encouragement for trade or postage

Don't worry, you aren't the only one who needs to rant! We usually get around to that on most every thread anyway!! LOL When someone rants, the rest of us have to add our two cents whether it's advice or our own story!! Gee, maybe we'll even get around to talking about gardening on this thread!! We never stick to the subject anyway - all it takes is for someone to start rambling on about something and soon we are so far from the subject we don't know what the thread is about. Hmm, what was this thread about? See I forgot already! Rambling-Run-On-Sentence-Grammy

Amy - Opportunity knocked, I opened the door, checked it out & walked through. It was one of the very best decisions I've made in my life. That experience taught me much about myself - confirmed my independence, my insatiable curiousity & stretched my understanding. It was overwhelming in a very positive sense, and at the same time, humbling.
I guess I would tell someone to never give up on a passion: how badly do you want something, and how much energy will you expend to achieve it? That being said, I recognize that life will often dictate limits on one's time & energy...

I love to learn, especially if I can exercise an element of control in doing so. That is why I tried hard to learn Portuguese on my own, and I was successful to a degree. But you keyed in on a major necessity: the language must be used, and the very best way to do so is to speak it. This gets difficult if you've no one to share it with. I think you would be amazed at how much spanish you have stored in your brain's hard drive! Using it would open the floodgate. So, is there a way to find someone that speaks it as their native tongue - perhaps someone that has common interests, such as gardening? (Through the local colleges/University/trade schools?)
I confess my ignorance about New Haven, but maybe, just maybe, there is way to find someone that fits this description. If not right now, perhaps in a bit.
Sometimes one has to exercise patience in waiting for opportunity, but if the goal is something you value, it will absolutely be worth it.
As far as discouragement goes, I could rant about taxes, bad weather & why Winter takes so much longer than summer. However, I will see the glass as being neither half-empty or half-full; I see the glass contains water...
Snow for us tonight & tomorrow - which means ice on the roads for the commute & I so prefer ice to be IN my glass.

Funny story David!

When my bro was in HS and learning Spanish, he would repeat some line over and over, which included 'ferrocarril'.

I learned to roll my R's courtesy of my older brother: it was the "correct" sound for the motor of the little 3" replica sportscars. We raced them around the living room for hours, until I decided that mine could win by flying. Hot competition at the age of 4.

Just a thought-would a speech therapist help. I, too, can write and correctly pronounce the words in my head but exiting through my lips is totally wrong!!
I wouldn't let a negative teacher get inside your head-her comments are ignorant and should be dismissed as such.

hahahha.
sorry - i took yesterday off due to a migraine.
i can't do the rolling Rs either - DH does it no problem without effort. i was going to say that back when Katye was talking about using your mouth differently in different languages. It is good to know it isn't just me!
i keep hoping it will come to me as i listen to more spoken Spanish - i have a tendency to pick up whatever accent i am surrounded by without even trying - y'all shoulda heard me after i lived in TN for a time (still, if i talk to someone from 'round there).

Hope you are feeling better Amy

Too bad this couldn't be a tutoring option at schools. I'm sure it's not just foreign languages but having such help might give some people more confidence in public speaking. The fear of stumbling over words would be resolved. In my oral communications class many moons ago, a woman in her thirties had gone through speech therapy and it gave her alot of confidence. She stated she wouldn't have even taken the class if it weren't for help with her speech.

Ah, for those of you still following along at home, i did go out to CCSU for the other spanish class today - and i was totally overwhelmed! Basically, at CCSU, there would be 2 or 3 classes between where i am at now, and where THAT class is. i came home and dropped it. i thought about reregistering for the SCSU class. But i didn't.

So, now i am FREE!!!
(well, i am "in" a brand new class my DH is teaching monday evenings, but that is all.)

i am somewhere between elation and panic.
i really do feel like i just broke up with school...

Don't forget the apple!

there is the problem of not having anything specific to have to get out of bed for, or leave the house for, most days...

Push yourself.

You could always get out of bed to see what's happening at DG!! LOL Eleanor

True Amy. When I'm feeling down, too much leisure can be a problem. I need to have some structure in my day.

I'll volunteer my kids to keep you busy.

hahaha.
back from the theatre festival in MA- i wish we could have stayed for the whole thing. But, we left after the response session to SCSU's show ended at 10:15 - just in time for me to get Eric on a 2pm train to Newark to make his 5:30pm flight to L.A.
whew!

and as of 4:30 his flight is delayed until 6:40.

best call of the week - at the festival i got a call to work 2 days (well, 5hrs and 7hrs) this week. Kiddie shows, all i do is help load and unload their truck or van, and push a few buttons on the light board, but boy do i need $! And it is 2 days i have something to get up for! Really to get up for - 8 am calls. Not a morning person, but i manage it when i need to!

And thank you Dave for understanding what i mean. Unstructured time is hard for me...

Amy, You mentioned Josh Ritter. I believe he just did a benefit concert for a young woman who is a precious friend of mine who is battling cancer. In Boston

yes, it was in December, at Passim's - i really wanted to go but it sold out before i could figure out if i could get up there. Wow, so you know her? (Her name is Kate, right?) i think he managed to raise a pretty good amount of money - there was an online auction too.
Actually, he was the concert in Westport that i had to race back from the RU in October to go to! (And that's why i was looking for someone w/Dish or Direct TV, because Ovation was airing an L.A. concert of his on Thursday...
http://www.joshritter.com

How about some encouragement for my father in law who will be 90 on Feb 11th? I'm trying to see if I can get a lot of bday cards sent to him. He's in a VA hospital and I think this will cheer him up! I'll dmail his address if you want to help!

sure!

sure debi!

Amy,
Kate grew up in Madison. One of my all time favorite kids. She was one of our Peer Advocates. do you know her?

What's the prognosis, Dave? Hope all works out.

Yes Dave, sorry I missed that part. Hope she is doing better.

She just finished chemo!!! Radiation is next. So far so good. Of course, this "kid" is probably in her early 30s now. I've known her for about 15 years.

She's still a kid to be going through that. I'll be thinking good things for her!

Me too. I've had way too many people - family, friends and friends of friends, etc., dealing with cancer lately. My uncle has throat cancer. My aunt (and godmother) has breast cancer that is spreading. Pretty depressing.

I know, that's why I try to treat each day as a gift! Enjoy my garden and family and friends.

no, i do not know her - i only know about her because of Josh.

Last week was pretty good - 2 days of work ended up with me called in for a 3rd night of work, so i actually got to make some money, which is very encouraging. (Though i won't get a check until March.)

i was able to get together 4 friends of Eric's to surprise him at dinner in NYC for his birthday, and he liked that a lot. Lots of people i contacted couldn't come - ah, the theatre life - and of course 2 of the people who did are probably his 2 friends who like me the least and always make me really uncomfortable, but i deal with that better than i used to.
After dinner i took him to see the new revival of Sunday in the Park with George, which was one of the best things i have ever seen maybe. Cool production - projections and animation o my. It is a show that i get very emotionally involved with though. Makes me think about things i usually manage to avoid thinking about.

Eric's actual b-day is Tuesday, but Mon, Tues, Wed this week he is at school until (at least) 10:30 every night because on Thursday (yes, Valentine's Day) he flies to FL for 4 days. i am staying here, and i have no work, so it will be a test to see how well i hold up...

Last night we had dinner with a couple that we rarely get to see (some complicated history there), and i was pretty stressed out about it to say the least. But it went well i think.

Tomorrow i have ANOTHER eye doctor appointment, just a follow up but i worry because i do NOT think my eyes are doing as well as he said they'd be.

So, that's where i am. How about y'all?

woo-hoo.
ANOTHER kind of prescription eye drops.
But the good news is my pressure is down, so the steriods didn't mess up anything long term.
The bad news is that he thinks there is a good possibility that part of my continuing problem may be due to the cats. (We took in 2 "wild" cats in early November, 2 weeks later my 1st eye problems began.)
i have still only been wearing contacts 5 - 6 hours a day, 4 or 5 days a week. They bug me too much the rest of the time.
And i was just starting to like having cats again...

At least you are headed in the right direction. Even if so slowly

seems like good news longer and longer time with the contacts now right?

hopefully! though after 6 hours today, i was ready to go for my glasses. i like the cats, though. i didn't want to keep them to begin with, but now i've gotten kind of attached.
i have to think of something i can surprise Eric with at work tomorrow for his birthday. (minds out of the gutter - jeez!) Another professor is bringing a cake for him to the faculty meeting in the morning, but Eric will be building a set with students from 2:30 - 10 pm...

yay - he gets a dinner break.
i think i am going to get him a gift certificate for a massage. Most people would like that, right? And he works way too much. i'm just looking for a place that doesn't seem too spa-ish and girly.

There are a few places downtown NYC...

smart___. :P

i am trying to come up with gifts that are not neccessarily things i like, and that are definitely not things he'd buy or do on his own, but that he'd like.
i feel guilty if it's something i want too - like seeing Sunday in the Park...