telling funny stories

I've been sitting here working on a piece about Grandma and getting frustrated not really knowing which direction my little brain is going, so I put that one on "DRAFT" and moved on to something more light hearted.

Fortunately, this story also includes my Grandmother.

Last week I was driving both my Grandparents in their car to meet Rob for dinner and somehow we started a conversation about the psycho unit at Stonybrook. I think we were discussing someone in particular but I will refrain from sharing that part of the story.

As my grandfather spoke of his visit to his friend in Stonybrook, I digressed to a moment in time when I had to do volunteer ER work as part of my EMT class. It was more than 10 years ago by the way... ugh. Life is creeping up on me i think.

Anyway... part of my volunteer work was to take blood pressures of incoming patients and that included the incoming emergency psych patients. Out of all my work in the medical field (including 2-3 years on a locked Alzheimer's unit) I had never seen anything like i saw that day in the triage area of the ER.

A woman, combative and screaming, was being carefully restrained to a wheelchair. I watched her urinate all over the place as she laughed out loud with a crazed look in her eye. Obviously there were some major screws loose. It was a sad scene and my heart went out to her... that is, until I read her chart. This woman, clearly suffering from some sort of mental illness, was found in her backyard trying to procreate with a dog.

::: pause ::::

Yes...thats what i said.

Now, I know I got a small chuckly AFTER my shift ended that day. But i wasnt prepared for the response from Grandma when I told them this somewhat amusing story. My grandfather was shocked, but Grandma.... The sounds of Grandma trying to picture the scenario in her head and work out the logistics was probably the most amusing thing I heard in a long time. Grandma let out this great big belly giggle with unfinished questions between each breath of air... "how did she...?" ....gasp...giggle.... "where did he...?" ...gasp....giggle.... "how did they....?" HA HA HAA.

All legitimate questions. Don't you think?

what teachers make

I frequent Denise Civiletti's blog and i thought this was worth posting.
http://civiletti.blogspot.com/2007_03_04_archive.html

WHAT TEACHERS MAKE

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You Want to know what I make?

(She paused for a second, then began...)

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental...

You want to know what I make?"

(She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them criticize.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, because we live in the United States of America.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant... You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make?

These days

It’s amazing how life passes by so fast when you’re having fun! So I decided to take a few minutes during my break to jot down a few thoughts.

I have been happily donating my time to help Rob remodel his kitchen! What a job this has turned out to be, but alas we are in the final stages… well kinda (says Rob). The whole thing is completely painted except for the inside of a couple of the cabinets. We tore out the old counter top this weekend (crash-boom-snap-fun, fun, fun!) and installed a new island in the middle with base cabinets and a temporary plywood counter. Next weekend we will be installing the new counter top. This should prove to be quite a challenge, but we work well as team. He knows what he is doing and I am really good at helping and keeping him on task!

Last week he asked me to move in (which will happen slowly over the next few weeks) and so my ideas/thoughts/opinions are proving to be more important these days. We took a visit to my storage unit in Calverton this weekend to take inventory and grab a few things. I will be contributing my couch, chair-and-a-half, ottoman, a microwave and possible a dining room set which makes me very happy.

One of my greatest joys is the fact that he gave me free-reign over the flower beds. When I owned my house, I was basically in charge of all the planting and when I had to sell it, my “master-of-the-garden” status disappeared. I was thrilled at the thought of having my own garden again and I said to him “I feel like this is my home and I can really invest in something again”. He just grabbed me and kissed me on the cheek. A good sign, wouldn’t you say? We did a little work outside turning over flower beds and adding a barrel planter by the door outside. He also has a vegetable garden in the back – peppers, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, zucchini – and I am planning on planting an herb garden under the kitchen window. We love to cook together and fresh is ALWAYS best.

So, life is good these days but my “East End” living status will change by Memorial Day. After almost 20 years, I’ll be a south-shore girl once again, but I think I will always have a special place in my heart for the “East End” having spent most of my life on the North Fork nestled among the wineries and farms. I'll miss it, but I'm not far and I still have profession and personal ties to the area, so i wont be a complete stranger! I promise!

fun stuff

This list was posted in myspace, but i thought it would be fun for here too. It was titled "Are you a 90's child?"

• You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence... not...
  
• You used to listen to the radio all day long just to record "Your FAVORITE song of ALL time."
  
• You always wanted to send in a tape to America's Funniest Home Videos... but never taped anything funny.
  
• You remember watching The Magic School Bus, Wishbone, and Reading Rainbow on PBS.
  
• You remember those Where's Waldo books.
  
• You remember "boom boxes" vs. cd players
  
• Making those little paper fortune cookie things.. and then predicting your life with them.
  
• You haven't always had a computer...and u lived without the internet.
  
• You had a favorite New Kid on the block, and you knew all of there names
  
• You owned a portable tape player.
  
• You always said, "Then why don't you marry it!"
  
• When you rented VHS tapes, not DVDs.
• When gas was $1.15 a gallon & Caller ID was a new thing.
  
• Talk to the hand" ... enough said.
  

thoughts and stuff

It's been a week since i last blogged so I thought i would just drop in and say hi! I have been working like a dog lately and then, in my spare time, helping my boyfriend remodel his kitchen.

I must say work has been great lately. I have been "on the ball" so-to-speak and it feels great. Usually with this kind of work load (two part time jobs and my photography) I get overwhelmed and somewhat "stressed-out" but I seem to be handling the pressure well these days. Making necessary life changes (not just in my relationships, but in my head as well) has helped that quite a bit. I worry less about money and more about moving forward with my career. I focus more on what lies ahead and less on the past. It's quite refreshing and exciting for me. For the first time in my life, I am able to use my everyday stress to push me forward; something that had been nearly impossible for me in the past.

Below are some words that I try to apply to my everyday life- both professional and personal. I think they are great words and definitely worth mentioning. Please feel free to add to the list.

committment
flexibility
pride
compassion
priorities
networking
confidence
unconditional giving
honesty (with yourself and others)

Honk

Strange and unusual thought for the day.

I was standing outside yesterday listening to geese in a nasily chorus of honks, when it suddenly dawned on me... Debbie Gibson must have been a goose in her past life.

I told you it was going to be strange... ha!