Listen very carefully..... I am singing

Happy birthday to you~~~Happy birthday to you ~~~~ Happy birthday dear Daddy (I don't really call you that but it sounds good) Happy Birthday To YOU!

sung to the tune of "Happy birthday to you" except for the part in parenthesis which is monotone and sung rapidly.

I LOVE YOU DAD!

What makes a person continue working somewhere if they don't feel totally comfortable and somewhat fulfilled by it?

I decided to be an assistant at the biggest and the best acupuncture clinic in the area. This includes all the treatment that the patient receives other than diagnosing and putting the needles in. I set the person up before the treatment, and after the needles are in, do various other things. I do not get paid and seldom receive thanks from the acupuncturist. It almost feels like the main people at the clinic think they are doing us (the assistants) a favor by allowing us to experience this.

My committment is only one day a week for four months. My first day, I went home with a headache. The second week, I went home with a headache that progressively turned into nausea and I went to bed as soon as I returned home. That is unusual for me. I continued evaluating why I am doing this. The third week, I told the acupuncturist about my experience and we decided that perhaps it is the smoke from the *"moxa" and the incense. We didn't burn incense and used very little moxa. After the moxa treatment, I did start getting a headache but tried to push it away. Things improved a little bit.

I've come to the conclusion that I will continue my committment as an assistant. I will also continue communicating with the people in the clinic beacause they were receptive and seemed to care. I realize that I had gone in with my guard up and now it is time to let it down - slowly.

This is a good experience for me because it does give me an opportunity to see how people set up their practice. Of course I have already had an idea of how I will do things, but this has reinforced my ideas. Simply put, my ideas stress keeping things simple which will include the size of my practice. It would be a good idea to share an office area with an acupuncurist or chiropractor, but there are also other possibilities.

Who knows? I'll probably apply to work in a spa to begin and hopefully it will be a good experience, but the truth is that one of the main attractions for this type of work for me is that it is a skill/profession that I can market independently and work for myself.

*moxabustion (moxa) is a type of treatment in which we burn herbs to heat up specific acupuncture points. It smells like pot and is very smokey.

Once again.... from Otto's Monday Madness ........

1. The one kitchen appliance I just could not live without is the microwave. I know, I know, at least one of my seeesters does not believe in having one, but I on the other hand use it more than the regular oven.

2. My desk always looks like a table. Ha, ha, ha, ha ... 'cause it is a table! It's one that I can get out when I need to spread out my books - I plan to use it for photos too. It's a fold up table - card table style but not shape; I like it.

3. The clocks in my house are always accurate unless the battery is dying; then, it slows down. I don't believe in setting the clocks fast - that's just weird to me.

4. The one television program I just can't stand is Wheel of Fortune! I used to watch it, but in the past couple of years, as soon as I hear the screaming and yelling, I change the channel. Pat Sajak is obnoxious.

5. The one television program I try to never miss is Survivor. I will be watching the "all star" show too. I was surprised to hear that some of the people who are coming back are past winners; it should be a fun one.

6. When it comes to housework, I really hate cleaning the stairs. Vacuuming the stairs is tedious and a pain in the back.

7. If I could re-design my living room, the first thing I would do is call the Fab 5 from Queer eye for the straight guy. Ha ha ha ha ha - actually, Susans wardrobe(clothes and closet) could use them. did I say that?

8. I wish I had a bigger dog in my house. Just kidding! Bravo is bigger than I will ever have in the future. Seriously? Nothing needs to be bigger - maybe the couch; it could be wider.

9. When someone points a camera at me and says 'Smile!' I usually smile while mumbling something like, "okay hurry up."

10. I expect I'll have my income tax done as soon as I receive my W-2 and appropriate tax forms.

From Otto's Monday Madness........

1. I often wake up before my alarm clock goes off.
True! With a rigid schedule, I generally wake up before the clock alarms and with a more flexible schedule, I just don't set an alarm.

2. I love to drive; in any kind of weather!
False! I really don't like to drive, but I don't mind the daily driving. The problem is that lately I get car sick even while riding in the front seat; there's probably some acupuncture I could get for that.

3. I'd rather have to worry about staying warm than staying cool.
False! I don't worry about either, but I would much rather sweat profusely than freeze my butt off! That's the truth! I would say that in August in Southeast Georgia too!

4. I wish I lived in another state.
False - I don't wish for anything other than where my life is right now, but I do still like Georgia. I miss it too; it's a good state.

5. Multi-tasking is what I do best!
False it isn't what I do best, but I do tend to multi task. Why do I multi -task? I tend to get bored with one project, so I end up starting 3 or 4 and go back and forth with them. Sometimes it's difficult being me.

6. Flying is the only way to go!
True! Go back to my driving answer; I just don't enjoy it anymore. I love that I can leave my house early in the morning, have a good day reading and justifying eating junk food, then end up in another state or even country that same day or night (or close to it.)

7. Budgeting my money is one of my downfalls.
False --- it got a little strange after losing the best job I had ever had though - (I'm over it now)

8. I wish there was 8 days in the week!
False -- it wouldn't prolong your life if that's what you're hoping for. 7 is good enough for me.

9. I get at least 7 hours of sleep a night.
True i think--- I used to wake up after 6 hours sleep no matter what time I went down; now, I think I average maybe 7. Yeah, i think so.

10. I'm a night owl.
True - I'm not as much of a night owl as I used to be, but I'm still a night owl. I try to be reasonable though; if I have to be up at 6 for some strange reason then I would probably go to bed at a decent hour.

Whew!

It seems that once again, some mysterious computer monster is not allowing my loved ones to leave a message.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...........................

Thanks for the email Otto!

From Otto's Monday Madness...

In each of the following questions, fill in the blank.....
1. When I sing, I sound like an opera star, rock star, bird, elephant, dog,,,, the lists goes on - need I say more?
2. This month is my favorite month of the year.
3. I've always wanted to improve my communication skills.
4. It's Monday morning, and the first thing that goes through my mind is - well, it's not Monday morning anymore, but I think this morning my first thought was something like this, "hmmm - this is rare, I have to be somewhere and Susan doesn't - and should I walk Bravo then feed him, or feed him and then walk him? (he woke me up at 0230 for a poop outing)
5. My favorite day of the week is today because I try to be in the present. You know, too many people wish each day away for Friday or something when we can really have a great day every day.
6. I used to collect little things (miniatures.) Now, I collect flattened, souvenir pennies. I even have a penny passport to hold them.
7. At the end of a work day/school day, the first thing I want to do is eat.
8. I really look forward to visiting my family because it's my favorite holiday.
9. When I need some down-time, I usually leave the room, go on a walk - really, it depends on what's going on when I need the down time.
10. I plan to travel to Michigan in April!

I think I better blog more often in order to keep you checking, because you know, when I have something to say I want to be heard and responded to. (Sharba, if you can come up with a way to avoid that one, feel free to speak up.)

Bravo has decided that beginning in February, he will blog sometime during the first week of each month. He has things to say too; it just doesn't happen as often as us humans. That reminds me, does Bubba still blog?

The new semester has begun and I finally received my grades from the previous semester last week. All is well - no surprises. This semester will include a little less of the traditional "book learning" type classes and a little more "active classes." Don't misunderstand me, it will still be time intensive due to having to keep journals of massages that I practice along with exercise (Qi Gong.)

Qi Gong, pronounced chi gong, is a meditative/strength exhancing type exercise which can help me along with my clients. It can help my clients by the fact that I will be at an optimum healthy place while helping them along with being able to suggest (if they desire) exercises that they may want to do to avoid which ever problem they may be having such as; stiff neck and shoulders, cramps, stiffness - you have the idea, don't you?

Well it seems that I am now in the mood to do some journaling, so I will get to work - school work journaling that is. I actually thought about posting my Qi Gong jounal here, but I think this journal will be periodically modified in order to stick with the instructors guidelines.

As Windy would say.... O & O !

Slang.........this week's Monday Madness questions are all about slang.
1. Do you use any slang words on a regular basis? I'm sure I do, but none come to mind at the moment.
2. Is there any one slang word that really bothers you when you hear others use it? Definitely! "Bro" bothers me but it really really bothers me when the boys say it in such a way that it sounds like, "bra!"
3. Do you have a favorite slang word? Once again I'm sure I do, but no specific slang comes to mind.
4. What are your thoughts on adding slang words to the dictionary? I think it's fine as long as they put them in as slang; although, now that I think about it more, I think they're adding too many such as "mc job."