Terhune's Tangent

A Fun Noember

2008-11-04T19:05:00.002-06:00

Well tonight is the election, should be interesting to watch unfold. Started working on my NANOWRIMO story. It's kind of difficult at the moment as unfortunately I spilled a soda on my laptop last week and shorted out the key between the c and b on my keyboard. Looking to get a new one at Christmas perhaps, we will see.

I hope to get some of my story posted shortly, so far I have refused the temptation to revise so that part of my goal is going well.

Anyway, off to watch the election!

~ Terhune

Kingdom Hospital

2008-10-23T21:43:00.004-05:00

Red Dragon Tattoo (LP Version) - Adam Schelsinger

Ah Netflix...you got to love Netflix.

Red Dragon Tattoo by Fountains of Wayne...awesome song, I had heard it before but had forgotten about it until I heard it being played on Kingdom Hospital. Yeah, so I rented Kingdom Hospital from Netflix since when it was on television I was working at night and did not get a chance to see it.

I love it! I especially enjoy the references to other King novels and such that are in it. Its amazing to me how much of the things he has written tie into the Gunslinger saga. I am just in awe of the man really.

Gonna have to figure out how Ian does the whole music thing on his blog so I can start adding some of my eclectic taste in music on here for the masses that are not reading my stuff! Oh well, hopefully things will pick up since I am actively blogging now. I figured it out!

I am excited about NaNoWriMo, I have my basic plot swirling around in my head now. Still trying to work out the particulars but I know it begins with an event just after the Civil War in the South somewhere. I like it really, I ran some ofthe basics by my wife and father and they both seemed to really like it and get excitied by the possibilities. Now all I have to do is write it..should be fun!

~ Terhune

Getting Better...

2008-10-19T21:43:00.002-05:00

Well I spend the day working on my lessons for the next week and reorganizing myself for school. I actually think that I made a big difference in how things will go for the next 9 weeks. I feel more prepared now, so much more than I did for the first 9 weeks.

I am trying to figure out what I am going to do with my classroom website. I don't think any of the kids have even looked at it so I want to spice it up a bit. I have a few ideas, but I am always looking for more!

So, what would you want to see on a classroom website that would draw you there? It having content about the topics we are working on is a given, but in today's society there has to be more, some sort of entertainment to draw the students to it so that they want to check it out and see if anything is different.

So Ideas?????

~ Terhune

NaNoWriMo - I think I can, I think I can...

2008-10-18T22:49:00.003-05:00

Well I checked into the NaNoWriMo experience about 5 years ago and at the time I was getting back into the swing of college full time so I passed. This year though, I am all about it.

There are the details: You write a 50,000 word story in a month. If you make it you are a winner, if you don't then at least you tried. There seems to be an active community there and the forums on the website seem to be fairly active considering that the event hasn't started yet.

http://www.nanowrimo.org

Sorry about the previous post, looking back on it now I seem kind of whiny. Oh well, it happens.

Anyway, back to the writing thing. I am debating what kind of story to tell. Science Fiction type or Fantasy type. I have been digging SF for a the last couple of years, but the majority of my reading has been Fantasy. Maybe I can combine the two in some way with elements of SF and Fantasy tossed together.

I have 13 days to figure this out and start writing. I think that if I sit down and just start something will click. Then I can sit down and semi-plan the monstrosity. I think it will be fun regardless, hell it might just end up being a load of crap and make no sense at all, that would be ok. Its the writing the 50,000 words thats the goal in some simbalence of order.

Possiblities are endless...

~ Terhune

In the center of the storm

2008-10-16T21:41:00.003-05:00

I am amazed that it has been so long since I posted last.

You ever feel like you are stuck in the middle of a swirling, tumbling tornado? Well let me tell you that at this moment thats what it feels like. Its like I can't get my head above water long enough to take a breath much less start to tred the waters. Financially we are sucking eggs at this point.

I know that part of it is that fact that we are paying private school tuition for our son, but that is unavoidable. Its pretty sad that teachers in the public school system are paying to send their child to a private school so that he can actually be taught what he is supposed to know! It is so frustrating but its what we have to do in the interest of our son.

I went out today and put out some applications for part time work. I figure I might hear something in a couple of weeks but we will see. I am not that optimistic to be honest since the economy seems to be tanking. It hasn't really started to hit the area I live in yet but I can see it on the horizon. I just need a bit of a parachute to provide us some hesitation in this seemingly downward spiral of financial hardship.

I am not in school anymore. I got admitted to the Master's program I wanted to get into but with the gas prices earlier this year and my wife taking classes for additional certification we decided that I needed to sit out a bit. It sucks because at 32 I feel like I am so far behind others in my field that its not even funny. Bleh, perhaps I am just a bit down at the moment but what the hell right?

I do know that something has got to change. Moving would be a nice change I think. My wife and I have been talking about that a lot. If we can make it over the holidays without something else happening to our finances I think we might be able to make a move in the summer but I am not sure. Also the job outlook has to be right or its a no go, once again thanks to the economy. I am glad I am a teacher, we are almost recession proof as a profession. Kids got to learn!

27 weeks of school left in the year, doesn't seem so many really. This first 9 weeks has flown by. Hopefully the next nine will as well and we can enjoy our Christmas holidays.

Hey, anything is possible right? Right!

~ Terhune

Getting in Gear for School

2008-07-26T21:51:00.004-05:00

Well I am a week away from going back to school. Amazing how quick the summer goes! I plan on really being organized this year. To help with that I have started a simple class website using Google. I will probably also include a blog, I have not decided yet because it definitely won't be linked to this one. Anyway, if you are curious here is the website:

Mr.White's History Classes

I have been working on lesson plans and project guidelines, next week I am going to go over my powerpoints and notes and make sure I have everything ready. My goal is to have all of the first semester done by the second week of school.

I am also hoping to start my MA in History in August. I have submitted everything so now I am waiting for the Graduate Committee to meet and decide on my application. I hope to hear something by next Friday so if I need to go to the university one day to finalize the paperwork I will not have to miss a day of work.

Speaking of work, if you are wondering why I am going back to work on the 4th of August let me tell you. My school has scheduled 9 days of professional development for us to take right at the beginning of school. That way at the end of the year when people do not have all of their hours to maintain their license, the school can say "We offered it, but you did not take advantage of it". I don't really mind but another week of vacation would be nice.

Anyway, I am just plugging away at stuff. Wish me luck with this upcoming year!

~ Terhune

The BIG Read

2008-07-07T20:57:00.002-05:00

The Big Read, an initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts, has estimated that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed. How do you do?

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.

(There were other directions such as italicize the ones you plan on reading, and underline the ones that you loved, but I am too lazy.)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens3

3 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

WHERE DID 44GO?

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

WHERE IS 51?

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

40 out of 100 not too bad. Even missing a couple. :) How did you do?

Summer Break

2008-06-10T22:54:00.003-05:00

Well I have not written anything on here in a while, and that is regrettable but understandable. On May 10 we got hit by a tornado. It came right over the house and it really does sound like a train. Needless to say everyone was ok, lots of debris with trees down and such. Spent the last few weeks cutting trees and dragging limbs and just cleaning.

Currently I am at a summer Institute studying the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict. I got here on Sunday and so far I have been extremely pleased with the experience. We have had a talk by a very nice Jewish lady who explained a bit about Judaism and some of their traditions and culture, that was on Monday.

Today we had a speaker who is a Muslim. A very nice lady who was very informative and engaging. She explained about the beginnings of Islam and about the various aspects of the religion. We asked some good questions I thought and she was more than gracious in her replys and she seemed to understand that some of us were asking questions that were simply worded wrong due to ignorance, not stupidity - there is a difference.

So far this has been a wonderful experience, tomorrow it looks like some more speakers and other things. Currently I am reading:

This is a very interesting book that is probably written for someone who wants to explore the interaction of the three faiths for the first time. Its well based in historical accounts and I found it easy to read and entertaining really. I will probably order a copy of it when I get home from the Institute.

Regardless, I hope that there is not another lull in my posting. Again, I apologize and I hope that those of you who are still reading this will continue to check back periodically - I promise I have not forgotten you!

~ Terhune

Poetry

2008-05-06T22:47:00.002-05:00

What is is about poetry that makes you think? Is it the imagery, the tone, the pacing of the words?

I don't really know actually. I mean you can read all the textbooks where they talk about poetry and how you should interpret it, analyze it but doesn' that defeat the purpose of poetry? Analyzing it to much and you miss the depth of feeling in my opinion.

I think it all boils down to opinion more than anything. How a certain poem makes you feel, what it evokes in your memories, thoughts and emotions.

I like poetry, all kinds really.

On the news front I have been accepted into a summer program for History and Literature teachers. Its a 2 week program that is on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. From what I have read it should be interesting. We are going to talk to the imam at the local Islamic Center and then we are going to talk to the Rabbi at the Jewish Temple that is also nearby.

Part of the course is to develop curriculum for our students next year based on what we have learned. I can't wait to pick the brains of those other teachers who are there and get some good ideas on projects and other things. I feel like I am finally branching out in my teaching profession.

Truthfully, I just like to study and learn about other cultures. My wife says that if I could be a student forever I would be, and she is right. I plan on taking classes about every two years or so, that way I won't get totally burned out. Who knows how many degrees I might end up with!

~ Terhune

I am done!

2008-05-02T22:08:00.003-05:00

Well I apologize for not posting to my blog in so long, but I have been really busy with school and work, which is school also. But I do have some good news...drumroll please....

I AM DONE!!!!

On May 9, 2008 at 9:30 in the morning I will walk across the stage and recieve my Master's Degree. How awesome is that! I am one step closer to having my PhD.

I think I will sleep the rest of the weekend if I can. I am so wasted physically and mentally its not even funny.

Anyway, just wanted to put this out there publicly for those who still take a moment out of their busy schedules to check my blog.

Going to bed now to sleep like the dead.

~ Terhune

Arthur C. Clarke dies at 90

2008-03-18T23:11:00.002-05:00

Well once again this year, in less than 3 weeks I am knocked for a loop. Gary Gygax died about 2 weeks ago and tonight as I am reading the news items online I see that science fiction writer Sir Arthur C. Clarke has died.

How depressed am I?

I remember checking out Clarke's books from the library when I was a in middle school. My brother and I would pedal our bikes the 16-20 blocks to the library and spend hours browsing the shelves, reading magazines, and delving into the books that we were planning to check out while sitting in the big comfy chairs that the library had.

They were leather and squeaked a bit when you sat in them. I remember fondly my legs sticking to the chairs as my shorts didn't cover my legs to my knees and often the back of my legs got sweaty and stuck to the chair. The library is and was a magical place for me full of adventure and knowledge where anything can be learned if you look for it.

Part of my education was science fiction books by the likes of Asimov and Clarke. He will be missed. He is going on that last great adventure into the unknown, I promise to introduce my son to your writing and your great capacity for innovative thought and imagination.

Sci-fi guru Arthur C. Clarke dies at 90

John Adams Miniseries

2008-03-16T22:13:00.003-05:00

I just finished watching the first two episodes of the John Adams miniseries and I am happy to say that I thought it was amazing!!

The acting was superb, the setting was believable and I just can't say enough really. If you missed the first two episodes tonight then try and catch them before next Sunday. it was brilliant, simply brilliant.

~ Terhune

SNOW!!!

2008-03-15T23:46:00.005-05:00

I took a video of the snow that hit our corner of Arkansas on the 7th. A usual 20 minutes drive home took me a little over an hour and a half. See, it does snow sometimes in the city built over one of the shafts leading to Hell.

~ Terhune

One More Week!!

2008-03-15T23:25:00.003-05:00

A spring break is only a week away for me, and I can not wait. Its not that I don't like my job, or the students that I teach - I need a break. Of course I won't get a break really because I plan on finishing up my projects for my Masters and some things I need to get done for my job, but I won't have to drive to work and see my students for a week.

So I was thinking about Spring Break so I did a search for Spring Break's history and this is what I found:

Like so much in our world, Spring Break originated with the ancient Greeks. As winter would lessen its chill, and thoughts turned to regeneration, rejuvenation, and new birth, Athens's elders noticed that the young people became particularly frolicsome.

Socrates then proposed, and the Greeks adopted, a wild rite to welcome Spring and allow young people to vent their ingrained urges… and Spring Break was born.

Immediately thereafter were heard the first complaints that these strange new rites were destructive of morals and caused undue hardship upon the local residents of the seaside towns in which the festivals were held.

Those making these complaints were quickly rounded up and stoned. A variation of this practice occurs to this day.

In the Middle Ages, after Christianity's triumph over paganism, it was determined that Spring Break should end. There followed many years of turmoil.

Every Spring it would take armed bands of monks and papal legates to stop young people from partying like it was 999.

Then, in 1237, St. Adledkopf proposed a solution- what if the Church co-opted Spring Break? Taking the uninhibited, riotous celebration that Spring Break had become, and turning it into something mannered and decent, alas, turned out to be a pipe-dream.

All attempts at substituting good fellowship and worship for drunken bonhomie and cheap thrills failed.

Other than Mardi Gras in New Orleans, America never really caught the Spring Break bug… until the First World War, when American Doughboys serving in France watched, wide-eyed with wonder, as the Europeans would temporarily halt Spring Offensives, and instead, party.

Miraculously, scantily clad women would appear over the trenches, dancing and prancing about like nymphs… unfortunately, it was discovered that many, if not most, of these "ladies" were in fact men. America's farm boys and day laborers were horrified, and therefore made the phrase "Show us your tits!" a Spring Break staple (which has since been adopted by Mardi Gras).

From 1929 to 1959 America was too busy with a Great Depression, another World War, and the reconstruction of much of the world to seriously party during Spring Break.

It wasn't until the 1960's became "the swinging Sixties" that America truly took to Spring Break. Baby Boomers flocked to the beach in Detroit steel, eager to forget the War, social progress, and exams… and get drunk and get laid. Spring Break was back!

Florida became the focus of Spring Break in the 1970's. Warm weather, beautiful beaches, and alcohol meant that somebody was going to get naked. Soon Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Panama City Beach were famous for drink and debauchery.

It was during this heyday that a particularly bad Spring Break ritual was begun. Locals called it "balcony diving." Drunk Spring Breakers would climb and swing from balcony to balcony on multi-storied hotel towers, looking for a party or a partner. Many fell to their deaths. Unfortunately, every year or two, some student finds the idea appealing and makes a terrible mistake.

Spring Break improved dramatically in the Eighties. In a decade that glorified over-consumption, a yearly event that reveled in sex, drugs and drink was a sure-fire hit.

More students than ever broke the bank, or their parents pocketbooks, and hustled a ride south. Moralists countered by offering planned activities- sporting events, dive trips, scavenger hunts, even church services. No one noticed.

Breakers in the Nineties eased up a bit on the over-indulgence, but just a bit. Superclubs, MTV, and corporate sponsors livened things up with concerts, shows, and give-aways.. but the Breaker's focus remained the same- get drunk and get laid.

The presence of so many television and video cameras during Spring Break meant two things… somebody was going to get naked, and somebody else would bitch about it.

A few nationally spotlighted cases, and Panama City Beach and Spring Break were savaged in the media. Savvy locals knew what that meant… even more Breakers next year!

And there you have it, the history of Spring Break. An honorable rite of ancient origin, one that you should proudly proclaim your part in, and whose traditions you should do your utmost to uphold.

I found it an interesting read anyway!! Here is the link for the original article, all of the quote above is of course the work of the author and not my own, I just wanted to share it with the people who read my blog.

I guess its good to have a tradition. I would hate to not adhere to a celebrated tradition such as Spring Break. I guess the only thing I can do, according to the article, is get drunk and get laid. Doesn't sound too bad, I can go to the store and buy alcohol; now if only my wife drank... :)

~ Terhune

Just for fun

2008-02-29T22:37:00.001-06:00

So the wife and kids are watching a movie and I am surfing the internet looking at YouTube for something to occupy my attention and I found this:

I found it very funny anyway!

~ Terhune

Leap Day

2008-02-29T21:43:00.002-06:00

Yes, it is leap day again. My 7th leap year to be exact.

So happy birthday to all the leapers out there...I guess leaper is the non-PC term, but who knows!

Anyway, tonight we have two extra children staying with us because my son's friend's sister is having a birthday and he and his little brother did not want to stay in the house with a bunch of girls...so they came to my house.

Its been about 4 1/2 hours since they got here and I am ready to pitch a tent in the backyard and stay there tonight. If I hear "But he said I couldn't be Superman because he is Superman!" or "He's not taking turns, its my turn!"

My head is about to explode. Pray for me that I survive the night, or that they survive the night!

I think it is movie time, Balto here we come!!

~ Terhune

Being sick and other things

2008-02-27T14:35:00.002-06:00

So I am home sick from work. This makes the second day in a row. My son is sick too so we have been laying in bed playing Playstation like all good little boys should when they are sick. Not really sure what is wrong with him except that it is allergies. We go to the allergist on the 4th to see what it is exactly that he is allergic too.

I am expecting balloons to fall from the ceiling, bands and ticker tape when we walk through the door...well, maybe not. I know that I am not going and my wife gets to have a wonderful time while they do the scratch test on his back - at least that is how I assume they are going to do the test. What fun!

In other news I had a new cable line ran to my house because the other one was old and not conducive to the internet for some reason. Everything is working fine now so once again I am free to ponder the existence of the universe here in blogger-space to my hearts content.

I am a few days behind on my school work for my Masters which is totally due to my failure in internet service. I hope to jump on it like gangbusters tonight and knock it out for another week or two. If that is not an option then I will laugh about it and then frantically figure out how bad my grade is now and if I need to beg for some extra credit work.

Being sick and taking care of a sick kid is exhausting. I want a nap in the worst way but instead I will play Star Wars Battlefront again, and again, and again, and again...

~ Terhune

Heroes

2008-02-22T22:20:00.003-06:00

I am a fan of the television show Heroes. I don't know why it so interests me, perhaps it taps into my dreams of being different. Perhaps it is the child in me who sat on rainy Saturdays and read Marvel and DC comic books. Maybe its just an amazing show with plot twists and subplots that are woven pretty well into the main storyline and crop up later on to make you go "hmmmm".

I finally got my wife to watch some of the episodes and now she is hooked. I get to share my guilty pleasure!!!

I have spent the last few days looking at other peoples blogs and trying to figure out what it is I am wanting to shout out to the world in my own blog. I find most of my posts to be rather boring and uninteresting. Perhaps I am just that nameless figure sitting in a chair typing on a computer thoughts that no one finds particularly insightful. Perhaps I am your average 32 year old from South East Arkansas who has a computer and some free time.

I hope I am not.

Not sure what the post is supposed to be about today, it's late.

Perhaps this will become just my online diary, worse things could happen I imagine. We will all have to wait and see, those of you besides myself who read this that is. Wait and see what happens in the future. Who knows, I may even surprise myself.

~ Terhune

The Clincher

2008-02-21T22:20:00.004-06:00

Got this from Cinn, figured it might be fun.

The rules:
1. Put your music player on Shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT. (This is in capital letters, so it is very serious.)

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY? Killing in the Name of Love(Rage Against the Machine) Interesting response, I am sure it will illicit wonderful returns from everyone.

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? One (U2) I guess this means that I am universally accepting or something...

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? Clean(Incubus) I do like my women to bathe every now and then...

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? Old Apartment (BNL) I don't know how to respond to this...

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? Fields of Gold (Sting)Wouldn't that be nice.

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? You Can Do Magic (America) Awesome, now I can get that flying broomstick and shove it straight up Harry's...

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? One of You (Vertical Horizon) Interesting since I have a twin brother.

8. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS? Love Song (Sara Bareilles) Yep, about sums it up

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? Tea in the Sahara (The Police) Funny that should come up because in fact today...

10. WHAT IS 2+2? Let the bodies hit the floor (Drowning Pool) Sometimes that is so very true..

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? The Way (Fastball) Apparently she wants to pack and leave which is so very true right now

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Caught in the Rain (Revis) Apparently I want her to be in the rain, with me..or something to that effect.

13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? Animal I Have Become (Three Days Grace) Yep, that about sums it up - GRRRRRRRRRRR!!

14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Domino Dancing (Pet Shop Boys) I want to be a dancing diva!!

15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Would? (Alice in Chains) Nice, I think of running away from them...or I totally miss the point of the song...

16. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? Scotty Doesn't Know (Lustra) Now what is that song trying to tell me!

17. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? Freedom (Blues Traveler) How Ironic. I hope my wife doesn't read this...

18. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? Pinch Me (BNL) Just to make sure I am dead I imagine, which makes me wonder what they think about me now...

19. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? Becoming the Bull (Atreyu) I have issues...

20. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? Somebody Told Me (The Killers) My big trap again, come on you would think I could keep a secret!

21. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? Lovefool (The Cardigans) Hey now, I wouldn't say that at all - merely well trained.

22. WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS? The Clincher (Chevelle) Figures...

Interesting exercise in time management. Let me know if you do it and how it turns out for you.

Here we are again...

2008-02-21T21:20:00.003-06:00

My God, I can not believe that it has been almost a year since I posted on here. Truly where does the time go to?

Well I am well into my first year of teaching, I am over the hump and I have to say that I do enjoy it. In May I should have my Master's which means more pay for me and a search for a PhD program, which I should have already started but I am going ot take a short break while my wife finished up her Master's.

We briefly toyed with the idea for adding another dog to our house but we decided that now was not the time for that. I am making preperations for my garden this year. Going to add some manure and leaves and what not to the garden in an effort to improve the soil. I have even toyed with the idea of calling a bee keeper in to set up a small hive or something. Not real sure about that.

Anyway, I plan on getting a new camera soon so that I can really start adding somethings visually to this blog that I promise to do a better job of keeping up with than I have in the past. I am also working on a class website that I hope to be up and running about mid summer, just have to plan it, impliment it, and do it.

I may use blogger because I have seen others do that on here. We shall see.

~ Terhune

Big Sigh

2007-04-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

So today is the 18th of April. My Birthday is in 6 days. I will be 31. You know I remember when 31 used to seem so old to me. Now its just... me. Its amazing really, I don't think I see the world a whole lot different than I did when I was 11 or 12. Sure I know more about stuff and I have experienced more but my overall view of the world has changed in only one major way.

I see the world from about 2 feet higher.

I turned in my 24 page paper. I ended up with 299 endnotes, the paper was 37 pages all told. My paper was the only one that the professor actually took, the rest he returned for various reasons. Mainly he returned them because they did not follow his guidelines, but hey its not like he gave us a sign off sheet with all the criteria or anything (yes, that last statement is dripping with sarcasm).

I got into another Master's program that will allow me to work as a teacher while I finish my degree. So about May of 2008 I should have my Teacher's License and my Masters. Then it is time for a short break, and then I shall start on the PhD material.

The only problem I have, and its really not a problem, is that I will have to leave the fire department. The job gets old after a bit and the things you miss like birthdays, holidays, etc. etc. tend to be events that you really wanted to go to and that you kind of regret not being at, at least for me that is. I will miss the people I work with and the actual job itself.

I love tossing on an airpack and running into a burning building, there is nothing like it in the world.

Oh well, school is almost over again and I have to say that this semester has been exhausting with everything going on with school, work and family. I will be glad for summer, especially now that I have my fence up - now if I could just find my camera so that I could post the pictures I took...

~ Terhune

What? I'm supposed to keep this thing up?

2007-04-08T21:05:00.000-05:00

Ok, Ok. I know I have not been a good little blogger over the past month, but I have a good excuse.

Well my mentor says that the effective range of an excuse is zero meters so I really don't have an excuse, more of an explanation.

SCHOOL!!!

I have been working my butt off on school papers and other school related fun and exciting stuff like the research symposium I had to present at which really sucked but go figure.

I am in the process of finishing up my 20 page paper on the War of 1812, I hope to have it done by Wednesday so that my instructor can critique it and offer suggestions before I turn in the final draft on the 18th.

Besides that I did get some good news. I passed my Praxis II test so hopefully I will be getting into the Master's program at the University of Arkansas at Monticello (link here) I am trying to get into their Master of Arts in Teaching program and the Praxis II was the last hurtle.

So lock up your kiddies and begin the home school revolution as I will be teaching in the fall (hopefully).

So anyway I am really, really busy but I promise as of April 25th I will be doing my best to blog and blog and read and blog.

~ Terhune

The day after April Fools

2007-04-02T17:24:00.000-05:00

What can I say. I am sitting at home reading news stuff online when I get a call on my cell phone.

"Hey Daddy, we are in Little Rock." My son's voice comes thorugh the phone sounding all innocent and stuff. Meanwhile I am thinking they should be almost home now, what are they doing in Little Rock still?

"Hey Daddy, April Fools! We are almost home, Mommy says two more miles." I had to laugh, he is only 5 after all. From there it was one thing after another and always followed by April Fools!

April Fools day is also my sisters anniversary. Tried to call her and her husband twice, but no answer. Finally got a hold of her today. What's that old saying....

April showers bring May flowers. Yeah and I think we got an inch and a half Saturday when it rained. Even though it was still March I am going to consider it April.

~ Terhune

Aprill made me do it!

2007-03-27T23:27:00.000-05:00

Ok, so Aprill hit me up with this meme so I figure what the hell....

Five things that people don't know about me. Sounds simple right, but its not because I don't want it to be, you know, stupid. So here goes nothing!

1. I hate confrontation, any confrontation.

That is interesting really considering my job ( I think anyway ) but its true. Confrontation makes me "lite". Its the only way I can explain it when I get confronted by someone on anything I feel like I suddenly weigh like 2 pounds. My hair feels like it is standing on end and everything gets crystal clear - precise and sharp. Its like I am humming on some kind of cosmic cord that only I can hear/feel.

2. I hate the way I look most of the time.

Now that sounds kind of vain but it is true. I guess that my self image is still stuck on when I was 22 and working construction. I was fit as a fiddle, as the saying goes. I guess the real truth is I have become older and a little insecure but its fixable. I just need to watch what I eat - no more midnight snacks of chips and salsa, ice cream and ice pops. I need to exercise more than I do. I worry about diabetes since EVERY male in my family has had it. My grandfather, my father, probably my great grandfather and I need to set an example for my son in being proactive about a potential problem and not reactive.

3. I have been married for 11 1/2 years.

Lee knows this but then she is my sister but other people do not. I got married when I was 19, we had our son when I was 26. It was kind of funny but when my wife and I got married I think her family held their breath for 9 months thinking that the reason we got married was that she was pregnant. It hasn't always been roses, but if you want to have something of value you have to work at it. Overall I think that getting married to my wife was the best decision I have ever made in my life.

4. I like cultural things: ballet, opera, musicals, etc. etc.

I know its an odd thing for someone raised in the middle of no where in Arkansas but I do love going to the theatre. Movies and television are nice but they don't hold the same level of excitement or anticipation for me that a live production has. Every time you see a live production you see something new or different. It is always unique.

5. I hate sleeping.

Now that one does sound weird but its true. I hate going to sleep at night even knowing that it is something that my body needs. I always feel like I am missing something or its time I could be spending doing something productive. Of course I only average maybe 4-5 hours of sleep a night as it is but still I could be making that paper mache airplane that I always wanted to make or I could build that replica of the Taj Mahal out of toothpicks - hey, it could happen!

So that is my five things. Not as introspective as I might have wanted but its all I can come up with. I promise the next meme that gets tossed my way will be much better or it will suck abysmally!

Now I am supposed to send this on to 5 other people but because of my limited time I don't actually know 5 people on here to send it to right off hand so I will hold this meme card in reserve for later when I do!

Oh, the fence is done and I should have pictures next week sometime! Now to design the tree house - wish me luck.

~ Terhune

Where am I?

2007-03-24T08:41:00.000-05:00

Well as some of you may notice I haven't posted in a while. The reason is fairly simple....

I have been installing a fence around my backyard.

I opted for the clamshell diggers versus the auger simply to save money, so it took me two days to dig the 28 post holes I needed. I have half of it built with a gate and everything, although I think I will have to redo the gate because it is screeching across the concrete and I have decided to add a caster to the bottom of it so it will roll all nice and pretty.

I took some before pictures and I will take some after pictures when I am done. Hopefully some time next week it will all be done and my son, my dog, my wife, and I will all be happy. Then I get to begin on the treehouse I promised my son I would build. He wants it to look like a pirate ship...not sure how/if that is going to happen!

I do have one picture to share with everyone. It's a picture of the shift I work on at the fire department. I am in the middle.

Yeah, the guys on the right just wish they were as cool as me!

~ Terhune

Crawfish, Beer and Superheroes

2007-03-16T22:24:00.000-05:00

Well I went to the local Knight's of Columbus Crawfish dinner tonight with my brother, father, cousin and a friend of ours. We ate a lot of crawfish (and yes, we sucked the heads) and drank A LOT of beer. It was a fun evening, saw some people I haven't seen in a while and overall had a great time. My brother took a picture of us afterwards, if I can get it from him I will post it on here maybe.

Not much else, started cutting down a tree in y yard today and I should finish it up tommorrow and afterwards I will begin on the fence! Hopefully the rain will hold off...

Saw this on Ktbuffy's Site and thought it was funny and I wanted to share:

~ Terhune

Something Fun

2007-03-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

YOUR REAL NAME: Nathan

YOUR GANGSTA NAME (1st 4 letters plus izzle): Nathizzle

YOUR DETECTIVE NAME (fave color + fave animal): Blue Dog

YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name + childhood street): Terhune Coker Hampton

YOUR STAR WARS NAME (last 3 letters of your last name + first 2 letters of your first name + first 3 letters of Mom's maiden name): Itenawhi

YOUR SUPER HERO NAME (2nd fave color + fave drink): Green Coca-Cola

YOUR IRAQI NAME (2nd letter of your first name + 3rd letter of your last name + any letter of your middle name + 2nd letter of your Mom's maiden name + 3rd letter of your Dad's middle name + 1st letter of a sibling's first name + last letter of your Mom's middle name): Aithlly

YOUR GOTH NAME (Black + name of one of your pets): Black Kenja

YOUR AMERICAN IDOL NAME (fav car and sea food): Cavalier Shrimp (ROFLMAO)

NAME OF YOUR DREAM BAND (name of computer + printer): Acer Canon

MOVIE STAR NAME (sibling's middle name + mother-in-law's maiden name): Nelson DePriest

YOUR ALTER EGO NAME (name of one your childhood pets + popular brand of clothes when you were young): Smokey Osh-Kosh

YOUR LAWYER NAME (fav actor's last name + fav hard liquor): Ford Daniels

YOUR HIP HOP NAME (fav candy + fruit):Chocolate Peach (ROFL)

That was pretty funny, I got this from Aprill's blog.

The Garden Begins

2007-03-10T21:22:00.000-06:00

So I started my garden last Saturday. I got one of those starter trays and planted some seeds. I didn't want it to just take off so I set it in my kitchen, on the counter, away from the sun and just plain out of the way. I figured it would take like two weeks for the seeds to sprout.

Well I was wrong.

So now I have to rush and get my garden ready or these guys are going to take a header and I will have to start all over. I do plan on taking pictures thorughout the growing season so you can all enjoy my garden.

~ Terhune

Guitar?

2007-03-09T19:42:00.000-06:00

I am torn. My buddy is sitting here beside me picking at his guitar and I want one. Can I play you ask? No. But I can learn! I have always wanted to play guitar and since I am about to turn 31, I figure it is a good time to learn.

Here's the plan

Get a guitar (borrow dad's)
Get a book, dvd, something to learn with
Practice
Practice
Practice
Practice
ROCK OUT!!

Damn, that sounds like a good plan to me. Gonna have to make that happen...

~ Terhune

My Celebrity Look ALikes

2007-03-08T22:29:00.000-06:00

I found this site the other day while I was surfing the web looking for interesting stuff:

http://www.myheritage.com

VisualDNA

2007-03-08T21:51:00.000-06:00

Got this from my sister, thought it was cool, will have to go and compare her's and mine now:

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Life or at least that's what I call it!

2007-03-08T21:10:00.000-06:00

So I meant to post something around Valentine's day about the guy who really needed a hug. Let me set the stage: Wal-Mart, 9:30 am, cold, kinda windy. As I am entering the store to purchase some food for my next shift at the FD there is this guy not 4 feet away from me. As we have to basically walk right next to each other to go through the doors of the worlds smallest Wal-Mart, I attempt to strike up a conversation.

"So having a good Valentine's Day? Making the trip to Wal-Mart for the last minute gift like me?"

(Ok, so I was shopping for the last minute gift, my bad)

The gentlemen looks at me like he is gonna rip my head off and, well you know how it goes.

"No I am not! What business would it be of yours anyway!" He says, actual spit flying from his lips as he speaks.

Needless to say I was shocked ,a little taken aback. Now I understand that maybe he was having a bad life at that exact moment but generally in the rural south when you talk to someone like I did and its in a joking kind of manner you do not get that response.

"It's none of my business." I said as I stopped walking and allowed him to bull his way into the store in front of me.

So that was my Valentine's encounter, impressive no?

Grad school is blowing chunks right now, although I did get a groovy laptop to do work on which I actually use to play Tribal Wars more than anything - such is my dedication and focus!

I found out something interesting yesterday on the way home. I was listening to NPR when they started talking about immigration reform. Now I am all for immigration reform, but I think we have to be carefull how we go about it and I think that is the general opinion in Washington D.C.. So I am listening to the radio and they are talking about this immigration rally that was held by illegal immigrants.

They were Irish. I hadn't really thought about it before what with all of the immigration rallies and so forth seeming to be predominately Hispanic or Latino in origin but there are about 50,000 illegal Irish immigrants in the United States. So I went and did some reading on it at the following places:

* www.legalizetheirish.org
* Bebo profile for Irish Legal Immigration Reform (kinda like MySpace)
* www.irishabroad.com
* www.irishlobbyusa.org
* www.irishvoices.blogspot.com

Interesting stuff that is interesting to me because my father's family came over from Ireland in the late 1800's and it gets you to thinking about what they went through, what kind of circumstances where they in when they got here, of course being a history major I am aware of what hardships the Irish faced when they came to the United States, but even with that look at the contributions they made to the United States.

Maybe I am biased because I take pride in my Irish roots, but I do find thier achievements impressive.

~ Terhune

2007-02-13T20:27:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of my son taken with his new glasses.

He's a handsome rascal!

~ Terhune

Murphy Oil Pledges $50 Million To El Dorado Graduates

2007-01-24T07:34:00.000-06:00

This is to me an example of a corporation giving back to its community in a BIG way. I am seriously thinking of moving down to El Dorado now simply because my child will be able to go to teh school that fits his goals and not have to settle for one we can simply afford.

This is amazing:

Students in El Dorado will get a college education for free thanks to one of the single-largest private gifts in the history of Arkansas.

Murphy Oil Corporation has pledged up to $50 million to pay tuition costs of El Dorado High School graduates for the next two decades.

It's called the El Dorado promise. All students have to do is enroll in El Dorado schools and keep a C-average. They go to the college of their choice, and Murphy Oil promises to foot the bill.

Cheers erupted in the crowd of students as the reality that the burden of paying college tutition has been lifted sets in.

(Janease Traylor, El Dorado Senior) "I'm like overjoyed. I am like overwhelmed with this. I don't really believe it yet."

(Emile Turbeville, El Dorado Senior) "I couldn't imagine something this big happening to us. It's incredible to think."

(LeBryant Crew, El Dorado Senior) "Big money. It's extremely big money."

It's an even bigger commitment from El Dorado-based Murphy Oil. CEO Claiborne Deming says out of all the decisions the corporation's board makes, the one to invest in local students was one of the most obvious.

(Claiborne Deming, Murphy Oil Corporation) "With a 50-million dollar investment, we can make a huge difference in the lives of 4400 students...we can impact so many people so immediately, so directly."

Only students who attended El Dorado schools from kindergarten through 12th grade will get 100% of the scholarship. The last year to enroll in the district and still be eligible for partial funds is ninth grade.

The maximum amount paid is set by what tuition is the most expensive Arkansas public college or university--but students can take the money to the school of their choice.

(Melissa Eckart, El Dorado Senior) "It's one less thing to worry about. Now I can focus on finding a place that's perfect for me, not just for can we afford it or not."

The El Dorado Promise goes into effect this spring. The $50 million is expected to last 20 years.

Now isn't that one of the coolest things you have seen in a while? Of course it also tells me that these oil companies are indeed making tons of money, but the next question I have to ask is why aren't more local companies doing something similar? I hope that more companies in Arkansas follow Murphy Oil's example because it is an investment in the future of Arkansas, in their community and in the long run, thier business.

~ Terhune

Scooby Doo

2007-01-21T21:05:00.000-06:00

Scooby Doo has to be my son's all time favorite cartoon - at the moment. I watched the old Scooby Doo when I was a kid and the new ones they have are interesting but just not the same. I guess I am just looking at it from an adult perspective and not with the open eyes of a child. A lot of the time I find Scooby Doo annoying.

Blasphemy I know, but it is true.

Nothing much else going on but the laundry. I got moved to a different shift at work and I still am lacking the information so that I can log into my WebCT course (online class) which is really making me nervous but I have e-mailed the instructor twice and spoken to her in person twice so what else am I supposed to do???

I started writing again, really writing and it is relaxing to say the least. It's like some kind of weight has been lifted from my mind and this story is just unfolding and its a story I want to tell and I can tell. I may post a bit of it later on when I get it done and have polished it a bit, then again I may not!

Who knows what will happen here, that's what is so great about life - the little unexpected things that happen!

~ Terhune

A Not So Typical Day at Work

2007-01-17T21:18:00.000-06:00

I debated on if I was going to write about this topic but after talking to my wife and my family I figured it might help me out, velvet girl's comment also had a good point so here goes:

Friday nights are usually pretty laid back at the fire department. I usually grab one of the recliners and my latest book and settle in for a good read hoping that the alarm doesn't go off. So I had just got comfortable, shoes kicked off and a nice frosty Coke from the vending machine sitting beside me when the horn blared.

Our fire house is probably the only one in the entire state that doesn't get dispatched by an emergency operator. We actually talk to the people on the phone who call in to 911 with an emergency. So anyway the horn goes off. I struggle out of the recliner because it's broken and you sit way down in it for some reason. I take off down the stairs because we can't use the fire pole anymore because one of the new guys practically broke his ankle on it so now we have to use the stairs.

I get the address of the fire from my Captain while he is paging the fire out to let those people off duty know we have a fire then while he is doing that I grab the second line that goes directly to our #2 substation and I let them know what we got because it is in their district. (The city is divided into three districts, with one station to each district) We hop into our gear and roll out in the big red firetruck - it's about 7 pm I think because I didn't look at the clock so I am not really sure.

I put on the Self Contained Breathing Apparatus while the truck is driving to the scene because it's in the seat so it is no problem and its not dangerous. We get to the house and smoke and fire and shooting out the front window. As I am jumping out of the truck I hear one of the police officers yelling at us, "There's someone still inside!"

Crap.

Now I have helped pull out one other guy in my almost 7 years on the fire department here and at the time I wasn't having to really do anything like CPR or what have you. They told us younger guys to grab this or that and I was ok with that. This was different. This person was in the house and it was blowing and going. So I grabbed the other guy that was already scotted up (had his SCBA on) and we pulled a line off of the lead truck and ran toward the house.

They charged the line and I hit the fire from the outside at first while the other guy finished getting his mask on, plus the fire was all around the front door and ceiling and I wanted to knock it down somewhat before we made entry. So once he got his mask on we charged in. Fire was all in the front room to the right.

We couldn't really see anything because of the smoke and fire. We started spraying water and hollering for the person still in the building. I asked the firefighter standing outside to get the thermal imager so we could see. He got it and brought it to me. I swept it down towards the floor and that is when I saw the person's leg.

It's weird but at first I swore it was a mannequin. The thought even flashed through my head, why is there a mannequin laying on the floor. The sad part was that we had found the person trapped in the house. I had the guy with me check the body because he is an EMT and more up to date on the whole medical thing than I am.

The victim was dead. No sign of life at all. So I called for a tarp to drape over the body and we sprayed the body very carefully with water to cool it down because it had been on fire when we went into the building. From then on till we wrapped up the fire scene it was really anticlimactic. My partner and I had put the fire out within the first 15 minutes, we spent the next couple of hours checking for hot spots and waiting on the coroner and the funeral home to come get the body.

It was a rough night all in all. I am pretty sure I knew the gentlemen that died. I just couldn't recognize the face and names really don't do anything for me so for me that is good. We got together after it was all said and done and our trucks were back in service. Some of the younger guys took it a bit to heart and I can't blame them. Our job isn't an easy one, sometimes we have to confront death and we always confront loss. It can wear on you.

But that is just part of the job, you either learn to cope or you find a new line of work. I personally am glad that today we have smoke detectors and people are more educated about fire safety and prevention. I talked to a few of the retired guys about it a few days later and they said it wasn't unheard of to have many burn victims and deaths before the enacted all the education and new building codes and such.

So that was my not so typical day at work. Hopefully I will be out of school and in a new job teaching before something like that happens again. The bad thing is that I think that once you get firefighting in your blood its hard to shake and more than likely I will always be some kind of volunteer firefighter where ever I go, when I finally hand my full time helmet on the hook for good. But maybe that is not such a bad thing after all.

~ Terhune

School begins again and other things...

2007-01-17T03:41:00.000-06:00

Well I went to school on Tuesday and went to my first class. The History of Social Thought, I am thinking it is going to be boring as hell but I could be wrong. The good thing is that I only have one book to buy for this semester and it only costs $112.75!!! I know that some people are paying $500 - $600 for their books this semester and probably more which sucks big time.

That reminds me though, here are some links on some Senate Bills in Arkansas that are aimed at lowering the cost of college text books all of these bills have been filed and referred to the Senate Committee on Insurance and Commerce:

SB22 TO REGULATE THE SELECTION AND USE OF STATE-SUPPORTED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOKS AND COURSE MATERIALS AND TO MINIMIZE THE COST OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOKS AND COURSE MATERIALS.

SB23 TO REGULATE THE SELECTION AND USE OF STATE-SUPPORTED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOKS AND COURSE MATERIALS AND TO PROHIBIT SINGLE-USE TEXTBOOKS AND COURSE MATERIALS.

SB24 TO REGULATE STATE-SUPPORTED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOK SALES AND TO REQUIRE PROMPT NOTICE OF THE ADOPTION OF TEXTBOOKS AND COURSE MATERIALS.

SB25 TO REGULATE THE SELECTION AND USE OF STATE-SUPPORTED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOKS AND COURSE MATERIALS AND TO PROHIBIT CUSTOMIZED TEXTBOOKS AND COURSE MATERIALS.

SB26 AN ACT TO REGULATE THE ADMINISTRATION AND USE OF STATE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO STUDENTS.

SB27 AN ACT TO REGULATE STATE-SUPPORTED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOK SALES AND TO PROHIBIT INDUCEMENTS TO REQUIRE SPECIFIC TEXTBOOKS.

SB28 AN ACT TO REGULATE STATE-SUPPORTED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOK SALES AND TO REQUIRE COURSE SUPPLEMENTS BE SOLD TO COMPETING BOOKSTORES AT COST.

SB29 TO REQUIRE STATE-SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO PERMIT PRIVATE RETAILERS ACCESS TO STUDENT SALES.

SB30 TO REGULATE THE USE OF ROYALTIES FROM THE SALE OF TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS OR PUBLICATIONS BY STATE-SUPPORTED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES.

SB31 TO PROHIBIT REFERRALS TO WEBSITES OF TEXTBOOK SELLERS THAT ARE NOT REQUIRED AND DO NOT AGREE TO COLLECT ARKANSAS SALES AND USE TAXES.

There is some opposition to these bills. There have been some articles in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and on some of the television news affiliates that I know of, not sure about the other major papers in Arkansas. Anyway, enjoy!

~ Terhune

Jason Bourne

2007-01-14T19:48:00.000-06:00

OK, so today has been laundry day - all day. While doing the laundry I decided that it would be movie day for me and my furry side kick Kenja. (Pictures on the way soon - of the dog that is) So I dug around in my box of cinema goodies and I came up with Mat Damon's Bourne series.

I pop me some popcorn and drop the disk into the old DVD player and we are off to the races! I generally enjoy a good action thriller and I had read the books when I was younger and I had liked them as well. So I enjoyed the movies and got to thinking that it would be nice to maybe read the books again. Can't find them here at home - anywhere.

Will probably order them from Amazon.

Speaking of work related (I say this because I know you are probably putting off some kind of work while you read this) we had a bad fire the other day and a man lost his life in the fire. He couldn't get out and the smoke got him. I haven't really talked about it much but I have been thinking about writing about it just to get it out some. Maybe not though, I haven't decided yet.

~ Terhune

Interesting List

2007-01-13T20:55:00.000-06:00

So I was surfing the net instead of writing my letter of interest for my scholarship - sue me, I am a great procrastinator! Well I was over at ktbuffy's blog which I like to read because I find her observations on many things to be interesting and entertaining and I saw where she had posted a list of genre books that she had found somewhere. You were supposed to bold the ones you have read, strike through the ones you hated and put an asterisk besides the ones you loved.

I didn't do any of that, except for the bolding the ones I had read. honestly if I take the time to read something I usually love some aspect of it and for the life of me I can not remember ever reading a book that I hated. What can I say, I am picky. I think she has some more lists on her blog as well and I plan on checking them out but with no further ado..here it is kiddo's:

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

So I have read 27 out of the 50 books listed. I think that is pretty cool considering I recognize many of the books I haven't read as books that I plan on reading but somehow never can find when I think about it or I am reading something else that grabs my attention. Pretty cool.

~ Terhune

Lady in the Water

2007-01-13T20:38:00.000-06:00

Well I just watched Lady in the Water and I thought it was a really good movie. I love the way that the Director (I can't spell his name right) always delves into myth and folklore for his movies. To me its not so much like watching a movie as it is experiencing a movie. Maybe I am not saying it right but all of his movies are to me like reading a good book.

They take you into their world and let you participate even if it is as just an observer.

Anyway, loved the movie. Now I am working on filling out scholarship papers. I hope I can get this scholarship because it will help out a lot. On Tuesday I am going to see about a Graduate Assitantship. The lady I talked to about the Scholarship told me they might have something available so I will go by her office and see. At the very least it will pay for my gas and look good on a resume.

~ Terhune

A New Year and a new resolve!

2007-01-10T21:33:00.000-06:00

Well the new year has come and gone and there are lots of things going on.

I was switched to a new shift at work, but I am working on getting on another shift right now so that I can go to school easier. Go to school?? Yes, I said go to school. I have decided to go ahead and start work on my Master's Degree. I am going for a Master's of Science in Education with an emphasis in Social Studies at the secondary level.

I am working on a scholarship application at the moment so hoepfully I will get that, the lady I talked to at the school seemed to think that I had a really good chance of getting it. We shall see.

All in all I think that things are going pretty good around here now, if only I could find the remote for the television it would be like heaven on earth!

Oh, on a side note I have recently finished completeing a blog for my wife's second grade classroom. It's another tool for parents and students to stay informed. I tell you I am just amazed at the lack of technology in our local public school. The website is a joke and they don't offer the teachers any real access to technology for their classrooms - it is definately not even close to cutting edge enabled.

Here's the web address: http://mrswhitesclassroom.blogspot.com

~ Terhune

School is done!

2006-12-06T14:12:00.000-06:00

Well I finally got my grades in for the last semester of school. I got a "C" in Spanish, I was excited to say the least. In my other 5 classes I got "A"'s so my GPA is a 3.478, not bad if I do say so myself. I worked my butt off to get it there after leaving college the first time with a .009 GPA or something like that - regardless it was abysmal.

So I slept..er..went through the orientation to be a substitute teacher here today. They only pay $65.00 but hey, it's better than a poke in the eye, right. So I sat through that torture for about an hour and a half, then I went to the local Lion's Club and spoke as the guest speaker today. I presented a program on the Influenza Pandemic of 1918. It was the paper I presented last year at the student/faculty seminar I had to go to.

I didn't follow my paper to the letter, I spiced it up a bit and played up the local history a bit more because the audience was local people and they would be interested in that so that is what I did.

Not much else going on. I figure my next post I will relate the story of how I broke my ankle or perhaps one of my more colorful stories that begin with, "I had drank a few beers already..." well you get the idea.

~ Terhune

Almost there...

2006-11-28T21:33:00.000-06:00

Well I took my Spanish II final today and I am not sure how I did but by God I gave it a shot. Took me an hour and 20 minutes to take the test and I went back twice over the test before turning it in. I figured after spending that long on it I either had the best grade I was going to get or it was a lost cause.

I hope you guys liked the pictures of the fire I posted. It was from a house about 3 miles out in the country. We got there around 10:45 am CST I think, fire was shooting out the side window and smoke was coming from the eaves. We hit it really hard and I thought we had it but it got into the attic and ran from there.

I think that if there had been a hydrant we could have tied into then the fire would have been out, but we ran our pumper dry and then had to shuttle water. One of the volunteer departments nearby came with two pumpers that only had like 1000 gallons total if that, not really sure but I know it wasn't a lot.

The really bad thing was that the house was one of those add on things where the house had been added onto and added on to over the existing structure and the fire got into the crawl spaces in the ceiling and from there it was all over. All-in-all a busy night considering they had a fire in town at the same time and there was only three of us out there to fight the fire in the country.

The good thing is that the house was empty and no one was hurt.

Anyway, I got 1 more paper to finish and some things to tie up for my one Methods class and then I am finished till the 14th when I have to practice my graduation walk and then graduation on the 15th. About damn time!

~ Terhune

Long Fire

2006-11-27T16:28:00.000-06:00

Saturday night was fun..fun..fun..here are some pictures (and yes, that is sarcasm):

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

~ Terhune

Oh Yeah!!

2006-11-17T21:04:00.000-06:00

Well I took my oral exam in Spanish II and I passed it with an 85% - I am freaking ecstatic!

Tomorrow morning I have to take my Senior Comprehensives, not to excited about that but I got to do it so what the hell. Thought about going to the local high school football game tonight but then decided against it as I do have the test in the morning and I need to have a calm atmosphere happening tonight.

Things just seem to be clicking along, now all I have to do is finish those papers and I am home free!!!

~ Terhune

Spanish, or pray for me so that I pass this freaking test!!

2006-11-17T09:26:00.000-06:00

Today is another wonderful day full of cheer and happiness - ok, maybe not.

I have another oral exam in Spanish II. She gave us over 30 questions to learn in addition to coming up with the answers to the questions. She will ask the question in English and then we have to repeat it in Spanish. I worked on it till midnight last night and I think I shall do fairly well.

Spanish and I have a complicated and harsh relationship unfortunately.

I take my Senior Comprehensive tomorrow morning at 7:45 CST. Shouldn't be that big of a deal considering they let you bring a calculator. I have no clue how long it will take, but I am hoping for multiple choice, easy answers and coffee available at the door. Not that the last one will happen but a guy can dream can't he?

Three papers to go before the end of the semester. I will knock out two this weekend and start on the last one, which is actually just a rewrite of a previous paper I did for the class. Overall this semester has been interesting to say the least.

~ Terhune

The Plague

2006-11-15T21:52:00.000-06:00

Yeah that's right the plague. I swear to all that is holy that my son has the plague. He coughs every night when he goes to bed and it's hard coughs, cough till you puke type coughs. His little eyes get kinda blue around the edges and his face goes a bit pale. It's his sinuses draining down the back of his throat which sucks, we got Nalex that the doctor perscribed for his cough but I think we are going to have to do something else if this continues.

I am almost finished with school, have I mentioned that yet?

I have to write a two-page paper for Health class, a five-page paper for my Civli War class and a seven-page paper for my African Lit class. The Health and Lit papers are due after Thanksgiving, the Civil War paper is due next Tuesday. I haven't even started it. How screwed am I?

One day perhaps I will learn the true meaning of procrastination...

~ Terhune

Music and other things

2006-11-13T20:43:00.000-06:00

I like music, all kinds of music and tonight I was looking through some websites online while I should have been studying for my Civil War and Reconstruction exam tomorrow when I came across a song that I remembered hearing before but hadn't heard in a while.

Mad World - From the Donnie Darko Soundtrack

Its a remake of the Tears for Fears classic which I personally thought was better than the original. Then I realized that my wife had never seen Donnie Darko so I went to Netflix and added it to the top of my queue.

Speaking of music I also had to download the Korn remake of Word Up originally performed by Cameo. I think that Korn did an excellent job with this remake.

I have decided that next spring I will take a photography class that is offered here at the community college. I think it may be fun and I like to take pictures, not that you can tell by all the pictures on here but once I discover what my wife did with the camera I plan on shooting some things and seeing what I can produce.

I may even surprise myself, who knows.

The end is near...

2006-11-13T12:16:00.000-06:00

Well here it is the 13th of November and I have less than a month of school left and then I graduate on the 15th of December.

Hell Yeah!!

God, it has been stressful though. I still have two term papers to write, one due on the 21st and then another due on the 29th. It's gonna be a stressful next couple of weeks that is for sure.

But anyway, how have you been?

That's great.

You know I feel that my blog should be more than just my ramblings, which I promise to try and keep under wraps at least par tof the time. I know that my consistency in writing on here is not that great.

Ok, it's abysmal but I try, doesn't that count for something?

So the big news is that I will hopefully graduate in December,basically a month away. The next big question that is plaguing our family is the really big question of moving.

We live in a small rural town at the moment that offers none of the cultural and educational events/things that I want to see and that I want my son to be involved in and exposed to. My wife feels the same way but she is hung up on wanting to stay in this state. Which really tends to limit our options on where we want to move to.

I have a plan though, it may not be a good one but its all I have right now so it will have to work. I am going ot send off to the various communities I like out side of the state and get information packets mailed to us. Then I am going to leave them strategically placed, just something to walk by and pick up in the course of your day while your walking through the house.

I think it might work to influence her at least a bit towards my way of thinking, it is worth a shot anyway!

~ Terhune

Dog eat dog world...or something..

2006-10-02T07:32:00.000-05:00

Well its early morning and my wife and son are elaving to go to school. I put the dog outside this mrning around 6:30 and she barked for 30 minutes. Thats a problem. I keep expecting one of the neighbors to call the police or come up to me complaining.

I guess I am going to have to buy a barkless collar to put on her that shocks her when she barks, but I really hate to do that. Her barking is her way of communicating something is wrong or out of place. I will have to think about it some more, maybe talk to my nieghbors and see if she is bothering them. Oh well, its Monday.

~ Terhune

Long time, no see....

2006-10-01T12:32:00.000-05:00

Well it's been a while since I was able to do any updating to this blog. I would like to say that I was just super busy but the truth of the matter is that I just got lazy. Hopefully that will now be changed as I should graduate from college in December and I should have plenty of time to work on this blog and do some of the things to it that I have been wanting to do for a long time.

Since my last post a lot of things have happened; we moved for the most part, one of my co-workers died in a sudden, shocking manner and that was traumatic, my son started kindergarten, and I got piled on by paper work to graduate. Sometimes I wonder if it is even worth it...ok, you're right it is!

~ Terhune

Official Ghost Rider Movie Teaser

2006-09-26T14:47:00.000-05:00

This is the official teaser for the upcoming Ghost Rider movie. It was released on May 23rd, 2006. The website says that the movie will be out on Feb. 16, 2007.

I can't wait for it! I like Nick Cage and Ghost Rider was always one of my favorite comic book characters growing up and from the trailer it looks like its pretty honest to the comic book.

I'll just have to go to the movie and see how honest it really is, but I am looking forward to it!

~ Terhune

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/ghostrider/

Moving Day's are here again...

2006-08-07T00:21:00.000-05:00

So I have been meaning to write for quite some time but I have been super busy moving. What am I moving you may ask?

Well to start with we moved my brother and his family out of thier house, but thier not totally out yet. They left some funriture and other things for when they return in September. Wouldn't really be a big deal except for the fact that my family and I are moving into the house so recently vacated by my brother and his family.

My wife has a week before school starts for her. My sone has 2 weeks before he starts school and I have 3 weeks to go before I start school again. There is a sink that needs to be fixed, at least 4 rooms to paint, shoe molding to put down in all the bedrooms, carpet to pull up and replace with something (either carpet or hardwood floor or linoleum (yuk) or something else entirely that my wife will come up with), a fence to put up and a seperate dog run to build so the dog doesn't poop everywhere.

Here's another thing, only one of the bedrooms has an actual light fixture in it. Aparently when the house was built everyone just used lamps so there is no light fixture's in the older part of the house - wierd. So we have to run some electrical wire and put in some cieling lights, will probably go with lighted ceiling fans though.

Today my wife and I started painting, I replaced a toilet that was cracked and we cleaned the kitchen, I hammered down some shoe molding, and generally just cleaned and moved all of the remaing stuff of my brothers into one room so that we could work on the rest of the house.

I just hope we can get it all done before the first of September because then we have to start working on the house that we currently live in so that it can be rented out.

It's gonna be a busy Fall!

~ Terhune

Genealogy

2006-07-10T20:37:00.000-05:00

Well my latest obsession is Genealogy research. I think that it is important for myself and for my son and nieces and nephews.

I have the basic information that I can gather from my grandparents and some of the information that my third cousin has gathered so I think that I have a good start going on. I also decided to get whatever information I could about my wife's family as well.

I found an awesome place to research her father's side of the family here: Culpepper Connections.

Anyway, I have a meeting scheduled with the local Genealogical Society tomorrow night so I will be hitting the internet and updating whatever information I can before tomorrow - wish me luck!

~ Terhune

Since our last episode...

2006-07-09T17:05:00.000-05:00

WOW!!

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post here. Seems like a lot has happened since that last post. Lets see if I can bring you up to speed.

The month of May finished with a whimper, or something, as I worked a lot of extra shifts for other people at work who had worked for me so that I could go to school last semester. My wife wrapped up her school year with the information that she was getting a new principal and the realization that the kids she is going to have this coming fall look to be in a category all on thier own.

June saw more of the same for me - work. My wife spent some time with our son at her mothers while I held the fort down. Nothing really major took place in June that I can recall right now, pretty boring actually.

July seems to be the month of months. I have been on vacation for a week and I don't go back to work until the 14th. My parents have traveled up to Ohio to my sister's house and then they are going to my cousins wedding - notice that we didn't get invited.

I am hopeful that the end of the month will see us moving into our new home. My brother is moving to Texarkana so we are moving into his families home and my parents are going to sell the home we are currently living in. At least I think that is the plan.

I have one more semester of school and I will have my Bachelor of Arts in History. I must say that I am excited. Next July we will be moving again I am sure as more people retire from teaching and the teaching field itself begins to open up more. I hope we can find something around Bentonville or Fayetteville.

My son will be 5 in Septemeber and starting KINDERGARTEN!!!!!!!

Where does the time go?

~ Terhune

Busy as a Beaver....

2006-05-16T21:43:00.000-05:00

You know that old saying: Busy as a Beaver?

Well thats me now, not that I wasn't busy to begin with but now I feel like I am busier than before. I started a part time job on Monday at Acro Graphix. Basically we make signs, all kinds of signs.

THursday we are putting a full decal treatment on a profishing boat for someone. Should be interesting to say the least.

So far I have made some liscense plates, some signs for the prison and some large signs for an agricultural business. Its an interesting job so far.

We had a house fire on Sunday night. The call came in about 2:30 am and when we got there the house was already fully invovled. Fire was shooting out of every window. The cops that were there told us that there might be a crack user inside so once we got the flames knocked donw we sent a team into to do a quick search.

They didn't find anything but even if they had it would have been a body recovery since the house was fully invovled when we got there anyone who was trapped inside would have been dead from the smoke by the time we got there.

Anyway we made it back to the station around 6 am and I for one was bone tired. No one off duty shoed up so it was only the 7 of us on duty and the Chief who fought the fire. the Captain from "C" shift did show up but he had to cover Central Station just in case something else caught fire and he could drive the back up truck to it.

I don't understand the guys not coming to off duty fires. I know we don't have to but I personally like some help when we have a big burner. And its really not for me, hell I can take it but from a safety standpoint its better to have more than 8 people at the fire so in case someone does go down or something does go wrong you have the men in reserve to go into action to fix whatever the problem might be.

I told one of the other guys that I wouldn't expect me to show up to anymore off duty fires since the other shifts couldn't see thier way to respond to our aid, but thats just me blowing off some steam. If they have anyting I will be there provided I am not out of town.

I think of my job as more than a job, its a calling like the priesthood. My job is about the community and protecting my neighbors. It's important.

On the school front I have good news, I have most of my grades in from this semester and so far I have all A's. I am still waiting for one class to post it's grades but I feel really confident about the final I took so I am expecting at least a B average.

My son graduates from pre-k on Thrusday. He is all excitied. A lot of the family is going to come and see it. I am taking off from work at 3:30 pm so that I can go. I am so proud of him its ridiculous. He has so much potential its scary at times. I just hope that I can support him and guide him to make good choices in his life and that he can learn from my mistakes.

If anything, life is an adventure!

~ Terhune

Three down, Three to go...

2006-04-28T19:36:00.000-05:00

Well Three of my finals are done and gone and I am happy to say that I have 2 A's and a B. Not bad for a 30 yr old. My last three tests are African American History since 1865, Personal and Social Development and Career Development (Which I took last semester but she gave me an Incomplete because I never took the final). The only problem I am having is the fact that WebCT has crashed at my school and the last two classes are both WebCT classes!!

How am I supposed to take the online final if I can't get into the system? I know that the professor for Personal and Social Development has a hard copy of the final, she told me that today, but the Career development teacher does not.

Can you say moron! Who in their right mind is not going to have a hard copy of everything for their online course filed away in case of a computer crash?????

Other good news is that I applied for graduation today. Filled out the little form with my full name as it will appear on the diploma and gave my height and weight so that I can be fitted for my cap and gown correctly.

On the birthday side of things I purchased a few Playstation 2 games off of EBay that I have been wanting: Splinter Cell, Tiger Woods golf 2006, NCAA Football 2005, The Godfather, and Conflict: Vietnam. So far I have received NCAA Football 2005 in the mail and I plan on playing it all night tomorrow when I am at the firestation.

I would say all day, but we have a class we have to attend and I figure it will last till at least 5pm with a break for lunch, will probably start at 8am. Should make for a looooong boring day to say the least.

~ Terhune

It's My Birthday!!

2006-04-24T21:13:00.000-05:00

It's my birthday!! Well I am 30 today which doesn't seem all that bad really. I know when I was a kid 30 was like old as dirt but your perspective changes as you get older.

I had a nice day. Got home from the fire station around 7 am, took a shower and got dressed for school. Took my kiddo to his daycare and then I drove the hour to my University. Arrived just in time for my first class, History of the Middle East, and it was a pretty interesting lecture about the Mamluke's and the Ottoman Empire.

After that class was over I went and turned in all of the work I had done for the bullshit class of Personal and Social Development. I also learned that the WebCT servers are still down, been down for like 2 weeks now. People need to take finals and such - HELLO!! I don't know why it is but the university I go to seems to be technologically challenged all of the time.

Waited around for a bit and talked to one of my classmates about her boyfriend issues and what not then waited for my other professor to show up for my second class - which he didn't. So I drove home and ate me some cold pizza for lunch, thought about mowing and then grabbed a book to read off of the shelf.

I fell asleep on the couch sometime while reading. I must have been more tired than I thought.

Woke up and went and got my son from his daycare. Then we all went over to my parents house where my brother and his family had come over and we grilled steaks and drank some beer and celebrated our birthday - my brother and I are twins.

My wife is now tucking our little guy into bed and I am reading over some notes and writing this up before I go shopping online!!! I have to spend that birthday money don't you know!

~ Terhune

The Stretch

2006-04-19T20:50:00.000-05:00

Well today is the 19th of April. Five days until my 30th birthday. I am not sure how I feel about that except for the fact that I am glad to be having another birthday. It could be worse. I could be dead.

So I am in the last few weeks of the Spring Semester at college. and I have a crap load of stuff to do. Lets make a list shall we?

Finish Historiography Paper

Write a Paper for Personal and Social Development (Known as PSD from here on out)

Do a take home test for PSD

Answer the questions for Chapters 5-9 for PSD

Study for the final in the Reformation Class

Study for the final in the Middle Eastern History Class

Study for the final in the African American History since 1865 Class

Make up the work for the one class that I recieved an incomplete in last semester

Yep, that just about covers everything I have left to do this semester. I have a little mantra I keep repeating to myself:

I will not stress, I will not stress, I will finish everything, I will finish everything

Guess I better get started!

~ Terhune

Immigration and other things

2006-04-11T20:30:00.000-05:00

Immigration seems to be the big topic up for discussion lately and I am still not sure exactly where I stand on it so lets see what we know and maybe some people will post some comments on it as well, just to flesh it out a bit.

Fact: The United States was founded on the blood, sweat and tears of immigrants.

Now I don't know how many of those immigrants where legal or illegal. I do know that my ancestors who came over here looking for religious freedom and political freedom came legally.

Fact: There are an estimated 11 million undocumented illegal aliens in the United States.

Now that is just crazy. I mean you hear about illegal immigrants but you never really think about how many there are. If there are 11 million undocumented illegal immigrants then how many documented illegal immigrants are there?

I think that the main concerns that I am seeing are border security and the burden being placed on the various federal and state governments in taking care of illegal immigrants.

Personally I am on the fence as to what is the right thing to do.

ON the one hand entering the United States is a violation of the law, not criminal law but a civil offense. According to NPR.org in January of this year illegally entering into the United States was made a felony. Anyway, on to my opinion.

I understand that illegal immigrants have come to this country looking for a better life and have willingly crossed the border in whatever manner in order to attain that better life. I know for a fact that some who have been deported back to their home countries have simply waited a few weeks and then recrossed the border.

So I say lets go with the McCain bill and let them become citizens, those who are already here. Let them pay the $2000 dollar fine and go through the process of becoming citizens but at the same time we need to keep track of them and make sure they follow through with the program.

Lets also increase our border security and control the flow of those people entering the country a bit better, hell a lot better. Our first line of defense for the United States starts at the border so lets make it work.

As of right now that's my opinion in a round about way, kind of generalized because I am still reading up on it and forming and reforming my opinion.

In other news, I got my transcript fixed today so that it accurately reflects my grade point average:

3.225

I think back to the time and money I wasted back in 1994 and I am sick to my stomach. I mean I have had to retake classes and work my butt off to get my GPA up from less than a 1.00. The good news is that I only have 15 hours left to go before I get my bachelors degree and I am so ready to have it.

I have been feeling rather overwhelmed lately and I know it is because the spring semester is coming to a close but I keep telling myself that I only have a few weeks left of school and then its summer time and I can relax until September.

Well, except for that other job I am picking up which will work me an additional 30+ hours a week. TO bad the minimum wage increase in Arkansas doesn't take effect until October, I could use that extra $1.06 an hour!

~ Terhune

Finding the time...

2006-04-06T20:33:00.000-05:00

I know, I know I keep promising to put up pictures of my garden but it ain't doing well. I think the squirrels have eaten most of my tomato plants but, I got a plan to prevent that with my new crop!!

I was over reading at George R. R. Martin's Website today and I was reading his "Not a Blog" and I realized that he has the same questions for people who blog:

How do they find the time to do it everyday? Like Mr. Martin, I too am not known for my ability to keep up with a journal or diary or what have you. So what's the secret folks? How do you find time to write on your blog everyday?

In other exciting news I signed up for my last 15 hours of college so that I can complete my Bachelors in History. About time if I do say so myself. I am also now the Vice President of our Phi Alpha Theta (History Honors Society) on campus, not really sure what that will mean as far as responsibilities but what the heck.

My wife and I think that our son has the chicken pox. Took him to the doctor today and the Doctor was like, "Yeah, it could be chicken pox, but it could also be just insect bites from playing outside." The nurse that was in there said, "It's chicken pox."

So apparently he might have an a typical case of the chicken pox, the Doctor said to go ahead and send him to school so he's going to school tomorrow and we will continue to monitor and adjust.

Watched the Chronicles of Narnia last night. It was a good movie, played pretty close to the book, but lets be honest. Movies are never as good as the book. Decided after watching the movie that I needed to reread the Narnia series so I went to the book shelf to grab the first one and surprise, surprise - it wasn't there.

The joy of being married to an elementary teacher, she's always taking our stuff to school to share with her kids and NOT bringing it back! Oh well, maybe one of her kids will read it and be amazed at the opportunities reading can provide for them. At least I can hope that.

~ Terhune

A Day Between

2006-03-26T10:12:00.000-05:00

Well I left you all last time with a brief overview of Firefighter K's problem. Well we had our meeting and he agreed that what he had done was messed up and he wasn't making any excuses but that he had misunderstood the Captain when he had said he could go to the store....

RRRIIIIIIGGGGHHHHTTTTT....

We decided to give him the benefit of a doubt, but surely he has to realize that he is on probation for a year from his hire date. If things continue in the manner in which they are I truly don't know if in a year he will be kicking it with us here at the good ol' fire station.

I gave my speech on the Spanish Flu on Wednesday. My speech went very well and my professor said that the imagery I used in my powerpoint was very powerful and sometimes shocking.

"Hell yeah!!" I thought to myself as he said that. I didn't win the competition, all I got was a certificate saying I had participated, but winning wasn't the important part. I just wanted the experience. I plan on submitting some more papers in the future. I am also looking around for a good topic for an article to submit to one of the history magazines. We shall see.

I just got home from being at work for the last 48 hours and I am beat. Sitting at the station and waiting for the alarm to go off isn't hard it's just draining emotionally and physically for me. I am not sure why, maybe it is the anticipation.

I go back to work tomorrow and I have to work on the FEMA Fire Grant that my Department is working on, hopefully I can knock it out tomorrow and not have to worry about it anymore as the grass is starting to grow and I am sure that we will begin to send out letters to property owners in the city who refuse to maintain their property according to city ordinances.

Yes, that's right - I am one of the grass police. If your yard is wooly looking and you have trash and other debris sitting in the yard we will send you a letter and you will clean it up or you will go to court. I hate this time of year.

Today I hope to be able to get in my garden since its not raining. I have about 20 tomato plants that need to go in the ground, not to mention my cucumber plants and okra. I will get pictures of the garden today and should have them up tonight or Tuesday. Should be fun playing in the dirt. You all know how I like to get dirty!

~ Terhune

Cracking the Whip

2006-03-20T19:40:00.000-05:00

Well today was the return to school, yes spring break is over!

So I got back my last two midterms today. I made a B on my Non-Western Civ midterm and an A on my History of the Middle East midterm. Tomorrow I take my last midterm at 2pm, which will mean I will have to miss my African American History since 1865 class but it can't be helped.

This next midterm is for the bullshit class I have to take that I feel is a total waste of my time and money but whatever. My dedication to the class is evident in the fact that my grade in there right now is a 73 without the midterm but I can't allow myself to not care. A higher grade equals a higher grape point after all.

Went and had lunch with the Fire Chief and his wife today, for those of you who don't know I am a Lieutenant at the local Fire Department. It was an interesting lunch to say the least. The Chief informed me that the new guy on my shift was a dumb ass yesterday and got written up and will more than likely be suspended for a shift.

Here's what happened:

The new guy, we will call him Firefighter K, asked the Driver, known as Driver B-Pimping, if they could take the fire truck over to the local grocery store....

Driver B-Pimping looked at Firefighter K for a second and shook his head, "No we can't take the truck out right now since it is raining and I don't want to have to wash the truck if we don't have to. The rain is supposed to slack up soon and besides my Mom said she would drop by later so if you want I am sure she will be more than willing to pick up something for you."

"What if I just took my own truck and just ran over there real quick?"

"No, you can't leave me here by myself that would be against our Rules and Regulations. My mother will be here in a bit, just chill." Driver B-Pimping said over his shoulder as he walked back to the dormitory area to watch some television.

He was just getting cozy in his bed when he heard a door slam and an engine start up, "What the...."

Driver B-Pimping looked out the back window in time to see Firefighter K driving away from the station and out onto the street. Quickly he went to the phone and called Central Fire Station.

"Central Fire Station this is Captain W."

"Hey Cap, this is Driver B-Pimping. Look Firefighter K just left the station to go to the store in his private vehicle after I told him not to."

"He did what??"

And from there the story goes down hill.

So now I have to meet everyone up at Central Fire Station in the morning at 8am and stick my size 11 where the good Lord split Firefighter K. I am so looking forward to that. Why is it that when the city hires a moron I get to work with them???

I just hope there isn't a fire tonight cause I got school work to do and some sleep to catch up on.

Tomorrow should be a whole barrel of fun, ass-chewing in the morning, short presentation right after, midterm test at 2pm. Ah the joys of a hectic life!

~ Terhune

Busy Day

2006-03-20T00:06:00.000-05:00

Got off at 7 am today, got home took a shower then went over to the parental units house and ate breakfast with them and my brother's son and daughter.

Went to church. The kids kept trying to lay down on me during the sermon so that they could sleep and I kept pushing them off of me and telling them to sit up. I just think that the age they are they should at least be able to sit up and appear to listen even if they really aren't.

Ate lunch over at my parents with the rest of the family. It was Taco Salad Day!! I asked who was coiming over since that meal seems to be the "go to meal" whenever company is expected.

Came home and started to work on finishing my Influenza paper. On rereading it this morning I realized that there were some typos and such so I fixed them. Then I sat on the couch for a bit and watched Sahara.Played with the cat while watching the movie, then amazingly I fell asleep.

Woke up and watched a rather disturbing 60 Minutes report called "Rewriting Science". It was an interesting little tidbit of journalism on global warming.

Went and grabbed me a bite to eat at Wndy's here in town and it was nasty. It doesn't take me five minutes to drive from Wendy's to my house so you would figure that the food woule still be hot. Well I guess I figured wrong on that since my cheeseburger and fries were cold. Ate it anyway.

Finished up my PowerPoint presentation for my Influenza speech, hopefully my professor will give the thumbs up signal tomorrow and I can concentrate on obsessing about actually giving the speech!

~ Terhune

Creative Starts and Stops

2006-03-18T12:58:00.000-05:00

Well here I sit.

For years now I have contemplated writing a novel - who hasn't right? - but I always seem to have another idea, a better story, a more mysterious character....

Needless to say nothing ever gets done with the constant switching.

Now I have taken a sabbatical from all of my online gaming addictions. I decided on this course of action last week while looking around my house for some important documents for my son so that he could be registered for kindergarten and I realized that none of his paperwork was where it should have been.

The house is a mess, the yard is a mess, my organizational abilities have been lacking for like the past year and it all comes down to this:

I can't find a damn thing in my house that I need to find.

So something has to go, I have to make time to do the things that will benefit me in the long run and playing my online addictions is not one of them. I have to take control of my life before it spirals out of control- in other words before I go insane.

So I went to that bastion of consumerism - Wal-Mart - and I bought some posterboard and some new notebooks. Tomorrow when I get home from work I plan on putting a time schedule together so that I can do the things I want to do while the things I have to do are done before they need to be done so that everything is on time.

Today's list:

1. Today I will rewrite my speech on the Avian Flu for the final time in preparation for Wednesday's speech.

2. I will begin organizing my notes on my Aaron Burr paper.

3. I will organize my assignments for the annoyingly unimportant waste of time stab me in the eye because that would be better than taking this class course in Personal and Social Development before I grow so disgusted with the fact that I am actually paying for this class that I just walk away from it - which would not be a good thing.

I think that should be enough tasks for today. If I can get them all done then tomorrow I can write up a preliminary few pages on Burr and complete my powerpoint for the Avian Flu paper as well as completing 3 or 4 assignments for the BS class.

Time to get to work I guess.... Wish me luck!

~ Terhune

Spring Break

2006-03-16T23:10:00.000-05:00

Well it's SPRING BREAK!!!

Not that I have been able to do anything real springy. Besides slacking off on my blogging, which I am making up for tonight, I have basically not been able to do anything that I wanted to do this week.

Yeah, sucks to be me.

I spent three of the days I am off at work, 24 hour shifts - remember I am a firefighter. That wasn't so bad, but it is physically and emotionally draining. I also do not sleep well at work. I think it is the sense of anticipation or something. All I know is that if my partner doesn't get rid of that TICKING alarm clock I am going to smash it into itty bitty pieces.

I have done massive amounts of laundry, cleaned up the yard, cleaned out the dog's area, planted some of my vegetables (which I will get a picture of next week after my wife and son get back from their trip to Missouri) and watched two movies that we have from Netflix so that I can send them back.

It hasn't been a total loss, I guess I have been productive in some ways. I read about six books in the last four days which I really enjoyed. I am reading the Clive Cussler Dirk Pitt novels. I am really digging the adventure novels right now. I like the blend of science, history, romance and action. Its a nice break from my usual read of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Hell I have even picked up some mystery novels lately.

Next Wednesday is the Research Symposium at my university and I am slated to give my presentation at 9:30 am. Kinda nervous about this one, still have to make the powerpoint presentation but I am familiar with the topic, I have rewritten the paper eight times and I think it is fairly done and as good to go as it can be for this time frame.

I still have to finish my research on Aaron Burr for my historiography paper as well as take a midterm still and turn in some paperwork that I forgot to do earlier.

I need a vacation!!

~ Terhune

Crawfish

2006-03-10T22:36:00.000-05:00

Well tonight was the local Knights of Columbus organizations Crawfish Boil. It was amazingly good. My father and I went and ate there, it started at five and lasted till eight. All you can eat and all you can drink, adult beverages were available if you wanted one...I had three.

So we are sitting there and eating.... and eating.... and eating. I ate two beer flats of crawfish, it was yummy and spicy and I just enjoyed it. Nothing beats a good crawfish boil.

In other news, I had my last mid-term today and next week is spring break. I think I did really good on the tests I took today. When I got home I worked in my garden, which I hope to take pictures of tomorrow and toss up here for your viewing pleasure.

I made my bean tripods today for the beans to grow on and I also figured out I am going to need another row at the very least so that I can plant everything. Hopefully I can knock that out tomorrow.

I missed my exercising today, which I really needed to do but I figure after drinking beer and eating massive amounts of crawfish the last thing I need to do is run on a treadmill. All in all it was a damn good day.

My son and I played outside for a bit before I went to the Crawfish boil and I played Pac-Man with him when I got home while my wife did some work on the computer. Yeah I would have to say that today was a good day.

As always I remain....

Respectfully Yours,

~ Terhune

Learning Patience

2006-03-09T23:25:00.000-05:00

So I am the world’s worst person when it comes to being patient. I just don’t have any…..at all.

That being said, my wife and I went and bought the new Harry Potter movie tonight and watched it while my son was in the other room watching the Magic School Bus. Now the Magic School Bus is a really cool cartoon, that my 4 yr old son loves, that deals with their elementary class and their magical trips on this bus that can morph into any kind of vehicle/animal type combination.

The kids’ teacher takes them on field trips to space, under the water, inside the human body – all kinds of science stuff. Hell, my son can tell you what the water cycle is at 4 just from watching this show!

Anyway, tonight we are watching Harry Potter and it’s the end of the movie and everything’s getting wrapped up when my son comes into the room wanting another Magic School Bus movie turned on. What do I say:

“Son, you need to be more patient. Mommy and Daddy’s movie is almost over – just 5 more minutes”

Of course my wife elbows me in the side and snickers as I say this. She knows that I am as impatient as anything. Not to be outdone, my son responds to my statement. Without missing a beat he says:

“But Dad, I am trying to learn patience!”

Big exasperated sigh at the end for emphasis. I lost it. Started laughing, my wife started laughing and our son is looking at us like we are crazy so that makes it even funnier because he was so sincere.

Kids are amazing, and scary at the same time. Being a parent is probably the most frightening job/vocation/adventure that I can think of!!

As always I remain….

Respectfully yours,

~ Terhune

Dedication

2006-03-08T21:38:00.000-05:00

Dedication is defined as the act of dedicating or the state of being dedicated by the American Heritage Dictionary.

Dedication to this Blog has been lacking.

I feel at times that I have no time for anything, much less my thoughts I want to write down and share with others. With all things that are considered important though you have to make time to do them.

I make time to be with my son and my wife. I make time to do my homework and study. I make time to work in the yard and my garden.

I have not made time for this Blog which is sad because I really like doing this.

That is about to change. I am going to set aside an hour a day after I exercise to sit down, collect my thoughts and write something, even if it is drivel.

I hope you all enjoy it!

Respectfully yours,

~ Terhune

The Roller Coaster - or My Life...

2005-11-05T13:47:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted anything in a while and I totally blame it on my state of mind.

Between school, work and family things have been rather hectic.

So lets see what has happened in my life since the last post...

School is going good, I have all A's except for Spanish which I simply just don't get. I study, I make index cards, I do exercises - but still I can not seem to pull myself out of the hole I am digging. I wish they had offered German.

Work is going good, we finished the growing season so no more letters to write to those who refuse to keep their lawns maintained. I have inventory and Departmental review to look forward to.

YEAH!

Family life has been extraordinarily good lately, better than it has been in 4 years. My wife and I reached a definite low spot in late September, early October. Divorce was brought up by both of us and we had a good honest heart to heart talk. We agreed to go to counseling and to work on our various perceived problems in communication and in the way we treat each other overall.

I think things are going to be ok. Now that is not to say that things may not get rough again once we get into counseling but we shall see.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

As always I remain...

Respectfully yours,

~ Terhune

FUBAR

2005-09-13T22:32:00.000-05:00

Well the last week has been hectic as all get out.

I had a report due in my english History class, a test in my Spanish and I worked almost everyday that I was not in school. I am still helping a group of volunteers who are searching for missing people from Hurricane Katrina.

Most of the people we are searching for are elderly people, people from nursing homes or hospitals or hospices or shelters. So far we have found 25 missing people thorugh either searching databases or working the phones or what have you.

There have been a few sad moments as we discovered that the individual we have been looking for is deceased, but at least the family knows and they can begin the process of grief and acceptance.

On a personal note, I feel that the governments response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster has been negligent in the extreme. Every day you hear more and more reports about what they knew a head of time and questions of 'If they knew this was going to happen, why did they not....'.

It is FUBAR'd in my opinion and the only way out is to roll up our sleeves and get the job done. I think they are moving in the right direction with the nomination of R. David Paulison to accting FEMA Director:

Paulison, a career firefighter with 30 years of rescue experience, said he was busy "getting brought up to speed." Bush promised him in a Monday night phone call that he would have "the full support of the federal government," Paulison said.

Source of Quote
I know that this promotion or temporary job filling gives me some hope that Mr. Paulison knows a little bit about what he is doing since he actually has experience in Emergency Response. The next few months, and dare I say years, should be very interesting.

As always I remain...

Respectfully Yours,

~Terhune

Helping Some of the Desplaced Americans

2005-09-07T09:10:00.000-05:00

Well its been a few days since my last entry and I have been busy. I still have not been able to contact anyone about going south to help with the clean-up effort and now I hesitate to even go. According to the local papers, the National Guard down there is just sitting and those guys are not happy about it.

The United States, all the resources in the world and nothing being done.

I checked a few articles online lat night from ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX..you name it I was there reading. I came across an article about emergency responders who came from FLorida the day after the hurricane hit and drove to Mississippi. The gentlemen interviewed said that they had all this equipment, fresh people and training and they were put 40 miles inland to sit for a week.

He was very frustrated, said they might as well have stayed home.

So while I am at home, I have been helping to locate missing family members by putting up a blog for a group of people that are calling area hospitals , shelters, etc. etc.

So far we have found 3 people and have rumors of maybe a 4th!

So if you are reading this and have the time and the money and are willing to help call or search the internet please go the site and extend your hand and your heart.

As always I remain...

Respectfully Yours,

~Terhune

Today and Yesterday

2005-09-03T21:28:00.000-05:00

Well, yesterday was a bust.

I got up at like 5:45 a.m. and got ready for work. Went to work and was there like thirty minutes and I got sick.

Ok, I puked.

Needless to say I went home and got sick a few more times, crashed out from about 8 a.m. till 5 p.m. fixed me some soup and chilled on the couch watching movies.

Today I woke up and got ready for work - feeling much better. Today being Saturday, there is not a lot to do at the fire station so after going through our daily routine I sat down at the computer and started working on the report for my English History class that is due on the 8th of September. I finished the first draft about 9 tonight.

Now its all relaxation, at least it is if there is no fire or something.

As always I remain...

Respectfully Yours,

~ Terhune

Refund Day - NOT!

2005-09-01T21:43:00.000-05:00

Well today started off peachy.

My buddy and I decided that we would volunteer to go down to Mississippi or Louisiana to help out since we are firefighters and figured the guys down there might need a break. I got 15 days of vacation saved up and I am sure that I could swap with some of the other guys if more time was needed. I talked to all my professors today and they had no problem with me maybe going south to help out the people there - cool deal.

So I get done with my last class, which he let us out of early, and I walk like a mile and a half across campus with my 60 pound backpack to the big gym type complex where they are handing out refunds. The whole way over there I am thinking, I am gonna pay for daycare 6 months in advance and put some money on my credit cards, and then if I have any left over I am gonna take my wife out to eat at a nice restaurant and maybe, just maybe get a little lucky later on.

Hot Damn!!

Well so I get to the little lady with the 1960's style glasses, you know the horn rim job with the little glitter on the corner, and I hand her my I.D.

"You’re the one we were talking about earlier." She says as she reads my I.D. I decide right then and there that this can not be a good thing.

The girl beside her looks at my I.D and agrees that it was me they were talking about earlier and she begins to rifle through this massive printout. You know the kind; its got the big perforation on the sides for the little blunted spiky wheel thingy to spin in so that the paper can be fed into the printer and its got those really neato green and white strips all over it!

Needless to say there I am standing there, sweating. Waving goodbye to my dreams of wealth and relaxation, I shed a mental tear or two. Then she speaks again and the words I have dreaded every semester I have attended college spill out of her mouth.

"Your gonna have to go over to Financial Aid and ask them about your check, cause we ain't got it."

Shit.

I take my I.D. back from her and I walk back across campus and over to the Financial Aid office. I open the door to the building, climb a small flight of stairs and turn the corner into the hallway that leads to the Financial Aid office and I stop dead in my tracks.

It is lined with chairs, the entire hallway. Each chair is filled by the butt of another student that had to see the Financial Aid Officers.

"Um, is this the line to get in to see the Financial Aid Person?" I ask with what I am sure was a bewildered look on my face.

"Yep."

"You guys been sitting here long?"

"Yep, gotta sign in on the sheet inside."

Dammit! Ok, no big deal I think. So I walk into the office and find the sheet with my last names Initial on it and...every slot is filled in. Over half the people sitting in the chairs in the hallway are here to see the same person I am. There’s not even a blank line.

Shit.

So I sign my name on the bottom of the sheet, beneath the last line, and I return to the purgatory of the hallway and I find me a seat next to a pregnant girl who looks like she swallowed a ripe melon and I wait.

I play with my cell phone, call my wife, call my brother, and call my grandparents.

Still waiting.

Talk to the pregnant girl, she's due next week sometime.

Oh, oh, they called my name - sweet action!

I go into the offices and wind my way past file cabinets and computer desks that are packed with other students filling out forms and I sit in a chair outside the Financial Aid ladies office. There are 15 people waiting to see her.

I was better off in the hallway.

An hour later...I get to go into her office and low and behold, the University lost my paperwork. So I sign a sheet, she signs the sheet and I am done. Takes like 3 minutes tops.

As I wearily climb in my car and settle my bag on the passenger seat I have to wonder. If they knew I was missing some paperwork, why didn't I get a letter saying I was missing this paperwork? But then that would make sense wouldn't it.

As I am driving home I call my buddy. Still no word on if we are going to be going south. We made the offer, and that's what counts. I hang up with him and I turn the radio on.

Siouxsie and the Banshees are playing.."Cities in Dust". I like the song but it takes on a whole new meaning for me as I am driving. Gets me to thinking.

Anyway that’s today in a nutshell. I should get my refund back next week. I hope to hear something from our local Emergency Management guy tomorrow about going south. I'm working all weekend, what could be better on a holiday weekend?

As always I remain..

Respectfully Yours,

~ Terhune

Developments in the South

2005-08-31T21:27:00.000-05:00

It’s been another nonproductive day for me, or rather a boring day because I actually did quite a bit of school work today. The surprising thing was how quickly the day seemed to pass by. I am amazed at how late it is.

My brother got called back up today for a two week stint down in Louisiana. He goes to Fort Polk tomorrow and from there he had no clue what he would be doing exactly. I had the news channels playing in the background all day today and I am appalled by the looters that have crawled out of their holes in New Orleans.

Lets take advantage of the misery and misfortune that has struck our hometown and make the job of clean up and rescue that much harder by taking everything that isn’t nailed down and for an added bonus let’s shoot at the cops!

What a bunch of morons. I say the cops; National Guard and what not shoot looters on sight. Anyone who behaves the way those looters are behaving doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of us – lets ventilate them.

Seriously it’s a shame the way the worst in human nature seems to appear during a disaster. I guess the scum just floats to the top.

I made a gazillion paper airplanes for my son today. I don’t think he threw one of them. He just ran around making swooshing noises and waving the paper airplanes in the air. It was funny, cute and interesting. I love watching how his mind works, how it seems to be developing more everyday.

Nothing else new on the home front; work and school rule the day while family rides along. Tomorrow is a new day...blah blah blah and all that jazz.

As always I remain…

Respectfully yours,

~ Terhune

Beginnings and Aftermath

2005-08-30T22:28:00.000-05:00

So today was the first day for our new professor. He seems to be a competent kind of guy, otherwise why would he have been hired. Its to soon to tell what kind of teacher he will be but I am afraid that he might have bitten off a bit more than he can chew with this new job.

The way that some of the other students where talking to him in class and he was allowing it blew my mind. It was like they had to interject something after every sentence he said - it drove me nuts. Anyway we shall see how it goes, I hope it goes very well for him and that we have a good class this semester.

Hurricane Katrina seems to have passed us by, but the folks down south in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are in for a world of hurt. I heard on the news tonight that in New Orleans they have what emergency coordinators call a "toxic soup". It seems that all the chemicals and waste from the city are mixing it up with the bodies of the dead as the coffins pop out of the ground and float around.

That's bad stuff. Disease will be a major problem I am thinking. Prayer and hard work go a long way to fixing the things that need fixing, lets be sure to give them at least our prayers if not our support.

As always I remain...

Respectfully Yours,

~ Terhune

I am a Bum..

2005-08-29T14:52:00.000-05:00

OK I have not posted in a while, my bad.

Summer II ended and I made it out with an A in my History course and a B in Statistics.

Now the Fall semester has started and I am taking 13 hours. Not a huge load but with me working full time and hanging out with the family - not to mention picking up the occasional extra shift - my time has become a precious commoditiy.

Well this semester I am taking the following courses:

Spanish 1 (3 hours)
English Hisotry 1603-1800 (3 hours)
Classical Greek History (3 hours)
African History (3 hours)
Career and Life Planning (Web) (1 hour)

Now on the first day of class which was last Tuesday, we were informed that there were no History Professors at the University because they all quit! Thats three of my classes!

Thank god there were some Seniors who needed the classes to graduate so they did not get canceled. MOst of them only have like 8 people in them so that should be cool. They did hire a new History Professor last Thursday and he/she is supposed to start on Tuesday I heard. Lets keep our fingers crossed on that one.

So my Spanish instructor gave us homework on Thursday that consisted of 25 sentences from Chapter 8. We had to break each word in the sentence down into syllables and underline the where the stress goes. It took me forever to do that - I kept doing it wrong..lol.

English History should be an experience. The instructor they put in there is unique - its the nicest way I can put it! No assignments yet but he keeps repeating that everything he says in class is testable, I hope that doesn't mean the roll call.

Classical Greek History is a void right now. The two times we have meet so far there has been no instructor. The new Professor is supposed to be taking it over so I have high hopes for tomorrow.

African History looks like it will be really interesting as the instructor is from Nigeria. So far we haven't gotten into the material, we have mainly talked about his growing up in Nigeria and the things he experienced. Its an interesting class so far I hope it lives up to my expectations.

The Career and Life Planning class is a joke. I am taking it online so I am hoping that will make it better but I see no reason why I should have to take it when I have a career, a retirement plan, a college saving account thingy for my son, and I have been married for 10 years. I mean HELLO - this class is a waste of my time and my money!!!

But you have to take it in order to graduate. One more way the university is screwing over thier students who do not fit into the mold of a traditional student - In My Honest Opinion.

Anyway, thats it for now.

As always I remain...

Respectfully Yours,

~ Terhune

The Week in Review July 16 - 22, 2005

2005-07-22T13:53:00.000-05:00

The world is changing everyday. I have been watching events in London unfold over the net and on the television and I am amazed at how such events happen and are then handled by the authorities. I think back to September 11, 2001 and am amazed at the way in which our communities handled that situation. People are resilient.

For my parent’s generation it was always, where were you when President Kennedy was shot. For my generation, Generation X I think it is called, the questions are like this: Where were you when the Oklahoma Bombing happened, Did you see O.J. fleeing at five mph down the street in L.A., Where were you on September 11th?

Where as we all have out milestones in life that are personal, it seems that more and more we are also sharing milestones in our lives. The media lets us see events as they unfold as has never been available in the past. The media has a huge responsibility in not only what they report but in how they report it.

And these reporters who are at the events, or the situations – putting their lives at risk so that they can get out a story – they got nerves of steel. Of course often it is just in the course of doing their job that they are in the situations, but to stay there and remain in harms way or at risk; that takes a special kind of person.

On a different note, I got back two of my Statistics tests yesterday. I was rather disappointed in my grades and thought I had known the material better than that. Oh well, I just have to pass this class with a “C”. I hate that mentality really because I want to do my best, but with everything else going on with work and family; I guess I will take what I can get. The good news is that we get to take a make-up quiz on Monday that can replace a lower score if we do good on it so I will be taking that one.

My U.S. History from 1873-Present class is kind of stagnating. The instructor has excused us from class three days so far, and let us out early everyday so we are not getting our full two hours in the class. Not that I am really complaining, but I paid for two hours of instruction. I spent the time driving the hour to school, dealing with the bureaucracy of the University so that I could attend classes and I expect to be educated as well as I can be.

Overall it was a long week for me. I hate not having any money to go and buy my wife something or my son a toy just because. I don’t want to be forced to limit my gifts and such to regulated holidays and annual special events. To me everyday I wake up and spend with them is an amazing day, a day to cherish and remember.

Next week looks to be as busy as this past week. Three chapter summaries due on Monday for my History class, make-up test in Statistics, cleaning out the storage unit I got so that I can stop paying on it, various other things that come up will of course come up and screw up something else. Oh well, I look forward to next week and what it may bring with a positive attitude.

As always I remain…

Respectfully yours,

~ Terhune

SSDD - Well, you know...

2005-07-19T22:26:00.000-05:00

I still have not decided how I am going to do this, daily, weekly, every other day…not real sure; maybe I will just wing it. Isn’t it funny how life invariably tosses a curveball at you just when you think you are getting a head. It’s like being Tantalus reaching for that drink of water, or trying to nibble on that luscious fruit.

Ok, so summer session two is in full swing and already there are exciting things happening for me. First off I am taking United States History 1873-Present and Statistic, Social not Business. Both these classes are interesting in and of themselves but I find that for some strange twilight zone reason I am liking the Statistics class better than the History class – go figure.

So my History teacher has covered three chapters in two weeks – it’s at this point that I am thinking, whoa this class is toast. Sadly that is not the case I was informed today that we have to summarize the next three chapters by Thursday. No pressure there I’ll just fit it between my family hour, yard maintenance schedule, household chores and tell the grandparents to stick it, I got to write a summary. I really hope he doesn’t expect a small novel cause he is not going to get it.

The Statistics class is a challenge, this guy is really pushing to cover as much of the book as possible and I am the only one in the entire class that seems to be catching on to it and over half the class took the exact same subject last semester and failed. That tends to worry me some but so far I haven’t seen anything nor had anything presented in class that was impossible to figure out. I think people are not listening to be honest. Got a test in there on Thursday – three chapters; discussed two of them today.

Today I also found out that my advisor at the University resigned. Great! Now I have to attempt to build a new relationship with another instructor and hope that they are as cool as my last one. I was kind of hoping to get my file from him too but I missed that window of opportunity. It seems that this university has a major problem keeping up with stuff so my old advisor kept a file for each student to put stuff into. Mine didn’t have as much as some of the other History majors but still it was my stuff, now it’s locked up. I am still not sure how I feel about that.

Why is it that finances seem to always cause problems in marriages? Stress and frustration levels jumped today as we discovered that my wife isn’t getting paid for July. Wonderful! (Did you hear the sarcasm?) It seems her contract was for only eleven months and not twelve as every other school district I can think of does. Now I have to use my refund from the University to pay bills that her check usually covers – I am not happy about that but you do what you got to do. I was going to try and get ahead on daycare payments but looks like that’s not going to happen.

I think I told you, dear reader, that I liked books in my previous writing; if I didn’t you know now. As I am sure the whole world knows that latest Harry Potter book just came out. Not sure how I feel about that, but I tell you I am tired of those people who say that Harry Potter confuses children and provides an avenue for the devil to enter their lives. That’s the biggest bunch of crap.

If parents would sit down with their children before reading the books and explain to them that it is fiction, then the kids can come ask them questions as they have them and quicker than you can say “Shazam” the problem is solved.

I heard a lady on the radio today make the comment that all fiction has a kernel of truth to it, she was trying to imply that the spell casting element of the books and the other occult type things were the kernel of truth. I was amazed at that. Yeah fiction does have kernels of truth in it, like being a friend is an important thing, standing up for yourself and others is a good thing; but I guess the magic far outweighs anything else the kids may gain from the books. A love of reading is a bad thing because books facilitate the spread of ideas.

Ideas bad. Ugh, Ugh.

There is no excusing ignorance and bigotry whether you are talking about books, people or things. It’s a shame that in the first half of the Twenty-First Century we still see such things. One of my favorite quotes is by Albert Einstein:

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."

You have to wonder what the world would be like if people did stand up for others and themselves, instead of letting it be someone else’s problem. I would like to see my children grow up in a world not tainted by the sins of their forefathers but then again, we all have to have a dream don’t we.

Oh well, I guess that’s it for me. I remain as always….

Respectfully yours,

~ Terhune

And So It Begins...

2005-07-05T19:23:00.000-05:00

Greetings and salutations, this is my first Blog, but hopefully it will not be my last. I have to get used to writing in this kind of format so it may be sketchy at first. You may be asking what the purpose of this Blog is and to be honest with you I cannot answer that at this time other than to say that I feel compelled to write.

What shall I write about? That is a good question to ask. Another good question could be what is this person passionate about, what drives them, piques their interest? Well there are a few things that I am passionate about and I am sure that I will speak on all of them at one time or another. For now I am mainly concerned with finishing school.

A little background first….

In 1994 I went to college. It was, is a small liberal arts college in a small town of around 10,000 people. Across the street from that college is another college but it is a Baptist College. In this environment I found myself cut loose, on my own with only my brother for company. I had such aspirations for my first time at college and it all came to naught with the following phrase:

“Hey ya’ll want to come over to the Fraternity house and meet some of the brothers?”

The die was cast. Into the realm of Greek Fraternity my brother and I plunged headlong. We were in a group with lots of really interesting and diverse people from the skater punk with hair down to his butt and the guy from New Zealand whose mother was a nurse to the guy who rode the bus from California for 40 hours just to get to school. Rush happened in a blur, not an alcoholic one because they had dry rush – sure we partook of some spirits every now and then but never with a member of the fraternity only with our fellow pledges.

Hell night came and went and we were full-fledged brothers in the Fraternity. Now, a side note for those reading this – my mistake was joining a fraternity my first semester at college, it provided to many interesting distractions the least of which were women and alcohol. Joining a Fraternity is not a bad thing you just have to have your priorities straight. So I joined a fraternity and had a good time.

My father says that I majored in women and alcohol my first semester and he is not wrong, it was that first semester that I met my future wife and I also discovered my love of good whiskey. It was all down hill from there academically. I went to class a total of 3 times the entire semester, I think I withdrew from all my classes at the end just to scavenge some kind of GPA from the two courses I was actually attending; choir and radio broadcasting.

The Spring semester was not much better but by this time my future wife and I were seeing each other exclusively and I was madly in love. My brother and I got an apartment in the town for the summer and slowly but steadily the last remaining apron strings were cut. Once school started again I outfitted myself like a champ and then again failed to attend classes withdrawing after a month. My first foray into college was a disaster for the most part; the best thing to come out of it was I meeting my wife. I mean its pretty bad when the Dean of Students calls you into his office to talk and he tells you that perhaps you were not cut out for college at this time. He was so right.

So after getting kicked out of an institution of higher learning, I decided to join another institution – the institution of marriage. So we got married, our anniversary is in December and it will be 10 years of wedded bliss. I had a new wife, a car payment, insurance and bill to worry about as well a mortgage to pay. No degree, no experience really in anything just my wits and my drive – which was not much at this time – and a desire to provide for my family and myself.

I won’t bore you with the litany of jobs that I have held, needless to say that they all fell into one of two categories; construction and retail. Now working construction is a noble effort, people need things to be built. Houses, business, etc. etc.: all must be built in order for society to continue to have one of the things necessary for survival, shelter. That being said I worked as a roofer and in hanging siding on people’s homes. Hot uncomfortable jobs but jobs that I found strangely pleasing and after a time very rewarding in and of themselves for the simple fact that I was helping to create something that others would enjoy and appreciate.

So I worked construction for a time and met many interesting people, some were normal, average, everyday citizens; others had followed a side path and I came into contact with men who had served time in prison for various things. Now some would have you look towards an ex-convict as some one bad, but I tell you these guys were a special breed. Most were hard working individuals who waited for their check on Friday and by Monday they were broke again. It was an interesting cycle and one that is not uncommon, but I found their stories of prison and of their weekend escapades most interesting.

Eventually I grew bored with construction, I admit that my attention span is not something I am proud of but it is something I have had to work on. As I was saying I grew tired of working construction and I began looking for another job. I soon found it as a worker in a bookstore. Now I love books, probably after my wife, son and God my next great love is books. This was the job of my dreams. I worked in a bookstore and I was able to steer other people to things that might interest them based on who they had read previously. To top it all off it was a fun job.

The only problem with the job was management. I am sure that you are not gasping in surprise at that statement. Management was workable though and after a few months a position opened up for an Assistant Manager and I took it; $21,000 a year salary, working like 60 hours a week. I was an idiot. The institution of slavery is alive and well in the United States, its called working on salary for a retail company (It’s also called minimum wage but that’s a whole story all on its own.).

Eventually I grew tired of the upper Management taking advantage of me and others by giving us all the bad hours while they took off every weekend and worked the midday shift so that they were at work by noon and home by like seven at night. It was this experience that convinced me of my past mistakes and impressed upon me the need to go back to school. The only problem was that neither my wife nor I had any credits towards graduation that were worth a damn.

Figuring I would have an easier time of finding a good job in more familiar surroundings. We moved back to my hometown, where we still live today and I got a job. I am still there amazingly enough after five years. My wife went back to school full time while I supported the family. It took her about 4 ½ years to graduate since she took one semester off to have our son, but she finished up and now has her own job that allows her to apply what she learned in college to her satisfaction and ours. Plus I personally like the paycheck.

Now that is the background information, which brings you pretty much up to date. Now we move into the current state of affairs, which I hope will provide plenty of thought provoking debate and curiosity to those who read this. Ok, it probably won’t but I figured an online journal would be cool to write; recording all my important thoughts and events as they occur on a day-by-day or week-by-week happening…or whatever the case may be.

So now it is my turn to go to school, in person. I spent the last two years taking courses online and obtained my AA in Social Sciences. Now I am working towards my degree in History. That dear reader brings you up to date on the foibles of fate and destiny that have led me here to this place in my life. I have recently begun to discover my own longing for an understanding of my faith while I also strive to complete my education. I have a wife and a son who also require my attentions and as mentioned before – my books.

Rest assured that reading this may be a toil; the writing of it is also no less strenuous. I beg your indulgence as you read on and hope that you find some kernels of truth, or wit or strange comedy, as you will.

Respectfully Yours,

~ Terhune