I got a new job!!

So yeah, I haven’t posted in FOREVER!!  I have a lot to update on, but I don’t really have a lot of time right now.  Don’t worry, soon to come!

 I left my job that I had for almost 3 years as the Office Manager at a Cleaning Company to become an Ophthalmic Medical Assistant.  I put my 2 weeks  notice in at the Cleaning Company with NO back-up plan and no clue where I was going to be working!!  But I prayed that God would show me the way and sure enough He did!  The first day of my unemployment I got a job offer to work for a pediatric ophthamologist.  Turns out the Dr. that I came to work for performed my brother’s eye surgery many years ago!

So far I work the front desk.  I check patients in and out, make calls to patients, all of the normal admin. duties.  But, the reason I am most excited about this position is that they have a continuing ed. program.  For the first 12 months there is a test that is taken each month.  They give each employee a book and the study the information and then take the test.  At the end of the 12 months you take the last test and can be certified.  So, not only will I learn the front office but as I’m here, I’ll be able to work with patients as well!  YEAH!

 So, that’s the update so far!

More to come ….

Funny Name of the Day

Manjula Basavarajaiah

I couldn’t make these up if I tried.

Corny/Cheesy Joke of the Day

Thirteen

A young man was strolling down a street. As he passed a large building with a fence around it, he heard a group of people chanting “Thirteen, thirteen, thirteen” over and over again.Curious, he tried to see over the fence, but couldn’t. Then he spotted a hole in the wood.

He put his eye to the hole. He just managed to spy some old people sitting in deckchairs chanting, before a finger came out of nowhere and poked him in the eye. As he staggered back, the old people started chanting, “Fourteen, fourteen, fourteen…”

Funny Name of the Day

Shetwan Bobo

Would you like to try some Adell’s Sausage?

So I have a part time job.  I’m a product demonstrator for a sausage company.  (Save the jokes for your mama.)  Every Saturday and Sunday I go to Kroger or Schnucks and I cook samples of sausage and meatballs.  I cut them up and then give them to prospective customer’s.  That’ right, I’m a sample girl! It’s pretty easy work.  I get paid by the hour, with a commission on each package I sell. 

You would not believe some of the people I come in contact with!  All sorts of nice, funny, strange, skittish, hungry, and nosy people.  I never know what type of person I’ll encounter.

But each week as I do this I am SHOCKED at the way people will say “no” to a sample.  I ask the following question “would you like to try some Adell’s sausage or meatballs?” Here are the following strange responses:

1. “I LOVE Adell’s sausage, but I had some last night, so I don’t want any today.”  UH-HUH, right, sure you did.
2. “OH, they are my FAVORITE brand, but my fridge is stocked up!”  Right, I believe your fridge is stocked full of this product, I do.
3. -from a pregnant woman- “What kind of product are you sampling? Oh gosh, I think I’m going to hurl!!” – this one I believe, as I’ve known several pregnant woman and this def. happens to them a lot.
4. “I’m a vegetarian”
5. -with the most disgusted look- “Ugh, I dont’ eat meat” – snarling at me as if to say “how can YOU eat meat?”
6. “I just had a big lunch”
7. “I had some last week at your demo” -me knowing that there wasn’t a demo at this store last week, so they are lying!!
8. “I’m allergic”
9. A firm and mean “NO!!!” -as if I’d ask them if they wanted to try some crack

I just want people to know, it’s OK to say no.  I don’t mind!!  I can take the sausage rejection!!  Please don’t think you are going to hurt my feelings by not taking a sample!!  It’s no sweat off my back!

Then I have the people that are very obviously trying very hard to not make eye contact with me.  They think that if they make eye contact with me I’ll suck them into my sausage vortex.

Then I have the people that LOVE sampling things.  They will sample anything and everything that’s free.  I know this because they already have their hands/carts filled with the other items that are on demo. for the day in the store.  These people make me laugh and they ALWAYS want seconds

So, if you are in Schnuck’s, Kroger, or any other store that has a sampling table, be nice to the lady/man.  It’s their job to try and get you to try their stuff out.  It’s an honest living!  All they are trying to do is be friendly and maybe sell something.  So take a sample, be courteous, and maybe even buy their product.  What’s the harm??  You’re at the grocery store for groceries!!  No harm in trying something new!

Corny/Cheesy Joke of the Day

Anyone that knows me will tell you that I am a HUGE dork!  I LOVE corny/cheesy jokes and commercials (like the Sonic guys, they’re HILAROUS!!)  So, when I find a funny joke, I’m going to post it.

Laughter is the BEST medicene!

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Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly Mother.

The first said, “I built a big house for our Mother.” The second said, “I sent her a Mercedes with a driver.” The third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat. You remember how Mom enjoyed reading the Bible? And you know she can’t see very well any more. I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took Elders in the church 12 years to teach him. He’s one of a kind. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot recites it.”

Soon thereafter, Mom sent out her letters of thanks: “Milton,” she wrote one son, “the house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.”

“Gerald,” she wrote to another, “I am too old to travel any more. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be. I stay most of the time at home, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!”

“Dearest Donald,” she wrote to her third son, “you have the good sense to know what your Mother likes. The chicken was delicious!”

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HA HA HA HA HA!!!

Bush Touring the Devastated Areas

The news is reporting that Bush is set to tour Memphis today.  He will be visiting Memphis and all the surrounding areas that were devastated by the line of tornado’s that ripped through the south on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Governor Bredesen (TN) is asking for Federal Aid from The President. Hopefully this aid will be provided to help during the clean-up and reconstruction process.

 The areas that were affected by these strings of tornado’s crosses over several southern states. This is the nation’s deadliest tornado outbreak in two decades, since 1985. 

Below is a map of all the areas affected by this storm.

There was a total of 93 tornado’s over 5 states, 35 of which have been confirmed by the National Weather Service.  The hardest hit areas were in Atkins AR, Memphis TN, Jackson TN, Nashville TN, Lafayette TN, Oxford MS, Aldridge Grove AL, and Tompkinsville KY. 

Here is a scale that show’s what catagories the confirmed tornado’s were in:

Confirmed Total	Confirmed EF0	Confirmed EF1	Confirmed EF2	Confirmed EF3	Confirmed EF4	Confirmed EF5
35	4	11	8	10	2	0

The devastation has affected millions of people.  Please keep all of these people in your thoughts and prayers!

Tornado’s Hit Memphis and Surrounding Areas

For years we have feared that Tornado’s would hit the City of Memphis.  Sure, we’ve had some close calls, hitting the ‘burbs or rural areas.  But the storm last night went right through the city.  A tornado touched town about .5 miles from my house.  We had no damage, we were very lucky.  But in the state of Tennesse there have been 24 confirmed deaths so far.  Please pray for all of the people effected by this storm.

**UPDATE** 31 people have been confirmed dead in the state of TN. 

**UPDATE** There have been a total of 56 confirmed deaths due to this deadly stream of tornado’s.  The trail of death stretched across four states, with four fatalities in Alabama, 13 in Arkansas, 7 in Kentucky and 32 in Tennessee.

Below are some pictures:

.5 miles from my house a tornado touches down in Bartlett

A wall cloud in Cordova

 

 This house’s roof was torn off and blown onto the nearby highway

This is a picture of Sears at The Hickory Ridge Mall

A warehouse near the MS/TN stateline

At Union University in Jackson TN, where my sister went to college  

 Another picture taken at Union University.  The tornado was an F4 on the Fujita Scale.

 In my Mother’s home town in East TN 

Absurd headlines:

 (Feb. 5) – At least nine people — five of them children — were killed after a fire gutted an apartment building in southwestern Germany while revelers were celebrating carnival, police said Monday.

Rene Werse, Getty Images

Fatal Blaze
In Germany 

Seeing no other way to save his 2-year-old son, a father in Germany throws him from the window of a burning apartment building to firefighters below on Sunday. The toddler survived, but nine people, including five children, were killed in the blaze.

Police told The Associated Press that a wooden staircase in the building gave way soon after the fire started and that some residents tossed their children to rescue crews before jumping out of the building themselves.Getty Images and Agence France-Presse published photos of a baby thrown from the building’s fourth floor, reporting that the child was rescued by firefighters and survived.A fire official in Ludwigshafen told CNN at least 60 more people were injured in the blaze. Twenty-four of them remained hospitalized Monday, he said. The rest of the wounded have been treated and released.

“Unfortunately, we cannot exclude further victims,” police spokeswoman Simone Eisenbarth told the AP.

The carnival tradition stems from the Roman Catholic regions in the west and south of Germany. Like Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Carnival in Brazil, it is a time when residents dress up and take to the streets in celebration.

The fire broke out about 4:23 p.m. on Sunday in a four-story apartment building, city police said in a statement. Its cause was unclear.

Firefighters battled through the evening and into the night to bring the blaze under control. Two adjacent apartment buildings were evacuated as a safety precaution, the statement said.

Fearing that there may be other victims, rescue crews brought in a large crane that lowered fire fighters into the shell of the building to conduct an initial check for additional bodies.

Rescue crews have been unable to thoroughly search because the damage to the building was so severe that authorities think it may no longer be structurally sound.

Ludwigshafen is a port city on the west bank of the Rhine River. It is noted for its large chemical industry and is a gateway to the wine-growing region of the Rhine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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See, miracles happen every day!!

Funny Name of the Day

Ick Soo Pang

I’m sure in another culture/country this name is perfectly normal.  But, to me, it’s perfectly hilarious.

26 Birthday Candles Ablaze

My friend Kristen’s (soon to be mom) 26th birthday was yesterday.  To celebrate this, me and the girls have an impromptu birthday dessert last night. 

One of the other girls, Deanna, decided to bake some yummy strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing.  Deanna also got birthday candles so that we could sing Happy Birthday to Kristen.  Deanna proceeds to put ALL 26 candles on ONE cupcake …  please keep in mind that a cupcake is approximately 2.5 inches in diameter.

We place the cupcakes on a cake stand.  One of the other girls, Ashleigh -who hosted the event- began to light the candles.  She’s having a hard time lighting the candles, and they begin to spark a little.  THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A WARNING, BUT IT WENT IGNORED.  Ashleigh ask Deanna “D, I think these are trick candles” and Deanna says “no they are just regular candles.”  Anyway, as Ashleigh lights the candles they suddenly become one large flame, with billowing black smoke overhead.  It’s out of control!!  The cupcake icing is melting, the room is covered in smoke!!!  We had to open the back door so that we could get some fresh air!

So we quickly sing Kristen her birthday song, she’s gotta blow these candles out or the house is going to catch on fire!!  So she blow’s, and they pop back on, she’s blow’s again .. and they pop back on.  Then Karen joins in and helps to blow them out, nothing, they pop back on.  Then Deanna gives her lungs a whirl, nada, still burning.  Then Ashleigh tries her turn, same outcome.  All 4 girls are givin’ it all they got, and these candles aren’t going out.

We all switch to panic mode!!  WHAT do we do??  So I think, let’s just throw it in the sink and hose it down, that will put the fire out.  So, the pregnant birthday girl is holding a cake stand, now with only one cupcake.  The wax is dripping all over the place and the cupcake is mush because it’s melted.  She heads for the door!  WHAT is SHE doing?  There’s 7 inches of fire and another 4 inches of black smoke following her!  Obviously, outside is NOT the way to go, even though Ashleigh has a lake in her backyard.  

We are yelling to Kristen “THE SINK!! THE SINK!!  Put it in the sink!!”  Then Deanna screams “what about a grease fire?!?!?  There’s going to be a grease fire” <-Deanna was so panicked she wasn’t thinking clearing, because obviously wax won’t start a grease fire.

Suddenly Kristen’s budding maternal instinct kicks in and she realizes she doesn’t need to be this close to an open flame and sets the burning cupcake back on the counter top.  So, everyone is yelling and screaming, it’s UTTER CHAOS!!! 

So, scared to death that I might actually burn my friends house down, I take a deep breath, turn the facet on, and chunk the demon cupcake in the sink.

Ahhhhhhhh, the fire is out, and we are all safe.

After we take 5 to calm down, Deanna goes to the trash can and confirms the obvious … the candles were trick candles .. we were doomed from the start.

I love my friends. 

Below is a picture from back in the summer of all of us girls:

Me, Kristen, and Karen

Ashleigh and Deanna