The Real World

Well, I really do not know how to start this. I recently had to sign my degree checkout paper. It was not until I got back home that I realized that I am almost done with college. I just cannot believe that time has gone by so fast. I am really nervous about getting a real job. I feel the same way that I felt the very first time I was looking for a job. I started working when I was 13 years old and I have been working ever since then. However, when I got pregnant my husband made me quit because I was working full time, going to school full time, and being pregnant was not helping the situation. So, in December of last year, I decided to quit my job. Now I am dedicated to my son, family, and school. Although I love spending time with my son and family, I am starting to feel the need to re-enter the work life. However, I am scared because I do not have the type of experience that big accounting companies are looking for. Once I am able to find a job, I know that it will be easier for me to find a better job, if needed, because I will have some "real" accounting experience. It is hard to get that first job though. Just like the very first time you are looking for a job; No one wants to hire you because you have absolutely no experience. However, once you get that first job, finding a second one becomes much easier. I just hope that at least one accounting firm out there gives me the opportunity that I am looking for. Then, once I get the opportunity, I hope that they are willing the show me the "ways" in the real world. I know I might sound a little confusing, I feel very confused. All I know is that I will be graduating pretty soon and I really want to have an opportunity to fulfill the professional aspect of my life.

Wisdom Teeth

I had to go to the oral surgeon this past Friday. I had been having problems with my wisdom teeth for a long time. I finally got enough courage to go see the dentist about it. The dentist referred me to an oral surgeon, and after a few examinations he determined that the best thing would be for me to have my wisdom teeth extracted. So, I set up the appointment. I was really scared at first. My dad had to take the day of off work to drop me off and take me to the house. When we got to the office, I did not have to wait long at all. My dad and I went into the room where I was going to have the procedure. The doctor started setting me up and set up the I.V on my arm. All of the sudden, he told me that he was giving me the medicine. I started feeling really weird and the last thing I remember was lifting up my head and telling my dad "It's shutting down dad... it's shutting down." Needless to say, it took only about three seconds for me to be out. As soon as I was under the effect of the anesthesia, the doctor asked my dad to leave the room. The procedure only lasted about 35 minutes, when I woke up I felt a little disoriented. I went home and when I woke up a few hours later, I could not find my glasses anywhere. I had to call the doctor on his cell phone because the office was already closed. He told me that he remembered putting my glasses on me before I left. Finally, I was able to find my glasses. Anyway, getting my wisdom teeth pulled out was not as bad as I thought; giving birth is definitely worst.

Altering Sexual Orientation

I would like to start by saying that I do not have anything against homosexual people. If that is the sexual orientation they decide to adopt, then that is their problem, not mine. I do not really understand what goes on in a person's mind to feel attracted towards the same sex. According to some documentaries that I have watched on television, homosexual people say that what they feel is almost like an instinct. Something they cannot help themselves from doing. Just like heterosexuals are instinctively attracted to the opposite sex, homosexuals are "instinctively" attracted to their same sex. Although I do not agree with it, I respect their point of view. However, I do not agree with scientists trying to find a way to alter someone's sexual orientation.

After reading an article on slate magazine, I did not know what to think anymore. The article explains how scientists altered some genes in the brain of female worms, ultimately making them feel attracted to other female worms. It seemed to me, after reading the article, that they also have tried it on flies and mice. They believe that sexual orientation is "hard-wired" and can be changed scientifically. I think this is absurd, after all we are talking about living beings. We are not talking about some kind of electrical circuit on which one can just change cables to get different outcomes.

From what I understood from the article, they are hoping that they will achieve the same kind of result on human beings. What kind of society would we live in if scientist could wire us to be homosexuals? Obviously, these people have no concept of what God intended for us to do. We are here to procreate, not to have a homosexual population. What good would it do for them to be able to "wire" us that way? Apparently, they have no idea of the consequences that this may incur on our society.

Like I said previously, I do not have a problem with homosexual people. However, I do not think that God intended for the world to be like that. Otherwise, He would have created two Adams or two Eves; don't you think? Science has definitely gone too far in my opinion. What are scientist going to do next? Are they going to try to figure out a way to allow men to conceive a child?

My father

I went to Canada for fall break. It was wonderful to be home again. My father, little brothers, and grandparents live there. They wanted to meet my son, but it would be much more expensive for all of them to come to Shreveport than it would be for them to pay for us to go over there. Therefore, they offered to buy us a ticket to Montreal, although my son does not count because he flies free. I arrived there late last Wednesday. My whole family was waiting for us at the Montreal International Airport. My father was the first to greet us. It was weird to see my father. I had not seen him in about 4 years, and our relationship has recently gotten better. It was nice to see that he was happy to see us. I noticed my father has gotten older. He has more wrinkles on his face, more grey hairs. However, he is still just as energetic and funny as I remembered him to be. It was nice to spend time with my father. Our relationship has definitely changed, but I think it is better that way. Now, we are more like two friends. I think he knows that I am a good person and that I will always be there if he needs me.

Otto

My dog's name is Otto. He is a five year old, male German Shepherd. He is such a special dog. About three years ago, he was hit by a lady who was speeding in the Broadmoor area. It was such a devastating incident. His leg was broken in two different places and my husband and I had to rush him to the vet. He had surgery and had to stay at the vet for about a month. The vet placed two pins in his leg to hold it in place. He was required to be under strict surveillance because he could not put any weight on that leg. Although the vet put a cast on his leg, Otto was put in a cage where he spent most of his day. As harsh as this might sound, it was the best thing for him. It was too dangerous to let him go outside and allow him to run after squirrels. It was really hard on us because every time we would visit him, he would look at us in such despair. Then, when he would see us leave, we could hear him cry all the way in the reception area. I must admit that I only went to visit him a couple of times because I could not handle hearing him cry like that. Ever since then, he has had a tough time with his hips and leg. The vet said that he has arthritis on his front leg, which makes it hard for him to be outside in the winter. This situation makes me uncomfortable because I know that we will probably have to put him down eventually. There are times when he plays a lot and then limps the next day. It breaks my heart to see that he has a hard time to even get up. He has been, by far, the best pet that we have ever owned. I really don't think that we will ever be able to have another dog like him.

Innocent Laughter

My son is now almost three months old. He has changed so much within the past couple of weeks. He has learned to coo, play with his hands and feet, and best of all to laugh hysterically. Although he will not do it often, it is so cute when he does laugh uncontrollably. He laughed for the very first time last week and I must say that it was the most beautiful moment that I have ever witnessed. My husband and I have developed a routine. He bathes the baby while I prepare the baby's last bottle. So, last week I was preparing the baby's last bottle, when I suddenly heard the most beautiful and intriguing noise I have ever heard. I rushed to my son's room to see what was going on. My husband was playing with his cheeks and the baby must have thought that it was really funny because his giggles could be heard throughout the house. It was really loud and uncoordinated. The baby still has not learned to laugh properly, and although it sounded funny, I could not help but get tears in my eyes. Who would have thought that the little eight pound seven ounce baby that I had almost three months ago, would be doing all of those wonderful things? At that very moment, I stopped and just admired how much he had grown and how innocent his laughter was. I could see his almond shaped eyes get bigger with excitement, as he glazed into his father's eyes. It was amazing to see how innocent and naive my son was. I wished I could be that naive and be able to laugh at things like he did. The more my husband talked to him, the more he would laugh. His little fists would get tighter and his feet would move faster, as he wiggled on his changing table. It was such a pure moment- like a piece of land untouched by humankind, like water flowing from a waterfall. Filled with joy, I returned to the kitchen and finished what I was doing. I could not have asked for a better ending to my day.

Alarm Clock

Well, how can I start this. Thursday, I was so happy because my husband had woken up before his alarm went off, and decided to get out of bed. Usually, he stays in bed and ends up falling asleep again. Therefore, I get woken up at about 0530 by his stupid alarm clock. The problem is not necessarily with the alarm clock, but mainly with the fact that he lets it beep for about two to three minutes before snoozing it. Now, I want you to pay close attention to the word snoozing, because he does not turn the alarm clock off until about 0600. Even then, I still would not have a problem with him snoozing his alarm clock for a half hour. What really aggravates me, is that he also sets his cell phone's alarm clock to go off five minutes after his regular alarm clock goes off. So, think about it... around 0530 his regular alarm clock goes off. Then, he snoozes it right at about 0532 or 0533. Last but not least, his cell phone's alarm clock goes off at 0535. So, repeat this process over and over, until 0600. I believe, this is enough to make a normal person go insane.

However, this is not my only issue with his alarm clocks. Not only do I have to hear one after the other, but I also have to put up with their annoying sounds. His regular alarm clock, starts off loud and has a regular steady beep. The more he lets it beep, the faster and louder it gets. Then, his lovely cell phone alarm is so loud, that it could make you have a heart attack, if you weren't expecting it. Needless to say, I have to deal with this everyday of the week, except for the weekends. The weekends are nicer because I do not have to put up with the alarm clock situation. However, my husband still wakes up early. Even though he tells me to keep on sleeping, I can not seem to be able to do so. Who could possibly sleep with someone roaming the house or watching a movie in the living room with the surround sound on? Not me.

I guess he has gotten a little better about the alarm clock issue. Back when we were dating, he used to have three different alarm clocks, set to different times. So, he would have his regular alarm clock that would slowly get faster and louder. Then, his cell phone which at the time was set to the "Low Rider" song. He also had his stereo set very loud to play "Master of the Puppets" by Metallica. I must say after all of that, it was hard for me to fall back asleep.

Lucky Duck

It’s amazing how some people are lucky and others can hardly manage to have a good day! In my opinion, there are three types of people. There is the person who wakes up in the morning, feels refreshed, and gets ready with no problems. Then that person gets to work or wherever he/she may be going, gets a good parking spot, and everything is perfect throughout the day. Meanwhile, there is also the person who wakes up and realizes that he/she is late for work, gets stuck in traffic, and has a horrible day from then on. However, there is also the person that is right in between. This person could have a better day, but in the meantime, knows that things could be worse and is satisfied by this fact. The other day, I went to the casino for the very first time here in Shreveport. Needless to say, I lost all the money that I had taken with me to gamble. It wasn’t very much, so it didn’t really matter. While I was gambling, I wondered why some people were lucky enough to go back home with money in their pockets and some with empty pockets. I was playing on a slot machine and next to me was this lady who was playing the exact same thing I was. The only difference was that I was losing all of my money and she was winning every single time she hit that “spin” button. I guess you can say luck was on her side! Then, I looked over to the other side and saw a gentleman insert a $100 bill into a different slot. It must have been thirty minutes later, when I saw him putting another $100 bill into the machine. It really made me think about all the people, who just like him, insert money into those machines over and over again thinking that they might get lucky! What exactly is it that drives these people to put that extra bill into the machine? Do they honestly think that they will win if they insert that “last bill”? Do they believe that they will be able to recover all the money that they have lost? These were all things that I was thinking while I was there. What really amazed me about the casino was that I was able to witness two opposite feelings everywhere I looked. One person would be screaming with joy because he/she won a large amount of money, while the person sitting right next to him/her could be crying with fury because he/she just put his/her family in jeopardy by gambling more than he/she should have. So, this brings me back to my initial thought! Some people just have luck on their side, while others seem to have bad things always happen to them.

Is it my fault?

Do you ever wonder "what would have happened if I wouldn't have done that? What if I wouldn't have said that?" Well, that is exactly what I am wondering right now. I accidentally forgot a pair of scissors one the couch last night. Today, my husband came home after working for about 12 hours and sat down on the couch. I was going to my car to get something out of it. All of the sudden, I heard my husband scream with fury. I rushed inside the house, thinking that something really bad had happened to him or my newborn. When I asked him what happened he replied in a very aggravated voice "something just stabbed me on the butt!" As he was looking through the couch, he found the pair of scissors that had just stabbed him. I took the scissors and immediately proceeded to put them away. However, as I was doing so, I busted out into an incontrollable laughter. I think that really aggravated my husband even more. I felt really bad for him and did not think that it was funny. It just seems like every time something of that sort happens, I burst out laughing. I don't know how to control it. I think that my nerves play a trick on me every time. I really don't think it's funny, but it's the way that my body reacts to situations like that. I really wish I could change that because I realize that it upsets people. A long time ago, when I lived with my mother, she fell in the tub and I was really nervous and rushed to help her out. However, once I saw that she was okay (that she did not have any broken bones or anything of the sort), I could not help myself but laugh. I really wish I could be able to control it, I just don't know how!