Life and Times in CA: October 7 - October 20

I know, I know, it is awful that I have not put anything up in two weeks. It has been CrAzY hectic around here and that is not an excuse but it is the truth. So, let me see if I can pick up where I left off.

After the car accident on Sunday, I had the rental car and there was not any damage to it really so I obviously could drive it. Now, if you knew me when I got my Saturn, the week I got it I graduated from college and it got backed into. Then if you remember the Escape, within one month of having that car it got hit in the back from a mother of a student at LDHS. I do not have good luck with new cars. Once I have the car, it is not a big deal and there is not a problem. I am hoping this "BUMP" is the accident that I was going to be in and therefore the new car will not get hit. Cross your fingers.

Monday and Tuesday night October 7th and 8th I had Tablet Roll-out. It went famously well and I am proud to say that the majority of the Tablets are handed out to Academy students at JW North. I am waiting on the last order to come in.

So I picked up the new Jetta on Wednesday. I left work at 4:30 pm to try and get to the dealership by 5:30 pm to pick up the car. However, it started pouring rain about 3:30 pm. Now, let me explain again that people who live is Southern California never really see rain. In the time that I have been here there has really only been two times it has rained. Both times it has been a pretty bad rain, but not anything worse than what we see in South Carolina. There is fog and some mist at times but not at the point that it is disabling to drive. However, in CA, anytime there is rain, it is absolutely insane and everyone decides to drive 10 mph, which is more dangerous than just driving as expected with the number of cars on the road. Needless to say it took me about an 75 minutes for what should normally take about 30 minutes to get home and there were no wrecks!!! I finally made it to the VW dealership to pick up my car and had to wait for about 45 minutes. I am not really sure why because they had it for four days and I was tired and started to get irritated. When I finally did get the car, the VW dealer, Scott, showed me how to work all the crazy electronics that is in the car. The crazy thing is that it has key less entry and start. So now I have to remember not to try and put a key in the ignition and to remember to hit the start and stop engine button rather than use a key. It is kind humorous when you consider how long I have been putting a key in the ignition and then I continue to try and put one in this car. Now, remember that it is a VW key and they pop open. So while I do not need the key, it still has one that pops out but there is no place to put it. LOL!!! I am learning how to use the navigation system in this car as well and am putting in all my important addresses!!!! It is fun to drive and I was able to make it to work and back for a full week with only one tank of gas. When I filled up it only cost me $61.00 for diesel rather than having to fill up twice with unleaded for a total of about $85.00. So, I should be able to save money in the end because I should be able to only spend $250.00 on gas in a month rather than about $350.00 - at least that is the plan. I still have the Escape and am working on trying to get it fixed, I just really cannot bare to let it go. I love my yellow car. I went last week and started the registration process for CA. One of the teaches at school told me about a local family owned business that I contacted and they said they could do the repairs for much less so we will see. Still not sure what I am going to do at this point. I really want to keep both.

This is my new car. I am still trying to determine a name for my car!

I did get to go hiking last week. I have not been since I have been here and it is one of the things I love about Southern CA. It was great to be able to get out and do something that I moved here for. I hated that I have not been before now but there really was not much time and it seems there has been other pressing items to take care of. I will say that I have not been working out like I need to and therefore I was sore the next day. I really need to get back into my workout schedule and make sure that I lose some of the weight that I have gained. While I walk around all day and I do try and eat healthy, I have not been able to do that near as much as I want and there always seems to be someone with candy around. Yea, I know, I put it in my mouth but sometimes I just don't think about it. I need to do a better job of making sure that I am not around it and it is not around me.

I did go back to Disney last Sunday as well after the hike on Saturday with Jessica Roe and the kids. Unfortunately we went when there was a morning charity event and therefore Disneyland did not open till 10:00 am and it was PACKED. It reminded me of Disney World on Christmas. Needless to say, we did not stay long and did not do much. We left after a short time to head home. Now, as you know the Roe's are my Southern CA family and therefore I am invited to many of their family events. Last Sunday I was with them to celebrate Elyse's birthday. We had a great time. Michael's mom cooked Mexican food and we sat around and talked. I am excited to be included in their events.

This weekend, I have spent Saturday at work trying to get caught up from the full moon. Yes, the full moon. This week was absolutely insane. Several fights after-school but more girl drama!!!! I just don't remember that much girl drama when I was in school or teaching at Laurens. I know there was some but I guess either there was not as much or admin hid it well and took care of it. I can't believe how many girls really threaten to beat someone up for "talking" about them. In retrospect, is it because of the bullying campaign? There is such a fine line between bullying and someone who just does not like you and says they don't like you. It is absolutely CrAzY what got reported this week as far as girl drama.

JW North did win homecoming and it was a great night. While they do have their clubs pick representatives, it is a little different here in CA. This is a HUGE deal and there was loads of events the entire week that started with the dance and ended with the game. There was loads of events that occurred at the school during lunch. All the girls wear prom dresses the night of the football game. This is different from SC. It was very interesting to see all of them dressed up!