Bullies

Over the weekend, I was telling a friend about the situation Connor has been in for the past few years. She was shocked to hear Connor was being bullied at school. The reason for her shock is because at church and stuff, he's very respected and popular. It's not that he's getting beat up all the time, but he's being bullied verbally and emotionally by his peers at school almost on a daily basis. Sometimes there is some pushing around.

Anyways, I've been examining my reaction to this over the years. During earlier instances, I would advise Connor to follow the school rules; don't fight back, find a teacher, and tell the teacher what happened. Right away, Sheldon advised him to punch right back but I really wanted to avoid a physical confrontation. As years go by and I see that this method is not working, I have come to terms with Connor physically defending himself if he needs to. I mean, that's the whole reason why we put him in kung fu in the first place...to learn how to defend himself. Now I find myself saying "deck him one if he touches you".

This poses another question. Why are kids so mean these days? If we lived in China or Japan, being smart would be cool. But in North America, if you're smart then you're a nerd. But it doesn't stop at just that. One kid makes racial remarks to Connor! Who does that nowadays? Nevertheless, I called the school right away when I heard about this and told the teacher this should not be happening. It's so wrong.

We are fed up with this. We hate seeing our child's self-esteem diminishing. We're trying to come up with a solution with the school but are afraid it's falling on deaf ears. What is a parent to do?

Oh and just to update you on me...I am still sick. I have no clue why this is lasting for so long. I hate being sick.

The Apprentice

If McMillan (the ad agency I'm interning at) was the Donald and I was a contestant on The Apprentice, he would have just told me..."You're hired!"

I am very blessed.

Oh and The Apprentice is a great show too. It exactly reflects what I went through in school, especially with all those group projects I had to do. It's craziness!

Happy Birthday, Chrissie! When you go out tonight, beware of girl-punching bar guys. If you suspect you've encountered one, approach with caution.

PS...I still HATE being sick.

And the doctor says...

"You have a viral infection along with secondary asthma."

Oh and the doctor also called me a "ventolin virgin" because I got really dizzy and lightheaded after the nebulizer treatment. Lol...ventolin virgin.

I HATE being sick

That's all I have to say about that.

A good place to be in

I spent all of Saturday in bed sleeping, trying to get well. This leads to a problem though. You can't sleep at night. I watched what little entertainment peasant vision (tv via antenna) had to offer me during those wee hours in the middle of the night.

They actually aired an episode of The Hills and The Real World: Denver on CTV. So I settled in to watch them to see why teenage girls love these shows so much. Account planning research, if you will. Watching these so-called reality shows brought me back to how I behaved as a teenager...very irrational and very manipulative. But the sad thing is, the people on these shows are in their early twenties. I did these things when I was in my mid-teens! I saw right through why they were acting the way they were. After I turned the tv off and tried to fall asleep, I got to thinking where I would be if it wasn't for meeting Sheldon and joining the church. I would be exactly like these people...just not on national tv. But you get what I mean.

Then today, I find out that my good friend Chrissie and her friend got punched in the face during a bar fight. What kind of guy punches a girl!!!! Needless to say the guys in Chrissie's group took care of the weenie pretty quickly. But still...who punches a girl???

So after a night of watching teenage reality shows and hearing this story, I realize that I'm in a good place in my life. I truly am.

PS...perhaps I will be rejected in the end

Ok, so the deal with giving blood is if you have second thoughts or you start feeling ill after the first week, you have to call Canadian Blood Services to let them know. Well, the last few days my body's been aching and I've been tired. No other symptoms have emerged which means my body is trying to fight whatever is trying to make me sick. However it also meant I had to call CBS to tell them of my symptoms in case the germs were in my blood last week. They said they'd look into it. So it may be that after all that, my blood may be unusable. So goes this saga. I pre-booked my next appointment when I was there last week, so I guess this will be it until then.

Adjusting to a 9-5 schedule hasn't been easy. Sheldon has really stepped up and made supper almost every night so it was ready by the time I walked in the door. And he thought things would be easier once I was finished school. My workload has definitely picked up as well. But using my crafty project management skills (tons of to-do lists, prioritizing, calendaring, etc.) everything is under control. I have quite a few projects to see through. They're not huge in scope, but they are many.

The family is doing well. Aidan is very clingy. He has a hard time with my work schedule. He's been climbing into our bed in the middle of the night lately too. Sheldon and I were discussing our summer caregiver arrangements. Putting them in summer camps all summer will cost well over $2000. As far as I know, there is a lack of caregivers in our area. Sheldon suggests I shouldn't start a job at all then. He said I should stay at home. I agree but we have bills to pay. I'd love to stay home, but I'd need something to do during the day while the kids are at school. I know, this is the same complaint I've had for days.

As you know, Connor has been playing the violin for about 3 years now. His original interest was to learn how to play fiddle music but we wanted him to learn the classical way first in order to learn the proper technique. I went to buy a new string for my own violin the other day and Sheldon asked the owner for his advice. Apparantly he could start any time now. He's been playing for long enough. So I guess in order to keep Connor interested in the violin, we should encourage him to play music that he enjoys. That's what my piano teacher did. Every now and then she'd give me a popular or contemporary piece to play. One time she gave me "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera. I still pull out the sheet music once in a while to play it.

The weather here has been wonderful. Today it reached 10 degrees, I think. I don't like the melting part of the season though because it starts to smell of mud and traces of dogs on their walks start to waif through the air. But it's supposed to plummet again at the end of the week. With everything melting and then freezing, the roads are going to get slippery.

Well, Lost is on now. Yes, in 3 months we've watched 3 seasons worth of the show and caught up. Will Charlie die? Hmmm.....

Rejected No More

Hurray, I'm not rejected anymore! I donated blood for the first time last night. Actually I just made the minimum requirement of iron in my blood. It's wierd because I've been taking iron supplements and eating lots of cream of wheat for breakfast too. I thought my levels would be more. Oh well, I was accepted. I have to say I felt really good about doing this. It's been something I've been wanting to do for years. Three lives will be helped with my one donation. Pretty cool.

Oh and I won't have moments of boredom at work anymore. Today the assignments and projects came piling in. There's a few more to come still too. I'm really excited to be busy again and this is my chance to show what I can do. It's sink or swim time.

Yesterday was Portfolio Review and mine went really well. I only have a few things to re-work. The account director reviewing it was really impressed with everything. I came out of it feeling very confident. Near the end, she was looking at my resume then said she thought she recognized me from somewhere. At first I thought does she know me from church? Then she said she was one of my judges from OCMC...the integrated marketing communications competition I took part in last November and came in 4th by 0.38 points.

Well, it's time for me to watch Survivor with the family. Stay tuned for more updates...

Shout Out

As promised, here's my shout out to you, Kaicy! Hope your move goes well. I looked at the place on the internet...pretty cheap! We'll have to cross the river and see you once you've settled into your new place.

As for me, my work placement is going well. Slow but steady. I have pockets of downtime which drives me bonkers! I love to keep busy; you all know that. But it's allowed me to post lots so I guess that's ok. Tomorrow I go back to school for a Portfolio Review...my last official "day" at school. We have to videotape our iPhone presentation that afternoon too. I must say a very fitting way to end the year.

The family is doing well. Connor is home with a cough today...no faking that. He was coughing all night. Yesterday he received the "Unity" award from school. It's awarded to the student in his class that goes out of his way to include people and is a good friend to others. I'm very proud of him.

Last year, Aidan received the "Confidence" award. This came at a very good time for him because they had just switched schools and he went back into his shell. He was quiet, shy, and did not contribute answers in class. After his parent/teacher interviews, we all encouraged him to speak up more in class. The teacher noticed his efforts and was given this award.

I am very proud of my boys.

Sheldon is adjusting to my "office hours". It doesn't mean he likes it though. Actually, I don't like them very much either. I don't get enough time at home to spend time with the kids, take care of dinner, housework, groceries, etc. Such is the life of a working mom, I guess. I'd love to be a stay-at-home mom again but I know that the days would drive me nuts since both boys are in school now. If I were to stay home, I'd need something during the day to keep me busy but I don't think I'd go back to babysitting. My house is not babyproof anymore. I guess the perfect job would be one that allows me to work from home. C'est la vie.

Sisters

Today was a very uplifting day. Jen, you gave a great lesson today. I felt closer to my fellow sisters, that's for sure. It's days like today that make church so enjoyable. Jen and Angelina, you are truly my sisters...faults and all. Love you guys!

I called up one of the inactive sisters on my VT list this afternoon. After talking to her, I found out that Champlain had a Chinese New Year's celebration of some sort. I was surprised that I wasn't told about it. My kids were upset when I didn't have any special dinner or party planned. I think something like this should be opened up on a Stake level. I guess that would be a job for...me! I need to track down who organized it this year and collaborate somehow with them. If it's a potluck, then it's something that could be easily put together every year. Hmmm, something to add to the budget for next year.

I'm also considering adding another new activity this year. I always organize dances but we need more "family oriented" activities. So I want to organize a Stake Bonfire but I need to find out where in the city (or just outside) would allow such an activity. It would be a fun, leisurely activity. We'd roast marshmallows and hot dogs, drink hot apple cider, and sing songs around the fire. I guess this would shape up to be a late summer-early fall event. If anybody has suggestions on where this could happen, let me know.

I am Ghandi on Sunset Boulevard

I took this personality test found on D.'s blog. One test matches your personality with a movie. The other test matches your personality with a famous leader. Tell me if you think it's accurate.