be ready for Best SELF this summer. (8-12) Oh, and as it turns out, I can't find my Social Security card which they need to have on file for me to have this job. (I did not lose the card. I never had it. Translation: it is somewhere inside this house. The only question is where?) Tomorrow I have a history test. And. . . no school on Friday! Oh yeah. Sleep in time!
11:11-make a wish!

Happy News! (Sorta)

I was going to post yesterday but my computer kept saying the server couldn't be found. (Very annoying)

Anyway, onto the happy news. Yesterday I had an interview with Judy Jacobson for a summer job at Best SELF which is a summer camp/school for under privileged kids. I didn't get the job, but I'm numero uno on the back up list and someone almost always backs out at the last minute. She said I'd be an assest to the team! So now I have to get all my cards renewed. (CPR, first aid, blood borne pathogens and a TB shot.) I REALLY want this job! I'd get 8 bucks an hour! (My job last summer I only got 5 bucks.) Plus I love working with these kind of kids. It'll be just like Orcas except I'll get payed! And I'm thinking of going into social work, so. . . can you say good experience? And it'll be fun!

Update on the contiuing saga of the seizures: I only had one yesterday and none today, so. . . keep your fingers crossed! (I REALLY hate not being able to drive! I LOVE the freedom of driving! I haven't driven in a week and a half! I'm driving deprived, can you tell?)

Pops Concert is in two, count 'em two weeks! I'm sooo super excited! All the high schoolers plus Julie, Megan & myself are singing a song from some musical. (I forget just which one) and it'll be fun. It's called Marry the Man Today and Change His Ways Tomorrow. That's pretty dang funny! Plus we're doing a song by the Von Trapp family and I get to wear curtins which'll be very hot, but fun 'cause I don't believe I've ever worn curtins before. I need a 60's costume and a NY costume now. I think for 60s I'll wear. . . what will I wear? Humm. For NY I think we have a costume for a garbage woman. Or I'll see what else we have. That'll be half the fun! Anna and Cherize are coming! I got you guys front row seats facing me actually. (Two years ago I was an alto so you wouldn't have been facing me.)

Have a good weekend everyone!

An "Interesting" Week

School started up again this week. I actually like my classes. Mr. Walker from geography last quarter is my 7:30AM class. This time for history. What a way to start the day huh Annie? It's not too bad 'cause I know quite a few people. David Wilder being one of them. I don't really talk to him though 'cause I'm not Margaret or Stover and therefore he has no interest in me. Thank the Lord. Heh. Lucky me. And next is math 85 with Mr. Mayo who is just REALLY funny! Oh my gosh! Who knew a teacher could make math fun? Wonders never cease. Then comes psyc with Tom. Yep. He refers to himself that way so I think of him as that. I think to his face I'd call him Mr. Mount, but whatever. The week has been filled with much laughter as I sit next to Anna, Stover and Gus. Today being April Fools Day meant Gus brought fake vomit and a fake bloody finger. Since he already tried to scare me with the finger last week (failing miserably), it didn't work today. The vomit just looked really fake although it made Tom smile. Whatever works.
The part that made this week "interesting" was the continued mini seizures. I had to call my doctor in Seattle numorous times to actual talk to someone who knew anything about my problem. The first time I somehow got connected to the on call doctor in Seattle. I ask you, how was she suppose to help me? The second time the operater who was suppose to connect me to my doctor told me that the number I called wasn't his office number. Duh! And then she hung up on me! I don't understand that! She's the operater therefore she transfers calls. That's her job! Maybe she needs to switch jobs. So this afternoon my doctor's receptionist called me and told me to take more medicine. Joy. I hope it works this time as I won't be driving until I know I won't possibly hurt somebody else! Please pray that this amount of meds works as I don't want anymore complications and scares.
My parents left to go on spring break to Az this afternoon. They'll be gone until next weekend. You know, it's kind of odd funny how whenever they go away either one of my sisters or I get sick or in this case have my seizures acting up. Something bad always happens.
PS-I beat the fishy game!

Easter Sunday!

The choir had, I mean got to sing at both services this morning. One of the songs we sang Alive Forever Amen was awesome! I'm going to tell Donny that we should sing it at 701 'cause you'd love it too Anna. After we finished singing it at both services the congregation clapped and cheered. (I'm a presbyterian so that doesn't happen on a regular basis.) Anyway. . . I am now offically a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church. I didn't really think it would matter one way or the other, but it does. I'm kind of excited. Also Wes Pres started this new tradition last year of having a Holy Week Walk between services. This year it had to be inside 'cause of the rain, but the people involved do an awesome job! It's different stations that include the major events of Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday. Cahnen was Jesus being brought before Pilate and Laura was the angel telling Mary that Jesus was alive. It's for kids too. (We took the 3-5 yr olds.) They were awe struck. It was sooo cute!
I saw Jimmy Marble at my church! It was sooo werid! I think he was as suprised to see me as I was to see him, but who knows. (He graduated with us west valley high schoolers.)
In a few hours we're having a "dinner". Only Cahnen and Laura are coming, but it'll still be fun. I'm excited 'cause we get to have ham! I love ham. We usually only have it at Thanksgiving, so yeah. I think I'll go offer my services to Mom and Julie.
School starts tomorrow. I'm kind of excited 'cause I like the fresh start you get at the beginning of each quarter. Plus I think the classes will be better than last quarter.
Hope everyone else had an awesome Easter Sunday too!
PS- My Uncle Lee is fine. The doctors found nothing wrong in his heart. Praise the Lord!

Yesterday was REALLY crappy, but today was fun

Yesterday as I was doing errands, I had a mini seizure. (For anyone that doesn't know I have epilepsy and take meds.) So I pulled into Westside's parking lot and waited 'til it was over. Last night on the way to 701, I had another mini seizure. While we were watching Ladder 49 I had another one so I called my mom and told her I was not driving home. So she and my dad came to get me and drive my car home. I was really upset 'cause I knew I'd have to up my medication which sucks. Plus I was way scared that I might hurt someone while driving and not be able to drive for six months.

Also yesterday afternoon my sister Julie told me that my Uncle Lee is having heart surgery tomorrow. (This is the same uncle that had his youngest son die of a drug overdose this past October.) Need I say they're not having a good year?

Today I went on a picinic with Jenn, Ben, his twin bro Andy and older bro Zack, Aaron, Anthony and his bro Nathan. It was actually fun. I had a great time making fun off Jenn's many ex-boyfriend problems. We played kickball and on the swings . I haven't played kickball in forever! Plus I talked to my doctor in Seattle who upped my medication as I expected. But he also told me that I can still drive.

The Ups and Downs of the Weekend

Okay, the weekend. Well Friday night and Saturday morning were fun.
Friday night Annie, Cherize and I went to different peoples houses and interviewed them about Margarete. (We met up with Kim at Daniel's house and I met their friend Laura.) We also went to the YVC dorms which are just scary so I'm never going back there again. Now I can say I've seen an angry drunk boy. Yea for me.
Saturday morning Margarete called me WAY to early for a Saturday morning! So I met up with her and Cherize, Kim, Annie at Andrew's house to prank Steve. Lets not do that again on a Saturday although it was fun to decorate and girlify Steve's Xbox. Then at home I ate breakfast and read a really sad letter from church stating that the assistant pastor at wes pres is divorcing her husband. (Please pray for them. They have two kids.) Then I got sick. I think I have the stomach flu just in time for finals. How lucky can you get? I feel better this morning but that could be 'cause I prayed to feel better. So no studying got done on Saturday. But on the upside I didn't get pranked by Steve and the traitor Margaret. Hahaha. (I stick my tongue out at you two.)
Yesterday I skipped church on account of still feeling crappy and my sister Barbie came home from Whitworth for spring break. It's great to see/hang out with her. Unfortunitly not much studying got done. But oh well.
The dreaded biology final is over! Annie and I both did badly but at this point it's not really a problem for me. Or I just don't care.
Tomorrow is the geography final. I need to study for that at some point today. It's not cumulative, so therefore not so bad or worrysome. Plus Anna and I are going to meet in the library to "study" in the morning before the actual test. We did "study" this morning for the biology test too.
Good luck on finals for everyone taking them! (Bonnie, Annie, Aaron, myself, Kim. Am I forgeting anyone?)

I really am a blonde!

Okay, here I go. Today as normal, I took Anna's car keys 'cause she has a fun clippy on it that amuses me. Except I went home after class without giving them back! I swear! I got all the way home, (from school to my house is quite a ways), I was taking my keys out of my sweatshirt pocket and came in contact with another set of keys! So I dropped my my backpack and raced back to school hoping to catch Anna. (I failed.) So I called her to tell that her keys weren't lost and she let me know that I am now a thief. (Better late than never.) I'm typing this in the YVC computer lab 'cause I have to meet my SARS disease group at three so there's no point in going home. Yeah. So everybody can feel free to make fun of me for being such a ditz whenever I see all you all in the coming days/weeks.

My sister got a job!

Yeah. As of next Tuesday I will be in the house alone for more than an hour on Tuesdays and Wednesdays! It may seem dumb to some people that I would be excited about something so silly, but as the youngest I spent much of the last two years alone in the house after school until 6:00PM or so and miss it. I love the freedom to turn the music up loud and sing along at the top of my lungs just for the heck of it. I also enjoy nobody talking to me when I don't really want to talk. Plus maybe Julie will meet some people her own age in Yakima. (I know there are 27 year olds in this town, they're just hiding.)

Gotta go eat dinner, so talk to ya later.