For Anyone That's Curious.

First of all, let me say how much I appreciate all of the kind words from everyone on Facebook and TK. It's touching to know that so many people care.

Many have been asking me about arrangements, and here is what is happening:

1. There will be a memorial service for my dad November 13, though I do not know the time or location as of yet. When I do, I'll be sure to share that info. There will be an obituary before too long to get some of that info out as well.

2. Since November 13 is so far away, we have arranged to have a very casual and informal gathering of my dad's friends and family (as well as anyone that wants to come out and support me or my siblings) for this Tuesday, October 26. Due to the informal nature of this gathering, there will not be an obituary until it's time for the memorial service.

Nobody had the space in their home for it, so we chose to have it at the First Baptist Church in my hometown in the chapel. We chose the church because I could get it quickly and it wouldn't cost us anything.

The time is from 4-8pm so that all of my dad's work friends can come and go as they need to around their shifts.

We just wanted a place to look at pictures, listen to music and share stories about my dad. If you were among those that were asking, this was the best way I could think of to get the info out there.

If you have any questions, you know how to get in touch with me.

Additionally, we're asking that nobody hassle with sending flowers/plants, etc, but we do understand that some people want to give to pay their respects. If you're interested in donating, we ask that you donate to the UTMB Cancer Center. Your donation will go to fund scholarships for medical students seeking a career in oncology. Please ask me for details about making a donation there.


Another place that we would appreciate donations is to the American Heart Association.
Visit donate.americanheart.org for more information.

Again, thank you for all of the kind words from everyone!

Love,

My heart is sad.

Yesterday morning, I got a phone call that my father had passed away. The news is still sinking in. I'm at a loss for words, really.

But I will say that I am fortunate. I called him about a week ago to let him know that I got gotten the job, and the last thing he said to me was, "I'm proud of you."

For me, that's something to treasure. I've always wanted to please my dad...always.

I am also fortunate because I do have many good memories of him.

When I was a senior in high school, he and I did this thing for a while where once a month, I'd make him take me out to dinner, just the two of us, so we could spend time together.

I remember right after my parents separated, we'd go see him on the weekends and he would spend time playing Monopoly with James, Sarah and I at the coffee table of my grandmother's house.

I remember being a kid and calling him at work just to say, "hi" and he never got upset with me for it.

I remember when I was about 11, he took me for a ride on his motorcycle to the Water-Wall in Houston. When we got there we just walked around, talked and ate ice cream from a vendor.

I remember him taking us to the Astros' games at the Astrodome. We would always sit in the highest deck, the one with the rainbow seats. I remember almost every time when we'd be pulling into the parking lot, Sarah would get carsick and he was always really calm about it.

I remember him making the best chocolate milkshakes, complete with chunks of Hershey Bars.

So many good memories.

I love you, Daddy.

Tagged!

The beautiful Shelly tagged me with questions, and I get to add some at the end. Woooooo.

1. Do you like sports or do you want to murder-train them? Which sports are your favorite, if you do like them?

I'm not much of a sports fan. I like to watch basketball in person, I'd rather take a nap than watch the Superbowl and going to a baseball game is a form of socialization and people-watching for me.

2. Which is better, chocolate or vanilla?

Chocolate, hands down. For me, there is seldom "too much" chocolate.
3. What was your favorite vacation you've ever taken?

I've had some great opportunities for travel, and I'm going to have to say my honeymoon, which was a trip to Disneyworld. It was an actual vacation, not a trip that I was "working." I went to Tokyo in 2008 and loved every minute of it, but I was a chaperone (which was still fun) but I did have responsibilities. Our honeymoon required me to have little-to-no responsibilities, and that's okay by me.

4. If you could go the rest of your life without hearing about ONE celebrity or public figure, like if that person ceased to exist, which person would it be?

I'm only allowed to choose one? Probably Charlie Sheen. There's just something about his face that I find obnoxious.

5. Do you enjoy TV watching, and if so, what's your all time favorite show?

I'm a huge TV watcher, and while I love many shows, (Sex and the City, Weeds, LOST, Grey's Anatomy, etc), I am going to have to say that my all-time favorite is Friends, because it STILL makes me laugh, and I've seen every episode a million times.

But LOST is a very, very close second. I'm going to miss that show this spring.
6. What's your favorite kind of music?

I have a variety of music that I listen to. I love music and have a deep appreciation for it, but I always hate this question. I will just tell you my #1 favorite bands:

• Shane and Shane
• Coldplay
• Sufjan Stevens (he doesn't have much of a website, so I linked you to Google.)

7. Who was your first celebrity crush?

Jonathan Taylor Thomas, aka JTT, duh.

8. Tell me about your favorite outfit.

Considering my daily wardrobe consisted of something in the variety of a t-shirt and jeans or random knit pants, I don't have many. However, I did just buy a cute new outfit for work. The shirt is a satin-y tank top that's dark red, that has a slight mock-turtleneck with a pretty bow thing on one side. It sounds a little scary now that it's a written description, but trust me, it's adorable andplusalso it was only $4.97 at JCPenney. I wear it with black slacks and for work, a cardigan over it.

9. Kittens or puppies?
 
Shelly, I know you're a cat person, and I love kittens because their adorable-factor is like, sky high, but I'm still going to go for puppies.
 
Now it's my turn!
 
10. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
11. Do you like to cook? If so, what's your favorite thing you've made or make? If not, why not?
12. You're stranded on an island all alone. If you found a magic lamp with a genie who would grant you three wishes, what would the wishes be? (You can't say getting off the island.)
 
Ok...I'm going to tag...Megan, Jeffrey, & Samantha.
 

It's here!

Well, two things are here:

1. My first day of teaching at my new job is tomorrow and I am beyond thrilled!
2. I've had many people say, "Hey, you're not unemployed anymore, change your blog title!"

So I have. :)

Hello, Boys and Girls...

I'm your new teacher.

Ok, well, maybe not your new teacher, but I have been offered the job at the high school. It happened yesterday, and I've pretty much been on cloud nine ever since.

I found out today that my schedule will most likely be consisting of two Theatre Arts I classes, one Advanced Theatre Arts class, one Technical Theatre I class and one Advanced Technical Theatre class. I'm excited about all of it.

I am incredibly nervous, but in a good way. I've wanted to teach since I was 5 years old, and it's just hard to believe that it's finally happening.

Life is good right now. We're still waiting to see if I passed my test, and that's the last piece of the puzzle.

Once everything is finalized, I'll ahve to find a new name for my blog. :)

ZOMG, It's WINsday!

This may or may not be my new favorite video---artist? She's extra-wonderful and spectacular.

Enjoy!



Oh, I know you want more. Don't worry, boo. I've got you covered...

...because really. Who wouldn't want to see your collection of...Snapple bottles and Bret Michael's photos? I know you do. Consider this an early Christmas gift.



-Hugs-

Creepy bear? No thanks.



Exhibit A

 Dear Charmin,

What on earth has provoked your company to use a creepy talking and/or singing bear for your ad campaign?

He isn't cuddly and cute. He's creepy. As we can see here in exhibit A, the bear is stuck in a tree that has toilet paper on it.

I know I don't venture into the woods often, but I can promise you that bears don't hang out in trees trying to convince people to use Charmin. It just doesn't happen.

Why did you choose to do away with the Charmin commercials of yore?

That's right, yore. I may not remember seeing these commercials on my television, but as we can see in Exhibit B, YouTube has tons of your commercials showing that little old guy encouraging people not to squeeze the Charmin.

Exhibit B

You see, squeezing the Charmin is actually a feasible thing for a customer to do in the store. If they're shopping for a new toilet paper, they may squeeze it to see if it's as soft and cushy as promised.

Lose the bear. Go back to your old ways. Please. The newest commercial with the bear singing, "Every time it's so right, feelin' so good" is so very wrong.

Sincerely,

The Interview

It went really, really well.

I interviewed yesterday with one of the current theatre teachers, (the one that's leaving her current position for a new position within the school) and the principal. I saw lots of head nodding and smiles, and even heard a few laughs. I feel like I was myself and that I gave good answers that showed that I am qualified and right for the job.

They said they had 15 applicants, and selected 5 for interviews. Well, obviously, I was in the 5, otherwise I wouldn't have been interviewed yesterday, and they're going to take 2 of the 5 and give them a second interview with the district's fine arts coordinator, and that will happen next week. I've heard that I will be one of the 2, so hopefully that rumor is true!

Today, is my content test, which as I have said previously, is the test every Texas teacher must take to prove that we are 'highly qualified' to teach our subject, according to No Child Left Behind. I've been studying like crazy and I am feeling confident.

Last week, my program gave us the option to go to a review session where they would break us up into our subjects and let someone prep us for the test. I was the only theatre person there, so I was very fortunate and got to have a one-on-one review. My review counselor was very kind and knowledgeable. We actually talked for quite awhile about things that weren't even pertaining to the test, and we were laughing at ourselves for not focusing on what we should have been doing. After chatting for awhile, we went through the test, how they score it, what they're going to ask, etc, and she gave me things to make sure I know, so I have learned as much of that information as I can.

A few weeks ago, I went back to my university to get transcripts and while I was there I decided to visit old professors. One of them asked what I was doing, and when I told her I was taking the theatre content exam, she said, "Oh, wait a second. I have something for you." She proceeded to pull out a copy of a 130-question practice test and told me to go home, take it and learn the material on it. Without studying, I took it and I made a 73, which honestly isn't bad, considering I hadn't done anything theatre-related in over a year. So I started studying and studying. I took the practice test to my review session and asked my review counselor if she felt that it was a good review, and she told me it was an excellent practice test, that it was covering pretty much everything that I would likely see on the real test. So I came home, I decided to use the practice test as a study guide and I feel like I have learned pretty much everything I can. I took the test again the other day, and a 91, only missing 11. I've since learned those the content covered in those final 11, so I can't help but feel confident.

I know that the questions on the real test won't be the same ones as the practice, so I learned what that question was covering. Since I had one question covering the stock characters in Commedia dell'arte, I learned all of the stock characters in Commedia dell'arte.

Anyway, the test is at 2 o'clock. I'm about to run through my flash cards a few times, eat lunch and then get ready to go!