Wednesday, August 27, 2008

hump day

So ... today is "hump" day ... Friday can't come soon enough. I couldn't believe it but on Monday we had about 90 students at any given time waiting in our lobby to see us. And the worst part is that I'm not exaggerating about the number. At one point there were 96 students on the roster! CRAZY! In all my years here I've never seen it that busy. Nothing like a tropical storm to screw up the first week of school.

Okay ... I'm exhausted ... and it's only 12:20 ... I still have soooo much time left in the day. And I have to go home and clean because my sister is coming Thursday evening to spend the weekend with me. Have I mentioned how happy I am that she's back home for a while!?! I miss my family like crazy. It's not fair that everyone has to live so darned far away. But, for now, I will sign off ... get back to work ... etc. I start two graduate classes this semester. One online. One on Thursday evenings. Hopefully these won't be toooooo difficult. I'm so over school right now. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

going great

So, This week so far has been pretty excellent. I had a date on Sunday that has turned out to be pretty awesome ... he's making me Thai on Friday night :-) And I've been having lunches this week with good friends (Rachel even made pork chops last night and we're having them for lunch today). Tonight I'm going to dinner with Renee ... good times! Grandma and Grandpa B come into town Thursday evening and we're going to dinner. I have off work Friday through next Wednesday. Friday morning I'll go to Cracker Barrel with the Grandparents and then maybe catch some rays. Friday night is dinner with the new man. Saturday morning I help Rachel move into her new place. Saturday night Ashley comes into town! I'll be in Flagler until Wednesday spending lots of time with my family! I'm so happy right now ... it's ridiculous ;-) Anyway, I'm happy to be writing to you. This is just a quick post to fill you in on how happy I am right now, did I mention I was happy? Oh, because I am ...

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

conversations with students

Now that it is officially intercession here at the university we have a chance to reflect on the happenings over the past few weeks during registration, etc. What I don't understand is how much these students really think that someone should be doing things for them, telling them everything they need, and that they honestly think they shouldn't have to be proactive in any regard. I mean, the most common answer I get from students is, "No one told me." I mean, really? Really? That's your excuse? Well, truly, it's the parents fault and none other. These parents do everything for their students and never allow their children to make their own mistakes or to learn to be self-sufficient. It's pathetic!

I know I'm just ranting at this point, but consider this ... in the 'real world' if you some how don't receive your electric bill in the mail that month, does that mean that your electric bill is no longer due? Would you expect the electric company to call you up and say, "By the way, we haven't received your payment yet, don't forget it's due." NO. And if you call them when you're late and tell them you never received your bill do you think they'll say, "OH, well in that case, you don't need to worry about paying." NO. Seriously. I truly think these kids have no idea what to do with themselves. They just skate through school ... thinking that Mom or Dad will take care of it for them. Well, they'll receive a rude awakening when they get out there and realize that life isn't a bowl of cherries. It's sad. And when I try my darndest to get these kids to become more self-sufficient I'm given attitude.

Am I just old? Was I really that stupid when I was 18 or 20 years old? Have I just forgotten what it was like? I mean, I remember my mom making me go pay for things by myself when I was quite young ... making me talk to people and ask for things, etc all by myself so I would get used to asking questions and becoming more self-sufficient. Sure we all fall short and we all need a little support now and then ... Do these kids really expect things handed to them? Do they really expect to not look up the answer for themselves? It is the one thing that really drives us all crazy in this office. Other than the people who work here that don't take any pride in their work, aren't proactive, don't truly care about the student, that's a post for another day ...

Maybe the point is that it's not just the students. Maybe it's people in general. People today have more conveniences than ever in the past. People today receive information in a second with the world at their fingertips. From microwaves that cook their dinner in 5 minutes to cell phones that put them in touch with someone in no time ... this fast paced world ... has it truly caused us to stop using our brains? Has this world we all live in caused us to lose our ability to think outside the box? Thoughts to ponder ...

I know I could go on and on and on ... hell, I've worked here for over 5 years ... but I'll leave the rest of my ranting for another day. On a much more positive note, during intercession we can wear jeans ... and our call volume and walk-in volume, etc drops off significantly. Hallelujah! Plus, my grandma is coming to visit me on the 14th and my sister comes home from L.A. on the 16th! This is going to be a nice break :-)

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Best Day Ever


So ... today is the best day ever! I am going to sit right here and drink my Pinot Noir and tell you all about it ...


I woke up this morning refreshed and before my alarm (which almost never happens). I got out of bed and took my shower and decided to jump right into cleaning (which also almost never happens). I vacuumed, scrubbed my bathroom floor, washed some area rugs ... things that I always seem to put off until I absolutely have to do them ... and decided that since I had some time before church I'd put on CBS Sunday Morning and check my email. In my Gmail I had a friend request waiting for me on Facebook and wouldn't you know it ... my good friend, Colleen, from what seems like ages ago!


I couldn't believe it! She and I were best buds for my sophomore year at UNF. Her father had a heart attack (I think that was it) and she left spring semester to go home and attend FAU. I was devastated ... here I had found my twin soul ... the one who truly got me better than anyone else ... the one who was just as sick and twisted and fun and evil and hilarious as I was ... and she left me. Sure, we tried to keep in touch ... but life gets in the way.


Next thing I know it's been 10 years almost and here we are again ... with a second chance. When I tell you this girl is funny ... she's hilarious! We have the exact same sense of humor ... we liked the same food, drink, music, you name it. It was a blast being her friend! So here I am ... writing back and forth today ... trying to play catch up. I tell you what ... God works in mysterious ways.


Here I am all depressed about my mortgage ... and the lack of funds to cover my said mortgage each month ... and how am I going to refinance when my condo is supposedly worth less than I owe ... and all I can think about today isn't the worries but the memories.


Life is good ... despite all the shit thrown at you ... life is good.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

August 2 ... two years later


So, it has officially been two years since I first started this thing and one thing I have definitely learned is that I am just as good at blogging as I was at keeping a journal. When I was a child I always tried to start journal-ing ... I'd get busy ... or lazy ... and quit after a while. It's sad in some ways to think that I am exactly the same person ... just older. I'm awful at sticking with things. I definitely have a need to constantly check out newer or better or different things and therefore have a million projects started all around my house and very few get finished. Maybe this could also be the reason I'm still single. Never really any good at finishing what I've started. Well, I take that back ... I finished college. That is quite an accomplishment, let me tell you! And, I've finished Teacher's Certification. Not that it has amounted to much as of late. But, nonetheless, I mostly procrastinate ... mostly wish I was different. And alas, I am who I am ... and I do not like green eggs and ham ...


Anyway, I felt the need to commemorate this date as it has been a long time (in Caron's mind) and although I haven't been as good at this as I'd like ... there's always room for improvement ...


In the mean time I feel the need to inform you that I have officially said, "fixin" more than a few times over the past few months. I'm scared. It's the one phrase I claimed emphatically I would never utter no matter how long I live in the south! And yet here I am ... just today I was at lunch with my mom and we were enjoying fish and chips and coconut shrimp at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the ocean and out of my mouth the most southern phrase I've ever uttered ... "It's fixin to rain." You've got to be kidding me!?! I'm ridiculous. Should I give into this 'southern speak'? I think it's pretty hopeless at this point. I mean, it hasn't been just once ... I've repeated this phrase several times now. I guess I can be thankful that I'm not saying, "fittin" because that would just cause my heart to stop ... ;-)

Friday, August 01, 2008

practically a month has gone by already ...


It is now officially August and today is my friend Shay's birthday. I can't believe how fast time flies! Shay is having twins in November. My friend, Jennifer, in Boston, is having a boy in September. I can't believe that I'm that old ... that my friends are married with children. It seems like just yesterday my friends and I were riding our bikes in the neighborhood ... carefree ... only concern was to be home by dark.

I was thinking yesterday while reading The Pioneer Woman's blog how wonderful it would be to live out in the middle of nowhere ... to have the ability to run free out in the open ... no fear of traffic. It made me think about the years (from 1st through 4th grade) I lived in Northern Virginia. It was a time of innocence. We would spend hours playing hide and seek ... using the entire neighborhood. I remember asking Mr. Monahan in the winter ... "Can we skate yet!?!" ... waiting for our neighborhood lake to have frozen sufficiently whereby we can, in our sneakers (we're not talking professionals here), skate until we became frozen through ... only to then have one of the mom's on the block sit us all down with hot cocoa. I remember the time I lived in the house with the giant sloping front yard. When it would snow we'd have someone stand guard on the other side of the street to watch for cars and then we'd slide down the yard ... hit the snowbank and go flying out into the middle of the road. We'd land with a crash and yet, somehow, want to get up and go at it again.

Moving to Florida sure changed things. Now there is no snow and no real change of seasons, but we have the ocean ... great swaths of beach to run on ... lots of sand to dig our feet into ... and the weather is nearly perfect year round, right? Well ... that's to be debated. ;-P

Anyway, I really must get to work ... speaking of ... remember the times when you didn't have to work? When all you had to think about was whether to play with the Barbie's before or after lunch? Seriously ... I need a sugar daddy ... or a handsome rancher like The Pioneer Woman ...