What Got me into Writing?

Where would I be today if I didn't write?  That question will be answered later.  I'm not sure exactly what got me into writing.  I remember my friend and I were talking during my senior year of college in 2009 about us writing a book about college.  I don't know how the conversation started.  I know that we wanted to write one based on our experiences.  We didn't want to write our experiences.  Instead, we wanted to make it a guide book on how to survive college.  We started doing this during the summer before I started graduate school.  We broke it up into chapters and then bullet points within each chapter.  After each bullet point, I wrote a paragraph explaining the bullet and my friend did the same.  I ended up writing a lot more than she did.  She was not happy because she only wrote a sentence or two for each.  She wanted it to be more of a quick guide book.  It would have only been 100 pages if we tried to publish it.  I explained that I was more reflective.  Needless to say, it didn't work out and we stopped.  I published my side of the story for me only.  I didn't edit it at all.  I typed what I wanted to type, and quickly published it for me.  I haven't read it in a very long time.  In fact, I don't think I even read the book in its hard copy format.  I should because it is probably written horribly.  Fast forward to April 2011.  While working at my job grading standardized tests, a title came into my head. (Yes, my mind was wandering while I should have been grading! Shhhhhhhh)  I immediately wrote it down and went with it.  I believe either while outlining or while writing The Teacher That Didn't Teach, the title for book two, The Teacher That Taught Too Much came to mind.  I believe even before then, I was writing down a list of don'ts for the grocery store while working at the self-checkouts.  Again, I was writing and thinking while working.  Oops!  I kept the list in my room for awhile, and then threw it out!  Don't ask me what I was thinking because obviously I wasn't.  I then started up another list of don'ts and held on to it.  I did it on receipt paper, oddly enough.  I know the list I originally had was a lot better than the list in my current book.  Oh well.  You live and you learn.  Now that I keep working on books, I find myself craving to come up with more ideas.  I can't explain it.  I always want to work on a new book.  I hope that doesn't come across as arrogant.  I'm not writing to be better than anyone.  I know I'm not the best writer and will be the first to admit it.  I never want to do two books at a time, though.  I already have a title for my 3rd book in "The Teacher That" series.  I wrote that down and a few small ideas that I have for the book.  I will work on that once the grocery store book is done.  I do know that I do not keep writing for fame and fortune.  I keep writing because it's what I love to do.  I love to challenge myself.  As I've said before, I love getting the finished product in my hands.  The sense of accomplishment is overwhelming!  If I haven't written two books at this point in my life, I have no idea where I would be.  Has my life changed drastically yet because I am a published author?  No.  Will it someday?  Who knows?  If I didn't publish two books, I wouldn't have this blog and I would probably have a lot more free time at night.  What would I be doing with that time?  No clue!  I can't think of anything else I'd rather do than keep writing books.  If nothing spectacular comes of me publishing books, who cares?  Not me!  No one can take away the fact that I wrote, edited, and published two books by myself.  I am so incredibly proud of that!  I have more to say on that last point in tomorrow's blog.  Stay tuned!

The Help

I read the book The Help and just started watching the movie.  Since I'm always so busy and don't have the attention span to sit and watch a 2 and a half hour movie right now, I will finish it tomorrow.  It's an excellent book and a great movie so far.  I highly recommend it.  It's about black maids working for white people in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's.  It talks about the perspective of the black workers.  The book discusses how the blacks were treated.  The book is about a white person writing a book that has interviews from the maids.  One thing I didn't like about it was that the author is white.  Throughout the entire book, she writes as a narrator for various black maids.  I feel like it would be very hard to capture exactly how black people talked back then as a white person.  I'm not saying that to be mean.  I'm just saying that the dialect she used was challenging to read at first.  I still think the author did a very good job of showing the reader what it was like back then.  Obviously I have no idea what it was like because I wasn't born yet and have never had maids work for me.  I can't imagine having people do my work for me.  It's horrible to think about.  It's devastating to read and see what black people had to go through in he 1960's and before.  It still isn't perfect today, but is much better than it was back then.  When I first heard about the book The Help, I thought it was written for women.  I decided to read it anyway and realized it's not a book just for women.  I'm extremely glad I read it because it puts a whole new perspective on life.  If you are looking for a good read that will get you thinking, read The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  You will be happy you did.

The Cover is Finished!

A lot of hard work has been put into my book the past few days.  I typed and edited all of part 3.  There are 5 parts to this book.  Part 4 and 5 are both very short.  Part 3 makes up a large portion of my grocery store book.  I went back and forth with my illustrator over the past week.  Today, he put the finishing touches on my cover.  As always, he did an excellent job.  It looks like my goal of having this book published by April will be beaten.  Like I always do, after I finish writing the book, I will edit it at least two more times, if not more.  Then, when I have a student ask me if I have ever read my book, I can say yes again, haha.  I then have to come up with what I'm going to put on the back cover and format it for kindle.  I bought a book on Amazon that lists more publishers that aren't just children's book publishers.  I need to find a literary agent that will take me, too.  If I have an agent, I have a much better chance of being published.  Publishers are more likely to look at a book that an agent sends them rather than just the author sending it to them.  I will be sending query letters out to publishers  and agents that will hopefully find my book interesting.  I hoped to write more in my book tonight, but didn't.  I needed a lazy night.  I watched a movie and watched some Chopped.  Sometimes you just need that little break in the action.

Piercings

I was going to write this post last night.  However, telling you my embarrassing story was more important.  Since I told you how much I can't stand tattoos, it's now time to talk about my feelings on piercings.  I have no problem with earrings.  In fact, I used to have one in my left ear.  I think I was 11 or 12 when I got it.  Yes, my mom had no problem with me getting an earring.  I stopped wearing it because people kept making fun of me for it.  I haven't worn an earring for well over 10 years and will probably never wear one again.  I don't like seeing people with a ton of earrings going up and down their ear.  I don't like that little bar that goes from one side of the ear to the other.  I also find the gage earrings that put a hole in your ear absolutely gross.  I don't mind seeing people with very small nose rings because they aren't too noticeable.  I shockingly don't mind eyebrow piercings too much either.  I don't understand the point of tongue rings or belly button rings.  I would probably bite down on my tongue ring all of the time if I had one.  It must be very hard to talk, too.  Piercings anywhere else are pretty disgusting too.  I have seen chin, neck, and nipple rings on people.  Why?  What possesses people to get these?  I can promise you that you will never see any body piercings on me.

One Word Makes a HUGE Difference

In this case, that one word literally did make a HUGE difference.  This is extremely embarrassing to admit yet hysterical.  I was extremely upset when this happened, yet laughed at it right away.  I was with three of my friends and they will never ever let me live this down.  I don't blame them either.  A couple of weeks ago, my friend told me about this burger his brother had.  To say it is huge is an understatement.  This thing is gargantuan.  Ever since he told me about this burger, I have wanted to eat it even though it is literally a day and a half worth of calories.  Last night, we were going to go bowling, but the bowling alley was packed and there were no lanes open.  Instead, we decided to go to the restaurant that has this burger.  I ordered it and told the server my friend and I would split it.  I was so set on what I wanted that I didn't even look at the menu.  We didn't even order fries because that was extra and we knew we would be plenty full.  I told the server that we didn't want cole slaw on it and she gave me a weird look.  I should have known something was wrong then.  Then again, she should have known something was up, too.  Why would I say no cole slaw on a burger that doesn't have cole slaw anyway?  When the food came, the server brings one empty plate and one plate with an extremely small burger on it cut in half.  She walked away quickly and I just stared at the burger.  I accidentally ordered the smokehouse burger instead of the smokestack burger.  Let me describe the differences in these two burgers.  The smoke house burger is a half-pound burger with BBQ'ed onions, bacon slices, cheddar cheese, and onion straws.  The smokestack burger is 3-half-pound burgers, 3 slices of cheese, topped with onion rings, onion straws, pulled pork, and cole slaw.  That's why I ordered it without cole slaw.  That stuff is gross.  Now you understand the problem I had here.  I was too in shock to say anything that I ate the burger in literally two minutes.  I didn't even think of returning it and asking for the smokestack burger because this server was slower than dirt and would not have come back to take my request for another 10 minutes if we were lucky.  Here we were, two big guys splitting a half-pound burger without any fries.  We looked like the biggest losers in the world (sorry to my friend that reads this, it was all my fault and you are not a loser!)  I left that restaurant extremely mad that I didn't get my huge burger and very hungry.  Whenever I order food at a restaurant, I almost always read the item off of the menu while ordering.  I didn't do that last night.  I most definitely have learned my lesson!

Tattoos

I don't understand the point of tattoos.  I have absolutely no interest in getting one.  If I did, I wouldn't know what to get or where to put it.  I see people all the time with tattoos all over their body.  It's practically a requirement to be an NBA player.  "You must have both arms covered with hideous looking tattoos in order to play basketball."  It might as well be a rule because you can rarely find a player without tattoos.  A lot of people my age have them all over their bodies.  My thought is, what will an employer think while they are interviewing you?  Another thought is, what do you think that tattoo will look like when you are 75?  I understand when people get tattoos with something to remember someone by.  I'm okay with that.  If I were to do that, I would put it somewhere where people would look at it all of the time, not my back.  I really just don't see anything appealing about getting needles stuck in my body, having ink on my body forever, and paying hundreds of dollars to do so.

Your Job is Easy

We had this discussion today in the faculty room.  So many people say that a teaching job is easy because the kids are out before 4 everyday and we have summers off.  I'd like to invite anyone that isn't a teacher to do our job for one week and get back to us.  They don't realize the hours of preparation that goes in before school, during school, after school, and during vacations.  They don't understand that we are molding minds for the future or that we have to maintain order of 20+ kids in a room at all times.  We are responsible for their every move.  With that said, I respect everyone that has any other type of job.  My major in college was Childhood Education.  Your major was in something else.  If you say I couldn't do your job for a week, I believe you.  That's why I don't roll my eyes if someone tells me their job is hard.  I wouldn't know unless I did that job.  We all have very hard jobs in our own way.  A common myth of education is that we have summers off and get out early everyday.  We also do work at all hours of the day and typically work during the summer.  It reminds me of high school.  I told people my dad owns a liquor store.  They automatically assumed he is an alcoholic.  Yes, my dad runs his own business, works 60+ hours a week, orders wine and liquor, pays all the bills, pays his employees, and builds an excellent rapport with his customers while keeping the store open for over 40 years.  He is definitely an alcoholic.  Let's get one thing straight.  I respect everyone for the job that they do and will not question how easy or hard it is.  Every job out there is a job that has to get done by someone, no matter how easy or hard it might be.  Note: This post is not directed at anyone that bothered me.  It was just an interesting discussion today in the faculty room.

Stickers That Don't Stick

When I was done student teaching my senior year of college, my sponsor teacher bought me stickers.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to use them until today.  Now they are in the garbage.  Maybe keeping them in my closet made them lose all of the stickiness.  I took off a few stickers, and they were completely dry on the back.  The only way kids could wear them is if they taped them to their shirts.  How could stickers lose their stickiness?  What a waste of about 400 stickers.  It's not my sponsor teachers fault.  It might be mine for not using them for so long.  When I buy stickers again, I will make sure I use them quicker.  You gotta love first world problems and random blog posts.  Good night!

Trivia Night

WARNING: This post is very short and elementary.  Every Wednesday night, a group of us goes to trivia night at a chain restaurant.  We answer trivia questions and the most points at the end of four rounds wins a $20 gift certificate.  Second place wins a $10 gift certificate.  We have done this for several months.  We have never won.  However, we have gotten 2nd at least three times, including tonight.  One other night we got second because there were only 3 groups because of snow.  Who cares?  We still won money.  The questions are challenging, but it's exciting when we get them right!  Either way, it's a great way to get out of the house for a couple of hours, hang out with friends, and have fun.  I'm sure we will continue to go to trivia night for many Wednesday's to come.

The Inauguration

Since I was busy all day yesterday, I didn't watch the inauguration of President Obama.  However, in the morning, my mom was watching Good Morning America.  The only thing they could talk about was what dress Michele Obama was going to wear.  They even had a "fashion expert" on the show to discuss her expert opinions.  I love how that was making news.  I could not have cared less what Michele wore for inauguration day!  This morning, I was reading some Yahoo! articles.  Two of the trending stories were "Michele Obama rolls her eyes" and "Sasha Yawns".  Sasha is President Obama's 11 year old daughter.  She is a kid!  Kids yawn when they are tired, just like everyone else.  Actually, when you yawn, it doesn't mean you are tired.  It means your brain needs oxygen.  Michele probably rolled her eyes because some guy was talking to her while she was chewing food!  I can't believe that those stories made the front page.  I can't believe that I was stupid enough to read them!  I remember when George W. Bush was president.  One story they covered was that he had his colonoscopy.  Let me tell you something.  I didn't give a shit, literally, that he was having a colonoscopy.  That's his personal business and I'm sure he didn't want us knowing.  I don't want to know what the president does every second that he is awake.  He doesn't want us to know either.  I don't care what his wife and kids do every second either.  Tell me about the big stuff like laws he passes.  At least I won't have to deal with ridiculous inauguration stories for another 4 years!

Blogging

This post was once again inspired by the other blog I read.  Why did I start this blog back in April?  At that time, I was doing a lot of research about what authors do to promote their books.  This was one of the things that many of them do.  A lot of them have blogs.  I created this and rarely posted anything.  I then created an "about the author" page, "contact" page, "book information" page, and a "where to buy my books" page.  I still didn't post much in this blog.  Then in the end of May, I decided to write in it everyday because I want my students to do that everyday when I'm a teacher.  This blog is definitely not like other authors blogs because they don't update theirs daily.  They typically write in it to promote their books or put an excerpt of their book in the blog.  I'm fine with mine being different.  Two quotes from the blog I read yesterday stick out to me and definitely relate to my blog.  "I've wondered, however, if maybe they're just being nice and reading it out of obligation because we know one another?"  This is after she said that people who know her have given her cards and sent condolences and stuff like that.  I know of a few people that read my blog.  I'm pretty sure they do read it to be nice bcause they know me.  That's fine with me.  Another quote is, "I know I'm elementary in my speech and grammar, that's for sure.  Honestly I can't worry about that.  My goal isn't novel writing but just in expressing a daily thought.  I usually don't even know what my blog will be about until I open a new page and stare at it for a sec.  Then I just start blabbing."  Every sentence in that quote is exactly true with me.  I know my writing isn't the best in my blog.  Half of the time I don't know what I'm going to write about until I stare at the screen for a few minutes.  I'm not concerned about how poorly written this blog looks because it is meant to be whatever thoughts are in my head.  I also started writing in this everyday because I thought it would be really cool to look at this years from now and see what I was writing about when I was 24-25 years old.  Hopefully I look back and laugh at my memories and how much my writing has grown over the years.  With that said, I have no idea how much longer I'm going to write in this blog.  In the grand scheme of things, this blog is completely pointless and does serve no purpose.  Just like in Seinfeld, this is a blog about nothing!  Unlike Seinfeld, it hasn't turned into a popular show.  Maybe this blog will one day turn into something.  Just like you, I can't predict the future.

Excuses

I am not a fan of excuses.  I deal with students making excuses about why they didn't finish homework or can't do something all of the time.  I always get excuses from people saying they can't do this or that for whatever reason.  Unfortunately, I have to make excuses, too.  Today, I had a good excuse for not going out.  I was not feeling well at all.  I have had headaches on and off for a few days.  Luckily, I'm going to the doctor's tomorrow anyway for a physical.  I have a few friends that constantly make excuses for not playing in our monthly poker game even though they say they are going to or for not going out even after plans have been made and they committed to go out.  I can completely understand something coming up a few times.  However, when it happens on a regular basis, it's ridiculous.  If you make plans to do something, do it!  To me, the only legit excuses for you not showing up would be: being sick, family emergency, or death in the family.  I make plans with people because I want to see them, not because I enjoy these people canceling on me.  No, no one canceled on me today.  I've been wanting to write this post for awhile, but have come up with excuses not to write it.  I'm just kidding, I had other topics I wanted to write about first.

Movies

I remember I think 2 or 3 summers ago (okay, fine, I don't remember exactly when it was) I would go to the movie theater all the time.  There were always movies I wanted to see.  Last year, I saw 2 movies at the theater.  I saw Hunger Games in March and Ted in July.  That was it.  I didn't even have an urge to rent any movies either because nothing seemed to capture my attention.  Another reason why I only went to two movies was because they are unbelievably expensive!  Who wants to pay $11 to see a movie for an hour and a half?  Today, I went to see Lincoln.  I'm already on pace to see more movies than last year, haha.  The movie was good.  It was 2 and a half hours!  Most movies that are made now are typically only an hour and a half and are remakes of earlier movies.  I also notice that I have a hard time sitting for that long to watch a movie.  In the theater, I don't have any choice but to stay there.  When I try to watch movies at home, I can't make it through the entire thing anymore unless the movie really grabs my attention.  My mind is always wandering off to the 49873290 other things I have to do.  I wish I had a better attention span to watch movies.  I hope better movies come out this year too.

Going to the Gym

It takes a lot of effort to go to the gym.  You have to drive there, get undressed, get into your gym clothes, workout and sweat, sometimes shower, then get dressed, and drive home.  I have a hard time getting motivated to drive there sometimes.  It's on my way home from work, so that's no excuse.  Once I motivate myself to go, I have no problem doing the workout.  If I only run on the treadmill that day, the miles I do depends on how I am feeling.  Today, I was hoping to do 4 or more miles.  I only did 3.5.  I started getting cramps in my stomach after two miles and that was about all I could do.  The gym was shockingly dead today.  It's January, so there should be a ton of people there for the next 2 months.  Everyone always joins a gym in January as part of their New Years' Resolutions and then they leave after a couple of months.  Gyms love January because that's probably when they make the most money.  I did go to the gym 3 times this week which is my goal this year.  I need to be active and workout at least 3 days a week.  I do love going to the gym because it does relieve stress.  I find myself motivated to do better on a stressful day.  Maybe I should have more stressful days so that I can burn more calories at the gym!  Hmm, never mind.  I don't need more stress in my life.  I know that as I get older, I will have to do less at the gym because my body won't be able to do as much as I do now, not that I do too much as it is now.  I can see myself trying to run the same speed on the treadmill when I am 50 as I do now.  That could cause serious problems!  You should all go get buff at a gym.  It will make you feel good afterwards.

Vending Machines

I know, this is a completely random post.  That's because I am a very random person.  By the way, I have exactly 3,333 page views, haha!  Anyway, back on track.  I rarely get stuff from the vending machine since I pack my lunch everyday.  We have a vending machine in the faculty room that has snacks and drinks in it.  It also takes credit cards!  That's bad for people that love food from the vending machine.  It's fine for me though because I leave my wallet in my bag in my room instead of carrying it with me to the faculty room.  Every time you buy a snack from the machine, no matter what snack machine it is from, you hold your breath.  The snack is trapped behind the rings that move when you buy it.  Sometimes, they get stuck on the rings and you wasted your dollar.  Then you put another one in to get it unstuck and hope 2 come out.  It's an adventure each time you buy something from the vending machine.  I thought about this the other day when I bought something.  That's all for today.  I'm sorry I had nothing profound to say.  Two things I will end on.  I just noticed that I have an author page on the UK and have two great reviews for book 1!  Also, if you don't want to comment on the blog that's fine with me.  You can still contact me if you have a strong urge to do so on twitter @pacelli_shane or email me at spacelli36@gmail.com.  Talk to you tomorrow!

Cheating in Sports

I looked back at my old posts and thought that I already wrote about this.  Apparently I haven't.  Even if I had, it wouldn't be the first time I repeated something.  I noticed I wrote a lot about Saratoga last summer, as well as the days flying, and food.  Those topics sound like something I would talk about over and over and over and over again.  Now on to the serious topic.  I used to be a very big fan of Alex Rodriguez.  Once I found out he took steroids, I lost all respect for him.  There are so many people that have taken steroids and other performance enhancing drugs so that they can play better than the other athletes in their sport.  Lance Armstrong won 7 Tour de France's in a row because he cheated.  Apparently many other bikers cheated, too.  They say it was a level playing field.  Either way, who cares?  You are a huge role model to so many people.  What do we tell students when they ask about him?  "It's okay.  Even though he cheated, he still does wonderful things with his Livestrong foundation that raises cancer awareness.  We can overlook the fact that he cheated to win."  No!  I am not taking away from that foundation.  He has done amazing things with cancer awareness and will continue to do so.  However, I can't get past the cheating that he did.  There are many athletes out there that do the right thing.  However, there are so many athletes that cheat, commit crimes, and are generally not nice people and they overshadow the athletes that do great things outside of their sport.  As a huge sports fan, it really aggravates me because whether they like it or not, these athletes are role models.  I have so many students that want to be professional athletes when they grow up.  They are living in a time where they might feel like it's okay to take drugs to play better because everyone else is doing it.  It's not okay to cheat at all!  I love seeing records broken.  Unfortunately, every time a record is broken, people will ask if it was legit or not.  It's unfair to everyone.  Why can't you just play your sport for the love of the game and to see how well you can do legally?  Instead, it's all about drugs and making more money because the millions you make apparently isn't enough.  All these athletes want more and more money each year.  It's sickening because so many people have very little, yet can still get by.  Stop taking performance enhancing drugs and stop asking for more money!  Play your sport because you want to be a role model and you love to do it.

College

This post is similar, yet different than my post that I did about a month ago on SUNY Potsdam and St. Rose.  They say that college is the best four years of your life.  If that was the best four years of my life, what do I have to look forward to?  I really hope it wasn't the best years of my life.  Many people spend way more than four years trying to get a four year degree.  Is it the best five, six, or seven years of their lives?  Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun in college.  I wouldn't say it was the best years of my life, though.  I hope not!  College is a place that you learn more about yourself than about whatever you are studying.  Learning about yourself is more important that what you're studying in college, too.  You learn about your likes and dislikes.  You learn how to live on your own.  You meet so many unique people with different backgrounds.  Although I was and still am shy, one of my favorite parts about college was meeting so many different people that you would never meet anywhere else.  Being from a suburban district, I never met people that weren't as well off as me.  I never met people from towns where everyone knows everyone.  It was different.  College is a place where you more than likely will make a lot of mistakes.  It's where you try things for the first time.  It's definitely a place to experiment and take risks.  Looking back, I definitely would have done some things differently.  However, if I did, I most definitely would not be the same person I am today.  What if I never met such and such person?  What if I didn't step outside my room the exact moment one of my residents did?  If I never met some people or hung out with certain people in college, I can't even begin to imagine how different my life would be.  Would it be different for the better?  It's very hard to say.  Maybe not, because I surely learned a lot from the experiences I had.  I am so happy that I went away for college instead of commuting.  I highly recommend going away for college so that you can experience everything.  You won't regret it.  I don't regret anything I did in college or anything I do now.  I just learn from my mistakes and move on.  I miss college a lot, but am glad that that stage in my life is over.  Time to tackle new challenges that life will throw my way.

Operation Drink, Not Eat

I jumped on the scale this morning (not literally) and would have screamed if it wasn't so early on a Monday morning.  My weight was much higher than I want it to be.  One of the many reasons why it's so high is because I have 0 will power to stop eating.  When food is sitting in front of me, I have to eat it.  I love food.  I can't help it.  I go out two nights a week.  On Wednesday's, I meet a bunch of friends for trivia night.  On Saturday's, I go to a bar with friends.  Both nights, I almost always order food and some drinks.  I absolutely have to stop ordering food every time!  I also need to stop eating everyone's leftovers!  It's their fault too for not eating it all and then putting it right in front of me!  When we go out, it's late at night.  I don't typically eat until 9:30-10:00 at night when at the bars.  Eating food late at night is bad for you.  Eating greasy, high calorie food that late is even worse.  That is definitely one of the reasons why my weight isn't what I want it to be.  I hope to stop ordering food when we go out from now on.  I know that drinking isn't healthy either.  However, I don't drink crazy amounts and it isn't nearly as bad as eating and drinking together.  Both of them together equals bad new bears.  If I cut out most of the eating that I typically do at night, I really think I will see a slight difference in weight.  I don't want to lose an insane amount of weight.  If I could weigh 10 pounds less, I'd be thrilled!  Eating less when I go out will not only help me possibly lose weight, it will keep money in my wallet!  I need all of the motivation and help I can get with this.  Feel free to yell at me when/if you see me eating something late at night! 

A Dream I Have

Before I start this post, I want to go back to my cell phone post.  I can't believe I forgot the most important reason I can't stand cell phones.  You can never tell when someone is being sarcastic or not in text messages.  Some people always assume you are being sarcastic because that's typically the way you act in person when in fact, you are being serious.  So frustrating!  On to today's post.  If you haven't noticed, I love horse racing.  If you didn't know that already, then why haven't you read my July and August blog posts?  I would love to own a horse.  I have no idea how much it would cost.  I'm sure we are talking many thousands of dollars here.  I don't want to own the entire horse.  I would like to be a part owner, maybe just own his head or something, haha.  I don't know the first thing about training a horse or knowing what races would be good for him or her to run it.  I would definitely be interested in learning, though!  I'd have to come up with a really sweet name for it.  It's probably be something sports, gambling, food, or teacher related.  One name I heard before which got me hysterical was Hoof Hearted.  Say it fast and you will know why it cracks me up.  Maybe one day I will own one.  Keep your eyes and ears open for a Kentucky Derby winner owned by Shane Pacelli, hahaha!  Ok, time to wake up!  Hey, ya never know!

Shopping For Clothes

I cannot stand shopping at all.  I want it to go as quickly as possible.  Today, I decided to shop for clothes.  I needed a bunch of new ones.  As I started shopping, I started getting worked up, got a headache, started sweating, and was short of breathe.  No lie!  Shopping is very stressful.  I don't like big crowds.  I also don't like trying to figure out what looks good and what doesn't look good.  I'm a guy, therefore, I have no sense of matching.  I also don't like putting clothes on in the fitting room.  I went to five different stores today.  I bought things at four stores.  My credit card got a workout.  I was expecting my credit card company to call me and ask if someone stole my card.  I never spend that much money in a day.  Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.  I got some really good deals, too.  I got stuff for 60% off!  The most shocking part about today was that I didn't get home until one and didn't even feel hungry!  Normally when I don't eat lunch at 12, something is terribly wrong.  I shopped for well over 3 hours, which is 3 hours more than I wanted to spend shopping.  when I am busy or stressed, I sometimes don't think about the hunger in my stomach.  It's very rare for me though.  At least I finally have some good looking clothes!  I'm glad it's over with and I don't plan on shopping like that for another 5 or so years!

Why I Despise Cell Phones

I remember back in 1999 when I was in sixth grade.  We were on our class trip and our bus broke down on the way home.  We were in the middle of nowhere.  At that time, cells phones were rare.  Shockingly, one of our teachers had one.  However, the battery was dead.  Good times, good times.  I got my first cell phone when I was 16.  My parents bought me one since I was now driving.  It was meant to be used for emergencies only.  Texting was not really thought of then.  I found out texting came out about 20 years ago.  However, when I was 16, it wasn't used.  I think I am on my 5th cell phone.  I broke one by getting pushed to the ground and sitting on it (that's why I go to the gym now).  I had a Razr for over three years.  I am going on my third year of having my iPhone 3GS.  When the kids see me with my phone, they ask me if it's an iPhone 5 and think I am lame when I tell them it's a 3GS.  I didn't want an iPhone.  When I bought it, I decided to get it because every phone required a data plan at that point and this phone gave me the most features for a reasonable price.  I don't like cell phones because no one talks to each other anymore, it's all texting.  It's a huge distraction.  It's a complete waste of time.  When I am busy reading or writing, people text me nonstop.  Naturally, that only happens when I'm trying to be productive.  I've seen kids as young as first grade with cell phones texting.  I'm sure they are texting each other nothing but, "Hi."  I had a first grader tell me when he arrived at school that he had to check his phone to see if anyone texted him.  I told him, "Absolutely not!"  You shouldn't have a phone until you are 16 in my opinion.  Whenever people hang out with their friends, they don't talk face to face.  They text their friends stuff they don't want some other friends in the room to hear.  It's ridiculous.  Cell phones have taken away from social interaction.  People in my generation are going to have carpel tunnel from texting 3,000 times a month.  People are always on their phones texting, on Facebook, playing a game, but never talking.  Who talks on a phone anymore?  The only time people talk on the phone is when they are driving, which is illegal!  They also text while driving.  Are you kidding me?  I can't imagine how hard it is to text while driving.  How many accidents has that caused?  Although I don't like cell phones, of course I also text, go on Facebook, and text people that are in the same room.  It's just how our society is in the present period.  I loved being on the cruise because I didn't touch my cell phone for a few days.  I'm sure I can survive without it.  I know way too many people that, "Can't survive without their cell phones!"  Give me a break.  I think you will live without it.  I wish I did!

Kindle vs. Hard Copy Book

I used to never want a kindle.  One of the main reasons why I didn't want a kindle is because at the time, I would check books out of the library and not buy any.  I didn't want to buy any books on a kindle.  I didn't want to spent $79 on a device and then buy more books.  I knew there were many free books.  However, I also knew the books I wanted to read weren't free.  Then in late 2011 or early 2012, my mom, who has Amazon Prime, borrowed the Hunger Games books for her kindle.  I wanted to read them.  She shockingly let me borrow her kindle.  I fell in love with it.  I loved how I didn't have to carry a big, bulky book.  I loved how light it was.  I loved how easy it was to use.  I loved how if I went outside and it was windy, I didn't have to worry about the pages blowing all over the place.  One thing I didn't like was that it is was harder to look back in the book to look something up.  I bought my kindle last March.  I have bought very few books on it.  I either get free ones, or I borrow them from my town library.  I still have about 50 books on it that I eventually want to read.  I highly doubt I will ever sit down and read all of them.  As an author, I notice that people are almost only buying ebooks now.  I have very few hard copy sales and a ton of kindle sales.  However, when I finished writing book one and two, I had to have a hard copy for myself.  Finishing book one and two was an incredible feeling.  Getting the actually hard copy in my hands was one of the best feelings I have ever had.  To see my hard work in published form is surreal.  There are so many words to explain it.  Satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment, ownership, and proud are a few  of many that I can think of.  I also bought my books for my kindle (only when it was free though!)  Now that I have a kindle, I never want to read a hard copy book again.  I still do read hard copy books on occasion.  I first try to get that book for free on kindle or borrow it from a library in kindle form.  If I can't get it that way, I'll read the hard copy.  A lot of people say they won't use a kindle because, "There's no better feeling than holding a book."  I love reading, but don't have that feeling, haha!  What do you prefer?

Who Inspires you?

This post is "inspired" by the blog I read from a mom that lost her son in a car accident last month.  I mentioned that car accident three nights ago.  This mother started writing in a blog every night, just like I do.  Obviously she saw my blog and was inspired (just kidding).  She said that it's strange that she inspires people.  I would feel honored and a little awkward if someone told me that I inspired them too.  I honestly wouldn't know how to react.  I do what I do everyday because that's what I do.  If it happens to inspire someone, then wow!  That's an added bonus.  The person that inspires me the most is my principal.  I'm not saying that because I want a teaching job.  She doesn't read my blog so she doesn't know that she inspires me.  I come from an extremely hardworking family.  My mom is blissfully unemployed, but works very hard everyday to make sure everything is in order with the house, we have food, bills are paid, etc.  My dad owns a liquor store and works 60+ hours every week.  My principal is one of the hardest working people I know.  She is working at all hours of the day.  She reads emails at home, in the middle of the night, and probably at red lights.  In our district, our principals have a lot of meetings they have to go to.  Other than that, she is always at school walking around from room to room making sure everything is going well.  When she is in her office, her door is always open unless she is disciplining students or talking privately with a teacher.  If you need to talk to her, she will almost always stop what she is doing to talk to you.  She stops what she is doing and pays 100% attention to you.  She is the type of principal that would rather be working with the kids and the teachers learning new strategies and seeing how teachers teach their students rather than doing paperwork.  With the job, she has no choice but to do paperwork as well as everything else.  She does everything she can to please everyone.  After the horrible tragedy on December 14, she was as heartbroken as everyone else.  She made sure everything was as secure as possible in our school.  We were always on high alert, but are now on even higher alert.  I often see her in the cafeteria helping the janitors cleanup the floors and tables.  After the sixth grade play each night last year, she was folding chairs and cleaning up messes with the janitors.  She helps in every possible way.  She is by far the busiest person in our school yet always greets you in the hall with a smile.  Principals get paid a very nice salary.  Frankly, I don't think it's enough.  The hours that she puts into making sure everything is perfect in our school is astronomical.  I have worked with other principals.  Although I have no problems with the other ones, I still feel like mine is a cut above the rest.  My very first sub job was at this school in September 2009 and she greeted me and introduced herself right away.  She cares about everyone that walks through her school.  She knows all 450+ students' names and all of the parents.  She works to get the best out of all staff and every student.  She has so much confidence in me even though this is only my second full year working in her school.  She deserves nothing but the best.  I wish I could work with her the rest of my life.  I could not have asked for a better boss, mentor, and person to turn to.  I work harder everyday because she instills that work ethic into me.  I could probably write a book about how amazing this lady is.  For now, I am done.  My principal is one person that inspires me more than anyone else. 

Best Friends

Many people talk about their best friends and people they just call friends.  I often say, "My best friend" when talking about one of my friends.  I have about 10-15 people that I would call my best friends.  I don't rank them in any order.  Obviously, we all like people for different reasons.  I have no reason to rank someone ahead of someone else just because I hang out with that person more than someone else. I have "best friends" that live in different states.  I see them as much as I can.  On Facebook, I have over 400 friends.  I know who every person is.  Do I talk to all of them?  Absolutely not.  I probably talk to maybe 30-40 of them if I am lucky.  Some of those people are my family.  In elementary school, I was ridiculously shy and had one person that I called my best friend.  I didn't have any other friends.  Now, I don't talk to that person too often, but he is still one of my friends.  I'm not one of those guys that need or want 100+ friends.  I love having my smaller group of very good friends.  I have no time or reason to rank them in order from highest to lowest because I don't have a rank.  Sometimes I say, "One of my good friends" instead of best friends.  It means the same thing.  It's important to have those people in your life that you can call life-long friends.  I made a ton of friendships in college that I never thought would end.  Some of them started senior year and ended 2nd semester for no apparent reason.  We stopped talking.  Some ended because they weren't really friendships.  Stuff happens.  I'm happy that I still have a group of people from high school that were my friends and still are today.  Know the people that you call your friends.  Talk to them as much as you can and hang out with them as much as possible.  They are in your life for a reason.  Enjoy all of the moments you spend together with them and cherish these friendships until the end of time.

The Title of my New Book Is...

I'm sorry.  I am not telling you today.  I did come up with what I think is going to be the title of my new book.  This book has nothing to do with the first two books I wrote.  This book is a list of things that people should not do in a grocery store.  I have a long list of things that I listed and then I am writing a paragraph explaining why you shouldn't do that in the grocery store.  After I email the person that did the cover for my first two books, 5 people will know the title of my book.  My agent um, I mean my mom, my dad, me (of course), a friend, and my illustrator will know the title.  I have no idea when I will release the title to the public.  I might not tell anyone else until I release the book.  It will be interesting to try something different.  I remember telling everyone the title of book two before it was officially out.  I have no idea when my book will be done.  I'm hoping to get it done by April for absolutely no reason whatsoever.  I am a little under halfway done with it at this point.  Obviously after I'm done writing it, I need to read it several times to edit it and format it.  Until then, I guess the suspense will be killing all of you that don't know the title of my new book.  I can't wait to share it with everyone.  I am very excited about this book!

Too Much Death

I was going to write about something different today.  That was until I found out about yet another death that happened today.  Sometimes, I cannot stand Facebook.  I have found out about so many deaths through Facebook.  Not that I ever want to find out about someone who dies, but I'd rather hear about it through phone, news, or even in person.  This month and last month have been absolutely devastating.  December 1st started off with the tragic death of two high school students in a car accident that also severely injured two others.  One student that is alive went to my high school and the two that died went to another local high school.  On Friday, December 14, we all know about the horrible, sickening deaths of students and teachers in Newtown, Connecticut.  On Wednesday, I found out that a fifth grade boy in my district died after a sudden illness.  I read an article that this boy was always helping his classmates that were in need.  He helped the special education students and kept other students active in gym.  His death was a complete shock to the entire district.  A day or two later, my grandpas cousin died.  The only good thing I can say about that is that she was 86 and lived a great life.  About two hours ago, I saw (on Facebook) that a 22 year old, that was best friends with my best friend from college, died in a car accident on his way back to college in Florida.  I knew this guy pretty well since he was best friends with my best friend.  The only good thing I can say about this death is that it was only him that died and no one else was involved in the accident.  Obviously there is nothing good that comes from death.  I cannot remember a time that I saw this kid without a smile on his face.  I never saw him angry.  He loved everyone and was always positive.  He went to Potsdam and I met him through my best friend.  We hit it off right away.  He was an avid sports fan like myself.  He had a tough time academically at Potsdam.  He went back to his home near Syracuse to think about what he wanted.  He then went to college in Florida with a major in mind and a goal.  He seemed to be doing very well.  Everything was going his way until this morning where his life came to an abrupt end.  Although I didn't know him as well as my best friend, I am as heartbroken as his closest relatives.  I can't believe how fast someone can lose their life.  Be careful out there and live each moment as if it were your last.  Unfortunately, you never know when it could be your last day on Earth. :( RIP to everyone that has died recently.  You are all in our thoughts.

Snow Tubing!

I went snow tubing today for the first time since I was very young.  Snow tubing is when you go down a hill on a tube, similar to a tube you would find at a lazy river.  We went to a mountain where they also had skiing.  The lines were insanely long to begin with!  They have four tubing chutes that are 700 feet long with a 65 foot drop and two chutes that are 1000 feet long with a 100 foot vertical drop.  When we grabbed our tubes, as I said, the line was very long and not moving.  The larger chute area was closed because the lift wasn't working.  When we finally got to the lift area, you sit in your tube and a guy hooks it to a moving rope and it pulls you up to the top.  I went down ridiculously fast!  I was going backwards most of the time.  They ask you to drag your feet at the end so that you don't fly off the path.  As I got in line again, the larger chute was opening.  A lot of people went there.  I stayed in line for the smaller chute because the line was shorter.  Then I went on the larger one.  Once you get up the mountain for the 1000 foot chute, you had to walk a little ways to get to the slide area.  I looked down and was a little nervous.  After I went on it once, I was fine.  They kept asking if I wanted to spin while going down and I said sure.  I went so fast that I started to wrap around where the people from the shorter chute came off and almost knocked people down.  I ended up going on the 1000 foot chute 6 times and the 700 foot chute 4 times in two hours.  It wasn't too cold at all.  After I went three times, the lines died down significantly and that allowed me to go more often.  It was definitely a great way to spend my Saturday.

Jokes

Everyone loves a good laugh, right?  I love watching comedians.  Recently, I have been downloading books with jokes for my kindle.  I've also read a few books by comedians that are intended to be funny.  Yesterday and today, I read 101 Best Jokes, Jokes For Kids: 300+ Jokes, and The Little Booze Joke Book.  I still have to read 100 Jolly Jokes for all Occasions.  Let me tell you something.  I don't think I laughed or cracked a smile once while reading those books.  I continued to read them all because they were short and I hoped I would eventually laugh.  I read a book by Steve Martin a few months ago and it wasn't funny.  I pre ordered a book by one of my favorite comedians, Jim Gaffigan.  I will get that book in May.  I have noticed that books by comedians and books with jokes are not funny at all.  Comedy to me is only funny when I watch the person on TV or in person.  It's all about the way you tell the joke.  That's probably why reading it isn't as funny as hearing it.  Obviously I don't find all comedians funny.  I am worried that the Jim Gaffigan book won't be funny.  Oh well, I was just trying to get a laugh for free.  I wasted time reading those books.  At least I was reading and being productive, which is one of my resolutions! 

Extreme Couponing

I want to start off by saying that I officially hit 3,000 views yesterday!  Thank you to everyone that takes valuable time out of your day to read this very important blog.  Now, on to today's topic.  Yesterday, I turned on the TV to tape something (I know, I shouldn't have because of my New Years Resolution to be more productive and watch less TV).  It was on a station that was showing "Extreme Couponing".  I have heard of the show but have never watched it.  It's a show that shows how ordinary people clip coupons, shop, and pay almost nothing for their entire grocery bill.  I've often called my mom an extreme couponer.  I now take that back.  She is not even remotely like an extreme couponer.  I have no problem with people using coupons.  You really can save a ton of money.  When I find good coupons for my store for something I need or often eat (which as we all know, is a lot of food), I will use them.  However, these extreme couponers are absolutely nuts!  These people buy over $1,000 worth of groceries and spend maybe a penny.  One person even got money back!  This one lady bought 59 bottles of BBQ sauce and 78 boxes of cat food, in addition to everything else she bought!  She only donated 3 boxes of cat food to an animal shelter.  Her basement seriously looked like a grocery store.  These people get coupons from multiple newspapers, friends, and the Internet.  They obviously get many coupons for the same item.  They go to a store that automatically doubles coupons and they wait for the item to go on sale so that they can get it for free.  These people have saved many thousands of dollars a year by doing this.  However...they literally have to spend hours upon hours a day searching for coupons and cutting them out.  They have to figure out what they "need" and how much to get.  They need to do the math and figure out how little they are going to spend.  They then have to go to the store and spend hours shopping.  One lady spent an hour a half at the register alone!  Then they get all nervous that they added something wrong and will pay too much.  Then they have to go home and put it all away.  It's literally a full time job!  I sat there watching yesterday with my jaw hitting the floor.  I cannot believe how much time and effort is spent doing something like this.  I truly think that if an "Extreme couponer" came through my line, I'd probably walk out of the store and quit.  I would not have the patience to deal with him or her.  I feel like I should add that to my book, but probably won't.  People never cease to amaze me!

I Lied...

I am very sorry to tell everyone that I lied to all of you.  I said I wasn't going to write any New Years' resolutions.  Today, I wrote down 10 of them.  I had a fifth grade class come in and their teacher wanted them to write 10 resolutions for the year and explain how they are going to achieve them.  Naturally, they all moaned and groaned.  This teacher often does really cool projects like this.  Most of the time, I sit at my computer and do the same activity that she has her class doing.  Today was no different.  I had a hard time coming up with 10 different resolutions.  I told the class that I started all of mine with "I will ... by..."  I hoped that would help them because she wanted them to say something like "I will be a better student by studying each subject five minutes each night."  A lot of students struggled with explaining how they would meet their resolution.  Now that I have it on paper and you will see them below, I have no excuses.  As I said on the 31st, I know one person that will call me out every time I don't make good on a resolution since this dude or dudette has a photographic memory.  Below are the 10 that I wrote today.

New Years’ Resolutions:

-I will publish book #3 by continuing to work on it more often than I did last year.

-I will get a teaching job by applying, applying, applying, and more applying.

-I will eat smaller portions at dinner and fewer desserts at night by exercising serious will power and having less junk in the house.

-I will be more productive at night after work by reading and writing more instead of sitting at the computer and/or watching TV.

-I will go to the gym more than two times a week.  No more excuses!

-I will be more positive about my future and stop saying, “I’ll have a teaching job 10 years from now” sarcastically.

-I will go on all three vacations I have in mind and not worry about how much they will cost.  I will worry about how much fun they will be!

-I will put X dollars into my retirement fund by budgeting the money I make. ( I know what the X amount is.  I just don't want to reveal that amount in public).

-I will find a publisher to take my book(s) by continuing to send out query letters.

-I will pay it forward to less fortunate people instead of buying myself something I do not need.

 Now I need to stay motivated so I can accomplish all 10 of them this year! Wish me luck!
 

Past and Present

The differences we have between the past and the present are astonishing.  Today, we have cell phones, GPS's, iPads, iPods, laptops, video games, HD TV, DVR, Internet access almost anywhere, and all sorts of other technology I am sure I am forgetting.  If you look at your parents, they had none of that.  They had black and white TV's with very few channels and no video game systems.  They had no cell phones, computers, email, Facebook, and quick messaging.  Kids seriously don't know how good they have it.  Many kids at my elementary school have cell phones!  They are way too young to have phones in my opinion.  I often wonder how my parents and grandparents survived without the technology we have today.  I know so many people that tell me they cannot live without their cell phones, iPad, etc.  I absolutely cannot stand how reliant we all are on our technology.  Is it cool and fun to play with?  Absolutely!  Can we survive without it?  Of course we can!  Our parents did and I'm sure we can too.  I am not a big fan of cell phones and didn't want an iPhone.  I only got one because at that point, every phone required a data plan and the iPhone was only slightly more expensive than the other phones and I would get so much more with it than any other phone.  I can't stand texting.  I like my phone for easy Internet access when I need to look up something when I am not on a computer, to look up sports stuff, and of course games.  I know that as a kid, cell phones were just coming out and the Internet was just getting popular.  I survived no problem.  I really wonder what it would be like today if we didn't have all of these exciting toys.  It would be interesting to see if the kids do better in school.  I truly believe they would because there would be far less distractions at home.  Unfortunately, we will never know because technology is getting better and better every single day.  It sure will be interesting to see what it looks like in 10-20 years.