January 14, 2010 – Write From Karen

I love these random posts because it gives me an excuse to pull out my short attention span, check for holes, mold, rust or any other strange foreign object that does not belong there, hang it on the line, allow it air out and smell nice and then stuff it back in that huge black hole between my ears.

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The first semester ended today. Both boys are elated; I must say, I’m pretty jazzed about it, too. If what the boys are telling me is correct, they think they did pretty well on their final exams so hopefully there won’t be any unpleasant surprises on their grade cards. I do NOT like unpleasant grade card surprises.

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We now have a four-day weekend ahead of us. Well, the boys have a four-day weekend, I will be working. In fact, I have a lot of catching up to do. But I’m looking forward to not having to stress over whether the boys are on top of their homework or if they’re spending enough time studying for their tests. I can turn that particular thought burner to the off position.

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I took the boys in to get their hair cut today after school. I took them to Too Hotties and though the girls do a fine job of cutting their hair (we’ve gotten used to the fact that they all run around in uber tight clothing and shorty-shorts), they are expensive. I just spent $40.00 for both of them. That includes a $6 tip ($3 for each girl). I think that’s a MITE too expensive for a simple trim. And by the way, if you don’t tip the girls? There’s a sign that CLEARLY states: DO NOT COME BACK. They take their tips very seriously. I have a feeling we will be looking for a cheaper stylist. But I don’t know, you get what you pay for and I have to admit, they DO a good job so ….

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This is the last week that Kevin’s fellow accountants will be working with him. Their last day is tomorrow. He is now the LAST person in the office. His boss will be taking a vacation in the next few weeks so he’ll literally be there, by himself, all day. They have the office leased out until March so Kevin will continue to use the space until then. I’m thinking of packing up my work and claiming one of the vacant offices to 1. give me someplace new and fun to work and 2. to keep him company. Poor guy.

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Jazz had to play at a basketball game Tuesday night. That was the first high school basketball game that Kevin and I have gone to. I was disappointed to see there wasn’t that many people there. Our guys were good and they creamed their opponent – both the junior varsity team and the varsity team. The band director splits up the band into two groups – this happened to be Jazz’s group’s turn to play. The band sounded sluggish, but overall, not bad. They played “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne and the audience really enjoyed that. I found out after the game that the kids hadn’t practiced the songs they played, which explains the sluggishness.

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We are seriously looking at the possibility of taking another cruise this summer (Eastern Caribbean this time). We (and when I saw “we” I really mean Kevin) are carefully analyzing our finances to see if we can swing it. This is going to be a pretty busy year for us as we also want to re-do our kitchen – with the labor coming from Kevin, myself, and the boys to save on money. We also want to put in some hardwood floors and quite honestly, I’m not sure we can, or even SHOULD, think about going on a cruise with Kevin’s job situation up in the air right now. Of course, I will be getting a job to help out (most likely after our summer vacation because who’s going to want to hire me when I have to say, “Oh, by the way, I need a week off in July.”) and that will help our finance situation. We’re going to start shopping around this weekend and weigh our options. If we find a good deal, we may just go for it. We have enough points to cash in for four airline tickets, so that right there saves us about $2,000. We’ll see.

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I think I’m more excited about the boys’ second semester classes than they are. Here I’ll list them (because I know grandma is at least interested):

Jazz
English
Geometry
Intermediate Band
Jazz Band

Dude
Liberty and Law
English III
Biology
Computer Applications

I had to laugh because Dude had originally been scheduled for a Relationship class and he about died when he found out. The Relationship class consists of learning about getting along with people and there is role playing involved. Though I think it might have actually been a good class for Dude to have, in the end, we emailed his counselor and got it changed to Computer Applications, which is a much better fit. This is one step closer to the website design class and he really acts like he’s interested in learning more about that. Wouldn’t that be something if he went into that field? Then we really WOULD have a lot to talk about and heck, the kid could teach ME a thing or two. Actually, he already does. I’m really looking forward to seeing some jazz band performances. I know, from year’s past, they do some pretty incredible things and I know Jazz is looking forward to the competitions and trips as well. I’m so glad that our school is set up on the four block program – the kids have an opportunity to take classes that their interested in, which keeps them interested in school, which keeps them IN school and makes the whole school experience much more enjoyable – for ALL parties involved.

I’m still in shock over the Haiti earthquake disaster. It seems surreal that so many people died and there is so much destruction. The pictures are horrifying, I can barely stomach looking at them, in fact, I often don’t. I find myself turning the other cheek because it just hurts too much to witness so many people suffering – I feel a bit like a peeping tom, my nose pressed to the glass, an outsider looking into their devastation. The disaster seems so surreal because our world has come so far – we have technology in place to warn us of things like this. Our buildings are improved and more structurally sound to withstand this type of natural disaster. We have made so many improvements precisely to save ourselves from things we can not control.

The Haiti disaster only serves to jerk us out of our comfort zones, to remind us that there are still parts of the world that are severely underdeveloped, that are poor, that are in need, and that it is our responsibility to help them in any way we can. Whether that’s a monetary donation or an actual trip over there to physically lend a hand. The Haiti earthquake makes me appreciate my life and the fact that I’m living in such a great country.

We MUST stop monkeying around and get a grip on ourselves – we need to get our country back on track so we have the energy, resources and funds to focus our attention on countries who honestly need our help. This inbred arguing is fruitless and self-destructive!

I’m incredibly annoyed and honestly flabbergasted with Pat Robertson. What happened in Haiti is a tragedy and he’s busy spouting off nonsense about making pacts with the devil. Though I understand where he’s coming from – evil deeds beget evil results – it boggles my mind that the man is actually implying that the Haitians somehow deserved what happened to them because of something that may, or not may not, have happened three hundred years ago. So many innocent people died over there; No ONE innocent soul deserves to die – ever.

Robertson, and other whacked out religious leaders like him, give Christianity a bad name. Is it really any wonder that non-believers detest the Christian faith when irresponsible Christian “leaders” (and I put quotations around that because the man certainly doesn’t represent ME or my FAITH) open their mouths and say something incredibly stupid like this?

Let’s not dwell on that crazy man anymore … let’s focus on the positive.

I helped tweet out the Red Cross call for donations on Twitter yesterday. I read today that they have collected $3 million in donations. WOW!! If you’re ever in doubt about the power of social media, doubt no more. It’s amazing how many people we can reach via blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

And I’d also like to remind people … please don’t blame God for this tragedy. Our God is a loving, kind, gentle and compassionate God. He would never do anything this cruel and senseless.

Now Satan? Absolutely. Let’s not forget that Satan is the God of this world. He became owner of this world when Adam and Eve sinned, thereby transferring ownership.

It really angers me when I see people blaming God for tragedies like this. OUR GOD WOULD NOT DO THAT.

If you would like to read more about how we are not to blame God for the terrible things that happen in our lives, here are some resources to check out:

Is an earthquake an “act of God”?

Where is God When Tragedy Strikes?

Is Everything That Happens God’s Will?

Please. Don’t blame God for Satan’s evil.