Month: May 2002

Swirly’s Time Line
Second Grade

Mrs. Routh was my second grade teacher. She was a young woman, much younger than Mrs. Hubbard or Mrs. Caviness. She had reddish-brown hair with natural blonde highlights and an infectious smile was not in the least bit gummy or insincere. The only problem with Mrs. Routh was that she got pregnant.

I’m sure this wasn’t a problem for her or her husband. In fact, she seemed quite happy and excited about the whole thing. It was, however, a problem for a little girl who needed to be protected from a pervert named Jason and who needed a little of the positive reinforcement that she didn’t get a home. It was a problem for me.

Just before Christmas, Mrs. Routh left and another teacher took her place. Her name was Mrs. McLain. I’m not sure if it was the nose, the permanent facial scowl or her cackling laugh, but she reminded me of the witch in Hansel and Gretel. I always got nervous at lunch time and hid to eat my snacks.  I was worried that she would squeeze my finger to see how plump I was getting.

Mrs. McLain tried to make a smooth transition, but it was like going from Belinda the Good Witch to the Wicked Witch of the West. In short, I didn’t really enjoy the second grade after Mrs. Routh left.

… previous stories …
1st grade … K part 2 … K part 1 … school starts … birth to age 5

Report Card

Intro Comp. Graphics … A-
Intro Printmaking … B
Native American Art History … A-
Abnormal Psychology … B
Physical Science … A-

GPA thus far = 3.376 … Do I get a cookie now?

Update

I applied Saturday for a job at Lane Bryant. If I get it I’ll get 40% off all their stuff EVERYDAY. Oh my God … I’ll never bring home a dime but I will look like a million bucks. I’ll know something probably by next week. Cross all fingers and toes at this time, please.

In other working news, I am doing intake interviews with clients for Vicki (the Mother-in-law) at $25 a pop. Last week I worked two days for a total of 3.5 hours and got $75 dollars. I can handle that. Quick basically painless money. I like her.

I’m also signed up for tutoring during summer school and I’m still doing beading. I sold beaded eye glass holders (the chain things) and necklaces during the Sanford Pottery festival and made a quick $100. I made $65 a couple of weekends ago at a street fair in Pittsboro. I sat out all day on the sidewalk, talked to people, played with kids and beaded. It’s a great way to earn a few bucks.

Also, during my first week and a half of vacation, thanks to a few iced mochas, my entire house is SPOTLESS. Even the bathroom mirror. Everything is organized and orderly. I could find any object upon request with great ease. Yeah, I know, I’m a sicko.

My sweetie got a job at the local Pizza Hut (for the free food – no joke) so he is rarely home anymore in the evenings. It sucks for us in a way but we spend more time paying attention to each other when we ARE together instead of co-existing than we used to.

I’m also walking in the afternoons with my neighbor Misty, who is a blog all her own, and catching up with old friends. I’m painting and doodling with craft stuff, too. I’ve pulled out the cookbooks and started caring about what we eat again. I’m back on a water kick, other than the mochas, of course.

So … I am doing a little of this and a little of that and enjoying the fruits of my labor. I’m laying outside reading, playing with the dog and downing Paxil. Life is good. For now, anyway.

Emailed Joke

Mother Superior calls all the nuns together and says, “I must tell you something. We have a case of Gonorrhea in the convent!”  

Interesting Tidbit

I firmly believe that you can learn something from everyone. In my quest for odd bits of knowledge, I often talk to people when I am out and about. People generally like talking about themselves or their jobs and are usually more than happy to talk to someone who seems interested in them.

Yesterday I got into  a conversation with Mary Kate, a girl at the local Food Lion. She seemed thrilled that I wasn’t complaining or looking for baking soda, but wanted to ask her a real question. Mary Kate is in charge of “orphans” which, as I learned, are the things that people put back where they don’t belong. These have to be collected and dealt with. Some things can be put back in their rightful place on the shelves but some must be tossed (ie. hamburger sitting out in the health and beauty aisle).

I asked Mary Kate which items are left to the side most often. She said the majority of her work came from the dairy aisle, the last aisle in this store layout. There are tables there where vendors bring in donuts, honey buns and Entemann’s cakes. This is also the ice cream and frozen pie aisle. People will ditch the Oreo’s and Snackwell’s for a pint of Ben & Jerry’s or a Mrs. Smith’s apple pie.

I also asked about odd things she had uncovered that day. Among her findings she presented on-vine tomatoes found in the detergent section and ranch dressing in the fish freezer. She also showed me a piece of Glade packaging that had been left behind by a thief. She remarked, “They are willing to be prosecuted for shoplifting over this dollar-and-some-change air freshener. It’s just pathetic. How bad does their house smell?”

Tonight Gray and I are going to the movies. More soon…

Woo-Hoo!

Exams are over!
Things look good grade wise!
I don’t have a summer job yet.
I am bringing a bit of money into the house from selling beaded eyeglass holders and necklaces. I am going tomorrow to Pittsboro to a festival to hock more of my wares.
Gray has a new job and is making decent money.
Married life is good.
Less school/work = more Xanga time.
Less school/work = more time for my art.
Tori Amos has a new CD coming out in September!

A list like that will really put things in perspective for ya. More soon …