Since I have been living in San Diego, there have been several earthquakes. Up until yesterday, I had only felt one. And the one that I did feel was so minor, that I thought the tv table was shaking because I had accidentally run into it. I didn't realize what I had just experienced was an earthquake until I got on facebook later and noticed everyone's status updates.
I missed at least one earthquake because I was driving in my car and didn't feel it.
A few occurred in the middle of the night, and I slept like a little baby... right through them.
There was a big one on Easter Sunday, but I was on the East Coast and totally missed it. The only physical evidence I had of that earthquake was when I arrived home after my trip and found that a tequila bottle which had been residing on top of my refrigerator had crashed to the ground during the shake.
But yesterday, finally.... I experienced an earthquake. An earthquake that I realized was an earthquake. An earthquake that lasted just long enough for me to reconsider my decision to just sit it out on the couch.
I was lying on my couch yesterday morning, catching up on a few of my DVR'd shows... when suddenly... my kitchen cabinets started shaking. And then the ground under me started shaking. I had just enough time to realize it was an earthquake and freeze in my position. I also had enough time to consider the fact that sitting underneath a ceiling fan was probably not the safest place for me to be.
I mean, how many earthquake drills have I gone through at school? I am fully aware of the fact that during an earthquake I am supposed to take cover under a sturdy table OR find my way to the nearest wall, crouch next to it, and cover my neck and head. But I didn't do any of that. I sat there, watched my house shake, and contemplated the dangerousness of sitting underneath a ceiling fan during an earthquake.
My border collie came running into the room to check on the situation. I didn't see him, but I'm fairly convinced that my siberian husky did not blink an eye and continued to rest peacefully on my bed during the quake.
All in all, I can now say that I have fully experienced a true California earthquake. Now that I've experienced one, though, I can truthfully say that I will lead a happy and fulfilled life if I never experience one again.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
River City
There's this thing in the world of military deployments. It's called River City. No, it's not a place. It's a term. A word used for an event that seems to be happening all too much for my taste this deployment.
River City means that all communication to the outside world is cut... for half a day.. a day.. a few days.. a week. It depends. Depends on the situation. Communication is cut to the outside world because a military person in the near vicinity has died and they don't want the family to find out through a random email or phone call. Instead, they wait until the family has been informed officially through the military and then communication goes back up and River City comes to an end.
During Michael's past deployments River City occurred once or twice. Nothing too horrendous. But, that was Iraq. Now that he's in Afghanistan? He goes into River City at least every other week if not weekly.
Last night, after being in River City for 2 days, he finally got the chance to call me. I asked him why they go into River City so much. He said because people keep dying. I said they need to stop dying.
Of course, I said that because I don't want to be out of communication with my husband for a week at a time. I don't want to wonder for days on end what the heck is going on and why I haven't heard from him. I'm being selfish though. Instead, I should be thanking my lucky stars that I'm not the one getting the official call from the military with the worst news imaginable.
I am counting my lucky stars that my husband has the desk job, not the going out into towns and doing dangerous things job. Believe me, though. I know he's not totally safe. I mean, I only need to be reminded of this fact every single time his communication goes down. He's in a dangerous place. But to be totally honest with you? My brain is physically unable to even GO THERE. This is why when he goes into River City I get annoyed and angry that another person has died and caused me to lose communication with my husband.
This is selfish of me, yes I know. But more than selfishness, it is survival pure and simple.
River City means that all communication to the outside world is cut... for half a day.. a day.. a few days.. a week. It depends. Depends on the situation. Communication is cut to the outside world because a military person in the near vicinity has died and they don't want the family to find out through a random email or phone call. Instead, they wait until the family has been informed officially through the military and then communication goes back up and River City comes to an end.
During Michael's past deployments River City occurred once or twice. Nothing too horrendous. But, that was Iraq. Now that he's in Afghanistan? He goes into River City at least every other week if not weekly.
Last night, after being in River City for 2 days, he finally got the chance to call me. I asked him why they go into River City so much. He said because people keep dying. I said they need to stop dying.
Of course, I said that because I don't want to be out of communication with my husband for a week at a time. I don't want to wonder for days on end what the heck is going on and why I haven't heard from him. I'm being selfish though. Instead, I should be thanking my lucky stars that I'm not the one getting the official call from the military with the worst news imaginable.
I am counting my lucky stars that my husband has the desk job, not the going out into towns and doing dangerous things job. Believe me, though. I know he's not totally safe. I mean, I only need to be reminded of this fact every single time his communication goes down. He's in a dangerous place. But to be totally honest with you? My brain is physically unable to even GO THERE. This is why when he goes into River City I get annoyed and angry that another person has died and caused me to lose communication with my husband.
This is selfish of me, yes I know. But more than selfishness, it is survival pure and simple.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
News
1. I eagerly look forward to my 8:00 pm bedtime every night.
2. The smell of my deodorant grosses me out.
3. Today, at the grocery store, a woman who smelled strongly of stale cigarettes stood a bit too close to me and I was forced to step away. I felt like I was going to gag.
What does all this mean?
I'm pregnant. Yes. Pregnant.
12 weeks pregnant, to be precise. I'm so close to being out of the 1st trimester danger zone that I can practically taste it.
On Wednesday, I had my first real check up and an ultrasound. During the ultrasound, I was able to see my baby bounce around like an Olympic gymnast. He or she did flip after flip after flip inside of my belly. My Midwife was amazed by the activity of my little 3 month fetus. She told me I'm going to have my hands full... I just laughed. Knowing the father, I'm not surprised in the least.
Of course, Michael is deployed. Which is not necesserily what you would call an ideal situation. However, in considering the alternative, I would prefer for Michael to miss out on me being miserable during pregnancy to him missing out on a huge portion of his child's early life. I'm due Nov. 27 -- he will plan to schedule his R&R 2 week break for around the due date so that even if he misses the birth (though I hope he does not) he will at least get to meet his baby before heading back for his last few months of deployment.
I will be breaking the news at work this week that I am pregnant and will not be returning next year. My dad is going to come out mid to late August and he will make the trek with the dogs and me back to the East Coast for the birth and first months of the baby's life.
Things are happening fast, and I couldn't be more happy and excited.
I could do with a bit more energy. Keeping up with the house and dogs and pool and yard are fairly difficult alone as it is.... Now I'm alone and pregnant, though... and a lot of things are being neglected. I hope for my energy to kick back into the normal range during my 2nd trimester so that I can get my life back in order.
Until then... I'm really not complaining. I am just thanking God every day for the healthy, acrobatic baby growing inside of my belly.
.... and now you know why it's been so long since I've posted.
:)
2. The smell of my deodorant grosses me out.
3. Today, at the grocery store, a woman who smelled strongly of stale cigarettes stood a bit too close to me and I was forced to step away. I felt like I was going to gag.
What does all this mean?
I'm pregnant. Yes. Pregnant.
12 weeks pregnant, to be precise. I'm so close to being out of the 1st trimester danger zone that I can practically taste it.
On Wednesday, I had my first real check up and an ultrasound. During the ultrasound, I was able to see my baby bounce around like an Olympic gymnast. He or she did flip after flip after flip inside of my belly. My Midwife was amazed by the activity of my little 3 month fetus. She told me I'm going to have my hands full... I just laughed. Knowing the father, I'm not surprised in the least.
Of course, Michael is deployed. Which is not necesserily what you would call an ideal situation. However, in considering the alternative, I would prefer for Michael to miss out on me being miserable during pregnancy to him missing out on a huge portion of his child's early life. I'm due Nov. 27 -- he will plan to schedule his R&R 2 week break for around the due date so that even if he misses the birth (though I hope he does not) he will at least get to meet his baby before heading back for his last few months of deployment.
I will be breaking the news at work this week that I am pregnant and will not be returning next year. My dad is going to come out mid to late August and he will make the trek with the dogs and me back to the East Coast for the birth and first months of the baby's life.
Things are happening fast, and I couldn't be more happy and excited.
I could do with a bit more energy. Keeping up with the house and dogs and pool and yard are fairly difficult alone as it is.... Now I'm alone and pregnant, though... and a lot of things are being neglected. I hope for my energy to kick back into the normal range during my 2nd trimester so that I can get my life back in order.
Until then... I'm really not complaining. I am just thanking God every day for the healthy, acrobatic baby growing inside of my belly.
.... and now you know why it's been so long since I've posted.
:)
Friday, April 23, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Disaster Day
Well, today was a disaster.
When my alarm went off I actually said aloud, "I do NOT want to get up today."
Apparently, I knew what I was talking about. I really should not have gotten out of bed. Because, after getting ready for work, I stumbled over my own feet taking my trash out to the curb and badly sprained my foot.
At the moment it happened, I knew it hurt pretty bad, but I unrealistically thought the pain was only temporary and would go away. During my 40 minute ride to work, however, the pain only worsened. It spread from the initial point of injury to my entire foot and ankle. Pain. Pain. Pain.
I cried a few times in the car... I was very frustrated.
When I got to work I went to the secretary's office and asked her for a foot brace. She got me ice and something that resembled a brace (but was not) and immediately went to go tell the vice-principal about my injury. I made a copy and then went to see the vice-principal myself. She greeted me with, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
Hmm..
I went back to my classroom to make sure everything was in order for a sub... apparently I wasn't staying for long. And before the start of the school day I was back in my car headed back to my town to visit my doctor... who told me I have a bad sprain, need to use crutches and stay off my foot! She even had the nurse take me back to my car in a wheelchair. That was a first for me.
I've spent the rest of my day suffering on the couch and stumbling around with my crutches. I swear to you, if I'm clumsy enough to have hurt myself to the extent that I NEED the crutches, what makes you think I'm coordinated enough to use the crutches correctly?
Tomorrow when I go back to school I expect to roll around my classroom on my rolling desk chair and use the crutches as little as possible.
All in all, after this whole ordeal the only thing I am sure of is this: I should not have gotten out of bed this morning. No siree.
When my alarm went off I actually said aloud, "I do NOT want to get up today."
Apparently, I knew what I was talking about. I really should not have gotten out of bed. Because, after getting ready for work, I stumbled over my own feet taking my trash out to the curb and badly sprained my foot.
At the moment it happened, I knew it hurt pretty bad, but I unrealistically thought the pain was only temporary and would go away. During my 40 minute ride to work, however, the pain only worsened. It spread from the initial point of injury to my entire foot and ankle. Pain. Pain. Pain.
I cried a few times in the car... I was very frustrated.
When I got to work I went to the secretary's office and asked her for a foot brace. She got me ice and something that resembled a brace (but was not) and immediately went to go tell the vice-principal about my injury. I made a copy and then went to see the vice-principal myself. She greeted me with, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
Hmm..
I went back to my classroom to make sure everything was in order for a sub... apparently I wasn't staying for long. And before the start of the school day I was back in my car headed back to my town to visit my doctor... who told me I have a bad sprain, need to use crutches and stay off my foot! She even had the nurse take me back to my car in a wheelchair. That was a first for me.
I've spent the rest of my day suffering on the couch and stumbling around with my crutches. I swear to you, if I'm clumsy enough to have hurt myself to the extent that I NEED the crutches, what makes you think I'm coordinated enough to use the crutches correctly?
Tomorrow when I go back to school I expect to roll around my classroom on my rolling desk chair and use the crutches as little as possible.
All in all, after this whole ordeal the only thing I am sure of is this: I should not have gotten out of bed this morning. No siree.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
I'm Alive!
Wow.
So have I been MIA or what?
I bet all 5 of my loyal readers have been downright perturbed about my absence... or... possibly a little curious?
I don't really have much of an explanation about my absence. I just... haven't been writing. It's that simple.
I was on the East Coast for a week visiting mi familia. That was lovely. And I actually started a blog post about my adorable nephews when I got back from that trip but quit because I was writing on my mini-laptop and I generally suffer from writer's block when I use that thing. But I have my desktop computer up and running again, so here I am.
Back.
And let me tell you... my nephews are A-Dorable. I mean, you all know about Lucas and how he breaks my heart every time I am around him. He's so cute I can barely even stand it most of the time. He's definitely 4 going on 14, though.. which I hate. I want him to be a little kid forever, but he's waaaay too much of a big boy for that crap. Sometimes I call him a baby just to bug him because he ALWAYS responds with an ANGRY expression and in an even ANGRIER tone exclaims, "I'm NOT a BA-BY!"
He sure isn't.
Actually he schooled me on dinosaurs one day which was quite a humbling experience. I was trying to give him a very simple explanation and he interrupted me with facts about meteors, climate changes, and pal-en-tol-gists who dig up dinosaur bones and put them in museums. Okie Dokie. He's well on his way to beating me at Trivial Pursuit already, I see.
And Nathaniel? Or should I say, Baby Nathaniel (the REAL baby)... well, he's quite the little heartbreaker himself. Though he doesn't quite have the personality of his brother just yet, he is oh so much fun to hold and talk to. He will talk back to you if you catch him at the right moment. His baby smiles are darn cute, and I sure do miss that baby smell.
There was one thing about my East Coast visit that wasn't terribly pleasant. The pollen. I have always suffered from terrible allergies and this past visit was no picnic. I'm spoiled out here in the desert, I suppose.
In other news, the dogs and I are hanging in there. Or should I say here? I think they might be a little bit tired of hanging out with ME and only ME all the time, but they're being troopers for sure.
Mike seems to be doing well over there in Afghanistan. He is very busy which in my opinion is a good thing. My theory is that if he's busy he won't spend too much time missing home. He does seem to have high spirits, so I don't think I have much to worry about. He seems to be getting along with the other Marines and when I talk to him he cracks a lot of jokes and laughs a lot which is nice to hear. Communication hasn't been so great this deployment. He only has internet access through a couple of work computers that he shares with a bunch of other people. The time difference has us on totally different schedules.. when I'm awake, he's asleep when he's asleep, I'm awake. It'll be easier over the summer when I don't have a work schedule to work around, but for now we often have trouble catching each other online. Supposedly, he's going to be getting wifi in his room sometime in the near future, but I'm not exactly holding my breath for that one.
All in all, just about a month has gone by now and we both seem to be doing just fine. Of course, I miss his daily presence in my life, but I have grown pretty accustomed to being alone and not agonizing over his absence. This is only temporary. I did, however, send him a card recently in which I wrote, "I hope we can both agree that this will be your LAST deployment for a long time (if we have anything to say about it, that is)!!"
I'm sure he does agree.
In any case, thanks for coming back to see me even though I was gone for so long. I'll try not to do that to you again. I'm sure you must have been just agonizing over my absence. ;)
So have I been MIA or what?
I bet all 5 of my loyal readers have been downright perturbed about my absence... or... possibly a little curious?
I don't really have much of an explanation about my absence. I just... haven't been writing. It's that simple.
I was on the East Coast for a week visiting mi familia. That was lovely. And I actually started a blog post about my adorable nephews when I got back from that trip but quit because I was writing on my mini-laptop and I generally suffer from writer's block when I use that thing. But I have my desktop computer up and running again, so here I am.
Back.
And let me tell you... my nephews are A-Dorable. I mean, you all know about Lucas and how he breaks my heart every time I am around him. He's so cute I can barely even stand it most of the time. He's definitely 4 going on 14, though.. which I hate. I want him to be a little kid forever, but he's waaaay too much of a big boy for that crap. Sometimes I call him a baby just to bug him because he ALWAYS responds with an ANGRY expression and in an even ANGRIER tone exclaims, "I'm NOT a BA-BY!"
He sure isn't.
Actually he schooled me on dinosaurs one day which was quite a humbling experience. I was trying to give him a very simple explanation and he interrupted me with facts about meteors, climate changes, and pal-en-tol-gists who dig up dinosaur bones and put them in museums. Okie Dokie. He's well on his way to beating me at Trivial Pursuit already, I see.
And Nathaniel? Or should I say, Baby Nathaniel (the REAL baby)... well, he's quite the little heartbreaker himself. Though he doesn't quite have the personality of his brother just yet, he is oh so much fun to hold and talk to. He will talk back to you if you catch him at the right moment. His baby smiles are darn cute, and I sure do miss that baby smell.
There was one thing about my East Coast visit that wasn't terribly pleasant. The pollen. I have always suffered from terrible allergies and this past visit was no picnic. I'm spoiled out here in the desert, I suppose.
In other news, the dogs and I are hanging in there. Or should I say here? I think they might be a little bit tired of hanging out with ME and only ME all the time, but they're being troopers for sure.
Mike seems to be doing well over there in Afghanistan. He is very busy which in my opinion is a good thing. My theory is that if he's busy he won't spend too much time missing home. He does seem to have high spirits, so I don't think I have much to worry about. He seems to be getting along with the other Marines and when I talk to him he cracks a lot of jokes and laughs a lot which is nice to hear. Communication hasn't been so great this deployment. He only has internet access through a couple of work computers that he shares with a bunch of other people. The time difference has us on totally different schedules.. when I'm awake, he's asleep when he's asleep, I'm awake. It'll be easier over the summer when I don't have a work schedule to work around, but for now we often have trouble catching each other online. Supposedly, he's going to be getting wifi in his room sometime in the near future, but I'm not exactly holding my breath for that one.
All in all, just about a month has gone by now and we both seem to be doing just fine. Of course, I miss his daily presence in my life, but I have grown pretty accustomed to being alone and not agonizing over his absence. This is only temporary. I did, however, send him a card recently in which I wrote, "I hope we can both agree that this will be your LAST deployment for a long time (if we have anything to say about it, that is)!!"
I'm sure he does agree.
In any case, thanks for coming back to see me even though I was gone for so long. I'll try not to do that to you again. I'm sure you must have been just agonizing over my absence. ;)
Thursday, March 25, 2010
things and books
*Disclaimer: something weird is going on with my blog today and it won't allow me to use italics to properly indicate book titles. So, please don't judge me for the errors with book titles that you find below. Thank you and have a nice day.
To be perfectly honest with you, it's actually a bit frightening how easily I have slipped into the alone life again. Apparently I'm, like, a pro at it or something. After the initial shock of saying goodbye and all, I've been perfectly fine. I haven't even been concerned about crazy people stalking around the outside of my house in the nighttime hours. My dogs aren't even doing odd things like eating our couch. And, I haven't even had a teeny bit of insomnia.
I think I might be totally used to this. Weird.
In other recent news, I found out I won my sister's contest and will be handed a $50.00 Borders (or is it Barnes and Noble? oops!) giftcard when I see her over Easter. Truth be told, I feel really bad that I won it since I am her sister and all, but I know I won it fair and square and might possibly be her most loyal reader (since I check her blog repeatedly on some days in the hopes that she added something new since I last checked 10 minutes ago...) and.. where was I going with this? Oh, I wanted to tell you about how I am literally salivating over the idea of how to spend my newly acquired book money.
Speaking of books, lately my reading list has been 100% recommended by my students. I tend to trust them since they were, afterall, the ones who got me into Twilight. Recently, a few of them claimed that The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series is better than Twilight. Well, that was a mighty bold claim indeed so I absolutely had to check that out immediately. I finished the first book, and, fellow Twihards, have no fear. Vladimir Tod has nothing on Edward and Bella. Though I have agreed to read the next few books before I pass total judgment since the students say the books only continue to get better and better. I shall see.
Other students swear by the Percy Jackson books and claim that they are better than Twilight, too. I highly doubt it, but I'll have to check those out when I'm finished with Vlad. I notice that the Percy Jackson series is one that is most frequented by 6th grade boys, so I have my doubts about its greatness. (Hmm.. that sounded wrong. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the reading taste of 6th grade boys, I'm just saying that we don't tend to have similar interests so I can't imagine we would fall in love with the same books.. but hey, you never know!)
Another student has been begging me to read the book The Shadow Club for weeks now. I brought it home with me today and am feeling torn between getting going on it and finishing the second book in the Vladimir Tod series.
All in all, I have to say that I honestly believe that the kids today (at least the kids at my school) are reading tons more than my friends and I ever did. And I actually read. A Lot. Or, what was a lot by the standards of kids back when I was one. I honestly attribute this to the amazing selection of novels for young adults these days.
Pretty cool.
To be perfectly honest with you, it's actually a bit frightening how easily I have slipped into the alone life again. Apparently I'm, like, a pro at it or something. After the initial shock of saying goodbye and all, I've been perfectly fine. I haven't even been concerned about crazy people stalking around the outside of my house in the nighttime hours. My dogs aren't even doing odd things like eating our couch. And, I haven't even had a teeny bit of insomnia.
I think I might be totally used to this. Weird.
In other recent news, I found out I won my sister's contest and will be handed a $50.00 Borders (or is it Barnes and Noble? oops!) giftcard when I see her over Easter. Truth be told, I feel really bad that I won it since I am her sister and all, but I know I won it fair and square and might possibly be her most loyal reader (since I check her blog repeatedly on some days in the hopes that she added something new since I last checked 10 minutes ago...) and.. where was I going with this? Oh, I wanted to tell you about how I am literally salivating over the idea of how to spend my newly acquired book money.
Speaking of books, lately my reading list has been 100% recommended by my students. I tend to trust them since they were, afterall, the ones who got me into Twilight. Recently, a few of them claimed that The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series is better than Twilight. Well, that was a mighty bold claim indeed so I absolutely had to check that out immediately. I finished the first book, and, fellow Twihards, have no fear. Vladimir Tod has nothing on Edward and Bella. Though I have agreed to read the next few books before I pass total judgment since the students say the books only continue to get better and better. I shall see.
Other students swear by the Percy Jackson books and claim that they are better than Twilight, too. I highly doubt it, but I'll have to check those out when I'm finished with Vlad. I notice that the Percy Jackson series is one that is most frequented by 6th grade boys, so I have my doubts about its greatness. (Hmm.. that sounded wrong. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the reading taste of 6th grade boys, I'm just saying that we don't tend to have similar interests so I can't imagine we would fall in love with the same books.. but hey, you never know!)
Another student has been begging me to read the book The Shadow Club for weeks now. I brought it home with me today and am feeling torn between getting going on it and finishing the second book in the Vladimir Tod series.
All in all, I have to say that I honestly believe that the kids today (at least the kids at my school) are reading tons more than my friends and I ever did. And I actually read. A Lot. Or, what was a lot by the standards of kids back when I was one. I honestly attribute this to the amazing selection of novels for young adults these days.
Pretty cool.
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