Ouch

So, first of all, I had oral surgery today. I had the bottom and top left-hand side wisdom teeth removed today. That was not much fun. My doctor was wonderful,though. He was a really great older man...maybe around 75. I laugh because his hands were SHAKING so much when he was giving me the shots of local anesthetic. The surgery went really well, but the pain was so intense about 45 minutes after. That was THE most painful two hours to follow I have ever felt. After, the vicodin kicked in and I was on cloud nine. Bridget picked Jeff and me up from Oak Park and she brought me home. That was awfully nice of her to come all the way down there from Mt. Prospect (where she is staying this week...no thank you) to Oak Park. And it was really nice of Jeff to accompany me all the way down the Green Line to Oak Park and wait it out. He had never been to Oak Park before and was able to look around. I did manage to see A Frank Lloyd Wright home today and his Unity Temple. Both were located very close to the oral surgeons. Oak Park is one of my favorite places...it is SO beautiful right now. It sits right against the equally beautiful River Forest where my grad school is located.

I have been eating soft food all day. The bleeding has pretty much stopped. I went to Leona's with Jeff and had soup tonight. It was good to eat that. I have been eating a lot of sherbert...not too much of a fan of it, but right now, it is the best thing in the world. Tomorrow I am debating on whether or not to go to work. I need to work, but I also need to get my mouth better!

I had time to read in the oral surgeon's office today. It was nice to be able to concentrate on Game Change for a few minutes. Notice how I need to take 26 weeks off the title of this. This is just going to be an ongoing blog on my reading. Why not? I am having fun.

So, Obama was posed many questions by Michelle. She wondered how he was going to balance a family and being a President. She wanted to know when he would see them and when he would be off. She wanted to know why he wanted to do it. His response was that it showed all kids across the country who thought they could never be president that they could. He also thought because of people's response to him that he could change people's minds and attitudes about America and repair damage that had been done by BUSH (Dena has a rearview mirror hanger thing that has a picture of Bush's face on it and it says "Bush's dumbass head on a string." hahaha). She also wanted Barack to promise he would quit smoking. I forgot he did that because he has such beautiful teeth. So, he formally announced his run in February 2007 in 7 degree Springfield, Illinois. Hildebrand wanted the affair to be announced outside instead of inside because the cold and the beautiful day would be much more dramatic for future campaign ads and photos; so, Obama spoke outside despite the fact he was worried about people with children having to stand out in the cold...Obama had a heater on him.

Around the same time, Hillary was getting antsy. She did not know what to do. She was having many secret meetings in converted farmhouses and basements with her friends and advisers to figure out what she should do. They said to do it. She was still pulled. She finally decided she would do it when she and Bill were on vacation in Antigua. They took a swim to the shore off of their boat and she asked him what she should do. His response was that if she thought to do it, then do it, any reservations, think about it, and a no would mean no. She said yes and announced. Her advisers and friends were happy.

So, this is where I will leave for tonight. It is sleepy time as my medicine is saying. My parents got a new dog named Banjo today. I am excited! I also have this picture of a house on my street. It is on the corner of Paulina and Estes. HAHAHA.

Obama's change

Obama changed his mind and decided to run for president. This rocks Hillary's world. The main struggles in here lie with Hildebrand trying to convince Obama that he can run for pres and be president and still have Sundays off for his family. Hildebrand does not care what Obama hears to think it is better, he is just trying to get revenge on the Clintons. Other senators and spokespersons for Obama and businessmen promoting him give him the truth of being president very cut and dry. They tell him he is going to be the loneliest man in the world. I think Obama has a positive enough mindset to look past that and not live in other people's words. I think he decided he was going to experience it for himself and not through someone else's perspective. I found it very interesting that one of his strongest promoters and supporters is the brother of Mayor Daley in Chicago. He was a pivotal person in having Obama run for president. His only warning was the superpower of the Clinton family and how they could crush anyone. But, Obama's hope was Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. If he could win those away from the Hillaryworld, he could have it. But, on the other side of things, Hillary has more money to fundraise than she knows what to do with it. The Clintons are machines at fundraising. That is all they do. They fundraise, fundraise, fundraise and do a little more for people. I think that is awfully generous...you just HAVE to stay on their good sides.

I find it funny how everyone has to pussyfoot around the Clintons. It seems as though everyone is afraid to piss them off. I could never picture Bill being a vindictive man. I can definitely see Hillary pushing weight around and breaking a few nails of opponents, but I could never see her being such a harsh individual...but...apparently everyone thinks she could really kill. To each his own. A point was risen within the book saying how one woman thought that we need a woman in the White House, but it won't be Hillary. She apparently represents a world of male dominated politics. She is looked at as a politico of the past instead of something of the future even though it is quite progressive of her to run for President. I guess Hillary Clinton does not scream the world feminine. But, even so, I think Hillary could really make some strides within her reign. I think if she were to get the Nobel Peace Prize, she would have had something under her belt at the LEAST. Which brings me to my next point:

Michelle Obama, in 2000's Senate race for Obama's Illinois seat, stated the way people reacted to Obama was quite interesting and borderline crazy. She said people should wait to be nuts over him until he actually did something. I guess this still holds true to today. And speaking of Michelle, she was opposed to his running for president. It is said that the Senate run for him just about killed everyone, now President. As we know, though, everything seems to be just fine in the Obama household currently. Michelle is happy, the girls are happy, he is happy and the dog is happy, too.

My biggest question for Obama is: What have you done and what will you do for American education? This is getting just a little scary. There is no money and teachers are struggling. Who would've known? It is sad when I interview for a job in a Turnaround School because the school is struggling and is going to lose its entire present faculty. What type of incentive is Obama going to give? Why are our schools still like this? I thought he was all about education. Our national education guy is from Chicago...so what is wrong with our schools? My interview was all about trying to rebuild the community within the school that is struggling. It is called John Marshall Metro High School and is located in Garfield Park. I hate it that kids are having to watch their entire faculty being fired this year. I think it is nuts. I don't know what I would've done. Garfield Park is very cultural but also very poverty stricken. A lot of kids don't have consistency in their homes and NOW, their whole school is gone. Wow. Where is Oprah and all of her money when you need it? Oh, that's right, inviting people on her show that made her mad so she can publicly humiliate them in front of all of America. And speaking of Oprah...an unofficial book about all the SHIT on Oprah you can get has been published. Everyone is afraid to touch the author with a ten foot pole. If Oprah sees anyone promoting her, she will have them destroyed. So, back to schools...Oprah: You can build schools in South Africa, so why can you not help bolster our American schools?

Marshall Metro High School
The drive under the Harlem Green Line to Marshall

Speaking of interviews...both phone and group and one-on-one went very well. I hope and feel certain I will move to round two where I will teach the kids and then be interviewed by students and parents. After my interview today, I went to Garfield Park Conservatory and took some pictures as always. So, here they are. The weather was BEAUTIFUL.

I love Chicago in the Spring! :)

Tonight, when I finished my phone interview, I sat on the beach and read...Game Change, of course, as can be seen in the pic! Lovely weather. ;)
Have a wonderful day! I have oral surgery at 10:30AM. :(

Obama makes moves toward change

Obama realizes his impact during his book tour in Africa is huge. He is treated like royalty. If he could impact a third world country as thus, how could he change the world? He was loving the attention he got in his visit to Africa. Michelle on the other hand thought it was a little overboard, the attention, that is.

Today was just a normal day. I was supposed to have a phone interview and they did not have time to call me. I called once it hit 8 this evening. The recruiter said he was really happy I called and said it saved him having to send an extra e-mail. He said "We ran out of time to interview the people we really wanted to interview." I thought that was a good sign. He is moving it to Wednesday evening after my group interview. I am very excited.

:)

Barnes at 8:45 a.m. Night.

Hillaryland

Hillary formed a team of people to cover up the fact that Bil loved his little escapades. He is the original Tiger Woods. Her "war room" was composed of three people that kept their eyes and ears open for any sign of Bill's possible fun. Each was to allay the public's thoughts about her (guilty by association) and keep the media at bay. They were the censor, if you will, to covering the Clinton household. But, Bill was exposed. He did indeed have an affair that the "war room" could not cover. This was just the thing that could cause Obama to win the election. Hillary's sensitivity to the subject was shown when dealing with McCaskill, a senator from Missouri. Hillary had a fundraiser planned for her. When McCaskill was on Meet the Press, Russert asked her about Bill. She said He was a great leader but I would never let my daughter near him. Wrong move. Hillary canceled the fundraiser that day. Obama speculation for running rises...

Today was a busy day at Barnes and Noble. I took the Skokie Swift Yellow Line to work and then the 97 bus to Old Orchard. I love the fact I really can take public transit to work and it relatively quick. I even took the 147 bus to Howard before I got on the Swift. Total time was around 30 minutes. I am going to start doing this every day shift I think.

Customers were a little nutty today. They were demanding, demanding, demanding. The employees were a little unsteady today, too. Everyone was a bit shaky. I guess we all have our group "off" days. It happens. A guy tipped me today for my knowledge of Teen Fiction. He gave me $5. That was pretty awesome.

Tomorrow is my phone interview after Barnes and Noble. I got all of the info on the Turnaround School. It is John Marshall High School in the West Side. West Side Story. HAHA. Well, hopefully it will be an amazing interview. My group interview is Wednesday morning. The letter telling me what to do for it congratulates me for being one of a very select group of people to be finalists in all of this. I think it will be amazing. I think the ones of us interviewing will be for every field. I don't think I will see many more music people there. I am really excited about it.

So, for tonight, that is it. I open Barnes and Noble in the morning. Today was a long day, especially after getting home at 4AM this morning. I did have a blast out and about last night. I ran into a bunch of my friends. Quite exciting!

Have a wonderful night!

Oh the Places I haven't gone...

So, I have been sucking it up on reading. I am just slowly moving on Game Change because I have had no time to read. Well, there has been time, but during that time, I have mostly been sleeping or trying to get myself in line for teaching next year. There is nothing really to comment on about the book. The most that has happened is that Hillary's blouse has been ruffled from gossip about Bill and she is trying to hide it/cover it/say it is not true. I believe she knows he does things that are not quite good, but loves him enough to look the other way. She is a strong woman.

Last night, I did not post a blog because I was negligent and because the word BEER was calling me. I went out with friends and sadly enough, for the third night in a row, I am going out again. So this blog will have to cover today and yesterday.

The weather has been beautiful here in Chicago. Hopefully on Monday I will be able to start getting on the beach again. I can use it as quality reading time. I have been running outside which has been a major plus. Everything is in bloom, it is very breezy on the lake and the sun is shining brightly. It is enough to make me very happy about being out there. Plus, it is a good time to start acclimating my body to running outdoors again.

I have found a new roommate. She is for sure going to move in with me. Her name is Bridget and she is from Alameda, California...San Francisco Bay area...it is where I stayed with Jube and his family when I went in September. She is a chiropractor unluckily for her...I will be asking for poppings, crackings and everything else. HEHE. But, she is hilarious and that is even greater!!!! I love it.

Monday and Wednesday are big days for me. I have an interview on both days with Chicago Turnaround Schools. They are the ones responsible for firing the entire staff of around 18 schools including principals, teachers, custodians, lunch ladies, librarians, etc. The goal is to begin new and start a new outlook on education for children!

Well, tonight we are all going out. Not sure if I will blog again until lunch at Barnes tomorrow!

:)

Have a good night!

A little conservative

Tonight I am going to be a little conservative about my post. I had a long day of applying for teaching positions and looking up other positions, as well, in which I will apply for tomorrow. I showed my new potential roommate the apartment, as well. She really liked it and I think she will probably move in. She said she likes to bake and that would be a plus.

This afternoon I worked out for about two hours with my friend Brandon and then had dinner with my friend Tony. After, I came home with all intents of being productive but ended up in a bar playing beer pong. Whoops. So, right now, I am a little bit tipsy. Tomorrow will be a kind of busy day. I have worked out so much this week that I will have a shortened workout period in the morning. I won't have to do as much as normal since Brandon and I have covered so much so fast.

Tomorrow evening, I am getting a small group of people together and we are going to go out and have some fun. We are gonna sit and chat and have a couple of beers most likely. This is what I will need after a long week.

I think music teachers are pretty screwed now. I think we have to get elementary or secondary ed certification on top of our music endorsements. I am really sad about that because that means I have to attend graduate school for elementary (again) or secondary. Thank goodness my current grad school offers these degrees and I might be able to do it on a fast track to get out. Keep fingers crossed. Since when did teaching certificates just not count for enough? What a waste of really good teachers that are out there and a lot of money. I guess I need the elementary certification or the secondary in some subject in order to secure myself, too. I have not seen really any ESL positions open yet.

So, the book is fascinating in the sense that I am obviously learning more and forming different opinions after every page. I like how it reads because I feel like I am standing in the grocery store at checkout reading about how fat Kirstie Alley is this week or how many affairs Tiger has had. The book also addresses some political issues and is making me a little more well-rounded which is a good thing.

So, until tomorrow...have a good day. Sorry if this blog is a little scattered and all over the place. I just had a 40oz Miller and lost a couple of shots on beer pong! NIGHT!

Hillary

The more I read this book, the more I wish Hillary were president. I realize she might not be the nicest person or the most enchanting, but she is a no shit type of person. I think a lot of things would have been solved with her very Republican Democrat sense of being. She has the views of a Democratic liberal, but the mindset of a conservative Republican. She is the Mona Lisa of the Senate and presidential race. Her feelings are concealed and her ideas are kept secret. I think from what I have even seen of her, she seems like a hard worker. The woman has been through a lot with her husband and the world. The problem for her is that all of Bill's personal problems are the predecessor to the throne for her. People cannot seem to see past that in all of her superstardom. The American population has a hard time separating Bill from Hillary and realizing that they are indeed two different people. This is not Billary Clinton. The advantage Hillary has at all times is that she was First Lady. Even though she was not elected in 2008, she probably still has a wonderful chance at becoming our next president in 2012.

Capitol Hill seems to be pretty scared of Hillary anyway. She knew how to work and play them and have them under her fingers. Anyone supporting Obama that even knew Hillary or happened to be an acquaintance of hers kept their mouths shut for fear of pissing her off. She was not to be toyed with and if she was, there would be Hell to pay. But, for all their rivalry, Hillary still kept a family picture in her Senate office Obama had given her years back. She does have a heart.

I like the way this book reads. I think it is packed with information that is so useful to know about politics, but yet it reads so easily. In fact, it is fun to read. It's always nice to see that side of people that was not or is not exposed. We wear our true colors like skin...they are never coming off, they can only be concealed but eventually they must be exposed.

Today was a busy day of just doing things I needed to do. Tonight, I applied for more Chicago Turnaround Schools positions. I wish I knew someone like Obama right now to get me a job. Haha...we are so broke that Obama probably could not find a job if he were not President.

Tomorrow will be a fun day. I have to go to the post office. WOW. I am meeting my new potential roommate at my apartment to see if she would like to move in. Keep your fingers crossed...Bridget is awesome. I will then workout with a couple of my buddies and then spend the evening hanging out with Tony whom I have not seen since Thanksgiving.

Goal for tomorrow...read a lot, get a job and enjoy the day.

How is that going to happen? BY GOING TO BED NOW!

Ciao.