I am...

a wannabe Computer Animator that turned Technology Teacher.

Hears my story...hear me bark...

When I was a little girl I dreamed of being everything from a teacher to a doctor...like most little girls. When I was in Middle School, I actually hated art. I never thought I was very good even though most teachers and fellow students disagreed with me. I was always my hardest critic and still am. Going into High School, I discovered I loved computers with a passion and wanted to do whatever could get me to be on one. I researched all kinds of computer careers and even thought I wanted to go into Computer Programing. Then I met Mr. Dave Young. He was actually my sister and my brother's art teacher when they were in high school. My sister who went to art school actually got refereed to her college by him. I loved Mr. Young's classes. After my first one I just took everything he offered. (I also had a student teacher crush even though he's 20 yrs older than me) As I took more classes and learned more about art and how...check it out you could do art on the computer. COOL!!! I starting thinking I could combine the two.

As I was ending my junior year and starting my senior one I thought about which art schools to go to. I did a lot of research on the school my sister had gone to, Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL. I also talked a lot with Mr. Young about this. He actually recommended this "great" school in San Francisco, CA, The Academy of Art College. At the time I was like no way am I going to move to SF. All I wanted was to be close to my sisters.

Well, when I started to talk to my father about this he said NO to going to art school. For those of you who know me, know that my father rarely if ever says the word NO. So, I resigned to going to the University of South Florida (GO BULLS) and proving to my father that I would still want to go to art school after two years. :) I started school and I had a great time and LOVED my art classes and my computer classes and actually my math classes. ;) That summer after my freshman year I was still interested in art school so I book a flight out to see my sis in San Diego and up to SF to see the school. I did a whirlwind of a trip. I left on Thursday night and flew into SD and flew to SF on Friday and toured the school on Saturday. Flew back to SD on Sunday and home on Monday. :) On the plane back all I could think about is...I LOVE San Fran!!!!!!! So...long story shorter, I convinced my dad that was the place I HAD TO BE!!

I applied and got accepted and in the Fall of 00' I was OFF to SF. Not that i didn't cry my eyes out the whole first plane ride and made the poor folks who had sat next to the unassuming young woman regret their seat choice. I was leaving my sisters and my nieces and nephews. As much as I was excited about going on my adventure I knew that they were going to grow while I was gone. The second flight was a blessing because I sat next to a young woman who had grown up in San Francisco and was living in San Diego. She told me as many exciting stories about SF as she could and got me very excited. :)

My college adventure in San Francisco was the greatest and hardest of my life. I missed my family and had some Bad Things happen while I was there but so much good came out of it (Mary, your one of these good things) and hey I got a Bachelors of Arts while I grew up and shaped a lot of who I am now. I'll have to add some stories of my San Fran experience in later posts.

Then I graduated.... UGH!! this was a hard part too. Everyone in my life expected that when you graduate you get a job and you live happily ever after. I disagreed even before I graduated. :) I tried to get a job in animation for about a year before i got my first gig, as I'll call them. I worked at a fitness club most the time I was actually in art school. (hey, I wanted free membership) So, I kept that job while I was looking for a job for a while. I was done with classes a semester before I actually graduated from art school.(long story) So, I graduated, turned 24 and decided to move to San Diego to live with my sister at about the same time. I'll leave this story for another date and time. But I moved there and got a job at an emergency vet and met new friends and had an OK time. Bad things happened while I was here too...which effected my friendship with my sister and her husband greatly and was a big reason why I wanted to GET OUT!!

After I had moved away from FL to Cali, I decided that I didn't want to go back. I loved California and I was a Cali girl through and through. That was until living in San Diego was not as fun as I had hoped and I missed my family more than I could handle. I started looking for animation jobs in Florida. And lo and behold there was One...count that O...N...E!!! I applied and I got the job. My dad flew out to San Diego and drove across country with me. (I'll have to post a blog about this adventure too...even though it was a while ago.) I started my job working the 2ND shift at a small and I mean tiny studio in Tampa, Florida. Maybe a week after I started I decided to adopt a dog...not that I hadn't been looking for about a month. :) Well. I went to the SPCA and met and fell quickly in love with Jackjack. (then BlackJack...ewe)

I met some pretty cool folks at the animation studio but within three months got laid off and then quickly found a job with two other guys from that studio who had quit. So, I packed up Jackjack and moved to Melbourne, FL. I loved this place...well I love the Blueberry Muffin..(brian you know you love it too)...the job part wasn't that great but I loved the town. (I'll have to add some stories from here as well at a later date)

Ok...if you are still following or trying to follow you can see that I was moving A LOT. From San Diego to Melbourne was less than a year. By this point I had moved 6 times and with my contract ending there was another move on the way. I was talking to my sister who teaches at a private school and she mentioned that they had a technology job available. I said whatever promises that I'll be staying somewhere for at least a year. :) She said you have to sign a year contract. I said sign me up.

So, I applied and got the job and started my teaching career. Let me say that by the time I got to high school I had decided that the last thing I EVER wanted to do was TEACH KIDS!!! Now I found myself in a job teaching MIDDLE SCHOOL ER!!!!! Not just kids but the most rambunctious age group of students out there. I have now been teaching for 2 yrs and am planning on a 3rd. :) I guess it hasn't really been as bad as I thought it was. NOT saying that it's not HARD and by 3pm I'm tired and ready to go spend time with my dogs who are obedient for the most part and cuddly.

So...I started this whole tirade to say that it's summer and I'm having to find a "summer job". At first I was going to work with a friend but two weeks into it I had had enough. I then went to a temp agency and two days later started my first temp job, which I am currently at writing this blog. It's a front desk position at a college, which they only need me for a week and a day.(working on staying for the rest of the summer) I have discovered that when I have a lot of free time at a computer that is not mine and that I am not busy...I have discovered BLOGS!!! I had already started my own blogging but have added a few more to my mix but I've discovered READING blogs. Who knew there were so many people out there who have wonderful blogs that keep me entertained for the 8 hrs that I sit in front of a computer and answer phones. My favorite two that I must make note of are http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/ and http://www.missdoxie.com/. If you have time you should check them both out. There are archives of funny stuff. Maybe some day someone out there in this world would read my blog and think it's entertaining but I can only hope. For now all I have is my family and friends who check my blog and those I have for my dogs. :)

Thanks for reading,

Gnat, also known as the Dog Lady.

Leaving my puppies...

Let me start this off with I HATE LEAVING MY PUPPIES!! They are my babies and I hate to abandon them for any length of time. This past year I have had to leave them on several occasions due to work trips and such. When I just had Jackjack, my sister FLEAS would take care of him. He always loved being over there but I was always worried that the kids would leave the door open and I would get a call that he's run off. This happened once but they had already got him back when they called.. When I got Abby and now had two dogs to leave behind It's too much for FLEAS with her own two dogs. My friend who lives with her dad then started being my petsitter. I know she loves my dogs a lot even though she has never taken care of a pet of her own I knew she would take care of mine. She has always been great and my dogs are happy when I return. I just worried as well that they would run off or that she would not take them out enough or what have you.

Well...in March my boyfriend, Special K moved in and now I have live in help with my pups and petsitter. I love Special K very much and I know that he loves Jackjack and Abigail a lot. He gives them tons of love and he takes them for their night walk. When I'm gone I know he lets them sleep in bed with him and he comes home during the day from work and walks them and does what he can. Special K tends to work even more than he already does when I'm gone and that's the only reason I tend to worry. My babies love to be around me and I am a teacher so I tend to have plenty of time to spend with them. We like to go to the park and the beach and go for long walks. I know I baby them but they are my puppies and I can't help it.

Last night Special K jokingly said he was going to take our dogs to the kennel and I didn't think it was very funny. I have never had to take Jackjack to a kennel and since he was at the SPCA for two months and lost so much weight and does not handle a crate very well. I try to avoid it at all cost. I calmed down when he made sure I knew it was a joke....It BETTER be!!! :)

Well....I just have to trust the fact that Special K does what he can while I'm gone. I know he misses me and I miss him and the dogs very much. I'm thankful I have him in my life.

I know I have said this before and probably will say it again. I'm just a little bit from crazytown and people do call me the dog lady so I know I just worry too much about them.

I'll be gone for a week at camp next week and I'll just have to trust Special K. He's always been great and always will be when it comes to my dogs.

Women

Sometimes I feel bad for men...they have to deal with our hormones and our mood swings and pretty much all the craziness that comes along with being a woman. I get sick of myself sometimes. I have this great boyfriend, Special K. I've mentioned him a couple times on here. He's the most understanding guy I've ever been with and the most supportive as well. Everyone who knows me knows that I am just a tad bit from crazytown. If left to my own devices my mind goes nutts...especially when my hormones are whacked. Last night I took a simple situation and I reacted horribly and caused a big fight. Special K had gone over to his dad's to hang out after work because his dad's been out of town. We talked early and he'd said he was going to leave work at 6 and stay about half hour at his dads and he'd be home. I said well if I get hungry I'll scrounge something out of our fridge, which right now there is nothing in that's really edible. :)

So...I was fine. I finished sewing what I needed to on my t-shirt quilt and then I looked around for food and obviously found none. I decided to wait til Special K got home and grab something to eat....I started reading and thinking...thinking is BAD for me. I sat around waiting for him and the closer it got til 8 and hungrier I got the moodier and frustrated I got. Instead of following my sisters Fleas, advice and just call and tell him to meet me somewhere to eat or ask if I can grab something for him. I decide to leave the house and get something to eat....I txt him and said "I'm hungry going to get something to eat be home later." Now the be home later...as some of you may understand is not the nicest way to put things. He txts me back asking what I was getting. I txt back that I'm getting a wrap at Tropical Smoothie and ask if he's eating at his dads. The response is "might as well now". I call him and all it leads to at this point is him asking why I'm mad and me hanging up on him. I stay and eat and probably take my time because I'm not really sure what I'm going to say when I get home. Well... I finally get home and we start communicating and all gets better. Like I said he's pretty understanding and he wants to know why I'm so upset and when we get to the bottom of it and we both agree that I should have reacted differently and he probably should have let me know he was leaving work late and that he'd be later...we settled down and cuddled and had a good evening. I love Special K and I know that I'm sometimes a freak of jumbled hormones...and I'm just glad to say that he loves me and wants to stick around...despite me being a woman.


Happy 5 month Anniversary Special K....here's to 60+ years more.

Summer adventures....

So...as a teacher I get summers off. I don't have to go to school and I still get my salary all year round. This is very nice but as someone who doesn't get paid much and doesn't have a husband who can support my time off I have to find work. A friend of mine bought a franchise and asked if I would work with her. I said sure thinking that it would be great money and not full time hours. :) That is key to having some relax time before the hustle of school starts. Anyway...I started and things weren't as great as I had hoped. She's a wonderful lady but the business is just starting and is a little disorganized. I can't count how many times I've driven down to bradenton in the last two weeks. yes, I only lasted two weeks. Well...wish me luck in finding new employment for the summer.

I've been spending my free time working on a t-shirt quilt using all the t-shirts I have from high school and college and that has kept me busy. Yes I know many of you know that I can get distracted and I like to relax but I still can't stand doing nothing all day. :) It's coming out great and I'm really excited about it. My sister is coming over this afternoon to help me sew all the pieces together. I'll take some pictures and post those when I'm done. I'm also making four pillows to match. I'm domestic.

Well...i'm off to finish working on my quilt and I have a facial at 1:30 with my sisters. Yes, I know tough life. :) Just need to enjoy it before I get a temp job and have to work fulltime. :)