New school year: Day 1

Today is the first day of a brand new school year for many people of many ages all over the country. This day is always held with high regard and anticipation. You simply must have *just* the right outfit for the day, everything in your book bag is new...including the book bag!

There were alot of people unable to sleep well last night. From mom's coping with the realization that their little ones are ready for their first day ever to teens who are starting their last year of high school. Let's not forget those college students who've left home in search of their own life apart from mom and dad. I won't even mention all the teachers who are anxious about the new year.

Yes, the first day of school is exciting! I miss those days to be honest. I've enjoyed school in the past and secretly wish I could take a course or two just to feel that feeling again. To perk up my brain and get some new goodies bouncing around in there. Of course, I could always take some gmat prep courses and I'm sure it would be less expensive than traditional college, not to mention it's not like I can take time off from work. Hrmph.... There's just something special about the promise and possibilities you get on that first day back in the classroom. Good times...

It's amazing what sticks with you

I'm sure I have watched at least 2 or 3 years worth of hours of television over the course of my 34 years. It may even be more than that! There are 8,760 hours in a year....it's quite possible to have wasted more time that I realize with my old friend the 'boob tube' if you are counting all the time even since I was a child. (why do people call it a boob tube?)

Anyway, there have been some shows during that time that have really stuck with me. Now I'm not taking about entire series of shows, like Friends or Growing Pains, I'm talking specific episodes or documentaries and the like. I remember a few that made such an impact on me, I just can't forget them, even now.

I can still recall a documentary on like PBS when I was maybe 8 or 9 years old on people who worked or lived with or near asbestos and now suffer from all sorts of things but mesothelioma, more specifically. I remember being so sad and upset that these people were sick and it could have been prevented somehow. Maybe it was a show I shouldn't have been watching for that age? Maybe it was the type of thing where I was just coming into certain realities from childhood and the stories were extreme and therefore made impressions on me.

I can also recall some type of crime show I watched when I was maybe 11 or 12 that told a story of this older couple found dead in their home. I just couldn't believe someone was out there doing such a thing. It must have made a huge impact on me for my mind to bring that back from time to time.

I'm still amazed by the criminal mind and how much sin is running rampant all around us. Shows like 'The First 48' or 'Crime 360' still grab my attention to this day. It's just amazing what sticks with you when you have so many hours of television under your belt. I still think of those people and wonder if they were ever caught or if they are still in jail and how all the families are dealing with the outcomes of illnesses and crime. This world is not my home!!

Garage sale update!

I'm working today but my friends are having a garage sale! Normally I enjoy spending the night and bringing all my junk and participating in the garage sale because I don't have a yard or garage in which to conduct one of my own where I live. I love garage and yard sales, having them and going to them. I always have, since before I was old enough to walk, I was going to them. My mom would drag along behind us, one of those metal carts with wheels like you used to see old ladies dragging along behind them. She'd bring that and we'd make our rounds through the surrounding neighborhoods on Sat. morning leaving no sale unvisited! She might only have had $3 or $4 but we would always find treasures!!

So, being that there are only 3 Saturdays before the dreaded tax deadline, I must be at work this time. My friends were gracious enough to allow me to come out Friday evening and drop off some bigger items I had ready to sell in exchange for the few tables I have to offer and some help setting things up, which I am happy to help with! I mean, I don't have any Hansgrohe faucets but I do have an older 19" color tv for $10.00, a practically new Chefmate 2 lb. loaf bread maker with books for $5.00 and an older style 3 pc. set of luggage in great shape for $5.00 along with a couple other smaller odds n' ends. She just called with an update! So far, they have sold the TV and bread maker and a couple of little items for a total of $15.75 for me, yay!!! If you haven't had a yard sale or garage sale in a long time, do it! It's a great way to downsize clutter and increase mad cash :)