"I left you for a while but it was worth the wait
Because it gave me just enough time to create..."
From "Have a Nice Day" by Roxanne Shante (1990)
A lot has changed in Stevieland since my last blog post of several years ago. Hmm...let's see...
- Got laid off from my full-time job
- Got hired, then resigned from a new job because I hated it
- Witnessed my beloved dog get hit by a car at 70 mph on I-26
- Spent 4 days in the hospital after cracking a rib, puncturing a lung and suffering from anemia and an infected liver, putting me on the bring of bankruptcy
- Got hired part-time by Piedmont Technical College
- Got hired part-time by Newberry College
- Got probabtionary acceptance into graduate school at the University of South Carolina for their Masters in Applied Statistics program
Wow...that's a lot. But, I'm thankful to be employed again. I suddenly went from having oodles of free time to almost no free time at all and by the end of the semester, I was running on fumes and was grateful to have ended the Fall 2013 Semester with an "A" average to begin my second Masters program and teaching 7 classes all at the same time.
Which brings me to the present day. You hear about people all the time who work hard for 30+ years, retire then die shortly afterwards because they feel useless and bored. After having two weeks off and doing nothing productive, I have come to the conclusion that I will NOT be one of those people! I have enjoyed being a waste of human flesh.
So what prompted this blog post out of the blue? My fascination with Mary Worth and having enough free time to get caught up with her and the exploits of all that goes in in her world and in Santa Royale. Please check out Mary Worth and Me so that you, too, can get up to speed with Mary and her escapades. Reading "Mary Worth and Me" reminded me how much fun I had blogging when I was doing it regularly and after many painstaking hours refreshing bookmarks, IDs and passwords, I'm back and hope it won't be another few years before I post again.
Here's wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and hopefully, a great and better 2014. Though I doubt Obamacare will allow for it.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
W-O-L-P-F-A-C-K...
And so, much to my surprise, while riding with my Dad yesterday in Kinston, we came across the following license plate on the truck in front of us. Notice the spelling W-O-L-P-F-A-C-K. Homage to the great typographical blunder from last year's baseball media guide? Or did he/she have this plate before the spelling flap? Guess we'll never know...
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Thrill of the Run...the Agony of Defeat
On the eve of the Midterm Elections Monday evening, in the tutoring center I help manage at the college where I am employed, I declared my candidacy for Governor of South Carolina. It was really a spur of the moment decision. Thinking of the choices I would make in one of the most important elections held in my adult lifetime, I decided I am just as deserving of the post as the two main front-runners for various reasons: one, a politician who comes from a long line of politicians and the other a person whose questionable ethics and tax-paying abilities made holding the top spot in our state government a suspect choice.
I have never held elective office; I can't even get elected to one of the offices in my bowling league. And I have ALWAYS filed my taxes on time. It was time for little Stevie to break out.
So, at the voting booth early Tuesday morning, I did something I have never done before: used the write-in option and typed STEPHEN A. BURRUS as my choice for governor. Driving to work yesterday morning, a little cartoon image played out in my mind: what if noone else in the state voted and I rose to the top of the leaderboard in the governor's race? Immediately upon arriving to work, I told people what I had done and urged them to write my name in. A few said they would; whether they actually did or not, I'll never know because thousands of voters chose either Nicki Haley or Vincent Sheheen. But I am almost fairly certain that I finished in the top 10 in the Standing Springs district. And it is thrilling to think about!
Not having campaigned and with no name recognition outside Greenville County, the Midlands and Coastal plain vote no doubt hurt my candidacy. In my 10-second concession speech at Golden Lanes in Simpsonville Tuesday evening, I thanked all who supported my campaign and vowed to make a stronger run in 2014.
My brief 24-hour gubernatorial campaign did get me seriously thinking about entering the political arena. There's just something about an election that is exciting. This year was extra-exhilerating and there was a lot more at stake; the electorate is frustrated, angry, frightened, scared. Too many career politicians were doing whatever they could to protect themselves...and thumbing their nose at the constituency that put them there.
I really do believe that if our Founding Fathers came back from the dead to see what has happened to America since they breathed their last, they would not be happy. Congressional jobs were NEVER meant to be a life-long career. The idea was to represent the people...with a modest stipend...then return to their districts after the work was done. Second homes, mansions and extended stays at the Watergate or the Waldorf Astoria were never, ever imagined. Neither were six digit salaries and arrogant representatives who voted themselves pay raises while their constituents suffered with high unemployment
I planned to run on a platform of much smaller government...across the board pay cuts for all government workers...and more emphasis on education. Too bad, the people never got my message but that was my fault for waiting too late to declare my candidacy. We need a candidate who is willing to make hard, unpopular choices to do what is best for the state, and the nation...and that person needs to be someone unafraid of losing re-election. I would be willing to be that lamb to the slaughter because we HAVE to have some people like that to get our nation heeled and turned around.
So watch out in 2014, South Carolina. I'm bubbling with energy and exhileration after my brief sojourn into the politcal fray this week...and with a little more focus, I could be coming to a ballot box near you.
I have never held elective office; I can't even get elected to one of the offices in my bowling league. And I have ALWAYS filed my taxes on time. It was time for little Stevie to break out.
So, at the voting booth early Tuesday morning, I did something I have never done before: used the write-in option and typed STEPHEN A. BURRUS as my choice for governor. Driving to work yesterday morning, a little cartoon image played out in my mind: what if noone else in the state voted and I rose to the top of the leaderboard in the governor's race? Immediately upon arriving to work, I told people what I had done and urged them to write my name in. A few said they would; whether they actually did or not, I'll never know because thousands of voters chose either Nicki Haley or Vincent Sheheen. But I am almost fairly certain that I finished in the top 10 in the Standing Springs district. And it is thrilling to think about!
Not having campaigned and with no name recognition outside Greenville County, the Midlands and Coastal plain vote no doubt hurt my candidacy. In my 10-second concession speech at Golden Lanes in Simpsonville Tuesday evening, I thanked all who supported my campaign and vowed to make a stronger run in 2014.
My brief 24-hour gubernatorial campaign did get me seriously thinking about entering the political arena. There's just something about an election that is exciting. This year was extra-exhilerating and there was a lot more at stake; the electorate is frustrated, angry, frightened, scared. Too many career politicians were doing whatever they could to protect themselves...and thumbing their nose at the constituency that put them there.
I really do believe that if our Founding Fathers came back from the dead to see what has happened to America since they breathed their last, they would not be happy. Congressional jobs were NEVER meant to be a life-long career. The idea was to represent the people...with a modest stipend...then return to their districts after the work was done. Second homes, mansions and extended stays at the Watergate or the Waldorf Astoria were never, ever imagined. Neither were six digit salaries and arrogant representatives who voted themselves pay raises while their constituents suffered with high unemployment
I planned to run on a platform of much smaller government...across the board pay cuts for all government workers...and more emphasis on education. Too bad, the people never got my message but that was my fault for waiting too late to declare my candidacy. We need a candidate who is willing to make hard, unpopular choices to do what is best for the state, and the nation...and that person needs to be someone unafraid of losing re-election. I would be willing to be that lamb to the slaughter because we HAVE to have some people like that to get our nation heeled and turned around.
So watch out in 2014, South Carolina. I'm bubbling with energy and exhileration after my brief sojourn into the politcal fray this week...and with a little more focus, I could be coming to a ballot box near you.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
WOOHOO!! Release date announced for Season 12 of "Murder, She Wrote"
Anyone who knows me well will verify that Murder, She Wrote is my all-time favorite TV series. Universal started releasing the series by seasons in 2005...and thus far, the first 11 seasons have been released and occupy a place on my book-shelf (or floor now, since I am out of space for DVDs). I have really been surprised that sales have stayed strong enough for 11 sets of the series to be released...and feared that we would never get to see Season 12, the series' lowest-rated and final one, available for purchase.
My fears were put to rest last week when www.tvshowsondvd.com announced that Season 12 WILL be released -- November 23, two days before Thanksgiving! With that, the collection will be complete. They have even gotten a sneak preview of the proposed cover art for the set...although there will be some slight changes when the actual set is released.
There will NEVER be another Murder, She Wrote. Today's fascination with forensics and the youth movement make shows like Murder, She Wrote impossible or too simple to reproduce -- but for pure puzzle-solving pleasure, you can't beat the 263 episode legacy Angela Lansbury was gracious enough to leave us with.
I have an autographed picture of Angela Lansbury (the only celebrity I have ever written to) and for years, it sat proudly on my TV set but eventually was removed because I got tired of having to explain why "I had a picture of that old lady from Murder, She Wrote" on my TV on the rare occasions when someone would come by to visit. Having the series on DVD allows me to enjoy her and her smooth acting in the privacy of my own home and indulge a need to solve a mystery when my mind is unsettled or anxious or re-kindle memories from a time, pre-computer age, when life was simpler.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
One week to go...
The Tuesday/Thursday classes are down to their last class meeting on Thursday before the Final Exam! The Monday/Wednesday group will join them after today.
Homework assignments (the last one!):
MTH0100 Section M2: p. 376-378: #21-53 (odd)
---------------------------------------------------------
MTH1010 Section A2: Complete measurement conversion worksheet
Homework assignments (the last one!):
MTH0100 Section M2: p. 376-378: #21-53 (odd)
---------------------------------------------------------
MTH1010 Section A2: Complete measurement conversion worksheet
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Two by two...
Updated math course assignments...
MTH1010 Section M1: p. 457: #1-12; 17-24; 33-34...and p. 464: #11-16
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MTH0100 Section A1: p. 324-325: #27-35
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MTH1010 Section E1: p. 411: #39-43; p. 438: #25-36; p. 447: #6-10
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MTH0100 Section M2: p. 342-343: #13-31; 45-52
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MTH1010 Section A2: p. 458: #17-24; p 464: #11-20
REMINDER: NO CLASS NEXT MONDAY FOR LABOR DAY. I WILL SEE ALL OF
YOU NEXT WEDNESDAY! HAVE A NICE HOLIDAY!!
MTH1010 Section M1: p. 457: #1-12; 17-24; 33-34...and p. 464: #11-16
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MTH0100 Section A1: p. 324-325: #27-35
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MTH1010 Section E1: p. 411: #39-43; p. 438: #25-36; p. 447: #6-10
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MTH0100 Section M2: p. 342-343: #13-31; 45-52
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MTH1010 Section A2: p. 458: #17-24; p 464: #11-20
REMINDER: NO CLASS NEXT MONDAY FOR LABOR DAY. I WILL SEE ALL OF
YOU NEXT WEDNESDAY! HAVE A NICE HOLIDAY!!
Monday, August 30, 2010
2 weeks and counting...
Just two weeks now before the Final Exams. Classes are down to their last three class meetings!
Below are the latest assignments:
MTH1010 Section M1: p. 447-451: #6-10; 45-52.
------------------------------------------------------------
MTH0100 Section A1: p. 310-311: #5-12; 21-26; 37-42.
------------------------------------------------------------
MTH1010 Section E1: p. 410: #31-37.
------------------------------------------------------------
MTH0100 Section M2: p. 325-326: #53-56; p. 332: #55-56.
---------------------------------------------------------------
MTH1010 Section A2: p. 457: #1-12
Below are the latest assignments:
MTH1010 Section M1: p. 447-451: #6-10; 45-52.
------------------------------------------------------------
MTH0100 Section A1: p. 310-311: #5-12; 21-26; 37-42.
------------------------------------------------------------
MTH1010 Section E1: p. 410: #31-37.
------------------------------------------------------------
MTH0100 Section M2: p. 325-326: #53-56; p. 332: #55-56.
---------------------------------------------------------------
MTH1010 Section A2: p. 457: #1-12
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)