Buncha Stuff

Wow, where to start.... I know its been a while since I last posted. Sorry about that. I've been pretty darn busy. There're several things I want to talk about & get off my chest.

Mom - I found out just a couple of weeks ago in casual conversation with my brother Ken via phone, that mom's ashes were no longer in the Funeral Home. It was really starting to piss me off that they were still in there. It'd been too long. But then I didn't find out until after the fact that Larry (her husband for those of you just tuning in) got them out. Ken said maybe Larry isn't ready to let go and that's why they're probably in an urn in Larry's house. At first I was accepting of that but after stewing on it a couple of weeks, this is really starting to upset me that Larry hasn't said anything to me about this whole issue. I know the guy's a bit on the quiet side, but this is my mom we're talking about here.

Its been 2 YEARS since mom died and her ashes still aren't where she wanted them to go. They're in an urn in a house in South Georgia. Those were not mom's wishes. Mom said she wanted her ashes spread in the woods in North Georgia when the leaves were turning. I live in North Georgia. I asked them to come up and do it the first year but everyone was too upset. I begged last year for everyone to do it. Everyone was too upset and there was probably too much hunting and fishing going on for a free weekend. Well damnit, we're GOING to be upset. But those were mom's wishes!!!!!!! The leaves ARE turning. If her ashes don't get spread this year I'm going to be incredibly infuriated. This can NOT go on any longer. Mom visits me in my dreams and tells me to get her ashes spread.

Work - Work is going well except its really busy right now. This semester I have the laziest bunch of students I think I've ever had. Yes, I do have a few outstanding students, some that are surpassing the standards and doing excellent jobs, but many are barely scraping by and even more just not doing the work or showing up to class. This semester I'm going to have the largest number of students to fail than I've ever had. I'm also on a committee to bring the Georgia Communication Association to our University, so that's causing more work. I'm also the department technological consultant by default, and that's causing me headaches because there've been issues coming up with a new way of recording student speeches. The cameras I wanted to use I can't use now after speaking with the manufacturers, etc.

Work issue - Oh, and that issue with the couple at work that harrassed me and my friend,... yeah. I'm really starting to get pissed about that again too. The husband posted on a different blog his hatred for a former coworker and his biased opinions of his former department's work. If he continues that crap, he's going to have to start dealing with the University and not just lil ole me. Thank goodness I was cleared of all charges. The Dean, the University lawyers, our Human Resources team, and the Department Chair all met about this issue and determined that nothing I did could have been construed as sexual harrassment. Nothing will be put on my record. And due to all this, I requested that it be noted in her personnel file that she falsely accused & reported me. It is kindof sad that women that do that give other women a bad name on the sexual harrassment front. I'm certainly against harrassment, have advised female friends in the past to report wrongdoings, and even got a teacher fired once for propositioning female students. But when a person like this cries wolf just to try and get revenge, it hurts the equality movement. That's sad.

School - I'm considering getting another degree, yes, a Doctorate. I know, I know, I'm a glutton for punishment, but I think it'd really be worth it. The trick will be actually assigning the time to do it all, teach 5 classes or 4 classes a semester, and still do an assistantship as well once my coursework is done. And of course there's the dissertation. Ugh. I am both excited and worried at the same time.

My Friend - A very good friend of mine is right now, as I type, "under the knife" as they say. She's having a very complicated surgery and there may be some negative results of the surgery. I'm hoping that all goes well. ---- What a coincidence... I JUST NOW got a phone call that said she was out of surgery, and the doctor relayed that things went fairly well however there was one really tricky spot and he needs to come talk to us more about it. But he had to go back into surgery right away for another patient before he can come out and talk to us some more. We don't know yet if my friend will have the very scary negative results or not. I'm sure thousands of prayers are being said right now for her. I know she's certainly on my mind.

Home - The house is shaping up slowly but surely. I'm excited and hopeful that my new grass will make it through the winter. I really like the amount of grass we have now. The puzzle now is in figuring out what to do with the back half of my backyard. Right now, past the sod, there's a large dirt open area, as wide as my lot, that goes all the way to the back fence (about 40 feet past the sod). Any ideas on what to do with it? I don't want to mow more grass than I already have. Nattsu said she wants to plant a big garden there, once so filled with flowers and bushes and trees, we won't have to maintain it. I'm thinking that'd be a good idea, with a few pathways cut through it. But I also don't want it to look too messy. I welcome suggestions of what to do with this area, the type of plants to use, ideas for structure, etc.

Wow, I know that was a lot, but at least now you're somewhat caught-up. Sorry it took me so long to post. I'll try to post a bit more often. ;)