Transparent Folks???

Strange thing happend to me over the last couple of days. I stopped by my bank on Monday to make a much needed deposit in my bank account. As I was pulling out of the driveway of the bank, I noticed this man pushing a cart that looked a like Larry - you know? Dharma’s father on the Dharma and Greg show???? Excepting he was a lot tanner, a more healthier trimmer person, and the hair was a definate gray and well kept (albeit long). Too, the clothes on the man looked in good shape and I wondered about him and what his story was.

Well, today on the way home from my daytrip excursion in the country (and blown out tire, but that is a whole ‘nother story!)...

I was driving in the right hand lane of the westward bound of HWY 290 when I thought I saw something in my lane ahead of me, moving towards me—and, it didn’t look like a vehicle.

As I quickly approached this vision ahead of me, I had to swerve into the next lane to the left to avoid hitting him and his cart. As I was passing him up, I was seeing this very same man walking eastbound in the lane I had been driving in. I nearly ran off the highway myself envisioning and allowing my mind to wander as I wondered about the story behind this man.

I almost turned around, but I realized how totally exhausted I was and knew that I just needed to get home before I continued to run off of the highway. Sometimes, things are just meant to wonder about.

I imagine that he was one of the displaced, lost souls heading back home to somewhere along the Texas-Louisiana coastline...but, it was strange to me that I would encounter him not only once in this town where there are many transients who appear to be transparent people to the majority of the people in this town - but, I ran across him twice. Hmmmm....

There must be a story in here somewhere.....

What do you suppose it is???

TxRose

Forensic Psychology!

Last April, I graduated with a Criminal Justice Associates Degree. At that time, the only options available were the avenues of corrections officer, security officer, or law enforcement officer - none of which I had really wanted to concentrate it truly. As a result, I moved to the Paralegal Studies house to get a concentration in Mediation on top of my paralegal background and experience, as well as certificate. The transiition didn’t go smoothly because I was having to take some of the same courses that I had taken throughout the years (it seems that I have gone to college for-ever!).

Got a call though back from the Criminal Justice side of the house and they now offer a concentration in forensic psychology. Perfect!!

They tout is as being an avenue to “Learn the value of psychology within the context of the criminal justice system. In this program, you will enhance your ability to identify and interact with mentally ill individuals, intervene in crisis situations, and understand the impact of crime on its victims and the community.” Well, hello????? That is perfect!!! I am the VP-PR for a mental illness awareness non-profit organization, I have been involved with crisis situations in the domestic violence shelter that I work at, and dealt with victims of crimes as an advocate through CASA, GAL, Family Eldercare, etc. It would seem that this concentration has been tailored for me in mind.

“As a graduate, you may qualify for advanced positions within police departments and law enforcement agencies, as well as opportunities in social services and the judicial system.” Again. Hello??? LOL.... I am volunteering with a police station already and the work at the shelter is considered a social services avenue as well. How perfect can that be?????

I am so psyched!!!! The new classes for me would start in November and I can hardly wait!!!!

I go forth in this new day feeling like I finally have a true direction to follow - at least, insofar as the education goes!! lol… Perhaps, everything else will soon fall into place???

Smile Factors! :D

1. Over 92% of the American population gains first impressions based on one’s smile cheese :D

2. Smiling releases endorphins and makes us feel better cheese :)

3. Even ‘faking’ a smile can lead to feeling happier cheese :)

4. A newborn shows a preference for a smiling face over a non-smiling face cheese :)

5. A smiling person is judged to be more pleasant, attractive, sincere, sociable, and competent than a non-smiling person cheese :)

Soooo....

who have you smiled at lately?????

KATRINA & RITA - Prayers for the homebound!

Many of the evacuees have been travelling last night and today to their homes where they were evacuated from. For some, they are thankful that the storms didn't touch them; for others, they are thankful that they weren't there in the storm once they see what is left of their business or home.

I reach out my arms....
and extend my love, as well as His love and warmth exuding from his arms as He wraps His arms around each and every lost soul...

making their way back to their homes.

May they find peace and patience as they rebuild their lives and their community. May the lights shine upon them and bring them new life and energy to persevere through the process of making things new or, at least, as they were again.

May they soon hear the joy and laughter that they heard before the cries of the storms and feel their lives being uplifted through their experiences.

May they find strength from the passing of the eye of the storm, giving them endurance to move forward in their lives.

May the process be not a long, hard journey to explore and the friends of the community reach in to help them expedite the process of the rebuilding.

In His name, I pray...

Amen.

Talkie, talkie!

Besides blogging… ever have those days that you just didn’t want to talk much - lots of rest and relaxation and little talk because all you do all week long is talk????

Tonight, my friend’s son has his brother over here, along with his brother’s g/f, her friend (who is friend’s son g/f), and another guy and his g/f, along with my own daughter who is getting right in the middle of them all talking their heads off! lol.....

It is nice to see them but they all had to talk for-ever.... now, they are doing their own thing - watching a movie on the tv and leaving me be!!! :D

Ahhhh… ohhhh well. Love them here, just in the mood for some peace and quiet....

LOL.... Maybe someday I will get that; but, by the time I do, I will probably wish they were all right here. LOL Ironic isn’t it??? So, I guess I’ll just sit back and enjoy it while I can!!!

Missing Most from Guatemala

. . . are the smiles of the people there, especially the children.

So many people take for granted the materialistic things and forget often that what is truly important about oneself is their own soul. If they are not happy with themselves, they will rarely be happy. . .

and, one of the best ways to determine if someone is happy with themselves is by the size of their smile. The people in Guatemala, despite the autrocities of still recovering some from a 36-yr civil war, are happy that they are able to finally move forward with their lives, albeit with some stumbling blocks along the way - which, if you think about it, doesn't every one generally have some sort of stumbling blocks to cross - unless they do not move an inch.

I dream of someday being able to go back there, as well as visit other Central/South American countries. In the meantime, their smiles are some of my inspirations because it reflects their strength and ambition to move forward through their lives. In the wakes of some storms, I am sure everyone could use some degrees of inspirations. Isn't her smile contagious?????

No Rain Here

Last night I got home around midnight and a local station was blurting that the wind was picking up. I stepped out of my truck anticipating strong winds and I was surprised by a normal light breeze that is typical for the Austin area.

This morning I am waking up (a bit late in the day mind you) but the sun is shining, no rain, and very little wind. I was supposed to attend a training class for victim’s advocacy today (first of three days) and nothing.

I suppose that, if we do get any effects from Rita, it may occur tomorrow with lots of rain while I am working on my 24hr shift, which will be okay. I don’t mind the rain here. I have lived in the Austin area for more than 20 years now and we rarely get affected from the storms, other than some rainfall, which is very much needed for our area right now.

I haven’t moved around much - checked out the news, etc. Rita was supposed to have reached landfall around 4-5am this morning. I hope and pray that there wasn’t much devastation and Rita decided to keep downgrading from what she was doing yesterday. That would certainly be a blessing for everyone concerned; the last thing that Louisianna needs right now is any degree of additional devastation.

Just finished a download (it hit a snag last night, so I retried it this morning—errr, afternoon) of the Corel Paint Shop and experimented a little this morning with the flower picture. This software package is ohhhh sooo much more sophisticated than my photo editors that I had on my computer. The sky is limitless with this software, at least in comparison to what I had. I can see that I can easily get wrapped up in experimenting more with this software in the days to come.

In the meantime, I guess it is time to move away from my computer sitting by my bedroom window and get some things actually accomplished for the day (what a concept!) although just sitting here feels nice after putting in more than 100 hours of work between Sunday and Thursday. Today is a well deserved day of rest!!!

Hope all is well with the rest of the world as I continue to get some sleep out of my eyes, looking at hopping in a hot shower to refresh myself, and tackle the astrocities that may be at my apartment. More soon....

Laters....

Dang Hurricane Rita

Well, it has been interesting few weeks. When Hurricane Katrina hit the Lousiana area and affected New Orleans so drastically upon the levee breaking, Austin has been seeing a ton of evacuees from the storms. Yesterday, we were seeing the next flood of evacuees coming in from Houston on up through the Corpus Christi area.

With the evacuees, traffic problems occurred and we are having to plan our days even better. Schools are closed for the day in the area to help allieviate some of the traffic problems. The gas, which had finally seen a low of $2.54/gallon after the Katrina days, is on the rise once again. Would you believe that they had to call out for tankers to deliver to gas to the evacuees as they were running out of gas on the highways, doubling the normal otherwise 2-4 hour trek, sometimes trippling it. Hotels are filled to the brim.

Word is that if it was hitting Galveston (my birthplace) at a category 5, Austin would feel some ramifications at it with a Category 1 and San Antonio, my home town, would have been hit with a Category 2. Much rather the 1 or 2, but I would be greatly saddened by the loss of Galveston, if that were indeed to occur.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for others), it looks like it is taking a more eastwardly direction towards the Texas-Lousiana border, which is also bad for New Orleans because if they haven’t had time to get their levee back to 100%, they may see additional devastation. I am trying to keep posted though.

We in Austin, are okay though, eventhough we are greatly impacted by the cell phone lost of services yesterday, and many of the deliveries for businesses here are not getting their deliveries because they come through the port of Houston - and Houston had a mandatory evacuation yesterday. Businesses have stopped. I told my security boss, when he mentioned that we weren’t going to need some officers at one location because they aren’t able to get the construction and setup supplies from Houston to continue one site over the weekend, to look at it as a positive because it will be a break for our guards there - their assignment is 6 days/week for more than 45 days straight - and it may mean that the contract is extended if the impact is greater in the end.

At any rate, I talked to my daughter yesterday to make sure that she is remaining at an even keel because when we lived in South Carolina she would get swept up into the matter of things. So far, she is remaining calm and we are okay.

If Rita takes another turn and hits Galveston at a Category 5, or west of that, I may be going to San Antonio to help my family with anything that they are affected by; however, with only an anticipated Category 2, that shouldn’t be too much.

If I hear differently, I’ll let you know.

Good thing is....

I am off for Friday and Saturday from all of my jobs!!! Talk to you all more soon....

Good Things - Bad Things Game

We all play the game as children. One starts off with a comment, the other says, “That is good”. Then the first one states, “No, that is bad because...”. Do you remember it???

It certainly came to my mind this morning as I arrived home and awoke in my car this morning…

GOOD: I have put in more than 40 hours of work between all of my jobs this week so far.

BAD: When I got off of one job, I was so tired that I wasn’t sure how I got home.

GOOD: I did get home though.

BAD: I fell asleep for just a “few moments” because I was so drained.

GOOD: I did wake up and go upstairs to my apartment.

BAD: I fell asleep again as soon as I saw my bed.

GOOD: I got some well deserved and sound sleep for a change.

BAD: I was late for my next job.

GOOD: I saved some lives of kids by giving them lectures about running around and underneath an 18 wheeler!

BAD: They are going to be reported on by the Police Department and their school principal.

GOOD: Perhaps, they will learn their lessons and live a long life.

ANYHOW, you get the drift.... and a description of part of my day so far. I am off and running to my next job, albeit a little better rested.

Looking forward to hearing your comments.....

and some good things/bad things that have been happening along your way.

We blog weblogs, but why do you blog???

A good point was brought up about blogosophy on a other blog site....and questioned why we blogged, to which I stated:

“I like to share things that include observations about stuff… including, but not limited to, observations about humanity and humanistic characteristics/concerns. Sometimes, it includes a little venting to get something that is bothering off of my mind, or at least find an answer to my dilemna somewhere in the depths of the comments. Sometimes, it is just a comment here and there about something that just tickled my fancy...and I was hoping that it would also tickle yours!!”

But, why DO you blog?
Have you been blogging long?
Do you blog on other sites?

Tell me more, tell me more…

Limbs, limbs, limbs

Growing up, myself and my siblings all had chores and responsibilities to make sure that the house kept in tip-top shape.

Besides pulling weeds from the flower and garden beds, my responsibility insofar as the outdoors, I was responsible for maintaining the trimming of the trees and shrubberies. That is why it is so very irritating to me to see that some trimming needs to be done, especially when I am at a location where I am there often and there is no one maintaining those responsibilities – such as the shelter where I work 24 hrs on Sundays and 14 hrs on Thursdays.

I was raised to where, if you saw something that needed to be done, do it – which is so different from the majority of kids being raised these days. At any rate, I have been restraining myself from doing the trimming because the day staff kept saying that they had someone to do it.

Eventually, last Sunday I lost my patience because the limbs were so long that you had to walk around them to walk forward through the driveway or parking lot and they dragged on the top of cars trying to park underneath the shade. Finally, I found a pruning shear that I could use, but rather late in the evening and I went outside to prune away some limbs above the driveway. Because it was so late in the evening, I didn’t get around to picking up the limbs and throwing them away; I merely scooted them in a pile and out of the way of people walking.

Today, I picked up those limbs and moved to another area in desperate need of some limbs being pruned back so that cars could safely park under that tree in the parking lot without the limbs scratching the tops of the cars. In the process of picking up those limbs, I had twisted my back and was in sheer pain.

Because I am the only staff member on duty for 24hrs, I can’t leave the site to retrieve the medicine; however, a lady that volunteers to take some residents to Church on Sundays was ever so helpful in getting me some back pain medicine for me. Thank goodness. I couldn’t imagine going 24hrs today with that intensity of pain.

The good news is that the fruits of my labors were appreciated by the residents today and stated that the site looks better for my efforts. Although, the pain medicine isn’t working fast enough, there is gratification knowing that they do appreciate my efforts.

I am looking at the window and see more limbs to trim back and prune. Hopefully, I will have my own shears with me next Sunday, which are much more conducive to doing a great job without twisting the back from lifting heavy pruning shears above my head. I am ancy. I want to do it now; however, I know that I should let my back pain subside and heal. It will certainly wait until next week; the odds of someone else volunteering to do it will be slim to none!

I will probably get into trouble for doing what I did; however, it had to be done and no one was making any efforts to do it for themselves. Oh, well. I feel better that it is done and the residents do appreciate it as well – which is one of the reasons we are here (to aid the residents in their road of recovery from the cycle of abuse).



Do you ever feel compelled to do a job that remains to be done?
Do you ever feel that the chores and responsibilities you had as a child have carried over to what you do as an adult?
Do you ever feel that people would rather walk in a mess of things rather than to do something to fix a situation?
What have you done to ensure that things are done which aren’t being done for whatever reason?
Do you tend to get in trouble for going beyond your call of duty?

Starbucks

Yes, it is true, it is bigger and better in Texas. For the Starbucks in Temple, Texas, this is true too in that it sports one of the largest signs for their Starbucks (probably because it is along the highway).

While there, I bought a Toffee Nut Latte and an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie for a break along my trip. On the cup, it sported a message:

The Way I See It #31

Risk-taking, trust, and serendipity
Are key ingredients of joy. Without
Risk, nothing new ever happens.
Without trust, fear creeps in.
Without serendipity,
There are no surprises.

- Rita Golden Gelman

Author of Tales of a Female
Nomad. She has had no permanent
Address since 1986.

While Starbucks has a disclaimer that this “is the author’s opinion, not necessarily that of Starbucks”, it certainly does hold a lot of meaning towards risk-taking. Not many people are willing to take risks. Being nomadic is certainly a risk; I am not so certain that I could live without an address or home to return to eventually (even if I don’t return to it every evening with my work schedule). Having a home to return to is certainly a comfort zone for me, and many others throughout the world.

This writing on the cup certainly gave me lots to think about along my trip. I have probably taken more risks than many others in my lifetime – telling off the owner of a rather large computer corporation, working in a variety of industries, having my daughter despite the fact that my husband didn’t want any children, raising my daughter as a single parent for most of my life, studying to change my career to Legal Assistant/Paralegal in 1991 and, in 2003, returning to college to obtain a degree in Criminal Justice for another change in my career directions, offering my opinions and suggestions at work (to some people this might not be a risk, but, if you knew one of my employers, you would certainly be agreeing me on this one), and so ever much more.

I seem to thrive on risks so long as I have some consistencies to ground me – a home to return to, my daughter being there, some trees around me, friends and family to talk to, abilities to help others, drives to the countryside for some rest & relaxation, etc. With these groundings, I allow no fears to creep in my world.

I am interested in seeing what my next Starbuck’s cup will say!!! Hopefully, I won’t have to drive to the Starbuck’s in Temple, Texas, every time to get these cups with messages, albeit I do make it that way every other week.


How good are you at taking risks?
What are your groundings that you have in life?
Do you like surprises?


P.S. To read or respond to their “Way I See It” messages on their cups, go to "Starbucks' Way I See It.

Is it shyness or just all talk???

There is a man who states that he is so easy to find when I come blazing through his town; however, each time I blaze through there, I try to call him and the message states, "The Nextel subscriber cannot be reached at this time."

I am beginning to wonder if he is live or memorex....

if under that so fascinating exterior is only a front for a very shy fellow....

or, just a figment of my imagination!!!!

Long time ago, I rescued a black cat from a couple who had been abusing him. The whole time that I had the cat, "Kidder" would hide under my husbands and my bed. When friends and family came over, they really didn't believe that I had a black cat. Of course, when I told them to look under our bed, they wouldn't see the black cat in the darkness, unless its green eyes were looking straight at them. My Mom insisted that the black cat was only a figment of my imagination.

I am beginning to think that this guy, albeit he IMs me often, is more talk than action, and when he invites me to stop by and visit him, he seriously might not really mean it.

I can't stand people like that. I am a geniune person and when I invite people, I am thoroughly sincere about that. I have country roots and you would be very much out of place if you didn't follow through with your word.

Anyhow..... in two weeks, I'll be blazing through that town again. I may give him one last chance to show his face and let me know that he truly is a real person.....

Although he is a handsome fellow, I won't be pushy or rude to him. I just would like for some nice conversation on my merchandising tour of the rural communities every other week to break up the long road trip. However.... if anything more develops from it, then we would deal with that later. Just a good cup of coffee and conversation is all that I am asking for.

Cyclic Cycles

Life is cyclic
With every birth there is a death
With every death there is a birth

Abuse is cyclic
With every abuse there is a survivor
With every survivor there is abuse

Education is cyclic
With every educator there is a student
With every student there is an educator

Law is cyclic
With every legislator there are laws
With every law there are legislators

Motion is cyclic
With every motion is a new motion
With every new motion is a motion

Behavior is cyclic
With every behavior is a reaction
With every reaction is a behavior

Advocacy is cyclic
With every advocate is a cause
With every cause is an advocate

Cycle is cyclic
With every cycle is a movement
With every movement is a cycle

Amazing…

The cyclic world of cycles!

When is control too much???

The other day, I had the pleasure of talking to a small town police officer who truly wanted to understand more. We found ourselves debating a bit about civil v. criminal law aspects, as well as when the police should become involved.

Of course, you know that I am opinionated and freely offered my opinion (of course, in a very nice way). ;)

A woman from a Central/South American country has been in the United States for about 3 years and her child remain in that country while she is forming a life here with her new husband. He, though, is very controlling and holds things against her; tonight, he tore up her green card as yet one other act of controlling. This is, though, typical of those who some of the Americans who marry foreigners by holding their past against them and maintaining control of their relationship as a result, unfortunately. It is similar when two American spouses get into arguments and they know the trigger points of the other to escalate the situation into a worse situation.

The officer maintained that there wasn’t anything he could do because there was no crime committed. I informed him of some of the immigration protection laws and he still insisted that he couldn’t arrest this man; therefore, there was no police involvement. He felt that he was riding a gray line because he wanted to, as a Christian, help them.

I told him that, if we were able to get a woman to the shelter, we have resources here to help empower her to make a better decision insofar as being able to take control of the situation herself and move forward with her life. Sometimes, the immigrant woman will end up going back to the spouse controlling her; however, she does so in a more informed situation and is empowered to do more for herself and not allow herself to be entirely controlled by another person. When another person controls a person to the degree that these spouses tend to control their immigrant spouse, in any other situation it would be clearly emotional abuse and very inhumane.

Education is a key. I have offered to talk to him again and discuss the options further. We’ll see.

In the meantime, it is my hope and dream that people can freely live in an environment where they are not so severely controlled by another person, as well as learn to work together in a teamwork environment for a better America.

(Ok. I am stepping off of my soapbox for now!!)

Reaching Hands

When I was young…
I reached for the hand of my Grandma as she read to me from her Bible in preparation of the Sunday School Lessons she was teaching the next day;
I reached for the hand of my Grandpa as he fed the cattle and we fished at the tank on the property while he was trying to survive seeming un-curable ailments;
I reached for the hand of my Great-Grandma as she tended to her gardens;
I reached for the hand of my Grandmother as she recovered from a stroke remembering the times we had at Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm;
I reached for the hand of my Grandfather as he took us to Church in our Easter dresses and the basket purses that he purchased for us following a day at the auctions that he took upon the role of an auctioneer;
I reached for the hand of my Mother who inspired my creativity;
I reached for the hand of my Father who taught me patience;
I reached for the hands of the children in my neighborhood as I helped them learn to read and play with them;

When I got older…
I reached for the hand of my second cousin who lost her mother to alcoholism;
I reached for the hand of my second cousin who is mentally retarded and lost both of her parents;
I reached for the hand of my Cousin who recovers from a brain aneurysm;
I reached for the hands of the mentally ill and advocated for their needs;
I reached for the hands of the disabled and elderly and advocated for their needs;
I reached for the hands of the abused, neglected or abandoned children and advocated for their needs;
I reached for the hands of my friends and family and pray for them each day;
I reached for the hands of victims of domestic violence and abuse and empowered them to move forward;
I reached for the hands of my daughter and her friends and help to guide them along their pathways of growing up;

As I get older…
I reach for the hands of those mentioned above and continue my advocacies;
I reach for the hands of the leaders to help inform them of changes that need to occur;
I reach for the hands of God and hope and pray for peace among the Nations;
I reach for the hands of my deceased relatives for continued guidance as my guardian angels;
I reach for the hands of others to join me in a world of justice and peace;


I reach for the hands;

Could the next hand I reach for be yours???

I have a dream. . .

Martin Luther King was once credited with stating, “I have a dream…”. He dreamt of people of all nationalities and races getting along with one another. Since the 1960’s, we have certainly come a long, long ways. We don’t necessarily have a separation of blacks and whites; it isn’t as simple as all that.

However, my dream is a bit different…

I dream that people can get along better without any emotional or physical abuse, neglect, or abandonment. I want to help them have a space for recovery and healing, as well as establishing a sense of safety for them.

I dream of a team of advocates coming together to make this work, as well as support from the surrounding community – the police, hospitals, employers, etc.

I dream of a place for this to happen; however, what holds me back is the available funding. So, I also dream of funding to make my dreams possible.

I believe that everyone has a right to be treated as a human being and an equal; no one should have more control than the other (especially to the point to that the scales of justice are tipped unfavorably to any one person).

I believe in empowering people to move forward on their own with resources at hand.

I believe in making it possible for people to achieve their dreams.

I just yearn for the means to make it happen some day.