New Newer and Newest

Hello and good morning! I got my internet hooked up today. FINALLY. I was going NUTS! I have been without my own internet connection for over a week and frankly, I was going a bit insane. The only saving grace I had was my blackberry, which, thankfully allowed me to stay on top of email and a little bit of facebook socializing. Other than that, I've had to steal wireless from places -which pretty much meant that I had to spend money because usually the times I had available to go online were times free places like the library was closed. And I don't believe in going to actually "steal" wireless from a business...if a person wants to use the wireless a business offers for free, then the polite thing to do is patronize the place and actually BE a customer, not a freeloader.

Anyway, I have a master plan. I was going to look into getting an internet capable LED tv...but after talking that over with a Best Buy boy yesterday, I decided that I am just going to look into buying an LED (or even LCD if I find one REALLY cheap) and hook my laptop up to it either via hdmi cable (which my laptop can do) or a regular "monitor to monitor" cable (that's my term for it...I have no idea what it's *really* called!). I got to thinking a while ago...the only TV I watch live is the news, baseball, or mindless "whatever is on". Everything else I DVR'd and watched (maybe) later. SO...how is that different from just watching it on the internet either via Hulu, network website, or Netflix? One difference: Hulu & network site = FREE; Netflix = $9 a month vs $75 a month for dvr cable/satellite. Another difference: I have to watch on my laptop...but ANYWHERE I want to as long as I have a connection (which isn't too difficult to do in this day and age).

So I'm on the hunt for an affordable, smallish LCD or LED tv. By affordable I mean like $500 or under. I'm not looking for quality yet...I'm looking for function right now. It would be awesome if I could just find a converter or something to hook my laptop up to my existing TV...then I would bide my time MUCH longer and look for the *perfect* tv for me. Hmmmmm.... OR, I could just hold my horses, bide my time anyway and use my laptop as my "tv", like I have in the past. I think that's the better decision here. :)

I've got TONS of stuff to do yet here to get all unpacked. Mostly, I have all of my boxes and packing material (shredded paper, bubble wrap) laying around making things look incredibly messy. I need to break down boxes and figure out where the dumpsters are around here so I can get rid of them and get my place looking a-ok and livable. I think I have found places for nearly everything now. To celebrate my new digs, I bought new dishes (plates, bowls, mugs, glasses). Funny thing: when I moved into the house in Grand Rapids, the first thing that was "livable" and "done" was the kitchen. This time it is the LAST thing. The very first thing unpacked and set up was my bedroom. I like sleeping so you can see where my priorities are these days! HA! I don't even know where half of my kitchen stuff is...I am missing some of my cookware and some appliances too. I hope they are in my parents' basement because I had "moved" them early -and they did not "fall off the truck" during the move or something else nefarious like that!! That would be sad. :(

Let's see, what else is going on...I start my new job tomorrow. I am not nervous... I'm excited as hell. I want to get going and get stuff packed into my brain before the school year starts. Lots of people have been like "OMG, you have to work in the summer??? You have a 12 month contract??? Ick!", and i LIKE that. It's structure (because I'm LAZY without structure) and it gives me the opportunity to really get my head wrapped around the main ideas in my job before the school year starts. I think I didn't really get into my "grove" until late November last year. I need about 2 months to lay low, observe, participate, and see each player/situation for who/what they REALLY are in a system, not what each appears to be at first (or SAYS they are at first...that is usually 85% different in reality). I am fortunate to have July and August to give me a great crash course in the culture and system in Moorhead. First, I need to retrain my brain to think ONE district several sites instead of SEVERAL districts several sites. That's more difficult that you'd think!!

I'm putting off unpacking. Well, I'm mostly unpacked...I'm putting off breaking down boxes and taking care of the various errands I have to do today. I've got til about 4-ish and then I have to go to a Redhawks game tonight with my parents and at least one of my siblings...I can't remember who it is though. Haha. Oh well. I sure do miss Twins games though. I'll have to find someplace to hang out to watch a game now and then. I'd freakin LOVE to go to a game, but *sigh* woe is me. that's all i have to say about that.

So anyway. I guess you'd like to have some fun humor today huh? Well........let's see what I can do for you. Looks like the animals have invaded:

G-bye Minnesota. It's Been Real. Real Nice.

Good morning! It looks like I have come full circle with this blog in the span of about a year. I am at Caribou enjoying a cheap Monday cup of coffee and free internet because I have none (at either place). Today is my last day in Grand Rapids and I am cleaning. oh joy. It's really not that bad....I just need to get my motor runnin and get myself going!! I feel very tired today. I think I am going to sleep most of the day tomorrow. I'm too old for this moving junk. WAY too old. I forget how old I really am and forget that I'm not as young as I used to be and staying up late and getting up early to do work is just not a healthy thing for little ole me anymore! I need to slow it down and take it easy a little more -you know, spend time taking care of me instead of taking care of everything else.

I do wish I had help cleaning though. Yes, I know, I lived there, it's my mess, yadda yadda yadda. Whatever. The company more than anything would be good enough...cleaning is BORING.

So I'm sitting here at Caribou, watching it get kinda busy (it was absolutely dead when I got here) and just staring at the wall devoid of anything to say. oh my, could it be????? LOL! I keep thinking, you know, I should have something profound to say; this is my last day here after all. I will no longer be a resident of the great city of Grand Rapids, MN after 4pm today. Not only that, I will no longer be a MN resident. Of course, to make it official, I have to change my drivers license and all that junk, but for all intents and purposes, I have gone to the dark side, crossed the river, fled to the plains, etc.

I am in a state of "whatever" right now. In that in-between spot where you aren't what or where you were, but don't realize yet where you are or what you are. Do you know that I have wanted to be a Moorhead school district employee -specifically in the mid-level special ed administration position I just snagged for YEARS? Almost so long that it became something that I had thought was unattainable or wasn't meant to be. Well, Fate, God, Karma, the Universe -what have you- is funny like that. I haven't officially started (that comes Thursday), so maybe things will change then. And you know, it's not that I think Moorhead is so incredibly fantastic or they are crazy awesome....I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's the potential for growth I've always seen there for me. I'm fortunate that I am this far already in my career that I come into the district with quite a bit of respect already. Of course with that comes a high level of expectation and an implied understanding of competence. That's a challenge I can handle, however. I am excellent at flying from the seat of my pants -hasn't this ENTIRE year been completely about just that??? Haha. But I am looking forward to a community of coworkers. I've been so isolated in my jobs during the past 8 years and the 3 before that I was in a back-ass-wards group of people half the time anyway, and one of the biggest pulls for me to this job change was collaboration laterally with colleagues who are not my supervisor OR who I do not supervise. Although this year I have good relationships with those under my "direction", it's not the same as "equal"...I still have to hold back a bit because there still needs to be that professional relationship and some things they simply cannot know of or participate in -AND vice versa. There are PLENTY of things I do NOT need to know about from them either!!! haha. It was SUCH a relief to be leaving because I was able to open up much more to those in my office and hang out more. In fact, it made me sad I'm leaving, but I know I have some very good friends here for a very long time now. :)

Let's talk about that...relationships. Ha-thought you could get away without listening to me lecture today, huh? Well, the coffee is kickin in and I am having a jolly old time putting off the cleaning that is the current bane of my existence. Ok. So, relationships are important. Now, I'm not talking about romantic relationships per se, I'm talking any association or connection with another human being -even if it's over the phone or online. I have a great relationship with my insurance agent and I've met him ONCE. Same with many professionals I've come into contact with this year.

One of the "secrets to success according to Angela" is ALL about cultivating and maintaining a good and appropriate relationship with people. Let's call them "professional relationships". I think that leadership is based upon relationships. I don't think you can lead anyone unless you have an established relationship with them...people will not follow those they do not trust or those they do not know unless there is no choice or the "machine" is so big there is no way to have that relationship. I learned this year that to influence people, one needs to have a relationship with them. Whether that was a parent, a teacher, a principal, or a legal advocate, I found out that if I spent the time to be a "person" or spent time getting to know them, letting them know me, etc then dealing with them was SO much better. The way to build a professional relationship with others is to LISTEN to them and work hard to let them KNOW that your intention first IS to listen to them so that you understand where they are coming from. I guess if I were in their shoes I would want the same thing.

Ok. I could go ON AND ON AND ON about this, but I will spare you. :) I do have to get going (*sulk*). Thank you for tuning in today. I'm excited to be living the life I had imagined way back over 15 years ago. :) It is absolutely surreal. Now all I need is to find the perfect man for me and I will be set. The universe would probably implode, though, if that happened, because holy cow...I'm really not used to things going my way like this or dreams realized. However, my fingers are still crossed! Ha! :)

I heard a pirate joke the other day and it was FANTASTIC - but I can't remember it anymore! :( Sorry folks!!! Gonna have to settle for this (which is so stupid, I can hear your groan from here):

What did the Ocean say to the Pirate Captain?

Nothing. It just waved.

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lack o'sleep'll do that to ya...

So it's practically in the middle of the night and I'm packing and trying to stay sane at the same time. I'm overtired so that means my imagination gets popping and everything I hear is magnified with some kind of "creepy" microphone or something. Normal house shifting and general house type noises that I hear subconsciously all the time are amplified into weird and nefarious sounds. On top of that, there are tons of moths on the window outside and I keep glancing back, thinking I will see something REALLY creepy next time I look -like the Mothman or something equally scary. THEN, I turned my TV off and remembered that one scene from "Signs" where the alien is reflected in the TV (SUPER creepy part of the film) and I can't stop glancing at my TV now either. I should just turn it on.

So I think all of this creepiness is telling me that it's time to go to bed!!! I am 4/5 of the way packed up. I have a few odds and ends to attend to tomorrow, but I should be ready to go soon. Part of me simply cannot WAIT to get to Fargo and get this over with and part of me wants to stay here forever. Actually, I think that's the part that hates moving. LOL

So here's a pirate joke for you:
A pirate with an eye patch seemed down at a bar. The bartender asked, "What's wrong?" The pirate replied, "Arrrgh, they wanted me to be a teacher... but I only had one pupil!"

that was dumb, I know, but it kept my mind off the scaries for a little bit. :)

Onwards & Upwards,,,,

Today was my last day at my current job here in Grand Rapids. It was about a 2 hour day, to be honest. I thought it would take me longer to finish up what I had to do, but it took no time at all!! It is very weird to be done here. I had fully intended to be here a LONG time, and honestly, I could have chosen that easily. But as luck, fate, God's Will, or what every you want to call it would have it, it did not turn out that way. The board let the contract negotiations go on too long which made my eye wander in a serious tone to other district openings. Fact is, the Moorhead opening had been advertised for 2 or more weeks before I became remotely interested in applying anywhere else, even for the "fun of it". In fact, Moorhead is the ONLY place I chose to apply to because my thought was, if I don't get this, I'll either stay or find something else.

Anyway. Water under the bridge (once again). So this is the final packing weekend. My home is in disarray. Complete upheaval. Total chaos. Today I packed a bit when I got home from work, but I haven't done anything since around 6pm. That's ok. I have three more full days to go and I'm very confident I'll have the stuff done by then, probably early too. Then what?? I guess I'll enjoy the yard and the lake while I can. :)

Fargo/Moorhead here I come!!!

Packing Sucks.

Good afternoon blog readers! First, thanks for tuning in! :)

Ok...So, I've got about 1/4 of my stuff packed and I've convinced most of those in my family with room to take some stuff to Perham for me, since it's closer to Fargo and there is a lot of stuff that I don't need right away. That kind of stuff can stay in "Storage" (i.e. my parents' basement) for a couple months until I have time to get it. Everyone was up this way this weekend for a birthday get together for my niece and nephew who live near Virginia, MN. That was fun! Last night I stayed late and got home even later because we had tried to have a bonfire before it got dark -well, it rained and poured, but we still had the fire and got soaked (most people left). So AFTER everyone left, the sky cleared up and we continued on our own. Andy, Amy, Tony, and Anna & I shot the breeze for a little bit until I decided to get going. I haven't heard how long they stayed out after I left, but Andy and Tony were running around the yard looking for more wood to burn. LOL

The night before that, Amelia, Tony, Audrey, and Anna stayed at my house. We had a good time then too. It was really nice hanging out with just my siblings. We're all pretty much old enough now that we get along, and if we don't get along, there's not much drama about it. Lots of people say that I'm lucky to have so many brothers and sisters because they mostly come from small or complicated families; but really, just recently since they've all grown up has it become nice. Being the oldest, and the oldest cousin in both families (and the only girl cousin for 6 years before another girl was born), it was never just relaxed because I spent most of my energy running interference (and I bet my siblings don't even know that) between everyone. Now I can just sit back, enjoy myself, and enjoy all of them too.

Today is a dreary day...a day good for sitting around, napping, and reading. I have plenty of time this week and next weekend to get some more packing done. I can't pack too much all at once because I'm still living here and having guests stay yet here and there.

so here's some humor for you today (and I hope you know some Monty Python humor...you're gonna need it for some of these!):

Funny Funny Tuesday!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!!! Tuesdays are the best days in the world to me for some very strange reason. I think it stems back to when I was a kid and LOVED Happy Days & Joanie Loves Chachi were on Tuesday nights and I actually got to watch them because that was dad's "golf night" or something like that. I didn't really care where he was; I just cared that I actually got to watch something on TV that I wanted to for once!! So forever, Tuesdays are cool. That's probably it. Yeah, sure. ;)

So I think I've been neglecting your funny bone! Here is some graphic humor: