More Tutoring and Family Time

So today was my second tutoring session. And it was smooth, just like the first session. I really am getting my teaching groove back. My client has decided to sign up for more tutor slots this upcoming week, so I am really excited about that. Once this session was over, I spent time with my nieces. We have a going out tradition that we recently started (since I found out they existed and going to school in the area). We go out, bash on some really nice dessert, and we talk about everything that is happening in our worlds. They are real intelligent and smart young ladies.

Diamonds in the rough. With my help they will become true gems :-)

As always, I gotta keep my salsa up, so yessm! I am going dancing. Peace!

Uncharted Territory

So this was somewhat of a crazy week, with Jade's surgery and all (and her complications), singing at a funeral, incorporating weight training with my workout regimen and maintaining that, getting up at 5 in the morning everyday, going to prayer sessions, eating right, salsa dancing in the middle of the week, getting my house in order... literally, tutoring, and more tutoring this weekend! And yet, I do not feel burned out. It is as if I am using my time, energy, and gifts wisely with God ordering and pacing my steps.

I should be excited about getting a new home, but I do not feel as exuberant as I thought I would be. I have some jitters and I need to man up and shake it loose. I think a huge part of it is because I am entering uncharted territory, and there is a lot of money (a mortgage) involved.

Uncharted territory... such is one of the many-many words that I will use to describe my life. College and grad school was uncharted territory, and I will blog about that another time. The Containment Area is uncharted territory, southern living is uncharted territory. I will even go as far as saying that being exposed to a lot of southern raised women is uncharted territory.

I think I am afraid that I will mess something up when it comes to this whole 'house-getting' process. Sometimes I really do feel that I am alone, even with all the help. No one in my immediate family can really give me (relevant) pointers on how to approach this. I read a lot of books at Barnes and Noble in the Real Estate, and Finance sections during the holidays just to get a basic understanding of what I am about to undertake.

I am at the point where I no longer have any real control over this situation, and to continue to dwell is to go insane. I do not have any real control because I do not know what I should expect, and worse, I do not even know what to do. Therefore, I must trust in God. I must trust in his son. I must place my trust in the people around me. People like my relocation advisers: relocation consultant, mortgage lender, real estate broker, lawyers, the list goes on. And trust I shall do.

So begins the home buying process... Another adventure in Uncharted Territory.

Operation "Go As Planned..."

Did not fare so well. You see, I thought that if I took Jade early into her surgery (7:00AM) I would be out by 9-9:30 AM and still be able to have a decent work day. Well, well there was a lot of rust, an unfortunate side effect of originally hailing from the North, and by the time they scraped all the iron oxide out, it was literally lunch time. Now normally, I would have eaten lunch, but today I sung with the choir at a funeral (which usually occupies my 1 hr lunch window)... Now this was at 11:30AM...... By 1:50PM I arrived at work, and just told my manager that I was taking the day off. I was sooooo pissed because I did not get any work done, plus I was tired, and since I did not have breakfast or lunch, hungry. 

I have no one else to blame but myself. I made a serious error in (time) judgment. When the guy told me that my car's alignment would not take any more than 2 hours, I should have just taken the shuttle back to work instead of waiting like an eddy right then and there. To me, I came in at 7, and 7+2=9, therefore I would have left around 9, and got in like around 9:15-ish. It would have still been a very salvageable work day. I did not take into account the intangibles... How was I supposed to know that Jade was going to get that rusty as a result of Northern exposure? Once 2 hrs became 3.... then became 4.... I just kept getting more and more restless and upset. 

So I guess I learned some major lessons today:

#1. Things do not "Go As Planned" hence the name of the blog subject.

#2. Bring some snacks/rations/MRE's(Meals Ready to Eat), something to fill your stomach up if you ever decide to wait during service.

#3. If you are doing anything else to your car besides an oil change, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR SHUTTLE SERVICE! Leave immediately so you can have a productive day at work!

#4. If you are too overwhelmed to work for that day, get out of that environment. I know my limits, and I am confident that taking a vacation day today was definitely the right thing to do. 

Besides, how often does getting an alignment and new tires for Jade, singing at a funeral, and waiting waaaaay longer to get your car actually happen in the course of one's life? I sincerely hope that this is one of the more rare sequence of events to happen in my days. I would not know what to do if this ever becomes common. 

Tonight, I have to replenish my vitamin supplies (I will blog about this another time), then go back to church for choir practice, and then, salsa dancing! In the midst of all this craziness, I have to do something to keep myself sane. Salsa is it! I have no idea how I am going to wake up at 5 AM tomorrow! LOL!

BRRRRRRRRRRR!

"ITS COLD IN HERE... THERE MUST BE SOME...." okay enough of that chant. But really, I thought this area did not get cold like up in the North... Not that I am complaining, I am a four-seasons man, but the drop in temperature definitely caught me off guard. I should have brought one of my heavier coats down from when I visited family for Thanksgiving. Oh well, this stylish pea coat will have to do. I make it work! No matter where I go, regardless of the situation!

Tomorrow, Jade is going into surgery. I have to be up very early to admit her (like 7:30 AM-ish) but she will be fine. So I am not worried. It is awfully late, and I need to get some sleep. See you tomorrow night!

Tutor Tutor Tutor!!!

So my first tutoring session went PERFECT! Due to this Yankee's confidentiality agreement, I can not reveal certain details, but she definitely know what the Pythagorean Theorem is! And I even showed her how to write notes a certain way to help her learn and study better. Damn I'm good! Even her momma said I was worth the $20/Hour. So after I got that $20, guess what I did.... Thats right.... I SPENT IT ON GAS! 

So much for my extra income! But I got more clients! So the freelance tutoring continues! After tutoring, ate dinner, and now I am home. 

Still zeroing in on my town home, visiting the broker (again) this weekend, more details to come!

Another Monday

I took an unusual way home today and I am so glad that I did, because I drove through a neighborhood, that I would not mind living in. It is in a developing community, and there are town homes available. It is still in the Containment Area, but the commute to work will be a lot shorter than how I am commuting now. Just when you think you got your subdivisions set in stone... 

I got another inquiry about my resurrected freelance tutoring service. Come to find out that the person inquiring works for my employer too! What a small world! We hit it right off the bat and now I have TWO clients! YAAAAY! One of them I'm tutoring tomorrow! I am excited and can not wait! Now if only I can find those directions........

Yea, it is late, I need to sleep. Good night!

The Broken Date Syndrome

Another Sunday, here and gone. It would have been a routine Sunday, except someone from church asked me if I had made any new friends since my arrival, and by new friends, new 'lady' friends. I had to carefully explain my dating philosophy, and it nearly erupted into a 10 minute conversation (I had this person rollin'). So I basically told this young adult that I am not the type of man that falls for a lot of these ladies "okie dok's." Here is one of many (and there are MANY!!!) I do not put up with. I will try to keep it general, even though I can attest to what I am about to write from personal experience.

- Lady 'communicates' to man that a date previously arranged from the man needs to be rescheduled.

I want you to pay very close attention to that okie dok. Because from that one, you can deduct a lot of things. 

First, the man wants to spend time with this woman. At some point in time, they met, maybe exchanged numbers, and calls her up to take her out on a date. So he gives her 3 things:

- A day of the week

- A time during that day of the week

- A location

It was something that the lady committed to. Then out of the blue, she communicates that they (or we) need to reschedule. This could take place in the form of a voicemail, a text message, an email... Why is this an okie-dok?

This is an okie-dok because she left it very open ended. 

Yes, the guy gave the lady 3 things, but all she said was, "we gotta do this another time." Whatever the reason, she kept it very general, and did not give the guy any details as to what this 'another time' entails. Even if she did give an explanation, but in the end does not try to make up for a commitment she broke, that man really needs to ask himself if that is the type of woman he wants in his life.

  Hint (fellas): if she can not honor a commitment to a 1-2 hr outing with YOU, what makes YOU think she can commit to something more?

In the social world, this illness is called The Broken Date Syndrome. It is not cultural, racial, gender, creed, or age specific! It is the culmination of a lack of integrity from one person to another. And fellas, if you just met that hottie, and she proves that she has this illness, then you need to drop her and move on. 

So what is this Relocated Yankee's stance on The Broken Date Syndrome?

Women who commit, then break a date with me, without trying to make up for it right then and there when they commit the act do not last long in my phone book, or in my personal life. 

Adopting this hard line stance has prevented more problems than it created because I am a quality man and I want quality relationships with quality women. Next to physically striking me, breaking a date is the most disrespectful thing a woman can do not only to me, but to any man. It shows immaturity, a lack of judgment, and no integrity on her part. 

We are no longer children. When you break something, you fix it. When we were children, and we broke the cookie jar, our parents fixed it for us (after a nice tail beating!). We are adults now, if we break something at this point in time, is mom and dad going to come to your rescue? For most mature adults, the answer will be no. So, like I said, if you break it, you fix it. 

When you have this knowledge and apply it in "the field" it sucks when you get that call from that lady that says she needs to cancel or reschedule, and all you hear after those words are the sounds of crickets... You want to give her some hints so badly as to what SHE needs to do (after all she's fine as hell! everything about her turns you on), but you can not. This is her moment. This is her chance to show you if she is worth pursuing further... Fellas, if she offers to make it up to you, AND she gives you a date, place, and time, keep her, because that is what you gave her, she realizes this, wants to spend time with you, and wants to make you feel that your effort to spend time with her was well received. If she breaks, and does not give you those three specific items (yes, she must give you all three, on her own, you can not help her at this point), my recommendation would be to politely end the conversation as you see fit, hang up the phone, delete the phone number, and move on. 

For you deserve better. Keep searching for your Queen!

Good Night!