I was looking at my Facebook last night and one of my friends who lives in Orlando was talking about how he came over this way earlier this week to visit Busch Gardens. He said that there crowds were so light that most rides were walk-on, with the longest line being about ten minutes. He works at Epcot, over at the Disney complex, and he has been saying lately that even super popular rides like Soarin’ have waits of only a couple of minutes! This past February, I know we waited hours for that ride (and it was almost worth that insane wait).
All of this has me thinking that this is indeed the best time of year to do touristy things in Florida. I know that the beaches around here are clearing out now that school is back in session up north. That does carry over to the amusement parks. I wonder if I should just take Gigi out of school one weekday and take advantage of the light crowds at the parks? On the other hand, our weather here is still HOT. Oh so hot – still in the mid to high 90s in fact.
Orlando golf courses are easier to book this time of year, too. Give things a week or so and the heat will back off and things will be perfect for outdoor activities in Florida. I love it here all year ‘round, but after October things are particularly paradise-like in Florida. There is a reason we all endure the summer heat. 
Posted on September 11th, 2008 by onecleardot
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When I was in high school, I assumed I would become a teacher. In college I had a couple of professors who talked me out of that notion. They both had this idea that I would become a great writer and needed to find a professional niche that would foster the dream. I see now that there is very little chance teaching would have interfered with such a dram. That is neither her not there at this point. Though.
I feel a little duped. I grasped at my dream to teach after my divorce. I head the pleas from the state about the lack of qualified teachers. I spend overt a year back in school, hardly seeing my daughter at night so that I could complete an alternative certification program. And, here I am a year later still looking for work. Well, some of that delay was of my own choosing, but lately I wonder if it would have even made a difference.
I know a lot of industries have taken a fall lately. The number of Realtors and bankers and futures brokers out of work is phenomenal. There are more people than ever looking for a career change. I’m starting to wonder if a change is really what I needed. Perhaps I should have just tried to re-enter my old field. Being home as a wife and mother did not put too much of a dent in my skill level, since I continued to take come freelance work all along the way.
I just do not particularly savor the idea of having my daughter in daycare all summer while I work in some office. If feel like I would be taking way one of the best parts of her childhood. I know I enjoyed my summers off as a child and I want my daughter to have that as well. For now, I will keep looking for work in the schools, but there will indeed come a point where I need to look elsewhere.
Posted on September 11th, 2008 by onecleardot
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We all know that the overall jobless rate in the United States is rising. For the first time in my life, I am feeling the crunch as I look for a job. I’m looking in particular for a job n the local school system. I am certified to teach, but I am also willing to take a non-instructional position to get my foot in the door with the district.
The problem is twofold, though. Not only were teaching and other jobs cut in this and surrounding school districts as a direct reaction to the funding cuts caused by proposed cuts in state property insurance, but there are also all sorts of people who are now out of work from other industries eyeing the jobs in the schools.
Here is an example for you. One district north of here at the school in my old neighborhood, there were several positions open in the elementary school there. One of my best friends applied for one of them and she was told that for the one permanent and one 1-year contract position for gym teachers needed at the school, there were over 600 applicants. 600! Also, they had five positions open for classroom teachers and received over 300 applications.
That is just insane.
So, here I sit faxing out resumes for some more positions that opened up for posting last night in local schools. None of them are teaching positions, but I’m hopeful nonetheless.
Posted on September 11th, 2008 by onecleardot
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I just gave my mother the audio book for The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. We watched the movie together way back when it was on television and I finally came across the CDs I had listened to in the car when they first came out.
I read the book first, then I was given the audio book and I put it in the CD player in the car and listened to it little by little when I was out doing errands. I was surprised at how differently I responded to the story when I was reading the story read to me instead of reading it myself. I did not have a more positive experience one way or the other, but they were decidedly different.
The TV movie doesn’t count, because a good bit was removed from the story and some very important storylines were taken out altogether. I do think that knowing the story beforehand allowed me to have a richer viewing experience than people who were watching the movie without the benefit of the full story.
I found the audio book for Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld at the library and decided to listen to that as well, even though I had already read the book. It was the same thing! I absorbed the story in a different way. Mostly, I think I allowed myself to feel more for the character with the audio book, because I was taking in the story over a longer period of time.
When I read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield I was going though a lot and read the book with a lot of skimming and in short spurts. I am afraid I did not absorb a lot of the details, as much as I just made sure to make note of the major events. Listening to the audio book version made all the difference in the world. I cried a lot as I listened to it. I also realized how infuriatingly often the author used the world “pale”. It was complete overkill.
If I had time, I would follow every book I read up with the matching audio book, but that would take forever (I read about five books a week).
Posted on September 6th, 2008 by onecleardot
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I like evening like tonight when I have the time to sit down and look at the news headlines on several local and national websites. It makes me feel more in touch, and it gets my mind moving. Tonight I am thinking about how being single isn’t all that bad.
There are a lot of reasons I actually enjoy being single now. I never enjoyed it quite this much back before I got married, but after being in an aggressively bad marriage; I see the other side of things.
I was reading an article about actor Shelley Malil being charged with residential burglary and assault with a deadly weapon yesterday after he allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend.
OK, so my ex never stabbed me, but the story reminded me about how much dram surrounds bad relationships. I enjoy the peace of being single and living my days with my daughter. We have a simple schedule and enjoy a quiet home, which was not the case when I was married. So, as I was updating my To-Do list with items like call about auto insurance and renew my domain names, I added “remember to be thankful for the peace in your life.”
Posted on September 6th, 2008 by onecleardot
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I baked a cherry pie and an apple pie. Now, I need vanilla ice cream.
I’m too stubborn at this point to pay the prices being charged for a quart and a half of Breyers or Edys. I like Blue Bell, but it’s usually more expensive than the other two. I won’t buy store brand or other brands that use a lot of unnecessary crap. I want cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, and that’s it.
So, I am making my own. My ice cream maker is out in the garage, but I don’t feel like going out for ice and messing with the rock salt. My old Donvier ice cream freezer is in a box out there somewhere, but the canister needs at least overnight to freeze. I ended up putting together the ingredients into a gallon zipper bag and tossing it in the freezer. That’ll work OK.
On a side note, I looked online and they still make the Donvier ice cream freezers. I bought mine back in 1986, I think. Still the same technology.
However, I think this has all finally driven me to look for an electric ice cream freezer that does not need ice. I am behind the times when it comes to ice cream gadgets. Heck, I’d still use the wooden hand-crank ice cream maker my dad has if I could, but that is just an output of unnecessary energy.
Posted on September 6th, 2008 by onecleardot
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The 2008 hurricane season has been particularly active, and somehow the Tampa Bay area keeps dodging the storms. I should make a graphic to show you what Fay did. It hit Florida from the southwest end of the state and made a NE diagonal up the state, missing us. The, it bounced back into Florida from the mid-eastern coast and went back northwest in a diagonal. All of it missed the Tampa Bay region in a nice clean triangle of clear weather. It was odd.
And, so far, the other storms have missed us, bringing only some much needed rain.
Tropical Storm Hannah went right up the east coast of the nation and dumped a LOT of rain. I am seeing pictures of the flooding in my hometown in the Virginia suburbs of Washington., DC. I remember some flooding there from hurricanes when I was a child, though that area is rarely ever impacted by this sort of storm system.
I’m looking at the storm reports now and see how Ike has become a power Category 4 system. People in Haiti are already storm-weary, trapped, and hungry – in much need of a rest from all of this. I have to look at that and feel very, very grateful, humbled and helpless in my own way.
Posted on September 6th, 2008 by onecleardot
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I get tired just thinking about making another move. I counted once and realized that if you include all the times I moved in college, I have moved 19 times in my life. 19 times! I only moved once as a child and even then it was only a few streets over to a larger house. As an adult, I’ve had just about enough moving.
However, I have most of my stuff in storage and want to get things into a more settled life. I know I should just rent a place, but that desire to put down roots has me hoping and praying that I can get things together soon so I can use the money I have been saving to put a down payment on a little villa for my and my daughter – something we can stay in until forever (though I know she will eventually leave).
My longest distance move was my initial move to Florida. Though I did end up hiring a moving company and then driving down in my own car, I actually made initial plans to use a car shipping service like the ones you can find on CarMovers.com so I could just hop on a train and sleep my way to my new life. In the end, I don’t regret the drive after all. My dad and my dog came with me and we stopped a lot to see the sights. Good memories. If I do that kind of move again though, it will be with my daughter and I will definitely hire a company to move the car so we can enjoy a train ride.
The moves I made while I was married were paid for by my husband’s company and we did not have to worry with the financial end. So, when I moved out of my last house and had my things put in storage I had a massive shock when I realized how much it was going to cost me to hire a couple of guys and a truck to do it for me. I’m not looking forward to repeating that venture.
I hate moving. Did you pick up on that?
Posted on September 5th, 2008 by onecleardot
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It feels ironic that my last post was about how I do not understand women who date men who are vastly different in age than themselves.
Today I was reading the headlines on the website for the Tampa Tribune and there staring at me is yet another story about an adult woman getting in trouble for having sex with a teenage boy. What do women who can vote and drive and have assumedly moved out of their parent’s homes want with a 15-year-old kid?
The woman in question is 24 and she is in trouble for giving pot to a bunch of teens from her neighborhood and for allegedly having a sexual relationship with one of the boys since July.
So, the kid lives at home, is probably still going through pubescent acne, hasn’t reached his full height and isn’t even sexually mature yet. Boys, no matter how much you think of your own sexual prowess, you are NOT as sexually mature at 15 as you might think. And, yes, the girls can tell. All this and a 24-year-old woman chooses to sleep with the kid.
It’s just insane.
Don’t even get me started on 24-year-old men who like to date dominate 15-year-old girls.
Posted on September 5th, 2008 by onecleardot
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I’ve never been one of those girls who dated older guys. Well, now I am not one of those women who wants to date older men – and back in high school I just did not see the charm of boys who were much older. Back then I always dated guys right around my own age, not even a year older. I think the one time I have dated someone a different age than me he was perhaps three years older.
As time went on, I kept a 5-year rule, as in I would only date men within five years of my age in either direction. Now that I am older, age seems to matter a little less, but I still would not ideally date a man much older than five or seven years older and maybe seven years younger.
I like having a lot in common with the men I date. That includes having a similar outlook on pop culture and world events. I enjoy having a conversation about my childhood and having the person I am talking to remember the same cartoons and movies.
I’ve got friend who like to date much younger men. Somehow, the whole “cougar” sport seems to be in style and as much as I will heartily stand up and applaud older women who go out and bag a man-child, I’m not going to join in on the fun. I want my men past the acne stage at least, and more than likely fully equipped with a good career, a child or two, and an eye for a retirement plan – though not actually retired yet.
Perhaps living in Florida does not provides the best dating pool for a woman my age. Back before I was married, the men my age wanted to date women my age. Now I am single again and the men my age want to date women who are the age I was the last time I was single. And, the very old men walking around looking for young ladies don’t do a thing for me – even if some of them do have money (especially since they also have children and grandchildren who would fiercely defend their inheritances from a new, young wife anyway).
Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by onecleardot
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