What a day March 29, 2006

So today has been a very very long day. I had to take my grandpa to the doctor today, because he hasn’t been acting right, and I’ve been very considered, as well as the rest of my family. By not acting right I mean he hasn’t done any house work (which is odd becuase he usually does everything dishes and laundry included my grandma has it made), hasn’t taken a shower or shaved. He would just sit in front of the fire place with like 3 layers on and a fire going saying how cold he was. Normally he complains about being cold, but just a light jacket or hoodie does just fine.

Last week I went over there on Thursday, and he had on a tennis shoe and a slipper and he didn’t even realize it. Which was shocking to me, they were very different. Also when Chad (my brother) was in town the weekend before he didn’t want to go out and have dinner with us. Again very weird.

Anyway, mom finally was able to get ahold of his Dr. and got him in this morning at 10:45. While at the Dr’s office, Grandpa began to get very upset because he had to be there, and insisited that he felt fine. When the Dr. came in, he was so upset that he was cussing at the doctor. He knew that there was something wrong as well, and began asking grandpa why he was so upset. Grandpa said that he was tired of everyone telling him that he was acting weird, and continued to insist that he was fine. The doctor asked grandpa if he would go to the hospital and get some lab work done as well as a CAT Scan. He wasn’t very happy about this and let the doctor know it. I felt bad for the doctor because grandpa was being really mean to him, although he didn’t realize that he was. We were able to talk him into going to the hospital and we promised that he wouldn’t have to stay over night, just wanted to make sure everything was okay.

I took grandpa to the hospital in Warrensburg, got his labs done as well as the CAT Scan and Chest X-Ray, and sure enough about a week or so again, he has had a stroke. I knew what that meant, he was going to have to stay over night and have more tests run. I felt bad because I had told grandpa that he wasn’t going to have to stay over night, but there was nothing I could do. By this time, my mom had arrived at the hospital. When she told grandpa that he was going to need to stay over night he got really upset. So I had to talk to him. I got him calmed down enough to have a conversation with him. I told him that we could go home and eat lunch and get his things together and then we would bring him back. I told him just one night, so they could monitor everything and do an MRI. He finally agreed to stay one night, but he wanted a private room.

Finally around 2:45 - 3:00 we got grandpa checked into the hopsital. The nurses allowed me to go with him when he had his MRI done, so that he wouldn’t get upset. The doctor called this an “Altered Mood State” he has also been slurring some today while he was talking.

I really hope that everything’s okay. I mean sure his 87 years old, and this is really the first major thing that has happened to him. He’s had some minor problems over the last few years, but who doesn’t when they are aging. I know that I’m lucky to have been able to grow up with both my grandma and grandpa for 22 years. They’ve been married for 65 years, and I know that when something happens to one, the other one will follow shortly behind.

I’m going to go back to the hospital in the morning before teacher placement day to see how he’s doing. Hopefully he will be able to come home tomorrow.

Here’s some pictures from my wedding of me and my grandpa. . . This was before the stroke

My Brother took this picture. Grandma and Grandpa were swing dancing at the reception. Back when they were my age, they used to go dancing every weekend. Grandpa actually got into various fights at different places. He was a boxer, golden glove champ.

6 Teachers, 2 Principals, and Myself March 28, 2006

So today I had my BIG interview with the Pleasant Hill School district. Just got home from it a little bit ago. I’m completely happy and delighted with how well the interview went. Clint went with me, so he could see the town. He’d never really been in that area, so he tagged along. We got there somewhat early, so I drove around town showing him the different schools, and different housing areas and what not. He liked the town, which is AWESOME since I nailed the interview.

So the principal of the Primary School (K-2) showed me around the school. Really nice school. It’s an older building, but you can’t tell from the inside. Every classroom has its own smartboard. Smart boards are way cool, and fun to use. Check them out! http://www.smarttech.com/ Each classroom also has a projector that can be used with the smart board.

The interview went very well. There were 6 teachers on the panel 3 from the Primary School and 3 from the Elementary School (3-5). As well as the Principals from both schools. I was asked a series of questions, some of which were new to me, others I’ve been asked before in other interviews. It was almost an hour interview, a little over 45 minutes. After the interview, the Principal showed me around the rest of the school, so I got to see a 2nd grade classroom.

I told the panel that I really didn’t have a preference on grade level. This is true to a certain point. I did tell that them 2nd grade will be the lowest that I would go. Don’t get me wrong I love working with kids, however first grade and lower, the students are still learning the whole school routine thing.

Starting pay is rather nice. Compared to what I’m making now . . . it’s like a king’s salary . . . at least for an educator. It’s really nice. Let’s just say that I’d be making 12,000 less than my dad who has been teaching for almost 10 years now. The only sad part was that they don’t allow class pets. So Ham Ham can’t go to the classroom with me. However they did say that she could come and visit so that’s awesome!!!

I should now by the 4th or so of April if I’m offered a job. And then have until the 7th or so to accept it. They are hiring for 4 spots. Cross those fingers!!!

I want to be employed with this district!!

Good Bye Crappy Job. . . Hello Money Maker March 24, 2006

WOW!!!!! Man am I excited!!!! I feel like I could burst into millions of tiny pieces, go around the world screaming with joy!!!! That’s how stoked I am!!!!! Let me share my excited and joy with you!!!

Slyvan Learning Center called me oh. . . 10 minutes ago. . . I start there not in May my dear friends. . . Try APRIL 8th!!! TWO WEEKS FROM TOMORROW!!! Oh Bliss. . . no more demanding airmen. . . no more rude officer wives. . . Hello teaching children reading and math!!! at $11.00 an hour!!! $300 paid training! ! ! A pay increase every 6 months! ! ! and BENEFITS!!!!!

Can you feel my joy coming though the blog? BECAUSE I CAN!!!!!!

WOOT!!!!!!!!!!! x infinity!!!!!!

My Dog Slinky March 21, 2006

So I called Clint from work tonight during my break, which is usually. When he answered he said that he was taking pictures of Slinky, our mini dachshund. He’s a dapple grey cute thing. Needless to say that he has pretty much no hair because he is short haired. Going outside in the cold is something that he would rather not do. He’s a good little dog, will be lazy with you all day long. He was with me today and then when I left to go to work tonight at 5, he was under the blankets with Clint.

Back to my story. . . I asked Clint why he was taking pictures of Slinky. He said, Slinky crawled into the pillow that was on the couch and was using it like a sleeping bag. He was lying ontop of the pillow and under the pillow case. There’s never a dull moment in this house between Clint and Slinky.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. . . I got a good chuckle out of them. . . What a Goof!

I HATE my job! March 20, 2006

So I went into work tonight in a good mood. I’d spent all day with my family in Columbia having a good time. As soon as I walked into work and saw the new schedule… I became somewhat pissed off. I’M BACK ON NIGHTS!!!!! I have serniority over half the people there… which tells you how often we lose and gain new people…. and I get shafted and put back on nights, without them asking me. I refused to run the register tonight because I was so upset, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with the customers. Yes I worked tonight… that’s because I switched my day shift with a night shift so I could spend some time with my family. What really pissed me off was the fact that I told my boss that on the night of the 28th, i didn’t want to work past 6 or 7 becuase I have to get up earlier the next day for my big teacher placement day. So what am I working that day. I CLOSE!!!! which means I’ll be lucky to get out of there before midnight. I was so close to telling my manager tonight that I quit (this is not the manager that makes the schedule)

Lourdes (mananger tonight) understood what I was saying, since I was PROMISED days when i graduated from college, (I’m not a night person at all. I function better in the day time) and now I get shafted. Placed back on nights without being asked. WTF!!!! Also I was promised that I could have Sundays off if I worked the 10:30-4:30 shift on Saturdays. Fine with me, Clint works on Saturdays, his only day off is Sundays… Go figure that I had this Saturday Off, worked tonight… next Saturday I work 12:50-6:50 and Sunday 5:00-10:00.

I kept telling myself all night… only until May… I will only be here until May… but you know what THAT DIDN’T HELP ONE DAMN BIT!!!! I’m ready to quit there NOW and find a job I can have until the end of May…. I’ll be sure to find something…. if not I will not go without a fight!!!

I don’t have to put up with airmen that think they are better than me… I have a college degree in Elementary Education, I don’t need this job… You went into the airforce… why… because you couldn’t make it in college… AHHHHHH!!!!!

I need chocolate or sex or something!!!! lots of aggression that needs to be let out!!!

Exciting News March 18, 2006

We received word today that our online pictures are ready to be viewed. I’ve included several links that you will want to visit. The first link is a slide show set to music that contains “some” of the 395 pictures that we get to see.

Once you view that link, you will want to visit the second link to view all of the pictures. Slide show format, however no music. That is unless you don’t have any on your computer to play. Just click on Pfister-Krause. To view all the pictures you will need this information:

User name: wirkenphoto

Password: cassie

Also… you might want to see his actual webpage 3rd Link.

One of our pictures is on the first page you come to… Also read his blog, he talks about the wedding. And how he felt the over all day went. We are very happy with how everything turned out. That was the most exciting news of the day. I thought that we wouldn’t get them until April.
1. http://www.wirkenphoto.com/cassie_clint
2. http://www.wirkenphoto.com/clients.php
3. http://www.wirkenphto.com

More exciting news from yesterday though: I got a job interview at Pleasant Hill School District on the 27th of this month. This is the district that I really want.

Mom is taking me shopping tomorrow for a new suit. I want to make a good impression at Teacher Placement Day as well as any job interviews that are coming up.

I’ve made 4 1/2 dozen sugar cookies that are in the shape of shamrocks for the Cousin Dinner tomorrow as well as an Angel Food Cake that is tinted green with green frosting.

I’m so tired….

Sevendust… March 16, 2006

Clint, Aaron, Mike, and I went to the Sevendust concert last night at the Beaumont Club in Wesport. Man it was freaking awesome!!! We had no clue who would be opening for them, so it was a nice shock to not have one band but four bands play before sevendust even took the stage. The first band was One. Their sound was heavily influenced by Sevendust, and you could tell, but they were really good.

The best shock of the evening by far though was the second band that came out and played. And that was none other than Wicked Wisdom. The lead singer of Wicked Wisdom is Jada Picket Smith. Clint and I just recently found out about this band from our buddy Steve, who couldn’t go to the show. http://www.wickedwisdom.net Visit thier site. The were my favorite of the opening bands. I was a mere hundred feet or so from her. . . AWESOME

The third band was called Social Burn, they really didn’t fit into the context of the show, because they were not really a metal band. However, they still did a good job. I personally felt bad because they had to follow Wicked Wisdom.

The last band, and main opening act was Nonpoint. I had never heard of them before, however everyone in the crowd had. This got somewhat crazy. People started standing on anything they could find in order to see, which meant I couldn’t see at all. Clint got somewhat upset because of everyone’s lack of niceness. I would have to say that this show sounded awesome even though I couldn’t see a damn thing and niether could Clint.

When Sevendust came on stage, we moved into the pit. Atleast there I could see through the jumping bodies. I managed to time my jump that I was up when everyone else was somewhat down. They were awesome live as well. Once again though we were stuck next to these guys that were drunk as shit, I ended up getting beer poured on me multiple times. Clint got upset with the guy, and after a few songs the guy said that he was sorry. You gotta love being covered in beer, and what ever else is around. We watched this HUGE bouncer basically throw this guy out the door in one action. It was crazy fun.

Normally after concerts my ears hurt for about half the way home. Not last night. They hurt until this morning. Hearing things were not an option last night. No music on the way home. Mike and I splent and Clint and Aaron talked about Realm, Clint’s new fantasy game that Aaron is doing the art work on.

I woke up this morning with a tummy ache and a headache, decided not to go into work because I won’t be much of any help being grouchy and not nice. Clint called in too. So we are playing hookey together. I did cook breakfast Eggs w/ ham and cheese, and a couple peices of toast, and then we fell asleep watching The Fellowship of the Ring. I just woke up again a little while ago. Time to find something for lunch!

Work Out March 14, 2006

I offically started my new work out routine today. It entails the following:

Monday:

20 minutes of Cardio on a treadmill
45 minutes of leg muscle workout ( using machines that focus on my leg muscles)

Tuesday:

30 minutes of walking, or anything that will break a sweat

Wednesday:

20 minutes of Cardio on treadmill
45 minutes of focusing on my arm muscles

Thursday:

30 minutes of walking, or anything that will break a sweat

Friday:

20 minutes of Cardio on treadmill
45 minutes of focusing on my torso otherwise known as “The Area”

Saturday and Sunday: Resting

I’m actually feeling pretty good, expcet that I’m really tired. Not that sore. But I’m sure I will be later on in the week. If the weather is nice I might go roller blading in the morning, if not I’m going to go Yoga or Tae-Bo

Crazy Weather March 13, 2006

Yesterday about drove me completlely nuts. I love thunderstorms, don’t get me wrong, however when the sirens go off because of a tornado I go into this crazy state where I have to sit in front of the TV and then make sure everyone that I’m with knows whats going on. Yesterday was prime example of that.

I was at work when the first siren went off. Had to get people inside from the gas pumps as well as from the parking lot. I sat with about 10 people in our stock room for about 30-45 minutes. It was a nice break from running a cash register. I called Clint as soon as the sirens went off to find out where he was. He was here at the house, so I told him to put HamHam (my guinea Pig) in her ball, and take her and Slinky to his mom’s house that had a basement. From my work on the air force base we saw this huge cloud (i honestly don’t know if it was a tornado or a wall cloud) move alond the north part of the base towards Sedalia. It looked pretty nasty and the wind was really bad. We got the all clear so things went back to normal. The best part about this whole thing was that people were still trying to come in and pay for gas and beer and whatever it is that they wanted. My Supervisor had to shut the gas pumps off because everything was trying to get gas.

Last night was the worst though. I don’t know how many times the sirens went off. It seemed like from 7pm to 11:30 or so the sirens went non-stop. I didn’t know it was supposed to be bad last night, so Clint and I went into Warrensburg to hang out with a few friends, leaving the animals here at the house. Needless to say when the sirens went off I got upset because the animals were not with me. Clint was really sweet about it, said that we could leave and rush home. I said that would not be a smart thing to do. So we stayed in Warrensburg. I watched the TV KCTV 5 to watch what was going on. The boys gamed in the living room. I wouldn’t let my buddy Mike leave to go back to the city until everything was all cleared, which ended up not being until close to midnight.

I was so tired by the time we got back that I just crashed, and am still extremely tired at this moment. I got up at 6:15 and went and worked out this morning. I did 15 minutes of cardio on the treadmill before I worked on my leg muslces. I’m going to go 3 days a week, each day I will do the cardio and then focus on one aspect, like today was legs, Wednesday will be arms, and Friday will be my torso. I might go on Tuesday and Thursday just for the treadmill. It will depend on the weather, if i can walk outside with Slinky, then that works out better. No extra trip into Warrensburg.

It’s cold today and really windy. The sun really isn’t shinning, that’s why I’m tired I think, the sun usually keeps me going.

Howl’s Moving Castle March 12, 2006

We just finished watching Howl’s Moving Castle, which is a Hayao Miyazaki film. He’s done Castle in the Sky, Kiki’s Deliver Service, Spirited Away, etc . . . This one ranks right up there with Kiki’s in my view. It was just a cute movie. Billy Crystal was a voice acter in the movie, as well as Christian Bale (the latest Batman.) This is one of Miyazaki’s craziest movies, but such a great ending.

I have this thing were there are only some many movies that I could watch over and over again, without losing their flare. Miyazaki movies are all on that list. Here’s a total list of his movies. I put stars nexted to the ones I have seen.

His movies are all animated, and put out by Disney.

“The Castle of Cagliostro”
“Nausicaa” *
“Castle in the Sky” *
“My Neighbor Totoro”
“Kiki’s Delivery Service” *
“Porco Rosso”
“Princess Mononoke” *
“Spirited Away” *
“Howl’s Moving Castle” *
“The Cat Returns”
“Panda, Go Panda”
“Warriors of the Wind”

I think that whenever I can afford it, I want to get more of his movies. Clint and I have most of the ones that we have seen. With the exception of Howl’s Moving Castle and Kiki’s Delivery Service. Those two are now on our list now though.

I have work tomorrow. Which sucks. Sundays are Clint only day off, and I have to work all damn day. At least the pay check will be nice. That’s what I keep telling myself. I can’t wait to start teaching. I feel like I’m wasting so much working at a fucking gas station on an air force base.

I start working out on Monday morning with my mom. She wants to get into shape as well, and wants to be her work out partner. Clint’s going to clean up my bike as well so we can start bike riding.

I’m already feeling better about myself in these last few days. I finally relased some energy, and made the choice to just let things flow as they may. Sometimes lack of planning everything out is a good thing. You never know what could happen.