This has been on my mind I just never got a chance to type it up. I or I guess "we" have the cutest dog in the world, she is a dalmation and she is a pitbull...she's spotty and she's beefy (with scary jaws) a PITMATION. Her name is Rose and yes if she had a different name she would probably smell the same (not sweet) . I am here to confess a certain jelousy that I have for Rose, I am starting to feel threatened like when she is around I am just invisible. I walk her down the street (well I used to before I started working) and people stare at her from cars and wave..hello spotted dog! Walking her as school starts is also a big mistake because all the kids want to pet her they see a DALMATION... and their moms grab their hands and say don't pet the dog because the moms see ROWS of TEETH. But mom its a Dalmation like from 101 Damations! Actually, I say, this is a Pitmation and they made a movie about them too,
101 Pitmations needless to say Cruella Deville, Horace and Jasper didn't make out so well and it isn't appropriate for little children.
I was trying to cross the street with Rose and a man in a old pick up ( a real life Tomater) is make a turn and gets that "dirty old man" look on his face and leers out the window...Oh brother I think..men..I am not a peice of meat to be leered at! Puh-lease. But then dirty old man speaks and says "That's a purdy dawg.." and drives away. I think my dog just got leered at and not me. Hence the feelings of jelousy...but I have solved that, now I walk the dog I wear a sequined dress and high heels.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
look who is back...
I love home. It's been good to be back. I'm learning that anywhere is just another place to scrape by unless you have the people there that make is special or whatever...not to get mushy here or anything. BIG NEWS!! IIIII GOT A JOB....! that's right I'm e to the m to the p-lo-y-ed I'm employed and I be up at my desk just workin on my business...uh yeah one more time e to the m to the, to the, to the.....Little music moment..
I drive an hour each way to get there, that's kind of intresting joining the coffee drinkin-talk show blastin-doin makeup while I drive, commuter gang. And I am stickin it to the enviroment, global warming my fender!, I will not ride share- sounds waaay too awkward. It's not bad, a good time to think or go into the same comatose state I do when I watch too much t.v. Finally I blink and somehow I got to work and don't remember anything in between. (nothing in this blog can be held against me in a court of law)
I am just working my little heiny off...I felt like a politician my first month, trying to sound smart and letting people know that "I can see our energies coming together in seperate ways and pulling out again synergistically with a trajectory of improvements" (what?...) I've been trying to get to know everyone smiling and learning names and now there are people that I have been smiling at pretending to know there name for way to long to actually ask it now. But for real (and just in case my boss ever sees this blog) "I love what I am doing"
So now my daily schedule is to hit the snooze 4 times (so I skip my workout) get ready, drive an hour (talking to myself, singing or spacing out) work work work then drive an hour back home, mooch dinner from my parents, watch t.v. for 45 min, fall asleep in my work clothes then wake up long enough to change for bed...repeat. But I am not totally boring sometimes i think about cool things like socializing or going surfing. Shut up I am not pathetic. Anyways...I have to go now because it's almost time to fall asleep in work clothes..maybe this weekend I'll go out and buy some new trouser socks....
I drive an hour each way to get there, that's kind of intresting joining the coffee drinkin-talk show blastin-doin makeup while I drive, commuter gang. And I am stickin it to the enviroment, global warming my fender!, I will not ride share- sounds waaay too awkward. It's not bad, a good time to think or go into the same comatose state I do when I watch too much t.v. Finally I blink and somehow I got to work and don't remember anything in between. (nothing in this blog can be held against me in a court of law)
I am just working my little heiny off...I felt like a politician my first month, trying to sound smart and letting people know that "I can see our energies coming together in seperate ways and pulling out again synergistically with a trajectory of improvements" (what?...) I've been trying to get to know everyone smiling and learning names and now there are people that I have been smiling at pretending to know there name for way to long to actually ask it now. But for real (and just in case my boss ever sees this blog) "I love what I am doing"
So now my daily schedule is to hit the snooze 4 times (so I skip my workout) get ready, drive an hour (talking to myself, singing or spacing out) work work work then drive an hour back home, mooch dinner from my parents, watch t.v. for 45 min, fall asleep in my work clothes then wake up long enough to change for bed...repeat. But I am not totally boring sometimes i think about cool things like socializing or going surfing. Shut up I am not pathetic. Anyways...I have to go now because it's almost time to fall asleep in work clothes..maybe this weekend I'll go out and buy some new trouser socks....
Friday, July 11, 2008
Walk please..no drowning
In the past week I have had to pull three kids out of the pool. I saved their little lives, I hope they grow up to be presidents and doctors and put me in their memoirs. Two were from this summer youth group that got rewarded a pool day. I think right before they came their counselors showed them some lifeguard videos of how to perfectly portray an active drowning because they executed it perfectly. Hands flailing overhead, little bubbles coming up from the bottom. Remember fellow and future lifeguards...look for bubbles. As I climbed out of the pool soaking wet and went back to my guard chair it caused me to reflect on my life as a lifeguard...meaning while I should have been paying close attention to the pool I was composing a blog in my head. A life that started at 14 while being a junior lifeguard, dare I say that I have been lifeguarding for close to a decade now?! Where is my corner office and 401k? During this time I have seen the laughter and the tears that comes with spending hours hovering around 4 ft of chlorinated water...as well as the puke,blood and diareaha.
Let's take a swim down memory lane and recall a few highlights. I have been a lifeguard at 8 different pools across 4 states. I think some of my most memorable experiences happened at the Travis Aquatic Center...we fondly called Travis High because it had the social schematics and maturity level of a high school. The military insituted a standard that if there was "fecal contamination" then we must close the pool for 24 hours. Maybe they shouldn't have told this to a bunch of teenage lifeguards who were spending 40 hours a week of their summer at Travis High. One afternoon I had just finished swimming laps and was headed towards the ladder when something under the water caught my eye. Is that..? Could it be..? I swim in for a closer look with my goggles and bubbles of sheer joy escape from my mouth (which I probably should have been keeping shut) IT IS! POO! A small pile of glorious fecal contamination and the key to a day off. I spring out of the pool to inform my fellow guards and their reaction is the same, ...where is the child that did this so that we can carry him around on our shoulders and express our gratitude. Why this is almost as good as the day that a rat ran into to the pool and we were payed to watch movies all day. There were sunblock fights and rainy days spent golfing into the pool, trying to hit kickboards while our one patron, a little kid swam and collected the balls for us. We had the pool rats, every pool does and I don't mean the hairy kind but these are the kids that get dropped off everyday an hour before the pool opens and they patiently wait outside until we opened and then their parents collected them when we closed that night. My favorite was Derrick and Alicia. Their parents were getting divorced and I think the pool was free daycare. No public was allowed in our office except Derrick and Alicia and the guards would eat their lunches with them and let them sit on the stands and pretend to be lifeguards. Maybe we'll be in one of their memoirs.
There was a girl in Idaho that I was teaching lessons to. She had a lot of trouble keeping her face in for more than 3-5 seconds and it was frustrating for her and me because she was really trying hard. Then her mom took me aside and thanked me for working with her. She told me that the year before they had been driving to swim lessons and got into a car accident. Their car landed in a canal and a lot of water came in but they were able to get out, she had been afraid of water since then. I realized how brave this little girl was being by still trying so hard, I felt bad for getting frustrated and it was really cool to work with her.
I used to work at the Vacaville pool and had to open for the 5 am lap swim. This meant that I had to get there by 4:30...dark, during the winter, rain or shine. I would get soaked pulling the covers off (which is hard work if you ever try it)One girl injured her back pulling off covers, the swim coach said she needed to be doing more ab excercices, not the thing to tell a chubby girl. She filed a sexual harrasment complaint against him. Then I would sit the rest of the 2.5 hours watching the steam rise off the pool and saying hello to the same people every morning. Richard would always say "Oh fair and a meddlin" when you asked how he was. Hard as it was to get up that early, it always felt great watching the sun come up on autunm days. When I left for school they had a breakfast for me and some of the ladies embroidred a laundry bag with my name on it for college. I have found similar people at each pool I've worked at. One sweet lady in her eighties met a hunk here at the Kailua pool, a charming man also in his eighties. They became sweethearts and she asked him to go on a trip with her, he said she would have to marry him first. So she agreed and they were going to get married but he passed away during a simple operation last month. But she still comes everyday to the pool and tells you she is taking it one day at a time.
I guess on the surface, lifeguarding has been a constant full-time or part-time job that has provided me with income. But after looking back on 10 years (i know...i know..it isn't that long) but I would say it has been a little serendipitous.
Let's take a swim down memory lane and recall a few highlights. I have been a lifeguard at 8 different pools across 4 states. I think some of my most memorable experiences happened at the Travis Aquatic Center...we fondly called Travis High because it had the social schematics and maturity level of a high school. The military insituted a standard that if there was "fecal contamination" then we must close the pool for 24 hours. Maybe they shouldn't have told this to a bunch of teenage lifeguards who were spending 40 hours a week of their summer at Travis High. One afternoon I had just finished swimming laps and was headed towards the ladder when something under the water caught my eye. Is that..? Could it be..? I swim in for a closer look with my goggles and bubbles of sheer joy escape from my mouth (which I probably should have been keeping shut) IT IS! POO! A small pile of glorious fecal contamination and the key to a day off. I spring out of the pool to inform my fellow guards and their reaction is the same, ...where is the child that did this so that we can carry him around on our shoulders and express our gratitude. Why this is almost as good as the day that a rat ran into to the pool and we were payed to watch movies all day. There were sunblock fights and rainy days spent golfing into the pool, trying to hit kickboards while our one patron, a little kid swam and collected the balls for us. We had the pool rats, every pool does and I don't mean the hairy kind but these are the kids that get dropped off everyday an hour before the pool opens and they patiently wait outside until we opened and then their parents collected them when we closed that night. My favorite was Derrick and Alicia. Their parents were getting divorced and I think the pool was free daycare. No public was allowed in our office except Derrick and Alicia and the guards would eat their lunches with them and let them sit on the stands and pretend to be lifeguards. Maybe we'll be in one of their memoirs.
There was a girl in Idaho that I was teaching lessons to. She had a lot of trouble keeping her face in for more than 3-5 seconds and it was frustrating for her and me because she was really trying hard. Then her mom took me aside and thanked me for working with her. She told me that the year before they had been driving to swim lessons and got into a car accident. Their car landed in a canal and a lot of water came in but they were able to get out, she had been afraid of water since then. I realized how brave this little girl was being by still trying so hard, I felt bad for getting frustrated and it was really cool to work with her.
I used to work at the Vacaville pool and had to open for the 5 am lap swim. This meant that I had to get there by 4:30...dark, during the winter, rain or shine. I would get soaked pulling the covers off (which is hard work if you ever try it)One girl injured her back pulling off covers, the swim coach said she needed to be doing more ab excercices, not the thing to tell a chubby girl. She filed a sexual harrasment complaint against him. Then I would sit the rest of the 2.5 hours watching the steam rise off the pool and saying hello to the same people every morning. Richard would always say "Oh fair and a meddlin" when you asked how he was. Hard as it was to get up that early, it always felt great watching the sun come up on autunm days. When I left for school they had a breakfast for me and some of the ladies embroidred a laundry bag with my name on it for college. I have found similar people at each pool I've worked at. One sweet lady in her eighties met a hunk here at the Kailua pool, a charming man also in his eighties. They became sweethearts and she asked him to go on a trip with her, he said she would have to marry him first. So she agreed and they were going to get married but he passed away during a simple operation last month. But she still comes everyday to the pool and tells you she is taking it one day at a time.
I guess on the surface, lifeguarding has been a constant full-time or part-time job that has provided me with income. But after looking back on 10 years (i know...i know..it isn't that long) but I would say it has been a little serendipitous.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
My New Crib
I don't feel like there is a lot of update on. I have changed residences from Rita's house to Jane's*(real name has been changed) house. Rita was really starting to hang with a rough crowd, loud music, questionable movie choices...so I finally felt it was time for me to move to a better enviroment. I have moved in with another person in Kailua who had an extra room for me in exchange for helping around the house. I still see Rita around town sometimes and its really awkward, she and her friends just give me the cold shoulder and get into their Cadilacs. J/k I still visit Rita every other day and make sure she is doing ok. I'll be helping her a lot during the month of July since the people at the house are going on vacation.
My new house is more in the center of Kailua town and its really cute. The people I live with now are really nice to me and I help out all I can. Jane* is only 33 and was diagnosed with stomache cancer, so I help her for a few hours each day and work at the pool and look for real jobs. There are chickens in this neighborhood! And I use a clothes line! And a mango tree! I wake up in the mornings and take the freshly fallen mangos for breakfast and hang my clothes on the line. I just feel so gosh darn quaint and vegan-y. Of course the neighbor with the mango tree probably watches this girl in raggedy clothes and wild morning hair come take his mangos everyday, he'll probably start leaving a bowl of milk out for me too. It kind of reminds me of Eskelito (sp?) the skinny guy on Nacho Libre running in the alley and eating the chips. "Summon your eagle powers"
Another exciting element of my new place is the houses are soooo close together and luckily the house behind me cares for elderly people. So I can hear them all day and all night. One lady likes to yell out how much money they just won on games shows through out the day in a Portugese accent "50,000! We won 50,000 dollar!" And there is a man names George who lives there too and apparently is always up to no good because they are always scolding George, unless that is the name of their dog. I think I'll start throwing in my two cents when they scold him.."Don't do that George.. and I can yell "Yeah George knock it off, we've had enough of your shananigans!" So that is life presently...more exxxxccccciiiting updates to come!
My new house is more in the center of Kailua town and its really cute. The people I live with now are really nice to me and I help out all I can. Jane* is only 33 and was diagnosed with stomache cancer, so I help her for a few hours each day and work at the pool and look for real jobs. There are chickens in this neighborhood! And I use a clothes line! And a mango tree! I wake up in the mornings and take the freshly fallen mangos for breakfast and hang my clothes on the line. I just feel so gosh darn quaint and vegan-y. Of course the neighbor with the mango tree probably watches this girl in raggedy clothes and wild morning hair come take his mangos everyday, he'll probably start leaving a bowl of milk out for me too. It kind of reminds me of Eskelito (sp?) the skinny guy on Nacho Libre running in the alley and eating the chips. "Summon your eagle powers"
Another exciting element of my new place is the houses are soooo close together and luckily the house behind me cares for elderly people. So I can hear them all day and all night. One lady likes to yell out how much money they just won on games shows through out the day in a Portugese accent "50,000! We won 50,000 dollar!" And there is a man names George who lives there too and apparently is always up to no good because they are always scolding George, unless that is the name of their dog. I think I'll start throwing in my two cents when they scold him.."Don't do that George.. and I can yell "Yeah George knock it off, we've had enough of your shananigans!" So that is life presently...more exxxxccccciiiting updates to come!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
oh hummus...this blog is about nothing.
I just had a hummus wrap. It comes wrapped in a green tortilla, like they are trying to convince you..this.. is really, really healthy. Of course you can walk be all the other healthy people and "That's right check me out with my green tortilla. Hard core health nut here." They skimped on the hummus big time. So mostly it was mouthfuls of green tortilla, carrots and lettuce. I read the newspaper...intellectual hard core health nut here. Slam a chocolate shake while making a lot of noise trying to suck the last drops of whip cream off the bottom. Hummus makes my mouth smell like B.O. It's not easy being healthy.
Then I stop at the library..cuz it's LATE NIGHT AT THE LIBRARY!! It stays open until 8 twice a week for those of us intellectual hummus eaters that are livin on the edge.
Then I stop at the library..cuz it's LATE NIGHT AT THE LIBRARY!! It stays open until 8 twice a week for those of us intellectual hummus eaters that are livin on the edge.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Giving notice
Well I have officially given my "notice" for Hawaii, although I am not quite sure how long it will actually take to find someone to take my place here. I am starting to think of all the things I am going to miss here, but I will save that for later. In other news...actually my only news is that I did pass my exam. People are so nice "THat is so great!! you passed! Now what is it for again?"
So I am now a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. This enables me to get jobs that require you to be certified. Not all places do but the ones that do require you to be certified means that take recreation seriously. After all recreation is serious business. :)
I am on the job hunt...probably for somewhere in California. Rita's daughter thinks I should go to Utah so I can meet a guy...she really isn't kidding. It seems like she really disapproves of us college girls living in Hawaii away from a plethera (spelling?) of potential eternal companions. So friends and family...that is going to be my next job, full time spousal searching in Zion. "So what do you do?" "I am looking for a spouse." "Me too" ....and ta da early retirment.
Oh, and I also did complete a triathalon. It was a lot of fun. My friend Josh competed with me, I feel sorry because I beat him badly. Just kiddding. He was nice enough to come and run with me at the end after he had finished. Hopefully this will be the first of many triathalons to come. Although I think I may be faster with a road bike like everyone else has and not an oversized mountain bike, fondly named "Bike".
Bike had a hard week the other week. I went to a job interview and when I transfered buses, I left Bike on the front of the other bus. THere I sat with my helmet in hand watching the bus drive away to who knows where with my bike attatched to the front. Luckily I was able to spend 4 hours riding the bus the next day to recover it. More later!
kjk
So I am now a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. This enables me to get jobs that require you to be certified. Not all places do but the ones that do require you to be certified means that take recreation seriously. After all recreation is serious business. :)
I am on the job hunt...probably for somewhere in California. Rita's daughter thinks I should go to Utah so I can meet a guy...she really isn't kidding. It seems like she really disapproves of us college girls living in Hawaii away from a plethera (spelling?) of potential eternal companions. So friends and family...that is going to be my next job, full time spousal searching in Zion. "So what do you do?" "I am looking for a spouse." "Me too" ....and ta da early retirment.
Oh, and I also did complete a triathalon. It was a lot of fun. My friend Josh competed with me, I feel sorry because I beat him badly. Just kiddding. He was nice enough to come and run with me at the end after he had finished. Hopefully this will be the first of many triathalons to come. Although I think I may be faster with a road bike like everyone else has and not an oversized mountain bike, fondly named "Bike".
Bike had a hard week the other week. I went to a job interview and when I transfered buses, I left Bike on the front of the other bus. THere I sat with my helmet in hand watching the bus drive away to who knows where with my bike attatched to the front. Luckily I was able to spend 4 hours riding the bus the next day to recover it. More later!
kjk
Friday, April 18, 2008
Town
So in Hawaii they call Honolulu town..no matter which part of the island you live. Today I went to a job interview in town. Stick my bike on the front of the bus and off I go. After the interview I decided to wander around town. First I went to buy a helmet for my bike..finally. As I am biking by with my new fancy helmet I see a security guard bending near a man lying in the grass. I stop to ask if everything is ok, the man must have been really intoxicated. I tell the guard that I am an EMT (expired) and I can help if he needed it. He looks at me and asks "are you a single EMT? I think you just inspired me to become an EMT, maybe we could be partners." uhh...yeah maybe, It must be the helmet...well back on the bike.
After this I decided to hit China town. I may never make it to an Asian country in my life and that is ok...I think China town gives you a pretty good taste. I wandered the markets and bought a roll and a custard tart. You really have to be aggresive, I was being run over by little Asian women half my size. I was looking at all the interesting meats you could buy and was thinking if I buy the pork head, chicken feet, a couple of tenderloins and some intestines I could take it home and make my own adorable fraken-pet.
Two dollars and I am back on the bus!
After this I decided to hit China town. I may never make it to an Asian country in my life and that is ok...I think China town gives you a pretty good taste. I wandered the markets and bought a roll and a custard tart. You really have to be aggresive, I was being run over by little Asian women half my size. I was looking at all the interesting meats you could buy and was thinking if I buy the pork head, chicken feet, a couple of tenderloins and some intestines I could take it home and make my own adorable fraken-pet.
Two dollars and I am back on the bus!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
P.S
Oh yeah, and serendipity means finding something unexpectantly when you were looking for something else. It seemed to fit.
Ok for real now
Here I am at the moment living in Hawaii..kind of unemployed or "between" jobs. I live with Rita an 81 year old lady who is a lot of fun and Kimber, a girl from Vacaville. So they closed my pool for renovations and I have been applying at all sorts of random jobs to see what I come up with. In the mean time I help take care of Rita and clean at one of my neighbors houses. Why is it that the people who hire clearners are the ones with houses that are always immaculate? SHe is a 77 yr old Japanese lady and aside from cleaning her house I have also been teaching her how to swim. At age 77! It's sooo COOL! She is also really sweet and took me out to Japanese food, I love sashimi! Cooking is a terrible thing to do to a fish... Off I go to clean...of course the kitchen broom has to be used in the kitchen which is a completely different broom that is used in the bathroom. Not to be confused with the outside bathroom which must be cleaned on your hands and knees. Next question, why are the people who hire house cleaners the ones with the MOST COMPLICATED CLEANING SYSTEMS?!
I have deemed her house, the house of underwear. Underwear hanging on the line outside, and in the laundry room. Underwear sitting on the bed. She hands me a rag to clean with and as I am cleaning I realize its a pair of underwear. I wander into the other room and there she is on the bed taking the tags off her latest Ross purchases...more underwear.
Kimber and I were house sitting for our other neighbors...we spent a lot of time wandering around their house and were really dissapointed when they came home. It's rough not having two beach houses to roam around in. They asked us to clean, again...complicated set of cleaning conditions.
Other news..I'm a racer now of sorts... I have run in two races so far and have my first triathalon coming in May and another 10k later this month. Don't ask me why because as I am running all I can think about how dumb this is and if another man pushing his triplets in a stroller passes me up I'm gonna loose it and ask a fellow runner for a piggy back. On my last race I ate way too much peanut butter and jelly before hand, part way through I stopped on the bridge and hung my head over the side ready to revisit the pb and j but I pulled through ok and finished fantastically in great glory with the 2,000 other runners. After which you are promptly handed food and a t-shirt and can't wait for the next race.
Well more updates to come!! thanks for reading, if I can figure how to send this to people.
kjk
I have deemed her house, the house of underwear. Underwear hanging on the line outside, and in the laundry room. Underwear sitting on the bed. She hands me a rag to clean with and as I am cleaning I realize its a pair of underwear. I wander into the other room and there she is on the bed taking the tags off her latest Ross purchases...more underwear.
Kimber and I were house sitting for our other neighbors...we spent a lot of time wandering around their house and were really dissapointed when they came home. It's rough not having two beach houses to roam around in. They asked us to clean, again...complicated set of cleaning conditions.
Other news..I'm a racer now of sorts... I have run in two races so far and have my first triathalon coming in May and another 10k later this month. Don't ask me why because as I am running all I can think about how dumb this is and if another man pushing his triplets in a stroller passes me up I'm gonna loose it and ask a fellow runner for a piggy back. On my last race I ate way too much peanut butter and jelly before hand, part way through I stopped on the bridge and hung my head over the side ready to revisit the pb and j but I pulled through ok and finished fantastically in great glory with the 2,000 other runners. After which you are promptly handed food and a t-shirt and can't wait for the next race.
Well more updates to come!! thanks for reading, if I can figure how to send this to people.
kjk
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Here is my first attempt at writing my blog, more to follow if i can really figure out how to do this
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