Sunny San Diego

I find myself in lovely sunny San Diego, visiting my friend Suzy.  I've been taking some pictures here and there and figured I'd just spew them out right here.

The first batch is at Barona Indian Reservation where we went to the casino to eat and gamble.  They have lovely grounds there and some interesting sculptures.

This is one of many small planes we watched take off from Gillespie Field.  We were waiting for the Trolley into San Diego.  Isn't the blue sky just gorgeous?

 The trolley.

 Palm Trees in the Gaslamp District.

 Kites and the Coronado Bridge at San Diego Bay.

 Gaslamp sign and me.  :)

Ankles, Inversions and Life

Hi all,

I managed to fall during recess duty last week and sprained my ankle.  The interesting part of this story is that the x-rays showed I had previously broken the ankle.  I had no idea.

Most of January and February so far have been full of inversion.  That means cold air gets trapped in our valley and pollution builds up.  It wreaks havoc on my sinuses, but hopefully it'll go away and stay away soon.

Life in general is going well here.  My bathroom is going to be finished on Saturday (there were repairs needed from a leak upstairs).  I have parent-teacher conferences in a couple of weeks.  I'll be going out of town before that, though.  I'm heading to San Diego to see my friend Suzy's new place.  It'll be a well-deserved break.

That's about it from here.  Kind of ho hum at the moment.

Joell

Freezing Rain

Hello,

Today we had some interesting weather for Utah.  We had freezing rain.  It was quite an experience to have the raindrops land on my windshield and instantly turn to ice.  Thankfully, the roads on the way to work weren't too bad by the time I left, of course, we all went slow and left plenty of room between cars.

The sidewalks and parking lots were sheets of ice.  It looked like people ice skating.  I know this isn't the most thrilling post in the world, but I just wanted to mark the day since it's such a rarity here in Utah.

Joell

All I wanted was HD T.V.

I'm writing this post out of frustration.  I have Directv.  I have no complaints about their service.  My satellite rarely has any problems and their customer service is usually good.

I've had a tivo DVR for over 5 years now and it's getting old.  I've had to completely wipe it and erase it a couple of times and it's starting to have all kinds of strange problems.  Directv is giving out a free Genie 5 room HD DVR to new customers.

I was so proud of myself, I called them and bargained with them to get one!  I was so excited to get my new DVR and HD TV.  I scheduled to have them come out during the Christmas break from school.

Visit #1.  The guy took one look and said, "No, we can't do it."  Didn't climb up on the roof, measure anything or offer any alternatives.

So, I got upset that he didn't do anything except say "no" especially when other buildings in my condo complex have the HD satellite dishes.  So, I called and very assertively asked to have another tech come out and look.

Visit #2.  This guy was awesome.  He climbed up on his ladder and measured things.  Explained why he can't mount it on the side of my building.  Then he walked with me over to talk to the property upkeep guy.  At that point, it was decided they could do a non-penetration mount on the roof of my building.  This guy told me I'd have to reschedule so they'd have everything with them when they come.  He later called back and told me I had to call Directv and schedule it again requesting a non-penetration mount.  So I did.  Scheduled it for today.

Visit #3.  This guy said he had no idea we needed a non-penetration mount and he didn't have the equipment, but he thought he could mount it on the edge of the roof.  I told him the other 2 said they couldn't, but still, he climbed his ladder and then informed me (surprise!) that it wouldn't fit there.  He handed me his cell phone.  I rescheduled it with directv for next weekend.  He says they won't do it if there's snow on the roof.  *sigh*

Will I ever get my HD TV?  I just don't know, maybe by the time I do the next best thing will be out and my brand new stuff I've paid for will be outdated.

Okay, I'm done whining for now.
Joell

Back to Work

Oh boy!  I didn't get to sleep until the wee hours of the morning last night.  Today has been a very long day!

It was great to see the kids.  I even got a hug and an "I missed you" from one of them.  It felt like a really long day probably due to the lack of sleep, and the fact that we were all kind of in a fog after the break.  They seem to have forgotten how to do math and read.  *sigh*

After school, I went to Home Depot to find a new light fixture for my bathroom.  The very nice man who is fixing my bathroom's ceiling graciously offered to install one if I buy one.

Then I ran to the store for some paper bowls for an art project at school.  I hope I can get this project to work.  I don't seem to have the right size of paper.

I decided I didn't want to cook, so I picked up a sandwich at Firehouse Subs.  Yum!

I got a letter from my congressman's office for information for tour tickets.  I hope we can get into the White House most of all, because neither of us have seen it from the inside.

And that's my report for today.

Joell

Happy New Year

I have my cat on my lap and stayed in my pajamas all day.  Yes, it was a nice, quiet and cozy day.  I did manage to get grades put into the computer, but that's about it.

I'm grateful to have a very good upstairs neighbor.  She had a toilet leak a few weeks back.  It went through my bathroom's ceiling.  She has been very good about following through and getting things fixed.  On Thursday they'll finish the sheet rock.  Her uncle who is the guy doing the sheetrock also offered to install a new light fixture for me if I buy one.  That was awful nice.

Okay, true to form, the cat is gone now.  The beeper on my dish washer (which I'm still VERY grateful for) just beeped, so I guess I should go put dishes away.

I can't wait to see the kids tomorrow!

A New Year

I saw this on facebook.

I think it's a great idea.  It might be done on this blog, though.

I'm not big on resolutions because I think you should set goals at any time.  That said, last year I did have a resolution:  to finally get my kitchen remodeled!  That one was accomplished.

For the upcoming year, I have several professional goals, which I won't bore you all with here.  These could mean some pretty big changes for me, which is scary, but hopefully good.

Personally, I want to get my house de-cluttered.  This is a summer goal since it will be an If You Give a Mouse a Cookie type of thing.

I'm already looking forward to some travel this spring.  In February I'm visiting my friend, Suzy, in San Diego.  Over spring break, Suzy and I are going to Washington D.C. just in time for the Cherry Blossom Festival.  Summer travel is dependent on the professional and personal goals above, but I'm hoping to do a sort of road trip through some states I haven't visited yet, and see a few friends along the way.

Gratitudes from 2012

Several things happened in 2012 which I am very grateful for.

I had visits from several friends:  Ann, Jenn-Cali, Suzy, and Judy-Nut.

I loved going tubing for the first time with Jenn-Cali.  It was quite the adventure.  I got to see San Diego's lovely bay and have a great visit with Suzy.  Got to see Ann twice!  Both times had a great dinner.  I met Judy-Nut for the first time along with Betty and we had a late lunch at the new mall downtown.

I went on my very first ever business trip to New Orleans.  I learned a lot of great things and had a nice review of stuff I already knew, but needed to hear again.  I got to know some of my co-workers better and have a great time learning during the day and having fun (and eating and eating and eating) at night.

My cat got very sick.  I spent a couple of weeks feeding her with a syringe.  Thankfully, the vet was able to bring her back.  She's minus a few teeth now, but has her spunk back.  I'm so glad she's still here with me.  I know she's getting old and the end is inevitable, but she's my "baby" even if she's a psycho cat.

I am very grateful for all my friends, old and new.  They help keep me sane!  (Well, sort of sane.)

I am thankful for my family.  They are my rock.  I am so blessed to have a family that I never doubt will be there for me.

I was given a grant through Chevron and Donorschoose.org for 8 ipod touches which my students love!

I am thankful for my health and my home and all the lovely technological comforts I'd probably go nuts without.

I'm sure I've forgotten more than one important thing about 2012.  So much happens in a year!  I'm wishing all of you a happy 2013.

Joell