Hilarious dog cough

This past year I've done a lot of traveling around the United States. In mid May I was trying to see all of the states I had never been to before. Alabama was my next target. I had 3 free days, so I did it.

I had started a goal of going to the highest elevation in each state. Alabama's was Mt Cheaha.

After I reached it, I thought of an old family friend who lived in nearby Georgia. It was almost 10 years to the date of the last time I had seen her. I sent her a message and the next day I was at her house. It was such a fun reunion.

While I was there I went to Waffle House for the first time.

Our dogs had a funny time interacting with each other. It was probably the highlight of the trip.
Carol's dog Snowflake would get jealous anytime my dog Lily got attention. So we would call Lily over and Snowflake would try to growl to look tough, but ended up choking every time

The Time I ALMOST Got Arrested in a Foreign Land

At first I didn't tell a single person this story because it was too upsetting to think about. But in time I began opening up more, and discovered people laughed like crazy when I told the story. So now that I have had time to process and heal from the frightening ordeal, I will share the entire story.

10pm April 21. I was sitting at work completing paperwork, thinking about all my recent adventures traveling all around to various states spur of the moment. I had the next 4 days with no work and no school and my co-worker asked, "So you gonna go on another road trip?"

I looked at her with a light bulb going on in my head. "I should!"

I mulled it over for a few minutes and then thought, "Wisconsin. I have never been to Wisconsin. I can get to Wisconsin and back in 4 days!"

Two hours later I was on the road headed North. I drove through a few states I had never been to; Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In my hurry to pack and hit the road, the thought had briefly crossed my mind to grab my passport in case I had time to visit Canada.

I stopped at a maple syrup stand in Minnesota and got jar from "Grandpa Ben". He pointed to his property in the near horizon and said that he got the syrup from his trees just the day before. 

Once I hit Wisconsin I drove around for a bit to enjoy the scenery, ate some famous Wisconsin cheese, and then decided I most definitely wanted to go to Canada while I was in the area.

It was another several hours drive, but I made it to the Canadian border and was very excited to be visiting somewhere new. There was a highway from Minnesota that went around Lake Superior and connected back in USA in Wisconsin. I decided I wanted to drive down the highway to see all the scenic attractions the great lake had to offer.

Getting to the border was interesting, as it was heavily wooded, deer were jumping out into the road every few minutes and would scare me and make me drive crazy each time. 

But things got way more interesting once I reached the border.
I saw the sign, "Welcome to Canada". I thought about stopping to take a picture, but it wasn't the best stretch of road for stopping, and I figured I'd have another opportunity somewhere down the road.

I got to the gate and came to the stop where I was greeted first in French then in English.

I had a big smile, feeling so excited, when the gaurd asked me the nature of my visit.

I answered honestly. I said I was sightseeing.
He asked where I was sight seeing.
Again I answered honestly. "I took a road trip to Wisconsin, and wanted to drive around Highway 11 to see all of Lake Superior, while I am in the area."

It was getting near sunset and he looked at me with suspicion. "The sun is going down. How are you going to sight see at night?"

"Well I was thinking I would stop at a hotel in Thunderbay for the night." Thunder Bay is about 45 minutes past the border.
"What hotel are you staying at?"

I was a little dumb founded. "I don't have one yet. I was thinking I would find one once I got there."

"And how long are you planning on staying in Thunder Bay?"

"Just for the night. I'm going to continue on Highway 11 in the morning and see the whole lake before I head home."

"Do you have family or anyone who knows you in Thunder Bay?"

"No?" My excited smile was now crooked with confusion. I had already told him this was a fairly unplanned sight seeing trip.

"Would you please pull your car around and come inside?"

I was still fairly convinced nothing was wrong and this was all routine, but I was starting to feel a little nervous as I parked my car. Two men were waiting by my door as soon as I got out of my car.

One stuck out his hand, "We need to search your car. Keys please."

Before I was ushered inside, the other man asked, "That's a pretty bad dent in the front of the car. Did you hit something on your way here?"

"No, the car already had the damage when I bought it about a year ago."

I was walked into a lobby area, where the man who I originally talked to started asking me a list of questions. "Now you said you were here to visit a friend right?"

"No, I don't know anyone here. I wanted to sight see around Lake Superior."

"Oh that's right. And you are going to go camping?"

"No, I am gonna stay one night at a hotel in Thunder Bay, then go home tomorrow."

"So does anyone know you are here?"

"My mom."

"How did you tell your mom?"

"I texted her."

"May I see the text?"

I felt a little hesitant but handed him my phone. He asked if he called some random contacts, if they were going to know who I was. He then told me to go have a seat and he would get back to me in a minute.

Many minutes later he called me back over. "Ok, few more questions. Who is this Kathy?"

"That's my mom."

"Really?! Well that's strange. Why would you have your contact listed as Kathy instead of Mom?"

"Uuuuh Cause."

He gave me a glare like I was busted. "Why does Kathy have a different last name than you?"

"Because she's remarried."

"How convenient." (I have no clue what he meant by that)

"Can you tell me what you were doing in Uganda and the Netherlands?" (referring to the stamps in my passport)

"Ya, I went on a missions trip to Uganda. There was a layover in the Netherlands."

"What kind of mission? Are you with the military?"

"Oh no," I smiled trying to make light of the conversation, "it was missionary work with my college."

"What? With your college? Look lady I don't know if your joking or what but churches do missionary work, not colleges."

"It's a Christian college."

"Hmmf" He huffed, "You've just got an answer for everything don't you?"

At this point I could clearly tell they were not happy about me being there, so I offered to leave.

"Look, this was kind of a spur of the moment decision. I was in the area so I thought I'd like to go to Canada since I have never been. I didn't think it would be a problem. But I can just leave, I don't want to be any trouble."

Right then a woman walked up beside him and said to me in a scolding tone like a kid caught jumping on the couch, "Well, guess what. You are here now. You don't get to leave until you start telling the truth about why you are here."

The man handed my passport to her, and she shook her head and threw it on the counter. "What, what is this? This is garbage? This isn't you. It doesn't look anything like you."

"It's just an old picture. My hair was short and dyed."

"What, was it some kind of identity crisis? Cutting your hair and dying it to try to be a different person? Running from your life huh? Did you come here to kill yourself?"

"Why would I drive all the way to Canada to kill myself?"

"So you admit it! You're suicidal."

"No!!"

"What line of work are you in?"

"I'm a social work student, and I'm employed at a children's mental health facility."

"When are you expected back at work?"

"Saturday."

"She's got a text on her phone to the supervisor saying she's not coming in until Saturday. She's supposed to be there Friday but told them she won't make it home in time." The man whispered to the woman as if it were an incriminating text.

The woman asked me the name of my employer, then told me we needed to take this conversation out of the lobby, and the man escorted me to a small, dimly lit room in the back of the building.

They left me alone in there for a few minutes, then the man, woman, and another man I hadn't seen before piled in and crowded the room.

The first man held up a parking permit for Mt. Rushmore and asked me, "Why did we find this in your car?"

"I have been going on a lot of sight seeing trips lately. I went there a couple weeks ago."

"Oh you just up and decided to go to South Dakota from Oklahoma, and now you just up and decided to go to Thunder Bay from Oklahoma."

"Yes, please believe me, road tripping is just something I do a lot of. I have ever since I learned to drive. I can show you pictures, I just like to travel."

The other man suddenly put his face right up to mine, and slammed his hand down on the table I was sitting at, and shouted, "Liar!"

As quick as he had stuck his face in mine, the woman joined him. "We're on to you. We know all about the whole scheme you have going on. We are going to find those drugs and we are going to nab you for terrorism!"

This is when I started crying. I couldn't believe what they were saying. A simple joy ride had turned in to me being labeled a terrorist.  "Oh my God, no!! I'm not suicidal, I don't have drugs, and I am not a terrorist!"

The first man said in a calm tone, "Look, we just need the truth. We want to work with you here, but you're not giving us anything to work with. Why are you here?"

"Why are you here!" The woman shouted immediately after him.

"I told you!!" I screamed this time. "I wanted to drive around the lake. That's all. I didn't see how anyone would be upset by me wanting to drive around the lake. I just wanted to sight see."

The other man let out a loud laugh, "Look at that. She's talking past tense now. She wants to make us believe she won't try again to get back in at some other border. I wasn't born yesterday pouty face!"

That man then left the room. For about 30 minutes or so, the man and woman took turns screaming at me trying to get me to admit to something.

When the other man walked back in, the woman looked at him and said, "I'm sick of her games. Let's just arrest her now for the fake passport and let her attorney explain her motive."

The man had a victorious smile. "Well good news for us, I know her motive. I just got off the phone with the mental hospital she supposedly works at. They've never heard of an employee with that name. AND they had a homicidal patient matching her description escape earlier this week."

At this point I got pissed, and I let them know, "Ok this is getting ridiculous! Now I know you are lying! My job holds kids age 4-17. Do I look like a 17 year old to you?!"

"You know I'm lying? You know I am lying? Well I know you are lying! Now tell me why you are here!"

After that it turned into mad chaos with all 4 of us screaming at each other. I was tired and mad and scared. They kept getting up close in my face screaming. It was giving me a headache and they were getting spit all over my face.

At some point in the next 3 hours my shouting turned to sobbing. I just wanted to get out of there. I thought I must be in the twilight zone or something.

They went back and forth with theories and accusations of fake passport, drugs, terrorism, and suicide. Constantly insisting my Uganda and Mt Rushmore trips were extremely suspicious and that listing my mom as Kathy was proof I wasn't who I said I was. They even looked at my facebook at one point to see if I had the same relatives listed as family on there as I did in my phone.

 In about the 4th hour of the ordeal, a man brought in a bottle of over the counter pain killers that I had in my car. Then all the attention turned to me escaping a mental health facility, and being suicidal.

Finally the original man said, "Listen, we are all tired, we've been going at this for almost 5 hours now, and if you are having some kind of mental health issue, then we don't want to push you past the breaking point. We are going to deny you entry into Canada today, but you are welcome to come back and try again once you have a hotel reservation and actually give us proof that you have a legitimate reason to be in Canada."

Then someone came in and said they found a wood walking stick in my car. I told them I take it on all of my road trips, and that I got it in Uganda. They told me it counted as contraband because it was made of foreign wood. They made me sign a document acknowledging I was being denied entrance but was welcome to come back in the future. Then they made me sign a document saying I acknowledge the stick was made of African wood and was not allowed at the border and was therefore being confiscated.

Yes, that's right, they made me leave my favorite souvenir from Uganda!
They used a piece of wood that US Customs had no problem with, be a scapegoat for 5 hours of interrogation. 

A short time later, I was FINALLY back in my, now torn apart, car. My suitcase had been in my trunk. It was now empty in the back seat, with all its contents spread all around the front seat. The dashboard and arm rest cupboard were open with all the insides thrown around the car. My rear view mirror was knocked off. The car carpeting was pulled up. Several of my cds were scratched and thrown around the car as well.

Turning back to the US border patrol, the guy who greeted me said, "Hey you finally made it! We were getting kind of worried about ya. They kept calling to confirm your passport was legit, and we kept telling them it was. They aren't to fond of us Americans at this stop. You're better off coming in through Fort Frances."

As they lifted the gate, I felt such a great relief to drive back on American soil.

I kept my window rolled down as I completely let go and cried my eyes. I stuck my head out the window as I slowly drove away, and sang as loud as I possibly could, hoping those 3 Canadians would hear me, "GOD BLESS AMERICAAAAAAAA!!! LAAAAAAND that I LOOOOOOVE! (waaah booo hoo hoo sniffle sniffle) STAND BESIDE HEEEEEER (waaah haa haa) AND GUIDE HER, THROUGH THE NIGHT WITH A LIGHT FROM ABOVE. GOD Bleh heh heh heh less AMERICAAAAA!!!


My home, sweet home.

From your local neighborhood introvert: Love me for me.

There's a growing fad in society, that seems to solely revolve around me. I should feel special right? No, I need to rant.

People have an obsession with labeling and criticizing me. It seems every single person has an opinion of me, and feels the need to tell me what is wrong with me and how I should change it.

Here's the ugly truth. I am an introvert.

There, I got it out.

I used to be ashamed of it. I used to deny it. I used to try to prove I was not. But I've come to terms with it, and have learned to appreciate it.


While we are talking about what I am, why don't I tell you everything.
I am quiet, I am rowdy.
I am calm, I am wild.
I am reserved, I am adventurous.
I am a mega planner, I am spontaneous.
I am a very deep thinker, I am a very big joker.
I am a home body, I am a world traveler.
I am very responsible, I am very unorganized.
I prefer routine, I am unpredictable.

You see, there is no specific label for me. I am.... ME.

I take what people say to me very personally. But it has become comical to me how in an hour's span, one person will tell me I am the funniest person they know, and another will tell me I am too uptight and need to learn to have a sense of humor. Who do I believe?

Well I've come up with the answer after a lot of thought.

I am both.

As an introvert, it takes time for me to build rapport and trust with you. I put up my guard when I first meet you. It just comes natural to me. And if I feel judged, criticized, or labeled by you, it will be very hard for you to ever see me let my guard down.

Once I let my guard down, and let you in, you'll be very glad I did. I become one of the most interesting people you will ever know. And it's the case with most introverts.

Someone once told me that there was a castle in South Dakota made entirely of corn, and that they wanted to go there some day. I began telling them some of the interesting things inside the palace, and they looked at me with disbelief, "You mean you've been there?"

They said they just pegged me as a home body. And that's exactly what they did. They pegged me as one thing without ever taking the time to find out what I am all about.

I am the person who has traveled to 9 different nations, and 48 states.
I am the person who has gone on a whim and ended up unexpectedly at a safari.
I am the person who organized 25 people to serenade a friend when she had, had a rough week.
I am the person who was the first of her team to try eating crickets and goat toungue while in Africa.
I am the person planned and saved for a year to send my parents to Ireland.
I am the person who, when a kid drew a smile on my face, kept it on the entire day just for the enjoyment of seeing every person that looked at me get a big smile themselves.
I am the person who gets down on my hands and feet and mimics my hyper dog, to show her how annoying she's being.
I am the person who is okay with going several days without saying a single word to another human being.
I am the person who prefers a nice long nap, over a wild party.
I am the person who will avoid talkative people at all costs.
I am the first person to get a lonely and hurting individual to open up.


I am... ME.

I can make you cry with the story of me talking to a child abductor and convincing him to return the toddler unharmed.
I can make you laugh so hard you forget to breathe with the story of getting detained and interrogated by Canadians.

I am... ME.
 In my eyes, introverts are just like an unpolished diamond. On the surface it looks boring and dull, but once you get inside, you find a treasure.

Call me quiet, call me a loner, call me anti social, call me a home body, call me an under achiever, call me dull, call me unexciting, call me uninteresting. That's ok, it's all true. But it's all just one part of me.

Like many introverts, I am extremely complex. All I ask, is that instead of labeling me, instead of telling me what I am, just love me for me.

If you learn to love your local introvert for what you think they are, you may just fall in love with what you discover.

Sincerely,
 Your local neighborhood introvert.

Time

Almost every day there's some interesting story of something funny or crazy that I've been involved with. Normally this blog would be crammed full of all those stories.

 But this semester has proven to be way more busy than I thought.

That does not mean blog worthy things have ceased, I just haven't had the time to write about them.

 For example, I made a trip home to Oregon for Christmas, bought my parents a trip to Ireland, feasted on frog legs, went of a random joy ride and wound up in Arkansas where we found a safari where I pet a giraffe, joined a new church, started going to an aspiring authors group at that church, started my own writing group at my school, and started an internship at a mentally ill and homeless day center.


For the next few months I will probably be absent from this blog. But before I vanish I want to give insight into just how busy my schedule is.


Sunday: Leave for church at 8:30am. Get home 12pm. Go to work 2:30. Get home 11:30
Monday: Class 8 am to 12pm. Work 2:30. Home 11:30. Mandatory dorm meeting until 12pm.
Tuesday. Class 9am to 3pm. Church 6:30 to 8pm.
Wednesday Class 8am to 12pm. Internship 1pm to 6pm.
Thursday: Class 9am to 3pm. Writing group 7pm to 9pm.
Friday Class 8am to 12pm. Work 2:30. Home 11:30.
Saturday: Walking group 11am to 1pm. Work 2:30. Home 11:30.

So have I got some free time? Juggling social life, eating, sleeping, and studying.

So if you miss me during this Spring semester blogging sabbatical, then come back and get some more enjoyment out of this video of making my mom's life long dream come true.

Five Minute Friday: Fly

I am joining with Lisa Jo Baker and a community of writers to write for 5 minutes on a given word. The word this week is "Fly"

 5 mins Go!

 Fly

I see myself and 400 other teens raising their hands in the air and cheering as the plane took off from the Miami airport headed to Ecuador.
Flying over the bright blue Atlantic on my first overseas trip to Spain.
Throwing up and being afraid of crashing as a 6 year old on my first flight. Hating Disneyland once I got there cause the rides were all as frightening as the airplane ride was.
Flying to Amsterdam, thinking how excited I was to be accomplishing my life long dream of going to Africa. Tearing up when we touched down in Rwanda.
Seeing the Prayer Tower from the sky when I went to visit Oral Roberts University for the first time.The excitement I felt in seeing what I had been dreaming of for a year, thinking I was just a few months away from going to school there, when I was actually 3 years away from going to school there.
 Flying to Maryland at 13 on my very first cross country trip. Never imagining the places I would fly to in just a few years. Seeing lightning bugs for the first time in Georgia, and catching them in a jar.
Stop!

Crazy is my stalker

Ok, it's official, crazy...just...follows me.My mom says I wear a freak magnet, and I always laughed at it as a joke, but I'm starting to see how right she is.

My job deals all day long with kids having bad behaviors. With that I have gazillions of war stories, none of which I can share on the internet due to confidentiality issues, but they are just totally wild.

After bedtime each night, my co-workers and I will sit there talking about the events of the day, and many times all we can do is sit there gasping for breath, laughing at how unbelievable some of the stuff is that happens in our work day.

All that to say, Monday was an especially wild day at work. When I went to take my break, I was ready for it. Again we were giddy with laughter at how bizarre some of the events were, and I kept laughing as I made my way to Taco Bell for my break.

Inside there was a Taco Bell worker tapping his hand rapidly on the cashier station. He looked very upset. I stared for a minute waiting to see if he would acknowledge me, then I spoke up, "Are you ok?"

He stayed in his blank irritated stare and another worker hurried to the front to take my order.

I ordered and paid, then watched quite the scene unfold.

The manager, (I assume anyway) approached the guy and said,"Let's go have a chat outside."
The worker went bizzurke and right there started shouting at the loudest decimal, cussing and nearly crying. He mumbled a lot, added in with a bit of emphasis on "Eff You!"

Right when it sounded like he was quieting and calming, he ran to the other side of the room where no one was at, and started throwing chairs and screaming with even greater emphasis on "Eff this place!"

My nerves were reeling, but I guess I was rather calm about it all because I had just dealt with similar behavior at work. I heard a worker ask the manager, "Should I call the cops?" to which he replied, "Um...."

Then I called out to the guy, "Eh, bro! I know all about how effed up bad jobs can make you feel. But how about you go calm your self down with some fresh air outside, and don't let this crappy job make you wind up with a criminal record? I mean, a crappy job ain't worth ruining a clean record am I right?"

To my delight, the guy hushed almost instantly when I said this. His breathing slowed, and he started to cry as he calmly walked outside.

The other worker apologized profusely as she handed me my food. I tried my best to laugh it off and told her, "You have no idea how used to it I am. Is he gonna be ok?"

She responded, "He's got a lot going on."

When I walked out to my car, the guy was sitting on the curb crying, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" while the manager was patting his back.

I got back to my work and the first people I saw was a supervisor and nurse. I simply laughed and said to them, "I swear, crazy just follows me."

Treats, trips, and tricks

For Halloween I went with a group from ORU  door to door collecting canned food for a homeless ministry.
Most people also insisted on handing out candy as well to us. I announced half way through, "Guys, y'all are witnessing my first time ever trick or treating!" Another girl raised her hand in the air and gave me an excited high five and cheered, "Mine too!"

Then one girl said, "Anna, you better blog about it!" And she informed me that she reads my blog regularly and gets a good laugh at my common minor misfortunes. I told her I would give her a shout out in my next post. So.....Hi Emily!!!

This last week I drove with 4 others to Dallas, Texas. It's definitely one of my favorite places and I hope to live there someday.
We spent the night listening to the preaching of Joseph Prince. It was kinda cool to me because I knew my mom had just listened to him a few nights before in Long Beach, California.

The weather has been a typical Oklahoma November...completely unpredictable. Friday was nearly blizzard worthy, Saturday felt like summer, Sunday morning was hot, and Sunday night was freezing. This morning I am wearing two layers of pants, a t-shirt, a sweater, and a coat.

Last night I got back to campus from work, and my car heater was blowing full blast. I was not looking forward to getting out and making the long trek to my dorm building.So I delayed a long while. I turned the radio on to a slow jazz station, laid my chair down, and just enjoyed the heat and music.

About 20 minutes later I hear knocking on my window. It startled me.

A guy had a look of concern and asked, "Are you ok?"
Confused, I rubbed my eyes and rolled my window down a bit, "Hmm, yeah, just listening to music."
"Oh, ok," he said while looking a little embarrassed, "I thought you were having some kinda health issue. Your car was just idling for a long time, and you weren't moving."
I just giggled, "Nope, I'm fine, just enjoying the music, ha ha, thanks for looking out for me though."

It was a bit strange but also funny, and nice to know people are looking out for me.

Africa, I miss your skies

 ORU Missions season is back in session. New teams have formed, new meetings, new fundraisers, and new dreams. I am finding myself really dissapointed that I am unable to be a part of it again this year. Missions has always been a huge part of my life, and I always feel out of place when I am not a part of it.

Oklahoma has some of the best sunsets in the world in my opinion. But one place that has it beat, is Uganda. I miss those 30 days of waking up and going to sleep with the sun and stars all shining with a glorious glow.

That's what's been on my mind lately.

Five Minute Friday "Grace"

Cindy posted something interesting on her blog, part of a large group taking 5 minutes to blog on the chosen word of the day. It's something I want to try out.
This week is on Grace

Grace:
Grace, when I wake up realizing I completely forgot about a paper due today, only to come to class and have the teacher say he's postponed the due date.
Grace, when my car won't start, and I find out I have free roadside assistance with my insurance.
 Grace, when I talk a suicidal foster girl out of her state of hopelessness.
Grace, when a foster boy gets angry at me and pees allover the room to get me back.
Grace, when that boys comes crying in apology and admits he misses his home and I am honestly able to tell him I forgive.
Grace, when the elderly man keeps me at Walmart until 2 am, talking about how much he misses his deceased wife.
Grace, when I am able to convince him he needs Jesus to heal his hurt.
Grace, when I am dreading the cold outside, only to walk out and find it is warm.
Grace, right when I am feeling like I can't do anything good, and a girl comes and tells me how much I have helped her.
Grace, when a bill gets paid by someone else unexpectedly.

That's what comes to my mind in 5 minutes of talking about the word grace.

<a href="http://lisajobaker.com/five-minute-friday/" title="Five Minute Friday"><img src="http://lisajobaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/5minutefriday.jpg" alt="Five Minute Friday" title="Five Minute Friday" style="border:none;" /></a>

Oh Christmas Tree

Since I got hired at a full time job in August, I have been telling my family I most likely will not be home for Christmas. As the season has drawn closer, my heart has ached more, thinking that it has been almost a year since I have visited, at it has looked like it would be more like 2 years until I would get to see my homeland.

To my surprise and joy, this week my work told me I was good to leave for 3 weeks for Christmas!
 This of course, has had Christmas on my mind all week.

One thing I never imagined when I moved to Oklahoma, was how many times I would be accused of lying when I showed people pictures of my home and told them that the giant fir trees that surrounded me were grown up Christmas trees.

So many people here have insisted that Christmas trees are used as such, because they do not grow any bigger than they are at Christmas.

One thing I very much miss about Oregon is the never ending green all around me.  Most of my life I spent every free moment I had in the outdoors, admiring the splendorous plants and animals all around me. Country life in Oregon is very different from country life in Oklahoma. In Oklhoma country is a trailer, junky cars piled up in the yard, and flat wheat fields as far as the eye can see. Don't get me wrong, I love the scenery of Oklahoma....it's just very different.

Oregon country life still has the junky cars  piled up, but it also entails rolling hills as steep as Oklahomans would call mountains. Trees taller than buildings, deer, birds, and bodies of fresh water.

Most times when I write on this blog, it's to share Oklahoma with my family and friends in Oregon. But I want to take this time to share Oregon with my Oklahoma friends.

All these pictures were taken at my home, at which I lived from age 5 to 21. This is the country life I loved...and here's the grown up Christmas trees, for all who don't believe.

Freaky Fall

Forgive me father for I have sinned. It has been 12 days since my last confession...ehem...I mean blog update.
Fall has come to Tulsa and with it every day has been different. One day I want to wear an eskimo jacket, the next day is shorts weather.
Today has been a denim jeans and t-shirt kind of day.

The fall weather has brought with it some crazy encounters for me.

Last week I went into Hobby Lobby for some new decorations for my dorm. I was in there for about 20 minutes. When I came out I found I left my headlights on. My car would not start. I was a little worried because I had just filled up my tank with gas that was 39 cents cheaper than anywhere else, so I thought I had bought bad gas that killed my engine.

A homeless looking man approached me when he heard my car not starting. He said, "Your starter has gone out. You'll need a new one. I am a mechanic, I can have your car up and running in 20 minutes. Normal price is $2000, I'll only charge you $700.

The guy must have thought I was a car illiterate woman, but I knew better, that it was just my battery died, because I could hear the starter turning, and I know starters don't cost $2000

I kindly smiled and said, thanks but no thanks. Then I got on the phone with my insurance. Sure enough, roadside assistance is covered! Woohoo! Help arrived 15 minutes later, and all I needed was a jump.

The next evening I stopped at walgreens on my way home from work. Drunk guy walks in right behind me. Starts getting mouthy with the staff because they tell him he can't order pizza here. Then he stumbles towards me, and asks me if I work there too. I love drunk people cause they're so fun to mess with...
I give staff a thumbs up that, "I've got this." I say, "No, I'm just another zoo goer looking for the zebras." He asks me if I know where he can get pizza. I say, "I think there's a vendor two doors down at the shoe shop. But good luck getting past the elephants blocking the entrance. You'll wanna buy some of this alligator repellant first." I reach for the nearest object and hand him a hearing aid.
Guy kindly thanks me then stumbles over and pays $30 for a hearing aid, nods his head and walks down the street.
Me and the 2 staff just stood there busting up. Guy is gonna be very curious when he wakes up with his new hearing aid.

We had worker appreciation week at work. They've fed me pizza and cake everyday. I got a good laugh out of one of the cakes made. Old man baby cake.

I put a request in to get christmas break off from work, but still waiting to find out if I will get to be home for the holidays or not.

Then the madness continued today with more crazy frustrating yet crazy good events. Dropped my laptop, thought I broke it. Relieved when I found it still works. Lost my keys. Set my backpack in a puddle of liquid in the bathroom. Slipped and fell because of an acorn. Bird pooped on my shoulder, spilled coffee in class................................... Found $16 in my pocket that I have no clue where it came from. 


This day just got a whole lot better.

My reason

I have been at my job for a little over a month now. In that time I have been in wrestling matches, been hit, been spit on, had water poured on me, bleach spray sprayed at me, and had hand sanitizer flung at my eyes.
The other day it was supposed to be quiet time, and one person kept being talkative and disruptive. I told him that if he wouldn't be quiet, then I would take everything from his room until bedtime. He hollered back in a snooty tone, "You're so mean, why do you even want to work here?!"

I answered him in his same tone, "For the money!" I of course laughed to let him know I was joking.

I approached him and said, "I am going to be a DHS social worker in two years. I am here for the experience. I am learning from you guys. I am spending the next two years working here, learning how to help you kids, so that when I'm a social worker, I will know better how to train parents, so that other kids like you don't have to end up being sent to a place like this."

His entire mannerism changed in an instant. He replied after a few seconds of silence, "Woah, I've never heard anyone say that before. That's so cool. So I am helping you help other kids?"

I smiled, "Exactly, and that's why I need you to do your best to work with me. Help me help you, instead of always fighting with me. If you could focus on getting better, I can help figure out ways for you to improve. Then you will get to go home, and I will know more how to help other kids get better while never having to leave home."

He answered me, "I like you....I'll do that."

His behavior the past week has been amazing. It turns out all he needed was for someone to say they cared. It was also an eye opener for me. I hadn't really stopped to think about it, until that conversation. I thought the job sounded so cool. An awesome experience is what I kept telling people. But it's so much more than that. It's a life changing experience. I am learning what school could never teach me, how to heal hurt.

Every kid helped today, is a lesson for how to help another kid tomorrow. Helping abused kids is no longer a dream of mine, it's a reality.